SFOG1991

While I agree you shouldn't HAVE TO like every coaster, I know I personally love some coasters many people dislike, so I don't think it is wrong for people to be sad or angry about demolition of a coaster you just happen to find terrible.

Could Lightning Rod actually finally be opening...?

I too agree that Black Widow is a much better ride than MaxAir (which is a great ride itself). Black Widow is just that good. Possibly my favorite flat I've ever been on.

Yeah, myself and the other volunteers really only repainted the exterior of the building and the railings when we did it a few years ago. Glad to see that the paint job is holding up well. Thank you for volunteering. I wish I could volunteer but being in Atlanta makes it just about a dozen hours too far away for me.

^I'm sure the same goes for this park, but I do wish we had a thread for Lake Winnie. I often want to post/discuss the park but I don't really want to make a new thread for small updates or just general discussion.

Small update for the park... They are repainting the entire Blue Streak station interior. No word of painting the exterior but as of last season the exterior of the station looked good and the new lighted sign for the ride looks great still. No word on if they have finished redoing the giant tunnel before the lift hill but I know the framework is all in place. I hope they can complete that soon because the long dark tunnel really adds to the ride. Devils Den has gone through a lot of updating over the winter and some of that will still be in progress during the season as more effective sensors are put in. I don't know of any other updates but honestly other than the pavement being a mess in the park, the park has pretty much been cleaned up in all areas and looks good. Excited for the new season and hoping I can make it up there at least one time!

I visited the park after it's big revival in the mid 2000s and had an absolutely amazing experience. Obviously with the thrill rides gone this experience is diminished to some extent, but the chair lift and property alone are worth the visit. I really wish they had success with that reopening because it was a fun and super unique classic park.

Yes. This is what happens when you show enthusiasts burly men touching coaster parts.

Doesn't this already exist? If I am interpreting you correctly they basically have this on Georgia Scorcher and Outlaw Run Not the best picture but the track at the far right.

I can't find it through their site either but a Google search came up with this link: https://www.miadventure.com/images/uploads/file/MA%20Park%20Map.pdf

Well the park chose the name options for the vote and all were very bland. Customers actually had better names they thought of themselves.

I don't have any pictures personally but I will say it is sad the park has nearly no remaining history and is practically unrecognizable. Cedar Fair (and I'm sure to some extent previous owners) did a good job at stripping away everything pre-1990 basically. I would love to see more of what the historic park looked like.

^My thoughts exactly.

You go straight to the gate like you would at your home park.

I've rode it about five times and every time I come off asking myself, "Why the hell did I ride that again?" It injured my wife. It's more painful than Ninja at SFOG...and since this is a Carowinds thread, Carolina Cylcone and Carowind's own Vortex is a better ride than KI's Vortex. Just my opinion here, but Vortex is the worst multi looper I've rode. But yeah, I agree...Everyone should ride it at least once to see how much pain they're in after they get off the ride. I guess I am just lucky that it doesn't hurt me or my boyfriend. We both absolutely love it, marathon it on our visits and wish we could have it in our backyard. It just seems like people here exaggerate how rough it is, but I wouldn't know what they are feeling. Anyways, I hope the park chooses to consider track work and new restraints rather than scrapping the ride. Same goes for Carolina Cyclone which we both really enjoy as well.

This right here. Seriously, I can't believe people are arguing over whether "Ninja" or "Blue Hawk" is a better/worse name. That action alone is dumber than the name itself. Last I checked, whether the name of a ride was Blue Hawk, Thunder Dolphin, or Hamster Child Fizzy Biscuit really doesn't matter much if I like or dislike an actual ride. I don't think it is wrong for people to like more about the ride than just the ride itself. For me, name, concept, themed elements, etc. all play a part in the overall quality of a coaster because it enhances the experience. As for Ninja, it just seems wasteful, and while it can be argued that it is being done to better market the ride, it seems to be distracting people from the fact that Ninja won't beat you up as much now. Many people think they are just painting it and renaming it and are failing to recognize the restraint and track changes. Regardless, at the end of the day I love the ride and am just happy the park is choosing to invest in it rather than ride it out a bit longer and tear it down.

Now that you mention it.... Whoa!! Green shirt!!

Advice: Definitely do the water park even if you are freezing cold. Both water coasters are worth it at the very least. I would say go there first but since it will not be very hot it may be worth going at the warmest part of the day and waiting in whatever line may exist. Since it won't be that hot and it is a weekday I assume there won't be many people but when I've been to the park the water coasters had insanely long lines.

Just going to jump in here again and give Vortex some love. One of the best multi loopers I've been on honestly. Great ride. Everyone should ride it at least once to see how they feel about it.

