Dollywood and Carowinds Review

About a month ago, I visited Dollywood and Carowinds. After the trip however, I couldn't find time to post a review with college and Band Camp starting up again. But now I will post a review!

Dollywood: 8/5/2014

1. Tennessee Tornado (Arrow Megalooper)

2. Wild Eagle (B&M Wing Coaster)

3. Firechaser Express (Gerstlauer Launched Family Coaster)

4. Blazing Fury (Herschend Powered Coaster (Indoors))

5. Daredevil Falls (Shoot-the-chutes ride)

6. Smoky Mountain River Rampage (River rapids ride)

7. Thunderhead (GCI Wooden Coaster)

8. Mystery Mine (Gerstlauer Launched Eurofighter)

9. Wild Eagle (2nd time) (B&M Wing Coaster)

10. Skyrider (Family swing ride)

11. Barnstormer (S&S Screamin' Swing)

I heard from many that Dollywood is one of the best parks in America. Well, I have visited it, and I'm pleased to announce those claims are true. Dollywood is an awesome park from theming to even the rides. Is it as great as Phantasialand? I wouldn't say so, because while Dollywood has been claimed by everyone as a great park, I didn't hear much about Phantasialand until I went, so it was an awesome surprise. But yes, Dollywood is a very good park! So what are we waiting for? Let's talk about the rides:

Tennessee Tornado was a pretty fun megalooper and I liked how it was in the woods. This is my third Arrow Megalooper I think, with the other two being Viper at SFMM and Anaconda at Kings Dominion. I liked Viper better (it was a great ride at least in 2010), but I definitely liked Tennessee Tornado better than Anaconda at Kings Dominion (for those who follow me, you probably know I don't like Anaconda at all). Great layout as well. Overall, very nice looper!

Wild Eagle was a surprise for me. This was my second Wing Coaster and some claimed it wasn't that great compared to others. Well I rode it, and it was actually a very fantastic coaster! It is now my favorite Wing Coaster overall. The fact that it was on a mountain made it a very spectacular experience, plus the view of the layout from the top of the lift. The ride itself really delivered, and it became a 5-Star. Definitely my favorite coaster in Dollywood.

Firechaser Express: An even greater surprise and a great example for what IMO a family coaster SHOULD be. It became a 4-Star on my list, which is quite an accomplishment for a family coaster! So why that ranking and not a 1, 2 etc? Everything it does is well done from effects and theming to even overall ride experience. This was the perfect family coaster! For starters, the layout including the backwards section was excellent. It was thrilling yet accommodated riders who did not like straight drops like my mother. When I got off the ride, I immediately thought of the rumored Amber Mine coaster for Jurassic Park at Islands of Adventure. IMO, this type is what I want for that coaster. It will give IOA the family coaster they've needed for a while. I even think there is space for one (if they use the Trike Encounter plot, as well as parts of a redesigned Camp Jurassic). So yes, an amazing family coaster and coaster in general! Well done Dollywood!

Blazing Fury: Alright, I'm just going to say this... it's my least favorite ride in Dollywood. I just... didn't get this ride. I didn't even think it was a coaster when I rode, but at the same time I knew it was (RCDB classifies it). Still it felt like a simple train ride with drops. I would appreciate it more if we had a compelling story to follow as well as exciting effects and animatronics... but we didn't. Instead it's based off of forest fires (which funny that, Firechaser Express was, and they handled that idea MUCH better on that ride) with very little effects (and boring ones) as well as outdated animatronics. I guess since I go to Universal a lot, I expect animatronics to be just as great as the ones there, but these ones were bad. I suppose the one thing I will defend this ride for is that it was made by Herschend themselves (the company who runs Dollywood and Silver Dollar City in Missouri). I like how rides can be designed by theme park companies themselves. Still, this ride needs an update, NOT a removal, but an update. Definitely one of my least favorite coasters.

Daredevil Falls: Typical shoot-the-chutes ride. Fun ride but nothing compared to Jurassic Park River Adventure at IOA.

Smoky Mountain River Rampage: While I didn't like it as much as Congo River Rapids at BGT or Popeye at IOA, it was still a fun ride. A bit slow, but cool.

Thunderhead: This is my favorite non-Intamin wooden coaster. The layout is just exhilirating, especially when the train goes through the station! I've done four other GCIs: Gwazi (Busch Gardens Tampa), Lightning Racer (Hersheypark), Wildcat (Hersheypark), and White Lightning (Fun Spot America). None of them are as good as Thunderhead! Awesome wooden coaster! :D

Mystery Mine: While it did break down while we waited in line, I enjoyed the ride! This was a very intriguing roller coaster, and no doubt one of the coolest I've seen. For starters, after the station, you are immediately dropped into an indoor section. Also, both drops caught me offguard! The theming is also top notch! This was my first Gerstlauer Eurofighter and it was a very awesome experience.

Skyrider: This was an interesting family ride. Almost like a miniature WindSeeker, however there are some controls on the vehicle that you can use to change the experience.

Barnstormer: After the last ride, we immediately remembered Barnstormer, and it was almost closing time. We ran to the ride just before the park closed and we got in. This is my second S&S Screamin' Swing, the first being Skyhawk at Cedar Point. Very good experience and definitely better theming than the other one! For some reason, however, they had one side running, while the other was shut down (maybe because of the park almost closing, or mechanical issues. After all, Skyhawk did experience some technical difficulties recently).

