OrlandoGuy

^From the look of that picture, it even looks like some of the drops twist away from the tower (but are steep enough that they dont stray too far from the actual structure), thus changing the direction of the action and differentiating from a basic clockwise or counterclockwise spiral downward.

Ok, just off the top of my head I can think of something they could do (no, my guess does not come with a physica degree to you wiseguys out there). You do a twisting drop down the side of the tower and then go upward, also twisting, up the side. The track flips upside down and does a half loop...boom, you are now turning the opposite way around the tower (by changing directions via the half loop). Climb up another twist and do a helix around the tower, then maybe a trim brake. Another spiraling drop and climb up a half loop, flip right-side-up, and then boom, youve got a different direction going. Theres plenty you can do to 1.) make directional changes possible 2.) Vary the speed so trims arent needed every two seconds 3.) Make it anything but a boring "toboggan ride" Alan Schilke is designing this, no? For a board that (rightfully) praises everything that guy does, we seem pretty pessimisitc over one of his future projects.

How many other directional changes are there apart from clockwise and counterclockwise....? As to your point about trim brakes... youre using examples that dont apply. A wild mouse features trims throughout its course but because of its stature maintains the quickness of its elements. Look at a roller coaster like Space Mountain...maintains a slow speed, features a trim brake/block section every few hundred feet of track, yet because of the tightness of its elements keeps up its pace relatively well. I really dont see why the "bag of tricks" is so limited. Sure, there wont be any straughtaway sections, but the configuration allows for plenty of elements found on smaller, zippier coasters.

I have a feeling people are going to be pleasantly surprised when the actual layout is announced! I agree. I don't see how people can judge a ride when they haven't even seen what the layout will be I and others are skeptical because the very concept of the ride is extremely limiting. There's a reason the world's best coasters aren't built in the shape of a perfect circle. Most of the time "turning" is considered an element onto itself, whether it's a low high-speed turn, overbanked turn, etc. Everything this ride does must be done while also turning. Turning around and around and around in circles, for 500 feet. The faster you go, the faster you're turning, meaning higher banking and more positive Gs. See the problem? You can't go very fast for very long, since the whole time you're going fast you'll be plastered into your seat getting sick. Trims everywhere. Somebody chime in if I'm wrong about any of this. Now I'm no engineer so maybe they'll find some way of making it a good ride despite all that. But I do think the skepticism is warranted. It will be very interesting to see the final layout. With correct usage of inversions, the coaster will be able to change directions so as not to be turning simply in one direction the whole time. Also, the width of the actual "pole" could be large enough to allow for some decent speed without insane forces or nausea. But the most important thing to look at here is that speed is completely relative. What ride is more fun to you, Millennium Force or Maverick? Maverick has a top speed around, what, 20 mph less than MF? But it still packs a punch. My point is speed doesnt dictate everything. If the elements are tight, the illusion of speed will be there no matter how many trims are needed, and the sensation will only be amplified by the fact that youre so high up in the air. I mean, to me, a wild mouse feels zippier than a B&M hyper...well the same concept applies here.

^yeah, everything I've heard is just a rumor. But Im positive Disney wouldnt have simply slapped some weak theming on lame rides. I mean how often does Disney do that when dealing with big IP's? If anything, JK Rowling may have expected more from Disney considering how big they are and then was maybe more impressed with Universal's willing to do more with what they had.

No, Disney wanted to (allegedly) make a ride utilizing Toy Stoy Mania technology with guests shooting spells out of wands rather than darts out of cannons. JK Rowling saw the space Disney had, and apparently was unhappy that they would not do more (rumors range everywhere from her wanting guests to take a boat to Hogwarts to wanting a whole HP theme park). Universal was much more willing to bend theme park conventions (make the stores tiny, implement unique technology), so she went with them. But Disney still was willing to do more than slap the Harry Potter name on lame rides. Rowling just wasnt happy with the interactive ride idea.

Universal couldnt add more rides because they didnt have enough room for rides that would do the theme justice. JK Rowling would never allow a basic spinner in Diagon Alley or let Universal go out of their way (rather than work around current rides like Hippogriff) to make it seem more like an amusement park and less like a 'wizarding world'. Universal didnt have enough room in Diagon for more rides that would tell the story and leave JK/WB happy. End of story.

In the store at the exit of The Terminator at Universal Studios Florida... "Where do you sell Frozen stuff?"

