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Talking about getting work done! (image from Carowinds webcams )

Theme park? Opryland. Amusement park? I could go for days. But, my number one in the USA would be Riverview Park. In Canada, Crystal Beach.

Hello, I just posted the complete Salt Water Circus Dolphin show from July 24, 1980. Question, does anyone know who the host is? He says his name is Mike. I would like to send him a link to the video.

It was indeed. Geauga Lake had some well maintained and aging well Vekomas. Many people, including this poster felt GL's SLC was the smoothest out there, and found it somewhat enjoyable.

Geauga Lake minus the overbuilding Six Flags did.

I suddenly feel very, very ancient.

I'd say Geagua Lake, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure era. Yes, I know we wouldn't have the amazingness that is Firehawk, but before the park closed down, it had (in my opinion) one of the most unique and diverse coaster collections ever. It had all the thrill rides of the new millennium such as a Vekoma Flying Coaster, a Floorless and an Impulse mixed with the old-school Double Loop and Big Dipper, plus a Vekoma Boomerang and an SLC. I've never personally been there, but it sounded really cool.

1993. Not even a question. Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Sandlot, and Cool Runnings! http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=moviemeter,asc&title_type=feature&year=1993,1993

Six Flags New Orleans and Geauga Lake (Funtime Era)

Opryland, Opryland, Opryland... That park was a gem. Thanks Gaylord, how is that mall working out for you?

The Great American Amusement Park at LeSourdsville Lake

I rather liked Hersheypark's Sidewinder, and I have only ridden it with the original train.

And the Boomerang was undoubtedly the smoothest this writer has ever ridden.

Well, I've actually never been on a Boomerang or an SLC, so that might be part of the appeal, but also I love Firehawk. Part of this has to do with me loving the time period of the 90's and early 2000's and everything related to that. So, because Firehawk was a product of the early 2000's (2001 to be exact), I pretty much think it's one of the greatest things since sliced bread (not really, but I think you get the point...). Specifically, I think it's cool that Vekoma Flyers (along with Floorless and Impulse coasters) were the pinnacle of roller coaster technology back in the day (not to mention the hot new rides of its time, much as Wing Coasters, Rocky Mountain Hybrids and B&M Gigas are the next big things today). Finding a ride like that today is like finding a living artifact from that time period that allows you to experience life as it was. So, long story short, I like Firehawk because of my rose-colored nostalgic view of the 90's and early 2000's (and it's a pretty good ride, too!).

How is a Vekoma Flying Coaster, a Vekoma Boomerang, and a SLC a good thing?

Top right on the KICentral theme, bottom right on the IP.Board theme. And yes, it is broken and has been for a long time.

1982 E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Poltergeist Conan the Barbarian Blade Runner The Thing The Secret of Nimh Tron The Dark Crystal Even some sentimental favorites like: The Beastmaster Creepshow The Toy The Last Unicorn First Blood The World According to Garp Porky's Diner Fast Times at Ridgemont High 48 Hours

Welcome to KICentral, I hope you have an awesome experience.

^I'm surprised that place is still standing. Thought it would've been razed by now. That's one of the saddest stories in the amusement park industry, ever.

I'm going to go with Six Flags New Orleans..... I just really feel sad everytime I drive by it.... ..... A staple in the New Orleans skyline, slowly and sadly crumbling down from the sky. I have a feeling that the screams of Jazzland wont be heard again.....

Geauga Lake, preferably from the Funtime Era

Hard Rock Park.

Among many, Idora. Or, as driving past LeSourdesville Lake today on the way to a family Christmas (not Thanksgiving) family gathering, my 9-year old daughter said that when she gets older she wants to reopen it. Maybe she meant in "Sandbox" mode on RTC.

Welcome to KIC!

My wife bought me a platinum pass. Didn't go wrong there. Now, if I could just get her to ride anything...........

I think a $24,000,000 B&M Invert would make a fantastic Christmas Present ~Coasterama, who better start looking for a very, very big tree.

Lola. Front sear, right side. (the magenta train). Oh, how I wish. (Stella, back seat, left side was pretty awesome, too! <the teal train>) Like your cross threadin' there!

