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I just have to interject that I think "Billy The Squid" is one of the most creative names for one of the old Eyerly "Monster" rides I have ever seen. I used to love those rides, we had one at Six Flags St. Louis called "Mo-Mo The Monster"-pretty cool, but not as cool as "Billy The Squid". SFMM had some pretty creative and funky flat ride names.....if I remember correctly, Grinder Gearworks used to be called "The Electric Rainbow" (a 1970's ride name if I ever heard one) and the late Spin Out used to be called "Bottoms Up". The scavenger hunt seems like a great idea. What would make it even more interesting is if it were combined with various clues leading to a central location-with each clue leading to another clue-so the clue at one location would direct you to location of the next, etc. similar to what they did in "It's A Mad World" and "Midnight Madness". Heck, I don't think it would matter how it were put together, I'm sure it would be fun.

^Very true.....parks will always find room. Knott's continues to amaze me with their creative uses of space (which in some places make me think of a real life RCT park). I know they will make room at SFMM for whatever 2009 brings, I'm just curious as to where they will be making room!

Well, I had meant to have this up last Sunday, but in between work and freelance projects that came to me with sudden, last minute revisions and deadlines, and the fact that I have been deathly sick with the flu all week, I am just now getting to it. So, even though I had spent the previous Saturday at KBF for Solace, I ended up going again on Saturday the 15th to meet up with my friend John O., who after taking a year off from Knott's decided to reinstate his annual pass (I'm still trying to get him to come up to SFMM with me and get a pass there as he has not been there since Flashback was the newest coaster.) Unfortunately, due to a very late work night beforehand, I ended up oversleeping and getting to the park at 9:55 instead of the planned 9:45. Side note: the parking attendants continue to be friendly every time now. We got up to the front gate just as the park was opening and went in. There was a nice little display up front about the Pony Express, along with a prerecorded spiel really playing up the ride as a family fun experience. We walked past that and headed for GhostRider. As usual-long line. For some reason, they had the PA system running so loud that you could barely hold a conversation over it when they dispatched a train. They were running Silver and Gold trains; someone told me to avoid Gold to avoid a bone rattling ride, so we waited for Silver. We got second row, and although it was a rough ride, it was more tolerable than usual. We stopped off to grab a coffee and blueberry muffin at the bakery as I had not eaten, and then walked over to Silver Bullet to see that on another busy Saturday, they were still in one train operation. There was someone working on the train, but it did not appear as if it would be operational all day. As a result, the line was almost full, and we decided to wait and went off to do a few other things first. We checked out some of the craft booths for the Spring crafts festival, and then went on the Log Ride and walked over after that so I could get some pics of the Pony Express construction. The ride looks fun, but very, very short; although I think it is a good addition to the park to round out the family experiences, I still cannot find myself very excited about it. My friend was even less excited, referring to it as "Bologna Express", but we agreed that the park is doing something good by getting another coaster for the family and tried to look at it as "Xcelerator Jr". I just hope that someday they will get another big (e.g., Xcel, Silver Bullet) coaster. We spent a minute at the craft booth where they have the fragrant rocks (for what purpose, I'm not sure) that my friend almost mistook for candy and then stopped in front of the Screamin' Swing (which my friend refuses to ride, and which I did not have the extra $ to ride that day), put the camera in a locker, and headed back over to Bullet. We got in line for Silver Bullet, and although it took over an hour and a half to get on, it was a good ride as always. While not as thrilling as some of the other coasters I enjoy (Tatsu, X) it remains my favorite at KBF. He stopped and got some nachos and I got a Diet Pepsi, and then we were on our way to go ride Sierra Sidewinder, but decided to ride Montezoomas instead. Just as we were about to launch, the ride broke down and we had to get out, wait about 15 minutes for them to come and fix whatever was wrong, and then ride. Next up was the Train-we managed to get one of the outside cars and sit in the sun, as it was getting cold-and as we were passing Pony Express, I noticed something I had not at Solace; they had literally ripped part of the roof off of Bigfoot Broiler to fit the launch area in. The bandits came on to the train and did their thing (I think it's a nice touch that the park still has the "train robbers" as part of the ride) and soon we were back where we started. It was time to grab dinner; I wanted to try Panda Express but my friend had his heart set on TGIFridays, so we ended up going there. Had the French Onion Soup and Jack Daniel's Pulled Pork Sandwich. (By the way-if you're like me and don't like to eat too much fried food, they will gladly substitute mashed potatoes for the fries). Had some overpriced dessert and headed back into the park. We got on Calico Mine Ride-a classic that I usually ride every time I go- and then were planning on hitting Silver Bullet again before my friend had to leave, but we walked up to find the ride closed "due to wind". GhostRider, Xcel and Supreme Scream were also closed due to winds, in fact, there were very few rides open. I personally didn't think it was that windy at first. But when we managed to get on Bullet right as they reopened it, and got to the top of the lift, I understood-very windy, and very cold. After this, my friend had to leave; I walked out with him to put my camera in the car, and to check out the sale in the Market Place (everything was 25% off.) There is a great window set up in Virginia's Gift Shop of some of all of the old Knott's signs from the 70's. I went back in the park about 8pm, and found that although Silver Bullet was open, Xcel, which I had yet to ride, was still closed, as was GhostRider (I don't think GhostRider ever reopened all night). Xcel finally opened and my plan was to ride that, Supreme Scream, and La Revolucion and then get in line for Silver Bullet at 9:45. However, just as my extremely cold and windy ride on Xcel came to an end, it started to rain, and there was no way I was riding Supreme Scream in the cold rain. So, I got in line for Silver Bullet at 8:40, and ended up getting on the front row just as the park closed at 10pm. Grabbed a coffee from the Market Place and headed out. It was a fun day, but being out without a good enough jacket and so tired in the cold wind and rain resulted in a very nasty case of the flu that has had me down all week and out of work for a couple of days! All in all, it was a decent day at KBF; although the park has its problems (I'm still a little peeved at the one train op on Bullet, I thought they already had their rehab in December....), I still enjoy it and that's why I renew my pass every year. I'll let the pics and captions tell the rest.....sorry for the smaller image size and resolution, one of these days when I have the time to get my server and site back up and running I will post them hosted from my server..... Insert your own fun caption here.....this poor guy is just sitting down in the gully below all the Pony Express footers.....Thanks for Reading! Wanted to try this place out, maybe next time. I like the way they made the exterior match, and the inside is pretty nice as well. Didn't eat here this time, but did want to comment that I think this is one of the better places to eat at the park. The end of the line-the brake run hill into the station. From what I was told at Solace, the entrance will be somewhere close to where that tractor is parked. If you look closely, you can see some additional footers by the turn, I think these are for the "tunnel" structure Final banked turn into the brake run hill Bottom of the third hill, crossing Bigfoot canal and going into final banked turn Going into the third hill. The way the coaster interacts with the midway and Bigfoot Rapids should make it interesting, and at the very least bring more life to the area. You can also see the magnetic brake run here. Same hill from the other side, you can see how it dives over the midway. The other side of the second hill, with a better view of the station. The queue is supposedly going in the cleared area next to the Porta Potties. Hill after the drop. The silver things sticking up at the bottom right are the supports for the station roof. The entrance will be over by Bigfoot Rapids. Drop from the other side. After the drop you go up a bunny hill and take a curving dive to the right next to Bigfoot Rapids. Completed first "drop" after the launch into the banked turn. The flywheel launch mechanism. I actually think this looks kind of cool with the Western Theming. It's Knott's new Horsey Coaster! Wait.....what's that through the trees? My failed attempt at a cool shot of Screamin' Swing..... The trucks they brought the cheerleaders in on, and part of my friend snapping a shot of Screamin' Swing There were also a ton of cheerleader events going on-making the park more crowded than usual. One of the school groups performing music at the park (there were a lot of events going on last Saturday). Here they are about to play a rousing rendition of Dio's "Holy Diver". Ok-this guy is set up as part of the Snoopy Safari thing they have going on; the little train goes past him under Silver Bullet. That's not bad. But in addition to dancing back and forth, he loudly plays the same 8 bar refrain of "Crocodile Rock" over and over and over and over and over.....during the lengthy line for Silver Bullet. Cute, but after the first hour it got annoying! One of my favorite parts of the ride, the final corkscrew/wingover/whatever you call it-the Zero-G and overbank are still my favorites, though. Heading down the drop-not the steepest, but still fun. .....or maybe not..... Why look.....they have one of the Silver Bullet trains in rehab. Surely, the crowd must be pretty light today..... For some reason, I thought this was funny.....I have no idea why. One of the Craft Booths set up. I'm not sure I would want to buy anything made of hair. As usual, GhostRider was our first ride. Silver Train was running pretty smooth. This is the display you see when entering the park-here's hoping no one takes them up on the fine print on the sign where it says "Wages $25 A Week!"

