joelwee

Batman the Ride - SFMM

^ Shoot, I was just at the park last night. I can probably make it over there again within the next week or two, though. I'll ship you a shirt, if you'd like. Just PM me with the info (where to send it, what size you want). On a side note, I'm not sure what's up with the ops on Scream lately. Last night was a station wait, but they were running 4-5 minute dispatches on almost every train, so it took almost a 1/2 hour to get on. The ride attendants spent a lot of time standing around the operator's booth and talking, and the woman at the panel was zoned out half the time. I had seen the crew dispatching trains much more quickly earlier in the day, though.

Inverted: Batman the Ride (SFMM), Silver Bullet, Raptor, Banshee Wing: Gatekeeper Dive: Valravn Floorless: Scream, Rougarou Standup: Riddler's Revenge Flying: Tatsu Hyper: Diamondback Total: 11

1. Steel Vengeance 2. Phantom's Revenge 3. Diamondback 4. Magnum XL-200 5. Goliath

So maybe "3" is actually the number of minutes per dispatch.

I'm curious to see if SF even runs that sale this year, since they're trying to push everyone toward memberships.

Maverick, at Coastermania. I loved Steel Vengeance, but Maverick still holds the top spot on my list.

^ Rougarou had those signs, too. It also had other signs that said: "Due to the popularity of this ride, seats will be assigned" just as you walk into the empty station.

This park's operations have been noticeably bad lately - as in, worse than usual. When I was there Thursday, almost every coaster - with the exception of TC - was running with 3-minute dispatches. What should've been a 1/2-hour line on Tatsu took over an hour. On Scream, they were waiting for trains to completely unload and all the riders to exit the gate before they would open the loading gates. At one point, the ride op zoned out and let the queue stay empty for about 10 seconds before he realized the ride attendants were staring at him and trying to signal him to open the gates.

I honestly don't understand all the hate for Vortex. I rode it in second to last car, front row. It had a couple of rough spots, but I found it smooth compared to most of Cedar Point's Arrows (and Rougarou). Even the wild mouse turn into the MCBR wasn't bad, but maybe I had just read so much complaining about it that I knew to brace for it.

^ I thought back row on Gatekeeper was actually pretty forceful. But even when I rode 2nd row from the front, I still really liked it. That row stalls in the inversions and provides some great hang time. And I found the restraints very comfortable. It's my 2nd favorite B&M in the park, with Raptor being #1.

Jack Rabbit at Kennywood

Montezooma's Revenge - Knott's Berry Farm

Rougarou at Cedar Point. The first half is great - quick, straight drop, smooth first loop and dive loop, decent speed. Once it hits the MCBR, it's hammer time. It shakes, rattles, and rolls through the corkscrew and around a few uneventful turns. The crew was dispatching empty trains during Coastermania ERT. I almost felt sorry for it.

1. Raptor 2. Banshee 3. Batman the Ride (SFMM) 4. Silver Bullet 5. (I've only ridden 4.)

Lots of new coasters so far this year, with more to come in a couple of months. But for now.... 1. Maverick 2. Steel Vengeance 3. Millennium Force 4. Twisted Colossus 5. Phantom's Revenge 6. X2 7. Top Thrill Dragster 8. Xcelerator 9. Diamondback 10. Ghostrider Honorable mentions: Tatsu Raptor Viper (SFMM) Gatekeeper Mystic Timbers Jackrabbit (Kennywood)

Corkscrew at Cedar Point, definitely. It's definitely more fun to watch than it is to ride, especially when seagulls play chicken on the airtime hill after the first drop. I rode Vortex @ Kings Island on the same trip and didn't think it was that bad. It reminded me a lot of Viper @ SFMM, but it wasn't quite as fast.

My only problem with Magnum was my knees being smashed into the back of the seat in front of me on every airtime hill. (I have long legs, and have that same problem on most Arrows.) Other than that, I loved it.

^ I've seen that guy around town quite a bit. I wonder if he works at the park, or if he's just a die-hard fan? Side note: I'm glad the L.A. area finally has a Black Bear Diner.

I think you're right. There was even the "SpinZanity" typo on the sign when it first arrived.

ZiZanity

^^ There's a sandwich cart (I forget what it's called) between Noah's Ark and Thunderbolt that sells steak hoagies, and they're pretty dang good. Also, I don't know if this is their typical policy, but when I visited a couple of weeks ago, they closed Phantom's line about a half hour before the park closed. Have fun!

I'm honestly surprised they ranked that high. I mean, they ranked lower than almost all of the B&M hypers, but considering how much enthusiasts seem to hate them, I'm surprised they weren't down in the 200-300 range.

If you're planning a trip to Kennywood and staying at Econo Lodge in Jefferson Hills, they sell Kennywood day tickets for $29.50. (I didn't discover that until after I had already paid regular price.)

When I was at Knott's about a month ago, a whole family cut through the mid-queue exit on Jaguar. They had a kid sneak inside and open the door, after which the rest of the kids and both parents cut in line. This park has some of the worst line-cutting I've seen, and the staff tend to look the other way when it happens.