i<3coasters

HERE WE GO

Thanks again for staying on top of this project, John. It's nice to get a detailed look at how this is coming along without having to stop by the park myself

Really looking forward to all 3 new RMC for 2016, as well as the renovated GhostRider at Knott's

We will know in a couple weeks who is officially doing the refurb, and the extent of the work being taken on (new trains, reprofiling, etc.). Assumptions at this point are just GCI because of the lack of pre-fab track or topper track, and based on CF's relationship with the company (who has been working on Shivering Timbers for a few years). Speaking of the announcement, is there a date set for that yet, or is still just "November"?

That's what it looks like--should be awesome to see this running "as intended."

Great pics John! Thanks for stopping by

Great TR so far Caroline! Keep 'em coming!

I'm especially interested in this strategy. I hope they go into more detail about this in the November announcement. It's well known that GhostRider has had top layer replacements done in several sections over the years, and what's particularly striking to me is the entire removal on areas that aren't particularly "high stress," like the tops of camelbacks and the MCBR turnaround--areas that would normally go unaltered with rehabs we've seen on coasters in the past. This keeps me optimistic that we might be seeing something from special from GCI (or whoever ends up getting announced for this job). With regard to the new trains... GhostRider used to run 7-car PTCs. Are there any instances of GCI running 14-car Millennium Flyers on a coaster, or are we more likely to see this shorted to 11 or 12 cars (if that's what they end up going with)? I'm not particularly thrilled with this potentially getting Millennium Flyers due to the stapling those lap bars are prone to because of their weight, but if it serves the longevity of the coaster I guess that's the lesser of two evils (the other being GhostRider falling into disrepair within a few seasons again).

Sorry to break up the Scary Farm chat, but I stopped by the park this morning to get a few shots of progress on the GhostRider deconstruction… I hope to do these somewhat regularly now that it seems the project has picked up some speed and physical changes to the structure have become apparent. Here’s to hoping this “comprehensive restoration” can restore the woodie to its former glory… Track removal on first turnaround Old wood! Track removal on first camelback Road rails stripped off A 4-man crew doing deconstruction on the MCBR. Another view of the first camelback Track removed on the drop, and leading into/out of the MCBR. A closer look at the trackless drop. New wood! Fresh lumber laid on the left rail out of the station Wood being cut and laid on the pre-lift New wood waiting to be cut and set. No RMC branding on this crane... MCBR track removal GhostRider... CHOPPED!

File this under "Interesting?" ... but the SFDK website is listing Joker height requirement at 52 inches, whereas other RMC's have all previously been 48 to my knowledge. https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/attractions/new-2016/images-and-logos Reason? Or is this just Six Flags providing unreliable info on their website?

Drove by the park this evening and the first camelback has all of the track entirely removed from it, not just the top 2 layers as was seen on other parts of the coaster. It's basically just down to the support structure and railing (orange night lights removed as well). Going to stop by in the next few days and get some pictures if possible.

Great TR Nate, and awesome photos too!

Also interesting that they didn't decide to call the 270 degree roll a "step-up under flip."

Dive Coaster?? Cedar Point breaking records??? In all seriousness though, this looks like a fantastic ride. I really like the color scheme and can't want to see how this transforms the Marina entrance & Blue Streak midway. Should be a huge hit with the GP and a great addition to CP's stellar lineup.

Hmmm... Twisted Colossus a 2-hour drive from me, and this a 1-hour flight... SFDK 2016, here I come!

Yes, unless one of a few other things happened: 1) New non-PTC trains are part of the rehab as well 2) Knott's decides to seriously scale back Ghostrider's operating season (maybe to around 200 days from the 300+ it's at now) 3) Lots and lots of trims Let's hope one of the first two is the solution...

Hi...

We got the same email for SFMM. Not likely either of our parks will be the big winners this year. Sept 3 is the date for all the corporate announcements.

+1

YEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

How much hate will I get if I say El Toro? I mean, it's definitely a great ride, and maybe in my top 3 or 4 wood if I cared to rank them, but with all the hype on here I think I was expecting much more. Having ridden it in the front and back cars, I didn't find the airtime especially breath taking. In fairness to El Toro though, I had just ridden Skyrush the day before, and Bizarro/Wicked Cyclone the day before that. All 3 of those coasters I found had better airtime than El Toro, which is all that ride is really supposed to be great at.

