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tjpavlik

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  1. I'm guessing a B & M Giga, 350' or there abouts. Sasquatch like name.
  2. Great Video! Thanks for all the behind the scenes "nuggets"!
  3. The end of the year found the family and me out in SoCal. After visiting family and the beach we deceided to head over to Knotts to see what was going on. At 4 pm on the 27th apparently a lot of people had the same idea as we did. The place was completely packed. We first attempted the Xcelerator. The girl at the top of the queue told us it would be 2 1/2 hours. No thanks. The Silver Bullet's normal queue extended into the midway. The Fast Lane queue was at least 75 people deep. No thanks. The Sierra Sidewinder and the Pony Express were turning people away from the queue because the patrons were blocking the walking paths to the point where it was total gridlock. We waited about 45 minutes for Riptide. Fun and pretty intense. The Calico Mine ride was refurbished last year and it is a really nice dark ride (and a people eater!) We visited several of the Ghost Town buildings where each one had a guide telling folks the history and signifigance of each building. That was probably the best part of the visit. We stopped at the Grizzly Lodge to exercise our 2015 dining plan. The food was pretty decent. The best was the fresh veggies for burger toppings. After scanning our beverage bottle we refilled the Kings Island bottle for possibly the last 99 cent (85 cents with platinium pass) refill for any 2015 Kings Island Cup. As we headed back to the front of the park I noticed they were still letting people in the park! We eased the number by 4 and left for the evening. We woke up early the next day to try again. We entered at 9:30 and fast walked to the Xcelerator at 10. We made the fourth train. I noticed they were only running one train with the other in a major state of overhaul. No wonder the line was so long. We headed over to the Coast Rider and it was almost a walk on but we waited through a small mechanical issue to ride. I like a Wild Mouse. The observation tower was cool, but the windows needed to be cleaned. Made for crappy pictures.(Walk on) The kids wanted to ride Riptide again so they walked right on. I watched. Ugh, that thing really spins! We then went to the Voyage to the Iron Reef. The wait was about 45 minutes but the queue moved at a steady (if slow) pace. At that point we were hungry and the place was filling up again. Pony Express had the queue in the midway and the Silver Bullet queue was the same as it was the night before. Time for food and a quick exit. ( and one more refill!) Overall, a pretty frustrating experience. If we were paying retail I would be supremely ****ed. With a pass, eh, whatever. We saw some family and a little of SoCal and Knotts was a diversion. I got to ride a few coasters (in late December!) so it wasn't a total loss but something I won't do again.
  4. I'm glad I got to ride it two weeks ago. But I'm not going to miss it.
  5. Thanks for correcting me on the licensing issue. Theming a coaster with specfic logos and props looks really cool until the license ends. That being said apparently Apcolypse was a "Terminator" themed ride. I don't what they removed but it was still heavily themed without reference to any specific movie. (It looked Mad Max to me). I imagine they have a plan for that. Thats why they run the park and I just enjoy the park.
  6. Thursday May 28th found me in southern California with nothing scheduled all day and a free admission coupon from ACE for any Six Flag park. SFMM is only 58 miles away! Because its Southern California it took 2+ hours to drive! $20 parking seemed a bit steep, but i'm getting in free, so its kinda the admission. From the parking area I could see Goliath and the "new" Twisted Colossus. Unfortunately that was as close as I was going to get to either of them as neither ride opened all day. GRRRRRR! The will call window had never seen my ACE coupon before but after showing them my ACE card and giving them my name, address, email and phone number they gave me my ticket. Walking into the park I spotted Full Throttle. Just looking at the train I knew it would be low capacity so I hit it first. I neat little coaster! Hanging from the restraints in the loop took me by surprise as did the drop on the outside of the loop. (Think Maverick type drop) When I exited I noticed there were at least 100 people waiting to get in line ( More about that later) Best ride of the day. I then wandered back to find Goliath and Twisted Colossus both inoperative. TC had a line outside the queue with a worker giving the standard inop ride spiel. I did find Scream! (Floorless B & M) working so I got in line. It was a one train wait (only one train operation) and off I went. It seemed about same as Rougarou (without the new restraint smell). Nothing special, however. It was nice to hear the B & M roar. Working counterclockwise I encountered Batman (B & M invert) next. Walk on. A rather rough ride that makes me appreciate the Banshee even more. The ride was heavily themed (as were all the Marvel themed rides) so if Six Flags ever loses their Marvel rights to Disney they will be in a world