2019 - favorite new experiences

[s***@aol.com]

1. What was your favorite new attraction you experienced that was also new for 2019? (Only attractions that opened in 2019 that you *actually* experienced)

2. What was your favorite new to you this year attraction that debuted *prior* to 2019? (Only attractions that opened 2018 or earlier than you *first* experienced in 2019)

3. What is your favorite new to you park that you visited in 2019? (any park you first experienced this year)

[s***@aol.com]

Mine:

1. Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Easily. This ride certainly impressed me more than any new ride has in quite some time.

2. Storm Chaser.
While I haven’t cared much for the 2 other RMCs I had experienced in the past, Storm Chaser was actually a lot of fun.

A close second is Mystic Timbers. Also a fun ride.

3. Island H20 Live! water park.
The only new to me park for 2019 was also a park that actually opened in 2019. Had a good time there.

[Marshall]

Post by s***@aol.com
1. What was your favorite new attraction you experienced that was also new for 2019? (Only attractions that opened in 2019 that you *actually* experienced)

Yep, Hagrids. Nothing else this year is even competitive. Maybe if I got out to do West Coast Racers(or it even opened) it would be in the same class, but nothing else is above "mildly entertaining".

Post by s***@aol.com
2. What was your favorite new to you this year attraction that debuted *prior* to 2019? (Only attractions that opened 2018 or earlier than you *first* experienced in 2019)

HHN? Equal parts fun and annoying.
The Wheel at the Island? Its a Ferris Wheel...
Mako in Orlando, feels like a compact Diamondback. Manta reminded me how much I hate pretzel loops. Journey to Atlantis is just fantastic.

Ahhh, Hades 360. Finally made it up there to do that one.

Post by s***@aol.com
3. What is your favorite new to you park that you visited in 2019? (any park you first experienced this year)

The "winner" by default is Knuckleheads in Wisconsin Dells...not really recommended, but not bad for an evening.
My only trips to 'new to me' parks got washed out by a hurricane..

[spacemtfan]

Post by s***@aol.com
1. What was your favorite new attraction you experienced that was also new for 2019? (Only attractions that opened in 2019 that you *actually* experienced)
2. What was your favorite new to you this year attraction that debuted *prior* to 2019? (Only attractions that opened 2018 or earlier than you *first* experienced in 2019)
3. What is your favorite new to you park that you visited in 2019? (any park you first experienced this year)

1. Soaring Fantastic Flight at Tokyo DisneySea. Amazing version of the Disney classic with a beautiful queue and preshows.

2. Jack Rabbit at Seabreeze. Was much more fun than I though it could ever be. Was as smooth as Balder and smoother than Outlaw Run, which is insane for a 1920 wooden coaster running a Morgan train.

3. Happy Valley Beijing. Chinese parks are usually pretty bad for operation, but Happy Valley Beijing knocked it out of the park. Great rides, fast lines and a few great rides. I could not ride the new B&M Hyper Coaster due to restrictive sensors, but I lost the weight and will fit when I return.

[GodsOnSafari]

1) Otherworld in Columbus, Ohio. I'm loving his new push for artist driven walk-through attractions and rides. Also loved Meow Wolf Kalideascape at Elitch. Coasterwise it's basically a draw between Copperhead Strike and Steel Curtain given what I rode.

2) Lots of new to me stuff this year non coaster wise; Pooh's Hunny Hunt, Journey to the Center of the Earth, This Is Holland and the FlyOver America/Canada attractions, Mystery Town USA (RIP), Kansas State Fair Old Mill, just a lot. Coaster wise: Fury 325 and Twisted Cyclone were highlights.

3) It probably has to be Disneysea, but in part because the number of good domestic or European parks that would be new to see is so small. It's grossly overrated (LOL at any of it's fans who harp about sightlines, it has some of the worst and most intrusive examples) even if I think it's really good. I'd rather go to Magic Kingdom or Disneyland any day.

[CanobieFan]

1. What was your favorite new attraction you experienced that was also new for 2019? Probably Yukon, I hated Valravn... so I was shocked at how *good* Yukon was, even with the awful vests. Shellraiser would have been awesome if the second half wasn't so rattly

(out of Batman The Ride, Copperhead Strike, Crazy 8's, Dragonflier, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure,Nickelodeon Slime Streak, Tigris, Timmy's Half Pipe Havoc, TMNT Shellraiser, and Yukon Striker)

2. What was your favorite new to you this year attraction that debuted *prior* to 2019? Either RailBlazer or Medusa (dk)


3. What is your favorite new to you park that you visited in 2019?
Gilroy Gardens was pretty good but could use another ride or two. I didn't hate SFDK, so that was cool. Although I was massively letdown by SCBB, it was so insanely busy in such a small area..

