Arthur_Seaton

I loved Valravn — much more than I expected to. I rode in a bunch of different seats but got no roughness from it at all (which I did get from the backseat of Banshee). There was a bit of rattle at the bottom of the drop going up into the first inversion, but it's moving pretty fast at that point, I imagine. The ride's not as intense as other rides in the park, but it provides a series of well-paced moves, great views, lots of fun, and I found the restraints to be perfectly comfy — which I preferred to standard horse collar restraints.

Here's a mini report backlogged from Monday 8/8. Rather than start a new thread or one specific to the park, I'll build on ejot's report if that's okay. Tonight I tackled public transit to visit Seabreeze in the Rochester suburb of Irondequoit. As I was working in the area, I’d considered venturing out to Darien Lake but there’s so little there that appeals to me. I’d also considered Canada’s Wonderland, but the distance / cost of car rental and hotel didn’t seem worth it given that I’d ridden versions of a number of their rides elsewhere. Waldameer, was a huge draw (awesome dark rides), but a little too out of the way given the driving I’d already done and more rental cars would have been a pain. Seabreeze, however, was close, and a coaster fan at Kentucky Kingdom had instructed me not to miss it. It’s small but charming spot on the southern perimeter of Lake Ontario, reasonably priced (post-5pm discount) with plenty to do. I don’t know much about the park’s present ownership, but the the place seemed well run and it noticeably embraced its long history. There was a healthy crowd there, but the longest wait for a ride was maybe five minutes. The place is small but has a lot of character. A nearby food spot. Not sure what "frozen custard" is and I wasn't about to find out. The area surrounding the park is great, though. Game stalls make up the park's version of a midway. Jack Rabbit (x5): Kudos to the park for conserving this so well; given that it's older than various hills, it runs flawlessly. Manual brakes and no air gates while modern trains provided a temperate ride. It doesn’t look like much but several of the dips are sunken, diving into excavated land and through a small ravine. The ride provides polite floater air on three of the hills, and there’s an alarmingly dark tunnel with a concealed drop inside. The ride’s tame by modern standards, but still holds its own in terms of thrills and fun. Despite its age, it doesn’t look a day over twenty. During my last ride, some loathsome horrors climbed out of their restraints and rode standing up, freaking out the rest of the train in the process. While they survived this one unscathed, I’m sure they’ll be future recipients of Darwin awards. 8/10 Well-preserved station and signage. There's nothing unusually forceful about it, but it's a blast. You can see how it makes use of various trenches and ravines. Jack Rabbit doesn't look like much from outside the park, but it's a great old-school woodie. There's a drop inside that tunnel. The manual brake operations were fun to watch. Bobsleds (x4): A million points for quirky ingenuity, the ride looks knocked together with scraps from the hardware store and a few old pipes. It sits on a slope which it uses to its benefit, adopting a weird chain mechanism to haul cars back into the station. It rides like equal parts wild mouse and Matterhorn bobsleds, albeit a tamed version of both. The drops are negligible but the peculiar track design is what makes it a hoot. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. 7/10 The awesomely weird bobsleds. It's a small ride, but like Jack Rabbit, is surprisingly fun. You can get a sense of how the bobsleds are built onto the slope of the land. This is the weird chain lift that drags the cars back to the station once they've climbed up the final slope. About to drop. The undulating track of the bobsleds. Whirlwind (x4): A mass-produced spinning coaster, but a first for me and I enjoyed it more than expected. A smooth ride with a decent drop, nippy turns, and all the right elements to give the car a really good spin. Two young girls that I rode with threatened to perforate my ear drums with their screams. Despite the park being slow-ish, they were running four cars and there were always two in the circuit at all times. 7/10 Log Flume (x2): Celebrated for its steep drop, this was a top-shelf flume overall. Much of the course was a cement trough with slopes, tunnels, and turns. The circuit forms a rectangle with some added bits and the drop is, indeed, more thrilling than you’d expect. This is due to the angle that starts reasonable then increases midway down. You get momentarily launched from your seat as the result. Rather than sliding down the inside of a chute, the drop resembles that of a coaster: a flat wooden surface with low rails and side-friction blocks. It results in a generous splash and it’s quite a soaker, so be warned if you prefer to avoid dampness. 7/10 The coaster-style log flume drop. The log ride's final splash down is fairly splashy. Right before the part where it throws you off your seat. The tipping point. Sea Dragon (x1): A standard pirate ship but with a wide arc that produced air at each end. It seemed to instill panic in a number of unsuspecting riders. A standard pirate ship, but very fun all the same. Music Express (x1): I’ve never ridden one of these (or at least I don’t think I have) so I jumped on board. I suspect people sign up for the music more than anything as the ride was uneventful: a series of undulations, forward and backward; little more. Wave Swinger (x1): A customary chair-swing ride with some decent elevation. It flies right through one of the park’s smoking section, so be sure to hold your nose and sneer. Great chair swings that fly through a smoking section of the park. Screamin’ Eagle (x1): I guess this is a stock flat ride as well but I’d never tried one before. It looked utterly sickening (and it was) but I rode it anyway (one must, mustn’t one?). Duller than anything, it featured awkward hang time and a decent view of the sky. It looks intimidating so I assume it’s a hit with the crowd, but most of the people on it looked bored — as was I. This ride's bark was much bigger than its bite. It was actually kind of dull. Flyers (x1): I feel like I'm missing what everyone else sees in these rides; I’ve ridden a few and they’re just not for me it seems. These one seemed like all the rest — round and round, up and down, with some potential cable twisting in between. They look good and, according to park history, have been there forever, so there’s that. When I rode, an OCD-driven young lady from the previous cycle insisted on straightening all the fins of the cars before exiting. Tilt-A-Whirl (x1): I don’t think I’ve ever ridden one so I jumped on board, Sort of what I expected it to be — lots of forces when it hit the right hill and the right time, but plodded along otherwise. Fun, though. A fairly intense tilt-a-whirl. Revolution 360 was down, but it didn’t look like much of anything really. In total I spent three hours at the park and never ran out of things to do. What impressed me the most was how well Jack Rabbit was running, stressing that the park understands the importance of preservation. They had several pieces of old rides displayed in the carousel building — including parts of a ghost train — and I couldn’t help but wonder why that hadn’t been preserved. There’s a number of wonderful old pretzel dark rides in the area, and that’s the one thing that a park like Seabreeze could surely preserve so well. If you’re in the area and have a few hours to kill, the place is worth it for Jack Rabbit, Bobsleds, and the Log Ride, but there’s more to it than just those three. There's a lot of quaint detail around the place. The park embraces its history and does a nice job of keeping the past in the present. Some old dark ride features. I couldn't help but wish that this ride was still around. Again, the entrance to the park. Looking out toward the lake from behind the carousel building.

Titan was fairly smooth, but there's a noticeable different between the way it and Goliath runs — mainly at the bottom of the drop. On Titan, that part was rattly and a bit jarring (although not too bad). On Goliath, that part of the ride is totally smooth. Something's different between them, but who knows what's causing it?

I really enjoyed that ride! Certainly on the level of others in the park, but I thought it was a great classic-style out and back.

