Thanks all for posting updates. I personally have mixed feelings about this.
1. I thought I would be okay with the spinning, until i watched the pov video. Amyone saying it isnt a lot of spinning is fooling themselves. (10,000 is still a lot, even if it isnt 20,000.) I think i will be ok, but I totally agree with those concerned and dont blame anyone for being bummed they wont be able to ride. Going backward can be fun at times, though.
2. I am totaly unimpressed with this theme. I have no idea why steampunk is so big but it is repulsive to me. This theme is not 1880s Ozarks, late 1880s Chicago or new york maybe. As swoosh said everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if people like this theme im happy for them, but I do not feel like it is anything like SDC. Being set in history alone doesnt make it SDC. It is not appealing or enduring. Just throw a bunch of clocks together. Wildfire is steampunk enough for me...ugh.
3. Combine 2 with what others fear is a lack of themeing leads me to believe the PTB just dont care or dont get it. Seems haphazardly thrown together and unimpressive. I will wait for my final analysis on #3 until I see it, but I will never like time traveler as a concept or this steampunk route. Just like grand exposition, not for me.
Because of the above I really dont think I will care much for this ride or become attached to it. I will spend most of my riding time on FITH, Flooded Mine, Thunderation, Powderkeg, Lost River, the Train, and OR to a lesser extent while wondering why they wont fix up or redo AP or fix up FItH or make Thunderation smoother.
I will spend more time in the shops or saloon show, grandfathers mansion or a theatre. If this ride takes up some crowd then great. If it makes the SP price go up ill probably scale back to one visit a year, if the route they wanna go is away from die hard loyalists like me and toward coaster chasers with no soul invovled that is entirely up to them and my visists will reflect that. (Not saying its what they are doing for sure, just speaking generally and in 'what ifs').
I will ride it next year and give it a chance, but aint gettin my hopes up. Im more excited that they fixed up FM.