McSalsa

Wow...and this is the same year a similar accident happened, for the 2nd time, on Flight Deck at California's Great America. My condolences to the family. But I have to wonder- why the heck did this guy jump the fence!?!? Not a smart move, at all...even if it is a shirt worth $1,000,000+ or something, nothing is worth the risk of dying like this. Just tell the park and they will send your item back to you when the park closes... I also hope the riders who were on the train are OK. This is something that would scare the daylights out of anyone- to be riding a roller coaster, everything is going normally, and then this happens. Hopefully, Cedar Fair won't have to start putting barbed wire or something around all their rides because people break the rules like this.

Wow, epic 6-year old bump. And might as well include my personal rankings... 1. The Beast 2. Banshee 3. Diamondback 4. Flight of Fear 5. Vortex 6. The Bat 7. The Racer 8. Backlot Stunt Coaster 9. Adventure Express 10. Firehawk 11. Surf Dog 12. Invertigo 13. Woodstock Express 14. Great Pumpkin Coaster To be honest though, I don't think Kings Island actually has any truly bad roller coasters as I enjoyed them all. If I were grading these, even Invertigo at the very bottom would get a C, maybe even a C+. (Haven't really ridden Woodstock Express in ages and Great Pumpkin is a very kiddie ride I have yet to also ride in ages) And everything else would be a "B" or higher. Though I have not been to very many parks yet (just KI and Holiday World for now) and thus may have to adjust this scale should I ride more and more great roller coasters in the future. Or maybe I am just optimistic and will probably find way more roller coasters enjoyable instead of not as I get to more parks. Also, IMO, this belongs in polls, not the general KI forum...but whatever. No big deal really. EDIT: I went ahead and added Surf Dog, Woodstock Express, and Great Pumpkin Coaster to this list. I don't really consider Surf Dog a coaster but some posters were adding it, so I did as well...I have a reason though. It'll come in another post later. EDIT #2: Ehh, nevermind. What I was thinking wouldn't work out. I'll leave this post as-is anyways.

^^^^ Actually, according to her, she won't actually ride ANY of the roller coasters in her own park. She adds them because she knows people love roller coasters, but she isn't a huge fan herself. She even joked she's had so much plastic surgery, she'd likely break apart mid-ride, as a reason she won't ride them. (At least that's what I recall her saying...also pretty sure she'd be fine on most of their rides as from what I have heard, most Dollywood coasters are very smooth for their types) ^^ I don't know but I do want one. Again, regardless of what the heck it actually is, Lightning Rod looks amazing and I want to see what this thing's layout is better.

It's topper track, but there's debate whether or not that is even wooden either due to the fact a huge chunk of the track is steel and only the bottom layers are wooden. On a traditional wooden coaster, there is only a small metal strip atop the track. Here's a picture that shows both topper track (left) and I-Box (right)... And here is a "regular" wooden coaster for comparison...note the metal strip is very thin and makes up at most 5% of the track, far less than either of the above...

Well, while I don't consider this ride wooden (the I-Box track is way too thick and thus the wheels don't even get anywhere near any wood) that does not change the fact this thing looks awesome. 73mph, tons of airtime, and numerous overbanked turns. No inversions though- kind off odd to see a RMC this day and age without them, but I don't think it even needs them. The 4x drop sounds awesome. Also, the train design is super cool looking. And this thing is in the same park as Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, Mystery Mine, Tennessee Tornado and Firechaser Express...Dollywood will have quite the roller coaster lineup come 2016.

Fun Fact: While Arrow Dynamics did initially start the construction for Ninja, they didn't finish it, Vekoma did, as Arrow went into bankruptcy in 1986. The ride also was originally built for a 1986 Expo in Vancouver and didn't begin operation at SFStl until 1989. So I guess you could debate whether or not this ride is an Arrow or a Vekoma. Also great TR.

^ I could dig a park with rides like that. I would also not be shocked if at some point they decided to add a 2nd wooden coaster (probably Gravity Group) to Alabama Adventure given the family's reputation. Add a nice dark ride, some more waterslides, and perhaps a small wild mouse or something and you'd probably have a great small park that would attract not only lots of locals, but the hardcore coaster & park enthusiasts as well who travel to such parks.

