silver2005

Welcome to the forums! Keep in mind that this past weekend was Columbus Day weekend, which is always one of the busiest weekends of the year. Many members of this forum did a group meetup Friday night, and it was packed to an extent that I have never seen before on a Friday night. The Saturday of Columbus Day weekend is always insanely busy with some of the longest wait times of the year, and the gorgeous weather only added to the crowds. So don't expect that one trip to be indicative of "normal" crowd levels. Yes, Saturdays during Haunt are typically crowded, but not quite to that level. Fridays often have short waits for most rides and mazes, so that is usually the best time to go if you want to do haunts along with rides. If you just want rides, not haunts, Sundays are often nearly dead in the fall and can be a great time to go. Also, pro tip: Adventure Express has a VERY short queue. If the line is to the entrance, that's usually only about a 15-minute wait. Vortex's queue is also deceiving, in that a line to the end of the black fence is typically about 20 minutes or so. To add to that, the last weekend is right before Halloween. I'd expect to see some decent crowds that weekend as well.

Yeah, GCI usually throws in a few bigger hills in an attempt to burn off all that crazy momentum.

While S&S has had problems (Hypersonic, Ring Racer), I think they have gotten better. They're still getting a lot of business overseas, and while I think a lot of their designs are either a bit too ambitious are are just re-hashings of already proven designs, they're not too bad IMO. I'd still take them over Intamin and maybe Gerstlauer to an extent. Their non-coaster products still sell pretty well (see Hersheypark).

^They look to be close now. The supports look to be arcing towards where the lift crests. There has to be some un-banked track on the downward track opposite of the lift ascent to house the chain drive gear at the top. I'd estimate there are only about 1 or 2 more supports to go before the top is reached.

^They've been doing that even when there's been little to no wind. I imagine its because those bigger supports are quite a bit of weight to be lifted by only a few wires. They're designed to take on weight from the top down, not hanging by a crane.

TBH, I can't think of a good place to mount the camera to see the rest. Sure, you could use trees, but I would imagine they don't want to be putting a camera up and interfering with the construction crew. The only other places I could think of are the train sheds, around the WWC turntable, or one of the WWC's watch towers.

^I was thinking something more along the lines of Ravine Flyer II's supports over the highway.

Going through their list of coasters, this is GCI's first coaster to go over such a deep body of water. Looks like we'll get to see some sort of unique support system on that part of the ride.

^They've since retracted the crane arm on the live stream.

Looks like they're about to put up some supports if anyone currently at the park wants to check it out. Should be happening within the next few minutes (as of this post). EDIT: Or not.

Back around 2010 or 2011, I was in line for Firehawk which was sticking out the entrance, but not all the switchbacks were being used, and a lady went by and cut through a very large portion of the line, right by 2 ride ops manning the entry. I tried to stop the lady only to be met with a defensive stance by the ride ops, backing her as she was going to meet up with a group. I told them the rule that there aren't exceptions including pointing it out in the rules list on the park map, and they continued to scoff at me. I then left the line, went to GR, told them about it, and by the time I got back, both of the ride ops were nowhere to be found.

*waves hand* These aren't the tourists you're looking for. Maybe if Disney gets JEJ to do goading instructions they'll be more encouraged to go with the flow.

I never really understood why they shaped the area the way they did around Diamondback including the addition of that stand as its much more congested than it should be, especially around such a major attraction.

I noticed back towards WWC's old entrance that they've made more progress on the pre-lift and are also starting the lift ascent. The first drop is a beauty.

Looks like they're approaching the top of the first drop. The top bents are starting to flatten out.

GCI did it first! And if I know GCI like I think I do, this entire sequence that's built should have some interesting little forces in combination with the obvious forces. I expect a small pop of air as the bottom banked track unbanks before it goes up the 2nd hill, which should have some impressive air as it crests. I can't wait to see how the shaping really turns out. I maintain that the video doesn't quite show how the track will actually be shaped. Some of it looked a bit too drawn out for a GCI. I expect complete insanity from the 2nd drop until the brakes.

Does the old Crypt building have a lot of wasp/bee hives or something? There are a lot of bugs zooming around the camera.

So malem, if there was a park opened during a storm that was just under the power of a tropical depression and they somehow had outdoor rides open, would you go?

Let's not do a screen shot for every single bent/support for a wooden coaster.

The fact that its still highly banked that high makes me think there will be a bit of a snappy transition between the lift leveling off and when the curve starts. Banshee-esque drop on a GCI woodie? Yes, please.

Can it be April yet?

I've been meaning to ask this for a while- what's the purpose of those wooden boards between the rails that run parallel to them? I see a lot of wooden coasters with them.

Lots of activity around the pile of bents as well as back by where the base of the lift will be this morning.

^Read around the forums and you'll understand. As posted in the pointless thread, I had a wisdom tooth removed. Spontaneity is a good thing.

^I've actually been on OTC pain meds today. My dentist did an amazing job of keeping the pain minimal.