of hurt. Green Lantern was next. The themeing was excellent. It was about a 15 minute wait. And the ride packed a punch! Riding the vertical lift hill staring straight down was unnerving to say the least. The drops either pinned you to the back of the seat or gave you a little negative g into the restraints while you were staring at the ground (Drop + rotation ). Less than a minute ride including lift hill. The Riddler's Revenge (B & M Stand Up) was next, again a one train wait. Best Stand Up I have ever ridden! Beat you up much less than Shockwave(CW) , Vortex(Carowinds) or the old Mantis (CP). I still don't like stand ups, however and this ride wasn't good enough to change my opinion. Gold Rusher. Walk on (Arrow Mine Train) Just ok, but a good helix at the end. Interestingly a ride op was being trained and insisted he was checking the restraints properly but the supervisor thought he wasn't. A little "discussion" occurred between those two that probably shouldn't have been in front of guests. Apocalypse. (GCI Woodie). A really cool little wooden coaster. Heavily themed (Mad Max style). Almost as good as Goldstriker (California Great American). The only straight track is the boarding area and a small section when it comes (mid ride) back through the station. Probably my second favorite of the day. The Ninja was next. A 30 minute wait, one train operation. (Arrow Suspended) It seemed more forceful (in the beginning) than our Bat but then it just kinda petered out at the end into the second lift hill. I would guess being on the side of the hill makes it that way. Tatsu (B & M Flyer). 50 minute wait. I'm not a big fan of flyers, and while it had some cool elements (immelman type turn) overall it was disappointing. Maybe its just the hanging in the restraints or the unfamiliar G loads but I didn't like it. Viper (Arrow Corkscrew) Walk on. Picture your first attempt at recreating The Vortex (KI) in RCT. Thats it. They added an additional loop because they could. Uncomfortable. Abrupt. Harsh. X2 (Arrow 5th Dimension) (20 minute wait) I was looking forward to this because I have never ridden anything like it before. Its weird. From the Jim Morrison voice over "...Is everyone in..? Is everyone in?...the ceremony is about to begin...." to the vertical drop (facing straight down ) (somebody at SFMM really thinks thats cool. Several coasters had that element) to the non smoothness of an Arrow corkscrew coaster combined with seats that rotate. I can't say i'm a fan. I can handle being tossed and turned in two dimensions, but three or more leaves me uncomfortable. Also the first coaster to make me think my keys and cellphone are coming out of my pocket. I held on. Checked on Revolution. Inop and almost looked SBNO. Needs some TLC and a weedwacker. Checked on Superman. Inop, but people waiting for reopening. I didn't have anything I wanted to ride again, except Full Throttle but it was a 90 minute wait. A few things I noticed. The place is dirty. There is trash everwhere and no one seems to be picking it up. Line Jumping is rampant. "I just had to get food, catching up with a buddy, etc." And the ride ops/hosts LET THEM DO IT. Lockers are provided ($1 per ride!) but no one uses them, even when the ride placards say you can't bring anything with you. Guests just pile things up on the far side, slowing loading to a CRAWL. The ride hosts don't let the queues fill up. They break the line at the Flash Pass break to ease the crowding in the station (?) They let 40 or so folks go at a time. TATSU, Full Throttle, Apocolypse and X2 were particularly bad. Lastly, I wanted to get food but at Katy's Kettle there was a QUEUE inside (20 or so deep) to order. No thanks, I'll get something down the road. So... 60 miles down the road (only 1:45 this time) to Knotts. My intention was to simply ride the Voyage to the Iron Reef. I waited 25 minutes and I was on. A fun, interactive game/ride! I thought I did pretty well at 128,800 points but my seatmate had 175,000. High scores were in the 250,000 range. I must have gotten a defective freeze ray, normally i'm a Master Blaster! What was really cool was the integration of the video with actual set pieces. TVs in the queue gave a good backstory. Unlike the Guardian (CW) it was a true flat ride; no roller coaster track. The exit for some reason puts you in the arcade, not a gift shop. (the shop is right there, however) I had to work to find a shirt to buy. I can see where Boo Blasters is going to end up when its our turn. And it will be cool. Hopefully they will use the same type of themeing with a lot of mentioning of defunct rides and "Easter Eggs". So I was all set to go...hey, no wait on the gliders. Ok, i'll do them. The trick to snapping them (at least at Knotts) is to figure out where the wind is blowing from. More wind, more force exerted (as I seem to remember from somewhere...) Is that Xcelerator running? Two train wait for the front seat, Thank you very much. Hmm, no wait on Silver Bullet? Well, ok. A better ride than Batman for sure. Nowhere near as good as Banshee, though. Oh, yeah, never got any lunch at SFMM. Meal plan buffalo chicken sandwich please. I just paid for a drink. I don't need another drink cup, thanks. Off to brave the traffic once more.... i'm tired.
