Arthur_Seaton

Hahaha!! Ooops!

When I rode it last year, I prepared myself for a beating — which it delivered (those seats feel like they're square). However, I did not anticipate the leg crushing that it delivered on the brake run. The train I was on sat on the brakes for a good two minutes or so. It was like having an extra-tight blood pressure cuff strapped to both legs. Skyrim's restraint issue is cakewalk compared to this thing.

I got to ride The Beast at night as well as in torrential rain / thunderstorm. The storm hit about 4pm, and The Beast was the last ride to shut down as the rain progressively got worse and worse. By the time the train dispatched, rain was coming down in sheets. It ended the day early, but it was so worth it. Riding at night and riding through rain are fairly similar — you're largely blinded, and it feels as though the train is flying through the landscape. It did have some rough spots for sure, but about what's expected for an old wooden coaster. When I visited KI last year, I was on a mini tour, hitting Indiana Beach, Cedar Point, Kentucky Kingdom, and Holiday World, and Diamondback was my favorite coaster from any of the parks I visited. In fact, I think it's my favorite coaster, period. The floater airtime is perfectly calibrated and ridiculously sustained. I loved The Bat as well — it's like a grown-up version of the other arrow swingers I've ridden.

This was my experience as well when I visited last August. Raven was, by far, the smoothest (and best) of the three for me. I personally didn't find Voyage to be that intense, but it was brutally violent when I rode it. I got five or six rides in (glutton for punishment, I guess) and it was really the same no matter where I sat on the train. The first half, when it was moving in a relatively straight line, was fine. The turnaround and return leg were terrible though — nonstop pain.

It seems like the dueling / racing potential for such narrow track / train design is through the roof. Arguably, what makes TC so good is the racing / interaction, and a system like this could make for a more reliably synchronized version in a relatively small footprint. Plus, doing high speed maneuvers on what basically looks like a monorail track, has got to be unnerving!

It's difficult to appreciate the scale of the new Mean Streak from the pics, especially since the big first hill is tucked away. The original structure was so impressive in person though that I can imagine this must feel just as monstrous in the flesh. Looking forward to seeing it in action and, hopefully, returning to CP to give it a spin. I'm especially curious to see how it handles that second outward-bank hill though as that looks, to me, like it has the potential to be more uncomfortable than fun. Then again, the outward bank hills and turns are one of the RMC tropes that I've never enjoyed that much.

Not a huge fan of that one either. Aside from the pretzel loop, it feels a bit meandering to me. The top of the lift hill is the standout moment IMO. Too bad TC is down, but hopefully it'll open up in time. I give Full Thröttle a slight edge over TC so hopefully you'll be able to grab a few laps on that one.

Scandia Screamer is worth a look when in the SoCal area. It's pretty rough in parts (you can see a couple of spots on the track that could use some re-profiling right before the train's skateboard-like wheels jackhammer over them), but it's surprisingly ejector-y. I'm a sucker for compact and unusual portables though.

Yeah, that was quite a drop! You really feel the log throwing you forward out of your seat.

My guess is that the visual impact plays a big role. Valravn is very well-showcased in the park with plenty of seating / observation space built underneath the structure so you can watch the riders plummet. Also, the ride itself looks intimidating but is relatively tame veering more toward fun than intense thrills. Last, the nature of the seating is well designed for group riding. I don't know know how much each of these factors contribute to its overall popularity, but they all stood out to me when I visited. It was definitely one of my favorite rides in the park. Having said that, I can't quite visualize how something like this would fit into the old Boomerang area at Knotts, even though I'd love to see one there too.

I went to Cedar Point for the first time last year and splurging on the Fast Lane pass was indeed worth every penny. I actually showed up the night before after Indiana Beach turned out to be a bust and was able to ride about 8 or so rides before the park closed using my season pass. On the day I had the Fast Pass, the place wasn't that busy, and I could have probably covered everything at least once without it (except Valravn — which had hella lines because it had just opened), but still it was absolutely worth it. I rode everything I wanted to ride multiple times and was able to leave in time to drive down to Kings Island for night rides on The Beast. If you're not a CP regular, I'd definitely recommend the pass.

For me, yeah — not a big fan of Tatsu (or flyers in general). They probably got the idea from riding it and feeling sensations in their body. I think it's more that the ride's fairly unpredictable these days. I never understood the gripes about until the past couple of years, but riding it many times over an extended period reveals just how temperamental it can be. It goes from standard B&M (maybe a little shaky) to "WTF happened to this ride?" within the same month it seems.

