mforce79

I remember Grizzly at PKD shutting down for a "smoke" smell once, but nobody saw any sign of fire. A maintenance guy came and pulled out a smoldering T-Shirt from under one of the wheels, it was pretty interesting.

Website says HH opens daily on June 3rd. I've been there this time of year in the past and seen people wearing lifeguard uniforms working the rides during the week. I thought that was strange, b/c if the waterpark was closed then why would they wear lifeguard uniforms? I asked an operator about it and they said there were staffing issues, and they had people from the waterpark trained to run the rides for this time of year, but didn't give them regular uniforms.

^ That was a great game!

Represent

This came up on my news website today, and I thought it was pretty entertaining http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060526/od_nm/germany_swan_dc_1 Fri May 26, 3:16 PM ET BERLIN (Reuters) - A swan has fallen in love with a plastic swan-shaped paddle boat on a pond in the German town of Muenster and has spent the past three weeks flirting with the vessel five times its size, a sailing instructor said Friday. Peter Overschmidt, who operates a sailing school and rents the two-seat paddle boat on the Aasee pond, said the black swan with a bright red beak has not left the white swan boat's side since it flew in one day in early May. "It seems like he's fallen in love," said Overschmidt. "He protects it, sits next to it all the time and chases away any sail boats that get anywhere nearby. He thinks the boat is a strong and attractive swan." Overschmidt said the swan will figure it out sooner or later but hopes he won't be too heartbroken. "I'll wish him all the best and hope that he doesn't make the same mistake again," said Overschmidt."

Cool, thanks for the update. Great pics guys, as usual!

Any update on the sad and pathetic land clearing project next to Grizzly? Haven't heard much about when that's supposed to open.

Looks like they did a nice job with the ride theming, although it looks like it was built on a gravel pit. I didn't remember seeing that much gravel and stuff at Kings Island's, but I went back and looked at the pics and it's about the same (mixture of gravel and concrete). I guess it goes with the theme of being on a road, but I still think it could use some more landscaping. I was also surprised at how well the line moved... hopefully they'll run 3 trains on a regular basis

I also thought Thunderhawk was much smoother than any of its other twins. I wonder why that is? It's a real shame about Villain though. It was easily a top 5 coaster for me during it's opening year. It really flew at night, and although the trains have never been comfortable, I remember when it could be ridden multiple times. Was the brake really on Steel Venom? I was there last fall and it was off, and I heard they've had it off for some time now, but that could be wrong.

Just got back from a massive road trip to the Midwest. I love Theme Parks in May! It looks like most people beat me to posting Voyage pictures and video, but since I wasn’t special enough to get a walk-back tour of the area, my pictures will probably end up being redundant, so I’ll only post a couple. Highlights from the trip: Saturday, May 13: Holiday World Voyage: A powerful, powerful ride. Not overrated in my opinion, it lives up to all the hype. The triple down was a very fun element, especially toward the back. Plus, there’s one spot of greatness right before the first over-banked turn. I know it’s been mentioned before, but it’s like a bunny hill at a 30 degree angle. Maybe not a ‘signature’ element, but it caught me off-guard in a good way. One negative thing about Voyage… while I was on Raven’s exit ramp, a bunch of kids were getting off saying how much it sucked, and that they were going back over to the new ride. I hate stupid kids. Sunday, May 14: PKI Despite the crappy weather most of the day, there was a pretty decent crowd. I think PKI is a great park overall. This was my first ride on Italian Job, and I was pleasantly surprised. I love the trains, and the launch actually gives you a good kick in the ass for how short it is. Son of Beast has a sign up that says it’s down ‘till late Spring. Funny how I never heard one complaint. Monday, May 15 – Wednesday, May 17 – Cedar Point Monday we got to the park around 3, and it was pouring rain until about midnight. No pictures that day. Tuesday was cloudy with some showers in the morning, but it cleared up nicely by afternoon. This is the most perfect weather for Cedar Point during the week in May. The showers keep the crowds away, and then by afternoon you have a great day in the park with no lines whatsoever. Dragster’s line was in the station all day, and by 6PM Millennium Force had empty seats on almost every train. I took a lot of video on this trip since I just bought a camcorder, so I don’t have a still shot of everything. Overall a great trip, hope y’all enjoy the photos. Magnum along the beach Other half of Castaway Bay. I've never seen pictures of Castaway Bay, so I went over there myself and got a few pictures on the way out Lighthouse Point... these cabins are probably my favorite addition to Cedar Point since Millennium Force. View of the park across the bay. A little hazy, but still a cool picture. Italian Job splashing right into the pointless brakes before the final turn Is it just me or is that bottom sign a little redundant? Voyage Skyline Who doesn't like the smell of Southern Yellow Pine? The Voyage automatically turns other coasters into crap (according to kids from Indiana)

rules or no rules that was an awesome video, I'm glad you posted that regardless!

