joelwee

Just watch any of his videos of Chinese coasters for some gems. "If there was ever a time that a ride ejected poop out of my body, it is now." "That was some wacky sh*t." "Why must we go on these coasters that are made mostly out of rust?" "Uh, I think he's pushing in the back? ...Yeah, he is pushing." "Aww, this is... this is just not cool."

I don't think stand-ups are a failed concept, it's just that most of the existing models are really bad. If done correctly, they are crowd-pleasers. Riddler's Revenge draws longer lines than Scream at SFMM. I find its OTSRs painful, so I would be all for the park investing in some new trains with vest restraints.

I spent the afternoon at the park today. I got there around noon and the first parking lot wasn't full yet, but there were about 10 school buses parked in the bus parking. Fortunately, the schoolkids cleared out by about 2:00, turning the park into a ghost town. Hurricane Harbor is being cleaned up and prepared for opening day. Slides were being pressure-washed, the speakers inside the water park have been turned on, and the slide tower right next to the entrance has been repainted a bright yellow. I didn't think to take a picture, but it looks quite good. The park sent me a priority boarding pass like somebody else (a few pages back in this thread) received, so I used it to try out Galactic Attack on TNR. The VR was glitchy and didn't really coordinate with my head movements, but I think that was due to the 95-degree heat. When I took the headset off, it felt VERY hot. I rode it again for my last ride (by this point, most of the ride was in the shade of the tall pine trees aroudn the ride) and it was much more enjoyable. I never experienced the original fighter jet VR, so I can't really compare it to that. It was definitely better than Santa's Wild Sleigh Ride, but the park probably didn't put much effort into SWSR since it's a HITP exclusive. Twisted Colossus is still just as fast as it was the last time I rode it. Since the ride was a walk-on, I was able to ride twice. I also rode six rounds on Viper, until a big group of people filled up the train and I had to get off. I had - undoubtedly - the most painful ride yet on Green Lantern. My side outweighed the other side by about 150 lbs., so I ended up facing down the whole time. I still feel the aftermath of the perpetual wedgie. I waited for Tatsu, but it broke down right before I boarded, and I decided not to wait. All in all, it was a great day! Ride count: Viper - 6 TNR/Galactic Attack - 2 Green Lantern - 1 Roaring Rapids - 1 Twisted Colossus - 2 Full Throttle - 1

So essentially, TC sped up, but its operations slowed down. The only poorly-maintained areas I've seen at the park are the planters near the Metropolis construction area, and the restrooms. The mess in the restrooms is largely due to inconsiderate people who pee all over the toilet seats, floor, and everything else within reach. Occasionally, I see the janitors cleaning it up, but considering this happens in every men's restroom, the janitors seem to be overwhelmed.

I'm fairly new to the coaster enthusiast world, so Goliath at SFMM is the only one I've ridden so far. (In the strict sense of the word, it's the only hyper on the west coast.) IMO, it doesn't deserve all the hate that it receives from enthusiasts. Are there better hyper-coasters out there? Absolutely, but if you look at it for what it is, without comparing it to other coasters, it's an enjoyable ride. The first drop and the airtime hill after the turnaround give some floater airtime - between which you hear the echoed screams of riders in the underground tunnel - and the forceful helix at the end is a lot of fun. The MCBR sucks because it kills all of your momentum, but if you sit in the front half of the train on the left side, it feels like it'll dump you over the side as it crawls around the overbanked turn immediately afterward.

Yep! Are you a gamer?

Yes, Xcelerator is down for maintenance. It reopens on May 5.

Viper - not the most popular coaster in the park anymore, but arguably the most photogenic.

It's possible, but I doubt it. The park advertises it as the longest, fastest, and highest stand-up coaster in the world. Converting Riddler to a sit-down coaster would strip the park of its bragging rights. I don't mind it being a stand-up coaster, but if the park would replace the OTSRs with new ones that allow another 3-4" of room for my head, that ride would be MUCH better in my book.

Steak

Yes, I much prefer the old color scheme. IMO, they should have gone with green track and purple supports (similar to the new Joker coasters); it would have looked better than green and yellow, and fit in with the Riddler theming.

A couple of months ago. I got stuck momentarily on Scream's lift hill. It had been raining the past few days, and high levels of moisture tend to mess with that ride's sensors. When was the last time you rode a coaster that has since been closed/removed?

No you do not! In the past Club TPR has gotten you either discounted or early access tickets, but anyone who's a member of the site in good standing can attend. The only event that requires Club TPR is Coaster Mania, as that event (not run by TPR) requires you be a member of a recognized coaster club, of which Club TPR is (the best) one. Good to know, thanks! The Riddler's Revenge repaint has begun. The Coaster Guy posted this picture on his Facebook page...

Knott's Network posted on their Facebook page that the entire cobra roll has been removed.

Wow its like I'm having a flashback to last week.

I think my new title describes me pretty well.

So... you guys think it'll be removed?

AFAIK, everything should be open in those time frames... although if the park is, indeed, removing Viper, I would imagine they'll close the ride and begin demolition in late August/early September, so if Viper is your main reason for visiting the park, I would suggest going earlier than that. Viper nearly always has a short line, so you shouldn't have a problem with that, unless the park DOES announce Viper's closure and a tsunami of enthusiasts comes in for one last ride. Same with Ninja. X2 and Full Throttle usually fill up pretty quickly, so I would suggest arriving right when the park opens and going to X2, then Full Throttle. Twisted Colossus has excellent operations and dispatches trains pretty quickly, so even during the most crowded parts of the day, the wait should be less than an hour.

^ Do the blueprints include the new name? I'm betting it's HawkRider.

I was exaggerating when I said Boomerang's replacement might be a flower bed. As Monte said, all the signs seem to point toward it being another roller coaster, but since the park hasn't announced anything yet, and it's too early for any "leaked" pics of a new ride being built **cough cough Mean Streak** we don't know that for sure.

Judging by the amount of complaining in the Darien Lake thread, it sounds like that park could benefit from Six Flags taking it back under its wing. Sure, it would receive cloned rides, but clones are better than nothing.

Nope... for all we know, Boomerang's replacement might be a flower bed. This is all pure speculation.

Last Sunday. When was the last time you ate at Subway?

About half a dozen rides are down today, due to high winds. The high winds are expected to continue through the night and all through tomorrow.