
neil009
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Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Did you miss all the pages of people complaining about how forceless dive machines are, and how they couldn't belive that Cedar Point would get a coaster like this... back when it was first leaked that Cedar Point was getting Valravn?? I didn't miss it, I just think it's ridiculous. Over the course of 4 years this park basically added 3 great new huge B&M coasters. They're not Maverick or Millennium Force, but they're great rides. If you want to fight me on Rougarou I really don't care. They turned a lawn ornament that may as well have not been there since we never ever rode it or acknowledged it's existence into one of the best floorless coasters out there. That may as well have been a new coaster.They're adding a huge dive machine and I don't know of a single person in existence that doesn't like Sheikra or Griffon and they added a wing coaster with an incredible first drop and an awesome visual element over the main entrance. Personally I think it's a great ride that (while not Maverick or Raptor) does what it's supposed to do very well. It looks great, it has a killer first drop, it's very smooth and it created a smooth ride experience that simulates the feeling of flight. They also revamped the Gemeni midway in this time (adding Pipe Scream, Eagles and Slinghot), made Hotel Breakers a decent hotel and to shut whiny enthusiasts up they added softer straps to a coaster that was already awesome and smooth. I'm having a really hard time thinking of a park that's added more than Cedar Point in that time-frame, all of which are really solid additions. So no, I don't get the whining. If you want relentless intensity, Maverick and Raptor are waiting for you but I think everything the park has done lately has really added to their already insane collection of thrill rides and I couldn't be happier. I think everyone will be very happy with Valravn based on the ride experience of Sheikra and Griffon. The only people that are going to complain are the people that had ridiculous expectations going in. If this ride was going in at almost any other park, I'd be super excited. Cedar Point already has SO MANY roller coasters that I feel like it's time for them to either spice it up with some more interesting themed rides, or at the very least, pick coaster models that are new and innovative. Or why not a major attraction that will appeal more to the mid-level coaster fan, like a new CGI twister? This is going to be the SEVENTH opportunity to see Cedar Point from 200+ feet off the ground. It's just getting redundant. I mean you have to admit that as far as major investments go, this is as conservative as it gets. -
Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
^I haven't changed my mind! As a coaster fan, I do not believe this extraordinarily large investment is money well spent. Sure, I'm not looking at it from Cedar Point's point of view, but very fortunately for me I'm not Cedar Point and therefor free to say that this money could've been spent on a much more interesting, innovative ride. -
Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
It doesn't mean that at all. Let's not assume any other part of the ride is changing (beyond retracking) until we get real evidence otherwise. That one turn is getting lowered and the radius widened, and yes the banking will have to increase due to the higher speed, but that only applies to that one turn. What's weird to me is that section they're changing isn't really a dead spot. Yes nothing much happened there but as others have mentioned, it gave you a break after the intense onslaught of the double helix and it set you up psychologically for the crazy turns that followed. The real dead spot on Legend is basically everything between the airtime hill following the giant spiraling drop and the helix. There's a lot of wasted track there and it surprises me that's not the part getting the double down. -
Alton Towers Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to Ed's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
The flying coasters already make me feel kind of sick just from the pressure they put on your stomach. I don't imagine the claustrophobia of VR goggles would help. I'll be very curious if this sticks around or if it'll be a novelty that only lasts a few seasons. I know that riding coasters is a relatively rare, special experience, whereas staring at screens is not. Once I start feeling the acceleration and the wind in my hair my first instinct would probably be to take the goggles off, especially on a ride in as pretty a location as Air. -
Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Well... my favorite part of the ride is getting completely changed... so obviously I'm a little bit nervous. But the double down is good news and if the other turns stay the same, then even if we lose one moment of super-harsh laterals the ride will still be a gem. -
Eh, Zumanjaro just lacks that "oh S@#%!" feeling that I want from a drop tower. I feel like only 1st gen Intamins are the only ones that capture it the best. And Tower of Tower in DHS I was fully expecting this to be my reaction as well, but honestly the ride blew me away. I imagine wind and other factors can effect this but I thought the initial drop felt very sudden and strong, being beaten only by the Larson towers, and I felt no drag on the car on the way down like I do on other drop rides. It felt more or less like pure free fall. So combine all that with the extreme height and speed, and you've got one heck of a thrill ride. It's a purely subjective, instinctual reaction. On the super tall drop rides at King's Dominion and Cedar Point, after all the psychological anticipation, the drop started and my immediate reaction was "Oh this isn't so bad". On Zumanjaro my reaction was "HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP" and that didn't let up at all until we hit the brakes.
