Shavethewhales

Just like every other company, they are developing where they see market potential. Clearly it's easier to make a profit on smaller attractions than it is on some gargantuan investment that perhaps only one or two parks would be willing to gamble on. I'm sure they'll get into some bigger rides soon, but they need to get some money flowing and partnerships made first. It's one thing if you have some kind of home-run groundbreaking innovation like RMC's track technology already on hand. In this case it seems like this company wants to be fluid and agile and that is difficult to do in this industry. Investing in R&D for something big that doesn't pan out all that great would sink them just like it did with Arrow. As for this ride: it seems like something my 4-year old nephew would enjoy. Lots of interesting little design choices here with how the adult seats are placed in the middle and how the back board also moves. I'd love to see a shot of the mechanisms behind it - I'm always curious how stress is handled through the joints. I'm questioning why the didn't make it so that every seat could fit either an adult or kid, but it looks like it comes down to space for lap bars and the forces of the ride. They wouldn't want kids in the middle because they would be disappointed with the ride, and they want to use a single bar for each section to make the ride more compact. Since a lot of kids this age ride with their parents, this could be an issue at some parks.

Via Screamscape: OzCat is finally coming down. http://bransonmo.gov/DocumentCenter/View/377 Not a huge surprise, but it's a punch in the gut all the same. This might have actually been one of the best coasters GCII ever built. It was severely underrated. The pacing, sweeping curves, and airtime where all just perfectly orchestrated. I honestly hope they build a clone someday somewhere.

I'm actually pretty surprised we haven't heard anything yet. Perhaps the sale is being handled behind the scenes in more earnest than it appears, but who knows what is going on. It seems like if a major chain was behind the purchase, they would want the sale to be finalized before now so that they have time to get their affairs in order for 2016. I get the sense that not much is changing - the park could very well end up in the hands of a similar but different investment group with management by Premier. I guess I should stop holding my breath...

lol, what? I feel like we've been over this too many times on so many threads. The reasons Cedar Fair hasn't immediately jumped into bed with RMC will never be known to us enthusiasts, but it is likely due to simple logistics with how they plan out their investments. RMC is still a very new and innovative company. Given their success, they will work on Cedar Fair attractions soon. It is a question of when, not if.

But... aren't they still hemoraging money? How is this working - how are they even able to consider another expansion? Seems risky to me to go through the effort and expense if they're only going to be able to get the lazy river open. If they get the pool and slides open as well it could help them out, but it's just not enough to be a draw. I think they're always going to be trapped in this cycle of struggling forward with little projects, but not being able to do enough to actually draw enough people in to make it worth it. It takes a certain critical mass that at this point would require rebuilding everything.

^Don't get defensive. Like you said, this board is about opinions, and you give and get even if you don't always like what you get back. I've never been thrilled with how WE was plopped over DW, and I will stand behind my opinion that it is the least-well themed and integrated ride at either park. SDC has always been so focused on maintaining a "city" vibe, and it's really a huge part of what makes the park special. I've been worried about them plopping a coaster down in the middle of it and ruining that ambiance for awhile now. They've had tremendous success with the strategy of keeping the bigger, high-visibility rides at the expansive edges of the park. As long as they do that, they can pretty much put in anything without it hurting the place. Also it should be noted that inspiration tower right nearby is over 200' from the top of a high hill, so I don't think height restrictions will ever be a problem.

lol, Wild Eagle barely has any themeing, and I hope they don't do anything so jarring with the park environment at SDC. There's a difference between a true theme and adding a dash of decoration in the station. All of the coasters at SDC are highly themed with backstories and elaborate stations, but with the exception of FiTH and Thunderation they never attempt anything along the tracks so the height doesn't affect anything. I could imagine them going that route someday with a coaster that escapes down the valley past Outlaw Run, but I don't think it'll be in the cards for awhile.

