BigBad

Certainly it depends on how much money you have! If you're barely getting by, $100 for Fast Lane would mean sacrifices in other realms. If you're Bill Gates, then whatever.

I'm glad to hear this. My visit last weekend had Nitro and El Toro stacking all of their trains. Ka, Zum, Safari, Toro, and Bizarro will be closed for HITP, but I do think they run around Halloween.

I would prefer to the launch to be with me looking up. Hanging in the flying position is somewhat uncomfortable.

The Chiller was back there? It's been so long since they took down the ride that I've forgotten the details of where it was, but I thought it was more towards the middle of the park.

It stormed 7-9 when I went last year. After the storm passed, they opened up Fury 325 and I got a bunch of rides on it in the last hour.

^That happened to me at Carowinds. It got me two front- and two back-row rides on Fury at night, plus a number of rides in the middle of the train. The storm was about 7-9 on a day with a 10pm close.

That non-inverting half-loop is the final element, right? Could you please elaborate on this?

I went to the park Sunday and tried out Justice League. I was entertained. They do a really good job of having the images exaggerate the motion.

Magnum is pretty abrupt, and it doesn't help that it comes right after a dark tunnel and you can't brace for it unless you know to expect it. I've always found Nitro to have an abrupt final brake run.

Skyrush and El Toro used to maintain their lift speed through cresting the apex. Those situations are quite similar to the Lightning Rod rumor, while I305 and Maverick are different. I have a few thoughts about the rumor. 1. CRUCIALLY, we don't know that it's true. 2. If it is true, it's quite reasonable to see it as mildly bad news. 3. Lightning Rod has a 165ft drop, meaning that the crest speed would be 21mph to reach the reported 73mph. If the crest speed were decreased to 11mph (for example), the top speed would be 2.2mph slower, not 10mph. 4. Unlike with the Intamin modifications that have been mentioned, any decrease in speed of Lightning Rod (probably) is not to lessen the forces. 5. If the goal isn't to lessen the forces, any decrease in speed could be a temporary solution to get the coaster running while a long-term solution is developed.

OMG, what terrific news! Who knows...I might even get down there this year to ride.

Question about Houdini: how much does it swing? I felt pressure on my back when I rode, so I know that it isn't just an optical illusion, but I also have my doubts that it swings like a pirate ship ride (and obviously it doesn't invert).

I think that EGF hasn't been cloned because when you build a ride like that, you're building the signature ride of your park, and there's some sense of pride in having a unique hyper-type coaster.

I think many of us are taking this as a given until the track shows otherwise. I am. It's kind of what RMC does in in that situation, and I've heard that it makes for a pretty fun drop.

It's a bunch of graceful turns and hills at high speed, plus a couple of nice air moments. The drop also goes on FOREVER. All of this happens through a pretty smooth ride, giving a good sensation of flight. You won't confuse the sensations with what you experience on Maverick, but Maverick's attempts to shake your head off your shoulders isn't the only way to have fun on a roller coaster.

It definitely isn't. Fury has the comfy trains like Nitro and a couple B&M-y moves with their typical grace, but Fury (particularly at night) feels like zipping around in a fighter plane.

I think I get this line of thinking: a major thrill kind of fun rather than a "kinda cute" fun. Whatever our favorite coasters are, we all think it's fun, right?

Yeah, Breakers isn't a 5-star hotel. It's fine for the evening and at night (been twice), but the point is to spend the day at the Point

^That would be a gimmick (likely one that is fun), but that wouldn't make the coaster a "gimmick-y" coaster. It does too much else a d wouldn't be relying on the tilt track for the thrill.

Awwwwwww, I saw the Lightning Rod ERT you posted and got excited!

I wouldn't say that a vertical drop is a gimmick. It's kind of a gimmick with the dive coasters,* but with those, the point of the ride is to have the vertical drop. With New Mean Streak, there is so much more to the layout than just an awesome first drop. *I'll mention that I have yet to ride a dive coaster.

What about it reminds you of Ghostrider?

I think it would be quite reasonable to offer a discounted admission or pay-per-ride plan, but that wouldn't do much to quell the (warranted) criticism.

I thought that for a moment, but I do not think it is planned that way. For people to be willing to pay the higher price, we would have to know that the park will have something special for those days. Or maybe the goal to to keep the prices high for those days so people won't book them at low prices, and then when the coaster reopens, Dollywood can charge the higher prices. But I still think those higher prices are for the beginning of summer.

Oh, sure, my point, is that removing a car would diminish the capacity, which isn't that high to begin with. (Though current capacity is zero riders per hour...)