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Apologies for this being up a little later than I had planned-and for the lack of photos (I am still kicking myself for leaving the camera in the car yesterday!) but I wanted to write down some of the highlights of the event. The nutshell version, for those who don't like long TR's: It was an awesome day, both the time at SFMM and the party at Robb & Elissa's, and once again, huge thanks to them and to everyone at the park who made it possible. The longer version: Woke up Saturday at 6am (amazingly, as I had not been able to get to bed until after 4am due to the insane work schedule demanded by my often obtuse boss, and a side freelance web development project I am working on that had a deadline of Saturday morning). After a disappointing call from a friend who was supposed to come with me telling me he was too sick to get out of bed and pounding some coffee, I headed up to SFMM about 7am from the far reaches of Mission Viejo. Due to good traffic, actually managed to get to Valencia in time for a fast coffee and muffin from AM/PM before arriving at the park at 8:50. Had a few minutes in the line of cars waiting for the gate for the parking lot to open to see painters hard at work on the painting of X in its new "X2" colors (which really do look good). Got up to the gate in plenty of time, got my wristband and nametag (I love the way Robb put real name and screen name on the name tags) and before long Neal Thurman, the Director of Operations for SFMM and Robb gave us the ground rules, and we were off into the park at 9:30 for ERT on Tatsu. There was a surprise added, though, as we were also informed that the newly painted Viper was available for ERT as well. Although I do enjoy Viper, I wanted to get on Tatsu more and headed up the hill. The Tatsu crew was in top form yesterday morning, efficiently running two trains and I managed to get five great rides on it-although after the first two consecutive rides in the back row, I had to move up front. Although X is still my favorite coaster , Tatsu is a very close second. It really is an awesome coaster, and I really enjoyed the opportunity for ERT on it. After the park opened and ERT was over, I headed towards the back of the park. Crowds were lighter than usual. Walked back and saw that Deja Vu was closed (the couple walking away from it said they were told it was closed all day, but it did reopen a few hours later). As I was walking down towards Scream to grab a few rides, I ran into the TPR group (who even had a TPR sign they were carrying, which I thought was a great idea.) I stayed with the group and rode Riddler's Revenge (two train wait for the front row), B:TR (pretty much a walk on, and the ride seemed smoother than normal), Colossus (rode in the front row-surprisingly, not all that rough-not the best wooden coaster I have ever been on, but definitely fun, as I had not ridden it in 8 years) and Scream (great ride as always, and also a walk on). At 11:30, we all met at Mooseburger Lodge for lunch. I wasn't sure what to expect, but when we got upstairs (which was all closed off for us) I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had laid out a custom buffet of Italian Food for us-several types of pasta, chicken alfredo, fresh mozzarella and parmesan, bread-and it was all extremely good. Arrived at the table to see they had place settings with a souvenir bottle with a t-shirt inside and a water, and a member of the wait staff came around and gave us the beverage of our choice. The wait staff was great as was the food, and they even surprised us with dessert-massive pieces of either chocolate or carrot cake. A few park staff members and wait staff came around and asked us how everything was, really giving us full service treatment. After lunch, Jay Thomas, the new Park President, Neal Thurman and Tim Burkhart announced that it was time for the park tour. We left and first went to see the grave of Flashback-folks, if anyone was under the hope that Flashback was returning, I am sorry to inform you that it will not be. We saw what was left (just random track and car pieces and ripped up rebar) and noted that there is a lot of room over there now, plenty of room for either park-HH or SFMM to expand. We then proceeded over to the site for Thomas Town, where we were given an outline of what was going on there. It too is a large area, one that offered some great vantage points of Goliath's first drop for those who were taking photos or video to take advantage of. The area itself sounds like it will be very nicely done and well put together when it is complete, and a great addition for families. Finally, the part of the tour I was most excited about: we got to go up to the X Station-and see the beginnings of X2. They have a banner up announcing X2 on the bridge I saw as we were walking up. Upon getting into the station, it was clear that not only is the ride being painted, but the station as well. At this point, Tim Burkhart and Jay Thomas gave us a run down of most of what to expect, and without giving too much away-next year X fans, myself included, will have a lot to be happy about with improved capacity, ride experience and more. I was extremely impressed with the amount of passion Burkhart has about getting the ride running as it should have been from the very beginning, and really he seems to know what he's doing. We also got a good behind the scenes look at X. We took a break for a while before the afternoon meet up, presentation, Q and A and video at the Magic Moments Theater (complete with a "Welcome Theme Park Review" on the marquee). I have to say that this was one of the most interesting parts of the event-Jay Thomas began highlighting some of the things the park has in store for 2008, not just the new Thomas Town or X2, but the positive overhaul of the infrastructure and operations of the park that is taking place: programs to improve the quality of the staff and the guest experience, keeping the park cleaner, offering a guest experience that is truly memorable in a good way. They showed some concept art from Thomas Town, and then Tim Burkhart did a presentation about X2-new trains, improvements to the station, and the overall ride. Everyone who loves X will be very pleased next spring. I know I am happier about X2 and the fact that they are doing what they are to the ride than I am any other new coaster addition I have heard about in 2008, and I am grateful they are really putting so much heart and effort into it and taking the measures to see that X runs better and more efficiently than it ever did. Then there was an extended Q and A session which was very candid and revealing (the only thing I will give away for now-is that it can be said for sure that the rumor about the back part of the park closing was false-the rest will have to wait.) Then there was the screening of the new Coaster Expedition 9 DVD-very well done and entertaining. Really made me wish I could go on one of these trips!!! Finally, after some final words-Jay, Tim and Neal got a well deserved round of extended applause from the audience and as we left, we all got an actual piece-part of a wheel assembly-from Flashback! They even went to the trouble of machining it down and drilling a hole in it for anyone who might want to hang it up somewhere (it's actually going on my Christmas Tree next year.....) I walked away from the event thinking, "these guys are serious". This wasn't PR, or lip service, these guys really are passionate about making this park shine like the gem it has the potential to. They are aware of the issues, and they are working to actually fix them rather than "spinning" it and saying, "Look! A new ride!" as the old management team did at times. Not only that, they truly do understand the importance of balance-creating a family environment while maintaining their reputation as the leader in thrills. One thing really stood out to me: they acknowledged that they understand that "thrill seeker" does not mean "rowdy teens who don't spend money in the park" or "troublemaker", and have a sense of appreciation for enthusiasts and coaster lovers as well as families who may not be there for coasters. I know I left there with the feeling that they care about what all of their guests want-not just enthusiasts, not just families, not just thrill seekers, but everyone-and want to provide them all with the best experience at the park possible. They understand the concept that you don't have to alienate one group to appeal to another and I feel that that will bring them success. The overall impression I got yesterday in between the things they are doing, the comments made, and the passion they have for doing things that appeal to the thrill seekers (X2) as well as appealing to families (Thomas Town, and other things you'll be hearing about soon) while keeping the park operations running smoothly left me with a very good feeling. They know the problems. They know things aren't perfect and want to know what else needs to be fixed. But they know what they're doing, and I think it is very probable that SFMM will be better than it ever has been as a result of their efforts. I stayed at SFMM for two final freezing rides on Scream and one on Tatsu in the back row, and arrived at Robb and Elissa's about 7:30. As usual, the party was awesome-the dinner was delicious, and I enjoyed the trivia-even took home a piece of Flashback track as a prize! It was great to get a chance to talk with people who I have not seen in a while and meet new people, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The entire day was a great escape from the stresses of my life, but I was tired and had to get back-so finally got some of the "Extra Caffeine" Mocha Coffee at AM/PM and hit the road home. Thanks very much again to Robb & Elissa, Jay Thomas, Neil Thurman, Tim Burkhart and the staff at SFMM for everything, it truly was a great event. Eagerly awaiting West Coast Bash this year!!!!!

