HodgePodge: Week of August 21, 2011

Cedar Point

Photo from PointPixels.

The Sandusky Firelands Chapter of the Red Cross is holding an auction for the last 49 rides on Paddlewheel Excursions, which will be removed at the end of the season to make room for Dinosaurs Alive! next year. The last ride will be given on September 5, and CEO Dick Kinzel will pilot the last boat. If you are interested in one of the last rides on this historic attraction, visit this page.


Europa Park

Photo from Coasterfriends.de

Coasterfriends has another Mythos update, where wood is finally being put into place. Right now, they've been working in the tunnel, but the rest of the site seems to be ready for vertical construction. You can check out all of the photos here.


Happy Valley Wuhan

Photo from Vertical Horizons

Vertical Horizons has some great photos of construction on the new Gravity Group racing/dueling woodie, best known for the "High Five" element. The ride is really coming along - lots of track is in place, and this looks like another insane ride. Be sure to check out all of the pictures, they're really impressive!


Knotts Berry Farm

Photo from Westcoaster.net

Westcoaster has full coverage of Windseeker's opening at Knotts. Also in the report is a Haunt Construction update and some great pictures of Starlight Spectacular. Check it out here.

Parc Asterix

Photo from CoasterForce.

Parc Asterix is making progress on its new B&M Invert, according to CoasterForce. Concrete for the station has been poured, and supports and track are now being placed. The ride has not yet been named, but it is expected to open in April. All pictures can be found here.




Sea World San Diego

Photo from CoasterForce.

CoasterForce has posted a few pictures from Sea World San Diego, where land clearing continues for Manta. In addition to this site overview, they've posted a few more construction pics as well as some really nice-looking concept art.

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WindSeeker Takes Flight at Carowinds in 2012

WindSeeker Concept Art. Photo courtesy of Carowinds.

Press Release from Carowinds:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – While Kitty Hawk, North Carolina became symbolic to the Carolinas as the site of the “first flight”, Carowinds will follow down a similar path as the amusement park announces plans to debut WindSeeker in the Spring of 2012 - a $6.5 million, thirty story tall swing ride designed to give riders the sensation of flying.

WindSeeker’s three minute ride begins when the ride’s carriage, featuring 32 two passenger swings, slowly rotates while climbing to the top of a 301-foot tower. Riders will experience a sense of weightlessness as the swings reach speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and the arms extend outward at a 45-degree angle. WindSeeker will give riders an astonishing panoramic view of not only the park, but also of the greater Charlotte region.

“The sense of soaring thirty stories in the air will be both exhilarating and breathtaking at the same time,” said Bart Kinzel, Carowinds’ vice president and general manager. “This new addition will give guests an unparalleled view, making it a must-ride attraction for both families and thrill-seekers alike. The immense scale of this ride alone will be truly stunning.”

WindSeeker will be located in the Carolina RFD section of the park near the entrance of Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular. A portion of the lake near the Nighthawk rollercoaster will be filled in to accommodate this massive tower ride.

To complement the recently added Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular, WindSeeker will be built with an elaborate LED lighting system. Aside from the LED spotlights that will be located at the top and bottom of the tower, the carriage of the ride will be equipped with LED light strands that will run out from the tower and down each of the ride’s steel arms. At night, as the ride ascends to the top of the tower, the light display will come to life with a kaleidoscope of colorful patterns and shapes. In addition, WindSeeker will be equipped with speakers located on the ride’s carriage. This on-ride audio can play up to eighteen different music tracks.

WindSeeker will climb sixty nine feet taller than IntimidatorTM, the tallest, fastest and longest coaster in the Southeast, introduced by the park in 2010. Construction will begin later this Fall, continue throughout the winter months and is expected to open in the Spring of 2012.

WindSeeker has a ride capacity of 960 passengers per hour, a 52-inch minimum height requirement and is designed and manufactured by Mondial, a 24-year-old Dutch based company focused on developing unique and innovative amusement rides.

