sheikra_rocks

Once again, Beast was AMAZING this season! Comparing the rides themselves is one thing, and comparing how rides are maintained is another. The argument this thread is trying to make is a maintenance issue, not a manufacturer issue. People CONTINUE to blame B&M for the rattle on coasters, and you simply can not blame B&M for a rattle that was not there on day 1 of operation. Once installation is complete, it is up to the parks to maintain the rides. For those who have not been, you need to go ride Gatekeeper, X Flight, and Wild Eagle. Go ride all 8 of the Florida B&M's. Go ride Behemoth and Leviathan. Batman at SFGAm. You will see a HUGE difference. I have ridden 41 of the 90 B&M's in existence, and can tell you that a comment like "Cedar Fair has finally realized that B&M's aren't that great," or what ever the stupid comment was, is completely false. 2013 was the "Year of Faulty Intamins" How many B&M rides failed on the lift, and rolled back down? How many B&M rides motors went out? How many B&M rides experienced an extended period of downtime this season? B&M's do break down. It is a machine, and machines do break down. Someone say Batman from SFNO or Time Machine and I will go all Madea on them! I have ridden the following B&Ms: Diamondback Kumba Skeikra Montu Mantis Raptor The smoothest were by far the BGT trio, with Kumba being slightly behind than the other two. I may have ridden a train that was due for maintenance. My experience on Mantis was better than most reports I've read and that probably has to do with the 'seat' being aligned properly. It wasn't terribly rough and smooth by most standards. I thought I was going to be shaken to death by Raptor though. I couldn't believe how much different it was than the others. I still consider Diamondback to be smoother than other Cedar Fair B&Ms I've ridden but when it has more years on it that may be a different story. My point is that I agree with you in your statement that on day one B&Ms are super smooth. Maintenance plays a major role in the longevity of any machine, as does weather and climate. Finally, someone who understands me! SheiKra is my alcoholic beverage, Montu is my illegal non prescription drug, and Kumba is my afterglow! LOVE KUMBA!

So you are saying everything else in my post is correct? I speak the truth in the questions: "How many B&M rides failed on the lift, and rolled back down? How many B&M rides motors went out? How many B&M rides experienced an extended period of downtime this season?" What the hell does El Toro being wooden have to do with the LIFT mechanism failing? What does Shoot The Rapids being a water ride have to do with the LIFT mechanism failing? It is the same principal. Get them up the hill or stop and keep it in place in the event of a malfunction. Wooden, water, or cable is irrelevant to the fact that all three of those had LIFT issues that resulted in extended periods of downtime. One of which still has yet to reopen.

Once again, Beast was AMAZING this season! Comparing the rides themselves is one thing, and comparing how rides are maintained is another. The argument this thread is trying to make is a maintenance issue, not a manufacturer issue. People CONTINUE to blame B&M for the rattle on coasters, and you simply can not blame B&M for a rattle that was not there on day 1 of operation. Once installation is complete, it is up to the parks to maintain the rides. For those who have not been, you need to go ride Gatekeeper, X Flight, and Wild Eagle. Go ride all 8 of the Florida B&M's. Go ride Behemoth and Leviathan. Batman at SFGAm. You will see a HUGE difference. I have ridden 41 of the 90 B&M's in existence, and can tell you that a comment like "Cedar Fair has finally realized that B&M's aren't that great," or what ever the stupid comment was, is completely false. 2013 was the "Year of Faulty Intamins" How many B&M rides failed on the lift, and rolled back down? How many B&M rides motors went out? How many B&M rides experienced an extended period of downtime this season? B&M's do break down. It is a machine, and machines do break down. Someone say Batman from SFNO or Time Machine and I will go all Madea on them!

Beast has been giving it's best rides this season!

DB was running well tonight.

I am a member of ClubTPR, and quite enjoy it. I will be renewing my ClubTPR membership in February. ... and I will also withdraw my next statement, because no one here will like it.....

I think they are still working. Check out the location of the light near the lift hill! Not sure where it is coming from.

Start at Club Blood, Wolf Pack, then Slaughter House. For some reason that I can not figure out, Club Blood is so stupidly popular. Wold Pack is just "eh". Don't want to wait very long for it. Slaughter House is the best! Look out for Sam the butcher (one of our very own posters here) Then Head up toward Coney Maul. Hit Delta Delta Lame, I mean Die, then go to Board To Death, then Urgent Snore, I mean Scare! After Urgent Scare, go through Madame, then CarnEvil, then Holiday Horrors. Get in line for the train before 8 pm. It seems to have the longest combined wait. Wait for the train, then wait for the return trip. Cornstalkers is so good this year. Much better than previous seasons. Back Yard Bayou or what ever it is called, (every park has a "bayou" this year.) is really awesome, and has great props. Basically, start with your indoor mazes, and do all of those before 8pm. Some worth repeating: CarnEvil Slaughter House Bayou Board To Death Cornstalkers Also, you MUST go see Ed Alonzo! HYSTERICAL!

