DCody

I think it was Batman at SFGAm during opening season in like, 1991. I remember we waited about 2 hours, which is an eternity when you're 13. This summer, we waited almost 2 hours for Riddler's Revenge at SFMM. Which seems a bit ridiculous for a ride that isn't remotely new. We got on X faster, and that was even with two breakdowns.

First, the truly defunct ones I've ridden: Python at BGA Shockwave at SFGAm Hercules at Dorney Park Relocated: Rolling Thunder at SFGAm (originally Sarajevo Bobsleds, now Alpine Bobsleds) Whirlwind at Knoebels (now Bocaraca) I probably miss Shockwave the most, and Python was postcard-pretty too. I wonder if all the O.G. Arrow corkscrews are gonna disappear. I really want to ride Greezed Lightning because I never got a chance when it was Tidal Wave at SFGAm.

Maybe it's a Spinal Tap themed coaster. ("It goes to 11!") /nerd

I was really disappointed when I went to SFMM two weeks ago and Deja Vu was closed all day. If they're gonna get rid of it, I hope I get a chance to ride it first! It looks friggin' intense. They'd have to put something else in, because yeah, that section of the park was pretty useless to us without Deja running.

Laser is my favorite ride at Dorney and in my overall Top 10. It's so forceful that it's one of my very few ride experiences in which I was actually scared. I know nowadays an old Doppellooping doesn't excite the GP, but I would be very sad to see it go.

Holy crap...Meteor used to be in MY HOMETOWN, Lemont, Illinois. Hillcrest Park was a very tiny, private park (not an amusement park, literally a park) and the coaster wasn't open to the public. Like, ever. Supposedly it was used for "events" but I never met a child or adult who had ridden it. It was called the Little Dipper. I never got to ride it-- in fact I didn't even know it existed until I had long since moved out of Lemont. I have no idea how they kept a roller coaster a secret in such a small town, or why it was there in the first place. I'm so glad it's finally in a place where I'll be able to ride it!

To answer the question about being worn out at the end of the day...we were so tired we could barely stay awake for the ride home! Yeah, we did a LOT of needless hiking. Should have paid closer attention to the map. The "suicide hill" was insane...my friend and I JOGGED up it in the 90-degree heat like lunatics. It was worth it for that cheesy-ass Fortress of Solitude, though!

It's a 3-way tie between the Zipper, Tower of Terror, and Pirates of the Carribean.

How did I not know about this place? I love the pics, especially the eerie one of the empty auditorium-type structure and the (now-ironic) "Come in In!" sign. Cool that it's being cleaned up, but at the same time, you gotta love the haunted places.

This is "Baby's First Trip Report," so to speak, so please go easy on me! I finally hit Magic Mountain yesterday, with three non-enthusiasts in tow. I warned these hardy souls in advance that I am a massive geek and would be snapping more photos than a mom at a school play. But to my horror, my camera did not work! Therefore, you, Dear Reader, are about to be subjected to some really, really bad drawings I dashed off. Hopefully I captured the mood to some degree. Onward! The day began with a delicious hangover-lessening breakfast of eggs, toast, Orange Bang, and pink Simpsons donuts from 7-11. Like the nag that I am, I urged my friends to eat quickly because I didn't want to miss a moment of fun at the park. Luckily, we arrived bright and early and scored four Flash Passes. Heart palpitations began in earnest. First, we hit Tatsu. (We tried the "run to X like demented children" maneuver, but it wasn't operating yet.) The line for Tatsu was a very manageable 30 minutes. We grabbed the front row and...oh (insert deity), was it incredible. I've never been on a B&M flyer before, so let's just say that pretzel blew my mind. I believe Tatsu transcends the typical thrill ride experience and enters the realm of the spiritual. The theming was also gorgeous. (I'm used to "concrete jungle" parks in the Midwest and East, so SFMM's lush setting was a treat.) Next, we rode X. It broke down twice while we were waiting, but we only waited about, oh, 80 minutes total because disgruntled folks kept leaving the line. X was the single most intense ride experience of my life. From a geek perspective, I wished I was able to keep track of all the elements. I have no idea how you people can mentally catalog all those raven turns and whatnot, because all I was thinking was "GAHHHHHHHHHHH!" X kicked my friggin' butt into another dimension, and I wish we could have ridden it twice. Or, say, 20 times. (Though I will say that I think X's theming and paint is rather cheesy, and will probably look very dated and "2002" within a couple of years. But who cares? FLIPPY-FLIPS, y'all!) With Flash Passes balled in our clammy palms, we moved on to Goliath. I don't normally love steel hypers, but Goliath totally pwns! I grayed out during the helix because I'm a delicate flower. The coaster I expected to be a bore is now in my Top 3. Next, we hit Riddler's. Moronically, we assumed the line was manageable because we couldn't actually see it. We waited a really long time. The only stand-ups I've been on are Shockwave at PKD (yeah, I know) and Iron Wolf at SFGAm. Riddler's is delicious by comparison, and I liked watching all the guys getting racked by the restraint system. Heh. Plus, my friend commented on the cool sound the coaster made and I got to explain the "B&M roar" Geek point! Side note: I was happy to see Freefall, since I have a weird obsession with first-generation freefalls. I think it's all those ominous things I heard about The Edge back when I was a kid in Chicago. Yes, I'm old. Back to the thrilling story: I think we broke for lunch then (overpriced-yet-delicious burritos) and then went to Colussus ("CLARK!") and Superman: The Escape. You guys are never going to believe this, but Deja Vu wasn't running. And then, we went to Scream. Maybe I'm jaded. Maybe I need to think back to those dark times when an Arrow mega-looper was considered the height of fun. Maybe I just expected too much. But Scream was a bit of a disappointment. I mean, it was fun, it was sexy, it had the floorless thing going on, but still. It was practically a walk-on, and yet none of us squealed "AGAIN!" at its conclusion. When evening rolled around, we decided to do Tatsu again. Still rad, but not quite as great when you're not in the front. Then we got on Viper, which exceeded my expectations. (Thought it was gonna be a boring headbanger and actually had a blast. At this point, my friends were started to get pretty geeky themselves, so we counted off all the inversions at the top of our lungs. "ONE! TWO! THREEEEEE...!") Last ride of the night was Revolution. I love Schwarzkopfs. What a stunning ride at night, diving through the trees with that trademark Herr Achterbahn aggression. I love that little pause on the hill before the inversion-- a poignant reminder of a simpler time when a vertical loop was a big "ta-da!" moment. And it still thrilled us, even after having our socks rocked off by all those B&Ms. A classic. (BOO to the OTSRs!) Finally we went home, limp with exhaustion. Everyone had a blast. I'm so glad SFMM is my home park now. Yes it's busy, yes it's not exactly service-oriented, but the coasters are world class. Insultingly-bad pictures, as promised: Side effects may include... What a nice photo this would have made. Flashback may be SBNO, but it's still flashin' in my heart. Oh dragon, how you mock me! Tasty loopage!

