The Official Diamondback Thread

[Rustbucket]

To put it simply this is a punch in the face. I knew Cedar Fair would not build anything as high as the Millennium Force 310' with a drop of 300. But at least they could have given us something better than the Magnum and Son of Beast. The Magnum has been around since 1989 and it's highest drop is only 21' less than Diamonback. I'm not saying that I won't go to KI, I have had a gold pass since 2000 and was there yesterday but they said THINK BIG - THINK REAL BIG. To me, 215'is not REAL BIG.

My second favorite coaster is Magnum XL200. I have been on 177 coasters to date including MF, AC, and Raging Bull, and Goliath. Please do not tell people that height is what matters the most. Frankly, I would rather ride Boulder Dash, Ghostrider, and Renegade than Son of Beast any day even though these coasters are 1/2 of SoB's height. I would be very, very happy if Diamondback is as good as Magnum. If some of the drawings accurately translate into the ride itself (I do not see why not), Diamondback should have more air time than Magnum. Of all coasters I have ridden, Magnum still gives me the most airtime. If this is a punch in my face, I would love to have many more.

^ I was also shocked to see Son of Beast up there as well. Your right we do take rides like these for granted and compare them to something their not. Does anyone know how the CP fans talked about Maverick around their announcement?

I do not have the links but people were saying why CF is building such a non-descript ride. Many people thought Maverick will be a "filler" coaster until next big thing. Although I am not a great fan of Maverick, I still rate this coaster 11th favorite steel coaster and 21st overall (out of 177).

[TH13TEEN]

I just got back from the park and it was an awesome day. I can't wait for this thing to open. Being at the park for the announcement was great and the excitement was through the roof. The supports are yellow to attract attention to the ride and so people can see it from a distance.

Have you ever herd the syaing "Red and Yellow can kill a fellow?"

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

I heard the reason why the yellow supports are only on the lift hill is because they did not want the supports sticking out in the woods and ruining the experience

[RailRider]

The supports on the hill are to make it stick out in the park. The yellow and red will pop off the blue background. Primary colors after all.

The grey supports as mentioned before will help blend the ride in with the surroundings. Ever notice that a lot of communication towers and water towers are painted a grey or greyish blue? Thats so they blend in with the sky and surroundings. I would guess same idea here. You will be drawn to the track and not the supports. Should be a very cool look.

Kings Island next year will have 2 Hyper coasters in the park. SoB and DB. Also the only park in the world that has a Steel and Wooden Hyper Coaster.

[coolhandluke]

Hey, long time lurker, finally signed up.

First of all, this thing does look great. Ideal addition to KI.

For those of you talking about the rocks in the concept art around the splashdown, though, I wouldn't get too excited yet. Just because they're in the concept video doesn't mean they'll be in the final result. Take Maverick. The concept art also had rocks around the pond, a mine shaft over the first turn, and more rock structures/archways around the turns. They ended up with no mine shaft, gravel in place of big rocks, and less rocks than shown. That doesn't make it a bad ride at all (my favorite), but those illustrations are more for the ride itself.

Regardless, I love this ride already.

[teenageninja]

Maverick also had to go through a redesign after testing, costing more and probably the reason for removing some of the themeing. I'd also think they'd probably like to keep it similar to what the video shows. I know the forest won't be that full yet, but hopefully they plant some trees to cover up the dirt.

[Jonathan]

Diamondback is on all of them. I don't think people in this area realize how spoiled we are with having Kings Island and Cedar Point so close. 230 feet and 80mph is big. I predict it will win the Golden Ticket for 2009 Ride of the Year (or come in a close second behind Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit) and could very well appear on the top 10 Steel list.

I'm not sure Rip Ride and Rockit will win that. To me, the overall layout of the coaster is ugly.

[Jonathan]

Diamondback is on all of them. I don't think people in this area realize how spoiled we are with having Kings Island and Cedar Point so close. 230 feet and 80mph is big. I predict it will win the Golden Ticket for 2009 Ride of the Year (or come in a close second behind Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit) and could very well appear on the top 10 Steel list.

I'm not sure Rip Ride and Rockit will win that. To me, the overall layout of the coaster is ugly.

