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McSalsa

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Everything posted by McSalsa

  1. I had a Kings Island based dream last night: I went and rode the Blue Racer, and had fun on it- good airtime and pretty smooth. I was killing time in the dream so afterwards, I got back in line but found there was a short wait (10 minutes or so) for the ride. I also decided to switch to Red Racer to see how it was comparing. While in line, I met some girl who was supposed to be my cousin or something, but I had never met this girl in my life so I dunno who she was. She was also kinda scared, but I got her over it, and after we rode Red Racer we went and rode...Invertigo for some reason. Then I woke up. I also a long time ago had a very weird dream: I got in line for Flight of Fear, but the que was a dark haunted Victorian mansion thing and there was no one in line, and it was crazy long. It also seems, every time I dream of Flight of Fear, there is always something different in the building and I never actually get to the ride. Also, a month or so ago, I did have a dream that included Orion. I didn't ride it in that dream because the line was too long (it was 1 hour). Later I had a 2nd dream that included Orion that was weirder: instead of myself, I was Don Helbig and it was media preview for Orion (this was before it was delayed due to Coronavirus). Suddenly I got a message on my communicator of severe weather, so for whatever reason I (as Don Helbig) went up to the 275 foot level of the Eiffel Tower to look and I saw a huge Tornado coming towards the park. I ordered the "tornado bunkers" (not sure if these actually exist at Kings Island) under Backlot Stunt Coaster and Orion to be opened, and as I was about to go back down to enter myself, I told the Eiffel Tower operators to come too but they had to evacuate more people there. I headed down and got in the Orion Bunker (which was filling with people) and then woke up before the Tornado actually hit.
  2. A B&M Wing Coaster in China. The OG rumors/possible leaks suggested that Kings Dominion would get a version of the ride to replace Volcano in 2021. Rcdb Page for Heaven's Wing: https://rcdb.com/15676.htm POV (has a slightly different name for the ride, it may have had a name change already or the translation is not 100% known):
  3. While I have already done a Top 10 on this topic, I have some updates since I had a decent amount of repeat visits to both Kings Island and Cedar Point last year. And thus there was some shuffling. I will keep my OG Top 10 post up for comparison purposes, but here is a slightly updated Top 10. I also won't go fully over my opinions of every coaster since that would be re-treading ground: #10- Top Thrill Dragster (Cedar Point) Didn't get to ride this on my visit to Cedar Point in 2019. It had way to long (and slow moving) of wait for my tastes on a packed Saturday, and then it broke down and never opened on Sunday...which is sadly typical of this ride. It still holds a Top 10 spot thanks to my 2017 and 2018 rides though. My first ride in 2017 remains a experience I will not soon forget. #9- Banshee (Kings Island) I had quite a few awesome rides on Banshee in 2019, which were enough to get the coaster past the likes of Mystic Timbers, Legend, and TTD and into my Top 10 for now. For the record, it was already lurking just outside my Top 10 when I made my 1st post here. This is a excellent ride with strong g-forces and huge fun inversions. #8- Raptor (Cedar Point) On the super-packed Saturday I went to Cedar Point in 2019, I waited 45 minutes for Raptor to re-open because everything had monster lines: Rougarou was 30 minutes when that ride is usually a walk-on, and GateKeeper was 2 HOURS. I am glad I did, because I ended up getting a crazy good ride with awesome G-Forces and epic snappiness, and it was very smooth for a ride that is over 25 years old now. I rode again on Sunday and it was still very good, if just a bit worse than it was running on Saturday. These epic rides were more than enough to get Raptor into my Top 10. #7- Diamondback (Kings Island) Got some great rides in 2019, but nothing really enough to move this one (in spite of the ride going crazy and giving super strong airtime on opening day 2019 somehow). Diamondback stays at #7. #6- Magnum XL-200 (Cedar Point) This ride was a savior on the super-crowded Saturday with its awesome capacity, though it still had a 40 minute wait due to the sheer number of people in line. Granted early and later in the day it became a walk-on, I rode 3 times total. I also rode a few times more on Sunday. I still adore this coaster's epic ejector air and awesome location, even if it is a bit rough. #5- Millennium Force (Cedar Point) Millie drops a spot: my rides in 2019 were very good, but I am really starting to notice how the ride does lack strong g-forces in the middle and the airtime is just meh when compared to even "regular" (aka not going insane like it did opening day 2019) Diamondback, much less Steel Vengeance or Magnum XL-200...save for that last bunny hop, which has pretty good airtime. The coaster does make up for this with a epic first drop and amazing speeds though, and it has a pretty good ride length to boot. However... #4- The Beast (Kings Island) On its 40th anniversary season, Beast moves up a spot. My reasoning for this: directly comparing MF and Beast, both