Robocoaster

A big thanks to Robb and Elissa for such a great weekend! I am grateful for what SFMM brought to the table, but was floored by what Knott's did! ERT on Lucy's Tugboat next year? Lines for some of those Camp Snoopy rides can get kinda long...

Had a great time at DSB last year, and really looking forward to this weekend. As for the parking, like good ol' Tom Peterson used to say, free is a very good price! But us Las Vegasins find high 60s to be cold. Must locate cheap ponchos for the water rides....

Well, SFMM and KBF this weekend, of course! Others on tap for 2012 are: Magic Kingdom and Epcot for leap day Adventuredome and Buffalo Bill's (home parks, for better or worse) Dollywood (first time) IoA (first time) BGT (first time) SFoG (along with the above three, it's my big May trip) SFDK Knoebel's SFGrAd Oaks Park Enchanted Forest Wild Waves SFFT SFoT One or two surprises as well. Not bad, now that I think about it...

Can't wait! Bringing a friend who likes coasters, but she's not an enthusiast (yet). She has never been around coaster crazies or to any type of park event. She doesn't know what she is in for... One More Week! One More Week! One More Week!

Generally speaking, the answer is no. I can think of no existing ride I would wait 5 hours for. I would plan to go on a slow day, buy a fast pass, pretend-cough excessively in line without covering my mouth while complaining how bad the flu I'm getting is, or better yet, yell "OMG, Justin Bieber/Justin Timberlake/Justin Long" is signing autographs in the park!" (OK, that last one probably wouldn't empty out the queue much). But in the event I was at a park I knew I would most likely never get back to, and the ride had NO comparable experience at any other park, and I had ridden everything else I wanted to, in that most unlikely case, I probably would wait at that point.

Best: Tatsu Worst: Collossus

Traincrossin - Why wouldn't it be? (See Robb's post). Since I'd hate to think you'd lose sleep over it, i'll tell you. I had my first visit to SFStL the day before HWN this year. Having not heard much about the rides there, I had no expectations. Boss f'n rocked!!! Period. Rode three times,in the front, middle, and very back, and I did not feel it was rough. Aggressive, yes, but in the way only the best woodies are. Airtime, forces, speed, and actually smooth IMO (and, no offense, don't give a crap about anyone else's). The helix was a nice touch; I had no idea it was coming and it was great. It totally came out of nowhere, and kicked my ass in the best possible way. It was the start of a very great day. Did I catch it on a rare "on" day? Was some maintenance previously done on it in the days before my arrival? Who cares??? And if I had ridden Voyage in it's maiden season, I'm open to the fact it would've ranked above Boss. But I hadn't been to Holiday World since 2003, and my first rides on Voyage were this year. It wasn't as great a ride as I'd heard. I could see how it might have been at one time, but it was bit too rough in ways I didn't care for. If, according to friends, El Toro had been running like crap recently it would still be my #1 based on the rides I got in '08, due to the fact that I haven't ridden since then and therefore haven't experienced it running badly. If I visit a park on a day I'm not feeling well, that could affect my enjoyment of a ride, etc, etc. So many factors come into play that affect each person's unique individual experience...

1 - El Toro 2 - The Boss 3 - Phoenix 4 - Voyage 5 - Legend 6 - American Knievel 7 - Raven 8 - Tremors 9 - Apocalypse 10 (tie) - Timber Terror/ Shivering Timbers And bringing up the rear: Georgia ("what the hell is tracking?") Cyclone.

Great dates! Sounds like fun; can't wait to go! I had to leave the GSB early this past September, and was bummed I couldn't be there for the nighttime fun (my ride had to bow out early). This time, I'm all in.

Actually, Wet-n-Wild was doing just fine. IIRC, their lease was not renewed by the land's owners, not by WNW. The land owners were offered more money to put in a nice shiny new resort with a London-Eye type attraction outside. They went for it, kicking WNW out (WNW has just added an attraction; they weren't looking to leave). Then the nice shiny new project fell apart, and the land sits pretty much unused. For a while it was being used as storage for the next door Fountainbleu project, that also then fell apart. Same type of thing happened to our Scandia. The land owners were offered more money for a nice shiny new project, kicked Scandia out, and then the nice shiny new proposed project fell apart (the bubble burst) and that land also sits unused to this day. Maybe, just maybe, Gekko was wrong... While this project will happen, I'm hoping the less assured waterpark in Henderson gets built as well. It looks to have a far better mix of attractions. click here

Frightdome this Sun. Never miss it...

I rode Pole Position this July at the Cal State Fair in Sac, so I would seem PP is still touring.

All-time favorite band is The Fixx. Though part of the new wave era, lumping them there doesn't do them any justice. When I think of new wave, I think (not terribly highly) of Flock of Seagulls, Human League, Howard Jones, ABC, etc; bands that generally sound synth heavy. The Fixx evolved to have a much more rock sound (Jamie West-Oram is the most under-rated guitarist currently around); live, even more so. A very close second is The Psychedelic Furs. Runner ups include, but not limited to: Rolling Stones, Green Day, Arcade Fire, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Avenge Sevenfold...

