TombRaiderFTW

What a bummer. Somewhere beneath the unease about the state of almost everything around the park, I thought Conneaut had a lot of potential to be charming. The infrastructure is definitely there for it to be a very nice little local park; it just hasn't been maintained in many years. I'd wonder what the chances are someone else would step in and buy the park, but I'm very doubtful. Parques Reunidos would be my first guess if I had to make one, but I way sooner expect them to buy the Blue Streak train and the Tumble Bug for parts for rides at Kennywood--assuming, of course, that either of those rides have parts in better condition than Kennywood's rides' parts. It's a shame!

Very lovely hyperlink... But....It does seem to lead anywhere... Aren't hyperlinks supposed to lead you anywhere? That's kind of their point.

I literally cringed reading that. I think I have nightmares that go like that.

In a barrel? I think the top of the front exterior was added today. (Sorry if those aren't the right words... I wouldn't call it a facade, so I don't know what to call it.) There appeared to be a gray border to the roof on its left side earlier this evening. Check it out tomorrow.

^ Somehow, I'm actually really okay with that. I thought the wooden parts of Georgia Cyclone were some of the best parts; the topper tracked portion seemed somewhat tamed by comparison. Also, I want Georgia Cyclone in my back yard, because that ride is fantastic. But that's beside the point. With the way Six Flags has been doing Rocky Mountain projects, I'm nervous for the future of Boss. I love it exactly the way it is, Gerstlauer trains and all. With the way the first drop of Georgia Cyclone seemed very "controlled" compared to the rest of the ride, I would be incredibly sad to see any part of that ride tamed or be turned into overbanked turns or inversions or whatever the heck those things in the middle of Iron Rattler are. I've been on one topper tracked coaster (Georgia Cyclone) and one I-Box tracked coaster (Iron Rattler). I never rode the original Rattler, as I've only been to Fiesta Texas once. Between the two options, topper track (except for Outlaw Run) seems to be meant to compliment an existing ride experience, whereas I-Box reinvents it. I'd really like to see Cedar Fair experiment with topper track on a few of its wooden coasters to see if they can remove trims, as I've never been on a Cedar Fair wooden coaster that felt like a failed idea in the way Rattler was. Mean Streak wouldn't top many lists with it, but I think it could be an enjoyable ride if some of the valleys were smoother and the trims weren't there. When it's retracked, it isn't a half-bad ride. I've said before how I'd be interested in Beast being lightly reprofiled with topper track and articulating trains so trims could be lessened or removed. I was going somewhere with this post, and then my mind went blank. D'oh. EDIT: Oh! I remembered: Of course, of any of the Cedar Fair wooden coasters I've ridden, I'd sooner peg Mean Streak for a full I-Box renovation than any of the others. It seems to have the biggest "canvas" to work with, much like Texas Giant. But I'd still rather see them make a quality experience from the ride they already have than making an entirely new ride out of it.

I don't think I've ever actually heard what happens during an e-stop on those types of rides. I've just heard that it's a big deal. Is there some gate or valve that opens quickly and drains all the water? If yes, does some kind of strainer keep debris (or even people, if someone were to go overboard) from blocking the drain?

Those were fantastic. I like how the posts were like the 10pm fireworks--one at a time, then a bunch all at once. Thanks!

My favorite part is that it's a clone.

All signs are pointing to my first ride of the year being Banshee. It'll also be coaster # 150 for me!

My favorites: -The Beast -Behemoth -Leviathan -Poltergeist -Millennium Force -Comet -Silver Bullet -Oblivion -Verbolten -Gwazi -Gemini -American Thunder I'm absolutely the worst at coming up with my own ride names out of the blue. If I have a theme or something to go off of, it's much easier.

As requested (this may or may not end up sideways; TinyPic's being weird): Sorry for the weird angle; the lighting was such that a straight-on picture would have had my silhouette in the middle of a really bright glare. That's a safe bet. Thanks for the picture! If you feel inclined to share any more, they'd definitely be appreciated.

We should seriously set this to music; it would be easier to post a link to a snazzy musical number than keep retyping this: Correcting people's capitalization (or the lack thereof) of trademarks is not a personal attack; it's self-defense for the forum. I repeat: it is not a personal attack on you or your posts. The administration has requested that we publicly correct each other on the forums when trademarks are improperly capitalized. The administration has asked that trademarks be properly capitalized to protect the site from potential subpoenas. The administration has defended those who correct people's corrections of trademarks missing proper capitalization. It's a minor request with big consequences. And yes, it does matter on a seemingly small site like this. That's why all this is happening in the first place. It's reactive, not proactive. Perhaps it would help the site become more capitalization-aware if we were friendlier about it or explained the context of our posts. Not everyone who posts here has time to catch every post, including the ones that explain why we suddenly seem to be grammatically critical of trademark names. Can't say anything about the "Mason" and "Ohio" corrections, though. The guy just really likes Mason and Ohio?

^ Well, the original listing had some decent pictures of it in it, but I can't seem to get to those. I'll be sure to take a few pictures when I get it. Until then, have a nice 104x140 sized picture of it:

...when you become slightly frantic over bidding on a Tomb Raider: The Ride poster on eBay because 1.) it's Tomb Raider: The Ride, 2.) it's next to impossible to find any Tomb Raider: The Ride merchandise online, and 3.) you don't really bother to check eBay for this kind of stuff during the summer because it doesn't really cross your mind to do so until Christmas. (I won, by the by! )

That... is a deceptive, murderous torture device from the depths of Hades. I used to think those looked like fun, too. I don't have asthma, but Berzerker at Kings Dominion made me experience it. And then I got to experience it upside down. It gave me a drastically improved appreciation for Viking Fury.

