DILinator

As for a poll, I think it's overwhelmingly clear which coaster most people prefer, so I'm not sure a poll is really needed to determine that! Also, as one of the few KK preferring people, I will say that both of my rides on it have been in the front, so maybe that makes a difference? At any rate, I can definitely say, that at least for me, I prefer a front seat ride on KK to a front seat ride on TTD!

I've ridden TTD way more than Kingda Ka, but both me, and my 60+ year old dad I rode it with preferred KK! The OTSRs didn't bother me at all, the coaster was faster, went higher, and had an airtime hill afterwards... To me, it was a pretty easy call! Granted, I think both coasters are one trick ponies, and they don't rank super high on my coaster ranks consequently. But if I'm comparing them, I gotta go with KK, in spite of popular opinion, and CP being my favorite park! (The colors are light years better on Ka too, which is another bonus! )

I swear, this is turning into another situation like that dress uproar a little while ago! Clearly, some people are seeing this track color as being something other than what it is. I see it orange as clear as day, and everybody I've shown pictures to says the same (although it's definitely a darker orange). I've never seen it in person though, and people are reporting that it looks brown in person... Very bizarre situation indeed... Just out of curiosity, I wonder if the people who see Valravn as brown, also saw that dress as blue/black? Seriously though, there may be something to that, scientifically, regarding the way different people see colors. Again, I know the color doesn't affect the ride, so on that level, I don't care, but this disparity in what color people are seeing does fascinate me...

Which would make it perfect for a smaller cedar fair park Michigan's Adventure fans/locals rejoice! Hey that would be a much better addition than what the park is used to, and they could really use a thrilling flat ride. Agreed! I'd rather have this than a roller coaster, if that coaster is Shockwave!

Would that make their best steel coaster the used Vekoma SLC or the used TOGO stand-up? You forgot to mention an old, Arrow looper is also in the conversation! Wow... Thinking about it now, it all seems like a fitting, if not slightly horrific, possibility!

At least CP's Thunderhawk will be quite a bit more exciting than MiA's version! Can't wait to ride it next year!

I echo these sentiments, DoinItForTheFame, and thank you for the info! For a family of 6 (5 of admission age), $200 a pop is a tad pricey, but it sounds awesome, so I'm still considering it. We've never been to Dollywood, and it looks fabulous, so I really want for the family to be able to enjoy everything plenty!

If I may share a non-regular attender's perspective... I last went to Kings Dominion my one, and only time, back in 2002. I just went to Carowinds for the first time earlier this year. Obviously, Fury was beyond amazing, and immediately became my favorite coaster. However, other than that, Intimidator and Afterburn, I found the park to be rather lackluster and underwhelming... Point being: in spite of me having last been to KD before I305, AND Dominator, I still prefer it overall as a park to Carowinds. I can only imagine how I would feel about it going there now! (I have been on Dominator when it was at GL, and love it!) I also feel like you are probably the best looking park in the CF chain, though my memory is a little fuzzy on that (I used to think Kings Island was the best, but the additions of Diamondback and Banshee have dispatched with a lot of the trees and intimacy I once felt there...), since it's been so long since I was there. So, while you haven't received a major coaster addition in many years now, and that CF neighbor to the South has stolen a lot of attention this year with their mind-blowing new coaster (don't forget when you had your day in the sun with I305...), I think you should still be very proud of your park, and where KD stands in the heirarchy of CF parks! (And you're getting a frisbee-like ride, so that's always a win!)

+1 While I do agree with your post, I also have to say that I understand both where Cedar Fair, and Six Flags are coming from, in how they have chosen to run their businesses over the past 5-8 years. Both parks hit a rough patch when the economy tanked, with SF going through bankruptcy and CF dealing with a ridiculously large debt load in rough financial times. Both parks have had to weather that storm, and are doing much better today than they were then! But how they reached this point, has definitely been through different means, and park investment strategies. Personally, I prefer what SF has done as far as not relegating any of their parks (with the exception of The Great Escape) to the complete back-burner, and continuing to add exciting capital improvements every few years, at least. CF has really focused on their new acquisitions (and their flagship Cedar Point, of course), and consequently, it has left the fan bases for the smaller CF parks (many of which were getting regular coaster additions prior to the Paramount acquisitions) feeling left out in the cold. The reality is, however, that CF has been meticulous and smart in their infrastructure improvements for all their parks, including those smaller ones, while SF has definitely continued to lag in that department. CF has also been able to periodically drop a sizeable coaster investment in their parks, while SF has been forced to get creative with smaller, and cheaper expenditures. If it weren't for RMC, honestly, they wouldn't be thought of nearly as well, as of late, since most of their "premier" additions as of late have been from them. I am optimistic that the CF parks will slowly all get a new major coaster investment over the next five years or so, in addition to all of their infrastructure, kids offering, and water park improvements! In the meantime though, even though I understand where CF is coming from, it's no less frustrating to me from a fan's perspective.

There are a lot of other variables in play, as you mentioned later in your post, and others have mentioned as well. However, I have silently felt this way for a while now, reading about the black/white way people talk about parks being either "family friendly" or "kid friendly" by adding fewer coasters, and more kiddie rides and such. Maybe my kids (11,8,7) are an anomaly, but when we went to Michigan's Adventure - a large kiddie park, essentially - they pretty much wanted to ride all of the coasters, and hit the smaller rides if they had time afterward. My 8 and 7 year old are too short for the large B&M's this year, but they are both eager to ride them, as soon as possible. So I think assuming coasters aren't for young kids is a false assumption, unless my kids are just oddities! (Of course, watching all of the TPR Roller Coasters in the RAW! videos repeatedly could have contributed to this aspect of them! )

A lot of rumors out there suggesting both KD and CW will be getting a wing coaster in 2017. Cw just got a ride why do they need it. Kd need it the most If CF doled out coasters based on "need", and who got one last, MiA would be getting one this year, and not CP! Unfortunately (for the smaller parks), it doesn't work that way...

