RC98

^ Our ferris wheel is too tall to be simply a 'Big Wheel'! I found myself generally choosing themed names (but not intellectual properties) over generic ones and shorter names over longer ones.

^ That looks awesome, but the coolest part is that might not even be the best part of the ride! For me that would be this: Shows just how many great elements this ride will have!

I think that the redo of Lakefront next year is sort of a test for what they will do with Old Country. If next year goes well then I see us getting the dueling launcher in the Chiller spot in either 2017 or '18. The 'no dead areas' ideology, the opening of the area as a path this year, and the proposed layout for the dueling coaster in the survey all seem to point to it.

Yes, although the park wasn't super crowded it certainly helped for the amount of rides I wanted to get in. Thanks! I agree the Air Jumbo sign is pretty bad, the sign itself plus the fact that it was slapped on top of the operator booth shows that they didn't really put much effort into it. Especially since we've seen plenty of good signs from the park, they can definitely do better.

I finally got out to the park for a visit, and enjoyed myself a lot! When I got there I found long lines at the entrance, but using the new 'guests without bags' line I got in within a decent amount of time. All rides open today! Also notice a typo in the name for one of the rides? Seeing the amount of people at the gate I immediately got a Platinum Flash Pass since this was likely my only visit for the season. I would end up making good use of the double riding privileges during the day. The first ride I reserved for the day was Kingda Ka, and I took the Skyride over from the Flash Pass booth to the other side of the park. Ka was a great first coaster for the day, love the launch, drop, and the view at the top; I rode in the second row. After the first ride I stayed on for my second one but when we were waiting on the launch track the ride broke and we had to be rolled backwards into the station. Next was Zumanjaro, which I was riding for the first time. I loved this ride, drop towers are my favorite non-coaster rides! Since the next reserve time my Flash Pass was giving me was only one minute later, I just waited for a minute next to the Flash Pass merge point and rode again! Next I reserved El Diablo, which I walked right on as a single rider with the flash pass. It had a really short wait anyway, probably only one cycle. I thought the spiel about 'entering the seventh circle' and the evil laugh when it hangs upside down were pretty cool, but other than that I really didn't find the ride anything special. Probably not something I would wait in line for. Next I rode El Toro in the back row using the Platinum Flash Pass, they stopped the ride to put the second train on while I was next to load which was interesting to watch. It was as good as always, love the first drop in the back and the ejector air on the RT hill. Next was lunch, I tried the new Macho Nacho and found it very good! I ordered a chicken and cheese quesadilla which was hot and tasty, which came with chips and (a very flavorful) salsa. It was also nice seeing the Mets game on the bar TVs! Before eating I couldn't resist reserving El Toro again and getting in two more rides, this time in the second to last row. After lunch I reserved Ka again to make up for only getting one ride before, this time I got both of the two rides the pass entitled me to. Again in the second row and just as fun as last time. Next was Superman, which using the pass allowed me to ride twice. I love the forces in the pretzel loop, and I find the inline twist at the end to be fun too. The operations were really good at this coaster, barely stacking the trains at all! Next I reserved Green Lantern, but only rode once. I didn't find it to hurt my legs as much as it did last year but I still like the other coasters in the park better. Next I rode the log flume using the flash pass, riding once. This is still one of the best flumes in a seasonal park, the trip through the woods is nice and I got pretty wet too, without the splash cannons! After was Bizarro, using the flash pass and riding twice, I forgot how good this coaster is. The fire worked today too! The operations were slow, but the operator at the panel seemed to be trying to help move things along, calling out the rows with the shortest waits to try to get more people on each train. After was Nitro, using the flash pass to ride twice. Even though B&M hypers have advanced since this ride, it's still one of my favorites. The helix is still the only thing on any coaster that makes me gray out. The operations were horribly slow at this coaster, however. The trains nearly always double stacked! The last two rides I reserved were Skull Mountain and Skyscreamer, both ridden only once. Skull had more light in it than I remember in the past (seemed to be leaking in from the front of the building) but the music and effects were all working. Skyscreamer also had its music playing, but I couldn't tell what the song was. A couple of final pics from my visit: Survey markings in Lakefront, old Festival Stage completely gone Air Jumbo has a sign! Don't think this has been reported on here yet. Final Ride Count: El Toro-4x Kingda Ka-3x Nitro, Superman, Bizarro, Zumanjaro-2x Skyride, Log Flume, Green Lantern, Skull Mtn., Skyscreamer, El Diablo-1x

^ I think there's still plenty of time for them to clear out the area and put a new ride in for next year, especially with the park's history of Memorial Day or later openings for new rides. In terms of parts on site I'll take pictures if I see anything when I go to the park tomorrow.

I think one of these is necessary right now: We're discussing a theme park, lighten up a bit

^ Sounds great! Good luck on restoring it!

I have to agree with this assessment as it is why I had been posting less and less until now. To refer to Daved's terms, it has nothing to do with being "politically correct," it's just that arguing online until I'm blue in the face isn't enjoyable to me. Since I should finally be heading out to the park for the first time of the season this Sunday I'm looking forward to seeing things for myself.

Thanks jdc12192 and Brian for the advice! Right now I think I'm going to hold off on getting a flash pass and instead get on a few rides at opening to feel out the lines. Additionally the weather forecast right now calls for a chance of scattered thunderstorms which I'm hoping might make the park a bit less crowded. If I get a flash pass it will probably be the Gold level so it could cut off from the wait times. Thanks again!

