SFOG1991

Demon Drop. I am so glad there is still one left in the U.S. Acrophobia. I love the seating arrangement, the downward tilting seats, and the brakes are so low on the tower I feel like they aren't going to stop us every time. Larson/ARM towers. Just terrifying and they feel much taller than they are.

These are awesome! Cool concept.

I would DEFINTELY say only do 1 day at Carowinds (there is not that much to do there, most of their coasters are mediocre, and the lines usually aren't bad), and do the next day at Six Flags Over Georgia, then head to Dollywood. SFOG is just over 3 hours from Carowinds, and Dollywood is just over 3 hours from SFOG. Like I said, if the timing was right you could even stop at Lake Winnie (if you enjoy small traditional/classic amusement parks. Very Americana with a solid 1960s woodie, handmade 1920s boat chute into the lake, last of its kind Fly-o-Plane ride from the 1940s) on your way up to Dollywood. Also, this is a matter of opinion of course, but I would cut the 2 day parks to 1 day (as long as you are there the entire day and would get a fast pass if the lines were long) and cut Cedar Point to 2 days, and add the other parks I mentioned to the trip. You could even potentially add Holiday World maybe. Regardless, sounds like a great trip!

I only looked over this quickly but it sounds like an awesome trip! I know you are probably tight on time, but if possible, parks I would look into squeezing in are Six Flags Over Georgia (and you could even stop at Lake Winnie as it would be right on your route heading north. Most of Carowinds coasters are pretty mediocre but I know you probably want to go for Fury but I would really consider adding SFOG, very solid lineup and Goliath and Mindbender are both amazing), Kentucky Kingdom (about an hour and a half off your route I believe but with 2 coasters that are well worthwhile), Knoebels (It's worth it), and maybe even Waldameer and Conneaut Lake Park between Cedar Point and Kennywood (but that would probably be decently off route and require a full day between Cedar Point and Kennywood). I may be forgetting something but those seem like options close to your route that would be REALLY hard to pass up on.

I am also curious what is going on with this project. The entire thing is simply amazing to me. So much hard work and such a beautiful outcome (so far).

I really want to check this park out finally whenever I make it to Chicago. Also, Troikas are one of my all time favorite classic flat rides!

Six Flags Over Georgia on an average busy day with normal 2 train operations (ex. summer weekends, spring break, Fright Fest): Batman The Ride: 15, 60-90, 30 (This really varies but usually it gets a significant line by late afternoon) Dahlonega Mine Train: 10, 30, 10 Dare Devil Dive: 45, 90+, 60 (This line is always painfully slow. Ride this before ANYTHING right when it opens) Georgia Cyclone: 20, 35, 15 Georgia Scorcher: 20, 35, 15 Goliath: 10, 25, 10 Great American Scream Machine: 5, 30, 15 Joker Funhouse Coaster (formerly Canyon Blaster): 10, 30, 10 Mindbender: 15-30, 45-60, 30 (with 1 train this can be a ridiculously slow long line) Ninja: 0, 20, 10 (with 1 train it's easily pushing an hour) Superman - Ultimate Flight: 15, 45-60, 20-40 Acrophobia: 15, 30-45, 30 Skyscreamer: 15, 45+, 30+ Monster Mansion: 15, 30, 30 The Joker Chaos notCoaster: 15, 30+, 25

I would say an enthusiast's opinion has more power than someone classified as part of the "GP" since a single enthusiast spends more money at parks and is more likely to publically criticize a park. Overall, the GP as a whole is much larger than the enthusiast community, so in that sense their opinion matters much more overall. From my experiences speaking with park executives, they seem to really want to hear what my opinion is, and I try to keep my opinion in line with what is realistic and what matters to them.

Skyrush Phantom's Revenge second drop Conneaut's Blue Streak second drop (Lots of love for the state of PA in this post) Those are some that come to mind for me. Hard to compare much of anything to Skyrush, except maybe the first drop on El Toro.

^ I'm surprised it was that crowded. I've seen decently light crowds the days I have gone and would think Tuesday after Christmas would be the ideal day to go! I'm probably heading there tomorrow night. I am hoping it won't be too busy and people will head out to do other New Year's Eve festivities. I wanted to go Sunday but I will be on a ski trip (which is fine by me!)

If you Google "Six Flags Over Georgia" the Google information says the park is "Permanently Closed"

The Cannonball at Lake Winnie is an awesome coaster. What's weird is that it's nearly the same as the Starliner but the Starliner kind of sucks in that it beats you up. Fair enough, I still hate to see it go though. I do agree Cannonball is a great classic woodie. It isn't too intense but the first drop packs a punch, and there are a few awesome airtime moments especially on the hop right after the first drop. Additionally it is just very smooth and well maintained. Too bad the same couldn't be said for Starliner.