Overall, A for Dollywood!

Carowinds: 8/6/2014

1. Intimidator (B&M Hypercoaster)

2. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman)

3. WindSeeker (Mondial Wind Seeker)

4. Vortex (B&M Stand-Up)

5. Hurler (International Coasters Wooden Coaster)

6. Drop Tower: Scream Zone (Intamin Giant Drop)

7. Carolina Goldrusher (Arrow Mine Train)

8. Carolina Cobra (Vekoma Boomerang)

9. Nighthawk (Vekoma Flying Dutchman) (2nd time)

My second visit to Carowinds. The first time I visited this place was in 2011 with Kings Dominion and Cedar Point. While I revisited the two others in 2012, I didn't go to Carowinds that year. So now Carowinds is once again equal with the other two.

The stuff that has changed since then was not skyline-changing (except WindSeeker), but are a lot of changes regardless. In 2012, they added WindSeeker. In 2013, they added Dinosaurs Alive. In 2014, they moved the Skycoaster, cleared the Go-Karts for the new 2015 coaster (BTW announced as Fury 325. I'll talk about it later), and built a new building Harmony Hall on the field in front of Intimidator (just to name a few). Harmony Hall, BTW, is an awesome place for shade! The park is as great as I remembered (though the operations were a bit crappier then I recalled, particularly on Vortex and Hurler). One thing that saddened me was Afterburn being down the entire day. :( But it was a great experience like in 2011. Also, between my ride of Vortex and my ride of Hurler, I got to see the construction for Fury 325's entrance area! I have a feeling Thrill Zone's look will change by next year (not just the coaster but the area in general)! So let's talk about the rides:

Intimidator: As usual, Intimidator is one of my favorite coasters at Carowinds! Still has awesome airtime and ride experience! :D

Nighthawk: Also as usual, Nighthawk was fantastic. This and Intimidator are my favorite coasters at Carowinds. While Nighthawk does have bad capacity, that didn't take away the awesome experience I got. At the moment, I decided: this is my favorite type of flying coaster. While the B&M ones I do love almost as much, the ride experience of Nighthawk is definitely better overall, such as laying down on the lift hill and all of a sudden flipping into flying position! That one section I've always loved, and this time was no different. Towards the end, I gave Nighthawk another ride, since I wanted my ride count of Nighthawk to be equal to Intimidator, since like I said, it is my other favorite in the park! Of course with Fury 325 being built, I have a gut feeling my two favorites are going to be challenged by that monster!

WindSeeker: This one was installed with Kings Dominion's in 2012. I've ridden Cedar Point and Kings Dominion's, so this one is my third WindSeeker and my Mom's FIRST WindSeeker. It is an awesome flat ride, and definitely one I would like to see in Florida in the future. I'm a little depressed the popularity of these rides being installed has dwindled. Not one new one has been installed by Cedar Fair since 2012 (key word being "new." Steelhawk opened in Worlds of Fun in 2014, but that was a relocated WindSeeker from Knott's Berry Farm). These rides are great experiences as well as a great way of getting a view around!

Vortex: While this is and has always been the B&M I like the least, it's still a decent experience!

Hurler: As always, it was a very good wooden coaster. I don't understand the hate this ride gets for being rough and headache-inducing. It really was not that bad. Plus, woodies are usually supposed to have that rough feeling. Now that doesn't mean I complain about woodies that are smooth, since I do like El Toro and Colossos a lot, those being my favorite wooden coasters (El Toro probably getting first place) and some of my favorite coasters overall! I just don't see anything to complain about rough woodies. Now rough STEEL coasters on the other hand, I do have a problem with. But anyways, Hurler is a pretty good wooden coaster! :)

Drop Tower: This is a cool drop tower, but I've always preferred the Gyro Drops over the Giant Drops. Still a cool ride!

Carolina Goldrusher: A cool mine train. Mom didn't remember this one, so she was a little worried about if there were drops (but there weren't). XD

Carolina Cobra: Like before, a fun ride experience!

So overall, Carowinds is still a very fun park. I'm still a little disappointed I wasn't able to ride Afterburn or Thunder Road, but Carowinds is still the park I remembered in 2011, and I probably will have to go back again next year to ride Fury 325! :D

B&M Track Speculation #2

So let's begin. In addition to the yellow, light blue, orange, and white track pieces, dark blue pieces have popped up in the beginning of July (photo courtesy of PVA62):

Let's review the track pieces. We now know where the white and orange track is going.

White: Gardaland (track pieces are arriving on site)

Orange: Holiday World

Yellow: ?

Light Blue: ?

Dark Blue: ?

The light blue track has been pointed out to be flying coaster track ALONG with the yellow track. The light blue tracks do look more twisted than giga coaster track. I'd be willing to bet that either the yellow or light blue will be for the park in China then.

But now that leaves us the dark blue track. The track pieces do look like giga track, so we may have found Carowinds' giga. And another question arises as well: where is Efteling's track pieces. They did say they were building a B&M Dive Machine along with Gardaland. So I am just stumped as to what pieces are going to be for Efteling.

We will find out soon though. So stay tuned!