I still think they should buy a 4th generic train to rotate out with current trains so they can give them EXTENSIVE refurbishment as opposed to the off season rebuild. Think Kumba and Montu. They each have 4 trains, even though the rides are only blocked for 3 trains. They rotate one train out, and can maintain capacity on busy days. I know the argument: "But they are open all year." My response is, "What's Cedar Fair's excuse for poorly maintained rides when they are closed for 5 months or so?" Montu for example, does not have a bump or an "oops" moment ANYWHERE. Kumba still packs a mean punch just as it did back in 1993. IT does however have 2 places where the train shudders. However, it is still my number 1 steel. SheiKra has 5 trains, and is blocked for 5. However, they only run 5 on rare occasions. Again, not a bump or "oops" moment. Compare the BGT B&M trio to the Cedar Point B&M trio, and you tell me the difference! You will find that the BGT trio all run better than the Cedar Point trio. Gatekeeper has only been open for 1 season and has developed an actual BUMP? There is no excuse for that. Sheikra who is probably gonna catch hell for this post, but oh well!

It really is not that bad. The worst place is in the valley between the hammerhead and the trim brake. Gatekeeper is far worse. I will take Diamondback's rattle over Gatekeepers bounce any time!

GLADLY! I would be able to see it being built in person.

There is also this really neat thing that was invented called a shovel.

Did you fall and hit your head? Diamondback is a lot smoother that Racer. The red train is riding the best this year toward the front. You really need to go ride the Cedar Point B&M trio. Diamondback runs light years better than those 3.

Looks like they are still working. The may be securing that section of track to the support above it since that particular section does not have a support itself.

It looks like there are 2 sections left of the crest of the dive loop. We will see a completed dive loop on Friday upon entering the park.

Gatekeeper was smooth as glass at the beginning of the season (Media Day). Then on opening weekend of Halloweekends when I rode it, I noticed that It developed a "bump" worse than Diamondback's rattle in the back. Diamondback is more of a vibration, but Gatekeeper actually BOUNCES. Of the 41 B&M's I have ridden, the Cedar Point trio are the worst.

Those blend in really well with theming. Hard to even tell that they are there. Doubt Kings Island would be able to do that. But they don't blend in with the sky!... LOL These were taking on my July 2012 Florida B&M trip. I believe Beast Man was with me on this trip. I do believe Banshee will have something similar. The net's don't really bother me, just annoying when trying to get photos like this. I do hope that they take out the advertisement sign that is right there at Banshee's dive loop. That will make for an amazing photo op.

Here is Montu's net beneath the immelman.

Members from a select number of roller coasters clubs and organizations will be able to RSVP to attend Banshee Media Day. Those clubs and organizations will be announced at a later date. What Don said! I didn't get to page 71 yet... LOL

I completely 100% disagree with you. My personal best on Diamondback was 45 times in one day. Beast and Diamondback both get better as the day progresses. Most B&M's (I have ridden 41 B&M's total) that I have ridden tend to "warm up", and give much better rides later in the day. Beast as a wooden coaster is no exception to this "warming up" theory. You can have a really slow and sluggish ride in the morning, but at about 5 pm it will be really hauling. To judge the speed of The Beast, sit in row 4 (ejector seat as I call it) as the train makes it's way onto the second lift, the first car should reach the first landing of the stairs on the side before the chain takes over. Sometimes the second car reaches the landing. You know you are flying when the train climbs that high under it's own momentum. It has been stated that if you are PAID member of a coaster club such as ACE, ClubTPR, etc, that they will be invited to media day, as well as people who are invited (via Scream Like a Banshee winners, news stations, etc.) KICentral is not a paid coaster club. Also, one should note that there is a camera mounted on the train, so dispatches can be slow. To get the most rides, I suggest riding where you can and not wait for the front. (I got 30 rides on Gatekeeper for Media Day) If they work it like Gatekeeper, there will be an online RSVP where you sign up, then you must show you membership card at the gate to get in. Your Platinum, Gold, or Regular season pass will NOT get you into Banshee Media Day. There was an instance at Gatekeeper Media Day where management announced that promo photos would be taken and for everyone to HOLD ON to the restraints at all times. Otherwise they would not be able to use the photos. As soon as that train rolled at the top of the lift, you could see a person in the front of the train with his hands up. Moral of story: If they say to HANG ON, don't be the 1 idiot who can not follow directions, and ruin it.

Pretty low to the ground, add the track and the train..hmmm not much room at all. Plenty of room!

I don't know what it is for, but it isn't the first time we've seen it. http://KICentral.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=291&pid=7184#top_display_media You can also see that the steel "flange" is sandwiched between washers and nuts. If something doesn't fit right, they can adjust these nuts to accommodate and fit.

Kat... Look at the last post on page 67.

It is not in the way. This construction company builds coasters all the time, I think they will be good. The only thing I see them doing is starting at the bottom of the dive loop, and building backward up to the top of the dive loop. There is at least one section of track on the top of the inversion that does not have supports.

Definitely! Would fit in the Crypt building and does not have a minimum height requirement. I had to look up Houdini Ride, and now that I have, you have my full support on this venture- it would be like a Crypt without nightmarish maintenance issues. I experienced the one at Great Adventure, and it was really neat. With the right story line, and a great theme, a Madhouse ride would work nicely as a replacement to the Crypt gondola. http://www.vekoma.com/index.php/specialities-and-attractions/madhouse