You're welcome! And yes, I like plenty of intense / rough rides (I always liked Ghost Rider, even when it was at its worst), and have hit a number of the big ones over the last couple of weeks, but I generally want a little more from a ride than a barrage of extreme negative / positive g-forces. These rides didn't do it for me personally — not solely because of their intensity as I've been on much worse — but because I didn't find that they had much more to offer in terms of a fully-rounded ride. (Storm Chaser was the better of the two in this regard.) I'm one of the few people who wasn't enamored with Sky Rush either (despite riding it a ton of times) because it was all about enduring the extreme forces and not a lot else. Although these two weren't on that level, they suggest that designers are heading in that direction — extreme forces over all else — and that disappoints me a bit, especially when it's at the expense of a well-rounded ride. And, for the record, I do think Big Thunder Mountain is a pretty great coaster

I (start to) gray out embarrassingly easy when it comes to positive forces but I've never had a problem on Tatsu. Maybe it's the riding angle or the fact that that part of the ride is pretty shaky, but it's never been an issue for me. I'm more liable to gray out on Goliath and even the big curve on Superman. X2 puts similar forces on you when it's climbing up the first raven turn, so watch out for that if you have concerns.

Yeah, you're right — and I considered that sharing the stage with CP would certainly impact my impression of KI. But what was odd was that I'd built KI up into something in my mind that it wasn't. So it was less the park's doing and more my own expectations. For example, the little path to The Beast had all the excitement of a concession stand — the ride was so tucked away back there! For such a historic coaster, I figured there's be a tad more fanfare. I liked the zero-g and that batwing (I think that's what it is) on Banshee because of the elevation change, and yes, that roll at the end was kind of lame. It's a B&M thing I guess as the one on Holiday World's Thunderbird was similarly head scratching. I guess they look cool (not that you can get a clear line of sight of either one), and they catch you off guard (I didn't not know Banshee had that element until I went through it). Because of Banshee's scale, that part felt, to me, where a mid-course break should have been followed by a whole bunch of extra moves. A few helix / corkscrew moves would have proved just as cliche as everything else B&M does, but the ride did feel a bit incomplete to me. Anyhow, my bleating aside, it's a great looking ride, a people-eater, and a solid record breaker for the park. You can't go wrong with B&M in that regard.

I was more disappointed about not getting on Cornball than Lost Coaster. I love quirky, weird, home-grown type rides so Lost Coaster is right up my alley, but by studying the track, I could gauge what much of the ride would feel like. It wasn't the biggest loss as the result and I won't go out of my way to try and ride it in the future. Cornball, however, looked amazing. I could tell by the layout and the angle of the drops that the train would be making the circuit at a crazy speed. Not getting to ride that one sucked, but it was in pretty bad shape by the looks of it. To be honest, the place wasn't exactly out of my way so it wasn't a huge loss, but I am surprised that the person I spoke to the day prior told me that all three woodies were running fine when in fact two out of three were torn up. I'd like to see the place at night as I can imagine that it looks very different. Given that it was the height of summer, I also wouldn't mind going a little off-season too to avoid the crowds.

Legend had a few spots that just felt straight-up jarring and in need of help, but I suspect that's by design. I guess I really didn't know that much about the ride before I got to the park, and a look back through this thread was telling. I'm not quite sure why some people privilege rib-breaking laterals on woodies, but I guess it's a thing. To me, it suggests poor design as getting slammed into the side of a train doesn't seem rider-friendly or ride-friendly at all, but to each her own? The part that seemed the worst to me was the big turnaround drop over one of the waterslides. That wasn't the result of aggressive laterals; it was jacked up track in need of service. The ride was beautiful overall and the layout was spectacular, so I couldn't help but wonder how much better it would have been with more realistic banking. As far as the Voyage goes, maybe I was being generous with my critique. I did force myself to ride it over and over (I did the same thing with Skyrush even though I didn't think that was a very good ride at all), and I got a little more comfortable with it each time. The front seat seemed much better to me for some reason, but it was the sustained aggression that was the real issue. I've been on worse than this though (several of the rides at SFMM are in a bad state right now), and I actually thought Legend was on par with Voyage in terms of jackhammering and discomfort. And you're right that a crappy ride can easily ruin your day. I found myself struggling at Kings Island as so many of the rides there were rough as well. I'd hate to think that Raven gets too rough though as what made it work was that you could ride it without fear of breaking a bone. It certainly had moments of roughness like the others, but not on the same level. Plus, the track design seemed better to me overall. Ironically, I was talking to a teenager while riding Voyage and he said that he didn't like Raven because it was too tame and not rough enough for him. The young 'uns can take a beating much easier it seems!

Thanks! Yeah, I was surprised by how distanced the idea I had of the park in my mind was from the reality. There was really nothing 'bad' about the place, and several of the rides were amazing (Diamondback. The Beast, The Bat), but I thought the park was going to be quite different to what it was. Still, I had a great time there (despite the headache).

I was surprised too, and I had a hard time articulating why I gave it the edge to MF and Maverick. Really what it comes down to is that Valravn had the right balance of fun and thrills in good measure. I was also surprised that Skyhawk was such a favorite for me, as well.

It was when it opened, but isn't anymore. The line for that one moves fast though, so even if the station's full, you probably won't wait more than 45 minutes for it.

Thanks! And yeah, it's not that it's bone-shakingly rough, but it has a number of jarring direction changes that, unless you can see them coming, give you a kind of whiplash effect. I had a pretty good idea of what the track did before riding and yet it still nailed me a few times. Perhaps a front-seat ride is the way to go to get a clearer idea of the turns, but FoF had seat allocation and on both rides and I got stuck toward the back. It is a ride that I'd check out at a different park though if I had the opportunity.

It's usually Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, Riddler, Viper, and Revolution (without VR). Viper and Riddler rarely garner much of a line to begin with, though.

Thanks! I definitely preferred Holiday World as it had far more character and the coasters were a little more traditional. And yes, it does seem that a big part of Holiday World is the water park. As far as water parks go, it looked pretty amazing and I would have loved to give it a go. And that's interesting to hear that the first part of Legend was re-tracked as it felt noticeably better than the rest to me. I thought the layout of the ride was fantastic, but the laterals were a bit overkill and I'd love to try a ride like that with a tad less brutality.

Yeah, I was kind of taken back by how different it feels now. I'm glad they're keeping it alive as the layout is still great, but yes, it's lost a lot of what made it such a great ride in the past. There's a fine line between intense and rough but they pretty much erased that line altogether and made it seem far more gentle overall. I actually got zero air from "the drop" on the new version whereas even with the aggressive breaking of the old version, you still managed to come out of your seat. And yep, the operations were poor when I was there too — largely because of the way the ride operates now though. When I rode it a few weeks ago, the line was by the pre-lift curve and the lower switch backs were being used, but not the upper ones. That took about an hour.

Was that the splashdown ride? I didn't, but I wanted to! When I was walking away from Storm Chaser I saw a boat hit the water and decided that I wanted to photograph the next one coming down from the bridge, but the place was so dead and operations were so slow that another boat didn't leave the station in the time I was standing there. That looked like a great water ride though — the drop was pretty huge. As far as the Greased Lightning train goes, I wouldn't know where to look for it. There was a ton of junk laying around by Storm Chaser and in the area sort of behind T3, but I didn't see any rotting trains.

I found this to be true as well. I've always liked the Magic Mountain version, but this was unpleasant. The bottom of the drop was far more rough / bumpy than the MM version and that extra helix didn't do the ride any favors. One thing I did notice is that it still drew huge crowds and, aside from NTAG, was the "big draw" ride of the park. I don't know what's caused it to be so much rougher than the SFMM one, but it could certainly use some work.

Trip Report for Tuesday 8/2 to both Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. Like Cedar Point and Kings Island, Holiday World felt like another holy grail type spot for me. Pulling up to the place is kind of surreal in that the whole region is highly scenic — rolling hills, tractors, and cornfields — and then smack on the middle of one of the cornfields is a massive, orange B&M coaster. Whereas I was ready to get out of Kentucky Kingdom after just a couple of hours, even though Holiday World was pretty quiet (10 minute waits for the big coasters for most of the time I was there), I still felt like I didn’t have enough time to ride as much as I wanted and to really savor the place in the way it deserved. The park looks great and manages to maintain a home-grown feel without things getting overly tacky or sentimental; I got the impression that the owners knew exactly what makes a park work when they set the place up. It was miserably hot on the day I was there, and so the water park sucked up the bulk of the crowd. Once the water park closed, however, the lines of the rides filled out a bit, but only The Raven had a wait toward the end of the day, largely due to single-train ops. Lots of things impressed me about the place, but the ride operators themselves were a real standout. They all seemed to be really into what they were doing and were having plenty of fun doing it. While it’s not a park I’d go out of my way to return to again now that I’ve been once, it is a place that I wish I could have spent a full day at. The Voyage (x5) Even though I rode this five times, I wasn’t a huge fan of it. But, like The Beast, the rides at Holiday World have become somewhat iconic, and this is one of the more famous ones. Operations were slow as safety checks were very thorough, yet running two trains was a must given the length of the track (single-train ops on this must suck). I found that the ride was great when traveling in a straight line but painful when changing direction. As the result, that made the first 1/3 of the ride great, and the next 2/3 to be less than ideal. I found that some of the rougher turns could be tolerated with a bit of defensive leaning, but there are some parts of the ride that simply need work. The first turn to the left on the big turn around was especially jarring, and from the ride photo to the very end of the ride was also extremely rough. The problem with the roughness on this ride is not that it exists (it’s a wooden coaster after all), but that it’s too sustained for too much of the ride. It’s a cool layout, and impressive how the return leg manages to build up so much speed, but it’s a tough ride that takes effort to enjoy. Points for iconic status, but it’s a ride that could be made better with a bit of refurbishment. 7/10 The Raven (x3) I loved The Raven, and it’s probably the best wooden coaster of my trip so far. Given that it’s pretty small, it’s impressive how nippy it feels. Also, it’s not nearly as rough as The Voyage or The Legend, so that helps too. The first drop into the tunnel, the sweeping turnaround, and the buried drop that led into the return ‘S’ curve, were all standout moments. The ride’s over a little too quickly, but what exists of it was top notch. Combine that with a cool theme and neat station design, and The Raven was my favorite ride at the park. Excellent. 8/10 The Legend (x3) This ride looks amazing from across the park — the curving drop looks HUGE, as does the first sweeping turn around. The wolf noise is also a nice touch that can be heard from all over. However, like The Voyage, the ride starts strong (the first drop and second hill), but it goes south from there. The ride has a number of jarring sections (the big helix, for example), and the laterals are a little heavy handed for my liking (as if the designers hated banked turns). There’s a few sections of the track that I couldn’t help but wonder how easily the structure will chew itself up simply because the turns lack adequate banking to support the speed. From what I gather they’ve started to work on this with some redesigns, but it’s still a little too unwieldy in spots for it to be fully enjoyable for me. Of course wooden coasters should always feel rickety and rough, but when a coaster travels at the pace that this one does, it seems like it would make more sense to give a slightly smoother ride so that the feeling of speed and movement through the woods can be more appreciated. It’s not the roughest wooden coaster I’ve ridden and is no worse than a ride like Apocalypse or the old Ghost Rider, but it’s definitely heading in that direction. 7/10 Thunderbird (x3) This ride looks so out of place in the park, but it’s a solid ride all the same. It has some of the same ho-hum feeling that you find on rides like Gatekeeper, but the initial launch helps to alleviate that somewhat. The height of the first inversion is nice as you get a clear line of sight to the crowd below. The figure-eight move following the in-line loop is forceful, and the flip that follows is taken smoothly. While flying through dilapidated buildings is fun, the final in-line twist did nothing for me except make me wish it weren’t there, but the visual effect of it is good. I rode this three times before the water park crowd descended on it, but like a number of modern B&Ms, it doesn’t exactly do much to warrant multiple rides. It’s not forceless per se, but it’s not that inspired either. The launch didn’t feel powerful to me, but overall it’s an enjoyable ride — one that serves as a welcome break from all the roughness of the park’s woodies. 7/10 Log Ride (x1) Single-drop log ride that soaked me — which was fine as it was close to a million degrees on the day that I visited. Not much to report on this one aside from the fact that it looks home made. Turkey Ride (x1) The gun didn’t work at all, and the ride was basically a 2D dark ride akin to Boo Blasters, but the weirdness of the whole endeavor made it worthwhile. Even though I got my fill of the Holiday World coasters, there’s no question that my visit was too short to really take in everything the park has to offer. There’s a lot of charm to the place and a lot of attention to detail but without micromanaging the guest’s experience of the place. A full day would definitely be required to get a good perspective on what the place is all about. Having said that, I accomplished my goal of hitting the major coasters of Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World multiple times in just eight hours. FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. It's surreal to see a huge B&M sitting in the middle of a field where a tractor or a team of cows should be. The park was pretty empty at this point and Voyage was a 2-3 train wait. the first drop is great. What's beneath the first drop, not so much. The height of this part of the ride is especially noticeable while riding. Not so much on this part, though. Best. Station. Ever. And best ride at the park, IMO.

