haiderodes

^^What does that Crazy Bulls ride do?

A total of three episodes have aired as of today... Utah, Cedar Point and Las Vegas. The Canobie episode is up next.

Thematically speaking, the straps seem to work well with the whole idea of a race car and whatnot. But like others, I thought the restraints were fine opening day. It could have be worse, they coulda went with the actual style racing harness they had on Perilous Plunge for a while

Ghostrider at Knotts on Sunday 6/20

Sheikra has some rattle that is more noticeable the fewer people/less weight you have in your row. Its especially apparent when sitting on the ends, but isnt due to poor workmanship, but rather due to the inherent nature of cantilevering the train off the track like that.

I thought this exact same thing when I first started seeing the in-park ads and whatnot this year. I wonder how many folks out there actually have that Six Flags branded card - especially considering Chase (which is my main bank), has so many other rewards options.

I'm gonna have to say El Toro takes the cake on airtime with the single best moment being the hill that goes over Rolling Thunder. I also have to say one ride that gets overlooked in the airtime department is Desperado. Arrow's coat hanger designed hills in the camelback run have some extreme ejector airtime, especially up front.

^That last bunny hill also claimed my sunglasses on my visit last month. Funny thing is that the two times I have ever lost anything on a ride, were sunglasses AND when I wasn't wearing them.

^Usually in California (as well as here in Vegas), they just close the rides and do a quick inspection before reopening. Depending on severity, it usually only means rides are down for a couple of hours or so. The bigger issues arrise if there is a power outtage as a result.

I have never heard of a Batman: The Ride clone having airtime...they are usually known for having a lot of G-forces and excellent snap in the barrel roll and flat spin. I thought the one in Atlanta was one of the more forceful ones IMO.

I love the Discover Card promotion and have been taking advantage of it since January. So far this year I have used the special entrances at SFMM, SFA, SFDK, SFA and SFNE. They really come in handy, especially at those parks without a special season passholder entrance. The best part about the discount side of this partnership is that besides it being automatic when they swipe your card, its combinable with your season pass discount on merchandise so you are essentially get 20%! And the 5% comes in handy with food purchases since you usually dont get a season pass discount on those. I just dont get why they waited until now to promote this whole "official credit card thing". One would think with all the branding in the parks already (especially at SFGAdv) it was a given.

I meant it didnt allow you to isolate those syrups and mix into any individual drink. The flavor of the drink was spelled out for you already. You couldn't have a Vanilla Lime Diet Coke with Extra Vanilla.

For me, I'd say GASM isnt any smoother or rougher than any other Arrow looper outside of a select few. My main issue was that knee pad thing they added to the front row of each car. For taller folks these seats are usually the best but not on this thing. It was soo annoying.

I was at SFGAdv on Monday 6/14...Batman and S:UF were down that day as well. On Batman they were doing work on the lift motor (lots of people crawling all around it). On Superman they had a small crane and numerous straps around a piece of track in a low area before the barrel roll. And replacement parts too expensive for an Arrow looper? Arrow hypers, loopers and mine trains all have pretty much the same parts and there are so many of them that parts shouldnt be that hard to come by. I find this hard to believe as a reason to shut the ride down.

The one at DCA had lots of flavors of drinks but it didnt have any special syrups to mix in. I just wonder how SFMM is gonna control access to it to prevent "free-fills". It was so easy at DCA to refill cups as they didnt really have anyone watching the machines.

I did my own little Northeast trip this past weekend. My trip had a much different layout than yours but I think I can offer some insight. I started in Boston on a Saturday and headed out to SFNE around 7a. It took about an hour and a half to make the drive (bing maps listed it at 1.75 hrs). I had no traffic, but I imagine the main headache would be getting outta Boston. Since you are leaving on a weekday morning, I think you should be ok since most folks would be heading IN versus OUT of the city. If you get to the area early, I suggest stopping in Springfield or continuing down into Connecticut for breakfast. There is a lot of stuff down around the Enfield Square mall (about 10 min from the park). My last day had me driving back up to Boston from Newark on Tuesday (bing listed it at 3.75 hours). In order to make my flight I left early which meant leaving during rush hour. Ultimately, that drive took about 6 hours (it was over 90 min to get across the George Washington Bridge). If you are staying in NYC, your travel time will likely be less as you wouldn't have to deal with the river crossing (and $8 toll ) 5p is still rush hour though and it seems lots of people who work in the city live in CT. For reference my trip went Boston to SFNE to Dorney Park to SFGAdv to Newark to Boston. Hope that helps.

The proposed site is the overflow lot which is approximately east/northeast of the main parking area. Here is a pic I took when I visted last month....its located across that grassy area. For reference, I was standing about here when I took that photo. I think its funny how they complain about the park being a nuisance (even thought it was there before the majority of the development) yet having thousands of cars and rowdy fans tailgaiting isnt? Hmmm. The big thing with stadiums is that football is only a portion of its revenue stream. It also needs to draw in concerts and other events it help pay the bills in the off-season. This also can have a negative impact on the park.

#100 - Avalanche/Hellcat @ Timber Falls - May 2009 #200 - Maverick @ Cedar Point - May 2010

^I worked on an Arrow Shoot the Chutes (STC) before...Rim Runner at the Adventuredome and its all the same. Same boats, same style lift, same style flume and supports, same runnout, same control panel, etc. Additionally, the Arrow STCs use twin conveyor belts in the station and at the top of the drop. Unlike most other chutes rides, they can stop a boat at the top of the drop for blocking purposes. Clear differences between Intamin ones are the use of feeder wheels instead of conveyor belts, different style of restraint and lack of free-flowing water in the turnaround. The Intamin rides usually keep the boats on a track throughout the upper turnaround.

BTW Snake River Falls is an Arrow creation, not Intamin.

^^You forgot Raptor.

^^^I wouldn't necessarily say those numbers are manufacturer's requirements. It's more likely that they are guidelines as established in the aforementioned attractions SOPs which are a mix of manufacturer requirements and park policies. I have worked on Arrow and Intamin rides that didn't "require" nearly as many people as CP uses on its attractions. That said, it does seem to help to have all those extra people around...as long as they aren't goofing off.

During my visit to the park last month, Riddler was running two with one on the storage track. Riddler possibly being down to two trains is disconcerting. Didnt Chang open with three trains of its own? If so, what might have happened to the other trains that was so severe that replacements are needed? Although rare, Riddler does use all of its trains from time to time. On at least two visits last year I rode when all three were in operation. Unlike Mantis, Riddler still has quite a bit of ride left after the midcourse so with a speedy crew and cooperative riders, it can run with minimal stacking. I hope its just a rumor, but you never know.

^^Looks like a tumor.

I rode Mean Streak twice during my trip, both during the late afternoon on separate days. The first time I sat in the second to last car and didnt think it was that bad. The second trip through I sent in the front and thought it was brutal. I find keeping my back off the seat helps a bit. My main gripe with the ride is that it felt like I was waiting for something good/bad to happen the entire ride. None of the drops were all that exciting and there was little in the way of forces...it just kind of meandered through. However, I have to say it's definately far from the roughest ride I have been on. I wonder if the people who complain the loudest had ridden Texas Giant in 2009...now THAT was rough.