Hi Everyone,

Today I was fortunate enough to be able to visit Nickelodeon Universe at the new American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Check out my video below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGUWOLFZPRk&feature=youtu.be

Hi Everyone,

Since I happened to be in Farmingdale, NY today, I decided to make a quick stop at Adventureland. My primary objective was to ride Turbulence, as I had not been to the park since it opened in 2015. I also wanted to check out the Mystery Mansion, which opened in 2018. Here’s what I thought:

Turbulence:

Turbulence is a compact Mack spinning coaster that I was pretty impressed with. Considering how compact Adventureland is, I felt that Mack did a great job with shoehorning a fun layout into a small space. The ride is very smooth, and has a solidly fun first drop that leads into an overbanked turn. The helix finale was also very enjoable. It’s a short ride, but again, that is to be expected, given the dimensions the park is working with. I think the ride is an excellent fit for park, filling the role of a ride that is a little more intense than the average family coaster, but not so much that younger kids still couldn’t enjoy it. Given its smoothness and short wait time, I would also consider this a very rerideable coaster. Overall, It was tough to give a final score, but I”m going to give it a 6.5/10, and I would recommend that anyone in the area stop by Adventureland to get the credit.

Mystery Mansion:

I have many memories (both fond and not fond haha) of riding the old haunted house at Adventureland; known for its tacky theming, and wall that was covered with gum, this ride was really in need of an upgrade. Apparently, it was replaced around 2010, and a new ride took place of that replacement in 2018. While this ride is nowhere near as good as dark rides at larger parks like Disney/Universal (nor would I expect it to be), it is pretty unique for a dark ride at a regional theme park. The track layout is like an inverted coaster, in that you hang/your feet dangle. The ride also has a lift hill, and a descent which I wouldn’t really call a true “drop” in the sense that it is still powered, or has a chain lift( I couldn’t really tell which, though). The theming itself is sort of cool, but also sort of weird. There is a lot of gruesome, gothic type imagery that you usually find in haunted house rides, but I think it was stepped up a bit in this one. You also go outside for a little bit when you are on the second level of the ride, which is pretty cool. Overall, I would say if you’re spending the day at Adventureland, and have the POP (Pay One Price) bracelet, it’s worth a spin, but given the roughly 35-40 minutes I waited for it, and the fact that it’s $7.50 per ride, I would pass otherwise.

Hi Everyone,

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting two smaller New England theme parks. Check out my review below!

Hi Everyone,

Today’s post takes us to the Old Dominion. I’ve visited Virginia a lot compared to other states, as I frequently went there on vacation, and my girlfriend is originally from the greater Richmond area. Virginia has two excellent theme parks in Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion. This made it very tough to determine what the best coasters in the state were, and as a result, in addition to a top 3, I’m going to give a few honorable mentions for both existing, and defunct rides. Keep in mind that this list is based on overall enjoyment of a coaster, not necessarily that it’s the biggest, or the fastest.

#1:

Apollo’s Chariot, Busch Gardens:

Anyone who knows me well knows that this is one of my favorite roller coasters ever built. A lot of people question this, as Apollo is nowhere near the tallest, fastest, or most intense coaster. The thing is, it’s just so much fun! The way the ride uses the terrain is great, as the lift hall is only 170 feet tall, but you drop down 210 feet. The ride has a lot of nice floater airtime, a fun turnaround at the halfway point of the out and back design, a good ride duration at 4882 feet, and is pretty smooth. I’ve been on this ride around 15 times, and it never ceases to put a smile on my face. With Apollo, it’s not that it’s the “best” at anything per se, it’s just really, really, good at a lot of things, and that’s what makes it such an awesome and rerideable coaster for me. It was my #1 coaster for a long time, and is still in my top 5. It’s unbelievable that this ride is now 20 years old, and as a testament to its staying power, it was still ranked #6 in last year’s Amusement Today steel coaster top 50.

#2:

Intimidator 305, Kings Dominion:

It was an incredibly hard decision to choose Apollo over I305 as the top coaster in Virginia; for me, it just came down to overall enjoyment. Let me start off by saying that I305 is an awesome ride: it’s one of the most intense roller coasters I’ve ever been on. From the Nascar themed announcement “GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!!” to the fast cable lift hill, the wild 85 degree first drop and banked first turn (which I somehow don’t gray out on like a lot of people) to a few fun airtime hills and crazy zig zags on the second half, this ride just straight up delivers from start to finish. Although a lot of people don’t like that it has over the should restraints, I really didn’t mind. I do think the ride could have been a little longer too, but I’m not sure if that would have affected the pacing. The only reason it lost out to Apollo for me, is that it’s not that rerideable; I was wiped after 2 rides on it the last time I visited Kings Dominon, whereas I felt that I could marathon on Apollo all day long. Overall, I305 is a fantastic giga coaster, currently sitting in my top 5, and a must ride for anyone visiting the greater Richmond area.

