SonofBaconator

The majority of us are Cincinnatians or people who grew up in the greater Cincinnati region. We like what we like. You don't have to comment on every little thing.

A weird request but with the loss of Firehawk I'd gladly take X-Flight at Six Flags Great America. Its not overwhelmingly big but still features 5 inversions and some pretty awesome near miss elements.

Knott's has been upping the theming for a lot of their rides these past few years. It would be nice to see that practice extended to us. Before Paramount KI was really good at theming. Ironically when the movie company took over, the theming started to decrease in quality. Cedar Fair has been chipping away at Paramount's handy work and we're starting to see a lot of character return to the park (2019 was the best example of this). Adventure Express, as well as all of Oktoberfest, should get some love. The ride itself is turning 30 next season after all.

I got my movies mixed up. I had RotLA in my mind for some reason

And what of the final tunnel?

Here's a really good picture of #552 when it operated at Kings Dominion. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/steam-kings-dominion-continental-1825848621

I believe the boilers are limited to how many hours they can operate a year which could be why they opt to not run them during Haunt in favor of Winterfest. A third locomotive could help disperse those hours up and allow for haunt operations to return if they ever needed it. I honestly think they need to bring the train back with how crazy Haunt gets every season. Cedar Point has 4 locomotives at their disposal which is awesome if one goes down for repairs. In Worlds of Fun's case, I'm sure having a second locomotive helps out a lot. Still it would be fun to see us acquire a 3rd locomotive, even if its temporary.

I think mine trains in general have that unofficial tie to Indiana Jones. The whole runaway mine train concept isn't anything new but I think Raiders of the lost Ark ultimately made it popular. I don't know how you can have Adventure Express truly fit in with Oktoberfest without retheming either the ride or the section. Truth be told the ride doesn't currently display a tie to a specific region until you enter the final tunnel (except for the snake in the 2nd tunnel).

We pull in over 3 million visitors annually. We need capacity

Fun fact, they have the same Vekoma collection as Canada's Wonderland. I didn't know Herschend operated this park either. It seems like a cool park but they have animals which Cedar Fair doesn't really work with. If I'm Cedar Fair I'd try to look for parks that have a waterpark; a resort too if possible. I keep bringing up Adventureland because it could help the chain sell more platinum passes in the midwest while still collecting revenue from the park and the resort. I feel like people are more willing to buy platinum passes if they have more parks within a closer proximity to them. If I lived in Des Moines and found out I could go to Adventureland as well as Worlds of Fun and Valleyfair, I'd be a happy camper.

Breaking records only works from a marketing standpoint. The more records your coaster breaks, the more marketable it becomes. I'll beat a dead horse and use my floorless example. Lets say Kings Island gets the world's tallest, fastest, and longest floorless coaster. The words "tallest" "fastest" and "longest" are easily marketable to the general public- which are the main target after all. Cedar Point excels at this because nearly every single coaster addition breaks some type of record therefore making them more marketable. For example, Valravn was built as the world's tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster. When Yukon Striker came along, Valravn was simply remarketed as the tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster in the USA. GateKeeper used to feature the world's tallest inversion and even after Steel Curtain came along to take that record away, GateKeeper still retained its respective wing coaster records. Some people might call it gimmicky but it works. I don't mean to contradict what I previously said about KI not looking to break records and instead opting for quality over quantity. I think its subjective to what the park wants. Cedar Point needs to add record breakers every few years because that's the legacy they've built and that's how they want to keep people coming in. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, we don't need to focus on breaking records in order to bring in guests as its not crucial to our survival.

Okay when you say it like that it makes a lot more sense and really paints a picture as to what rides we should expect to leave down the road

How so? I've never been and only know so much based off of YouTube videos and such Side note I still think Adventureland would be a solid move.

So in theory for some of our baselines would be: The Bat- 2013 Backlot- 2025 Invertigo- 2019 Flight of Fear- 2016 I'm not questioning your logic or Cedar Fair's policy but wouldn't 30 years be a more accurate baseline assuming reliability isn't an issue?

I don't mean to make a thread for every potential coaster design that could come to the park but there have been quite a few members that have been talking about the possibility of a dive coaster coming for quite some time. Whether one arrives to replace Vortex, one arrives at the end of the 2020s or possibly later, or not at all is still up for debate. Their popularity among the GP, however, can't go unnoticed which is why many members argue that we'll eventually receive one. With that being said I open up this discussion about Dive coasters!

