Castle/Brava Stanza V - Six Flag & Cedar Fair Park Primers

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Your home for information on our 4 chosen parks.

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SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN PRIMER

Magic Mountain is Six Flags’ flagship park, located in Santa Clarita, CA. It famously boasts the most roller coasters of any park worldwide – 19. Coasters have been the park’s focus since it opened in 1971, even before Six Flags acquired the park in 1979 from Newhall Land. Many coaster records have occurred here. Presently the park’s mascots are the Looney Tunes and the DC superheroes. Before that, the park had in-house troll characters led by the fearless King Blop; these were discontinued in 1985.

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Magic Mountain is laid out in a circuit around its titular “mountain.” To fully tour the park you have to climb up this mountain, meaning about half the park is found on sloping terrain and the other half is on flat land. With the exception of a funicular ascending the mountain, every ride in Magic Mountain (even the kiddie spinners) has a height requirement. The focus here is exclusively on thrills, moreso than maybe any other park in the world. This sets Magic Mountain apart from its regional competitors such as Disneyland Resort, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, Legoland California and more, all of which have fewer pure thrills and more family-friendly offerings.

Because it’s close to Hollywood, Magic Mountain often appears in the movies. Mosty famously perhaps is National Lampoon’s Vacation, where the park stood-in for Walley World. It also featured in the silly 1970s disaster flick Rollercoaster, about a terrorist trying to explode the Revolution coaster.

Magic Mountain’s coaster collection includes:

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X2: A 4-D coaster, the only one of its type in the world! Features seats which somersault on an axis independent of the trains and track. The original “X” bankrupted developer Arrow Dynamics. The new X2 version fixed most original problems. Features a vertical 215’ drop! Ride video.

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Tatsu: B&M flying coaster. The longest, tallest and fastest of its genre upon opening. Remains an exceptional ride, nearly the best in its genre, and a Magic Mountain highlight! Ride video.

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Twisted Colossus: The original Colossus was a classic boardwalk wooden coaster. In 2015, RMC converted it into a steel-wood hybrid with wilder maneuvers. Uniquely, you get to ride it twice every time – after a second lift hill you race the next train along the same course. My favorite ride in the park! Ride video.

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Full Throttle: A multi-launch coaster. Noteworthy for featuring the world’s tallest vertical loop. Also the only coaster with track on both sides of a loop. Beyond those highlights, it feels like an incomplete ride; too short. So much more could’ve been done. Ride video.

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Goliath: A hyper coaster by obscure developer Giovanola. 225’ tall. Compared to triumphs like Millennium Force, a mediocre example of its genre (though locals love it), with a poor first drop and a mid-course brake run which slows trains to a literal halt. The highlight is a climactic helix which makes me grey out. Ride video.

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Scream!: B&M floorless coaster. A literal parking lot coaster. Actually a really good ride, full of fun inversions, often overlooked because it’s not particularly record-breaking or unique. Ride video.

Batman: The Ride: B&M suspended coaster. A common Six Flags clone found in many of their parks, but a good, quick and intense ride nonetheless. The same ride type as Universal’s former Dragon Challenge. Ride video.

The Riddler’s Revenge: B&M standing coaster. Yes, you’re standing while you ride it. Arguably the best of its rather odd coaster genre. Ride video.

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Green Lantern: First Flight: An Intamin ZacSpin model. Cars spin freely and randomly on a compact all-vertical layout. It’s a really unpleasant ride! I won’t do this one. Ride video.

Gold Rusher: A classic mine train coaster (albeit unthemed) which opened with the park. On par with Big Thunder, thrills-wise. Ride video.

Apocalypse: The Ride: GCI wooden coaster. Featured GCI’s classic twisty “spaghetti bowl” layout. Themed to a post-apocalyptic wasteland because that was easier for Six Flags than doing landscaping. Originally featured a Terminator Salvation tie-in. Ride video.

Ninja: One of the few remaining Arrow Dynamics inverted coasters. A fun mid-level ride where the greatest thrill comes from the swinging cars narrowly missing trees. Ride video.

