BeastForever

I honestly have no problem with the ride... The name on the other hand...

Hence why I said "virtually", meaning "nearly, almost". They also technically didn't have (and still don't) a 4-D, wether it be full-size or zacspin, and at the time they didn't have a floorless or dive.

While I will agree $15 million did seem a little a pricey, especially when compared to what similiar GCI's built in the late 2000s cost, I would guess some of the extra cost had to do with carefully constructing it up and over the train and WWC. Also, they had to reroute the WWC entrance. It really is amazing how interwoven the layout is made into its area. Very space efficient, its almost as if it doesn't any significant land at all! -- EDIT: Also, inflation is a thing, and according to http://www.in2013dollars.com/2016-dollars-in-2008?amount=15000000...

I completely agree with you about KI having enough of those type of coasters. We are after all the "hanging coaster" capital of the world as it is already... To me, the experience offered by a wing coaster is not all that different from that of an invert. It's different of course. But not different enough IMO... Cedar Fair has added just one wing coaster in their history, five years ago, and even that was at a park that already had virtually every other type of coaster...

I've thought this for a long time and I'll say it now... The same mindset that's used by some to deride MT as a "weak, family coaster" is, to some extent, the same mindset that people used to deride Maverick when it was first revealed in 2006. It's best not to be decived by their statures (or lack thereof), as dynamite can (and does) come in small packages.

And all but 3 of those are 200 ft+ in height... Hyper/Giga coasters are to a park's lineup as first basmen and and designated hitters are to that of a baseball team, "the sluggers" if you will...

I wish I had more faith in Intamin as well. And more importantly, I wish Cedar Fair and Six Flags could have more faith in them, but fully acknowledge the reasons they can't... Europe, East Asia, and a handful of US parks appear to remain trustworthy of Intamin though...which I would consider a good thing... Thankfully, Mack has been gaining ground in the US market...and does make blitz-type coasters. However, I do hope that they'd be willing have one go into the 70 mph+ range if a park asks for said speed. Copperhead Strike tops out at 50 mph and Mack's fastest launchers top out at 62.1 mph (https://rcdb.com/r.htm?mk=6856&order=-19&ot=2). Gimmicky? Wicked Twister could fit this description perhaps, but then again it is just a shuttle (and a very good one at that IMO). Per Kinzel himself, it was meant to be a "fill-in" coaster, not anything extraordinary (https://www.coaster101.com/2016/01/12/book-review-dick-kinzel-biography/). Maverick on the other hand... I, as well as many others, would consider that coaster to be the furthest thing from "gimmicky".

Great TR, and nice job on the photos! Glad you had fun at HW... The statement I put in boldface pretty much sums up my thoughts of the first time I ever experienced the one and only Voyage.

There's a lot of fantastic-looking coasters to look forward to in 2019, but I the one I think I'm most intrigued by is Steel Curtain! Judging by the rendering it looks crazy enough BUT JUST LOOK AT THESE STATS Length 4,000 ft Height 220 ft Speed 75 mph Inversions 9 Duration 2:00 Elements Chain Lift Hill Corkscrew Dive Drop Cobra Roll Roll Over Zero-G Stall Corkscrew Cutback Is that a cutback I see? AWESOME!! -- And it's nice to see S&S put another dog in the race. Really, I think it's great whenever we see major coasters coming from all sorts of different manufacturers... Mack, Premier, B&M, Intamin, GG etc., you name it.... No single manufacturer can provide every kind of thrill...Not even B&M or Intamin..... Variety and diversity of ideas is what makes parks' coaster lineups complete

Correct. However, with FOF and BLSC both being Premier-built, there could be some convenience found in having a third coaster from the same manufacturer (when acquiring replacement parts and service). Ultimately though, I would think (and hope) that they go with Mack, for the reason you stated...

^And I was stuck in a Taxi Jam first time I rode it! With a character known as "Top Cat".

I think what many are forgetting is that there is still TONS of wide open, treeless land left over from SOB's former footprint. In fact, it's quite remarkable how little of its space was filled by Banshee...mainly where the lift-hill and inner-helix used to be.... Many have been calling for the removal of the former-DA trail. That would be a bad move IMO.... ...considering the fact there is plenty of room for a coaster (a Giga, even) found from SOB and Firehawk's former land, as well as the land in between them....

