Jew

Their brand new ride...features an overflow queue that is just RRv queue with a chain link fence separating it. With gravel carelessly thrown on the grown to cover dirt. Painting buildings and putting new signs on them is great, but the culture problem is still very much there. Making things look good on the surface is only a small part of the battle. I hope Neil can dig in and change the culture from "penny wise, pound foolish" to putting the money where it needs to go: real detail, pay for team members, etc.

Which is why it’s a running joke in the industry SFMM is the training ground for USH and Disney.

IMO, It's typical "decent" GCI...it's definitely not opening day smooth, but not anywhere close to as bad as old GhostRider was either.

Looks like they did a good job moving this event outside of the dome!

I couldn't even remember which park this ride was moved to until just now. Definitely liked it more than the GIB and regular boomerangs, but it's still just a "whatever" ride.

I agree on the sauce options. Boardwalk BBQ is my go to spot at KBF now. They also carry the boysenberry beer and cider year round!

Valencia was actually nuked on 24...

People realize that coaster supports are not supposed to be rigid, right? There would be a much larger problem with a roller coaster if a support couldn't withstand something like this, since they get abused on a daily basis just from the ride cycling...

I can't imagine them dropping the Great America name. Something more catchy than "California" in front may work though.

^Exactly. They get their money when the houses sell. Insurance takes the hit from there!

doubtful. No way developers will back away

Wow. Incredible is right. I trust they're not, but they almost look photoshopped because of how surreal they are. I knew there are 747s and DC-10s in use to fight fires, but I wasn't aware of any MD-87s until now, so that's neat. The Md-87 fleet was grounded for a few years due to an accident where the retardant got sucked into the engine. The vendor (Forest Service contracts the planes out) had to make modifications to the dumping mechanism before they could be put back into action. Now back to SFMM...

^Perhaps you don't hear about water level issues at other parks because their ride systems fault the ride if water levels are not in range? Just a thought... According to the LA Times, DOSH had already previously found the water sensor not working on another inspection and has logged 43 incidents that require more than basic first aid since 2012 (that's the standard in CA of a reportable incident). Can you attribute some of that to rider error? Of course. Both Knott's and the rider can be simultaneously negligent and thus assigned financial liability accordingly. Not all 43 made the news and reached the point a lawsuit was filed. Wonder why that is? It couldn't possibly be due to parks having insurance companies & lawyers working behind the scenes to reach the best solution for all parties involved, could it?

Both parks have insurance companies for this very reason. I am sure the majority of claims are settled behind the scenes, which is why news of lawsuits is so rare when it comes to theme parks. Also, not BS if a safety feature was not operating as it was supposed to and Knott's knew about it.

To be fair to the injured party, water levels do fluctuate on every water ride---but all have an acceptable range. The question really becomes who is at fault for the sensor not functioning as intended. Was Knott's following all their protocols and it's just a bad design? Did Knott's ignore a problem?

I imagine it is not cheap to ship those rides across the pond. Olympia Looping is 20 containers on its own!

You assumed the drop would be 150ft, when in fact all the press release stated was that the total height was 150ft.

Are you driving? There's only a few of those hotels actually on the Strip. Any cost savings might be negated by uber's if you stay too far away.

If school is out (which is probably is), expect it to be crowded.

I agree. I saw the show in Hollywood...I like it a lot more than the previous Night Time Lights show USH had. The castle makes a great projection map setting.

The rides brought in now are usually ones already sold or anticipated to sell to U.S. operators. Either that, or loaned out by an existing owner to display at the show. I had a friend who worked for Zamperla when the Disko was launched---the model on the floor was sold to an FEC (golf'n'stuff) in Norwalk during the show. Went from IAAPA to the FEC. IMO, The decline in the outdoor midway is an indication of where the market currently is. There is no need for big rides to be put on display @ IAAPA because there are other avenues to showcase those rides and they are not what is selling right now. People go nuts for the smaller rides because they can fit inside their FEC/pizza place/mall/etc.

Just my guess here, but I would imagine that there being more trade shows worldwide has changed how things are displayed at IAAPA. Is a manufacturer going to pay to ship their ride overseas when they can just display it at the European or Asian shows? There is still a ton of networking, sales, behind the scenes tours of Orlando attractions, and "backroom" stuff that isn't shown to the public yet...but it is no longer THE place to showcase rides.

I believe that's for the Newhall Ranch housing development. Whatever it is, it definitely isn't for SFMM. They don't own any of that land. Park is at its boundaries on the back side.

I would imagine that by the time Star Wars opens, only Deluxe and premium will be sold.

Frank Thomas was awful during the “prolonged” end of his career. Kids would have been better off seeing him doing community relations appearances...