ThrillNetwork.com - Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports http://www.thrillnetwork.com/ All amusement/theme/water park travel tips along with trip reports. en Wed, 22 May 2013 17:35:05 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thrillnetwork.com/images/misc/rss.png ThrillNetwork.com - Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports http://www.thrillnetwork.com/ Kings Island: Finally Returning http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92919&goto=newpost Sun, 12 May 2013 05:42:19 GMT As I am preparing for another summer out at Yellowstone National Park, I had to get in a few kicks at some local amusement parks. I have a good summer of park riding out west planned, but for the time being I have Kings Island (done), Waldameer (tomorrow), Cedar Point, Dollywood, and Frontier... As I am preparing for another summer out at Yellowstone National Park, I had to get in a few kicks at some local amusement parks. I have a good summer of park riding out west planned, but for the time being I have Kings Island (done), Waldameer (tomorrow), Cedar Point, Dollywood, and Frontier City planned in the next few weeks.

Now onto the report:

Arrived at the park around 1pm, weather was looking a bit dismal with some thunder in the area, as well as heavy rain. My brother and I decided to take a chance on coming down to the park even though the weather was looking none too good. Glad we did, however. The park was the same from I remember save for the name changes and a few additions/subtractions to the ride map. I had a bit of a coaster blunder as I drove down to the park last weekend thinking it was open on sunday. My brother bought the tickets as a bit of a surprise/going away gift.

Anyhow after being upset at the park and other things for a while, I decided to go back down. The first thing which caught my attention once we were heading inside was the fact they had a mentally disabled person working the admissions at front gate. This was a suprise because when working admissions at Cedar Point, we had people with disabilities, but you didn't have much face to face contact, they were either sweeps, or put in some out of the scenes place, I give Kings Island MAJOR props for having that person right at the front battle lines.

We walked around for a little while waiting for the rides to re-open as the thundercell had just began to pass and break up. First thing we rode was the Boo Blasters. Now mind you it's been so long I've been in the park, I forgot most of the old names.

Boo Blasters: 7/10 (fun and was able to stay dry)
This wasa great escape from the rain, and was a few car wait. A nice little shooting ride, cool theming and good elements. My main complaint with Boo was that it seemed the sensors were a bit off/not working the greatest. A fun family ride. Not worth waiting for long periods of time though, in my opinion.

Shortly after we got off Boo, and visited the Snoopy Boutique, Diamondback, my prime reason for driving down had been running to re=open.

Diamondback (multiple rides including a re-ride) 10/10
This coaster is AMAZING. I don't necessarily care for chain lifts on coasters, however the chain lift is smoothing and you can barely tell the difference between the cable lift on Millennium Force and this chain lift. Decided for my Diamondback cherry to be popped I had to ride in the back of the train. It was a very light rain, and not quite as bad as riding Millennium in a downpour. Yes I am comparing this to Millennium for the fact they are very similar in my opinion. I do know one (Millie) is an Intamin and DB is a B &M. I loved the stadium style seating, and that no matter where you sat you could see. Big props for that. Second ride was the front seat, and it felt like ice going into my face with a light rain and 80 MPH speeds. Smooth, fast, and TONS of floater time. I was out of my seat more than I was in on this coaster. Was a 1 train wait for the front, and walk on for the back. Also went later in the day and took 4 laps at night. Could have easliy just rode this coaster all day. Moved up to my favorite steel coaster, knocking down Maverick, Millie, and Magnum.

Spent a lot of the day trying to figure out which restaraunts accepted the Dining Plan. The said it was marked online and had a list in guest services, but I feel it should have been printed on the tickets as well.

#2 amazing guest service act. I am HIGLY allergic to the re-entry stamp ink. I explained this to Mary in guest services, and she walked with my brother and I to the re-entry point, explained our situation, and we had our tickets stamped rather than our arms. Accepted as re-entry into the park, and with her personally ensuring we were taken care of I feel she went above and beyond the call of duty.

After we dropped off our Diamondback photos in the car, we headed towards the stunt zone area of the park. We zigzaged around the park all day, I'll skip some of the boring walking bits, as there was nothing interesting except for avoiding rain, and trying to find the restaraunts.

We paid for lunch at Reds Diner, which $20 for 2 people isn't very bad at all. Fried Pickle Chips, water, and 12 bonless wings. Not bad food at all, heard opening weekend this place had some bad reviews. I don't see how or why, great guest service here, friendly staff, and very clean.

