linearinduction

While the 2012 drought was no where near as severe as your guys' droughts, it was still pretty bad for the Midwest area. We went several hot weeks (highs of 95 deg.+) without any precipitation of any kind. They actually had to shut down Pilgrims Plunge for a few weeks to reduce the amount of water HW used. Thanks for that Map! Lagoon was able to reduce water usage several years ago by 1.2 Million Gallons Annually by building their own Reverse Osmosis/Water Treatment Plant and an Existing On Property Well. With the Co-Gen producing 3.1 Mega Watts, I think Lagoon is the Only Park than can Operate without outside Water and Power.

^ Thunder Canyons was downright Vulgar, but Management wouldn't let us have "We Wouldn't Be So Mean if You Weren't So Stupid" and had to settle for "We Could Be Nicer if You Could Be Smarter", Bleh!

Of course, another great report from you Leofet and more great pics! Your "screwing" comments remind me of the Cedar Point Corkscrew Crew Shirt from 2001..."We Screw More People in 45 Minutes Than Most People Do in a Lifetime." lol

I thought the water was used as lubricant for the Launch Sled. :/

I'm glad you didn't die of Anticipation Leofet and I'm glad to hear your glowing review of Helix. I'm also glad you didn't let your expectations ruin your overall enjoyment of the experience.

Then why doesn't any other B&M hyper owned by any other park have these belts? My statement was in regards to those who falsely believe most safety belts on roller coasters are a safety device when in fact more than 90% are not a safety device what so ever. I think it's safe to say this was not a decision made by a manufacturer but could have everything to do with insurance, park management wanting to make the ride appear safer, or using them to determine if a Rider's Body Proportions can be safely accommodated by a restraint. You wouldn't believe some of the BS these insurance companies care about and what they completely ignore. I'm sure if RC was still at the park, there would be no safety belts on Diamondback.

_Koppen, is this a Huss Pirate? It's also too bad they didn't go with Zierer Family Drop Towers.

I love how most people assume safety belts on coasters are actually there as a restraint, when 90%+ are actually there to determine if the rider's body proportions are adequate to be safely restrained by the restraint.

^ I wouldn't count on it in that area.

Sales Tax in Arlington is only 8.000, not 22.000.

^ Anyone who pays Full Price at the Gate gets what they Deserve! lol

^ I get the Texas, Georgia, Western States Drought problems, etc.,but Indiana? lol

^ You live in Las Vegas and you are unaware the Colorado River doesn't reach the Ocean? lol

I think this video was done during initial testing before it was ever opened to the public. The people walking around are probably park execs, construction workers and the designers seeing how it was running. It obviously is still "under construction" with it missing pieces like handrails. This may have been a video of one of the first ever complete course runs the Beast made as you can see how slow it is. Also, notice the double-helix isn't enclosed yet, the wood tunnel connecting the two concrete ones in the middle of the course isn't there and it barely makes it up the hill to the second lift hill. I would bet this maybe a video of one of the first 5 test runs of the coaster ever, if not the first ever complete circuit. Even if they are park execs, that wouldn't fly today. Those are all restricted areas, when I worked there as a mechanic we could not be in any restricted area while the ride was in operation even when under construction , except for a few exceptions(ride stuck) I would say you've never worked around a brand new ride with reps from the Ride Manufacturers. lol I certainly didn't see anyone standing too close the the train and RC would never have let anyone be where they shouldn't have been before giving the "all clear."

Sounds like a Work and Travel. lol Also, Rattlesnake Rapids has an hourly capacity of 1,200 persons per hour. That is with every boat filled with 9 Riders and without stopping the turn table. Most times, the ride is lucky to hit 600pph. If you would rather wait in a 90 Minute line in 106 Degrees, be my guest. lol

_Koppen, I think the Zamperla Barnyards are pretty fun family rides, but the "Grinding" Sound can be a little unsettling.

Yes Robb, I worked at Cedar Point in 2001 on the Only VertiCord Crew as well as Several Other Positions.

