Antinos' 2019 Thread (ZDT's, Galveston Pier, and Kemah)
- Thread starter Antinos
- Start date
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Alright. I've mentioned before that I can hardly write a trip report for Cedar Point anymore. I've visited the park so many times with such frequency that I hardly ever know what to say without copying things verbatim. Regardless, I did take a few photos and posted them to social media:
And we did have a ton of fun!
I will say that it was the first nice weekend at the park in about a month so it was a bit more crowded than normal - crowded enough that I was almost wishing for the days pre-Gatekeeper where I could show up for early entry on a Sunday, ride everything I wanted to in the park, and leave for home by 3:00pm. Despite my spoiled ass, it is fantastic to see that all of the park's investments and efforts into new attractions and events are paying off big time.
I did get lunch at Back-Beat-Cue: the new barbecue place that replaced Witch's Wheel. It was decent for theme park food. I think I prefer Miss Keat's across from Maverick but it certainly is not a bad place to grab a quick bite.
Finally...whatever people say about Steel Vengeance: do not listen to them. The ride is just as fast and just as intense as it was last year, and the loose article system was fairly painless.
Roadmap
And we did have a ton of fun!
I will say that it was the first nice weekend at the park in about a month so it was a bit more crowded than normal - crowded enough that I was almost wishing for the days pre-Gatekeeper where I could show up for early entry on a Sunday, ride everything I wanted to in the park, and leave for home by 3:00pm. Despite my spoiled ass, it is fantastic to see that all of the park's investments and efforts into new attractions and events are paying off big time.
I did get lunch at Back-Beat-Cue: the new barbecue place that replaced Witch's Wheel. It was decent for theme park food. I think I prefer Miss Keat's across from Maverick but it certainly is not a bad place to grab a quick bite.
Finally...whatever people say about Steel Vengeance: do not listen to them. The ride is just as fast and just as intense as it was last year, and the loose article system was fairly painless.
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Kokomo's Family Fun Center (TBD, possibly around the July 4th holiday)
- Kentucky Kingdom (7/20)
- Holiday World (7/21, October)
- Kings Island (7/22, September)
- Little Amerricka (8/30)
- Bay Beach (8/30)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Do it! Cedar Point is the best. <3
Snoo
The Legend
Yeah we definitely had a good day. Hell, that picture is still missing a number of folks. We enjoyed the day quite a bit. Good to see some other familiar faces who went to the first Live as well.
Matt N
CF Legend
I definitely want to some day, but that day will have to be after I move out of my parents' house, because:
A) I don't see the idea of getting complex transport to a small village in Ohio solely to visit a theme park rolling over very well with them.
B) My mum's response to Busch Gardens Tampa was "the rides were too big and scary and I didn't like it", so I don't think a park with 7 coasters over 200ft would be a good idea with her...
Great to hear! The Lives always look like great fun!Yeah we definitely had a good day. Hell, that picture is still missing a number of folks. We enjoyed the day quite a bit. Good to see some other familiar faces who went to the first Live as well.
davidm
Strata Poster
Bless.
Matt N
CF Legend
I was under the impression that Sandusky wasn't a particularly large place?Bless.
Snoo
The Legend
The city proper, yes. But the entire city is built around Cedar Point and it's tourism. Transport there is incredibly easy, even without a car.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
I've mentioned numerous times thus far in both this thread and the 2019 Trip Plans thread how there will always be opportunities for more park visits. The first one of the year happened this past weekend! The lady and I visited her family as her brother was part of a summer theater program in which they rehearse with actual Broadway actors in a professional setting. This year, they put on "Chicago" and it was fantastic. But before watching the show, the lady, her sister, sister's friend, and I went to Zoombezi Bay at the Columbus Zoo!
I haven't really ever been a huge water park guy - something about the slow throughput on the slides and baking in the sun...and that Cedar Point's water park has always sucked. But I think that opinion is changing for the better!
It was a hot day this past Saturday - lower 90s. Coincidentally, the water park hit capacity for the first time in years, but even then the crowds didn't seem awful. We tended to alternate between riding a slide and taking a lap in the lazy river. They had one master-blaster type slide, but with only one uphill section, and another adjoining slide with a large quarter pipe and a bunny hop - both were way more thrilling than I expected. We also spun around one of the two toilet bowls - I believe it was the first time I've been on a toilet bowl and it was pretty nuts! We also went down their drop slides, on which you exit six feet above the pool's surface, as well as their large drop slide...much more exhilerating than any previous water park experience.
I also think I'm becoming a lazy river connoisseur. Maybe it's just because the past few weeks have been insane with work, settling into the house, and the Live, but taking some time to relax while floating along in a refreshing pool sounded totally ideal. It mostly was...the lazy river and wave pool did show how crowded the place was...but still enjoyable. Too bad we had the lady's sister and her friend - they have a few years before they turn 21 so we couldn't go into the adult lazy river this time.
After we had enough of the sun, water, and chlorine, we detoured over to Sea Dragon on the way out, as the lady's sister had never ridden a roller coaster before. It's nothing special - just a classic kiddie wooden coaster similar to Comet at Waldameer or one of the many kiddie woodies at the former Paramount parks, but it's still fun. It received quite a bit of TLC this year and looks lovely with its fresh paint job!
With all that being said, I'm much more interested in water parks than I've ever been. I'm really looking forward to the Kentucky Kingdom Live so we can check out KK's water park as well as Holiday World's!
Roadmap
I haven't really ever been a huge water park guy - something about the slow throughput on the slides and baking in the sun...and that Cedar Point's water park has always sucked. But I think that opinion is changing for the better!
It was a hot day this past Saturday - lower 90s. Coincidentally, the water park hit capacity for the first time in years, but even then the crowds didn't seem awful. We tended to alternate between riding a slide and taking a lap in the lazy river. They had one master-blaster type slide, but with only one uphill section, and another adjoining slide with a large quarter pipe and a bunny hop - both were way more thrilling than I expected. We also spun around one of the two toilet bowls - I believe it was the first time I've been on a toilet bowl and it was pretty nuts! We also went down their drop slides, on which you exit six feet above the pool's surface, as well as their large drop slide...much more exhilerating than any previous water park experience.
I also think I'm becoming a lazy river connoisseur. Maybe it's just because the past few weeks have been insane with work, settling into the house, and the Live, but taking some time to relax while floating along in a refreshing pool sounded totally ideal. It mostly was...the lazy river and wave pool did show how crowded the place was...but still enjoyable. Too bad we had the lady's sister and her friend - they have a few years before they turn 21 so we couldn't go into the adult lazy river this time.
