Duff

There is also one operating in Brazil. (See the link below.) I LOVE the creativity of the paint - it makes the tower look wooden. The first gen Intamin freefall is a real gem. http://www.themeparks.ie/southamerica/betocarrero/torredoterror.htm

I'll miss you, SkyRider. Togo stand-ups, man. They rock. They give an uninhibited, unique, and intense ride experience—including moments when your feet literally leave the floor! But the best part is the minimally-designed Togo train that makes riders feel more vulnerable, and helps to enhance the feeling that you're standing up. In contrast, B&M stand-up trains surround you with so much extra-thick padding that it feels like you're not even standing at all. The Togo stand-up is a (wild) dying breed. Shame. R.I.P.

I think the problem with Mantis is all relative. Cedar Point has too many other highly-rated coasters for Mantis to stand-out. Imagine Mantis at a smaller park (like Michigan's Adventure), and how much praise it would probably receive at a smaller park where expectations aren't sky high. But at a park like Cedar Point with so many great coaster choices, poor Mantis was in over its head. Personally, I also think Mantis feels dated—and not in a positive, vintage way like Blue Streak. Mantis feels dated in a bad way, like mid-nineties gimmick trying too hard to stay relevant. And. Don't forget that trim brake in the middle of the first drop. An unforgivable coaster sin.

Mantis is my least favorite coaster at CP. I never cared for the ride experience it provided, going back to the first summer it opened. Aesthetically, I've never liked its placement in the park because I think it looks too big for that area -- with that gigantic lifthill towering over Iron Dragon, and right next to the walkway. It looks like they shoe-horned it in to fit that space. Whether they reconfigure it or relocate it... I'm just glad they are doing SOMETHING with it.

One summer (many years ago when I was still in school) I worked at Kings Island, and we operated the Vortex during a heavy downpour. There was no lightning, but it was raining very hard, and the wet track gave a pretty wild experience. The crowd absolutely loved it. They exited the ride soaking wet and asking for repeat rides. One guy left the station and said to me, "That was a GREAT water ride!"

Probably not. Not everyone has to be in love with the Whizzer... but it certainly is special to many local folks who grew up on it (and coaster nerds, of course). For many of us, it was our first "big" coaster. Anton coasters are rare. They feel and look very simple - and they kinda are. They are simple roller coasters. No fancy this or that; there is a little 'heartlining' in the design, but it's not overdone. One thing to note is the attention to detail. Where Arrow coasters were built with a bunch of tubes welded together, the Anton coasters had joints all over the place. Whizzer has hinged track at every support - similar to the hinges that have now shown up on RMC coasters. Mind Bender and Shockwave have ball-and-socket joints at nearly every support. There is a certain smoothness and movement to the rides that is unique. It's very subtle, but special. During the 80s, when bigger and badder-assed stuff was being built, I would always give Whizzer a courtesy ride. But over the years, I've been bitten by the Anton bug and Whizzer gets more and more important to me as a coaster fan. Every Schwarzkopf coaster seems to get better with age (except for one on the west coast which is now covered in silly hardware; but I best not go there!) Mind Bender has never left my #1 spot. We have all these great new steel coasters, but not one does what the Anton rides do. Designs these days feel rushed and even truncated. They don't have the same grace (or sprawl) that some Anton's do. Even the little portable models like Scorpion at BGT and Tig'ger at Indiana Beach have that special Anton magic to them. But like anything in life, you certainly don't have to love it. There are plenty of coaster nerds that could care less about the Anton coasters they've been on. I can understand that as I feel that way about B&M rides. I like em, but I'm not interested in spending much time on them. For anyone who missed it, this post accurately & eloquently defends the relevance of Schwarzkopf coasters in such a rational way that even a child who grew up in an era of B&M's could understand it.

Great topic. Did anybody else notice how many top-notch coasters are being discussed here? We coaster junkies probably set the bar too high sometimes. I wonder how many low opinions of these world-class coasters would have been positive experiences with lower expectations or less hype. My biggest let down was Scream! at SFMM. I was looking forward to riding Scream because it's essentially a clone of Medusa at SFGAd -- another coaster I had wanted to ride for years, but hadn't had the opportunity. I remember reading glowing online reviews of Medusa after it opened in '99 (in the good ol’ days of slow, dial-up modems and shitty, low-res photos). My expectations for that design/layout remained sky-high over a decade later. I was even willing to forgive Scream's parking lot setting because I thought the coaster itself would "wow" me! It didn't. It was my own fault for expecting too damned much.

