Double0Kevin

Thanks for the update! Seems to me they are removing around the rock work, so maybe it will be staying for the most part. I know it's early and they have plenty of time to rip it out, but I love the look of it so fingers crossed!!!

Hell, when I worked at the park and got cheap food and free soda, I still went off property for lunch more often than not.

Mmmmm... Yes please. I have a feeling there is a front piece that has not been added. Probably for the ease of getting the water dummies in and out or something along those lines.

^ There was a song made for Swarm at Thorpe last year too. But Six Flags is going to say whatever they want. Edit: Here it is.

^That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking!

I think that Canyon Blaster and Speed are both great rides. Obviously Speed is no longer operating, but the point is that Las Vegas has and has had good coasters. Excited for El Loco. Now if we could just get them to fix up the rest of that crappy hotel.

^ I agree about Intamin. Cedar Fair has had a great relationship with Intamin; and with them paying the bills, the parks get what the parks get. The parks do typically have a say in the additions to the park, but the final decision comes from the people writing the check. But, if it does comes down to whether they build and Intamin or a B&M, I have trouble seeing a negative.

Lets be honest here. California has some of the easiest summers in the country. Go somewhere were they have heat AND humidity, then tell me the heat during California's summer is "extreme." Also, this isn't inconceivable; you have Disneyland just down the street hosting almost 17 million visitors a year with only Splash Mountain (DCA only has Grizzly). Also there is Universal, where you only have Jurassic Park. It's not like a major park would suddenly fail if they only have one water ride, especially one in California. All that said, I don't think they will get ride of a popular attraction that is still well within it's operational lifetime to build this mythical B&M Hyper that everyone keeps bringing up.

Every theme park is a little creepy at night when no one is there.

Love the updates. I feel like White Lightning is going to be one of those small coasters that ends up blowing everyone away. Can't wait to get on it in November when I'm back in Orlando!

CP isn't usually concerned with noise. I wouldn't doubt they let this thing roar. But they have a ton of sand right next to the ride should they decide to quiet it down.

Turning out to be a very busy running year for me. So far I'm signed up (or planning to sign up in the case of the Wine and Dine) for the following races: Coaster Run 10k @ Knott's - March 10 Zoo Zoom 10k @ Sacramento Zoo - April 14 Parkway Half-Marathon @ American River in Sacramento - May 4 Color Me Rad Napa Valley 5k @ Sonoma County Fairgrounds - May 18 Disneyland Half-Marathon @ DLR - September 1 Wine and Dine Half-Marathon @ WDW Nov 9 Possible I'll add a few more later on. What's everyone else looking like this year? Anyone done one of these Color Runs? It's my first one, but they seem like fun.

Haha, awesome.

My biggest years were: 2005 - 29 2011- 23 2012 - 26

Maverick = $21 million. The likelihood of Cedar Fair spending that type of money on a park that does around 1.5 million a year in attendance is pretty much zero. Maybe if they get it back to it's early 2000's attendance where it was hitting around 2.2 million; but that could be years and a couple cheaper coasters later. Remember the most expensive coaster ever built at CGA was Stealth for $17 million and we know how that ended up. I could see CGA doing well with a medium sized Mack launched coaster in the vain of Manta at SWSD.

I used to be totally in the CP boat prior to having experienced both. But now that I've done most the major parks in Florida (Legoland being the exception). I wouldn't even hesitate in choosing Orlando over CP. Granted there are no Giga or Strata coasters in Florida, they have some amazing thrill rides (Manta, SheiKra, Montu, Cheetah Hunt, Rock and Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Mission Space, Hulk, Dragons, etc.) as well as all tame, but very fun themed rides. Cedar Point is an awesome park, but it just doesn't have the diversity and options that Orlando (And Tampa) offers with the high quality themed rides as well as amazing coasters. The big thing is you will definitely find yourself spending more on Orlando and needing to go for longer, but I doubt you would think the money was wasted.

Vortex doesn't need to go anywhere. It's a ride that still gets a lot of riders, has a decent throughput and isn't excruciatingly expensive to maintain. From a business perspective, Vortex is just fine. Just because you guys got an owie doesn't mean the park should rip out a multi-million dollar ride. Why all the sudden does everyone think GS is going to open in May now? I still say they are on track to open it with the park this year, or at least close to it. They station will shoot up like nothing and wooden coasters aren't overly complex that it will take long to get the computer up and running. We shall have to wait and see.

^ And you aren't biased at all. It all seriousness. I'm sure I will love the ride, but I fear our expectations are set too high for it. There is a lot of buzz about this one since it was so long delayed an all that. I just hope it ends up being one of the top GCI's ever built.

I stand corrected. Not sure where I got it in my head that Knott's did 5+ million. I knew MM was usually around 2+ m. Obviously I rounded, but was wrong.

^ Weird, Must be you're computer. Knott's also does about 3 times the yearly attendance that SFMM does. Knott's is open 364 days a year and every time I've visited during peak season, they've had all rides sunning at full capacity and are MUCH faster at loading them (Including Sierra Sidewinder that has 2 trains, not one). Your excuses for SFMM are irrelevant. SFDK opperates only about 30 days less a year than SFMM and they are great at having maximum train operation when possible. Medusa always has 2 trains even during Holiday in the Park when the park is dead. Roar and Kong operate on 1 train op at the end of the year while one train is in rehab, then they swap and operate for the first few weeks of the next season on one while the other train gets rehabbed. This is also a Maintenance department that is about a third the size of MM and has roughly the same amount of ride (just more flats than coastes). MM just doesn't care and would rather cut costs than provide a better experience.

Whaaaa.....? Speaking of a Vortex paint job... they should bring back the green and black. I liked it way better. OH! And brand new trains... yeah, new trains.

^ Yeah good luck convincing them to do that. I'm sure the GM will do it on a day of operation, just when it's slow. Similar to what SFoT did when the Giants beat the Rangers in the 2010 World Series.

Never did ride Rim Runner, though I don't like water rides so I'm not bummed about it. I would be kinda bummed if they took the mountain out, it makes the inside of the dome more interesting. But I can understand the desire to take it out and be able to utilize the small footprint of the park a bit more. Now if only we could fix up the crap hole the dome is attached to.

Kinda piggybacking one what the last two posts said, the whole AP argument comes down to, is it worth it to you. If Disney eventually prices the AP too high for you to find value, they always have other ticket options available to you that will accommodate what you are looking for. For me, I always get the Premium AP and have never felt like it wasn't worth is. I go 6-8 times per year, but I go for multiple days, I drive so I need to park, and I buy food and merch; so everything makes it feel justified in the end. This year, I plan to go to WDW for 5 days in November, since that ticket would cost me $350(for park hopper), and the Premier passport is only 200 more than a DL Premium, I plan to just get that instead. Some would say $850 is insane, but I find the value in it so I'm willing to spend the money.

I'm still not convinced it will be covered, but I think it's irrelevant either way. Still going to be a great ride with a great drop.