Nozzy

My longest was still just half of yours- 13 years from watching Evolution test at Great Adventure to finally riding it as Excalibur at Six Flags St. Louis!

I would definately recommend doing Knoebel's, even if it wasn't so close to your relatives. It's so different from everything else, Phoenix, the Flyers and Skooters are all not to be missed and as you're concerned about price it is the cheapest- no parking fee and you can just pay per ride! The tricky part is that they don't open rides until noon (I think) so you might be better off starting at one of the other two and then doing Knoebel's at night. As for Dorney vs. Hershey, both are very nice parks. Skyrush seems to be the highlight of the summer so that's probably a big pro for Hershey. At Dorney, Talon is my favorite, but Possessed is a lot of fun as well. Hydra and Steel Force are pretty good too. There's never any lines so you don't need to worry about that- I went July 3rd last year and the park was ready to be bombarded (first time in years I'd seen 3 trains on Steel Force) but it was a normal empty day. You don't need any sort of plan other than "do everything before the waterpark closes" as the crowds then descend on the theme park. In my opinion Hershey's best is Storm Runner (I'll get to try Skyrush on Friday) with Wildcat and Superduperlooper being very fun as well. Fahrenheit is nice but does often get long lines, and there's the free chocolate tour outside the park. General plan I see is get there in the morning, start with Fahrenheit and do everything else before Skyrush, whose line dies down in the afternoon. For Knoebel's, it could be very crowded with the holiday, but lines tend to move well. The rides you don't want to miss are Phoenix, Skooters, Flyers and Carousel (get an outside horse!). You'd probably also want to ride Twister and Black Diamond. The Haunted House is famed and the Looper is a favorite of mine. For something different try the tiny train near the Skloosh. I usually eat at the International Food Court near Black Diamond. Hope it goes well, feel free to ask for any other advice!

^^It was great being at KD with all of you! I've never had a day like it (I'd normally feel weird riding Anaconda 8 times within an hour!) but I really enjoyed myself and felt great about doing it as it was for the kids. I don't think I've ever been thanked so much for riding coasters as I was yesterday! I think seeing the contents of Chuck's gift bag and having each item explained by the GKTW staff was a highlight of the day- it really showed just why we were there and was a great way to end the visit.

There was a preview for this on Nintendo Video on 3DS systems, but it came out awhile ago and I don't remember any release date... just a lot of random footage from Sheikra and I think some interview snippets. While I was excited when it appeared, after watching the preview I wasn't very interested anymore.

I haven't heard anything from KD either and there's no registration info on the site, but it says the welcome is at 11AM so I figure I'm going to try to get there at opening and go to GR and ask them. Can't wait to meet everyone tomorrow!

^Glad to hear you had such a good time, the resorts are really nice and sounds like Shambhala is a blast. Unfortunately I can't quite tell you that you're wrong about Baco. My first ride in a front row outside seat was one of the best coaster rides of my life, but each time I rode it after that (something around 5, I' do stupid things when there are no lines) just rattled me more and more. By my last ride I was just praying for the end like you. I think that there is some variability with weather (or perhaps the mechanical problem you mentioned) but overall yes- it is very vibrate-y.

Go for it guys! We'll be rooting for you!

Have you used Q-bots recently? You haven't been able to "miss" a ride for awhile now so keeping track of time isn't really an issue anymore. Instant access is nice, I still like the control Q-bots give parks and how it lets me know when rides break or reopen. I feel like they have enough coasters on in each park too- does Flight Deck, Anaconda, or Grizzly ever even have a line? It's on the ones that matter, and I know if I were ever to get one I'd much prefer the Eagle Flyers over any other coasters KD could offer! I was there a few Saturdays ago (Mothers Day weekend) and there were 2 trains, no line. Excited to get back for Coasting for Kids next weekend!

I had a trip out to St. Louis to help a friend last Friday and got to stop at Holiday World to break up the drive. Mammoth is indeed huge. We were on the first raft of the day (after some late testing, the first raft couldn't quite make it through). It was a ton of fun, and does get you very wet, much more so than Wildebeest. I was expecting a bit more spinning but perhaps having differently balanced rafts will make some spin more. The ride is also very long, and well worth a wait. The queue already seems set up so that there is a separate line for the 8-person rafts vs 6-person (as well as a single rider line). With all the commotion at Mammoth there was no one at all at Wildebeest, so we got quite a few rides in there too, and it still packs a punch. Sparkler was fun, but not too exciting compared to the bigger models at other parks, but its nice that there was a replacement for Paul Revere. On the other hand, Liberty Launch continues to be my favorite S&S Tower for being so tiny. Finally, Voyage seemed much more smooth than my May visit 2 years ago. That being said, it still can't be marathoned like El Toro and probably will still be too rough for some people's tastes, but I was just as amazed with it this visit as I was on my first. I probably had about 10 rides over the day, which was probably 2 or 3 more than I should have. Glad I got the PTCs one last time, but looking forward to Timberliners next year (hopefully). All 3 woodies are still great rides, everyone should get out to Holiday World!

