swfan1988

I'll second Colonial Williamsburg! If your at all interested in history, enjoy "living" history stuff, or both it is very much worth it. You can park in their parking lot by the visitor center and either walk (it's like a 5 minute walk max) or pay a fee and ride one of their buses. You have to buy a ticket to go inside the buildings, but you can walk on the streets for free since it's a public street technically. No matter what you decide I would say it's worth it to at least check out. There are also similar things at Yorktown and Jamestown nearby (not as extensive, and with varying degrees of cost) if you want to make a day out of the "Colonial Triangle" or whatever it's called now. Virginia Beach is popular but I've never been so I'm no help there. Shenandoah National Park (https://www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm) isn't all that far away either, a little bit of a drive but you could make a day of that if you really wanted to. Will say that I don't consider it one of the better national parks out there (if you had to choose between Shenandoah and the Smokies, I would 1000% say the Smokies), but it's fun and different. I would say skip SFA at (almost) all costs... The stuff on the mall is great, although getting into DC is a beast (even by parking outside the city and taking the subway in it's tough). All of the Smithsonians are great and well worth a trip. I think the main Air and Space Museum on the mall is closed for remodeling, but the one by Dulles airport (The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center; https://airandspace.si.edu/udvar-hazy-center) is open and I will say is absolutely fantastic. I would even consider it to be better than the main museum on the mall, its's that good. They do charge for parking ($15 last I was there I think), but it's well worth it. Very well put together, some really cool planes, highly HIGHLY recommend! Have you also just considered a second day at BGW? Not sure if its your first time or not, but that's such a big park you might consider a second day to be able to take it all in.

At this point it seems anything goes now, and nothing is untouchable. I think they have some events and festivals scheduled for next summer, but who knows if those are cover or what. As a wise man once said on this thread "Stick a fork in this place"...

I have confidence that Knott's will do a good job, no doubt about that. Kinda wish they had given a little more heads up about it, as it will be closed for a year it sounds like, with only 3 days notice. While I hope it isn't a replacement of the flywheel with the LIM/magnets launch, I would rather them replace the launch system than loose the ride. Whatever they do I hope it helps the ride ZOOM into the future...

Update: A demolition permit has been issued for the ride (Did they have one to begin with? Maybe...maybe not...) and the remainder of the ride (including the station) will be demoed tomorrow. https://www.meadvilletribune.com/news/fire-heavily-damages-conneaut-lake-parks-blue-streak-demolition-permit-to-be-issued-wednesday/article_ba3a2bf6-6dba-11ec-af2f-d79c8c461eec.html https://www.goerie.com/story/news/local/crawford-county/2022/01/04/roller-coaster-fire-blue-streak-conneaut-lake-park-damaged/9095843002/

Yay! Opening day is April 30! Only 116 days to go! https://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/park/park-hours.php https://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/events/

How about some pics? (From the local news article posted earlier, thanks ricklap77) There's also some video in the news article, but I couldn't get it to embed so RIP that... Link to video: https://www.erienewsnow.com/clip/15287443/blue-streak-fire-scene First off...WHO ON EARTH THOUGHT THAT A "CONTROLLED BURN" IN THE MIDDLE OF SH*TTY OLD THEME PARK WAS A GOOD IDEA!!!! Also...apparently they were burning wood from...half the ride that they had already demolished today...(surprise surprise) Supposedly he had a permit to demo the coaster (where's ACE and the "Historic Coaster Foundation" when you need 'em...), but who actually knows. (Or cares at this point) I don't know the park at all (never been and now probably never will) but apparently several other "adjacent buildings" (according to the news article) burned as well. From the video it looks like the station building was hanging on, but had already been stripped of its signage and anything else meaningful prior to the fire. No word on the whereabouts of the NAD trains. RIP Blue Streak 1937-2022 RIP Conneaut Lake Park 1892 - "just put this place out of it's misery all ready" Very disappointing that this poor ride ended this way, and with the direction the park is going. I know there wasn't much hope to begin with, but I guess I hoped against hope that come good would come out of this place. I'll miss this discussion thread... Edit: Quote of the year (from another news article): "Conneaut Lake Park owner Todd Joseph could not be reached for comment."

Great job SeaWorld! So now the only questions left to ask now are: 1. When will Iron Gwazi open? (Supposedly some time in March, but probably "Anticipated opening never") 2. Will Iron Gwazi have passholder previews? (Only if your name is Fred Grubb) 3. Did SeaWorld ever pay their bills? (Well I heard a rumor...)

