Shavethewhales

I've been on reddit for about 8 years now and it's easily the site I've visited the most by a long shot. I love the niche communities that you can find on any topic imaginable. That said, I don't see a return on investment for TPR to make an effort with its own subreddit. Worst case scenario it becomes its own little hive that is constantly trolled by people who don't like TPR's personalities. Best case scenario it essentially duplicates TPR's community to a smaller, somewhat different yet mostly overlapping crowd. I just don't see it being better or reaching much more of a crowd than what you already have with this board. Forums are outdated, but they aren't necessarily dying. They're still the best place to discuss things at length at a comfortable, variable pace. Some of these threads stretch back to nearly the beginning of the site. It's a trove of information and experiences that even a subreddit couldn't necessarily match. I think instead of branching out more, you guys should refocus on evolving and revolutionizing this board to be even better.

Nice! I think this project is still moving right along. As explained before, they had issues with their original civil engineering plans that threw a wrench in the original timeline. There's nothing terribly out of the ordinary about that, major projects like this have stuff like that happen all the time. Some high rise projects take 5 years or more to get started after they are first announced. Seeing real infrastructure work get started is a big step in the right direction. I'm not expecting the theme park to be built for awhile, but I'm sure the water park will arrive by 2018 at least though. Patience.

I actually thought chadster had posted another photo update, because it literally looks exactly the same now as it did back in May. Well, maybe the weeds have gotten a little taller... I used to go every couple of weeks or so to check out the progress and the flea market, but with nothing moving since early this year and the flea market never having much of any value I gave up and had kinda forgotten about it. I don't think Robby can really use your help. Bell's needs more than a couple of hands at this point. A few extra grand and the right know-how and they could have gotten off the ground, but it appears he hit a wall back in February because there has been no progress since then. I don't think he has the parts or the tools/skill to be able to fix either the coaster or the tilt-a-whirl. The cars for the coaster need to be completely rebuilt, which would probably require a lot of shop work. I tried to talk to Robby a few weeks ago when I saw him there, but he was busy talking to some other people. Sounded like he's still trying to sell off little bits and pieces as he can. They are still open every weekend though. Last time I was there they had a few customers.

lol, you're on your way to kiddie park, huh? I'm hoping to finally get back on that old coaster with my little nephew sometime in the next few weeks as well. That's my home town, and kiddie park is where my obsession began. Be sure to stop by Dinks' BBQ while you are there - it's my personal favorite in the world. Bummer that Arkansas Twister is down for retracking in July though... I was actually considering going down there soon, but now I guess I'll wait till next year.

There's got to be more to the story... I'm seriously not understanding how the park is still operating unless there is some sort of financial incentive somewhere for somebody. You don't come up with all this money to keep going just by pitching a good story. I still think the retreat center idea should be pursued.

Ugh, that feels like a kick in the nuts. I desperately wanted to get to Joyland before they closed. It was the essentially the sister park to my home park, Bell's, which closed around the same time. The neighborhood amusement park breed is virtually gone. We've still got Lakeside in Denver and Lake Winnie. Be sure to get out and enjoy them before they are gone. Lake WInnie kinda feels like an older sibling to Joyland and Bell's as well.

I'm guessing you know how to ride it in the "right seats". I was so disappointed when I first rode it because I got a wheel seat in the back and it was almost too rough to enjoy. Later on I marathoned it in the front seat and it became my favorite coaster. Ideally every seat should be a good seat. With topper track, the only things that would change is that it would get smoother and maybe a little faster. It would still feel more or less like a wood coaster, but a better one. Really though, it's worth it just for HW's maintenance costs. I'm sure they're on the waiting list. Raven is pretty good as is, though if they needed topper track there as well for maintenance that would only be an improvement as well. Legend, on the other hand, could be a candidate for a bit more improvement. Maybe the don't want to go full RMC-complete-rebuild on it, but adding some additional banking would go a long way to making it a top notch coaster again.

I'm a big fan of the layout. I like the classic hills juxtaposed with a few odd turns and the corkscrew. Like all of RMC's creations, it's going to be a well thought out ride experience. I understand some trepidation due to the bland no-limits concept art. Outlaw Run's concept art was also pretty bad and I was actually bummed about how bad it looked when it came out, but the actual ride blew me away like nothing I had ever experienced. This will be similar for those of you in the area who haven't been on an RMC yet, I'm sure.

They've been a dieing breed already for a long time, and I doubt any more will be ordered unless they can come up with a true fix for all of their stress related issues. It's a real shame, because they are probably my favorite flat ride. I keep thinking Thunderhawk will be quietly removed soon, but I actually caught it open for once when I was there this spring.

He has completely ****ing lost it. He's out there smearing paint all over the place and talking about how he needs to give up and go home. It sounds like he's letting people come in and scrap the park now as well? Sounds like this whole thing is over. Hope he gets help before he goes even crazier.

Well put. My thoughts exactly. I was waiting for something like this to happen. Perhaps they'll come back after he gets out, but honestly I think they'll inevitably run into trouble with finances, regulations, health and safety issues, etc. You can't just hop into this industry and throw something together. Even Wild Bill has a method to the madness.

^Wow, I had completely missed or forgotten about that. Here's the backstory from their website: That answers my question then.

