TombRaiderFTW

I did: Le sigh.

I'll be honest... I really don't know why, but I thoroughly enjoyed the dino boat ride at the Columbus Zoo. I can't say I have an objective reason for why I thought it was cool--Dinosaurs Alive doesn't do much for me. I'm a little bummed it's changing. I guess I'm weird like that. (Maybe it's the boat? I thought Paddlewheel Excursions was pretty neat, too. I'll have to test that theory out at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, despite the lack of animatronics.) As far as the future of Dinosaurs Alive goes... I dunno. It doesn't bother me that it's there, and it seems to be fairly popular with the kiddos. It's not unusual to overhear younger kids at the park talking about it. I don't feel a pressing need to go through it (I've probably been through three times, at most, since it was installed) but it's not aimed at me. As long as someone's enjoying it, it can keep on keepin' on, as far as I'm concerned.

They did this last year, too. One of a couple reasons I don't feel particularly attracted to the place this year.

Right, but it seems like everything (apart from trains and electricity-related components) with a lifespan has been replaced. Unless I misunderstood something, it's basically a new coaster...? Or are you referring to popularity/ridership when you say lifespan?

On Thunder Road: With how recent that rebuild was, I have a really hard time believing the Screamscape rumor that it will be torn down after this season. The only thing that gives it any credit in my mind is that--if I remember correctly, and I very well could be mistaken--it hasn't had any work done since Ouimet replaced Kinzel. I went to Carowinds in March of last year, and the last two bunny hills or so hadn't been redone (to comedic effect--up till that point, it was glass smooth. It then began jackhammering like you wouldn't believe.) It makes me wonder if the brakes were put on that project as soon as possible. But it still seems like a huge waste of investment to tear it down with as much work as it has been given. On Shockwave: I really don't know what could replace it in the footprint that it has. It's not a particularly big ride. The first thing that comes to mind is a small Gerstlauer Eurofighter, but I think that thing would have just as bad a people capacity as Shockwave, if not worse.

Welcome to KIC, JoeKD! Not meaning for this to sound like I'm attacking you: outside of the nonexistent promotion of Tempesto during its construction, how has it been a failure?

Have any of you gotten any emails about this event? It seems strange that I haven't received a "be at the front gate at such-and-such time" email at this point. Hopefully my registration went through okay. Perhaps it will be sent out this week.

^ The important question here, though: are more rides operational today than were yesterday? The widespread downtime was more than enough to convince me to head to Waldameer for the day. (Ravine Flyer II's running great!)

Hey, have you all heard about Dinosaurs Alive? I hear Thrill_Biscuit thinks it's pretty great. There's some good advice here, and I really don't have anything new to add. I do echo the advice to head to Flight of Fear and Firehawk first--they're just about guaranteed to be nasty waits most weekends, if you do visit on a weekend. I hope you have a great time!

Surprised I haven't seen more/any reviews of Rougarou pop up around here. Guess I'll start it off: I was extremely impressed with it. There were one or two moments where my head met the restraint, but overall, the headbanging is DRASTICALLY reduced. It may be me wanting to imagine it so, but the ride seems noticeably faster--if true, it doesn't seem to make the ride worse the way the stand-up trains would make you expect. Everything after the MCBR used to pass by in a blur while I attempted to avoid brain damage; now you can actually focus on it. And it's actually quite good! The quick transitions, which made the stand-up experience really unpleasant, makes the ride one of the more enjoyably aggressive floorless coasters I've ridden. I will actually attempt to make that ride one of my stops during my CP visits now. In my opinion, they've hit the ball out of the park with Rougarou! (The only thing I can possibly critique: it would have been so neat to see the queue enclosed in a bayou-esque cabin with subtle references to the legend of the rougarou inside. But that's me. Banshee, Thunderbird, and BGW have spoiled me in the theming department.)

I've been to several coaster fan sites as well as anything else KK related and there is absolutely nothing yet concerning the whereabouts of T3's trains. I seem to recall Vekoma having quite a hard time installing new trains on Goliath at SFNE... Those new trains were from Premier, as I understand it. Still doesn't explain why Kentucky Kingdom's keeping so quiet about T3.

Great read! Thanks so much for keeping up with this report! It's so much fun seeing BGW through another newcomer's perspective. I made my first (and only, though that's definitely changing) visit to BGW last Labor Day, and I thought it was the better of the two big parks in Virginia, too. And that's coming from a guy that adores Kings Dominion. What did you think of Verbolten? The times I rode it, I only got the wolf theme no matter what I tried. Regardless, I LOVE that ride! I too thought Curse of DarKastle was amazing--the way the car "pulls" away from the fireplace is probably one of my favorite dark ride moments ever.

Is it better to have themed and lost than to never have themed at all?

ACE shared the following link on Facebook. At the risk of spoiling your experience in reading it, I'm not going to describe it beforehand. Don't go any further in this post than the link until you've read it. http://jaymitlo.com/an-open-letter-to-kennywood/ This article is so touching, and it's such a strong reminder that life is fleeting. For me, it also perfectly outlines why I love the amusement industry so much. Because if you get past dining plans and downtime and revenues, the amusement industry exists to create lifelong memories and escapes from daily life. I hope you enjoyed it. Now go hug a loved one.

I feel like I've typed out a long version of this somewhere here, but I can't think of when that was... Oh well. I was terrified of a lot of things when I was younger, including roller coasters. My family and I went to the park in the mid- to late 90's frequently, and I never wanted to ride anything more intense than The Beastie. I may have ridden Vortex once... If I did, I guarantee it scared me enough to not ride it again. We stopped getting passes by 1998 or 1999, and I didn't visit another park till about 2004, I think. That year we got invited to come with some friends, who I didn't want to think I was afraid. The rest is essentially history.