After we had enough of the sun, water, and chlorine, we detoured over to Sea Dragon on the way out, as the lady's sister had never ridden a roller coaster before. It's nothing special - just a classic kiddie wooden coaster similar to Comet at Waldameer or one of the many kiddie woodies at the former Paramount parks, but it's still fun. It received quite a bit of TLC this year and looks lovely with its fresh paint job!
With all that being said, I'm much more interested in water parks than I've ever been. I'm really looking forward to the Kentucky Kingdom Live so we can check out KK's water park as well as Holiday World's!
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Kokomo's Family Fun Center (TBD, possibly around the July 4th holiday)
- Kentucky Kingdom (7/20)
- Holiday World (7/21, October)
- Kings Island (7/22, September)
- Little Amerricka (8/30)
- Bay Beach (8/30)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
On any given summer weekend in Michigan, a large chunk of people from the populated southern areas of the state will migrate to the northern parts of Michigan's Lower Peninsula and even parts of the Upper Peninsula as well. For the fourth of July weekend, the number of people relocating for a relaxing long weekend increases tremendously...maybe not enough to call Detroit a ghost town, but the Detroit area is certainly a lot less crowded. Nevertheless, I joined the throngs of people headed up north to spend the weekend in Traverse City, and a well timed dinner stop allowed for the perfect opportunity to stop at Kokomo's Family Fun Center for the +1.
Serpent - I mean, there really isn't a whole lot to say about a third hand SDC Galaxy. I had heard bad things about this ride, and I admittedly drew a bit of concern from our pit stop at Sylvan Beach last summer for a similar, horrendous ride. Luckily, this was not the case. The Serpent seemed to be well maintained. The ride was as smooth as one would expect for such an old ride and was actually somewhat of a pleasant experience. I'll take it!
Overall thoughts - Kokomo's is like a laid back Dave n Buster's, so there's not much of a point in talking about future expansion even though CJ Barrymore's is doing so about 90 minutes to the south. I guess I could see them getting a Visa spinner because that's what these sort of places get. But yeah...there isn't a whole lot here and I really don't have a reason to go back
Man, looking at the roadmap, I really need to head over to CJ Barrymore's and nip that new cred in the bud.
Roadmap
Serpent - I mean, there really isn't a whole lot to say about a third hand SDC Galaxy. I had heard bad things about this ride, and I admittedly drew a bit of concern from our pit stop at Sylvan Beach last summer for a similar, horrendous ride. Luckily, this was not the case. The Serpent seemed to be well maintained. The ride was as smooth as one would expect for such an old ride and was actually somewhat of a pleasant experience. I'll take it!
Overall thoughts - Kokomo's is like a laid back Dave n Buster's, so there's not much of a point in talking about future expansion even though CJ Barrymore's is doing so about 90 minutes to the south. I guess I could see them getting a Visa spinner because that's what these sort of places get. But yeah...there isn't a whole lot here and I really don't have a reason to go back
Man, looking at the roadmap, I really need to head over to CJ Barrymore's and nip that new cred in the bud.
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Kentucky Kingdom (7/20)
- Holiday World (7/21, October)
- Kings Island (7/22, September)
- Little Amerricka (8/30)
- Bay Beach (8/30)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
I probably shouldn't be writing the first installment of this past weekend's live since I'm still pretty beat and could use a good night's sleep, but I have an exam in less than a week so it's probably for the best to get something out now before I dive into cramming. Also sleep is for the weak.
I left work about an hour early and immediately hit the road such that I could put the six hour drive to Louisville behind me as quickly as possible. I was greeted by @Snoo, @Youngster Joey, @Hutch, and @Skeletor when I walked in and @Sky and @StretchMcCoasterGuy arrived shortly after. We grabbed some dinner at Joella's, a Nashville style hot chicken joint that was a two minute walk from the Airbnb, and then chilled out while we awaited the rest of those joining us. Finally, @Hyde, @tomahawk, and @GuyWithAStick arrived and it was party time!
We woke up a bit groggy but we made it to Kentucky Kingdom earlier than necessary. Our group grew as @jay37415 and a few more local social media followers and podcast listeners joined us. Jessi and Jeff met us at the gate and escorted us back to Storm Chaser for a solid half hour of ERT.
Storm Chaser - It still rips just like it did two years ago. The barrel roll drop still provides amazing weightlessness while spiraling towards the ground, both overbanked turns still provide some laterals to showcase just how quickly you're moving, and each hill still has relentlessly powerful airtime...at least on the purple train. Interestingly enough, purple and blue are like night and day. While purple is straight up rambunctious, the blue train provides a slightly more fluid and comfortable, but less intense ride. Either way you slice it, the ride is still incredible.
Thunder Run - The ride itself is honestly kinda poo, but the park has been taking good care of it. I wouldn't call it smooth, but it won't beat the piss out of you, and the hills actually provide marginal airtime now. Ironically though, their new for 2017 train has degraded quite quickly with obvious signs of wear all over.
T3 - I did not ride it this past Saturday as I literally have no desire to ride it ever again. It's so bad that even the park thinks it's a meme, and Jeff (their social media guy) has been killing it with the recent T3 related content.
Kentucky Flyer - What a fantastic little ride! Kentucky Kingdom's sixth coaster ended up being a huge hit with the whole group. After ascending quickly up the lift and hanging a quick right, the train plunges into a series of twists and a dozen hills before hitting the brakes. I've seen numerous people state that the ride has no airtime whatsoever, but that translates to "this isn't an RMC or Roar-o-saurus." The ride had a good mix of both floater and ejector throughout the ride, and the ejector ended up being stronger than I expected. It's a fun little ride that fits nicely in their lineup.
Skycatcher - It's legit. You get a great view of the park and you're also spinning so fast that you end up a bit dizzy when your feet are back on the ground.
Big Kahuna - At this point of the day, we were melting in the 100*F heat, so we donned the bathing suits and headed to the wave pool in time for the Big Kahuna. The Big Kahuna is essentially a more intense version of a normal wave pool...but what it REALLY is is pandemonium and probably murder as well. The plates behind the deep end of the pool thrust out 6+ foot swells that break right in the middle of the pool. Those closest to the deep end are physically put to the test to jump and swim over the waves to keep above the surface. Those further back end up with the wave breaking over their heads, likely to be swept into dozens of bodies in more shallow waters. I am not quite sure how this wave pool setting is allowed, but it was really fun to be in the water during the sequence and it was even more fun to watch from dry land as bodies tumble into other bodies and get swept away by the wave.