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HodgePodge: Make-up for Week of August 14

I apologize for the lack of new material lately, I've been on the road and busy with other things as well. As a result, I had no time to post a HodgePodge! Hopefully this one will make up for last Fridays, and we should still have one for this week as well.

Carowinds

Photo courtesy of Screamscape.

Screamscape posted this picture of a teaser photo at Carowinds, reportedly located near Carolina Cobra. They point out that the design at the bottom looks very similar to the Windseeker structure. This would also fit with the "Mouthless Mutters" teaser.


Cedar Point
If you haven't seen it yet on our "New for 2012" page, Cedar Point has announced the addition of Dinosaurs Alive! (and mat-racer slides for Soak City) for 2012. Not only is this a disappointing announcement, but the video for it is almost laughable:




I'm not too excited about the dino-SOURs myself, but hopefully this means a larger than usual addition for 2013.


Disney
Westcoaster has two large updates from the D23 expo, including discussion on Shanghai Disneyland, DCA, the Fantasyland Expansion, Cars Land, and more. Check out part one here and part two here.


Europa Park
Europa Park released this great preview video for Mythos a few days ago. The animation looks great and the physical model is really impressive. Be sure to check it out:




Knotts Berry Farm
Windseeker is now opened at Knotts, and received a very positive review by the Los Angeles Times.


Six Flags New England
Masslive.com confirmed last Tuesday that Deja Vu will be leaving Six Flags Magic Mountain to be added at Six Flags New England for 2012. The ride will reportedly replace the Shipwreck Falls water ride. Screamscape additionally reports that it might be named Goliath. I'll have to agree with them on that one - not the best name for such a short ride.

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Leviathan coming to Canada's Wonderland

This morning, Canada's Wonderland announced Leviathan, their 16th roller coaster for 2012. The ride will be the first giga coaster in Canada at 306 feet, and the first giga coaster to be manufactured by Bolliger and Mabillard. Like its Intamin sisters in Ohio and Virginia, it will reach a top speed of around 92 miles per hour, with a drop angle of approximately 80 degrees. It will additionally feature several large camelback hills and high speed twists and turns. With a track length of 5,486 feet and a cost of $28M, it will be bigger than even Behemoth, a B&M hyper coaster that just opened in 2008.

More videos, photos, and statistics can be found at leviathan.canadaswonderland.com.

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Skyrush track on site!

CoasterForum has posted several pictures of Skyrush track, which has just arrived at Hersheypark. It looks like it'll be the double spine track, like we've seen on Intimidator 305 and Formula Rossa. Check them out:

All photos courtesy of Cody Risko, from coasterforum.net.
For more on Skyrush, click here.


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An important message from Park Impressions

As Park Impressions will celebrate its 4-month anniversary on Wednesday, I wanted to take a moment to see what you, the readers, think of this site. We started out with a few basic news update and a short park review, and in four months have churned out countless HodgePodges, Photostreams, and written 9 large park Impressions.We've come a long way, but we want to get your feedback on the site, so that we can improve your user experience going forward. We're really proud of the success we've had, and would like to continue to add new features as we grow.

The survey below will ask you a few questions about which Park Impressions features you like the best, how often you visit the site, and which new features you'd like to see added in the future. We're working on a few different projects, but we want to get your feedback to make sure that we're headed in the right direction. Please take 5 short minutes to answer this brief survey:

Click here to take survey.

With your help, we aim to continually improve our site and enhance your experience with Park Impressions. We appreciate your continued support!

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Cedar Point, A History

Cedar Point first opened in 1870, making it the second-oldest amusement park in the world. The park opened its first coaster in 1892, the Switchback Railway. The ride reached a staggering height of 25 feet, and traveled at the mind-blowing speed of 10 miles per hour.

The Switchback Railway. From the Los Angeles Times. Click for larger image.

