Password121

I don't think you're giving the GP the credit they deserve. From my experience, the lines die down in the evening because most people have ridden GateKeeper by then, and are moving on to rides towards the back, like Maverick. Secondly, height restrictions are determined based on the restraints and what body measurements are required to be correctly secured by them, not based on intensity of a ride or the number of inversions. Also, I would disagree about the GP thinking that any coaster with inversions is scary and dangerous. Even though the GP don't follow and fully understand the industry like many of us do (or think we do), they understand that coasters are generally safe. Most people I know would consider Millennium Force and Dragster scarier than a ride with inversions like GateKeeper, or even Raptor. Both GateKeeper and Raptor have more inversions than Maverick. I think that anyone who's ridden them all would consider Maverick the scariest, or at least more intense.

I'm going to hold you to that! Jk

I think we need to consider what GateKeeper was built for when Cedar Point spent $30 million on the project. The hard truth is that GateKeeper wasn't built to please a miniscule percentage of their revenue, coaster enthusiasts. I think that some of us have come to expect extreme rides that enthusiasts rank highly like Maverick and Intimidator 305, etc. Cedar Point wanted a ride that the general public will enjoy and ultimately make them money. When we're complaining (not that everyone here is) about the lack of airtime, the lack of forces, or that the ride is boring (which blows my mind to call it "boring"), we need to remember that it wasn't built to be like the "OMFG Intamin/RMC Giga launched hybrid wooden coasters." GateKeeper was built to draw attention without being too extreme to scare away families which was done by purposefully making it less extreme by extending transitions (I believe Rob Decker said this in an interview). In my humble opinion, I believe GateKeeper did this perfectly and is one of the better coasters in the park and shouldn't be missed. You may disagree with what I have said, but there is no need to complain about what it's not, but accept it for what it is.

While we're on the topic of lifts, what are average chain and cable speeds? If I remember correctly, MF and El toro are 13-15, I-305 is a little faster, around 17. What are most chains on wooden coasters and steel coasters, like Banshee, which seems faster than most B&M lifts. (I know this is getting way off topic, but there isn't much to be said about Goliath since visible progress has stalled the last few days)

Are you insane? Why would they ever do this? Goliath is one of the most popular rides at SFMM, SFA already has a hypercoaster that (while far from perfect) is much better than Goliath at SFMM, SFMM has more than enough room to do whatever they want to Colossus already and moving a hypercoaster from California to Maryland would be incredibly expensive. SFA doesn't need a hypercoaster, they need something unique that they don't have anywhere else in the park... like a tree for example. I'm just hoping for a tree.[/quote] This But in all seriousness, and I think most of us would agree, I'd rather have SFA focus on rounding out their family ride collection, improving Gotham City, and improving operations before a new coaster is added. A Skyscreamer in 2015 probably would be a good addition.

How steep is a common lift hill? I-305 is one of the steepest, and it's either 45 or 50 degrees, I've heard both. I'd assume most are 30-40 degrees, but this seems much more. ^Stacking is when a train sits on the brake run waiting for the next train to leave the station, which decreases capacity.

I don't know that you need Fast Lane. They're more than likely leaving well before closing, so unless you get to the park and it is absolutely mobbed, you should be fine. You can wait until you get there to see how lines are.

Ahh! I wish the same could be said for last Monday. I went betting on an afternoon of walk ona, and I get hundreds of screaming teenage girls clogging the midways. Oh well...

I think that is the difference from darkness to daylight. The fact that you can't see what is coming makes it feel that much more intense. I see what you're saying but I don't think that's it. I had no problem seeing what's coming, but even with the MCBR, te second half still felt more intense than the Joker's second half.

FoF seems much more intense to me than Jokers Jinx at SFA. Yes, the launch is slightly faster, but after the MCBR, FoF still seemed much more intense. How can this be? It's nearly stopped at the brakes.

How about Time Machine from Freestyle Music Park? Currently it's just collecting dust, and they could get it for much less than a new coaster. I know it's not the best, but it would probably be the second or third best coaster at SFA. Just tossin out ideas.

In my experience, there really is no need for an MCBR due to dispatch intervals being too long for it to be necessary. The next train can drop off the lift once the preceding train clears a block, which in most cases is already at the final brakes.