^ Same. As a general rule, I'm not a fan of any channel that takes unauthorized/illegal POVs. --- My overall favorite has to be Defunctland (if that counts). Lots of great info, and insight. Essentially, its videos are like mini-documentaries that recount the history of famous defunct rides/attractions.... The accounts on Son of Beast and Tomb Raider are quite definitive, and as mentioned above, a lot of the info for those come from none other than our own @bkroz!

Skyrush delivers that insane ejector airtime and the tight-knit transitions that's to be expected from an Intamin hyper. This B&M hyper on the other hand, I presume will offer a much different an experience: floater air, more graceful etc. It seems I am one of the few that think that these two hypers will make for quite a dynamic duo.

Cedar Point's last three coasters have been marketed as TALLEST, FASTEST, LONGEST .............[insert coaster type here] There was only like 6 or 7 wing coasters in the world when GK opened (and still aren't that many). There were just 3 B&M Dive Machines before Valravn. ---- All "first hyper-hybrid" means is that they built a steel hypercoaster, one of the dozens that have been built since 1989... but this is the first one that just happens to be supported by wood. Woop-dee-doo... ----- When Fury 325 opened as the tallest gigacoaster, all that means is tallest coaster under 400 ft. ----- Cedar Fair are the experts at creating "records".

That looks incredible. One of the best designs I've seen yet!

https://www.kiextreme.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=4401 Courtesy of KIE, here's a pretty clear photo of them.

Kentucky Kingdom. Where Else? Oh, wait... At 0:12 seconds....It's always hilarious to watch unsuspecting GPer's get on something like a Zamperla Flyer, or a Vekoma SLC....and them smiling and probably thinking "This looks fun!" And they even know idea what they've gotten themselves into!

... a seat 1-3 ride on Racer

From a strictly riding experience, I've always considered the Flying Dutchman model to be one of the (very) few things that Vekoma actually did quite well... Unfortunately for them, it was based on a concept that was always going to have inextricable reliability/capacity issues....thus resulting in it being iterated just three times. It's a shame those darn SLC's can't go instead...... --- Flying Dutchman: 3 ever made Suspended Looping Coasters: 41 !!! oh the horror make it stop ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

While I haven't agreed with much of anything that @Maverick44 has said on the matter, by no means would I say he is trolling. This discussion (so far) has been cordial, so I don't think its very nice of you to jump at him calling him a troll. Remember the summer of 2013 (The Great Flame War of '13 as I call it)? Now THAT was trolling... To anyone that doesn't remember, you don't know what real trolling looks like...

The loss of our beloved Mine Train would be beyond devastating. It would leave a hole in KI that could never be sufficiently filled

GateKeeper - 2013, Valravn - 2016, Steel Vengeance - 2018 3 coasters over 5 years, (in 6 total seasons). --- While anniversaries are fun to celebrate and attach sentimental meaning to them, its important to remember that in the context of when parks decide to make major investments, they're basically irrelevant... Parks are going to make investments simply when the time is right. Now, ocasionally it will just so happen that "big" coasters are put in during parks' anniversaries, but I would say these are just coincidences (see I305 for KD's 35th ann.) Why should CP rush to build yet another big ride/coaster for the year 2020, just because they happened to open in 1870. Let's say they just so happened to open in 1868, 1872, 1905, 1911, or 1946?... Should that have any bearing as to what they should do in 2018-2020? In KI's situation, why should they wait two more years to put in something that would benefit the park tremendously (a Giga) just because they just so happened to open in 1972? Lets say for some reason instead they opened in 1970? Would that make 2020 "the year"? Not too long ago, I used to think that anniversaries play a factor in the timing of parks' investments, but the more I thought about, the more I realized that its just not very rational. ------- The fact that B&M has already been contracted on a document for the years 2018-2020 makes me think their engineers spent this summer surveying the land and developing a design. If I had to guess, I would say that the design might even be completely finished as we speak, and waiting for final approval (if not, already approved). Construction may well very be "officially" starting sooner than we think. I would predict starting Day 1 of KI's offseason, the chainsaws are going to be revved up right away and those trees are going to be dropping like flies!

You will? Better find yourself a bookie (a coaster one) real fast!

If KI's planning on Giga for 2020, I don't think its going to be too difficult drawing people away from a park that gets a twice-recycled Vekoma flyer...