The park debuted its second roller coaster in 1902, the Figure Eight Roller Toboggan. The iconic Hotel Breakers opened in 1905 with 600 rooms. The Hotel Breakers still stands today.

The Hotel Breakers. From sanduskyhistory.blogspot.com. Click for larger image.

The Cedar Point Cyclone roller coaster opens in 1929, followed by the still-standing Midway Carousel in 1946. Investors George Roose and Emile Legros take control of Cedar Point in 1957, and the Cedar Point causeway opens the same year. In 1964, the park introduces the Blue Streak, which remains the oldest operating roller coaster in the park. Corkscrew opens in the Bicentennial as the first triple-looping roller coaster, followed by the Gemini in 1978. At the time, the Gemini world as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world. This trend of "build bigger" and record-setting continues with Magnum XL-200 (first "hyper coaster", over 200 feet), Millennium Force (first "giga coaster", over 300 feet), and Top Thrill Dragster (first "strata coaster", over 400 feet) in 1989, 2000, and 2003 respectively. Today, Cedar Point is recognized as the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, with 17 roller coasters and countless other great rides and attractions.

Park Map, 1980. From themeparkbrochures.net. Click for larger image.

Park Map, 2000. From themeparkbrochures.net. Click for larger image.

Magnum Advertisement, 1989 brochure. From themeparkbrochures.net. Click for lager image.

Mantis Advertisement, 1996 brochure. From themeparkbrochures.net. Click for larger image.

Millennium Force Advertisement, 2000 brochure. From themeparkbrochures.net. Click for larger image.

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HodgePodge: Week of August 7, 2011

Canada's Wonderland

Photo from CWMania.com

CWMania has a photo album up with lots of pictures on the 2012 construction. Even though no official announcement has been made yet, lots of blue B&M track is on site. A hyper is probably out of the question since they just added Behemoth. I'm personally hoping for an invert or even a flyer, but maybe with the recent trend of wing-riders, we'll see another one of those. An official announcement will be made on August 18 around noon, and we'll be watching!

Darien Lake
Screamscape reports that Darien Lake is having more problems with Ride of Steel, although this one isn't nearly as bad as the last incident. The chain lift on the ride broke yesterday, leaving the train stuck about halfway up. Everybody was evacuated safely.

Photo from Screamscape.com

Dollywood
Dollywood has launched a new teaser site to hype up their new coaster. According to the site, the announcement is only 23 days away!


Europa Park
Coasterfriends has another Mythos update from Europa Park, where lots of lumber is now on site. Footers are being poured for what looks to be a turnaround, and some sort of tunnel has been formed.

Photo from Coasterfriends.de

Knotts Berry Farm

Photo from Westcoaster.net

Westcoaster has another great update from Knotts, where work has continued on Haunt, renovations are being made to Sky Cabin, and Windseeker is testing. The area around Windseeker looks to be mostly finished, but the ride has been testing with a new damper system to try to prevent excess forward-backward movement. Check it all out here.


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Impression: Cedar Point

How does one even begin to critique Cedar Point? I sit down to right this review apprehensively, not quite knowing how to start talking. Cedar Point is practically my second home, the park I've been visiting since before I can remember. Whether it's the rides, the atmosphere, or the personal factor that makes it my favorite park, I don't know. What was originally supposed to be a one-and-a-half day trip turned into an amazing three day trip.

We started out with the family on Thursday night with Platinum Passholder ERT on Magnum and Top Thrill Dragster. We fought against the crowds to move further into the park, and by the time we reached Dragster, the line was extended all the way to the station. Not a good way to start out. We noticed that the queue had not been opened, however, so we got in line anyway. The longer we waited, however, we began to realize it would be smarter to head to Magnum, which closed at 10:45 regardless of opening time, and come back to Dragster later. With that, we got out of line and headed over to Magnum.

