TombRaiderFTW

"Seconded," says the guy who typically likes wooden coasters with reputations for roughness.

I'm biased since I've only ever known the tower with the current color, but I really, really like the teal. I'm not saying other colors couldn't look as good or better, but the current shade of teal is a color I instantly associate with Kings Island in all the forms I've known it. And I think it's just a pretty color, too.

Not to mention White Lightning at Fun Spot America, which is wooden, B&M smooth, much better and faster paced than Gwazi, and not a kiddie coaster. Based on the reactions I got when I wore my BGT t-shirt to Fun Spot, the only thing Gwazi is known for by the locals is the roaring headaches it causes. From the conversations I had with some employees, it sounds like management is actively working to make sure White Lightning never gets Gwazi's reputation.

I realize this is exactly the answer you'd expect from me, but I had to vote for Tomb Raider: The Ride. In terms of quality of the initial design and experience, TR:TR was and continues to be unparalleled for a seasonal park (arguably, outside of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.) It was just such a radically intricate ride for a park that's only open from April to October/November, and it's really impressive that all if that came together in a semi-reasonable price tag ($20 million.) If only the maintenance budget was equally reasonable and/or properly funded and/or not multiplied by the HUSS product within... I'm not judging this by which ride was the best business decision, of course. If I were, I'd say Top Gun, since it seems to have the best uptime and capacity of the bunch. I've also heard that Arrows aren't terribly difficult to maintain if you have the parts. But I'm voting selfishly, so Tomb Raider it is.

^ It does look cool, which is what makes its absolutely horrendous ride experience even more disappointing. It looks like a wonderful ride... but it rides like a jackhammer in the pouch of a kangaroo during an earthquake.

As far as I'm concerned: good riddance, Gwazi. I really, really wanted to like that ride. I don't know why, but I did. That ride WAS Son of Beast bad, and it didn't even have the height that Son of Beast had to use as an excuse. And I use "Son of Beast bad" very sparingly. Of the approximately 60 wooden coasters I've ridden, only one other ride besides Gwazi has come close to Son of Beast pain for me. I've never had such an uncomfortable ride in a Millennium Flyer in my life. I've also never heard Millennium Flyers make the noises that ride's trains did. So disappointing. I'm weird enough that the ride may have been somewhat redeemed by having the trains dueling, but the other side clearly hadn't been in operation for a few seasons.

Oy. Regardless of current ownership, the current state of theming throughout Cedar Fair's parks makes me think: FUN owning a Busch park brings back memories of the Paramount Parks purchase. BGW is NOT Kings Dominion, though Kings Dominion is, in my opinion, a very nice park in its own way. I cringe to think of BGW cared for the way Adventure Express', Backlot Stunt Coaster's, and Boo Blasters' theming is cared for. I think the Busch parks would complement Herschend's style of management and existing portfolio nicely. It would be difficult to disassociate the park with alcohol sales, though, seeing as how the park's very name is based on a beer brewery.

