abovethesink

It is always sad news to here of a park closing. On the bright side for me personally, we are making our first California trip next year from the east coast. While it was only supposed to be LA and San Diego, obviously CGA is going to need to be worked in before it abruptly closes without notice after one of these next 11 years.

Does anyone know if they are running Flying Turns this year? I don't think it opened at all last year. I am planning a road trip and that is the difference of adding Knoebels or passing it by since I have never succeeded on getting on it. I mean I know even if they are running it sometimes it will be closed a lot of the days anyway, but we love the rest of the park and it wouldn't be the end of the world.

A clone of what they are putting in down in San Antonio would be a pretty great addition. I'd rather see the launch or modern wood niches filled first, but hard to complain about a B&M in a Six Flags in 2022. Also, just throwing this out there: While by far the most likely addition is a clone of Dr. D (IF that is what they are even hinting at with the ride ops in the steampunk-like outfits on opening day), they could also just be re-using the theme and not necessarily putting in the same ride. Six Flags does that quite a bit.

Yikes, I somehow missed this news until getting caught up on threads here. You gotta figure the negligent seeming accident and ongoing litigation caused this sale. I still will get out there one day, but I can't imagine it will keep growing as well as it had been under this unfortunate new ownership situation.

We have a road trip planned to hit Indiana Beach, Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, and King's Island from upstate NY, my son and I. We have only previously been to Holiday World in that group. My whole family has also talked about renting a camper at Darien Lake late summer since the last time we were there my son was really little. I'm also hoping to finally hit up Kennywood, but haven't broken that to the wife yet so we will see. We have twins on the way but I go the road trip wife approved at least!

I think two assumptions here are the most likely to pan out: 1) This is a year round location, as people have pointed out. Obviously you don't open in late 2022 if you're not. This means far south or indoors. 2) This is not going to be located in a "major" park as the initial tease would come from them and not the manufacturer. Either of the Florida Fun Spots have any room left? Is Alabama Adventure open year round? They were hinting at something on social media not too long ago. Could be so many places that speculating feels kinda ridiculous at this point to be honest, even as I do it.

Nice addition. I am really glad I decided to give Jersey Devil a second ride later in the day back in August after not caring for my morning ride much. I loved the second ride. It's a good coaster. Also, it is pretty hilarious to watch my fellow coaster nerds on social media complain about a cloned ride 2,700 miles from its original. As if even 1% of the guests at Magic Mountain will even know this, let alone feel anything about it. Good, smart move by Six Flags.

It is just a good year for wasps and particularly yellow jackets, I think. I've never previously found any on my property and I found four different nests this year. I destroyed three of them and let one be that I thought was far enough out of the way.

Yeah, its sticky stuff, but I wish it wasn't. It isn't really a subjective topic. Two different government agencies track that data. Example: It is also very relevant to the conversation of when it is safe for kids to be away from parents. The country is objectively safer when I was a kid in the 90s. I don't know how we have this conversation without data. But if we shouldn't have it, it can be closed. I won't be offended. Not trying to drag this place down. It is all good. Love talking coasters with people here.

Is that true? Isn't the world much, much safer now than it has been at any point in modern times? Aren't basically all violent crimes way down in number?

My responses: 1) I was probably allowed to be in a park alone, or usually with my younger cousin, around 10 years old, definitely by 12. 2) We had to check in every few hours if we were at Darien Lake with the attached campground. If we were somewhere else, we had to meet up with my parents at set times during the day. 3) We just started the smallest kinds of freedom for my eleven year old this year. For example, at SFGA's water park we relaxed in one spot and my son (and his 12 year old friend) go to one ride and then report back on their own. We didn't limit them in terms of distance, just that they had to do one ride and report back after. I also let my kid take a couple laps on the small wooden coaster at tiny little Quassy Park while I browsed separately in the small gift shops. I'll probably let him have complete freedom around 14 if it complies with park rules, otherwise whatever age the parks set. 4) Time related check ins. 5) What's different? Honestly, I think it is just social expectations. The world is statistically a lot safer now than it was even when I was a kid of the 90s, but letting an 11 year old have complete free reign would have a high potential of causing some sort of outrage that it wouldn't have caused for my parents. I'd probably trust my kid next year to have quite a bit of freedom based on his maturity and experience level with amusement parks, but it just wouldn't fly with someone at some point I am sure.

