JT325

^I think I read (on here?!) that Revolution is closed for an unplanned chain replacement. Must've had some issues. Wouldn't Scream have been a better choice for VR? Would B&M require those headset compartments they used on Kraken? Speaking of Scream... does anyone enjoy it? It seems the park really doesn't need it. Maybe as an overflow on busy days...

^Cool! He seemed like a likeable-geeky guy, from the movie anyhow.

Looks like you guys had a good time to this point, hope it continues. ^I remember that dated early 80s lettering at that place. Who'da thunk something from that era could have it's own charm!?

Eagerly awaiting a Coastermania review. I was at Holiwood Nights, and it seemed some people were doing Coastermania on Friday and HWN on Saturday.

One more thing I forgot... there was lightning close to the park Saturday night, cutting into ERT. The park went above and beyond by extending ERT after midnight. I don't know what time it went until but I was still riding Voyage at 12:35am. Also, the Water Cup Challenge on Legend was a blast!

^People seemed to be saying Voyage is best it's ever been. But it's still a very aggressive design, the way it was meant! My favorite Voyage year was 2 years ago, but it's hard to compare. I love it all the time! 2011 was "the rough" year if I remember correctly. Legend is still my favorite at the park. It reminds me of Phoenix in that it seems to get faster every time I ride it. I dunno how they do it. The event was amazing. Back home last night, sore from all the walking... and maybe a little sore from riding - a good sore! I always know my favorite parks are my favorites when I keep wanting more after I leave. I met some new people from different coaster/park clubs, including a TPR acquaintance from years ago. Holiwood Nights/Holiday World has a way of bringing people together like nobody else.

I'm not sure... but there sure is a market for them!

^Happy to hear you enjoyed you first rides on Voyage! That double down you mention.. it’s actually a triple down All 3 woodies seem to be running in prime condition! Legend (my favorite of the three) was running particularly hot last night. Holy cow! Thunderbird is better than ever; everything is tight, no rattle. Can’t wait for tonight. My favorite geeky quote from some dude during last night’s ERT “Voyage eats RMC for breakfast!” (Just having fun, we all love RMC too!) Badge for Holiwood Nights this year. Theme is Caddyshack... Bushwood was the country club and Ipe wood is what was used on the top 2 layers of Legend’s track (and Voyage?). Also, the cake balls were to die for.

^Thank you! I do believe Revolution is not doing VR anymore, someone else may have to back that up. I can’t wait to get back to X2 and Revolution. 2 coasters on my “definitely worth going out of my way” for. I don’t have a long list of those.

But I would think the idea is that a train shouldn't have to stop in the first set of brakes... to keep em clear for the 2nd train? If the brake shed was longer, a train can come in and pass a block, into another holding block. This is how the Blue Streak's system worked when I was on that ride... but that was in the all-manual days, with a backup relay system. If a train wasn't so far past the stopping point, the 2nd train wouldn't go over the lift.

This won't be a very popular thing to say... but that final brake run looked a little too short from the get-go. With other incidents on short brake runs: Superman in New England years ago, Timberwolf way back - those 2 come to mind. Would it be worth it to lengthen the break run, at the sacrifice of one or two of those last hops? I mean, in order to run 3 trains again.

Thanks guys! I'm happy people were willing to look at a report that is nearly a year late! Well... they could, but it would be mega bucks. Ghostrider could get modifications for dual loading or something like that. Could happen, but it wouldn't seem likely. It would definitely increase the capacity, but not sure how much... oh wait a second. Xcelerator was in fact running 2 trains when I was there.