^ Good Points. At Lagoon SOPs were always established before the ride opened and usually based on SOPs from other Parks and those from the Ride Manufacturer. Employees Riding and Operating the rides before opening also were asked what they thought and what changes should be made. Let's hope that happens here and adjustments are made.

Having worked in Ride Operations in a Management Position, I whole heartedly disagree. I've seen Brand New Ride Ops learn to Operate a Brand New Ride in an Hour and it's all about Training. From what others have Stated, the Opening Day Crew for Banshee was inadequately trained and deserve the critisism. If mediocrity is acceptable, then you are in the wrong business.

^ It's pretty much Standard Operating Procedure to shut down Similar Rides after such an Incident, especially after a death, and it usually comes in a Safety Bulletin from the Manufacturer. My List of "Things That Must Go" concerning Guests in Parks are: Rude People People Who Can't walk 5 Feet to a Garbage Can People Who Stop Right in Front of You without Warning in the Middle of the Freaking Midway People Who Don't Wash Their Hands After Using the Restroom

Dying of Anticipation yet Leofet? lol

The only problem is there is no "Typical" Cycle, especially with Wood Coasters. They literally change from cycle to cycle and hour to hour, as you know, so you just kind of have to take what you get, and I'm sure I would have been even more critical of it than you. lol Some times the hill up into East Curve can be Brutal and extremely violent and other times not so bad in the same seat just an hour later. It's really what I love about Wood Coasters...the Changes. Lagoon's Owners won't buy Used Rides and the Layout is said to be a Brand New Base Frame Model being shopped around by Maurer. The Expansion of the Pad has already been planned 20ft to the East. I'd really love to give Undertow a Spin, to see the difference between the V3.0 and V4.0 SC-2000.

Ironically, that's really all you do, though. Just defend Roller Coaster. Robb has said before that airtime and ejector air are good, but then there is bad ejector airtime. The kind that will give you bruises. That's really not something that you should define as a selling point. Especially since those bruises could be caused by the fact that Roller Coaster is just a rough ride, even for its age. I was simply explaining the variables. When you have operated a ride for many years and ridden it as much as I have, you get to know her on a completely different level. That includes being part of the "Push Crew" in March. I know all about good air and bad and have experienced both on Roller Coaster. The hill up into East Curve has been bad since about the 1998 rebuild and is like Jackyll and Evil Jackyll and on the flip side some amazingly smooth rides in a Monsoon. I'm sorry if explaining some things and sharing some of my personal experiences seems like I'm defending the ride, as always, your experience will vary.

AJ, didn't mean to sound like I was defending Roller Coaster at all, because it is definitely not a Top 50 Coaster. M point was that anyone who has operated a coaster knows how they warm up during the day and even season. Having operated both Roller Coaster and Dragon, I've seen Roller Coaster run 19 Seconds Faster in a Monsoon, which it probably was running about 2 Minutes, up from 1:45 during the summer, as it was for you. Fire Dragon will also run 15 seconds faster in the rain opposed to dry. I've had some amazing, for it, Rides on Roller Coaster with bruises from both Double Ups and the Double Down, and again, my personal experiences on her, for her. Maurer can't really fix Spider and the cost to do so would be more trouble than it's worth. Both Santa Cruz and Knoebel's have taken a gander and kicked Spider's tires and passed. Unlike most parks, Lagoon won't sacrifice the ride experience to save a few bucks. If they did, Jet Star 2 would have been gone in '94. Instead of Trimming Spider to death, which would actually be worse on the Structure and Chassis than it already is, they've looked into a New and Larger Similar Ride that supposedly Maurer has been shopping around. Lagoon has already designed and built a new positioning arm system that works infinitely better than the old one as it is.

Banshee is a B&M, I doubt that it will have 2 hour lines On most days it will be longer than 2 hours. Other than the first day it opened to the public, when was the last time Diamondback had a 2 Hour Queue? Even on Saturdays in July in '09 and '10 the Queue never got past 1 Hour.