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Tony Clark joins us this fine Sunday for TT2 Pit Stop E6. Key takeaways: vertical construction is now complete, so there are now not 1x but 2x 420 ft tall towers. The weather has started to turn cold but it's still far from the worst of a Lake Erie winter, so it was good for the Adena and Bay Crane crews to get that done now. Also, there is currently one uniquely configured train loaded on via the maintenance/storage track. Unique in that it contains blue cars 1 and 5, hot (or is it cold?) off the IAPPA show floor. Cars 2-4 are actually from silver train. During normal operation, there will be 3 trains 5 cars long. One will have 5 blue cars, another 5 silver cars, and the final 5 black cars. Blue cars 1 and 5 were already stateside for IAAPA so they were Ready to Go, and silver 2-4 also arrived from Italy. So the mix and match is what they're going with for initial testing of the mechanical systems. They clearly want to get as much done as they can now in hopes that this prototype is ready to go in May. Soon, they'll test moving the trains in and out of storage, both the track switches, through the station, through the launch track, etc. Gotta test everything at low speed for clearance, wiring/programming, etc, then ramp up to full speed. Probably too cold to see a proper launch sequence that clears the top hat before spring, but anything is possible, especially on an unseasonably warm day... But the more they run through and fine tune now, the more time there is for full speed launch tests in the spring.

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Michael Maney, VP Construction, is back for TT2 Pit Stop E5. Top hat painting is 100% complete, mostly just the station left to go... and Power Tower! TT2's tallest neighbor is also getting a makeover. LSMs are all in place, wired up, and undergoing testing. Confirmed as InTraSys, working alongside the Zamperla team for programming the launch/controls systems. "Trains" are on site, only blue is shown with cars 1 and 2 uncovered, fresh from the IAAPA show floor. He says loading the trains on the track, testing, and commissioning will occur "soon" and steel erection for the spike should be done in "a couple weeks". Could we actually see testing before those Lake Erie winters show up?

Android version was last updated yesterday, November 18, same as the iOS version. It has the updated design (though they were lazy and used iPhone frames for the screenshots..). Both are on 8.0.2, only a few days after the release of 8.0, so someone rushed them out just a bit... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cedarfair.carowinds&hl=en_US&gl=US

Note that Orion is a B&M, so it's a completely different team building the trains. It's also important to note that these aren't just mockups, these are actual train cars that Zamperla will be sending off to Sandusky for TT2. One would expect that if seat belts were a design requirement, then they would've been incorporated at Zamperla's facility in Italy. Of course, anything is possible. It could be that they plan to attach them later. Or, someone could make a last minute decision. Not that that's ever happened at Cedar Point before (*ahem* WildCat removal *ahem).

See the linked blog post... Of course Zamperla will have a lead car for TT2 at IAAPA! (Although Tony keeps referring to a train, it remains to be seen if they will bring more than a car.)

https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/tt2-construction/top-thrill-2-construction-updates Lots going on in the latest blog update. This is going to be a change of scenery on Iron Dragon for sure. Head chopper effect, or?

The Saudi PIF will be the owner and (apparently) operator of the property. It will be under a license agreement with the SIX brand, and the park is said to be designed/developed by SIX. So the layout, rides, theme, etc. will be of SIX's design, but the park will be owned and operated by the PIF. As for what would become of the park under the FUN Six Flags, that remains to be seen. https://investors.sixflags.com/news-and-events/press-releases/2018/04-04-2018-220015471

They might as well have gone full April Fools' on us, yep.

The part of this that gives me any hope is that, this time around, it's Cedar Fair looking to acquire Six Flags. They're keeping Sandusky and Charlotte corporate offices, Zimmerman is (for now, for better or worse) sticking around, presumably they're keeping CFEC P&D and corporate culture. Remains to be seen how well the two integrate in regards to culture, of course. Yes, the (initial) board will be split between the two merging entities, but the board is more responsible for the general direction of the company and approving capex plans whereas management is more responsible for operations and planning. Wish they weren't planning on taking the name, but hopefully they're smart enough not to throw it on the legacy CFEC parks. Each park having its own identity is beneficial to the parks, IMHO. It also makes it clearer that the rides and attractions at one park in the chain may be wildly different from another. If there were Six Flags Over Michigan and Six Flags Over Sandusky, one might expect a similar experience. It's generally understood that Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure are not at the same scale, however.

Presently, there are two distinct entities looking to merge - 1) Cedar Fair, and 2) Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. Both entities are the source of the information in this release. It seems that is what they are referring to. However, perhaps you could reach out to the listed media contact at the PR firm and inquire as to whether they plan to use that as a combined name, but it is not clear.

TT2 Pit Stop Episode 3 was just posted. The ride is coming along nicely. Interesting to note that the LSMs extend all the way to the start of the curve for the spike. Also the modern proximity switches look like they don't extend as far above the track...

Something like 8 states require salary range transparency, with many more considering it. NY is the latest. However, of those states, some only require employers provide it upon request. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/quick-facts-about-state-salary-range-transparency-laws/

Not disputing that, they are not exactly known for the most competitive of pay. Just pointing out that the numbers shown are an algorithmic estimate only. That would not surprise me.