Brad

^It has worked fine for me (viewing the site from a regular PC). It definitely looks like Maverick, with some awesome dives into the canyon/caves. Can't wait to try this one out.

So uh, they made a bad decision that 99% of their guests (GP) are going to enjoy? Just be happy they aren't promoting this as a thrill ride like Dark Knight.

The ride will be on the Flash Pass system (SFOG updated the ride page to confirm this as well).

And while they're at it, they should remove the Monorail because of the accidents it's had as well. I guess they should remove Mission Space, Splash Mountain and any other ride where there has been an 'incident' because it's the 21st century and accidents shouldn't happen. Obviously that was sarcasm, but you can't expect to move millions of people around a resort of that scale without a few traffic accidents.

But isn't it 'impossible' to undo your seat belt mid-ride? The article makes it sound like he fell out of the ride, but this is probably just some guy that tripped while getting off the ride and the media blowing it out of proportion because it's Disney (or a theme park).

I can DEFINITELY see the song getting old (I've only been to Carowinds once).

I have to say, the Carowind's "Theme Song" reminded me of the old Hannah Barbara cartoons. Very cheesy, but kind of neat to keep the tradition going.

If I had to choose between the two, I would say SFOG, mainly because they have the better selection of coasters. Dollywood does offer a GREAT park experience, with a few good rides thrown in. As SharkTums mentioned, Dollywood has a more 'rounded' offering, with more shows, craft demonstrations, scenery, etc. SFOG has Mind Bender, Goliath, Scorcher and Acrophobia (plus 7 more credits) and is IMO a beautiful park. It all comes down to what you're looking for in a park.

^Ditto. And to make the most of your trip, purchase the Univeral Xpress pass (or stay on-site) and get the Quick Queue at SeaWorld. Quick Queue allows for UNLIMITED express entry to every major ride (and free paddle boats and Observation Tower).

Essentially, couldn't the same concept for their dive coasters be used in this instance... just remove the middle 6 seats and lower the outside 4 seats? I know that it isn't that simple, but the 'smooth' factor should be similar. The real questions will come if the seats rotate.

WOW! The last 4 rows don't even have SEATS! What is B&M thinking with this type of ride????? But seriously, this does look intriguing. I'm curious as to what the final product will look like (and what type of ride it delivers). I love how B&M waits to perfect ride concepts instead of throwing them out there to see if they will work.

Check out this link for the official SFGAdv partner hotels: http://hotels.sixflags.com/1738_welcome.html. When I went in 2007, we stayed at the Marriott downtown Trenton. The hotel was nice, but I wouldn't walk around that area (they have an attached parking deck). It took us about 20 minutes to get to the park each day.

Sometimes there is a train passing by as the boat hits the bottom of the chute... it generally sprays up and around the riders, getting them wet, but not soaked. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen if the timing is right.

Spiderman had Willam Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Thomas Hayden Church, Iron Man had Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Samuel L Jackson, and Mickey Rourke. All these actors have won awards and some of them are considered some of the best in the world. Harry Potter is a family movie, it's not any more high art than any superhero movie. Get over yourself. I had a good laugh at this one... I agree with Wes, you absolutely cannot say that the HP movies are anything relative to 'award-winning'... I actually enjoyed Spiderman 1 & 2 more so than any of the HP films, and I would consider myself a fan of the book series. Your hotel 'privileges' work from the day you check in until the parks close on the day you check out. This includes the Xpress Pass and I am assuming the Harry Potter early entrance. To confirm, I would simply call the hotel and ask.

Yeah, the size of the place alone makes me wanna avoid it for awhile until the hype dies a bit. It's like A huge new ride and a Harry Potter themed strip mall in miniature scale. At least that's what it seems like anyway. Side note: The Simpsons got screwed. If you're gonna have Butterbeer, there needs to be a Flaming Moe. Or Squishees! I can see the idea behind not having sodas in the WW, but from a logistical standpoint this makes absolutely no sense. Are they not going to serve Coke-branded bottled water either?

