Browntggrr

There was not a lake present before The Vortex was built in '84. If there had been one in that place at anytime, it would have been drained before The Bat was built in '81. And it may, or may not have been a lake at all. It could have been wetlands which have standing water in a particular area during the course of a year.

From what I have been reading on coasterbuzz, those who have been on Thunderhead @ Dollywood say that it is the best coaster (not just wood) they have ever been on. It almost sounds good enough for the 14 hour trip to Tennessee!

Sure PKI would announce it, if they didn't- fire the marketing dept. Why spend the money on changing things, if you are not going to let people know. It is just like PKI letting us know about the changes to The Beast, SoB, Coney Mall, etc. Disney has changed Tower of Terror a number of times now, and made sure that the word was out.

Antonio Infosino? That name is not very Italian! Congrats Chef. :chef: . I have a daughter that is 3 and all I have been doing for the last month is checking her height to see what she can/can't get on. Bringing her on the kiddie rides is the most fun that I have ever had at any park.

Coasterbuzz has announced the winners of the 2004 Coasterchoice Awards. 2004 Awards

I doubt that TR was changed. It is only entering it's 3rd year, and many people have not been on it yet. If there would be a dropoff in riders, then they would change it. Also- if it was changed for 2004, it would have been announced by now.

I hope that you are being sarcastic, but please read this: Letter to Enthusiasts

They will be in a partnership w/ PKI. I cannot imagine PKI "giving up" or even sell any part of their land. The only way the partnership would work is if the Hotel would rent the land from PKI. Now the rent is what needs to be settled. Will the monthly rent be enough of PKI to move the campground so there is no income loss, and will the rent be low enough for the hotel to be viable? There would have to be some sort of package deal between PKI and the hotel to encourage guests to visit both parks, unlike CP and the Great Bear Lodge which currently have no package deals together, but the GBL is about 10 driving miles from CP. The lodge really does not need PKI, and PKI does not need the lodge, but if they worked together I cannot see how this would be a waste of time/money. Each offers something that the other does not have.

If the Great Bear Lodge can be supported year-round in Sandusky, there is no reason that a larger one will not be supported near PKI where there are more year-round travelers. A indoor water park opened recently in my home town of Erie, PA (Splash Lagoon) and the park was put in an area with at least 15 hotels w/n a 7 mile radius. The park also has 3 hotels that are connected. Splash Lagoon has been such a huge hit that they are already putting in addition- after only one year. Erie does not even come close to the amount of people that travel through the area like the area around PKI on a year-round basis. The actual slow season will be the summer when the option of being outside vs. inside comes up. But for those days where a family will be arriving to the area a day or night before they go to PKI, they will enjoy the indoor waterpark. This is a HUGE addition for PKI and the surrounding area, every business will benefit.

Were there some posts that have been deleted? From what I can read, everyone has been fair, no insults, or flaming. Actually, it has been a really good topic of discussion. If I have offended anyone, I apologize.

I am getting mixed searches. Coasterbuzz says Delirium was about $8 million, wheras Amusement Business, has it around $4.5 million. Tomb Raider info- not exactly clear yet a good assumption: Tomb Raider

What!?! :stupid: Delirium was about 8 million and TR was about 20 million.

A large coaster addition will bring in more money. Now before you jump in with a reply, think about the parks that are near PKI. For the last three years the economy in the US has been in a "mini depression". So you would have to think that parks are not attracting the large numbers that they want. The Six Flags parks have issued statements that their earnings are down (attributing to the economy and weather), I am not sure about PKI or their parent company, but Cedar Fair had a 1.4% increase for 2003. The statement (Cedar Fair increase) says that the increase can be related to "successful new rides at CP and Valley Fair". Now we know that TTD was not as successful in 2003 as they would have liked (numerous breakdowns before July 4th), but the company as a whole still had an increase, and other corporations (Six Flags) did not. I consider PKI to be the flagship park for Viacom, like CP is for Cedar Fair. A park is never going to earn all the money back for a ride in one year, when the ride costs $5 million or more. The ride is an investment. In 10 years that ride should still be bringing people through the gate. But it is not just one ride, but the park as a whole: guests do not visit PKI just to ride Delirium, but to ride that and The Beast, Vortex etc. You have to give the guest options. Big rides and small rides. CP is constantly being bashed because they are building coasters that are huge record breakers. PKI is building rides that are record breakers, but currently not coasters. And if that is making them money, then they are doing it right- for both companies. PKI became the park it is today because of The Beast. They money earned over the last 25 years put PKI in the position to build other rides in the park. IMO PKI was burned by SoB. It is not the attraction that it was hyped up to be. PKI may be gun-shy to pull the trigger on another ride of that magnitude. Or they are covering their butts and making sure that the next time they spend big bucks, it will not have the same reputation as SoB, so they are taking their time on it. Bottom line- if you spend $25 million on a ride, it better be worth it!

Is it just me, or has anyone else thought that the title "The Italian Job", sounds like a XXX movie? -yes it has been a long off season.

10. WWC 9. AE 8. Delirium 7. TG 6. Recar 5. Racer 4. TR:TR 3. FoF 2. Vortex 1. Beast I am anxiously waiting to see if the off-season work on SoB will change my opinion.

How many days left till the park opens?? BTW- Great site!

Don't pis* her off! Use the VCR!

...and except for- The tunnels, the woods, the second lift hill, and ultimately the night-time rides. :jerry:

Even though I would not like to see it go, I really don't like SoB. Any ride that causes more pain than laughter just is not right. (Let's hope the modifications this year will change that!)

Tough question, and one that is really how an individual wants to look at it. Excluding dueling coasters (i.e. Lightning Racer @ Hershey, Dueling Dragons @ IoA, or Gwazi @ BGT- all of which can never be considered one coaster), most "Racing" coasters follow the same track (i.e. Gemini @ CP) or "mirror" each other, with the exception of Kennywood's Racer which is one track (one complete circuit w/ 2 trains). The Racers at PKI mirror each other, yet you could take one side down (demolish), and the other side could still run w/o much of a problem- unlike Gemini, so in my mind, it should be considered 2 coasters, especially since there are 2 different ways to ride it. :offtopic: The Racer at Kennywood is an extremely unique ride. You will get in on one side of the station, and end the ride on the opposite side. It is really hard to figure out, and is one of three still operating by John Miller.

Sounds like "Finding Nemo", but in this case it is "Finding Flipper".

Great site Rickster! Nice find! Kudos and plaudits to the site's owner!

I wonder why they want to add sound effects to The Beast. It has been one of the best coasters for 25 years now, IMO if it ain't broke don't fix it. Another question is: where are these sounds going to be at? In line, going up either lift hill, thru the tunnels? From my understanding the name "Beast" came from the KI execs taking some of the first rides and having the thought "it sounds like a Beast thru the tunnels". The ride goes thru the woods, and part of the fun (especially at night) is all you can hear is the coaster on the tracks, and the million crickets in the area. It is obvious that PKI is going with a heavy movie theme, but I hope that rides like The Beast will not be affected too much.

GMRC and SoGMRC just don't have the same affect....

Just to stop any rumors. Enquirer article