El Toro_Ryan

Idk if LSMs are capable yet of the speed Dragster requires. I've heard the speed on Red Force is the current max LSMs can yield out. Plus they accelerate much more slowly and require longer launch tracks.

Surprisingly, the catch car does not have wheels. From what I have heard, a catch car brake fin at the end of the launch track was misaligned which caused the catch car to collide with it and cause further damage. Several track ties need to be welded, I'm sure dozens of catch car brake fins need to be replaced, and if I had to guess, there was damage done to the catch car. Apparently CP maintenance aims to have the ride open again this weekend but we'll have to see about that one. This is what the bottom of the catch car looks like, you can see there are two slits for the catch car brakes to pass through.

Anytime man!! Great trip report! Lol I've also heard these rumors and may have seen a thing or two

I know GADV and SFOT are both getting the "permanent" version of the ride. Im guessing that means the tubular supports. The previous versions at fairs are all the traveling version which I guess come with the square supports instead. And it's definitely not a copy, these are being made by ABC Rides.

And probably a great ride op as well!

^^Thanks guys!! NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDDDD!! Glad you’re still a Millie STAN but I feel betrayed that you picked the blue side of Bemini I love the off ride video of maverick by the way, you can even tell how fast the crew is dispatching the trains from it! HAHAHA I'm a coaster enthusiast gone full fledged throughput addict! #ROLLTRAINS #1MILLIONRIDERS And sorry pal, I was feeling Cemini on Sunday!

*Random Disclaimer: I think this is my first trip report, I apologize if it’s too long.* I visited the park on Sunday, Sept. 3rd and man it was mobbed! But it was a great day overall! My girlfriend and I started the day off with a front row ride on Valravn shortly before 10 AM. It was my first time on the ride and while I'm not the biggest fan of the B&M vest restraints, it was definitely enjoyable! I prefer Valravn over Sheikra but I'm not sure whether it ranks above or below Griffon. Got to say hi to Josh too, always good seeing you man! Your crew was pumping out those trains! Next was a back row ride on Millennium. Millennium has been my favorite ride at the park since I first went to Cedar Point in 2010. Some people call if forceless but I'm an absolute STAN of the ride! The Millennium crew seemed a lot slower though than I have seen in the past, you can usually feel their urgency. After Millennium, I took a ride on Rougarou for the first time since the transformation. I’m probably in the minority here but I preferred Mantis over Rougarou. Maybe the ride was running poorly when I rode but the train was wobbling side to side almost the entire ride, something I don't personally remember happening much on Mantis. Next, we hit up my second favorite in the park, Maverick! This was my first time riding since the vest restraints were added and man, it was even better! No more neck chops! The ride also felt butter smooth too so it was great to see that the ride hasn’t really aged at all. The crew on Maverick was doing the best I've ever personally seen them do. They had each pair of trains ready to dispatch well in advance of the minimum interval to the point where they were waiting 20 seconds or more until they got dispatch lights. Next was a back seat ride on Magnum. Magnum is my 3rd favorite ride at the park and some days I even prefer it over Maverick. I love the airtime pops on the return run and the 3rd hill has some of the most sustained air I've ever gotten. After Magnum, we took a short walk over to Dragster. It was at this point that we noticed the lines were starting to pick up. Dragster's wait had to be an hour and a half but luckily, we boarded the ride on the exit platform and skipped the entire line! How? Don't worry about it lol, but it was interesting rolling into the load station from the unload station. I've always preferred Dragster to Ka and my ride on Sunday was no different. The airtime on the top hat is much better without the trim on the drop like Ka and we all know how much smoother it is. We attempted to take a ride on Raptor but found it closed and it would unfortunately remain closed for the majority of the day. They were cycling trains when we walked over to it but a train got stuck at the bottom of the lift and then all activity stopped. So we peaced and took a walk over towards Gatekeeper and Wicked Twister where I was shocked to find a full q-line for Wicked Twister! That's how you know the park is crowded. The long lines didn't really hinder the day too much. I still got a nice backseat ride on Wicked Twister. I've heard a few rumors of this ride being relocated (I don't think they are true) but I would be sad to see this ride leave the Point even if it went to California's Great America…. Or it would be hilarious if Cedar Fair relocated it to Dorney and put it right next to Possessed just because it’s Dorney. After this, I think we took a backseat ride on Valravn. I rode on the right edge and Josh told me it was the best seat on the ride prior to dispatch. I definitely agree! My girlfriend still preferred the front row but she’s just a GP. Lol I know we rode Blue Streak twice throughout the day. I forgot how much airtime that ride has on the outward run. You could really hear those upstops screaming to keep the train on the track. Next we re-rode Millennium in the 2nd row and then took a spin on the blue side of Gemini. Gemini is always a solid classic with some decent air! Me and my girlfriend were joking that ride is themed to a gang battle between the Bloods and Crips. We chose the blue side so you can guess what gang we jokingly joined for the ride. Also the trims were off on the helix and I say leave them off!! Next was Gatekeeper which is my favorite wingrider. Thunderbird was my favorite prior to this trip but I realized I prefer the added length on Gatekeeper. The crew was doing a good job here as well. They were short staffed but were still rolling trains when I was there. The Action Sports show was starting up just after our ride on Gatekeeper so we went and checked that out. The show was dope and pretty funny too. I’m a skateboarder so it would have been cool to see some skating during the show but it’s a little less consistent for the vert ramps they had at the arena so I can imagine why they did without it. Next we took a ride on Iron Dragon with VR. I thought it was much better than any of the other Six Flags VR rides I’ve been on. In fact, the VR was so good that someone even puked right before we got on and shut the ride down for a good 20 minutes! The rest of the night, we spent re-riding whatever rides we could. We stacked on the safety brakes on Magnum and that was pretty hilarious, painful but hilarious. For those of you who don’t know, Magnums absolutely slams to a stop when it stacks here. I’ve heard from people it stops abruptly… but now I officially know! Lol And luckily around closing, Raptor opened up and we took a ride on that as well. It’s still my 4th favorite ride at the park behind Magnum. Overall it was a fantastic day!! I was on a Six Flags Magic Mountain hype train for a while but Cedar Point is back as my favorite park. I can’t wait to go back next year for SteVe! (#SteelVengeance) Ride Count: Millennium: 3x Valravn: 2x Maverick: 2x Magnum: 2x Blue Streak: 2x Dragster: 1x Gatekeeper: 1x Raptor: 1x Wicked Twister: 1x Gemini: 1x (blue side) Iron Dragon: 1x (with VR) Rougarou: 1x Sky Hawk: 1x Choo Choo: 1x #Chillin on da throne High on Cedar Point (she'd probably kill me if she knew I posted this, luckily she's just a GP and doesn't go on coaster websites) [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]Here's an off-ride video I filmed of Maverick

