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gad198

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Everything posted by gad198

  1. This is the first time I've tried to quantify this. There's so much that go into these that these change every time I ride! Having said that: Top 5 Steel: 1. Behemoth 2. Millennium Force 3. Goliath - SFOG 4. Maverick 5. Diamondback (this is the one that has the opportunity to climb with additional rides) Honorable mention: Montu, SheiKra Top 5 Wood: 1. Voyage (this, for me, was a life-changing coaster...everything else I ride I compare to this, and none others successfully thus far) 2. Thunderhead 3. El Toro 4. Raven 5. The Beast
  2. Agreed with that entire post. The first drop didn't look like it was going to be "that" tall at the end of last year, so that was a very pleasant surprise. The hill after the hammerhead is great in the back, even with that trim, and I got the most forceful floater air there (aside from the first hill). I couldn't help but wonder if this is better than Behemoth, and I don't think it is. It may take a first row ride to change my mind about that, as I keep seeing reports the front car is the best. Behemoth simply has a better first half IMO because all of the hills come back to back and give you the air to match in a quick hitting fashion. Having said that, Diamondback is a great addition, it's a top 5 coaster, and I look forward to getting some more rides on it.
  3. First impressions...it's a really, really, good ride. My one ride was in the last row and we were all very impressed with the amount of sling you get over the hills on the ride. You don't really notice the dip into the ravine as you're going too fast to notice! I didn't get as much air on the third hill as everyone else. The trim brake hit really hard on our ride and we still got major air over that hill. I still contend that that trim doesn't affect the ride too much (unless you're in the front few cars), but if we can ever catch a ride when it doesn't catch that will be the singular greatest airtime-filled hill on any B&M coaster. I wanted to make a comment specifically about the splashdown. I know a lot of enthusiasts were saying "it would have been better to have one more bunny hill instead" or "it's just a gimmick." These folks couldn't be more wrong! Yes, the splashdown doesn't add any real "on-ride" value, but there will be so many signature photos with this splash, not to mention the overwhelming amount of attention it gets from passers-by. Overall it's a top 5 coaster for me. It'll be interesting to see what happens on a front seat ride, as I have a feeling the air up there will be better than in the back (a rarity on a B&M hyper). What a day!
  4. We were just in front of you in line (right ahead of the lady sitting in the chair in your first picture). Wow, what a cluster before opening eh? I'm really thankful we didn't lose any time by navigating between the different roped off areas along International Street! Great photos, particularly of that first hill drop. We also rode in the back (last row) and I was really impressed with the ride. Having said that, I think this is definitely a front seat ride and I can't wait to test that out this coming Friday. Thanks for posting your report!
  5. Did you see how fast the train is going over the hill after the hammerhead (right as the channel 12 video cuts from the POV)? Wow! If that trim is off might we see, dare I say it, an ejector air moment on a B&M??
  6. I don't think the problem will be getting to sleep for me, anyway; it'll be the getting up at 6 am! There really is nothing like being at Kings Island for the debut of a new coaster, particularly one of this magnitude. I'd almost liken it to the difference between being at a Spring Training baseball game compared to Game 7 of a World Series. The energy in the place is totally different and you know that it's a special day as soon as you get in the park. I'm curious for those folks who were there at either SOB's or FOF's opening day (last comparable occasions IMO) how they feel about tomorrow in comparison. I'd say it's close, particularly in light of the fact that I feel this will be a much more enjoyable and re-rideable attraction, but the buzz around those rides was bigger if only because the amusement park world hadn't seen rides quite like that before.
  7. ^ I think you're referring to the Delirium-type ride, except the seats are facing on the inside of the ring instead of the outside. I think it was in the appropriate section of the park (County Fair if I remember correctly), but I didn't get to ride it. It definitely looked like the best flat in the park, but we were there on a coasters only visit and only had four hours in the park. Do you like that ride better than Maxair/Delirium?
