johnjniehaus

Some of mine have been - - - - - Racer needed a repaint Adventure Port wasn't open for Opening Weekend Phantom Theater needs to return We need to address the Tomb Raider building Vortex needs a replacement The Bat needs to be saved from demolition in the future

Yeah ITM doesn't always have their facts straight in my experience. They win the award for catchy click bait headlines but the actual article can be misleading or just have totally incorrect information. Take this article for example about Hershey park saving their 100 year old coaster Wildcat with an RMC treatment (sorry guys that isn't the same wildcat that opened in 1923).

See from reading reviews I was under the impression that tunnel one was the cobra caverns and that tunnel three was the gem mine however on my rides last night the first tunnel is clearly marked as gem mine on a small sign located on the right side of the track before entering the tunnel. The snakes in the third tunnel are more noticeable at night however there's one that's sitting on the top of the tunnel which can be seen from other outdoor portions of the track. Overall it's not 100% but it's a lot better than it was. I really hope they keep up on the maintenance and keep the animatronics working and the audio working.

Ok so here's my review as I just came up this evening to get my first rides on cargo loco and adv express. Cargo Loco to me personally is hard to spin though I got it going pretty fast I thought. Really nice visually and I'm glad we have another family ride near Adventure Express and viking fury. Adventure Express was really cool with all the additional thematic elements. I do think they need to bump up the audio because arrow mine trains are noisy and drown out the narrative. I couldn't make out the audio on the first lift hill (also noticed the masks/sphinx heads are not there) I hope they add some lighting/gems in the first tunnel which is marked as the gem mine. The second tunnel (the Kings tomb is wonderful with lots of props lighting and working effects) the third tunnel is the cobra caverns and I did see a few snakes but hopefully they are adding a few more and giving it better lighting. I saw one snake on the top of the tunnel before you enter and there's a cobra on the right side of the train near the end of the tunnel that you can see if you're looking for it. Perhaps there's more snakes in there and you are going too fast or it's too dark to notice? I'm not sure. The forbidden temple is of course the highlight as all but one fist guy was working and the audio was actually turned up loud enough to hear it well. Of course the station master is great and so are all the que line props. So all in all it's an amazing ride with great theme however there's a few audio bugs they could work out and I would like to see more gems and snakes in the gem mine and cobra caverns tunnels Ok so after a few night rides, I was able to see that there's at least 4 snakes in the 3rd tunnel and I was able to pick up on some audio without all the noise of the riders. The lift hill audio says something like "you are on the wrong track... you are headed for the forbidden temple...I will check in with you there" Now I'm sure I'm still missing bits of what the audio says however it's something kind of like that. The audio at the end is something like "you are back on track one ..... And remember the express is always on the right track."

I get the argument that this is "cheating" pass holders in a way so perhaps the timing is not the best however, I personally like the idea. Six Flags has the option to get a single use fast pass for $11 or something and when you only visit for 1 day and need to get all the credits on a budget you often just wait in line however if you can buy an affordable fast pass for the one ride you don't have enough time to ride it's a much more successful day. For example at Six Flags Over TX I had had moderate waits for Shockwave, Titan, Batman, and Runaway Mine Train during the morning. In the afternoon the park became swamped and I had to wait two hours for Mr Freeze and close to two hrs for New TX Giant. After those two coasters sucking down 4hrs of my day I had two hours till closing to get the remaining coasters - Pandemonium, Runaway Mountain, and La Vibora. I got the single use fast pass on Pandemonium and Runaway Mountain knocking both out in a half hour. I then discovered that runaway mountain had a single rider line (so I actually wasted $11 there). I decided to wait for La Vibora and because of a break down waited an hour. (I should have got the fast pass for it seeing as I would have been on and off before the break down delay). However in my final two hrs I was able to get one ride on Pandemonium, two on runaway mountain (1 fast pass, 1 single rider), one on La Vibora and two on Shockwave (which was station wait near park closing). I thought the single fast pass was worth it personally and I would probably use it at KI especially if going with friends who have limited time and just need to get on one more ride.

Did they do anything interesting with that third tunnel?

I'm happy to see they are running it at a pretty descent speed. The tea cups at some parks seem to crawl and you are forced to madly spin the cups to get any sort of thrill out of the ride.

