58 minutes ago, KIBeast said:

My understanding is that their Backlot Stunt Coaster is also receiving a re-theme? Wonder if that will also be a jungle re-theme?

I'd actually love to see Backlot get rethemed to a safari jeep style coaster or something. Remove some of the concrete and shipping containers that are so unsightly. 

This seems like their answer to Banshee with its record breaking height and length for a launched wing coaster- though you can make a record based off of any stat nowadays.

My only gripe is that they should have squeezed out 1 or two more inversions- the first elements could have been a cutback, the airtime hill could have been a zero-g roll and or the S-then could’ve been a corkscrew. I’m not really a fan of airtime hills on B&M coasters that focus on inversions: GateKeeper and Valravn come to mind. (I’m not an engineer so I’m sure that would’ve cost the park extra $$$ to do more inversions so it’s more of a nitpick than anything.)

Overall it looks like a good attraction to the park. We haven’t seen many green coasters made in a while so that’s always cool to see- I dare say it looks like it’s a similar shade of green as the Eiffel Tower. It’ll certainly keep them somewhat competitive in the mid-Atlantic. 

2 hours ago, johnjniehaus said:

I'd actually love to see Backlot get rethemed to a safari jeep style coaster or something. Remove some of the concrete and shipping containers that are so unsightly. 

If that becomes a reality, it would give us hope that we could convert ours to something more visually appealing.

I think wing coasters benefit a lot from having a less inversion centric layout.  Put more 90 degree banked turns and s-curves to take advantage of the wide trains' natural lateral forces when you put them through pretty much any turn.   

Wing coasters are also limited by a lot of drag and weight of the trains dragging momentum a lot.  The elements on all of them shrink pretty quick compared to, say, a more traditional B&M like a floorless or a stand up.

17 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

Wing coasters are also limited by a lot of drag and weight of the trains dragging momentum a lot.  The elements on all of them shrink pretty quick compared to, say, a more traditional B&M like a floorless or a stand up.

That’s a good point that I didn’t consider- like I said, I’m not an engineer 

It's great to see CF starting to focus on some of its more minor parks now (I realize KD isn't a minor park compared to something like Dorney or Michigan's Adventure, but it still isn't one of the company's biggest parks in terms of fame, especially with Busch Gardens Williamsburg being just an hour away). A major coaster addition just in time for the park's 50th anniversary season is an excellent choice in my opinion, especially one that they can say is "record breaking" to appeal to the general public. It'll be interesting to see what else the park has in store for their 50th anniversary as well.

I'm for sure trying to get back down to KD and BGW next summer (2025). It'll be interesting to see if the rumors of BGW 2025 coaster pan out. If so I'll have 3 new coasters to ride seeing as I haven't been to BGW since before darkoaster opened 

I'll have 4 as I haven't been since 2019. Might have even more if I decide to add SFA to the itinerary.

On 8/1/2024 at 10:47 AM, Oldiesmann said:

I'll have 4 as I haven't been since 2019. Might have even more if I decide to add SFA to the itinerary.

SFA was a very interesting experience for me... Loved superman and the wild one. I was the second train of the day on batwing which was also the final train of the day on batwing. The ops on jokers jink checked all the lap bars before the lock mechanism was engaged and then after the lock was engaged never rechecked before sending the train. I knew I was safe but it was a really really bad operations moment to be sure. Idk if the ops were so incompetent that they literally checked an entire train of unlocked bars and then thought nothing of it or if they didn't care enough to check after the lock was engaged. Very strange and slightly unnerving experience. Roar might be one of the roughest Woodies I've ever ridden but at least it's got great curb appeal! One of the hidden gems is that they still have a flying Dutchman ride (flying shoes) called pirates flight that was a pleasant surprise. 

 

Overall KD and BGW are FAR SUPERIOR parks to SFA. I hope that SFA can improve their ops and their food options in the coming years. I know that Great America in Chicago has made amazing strides in improving their food offerings and I hope SFA can get better. Oh and maybe they can actually get a ground up rollercoaster instead of someone's leftovers...

So Rapterra already has track work complete and trains on site. 

Kings Dominion - It's an exciting day as #Rapterra's trains are... | Facebook

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13 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

So Rapterra already has track work complete and trains on site. 

Kings Dominion - It's an exciting day as #Rapterra's trains are... | Facebook

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They have been booking through the install. 

It's crazy how fast Kings Dominion has been throughout the construction progress of Rapterra. In comparison, I think Orion's trackwork was only completed around the station, final brakes and the base of the lift hill this time five years ago.

Along with the wing coaster, Project 305 seems to have a repaint underway- orange track and black supports.  Perhaps a tiger theme?

Pics courtesy of Carowinds Fans Only via Facebook. (go figure). 

Anyone know what happened to domestic B&M quality control?

https://x.com/atlsloan/status/1871578281230922034?s=42

Looks like telephoto distortion. It's zoomed in and also from an angle that makes the launch track appear shorter.

Edit: I just watched the entire Rapterra Report 3 video where that clip came from, and all the other, non-compressed views of the launch look fine.

You don't see the up and down shaking on the left side?

I just rode Rapterra for the first time today. The ride has the B&M “shakes” at least from the outer seat in the back row on both sides. The launch is great and the ride paces well.The theming and landscaping is really done well. The only quirk is in order to get into the Fast Lane line you start out in the regular line:

I think Rapterra may be one of the only new attractions to have opened with its park this year across the Six Flags chain. Between the bigger parks east of the Mississippi, AlpenFury (CW), Siren's Curse (CP), both attractions at Carowinds, Wrath of Rakshasa (SF Great America), and Quantum Accelerator (SF New England): all have yet to open. I'm not counting River Racers since it's opening with Soak City, nor am I counting TT2, The Flash (Great Adventure) or Georgia Goldrusher (SF Over Georgia) since I think (?) those were all originally 2024 additions. Someone please add context if I'm wrong (which I probably am). 

Either way, I'm very happy for and proud of Kings Dominion this year. Congratulations on 50 years of fun!