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Hey all,

 

I don’t know if anyone else noticed, but I think everybody went to the exact same parks in 2017. I wasn’t going to do a TR at first, but then I was going back through my photos and suddenly felt compelled to do so.

 

I’m going to save you some time here. If you don’t want to read another TR from Kings Island (which I 100% understand if you don’t), skip this first post.

 

I think everything to say about Kings Island has already been said. Cedar Fair as a whole has been on a major come-up the past few seasons, and our spring trip there was no exception. They’ve really got their foot on the gas as a chain and they’re absolutely walking away from Six Flags in terms of park quality and cleanliness, friendliness of staff, efficiency, etc. Kings Island is no exception, we had a great experience here.

 

What you’ve been told about Mystic Timbers is also true. It’s right up there with Thunderhead and Renegade as the best of GCI and I really think they hit their stride when doing these more out-and-back style woodies as opposed to the twisted layouts. I’m not going to do a shed reveal for those of you holdouts, so this is a safe TR to read.

 

We got some pretty decent rides on Diamondback this year. Banshee is forceful and graceful as always, up with the top of the inverts, but I have to say I prefer the older, more snappy layouts of Montu and Raptor still. The Bat is a classic and I hope KI keeps it forever and ever. I hope they RMC Vortex or something. And The Beast. Sorry, not sorry.

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Baby, this is what you came for. Lightning strikes every time she moves. And everybody's watching her, but she's looking at you.

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I like it when parks place hypers in low-lying areas like this. Another example would be Superman at SFNE. The effect makes 200 feet look so much larger.

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Nothing like getting smacked in the face first thing in the morning.

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1987 - ?

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A few good back-car rides on The Bat (especially at night) are all you need.

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My clinically-insane friend who has this rough coaster fetish that's too graphic to explain here, reaching out for the SoB he never got to ride.

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Yeah.

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I already did!

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Oh f*ck I just realized that I lied to you. In the shed, they give you free flights to Miami, but there's a catch: they're on Frontier. Yeah, just walk.

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Yeah, we get it Diamondback.

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Hardwoods.

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Make Michigan our Bichigan. I'm not sure what a Bichigan is but it sounds like painful butt stuff...and not the fun kind.

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Really good pull on this drop in the back row!

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Only Kumba can do Kumba. Stop.

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Give The Bat love! You know you'll all be complaining when they go and pull a Universal...too soon?

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I forgot what this is called...you go down a ramp then go straight for like 8,000 feet of track. But OMG guys New Texas Giant is WAY too long! Complain below ;)

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You've seen all the tower photo porn of Diamondback and Banshee...but have you seen TOWER PHOTOS OF BACKLOT ITALIAN STUNT JOB COASTER?! You're welcome!

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"Hey, is this a good time to discuss our new Intamin cables we got this season?"

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Why can't a lot of other looping coaster drops be as good as Arrow looper drops? Or is it just an illusion because you're already terrified about how much you're about to suffer?

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One cool thing they did early in the season was they did a passholder preview thing for their Halloween maze, Blackout. We were there on the first passholder preview and I think they were still working on it, because we basically just walked around in the dark the entire time, but we did get some good scares!

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What happens when a couple of coaster gays try and make a "beast claw" onride photo? My arms come out looking more muscular than they actually are. Aww, I take it back, now I kind of like The Beast.

Edited by xVicesAndVirtues
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Cedar Point and Sunrise Thrills Tour

 

The next park we went to on this trip was Cedar Point. My friends and I are from Florida, and we lucked out at KI by getting mid-70s weather (which we’d honestly describe as “a bit cool”), but when we got to Cedar Point, we were not as lucky. It was early May and extremely cold with a mean Lake Erie wind, then, to add insult to injury, it started raining. Riiight when we were going up the lift on Millennium Force, yeahhh. We were freezing our a$$es off, so we bought some park merchandise to layer up, then warmed up the good ol’ fashioned way: alcohol.

 

Cedar Point honestly did a great job of keeping everything running that they could despite the rain, wind, and cold, and we had a great first evening there. The next morning, we did something I’d recommend to any enthusiast, as it was 1,000% worth it. The Sunrise Thrills Tour.

 

In a nutshell, you pay about $200ish per person, then you get up at the crack of dawn and go to Guest Relations at 6AM. There, a park staff member meets you and you get to go to the top of Valravn, then tour some restricted areas of Millennium Force, smaller Kingda Ka, and Maverick.

 

I’ll let the photos do the talking, it really was a great trip to the park and again, buy the Sunrise Thrills Tour right now.

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Hey look, they RMC'd Disaster Transport

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I'm one of those people who like Millennium Force and also wash their hands after using the restroom. Admit it, you like Millennium Force, too.