That area would be ideal to expand HH. In re Metro not returning, I think the comment they made at WCB was something along the lines that for what it would cost them to get Metro running they could get a B&M coaster, so apparently they would be looking at a substantial investment ($15 million+)to get it up and running again. One thing I find interesting: if there is supposedly a new coaster addition for 2009, and it won't be going in Psyclone's old spot (and I feel pretty certain that it would not go in Flashback's old spot, either), where would it go?

Some great pics! Looking at the last few updates, look at how much has happened in just a WEEK! Cyber Cafe is open (looking forward to checking that out next time I'm there), the new game is already open, and all kinds of things going on. That's some great news about X2 being smoother than Scream-I have never had a "rough" ride on Scream at all. It sounds like the new trains have the added plus of improving the ride experience as well as the reliability/throughput, which is awesome. Memorial Day can't get here soon enough!

I found myself a bit unnerved by the swaying as well-I have no problem with heights on coasters or rides (as long as I am strapped in securely) but something about tall structures gets to me at times. Nevertheless, I still went up there twice and will go again next time I am at the park, because the museum is truly impressive and one of the coolest things I think I have ever seen SFMM do. By the way-awesome TR from Robb. Some really great pics in there, makes me wish I had taken more than I did! I have said it before, in my TR and earlier in this thread, but it bears repeating: I can't give enough thanks to Robb & Family, Chris & Family, and Jay, Neal and Tim and the whole SFMM crew for such an awesome event. The whole day/night was truly world class. I came away from the event with an even greater impression that SFMM is in the right hands to live up to the tremendous potential for greatness it has. For anyone skeptical, I'm fairly experienced at deciphering corporate driven "BS" and spin, and I am not hearing any of that from SFMM's new "Dream Team" at all. Instead, what I have experienced my most recent visits to the park and my experiences at both the DVD Release Event and at West Coast Bash are genuine, sincere, hard working and honest people who truly care and are committed to making SFMM the premier destination for both top notch thrills and family fun that the park has the potential to be. There's a pic in Robb's Trip report of Jay Thomas working behind the counter at Johnny Rockets (I missed that part of the night, I almost ate at JR's but was headed up to see the Sky Tower Museum and was going to swing by Panda Express to eat on the way to the lockers. ) Anyway-in that picture you can see the face of someone who truly has a passion for what they're doing and cares about providing a good guest experience whatever it takes, and that's something that was unfortunately lacking at the park for a while until now. As I was telling a friend of mine over the weekend, I get annual passes to both SFMM and Knott's every year, and for the past few years I have spent the majority of my time at Knott's; this season I will be spending a lot more time at SFMM, and that decision has been influenced by the positive experiences I have had there recently. So again, big thanks to the park not only for the hospitality at these events, but also for really caring about the park-doing things like making it a cleaner place, getting the rides up to capacity, fixing and upgrading X, and more. The future definitely looks bright.

^^Yeah, I was a shade discouraged by the one train operation, especially given the event and the gorgeous day. Even though it's no Tatsu in terms of intensity, Silver Bullet remains my favorite ride there but the wait times were killing it for me. I still don't understand why they had a train in full rehab that day. I enjoy KBF despite some issues they seem to be having and will keep renewing my pass and going back, but I can say that I will likely be spending more time at SFMM this summer due to the positive experiences as of late as well as X2! I am getting some more pics up.....just a little crazy at work upon getting back this week. I will try to have them up either tonight or tomorrow night.

Forgive me.....this is the first time I have done a PTR where I uploaded the pics and these are all in reverse order. They were appearing in reverse order when I previewed so I put them in the opposite order and they were in the correct order when I previewed. Now I post, and they are backwards again....sorry about that!