start off very strong, and both have great sense of speed (MF for actually being fast, Beast for feeling out of control due to being wooden) and kinda "meh" middle parts...but while Millennium Force's bunny hop near the end is great, it follows that up with straight track and a kinda weak overbank. Beast ends with its legendary double helix. For having the far superior ending, I had to put Beast a spot higher. #3- The Voyage (Holiday World) I didn't ride Voyage in 2019, but my 2018 rides (including my first night ride) were so good they alone managed to keep Voyage safe in the Top 3. The ride is being re-tracked yet again for 2020, so it should ride even better this season for anyone who wants to go to Holiday World when this Cornavirus stuff finally ends. #2- Maverick (Cedar Point) I got a ride on Maverick when I went to Cedar Point in 2019, but had to wait until Sunday and it kept breaking down on Saturday and had way too long a line when it wasn't. But that Sunday morning ride was awesome. Maverick is a fantastic ride and I cannot recommend it enough. #1- Steel Vengeance (Cedar Point) No change here- only rode SV once this year due to its lines, and waited until the park was nearly closed on Saturday so Fast Lane would clear out and the line would move 2x faster. This strategy worked, as instead of waiting 3 hours for it, I only had to wait...75 minutes. Yeah still a big line. However for waiting 75 minutes, I still got boatloads of airtime and numerous crazy head choppers and inversions on the side. Still my #1 coaster. And that is a updated version of my Top 10. Mystic Timbers and Legend fell out, not for any reason of their own but because the 2 B&M Inverts decided to barge in and there was no more room.
  4. GP to Enthusiast has re-uploaded and fixed his error in the OG video. Here is the new version: Also I was apparently wrong about the train cycling several times before the main injures occurred, there were really only 3 "events" and not 4. (The support breaks, the 2nd train hits the dip and injures riders, and then Train 1 is E-Stopped when a ride-op sees the injured riders of Train 2)
  5. Watching the test video: more evidence Orion is gonna haul from start to finish. The sideways turn looks very fast, and then the 200+ foot turnaround is taken at speeds near or above what Millennium Force takes during its first overbanked turn. And that is with the 170+ foot sideways hill before it to burn off speed, with a drop that is the same height (300 foot drops for both)! Orion may only be a 60-second ride from the top of the lift to the final brakes, but it should be a pretty darn intense and epic 60 seconds.
  6. D'oh! At least Fun Spot let us down easy on it. I also do respect that they at least bothered to show up and look as well. But it seems Indiana Beach is likely still doomed, which is very sad.
  7. To be fair, NTG and Iron Rattler also didn't add 40 extra feet of height (and thus much more speed). OG Texas Giant went 62mph, NTG goes 65- a increase of 3mph. OG Rattler went 65mph, Iron Rattler 70mph. It probably has had some effect but Steel Vengeance went crazy when adding extra height and speed, not to mention the new "2nd-Gen" RMC trains are also claimed to be a source of issues, as they apparently are also heavier than the 1st gen trains. For the record from what I know, only Steel Vengeance and Twisted Timbers have the 2nd gen trains but I could be wrong (I dunno if Zadra for example has them). Twisted Cyclone- which also opened in 2018- still had the old trains and it didn't seem to have any problems. I would find it a bit funny if Kings Island got a RMC, and then it had the old 1st gen trains because Cedar Fair realized the 2nd gen ones stunk (or just had RMC remake the trains again, creating a Gen 3 train). Kings Island would also want something that could run 3 trains: I don't know if New Texas Giant has the same issues in terms of capacity Steel Vengeance has or not, but a park pulling 3,000,000 guests per year is gonna want at least around 1,000pph for a major attraction (all of the big popular coasters currently at KI- Orion, Banshee, Diamondback, The Beast and Mystic Timbers are at or above this level). Finding a solution to the loose articles/metal detectors issue would also something to overcome. If they wanted to keep Steel Vengeance's "mystique" I would also imagine KI may wait until 2028-ish (when SV is 10+ and some of the hype has died down) and/or build a Topper Track coaster that isn't as large (to be fair a topper track woodie that is "only" 185 feet tall would be able to claim it is the current world's tallest wooden coaster, though then you get the whole is topper track wood can' o worms). Plus this would give RMC more time to improve their coasters reliability and capacity. PS: I would also be all for a ground-up RMC (I can wait if it means fixing the Steel Vengeance issues though) not only because it would likely become my new #1 at KI, but because their custom structures look epic. This appears to be a drawing (maybe? Could be a photo, it blurs that line...) but it looks cool (from Energylandia.pl- the park's official site):
  8. They did. Here is a video filmed a few days before the accident I like to watch from time to time, it is a "music video" made by CoasterImage.com (anyone here remember them)? Son of Beast can be seen running 5-car trains. Note: It is from 2007 so hope you don't mind good old 240p!
