DILinator

I agree with coasterbill, that whatever it is, will be "storm" themed! I think a B&M Dive Coaster was made to drop off those cliffs someday, but I'm not sure I think that's what this is, as cool as it would be...

Drachen Fire (RIP )

Depends... Some are 7/10 (Batman Inverts), others are 1/10 (Vekoma clones.)

Granted, but they're all clones of Wilderness Run. I wish Six Flags: Worlds of Adventure was back, exactly like it was in 2002.

Yes actually. When I said that the later years were my favorite incarnation of the park I actually meant these years as it was the last time I visited the park. When it was one HUGE Six Flags park, I actually thought that, given a few more years developing it, that property could give Cedar Point a run for it's money. But at that time, Six Flags was looking for immediate profits, which wasn't going to happen instantly, it would take a few years, and Cedar Fair wasn't about to let Six Flags come in and steal Cedar Point's thunder. I actually don't blame Cedar Fair for doing what they did. It was the smartest business decision to totally wipe out any potential competition. If I was in charge of Cedar Fair and I was watching Six Flags move in on my territory and had a chance to strike when they were slightly down, I would have done the exact same thing. Had Cedar Fair waited even just a little while longer to buy that park until the economy started turning around and maybe by then Six Flags wouldn't have been interested in selling, who knows what would have happened. But they were quick to react to Six Flags moving in on them and Six Flags all of a sudden at that time needed the money. All VERY smart business decisions. Not great for us theme park nerds, but fantastic for the bottom line. It's a shame. I would have liked to have seen what "Six Flags Worlds of Adventure" would have become ten years down the line. Oh, well... I too, agree 100% here! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who both loved SF:WoA in its prime, and also feels CF's purchase of the park was motivated purely by elimination of competition. Like yourself, I don't blame them for this tack either, even if as a consumer of goods, it's a bummer to see. Business is cutthroat, and if there's one thing CF has shown over the years, it's that they will be ruthless in building the company, and expanding their brand. And again, it's what any strong company is going to do. It's just a shame that SF was in a spot of weakness due to their frivolous spending across the chain over the years, and their rapid expansion at SF:WoA in particular, and they were willing to sell off to CF, as I too would have loved to the park continue to exist as it was, for years to come. I know it would have become a regular stop for me each year, while visiting CP as well!

I couldn't believe all the new pages of discussion since this morning, in the Valleyfair thread of all places! Then I saw it went into full-on KD mode for a bit and it all made sense! While it's obvious Valleyfair could use a new coaster, and it's obvious that Dinos Alive is a waste of space at every CF park it's in, I still love the addition of North Star to the park! I gave it my #3 best CF 2017 addition rank, and it's #1 of the non-coaster related additions. So, congrats, Valleyfair fans, for having one of the best additions in the chain for a change!

Wow! I'd never even noticed a subhead on these forums before! Well, now I know! I'll check out those comparisons now!

Fair warning: If you don't like ranking things, or think doing so is pointless, just ignore my post. I LOVE ranking things - pretty much anything, I will gladly try to rank - and was thinking that this might be interesting now that most of the Cedar Fair announcements are out. In terms of your own personal excitement level, as well as it being a fitting addition for the park (in your opinion at least), how would you rank the known capital improvements for the Cedar Fair parks that have been announced? Here is my list... 1) Kings Island - "Mystic Timbers" GCI Wooden Coaster 2) California's Great America - "The Patriot" Floorless conversion from Vortex 3) Valleyfair - "North Star" Sky Screamer swing ride 4) Carowinds - "County Fair" flat ride additions, and area re-theme 5) Cedar Point - "Soak City" expansion, and re-name to "Cedar Point Shores" (I'm not including the Hotel improvements in this ranking.) 6) World's of Fun - "Falcon's Flight" and "Mustang Runner" flat ride additions 7) Knott's Berry Farm - "Soak City" expansion 8) Dorney Park - Bumper Cars and Troika addition 9) Kings Dominion - Three new kiddie rides, park wi-fi, and funpix Clearly, when it comes to my personal excitement level, kiddie rides, and mundane flat rides don't do anything for me. Furthermore, neither of the flats to Dorney really enhance the park experience that much (unless you're a big fan of bumper cars), and Kings Dominion's Camp Snoopy wasn't hurting for more additions either. I'm also not a big water park guy, so the Soak City improvements are good, and in the case of Cedar Point, very needed. They just don't do much for me, personally, hence their lower ranking. I love the addition of a Huss Condor at WoF, bolstering their ranking, and ditto the Top Scan addition at Carowinds, which coupled with an attractive new area there, make for a nice capital investment! I'm also a really big fan of the sky screamer addition at Valleyfair, from the name, to the ride's placement in the park, and also the fact it's that model, and not a Windseeker! Great move, VF! Obviously, I go to amusement parks first and foremost for roller coasters, though as a family man, and a person who understands the need for parks to be well-rounded, I get that every park isn't going to get a big coaster every year. Still, when it comes to additions at parks, I'm almost always going to rate the parks that get new coasters higher than those that don't. So, KI and CGA score highly with me this year for their new capital investments, with KI head and shoulders above everybody in CF this season! I think Mystic Timbers looks like a fantastic little wooden coaster, and I can't wait to ride it next year with my kids, and also ride it at night! Plus, there's always the little matter of the shed, and what awaits inside of it... While I don't think Floorless Vortex, ie. The Patriot will even be as good as Rougarou is (which is only a middle of the pack coaster at CP), it's an improvement on the stand-up concept, and at CGA, it will likely be a top 3 ride there. So, it's a good fit, and it will be a fun coaster to ride a time or two while breaking up repeated ridings of Gold Striker and Flight Deck. So, what about everybody else? Speaking only of yourself, personally, which capital investments are you most looking forward to?

