Capitalize

Looks like new, awesome! Now can we get the original restraints back too?

Looks awesome. I can't wait to get on in the back seat and see how great the transition between that sweet looking drop and high speed turn is.

Just so you know Charlottesville, VA to Pittsburgh will be around a 5 and a half to 6 hour drive, its a good distance between those two areas. Thats the only part of your itinerary that struck me as off in timing. But nothing too big.

Makes me miss Iron Eagle at SFA. Although Iron Eagle had a much better sequence. Started with a complete forward rollover, then the ride rolled backwards and started upwards. Then there was the grand-finale, slowly going over upside-down getting loads of sweet hang time.

Some day I'll get across the pond and Alton Towers, and more specifically Nemesis, will be on my to-do list.

Is the audio on Bizarro the same between SFGAdv and SFNE? Well obviously a change in duration. If its the same or essentially the same then I agree. By the end of the ride I had a headache from the speakers blaring in my ears. I thought it was just too stupid and random.

I really don't remember SM being all that rough, definitely not as rough as most of the wooden coasters I've been on.

Why afraid?

You entirely misunderstood what I wrote. Here, I'll copy it again, maybe it will make more sense this time. "As far as ride quality goes, I agree that SFA's ride collection isn't as good as KD or BGE's. But I don't think its been that way a very long time and I don't think the gap is that great. The wooden coasters at SFA are all in all better then KD's in my opinion. SROS is the best ride at either park at this point. Obviously with the addition of Dominator and Intimidator KD is moving ahead while SFA is sitting idle apparently until 2011, though." So in summary: 1. I said SFA's ride/coaster collection wasn't as good as KD's. 2. I said that I don't think the gap in quality between the parks' coaster collections is huge because... 2a. SFA's wooden coasters are better then those offered at KD. 2b. SROS is still the best ride between the two parks as far as I'm concerned. For me the brake run makes the ride far less enjoyable and thrilling when compared to Jokers Jinx. It ruins the pacing and is a really sudden and uncomfortable stop followed by a painful slow turn. I said that if you think the theming makes up for the moderately less fun ride, then fine. For me it doesn't, but if it does for you then great. It just a matter of opinion.

Splendid China was a lot of fun. The shows were always superb.

I agree, that's why I like the park so much and get a pass every season.

Having worked in rides at SFA I can tell you that standard operating procedure made the stipulation that shirts must be worn, BUT, bikini tops were OK and counted as a "shirt". Both of the flat rides you mention being removed are a Zamperla Rotoshake and a Chance Chaos. These rides can be found hardly anywhere nowadays. Certainly not solely a SFA issue in keeping them running. It would have been great to see those rides replaced with other flats, but I blame SFInc, not SFA, for that. As far as ride quality goes, I agree that SFA's ride collection isn't as good KD or BGE's. But I don't think its been that way a very long time and I don't think the gap is that great. The wooden coasters at SFA are all in all better then KD's in my opinion. SROS is the best ride at either park at this point. Obviously with the addition of Dominator and Intimidator KD is moving ahead while SFA is sitting idle apparently until 2011, though. As far as your restraint coming loose as you claim; that's a tough situation. Did the restraint come loose and then re-lock mid-ride? All they can really do is lock and check the restraint to ensure it is locking properly. Perhaps you only perceived it came lose? Because normally in cases like this its your word against the ride running fine all afternoon with no issues with that or any other restraint...

Its not really anything new, Wild One especially has always had close to no wait during my visits as a guest and the time I spent working at the ride. SROS never has a line on weekdays except a train or two for the front or back.

The video board on main st. has been there since june/july or so. Like you said Roar had good air on the firswt drop in the back, but other then that it isn;t a good time. Normally the front will provide a better ride with some decent pops of airtime.

SROS and Wild One have no wait at all most days I go but I find both those rides to be far better then anything at Kings Dominion. A rides line length doesn't make it by default better or worse. FoF isn't "terrible", I never said it was, I said Jokers Jinx was better. Why? Lets go through your own post. "One keeps its speed pretty much throughout the whole ride, disregarding the mid-break run, while the other lacks constant speed." Uh, yeah. One keeps its speed throughout the ride more then the other. That would be Jokers Jinx, aka the one that has NO mid-course brake run at all. How on earth do you think FoF has anything resembling "constant speed" when it literally comes to a complete stop on the brake run? That's just ridiculous. If you think the UFO theme and somewhat darkness makes the ride better then that's fine, but seriously, trying to say FoF has better pacing, continuous speed, or is better simply because the line is longer, is really ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.

I feel the exact opposite, if only because FoF has that ridiculous mid-course brake run that completely stops the train. It just seems like a waste to me, but who knows, I thought re-theming Medusa and SROS was a bad idea and Six Flags apparently liked it. When you have the exact same ride enclosed an hour to the south, and most GP recognize that the rides are very, very similar (if they don't realize they are essentially identical), throwing a building around it and saying its new I personally think would not be a draw for the park. Seems like a lot of wasted capital to build a structure like that around Jokers Jinx all things considered. I don't see why you think its so crazy to call it pointless. Bizarro at SFGAdv is far worst to me now then it was back when it was Medusa; Disaster Transport is a pretty lousy ride, and the theming is hardly its strongest feature. Jokers Jinx is a far better ride then FoF already as far as I'm concerned, and wasting money to throw a building around it, some bad theming, and probably add some bad audio would not make it better. Thus, those changes would be pointless as far as I'm concerned.