 

Unfortunately, this was not an enjoyable ride on Millennium Force by any measure. We were going up the lift and it started to rain. If you go on RCDB, you'll find that Millennium Force goes 93mph. If you've been on Millennium Force in the rain, you fully understand why your car has a windshield.

 

Also, one more thing happened. Apparently MF has a strict "two trains in the rain" policy. As we sat in the brake run, the rain started to pick up and the crew proceeded to transfer off one train while we sat there, which took about 10 minutes. The only way to describe wearing jeans and being forced to sit in one position in the pouring rain is this: f*cking awful. -1 for CP operations on this one, get everybody off before removing the damn train!

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A sizable gap in time exists between the MF photo and this one. We went to Friday's and got several cocktails down our throats while the rain let up. I actually remember being kind of drunk and being in awe of how pretty Magnum is.

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At this point we didn't have any hopes of Dragster being open that day, as we didn't see it go once.

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Back in and on the midway, things were actually looking quite good! It was freezing out and windy, so it drove pretty much everybody out of the park. Score!

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Don't worry, I just sent this latest never-before-seen photo of SteVen to Screamscape and it'll be posted as part of a special update for you all to gawk over.

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Aww, he got the fountain shot!

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Barbra Streisand.

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Park was getting near closing and we started to see signs of life at Dragster. So we did what any responsible adults that were progressively drinking all day would do...we waited! As a result, we were at the park until like 11PM that day even though we had to be back at 6AM. But we got to ride...yaasss queen!

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Nice lighting on Valravn at night. See you at 6AM! And see YOU in the next post for the Sunrise Thrills Tour photos.

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As promised, the Sunrise Thrill Tour photos.

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We just hadddd to get that late ride on Dragster, didn't we?

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Hey, I think that's actually the PR guy I was talking about. If you're a Cedar Fair executive and you're reading this for some odd reason, he's great!

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Actual footage of me on a leash.

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When you're standing on top of Valravn, you get views like this.

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I'm smiling in this photo, you just can't tell. She can be mean in the morning.

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The part where the whole slow drop thing happens.

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Catwalk photo or POV? You decide!

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Can we talk about Raptor for a second? I've always known it's "probably" the best invert, but the MCBR wasn't even touching the trains on this visit and we got insane rides. So much snapping in the cobra roll and in the end when you hit the brakes.

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Back on the much-warmer ground (seriously, it felt like 20 degrees on top of Valravn with winds threatening to blow us off), we next got a tour of Valravn's maintenance/backstage areas.

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These mechanisms make control the station floor. But you knew that already because you're a coaster enthusiast and you know everything.

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Brake/transfer block area upskirt shot. Warning: the following photos may have a profound effect on some of you.

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That's where the bearings go. Nothing else.

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Yes, I reached out and spun the side friction wheel.

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Train labels, brake fins, and drive wheels! It's getting hot in here!

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Annnnd the money shot! This guy holds you on the drop chain. Then he leaves the drop chain because that's life. Get used to it.

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One of the transfer shed bays.

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At that point, it was time to start some water dummy dispatches! We got a whole explanation of their opening procedures, as Valravn is a rollback risk coaster, so there's a whole progressive water dummy procedure every morning.

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Fancy Valravn control panel. It's also worth noting that Valravn has a very talented ride supervisor who was working that morning. He was really making sure everybody was efficient and seemed to care deeply about the coaster and following all procedures. Sadly, as is the trend, I can't remember his name, but more parks should have people like this. I really hope this guy gets recognized and promoted, because people like this make the difference in terms of operations and guest experience.

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Restraint-check screen.

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That's a completed run!

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Next, they added another train.

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Then, we got to go and have some breakfast! We ate in the employee cafeteria, which had a great breakfast selection. Plus, our meals were included in the price of the tour.

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All the standard breakfast items were included. French toast, pancakes, hash browns, eggs, bacon, etc.

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After breakfast, we were escorted back to Valravn for the first ride of the day in the front row! Afterwards, we got to take photos from the in-field of the ride, which also provided some awesome views such as this. Sunrise tour continues in the next post.

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Nice report. That employee breakfast looked damn good, too.

 

You're right. It seemed like a lot of people visited the same parks this year. But I love looking at photo TR's of CP and KI. At least we don't have 20 TR'S or Worlds of Fun...

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Great report! The tour looks awesome but I really don't see myself ever getting up that early to do it. Bite your tongue about the Beast.

 

It's also worth noting that Valravn has a very talented ride supervisor who was working that morning. He was really making sure everybody was efficient and seemed to care deeply about the coaster and following all procedures. Sadly, as is the trend, I can't remember his name

... yeah, I'm about 900% sure it was Josh.

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Honestly I don't mind cold days at all. I'd much rather visit a park on a 40 degree day with occasional rain (as long as it's mostly clear) than a day when it's 95 degrees with 98% humidity (like our visits to the Florida parks in June). You can dress for the cold and rain, you can't do anything about oppressive heat and humidity.