That's a good point. I think we'll definitely see less and less of these conversions over the years as the world runs out of regular woodies capable of being converted. But I'm sure we'll see many more custom woodies and new products from RMC for many years to come!

A shorter ride definitely means a higher theoretical capacity but it all depends on how fast those trains can be loaded. I'd still expect the same throughput as any of the other RMCs that run 2 trains. And my god, this ride just adds to all ridiculous amount of RMCs opening for next year! 2018 is going to be a great year for coasters!

It wasn't actually due to wear and tear on the track down the drop but the cable lift trough was actually taking damage at the crest of the lift hill. The trains actually lift slightly at the crest when the lift hill runs at full speed and then slam back down and hit the metal trough the catch car and cable run through. From 2007 to about the end of the 2015 season, there was no way to run the lift hill at its original speed. But at the end of 2015, maintenance added a "boost" button and key which brings that functionality back. Its purpose is only to help with morning test runs on cold days since Toro is a moody bitch (like most Intamins) and can easily saddle on the first few test runs. However the ride will only allow 7 of these "boosts" a day. Once you have used all 7, you can turn the key and push the boost button all you want but the computer will not give you anymore. The "boost" doesn't really give the train that much more speed through the entire course but it definitely makes the first drop way more wicked. A fully loaded train when the ride is running hot crests the hill into the brake run at about 44 ft/sec and most boosted trains still run through that sensor at 44 ft/sec. It makes more of a difference when the ride is running slower or with less full trains. I have seen trains hit that sensor with as little as 10 ft/sec which is technically a saddle but there are booster wheels (drive tires) at that crest which have saved so many test runs. 14 ft/sec is technically the minimum for a train to not saddle without those booster wheels. These booster wheels are installed from the beginning of the season until about Memorial Day and are placed back sometime in September. (During a downpour, a fully loaded train will hit that sensor at about 48 ft/sec so that's the time to ride!)

The amount of people I've had to give the walk of shame to on Toro is ridiculous. Kingda Ka is pretty accommodating, I rarely had to give the boot on that ride. One cool thing though is that the verify point is completely adjustable but is mandated by the manufacturer. Toro's verify point is when the lap bar is 12.5 inches from the back of the seat rest. Maintenance actually has a block of wood that they use to calibrate the sensors to this fit. They completely have the ability to loosen or tighten that verify but Intamin set 12.5 inches in stone for Toro.

Lol either Knott's hasn't realized that 4 million people a year step inside the park or they want to make GhostRider so exclusive that only a handful of people get to ride it each year.

Lol don't get your hopes up. This is still Six Flags we're talking. That's Goliath at La Ronde that they used in that video and the colors were edited to look like Nitro. #SixFlagsAdvertising The park was supposed to paint Superman two years ago and that still hasn't happened

HAHAHAH you just made my day! That was awesome. I pray this is the actual ride for 2018.

