Rivertown Rider

Regardless of whatever is in the shed, I'm still excited about the coaster.

I agree that the quality of the cups has gone down continually. I found a Diamondback cup from several years ago in my basement recently and the quality difference was crazy how much better they were just a few years ago.

Good: Flight of Fear, Days of Thunder, the idea of Son of Beast, Tomb Raider, the movie prop area walk thru behind Eiffel Tower, movie music around the park Bad: the execution and design flaws of Son of Beast, taking out the Antiques/Eagles when Italian Job could of went elsewhere in the park, getting rid of Phantom Theater

I like the idea of having the option of doing both. Either you can do the refillable bottle or if you don't have the bottle with you then you can do the disposable cup. This would give the person the option of what they want to do.

I got the chance to check out the lights tonight with my wife and my parents and it is well worth checking out. I was amazed at how many cars were there on a weeknight. The traffic moved continuously so we didn't get stuck out on the highway. Great job all around though on the show and synchronization.

No I don't think they need to expand. I agree that they should take care of the parks they already own. They would strip the charm away from places like Dollywood. An owner like Herschend understands what to do with Dollywood. Dollywood does theme first, coasters second and Cedar Fair would do coasters first, with theme a distant second. CF does alright with the bigger parks in the chain but the smaller ones suffer and that would get worse with more parks.

It is good to see some updated pictures behind what we can see from the camera.

This ride looks it should be sponsored by Lysol for all of the "spills" that it is going to cause.

I also don't think they will ever build something like Son of Beast again. There are a multitude of reasons why rides like The Beast and Racer are still going strong and Son of Beast is no more. I'm glad that they went with somebody this time around like GCI that understands all of the intricacies of building a wooden coaster.

Banshee gets my vote. A great ride from start to finish.

Having ridden both, I would give The Beast the edge. Most won't but I give The Beast the slight edge due to being more of a traditional wooden coaster and being four times as long (time-wise) as Lightning Rod. Other than both using a wooden frame that is where the similarities end. The closest comparison at Kings Island I can give to Lightning Rod is probably Diamondback. Lightning Rod has a crazy amount of airtime like Diamondback, although Lightning Rod's air time is more ejector air than DB's floater air. I liked Lightning Rod more than Diamondback though. If LR was at KI I would probably rank it third behind Beast and Banshee. LR has air time like DB and intensity/smoothness like Banshee. Overall it is a great coaster. I can certainly see where many enthusiasts rank it so high but it being so short time-wise keeps it from being at the top in my opinion. It is still in my personal top five though.

I would classify it as a thrill ride fun for the whole family (over 48 inches tall).

I kept having a dream the other night that I was on Mystic Timbers continuously.

I agree. That's the most responsible thing they could have done.

Invertigo to Valleyfair for Antique Autos, Tilter, and Mad Mouse

It is a great fun ride for the whole family. It is a Mack as well. I did it a couple times this summer.

My grandfather used to refer to swimming pools as a public bathtub. He wasn't a big fan.

I would like to see them add a few more Freestyle machines around the park.

I don't generally wait for the front seat as I like to get on the ride quicker than waiting for the front seat.

That is a cool looking ride. I could also see it going in Planet Snoopy.

I rode it throughout all of its various incarnations. Overall I liked the ride but it was a very rough coaster. Probably the only other woodie that I have been on that was that rough overall was Mean Streak. I enjoyed the ride and would still ride it today if it was there but I don't blame the park for removing it.

I think the big things for me would be to have more cohesive theming and more flat rides. Around the park what I would like to see: Rivertown: I would like to see more of the old town early 1900's theme like it use to have. You should feel like you are going to an area removed from the rest of the park. Theme specific music would be country tinged. Improve the railroad to have more of a wild west theme like it used to. It will be interesting to see if the theming improves with Mystic Timbers coming in which I think it probably will. Obviously the big box where TR used to be should have something go in, preferably something that fits the area. Coney Mall: I like that Coney Mall has maintained the old theme park/fair vibe through the years. Area music should be 80's and 90's music. The problem largely that Coney Mall has it that the area hasn't really had major additions in years. It added WindSeeker but there haven't really been any major additions in years. I have noticed when walking toward The Vortex end of Coney Mall that is just a dead area of the park. I would like to see them revamp that area with some flats. Put in a Musik Express, a Tilt a Whirl, a Ferris Wheel, and a S&S screaming swing. These type of rides would help with spreading out capacity. One thing I would also do is look at moving Timberwolf back to the area where the old Action Theatre is. If they are not really going to use the Action Theater area much except for Haunt, then build a new theater back there that is not taking up the valuable space that it is in Action Zone. Xbase: The suggestions that have been brought up on the site before about extending the area toward Adventure Express behind The Racer would be a good one. You could bathrooms and maybe a flat ride or two. Theme music wise I could see it being more alternative music based. Oktoberfest: I would give Oktoberfest more of the German feel that it used to have. German music would play in the background. Obviously there is not as much space in that area but a small flat ride would be nice. I think you could also put a small quick service in Oktoberfest that sold hot dogs, metts, brats, and goetta giving it more of the German feel. Action Zone: Action Zone has always felt like a hodge podge and there has never really been a consistent theme. With Banshee and The Bat maybe you could give the area more of a Halloweenish/spooky theme. Music wise you could still do the hits of today like they do now. I would either move/remove Timberwolf. I would relocate Congo Falls to either Rivertown or Planet Snoopy (if they even want to move a 30 year old water ride) and that would really open that area of the park for what they could do. I think if we ever get a Giga that would be the part of the park that makes the most sense. International Street: I would go back to the music of area having more movie soundtrack themes like they used to. The area behind the Eiffel Tower on the way to Rivertown could use some rides. Figure out a way of bringing back the antique cars and smaller flats to help with the dead area between International Street on the way to Rivertown. Obviously all of these things are not going to happen but I think could help make the park even better than it is now.

I think we will probably see a B & M Giga but after riding Lightning Rod last week I would be happy with an RMC.

I voted for The Beast. Banshee is a close second, but The Beast is still my pick.

Some of the queues could use more shading but I don't think all of them need to be indoors. I would like to see queue times posted throughout the park like they are at Dollywood. I know they won't always be 100% accurate but it is better to have a somewhat accurate idea of the wait time upfront.