The rumors say 2011, no way they get a new coaster in 2010. Jokers Jinx being enclosed would be completely pointless. Of course KD and SFA are in competition. They compete for the DC market every season, KD currently dominates that competition, but it is a competition.

I say 3-4 days if all you really want to do is the mall stuff. If you're walking around seeing the monuments/white house/capitol can be a day. The museums (depending on which ones strike your fancy) will be at least a couple days if not more if you want to visit more of them. The Indian museum is neat, if you're into art there's plenty to see in the regard of course. As far as the air and space museums, both are neat and have their own cool exhibits and things to see, so its pretty tough to pick one. The Dulles one has some awesome things to see, though. So its definitely worth the effort to get out there. SFA can be done in a few hours if all you're looking for is the credits and maybe a couple re-rides. A full day may be a bit much. I suggest checking out Old Town Alexandria a bit, nice little area right next to DC with some good food and drink choices and plenty of history.

It could be good for the ferris wheel to get a new location or re-theme. In its present location you don't get much of a view of anything at all. since most the trees around the ride are taller.

Name: Frank Decot Age: 22 What is your roller coaster count? 171 What is your home park? Six Flags America What is the nearest big city? Washington DC What is your occupation? Web Designer About how many times a year do you visit a park (including your home park)? 20 or so About how many times a year do you travel to a park that is not your home park? 5 or so When you travel do you go primarily to amusement parks or do you also try and hit other sites? depends on the nature of the vacation. I'll go on trips that are exclusively roller coaster/theme park trips, and other times I'll go on longer trips that will have a park or two tossed in but are more about other activities or site-seeing. What is the farthest you’ve traveled to go to an amusement park? Hong Kong Does roller coaster time get in the way of family time? (Do you choose to miss your children’s or family’s sporting events, holidays, birthdays, etc…) No, I'll plan trips around other big events and only go to my local parks when I have free time. Do you have any other major hobbies? Sports and web design. Do you get feelings of sadness in the offseason? Do you even have an offseason? Do you travel during the offseason? Definitely. Although I will occasionally travel t the south for rides in the winter. Do you consider yourself friends with someone you met who works at an amusement park? (Or reverse it, if you work or worked and an amusement park have you made friends with enthusiasts?) I still keep up with a couple people from working at a park, but we aren't close friends and I'm not close friends with any other enthusiasts. Would it bother you to go to an amusement park by yourself? Not at all, I go to parks alone sometimes. I prefer to go with others, but I can easily spend time at my local parks alone if I decide to swing by afterwork or something. Have you gone to an amusement park by yourself? I normally go to Six Flags America alone, due to its close proximity if I have nothing else to do I can drive up there and spend a couple hours on the rides. In the past when I was younger I would hang out with other enthusiasts occasionally if I saw any. Do you find it easy to make friends with other enthusiasts? I never really made an effort to become close friends with another enthusiast outside of conversation at parks. How do you get your coaster news? Screamscape, TPR mostly How many different forum sites do you regularly post on? Four total, two about coasters. If there was a poll that asked a large pool of enthusiasts what their favorite roller coaster is, what do you think would be the top 3 responses be for wood? And for steel? Wood - El Toro, Voyage, Phoenix. Steel - Bizarro (SFNE), X, Millennium Force (MF in particular isn't that popular on this site at the moment, but a lot of enthusiast seem to still love it elsewhere.) Same scenario but for amusement parks, what would be the top 3? Cedar Point, Knoebels, Kennywood (Same thing for CP as MF above) Have you ever “stole a kid” to get a credit on a kiddie coaster? I tried, I waited by the entrance of Pteranodon Flyers at IOA for a while, but I got tired of waiting for someone who would agree. Do you cut other categories out of your budget to make trips to parks? I'll buy cheaper items (beer, food, etc.) sometimes to make ends meet easier. Before you visit a new park do you research the park finding the best way to navigate the park, get the best deals, or what days to go? Yes, I always look at maps beforehand and will occasionally ask the park's locals what is the best order to navigate the park to get the most out of a day. Do you feel the roller coaster enthusiast community is a warm and accepting community, or a negative and discouraging community? Mostly friendly. Any time I see someone with a coaster shirt at a park (from a different park) on I'll ask them about it and strike up a nice little conversation. Do you like to talk about your hobby with people who are not roller coaster enthusiasts? Not really.

Very funny TR! The electrocution guy was over Shockwave last year if I remember correctly. I can't wait to get out there in a week or so to get my Maxx pass for next season.

^^ My bad, I assumed you were being snarky...

Huh? I'm not a seasonal employee anywhere and haven't been for years. I simply pointed out that only one employee as far as I can remember has been removed from the ride. Is that incorrect? Have more been taken away as well?

I've only been on the ride a couple times since the change but the only employee I can recall being removed is the one at the first turntable, since its now gone. Granted that one employee sitting there not really doing anything for $7 an hour adds up over 30-40 hours a week for a summer.

My understanding was it was to reduce downtime. But I don't see why they could keep one turntable but not the other. I don't know, that ride is a mystery...