WFChris

^ Oh believe me, I have seen them, I just thought it was time to speak up on my thoughts! NOT that I do not enjoy them, I do!!! Its always nice to see reports that are not your run-of-the-mill panorama shots. Oh, and I like your shots of Perilous Plunge. I dont know why I am such a fan of that ride but I AM! Chris.

This is one bizarre report. Chris.

I love the track...its so interesting looking LoL. Chris.

I'm drinking Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA. Is it wrong of me to say that, so far, I'm not so much a fan? Maybe my expectations were too high. Chris.

If parks built rides people didn't like, they would go out of business. Different strokes for different folks. Except Windjammer at Knotts. Everybody hated that thing Chris.

I really don't want to backseat mod, but can we please not discuss whether or not we like the Flash Pass? We have has approximately a thousand discussions/topics/threads about this already. Basically every opinion has been expressed. ...just sayin... Chris.

^I agree Robb, I work at a hotel that is rated 'so so' on Trip Advisor but I KNOW my hotel is fantastic. I think anything on Trip Advisor and Yelp should be taken with a grain of salt and should be generalized. Put it this way, before reviewing another park, read the reviews on your home park, THEN read one on a park you plan on visiting. That should be a fairly good GP indication of how it is. Chris.

"I didn't visit it but based on everything else I knew I didn't need to" Yeah, GP trip reports can be pretty inaccurately brutal and PAINFUL to read, especially to us enthusiasts. It sucks hearing about a park (or even worse, your home park, in this aspect) in this regard. I tried to start a thread about this and it pretty quickly failed, but here it is: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47926 I think this is a GREAT topic and would love to see it keep going!!!! Chris.

^Right?! I mean, Wile E Coyote completely dying, and then totally being at it again 5 seconds later is hilarious. And then dying again, and so on, and so on. Kids need unrealistic humor. Not just 'I'm Katie, and I like to dance!" Chris.

^I'm glad you could win this one Maybe Wes' bullet train is the 10th coaster. I mean, now that it is confirmed in So Cal Chris.

^There are a ton of fairly racist and sexist connotations in the material. I am not offended, I guess I worded that wrong, but the way I see it now is how I can understand that today's parents can find it 'taboo.' We all grew up watching it, but it somehow comes off 'different' now than it did before. Perhaps I find the world WAYYY too PC now than it was when I grew up. Kind of like how the playground equipment I played on as a child would now be deemed 'condemned' by today's standards because you might perhaps get a splinter. Chris.

^I hate to admit defeat, but I guess you are right. I guess I'm rusty in my roller coaster knowledge (not necessarily a bad thing). Back in the RRC days, I insisted that Batman The Ride ran 3 trains, so its all good -Chris.

Elissa, you are right, I have no idea what is going on with today's children. Consider me "told." LOL. I guess my only defense now for the loony toons characters now is: 1) They are part of the pioneers of motion picture cartoons, and it is our responsibility to educate the young ones about them and 2) Perhaps they can become more synonymous with the six flags chain. Remember the trolls? They had nothing to do with. . . anything! But the kids still wanted to go back to the park to see them. My only weird thing with the Loony Toons is that I think parents today find the material offensive and violent. I know everybody is trying to clean up and be all PC and stuff; and when I watch the old 'Toons cartoons I am usually offended, but I still think its funny and it helped create the person that I am today. It is in no way 'wrong' or racist or anything, I just think it was kind of ridiculous, and I feel the kids still need to see something like that today. The only comparison that I have seen today is that 'Total Drama Island' show, which is hardly timeless. I agree that a Yo Gabba Gabba land would be AWESOME. However we have no idea today whether or not it is a fad. Lets give Divo and the Aquabats some time to develop!!!! Chris.

^^As I recall, Xcelerator has OTSR's. Chris.

^^ They occasionally reference the loony toones on Family Guy! hahaha.... I think we are correct in assuming they are timeless. You never see Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck on TV but everybody still seems to know who they are. I think it's sort of the same with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Perhaps its up to our generations to educate the new kids on these cartoon legends! Chris.

^^I have heard the PP rumor as well, and while this is a SFMM thread, I just want to point out that regardless of their problems on it, it is the ONLY ride at KBF that terrifies me. I think that would be a bad decision. Tidal wave can go, there is still quite a lot to do at SFMM that involves water. I DO think that if it gets removed, they should add something that 'guarantees' getting wet somewhere in the park. Theres nothing like trying to get wet and then the wave always misses you. Perhaps a fountain somewhere in the park would be a fantastic replacement. As mentioned, I think the bridge was more popular on Tidal Wave than the ride itself. Chris.

^Makes sense to take out because it pales in comparison to the Shoot-the-Chutes "Coaster" down the highway at Knotts!!! Chris.

Today's LA Travel tip: You can save up to 45 minutes in the Downtown LA area (traveling on the 5) by: Northbound: Taking the 710 N (ramp on the left!) to the 10 W, back to the 5 N Southbound: Take the 10 E to the 710 S, back to the 5 S I pull this move exclusively, even at 2 in the morning. I always avoid traffic doing this, and it only adds about a half mile to your trip. Chris.

^Only possible in the context that it was used...pointing out that there is NO grass in that location in real life!!!! Chris.

I agree, with more than half of their coasters being relatively tame, calling their guests 'Coaster Warriors' is kind of silly. If they want to do a campaign like that, they should do something that attempts to slam SFMM. Chris.

ooh, some rare 'Big Mike on the right' shots in there...lol Chris.

I know this isn't very relevant, but being a Los Angeles native, I can honestly say drivers in Boston are absolutely terrible. People cut into traffic, make left turns when there is clearly traffic coming at them, and everything happens very slowly. To compare, I would say LA drivers are FAST. We accelerate quickly and slow down quickly as well. I think thats why people think we are 'bad' drivers, because like Robb said, it is a very 'me' mentality on the road. Therefore, you need to adapt that mentality or you will never get anywhere. Confidence is a + on the road. I generally spend half of the time behind the wheel observing everybody else and anticipating their moves. Watch out for the guy in the BMW going 90 weaving through traffic! Hes everywhere!!! Chris.

I dont even think this is relevant but ill throw it out there anyway: I am also an avid skier as well as a coaster enthusiast, and the Ski Industry is also being affected by the recession. An interesting thing though, is that smaller, family owned resorts are actually projected to do better the next few years instead of the larger corporate resorts. I believe this is because the cost of running the resorts is significantly lower, resulting in lower ticket prices, and attracting more people. Following that theory, regardless of the parks that have already closed, we may see a re-surgance in the smaller family parks, because that is what America chooses to afford to visit. Chris.

^ In Yosemite, we were required to maintain 20% international staff at all times. This was because the area is considered a 'World Heritage Site.' I do not believe SFMM falls under this category, but what you said in your post is probably accurate. It is not easy to convince somebody to drive a half hour to clean toilets for 8 dollars an hour. International employees (usually) come from places where $8 is good money, and you will get better work out of them. Just my thoughts. Chris.

I dont think $10 per person, per ride, is bad either. X2 is a unique attraction with a pretty painful queue. Remember that you are going to be dealing with the guests who do NOT have the flashpass, and I for one would find comfort in knowing that the ones that do are paying $10 each to skip me in line, on top of their up-charge. Anyway, I am also looking forward to a real review on the device at SFMM! Chris.