[welchce]

Diamondback is on all of them. I don't think people in this area realize how spoiled we are with having Kings Island and Cedar Point so close. 230 feet and 80mph is big. I predict it will win the Golden Ticket for 2009 Ride of the Year (or come in a close second behind Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit) and could very well appear on the top 10 Steel list.

I'm not sure Rip Ride and Rockit will win that. To me, the overall layout of the coaster is ugly.

Yeah, but I was thinking more about the overall experience (with the music). It seems like a nice idea I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[teenageninja]

Rip Ride Rockett looks pretty cool, but I think its going to have a lot of issues opening personally.

[coolhandluke]

Maverick also had to go through a redesign after testing, costing more and probably the reason for removing some of the themeing. I'd also think they'd probably like to keep it similar to what the video shows. I know the forest won't be that full yet, but hopefully they plant some trees to cover up the dirt.

Yes, I'm sure the heartline modifications didn't help with that. I just know those videos are made to have everything look its best. I would love to be surprised and have every single one of those rocks there. I do agree that they won't keep it a swimming pool, though I'll be cautious with my expectations for appearance on opening day.

[Jonathan]

If Diamondback delivers an amazing ride, then I really don't care about the theming of the ride. It can sit on a patch of dirt for all I care.

[teenageninja]

I think there is no doubt that as far as ride is concerned it will deliver, but if it's just sitting in a patch of dirt out there, I think that will severely detract from the ride.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

FYI, the Diamonback webcam is now online.

[RailRider]

Well a patch of dirt is better than a parking lot

[ZosoBeast]

I would assume gate prices wouldn't go up more than a dollar or two. I understand about fixed incomes, but even if gate went up 5 dollars (which it won't) that would be 20 dollars for a family of 4. I'm sure even with a fixed income you can swing an extra 20 dollars. Oh and before you ask, I'm a college student that pays all my bills, before you jump to conclusions.

You asked not to jump to conclusions, yet you go ahead and assume that that someone on a fixed income can "swing an extra 20 dollars" kinda sounds like a conclusion to me.

Just sayin....

Bill

PS: To the dude I met at the media gate yesterday, could you please send me a PM?

[Kawana]

I just got back from the park and it was an awesome day. I can't wait for this thing to open. Being at the park for the announcement was great and the excitement was through the roof. The supports are yellow to attract attention to the ride and so people can see it from a distance.

Have you ever herd the syaing "Red and Yellow can kill a fellow?"

Have not heard that, but it sounds interesting. What's that aboot, anyway?

[Tchu]

There's an old saying about Coral and Milk Snakes, both of which are black/red/yellow striped. It's to help identify them by the placing of their stripes

Coral snakes are highly poisonous... "If red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow"

Milk snakes are non-venomous... "If red touches black, you're OK, jack."

As it relates to the coaster itself... can't wait to ride this thing. Looks amazing.

I do have a couple disappointments. 1) I would have liked to have maybe seen a tunnel or two on the coaster, but i guess the splashdown feature sorta replaces a tunnel element. 2) I was a bit disappointed with the 215 foot drop. I believe (though much steeper) this drop is only a foot or two higher than SoB, and just ten feet or so taller than SoB. I wouldn't exactly call that "towering over" every other ride in the park.

Nonetheless, I love the name, love the look (so glad this isn't a brightly rainbow colored B&M ala Nitro and Behemoth), love the layout. Here's hoping they really do theme the splashdown as it is in the concept art, and get some trees and grass transplanted into the area they cleared, once the coaster is built!

[Jonathan]

Anyone notice that on each train the fins are a different color?

EDIT

I do have a couple disappointments. 1) I would have liked to have maybe seen a tunnel or two on the coaster, but i guess the splashdown feature sorta replaces a tunnel element. 2) I was a bit disappointed with the 215 foot drop. I believe (though much steeper) this drop is only a foot or two higher than SoB, and just ten feet or so taller than SoB. I wouldn't exactly call that "towering over" every other ride in the park.

If you look at the concept art, the 2nd drop drops farther down than the first drop. I think we have nothing to worry about.

[HTCO]

Looks like cross braces are up...

