Noobitizer

We ( SFDK Ops Team ) would like to thank everyone for making it out to the event! I hope everyone had an awesome experience. I wish some of you could have seen Robb's Face when I mentioned doing something special at Tony Hawk for ERT haha. Looking forward to seeing some PTR's . Hope to see you all again soon at the park. -Charles

SLY, I am very happy to hear you had an awesome time at the park! We are very proud of the product this season, and there's still more to come! I'm sorry we did not have a chance to meet, maybe next time? I hope more TPR members can come and see the park this season, much has changed, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is a very special park amongst our brothers. I hope everyone has a great season! MORE FLAGS! MORE FUN! SIX FLAGS! -Charles

SLY, Since this is the first time we will be open this early in the year, I can’t really guarantee what the crowds will be like. However if you are looking to spend a half day at the park Flash Passes may be your best option (We may even have LoQ up and running ). This way you are guaranteed Tony, Roar, Kong, Boom and Medusa (No flash pass at V2) and when you’re done you can hit them again! And the less time you spend in line the more time you can spend checking out what the rest of the park has to offer. As far as Boomerang and its "vekomaness" is concerned, I actually prefer this Boomerang to the others I have ridden, not to mention a great view of the Land side of the park. Kong, well its Kong, your typical SLC with a shiny new paint job! I'll try to keep you updated on V2 ( My Baby ) as she comes out of rehab and opening day gets closer. Hope this helps, Charles

Hello, First of all i'd like to say that we cant wait to see you at the park. This is the first year that the park will be open this early in the season and we are excited! In the past we usually see the die hard season pass holders at opening day as well as tourist being filtered in from San Fransisco. So we don't predict the crowd to be to overwhelming. While we would love to have you all day, you could most likely get all your credits with a half day visit, though if its your first time I recommend a whole day to experience everything. At present time we hope to have all the coasters open by the 28th, though Roar and Kong may be running on one train while we finish winter rehabs. Hope this helps and feel free to ask if anything else should arise. From myself and the rest of the Operations Crew, Good luck and see you soon!

That looks awesome for a Hang and Bang! I especially like the canvas over the station. Looks like the worlds first SLC^3. P.S. - Marketing Director = Hot

Its more love hate. Ive worked at both an all year park and a park with a 4 month off season. Yes its nice to ride all year long, but remember all coaster trains need a yearly rehab. Rides like at SFDK ( V2 and Boomerang ) only have one train. So a 4 month rehab shuts down the ride, but the rest of the park is open, when normally this would have been done in the off season. Some parks have 2 trains for their Boomerangs ( Knotts ) and so their downtime for rehab is minimal. But back at the kingdom, ive seen several TR's where people complain that Roar and Kong run only one train. Well that's a sacrifice we made to keep the park open year long.

Back when I worked at the Farm, before Silver Bullet and when Pony Express was a Pipe dream, The KOD building would have removed the arcade and used both floors for either a small indoor launched family coaster or an interactive dark ride. However After Bullet and when Johnny Rockets was built in the lower portion, all the ideas and art work vanished.

BOOOOO!!!!!! Just kidding, good post Kev. Honestly you have a lot of options when it comes down to it in Cali. Growing up in So. Cal ( X Perilous Plunge Crew Member) I saw Fright Fest at SFMM, Haunt at Knotts, Horror Nights at Universal and several other small offerings in the Area. This year I was able to attend SFMM Fright Fest, Haunt at CGA and our very own Fright Fest at SFDK. Last year I got back from my deployment overseas mid October and I saw Fright Fest at SFDK upon returning to work as an Op and I was like WTF? Who did this? A crackhead from the Vallejo ghetto? But this year, this year was quite an improvement. I'd rather have 2 good quality mazes where the talent hits their marks 99.9% percent of the time than have a claimed 5 or more (not saying any names) "mazes" where talent missed their marks 99.9% of the time. While Haunt at CGA was nice, and I understand its still in its first year, there room for improvement. To prove a point: Kevin and I both attended Haunt the same night. He had a bad experience at CornStalkers and Werewolf where as I had an AWESOME experience. He loved Club Blood, I thought it was short and Knotts did so much more. I also had a good first run at Carnivore while the second time it seemed everyone but the caged up dude had gone home. Though Camp Gonnaghetcha was awesome, I liked seeing crazies run after the log! And TopGun was awesome (the movie that made me join the Navy lol) and Drop Zone were great as per usual. Either way Nor-Callians have a great selection this year, two different parks offering similar but mostly different FRIGHTAKULAR packages. See em both and decide yourself. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever. Its an Honor to share the battlefield. -Charles

Hey guys it me Charles, Im one of the rides supervisors who ran tony hawk for media day. Let me just say that it is nice to hear that everyone is enjoying Tony Hawks Big Spin. Its been close to 5 years since we received a new coaster and I know a lot of people were bummed to hear we were getting a "Family Coaster". Tony Hawk however won't disappoint, its a great coaster and we are very proud of it. With the way Discovery Kingdom has been improving I hope many more of you will come for a visit and see just how much has changed. -Charles

I actually have no idea. But it would make sense since it was the last big investment made by the Knott famliy. I would assume that if it was a part of the contract that the two parties came to an agreement after all of Windjammers problems.