For Thanksgiving break, our family visited Asheville, NC. I was skeptical about the trip. The city is very artsy and hipster-like, something we definitely aren't. Passing by the Dollywood and Gatlinburg billboards definitely didn't help, as I was irking to visit the "fun" part of the mountains. Asheville is very neat though. The largest house in the country, the Biltmore Estate, is amazing. It has 250 rooms and was built by a young man, George Vanderbilt, who inherited his father's railroad tycoon money. We took the tour of the house and it was very intriguing to see how life was like in the 1890s. George and his wife's bedrooms were separated from each other because it was inappropriate back then to be sleeping in the same bed (at least for the wealthy)! Vanderbilt even had an indoor pool (very unusual, because apparently many people in the 19th century didn't know how to swim), a bowling alley, and a bachelor's room that had billiards and hidden doors to his bedroom. It doesn't sound too exciting on here, but I highly recommend checking it out. The area also has a winery, many restaurants, and a shopping center. On Wednesday night, Dollywood commercials were playing over and over again on the TV. I said to my mom, "we should go to Dollywood." I had said this several times already, mainly as a joke, but she took this seriously; we told my dad, and it was set to visit Dollywood on Saturday! Saturday, we went to the Hampton Inn on Teaster Lane (very nice, I recommend). We had decided to buy season passes to the park. Pigeon Forge is only five hours from Cincinnati, the price for a pass is only $30 extra, and my dad (thanks Terpy for informing me of this) bought a Gold pass for himself so we now get free parking and 20% off food and merchandise. Getting past all this boring stuff, now I will talk about Dollywood! Walking into the park, I was immediately reminded of Magic Kingdom. To me, the theming highly resembled it. I was astounded by all the detail. I felt completely immersed in the place. Highlights: My sister, who I thought was 48", apparently isn't. We waited in line for Mystery Mine after measuring her at the thingy (whatever it's called) and it hit her head; but the one at the top, it didn't. So she's still 47"...frown face. Firechaser Express is awesome! Kings Island needs something like this. It was very long, fun, and innovative. The backwards launch freaked me out, to be completely honest. Mystery Mine is one of my favorite rides ever now. I didn't expect it to be that way, but I absolutely loved it. The beginning isn't too exciting, but the second drop is the coolest and best coaster drop I've experienced. The theme was well done too. Thunderhead has taken over as my number one wooden coaster. The Voyage has gotten too rough. Thunderhead was smooth all the way and is one heck of a ride. So much airtime, speed, excitement. I rode front seat both times which made it that much better. Wild Eagle is disappointing. Not very exciting. It is way too short. Meh. Gatekeeper is much better. Tennessee Tornado is another very short ride. Dollywood has short rides for some reason. Every one of 'em with the exception of Thunderhead and Firechaser Express is this way. I guess it's because of the mountains and their restraints for building. Blazing Fury is outdated and it hurt my back. But the theme was good! That is all. Barnstormer sucks. It only goes through one cycle once it hits the highest point. Skyhawk wins. The train is 1,000x better than Kings Island's! It was 20 minutes long and gave amazing views of the park. It starts out at ground level but somehow, you're looking above Dollywood and seeing all the behind the scenes. At Christmastime it's even better, and hearing Hard Candy Christmas and other Christmas music is just great. A Christmas Carol was very well done. I love the use of the holograms for the ghosts. The whole Christmas Carol story is worn out for me so I honestly almost fell asleep, but I can say the show was really good and I must see. It was too bad we didn't see any other shows, though. Craftman's Valley is the best! We spent an hour just walking around and looking in the stores. I probably forgot some stuff but I'll add more. To sum it all up, Dollywood is my new favorite park. Holiday World comes in a close second. The rides are all fun though they need some more family rides (yes, Dollywood needs more family rides), the theme is perfectly executed, the food is delicious, the staff are nice and friendly, and I just felt relaxed walking around. I'm so glad we got season passes because I can't wait to go back!

Stupid double post.

I think you will hear those screams in a major motion picture coming out soon...... I love discussions like this because it lets me look into and read about park closures.... As for Opryland, more directly at Terp, which do you believe that the park was torn down because of the reasons stated at the time or what the new CEO stated in 2001 that the former owners/operators didnt even try....

I have a natural distrust of anyone in important positions of business and leadership that go by silly fratboy nicknames. i.e. "Rip"

Millbrook Park. It was less than a mile from my front door. Had the worlds tallest coaster for a while (at a Whopping 60 feet). Flooding from the Ohio River destroyed it in 1913.

I kind of question the authenticity of that. It claims that it's a metal sculpture, but by the looks of those pictures, it looks to be wood.... Only place that I could imagine that to have gone within the park, if anywhere, would be a window display. Seems like an odd sculpture for anything else. Heck, what do I know?

Don might know if that item was at the park or not. The sad thing is, people will say anything to sell stuff on Craigslist to get people to buy. That is what you have to look for. Research before buying.