I'm going to post a full TR tomorrow.....but for the moment, I just want to echo what others have said: this really was an awesome event, and thanks so much to Robb & Elissa as well as everyone at SFMM for putting it all together. I'll say this much for now, and more later: I think the park is definitely on the right track, and I predict very good things with the new management in place as well as the improvements that the park has planned for 2008!

I personally don't think that there will be another coaster or thrill ride added to the location where Flashback stood (unless, as Robb said, it would be one of the indoor coasters). If I recall correctly, a lot of the reason there were issues with Flashback running had something to do with it interfering with the lifeguards at Hurricane Harbor. My best guess is that they will either put an in-park entrance to Hurricane Harbor there, or add a water park attraction. Maybe one of the Deluge coasters, as others have suggested, or some sort of wet/dry play area. If SFMM does get another coaster in the coming 3-4 years, I am guessing it will be one of three types-one of the indoor coasters, a Tony Hawk coaster, or a wooden coaster and that it will go where Psyclone once resided and in the area near that space in the back of the park. They could use any of the above three. If the get another thrill ride other than a coaster, I see them putting in a drop tower of some kind to replace FreeFall. I had a thought once that they might do what Great Adventure did and replace their Viper with an El Toro as well, since they have two sit down looping coasters in Scream and Revolution already and could use a good wooden coaster, but I don't see that happening, at least not anytime soon. Whatever the case-although Flashback and Psyclone were unique rides, the time had come for them to be a part of the past. I have to say I'm impressed with all of their recent decisions at SFMM-getting two problematic coasters with little or no ridership out, the success of their latest big coaster addition in Tatsu (although they need to be running all three trains and both stations on busy days!), fixing the issues with X, adding more family attractions for balance, and overall park improvements. It's a long slow process, but I think that in the coming years, this place will be making a huge comeback.

What already promised to be a cool event before this latest news just got even better! Look forward to seeing you guys there.

What I'd really like to see is for SFMM to invest about $10 Million to completely refurbish (including new, redesigned better trains), repaint and repackage X like it was a brand new ride.....they could call it "X Squared"! Oh.....wait......never mind! Kidding aside, that was the one wish I had for a local park more than any other new ride (although I am hoping the capacity is improved enough that X2 eventually gets FlashPass.) I would like to see SFMM continue to clean up their act, and in addition to X2 also improve the throughput on one of their other star coasters, Tatsu. And, they seriously need some new and better food options at the park. The last time I ate there it was better than usual, but they really need another good sit down restaurant other than Mooseburger Lodge. They also should consider adding some more shows/entertainment, especially courting the family market now as well as the thrill seekers.

