BeemerBoy

Well, since everyone and their mother has already posted a Holiwood Nights report, I figured what the heck, why not join the club? Not only was I finally able to get to Holiday World, but after Holiwood and Rumble, I had some business to take care of which gave me a chance to hit up SFNE for the first time and find out what all the fuss is over this so-called Superman thingy. The past week has taken me from Dalton, GA to Santa Claus to Bowling Green to Dalton to Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale to Springfield to Martha's Vineyard to Boston to Atlanta and back to Dalton....and almost all by car. Of course, in the spirit of John Candy, planes, trains, and even boats were used for this marathon of sorts. Anyway, now that I'm finally back and rested, here goes..... Naturally, first up was The Voyage. I feel sorry for those of you who sat home avoiding the "suspected" long lines. Maybe next year, huh? Now comes the portion where you all say "haven't we seen these pictures enough already?" Well, if you have, give yourself a pat on the back. If you haven't seen enough, keep looking....there's bound to be one or two angles that haven't been seen yet. No need to caption everything for the next several pics....I'm sure you can figure it out, huh? And evidently since it's popular to say 90 degrees in here.....90 degrees. Shannon and I take a moment to capture the walkback opportunity. And now for the money shot..... Since there is a strict No On-Ride photography policy at Holiday World, and because we like to play by the rules, I had our graphic artists work around the clock to bring you a realistic rendering of what it looked like to ride the Voyage during the late night ERT sessions. Are you ready for this one? Seriously, some of you really missed out on the thing that made this coaster go from pretty darn good to UNBELIEVABLE! Okay, here it is then.....I give you the Voyage POV rendering as seen from any seat at many points along the coaster's course late at night. Nice, huh? I'll be the 1000th person to tell you that the night rides were priceless on this thing. (note: some of you tend to miss the sarcasm, so be aware...that was a joke. No real picture was taken while riding. ) Okay, so anyway, the rest of our time at Holiwood Nights was great. Near empty stations and walk-on rides each night for both Raven and Legend. And you can't beat that. See? Ted seemed to approve as well. Anwyay, onto Rumblefest. Again, nothing you haven't already seen really, so I'll just throw up the pics for the heck of it. Enjoy if you will. I'm not sure why this cut out for the chain is cool to me....but it just is. They don't get much better than this. Was I the only one thinking there was something missing in the station...like ceiling fans? Anyone wanna stand there in mid-July? Here I am demonstrating how to treat a woman while standing in a queue line. The gentlemen in here will appreciate that, even if they're all lurkers. If a lack of ceiling fans was the worst thing about this coaster, then I can't help but give it a solid thumbs up as well. It was great meeting and talking with the GCI guys. Again, nice work guys! Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the evening's festivities due to the fact I had to leave from Atlanta at 7 the next morning. Business is business...but when it includes a trip to SFNE, that ain't so bad, I guess. Step one: Fly into Fort Lauderdale. Step two: Pick up car. Step three: Keep driving past ghetto "park" that's already been checked off the list. Step four: Stop in to SFNE. Step five: Head straight for S:ROS. Okay, time to see where it ranks. Step six: Get reminded that I'm in the presence of "greatness." Step seven: Quit listing steps and get on with it. Okay, time to prepare for the possible clubbing from fanboys, but this thing was only around #5 on the personal top ten. And now time for the blasphemy....I still liked MF slightly better. Also, the fact that the supposed "tied for Greatest Coaster in the World" is starting to look more pink than red, and the trains look like they were put together from an old Intamin garage sale kinda take away from the allure that should be present here. Oh well, I guess. Actually, if MF and S:ROS had a lovechild, then we'd be talking about best on the planet. Then I ran over to Batman where I learned that New Englanders don't quite understand how good this ride is....well, judging by the lack of people in line, of course. Hmmmm, this idea may be better off over at Superman. Empty station= Empty trains= one happy Beemer fan. Three consecutive frontseat re-rides is okay by me. Mmmmm, zero-G roll goodness. Closed out the day with a big surprise. As Guy also figured out, this classic woody is a great ride! From the front seat, I caught the most amazing ejector air I think I've ever felt at one point just before the turn for the station. Wow, I never expected it. Time's up here at SFNE. I really enjoyed my time here. I think I have a new favorite-looking SF park. Now it was time to head back to the car when I found a curious discovery in the SF parking lot. I guess we won't be seeing that MF/S:ROS lovechild anytime soon, huh? Finally arrived in time to put the car on the ferry for the boat portion of our show. Time to reflect on all the new credits. Time to dock and head off to the last treat off this marathon trip. And what is it, you ask? Well, it's the nation's oldest operating platform carousel and a National Historic Landmark. It's also a brass ring beauty! And, sadly, it was also closed. Evidently I was misinformed about the hours of operation. So no Flying Horses for me on this trip.....maybe in the fall. After a bus ride to Boston, it was time to take the Blue Line T to the airport for the train section of the story. A flight back to Atlanta, a ride home to Dalton, and some much needed sleep, and that's about it. And so the marathon comes to and end.

Well put, Ted. Definitely any kind of drop towers for me as well.

