DILinator

Since this is now the B&M Floorless Thread (might as well change the title, right?), I thought I'd chime in regarding one of my favorite ride variants... I have never been to Dorney Park, but hope to make it there finally this year, likely after PPP if I go to that. However, the one coaster that I've anticipated riding, and what has made me want to get to DP so bad, is Hydra! Ever since I first saw it, I have been really, really eager to ride it! Now, I've heard from most people that it isn't that great, so I have tempered my expectations... Still, I look forward to getting on it before long, and seeing how it compares to the rest of the Floorless models I've been on! I have mad love for Kraken, one of my favorite coasters, period, so that wins for best Floorless for me easily! After that, I love Superman: Krypton Coaster the most, for its great location, layout, and overall size. Dominator is a fabulous coaster though, don't get me wrong, and is actually the Floorless coaster I have ridden the most, since I marathoned it at an enthusiast event once! Granted, all my rides on it were when it was located at SF:WoA/GL, but I'm assuming it doesn't ride any differently now that it's at KD. It's definitely a very complete coaster experience, and still would fall within my Top 25 coasters, most likely! The other three Floorless coasters I have ridden are all fine coasters, but I don't like any of them nearly as much as the top three. Bizarro is a fun and enjoyable coaster, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't stand out to me. Similarly, Scream was good, but nothing special. And its distinction as a true parking lot coaster is a negative for me as well... Rougarou is arguably my least favorite model, even though I like it a lot more than I did Mantis. I love the first half of the coaster, but the second part is just rough, and feels like a poorly designed ride, in my opinion. So while I'd like to put it above Scream for the first half, the second drags it back below that generic parking lot coaster. Still, I'm glad it is Floorless instead of Stand-Up now, and I still do typically ride it each time I go to CP!

Dwight would like a word with you... That is all...

Favorite overall: Fury! Favorite Wooden Coaster: The Voyage!

Simple. Screw Disneyland. Go to Knott's. Have more fun for less money. I have an already paid annual pass, and are going with a bunch of hot girls to Disneyland. It's going to be fun, regardless. We finally found another coaster enthusiast with their priorities straight. Hot Chicks>Any Coaster Hot Cicks+Rollercoasters=Awesomeness What?!?! An eyesore?!?! I get that there is some regret from management, and probably some long-time visitors about the loss of the scenic pond there, but I'd say Silver Bullet is FAR from an eyesore! In fact, not only do I greatly enjoy the coaster itself (probably my favorite at the park), I actually think it's one of the more attractive B&M Inverts, given its placement and appearance in the park!

Wait, wait wait.... Are you SURE it was the Gerstlauer Rattle? Or could it have possibly been the B&M Rattle? Or maybe a Vekoma Rattle? Because there so many slight variations and nuances between the various rattles, you need to be careful to discern the subtle differences in order to accurately report to the rest of us which one you are experiencing on said coaster, so we are well prepared to endure the dreaded rattling!

I know when I first heard about the two trains riding differently, I was skeptical... Not anymore! While the purple train is no doubt still one of the most intense and awesome coaster experiences I've had, it was very clear after just about splitting my 20 rides between the two trains that blue is just faster, and therefore, more forceful going through the elements! You notice this particularly clearly at the first airtime hill, and also the first overbank, where the speed there is just palpable!

Something else to consider in regard to the whole question regarding how CW beats CP in attendance, is that CW is literally in a huge suburb (over 200,000 people), of a larger city that is essentially the New York City of Canada! I was blown away upon my first visit to the greater Toronto area at just how HUGE it all was! So there is automatically going to be a massive amount of just locals who frequent the park. Imagine if Cedar Point were on Long Island (Next to NYC), how high the attendance would be! (And, consider how busy SF:GAm always is, being in a suburb of Chicago.) Then, factor in its status as the biggest amusement or theme park in an entire country, and it's a destination park for Canadians. With the tightening of the regulations for border crossing, I imagine there are probably less Canadians coming into America to ride coasters now than there may have been before. So I think all of those are factors in the attendance at CW being higher. And remember, in spite of all that, it's not higher than CP by much, if I remember accurately. This is a very valid point regarding the wait times! Perhaps no coaster churns through the people like B&M Hypers/Gigas! I still can't believe that I rode Fury 5 times last year, with a combined wait time of around an hour, maybe... The brand new coaster in the park... The GateKeeper example is a great one as well, as I haven't seen anything longer than a 30 minute wait since one visit I had during its opening season. Maverick and TTD are Intamins, that have their fair share of downtime, and Valravn is a ridiculously popular ride right now, being new, and very fascinating to the GP (who have flocked to CP in greater early season droves this year than I have ever seen!) Compare Maverick and TTD to MF even (a fellow Intamin), and you find that the Giga churns through the people much quicker than the launched coaster, with a lot of moving parts that could go wrong. That's one of the great things about a B&M Hyper, regardless of whether you find it thrilling or not - it likely won't have as long of a line as other coasters in the park, and is pretty darn reliable. That makes them a great addition to any park (that doesn't already have one, obviously.)