Adventure Express: 8/10 was a bit jerky for my taste.
Adventure Express has a pitiful attempt at theming, but does have themed elements nonetheless. I like the lift hill at the end, but feel there should be more to the coaster after that part. Was fun, but a bit on the rough side, and my head hurt after riding. They were doing re-rides it was so slow.

Racer: 7/10
Was very rough compared to last time I remember riding. And I rememeber this used to run backwards at one point in time... Either way still a coaster, just a little on the bumpy side. Tried finding some flat rides to calm down after the ride.

Dodgems were closed all day (bummer) due to a lovely leaky roof and wet floor. As the day went on the clouds began to clear, and rain stopped, even some sun shone through.

Dinosaurs Alive + 3-D Movie.
I almost forgot I was still in an amusement park hiking through the Dino trail. Some of those creatures were huge! The 3-D movie was also worth the 2 extra bucks, it was educational and life like. I feel this would be a very education trip for people, and worth the $5....although some of the other Dinosaurs Alive I've heard aren't very good. I enjoyed this stroll and the anamatronics.

Flight of Fear 8/10 20 minute wait.
I nearly forgot this went upside down. The lack of over the shoulder restraints threw me off for a few seconds, but once the train launched and looped I rememeber. Hahaha. Was fun, but I was very dizzy after riding, disoriented. Nice to get out of the rain here too.

Flight Deck 9/10 walk on with a reride.
I compared this to Iron Dragon, which hands down is no contest. From the lift hill, to the stopping elements, Flight Deck is the clear winner. This coaster pulled some great g forces going into the last turns and was running pretty fast for an arrow suspended. Normally on Iron Dragon when the coaster stops, I get my head banged around pretty badly, not here though.

We walked through a few shops, found the LaRossa Pizza took the dining plan, and enjoyed the chicken tender platter with a 20oz drink.

Found out the fireworks show was going to be occuring, so decided to stay til park close. Re-rode Diamondback 4 more times, 6 rides total.

Went on Woodstock Express, which reminds me of Comet at Waldameer, and did Boo Blasters a final time.

Woodstock Express 9.5/10
Nice little woodie, some airtime elements. The cars were a bit small, but it seems it's more of someone with a child to ride, not two full grown adults. Fun, could have re-rode if I had time.


Overall Rating of the trip: 98/100
Guest Service was above and beyond.
Food was great, but lack of information on the dining plan needs to be altered.
Lines were short, and weather ended up not being horrible.
Want to go again for sure.

P.S. If I ever find my camera cord, I'll be adding some photos.
 ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports coasterell http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92919 24/7 Disney!? http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92917&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 13:37:00 GMT I heard that Disney is going to be open 24 hours Memorial Day weekend.

This got me thinking, during the summer why don't the Disney parks stay open 24/7 Friday and Saturday nights?

I mean, it wouldn't mean that much more staffing costs and I can see a lot of adults loving the fact you could go ride all the rides without a bunch of rugrats around. I love kids, don't take that the wrong way. But I love animated movies, and I almost hate to see them in the theaters for all the crying and misbehaved kids out there. So to go to a Disney park, and not have to deal with many kids would be awesome. ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Wes http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92917 Canobie Lake Park Opening Day 2013 PTR http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92914&goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 20:21:48 GMT The day is finally here where Canobie not only opens for the season, but has its one day sale. I got off to a slightly late start but managed to get to the park about 5 past 11, just after park opening. I quickly parked and made my way to customer service to buy my season tickets. Canobie has no... The day is finally here where Canobie not only opens for the season, but has its one day sale. I got off to a slightly late start but managed to get to the park about 5 past 11, just after park opening. I quickly parked and made my way to customer service to buy my season tickets. Canobie has no season pass but instead sells discounted tickets good for the entire season. I bought 3 for $81 dollars and used one to get in to the park.


The first thing I noticed is that security was doing bag checks. This was a first for the main season though it was done the last 2 years during Screeemfest. I expected this though and even talked about it before hand with friends. The screening was quick and really didn’t slow down entrance to the park.

I made my way to Equinox. It’s my tradition to hit the newest ride first. I got in the queue line which is horribly set up. There was a 2 cycle wait which wasn’t bad but the rock music blaring from the rides speakers were a bit too loud and ear piercing! So I got on and made my way to my seat.