Good TR, and good pics! I was at Knott's the day before that and it was far more crowded, so it looks like you got a break as far as lines and crowds. I usually go Christmas Eve, but had to be home all day on Christmas Eve this year. A few comments that came to mind- -I still enjoy GhostRider, even though I have to ride the front seat. While the front is smooth, there still are a few rough moments, in my opinion. It is still a good coaster, and the only wooden coaster still in my Top 10. -I have never understood the opinion some people have of Silver Bullet being a bad coaster. I actually prefer it to B:TR, mostly because it is very re-rideable. It does not have quite the intensity of other coasters I enjoy a great deal (X, Tatsu, etc) but it's a really fun ride. For some reason it reminds me of Scream at SFMM. -Perilous Plunge: I think it's a great ride, mainly because of the drop which offers a sensation I have not been able to find on any other ride, but that's all there is to it. Add to that the fact that you get insultingly wet, and that's the reason I thought one ride on it was enough. I would ride again if I was at the park with someone else who wanted to ride it, and if I had brought an extra change of clothes (as I am glad I did the time I did ride it). The only ride I have never ridden at KBF is Riptide-one of these days I might. I'm really not too much on flat rides, preferring coasters, water rides that don't get you too wet, and dark rides, although I do enjoy La Revolucion, Screaming Swing and the Wave Swinger at Knott's. -The fact that the big lines were for the family rides likely has a lot to do with the park's decision to add another new family coaster at the park next year -In re Coasters: I have had both good and bad experiences dining there. Once I had the worst food experience I have ever had at KBF there, with ridiculously slow service, order completely incorrect and horrible food, the other with passable food but excellent service. These days I stick to Johnny Rockets, TGI Fridays, the Potato Cheese Soup at the Chowhouse or something from the Bakery in Ghost Town. I look forward to Panda Express, as well.

^Considering that they just moved the water massage place back to that area, reopened Thrill Shot, and recently opened the new Cold Stone back there, I don't think they are going to close that area of the park. In re Jet Stream and Deja Vu-I think at least Jet Stream will be staying, Deja Vu I am not certain about. Although I don't envision SFMM getting any more coasters for a while, the area where Deja Vu is and where Psyclone was would be a prime location for a new coaster in a few years. I would not be the least bit surprised if the entire area gets an overhaul in a year or two, with another kids' area and a new coaster of some kind-not necessarily any type of record breaker, but a decent sized coaster-maybe a wooden coaster the size of the new one going into SF St Louis.

I was at Knott's all of yesterday afternoon and evening (from about 2:30-8pm). I usually go every Christmas Eve, but this year I needed to be home today (amazingly enough, employer gave us from the 21st-2nd off-well, not technically "off" as most of us are still doing a lot of work from home this week, but still.....) The park was a lot more crowded than I had expected it to be, but the crowds thinned a little around 5:30-6pm. The lines for GhostRider and Silver Bullet were moving very fast, and even Xcelerator (with one train operation) only took about 30 minutes. I waited on the Log Ride until the line died down after dark, and that was also a 20 minute wait. The longest wait I had all day was a half hour for Supreme Scream, which was only running one tower towards the end of the night. Great ride, though-it's running better than it used to, in my opinion-it seems like in addition to the hold time at the top now being only about 3 seconds, the bounce back up after the drop seems more powerful. GhostRider was running smoother than it had been, although still a bit rough to me. Finished the night off on Silver Bullet, which is running even better than it was before the recent rehab. The Panda Express really does look nice, and looks fairly close to being ready to open. They have some of the menu boards up inside. I am wondering if it will qualify as a sit down restaurant and offer the 20% passholder discount..... I went in the recently reopened Nature Center, to find that they have taken out the display case full of walking sticks (which always creeped me out anyway, I HATE those things) although they still have an open cage of them out of the table-and they have taken out the Bigfoot stuff (including the "petrified bigfoot crap") they used to have just inside when it was over by the Rapids. Pony Express-those pictures pretty much say it all. Some footers are set and ready to be poured, others they appear to be digging. I didn't see any sign of supports anywhere in the usual places in the overflow lots, etc. I was surprised how much of Boot Hill they have messed with but it looked like they plan on restoring it all when the ride is done. Hopefully, the grave of Lester Moore ("Who Died by a .44-No Les, No More") will be put back, to prevent any possibilities of angry imaginary spirits jinxing the ride. While I was hoping for another big coaster at Knott's, I think the new addition will be great for the park, add to the theming, and bring life to an area of the park that needed it. Overall, I had a really good visit to the park, considering how crowded it was and managed to get on about 10-11 rides in the short time I was there. Everything was clean, the park was well decorated for the Holidays and I have to say that I am pretty impressed with how they are trying to work on the theming with the Pony Express and the Panda Express.

^I actually own that video (somewhere), and bought it on my first visit to SFMM. I think the name of it is "Go For A Ride". I don't recall Flashback being on there, but ShockWave is.

