Cormaster

I just got back from Cedar Point a couple hours ago, and after 2 days I can honestly say Cedar Point is AWESOME. FoF as for your idea about Top Thrill Dragster, I thought the same thing about it, till I rode it a couple hours ago, and I can honestly say its one of my favorite coasters I've ever rode. When my train was launched I nearly blacked out from the speed, next thing you know your just flying upward, and then comes the crazy 90 degree and the spiral. I got off that thing pumped and ready to go again! You really can't judge the coaster till you've been on it. As for the opinion's of Millie, I can understand, and me honestly I did kinda feel Diamondback was a bit more entertaining. Millie was long, fast, and full of speed, but kind of dull in comparison to a modern B&M Hypercoaster. I wouldn't say it sucked, in fact it's still an awesome ride, but it was a bit disappointing to me considering all the hype the coaster has gotten over the years. I never imagined I'd come back from Cedar Point enjoying TTD more than Millie. I'd still rank Millie pretty high on my list, perhaps higher than Magnum, but Magnum was alot of fun... kind of like a cross between Diamondback and a mechanical bull lol. But Maverick owns 'em all. That Coaster is simply amazing, so thats my vote! Total Element of suprise is involved in this coaster. Theres airtime, inversions, banked turns, high speed, and launches, and an incredible 95 degree drop! Yeah that coaster had about everything and I also really liked the seats and restraint system... would of been nice if they put those restraints on Millie and TTD so my wife could ride! But anyway If I had to rank the Coasters it would go something like this: Raptor was also friggen awesome! I haven't ridden a B&M Invert in...well about 15 years and that last B&M invert was Raptor too, and I can honestly say yes Kings Island needs one of these! Firehawk doesn't give you the feeling of flying even half as much as a great B&M invert. Also just seems like there are so many inversions on Raptor and it's fast... Raptor: Because Firehawk is for sissies (actually said that when I got off it the first time yesterday lol) #1. Maverick #2. Top Thrill Dragster #3. Raptor #4. Millennium Force #5. Magnum XL-200 #6. Wicked Twister #7. Gemini #8. Blue Streak #9. Corkscrew #10. Mean Streak #11. Mantis #12. Iron Dragon #13. Disaster Transport #14. Wildcat #15. Cedar Creek Mine Ride

I think the hybrid idea is great but others have pointed out when you look at what they've already spent, and how much more it will cost to build the hybrid...wouldn't you rather just let it go? I'm kinda there myself. At some point even the few Son of Beast fans like myself gotta admit it was a fail coaster from the beginning and as a fan of the coaster I'm lucky they put the money into it to keep it running for 8 or 9 seasons. The problem too with the hybrid idea is its the structure that has problems, not necissarily the track so I'm not sure if a new track would make the structure any more stable. I truly believe this is it for the Son of Beast. I think its doomed to sit and rot until Cedar Fair is ready to put in its next coaster.

I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong, and I will admit that yeah I've been beaten in this thread. I have never ridden The Bat, nor any other suspended other than Flight Deck, so I can't judge the whole category of coasters until I've ridden more than just one. I'm not sure where the "theme" park verses "amusement park" thing came from. Personally I just don't care about that. I always thought they were the same thing anyway.

I am just basing my opinion off what many have said saying Top Gun err flight deck (i really have a hard time calling it flight deck) is the longest and most intense of them all. Well its not very intense IMO and its a short ride. if it is the longest and most intense than what does that say about all the other inverted coasters out there "It starts off bad and only gets worse". Now granted I do think Top Gun is a lot of fun, but its so freaking short! Maybe they should of bought the remains of Big Bad Wolf and made it twice as long! And you got to walk 2 miles through an empty queue to get to it! I will never understand wtf the park was thinking when they built that queue. Diamondback's queue isn't even HALF That size!

I dunno. I'm tired, and bored. Personally I'm impartial about Flight Deck, but i just think in general suspended coasters are lame and I don't see why theres an outcry to bring back The Bat. Do I want to see it tore down? Personally I don't care but it seems pointless to tear it down when for one thing it doesn't take up much space, and another thing Kings Island doesn't need the land. I typically ride it at least once every visit to KI, but I'm still impartial about it.

And I am sure those people are in as much as a minority as I am as a fan of Son of Beast, which just like flight deck seems like a majority of the people hate it

Diamondback, but its the only one I've ever ridden so I can't say for sure.

What suspended coasters have you been on? Only Flight Deck, though Coaster critics have said its the most "intense" of all of them, which to me doesn't say much as Flight Deck is pretty weak. Thought honestly my main compliant is how short it is... if it were a bit longer I wouldn't have any complaints. I think the rumors we hear every year about them tearing it down just go to show its an unpopular coaster that no one cares about. We all know very well that Kings Island doesn't need to tear it down to get the extra space as they haven't even currently used half of the land they own. But many people talk about it being the first coaster to go even before Son of Beast because they secretly loath the lame-a-coaster and want it gone. Either that or they just hate the ridiculously long queue it has, which I agree the queue sucks and it isn't worth the short ride. I will be riding my second suspended coaster "Iron Dragon" next week which honestly from POV videos, looks a bit more entertaining than flight deck as it at least has 2 lift hills.

Personally a pretty lame list. Whoever wrote it was obviously drunk.

