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Conversely, if shows are your thing, you're in luck--Off the Charts, Peanuts Party in the Plaza, and (for me, most importantly) Origins all start that weekend. In my experience, most seasonal parks tend to run the same way over Memorial Day weekend--Friday will be light to moderate, Saturday will be slammed, Sunday will be busy but less than Saturday, and Monday will be moderate. I don't foresee food lines being short, but a fun day is still very possible. So, to answer your original question: you're not insane, but people do tend to look at you funny from time to time.

On older GCI rides with Millennium Flyers, there's one seatbelt that goes across the rider(s). It eliminates that "loose seatbelt" issue altogether. I don't know why the change was made to individual seatbelts. I also don't know why they just can't be buckled without looping around the restraint and tightened to remove slack. It accomplishes the same task without the complication of wrapping around the restraint. Holiday World does the same thing (or at least used to; I haven't been since 2014 or 2015.) Perhaps it's some kind of industry standard?

The purpose: to give yourself something arbitrary to brag about to other enthusiasts. It really carries no value at all, and everyone has different rules. It just gets discussed a lot in enthusiast circles since we're typically the ones who care about this kind of stuff. All of the following topics have been known to affect someone's credit count and are frequently discussed: -Do powered coasters (ones that are constantly powered by motors, like Surf Dog) count as actual roller coasters? -Are RMC's Topper Track rides wooden credits or steel credits? -Is Kennywood's Racer one credit or two? (Part two: does your answer or reasoning change when applied to Twisted Colossus?) -Is Haunted House at Camden Park a credit? -Is Dorney's Demon Drop a credit? -How much does a ride have to change before it's considered a new credit? (Part two: how does your reasoning change when applied to regular wooden coaster retracking? Part three: are Mantis and Rougarou different credits?) And so on. To me, I'm not sure there's an objective definition for a credit. Someone here once suggested that they decide whether or not something is a credit only after they ride it, and they just go with gut feeling afterwords. That seems easiest to me.

I've got to be that guy: Mystic Timbers's promo was in NoLimits, too. Your point's still valid. I just wanted to be a pain in the rear.

I'm on the fence. The Disney Vekomas I've ridden run as smooth as glass. The non-Disney Vekomas I've ridden (except for most of their flying and kiddie coasters) run as smooth as broken glass. I'm curious to see what the next 10 years bring for them. Their recent designs with the new track design (from around 2010 and later) have been getting good reviews from enthusiasts, and they seem to be doing well for themselves in Asia and eastern Europe. I wonder if they'll be able to reinvent themselves in the industry.

This is TOO cool--I'm excited for you just reading this post! Congrats again on getting to work your favorite ride! Good luck this summer! Definitely looking forward to part 2!

