http://www.coaster-net.com/ Short musings about the amusement industry from our staff writers! en-us Copyright (C) 2011 COASTER-net.com Your resident food expert in the parks has returned for another stomach churning episode of “Thank God for Theme Park Food”. My name is Scotty and as always I am here to perk up your taste buds and help you crave that deep fried goodness that you can only find at the park. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/376-tgftf-thank-god-for-theme-park-food/ Thu, 23 May 2013 12:01:28 -0400 As we learned late last week, Cedar Point enjoyed its most successful Opening Weekend in its 144-year history. Whether that is monetarily or attendance is not really known, but the fact of the matter is Cedar Point had a great Opening Weekend. This two-part blog will outline my entire Opening Day; so let’s get right into it. With us riding Gatekeeper several times during Media Day, we opted to stay away from Gatekeeper in the morning, as most folks headed straight for it. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/375-the-gate-is-open/ Tue, 21 May 2013 07:23:48 -0400 If you remember back to early September, we made a brief stop at Kings Island as a part of our Hurricane Isaac Labor Day Trek. On that stop, we only got to ride about half of the roller coasters in the park. That isn’t a big deal to me since I have ridden all of them, but my aunt was determined to ride the coasters we missed out on in September. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/374-fit-for-a-king/ Fri, 17 May 2013 06:55:38 -0400 Do you smell that? Of course you don’t, because you are more than likely sitting in an office cubicle, or maybe even with your feet propped up in a recliner with the laptop reading this blog! I can certainly smell the deep fried battered Oreo’s and the Pronto Pups glistening with hot oil. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/373-tgftf-thank-god-for-theme-park-food/ Wed, 15 May 2013 15:12:31 -0400 With the debut of Raptor at Italy’s Gardaland in 2011, the geniuses at Bolliger & Mabillard showed what they could do with a new design, the wing coaster. Although not completely new to the industry, it was B&M’s first crack at the winged concept. Raptor was fairly small relative to other B&M coasters, and was not noted for its intensity, but rather its ability to be re-ridden and tight maneuvers. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/372-keeping-the-gate/ Mon, 13 May 2013 20:01:13 -0400 When we all first heard that Gatekeeper media day would be inviting the coaster enthusiast clubs, we all looked at the decision with skepticism. On the SHQ, we openly joked how it would be a zoo, a circus, or otherwise a complete embarrassment to all involved especially in front of the viewing eyes of the professional media. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/371-my-weekend-with-the-guardians/ Mon, 13 May 2013 11:35:55 -0400 The big day is almost here folks. Gatekeeper Media Day is now less than 24 hours away! Myself, along with a few other staff members here at COASTER-net will be attending, riding, reporting, and updating you on a regular basis while at Cedar Point on Thursday. Also, I will personally be heading to Mason on Friday to spend the day at Kings Island despite the threat of rain during parts of the day. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/370-the-big-day/ Wed, 08 May 2013 07:16:50 -0400 Good day to all you theme park enthusiasts! I was walking through the local coffee shop this morning and after smelling the fresh donuts and cupcakes I just had to sit down and write the next episode of Thank God for Theme Park Food. So here is goes and I hope it makes you hungry. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/369-tgftf-thank-god-for-theme-park-food/ Tue, 07 May 2013 13:48:54 -0400 By special request, I have come back to my Employee Insider blog series to explain a little bit about evacuations and what causes them. I will also talk about how evacuations are handled and what the process is at the rides that I worked at while at Dorney Park. To refresh, I have worked on Talon, Possessed, Monster, and Zephyr (our oldest train) regularly. Generally speaking, evacuations are pretty rare, and I always thought that the general public’s perception is that they are a fairly regular occurrence. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/368-employee-insider-part-5/ Sun, 05 May 2013 19:37:16 -0400 Knoebels Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania has been a favorite of several enthusiasts for years now, and others think it is overrated and not worth the hype. Generally speaking, I have always found Knoebels to be one of the great small town parks. In my blog on small parks last week, I mentioned some of the things that make it one of my favorite small parks. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/367-fascinated/ Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:44:02 -0400 Today’s blog is going to be much different than most of my other blogs. Usually, it is me telling you what a to a certain park or group of parks was like from my point of view. It is always me planning my trips and then coming to you, the readers, with trip reports. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/366-where-should-i-go/ Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:18:17 -0400 I think we can all admit that sometimes we get so wrapped up in what the big, corporate parks are doing that we forget about the little guy. It is understandable, because in reality, the big name parks are the ones most people in the general public go to, and the ones we spend most of our time focused on. