doh91105

Yeah, it's a pretty dramatic difference from its early runs -- but again, it's clear why they needed to do that. I can certainly relate to some of those near-black-out moments -- now it's much more tolerable. Still a fun ride! On the other rides, I'm not so sure. Most of the extreme face punching on Revolution takes place before it hits those brakes, so the purpose is clearly not to enhance the rides comfort. Same with Viper -- the MCB and that brake before the corkscrews only seem to draw out the violence even more. I actually found it more tolerable when it went through those transitions quicker -- now you're hanging in the restraint as it crawls through that last corkscrew. Of course I would only assume that the intent is to minimize the wear and tear of the tracks / trains. The neutering of Colossus actually seems more structural, though. I swear that first drop used to be steeper back in the day.

Last few times I rode Goliath, it pretty much stopped on the MCBR which made that dive off the brakes feel like Flashback's dive turns. But I can see why -- when it first opened, that final spin was incredibly intense. It seems that they have also slowed Viper, Colossus, and Revolution over the years too. Last time I rode Viper, it crawled through those corkscrews and I really thought Colossus would get stuck on that final turn before the bunny hills. I think I must be lucky -- I've never found Scream to be rough or shaky at all... in fact I much prefer it go something like Riddler's or Tatsu. It's not super thrilling, but has a good balance of elements, transitions, and speed -- and is way more comfortable than Tatsu / Riddler's "riding position" gimmick. My only issue is riding it three times in a row, it gets a little nauseating.

^^ Wow! Yeah, that'd be some flexing right there!

Just like some parks sell ponchos for the water rides, Knotts should sell fat suits for Ghostrider. Anyone noticed how much the structure flexes too? I know wooden coasters are supposed to, but if you watch the movement of the orange lights from the parking lot, that thing looks like it's shifting a few feet. Awesome!

Regarding Ghostrider, my girlfriend LITERALLY had to go to the chiropractor after riding it - nor could she work for the rest of the week. I took some family on it last year and, since I'd been on it before I was bracing myself like crazy. I had one arm over the side of the car and used it to pull myself into the seat to try and stay in one place. Well, by the time we got the photo hut at the exit, a bruise had started to form on the inside of my arm. By the end of the night, I kid you not, the whole inside of my arm from armpit to the middle of my forearm had turned dark purple and yellow. I didn't feel it happen on the ride -- and to be honest, I thought it was kind of funny. I was showing that bruise off for weeks afterward and considered sending Knotts a photo of it! As brutal as it is, I still love it. It's such a great design and is one of the only coasters I've ridden that feels so out of control that I seriously worry that it's not going to make it back to the station. My real fear, however, is on that second part after the hidden drop when it REALLY starts slamming you up and down. I'm terrified I'm going to lift off the seat and come back down on that center divider thing and spend the remainder of the ride straddling it. Irrational, I know, but the thought is there! Incidentally, the kids I took (ages 8 through 16) though it kicked the butt of any SoCal rollercoaster. I guess they can take a beating more than I can!

I think it's just different strokes for different folks. I do enjoy SFMM, but in small doses (like once every couple of years) and I was there a few months back to check out Terminator and had a great time. I agree completely -- some of them are so draining that I just don't even bother. I always get my butt kicked on Revolution, Viper, Colossus, Goldrusher, and X2 so unless they are a walk on, I'd rather pass. Batman is always fun and intense in a good way, but I find most B&M's to be kind of dull simply because of their extravagant size. And again, I agree and I think that's why Knotts is more to my taste (Ghostrider being the exception). They have thrilling rides that you can ride over and over but they are intermixed with more of a variety of different attractions. SFMM is all about how big and how fast we can get it and, I think, as a result, certain other aspects get left behind. Ugh... can't handle Boomerang at all! I have to respectfully cross swords with you on that one! When I was younger, SFMM was the holy grail -- and so I totally understand the appeal of bigger + faster = better. But as I've gotten older, I've found that my body prefers more of a balance -- and Knotts has that in spades. But again, it's a matter of different strokes for different folks... and besides, I though Flashback was a great ride -- a statement that I understand would have me tried for heresy in most coaster-weenie circles! What were we talking about again?

I rode it last year and got mildly splashed... about as much as the log ride. I was intimidated going on it for the first time because it looks intense and it's kind of rusty and rickety, but it did nothing for me at all. The drop really was just like getting tipped steeply forward then tipped backwards right away. The kids I was with were pissed that they didn't get wet, and I was just stoked that I didn't have to take them on it again! I guess I see the whole boardwalk thing but to be honest, there wasn't very much about that area that seemed boardwalk-esque to me... just a big open slab of cement with some 50's music playing. PP itself just looks like a huge metal structure. It seems that without a large body of water close by, the whole boardwalk theme would be tough to pull off convincingly and really PP just dumps into a paddling pool by comparison. Gotta say though that I do like Knotts more than most of the other parks in So Cal. To me, the rides are more varied and a couple of them are very intense compared to places like SFMM which (to me) seems to be all bark and no bite.

