BavarianBeatle

About 15 minutes before the end of ERT, go to a ride like TTD and wait the 15 minutes! You will find it is well worth it! And if there is downtime while you are in line for Maverick, it is usually short, so be patient! Don't miss Skyhawk, a trip up the Space Spiral, or the launch side of Power Tower. Calypso is a somewhat unique ride that I always enjoy as well. And their Dodge'Ems are pretty good too.

I love The Voyage, and Holiday World! It was very sad to hear of Mr. Koch's passing! Yet it never ceases to amaze my that people want wooden roller coasters to be "smooth." Complaining about a rough wooden coaster is like going to a comedy club and complaining that the show wasn't serious enough! IMO, wooden coasters should be designed for people like me who enjoy being sore the day after a park and enjoy it even more if they have visible bruising the next day! Other than that, very nice pictures, and I'm glad you enjoyed your trip! --Beatle, having fond memories of The Racer in its heyday, games of Bloody Knuckles, and playing Hide and Seek with a pellet gun. LOL!

LOL! It was my favorite ride as a kid!

Shark, I will be taking my kids to Cedar Point as he first stop on that vacation. Following Millenium with the world's largest trim brake holds no promise for a good vacation!

It was proved to the satisfaction of a jury (a situation the park could have avoided had it settled the case, sigh), that the injury claimed in a particular case was caused by the ride. But we will never know how much the Plaintiffs were demanding as a settlement or what the Defendants were offering prior to that trial. Either or both sides could have been unreasonable making a trial inevitable. --Beatle, just sayin'

I should correct myself.... A ride should feel as though it is reckless while remaining completely safe. I rode The Racer with the soft seats and buzz bar restraints and proudly wore the bruises on my thighs as a badge of honor. I'm "old school" I suppose. --Beatle, who has been known to type faster than he thinks, from time to time

This has been bugging me so I want to get it out of my system. #1 You mention "the greatest driver ever" but you did not mention the name Richard Petty? Hm, don't get that one at all. #2 Dale Earnhardt basically ended up killing himself by not wearing a Hans device. I do respect Mr. Earnhardt, but as most drivers who drove on the same track as him would attest, he was reckless. ANY driver would tell you the same thing: Safety first, winning second. So it is true that they don't hit the brakes when the green flag waves, they also know that they can't win in a car that is in peaces. This coaster is the same way, I have ridden it both with trims and without, I prefer it with trims. It's not disrespectful at all, as a matter of fact I think it upholds the values of NASCAR. #1 Richard Petty won because he had Chrysler factory backing while racing against drivers with less money and inferior equipment. I've met and spoken to Mr. Petty and I think he's a great and wonderful human being, but, he won races with superior equipment, not superior talent (I think David Pearson, Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbrough, and Earnhardt were more talented), IMO.... #2 Dale Earnhrdt got killed because he went head on into a wall with an immediate deceleration of 42 miles per hour in the forward vector, an impact that is not survivable regardless of the restrait system used (crash tests are done at 35 mph for a reason). But, back to the ride, if its a tribute to Dale Earnhardt, it should be wide open take no prisoners fast, and, yes, reckless!!!

I'm not a fan of trim brakes, but what if there were none on Maverick at Cedar Point.. I can not begin to imagine how violent a trimless Mav would be, and I'm not sure I'd want to know. It would be awesome! Are you kidding?!?

What, may I ask, do you think of Carowinds' Intimidator? After all, that particular ride has two sets of trims and a mid course brake... I rode it last weekend. It was awful! Not even in my top 3 favorites at Carowinds. As big a disappointment as Fahrenheit!

With all due respect, if I had any desire to own (or for that matter, any use for) one of those giant stuffed animals, I would have simply bought one of them a long time ago. Beatle, just sayin'

You are talking about blocks, as opposed to trims. Completely different! Blocks are designed to divide a coaster into different segments in order to prevent collisions... They are necessary if a coaster is to run multiple trains! And any coaster will stop in the blocks if the train ahead has not cleared the blocks ahead . Although it is all run by computers these ays, that was not always the case. In fact, the bells that signal that it is safe to release a train still ring on Vortex and AE....

Notice the one common factor in all on this is not B&M...not Intamin... but, yes Cedar Fair! The company that will claim that they install trim brakes for "guest comfort" and "safety" or whatever other shallow reason they make up. Remember when they weren't going to close Geauga Lake? Or when the food prices at KI only went up by about a nickel? And, now Dick "Nickel" Kinzel is in the Sandusky Register claiming that CP has ordered a ride aimed at thrill seekers. Too bad, based upon this company's history, that the attraction won't be direced at thrill finders...