Interesting ideas! I hadn't thought of it that way. The impression I had was a bit more straightforward, haha: The Miami River Lumber Company opened in the woods near KI. However, not long after, something evil took residence in the shed and caused all employees to flee and put the entire facility on lockdown. (In the middle of the frantic evacuation, one of the trucks is crashed into the entrance sign and promptly abandoned without so much as turning off the radio.) The only employees left were security people who are there to keep people away. We, as guests, are trespassing on the Miami River Lumber Co. grounds, along with the guy and girl shown in the video. (I'm assuming we consider ourselves "urban explorers"--think Adam the Woo on YouTube.) We wander the grounds (i.e., the queue) to explore, and we come across an abandoned backpack and radio. We hear... something in the shed. We push forward, eager to see what's caused everyone to head for the hills. As you approach the station, the guy and girl "see" you on the security cameras and, using the company's PA system, urge you to run--there's truly something awful lurking in the shed. They urge you to hotwire "that truck" (i.e., the coaster train) and escape. (This is the audio that plays just outside the station--it's one of the harder audio clips to make out, which is a little frustrating. It's one of the most important parts of the story!) So, you do just that. The truck roars to life, and you pull out of the station. As you do that, someone in the security office catches you on the cameras (and, I'm assuming, has found and apprehended your fellow explorers.) He tells you to stop via the PA and go home. You press on--and just before you're out of earshot, he warns you not to go into the shed. The next bit is a little fuzzy to me, so I'm probably taking some liberties here: I think the noise after the security guard warns you about the shed is supposed to be a microphone screech, as if the guard has been suddenly yanked away from the microphone by... something. And then the ride begins. Story-wise, I can't choose between three different scenarios for what role the ride itself plays: Scenario 1: Throwing caution to the wind, you take the truck for a joy ride. This is your adventure, and you'll make of it what you will. You hop hills, make sudden turns, and splash through a nearby pond until you happen upon the shed. And you try to stop, but something has taken control of your truck and draws it into the shed... (Alternatively, maybe you just think everyone's overreacting and decide to call their bluff by entering the shed yourself? Maybe it's curiosity?) Scenario 2: Fear grips you when the security guard is pulled from the microphone--you want nothing to do with this shed, and you hit the gas and begin flying through the woods to escape. You don't know which way you're going, but you have no time to think--it's fight or flight. Alas, you suddenly hit the brakes--you ended up at the shed after all! Was it your poor sense of direction, or did the woods themselves lead you here?! Before you can put the truck in reverse and escape, something takes hold and causes your truck to enter the shed... Scenario 3: Much like what's shown in the announcement video, you're meant to imagine that the woods have suddenly gotten a mind of their own and are chasing you through the woods. They lead you to the shed, and you have no other choice but to enter... Regardless of which scenario we're meant to experience, we enter the shed and discover what lies inside. I guess, for the story's sake, we technically died? The tale pretty much ends there. It might not win any awards for best storytelling, but I really love the theme of Mystic Timbers. It's simple, but it's definite. (Even better, it's not the blatant clone of Verbolten's theme that I was afraid it would be!) It makes me incredibly happy to have storytelling at KI again. And it's even an awesome ride without the theme, to boot. But with the theme, I've honestly felt myself be more excited to re-ride MT than I have any other new ride since I've been buying myself a pass, which has been every year since 2008. Mystic Timbers is a big win for KI. For me, the storytelling is a large part of why I think that. I honestly hope we see more like it in the future.

I've also ridden both, although I've only ridden Prowler two or three times and Mystic Timbers ten. Mystic Timbers was my 260th coaster. I think Mystic Timbers is a fantastic ride, but Prowler has better pacing. Prowler starts out more laterals-focused and gradually ramps up the airtime until it's constantly flinging you out of your seat. There's more of a sense of progression. Mystic Timbers is maybe slower-paced right through the turn over the lift, but then it throws everything and the kitchen sink at you until the final brakes. It's kinda like Maverick in that sense--there's not a lot of rhyme or reason as to why it does what it does, but it does a lot of it and is tons of fun. I don't know that anyone can objectively call one better than the other. For me, I tend to like rides that are more pacing-focused (e.g. the Holiday World woodies, Boss, Beast, etc.) So for me, I tend to like Prowler thiiiiiiiis much more, but Mystic Timbers is still incredible. It's definitely my favorite ride in the park, and I'm really looking forward to the next time I ride it. I haven't felt this excited for a random mid-season visit to KI in a long time.

I just have to say: I think it's beyond cool that KI is selling merch branded with Miami River Lumber Co. on it. That's one of several little things they've done to really make an impression on me with theming Mystic Timbers. Better yet: the Miami River Lumber Co. hats they sell actually fit my ginormous noggin. This is extremely rare. I'm so happy!

I see your point, but I also have to point out that people used to say exactly the same thing about Gwazi. And then White Lightning showed up at Fun Spot and has ridden beautifully ever since. I've heard before that Fun Spot's management obsessively retracks the ride to keep it from becoming Gwazi. I don't disagree that the climate affects how rides age, but I also think priority affects them just as much, if not more.

EDIT: Nevermind.

