TombRaiderFTW

Cedar Point is not what I'd call a well-rounded park. Flat ride additions seem to somewhat have a back seat to coaster additions, and there isn't a dark ride in sight. Prior to the Gemini midway makeover, what was their last dry flat ride addition? Maybe Skyhawk in 2006? Or the inherited kiddie rides from Geauga Lake in 2008? I'd argue that Canada's Wonderland or even Carowinds are a much better example of a well-rounded park that hasn't sold its soul to the coaster craze the way Cedar Point or Magic Mountain have.

Oh my gosh, that is incredibly tempting. I've been dying to go to Disneyland but could never find flights for less than $250-$300. If only I didn't have trips planned in the spring that I need to save money for!

[in a monotone] No, please, keep going. You've almost got me convinced that I want to talk roller coasters with you.

I've never totally understood the love a lot of people have for Alpengeist. To me, it headbangs enough that it ruins the ride (especially in the cobra roll and the turn into the MCBR.) If I want to ride something that goes upside down at BGW, I'd so much rather get on Loch Ness Monster or Griffon. But, that's me! I do really like its theme, though.

Why would they do something? It's a term that a fraction of a fraction of their guests would recognize. I can't imagine it being a priority. Consider also how the park typically teases new coasters. It doesn't usually involve writing out what it is coming anywhere, let alone in snow. And it involves hints that regular guests can recognize as hints. I don't think an industry term written in the snow necessarily qualifies as that. I'm telling you from experience that ride operators sometimes get access to those kinds of visible-but-not-guest-accessible areas. A good number of ride ops are enthusiasts themselves (or at least heavily interested in the industry, but not enthusiasts in the traditional sense.) That it's an industry term written in that kind of location--especially one visible by the webcam, which enthusiasts are prone to watching closely--says to me that a ride op was just being mischievous. All of us, including myself, love looking for hints of new rides to come... I just don't think this is one of those times.

If we're just talking CF B&M inverts... 1. Talon 2. Banshee 3. Patriot If we're talking all B&M inverts... 1. Montu 2. Talon 3. Great Bear

So does this mean the original Flying Eagles are going to Sandusky now? In all seriousness, this is great! Tim has a good amount of industry experience, including some years at Paramount Parks. It's really nice to see Cedar Fair making progress like this... So different from the Kinzel years.

I really like Dorney, but Stinger very much felt like an afterthought to me. I didn't get around to riding it during my one Dorney visit. I feel like, if GCI is ever going to actually replicate the Rye Aeroplane, Dorney is the place to do it at. Especially if they gave it retro/art deco architecture and signage. It matches the vibe I get from that park, and I feel like a GCI would hold its own in their lineup. I dunno that their Dinosaurs Alive and/or Stinger's footprint leaves enough space for such a thing; it was just a thought.

I feel like that's meant to be Mystic Timbers, but that's not where Mystic Timbers is located. Then again, that's not the correct layout for Mystic Timbers, the train, White Water Canyon, the surrounding buildings, etc. I wouldn't be shocked if it's just an inaccuracy that isn't on the park's radar since it's not a guest-accessible area. Then again, that would probably be super misleading if a guest was trying to use the app to find Mystic Timbers... I dunno!

Yep, this is the Universal song, for sure. I've never actually seen ET (I know, I know), so most of the times I've heard that song have been at UOR. Still looking for the other one...

I'm about 95% sure I've heard music from the video game Guild Wars and a song I *know* I've heard somewhere at Universal Orlando before, but I haven't found the exact tracks yet. It's going to drive me up a wall. I'll update y'all when I find them.

Haven't ridden Mystic Timbers during Winterfest, so help me understand... Is the park allowing groups in the single rider line to ride together? Or do you just not like that groups are getting in the single rider line at all?

^ You're right about B&M, but Vekoma has done hydraulic launches before: https://rcdb.com/2747.htm

See here: https://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2013/08/16/voyage-train-update/

That would be fun if they did--to my knowledge, they never have done something like that. For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure Dapper Day is independently organized, and Disneyland (and Disney World, and Disneyland Paris) technically just "host" it.

Ended up having my last ride be Viking Fury, and it was a fantastic choice.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that them doing that will cause me to go out of my way to shop there more. I want to like Christmas, but I can't stand that the advertising starts earlier and earlier. Combine that with people mauling each other to buy gifts, and I'm out. I get more excited about New Years'.

It's been a few years since I was at the Friday night of CP's closing weekend, but I don't remember the crowds being exceptionally bad. They're likely heavier than Halloweekends opening weekend, but nothing stands out as being exceptionally bad. Saturday will likely be INSANE, with the causeway likely being modified via cones to have all but one lane being for traffic heading into Cedar Point. When I go to Halloweekends, I usually stick around for early entry and leave, if I even stay that long.