I agree with that.....I think that is the best X has ever run in the 3-4 years I have been riding it. It's always been my #1 coaster since the first time I rode it, but yesterday it was remarkably smooth and those were the best dispatch times I have ever seen. Was good to see you, Robb, Elissa and KidTums there last night. I actually had what I think was one of the most enjoyable visits to SFMM I have ever had yesterday (a remarkable contrast to the miserable trip I had up there in October where I sat in 4+ hours of traffic to get there and waited in a three hour line for X only to have it break right before I got on). I needed to go up there anyway to get my 2008 Xtreme Pass, which I had already bought online, and when I got up and saw the kind of day it was as well as realized it was the final day for "Xv1" to be in operation, I decided to head up there for the afternoon. Made good time, and good gas mileage in my new Saturn (first time I have driven it up to SFMM) and got there about 1:45 to find the parking lot looking pretty empty. To add to that, I saw that X, Tatsu and Scream were all running two trains. But that wasn't the only good thing. There were some great differences in other areas besides just the rides. Every single employee I talked to or that waited on me there was courteous and helpful, from the Season Pass people, to the people waiting the counter in the Plaza Cafe where I grabbed a snack early on, to the people I asked for the time, to the ride ops. All of the ride ops I encountered-even the X ride op-were dispatching with an "Enjoy Your Ride on _____" and all the crews I saw were acting professionally, being very focused, and doing their job. The park was cleaner than I have seen it in a while, and the Christmas music and decorations were a nice touch. While I was there, I noticed the walls up for Thomas Town, and there were crews painting Viper all day (although those paint fumes were getting a bit noxious towards the end of the day). I managed to get a total of six front row rides on X as well as two front row rides on Scream and two back row rides on Tatsu in the time I was there. I had Flash Passes, but only used one for Tatsu early on in the day. The X crew was the most impressive, I only saw them stack once or twice the time I was there and the longest wait I had was about 20 minutes as they had "minor technical difficulties", which were fixed in less than 10 minutes. The ride itself was smooth even in the outside seat, but the first and last rides I took on the front seat/stairs side/inside seat were almost B&M smooth to me. I talked to one ride op who mentioned that the tunnel would end up being cool, I still know nothing about it aside from the fact that I heard it is going in between the station and the lift hill. I genuinely hope that whatever they will be doing when X goes "under the knife" over the next few months is a continued improvement, and that the new trains make it even better. I'm thinking, and hoping that the third time is the charm with this one and they have finally resolved all of the issues with the trains this time. S&S, please get this one right! Also got one last night ride in on Tatsu a couple of minutes before the park closed-that thing is absolutely insane in the back row at night! If the park can improve on X (uptime, dispatches, and smoothness) even more with the rehab, and they keep up the good customer relations I saw yesterday, I will be spending a lot more time there this coming year than I have the past year.

From what I understood from the interview with Stan Checketts at IAAPA that was on the CoasterCrew site, there will be three trains, and that although each will be 1/3 lighter than the current trains with a slightly different design (the one shown in the pics) that the seating configuration of 7 rows/28 people per train will remain the same (although I am doubting they will run more than 2 trains at once). The restraints appear to be electronic rather than hydraulic on these new trains as well. Pretty much everyone has said the station is being redone with one load/unload station, but I hope the dropping floor rumor is true as well. I am not sure on the tunnel, but my guess it that the current unload station will be the new station, and the old station to the lift hill will be the "tunnel". Curious to see what exactly they have in store!

Actually, I think there is a comment on the recorded instructions on X to bring the shoulder harness down until it is touching your shoulders, but they need to be clearer about that. The restraints definitely need to be snug. The only ride I have ever had on X where I got tossed around a bit was when I didn't have the harness tight enough. Other than that, I have had good rides on both inside and outside seats in rows 1-4. Outside seats were slightly more turbulent the further back in the train, but still tolerable. I think the new trains may actually be an improvement over the Eejanaika trains, as they look rather different. Hopefully, third time is the charm in this case. It's a great ride, and I would like to see them get it right this time. Another thing I noticed, looking at the photos of the train-there is no longer a manual release pedal for the restraints. I am assuming the new system is handled electronically. It will be interesting to see all the revisions they are going to make to the station, etc. as well as the load and unload procedures. I've heard conflicting rumors on whether or not there will be a dropping floor or not, so I'm anxious to see if they do that or not. I'm heading up this coming weekend to get one or two last rides in on "X1" before the transformation-does anyone know if they have been running one or two trains for X on Saturdays? The last time I went, it was one train op and over two hours in line only to have it break down right before we got on (which is another reason I am very grateful they are making the upgrades to the ride, even if that means I won't be able to ride it again until spring!)