And here are the pics......I will post more as well as X2 testing video sometime this week when I get it on YouTube. The view from my hotel room window (stupid flash!) That's better! The new X2 from where I parked outside the hotel Got some great rides in on Tatsu during morning ERT.....at one point in the day, they had all three trains on the track Lunch in the Picnic Pavilions Lunch was awesome..... Up close and personal with the X2 trains Tim Burkhart tells us all about the new X2.....they have some surprises planned for the theming that he didn't tell us about-I just hope they really do go for classic metal over techno..... My favorite seat on the old X, on the new train-this was the only car they had the "Elephant Ears" on so far. Is it Memorial Day weekend yet? X2 going down the best first drop of any coaster I have ever been on X2 coming into where tunnel #1 will be Viper from below X2 transfer.....I'm sure I'm the only one who got THIS shot (LOL!) If no one else wants this, I will be happy to take it off their hands when they get the new sign..... Construction on the new Cyber Cafe.....I just hope they have good espresso! Shot of the infamous helix of Goliath from Thomas Town site Batman Begins theater.....I have to check this show out this year..... The last of Flashback..... And now, a moment of silence for FreeFall..... Visual explanation as to why Deja Vu was closed I love how Tatsu interacts with the midways Tatsu from Sky Tower Line The sample display set up in the elevator when we were unable to go up due to wind The crowd gathers at Magic Moments Theater

