TombRaiderFTW

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.

Just curious--have you ridden it since the track replacement last year? I've wanted to go to Morey's forever, especially after that was announced, but I've never heard any reviews since. Maybe that's a sign?

I agree that those rides are fantastic, but I also can't help but wonder what part of the quality of the ride is good because of Disney. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroads came into being in the middle of Vekoma's Boomerang and SLC eras and ride completely differently. Disney almost certainly doesn't own a steel mill, but I'm wondering if they insisted on a different fabricator for the track or tighter tolerances or something. I am very curious, though, to know how smooth Vekoma's new track design (starting with Battlestar Galactica at Universal Singapore) rides. I haven't been on one yet--to my knowledge, there aren't any stateside. The rides look great, but I wonder how they actually ride.

I mean... Considering how the last four years have gone, it's only right if Josh is the one to come back, right?

Friend... They might have said "think," but we're still talking about an HR manager having the scoop on a multi-million dollar business's five-year plans. The HR manager where I work is an incredibly intelligent person, but they probably couldn't name everything our company produces. In terms of proximity to creative decision-making, that's like claiming that the Dippin' Dots guy's coaster enthusiast boss as a reliable source. I understand the desire for a giga and generally enjoy the speculation, but I think you might be barking up the wrong tree on this one.

^^ I'm not sure I follow. Kings Island has made it to that level of revenue without a coaster over 300' tall. Whatever it is that KI is marketing themselves as is apparently relevant enough without it. That doesn't mean we won't get one, but it also doesn't mean we're owed one or in dire need of one or something. A gigacoaster isn't an award for being towards the top of the chain's EBITDA... ...It's the head of Human Resources. I'm sure he or she is a very talented person, but his or her sphere of influence is in staffing. I'm not sure why he or she would be part of strategic planning for future attractions. I imagine that person is probably fluent enough in the industry to speculate on whether or not our apparently inevitable giga will come from Intamin.

I second that description. The times I've visited KD mid-summer, the dry park doesn't have extensive lines except for rides with lower capacities, like Volcano. On that note, I recommend getting to KD at opening and heading straight for Volcano (if passholder ERT on it isn't available.) Even if the park isn't too busy, Volcano's queue can be very warm because of how enclosed it is in parts. It's especially icky when it's humid. (And if the park IS busy, you'll beat the worst of the crowds.)