Europe Trip 2014 Review

I came back from Europe a few days ago (July 21st, arriving home around midnight July 22nd). This trip was absolutely amazing, visiting places like Paris, Amsterdam (which became my favorite city ever at this point. Not joking), Brussels, and Cologne. We even visited two theme parks, which was great for an European trip! So, let's talk about them (I might talk about the cities too later on)!

PHANTASIALAND: 7/13/2014

1. Black Mamba (B&M Inverted)
2. Talocan (HUSS Top Spin)
3. Chiapas (Intamin Log Flume)
4. Colorado Adventure (Vekoma Mine Train)
5. Black Mamba (2x) (B&M Inverted)
6. Wellenflug (chairswing)
7. Winjas: Fear (Maurer Spinning Coaster)
8. Winjas: Force (Maurer Spinning Coaster)
9. Race for Atlantis (simulator)
10. Maus au Chocolat (2x) (3D shooter)
11. Temple of the Night Hawk (Vekoma Indoor Coaster)
12. Mystery Castle (Intamin Bungee Drop (indoors))

I actually had doubts about this place initially. It looked interesting, but I didn't think it would be absolutely amazing... but it turned out absolutely amazing! This park ended up becoming my favorite park of the trip, as well as one of my favorite theme parks in general. I'm not sure which one I like better: Europa Park or this gorgeous place! The theming in this place was top notch and works for the advantage of all the attractions! Yes, even the chairswing! The ONLY attraction I did not care for was Race for Atlantis, which looks like it is entering its last years. So let's talk about the rides:

Black Mamba: Very forceful, whipping back row experience, LOTS of theming that's used to the coaster's advantage. Definitely one of my favorite B&M Inverts (or inverts in general)! Probably my favorite in the park. Ridden it 3 times!

Talocan: Crypt mega-sized. A lot more theming than Crypt ever hopes to get lol! An amazing HUSS top spin overall!

Chiapas: The new addition for this year. One of my favorite water rides, mainly because of the system they implemented, especially in the backwards transitions. I loved the backwards drop and main drop too! The theming, just like everything else in this amazing place, is just top notch! Amazing water rides!

Colorado Adventure: Hands down, my favorite mine train! This is better than even Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The drop into the tunnel really caught me off guard! Well done experience!

Wellenflug: This is the park's chairswing, and man how they did a good job with even this! The water effect is really what makes this ride interesting. It almost felt like my feet could touch the water, though I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to, as in not the design of the ride (I'm 6'1''). You're just supposed to get the feeling, and they do it great! Definitely adds to the front gate of the park. One of the more unique chairswings I've been on! I think this type of ride will work great in SeaWorld Orlando in the Waterfront right by the bay.

Winjas: This one caught me by surprise! Didn't expect another spinning coaster to top EuroMir at Europa Park as my favorite spinning coaster! This was truly amazing, the layout, the tech, the fact that it's in an indoor play area, etc. One of my overall favorites in the park, and I actually think this could work in a park like Universal (maybe their own version of Space Fantasy from Universal Studios Japan) or Busch Gardens Tampa (replace Sand Serpant and the old Pirates 4D building with this)!

Race for Atlantis: Out of all the rides in the park, this was the one I least cared for. I wasn't much of a fan of this ride. 1. The screen is outdated! I don't think I've ever seen an outdated screen like this, but the first thing that came to my mind was the old Back to the Future ride in its last years. I don't remember riding it though (if I did, I was really young). The screen here has definitely seen better days. This ride apparently opened in 1994, so it is 20 years old! 2. The ride just isn't that interesting. Universal had better ideas with their simulators: in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, J Jonah Jameson sends us on a mission to make a headline with Spider-Man fighting the Sinister Syndicate; in The Simpsons Ride you are the guest of Krustyland's newest ride along with the Simpsons while Sideshow Bob tries to kill you; in Transformers you are helping EVAC protect the AllSpark from the Decepticons; even Despicable Me had a more interesting storyline where Gru recruits the audience as Minions. Here, you are in, as the name implies, a "race for atlantis." At least, that's what I believe, as I didn't understand the story that much, and it was in English. Judging by my experience with good simulators, that's not a good sign for this. Plus Atlantis looks more like Asgard from Thor than an underwater city (except for the mermaids/King at the end). 3. The theming isn't as top notch in this ride as the rest of the park. Really, around the station is decent, but that's it. 4. Not only is the screen outdated, but the system is too. I know the way it moves into the screen is similar to that of the Simpsons Ride, whose system was there since 1991 when it was Back to the Future. But in 2008, they at least updated the system a bit, complete with a new cover for the vehicles. Again, this ride opened 3 years later, so without updating, I would hate to see BTTF today if they chose to leave it open (of course, they would refurbish it, and around this time get rid of it, because the ride goes into 2015, next year. But I digress). It would probably be worse than this. Also, in the Simpsons/BTTF, there was noise in the story when the vehicle goes up to the screen. Here, when the car goes to the screen, you hear nothing but the effects of gears moving... and it sounds awkward and outdated. This ride is definitely my least favorite in the park, and really needs an update on both the screen and system, at LEAST.

