Jim

I wanted to let anyone interested know that I'm 5'11 225 lbs with a 38-40 inch waist and rode Outlaw Run twice yesterday and today. They do have a test seat that lights green if ok at the entrance and an attendant telling people to try it before entering the line. Unfortunately many people didn't pay attention. I did see an average of 1 person per train that wouldn't fit and would have to get off. It did really slow the line as the operators tried to push the bar down far enough only for the light to stay red. Then the person would have to take the walk of shame. Many weren't that much bigger than me but just had more a spare tire. On a positive note the ride is incredible. There's not much more to add than what has already been said. Being that this is RMC first full coaster I can't wait to see what the future holds for them.

For us we have been taking our 2 boys to parks since they were babies in a stroller. I think that helped them to get used to the noise and atmosphere. They would watch us do parent swap and hate that they couldn't ride. By the time each got a little bigger all our trips revolved around what parks they can ride the most coasters at. For example last year we went to Lagoon because my then 6 year old was 47". He could ride every coaster there except Jet Star. When both first hit 42" we went to a lot of smaller and less busy parks like Knoebels, Silverwood, Wonderland, Frontier City, Enchanted Forest, etc. and some bigger parks like of course Disney and Silver Dollar City (Powder Keg 42") that had some great coasters for smaller ones. This year my youngest is 50" and we are going to do Dixie Landin, both Galveston parks, SDC , Dollywood, Indiana Beach, Coney Island along with our home park of KD. He doesn't have to sit out too much at these parks. We won't visit any Six Flags, IOA, BGT, Seaworld or the bigger Cedar Fair parks until he hits 54". He would be miserable not only waiting that long for us but also missing out. Another tip is my boys watch Robb's videos a lot more than I do and have been since they were around 2 years old. On our long trips they will bring videos of places we are headed to and get very excited even if it is one they can't ride just because they can't wait to see it in person. FYI my 7 year old has ridden 115 coasters and my 10 year old 226. Kids won't slow you down if you pick the right parks and they have also helped my wife and I get a lot of cheap credits to pad our counts of 484 for me and 426 for her.