Deep Water Dive - Well, we had to climb all the way to the top of the tower and plunge on the world's tallest drop slide. We were out of breath once we reached the top and were blown away by how much we could feel the tower shaking from the light breeze and normal operation. It ended up being an experience for all of us as most of us haven't been on a drop slide before, let alone the world's tallest. I audibly gasped when the floor dropped out and I tried my best to keep the water out of my nose and mouth. The initial plunge was a rush but the pullout and run out resulted in water repeatedly pummeling everything along your backside. Worth it!
Adventure River - This is one of the park's two lazy rivers, this one being vastly superior to the other. Adventure River is situated back by Kentucky Flyer and Deep Water Dive and is decently long. The park provides noodles instead of innertubes, which allow you to float in the water and stay much cooler than the other one with the tubes. If we weren't so gung ho to do other slides, we likely would have stayed here for quite a few more laps because it was NICE.
Mount Slide Hi - This was a tube slide complex that had some neat blackout slides. They ended up being more intense and thrilling than we thought they'd be.
Kilawaya - We headed over to another slide complex that had a tantrum, a toilet bowl, and a third slide with some super tight helices. Most of us elected to try the tantrum slide, Kilawaya, as we haven't done one before. It was fun!
Tornado - Most of us finished off our day at the water park on their funnel while others went to do other slides or just took some time to relax a bit more. This was my first time on a funnel slide and @Youngster Joey and @Sky made sure that I faced backwards during the bulk of the ride. What a rush it was plunging down into that thing!
Professor John's Flying Machines - always have to ride the flying scooters, and we got them to snap this time!
Lightning Run - Still an excellent ride that's unfortunately overshadowed by Storm Chaser. The trains still track just as nicely as they did when it opened and the airtime is almost brutal.
At this point, it was starting to get a bit late, people were coming and going, and a bit of faffing about ensued. I remember going to Roller Skater to watch the goons get their kiddie cred, and then maybe we grabbed another ride on Storm Chaser? It's all blurring together at this point...
Overall thoughts - the more I visit small family parks like Kentucky Kingdom and the more I visit mega-parks that are rammed full of people (like Cedar Point), the more I like the Kentucky Kingdom style park. One can visit and visibly see the efforts that they're putting in to deliver such a good park...and it isn't all just rides. Since my last visit, I've noticed that they've made a big push to plant a lot of different plants throughout the park to foster the entire ecosystem in that area and it makes the park aesthetically pleasing. Plus, the park is such a low key place...we spent the entire day at Kentucky Kingdom - an entire 12 hours riding and sliding on a bunch of different things, yet we still had some time for some faff and relaxation. That is rather quickly becoming more my style.
Roadmap
I left work about an hour early and immediately hit the road such that I could put the six hour drive to Louisville behind me as quickly as possible. I was greeted by @Snoo, @Youngster Joey, @Hutch, and @Skeletor when I walked in and @Sky and @StretchMcCoasterGuy arrived shortly after. We grabbed some dinner at Joella's, a Nashville style hot chicken joint that was a two minute walk from the Airbnb, and then chilled out while we awaited the rest of those joining us. Finally, @Hyde, @tomahawk, and @GuyWithAStick arrived and it was party time!
We woke up a bit groggy but we made it to Kentucky Kingdom earlier than necessary. Our group grew as @jay37415 and a few more local social media followers and podcast listeners joined us. Jessi and Jeff met us at the gate and escorted us back to Storm Chaser for a solid half hour of ERT.
Storm Chaser - It still rips just like it did two years ago. The barrel roll drop still provides amazing weightlessness while spiraling towards the ground, both overbanked turns still provide some laterals to showcase just how quickly you're moving, and each hill still has relentlessly powerful airtime...at least on the purple train. Interestingly enough, purple and blue are like night and day. While purple is straight up rambunctious, the blue train provides a slightly more fluid and comfortable, but less intense ride. Either way you slice it, the ride is still incredible.
Thunder Run - The ride itself is honestly kinda poo, but the park has been taking good care of it. I wouldn't call it smooth, but it won't beat the piss out of you, and the hills actually provide marginal airtime now. Ironically though, their new for 2017 train has degraded quite quickly with obvious signs of wear all over.
T3 - I did not ride it this past Saturday as I literally have no desire to ride it ever again. It's so bad that even the park thinks it's a meme, and Jeff (their social media guy) has been killing it with the recent T3 related content.
Kentucky Flyer - What a fantastic little ride! Kentucky Kingdom's sixth coaster ended up being a huge hit with the whole group. After ascending quickly up the lift and hanging a quick right, the train plunges into a series of twists and a dozen hills before hitting the brakes. I've seen numerous people state that the ride has no airtime whatsoever, but that translates to "this isn't an RMC or Roar-o-saurus." The ride had a good mix of both floater and ejector throughout the ride, and the ejector ended up being stronger than I expected. It's a fun little ride that fits nicely in their lineup.
Skycatcher - It's legit. You get a great view of the park and you're also spinning so fast that you end up a bit dizzy when your feet are back on the ground.
Big Kahuna - At this point of the day, we were melting in the 100*F heat, so we donned the bathing suits and headed to the wave pool in time for the Big Kahuna. The Big Kahuna is essentially a more intense version of a normal wave pool...but what it REALLY is is pandemonium and probably murder as well. The plates behind the deep end of the pool thrust out 6+ foot swells that break right in the middle of the pool. Those closest to the deep end are physically put to the test to jump and swim over the waves to keep above the surface. Those further back end up with the wave breaking over their heads, likely to be swept into dozens of bodies in more shallow waters. I am not quite sure how this wave pool setting is allowed, but it was really fun to be in the water during the sequence and it was even more fun to watch from dry land as bodies tumble into other bodies and get swept away by the wave.
Deep Water Dive - Well, we had to climb all the way to the top of the tower and plunge on the world's tallest drop slide. We were out of breath once we reached the top and were blown away by how much we could feel the tower shaking from the light breeze and normal operation. It ended up being an experience for all of us as most of us haven't been on a drop slide before, let alone the world's tallest. I audibly gasped when the floor dropped out and I tried my best to keep the water out of my nose and mouth. The initial plunge was a rush but the pullout and run out resulted in water repeatedly pummeling everything along your backside. Worth it!
Adventure River - This is one of the park's two lazy rivers, this one being vastly superior to the other. Adventure River is situated back by Kentucky Flyer and Deep Water Dive and is decently long. The park provides noodles instead of innertubes, which allow you to float in the water and stay much cooler than the other one with the tubes. If we weren't so gung ho to do other slides, we likely would have stayed here for quite a few more laps because it was NICE.
Mount Slide Hi - This was a tube slide complex that had some neat blackout slides. They ended up being more intense and thrilling than we thought they'd be.