  9. Using the webcams last year, on a day I was bored, I actually was estimating each coaster's capacity I could see. Vortex was pulling around 1000pph which was pretty good capacity. Here were my results. I watched each coaster run at least 5 cycles, and then used the best 3 cycles as an average (giving mulligans for walks of shame and stuff), and I got these numbers. Vortex: 1,029pph Diamondback: 1,314pph BLSC: 712pph Mystic Timbers: 949pph The Racer: 800pph per side (1,600pph both sides) These were estimated using the Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, and Orion Construction cams. I also looked at some Cedar Point cams to see how they compared: Valravn: 1,037pph Millennium Force: 935pph (oof- a bit bad for such a popular ride, Orion will smash this) Maverick: 858pph Iron Dragon: 933pph Steel Vengeance: 642pph (Worse than BLSC- no wonder it always has 2+ hour waits!) Gemini: 848pph per side (1,696pph if both sides running) I also could have done Rougarou but I got tired before I got to it and forgot. I no longer have exact numbers but remember doing this once for The Beast too, it got about 900-1000pph and Banshee pulled 1400-1500 (I expect Orion will be about the same as Banshee given the 4-across seating and train sizes are the same).
  10. Update: I just re-checked GP to Enthusiast's video, and turns out my OG thoughts on what happened in 2006 were in fact true: here is what actually happened based on the video and what I have learned via the comments. Son of Beast was running 2 trains in 2006. 1- Train #1 (could have been SOB's #2 but I'll just say it was #1 for simplicity) departs, climbs the lift hill, drops and hits the rose bowl. The ride goes fine however the forces cause a support to crack/break and a small dip to occur in the track. 2- Train #2 is dispatched, and when it hits the rose bowl section that was damaged, riders feel a jolt but are not injured. The damaged area breaks even more and the dip becomes larger. 3- Train #1 is sent out again, and hits the now large dip. Riders sustain injuries and some have bloody noses. The ride manages to complete the rest of the circuit and returns to the station. 4- Train #2 is climbing the 218 foot lift, when ride ops see the injured riders of Train #1 and E-Stop the ride. Train #2 is stuck there, and remains there for days. News chopper footage of Son of Beast from around the time of the accident show Train #2 on the lift hill. Who knows what would have happened if the ride ops had been faster and Train #2 had cleared the lift before the ride was E-Stopped!
  11. ^ It was removed a few weeks ago, Don Helbig even gave us a heads-up. It should return by late March/early April.
  12. Well, seeing Orion test for the first time, I have 2 observations: #1- Orion seems to have a variable speed lift hill, but for the 1st test they seem to have used the lowest speed setting. (A variable speed lift hill is one that goes slower until the train ahead has cleared the upcoming block. In the case of Orion this would be a train hitting the final brake run) #2- The helix looks to be taken at pretty high speeds and with good g-forces. Yes, the trims were probably off, but this was also the very first test run (so the ride was not even broken in at all yet) and in much cooler temperatures than what the ride will run at in summer. So I expect the helix will be taken pretty fast and forcefully when the ride is open, save maybe on cooler mornings when the ride has just been woken up and runs slower (though in those cases, will the trim even kick on?).
