TombRaiderFTW

I'm studying to be one (read: I just finished my final for Statics, a fairly early class), but I'd guess that, comparatively, the spot where The Racer supports would be changed would be one of the easiest parts of the ride to modify. Because the track at that point is at the top of a hill for both legs of the trip, the most downward force those supports would bear would be the weight of the train. Compare that to the bottom of a drop--I'm not sure on this by any means, but I think the force that pins you to your seat would act as a multiplier for the weight of the train, which would make changing the supports a bit hairier (at least for me, anyway. )

This thread turns more and more into an episode of Blue's Clues with each post. I think we're getting a little ambitious here, guys. I'm personally going to be pretty surprised if it's much more than a world-class, world's tallest t-rex animatronic. At most, I'll say he's part of us getting that Action Theater movie. Don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but if CF is adding a new section and all that for 2011, would they *really* just start hyping it up seven weeks before the park opens? Diamondback was announced in August of 2008, after all... On the other hand, one thought I had that doesn't seem to have appeared: what if 3/18 holds an announcement about an announcement for Son of Beast? I know it sounds ridiculous, but Six Flags Over Texas did just that a few weeks ago via Facebook for the New Texas Giant, different chain though it may be. There was a week-long countdown to the announcement of the ride's opening date. That idea could also be used for any big 2012 addition, too. (I'm just throwing the idea out there.)

All in favor of believing that Helbig was waiting for a KIC post to show up, before removing it to tease us, say aye...

If gas prices stay around $3.00 to $3.50 per gallon, i.e., as long as they don't continue skyrocketing, it's hopefully going to be a really good summer for me. KI is obviously in the works, and my Holiday World pass has been renewed. If all goes well, I hope to also make it to Cedar Point, Waldameer, Kennywood, Beech Bend, Camden Park, and Conneaut Lake Park. We'll see how well I like sitting in my car (which is notorious for providing the sorest rear ends after three to four hours) for five hours, though.

^ There is. If I remember correctly, it's by Shockwave, their TOGO stand-up coaster, and located in The Grove, their Coney Mall equivalent. The Grove is directly behind the Eiffel Tower, and I want to say their tunnel is off to the left in The Grove.

Drop Tower will ALWAYS make my hands sweaty and my limbs shake. The only thing that's changed between my first ride in 2000 and my latest is that I didn't cry for the latter. I'm pretty sure I'm to blame for a lot of the scratches on the black restraint handles...

I was SO about to post something like "shouldn't his username be Son of Goodyellowkorn" (or some equally snarky comment). I can't believe someone beat me to the punch! Darn you, work schedule...

Nope. As far as I'm aware, the park has discontinued Beast walkbacks since (I think) '08. I emailed Don Helbig about this a couple years ago; I'll see if I can dig up the message and post it here. (The bit you found was probably just a remnant the park forgot about.) EDIT: As I recall, the message essentially said that Beast ERT for gold passholders pretty much replaced the Voss walkback. But like I said, I'll keep looking for that email.

^ "But I don't think that had anything to do with what we're talking about." Every source I've ever read says exactly the opposite: the magnetic brakes replaced the old skids after the (2001?) incident.

^ LOL! Was it at least a good song?

I've been on both I305 (with soft restraints) and Maverick. I've sat towards the back on both. For Maverick, the resulting ride felt painfully close to whiplash. For I305, the resulting ride was by far the most exhilarating experience I've ever had on a steel coaster, period. Mileage may vary depending on your opinion of the rides, but Maverick, for me, would get much closer to being one of my top steel coasters with the soft restraints. (I can't even imagine riding I305 with hard restraints... Talk about pain!)

You forgot the red track, yellow supports, huge logo with name ending in -hawk, and obnoxious "TALLEST, FASTEST, MEANEST, SWINGIEST RIDE IN THE ENTIRE CONEY MALL AREA" plastered somewhere on there.

I don't know if this has ever been posted before, but I just came across a video on Vimeo (with actual video--stick around after the slide shows) of KI's Winterfest. I was surprised to see how big a scale it was done on--in my head, I always thought Winterfest wasn't much more than gift shops, ice skating, and train rides. Enjoy! http://vimeo.com/10045469

^ You have memories from the Coney Mall bathroom...?

Exactly. I can't tell you how many times I've seen stock footage of SoB after the '06 incident used for any KI-related news story on WHIO-TV in Dayton. Thank you for sharing it, though, KIanatic1975.

THIS. Tomb Raider was the ride that pretty much started my "enthusiasm". The first time I ever rode it in (approximately) 2003-2005, we were stopped in the preshow chamber for about an hour and a half because the ride went down (and that was after a 30-45 minute wait). And it was still worth every last second. If I let myself get too nostalgic, the pain of the Crypt makeunder still hurts/frustrates just as much as it did in 2008. A small shout-out goes to Gobbler Getaway for being one of the weirdest (and, in spite of it, the most fun) ride experiences I've had to date.

Just a guess, but: maybe to sit tower segments on top of so they don't get all muddy?

*wipes drool* Road trip to Texas, anyone?

Thanks for the update! I was pretty excited to see this post after I got that text message.

Great report! It's nice to get an outsider's view on Magic Mountain--most of the MM regulars on various coaster sites seem to only find negatives about the Mountain in its "off-season". How would you say Viper compares to Vortex? Or Ninja to Flight Deck?

I don't think it's totally unreasonable to believe this might be an SoB hint, as Beast had those pawprints painted on the asphault for many years and this looks like a derivative of that. Of course, it just looks like Patrick Star made a snow angel to me, so what do I know?

^ Wow... Just make a guy feel old, why dontcha. Alex, who can think of other things that started 20 years ago.

I'll be honest... I don't really get the point of drafts at all. Doesn't keep me from joining in, though! 1. Maverick - Cedar Point (beastfan26) 2. Millennium Force - CP (coasterguy15) 3. Diamondback - KI (Indyguy4KI) 4. The Beast- KI (McSalsa) 5. Prowler - WoF (thekidd33) 6. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point (Centurey) 7. WindSeeker - Kings Island (jcgoble3) 8. Intimidator - Carowinds (Coney Islander) 9. Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point (LordSkippy) 10. Intimidator 305 - Kings Dominion (TombRaiderFTW) You have no idea how painstaking a choice this was. Totally hoping people don't start claiming certain rides in the eastern US...

LOVE the looks of those trains. I'm now contemplating how I could make it down to Tampa over Christmas Break this year... BGT officially offers too much to ignore.