My God this is uncomfortable. The seat is only a small pad that goes between your legs. The shoulder restraints would be fine, the belt like shoulder harness is great, but there is an extra bar. This bar is an angled plate of steel with no padding that jabbed straight into my ribs. The ride itself is pretty intense, but there is no sense of direction; you’re just everywhere. I want to try it again which never happened this trip since the ride went down early afternoon.


I made my way to Dodgems and then to Zero Gravity. I group of teens were talking about how they thought Zero gravity was better than Equinox. Good to see so much love for an old school ride. I then passed by cannonball and hit Star blaster so I could attempt to meet up with a few people form Canboiefan. I saw a small group of ACE member on Star Blaster took a second to say hi and did eventually find a group of Canobie fan posters. I opted to go around the park with them for a bit hit Over the Rainbow and Mine of Lost Souls. I then grabbed a drink, Souvenir cup refill $1.08 with tax, while everyone got lunch.


The rest of my day was focused on walking and enjoying the park while I hit rides. Crowds were average with 1-2 cycle waits. I opted to use the single rider line on my last 4 rides on Untamed. The park was clean and prepped for the season. I did see a few crews raking up leaves. Though I did notice none of the fountains were operating.

Read the full report and see more pictures: http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20R...013report.html ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Michael C http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92914 SFGAm Opening Day 5/4/2013 http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92911&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 16:27:56 GMT I'm here at Six Flags Great America for opening day and my main objective is to ride Batman backwards. First up is Superman: Ultimate Flight which we're waiting in line for now. And wouldn't you know it, it's only running one train. If you're going to open, then open. It's a weekend and there is already a decent crowd so why not run the park to handle more people. No matter how many times I try, Six Flags always finds a way to disappoint. I'll post more later and hopefully a Batman review. ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports coasterlove http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92911 <![CDATA[Canada's Wonderland Tips?]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92910&goto=newpost Fri, 03 May 2013 15:39:58 GMT June 1 will be my first trip to the park and my friend I'm going with has never been either, so any tips or tricks you can share would be much appreciated.

Normally I don't like going to big parks on Saturdays, but in this case that was our only option.

We're also planning on going to Waldameer on the way up Friday and Conneaut on the way back, that Sunday. Any tips on those would be great too! ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Wes http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92910 <![CDATA[Kings Island Opening Day 4/27/2013 TR with construction notes & pics]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92908&goto=newpost Sun, 28 Apr 2013 07:28:30 GMT Hey all, I just got home from a very nice, but also busy opening day for Kings Island. The parking lot was busy when we arrived at 9:15, and the main section of the lot was full for the entire day. The waterpark lot was used by people running in the color run for cancer that morning. Plenty... Hey all,

I just got home from a very nice, but also busy opening day for Kings Island. The parking lot was busy when we arrived at 9:15, and the main section of the lot was full for the entire day. The waterpark lot was used by people running in the color run for cancer that morning. Plenty of pink to see on people throughout the day.
My only complaint for the day comes from how KI does parking. It doesn't make sense to me, for the crowd that was arriving when we were, to not have the north entrance open. It also doesn't make sense to force five lanes of cars down to one lane, and then, have them follow a line of cones to the back of the parking lot, just to park just beyond the middle median of the parking lot. If they were actually parking cars in specific spots like CP does, this might make a little more sense, but once you get past the large sign, you were on your own to find a spot.

My friend Josh and I got in the park right at 9:30 (season passes processed ahead of time) and were on Diamondback by 10. The ride was smooth and full of airtime as usual. While in line there, we met Samuel who would hang with us until supper time. The three of us headed off to Beast, which was broke down upon arrival, and then rode Vortex after a 20 minute wait. Vortex was not the somewhat jarring ride that I remember from last year, it was actually a decent ride. Even the MCBR was only slightly activated.

We took a look at Windseeker on our way past it. They were working on it all day, and took the ride to the top once that I saw, in a non-spinning fashion. There were two workers up there, one on the catwalk connected to the swing seats, and one on top of the tower. Couldn't tell what they were doing up there, but there were definitely parts on the ground for the evacuation device they are working on.

Back to the Beast, we had about a 45 min. wait to ride the much improved monster in the woods. They did a major amount of re-tracking over the winter, covering everything from the station to the first trim brakes, along with from the first tunnel to the second lift. New wood can also be seen on a number of support bents. One of the smoothest Beast rides I've had in my 12 years of coaster ridding. It was also a wonderful ride as night fell, picking up the intensity as usual.