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Buy or Build your own theme park???
neil009 replied to Jodon's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
This is an interesting question which I'm sure is very complicated and depends on a lot of things. I don't think, for instance, Six Flags would sell Magic Mountain for any amount of money, certainly not 800 million. Six Flags America would probably be a different story. To me the better question would be, what would be the smarter investment, purchasing whatever small park you can buy for 800 million, or getting other investors on board and starting from scratch. If your goal is to own a big park some day in the future, then you would need to buy a park that is A) small enough to cost less than 800 million, B) have enough land around it for you to expand, and C) be near enough to a population center to support a park as large as your ambitions. That might be a lot harder than it sounds. -
Buy or Build your own theme park???
neil009 replied to Jodon's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
What would you do with the other $799,920,000? -
Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I put it into a solver and it couldn't make any solutions with all of the letters but one result that might fit is "bathing suits". I'm not sure how that fits with what is going on at HW but it was the only result that seems to be a remotely possible clue. Here is the full list. We're all insane. In my mind, people who aren't like us are the insane ones. Maybe bathing suits means a splash down on the legend? Those only exist in Roller Coaster Tycoon. Like balloon stalls. -
Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I mean, if you have a collection of wooden coasters, one of them has to make the noble sacrifice as a ride for laterals. All three of the woodies have TONS of laterals, The Legend just happens to have the most vicious and sustained. Here's hoping it stays that way. -
Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I really think Legend is just getting extensive retracking, possibly topper track. I don't think any changes are happening to the shape/banking of the track. That would require further structural changes that we have no evidence of. I'm telling myself this to keep from hyperventilating. -
SFGAdv IS going to get an RMC. Not a question of if, only when. And when it does, I hope it feels like a more "complete" coaster than Goliath, maybe more along the lines of Lightning Rod, and I sincerely hope it's not going to be a dueling coaster because that would all but ensure a weeny, tiny layout.
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Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread
neil009 replied to robbalvey's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
If the new element is something to do with the track itself, then it has to be happening to the Legend. That's where all the activity is. I doubt it'll be anything that extensive. That would require all new trains and everything. Just my opinion. -
Do enthusiast opinions matter?
neil009 replied to neil009's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Someone pointed out once on this forum that enthusiasts actually typically spend less while at parks, going outside the park to eat, buying a minimum of souvenirs, skipping upcharge attractions, etc. I don't know if that's true or not, but it makes sense to me because if you do a lot of something, it's only natural you'd find all the tricks to save some dough while you're doing it. Again, I'm not saying the motivation for designers to care about enthusiasts' opinions is monetary, it's because enthusiasts have a good grip on what makes rides great and generally rides that appeal to enthusiasts more will also appeal to the GP more. I totally agree with this: The only difference, and this is what I was trying to get at in my original post, is that enthusiasts are just a little more knowledgeable and hence, discerning. Like for instance, most CP visitors probably get that Mean Streak is a little lame, but many probably think this is simply the difference between steel and wooden coasters. An enthusiast would know exactly why it's lame and what you could change about the ride to make it less lame. -
Do enthusiast opinions matter?
neil009 replied to neil009's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
During the creation of the Voyage, enthusiasts were consulted, and their opinions on what makes a ride great effected what the layout turned into. I know this isn't a common occurance, but we can be pretty sure the people designing roller coasters, people like Alan Schilke, have had their share of interactions with coaster fans of all varieties, and their designs have probably been influenced as a result. Especially in the case of RMC this seems apparent to me, but I bet this is true for other designers as well. Look at the negative reaction to Silver Bullet's first drop, and now ten years later look at Banshee's first drop, which is basically the polar opposite. Also, the corkscrew on Thunderbird versus any of the inversions on Gatekeeper. Who's to say the consensus in the coaster community wasn't a factor? Parks have no reason to care what enthusiasts think, particularly. But the people tasked with actually designing the rides, who want to deliver the very best product they can, certainly do. You have to admit it's at least a nice thought. -
It seems as though when people begin critiquing the layout of a ride, particularly when it's new, this is often followed by comments that it doesn't matter what enthusiasts think, the "general public" will love it, and they comprise most of a park's income, so their opinion matters more. But is that necessarily true? My argument is this. If you spend your life attending maybe three parks if you live in the Northeast and possibly fewer if you live in the Midwest, then of course you're going to love any roller coaster you come across, because you haven't ridden enough of them to establish a taste for them. But that doesn't mean what you're riding is a good ride, or we should applaud parks for building any roller coaster at all, even if what they build is kind of lame. There's still such a thing as amazing rides and simply ok ones. A good analogy for me would be cars. In your entire life you might own a grand total of seven cars. That doesn't make you qualified to say what is or is not a good car. You may love your car because it's reliable and gets good mileage, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have gotten a better car for the same amount of money. People read car reviews because the people who write them drive lots and lots of cars, know a lot about them, and are qualified to discern which cars are great, and which are just ok. I've never heard anyone say "car manufacturers don't make a lot of money selling to car reviewers, therefor their opinions don't matter". Any thoughts?
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Ok I'm thinking way too hard about this. The pretzel loop isn't shaped like an upside down vertical loop, if you look at it the bottom half of it forms an almost perfect half circle, with a very even radius, rather than the gradually decreasing radius of a vertical loop. So I guess the pattern of the forces would manifest differently? I don't know, I haven't ridden it enough to have an opinion but I bet the forces are spread pretty evenly across the train, just felt at different times. It makes sense you'd get more whip over the top when you're entering it though. The entrance and exit do have a tighter radius.
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Wait a second... I doubt it makes much difference either way, but wouldn't the pretzel loop feel strongest in the front or middle of the train? I'm just thinking about the physics involved. By the time the back of the train hits the bottom of the loop where the forces are strongest the front of the train has already started up the other side and the whole train is decelerating. The opposite of a normal loop. Right?