First, apologies if a general thread like this is inappropriate. Delete it and I won't do it again if that is the case. Second, the topic. I am interested in your answers to a few specific questions. I am a father to an eleven year old and my wife is currently pregnant with twins. 1) At what age were you personally given freedom to roam a park without adult supervision? 2) What, if any, restrictions were put on you when you were allowed to first do this? (I.e. check back at certain times, cell phone check ins, etc) 3) At what age did/would you allow your child(ren) to roam a park without your supervision? 4) What, if any, restrictions do/would you put on them? 5) If what you were allowed to do and what you would allow your kids to do are considerably different, why? What has changed or what is different about you versus your parents? Thanks!

My gut says the Dorney coast is irrelevant for two reasons: 1) I am not ruling out Cedar Fair delaying the coaster a year or two rather than outright canceling it and 2) I don't think the costs for an abandoned wooden roller coaster project are nearly as high since there isn't the same level of track fabrication. There is the design costs, of course, but at the end of the day you order lumber and supplies as needed and build the ride. I'm not sure there would be some huge discount for this park to take advantage of in a case like that. I like the South Dakota RMC Raptor suggestion a lot better. If RMC had any of that track actually fabricated, there would be a heck of an incentive for them to try to get it up somewhere at a discount. Plus, it would just be an awesome addition to a park like this one.

That is a specific law aimed at a specific issue. You are correct in pointing out that exceptions due exist, but they are specifically legislated for specific reasons. I am not aware of any law that would make a ride operator the specific target of any lawsuit, but then again I have (sadly) never even been to Colorado. I wouldn't know of any specific laws in the state. At the same time, I would be very surprised if one existed. The example you helpfully provided is a clear attempt at righting a social issue in drunk driving. I don't think there is a similar motivating factor that would make specific ride operators at amusement/theme parks liable. Again, I am speculating though. Furthermore, laws are laws until the justice system says they are not. You can always try to ignore them in the judicial system. Even if there was a law like that, I would expect the family would try to sue the park anyway over the operator. Given that the ride op was probably a low wage worker, there is nothing to gain there. I really don't think a law like we are hypothetically talking about exists, but I say this to point out that it might not even matter if it did. The family would sue the park anyway over the operator and then a judge would need to rule on the constitutionality of the law and then the case. This would lead to a ton of appeals, probably, but it is how it would go.

Gonna get yourself hyped only to be disappointed again? Haha, I am just playing. Opposite from the waterpark does suggest a dry park addition. A coaster seems like a long shot given the park's history, but any dry park addition is probably a good thing there. Just curious, why did they get rid of their boomerang in 2011?

The park and the operators are not separate from a legal perspective. Workplaces are legally responsible for the actions of their employees during the course of their work. A construction worker does not get sued for faulty work by a customer of a construction company. The construction company gets sued. It is possible for companies to sue their employees for negligence and sometimes that happens, but in the case of low paid wage workers there is little to gain from doing so.

Yes, I am far from a lawyer and work in finance, but when I got my degree I was required to take a number of business law classes and this is clear. Waivers can protect a company from being sued for dangers that can reasonably be expected from using their product/service. A waiver MIGHT be able to even exclude a company from liability for the death of the end user. For example, an ATV rental company may explain, through a waiver, that improper usage of the equipment may lead to death through no fault of the company and the company would therefore not be liable. If, upon review, the equipment was in good shape and the end user used it in a negligent manner that caused their own demise as described as possible in the waiver, a waiver may be held up by a court even in the event of a death. This is not a case like that. There can be no reasonable expectation of death in an amusement park ride. You cannot have a waiver saying that we may or may not have trained our ride operators up to the proper standards, sign this, and the risk now transfers to you. That's not something that can exist within the bounds of our legal system. Nor can a six year old be found liable to have caused their own death with negligent use of the equipment by any reasonable standard. I don't think that would even hold up if she was an adult. This is 100% on the park from a legal perspective no matter what they had signed.