In the interview video I posted on the last page, Dan Koch actually mentions the long-term plan is to generally add to both parks. So I doubt it will stay "Waterpark+Rampage" forever (basically I expect more dry side rides to be added in future years), though the waterpark will probably get a big part of the overall focus just like at Holiday World.

Looking very close at that last picture, even though it is very blurry, it does say "DM" to start the part number. So I'm going to assume this is a Dive Machine and that it is for Cedar Point, as it seems to match the supposed leaked CG image...and if this does turn out to be over 300' tall then WOW, that's one monster of a Dive Machine. Even 240' would be massive though, big enough to be the world's highest dive coaster. We should get confirmation soon enough though...

Well, CoasterForce has posted some neat videos regarding this park, so I figured I'd share some links to them. You remember how they had 60FPS videos of Holiday World's coasters? Well, Alabama's Splash Adventure can play that game too. Here is some 60FPS Rampage: And here is an interview with Dan Koch, mostly about the restoration and re-opening of this once SBNO wooden coaster (there is a slight blurb about the HW fiasco but not too much on that). He also talks about how they re-opened and revitalized the park and stuff: There's also some ridercam and 3D versions of these videos on their page. Also a quick comment on Rampage re-opening: while I haven't ridden said coaster, I am very happy to see that in a day and age when wooden coasters are being torn down or RMC'd at many major parks, at least one was able to rise from the ashes- and not as some RMC steel coaster- and return to operation.

To be 100% honest, I think this is also the reason I can tolerate Vortex so well. My head is well above the top of the OTSR's (I'm about 5'11), so I can't get headbanged on it- "neckbanged" a little maybe, but I've never anything too serious. For comparison, Invertigo CAN headbang me and to date is the only ride to ever give me a headache (Voyage and Flight of Fear have given me backaches though). I actually like the OTSR designed Arrow used here- IMO, it's better than the huge bulky stuff. Though by the same standard I'm tall enough that if I try a "2" row on any Vortex car, I'm cramped up and thus Vortex is much less fun from said rows. I'll be avoiding them after my first ever Vortex ride didn't go that great because of this. That was also my first-ever ride on a roller coaster that went upside-down though too.

Well, here are my thoughts on this... It's probably difficult to guess how much longer Vortex would have to live based on other Arrow Loopers- some of them are 10+ years older than Vortex and still going strong (mainly Loch Ness Monster and Corkscrews), but a few younger rides have already kicked the bucket by now as well. 25 years is said to be the standard for these, so technically every day Vortex operates beyond this point could be considered a bonus. The park certainly got their money's worth from the coaster over the years, especially considering it was bought at a discount thanks to the whole Original Bat fiasco. However, time won't do Vortex any favors, and at some point the ride just won't be able to hold up anymore due to fatigue and I don't think the park will spend tons of money just to keep an old ride like this going (it could even cost millions for repairs). At that point, the park will probably announce the day for the final rides, and soon after the last train of the final night enters the station one more time, demolition will begin. That will be a sad day, but it is probably coming- if it's not within the next decade at some point, I'll actually be surprised by how long Vortex would have lasted by then. 40 years for this ride is a real stretch IMO. The park will then have a BIG challenge- replacing a legendary roller coaster that was one of the park's iconic rides for so many years and beloved by millions of riders. A B&M Floorless Coaster seems like it would the the logical "successor", due to also being a large inversion-centric ride with great capacity (something the park would need with Vortex gone) though something else might go there instead (Blitz Coaster, GCI...???). If I were the park, I'd at least keep the old Original Bat station and use that for the new ride as well, possibly with pictures and descriptions of Vortex and the old Bat in the Que line to showcase the older rides that once took up said spot in the park, which would be a neat touch. If possible, even maybe keep a section of track or a car or something to use as scenery somewhere in the park. If you enjoy Vortex (I do myself), then I'd suggest riding it as much as possible- it might not go on that much longer. Which is really sad, but likely the truth. At the very least, when Vortex does go, it will leave behind a good rep as steel coaster that broke records, thrilled millions and didn't give its park any major issues through the years. Some rides cannot make that claim. For now, however, you can still get sent upside down 6 times at up to 55mph on Vortex. And the wait shouldn't be more than 20-25 minutes most days thanks to the great capacity. If you don't mind the headbanging, I'd take up that offer while you still can.

