dankeykang

^ For those who aren’t aware of how to ride properly (just lean forward!), maybe Raptor’s final turn into the brake run?

Great report. I was in Seattle last week and decided to make the trek over to Athol and it did not disappoint. The drive was incredibly picturesque at times, and Silverwood is a delightful little park. Those two additional seats in the back of Stunt Pilot really make for some insane airtime. The first drop on Tremors definitely caught me off guard, and it was pretty neat to feel how all the different track sections were riding. All in all, a very solid coaster lineup for a park of this size. Caselli's is actually where I chose to eat, since it had a very small line when I was passing by. I was not aware that it was new; my meal was pretty good! Definitely superior to most theme park pizza I've had elsewhere. I would agree that I lost interest in the train show after a little while, but it was nice to get out in the woods a little bit and see some of the other rides from a different perspective.

Just a thought - any consideration for Kentucky Kingdom? The drive from Holiday World is less than 90 minutes. Storm Chaser and Lightning Run may not have the most imposing stats but they are both world class in the airtime department IMO. I can't speak from experience, but I think other people have said you could do both HW and KK in one day if you're super ambitious. Edit: I'm an idiot, going from HW to KK results in an hour lost, not gained

Anyone else just get blasted with emails from SeaWorld's entire chain?

^^ I agree that Banshee can be a little shaky in the back. Not unbearable, but I prefer towards the front. It looks like the advice on row selections so far has been pretty thorough, but a couple of personal opinions I'll add: Orion is great anywhere, but I like riding on the far left side if possible, since it's fun to lean outward and face straight down during the wave turn. I prefer the front row of the cars on Bat since I'm a little taller, and the front provides extra space for my knees.

Yeah, perhaps not… but rainy days at Hersheypark aren’t too terrible, given the park’s generous rain check policy.

But how much are they paying their employees?!?!

All the kids these days probably think they can just become one of those Instagram influencers or something, instead of getting a "real" job... It's certainly not an impossibility. However, this article suggests that Cedar Point might be back to a "normal" schedule pretty soon; I would hope Kings Island follows a similar trend. Having to reduce hours a second time would not be a good look.

Yeah, just another thing we have to come to expect at this point. It is what it is. Kind of like how last year we had to assume half the rows on rides would be blocked off and that most indoor attractions would be closed entirely.

I think what makes Kings Island appealing is the fact that for the folks who aren't as park-savvy as the people on these forums, it's still possible to ride everything in one day if you visit on a weekday, even without Fast Lane. Cedar Point pretty much requires at least 2 days if you want to get on all the coasters but aren't willing to pay for Fast Lane (which a lot of people aren't).

Nice, is that in addition to the upgrade to Diamond Elite VIP?

^^ Spot on about Thunderation, it just does everything better. I can see why people would like Adventure Express but for me, it's one of the very few coasters I consider to be somewhat discomforting. Nice to see more lights on in the lift hill's tunnel this year, to be fair.

I don't normally rank coasters but I can give it a go here: Diamondback - best floater airtime there is, period Orion - even better with full trains this year Mystic Timbers - gotta love the unconventional out-and-back GCI layout Beast - simply an icon, nothing else needs said Banshee - I admire the large elements but a part of me wishes there was more whip to some of the inversions Bat - still a classic, make sure to ride in the front of the car for more legroom Racer - major props to everyone at the Gravity Group, it's substantially better after the re-track Flight of Fear - always like the spaghetti bowls but dang, that MCBR Invertigo - not painful at all if you lean your head forward and keep your shoulders pressed against the OTSRs Backlot Stunt Coaster - great for the whole family Adventure Express - I'm starting to question why I keep riding this every year, definitely one of the weakest mine trains Woodstock Express - not bad at all considering its intended audience Flying Ace Aerial Chase - once was enough

Sounds like they've got a test train/dummies out on Storm Runner and have been rolling it through the launch track.

Ahh gotcha. Yeah there were a few brief weather delays today but the radar guy did a really good job clearing rides to reopen as soon as things started to lighten up. Getting on all the major coasters plus the drop tower only took about 3 hours (no Fast Lane). Operations today were some of the best I've ever seen, even by Kings Island's lofty standards. All the praise this place has gotten recently is 100% warranted.

Pro tip: visit your home park when the morning forecast shows storms all day. It never storms all day. Walk-ons everywhere today.

Very true, but I think the Brownies might actually be competitive this year!!! But yeah, being able to day-trip it to either park is definitely a luxury. I'm sure Breakers is pretty cool, though. Good luck today, hopefully the weather will drive off some of the crowds.

Are you referring to Boss here? If so, not crazy at all. The layout is perfectly fine as is.

I can't speak to anything at Universal, but the single most intense moment you'll find on a B&M in Florida is the pretzel loop on Manta at SWO. That thing caught me off guard the first time. Everything else is pretty manageable for everyone IMO. Perhaps you could check out some POVs on YouTube if you haven't already. Some people like a surprise, but I prefer to see layouts ahead of time so I know what to expect when it's actually time to ride..

^ I don't think there's any shame in having Untamed as your #1, it looks like an awesome coaster. My last coaster was this badboy. IMO, considering its target audience, this is legitimately a perfect attraction.

Honestly, some of my favorite experiences at parks involve meeting new people. Last year at Kennywood, a very nice family of 5 saw me hanging around near Thunderbolt and were happy to let me ride with them. Fast forward to a few weeks later - I'm at Cedar Point making my way around collecting the access passes, when out of nowhere I hear, "hey is that the Kennywood guy?!?!" Yup, same family

I've always considered In-N-Out as more of a west coast thing, but Whataburger is great. Usually it's the first meal I have after landing in Texas. I can't speak to Magic Springs but I did get to Frontier City recently and it was pretty solid. Not the deepest coaster lineup by any means but Diamond Back is a rare one with surprising airtime in the back row and Silver Bullet is as fun as any classic Schwarzkopf. Great theming compared to other Six Flags parks. If you're a member, they also recently opened a new Member Lounge where you can chill out, refill beverages, and it even has outlets for charging should you need it.

Did they actually reduce hours during June? It looks like July is still 10 PM closures all month but I honestly can't remember what the June hours were before this update.