TombRaiderFTW

Hey, everyone. So, originally this summer, our family had plans to go to Canada next week. We would have hit up Canada's Wonderland, but unfortunately, those plans fell through. However, it turns out we'll instead make our way to Kings Dominion for my first visit ever. Obviously, I am ridiculously excited. (I'm not even going to try to describe it on here, because it would just be a bunch of capitals and exclamation points and random shouts like OH MY GOSH THEY HAVE A CRYPT THAT DOESN'T ACTUALLY SUCK.) I've posted on KDFansite to find out how busy it might be next Thursday, and it seems we've more or less lucked out. As long as the weather cooperates, I think it's setting up to be an awesome day, even though the park's got a shortened schedule of 10:30a-8:00p. The only thing I'm not sure of, though, is how to go about hitting up the rides at the park. The two must-rides at the park are The Crypt and Berzerker, but we'd like to get as much done as possible with what time and/or lines we might have. Anyone got any suggestions on how to take on the park?

^^ As is Action Theater.

http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/park/rides/thrill_rides/WindSeeker.cfm

Meanwhile, Cedar Point updated their facebook page with "New for 2011: Wind Seeker". Looks like we're getting Stratosoar?

...It's 2. I see nothing but "Waiting for Video."

I'm on the same page. They probably won't start the video till 2. And at that, I don't even have the audio. I just have a black screen that says "Waiting for Video."

Well HELLO there, sudden announcement out of nowhere with absolutely no hype whatsoever. I'm totally up for a Wind Seeker or Star Flyer at KI. The only thing is (though I'm not complaining) is that we sort of already have Zephyr, which essentially is the same ride. On top of that, if it went in Coney Mall at all, wouldn't that be kind of silly? It'd be like if CP plopped Power Tower where the carousel is (at the front of the park) but had Demon Drop right next door. I'm still totally grateful for whatever they add, anyway. Don't get me wrong, I love me some flats at KI; but it would be nice to have something new.

This wouldn't be the first time that Cedar Point has played up online rumors about their new ride. Especially now that everyone's in their comments, shrieking "IT'S A STARFLYER NAMED STRATOSAUR!!!1!111one!" ...It's StratoSOAR, everyone. People are misspelling and therefore misunderstanding, and Cedar Point's taking advantage of it. Which isn't a bad idea, in my opinion, if they want to keep what the ride's TRUE identity a secret. When has Cedar Point EVER been this transparent about its new rides? The defense would like to remind the jury of a certain picture: Bolded for emphasis. Sounds like it to me.Remember, everyone: Cedar Fair trademarked Stratosoar. Not Cedar Point. -Alex, who gets tired of facts being overlooked because we're all so sure of something. Ride Sally Ride, anyone?

Fun PTR! Sounds like you had a great time, headaches aside. The only thing... Forgive me, everyone, because I probably sound like a cheerleader, but I'm willing to put money on the fact that you didn't ride Voyage in either the front row of a car or in the very front (or very back) row. Voyage is a very odd ride in that moving to the center of the train tends to result in a rougher ride. People tend to have mixed feelings about the last row, but I guarantee that you might enjoy Voyage quite a bit more if you ride in the front row. The ride's alleged jackhammering/jerkiness is at its least in that seat, and riding there has converted some to a more positive opinion of a ride. (The defense calls Beast1979 as a witness!)

0_o Oh... oh dear.

Can I say Paramount's Rivertown? ...No reason.

^ Not to seem rude, but says who? By being "decent at best," is that supposed to mean that no one truly loved them?

Except for Thursday nights. BADOO-BA-CHHHHH! Here all week, folks.

"Yes, it is! I daresay you *might* beat out some lower-end D-SLR lenses!" cried the camera salesguy from the local Best Buy.

I can absolutely respect that, and I apologize to anyone who could have very easily taken my last post as the "THOU SHALT NOT SPEAKETH POORLY OF HOLIDAY WORLD" type. That's not at all what I meant by it; I just know that, for me, Holiday World does it all right. Part of the perfect park experience for me is seeing other people have fun, too, irregardless of if they're in my group. And besides markr's points (as well as my intense love for riding [and reriding and reriding...] all three coasters) Holiday World fills this PERFECTLY for me. I can't tell you how many times I've ridden one of their coasters with at least one person in the train who's never been on it before (or even been on a coaster before). This usually happens on Raven with younger (7-11 year old) kids, and nine times out of ten they get off the ride smiling and/or racing back to the entrance for another go. This is quite honestly something I don't see much of at Kings Island, Cedar Point, or any other park I've been to; the gap from "young kids' rides" to "big coasters" has no truly comfortable middle ground. Sure, from our enthusiast perspectives, we can point out that BLSC, Racer, or AE is kid-friendly-- and that's not to say that they aren't-- but what rides are there out there that's equally loved by the ride warrior and family communities alike? At Holiday World, Raven and arguably Legend seem to have the best of both worlds: appeal to the "experienced" and beginners alike. And it's for this reason I dearly love the park so: you can easily see whole families ride these together, sometimes for the first time, and have the time of their lives. And that's just the start: with Howler and Voyage, the park also caters to the earliest beginners and the most "experienced," respectively. Indiana Beach says "there's more than corn in Indiana," but I say "there's more than Voyage at Holiday World." -TombRaiderFTW, who has reasons for wanting to design coasters professionally...

Quoted for truth. With all due respect to Terp, Raven can be a very tame and (personally) uninteresting ride in just about any row but the last two, though the front car does get some good laterals at times. The back is FILLED with random, delicious ejector air. In fact, Raven's first drop in the back car is bar-none my favorite first drop on any coaster- the unnerving feeling of falling straight into a tunnel just can't be beat for me. I wouldn't count Raven out just yet. After all, even Diamondback has its less-than-stellar rows...

It's Screamscape. Does Lance ever have a legitimately "credible" source except when it's on the local news or on a coaster fansite? I realize that sounds overly critical, but I don't mean for it to be. But it's just that Lance always has his "anonymous readers" and "couple sources".

I as well am not "judging," but I must ask: what are you basing this off of?

I've only ridden Diamondback (soon to be fixed at Canada's Wonderland)... but based off of looks, I honestly think it's between Apollo's Chariot and La Ronde's Goliath. I might also toss in a trim-free Six Flags Great America Raging Bull... but I don't think that ever happens, unless someone's keeping an excited PTR a good secret. While these might not be rated as B&M's best rides, it seems like they're the hypers with real personality (read: that aren't a copied-and-pasted set of camelbacks, helixes, and *maybe* one unique element).

The High Five is HANDS DOWN one of the coolest ideas I've ever heard for a dueling setup. Way to go, Gravity Group!

I don't have much to add, save for this: If Holiday World is a vulture, I'm happy to be its roadkill. What a tool.