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^Not to mention the fact that if said park sells alcohol, the more you drink, the less you notice the cold.

 

We had the entire park to ourselves that first day, something I didn't even know could be possible at CP. Getting to repeatedly walk on to Maverick when it's usually a wait even with Fast Lane Plus was so awesome.

 

Thanks for all the comments, guys! I'll have the next part up later today.

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Another major positive to a cooler day as opposed to a hot one in my opinion: when standing in the switchback mass of humanity in hot, humid weather you get that smell like the whole queue is one big armpit...

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Partie Deux of Cedar Point. I squeezed the second part of the Sunrise Thrills Tour and the rest of our two remaining days there into one post, because again, everything that needs to be said about Cedar Point has pretty much been said. You can't deny that this is truly one of the best parks in the world to visit.

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From Valravn, we got to walk over to Dragster, where it was nearing the end of it's morning testing and running consistently.

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Look, I did the thing you guys do where you take a picture of people taking pictures!

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My latest artistic photo to be hung in The Louvre. Down the back...but who cares? Still The Louvre.

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Photos can hardly capture how tall coasters like Dragster are. But this one comes close.

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Dinosaurs alive...for now.

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Next we walked completely across Millennium Island, where this absolutely stunning coaster dominates.

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Continuing along the Millennium Island tour, we got some nice backstage shots of Shoot The R...oh thats embarrassing.

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Rougarou/Mantis as a floorless automatically makes it one of the best floorless coasters. Great layout, forces intended for the stand-up, old school B&M, it's got it!

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Warning, nerdy sequence of photos to follow. We were walked into Millennium Force's restricted area, then under the station, where we got to see the underside of the trains and how the catch car comes down and attaches to them.

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That little steel pin in the middle is the physical attachment between the train and catch car. When the computer is given the dispatch command, the catch car reverses a couple more feet, then the pin engages.

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Transfer area and water dummies.

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Giant cable pulleys and huge counterweights to offset your fat a$$

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The tunnels and hills that take you to/from Millennium Island

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This is my trip report and I will do this as many times as I want.

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310 feet of yuuuuuge

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Okay, so then we got walked back to Maverick, where again, we got to enter the restricted area and get some behind-the-scenes shots, such as this side of the drop you didn't know existed!

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Airtime

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Fountain photo from the other side! At this point, it was time for the tour to end. We were walked up Maverick's exit stairs and escorted directly onto the next train! Awesome

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We hit the skyride next, where I took a crooked photo. As this was a Saturday and we'd already seen Maverick having a 60-minute line, we went up front to get FastLane Plus for the rest of our visit. And it was a good move! At one point, Raptor was a 30-minute wait in the FLP queue.

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Just some nice views of the midway from Skyride.

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Twisted Wicker or whatever. The launches on these are intense and be prepared for the slow-down. Not for the weak of stomach.

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Really pretty setting for Rougarou

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Also pretty setting for Maverick

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I'm sure we all know someone who would bring the right tool to steal this plate off the train.

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And I end the Cedar Point photos with everyone's favorite coaster there. Thanks for reading, another park from another trip coming soon!

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Great report on the Sunrise Thrills Tour! I did it when I was at CP in July 2016 and it was spectacular. One thing we didn't realize was that the tour goes for almost half the day LOL but it was amazing. I am a night owl and the thought of even functioning before double digits in the morning was awful, but it was totally worth it and I'd absolutely do the tour again. We had nicer weather although it was crazy hot. They let us each take as much food from the employee lounge as we wanted so I took several cold water bottles with me that I was thankful for! The ride op at Valravn you mentioned was most likely Josh aka JRice92 on the forums. He used to be an op at MF and he now kicks ass over at Valravn.

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^Yes, I should definitely have mentioned that. I think by the time we were done with the tour, it was between 12:30 and 1 PM. So, I guess if you really want a long day at CP to go crazy and ride absolutely everything multiple times, do the tour but make it a two-day trip. If you've already got a few visits to CP under your belt and want a unique perspective of some of the best aspects of the park, this is a great way to do that.

 

And also yes! I looked him up and by profile picture, Josh aka JRice92 was the Valravn supervisor I mentioned. So awesome that he's a member of the TPR community!

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Dollywood

 

The best place to enjoy a beer. Except that it's not sold here, because alcohol is the devil's brew and you're going straight to h-e-double hockey sticks just for thinking about it. That's okay, there's a chapel in the park where you can get down on your knees and beg the lord for forgiveness for your sins. Not your thing? Don't worry, you're with me for this visit, we can gay the pray away together!

 

Full disclosure, some of the pictures in this report I took in March, the rest I took in July. Lightning Rod evaded me during the March trip, and so I made a second attempt and got two rides on it before the inevitable happened. Three lifetime total.