Photo courtesy of Cedar Point

The first ride on Magnum was my personal favorite. I grabbed the front row, left seat, and got a very smooth, thrilling, and airtime-filled ride. Magnum was absolutely flying over the tracks, ejector airtime on every hill. Better yet, it was one of the smoother rides I've had recently and it was bug-free. I sat in the back row for the next ride, my only complaint here being the roughness. It wasn't really that bad, but it was much more noticeable than in the front. I always recommend the front row on Magnum if you want the best ride. While the 'ejector seat' (row 3, left seat) is preferred by some for the airtime, I find the increase in airtime to be minimal and prefer the front for the smoother ride and the equally impressive airtime.

Photo courtesy of Cedar Point

We managed to get three terrific rides on Top Thrill Dragster after that, with no more than a 5 minute wait for any of them. We started out in the middle of the train, moving to the back row for the second ride, and front row on the third. I was not sure we would make it on for that last ride, as ERT was ending and ride operators were moving guests to other rows to fill up the trains. We stood firm the whole time and got our ride, thou, which was just as exhilarating as ever. We took off down the launch track at incomprehensible speed, my arms flying upward instantly without my consent. We hurtle  up and over the top hat, slowing just long enough for me to view the whole park laid out around me. We fly downward once again, and in what feels like a split second, the ride is over. This really is one of my favorite rides in the park. It's short and simple, but the adrenaline rush is unmatched. After the ERT finally had to end, we left the park tired and happy.

Ocean Motion

The next morning started out with some light rain showers, that put a damper on our spirits as we arrived at the park around 11. By the time we made it in, it was coming down quite hard, and we pulled into "Donut Time" to come up with a plan. None of the rides were open, we were disappointed, and we almost left. I managed to convince the family to wait a little longer, and sure enough, the rain slowed down to a light drizzle. A few of us walked over to the newly remodeled (and moved) Ocean Motion, which was just as fun as I remembered it and now looking ten times better. My only complaint with the new setup was that riders exited on the same side as they entered, causing a few jam-ups on the platform. We stopped back into Donut Time to catch up with the rest of the group before heading over to maXair, which looked to be one of the few open rides in the park.

maXair

We arrived at the 45 minute wait just a few minutes later in slightly heavier rain, and spirits were low once again. The ride ops were fortunately very efficient, and we managed to get on in about 30 minutes instead. Power Tower, maXair, Skyhawk, and now Windseeker make a great collection, and maXair is definitely one of my favorites. It's wonderfully thrilling and relaxing at the same time; if I only had a pillow, the soothing spinning/swinging motion could put me to sleep. Still, the height and speed keep me alert, and together make this an excellent ride.

Power Tower

It was just starting to clear up again, and we headed over to Wicked Twister. None of us wanted to wait 45 minutes for a ride that's usually a walk-on, so we headed deeper into the park. A few of us went to ride Power Tower, me included, while others took a spin on Matterhorn. We did "Space Shot," which had a shorter line and is usually my favorite. Despite my love of roller coasters, I am terrified of heights. I'm usually fine on roller coasters because I feel enclosed and am secured with lap bars, seat belts, and other harnesses. These drop towers are much more intense as I am exposed on the outside of the tower, but I love them anyway. Once again, it's not a very complex or interesting ride, but just plain fun and exciting.

Mantis

We were itching to get on some coasters, so we headed back around the Iron Dragon lagoon area and towards the Frontier Trail. Iron Dragon had a massive line and Wildcat was closed, so we moved on. Mantis, however, had a 45 minute line, which we somehow ended up in only moments later. The line moved quickly enough, and we ended up filing into one of the middle rows with a short line. All buckled into the uncomfortable seats, we took off up the lift hill. This ride on Mantis was actually better than most of mine in the past. Still quite rough and head-bangy toward the end, but the first half wasn't too bad. I might. Even be able to call it 'decent' rather than simply 'tolerable'.

