MDMC01

I went to SFGAM for two days in 2008 and enjoyed my time there. Raging Bull was actually my very first B&M Hyper and Superman was my first (and only) B&M Flyer. I remember enjoying most of the coasters (Batman, Whizzer and V2 were really good - V2's holding brake was interesting), but Iron Wolf was terrible and American Eagle was meh. Also, Dark Knight opened that year and was good, but not worth the 2 hour wait.

I heard a ton of them earlier when I was over in Anderson Township.

Nice! I had the cheese fries from Juke Box yesterday and they were great! They cheese was gooey and delicious and the fries were too. I made the trek to Area 72 to enjoy my lunch and it was great to sit there and watch Orion.

Ok, so after getting a better view of the site from The Beast's queue and riding The Beast, I really do not want a B&M Dive coaster there as Orion is so close. I'm not sure what could go there as the terrain is very unique and steep in parts. The field actually looks nice (though it is kinda randomly just... there). Maybe an RMC with some elements that reference Vortex (like recreating the famous batwing, perhaps?). A multi-launch could also work. Whatever goes there, it would be cool to preserve some of the field. Speaking of the field, while exiting The Beast, it's really cool to see that opening to the forest to the right of said field.

Speaking of food trucks, 1776 Grille is amazing! Also, I know the guy in charge of Empenadas Aqui (in the thumbnail). He is name is Brett and I was in youth group with him at my old church; his older brother Chris was in the worship band. Great guys!

Thanks! And yes, they were running two trains on The Bat yesterday.

Went to the park today from 11:15-6:30 ish and had a blast! I got to see and do a lot more than I did Opening Day. I started with Invertigo, which was more intense than I remember. After that, I headed to Drop Zone, which was great. Also rode Bat twice (2nd ride better than the first), Beast (rough and bumpy, but in the best way; also, I love that wooden coaster wood/grease smell!), Antique Autos, both sides of The Racer (the re-tracked parts were amazingly smooth!!!) and Mystic Timbers (which was very fun!). Also saw the 5:00 Busker Jam and thought it was a great and creative show. It reminded me of Stomp! (the people who drummed on trash cans from the 90's) mixed with Blood Drums and also bluegrass. I also want to note that while waiting in line for Beast, it was so weird seeing the field where Vortex once was. The weirdness is not from missing Vortex, but that the field is just... there. While riding and after the ride, I realized that the field has some interesting terrain to work with. I'm not sure what could or would go there; we'll just wait and see.... Finally, while it was crowded, lines were not terrible today. The Bat's line was long the first time I rode (also, the Juke Box line was long but at least it was shorter than the line it had on Opening Day), but wait times I experinced were not bad as lines kept moving.

Cool! So, is this where that boat dock (shipping area) was on the way to the settlements for Forbidden Frontier? In other words, where exactly is this in the park?

I had heard about this new footage... looking forward to seeing in in it's entirety whenever I get to ride Orion again. I didn't see any of the Quonset hut footage on Opening Day as (for the first ride) the TVs were silenced/playing FunTV and (for the second ride) shut off. I feel like this will add more to the theming.

Ok, this makes sense! Also, good to know!

Wow! I did not realize that the park still had (COVID) capacity limits.

Where did you see this? I knew it was on the chopping block for a while, and (if true), I'm glad I got my last rides on it in 2019. I really enjoyed that ride! Also, if the Gravity Group coaster is still going to Dorney (and Wicked Twister is indeed closing), that means we'll be losing 2 Inverted Impulse Coasters at once! Also, side-note, there are some really cool pictures of the ride on RCDB. EDIT: Was going to add that Valleyfair's would be the last of it's kind (aside from Flash/V2 at Discovery Kingdom, but I totally forgot that Vertical Velocity existed at Six Flags Great America. EDIT2: Just saw the tweets you were referencing. Maybe Tony's just having fun - or maybe it is closing. Guess we'll never know until it happens...