#3:

Alpengeist, Busch Gardens:

Alpengeist is my favorite inverted coaster, and the awesome ride it delivers was comfortably enough to put it in the #3 position on this list. From the gargantuan lift hill (195 feet, the tallest for a continuous circuit inverted coaster in the world), to the giant vertical loop, cool cobra roll, and great zero-g roll over the ski shack, the coaster is a blast, and has some fantastic views to boot. I’ve ridden Alpengeist on four separate trips to Busch Gardens, and while it has gotten a little rougher over time, it’s still a great ride, and only narrowly misses my top 20. I know some in the coaster community don’t like it as much as rides like Banshee, Afterburn, and Montu (I haven’t ridden Banshee, Afterburn is my #2 invert, Montu #3), but to me, the “ghost of the alps” is still my #1.

Honorable Mentions:

Existing Coasters:

Griffon, Busch Gardens:

Another awesome Busch Gardens B+M. Griffon is more or less the same ride as Sheikra, which opened a few years earlier at Busch Gardens Tampa, but for whatever reason, I prefer Griffon. I’ve been on this ride a ton, and I love the views from the top, the first drop, which naturally is the highlight of the ride, and the splashdown section as well.

Dominator, King’s Dominion:

Check out my video below on the top 10 underrated roller coasters for a more detailed review of Dominator. This is a really fun B+M Floorless coaster that for whatever reason, doesn’t get that much media coverage, and in general isn’t really that well known, even by the GP. It’s not a top invert like Superman: Krypton Coaster, or Kraken, but absolutely holds its own as one of the most fun rides at Kings Dominion and in Virginia.

Defunct Coasters:

Check out my post below about the Top Defunct Roller Coasters. Volcano: The Blast Coaster, and Big Bad Wolf are two of the best rides on that list, and they are sorely missed.

Overall, Virginia is an awesome state for roller coasters. The fact that I left off some really good rides, like Verbolten, Loch Ness Monster, and Flight of Fear (I also didn’t include Twisted Timbers since I haven’t been on it yet) is a testament to just how strong Virginia’s roller coaster lineup is. It’s a must-visit state for any coaster enthusiast.

Hi Everyone,

I want to start off today’s post with an addendum; I said in my top 10 underrated roller coasters video that Swamp Fox is the most intense wooden coaster I’ve been on under 100 feet tall; that’s not true, Raven is. And I love Raven, it’s a superior ride in every way, and is still one of my top coasters. With that out of the way, I’d like to talk about some of my bucket list coasters. There are so many great roller coasters worldwide, and some are a lot easier to get to ride than others. These are rides that look super cool, but for whatever reason, typically geography or money, are not that easy to get a ride on. Here they are, in no particular order:

• Mindbender, Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall: I’m a big fan of Schwarzkopf coasters, and among enthusiasts, this or Olympia Looping are often considered his greatest ride. I’ve heard awesome things about its intensity as well, and would love to catch a ride if I ever happen to be in the Edmonton area.
• Schwur des Karnan, Hansa Park: I’ve heard absolutely incredible things about this ride. I’ve been on Cannibal, which it’s compared to often, but with an even higher max height, top speed, and reverse freefall drop, this looks ever better; the theming is supposed to be great as well. The biggest roadblock will be getting to the park, which is in northern Germany, and as far as I can tell isn’t near any major cities/mass transit (if anyone knows otherwise correct me if I’m wrong).
• Lightning Rod, Dollywood: This is considered a top 5 or 10 coaster by many enthusiasts. The launched lifthill in particular looks awesome and I’ve heard this ride has a lot of airtime. I’ve actually been to Dollywood multiple times, but unfortunately, not since 2011. I absolutely loved the park, and can’t wait to visit again and pick up this and Wild Eagle as new credits.
• Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point: this one pretty much goes without saying. Considered the #1 coaster in the world by many, I’m planning on a Cedar Point trip to see how it compares to other top rides within the next few years.
• Banshee, King’s Island: There are many reasons that I need to make a trip to King’s Island (The Beast, Diamondback, Twister Timbers, etc.), but for me, this might be the most important reason. I’ve been on every other top American inverted coaster (so basically, Alpengeist, Montu, and Afterburn), and want to see how Banshee compares, especially since it is newer and has slightly different restraints.
• Flying Dinosaur, Universal Studios Japan: I’ve been on Tatsu, and found it to be an awesome experience, so it’s only natural I’d want to go on the flying coaster that its been frequently compared to(maybe Manta at Seaworld Orlando as well). This one would be a tough credit, but I think if I were to do an Asia trip in the future, Japan would probably be my most anticipated country to visit, and this would be one of the credits that I looked forward to getting the most.
• Taron, Phantasialand: The only Intamin blitz coaster I’ve been on is Cheetah Hunt, and I’m eager to get on more of these cool rides. I’ve heard fantastic things about the theming on Taron, and Phantasialand in general, which means a visit may be in order. Again, the only real issues is getting to that part of Germany.
• Formula Rossa, Ferarri World: This ride is all about speed; literally, since it’s the record holder at 149 mph. I doubt I’ll ever make it out to the UAE, but if I ever do, this would be the main reason, and I have no doubt that the launch would be completely insane.
• Shambahla, PortAventura: I’ve been on a lot of B+M hypercoasters, and they are among my favorites types of rides. I’ve heard that Shambahla is super smooth and delivers great airtime, and thus I really want to get out to Portaventura whenever I go to Europe again.
• Steel Curtain, Kennywood: This ride looks like it has some crazy inversions, and in general just has a really unique layout. I hope once it’s finished it’s a hit. Kennywood seems like an awesome park so I’ve got to make the trip out to Pittsburgh sometime soon.