Kilawaya - We headed over to another slide complex that had a tantrum, a toilet bowl, and a third slide with some super tight helices. Most of us elected to try the tantrum slide, Kilawaya, as we haven't done one before. It was fun!
Tornado - Most of us finished off our day at the water park on their funnel while others went to do other slides or just took some time to relax a bit more. This was my first time on a funnel slide and @Youngster Joey and @Sky made sure that I faced backwards during the bulk of the ride. What a rush it was plunging down into that thing!
Professor John's Flying Machines - always have to ride the flying scooters, and we got them to snap this time!
Lightning Run - Still an excellent ride that's unfortunately overshadowed by Storm Chaser. The trains still track just as nicely as they did when it opened and the airtime is almost brutal.
At this point, it was starting to get a bit late, people were coming and going, and a bit of faffing about ensued. I remember going to Roller Skater to watch the goons get their kiddie cred, and then maybe we grabbed another ride on Storm Chaser? It's all blurring together at this point...
Overall thoughts - the more I visit small family parks like Kentucky Kingdom and the more I visit mega-parks that are rammed full of people (like Cedar Point), the more I like the Kentucky Kingdom style park. One can visit and visibly see the efforts that they're putting in to deliver such a good park...and it isn't all just rides. Since my last visit, I've noticed that they've made a big push to plant a lot of different plants throughout the park to foster the entire ecosystem in that area and it makes the park aesthetically pleasing. Plus, the park is such a low key place...we spent the entire day at Kentucky Kingdom - an entire 12 hours riding and sliding on a bunch of different things, yet we still had some time for some faff and relaxation. That is rather quickly becoming more my style.
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Holiday World (7/21, October)
- Kings Island (7/22, September)
- Little Amerricka (8/30)
- Bay Beach (8/30)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
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FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Kentucky Kingdom is a cute little park but their "bad weather" policy is ridiculous. When I was there a very light rain shower came on and all the coasters immediately shut down. Not only that, they didn't allow them to reopen until a full half an hour after the rain had stopped. "To allow them to dry off a bit".
Contrast that with Holiday World just down the road. I checked with the ticket lady and was assured that the only thing that shut any of the coasters was a lightning storm.
Contrast that with Holiday World just down the road. I checked with the ticket lady and was assured that the only thing that shut any of the coasters was a lightning storm.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
That's a good segue, @FarleyFlavors - we had to deal with a thunderstorm at Holiday World!
After a full day at Kentucky Kingdom, we all needed some rest so we slept in a bit. We ended up on the road around 10:00am or so and, of course, had to stop at Waffle House for breakfast! We made a quick stop at Wal-mart afterward and arrived at Holiday World sometime around Noon.
Raven - I've been saying over and over that this ride needs to be about 500 feet longer to be a next level ride. Raven still provides a fast paced hustle along the wooded hillside next to the entrance and seemed to be a hit with the first timers.
Gobbler Getaway - so that thunderstorm I mentioned...we were en route to Legend when we heard thunder so we took shelter in Gobbler Getaway. Aiming is still tough as the blasters are not accurate, but I think this past ride was the most fun I've had on it. Everyone was utilizing a rapid fire karate chop style method to pull the trigger, which meant all one could hear was the super quick chirp-chirp-chirping of four guns per coach throughout the ride. I didn't score well because those in the coach with me simply beat me to all the targets. Good time!
Voyage - That thunderstorm blew through and then sat just inside of the park's operating radius so we had to wait for everything to reopen. Finally we got to set sail on Voyage again. I still cannot get over how incredible this ride is. I want to move it up in my rankings, but I'm not sure I want to move any of the four RMCs down. The ride is starting to get rough on the run out - each valley has some significant jackhammering, which will hopefully get taken care of in the offseason. On the plus side, the return run is still butter smooth after getting retracked two winters ago, and provides an even better ride now that the final 500 feet of the ride was refurbished this past winter. Hell of a good time regardless.
Thunderbird - I have no problem with the other three wing coasters that I've been on, but Thunderbird just hits different. It's got a fantastic launch, excellent elements, and a great pace. Also, @Youngster Joey and I were discussing the park's upcoming announcement and we touched a bit on the Thunderbird's lore and how it plays into the Pilgrim's voyage and the Thanksgiving section of the park (I'll probably post about it in the speculation topic). Needless to say, I appreciate those little details so much.
Legend - I am still a lone wolf when it comes to Legend. The majority absolutely despises the lack of airtime and heavy laterals...I think it's still a pretty fun, fast paced ride with some good interaction with other rides and slides.
Frightful Falls - It was hot and due to the storm and the huge crowds we missed out on the water park. We cut our losses by riding the log flume...which was kind of a joke. It was a bizarre little ride with a few portions where the log was straight up rolling down the trough instead of floating.
Howler - I have no need riding this, but some people did...and it was a riot to watch! Shout out to the ride operator who accommodated our group and even sent them around for a third lap, much to our group's riders' chagrin and to our watching enjoyment!
Raging Rapids - Still hot, half of us wanted to cool off. We embarked on what turned out to be a pretty good rapids ride. The ride offered a decent amount of spinning, some good geysers, and decent rapids...and then there was the waterfall...that damn waterfall all sent us home soaked.
We faffed about towards the end of the day and grabbed one more ride on Voyage before another storm rolled in, signaling time to head out. The drive home sucked - I drove the entire way back in heavy rain and was ready to drink some beer by the time we arrived at the Airbnb. Once we got back, we ordered six pizzas and inhaled them - all the slices were pulled out of the first box before the lid was completely open. Good time!
Overall thoughts - many of my thoughts regarding Holiday World echo those for Kentucky Kingdom. Every visit is enjoyable and relaxing - I hardly ever have to wait in a line longer than 15 minutes for some truly world class rides. This past visit sort of makes me wish I still lived an hour away from it. I'll leave you with a humorous image of the Holidog though...
Roadmap
After a full day at Kentucky Kingdom, we all needed some rest so we slept in a bit. We ended up on the road around 10:00am or so and, of course, had to stop at Waffle House for breakfast! We made a quick stop at Wal-mart afterward and arrived at Holiday World sometime around Noon.
Raven - I've been saying over and over that this ride needs to be about 500 feet longer to be a next level ride. Raven still provides a fast paced hustle along the wooded hillside next to the entrance and seemed to be a hit with the first timers.
Gobbler Getaway - so that thunderstorm I mentioned...we were en route to Legend when we heard thunder so we took shelter in Gobbler Getaway. Aiming is still tough as the blasters are not accurate, but I think this past ride was the most fun I've had on it. Everyone was utilizing a rapid fire karate chop style method to pull the trigger, which meant all one could hear was the super quick chirp-chirp-chirping of four guns per coach throughout the ride. I didn't score well because those in the coach with me simply beat me to all the targets. Good time!