Well that's the real trick isn't it because unfortunately many rides have fallen into disrepair in terms of theming. I mean maybe there's a reason Adventure Express is getting "enhancement" seeing as the theming that is there only works some of the time. Stunt Cars is another one where it feels like the theming could be restored or at least maintained a bit better. I'm not saying that the rides have to have movie themes or anything but I've really enjoyed the slight theme/storylines of the newer rides like Orion and Mystic Timbers. Flight of Fear has also maintained it's theme pretty well. I'm hoping with this investment into Adventure Express that we will see more money spent on the upkeep of the theming and possibly some future revamps for rides like stunt cars and see boo blaster converted back to Phantom Theater.

I just watched the POV of Phantom Theater and thought I'd revisit the subject of the return of the ride to the dark ride building currently occupied by boo blaster. After seeing the POV again I am still saddened and dumfounded by the decision to remove such an amazing looking dark ride for rides like Scooby Doo and Boo Blasters. I say that the Maestro and his gang need to kick Boocifer and his ghosts out once and for all and retake the dark ride building! Let's go Phantom Theater 2024! (This is also coming from a guy who never experienced the original seeing as it closed the year I was born. I also think it would be a hit amongst more than just the nostalgic park goers and would gather a whole new generation of fans)

I'm ashamed to admit it but I never did see the Phantom Theater Encore show last year so I will definitely make it a point to see it this year. I keep watching the POV of the ride and I still can't fathom why or how they destroyed such a masterpiece of a dark ride for Scooby Doo or the awful cardboard cutout ghosts known as boo blaster...

I wonder if the Eiffel Tower has seen an increase in ridership this year since it's the prime place to spy on Adventure Port construction?

I have always found it interesting that Adventure Express opened before the Paramount days but was sort of an omen as to what was coming next for the park. I'm not sure if the park management knew Paramount was going to swoop in the year following the opening of the coaster however it has remained one of the most unaltered rides from that period of park history. I really hope they bring back all the old effects that are "broken" most of the time like the spear traps and the lava effects and add more skeletons and snakes, etc. Something else I would love to see is a mist or something in the final tunnel with the cauldron guy with a red light behind it to make it appear that the lava is actually physically falling onto the trains/riders. (Much like the big thunder mountain waterfall effect on the first lift hill). I doubt they will do anything like that because the mist/water probably puts more wear on track and whatever but it would still really heighten the experience!

Well, last time I checked were over a month into "the 2023 season" and they just now assembled the ride. Sure I get the argument that a higher capacity ride would have cost a little more and taken a little longer to assemble but if it's not going to be open for opening weekend and it's going to open "during the season at some point" than what the heck just get the bigger one. All I can think of is that perhaps they don't think the capacity will be an issue after the opening season or perhaps it wasn't in the budget (as in the extra money got funneled to Adventure Express or the new restaurants). Regardless I'm still excited that we're getting something new this year because I was assuming it would be a big bust year with no additions. However, I do wish it had been planned and executed better seeing as the delayed opening is very frustrating. Everything I'm seeing is looking really good though so I really hope they wrap up soon!

I agree that the price was just ridiculous and really hurt the attendance. I'm sure the amount of money it takes to run the star cruiser is substantial but "average" people can't drop 5-6k for two nights. Even some of what I would consider wealthy people I know would say that's ridiculous because some wealthy people are actually pretty frugal in my opinion. Sure they splurge here and there but they are also money smart and worked their way up to where they are now financially. Throwing down that much on the star cruiser isn't very money smart when you can get so much more time at Disney for less money by staying somewhere else. So if the target audience was the middle class they failed and even not everyone in the upper class is willing to spend that much when there's better options to be had.

I went last year on the second Thur of May operations and found the lines to be shorter as well. I'm guessing because kids aren't out of school yet and families aren't ready to take vacation trips yet while you get more later in summer. Just mainly seemed to be older people and college kids. As for Steel Vengeance, I haven't ridden it a whole lot (I mean once per visit and probably a total of 5 times since it opened so I don't profess to be any kind of expert on how it rides). I can say that I didn't notice anything different but again I probably don't ride it enough to notice. I thought the airtime still delivered ejector and I was in the back half of the train.

