bkroz

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I very well may be; it's quite dark in there) but isn't Volcano: The Blast Coaster's second set of LSM's vertical? Granted, that's not from the stopped position as you imagined it. Regardless, I'm sure a 0 - Xmph vertical launch would be possible. It would just be complicated to have a holding brake grip the train and to release it right as the launching mechanism engages without the train dropping down backwards. In my opinion, it seems an unnecessary innovation when rides can just as easily launch horizontally, then quickly turn vertical (see, Intamin impulse coasters, catapult coasters, etc). Basically what I mean is, I think that those very select few who innovate new technologies for rides would find it more worthwhile to work on something else since the vertical launch might be tricky and sort of unnecessary.

In due time, Terp! I'm sure it'll happen!

As has been long-speculated, Islands of Adventure's long-lost Triceratops Encounter has returned just in time for the busy holiday season, albeit in a little different form than it used to be. When it originally opened, Triceratops Encounter was one of the much-touted attractions at Islands that helped it live up to its "most technologically advanced theme park on Earth" subtitle. But the attraction (where guests surround an animatronic trike and a lucky few are chosen to interact) closed four years into the park's run, and re-opened some years later as a quick, no-interaction walk-through. It has returned now as the Triceratops Discovery Trail, a sort of hybrid between the two former forms of the attraction. While it lacks the original incarnation's immersive, detailed, interactive queue, it has returned to the one-group-at-a-time interaction that was absent during its prior run (likely to suck up some guests who might otherwise be overwhelming Hogwarts). From the video offered at the site linked below, it looks like (for now at least) they haven't resumed the up-close, hands-on interaction, which (unfortunately) limits some of the animatronics capabilities (such as urinating and sneezing) which are believed to have been responses to physical touch. Still, it's great to see an attraction come back at the park that opened years ahead of its time, but is now becoming uncomfortably "average." Source, and more information (videos, pictures, etc) You can see more of Jurassic Park and the Triceratops Enouncter in its original form in this video:

Hodge podge of rides? Methinks that the powers that be would find that to be a fair assessment, and a compliment to boot. After all, their flagship park has won the Best Amusement Park on earth for years and years, and what is it if not a hodge podge of rides? Hasn't it faired pretty well without a single movie theme, motion simulator, 3D projection, synchronized musical score, fire effect, or licensed property? If you don't need any of those to be the Best Amusement Park on Earth, why would they give one to some second-in-command park in Southern Ohio? On the earlier comments about Diamondback, I would say that it (like any ride) is both a hit and miss in many ways. The image I've gathered is that Cedar Fair's first and foremost goal upon buying the Paramount Parks was essentially to "beef them up" and make them fit in better with their legacy parks. And while the Paramount Parks had large, notable rides (in Kings Island's case, The Beast, Son of Beast, Tomb Raider, Flight of Fear) they did not have any classically-Cedar-Fair rides: no large, forceful, attention-grabbing steel coasters that dominate the landscape and draw all eyes towards them. If you had a friend who were absolutely not a coaster enthusiast, I have no doubt that after one trip to Cedar Point and one trip to Kings Island, they could tell you which coaster at Kings Island most resembled Cedar Point. Diamondback is the only roller coaster we have that isn't set back from the main path. It's the only one that crosses over a midway. And it's the only one that has very little interaction with the natural environment. Unfortunately, elements like isolation and terrain-following layouts are things we came to expect during the prior years of the park, which makes Diamondback seem very foreign to us. It is what it is, and it won't change. Were there better ways to spend that money? Perhaps. But you can't please all of the people all of the time. I would've had that money spent on Son of Beast and Crypt repairs. Others would have it diverted to landscaping. Some might seek to have the movie rights purchased for a select few attractions. Some might've had the park's entire food service system renovated. Others would have a giant steel hypercoaster. Which would've done the most long-term good, or which would've done the best short-term good, and which is more important? These are the questions to be asked...

That makes two of us!

But for the marina and beach, Kings Island at one time or another had all of these things (and it only doesn't have those two for very obvious geographical reasons). No, I don't think Kings Island is a destination, and no I don't think it's got anywhere near the name recognition that Cedar Point has. My only intent is to humorously point out that we have had many, many things in our past including a resort (both in the Kings Island Resort and, in a different way, Great Wolf Lodge), a campground, off-site hotel partners, and that golf course that used to be featured in most Kings Island print ads as a companion to the amusement park.

I persoanlly think that The Italian Job: Stunt Track (and even now, Backlot Stunt Coaster) are worthwhile. But I doubt many would argue that it's placement is nonsensical. Especially when there are are equally fitting, much more appropriate spots in which it could've been placed without sacrificing two much-loved attractions and one of the most tranquil spots in the park. Of course, I adamantly believe that Tomb Raider: The Ride was a success from a guest point of view (as well as a testament to the standard that seasonal amusement parks should and could hold themselves to). But I'm not naive enough to forget that for many people in many positions, it was a debilitating failure.

I misread it and have just finished editing it. Haha.

Which is what we've said all along. That there are different standards for different manufacturers. If you'd like, we can start keeping a tally of minimum temperature cut-offs. So far, we know that B&M and (apparently) Zamperla rides can operate below fifty degrees. Now let's add up how many roller coasters they have and divide it by the total number on Earth to arrive at a percentage... GYK, who can fuss over arbitrary word choice, too. The point is, what difference does it make anyway?

I suppose it's difficult on a roller coaster like Flight of Fear to measure a "height." After all, there isn't a concrete drop in the traditional sense. Even launched coasters like Maverick, Wicked Twister, and Top Thrill Dragster have very clear drops, but with Flight of Fear, it's sort of difficult. Is the "drop" from the topmost part of the first inversion to the ground? Or maybe it's the sidewinder? Or maybe it doesn't matter at all...