Out of B&Ms that I expected to be good, Green Lantern was definitely the biggest disappointment. It was very discomforting. I rode it as Chang at SFKK and it was fine. I wish they could floorless convert it but they already have a B&M Floorless.

Looks amazing! I feel like I-Drive is finally getting more of the top notch attractions that were missing during my previous visits. *Schedules next trip to Orlando*

Galveston Pleasure Pier is hard to beat in my opinion. It may be small but it's location way out over the water, the amazing lights they have at night, and the impressive rides make it more impressive to me than almost anything.

The possible loss of Starliner is really sad in my opinion. Even if it was a "run of the mill" 1960s out and back woodie, how many of those are even left now? I have ridden Cannonball at Lake Winnie many times and it is a great classic woodie that fits into that category, and I would hate to see it go.

I would love to see them get a lower capacity cheaper coaster that is still a thrilling stand out ride. I feel like the dry park really needs something to bring get the visitors in. The dry park is always dead while the water park is overcrowded. I think this addition is fine but since it will go away it doesn't really add to the park. I know a coaster is not cheap, but I feel like a new slide in the water park would've been a very good decision.

I have been on a couple hundred coasters at this point and I can't think of anything smoother than Dare Devil Dive. It is smooth beyond belief. You can't feel the track under you at all. I'm not sure how Gerstlauer does it! Much smoother than any new B&M. Amazingly smooth especially considering some of their others are relatively rough. Cheetah Hunt and Superman at SFDK are both very smooth as well.

White Lightning at FunSpot Orlando is ridiculously fun. It is a perfect mix of playful and intense. You finish the ride out of breath from both the intense pacing and your own laughter.

Kraken @ SeaWorld Orlando for me. It is big, unique, and intense. Keep in mind I've been on Kraken, Bizarro, Dominator, Hydra the Revenge, Rougarou, and Medusa. I have a handful I still need to try out.

Great story! I really loved that coaster too and to me it was iconic. A classic that dominated the park's skyline. It was so much better than Green Lantern (although I did like that one when it was still Chang back at SFKK).

Add me to the list of people who really enjoyed Shockwave. I could do without the neck snap entering the helix, but it kind of added to the intensity. I really enjoyed it just because of all that great standing airtime.

I have never been on Goudurix and have only heard terrible things, but I have been on Ninja and find the butterfly loop to be one of the best inversions I've experienced. It is very intense, unique, and disorienting, as is the entire coaster which I think is heavily underrated and overly hated.

The park spent a TON of money on upgrades throughout the park and operational changes to move towards profitability, so a lot of that loss is probably not a standard annual operating expense. They were playing catch up. It seems very realistic now that they can pay off their overdue taxes even within 1 year, they just paid half, and could possibly pay the other half with the sale of the 3.3 acres. They already have an offer of 280,000 for one parcel of land. If the demand is high enough and they do double the size of Camperland as they plan to, they could be bringing in an additional 60,000 yearly from that as well. They are doing what they can to be profitable as soon as possible but honestly the amusement park model just does not work in their kind of setting like it did 50 years ago. Hopefully as soon as they pay off the taxes they can aggressively look for state funded support or pursue property tax exemption for all the land that is free public use (the free act lawn, beach, etc.) Really hoping the park gets some lucky breaks where they deserve it.

2004: Thunderhead @ Dollywood 2005: SheiKra @ Busch Gardens Tampa 2006: Expedition Everest @ Disney's Animal Kingdom Goliath @ Six Flags Over Georiga 2007: Mystery Mine @ Dollywood Griffon @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg 2009: Diamondback @ Kings Island 2010: Intimidator @ Carowinds 2011: Dare Devil Dive @ Six Flags Over Georgia 2012: Wild Eagle @ Dollywood Iron Shark @ Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier 2013: White Lightning @ Fun Spot America Freedom Flyer @ Fun Spot America Gold Striker @ California's Great America Undertow @ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Flying Turns @ Knoebels 2014: Banshee @ Kings Island FireChaser Express @ Dollywood 2015: Laff Trakk @ Hersheypark Impulse @ Knoebels Fury 325 @ Carowinds Thunderbird @ Holiday World Wild West Express @ Adventure Park USA 2016 Plans: Lightning Rod @ Dollywood Storm Chaser @ Kentucky Kingdom Mako @ SeaWorld Orlando Cobra's Curse @ Busch Gardens Tampa Spinning Out @ Beech Bend Phobia Phear Coaster @ Lake Compounce Monster @ Adventureland Valravn @ Cedar Point (I have very optimistic plans)