cparkes92

Bill, when did you go to Dollywood? I saw that you have ridden Lightning Rod. Was that your first RMC?

Have you made it to Mt. Olympus yet just to see how bad it is?

Looks like SFMM went all out with not only the new ride, but some new places to eat and a new paint job for Riddler's Revenge

Yes, here's the story behind the knock-off Boomerang: The park bought the Vekoma Boomerang from Qingdao International Beer City for ShiBaoLai(the knock-off manufacturer) and ShiBaoLai offered to give Lewa this knock-off Boomerang for free after they were done "researching" the Vekoma one. Vekoma was stabbed in the back by Lewa and ShiBaoLai. Fun fact: The Boomerang involved in this saga is now running at another Chinese park: https://rcdb.com/10741.htm

I'm not a big fan of spinning rides in general.

This actually looks like a knockoff of an Arrow loopscrew, based on the layout.

My guess is that Octopus gets replaced with another flat ride

ALL HAIL ALAN SCHILKE! In all seriousness, Schilke is the closest American equivalent to Werner Stengel.

1. Go see Queen with Freddie Mercury (and John Deacon) [i have seen the two remaining members of Queen live with Adam Lambert and I might be seeing them again this month] 2. Ride any of Harry Traver's coaster contraptions 3. Go visit some of the classic city parks that closed in the 50s and 60s (Riverside, Euclid Beach, Palisades, etc.) 4. Go to Woodstock 1969 (while staying sober!) 5. Go back to the early days of TV and radio and search out distant signals

I didn't get to go in, but I think it would have been disappointing. That Rock-O-Plane name sounds somewhat familiar. Not sure what (or when) my next park will be, but it will likely be Cedar Point or Kings Island (redemption tour!)

Manistee National Forest Festival Carnival Last weekend, I went back home to Manistee for a couple of days. Every 4th of July weekend, a small carnival comes into town. It usually has about 10 rides, many of which have been traveling the carnival circuit for years. I didn’t go on any of the rides, as they were all $3-4 a pop (not worth the $$ IMHO). However, I did see people riding them (usually teenagers or younger). I also saw quite a few wristbands, which gave people unlimited access for $20. The best thing about the carnival in my opinion is the food carts that come along with it, selling all the fried foods you would like!! Despite not riding anything, I still got pictures of almost every ride there. Notice the lack of any credits (not even a powered one!). However, if there were a coaster, I wouldn't have stooped so low to ride it. Hurricane, a swinging rocket ship ride. The Sizzler, which is your standard scrambler ride. The name Sizzler makes me hungry. Tornado on the left, a spinning Ferris wheel-type ride on the right. The wave swinger. A Paratrooper. How many of these are left? The actual Ferris wheel on the left, a kiddie carousel on the right. That Ferris wheel has fewer seats than the RCT1/2 Ferris wheel (which was also quite small)! They had live horses for riding around in a circle!! A giant slide and a kiddie fun house. They couldn't get enough room to spell "hillbilly" correctly! Elephant ears!!!! The only thing I bought at the carnival (and also the only thing worth it IMHO).

I noticed that Lightning Run is your #1 woodie even though it's a steelie. Should that be Lightning Rod instead?

I'm glad you got two rides on TTD! I wasn't able to the last time I went to CP as it was down all day (weather-related). I also find Gemini to be an underrated coaster at the Point. It would be a top 3 coaster at many parks IMHO. Did you have any super long waits?

It's right there and free admission, so it's definitely worth stopping in for. If you're lucky, you'll get the two new rides during your visit. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of the new rides is open. NJ summer doesn't really start until around the 4th of July (schools tend to go well into June in the Northeast, but don't start back up until after Labor Day)

Looks like your trip was a fun one!

Reading this thread gives me ideas that I should definitely get there early if I end up at SFGAm this season.

I've only ridden one Schwarzkopf: Whizzer @ SFGAm

Steel: Millennium Force Wood: Shivering Timbers

It has to be the two Corkscrews I've ridden (Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure)

I haven't kept track of this, but I think it could be the original Incredible Hulk (I used to go to Universal every year in March for a week and during a week I'd ride Hulk probably 10-15 times overall that week)

Florida: Incredible Hulk Illinois: Raging Bull (need to get back for Goliath) Michigan: Shivering Timbers Ohio: Millennium Force

Blue Streak (1964) Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1969) Racer (KI) (1972) Space Mountain (WDW) (1975) Corkscrew (Cedar Point) (1976) Demon (SFGAm) (1976) Whizzer (1976) Gemini (1978) Corkscrew (Michigan's Adventure) (1979) WildCat (1979)

Ten Tallest Coasters 1. Top Thrill Dragster (420 ft) 2. Millennium Force (310 ft) 3. Valravn (223 ft) 4. Wicked Twister (215 ft) 5. Magnum XL-200 (205 ft) 6. Raging Bull (202 ft) 7. Deja Vu (192 ft) 8. GateKeeper (170 ft) 9. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (167 ft) 9. Banshee (167 ft)

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (My other major Vekomas are Firehawk, Deja Vu, and Thunderhawk)

Incredible Hulk (the original) at Islands of Adventure, in 2003. Other B&M firsts Inverted: Dueling Dragons (Islands of Adventure) [2003] Stand-up: Mantis (Cedar Point) [2003] Floorless: Kraken (SeaWorld Orlando) [2004] Flying: Superman: Ultimate Flight (Six Flags Great America) [2005] Hyper: Raging Bull (Six Flags Great America) [2005] Wing: GateKeeper (Cedar Point) [2013] Dive: Valravn (Cedar Point) [2016]