Maus au Chocolat: Very fun shooter ride. The only other 3D shooter ride I've been on was Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This ride has such an amazing concept. Even if the theme is simple like shooting mice as they destroy the kitchen, that theme was executed well and in a fun way! I've ridden it twice! Oh and my high score was 174,700! While the high score in this ride's history was actually displayed at around 790,000. I don't know how I could get to that score, but I'm very happy with mine! :D

Temple of the Night Hawk: Pitch black indoor coaster. I could see nothing, but I know the ride is similar to Space Mountain's model (I believe it's the same type). And they also had the soundtrack from Disney's 2000 film "Dinosaur" playing. :P This ride was fun, but I would have liked some more visuals instead of just pitch black lol

Mystery Castle: I've heard of this drop tower before, along with Black Mamba. This is the only Intamin Bungee Drop tower I've heard of. So I finally rode it, and WOW! The queue and ride system reminded me of Dr. Doom's Fearfall. The fact that it's indoors allows for an abundance of surprises, such as lightning effects on the top! I was absolutely blown away by this ride. This was what Dr. Doom should have been (I do like Dr. Doom for what it is, but this ride was even better). Another one of my favorites in the park!

If you are a theming lover, you are going to drool over this park. If you are a thrill ride lover, you're still going to absolutely love this place. They manage to make everything better with the theming, even something simple like a chairswing. I give this park an A++. If you go to Europe (especially in Germany) and like parks, you really should come to this place! It's not only one of my favorite parks in Europe, but one of my favorite parks in general! :)

HEIDE PARK: 7/14/2014

1. Krake (B&M Dive Machine)
2. Flug der Damonen (B&M Wing Coaster)
3. Scream (Intamin Gyro Drop)
4. Colossos (Intamin Wooden Coaster)
5. Desert Race (Intamin Accelerator)

HEIDE PARK: 7/15/2014

1. Big Loop (Vekoma MK1200)
2. Schweizer Bobbahn (MACK Bobsled)
3. Limit (Vekoma SLC)
4. Mountain Rafting (River Rapids)
5. Indy-Blitz (Zierer Force)
6. Colossos (Intamin Wooden Coaster) (2nd time)
7. Flug der Damonen (B&M Wing Coaster) (2nd time)

Much like Phantasialand, my thoughts changed with this place. I initially thought I would have liked it better than Phantasialand, but as you can see Phantasialand beat this park. That's not to say that this place isn't great though. The theming isn't as nice though as Phantasialand, and I think this park could have been a tad cleaner. The rides here are awesome though. Now, combine these rides with some of the uniqueness of Phantasialand, and you got yourself one of, if not the best park in the world. So now, let's talk about Heide Park:

Krake: I have followed the construction of this coaster before in my blog, and I am proud to ride it as my 2nd Dive Machine. Not as good as the other one I've ridden (SheiKra), but a fun ride nonetheless. The drop into the mouth was epic, and the airtime was awesome! I just wish it was as long as SheiKra.

Flug der Damonen: At last, I have ridden my first B&M Wing Coaster, and it was an awesome experience. It felt incredibly intense, and I loved the "twist n' dive" element, as well as some of the other inversions, like the dive loop. Definitely my second favorite ride in the park and a great first Wing Coaster. That's also another reason why I got excited with Thunderbird at Holiday World. Now that I know how a Wing Coaster is like, I can visualize the experience I may have a bit. Not entirely though, since Flug had no keyholes nor launch. Nevertheless, I can't wait to go on more. Next week, I will be riding my second B&M Wing Coaster: Wild Eagle at Dollywood. Other options for the future (2015 on) include GateKeeper at Cedar Point (I'm going to have to go there one day), Thunderbird at Holiday World, and X-Flight at SFGAm.

Scream: This is the same design as Drop Tower at Kings Dominion (Intamin Gyro Drop), and this ride is taller (338 ft tall) than Drop Tower (305 ft tall). I believe this is the tallest Gyro Drop in the world. And it certainly delivers! Awesome drop tower!

Colossos: An Intamin Plug n' Play Wooden Coaster, and the tallest wooden coaster in the world (now that Son of Beast is gone). You can guess where this is on my list. It is just awesome, and probably my favorite ride in Heide Park! The airtime was phenomenal, the first drop was awesome, and this ride might be my favorite of the whole trip.

Desert Race: One of the weaker Intamin Accelerators I've been on, but still a fun ride. Definitely not my favorite in the park.

Big Loop: Decent looper. Reminds me of Carolina Cyclone (I know they are made by different manufacturers. Arrow for CC, Vekoma for Big Loop). Good ride, but not the best.

Schweizer Bobbahn: Fun bobsled ride IMO. And we got Mom on this one (she can't handle drops).

Limit: I admit I was kind of nervous about this one. These rides (Vekoma SLCs) have a reputation of being rough and painful. I have been lucky with Vekoma so far, riding their Florida coasters, Nighthawk (Carowinds), and two of their boomerangs which had new restraints (Carolina Cobra at Carowinds and Sidewinder at Hersheypark). All of those were fine, but as far as I know, Limit had the older restraints. So what do I think of this ride? The answer may surprise you, but here it goes... it really is not that bad. First off, it had nice cushions on the restraints by the side of your head which prevented any headbanging. Second, while it was shaky, it made a bit of the experience for me. I like shaky rides, as long as they don't give headaches. This shakiness was acceptable. In fact, I'd say the bobsleds were shakier than this. This ride was actually pretty fun! Now is it my favorite in the park? Nope. Is it my favorite invert? Nope (I still prefer B&M Inverts :) ). Is this ride worth it? Yes it certainly is.