Had a great day at the park yesterday, got rides on pretty much everything. Dominator and Backlot Stunt Coaster both had all 3 trains going (first time I've ever seen that on Backlot) and while there were lines they were manageable (never waited over 20-30 minutes for anything). Volcano had all rows open as well, not sure if it had still been at 12 seats last week. While I was a bit fearful after my day at Carowinds, Fastlane at King's Dominion was implemented extremely well. All ride stations that use it now have groupers to keep crowds down, which was a much welcome addition for me at Avalanche, though the groupers could do a bit better job-Avalanche's line was out of the queue (not hard to do, esp. without the station being full) but they kept having empty cars since the grouper gave no guidance and never seemed to look at the corrals. Still, the operators made sure to try to fill the empty cars, and operations in general were great. All the coasters were running great, and I finally got to experience a Windseeker. If I had to sum it up in a word it would be relaxing, but I think I prefer to watch it over riding it. Overall, can't wait to get back, especially for Coasting for Kids!

I'd really recommend seeing the Dolphin show, Blue Horizons. It was by far my favorite show when I just went. The sea lion show is pretty cool too. I don't know anything about what crowds would be like, but you've got the order of things pretty well planned out. From my trip at the start of March the park could be crowded, but crowds centered around shows with pretty short lines for all the rides.

Awesome, can't wait to see the new station happen. I have a ton of friends who prefer Volcano over Intimidator but I hate the lines for it, hopefully this can do something to improve it, and I definitely agree with Chuck- I can't think of a dustier station (and queue).

Are you saying the sudden drop itself at the top is weak? That's just gravity, not sure if you're used to TurboDrops or something. It's definitely among the top drop rides I've been on.

Wow those are different looking, but very cool. My first thought when seeing them was "mini-van"

I spent fall break doing German parks, and was able to get around fine without a car, though as people are suggesting you might be able to do a lot more with one. Just use the Deutsche Bahn website for public transport- it will give you information on trains (and you can buy advance tickets at pretty good prices, I paid 20 euros each for 4 legs) and which buses to take. I flew into Stuttgart, went to Europa Park for 2 days, then had a short day at Holiday Park (and a long day of traveling to and from it) and finished at Phantasialand, flying out of Frankfurt. Holiday Park was the most out of the way, but there is a bus from the nearest train station. I'd definitely recommend 2 days at Europa park. and if you can afford it stay in the park hotels. Otherwise, just make sure to check them out at night- I stayed in a guesthouse in Rust, but walked over to the hotels every night just to check out the fountain show, restaurants, environments and loved even just getting to see them. Phantasialand had amazing looking hotels as well- I stayed in the Hotel Ling Bao, and it was great. Additionally, I found Phantasialand to b a bit away from the town, so being onsite helped for getting there in the morning, though there wasn't anywhere nearby for me to eat except the fancy (expensive) hotel restaurants.

Awesome trip report! That place looks like it would be amazing to walk around in, though those walk-throughs do sound creepy!

^In the past it may have been up to the ops, but think about it- the crowd person limiting the number of people into the station is also probably the person who would check Fastlane wristbands (assuming a pre-station merge point). It might be fine for stations to get flooded, but there's no way that there won't be anyone checking wristbands, and so that position being temporarily empty to allow for rotations can't happen then (sorry if I misunderstand what you're saying about rotation). In order to keep Fastlane users happy it would make sense not to flood stations. Station waits generally aren't a big deal, but if the platform is huge and lacks sizable corrals (a la Dragster) it can be rather annoying, especially for groups trying to ride together, and Fastlane users don't deserve a 30 minute station wait.

I'm looking at getting out here sometime in the next month. Can anyone who got to opening weekend tell me exactly how Fastlane works at KD- particularly, are there merge points for any rides or are they boarded not from air gates (I can't even fathom a way for that to happen on Volcano (not that I usually wait for it anyway), but am hopeful for Intimidator). Thanks!

Behold the Carowinds Windseeker!

