traincrossin

So there's a pretty good chunk of land available now that Rolling Thunder is gone. Do we know what's going to replace it yet or is it all speculation right now? I'd imagine it would have to be replaced with a higher capacity ride to make up for the loss in capacity. Edit: Just realized I only ride one side of Rolling Thunder, woops, missed a credit there.

Windseekers are more of a ride with a view than a thrilling swings ride. If you're scared of heights it has a bit more thrill, but I find them to be kind of mild. Knotts doesn't really have the best scenic view, so I think it'll be a better fit over at Worlds of Fun.

Oh yea, that's some great project management right there. I'm not sure how this idea is even staying afloat. Even if it is somehow built though, I can't imagine a flood of people would flock to it.

I thought SFStL was supposed to get Raging Bull but SFGAm got it instead? There was even merchandise for it that was sold.

Awe yea, was wondering when Goliath was going vertical!

I was able to convince people GateKeeper went underwater and they were going to get soaking wet, some of their expressions were priceless.

Is it just me, or is SFGAm really lacking on the construction updates? I mean there are really only footers right now, but still, you'd think they'd be trying to hype up their new coaster a bit more.

Man, I really have to make my way up to Knoebels sometime. Now that Flying Turns is finally open I should go next year when I get the chance! Nicole, you want to show me around sometime?

I'd like to hear your ideas to ease parking congestion on extremely busy days. What else can they do?

Not even close.

Was messing around with Solid Edge and made a dark ride vehicle and some mat slides, not terrible for a first try.

While i'm excited for Goliath, I would have thought that they'd wait longer to put in another coaster after X-Flight. Why do you think we're getting another coaster so soon, for more capacity since Iron Wolf and Ragin Cajun are gone?

Dude, I forgot how beautiful RCT2 can be until I saw these pics, thanks for reminding me because it looks sweet!

That is just gorgeous man, glad you were finally able to finish it!

Ditto. Saturdays kind of cancel out early season effects unless it rains.

Had a night ride on GateKeeper tonight and oh my goodness is it insane now! I don't know if it's the hard wheels or if it's had time to break in, but that thing is flying and even more intense than when I rode around media day. There's even some airtime on that camelback, just a tad limited by the restraints. If you go to Cedar Point this Summer, definitely get a night ride in. The front is good for the view, but the back is where the real forces are! After tonight's ride, GateKeeper totally tops X-Flight as my favorite wingrider.

You guys seem to be forgetting that while Intamin rides are fun, they are a maintenance nightmare.

You have to remember that many times they'll close rides for the wind or future weather. If the winds are too high there's a chance that trains might valley and Cedar Point doesn't want to evac people, so some rides might switch to two trains when it starts raining or shut down entirely. If anyone is going to ride GateKeeper soon, I would definitely get some night rides in. In the morning on weekends we've been having a full queue, but it all empties out towards the end of the day.

I had that thought too, but I then I considered maybe flyer restraints don't tighten as much because you're laying on them most of the time.

The clicking when it leaves the station? I think B&M's have started adding busbars for the landing position in the station, so the computer can pull in diagnostics from the train, see which restraints are locked and maybe to charge up the LED lights on the trains...i'm not entirely sure what all info they're getting from it. I first noticed those on Wild Eagle, but i noticed too on video from Steel Dragon's new B&M trains... that they are there as well. So the clicking is the connection to each busbar as the train rolls over them. Great videos and pics!! The trains are gorgeous!! LOVE!! I actually meant the clicking you hear during the whole ride. Did you mean that as well? Are you talking about the chain dogs when the train goes through the inversions?

Can't believe how long media day is! Myself and the rest of the crew had to be there at 2am to make sure everything would be ready for all the clubs that came out today. Didn't seem like that long of a line, some people rode more than 10 or 15 times. I think I enjoy GateKeeper over X-Flight at SFGAm because it's taller, faster, and a bit more intense along with some fun airtime and hangtime. Like other wing riders, where you sit can really change the ride experience. Overall just a fun ride and a great fit for Cedar Point. Here are some extra pictures and video I took after my shift if you need some more GateKeeper content to hold you over. Twisting it up Keyhole action First drop wingover

Bummer, usually they're pretty good on opening.

You're probably right. It's still not done, and I'm sure they are working on bringing some life to that area. The ride looks incredible. I wouldn't say "typical B&M", because this one looks like it will bring some forces. Cedar Point with another, potential, world class coaster. In my mind it already turns the big 3 into the big 4 (Maverick, Millenium, and Dragster being the others). Magnum is up there too. I love CP, and I'm a CP fanboy of sorts. GK looks awesome, but I'm hoping the airtime hill is better than it looks. But hey, at least it has one! It looks fun and unique and I can't wait to ride it. And no trims either! Now we need to speculate what the Point will do next . Iron Streak, anybody? I've heard front left is the place to be for that airtime hill or the back.

Haven't heard much about the new safari thing going on, what's the latest on that?

There is currently only a single train on the track, and it's backwards. There were no other trains visible - so I'm not sure if a second backwards train will be added, or if there will just be only one. A second backwards train would be nice, but given the amount of work it must take to flip everything around, I can excuse them for only running one train. The crew in the station was really moving, getting the train dispatched quickly - it was great to see. There were lots of problems at SFGAm this weekend, but Batman was certainly not one of them. Just the opposite actually: Batman was a genuine highlight. Great America actually had to buy new train chassis from B&M to run it backwards. Not sure if they have a second backwards train, but I can see why they wouldn't buy another one because of budget issues. Then again, cutting the ride capacity by more than half seems a bit dumb to me. What other problems were going on at SFGAm?