Xcelerator4

WARNING--Some spoilers for Smuggler's Run and how it works ahead Alright, so using this video of a solo ride on the Florida version, which is by all practical measures completely identical, we can see that the initial and final rotations are at times 1:20 and 5:10 in the video. According to the diagram on the last page, we can see that six rotations are necessary to move the capsule from the loading station to the unloading station during the 230 seconds of active ride time. Since the ride must rotate 4 times during that time, the time between rotations is roughly 46 seconds. Thus, the rotations are disguised roughly at timestamps 2:06, 2:52, 3:38, and 4:24. 2:06 is the first jump to hyperspace, most likely disguising that lateral motion by rolling the pod slightly in the direction of the turn so it is observed as positive Gs during the kick into hyperspace. At 2:52, the Falcon comes around a tight corner just before running into the train, so the laterals felt during that turn are actually partially caused by the pod rotating into the next position. 3:38 I can't seem to figure out, there is a small kink in the Falcon's motion as it crests a hill, so maybe that could be disguised with some creative roll work behind the scenes. 4:24 is probably my favorite of the bunch. In this case, it is synced perfectly with destroying the rest of the coaxium train as a distraction. The rotation and resulting laterals is shown as the blast you feel from the exploding train. We all know Disney is capable of some wizardry behind the scenes, but this exceeds my expectations greatly. I had some ideas about where they could be coming into this research (I was most certain about one being timed with the crash) but all of them were wrong. This ride, as relatively tame and screen-based as it is, has some absolutely insane technical wizardry with all the rotations, pitch, and roll of the motion simulator platform and then sticking that already complicated system on a gigantic rotating wheel. As much as it is distinctly not my favorite ride experience-wise at the parks, it is probably my favorite on a technical standpoint.

I had a Smashburger at LA Live when I was going to a concert. It was okay, your standard overpriced "upscale" fast food burger. Just about even with Habit, maybe with slightly higher pricing. In-n-Out on the other hand, I love that stuff. Maybe its just because I don't have them often and the LAX location Pavlovs me into associating them with travel and theme parks, but its always a good treat with low prices and good burgers.

I know its definitely not going to happen, especially in this economic climate, but you could absolutely squeeze a Raptor in there. Have the lift hill follow the old launch, have a 180 turnaround and 90 degree drop on the other side of the train tracks and have the rest shoehorned in over the station. They can definitely reuse the tunnel over Bigfoot Rapids on a replacement as well. The only immediate problems in my head are theming, reliability, and reducing the parks family accessibility.

I don't know what Mako people are riding, but it is an absolute injustice that that absolute beast of a hypercoaster doesn't even make it into B&M's top 10 while something like Monster at Walygator Park does. Completely baffling. While there is some other stuff like this, the poll has been remarkably similar to my own rankings. Great job on this whole thing to AJ and the TPR staff!

I would definitely go for the sale and more time at Carowinds. Dollywood in the fall is beautiful and all, but when I went to Carowinds in early 2019 with no lines I was regretting booking a flight that night, as I had to leave 3 hours early. Fury really is that good and any extra time cycling that beast is time well spent. Those extra hours at Carowinds are certainly nice, but the $100 off from the Presidents Day sale really pushes it over the edge for me and makes that option 100% the way to go.

While this addition would be something all of us would enjoy, looking at Six Flags' previous installations they side with manufacturers that they work with in bulk to deliver low to medium cost coasters such as the Premier launch models and S&S free spins and launched coasters. They haven't worked with Intamin since Green Lantern: First Flight at SFMM, and based on how well that turned out and the historically high cost of Intamin installations, as well as less of a focus on capacity even at large parks with the addition of coasters like the free spins and Maxx Force. As much as I'd love to see a new Intamin in the US, I suspect this is a Premier coaster similar to WCR or an RMC product of some sort.