Hello there TPR! Been a member for a while; just started posting. I'm Rob, and I'm looking forward to Saturday, Hopefully I'll get a chance to hang out with some of you crazies. Can't wait to get Smashed at the Bash!

Tatsu is the best ride there, though GL wasn't open yet (Don't see how in the world it could rank in the park's best anyway). X2 is impressive, and if it were a bit smoother, and not such a quick trip for the wait, it could take the title.

I'm gay. Love roller coasters, but the bf does not. Oh well...

Great report, and cool pics! I was finally able to make it there in June. Went on a Sat and used the 10 buck "bounce-back" the next day. I can't say it enough, this is an enthusiasts amusement park. The coasters are not top-notch thrill rides, but they are fun. You get a Miller woodie, some Schwartz sweetness, a decent spinner, and Wicked is a gem; love the restraints, which made me feel like I was going to fall out of the ride in a few spots. The classic dark rides, the pioneer village, and those flats. I got my first top scan there, and it was heaven! And those snap-able flyers. And that giant wheel where the cabins spin about made me ill. The rapids ride was a hoot as well. The landscaping is nicely done, and the park actually stays open later than some major chain parks, making for great night rides and great lighting effects. Again, this park is verrrrrry cool. I posted on FB half way through my first day "Someone please tell me why it took so long for me to visit Lagoon!!!", because I meant it. I MUST return. With so many people commenting that they would like to go, but not sure about the logistics, it sounds like a job for TPR...

Sea World Orlando - Manta rocked my world! Kraken not so much, but not bad. Animal Kingdom - I had no clue about Everest; which was a good thing. Magic Kingdom - prefer DL by a smidge. Hollywood Studios - ToT wasn't that much better than CA's, if at all. Saying R&R is a smooth for a Vekoma doesn't mean much... Epcot - German beer and Grey Goose slushies; drooooool. Oh, they also have some cool pavilions and a few rides too. Disney's California Adventure - World of Color is good, but over-hyped, btw. SF St. Louis - Extremely enjoyable. Want to return to this one. EK was great, and Boss was awesome. I agree, top hats should indeed be taken on the inside. Holiday World - Too bad my maiden Voyage was 2011. Did manage to get a ride that was intense without being jarring, and it was amazing! SF Magic Mountain - I want to get Tatsu into bed and do all manners of nasty things to it. Manta, we had good times, but I think we should both move along. Lagoon - first visit and was very impressed. Coasters are average to awesome, but flat ride package is seriously sick! SF Discovery Kingdom - Medusa is still crackin'. Hit CA state fair as well for some cool flats and traveling spinner. Adventuredome - The worst ride ops on the planet. No contest. At least I can still get a chaos ride here, and they run their disk'o on a fairly intense setting. Looking forward to: SFoG - Looking forward to beer and Bash Knott's Disneyland SFMM - GL was not yet open on my June visit; gotta go back. And Supes is indeed improved. Plus, Tatsu taunts me in my dreams.

Dollywood has me most intrigued, but it's a close race...

Magic Mountain's Revolution, pre OTSR. It was sweet!!

Glad I got my Pandemonium credit on my recent visit. It was the best ride I've ever had on a spinner, though I credit the rider weight distribution and not the coaster itself. Still, it will be missed. But the replacement looks kick-ass enough to not care.

I wonder what surprises could be left to announce?? ERT on Coyote's Canyon Blaster, perhaps? Which I would take. I'm way too embarrassed to try and get that credit during GP hours. Thanks to SFOG and to TPR for going all out. Hoping my first visit there, and first site event, is a great one.

Hmmm... That's a tough decision to make (duh!), but I'll have to go with Racer Backwards at PKI. I wasn't an enormous fan of Racer Forwards, but backwards was bliss! Seeing the track disappear into the horizon as it came from beneath (I got a "back" row seat) was a cool visual, plus not being sure what was coming next, made for a kick-ass ride! PKI, on my May '03 visit, was also a nicely landscaped park that I felt was not the concrete jungle that some other parks are.

In Vegas, you can purchase a single Speed ride for 10 bucks, or an all-day pass that also includes all-day admission to the cyber-speedway for 20 bucks (the CS is a complete kick!). Manhattan Express, err, the rollercoaster at NY, NY, is about 12.50 or 15 bucks for a ride, but also has an all-day, or at least cheaper re-ride, options. Take the advil before you ride. The Canyon Blaster is seven bucks a ride at the Adventuredome, with an all-day pass for the park being just under $23.00. THe Luxor has some decent sims (if your into sim rides), and "Pirates 4d", which ran at some parks a few seasons back (it's ok, kinda cheesy). More info here: http://www.luxor.com/attractions/attractions_atrium.aspx If your into cars don't forget about The Drive, located behind the Sahara. If you want to test drive an H2 or a Corvette, here you go: http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/gm_thedrive.html?ic_campID=26 As stated before, the touristy things are a must if you can, to add to the Vegas Experience which, truthfully, also includes losing all your spending money (and then some) at the games of luck of your choice.