i305isdaddy

Is there something about the B&M vest trains that is less capable of tight radiuses / snappy elements... maybe because of the slightly increased width? It seems everywhere they appear rides get worse... Banshee is the least snappy invert, Valravn is... Valravn, and now Hulk got nerfed when the new train style showed up. It's sort of a weird trend no?

I think we would all like all of these threads to go back to being just about theme parks, but right now the reality is that America's bats*** insane leaders, and their lack of Covid-19 response, are limiting us from enjoying all of our favorite parks as we are used to enjoying them. Hell some of our biggest 2020 rides are locked down due to liens thanks to the virus. It didn't have to be this way. New Zealand is open. Parts of Europe are already scheduling concerts again - even indoor concerts. Meanwhile we have morbidly obese, scooter-driving, red-hat wearing crazy people threatening to shoot Walmart employees because they're told to wear a piece of paper over their mouths. About 40% of Americans seem to have *zero* empathy or concern for anyone around them. I imagine we're going to continue seeing these tantrums until the November election when these embarrassing trolls will hopefully be sent back to their caves.

Am I correct from looking at photos that the Hulk clone is pretty much the same except they smoothed out elements (at least the first twist) to reduce forces?

^ Yes, that's absolutely what we do. If you're took sick to wear a mask you shouldn't be out in a pandemic. This isn't rocket science. Masks work. Look at asian countries. Americans need to learn to respect their fellow Americans instead of throwing tantrums at mild inconveniences.

I hope Cedar Point can finally get their staffing issues under control next year once Orange ****** is gone. I couldn't believe how awful staffing was in 2018, FAR worse than I had ever seen in previous years, all because getting international workers is a pain now.

That's a shame about Mount Olympus and also the most unsurprising news of the year.... it's pretty scary though when you look around that park (and Indiana Beach) and realize that 90% of the guests (including children) have giant Covid-19 risk factors such as obesity and being smokers. 2 years ago when we first visited both parks I couldn't believe the average state of health of Indiana and Wisconsin citizens.

Good call from the Governor... I might actually make an effort to visit KK this year if they force the locals to actually care about the safety of those around them and wear masks. I've already had to cancel my Mt. O and IB trips because it's clear that the locals don't understand science and are extremely selfish.

Trucks came and removed all the pieces of Catwoman that were sitting out... it's safe to say that we won't see that ride until 2021 if we even end up seeing it in SFStL at all.

^ I think your comment about the park being a "shell of its former self" when it reopens is going to be true for every single park in the country if they can manage to open. Last year in a normal season many parks (including Cedar Point) had major staffing issues leading to rides opening late or not at all... I can't even imagine how bad that whole situation is going to be this year when you're asking people to come make minimum wage to work in a petri dish of virus. Handrails, lapbars... yikes.

Splash battles are pretty terrible and boring... the one at SFGAM has no traffic any time I've ever been there. You end up battling an empty vehicle and the little sprayers barely reach that far anyways.

Best news of the month!

I felt bad about that survey... it's extremely unrealistic for them to think that a large gathering will happen in August. Just FYI - Kentucky Kingdom is honoring refunding requests for their event that was tied to Holiwood Nights. Holiday World says your ticket will remain valid or you can trade it for 3 normal non-event tickets.

It's not like construction crews have any other work to do during a pandemic. This is the perfect time to build stuff.

When we went in 2018 during peak season it was already a staffing clusterf*** vs. what I had seen in 2010... rides opening hours late and with less workers. I'm assuming this year will feel like visiting a Six Flags park.

If Indiana Beach truly ends up closing for good this will be just as terrible as the loss of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion. How on earth can there not be any help from government with a landmark status or help from a wealthy benefactor? The operating budget of a place like IB can't be huge, and they had tons of season pass holders and 600,000 visitors in 2018. I guess Indiana, with its near zero taxes, probably isn't financially able to offer a helpful loan package or anything to the business.

It's going to be insane during warm weather trying to get on this thing... only Six Flags would cheap out on the most important part of the ride re: capacity in one of their warmest parks that desperately needs a water ride.

Moser's model seems to just do a lot less. You can never get that model to do 6+ whiplash-speed spins like you can with the HUSS models. From what I've experienced the original HUSS Top Spin with the floored carriage is the most intense - once momentum gets going there you really feel like you're out of control. The floorless model like Crypt could have some intense moments but it never got the crushing-G's intensity that the floored models produce. The floorless model built into the wall at Phantasialand is on my bucket list.

I last rode X2 in 2016, back row outside seat, and I had to stop and rest halfway down the exit ramp because the raven turn beat my legs so hard that they literally went numb and then I had an anxiety attack about how badly my neck was hurting. That said... I loved it. It's insane and a piece of coaster history, but holy hell I was not ready for the beating. Recently I rode Eej over @ Fuji Q and oh man is that different. It's still shaky and crazy and wtf insane but it doesn't slam the s*** out of you repeatedly during the last 5 seconds like X2 does. They definitely smoothed out some issues in that re-engineering.

^ ProTip: Just don't take these sorts of security theater seriously, it's completely ridiculous and you should laugh in their face like you know that it's completely ridiculous, because it is. That dog is just hanging out, it might be one of their pets, and those guys are playing on their phones all day between harassing paying customers. This is like when the person at the Best Buy door asks you to see a receipt after they watched you walk from the cashier 10 steps to the door imo. I'm all for security but Americans need to start laughing at these security actors and their pets. EDIT: To clarify: I'm happy about some security at the front entrance, but it's not like this is an open area - it has one entry and one exit. This is inexcusable and giving mall cops some fun.

Hollllyyyy Crappppp that video! I'm amazed that this is only the 2nd "Xtreme Spinning" model and Mack has already kicked the intensity up to a 10 from a layout perspective.

Not flipping the table back around after the ride would also reduce maintenance costs, I really hope they don't wait for it to flip all the way back around each time haha... seems really pointless. This has me more excited than all the other coasters in the park, especially after hearing that Shellraiser is as rough as Takabisha. Those trains were *not* meant for these size rides and it's clear when you ride them.

I agree with Bill here about the staffing on the boat ride but I'm also really excited that it's returning. I like having a slow-paced boat ride to relax between the giant coasters. After my last trip to the Point their main point of focus should be staffing the park appropriately, regardless of what that takes. If that means more students from overseas (good luck doing that right now) or higher pay, just do it. My group couldn't believe that major rides (including coasters like Wicked Twister) had staggered opening times and I have to agree that it's not a good look for the park.

Ok I'm glad I'm not crazy for this Banshee back row opinion, after my one lap in the back left row I was shocked at how much it rattled my brain around, very similar to the first valley on Steel Dragon 2000. My on-ride photo even has me wincing. I love the layout and love every other B&M invert so next time I'm at KI I'll have to give it a front row ride to really judge it again. Out of my whole day at KI it was the one coaster I was shocked at how much I disliked, so it really can just be the back of the weird trains.

Yea we were lucky enough to ride her last month and damn, that "LAUNCH TIME!" audio is legendary. What a ride. And yes it's extremely bumpy, especially in the back row.

The Chicago, SFOG, and SFMM Batman's all make me grey out in the back row if it's warm and I haven't had a ton of water in the day. i305 is the only other ride that knocks me out but that's way more extreme feeling.