Yeah I'd be careful of what you say from now on, that just doesn't fly man. Not cool, not cool at all.

As a seasoned rides employee at the park I can garuntee that all those rides (with the exception of Wheeler) is on a contract. You will probably never see any of these rides leave in your life time. And ridership is actually quite low compared to capacity in all attractions minus the Log Ride which proves itself to be a puller to this day.

Keep in mind that the only reason (that may be out there) for Cedar Fairs option to keep such rides as the log ride and calico mine ride is because of a contract. When the Knott Family sold the park they asked that several attractions be "un-removable" I believe the attractions under this contract are Independence Hall, Calico Mine Ride, Log Ride, Sky Cabin and (Though im not 100% positive) the Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars. So in the parks life time you are more then likely never going to see these rides disappear.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions guys. That first picture was almost immediatley after leaving the JR Line Station Osaka. I got a picture somewhere of that building with the drop tower, I'll do some digging. I cant wait to see some progress in ocean park.

So I just arrived ashore a few days ago, and I decided to throw some pics up. Heres a short list of attractions I was able to visit. -Universal Japan -Ferris Wheels in Osaka (2) -Ocean Park -Randomness in Guam I wasn't able to take pictures at Universal as it was a spur of the moment thing, and I didn't have a camera available. The Dream Coaster (Is that Right) was pretty kool. The soundtracks where great and the Coaster it self had some good airtime and good views of the park. Ocean Park was awesome. But hotter then hell. I felt like I was in the Engine Room of our ship again haha. Looks like their dumpin' some cash into the place. In Guam the Micronesia Mall had a Powered Coaster that looked to be SBNO. And A random Park at Talafofo Park. Check out the pics, there are more pics of my trip at Myspace.com/ikikimo if your interested, I posted only pics of attractions. Enjoy! -charles A diorama depicting the somewhat morbid history of Guam. ...And the connected Ghost House The decrepit amusement park at Talafofo Falls, Guam. The Expansion The Tower At the top Nice view of the bay On-Ride Photo!! Wild Wild West Train One of 300 to the top lol Another Ferris Wheel in the Downtoen area of Osaka Ferris Wheel in Osaka

Hey TPR members, got some questions that hopefully you can help me out with. I leave on a 2 month training cruise in about 12 days. The following are a list of ports and dates. Depart Vallejo, Ca 29 APR at 1200hrs Kobe, Japan 17 May- 20 May Hong Kong, China 25 May-28 May Da Nang, Vietnam 31 May- 03 Jun Apra, Guam 10 Jun-13 Jun Honolulu, Hawaii 27 Jun I can assume that the last two ports have nothing. But I'm not sure how to go about finding parks in the first 3 ports. RCDB.COM wasnt much help. Anyone know of parks near these ports? I have about a day and a half in port depending on the needs of our ship. So about 5 hours one day and 10-12 on the other. Any help as far as parks, how to get there from port etc would help me out greatly. Also if anyone knows of hot spots like bars and other "must see" spots let me know too. Thank you ahead of time. -Charles

Actually, adding 2 cars can add a great deal of stress on the trains. The extra weight of train, and length can change the dynamics of the whole thing, maybe smoothing some of the bumpyness out. I'm sure theres a reason why japans 4D was modded to have 5 trains. Just an engineers POV. Maybe they will go to five cars, weren't they having problems with stress in the track anyways?

good question. If X does drop down to the 5 Car per train system, we could very well see dropping floors. Though I think SFMM will just have to adjust the queue system to work with 5, as Trains can cost a pretty penny.

So some time in April I will be leaving on my first Navy cruise, and the other day some of the ports were posted, they include: -Kobe, Japan -Hong Kong, China -Saigon, Vietnam -Naval Base Guam I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me some information on what parks (or other points of interest) are in the area,, transportation, just basic stuff. I only get about 2 days in port each time. Anyways any help would be appreciated. -charles

Actually as a former Ride Operator at Knotts, I can tell you that the FlyWheel (Mechanisim that launches the coaster) is set at about 85%, the trains dont travel as high us the spikes. Im sure back in '79 or whenever it is it was installed, it was a beast.

Here are some pics from coastersandmore.com

Looks kool. I know a Rides Supervisor over at KBF, maybe I can get something outta her lol. Comming home for some leave time next week, ill hit up knotts.

I def. Had to vote for the Flyer. Ultimate Flight is good, but Tatsu, Tatsu is definatley one of their better offereings. Closley Followed by the inverted.

Well i know that standard procedure at Knotts Says that if the car travels farther than 25 feet up or so on Supreme Scream, we have to call the fire department for evacuation. The cherry picker we have isnt to big.

What about the one S&S Drop tower and Fantasy Land (I think....which ever one built that gigantic Hang and Bang). That one I heard was moddified to have tilting seats or something. Anyone know more or have video?