According to Wikipedia, Sheikra has 5 trains. I don't recall how many operated when I went back in 2012. I don't know if all can run without stacking or if they alternate trains throughout the year; part of me thinks the latter since they operate year round.

Maybe someone can answer this for me before the announcements- why doesn't St. Louis get more love? Almost every Six Flags park has an RMC or a 4D freespin (most of the time both) but St. Louis seems to be the odd one out.

Location can make or break a park. Cedar Point's proximity to Lake Erie makes the drive worth it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Worlds of Adventure's constant desire to expand as opposed to investing in infrastructure ended up backfiring on them since they kept building up a park that was already hard to get to.

I wonder if Wicked Twister will last through the decade. It doesn't take up a lot of space to warrant a removal in that sense but if Cedar Fair is continuing the trend of removing Intamins, axing Wicked Twister would make the most logical sense.

Double post: How do y'all think CGA will do in the 2020s? Do you think they'll be a priority park with its current place in the Northern Cali market or do you think CF will keep it a mid-tier park. I personally see a lot of potential with this park, but I'm not in the amusement park business either.

I don't know why CP never opted for a double loading station with Valravn. From a capacity standpoint it would help out a lot. If KI ever got a dive, whether it be a 6 seater or 8, I'd like to see a double loading station utilized to increase capacity.

You mentioned how expensive SOB and TRTR were which ultimately hurt the park money wise. Personally, I don't see the need to invest in an experimental ride if the cost is going to be too high. Its one thing to invest more money in a tried and true model but both SOB and TRTR were pioneers in their own right when it came to pushing the limits of thrills. I think there has to be certain questions asked before a coaster or thrill ride can be qualified for a KI install in my opinion: Does the manufacturer have a solid track record? Will the ride operate with minimal downtime while providing a safe experience? Will the risk we take be worth the return on investment? Son of Beast was built from a manufacturer that didn't have a solid track record, the ride did not provide a safe experience, and the risk was certainly not worth the investment. Apply those earlier questions to the last 4 ground up installs we've gotten. Diamondback, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and Orion all come from manufacturers with great track records, they operate with minimal downtime and are incredibly safe, and I'd say they got the return on investment (maybe not Orion just yet but I 100% attribute that to Covid). Unfortunately, SOB and TRTR ruined the chance for the park to take further risks. B&M and GCI are companies that manufacture roller coasters that have a very small risk of failure which is why we have them. I've stated somewhere else on here that taking risks isn't necessarily wise in this market anymore if you're trying to minimize downtime and boast reliability. Some people might criticize a park for not willing to take risks but at the end of the day, the less risks you take, the more money you make.

^I wouldn't necessarily mind if they painted over the yellow and kept the supports a consistent white/bone color

The Scary Farm part interests me. I know they go all out for Halloween but I didn't know that event was responsible for a good chunk of the park's profits Regarding Carowinds, do you see them going year round like they've mentioned? I don't think Charlotte is in the right climate to justify year round operations but then again I've never been to Charlotte in the winter. I personally feel like they lack some key components to make them year round: One would be lack of dark rides. When the weather gets bad, whether it be from rain or cold temperatures, you almost need a few dark rides that can operate independently from mother nature. Two would be lesser attendance. KI, CP, and CWL all pull in well over 3 million annually where as Carowinds pulls in over 2 million (according to Wikipedia anyway so take that how you will). I know Charlotte is experiencing a lot of growth and Cedar Fair wants to capitalize on that, but I personally don't see the urge to make a park year round if the attendance to beat is over 2 million. Three would be variety. Yes they have Fury, Copperhead Strike, Intimidator, and Afterburn but I still think they need to keep building in order to want people to come year round. They still have more dated coasters like Vortex, Nighthawk, and Hurler which don't seem to fit if they're trying to become the "Cedar Point of the South." I also think they need to focus more on family oriented attractions as well. Believe me I'm not bashing Carowinds at all and I hope they succeed on all fronts, but I don't see them as a year round park anytime soon. Maybe by the 2030s but they still have a lot to do in my opinion.

I didn't say anything about Intamin. You asked why people liked Macks so much and I said because they're reliable. Not necessarily, it could even go sooner. I googled "Sheikra" (which features a double train load station) and the 2nd train is about halfway up the lift by the time the 1st train is dropped. I think in reality the 2nd train can be dispatched once the 1st train crests the lift. I suggested to dispatch after the holding break to prevent stranding passengers. On Sheikra, there's no block between the lift and the holding break. If you look at the last picture you'll see the 2nd train stuck at the top because the 1st train didn't make it to the holding break.