Mountain Rafting: Pretty crappy rapids ride. This rapids is so tame and uneventful that it doesn't even have seatbelts. The SFGAdv one is better, and that one wasn't that great either. :/ My least favorite river rapids hands down and my least favorite in the park. This seemed more like an unthemed boat ride than a river rapids like the VEHICLES portray.

Indy-Blitz: Nice kiddie coaster that sends you through the course twice. It's a fun ride for those who don't like drops.

So overall, I thought Heide Park was a nice park. Now if you prefer theming, you probably won't like this place. If you prefer thrills, you probably will love it. The theming isn't nearly as powerful as Phantasialand, but it has some cool thrill rides. I'd also recommend this place if you go to Europe. I give this park a B+. Pretty cool place! :)

Want to know the best part though. This trip isn't done yet. We may be done with Europe, but in the next two weeks, I will be venturing up north to Dollywood and Carowinds. So I will post a review on that as soon as I come back (since Band Camp is coming up on August 10th).

Holiday World 2015: Thunderbird

I'm back from Europe. Will post a review of the parks in a moment, but first I need to talk about what Holiday World has in store for 2015.

My god, I was surprised by this thing. This was the first coaster I actually watched the announcement video the time it was announced. I didn't know what to expect. I heard the possibility of it being a Wing Coaster or even B&M's first launch coaster. The video rolled and I first saw a storm outside, much like the diary entries are related to. We first see, on a desk inside, a bit of Day 1's entry: "We are at sea..." Then we saw:

Day 19: The New World awaits...
Day 34: The wind blows against us...
Day 37: I fear we are lost...

Then we get a glimpse of the storm outside again before reading the last entry:

Day 66: Is this a dream?

The scene immediately fades outside with a view of the ship (Mayflower), as well as the words "Is this a dream?" fading slowly. We then see a bird. Now, let me bring up the last two entries:

Day 65:

Through the churning clouds a giant creature appears. As it draws closer, enormous wings snap against the wind creating a thundering sound. It is a sound we feel with our entire beings. As the creature roars over our Mayflower, we are swept up in its great power.

Day 66:

Is this a dream? We dare not breathe as our ship flies over the sea at speeds unknown. The only sound we hear is the thundering of wings and the beating of our hearts. Somehow, this creature will carry us back to land. To the New World. To our home.

This was the bird that appeared in the last two entries. Then we get a camera view through its mighty wings as it flies through the storm. All of a sudden, an orange coaster with brown supports starts spawning (it reminds me of how Banshee spawned, coming from the ground). I first saw some of the inversions, mainly the vertical loop. That got me to believe it would be a Wing Coaster, or at least a B&M (I saw the track style too). Then we look at the station (by the way, the station is starting to be built as we speak). All of a sudden, track spawns with a blue/green train LAUNCHING out of the station. I was surprised there! This was indeed B&M's first true launched coaster! And they were using the Wing Coaster design! I saw the train launch into the immelmann (140 ft), through a vertical loop, a horshoe, an elevated spiral, a zero-g-roll, an s-curve, as well as even a "keyhole" in-line twist element through a barn. I was absolutely amazed!

Here's the press release from Holiday World:

Thunderbird, the nation’s first launched wing coaster, includes a 0-60mph launch in 3.5 seconds, plus multiple inversions and near-misses. Continuing Holiday World’s tradition of sending roller coasters through thickly wooded and hilly terrain, Thunderbird first loops high in the air and then hugs the ground – nearly missing trees, the ground, and other rides!

Thunderbird is the nation’s first launched wing coaster. It is Holiday World’s first major steel roller coaster, with a 0-60mph launch in 3.5 seconds, followed by multiple inversions – including a 14-story Immelmann loop, Zero-g roll, barrel roll, and loop. Continuing Holiday World’s tradition of sending roller coasters through thickly wooded and hilly terrain, Thunderbird at first soars and loops high in the air and then hugs the ground, surprising riders with rapid-fire “near misses” such as keyholes, themed elements, other rides, trees, and even the ground.

TRACK LENGTH: 3,035 feet

RIDE HEIGHT: 140 feet at Immelmann loop’s peak

RIDE ELEMENTS:

From start to finish:
Launch, using LSM technology
Immelmann loop
Loop
Horseshoe
Elevated Spiral
Zero-G roll
S curve
2 “headchopper” keyholes
Carousel
360 in-line twist (barrel roll)
2 Crossovers with The Voyage

SPEED: Thunderbird’s top speed is 60 miles per hour

RIDE TIME: 1 minute, 18 seconds (station to station)

RIDE VIDEO: http://HolidayWorld2015.com

TRAINS: Two trains, each with five four-person coaches

CAPACITY: 1,140 Guests per hour

HEIGHT LIMIT: Riders must be at least 52 inches tall

INVESTMENT: $22 million

RIDE DESIGNER: Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), Switzerland

LEGEND: In 1620, as the Mayflower neared the end of its 66 days at sea, a mighty storm nearly capsized
the ship, taking it hundreds of miles off course. As passengers and crew feared all was lost, an immense bird appeared in the sky. The thunderbird, whose wings created the thunder and eyes flashed the lightning of the powerful storm, rescued the ship by launching it through the sky to the New World.