  8. Overview: My brother and I wanted to get a quick park trip in this past Sunday, and knowing it was Easter we realized that the crowds, particularly in the morning, probably wouldn't be too bad wherever we decided to go. We had two choices, either Six Flags Great America or Dollywood. Unfortuntely, Dollywood was closed for Easter and we chose to make the trip to SFGAm, or at the very least it chose us due to lack of other options! We started our trek up to Gurnee around 6 am (I must say, one of the great things about being in Cincinnati is that you're amazingly close to so many big parks and you can do many of them in a day trip if you choose). We made it to the park around 10 am central with the one hour time difference. We arrived in the parking lot to: around 150 cars total! Wow, I've never seen a park on a sunny (albeit cool) day with that few cars at park opening, but suffice it to say we weren't complaining! We walked through the entrance, scanned our passes and were off to Superman, Ultimate Flight. A few quick notes: I like to give a quick ride review and a grade for each ride. I'll try and keep these short! Also, for those of you who have Six Flags season & parking passes, I never realized that you could park in the preferred lot at this particular park. Is that also true at other Six Flags or does this only hold here? Ride Reviews: Superman, Ultimate Flight (walk-on): the park's B&M flying coaster. I've been on the one at SFOG and the ride experiences are identical. The only redeeming thing about this ride is the pretzel loop, but wow, this element never fails to deliver! IMO, Firehawk is a better overall experience but the pretzel loop is the best element on any flyer, and maybe on any coaster period. I only wish the rest of the ride were as thrilling. Grade: B- Batman: the Dark Knight (10 minutes, all waiting in the pre-show): much has been said about this ride elsewhere so I'll not care to elaborate except to say this. If you haven't been on the ride you probably need to check it out once out of curiosity, but ONLY if there's not much of a queue. The ride length/time is OK, but the ride simply doesn't do anything thrilling or have any redeeming features, maybe other than get out of the sun on a hot day. A noble attempt by SF to add theme (which, to their credit, they pulled off very nicely in the pre-show), but in the end this was a HUGE waste of money. Grade: D Batman: the Ride (walk-on): we got into the station and realized even the front row was a walk-on. Nice! When you're used to riding Montu, Raptor, Afterburn and the like it seems as though B:TR is short. The ride itself is always enjoyable, and the zero-g roll always does what it does! For a ride that's 17 and counting it still rides amazingly well. The missing wheel covers were a bit odd but nothing that detracted from the ride itself. Grade: B+ American Eagle (walk-on): this is the park's out and back wood coaster, similar to The Racer. This queue line has to be the longest queue I've strolled through thus far in any park I've been to thus far! Anyway, we FINALLY make it to the station where there is nobody waiting. We sat in the second seat (I'll explain later why we did this) even though the front row was open. The ride itself has some really nice pops of air, particularly on the return run. Unfortunately, to get that air you have to endure the amazingly rough ride! About that second seat decision: I remember reading a post from the Interpreter where he said that the second seat of three bench PTC trains offered the smoothest ride. My back would like to tell him the following: THANK YOU!! We got off OK, but I can't say the same for those folks in the front seat. One of those front seat riders summed it up nicely after being asked if he wanted to re-ride (as no one was waiting) again: **** NO!! Couldn't have said it better myself. I'd give this a D if this weren't for those nice pops of air, but as is...Grade: C- Raging Bull (walk-on): the park's B&M hyper. We sat in the second to last row. The first drop back here is outstanding, as that pre-drop really whips the back half of the trains over the hill. I still contend that you should catch MAJOR air on the first big airtime hill, but alas, that trim continues to wreak havoc! The rest of the course is a leisurely twisted stroll along the rest of the track with very little air to speak of the rest of the way after that first hill. I'll agree with many others that this is the most boring B&M hyper, by far, that I've been on to date. The one thing B&M did get right with this (and their other hypers) are the trains. They are, without a doubt, the most comfortable restraints going right now. I've ridden four B&M hypers (Nitro, Goliath, and Behemoth being the others) and I'll say that B&M has really improved the design of these coasters, particularly in the airtime department, with each one, and those of you riding a B&M hyper for the first time with Diamondback should be in for a treat. Grade: B- Viper (walk-on): this wooden coaster was a nice surprise! The ride comparison wise that immediately came to mind was the Georgia Cyclone, minus the roughness (although the air is better on the GA Cyclone). We rode in the back and the ride has some nice pops of air on many of the hills, but the one knock I have against this ride is that there seemed to be too much track that didn't do anything (i.e., go through curves at high speeds). Having said that it tracked well and was one of the better wooden coasters I've been on. I'll add this, I've been on El Toro, the Voyage, and Thunderhead all in the last year. Had I hopped on this coaster before those coasters I'd be inclined to rank it higher, but those coasters all change your paradigm as to how good wood coasters can be. It's a solid coaster, but not in the same class as others mentioned above. Grade: B We didn't ride Iron Wolf, V2 (down for maintenance, and it doesn't look as though it's a quick fix either), their other wild mouse (why do they have two wild mice in the same park?! ), their Arrow Looper or Whizzer due to time constaints. We did, however, accomplish a first (at least that I've seen)...we got banned from their 3 Point Challenge game!! A games supervisor stopped by, said we were winning too much (despite no posted prize limits on the prizes we were winning) and said that we could no longer play the game. I've never heard of or seen anyone get banned because they were too good, as games usually have prize limits in place to prevent this type of scenario from occurring. Grade for Six Flags games supervisors: F All in all the park isn't bad. It's got a varied collection of coasters, but there are no real standout coasters like with X2 and Tatsu at SFMM, Goliath at SFOG, or El Toro at SFGAdv. The park atmosphere is nice, the employees we did talk to were all very friendly (sans the experience above), but I don't have any real desire to get back here anytime soon. If I was back here I'd probably take more time to do some of their flats and check out their new Mack water ride opening in May. Definitely a must do park if you're in the area, but for me anyway it doesn't have that "wow" factor that would make me wish I had this as a home park. Overall grade: C+ Thanks for reading!