I never understood the complaints about Scream being either rough or rattly and I'd ride it on almost every visit. Then, a couple of years ago, we rode it and something was very different — not just rattling or slightly bumpy, but seriously jackhammering like crazy. Since then, I've ridden it a bunch and it seems to go back and forth between expected B&M performance and pretty rough. My guess is that the problem train related. Still prefer it to the other B&Ms in the park though.

Given that most of LA has a season pass now, platinum passes have become the new regular entry fee! The crowds have been insane there as of late.

^ Cool! I've never been on one of those rides. Are they super nauseating?

Definitely a concern, but Xcelerator's already fugly-ed up that area to no end. Although the space is totally different, the more exposed aspects of Diamondback are actually quite scenic (the lake at least). But Knotts has local residential areas to consider as well. A looming B&M would undoubtably hamper the park's skyline, but also figuring out where it would run would be tricky. There's a lot of warehouse space over the south end of the park that wouldn't add much to the ride, but could keep the intrusion down to some degree.

For a long time, I wasn't a fan of B&M at all. I really don't enjoy the gimmicky stand-up / flying ride positions, and still find many B&M designs to be meandering and dull. However, the B&M hypers that I've ridden are really impressive to me — balancing thrills and fun without needing to push the envelope in terms of extremes. I like Intamin very much, and Xcelerator is a very intense coaster (the fact that it's short is somewhat of a saving grace as the launch and the ejection on the top hat are almost too much as it is), but a B&M integrates fun with thrills in a more palatable way for my money. That may just be personal preference though as I find myself growing increasingly tired of the extreme bucking-bronco bruised-thigh style ejection of certain RMCs and Chance Hypers (I really didn't like Lightning Run much at all). An El Loco would look cool, and I quite enjoyed the one at Indiana Beach, but it's really just a glorified wild mouse so I'm not sure how well it would go over next to another wild mouse. Even though I'm personally not a fan of it, I could see them shoehorning a Skyrush-style ride in there as that footprint's not too sprawling.

I'll take a B&M hyper please! Ever since riding Nitro and Diamondback, I've been hoping for a good floater machine in SoCal. A dive machine would be perfectly acceptable too, though.

Wow, these reports are amazing — fantastic writing. And Lebanon looks incredible!

I thought you had to be in the park, but maybe not anymore? Last few times I was there, the app times were way off though.

It is right now because of Spring Break — probably one of the busiest weekends of the whole year. Over the past few years, a 2hr line would be an anomaly on any day. But since they've basically made season passes the same price as tickets, the place is jam packed often. The app is rarely right, but I'm guessing some lines will go beyond the 2hr time tomorrow.

There are a few that I like in relation to the ride as a whole / environment, but the standout for me is Twister Colossus in the back seat. I liked NTAG's first drop for similar reasons. I also agree with others that SFMM's Apocalypse has a great first drop (perfectly pitched and positioned within the structure). I also loved Diamondback's first drop, but the drops on some smaller rides like the Blackpool Wild Mouse are memorable for me as well. Curious if those who have ridden both see any parallels between Skyrush's first drop and the over-the-loop drop on Füll Throttle? Both are kind of meh to me, and I think it has something to do with the extended curve into an almost-vertical position. Both feel more like being tipped / thrown than actually falling. The RMC drops have a similar ejection effect but produce more of a distinct plummeting feeling for me.

Wonderful news that Boomerang is leaving. I rode it a few times last year and didn't find it to be as unpleasant as other boomerangs I've ridden (which isn't saying much), but it's nice to see that Knotts recognizes that it's past its expiration. It does seem like that whole area has quite a bit of space, so I could certainly see something of decent size / scope replacing it. Maybe it's just because so many other areas of the park feel cramped, but that entire north west quadrant of the park feel awkwardly open and a bit barren.

If Six Flags wanted to convert Green Lantern or Apocalypse, they can be my guest, but Riddler and Scorcher should really stay stand-ups. Green Lantern would certainly be interesting as a stand-up — especially with the center of gravity located at the riders' feet.

It is nice to see these VR "experiences" being moved off of rides. Hopefully other parks will follow suit and will quarantine the tech into storage sheds, backlots, and walled-in areas and whatnot. I still think parks should implement VR in rest rooms, as that makes about as much sense as ruining the fundamental experience of a coaster in addition to decimating its capacity.