At last, B&M has fallen into the realm and made their first true launch coaster. B&M has built a coaster with a launch before, The Incredible Hulk Coaster. But that ride's launch mechanism was not designed by B&M. This ride's system has B&M's first launch system, launching you from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It's been rumored for years now, and Holiday World finally chooses to bring a B&M LSM Launch Coaster. Amazing pick, especially for Holiday World's first B&M!

Here's the concept art released by Holiday World:

This semester may get intense, but I'll do my best to post updates on the ride's status. Regardless, I'm definitely following what seems to be another win for B&M and for Holiday World!

Europe Trip 2014

Tomorrow, I will fly to Europe and stay there for the next few weeks. I've talked about this before, but plans have changed a bit when it comes to the parks particularly. You may recall the post from May that I will be going to Thorpe Park and Heide Park. But we will not be going to Thorpe Park this year and instead our European parks will be:

Phantasialand (7/13/14)
Heide Park (7/14/14-7/15/14)

I'm very excited to see these parks, especially Heide Park where I've followed the construction of two of their coasters:

Krake (B&M Dive Machine) - actually did updates on this one on this blog - 2011
Flug der Damonen (B&M Wing Coaster) - 2014

There's also other coasters there like Colossos, an Intamin Plug n' Play like El Toro (so I'm expecting this to rock my world, just like El Toro did), and Desert Race, an Intamin Accelerator, which should be fun. They also have one of the tallest drop towers in the world, Scream, an Intamin Gyro Drop like Drop Tower at Kings Dominion. This one will be 338 ft tall, 3 ft taller than Falcon's Fury at BGT and 33 ft taller than Drop Tower at KD.

Phantasialand looks pretty interesting too. It seems more like a Universal "theme" park than a coaster park, but it surely has some of the most unique looking rides around. I like the log flume they opened this year, Chiapas (made by Intamin), which has a very unique system especially for a log flume. They have Black Mamba, a B&M Inverted Coaster, known as one of the best themed B&Ms in the world; Mystery Castle, an indoor drop tower (Intamin Bungee Drop); Talocan, a HUSS Top Spin like Crypt at Kings Dominion except much more themed, and from the looks of it, a bit more thrilling too; and some more.

So there are already two parks that will make this trip thrilling!

The America portion of the trip has changed a bit too, with Kings Dominion and BGW being taken out. Now the parks will be:

Dollywood (8/4/14)
Carowinds (8/5/14)

Dollywood has Wild Eagle, a B&M Wing Coaster that I followed the construction of in 2012; Mystery Mine, a part indoor/outdoor Gerstlauer Eurofighter with some incredible theming; Thunderhead, a GCI Wooden Coaster; and many more.

Carowinds, I've already visited in one of my trips (2011), twice actually. We skipped it in 2012, so it's great to be back in this park again! I also think it will be cool to see construction on the Giga coming next year (and yes, I'm definitely going to Carowinds in 2015. I must ride that Giga as soon as possible).

So there you go, the next few weeks are going to be super fun in my opinion. I will post a review of the European parks once I come back, while after the America trip, I will post a review on Dollywood and Carowinds. See you guys in a few weeks.

Holiday World 2015: Could it be a B&M?

On second thought, I do not believe Holiday World will be giving Voyage an Iron Horse treatment.

Here's some recent news about what's going on at Holiday World (from Erik Johnson at Theme Park Review on June 17, 2014):

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1462202#p1462202

Some construction is going on near the water slides that are next door to the old Pilgram's Plunge location. We had a great day so far at the park, but Voyage has been closed most of the day.

 He also posted pics of the land clearing.

Koasterking48 posted a pic on Theme Park Review from June 19th, showing footers, looking to be for a steel coaster:

This photo was pulled from Facebook, but it's not mine and I unfortunately cannot give credit to it as I don't know who the original poster is (I found it on another coaster fan page and they obviously didn't state who took it either).

The construction appears to be to the right of Voyage behind Hyena Falls (in Splashin Safari). The footers here seem to indicate a B&M of some kind.

Now that brings up something interesting. Recently there have been four different track pieces at the B&M plant: yellow (for the Wanda park in China), orange (most likely for Gardaland's Dive Machine), white (another dive machine, probably for Efteling), and teal (unknown). I do not think teal will fit in this area of Holiday World very well, but the orange track could. While I heard the orange track is going to Gardaland, it could fit nicely here too.

But now, here's a little out-of-left-field speculation. I don't normally do this, but I've been hearing ideas spreading throughout Theme Park Review. Judging by the look of the footers and the direction, could we be seeing B&M's first launch coaster with a launch system made by themselves? While, Hulk is a B&M, but the launch system was designed by a different company. There has been a rumor for the past few years that B&M is finally ready to get into the launched coaster business:

(2/7/13) NewsParcs has posted a great interview they had with Walter Bolliger (of B&M coaster fame). They talk a bit about how B&M works as a company, their latest designs, and even mention that they are ready to do a launched coaster (LSM) as soon as a customer asks them to do one. In 2013 they will open two new Wing Coasters, Gatekeeper at Cedar Point and now we’ve got a name for the one in China’s Ocean Kingdom… “Flying over the Rainforest”. 

