i305isdaddy

^ Your opinion on B&M Hypers is shared by many of us. If you ever get a chance to visit Carowinds the ability to compare Intrimidator and Fury side by side is pretty eye-opening. For some reason the hyper-class rides are just clamped down hard, always (w/ exceptions of Diamondback and Goliath).

Goliath also seems like it was built to have a 2nd half... instead of swerving up and to the right into the brakes at 70mph it seems like they meant for there to be a lot more left. Everything at this park is so short! Goliath and then Joker and now this... it's the land of waiting in long lines for 15 seconds of fun.

I really dislike how many rides are on that staggered opening list. During my first visit to Carowinds in 5 years last year I noticed that Cedar Fair has started doing the same thing there and it really feels cheap walking around the park seeing tons of closed rides for 2-3 hours. I wasn't surprised that Windseeker stayed closed most of the day (what a disaster those turned out to be vs. the Starflyers) but Vortex, Cyclone, Drop Zone, and more were all closed leaving a giant portion of the park without anything to ride. I wish Cedar Fair would learn how to staff correctly honestly... it seems to be getting worse. My trip to Cedar Point last year was shocking due to how different the staffing was vs. 10 years ago. When Carowinds was still Paramount owned and I visited Cedar Point as a teenager I couldn't believe how great the ops were and how nice the employees were.

I really wish parks would just push the zippered shorts option. I've been wearing zippered shorts to parks for 15 years now and I've never had to worry about a single loose article. They could even sell some $15 athletic shorts w/ zipped pockets at the entrance gift store. It ain't rocket science. This new reality of extreme airtime (thanks RMC and Intamin!) and everyone needing an iPhone at all times has led to a need for some creative solutions.

Is this launch actually going to be as intense as Hypersonic? I know it's less than Dodonpa but I'd love to know how the acceleration ranks overall.

They actually added an additional trim and turned them all up, unfortunately. Compare the first POV's from 8 years ago to the new testing footage where the train crawls into that newly-themed airtime hill with no airtime potential. At least she lives though.

It's great to hear that El Toro is still running like a bat out of hell.... after seeing the heavy trims added to the rehabbed Colossus this year I was scared that Six Flags might get some $-saving ideas.

I love people who defend the useless, cosmetic-only restraints by saying "well they've never HURT me!" Ok great, high bar there! My friend thought they loosened a tooth after the Tempesto buckle smacked them in the face during the first week of operation there. "They don't hurt" isn't the point and it's a disingenuous point to try to make anyways. We know these rides operate safely without the straps (that for some reason now feature carabiners hanging in your face) so I don't get why people really feel a need to defend them, especially with the low bar of "if they don't injure me they must be fine."

Taron at Phantasialand has the same reset procedure on Launch #2.... pushes the train backwards a bit to get it rolling then pushes it forward.

Hurler used to be a fun woodie with plenty of airtime until that stupid trim. Hopefully it stays turned off but that seems doubtful given how quickly that first and second turn get rough.

They're so comfortable that they allow you to ride Hades 360 without dying of jackhammering shuffle pain so I think that says it all. Great trains. Question for those that know... do all parks with Timberliners require their employees to pull on the restraint with their bodyweight? At Mt. Olympus the loading is really slow because they literally lean back w/ their full weight on each bar and tug. I wonder if they've had issues of them not being fully locked before.

That's good news re: the employee pay increases, though I'm still shocked at how low it is given the fact that these employees can be responsible for people's lives. I hope this trend spreads in the industry, or at least to Carowinds and SFGAM, because the lack of staff at the beginning and end of the seasons really affects the quality of a day at those two parks in my experience.

A picture of the layout would have been nice. We all knew it was going to be an RMC.

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Eh they were really light on the details, but this is amazing news. BGT is a huge draw to Tampa now.

This is the first Intamin coaster with a vertical drop track, correct?

Well to be fair, it should open really early. One benefit to only buying 1/4 of the layout is that you can be Opening Day ready!

The launch will probably be amazing (air launches rarely disappoint) but just like with Goliath Six Flags again forgot to purchase the back 2/3's of the ride. Given the expected wait times for a new coaster every single guest is going to think "wow, that was short" since we're not talking a Top Thrill Dragster or Kingda sized "trick" on this "one trick pony."

I don't intend to go riding any sort of ride (outside of Oktoberfest) while drunk, but it would be sad if a non 0.0 breath test resulted in me missing a notable coaster during my honeymoon. I'll be on my best behavior for Dive Coaster!

Is breathalyzing common at Japanese theme parks / attractions? As someone that likes a stiff drink that scares me a bit about our trip coming up in September .

The park always hides Slidewinder from the rides list when it's closed seasonally, or at least has for the last few winters.

Is the Poseidon's Fury water tunnel effect still turned on? I know there were strong rumors for a while that it was going to be axed. Overall I love that whole ride. I hope Universal gives it a minor update rather than removing it.

I wouldn't be shocked if an actual injury forced this... 2 years ago I was riding front row of Zeus and slammed my rib so hard on that turn that my side turned black and blue for a week. It was horrible looking. That whole turn around section was BRUTAL beyond any ride I've ever been on.

It's interesting to me that parks keep doing this. Mantis is the only converted standup I've ridden so far and something about it feels "off" to me. I don't think the standup to floorless heartlining is exactly the same because there were a few moments where Rougarou felt wonky. It also had more headbanging than I remember from Mantis. That shouldn't be a problem here as Iron Wolf wasn't intense to begin with. I personally enjoyed Mantis overall but wasn't a fan of how much blood pooled in my legs during the intense second half. It's clear that Mantis was pushing the line of what acceptable force wise on riders even w/ the trim w/ standups. As someone said before Carowinds should really just remove Vortex if they're even considering this... the only cool moment on the ride is the heavy airtime you get over the station in the front row.

Would it kill Six Flags & Cedar Fair to blast some music w/ their carnival rides? [EDIT: Sorry this isn't clear, I messed up quoting the post w/ the video of the SFoT lighting package] This light package SCREAMS fancy European carnival to me and all of those rides are made better by a thumping soundtrack. Maybe they could just crank it at night for a different experience? Anyways, I can't wait to go ride this next year.