Great update! I sincerely hope that the other potentially drastic change does not involve making X an upcharge attraction. I would wager that it involves either: -A new paint scheme (I hope the blue and green isn't true) -Ride being re themed and/or renamed -Adding X to FlashPass again -Dropping floor in the station -Less cars per train than the ride currently uses, and three train operation Whatever the case, this is great news about the X rehab. Hopefully, the newer trains will improve the ride experience even more (although I read that the rough rides are still to be had on Eejanaika, I wonder if the improved trains will do better on X, as X is not as tall and fast and has less "new" elements) and the station adjustments should improve capacity, especially if they were to do the dropping floor. I'm also kind of hoping that once they do all this, they will add a mural of X to the "Greatest Coasters Wall"-last time I was there I saw one space-the first space with just a park logo-that they could use for it. I'm was never that big of a fan of Shapiro, but the fact that he is willing to spend this much time, money and effort to keep X up and running as well as maintain the other big thrill coasters at the park (Tatsu, Goliath, Scream, Riddler's, B:TR) shows me that he acknowledges thrill seekers as well as the family market. Speaking of which, the proposed area for the new children's area is pretty good. I think they should keep the antique car ride, though, as very few parks still have them. That's too bad about FreeFall, I thought it was going to be sticking around after all. One thing I have been wondering about since the last time I was at SFMM a month or two ago: There was a ton of new merchandise, including a coffee cup I bought featuring "all" the coasters at the park; Flashback and Psyclone were not on any of these items, but neither was Deja Vu. I'm hoping it's not about to go as well; not that I am a huge fan of it, but they do need a coaster of some kind back in that corner of the park. Although, with SFI allegedly investing in some new wooden coasters at other parks this season, the rumors of Deja leaving, and the fact that they might be putting the new children's/family area in the front of the park, it makes me wonder if perhaps a really good wooden coaster might surface in that space in a few years.....

While I'm not too thrilled about a Panda Express replacing the shooting gallery (they should have gone with something that fit the theme of the area better), I personally prefer KBF since Cedar Fair took over as I think they have made some decent additions ride wise that the park needed. Up until GhostRider, the park did not even have a full circuit coaster that could run more than one train other than the ultra-tame Jaguar. Now they have a decent selection of coasters and still have a lot of the classic attractions such as the Log Ride, Calico Mine, etc. I will agree, they could pay more attention to the theming and I'd like to see them do a little better upkeep on GhostRider than they do. In re theme parks verses thrill parks-I think the best parks are the ones that offer a balance between family rides and thrill rides. For a good example of parks that execute this concept well, look at the Busch parks, Hersheypark and to a certain extent, the Silver Dollar City/Herschend parks. Six Flags in the past was going for pure thrills (until the new management came in and are not taking it to the other extreme, but with where they were when the new management took over, that strategy could actually result in them achieving a balance), and Disney goes for all family rides, no big thrills. Not every park has to be an extreme of one demographic or the other. One of the things I respect about Cedar Fair is that they seem to get the idea of adding attractions for both groups and have done so consistently without overdoing it like the prior Six Flags management did. If some of the rumors I keep hearing about what is on the way for Knott's in the next year or two turn out to be true, one group of people will be really happy and the other will be upset, although with the conflicting hearsay it's tough to say which group that will be. (There's two different rumors I've heard around, one of another big thrill coaster and one for another family coaster). Whatever the park gets, or even if they don't get anything, I like the place the way it is and would keep going.

I'm amazed at all the negative feedback this ride has gotten, I thought it would have been received a lot better. IMHO it looks like "If B&M had designed Millennium Force (with more airtime and less downtime? )" and I thought a lot more people would have been looking forward to it. I have to say that I personally don't care for the name (although I think it's a pretty amusing jab at Six Flags), and I'm a shade skeptical of the new trains (and am guessing that was a Cedar Fair request rather than B&M's idea) but the ride looks awesome-I don't think the one row of four seats missing will kill capacity-32 people + three trains should be fine. As far as the trims-yeah, that's too bad, but I think it's better to ride first and decide if they have a negative effect or not. The way I see it, they're in place for safety and to prevent wear and tear and not to be deliberately detrimental to the ride. I'd rather see a few brakes than a lot of breakdowns.....

^If I recall correctly, the art of Scream's mural is taken from the original concept art they had released for the ride, which had the trees like that. I think this might be the case, as they used Tatsu's concept art for that mural. That being said, even though I enjoy Scream despite the lack of landscaping, it would be nice to see them put in a few trees and rocks or something. Maybe that is something they are planning to do in the future. As far as X and Deja Vu not having murals-I wouldn't read too much into their not having X listed on the "Greatest Coasters" wall, they seem pretty proud of it as one of their star attractions (They have X as one of the "highlighted" coasters on the park's home page, are featuring it very prominently right along with Tatsu and Goliath in their latest advertising, and I assume they are still about to get new trains which will hopefully improve capacity and ride experience) and we might see it up there yet. I'm not sure on Deja Vu, as I never see it in advertising or bring hyped up on their site, but I don't see any reason why they would not add it as well. Since X and Deja Vu were "technically" both announced for 2001 (even though X was delayed until 2002) they might replace one of the older coaster murals with one featuring both of them. The park really seems to be doing better, I think perhaps new management has a good idea of how to polish what is a diamond in the rough. If they keep on with the trend of improving upon the assets which they have rather than adding a ton of new stuff, continue to make improvements like more and better food choices, and improve ride operations and throughput on Tatsu (last time I was there the wait was absurd) I think they're on a good track.

Looks like a pretty good coaster, well paced and appears to interact with the midways a lot. The layout seems as if parts of it were inspired by Silver Bullet at Knott's. Looks as if the theming on the trains and the station is pretty detailed as well.