I think some of the songs from Skillet's album Alien Youth would be perfect for Area 72; specifically "Vapor" (for Flight of Fear) and "Eating me Away". Other songs that would be cool to hear from that album are "Kill Me Heal Me", and "Stronger". Vapor: Eating Me Away:

Oh yeah, I remember seeing a similar sign at one point (when Delirium was down for extended maintenance). I very much enjoy Delirium as well; it's very relaxing at times!

That's good to hear that it was testing at some point (it would be interesting to see it move without the disk spinning)! Everytime I went by on Saturday, Delirium was closed and not operating.

When walking by the site Saturday, it definitely felt like something was missing (in a logical way, not in a nostalgic/me missing the ride way, if that makes sense).

Ok, so after riding Orion yesterday, my answer is now a toss-up between Mystic and Orion. I don't know which one to pick as both give good ride experiences and have decent themes (it comes down to Mystic Timbers' quality of the theme vs. the Orion references and details; especially the Quonset hut!). After a few more laps on Orion (hopefully within the next few weeks) and after riding more rides at the park (only rode 3 yesterday due to crowds), I should have a more definitive answer.

Yeah, I was wondering that too.; that explains why the line was so long! Though I ended up getting out of line, I did see the new front car logo and it looked pretty cool.

I was not able to get a paper map (I was told someone had them at the front), however, I wanted to talk about a related thing - it seemed the wayfinder boards were off (probably because COVID), but there were really neat little directional signs attached to the boards that point to nearby rides/attractions. I thought this was pretty cool and creative.

I went today and had a great (but long, and at some points, tiring) day! It was the first time I had been back since NYE 2019 and Orion was certainly worth the wait. Despite the crowds (or, due to the crowds, rather), I also got 4 rides on The Bat (still the best, IMO - more thoughts on Orion in a bit) and 2 on Adventure Express. Food lines were crazy, so I went to Coney BBQ as the wait didn't seem as bad compared to the others. As I alluded to, I rode Orion for the first time today* and thought it was a really "fun" coaster. Yes, there are some thrills (like the floatjector air towards the end, which seems more pronounced at night), but overall it's a lot of fun (like Lightning Racer at Hersheypark). Unfortunately, it still does not beat out The Bat as the best coaster in the park. The location, nostalgia and thrill level (my rule of thumb is the further back you sit, the more intense/thrilling The Bat becomes) puts it above the rest IMO. Also, though the night ride on Orion was enjoyable (especially the hype leading up to it from those in line), other than the more pronounced airtime I mentioned earlier, I think it's better during the day. Finally, there were a lot of rides I did not get to due to the crowds that I would love to ride next time like Invertigo, Drop Zone, Racer and Beast. Also, Delirium was down all day, which was a bit of a bummer, but these things happen. Overall, it was packed, but it was so good to be back. Also, got to catch up with friends including @IndyGuy4KI, @electricsun, @Magenta Lizard and others. It's great to be back in the park again! *Specifically, I rode during the day in Row 6 (I think?) and at night in Row 4, both times in the seat closest to the exit. EDIT: I also wanted to say I noticed the new music playing over the speakers. Though it appears to be the same 10 or so songs, I liked the inclusion of BTS's "Dynamite" and that one weird sea shanty song that apparently was popular on TikTok (the song is called "Wellerman")? Other notable tracks include "Dance Monkey" (played right before said sea shanty tune), "Levitating" by Dua Lipa, "The Man" by Taylor Swift and "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. EDIT2: Correction: The "sea shanty" song is called Wellerman (I originally said the song was by Wallerman, which is incorrect)

It looks like Forbidden Frontier is making a comeback this season: https://www.cedarpoint.com/rides-experiences/forbidden-frontier-on-adventure-island

Here is an article I found talking about how theme parks around the world are handling operations during this pandemic: https://blooloop.com/theme-park/in-depth/guest-experience-post-covid/

Great write-up/explanation of how things work! (in bold) I think the only exception to the "static" performers at Spritsong would be Skillet (and maybe Red) as they use (or at least used to use) pyrotechnics. And some groups do have other cool effects such as For King and Country's

Awesome! I did not go to the park in 2020, so I may have to get one when I go!

I'm glad the French Corner from last year's Tricks and Treats stuck around! I hope they have baguettes.