Here's mine. Sorry, the last time I rode Voyage was June 2006 and it was awesome. I hear different now. We have been hitting all the parks that we have not been to first unless they put in something great. We have less than 10 new parks to hit and then we will get back to Holiday World unless they surprise us with a new coaster first. My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere **,y,n,1 The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,n,2 El Toro SFGAd NJ,y,n,3 Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT,y,n,4 Phoenix Knoebel's PA,y,y,5 Ravine Flyer II Waldameer PA,y,n,6 Cyclops Mount Olympus WI,y,n,7 HellCat Timber Falls WI,y,n,8 Prowler Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,9 Tremors Silverwood ID,y,n,10 Thunderhead Dollywood TN,y,n,11 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,12 Comet Great Escape NY,y,n,13 Thunderbolt Kennywood PA,y,n,14 New Mexico Rattler Cliff's NM,y,n,15 Cornball Express Indiana Beach IN,y,n,16 Twister Knoebel's PA,y,y,17 Raven Holiday World IN,y,n,18 Rampage Alabama Adventure AL,y,n,19 The Beast Kings Island OH,y,n,20 Kentucky Rumbler Beech Bend KY,y,n,21 Timber Terror Silverwood ID,y,n,22 Yankee Cannonball Canobie Lake Park NH,y,n,23 Coaster Playland BC,y,n,24 Jack Rabbit Kennywood PA,y,n,25 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,n,26 Cyclone Lakeside CO,y,n,27 Lightning Racer - T Hersheypark PA,y,y,28 Lightning Racer - L Hersheypark PA,y,y,29 Silver Comet Martin's Fantasy Is. NY,y,n,30 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,n,31 The Legend Arnolds Park IA,y,n,32 Wild One SF America MD,y,n,33 Georgia Cyclone SFoG GA,y,n,34 Great White Wild Wheels Pier NJ,y,n,35 Viper SFGAm IL,y,n,36 The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO,y,n,37 Excalibur Funtown USA ME,y,n,38 Grt Am Scrm Mach SFoG GA,y,n,39 Hoosier Hurricane Indiana Beach IN,y,n,40 Zeus Mount Olympus WI,y,n,41 Giant Dipper Belmont Park CA,y,n,42 American Thunder Six Flags St Louis MO,y,n,43 Gwazi-Tiger Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,44 Gwazi-Lion Busch Gardens-Tampa FL,y,n,45 The Grizzly Kings Dominion VA,y,n,46 Cheetah Wild Adventures GA,y,n,47 American Eagle SFGAm IL,y,n,48 Cyclone SF New England MA,y,n,49 Le Monstre La Ronde QU,y,n,50 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO,y,n,51 Blue Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,52 Wildcat Frontier City OK,y,n,53 Comet Hersheypark PA,y,y,54 Racer Kennywood PA,y,n,55 Dragon Coaster Playland NY,y,y,56 Racer Kings Island OH,y,n,57 Rebel Yell Kings Dominion VA,y,n,58 Thunder Road Carowinds NC,y,n,59 Wildcat Hersheypark PA,y,y,60 Roar SF America MD,y,n,61 Outlaw Adventureland IA,y,n,62 Leap the Dips Lakemont PA,y,n,63 Jack Rabbit Seabreeze NY,y,n,64 Big Dipper (SBNO) Geauga Lake OH,y,n,65 Hell Cat Clementon Lake NJ,y,n,66 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX,y,n,67 Timber Wolf Worlds of Fun MO,y,n,68 Thunder Run (SBNO) Kentucky Kingdom KY,y,n,69 Skyliner Lakemont PA,y,n,70 Swamp Fox Family Kingdom SC,y,n,71 Tornado Adventureland IA,y,n,72 Cannonball Lake Winnepesaukah GA,y,n,73 Judge Roy Scream SFoT TX,y,n,74 Roller Coaster Lagoon UT,y,y,75 Blue Streak Conneaut Lake Park PA,y,n,76 High Roller Valleyfair! MN,y,n,77 Big Dipper Camden Park WV,y,n,78 Rollo Coaster Idlewild PA,y,n,79 Tornado Stricker's Grove OH,y,n,80 Twisted Twins-S (S) Kentucky Kingdom KY,y,n,81 Twisted Twins-L (S) Kentucky Kingdom KY,y,n,82 Comet Waldameer PA,y,n,83 Cannonball Waterville USA AL,y,n,84 Thunderhawk Dorney Park PA,y,n,85 Rolling Thunder SFGAd NJ,y,n,86 Hurler Carowinds NC,y,n,87 Hurler Kings Dominion VA,y,n,88 Cyclone (SBNO) Williams Grove PA,y,n,89 Wolverine Wildcat Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,90 Thunderbolt SF New England MA,y,n,91 Mean Streak Cedar Point OH,y,n,92 Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island OH,y,n,93 Twister II Elitch Gardens CO,y,n,94 Wildcat Lake Compounce CT,y,n,95 Predator Darien Lake NY,y,n,96 Coastersaurus Legoland Florida FL,y,n,97 Pegasus Mount Olympus WI,y,n,98 Timberhawk Enchanted Village WA,y,n,99 Kingdom Coaster Dutch Wonderland PA,y,n,100 Teddy Bear Stricker's Grove OH,y,n,101 Sea Dragon Jungle Jacks Landing OH,y,n,102 Ghoster Coaster Kings Dominion VA,y,n,103 Woodstock Express Carowinds NC,y,n,104 Zach's Zoomer Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,105 Underground Adventureland IA,y,n,106 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV,y,n,107

I hate to sound like a party pooper but I prefer Raw. You guys look like you have a great time but that's "your" time. It's kind of like looking at a co-workers vacation pics. It might be nice once but I don't need to see them again. If I went on 1 of the TPR trips I would probably feel different but I have my own family and friends that we like to travel with. Raw gives us a chance to go back and see some of our favorite and unique coasters we have ridden. We are getting ready to hit 500 coasters this year and I know many of the places we have visited we will never go back to like Playland, Cliffs, Wonderland, Lagoon, etc and some that I have no desire to visit again like LaRonde, SFA, Wild Waves, etc but still like to remember the coasters. For me personally I would like the Raw concept but also include footage of other rides and park atmosphere. I could do without seeing people I don't know acting like goof balls and then having my kids ask me every 2 minutes "who is that ?", "why are they doing that ?" They watch them 10 times more than I do. No offense to anybody it's just my opinion.

