Samuel

Gorgeous shot from the webcam yesterday evening:

When I was a kid, Italian Day was notoriously one of the most crowded days of the season at Kennywood. Pittsburgh isn't quite like it used to be, but there are still lots of gestures toward ethnic pride and cultural heritages throughout the city, and ethnic days at Kennywood have long been a part of the scene. Having said that, Pittsburgh still has a relatively small Latino population. Latino Day was only established in 2011 (compared to 1910s & 20s for others!), so it looks like more of a foward-thinking move on Kennywood's part as it evolves with population changes in the city. I doubt the park will get particularly slammed like it usually does on Italian Day. If the weather's good, I'd go! Might I also suggest looking into North Shore/Cultural District things to do and places to stay if you need some extra itinerary oomph for your anniversary! West Mifflin-to-Kennywood is a relatively hassle-free way to get to the park, but unless you're determined to avoid the city, you'll miss out on a lot of the iconic sights and good restaurants, museums, and attractions that make Pittsburgh memorable. There are lots of nice places to go and things to do, depending upon your interests. Not all of the areas near the park are "bad," but the neighborhoods are certainly more downtrodden than not in that part of town. Feel free to PM me if you'd like some ideas!

I'm enjoying the report, Koasterking! When can we expect Great Adventure and Kennywood?

This might already be common knowledge, but I came across this pair of images that purports to show Philly and NYC from Kingda Ka. It's visually distant, but I thought it was a pretty cool fun fact if it's true.

- The simultaneous eras of parks diving into Arrow mega looper jerkiness and Summers/Dinn jackhammer parties from 1988-92 did no one any favors. - TOGO death machines - Sonny for its cost, hype, scale, demise, and tarnished legacy - Any number of violent wooden coasters around the world - Any number of Chinese knock-offs, with the Chance Toboggan ripoff looking the most sadistic to me

I thought that the Dipper was by far the best ride in the park -- classic, smooth, and fun. Its character felt preserved in the 2000s, despite the park's evaporating charm and integrity during the same period. My eyes popped at the guts Six Flags showed when it essentially declared war on Cedar Point, but while I always tried to have fun days at SFO and SFWoA, I never consistently did. A couple of good coasters and a generally clean Sea World side would be interrupted by a sense of the place being cramped, overpriced, slapped together, littered in ads, and pound-for-pound inferior to Cedar Point in almost every way. Six Flags proved during those years that there's more to a park than plopping down coasters (& SFWoA isn't the only example!). What's more, the surrounding Aurora area didn't have the highways, hotels, and other support infrastructure to buoy the kind of guest traffic that Six Flags was hoping to garner. Whenever the park tried to flex muscle, it exposed a feeble skeletal foundation that not even a great giga coaster could have overcome. MF/SoB/SFWoA/Phantom years (2000-03) made Ohio & Western PA exciting places to be during the coaster wars, but there's no doubt that Geauga Lake & Sea World were totally botched as a result. I had a great time at Sea World & a quaint time at Geauga Lake back in the mid-90's. What seemed like a promising boon era for both places turned into an absolute fizzle.

It's this pattern of communication that's currently sinking Donald Trump: Be rude, get called out for it, blow your chance to apologize, further exasperate the problem by trying to reframe the central issue as being everyone else's hypersensitive inability to take a joke, and then act like you're being piled on unfairly. Having a TOS sense of humor shares nothing in common with mocking members of our community for their views. To make matters worse, you cite the poster's youth as the excuse that gave you permission to write in such a toxic tone. No winks or tongue smilies, to boot. You're the adult: set a better example. Indeed, grating and annoying members sometimes show up at the door, and some of them have been young. However, we all play armchair GM and park manager from time to time. Sharing our thoughts on what we'd like to see at the parks we enjoy isn't tantamount to telling a park what to do, or acting like we know better than the park's actual managers. There's a big difference between calling out an annoying poster and actively trying to discourage a young person's enthusiasm and sense of inclusion in this hobby. I enjoy many of your posts, Bill, but I can't be with you on this one. I'm helping to raise several coaster-loving kids, and I wouldn't want them to be handled by this community in that manner, so I extend my support to all of the younger members who want to share in and contribute to a positive environment here.

Nice report! I believe that the dead-end path beyond Stinger that you questioned in a caption was in the vicinity of the old Schwarzkopf Laser. The sterility of the park is noticeable, but I also think that the impression works in conjunction with the dead crowds. It's always the fantasy to have a park to yourself, but an empty park on a normal operating day eventually feels a little bit hollow, regardless of how well-themed or clean it is. There's a bell curve sweet spot in between a park being dead or overcrowded, where waits are minimal but a park feels socially alive. The sense of fun and aliveness in a park is pollinated by people enjoying themselves. A big part of the magic of ERT sessions, even if the parks are otherwise closed, is in the energy and bonding created by riders having a good time together. I've initially jumped for joy in several parks on "dead" days with total walk-ons, and then by noon both the parks and I feel downtrodden by a general lack of enthusiasm in the tumbleweed atmosphere.