I know this is a little late, but I spent most of today recovering from a very full and packed weekend and getting ready to head back to work tomorrow. However, I had to post a TR as yesterday's event was nothing short of phenomenal and I wanted to try to relate as much of my experience as possible. Just trying to remember all of the details and write them out has taken a while! I look forward to the Winter Coaster Solace/West Coast Bash weekend every year, but I was really looking forward to this one for a few reasons: First off, 2007 was a tough year for me on a variety of levels-no real vacation last year or "get away" from my stressful job, and some trying events in my personal life. Second, I have not been able to get out to the parks and do as much coaster riding and all day trips as much as I would like this year due to taking on a lot of freelance work that has kept even my off time spent at the computer. And finally, after the TPR DVD Release Party at SFMM back in January being such a great event, I had a feeling West Coast Bash was going to be amazing. I'll start this off with a quick rundown on Solace, it won't be that long as there isn't too much to report and I did not take my camera into the event this time as I was in a hurry going in. (I'll try to snap some Pony Express pics when I go this coming Saturday). I had taken the Friday off before Solace, but still ended up getting to bed late and unfortunately overslept by a couple of hours Saturday. As a result, I didn't get to Knott's until about 8:45 am. I was afraid it would be packed but I got a parking space right up in front in the front lot, and had my lanyard and tickets and was in the park by 8:55 am-just in time for the behind the scenes tour of the new Pony Express. The General Manager took everyone into the construction area, first into the area over by the Western Entrance to see the newly completed brake run and where the ride will jump over Bigfoot Rapids, do a dip through a tunnel by Western Avenue and then hop up into the brakes (we got to walk over the part of Bigfoot which is currently filled with dirt) and then over by the station which they were in the process of sealing the foundation of and by the launch area and banked turn. The entrance will be over by Bigfoot Rapids, so I guess "Wild Water Wilderness" has been accessed by Ghost Town. After that, I managed a couple of great rides with no wait on Xcelerator and Supreme Scream (both of which were running great, and with no waiting at all-very light crowd at Solace this year) and then went over for a ride on Sierra Sidewinder. Seeing that Silver Bullet was in one train operation (Train A was half taken apart on the transfer) I decided to catch a ride before the line got too bad. Afterwards, went over to check out the new Panda Express and got a soda, rode the Log Ride, Boomerang, La Revolucion, and the Wave Swinger, bought a new pair of sunglasses to replace the ones that broke, and just kind of walked around the park until it was lunchtime. Lunch was the same as it has been in years past, with the usual spread, and the endless soda fountain (Interestingly, the park did not give away drink cups or offer free soda refills to attendees this year aside from at lunch). The only familiar faces I saw this year were Andy, Shaun, Mike, Steve and a couple of the guys from WAYDD/Westcoaster, but other than that there were very few people I knew there and a lot less people in attendance than last year. There was a pretty good, but short presentation by Valerio Ferrari from Zamperla, where he discussed Pony Express and some of their ride catalogue and new concepts in development, and then the raffle; I did not buy any tickets this year but enjoyed watching. After lunch, I went back in the park and got in line for Silver Bullet, and ended up waiting almost two hours due to the one train operation. Feeling really tired (I nearly nodded off while waiting in line) and wanting to get some rest before night ERT, I decided to pick up my t-shirt (pretty nice one this year) and then went out to the car, put the sunshade up and crashed out for a few hours. I went back in the park and grabbed some coffee and rode a few more rides, ending off with Silver Bullet and then kind of hanging out and resting over in the area by GhostRider. The ERT started a bit late due to the large line of GP folks, so I grabbed a coffee and a cookie from the "late night snack" (again, same spread as last year) and went back to Silver Bullet for a few rides. I decided to leave for a few and go back for one ride on GhostRider-they were running it with all lights and trims off-and snagged a front seat ride. Very good, and intense, but still running very rough. I finished out the night at Silver Bullet. To give you an idea of how few people were there, on GhostRider, I don't think I ever saw a full station, and I only saw one full train on Bullet the entire night, even with one train op. For at least 3-4 cycles towards the end of ERT, I was the sole person on the train, enjoying several rides in the front right seat, my favorite on the ride-enjoyable, if a little eerie. The last cycle, a few more people got on and rode. The park was very quiet-it looked like there was no private party there this year. All in all, I think the park did an okay job, but I am really hoping that they can bring Solace up to the level that it used to be. Here's hoping that the reports of the following day, West Coast Bash, will provide some inspiration. I left KBF about 12:10 am, and even with a detour, managed to get to the Holiday Inn Express in Valencia across from SFMM at 1:05 am. This was the exact opposite of the negative experience I have had the past two years at Best Western: the person at the desk was friendly and helpful, the room was correct and at the correct price, and in great