Ride On_17
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Posts posted by Ride On_17
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Thanks! It was a great way to finish off the season. Hopefully the winter will go by fast for Steel Vengeance!
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Hey everyone!
As some of you may know, I currently run two blogs: Thrills Await is focused on amusement parks such as trip reports and photography, and Urbanetics is more related to my academic interests (urban planning, architecture, aesthetics, etc). My most recent Urbanetics blog post actually incorporates the best of both worlds, looking at the planning and design that goes into creating our beloved amusement parks.
I figured I'd share it here, since I figured many of you might find it interesting. I talk about several urban planning and design concepts such as placemaking (essentially creating a sense of place, beauty, and welcoming in public spaces) and how they apply to amusement park planning and design. Hopefully it gives insight into both the urban planning and themed entertainment industries and how they are interconnected and that you enjoy it!
I figured it could also be fun to start a conversation, so feel free to share any relevant insight or opinions. This could be anything from your favorite midways, plazas, or design elements of your favorite amusement parks, as well as your own personal reasons why you like some areas better than others. Or if you have any fun memorizes associated with a specific location in a park, feel free to share that as well!
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^Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I was equally surprised by how Dragster's track bends/morphs so much and isn't perfectly straight. Still thinking about my rollback!
You lucky duck, a Dragster rollback!! I read your blog post and the 1st picture of Gatekeeper keyholing with the pumpkins is beautiful. Thrilled for you that you were able to end the 2017 season on Millennium Force. I remember my mom and I talking with you guys in line at Coastermania when MF broke down at like 10:30PM and we had to help push the transfer track over while maintenance worked and worked to get it back up for just a couple more trains. Your mom said you always end your visits with a ride on MF so it's definitely fitting that you were on the last public train of the season!
That's right, you two were so friendly and made waiting for it so much better! It was such a great way to end the season, there's nothing else quite like night rides on Millennium, especially when it's the last train of the night...and the entire season! Hopefully you've enjoyed the rest of your coaster-riding season too!
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I had a blast at CP's closing day! To make it even better, I had my first ever Dragster rollback, which was insane and super exciting, plus I was able to get on the last train of the season on Millennium. Kudos to Cedar Point and all its staff for yet another amazing year!
I wrote up a full report and added some pictures, so be sure to check it out here!
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This monster of a coaster truly looks insane in person...On Friday I was able to spend some time checking it out and getting some pictures. I added a bunch to the gallery and trip report here. This will be such a long winter waiting to finally ride it...
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New trip report from my trip to the park last Sunday! The park was really busy but took advantage of Dollar Days and had some great riding. Check it out here!
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A few weeks ago I was able to visit KI for the second time this year and just got around to writing my trip report and uploading pictures. I had an amazing day filled with tons of great riding, including some epic night rides on Mystic Timbers and the Beast. Check it out! http://thrillsawait.weebly.com/trip-reports/night-rides-or-bust-kings-island-8-11
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The new Halloweekends Haunt website is live!
https://www.cedarpoint.com/halloweekends/haunt/
Eternity Infirmary, Eden Musee, and Fear-y Tales are going away while Deprivation: No Way Out, Fearyground Freakshow, and Harvest Fear will all be new. Another exciting addition is the return of Midnight Syndicate, which I'm thrilled about.
Something that has me scratching my head is that Harvest Fear is said to go in Frontier Town...but with Cut Throat Cove and Tombstone Terror-tory, I don't know where another scare zone could be placed. Plus CornStalkers and Screamworks already take up Frontier Trail soooo I have no clue where this new one's supposed to go.
It looks like it will be a great Haunt season filled with several exciting new attractions!
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On Friday I was at the park and got to check out Mean Streak 2.0 progress, it's really coming along! It's been almost a month since I was last at the park and the lift hill is looking amazing. I can't wait to see it completed, it will stand out so much in the back of the park and look incredible from the midway. There's also ledgers being constructed for the 3rd and final lap of the ride layout. They're pretty low to the ground where the former queue entrance was so I'll be curious to find out where the new entrance will be, hopefully it still involves going underneath the structure like before.
August 16th (and the 2018 season) can't get here soon enough! I wrote up a full trip report with pictures from my trip, but here are a few Mean Streak pics.
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Thank you! Ahh well that would explain it. It definitely was pretty crazy, but I still had fun. Dorney really is a nice park!