Well mainly from experience from staying at GWL, Kings Island's official resort, I didn't even opt to stay at any of the Cedar Point "official" resorts due to the high price. It wouldn't surprise me to hear even continental breakfast is extra as that seems what "official" resorts are all about: Milking every last cent out of you. But even if Comfort Inn's breakfast is different than the one I stayed at in April, well at least its still free, and its something to eat. The main thing was we know Comfort Inn's are nice, maybe not Hilton or Marriott nice but they are still nicer than your local "Roach" motel, and it was only $150 to stay 2 nights. But for the record they had a description of their continental breakfast and it's pretty much exactly what I described, which isn't bad. Continental has moved up a long way from "hey free donuts" like it used to be when I was a kid.

I'm staying at the Comfort Inn which has a free continental breakfast. Considering I stayed at a Comfort Inn in April I know what to expect: Hard boiled eggs, waffles, pasteries, Bagels, Yogurt, Fruit, and Juice. Good enough to go to Cedar Point all day on!

I was only 4 years old when it was removed. The first year I went to Kings Island was 1989 and I was never even aware of The Bat untill the 2000's when friends and stuff have said "my first visit The Bat was still there". I can't believe Drachen Fire isn't on this list. Thats kind of up there with The Bat isn't it? Its also IMO one of the most interesting Fail coasters. From what I hear the contract was supposed to go to B&M to build 2 coasters, Kumba and Drachen Fire, but B&M was busy making Batman the ride, as well as 2 Vortex standup coasters for Paramount Parks. B&M was able to deliver on Kumba, but not Drachen Fire, so the project went to Arrow. And it failed hard. Very hard.

Why do people even care about The Bat? The Suspended coaster model has always been how you say kinda lame. See B&M inverted coaster, the TRUE replacement for the Arrow suspended coaster!

In that case I think Cedar Fair outta buy some new trains from Vekoma. Vekoma does make some more modern trains designed for Arrow Custom Looping coasters. Honestly the roughness of The Vortex doesn't bother me. Prior to '08 I rode The Vortex at least 3 times per visit, if not more, because it was such an awesome intense ride, and you could get on without having to wait all day, even on a busy day. In '08 Son of Beast was running smoothly so I probably hit it up more than I did Vortex, and in '09 Diamondback so last year and this year I've only rode Vortex once per visit while making sure to get multiple rides on Diamondback.

I don't see why they wouldn't ever get a major steel coaster. No it won't be a world record holder, and it'll probably cost quite a bit less than Diamondback, but you can get a good world class steel coaster for under $10 mil by Vekoma, B&M, or Intamin AG. I think at this point with plenty of good woodies, its time for Holiday World to get a big steel one. When it will happen? I dunno. I mean someone else in the thread said it best when they said Water Park is their main concern. But I do think it will happen eventually. And on that note speaking of freestyle music park, This would look great at Holiday World!

well its stated as opinion not fact so I think I'm off the hook Anyway I really don't know but I know the first murmer I've heard of Great American Scream Machine being demolished was from the same article stating that Chang is NOT going up at Great America. Prior to that, I never heard anything about it.

Theres really no evidence to suggest Vortex will bite the dust anytime soon. As others have said, Should they add a new attraction, there is plenty of room to expand without removing it, its very durable, and its one of the most popular coasters in the park. Also lets consider how many Arrow Custom looping coasters that are older than The Vortex that are still out there such as Demon at SFGA, Corkscrew at Cedar Point, or Lock Ness Monster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. There are many more but I don't feel like listing them all. Honestly GASM and its sister Shockwave at SFGA are just both victims of "we need the land for a new attraction" and thats about it. Had they decided to install Chang at SFGA, GASM wouldn't be getting demolished.

yeah I'm not sure what "prime land" means unless we're talking about unstable land or something because its obvious The Vortex is sinking

meh its always been rough. Arrow never exactly had the reputation of B&M when it came to "smoothness".

How is The Vortex near the end of its "useful service life"? It's one of the most reliable and efficient loading coaster KI has ever had, and yeah its rough, but its always been rough and its never gotten any rougher.

If they ever remove it they better contract B&M to come out and give us a new mega looper with the same layout, color, and loading station and call it "V2: Vortex". Then they can use pieces of the old one as art everywhere.

I just think the Arrow Mega Loopers are cool, and should be preserved. Yeah they are a bit rough but they are still alot of fun, and they are the first thing that comes to mind one someone says "roller coaster". Don't get me wrong I like Chang too, but its not like its much less painful than an Arrow Mega looper, with its horrible stool-in-crotch harness, as all stand ups have.

Wow so its actually been done huh? Way back in '07 me and my wife had talked about a Kings Island Wedding. We actually went to the park in June to scope everything out for it. Eventually though the cost and planning got so high, however, that we backed out of it, and we actually ended up just having a nice budget friendly wedding in my in-law's backyard, and we did it in August of '07 (we were planning on using 6-7-08 as our wedding date at Kings Island). My hats off to anyone who's pulled it off. We called KI on this very matter and were told its never been done before that, primarily because while they aren't opposed to it, they can't block the GP From entering any certain area.

Luckily I got to ride the original, Shockwave, at Six Flags Great America in 1993, since apparently I'll never get to ride Great American Scream Machine. Whats with Six Flags trashing their mega loopers? Can't they tear down something else, or dare I say it, expand the park?

Fail, they need to preserve the classic Arrow mega loopers not tear them down, especially for a Stand UP with 2 less inversions!