RaceBoarder

No. If you do this you create a DC area, now you have Justice League, Dark Knight, and Superman out of place. And this is the exact thing you're complaining about... This doesn't fix anything and is a solution to a thing that is only a problem to enthusiasts.

The gravestones are a nod to the history of a park. Theme parks are an industry where evolution is a key element. Out with the old/in with the new if you will. It's a way to remember the path a park has been down. As for rides: Goliath, Batman (the original), and Raging Bull are my Top 3.

That's some good investigation right there! Can't get anything by the cop

you can dream of. but it is easier to put your picture with the words: I can not enter Am I the only one that has no clue what this means??? Where are all these fu%ked up people coming from lately? I mean there have been some posts that just leave me literally scratching my head...are these people completely uneducated, on drugs....or both? And just so people don't take this out of context, I am obviously not talking about Robb! Some of the posts are from posters on a SFGAm message board. Wisco Woody, Schoup, and Rolling Coasting are all regulars from there. They got a bug up their ass about TPR sometime in August when a "Roast of Robb Alvey" thread was created for whatever reason. That got people over there thinking about TPR and several posters showed up over here as a result. Schoup was a pure troll account over there and was subsequently banned. As a result we now have to deal with his asinine posts.

I mean, I want my home park to have a $30 million budget for rides too... But yea, it ain't happening. Just once I want some of the few remaining SFGAm fans around here to have realistic expectations and insightful speculation. Enough with the Coaster Nerd wet dreams.

I'm wondering if maybe CP is going to try for a late season opening here. They can use this to bolster 2018 pass sales, but also spike attendance in late Summer 2017... Probably unlikely, but just a thought. I just can't see major construction going on without an explanation.

Someone wanna grab me a cup of Cookies n' Cream Dippin Dots when this is confirmed

Yeah those free spin 4D coasters seem pretty attractive. They're comfortable, thrilling, relatively cheap compared to most new steel coasters, have a small footprint and fit in parks with height restrictions, decent capacity, and they bring people into the park. I'd buy one. The chance hyper GTX I thought fit the same bill, but yet no one is buying them I think it would be a lot harder to market a GTX, a 4D on looks alone piques people's interest. A GTX from the ground just looks like a small rollercoaster to the GP, they have no idea it's a bat poo-poo crazy ride with airtime galore. Plus I think a 4D takes up less real estate and can be squeezed in almost anywhere with a narrow/long strip of land. I also fear the same type of of shunning might await the RMC raptor track... 4D S&S free spins are absolute garbage. It's a family coaster, by S&S own marketing yet they have been hyped as a thrill ride by SF. Having ridden the 4D at SFGAdv it was less than impressive to be kind. This was the general consensus among crowds when talking to people in lines for other rides. People have initial interest and then most are disappointed by the actual experience. SF wants to go for more low cost coasters so more parks get coasters more often, but 4D's are a bad choice. There are a lot better coasters in the less expensive range. 4D's are not going to hold people's interest b/c it's not a thrilling experience, there is no desire to go back and ride again. SF got them b/c they are cheap and take up a very tiny footprint of 259ft x 28ft. They are not a ride worthy to be a wide spread clone. Better plan IMO, would have been to give the parks with out launch coasters clones of the Sky Rocket II or III. There are a bunch of a good sub 10M coasters they could have spread around like the GT-X, Zierer made a good one for Knoebels for 8M, Infinity Coasters and Euro Fighter are 8-9M. Then eventually give MM and GAdv a dive or giga. They could give GAdv a wing b/c they need one over a dive or giga. GAdv has so much space it's just a money thing, while many other SF parks have space concerns. I rode Batman at Fiesta Texas and it was far from garbage. I realize it isn't everyone's cup of tea but Batman performed well enough to warrant Six Flags ordering 4 more. They wouldn't invest in more if people were "losing interest" in the ride. Especially considering Batman has run two seasons, more than enough data has been compiled to show proof of its success. Ignore him. The same guy appeared around Aug. 1st on a local SFGAm message board and just stirred the pot leading up to the announcement of our 4D. It's just a Troll account... Nobody asked you to respond, then don't. Just b/c your one of the people who thinks a 4D is anything more than a cheap, non-thrilling family coaster marketed as a thrill ride falsely by SF. You're the kind of sucker they are depending on to flock to the 4D garbge coasters. They are a one in done non thrill. You do it once and you don't ever have to do it again b/c it's not a thrill. It's a jazzed up carnival ride.