We moved towards Millennium Force next, which had a surprisingly short wait of 30 minutes. Before we got in line, we decided that we wanted to get a bite to eat. Thus, we walked all the way to the back of the park for Chick-fil-A. After a delicious lunch of lightly-breaded chicken, we headed over to Maverick, in the rain once again. We got into the hour-and-a-half wait anyway, worrying that our day was slowly getting away from us and we had only been on a small handful of rides. Maverick stayed open during the rain, only stopping briefly to put two more trains on the tracks. We ended up boarding in about one hour, as Maverick is generally one of the fastest-moving lines in the park.

Maverick

What a ride! Maverick remains firmly placed in my top 10. Maverick has everything I love in coasters: speed, airtime, twists and turns. It's such a fast, out of control ride, and yet still very well structured to include so many great elements. We fly up that lift hill, with that same feeling of speed that I find on Diamondback's splashdown, before we tip over the crest and almost instantly pull out of an unbelievably steep drop. Twisting and turning through the rocks, we hurtle over the first airtime hill just to be thrown out of our seats. After a few beautifully smooth turns and some inversions, we enter the launch tunnel. Mere seconds later, we're shooting out the other end and up over the lagoon, before coming down into the s-curve that should have been the third inversion. A few great twists, a Stengel dive, another airtime hill, and we come to a stop. All of these elements are perfectly packed into one average-sized ride, that has earned its place in my top ten.

Skyhawk

We walk quickly over to Skyhawk next, trying to avoid a painful ride on Mean Streak by riding something better instead. One thing that I love about Skyhawk is that it is almost always a walk-on, and today was no exception. We strap ourselves in and fly backward with great power, building speed as we swing backward and forward. As we finally reach maximum height, I look around at the guests below me and the rest of the park upside down once we swing the other way. We begin slowing down almost immediately, finally coming to an abrupt stop. As much as I love Skyhawk, it has an upsettingly short ride cycle, nowhere near as long as when it opened in 2006. I try to focus on the great ride experience instead as we walk back towards Millennium Force.

Millennium Force

We shove our stuff in a locker and run to the still-short 30 minute line. Soon enough, I'm seated in the second row of my favorite roller coaster at Cedar Point. We speed up the lift hill, and I spend those few seconds looking out to the left, trying to take in the whole park despite our ever-increasing height and my fear of it. I jolt my head back towards the front just as we crest the lift, and my hands fly up once again as we hurtle towards the ground on this seemingly never-ending drop. My vision starts to grey as we go through the first overbanked turn, but it clears up just as we enter the first tunnel. Up the  hill we go, still flying but with little airtime to be had. I look around at the rest of Millennium Force and now Shoot the Rapids as we traverse the next few turns. We hop over the next hill, this time hitting some strong floater air, before another tunnel and another good airtime hill. Just one more overbank and the ride is over. I really do wonder if it deserves my #2 spot sometimes, as the airtime is simply decent and the rest of the ride is filled with repetitive overbanks. For me, though, there's simply nothing to compare with that level of intensity. The forces aren't particularly strong through most of the ride, but that height and speed make for a simply unforgettable ride.  For me, that first drop is the very definition of thrill: unbridled speed and excitement. I absolutely love it.

Raptor

As it's getting quite late in the day now, we decide that we want to finish up with one or two last rides. I was really pulling for a ride on Windseeker, but it had been down all day to to rain and... high winds? That didn't quite make sense, but we moved on to Raptor, which was fortunately a walk-on. We decided to wait one cycle for the front row, as for some reason it really enhances the experience more than on some rides. We climb the lift hill, swoop down towards the ground, and up into the iconic vertical loop. Into the great zero-g roll we go, and then we enter the cobra roll. After the MCBR, it's just a few flat spins and turns before we hit the breaks. It's not a particularly ingenious layout, but it still manages to be one of my favorite coasters in the park. Maybe the elements are not very unique, but they are arranged well and are themselves quite forceful. The loop is average, but the zero-g roll and cobra roll are both excellent. The corkscrews always take me by surprise, and overall I am continually impressed with Raptor's grace and force. Not only is it an exciting ride, but it is very elegantly designed; the signature B&M smooth transitions, the interweaving layout, and even small things such as the short straightaway before the cobra roll, just long enough to catch your breath. Raptor truly is an excellent design.