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I took my second trip to Dorney Park last week and wrote up a trip report about it! While some of my experience there was a little crazy and unusual when compared with my first visit, I still had a blast. Dorney really does have a nice selection of rides and is a great park. It was a fun way to spend a couple hours.
http://thrillsawait.weebly.com/trip-reports/crowds-craziness-and-coasters-dorney-park-715
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I know it's been over a week since CoasterMania, but I've been out of town and just uploaded my pics and wrote up a trip report. It was an amazing day, and after 28 rides, 17.6 miles of walking (seriously), and lots of awesome RMC Mean Streak views, yet another great CM was in the books.
Check out http://thrillsawait.weebly.com/ to see my full trip report and gallery, but here are just a few Mean Streak highlights for now.
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I finally was able to get to Carowinds for the first time and ride Fury! I had a great time at the park and wrote up a detailed trip report about my experience and added some pictures I took too. It's such an incredible coaster and I really enjoyed the park overall. Check out the report on my blog here! http://thrillsawait.weebly.com/trip-reports/finally-fury-and-my-100th-coaster-carowinds-518-519
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Some more pictures of the Project 2017 site...
Notice how there are perfectly cleared areas cutting through the woods. In fact, they look like the right width for a coaster to be able to go through. Very interesting.
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Pictures really don't do Valravn justice. It truly is massive and is way bigger when seeing it in person rather than in images. It's certainly an impressive visual addition to the park and will be just as fun to watch from the midways as it will be to ride.
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Unless you want to experience the Ejector Seat (Car 1, Row 3) which is somehow my personal favorite...
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Excellent concept! If the real thing ends up being close to your design, I think it will easily be the best dive coaster out there. That looks like so much fun!
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I know it's over a month late, but better late then never! On Sunday, May 10th, I went to Cedar Point for a post prom celebration. Check out the full report and pictures!
https://handsuprideon.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/post-prom-paradise-get-to-the-point-51015/
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I decided to create one thread where I can post any reports and pictures I may have, since I usually end up writing a lot of trip reports in a given year. This way they will all be contained in one spot. Plus since I'm starting to write most of mine on a separate blog, this will be a good way to give out the link for each new one instead of bogging down the forums with tons of new threads that only contain a link and a few sentences. I hope you all enjoy following along with my amusement park adventures!
I plan on using this thread each year from here on out. I'll go ahead and give out the link to my first trip report of the year again to be sure all of my reports starting this year and into the future end up here. Here's my photo trip report of my first amusement park trip of the season to Cedar Point for Passholder Preview Night!
https://handsuprideon.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/rougalicious-preview-night/
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The off-season is finally over!
This year I decided to create a blog specifically for my trip reports, so check out my first one of the year about Cedar Point's Passholder Preview Night and my thoughts on Rougarou!
https://handsuprideon.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/rougalicious-preview-night/
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Also an awesome new sign greeting people as they pull up toward the renovated Hotel Breakers! Love how vintage it is!
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Yeah, it would be a little crazy. If that were to be the case, I'd have to go with saving the RCM Mean Streak for another year and instead pushing back the Kiddie Kingdom and Millennium playground for that year instead.
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Just for fun speculation and enjoyment, I created a new 5 year plan I would implement if I was the CEO. All of these major additions so close together might not be the most realistic, but I tried to balance them out.
For 2016: Throughout this upcoming summer, we start seeing footers pop up in the former GTT area as well as signs of other development. Late summer, a few support pieces and track even start appearing and the park announces their big 2016 plans: The world's tallest and fastest Dive Coaster that pretty much follows suit with the Sandusky Register's apparent "leaked" memo. The park also announces that this new coaster will be a part of an entire new park expansion project also set to open for 2016. It would include a new midway that connects Blue Streak to Celebration Plaza, the Marina Entrance is moved to Calypso's former location, and a new food stand, retail building, and shaded seating area like near GK will be by the entrance plaza to the new coaster which will be along this new midway. In addition, the park announces that the old Pirate Ride Building will be demolished to make room for either a Vekoma Madhouse or a Mack Revolving House. These rides are unique and guests really enjoy them, so it would set Cedar Point apart from most other parks. This would also be a much needed dark ride, even though it's not necessarily a traditional one. In result with this change, Blue Streak's entrance will be more visually appealing and will have a better flow (signage will be better and guests will know how to get to the entrance).