I am so SOO excited for this! Easily my number one most anticipated coaster project! This is exactly what I think BGW needs and what I thought they should do. I'm really happy that the park seems to have pushed pause on that "Drachen Spire" idea, and went with something like this. An indoor Intamin multi-launch coaster sounds amazing (like next generation of Escape from Gringotts amazing, and I haven't even ridden that ride), and even if they half a** it on the theming I still think it will be cool. I also hope they take the opportunity to revamp that whole area around Darkastle, as I thought it looked a little rough this last summer. My only real concern is that if they go with a Verbolten-esque black lights and projections approach to on ride theming, that it might over time suffer the same maintenance fate. When I rode Verbolten this last summer it was noticeable and disappointing that so many of the black lights had fallen down, or were mis-aligned. I hope the park learned from Verbolten and they either a) keep the maintenance up on Darkoaster or b) design and build it in such a way so as to avoid the theming maintenance issues that Verbolten has. Speaking of Verbolten...since this is an indoor family coaster, is there any evidence that this might be a Verbolten replacement? I have no evidence of this, nor would I even dare call it a rumor, but does it strike anyone else as odd that BGW would build an indoor family coaster in the same area a very similar ride? I hope this isn't the case (I though Verbolten was a fun unique ride, albeit in need of a small refurb), but it would open up more space next to the ol' Drachen Fyre spot...

The preview hour at Hershey is good, but Knoebels is a thousand times better. I would say just spend the day at Knoebels and worry about Hershey for the next day. The park basically has no layout and everything seems kinda randomly placed so studying the park map is not a bad idea in this case. As others have said hit Flying Turns (assuming it's open) and Impulse first. Beyond that the operations at the park are fantastic, so you can pretty much just wonder around and enjoy encountering all the different/unique/weird/fun things at the park Don't sleep on Twister, Phoenix gets all the attention but I think Twister is where it's at! It's also all back by itself so it tends to have less of a line. They had trouble with staffing last year so some rides were down, but hopefully they should have it sorted out by next summer. They did try their best to be transparent about what stuff was open or closed, and pretty much everything major (except Flying Turns) was open. Other bits: -Since your going on a weekday, I highly HIGHLY recommend that you buy the wristband. It includes everything but the haunted house, the mini golf and the pool. It's so worth it to be able to just wonder around and ride all the rides. - The pierogis are good (MAKE SURE you get the ones from "The Oasis" by the Power Surge, not the ones from the big round stand by the haunted house), but I think the real winner is the Boom-Shak-A-Lak burger from the place by Phoenix. Now that's GOOD!!!! Also, the ice cream sundaes from the Old Mill are fantastic. - The Knoebels, Coal Mining, and Carousel history museums are fun and free. - The Haunted Mansion (which isn't included on the wristband) is fun, albeit old school. I would do it (it's only like $3 to ride) once and then choose of you want to reride later. Black Diamond (which is on the wristband) is I think the sleeper hit at the park, so definitely don't pass it up. Again it's old school (I mean the whole park is so you should be expecting that), but really fun. - If for some reason (not sure why you would but ok) you choose to use individual tickets rather than the wristband either buy them online now (I think they are running a Christmas special) or buy them at a Weis grocery store (I know it sounds weird but this whole park is so just roll with it) on your way to the park. If you go to the customer service counter, they will sell you a $20 book of tickets for $16 (actually they give you a voucher to redeem at the park, but that's beside the point). I think all Weis (it's a regional chain) stores sell them, but only the ones in eastern/central Pennsylvania really know about it since they do it regularly. Again though, if you have the option DO THE WRISTBAND!! I promise you won't regret it. - Everything is so inexpensive and fun at this park that you can and should do many things that you wouldn't do at other parks like midway games, lots of food, fascination, drinking out of a lion's mouth, etc. - Have fun! This park is easily one of if not the best in Pennsylvania/New England, and it's so different so just enjoy it and have fun!

Serious question, have the plans actually been submitted? I was under the impression that they were just internal designs that had been leaked, not official planning documents. If they have been submitted then you are correct, and my cost argument is probably dead.

Um, I'm not a Disney fanboy so I'm not sure where that came from...I don't think my home park (Silverwood) has ever spent more than maybe 12 million (and that's being generous) on any one thing in the 34 year history of the park, so I get that "not every park has a Disney budget". And I understand that things are planned in advance and given budgets. My point on cost was that budget cuts and cost overruns DO happen. If the initial planning and budget for the ride was say (I'm using totally hypothetical numbers!) 35-40 million, but after adding in permitting, complaints/litigation from neighbors, inflation, changes in steel prices, whatever sh*t comes/might come up, etc. the projected cost may rise to say 45-50 million, Cedar Fair may choose to make changes to the plan such as changing the height or length or whatever in order to bring the costs back in line with what they had planned on and budgeted for. We don't even know what the budget for this project is/was, we just have something of a layout. Even with this point, I don't think that would lead to the projects cancellation (or I guess "relocation") like with Megabyte at CGA. I think rather that it would lead to the project being downsized a little, or modified to lower the cost. Especially since I think a ride in the mold of a hyper would work well at Knott's, and I think Cedar Fair knows this as well.

