coasterdime

I'd put the number right in the neighborhood of 11,000...

Actually, it's going to retail for around $200. They do take about 10-14 hours to build, though. They should be in stock soon.

It was spotted in the last hour or so. So if anyone's in the area...

So I'm hearing that the track is FINALLY starting to arrive! Maybe someone in that area could get us a pic or two?!

Actually, the park will be closed this Easter. We open Saturday, and then are closed until the following weekend. There are also no plans as of yet to have the park open any later than 10pm until October.

There really isn't a bad ride in the park...

Yep, they stayed open until 1 am...

PT's music always reminded me of the music from "Tales of the Crypt." I still prefer PT to Scooby, only because Scooby looks 'cheap' to me.

Parks covered: Old Town Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney MGM Magic Kingdom EPCOT Our cars left Cincinnati on Wednesday night. (12-29) After many, many stops along the way, we arrived in Orlando early Thursday afternoon. Although tired, we were all overcome by that buzz you sometimes get when on a coaster trip. We spent a good deal of Thursday adjusting, and doing a few non-theme park activities. Enough was enough....We were ready to begin riding. Old Town was our first stop. For those who don't already know, Old Town is home to the world's tallest Sky coaster. This thing has to be seen to be believed. I won't do skycoasters, so I was happy to just watch for a few minutes. Good stuff. We decided to walk around Old Town for a little while. The place is simply a collection of flats, a few pay-per attractions, shops and resturants. I walked past all of that to get my coaster credit. Windstorm was not a bad ride. (was that the name, Todd?) The best drop was in the middle of the course...a steep, dramatic, twisting dive. Again, a good ride....just did it once, due to the $5 price. After Old Town, we decided we should probably get a little sleep. Some of us had been up for 30+ hours. Friday brought us Universal, and IoA. Our first stop was Mummy. I had heard a lot of things about this ride, and was very curious. The ride vehicles are simple 12 passenger single cars. The ride begins like a dark ride, with really good special effects. Not too far into the ride, the car stops. We were then lauched backward, and stopped again. The car sits on a piece of track that acts like a roundhouse. We were turned around, track and all; and lauched again. Instead of flat track, we were launched uphill...giving some pretty good air at the top of the hll. A darn good collection of air hills, intense turns, and effects fills the next few seconds. The finale was well done, and I won't spoil it here. We did most of the studios, and even rode the Woody Woodpecker coaster. It was time for the park I came for....IoA. This park is themed so well that I can't find the words to describe it. I won't try, but I will talk a little about the rides... Incredible Hulk is a B&M sit-down, with a little twist. Most of you know that there isn't a traditional lift. The train is tire driven, and tire launched...up, up, and into the first inversion. It was surreal, being that upside-down while being that high in the air. Very nice. A cobra roll, vertical loop, a weird little diving loop, ANOTHER vertical loop, and a few corkscrews later, we pulled back into the loading station....wondering what happened to us. An incredible ride! Spiderman, for me, was probably my favorite ride of the trip. I really can't describe the ride itself, but can tell you that it is far and away the BEST dark ride I have ever experienced. Everyone needs to try this one for himself. The Flying Unicorn was a 'once for the credit' coaster. The layout is very similar to reptar...just not inverted. Buzzsaw Falls is the park's flume ride. The theming is impeccable, and the final drop is beyond words. I understand that this drop had to be modified since it opened. Still, very effective drop! I rode this LATE on Friday, and was freezing as a result. Try this one in the middle of the day. Before I get to Dueling Dragons, let me stress that if you go, you HAVE to stop to see everything. The other dark rides and shows (even in Suess) will keep you entertained. I also understand that ther restaurants are second-to-none. (I was on a STRICT budget this time....so I missed out) Dueling Dragons is a beautifully done attraction. The ride (for those that don't know) consists of a pair of B&M inverts. They are designed to have really close encounters to the train on the other track. Our first ride was on Fire....in the back. I was already sold on this ride. Front seat rides waited for a few days. We arrived early that following Tuesday to enjoy multiple front seat rides. Because the rides weren't even close to full, the dueling aspect was a little off, much to my disappointment. There were a few hints of how great the real duel would have been... Fire is my personal favorite side. An added note: We spent New Year's Eve at IoA. There were DJ's, drinks, fireworks and coasters. Not a bad way to welcome the new year. The Disney megaplex is next. Many of you have already experienced Disney, so I'll (finally) be breif. I'll just do a quick highlight recap. Having an A-list friend has its benefits. We passed a 2+hour wait for Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and a couple of popular shows. Splash Mountain was perfect. Long ride, great theming, and fun drops! Space Mountain was much better than I ever remembered. The ride seems MUCH faster than it actually was. I could have ridden this many, many more times. Big Thunder MR was what I expected, and remembered. A solid, fun ride! We also tackled Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean, which are sentimental favorites. EPCOT was home to my other favorite of the trip: Mission Space. I really thought this ride was incredibly effective. The trip takes you from Earth with an unbelievably strong launch! (my favorite part of the ride) We did most of EPCOT easily, as there were really never any crowds. I especially liked our 'walk through the world' It was a brief walk through a laundry list of well themed 'countries." I'll definitely spend more time here next time. MGM and AK were smaller parks, that we just touched on. MGM was home to Tower of Terror, and Rock & Roller Coaster. Both rides are quite good, but of the two, I prefer R&RC. It hints of our own FoF, but features a very smooth ride, (even with OTSR's) Incredible theming, and even a killer soundtrack in the trains themselves! Animal Kingdom was a park we tackled VERY quickly. Our first stop was Primeval Whirl. which is a spinning Wild Mouse. Not great theming, (unusual for Disney) but a very fun ride. There was no one in line, so we opted for a reride. There was also that Dinosuar ride...whose name I can't remember. The ride vehicles are jeeps, and the ride is absolutely action packed. Someone will respond to name this ride, I hope. We also stopped to see "It's a Bug's Life," which was actually a very fun show.... Before we left, we stopped to check on construction of Expedition Everest. This ride looks to be insane! The two visible drops were very dramatic, and we even saw an air hill or two. This ride won't be open for business for a while still...but is looking great! One more quick Universal note: Men in Black. This is a must ride. I'm not the biggest fan of shoot-em-ups, but this one is really done right. Not a bunch of cardboard cut-outs, this ride is REALLY interactive. On my last trip, I scored an impressive 574,000 points! Those are most of the highlights. There were many other great rides I'm leaving out, but maybe my good friend Todd can respond to help fill in the gaps! Thanks for reading!