I have a blu ray but unfortunately Raw didn't work on it. You may remember our e-mails last year when we were trying to figure it out. DVD's work fine and I always look foward to and love them.

We went to Hershey last Wednesday and Thursday. I was surprised at how many people vacation here. We haven't been since 2004. BGW didn't seem this busy on July 4th. We thought most of the employees were friendly. We especially liked there parent swap policy where we could bring our youngest son who is only 48" in line with us on the 4 bigger coasters and let my oldest son and wife ride and then I would wait next and we could hand him off and the older one could ride again with me. This was a real benefit as we could all wait together and wouldn't have to wait twice in line. Some parks we have done this at make one person wait at the exit to swap. Then when you get on you have to listen to people complaining at why do you get special treatment or you may also be messing up there groups. A couple of my opinions: Skyrush is amazing. I rode the left wing back seat Wed night and middle left wing seat Thurs night. This was the first hyper or giga coaster that I didn't hold my hands up on (I have been on 15 different ones). I held on for dear life. I have never felt air time like this including El Toro or Bizarro. IMHO Skyrush is better than I 305 just for the fear element. I feel safe and secure in I 305. I love the Holy S--T moments on Skyrush. The bar was hurting my legs by the time we were on the brake run but that might have been from me pushing it down so hard during the ride so I wouldn't fly out. The pain was worth it and I would hate to see them change to restraints like I 305 as a few suggested as I think it would take a lot from the ride. FYI the station is absolutely awful as everyone has stated. Also I'm surprised at how many negative reviews I have read about Fahrenheit in the past. It's no top 10 ride but we thought it was a fun, fast paced unique ride. It's like a bigger better version of a Eurofighter (which isn't a bad thing). We rode both times in the front. I think I liked it better than Storm Runner. Wildcat wasn't as rough as I thought it would be after reading some of these comments and Lightning Racer wasn't as fun as I remembered but still good. I liked the unique track on Reese's Cup Challenge but the ride could be so much better with different targets. Hershey amazes me at how they keep fitting ride after ride in that Minetown/ Comets Hollow area. It makes for some cool, unique layouts and somehow they keep it looking like this was the master plan from the get go. Despite the poor operations there is something magical about being at Hershey. It reminds me of how Kings Dominion once was when I was a kid in the 70's and 80's before the corporate enviroment took over.

I'm normally a lurker here but wanted to add my 2 cents just because coaster polls interest me. I know polls will never be perfect but it's cool to see what other opinions are versus your own. I have a decent record of over 100 wood coasters. My top 10 are: Voyage El Toro Boulder Dash Phoenix Ravine Flyer 2 Prowler Cyclops Hell Cat-Timber Falls Tremors Comet The one thing I don't like about polls is Voyage is my #1 but in all fairness I last rode it in June 2006 when it was new. I rode it about 7 times that day and it was amazing. We are waiting for my youngest son to hit 48" before we go back (next year). I've read for years how rough it has gotten and would probably feel the same as most others however I can only judge it on my own experience. I only got to ride El Toro once on a quick trip during spring break a few years ago and the ride was down all day until about 2 hours before closing. We were all cold and just jumped in the shortest middle seat line so we could leave. I absolutely loved it however I wonder how much better it would have been in the front or back seat with shorts and tee shirt instead of a coat and jeans. I probably have Cyclops ranked higher than most people because on our trip there years ago the park was empty and we kept getting back seat rides and every ride was out of control feeling and than you hit that crazy drop that scared the crap out of us (in a good way). We loved it but don't know how it has changed.

