Three

Money and time issues might mean that I have to pick and chose what parks I hit while in Texas. And right now, I'm really torn between the two Six Flags parks. I think I'm leaning toward SFOT, at present. Texas Giant looks a bit better than Rattler, (and has two good wooden coasters, not just one). Titan's extra helix calls to me, Mr. Freeze looks fantastic, and my girlfriend can finally ride a Batman. But am I right in thinking that SFFT is run better? It certainly seems to have better scenery, and overall it looks like a nicer park. Plus it actually has a unique beamer which looks fantastic. I dunno. I wanna do both, but which is the better choice if I can only do one?

Apparently, the park was sitting on some valuable real estate. Six Flags wasn't doing all that great financially, Astroworld was widely considered one of the worst parks in the chain... you add two and two, and you get the sale of a park. It makes sense from a business standpoint, anyway. Still pissed about it though.

OMG, found it! ----------------------- ^

Mapquest has this coaster about an hour out of the way off I-10. Now, I'm sure I'll go ride it anyway to get my credit whore on. But I just wanted some opinions. Good ride? Rough? Seems to be a decent mid-sized wooden coaster. It it just average? Good? Fantastic?

SheiKra makes sense to be like that though. Can you imagine just whipping over that drop? It'd be... unpleasant, to be sure. Perhaps it could be taken faster than it is now. But full speed? Ha.

I actually think the "depends on the park" answer is probably the most accurate. SheiKra has an intense spot or two, but y'all are right that it's an entirely different beast from the other beamers in the park. And that's good -- a good park has a decent variety in ride experience. SheiKra fits BGTB perfectly. I guess the point was, B&M seems to be building fewer "blah" coasters this year. It's been a while since they've put out so many coasters worth traversing the country (and world?) to ride. And in Black Mamba's case, it sounds like the park asked for a harsher beast than B&M has made in a while, and it sounds like that's what they're getting. It's certainly good to know they're still in that business. Though I should probably wait til it's actually finished to jump to conclusions like that.

I thought the stripe looked like trash in the concept art, but it actually looks a lot better than I anticipated. And this is from somebody who thinks a patriotic coaster is... probably unnecessary.

It's totally possible it's just my imagination, but it just seems the feedback I've heard on this year's B&Ms (and SheiKra) have been mostly positive so far. Language along the lines of "surprisingly forceful", "more intense than most B&Ms lately", etc. Patriot, of course it's too early to see how the majority (of fans, anyway) will receive it. But there's at least one positive review out already. Okay, so I jumped to conclusions on that. But I'm not saying anything drastic is going on here. Just that, it seems maybe B&M is actually listening. That maybe they're getting back on track. Black Mamba certainly sounds fantastic. Goliath seems to be a big hit. Hmm, maybe I'm too tired to sustain an argument at this hour....

For a while, people were getting rather irritated with B&M in coaster circles. People were complaining about them going too smooth, and not intense enough. All sorts of reviews ending in "meh". Do you think they're on the path toward improvement? Last season, SheiKra was touted as one of the best B&Ms in years. Goliath at SFOG is getting absolutely fantastic reviews. Patriot is shaping up to be a real winner. Black Mamba, before much else was known about it, was stated to be more intense than B&M recommended. Do people here think they're doing better than they were two, three years ago? Do you think B&M has listened to the coaster fans?

My favorite, visible prominantly on the map of MGM studios, was sadly DESTROYED when they built that hat monstrosity right on Mickey's nose.

Gas-electric coasters rewl!!1

Why must I choose? They are both too different to compare.

My ideal, quickest route directions (a bit more complicated, but more direct) 95 to Ft. Pierce Ft. Pierce to Yeehaw Junction on turnpike Yeehaw Junction to Bartow on 60 North on Bartow Highway to Polk Parkway Polk Parkway east to I-4 I-4 east to I-75 first exit is Busch Gardens'. edit: As for cool rides at Adventure Island? Nothing beats Everglides. Unless you've been on something similar elsewhere (I hadn't).

I think my personal favorite was when my friend yawned during the first drop on Montu and was screaming like hell the rest of the ride. Hysterical.

I would recomend the turnpike, actually. It's somewhat more direct, and will shave some time off the trip. If you take 95, you basically have to go straight up, and then straight over. Taking the turnpike (at the very least from Ft. Pierce to Orlando) will shave a bit of time off the trip.

Best? Togo?

Traffic around Naples on 75 is always horrible. HORRIBLE. I have never driven through that area at or near the speed limit. Anyway, Miami to Tampa is almost exactly 5 hours on 75.

Man, hate to be all serious but I'm wondering how exactly a gay theme park would even work. A park catered to such a small proportion of the population? Where's the money in that? If such a park opened, I'd bet more than half the people there would be straight. Hell, I'd go just for the credits.

BZZZZDT I'm sorry, y'all. The answer we were looking for is Gwazi. No points.

I'm going to be somewhat selfish here, so apologies if it seems offensive. But I'm just a bit upset that my hella awesome plan to buy six flags passes this year and hit four in one trip has been reduced to a two park trip. Astroworld and New Orleans in just a few months time.... I realize how bad off New Orleans is, believe me -- hit any of the major tourist spots now, and you'll notice just how hard up the city is for business. I can definitely see why Six Flags might just cut their losses and get out. Seriously, with all the damage it'd cost a fortune to get the park back up into peak shape. And for what? The present economy of the city certainly couldn't support it. Will it in the near future? I couldn't imagine. So I feel bad for all that's happened in New Orleans, and the city still needs a lot of work... but damnit, I'm still upset that my awesome mega trip has been so utterly castrated.

W00t! Pumpkins avatar! Man, so glad Corgan's workin' on a revival.

2006 is getting a hella ton of B&Ms, no? It's been a while since they've had so much on the table: Black Mamba inverted at PhantasiaLand, confirmed The Patriot inverted at Worlds of Fun, semi-confirmed The unnamed flyer at Six Flags Magic Mountain, semi-confirmed The unnamed flyer at that new park in China... OCT? The unnamed hyper at Six Flags Over Georgia, semi-confirmed And I think I'm missing a few. They seem to have gotten a lot a flack lately... I do hope they're getting back in the swing of things. Especially with the rumors about Black Mamba's helix....

http://vadercoaster.ytmnd.com/ Anyone?

Hmm... I want ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter.

^ whoa, it's literate me!