TombRaiderFTW

Just curious: did you also have issues with parking and admission at Knott's? I don't have a drink plan, but I had issues with both when I visited KBF earlier this month. I'm parroting The Interpreter here, but Cedar Fair has offered Platinum passes for 10 years now. It's about time for these sorts of things to stop being issues...

Exactly what @chugh43 said. Not to mention that, in my experience, a very large percentage of coaster club "sources" are actually Screamscape, whose sources are very often just enthusiast speculation repackaged as rumor. And every coaster club I've seen (which includes the big ones) has done that on multiple occasions.

I just saw the new show for the first time last night. Wow, I absolutely love it. International Street has energy that I've never seen before. I can understand (and even agree with) complaints that it's not a reverent, romanticized ode to what International Street was intended to be, but I still really, really like what it is. It's very much in line with the clean minimalism the park has pursued during the Ouimet years. It's a simple thing done well. As I've said about Mystic's shed: if the park can keep it consistently good, I am here for it. I've had a "if I see it, I see it" attitude about the fireworks for a while now, but now I want to intentionally stay to see them. Also, I've never seen The Greatest Showman, but I REALLY like that song with the synchronized lighting. I've now bought it and will be listening to it regularly, haha. I'm also going to need to find a way to see that movie in the bear future...

It's my understanding that Cedar Fair has relaxed--but not eliminated--appearance standards this year. Some piercings, tattoos, facial hair, and hair colors/styles that were not previously permitted are allowed now. However, it's definitely not a free-for-all. As others have said, contact the Human Resources department for more information.

I haven't been to the international parks. Of the American ones, I choose Hersheypark. I haven't ridden Skyrush, but Fahrenheit and Storm Runner are both really good rides. I do like the rest of them quite a bit, though, too. I came this close to voting for Kings Dominion.

Hot take alert: I'd always heard the same thing about Riddler and Georgia Scorcher. I've ridden both. Honestly, I don't get totally get why either have earned that reputation. If Georgia Scorcher is any amount smoother, it's because it's shorter in height and ride time, so it doesn't seem as bad by comparison. Both knocked my ears into the restraints more than I'd prefer; Mantis's headbanging was comparable. Not to be mean to either of you, but I think this is one of those things that enthusiasts collectively decided one day. Much like how all Six Flagses are supposed to be unanimously terrible parks, when that really isn't true, either. There are bad ones with horrible operations and haphazard theming (Six Flags New England, Six Flags America) and there are awesome ones (Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Great Adventure.)

Great Adventure, solely for Nitro (in the last row.) There's actual ejector airtime back there. I feel like Magic Mountain's are more impressive on paper, but I thoroughly didn't enjoy them. They headbanged constantly. (Then again, I wasn't wowed by the place, so maybe that tainted my perception of them into something worse than they actually were.) Cedar Point's are decent, and I'll definitely ride them if I'm there, but I don't find any of them (except for maybe GateKeeper) to be must-dos. I'm much more excited about their Arrows. I'm also not big on Raptor, which is a bit of an unpopular opinion, so your mileage may vary.

^ So what you're telling us is that you're really wanting a Vekoma giga, then.

I don't know that I would call that steampunk myself... I would call it industrial. It makes me think of a mine cart with lights on the front. I like it.

It's been around for a couple years now. I would think it's here to stay.

That ain't nothing. Kennywood's rules explicitly tell you not to bring dead animals into the park. Also, I'm indifferent to Waldameer's system. It certainly doesn't hurt anything, but I cannot think of any real benefits to it. Then again, I never visited before the cashless system, so maybe there was something about their cash transactions that took forever?

I feel like I unintentionally started something by posting this... I was poking fun at Tera's use of "GGI" instead of "GCI". I honestly don't care if all of you hate every manufacturer. We're talking about roller coasters, people.

^^ Yeah, what he said! We're huge fans of Great Greats International here!

^ I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm right on both halves, so you'll have to illuminate us.

Honestly? I like the shed how it is. It adds something to an otherwise dull part of a ride experience. Unlike any other ride in the park (and maybe at any other Cedar Fair park?), it adds a conclusion to a ride's story. And based on the 2017 season (admittedly a small sample, but we've seen theming go downhill in much less than a whole season, like Boo Blasters's fog screen), it appears to be sustainable. To me, based on the park's attempts at themed rides since 1990, that's huge. From Adventure Express to Phantom Theater/Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle/Boo Blasters to Tomb Raider to The Italian Job Stunt Track, the park has proven again and again that heavy theming isn't sustainable and/or of high importance. Whether or not you agree with that focus, I think that one of the things we as enthusiasts can agree upon is that we like it when we can rely upon parks to provide consistent and good experiences, and I feel like Mystic's shed is proving itself to be that for the park. You know what I think its only downfall is? The marketing approach. I think the park did a very exciting approach to marketing it, and I sincerely applaud it. The downside to the approach they took, though, is that it allowed imaginations to spiral beyond reason without any sort of guidance towards what it ended up containing. People's (and especially enthusiasts') ideas started with drop tracks, then backwards launches, then super-secret hidden track not shown on the renderings... It was a frenzy. Before it was over, I think a lot of people nearly had Cedar Point itself being uprooted and moved to that 25' by 100' shed in Rivertown. Real life never stood a chance compared to the imagination. And I have no idea how the park could have curbed the more fantastical rumors without dampening the excitement, so I can't exactly fault them for not saying anything, either. Coincidentally, it's the same exact approach that Paramount took with Tomb Raider: The Ride back in 2001... But that was also a time before social media, when there really wasn't a gathering of people on the scope of Kings Island's Facebook page (or even today's KIC) to collectively ponder and get excited about possibilities. There were budding enthusiast sites like CoasterBuzz or rec.roller-coaster, but that's it. There really wasn't anywhere else for their speculation to travel beyond those places, besides word of mouth. If you look through archived forum threads from back in the day, people guessed ahead of time that it was going to be a roller coaster... And that's really all the speculation was. From what I've read, there was a little backlash when it finally opened, but nothing like the backlash the shed got. And I feel like the lack of large online communities working themselves into a frenzy had a lot to do with that. (I'm not hating on speculation by any means--it's part of what makes this place fun for me. It's just something I've noticed.) Anyhoo, I'm on a tangent. I just think a unique number of factors led to a number of anticipointments, which is why I think so many people don't like it. For me, I like the shed as it is. I'll get off my soapbox now.