We're coaster nerds... Maybe it should be coaster track grease and gravy stains?

Just remembered that this topic exists. I actually did VR on Iron Dragon earlier this summer, so now I feel like I can actually comment on this. So, bump! I honestly kinda liked it? It definitely added a really interesting twist to a ride I would otherwise normally pass up. I was really impressed with how well synced it was to the ride itself--I thoroughly expected some kind of minor delay that would have instantly made me sick. It was on point the whole ride. It could pass as the next generation of motion simulators. Simulators like our former Action Theater can simulate jolts and shakes, but it doesn't really simulate continuous movement well. This definitely fixed that. It was fun! That being said... As much as I've thought about it, I honestly can't see a long-term future for coasters utilizing VR. It's a cool idea, and maybe someone will figure out how to solve the capacity problem, but I honestly can't fathom how anyone would utilize VR as an intentional part of a new attraction. Augmented reality, maybe--but not virtual reality. And here's why: 1. If you have the money for a coaster and you want to do theming, I'm sure you'd have money for actual theming, too. If you don't have money for theming, then I can't imagine you having money for VR, unless you can get some kind of advertising deal worked out. But if you're going to use any amount of VR exposure time for advertising, then you're probably not all that concerned about theming to begin with. 2. VR isn't immersive, at least not in its current uses: there's no sound, for starters, and it isn't unlike sitting very closely to a television. It's not the best medium for storytelling, in my opinion. What's more, Iron Dragon's VR has no relevance to the overall theme of Iron Dragon (and the same goes for most of the SIX VR rides.) So what is its future, in my opinion? I think we're seeing all that VR will ever be--"pluses" to older existing attractions. And for that, I think it does alright*. It's something new to draw small amounts of attention and create unique, limited-time-only experiences that get a few more people in the door. So, if VR comes to Kings Island, I think The Bat is the obvious choice. It's out of the way, and it's not got an extremely long ride time. I wouldn't be upset if they did it there for a summer. Just don't go in with an expectation that it's going to rock your world, because that's not what it's there to do. It's just a "huh, that was neat"-sort of thing. EDIT: Forgot to add: I think Cedar Point has set the bar on WHEN to offer VR. Doing it on a less-popular ride during a less-popular time of day is pretty smart and offers the least-intrusive opportunity to experience coaster VR--or not! *Offer not valid in Valdosta, GA... Seriously, why would you choose your EXTREMELY low capacity coaster to get the VR treatment? That probably should be considered a form of torture.

^ Are you sure that's not what that ONE marked tree over by The Bat is for?

1. For me, it's Knoebels, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Six Flags Great Adventure, or Disney's Animal Kingdom. (I'm more of a theming guy, myself.) 2. For wood, Boss at Six Flags St. Louis. For steel, Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. 3. Nope. That ride was a little before my time. 4. With the loop, no. Without the loop, yes. It was a interesting and unique idea, but the ride experience was not what I'd call enjoyable, maybe outside of the big drop. I would put Son of Beast well below Beast OR Mean Streak in terms of enjoyableness. I've had plenty of good Beast rides and a handful of alright Mean Streak rides, but I can literally only ever remember enjoying Son of Beast ONCE, after a particularly wet day. It's one of two wooden roller coasters I've ridden that was so rough that it made my chest hurt afterward. (The other was Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardwalk.) Yes, it is the roughest coaster I've ever ridden. 5. For wood, Son of Beast. For steel... probably Sidewinder at Hersheypark? 6. In order of increasing terribleness: for wood, Rebel Yell (Kings Dominion), Mighty Canadian Minebuster (Canada's Wonderland), Wildcat (Hersheypark), Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa), and Son of Beast. For steel, Time Warp (Canada's Wonderland), Sidewinder (Hersheypark), Goliath (Six Flags New England), Mind Eraser (Six Flags America), and Apocalypse (Six Flags America). 7. I mean, you can probably just pick your favorites out of the list for answer # 6. I generally only dislike coasters if they're painful.

Cedar Point DID once have a Christmas event... once. In 1994. It was called Christmas in the Park. Here's some video, courtesy PointBuzz:

I'm not one of the people who replied or retweeted, so I'm able to see his account. The original tweet still exists, but now there's a new one that is worded a bit more precisely: Sounds like it was an ambiguous choice of words in the original tweet, as Jeff Pike DID help design Mystic Timbers... I'm calling it: no Skywarp for us.

I would die forever happy. The one thing I keep thinking about with all this Antique Cars business is how badly I would want it to go in a place that's heavily forested, like Kings Dominion's. It just adds something special to the whole experience (unlike, say... Six Flags St. Louis's cars?)