I've ridden more coasters than most, and not as many as some. (eh, Todd?) I honestly consider Screechin' Eagle to be one of the best wood coasters in Ohio. I used to subscribe to the biggest=best philosophy, but as my coaster experience widens, I'm finding some of these older, smaller rides are capable of packing a much larger punch. My favorite coaster on the planet has a lift height of less than 100 feet! Although these rides are completely safe, (they have to be to legally operate) they were designed and built before the time that insurance companies 'designed' the rides.

I'm not sure if I would have the b@lls to snap if a ride like Eagles was up there! Fun topic.

Did all of the Paramount parks offer some kind of 2 for 1 ticket deal? I wonder how this played into the attendance spike. I do remember how the crowds showed up for the season when our waterpark opened. Huge hit! I only wish that PKI could add a little to BB each year, Kinda like Holiday World generally does. It's nice to see PKI leading the seasonals again...

ZOOMbabwe bunny hill WAS one of the best. It was one of those "holy s#*t!" moments for me...

I'd still like to see a restaurant with actual table service return to PKI.

The funny thing about the former SFWoA is that it actually made a small profit, while many of the other SF parks kept losing patrons and cash. I know that SF really had HUGE plans for 'WoA. The parent company just over-extended to the tune of 2 billion dollars. side note for Geauga....see what happens when you remove a good set of scooters?!

Yep

Like Bisch-Rocco?!!

You gotta admit, the idea is creative! An Eli ferris wheel would be great with theming, and two attractions under one moniker would help diffuse long lines. I like this idea...

God, I miss Stella! The last time I saw her, her teeth were covered with fudge... and she had a gummi worm stuck to the side of her face. She kept talking about some stud on The Racer crew...in between eating caramel apples in one bite.

This sounds like fun! I always thought the elevators were kinda slow anyways... The new color scheme should be striking!

Weird thing is, I got the holiday greeting from PKD...and not PKI!

I agree, Todd. The theming on Legend definitely bests that on SoB. Legend's station is done pretty well...with things like a schoolhouse bell and even a chalk board. As Legend's train crests the lift, there are loud speakers that howl as the train begins to drop. It really DOES seem like the Headless Horseman is right behind you....

Yep, that was 'good times.' We can't take the blame for breaking that ride, can we?!

As some of you know, I was there Sunday night. I got my 849th ride of the season, (yep, I really did count 'em this year) adding to the thousands of rides over the past few years. I did leave without using my little white paper. Just like I said in the other thread, I was a little emotional, and just was ready to leave. As much as I want to hate 'Paramount,' I still like PKI. Because of what I feel is now a lesser product, I won't be a guest nearly as often as in years past.... but I'll be there from time to time.

I still fail to see the "hilarity." Any time a park loses a classic flat, it is a reason to take notice. There are some flashy, overpriced rides at the front of the park I'd rather see go.....