  9. I describe it to people as riding a coaster on a Lazy Boy chair!! It's BY FAR the most comfy riding experience for ANY high thrill coaster! It's also totally different than any other steel sit-down coaster as usually all those come with dynamic intensity and forceful direction changes (Intamin hypers, Giovanola's, Morgan) or just jerky-ness (Arrow), but the B&M hypers are radically different...super smooth (non-inverting) with a very free feeling going up and down the hills. It really feels like you're flying above the tree-tops and not aboard coaster track...the experience is similar to Delirium, but on a coaster. It's really the Cadillac of coasters!! Some (like Terpy) think they can be too smooth or controlled (over-engineered) like with Apollo's Chariot and it's not much different than a coaster simulator with a fan. But I thought Behemoth took things to a whole different level and was a billion times better than Nitro or any other B&M hyper (and I've been on all in N. America), so I really think Diamondback could be the best yet!! I couldn't have said it better. I'll add to it that when B&M decided that their hypers were going to be more up and down rather than have more laterals (i.e., Raging Bull) that the experiences have vastly improved. Behemoth is, by far, the best B&M hyper IMO and Diamondback should be in the same mold. I'm actually more interested in a night ride on Diamondback. Having said that, we've made plans to get there early, take a spin and then come back and get in line somewhere before closing. It'd be nice to be able to experience the day/night effect!
  10. Have you ever seen anyone win that game? We passed by on numerous occasions and even some of the most muscular people couldn't win! The average score seemed to be between 70-80 points no matter who played. I want to see someone other than an employee beat the wacky wire game! My brother and I usually shell out $5 to beat bank-a-ball once a week. We usually can be found at the 3-point challenge, though.
  11. ^ Nice catch! The queue covering is interesting eh?
  12. It looks as though there are some new pictures up: KI Diamondback Photo Gallery
  13. ^ Ba-dum-cha! I'm assuming you're here all week? By the way, are you making a run to any of the Six Flags parks opening up this weekend? It is truly hard to believe it's April 1 already! Good times! I only hope that the season doesn't go by as fast as the first three months of this year have!
  14. I agree with all of the above, particularly the first few weekends as wait times pertain to Diamondback. I've only missed a major coaster opening once since 92 (BLSC), but I have a feeling we'll wait until Friday, April 24 until we get our first ride. The park should be much more manageable that day! I did manage to get a trim-free ride on Goliath earlier this month. We rode in the back and I have to say it was heavenly not feeling that trim grab and getting forceful floater air over all of the remaining hills! I hope all of you who do go have a great time!
  15. Ditto! We did it in an unusual fashion though... My brother and I won two tickets to the "Sneak Preview" day for SOB through a TV promotion that STAR 64 was doing. I believe that particular ride night was supposed to be on a Thursday evening. Anyway, that day was called off because, if memory serves me correctly, they claimed a lightning bolt hit near the structure and caused some damage to the rides electrical system. Rats! There was a Season Pass night scheduled a week later on a Friday night, but they weren't sure the ride was going to be operational by then. I was following much of the SOB buzz through another site where Shaggy was posting. The day before the season pass night he mentioned that he believed SOB would be up and running and that he would be taking some laps on it that next morning (for a Media Day, I believe). Meanwhile, I told my brother about this on Thursday evening and he said he'd be willing to hit up the park early. We decided that it'd be easiest for me to come pick him up right after he got out of school (at 2:30) and proceed straight to the park to wait outside the parking lot entrance. We get to the parking lot just shy of 3 and...there's not a single car waiting! WTF? I told him that a very credible person said that the ride would be open at some point today, and I couldn't understand why there weren't any cars out there already waiting. I thought this could only mean that the ride would not be open, and thus we decided to leave. We got back home and I decided to check the message boards to see if Shaggy had written anything. It turns out that he (1) had not only ridden the ride that day and said that it would probably be open for the season pass night but (2) said that the ride was really nice. I told my brother that we needed to head back to the park and wait it out. We got back to the parking lot right around 3:30. Unfortunately, there were around 50 cars already waiting in line. Double rats! Naturally, this would cost us, as I'll explain later. I will say this. The atmosphere while we were waiting was nothing short of cool. Most everyone had hopped out of their cars, pumped up the volume on their radios and were talking to and laughing with one another. Everyone hopped back in their cars just shy of 4:30 for the opening of the parking lot gates, and by this time, we could see the line of cars stretching back all the way to just shy of the Western Row/Columbia intersection. It was going to be crazy! We managed to be one of the first 10 people who got to the front entrance and admission gate, but, as it turned out, the scanner went down. Triple