  7. This is kind of sad for me. I flew into Sandusky Airport (KSKY) as a student pilot both solo and with an instructor. A long time ago.
  8. CP was having MAJOR issues with both rides and computers all weekend long. MF was short a train when it finally opened up mid day Saturday. Maverick was down all Friday and most of Saturday. It opened for ERT on Sunday. On Saturday we waited 1 1/2 hours for a ride on TTD (with Fast Lane, no less!) I think Mean Streak opened sometime Saturday. Magnum was intermittent but open more than closed. Wicked Twister never opened and is rumored to be down for weeks. (Parts) We were told the rides were down because they didn't have a required state inspection or maintenance had not put part of the ride back together. The reason is really irrelevant. I'm sure Cedar Point did everything they could to get the rides up and running. Gatekeeper, Raptor and Rougarou were open all weekend, however. Food service was a nightmare. The workers had NO issues serving food but the computers wouldn't take orders or recognize dining plans. More than one food establishment did not know they were on the dining plan, another insisted the dining plan taco salad didn't have meat. The perch sandwich is available on the daily plan, but not the season plan. (?!?) We had at least 4 meals not charged to our account. The gift shops were no better. Once again the staff was great but the computer system didn't recognize mechandise, passes or discounts. Eventually the manager just rang in general mechandise. We stayed at The Breakers which is as advertised. New and fresh. I talked to a few people who reported no hot water or a sticky door but we had no problems. The bar computer had no problems. I recommend the RougaBREW. I hope it was simply opening weekend jitters. We were disappointed with the rides being down and the computer issues. It didn't ruin the weekend but it created a little stress. We have a return visit planned in July so i'm hoping to see major improvements.
  9. A wonderful read. Amusement parks are where a lot of good times and good memories are created. Perhaps a small sample of heaven here on earth. Every time I descend into the helix on The Beast I am reminded of my then 15 year old brother drilling me in the temple with his elbow. I saw stars. It left a bruise. He's been gone 12 years now and what I wouldn't give to see those stars again.
  10. The Skyline 3 way was available on Friday in the Coney Mall. It took about 10 minutes in between ordering and receiving however. We are at Kings Island at least 20 times each summer. Even one meal per trip and we are money ahead. The focus this year was more variety and "healthier". Then the salad at LaRosas disappeared. The salad at RHoFG is good but having to tip the waiter/waitress makes it just a few times a summer instead of every visit.
  11. I am taking the family up Friday and staying in the Breakers over the weekend. We got the deal where if you stay at the Breakers you get a Fast Pass for Saturday. I'm hoping the weather is a tad warmer than the Winter Chill Out.
  12. Matt, my tour guide, (9:30, group 2) specifically said the Cedars were NOT being demolished. Now or in the near future.
  13. My guess is the Cedar Point version of Canada's Wonderland's Wonder Mountain's Guardian. Lake Erie monster theme. Everyone was VERY mum at the CP Winter Chill out.