In a time where so many things demand rationality and have become data-driven, it's great to see a big score for "just because we could." Talk about a support enthusiast's paradise! The whole thing looks tremendous, and this is the first I'm seeing of it. Thanks for sharing!

^^ Canadianparkfan -- WOW, thanks for helping me learn something new today -- The Roller! I've seen a few images of that model ride, but I wrongfully assumed that the [____]-shaped structure stayed put. Talk about some wacky maneuvers and directional changes! Once I passed my teenage years, my nausea tolerance fell off precipitously and for good. That said, the best flats for me are the S&S Screamin' Swings with short cycles. I know that lots of people would prefer a few more swings, but I'm essentially at my threshold on the quicker cycles, and I appreciate the relatively brief ride duration. The Zamperla Giant Discovery is the best flat I've ever done -- very intense and powerful, but the long cycle and spinning makes each lap a Pyrrhical experience for me.

Bet on it. With all the money. ^THIS My personal suspicion is that it will be next to Slingshot, and eventually by 2018, part of a new midway that extends to the RMC Streak and Frontier Town entrance. But at the very least, it will be moved elsewhere! Carowinds successfully moved its model from the Hurler corner to the middle of the park near StealthBorg, so an in-park move has precedent. I expect CP to keep it. There will surely be future development of the former Shoot the Rapids area down the road, but if the water park & Mean Streak constitute the near-future plans, then the front-end of that StR space would be a logical spot to plop down the Sky Coaster.

I'm lifting this straight from the news as I'm hearing it on my TV: It was Rollo Coaster, the coaster was inspected this morning, the boy is in a Pittsburgh hospital, and Ligonier police are handling the investigation as to what went wrong.

It seems like super-sizing flat rides + extra-long cycles are the differentiating qualities of those Euro fairs, aside from the occasional resurrected Schwarzkopf and some compact death machine from a no-name manufacturer. I remember seeing the "Wild Mouse XXL" and I simultaneously thought, "Cool!" and "The circuit is running out of ideas." As for the KMG, it looks totally buck-nutty. All the Dramamine in the world wouldn't get my nausea threshold to the point where I could ever ride it. Where was this thing when I was 14?

I'll put down for Waldameer. It's often treated as more of a quick stop than a trip on its own, but it's affordable, fun, growing, feels well-maintained, and has plenty of charm. The setting is gorgeous like Cedar Point, RFII is a great GG woodie, the flume is really good, the dark rides are quirky classics, the drop ride is bananas, and there's plenty more to see & do that I won't include in this long sentence. Add in a sunset at Presque Isle, a little wine tasting around North East PA (it's a pretty town nearby, I don't mean Northeastern PA), and you've got one of the best summertime weekends you can have in the state!

Whyever would you assume that? I'm not sure what what part of those lines you're targeting, but that entire snippet is hyperbole. I was only inquiring why SFA wasn't mentioned at all, not actually making a mandate to choose it! The rest of my post introduced the idea of visiting both SFA (for RoS) and KD. I was running with the premise that Mr. Corn wanted a dedicated trip to DC, and those are the two parks in closest proximity. Then, I edited my post when I saw that Mr. Corn could fly out of a different airport, and I put down for BGW and Norfolk International.

Well, if DC is your focus, SFA is your park. No interest? BGW, KD, & Hershey are good-to-great parks, but only KD in my mind is the other logical partner for a dedicated DC trip. The others are worth spending time in and around in their own right, and if you can only visit one as a side-dish to DC, the further parks will be stretching you out of the area and dilute your trip's purpose. A dedicated KD/BGW/Williamsburg/Virginia Beach grouping would be great, as would Hershey + Knoebel's +/or Eastern PA/NJ/NYC, but I feel like SFA and KD are your DC parks. There's nothing wrong with an Intamin hyper & giga in the same trip -- though it'd be short on dark rides. It'd be odd to skip SFA and drive past KD twice to get to BGW, and then only skim what that area has to offer, so that you can head back to DC. Similarly, it's odd to get into the heart of PA and then only do Hershey in a vacuum before returning to DC. Of course, we're all odd here in Wonderland, and I've pulled off wacky detours just like those. *I see you gave more information as I was writing my post, so if I understand correctly, you could fly out of another city other than DC. Well, then the Norfolk airport and BGW makes more sense, but again, you should come back and soak in the area separately from DC.

Hmm...interesting concept. Sorry for any repeat sentiment, but I don't have time to comb all the comments now: After all the coasters, I thought Intamin would have been tapped here for a single tower with multiple experiences. Thing is, the smaller S&S towers can be more intense than the larger ones, which flips the assumption that I'd bet most of the GP would have -- that the small one is more family-oriented. The three towers should look good in an aesthetic row, but I don't think that there're three distinct demographics to support such nuance with the choices. I've often thought that drop towers are binary decisions for a lot of guests: yes or no. Many kids can and do go from Frog Hoppers to extreme rides like SkyRush as soon as they're tall enough, so I don't quite agree with a stepping stone philosophy. Nevertheless, they should all be decently fun towers.