Honorable Mentions:

-Hyperion, Energylandia

-Hakugei, Nagashima Spa Land

-Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park

Since I did an entry regarding the most underrated roller coasters, it’s only right that I do one for the most overrated as well. In no ranked order, here they are:

• California Screamin/Incredicoaster, California Adventure: Let me start by saying that this is a solidly fun ride. I like the launch on the water, some of the drops are fun, and the loop through the Mickey Mouse head/ears is cool as well. That being said, I feel like this ride is pretty highly hyped, especially by the GP. It’s definitely unique, and rides pretty smooth(or at least it did when I was last at California Adventure in 2009) but overall, it’s nowhere near a top coaster. I haven’t been on it since it got the “Incredicoaster” retheme, but I’m not sure it would change my opinion.
• Coaster, Playland PNE: this ride is a classic wooden coaster that delivers a good time, and it has those cool retro open-air trains (no, not GCI Millenium Flyer trains, but actually what that design tried to emulate, this ride is that old). It has decent pacing, and is a good credit to pick up if you happen to be in Vancouver (I can’t say the same about the rest of the rides in the park haha), but I still can’t believe it is ranked in the Amusement Today top 50 wooden roller coasters.
• Cyclone, Luna Park : Read my review of roller coasters in New York below for more information on this one. I’m thoroughly convinced the Cyclone would be known as a decent-good wooden coaster but not much more if it wasn’t located in Coney Island.
• Ghost Rider, Knott’s Berry Farm: I’m probably going to get a lot of flack for this one, but that’s fine. Granted, I haven’t been on Ghostrider in about 10 years, and I’ve heard it has been retracked and had new trains put on since then. Still, of the 3 times I went on it, I found the ride to be rough, with a decent but not great layout, and only a few moments of really great airtime. I’d say that it is one of the top 50 wooden coasters, but at being ranked #13 is ridiculous in my opinion, when rides like Raven and Legend are ranked lower.
• Lightning Racer, Hershey Park: I’ve been on both sides of Lightning Racer a few times, and I really never understood the appeal. The first twisting drop is fun, there are a few moments of good airtime, but to me this is a 6/10 ride that I found to be very rough, and nowhere near as good as it was hyped to be, just like Ghostrider.
• Nitro, Six Flags Great Adventure: In my opinion, probably the most overrated steel coaster in existence. I’m not sure why, but I’ve just gotten some incredibly weak rides on Nitro; I should say that I’m a sucker for cool settings on coasters, something Great Adventure isn’t exactly known for. The first drop does give a lot of airtime, and I like the first hammerhead turn(which was really unique at the time Nitro opened, but is on a lot of B+M hyper and giga coasters now), but I can’t believe that this ride is still considered a top 10 coaster, when smaller hypercoasters are more fun than it (see Goliath at La Ronde, Apollo’s Chariot, and Intimidator at Carowinds), and its physical stats, which used to be one thing the ride relied on (it was the tallest ride in the park for 4 years when I was growing up, and thus gave bragging rights), are increasingly less impressive compared to similar rides.
• Roller Coaster, NY, NY, Las Vegas (overrated by the GP only): This ride is just so visually impressive, and at 203 feet tall, it must be awesome, right? Wrong. This ride is one of the roughest i’ve been on, and other than a few inversions that give some good hangtime, it’s really not too fun. When I last rode it in 2015 it was also around $13 to ride, and I can’t even imagine how much it costs now. Fortunately, this coaster is universally hated by the coaster community, as are most Togo creations.
• Silver Bullet, Knott’s Berry Farm (again, overrated by the GP only): The coaster community considers Silver Bullet to be an okay, but essentially forceless invert that is generally considered one of B+M’s weakest creations. I really can’t remember much from my rides on it (a testament to its lack of intensity) other than a decent cobra roll. For whatever reason, the GP goes crazy for this thing, and every non-enthusiast I’ve met from Southern California that goes to Knotts thinks it’s a great ride.
• Thunderhead, Dollywood: Let me preface this by saying that Thunderhead is a very good wooden coaster; I would say my best rides on it have been in the 8.5-9 range, while my worst are about a 7-7-5. That being said, this was the #1 wooden roller coaster in the world at one point, and I rode it a year after it was built, and I still didn’t get the hype, and don’t now even though it has dropped to #10. The first drop is one of the best twisting drops I’ve been on, and I love the station fly-by element, but overall, this ride just comes off as good-very good, and nowhere near a “world beater” type ride like any of the RMCs, Boulder Dash, El Toro, or Voyage.