  13. Oof. More problems for Steel Vengeance. The ride is amazing when open (it is my current favorite ride based on ride experience) but it has issues: from what I have heard, and these are just rumors, is that Mean Streak's old structure is not handling the new RMC trains and increased speed very well. They are heavier than the old PTCs Mean Streak was using, and going nearly 10mph faster at maximum speed. This is apparently forcing Cedar Point's maintenance team to have to repair the structure fairly often, thus why the ride was usually not open for ERT in 2019 and now won't even attempt to operate during ERT on weekdays in 2020. The metal detectors also being needed on this ride also kills the capacity: dispatches are pretty slow because of this, so in spite of 3 trains, Steel Vengeance is likely getting 550pph on good hours, which even Mystic Timbers smashes (I have estimated MT to get 900-1000pph by watching the webcams before). Which is why you see 2 hour waits on even not-so-busy days when Millennium Force is only 20 minutes. As much as I would love a RMC I-Box or Topper Track coaster at Kings Island, these issues make me doubt one will come (same deal as with Intamin coasters) until these issues have been solved. Kings Island has been on a streak of adding tried-and-tested models with good reliability and capacity, and they have had lots of success so far with this.
  14. GO FUN SPOT GO! I really hope this deal goes through: also, if it does, ironically I feel like Indiana Beach kinda matches up with the Fun Spot parks in Florida. They are very small parks and also have some solid wooden coasters, from what I hear. So it would IMO fit in their lineup.
  15. Holy crud- this was the first amusement park I had ever been to back in 1999. I had not been back since, but I was hoping to get back there soon to re-ride some old rides as well as the new ones they have added in the last 20 years. This news sucks: Hoosier Hurricane, my first true roller coaster I ever rode, is probably going to be demolished as relocation for a wooden coaster would be very rare in this day and age. Cornball Express is probably also gonna go, and I have read nothing but good reviews for that ride, and while reviews were mixed Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain seems like a ride that can't be moved easily. Tig'rr is also unlikely to find a new home due to its age, which also means a classic Schwarkopf may also bite the dust. The only major coaster I think that has a chance of finding a new home is the S&S El Loco, Steel Hawg, as it is fairly new having been opened in 2008. I don't know about the flat rides, some of those will probably find new homes I would imagine. TBH this is even worse than Vortex IMO. At least with Vortex's closure, the entire park around it isn't going and you know Kings Island will eventually replace it with something. Indiana Beach is likely going to be replaced by Condos or something.
  16. I have decided to add a 2nd pic to this: this one is from my September 2019 visit to Cedar Point. The Gemini Midway is very nice. If my phone took better night pictures, this would look even more epic at night.
  17. I dunno if this was anyone here on KIC, but Amusement Insiders on Youtube has made a what-if RMC Son of Beast: Also, I found the video by GP to Enthusiast a few posts ago very informative. I knew there was a bump in the double helix (aka the Rose Bowl) but I thought it was near the bottom of the helix, not the top, and didn't realize that a train actually came to a dead stop- I thought it still completed the rest of the course, but injured people and then the ride was e-stopped in the station. (Granted Train #2 actually DID do this according to the same video- sadly if the ride was E-Stopped Train #1 was back on the track and past the lift already...)