We headed towards the exit after that, knowing that we had ridden so many great rides and roller coasters in one day. I was still quite upset about missing Windseeker, and was desperate to come up with a plan. We decided to book a room at Kalahari, and ended up spending most of the next day at the waterpark, which was fantastic! We only had about an hour to get back to Cedar Point for one ride on Windseeker.

Windseeker

We run into the park, past other enticing rides like Raptor, maXair, and Wicked Twister, to reach our final destination: Windseeker. With a posted wait of 30 minutes, we hop into the makeshift overflow queue. Like all Cedar Point lines, this one moves very fast, and we soon find ourselves entering the ride area, dumping our stuff in a bucket, and hopping into our assigned seats. Let me just say - these restraints are terrifying. The lap bar comes down smoothly, but once you think it's locked, it still moves a little, which scared me quite a bit. No time to worry though, as we raise up off the ground, me clinging to the small and already sweaty handle. We start spinning, higher and higher, as I look out at the park, still gripping the handle intensely, and my sister with her eyes closed and talking to herself. Despite what some may say, this is definitely a thrill ride. The motion itself is nothing all to exciting, but the sheer height and sense of speed will be enough to scare some riders, like me, more than they expected. I manage to raise my hands half-heartedly just as we start the descent, still looking out at the park, which seems to be on it's side. Despite how scary it may be for me personally, I will definitely have to ride it again, and very soon.

As 10pm was quickly approaching, we knew we had no time for other rides. We stuck to our plan, stopping only for a hot dog at Pinks. It was the perfect way to end the night.

Overall Park Rating: 10/10 Stars
Click here to view all Cedar Point pictures.

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Photostream: Six Flags Great America, August 2011

More than 200 photos from Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor are now live at the link above. Be sure to check them out!

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Fooled again...!

Cedar Point seems to have made this a tradition: cookies for Snoopy's birthday. I guess we'll have to wait just a bit longer for a 2012 announcement!



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CNN - Parton apologizes for Dollywood T-shirt incident

(CNN) -- After a woman was asked to turn a T-shirt reading "Marriage is so gay" inside out while attempting to visit Dollywood's Splash Country in early July, Dolly Parton has issued a personal apology for the incident.

The woman, who according to the Atlantic was attending the park along with her wife and the children of a friend, was asked by the host at Dollywood's Splash Country to turn her shirt inside out at the park's entrance.

According to Dollywood's Splash Country press rep Pete Owens, the park has "a pretty strict dress code," and the host of the park is charged with deciding whether or not a guest's clothing is appropriate. In this case, the request to turn the "Marriage is so gay" T-shirt inside out was made "in the spirit of the dress code," Owens said.

The woman complied with the request, and no one was barred entry. However, Owens told CNN that the park was contacted by the customer on July 19 via email, which said that the couple didn't believe having to turn the t-shirt inside out was right.

Owens said an offer was made to arrange a meeting to discuss what happened, but that fell through. By August 1, Owens offered to refund the couple's admission to the park. That gesture was followed up by a personal apology from Parton herself.

"I am truly sorry for any hurt or embarrassment regarding the gay and lesbian T-shirt incident at Dollywood's Splash Country recently," she says in the statement. "Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome. We do have a policy about profanity or controversial messages on clothing or signs. It is to protect the individual wearing or carrying them, as well as to keep down fights or problems by those opposed to it at the park. We even offer free shirts in exchange to those who want to remain on the park."

She continues, "I am and was on tour when this was brought to my attention and I am looking further into the incident and hope and believe it was more policy than insensitivity. I am very sorry it happened at all."