I can't think of any offhand that really scare me about going on now, but I can think of one in the past that scared me to death. The most terrified I think I have ever been going on any coaster was my first time on Xcelerator at Knott's. It wasn't because of what the ride did, I was actually looking forward to the launch and the vertical drop. It was all psychological, due to a recurring nightmare I had when the ride first opened. In the dream, I was waiting in the station and the red train launched too fast, went up to the top of the top hat with too much speed, and instead of going over the train unhooked from the track, separated and plummeted into the intersection outside the park, annihilating everyone on board. This dream continued to replay itself over and over in my head the entire time I was in line and by the time it was time to board, I was a nervous wreck. The operator who checked my restraint had an honest look of concern on her face, but I told her I was fine (my friend says I had gone white by that point, but he was pretty nervous as well). Watching the traffic light count down seemed like it took forever. But what a ride-I ended up absolutely loving it and since then have been on it hundreds of times. The only other rides that made me more than a little nervous the first time were Supreme Scream (some of that had to do with one of the people I was riding with saying, "wow, my ears just popped, this is like being as high as an airplane"-she had a knack for saying things like this-and to this day I don't always like the climb up but I love the drop and most times even put my hands up when the car releases) and Acrophobia and Deja Vu at Six Flags Over Georgia-I enjoyed those as well, although I found Deja Vu a bit disappointing after all I had been told about it. Goliath at SFMM freaked me a little the first time due to the height, but now it doesn't bother me. Any other time a ride has made me anxious, it has been more excitement than fear. I had a sense of not knowing what to expect my first time on Riddler's Revenge and Tatsu, but neither one had me scared. (The Dive Machines look like coasters that might give me the good kind of anxious, with the holding brakes on the drop, which is why I am really looking forward to the chance to riding one!) I recall having some mild butterflies my first time on X at SFMM while I was in line, but once on the ride and going up the lift I was not nervous at all but excited (mainly because I felt really secure and comfortable in the restraints and because I had been looking forward to being able to ride it for so long) and ended up loving it; I was too amazed by the ride to be scared by it; just the outrageousness of the coaster alone makes it enjoyable to me. It took me three or four rides on X to really appreciate the experience because the first time was just an enjoyable blur that left me with a case of dry mouth and thinking "What exactly just happened?!?", now it's my all time favorite. As far as rides I haven't ridden yet? I'll admit, there are three that make me nervous: Top Thrill Dragster, Kingda Ka, and Millennium Force-either because of the extreme height (I start to get edgy over 250 feet) or the fact that in the case of two of those, it's just the lap bar and seat belt holding you in. Over time, my desire for going on more intense rides has surpassed my mild acrophobia, so I'm sure I will eventually be able to get on them too. One thing I have discovered and that I tell anyone who is nervous about a ride is this: In my experience, most of the time, the scarier, more outrageous and extreme it looks, the better the ride will end up being and you will usually end up really enjoying it and get off and want to go on it again!

Overall, I thought it was a good ride.....it's much better and makes a lot more sense than the emasculated boat ride that it replaced! The Good: -The ride is smooth, runs very comfortably (although taller people might find the seats a little tight) and is a lot of fun; found myself smiling and laughing the entire time. -I thought the best parts were the horseshoe turn above the queue and the helix, all of the banked parts -It is a really good addition to the park for families, especially with the height requirement (they needed a good coaster the whole family could ride together and enjoy and now they have one; now if they would just make Jaguar a 42" height requirement.....) The Not As Good: -A little short, it could have been a little bit longer ride time -They really, really need to run two trains. I only waited for it once due to the wait time and the unshaded line. I am hearing that the reason for only one train was due to the time constraint and trying to get it open for riders by yesterday, hopefully they will fix that soon. -The spinning could have been a little bit better, I was expecting the cars to spin more. Only the back seemed to have a lot of spin on it..... What's really amazing is how they fit it in. The front of Knott's is looking very RCT now with all the coasters so close together and on top of each other!

Oh no, I haven't given up at all.....if my friends had not wanted to leave, I would have been fine with staying to close, and I feel sure that I will be returning many more times over the summer. I can see and understand and accept that point of view.....I do agree that they should be trying to fill as many seats as possible. The point that I was making, and one of the reasons my friend got so upset was that this had never happened in the past. I had one instance a month or two ago back shortly after X reopened, where a different grouper on the stairs side first assigned me to sit on back row/outside. I politely asked, "Could I please get a seat closer to the front of the train if at all possible? I don't mind waiting a few minutes extra." I would have been fine with rows two, three or four, but I stood aside, he let a few more people and then told me I could go ahead to the first row. So a lot of the upset was because it was unexpected, he was already frustrated with the crowds, and he felt as if the employee was a bit rude about it and even more upset that the two girls got to go where they wanted. I wanted the front too, but I was just happy the ride was open and to be able to ride and get on so fast with that crowd there, and I am not generally one to complain as much. Besides, I think the crew since X has reopened is doing a fantastic job of making it work as efficiently as possible. Very much so, at least IMHO. The back row of Tatsu, especially at night, is one of the most forceful rides I have taken on a coaster. You are practically hurled through all of the elements and I cannot even think of words to describe the Pretzel Loop, yet the whole experience is smooth as glass. IMHO, any seat on Tatsu will give a great ride, but the very front and the very back are unique experiences. I agree with that.....actually, I agree with both sides on the issue to some point; I see why they do assigned rows and why it's necessary (moving the line), but not everyone does ask for the front or back or a specific seat and it shouldn't be that much of an issue. I can guarantee you, if the operator had politely said to us, "I'm sorry, but due to how busy it is we are not allowing any preferred seating today", rather than "no", and had he not allowed anyone in front of us an alternative, then my friend would not have gotten nearly as upset as he did and would have been a lot more understanding. His comment to me as we were going up the lift was that in customer service, you never tell a customer "No", but you either offer an alternative, you explain why the policy is in place and you are unable to meet their request, or you do what you can (within reason) to make the customer happy. And if you have a policy, don't be selective about enforcing it-it should be consistent for everyone.