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Superman: Escape from Krypton: The first coaster to go over 100mph! First use of LIM on a launch! World’s tallest upon opening, at 400’. It is not a full circuit ride (like the otherwise similar Top Thrill Dragster or Kingda-Ka), but an out-and-back. Ride video.

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Viper: Multi-looping Arrow Dynamics coaster. A classic 1990 model, tall for its era at 188’. In its day this was my favorite ride at Magic Mountain, but sadly the ravages of time mean it’s so rough now that it's among the park’s worst. Arguably could be in need of replacement. Ride video.

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Revolution: A true classic Schwarzkopf 1976 model, the world’s first modern looping coaster! Recently they’ve plussed this aging ride with VR, though after a few seasons that gimmick grew tired and has been largely retired. Ride video.

Four Interchangeable Kiddie Coasters: All found in Bugs Bunny World

Other noteworthy rides include the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride which opened only last year (ride video). It’s a screen-based shooter on a motion base (like a hybrid of Toy Story Mania and Uni’s Spider-Man) done at nearly DisneyVersal quality. It still sees moderate wait times, but nothing compared to the headliner coasters. Is a clone seen in many Six Flags parks.
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There’s also a log flume, a rafts ride, a Lex Luthor drop tower, assorted flat rides (fewer than you’d expect actually), various kiddie rides in Bugs Bunny World, and upcharge things like a go-cart track and one of those terrifying human slingshots. Numerically, the coasters nearly outnumber all these rides.

Magic Mountain’s theming is fairly minimal. Most of the park features standard lush landscaping, nice buildings, pavement and fences. Light décor can suggest land themes, but it’s easy to miss. Still, for our purposes these themed areas can be the inspiration for our fully-themed creations! Lands include:

Bugs Bunny World: All the kiddie rides, with a vague Looney Tunes overlay.

DC Universe / Metropolis: Home of Batman, Green Lantern, Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman and the Riddler. Superman, strangely, is in Japan. This land and Bugs Bunny World both have fantastic potential to be upgraded to a Disney-level experience.

Screampunk District: Steampunk area.

Baja Ridge: Desert Mexican Revolution area.

Samurai Summit: Feudal Japan land found on the top of the park’s mountain.

Rapids Camp Crossing: North American forest wilderness.

There are other “lands” like Full Throttle Plaza and Six Flags Plaza which are basically unthemed. Everywhere you’ll find pay-to-play carnival games, banners with random advertisements, speakers playing Top 40 pop music, and random movie tie-ins. This is very common to coaster parks.

Lastly, Magic Mountain’s clientele is there entirely for the thrills. There are highly-themed parks under an hour away. Anything we add must keep in mind Magic Mountain’s place in the SoCal market. Still I think there’s a lot we can do while retaining the thrill appeal, and there are plenty of underdeveloped areas throughout the park where a new attraction could easily fit!
 
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Voxel

President of Progress City
Kings Dominion

KD, might be one of the Youngs parks in this list but has made a strong on the entertainment world with it's constitant push to try new rides and technologies. The park despite it's contantly changing history, finds itself near the top of the list for Roller Coasters Fans. Recieving it's name from a mixture of Kings Island, it's sister part, and the State of Virginia, the Dominion state, Kings Dominion opened in 1975. When the park opened it contained 13 attractions including Racer 75 (originally known as Rebel Yell), a land dedicated to Hanna-Barbera (The which had a scooby doo coaster, the first I ever road), and a safari. Guest use to be able to drive through the Safari, Lions like the taste of Rubber though. But you guys aren't here for the Full written history you wanna know about the current park..


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The park follows the Spoke and Wheel design famous in Disney Parks, guest find their selves entering the part through international street where the fountains great them and they can see the Effiel Tower. Towards the right Guest enter Old Virginia, which is styled after colonial Virginia and early American History (Including a replica of the Liberty Bell) Candy Apple Grove which is themed after an old Board Walk. Step into adventure in Safari Village where guest can ride on the fires of a volcano or race to the finish line and finally the kids area, Planet Snoopy.


Like Magic Mountain Kings Dominion is known for it's coasters and ground breaking Coasters to bat.

