CoastersRZ

Yep. The River Runner had only operated for a brief two months at Wild West World, before that park was closed, and its rides sold off. The future of that park is still undetermined. (As is the fate of another park that seems to have opened in one of the worst possible years).

Not to mention the fact that the Busch Parks include the Sea World parks which include animals. Something Cedar Fair has shied away from. Plus, they have too much debt right now to realistically be able to make an attempt at acquiring the Busch parks. On a tangential note, it would be interesting to see if they are going to make a bid on the Hard Rock park. Especially since there are rumors of a bidder that is only interested in relocated the assets of the Hard Rock Park. Could this be Cedar Fair looking to buy some new attractions on the cheap for use in their parks in future years, similar to what they have done with the former GL rides?

Those were some wickedly bad puns Interpreter! And from the looks of the images on the webcam, work is progressing nicely on the station. Maybe not at a lightning pace, but it is progressing nevertheless.

Very interesting article. A little surprising that Disney would be embarking on a new park in Shanghai. But if they get the right financial package, I suppose they could see significant growth and revenues from that area of the world. Especially if they launch a Chinese version of the Disney Channel.

Well, keep in mind that we got Firehawk in 2007. While not as big of an investment as what Maverick was at Cedar Point it still was a sizeable investment at Kings Island. However, Cedar Point received a renovated children`s area for this season while Kings Island received no new rides. We did however receive new shows and had a fantastic line up of special events all season long.

Yeah. I found that a little quizzical. I mean, third degree burns are pretty serious, and he had to be in some discomfort or pain! I mean, third degree burns are when the skin is actually peeling off, and surely is not a nice sensation!

Where did you get the number $75 million worth of wood for Son of Beast? That is a gross exaggeration for the cost of Son of Beast. While the park never officially released a cost for Son of Beast, I heard numbers reported that the original construction for the ride cost around $17 million.

All discussions related to Diamondback should be carried out in this thread. Topic closed.

It might be too windy to place any track today. I know that coming home from UC, my car was shaking from the wind when I went over the 471 bridge, and again when I went over the 275 bridge near Coney.

Still, a relative neophyte compared to some people on these boards. Heck, I`ll be graduating from Grad School in seven months, and I am still considered a youngin` by some who frequent these boards!

They had a live band in the Twistin` to the 60`s show last summer in the International Showplace.

Retention ponds retain water and have water in them normally. During rain storms, the water level rises from the runoff from the parking lots. This water is then fed into the sewer system or a stream after the rain event has occurred when there is more capacity available to handle all the water. Detention ponds serve a similar purpose, except for the fact that they are dry and do not retain water. They simply hold water until after the rain event has passed. Storm water run off of parking lots contains lots of nasty chemicals and oils from cars. Instead of dumping this polluted water directly into stream or river, this water can be treated by plants in areas called bioswales. These plants both slow down the rate of the moving water and remove the pollutants from the water. After being treated in bioswales, the water is significantly cleaner, has a lot less volume and can be safely discharged into creeks and streams. There is no need to dump the water into the sewage system to treat the water. This reduces the demand on the sewage treatment plants. When you think of the area of impermeable surfaces in parking lots (take Kings Island`s for example, which has more than 10,000 parking spaces) an inch rain fall can generate an immense amount of run off because the water cannot penetrate the impermeable surfaces. However, there are things called permeable concrete and asphalt. These two materials have special blends that allow water to pass directly through them, thus reducing the amount of storm water run off. However, these methods are more expensive and not ideal in all locals. For instance, around here the soil contains a lot of clay, which itself acts as an impermeable surface, preventing water from returning to the natural water table. So around here, in order for permeable pavements to be successful, often several feet of this clay has to be removed and replaced with well draining soils, such as sands, which adds to the cost. Furthermore, permeable pavements cannot accept all the same snow treatments like salt and snow plows that typical pavements can achieve. So there are some issues to be resolved still with this relatively new technology. The below image, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, shows an area of impermeable, typical asphalt during a rainstorm in the lower right side of the image. The upper portion of the image shows permeable asphalt. Notice the difference? Ask, and you shall receive! Is that enough information for you?