Man, this was way harder to put together than I thought it would be. 1. Phoenix 2. X2 3. Magnum XL-200 4. Phantom's Revenge 5. Hangtime 6. Blue Fire Megacoaster 7. Olympia Looping 8. Grand National 9. Space Mountain (MK) 10. Montezooma's Revenge

I feel like this won't do anything to help the problem. It would be one thing if they have to wait to dispatch the train on every cycle, but when I'm there I find that they consistently dispatch with the second train either stacked or at the slow moving part of the brake run. Something that I think would help is to reprogram the final brake run so that it doesn't add around 15-20 seconds to the cycle time when it is running one train.

I just went through the survey, and I only noticed a couple things that really stood out to me. Note that it mentions 7 rides This would mean that at least 2 new rides would be added, if you say that Slingshot, Apocalypse, Dive Devil, Cyclone 500, and Jet Stream are all rides in that area (probably not Jet Stream but who knows). Apart from the coaster, I can only see room for development in Thrill Shot's old area and where Deja Vu used to be. The name Slingsanity, although horrible, would suggest that Slingshot will be staying in its current location with little to no modification. I'm still totally confused about what the theme of this new area could be, though.

That would make sense, but I think it’s more likely to go to CGA, where there is already a permit in place for a 210 foot tall steel rollercoaster. Between that and the fact that Carowinds is getting a Mack, I’d be incredibly surprised if it doesn’t go up north. http://smartpermit.santaclaraca.gov/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=PLN2017-12971

Little bit late, but an Immelman is a turn that was originally used in WWI by a German pilot named Max Immelman and later adapted to coasters. Basically its half of a loop followed by a roll back to upright. It's very similar to a dive loop, but taken in the opposite direction. (Wow, an AP Euro paper on WWI dogfights actually was useful) The park is using head-to-head flybys as a buzz term that means that the two trains will pass each other in opposite directions at a "Combined speed of 70 MPH", which can be read as each train is going 35 MPH.

Let's be honest, is that really a question?

The queue should be cleaned out by 3am this morning.... If people stuck around. According to multiple people who are at the park they cut it off at 300 people in the line as not to stay open too late. Some coaster enthusiasts are whining, but the ops have had a long enough day already, they deserve to go home at a sane time.

Well that was quicker than I think any of us imagined. Really makes all the super-exaggerated "Major damage to the track and trains" people we saw on Instagram and Twitter illegitimate. But, more than all I'm glad that this beast of a ride has reopened, even if its only going to be running one train in the near future.

Yeah, that "rattle noise" is probably just the sound of the chain dogs hitting back down after the ungodly amounts of airtime on this ride. Judging by the testing, this shouldn't have too much impact for very long, but who knows what the park will do in precaution. I'm heading out there September, so everything should be ironed out by IOE and RMC by then.

Wow this looks absolutely crazy. They now have the trifecta of “insane” coasters with this, Maverick, and Top Thrill Dragster all so close. I’m trying to head out to the park mid September so I can get a ride on this thing. One question for Robb or anyone there: What’s the Fast Lane situation? Is it like Millenium where there’s a merge point a bit back in the line or does it lead you right up to the station? Either way, I hope to get some serious rerides on a Sunday during halloweekends.

Quick update on the state of the virtual reality on Lex Luthor as of 4/3. The addition has definitely resulted in the popularity boost they wanted, with lines nearing the door in the queue house, but not without a noticeable impact on the dispatch times. The VR has better graphics and definitely feels much more well implemented on Lex Luthor, but the text boxes are hilariously out of place and the idea of obscuring the amazing views on a drop tower as tall as this one is amazingly stupid. The worst part about it is the shape that the headsets are in. They are the same ones as were used on The New Revolution, and there clearly has been minimal changes since TNR closed. I was the first rider of the day, using the still honored gold pass early entry to score a ride before the queues got ungodly long, so I was amazed by what I saw when they handed me the VR headset. The interior of it was encrusted with dirt and grime, with the stitching on the padding coming loose with hair and lint stuck on the exposed adhesive. I usually take the "Well, its Six Flags what can you do" mentality when it comes to these things but this disregard for cleanliness takes it a step too far. I asked for another headset and they obliged, but it was only marginally better than the first. This really shows that they aren't even investing in wet wipes to clean the VR, and are simply using them as a quick head-turner before the summer season and heavier crowds come.