condition. I don't care if it was pricey, it was worth it. Amazingly, even with the loss of an hour, I was able to wake up at 6:30 am (whose idea was it to schedule Daylight Savings Time on this particular weekend, anyway? ) After taking advantage of the amazing HI Express showers everyone raves about, I grabbed a free coffee and Cinnamon Roll from the breakfast buffet at the hotel, and was off. HI Express makes a big deal about their Cinnamon Rolls as being the Cinnamon Roll by which all others are judged; it was decent, and it was fresh, but I have had better. Still, it was a nice perk and a welcome one as I had not really eaten anything since lunch at Solace and a cookie during night ERT. I arrived at SFMM to find the event had already surpassed Solace: not only was there Free Parking-with all of the gates open, they had the trams running to bring attendees to the front gate. I said hi to a few people who I had met at previous events, and then arrived to get wristband, lanyard registration packet and shirt. Lots of people; lots of familiar faces and lots of friendly people. Neal Thurman gave us a good but very brief intro speech; when the man says Magic Mountain is back and better than ever, he says it with confidence and rightfully so-with this management team, they are definitely back and better than ever, and destined for great things. We went in and I headed up for Tatsu first, and got a back row ride which was more effective than the coffee at waking me up. When I got off, they had breakfast laid out down at Katy's Kettle (muffins, donuts, bagels, OJ and coffee); since I already had a sugar rush from the cinnamon roll I opted for OJ and a muffin. I ran into Eric (EBL) who was looking for a Diet Coke (a nice employee went out of their way to get one) and we talked for a few minutes and then walked up to Superman; there was a behind the scenes tour up there, and being that S:TE was the ONE coaster at SFMM I had yet to go on, I was glad it was on ERT as I wanted to finally get a ride. We walked on-I have to say that although I thought the pop of airtime on the reverse freefall was really good, I found the launch a bit underwhelming compared to Xcelerator or Montezoomas Revenge. Still, a cool ride, and I was glad I finally got to ride it. We headed back down and grabbed a front seat ride on Tatsu (more and more, I am liking the front row on Tatsu-the front row is pleasant, the back row is intense and both offer a great ride) and shortly after that was when Eric unfortunately realized his camera was missing. While he went with another employee to find Neal and look for it, I took one more ride on Tatsu. When I got off, the park was open-I took a ride on Riddler's and Scream-both great rides, with not too bad of a wait-and then found that I had a headache, due to lack of sleep, contact lens problems, and just being tired, so I went to the little store over next to the Paint Ball Alley game in search of some Tylenol. They didn't have any out, but some very nice girl working their went out of her way going through the boxes with the medications in them until she found it.....another example of good service being seen in the park. After pounding some Tylenol, I felt better and started to make my way towards the locker to store my camera and to the Picnic Pavilions, as lunch was supposed to start at 11:45. I stopped for a few minutes out in front of Mooseburger Lodge to say hello to Chris Godsey and family and walked with them up to the picnic area. I put my camera in the locker in the very nice and newly renovated day use locker area and walked around to lunch-to find quite a few people: Lunch was fantastic-a choice of BBQ Beef Brisket or Chicken, rolls, and side dishes as well as sodas and even Ice Cream for dessert. Having had chicken the day before, I went for the beef brisket and thought it was great. I ended up sitting at the table with EBL, WhatNow, and Jodi (apologies for spilling my soda in the middle of the table) and when lunch was done, went to get the camera for the tours that were about to begin. When I got back, returned to see that an X2 train was cycling; another surprise-it looked as if we were going to be able to see the new trains cycle. I ended up with the red group-with wrs28330 being a very good tour guide for the duration of the tour-and was pleased to find out X2 was the first stop on the tour. Walking up, I had to say I was very impressed with the new paint job-I was not 100% sold on the colors, but they really do look great. They brought the first X2 train into the station, and Tim Burkhart answered questions and talked a bit about the ride before we were allowed to go out near the transfer shed to see the new train run a couple of cycles (which also allowed for some great vantage points for Viper, as well!) The trains are still testing-they are quiet, but seems as if they are still working out some issues with the seat rotations-but it was great to see this. Next stop was Thomas Town-where although most of what we saw was dirt and markers, they are right on schedule. Took the opportunity to get some good pics of Goliath as well. After a quick break near the former location of Sierra Twist, we proceeded over towards the "Psyclone Graveyard" with a quick stop off at the Batman Theater where we found out a little about the show (which I definitely plan to check out on an upcoming visit to the park). We saw some interesting pieces of rides past over in the graveyard, and then made our way up to the Sky Tower, passing by what was left of Spin Out. Although at the time it was too windy to go up to the new museum, Brandon, the mastermind behind it had taken the time to put out a small display to show us in the elevator, which I thought was really cool. By that time, it was time to head to Magic Moments for the 4:00 presentations to begin. After