Just relax, dude. No one was trying to personally attack anyone... but when a 21 year old expresses that he can't drive three hours, because he doesn't have a luxurious car with heated leather seats or lumbar support it strikes me as a little silly. Dude, where's my car??? Oh wait... Seriously though, there's no need for me to relax about anything... I expressed a well thought-out, and well-written viewpoint, that had been on my mind for a while pertaining to things I've seen here on TPR as a whole. I didn't get cray-zay, or bash anybody, but brought a different perspective to the table that I don't see mentioned here often (that of a family man), and it brought out some others who acknowledged feeling the same way. No harm, no foul there... Pertaining to the specifics of the poster and situation you mentioned, I actually commented that for me, driving 3 hours isn't a big deal, as that's what I do every time I go to my "home park" of Cedar Point. Would I drive 3 hours regularly to go to Holiday World? Honestly, probably not... But I would definitely do it at least once a year, if I only lived that far away! However, I am not the other poster, and I don't know what personal back problems, or other issues he may have, so I choose not to judge whether a 3 hour drive for me, is the same as a 3 hour drive for him. That's all I'm saying... Let's just try to work on considering other people's viewpoints, before being so quick to dismiss them around here!

"I must not be a vocabulary nazi... I must not be a vocabulary nazi..." It's interesting thinking about anticipointment (yes, the vocabulary nazi is fully aware that is not a REAL word, but it SHOULD be! ) in regard to Fury... I actually experienced that in regard to Afterburn when I went to Carowinds. I mean, it was a fun little Invert, and I prefer it to Raptor and the Batman clones, I think... However, after everybody raved about how amazing it was, I was a little let-down actually riding it, and feeling like it was just another typical B&M early model "intensity-heavy" Invert. I would caution anybody away from getting too hyped over that particular coaster, vs. Fury, which in my opinion, actually delivered the "#1 coaster I've ridden" experience that I was anticipating it might!

Yeah, honestly, I kinda wish I had done it that way myself...

Nah. My opinion of Mean Streak is that it's a fun ride and its criminally underrated but even then... if we were ranking Cedar Point coasters it would fall below all of them except for Corkscrew and Mine Ride. It's a better ride than Blue Streak if you ride Blue Streak in a wheel seat but if you don't Blue Streak blows it away. You like Wilderness Run and Woodstock's Express more, too??? Those two, and the two you mentioned are the four I would put below it, and I'd consider putting Iron Dragon below it too, actually... They're pretty close at least. As for Blue Streak, I love that coaster, and even in a wheel seat might put it over Mean Streak. But otherwise, BS is easily in my Top 10 at CP, and I may like it even more than Magnum and TTD! If this is true, that would be kind of a shame. I was hoping they'd keep it open until Labor Day weekend at least. Oh well, maybe we'll make a trip out on closing weekend anyway. You don't really have to twist my arm to get me to make an extra trip to Cedar Point. I thought that seemed a bit early at first as well, but that's pretty much the exact same time they closed Disaster Transport to begin making way for GateKeeper, so I guess it's just about right, if they're aiming for a 2017 debut! I hadn't been planning on returning to CP this Summer, before late August, but if this does hold true, and its closing is announced, I'll definitely have to make a trip out there before the end of July myself!

I was browsing Mean Streak topics on another site (only due to sheer boredom, and having exhausted topics on this one, relax... ), and just early this morning somebody, presumably a ride op at CP, said that they were just informed that the MS crew would be reassigned to different positions after July. That would certainly seem to indicate an early closure of the coaster, but again, it's hearsay, so don't put too much stock in it. Still, if true, it's a pretty interesting development, and possibly the clearest sign yet that something big is happening with MS sooner rather than later!

Oh, I disagree. I rode it for the first time this past weekend, and I liked it even more than Maverick. #2 in the park, behind Millennium Force. It's an absolutely incredible coaster. Well, you are an enthusiast, so I guess you'd fit the demographic that overrates it I was referring to! But hey, at least you still like MF more! My friends who love Magnum actually call MF force-less! Makes me glad I'm a Mental Health Worker so I can be there to give them an obviously needed hand!

I seem to recall this... I went to Carowinds last year expecting Intimidator to be a great Hyper, based off of everybody's reports on it. Then I found it to be good but not great, and started reading from everybody how bad it is... Definitely the "Fury Effect" taking place!