So here we go.

Anaconda
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A custom looping roller coaster. It was the first looping coaster to feature an underwater tunnel and the first coaster at Kings Dominion to feature more than one inversion.


Avalanche
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A bobsled roller coaster that is the only Mack bobsled coaster currently operating in the United States.


Back Lot Stunt Coaster
A family LIM Launch Coasters based on the chase sequence of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. Riders launch into a parking garage, dodge police cars, and are attacked by a helicopter, which ignites fire all around riders before hitting a second launch section, sending riders into pitch black darkness.


Dominator
A traditional Floorless Coaster originally from Six Flags Ohio.. A fun coaster but nothing special.

Flight of Fear
A LIM-launched roller coaster prototype. Over-the-Shoulder harnesses were removed and replaced with lap bars in 2001. Formerly known as Outer Limits: Flight of Fear (1996–2000). This is the first coaster in the world to use LIM launch system.

Grizzly
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The grounds of the ride are densely forested, with the intended thrills heightened from the illusion of inadequate clearance between the track and trees. The attraction opened in 1982, and the double-figure-eight layout is based closely on the defunct Coney Island Wildcat.



Intimidator 305
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A Giga-Coaster that is one of the tallest in the world. The name is in reference to former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, "The Intimidator", and the coaster's 305-foot (93 m) lift hill.


Racer75

A racing dual-tracked wooden roller coaster. Named Rebel Yell from 1975 to 2017.


Twisted Timbers
A RMC hybrid coaster that replaced the original hurler (A reference to Waynes World)


Volcano, The Blast Coaster
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A launched inverted roller coaster. The largest of its kind in the world. It is an enclosed roller coaster since the station is located inside a model of a giant volcano. This was also the First LIM Inverted Launch Coaster, and still the only LIM Inverted Coaster that's makes a complete Circuit.




Sadly I don't have the time to write a ton of Information right now, but King Dominion like most parks have a ton of fan so a great resource can be found here: http://kdfansite.com/
 

TheOriginalTiki

Well-Known Member
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Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Primer

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is located in Vallejo, California and is a major tourist attraction of the San Francisco region of Northern California. The park acts as the chain's flagship family park, with a well rounded assortment of major thrill attractions, an impressive collective of family flat rides, three distinct kids areas, and a host of animal exhibits left over from the pre-Six Flags "Marine World Africa USA" (this is where my EARLY childhood knowledge of the park comes into play, haha.)

The park makes a great first impression as you're walking up to it, with great views of Superman, Medusa, Wonder Woman, and V2 on the path between the parking lot and the main gates. The big highlights are Wonder Woman swinging directly over the path and V2's launch taking place right over the entrance in a sort of Gatekeeper type fashion. When you enter the park you can head to the right to get to Medusa, Cobra, Kong, Daredevil, and Skyscreamer, and go to the left to get to the Joker, Superman, V2, and Wonder Woman. Going straight will take you to the park's main food court and beyond that the start of the animal areas. The iconic "dolphin fountain", a fixture of the park from the Africa USA days, acts as the park's hub.
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Major coasters

Medusa - A B&M floorless coaster containing seven inversions and a 150 foot drop.
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Superman - The first Sky Rocket 2 model which has since been duplicated in parks like Busch Gardens Tampa with Tempesto and Sea World San Diego with Electric Eel.
The Joker - The park's flagship Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid coaster, a re-imagining of Roar.
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V2 - A unique launched coaster with a 150 foot tall barrel roll over the park entrance and a 150 foot tall vertical spike.
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Minor coasters
Boomerang - Need I say more? ;)
Kong - An off the shelf Vekoma SLC.
Daredevil Chaos Coaster - A Larson Loop (cue Coaster Studio's "not a coaster" meme ;) )
Cobra - An above average family coaster.

Major thrill rides
Skyscreamer - 150 foot tall giant swing ride
Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth - A giant frisbee
Iwerks Theater - A standard 3D cinema with moving seats and a rotating selection of films.