An update to this: the Intimidator name (both parks) will be back for at least 2016 and the possible future. This image should explain it all... http://www.coastercrazy.com/forums/download/file.php?id=6170&mode=view Well, so much for that rumor.

Yikes- the lead-based paint theory actually makes since, at least to me. It would also help explain why Six Flags demolished Rolling Thunder instead of RMC'ing it, since the RMC iron horse conversion would not have fixed said problem. The supports would have still had the lead paint in them. Kings Dominion did repaint Rebel Yell fairly recently, so maybe there could be some hope for Racer to get a similar treatment in the future- plus it isn't exactly in a spot where you could do much without another ride blocking the way (thanks to rides like Adventure Express and Flight of Fear). But looking at a Google Maps image of Six Flags Great America, I noticed American Eagle takes up a considerable plot of land. You could easily fit a decent-sized B&M (comparing it with X-Flight, the Wing Coaster next door) in its spot using only the area from the lift hills and not even jump the maintenance road (leaving room also for waterpark expansion if desired). It even looks like if Six Flags wanted to go really big they could fit a out-and-back Giga Coaster there (along with using some of the grassy spots nearby that are currently unused for that one). It is gonna stink if we end up losing more of these classic wooden coasters due to problems with their once-gorgeous paintjobs. It also makes me wonder (and fear)- how many other wooden coasters possibly have this issue? I know the natural-colored ones like Beast that never had it are probably safe, but there are still plenty of other white painted wooden coasters out there...

Oh Cedar Point, did you just leak your new roller coaster again on accident? It could be Gatekeeper all over again. If that is the real deal, it looks like one heck of a dive machine.

I'm 99.9% sure Kings Island is well aware of what Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World are doing, but I don't think Thunderbird or Storm Chaser are going to make Kings Island rush their next coaster. Banshee went over really well, and KI will probably want to take time and effort to make sure the next big coaster- whatever it is- will do just as well. I'd still say it will be 4-5 years after Banshee when the next coaster debuts. Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom also probably don't have the funds to drop these huge coasters all the time, or else they'd go bankrupt. Thunderbird and Storm Chaser could both potentially still be their respective parks newest big coasters by 2019, when Kings Island is expected to "go again" for their next big coaster based on the 5-year gap between Diamondback and Banshee.

Ehh, sorry for double post but I kinda felt this one needed its own. So here's a local news story from my neck of the woods (Central Indiana) on this: http://www.wthr.com/story/29588940/new-storm-chaser-to-recreate-wooden-coaster-feel-at-kentucky-kingdom "Will recreate wood coaster feel"...oh boy. Are some people in for a surprise if they have never ridden an RMC before because this should be NOTHING like a wooden coaster... And looking at the Facebook comments for it...ehh, wow, Ed Hart should NOT read these because they get pretty nasty. Then again I've seen nasty comments about nearly every other park so perhaps he shouldn't be too worried, but if he is trying to get people from here (Indiana) to come these aren't exactly the responses I think he'd want.

No Limits themselves just came out via Facebook and confirmed the reveal video as being made with No Limits 2. Well, I was wrong (I thought it was No Limits 1)- I guess the low frame rate threw me off. Link to their FB... https://www.facebook.com/nolimits.coaster?fref=nf

Well, while the coaster itself looks like it'll be awesome, I am a bit stunned the reveal video was so cheaply made. No Limits 1 and it seemed to run at 15FPS!?!? Wow, they really cut the budget for the announcement...thus I can say that video is probably not doing this ride justice. I'm also a bit suprised it's just a single-track RMC, as I was expecting something like Twisted Colossos and it to use both lift hills but it looks like it's only using one. At least it has a decent track length though- you seem to get a decently long ride here. And the name, while cool, seems to keep going with a Storm Theme following Thunder and Lightning Run, making me wonder what will be next should KK get to the point where they add another coaster...if they can get to said point. EDIT: Turns out it was actually No Limits 2. My bad.