Voyage - That thunderstorm blew through and then sat just inside of the park's operating radius so we had to wait for everything to reopen. Finally we got to set sail on Voyage again. I still cannot get over how incredible this ride is. I want to move it up in my rankings, but I'm not sure I want to move any of the four RMCs down. The ride is starting to get rough on the run out - each valley has some significant jackhammering, which will hopefully get taken care of in the offseason. On the plus side, the return run is still butter smooth after getting retracked two winters ago, and provides an even better ride now that the final 500 feet of the ride was refurbished this past winter. Hell of a good time regardless.
Thunderbird - I have no problem with the other three wing coasters that I've been on, but Thunderbird just hits different. It's got a fantastic launch, excellent elements, and a great pace. Also, @Youngster Joey and I were discussing the park's upcoming announcement and we touched a bit on the Thunderbird's lore and how it plays into the Pilgrim's voyage and the Thanksgiving section of the park (I'll probably post about it in the speculation topic). Needless to say, I appreciate those little details so much.
Legend - I am still a lone wolf when it comes to Legend. The majority absolutely despises the lack of airtime and heavy laterals...I think it's still a pretty fun, fast paced ride with some good interaction with other rides and slides.
Frightful Falls - It was hot and due to the storm and the huge crowds we missed out on the water park. We cut our losses by riding the log flume...which was kind of a joke. It was a bizarre little ride with a few portions where the log was straight up rolling down the trough instead of floating.
Howler - I have no need riding this, but some people did...and it was a riot to watch! Shout out to the ride operator who accommodated our group and even sent them around for a third lap, much to our group's riders' chagrin and to our watching enjoyment!
Raging Rapids - Still hot, half of us wanted to cool off. We embarked on what turned out to be a pretty good rapids ride. The ride offered a decent amount of spinning, some good geysers, and decent rapids...and then there was the waterfall...that damn waterfall all sent us home soaked.
We faffed about towards the end of the day and grabbed one more ride on Voyage before another storm rolled in, signaling time to head out. The drive home sucked - I drove the entire way back in heavy rain and was ready to drink some beer by the time we arrived at the Airbnb. Once we got back, we ordered six pizzas and inhaled them - all the slices were pulled out of the first box before the lid was completely open. Good time!
Overall thoughts - many of my thoughts regarding Holiday World echo those for Kentucky Kingdom. Every visit is enjoyable and relaxing - I hardly ever have to wait in a line longer than 15 minutes for some truly world class rides. This past visit sort of makes me wish I still lived an hour away from it. I'll leave you with a humorous image of the Holidog though...
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Holiday World (October)
- Kings Island (7/22, September)
- Little Amerricka (8/30)
- Bay Beach (8/30)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
We said good bye to a few of our companions when we woke up Monday morning - James of the Larson Loopers headed back to Kansas City, Andrew flew back down to Texas, @Hyde departed quite early to head back to Columbus to work, and the lovely @GuyWithAStick was northbound to Chicago. Despite the shrinking group, the fun continued. We were on the road by 10:00am and all stopped for some lunch due to storms in the area. We arrived at Kings Island on the tail end of the rain, at least for a bit. Those needing to cred run half the park luckily arrived first, so they grabbed a ride on Invertigo while the rest of us met them at the exit.
The Bat - Arrow suspended coasters are a dying breed of what has proven to be an exciting ride type when designed for thrills. The Bat is a good example of this - it offers an intense ride with quite a few fast paced turns and good swinging.
Banshee - still a fantastic ride with enormous high G elements, a long layout, and an amazing 0-g roll. Unfortunately, it is getting pretty rattly - hopefully the park figures out how to sort it out soon.
Drop Tower - Still one of the best drop towers around. Lex Luthor and Zumanjaro are two notable ones that are taller, but Kings Island's can still hang with the best of them - it just seems to drop forever.
Adventure Express - Honestly, the ride is poo, but not poo enough to skip. At least the last lift provides some comic relief.
Racer (and Kiga) - We rode it twice for the cred runners, but I rode blue side twice. It goes up and down and out and back, and that's about all that needs to be said about it. It did provide some good views of the Kiga construction site: lots and lots of pilings have gone into the ground and footers are getting poured. Based on what I could see, everything lined up nicely with the leaked drawings.
Vortex - Oh my god why. I hadn't ridden the ride in a few years, so I said what the hell...my body was violently shaking on parts that it should not have been, like the first drop and top of the second hill. The ride truly needs to follow in Firehawk's footsteps.
The Beast - It's just so boring in the day...
Backlot Stunt Coaster - it also exists. At least it tracks fairly well and provides a powerful helix to kick the ride off.
Mystic Timbers - As we waited in a short line to board, the rain picked up a bit and we ended up riding in a downpour. Mystic Timbers took the storm as an opportunity to skip 11 and turn it all the way to 12. The ride was ridiculous. The airtime and laterals we were subject to on all the hills and directional changes was unbelievable. We went back for a second ride in the back and actually received airtime as we rose into the turn over the base of the lift - that right there is all you need to know about how relentlessly quick Mystic Timbers was running on Monday.
Diamondback - Against our better judgment, we headed across the path to Diamondtrash in the same rain storm. It hurt...but it provided an alright ride this time. I've received stronger airtime on Diamondback, but the trains were not rattling as much as normal...so maybe there's hope for the park turning the ride around like the other two former Paramount hypers?
Flight of Fear - What in the world happened? Somehow we all ended up on square wheels and received quite an uncharacteristically rough ride. It's a shame - Flight of Fear usually runs fairly well and provides a decently thrilling ride.
Overall thoughts - Looking at their list of rides, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, The Bat, and Flight of Fear to a certain extent are worth the visit and the rest is just there. Somehow, the park still has the second best lineup of the former Paramount parks. Despite the apparent lack of ride quality, Kings Island still provides a certain charm for me that none of the rest of its sister parks provide. I've been able to rack up many more visits following undergrad (a couple years I visited more than I did CP) and I'm still not sick of going, whether it's a gross day like this past Monday, a quick pit stop just to ride Mystic Timbers or run through the big four during Fright Fest (is it still called that) or cred running through the place on a Sunday in late summer. Luckily, this won't be my only visit this year - the lady is in a wedding down in Cincinnati in September so I will certainly end up at Kings Island while she's at the rehearsal or something. It works out!
Roadmap
The Bat - Arrow suspended coasters are a dying breed of what has proven to be an exciting ride type when designed for thrills. The Bat is a good example of this - it offers an intense ride with quite a few fast paced turns and good swinging.