Continued: I didn't realize it at the time, but the London facade of Diagon Alley blends really well with the rest of the New York City backlot area of Universal Studios Florida. At the time, all I saw were fancy British buildings and not a lot of indication as to how to get into Diagon Alley. But, as they say: when in a fancy, nondescript secret entrance to a Harry Potter-themed area, do as the blob of tourists do. Or something. So I rounded the bend, followed the crowd around the brick walls, and... Credit: Andy Sanchez, Flickr. ...Promptly felt my jaw hit the perfectly-themed ground. I honestly don't know where to begin describing Diagon Alley accurately, and I honestly just had to walk around, gawk, walk some more, gawk some more, etc. for who knows how long. The amount of detail is so insanely high in every window that I think it's genuinely impossible to notice everything. Period. (As far as I'm concerned, the interactive wands only serve to increase the number of details to try to take in--more on that in a bit.) There's something to see in every storefront, regardless of whether there's actually a store there or not. And the fact that there aren't any true dead-ends in the place (the backstage areas are accessed by what look like smaller paths that continue on to other parts of Diagon Alley, except there's a small fence to keep you out) gave the feeling that the place was much bigger than it actually was. There's a bridge (I can't decide if it was actually in use or was just for show) over part of it that has the booming sounds of a train passing overhead now and again. The inclusion of Knockturn Alley as this almost accidental side-area (the entrances are not wide and not obviously marked) makes it feel like you've discovered a part of the place not intended for average Muggles. The whole psychology of the place is--pun unintended--truly magical, and there are so many touches that make the place feel exponentially bigger than it actually is. If you can appreciate the magic of theme parks, you will appreciate Diagon Alley, even if you're not a Harry Potter fan. The amount of thought put into the place is absolutely mind-blowing. Check out Attractions Magazine's video of the area, including Knockturn Alley: Being that I enjoy theme park magic and Harry Potter, the rest of my time there honestly passed by in a bit of a drool-covered blur. I didn't ride any rides (the line for Escape from Gringotts was longer than I was willing to accept with the schedule I had) and spent the rest of the time just trying to see everything. Which, as I said, is pretty much impossible. I did manage to pick up my Ravenclaw attire from Madame Malkin's and noted the location of Ollivander's (I had to get my wand that evening, of course!) There may have been a second butterbeer mixed in there somewhere. There may have been a lot of me telling myself I have no use for Ravenclaw robes, writing quills, or Quidditch sweaters. At some point, I realized I wanted to see some more of Islands of Adventure before I left, and if I wanted to see it that afternoon, I needed to start heading that way. So with another bout of internal squealing, I boarded the Hogwarts Express (I am thoroughly baffled as to how the Platform 9 3/4 effect works) and headed back to Islands of Adventure. When I got back, I headed through The Lost Continent... and realized I would need to spend a lot more time in The Lost Continent in the future. As much as I love Harry Potter, I have a soft spot for unique theme park areas that don't rely on intellectual property*. And that, to the best of my knowledge, is what The Lost Continent is. It's a breathtaking area filled with collapsed ruins and complex, beautiful stone structures that I only had about ten minutes to look through before having to head back towards the car. But I made sure to find where Poseidon's Fury was located--it was for sure on my to-do list during my time in Orlando. It would have to wait for another day! *You experienced USF visitors are probably chuckling at this. I haven't missed the fact that USF is almost entirely filled with IP-based experiences. More on that later. With that, I hurried back to my hotel room. Except, by "hurried," I mean I somewhat hobbled to the scary elevator and took the somewhat questionable elevator ride to my room. My feet were really aching, but there was more to come. So, with that, I changed into my Ravenclaw uniform, hobbled back to the car, and drove to the meeting place for the IAAPA trip... To be continued in a future post!

I've heard before in enthusiast circles that the Larson sets come with two speed settings, one of which is faster than the other. I don't know how true that is, but it's worth mentioning.

Yep. Me. There are some here who love them and find them snappable. Based on my experiences with that ride--which, granted, have only consisted of two rides in the same Halloweekends night--I tend to wonder if the meaning of "snapping" has changed. Are the new Larson ones like Cedar Point's Lake Erie Eagles fun? Sure. Do they deliver the same ride experience as Knoebels' or Carowinds' sets? In my experience, not at all. I'm overjoyed that Kings Island is getting the set that they are. If Lake Erie Eagles are a good precedent and if you approach our Woodstock Gliders without the expectation that they'll be just like our old Flying Eagles, you'll have a great time.

(This is my moment! I've been waiting for my moment to Terp somebody!) Yes, someone has. (Finally!)

Thank you! And yeah, it's so much fun getting to know folks to do what you want to do someday. Good luck with your goals!