Trip Report for Tuesday 8/2 to Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World: I wasn’t sure I’d make it to this park at all. Having crammed Indiana Beach, and two visits to Cedar Point and Kings Island each into the previous three days (alongside a LOT of riding and a hefty amount of driving), I was prepared to skip this park in favor of Holiday World. However, after a decent night’s sleep, I was up for the challenge of cramming both Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World into the same day. The time change helped with the commute between the two, and since Holiday World offered a discount for entry after 3pm (and KK offered a great deal for out-of-state visitors), I figured I could hang out of KK from 11am (opening) to about 2:30pm and still make it over to HW for four hours before they closed. As the result, I can’t say that I got to experience either park to full effect, but both were relatively empty and I was able to get plenty of rides in. Lightning Run (x3) I learned on this site that this ride suffers from poor throughput and to get to it right away. This proved to be true as the park was running single-train ops on everything except for T3 (!!!). Because the train on Lightning Run is small, and, frankly, the operations were lackluster, I only managed to squeeze three rides in on this. I returned to it on my way out for one more ride, but the line was long, even though the park was pretty dead. The truth is though that I wasn’t too thrilled by Lightning Run. I know it’s one of the most popular rides for enthusiasts, but it didn’t win me over. It is very intense (especially given how small and unassuming it is) and it’s very smooth (given that the track resembles some old-school Arrow / Vekoma coathanger-nightmare), but it’s the kind of ride that I personally don’t appreciate that much. The airtime is of the aggressive bucking-ejector variety — it throws you hard into the restraints for just a split second — restrains that I did not find to be well suited for such moves. On my first ride through, my keys were in my pocket and I didn’t realize just how much pressure the restraint would be putting on me. As the result, it was extremely painful and unpleasant for my first run through. For my next ride, everything came out of my pockets and was stored away — which certainly helped — but it’s still the kind of ride that I don’t enjoy that much. Despite how smooth it is, I still found myself tensed up the whole time trying to protect myself from every bump and hill. Ejector air isn’t my favorite, and extreme, borderline-violent ejector air that slams you up and down is even less attractive. While I certainly understand how this can be appealing for some, it failed to meet my thrill / fun balance criteria. Maybe after a few more rides on it I would have learned how to relax a little more, but time was short and I really wasn’t up for the challenge. 6/10 Storm Chaser (x5) I figured that I’d fare better on Storm Chaser being quite familiar with RMC's usual tricks. Although I didn’t expect it to be that different from Lightning Run in terms of aggressive ejector air, I found that that’s really all Storm Chaser had to offer. Like Lightning Run, it’s a smooth ride from start to finish. Also like Lightning Run, it looks / feels quite unimpressive yet it is filled with violent bucking motions that slam your legs against the restraints quite hard. While Storm Chaser was more enjoyable overall than Lightning Run, it’s my least favorite RMC so far and I can’t help but wish that RMC will move away from designs that try to cram in as much sudden up-thrust as possible. I like RMC as much as the next guy, but 75% of the moves that this ride makes were lost on me. The first drop is weirdly dull aside some hang time in the front seat (but I could see it working well as something like a drop from a mid course brake on a larger model). The first airtime hill is fine (standard RMC), and the quick turn left is fun, but that’s kind of where the fun ended for me. I’m not a fan of RMC’s outward off-angle banking hills (I think they’re uncomfortable and sort of pointless), but it’s the bunny hops that lead up to and followed the barrel roll that killed this ride for me. The three or so hills before the final helix are straight-up painful, and because they’re so small, they feel inane. To me, Storm Chaser was a better ride than Lightning Run, but I’ll be the lone dissenter and say that I really didn’t find either ride to be very good overall. 6/10 Thunder Run (x2) By this point in the trip, I’d already ridden a few great woodies to the point that I couldn’t appreciate this one too much. The first drop was weak, the big turn was rough, but the two or three hills that followed it were fun (aside from a slight directional shift that produced awkward laterals). The rest of the ride was a tad mundane, but the theming was great and the overall design was pretty unique. It seems unfair to rate this one higher than Storm Chaser or Lightning Run, but to me, it really is a better ride overall. 7/10 T3 (x1) My first SLC and I braced myself for the worst. The ride looks cool, and they’re more imposing and oversized than I expected. I hoped the new seat / restraint design would make things easier for me, but it’s still a rough ride. There were points that felt like the train was jackhammering, and the seats themselves aren’t curved like the human body so they feel awful (more like sitting on a flat bench). There’s no restraint head banging on this version, but there’s various other kinds of banging going on. However, what made this ride suck really hard is the fact that the restraints tighten up around your legs on the first drop to the point of cutting off circulation. Because this is the only only coaster running two-train ops, stacking is inevitable and (I kid you not), the leg-pressure effect is worse than that of Sky Rush. The restraints crush your legs early on and there’s no escape until you’re back in the station. At least Sky Rush releases the restraints on the brake run; this ride was rendered truly awful by this effect. At least I’ll never have to ride another SLC again. 3/10 I rode the mini Star Flyer thing (fun because it’s not too high), the Enterprise (way more creaky / wobbly than the Cedar Point version), and the Break Dance (no spinning). I skipped Cyclos because it looked awful, and I skipped the drop tower because I’ve been on that model before and don’t need that kind of no-warning / drop anxiety. Even though there’s clearly a lot more to do at this park — especially if water parks are your thing — I was done ahead of schedule and was frankly ready to get away from there. The placement of the park in what appears to be a kind of state fairground made the place feel more transitory / temporary overall. Despite a few nicely done areas (mainly around Thunder Run), the place looked and felt under construction to me (the area by Storm Chaser literally looks like a construction site). Ultimately I was let down by both Storm Chaser and Lightning Run because they represent a trend in coaster design that I’m just not that enamored with — one that favors extreme forces over plain old fun. I’m glad I made it to the park, but I’m not sure I’d return anytime soon. FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. For an RMC, I was a bit let down by this. The area around Thunder Run looks great. The ride looks good, but meh.