I'm visiting the park this Sunday for what is likely my only trip for the season. Since this is my one trip for the year I'd like to get on all the major rides (coasters plus Zumanjaro, Skyscreamer, and El Diablo for me). I will have from park opening until 7 PM latest. What level of Flash Pass (if any) would you say is necessary for me to buy? I'm willing to get whatever level is necessary in order to get on all the rides I want.

^ I'd love a mega-lite! They look really fun and would add to our collection. ^^ I agree, I don't think we need any more B&Ms. With all the other types of coasters out there, such as mega lites, multi launchers, RMCs, and the 4Ds, there definitely isn't a shortage of other coasters to build that are within Six Flags's price range.

^ I don't know Busch Gardens's park layout, but we definitely do have our share of disjointed paths. As for the cleared area, something seems off to me. I don't think a free spin would take up the whole space. I'm starting to wonder if this will be a multiple ride expansion to round out the Lakefront rather than just the free spin.

I enjoyed reading your thoughts Xander! I have a few comments as well: 1. I definitely agree with you about the advertisements in the park. I hate the train wrappings, the ads on Twister are even worse. And that's not even including "Plymouth Rock Assurance Arena" and all the random Jersey Boys stuff throughout the park. Ideally, there would be no ads in the park at all, but in reality even Disney has them. IMO the park should just make them more subtle, for example at the entrance to Twister have a small sign saying "Twister is sponsored by Twix" rather having the ugly wrapping on the ride. Sort of like this: Instead of this: 2. It's interesting that a lot of the things you refer to, such as the trash floating in the fountain, dumpster screens being left open, and trucks and ladders being left around coasters are actually really easy to fix and would pretty much cost the park no money whatsoever. It can't be that hard to send a sweeper over to get trash out of the fountain, to have the trucks driven away when they're done being used, or to shut a screen at a dumpster. 3. As bad as it is the metal detectors may just be necessary. At least SF isn't Universal who puts metal detectors at every coaster for loose articles. 4. As for the park being a resort with a hotel I don't see it for the reasons that Nitro1118 said above. IMO the park was messed up by the two previous managements. The management from 1999-2006 gave the park a blank check, adding a ton of rides left and right with no real plan for them, and as a result many of the flat rides either were victims of short staffing or never worked at all in the first place. When they finally started to "get it" with Golden Kingdom (in its original state) and Plaza del Carnaval (in its original state) they left. In the later 2000s management stopped over expanding the park, but they instead did the opposite, removing rides left and right and closing paths to cut spending. What's left is pretty much what we have now. Current management has been slowly trying (Adventure Alley, Zumanjaro and El Diablo flat rides and the Safari as a unique family attraction) but there are still some big obvious holes to fill. That being said I'd love for the park to fill the rest of these holes, clean themselves up, and cater to a wider audience while maintaining their status as a premier coaster park!

^ I was thinking about "Total Mayhem" fitting a free spin with all the flips the cars do and how varied and unpredictable they are. I agree with whoever said that simply "Mayhem" would be a better name though. It will be interesting to see if demolition of the structures in Lakefront will pick up after this weekend. If it does then we can be pretty sure that the free spin will go there.

Happy birthday YoungPup! And happy birthday to the park and the website!

^ I would just use the "build your own" ride option to put in a custom layout I305-like Intamin giga. Keep all our current coasters and get one of the best in the world!

^ If it's the ride I think you're talking about then it came up multiple times for me today. It looked really cool!

There's one I was really impressed with also! I think I know where it would go too, it would be too perfect... I haven't tried putting in other parks to see if it gives the same attractions but either way the ride seems perfect for us.

Yes but two of the concepts refer to a theme that would go in Movietown and one of them is largely related to a past Movietown ride, which implied Movietown and the Chiller area to me. Out of the three I've gotten so far, one is absolutely amazing, one is still pretty cool, and one is just ok and sort of impractical for our park IMO.

Does anyone have a link to the survey? I'm also on the advisory panel but I haven't gotten this one. From what we've seen so far though it seems like exciting things are in our future! I'm especially interested in this:

^ That makes me wonder how big a difference in price there is between a steel or wooden structure. Regardless of whether it's wood or steel my guess is that given the $22 million price tag this is going to blow away all our expectations. I imagine a layout something like this proposed RMC but with a launch(es):

^ I think that's possible given the price tag, likeliness of a launch(es), and possible ways to use that terrain, plus when I hear the name "Shot Rod" I think of a steel coaster for some reason. However, from a marketing standpoint having the world's first launched wooden coaster would be enticing.

Wow, that's quite possibly the emptiest I've ever seen the park! I like what they did with the elephant, it seems like they've been putting a lot of detail work into the park this year. Did the Log Flume reopen while you were there? Hopefully it isn't closed too long.

It seems like a lot of your opinions of the coasters at KI are similar to mine from when I went 2 years ago. I also found the Bat (then Flight Deck) and Backlot Stunt Coaster to be surprisingly fun, and I liked Flight of Fear except for the midcourse brakes. I like Nitro more than Diamondback though. Although Diamondback has more airtime I found it sort of forceless. If you ever go back be sure to ride the Beast at night--it was one of the most memorable rides I've had on a coaster. Looking forward to your Cedar Point report!