Danrarbc

All I know is it would be cool if we duplicated the Six Flags Over Georgia member entrance. Members get their own metal detectors, and a soda fountain to be able to fill their drinks as they enter the park. Even just implementing part of that experience.

Ride maintenance isn't really an issue. You create a ride maintenance schedule and then just stick to it. Every single year round park has already had to do this. Down in Over Texas it looks like it might be Batman and Joker currently undergoing their maintenance downtime - but the park isn't open until Saturday so the app will be more help then. Here in STL they already use HITP for Eagle and Boss work. Staffing is always a problem though even in the other cities. They're going to have to figure something out on that front.

Heck Freeze might just come down to the material used on the wheels. Summer vs winter compounds, not to mention temperature swings can actually cause the layer to fracture - which wouldn't be dangerous as long as they're small but might make the ride rougher. I haven't noticed a significant change in Freeze's overall roughness - but I have noticed changes from visit to visit. Not every launch is the same either, so it'll carry more speed on some runs. I really don't think there's an age or maintenance issue here - it just responds to external variables differently than some of our other steel coasters. Knott's, Magic Mountain and Busch Gardens generally have different temperature swings to contend with BTW. This HITP we had days in the 50s right next to other days it never made it out of the 20s.

I saw that Anyway. It looks like both Over Texas and Fiesta Texas have moved to year-round operations this year. It isn't 365 operations like Magic Mountain but they are open every single weekend in 2020. I wonder if this is something that could expand like HITP did.

Well as the parent of a 16 year old I can tell you that your life will definitely change......as to whether or not it's a mistake, I haven't decided yet. The good parts will be the best parts of your entire life. Yeah it's work. And the beginning and end of their first 18 years is like living with a live bomb connected to an egg timer. But as long as they aren't shitty people they'll bring you a lot of joy.

I was in the park the final night. JB's bar wasn't even an option anymore by 7pm so bleh. On the lights front both you and Emily are correct on them prozach, IMO. There are locations where there were more than ever this year. Palace itself and the area in front had lights installed that never were before. There were trees wrapped near Justice League that weren't lit before. The building Santa moved to was absolutely covered in lights versus the simple lighting in previous seasons, and the small building across from Mine Train received this treatment too. But they also didn't wrap the 'Big Green Tree' by Mine Train this year, just flooded it with stage lights. Some of the railroad bridges were also unlit that have been before. Then there's the area by American Thunder I mentioned before: It's near embarrassing how little is here, and the stars that do exist don't all work. Once you get to Log Flume I'm happy with the lighting but this stretch is bad. Here it is in 2017 for reference: Yes this is just one area. Buts it's near the front of the park, by one of the best coasters open for the event. This, all by itself, seems to influence our feelings on HITP a lot. Because there ARE plenty of areas that have been improved. And yet some of us come away feeling like it's worse than before.

I'm concerned about what this could mean for education overall in the state though. We're already in the middle of the pack, I would want to slip into the bottom third of states.

According to the park announcements email the park opens for the 2020 season on March 18th. First of all that isn't a weekend, and also that has to be one of the earliest opens ever for them. That's a 10 week off-season.

Boomerang needs off-season work, not sure it would have been open for HITP even if it didn't. Yep. They're extremely small footprint. The triple out layout measures 75ft x 250ft and the double out is 50ft x 400ft. The triple out literally requires less land than a Giga/Giant Discovery.

It wasn't open last Friday. just Black Friday.

Is the show at the entrance at closing time new? I know it didn't exist the first two years but I don't remember being up there at close last year. There have definitely been lighting upgrades around most of the park. But wow does this make the area around American Thunder and Moon Cars stick out. American Thunder's superstructure isn't lit up, at least not yet, as has been done in the past. The building across doesn't have lights on it. They don't appear to be using the lights in the red white and blue garland, there are just the lighted stars overhead. The decorations basically begin at Log Flume. I didn't get a photo of the Thunder area, wish I would have. Rather than bog down the forum with multiple photos here's the link to the set from last night. https://imgur.com/a/quAQtjW I still think SFSL wears HITP well.

I'm not sure how important a 4th water ride is. SFOT only got Aquaman because the original plans for the ride fell through. Looks fun though. The short list would have to be Giant Discovery, 4D and Raptor (off the shelf like Wonder Woman). Obviously there are smaller options too - SF has installed a few other flats. Maybe something else new for the chain. I'd take a Mack hyper back there but even at $5M cheaper than a B&M I doubt that happens. You do realize this is Six Flags St. Louis you’re talking about right?! Raptors are supposedly cheaper than S&S 4D coasters by quite a margin. If the $4M number going around is true (it sounds really low, that's Giant Discovery territory from what I can tell).

The rumor mill currently has Tidal Wave's plot tagged for something after 2021. But if rumors are correct 2021 will be a big year, we shall see. I'm not 100% convinced, yet. Oh. I'd have expected the plot to be used quickly. Now I really don't know what to think. Then again King's Island is removing Vortex with no apparent 2021 plan for that land.

I wondered if that was the 'big change'. So. 2021 should be nice eh?

So what kind of change? Holiday improvements or something.. else? On the Ninja front guys think about it. They swapped out the lift hill hardware in barely more than a week. This thing has to be easy to keep running.

The park is closing early tonight due to the rain.

If it's on the list they'll try to open it. If it isn't, then don't expect it to be open. They likely won't have the staff to open more, and there's a chance the trains are already removed and the ride is being prepared for 2020.

Well sounds like that's what is likely. I'm not sure how much they're going to be doing that'd make a HITP opening possible. And as has been said there may be extra work to do with it SBNO.

Another ride has been added to the Holiday in the Park lineup. Fireball is also listed now. This brings the open Midway sections depressingly close to Screamin' Eagle.

The HITP ride list is up. Looks like nothing will be closed that has been open in the past. There is one addition though - Skyscreamer. So the event now officially includes part of Illinois and goes beyond the railroad tracks.

Well we have seen a bunch of Arrow Loopers closing over the last decade+. According to Cedar Fair a service life of 25-35 years was expected. But Boomerangs aren't Arrows, and they're also still extremely common. I doubt it'll be on the chopping block anytime soon unless the maintenance costs are higher than other Boomerang installations.

Quick reminder our Boomerang was modified during transplantation and the lift systems in particular are going to have next to no part commonality with any others and thus with most replacement parts.

Shame this isn't part of the maintenance.

So... This gravel access road at Ninja seems new.