swfan1988

Any guesses where this is going? I think it's an Infinity Coaster for Cedar Point, that will break the inversion record, but honestly it could be going anywhere. The way they comment on the location intrigues me, and seems to indicate that it's a park that doesn't have a lot of open room (Sorry Worlds of Fun and Darien Lake, not this time...). We know it won't be a Six Flags park, and it's in the US so not Canada's Wonderland. A number of smaller independent parks like Silverwood and Adventureland are getting coasters this year, so probably not them, and not Knott's because they have Hangtime. Parks that come to mind are: Indiana Beach, Cedar Point, Morey's Piers, SeaWorld San Diego, Kentucky Kingdom, and Silver Dollar City. Honestly, I think Cedar Point makes the most sense but who knows. Let the speculation begin!

Sorry in advance for the double post but... STUNT PILOT OPENS MAY 29!!!! WHOO YEAH!!!! So hopefully with no delays will all be riding it by then! I am really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I can't be there for opening day but I can't wait to ride it later this summer! Let's see if SeaWorld/Busch Gardens and Six Flags Great Adventure were taking notes... Sorry for the bad image, I screenshotted it from the new commercial they debuted during today's episode of the Silverwood Show. Here's the full episode where they talk about their flower wall and do the "Riptide Racer Trick Shot Challenge", in addition to showing off Stunt Pilot's commercial and opening date:

BREAKING NEWS!! Busch Gardens and Six Flags Great Adventure better be taking notes cause... Silverwood has announced that they will reveal Stunt Pilot's opening date TOMORROW!!! They will also debut Stunt Pilot's commercial tomorrow along with the opening date, as part of their new "all-access" YouTube series "The Silverwood Show". (AND I finally figured out how to embed Twitter!!) The first episode came out 2 weeks ago, and I thought it was pretty good. Part of it featured an interview with Fred Gubb and Jake Kilcup from RMC about Stunt Pilot as well as a mini-tour around the RMC factory. Later, they broke out just the RMC segment into it's own video so I'll include that here if anyone hasn't seen it (because obviously that the only part that us coaster nerds actually care about): The full episode is on the park's Youtube page. My guess is as good as any, but my bet is on Memorial Day weekend. That to me makes the most sense based on where they are in construction and my expectations for the initially promised "Summer 2021". Fingers crossed its not later in the Summer or Fourth of July... Either way, only 10 DAYS TILL THE 2021 SEASON STARTS!!!!

I think the writing was on the wall for this one. Not sure what took them so long to remove it (or at least make it SBNO). I have not visited SFNE personally, but I shutter every time I here of the "legendary for all the wrong reasons" Premier trains. What causes them to be so bad? Is it Premier's design, or just a Six Flags thing? Since Aftershock is now seemingly the only one of it's kind in the US, I wonder if Goliath will become a parts donor? Aftershock runs pretty consistently (when the weather is good), but it doesn't seem that popular at SW. At least the uniqueness, now makes it feel a little less like "just another boomerang".

Well folks...RMC must have given Silverwood a package deal!! Tremors is getting more Topper Track! The park posted this photo on social media, and it looks like they are doing the rest of the warped helix. They said it will be ready for opening day. I think this is great! The helix in general, but particularly the last 1/3 (the part in the foreground and to the right just out of sight), always seemed to be the roughest part of the ride for me and even when the park retracked it, it never seemed to really help. The Topper Track parts of Tremors were always the smoothest parts, so I'm really happy that the park had a change of heart and choose to add more Topper to the ride. It's too far away in the picture so I can't tell if its like a "next generation" Topper Track or not, but either way should be a huge improvement! Anyone want to start the rumor that the Topper Track was recycled from Lightning Rod? Oh...and Stunt Pilot's dive loop (I refuse to call it a "Raven Turn"!!!!) has been completed, along with the pull out from the first drop. Photo again is from their socials. They also got approval on their permits for the barn flythrough on Stunt Pilot, so that should be starting to shape up real soon! So with more Topper Track on Tremors, Stunt Pilot, a new concession stand, and the case of the missing Garfield, 2021 is shaping up to be a season of changes for Silverwood!!!! Here's to hoping that they are all for the better! Oh, and only 18 DAYS TILL OPENING DAY!!!! Who else is getting really excited?!?!?

I haven't had the pleasure of riding any other rides that actually have Topper Track on them, so I don't know how it compares. It is the noticeably smoothest part of the ride though, not that the rest of the ride is that rough it's just noticeably a little smoother. Word on the street though is that the park doesn't want to add any more, so I'm guessing that either it's more trouble than its worth, or they don't think it helped that much. Silverwood does a pretty good job on retracking their wooden coasters, so I'm not too worried about it, but it's interesting how such a seemingly really good idea seems to have so many problems. Does anyone really know the cause?