Hey everyone! I debated for a long time as to whether or not I should post this, because (as usual) I don't have pictures for you guys, and I don't want to bore you. But I had so much fun that I've got to get this TR out of my system! So, with that, I'm going to warn you: there's going to be a LOT of text in this. I'm going to break it up with other peoples' videos to keep it interesting, but it's only fair that you know that I'm going to obsessively go on for a while. You've been warned. A few weeks ago, I had the huge pleasure of going to Orlando for a few days for IAAPA and (of course) a couple theme parks. Originally, I had only intended to visit Universal, but my schedule opened up the possibility of also visiting Busch Gardens Tampa and Fun Spot America (Orlando)--so, I did! Days 0 & 1: IAAPA, Universal, and then IAAPA at Universal Part 0: Getting there. If you've seen a select few of Terp's posts around here, you probably have figured out that I'd like to work in the amusement industry someday. And if there's one thing you'll find in just about any article featuring advice from someone inside the industry on how to enter the industry, I guarantee you'll read something about attending the IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando. I've been trying for years (I think my first attempt was in 2009) to get to IAAPA, but something came up every year... until this year, when time and money finally coincided. I think I had a knot in my stomach that only got worse from the moment I booked the plane tickets, but I was exponentially more excited than nervous to attend. I waited five years for this thing; nerves would not be the downfall of the trip. So, one flight (involving the first mid-air emergency I've ever witnessed!) to Orlando (involving the first time I've ever driven on an apparently speed limit-less road! Floridians be crazy) to spend the night at the Allure Resort (involving the first time I've ever seen two lobbies with two different names for the same dumpy building AND the first time I've ever had to reconcile myself with the idea that treating bedbug bites would probably be cheaper than canceling the reservation and staying elsewhere AND the first elevator I've ever ridden that made me truly question how scary any iteration of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror could possibly be) later, I found myself at the Orange County Convention Center. Part 1: IAAPA, Day 1. For those of you who haven't been, here are the things you need to know about IAAPA: 1. The place is enormous. However big you're thinking it is, it's at least three times as big. 2. Unless you're extremely pressed for time, take two (or more) hours and just take it all in. Do your best to avoid being pressed for time. There's so much to see, regardless of what you're there for. It's literally Christmas for people who enjoy having fun. There's so much more to it than roller coaster stuff, but there also are rides there that you can try out. I rode a Zamperla Air Race, an SBF spinning coaster, and a Triotech dark ride. There were a few other rides (including a Ferris wheel, another dark ride, and several other flat rides) that I meant to ride but never got around to. And there's food, too. (My mouth is watering for the BeaverTail I had with Nutella on it... Mmm.) IAAPA's just as much about having fun as doing business, and you're doing your IAAPA experience an injustice if you don't have fun while you're there. 3. Regardless of your intent, all roads lead to inflatables. We're talking jumpy houses, inflatable ball pits, the whole enchilada. The map says they're only in one corner of the show floor, but I SWEAR they were following me around when I wasn't looking. Or maybe they're omnipresent. I must have walked through the inflatables at LEAST six times over the course of the first day. Ugh... inflatables. Ugh. Ugh. 4. Maybe this is standard for trade shows that aren't the ones I've been to, but I'd never seen this before: several booths--especially the bigger, more corporate ones--had actual offices in closed rooms inside them for doing business. Which, if you're me, makes you even more nervous about taking up the industry folks' time with your "hi, I want to do what you do, what's your advice" talk. While I think it's important to respect the professionals' time, I do have to say that almost everyone I talked to at the booths could not have been friendlier or more open to talking to me. It really meant a lot that they took time to listen to me and offer advice. So if you're hyping yourself up over how you're going to speak with industry people, relax--but stay professional. It was also pretty neat that the people I talked to were just as open to talking about professional development as they were about talking about their favorite rides or projects, which made me fanboy on the inside pretty hard. Once the trade show floor opened, I was off. (To inflatables, of course. Ugh.) It was all sensory overload for about the first hour, with a quick stop to the Zamperla booth to try out the Air Race in an attempt to calm my nerves. It worked really well, even if it did cause some nausea. The Air Race is a very fun ride, but it's very dizzying. I really don't think I would want to ride it more than twice in a row, at most. The hangtime and swinging is a lot of fun, but I was glad for the end of the ride cycle. Check out a video from Fun Spot America Orlando on their identical Air Race that, coincidentally enough, is only about 10 minutes from the convention center. The clip is short, but you get the gist: On the way to Zamperla, I was able to look over Premier's, Vekoma's, B&M's (including a Thunderbird car! Very sharp-looking in person), Mack's, Intamin's, and Vortex Aquatic Structures International, Inc.'s booths. (If you remember Hot Blooded from Haunt a few years ago, VASII makes a product very similar to the waterfall effect that show had. Or maybe they provided that effect; I'm not sure. It was very neat to see that product up close at their booth. Of course, they make more than that, but that's probably the most notable thing for me to mention on a KI fansite.) Oh, and I made a quick lap through the inflatables. Because UGH. After meeting with a few extremely kind folks at GCI, The Gravity Group, and Irvine-Ondrey Engineering, I was on a bit of a "holy cow, this thing is actually happening" high mixed with some slight hysteria, to be honest, haha. I decided to give my nerves a little bit of a break by grabbing some lunch and checking out the Triotech dark ride. There were a few food vendors in the far corner, so I inhaled some orange chicken and got in line at Triotech's booth (after somehow managing to make a lap through inflatables along the way.) The Triotech dark ride followed a simple oval path between two scenes: a full 3D screen and a scene with real, plain white objects that had the scene projected onto