I think I'm gonna take the pessimist position and say that this isn't gonna happen, either in this form or at all. For the record (just to be perfectly clear): I would LOVE for this to happen. I just don't think it's gonna. I think the concept is cool, although the idea of a giga coaster in a parking lot doesn't sound all that interesting to me... I think two things are gonna doom this project (at least in this form): Cost and Neighbors. The cost for this is already gonna be huge, and yes while CF is ok spending lots of money on big projects, how big are they gonna want to go? Knott's is no Cedar Point or Kings Island (in terms of market demographics and guest expectations), and has far more intense competition than probably any other park in the chain. The SoCal market also isn't growing at the rate of Charlette or Texas. CA also has big regulations on earthquakes and other building codes, and if I remember correctly that's what killed the CGA hyper project... So the question would be how much does CF want to put into Knott's, and if costs start to rise do/when do they change course or pull the plug? I don't the ride is prohibitively expensive, I just think that cost might change the plans from what we have now. Secondly, is the neighbors. Correct me if I'm wrong but Knott's.is basically on the middle of a neighborhood. And even I might have a problem with a giant B&M giga smack dab in the middle of it all. If the neighbors cause the park to add the tunnel to Ghost Rider, and to use a hydraulic launch for Xcelerator (and they complain about EVERY Disney expansion proposal) how are they gonna react to this thing? So I think that either: A) This gets cut to a hyper of some sort for like 2026ish timeframe, or B) It doesn't happen, at least not in the immediate future. Again, as much as I'd LOVE to see it happen. I wouldn't be bummed with a B&M Hyper either since anything in that department west if the Mississippi is missing and sorely needed.

Do parking lot trams count? The ones at BGW with the retro logos on them absolutely made my day! Otherwise...all the random stuff at Knoebels is great fun. My homepark also has a few "quiet gardens" in a couple spots that I think are cool. Some of them are a little on the small side, or in a bad spot IMO, but I'd agree that it's little things like that that really round out a great park.

Santa still hasn't reached the coaster desert yet...so while I wait... here's the official ArieForce One POV for everyone else! (Animation quality their's, not mine )

Wait...I thought Palace (or at least Kennywood) was being sold to Six Flags......what are they doing buying a place in Iowa? I know Palace gets a bad rap around here, but we should give them at least some credit as they are putting some money into there parks now...for their park's 125 anniversaries...soooo...we only have to wait 78 more years for a large investment at Adventureland...RIP Iowa Coaster Wars... In all seriousness, I agree that it could be really good or really bad. Palace seems to be hit or miss on just about everything. In the article they mention that they are adding 8 new rides for 2022 and 2 new "attractions" for 2023, is that what was planned before the sale? Also kinda surprised Herschend didn't get it, seeing as they seem to be interested in buying parks lately...

They had a fire at Lagoon yesterday. Destroyed the Candy Store and kids bumper cars. From the park's Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/lagoonpark/posts/?ref=page_internal): "Thank you to the dedicated fire fighters and Lagoon employees who worked all night long to minimize damage and save other structures. It is with great remorse that we announce that Carousel Candy and the Children’s mini bumper cars were lost in the fire. As always, Lagoon is dedicated to providing a safe, fun park for families to enjoy for many years to come. We are already making plans to rebuild for the upcoming season. In 1953, this same time of year, the Lagoon Midway was destroyed by fire. The park opened on time in 1954….. and Lagoon will do the same in 2022." The cause has not been determined, but apparently it started earlier in the day and was extinguished by employees but it reignited later. I guess that some historic carousel horses were on display in the candy store, although they did not comment on their status. Looks like at least some of the remains have already been largely demolished already. (Photos from Farmington Fire Department Facebook) More info from local news article: https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/breaking-crews-respond-to-fire-at-lagoon

So I guess I was kinda right...(still sorry about that...)...there really are big changes coming to Kennywood next year! Park's website page with more info: https://www.kennywood.com/content/knw/en/discover-the-park/plan-your-visit/experiences/what-s-new.html (Photos courtesy of Reddit, because that was the easiest place to get them) Looks like they are really committed to rejuvenating the park, and honoring the park's history! Seems like a step in the right direction to me! They say that more will be announced in the coming months, so looks like the 125th at Kennywood is gonna be a big one!

