bkroz

Kings Island could definitely use something "unique" and marketable. I don't even know if a B&M Invert could do it. How about one of the new B&M X-Raptor things or whatever? An Intamin Wingwalker? An Intamin launched coaster? I have said for a few seasons now that it would be a worthwhile investment to give us a few flat rides (maybe even a suspended top spin) and an Intamin twisted impulse coaster running parallel to Coney Mall. Highly marketable, compact additions that could get us 3 or 4 rides for $22 million or less. Not a bad deal!

With a thought process like that, many parks would never get new roller coasters. 'Why give a GCI woodie to Cedar Point? They have a tall, intimidating woodie, and an old-timey, airtime woodie. All the bases are covered, and they don't need anymore!' Not the case. Because Kings Island has Diamondback, should we stray from any further sitting, steel, coasters? Must everything now be a "gimmick" or a family ride so that Diamondback can remain our signature steel ride? I would hate to see the day when Kings Island in particular decides they do not need any more wooden coasters because they have The Beast. GYK, who loves The Beast for what it is, but will never understand those who find it infallible, or worse, the end-all-be-all of wooden roller coasters. Wooden roller coasters can be better than The Beast, believe it or not. And there will come a day when The Beast is not the signature ride, or even the signature wooden roller coaster, of Kings Island theme park. And, given time, there will probably be a generation of Kings Islanders listen to their parents fondly recall a mysterious ride that used to be called "The Beast."

Or it is possible to start a roller coaster now and have it open on opening day... However, the best indicator of future behavior is the past, so it would be safer to say that a coaster would've been started a few months ago, but not open until well into the 2011 season due to... whatever it is that'd delayed most rides at that park.

Well, you asked; I answered!

No, he doesn't. He's holding a pallet of "lava" that he tips as the train approaches. In the "old days," a sufficiently large cloud of fog collected on the bowl, and when he tipped it, the fog "spilled" onto the train, lit by various red lights in the bowl. The fog has not returned, but the lights inside the bowl are back, so it has the illusion of lava as he tips it towards you.

I think people are grossly underestimating how fun, unique, and thrilling a Star Flyer can be... GYK, who didn't say anything about capacity...

^ Though admittedly, it's a little strange that the Backlot Stunt Coaster's pool and filtration system were restored at this random time in the season. As was pointed out (contrary to what I'd immediately believed) it is not just rain water. Someone purposefully filled it up, and turned on the filter system. If anyone has a hot tub, you know it takes a few hours to fill it up with a garden hose. Imagine filling that pool up... It certainly wasn't done on a whim.

Well, the Crypt is pretty dark and musty, as a real burial tomb might be... It's also pretty lifeless, but that's a topic for later. I do see what you mean, though. I just wish some theme would come back where it matters - the glockenspiel, appropriate music, trees... Good points, though! I hope it's a conscious trend that continues and not just a few coincidental mid-season actions.

Yes, they could call it "Cookie Cutter".... Or we could get another Arrow Megalooper called "very similar to, but inexplicably more painful than, any other Arrow megalooper you've been on." And really, look at GASM, Vortex, Anaconda... No matter which was their first, most always think the others are more painful. That's just how it works!

Too true. And I won't even mention the trains of kids (probably 6th or 7th grade) who insist on shouting things about Tom Cruise throughout the ride on Flight Deck... Or shout in mock fright on Adventure Express or The Crypt. Not that they're half as bad as the ride operators on those same rides... Ahh, to be 13 and feel that you simply couldn't get any cooler...

The same reason that the nearby Intamin roller coaster has tunnels on all of its major hills, but all are only half-enclosed, with the closed side keeping sound out of the local area and in the park.

I understand why it's being removed, but at the same time, I don't. Sure it doesn't fit Walt Disney's original idea for his parks. It doesn't fit the desired "Victorian" theme for the "new" Paradise Pier. But, they're not replacing it with anything... They're just removing it. One could argue that the nearby Tower of Terror is taking over its duties, but it seems silly to take it down if there's nothing currently planned to replace it. Though yes, the scream shields made it a more terrifying ride than it might have been otherwise.

Um, B&M floorless coasters have been built every single year between 1999 and 2008 with the exception of 2006... Stand-ups are a fad. Inverts are a fad. Floorless coasters are just regular roller coasters with an added (or, really, subtracted) element. Diamondback could be made floorless if they wanted to... It's just like how dark rides are constantly being updated to be "interactive." It's just like a natural progression; like an evolution. It wasn't a fad, it's just a unique twist to any B&M coaster than wants it.

Paramount's Kings Dominion's was closed for the 2006 season, and did not open with the rest of the park in April. Cedar Fair took control of the parks in June, and reopened it. To this day, on Kings Dominion's site, the little paragraph about Flight of Fear begins: "You asked; we answered! Your favorite indoor roller coaster, Flight of Fear, is back to thrill you!" Reports at the time were varying. Some said CBS wanted to re-theme the ride to the "MTV Soundwave," a sort of counterpart of Disney's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Screamscape reported that there were even guest surveys asking about it and displaying a piece of concept art). Some here will tell you that the ride was as good as gone, and heading for Paramount's Carowinds (with Kings Island's to follow shortly, heading for another Paramount Park). I don't personally know which is true and which is not, or if a combination of both was the real plan. Perhaps someone here has "inside information" that they can now divulge? However, for what it's worth, the long-announced, seldom-developed Paramount Park Korea has used the concept art of the MTV Soundwave to promote their park, so it was clearly a real idea at one point, and a variation of it may be on the table for the Korea park. Link.

Flat rides tend to break down more and aren't as popular? A war on lines? What?