That's really unfortunate. It sounds like the park hasn't been quite as successful as I thought it would be in its new location. The original owners had a great vision, but I think they lacked the critical mass they needed to make a complete park successful. Starliner should have been there from the get-go. It just isn't enough of a draw otherwise from what they already had at the other location. I've always pointed to this park as an example of how Bell's could make a comeback, so I hope they pull through and eventually get the coaster up.

I was there for the pirate festival a couple weeks ago. The place is awesome, but it is definitely still an abandoned theme park in serious disrepair. During the events you are allowed to wander the grounds and check it all out, provided you sign a waiver and don't go in the taped off (ie: dangerous) areas. They are slowly going through and cleaning it all up and fixing buildings, but it will take a long time. It's almost all being done by volunteers using small tools, and the place was completely overgrown when they got there. It's a victory just to have it in a condition where people can get into the main square again. The new owner is unconventional, but he seems to be reasonable, and the team of volunteers is awesome. The plan seems to be to pick up where SDC has been leaving off in that they want to create a village of craftsmen and artists who will essentially live on property and focus on their work. It will eventually be open to the public on weekends. No rides will be added, with the exception of the train. What makes the park even more unique is that there is a HUGE waterfall on the southern edge, and a spring coming out of a cave on the north end. The park's mill is actually authentic from the 1800's, and historically the site was the location of a couple of other mills and other things from the 1800's and earlier. There's even a big tour cave right outside the entrance to the park. A warning to those who live nearby: the park is increasingly visible from the roadway as they clear brush, but DO NOT GO EXPLORING WITHOUT CONTACTING THE OWNER FIRST. There are people out there now, and they are prepared to stop further vandilization of the park. So much more has actually been lost to vandals and arsonists than mother nature has taken. I took hundreds of photos, and have actually been meaning to do a PTR of the weekend, but I've been so busy. Here's a few for the mean time. A lot of the less useful buildings still look like this. A bridge that will eventually be repaired. That building used to be a combination of administration, cafeteria, and the entrance to the park from the cable car that ran down the hill. Some buildings have been completely swallowed by nature and are a total loss, but will probably be left as they are for curiosity's sake. Some stuff has actually collapsed fairly recently due to vandalism and arson. The porch on the other side of this structure was pulled down earlier this year. This was an interesting walk through attraction that is actually still mostly in tact. The old waterslide will probably be converted into an observation tower soon. These are still in perfect condition This is on top of the hill, where guests would board cable cars to go down to the park.

Pre-Alpha is out now and available to everyone who orders through their website. It's served through humble at the moment, but steam keys will be provided later when they get to that point. First impressions: I still think this might be the coaster game I'm most excited for, but there's definitely a lot of work left to do. This is of course a pre-alpha release, so it shows how much potential there is, but it's kinda hard to sit down and play it through for awhile at this point in development. There aren't that many rides yet, but the flat rides they do have all look amazing. The coaster editor is actually a bit of a let down so far, but I think it will get a lot of improvements soon. There are too many limitations with it, such as the max. height and angle of drops. There are however two huge improvements in that you can set the radius and banking to curves and crests as big or small as you want, which adds a large range of new potential track pieces. The UI is decent, but could stand to be polished in some areas such as the coaster editor, which I'm sure will happen before long. There are no walls, roofs, or other building compontents in the game yet, and you can't lift or stack objects yet. That will come eventually as well. The tycoon aspects are also in development, and money is currently pretty meaningless, but there's lots of potential there as well with the new range of workers and distribution systems that are being added. So all-in-all, it's not really a game you can download right now and get blown away by, but the pre-alpha confirms that this game will eventually be a terrific successor to the original RCT games.