People keep saying the colors are unique... Are you saying this EXACT color combination is unique to Cedar Point? Because I've already shown a couple of pages ago that there is nothing unique about orange track at CP. Nor is dark blue unique at CP. I get it that some will like the colors, and some won't, but I find these claims of the colors being unique to be a stretch... Having said that, if Cedar Point wants to promote the Detroit Tigers in Cleveland Indians territory, far be it from me to complain!

Sometime in September they are making an "announcement" Waiting until then gives Shockwave enough time on the market to gauge whether or not it's going to sell, before they just decide to keep it in chain. Watch out though... Maybe Dorney is in competition with MiA to see which park is going to be "blessed" with its addition! (Loser gets KBF's old Screamin' Swing - at an upcharge cost! )

Hey guys, we're still in the running for the Screamin' Swing KBF is taking out! There is still hope!!!

Yea, Michigan's Adventure could be your home park. I've noticed this too... Personally, I DO think KD and CW are pretty much shoe-ins for a new coaster in 2017, and I think KI will be getting their dark ride/coaster that year. I see 2018 as the year smaller parks like MiA and WoF are likely to get a new coaster - if at all. I can't envision CF adding more than 2, or possibly 3 coasters to parks in their chain in any given year, honestly.

I know this has essentially already been said, but let me add to the adulation for this choice of addition! I love these types of rides, and while Delirium at KI wan't as amazing as maXair to me, it's still one of the best flats I've ridden! Very strong addition to KD, considering it was all but confirmed they'd be getting some kind of flat ride there!

^Thanks! I like to visualize where things are going!

Does anybody know yet where in the park these additions are going to be located? That Skyhawk sure does look fun!

Wait a second... Do people at KD really whine about getting Dominator?!?! Because if so, that's crazy! I mean, whining about Thunderhawk at MiA is one thing, because at best, it's an "okay" coaster. But Dominator is an awesome coaster! I'd have a season pass for MiA if they'd have received that instead of Thunderhawk!

As somebody who obsesses about colors WAY more than I should... I LOVE SeaWorld's color choices for all three of their coasters. I know it's probably simply because of the aquatic theme of the park, but that fits right in my personal groove for color preferences. Blues, greens, teals, purples... Fantastic! A welcome and refreshing change from the obsession with Reds, Oranges, and Yellows at my beloved CP! I'm not saying this has anything to do with their colors, but both Kraken and Manta are in my top 20 coasters... It'll be interesting to see if Mako will join them!

I feel like the track color was supposed to echo the gold in the logo, but unless it looks a lot different/better in person, I wouldn't say it's doing a very good job of looking gold-esque...

How on earth is that a "truly different color"?!?! I mean, it's maybe a different shade of orange, but it's still clearly orange (and not brown, as some have said...) I give you, people's exhibit A, and B... Even Magnum's track color has gotten more orange since its original red color! Sure, maybe this is the first Texas Longhorn colored coaster at CP, but it's still not a terribly unique or inspired choice, especially considering the dark images the coaster's theme invokes! DISCLAIMER: I am still excited about the coaster, and will ride it eagerly in spite of it's "uninspired" color scheme, because at the end of the day, that doesn't matter to the ride experience one iota!

I see people say stuff along this line a lot, and I have to bring a little counter-balance to it... WoF, Dorney, and VF all received regular sizable investments, such as coasters, on a regular basis for years under CF ownership. Not as frequently as CP, but still regularly. However, when CF purchased the Paramount parks, everything changed. Even CP took a break from as frequent of additions, and beyond what had been planned out a few years in advance of the purchase, none of the smaller parks have received any new (not relocated) coasters since then. So, in that respect, since the acquisition of the Paramount parks, places like WoF have been neglected - at least compared to how they were being invested in prior to then. It's a matter of comparison, since, as that one chart pointed out, WoF hasn't been neglected in the true sense of the word, as they've continued to have minor improvements most every year. Through all this, I can't imagine their money intake has decreased sharply, resulting in the lack of additions. But rather, with the bigger, and more marketable Paramount parks on board, and needing to justify the massive debt load CF took on with their purchase, the smaller parks simply aren't a priority at this point to CF, as long as they aren't a drain on the chain financially. I believe (hope) someday that changes, but for now, it is what it is...

Easy answer: Never. I'm totally in agreement here - minus the messy pants! I'll take a pass on that! I know this doesn't really apply to you, but at least for us Michiganders, we mostly consider CP our "home park" anyway, so it's not such a bad thing! I think the only park besides CP that I was thinking might also get a coaster next year, is Canada's Wonderland. I feel pretty strongly that Kings Dominion is getting a new coaster in 2017, and KI's announcement today almost seemed to hint at a new coaster for them in 2017 as well. If CW ALSO got one in 2017, that would seem to be too many for one season. So maybe they are still in the running for 2016. Or it's possible they will be 2017, and KI will be getting something other than a coaster in 2017. (Dark Ride?) I think if MiA is going to get a new coaster from CF, ever (something that hasn't ever happened, since Thunderhawk wasn't really new), it'll be in 2018...

That would require Cedar Fair to actually work with RMC and install something other than a B&M For whatever reason, I get a weird vibe about CF and RMC's relationship... Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I almost get the impression that CF isn't interested in doing business with them currently... I certainly hope I am wrong, however!