RAWKIN_coaster38

I just came across something about the bill and a petition on Facebook, got really mad and came here and found out people were already talking it. This is just so stupid, if this bill passes I'm going to flip. Thank you for sharing this! I agree with so much of whta he said in this. I especially liked the portion where he talks about how rewarding it is for a little kid to see marine mammals. I saw my first killer whales and dolphins at Marine World when I was 2, and I became obsessed with them and learned all about them and wanted to be a marine biologist for years. I know there are a lot of other kids like me. There's a big difference between preserving animals and using them for entertainment purposes. I've always been against this, which is why I don't visit zoos or animal shows. I haven't seen Blackfish, but to me IMHO it doesn't matter where the law came from, the focus is banning using the animals for entertainment purposes and not holding animals for preservation purposes and that's not a bad thing. So IMO to say that this law will ahem, kill off the killer whales, when they CAN still be in captivity and NOT forced into the wild is a fallacy. I'm pretty sure the bill said Seaworld must either free the whales or put them in an open-water pen. As Kyle Kittleson pointed out in that video coasterbill shared, an open water pen would be extremely stressful and harmful to the whales who have been used to a very controlled environment. I get what you're saying, and I would be in favor of having the whales stay at Seaworld but not perform. However, the bill is calling for much more than that and what they're calling for could really harm the whales, and other animals as well (since Seaworld would lose revenue from this, and they spent millions on rescue and conservation). I also agree with what Elissa said earlier. Why so much focus on the killer whales now? There are so many other large animals in much worse conditions in zoos and other places. Some of those animals may be endangered. Killer whales are not at all endangered, and they've lived in captivity for several decades now. It's like this is a repeat of the "Free Willy!" movement from the '90s, but on a much larger scale. If one movie can make such a fuss, then let's just release a bunch more slanted documentaries and see what happens. Let's talk about how school bus drivers are ruining our children, and how eating oranges causes cancer, and how driving yourself to work means you're going to cheat on your wife. Anything is possible now.

Last time I was there, I think it was like the Saturday before last, the crepe place was closed. Superman was open, but V2 was closed for maintenance. Medusa was PMSing majorly around closing time and we didn't get to ride it. EDIT: Major bump. Anyone been to the park recently?

Jurassic Park, and I wanna say last year some time. When was the last time you watched anime?

Great photos! I especially love the killer whale at the glass. It reminds me of the Walrus at SFDK. Seems that big animals are really amused by little humans, which is so adorable. And IDK, but to me that whale seems pretty happy.

I was fortunate to go last year because I won a sweepstakes. There was also this concert going on and Neyo and some of the cast from Jersey Shore were there as well. However, the park was basically dead. We had exit passes but the lines didn't look too long anyway. The longest we waited was for El Toro in the front and maybe about 20 minutes? I think the line for Toro was about 20 minutes, plus however long for the row you wanted. El Toro was delayed a bit in opening because of the cold. Ka was the longest delay but opened mid-afternoon for a while before it started having rollbacks and closed again (but as you said, it might be closed anyway). Nitro had some issues during the day but it was open for the most part. All other major coasters were open and if they had issues, I wasn't there when it happened.

It's been pretty sunny and warm and clear around the Bay Area lately, flowers are blooming and I keep forgetting that it's supposed to be winter! Now this weekend we're supposed to have a big rain storm, and we need the rain, but there's nothing right now except a breeze and overcast skies. I might be going to Chicago soon, if I do, it's gonna seem so cold compared to what we've been getting here!

What I find ironic is that the people in the film basically said, "Seaworld paid us to say what they wanted us to say!" and we as viewers are supposed to be like, "Yeah! That's so messed up!" Yet, they're being paid by the movie producers to say only what the movie producers want them to say. If one of the points of the movie is to question the things we hear, then we should also be questioning the movie. Also, I'm sorry if this has been brought up already, but I get REALLY irritated at the people who say, "free the whales!" Those people obviously do not know what happened with Keiko. Yeah, let's just throw the whales that have been used to relying on humans for years (and many that have never seen the wild) into the literal cold. While we're at it, let's free your horses and dogs. They'll totally know how to survive out in the wild on their own.

I like option one, it looked a lot more appealing and sleek than option 2. Option 2 was overwhelming to me because the picture was so big and intimidating, there wasn't anything else with it to tone it down. I thought the Twitter feed was a nice touch in Option 1.

I love looking at good orca photos, and yours are stunning. Great job.

Seeing that food just made me really hungry. I'm "pescetarian" so I love a place with good seafood options. And of course...margaritas Also, what's in that dessert? It looks awesome. Hoping to possibly visit this park next year so if I do, I'll keep that restaurant in mind!

Universal Studios Hollywood-2x SFMM-2x SFDK-10x so far I believe, and counting CGA-I think 6 or 7, more if you count the promo shoot SCBB-1x KBF-1x Santa Monica Pier-1x SFGAdv-1x

With all the tunnels, maybe they can do something cool for Haunt with them. Like project ghosts on the walls or something, or knowing CGA, fill them with fog so much that you choke on it.

