edboxer

7/10, not bad

Thanks for the responses. I'm reconfiguring my weekend to plans to go to Knoebels on Sunday.

I'm considering going to Knoebels this weekend. How busy will it be on Saturday? Sunday?

FYI - the pic in my sig was taken on the Double Loop in the 70s.

I used to be a local. I would go to CLP, GL and Idora many times during a summer and only once or twice to CP (and rarely to Kennywood). Why, because you rarely had to wait in line for anything at the small parks (unless it was a plant picnic Saturday) and going to CP always meant spending at least 60% of your time there waiting in lines. Can't tell you how many summer evenings I spent at Idora, GL and CLP sitting on the Wildcat, Big Dipper and Blue Streak for ride after ride, without having to get off, let alone wait in a line. I think our record was something like 45 rides in the back seat of the Wildcat without getting off. Don't get me wrong, I love CP. But I love a nice quiet day at a smaller park with very little crowd leisurely wandering from ride to ride.

Errrr. Yes, the footprint is much bigger that the Thunderhawk, but its still small compared to rides like MF and TTD. More like the size of Mantis, which would fit in CP.

Well this is kind of sad. IMO, its the best coaster in the park. But I'm wondering if this could by the CP 2008 addition. It doesn't require a very big footprint! http://www.screamscape.com/html/michigan_s_adventure.htm My only comment on moving this notorious headbanger is its new name: The Michigan Migraine! Having grown up at GL, CP, Idora, and CLP (the Big Dipper was my first "adult" coaster), I kind of look forward to GL returning to its smaller size. The expansion that Six Flags did obviously never drew the crowds. This will make GL a much more relaxed family park, much like Dorney, which I am looking forward to.

Love the layout on the river, very cool. Looks like it will give some good air, but I find it very interesting that since MagnumXL, CF has shied away from serious, thigh bruising, ejector air. Their airtime now floats. I like the trains, I hate the seats and restraints. I hate the slightly reclined seats with the crotch lock restraints (i.e. Nitro, Goliath SFMM, Incredible Hulk). They take a lot out of the airtime. Its like riding a coaster in a recliner. But, CW is getting a great looking coaster. Nice to see CF investing in the park too.

Well, IMO, its one of three things: 1. A big hole to throw your CedarFair stock certificates in as the stock price has fallen since the acquisition of the Paramount Parks. 2. The much needed outhouse ride on the Frontier Trail. 3. The CedarFair Mausoleum - where fanboys go to die.

I was in Pasadena for Drum Corps International World Championships, so I only had a few hours on Friday and Saturday Morning to hit the parks: Friday, 8/10 - Magic Mountain - 10:30 - 1:00. Initial Impressions - this place is in the middle of nowhere, everything is a hike, there are huge sections with no rides of any kind - nothing but food and souvies on the midways. The coasters: X - I got there at when the gates opened, but by the time I got to X it was an hour wait, I skipped it and went to..... Tatsu - 8 - rode in the first row, outside seat. The best flying coaster I have ridden. Also the most comfortable restraints. Great layout, has some nice soaring sections. Love that the loop is the next to last inversion. Goliath - 5 - rode in the first row and the second row. Way overrated - nice first drop, rough turnaround, nice air hill, then you swoop up into a brake the slows it way down before the helix/figure 8 into the brake. I was very disappointed. I'll take Magnum, SroS, MF and Steel Force over this thing any day. Scream - 8 - ah, I forgot this was Medusa west. Without the grass under the ride. Colossus - 3 - only one side was running, this thing looks and feels like it hasn't been greased since its first season. Revolution - 7 - its a piece of history, lame by today's standards, with some serious head-banging. That's all I was able to get in. But 6 rides in 2.5 hours wasn't too bad. Saturday, 8/11 - Knotts Berry Farm - 10:00 - 1:00 Initial impression - this place is small. I also suffered the ridiculous wait for Customer Relations to validate my CedarFair pass. There is no excuse for making season pass holders wait in the complaint line to get admittance to the park. Their response - "Oh, sorry." CedarFair is getting a letter on this one. Silver Bullet - 9 - rode twice in the front row, both outside seats. Excellent inverted with a great layout. Its like an extended version of Talon. Love that there is no midcourse break. Ghostrider - 3 - car 2, row 1 - and I thought Hercules was rough, this thing gave me a headache. Some nice air and some nice turns, but it rides like a trash can down a staircase. Accelerator - 7 - great for what it is. Prefer TTD by a long shot. The surprising thing about this one was the crew's ability to seat people of exceptional size. Two people could not get their fully extended seat belts to reach the buckle by 3-4 inches. The ride op said "Let me try, I know how to do this." He then grabbed the seat belt and pulled with all his might - I thought the one guy's eyes were going to pop out of head. But he got them both buckled. It was getting them unbuckled that was the problem! It was hysterical. Also had Mrs. Knotts chicken dinner - 3 - tell me if I got a bad one, but the chicken was dry, the corn was mush and the potatoes watery. Major line jumping problems at Knotts that, from what I have heard and read, I should have experienced at Magic Mountain (but didn't). The worst was when an employee let 2 people jump line to be with their friends (that were nonexistent). They just cut up to where they felt like cutting. The people around them gave the employee some nasty looks. Wish I had had more time in both parks, but glad I got to ride what I did. That said, this trip again confirmed - I hate LA! How you can live there is beyond reason for me. 2.5 hours to go 18 miles on Wednesday. 1.5 hours to go 11 miles on Thursday. 2.5 hours to go 26 miles on Saturday! Also got my rental car hit as I was parallel parking. I'm backing into the space, this woman hits my left front fender and tries to blame it on me!!

