Password121

Rolling Thunder's closure was announced about two weeks in advance. I think this is a fine time to announce, and I assume demolition will begin in the fall.

^Station area and expanding into the parking lot on the far side.

^Not for an I-box transformation. Pending removal for a major waterpark expansion in 2016.

Alan schilke said in an interview that turns aren't possible in the design just yet due to the mechanics of the ride--turns add laterals, which make things much more complicated with free spinning, unlike X2, which is controlled spinning, therefore allowing turns. I assume keeping the layout on one plane makes the ride millions cheaper, as well.

Right, because Banshee and Fury are just SO bad

^Just look at one of the webcams on Cedar Point's website. They removed one of their Antique cars and relocated some family rides, not to mentioned demolishing a major theater. They left the area fenced in (almost 10 acres) and g's a dirt field at the moment. I'd expect footers in the next month or so.

For anyone that was whining "Save Colossus" back in August when deconstruction began... ...here's your answer.

That's good news. I was disappointed to hear initially mid-June. Memorial Day is exactly what they shoot for, and considering this installation requires more work than the other Super Loops (additional land clearing/leveling and path to Gotham City), I'm excited for this ride. I'll certainly ride it the next time Im at the park.

The main issue I have with this is Cedar Fair has invested in one major B&M each of the last four years, and only five new coasters since 2011 (the last being Gold Striker). I don't see the them suddenly jumping from one coaster a year to three, two times in a row. In my mind... 2016: Cedar Point B&M coaster, other additional coaster (Canada's Wonderland/Mich. Adv. more likely, or VF/KD, less likely) 2017: Canada's Wonderland coaster (if not in 2016), other additional coaster (Kings Dominion/Valleyfair). Obviously this is still well into the future and we'll know so much more closer to announcement time, but honestly nothing at this point in time screams to me that Kings Dominion is getting a new coaster in 2016. Yeah, it's been a little while (other parks have it far worse), but we've had no real info to base it off, like the "amazing" secret CO has held for their new coaster. Edit: okay definitely Canada's Wonderland for 2016. I just checked up on that thread... it's really not very discrete.

Not really how it works. It's like running seven trains on a B&M hyper. The number of trains has little to do with capacity in many cases--it's all about how quickly trains are dispatched; having four sitting in the load platform does nobody any good.

I'd bet everything against that, as well. That ride might be even MORE rough even IF that happened (which it won't). Shockwave will be gone by 2017, amigo. Actually, it would be less rough as a sitdown. Lower heartline=less exaggerated transitions=less rough ride Not really how it works. The track and transitions are engineered for a heartline at a specific height range. Taking it out of that range can actually increase the variability of the heartline, making the ride even rougher/jerkier. Mantis was possible to convert because the heartline allowed for such variability--not sure if Shockwave is designed like this. And because its a B&M, and B&M produces sit down/floorless trains with the same track guage. Togo does not, especially since they are not in business.

In all honesty I don't think Dinsey or Universal are in the slightest bit concerned.

It's not funny anymore.

Six Flags needs to do this kind of thing more often.

Anyone that's been recently--is June 13th still the set opening of the new ride? How about a preview/media day? What work is left to be done at this point, outside of testing/queue configuration?

^^I wouldn't call removing one TOGO a "TOGO removal kick." They don't remove rides for the sake of removing them, they do so because they have plans for the site. What other "love" are you expecting to not consider Shockwave set for removal? Intimidator hasn't been painted since it was built--it must be next in line for removal. Removing Shockwave and building a major B&M coaster in the site you outlined would be a major undertaking, and we would likely already have clues/knowledge of the project. To be perfectly honest, it seems that Cedar Fair is focusing on only a few parks at a given time, and Kings Dominion isn't that park just yet. I'd bet 2017 is the year though.

^I know its just a speculative drawing, but that wing coaster would be over 6,000 feet long, 200 feet tall, and very expensive. I don't think Cedar Fair has the budget with Cedar Point's alleged dive machine in the cards. A layout on the scale of Thunerbird might be feasible, however.

Yeah, you're right. Even those that defend this park (as I do from time to time) have been waiting for this park to make a statement for quite a long time. This park desperately needs something. Apocalypse was a decent restart from its worst years, but honestly that ride is crap. SFA really does need some major capital to be on the same level as its competition. The reason some defend this park is because despite the lack of capital and lack of confidence in corporate for this park to reach its potential, it has continued to improve--however slowly. The landscaping/shade is very slowly, but surely, improving. Mardi Gras is fantastic, and is on the same level of theming/detail as Kings Dominion. Coyote Creek has always been rather quaint and nice. The middle of the park is okay, but could use some work. It's Gotham City that gives SFA a bad name in this department. I really think 2016/17 could be a good year(s) for the park. The Super Loop was a cheap addition, but IMO a smart one. Reports on Gadv's iteration are all positive, so I assume SFA's will be the same. The water park has been recently expanded (2013), the kiddie rides have been updated (2010), and the family rides have made their way (2014/15). Personally, I think a major addition could be on the horizon. Probably not a Justice League dark ride just yet, and while I'd love to see Roar get the iron horse treatment, I think other parks are higher on the list. I predict by 2017, SFA will have either a Skyscreamer or a Fiesta Fexas B:TR clone.

I'm having a really hard time understanding this post.

^That would be deadly.

So... 2016 teaser confirms that we'll be waiting til 2017

According to GreatAdventureHistory, the Grandstand, Aqua Stadium, and the stage are all set for demolition immediately. Hmm.

By my understanding, new trains of this scale/quality run around $1 million apiece. I don't think Cedar Point invested $3 million in their most popular coaster for no ROI (besides negligibly reduced maintenance costs) without releasing any information. They announced the new Maverick vests, I think they would've announced entirely new MF trains. Plus, besides the Mega lites, Intamin hasn't manufactured the old style hyper/giga trains in quite awhile--Goliath/Walibi in '02?

^Neither. This thread is honestly becoming frustrating to me. Cedar Fair claimed Valleyfair a "growth" park. All this means is they intent to expand the park and invest at some greater rate than in recent years. This has absolutely happened. "Growth" doesn't mean "next Cedar Point." Honestly, some of these posts just reek of an "all or nothing" attitude. Yes, it's been awhile since the last new coaster. Do you seriously think Cedar Fair doesn't know this, and doesn't understand how to run this park? You don't need new coasters very often to turn a profit, and if the park is doing fairly well as it is, there is really no immediate need to invest millions of dollars each year to cater to entitled enthusiasts. What about this situation seriously makes you think Valleyfair is suddenly "doomed" for all eternity? It's a smaller park. Lower revenue, smaller investments, even in "growth" situations. And please, stop comparing to other parks of similar size or in the chain. They have no effect on Valleyfair, and just because the park hasn't been invested in as heavily as half of the other CF parks doesn't mean it is "neglected." I think we should try to realize what this means before tossing out that term at all, for both Valleyfair and Michigans Adventure. Don't mean to sound heated, just want to get my thoughts/frustrations out there. Returning to regular programming.

I don't find Roar particularly rough or unbearable, aside from the last three or four turns which vibrate quite a bit. The ride just doesn't track very well, has no airtime to speak of, and doesn't have the pacing it should for a coaster of its design. The 2014 retracking in the first half of the ride certainly did help, but won't hold up forever and doesn't make the ride itself better. An RMC retrack (I box) is the best option, IMO.