CoastersRZ

Based on the timeline, and the color of the cars, would these not be the prototype trains that were tested on the Voyage? It is hard to tell, but it looks like it could be the Voyage in the background of those images... Wooden Warrior was the first coaster in the US to open with Timberliner trains and it opened in 2011, and only has 6 rows for a total of 12 riders. The Twister at Gruno Land in Sweden also opened in 2011, a couple weeks after Wooden Warrior opened, and also features the Timberliners. I believe that these were the first installations of the Timberliner trains. So is Gravity Group the one selling this train? Did Holiday World ever have the train purchased, or was it still Gravity Group`s train when they were testing it on the Voyage?

I am all for safety. But I dislike metal detectors at parks. People can still get stuff into the parks if they really wanted too. And part of the problem, at least at Haunt at KI this past year, is they were using the hand held metal detectors and did not have enough staff manning them, so it took nearly thirty minutes of waiting in line just to get into the park.

I see this as a way for Cedar Fair to gain more money since the VR is an upcharge. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am curious as to what other coaster they are debating adding this too.

Just to put things into comparison locally, the Tidal Wave Bay wave pool at Kings Island holds 650,000 gallons of water. Sunlite Pool holds about 3.1 million gallons of water. All the water is fed into Sunlite pool from underground wells.

There have been tons of weddings in the last two seasons at Moonlite Gardens. Almost every Saturday this past year in July and August there were weddings/wedding receptions at Moonlite Gardens.

You were talking about the wrong Moonlite. That fountain (and the building in the background) is Moonlite Pavilion, not Gardens. Yes, that entire area by that fountain looks really nice now.

Pilotank, what water fountain near Moonlite Gardens are you talking about? Also, the old roof that used to enclose Moonlite Gardens is not the roof for Moonlite Pavilion. The roof for Moonlite Pavilion was built specifically for Moonlite Pavilion (when it originally housed the Whip, Dodgems and Cuddle Up rides). Yes you can make out parts of the original midway, which terminated at Moonlite Gardens. It had been slightly obscured by the small hillside between Tilt A Whirl and Moonlite Pavilion, but with the addition of TopSpin this year, it became more readily apparent. TopSpin, Scream Machine, Carousel, and Famous Fairways all sit on what used to be the midway. The old Shooting Star station is approximately where Fender Bender sits today.

So what changes were made to the ride after this incident to keep similar incidents from happening again in the future? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So why if the rent payment had not been paid in over a year, is the owner of the property just now forcing them out? What kind of disagreement did they have with the operators that made them want to get ride of them?

Exactly. About the only thing that has appeared to change is they made a one row bench car, versus a two or three bench car. It also looks like they might have made the cars articulated (so that the front of a car is actually supported by the back of the car ahead of it (much like on most steel coasters, although Flight of Fear, and Backlot, and Adventure Express are exceptions). Just look at the Millenium Flyers and Timberliners. Those trains look a lot more advanced and the overall ride experience is a lot more enjoyable (I haven`t riden a ride yet with Timberliners). Rhyano, The Beast`s Landmark status was given to it as a way to acknowledge a ride that has had an impact on the industry. It would not be taken away if Beast ever gets new trains. I think you are thinking of the ACE Classic designation, of which The Beast does not qualify for since it has seat belts.

Yep. Both Tomb Raider and Flight of Fear were built with the building and structure built first, and then the ride was constructed inside of the building. See, the benefit of doing that is that once the building is built, the ride can be constructed without having to loose any construction time due to weather delays from Southern Ohio winters.

That is very true. When I visited Southern California back in April on my honeymoon, I loved Knott`s and Disneyland/DCA. Six Flags Magic Mountain just seemed a little odd when we were out there. It was probably the least favorite of the parks we visited when we were out there. But yes, those parks need to keep adding things so that they can try and lure paying customers to keep coming back to their park so they are not upstagged by one of their competitors.

To be fair, the water fall that was removed from the area that was once known as Tower Gardens was looking pretty sad the last few years from years of no upkeep. It was quite an eyesore the last couple of times (with the underlying foam that was used to create the rock work showing). The difference between Diamondback and Banshee`s station is quite striking. To me, Diamondback`s station is a pretty simple station. While Banshee`s station has a lot of cool architectural elements on it, including the trusses in the station area. This is an example of placemaking, which is something both Matt Ouimet and Rob Decker (the corporate designer for Cedar Fair) have been trying to implement in the parks. The other factor behind Knott`s getting those upgrades is it is the one park in the chain that is open year round, and can bring in revenue every single quarter for the company.

I saw a similar press release/article today. Other than the ark, what other attractions are going to open with this next season? I am still not sure if there is enough of a draw/attraction to make this profitable. Not to mention how will they attract repeat customers?

I never made it up to the original incarnation of Fear Fest in 2000. And 2003 was the first year that season pass holders received free admission into Fear Fest. It was a separate upcharge in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In fact, one of those seasons, they cleared the park of guests before letting in the paying Fear Fest customers. They used the old season pass holder entrance as the exit for park guests so as to avoid the main gate and the guests coming into the park.

And on the topic of renting, wasn`t the original Fear Fest that the park staged in 2000 full of rented haunted houses?

"Life safety" issues is typically a result of building code or fire protection issues. If the building was designed to have a certain occupancy and to be sprinklered and it is found that the sprinkler system is not operational, that is a big life safety issue if there were to be a fire. There is a reason that building plans are reviewed by fire departments. The building codes typically adjust after a major disaster, such as the Beverly Hills Super club fire in Kentucky, which ended up changing many of the "life safety" issues in the building code. This post is not to be taken as architectural advice. Prior to doing any renovation work to a building, you should consult a design professional (architect) that is registered in the area the project is to be located in.

Wow! I have been past it several times. Thought it looked fun, but have never had the time to visit it. Good to know.

I am envisioning something similar to Disney`s PhotoPass system. But without having Photopass photographers stationed all over the park. It will certainly be interesting to see how this program evolves.

The whole arrangement that Kentucky Kingdom has still seems like an odd situation. Not to mention the road that bisects the park still produces awkward movement about the park. (And T3 seems like it is in the water park). It will be interesting to see what develops from Kentucky Kingdom with the current government that will be taking up office in Kentucky.

Which is not good at all. Shows that ownership cares more about the almighty dollar than they do the safety of the guests staying/enjoying their water resort.

It is quite surprising that they had that many violations, among which include fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems not being operational. My brother worked at the water park at Coco Key in Sharonville for a while. From what I understand, the owner was a less than pleasant person to work with. In fact, after my brother left Coco Key (and not by choice), he was informed by his former co- workers that the owner wanted to go against Department of Agriculture orders to keep a portion of the water park closed (lazy river), until the filtration system was fixed. And they have had closures before at Coco Key before. My brother stopped working at Coco Key back in early April. So this is not news to me. Certainly seems like they have been having lots of issues. Given the choice, I would much rather go with a visit to Great Wolf Lodge verses a trip to Coco Key. There can be too many life safety things that it seems like Coco Key skimping on to save a few bucks. Everything seems to stem from the owner and his refusal to properly fix items.

So do we know who the new GM is at Carowinds?

Just curious, Leland, have you personally stayed at the DreaMore Resort?

It should be noted that in the most recent conference call, Cedar Fair mentioned that they are planning on introducing a winter event at California`s Great America in 2016...