Yeah those free spin 4D coasters seem pretty attractive. They're comfortable, thrilling, relatively cheap compared to most new steel coasters, have a small footprint and fit in parks with height restrictions, decent capacity, and they bring people into the park. I'd buy one. The chance hyper GTX I thought fit the same bill, but yet no one is buying them I think it would be a lot harder to market a GTX, a 4D on looks alone piques people's interest. A GTX from the ground just looks like a small rollercoaster to the GP, they have no idea it's a bat poo-poo crazy ride with airtime galore. Plus I think a 4D takes up less real estate and can be squeezed in almost anywhere with a narrow/long strip of land. I also fear the same type of of shunning might await the RMC raptor track... 4D S&S free spins are absolute garbage. It's a family coaster, by S&S own marketing yet they have been hyped as a thrill ride by SF. Having ridden the 4D at SFGAdv it was less than impressive to be kind. This was the general consensus among crowds when talking to people in lines for other rides. People have initial interest and then most are disappointed by the actual experience. SF wants to go for more low cost coasters so more parks get coasters more often, but 4D's are a bad choice. There are a lot better coasters in the less expensive range. 4D's are not going to hold people's interest b/c it's not a thrilling experience, there is no desire to go back and ride again. SF got them b/c they are cheap and take up a very tiny footprint of 259ft x 28ft. They are not a ride worthy to be a wide spread clone. Better plan IMO, would have been to give the parks with out launch coasters clones of the Sky Rocket II or III. There are a bunch of a good sub 10M coasters they could have spread around like the GT-X, Zierer made a good one for Knoebels for 8M, Infinity Coasters and Euro Fighter are 8-9M. Then eventually give MM and GAdv a dive or giga. They could give GAdv a wing b/c they need one over a dive or giga. GAdv has so much space it's just a money thing, while many other SF parks have space concerns. I rode Batman at Fiesta Texas and it was far from garbage. I realize it isn't everyone's cup of tea but Batman performed well enough to warrant Six Flags ordering 4 more. They wouldn't invest in more if people were "losing interest" in the ride. Especially considering Batman has run two seasons, more than enough data has been compiled to show proof of its success. Ignore him. The same guy appeared around Aug. 1st on a local SFGAm message board and just stirred the pot leading up to the announcement of our 4D. It's just a Troll account...

Oh, 2 years is NOTHING! Some of those people have been at it now for 15+ years! That's the definition of insane! And it makes me laugh because I can't tell you how many times they threaten to shut the site down, report us to parks to get our "media credentials revoked" and all that happens is our site and socials keep getting bigger and bigger. But that's probably also what fuels some of the hate. Which is fine, IMO. Getting additional exposure, even from people like this is not something I'm going to pass up! Love us or hate us. I don't really care. As long as you're still taking about us! P.T. Barnum seems to have done alright with that theory It's quite comical how the "typical coaster nerd" stereotype is rooted in truth with a lot of folks. It's also nice to see that TPR has a good amount of people that get that, and are willing to enjoy the hobby while having a sense of humor about it.

The internet is just a gift that keeps on giving

My count is somewhere between threeve and $Texas....

Yea, you got a deal. Just because it's a "hotel", it does not justify it being crazy expensive. And with those prices, it just doesn't make much sense to pay over $200 more a night just for the convenience of it being in the park. I'll keep my $400 savings, and drive the 10 min down the road. To put it in perspective, with the money I saved by not staying there I can buy my platinum pass for next year, fast lane, meals, and have a few bucks left to play some games or buy a tee shirt. Pricing on hotel rooms is very dynamic. Sure you didn't purchase at the listed price, but someone else probably did. When you see a spike like that, it's not someone throwing a dart at a board randomly.

There is one thing that I'm curious about going forward and I haven't really seen it addressed yet: Was this cycle of clones a one time thing or do they start a new 3-5 year cycle of clones in 2018? Going forward this has some interesting consequences, with the biggest, IMO, being a homogenization of SF parks. You can make a case either way on this. Obviously us enthusiasts see this differently than Steve GP from Atlanta or Frank GP from Chicago who only see what happens at their respective parks. Only time will tell I suppose.

That's not how this works... That information is for their trips. Not yours

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be social with others at parks. I'm the same way in that I'd much rather carry a conversation while standing among the same people for 30-60 minutes at a time instead of staring down at a phone. Unfortunately people like myself and others that have shown a disdain towards enthusiasts seem to adhere to commonly accepted social/cultural norms when interacting with others. We've all seen "that guy" who is oblivious to these norms and is just socially awkward. It's not just a coaster enthusiast thing. You can find these people in any hobby. Hell, we all probably work with someone where you just cringe if they ever ask if you want hang out outside of work.