I think that the "completed" figure eight in Hungary looks great! The lack of paint makes the supports resemble bamboo or foliage, and I think I might actually prefer that over the yellow supports in that particular area. I like the look of the figure-eight supports a lot, though... Sort of like a more aesthetically pleasing version of Backlot's helices. A true work of art as much as it is a feat of engineering (whether or not that intended it to be, I couldn't guess).

True! Busch Gardens Christmastown operates Griffon if it's above 40. However, there's also the caveat that they expect it to stay above 40... Starting it up for a half-dozen cycles isn't the best idea for the machine, the workers, or the crowds. And rides that are already "warmed up" are able to stay open when the temperature drops many times. I believe it's been discussed on here that many manufacturers hold different standards about the temperatures in which their rides can operate. Some can operate at 35, others at 40, while others may never see a day below 50 (at least, that's what was discussed here last winter). There were days at Halloween Haunt two years ago that I promise the temperature was at least in the low 40's - you could see your breath and everything - and I spent a bitterly cold night in line for Invertigo. Of course, that's also going off of that "it warmed up during the day" scenario where the ride had been operating. Opening a ride in 40 degree weather is a lot different than running it in 40 degree weather after it had been going all day.

I'm guessing your talking about ice skating on the fountain. That had to be amazing getting to skate on ice that big. Was the whole park decorated/opened or just the front part? "Standbyme" mentioned getting to ride the train, where did you board? This gives you a pretty good idea how the 2005 version went. As you can see, you boarded the train at its usual depot in Rivertown (labeled "9" on the map). From what I've heard and been told and learned here, different roller coasters have different operable temperature limits. Probably, some of them could theoretically have operated in a typical Ohio winter (like at Busch Garden's Christmastown, where Griffon is scheduled to operate provided that weather conditions agree). As it was, that particular winter was bitterly cold (which is one factor that played into Winterfest's low attendance), so I doubt any of them would have anyway. From www.themeparkbrochures.net

I believe it! I'm only saying I'm jealous and that, if I didn't think you a man of character, I'd now try to buddy up to you in hopes of a hint or two...

You act as if you know something that we don't...

And that restriction has lead to the creation of some incredibly innovative rides - Nemesis, AIR, even Thirteen - as well as maintained a stunningly beautiful park. With all due respect to the masterminds at B&M, if there weren't such a restriction in place, Alton Towers may be just another park to have just another B&M hyper airtime-machine, or another Batman-layout inverted coaster. Instead, it's recognized as having diverse, unique, and worlds-first style rides. Nemesis, in particular, is maddeningly genius - the lifthill ends at the treeline, and the ride is completely built into quarries, valleys, and tunnels. And come on... Any park that creates and maintains a "river of blood" to accentuate the post-apocalyptic area of the park? How can they not get an A+ for innovation?

I'm sure they've died down quite a bit, but I definitely wouldn't sweat it for February. I went last year in January and decided to hold off on getting Universal Express until I at least tested the waters for one day to see how crowded it would be. Everything (Spiderman, Hulk, Dragons, Jurassic Park, Mummy, Simpsons, etc) had a ten minute wait at most. I'm sure Harry Potter will have a longer wait, but January - February is a fantastic time to go. Before I left I was a little disappointed to see that the parks closed at 7:00 every evening. But when I was there and both parks were literally empty by 5:30, it made a lot of sense. So my advice is to not pre-purchase the Universal Express Pass. When It's cheap like it will be in early February, they know you won't need it, and are just hoping to suck some last-minute cash out of people who like to do all their planning before they arrive. Of course, that being said, even when I was there, I purchased one day of two-park Universal Express for our last day so that we could go re-ride all of our favorites without bothering with those 10 - 15 minute lines for the more popular rides. As you said, it doesn't work on Harry Potter anyway, and if the line for Rockit is long (which it may be - I have no idea if it's even open right now, or if their "super fast loading walkway" is functioning yet), then you can ride it on the day you get Express. When I went, it was brand new, so we rode it at closing with about a 40 minute wait (and this is when the loading procedure was so agonizingly slow, it was ridiculous).

Long forgotten? That implies that it was ever recognized and remembered to begin with.

A multi-launch, record-breaking coaster? Indoors? At Busch Gardens? As you can imagine, I'm more than excited. Are we looking at a detailed Revenge of the Mummy style dark ride / launch coaster? Maybe a Maverick-style ride like Cheetah Hunt?

Small, but very helpful. This is my favorite picture to show when getting first-timers hyped about Flight of Fear.

^^ Hey! I represent that remark!

It is the same speed, which many here can attest to. The brakes have always been there. The more fail-safe, magnetic brakes simply slow the train more rapidly, whereas the older brakes did it more gradually. With the magnetic brakes, you can physically feel the train being held back as its repelled and thus the area needed for braking is severely reduced (hence why you "coast" through much of the brake shed before and after you interact with the magnets. The older brakes slowed it a bit at a time for the length of the brake shed. The only people who have ridden The Beast without the current braking scheme are those who rode it before it was open to the public. Any further assurances that it is slower today are likely due to riders becoming familiar with the course, riding it at the "wrong" time of day, or expecting something that they recall as being "out of control" from being much, much younger. (I agree that it feels slower and less ravenous - but I have been assured and I am assuring you now that the ride is the same speed it always was).

You're right. I mean, it's the same height. And speed. And length. And uses the same trains. And terrain. But man, has it fallen apart. And if you think it's an awful ride now, just wait until there's a longer wooden roller coaster millions upon millions of miles away! It'll be all but worthless!

Oh Lord, is that even remotely related to that Bionic Beast over in Rivertown?

Look at those spiffy new things! Wahoo!