Welcome to the fourth edition of my new blog series, the Trick Track. In this series I will be discussing little nuggets of industry-related items...anything from my thoughts on News stories, to new ride openings, quick ride reviews, industry innovations, construction progress, pretty much anything industry related that pops into my head. This week, the concentration is...nothing in particular, just a bunch of random stuff that’s come to mind lately…So without further ado:

Bluegrass Boardwalk

Our blogger, Danny, discussed this a few weeks ago, but I want to throw in my own thoughts here. First of all, if there’s anyone who can save this park, it’s most certainly the Koch family. With a focus on cleanliness, friendliness, hospitality, and a great balance of rides, they are one of those owners who are in the theme park business for more than just the pure profit, but also the love of the industry. Holiday World, essentially in the middle of nowhere, far from an amusement park mecca, well off the beaten trail, and essentially unheard of say 10-15 years ago, is now suddenly amongst the top theme parks in the US, with big new attractions coming year after year from seeming obscurity. Now they have Kentucky Kingdom, once perhaps their biggest competitor, to build back up, and I have no doubts they can do so.

I’m not sure how I feel on the name, part of me loves it, part of me not so much. More than likely the “Bluegrass” is coming more from the name of “Kentucky Bluegrass” the grass, rather than the music, but I’m not sure where “Boardwalk” comes into play. Eitherway, it’s an interesting, but not necessarily stellar name, though the logo looks fantastic. Give them a few years to get the park back on its feet before expecting any major additions, but I get the feeling that soon, people will find Kentucky Kingdom on their “must do” park’s list once again.

Bye Bye Pussycat

You’ve probably heard, especially if you’re a Cedar Point fan (or fanboy), that the park’s long-time little steel coaster on the midway, WildCat, is leaving the park before it even had a chance to say goodbye. Reportedly, the ride was likely going to be removed before the end of the season, but there may have been an issue during testing which caused them to speed-up those plans to before the season, perhaps to avoid an awkward SBNO situation. It’s certainly sad to see it go, as it is to see any classic, well-known, or Schwarzkopf coaster get removed, but it’s far from unexpected. In its last years, it was high-maintenance, low-capacity, relatively low popularity, and just nothing all that special. It will be missed, but it frees up some room for CP to make some modern upgrades. It will not be relocated, instead going to the scrapyard, but parks are probably hard to come by with the manufacturer now long-gone. Goodbye WildCat, you lived a good long life, now go in pieces…I mean peace!


Lost Potential

There are two coasters opening next year that look both amazing…and yet leave something to be desired. The first, Shambhala, has one of the most epic turnaround elements I’ve ever seen, dwarfing most coasters, and breaking B&M’s “hammerhead” trend with a towering, spiraling turnaround. Goliath at SFOG, rises, then spirals through a widening radius down for its turnaround, Shambhala, jettisons towards the sky as it spirals halfway up, tightens, and blasts back down in a continued spiral. It also looks to have some amazing airtime hills, and will have a splash element, but one thing could really hurt the coaster…the “mid-course” brake run. It’s one thing to have a mid-course brake run to pace the coaster, spread them out for more trains operating, etc (see Nitro), its another to throw in an MCBR right before the end of the coaster. Many may know my thoughts on Intimidator at Carowinds, which is great until its late-course MCBR, which basically renders the remainder of the ride horribly underwhelming, and hurts the ride more than helps it. From the looks of it, Shambhala’s MCBR will likely have the same effect on the last bit of its layout, which may hurt it as well. If you’re going to have an MCBR, use it properly, or don’t use it at all, putting one right near the end (effectively ending the rider early and making it the final brakes) is more infuriating than trim brakes.

The other coaster is Leviathan. The drop looks epic, the airtime insane, the high-speed low-to-the-ground hills look fantastic, the sense of speed will be thrilling, but ending the ride some 60-80 feet in the air on what looks to be a 1000-foot long brake run? Disappointing. Just as Millennium Force left me slightly disappointed with its early ending that left momentum for quite a bit more ride, Leviathan looks like it could be a real killer. After this amazing and epic layout, the ride flies high, and into its final brake run, a very long brake run, followed by an even longer downward-sloped brake run. Watch a POV, the final brake run, moving constantly, takes about 45 seconds to go through, rather than 5-10 like most coasters. You go and build this massive, epic coaster and then what? Run out of space? Funds? Imagination? You couldn’t throw in another couple good airtime hills, or a spiraling helix to burn off some speed, or anything other than an agonizingly long brake-run? If you’re going to invest in something that massive, go all the way with it…at least Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka are up front about what they’re all about.

Am I saying either of these coasters will be bad? No, not by any means. In fact, they both look quite amazing, two great coasters. But, what I am saying, is that to me, it will prevent either coaster from ever being considered “the best.” The general public may not care, looking for the next big thrill, but as a seasoned enthusiast who prefers a quality layout over a quantity or record layout, my opinion is greatly affected by aspects like that above. I may be wrong, but from my experience, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and leaves me underwhelmed…that’s why I’d take Apollo’s Chariot over Millennium Force any day.