Ironically, that Beast Night Ride I had with the lights on? It was also my sister's first night ride ever on Beast...after the ride, I looked over and told her those were supposed to be off. Thankfully, the next night ride (Haunt 2010) they were off and I have yet to see them on again...

^ I'd still be slightly worried, because even if RMC isn't a realistic option, they could still demolish American Eagle. See what happened to Rolling Thunder @ NJFTP... Not that I want this to happen though, but the way Six Flags has been dropping wooden coasters, it's very possible. And it scares me.

I can confirm that said lights were there at least since 2010- they are usually off, but sometimes are turned on. I would guess for maitenance/safety reasons as the time they were on during a Beast night ride I took, earlier that day the ride stopped for 10+ minutes (I was on a train on the brake run that long that time) and I saw an ambulance-kart thing drive away from the ride. That night, the helix was lit up, so I have to wonder if there was a minor injury or something...

Hmm...well, this is interesting. I was checking CoasterCrazy for No Limits tracks, and saw a forum post on the front page which had this Facebook post in it: http://www.coastercrazy.com/forums/download/file.php?id=6026&mode=view Could the end of the current name/theme of the two Intimidators be upon us? Since it is licensed (from Dale Earnhardt Inc.), the contract may be up and Cedar Fair might not renew it so I think it could be possible. I'd have to wonder what the rides could be renamed though- would they keep a similar name/theme, or separate the 2 new-for-2010 steel coasters with different names & themes...also, would they keep the 305 part of Intimidator 305's name in it somehow? 2016 already looks like it will be a very interesting year in the coaster world...

In a ironic twist, one thing I remember that as we hit the brake run on Voyage in 2011 my best friend looked over at me and stated: "You wanna know what Son of Beast was like? Like that." Later he did say SOB was a bit worse though.

While I don't hate Voyage (I actually do enjoy the ride), the roughness has been a issue for me as well every single time I rode it. 2010: 2 rides on Voyage, both via The Raven train that was being used due to the infamous Timberliner fiasco. Probably the best rides I ever had on the coaster- though I still needed to relax for around 10 minutes after each as it made my back a bit sore. 2011: 2 rides on Voyage again...and these were nowhere near as good. There was zero airtime on either ride, and it was far rougher than even 2010 to the point where my group stopped doing intense rides afterwards (though I was up for more laps on Raven or Legend, they weren't). The 2nd ride was probably the roughest I have had on any coaster to date. 2012: Didn't go to Holiday World in 2012. 2013: 1 ride on Voyage, and it started out promising- a very smooth first half with decent airtime. Got my hopes up. Then the post-MCBR ride smashed them by being as rough as 2011 with no airtime once again. Since the ride was only running 1 train and had a 30+ minute wait when everything else was a walk-on, I didn't ride Voyage again that day. We did go and re-ride Raven & Legend again though...both from the back. And both of those were awesome. 2014: Didn't visit Holiday World, had a Kings Island season pass that year. (PS: Banshee AWESOME. ) 2015: Have not been to Holiday World...yet...2015 isn't over. As for Legend, I really never have noticed much in the way of roughness- said laterals can be a wee bit painful at times, but nothing compared to what Voyage was doing. Raven ran a bit rough in 2013 but again was still far better in the smoothness regard than Voyage. I do still enjoy Voyage for its airtime and intensity, but have hated the fact my back always needs at least a 10-minute breather before I can even think of riding something else even slightly rough, which knocks it from where it probably may have been (#2-behind Beast, mainly 'cuz night rides) to #5 (behind Beast, Legend, Banshee, and Diamondback...and it should consider itself VERY lucky that Raven isn't 500 feet longer...) Oh and it'll probably fall further down my list should I be able to get to other amusement parks like say, Cedar Point or something. Right now, it's really just Kings Island and Holiday World I have experience with (I went to Indiana Beach as well but that was in 1999 and thus I have no idea what that park is like now)...