I rode Supreme Scream when it opened (a decade ago?) and kind of hated it because of the crazy nervousness and dropped stomach feeling. Then I took family from the UK there recently thinking I would skip that one and just watch, but I went on anyway. Being up at the top of that tower was terrifying but the drop did nothing for me. Rode it three more times and no funny stomach feeling at all -- it was more about the awesome view than anything! I got the feeling on California Screaming at DCA but not on Tower of Terror, and since Freefall is gone (that ride would do it EVERY time), there is nothing at SFMM that has that effect on me. But what's also interesting is that spin and puke rides never used to bother me -- but as I've gotten older, I can still ride them, but I definitely feel much worse than before I got on. I took a bunch of kids on Spin Out at SFMM and thought I was going to die afterward.

Definitely subject to taste as you can see from the discussion above. Both MM and Knotts are fun but really for different reasons. Obviously MM has all the huge roller coasters which, after you've done a couple, get kind of boring (how many different ways are there to get flipped upside down?) I find the B&M's all kind of similar and too sort of "glidey" to be thrilling; they just sort of meander around the track (except Batman, which pretty much hauls ass). Knotts is much smaller and easier to navigate; and despite their rides not being as technically impressive, in my humble opinion, they are quite a bit better than MM's. Xcelerator is worth the entry fee alone and I'd try and get as many rides in on that as you can. Ghostrider is a great layout with fantastic drops and turns, but unbelievably brutal--just brace yourself well and you'll be OK. Pony Express is a kiddie coaster although I don't think it was meant to be--as is Jaguar. The only difference is that Jaguar has a long circuit and is pretty rough as well. I never understood the Silver Bullet hating on here--it's not as forceful as Batman, and despite a crappy waste of a first drop, it's a pretty relentless ride--makes me dizzy every time due to the lack of block brakes. The weird flip thing, the zero-g and the corkscrew / spin part are all awesome. I prefer it to Riddler's, Tatsu, Scream et al. Sierra Sidewinder I find to be more intense than it looks and is definitely worth a ride. Montezooma's is fun, very much like the old Thunderlooper at Alton Towers. There's a great, nippy little log ride. Supreme Scream is cool (although not as intense as it looks). Perilous Plunge creeps me out (it just doesn't look or feel safe!) And then there are a ton of smaller flats and other cool things to do. As mentioned, the line for Ghostrider can be awful. And if you have to wait any more than 30 minutes for it, by the time you get on you'll be especially pissed at how bad it kicks your ass. If the line is out of the building switch backs, you'll be there for a while. Again, both are fun parks, and if you've been to MM before but not Knotts, I'd go there. I had family here from the UK last year and I took them to both and they all preferred Knotts' coasters to MM's. I wouldn't expect to be disappointed at all--it's a great, fun place. but I might be biased as I personally find smaller coasters such as Space Mountain and Sierra Sidewinder far more thrilling than MM's monsters. Size apparently isn't everything! Have fun!

Was there today (6/16) and it was pretty empty. Walked right onto Terminator first thing and yes, we were ushered straight through the pre-shows. Went back mid-afternoon and got the full experience. Like it has been mentioned, the rooms look cool and MM obviously went all out -- it just seems unnecessary for a park or ride like this. Like if it was for a dark ride, or something completely immersive, it might have been more appropriate. Was also surprised at the amount of staff they had patrolling the line -- we actually saw two kids get busted for line jumping... they were young and still gave the staff member a bunch of crap before they were removed. Real nasty pieces of work. But despite the amount of staff present, still lots of hyped up kids jumping barriers and we were shocked at how much of the metal work in the switchbacks and props had already been key-tagged. The audio is loud as it leaves the station and heads up the lift, but once it goes over the top and picks up speed, didn't hear any sound at all. In fact , on our second ride, the "Here they come!" part was missing and the "Take the tunnel!" part wasn't heard on either ride.The speakers all seemed to be present, none snapped off as mentioned previously, but the car we were in had a large chunk of black fiberglass chipped from the side exposing a white interior (when I say large, I'm talking like 12" worth.) Not sure how somebody could have done that -- maybe kicking it whilst getting in? This was our first ride on one of these new fangled woodies and while it was very short and relatively tame, it was much more fun than some of the other rides there. But I heard so many people talk about how smooth it is and we both felt that for a wooden coaster, yes, it was smooth -- but still hammered it's way around some of those low bumps pretty violently. I still think the track layout and design of Ghostrider is superior, if only it wasn't so incredibly rough. Really enjoyed the quick start of the pre-drop thingy but found that final figure 8 part that goes around the queue to be too spread out -- right before it you're getting thrown from side to side, up and down through the station and that tunnel, then it's big, sweeping turns. Would loved that last part to have been a continuation of complete madness and twisting track and disorientation. All in all, a fun and enjoyable family-style coaster and a good stepping stone to the bigger stuff.