Sorry to disrupt from the discussion of the new ride (carry on around me), but here's a quick trip report from Sunday 7/31 and Monday 8/1 for anyone who's interested. I planned to drive to Mason after a full day at Cedar Point, arriving just in time to crash out and start the day afresh. However, because I’d purchased a Platinum Pass and managed to break my Cedar Point visit up into a night / day affair, I was able to do the same thing at Kings Island, taking advantage of night rides on The Beast in the process. I left Cedar Point around 4pm and was on Diamondback by 7:30pm. Because I would be driving to Louisville the following night, this worked out perfectly and I mirrored the same approach that had worked well for me at Cedar Point. I’m not sure how I let my expectations run so wild, but I’d always imagined Kings Island as one of the BIG, major parks of the US. I was surprised to find out just how small the place is compared to other parks, and how un-spectacular it seemed in general. That’s not to say there were any problems, but coming from Cedar Point, Kings Island felt muddled and confused (the grandiose Parisian entry; the weird, grassy mounds of Diamondback; the hilly forests of The Bat / The Beast; and the tacky, carnie-style midway by Adventure Express). I guess the place just wasn’t what I expected, and the rides were sort of a mixed bag too. The Beast (x4) I couldn’t have been more excited to ride this and, frankly, it could have beat me to death and I still would have loved it. It’s such an iconic, important piece of coaster history, and it still carries a punch as far as thrills goes. This is what an out-and-back should be — a trip way out into the woods and back. What surprised me the most is just how fast and out of control it still manages to feel despite the aggressive brakes spread around the circuit. I’d be interested in seeing how the topography plays into maintaining momentum as, even after the brakes slow it way down, it still manages to pick up some serious speed before hitting that second lift hill. Same thing for the second part as, even when that brake grips the train before hitting the helix, the speed it takes that turn is still impressive. That part of the ride (the big helix) is jarring, but as mentioned, I forgive it based on legacy alone. Unlike the opinion of others, I thought the ride was equally great during daylight and night time too. The night ride, obviously, is a different kind of thrill that takes things up a notch further — with the ride rendered especially imposing by the two single lights on the top of the lift, knowing that those are going to be the only lights you’ll see on your journey. I loved everything about The Beast, and, to me, it sits outside of the kind of ranking that I might apply to other coasters on my trip. However, because I loved the ride so much, I decided to make it my last ride before heading on to the next city. Around 4pm on my second day, I walked toward the station and rain started to sprinkle. By the time I got to the entrance, the rain had become steady. Ten minutes later, the rain was heavy to the point where those of us in line were drenched. We were certain they’d shut down the ride (Vortex had already stopped running), but they kept The Beast going. About fifteen minutes later, we were ready to dispatch, already soaking wet from the queue. While riding in these conditions seemed like a dumb idea, it also felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — and we were already drenched at the point. Needless to say, when the train left the station, the rain was absolutely torrential, and what followed surpassed the night ride by far. It wasn’t painful (I’ve ridden very fast rides in the rain — which hurts), but the rain was so heavy that we were largely blinded and spent much of the ride trying to wipe the sheets of rain out of our eyes just to see where we were going. Had my day just started, I would have thought twice about doing this, but I was ready to leave and I had a change of clothes in the car, so it was worth it. I doubt it’s something I’d do for any coaster other than The Beast, and it was certainly awkward trying to get dried off afterwards (the entire park shut down for the next 45 minutes or so), but it was a highlight of my trip. If you ever get the chance to ride The Beast in a torrential rain storm, I say go for it. Now, onto the other rides: Diamondback (x5) I’ll start with this because it was such a standout for me. When I visited SFGAV, I was surprised by how much I preferred Nitro to El Toro and so I was expecting another Nitro-esque ride. My first ride was on the back and it absolutely blew me away. I don’t know if others find this to be true, but Diamondback, for me, took everything that was great about Nitro (the extended floater air) and ramped it up even more. I’m not a huge fan of ejector air — especially aggressive ejector air that slams your thights into the restraints — and I’m not particularly thrilled with B&M either, but this was pitch-perfect for me. Yes, RMC may pack in 15 moments of airtime per ride, but the way B&M angles their hills on these kind of coasters makes the airtime far more enjoyable and extreme to me. I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I’ll take a ride like this over anything RMC or Intamin could produce anytime. Every drop seemed to pack in at least 3-4 second of serious, constant airtime, and my requisite balance of thrills and fun was more than met. Although I’d ridden some great coasters over the past few days, I thought Diamondback was the best one yet. 10/10 Vortex (x1) This ride’s great to look at, and the long first drop is kind of a standout for an old Arrow, but just like many old Arrows, it’ll beat you up in the worst way possible. The familiar elements are all here, and the only new parts for me were first drop, the turnaround following the loops, and the helix at the end. All three were rough, but they elevated the ride a bit. I would have ridden it again, but I developed a headache pretty fast on KI’s coasters, and I knew that more rides on this wouldn’t help — especially when I had more coasters yet to try. Great to look at, but kind of terrible to ride. 5/10 Banshee (x3) I used early entry to ride this three times in a row (not that it ever developed a line as the park was fairly quiet when I visited), but it just didn’t win me over. It looks cool, and I liked the theming, but the ride felt uninspired. My problem with a number of B&Ms is that they tend to slap together one inversion after another with not a lot in between, and that’s what Banshee felt like to me. I had high hopes for the first drop, but it did nothing for me (I rode front, back, and middle), and the inversions were so oversized that the train slowed way down to complete them. The height of the zero-g was impressive; the batwing was fairly fun; and that barrel roll was interesting (although I could certainly live without such hang time), but I found the ride to be unsatisfying overall — more like a catalog of maneuvers that showcased B&M’s collection of inversions than an actual ride. I’m not the biggest fan of inverts (I actually like Silver Bullet the most out of the ones I’ve ridden), so that didn’t help Banshee to win my favor either. Not a bad ride, but I wasn’t motivated to go back to it again. I will point out, too, that while the rides in the front and the middle of the train were smooth as can be, the back seat was surprisingly brutal, rattling like crazy. It’s what started the headache that I never managed to shift for the rest of my time at the park. 7/10. Drop Tower (x1) I’ll ride drop towers, but I’m not a huge fan of them. I find that the anxiety that they produce outweighs any fun. With that said, I’ve never been on the gyro drop variety so I figured I should at least check it off the list. As usual, heart-pounding on the way up with a relatively tame drop. That’s the standard experience on drop towers for me — the drops themselves are never that bad, but the anticipation of the drop is terrifying. 