TombRaiderFTW

My $.02: Firehawk was added because it's a low capacity ride. Beast was added for sheer demand. It has a decent capacity, but it's one of the most popular rides in the park. Combine the two and charge extra, and you've found a way to make more money and keep people from complaining about how Fast Laners are slowing the lines down. I'm not a big fan of Fast Lane, but if you're going to offer front-of-the-line passes in this format, Fast Lane Plus is, objectively, a really clever business idea. It seems like the park is trying to sap more money from the patrons--and really, the profit opportunity is part of it--but FLP is actually doing the naysayers a favor. And yes, I have used Fast Lane before. I only had a handful of hours on a Haunt Saturday last year to hit all the coasters with friends who hadn't been to KI since the 80's/90's. It worked, and we had a great time, although we got many stank eyes along the way. I just don't like the idea of being able to jump in front of other people. That, and I think I'm the only person in the world that finds anticipating a ride while waiting in line to be part of the experience at a park. (Then again, I've been known to ride rides I'm not in love with just to see how people react to the ride, so...)

Thank you for sharing! Love me some NYC. Happen to try any pizza, check out any cultural neighborhoods (Little Italy, Chinatown, etc.), or visit any of the other boroughs?

Certainly an interesting take on it. Both sides certainly come across far friendlier than earlier reports made it sound, but I still find it upsetting that things devolved to lawsuits within the family. I also find Dan's intent to have his kids succeed him a little odd. If he wanted his part of the family to be involved at that level, why become a lawyer 1,000 miles away from the park? And why can't both Will's and Dan's kids play parts in future park management the way Will, Dan, and Natalie did? I wonder if we'll see Pat Koch at the park at all this year--if it were me, I'd sure feel like the family dream's getting ruined by the power struggle.

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

^ I hope you can. Be sure to let us know what you think of Firehawk, Diamondback, and WindSeeker!

I really want to know what changed at B&M in the past two or three years. Out of nowhere, they're doing all the things you'd never expect out of B&M. I like the look of the Steel Dragon trains, but I don't expect to see them on many (if any) major new B&M installations. It cuts down on capacity, which is part of the draw of B&M rides. I do wonder if any other Morgan or Arrow megacoasters will receive them. Gotta admit that I don't know if Magnum would be the same for me without the hard lapbar. (Yeah, I'm weird. ) Until I rode Nitro last summer, I thought there would be a drastic difference between the staggered trains and the 4-across. Frankly, I didn't notice that much of a difference, except that you're freer on one (or both) sides to swing your arms and legs on the staggered trains. I don't mean that cynically; it just wasn't as different as I'd expected. In other words, I don't have that much of a preference.

Since closing day (October 28), so something like five months minus eleven days. It's been five months minus twelve days since I last went to Haunt.

One painfully bad picture of Vortex mid-corkscrew coming right up! Easy: Anything from Coney Mall. Hard: Viking Fury. Expert: Adventure Express' drop out of the station from the queue.

Let's try reviving this thread one more time. I like it too much just to let it go. Easy: Eiffel Tower Hard: Eiffel Tower at night Expert: Eiffel Tower at night during Halloween Haunt Just a suggestion that might help keep this going: try going a little bit easier on the categories. Think about what you would take a picture of when you're at the park. A kiddie ride might seem like an easy thing to take a picture of, but if you had a camera with you at the park, when would you really stop to take ride pictures in Planet Snoopy? Does anyone (except maybe BB1 ) take pictures of the slides in the water park? At least in my opinion, the 'easy' picture should be something fairly obvious or broad. The 'easy' one should be the one that any Joe Schmoe with a camera could feel comfortable jumping in with, because, well... It's supposed to be easy. I don't mean to call out specific people's ideas, but on their first visit to the park with a camera, how many people think to take a picture of the cannons on White Water Canyon or Diamondback's test seat? (Again, they're absolutely great ideas--I'm just suggesting that they might be more appropriate as 'hard' or 'expert' pictures.) Some really great examples from the thread: closed WindSeeker, Delirium, a picture in the park on a sunny day, etc. The 'hard' picture should up the ante a bit--but within reason. Make those pictures the type that someone who's taken several pictures at the park would take. Bring on the pictures of squid hats, Vortex mid-inversion, Alive Dinosaurs, obscure park signage/wind vanes, sculpted topiaries, etc. Don't go super over-the-top; that's what the 'expert' picture is for. This is where you ask for the not-so-obvious details of the park, like the bear on the way to Soak City, the Emporium, Backlot Stunt Coaster's 'splashdown', or SBNOSOB. For me, this is the easiest level at which I'll request Haunt photos, because apparently people just don't take many pictures during Haunt. The 'expert' picture is where you let your imagination fly. Make this your 'Don Helbig doing a handstand atop a blue ice cream cake' suggestion, assuming Don's ever been caught doing such a thing. This is where you ask for things that people wouldn't normally take photos of at all. It's also where you ask for pictures from special events, because not everyone's going to have been there. Ask for Soak City slides and pictures on the fences, Racer stopped on the lift hill, Planet Snoopy rides, Flight of Fear with the emergency lights on, or behind-the-scenes Beast photos. Again, these are only suggestions. I'm not trying to play moderator or change the rules; I'd just like to see this thread keep going because I love seeing people's photos!