It received two trains and to this day runs notably smoother than it did with the Vekoma trains. I've never found it very rough because my height puts me above the shoulder restraints, but there was still a relatively significant difference between the Vekoma trains and the Arrow trains that replaced them. I'm sure with the new restraints and track work the ride will be acceptably smooth, and the layout is really solid too so there is no reason to get rid of it. It's actually one of my favorite coasters but I can understand how the roughness ruins it for some people. Luckily that's being addressed and invested into fairly aggressively. I'm glad some people are more optimistic, I just feel no amount of work will ever make Ninja acceptably smooth. Another thing that bugs me about the whole reprinting thing is Ninja looked fine the way it was, as crappy of a ride as it was, it was visually fine, they should have spent the time and money on repainting Scotcher, Goliath or Superman. I completely agree with that. I understand the intent is to rebrand it and market it but I think it is backfiring for them. On Facebook, the GP is so distracted by the name and color change that they think that is all the park is doing. It is taking away from the emphasis on the new restraints and track work which is what really matters since that's what people dislike about it. It's also sad to take a decently themed ride, and turn it into something generic while wasting the perfectly good themed aspects and trying to convert the look into something else. Plus a large number of their Facebook fans commenting seem fairly passionate about the name Ninja. Scorcher needs a paint job so much at the moment. The last repaint was obviously poor paint/work and on a budget because it fell apart after one season. They need the same paint used on X2 at SFMM because that job still looks great years later. Superman too but at least it is just faded as opposed to cracked, pealing, and rusted throughout. I think Goliath looks fine though. Faded a good bit, but it looks fine still. SFOG is such a beautiful park, but walking to the front gates and passing by Scorcher might give people that have never visited a negative first impression in regards to upkeep because you're right, it's awful looking, the inversions are caked in grease or oil and the paint is chipped everywhere, and it's sad because if you look at pictures from the past Scorcher is a beautiful looking piece of machinery. Agreed. It used to be gorgeous. When they painted it they also got yellow paint all over the ground and rocks. The rocks are actually more well painted than the ride at this point.

Disappointed in the new name and rebranding and loss of perfectly good themeing but excited for the new restraints and track work. I've always loved Ninja and never found it very rough but this should only make it better for those who claim it's so painful.

I'm assuming it just cuts down on their operational expenses and simultaneously provides some time for smaller improvements/changes before the summer season and maybe even extra time for job training. It's probably a mix of factors like that and all make sense in terms of the big picture and bottom line. I would love to know the exact answer to that though.

It received two trains and to this day runs notably smoother than it did with the Vekoma trains. I've never found it very rough because my height puts me above the shoulder restraints, but there was still a relatively significant difference between the Vekoma trains and the Arrow trains that replaced them. I'm sure with the new restraints and track work the ride will be acceptably smooth, and the layout is really solid too so there is no reason to get rid of it. It's actually one of my favorite coasters but I can understand how the roughness ruins it for some people. Luckily that's being addressed and invested into fairly aggressively. I'm glad some people are more optimistic, I just feel no amount of work will ever make Ninja acceptably smooth. Another thing that bugs me about the whole reprinting thing is Ninja looked fine the way it was, as crappy of a ride as it was, it was visually fine, they should have spent the time and money on repainting Scotcher, Goliath or Superman. I completely agree with that. I understand the intent is to rebrand it and market it but I think it is backfiring for them. On Facebook, the GP is so distracted by the name and color change that they think that is all the park is doing. It is taking away from the emphasis on the new restraints and track work which is what really matters since that's what people dislike about it. It's also sad to take a decently themed ride, and turn it into something generic while wasting the perfectly good themed aspects and trying to convert the look into something else. Plus a large number of their Facebook fans commenting seem fairly passionate about the name Ninja. Scorcher needs a paint job so much at the moment. The last repaint was obviously poor paint/work and on a budget because it fell apart after one season. They need the same paint used on X2 at SFMM because that job still looks great years later. Superman too but at least it is just faded as opposed to cracked, pealing, and rusted throughout. I think Goliath looks fine though. Faded a good bit, but it looks fine still.

It received two trains and to this day runs notably smoother than it did with the Vekoma trains. I've never found it very rough because my height puts me above the shoulder restraints, but there was still a relatively significant difference between the Vekoma trains and the Arrow trains that replaced them. I'm sure with the new restraints and track work the ride will be acceptably smooth, and the layout is really solid too so there is no reason to get rid of it. It's actually one of my favorite coasters but I can understand how the roughness ruins it for some people. Luckily that's being addressed and invested into fairly aggressively.

A second person has apparently died from their injuries. I'm still shocked this incident didn't kill more people. That video is quite graphic...