Schwarzkopf, probably best known for their looping coasters (like literally, only a loop, no other inversions haha) built a lot of roller coasters in the 70s and 80s that were most prominently known for having inversions, while using only a lap bar. Anton Schwarzkopf, like anyone who understands physics, knew that centripetal forces would keep riders in when they were experiencing a vertical loop, which was a revolutionary concept at the time. At a time when few coasters in general were going upside down, and those that were needed uncomfortable over the shoulder restraints (I’m looking at you, Arrow), Schwarzkopf was the only game in town that allowed riders the thrill of going upside down without the hinderance of the over the shoulder restraint(OTSR). Today, with more modern restraint systems, many roller coasters do a variety of inversions without an OTSR. Two I can think of off the top of my head are Cannibal and Copperhead Strike, but there are loads more. I’ve only been on a handful of Schwarzkopfs, but I’ve really enjoyed them. A common theme is that they feature compact layouts with twisting drops and helices, and as a result, often make the ride more intense than one might think given the footprint that they occupy. My top 3 are Colossus the Fire Dragon at Lagoon, the former Laser at Dorney Park (RIP), and Shockwave at Six Flags over Texas. I also really like Schwarzkopf’s Jetstar models that feature inline seating and and electric spiral lift hills, but unfortunately they are going extinct, as with all Schwarzkopfs in general. There are still a few in operation, most notably, The Whizzer at Six Flags Great America, and Jet Star 2 at Lagoon. My bucket list Schwarzkopfs that I haven’t ridden include Mind Bender at Galaxyland, and Olympia Looping, which travels the German fair circuit; it’s the largest traveling roller coaster in the world. Less than half of Schwarzkopfs are still in operation, so ride them while you still can!

While there are many theme parks that have excellent coaster lineups, there are some that are just screaming for a new roller coaster (or maybe multiple).  Today, I will list 10 parks that I feel need an upgrade in the thrills department.

1. Adventureland:

I may be biased, because I lived about a half hour away from this park for a long time, and I always felt that Adventureland could use another roller coaster. Sure, the park has an extremely tight footprint (it’s incredible how many rides they fit into the tiny strip of land they own) but given the huge population on Long Island, one would think there are lot of thrill seekers who would want something more than the Hurricane, and now Turbulence. When I was a kid, I dreamed of this park adding something like a B+M mini hyper that ran the perimeter of the park or used the parking lot, but given the limited amount of land, that’s probably just a pipe dream. A ride with a vertical or beyond vertical drop and a few inversions, so basically a Gerstlauer Euro Fighter, like Mystery Mine or Untamed might be a good fit. For this to happen, the park would probably have to buy some adjacent land, and use the big parking lot they have in the back. It’s a stretch, but a guy can always dream.

2. Valleyfair:

Disclaimer: I haven’t been to this park since I was 12, but they don’t seem to have added much since then. The only big Roller Coaster that has been added since then is Renegade. This park is pretty heavy on wooden coasters (yes, I’m counting Excalibur even though its a hybrid since it has a wood structure), so adding another one wouldn’t be a good choice. An Intamin Blitz Coaster like Cheetah Hunt or Verbolten could be a good fit, particularly if it was well-themed; I also like the idea of adding a B+M Flyer or Wing Coaster. There is a ton of open land around Valleyfair, although I’m not sure how much the park owns, but if it were something good I might make the 5+ Hour drive from Wisconsin to check it out.