a fun group photo and video, we made our way in to find they had bottled water for us (another nice gesture) and the presentations began. First up was Neal Thurman, with a presentation about new attractions chain wide, and a talk about the IBU (Individual Business Units) and new additions for 2008. Then it was open for Q and A with park President Jay Thomas (who is the best thing to happen to SFMM in years), Tim Burkhart, and Neal. Although I personally felt that a few of the questions posed were a shade inappropriate for the venue, or maybe could have just been presented in a slightly different manner, the new management team did an outstanding job of answering them the best they could, assuaging concerns and offering insight into what appears to be a bright future for SFMM. No major secrets were revealed (although I think they made Sue Carpenter a bit nervous a few times with some very vague hints ) but they really did a great job with the questions that were asked. Tim's response to the question about why they are just now taking the initiative to fix the problems at SFMM was extremely honest and well said, I thought. Next up was Kevin from S&S, who did a great presentation talking about their product offerings; he was very good at addressing the questions people had, and his comments regarding X2 made me even more confident that both S&S and the park are really making every effort to make X2 a success on every level. He spoke a bit about the new El Loco coaster going into Indiana as well. As part of the presentation, he showed what looked to be a completely outrageous coaster, the 300' + "extreme" version of one of these which looks absolutely crazy, and also hinted that one of the "El Loco" rides is going somewhere on the West Coast.....let the speculation begin! All in all, a great presentation. Finally, we were treated to the big surprise of the night: ALL the coasters, as well as the Sky Tower museum, were going to be open to us at ERT. I had a thought this might be the planned "surprise", but then dismissed the idea as being about as far fetched as them having X2 open for the event. But no, this was for real. And quite an awesome surprise. I was floored by this one. We watched some retro Magic Mountain commercials, which I found very entertaining-my favorites being the Revolution commercials with the funny jingle, the superhero guy building Colossus, and the ones with the dolls and the retro 80's music telling people to go to Magic Mountain and "Get Some!"-and then some great clips from the upcoming DVD. When everything was over, I decided to go to put the camera in the locker. On the way, decided to go up in the Sky Tower and have a look. I passed by Johnny Rockets, thinking I should eat and that the food smelled great, but decided to pass and try Panda Express on the way to the locker. I went up in the Sky Tower, and although it was a bit dark up there the first time I went (Corey from CoasterRealm was actually helping them put in some lights) I was immediately impressed. Brandon deserves HUGE applause for this entire project-a great use of space and a job well done. Alas, it was too dark for me to get a lot of pics, but I will definitely be back to see this. Although the slightly swaying tower makes me a little acrophobic, that will not stop me from going back to see this attraction on a regular basis. Just amazing. I left long enough to go down and find Panda Express closed, and ended up getting a pack of candy from the Flags store to tide me over, and then it was time for the orgy of night coaster riding ahead. I made my way up the mountain, and as I was coming back down the mountain after an insane back row ride on Tatsu and front seat ride on Ninja, I ran into EBL again, and we went up and checked out the Sky Tower museum one more time. We stayed up there for a while and then left and did a couple of night rides on Ninja and Tatsu. The Tatsu crew announced they were running the last train at about 10, and we ended up heading over to Scream, where they had the music blasting and we got a front row ride with the train all to ourselves. By this time, it was nearly 10:30 and time to head out. They still had the trams running so we took the trams to the lot. I got to my car and went to put away my camera and..... Oh, no. I had left my camera in the locker in the park. So I had to walk all the way back to the front, rushing past everyone else that was leaving and thankfully, they let me back in to get it, and Neal opened up the locker for me. Which was good, not only because I got the camera, but because I got the chance to say thanks for an awesome event in person. I finally got back to the car and ended up being one of the last three cars out....I was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired. Stopped at am/pm and although I didn't get home until after 2am because of freeway closures and delays, thankfully I had taken today off. All in all, this was an incredible weekend-with the definite highlight being WCB. Truly an amazing event, and the best enthusiast event I have ever had the pleasure of attending. Thanks very much again to Robb and Chris for your part in putting this together, the planning and above and beyond hospitality of Jay, Tim and Neal, and all of the SFMM staff who went above and beyond to make this such a memorable event. Those who are still a shade skeptical of SFMM-you might want to reconsider your position: With the people in charge now, this park is destined for great things. While there may still be some issues, they know about them and are working on them. One thing is for certain: they are definitely listening and care about what those of us who frequent the parks the most have to say, and are trying to make this park a premier destination for not only GP but enthusiasts as well. And so far, it's working.

