Zorba

Not saying they should cut corners at all, I am saying that it takes a long time sometimes and they should try to figure out how to speed the process up. I've waited in an almost full line for it twice, both times it took about an hour, which isn't horrible but the Que really isn't that long either.

^ I agree. Firehawk is the only two train coaster I can recall that consistently doesn't have any trains on the track for minutes at a time. One thing I noticed on Thursday is on the North side the operator wouldn't open the gates until EVERYONE getting off had gone down the stairs. Most coasters open the gates right after they release the restraints, which is how they were doing it for the South side on Firehawk.

Richter isn't really trademarked is it? Kind of like Mach number. Speaking of "Mach 1" might be okay.

Vortex's OTSR's kill me. Mostly hurt my back by pushing down on my shoulders a lot. I also don't have any leg room so I bang my knees up really bad. Next time I ride I am going to try the front seat, hopefully that will have more leg room. So far every time I've ridden it I've gotten bruises on my shoulders and knees.

I went out there this Thursday around 7:30 and there wasn't much of a wait on anything. Only had to wait for Firehawk. The park wasn't empty, but not really busy either.

Everytime I have riden or just watched Firehawk it always seems like they take forever to load the trains, especially the one on the left (looking at the station from the line, I think it is on the North side). I was out there on Thursday night, and there was almost no line so my wife and I decided to ride it. Even though only one switch back was full it took us almost 30 minutes to actually get on the ride. During that period the south train would always get back to the station 1 or 2 minutes before the north one left the station. So why does it take so long for them to turn these trains?

Ah, I mis-read that. I read that to mean that revomal durring the auction was negotiablle.

Did you do the Whacky Shack? The park I grew up at had a ride very similar called the Phantasmagoria. My park is now either defunct or (hopefully) between locations, so I've been trying to find little pieces of the park anywhere I can.

I was looking at the Auction site and they say all rides have to be removed by June 20th. How would anyone get any of the coasters, etc. out of there in 2 days? Even a lot of the flat rides would be difficult to pack up that quickly.

Where would they have moved it to if they had taken it? I agree that they should've figured something out and taken it.

Is there any requirement on replacing these cables after a certain period of time? I know on mobile rock walls they cables have to be changed once a year, regardless of their condition. They instituted the rule after some cables snapped from metal fatigue where the rope attached to the coupling. I know lack of lubrication was a contributing factor at SFKK but mandating a replacement interval accounts for miss use and neglect. It screws the places that stay on top of maintenance, but so many places don't it might be justified.

When I was at Astroworld was 12 years ago, so it may not have been as bad as I remember it. I remember on the Texas Cyclone I felt like I couldn't see anything, I just hated those headrests. I think the ride was fun, but that hurt the experience. IIRC, a lot of the rides had some many restraints and non-see-throw headrest that it dampened my experience, if that makes since. But, I do agree that I was expecting too much before I got there. And I had just been to Six Flags Over Texas a couple days before Astroworld, so that didn't help matter. I also don't remember Batman The Escape, at all. Maybe it was closed when I was there. The first stand-up I ever rode was a few years after that.

I was thinking more along the line of fair/carnival type rides. Like the Himalaya, Enterprise, Magic Carpet Ride, etc. Which I know aren't dirt cheap by any means, but they are much cheaper than coasters. So you could install a few of them for much less than the majority of coasters. The park I grew up going to had mostly carnival flat rides and I miss riding them. Why would you even assume that by a "dirt cheap" fair type flat ride I meant anything like Delirium or The Crypt? Some flat rides take more people to run - like an eurobungy doing 80+ people per hour, which would require 4-6 operators on a 4-in-1. But a lot don't need many at all. CP was running the enterprise and the matterhorn with 1 person each this weekend.

The most disappointing park Ive ever been to was AstroWorld in Houston, TX. They had a lot of coaster, so I thought it would be great, but NONE of them were fun at all. I think my favorite coaster was a mine train. Other most disappointing experience was when I went to Silver Dollar City around thanksgiving. EVERYTHING was closed except a story telling float ride and the train. I've been back once since then and enjoyed myself quite a bit, though.

First Ride: The Beast (June 13, 2007) First ride of the day: Has been SOB or The Beast so far this year

Of course I would like to have more coasters, especially one like Millenium Force. However, I really think KI ould use some more flat rides, especially some fair type rides. Compared to a coaster they are dirt cheap and it is nice to have some fun rides with short wait times.