6/10 Invertigo (x1) I knew going into it that it’d be unpleasant — and it was — but I’ve been on worse boomerangs. I sat on the backwards-facing end of the train to get the reverse nausea out of the way first, but it just meant that the return trip through the loop would be more forceful and unpleasant. I also know that these kind of ride, as lousy as they are, get very popular during the day, and there’s no way I was queueing up for a boomerang, so I jumped on it early. After the rough ride on Banshee, however, this didn’t help with my impending headache. I’m glad I checked it off my list, but I’ll be perfectly happy to never ride one of these models again. 4/10 Firehawk (x1) I’ve read enough about these Flying Dutchmen rides to know that they’re considered to be awful, but I also know that they draw huge crowds and tend to break down often. So after compounding my Banshee headache with Invertigo, I had a feeling that a ride on Firehawk wasn’t going to help. Although I didn’t find it to be terrible, I’d definitely file it as unpleasant. I’m not a huge fan of flyers to begin with, and this one features some outmoded tech, but I at least found the ride interesting. Riding around on your back with the blood rushing to your head is certainly no fun, and getting blasted in the face by the sun doesn’t help either. I found the ride’s quick flips into the awkward harness to be a nice nerve-wracking touch, and the loop wasn’t nearly as heinous as I expected, but the barrel rolls were sickening and the overall ride was a combination of nauseating and uncomfortable. Given my already debilitated state, I’m surprised that I didn’t completely hate it. 6/10 Flight of Fear (x2) I love Premier launchers; at least I thought I did. Full Throttle is one of my favorites at Magic Mountain, and I always loved Speed in Las Vegas. I really disliked Mr. Freeze at Six Flags Over Texas though as the moves it made were too snappy and disorienting to enjoy. Although I find the design of these spaghetti bowl rides to be utterly fascinating (such a mess of track!), I was disappointed by the ride itself. The queue was great, as was the station, but the track has some jarring kinks in it which, when taken in the dark, give you no defense against being thrown around. And that was my problem with this more than anything; it wasn’t roughness, but snappy moves that you couldn’t really prepare for. I loved the concept and the overall look of the ride, but it felt like work and I got off the ride feeling even more sick. I did ride it a second time later out of curiosity about the track, but I still found it to be unpleasant. 7/10 (mainly for the theming) Stunt Track (x1) Also knowing that this ride tends to draw huge crowds (it’s the one the kids are willing to try and will drag entire families onto with them), I staggered over from FoF to it only to be met with a 30-minute wait in the blazing sun with no coverage (it was very hot and humid, even during the insane rain storm that hit later). I’ve been a bit obsessed with trying one of these rides as I’m a fan of immersion and sets on coasters, plus I was curious to find out what happens once you enter the tunnel section (a small drop followed by trick track). To be honest, I found the ride to be lame, even for a family coaster. The launch was too drawn out; the spin up the parking structure was rough; and the rest of the ride was just sluggish. This is one that I had high hopes for but I had no desire to ride it again afterwards (nor would I go out of my way to ride one of the versions at other parks). It’s a spectacular visual of a ride that’s clearly designed to be a draw for all ages, but I thought it was crap overall. 5/10 Windseeker (x2) I needed a break, so I jumped on this. Compared to Star Flyers which terrifying me (although I like riding them), I found the two Windseekers I rode on this trip to be welcome reprieves. To me, they feel so secure that you can relax and enjoy the view. I rode this a couple of times during the day as there was never a line, and I needed to take a break now and again. The views, as expected, were great, but the Cedar Point one has the edge when ridden at night. 7/10 Troika (x1) I had never ridden a Troika and I skipped the Cedar Point one in favor of better rides, but I took advantage of this one as I still needed to keep things mellow due to headache / nausea. Pretty uneventful little ride that produced almost no forces. I kind of like it for that, and my curiosity has been sufficiently satiated. 6/10 Mine Train (x1) Despite the fancy-pants lift hill at the end (that leads to, wait for it . . . the station), this was a standard Arrow mine train. Bumpy, jarring, with the kind of coat-hanger track you wish you could tweak before your train hits each turn. It seemed a little more elevated, and therefore a little faster than others that I’ve been on, but it was still a basic mine train coaster with nothing special to offer. 5/10 Racer (x1) Ordinarily I would have been excited to ride this as I love old-school woodies, but the rest of KI’s line up had beaten me up / nauseated me so badly that I feared this would be an exercise in torment. It wasn’t too bad, only really rough in a few spots, but it didn’t grab my interest either. I wish I could have appreciated it more and given it a few more rides, but I had other rides to check off the list before I knew for sure that I was toast. 6/10 Delirium (x1) I jumped on this having ridden Max-Air at Cedar Point the day prior and knowing that the ride-effect was actually quite tame. I position these rides alongside Windseekers in that I find them more relaxing than anything. Like the Cedar Point version, this was smooth, fast, and exhilarating. Because the spinning is minimal, these are the kind of rides that don’t make me nauseous at all — they’re all about fun. 7/10 The Bat (x2) I still wasn’t feeling great by the time I got all the way over to this but I forced myself to get a couple of rides in. Not only does this ride look more intense than other Arrow suspendeds but it IS more intense. It’s also smoother, I found, and I rode this both in the front and the back. Rides like Ninja (and, I guess Iron Dragon) I tend to view as intermediate-level rides — good for kids who haven’t quite gained the courage to take on the gnarlier rides. The Bat, though, I think is more forceful than the other suspendeds and should be ridden with a little more caution. It’s fast; the drops are notable; and the turns really flip the trains up on their side. Just watching how much much the cars are still swinging when the train hits the final brake run should be enough to tell you how intense this ride is. I loved the setting and loved the ride overall, finding it to be one of the better rides at KI. 8/10 As mentioned, I was surprised by KI that it wasn’t quite the mecca I had assumed it to be. This was more the fault of my unchecked expectations though. I found the place to be compact, a little confused in its aesthetic, and I found the coasters to lean more heavily toward rough / unpleasant / crappy. This was, of course, countered by what became an absolute favorite for me (Diamondback) combined with the most iconic coaster I’ve ridden (The Beast). It’s a park I’d certainly visit again if the opportunity were to arise, but it’s not a park I’d go out of my way to get to now that I’ve done it once. FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. The infamous tower. The best ride of my trip. I thought this was hilarious, but those are some old-ass phones that ended up in there The Beast's minimal floodlighting is especially imposing. Better to look at than to ride. A visually impressive ride that didn't quite win me over. Excellent theming; mediocre ride experience.