Also, if you take a ride up the Eiffel Tower (as I encourage everyone to do on every visit possible), they always tell you on the trip down what time the park closes and whether there will be fireworks.

The message boards outside the entrance said the park closed at 8 and it has been on the park map/schedule since it was released online. Imo, if employees constantly reminded me of closing time all day, it would give the impression that they were impatiently wanting to get rid of the guests.

It appears that way from certain perspectives, but the structure and track are still fully intact, from what I saw yesterday.

I went Sunday and it was really nice. I agree with everything Angie said. It was the best day I've had at the park in quite awhile.

We knew the inevitable was coming. There are indeed rides on the Fantasy Farm site and have been for some time. I will remember my camera next time I drive out that way.

Do you even know who Dale Earnhardt was? Race car drivers, especially the greatest driver ever, do not hit the brakes when the green flag waves! Trimming the first drop on this ride is every bit as disrespectful as going to the cemetary and urinating on Dale Earnhardt's headstone. I would expect something like this as part of a Haunt display, but to spit in the face of a dead man's family, friends and fans in this manner is beyond unacceptable! And if goodyellowcorn or anyone else out there is a fan of CF's trim brakes, feel free to enlighten me on which trims you enjoy. And, by the way, I don't think that going to a different park will ruin my summer vacation at all

Why is it that the powers that be at CF continue to get a tingly feeling every time they hear the word "trim brake"? From what I've read the ride has been completely "meanstreaked." I, for one, am changing my summer vacation plans to avoid yet another overly trimmed CF ride geared toward the wussified (if that's a word)members of society. And, Mr. Kinzel, I will be contacting the owners of Dale Earnhardt's image and urging them to cancel the licensing agreement that permits the park to associate this disgrace with the memory of Mr. Earnhardt.

The question is not 2010 changes, but 2011 changes. Demon Drop is gone and Chaos is being removed.... This could be HUGE!

(emphasis added)Sometimes people go with me, and I am not make of canvas or hemp...last I checked... And, from what I understand, you are no longer quilted, my friend.

I would advise packing a cooler and eating in the parking lot. The food at KI is so overpriced and low quality, I refuse to pay for it anymore.

And if you obtained Disney's food prices on the Internet, you need to confirm the accuracy of that as well. They may change their prices based upon the law of supply and demand.

Yep! I can't agree more. And also, I'm sure some of those things are incorrect. Just what I'd heard (which, for all intents and purposes, is just as important as what really happened, because that tenfold is what the public hears before they board these machines). True. And in many ways, I agree. There's something about Maverick, Millennium and the like - they're unique, they're twisted, and they have unexpected launches and airtime. Does it make them more suceptible to break-downs? Yes. But there comes a point when the casual rider will simply feel "If you've ridden one B&M hypercoaster, you've ridden them all." Do you think casual park goers notice (or even care about) the differences between Behemoth, Nitro, Diamondback, Apollo's Chariot, etc. If they can even keep the names straight, they'll probably prefer some over others, but all are smooth-as-glass, up-and-down, out-and-back airtime hills with a helix here and there. They're fantastic coasters, but after a few re-rides they seem to lack that "oomph." At least for me. Of course, that's saying nothing of B&M's other offerings - Inverts, stand-ups, multi-loopers, dueling coasters, flying coasters. They have some of the best rides in the business, but when it comes to just their hyper coasters, they do become a little "blah" for me. They lack the suspense, uniqueness, and re-ride-ability of Maverick, El Toro, Volcano, even Wicked Twister. But for me, I've never had a bad ride on a Premier. I know that's like, the oddest company to favor. But I love their rides. Perhaps because they have a little bit of vibration to them, and most every single one I've been on has been at least moderately well themed, and I think that's something that Premier enjoys being part of. And I feel like, since they make smaller, more family-oriented installations, they put more care and effort into their rides than Intamin, who might crank out two huge coasters, a few smaller ones, flat rides, and observation towers all in one year. Yes. No B&M that I've ridden could offer a ride like Maverick under these conditions... I must, once again, disagree with JacksonPKI who said that this is, to use his word, "harmful."

I prefer Intamins to B&M's... IMHO, B&M builds overly smooth coasters that are in no way thrilling or scary. But the point of my post was that Intamin is in no way "harmful," as claimed by the poster who I quoted.