Revolution at SFMM yesterday! Even though we'd been on "x-treem" stuff all day, my whole group agreed that Herr Achterbann's classic was a sweet way to end the evening. I'm always surprised by how well the '70s loopers hold up.

I don't know if there's an advantage to buying online, but I can confirm that passes on the "greyed out" days will still be available at the park. I went to SFMM yesterday and bought four Flash Passes. That date had been greyed out on the website when I tried a week prior.

I love Coney! Thank you for posting those pics. I especially love the one shot on Deno's Wonder Wheel. <-- Me exiting the Zipper at Coney.

White steel coasters like Alpengeist and Dodonpa always look so striking. I also like unpainted yellow pine woodies. The beauty of the design really comes out in a "naked" coaster. Least favorite? Probably Iron Wolf at SFGAm. Maroon does not get my adrenaline going. I'm not a huge fan of chartreuse on modern coasters either. (I can accept it on an 80s looper, because it's period, but nowadays I think that super bright neon green makes a coaster look like a cheap toy.)

(sing-songing) Jea-lous! Looks like so much fun!

My 8-year-old stepdaughter rode California Screamin' with me a few weeks ago and loved it. In fact, the first thing she said after we got into the station was, "The loop was the least scary part!" Verticle loops are so smooth, quick, and disorienting that I don't really even get the sense of defying gravity. Just a change in perception.

This sounds like a scam to me, especially since a big Six Flags settlement is in the news right now. Why would TWO carts out of all of them cause vague neck and back injuries? And the Orbit is not a herky-jerky ride. I would feel really bad if this turned out to be legit, but something doesn't make sense about it.

Even though the look and dramatic setting of Desperado are beautiful, the ride itself was one of the first to ever truly disappoint me. Maybe it was awesome ten years ago, but it was rough and rattly as hell this spring. I know Arrow hypers aren't known for aging well, but I got off wondering if I had seriously injured my neck. While there are surely worse coasters out there, in terms of anticipation vs. experience, this was probably my worst.

My hubby (who lives part-time in Minneapolis) drove across the bridge less than an hour before it collapsed. Scary as hell. Before I finally got in touch with him, I kept getting the "all circuits busy" message. People in the Twin Cities are freaking out, understandably.

I'm thinking impulse coaster too, for some reason. I ain't the Ride Psychic or anything, but that was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw the topic. I'm having a Miss Cleo moment, methinks.

That looks friggin' fun. I kind of love the look of coasters on a cloudy day; don't know why. Beast and SOB remain on my to-ride list...

I think I started drooling the minute I saw "remnants" in the subject line. (I have a tiny obsession with defunct parks, even though they make me sad.) I went to Opryland once when I was just a little squirt. Sucks that I'll never get to revisit it, especially since I was too small (and too big of a wuss) to ride any coasters. Thank you for the TR. I made a similar pilgrimage to the old Riverview site in Chicago and took loads of depressing pictures of crumbled asphalt. I would scan them in if they weren't so darned emo!

Those ladies are some of the most popular rides in the O.C. (Thank you! I'll be here all night!)

I'm hesitant to post my list because I'm rusty in terms of park visits and am hitting at least three new ones within the next month. Something tells me SFMM and Knott's are gonna force me to seriously reconfigure my Top 10. That said, I love seeing the Scorpion at BGA on thefitness's list. That's such an intense Schwarzkopf. (Vertical loop fangirl here.) I always get afraid that the older loopers are going to be forgotten among all the hypers and LIMs.

I think I'll start a band called "Hateful Gays." I guess I don't understand how "gay/pro-gay" and "Christian" came to be perceived as mutually exclusive. You can be gay AND Christian, you know. Many folks are liberal, totally in favor of gay marriage, and also down with J.C. in a major way. On topic, I'm glad Disney identifies itself as an apolitical, hospitality-centered entity. The parks are there for everyone to enjoy, and I'm glad Disney has the guts to have Gay Day and fairytale commitment ceremonies. (Though I agree the term "commitment ceremony" is cheese-tastic. How about "Gwedding"? Gay + wedding. Sounds pleasantly Welsh, doesn't it?)