silver2005

Ugh...of course this happens the season I'm going to Hersheypark. I don't think I could squeeze in 2 days at HP as much as I want to go for a extra half day for their water park. C'mon DP and NJFTP, don't let me down!

There is a legit question on who would build the giga since the Busch/Sea World parks have shown they're still not afraid to go to Intamin for new rides.

Banshee has a line with several switchbacks open (as seen on the webcam). That should all you need to know about the crowds today.

^I'm guessing the part of Coney Mall near the Gardens?

^Ok, none that popped up in my head immediately at least.

^Well, there are none in the US, and no international park is going to call them out on their bluff, so they'll probably get away with it.

This is an honest question for those against repaving the parking lot- would you wait until the parking lot is actual gravel? Also, why? It's gonna get done eventually. Re-lining the parking lot is also in dire need as I feel the way traffic flows from the new entrance isn't quite efficient.

^At least CGA is one of CF's smaller parks though. SFFT isn't a slouch.

Stuff like this is also a reason I like how CF is much more thorough and does their research into new ride technology before implementing it.

Between this and the S&S Free Fly's, SIX has been building a lot of new coasters with below par capacity for the crowds they see. I'm guessing its to sell more Flash Passes. Seriously, the last B&M they've built in the whole chain was X-Flight at SFGAm. RMC's have decent capacity I suppose, and I get the need for variety, especially at a park like SFMM where they practically have every type of coaster, but I think their choice in new rides could be better capacity wise.

I do want to give a big thank you to everyone who helped me out with planning these two trips and to malem for being my T-bolt partner. I'd be lost a few times without you guys.

^At least MLB has way better weather policies than Kennywood.

Pittsburgh turned out to be an easier city to navigate than I thought. Got in a garage right across the river from PNC Park. Just cruising around until game time.

Kennywood Trip Report Day started at 10:30 after getting to the park at opening. The way how I timed eating breakfast and meeting up with malem worked out perfectly including the drive to Kennywood in navigating late rush hour traffic and getting to the park with less than 10 minutes to spare. Before entering the park, I held the coin toss to decide number 80 and proceeded in. The coin decided that Phantom's Revenge would be my 80th coaster credit. And quite a fantastic credit it turned out to be (coaster reviews later). After that, malem and I headed in a semi-clockwise route doing Thunderbolt, then Exterminator, then Racer, then Sky Rocket, and finishing with Jack Rabbit had a longer line so we waited off for it making it #85 for me. After getting my new credits in, we did a quick stop for malem for lunch, then proceeded to do re-rides plus get in some flats. Got to ride Black Widow, Bayern Kurve, Log Jammer, Noah's Ark, Ghostwood Estate (which was slick with the track-less course and decent theming to boot), and Whip. Between Exterminator, Bayern Kurve, the Whip and Noah's Ark, I got a bit dizzy. Exterminator wins the award for the ride that has made me the most dizzy I've ever been via an amusement park ride. I'm definitely going to keep doing spinning coasters early in adding new credits at new parks. Ate for dinner around 5 at the pizza place near the kids area. Decent food, but not the greatest service. That was one thing that held back the park IMO was the sub-par service. Slow ride ops at understaffed rides, slow food lines, sloppy ride operating areas with food and drink scattered around (particularly at T-bolt), even Kings Island's staff on their bad days aren't so bad. On Log Jammer, our boat slammed into the station switch when the ops weren't paying attention. I also didn't think they checked restraints all to thoroughly and let pity things like parent-kid problems and single riders on T-bolt hold up lines and dispatches. Then there was the weather policies. They get so uppity over the weather there. Granted there was one time it was necessary when a thunderstorm rolled through, but otherwise it was mostly unwarranted. Despite the decent rides and food, the service was just off-putting. It'll be a while before I muster the willingness to return. Even MIA and KK had better staff. Coaster Reviews- Phantom's Revenge- This baby lived up to the hype. Super smooth with decent forces all around. It also felt very re-rideable as most of the coasters did. The lap bar does have some give to it allowing for some decent air time to be had. Fantastic views of the river valley as well. It's not quite my favorite steel coaster as anticipated (hi Magnum!), but it does come very, very close. Thunderbolt- This one didn't quite live up to expectations mainly due to the trims before the 2 biggest drops, but the ride before that delivered pretty well. Extremely strong laterals, fair floater air, and pretty good pacing sans the trims. The 2 final drops are still very good. Very comfortable ride as well. Jack Rabbit- This is a real one trick pony coaster. The regular drops were fair and the enormous double drop delivered in amazing air, but its quite short. Definitely left a lot to be desired. Racer- A pretty good racing coaster in that it does go back and forth through the course, but along with Jack Rabbit, it was just alright. Even less forceful floater air than T-bolt with above average laterals. Also Kennywood- why are there only 1-2 ops running the platform on this? Are you kidding me? Sky Rocket- This had the best ride crew of the day as they were the most efficient and thorough. This can be summed up as a tale of two halves. The first bit after the launch (though, not a very punchy launch like Flight of Fear or even Backlot) was pretty good with decent air on the first hill, nice high speed and comfortable inversions, but after the brake run, it really slacks off. Just a low high speed curve into a corkscrew before a bunch of forceless s-curves and hops. Didn't like the shin restraints either. Lightning Run's leg restraints were more comfortable. Pretty fun but lackluster. Exterminator- Despite getting dizzy, I rather liked it. This and Ghostwood Estate had very good theming. I think I do like this model more than your standard wild mouse, but I'm not up for re-rides, that's for sure. I do think I would prefer it being outdoors though. The dark corridors contributed to the dizziness.