At Kings Island, I overheard a man have an incredibly long and detailed discussion with his son how the Vekoma Inverted Boomerang could operate with 2 trains. By the entrance to Adventure Express (the Arrow steel minetrain coaster) a woman refused to ride because she "doesn't ride wooden ones." In line for Son of Beast, a kid explained to his friends, "This ride used to have a flip. They tore down the flip after someone died on it."

The Neverending Story

^ So true. Schwarzkopf coasters are well-designed works of art. The Whizzer-style of coaster is a dying breed and we're all fortunate that SFGAm decided to maintain theirs.

Nearly 70 years old and she puts on a better show than ANY popular young female artist today. I think most of today's young female artists are all spectacle and no substance. Dolly is both, and she does it with class.

I love that old coot. It's an old-fashioned 20th century looper living in a 21st century world of silky-smooth B&M's and carefully calculated Intamins. I appreciate Arrow loopers because they provide a unique rider experience. A little more unrestricted and raw. Glad you had a good visit!

I visited SFMM on a weekday in February (I was on a business trip) and had a nice visit, partly because the crowds were so low. I can imagine that on a Saturday during the hot summer months when the park is packed, it would be less enjoyable depending on how SFMM manages large crowds. I was also surprised by the lack of flat rides, theaters, and shows. The focus of the park seemed to be purely on coasters -- so when the park is busy I would expect those lines can get awfully long because there didn't appear to be many other attractions to alleviate the coaster lines.

Chicago hipsters, man. They claim that they don't support large companies, yet they all walk around using the latest Apple iPhone, shop for food at Whole Foods & Trader Joe's, and buy clothes at Urban Outfitters. "Hip"-acritical.

Finally, B&M gives us an LSM-launched coaster. B&M, you're late to the party!

Sorry to hear that man. Losing a close family member is hard - it takes time, but you'll be ok. You're fortunate to be raised by a great father like that.

I just returned from a business trip to Tampa to make a presentation to a client, and I came home with food poisoning. Thanks, Florida!

I prefer the Togo stand-ups. I think they provide a wilder ride (including moments when your feet leave the floor!) I also think Togo's trains help enhance the feeling that you're standing up. Togo stand-ups regularly make me think, "I might die on this ride" and I love that moment of fear. B&M stand-ups never provide those death-cheating thoughts because they are so controlled. Those trains surround you with so much thick padding that it almost feels like you're not standing at all.

I love this return of the previous Arrow era. Just when I thought Arrow-style designs were dead, buried, and cold in their graves for years now, along with Saturn cars, Limp Bizkit, and network TV. This loop-screw design is typically short, fast-paced, with great forces that pack a quick punch. Whether it's a Chinese knock-off or not, I think the loop-screw design is a great choice for first-timers who want to experience their first looping coaster. Is it just me... or were there were a lot of people whining about roughness? Toughen up a little, guys. As a collective group, I think us coaster junkies should make an effort to be a little less frail.

Show of hands: who is planning to visit the park on a weekday, in the hopes of shorter Goliath lines? (Particularly now that we know the capacity per hour.) I'm planning to use a vacation day from work so I can visit the park on a Tues or Wed.

You Wreck Me, by Tom Petty

Seeing Goliath's completed lift hill structure -- my jaw hasn't dropped like that since I first saw the renderings for New Texas Giant. Hmm... I think I see a trend here.

Thinking of my favorite bars/sports bars here in the city -- none of them are gay bars. Not that there's anything wrong with that (Seinfeld reference, who caught it?), but gay bars aren't really my style. Some tourists make it their top priority to visit the gay scene when they come to Chicago. That's fine, but I think that if they limit their visit to only that -- they are missing out on a lot of other cool places to see.

Magnum's trains look fantastic. They must have been refurbished during the off-season because they look brand new. Those Arrow hypercoaster trains have so much character.

Good choice, Meteornotes. I prefer the Phil Collins era over Peter Gabriel. Playing right now: I Wanted to Tell Her - Ministry