Yeah, unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the details of Railblazer or Wonder Woman, but I think it's plausible that there could be some changes. My guess is either their to accommodate the longer trains, or RMC learned from the first two Raptors so Stunt Pilot and Jersey Devil are kinda a Raptor 2.0, with the longer trains, moving loading stations, and a slight overall redesign. Plus there had to be some changes to accommodate the terrain of Stunt Pilot's location.

The park got out a drone and shot some really neat areal footage of Stunt Pilot! I just screenshotted the highlights but you can see the whole thing on the parks socials here: https://www.facebook.com/silverwoodthemepark/videos/786719738613646/ I can swear that ferris wheel looks red...and if it is... (I really hope they didn't paint it that color...) RMC was working on the dive loop while they were filming. Oh...and the park is copying CGA and calling it a "Raven Turn"... It looks like they have almost all the lower track in place aside from the final turn, brake run, and the entrance and exit from the dive loop. At the rate they seem to be going, my guess is it will be topped off in the next week or so! Other things I noticed: -The iconic Roller Coaster Alley sign/photo-op has been demolished. This was expected and the park said previously that it will return in a new location when Stunt Pilot opens! It looks like it's old location is being replaced with the entrance/exit/gift shop building, and it kinda looks like they might be trying to build something of an entrance plaza there as well. -I didn't realize how tightly it fits in there, literally coming up to both the main Coaster Alley sign, and the Thunder Canyon exit path. It makes me worry a little about bottlenecks on the RCA path. -Tremors is having most of it's warped helix replaced, from the end of the first Topper Track section to when you exit the helix and enter the first set of airtime hills. It's tough to tell from a distance (you can see it in the 3rd picture), but my guess is it's not being replaced with more Topper Track. No visible work on Timber Terror, although the parks earlier pictures showed them working on the final helix, which is what needed the help last year. -The log flume water cannon deck seems to have held on for dear life!! Here's to hoping it stays that way! I love that water cannon... -It's tough to tell but we might have lost some trees by the log flume, by where the old pizza stand was across from Corkscrew. As a side not it looks like we will be able to get personal pizzas from the new stand under Corkscrew's first corkscrew. I think that's a pretty neat location! -I'm really starting to like this coaster construction update thing! No wonder the SFMM and CP threads are so active! Even better! It's only 28 days till opening day!!! Whoo yeah!!! Edit: This photo showed up randomly (probably user error) in this spot. Enjoy!

Isn't Greezed Lightnin' (or whatever their Schwarzkopf shuttle loop was called) in storage at Wonderland as well? I thought Cliff's owned it but for some reason it's still in Texas.

Well...I wouldn't travel across the country for that log flume...I would for Stunt Pilot, but maybe not the flume... Although I'm glad it was noticed! What's also funny is that now Silverwood has two rides originally for Kentucky Kingdom, right next each other, and both came to Silverwood because of financial issues at Kentucky Kingdom. I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of, or something to worry about for KK's sake?

I'm in the camp that none of this is actually gonna happen. I think its part of a chess match with the City of Anaheim to get planning changes, or tax breaks, or something. They really seem to focus on the "Resort Plan" or whatever they call it, that was passed in the 90's. My guess is Disney is trying to get the City of Anaheim to change the "Resort Plan" from what it is to something that they think is more accommodating to Disney's future plans, or it's just an attempt to get back on good terms with the city after the hotel and gateway project fiascos. ....Or its just a bunch of WDW people stupidly trying (again) to turn Disneyland into the Disney World of the West...when will they ever learn...

We got more Stunt Pilot updates! Park Journey got an up close construction tour of Stunt Pilot yesterday, and they have a pretty well done report on it. I'm not gonna repost all their photos so here's the link (https://www.parkjourney.com/other-parks/silverwood-stunt-pilot-construction-update-2), and I'll try and summarize. Plus, here's an overall shot the park took form the top of Corkscrew! Edit: the Twitter embed didn't work for me (1000% user error) do here's the park's photo just copied and pasted from their social media. Looks like they are really cruising now! Highlights from the Park Journey report are (in no particular order): 1. Expect a late May/early June opening. Apparently there were some construction delays, and they are waiting on a control panel, so it won't be ready for opening day. (Million Dollar Question: Will it open before Jersey Devil? I think so!) 2. Looks like a good amount of theming is coming. The park already confirmed that the station, storage shed, and entrance/exit building (more on that later...) will be themed as airplane hangers. In the report they show a picture of a Pitts Special Biplane that will be on display which looks really cool! They also say that some theming hasn't been announced, and some may be delayed till next season. This is a bummer, but I could see why they would want to do that. 3. Stunt Pilot will also have a tribute to Bob Heale somewhere. For those who don't know Bob was a key performer in the park's airshows, a friend of Gary Norton (the parks owner and founder), and was involved in the early creation and operation of the park. He was killed in an airplane crash at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, that lead the cancellation of the air shows at Silverwood. The park is working with his family on the tribute, and I think this is a really cool thing the park is doing. Kudos to them! 4. Stunt Pilot WILL have the moving loading station!!! 5. Lots of retracking for both Tremors and Timber Terror, particularly on the helixes for both rides. This is great as both were probably the roughest parts of both rides, and Silverwood does a pretty good job on retracking. 6. The new concession stand under Corkscrew is coming along nice, and it looks like it will probably be ready for opening day. 7. Corkscrew's paint budget didn't show up this year... (Ok, ok, just kidding...but come on Silverwood! Paint the dang coaster!!) On the permits side, the park has received approval for pretty much all of them, except the barn flythrough. We also now know the official purpose of the "mystery" entrance/exit building. Part will serve as an entrance hallway were they will check for loose articles, rider height, and eligibility to ride. The other part will serve as an "exit through retail" shop, and I would fully expect an on-ride photo judging from the way the counter is set up. Here's the approved plans from the building department: I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting really excited!! Here's to a great 2021 season!!