3. Elitch Gardens

Honestly, this park needs a complete overhaul. There really isn’t any “key” attraction. The have a decent wooden coaster in Twister II, and a bunch of generic Vekoma clones like Mind Eraser and a Boomerang. Unfortunately, there are rumors that Elitch Gardens is going to be closed and replaced with housing complexes, so we will likely never get to see the park build some attractions that make Denver a roller coaster destination (I guess they do well enough on tourism on outdoors-related things already).

4. Six Flags America:

Like Valleyfair, this is another park that has a lot of potential, but has been relatively neglected in recent years. It’s kind of surprising, given that it’s pretty close to Washington, D.C. Yeah, the park just converted their stand-up to a floorless, but it’s still not a “new” ride. One of the best improvements could potentially be to give the RMC treatment to one of their wooden coasters, both of which are regarded as being rough. This would be a big attraction to people in the DC area that would potentially help the park bring in more guests, who currently strongly favor King’s Dominion when looking for thrills in the Mid-Atlantic.

5. Six Flags Over Texas:

It’s kind of crazy that this park is one this list, given that it’s one of the largest Six Flags parks, was in fact the original, has the first RMC (which is a blast) and has a 255 foot tall hypercoaster that goes 85 mph, and is a really fun ride. Still, despite the volume of rides that SFOT has, it really only has a good, but not incredibly strong “big 3” of New Texas Giant, Titan, and Mr. Freeze. After that, the quality of the coasters at the park drops off dramatically, with many cloned rides (Batman, Pandemonium, Joker) or those that are just generally forgettable (Runaway Mountain, Judge Roy Scream). The park has a lot of land, and some decent terrain to use that would make it a nice candidate for some type of B+M ride with inversions; perhaps a Wing coaster, Dive Machine, or Flying Coaster. Although the Judge Roy Scream is a classic, I wouldn’t be at all disappointed if they demolished it and built a better wooden coaster, like a GCI, or an Intamin prefab, as well.

6. Mount Olympus:

I’ve heard that this park doesn’t take good care of their coasters, and that may contribute to the park’s poor reputation other than Hades, which is supposed to be good, but extremely rough. This park could probably use some sort of Steel Coaster to revitalize it. Although Holiday World isn’t a great analogy given that they had 3 amazing wooden coasters before building Thunderbird, I feel that some type of launch coaster like it that is high on thrills would be a nice addition to Mount Olympus.

7. King’s Dominion

Yet another surprise on this list. King’s Dominion is a great park, but as someone who loved Volcano and was so sad to see it go, something great needs to replace it. Volcano is a tough act to follow, given how unique the ride was, and the fact that the park already has an excellent giga coaster and RMC. My top 3 choices in no particular order, would be (and all of the following would be heavily themed): A large, Mack spinning coaster with inversions and crazy elements like Time Traveler, a B+M dive machine(maybe themed to something like a dive to the center of the earth) or a launched, themed Intamin mini tophat Coaster like Xcelerator or Storm Runner. Regardless of what happens, I”m sure King’s Dominion will build something awesome to replace Volcano in the near future.

8. Frontier City:

OKC is not really a huge market for theme park enthusiasts, and thus it make sense that they wouldn’t have a gigantic theme park. They have an okay collection of rides, with an Arrow shuttle loop, a Schwarzkopf looper, and an older wooden coaster. A somewhat bigger ride with inversions, maybe an Intamin in the 125-150 foot range would give this park a needed boost, although I’m not sure they have the revenue to make this a reality.

9. Worlds of Fun:

This pick is basically a combination of Valleyfair and Frontier City. It’s a a smaller market, and already has a decent collection of roller coasters, but hasn’t gotten a good one in a while. A wooden coaster wouldn’t really make sense here, given that they have 2, nor would a hypercoaster, since they have Mamba, nor a B+M looper, due to Patriot. Like Valleyfair, a heavily themed launch coaster might be a nice fit (again, think Thirteen, Cheetah Hunt, Verbolten).

10. Wild Waves:

Another low-key park, this is a little outside of Seattle, and has a few okay coasters, with Timberhawk being the star of the show. Seattle is a relatively big area, and even with the bad weather, one would think that there would be more demand for good roller coasters. This park would be an awesome place for an RMC, especially given how Timberhawk runs through the woods; for the same reason, a B+M Inverted Coaster or flyer would likely be a great fit as well.