Well SFMM has two 4D coasters when no other park in North America has one. The two are very different rides, but still. RMC is gonna put a coaster on top of El Toro. It's gonna be called Iron Toro. Just think about what that would be like for a moment. I'm just glad I got to ride RT again this year so I don't feel too terrible about its loss. I'm really curious about what might go there. Maybe something in 2015? Isn't it like a Six Flags anniversary year or something?

Why wouldn't they? It's simple, and disasters are thrilling. I didn't even know this ride was being built but now I have something to tell our Australian exchange student about and see if he's been to this park. I think the theming looks really great, and I like how immersive it is for a seemingly simple ride. Sounds cold right now when it's like 40 degrees here but I believe it's summer there, so perfect timing?

I haven't ridden it in years. Funny, last time I was at the park I looked at it and thought that I wanted to ride it again, but said, "Nah, next time." Maybe "next time" will be never again. I do think it didn't really fit where it was, and sounds like it was horrible to operate, but I'll miss it....only because they're whales. I have a huge weakness for orcas if you guys didn't already know and it gave me joy just looking at the cute little whale boats. If they're gonna scrap it, I want one. I'll buy them. I know it's never gonna happen, but still. I'll put it in my room and caress it and cry over Yaka and Vigga and fill it with all my accumulated whale plushies. Okay maybe not, but I still love orcas.

^Well I can speak for myself, and my friends that read and share the reports, and say that we really appreciate all the work you do! IAAPA is one of those things I'll probably never have the chance to attend in person, but reading your reports really does make me "feel like I'm there"!

Going to SFDK, since now it's year-round It's what I'll definitely be needing after finals this year!

Wow, you're all over the place there. I don't think we'll be doing SFGAdv for a while again since we were just there this year, although if we did find ourselves in the area again, I'd definitely go. My #1 hope for 2014 would be SFGAm, since it would be an entirely new park for me and I have other reasons for wanting to visit the Chicago area again. 2nd would be Orlando, since we have a friend who's planning a trip next year and wants us to join.

It's looking really great, I really do hope we can visit it soon after it opens! Thanks for the updates, guys

I went to the park today and found out about the seatbelts on my way. The park was DEAD. In less than two hours, I had ridden Superman 6 times, Roar, V2, Kong, and Medusa. About the seatbelts... I really didn't think they interfered with the ride experience at all. I didn't notice them during the ride. When you go into the station, they remind you several times to sit down and fasten your seatbelts and NOT to pull down the lap bar. The ride ops have to do it. If someone pulls their lap bar down, they have to unlock the restraints and do it all over so they can pull it down for you. This part was annoying because they tended to staple you a little too hard, but even with extreme stapling, you still get plenty of airtime. I think the worst part about this is the slowing down of dispatches. With the park being so dead, it didn't really matter. However, with the lines I saw during FFest and several days over the summer, I think all the extra seconds needed for this process will add up and the lines will move a little slower than we've been used to. But really, all of you guys freaking out about this, who cares?!? It's still an awesome ride, I'm still super glad SFDK has this ride, and I don't care if I have to wait a few extra minutes for it. If you care so much, then don't ride. Shorter wait for the rest of us. Also, we got our first ever stall on SkyScreamer! It was only a few minutes we were up there, and ended up being pretty cool (in both senses of the word) with nice views, and eerily swaying in the wind. The wait for Superman most of the day For the seatbelt nerds. It's really not a big deal. I don't blame anyone that this line was the shortest I saw all day. I almost had a train to myself. Walked straight up and rode Medusa in the front. Right after this, a whole group came in that filled in the other rows on the next two trains. Even the ride op was surprised I always have to post a dolphin pic.... can I still be a dolphin trainer??? The tree!

I'm really glad I finally got to experience all of Haunt this year. Last year I only got to do Slaughterhouse, Club Blood, and Madame Marie's once each. This year I went through every maze at least once. My favorite show by far was Blades of Horror. That show just blew my mind both times I saw it. I still can't believe how awesome it is. My favorite maze was probably Carnevil, with Toy Factory just after that. I really really like how the music in Carnevil. They also got some really great scares on me (the last time we went through Carnevil especially, when one of the guys I knew was real was standing so still, and I kinda hesitantly walked up to him, not sure if he was going to scare me or not, but of course he did because I was an easy target. And then right after I screamed like a banshee, his friend saw the opportunity and scared me again), however, I didn't find it so scary that I didn't also have fun. The scariest maze for me was definitely Corn Stalkers. Both times I did it I literally almost wanted to cry and leave the maze. It was the part with all the life-like scare crows that really got to me. I couldn't tell which ones were real and which ones were fake, so I kept looking back and forth at all of them and then the scare actors would jump out and scare me really bad. It literally was not fun at all. I really want to get over my fear of Haunt mazes and do Knott's and Universal next year, but my reaction to this maze makes me really unsure about whether i would have any fun at the more intense Haunts or if I'd just be scared to tears the entire time.