Well folks we got quite the update! The park has not received any more approvals for their permits, but hopefully they'll have some progress on that next week. Construction is still ongoing as track piece number 3 was in a couple of days ago. I do like how they are incorporating some of the terain there, which should make Stunt Pilot stand out from the other raptors. It also looks like the park is really getting ready to ramp it up on construction and marketing, based on the following social media bits... I'm really excited that the park looks to be producing some behind the scenes content, and it seems RMC is making their way home to speed up construction! I expect that we'll have more construction updates coming soon! As a bonus, they had this in the park newsletter! I'm excited that they confirmed that the station, entrance/exit building (whatever that's for...please no fluffy fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and glue!!!), and the storage building are going to be themed as hangers with nods to the park's airshow history!! (Plus I'm hoping for a few general Silverwood references as well...) I'm super excited for what the park's planning, and I'm hoping they'll share some of it with us before it opens! Oh...and Tremors is getting some off season track work too! Looks like its in the warped helix in that I always thought was the roughest part... Maybe some of that old Lightning Rod Topper Track needs a new home....thanks in advance Dollywood! (On second thought...maybe not...) So...quite a bit is going on, like the park said, so its looking 2021 is a year of change for Silverwood! Here's to it all being good changes! No matter what, we only have to wait 50 DAYS till opening day to see some of them in person!!

This is definitely my main concern. Looking at some video of Wonder Woman and Railblazer, they both look pretty dirty after only a couple years. Plus you have to consider that Silverwood doesn't have the best track record on repainting their steel coasters... They installed more track today, looks like they are moving right along! They got approval for the station's permit, so maybe we might get a look at that soon? Jordan Carter (the park's marketing director) commented on one of the park's facebook that while they don't have an official opening date yet, but they are shooting for late may. So I would (hopefully) expect an opening around memorial day...???

I totally forgot that ride existed (thanks for the reminder!). In other news...WE GOT THE FIRST PIECE OF TRACK INTSALLED!!!!! WHOAH YEAH!!! (Ok, sorry just...really excited...) Looks like the bottom of the "S" bend after the off- axis airtime hill. Plus, I officially think the colors look amazing!! If this is where they are at in construction, I'd expect more track to be installed in the next week or two. I can't quite make out if all the supports are up, but that might be because it's easier to install some of the track before finishing the rest of the supports?

Well, I'm grateful that at least RMC seems to have tried... I have not had the pleasure of riding the other two raptors, but based on the descriptions form others, I hope that RMC at least minimized the issue. I think the stipes also look great. Infinitely better than what they had in the concept art a few months ago! In other news...the park filed some another permit today! Again, they are from the Kootenai County Building Department's public records, so no insider info, just what's publicly available. It's labeled as "New structure that roller coaster travels through" and "Silverwood Barn" (Maybe they should have named it Barnstormer while they are at it? Oh wait, can't do that Disney will sue them ) It seems to be some kind of barn or small structure that the train will travel through. Other than that, not much is known. On the site plan its located on the track, immediately after exiting the corkscrew before the final turn. I wouldn't expect much with stuff inside the "barn" (in fact I would expect nothing), but I think its cool how the park is trying there hand at on-ride theming. It makes me more excited for the queue, entrance building, and station and some of the theming touches they could do in there. Opening day is only 2 months a way (I don't think its gonna be ready by then, but you can hope!) so maybe we will no more by then!

More train pics! Sadly, it looks like we are getting harnesses... They don't quite look the same as the ones on Wonder Woman or Railblazer, so that could be a good sign? I think the striping on the front looks better than in the concept art.

Thank you for the info, It does make me feel better...except I don't think I have a high desire to travel across country for a Pinfari Zyklon...especially when there's a shiny new RMC within 6 hours...