I was just gonna say, would it really have been that hard to find some guys in good shape to act as the gladiators? There have to be at least a few people in Illinois who go to the gym right?? Anyway, love the TR so far, thanks for the great pictures!

I obviously can't tell you what they are thinking, but it could be that other guests waiting in a line for an hour or two get upset when they see somebody riding 5 times back-to-back (even if that person riding 5 times back-to-back didn't make their line any longer). Even if it seems dumb to you, the park has to balance the enjoyment and fairness to all guests. On a related note, it could be that they have a vested interest in not making it easy to keep riding, because they want you to buy a Flash Pass. They might not want to give anybody ideas. Really? Those people can go in single rider line if they want to. They choose to wait longer, sorry if someone who is taking advantage of a totally fair perk gets to go more often. This is a terrible excuse, if that's what Six Flags is thinking theyre even more poorly-run than I thought.

It does. It puts you into the room with the spiral staircase and single rider had their own staircase. Both the regular line and single rider merge right at the top so they can put uneven parties together. Sounds like a good setup. I assume there's a tour-only line like Forbidden Journey to just see the preshow? Nope, the only people who will see the queue are people lining up to ride the ride. No Hogwarts-esque tour line this time.

If a new coaster is coming for 2015 it will not be a redux of Mean Streak. Unless they demolish it now, they wouldnt be done by next season considering how huge Mean Streak is, and if they did have plans to redo Mean Streak, they would have announced its closure by now a la Colossus. I see this being a flat ride of some sort, considering that: 1. Gatekeeper just opened last season and still has a bit of new ride buzz with the GP 2. The Hotel Breakers renovation is a major project in and of itself spanning this entire season 3. Theres little room for a new roller coaster, yet no rumblings of any ride closures or removals This is just speculation on my part, though, and I would love to be proven wrong. If any park is going to surprise us, its Cedar Point.

I feel like the park should have checked up on this before building the ride...this is a pretty terrible capacity killer.

Land has recently been cleared between the Jurassic Park River Adventure and Toon Lagoon area, the T-rex photo OP that was there has been moved closer to the Discovery center. Rumors that I have heard include a Jurassic Park coaster/dark ride and a new King Kong ride. By the location I would assume Jurassic Park something. The Disaster ride in the studios park is also rumored to be the next thing to go so that could possibly be the King Kong location. The amount of money NBC is putting into these parks is pretty impressive. Kong has been pretty widely-accepted as a rumor for that plot thus far. Also, Comcast is responsible for all this spending, not NBC

The way you get around that is you have the entire group enter the line and take a ticket. Then some of the group leaves the line to go eat/use the bathroom/ride something else/whatever. Then they finish, re-enter the line (maybe even taking new numbers to avoid arousing suspicion), and re-join their original group near the front of the line. They have the valid ticket numbers in order, so there's no reason to think they're doing anything fishy. Watched that happen at X2 at SFMM. And if your 'aha' moment is to have the ticket checker be before the station, that won't stop people from line-jumping *after* the tickets are taken. I witnessed that happen firsthand with YOLOcoaster at SFMM. There really isn't a great solution. Too many people think it's okay or don't care enough to do anything about it. I dont see whats wrong with the situation you gave here. The party all entered the line at the same time. If one or two of them have to leave and then come back, they arent adding any time to your wait. Everyone in line is right back where they started. Line jumping, at least in my opinion, is only a problem when time is added to your wait, as in more people end up in front of you than what started. That would be when two people enter a line while the rest of their party is off doing something else, and then said remainder of the party joins those two. But if the whole party is in front of you from the start, what difference does it make if they leave and come back, so long as its for the bathroom or something thats not riding other rides?

I know Ive heard that Indiana Jones at Disneyland has a half-mile-long queue, and I dont think that includes the extended queue. Dueling Dragons also had a very lengthy queue, as has been said.