Great Adventure added about 25 attractions back in '99, but it was mostly a failure and they have been slowly removed since then. In recent years, however, Six Flags has been investing in the flat and family ride lineup at the park, particularly in 2012 and 2013 with SORA. As for Old Country and the Great Lake Grandstand, there are rumors that revitalizing Old Country is in the works for the near future, possibly as soon as next year. For a company that has historically been financially unstable, they have been improving in recent years and I think we should we should cut them some slack for now. They've made some great strides. Haven't heard anything about removing the Grandstands, but it's not cheap to put on shows year in and year out in every theater, so I wouldn't bet on that being utilized or removed immediately, but we'll see. Lines come with being one of the better amusement parks on the east coast, but I agree, some more flat rides could help. Edit: spelling

During the point in the day where Banshee's line was 4+ hours, we took two rides on it within 15-20 minutes. Aside from that we rode EVERY other coaster that offered FastLane and didn't wait more than 1 or 2 trains with the exception of Flight of Fear because it broke down. But once it came back up, I was the first train out. If you're not a local, and you only have one day at the park, it's WELL worth it! Really, it depends on the circumstance. I'm not sure I'd recommend Fast Lane to someone who lives 10 minutes away from the park and knows when to go to find the queues empty, but for me, who flew in from out of state, I couldn't imagine NOT getting Fast Lane. I got Fast Lane at Cedar Point last summer as it was the only time I might ever go, but I had to wait quite a bit more than this. Have you used Fast Lane at Cedar Point? It was still definitely worth it, but I waited upwards of 45 minutes to an hour with FL for some rides.

I tested the system out last year just to see how "good" and much "worth" there was. I was pleased to say that I got the fast lane (not plus) and rode every ride as many times as I wanted but my main focus was diamondback were I was Marathoning for a few hours and got 97 rides in that day! After that day I love the system and will use it again! 97 rides? Wow that's impressive! That's like 5 hours without getting off! Must have not too crowded to get that many rides with fast lane.

I got a $4.00 large at SFGadv, but it was first filled with ice over the edge, then about 6 ounces of lemonade.

^Have there been any rumors on where it'll go next year? Seems very likely 2014 is it's last year here.

http://www.ushsho.com/steelrollercoasterpollresults2013.htm Here ya go

So, most of us expected the lift to be constructed by the first if April. When should the metal portions of the lift be constructed? It's gotta be in the next 2 weeks, I assume.

I love Bizarro! Its such a great ride! But in a way, I'd like it to be at SFA. It'd add to the lineup, and it'd mean the ride would be closer to me! As a VA resident, this would mean I wouldn't have to travel as far to ride it. And I again don't see SFA adding a BRAND NEW coaster any time soon. Unlike most enthusiasts, I honestly don't care if its a relocation or not. I love it too, I rode it Monday in the morning before the crowds came and was the only rider on the train. SFA is also my home park, and even through I like SFGadv far better, they have enough B&M's. It would be more appreciated at SFA than it is now (same with Scream).

Bizarro is one of the least popular rides at SFGadv due to its location, but it seems unlikely to be removed anytime soon after losing RT. Scream would work just the same, but SF probably cares more about SFMM having 20 coasters than SFA benefitting from a decent B&M that is hated at SFMM and underutilized, which really is a shame. SFA certainly does deserve a new coaster, but I'm not sure SF is ready to invest multi millions of dollars in this park due to its popularity and reputation, which is why they relocate, which is much better than adding nothing. I'm just trying to come up with ideas.

An RMC would be great for the park (it would be for ANY park), but I see that happening at SFGadv before here. In the near future, I think relocating either Scream from SFMM or Bizarro from SFGadv would work perfectly. SFA needs a multi inversion coaster and only has one (horrid) B&M. Also, relocating would be much cheaper (which SFA is now known for) and would make the lineup even more diverse than it already is. The only issues I see are that SFMM likely won't give up anything until they reach 21 coasters, and SFGadv likely won't give up a coaster until they back to 13 after just demolishing RT. A couple years ago it was rumored that Bizarro would be relocated possibly to SFA, but it seems to have been dismissed. Thoughts?

And only 2 trains with only 24 per train.

Are we 100% sure KD is getting a new coaster next year? Carowinds is getting a B&M Giga that is probably around $30 million based off Leviathan, and CF seems to only get one big coaster per year recently .

I'd like a Skyscreamer, be good for the skyline and provide some nice views. This is just me dreaming, but do any of you see SF taking a gamble by really investing in SFA anytime soon, say 5-7 years? SFA is in dire need of a big thrill coaster, and S:ROS isn't it. It's almost 15 years old. Ragin Cajun is SFA's newest non kiddie coaster. It's 11 years old, which is pathetic to be the newest coaster there. When was the last time SF invested more than 5 million in this park, 2001? Again, just daydreaming. I understand where SF places there efforts, and that's SFMM, SFGam, and SFGadv.