For 2017: This year will focus on kids and families. Kiddie Kingdom will get an entire refresh and a new name. Most if not all of the existing rides will be removed to make way for several new kids and family rides that are more modern and thrilling. The star of this new area will be a B&M family inverted coaster. The park also surprises people by announcing a themed playground in the concrete pad between Millennium's queue and final overbank. Currently it is wasted space, and there is also nothing really for kids to do if they are waiting with another adult for family members to ride Millennium and/or Rougarou. This immersive area will be the perfect solution, since playgrounds can entertain kids for a long time, and the adults supervising them will be thankful for the kids to have something to do instead of just sitting around. Lastly, the park announces a refresh of the front of the park. Point Pavilion will be demolished since the new Lakeside Pavilions have basically made PP redundant. The park announces that a new interactive dark ride will be located in its place. It will also include Garner Holt animatronics that Matt Ouimet recently referred to in future dark ride installations. A new dining/food complex similar to Harmony Hall at Carowinds will replace the existing picnic shelters. People would still be allowed to picnic inside, but it would offer an air-conditioned, indoor facility to eat and relax as well as purchase food if so desired. This will also lead to the removal of Hurricane Hanna's and this entire front corner of the park would be opened up and beautified. No longer will it feel closed in and outdated. This year is all about kids and families, and several areas of the park are improved and better utilized.
For 2018: For this year's announcement (halfway between the major 2016 expansion and the big 150th anniversary in 2020), the park says that Mean Streak will get a Rocky Mountain Construction revamp along with a refreshed entrance plaza. This will please thrill seekers and (like the Mantis-Rougarou transformation) will convert a ride with relatively low ridership and guest satisfaction into a crowd pleaser that would be one of the best coasters in the world.
For 2019: During the 2018 season, a new dorm is constructed off the peninsula which leads to speculation that involves the demise of Cedars Dorms. In the late summer, it is officially released that Cedars will be removed during the upcoming off season and Perimeter Road will be rerouted slightly to go around this area. It is also announced that Challenge Park will be closing and that RipCord and SkyScraper will be moving to Cedars’ old location while Challenge Golf and Challenge Racing will be removed completely. RipCord and SkyScraper will become a part of the park instead of being separate like in Challenge Park. A Wild Mouse coaster will also fit in this space, a ride that will appeal to all ages and is relatively cheap for the park to install to go along with these other changes.
For 2020: During the summer of 2019, the park starts hyping for its 150th anniversary and many clues and teasers are released. There is major speculation but nothing definitive can be figured out except for the location. For the past year, the former location of Challenge Park has been vacant, but noticeable construction has been going on all season. Finally, just before Labor Day, the park has a huge announcement. The former Challenge Park area will be home to 2 separate projects for 2020. First, Soak City will be expanded in the area formerly occupied by RipCord and Challenge racing. A "toilet bowl" slide and a Snake Pit slide complex would both be added here. The second half of the announcement, the main part of it, is a brand new, massive roller coaster. I'm not really sure I want to put a type or list any stats about it, but it would be like what Magnum and Millennium were for the park at those times. Something new, innovative, and perfect for the Roller Coaster Capital of the World's 150th anniversary. The new section of the park as well as where the coaster's entrance plaza and station would be is where Challenge Golfing was located. The lift hill would cross over Magnum's and go back behind Gemini. From there the layout could have several options, but keep in mind this coaster would likely go over the Soak City parking lot and possibly over Soak City itself. Especially if this is a hyper/giga-esque coaster, it could travel over a large area with only minimally invasive supports if designed creatively. A turnaround could even be done back by Camper Village, a little before reaching Sandcastle Suites. The park would emphasize multi-day stays on its hotels and resorts for its milestone 150th season, hence both the Soak City expansion and ground breaking roller coaster. This would likely attract more overnight visitors, since this would allow them to spend a whole day at Soak City, plus at least another whole day in the actual park. With the coaster as the star attraction, the park will have a very successful and memorable anniversary year.
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^Completely agreed. If you know where to go, CP's food is miles better than Great Adventure's.
I could have Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries alone and would be happy...But Johnny Rockets is delicious and has good quality food. Tofts has ice cream that's to die for. All the other big name brands are also great.
Plus the handcut fries, cheese on a stick, taffy...even food I've had at other places in the park is better that what I've had at other parks.
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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Just finished up my photo trip report from Winter Chill Out. Feel free to check it out here to hear all about my experience experience and see some cool behind-the-scenes pictures!