Minor thrill rides
Hammerhead - A fairly standard "Ranger" type ride that spins riders upsidedown
Tasmanian Devil - A frisbee huss that used to be the park's premier flat ride but is now irelevant because of Wonder Woman.
Voodoo - An off the shelf "top spin" flat ride.
This along with a wave swinger, bumper cars, scrambler, and swinging ship that speak for themselves.

There's also a neat pair of toboggan and tea cup rides themed to monkeys and a giant gorilla that are among the best themed rides in the park.
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latest


I need to get started on a podcast (Infinity War spoilercast, MUCH to discuss!) later tonight or early tomorrow I'll update this with the park's water rides, family areas, animal exhibits, and shows, as well as a layout of areas within the park that are abandoned.
 

D Hulk

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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CAROWINDS PRIMER
(written by someone who’s never been there)
Carowinds is a Cedar Fair park located along the border of North and South Carolina, with portions of the park found in each state. Some rides even cross state lines! Carowinds opened in 1973, the brainchild of businessman Earl Patterson Hall who was inspired by Disneyland. The original plan would have had Carowinds be a part of a larger resort including hotel, a shopping center and even an NFL stadium. The Oil Crisis ended these plans.

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Like Kings Dominion, Carowinds was a part of Paramount Parks before their purchase by Cedar Fair in 2006. Under Cedar Fair, the park’s focus seems to be increasingly on thrill rides and roller coasters.

Carowinds’ 8 themed areas include:

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CELEBRATION PLAZA: This area includes a Skytower offering panoramic views. Intimidator is a 232’-tall hypercoaster themed to Dale Earnhardt. Nighthawk is a flying coaster by Vekoma. Kiddy Hawk is a suspended family coaster. There’s also a rapids ride.

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CROSSROADS: This area features Afterburn, a suspended B&M coaster formerly themed to Top Gun. There’s the Action Theater, where assorted interactive 3D experiences seem to take place. Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is a common Cedar Fair shooter dark ride (also found in Kings Dominion, Kings Island and Canada’s Wonderland), formerly themed to Scooby Doo. There are a few thrilling common flat rides here too.

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CAROLINA BOARDWALK: Carolina Cyclone is a classic 1980 Arrow Dynamics multi-looping coaster. Carolina Goldrusher is a vintage mine train coaster which opened with the park. Ricochet is a Mack Rides wild mouse coaster.

CAROUSEL PARK: The highlight here is an antique carousel. There’s also Vortex, a B&M stand-up coaster.

COUNTY FAIR: The Flying Cobras is a standard Vekoma Boomerang coaster found in dozens of parks. Other rides seem to consist entirely of various flat rides, including a Troika, a swing ride and a Music Express.

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THRILL ZONE: Fury 325 is undoubtedly Carowinds’ most noteworthy attraction, a 325’-tall gigacoaster by B&M. It is among the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world, and in the past two years it has been voted by the Golden Ticket Awards as the world’s best roller coaster!!!

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There’s also a drop tower and Hurler, a classic wood coaster. Noteably, Kings Dominion had a Hurler clone which recently got an RMC custom improvement and became Twisted Timbers. Carowinds’ Hurler has the potential for a new RMC reworking with added Disney thrills and storyline.

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CAMP SNOOPY: The common kiddie area found in basically every Cedar Fair park, themed to the Peanuts characters with a bit of a summer camp theme added in. Rides are an assortment of child-friendly flat rides and a Woodstock Express junior roller coaster.

Other things at Carowinds (many of these common to most major coaster parks) include: A water park called Carolina Harbor which is included in park admission. A WinterFest event during Christmastime when the park is otherwise closed for the season. The SCarowinds event for Halloween similar to Halloween Horror Nights. And an amphitheater called The Paladium. There is some nearby lodging owned by Cedar Fair, including cabins, RV campgrounds, and a Marriott to be opened in 2019 and owned by Cedar Fair.

Apologies for a fairly basic primer. I’ve never been to Carowinds, and I’m sure @Magic Feather will be able to add more detail and commentary.
 

