LogBur

We're still waiting on the first B&M designed launch system. That is what he likely meant.

Fixed that for ya...

^^The finished Medusa Steel Coaster is just 98ft, down from 105ft but by all accounts is an amazing ride. i'm sure RMC could work wonders with Twisted Twins existing 80ft height or extend the lift/drop for additional length.

^They're not my first choice either. Though I will say I have a certain trust in Holiday World to make a great addition regardless of manufacturer. I could see a Holiday World Beemer being very unique in design like some of their seemingly excellent European installations. Banshee has also restored some of my faith in the company to deliver a forceful, well paced ride. Further, if they got the first LSM B&M, I'd be quite excited to see their take on a high speed launched coaster.

I wouldn't be surprised if the wood grain images end up being sections of a ride rendering with some sort of heavy "wood filter" applied to them. It will be fun to see all of the stuff that was right under our noses come day 67.

Assigned seating is one of the most asinine and annoying policies I come across at parks. It almost never fails that when a park is operating a coaster in this fashion, they are still sending tons of empty seats and stacking trains. Just control the number of people you allow on the platform and people will naturally flow to empty rows. I feel pretty strongly that after paying $X to get into a park and often waiting 30+ minutes they should let you pick where you want to experience a ride.

^I've read the same from a local on another site. He indicated that some of the footings have six bolts with the "almond" cutout and that they look similar to Banshee's. Banshee footings for reference: I know the number of bolts isn't a dead giveaway because B&M seems to use 4-8 depending on column size and load characteristics but do other manufacturers aside from B&M use the (oval/almond) notched footers?

That would be my guess as well. Looks somewhat similar to the support system used on Leviathan's first drop.

Great TRs. I did a similar itinerary last week with the addition of Dorney and had an absolute blast. Regarding Skyrush - I love the ride immensely but totally understand its divisiveness. One question - I keep reading people assert that the ride is rough. Do you mean that you find the trains to track poorly and rattle or merely that it is hard to anticipate what comes next and that the ride jostles your body as a result? Just a point of curiosity as I thought the ride was glass smooth on all of my half dozen laps but I can certainly understand the impression that the ride is attempting to eject you....haha.

Can you direct me to a POV that shows it running this fast? I've viewed a half dozen and they all show more like 45-52 seconds depending on when you start the count. Here's TPR's Ravine Flyer II POV: Looks to disengage the lift around 1:22 and hits the brakes at 2:10. So, 48 seconds give or take a couple seconds. My personal vote thus far goes to Skyrush. Not just my favorite coaster under 45 seconds, but also my favorite coaster overall.

^It appears from POVs that RFII is closer to 50-51 seconds from the top of the lift to brakes.

Finally got back to Hershey on Tuesday for the first time in 7-8 years. Skyrush and Fahrenheit were both new credits for me. Skyrush - New #1. Late to the party on this but wow, what a fantastic ride. Front seat is amazing visually but back wing seats have the most ridiculous forces I have experienced on a coaster. Getting yanked down the first drop in the back quickly cemented this as my favorite ride. Ejector air has new meaning for me. I get what people complain about regarding the restraints but I found it to be minor discomfort rather than earth shattering pain. During the extreme airtime moments, it feels like you are being held in the train by a 1-inch section of your thighs. It seems this could be alleviated by recontouring the restraints to be more ergonomic. Fahrenheit - Pretty solid, nothing mind blowing. Norwegian loop is a lot of fun but there was some bad rattle in the cobra roll. I enjoyed the sweeping turn by the lift followed by the perfectly executed airtime hill the most. Everything with the exception of Fahrenheit was a couple train wait at most making for a great day to get laps in. On a less ecstatic note, the ride operations at the park are a lot worse than I remember. Ride ops constantly goofing off and lazily going about their duties would have made for a hellish day if it weren't for small lines to begin with. Despite that annoyance, I love this park - probably my favorite corporate park. Hopefully the mediocre operations are an anomaly as I could see things getting nightmarish on a busy Saturday.

^They certainly are an annoyance but I find leaning forward into the harness and taking your neck/head out of harms way does the trick. I've also ridden the thing well over a hundred times and can brace my body for the elements in my sleep. That said, your point is valid. You shouldn't have to develop a riding technique to properly enjoy a ride and it would be nearly perfect with MF/Top Thrill Dragster style lap restraints.

Maverick would like to have a word with you.

Talon at Dorney yesterday. Great peppy ride - a notch below Montu/Raptor/Banshee but still awesome. Lost my Phoenix virginity the night prior. I was skeptical of its greatness for some reason but it is truly amazing. Bonkers airtime with classically configured trains. Now my number 2 wood behind Voyage.

Hitting Hershey next Tuesday for a full day as part of a 4-day Pennsylvania coaster retreat. I haven't been there since 2006 so Fahrenheit and (especially) Skyrush are the most important rides to get in. Do any Hershey regulars have an idea of what kind of crowds I'll be facing? I know from the excellent park guide the general order of attack I should utilize, but does anyone have any other general advice? Thanks!

^Have you ever ridden (Old) Texas Giant or watched its POV? The amount of reprofiling they did on NTAG is quite significant. Sure, Texas Giant was always a better ride than Mean Streak but they shared a lot in common in terms of pacing and layout. It would take a bit more creativity but I'm confident RMC could turn Mean Streak into a world class ride with their Iron Horse treatment.

Shivering Timbers Tuesday. They have this thing running incredibly well - especially considering its age (16 years!). This was my favorite woodie until Voyage and Ravine Flyer II happened. Still a world class ride though and worth the road trip.

I agree. I think Cedar Fair is being cautious and waiting to verify that these installations remain largely problem free before jumping in. I can't say I blame them as these rides appear to really be pushing the envelope in terms of forces and what can be done with wooden structures. That said, I'm confident that their early creations will hold up fine - paving the way for wider adoption and continued success.

I do believe you are over thinking this.

Hence, "assumption." But I think most would agree it's a fairly sound assumption given the wording, "by far the largest expansion project in our seven-decade history.”

^The assumption based on the '66daysatsea' press release is *greater than $13.5 million* which was the total expenditure for 2006 when Thanksgiving and Voyage were added. To my knowledge, no specific amount has surfaced. The pertinent bit from the release: “I cannot confirm nor deny that this project includes a roller coaster,” says Eckert. “But I can confirm that this is by far the largest expansion project in our seven-decade history.”

^1/3 is a fraction in this case - think 22/66. When we look back after the announcement, I'm sure a good number of the entries will tie in to the ride in clever fashion.

All of the clues thus far have been extremely open to interpretation in my opinion. I'm sure more substantive hints will be dropped as we get closer to day 66 but you could massage the clues to support just about any ride type at this point. I think water elements may be incorporated but I'm not ready to peg the ride as this or that yet. With regard to Mack's water coaster model - aren't these rides relatively compact? Early on, it seems that Holiday World's new ride will have a decent sized footprint.

This is a fair point. I don't pretend to have a detailed grasp on the park's financials, I'm only trying to rein in expectations. At the end of the day, I hope they spend more than my logic tells me... I saw the $36MM figure on wikipedia and elsewhere but a quick trip to Liseberg's Helix site shows the investment was 200,000,000 Swedish Krona which translates to ~$30.18MM USD. I agree, even this figure seems high given the ride's specs - it would seem Mack might not be a budget-friendly manufacturer after all.