Whoo Hoo! Offseason maintenance!!! 2022, here we come!!

"Anticipated opening summer of 2022" seems more accurate at this rate...

So...the only question at this point is, what's the "world's first" gonna be? I heard that Logger's Leap has finally started to actually be removed, so it can be kinda assumed that it might be going in that area? (RIP old school Thorpe Park, I never knew you but you sure looked fun!)

Whatever it is, hopefully it's not too cheesy...

Superman is a B&M Flyer, one of the three clones in the Six Flags chain (the others are at Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Over Georgia), the only Vekoma flyers we have in the US are Batwing at Six Flags America (there's a difference between Six Flags Great America (outside of Chicago, IL) and Six Flags America (near Washington DC), ones great...and the other is...bad...) and Nighthawk at Carowinds. I have heard that the B&M Flyers have much better restraints than the Vekoma ones, but I haven't actually ridden either so I can't speak from personal experience. I've only ridden the B&M Wing coaster, which I think has similar restraints. Based on my research it seems that they are very similar if not identical to the dive and wing coaster ones. I think the only difference is the flyers have leg/ankle guards to hold your legs in place while your in the flying position. Based on pictures they look the same to me! Also, if you've ridden Untamed at Walibi Holland, Zadra at Energylandia, or Wildfire at Kolmarden than all of the RMC's over here (minus the single rail raptors) have the same/similar restraints. Not sure what Kanonen had, but Kingda Ka has the "hard plastic" shoulder straps while Maverick has the "soft" ones. I think all three have/had the same bar that sits on your lap though. I don't think it will make too much of a difference for you though. That's the spirit! It really is mostly a mental thing! Great job getting out there and finding what you CAN do rather than focusing on what your can't do! Keep it up! We should all learn and remember that!

Hi Hasseman! Welcome to the forums! I haven't had the pleasure of riding a B&M Flyer myself yet either, but after a little research I think I can still help. My first piece of advice would be to contact the parks that you want to visit and ask them what their policy is. Parks should be happy to accommodate and let you know if you can ride and how, and what's allowed as far as medical devices and loose article go. Also, most parks have accessibility guides or other safety information on their websites so that might prove helpful if you need. For the parks that you mentioned you wanted to visit (I didn't find anything explicitly on stomas, but the following information could prove helpful nonetheless) I found this: Alton Towers has a accessibility guide page for Galactica here: https://www.accessable.co.uk/alton-towers-resort/access-guides/galactica-8cd9538b-d7ff-4999-a9c3-687181180872 They have some pictures on there, along with some information about the restraints and their policies, it's a little jumbled up for some reason, but the information is there. In Six Flags Great Adventure's accessibility guide they say this about Superman (here's the link if you'd like to read the whole thing: https://static.sixflags.com/website/files/sfgad_ada-guidelines.pdf): They also have this page on accommodating for accessibility if you need that too: https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/plan-your-visit/accessibility Cedar Point doesn't have a B&M Flyer, but they do have a B&M Wing coaster in Gatekeeper so here is the accessibility info on that (link to their full guide if you want to read it: https://cdn-cloudfront.cfauthx.com/binaries/content/assets/cp-en-us/general-information/help/2021-cp-guest-assistance-guide.pdf They also have more info here: https://www.cedarpoint.com/accessibility I'm not sure if this is quite what you were looking for, but I thought I'd give you a bit of a head start on the research there. On the restraints themselves, like I said I haven't actually ridden one of B&M's flyers so I'm not entirely sure, but based on looking at pictures and a little bit of research they look very similar to the vest restrains used on their Wing coasters which I have ridden (Wild Eagle at Dollywood). I'm on the slimer side, so I didn't find the restraints all that uncomfortable by themselves, but I did notice that they came down further during the ride which did cause some minor discomfort towards the end of the ride. Nothing that hurt or was unbearable, but it was noticeable. If I remember correctly they sat more on your waist/thigh than on your shoulders or stomach. Not sure if that makes a difference for you, but that's what I recall. I don't know how different the Flyer restraints are, but I know that their are people on here who can probably help with that. I hope this helps you out, and congratulations on getting out and riding coasters and rides again! I wish you all the best!

Well to his credit, I think he just copied and pasted from me so... I've always wanted RMC to try and adapt the Raptor track to a suspended coaster model, something along the lines of the old Arrow ones. I think that would be cool, either as a family coaster, or as a full blown thrill coaster. Total pipe dream, but still fun to think about!

Thank you for that wonderful reminder! Although this one wasn't entirely unfounded...you know what, I learned my lesson, I'll go back into my coaster desert hibernation den now...