(Visited *everything* in NorCal + the state fair, Castles & Coasters, and Nickelodeon Universe, all new for me)

[Ansley]

1. Easily Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure was easily the best, and one of the best new attractions in a while. Very good, a whole lot of fun! Also, liked Guardians of the Galaxy at DCA a LOT more than I thought I would. Dare I say, a good replacement for ToT.

2. Hmmm, Twisted Colossus and 2nd goes to Thunderbird at Holiday World. TC was a great RMC, loved the long ride and double lift/drop. Very satisfying, my 2nd fav RMC steel. I hadn't been to Holiday World in about 10 years. Loved Thunderbird, easily my favorite winged coaster now. I'm not a huge fan of Winged coasters, but I liked the launch and layout of Thunderbird. Also, liked Guardians of the Galaxy at DCA a LOT more than I thought I would. Dare I say, a good replacement for ToT. Ditto for Radiator Springs Racers, wonderful ride, wish we could have ridden it more than once.

3. Was going to Worlds of Fun, but didn't make it due to severe thunderstorms that day! So, my only new-to-me park was Frontier City. Not a very good park, but ok, in some ways it was charming, with nothing notable coaster wise. I wanted to like Wildcat, but it was just boring.

[s***@aol.com]

Ted, I loved Thunderbird too, a lot more than I expected to. I’d like to someday get back out there.

[Heather Kendrick]

Hi all! I’m sorry to have been silent for a while. My computer got stolen
from the shop where it was supposedly being repaired when they had a
burglary, and though I had a backup (two of them in different physical
locations) the migration was plagued with trouble. One minor annoyance among
many major ones is that I had to get a new license key for my Usenet client
in order to reinstall it and that got backburnered since I had so many other
pressing concerns. Anyway, I am back in action and ready to return to my
usual duties here, which are mainly 1) being the resident carousel enthusiast
and 2) speaking in favor of any really unloved coaster.

So with that explanation in mind, I hope you’ll forgive my very late
contribution to this thread of last month.

Post by s***@aol.com
1. What was your favorite new attraction you experienced that was also new
for 2019? (Only attractions that opened in 2019 that you *actually*
experienced)

I have to say Yukon Striker. I think that the only other “new for 2019”
rides that I rode in 2019 were the Antique Autos at Kings Island and Tumbling
Timbers at Knoebels. While I’m glad Kings Island decided to get a proper
car ride back in, it wasn’t a particularly exciting track. And I hoped that
Tumbling Timbers would be fun in a Breakdance kind of way, but instead it
aggravated my motion sickness (sadly getting worse with age) without being
fun enough to be worth it. So, Yukon Striker. For what it’s worth, I do
like it better than Valravn, the other dive coaster I’ve ridden recently
enough to comment. (I rode Griffon only once back in 2007 and can’t get a
clear enough memory of it to compare them.)

Post by s***@aol.com
2. What was your favorite new to you this year attraction that debuted
*prior* to 2019? (Only attractions that opened 2018 or earlier than you
*first* experienced in 2019)

Jack Rabbit at Seabreeze. I love antique rides, I love wooden coasters, and I
love bunnies; it was a shoo in. Honorable mention to Bobsleds at Seabreeze
(what a delightfully quirky little ride) and Silver Comet at Fantasy Island,
which was amazingly smooth for its vintage. I didn’t expect Silver Comet to
be as fun as it was.

Post by s***@aol.com
3. What is your favorite new to you park that you visited in 2019? (any park
you first experienced this year)

Seabreeze. We take just one week-long coaster trip a year now (sometimes also
a second, smaller one that gets appended onto our annual trip to the Pinburgh
pinball tournament), always with a specific park that is the centerpiece from
my list of “always wanted to see” parks. This year the trip was arranged
around Seabreeze and it didn’t disappoint, except by closing early due to
gloomy weather and lack of attendance.

[s***@aol.com]

I use google groups (I have since AOL stopped access to them so many years ago). I did t even know there was any other way to access the group.

[Art Todesco]

Post by s***@aol.com
I use google groups (I have since AOL stopped access to them so many years ago). I did t even know there was any other way to access the group.

I use news.eternal-september.org which is free and works well.

[Heather Kendrick]

Post by Art Todesco

Post by s***@aol.com
I use google groups (I have since AOL stopped access to them so many years
ago). I did t even know there was any other way to access the group.