Press officer Owens said he gave Parton's statement to the couple involved and apologized if they were hurt, or uneasy, or embarrassed in any way.

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Impression: Nickelodeon Universe

Does a park that I spent a whopping two hours at deserve a full-scale review? The obvious answer would be no, but when I think about my time at Nickelodeon Universe, I inevitably decide that it does. This was not my first visit to the park, having spent a day there just two years prior. The reason I came back is not very special. I has failed to realize that they had a kiddie coaster, and I needed the credit. Of course while that was the technical reason for my visit, the thought of more rides on Rock Bottom Plunge, Fairly Odd Coaster, and Log Flume was certainly enticing.

After having spent an hour over at Valleyfair for more pictures and another ride on Wild Thing, Nickelodeon Universe was our next stop. We started by grabbing lunch at The Nook in St. Paul, which was absolutely delicious. We then back-tracked to the Mall of America, struggled to find a parking space, and headed into the park.

I knew that we were short on time, what with our morning at Valleyfair and our plans for Como Town and other things in the afternoon. Despite this, my first stop was Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge, the Eurofighter. It certainly is very compact and a lot of fun; at least, that was how I remembered it. Unfortunately, this ride was not quite as good as my first. In two years, it has become quite rough and jerky, a coaster that I couldn't re-ride without taking a nice break. It's still fun, but I was unpleasantly surprised by Rock Bottom Plunge's deteriorating condition.

I procrastinated a bit further by riding Pepsi Orange Streak, which last time I had found to be quite long and rather boring. This time however, it was still long but not nearly as boring. I actually kind of enjoyed it; it wasn't particularly thrilling or forceful, but it was fun and I especially liked the view of the park as we traveled around above it.

The Back at the Barnyard Hayride Coaster was next, as I decided that it was important to get it out of the way. I was very lucky in that I would be allowed to ride alone, and was spared the humiliation of trying to find a kid to ride with. We went around way too many times - normally I wouldn't complain, but I was really crammed in that seat and the coaster was a little jerky anyway.

When I finally got off, I went straight to Fairly Odd Coaster. Seeing Avatar Airbender's line, I decided to skip it having just ridden practically the same thing at Elitch Gardens. Fairly Odd Coaster is easily my favorite coaster at Nick Universe. It's thrilling, fun, unique, and in no way uncomfortable. I would say it was a close race between this and Rock Bottom Plunge, but the latter was simply too rough. I love spinning coasters in general, and this one is definitely one of my favorites.

I only had a few more rides that I wanted to do before leaving: Danny Phantom something-or-other, and the Log Flume. I started out on Danny Phantom, which was a lot of fun and one of the better flat rides at the park. Log Flume was my next stop; this was a ride that I had absolutely loved last time. It didn't disappoint this time either. The theming was still great, the drops just as fun, and the whole ride was nice and long as well. Log Flume is easily my favorite ride in the park, ahead of even Fairly Odd Coaster and Rock Bottom Plunge.

More so than the rides, the thing I love the most about Nickelodeon Universe is the park's atmosphere. Everything fits into the small area perfectly, and I love how everything is practically on top of each other yet the park still somehow seems so big. Nickelodeon Universe is definitely one of my favorite parks; the rides and atmosphere together made it a very awesome day

Overall Park Rating: 8/10 Stars
Click here to view all Nickelodeon Universe photos.

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Skyrush coming to Hersheypark

Hersheypark today announced Skyrush, their much-anticipated coaster for 2012. Skyrush will stand 200 feet tall, making it the park's tallest coaster, with a lift hill angle of 50 degrees and a first drop angle of 85 degrees. Riders will have a choice between two inner, floored seats, or outer winged floorless seats. Trains will traverse several high speed banked turns as well as five airtime hills, at speeds of up to 72 mph. The ride will cost $25 million and will open next May. Be sure to check out this great video on Skyrush:

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