them. The car itself could pivot and spin and would do so as it transitioned from scene to scene. Each seat had a gun with which you blasted zombies (on the 3D screen) and blasted paint containers and windows (on the all-white real scene). If you knocked out all pieces of the window panes, a zombie would appear. The ride was simple but very neat, and it showcased the product very well. I'm excited to see how Cedar Fair and Triotech's relationship evolves through future rides, because the concepts they had there were unique, intriguing, and different in execution from the "aim at the lighted target"-type dark rides we've come to know from the Paramount years onward. From there, I stopped by a few other booths, including Sally Rides, Rocky Mountain Construction, Skyline Attractions, and Technifex (makers of many special effects seen on Tomb Raider: The Ride.) Here is where I have to offer any other people who want to do what I did an opportunity to learn from my mistake: when it came to the booths I made top priority to visit and connect with, like Skyline Attractions or RMC, I made sure I was familiar with who their staff was and what they make. When it came to companies like Sally and Technifex that I wanted to meet from more of a "familiarize myself with the industry in general" sort of way, I overestimated my ability to walk up to someone and introduce myself without knowing more about the company beforehand. I can tell you that Technifex makes very realistic-looking fire effects, but, at the time, I couldn't name one employee of the company. Same goes for Sally. I realize it's not a sin to walk up to someone without already knowing who they are and introduce yourself, but when you see the Technifex booth full of representatives talking with people, it felt somewhat petty of me to walk up, pull one of them to the side, and say, "So... what do you do, again?" Maybe I was being too paranoid or too much of a millennial, but that's how it felt to me at the time. But I digress: The folks at Skyline were incredibly friendly and excited to show off the Strike-U-Up and Spin-U-Win, both of which are very neat concepts that are very fun to watch. (I didn't try one--I wish I had!) I'm excited to hopefully see them appear at a park someday. The RMC booth was very full, so I didn't get a chance to speak with anyone, but I did get a very up-close view of the Ibox and Topper Tracks and of the Twisted Colossus car they had on display. Too cool! At that point, I was due for another ride, so I hit up the inflatables. I mean, I meant to head to the SBF spinning coaster, but it had been a whole half hour or so since my last visit to the inflatables, so I was overdue for another one. So once I got done facepalming my way past inflatable steam trains and Transformers, I found my way to the SBF booth and took a ride on the spinning coaster. It was a very simple figure-8 layout, but it was surprisingly fun! The train made (four? five?) laps around the track, and the amount of laterals really had my me-only car really spinning, so I was good with just the one ride lest I revisit the aforementioned orange chicken. At this point, I had been at IAAPA for about six hours. My dress shoes were slowly turning my feet into one giant blister, my tie was coming dangerously close to succeeding at strangling me after a six-hour effort, and my nerves were shot. I figured I'd have the next day to hit up the rest of the booths I didn't get to that day. I was due for some fun outside of IAAPA, and I was aware of the fact that Universal was but a 10-minute drive away. I remembered from my trip planning that Universal was running a "buy a two-day park-to-park ticket and get a third day free" special on their website. I checked my phone: Universal would close in about three hours. The special was still on. I would be in Orlando with plenty of time to use up all three days of the ticket. I had signed up for the IAAPA event at Universal that evening, but that wouldn't be for another four hours. I really wanted to buy a Ravenclaw sweater and tie so I could meet up with a similarly-dressed industry friend who is equally obsessed with Harry Potter at the IAAPA event. But with that timeframe, I wouldn't be able to change clothes (or, more importantly, shoes) and get to Universal with any decent amount of time left. No, I probably should wait, I told myself. It wouldn't be that much longer till I was at Universal with IAAPA. Part 2: I went to Universal anyway. I caved. I have no willpower. Sue me. With my somewhat limited timeframe, I had to make due: I ditched the tie in the car, picked up my ticket from the will call kiosk, and was entering Islands of Adventure dressed like a guy who just left a trade show, ditched his tie, and went to a theme park. But that's beside the point, because HOLY COW, can we talk about Islands of Adventure for a second, here?! In my time at IOA that afternoon/evening, I drooled over the total beauty that is Port of Entry, made a left, drooled/squeed over The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, and then headed through Jurassic Park (not a property I'm particularly interested by) to Hogsmeade, where I'm pretty sure I keeled over and died. Without discounting the rest of Islands of Adventure (trust me, there are many paragraphs to come), Hogsmeade is a Harry Potter-slash-theme park nerd's dream. The architecture--particularly the looming outline of Hogwarts Castle at the end of the path--is so gorgeous and true to the source that I had to stop walking and just take it in for a minute (butterbeer in hand, of course.) It was absolutely surreal, from the angled chimneys to the intricate, pastel store displays to the steaming Hogwarts Express just inside the entrance. It's an absolutely breathtaking area for me. I get goosebumps describing it to people. But, I still had a goal: I needed to get the gear for the later visit. So, trying very hard not to squeal like a little kid at Christmas, I scanned my ticket at the entrance of the Hogwarts Express, saw this: ...died a second time, and then boarded the train to Diagon Alley. (That train whistle gives me cold chills!) I'm not going to spoil the trip on the Hogwarts Express in either direction to anybody, but I will say that, regardless of how you feel about Harry Potter, the effects you see while riding are really well done and had a lot of people in my cabins asking how it was done. If you can appreciate the magic of theme parks, you can enjoy a ride on the Hogwarts Express. With that, we arrived at King's Cross station. The fact that the station looks exactly like a London train station (down to a rotating departure board) is a really impressive, creative touch that I appreciate Universal making. But as I exited King's Cross, I followed the crowds to the left... And with that, I'm going to stop for tonight. I'll continue this in a new post soon. Thanks for reading thus far!