I use news.eternal-september.org which is free and works well.

I think I had tried that one at one point and had issues with it for some
reason. It was years ago though and I can’t remember what the trouble was,
so maybe I’ll have to try it again sometime. (My more recent problems
weren’t with my server, though, they were with my client. It’s hard to
find a good threaded client anymore and I’m not aware of a free threaded
client for the Mac that still works.)

[Ansley]

Post by Heather Kendrick

Post by Art Todesco

Post by s***@aol.com
I use google groups (I have since AOL stopped access to them so many years
ago). I did t even know there was any other way to access the group.

I use news.eternal-september.org which is free and works well.

I think I had tried that one at one point and had issues with it for some
reason. It was years ago though and I can’t remember what the trouble was,
so maybe I’ll have to try it again sometime. (My more recent problems
weren’t with my server, though, they were with my client. It’s hard to
find a good threaded client anymore and I’m not aware of a free threaded
client for the Mac that still works.)
--
Heather, the Carousel Rabbit

I used Forte Free Agent, then a paid version of Agent years ago. They are still around and they offer news services too. I would recommend them, but honestly have ZERO problem with the free web interface on Google, a bit confused as why it is such a problem for you.

http://www.forteinc.com/main/homepage.php

Ted

[Dave Althoff, Jr.]

Heather Kendrick <***@ameritech.net> wrote:
: ... (My more recent problems werenâ??t with my server, though, they were
: with my client. Itâ??s hard to find a good threaded client anymore and
: Iâ??m not aware of a free threaded client for the Mac that still works.)

If you can live without the GUI, tin works well (tin.org). Install it at
the system level and it will generate a .newsrc in your ~/ . It is an
inherently threaded newsreader...once you enter a group you get a thread
list, and if you enter a thread you get to see posts in order, then it will
advance to the next thread. Old fashioned, but very straightforward and
works pretty well. Although for some reason I am having problems with the
editor not wanting to word wrap properly, and I haven't figured out how to
get it to properly handle Unicode (see all those ???'s I quoted?)


--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
NEW! When emailing this account, include the 'canonical magic word' in
the body of your message for a quicker response.

[Heather Kendrick]

Here's a tip for access rec.roller-coaster that is free! I paid for usenet
client years ago, when usenet was heavily used. However, Google has all the
archives and for the last 8 years or so I simply use groups.google.com in a
web browser. It's free, and it works fine. You can also search on all old
posts. I hope this helps for anyone wanting to accessing newsgroups without
using a dedicated client in 2020!

I’m happy that other people find that useful (I’d probably have almost no
one to talk to here if not for it). For my part, though, I hate using the Web
to access Usenet so much that I’d probably at very long last quit Usenet
for good if that were my only way to do it!

I use news.individual.net for my server, which costs 10 Euro per year. It’s
very reliable.

[r***@aol.com]

Since we're sharing RRC-access stories, I originally used the Deja News web-based interface and then continued to groups.google.com seamlessly when Google bought Deja News in 2001. Some people thought I used AOL (since my username is from AOL) and wondered how I still posted after AOL discontinued usenet in 2005, but I never used AOL for posting here, though my username continues to carry the AOL stamp to this day.

On topic:

1. Favorite new "new" attraction: the Summer festival at Knott's. Rock and roll and rides all night.
2. Favorite new-to-me experience: Dark Entities at Knott's Scary Farm. Tucked away in a corner, I frequently traversed this maze entirely alone even on fairly busy nights (I went 6 different nights with their Haunt Pass).
3. Favorite new park: Did not visit a new park in 2019.

[Dave Althoff, Jr.]

Ansley <***@usa.com> wrote:
: Here's a tip for access rec.roller-coaster that is free! I paid for
: usenet client years ago, when usenet was heavily used. However, Google
: has all the archives and for the last 8 years or so I simply use
: groups.google.com in a web browser. It's free, and it works fine. You
: can also search on all old posts. I hope this helps for anyone wanting
: to accessing newsgroups without using a dedicated client in 2020!

Pay for a newsreader? Accounts on eternal-september.org are free for server
access, and for those of us who can install software into our *nix
terminals, rtin still works great (tin.org). Most recent version was
released 12/24/2019 but I am still using an old one.

But yes, groups.google.com can be really useful, you can post from it, and
you can read the whole archive including some pre-DejaNews stuff. Searching
is a very fiddly process, though, and if you have a Message-ID, which
should be able to always bring up a specific post, it doesn't always work
as expected.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
NEW! When emailing this account, include the 'canonical magic word' in
the body of your message for a quicker response.