Awesome report! As an original Yinzer, it's nice to see Kennywood getting lots of love lately, plus a good shout-out to Idlewild. I do love the Potato Patch fries, though -- even the soggy ones are fine by me! Your ride list really drew attention to the loaded flats collection at Kennywood. As I visit more parks, I really appreciate how comparatively broad, rare, and incredible Kennywood's flat ride portfolio truly is! There are a few Intamin coasters ahead of Phantom in my rather informal Top However Many list, but I think it's even better than great rides like Fury and Bizarro/RoS. Before RMCing was a thing, Phantom getting Morgan'd was such a great decision -- what an airtime bonanza! I think it slipped under the radar a little bit once Millennium Force and lots of B&M hypers started to pop up, but I think people are seeing that Phantom still out-thrills most of its peers & remains one of the most unique coasters in the world. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

A little bit of a thread resurrection here...I saw this on the "up next" panel on YouTube and hadn't seen this old thread or style of train before. The first zig-zag sequence had me smiling and leaning in with intrigue for the concept, but by the last sequence I'd put my money on feeling nauseated. It looks like the boy facing backwards in the off-ride POV is getting pummeled with headbanging/body slams. Anyone get a chance to ride one these?

You have great insight and a very well-written series of reports to go along with good pictures. I've been marinating in enjoyment at your travels since the first page of this thread! Well said all-around! I like KI very much, but that Action Zone always felt like a weird 2000-era Paramount sea of concrete, the E.T. Zone is an odd cul-de-sac, and the Racer midway looks exactly as it did in 1972. Nowhere there is a particular complaint, but it's a strange convergence of different atmospheres on that left side of KI.

In that case, RMC better update its website! "Topper Track can transform an existing and aging ride into a smooth exhilarating attraction," and that it "can utilize existing or new wood or steel ledgers. http://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/topper-track.php Again, everyone is right on the idea that CP will have some way of marketing it. I still don't think true hyper status is necessary to make it one of the best coasters in the world.

Colossus at Heide Park in Germany... but an RMC Mean Streak would be a steel coaster anyway. !Nerd alert! -- the drop is listed at 159' on Colossus. You're categorically right on the steel coaster, though we don't know that it couldn't be topper track to give it that hybrid/wooden status. RMC's website describes the topper (Goliath, Outlaw Run) as being usable with "existing or new wood or steel ledgers," and that it "can transform an existing and aging ride into a smooth exhilarating experience." I know that NTG went with the IBox, but that doesn't mean that will be the case here.

Disagree. Mean Streak does lend itself to that. Mean Streak's overall layout is similar to the Texas Giant, which was the first RMC transformation. I agree. My point was that Cedar Point tends to build record breaking roller coasters. If they want to break the World Record for tallest woodie they would have to build a drop that is taller than 197 feet (218 feet if they wanted to top Son of Beast). That would be a 36-57 foot first drop increase. Not saying it can't be done, just saying it is not practical. What woodie has a 197 ft drop? A drop of 181 ft would already nudge Goliath, and tallest/fastest/longest hybrid coaster sounds like plenty of hype for the park to tout. I don't think you need to quite hit the hyper status to gobble up most of the categorical records.

I enjoyed watching your faithful interpretation (great job with it!), but that kind of conservatism looks closer to "big off-season rehab" than something newsworthy that will make Mean Streak on par with CP's other headliners -- oh, and that potential is certainly there. I like that GCI came in and did well with GhostRider, but unlike GhostRider, a brakeless/painless Mean Streak might still not get it regarded above the bottom-half of CP's collection. We all know what the answer is, and it can't come soon enough. The park dumped Disaster Transport, swapped restraints on Maverick, swapped trains on Mantis, and added two huge B&M coasters, yet Mean Streak still sits in the waiting room of mediocrity year after year. New Texas Giant has been open for five years now. As a big GCI fan, a "Mean Tweak" from them would look more like an indictment of RMC by Cedar Fair than a commendation of GCI. Mean Streak is the #1 RMC plastic surgery coaster candidate at a major park, and it could be a top ride in the world. There's no way to scoff at that potential. Cedar Point, RMC: Put down the cups of punch, get off the bleachers, stop playing hard to get, and head to the dance floor already, you two lovebirds!

Given Cedar Fair's recent history of tapping big B&Ms and GCI, I'm curious what you thought it might have had up its sleeve. Big thrills would have likely meant a B&M giga or wing coaster, and both could happen down the road, but neither would be so different in experience from Diamondback or Banshee. I just don't see Cedar Fair calling for something like a custom Blue Fire, Karnan, or iSpeed anytime soon.