CedarFlags

While waiting in line for YOLO at SFMM. It was sunny and hot, so the attendant had the line split in half underneath the big tent, and the covering for the ramp leading up to the platform, leaving the middle section empty so no one had to stand in the sun (excellent idea, PS. Great guest service). This was rather confusing to several people who thought they may not really be in line for the coaster that was literally right in front of them. One couple actually left the line because the guy said "that's the ride, but this isn't the line". PS - It's been said before, but this trip made it so glaringly obvious.... literally the worst capacity ride I've ever seen. Trains were getting dispatched approx every 2:20, with only 18 riders possible per train. And the lop-sided loading platform that makes everyone climb over each other to get to the bins, but has 4 feet of extra space on the loading side. Operationally, it's a mess and I have no clue who greenlit any of it.

Something that is prohibitively complicated, but would have made the racing aspect easier is... get rid of the stupid trick track before the blue lift. It adds nothing to the overall experience, but it eats up valuable seconds that can be (and often ARE) the difference between racing or not, which has a huge impact on the experience. I suppose though, that it could just decrease the time of the blue side, thus getting the train to the green lift that many seconds quicker. If only they had put those 5 seconds worth of time at the END of the blue side instead of the beginning.

Matt Ouimet has stated that won't happen..Ghost Rider was one of the last rides planned by Walter Knott, so it's layout is held in some reverence. I think what you'll see coming up is a lot more than a simple retracking though not a layout change. Walter Knott died in 1981, so I kind of doubt that he was super involved in the planning the layout of GhostRider. I would like to see a little bit of rebanking and a steeper first drop, but I think the layout is pretty great overall.

$100 for that seems like a steal. I'd do it in a second. Front row.

Viper is a garbage ride, in my humble opinion. If we weren't being distracted by our backs/necks/ears/shoulders getting smashed around, it would be easier to notice that the ride is SO. BORING. It's trim-braked to death and there isn't any kind of speed or (good) force after the first loop. The rest of the ride feels like driving in rush hour traffic to me... every time is starts to gain a little speed, it either hits brakes, or goes upward into a climbing element that it has just barely enough speed to complete without valleying. I hate this ride so much. *off soapbox*

Some Riptide news. The arms and gondola were getting reinstalled today, so it hopefully shouldn't be too much longer before it's open again.

How do you pay double? The year pass is $71.99 and the monthly is $5.99. There is a 11 cents price difference between the two options every 12 months. You are not paying double for those months as the cost is the same; but you are losing a free benefit of four extra months. To best take advantage of the 4 extra free months; you would need to renew your pass every other year. You could get 16 months of 24 months for the price of 12. Just buy a new pass every other year in September and you lose Jan to Aug of every other year. Call that your healing time Knott's evened the ground this year and instead of just giving something to the new passholders; they gave a free Fastlane to the renewing people so they didn't feel left out. That's actually what my plan turned into.

So, I'm thinking that buying a Membership would be the best option right now to avoid running into the situation next year when I'd have to double pay from Sept-Dec in order to renew my pass at the same price. Yes, no?

Ya, today was a weird day at GR. I too went for my farewell ride and encountered a ridiculous line. The top level of the station was only half full, but it took over 30 minutes. Only running one train, plus there were only 2 ROs on dock instead of the usual 4. The park was pretty dead, so I kind of understand why management would have made that call, but it was still really frustrating to see a relatively small number of people making for such a long wait. And yes, the ride is still insane. I will only ride in a non-wheel seat in one of the center cars, so it wasn't legitimately painful, just really uncomfortable. Rest in power, I'll remember the glory days.

If GCI does the work, then I just really hope it includes new Millennium Flyer trains as well. Hear, Hear! Keeping the PTC trains would just start the countdown clock again on the ride going straight back to its current state.

This. Thank you. Rev was the "first modern looping coaster", and deserves to be recognized for its achievement of figuring out how to make a vertical loop that didn't maim anyone. However, it was many MANY years late to the "world's first looping coaster" party.

Am I the only one who keeps twitching every time I hear / read "World's First Looping Coaster"?

I wonder if they can design new trains that have very good shock absorbers. RMC trains do have shock absorbers. Crossing my fingers, though with the announcement of Joker at SFDK, it seems they are going to be rather busy until next year.

The thing about Xcelerator and 1 train vs 2 trains operations is... it's not an issue with the trains. It's a fundamental issue with the ride's construction. Because it launches straight out of the station instead of a launch block (like TTD and KK), they can't bring a second train in from the brake block until the first one has cleared the top hat. By the time the second train would get fully parked in the station and lapbars went up, the first train would already be at the end of the brakes. Running two trains doubles the cost (and time) of train maintenance and does virtually nothing to increase capacity. So, the park decided to save money in that area since its effect on the guest experience is fairly limited.

Supposedly new trains are on the radar for XC. Rather or not said new trains will have OTSRs or not is unclear. Why would they though?

My biggest question is... What happens to all of this work if the new movies suck?

I'm surprised he isn't a TPR member already!

There are some neat Windjammer demolition pictures on this page. It was ripped apart rather unceremoniously. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1424944

Should be a pretty slow day because the summer season is petty much over now. Almost all of the schools are already back or will be on Monday.

The opposite, actually. A maintenance crew has been working on it at the back of the Western parking lot for the past month or so. The repairs it needed were just very extensive, so they removed the gondola and arms to work on them.

My vote is for Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Absolutely no redeeming qualities. I'm so glad that it's gone... only wish I could have lit the match.

Get ready for a big production today! Lots of stuff happening onstage.

Yes, most of the local schools are going back sometime in the next week or two.

The death made it on national news tonight if you don't think the same media that had a field day with numerous topics this summer wouldn't go to town with a coaster themed to a death omen when someone just died at the park... Valravn is the most vague name though. Is folklore, I couldn't find anywhere online where it was referred to as a "death omen".You guys are being ridiculous. It's a fairytale name at this point. If it is out there, the media will find it. It's not being ridiculous, it's the park preventing a potential major backlash. Well look at Mantis / Banshee. Also a folklore name. Nobody even died, and the park changed the name because the public thought it was too macabre.

If you're staying at the hotel, you may be allowed to enter the park early. I don't know the exact schedule of it or what rides are included, but it's worth asking about. I would say do Iron Reef first, because it's the newest attraction at the park and not really worth more than about 25 minutes of waiting. Xceleator's capacity isn't great, but if you get to it by 10:15-10:20, the line won't be so bad. Silver Bullet's line is usually pretty long from 10-11, because so many people run straight there at rope drop. It calms down considerably by about noon (assuming the park isn't totally packed). Ghostrider's line is always long, so just be prepared for that.