You brought up some good points in there I think. We're all accustomed to giving our opinions on each of those topics individually, but I haven't seen the big picture taken into consideration as often as it should be. I mean, really, the bottom line is that external factors (mostly political) will likely determine the shape of the industry's future. 7 or 8 years ago theme parks were investing big because people (Americans) were in a position to spend big. Now the economy is different, and if recent gas prices are any indication of the future, it could potentially get worse and stay that way for some time. I think the idea of raising the parking price across the board is a very insensitive move. People are already cognizant of the fact that they're spending more to get to the parks. Now they have to pay even more just to get to the gate, and I think that gives the wrong impression. This might sound strange, but I also think it raises the expectation that people have before they even enter the park, making disappointment more likely. Anyway, to answer the questions: 1. Six Flags will build semi-mega-coasters from now on. 2. I believe Universal has big plans, but Disney will remain the industry leader for quite some time. 3. I don’t know what to say about mergers other than it would not be smart. The only reason mergers make sense is to cut costs, and cutting costs usually means standardizing things. If every park were standardized there would be no reason for us nerds to build websites and talk about things like this, and that would suck. 4. Next generation of rides… no clue 5. I think there will always be a place for the industry no matter what happens. If I were a park owner I think the most important thing would be to develop a relationship with the public, and establish a positive image. Perfect example would be Holiday World. Larger corporations actively try to keep all of their plans and ideas “top secret” which separates themselves from their sources of income, and I think that makes an impact in the long run. 6. Reasonable parking fees are no big deal. 7. For some reason I can’t see entry fees increasing much over the next 3-5 years. If they do, nobody would be able to afford it. But yes I would still go.

I remember rumors a few years ago that they increased the power on Xcelerator at Knott's (after park hours) to test the limits of the hydraulic system. Of course those were probably just rumors, but I imagine the amount of power can be adjusted somewhat. Anyone who says Dragster's launch is weak has not been on Dragster. It might not be the most powerful acceleration out there, but it's still a very powerful launch. I know records are a big deal for marketing purposes, but I figured most people would prefer Dragster the way it is simply because it doesn't have OTSR's.

It looks like B&M track to me. Intamin track would be much thinner, and because of the design it's more flat across the top. In one of the pictures you can see the 2 distinct rails that stick out toward the right side of the tarp, which (at this point) eliminates the possibility of an Intamin design. Then again, it could be a different type of ride never before seen, we just don't know. It looks like the Breakers Express building behind the tarp, but why would they have pieces of track all the way out there?

Any word on whether all three trains are on the ride at this point?

Hey I'm glad to see Carolina move into the next round... Looking forward to seeing some more pics from RBC Center!

+ I will not eat with a spoon under any circumstances. + I'm allergic to anything that pollinates. + Cats are more annoying than commercials + Unless the NHL playoffs are on, I rarely watch TV. Otherwise I'm out playing hockey + I went to 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools and 2 colleges (with 2 college degrees).

Yea I was expecting more from Carolina to start off the post-season. Hopefully they'll get it together. Those are the first pics I've seen of the RBC Center though, not too bad. I lived in Greensboro a year before they moved down from Hartford, and I never got to see an NHL game while they played there. How many people does that place hold?

I don't know, it just doesn't sound like that big of a deal to me. Why go through all that trouble of driving back to the park the next day for something that was assumed to be the parks mistake to begin with? I would have just taken care of the issue the next time I was planning on visiting the park... And why would you need comp tickets if everyone has season passes?

I have to say Dragon Coaster at Dorney Park would be the most surprising coaster I've been on. Before riding, there was a debate between my girlfriend and myself about whether or not a powered coaster counts as a credit. After riding there was no question: some pretty intense forces for a kids ride! from rcdb

I'm glad to see there are at least a couple hockey fans out there on this forum... I was about to start a new thread about the playoffs, but found this one... This is absolutely the best time of the year; all the parks opening up and the playoffs starting at the same time.

After a series of unfortunate accidents, I get the impression that parks are waiting for Intamin to prove their safty reputation again. However, I think they're too popular to not build another one somewhere. I keep hoping every year that Paramount will wise up and put one at PKD (or even Carowinds) but alas... another lauched ride that doesn't open on time.

The Tatsu stream doesn't work for me. I run Firefox also and keep it as updated as possible. I strongly prefer downloading videos. Hard drives are inexpensive anyway...

I don't think it's that, nor is it the fact that people don't like these particular coasters. It's just the opinions of where the coasters should rank. No, I understand the point of the topic... I actually think it's great to hear everyone's opinion on the subject. It's just funny see "coaster enthusiasts" comparing thrill rides to the monotony of driving to work and saying how horrible and awful everything is. One thing that really surprises me is all the negative comments about the Beast. I've only ridden it 4 or 5 times, but I think it's awesome, especially at night. I can see if someone has ridden the thing a hundred times, it wouldn't be as interesting. I guess I value rides on their uniqueness a little more than most people.

In my opinion, this thread makes me feel like nobody on here likes coasters at all On that note, I think Apollo's Chariot is very over-rated. Not that it's a bad ride by any means, I'm just surprised at how highly it's ranked in that little poll that comes out every year.