Banshee - still a fantastic ride with enormous high G elements, a long layout, and an amazing 0-g roll. Unfortunately, it is getting pretty rattly - hopefully the park figures out how to sort it out soon.
Drop Tower - Still one of the best drop towers around. Lex Luthor and Zumanjaro are two notable ones that are taller, but Kings Island's can still hang with the best of them - it just seems to drop forever.
Adventure Express - Honestly, the ride is poo, but not poo enough to skip. At least the last lift provides some comic relief.
Racer (and Kiga) - We rode it twice for the cred runners, but I rode blue side twice. It goes up and down and out and back, and that's about all that needs to be said about it. It did provide some good views of the Kiga construction site: lots and lots of pilings have gone into the ground and footers are getting poured. Based on what I could see, everything lined up nicely with the leaked drawings.
Vortex - Oh my god why. I hadn't ridden the ride in a few years, so I said what the hell...my body was violently shaking on parts that it should not have been, like the first drop and top of the second hill. The ride truly needs to follow in Firehawk's footsteps.
The Beast - It's just so boring in the day...
Backlot Stunt Coaster - it also exists. At least it tracks fairly well and provides a powerful helix to kick the ride off.
Mystic Timbers - As we waited in a short line to board, the rain picked up a bit and we ended up riding in a downpour. Mystic Timbers took the storm as an opportunity to skip 11 and turn it all the way to 12. The ride was ridiculous. The airtime and laterals we were subject to on all the hills and directional changes was unbelievable. We went back for a second ride in the back and actually received airtime as we rose into the turn over the base of the lift - that right there is all you need to know about how relentlessly quick Mystic Timbers was running on Monday.
Diamondback - Against our better judgment, we headed across the path to Diamondtrash in the same rain storm. It hurt...but it provided an alright ride this time. I've received stronger airtime on Diamondback, but the trains were not rattling as much as normal...so maybe there's hope for the park turning the ride around like the other two former Paramount hypers?
Flight of Fear - What in the world happened? Somehow we all ended up on square wheels and received quite an uncharacteristically rough ride. It's a shame - Flight of Fear usually runs fairly well and provides a decently thrilling ride.
Overall thoughts - Looking at their list of rides, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, The Bat, and Flight of Fear to a certain extent are worth the visit and the rest is just there. Somehow, the park still has the second best lineup of the former Paramount parks. Despite the apparent lack of ride quality, Kings Island still provides a certain charm for me that none of the rest of its sister parks provide. I've been able to rack up many more visits following undergrad (a couple years I visited more than I did CP) and I'm still not sick of going, whether it's a gross day like this past Monday, a quick pit stop just to ride Mystic Timbers or run through the big four during Fright Fest (is it still called that) or cred running through the place on a Sunday in late summer. Luckily, this won't be my only visit this year - the lady is in a wedding down in Cincinnati in September so I will certainly end up at Kings Island while she's at the rehearsal or something. It works out!
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Holiday World (October)
- Kings Island (September)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Oh yeah, let me finish off the Live then.
We rolled out of Kings Island early enough to have a relaxing evening at Casa @Snoo, and we were up and on the road to Cedar Point around 7:00am. We ended up arriving around 9:40ish - just in time to beat the big rush to Steel Vengeance.
Steel Vengeance - Y'all know what I think about the ride already. More importantly, the ops were absolutely killing it that morning. What normally takes two hours took 90 minutes total with a two train cycle, so kudos to the crew for doing some serious work!
Gemini - It was racing today. Woo!
Magnum - I still love this ride way more than most, even if we did have to wait around 20 minutes due to the crew faffing about.
Gatekeeper - it was running decently today hardly a wait.
Valravn - at least we got front row this time. The ride really isn't worth it in the other rows.
Maverick - Maverick, man. A few years ago, I thought I was beginning to feel jaded about the ride. Then I ultimately visited less due to college, work, and my travels taking me elsewhere on top of Steel Vengeance opening which caused queue times to inflate, and my rides became much less frequent. Maverick still delivers a fantastic ride - fantastic enough to hold its ground against Fury...at least for the time being.
Rougarou - Rou does not seem to be in midseason form yet. We had a downright awful ride on it last month and I was really hoping it was a strange day or something. This past trip's ride was certainly better, but it was not the same ride that absolutely rips around its layout like it would on a hot summer afternoon like it would the past few years.
Millennium Force - It certainly won't completely blow you away anymore but I cannot knock it at all. The ride still delivers a quality ride even after 19 years of operation.
Forbidden Frontier - We took some time to walk through the new area to figure out exactly what it is and I have to say that I am simultaneously impressed and yet so underwhelmed by it. Starting with what was disappointing: I had never paid the money to walk through Dinosaurs Alive, but it was apparent that the path along with the ropes along the side were left untouched. Apparently, a number of static props also remained. These were essentially just small buildings that ended up just having a dinosaur related sign swapped out with an olde west sign. From a cynical perspective, Forbidden Frontier is literally just a dead end path into the center of Millennium Island and that's it. Supposedly at Winter Chill Out the park mentioned that they were going to reuse the Dinosaurs Alive entrance such that the path would ultimately be a short cut, but apparently that did not pan out. Despite the disappointing bits, there are some pretty cool things about the new area. The main highlight is a huge jungle gym in the center of Millennium Force's overbanked helix. We did not go in it but apparently adults are allowed to go through it as well. For those who want a spot to just chill out or for the parents who are making their kids burn some energy, there are hammocks and lounge chairs around the whole area, and they even put a food stand back there as well. Finally, the expansion gives guests plenty of fresh, new views of Millennium Force. I am a bit underwhelmed that they could hardly even lipstick a pig, but I appreciate that they repurposed the old Dinos Alive infrastructure into something that ultimately adds another dimension to the park.
Overall thoughts - alright, here we go. My apologies for how selfish I'm about to sound right now. Fast Lane. I have visited Cedar Point every year since my parents pushed me around in a stroller, and I have been a season passholder since 2003, save maybe a year or two when I was in college. Let me be the first to say that I am Cedar Point spoiled: I have always had the privilege of visiting multiple times per year on any given day, including times long before Fast Lane was a thing. I would show up on any given day except Saturday and my longest wait would be 30 minutes for Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, or Maverick. Because of that, the idea of spending a bunch of extra money on Fast Lane is really off putting and unnecessary.