rats! We kept watching person after person go by through the gates, while we're stuck in neutral waiting for them to figure out what the problem was. About a minute later the system came back, we were let through, and were off to get in line. We ended up about 100 people back from the front. After the ride cycled several times with and without riders, they let us in around between 6 and 6:30. Many of the people in front of us wanted to make sure they were on the first two trains, while those that saw that wasn't going to be possible (including us) ended up getting in line for the front row. There was nothing like being in the station at that time. The buzz and energy you could feel from each person in that station was beyond words, and when that first train passed through the loop everyone in the station started going crazy! It was worth waiting all that time just for that one moment. We ended up on the 11th train going out, and I don't know whether it was all of the anticipation of riding, the day we had up to that point or the ride itself but I still consider that first ride one of my fondest and most fun coaster riding experiences ever. The ride was smooth as glass and yet at the same time more powerful than any other coaster we'd been on up to that point, and everyone who got off the train was equally impressed. Ironically, the rest of the park was near dead (it was just shy of 8 when we got off), so we had a great time wondering hitting the other coasters for the other two or so hours we were there. I did feel sorry for those who were in the back of that amazingly long line that had formed for SOB, people who I can't believe had a chance to ride that day either because of the length of the line itself or because of the rides on again/off again status the rest of that night. SOB has had better days, and it's truly a shame each ride since hasn't been nearly as good (an unrealistic expectation anyway). Shaggy, thank you for posting your ride trip report that day. I've always wanted to thank you for that and all of the other great posts you provide. Diamondback truly is a culmination of 9 years of waiting, both for me and for many of you, and I hope that Opening Day will provide that same type of excitement again! Enjoy!
  16. It's amazing how the night and fog made that such an amazing experience. I had a chance to ride in the front seat of MF during the first Friday of Halloweekends last season, and it was a totally different coaster! I even managed to get some noticeable floater air on the second big hill, something that hasn't happened since my first ride back in 01. The Beast is always great at night, and I can't wait to try the Voyage at night during Holiwood Nights!
  17. Excellent post, and that sentence sums up the way I feel about Holiday World as well (although I personally love the Voyage). I had a good time at the place, particularly on the woodies, but I just felt as though the park was a little on the random side when it came to the way it was put together.
  18. I just spoke with a park representative about this situation and here's what they had to say: Anyone who had a 2008 Platinum Pass and renewed in person at the park for 2009 should be (and have been) processed. I verified this using my own PP number and having the representative verify that this pass is paid up, already processed and ready to go. You will not need to get new card issued to you and your existing card should work the first time it's presented at the park.
  19. ^ I've heard rumors that Ninja may be getting some type of train modifications. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?
  20. ^ I'm assuming you went on the "bonus" weekend Friday they had last year? That day was truly fantastic. I believe they let the GP in with the Early Entry folks too it was that dead at that time of day. Maverick was about a 5-10 minute wait even an hour after Early Entry started! It did pick up (Maverick ballooned to 45 minutes) but that was a great day to be at the Point!
  21. gad198

    Trim Brakes

    This is all about those trim brakes that negatively impact your ride experiences. The morst egregious of these, IMHO, is the trim brake right before you crest the third hill on Raging Bull. That trim is a complete airtime killing device. Others are nearly as bad, but this is where you come in. All thoughts and comments welcome!
  22. ^ Gotta agree, particularly with Voyage. It's my favorite coaster, but after the first three hills there's no chance you'll see me with my hands up on that ride. OTSR's are auto hands down for me as well. If you're in the middle of a B&M coaster with OTSR's (seats 2&3 of any row) it's hard to put your hands up anyway!
  23. Hehe, that's true. Just getting back to that ride from anywhere in the park is exercise enough! Who knew Cedar Point was trying to promote good fitness so covertly
  24. ^ I'm just glad that if you want to re-ride then you won't have to walk all the way around like you do on Maverick, even escaping out of the quick exit just shy of the gift shop. It takes forever to re-queue on that ride!
  25. ^ I think the weather protection is all I'd really like. Fans would be fantastic as well but the key thing is simply to keep the sun and rain off of you! Also, you have to remember that a portion of Maverick's queue was already in place as an existing building. I can't think of too many other rides at Cedar Fair parks where they've really gone out of their way to build a queue like Maverick's on any of their bigger coasters, so I think Maverick is definitely an anomaly in that respect.
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