I had posted some thoughts in the update thread, but wanted to post a TR from yesterday. Unfortunately, don't have pics this time, but just wanted to point some stuff out. I had originally planned to go yesterday with a friend of mine who couldn't make it, but fortunately, two of my friends from out of town called on Thursday to say they would be in LA this weekend and were going to SFMM to renew their Xtreme passes. I arranged to meet them at their hotel in Pasadena around noon yesterday, we got some quick lunch and headed for the park. Having heard that X was down all week, we were thrilled to see it cycling with both trains as we drove from the freeway up to the parking area. I will kind of highlight the good, bad and ugly of the day for the rest of this: The Good: -X!!!Amazingly, not only was X back open, but it was running great and even though the line was down on the bridge it only took 1 hour and 20 minutes to get on, and the ride was great, was smooth even back in the 4th row. Some of the fastest dispatches I have ever seen. -Tatsu-while the line was very long, Flash Pass lines were both open and both running rather smoothly. They were running all three trains and both stations and both Flash Pass sides had at most a 10-15 minute wait. Ops seemed to be more on top of things than usual. Saw a ride op take a minute to take a photo of people with their camera before they rode which I thought was a nice gesture. Ride was great as always, my friend decided that Tatsu is now his favorite, due to overall ride experience, how well it was engineered and the sense of flight. (I had to agree to disagree; while Tatsu is one of the best coasters I have ever experienced, it can't overtake X as my all time favorite!) -Scream-this seems to be the only ride where the ops really get into interacting with the riders ("Let me hear you Scream!" as they dispatch.) Was a 20 minute wait for the front with Flash Pass and the rattling I experienced in my ride on it a month ago seems to not be happening anymore. -ALL of the listed coasters and water rides (I'm not counting Flashback here), at least as far as I could tell seemed to be running AND running to capacity with 2-3 trains. Even Sky Tower was running, although my friends did not want to go up there so we skipped it. Considering the massive crowd, the ops seemed to be going well. -The new entrance/plaza area over by Deja Vu looks very nice -New park maps and guides look good as well. -The new things that they have added for guest interaction, such as the Stilt People and the Spontaneous Fun Machine are great and people seem to love them. -It's good to see them getting some better food options-such as Johnny Rockets and Cold Stone into the park. (Just a thought, they should have "Coming Soon" on the maps though, as the maps make it sound as if they are already open.....) The Bad: -Well, bad for those who don't like crowds but great for the park, it was more crowded yesterday than I have seen it since the summer. The whole parking lot was full, and the overflow lot was nearly full. We had to park at the far edge of the gravel lot, way down past Scream. As the wait for a tram was taking too long, we walked the whole way there going in and when we left. -The inside of the park was wall to wall people as well; there was a good 45 minute wait for Flash Pass and 20-30 minute waits for the women's restrooms (my friend's wife waited at least that long twice). We were there for two hours before we were even able to get in line for the first ride. -No preferred seating on X (I don't know about Tatsu as we used Flash Pass). I understand the reasoning if they are doing this, especially given the crowds, but I think they should post a sign at the entrance stating the "new"policy (or the enforcing of an old one) and the reason for it, which I assume is strictly to move people through as quickly as possible. -Did see a few people with cameras and cell phones on Tatsu in full view of the employees, which can't be good; although I did not see any ops on phones, which is good! The Ugly: -Overflowing trash cans all the way from the far end of the parking lot to the entrance, and inside the park. Several of them by the tram stops were spilling over on to the ground. Not the best first impression. -The bathroom situation. Not only did my friend's wife have to wait in 20-30 minute lines just to use the restrooms, she said they were filthy inside. All of the men's restrooms I went in were rather dirty as well. -After we waited for a long long time-at least 40-45 minutes to get our Flash Passes, we saw why: one girl working one register in the Flash Pass center. Given that later in the day we saw two employees over cleaning writing off of the poles in the X queue, couldn't someone have gone and helped someone out in Flash Pass? -The X incident-although I give the X crew (as well as other ride crews) tremendous kudos for running the line so well, and keeping on top of their game, it seems like they might be allowing pressure to move the line override customer service, and I will explain why: We get up to the split point where they send us up the ramp side, then we get up to the station where the grouper is letting people in. He tries to send two girls up ahead of us to the front, they don't want to ride front, so he sends them to another row. We get there and he assigns us to row 4. We politely ask him if we may wait for the front row, and he flat out says "No" and directs us to row 4. Not, "No, I'm sorry, but we are not allowing that anymore" or "due to how busy it is we can't allow preferred seating today" or "wait here for a few and I will see what I can do"-just "no". While I was disappointed, and I understand the rationale and the pressure these guys had to be under yesterday, my friend was beside himself with anger; he had just spent all this money on passes, and we had been at the park for over three hours and not yet ridden anything and it was kind of the last straw that a simple request to ask for a row was declined and that he felt the guy was being rude. He was ready to go down to Guest Relations and complain, and get a refund for their passes and leave for the day after the ride never to return. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the ride, I bought a photo and talked to him about it and we ended up staying at the park for a few more rides. I am going to write to Guest Relations about it, I'm not sure what he is going to end up doing. Was he out of line for thinking the grouper could have handled the situation a little better? I can see both sides of the issue-I know they have to keep the line going, but I just don't see how asking to wait for the front rows should be a problem. -Line jumpers/security; we saw a great deal of line jumping, or attempted line jumping but it did not seem like they had sufficient security in place-although again, it was very busy. My friend said he saw a lot of people flashing gang symbols as well and was upset about that. We were there until about 8-8:30pm, and got to ride X, Tatsu and Scream; I wanted to stay longer but they were driving and wanted to go because of the crowds and because my friend was still angry over the crowds and what happened up at X, so we gave away what Flash Passes remained to some nice people we had met in line, and walked the long walk back to the car before leaving and going to dinner at El Torito and then hanging out at their hotel watching SNL. Overall, considering how crowded it was, I think the park handled it well.....but I think there are still things they need to work on in regards to training, staffing, and making best use of staff where it is needed. I think the new X trains will be a good thing, as well as continuing to work on adding little things like the entertainers to enhance the atmosphere but the main thing I think they need to focus on is maintaining and improving the speed of operations while still focusing on overall customer service and all of the little things that are really big things (clean restrooms, emptying trashcans, etc). If they can do as good as they did yesterday considering the crowd, and improve on it just a little more, I think they're going to have a good season this year.....