Unfortunately, this is what a ride op suggested to me at Carowinds today at Vortex, that as long as there are Fastlane guests waiting they will board first, regardless of anyone waiting in line. For us, that meant we were "next" 3 times before actually getting to ride. At other rides later in the day they were at least running it 1 Fastlane train, 1 normal train. Still, it's not equal. Fastlane get their pick of seats on Intimidator and Carolina Cobra as they are let in first. Everyone else is assigned what's left in the middle. Lines ARE longer since by the time FL guests board a train from the entrance in the front of the station the second train has already stacked. Then we get the air gates opening for the 1 remaining row to be filled. Beyond that, they are not spread out throughout the ride- they have choice of seats- in other words, the line you see for the front is half of what you'll wait. I don't mind these systems when there is control, but what I saw today was sorely lacking. It is the utmost stupidity to build staircases to load platforms and then hold up boarding anyway. There is no limit on riding, and users can get on every other train. After seeing the majority of rows fill with FL regularly, it's hard to believe there's a limit on the number sold. I hope that Cedar Point does a better job of implementing it, cause what I saw today was horrible for operations...

Just got back from a day at Carowinds... the fact that I'm back this early (with a 3 hour drive each way) should indicate how I felt about the day. It was pretty crowded- I wasn't expecting Easter weekend to have lots of people going to parks, but they were out in droves. I absolutely abhor the implementation of Fastlane. On every ride, there is a separate entrance that leads to the load platform. The Fastlane riders then take their choice of seat before the air gates open. There is no limit- waiting for Vortex front row we had our seats taken twice in a row, and the op said that as long as they keep coming they have their choice (and so, the line for the front may never actually move). Other rides at least seemed to be running Fastlane on just one train, but still with the operational hindrance of a train load all people all entering from the very front of the station, so the air gates might not be opening until trains are already stacked. I must give credit to Afterburn's crew who still managed to move their line pretty well. On the other hand, Intimidator's crew, one of the 2 rides where FL do use the gates, was just horrible with stacking. They also could not seem to get people in the station quickly enough, and with the loss of the single rider line trains could have 4-5 empty seats (some empty rows, despite the 90 minute line). I realize it was a crowded day, but it still sucked to have operations so shoddy. I felt like too many people had Fastlane, and that they either need to limit it better or raise the price. Some users were also pretty jerkish about it, and seemed to take pleasure rubbing it in to guests in line that they just cut it. That's not the park's fault, but it certainly doesn't make my day any better....

It looks like everyone's throwing Trailblazer out, but I think that's definitely included- if you go over to the FAQ's there is now a question about Fast Track where it notes that children 42" to 47" may purchase a Fasttrack for $20. I'd guess that means that all four of the 42" rides (Comet, Roller Soaker, Trailblazer, superdooperlooper) will be included, or else the $20 pass won't be good for too much. Lightning Racer certainly doesn't need a queue skipping system, but that won't stop them from implementing one. It'll be interesting to see which are excluded, and I hope (but don't expect) the rides have merge points- while I despised all queue reducing systems for years, I'm more accepting now but I still can't stand the hold up from when riders board from the exit (I also prefer Q-bots over other systems, but whatever). Is one of SkyRush's stairs confirmed to be for the front row or is that just guessing? An entire staircase for it seems a bit intense to me (I have no clue what the layout of the station is)

Well if we're going past 50, I guess I'll add some more: put in reviews for Sesame Place and Busch Gardens Williamsburg to total 12. Thanks again for this great offer Larry!

The two Freezes were made after the Chiller, so there was slightly more time to work out the kinks with the LIM systems. Plus I'm sure it didn't help that for a little while they tried to launch both Chiller tracks at once. While this is true, they dumped so much money into the ride trying to make it reliable...wouldn't they have updated the technology to that similar of the Mr. Freeze rides, if those actually ran well? I'm still in the dark on why the final decision was made to cut it all-together. From Great Adventure History: Neither Freeze had such incidents (as far as I know anyway) that closed them entire seasons. Think about it- they had a season ending accident, made new track to fix it, and it failed. Why spend more money to try to get it up again if that might not even work, especially when Kingda Ka had been having plenty of its own issues that needed constant attention? It was a great ride and it's a shame it had to be removed, and I don't think the park wanted to- it had a Flashpass Entrance built that I don't believe was ever even used! Unfortunately, it was just too much to keep fixing.

You're schedule looks good to me, though you might be able to get out of AK even sooner depending on how much you want to do. From what I remember cars were the way to go- there aren't any monorails that connect parks beyond Magic Kingdom and EPCOT anyway. Fastpasses are only for the ride you are at, no central place, sorry. I'll defer to others who are more regular for the other questions. Hope you have fun!