Not riding Looping Thunder at Oaks Park. Another one of those "They'll never remove it!! It'll be there next year, to punish me! Oak's hasn't got a new coaster in like a thousand years!"...well...that winter Oak's called my bluff and got rid of it...although the replacement seems to be much better.

Isn't the land and rides actually owned by the State of Kentucky? You would think if it was going to be sold, or if Herschend was going to take over the lease, then we would have heard about it by now. Also, why would the park need to tease the sale? Wouldn't they just announce it? A sale to Hershcend could explain the canceled raptor though. I'm not saying its not happening, I'm just a little skeptical of the whole thing.

Well folks....for better or worse...I stand corrected on my speculation in the previous post...

Another update is here! Trains are coming along, and track is on site! The track looks pretty good, I think the color is fine. I just hope that it doesn't get to dirty or faded after a couple seasons in the north idaho "snow and sun" weather cycle. The trains are more interesting, I think. I'm not familiar with Wonder Woman or Railblazer's trains unfortunately, but they seem to look pretty neat. I'm hoping that the fact that they don't already have vests on them, mean the vests aren't coming (Imagine...a raptor with no vests!). I might be overly optimistic though, so we will probably have to wait and see. Does any one who know if these look like a next generation of train? Or do they look like just longer copies of the ones on Railblazer/Wonder Woman? The only other bits I have is that (thanks to my new friend...Google Maps) I compared the dimensions of the stations for Railblazer and Wonder Woman, with the dimensions in the plans for Stunt Pilot's station. I found that the dimensions are very similar to Railblazer's, just slightly longer (I assume to accommodate the 10 car trains). This leads me to believe that Stunt Pilot will NOT have the moving loading station like Wonder Woman, and instead have the traditional one like Railblazer's. Although this is a slight bummer from the perspective of trying to incentivize Silverwood to improve their dispatch times...it does make sense that the park would go that route. I don't have any offical information to confirm this though, just my speculation. The last bit is the thought of an opening date for Stunt Pilot. I'm honestly was expecting mid to late june at the best, and the fourth of july as the most practical. But...the park seems to think otherwise...unlike a certain other park that's getting an RMC *cough cough* Busch Garden Tampa *cough cough* (Ok, just had to get that out of the system...). They haven't officially announced anything, but they did respond to a facebook question about it saying "We are shooting for opening it before June". A local news article says its supposed to open in early may, potentially on opening day, but I'm not buying that... I think their optimism suggests that it will open by mid to late june at the latest, assuming it isn't delayed. (Which seriously, how can you have a delay for a ride that is being made 15 minutes from the construction site, right?) Anyways...that's all for now folks! We can now officially start counting down to opening day for the park on May 1!

Sorry, meant to post this sooner but...Stunt Pilot has officially gone vertical!!! I don't know if it got posted here, but the park took a field trip to RMC a few weeks ago and showed off the track and supports under construction. They said that some were headed for paint and they be making the journey up US 95 soon, and clearly some of them already have! I think the red supports look better (judging from the photo) in reality than they did in the promo, should look pretty snazzy when its all done! Some of the parks permits got approved for the electrical shed and retaining wall, so we should have more updates soon!

And here is the final set of permits (I'm guessing), this on is for the station. From the looks of these plans, I'm happy that is looks like they are going to build a real station! I definitely think this is the right way to go, even though it looks a little like a metal shed, I think they could make it work with the theme. I find it interesting that the drawing in the second picture look to be the same/similar as the ones for the entrance shed that I posted above. Don't know what that means but hope it doesn't cause a snag with the building department. No real clues that I can see as to if it will have the moving loading station or a standard one, probably just have to wait and see on that. Also no indication on if it will have bins or not... probably another wait and see thing. I can't think of any other permits they need, so this is probably the last one for awhile. I other news the park also posted their calendar for 2021 and their are no real surprises here. Opening day is May 1st, although they are closed on June 8 and 9 (Tuesday and Wednesday I think) for some reason. I can't remember if they did that last year, but could this be a clue for Stunt Pilot's planned opening?

Well, at this point most regional or small parks would be closed anyways till spring break time. So I think the do or die moment for most parks will be later this summer, especially for the parks in states where the restrictions are still heavy like in New York, California, Oregon, and Washington. If parks that didn't open or barely opened last year can't open this year at lease partially normally, then they could be in trouble. Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon dodged the bullet, for now, thanks to the local community but other parks (Oaks, Luna, Deno's, Funtown Splashtown, Cliff's, Wild Waves, etc.) could be not so lucky unfortunately. Probably a wait and see at this point. Also, The Rides at Long Beach (in Washington) looked pretty closed this last weekend when I went up there. It was for sale or lease, so someone could pick it up, but otherwise most of us missed our on a wacky worm credit (Wow! What a big shame...)