Trip report from Saturday 7/30 / Sunday 7/31: After bailing on Indiana Beach after a quick visit, I hit the road for Cedar Point and made it there in just over four hours. For anyone considering this drive, it’s painless and quite scenic. I may have just been lucky, but there wasn’t a lick of traffic to get in my way. Given that it was the longest drive that I would be taking on my little tour, it ended up being the easiest and most enjoyable. I made it into the park by 7pm, and in just three hours I rode Millenium Force, Mean Streak, Gemini, Magnum, Dragster, Rougarou, Corkscrew, Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister, and Windseeker. This was the Saturday that the park experienced the break in the water main and shut down early, but aside from cutting my night shorter than I would have liked, I still got a lot done. Cedar Point is beautiful at night. And even though I don't give a rat’s ass about shows / entertainment, it was clear that the place went above and beyond in that regard. I’ve rolled my eyes at the CP / SFMM battles that periodically emerge on the web, but as a SFMM local, I can say that what CP offers is on a different scale altogether. Coaster-wise, there are a lot of parallels, but CP is much more of a production overall. Fireworks, park lighting, in-park entertainment, out-of-park entertainment (saw some fire dancers on the beach from Windseeker), were on a level that I haven’t seen outside of Disney. Operations were stellar – three trains on most rides with as many as six trains on rides that can accommodate them. Millenium Force was the longest wait tonight at about 30 minutes, but many of the others were walk-ons (Valravn and Maverick were both 90+ minutes though). Considering that I didn’t expect to visit the park at night, this was a real treat. My decision to buy a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass prior to my trip was a great move as it let me visit park both at night and then return the next day. On my second day, I was in the park from 10am to 4pm (early entry was cancelled due to aforementioned water issues) and I splurged on a Fast Lane Plus pass (not too pricey with a Platinum Season Pass). For the first couple of hours I thought I had screwed up as the place didn’t really develop much of a crowd, but soon after, Valravn’s line was at two hours and several others were up there as well. Half of the rides were walk-ons for most of the day, but I wouldn’t have been able to ride a fraction of what I did without the pass so it worked out great in the end. Onto the rides: Valravn (x5) I’m generally disinterested in B&M coasters (except for a handful), but this ended up being one of my favorites of the trip. I’d never ridden a dive coaster before and didn’t know what to expect, but I loved this one. The drops weren’t that intense, but they were genuinely fun. The rest of the ride felt forceful but graceful, and even though I don’t think it’s the kind of thing that’ll appeal to those who like hyper aggressive Intamin / RMC type rides, I thought the fun component was perfectly balanced by the thrills. I ended up riding this five times during my visit, but only on the second day using the Fast Pass as the line was gnarly. The Fast Pass puts you right inside the station, and this is one of the rides where I couldn’t help but feel bad walking past so many people who had been standing in line for hours. Of course it didn’t stop me from doing it again and again. A great, great ride overall that looked amazing and rode really well too. 10/10 Millenium Force (x4) Naturally, my expectations were high for this one, but they were also tempered by plenty of reports by people saying thet the ride is “more about the speed.” I rode it four times overall, front, back (twice), and middle. I didn’t dislike it (who could dislike it?), but I wasn’t particularly driven to marathon it either. The first drop had more air than I expected (although it really didn’t feel that high when staring down at the ground), and the first turnaround was more gray-outy than I thought it would be (I gray out fairly easily). I found it quite rattly, and there’s some ejector air on the hill that leads off the island that I didn’t expect. Overall, I found it to be really good, but not great and not that re-rideable. Obviously, when it debuted it was a big, big deal, and still today, the visual spectacle of it is impressive, but it wasn’t my favorite ride at the park at all. For anyone curious about the Fast Lane entry, you still have to wait a good 15-20 minutes, even if the regular line is only about 30 minutes to begin with. 8/10 Maverick (x4) I was expecting this to be brutal because of what I’d read about it, but it wasn’t at all. I’d heard people say that it was rattly, jarring, even painful, but that was not the case for any of my rides. I found it smooth yet very snappy. It’s intense for certain, but it’s a different kind of intensity — more like a barrage of elements that placed it closer to a ride like Skyrush for me (a ride that I really didn’t like that much). Maverick is much less of an endurance test than Skyrush though, but it’s still an endurance test all the same. I liked it a little more than I liked Millenium Force, but I still preferred Valravn to both of them. Also, given how intense it is, I still found it to be re-ridable and I ended up riding it three times in a row. Fast Lane doesn’t put you in the station, but it puts you close enough so that you’ll only wait 10-15 minutes at the most. 9/10 Gatekeeper (x2) Weird experience on this one: I rode it at night in the back seat and loved it. I though it was forceful, fun, and really beautiful to ride when all lit up. When I rode it the next day in the front seat, despite the initial flip (a cool maneuver), I found it to be dull. It’s a visually impressive ride for sure, but it lacks the fun elements of Valravn as well as any intensity at all. It comes off like a big thrill coaster that’s somehow been muted. Of course this isn’t news to anyone here, but I would say that if you ride it, try for a night ride in which you can watch the train ahead of you do its stunts. 10-minute wait all day long. 7/10 Gemini (x3) Lots of fun to be had on Gemini. The combination of out-and-back woodie design that gives a smooth ride with the racing elements made this a good all-rounder for me. It wasn’t particularly thrilling, but it served as a nice break from some of the crazier stuff. Definitely the kind of thing you can take the whole family onto, and Cedar Point is doing a nice job of keeping it alive. 7/10 Magnum (x3) Ehh. I enjoyed my first ride on this as it surprised me, but subsequent rides made me like it less and less. There’s a fair amount of ejector air, but the track is so awkwardly shaped that the air is painful (the hills are more angular than curved). I’ve been on a few of these big Arrow coasters now, and while there’s some fun to be had with this one, you have to ride it defensively if you want to avoid bruises. That, to me, doesn’t make a ride fun. The bunny hills and tunnels are more intense than they look, but they would benefit from a parabola or two. 6/10 Corkscrew (x1) This sucked really bad. It looks great from the midway, but the ride is atrocious. Whoever thought that an Arrow corkscrew could handle an airtime hill was wrong. Rough, unpleasant, and pointless. 2/10 Mean Streak (x2) Not nearly as torturous as I expected! Yes. It’s rough. Yes, the design is a wasted opportunity, but despite the meandering, I thought this ride had a few really good moments to it. More than anything, it looks amazing. The structure is huge and imposing, and I wouldn’t exactly say that the ride is tame. It’s a lousy track design for sure, but I’ve ridden far rougher wooden coasters than this that get far more praise. I rode a number of woodies on this trip and Mean Streak was definitely not the worst. 6/10 Blue Streak (x1) About as rough as you’d expect an old woodie to be. Definitely a fun coaster, but there’s nothing really standout about it beyond its classic form. I rode it once and would have rode it again, but there are better options available at CP. 6/10 Wicked Twister (x1) I didn’t dislike this, but I saw no reason to approach it again. It was rattly, but not violently so. I found it disorienting but not in a sickening way, yet it felt more like a flat ride than a coaster to me. Like Blue Streak, it was a once-and-done ride in a park with so many better options. 5/10 Raptor (x1) I’m tepid on inverts, yet I’m not sure why. There’s lots to like with this one, but like a number of inverts, it didn’t do that much for me (the riding position feels a bit awkward I think), but at least this one wasn’t quite as over-the-top intense as Batman clones and still had enough interesting parts to keep it thrilling. Whenever B&M string together inversion after inversion with little else in between, I find that I don’t enjoy them as much, and Raptor suffered a little in that regard. My favorite part was the drop out of the midcourse break run as it felt more like a normal coaster move than just another way to flip you upside down. A very good ride if inverts are your thing (they’re not mine, apparently). 7/10 Dragster (x1) This felt more like an upcharge experience than a coaster, really. I only got to ride once because operations were up and down the whole time I was there, but I’m glad I did; I would have been bummed leaving without a ride on it. (Plus I missed Kingda Ka when I visited SF New Jersey as it was down all day). Of course this ride’s all about intimidation — and that’s what it does so well. I was surprised that I didn’t find the launch to be unusually intense, but what I distinctly remember while riding is thinking “Holy Cow! We’re still going up the tower!” Nothing about the ride was particularly forceful to me, but it’s a hell of an experience that shouldn’t be missed. 9/10 Iron Dragon (x1) This really had no redeeming qualities to me. Although I haven’t been on that many (3?), it’s the tamest, lamest ride of its type that I’ve ridden. They were offering VR rides when I was there but I dislike the VR tech and would rather do without it. Once-and-done. 4/10 Rougarou (x1) I felt like I should have enjoyed this far more than I did. It looked great, especially at night, but it had the same issue that I tend to have with a number of B&Ms — just a series of stock B&M inversions with not much more. I found the first half to be fairly fun, but it got rough in the second half which led to defensive riding to keep from too much headbanging. One thing I know for certain: I would have hated this as a standup. 7/10 Mine Train (x1) It’s an Arrow mine train with all the usual trappings. Fun for the younger folks but more rough than many of the rides in the park. These kind of rides don’t vary too much for me, but I always try to give them at least one spin. 5/10 Max Air (x1) I’d already ridden Skyhawk at this point — a ride that I loved. This one felt like a tamer version of that. I enjoyed it (I rode the KI version as well), but I don’t find these rides to be all that thrilling — more relaxing than anything. They look cool, though. 7/10 Skyhawk (x2) Perhaps the big surprise of the park for me. I’ve been on a slightly smaller version of this at a much smaller park, but Skyhawk caught me off guard. The airtime on this was pronounced, and again, it met my criteria of matching thrills with fun. Even though I was mainly there for the coasters, this ended up being one of my favorite rides at the park. Highly recommended. 9/10 Windseeker (x1) What I love about the Windseeker model is that it takes everything I like about a Star Flyer and reduces the anxiety by making it feel more secure. I rode this at night and the light package was spectacular, as was the fact that as soon as the ride reached the top, fireworks went off on the other side of the park. I assume that’s not the norm for this and that my timing was just a fluke, but it helped to cement the deal. Also, the position of this ride on the edge of the lake was a nice touch as it allowed me to see just how integrated the whole CP experience was. Watcing crowds gathered around fire pits and fire dancers on the beach was pretty amazing. Windseekers, for me, are more relaxing than anything and the views are worth any anxiety you might get from the height. 7/10 Enterprise (x1) I hadn’t ridden an Enterprise since I was much younger, so it was great to get back on one. Spinning rides tend to make me dizzy now, but the Enterprise has never had that effect on me. Needless to say, I loved this and had a blast on it. I appreciate that they’re not too forceful, and the sensation of spinning is somehow minimized by the looping factor. More than anything, I trip out on gravity whenever I get on one of these. Awesome. 7/10 Pipe Scream (x1) I had no idea if this was part of the coaster lineup or not, so I figured I should jump on board. Not too dizzying, and it felt quite fast for (what I assume to be) a kid’s ride. Not the kind of thing I’d ordinarily go for, but it was fun to take spin on it. 5/10 I was at Cedar Point from about 7 to 10:30pm the first night and then from 10am to 4pm the next day and got more than enough rides in. Although I didn’t plan to split my visit up into separate night / day visits, purchasing the season pass allowed me to do so and to maximize my time there. (This method proved to be successful at Kings Island as well.) While not every ride there was excellent by any means, this is one of just a few parks I’ve been to that I could say it’s a destination. The idea of spending multiple days at any park seems a bit crazy to me, but Cedar Point is the kind of place I could absolutely envision spending a long weekend at to take in the whole park, the water park, the hotel, and the beach. While the rides tended to be about what I expected based on years of watching POVs / seeing pictures, I was impressed by the overall feel of the place and the operations were absolutely stellar. Despite the problems with the water main, it ended up being a fantastic visit. FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. Gatekeeper certainly makes for a great entrance. Valravn was the winner of the visit for me. While the drop wasn't intense, it sure was fun. The height of MF is sublime. While I didn't think Mean Streak was that bad, it looked far better than it rode. A never-before-seen picture of TTD. Rougarou looked great at night, but I wasn't too enamored with the ride. Apologies for the crappy images (iPhone only), but the park at night is hugely impressive. The lighting on the rides is exceptionally effective.

