ejot

MFI was not a good park. This ride fit in great.

I ran the numbers on the profile I have in mind and it pulls a theoretical max 5.5g. Probably closer to 5 in real life, and only for a split second. I think the radius is a little bigger than the ones shown.

Would you guys mind if I modeled my own version of this ride concept, with the hope towards someday actually building it? It would follow the second illustration with "standard" cars that start horizontally before going down the drop, and be downsized to about 10' tall. I have designed a non-steering, non-articulated car optimized for traversing tight radii in the vertical plane. I'm planning to start building this over the winter, and later retrofit articulated, steering wheel bogies. In the meantime, the ride above would be the perfect test bed for my design. Here's a render of my car design:

So I just found out that CLP is having their first (and perhaps only) annual "Park after Dark" event where you can ride from 10pm to 2am for $20. And it's tomorrow! I've done a night ride on Blue Streak. It is incredible. I will be rearranging my plans slightly. This cannot be missed. Anyway, I'm heading out tonight and will re-purpose this thread as a photo TR .... eventually. For now, any last-minute tips are of course welcome.

B..b...but..you just posted this on Friday. I think it's entirely plausible that's a train at CP. And entirely plausible it's not. Heh, I can't be wrong!

^^ I didn't manage X2 until my fifth visit to MM. I do love it, though.

I missed Superman at SFDK when I was there, down for maintenance. Thankfully the upcoming Phobia Phear Phthingy is less than an hour and a half away. But this one really hurt: Noooooooo!

I have a thing for classic trains, both in style and function. NAD Century Flyers, with their heavy padding and single position lap bars, have got to be my favorite to ride. NAD produced at least one single-headlight train that was also very beautiful. I have a picture of it somewhere but after like an hour of searching I still cannot find it. PTC produced a number of one-off, custom-designed trains in the 30's and 40's that were quite stunning. Both pictures below are from the book Roller Coasters by Scott Rutherford and are credited to the PTC archive. This is The Alps at Willow Grove, near Philadelphia, post-1939. PTC train. This is Comet at Forest Park Highlands, St. Louis, 1950. PTC train.

Silverwood has a flag atop their ride. I'd guess they have a 120' model with a ~12' flag on top of an ~8' globe-like decoration, which they advertise as a 140'-tall ride with a 120' drop. Similar: how the rankings of "tallest buildings in the world" lists is obfuscated by uninhabitable structures such as antennas or decorative needles on top of some of the contenders.

Oh, I see what you did there. Leon's brisket has me drooling the most. And their open and closed signs are hilarious. Great TR.

Yeah, this sale is nuts. Two guests can stay on-property in a 2-queen room for $80 (taxes/fees included) tomorrow night. That's including all park admissions for both people, the room, and three hours resort-guest ERT from 5-8pm. I have no idea how nice the hotel is, and I realize the serious downside in park operations, but any way you slice it....even if you have to pay the $20 parking (and I'm thinking you may not?)... that is still an incredible deal. I bet the ERT gives some decent ride time.

I'm thinking the "extra" 8' may be the decoration because the drawing on the Larson page shows the 120' model as 128.7' overall. But StratosFear does look to be unique in it's combination of height/design details, so maybe it really is a 148' drop.

^^ They are the ones you have under "removed" in the first post of the thread (and maybe there are more?). Having ridden DelGrosso's, the only differences seem to be the extra height and the square seating formation.

I found this nice PBS documentary on Knoebels. Not sure if it's been posted but I couldn't find it anywhere.

^^ They make standard portable SuperShots in 70', 90' and 105'. They've made a few 140' towers with seats arranged in a square which are slightly better than the 120' towers IMO. While they aren't technically in the SuperShot model line, the key characteristics are the same: no view above, immediate release at zenith, true freefall, late/quick brake. Not sure if the 140-footers are still offered new from Larson/ARM.

The Swingin' Gym, or Flying Cages, was a popular amusement attraction primarily in the 1960's, though some installations lasted much longer. Hundreds of examples could be found in traveling shows and at parks such as Knoebels, Kennywood, Conneaut Lake, Chippewa Lake, Idora, Steel Pier, Keansburg, Palisades, Lagoon, and many more. The ride consisted of a restraint-less, enclosed cage that swings in a perfectly circular vertical loop while remaining upwardly-oriented, supported on each side by three rotating, counter-weighted arms. Typically 2-6 cages would be stacked side by side, each an individual ride. Inside the cage, completely free to move about, the rider would begin shifting his or her weight, making the cage swing back and forth, until it eventually swung a full loop. At that point, small coordinated shifts of the body would keep the cage spinning, potentially faster and faster. Unfortunately, it was also at this point that the more uncoordinated of riders tended to make the wrong move at the wrong time and get flung about inside the cage. Eyes were blackened, teeth were chipped, bones were broken. Several accidents also saw operators and passers-by struck by rides in action. For better or for worse, The Swingin' Gym developed something of a reputation for danger, became nearly impossible to insure, and slowly but surely faded from view. Today, a few examples travel in Europe or run in Japanese parks. The ride is not easy for all riders; many cannot get it to swing around. Even a quick ride gives an intense workout. This added to the danger, as you could be exhausted once it finally swung around, reducing your coordination. Here is a Swingin' Gym under expert operation: A simple internet search will locate a significant outpouring of modern-day enthusiasm for this long-lost attraction. They were once sufficiently ubiquitous that nearly any amusement-seeker with memories from the 60's and 70's has a story or two. Today, they are recognized by a small group of enthusiasts for their unique combination of thrill and exercise, and are occasionally lovingly restored or build from scratch for private use. A unique and incredibly nerdy discussion of the ride physics, and it's potential to collect human power, can be found here (not an amusement-related forum). A non-Cedar Point installation in the Sandusky, OH area was still running around 2001, but is closed now. That of course means that no Swingin' Gyms now operate in North America .... OR DO THEY?! I was shocked to recently stumble across the website for Paul Bunyan Land in Brainerd, Minnesota apparently advertising an operating Flying Cages. A picture and a minimum rider height are posted here. A small traveling midway in Ohio also runs one. So who has Swingin' Gym memories? Who knows of others? Can we compile a list of all the ones running now, anywhere in the world?