Just brutal. The park is going to get sued into oblivion and rightfully so. No amount of money can bring her back or amount to even a fraction of the infinite value of her life, but that is all that is left for the family. They will and should pursue a lawsuit. I do feel sympathy for the ride operator(s) who have to live with the outcome of their decisions here for the rest of their lives. Certainly they didn't anticipate the possibility here, even if they should have, and that will weigh heavy on them for the rest of their lives. Most of all I just feel awful for the family. I have an 11 year old and a pair of twins on the way. I cannot imagine the loss of a child. It is unspeakable.

My son and I returned to SFNE Saturday afternoon after visiting Quassy and Lake Compounce earlier in the day. We got in at maybe... 4:30? This was (I think) my sixth visit to the park. Notably it was our first since 2018 and therefore first where my son was over the 54" mark. Our mission was to get him on the three coasters he couldn't ride last time and revisit Wicked Cyclone. We began by marching back to Batman. I think the book is well written on this one. Decent supporting coaster, but pretty weak compared to most other B&M loopers. I will say I remember previously banging my head on the corkscrews and that didn't happen this time, so that was nice. Next we walked over to The Riddler Revenge (it hurts my soul to type that name), but my eleven year old was upset at the line and said he would rather wait for Superman if he had to wait for a long time. So, to Superman we went. That started quick, but when we got to the station something went wrong with the blue train and there was a delay. Then they kept lapping it empty, so every other train was empty. That was unfortunate, but fine. The problem was their lack of urgency in doing so. There must be something I didn't understand about what was happening. They kept stacking the red train outside the station waiting for the empty blue train to depart for extended amounts of time. It was very strange and turned it into over a half hour wait from the point of entering the station. Then they loaded the blue train one train before we got on and it was running again the rest of the night. Maybe they were waiting for some kind of computer check each time before sending it empty each time? Anyway, we grabbed second to the back train and this ride remains an absolute powerhouse. If the lap bars weren't so painful for me on the airtime, this would probably still be in my top five. This might touch some nerves but for me this has the superior layout to even Sky Rush. But the lapbars really do hurt me a lot and prevent me from re-riding without a lengthy break, so that is a real problem I hope they address someday. From there we hit Wicked Cyclone and this ride was just further reaffirmed as my favorite rollercoaster. I LOVE Wicked Cyclone. Everything about it is perfect. I really need to get out to more RMCs. I have only ridden Wicked Cyclone, Lightning Rod, and Jersey Devil. Well, everything is perfect about the ride experience once you are actually on it. Damn those restraints are sensitive. Dispatches on this thing are very slow and I don't think the ride ops can do much more than they already do. Still, the airtime is insane and the stalls are so much fun... I just love this ride. After Wicked Cyclone we circled way back to Riddler and that was decent. Definitely the best SLC I have ridden thanks to the vest restraints. From there we did dinner and headed back to Superman. It was dark at this point and we waited for the front row. I had to keep my hands down on the restraint to help ease the pain in my legs, but I still loved the ride. That was truly a great ride to the point that my kid declared it his new favorite rollercoaster. That wouldn't stand by me! I led us back to Wicked Cyclone for a front row night ride to compare. Getting in line was a mini-emotional rollercoaster in itself. We walked up to the line and found it closed with the ride having broken down. My heart fell, but pretty much immediately the security guards at the entrance were radioed to open it back up. We were first back in line and first into the station. Walking onto a front row ride was very nice and it was incredible as expected. Back in the station we realized the line was still barely formed, so we circled back for a quick back row ride too. After the back row ride my son joined me in naming Wicked Cyclone his favorite ride. At that point it was near closing and we had hitting the Sky Screamer after dark to take in the park lights on our to do list, so we ran over there before it shut down. That experience was not what I expected. I haven't been scared on a ride in ages but holy crap... 400 feet up from the highest point of land in the park, at night, pretty intense winds spinning you around, flimsly chains being the only thing holding you up, your body pretty well exposed, nothing to do but look down... my heart was racing and I was glad for the descent. I did not expect to have any reaction to being up there other than enjoying the lights! When we got down it was 2 minutes before 9 according to my phone and my kid wanted to run over to see if Pandemonium was open. I humored him expecting it to be roped off, but it wasn't and we walked on as the last ride of the night for both us and the coaster. We sat next to each other and left the other side open for the weight imbalance and OH.MY.GOD! We spun insanely fast from the second we started down the drop to well after we stopped on the final brake run. That was completely disorienting and I was very dizzy for minutes after walking out of the park. All in all, it was a very enjoyable nightcap at SFNE and a great day overall. I do hope the park gets something knew soon though. It could really use a launch or modern wooden roller coaster.