Saw this thread pop up and skimmed through it and wow...Im also very surprised that more people dont like theme parks more than amusement parks. I like amusement parks, but I think theme parks are so much better. For one thing, simple stuff like queues and restaurants are always more pleasant at a theme park...theres nothing I hate more than ugly switchbacks in the middle of a concrete slab, and I dont have to worry about that at Disneyland or Universal. Also, you get a full "experience" at a theme park, whereas an amusement park is about rides and nothing else. I mean, who hasnt sat through history class thinking "the wild west seemed so awesome"...at Disneyland, I can go to Frontierland and get a taste of what thats like (almost like a living museum). However, nothing has ever possessed me to say "wow, I really wish I could go to a big slab of concrete in the middle of nowhere...omg look Six Flags!". Part of the fun of theme parks is seeing things you wouldnt normally get to see, and possibly even learning a little bit. Sure, it takes some imagination to fully appreciate, but once you "get it", you can really get immersed in a park's environment. Also, theme parks (well, Universal and Disney mostly) are going to be where the latest and greatest technology is. Would I rather go to Six Flags Great America this year to ride another (short) roller coaster this year? Or would I rather see Gringott's, which is being touted as the most technologically-advanced ride in the world, and see/experience something Ive never done before and what I may have even thought was impossible in the past? Obviously Ill choose Gringotts, and Im not even a Harry Potter fan. Rides like that, plus Spiderman, Indiana Jones, Test Track, etc are all showcases of exclusive technology giving experiences you cant find anywhere else...what's unique at amusement parks? Theme park rides are cutting edge ways to tell stories, amusement park rides are different combinations of melded steel. You guys saying theme parks is just about looking at scenery are missing the point. The main draw to theme parks is still rides...theres just more to it than that. Theme parks are about an experience where youre immersed into a story (and isnt that something all people enjoy, considering how popular movies are?). The thrills dont come from speed and heights, they come from being transported to a different place and experiencing something one-of-a-kind. You can resonate with the ideas and stories in a theme park; while you may ride Full Throttle and think "that was fun", you ride a ride like Radiator Springs Racers and identify with the characters and the storyline, and cant help but smile.

this page alone is already a testament to how fickle Diamondback seems to be as a ride

Diamondback is by far the most interesting ride that I havent ridden (at least to me). Half of the reviews I see for it say its smooth and has good airtime, then the other half say rattly and boring. Also, every other page on this thread seems to have a differing report on its efficiency (it seems like the ops are either flying or letting all trains stack). I wonder why the ride seems so indecisive lol, Ive never seen such consistently differing views on one roller coaster.

The date we're going has now shifted to July 8th, and we are only going to IOA, hoping that most of the crowd will be in USO trying to experience the new thing, with some Hogwarts express passengers in Hogsmeade, leaving the rest of the park nearly dead. Now, granted, it is a day in a major theme park in July, WITH the opening of an entirely new thing. So now I am asking a new question. What were the crowds in USO around the time of the opening of Hogsmeade? I think both of the openings have about the same audiences (obviously), so I'm wondering if anyone bothered to go to USO in the previous Harry potter opening, and if it'll work almost vice versa. (Yes, I am taking into account there is a link between the two parks now) USO was not that bad when the first Wizarding World was open...it was actually less busy than normal days if I remember correctly. Not sure if IOA will be the same way this year though, considering the train and their existing HP section

Is Ecstacy (or is it spelled Extacy?) still open/did you ride it?? Seriously one messed-up ride! Nice photos by the way

It does not

^largest collection of mediocre rides..? I get that we all have our preferences but you have to admit that by design Cedar Point has some fantastic rides. Even then you cant deny their impact on the industry, with their several "world's firsts". Bringing that back to the topic at hand, I think the whole "a park needa x amount of wood coasters" to be kind of silly, because the woodies built nowadays are made to be like steel coasters. Theyre made to have inversions, be silky smooth, etc. Yes, classic woodies are a great experience but Cedar Point cant go back in time and retain their oldies. I dont see what the difference between an RMC like Outlaw Run (wood) or NTAG (steel) really is in terms of actual ride experience. As long as the wood aesthetic is still there the park will appear balanced. But I wont think of Cedar Point as being a lesser park because they replaced a mediocre wooden roller coaster with a fantastic hybrid.

Not really intense, but Disco H20 is "amazing" in my opinion. The recordings in the queue line are entertaining, the disco soundtrack is pretty great, and its got the best visual/light display in a slide that Ive ever seen...I love that thing.

I wouldnt say Canadas Wonderland is Cedar Fair's test park by any means (especially considering it was owned by Paramount up until a few years ago). Sure, they were the first with a dark ride, but thats pretty much it. They tested out the first Giga there! You could argue that wasn't a "test" but it sure was the first out there, and now it appears more of them are gonna go around in the chain... Millennium Force and I305 would like to have a word with you.....