Alright just got back from a wonderful trip to CP and here's my report - Crowd level: lightest crowds I've ever seen at the park. Longest wait all day was 70min for Steel Vengeance. Millennium Force was a 45min wait We got on Maverick in 30 min both times and everything else was definitely less than that. Boardwalk: looks fabulous. Wanted to try and eat at the new restaurant but we were in the back by mine ride when lunch rolled around so we had the farmhouse instead. The wild mouse looked fun but I wasn't willing to wait 45 min for it when millenium force at the same time of day was 20 min wait. I also liked that they covered their tracks of removing the Matterhorn and Scrambler from the main midway and replaced them with walking path and landscaping. You would never know they were there unless you knew they were there. Millennium Force: wonderful as always! Ops seemed a bit slow but it's early in the season so they have room for improvement Magnum XL 200: experienced alot of down time during the trip. We didn't catch it until nearly 5pm and got two rides. To me personally still one of the best in the park. Gemini: due to staffing they were only running the red side. Hopefully they get the rest of the staff trained soon! Maverick: these ops were killing it! Line moved faster than I've ever seen it move and the ride only had one period of downtime that I noticed. Iron Dragon: wasn't operating however, they had trains on the lift and in the station so hopefully in a few weeks it'll be flying again Cedar Downs Racing Derby: This is one of our favs and it was closed all day. I saw there was a wet paint sign by the ride so perhaps painting is why it wasn't operating or perhaps like blue Gemini it was a result of short staffing? Regardless my 9 year old sister was pretty disappointed until we promised we'd ride the Cadillac Cars 2x to make up for it. Of course we rode Steel Vengeance, Mine Ride, GateKeeper, Valravn, Raptor, Blue Streak, and Corkscrew. The only major coaster we didn't ride was Rougarou and the Wild Mouse. Altogether a beautiful day and we were able to do a lot of rides. Enjoyed this trip much more than some previous ones where the crowds are just so crazy up there.

I was at CP yesterday (May 11) and Iron Dragon was not operating. They did have trains on the lift and in the station house. Hopefully they get it up and running soon!

In any footage I've seen of Vortex at Canadas Wonderland it runs 6 car trains. The Bat at KI runs 7 car trains. However, yes it would be interesting to know what the difference in wear and tear is on the two rides.

I was never fond of T3. About any "new" coaster model would be better than that one as long as it isn't a really tame family coaster addition. An addition to the park on par with storm chaser or lightning run would be great!

So.... sounds like it's not going to be opening day after all.

YES!!! It flies again! I can't wait to get back to the park and ride it again!

Kings Island: a ride through time shed a bit of light on the decision making process surrounding The Vortex removal and yes it's true that it was not announced until very late summer or maybe fall. However, it was still operational giving it's fans a few weeks to get last rides. I personally think they should have given it an entire season farewell much like Cedar Point gave Mean Streak but unfortunately we didn't get that. The problem with The Bat is that we don't know what the current issue is. It probably is (and I'm hoping that it is) just a small part issue or perhaps some re-tracking that didn't get completed during the off season seeming plausible seeing as Delirium and Drop Tower also are waiting on parts/maintenance. However, it is true that in cases such as Volcano at KD some coasters wind up in SBNO land and then are quietly removed without any last rides much to the grief of coaster enthusiasts and fans of the particular ride. I don't think we should jump to conclusions but I do understand the fear that The Bat could wind up in a similar situation to Volcano.

I'm really hoping whatever the reason behind the delayed opening is resolved and they are able to get The Bat operational sooner rather than later. I am also of the opinion that rides shouldn't be removed unless they are prepared to replace them with something and as of right now it seems that The Vortex plot is in need of something. I know they decided to take Vortex down coinciding with the addition of Orion but I do believe they intended to replace it before now. COVID probably changed whatever tentative plans they had. Regardless, I really love suspended arrow coasters and I really hope there's nothing majorly wrong with ours seeing as it is the "newest" one. If for some reason they decide it's going the way of Dinosaurs Alive and all the other defunct attractions hopefully they sell off some track slices because that's one coaster I'd actually invest in having a souvenir from.

This made me chuckle a little bit. Trading something to CP would be difficult seeing as they have one of the most complete coaster collections in the world. I personally enjoy Beast and Racer much more than Mystic and figured that a modern woodie was about the only thing we have that CP doesn't have or would be interested in having in the future. Part of the deal was also getting one of only two racing derby carousel rides that exist in the USA. Again trying to make sense for CP I couldn't justify trading them any of our flat rides because it would only be duplicates of what they already have. However, I can understand that for any fan of Mystic Timbers the trade would be out of the question! So yeah I might be crazy ... Just not crazy about Mystic Timbers

Yes exactly my thoughts! I personally won't be at CP on opening day but I'll be there that following week weather permitting.