I just wanted to re-visit this thread, now that I am back from my Birthday trip to Waldameer. What a great little park! Everybody who praised it was spot on! I enjoyed a number of the flats, as well as the fun and quirky Pirate's Cove and Wacky Shack! With apologies to coasterbill, I did not ride the flume, even though I was interested in it... I'll definitely go back sometime, and I'll be sure to hit that, and the Music Express, which I also missed. But the two stand-outs: That crazy, scary, scream-heavy drop tower X-Scream - are you kidding me??? It's been since my early days riding Demon Drop, since I've felt that freaked out on a drop ride! Holy frick!!! And of course, Ravine Flyer II! What an absolutely amazing, fantastic, and world-class coaster! From the view at the top of the lift, to the awesome tunnels, to the bridge over the highway, to airtime galore all over the place, to its unrelenting nature, to the 90 degree turn (cue the TPR video of RFII!), and to night rides on it, which were a Top 5 night experience on a coaster! It's now in my Top 10 overall, and a Top 3 wooden coaster for me! It's not quite as good as its bigger cousin The Voyage, but is at least a little more accessible for a larger amount of people, since it's not as "intense". BTW, I rode Ravine Flyer 3, and it was SO embarrassing, since there was nobody else on it over 10 it appeared, and all the adults/parents were standing off to the side waiting for their kids, just staring at me. Even the ride op was clearly suppressing laughter the whole time, with the most bemused smile on his face. Having said that, it's a very legit kiddie coaster, and actually quite fun to ride! I love the setting over the water, circling the fountain, too! Having said that, I will NOT be getting on it again, unless one of my kids is with me, since I can't take all that judgmental staring again! Here is a picture of me enjoying it, in all of my ridiculous, enthusiast glory! Yeah, I'm "That guy "! But it was really a fun kiddie coaster, what can I say??? Waldameer was a great park experience, and now I can wholeheartedly vouch for its status as an underrated park! It was definitely a worthy place to spend my Birthday, and riding Ravine Flyer II is one of the best Birthday presents a coaster-lover could ask for!

Which day did you happen to go to the park? I went there for the first time, for a brief ride on Blue Streak, and a stroll around the park, this past Friday the 19th. I wondered if perhaps you were there that day, because the ride op for Blue Streak was the same guy. I suppose that doesn't really mean anything, as he may work it everyday. Just wondered! As for my impression of the park, being that it was my first time, is that it was pretty sad, and woebegone. However, having not seen what it looked like previously, it sounds like it's perhaps less woebegone than it once was (which is a truly scary thought.) Most of the flats didn't look very well kept-up, and Blue Streak seemed like it might collapse at any moment. Of course, that was part of its charm as well! I did notice the new wood on the tracks, but GOODNESS, GRACIOUS!!! That "jolt" going up after the first drop was AWFUL! Definitely needs a little more work there! Still, I'm glad I got a chance to visit the park finally, and I wish them the best at continuing to turn things around there. I know my friend I went with spent about $35 in the gift shop, and the cashier in there was VERY appreciative to him for "supporting Conneaut Lake". She seemed a little resigned to the park's fate/doom, but hopefully there is still hope for it to remain viable going forward. The water park DID look good, and was clearly the big draw, as it was full of people. If they keep focusing on minor upgrades to that, continue to refurbish Blue Streak, and touch up the appearance of the remaining flats, maybe they can really hold off closing and attract more regular visitors. Thanks for the TR!

Did anybody besides me (and my brother) actually REALLY like the park when it was briefly Six Flags: Worlds of Adventure? I went there with my brother back in 2002, and we both LOVED it! Afterward, we were discussing whether it was possibly better than CP even. Now, I'm not saying it WAS, but the fact that it made us even ask that question surprised me, especially coming from a Six Flags park! We actually were all a little bummed, to varying degrees, when it was announced that the park was closing. Especially seeing how much it had grown and I actually really liked the final incarnations of the park. But there were groups of people who took it to a whole other level. A level that would be impossible to register on any scale of rational thinking. It got to an absurd point and that's when we all started to have a bit of fun with it. We thought it was HILARIOUS!!! But there were some that didn't. And that made it even MORE HILARIOUS!!!! Ahhh.... I see... I can imagine, based on some of the things I saw and heard, back in the day when it suddenly closed! Being an out of stater, its closing didn't register on an emotional level for me really, though I really did like the place, and was therefore sad. What really bums me is seeing the condition it is in now, and remembering the fun days I've had there. I also just didn't like how CF handled the situtation... I'm glad they at least announced WWK's closing in advance this time, so people who do care about the water park, can get their last visits in. I imagine had they done this with GL, a lot of the people still salty about its closing, would feel at least a little differently...

