Oldiesmann

It says "free to all guests", not "free with admission to DA", so I would assume you don't need a DA ticket to go there.

[Frank Oz voice:] "There is no try. Do. Or do not. Roller coaster riding leads to pleasure; pleasure leads to thrill; thrill leads to funnnnnn!" EDIT: Oh, darn, there's no 'Yoda' emoticon. Look hard enough and you'll find one

Unfortunately it seems not everyone is capable of using all the resources at their disposal. You'd be amazed how many people can find their way to the Newport Aquarium yet are incapable of researching the operating hours of the place...

Now you have to wonder why the new bid is suddenly superior to Apollo. Is the CEO finally realizing that she has to please investors, or does she stand to get a bigger "bonus" from KSL? Hopefully others will learn from this and the FUN deal when considering to be bought by Apollo.

EXtreme Skyflyer (or whatever it's called) at KI. Ghoster Coaster would be a close second.

Stricker's is a lot of fun. They only have a dozen or so rides, but it's still a blast. The two coasters are tons of fun (great airtime, no trim breaks and buzz bars), the food is wonderful (and a great value) and it's generally a great atmosphere. The park is in a semi-rural location, so that makes it even better.

Everytime I see the lines for that thing (It still amazes me how slowly the line moves) I thank God that my 3 year old son would rather ride Boo Blaster, The Beastie (or whatever its called today), Viking Fury, or basically anything he's tall enough to get on than that thing. The capacity on that thing is horrible. I think we were doing good to get 300 people through in an hour.

It's obvious that was done by Bloomberg - Six Flags wouldn't embarrass themselves by showing their logo against a ride from a competitor's park with a crudely designed computerized train on it.

Edit: see above post.

Certainly looks like Diamondback. Really bad job of editing in that coaster train as well.

Speaking of clones, this could explain why Invertigo got a sudden and unexpected facelift/color change this year. From Dorney's website:

That same image appears to be on all the CF parks websites - I found it on the sites for KI, KD, CP, KBF, Dorney, Carowinds and Valleyfair. It does appear to be Maverick when you compare that image to this one from RCDB:

I'm really surprised Kings Island doesn't have a water coaster, considering that one was installed just up the road long before Holiday World installed theirs.

Having worked at Sky Tours in 2005, that sign brings back a lot of memories. It still amazes me that people are willing to wait 45 minutes for that ride.

As far as Beast goes, the best time is to get in line about 9:30 at night. As soon as they announce that they're going to be closing temporarily for the fireworks, half the people in line make a mad dash for the entrance...

WWC is my favorite as well - nice long ride, a really relaxing walk back and the fun feeling you get when you nail unsuspecting riders with the canons.

What a great book. Somewhat depressing, though. I haven't seen it since I checked it out of the library at my grade school. Anyone know where I can find a copy? I agree that it's somewhat depressing. Makes me wish I could have visited Coney in its heyday. My dad has a copy of that book and it's long been a favorite of mine.

Not crazy about "Zoom Flume". I think "Snowy River Rampage" was better.

Grab a copy of the book Goodbye, Coney Island, Goodbye by Paul Ilyinksy and Dick Perry. Among the numerous gems in that book is a two-page photo of Scrambler from the late 60s or early 70s.

You're welcome

Other than the usual trips to KI, Coney and Stricker's, I'm hoping to hit Holiday World in August for the big Christian music concert they're having out there, especially since it's the only park within 3½ hours of here that I haven't been to yet...

It's a shame that Hot Cat is gone. I rode it when I visited Camden in 2010 and it was a really fun ride.

"99 Luftballoons" by Nina. It was the song that was playing as we were leaving the park after the 2nd day of Ride Warriors Coaster Weekend a few years ago.

What year is that from? I'm guessing early 70s due to the dolphin.

Because if Halloween Haunt taught us anything last year, it's that they will do anything to avoid capping how many the sell. To implement this program has cost them very little - there's no overhead. Instead of using established systems that work efficiently like modern amusement park chains do, this company insists on using paper wristbands and bringing people in through exits. It costs them nothing and then they sell it to you and I for a price that is pure profit to them. All you have to do is look back to Halloween Haunt. Did you see the Fast Lane line for Firehawk? It extended all the way down that ramp to the entrance on most Saturdays! They were using one train for Fast Lane and one train for regular guests. Neither line was moving quick. Now this year, they've added "more rides." Doesn't that sound exciting? Except, look at the other rides! Scrambler, Zephyr!? Those rides never have lines anyways. I guarantee you that someone in an office up high thought to themselves: "If we offer more rides, we'll spread all the Fast Lane users out and then we can sell more!" Yeah, like people are gonna go use their pass on the Dodgem instead of using an unlimited line cutting pass on the good rides. My points exactly. Most of those rides usually have less than a 20-minute wait. I'm also concerned about the fact that they can be used on Eiffel Tower. The only time when it would really be advantageous to do that (other than on a really busy day) is towards the end of the night when they start packing people up there for the fireworks. I don't think that's fair to other guests, and I hope the park realizes this and does something to remedy the potential issues (either by restricting the use of Fast Lane passes during the final hour or so, or by opening up the lower observation deck as well).