Don't know if anyone has seen these yet, but here are some more pics I found from the preview center: www.discovermyrtlebeach.com/attractions/hardrockthemepark.cfm I am really looking forward to this park; already planning to go out there next May sometime when I do my annual trip to visit family and SFOG. The coasters-especially the B&M-look great, and the atmosphere and theming look like a lot of fun. It looks like they are going to hit a home run with this one with a good balance of rides and attractions for all ages. The only thing I found surprising is the lack of any kind of water ride like a log flume (I thought for sure the Reggae River Falls was going to be a flume ride when I heard the name). I'm also interested to see what the dark ride will be all about. I'm guessing something like a Beatles theme (Magical Mystery Tour?) or if they are going for the spooky feel, something themed to Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare".

^Actually, Tatsu was doing slightly better yesterday. It was running three trains and both stations, as well as both sides of Flash Pass yesterday, and was only a 10 minute wait with Flash Pass, although the regular line stretched all the way down to where Ninja crosses over the pathway. The line for X was averaging a 1.5 hour wait yesterday, and I heard reports of 2-3+ hours for the non-Flash Pass line for Tatsu. I believe it as I don't think I have seen it this crowded since the summer. The parking lot was full yesterday, and we parked at the far edge of the gravel/overflow lot when we got there at 2. Even the bathrooms had lines. So with that considered, the crews were doing a pretty good job. I might post a full TR here in a few. As far as what happened with X, all that I heard was that there was a malfunction with a part at the top of the lift last week and they were able to get a new part in and get it replaced by yesterday. I seriously think the lift problems have a lot to do with the trains/weight of the trains. There are allegedly new trains on order like the improved ones for Eejanaika that will go in for next season. From what I have been hearing, they will be the same size, and not less rows but just lighter and sporting the on board computer that the Eejanaika trains have. In re the seating, while I understand it may be necessary, if they are moving to an assigned seating system, I think that needs to be posted or they need to have a response ready for people who request specific seats as to why they are doing no preferred seating rather than just a curt "no". While I was disappointed that we couldn't wait for the front, the friend I was with was absolutely furious about it and even more so that he felt the grouper was being rude about it.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see X not only open, but running two trains and having a surprisingly fast moving line yesterday with one of the fastest crews I have ever seen. It was running well, and it was even smoother than usual in the 4th row. However, I was a little upset about what seems to be a new "no more preferred seating" rule; when my friend and I asked to wait for the front row, we were told "no" in no uncertain terms by the grouper. They might have to do this due to the huge crowd yesterday and to keep the line moving, but it seemed as if they were being a little unnecessarily strict about it.

^I think that the element after the second vertical loop might actually be an inclined loop rather than a helix...... I think the coaster looks great, and definitely seems to be a bit of a departure from the standard B&M looping or floorless coaster layouts (pre-drop, curved drop, loop, dive loop, zero G, cobra roll etc.). I love the fact that it drops right off the top of the lift and has a zero-g roll over the water. I am guessing that due to the length it will likely have two trains and no MCBR, although it could have three trains and that spot before it drops into the corkscrew/helixes could be an MCBR. In any case, I think B&M gave them exactly what they wanted-a high capacity crowd pleaser with a proven design and elements, and it should do great for them. The one thing I am really surprised about is that the park (from the available renderings) does not seem to have a water/flume ride anywhere-unless one of the Premier coasters is a water coaster. I would think they would at least have a traditional flume ride somewhere (or maybe they do and just have not announced it yet). So far this looks like an awesome park-maybe if it does well they will eventually get another one on the West Coast. I could see this potentially doing really well in Vegas......