No. IMO, Pinfari would have stuck with the low-budget niche. There would be some innovations on their end of course, but I don't think they would try to compete on the level you're talking about. They had a pretty solid footing in the low-budget area, and I'm not sure if there's anyone else at the moment who can fill that niche quite like they did. They would mostly be competing with Gerstauler and Zierier (sp?), providing much cheaper thrill and family coasters to small parks and traveling fairs. I'm thinking they could provide new coasters for half the cost or less of what those two are selling rides for. Pinfari was innovating a bit at the end - just look at their compact SLC. Sure, their rides were mostly horrible, but from a small park's perspective I imagine they would have some pretty compelling offers if they were still around. It's probably a good thing they're gone, the industry standards have raised quite a bit since their demise. Once all the cheap pinfari/schwartzkopf traveling coasters have finally been retired though, I wonder who will start providing cheap portable coasters to refill the niche?

I didn't look into carries candles this year. I keep forgetting that place exists, but it was one of my favorite shops as a kid. Certainly lots of room to redevelop within SDC right now. The tree house/landing area, Watterboggin area, and some of the area on the lakeside (most notably the empty lot next between river blast and the theatres) is very prime. I didn't find GE to be that "rough" this year, but it is even more nondescript now than when it opened. I'd like to see them redevelop that to some degree during a "small" investment year. Simply adding a dash of character and maybe refreshing some of the rides would go a long way. There's no excuse for the tacky flying elephants when we know Zamperla can do custom ride bodies.

That sounds really compelling and creative. I'm most interested in how the claustrophobia part will work - I love coasters that dive in and out of buildings. This, boulderdash, and the classic woodie make Lake Compounce a pretty decent destination for enthusiasts in 2016.

I'd like a good Frisbee style ride, preferably a Zamperla Giant Discovery. I'm still not sure how excited I am about the potential new dark rides. Most of the newer dark rides lately have been based on those awful cutouts instead of real props - I don't know who thought that was a good idea. The new SF rides sound interesting, but the operational issues have been worrisome. Seems like they are having to reinvent the wheel to get proper dark rides back to the regional park level. I miss the Bill Tracy craziness.

lol, well that was what was asked for. Best thing about rumors is that anyone can start them based on anything. Every few years someone in Branson thinks Disney is thinking about buying the park. This year there are some who think Manby might try to buy the park as part of SeaWorld Inc. Of course neither of those scenarios make sense, but they are rumors the same. It's going to be awhile before we see any actual clues. I hope we're surprised this fall with something interesting, but I'm not getting my hopes up given the current pattern.

VERY cool, and a truly fulfilling layout! Sad to see the demise of yet another classic log flume, but it doesn't look like this was one of the better ones so all-in-all it's a great step up for this park. It sounds like another water ride will follow as well! I was thinking about doing a "north" trip with this park, SFGAm, Valleyfair, etc. and this definitely pushes me in that direction!

^There are "rumors" floating around, but nothing I would consider substantial. Some are thinking that an addition to or rework of Grand Expo might be in the cards soon, but that's probably just enthusiast speculation based on how much better Fireman's Landing turned out and the effect that has. I know they considered adding a larger flat onto the backside of GE at one point... I think at this point though I'm expecting a quiet year for 2016, then possibly a thrill ride addition in 2017. Fireman's Landing is truly an excellent addition to this park. I spent last Sunday there with a lot of family including a three year old nephew and got to experience it with him and he had an absolute blast there. The ride selection, theming, and story telling is about as perfect as you could reasonably expect from them. It needs to win some awards this year. I want them to keep going with additions in the same spirit as this one (not always aimed at younger kids, of course). Unfortunately for the park, it seems like the entire weekend of the 4th crowds were lighter than expected. It's been up and down this year with the weather, but even a hint of rain drives everyone away from the park. That's really unfortunate because I know their development timeline is probably heavily influenced by how well they do in the summer, and this volatility probably means the pattern of having "off years" between larger additions like FL will continue while they focus on building up DW.

The new setup is a big improvement for operators, but I agree that it will hurt the ride experience if the cycle is left the same as it is on the old school versions. What they need to do is hasten the incline and decline portions and leave more time for actually going upside down. I love enterprises in theory, but these days I tend to avoid them on principle because I'm tired of waiting in line, waiting several minutes for the operator to slowly check all the doors, and then finally getting to ride only to get a single flip in before it goes back down.

^Go for it. There are several other sites with the same deal I believe. Hotels and ticket places in Branson also sell similar deals.

Still in business meaning they haven't been able to get the cash from their foreign investors yet. They need a few more lawyers to make it look legitimate for just a little longer...

^It happens in the summer fairly often. Moonlight madness and the holiday weekends especially, but any weekend could end up suddenly crowded for whatever reason. That said, SDC's operations are decent, and they work to keep lines moving. Even a crowded day at SDC is a pretty awesome experience. If you get tired of waiting in line, there's lots of craftsmen to watch, shopping to do, the cave tour, and other less crowded rides and areas. I find that the crowds really die down very quickly during the last hour, so if it's really bad for some reason you could just plan to hit up Outlaw Run then. Wildfire will keep a fairly short line all day simply due to capacity and the height restriction, so there's always that.

Tremendous photo comparisons. Thanks for posting that. That really shows the lack of trees and barren asphalt areas that we complained bitterly about for so long. At the same time though, the buildings had so much more architectural presence. The train station used to be such a focal point, but now it's just another old pavilion. Some of the new visual additions to the buildings and areas are huge improvements as well, while others seem like they are slapped on without a lot of thought. It feels like there's been a shift in how SF manages individual buildings vs. the entire park itself, if that makes any sense. The individual buildings are less focused on while the pathways and outdoor areas are much better.

I don't understand that - the ride mercilessly throws you up and down. There's no way to avoid feeling the airtime. Who's actually saying this? I can usually understand differences in what people experience on rides due to size/body characteristics, but it doesn't matter too much on OR because it throws you around (in a good way) no matter what. I didn't notice anything different earlier this year.