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/365-hometown-heroes/ Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:35:28 -0400 True ride warriors know the pain of the offseason. Those long months between the months of November to March become tedious, boring and sometimes even mind altering. Thoughts constantly fill my head of rides I was riding not more than a few months ago. I find myself shaking my iPad to constantly update the random coaster on RCDB. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/364-the-gift-of-opening-day/ Sat, 20 Apr 2013 09:39:44 -0400 Over the last several weeks, we have been conducting our first ever March Madness Bracket Challenge. Overall, I think it went very well and hope for even more participation next year. With that being said, you know what coasters won, but you don’t know how you ranked the coasters when not in bracket form. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/363-the-last-word/ Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:16:22 -0400 The park may be shut down for the year and the rides are all closed, but the park is far from inactive during that time of the year. In fact, a small army of mechanics is busy behind the scenes rebuilding everything for next year. Kings Island recently revealed just how much work goes on during the off-season in a story covered by Cincinnati.com. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/362-offseason-the-busiest-time-of-the-year/ Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:47:56 -0400 Today, I finally get to share our experience at Sea World Orlando way back at the end of February. After a long day before at the Walt Disney World Resort, we got up early to get to Sea World when the gates opened. Overcast skies with rain in the forecast kept the park exceptionally empty, so we pretty much had the run of the place. We started with none other than the beautiful Bolliger & Mabillard flying coaster, Manta. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/361-sunshine-screamin/ Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:37:05 -0400 The big day is finally here. Today is the day we reveal what coasters have made it through voting and have beaten the rest. Today we find out what the COASTER-net community voted as the best steel and wooden coasters in the First Annual COASTER-net.com Coaster Poll, and also, who has won the First Annual COASTER-net.com March Madness Bracket Challenge. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/360-and-the-winner-is/ Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:13:14 -0400 After waiting over an hour for the Great American Scream Machine, I had a choice to make. I had a little over an hour before the park closes and still had three coasters to get all my credits. I had two big coasters left in Superman and Dare Devil Dive. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/359-personal-log-six-flags-over-georgia-part-3/ Sun, 07 Apr 2013 13:24:01 -0400 Two weeks ago, I conducted an interview with a friend of mine who rode Outlaw Run on Media day. I asked him about the ride, his opinion of Outlaw Run, and how it compared to other rides. Now, he is one of the “General Public,” as called by coaster enthusiasts. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/358-outlaw-run-from-the-eyes-of-the-general-public/ Sat, 06 Apr 2013 17:02:26 -0400 Welcome back my friends. Today is the day that we find out what coasters finished in the top two of each poll, both steel and wood. The brackets were set up in such a way that we were guaranteed to see the top two coasters face each other in the finals, so the four winners (two from wood, two from steel) are definitely the top two. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/357-championship-weekend/ Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:00:23 -0400 After a few bumps in the road, the day was shaping up to be pretty nice. The Goliath line was short and the ride absolutely amazing. So my mother and I took a trip down to the Gotham City portion of the park. I've heard such great things about Mindbender, I wanted to try my hand at riding it. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/356-personal-log-six-flags-over-georgia-part-2/ Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:02:45 -0400 Today I finally conclude my trip report from the Walt Disney World Resort that I started last week as part of my 2013 Florida Trip that took place over a month ago now. I last left you with us standing on the platform of the monorail station just outside of Epcot, headed to the Magic Kingdom, with rain pouring down from the skies. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/355-sunshine-screamin/ Tue, 02 Apr 2013 23:25:03 -0400 The off season can be a long and difficult time in the lives of many ride warriors. This season was no exception. To try to quell the burning desire inside me, I decided to take a trip down to one of the few parks open at the end of March, Six Flags over Georgia. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/354-personal-log-six-flags-over-georgia-part-1/ Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:42:04 -0400 The wooden coaster “Final Four” is set, now we just have to determine what steel coasters will battle it out for the crown next weekend. Keep in mind that these four winners are not necessarily the top four overall steel coasters, just the “Final Four” as determined by the random bracket. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/353-bracket-busters/ Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:42:50 -0400 It’s down to crunch time now, as we trim the field of the “Elite Eight” of wooden coasters down to the “Final Four.” Next weekend we will crown our champion, but first, we need to find out who our four finalists are. Let’s get to it. PHOENIX VS. http://www.coaster-net.com/blogs/352-winning-woodies/ Sat, 30 Mar 2013 23:22:37 -0400