Aside from the issues that occasionally come up with trains, there are so many different things that can affect an individual's experience on a coaster that it's gotten ridiculous to even discuss "rough" rides on here anymore. I mean, there are some rides that just beat the crap out of you, but most of the time lately it seems like it's just a combination of personal taste, weather, and body characteristics that cause people to complain about rides. Some rides are more sensitive than others and will give great rides one day, then not so great rides a month later for whatever combination of reasons. I know I'm guilty of complaining about rides like Wild Eagle, but honestly I think I had a slight headcold that affected my ride more than anything. OR has some moments where the train will vibrate or move horizontally on the track if the train isn't in perfect shape, but it's never very jarring to me. Considering the speed and elements, I've always been impressed with how it rides even when the wheels are worn down a bit. I think it's been mentioned before, but anyone who is observant or has been watching the ride closely has surely noticed how much wood they've replaced already. Seems they used some cheap stuff in certain areas... guess that's how it only cost $10 million. Riding the train you can occasionally spot some pieces that are completely bent out of shape.

It sounds like they're on track to release this game within the next couple of weeks. They released a big update to their current alpha-tester group (KS $40 tier backers) and are letting them mess around with it and find more bugs this week. I'm really intrigued and amazed at this small team's abilities and vision. They have a great understanding of what made RCT great and how to improve on it, and their constant updates are interesting to follow along with. This upcoming release will be more of a "beta" launch off of humble. There are still a few key elements missing from the game, and other elements need to be expanded upon or honed such as the workers and distribution systems. Eventually they'll launch a "full" release on Steam. It sounds like they will continue updating the game long after the "big" release.

The new coaster edit is nice. That's exactly what I wanted from this generation of coaster sims, and it looks like each game will have something similar. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the lack of walls, roofs, etc. Apparently in RCTW, "buildings" will be pre-made scenery objects rather than custom structures made from a multitude of scenery objects. Stations are also obviously pre-made... Of course the initial reaction to that is to hope that the custom modeling community will make up for it, but I'm not sure how that will work out... With everything being rotatable in a million different directions and no ability to snap to a grid as of yet, we might be limited to making custom buildings to import. I think that takes away a certain element of creativity. I think this will be a fun game to fart around with, but I don't think it's going to be exactly what most here are hoping for. Planet Coaster may find an edge here. However I've also heard that the devs have dropped lines about the initial release "just being the foundation". We'll see where that goes...

^Why does everyone lately seem to assume that coasters appeal only to hardcore nerds who travel alone and don't spend anything at the park? Most major coaster additions I've heard of have spurred attendance increases of 10-20%. You ever notice how many kids are in line for the big B&M's? They don't stay in Planet Snoopy forever. Obviously younger oriented additions spur attendance as well in their own way, and you can make all the arguments you want about which group will theoretically spend more, but the point is that the big picture is a lot more complex than everyone tries to make it out to be. I'm sure there's a ton of research and planning that has gone into determining which group the park will focus on this year and why they haven't gone after another coaster in 6 years. I see it as more of a balancing act. Each park has to keep up constant research into it's surroundings to see which group has the most potential to increase the park's overall attendance and revenue. Apparently WOF thinks the demographics that are attracted by big coasters are already going to come to WOF, but there are still younger families out there to be lured in.

Interesting, almost sounds like a reaction to Silver Dollar City's Fireman's Landing... It's like a family ride area arms race. Flyers are always nice.

That response was literally the worst thing they could have done in this situation. "Oh no big deal, our children's roller coaster just LITERALLY FELL APART with people on it. We'll just slap some welds on it and get it back open in a couple weeks." I'm straight up avoiding this place from now on. It's a shame, because I was thinking about stopping through to get some rides on the Rumbler next year, but I won't darken the door of any establishment that puts kid's lives at risk so nonchalantly. What a stain on the industry.

Inexcusable. Both of these "accidents" were clearly due to negligence. I fear this may be the beginning of the end for this park. I sure wouldn't be taking my kids there anymore.