For me I would say Flying Turns not opening again. My youngest son just hit 42" this past summer and we were planning a trip to Sylvan Beach and Knoebels. Right now our vacations revolve around height restrictions because both kids love coasters and don't want to sit out anymore. We wanted to wait until FT opened before going again. Hopefully next year we can ride both new coasters. All turned out well though because we flew out to Silverwood instead. My only disappointment there was the throughput on both wood coasters. All of us loved Timber Terror and Tremors a whole lot but only managed 2 rides a piece on them.

A FYI for anyone with small kids. They changed the min. height to 54" today. My sons and I were at the announcement and when we saw the height restriction was 48" we were estatic. 1 or 2 people from KDfansite had confirmed it was 48" but when we arrived around 6:00 today it had changed. An employee told us it just happened sometime today. Safety is #1 but from the eyes of a 7 year old who is 50" that sucks when we have been following the coaster since August. We didn't ride because he was upset so I guess my wife and I will have to get a babysitter because so far most of the reviews have sounded great.

I love magnum more for nostalgic reasons. My wife and I went to Cedar Point for the first time in 1995. We were 18 and 20 at the time and the only parks we had been to were our home parks of Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens and then to Kings Island and Carowinds because they were free with our KD passes. I had never heard of Cedar Point until we stopped at a rest area in Ohio and saw a brochure (didn't get internet until '96). On it we saw the biggest roller coaster that I had ever seen and not to mention Raptor was unlike anything we had ever seen at the time along with a beach and waterpark all on the same property. This place was a must visit. We were in awe at how big Magnum was when we drove under it to Hotel Breakers. We could not believe how fast it went going into the 3rd hill and how much airtime it had on the return run (keep in mind the biggest coaster we had been on at the time was Drachen Fire and Beast). We bought the only on ride photo we have ever bought in our lives on this ride. At the time we both had long hair and it was in the seat behind us along with her purse. Today the magnum isn't as great to me and since I've gotten older I like a smoother ride but I can't wait until my kids get older so they can ride the coaster that started our hobby. Now I'm at 379 coasters, my wife 321, 6yr old 95 coasters and my 3 yr old is at 32 coasters and many more to come this summer.

We were at Disneyland in 2005 and Jodie Foster and her family got in line behind us on Roger Rabbit. Her guide than took them to the front of the line once the line stopped. We also saw Ricki Lake the same day being escorted around.

We enjoy the footage videos best. While I like to see the park atmosphere and other rides, we like our own memories and not someone else. My kids and I love to look at all the different coasters we have ridden and the new ones we are planning on riding. It's especially good when we only had time to ride a coaster once and can't remember the exact layout or setting or no plans to ever visit again. (example LaRonde)

We are planning a trip this summer to the midwest. We have a 3 year old and a 6 year old. I'm trying to find out what the height restrictions are for Arnolds Park Legend and Kiddieland's Little Dipper. Neither are on the website and I e-mailed both places several times last summer and once this winter and haven't received a response. Any help is appreciated. I hope there customer service is better than this. I have heard good things about these two parks and are looking forward to using them as side trips.

Ours was stopping at Lakemont between parks. The website didn't make clear their height restrictions and I never got a response from an e-mail I sent them. We have a 3 year old who was 36 inches and a 6 year old who was 46 inches. My wife and I had been before but we didn't get the kiddy coaster credit. We thought we could get that and the kids could get it also along with Leap the Dips. When we got there it had a 42 inch height restriction and a no adult policy limiting the ride to just my 6 year old. Then the crazy thing was Skyliner, Tobaggon and LTD had no height restriction if you were accompanied by an adult. So my little guy cried when he couldn't ride the kiddy coaster insisting he knew he should be able too based on other parks but he did leave with his 3 biggest credits to date. Talk about bass akwards.

My oldest son will hit 48 inches in 09 so this opens up a whole ton of new coasters for him. He already has ridden 89 coasters. Not bad for a 6 year old. We have the platinum passes from Kings Dominion so we will be going to Dorney Park and Worlds of Fun so he can ride his first hyper coasters. We also can't wait for Prowler.