I am so sorry that you're going through such a rough time. If you need to talk, I'm here. Thank you for sharing your experience.

(Didn't mean for this to be so long-winded, and especially not in the Kentucky Kingdom thread. Apologies!) Different from what I expected, in both good and bittersweet ways. I was very much impressed by the ride itself, being the type of coaster that it is. It's not the most intense B&M Wing Coaster, but I think it has the most personality in the layout of the ones in the U.S. I think it's probably my favorite of the bunch because of that. There seem to be polarized opinions over whether the right side is better than the left, or vice versa, but I personally find that both sides have their pluses and minuses and neither trumps the other. Your mileage may vary. The zero-G roll seems to rotate significantly more rapidly than on the other Wing Coasters, to the point that there are laterals as you rotate (regardless of side), which I thought was interesting and unusual. The theming is much more well-done than I expected and looks like something you'd expect out of Dollywood, which I like on one hand but find out-of-place at Holiday World on the other. Both the ride and its plaza are different from the Holiday World norm, even from the rest of the Thanksgiving area. The plaza almost feels more like the New France area of Busch Gardens Williamsburg to me for some reason (despite the giant barn) than any extension of Thanksgiving, though it's not as detailed as that area at BGW. (There's some part of me that reads Terp's predictions about the place and worries that they're trying to make the park more appealing to Herschend.) The theming of the ride also has just enough details to it that I geek out over it, haha. The flickering lighting (both on the ride and in the queue) and LOUD booming thunder and wall of fog of the launch is such a neat combination of effects that I almost get goosebumps thinking about it. The only thing I could ask for is that the storyline of the ride be made a bit clearer. I'm with them on the Pilgrims getting lost at sea and then lead to the New World by the Thunderbird, but then it gets fuzzy. A farmer finds some key to harnessing its power or something because he's descended from the Pilgrims... and it gets loose in his barn and breaks out? Except the old "newspaper clips" in the queue make it sound like it's already loose. So what role does the coaster play in the plot? Are the riders playing the part of the Thunderbird, the farmer, or some crazy townsfolk or something? I feel like, for all the thought that went into tying the story to Thanksgiving, there has to be a complete thought about what part the coaster itself plays in it. It's just not apparent, unfortunately.

I wish I had seen this sooner. The weather forecast kept everyone at home today. (Yes, Terp. I know what post you're thinking of. ) I've never seen such an empty day at Holiday World than today. Honest.Coasters not named Thunderbird or Voyage ran one train and never managed to fill a full train while I was there. Voyage never filled one train in that time, as it was closed. Thunderbird, the brand spanking new $22 million B&M that's engulfed many billboards in Louisville, ice cream boxes in 20-something states, and TV commercials, was entirely possible to reride without having to get out of your seat on its first true public day of operation. It was surreal. Especially considering that it had a 1.5-hour line by the time the line was closed off for closing on the season passholder night just the night before. (Edited to correct wait time facts. I misremembered what time I got in line.)

I was questioning why now, nine years after the ride opened, the park decided the ride was too much for guests. The only reason I could come up with is them wanting to reduce maintenance costs. To be entirely honest, I'm not sure I can blame them. Voyage does seem like too much wood coaster for a small family-owned park. It does bring back the question of why the plug was pulled on the Timberliners... Unless they somehow increased maintenance costs, I assume that any change in the ride experience would be just as noticeable as what they're doing now.

According to some comments from media day attendees on Facebook in the Holiwood Nights group, this is not the case, although it appears to be a popular rumor. Voyage is allegedly running 6-car trains with no trims. Paula Werne has yet to respond.

I think it will be difficult for most anyone to accurately predict crowds. In my experience, Holiday World rarely has lines that early in the year, but I've also never been there in a year when they're opening a new roller coaster (and one unlike any other one they've had before, at that.)

According to this article on Kings Island's website, the petting zoo will not open until May 21.

They also had the audio from the former fog screen playing for the first time in a LONG time (that I've experienced, anyway), but the video screen set in the tombstone towards the beginning of the ride was shut off. The two skeletons in the bed weren't functioning, but their audio was. And there was a maintenance light turned on under the track throughout a good portion of the ride that was very noticeable in the loading area. I honestly can't tell if the park's done with the ride or isn't willing to put the money into keeping the presentation of the ride as good as it could be or just forgets to turn everything on at once. Or all three?

Hmm.. Did Matt say that, 100% without a doubt, all 11 properties would receive these installations? Plans, think? He doesn't guarantee it. So.. They've either got 9 of these things in the 5-year plan, or Matt was simply saying that it is his intent to deploy more Amusement Dark installations. He doesn't guarantee that this will happen, and it sounds like they haven't even figured out what they might do for at least some of the parks. Might this end up happening? He seems to want it to. Just keep in mind it's hardly set in stone. This isn't a hint of anything.. Anyone who knows much about the chain knows that there are some parks with empty land and others with empty buildings of a size that could fit one of these things. Knott's is currently putting one into an empty building. Doesn't mean KI will.. I see your points, and yeah, you make sense. I misspoke. I apologize.

His point is that the CEO indicated that the WMG ride system would find its way to all 11 Cedar Fair properties, regardless of whether or not they currently have a dark ride. Whether you see the ride system going to Kings Island or not is somewhat irrelevant, because the CEO has already more or less said that it will. And because this post comes off sorta harsh and I don't want it to, I'm adding the obligatory forum smilie face: