blk_mamba

I feel like since we are in a safe space I can admit this but I like the Mind Eraser at Six Flags America! It was one of the first super intense roller coaster I remember riding as a kid, I remember the weird Cal Ripken Mind Eraser commercials and even though it is not a smooth ride it never had hurt my head like my other friends!

I play on a macbook pro with tons of scenery and sometimes the computer runs a little hot but I've never had any delay issues and I have run some pretty big parks, one park with over 7500 peeps.

yeah I remember the one time I went we thought that would depress the crowds but it didn't the place was still packed. I give CP credit for getting rides up as soon as possible after a weather delay.

The 'Look at the other things they have done" argument is kinda shallow when you factor in that some park in the Cedar Fairs chain in the same year get capital improvement, a roller coaster, and infrastructure improvements. Kings Dominion is located in VA not far from one of the largest metro area's in the country in the DC Metro area. I think Cedar Point is the flagship park and now Carowinds have been designated the growth park and Canda Wonderland has been designated the defacto unspoken "test park". I think I just wish that they would also give Kings Dominion more but I also see the other point which is just that the numbers don't support the investment. KD added Intimidator 305 and it still loses to Busch Gardens with park attendance. KD is in tough market competing against SFA, and BG, they are sandwiched in the middle.

this is so cool it is ridiculous! Keep up the progress!

Our newest attraction, Shute the Breeze hoist riders over 15 stories in the air before drop them giving the feeling that they are parachuting to the ground. This is sure to be a ride that the whole family will love! Also new this year are Canoes on the beach front so people can paddle around the beach and get a view of the park from the water as well as a good upper body cardio work out. At Kirkmen Island we like to think that we take our guest concern very seriously and one issue we noticed from our park goers was they would complain that they were hungry and thirsty despite having two places where our guest could eat drink and shop. We heard the complaints and listened! New for 67' two new places to eat drink and shop! The first one is our first sit down restaurant at Kirkmen Island, Tasty Burger, a great place to beat the heat, sit down and eat. Tasty Burger has delicious burgers, fries and handspun milkshakes in 10 flavors! Also we have added another grab & go place to eat, Under the boardwalk, for those guest that want to grab a snack and get back to getting on rides. Finally our top attraction White Lightning had some major upgrades, for starters we dropped the N so read Lightning, not LightENing. Is it by far the most popular thrill ride in the park. It always runs full trains and has a packed queue. White Lightning is a coaster that we purchased used from another park that close down so the coaster was broken down and shipped to Kirkmen Island. We want to make sure that White Lightning is safe and sturdy for years to come. Also Some people were concerned that the coaster swayed way to much so we added more supports, did some re-tracking and gave the coaster a new paint job. Personally I think that the ride is more fun at night but day or night it is a thrilling roller coaster!

Well I mean SFA has had 2 coasters added since they added 305.

Great trip report! You covered everything and posted some amazing pictures!

I don't remember seeing a single rides line on Fahrenheit. When I went about a month ago I did notice that when the seats reserved for the people with the special passes were not filled they would fill them with people from the line.

I like the Miami Midway idea, it gives me the Universal Studios vibe. That parking lot view would give me goosebumps with all those coaster poking through the tree skyline. Good post so far. Keep up the good work. If you are still looking for a name Thrill World. I picked that name b/c you have tons of thrilling rides and it seems like your themed area that you have created so far are from different parts of the world. Keep up the good work

Kirkmen Island 1966 Post 1 and 2 I got this in the mail a few weeks ago. I guess they did a mass mailing in Baltimore, MD. I remember going to the Kirkmen Family boardwalk as a child but it was not nearly as developed. I remember it was more of a typical beach boardwalk with a few rides. Looks like they have some pretty nice rides and a pricey hotel. Unlimited rides for one price seems enticing for me and my family but that hotel might be out of our price range. So we took a trip to the park for a day and snapped a few pictures (Trip Report) When we got to the park it was certainly packed! The park has a boardwalk feel to it but not nearly as developed as the Ocean City Maryland boardwalk The first ride we got on was the Observation Tower. My littlest one has been talking about that tower since he saw the flyer. It gave us great views of the park, the beach, the new hotel and most importantly White Lightening We made our way to the end of the boardwalk and there it was in all its glory, White Lightening! The line was long but it was worth the wait! It was a very intense twister wooden coaster. I felt like I could not tell if I was coming or going after I got off the ride! After riding White Lightening we took it pretty easy for the rest of the day and spent the rest of our time at the aquarium. Overall it was a great day! The Jones family will be back!

Nice addition to the park! Nice theme also

I love the different perspectives, thoughts and opinions on the board, it just builds anticipation for what ever they build weather I like it or not and regardless of if their new attraction is geared towards family or the roller coaster enthusiast. We all should remember to: 1. Be civil- it is just a roller coaster 2. Don't take things to serious - its just a roller coaster My heart says it will be a Dive Machine or some B&M which is a strong addition on all fronts. They tend to be smooth, intense, beautifully layed out coasters with the highest capacity trains in the business. However the coaster enthusiast in me would love if they spent 35 million and just built the 500ft tall coaster just to be the first to do it with intense curves like Maverick mixed with Magnum XL airtime hills. I don't know their numbers or demographics they are aiming for so it might not be a mart business decision or get the best return on investment for the park.

I think that it is natural. Something like that happened to me. After Carowinds for a weekend driving back we thought hey we have Platinum passes lets go to Kings Dominion and we rode one roller coaster and were like meh next time and started to head home. After a while I think the hype of coaster gets over rated, lol. Give it a week or two.

I've heard that B&M is offering dueling wing coasters now, a la Twisted Colossus where's it's one loop. I've also heard that KD will be getting a new flat ride in 2016 and a coaster in 2017, but who knows. I would not be against a strong flat ride, they are kinda lacking in that department

Well it seems clear that KD is for sure not getting a RMC upgrade of any kind. I hope that KD doesn't take out the Shockwave for an upcharge ride. I don't want Kings Dominion to start g losing coasters, even the crappy ones like Shockwave, lol. I still think 2016 is KD years, but I am losing hope. If they are getting something I still am leaning toward a B&M b/c Cedar Fair has leaned toward going to the pretty, family friendly, high capacity B&M's over the past couple of years. A winged launched coaster would fit well with the park and its unofficial nick name, the launch capital of the world, lol.

I think the Crypt has been up ONCE in the many many times I've visited Kings Dominion. It was fun but it is always down. Most of the time they don't even have the car on the rides. I kinda agree the Windseeker is kinda boring but the one at Cedar Point is cool b/c of the great views of the park and the beach.

I think you are right and given they have such a strong and diverse collection at some point you hit the "what do we add next" wall. What are the parks true deficiencies coaster wise (deficient not meaning you don't like it like just that they don't have it). One thing they don't have is a RMC hybrid even though some would argue Gemini is the original hybrid! lol

Just from an visual standpoint having that vertical drop and most likely a large immelmann loop to follow will look great in the pictures and add to feeling that you are driving up to an island full of roller coasters! I still HOPE it is going to a record breaking 500ft tall coaster but I doubt they will want to drawf MF. Either way what ever they are building is going to require a lot of space!

I think that is what they are trying to do. What ever they are building is going to be big and a record breaker. Here is my case for the 500 ft tall coaster 1. The space is huge and they are prepping for it pretty openly. Why else would you need to start prep in 2015 for a ride being built in 2016. B&M put up Fury 325 in like 6 months. Granted Ohio weather is a little more finicky in the winter than North Carolina but still what ever they are building they want as much time as possible to build it. 2. The dive coaster story was probably leaked to throw people off. If it is a dive coaster I would not be disappointed but it will be pretty spread out which is rare for Cedar Point because they are pretty good with the use of land and their coasters tend to have narrow footprints. Moreover they run a pretty tight ship as far as rumors go. 3. The billboard chronicling all the great coasters and records they have broken over the years to me indicates they are about to do it again. I agree I want it to be a lift hill coaster, it will the most intense drop in the world but when you think about it Kingda Ka is 456 feet so what is another 46 ft.

Well the good thing is that with those first week numbers for Jurassic World there will be a Jurassic World 2. I assume that IOA will capitalize in some way, I'd Iove to see another B&M winged coaster. I think that there is going to be another King Kong movie that was scheduled for 2016 but was pushed back which explains why they are building the Kong Attraction. I am super envious of Japan though I know that coaster will be sick!

My 100th coaster was Laff Trakk at Hershey Park!

(Typo. Lol, Zamperla.) Anyways, most enthusiasts only consider gravity run coasters to be true roller coasters. Even RCDB differentiates "powered coasters" from "roller coasters." I've never heard anyone at Kings Island ever call Surf Dog a "coaster." It's really a tomato, tamata debate. I for one, do not consider it a coaster. So therefore I do not care if someone does consider it one. The proof is in the ride itself. I see you point. I think what I was saying is that rides like Pipe Scream and Superman Great Escape are similar thought one in clear more extreme and I wish there was some clear rubric or metric to figure it out. I also was saying even if it is a roller coaster it certainly is not world class.

(Typo. Lol, Zamperla.) Anyways, most enthusiasts only consider gravity run coasters to be true roller coasters. Even RCDB differentiates "powered coasters" from "roller coasters." I've never heard anyone at Kings Island ever call Surf Dog a "coaster." It's really a tomato, tamata debate. I for one, do not consider it a coaster. So therefore I do not care if someone does consider it one. The proof is in the ride itself. I see you point, I think I was using the Pipe Scream and other rides like Superman Great Escape (because in theory they the same thing just one is a little more extreme), to say that it is unclear and gray what is and is not a roller coaster.

Cedar Fair is not going to sell Michigan's Adventure anytime soon. MiA has one of the largest profit margins in the chain despite its small size, and as long as it's pulling in decent money, there's no need to sell it. What numbers are you using? I thought CF doesn't release individual stats for parks