As far as downtown Pitt is concerned, I'm probably gonna head down at 1 and be a bit spontaneous in my ventures. May look up museums and such. I am armed with my good camera. EDIT: On the stadium tour, I've been to enough stadiums and arenas during my time in the UC Band where its kind of a 'meh' thing to me. The only stadiums I'd consider doing tours for are older ones like Fenway or Wrigley. To give you an idea, here are all the stadiums/arenas I've been to ever- Riverfront, GABP, PBS, US Bank Arena, the Shoe, Nippert, Cintas Center, Cincy Gardens, Mt St Joseph U's stadium, Yager Stadium (Miami OH), Ohio Stadium, Milan Puskar Stadium (WVU), Rubber Bowl Stadium (Akron), Roger Centre (International Bowl in Toronto), Legion Field (PapaJohns.com Bowl in Birmingham), Sun Life Stadium (Miami- Orange Bowl), the Superdome (got a self guided tour there when we were rehearsing for the Sugar Bowl), Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Liberty Bowl- Memphis), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte- Belk Bowl), Madison Square Gardens (BE Tourney), Verizon Center (DC- First 2 Rounds NCAA Tourney 2011), Bridgestone Arena (Nashville- NCAA First 2 round 2012), TD Garden (Boston- Sweet 16 2012), XL Center (AAC Tourney 2015), Spokane Arena (First Round NCAA 2014), and soon to be PNC Park And most of those stadiums I've been behind the scenes for since that's where they have staging areas for the bands, so it takes special stadiums to get me to do a tour.

^Dollywood sued HUSS into oblivion when theirs didn't work.

Even if HUSS were back to building, they would absolutely not be building Topple Towers again. That's one of the main reasons they're in the bind they're in.

Finally in Pittsburgh after entirely too many construction delays on I-70. Oh, and I have a Cracker Barrel and IHOP for breakfast options. Also, I have a crap ton of side streets between me and Kennywood.

Off to the Steel City!

^Kings Island has the resources of Cedar Fair, I'm pretty sure they can do both.

One of the kitchen workers at Skyline told me there's no difference between Kentucky Kingdom and Cedar Point. All my fellow co-workers also think SIX owns KK.

You know you're from a city with a small market team when you're used to $5 seats being the cheapest only to see $19 as the cheapest in Pittsburgh. I'm tempted to sit in the outfield seats for the possibility of a TV cameo... Planning on being on the road at 10 am.

Insert arbitrary restrooms in X-base wish here.

I'm not entirely sure you could fit an antique cars like ride in Tower Gardens and there isn't much leeway around it to expand.

I think a Mack looper would be the most appropriate Vortex replacement because then you can do the loops while keeping the 48" height requirement.