My son and I made our first visit to Lake Compounce on Saturday. We were there maybe two and a half hours. It was an abbreviated visit because we were also cramming in Quassy and SFNE in the same day. I don't know how much I can judge the park as a whole because we just rode the coasters and the ghost shooting ride, but nothing we did will have us coming back any time soon. I was really excited for Boulder Dash, but it just didn't deliver in the front or the back. It was pretty neat how it absolutely tore through that course and of course the setting was awesome, but despite the ridiculous feeling speed we just got no airtime whatsoever. Worse, there were a couple unexpected moments, especially in the back, where I was very jarringly tossed hard into the side of the car which didn't feel good on the ribs. This isn't some super rough woodie by any means, but it has its moments and just didn't do anything fun with its layout other than the feeling of speed. We took a ride in the back and then the front and decided that was enough. I know from here and elsewhere that it used to run much better and I really wish I got to it back then. As for the rest, Phobia was my second Sky Rocket II and it was definitely superior to Tigris at Busch Gardens Tampa due to the more relaxed restraint system. I didn't care for Tigris but enjoyed Phobia. Zoomerang was... a boomerang. I will say something felt very off about the restraints in the seat I was in. They lifted strangely high after being locked, much more than I am used to one "click" being in those old restraints. I wasn't worried though. It isn't like you fall into them on a boomerang. You'd stay in the car without them just fine due to the forces of the ride. Last for the day was Wildcat. It was going to be first, but it broke down when we were next in line. Then it reopened right as we were about to leave the park. This one met expectations. I expected square wheel jackhammering and that is what I got. I knew how to ride defensively (I secure the lapbar tight and then "stand up" with my legs. You can't actually stand up, but this lets my knee joints absorb a lot of the hammering naturally) and got to be entertained by my eleven year old freaking out about how rough the ride was the whole time at least. I am just shy of 200 credits and that was probably my second most intense jackhammering experience behind Predator at SFDL a decade or so ago. So yeah, we were underwhelmed. But at the same time, if they ever add anything interesting or I read Boulder Dash has been returned to its former glory, we will be back. It wasn't a horrible experience by any means. It is also worth noting that the park was well kept and we enjoyed the shooting ride too.

On Saturday my son and I stopped by Quassy for the first time. What a little gem this place is. We didn't stay long as we were doing the Quassy-Compounce-SFNE trifecta on the day, but the 90 minutes or so we were there will definitely be something I am looking to expand upon by including the water park in a future visit. Wooden Warrior was something I thought would be pretty good and it still exceeded my expectations. Why haven't these Gravity Group "family" woodies spread to the big chains yet? It is a great ride, probably the third best we experienced on the whole day. I took two rides, one in the back and one in the front. The front was slightly better overall, I thought, but it definitely neutered the first drop and airtime hill. My eleven year old son snagged a third ride when I very briefly got stuck on a work phone call. We also credit whored and rode the archaic kiddie coaster too since there was no one around it to make us feel shamed, so that was fun. We rarely get the kiddie credits! I had no idea where we were in our counts so it was a fun little nugget when we got home the next day and updated his. Riding the kiddie coaster at Quassy made Superman at SFNE his 100th. It would have been The Riddler Revenge (still wtf with that name) otherwise.

Yeah, you can't miss Holiday World. Gotta work that in unless you hate wooden coasters.

I got two rides on Jersey Devil and found the seat so uncomfortable and cheap feeling that I thought I didn't like the coaster. Thankfully I loved my second ride, but those trains are bad. Well, the seats anyway. The trains are beautiful to look at at least.

Six years old... That's devastating. Absolutely heart breaking.

Yeah I don't think the second station added as much as they hoped. Also, on ElToroRyan, his channel is the most jarring in terms of disconnected theme park content of any that I follow. One video will be his friends making a ton of low brow jokes as they wander a park drunk, the next will be this highly technical breakdown of a rollercoaster from his ride op experience and engineering background. It is a weird channel.