Maybe I should wait until July to finish this report, you know... why not make it a full year late? Oh well, here is the 2nd half of my very late trip report: Knott's Berry Farm and Belmont Giant Dipper. Knott's Berry Farm, July 18 (solo) and July 20 (with family), 2017 This was my first time at Knott's since 1999(!!!?) I could have stayed up at Magic Mountain for another day, but I decided to leave early and stop in Knott's before I returned to where the rest of the family was staying in Carlsbad. We would go to Knott's as a family two days later, but I felt it would be better for me to go get my ya-ya's out solo, so we could focus on family time when we went as a group. The park was very different than I remember, very full of coasters everywhere! Once again proving the tired "not enough room" argument doesn't hold water. Everything was functioning like a Cedar Fair offshoot should be by this point: great ride operations, very clean, functional bathrooms and water fountains, plenty of seating, everything looks very well maintained... and it only takes a few seconds to obtain and pay for a pop (I'm teasing Six Flags right here.) Speaking of Six Flags, as much as I love the rides at Magic Mountain (and in-love with the potential that park has) walking into Knott's was like walking into heaven, comparatively. Cedar Fair has a knack for making people feel at home and taken care of in such a big crowded place. They do a big thrill park "right." It's not "eat or be eaten." My family loved the place! My 3 little cousins (aged 12, 13.5 and 15) loved everything especially Silver Bullet, GhostRider, Montezooma's and Sol Spin. And the log flume! I forgot about that surprise in the dark. Excellent and classic. MONTEZOOMA'S REVENGE If you read my Magic Mountain review, you know I'm a huge Schwarzkopf guy. Walking up into the station and seeing that original train (or replacement/parts) sitting there looking so pretty... I longed for that train to be on Revolution (well... 5 cars, not the 7 of Monte). All the seat pads and padding were like brand new; no bucket seats here, thank you! Just the way Schwarzkopf intended it. The launch seems different than it once was. The train moves forward a couple inches, then takes off. It must be some tweaking they have done to the launch system to make it run better and or last longer. It's perfect either way! The lights in the station at night... how geeky cool. What class. GHOST RIDER When I last rode this, it was brand new. And holy cow, what a ride it was! I knew that GCI did a bunch of work on the ride, and in my experience that isn't a good thing for my own personal coaster likes and preferences. Also, never been of fan of their trains once the lap bar falls an pins me in. BUT! It turned out great. Sure, GCI did their signature move and removed any small *snap* going over the first drop, but the rest of the ride was unlike any GCI anything I've ever experienced. At night, with those awesome orange track lights, the ride was like a bat out of hell after where the mid-course block used to be. Speaking of the mid-course block, I found it strange that people (and the park?!) promoted removal of trim brakes when in fact that was originally a block brake when the ride ran 3 trains. Either way, it's a stellar ride. Not the ride it was when new, but still top-notch by today's standards. JAGUAR! When I rode this years ago, my taste was for anything and everything intense... almost exclusively. If it wasn't badass, it wasn't cool (sound familiar?) Family rides just didn't do it for me back then. But now I've ridden a bunch more coasters and appreciate the ones that have uniqueness more than anything. A fine point of enjoyment with Jaguar is those flat seats. Much like classic Schwarzkopf seats and other old rides, you get to slide back and forth in the seat on the curves. It gives it a classic feel. It's just more fun to me to be able to do that a little over being held tightly on one side. Of course, many new rides couldn't allow for such movement... which makes this all the more rare and special. Love the layout and the long ride time. I would have never thought "back in the day" that such an unassuming "family ride" would be one of my favorites at the park. SILVER BULLET Probably my favorite B&M inverted coaster, based on uniqueness alone. Intensity is fun, but it isn't everything to me (as it once was, so I understand for those who still feel that way!). The short flat track at the top of the lift - love the view! You get a couple seconds to take in the views before slowly building up speed on that long ramp. MUCH more fun than the standard steep twisting dive. The rest of the ride was great, especially bobbing and flying over the main park area. The opposing direction corkscrews, split with a curved semi-fan curve was great! What a combo there. Probably knocks Great Bear out of my favorite inverted position, another ride that is super-unique (in this category, anyway). SIERRA SIDEWINDER,PONY EXPRESS Both fun rides, but seem a little short. Great placement! XCELERATOR Looks fantastic, especially the station! Intense launch and drop. COAST RIDER There have been plenty of complaints about the restraint modifications to this ride, and yeah... it was bad. I don't know how I got my 6 foot 1 body in there. If I remember correctly, I kind of had to pull my knees up and take my feet off the floor until the bar locked. Strange. The good thing is that the kids seemed to love it and it looks GREAT where it is, the strand lights, etc. A beautiful Schwarzkopf train in pristine condition. Same old school retro flat seats, all simple and comfy. Revolution is so jealous ... Everything looks so clean! Knott's (and Cedar Fair in general) takes especially good care of everything. So nice to see this monster in action all these years later! Still in primo operation, just like the ride itself. I last rode Montezooma's when it was all yellow. Then it was yellow and aqua/lime/seafoam green - I didn't get to ride it in those years. Now it's orange and an avocado-green... looks great and rides better than ever! Ball and socket joints, even on a simple ride. Schwarzkopf knew what he was doing. Those points absorb vibration so the riders don't have to. You won't get this level of smoothness on any other ride. Even B&M coasters only have occasional ball joints. Expensive, yes. Another moving joint! Yay for classic Schwarzkopfs. Back through the portal! I didn't remember this in the old days... the station lights dim and these colored lights come on. Very nice! We had the very similar Tidal Wave Schwarzkopf shuttle loop at my home park (SF) Great America. That ride had a nautical warning light that went off in the station when the train came back through. I miss that ride so much! This is our last remaining Schwarzkopf shuttle loop in the country; I believe we had about 7 of them at one point? Such a simple but awesome ride. "There's not enough room!" "Where would they put it!?" This is beauty! The new ride was a LOT of fun! More of the same.. plenty of room for anything you want to build! This is where I ate that first night at the park. Outside on the patio I heard some new wave 80s music but with a twist. My main memory is hearing Bananarama's "Robert DeNiro's waiting" immediately followed by their "Love, Truth and Honesty." Having lived through the 80s, it's very cool for me to hear the NON-standard songs by certain bands. The minor hits age better! More music played, don't remember who, but the same idea. Not the default hits. Very nice! Wow what a huge wooden coaster! A ride sign with class! Looks great, doesn't it!? This is about as fancy, artsy-farsty as I get with my iphone camera. I just rotated the camera while I took the picture. No thanks ladies, I play for the other team. Such great use of lighting... Ghostrider awesomeness. This is the Fiesta Village area of the park, very nice! Knott's should be proud at how well they take care of their park. Not one light was out! Patriotic train over at Xcelerator. This ride could have benefited from an unload area like Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. It could have been done, but they probably didn't plan for it... wasn't this ride a prototype? Simple use of lighting while still be high quality and classy. Belmont Giant Dipper, (approx.) July 22 Loved this coaster in the 1990s, love it now! Coaster fans played the main role in saving this ride back in the 80s and 90s. I got my wrist band for unlimited rides and off I went. Such a nice classic station that is being maintained impeccably. The Morgan train isn't the best option, but it will do until an original-style train can be used. Wouldn't that be cool!? Never say never. I rode the coaster, then went in the ocean. Back to the coaster... back to the ocean and back and forth. Not many places were one can do that! The train jostles as you would think a Morgan would on such a twisted ride, but works out ok in the end. A lot of fun! Had to leave around 5pm to join up with the rest of the family, but would have loved some night rides on this beauty! I will be back! Original lead car. One day... maybe if they added a simple locking lap bar, similar to the Coaster at the Playland in Vancouver? Could happen! Are the rainbow flags always there? Nice touch! Pepto Bismal track. Looks great though... Anyone remember when Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas had it's loop interiors painted this color? It didn't work so well over there. This ride has been repainted with fire engine red track! Can't wait to get back. Beautiful station. I haven't seen this view before, a nice profile of the first hill. In addition to the coaster, I spent a lot of the day in the salty ocean! Something we don't have here in Chicago.

