Oldiesmann

My problem is I've been on a major park-hopping spree over the past eight years. I've now hit all but about 6 parks within 7 hours of Cincinnati, plus some that are further away. I'm running out of places within driving distance to visit As much as I'd love to see the Christmas event at SDC (or any other non-local park for that matter), that's really not an option for me because of working in a warehouse (we can't take time off during peak season and usually work six days a week as well)

I seriously need to get out there at some point. Maybe I'll make that planned MIssouri coaster trip in 2026...

Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8am central time (9am our time)... https://www.facebook.com/sdcattractions/posts/pfbid0HDQp5qfcD55yvckfeyCSgYUZ6SQzXGUcDgeSZsEaw4FBevbDpRV4pVM3Bheewbthl

Interesting cryptic post from Kings Dominion on Facebook earlier. Looks like we might finally get to see what they're doing with the coaster formerly known as I-305. https://www.facebook.com/kingsdominionva/posts/pfbid034hAEKUgWVJXEL3qDgrwwTswvXnpuAgmcYXcoRUijyrcUB54zrxBWE8eXG5RVDuoal

It wasn't there when I visited in July. I'm not entirely sure where it was though as it was only my second visit to that park (and my first in 6 years).

I grabbed two rides on Kingda Ka when I was there in July. Didn't get Zumanjaro because it was closed (supposedly for routine maintenance and to allow them to get it re-certified by the state). I doubt I'll make it back up there next year as I already have plans to head out to Virginia instead.

Back in June, Oaks Park's "AtmosFEAR" ride, got stuck upside down on the first day of the park's season: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/06/15/oaks-amusement-park-portland-ride-stuck-upside-down/74076733007/ The ride reopened about a week and a half later but they never determined the cause of the malfunction: https://www.koin.com/news/portland/atmosfear-open-again-oaks-amusement-park-ride-malfunction/ Now the park is suing Zamperla over the incident. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2024/09/oaks-park-blames-italian-roller-coaster-maker-for-ride-malfunction.html Interesting that this comes 3 months after the incident. I wonder if they found something with the ride or they're just trying to pass the blame to cover the costs of a lawsuit by one of the guests involved in the incident.

I personally like GeisterWolf myself

I didn't see the announcement live but I read about it from various FB friends and BGW pages I follow. That will give me at least 5 new coaster credits on my VA trip next year (2 at KD and now 3 at BGW - possibly even 4 if I make it over to the kids' area and grab the Grover coaster credit). I really wish BGW were closer.

The thing is, Coney wasn't trying to compete with Kings Island at all. With proper marketing and management it could have survived. Management made a huge mistake by removing the rides at the end of 2019, despite whatever reasons they had (publicly stated or otherwise) for doing so. Without the rides it was just a park that happened to have a giant pool with a few slides. a mini golf course, a few games and some activities for the kids. Not much to do when you were done swimming, nothing to do on days when it was a bit too chilly to go swimming...

I did the same thing this summer (with Great Adventure between Hershey and Dorney). If I weren't planning to head down to Virginia next year I'd consider it again. The Chocolate Town area they built is really nice.

Definitely great placement, but difficult to beat the one at BGW where you're swinging out over the edge of a large cliff.

https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/twizzlers-twisted-gravity/ Looks like fun and you'll get a great view of it from the Overlook Food Court. It's a shame Hershey is 7½ hours from here. I'd love to ride this next year, but that's too far to drive for a single weekend trip.

What was this guy thinking? Glad he's facing charges and hopefully he's learned his lesson. He's lucky nothing happened to the kids.

Searching for info on Facebook, I found this post in an Erie group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/668392443222569/?multi_permalinks=8213398108721927

https://www.erienewsnow.com/story/51230101/waldameer-investigating-incident-on-amusement-ride There was an accident on the Flying Swings ride at Waldameer in Erie, PA last night that resulted in three people being sent to the hospital. Nothing official yet other than a statement from the park saying they're investigating. According to a screenshot of a Facebook post from someone involved that my sister found, an operator attempted to stop the ride after a guest kept trying to open his restraint, but the ride continued rotating at full speed as it lowered, finally slowing down once swings started hitting an umbrella at the operator stand. The ride is similar to Zephyr, though I don't know if it's the same model.

Intamin dual-launch straddle coaster coming to Six Flags New England next year. https://www.boston.com/travel/travel/2024/08/15/six-flags-new-england-new-roller-coaster-quantum-accelerator/

I've seen it open more this season than previous seasons.

I rarely go to the water park but I'll definitely be checking this out at least. It's about time they got a water coaster.

I wonder if Carowinds will have the "no adults without a kid" restriction that Canada's Wonderland has (or had? I can't find anything on the park's site about that). I probably won't make it to Carowinds next year anyway (even though I love that park and haven't been in 3 years), but I am curious about that.

I really like Carowinds' Snoopy area. Great to see them adding to the area. I'm sure the new attractions and the splash area they also announced will be a big hit with families.

I saw the first article earlier, but given that they don't cite a source for their info I didn't really believe it. When I was there last month there was a sign up saying they were refurbishing it for their 50th anniversary season. I didn't see any work being done on it, but I was all over the park as well so I might have just missed it. Wikipedia says the sky ride was made by Von Roll, a company that's still in business, so I wouldn't think finding parts would be that difficult.

I was at Cedar Point for a couple of days in late July last year and the ride wasn't open at all the entire time I was there. It's sad to see it go but as others have said that's prime real estate, so it will be interesting to see what they do with the land.

The building is still there. The hotel is now a "Delta Hotels Marriott", but the water slide complex outside the portion of the building that housed Coco Key has been demolished. I don't know if that portion of the building is used for anything or not.

I'll have 4 as I haven't been since 2019. Might have even more if I decide to add SFA to the itinerary.