asimowalk

I think that's a great idea, but for the post-show. I'm looking forward to some tweaking of the show for next year, especially since I'm not really a fan of the way the show starts. After the Fireflies beginning was moved to the post-show (because people thought it was boring and started leaving), it feels like the show starts somewhere in the middle. I thought it would be a neat idea to bring in the Peanuts characters to introduce the show. What if Charlie Brown showed up at the top of the mountain turning a valve as the falls are gradually slowing to a trickle? Then other characters come out creating a dialogue, calling him a block head and such, to give the falls some time to stop. Then it could start raining or something so they all run away and the show starts with the volcano scene.

New pictures on Facebook... These two are the most interesting:

Nice pictures. The first picture of the 'barrel roll' progress really shows off the scale of this project. There was a lot of excitement with the completion of the lift, but I think that excitement will run up to the incredibly long brake run... at least for us locals. Is security allowing people to come into the parking lot to take pictures? I'm sure with the coaster being in plain view that people coming in for a closer look was expected so I'm curious to hear if they're turning an eye this time. I remember with Behemoth, the park was asking people not to come onto the property, specifically Canada's Wonderland Drive.

Did anyone manage to record it? I got home at 8 and missed it.

The same kind of effect happened to Backlot when Behemoth came to town... and the overall appearance of the ride itself makes it look like it's in worse shape than Dragon Fire. I think the way that Leviathan stomps on Dragon Fire was kind of intentional. On the topic of the lift hill speed, I don't think the speed will be increased for Leviathan. I'm sure by the time one train is off of the lift, they're going to have another one dispatch so the speed of the lift will have to be slow enough to allow the first train to run through the course by the time the next one is nearing the top.

Behemoth's lift hill still gives me the jitters... I'm probably going to freak out if Leviathan's lift hill still moves at the same pace. I am amused that the only crane you see in this photo is hovering over the Mondial Top Scan.

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing! It's really interesting to see how the park has grown up. Watching the video, it's pretty obvious that the park was sitting on former farm land. Now it's obvious that it's in the center of a suburb with all of the commercial development picking up around the park, especially after Vaughan Mills. To be honest, the mountain seems really out of place when there's not much in the back drop, but it definitely looks more majestic with it's lighter complexion, more detailing, and the many waterfalls. Other than the three on the front, the only other one I can recall as a kid (in the 90's) was the one behind between Vortex's lift hill and drop. From what I remember, one year it was turned off, then the next year it was made into a planter with a bunch of trees. The last thing is that this is probably the only time I've ever seen video footage of Blauer Enzian in it's former place. Can you recall what the original layout was like?

The span between those two highest supports terrifies me just looking at a picture of it. I'm guessing those temporary supports near the bottom will be gone shortly?

Just wanted to ask... Your friends up in Canada, are we eligible? This Mondial and HUSS fanboy wants a couple of those booklets. And the GCI man-purse is cool too.

It's amazing that just four years ago, the tallest thing in our skyline was Drop Tower. I'm so pleased by how much they've evolved our skyline... They weren't kidding when they said this thing was going to take over the park. I can't wait to pull up to the park next year, though I have a feeling I'll be there much earlier than I should be, just looking up in awe at the front entrance.

I'm watching Part 4 of the IAAPA video and I'm dying with the Fishpipe thing. Also, while I also call them "Mon-dial", I thought the actual pronunciation is "Mon-de-al".

Have you guys visited Mondial's booth yet? I really want to see what their new product is like. (I can't recall the name at the moment...)

Wonderland just posted 10 pictures on their Facebook page. These two are my favourites:

This is the first time we've seen B&M use a spine this large, which is both for structure and to house the chain return inside. It's really not much off from the rest of the track, it just has a larger spine.

Man, that drop is going to be intimidating when the train full of riders are looking down from the top. Imagine if Behemoth's drop really did end up as 85 degrees!

Since the Windseeker and the flying water dummy is a rumor that spreads as fast as Dinosaurs Alive, I'm expecting it to eventually reach KD's and Carowinds' fan pages. I'm looking forward to it.

^ My guess is that marketing is still riding (pun intended) on Leviathan for the 2012 hype. They'll either come out with Dino Alive this Christmas for stocking-stuffer season pass sales or the spring sales. I'd lean more toward spring so that the local schools will be aware of it and they can book immediately.

^ Yes. It looks great! I'm really looking forward to seeing the entire lift and drop complete. Hopefully, they'll add some creative lighting as they have been doing with their recent installations (Behemoth lift chaser lights, Windseeker lights, our elaborate Starlight Spectacular)

It looks like they took a few pages from Intamin's book. The arch design is something I picked up back when I305 renderings came out. The base of the lift hill structure comes right out of the ground, which the triangle footer for Leviathan would be the equivalent of that. If you notice, you can follow the base of the lift hill all the way to the ground if you look at the smooth connection between the lift hill and the tallest support, seen here: http://www.lifthill.com/images/2009/08/intimidator-305-tall.jpg I love this design, it just looks so sleek and solid and with Leviathan, the arch is going to be more prominent. I think I'm officially a lift hill enthusiast.

Carowinds can actually get that HUSS Giant Frisbee so CF could strike a deal to get another for KD (and any other park that needs one).

I disagree. While metal detectors do cause a bit of a back up at the front gate, I feel safer knowing everyone has passed through them. Having been at CW every year since they brought in the detectors, I've seen many arguments with security with people trying to bring in forbidden articles. I've seen things from water guns to long chains to nunchucks to knives (it was a mother, wanting to cut a fruit she brought) to bottles of alcohol taken away from people. There's also the good fact that there's a line of security standing right next to the ticket takers. I've seen a couple times where a guest tried to use someone elses season pass at which point several guards in the area basically surround the guest and try to work it out. There may be a slight increase in manpower to run the screening, but really, if the screening weren't there, you'd just have those guards out patrolling the park or responding to incidents which could have been deterred from the beginning. I mean, I'll still feel safe going to a park without metal detectors and bag screening, but the positives of the program are really big in my eyes.

TPR POVs (and Drunk Piers videos) and following Leviathan's construction will help me get through this winter. There's also tubing as the next best thing.

^ I was convinced the second a giga was confirmed. Great update! Thanks for the pictures. Did they give you a figure for the current height? I see one more section on that flat bed, which I'm going to assume is somewhere around 60' so I'm going to guess it's standing somewhere around 240'? And it looks like we'll be hearing Mr. Autospeil going up the lift again! Would be totally awesome to hear a loud roar just before you go over the edge...

Sucks that they couldn't get the entire lift hill up before the season ended. Being able to see the highest point against the rest of the park would have been a great tease for the winter. I remember leaving on the last day of 2007 with Behemoth's entire lift hill up. Looking forward to your update!

^ It probably has to do with the staff... Including an hour for setup and an hour for clean up, that's a full 8 hour shift. They won't have to hire an extra employee to split a longer shift between two.