I have, yes. There's speculation on some BGW fan sites that the lack of promotion is due to a last-minute theme change. I'm not sure if I buy that or not--I would think the amount of theming that's gone into Busch Gardens' most recent additions wouldn't be something you could change within a year of the ride opening. If that is the case, then I think it says a lot about how much theming to expect out of the ride and out of SEAS at this point. But I'm still chalking that rumor up to wishful thinking. Why the park hasn't said anything at ALL, regardless of theme, about the ride continues to confuse me.

I have a theory about all of this: Part 1: The Bat part of it is a diversion. The Bat just got updated for 2014; I'd be surprised to see something else (besides removal) happen to it anytime within the next few seasons. (Then again, I also thought Mantis getting floorless trains was highly improbable, so...) Part 2: Vortex is either the main point of all of this, or it's another diversion. The mention of Thunder Road, The Bat, and everything old becoming new again would lead me to think that Vortex is going to receive a refurbishment or other project of some sort. Specifically based on the mention of Thunder Road, which recently received an entire rebuild courtesy Great Coasters International, I'm speculating that Vortex will either 2a. Be refurbished á la Phantom's Revenge to improve transitions or even completely rebuild the ride after the first drop, or 2b. Be removed completely and replaced by a Chance Rides coaster. By the by, I know nothing, so don't take this as gospel. (Especially not you, Lance Hart, if you're reading this!) I think I'm almost certainly wrong about this; it's just fun to guess. I've literally never been correct when it comes to Terp's hints.

^ I agree wholeheartedly. I've never seen a show there I was particularly excited about there (How I wish I'd seen the Midnight Syndicate show there when I had the opportunity!) but loved the appearance of it being partially underground and somewhat engulfed by the surrounding scenery. Another piece of (what I consider) classic Cedar Point is gone. I'll miss it.

^ Do you mean HUSS, or am I forgetting something?

^ I have. They're fun but very dizzying. The one I rode had a somewhat short ride cycle, and I was glad.

That animatronic is almost creepy with how realistic and fluid the motion is. Wow. High-quality physical sets combined with 3D effects and (what I am selfishly, desperately praying will be) a ride system like Curse of DarKastle? Sign me up right now. As much as I want to like the idea behind Wonder Mountain's Guardian, this seems like a much more impressive step forward in seasonal parks' dark rides. I am dying to get to St. Louis next year...

Is the forum being somewhat slow tonight for anyone else? It's taking a good 15-30 seconds to respond on my end. EDIT: Aaaaand now it's fine. Nevermind!

There are those of us who DID read the Indiana court decision who think Dan loves Alabama Splash Adventure the same way he loved Holiday World, if you catch my drift.

This sounds... yeesh. Part of me is morbidly interested to know what this will turn into. Part of me is cringing when imagining what this could turn into. "Adjusting the attraction and marketing plans to address our immediate top-line concerns" sounds like it could mean, among other things, "We may not actually build a new coaster at BGW next year after all." I've been wondering why ride announcement season has come and gone and there hasn't been so much as a teaser out of that park... Or am I misreading that? It just seems strange that they've been so quiet about it, and I've read similar reactions elsewhere online.

^ Is there a reason the admission is less on Thursday and Friday, apart from it just being the end of the week? I'm just curious because I didn't know they did discount admission towards the end of the week.

It's IAAPA... Isn't one of the bigger points of the thing to be the biggest diversion of the show?

I can't find the link for the life of me, but it was mentioned somewhere online that Cedar Fair and Triotech (may be? are?) making an announcement towards the beginning of the week of IAAPA. Hmm...