I, for one, don't get what's not to like about Invadr... It looks a little short, but other than that, looks like a fun little coaster! I look forward to riding it, whenever I get back to my beloved BGW!

Ugh... The B&M "roughness" talk has sprung up again! Now THAT, gives me a "shudder"... Regarding Valravn, I think it's an extremely fun coaster, and in the front gives a fantastic view, and ride! I also will say that whatever "roughness" was felt in the back right, is likely an anomaly, because I have ridden it there as well, and it was my second favorite spot on the coaster. This makes me do all sorts of happy dances! Hopefully that is a regular thing now, as I'd love to be able to request and wait for the front when I visit with my daughter in a couple weeks!

It wasn't my favorite coaster at SFGAm either, but it was my Bro-in-Law's! "An absolute blast" is precisely how I would describe riding it as well!

Man... Granted, I haven't read through all the pages around when this park closed, to see the tenor of the posts, but I'm a little surprised by the callousness on display towards those who really cared about GL, and are genuinely sad, and upset, about the way it was closed, and the lack of respect for a great, classic coaster like Big Dipper. I'm not quite on that level, but have a few friends who are, and I am very sympathetic to their plight. Also, I really loved Big Dipper, and hate to see a perfectly good coaster fall into ruin. Sometimes I feel like it's expected decorum in coaster enthusiast sites to be a Cedar Fair fanboy, and a yes man for all of the chain's practices, regardless of whether they are sound, smart, or the best they could have been. But I guess I'll just drink my Lipton tea like Kermit, and say that's none of my business...

Cedar Point, September 1st! It'll be the first time riding the big coasters there for my daughter! I'm so excited!

It also takes away from the "suck" of the ride. Screw nostalgia and screw standup coasters. What good is nostalgia if a ride absolutely sucks? Plus Six Flags has never cared about nostalgia, nor should they. But, but... coasterbill!? What about B&M-ories?!?! B&M-ories, for crying out loud!!! BTW, if Ragin' Cajun is at all riding like it was at SFGAm, that might be the best coaster at SFA, just sayin'! My Bro-in-Law and I had an absolute blast on that coaster!

Don't do Hurler, kids. That has always been sound advice, both for kids, AND adults!

Or you could drive 30 mins and visit six flags America where there is practically no lines and cheaper than hp. Hey, I admire your perseverance, even in the face of staunch opposition (and being crazy!) Props to you for that!

^Definitely! That'd be fun! I think it'll be sometime in May... It's for my twin cousins' Graduations!

Let me re-state: I don't know if Hurler will be getting anything done to it, or if there will be an announcement still in the next few months. It simply seems odd for them to tease another announcement, that isn't reasonably forthcoming... Also, I have no emotional connection to KD, so believe me, there are no "5 Stages" going on here. I'm simply looking at the situation, all its variables, and coming to conclusions that seem logical, and well-reasoned to me. I'm just surprised by those who are so ardently pushing back against the possibility that there is legitimately more going on here, with regard to KD, that's all.

Obviously, the combination of a great-looking and family and non-family friendly new coaster coming to BGW, and the underwhelming (to those without kids) new additions to KD, portends well for BGW to do better than KD at the gate next year. But here's the thing... BGW is already head and shoulders above KD in overall park experience anyway, and I don't think KD really thinks they can compete toe to toe with them in that regard. So KD is doing their thing, and BGW is doing their thing, and both parks are doing just fine being what they are, and appealing to the people they intend to appeal to.

Why are you convinced that they're going to announce what is happening with Mean Streak in the near future? Why are you convinced they're not? Serious question! Regarding KD and Hurler, I'm not sure what to expect in terms of announcement, or even what is going to happen to the coaster, but I'll be SHOCKED if we don't know more about what is happening with Mean Streak, by the time Cedar Point closes for the season at the end of October. Maybe I'll be shocked, but based on CP's past precedent, as well as the very visible and significant nature of Mean Streak, its closing, and the curiosity about what is replacing it, I wouldn't bet on it...

Don't... Don't do it... (And yes, that was where the straw broke the camel's back!)

They have the highest profit margins in the chain, and just did massive infrastrucure improvements through out the park. WWk on the otherhand was losing money ahhhh ok that makes sense then, i had no idea MA was making a profit. MiA was making a profit? WTH? Profit equals money received, minus money spent. Considering CF spends excruciatingly little on MiA, and the park does really good summertime business due to the extreme popularity of the Lake Michigan region, it's not surprising that they have the highest profit margin in the chain! No way they are going to be closed by CF, and as a matter of fact, I'd be shocked if CF ever was willing to sell them to a local wealthy buyer who'd want to invest into the park more, because they'd lose a cash cow. (There are other reasons I'd be shocked to see them do that as well, but since some enthusiasts like to close their eyes and ears at what that suggests, I'll pass on mentioning it...)