Holiday World for Holiwood Nights this Friday and Saturday. So excited!

Great pictures and report! I didn't notice how nice that front fountain area looks at night! So it sounds like this wasn't just an issue when I was there, or my perception. Hopefully Canada's Wonderland and Cedar Fair as a whole improve their food place throughput. Some places at Cedar Point are fine, but many need work. Maybe they can match the quality of their ride operations some day (that is a compliment!).

^It's such a shame. I keep hoping things will start to swing the opposite way... you know, common sense. Not just with parks and coasters, but with everything. Hey, at least Revolution is running with out the dreaded shoulder bars again. Texas Cyclone had it's stupid wrap-around headrests removed in it's final years. Small glimmers of hope!

^Or something! I wish I would have got to the park more. Rare and unique coasters always seem to be my favorites. Oh well, we still have a few classic trains left.

^You can always get in as a "guest" of another club if you ever wanted to go. Plus, the event is much more than night rides... it's walk-backs, super-coveted water park ERT (Mammoth and Wildebeest! Must dos even for the non-waterpark-going), etc.

^By chance, have you guys ever been in the Western NY Coaster Club? I see that is your location... I've met all types over the years, but mostly nice. A couple that I seem to see everywhere, and it's better if I walk the other way when I see them. One particular trouble maker who... I don't know how they are even allowed in some parks anymore.

There will be a variety of different types of people. No matter where we go in life, there will always be knuckleheads. Why focus on them? If you're friendly, you shouldn't have any problem finding new coaster/park friends that fit your temperament/likes, etc.. You will have fun, it's a great event! But not as fun as Holiwood Nights.

And miss Holiwood Nights by one day!? Do yourself a favor, re-arrange your trip

^Great quick review! Holiwood Nights really is one of the not-to-be-missed coaster events. One of the best I've ever attended, probably THEE best in fact (I've been doing coaster events since the late 80s). The only downfall is HW is so spot-on and the event is so awesome, it's hard to go to another park/event after with out feeling let down a little (but these days I know to bring my expectations down to normal-level afterwards). Voyage seems to get better every year, I dunno how they do it.

^Also, the park really empties at night. The last 2 hours of the day are usually great. Sometimes I’ll jet up to the park then for a few spins on my favorites, including some great classic flats.

^Take a few MB spins for me!

I loved that ride, but I'll agree it was very loud... too loud in fact. Wondering if it's a common complaint and if Gravity Group is working on that issue? It's a very steel-y rolling noise, very high pitch. My buddy said something about getting the trainload (or 2?) ready for their ride, not sure what exactly that entails. Do you know if they have 2 trains?