Flight of Fear had a 1 1/2 hour wait most of the day. I was surprised to find Firehawk with only 1/2 hour wait. They had apparently opened an hour late, and thus didn't have its normal line by the time we got to it. Both sides were open, and operations, along with the ride itself, were smooth.

Racer and Adventure Express both had lines out onto the midway each time we checked on them, so they will wait for another day.

Lunch was eaten at the Festhaus using the gold/platinum family meal deal. A whole pizza, family salad and four drinks for $30, not too bad. They preformed their rock and roll show while we were in line and eating. It was ok, but a little weird as a couple of the females sang solos for a couple of well known R&R males. Not a high quality show yet, I'm sure it will improve over the next month or so.

Headed over to Flight Deck, and caught a glimpse of what is going on with the Son of Beast area. The very old footers from King Cobra are still there. But there is a hole digger on site, and there are already new footers and rebar in place where the go karts were, and more rebar on site to be put up. The access road under Flight Deck was used several times while we were in the area, so this is active construction already. The park also provided signs for the first teaser. See my pictures on the TN facebook page.

Today had my longest wait ever for Flight Deck, as its line was all the way out to the re-ride queue entrance. Fun ride, seemed a little faster than normal, and it was a smoother ride. It also provided a glimpse of one more construction vehicle you can't see elsewhere, except Drop Tower maybe.

After Flight Deck, I was really tired. Long story short, I have sleep apnea and a sleep machine, and the hotel has strange power outlets using motion sensors. I didn't sleep well. Had an hour long nap in the car while Josh and Samuel rode Diamondback twice. Samuel split after this as a couple of his friends had arrived at the park.

Josh and I went to the Eiffel Tower for the overhead view of the construction area. We checked lines in the Coney Mall and Oktoberfest sections before heading to Invertigo, which was testing after being down. At this point, it also started sprinkling, but thankfully it didn't amount to much. Invertigo also delivered a surprisingly smoother ride than normal, with no head banging or shaking train.

We grabbed a quick bite in Coney and headed back to the Beast and Diamondback for the last rides of the night, waiting about an hour each. Both are totally different rides at night, delivering what usually feels like a quicker paced, more extreme ride. Diamondback was made even better, as we got to watch the closing fireworks from the lifthill! Quite an amazing view. They kept the back section of Diamondback dark tonight, so I wonder if they are experimenting, as that section was previously lit at night.

Overall a good visit to the park, the staff were friendly, coasters smooth, and food decent. Lets hope they can keep it up for the rest of the summer.
Thanks for reading if you made it down here! You will hear more from me during the season, plans are being made for an east coast Cedar Fair trip, and a day at Michigan's Adventure later this summer. No question about it, I'm also looking forward to Gate Keeper! Catch you later :) ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Brian H http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92908 <![CDATA[India's Adlabs Imagica NEW Park '13]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92904&goto=newpost Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:04:24 GMT

Adlabs Imagica opened to the public in India a few days ago. Here is an animation. I knew a new Premier coaster was opening there. In recent weeks we learned of a B&M floorless coaster called Nitro coming. It's not built yet but the track is on site.
Here are images of the Nitro rendering.

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The layout looks close to Batman: Dark Knight at SFNE: Right turn first drop into a loop, a dive loop next with a 180 turn through the first loop then a zero g roll through that dive loop into interlocking corkscrews and a helix into the final brakes. The zero g roll through the dive loop is a feature on SFNE's Batman. I think this is a Batman mirror with an extra helix at the end. There would be theming by Nito's station, more than what is now at NITRO the B&M hyper at SFGADV. hahaha

Scream Machine looks like a giant frisbee ride. In the background are ride supports. It may be Nitro under construction.


Some live shots of the park and a press conference for the new park.


Rajasaurus: that name cracks me up. It's probably a Jurassic Park boat ride clone.

The newest coaster park market: India is opening up finally. Zoomerang from Alabama Adventures is going to a park in Mumbai as well.
Attached Thumbnails
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]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Leo C http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92904 <![CDATA[California Adventure & Knott's]]> http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92901&goto=newpost Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:36:00 GMT I'm planning a weekend in SoCal. Is it possible to visit California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm in one day? ]]> Parks/Travel Tips/Trip Reports Alex Westerman http://www.thrillnetwork.com/showthread.php?t=92901