[teenageninja]

Bill,

Your right it was wrong for me to assume. However, I feel that $20 is a pretty small amount and thought it would be fair to say that based on these circumstances.

1) Every family has some sort of unnecessary item that they purchase be it alcohol, tobacco, carbonated beverages, that could be cut for a few weeks to save on a planned visit.

2) A majority of employers will allow employees to work overtime, allowing them to make extra income

3) Discounts are often available to offset the cost of rising gate prices.

These were the factors I took into consideration and for someone who is struggling financially much more than most, I feel it was a safe statement to make.

Moving on:

I did not notice the fins were different colors. Did I see green, red, and black?

[RailRider]

I have a feeling this monster will go up fast. Perfect weather to build.

[Jonathan]

I did not notice the fins were different colors. Did I see green, red, and black?

I think it's red, green, and brown.

Also, will they build the final break run first or will they build both the splash down in the trough and the final break run first?

[HTCO]

They will probably build anything that doesn't go over the midway.

[KIBeast]

There's an old saying about Coral and Milk Snakes, both of which are black/red/yellow striped. It's to help identify them by the placing of their stripes

Coral snakes are highly poisonous... "If red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow"

Milk snakes are non-venomous... "If red touches black, you're OK, jack."

As it relates to the coaster itself... can't wait to ride this thing. Looks amazing.

I do have a couple disappointments. 1) I would have liked to have maybe seen a tunnel or two on the coaster, but i guess the splashdown feature sorta replaces a tunnel element. 2) I was a bit disappointed with the 215 foot drop. I believe (though much steeper) this drop is only a foot or two higher than SoB, and just ten feet or so taller than SoB. I wouldn't exactly call that "towering over" every other ride in the park.

Nonetheless, I love the name, love the look (so glad this isn't a brightly rainbow colored B&M ala Nitro and Behemoth), love the layout. Here's hoping they really do theme the splashdown as it is in the concept art, and get some trees and grass transplanted into the area they cleared, once the coaster is built!

It doesn't tower over SOB, but it does tower over anything remotely in that area, not to mention towering over all steel coasters in the park.

[teenageninja]

I would imagine the station track will go in first, along with the track in the back behind The Crypt. The track over the path and over the train will probably be installed in late August/September while the park is closed for days.

[pyrocoasterkid]

I would say the colors have nothing to do with the whole "if read touches yellow" rhyme. Neither of those snakes has anything to do with a Diamonback, which leads me to believe the park did it just to make it stand out. Either way, I really like it.

Also, jonathon, if you read the stats, the 2nd drop is not bigger than the 1st, even though it does drop into the valley (I'm not totally sure if this is what you were saying, but I'll clarify anyway). The hill isn't as tall and almost drops as far, but not quite. The 1st drop is 215' and the 2nd drop is 193'. Which is still pretty huge for a 2nd drop.

[raptor]

Wow, complaining that the ride is only 30 feet taller than Magnum, IMO Magnum is still one of the 3 best coasters in the world. Of course Magnum doesn't splash you with water at the end (to it's credit), but for anyone not to be excited about this ride is nuts, would you rather Paramount was still here, maybe we could get another Italian Job instead.

One of the things I love about Magnum is despite being a Hyper Coaster in excess of 200 feet it still has the chain pull up the hill giving you the slow climb and lots of time to think about how high your going and take it all in. I could ride that ride all day!

[teenageninja]

All B&M hypers have a chain lift. I agree though, it builds a lot of anticipation plus ride time.

[HandsUp]

So, does this coaster compare at all to Maverick?

If you're into car racing, I'd compare the Millenium Force to NASCAR, and Maverick to Formula 1. The MF is very fast, smooth, lots of airtime-and the main movement is up and down-with big banking turns. The Maverick is also fast-and pretty smooth, but much more twists and turns, and inversions crazy acceleration and you feel like your contantly changing directions in 3 dimensions.

I love them both, but the Diamondback will be much more like MF. This is really what KI needed. I wrote them a manifesto of sorts a while back after a stinker of a visit (in the PKI days)...the main point was that they have the real estate and need to use it...primarily by putting in a long, fast, steel coaster that goes through the woods. It took the park changing hands-but I feel like my plea has been answered!