Cedar Point kicked off a marketing campaign prior to the 2018 season to essentially advertise everything that was not the amusement park - their goal was to show target markets that the resort is perfect for a stay-cation. Well...it worked...and the park has followed up with more marketing, more events (Monster Jam, Frontier Festival), and more deals (Michigan Super Saver discount, May/June entry pass, other discounted tickets, etc). I have been to the park five times now in the past two years and every time it has been absolutely rammed with people. Ten plus years ago, I only saw it as busy as now on the absolute worst days - Saturdays or days when Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster were down all day. As a result of these successful investments, I have had to wait for things that I have rarely ever waited for in the past: Gemini, Magnum, and Valravn, to name a few. And with the extra crowds come more people purchasing Fast Lane. We went back to Steel Vengeance in the afternoon on the off chance that the line died down a bit...not a chance. The regular queue was 2.5 hours and Fast Lane was an hour and fifteen minutes. There were so many Fast Laners this past trip that almost everything had a line in the Fast Lane queue - even the Fast Laners weren't going anywhere particularly fast.
I cannot imagine being one of the imbeciles that shows up at the gate, purchases full priced tickets for $75 for the entire family, and then drops an additional $110 per person to still wait in fairly significant lines. That's Disney money right there...but A LOT of people are doing this exact thing, and Cedar Point is raking in money by the truck load because of it...enough money that they can completely pay for a monumental attraction the magnitude of Steel Vengeance...but it is getting out of hand in my opinion. There is no reason as to why those that spend the money on Fast Lane should be waiting nearly 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance, or over 30 minutes for Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster. I would really like to see their cost model for the system - I bet they could restructure their pricing and add a third tier such that it looks something like below while still making essentially the same amount of money, yet provide a much more pleasant experience for both those that shell out the cash and those who wait in the peasant queues:
- Fastlane: $110 (current Fastlane+ cost), includes everything except Steel Vengeance, Valravn, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Gatekeeper, just like the current system
- Fastlane+: $170, includes everything except Steel Vengeance
- Fastlane Ultra (or something silly like that): $200, includes everything, forces short Steel Vengeance queues to be extra premium
With all that being said, it is good to see the marketing, events, and promos yielding such positive results, and Fast Lane is absolutely necessary, as frustrating as it gets at times, if it can provide more rides in the likeness of Steel Vengeance in the future. But like I said, the park is different now and I am not used to the crowds. It is really selfish of me to think "get off of my lawn" as I'm walking around the midway, but it doesn't look like the crowds will go away any time soon so I will just have to suck it up and wait in line like the rest of the peasants.
Roadmap
We rolled out of Kings Island early enough to have a relaxing evening at Casa @Snoo, and we were up and on the road to Cedar Point around 7:00am. We ended up arriving around 9:40ish - just in time to beat the big rush to Steel Vengeance.
Steel Vengeance - Y'all know what I think about the ride already. More importantly, the ops were absolutely killing it that morning. What normally takes two hours took 90 minutes total with a two train cycle, so kudos to the crew for doing some serious work!
Gemini - It was racing today. Woo!
Magnum - I still love this ride way more than most, even if we did have to wait around 20 minutes due to the crew faffing about.
Gatekeeper - it was running decently today hardly a wait.
Valravn - at least we got front row this time. The ride really isn't worth it in the other rows.
Maverick - Maverick, man. A few years ago, I thought I was beginning to feel jaded about the ride. Then I ultimately visited less due to college, work, and my travels taking me elsewhere on top of Steel Vengeance opening which caused queue times to inflate, and my rides became much less frequent. Maverick still delivers a fantastic ride - fantastic enough to hold its ground against Fury...at least for the time being.
Rougarou - Rou does not seem to be in midseason form yet. We had a downright awful ride on it last month and I was really hoping it was a strange day or something. This past trip's ride was certainly better, but it was not the same ride that absolutely rips around its layout like it would on a hot summer afternoon like it would the past few years.
Millennium Force - It certainly won't completely blow you away anymore but I cannot knock it at all. The ride still delivers a quality ride even after 19 years of operation.
Forbidden Frontier - We took some time to walk through the new area to figure out exactly what it is and I have to say that I am simultaneously impressed and yet so underwhelmed by it. Starting with what was disappointing: I had never paid the money to walk through Dinosaurs Alive, but it was apparent that the path along with the ropes along the side were left untouched. Apparently, a number of static props also remained. These were essentially just small buildings that ended up just having a dinosaur related sign swapped out with an olde west sign. From a cynical perspective, Forbidden Frontier is literally just a dead end path into the center of Millennium Island and that's it. Supposedly at Winter Chill Out the park mentioned that they were going to reuse the Dinosaurs Alive entrance such that the path would ultimately be a short cut, but apparently that did not pan out. Despite the disappointing bits, there are some pretty cool things about the new area. The main highlight is a huge jungle gym in the center of Millennium Force's overbanked helix. We did not go in it but apparently adults are allowed to go through it as well. For those who want a spot to just chill out or for the parents who are making their kids burn some energy, there are hammocks and lounge chairs around the whole area, and they even put a food stand back there as well. Finally, the expansion gives guests plenty of fresh, new views of Millennium Force. I am a bit underwhelmed that they could hardly even lipstick a pig, but I appreciate that they repurposed the old Dinos Alive infrastructure into something that ultimately adds another dimension to the park.
Overall thoughts - alright, here we go. My apologies for how selfish I'm about to sound right now. Fast Lane. I have visited Cedar Point every year since my parents pushed me around in a stroller, and I have been a season passholder since 2003, save maybe a year or two when I was in college. Let me be the first to say that I am Cedar Point spoiled: I have always had the privilege of visiting multiple times per year on any given day, including times long before Fast Lane was a thing. I would show up on any given day except Saturday and my longest wait would be 30 minutes for Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, or Maverick. Because of that, the idea of spending a bunch of extra money on Fast Lane is really off putting and unnecessary.
Cedar Point kicked off a marketing campaign prior to the 2018 season to essentially advertise everything that was not the amusement park - their goal was to show target markets that the resort is perfect for a stay-cation. Well...it worked...and the park has followed up with more marketing, more events (Monster Jam, Frontier Festival), and more deals (Michigan Super Saver discount, May/June entry pass, other discounted tickets, etc). I have been to the park five times now in the past two years and every time it has been absolutely rammed with people. Ten plus years ago, I only saw it as busy as now on the absolute worst days - Saturdays or days when Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster were down all day. As a result of these successful investments, I have had to wait for things that I have rarely ever waited for in the past: Gemini, Magnum, and Valravn, to name a few. And with the extra crowds come more people purchasing Fast Lane. We went back to Steel Vengeance in the afternoon on the off chance that the line died down a bit...not a chance. The regular queue was 2.5 hours and Fast Lane was an hour and fifteen minutes. There were so many Fast Laners this past trip that almost everything had a line in the Fast Lane queue - even the Fast Laners weren't going anywhere particularly fast.