  14. Love the Intamin experience, but hate the downtime. B & M makes a great coaster but doesn't seem to have that out of control element. From my limited experience. Hopefully this will be different:
  15. I had the pleasure of flying into CLT on 11/1 for a day trip. I knew things would be ugly when I saw the weather: 700' Overcast with 5 miles visibility due to rain. 40 degrees. At 7000' we accumulated a fair amount of rime ice, but nothing the anti ice system couldn't deal with. I hand flew the instrument landing system approach to runway 36R (right overtop Carowinds). Several times we were advised to keep our speed up. We had a 45mph headwind at 3000' ! After landing and putting the airplane to bed I had 7 hours in Charlotte with nothing to do but wait..... Carowinds here I come!! They seem to be building something big on the north side of the park....Hmmmmm.... Upon entering the parking lot I realized I was the only car there. The entrance has been moved to the picnic area right behind the Intimidator. (The front gate should be awesome!!) I parked in the first spot in front of the temporary ticket booths. It was a 15 step walk. (I counted!) I expected to be turned away at the gate because of the weather.... but no. I passed through security as they asked if I was here for early ride time (9:40ish) I then officially entered the park. Both Intimidator and Nighthawk were supposed to be open for ERT but due to cold neither were. Security invited me into a gift shop to get warm and out of the rain. They informed me that I was officially the ONLY guest in the park. At 10:00 the National Anthem played and I heard the distant roar of a B & M coaster.... AFTERBURN!! I walked up the steps and saw 6 ride ops absolutely astonished someone was there to ride. I took the front seat and off I went. Two observations, rain hurts at 50+ miles an hour and the underground elements would be really cool on an undead themed coaster. I rode it twice and then had to buy the on ride photo. I wandered over to our Flying Eagles and had to convince the ride op, yes I really wanted to ride since it had been about 20 years since I had last ridden them. I tried very hard to snap the cables but with only me on the ride I didn't have enough momentum or angular velocity. The ride was as good as I remembered, just a little more wet. As I walked back to the front of the park I met up again with my security friend from the gift shop who told me that a group of people had come into the park and there were now FIVE guests in the park, including me! Off to The Vortex. I'm not a fan of stand ups (they should be all converted in my book) but I wanted to see what other rides were open from the top of the lift hill. An additional uncomfortable item was that bike seat was soaked so now my crotch was soaked now too! And its still a head banger. Ouch. I then wandered over to the Hurler which I liked. It seemed less rough ( perhaps the rain??) I rode twice in the front seat. The ride afforded a great view of the station for the Fury 325 which is almost complete. The rain still hurt, but the temperature seemed to be rising slowly. I then rode the Carolina Cyclone twice, with the ride op letting me hop off, snap a picture, then hop right back on. (He said, "Its not like anyone is waiting.") The Carolina Cobra actually had additional rider waiting. He took the front, and I took the back. Two people total in the train. I hadn't remembered the restraints but they are different from a standard Vekoma Boomerang. The overhead shoulder restraint is wider and has a vest similar to the Banshee/Gatekeeper. The vest material is lighter weight however. As the train started up the hill all the water in the back of the train poured down the back of the seat. Now I was completely soaked! Most of the other rides were closed as were the majority of the games and restaurants. The Intimidator's trains never left the storage shed while I was there. The Nighthawk was locked up tight. I think I rode all the non kiddy rides that were open. I ended up in the shop where I waited in the beginning. The two guys manning the store were wondering if they would sell anything that day. I bought three shirts from the bargin rack. While I was in there a guy came in looking to purchase a Fast Pass. Seriously. I left before I saw how that worked out. I have never been in a deserted, yet open amusement park. It was so quiet. In the distance you could hear rides running but no screams/laughter/talking. Weird. At one point I did hear those sounds but then I realized it was the soundtrack for the Fury 325 promo video. I was completely miserable by this time so it was time to go. One final weird issue was when I walked out the ride camera for the Intimidator would flash (as if taking a picture) about every 30 seconds. It was like it was mocking me. Luckily it was a really short walk back to the car, so it was back to the airport for a shower and a change of (dry) clothes!
  16. I should be back up next week. I'll try to get some different angles and sharper focus. Till then... all of The Beast. The Boneyard area is above and to the right of the fireworks launch area.
  17. Any ideas as to what these items may be? The area is behind Dinosaurs Alive, headed down the hill. Sorry about the focus.
  18. I was told by customer service yesterday that there would be a chain wide (platinum) option for the food plan. He did say that all Cedar Fair parks "may" not be on board for 2015 . Pricing was not available at that time. They did point out that there would be a 4 hour wait instead of the current 2. I renewed my families' platinums today and there was nothing about the meal plan. I know I will add it to the passes as soon as its available. Its a no-brainer for us. (and we love the Cedar Point Fried Cheese!)
  19. I would guess those are the same stones. The park throws nothing away. They seem to be prepping the whole park for Haunt a little early this year.
  20. tjpavlik

    FOF

    Might have some technical issues with Shake Rattle and Roll. Taken 6/24
  21. Screamin' Demon. 1979. I can still vividly remember how the whole ride shook, especially climbing those stairs.
  22. Greg Scheid said at the ACE event this weekend Drop Tower was operating the day before opening for test runs. It then broke and needs a part and they hope to have it open by early June. I'll take his word on it. The food truck was moved to Rivertown (across from the new pretzel place) for the ACE event (Saturday). I imagine it was moved later that night to a behind the scenes area. The blue ice cream was good.
  23. When you pass KI on I-71 and look for rides in motion. So far I have seen the Banshee and Diamondback moving!
  24. Platinum Pass, true, but if its a work trip I only have a few hours to play at the parks and its just not worth spending regular admission for an hour or two. If I thought I could get as much mileage out of a SF pass I would get one.
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