If you feel that way, then become a politician and get trademark rights changed to reflect those beliefs. The fact that he's doing it at all seems to be more reactive than proactive; he's not doing it to be your own personal pain the butt. If someone sues the bejabbers out of the admin team for something so seemingly silly and wins, there may not even be a KIC forum for you to post on. And before you ask: yes, something as simple as punctuation errors would matter that much to a corporation looking to protect its property. Based on the fact that we're having this discussion at all, it's clearly something the administration here has encountered in some magnitude.

I don't know why they would bother to move or cover the camera when redoing Action Zone in 2014 when they didn't bother to move or cover the camera when redoing Rivertown in 2009. But maybe that's just me; I also didn't see any conspiracy in the new Banshee camera being covered by Haunt decorations when the wind blew.

...Yep. A heartline roll on a B&M Invert looks just as weird (in the best way possible) as I thought it would. Is it April yet?!

Beast? More like around 30 degrees. For comparison, I believe Millennium Force's lift hill is around 45 degrees. I think I once saw someone use Google Earth to calculate Diamondback's lift at around 40 degrees, but I could be wrong.

^^ Truth be told, I'd rather ride Ka. If I'm riding it, it means I'm back at Great Adventure. (Can't really say I "get" Mehverick, though. But that's a whole 'nother story.)

homestar92: And I agree with all your points as well, although I do very much enjoy Millennium Force, Magnum, Gemini, and Wicked Twister. Since 2008, I've visited Kings Island something like 70+ times, and I live over an hour away. In that same amount of time, I don't think I've visited Cedar Point more than 10-15 times. It's not that CP isn't a great park; KI just has that "homey" feeling, like you said. People don't get why I'd ever prefer KI over CP when the almighty Top Thrill Dragster exists, but I do anyway.

I would be very, very disappointed if Kings Island were to increase its resemblance to Cedar Point in any way. Cedar Point is great, but Kings Island is not Cedar Point. Thank goodness. The fact that Cedar Fair now has a CEO who recognizes the unique identities of each park is an immense relief to me. It's my understanding that Dorney Park and Valleyfair both have the atmosphere of a Miniature Cedar Point East and Miniature Cedar Point West, respectively, except neither has the fame from the rides that Cedar Point got through Kinzel's 1980's through 2005 leadership. Michigan's Adventure has all the charm of a parking lot, with twice as much concrete and half as many trees. The legacy Paramount Parks seemed to be headed that direction prior to 2011. Now, instead of vaguely placing rides like Dominator wherever they happen to fit, we've got rides like Gatekeeper (a coaster that "guards"/intertwines with the front gate to a park popular for its numerous coasters), Banshee (a ride whose theme plays on the removal of an existing ride with a bad reputation), and Wonder Mountain's Guardian (a ride that takes advantage of existing park infrastructure to add a new level of adventure to the park you already know and love.) It's Cedar Fair's legacy focus on great rides, but it's combined with this new sense for each park's identity. And when they aren't adding rides, they're doing things that celebrate the parks' original identities, like Kings Dominion's fortieth anniversary or the Knott's theming repairs. It's not quite the Siebert-hyped totally immersively themed amusement experiences of ten years ago. It's not quite Dollywood's year-round events. It's not quite Six Flags' "let's make a themed ride and place it where the heck ever we feel like it" personality like what can be seen at Great America. Cedar Fair's new approach has added personality that no other parks really ever really attempt these days. I like it!

There's another recent topic here somewhere where Dane encourages Terp to continue correcting what he's been doing lately. Terp has explained that corporations DO care about seemingly small online communities using their trademarked names in ways they feel are improper, which is why he has been very diligently doing what he has been doing for the past few months. Deductive reasoning would suggest that KIC (or perhaps another forum with whom our administration is close) has been targeted by some entity that is unhappy about the improper use of their trademark. Should I be correct--and I really can't imagine any other possibilities--this would mean that when Terp says he does "what he must because he must," it's because he actually must do what he's been doing lately. It's not grammar Nazism; it's legal protection. Plus, the guy is seriously just asking everyone to press their shift keys every once in a while. It's not like he's petitioning to raise taxes or something.

Are you part sheep or something? Gotta agree with the "better to see everything up front and close" thought, though. The monuments in DC aren't anything that can be experienced from above. You have to be there. (I know the wheel isn't for DC, but he made a good point nonetheless.)

I don't get Good Friday off of work... and I have ONE vacation day that I can use at that point on the year. I have to choose between media day and opening day. Media day, as I understand it: comparatively small lines for the newest ride in the park. Slow dispatches, but you get to marathon the new ride in the park all day. The new ride is the ONLY open ride in the park, more likely than not. Opening day: all the rides are open. The new ride has a RIDICULOUSLY long line, but there's still a chance to ride it. Because there's a new coaster opening, the rest of the park may or may not be packed. But then again, the park's opening on a Friday, even though it's a holiday. Who knows how many people will be there? This is the hardest coaster-related decision I've ever made. This is terrible.