I'm always kind of afraid I'm going to come across as pretentious or like a know-it-all when I post stuff like that, as I don't mean to. I just enjoy explaining math to people (or trying to, anyway... Definitely doesn't always happen.) I've had jobs doing that sort of thing, and they were fun. Without turning this into a full-blown Calculus lesson, I'll say that distance over time gives you average speed. If it's 240 miles to Holiday World from my house and takes me 4 hours to get there, distance over time says I'm going 60 miles per hour. Thing is, I've got to go 55 (or less) for the first eighth of the trip, then 65 for an hour, then 35 for about 15 minutes when I inevitably and consistently hit traffic trying to leave Cincinnati, and so on. I guess my best answer to your question is that you would let the train travel for a specific amount of time (e.g. 1 second.) Every second, you measure how far the train traveled in that second. The distance the train traveled divided by 1 second would approximately be the speed of the train at that point in the track. Calculate that throughout the course, and you'll roughly know the speed of the train at any given time. If you start measuring how far the train travels every 0.5 seconds, then your calculations become more accurate. Make it every 0.25 seconds, and they become even more accurate. (The idea behind derivatives in Calc is that your chosen amount of time becomes infinitely small, so you know exactly how fast something is changing or moving at any given time.) So, are you saying that there's a certain point at which a speed measurement is not an average? Yeah, more or less. You can narrow down your averages so much that they come really darn close to being the real thing.

Without turning this into a full-blown Calculus lesson, I'll say that distance over time gives you average speed. If it's 240 miles to Holiday World from my house and takes me 4 hours to get there, distance over time says I'm going 60 miles per hour. Thing is, I've got to go 55 (or less) for the first eighth of the trip, then 65 for an hour, then 35 for about 15 minutes when I inevitably and consistently hit traffic trying to leave Cincinnati, and so on. I guess my best answer to your question is that you would let the train travel for a specific amount of time (e.g. 1 second.) Every second, you measure how far the train traveled in that second. The distance the train traveled divided by 1 second would approximately be the speed of the train at that point in the track. Calculate that throughout the course, and you'll roughly know the speed of the train at any given time. If you start measuring how far the train travels every 0.5 seconds, then your calculations become more accurate. Make it every 0.25 seconds, and they become even more accurate. (The idea behind derivatives in Calc is that your chosen amount of time becomes infinitely small, so you know exactly how fast something is changing or moving at any given time.)

The Oktoberfest theme is being maintained AND we're getting a full-service restaurant?! This is awesome!

From a physics standpoint: 1. A heavier train will be slowed less quickly by air drag than a light one, but it will experience more friction from the track. There's a balance somewhere in the middle that I'd bet is considered in train design. There's also aerodynamic considerations that can affect the drag, too. 1a. The number of riders in a train will affect the speed similarly. Empty trains likely run more slowly than full trains. 2. The more forceful the ride is, the quicker friction will slow it down. This includes positive, negative, and lateral G's. 3. The more pure airtime the ride has (meaning exactly 0G's in any direction--not negative G's like on El Toro, which fall under #2) the less friction from the track. 4. The smoother the track (i.e., the less variance in the track gauge), the faster the ride will go. I don't completely understand why that is (something to do with vibrations and natural damping?), but 's a side-by-side comparison from the Coney Island Cyclone's recent rehab for proof.5. The fewer trim brakes, the faster the ride will go. (You're welcome, dare-to-fly.) 6. If the track and train axles are properly lubricated, the ride will run faster. Too little, and there's increased friction. I don't know if roller coaster grease is like oil in a car, but if there's too much in your car, it will foam and fail to work properly. Since it's grease and not oil I'd guess there probably can't be too much, but that's a complete guess. I'm sure there's more to it, but those are the parts I'd guess primarily affect it.

^ This! With utmost respect to Holiday World's reputation, the nicest park employees I've ever met have been at DW. My family, who mostly doesn't care one way or another about theme parks, even noticed how nice the park staff there is when we visited last March. I'm just bummed I still haven't made it to the chicken restaurant. Basically, the best trip advice for Dollywood is to definitely make sure you visit Dollywood.

Kings Dominion does as well, but it's mainly used for international employees, from what I understand.

I originally thought Playlist Live was going to be some YouTube thing... I watch too many vlogs, haha. (There's a yearly event for YouTube personalities called Playlist Live: http://playlist-live.com/ )

The opening days I've been to at KI haven't been nearly as bad as in 2011. That day was pretty bumpy. It seemed like most of the rides went down repeatedly, and the attendance was definitely higher than in years past. Otherwise, opening day is usually one of my favorite days to visit--low to moderate crowds and great weather. I've always heard Cedar Point's opening days are pretty rough as far as ride closures go, but I've never been. Weather typically ends up being an issue.

Yes yes yes yes! Please! Just make sure you take plenty of pictures.

You people are killing me with this Great America talk... I got a pass for there this past Christmas, the wait is slowly killing me!

Oh my gosh, they're actually doing something related to theme of Oktoberfest. I do like this new Cedar Fair...

^ On a side note: the wild mouse is gone, too. It's at Six Flags New England with the world's longest coaster name ever. The Gravity Group was apparently willing to refurbish Mega Zeph, complete with Timberliners, as a part of a proposed SFNO/Jazzland renovation from a while ago. I wonder if something similar could be in the works for Twisted Twins.

I couldn't give you an exact reference, but I seem to recall one of those parks qualifying GoPros as loose articles. I have seen a helmet-mounted camera be rejected by ride ops at Kings Island within the past year. As always, your best bet is to contact the parks.

Nothing any of you say will detract from my love for Adventure Express! NOTHING! (Okay, yeah, it's a little weird, haha.)

^ For some reason, I can't see KI's information. I do like the improved information on the general Coasting for Kids site, though!

I've known some park owners who dropped angry guests into the lake. Count your blessings. I didn't say it was a real park.