...Blue ice cream and Tom+Chee. [ducks and runs]

I haven't yet, but I will in the very near future. I'll report back here!

@Rivertown Rider: I couldn't agree with your post more. ASTM exists for a reason. The ASTM F24 committee exists and convenes regularly for a reason. The standards they produce are produced for a reason. Safety is paramount. That Jeff Henry and Tyler Miles considered themselves above those standards shows an astounding arrogance and a sociopathic apathy for the value of human life. Where I am at with exploring the amusement industry and the people in it, I can't wrap my mind around how someone that reckless ever found themselves in the decision-making positions they found themselves in. The lack of accountability is staggering. Coincidentally, they might get their wish of reshaping ASTM's standards: they've provided a case study of exactly what not to do. (I'm being serious--that's not me making light of this incident.) Given that this is a public forum with a decently large audience, I think it needs to be said that for every Jeff Henry or Tyler Myles, there are a hundred people in this industry who are 100% at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to concern for safety. I've met industry folks who, in their younger years, were in proximity to safety-related incidents they had no control over. Decades later, they tear up telling the story of how it shaped their passion for keeping people safe. The people (for lack of a better word) behind Verruckt are not the norm.

Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. I am nauseous. I don't even know what else to say in the wake of that.

I've been to 47. (If all goes to plan, Disneyland will be my 50th!) I see @McSalsa's point about not counting places that don't really have significant/any coasters, but Epcot is such a weird halfway point in those rules (no coasters, but I love the place and it's definitely a park) that I ended up counting every park I've been to, including places like the Columbus Zoo. The list: Animal Kingdom, Beech Bend, Busch Gardens Tampa, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Camden Park, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Castles 'n' Coasters, Cedar Point, Columbus Zoo, Coney Island (Cincinnati), Conneaut Lake Park, Dollywood, Dorney Park, Epcot, Fun Spot America (Kissimmee), Fun Spot America (Orlando), Hersheypark, Holiday World, Hollywood Studios, Indiana Beach, Islands of Adventure, Kemah Boardwalk, Kennywood, Kentucky Kingdom, Kings Dominion, Kings Island, Knoebels, Luna Park (New York), Magic Kingdom, Michigan's Adventure, Nickelodeon Universe, SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags America, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Great America, Six Flags New England, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags St. Louis, Stricker's Grove, Universal Studios Florida, Waldameer, Worlds of Fun, and ZDT's Amusement Park. Coming soon: Silver Dollar City, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, California Adventure, and Knott's Berry Farm. My favorites: Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. My least favorite: either Six Flags America or Six Flags New England.

^ Yes. Dollywood and RMC both consider Lightning Rod to be wooden. Some people disagree. It ultimately doesn't matter since we're all probably going to want to ride RMCs regardless, but we're all enthusiasts here, and what are we if we don't split hairs to pointlessly categorize roller coasters, gosh dangit?!

^ Isn't it also on Tremors? Not being sassy-- legitimately asking the question.

People who don't consider Topper Track coasters wooden tend to do so because the portion of the track that contacts all train wheels is one singular steel structure. Compare to a traditional wood coaster, where the main track structure is wood, with two or three strips of steel between the wood and wheels to protect the wood. RMC's Ibox track is 100% steel. Topper Track is probably something like 70% wood, 30% steel. But, the portions that are steel are the important parts that would most single-handedly determine the smoothness of the ride experience. RCDB and RMC consider them wood. I've been on three Topper Track rides and three Ibox rides, and smoothness-wise, there's not a ton of difference. To me, they're steel. Your mileage and reasoning may vary.

It's been 6 years since I was last there, but I actually thought Great Adventure's food choices were a little nicer than the average chain park's. I distinctly remember getting a taco salad at a food stand beside El Toro and being really impressed by how good it was. The rest of your parks' food wasn't particularly memorable, good OR bad.

In terms of additions, especially around the early 2000's, Kings Island. At least towards the end, I think they said Carowinds was their flagship? But, like... I don't think it showed in how their capital was spent.