I am going to post a full TR with some pics later this evening (I just woke up a few hours ago and am glad I took the day off today to recover) but I can sum up how I feel about yesterdays event in one word: WOW. In a few more words, "absolutely the best enthusiast event I have ever attended". Major, major thanks to Robb and Chris, to Jay, Neal, Tim and the entire SFMM staff for such an awesome time. In addition, Brandon deserves a thread of his own just for the Sky Tower museum, that is one heck of an accomplishment, from taking the initiative to make it happen to the final product. (And special thanks to Neal for helping me get my camera out of the locker at 11pm last night, when I had to rush back to the park upon getting to my car and realizing I had left the camera in the locker!!!)

^The seats did seem a bit jerky in the rotations-however, the train is still only a week old. Tim did mention that S&S is already making some adjustments to the second train which is on the way which I guess are going to address things like that. I have confidence they will work out any remaining bugs before the ride finally opens.....

You should still definitely go!!!! I can say from experience that everyone at TPR I have met are all good people, and if you don't take a friend/friends with you, you will still have an awesome time as well as likely make some new friends while you're there. I have had friends who were supposed to attend with me who cancelled out, yet I still went by myself and had a great time.

I get it.....actually, with all of the time and care they have put into this, I don't doubt that it will be vastly improved. Here's hoping one of those behind the scenes tours this weekend will be a peek at the new trains and what they have been doing up in the station house. Another thing I have been wondering about.....if they were to revamp it yet again after this somewhere down the road, would they name it "XXX"?

I love the new X2 logo, it fits with the paint job and the "repackaging" of the ride very well.

^I think that's a pretty cool surprise.....I 'm guessing it will be someone involved in the creative team for X2. This is shaping up to be quite an event, really looking forward to it. Count me among those who has not seen anything disappointing at all.....you guys are doing a lot for this event and I think it will definitely be one to remember!