Here's a true GL story... After my brother and I rode our miserable ride on the thing, he realized that he had lost his keys on it. Given that he had driven, and was our only way home, it was paramount that we recover them at some point that day. We let a ride op know about it, and much to our surprise, he went over to look where we saw them laying on the ground, opened up a gate, and went in and got them - while the ride was still operating! We were glad to get the keys back, but that was definitely shocker to see!

My mom has a picture of her when she was either 10 or 11 (don't recall which), sitting in the front seat of Blue Streak going down the first hill, arms in the air! This was back when there was no seat divider, so she was alone in the middle of the seat. Great picture, and it leaves no doubt where at least some of my coaster enthusiasm comes from! (Though, my dad was my partner for my Valravn Preview Night trip, at the age of 66, and has a Platinum Pass for CP, so he clearly had some influence as well!)

What I was super excited to see at Kennywood when I first went there, was a Bayern Kurve! I remembered that ride from the old days at Cedar Point, and was stoked to see one still operating!

I really like Silver Bullet as well! It might have even been my favorite coaster there when I went years ago. Either that or Xcellerator. Definitely not Ghostrider! However, with these modifications, I am eager to give GR another ride!

^I found the same thing when I went. That's why I think close to a third of my 20 rides were in that row!

It is very true that the front features more ejector air than the back. But the second seat (back of the first car on the train) is the true "ejector seat" on the coaster, as you're getting launched out of your seat violently the entire time! I prefer the front, for a little less aggressive, but still very aggressive and airtime filled ride!

I would still be a little surprised if CP had back to back major additions like Valravn, and RMC Streak, but it's certainly not unprecedented at the park. My money is still on a Soak City expansion in 2017, along with the closure of Mean Streak prior to that season, and a new midway, and RMC Streak to debut in 2018.

FWIW, the one time I went to SFStL (over 12 years ago now), I enjoyed myself, and preferred it to WoF. But it was a long time ago, and other than American Thunder, not much has changed, so I can understand the frustration it engenders these days... I definitely have more desire to go back to WoF than SFStL now.

In enthusiast circles, at least the ones I seem to run in, far and away the most overrated coaster is Magnum XL-200! I mean, people worship at its altar, and I don't have it in my top 7 favorite coasters at CP! Fun story though... I do remember dreaming about riding it, after seeing its teaser ads leading up to the 1989 season, so I do have that going for me! DId it live up to my dreams? Not sure that it did, but it was still pretty awesome, especially compared to what else was out there in the late 80's, early 90's!

Two things... 1) Cedar Point is 3 hours away from where I live, yet I consider it my home park, and have gone there four times already this year. I do think any farther away than that, and its viability as a "local" day trip becomes questionable. That being said, if I lived in St. Louis, it's not unreasonable to think that I'd go to HW more than SFStL, as I already go to CP more than Michigan's Adventure, which is closer. 2) However, from the other side of the argument, one thing I see a lot here on TPR that gets annoying, and frankly, is a little myopic and ignorant, is one person, or group of persons, making value judgments about another person's personal health, monetary situation, or physical tolerances. If somebody has lower back pain, implying they must be doing something wrong health-wise is a false assumption, as everybody's body is different, and you also don't know what extreme events, or jobs, that person may have done to lead to their issue. Also, (and this frequently irks me during Fast Lane type discussions), everybody is at a different place financially, and what may be financially feasible for one member here, may not be for another. Blanket assessments of "oh, this is something everybody should be able to afford to do if they budget and plan wisely" are almost never taking into account each member's own personal situation and variables. We don't know each other's financial situation, or familial composition, so making those blanket assumptions just comes off as pretentious, and at times, a bit judgmental. I would wager a guess that I am in the very small minority of people here on TPR who is supporting a family of four kids and two adults, with a lower middle class income no less. As such, many of you don't have any idea of the financial situation, and limitations that I am faced with, whenever it comes to enjoying our hobby. I get that we're all in a different place, but be careful not to discredit somebody else's viewpoint, and personal limitations, just because you have been blessed with more freedom and financial flexibility in your own personal life. Ok, just thought I'd get that off my chest, as it's been bugging me on here for a while now! You may resume your regularly scheduled SFStL discussion!

Wow! I just checked out that video! What an amazing looking coaster in general (love the interaction with the Sky Ride), but that light package is on a whole different level! The light following (or leading, actually) the train through the course was fantastic! What a great little coaster! My trips through Iowa on the way to Coloroado won't be nearly so boring anymore! Also, I could go off on an epic rant about this, but I'll just casually mention it instead... This sure looks like something that would be a great, lower cost investment for Michigan's Adventure, that would fit that "smaller-size" family park nicely!