Another Fury325 Update: (Via Carowind's webcams - https://www.carowinds.com/online-fun/webcams )

It was not always thus.

Or Mach3. Terp, living life on the Edge.

I have a theory about all of this: Part 1: The Bat part of it is a diversion. The Bat just got updated for 2014; I'd be surprised to see something else (besides removal) happen to it anytime within the next few seasons. (Then again, I also thought Mantis getting floorless trains was highly improbable, so...) Part 2: Vortex is either the main point of all of this, or it's another diversion. The mention of Thunder Road, The Bat, and everything old becoming new again would lead me to think that Vortex is going to receive a refurbishment or other project of some sort. Specifically based on the mention of Thunder Road, which recently received an entire rebuild courtesy Great Coasters International, I'm speculating that Vortex will either 2a. Be refurbished á la Phantom's Revenge to improve transitions or even completely rebuild the ride after the first drop, or 2b. Be removed completely and replaced by a Chance Rides coaster. By the by, I know nothing, so don't take this as gospel. (Especially not you, Lance Hart, if you're reading this!) I think I'm almost certainly wrong about this; it's just fun to guess. I've literally never been correct when it comes to Terp's hints.

Huh? Most state fairs were UP this year, many of them dramatically. To blame the Kentucky State Fair's problems on fairs in general is disingenuous, to say the least. There was every reason the Kentucky State Fair should have had a banner year. It didn't. There is even an investigation going on. And if Kentucky Kingdom, at $9.99 if bought at Kroger, wasn't part of the solution then it IS part of the problem. The fates of the Fsir Board and the New Kentucky Kingdom are intertwined. What affects one affects the other. The single most important day to the Kingdom's forseeable future is the first Tuesday in November, less than a year away. Its impotence cannot be exaggerated.

I went inside the Kingdom the other day and wanted to see T3 up close. In all honesty the red gives it a refreshed new feeling. Felt like going back to 1998 (even though I was 2 at the time). I have a really good picture, but under contract, I cannot share it until April 14th.

What major investors in Kentucky Kingdom are campaigning hard to have legal gaming in the Commonwealth? How many of the Democrat state officials are also involved in this effort? How's THAT going to affect the Kingdom, the Fairgrounds and their future? How would that be received by much of the rest of the state? http://kywins.com http://kywins.com/our-coalition/

Maybe I'm biased, but this thread has certainly given me the impression that we have a much more informed community here today than we did a decade ago!

Facebook is a registered trademark. As such, it is always capitalized here. I would have thought the fair would have had a banner year in 2014, what with the new setup, the new rides and the new $9.99 attraction (when purchased at Kroger), The New Kentucky Kingdom.

A local news station made did a story about this and posted the news on facebook. There was at least 200 comments on that facebook posting and each commented said straight up that the fair was too expensive. Someone also said it is just cheaper to go to either Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World then the fair. In my opinion the fair is the same thing every year and nothing new are changes occur. The same set up, same rides, its just boring and it is expensive.

So what's the point of this being a water slide again? To me, loops are only beneficiary when you can actually tell if you're upside down. Here, you're in this confined, claustraphobic rig going through an enclosed tube. It might as well be a roller coaster. Also, where does the water go? Does it just collect on the bottom of the loop? The upper half of the loop won't have water either. Overall, this just comes off as silly to me.

@mikefehnel on Twitter: "#FURY325 is about to get taller..." And so it did..... Photos : Mike Fehnel (Carowinds GM) via Twitter Webcam capture : Carowinds Fury 325 Construction Cam

I've got one thing to say.... They should of called the new scooters "Flying Beagles" That is all

Would you ride Drop Tower with your hands up?

Da Ripper, you can not have ridden The Racer in 1969 at Coney Island. The reason is that The Racer was built for Kings Island in 1972. Now, there was a white painted wooden coaster at Coney Island in 1969, The Shooting Star. The Shooting Star is a much talked about ride, especially for its tunneled finale, in ways a similar precurser to the ending of The Beast. Afterall, The Beast design started out as a copy of the Shooting Star. There is a similar copy of the Shooting Star (although it is a mirror image) up at Paramount Canda`s Wonderland.

Yep, I second TowerGuy. Top Gun`s cars have remained the same since the ride opened in 1993 (obviosly with new parts and a couple new shells after last years incident). The cars on Top Gun are the standard Arrow suspended cars. Now one park in Enlgiand i believe did remove their Arrow suspended cars for Vekoma designed floorless swinging cars, similar to the trains on inverted coasters, except that they can sawy side to side. I don`t believe we will be seeing these types of trains on Top Gun.