Thanks Philrad!! I really enjoyed the TR and am definitely a little bummed to have to miss this place. The Tubs-O-Fun look like a blast. I love how the park is historically significant though many eras: a 19th C. trolley park, a showroom for the Herschell company, and as a continuous operation surviving many dark times for parks. Totally worth a stop! The merry-go-round is looking fantastic. I am assuming the train is also a Herschell device. In late 1956 he purchased the Illinois-based Minature Train Company, who had been making these "G-16" (GM style, 16" gauge) train sets since 1946, and continued the production until about 1963. I haven't ever ridden one and will definitely check out this one wonderfully restored example someday. We have a local roller rink and I'm sure to visit at least a few times a year to help support it. It's totally fun.

Thanks Philrad! I had planned on a stop at Duff's but (716) is making it a tough choice. Lagerhaus95 would have won out over both of them, but they're closed Sundays when I'll be passing through. A stop at Midway only seems to add about 1/2hour to the drive between Waldameer and the Buffalo area. I like the history and would have checked out the carousel, arcade and train... but not losing any sleep over missing out. I definitely will... already way excited for this trip! The current plan. I'm an OCD engineer so I do things like this, but I also stay flexible as I travel and don't always stick to it 100%. I'm not opposed to nicer hotels here and there but these are just places to sleep a few hours so I went to ultra-budget route.

Skull Mountain is absolutely fantastic, especially in the back seat. From FB, publicly available. A little bit of info.

So they chose Hades freakin' 360 to measure how the forces you feel vary among different seats. Tory did not look happy to be re-riding! The rope swing jump off the platform in the stadium in South Africa looks incredible. Bucket list!

I think they must get like 90% of their revenue for the year from Ghost Lake (total guess/exaggeration/but maybenot). It is wildly popular with the local community and draws absolutely massive lines - no joke. Having gone last year, my recommendation would be to get there pretty early and be one of the first in line. I think we started waiting around 6pm, which was a little excessive, but we were first in the gate and it was cool getting all actors "fresh" and particularly enthusiastic. By 7pm when we actually went in, the line for tickets was probably already 45min. Those guests would have to wait in lines for each attraction, whereas we got a continuous experience. Better IMO, even though it wasn't as pitch black dark out to begin. The Blue Streak is the last haunt and on busy nights they apparently don't get everyone through until well after 2am. I think it took us about 2h without lines. Also, the route to the different haunts is a little bit tricky. I happened to meet a group of enthusiasts who had done it before and they invited me along. The super early entry tactic was also their plan. Going through alone and unaccustomed would have been interesting, and perhaps a bit frustrating. It is a unique attraction, very, um.... "genuine". I actually highly recommend it, but you have to have the right set of expectations. The full darkness BlueStreak ride is the highlight, and really was "one of those moments", completely sublime. Unfortunately, you generally don't get seat preference due to how intense operations are. Oh, and if they have the soap out in this one walkthru, you're in for some fun. If you go on the last night when they need to get rid of all the soap, it's off the charts suds from floor the ceiling.

That's exactly the plan ... 2-2.5h @ Martin's right at opening and then hit the road. I think it will actually be a pretty relaxed day with plenty of time at the parks. I put the pedal to the metal.

Wow, such great feedback, everyone! Thanks again. I kind of thought three people would say, "Go to Darien Lake" and then the thread would fizzle. wildcatroc: I rode Blue Streak 22 times my only other visit, so I totally know that "just one more time" feeling, hahaha! In a very different (and good) kind of way, I think the outbound half of a back car ride rivals I305 and Skyrush in intensity. It's going to be a terrible shame on so many levels when this glorious machine inevitably bites the dust. All your thoughts are so helpful... stuff like the Music Express tip and good views from Seabreeze's waterpark ... exactly why this forum is so valuable! cal1br3tto: I couldn't leave out Martin's, we've only got four "big boy" CCI's up in the Northeast. Instant must-do park. And I think I will get to the Herschell museum after all. I mean, Niagara Falls probably looks very much like it did the last time I was there. So my revised plan is: Fri - drive out late Sat - Conneaut, Waldameer Sun - Herschell, Martin's, Seabreeze Mon - State Fair & drive home Took some rearranging of other plans as this trip wasn't supposed to go into Monday, but it's worth it. I'd rather give the fair a full day than try to fit in Sylvan Beach as well, so I now don't need any advice for there. It is still a park I want to check out someday if just for the dark ride.

Well, Drachen Fire, as a small child. Apparently that ruined the appeal of coasters for me, for about 20 years. So the only others: Colossus - SFMM Shockwave - KD Cyclone - SFNE There are SO many I wish were on this list!

Has the community been tuned to these types of meeting minutes in previous "big" years? Have they been very telling before? Perhaps this will start a trend where enthusiasts from all over fly in for a few weeks to the main "rumor" parks around announcement season and combine park trips with attending all the public planning meetings. In hopes for the scoop on the details. Those crazy coaster enthusiasts.