So for Tulsa I would recommend Burn Co.: http://www.yelp.com/biz/burn-co-barbeque-tulsa It's the type of place you have to get to near opening time and wait in line because they sell out every day. Everyone says it's worth it, but I have yet to be able to make it over there. If you can't do that, I think Elmer's is the next best bet that I know of right now: http://www.elmersbbqtulsa.com/ Stay away from Billy Sim's and Albert G's. Not that they're necessarily terrible, but Billy Sims is an over priced local chain in this area and they just reheat their meats, and Albert G's is more of a pub style that most BBQ lovers don't really like as much. If you are adventurous, truly want some of the best BBQ in the world, and maybe are interested in some unique architecture, you could head up to Bartlesville and eat at Dink's. That's my favorite restaurant in the world, and they give huge cheap portions that are cooked on a huge spit just behind the restaurant. To make it worth the 1hr excursion, Bartlesville is home to the famous Price Tower, Frank Lloyd Wright's only tower design that actually got built. There's also a credit if you get there at the right time. Bartlesville has a kiddie park called, well, kiddie park, with a Herschell little dipper and an amazing collection of spectacularly well maintained classic rides from the 1950's and 60's. It's a real treasure, though it might be weird to look around without a kid since it's aimed at preschool to kindergarten age.

Wow. I've been on this board a long time. This PTR is from 8 years ago, back when I was still in high school. I'm an adult with a degree and a job now. I thought they archived these PTRs after a certain length of time.

Very cool! Combining the elements of a Sky Rocket II with the typical G-fighter. Man, this is a golden age for small thrill coasters. I wish more of the small parks could have lasted to utilize it. Maybe the best thing about this is that it is an innovation in the ultra-compact "genre" rather than yet another Sky Rocket II clone. Not that the clones are bad, but after about three on the same continent you start to hope for something new.

ytterbiumanalyst 's recent report (http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=70695) says that X-coaster is still in operation, but Arkansas Twister is getting a much needed retracking. I'm glad the park is still operating and has kept it's coasters. I heard a bunch of rumors a few years ago that they were about to close down the dry side and expand the water park. I still haven't made it down there, but it's on the list for next year.

Man that makes me yearn for the times when developers were still interested in creating true theme parks. I really enjoy extensive theming. I'd trade a couple of coasters for the park to look like that again.

Every time Frontier City gets mentioned I make a point of pointing out just how much work has been done on the place in the last ten years. If you haven't been since the Six Flags days, it may be worth a visit. There isn't much new ride-wise, and the coaster selection is sub-par, but the park itself is truly on the upswing. They've basically rebuilt the entire place - a huge amount of work has gone into overhauling all of the infrastructure and operations. Back when Six Flags sold the place off it was a dying property that was considered a joke by the city, but now it is routinely packed out and is quickly becoming more and more popular. The Herschends were never involved with this property though. They were involved in a short-lived joint venture to build White Water Bay (as well as three other White Water brand waterparks in Texas, Atlanta, and Branson). I could understand the confusion though, lately Frontier City has been copy-cating Silver Dollar City on a few key elements, such as creating their own singing saloon show! Diamondback, like so many coasters, is polarizing. You can't ride it too many times, and your mileage may vary based on body parameters, but I find it enjoyable. Sit in the right seats and you get some crazy ejector air. Big things are on the way for this park, I can feel it. They bought up most of that old RV park last year I believe.... I think they're working on buying the old hotel sites as well so they can push back the parking lot and give themselves more room for the park.

Sounds like an awesome event! I wish my trip budget wasn't so overloaded this year already, but I'll definitely keep this on the radar for next year. Trying to catch up with this thread, I love the MS paint ideas. Phantom's rendition of a new front gate is exactly what I have been thinking about. I don't think it'd be too difficult to pull off, but I think with the current cross-chain trends, they'd want a big new ride to highlight it. Maybe not necessarily a coaster... I think a giant Ferris wheel would be cool.

lol, that's just the regular queue line area that isn't used much anymore because the line never gets too large anymore. Back in the early 2000's though, we went up there all the time. The actual "overflow" line has been more or less blocked off because it probably will never be used again. It was outside across from the station leading back up to AP. Moonlight Madness/Late August is always pretty busy, but you really never know how the individual weekdays are going to go. It's good that they're having some good days to make up for all the rain this year though. I still want to see the park be richly "rewarded" for the great work they put into Fireman's Landing.