Rivertown Rider

Do tell. I guess I was too busy eating that golden vanilla ice cream.

Carowinds has announced the closure of Southern Star, Yo Yo, and Plants vs Zombies so the area expansion that leaked earlier in the year looks to be coming to fruition. As far as KI is concerned while there have been no markers anywhere to my knowledge I do think a Planet Snoopy overhaul/expansion is coming sooner rather than later. It is one of three areas that haven't really been touched much (i.e. more than just paint jobs) since Mike Koontz became GM (the others being Action Zone and Soak City). I would love to see the Camp Snoopy improvements like Carowinds got several years back. I am excited to see what the GCI rumored Titan Track for WOF ends up looking like. I see it as a test and learn similar to when they put GCIs in the smaller parks. If it is successful and not as maintenance heavy as SV is I could certainly see a bigger version in KIs future.

In addition to one's already mentioned, King Cobra and Firehawk would be two I'd like to see.

I am surprised they aren't letting GCI do the Titan track on it.

I would send Railblazer to WOF and Patriot to MI for 2 and 3. I love the idea of us getting the Wild Mouse. I would love to see them put it into the Crypt building and then it could run all season long. Gold Striker would also be great at Carowinds. It is also good to see you back.

I got to see the first show yesterday and it was incredible. The combination of this and the Phantom Theater Encore show are two of the best things I have ever seen the park do.

I finally rode it yesterday for the second time this season (this time in a non-wheel seat) and I got one of the best rides that I have gotten on it in years. I do agree that they need to get the issue fixed when you get back into the station though. It is hard to say how much capacity they are losing to that on an hourly basis.

Great trip report. If you had gotten to ride Nighthawk I think that would have probably been your least favorite ride in the park as it is pretty painful.

Here is the link to the permit https://www.bsaonline.com/CD_PropertySearchDetails/PropertyRecordDetails?recordKeyType=4&recordKey=e12f4947-8331-4ea2-b9c7-ae6f00a93cb2&uid=2714

Some pics I took this weekend as they now allow you to take photos from the Giant Wheel.

^ I didn't see one.

The most depressing sentence in park history is found at the end of the 2004 stone.

I finally got to ride it yesterday and in the places where it was re-tracked it is running the best it has in years. The double helix which was my favorite part back in the day and had become pretty uncomfortable for me over the last several years it back to its greatness again. I was in a wheel seat but look forward to riding it in a non-wheel seat. I definitely give the park a lot of credit for investing the money in re-tracking this and Racer over the last few years. They are both must-do rides again and that is saying something for the two oldest "big kid" coasters (not counting Woodstock Express) in the park. As I write this I am kind of surprised that the third oldest "big kid" coaster is AE.

I thought Tower Gardens was really well done. Some additional pics.

Yeah I agree. I wasn't thinking about the limited launch areas.

At 8:31 of this video. With him saying International Street I take that as ET. For what it's worth I'd be very surprised if we got our next coaster before CP, Wonderland, and Carowinds but with the chain being desperate to sell passes anything is possible.

According to Mike Koontz at Coasterstock the drones will be on the right side of the tower so it isn't them.

I do think this Zamperla Tea Cup would be a good addition for a Keggers style addition (the one that looks like Spinning Barrels) in the Slingshot space. https://www.zamperla.com/products/tea-cup/

I like Inside Universal a lot. It is laid out very similar to this forum and has a lot of good information.

@DonHelbig and team did an excellent job as always. I thought the guest speakers were great both days. Mike Koontz Q&A is always a highlight. I enjoy how candid he is.

I doubt it would be soon. I figure next year makes the most sense for a Planet Snoopy addition and feel even more strongly about that after hearing Mike Koontz talk about wanting to update Boo Blasters during Q&A yesterday at Coasterstock. One thing I will say thought if they wanted to put in something like a new Keggers or a Musik Express they could probably have that installed pretty quickly.

It is not listed under the rides on the KI website anymore which seems like it confirms the removal. That whole area along with the area between AE and the Freestyle location would work well for some flats. Bringing back a Keggers style ride and putting in a Musik Express would really help that area especially during Winterfest when it is such a dead area of the park.

Both The Racer and Tower Drinks queue changes are long overdue so it is exciting to see the park make these updates.

I get down to Dollywood several times a year and wouldn't say that I have noticed a ton on maintenance issues with Firechaser. Even if it does go down it is usually a quick fix. Lightning Rod and Mystery Mine are much bigger maintenance issues there. I really enjoy Firechaser. The only issue with Firechaser is that it is low capacity. It only runs at max 14 per train so only 2 more than BLSC. If they could figure out either running 4 trains or getting the capacity per train to 18 or 20 it would be a great fit for KI.

I would be more interested in CF acquiring the SW parks just because I think the current CF leadership does a great job and think Mike Koontz has been wonderful for KI. I can certainly see where the merger makes sense from a geographic standpoint but I would be sad for KD.