 

I'll again keep my thoughts brief and let the pictures do most of the talking. You already are aware that Dollywood is awesome and that they have cinnamon bread, yada yada. I'm happy to report that neither of these things have changed. Thunderhead still isn't rough, it sucks that Arrow went out of business and never got to make more loopers like Tennessee Tornado, Mystery Mine is a mindf*ck of great dark ride, awesome Eurofighter, and ouch that transition hurt my ear. K? K.

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I booked very last minute for this trip and everything in Pigeon Forge was running high-$100s, mid $200s for the 3-4 star hotels, so I took a chance on this place and it was actually super nice! The room itself was definitely the 2-star quality you expect from an Econo Lodge, but the property was cool.

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Well, here we are!

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Dollywood is a prime example of how parks can put small touches on things and make it look really nice. I hate birds, but these birdhouses were cute af

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This awesome wood pile looks like the demon bird from my worst f*cking nightmare.

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Let's ride Thunderhead! I always start and finish my visits to Dollywood here. It's definitely my favorite GCI with perfect "out of control" feeling, great pacing, and a good mix of laterals and little pops of air.

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Weeee! Fly-through never gets old

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Owl 1: "Hey, did you know that there are some pussy enthusiasts who think Thunderhead is rough?"

Owl 2: "I'll believe anything! One time I did PCP and I thought I was having a conversation with an owl!"

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More bird sh*t. Well, not actual bird sh*t, but sh*t themed to birds.

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The best-ever Arrow looper thrilling some people

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I could have waited for the swinging to start.

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Seriously, you can pretty much use anything to make a small area look that much better! Herschend gets this, why can't other parks get this?

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A view of some of the airtime you can spot from Craftsmen's Valley

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Dollywood has an actual steam-powered train. See, they're already making America great again and creating coal jobs!

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Actual representation of what's been going wrong with Lightning Rod. What's going on with the communication and lack of action here? NO ONE is assigned to the final tune up, Big Al hasn't even come up with a plan to fix the bent frame, John Reagan ordered the new block but is still waiting for it to come in, the Ogle Bros haven't finished painting the thing, and the Sheriff is just sitting on his a$$! What is this, the Trump White House?

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If you look DIRECTLY at the eclipse, the light may blind you. But I mean, do what you gotta do.

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Ooo headers.

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Where the launchy bit happens.

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Also, 50% of the car being occupied by the engine has to also mess with the balance and handling, due to most of the weight being over the front axle.

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Yay crazy airtime! I almost lost my sunglasses from the airtime, and I've never even had them budge on my face on a coaster.

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Station shot before I got a back-row ride. I'd put my synopsis of Lightning Rod this way: I'm an El Toro person. I like the huge drops and hills with the strong positives and even stronger sustained negatives. Lightning Rod is similar in some ways but a different sort of beast in others. The quad-down, for example, actually has stronger airtime than a coaster like El Toro, but it's quick, sharp bursts instead of the longer, sustained ejector. I'll also go out on a limb here and say that the part of Outlaw Run from it's drop onward is actually a little better than Lightning Rod, until Lightning Rod comes back up and over the mountain for that finale, at which time it smashes Outlaw Run to bits. The more coasters you ride, the harder it gets to rank things. But I'd say that Lightning Rod is a very close #2 by a hair to El Toro for me, but easily beating other typical favorites like Voyage, Boulder Dash, Phoenix, etc.

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And we'll end it with a picture of the new hotness, Drop Line! Thanks again for reading!

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Great report, I laughed out loud at this caption...

 

Actual representation of what's been going wrong with Lightning Rod. What's going on with the communication and lack of action here? NO ONE is assigned to the final tune up, Big Al hasn't even come up with a plan to fix the bent frame, John Reagan ordered the new block but is still waiting for it to come in, the Ogle Bros haven't finished painting the thing, and the Sheriff is just sitting on his a$$! What is this, the Trump White House?

 

Also...

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That's a f*cking Econo Lodge? I've stayed at a ton of Econo Lodges... a ton. I refuse to believe that's an Econo Lodge. It has 4 1/2 f*cking stars on Trip Advisor... look at this sh*t. If it has more than 2, it's not a real Econo Lodge. Everything I ever thought I knew was a lie.

 

This isn't an econo lodge. (That's actually a picture of the place you stayed at, no joke)

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This is an econo lodge...

 

Come on Choice, upgrade them to AT LEAST a Clarion.

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^^My thoughts exactly on the Econo Lodge. I paid something like $89 a night there. Now, full disclosure, the interior of the actual rooms were definitely Econo Lodge level. Bathroom fan that sounds like a lawnmower, carpeting from 1973, etc. But since they went this hard on the exterior, a quick remodel of the rooms themselves could make this place seriously competitive.

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