silver2005

I recall they got a late start going vertical from following them on social media. Like mid-late winter late. They've been doing well overseas, so I don't think its all on S&S. Though, their SFGAm coaster has been a slow-go as well.

Go look up Volcano Bay and see how going 100% virtual queue worked for them. I honestly hate the idea. I want an amusement park visit to be mostly spontaneous, not totally dictated by electronics. I go to parks mostly to get away from that crap. I hardly use my phone and only do so when posting the highlights of the day on social media, which is pretty sparingly.

You know, the whole idea behind the idea of a guest services is the park telling you up front that they know they don't get everything right all the time and want people to extend feedback, right?

Well, some more smaller flats like the likes of Monster, Scrambler, and Zephyr would be nice, especially in Rivertown and between Backlot and Diamondback. Coaster wise and in terms of manufactures, Mack, Maurer Sohne, Zierer and Gerstlauer come to mind. A spinning coaster would be pretty cool as long as it isn't a model that spins super fast. I particularly enjoyed Laff Trakk at HP and Steel Dragon at Waldameer which are both Maurers. A long, relaxing coaster like Knott's Jaguar (Zierer) would be a nice fit. Maybe something more elaborate like a FireChaser Express type ride (Gerstlauer). I'm hesitant to say a wild mouse because I'm not a fan of how Cedar Fair operates their wild mice, making them stop in the station and over-braking them (at least going by Dorney's). A Mack water coaster would also be cool as a Congo Falls replacement.

My source was a bit more interesting. The other site I used to be apart of had a bunch of European and English members before it spiraled down to nothingness, and one of those members took a tour of the Vekoma facilities in the Netherlands, and at the time, Firehawk was just announced for Kings Island and we were going over how if Nighthawk's trains and parts would work on Firehawk because we all thought Nighthawk wouldn't last at Carowinds very long and he confirmed the compatibility issue.

I thought there were other differences between Firehawk and Nighthawk like the seat lifting mechanism. I could be wrong. Unfortunately, the site where I was told that got rid of their forums and is all but dead now and I don't have the patience to go through the internet to find photos of that mechanism on both. In any case, if Firehawk has bit the dust already, I expect the other 2 to follow suit shortly. Finally, Flying Dutchman are already finicky enough when using their original trains. Putting a new set of trains on one of them would be a disaster in terms of downtime.

I believe Firehawk's trains are incompatible with Nighthawk's since the later was the prototype. The fact they didn't get sold to SFA is also telling. I say both the remaining Flying Dutchman coasters won't last 5 more years.

I just thought of something KI doesn't have that other parks do. I think KI could use direction signs throughout the park to compliment the maps.

I don't want Kings Island (or anyone) developing in all that forest at all.

This is one of those things where I disregard what the park is telling me and use evidence based on what I physically see. If I were to describe what section of the park I'm in when calling someone for a meet up at Boo Blasters, I would describe myself as being in Planet Snoopy, thus, to me, that building has always been in Planet Snoopy (or insert kids area name here). I do think Planet Snoopy is due for some new attractions of some sort. I'd personally like to see some more family based rides there, not just rides for smaller kids. The park could use more rides that bridge the gap between the kids section and the bigger rides.

I'd also like to bring up that I think San Diego has imposed a height restriction on Sea World, so they can't build very high. If they're getting a small dive coaster, CSF should knock that out quick. Though, I also think B&M has a steel plant they use out west. I don't think CSF manufactured track for Tatsu or Silver Bullet.

The pedantics can self-rationalize it all they want. To me, Boo Blasters is in Planet Snoopy.

I don't want just the sprucing up of Boo Blasters- I want it completely redone top to bottom- new theme and name, new animatronics, the whole nine yards.

This is the part of this hobby I enjoy- hearing enthusiasts from other places go on about their parks. Good pictures for sure. I also like doing other things than parks on my trips just for the sake of variety and change of scenery.

Yes, Wikipedia, the greatest of all sources. (/sarcasm) Hint: If you couldn't tell by the sarcasm tag, Wikipedia isn't a good site to source, so much so that college professors will auto-fail papers for listing them as sources. Anyways, I'm not here to go on about the ride, just a post to break up the tension of the thread. You may now return to your regularly scheduled decoding thread. silver2005, crossthreading.

^I've mostly had that happen with Beast. Sometimes if they request that I take another seat, I'll wait another ride cycle to get it, and they actually go along with that request more often than not from my experiences.

The thing that weirds me out with them is when you request to go in the front row of a coaster, the line for the front is really long, and they still make you wait before the separation despite the fact they allowed the front seat line to be super long in the first place.

Just out of curiosity, which area crew is the new Tiques crew with?

If you're adventurous, Muskegon has some pleasant surprises. The areas around the bay and Lake Michigan are nice areas to relax. A few decent restaurants there as well. MIA is probably the most underrated park I've been to. Just don't go in expecting too much, enjoy the dated architecture (gives it its own charm IMO), get plenty of rides on Shivering Timbers, and its a pretty fun park. Next time I get the itch to go to CP, I'm absolutely doing MIA again (probably Waldameer, too).

On launch coasters- LSM and LIM tech (in fact, I think its almost entirely LSM tech now) used on coasters has been made much more efficient than the days of Premier's early work.

I think flying coasters are slowly going the way of the stand up coaster at this point. They're really not that comfortable regardless of who makes them. Inverted, floorless and wing coasters pull off that sense of flight and unobstructed views and seating better.

Question- did the whistles on the locomotives used to be louder? I seem to recall being able to hear them from outside the park. I have no preference BTW.

I think wing coasters are the new invert. They have the same visual appeal plus they're popping up more than dive coasters at the moment.

^malem and I have a giant message thread (by giant, I mean we're on 16 pages now) between each other titled 'Holiwood Nights' back from when I was contemplating going either last year or the year before and 95% of the message thread is not about HWN except recently while we're getting plans to go this weekend.

Maverick was made by Intamin and Copperhead Strike was made by Mack. If you want a good site that helps explains types and manufactures- RCDB.com