"The Great Filling Station Holdup" - Jimmy Buffett

^ That's what I was imagining too, because 99% of all arguments on forums begin because people aren't skilled enough in "reading" each other from words and smileys alone. Seeing a person deliver their message would alleviate a lot of misconceptions. However, with that said, I doubt it will ever happen for a couple reasons, including what you already mentioned...bandwidth. The other being the fact that webcams would present a HUGE problem for mods. With kids' blatant disregard for ethics and morals these days (and sadly many adults as well), we'd unfortunately see a ton of immaturity displayed through that visual medium. Oh well, I guess I've talked myself out of that wish.

Sorry alpy, I couldn't pass it up. Opportunities like that only come around once in a blue moon...kinda like a smooth Vekoma. ^ On a serious note, I agree that Bonfante shoud be interesting. I doubt CF would insult the place, and its tradition, by slapping Snoopy everywhere. Okay, well I seriously hope they wouldn't anyway.

Well, judging by the Great Gasp sign at Spring Fling, just bring a couple grand.....that oughta cover it.

That's what I thought about TTD the year it opened. After driving up from South Florida to ride it at CoasterMania, I realized it wasn't as big a priority as I expected. Big event....have the much-hyped record setter running.....yeah, not so much. We did get to spend a lovely day looking at it and being lied to by Cedar Point execs though. Ahhh, good times. For the first time CP and Coastermania guys and gals out there, I wish you nothing but the best.

It's a toss up: The defunct Viper @ SFGADV OR Manhattan Express in Vegas Both = Togo Death Machines

I'll say high prices, but it could very easily have been smoker or line jumpers.

Since I don't have a say in the Golden Ticket awards, I could care less. Also, I still prefer Universal, Busch, and Six Flags to Cedar Fair. lol GT we should lol have you been to CP?! and thats just one person Yes, I've been to CP and I liked it. But as a whole, I like Universal, Busch, and Six Flags better. I'm sorry. I couldn't resist triple quoting. Um, I think this is a good move for Cedar Fair.....there, does that make it legit now?

^I'll take your word for it then.

What's with the crying baby on the sign though? Or was I looking at it wrong? Maybe it's busting out laughing? I just can't tell.

Eric, after you finished talking with him, he told me that it would also spend almost two minutes under water!! Devastator-style! Amazing how many miss the sarcasm....next time you post like that, give the over/under on how many will pick up on it.

Congrats you guys!!

I couldn't have said it better myself. I've been on about 12 different launches including KK, and Hulk still gets me every time! Volcano is a close second though.

^ ??

Well, I'm gonna go on record as saying this is a great deal for CF. Everyone is quick to point out that CF now owns Ohio, but I think this is actually more about PKD than PKI or any of the others. If I read Jonathan's post correctly, that said 500 acres to develop at PKD!? 500! In my opinion, PKD has now just moved up behind CP as the #2 property in their folder, and here's my uneducated reasoning for why. With the acquisition of PKD, CF is now officially coast to coast (at least towards the south now). In that area alone, you have three huge players now...CF (PKD), Busch (BGE), and SF (SFA). From all indications and speculation, Busch is primed to unveil the newest dive machine next year, which will boost attendance considerably; SFA was supposedly looked at favorably by Shapiro, mostly due to its potential, and PKD is already an excellent park as is. Throw in the reported 500 acres to work with, and they are in perfect position to become the top draw in the region. People love to talk about (well, mostly argue) about their flagship park (CP) being landlocked.....well, now they have a potential CP #2. PKD already has a decent lineup of rides...so why not use some of that land to create some on-site accomodations like CP has? Actually, they can do whatever they want with the place when the money is available to do so....that's my point in a nutshell. Argue all that later. I know a lot of folks feel that CF rips the character out of the places they purchase, but I somehow think this situation will be slighty different. Hey, at least CF has the ability to make this kind of purchase, continue building quality coasters (Silver Bullet, Hydra, Patriot) AND lower admission to CP all at once. Yep, you won't see Busch, Disney or SF lowering prices any time soon, I bet. So I can't see why they'd purchase all these parks without the intent to develop each one further. And one more thing. To those who jumped out of their seats ready to claim the beemers mentioned are "forceless" and boring.....I say two things. First, regardless of how you feel, it's always a good move for a park to purchase a B&M. And second, send one to Lake Winnie if you all hate 'em so much....I could use one fifteen minutes from home. [/i]

Great pics, man. It's refreshing to see some shots you don't normally find anywhere else.

What, no love for megayachts in here? I mean, c'mon at least Paul has his own kickass chopper onboard. Seriously though, to you flyboys, not to span too far off the intent of this thread, but how many airports will need to be modified to accept those new Airbus planes? I haven't heard much about 'em, but it's obvious they're HUGE!

^ What he said. Except I'd put Kumba first.

^ This should clear it up..... http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/products/hyper_en.aspx Oh, and my vote goes there as well.

^ Figures you'd chime in. Yes, and I won't even charge you $12 either. You've been raped enough by the Papa this year.

Then you, along with many others trying hard to be funny, would be living under a red sky. Scott " " B.

I'm not sure it's my favorite color scheme, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't made the ride any smoother, but Ninja sure looks better now @ SFOG. Photo: Courtesy CoasterCrazy

Zero-G, hands down.