I didn't really have a choice, my friend and I had been trying to get to SFDK for weeks for FFest and that day was the only day I had work off and we were both free. It was definitely insanely busy but we managed to do all the mazes at least once and a few of them twice, so I'd say we got our money's worth. I was there on Saturday for the concert and had a great time with that but didn't do too much else. There were still a LOT of Fright Fest goers and the maze lines looked pretty long... so I think it's safe to say Fright Fest was pretty popular this year and I think SFDK has already confirmed they'll increase it next year, so it should become even more popular!

Sorry for the double post but this is somewhat unrelated to the last... These are two of the bands going to be there on Saturday. Tickets are $15 at the park if you have a season pass or $35 including admission if you buy it tonight. This is the headliner, The City Harmonic: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] They're a little too harmonic for me. This is the band I'm excited for, Project 86: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] There's definitely going to be some headbanging at SFDK this Saturday, and not just from Kong

I'm so excited! I'm planning on going tonight after work and on Sunday after work! And SFDK on Saturday in between! Will be a perfectly awesome frightening weekend and I totally deserve it after all the midterms and homework and extra shifts at Subway!

This is from last Saturday, and I just haven't had the time to finish it until now. I'll be back on Saturday for JoshuaFest to see Project 86 live but we may not do Fright Fest again. The park was PACKED on Saturday. I think it was Key Club Day, whatever that means, but I haven't seen the park that busy in a long time. The overflow lot was full and they opened another overflow lot to the left that I've never parked at even on the busiest day. The crowds only seemed to thin out at like 11. Also, we all drank the taps DRY at SFDK. Like literally, we got beer at maybe 8 and then an hour or so later, there was nothing left except Coors Light, Bud Light, and Heineken. Later, I think even those were gone. The beer line was also one of the longer lines we waited in, even longer than some of the mazes! We think next year they should sell a VIP pass for the beer line We didn't ride any coasters because the lines were so unbelievably long! We almost rode Kong after having a few beers though...but didn't feel like paying $1 for a locker just to ride Kong buzzed. After waiting in a super long line to get our FFest wristbands, and then waiting in a molasses-slow line for Arsenic and Arania, we went back to get VIP. However, after waiting in more lines for food and beer, the VIP lines had gotten just about as long as the regular lines, so it didn't help us out too much. Oh well. Scare zones: I was REALLY pleased with how there were FOUR scare zones this year, and each of them were really good and always had a lot of scare actors around! I really felt that SFDK amped it up this year, and the crowds loved it! I can't pick a favorite this year, all of them were good. I was glad they added more walls into Circus Berserkus and it definitely made that scare zone a LOT better. Mazes: Slaughter Pig Farms: I was a little disappointed this year, there wasn't the level of talent they had last year, and some of my favorite portions from last year were not being used when I went through (like the girl on the stretcher). Scrapyard of the Dead: this one still sucks, I think they need to just get rid of it. They can do better and use that same area for something new. Arsenic and Arania: A-MAZE-ing! They added some more animatronics and some great talent and more props and scenes... it was REALLY scary the first time we went through and probably my favorite from this year! Shipwreck of Horror: better from last year, I thought. My friend got scared and ran into a wall. It was great. Also, I was glad to see the old shark statue thing being used in this. Massacre Mine: It seemed a little better, still not the highlight but not the worst, we had fun in it. Total Darkness: I didn't know what to expect, but I think they really did well on this! I think it could be a tad darker, but I liked that there were no props, and just dark hallways with trap doors and you never know when someone might pop out at you. There was this one guy in the PERFECT middle part of the hallway in the dark that scared us really bad both times. It was like nothing... and them BAM. Dude in your face. And then he seemed to disappear again...and then BAM! If they dimmed the walkway lights a little more, I think this maze could be perfect. Shows: We saw The Awakening, Danse Macabre, and the end of night show. The Awakening was AMAZING! They used some great songs ("Monster" by Skillet, "Sweet Dreams" by Manson, and "My Songs Know What You Did in The Dark" by Fall Out Boy). I just really like how they did this. They sent scare actors in hooded coats to gather around the fountain, and then at a certain point, those guys turned around and started scaring people at the same time scareactors infiltrated the crowd. They also had a flamethrower in the fountain and it went off at the PERFECT time and scared everyone. Throughout the night, it would fire up and scare people. It really was amazing. The other shows were good too, but this one just blew me away as the perfect intro show to get people pumped for Fright Fest. If this is what they did this year, I can't wait to see what they do next year as they're planning to up Fright Fest even MORE! The new Six Flags beast! I kept missing it when it was actually moving. Hillary was afraid of the clowns and not sure if she wanted to do that scare zone...and then as we're heading down the path, there come ALL the clowns heading to Circus Berserkus. The spider has us in it's clutches!! Well... sorta Hillary's been with this guy for AGES! Rotting corpse of the cemetery be creepin' I take it their wedding didn't go so well This guy was reputed to have drank ALL the liquor at SFDK. This is why you cannot find liquor at SFDK. This guy's breath was KILLER.