(7/11/12) I haven’t heard much about this in some time, but I did get an e-mail this afternoon reminding me that B&M are still working on new exciting coaster projects. With the full scale international launch of their Wing Coaster design now behind us, I was reminded that they are still hoping to evolve the Wing Coaster design into their very own version of a 4th Dimension coaster style attraction, with rotating seats. Don’t look for this to happen next year, and maybe not even the year after that… but from what I’m hearing, they are working on it.
    Of course, this leads me to wonder about the other new B&M concept that we have yet to see or hear anything about in some time… the launched coaster. I had heard on good authority that B&M was indeed ready to start building launched coaster layouts and had come up with their own new launch system they were comfortable with.  If I had to guess, I think we could see a launched B&M before we see the 4th Dimension. However, for either design, there has to be a buyer willing to take a risk and be the first to build one.

(9/28/11) Screamscape sources tell us that in the next season or two we can expect to see B&M premier an all new launched coaster ride system, as their next new coaster concept. Beyond this, I’m told that B&M would like to launch a 4D coaster concept, likely based on the new Wing Coaster technology, but this ride system is still several years away from becoming a reality. For now B&M have their hands full developing the new Wing Coaster system and getting their Launched coaster line off the ground.

So for 2015, could we finally be seeing this B&M Launch built? Since Holiday World had no experience with B&M, I'd guess that they will pick one of their existing designs first, like a Floorless or a Wing Coaster. But this ride is looking more and more like a launch coaster of some kind, and the footers do look like B&M (especially in this comparison by LogBur on ThemeParkReview):

"Confirmation is a bit strong but look at the footings in the center of this image.


And now look at Banshee's footings.


They look identical to my eyes. I'm waiting for someone more well-versed in manufacturer footings to clue us in as to whether other companies use the oval/almond shaped cutout or not."

They also just removed an attraction nearby, Giraffica, formerly Pilgrim's Plunge. Could that be a possible splash down zone?

What makes this more interesting is some of the clues lately. Here's a short summary from glouthan at Theme Park Review:

I was just thinking about something based on the recent clues (about a week ago - mentioning the storms. I was thinking they could be like Verbolten's event building - could be located on the pit). I was thinking that the clues could be hinting towards the layout of the coaster, each day being a hint of a certain element. Here is what I mean:
Day 1 "At last the day is here. After years of planning, we depart for the New World." Dispatch from station.
Day 4 "We are told to remain below" underground tunnel perhaps?
Day 5 "My worries drift away with the gentle rocking of the ship." Some pre-launch/lift turns?
Day 8 "The liar must clean what the swabber will not, the beakhead and chains." A reference to a chain lift?
Day 11"The children look to the skies and imagine what secrets exist within the massive clouds." High height, or nearing the top of the lift?
Day 15 "We count one hundred plus two passengers on board." Could this be the height?
Day 16 "And now we are one hundred and three" Drop length? 
Day 21 "The spray on deck feels colder now than at the start of our journey." Water effects? Maybe the old Pilgrim's area will be used?
Day 22"As the ship shifts unexpectedly, there are times we can no longer stay upright." Inversions, anyone?
Day 25"The skies are worrisome." Could this the coaster going into the pit? There could be a building like Verbolten, and 
worrisome skies are usually dark - a building could be dark on the inside.
Day 26 "We have survived our first storm at sea." Storm effects, turns, inversions that happen in the building?
Day 28 "The air on deck is fresh" Out of the "event" building?
Day 34 "The wind has taken on a deeper chill and stronger force." Launch to reach top speed?
Day 35 "The ocean waves rock our ship." Could this mean back and forth "twisties"? (Cheetah Hunt & Lightning Run are examples)
Day 36 "Another storm." Back into the "event" building?

Anyways, I might be overthinking, but this could be something.

If this is B&M's first launch, and it will be like this, man will I be interested! But alas, we'll have to wait and see. Good news is, we have 23 days left until July 24th when this thing will be announced.

B&M Track Speculation

At this point, there are 4 colors of B&M track in the Clermont Steel Fabricators plant near Batavia, Ohio (first quote from Cedar Fair Roller Coaster Construction Facebook; second quote from Tosu97 at Carowinds Connection; pics from themepark.nl):

Here are a couple of shots from http://themepark.nl, according to the photographer(Simon de Bruijn), the white and orange track are both dive coasters destined for Europe. The yellow track i think is still for China, so that leaves the green track that is unaccounted for.

Now up to four colors of B&M track floating around- white, yellow, orange, and teal

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=649698781781076&id=528819877202301

Pics can be found here:
http://themepark.nl/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2130553#Post2130553

We have white track, orange track, yellow track (mentioned below), and teal track. There are two Dive Coasters confirmed for Europe next year: one in Efteling (in the Netherlands), and the other in Gardaland (in Italy; I've actually covered this park in the past with the construction of Raptor, the first B&M Wing Coaster, back in 2011). Heth from ThemeParkReview speculated this:

The promotional material for the Gardaland one has used an orange and black colour scheme, so I'd have guessed it was the other way around.