Thanks everyone for your feedback so far. Here comes my favorite chapter of this story. Day 2 / Part 2 Hersheypark (7/20) After a drive down from Bristol, CT, I arrived at Hersheypark around 1PM. It was a hot and muggy Monday, but even uncomfortable weather couldn’t put a damper on this day. Wow! I cannot say enough good things about this park. The coaster collection is incredible (nearly perfect if they had an A+ woodie), the atmosphere is wonderful, the food was GREAT and reasonably priced, and the history the park comes from is pretty delightful. I had a feeling I’d really like the coaster collection here, but I had no idea how blown away I’d be by everything else this park has to offer. Here is the route I took through the park: Skyrush Sooperdooperlooper Great Bear Storm Runner x2 Fahrenheit Wildcat Wild Mouse Lightning Racer Sidewinder Storm Runner x2 Trailblazer Skyrush 4x Comet Storm Runner x2 Skyrush x4 I know I’m going to start sounding like a broken record, but this may be my all time favorite park along with Cedar Point. The food, the staff, the ambience, the foliage, and the Big 3! Even their non-marquee rides are excellent, and spectacularly maintained. What they’ve done with SDL is especially notable and just a delight to see, after recently having experienced the decrepit state of Revolution at SFMM. Though I’ve recently seen people decrying the operations at Hersheypark in that thread, I found the dispatches to be quick, and ride ops alert & attentive. Lines moved quickly all day long when I visited, but I suppose this could have been an anomaly. The ONLY lackluster thing I may have to say about this park would be in regards to Wildcat (something I can hardly fault Hershey for). Here are the totals and rankings: Skyrush* x9 - Just insane. Easily a top coaster with an insane amount of “Whoa!” moments throughout. Few coasters have ever left me so pleasantly surprised, or actually terrified. I though Bizarro was a top coaster until I rode this. It’s not a perfect coaster, but it will knock your socks off for damn sure. 10/10 Storm Runner* x6 - WOW! And I thought Xcelerator was a gem… This thing has a great launch, amazing airtime, twisty stuff, and a beautiful Immelman, with a quick and intense finale. Why doesn’t this coaster getting more recognition on here?? I found this thing to be perfectly pased, and just intense enough to be infinitely re-rideable. 10/10 Fahrenheit x1 - Intense and loopy! The lift and drop are fantastic. In terms of favoritism though, I’ve come to prefer airtime & speed over inversions. 8/10 Great Bear x1 - Great interaction with the other coaters & landscape, perfect zero-g roll. Close to the upper tier of my favorite inverts (Banshee & Flight Deck (CGA). 8/10 Wild Mouse x1 - No trims! Best Wild Mouse I’ve been on to date. 7/10 Sooperdooperlooper x1 - I was really impressed w/ how well this ride has been maintained, having poor old Revolution back home. The trains were clean and comfortable, and the Schwarzkopf loop still packs a punch. A wonderful classic. 7/10 Lightning Racer x1 - Quick and low to the ground, but not very intense or memorable. 7/10 Comet x1 - Charming, fun, classic out-and back woodie. Great views of Skyrush as well. 7/10 Sidewinder x1 - A boomerang, but the restraints really save this one. 6/10 Trailblazer x1 - Not a bad Arrow mine train. Not much to say about it otherwise. 5/10 Wildcat x1 - Shaky, forceless, and a bit of a snooze. This ride made me realize I really do not give a crap about GCI’s (Gold Striker exempt). 3/10 Aaaaandd the pictures… Welcome to Hershey! The excitement is palpable. Caught! It looks so much better than it feels... Dat lighting doe... Kind-of fly-by! Fahrenheit! Such a great looking station building. Big 3! Wood & smokestacks. 97º Love. LOVE. LOVE! Here's where the "Oh, sh!t," begins... ...and keeps going.

For me, WC, Bizarro and Boulder Dash are easily worth the roughly 8 hour driving detour. 3 really amazing rides, 2 of which completely took my breath away. Boulder Dash at night is right near the top of best coaster experiences ever. Also for the record, my 2 rides on Bizarro were in the front car, row 2. So I think the airtime was pretty maximized.

Having never ridden a Dive Machine before, I think this layout looks pretty promising and may be on the same level with Banshee, perhaps. Hope it's real, would love to ride this thing.