silver2005

I believe you can leave loose articles in the station on T-bird. I'm about 65% sure on that. I didn't have anything loose on me there. Also, I don't remember there being lockers atop of Mt Thunderbird.

^Got it covered, malem will be with me for that. Also, just out of curiosity, I've never been on a spinning coaster before, so what kind of experience can I expect from Exterminator?

Consider me jealous that you get to ride Superman and Boulder Dash in the same trip.

^What exactly is your itinerary? From KI to Montreal to Massachusetts?

Steel- 1. Diamondback- perfect blend of speed, airtime, positive g's, pacing, and smoothness. 2. Banshee- An intense blend of inversions and a high paced course 3. Vortex- A bit rough at places, but I still find it a fun experience 4. Flight of Fear- Awesome launch, the indoors allow a bit of misdirection, and the 2nd half is a pretty nice way to end things 5. Firehawk- like the flying coaster concept overall, a graceful ride, but a bit too much time spent on your back 6. Bat- A great suspended coaster, very smooth and in a good location, somewhat short though 7. Adventure Express- A good mine train coaster, also in a nice secluded location, a bit anti-climactic though, one ride where Ron Toomer transitions are welcome 8. Invertigo- A unique ride for sure being that there's only 2-3 left in the world still operating, but a bit too intense for me at times, can be a tad rough in the cobra roll as well 9. Backlot Stunt Coaster- A concept which I believe could have been done better. It has some nice moments like the helix, a surprising launch, the s-curves through the police cars is slick at night, and the tunnel is decent, but still lacking all around, also kind of an eyesore Wood- 1. Beast- A truly legendary coaster, such a great romp through the woods with the ultimate secluded location in the park and has some great big moments to make up for lacking in the airtime, also the best helix of all time 2. Mystic Timbers- GCI knows how to use those Millennium Flyers well with a course that doesn't let up from start to finish. Also above average in the theming for a chain park and the shed that gives it some character. The only reason I like Beast better is the differences in style. MT focuses more in intensity and not letting up while Beast is more of a journey with the bigger moments that are built up better 3. Racer- Has the airtime Beast lacks with the racing aspect to boot, but getting a tad rough and neglected. C'mon KI, put a little TLC into this sucker and it'll live up to its potential

I just remembered that Backlot's trains are already equipped to handle VR. They have the chassis design that once held on-board music/sound which would be ideal for housing VR equipment. The only problem with using Backlot is the waste of the real special effects.

This isn't really a choice based on what I'd want, but rather what makes sense logically. Flight of Fear and Bat are the 2 that make the most sense to add VR. FoF for being indoors and Bat for its mild and smoother track and layout compared to other coasters at KI. Adventure Express and Backlot would be close 2nds.

I rode Raven last to make it #70 and I still found it pretty good. Unfortunately, I only rode it once over 2 days due to maintenance issues. All 3 woodies deliver great night rides as well. silver2005, a Legend lover.

Gonna wait until the credit card clears from June before I make a final decision on Pitt. It'll be a toss up between Thunderbolt and Phantom on which one I will choose for #80. I may do a coin flip. I have extremely high hopes for both.

BTW, you have to be quite the trooper to head to T-bird at the rope drop.

Is it just me or is Diamondback the most downtime laden B&M ever?

^SIX is building Larson Loops left and right, FUN did the WindSeekers, Canada's Wonderland got Soaring Timbers this year, and there's probably more I'm not thinking of. Point being- the big parks, including the chain parks, still build big flats. HUSS rides, particularly the giant stuff like the Giant Frisbees and Top Spins, have proven a bit unreliable. However, there are other manufactures outside HUSS. Mondial, despite the hardships with the WindSeekers, seem to be on the uptick.

Well, it's not like you have to use what's already constructed there. That's plenty of room for a decent size flat. Look how big Flight Commander was in the first place.

Thunderbird and Voyage are walk on or very close to it at the park opening.

The walk of shames I can confirm with certainty were of fear because they were people that fit in the restraints and I was paying attention to their reactions and such. I guess I happened to catch a lot of them.

If you don't mind scaling Mt Thunderbird, there's a pretty good BBQ place up there. The reason I call it Mt Thunderbird is because HW is pretty hilly. Its great for supporting 3 great terrain based woodies, but its a bit hard on the legs. Aside from the coasters, the smaller rides are worth a round or two. I liked Frightful Falls and Liberty Launch a lot. Other than that, it's a small enough park where you can take your time.

If KI's Skylines cook their spaghetti like the stores, then it's done in a few stages. First, it's pre-cooked in the morning with tomato paste, then kept in our walk in freezer/refrigeration, then cooked again before it's brought out. We use giant kettle's for the first stage and the spaghetti amount that's cooked before being brought out to the steam table isn't a small amount either. They have to last a while before rotating the bowls out. I believe the cooking that takes place immediately before it's brought out to serve is about 15-20 minutes. All of it is done by the kitchen staff, not the table staff. I'm hoping KI's Skylines have people in the back helping make stuff.

^The new restraint may be somewhat softer, but it still hurts with the quick transitions. I will say I like Maverick because the overall ride experience is better than Vortex, thus the payoff from fighting against the train is better, but those super snappy transitions are a big, big flaw.

I could say the same about Maverick, yet that gets a free pass somehow. You have to have extreme control over your upper body to get a comfortable ride on that. I felt I was fighting the train WAY more than Vortex's worst seats.

I noticed something kind of weird about Cedar Point that I don't see as often as other parks, and not just confined to what I saw on my recent visit. For some reason, I see a lot more people do walk of shames due to fear of coasters than other parks. I don't know if its just coincidence about who I run into, but I've witnessed it enough at CP over other parks where I'm starting to take notice.

I'd say recently on average, it seems the park has been opening somewhat close to Easter (and/or mid to late April) and the full week operations start slightly before mid-May. Daily 10 am-10 pm almost always starts when Soak City opens around Memorial Day weekend.

I parked close to the cabins no problem during morning ERT and drove it over to the CPS lot shortly after the park opened.

^Well, in the case of Diamondback, the bottom of the 2nd drop is lower than the first, and the third lower still, much of the layout contours to the terrain, so its very much custom built for Kings Island.

^Next Mother's Day.

None of the B&M hyper coasters are copies. They may have similar elements and order of elements, but none are direct inch for inch copies. You couldn't watch 2 separate POVs where they would match. Diamondback is the only one with a splashdown where the train makes it happen. Shambhala in PortAventura only has a simulated splash.