Not like this is a greenfield site or anything, but Big Box retail developments are some of the worst developments in terms of their impact on the local ecology, and typically do not add much, if anything to the architecture and context of the local community. Ie, one Kroger in the Cleveland area is bound to look eerily similar to a similar Kroger in the Cincinnati area. I spent a whole studio last year looking at the negative impacts that big box stores have on communities, and ways in which some retailers are trying to successfully integrate into the community and build green big box stores. Ok, I`ll get off of my architectural soap box now and return you to the regularly scheduled topic.

Well, I am a graduate assistant, so I am teaching a class of 17 freshman how to use Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and Dreamweaver. So I guess some of my "teaching skills" came through. Sorry about that.

Keep in mind that often when using heavy equipment for construction, the equipment will often roll over the soil that is above the roots of said trees. This can lead to compaction of the soil, and ultimately the death of the tree, forcing the tree to have to be cut down anyway. And need I remind you, The Beast when it opened seemed a lot more open than it does today, as more trees have grown in over its lifetime.

No headache whatsoever. However, I did have some bruising on my thighs from the bare metal of the lap bar.

Not true on the first statement. 2009 will be Diamondback. And judging from past large installations at other Cedar Fair parks, we will be lucky if we see anything significant added in 2010. It certainly won`t be as substantial as what Diamondback is. And while Togo did go out of business, both Kings Dominion and Canda`s Wonderland still have their stand up coasters operating. Remember that King Cobra was the first stand up coaster that Togo made, which likely was part of the reason for its early demise compared to the other Togo stand ups in North America.

In this case, it is a drill. They are digging out the footings for that area so that they can place the rebar cage inside the hole and pour the concrete for the footing. And of course, that is not to be confused with a soil core machine that takes soil cores. Soil cores are used to determine the type of the soil and the bearing capacity of the soil. That is used by the structural engineer to design the foundations to adequately support the loads of the ride. Back in 2006, I actually spotted a soil core machine back behind Flight of Fear on the final weekend, which it turns out was for preliminary Firehawk work. Now, they did use piles for Drop Tower, but that is because it is a really tall tower, and needs lots of lateral support from its foundation (as it is essentially just a giant flagpole sticking out of the ground).

Not only are they drilling for the footings, they are also pouring the concrete for the footings, as evidence by the concrete truck.

Yep. It will be interesting to see what, if anything they add to the Diamondback train storage area. As a side note, the structural steel on the Coney Mall side of the station is mostly in place. Additionally, I spied a concrete truck where the grove of trees by The Beast entrance used to reside. Looks like they might be pouring some of the footings in that area.

And just because a ride receives a paint job does not guarantee the ride is safe for years to come. King Cobra received a paint job for the 1999 season. The ride only lasted three seasons with its paint job before being removed in the spring of 2002.

Are you referring to the observation tower? I believe I read somewhere that it was going to be sold for scrap metal, but I could be wrong on that account. It will be interesting to see if we ever find out who the real owner of the Big Dipper is, and what exactly they intend to do with it. Hopefully, it is eventually moved, and does not just sit there on property, battling the elements and rotting away like the Screachin` Eagle at LeSourdsville Lake.

Well, the walk through area under the station is long gone! Its been gone for at least ten years now, I believe. They used to have a ride op positioned under there checking heights, which if the line was long, that location was a little far into the line. Most of the theming just fell apart because of a lack of upkeep. And they still played the Top Gun soundtrack, including the Kenny Loggins song, up until last season. The theming on the ride did not make the ride that much better, and did not add as much to the experience as what the theming did for Tomb Raider. Flight Deck is still a great ride.

Well, once Diamondback opens I think that your opinion of the best steel coaster in the park might change. And secondly, The Vortex is the oldest steel coaster in the park.

Not really. The height of the rails are at about 12'-15' above grade in that area. The bottom of the actual track may be lower, but not much lower than 10'. The exit to the Crypt will still be able to be utilized next year, which means that the track is at least 8-9' above the pavement.