Incredible photos. This has to be one of the best Photo TRs ever! Excellent job!

Well this is interesting. I moved from Ohio to NYC in 1982. My home park pre-82 was Idora Park. My home park since 82 is Coney Island Astroland. I also attend Drum Corps World Championships which is held in a different city each August, so I had figure that out, as I picked up some on the road. The coasters I rode in their first season: Geauga Lake: Double Loop (1977) CorkScrew (1978) Batman Night Flight (Dominator) (2000) Villain (2000) Cedar Point: Cedar Creek Mineride (1969) Jumbo Jet (1972) CorkScrew (1976) - and believe me there were 2 hour lines! Gemini (1978) Millenium Force (2000) TTD (2003) Dorney Park: Hercules (1989) Wild Mouse (2000) Talon (2001) Hydra (2005) SFGAdv: Medusa (1999) KingdaKa (2005) SFGAmerica: SROS (2000) Elitsch Gardens: Half Pipe (2004) Mt. Olympus: Opa (2006)

I always park in the Brooklyn Cyclones Parking lot: its cheaper, and it has a security guard! Besides you have to go right past Nathan's to get to the Cyclone! I just make sure to wear my Staten Islands Yankees jersey!

Nah, it has to be Valentine's Day - Cupid the Back Attack Coaster - its an Arrow coaster using Dodgem Cars launched randomly so they run into each other......

I'll be in LA August 8-11 for Drum Corps International World Championships at the Rose Bowl. I'm staying in Glendale about 7 miles from the Rose Bowl. I land at LAX at 3:33pm on the 8th. I'd only be able to go to parks in the morning on the 9th-11th. Competitions begin at 3:00pm on the 9th, 5:00pm on the 10th and 5:00pm on the 11th, so I would need to be back in Glendale at least an hour before. Which day would be best to go to MM? Knotts?

Most overrated: 1. Kingda Ka - SFGADV - TTD without the dragster theming and x-mas tree light countdown. You just roll out and launch. And no air on that brake hill at all. 2. Nitro - some good air, but S:ROS and MF are better 3. Thunderbolt - Kennywood - like riding down a staircase in barrel 4. Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood - the revenge is that it kept the two good hills and the rest is boring 5. Hulk - IOA - great until the mid-course break, then it limps uneventfully back to the station.

I would love to have Idora Park back, I grew up there. And believe it or not, while the Wildcat was wild, it wasn't my favorite (even with the outrageous airtime on the low long bunny hill at the bottom of the first drop). I preferred the Jack Rabbit - it was a blast, lots of little bunny hills, a great double down after the first turn and those old open trains. Idora also had a really cool train ride (which was the only way to view the Jack Rabbit from inside the park) and the heavenly Rocket Ships almost within reach of the tree branches. My best memories of the Wildcat are from outside the park. Idora was located at the edge of Mill Creek Park - a 5+ mile long park running from Market Street to Rt. 224. The park is great for cycling. They even had a marathon there for a while (The Peace Race). Anyway it was fun to ride your bike up to the edge of Idora and listen and watch the Wildcat through the trees.

it's pronounced - con - E - aught

It is the park's responsibility to ensure customer safety. If that means, no cameras, so be it. That said, I do have to relate a personal experience with a camera being taken on MF. We were going over the 180 foot floater when a camera came floating by (its was a small digital) and I grabbed it in midair and held onto it for dear life. When we returned to the station, I asked who had lost their camera. A woman claimed it saying it had been in her front pocket. If that camera had been larger, it could have seriously hurt someone. Now with the advent of lipstick cams, the danger is much less. But the kind of policing that would be required to allow people to use those minicams on-ride is probably not something that any park wants to initiate. Note: the photo below my signature was taken circa 1980 on the Geauga Lake Double Loop which was permitted at that time.

It would be great if they could find the original plans for the funhouse in the 50s-70s with the moving floors, barrels, wooden slides, crooked rooms, mirror rooms, etc. It was a blast. And next time I'm there, I hafta find granma, cause the Little Dipper was the first coaster I ever rode, circa 1958.

Enjoy: http://www.woot.com/Files/20070420-RFQYH2.mp3

BTW, that's me in the next to last seat in pic 37 and 39!

BTW, that's me in the next to last seat in pic 37 and 39!

Corkscrew - Cedar Point - 1976 - and yes there were 2 hour lines!!!