^Actually, it was ACE and RollerCoasterPro. They were pretty adamant about the fact that they would only allow ACE members or people who got a pass from RollerCoasterPro to attend-I think RCPro has some type of arrangement with them for their forum members. I am a forum member at RCPro, so I was going to try that when they wouldn't take my RideWorld member ID, but RCPro was down all day yesterday (actually, it's still down) and yesterday was the cutoff for Solace registration. The way we (I say we, because someone else was helping me with the issue as it took a lot of phone calls and being bounced around and I was at work all day in and out of meetings) were finally able to purchase a ticket was by being cordial but persistent. I'm a little disappointed in Knott's on the way this was setup, but I am grateful I was finally able to get a ticket. I have been an annual pass holder for over 4 years, and plan on continuing to renew every year; although the park as its ups and downs, I still love the place and I enjoy Solace. Perhaps WCB this year will be an inspiration for next year getting Solace back to the event that it used to be, and the issues of this year will be ironed out.

I will be at Solace as well.....was just barely able to get a ticket yesterday but will be there from 7am-midnight. Side note: Anyone notice a coaster missing from Solace this year? www.knotts.com/special_events/pdf/08WCS.pdf Montezooma's is not listed, and is not part of the ERT as well.....is it down for rehab or something?

I'm hoping to do a lot more this year than last year. I have five weeks of paid vacation (two rolled over from last year) so I want to take advantage of it! Definite: Winter Coaster Solace and West Coast Bash-March Knott's and SFMM Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta) Hard Rock Park (Myrtle Beach) Hopefully: Busch Gardens Europe The latter three will be part of my trip to see family on the East Coast in May or June. I might end up splitting that into two trips. I'm considering a few other trips as well, but they are dependent on a few factors. Once I get my new employees up to speed at work, finish some huge web development projects that will speed up workflow and streamline a lot of time consuming tasks, finish up some of the freelance projects I am working on and see what kind of budget I have, I may want to try to plan to add more to these trips or schedule some other ones.

Thanks for the update/pics/video!

Count me as one who would love to see more pics of the new trains! I was thinking about the tunnels last night again, and actually, with the new paint job and trains, I think they might end up being pretty cool. They definitely give the ride a very high-tech "modern" feel, which works. I would have been completely happy with no tunnels and just the new station setup, paint and trains, but this makes it even more interesting. I think the main factor which will make X2 a smoother ride rests in the new seats and the elimination of the two separate seats on the pickle forks for one unified seat. I'm thinking that as a result of the better construction and suspension on the seats that X2 will offer the same smoothness in both inside or outside rows and the decreased weight will take down the roughness in the back rows. (Although I hope they will still offer the opportunity to wait for the front row!)

Regarding the lack of fiberglass on the new X2 trains (aside from the seats, of course), I had actually thought of asking a question while at the DVD Party event (during the Q and A) as to whether or not there was concern for the elements having an effect on the gearboxes/mechanics of the train. The reason I didn't ask it was because after the presentation, I felt confident that they have taken all of the factors into consideration. My overall impression was that they have spent a lot of time, effort and money and have really done their homework on this one.

Ran across this: X2 Trains Arrive At Magic Mountain Apparently, two of them are already on site. Looks as if the restraints are red and black, and the seats blue. Everything looks to be going ahead of schedule, considering they aren't even finished painting yet!

Great update.....I had a great time at the event. Next time, I'm bringing the camera in. Still kicking myself for not doing so this time! Although I ended up spending more time at Knott's than Magic Mountain last year, there will be a lot more visits for me to SFMM this year. After hearing the details on X2 and all that they're doing, I feel confident that it will now offer a smooth ride in both the inside and outside seats, and that the entire ride experience-capacity and all-will be greatly improved. I can't express how grateful I am to SFMM for fixing up my all time favorite coaster and working to bring it to full potential. That was the one thing I wanted them to do more than anything. Really looking forward to West Coast Bash-the ERT (with my other two favorite coasters at SFMM, Tatsu and Scream, on the list) is great, but I'm really looking forward to the behind the scenes tours and other events.

Thanks to CoasterFanatics for the easy to fill out poll....I just filled mine out, since I didn't do any out of state coaster trips in 2007, my top five, all at Magic Mountain and Knott's, remained the same: 1. X 2. Tatsu 3. Silver Bullet 4. Scream 5. Goliath at SFOG The lowest one on my list remained Ninja at SFOG.....I still have no idea why SFOG kept that one and scrapped Deja Vu. Sure, Ninja may have more uptime, but it was the only steel coaster aside from Flashback that literally left me with a headache and severe pain. IMHO they should get rid of Ninja for a mid sized B&M floorless..... Hopefully I can add a few more parks, coasters and states to the list this coming year.