Trip report from Saturday 7/30. I’ve had my eye on Indiana Beach for years as I’m a sucker for peculiar, out-of-the-way spots that walk the line between charismatic and disquieting. I wasn’t expecting anything stellar, and the place was sort of what I imagined it to be (a bit like the US version of Butlins), but after calling the evening prior to make sure all the coasters were operational before making the drive (“yes, they’re all running just fine”), I was disappointed to find that, in fact, all three woodies were down with Lost Coaster and Cornball both missing pieces of track. Several of the other rides were also broken, but it was the coasters I cared about the most. Hoosier Hurricane did end up opening (sort of — only part of the train was functioning on and off), but it was a discouraging start to my mini coaster tour. I was told by a park manager that Cornball might fire up later in the evening, but that Lost Coaster was down for some time. Although the park opened its gates at 11am, the maintenance guys didn’t start inspections until well after the park had opened, and so it took about an hour for the park to get to a functional level. Because of the broken rides and generally poor operations, I only stayed for a couple of hours. It was still worth it, but just be warned if you’re going out of your way to visit this place as basic operations are beyond sloppy. Tigg'r (x1) I dig old-school Schwarzkopfs but this one crawled around the track. City Jets and the various Jet Stars are great little designs with a surprising kick given their size, but this one was thrashed and struggled to make a full circuit. It was my first ride of the day and the maintenance guys were still oiling the wheels and taking test rides when I showed up. By 11:30, I was on board and on my way up the lift. I knocked Tigg’r out first as I suspected that the line would be nightmarish later because of two-car operations — and it was. Fun, nostalgic, and sort of classic but sluggish as hell. 6/10 Steel Hawg (x2) I was intimidated by this; I expected the drop to be ejector-gnarly on a grand scale, but it was very tame. The trims grip the car enough to feel like you’re being gently lowered over the edge, and as soon as the car releases from the brake, you’re already leveling out. The rest of the ride, however, was great fun – like a good steel mouse with added hang time against pretty comfy restraints. Although not nearly as exciting as they appear, El Locos are well-designed budget coasters for smaller parks. Rode it twice before the crowds hit. 7/10 Den of Lost Thieves (x1) I adore old, cheesy dark rides. I genuinely prefer them to modern video game-styled rides like Justice League and what not. This one conveyed a real sense of history and I appreciated the bizarre undulating layout that felt knocked together over a weekend or two. The guns really didn't work, and most of the tricks were 2D, but I relished it all the same. The ride is about 2.5 minutes long and slow operations made the queue a bit of a nightmare (you share the same sweaty space with about a million mosquitos). Also, each car can only haul a combined weight of 300lbs yet several guests were pushing that limit on their own. I saw three walks of shame in the 20 minutes it took me to get on board. 8/10 Falling Star (x1) I expected nothing but was presented with great floater air on this. I usually find these kind of rides to be forceless and labored, but this was far more fun than anticipated. I don’t know if it ran a faster cycle than normal, or if it’s an unusual manufacturer or or something, but it made for a great ride. 8/10 Hoosier Hurricane (x2) This opened a good 90 minutes late and continued to be temperamental for the time I was there. I was starting to think that my first visit to IB was cursed with all three woodies down, but they got it running, albeit with single train ops and only part of a train available (problems with the restraints it seemed). The line was a glacial, mosquito-filled 30 minutes as the result. Overall, I found it to be a fun-ish old-school kind of ride that reminded me a little of Blackpool's woodies. There was a weirdly awkward part on the second hill following the first drop, but it was decent overall. It’s about as rough, jarring ride as can be expected for a coaster that's so long in the tooth. Rode it again before leaving, but two rides were all I needed. 7/10 Frankenstein's Castle (x1) A spectacularly tacky walkthrough on a grand scale, but hardly worth the $3.50 upcharge. My guess is the upcharge helps with crowd control as it's easy to get lost inside. I got stuck in the multi-door room for a few minutes and I had to use my phone's flashlight in a few other spots as well. Most of the tricks trigger after you've already past them, so be sure to keep looking back. There’s nothing scary in it, so it’s more of a maze than anything, but it’s a good one if dark mazes are your thing. Overall, a really cool, cheesy walkthrough that takes a good while to complete. 8/10 Paratrooper (x1) It's a paratrooper over water – not much more to say. It actually made me feel a bit nauseous. I swear that the girl operating the ride wasn't a day older than twelve. 5/10 Chair Swings (x1) Very fun, but slow operations. Lovely view and somehow better than the paratrooper's view. 7/10 I skipped the new carnival-style looper ride because I’m not a fan of being suspended upside down. Overall, I see the appeal of the park. It's quaint and charming, but not in a plastic facade kind of way. It’s pretty “backwoods” and there's definitely a “People of Walmart” vibe to the place: lots of throat tattoos, gold (plastic?) jewelry, stray children, and clothing worn many sizes too small. It's a great place to people watch and would make for an intriguing ethnographic survey, but with shoddy operations and ride closures producing long lines, I was happy to leave after just a few hours. This, however, worked out in my favor as I noticed that Cedar Point would be open until midnight so I bailed around 2:30pm at was on Millenium Force by 7pm. FWIW: This is part of a mini four-day trip that included Indiana Beach, two visits to both Cedar Point and Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. The entrance to the place is pretty great. And the fact that the coasters are over the water is a nice touch too. The place is basically a mess of tracks. Tigg'r has seen better days. But it's still a pretty cool little ride. I don't know the history of this ride, but I can't help but thing that this final section of track was, at one point, indoors. So much for "all rides are open and running fine"! The view from the swinging chairs (I think). The finale of Frankenstein's Castle. It's hard to make out, but this image shows just how torn up the Lost Coaster track was. At least they got Hoosier Hurricane to run one train, although several of the seats were rendered unavailable.

I stayed there a couple of nights ago and it was indeed a dump. Really filthy with a heavy disinfectant smell used to cover up dog-knows-what. It was comparatively cheap but it's one of just a few places that had me re-evaluating the extra expense of a slightly better room.

This was my first dive coaster (I was there the same weekend you guys were there) and was surprised by how much I loved this ride. B&Ms tend to be hit and miss for me, but this was a great balance of fun and thrills. I didn't find the drops to be particularly intense, but they sure were a blast. Valravyn ended up being one of my favorite rides in the park.