I'm guessing a nighttime show like Starlight Spectacular.

Not for short people This was interesting, as I have never ridden a Diamondback ride with my hands on the lap bar, next time I will be sure to check it out. Also about the feet touching the ground, I really enjoy my feet not touching on Diamondback. It gives a more sense of detachment from the ride. I meant when you're off the ride back on terra firma. My feet also do not touch on the ride itself.

I don't know much about psychology, but I do know what you mean - reacting to your fear makes you more fearful; holding onto the restraint each time makes you subconsciously associate that act with safety. Roller coasters were absolutely the one thing I was terrified of. I had one of those fathers who would force me on the rides, kicking and screaming, to the extent that I absolutely dreaded going to amusement parks with him. Going upside down was my big thing. I 100% refused to ride Corkscrew at Cedar Point, and no amount of convincing could get me onto it. I guess it's funny, because today I look at roller coasters as really simple, natural things. I laugh to myself because going "taller" or "faster" is not a big deal. I don't really know how to explain it, but "going upside down" doesn't matter much at all, does it? What exactly about going upside down scared me? It didn't even occur to me that I might fall out, so that wasn't the reason. I knew nothing of "forces" and G's so that definitely didn't influence my fear... It was just the very notion of going upside down. Certainly that's sort of the same thing as your fear of putting your hands up on Diamondback. With feet firmly on the ground, it's obvious that there's no real reason that one would need to hold on. The restraint is hydraulically double-locked and (let's face it) in the very, very, very, very unlikely case that both systems were to fail, having your hands on the clamshell restraint wouldn't actually do a whole lot... So if you made a physical list of the pros and cons of putting your hands in the air, you'd probably find that, logically, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. But you've let yourself learn that you're safer if they're down, and that's a hard habit to break. Now as people here will tell you, when they tell you to keep your hands down on The Beast, they mean it! Low clearance... ouch...

Boo Blasters is a fantastic ride! Don't pass it up!

Not to mention, it would doubtlessly feel very stressful on the body... Ever ride Volcano? Those three heartline rolls feel so incredible, and so smooth. There's absolutely nothing strenuous about them. If the seats were lowered about twelve inches and suddenly the rider's entire body was lower, it might not feel so good..

The worst case I've ever experienced was at our own Cedar Point. (The following information is given for factual reference only, and it does come full-circle in the end. I'm the farthest thing from a racist you could find.) A group of friends and I were in line for Mantis (which, as you all know, moves at a snail's pace anyway. One young African American kid excused himself through the line, claiming he had friends up ahead. He then stopped between two groups that did not recognize him and stood by himself. Within minutes, a group of a half-dozen rather large, rather intimidating African American men did the same, passing by everyone in line to "reunite" with their friend who had cut a few moments before. This all happened in line behind us, so we were still ahead of this group. In other words, the group had sent forward a "scout" to get as far as he could in line without anyone saying something, and then they simply said "Oh, we're with him" and made their way towards the front. I'm sure they skipped at least twenty minutes of wait time. My dramatic, high school friend who always says what everyone else is thinking (you know the type) waited for the ride and, upon entering the station, told the person with the height stick. He directed us towards the ride operator, who directed us to the ride supervisor. She listened to our story, sunglasses over her eyes, a stern look on her face. She had us point out the group, who was just making it up the stairs to the station by time we were talking to her. She thanked us. Nothing happened. We waited at the exit and watched as they walked away, having enjoyed their virtually wait-free ride at everyone else's expense, laughing and hollering about how short the line was. We saw them again a few hours later. Basically, it was frustrating. If my group of friends had done it, and the supervisor had been alerted, we would have gotten our just desserts. But no one (including any security guards?) saw fit to approach this group of intimidating African American men simply because they might've actually had to step outside their comfort zone (which is yelling at scrawny caucasian "punks" who are afraid of them). There was a double standard that day, because it was simply "easier" to let it slide. But I can guarantee that if a group like my own had tried the same stunt, we would've gotten much worse.

Perhaps they're going to change the logo back to that font... Remember, you can never underestimate Cedar Fair's marketing ploys. But, does that mean each and every park would adopt that font for their logo? Probably.

As far as "tall, fast, intimidating roller coasters" 1. Apollo's Chariot 2. Griffon 3. Millennium Force 4. Flight of Fear 5. Son of Beast (with loop & original trains) As far as favorite roller coaster experiences even if the coaster itself isn't really stand-out: 1. Revenge of the Mummy 2. Griffon (in the back row) 3. Flight of Fear 4. Italian Job: Stunt Track 5. Volcano: The Blast Coaster

I feel like most people who hate Gwazi have not been on it... Just like how the coaster community knows "Son of Beast" as crap and "The Beast" as the epitome of terrain coasters, without having ridden either. I rode Gwazi a half-dozen times, front, back, and middle, a mere three days before its annual refurb (in other words, it was at its very very worst) and found it enjoyable, if not incredible. Plus, it wasn't dueling because one side was already being re-furbed. So I rode it at or near its "roughest," and without the fun dueling aspect and still liked it. Two of my friends who were with me now place it as their #1 coaster on Earth. And these are "seasoned" riders with over 100 roller coasters under their belt. I would put it in my top 15 easily. I can only imagine how much I'd have loved it if it had been dueling (I love things like that). Is it smooth? No. But is it one of the worst coasters on Earth? The only people I've heard that from are those who have not ridden it... Those who have ridden it usually use words like "fun" and "wild." Is that not what a roller coaster is supposed to be?

Shockwave beat the crap out of me yesterday. I had previously used it as my "stand-ups aren't that bad" poster-child. I'm rethinking that.