Disney Dad 3000

Well-Known Member
Carowinds-coaster.jpg

CAROWINDS PRIMER
(written by someone who’s never been there)
Carowinds is a Cedar Fair park located along the border of North and South Carolina, with portions of the park found in each state. Some rides even cross state lines! Carowinds opened in 1973, the brainchild of businessman Earl Patterson Hall who was inspired by Disneyland. The original plan would have had Carowinds be a part of a larger resort including hotel, a shopping center and even an NFL stadium. The Oil Crisis ended these plans.

enhance
Like Kings Dominion, Carowinds was a part of Paramount Parks before their purchase by Cedar Fair in 2006. Under Cedar Fair, the park’s focus seems to be increasingly on thrill rides and roller coasters.

Carowinds’ 8 themed areas include:

1697.photo_.4.jpg
CELEBRATION PLAZA: This area includes a Skytower offering panoramic views. Intimidator is a 232’-tall hypercoaster themed to Dale Earnhardt. Nighthawk is a flying coaster by Vekoma. Kiddy Hawk is a suspended family coaster. There’s also a rapids ride.

carowinds6.jpg
CROSSROADS: This area features Afterburn, a suspended B&M coaster formerly themed to Top Gun. There’s the Action Theater, where assorted interactive 3D experiences seem to take place. Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is a common Cedar Fair shooter dark ride (also found in Kings Dominion, Kings Island and Canada’s Wonderland), formerly themed to Scooby Doo. There are a few thrilling common flat rides here too.

cyclone-multi-2010.jpg
CAROLINA BOARDWALK: Carolina Cyclone is a classic 1980 Arrow Dynamics multi-looping coaster. Carolina Goldrusher is a vintage mine train coaster which opened with the park. Ricochet is a Mack Rides wild mouse coaster.

CAROUSEL PARK: The highlight here is an antique carousel. There’s also Vortex, a B&M stand-up coaster.

COUNTY FAIR: The Flying Cobras is a standard Vekoma Boomerang coaster found in dozens of parks. Other rides seem to consist entirely of various flat rides, including a Troika, a swing ride and a Music Express.

fury-325-roller-coaster-carowinds.jpg
THRILL ZONE: Fury 325 is undoubtedly Carowinds’ most noteworthy attraction, a 325’-tall gigacoaster by B&M. It is among the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world, and in the past two years it has been voted by the Golden Ticket Awards as the world’s best roller coaster!!!

2c65b9ee7773c4443d35c2d3bd63314c.jpg
There’s also a drop tower and Hurler, a classic wood coaster. Noteably, Kings Dominion had a Hurler clone which recently got an RMC custom improvement and became Twisted Timbers. Carowinds’ Hurler has the potential for a new RMC reworking with added Disney thrills and storyline.

Camp-Snoopy-2.jpg
CAMP SNOOPY: The common kiddie area found in basically every Cedar Fair park, themed to the Peanuts characters with a bit of a summer camp theme added in. Rides are an assortment of child-friendly flat rides and a Woodstock Express junior roller coaster.

Other things at Carowinds (many of these common to most major coaster parks) include: A water park called Carolina Harbor which is included in park admission. A WinterFest event during Christmastime when the park is otherwise closed for the season. The SCarowinds event for Halloween similar to Halloween Horror Nights. And an amphitheater called The Paladium. There is some nearby lodging owned by Cedar Fair, including cabins, RV campgrounds, and a Marriott to be opened in 2019 and owned by Cedar Fair.

Apologies for a fairly basic primer. I’ve never been to Carowinds, and I’m sure @Magic Feather will be able to add more detail and commentary.

As I mentioned, it's been many many many years since I've been there but they have definitely gone coaster crazy in the last 10-15 years. When I was still going there it was pretty much Cyclone (my first upside down coaster) and thunder road (that i loved ) but was torn down couple years ago. I hope they've improved Gold rusher in that last 15-20. It was pretty rough at one time. The peanuts area was Hanna Barbara with a scooby doo coaster about that time. Pretty much everything I ever rode there has been changed with paramount aND cedar fair ownership.

I don't know what the land ownership around there is like, but there is some open space if you wanted to move parking, etc. to expand. Location wise it's right off a major interstate.
 

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