I highly doubt that. GhostRider ran for like 10 years with the midcourse not hitting at all and it is at a Cedar Fair park. The trains would fly through the brakes into the OMFG drop. Then the ride started getting too rough and Knott's adjusted the midcourse to completely stop each train for less wear and tear on the 2nd half of the ride. I mean to add further, the brakes on a block close by default if the block ahead is occupied. Once the block ahead clears, the brakes on a block will open and allow a train to flow through. It's very distinct on B&Ms, once a train clears the midcourse you can hear the brakes shut closed. Then when that train passes through the next block, the brakes open again. If the midcourse trims the train at all is another story.

Modern safety rules do not allow for this to occur. The actual reason block brakes slow every train that comes through is not to actually slow down the train but instead to verify that the brake is still functioning. Basically the block trimming the ride is just a side effect of verifying functionality. And what is your source? Several rides beg to differ (New Texas Giant, Voyage during opening year, and GhostRider itself used to as well.) A midcourse does not have to trim a train at all, it's purpose is to serve as a block incase the block in front is not clear. The brakes do not need to go off every cycle to verify that they are operating properly, the computer handles all of that. The blocks are tested every morning before opening with block checks as well. Yes! This part of the q-line was miserable. At one point, an attendant came to the bottom of the stairs and was only letting a few people to the top level at a time. I came to the platform only to see the crew stacking every train and filling half of each train with exit passes.

That and allowing the train to advance faster through the brake run and into the station would help I'm sure. It seems to stop and go a lot. And referring back to the midcourse, GCI actually recommended to Knott's that it be removed entirely since Knott's never operated the ride fast enough to actually utilize it. It would have been cool if Knott's decide to keep it and up their operations game up a little. You know, it's not like the ride has a 2 and a half hour wait all the time . And when I say keep the midcourse, I mean only for block purposes like when the ride originally opened and not as a trim in the middle of the ride like it was used for later down the road. I was at the park in late May and the crew couldn't have been doing more than 500 riders an hour even with a full q-line. GCI offers a train with a verify system that really makes the use of a seatbelt redundant. Invadr at BGW and Wodan Timbur Coaster at Europa Park have these trains and don't use seat belts. The trains are double the price of standard GCI trains but it would have been cool to see Knott's purchase these, keep the midcourse, and pump 3 trains around the track to properly accommodate the popularity of the ride. That's probably asking for too much but either way, the ride still kicks ass!!

Anytime! Yup! Plaza Del Carnival would have been pretty different. Idk if those q-line buildings would have been themed buildings like Expedition Everest but they may have been shade structures similar to the one in the old Ka Q-line. You'll also notice that there is no Tango in that plan! lol And going back to the 2nd picture, it is talked about that Toro was only built to 3/4 the original size conceptualized. Apparently the ride would have been the tallest/fastest wooden coaster. The layout in the 2nd picture may or may not be the original Toro that was first idealized. You'll also notice that the outbound and return run on the out and back section are not parallel and I believe the switch was made later to make them parallel as a cost saving method. This combined the structures of the two sections which saves on material and construction costs.

I’m almost positive GADV is getting a new flat ride for 2018. I’d hope if Six Flags plans to clone Wonder Woman that they do it at smaller parks since it’ll probably do about 400 riders per hour. Joker can atleast do 700.

The first of most likely many clones. lol It looks like RMC built their prototype Raptor into the layout.

USA TODAY may have released their article a little early but looks like Fiesta Texas is receiving the world's first RMC Raptor Coaster!

The dual load station is for Ka and that is there today. The plans show the air gates going in the interior of the two stations however instead of the outsides like they were built. There's also a stairwell in the back of the station which would have taken the Q-line into the center of the station for boarding. Look at the first picture again, there's a lot of differences with the area.

Just going to put these here for fun. Can you spot the differences? There's quite a few.

I can explain this one for you. So that ADA pass actually has a wait time on it and most people with that pass are required to wait however long the line is. So if the regular line is 60 minutes, the person with that pass and their group are required to wait 60 minutes just like everyone else, just not in line. That person will go to the front entrance of the ride or find a ride attendant for the ride they want to wait for, and then request a wait time and a board time. They are not allowed on the ride until this time is up. Additionally they are only allowed to wait for one ride at a time. There are a few ADA passes that don't require a person to wait at all but I believe this depends on the medical reason. Now each pass only allows for the person using it and three additional people to go with them. If more than 4 people hop on the ride with one pass, then that's on the ride attendant who allowed it to happen. But a lot of times, people with large groups are given more than one pass to account for the size of the group. Now while it may feel like this large group is cutting the line, they've really been waiting for the ride the entire time. They were just not physically in the q-line with everyone else.

The boarding passes are only issued on days where attendance is high enough. You can always depend on Ka to have a line (if it's open ) so they generally always give out boarding passes. The passes are assigned in order as you enter the line but don't have to be collected in the exact order since most people are in groups anyway. Like say if the person in front of you has #5 and you have #498, it's not going to work. But if you have number #8, you're fine.