Tr: Solace, Bash, And More ... Pt 5

Warning: Please forgive my excessive ramblings. These TRs are long, but that is just the way I do it. You can find these reports along with some photos at: http://www.coasterfanatics.com.

Sunday 3-13-05

Nothing like doing things at the last moment. After finding out that tickets would not be sold at the gate for the RideWorld event at Six Flags Magic Mountain, we purchased our season passes at Ralph's in Buena Park Saturday Night. This will mark the first time that I got a season pass at a grocery store. Sunday morning, the last day of this hectic trip, was upon us and by now we are completely exhausted, sore, and weak. This is the perfect combination for spending a day with the most aggressive rides of the trip.

We met Paul in the lobby, grabbed some coffee and found our way up 5 to arrive at Magic Mountain with about 15 minutes to spare before the gates opened. Unlike last year, X is already testing with two trains and looks like it will be ready for us as soon as we get there. Last year, I took about a half-dozen rides on X, but with the way I am feeling at this point, I really don't see that happening again.

The gates open and most of the group starts walking over to X, with a small percentage instead turning right to ride Goliath. After the hike halfway up the mountain, we are now standing in the X station and waiting to board the next train. Being the kind guy that I am, I promised Catrina that I would give her the inside seat and brave the vibrations of the outside. We load into the train and start up the lift. It is a little drizzly out and not the most beautiful morning, but the opportunity to ride this ride with no wait is more than I can resist.

At the top of the lift we go over the small dip before plunging straight down at the ground. My seat is shaking pretty well by this point, and I am now wishing that my body was not as tender as it was. After 4 days of constant riding, by body is now giving me the middle finger as we go through the first raven turn. By the half-half, I feel like Rocky Balboa is jabbing me in the ribs. By now, I am starting to get used to the abuse, but then came the final raven turn. The last raven turn folded my body and made me wish for a brake run. My wish came true as we slowed down to enter the station.

No X rerides for me today, so we headed over to Riddlers Revenge. Revenge was also running two trains and actually spitting them out at a pretty good pace. When we get to the station, we find out why. There is nobody here. We walk straight up to the train and board the first two rows. Revenge is a great stand-up. Not only is it bigger than the rest but it also negotiates the elements with the slightest of ease. I am most impressed with the two flat spins, but the ride has many other great elements.

After Riddler, we decided to sit on a bench and take a little break. The trip is really starting to catch up with us, and we have plenty of time to make it to Goliath before the park opens. After catching our breath and recomposing ourselves, we walked down to Goliath, where the lines were not much different than those of Riddlers Revenge. I am starting to think the most of the two hours of our ERT was actually EWT (Exclusive Walking Time) due to the expansive layout of the park.

Goliath was running great, and was probably Catrina's favorite of the whole trip. For me, it was better than I remembered. The trains moved very good through the layout with the exception of a short section after the mid-course brake run. In the area, the train almost comes to a stop and then slowly banks into the helix section. It is especially odd if you are in the left seat, as you stare straight down at the ground while slowly coasting down the hill.

By the time we rode Goliath the park is starting to open to the public and we all decided that now would probably be the best time to get a ride on Superman. Since, Superman was closed last year; I was looking forward to finally getting a ride on it. We hiked up the hill and stuck around for a little bit to get a few rides. I rode it about 4 times, and while it is a great ride, it is not really as good as I had anticipated. The launch is not very intense and the float time at the top was not as dramatic as you would think. I forgot to bring a banana, so I couldn't tell you the exact amount of zero-g time is experienced at the top.

We started walking back towards the entrance to see if we would have enough time to process our passes before we all met up for lunch. On the way there, we started to notice that pretty decent lines were already starting to develop for Viper and X. Looks like the park will not be as dead as we had anticipated.

Near the entrance, we make a stop to get our stuff out of the lockers we put them into before the morning ERT. As we locate our locker, we notice something a little strange. The door is standing wide open and the locker is completely empty. My pulse is getting faster and my chest is tightening as I realize that between Paul and I, we have about $2000 worth of video equipment that just mysteriously disappeared. We walked over to the counter to consult with the locker attendant. He notified us that they did a "sweep" of the lockers and our stuff can be found at Guest Relations. We walk down to guest relations and after the lady asked us a couple questions to identify us, we got our stuff back.

As the lady is handing Paul his wallet, she says, "All the money is still in there". She proceeds to take all the cash out of his wallet and goes, "20, 40, 80, 100, 120, 140, 150, 160, 180 and 20 dollars Canadian". his eyes are popping out of his head as he now realizes that all 30 people waiting at the table now know that he is walking around with

$200 cash in his pocket. We are all pretty amazed with this, and I am starting to get really tempted to yell to the crowd, that "He is heading to the Mooseburger, if anyone cares to mug him."

The public display of Paul's riches was now over and we started walking over to the Mooseburger Lodge to meet Chris and Natalie for lunch. The doors haven't opened yet, so we wait around for a little bit and are joined by a couple other RideWorld members. After a short wait, we got our table and Catrina and I both got the buffet. For the price, you really can't beat this place. It is the best food at Magic Mountain.

After lunch we walked around and got rides on Scream, Batman, and a couple others before we made our way to the parking lot to leave for the day. When we got to the car, I noticed something bad. I had no keys to the car. It seems that the lady from Guest Relations had taken my car keys and put them in Paul’s bag. Since we left Paul about an hour ago and the park was crowded, I really had no idea how we were going to find him. I tried giving his cell a call, but no answer. Realizing that having the keys might make our trip back to Buena Park a little easier, we took the tram back to the park to locate Paul. Catrina was pretty tired, so asked her if she wanted to grab a seat on the bench while I walked around the park looking for Paul. She had no problem with that, so she grabbed a bench in the front of the park while I started my search.

I started at Revolution and quickly walked all the way around the out side of the park until i reached Batman. The whole time I did this, I would call Paul about every 5 minutes or so. Finally, by the time I reached Batman, Paul answered the phone. He was back where I started, so I got to walk all the way back to

Revolution where he was waiting with my keys in hand. If he hadn't answered the phone, I would have most likely passed out from walking up and down the hills in the back of the park.

With keys in hand, we are now ready to head back to the hotel. Along the way, we drove through Hollywood, Sunset Strip, and Beverly Hills before making our way down Santa Monica Blvd to get back on the highway. It is a good bit out of the way, but it is a pretty cool drive if you have never seen the sites.

Once back at the hotel, we tore into the Quizno’s that we picked up across the street. I took a quick nap and then met Paul down in the hotel bar for a couple beers. We kind of reflected back on the weekend and then said our goodbyes till next time. With a little bit of alcohol in the system, I took the elevator back to the room and promptly went to bed.

The trip was at an end, and while I had a lot of fun, it wasn't a moment too soon. Unless I get ambitious and decide to make the trip to Northern California, next year looks like a 2 day trip with stops at Solace and Bash. Either way, it was great to catch up with familiar faces and meeting some new ones. Just remember, the season is just starting, and could there be any better way to get it going?

Hey Ted!

Those were some seriously GREAT trip reports! Thanks for posting them here. It's too bad we didn't get a chance to really 'meet.' I still say from reading your stuff is sounds like we have really similar tastes in parks, rides, etc.

Hopefully next year, or when we're out your way at some point later in the year.

I guess there's always the 'hangover' day at PPP if you'll be there that day!

--Robb

^ Planning on getting a hang-over this year.