Went to Knott's yesterday, had an overall very good day with only a couple downsides. I knew Xcelerator was closed coming in, so that wasn't a surprise, but I never expected Ghostrider ops to be this bad. I heard other people saying that they were slow on this thread, but I never could have expected the hour and a half wait that was barely halfway through the downstairs queue. Once I was up to the station levels I timed several dispatches out which were averaging 286 riders per hour (Just over 5 min dispatches). The new Boardwalk Barbecue is really nice, though the inside is a little barren decoration wise. No progress on the construction site for 2018, still just piles of dirt. I also got to try out Sol Spin's new ride cycle in one of the outside seats and it really does make a massive difference where you sit on this ride. While still not as intense as at some fairs, this ride is definitely one of the top three flat rides in the park on the outside seats. Also, they have this yellow device on Xcelerator's station track that I was able to get a look at from the exit ramp, as well as having the launch cable detached. Anyone know what this is?

I know that Roar/Joker, Medusa and Colossus reused their old stations with some modifications, not sure about the others.

I was able to go to Magic Mountain yesterday in order to ride the new Justice League, and I can't say I went into it with an open mind. I've been very skeptical of these rides from the start, especially with the disappointment that is Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knotts, and was expecting a hardly themed, screen heavy, short ride. I was wonderfully surprised after I went straight to the back of the park and was able to be near alone in the preshow areas, which while some parts were laughable, like Cyborg shooting the Lexbot, were wonderfully detailed. While I do think the ride vehicles could use a little more designs on them, they were very comfortable and the blasters were easy to use, and not tiring like the ones on Midway Mania at DCA. The blue fog "antidote" had me worried at first at the quality of the theming, but I was wrong. The animatronics were all smooth and the special effects were well timed, even if they were having trouble with the fire later in the day. In the digital sets, the motion was well synced up to the screens and there was little nausea, which I found to be a problem on Iron Reef. The only on-ride complaint that I have was that the Harley Quinn at the end seemed very out of place and added as an afterthought. Other than that, I found the ride to be great and hopefully it will hold up with time. The metropolis area was okay, a little too much concrete and would have really benefited from one more ride. The beer garden area was very weak, hot empty concrete with an near unused bar. Overall, this has been a great addition to the park that I really did not expect. It is easily one of my new favorites in the park.

Was thinking about heading to either Raging Waters or Hurricane Harbor tomorrow, and I wanted to see if any of you guys knew LAUSD's schedule for memorial day weekend. Are they off on friday and I should avoid the parks or is it totally open. I know there's a small chance of rain, hopefully that means it will be less busy. EDIT: Just bothered to check and Hurricane Harbor is closed. Would still like to know if I could go to the dry park without stressing about crowds.

I'm heading to the park on a Saturday in mid-August and I was wondering what the crowds are like that time of year. The $25 VIP Coaster Tour thing that they offer seems like a pretty good deal, so I wanted to ask your guys' opinion on that front. Any advice is helpful.

I'm looking in to the Pine Barn Inn right now, and I wanted to ask about the ticket situation. We'll be there in August, so the all day passes are available, but I don't know if just buying per ride with the Weis discount is a better gig. Any insight on that front?

My family and I are heading out to Knoebels and a couple other places (Centralia has always been on my bucket list) and are seeking advice on places to stay near Knoebels. We're not going to be staying at the campground or in the houses on the site, and was wondering if there are any nice-ish hotels nearby that are within 20 mins from Knoebels. If you know anything about the area that would be great.

Hopefully this time it won't be a LITERAL one trick pony