Ohhhhhhhh man. That audio outside the shed gives me straight goosebumps. Oh my gosh. There's a chance this might become my new favorite coaster. There's more to see and experience before that becomes official, but that kind of detail is setting my bar very high. I might die of anticipation between now and me riding it. Side note: it sounds like there's audio on the lift hill, too? Can't make it out, though.

Not that I know of. To my knowledge, the cast is usually only discovered through searching social media once the show gets closer to opening. I'm also hoping Aerial returns, though, too! Her act is one of the coolest things we've seen out of the cirque shows, in my opinion.

Here we go--found the tweet. Per @Coaster101 on Twitter: If you visit the actual tweet, you can find more info about the event that was live-tweeted from.

I can't remember exactly where I read it (it was on Twitter), but a KD spokesperson announced at an enthusiast event that The Gravity Group rebuilt the first drop of Rebel Yell. I'll do some digging later and see if I can find the exact tweet. It had a close-up of the deconstructed first drop. At the time, it looked like they were doing the same magnitude of work that GCI did on Thunder Road.

What thekidd33 said. Those are all older models, presumably from the searching CF did in Europe. The only one of those that is still offered on HUSS's website is the Condor (Falcon's Flight.) I'm not sure how involved with that process HUSS may or may not have been. The more modern Top Spins from Worlds of Fun, Knott's, California's Great America, Kings Island, and Dorney Park have all removed within the last five years. And if you exclude ours since it was the only Giant Top Spin and therefore different, then you still have four Cedar Fair Top Spins that were removed during the off-seasons of 2015-16, 2015-16, 2016-17, and 2014-15, respectively.

I don't mean to be rude, but where did you hear that? Everything I've seen indicates that a number of modern HUSS rides have disappeared from every Cedar Fair park except Canada's Wonderland, Valleyfair, and Kings Dominion within the last five years...

I didn't ride it in its last year of operation (2015), but I did ride it in 2014. I was also at Carowinds last week, and I rode their Hurler. KD's was objectively worse. There were trims on the straightaway between the first drop and the following turn. Each turn jackhammered like crazy. There was next to no airtime on any of the hills. It really was not enjoyable at all, and this is coming from someone who doesn't mind rough coasters as much if they still offer a fun ride. Carowinds has done a great job of taking care of their Hurler, and it's a very fun ride. The only thing I dislike is the station--it has to have one of the most unattractive buildings in a park right now.

Great (pun intended) interview! Thanks for posting it! Thanks also for putting together these interviews--it's neat to see this kind of stuff out of KIC, and it makes me even more excited for Mystic Timbers!

^ Have you ridden a GCI? You're not going to get Voyage-like strong ejector airtime, but you'll definitely be out of your seat more than on Racer. If it's like any of the ones I've been on, it'll have very terse, rapid pops of decently strong floater air. I'd call that aggressive, myself.

Wow, this is so cool. A trip to Europe like yours is totally on my bucket list. Great pictures! Can't wait to read the rest!

I can't offer much California-related advice, as I've never been there. However, for what it's worth, Six Flags parks aren't universally bad. I've personally never had a memorably bad experience with Six Flags' ride ops in Texas, Missouri, New Jersey, or Illinois. Georgia was a step down, but still not bad. Six Flags America's ride ops were very slow; that was one of many bad experiences I had there. Six Flags New England holds the record for being the only place where the ride operations were so incredibly slow and needlessly redundant that I actually wanted to leave without riding stuff I came to ride. That being said, I have heard and read multiple trip reports that agree with what's been said here about SFMM operations. If I were in your place and if it was a viable option, I'd think about getting either the Gold or the Platinum Flash Pass.

I've always gotten the impression that Millennium Flyers' restraints are ratcheting like Racer's or Beast's. I'd sooner think that hydraulics would be used for opening and closing the queue gates.

Everything looks awesome. You all did great, as usual!

I could be wrong (someone correct me if I am!) but I think KI's cameras have been known to go down when testing is being done. This could be related--or it could just be that the webcams went down for a bit.