  18. Hmm. $10 million budget? Well, I think I have a few options: (I have ridden models of these) My Pick: GCI or Gravity Group Wooden Coaster: While the ones I have ridden are on a bigger scale (especially from GG as I have only ridden Voyage which is massive) even the smaller wooden coasters by these companies look great, and you could probably fit a lot of coaster under $10,000,000. Heck, Voyage adjusted for inflation JUST breaks the limit at about $11 million! Thus a wooden coaster by one of these companies would likely be my pick. I would go for something about the size of say, Legend at Holiday World (Around 100 feet tall, decent length, etc.) Still, other options are tempting...though I have not ridden them save ONE: (Have never ridden but am tempted by...) RMC Raptor: I don't see a listing for price, but given Six Flags is buying these and they are less than 2000 feet long, these are very likely under $10m and reviews for these seem amazing. Not to mention from the POVs, the pacing looks insane. Chance Rides Hyper GTX: These things look like miniature hypercoasters with great airtime. I still need to get to Kentucky Kingdom to ride Lightning Run, to see if it really is the baby Magnum XL-200 I think it looks like. (And then these ideas I looked up but are over $10m sadly) Intamin Impulse (only other model here I have ridden): Wicked Twister was $9 million in 2002, which sadly translates to about $13 million in 2020 so it breaks the limit, and I cannot find how much the smaller models cost. I did enjoy Wicked Twister though. Vekoma Bermuda Blitz or Shockwave: These look like awesome coasters, and the reviews for Lech Coaster have been very good. These also just break the $10m limit, and would be under $15m most likely. (Based on their prices in Euros, converted to USD)
  19. For the record- I never did get to ride King Cobra- when I visited Kings Island for the first time in 2000 (not sure what day or even month, I think it was August but not sure) I was scared of roller coasters, especially ones that go upside down. But I VIVIDLY remember standing on the midway near what is now Sling Shot and watching King Cobra go over its turn, down the first drop, and into what seemed live a massive loop to a 10-year-old me, with the even more massive Son of Beast looming behind it with a even bigger loop (which I could only spot from the Eiffel Tower)! I would not return to Kings Island until 2009, but by then, King Cobra was scrap metal. And Son of Beast went SBNO about a month later (and I never got to ride that either because on my 1 trip in 2009 it was open, it broke down. I saw it do a few test runs afterward but it never re-opened). Also on Shaggy's pic: that looks more like CONSTRUCTION than destruction, but you can tell it was the demolition because Son of Beast (opened 16 years after King Cobra) is standing in the background. They really were just taking the coaster apart to possibly sell it, rather than just rip it down for scrap. Awesome picture BTW.
  20. Also, on the subject of King Cobra pictures, I found this web site a few years ago and bookmarked it because it because the guy has some nice pictures from the years 2000 & 2001 at Kings Island. Now-defunct rides included in these images include King Cobra, Son of Beast, Vortex (with horrible paint in 2000 and half-painted in 2001: this was a interesting time for the ride, at least in terms of how it looked), and Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal. The OG Antique Cars and Flying Eagles are not included directly but can be seen in some of the shots focusing on other rides. And while not a ride, there are also some good shots of International Street with the OG Pedestals still in place. 2001 has more photos than 2000 does though. 2000 http://www.casabrian.com/parks/pki2000.html 2001 (Includes KCKC Demolished pics as TR:TR was about to be built, and half-painted Vortex) http://www.casabrian.com/parks/pki2001.html I also found this video on Youtube, it is by PsycloneSteve and posted in 2014 and it has some great footage of King Cobra in action.
  21. This is cool, but I spotted some errors (the first 2 rides quoted, with Mystic Timbers being used just as a reference). First up, Xtreme Skyflyer opened in 1995 (as Drop Zone- the name was later changed so it could be used for the 1999 Drop Tower), not 2000 (Son of Beast was the only new ride added in 2000), so this would make it 25 according to the Mystic Timbers age. Also if Mystic Timbers, which opened in 2017, is 3 then KMAA would only be 1 according to the same scale as it opened in 2019. Orion would technically be Year 0 since it is in its very first season in 2020.
  22. Oh dear- IMO, it is kinda obvious what is gone. TIP: Look above Boo Blasters in both pictures. With the 2 Corkscrews not visible from here in either picture, it is possible that 2nd loop is the last remaining inversion of Vortex still standing.
  23. As for why the Firehawk que is being used for Flight of Fear, from what I have heard (via various websites and stuff), the old outdoor FOF que is being torn apart and they are going to expand it into a locker area- there were already some lockers there but with how popular Orion should be, they are thus going to turn the entire FOF outdoor section into lockers and Firehawk's old que will be the new Flight of Fear overflow que. There is also some evidence for this: back in December, people visiting for ACE's Orion Construction Tour saw FOF's que was being torn up. It can be seen around a minute and 30 seconds into this video:
  24. I will throw my hat into the ring I guess. Here is one of my favorite photos- from 2019... Diamondback towers over the trees. (Taken from White Water Canyon entrance/exit area)
  25. I don't remember if the cameras went down during Mystic Timbers testing, but I do remember vividly watching it do test runs before the ride opened as I remember seeing how fast the ride was going over the 2nd hill and being impressed at the speed. So the cameras did come back up for Mystic Timbers before opening day, if they did go down. The park also put this video out after the 1st test run was done for Mystic Timbers, and I imagine Orion will get a similar video:
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