Ok I retract. I don't do Marineland. Not until they fix their dismal exhibits, (especially for their deer) send out some of them belugas (they have around 30+ there) and move Kiska out to another park (preferably SeaWorld). After their fall out with SeaWorld, who knows what is going to happen to miss Kiska now.

They really need new management. I do not like their GM. The way he publicly presented himself during the fight with SeaWorld...not professional, very childish individual for being in what? his 70's?

We all knew that was coming from you haha

I'm probably the only one here that will say the man made a certain former CEO look like a prince at times, imo.

Where is this park at?

Marineland of Canada. Its located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

So if I go up to Niagra on my way to Wonderland that park is on the way and I should avoid spending money there?

If you like rides with sketchy maintenance placed what seems like miles from each other, animals and fishes displayed and cared for in highly suspect ways, then you'll love the place.

But wait, I thought everyone loved Marineland!

There's a place I know in Ontario... where Friendship Cove was "something new" for, like, five years...

Six Flags Great Adventure on Facebook :

"Flowers may not be in bloom quite yet, but there is certainly something orange popping out of the ground in Jackson!"

Photo : Six Flags Great Adventure via Facebook

Big Droppy Thing!

4 more months til I'll be on it!

Goliath Insider Update at Six Flags Great America - March 14th, 2014

[insert awesome photo here]

Photo : Six Flags Great Adventure via Facebook

Walkin' in an INTAMIN wonderland...

Seriously, THAT just looks like heaven right now. Can't wait for mid-June(when I will be going)!

Goliath Insider Update at Six Flags Great America - March 14th, 2014

Perm Movie

Nice steel coaster.

Steel track = steel coaster

Wood track = wood coaster

So there for...

Topper track(has wood in it) = wood coaster

Iron Horse track(no wood) = steel coaster

Why is that hard or confusing.

I am not touching the freefall debate.

You categorize your way. Of course it seems right. To you.

Steel coaster.

My way. Seems right to me.

Topper track(has wood in it) = wood coaster

Topper Track as steel on it as well. Where is the line drawn?

^The Racer's track(s) have a thin steel rail on them. So The Racer is a steel roller coaster(s) too, right?

Six Flags Great Adventure on Facebook :

"Flowers may not be in bloom quite yet, but there is certainly something orange popping out of the ground in Jackson!"

Photo : Six Flags Great Adventure via Facebook

Is anybody familiar with how the new structure is being connected onto the existing structure here? I'm a bit confused about how it's being put together. It almost looks like the existing 3 footers have been drilled into and the new beams are going into them. I don't see any areas where they've been bolted together like all of the other supports.

The same thing happens higher on the structure where the horizontal beam meets the back of the original three supports.

I have a friend who argues coaster type based on support structure. Therefore, to him, The Voyage is steel and Adventure Express is wooden. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I can't help it if he wants to be wrong.

My approach? If 50% or more of the composition of the TRACK is steel, it's steel. Otherwise, it's wood. Simple. With topper track, a steel box replaces 4 of the 8 layers of wood. Those 4 layers are also a bit longer because the upstop wheels need a place to... upstop. Therefore, more than 50% steel, it's a steel coaster. This also prevents the thin steel strip that pretty much all wooden coasters ride on from pushing them into the "steel coaster" category.

And that's nothing against topper tack coasters. I view them as steel coasters with wooden supports. One of my all-time favorite coasters is a steel coaster with wooden supports.

Six Flags uniform has changed this year from the bright neon yellow to a blue color.

Did they get rid of the ridiculous anti-littering message? I mean, I get the idea, but... really?

I don't think there were any messages on them. I might need to take another few more trips to find out for sure though.

Well, according to their facebook, SFGam just topped off Goliath not too long ago...here are their pictures from it:

Yeah, I'm really thinking (even more so) after seeing these pictures that calling this a true wooden coaster is really stretching it...it DOES look like an awesome ride though. Though I must ask, why the heck can't Six Flags have its major attractions ready in time for their park's opening days!?!? (They really did start very late on building this ride and some of their other new-for-2014 attractions as well...but why?)

^ The reason I, at least, doubt that it's a wooden coaster is not because of the lift support structure. If that were the case, then Adventure Express would be wooden and Voyage would be steel. To me, it's because of what's between the road wheels and the upstop wheels. If you check out RMC's topper track page, you can see that what is between the road and upstop wheels is steel, not wood. Other folks tend to argue that the rest of the track is wood, so it should be considered wood. To me, Goliath is every bit of a steel coaster as Arrow Mine Trains that have their steel rails mounted on wooden ledgers. Outlaw Run is as steel as Goliath is as steel as Iron Rattler is as steel as Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Topper track is a clever invention that has been used to make or improve some great rides, but it's steel track through and through.

The distinction between wood and steel coasters no longer makes sense.

That being said, I'm sure Goliath will be a fine steel coaster.

And then to further complicate things, you can take a coaster that's clearly wood and put topper track only on high-stress sections, which basically means some of the track is wood and some is steel.

Terpy's right- in the last decade or so, the line between wood and steel has really blurred.

I'm reduced to sputtering, as Potter Stewart famously did in 1964 of obscenity, "I know it when I see it!"

You both make good points, because rides like Tremors and Georgia Cyclone do kind of introduce a gray area. When do those rides become considered steel instead of wood? When more than half of the tracks are topper track-ed? Does having one inch of wood track left on 7,000 feet of an otherwise steel roller coaster still make it a wooden coaster? I guess does really come down to how you personally feel about it.

The video of one of the tallest steel coasters at Six Flags Great America, Goliath, being topped off yesterday......