^^^First of all, no one can tell you exactly how smooth or rough a coaster is because each person has different degrees of what they can 'handle' when it comes to roughness. None of the coasters at Universal Orlando are 'rough' in my opinion.. HRRR and Hulk can have shaky transitions, but are no where near the roughness of some wooden coasters and most Vekomas. Dragon's Challenge and Mummy are smooth. Dragon's Challenge is intense... but not as intense at Batman: the Ride (and clones). If you're that worried about blacking out, then you might re-think riding (or any coaster labeled 'intense').

That philosiphy could go either way. When my family goes to theme parks, we are on a strict budget to do it as cheaply as possible. When we go to Six Flags, we find the park with the cheapest Season Passes, so there we are covered all season for $29.99 each at SFKK. We are hit with parking at each park, but we spend almost nothing in the parks. We eat before we go to the park, leave food in the car for dinner, then go back in the park for the evening. Really the only money we spend in the park is the occasional light snack, shirt, or on-ride photo. It really evens out to us spending less than $15 per person each time we go to the park including admission. On the other side of that, when I go on school trips to theme parks, I'm always going on coasters constantly, but most people spend the majority of their time in gift shops or getting food. With teens usually not having very many expenses, they have very disposable money and usually get money from their parents as well. I guess it really depends on the family. The parks make very little off of my family. I think in your instance you would fall under the 'enthusiast' category... Parks make their money on families that purchase one-day admission... Season Passholders tend to know 'the system' and can make the most out of a little money spent. They eat in their cars, purchase Sports Bottles at the beginning of the year and do not purchase souvenirs because they will be visiting again.

I personally think that the launch on Storm Runner is more forceful than on Kingda Ka. KK is more drawn out while Storm Runner's is a quick punch but very forceful. I say do it... just sit in one of the first 4 rows...

GKTW Village really is an amazing place. I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the village last year, and can honestly say that I was blown away by the detail, service and attention to every need of the families that visit there. The Village covers EVERY expense of the family... from the airfare to all of their meals. If the Village is over capacity, they will place families at Deluxe WDW resorts for the week (they never turn a family away). This certainly has my vote, and if you're able, I highly recommend donating to this very worthy organization. Another fact that most people don't know is that many Theme Parks (Six Flags parks included) provide each family that visits GKTW with complimentary admission for a full year after they visit.

I could not find the answer to this question, so I apologize if this has been asked before: On the new B&M Hyper Trains (like on Intimidator), when you get to the station, are the lines for the entire car, or a row of 2? For example, if a group of four were together, would they wait in the same line or split up 2&2? I am picturing similar to Dejavu, where you have 8a & 8b, with 8b being the 'wing seats'.

I highly doubt this is the case... since they would disappoint the what... maybe 500 people that planned a trip just to ride I:305 because of the reviews on enthusiast websites? Seems to me that this is just another case of taming a ride because of intensity... it's been done before.

It's across the street, but utilizes the same parking lot.

I always enjoy staying in Gatlinburg when we visit Dollywood... there is much more atmosphere there (think quaint, redneck ski village) and it is fun to walk around at night. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn, Clarion Inn, LeConte View Inn, and the Edgewater Hotel and all have been nice. Instead of spending two full days at Dollywood, I would recommend sightseeing in the area the first day, and then at 3pm go to Dollywood for the evening. If you arrive after 3pm, you can visit Dollywood on the second day for free! More information here: http://www.dollywood.com/dollywood-q10057-c10056-After_300_PM_Next_Day_FREE.aspx I would suggest renting a Q-bot both days, as they are discounted after 3pm as well (although they may be sold out). You can certainly experience everything Dollywood has to offer in this amount of time, and get to explore the Smokey Mountains as well during your trip! (Or check out Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, Ober Gatlinburg, etc).

The Georgia Cyclone is at the front of the park, and was not affected by this. The Great American Scream Machine never closed during normal operating hours because of this either. Yes, the Santa Maria is still at the park (in Bugs Bunny World/Spanish Section).

A bit shaky is an understatement. That thing shakes the absolute crap out of you. For everyone's sake, I hope this is a regular Intamin launched coaster (and I'm hoping for at least one hydraulic launch).