So we kind of have an idea where two of the track pieces are going, the orange going to Gardaland and the white going to Efteling. I had a feeling the white track was going to Carowinds though.

For the yellow track, here are some pics from Screamscape (back in February):

(2/26/14) Our local Screamscape spy dropped by the B&M Track Fabricator plant in Ohio and snapped up pictures of brand new bright yellow coaster track. If I’m reading the label right this is for a new B&M Flying coaster, and they do have one on the way to China for the Wanda Group set to open in 2014 at the Xishuangbanna International Resort park. The concept art for this coaster found on VHCoasters however had blue track and not yellow, so while this track could be for another project, I’m still thinking this is still the Wanda coaster unless someone knows of another B&M Flyer in the works. 

I'd definitely expect the yellow track to be for the flying coaster in China. It's been a while since we've last seen a B&M Flying Coaster, but "LC" means Flying Coaster.

So now we know:

ORANGE: B&M Dive Machine for Gardaland, Italy
WHITE: B&M Dive Machine for Efteling, Netherlands
YELLOW: B&M Flying Coaster for Wanda Xishuangbanna, China

However, that just leaves the Teal track. Cedar Fair has been adding teal/blue colored coasters recently, most notably Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland and Gatekeeper at Cedar Point. Banshee at Kings Island is an exception, as it has purple track, but does have blue supports.

Teal track would make sense for Carowinds given this recent trend. Normally I would doubt this if it was still going to be called "Centurion" (teal wouldn't make sense then :/). But now with the recent trademark of "Fury 325," I suppose it's pretty possible. So my guess for the teal track is Carowinds at the moment.

Possible Name For Carowinds' 2015 Coaster?

Permits have been filed by Cedar Fair for a trademark, "Fury 325:"

2015 - New Coaster - (6/17/14) Cedar Fair has filed for a new trademark this month for the name “FURY 325”.  It certainly sounds like a good name for a very tall coaster doesn’t it?  Following in the same fashion as “Intimidator 305”, the reports that Cedar Fair is planning a 300+ foot coaster for Carowinds in 2015, it very well could be named FURY 325 I suppose. This isn’t the first time Carowinds would have brought an attraction to the market using the FURY name, as they launched a much-hyped new haunted house for their SCarowinds event a few years ago that was simply called FURY.
    Previously this year Cedar Fair has also filed trademarks for the name “FURY’ on January 23rd and Centurion way back on October 18th, 2013. Though I have to admit, I’m a bit more keen on the Centurion name, as the location of the new coaster is said to pass out in front of the park’s main gate area, giving it a similar feel to what they did with Gatekeeper at Cedar Point, and the name Centurion does have a similar tone to it. 

While the name sounds generic, I wouldn't mind 325 being added to it.

As mentioned above on Screamscape, they added "Intimidator 305" at Kings Dominion, of course being 305 ft. Now they are naming Carowinds' giga "Fury 325" (or at least what I assume will be the case). Could Cedar Fair finally be ready to build a giga taller than Millennium Force at 325 ft (MF is 310 ft)? If this is true, "Fury 325" will be the fifth tallest coaster in the world and the tallest NON-LAUNCHED coaster in the world. If I were to guess, this could possibly be the fastest non-launched coaster as well.

Of course, this also means that Carowinds will be quite a destination park. I did hear a while back on a forum that Cedar Fair might make Carowinds essentially a "Cedar Point of the South." This certainly is a sign that they could be very well doing that to Carowinds. They also bought some land by I-77 just to the right of the entrance road, possibly for a hotel. It should be a very interesting future for Carowinds.

SFNE 2015 Update #1

I was surfing through SFNEOnline, and I noticed this JUST happening today (from BizarroAj):

Breaking news from sfne, land clearing has begun around cyclone

The whole area where the old que was, they tore down the fence and are clearing the area out. I tried to get pics from the sky ride but the trees and flashback is in the way, but you get a good view when riding cyclone. 

He then posted this image from today:



It's very interesting that they are land clearing around Cyclone this early, or are land clearing at all. Maybe it's a sign that Iron Cyclone might be more monstrous than initially thought by some.

This and Colossus at SFMM are already looking to be very successful 2015 additions.

UPDATE:

BizarroAj posted more images today (found in this link):

http://sfneonline.org/forums/index.php?threads/2015-speculation.1404/page-50#post-47568

It looks like the land clearing is between Cyclone and Flashback. I made a diagram of where the land clearing could possibly be (from the photos):

This brings us back to this report from May 24 (by Dennis, quoted by Bizarro #1 on SFNEOnline):

"...At the top of he lift hill, to my left on the walkway, I could see the orange marker with a number 9. And parallel with that is two more orange markers. All parallel to the lift hill. Maybe the lift hill is being moved to the left 20 or 30 feet??"

Why could they be land clearing this early? Maybe they ARE moving the lift to the left. I also do wonder if this could also mean the end/relocation of nearby Flashback, a Vekoma Boomerang that is now neighbored by a Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang. Cyclone could definitely benefit from Flashback's space, and if they are moving the lift to the left, Flashback seems much more likely to be removed. Plus, Flashback will just benefit in another SF park.

We've seen SFMM make their announcement on Colossus. I wonder when they will for Cyclone as well as a possible closure for Flashback. We'll find out in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!