I cannot imagine being one of the imbeciles that shows up at the gate, purchases full priced tickets for $75 for the entire family, and then drops an additional $110 per person to still wait in fairly significant lines. That's Disney money right there...but A LOT of people are doing this exact thing, and Cedar Point is raking in money by the truck load because of it...enough money that they can completely pay for a monumental attraction the magnitude of Steel Vengeance...but it is getting out of hand in my opinion. There is no reason as to why those that spend the money on Fast Lane should be waiting nearly 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance, or over 30 minutes for Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster. I would really like to see their cost model for the system - I bet they could restructure their pricing and add a third tier such that it looks something like below while still making essentially the same amount of money, yet provide a much more pleasant experience for both those that shell out the cash and those who wait in the peasant queues:
- Fastlane: $110 (current Fastlane+ cost), includes everything except Steel Vengeance, Valravn, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Gatekeeper, just like the current system
- Fastlane+: $170, includes everything except Steel Vengeance
- Fastlane Ultra (or something silly like that): $200, includes everything, forces short Steel Vengeance queues to be extra premium
With all that being said, it is good to see the marketing, events, and promos yielding such positive results, and Fast Lane is absolutely necessary, as frustrating as it gets at times, if it can provide more rides in the likeness of Steel Vengeance in the future. But like I said, the park is different now and I am not used to the crowds. It is really selfish of me to think "get off of my lawn" as I'm walking around the midway, but it doesn't look like the crowds will go away any time soon so I will just have to suck it up and wait in line like the rest of the peasants.
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- CJ Barrymore's Fun Center (TBD, hopefully soon)
- Holiday World (October)
- Kings Island (September)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)
Very valid points about the FastLane, I'd say. I visit so rarely that I'd probably fork out for the fancy FL passes for the 'treat', but then again Cedar Point isn't too hard to throw a couple of days at and any future trips for me would be just as leisurely as our trip last summer.
Yeah, a tough one. People might not be quite as put off as you expect.
Yeah, a tough one. People might not be quite as put off as you expect.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
I was hoping to squeeze in a weekend trip or two somewhere between the KK Live and Texas, but my current graduate class has been a doozie. Luckily, my final exam is this Thursday and I can put it behind me, but I have not yet made any plans to go elsewhere yet. Despite this, I was able to take a break from paper writing to head out to CJ Barrymore's to grab the new cred. Mistakes were made...
Spinning Coaster - this is the worst Visa spinner I've been on thus far because it hardly spun. I believe the reason why is because this is the first time I've ridden a spinner with a fully loaded train. Normally, I am either the only one in the coach or one of two seated on the same side so the ride yields a decent amount of spinning. Not in this case. Oh well...it was a +1 that resulted in memes, which @tomahawk may or may not be willing to share.
Overall Thoughts - CJ Barrymore's isn't an amusement park by any stretch of the imagination...it's a family fun center. Although, for what it is, it's a fairly impressive fun center. Their list of attractions is pretty impressive, all things considered. They offer two roller coasters, a ferris wheel, some strange drop tower sling shot combo tower thing, a zipline, multiple go-kart tracks, basketron, laser tag, and more...and most of these items were added within the last two years. They do have quite a bit to offer, but unfortunately the clientele leaves a lot to be desired. Everybody is just loud and obnoxious and oblivious to everybody else in the vicinity...and because I decided to go on a Sunday afternoon, the place was way more crowded than expected. This only amplified the negative feelings I had towards this place. If you are in the area and want the creds, I will happily drive you over there - I just might wait in the car.
Announcement season is officially underway, we're in the second half of the season, and it's clear that a quite a few of my plans have been completely FUBAR'd. With such a busy fall season (both coaster related and non-coaster related), there is essentially no chance that I fly anywhere for a few creds. Although I am still planning on going to Houghton in a few weeks, I had to drop Little Amerricka and Bay Beach due to unforeseen circumstances. At this rate, unless I do a day trip with Dan, I will likely miss out on Maxx Force this year, and I still do not have plans to head over to Toronto. I am eagerly awaiting details on Canada's Wonderland's Winterfest - I am interested in attending one of these events and if Yukon Striker is operating, I can make an honest effort to go sometime in November. But at least I get a big haul of creds in just over one month.
Roadmap
Spinning Coaster - this is the worst Visa spinner I've been on thus far because it hardly spun. I believe the reason why is because this is the first time I've ridden a spinner with a fully loaded train. Normally, I am either the only one in the coach or one of two seated on the same side so the ride yields a decent amount of spinning. Not in this case. Oh well...it was a +1 that resulted in memes, which @tomahawk may or may not be willing to share.
Overall Thoughts - CJ Barrymore's isn't an amusement park by any stretch of the imagination...it's a family fun center. Although, for what it is, it's a fairly impressive fun center. Their list of attractions is pretty impressive, all things considered. They offer two roller coasters, a ferris wheel, some strange drop tower sling shot combo tower thing, a zipline, multiple go-kart tracks, basketron, laser tag, and more...and most of these items were added within the last two years. They do have quite a bit to offer, but unfortunately the clientele leaves a lot to be desired. Everybody is just loud and obnoxious and oblivious to everybody else in the vicinity...and because I decided to go on a Sunday afternoon, the place was way more crowded than expected. This only amplified the negative feelings I had towards this place. If you are in the area and want the creds, I will happily drive you over there - I just might wait in the car.
Announcement season is officially underway, we're in the second half of the season, and it's clear that a quite a few of my plans have been completely FUBAR'd. With such a busy fall season (both coaster related and non-coaster related), there is essentially no chance that I fly anywhere for a few creds. Although I am still planning on going to Houghton in a few weeks, I had to drop Little Amerricka and Bay Beach due to unforeseen circumstances. At this rate, unless I do a day trip with Dan, I will likely miss out on Maxx Force this year, and I still do not have plans to head over to Toronto. I am eagerly awaiting details on Canada's Wonderland's Winterfest - I am interested in attending one of these events and if Yukon Striker is operating, I can make an honest effort to go sometime in November. But at least I get a big haul of creds in just over one month.
Roadmap
- Cedar Point (multiple dates)
- Kings Island (September)
- Holiday World (October)
- Canada's Wonderland (TBD)
- Six Flags Great America (TBD)
- Six Flags over Texas (9/22)
- Sea World San Antonio (9/27)
- Six Flags Fiesta Texas (9/27)
- ZDT's (9/28)
- Kemah Boardwalk (9/28)
- Galveston Pier (9/28)