"So Six Flags is using phones for VR on their coasters. Lets try it here at Dollywood!"

Ah, thanks for explaining! Maybe I'll see you guys another time! Summary TR of my weekend, I ended up visiting on Saturday from about 4:30 on, Sunday the whole day (turned out to be a 16 hour day with me arriving 8:30 for early entry and not leaving until 12:30 after Valravn ERT), and then returning on Monday for one more really long and hot wait for Maverick. Speaking of Maverick.... ZOMG!! This weekend was my first time riding it and I am a HUGE fan! No need to say much more, my voice sounds like a 12-year-old boy today after screaming so much on Maverick as well as trying to talk over the Dragster station music (On the rooftop shout it out, baby I'm ready to go!!!). Mean Streak... I got to say goodbye, 5 times to be exact, three in front and two in back. I actually really enjoyed it, even in the back (I found the rattling in the back to actually be a bit fun). However, after riding it twice in a row with the second ride in the back (as well as a back row ride on Magnum sans seatbelt tightening and back of Gemini right before), I found my back really aching for several hours. Later in the day as our last ride, we took a night ride on it in the front and it was really great. Idk if I can say I'll miss it, but I definitely don't hate it. Gatekeeper was also a new ride for me and I really, really enjoyed it more than I thought! I couldn't help but laugh whenever I stared at the posts as we twirled around them, it's just a really cool, smooth, and fun ride! After riding Valravn 5 times during Platinum ERT, I can say it is a great addition (and VERY popular!) for Cedar Point, but I still think I like Sheikra more. Maybe I'm just biased because I got paid to ride Sheikra every week with campers as well as drinking and riding it on my days off, but I do think the vests on Valravn take away from airtime on the drop a bit, and Sheikra just feels taller because it's the tallest coaster at BGT. Also, I love the dive through the tunnel and the splashdown. Valravn is definitely very fun and still a standout ride at the park, and I do love the extra elements in the latter half. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had gotten a couple more back right rides, but the fates didn't allow it. Also, Valravn crew was KILLING it during ERT, they were hitting 60 second dispatches or less and hustling the entire time, and this was at like 12:15. They let the GP finish going through before they started the passholder ERT, and they still gave us an hour to ride it. Mad respect and appreciation for them! Here are a few pics Nice pics... Actually I like the J.J. Abrams-esque lens flare shot of Maverick.

True. In the event of a spinning coaster (any spinning coaster, even one with a train instead of individual cars) I would expect nothing but relentless bitching / concern about capacity between the announcement and a few weeks after opening. Then once the lines died down after the first season the complaints that it was lost in a big park would take over even though those 2 complaints are almost completely contradictory since the first implies huge demand for the ride and the second implies the opposite. Isn't it fun to be a part of such an insufferable group

- Parking should be covered by simply showing your voucher for the Membership. Same as with a pass. - As far as I can see, the final weekend is going to be a crapshoot. Normally SFGAm is open till Halloween/Nov. 1 or 2. They've not done the full weekend AFTER Halloween in recent memory. I've seen people mention a "Last Blast" event from 2002 or so and comment how it was an empty park. Not much to gage on for this year however. Normally Fright Fest is VERY crowded on Halloween weekend.

If your pass is a GOLD pass, parking is covered at all parks.

With a Season Pass, you can scan the barcode on your voucher for parking once... I'd imagine that a membership would work the same way. You'd have parking covered your first visit...

What will replace Mean Streak is still to come. CP seems like they will mention something when they "lay Mean Streak to rest" in their ride graveyard the opening night of Haunt. Whether that involves RMC is up in the air. Coin flip at best, IMO. That would be the most obvious chance at an announcement for an RMC project.

I'm content with this... Loved this at SFGAdv earlier this year

Not exactly right downtown, but Kuma's Corner has some of the most unique and awesome burgers in Chicago. Interesting themeing as well (it's a Heavy Metal theme). If you want something a bit fancier, I'm a fan of The Berghoff restaurant. They deal in German food with some twists. This is right downtown, so easy access from Millennium Park. Dirk was right on the money about The Loop being one of the most competitive food markets on the planet. Browse Zagat and see what peaks your interest. Pretty much anything goes, so you can find something in your budget and tastes.