Bolliger&Mabillard

So a few friends and I went to Fright Fest last night. Colossus backwards is always a personal treat for me as I am one of the few individuals who liked (or at least could bare) Psyclone. It would be cool if the Ops cared enough to race them. X had continuos downtime throughout the day but we got two night rides so no complaints there. The 5 buck wristband didn't hurt the pocket, and since my season pass has gotten me into four Six Flags parks this year I should be the last person to complain about upcharging. All in all, the best crew award goes to the Riddler's crew. Train's dispatched with the one cycling approaching corkscrew 2. As a former operator of that ride I know that's not easy. Best maze IMO I'd have to say was whatever on Sammuri Summit. I didn't pay attention to the names. All in all, I got my backwards ride on Colosus and garlic fries, so I was happy.

Let's just hope this is something that disperses itself evenly throughout the chain. Texas Giant should be a jail sentence rather than an amusement ride. Just throwing ideas out there.

^^I agree. There is absolutely no problem with putting in a family oriented attraction. But when you have Mark Shapiro intention say that they're cgoing to build new rides in a builing so you can't see how small it is, then release a promo video saying that it will deliver the same calibur of thrills as Kingda Ka or El Toro? That's just a flat out lie.

Go Out And Get It-De La Soul

Scream's paint job works well IMO because all of those colors work so well together...it doesn't help that the colors faded after the first season however. So I hear Knott's is getting rid of Peanust Playhouse, Log peeler, and possibly Huff n' Puff to make way for a Vekoma Junior SLC some time in Ought 9.

Silver Bullet-Knott's Berry Farm Today...er...uh...yesterday...before Haunt started.

I can't scream how much I hate howt Knott's is RAN from an operation standpoint. I mean the charm it's losing from an old-time family park isn't being justified by the lackluster coasters that are making it a so-so thrill park. California's Great America didn't really impress me much either. I'd have to agree with an earlier post that the coaster lineup is "a yawn convention" at best. I'm just going to go on record that as a theme park enthusiast it's a little upsetting to see Six Flags in the boat their in when Cedar Fair doesn't do too much differently and still thrives.

For some people it does

I know it's not an official sign that the park is doig bad, but it's a sad sight to see from my maze at Knott's you can look in one direction and see four coasters jammed packed right next to each other. (Zoom, Jaguar, Bullet and Sidewinder). There are many who make the arguement that Cedar Fair had to add all these thrill rides to stay competitive in their market, which may be true, but as the Silver Bullets and Xcelerators hog the skyline and the Ponies and Sidewinders snatch up nostalgic parts of the parks where do you put in the charm? I know a few people that still call Knott's a family park, which I disagree with. It's making a steady shift to a thrill park that still happens to be family friendly...at least for now. But Throwing in coasters in every inch of availible airspace can only keep you profitable for so long. The decline in attendance is apparent, and what's their parent company going to do when they can no longer do the only thing they know how?

^^If I wasn't as clear before, let me state it again...Six Flags parks have a bad IMAGE. We all know people (Especially GP) don't base their opinion on facts or evidence or proof. Joe Sixpack base their opinions on hear-say, word-of-mouth, and he-say she-say. That's fantastic that there hasn't been any significant incidents in the park for a long time, but I'm not making the arguement that the park is unsafe. I AM however making an educated guess that if people don't feel safe taking their families to a park they won't. I acually think that the four Six Flags park I've been to so far are as safe as any other company. But I can't think for everyone else, and chances are, "everyone else" isn't going to research when the last shooting or fight occured at whatever park. If they hear negative things about a place, that's what they base their opinion on.

^^I don't think any of us are "hoping for the worst" as you may think we are. The problem in my eyes (Keeping in mind the following statement is my OPINION) is that people can't readily take their nieces or newphews or sons or daughterd to a park that has for so long had an image of metal detectors, rude employees, fist fights, the occasional Magic Mountain stabbing, out of control guests, and overall lousy operations. As Papas mentioned above, trying to pay off a 2 billion dollar debt with 9 million bucks with nothing left for future operating cost it just makes you wonder. A dunce can tell you SFI is up poop creek without a paddle. Are we happy about it? I'm not. I've been a season pass holder since my senior year in high school. It sucks to see our grand old lady in this condition, but if it happens, at least we all saw it coming. 2011-50th Anniversary???

I'm goiong to bypass all the people who ask me if Haunt mazes are rides, that's not nearly as much of a zinger as I got today. Some lady asked me at the EXIT of Labyrinth, AFTER she had already walked through, "What maze is this?, The Vampire one, right?"

I'd have to say your best bet is Knott's for a few reasons. 1. Its the cheapest park, 2. It's closest to LAX and the metro L.A. area 3. During Halloween Haunt day operations are almost non- existant. It's also the only park you could run around and do everything in a couple of hours. Besides, if your in town Thursday Magic mountain won't be open...it's on weekend hours only.

Sorry if I'm jumping the gun, but I see this as the park (if not the entire chain) testing the waters of a better, more financially funded and ultimately a separate ticket event. If the money goes back into enhancing Fright Fests in the years to come, I welcome the upcharge wtih open arms.

Most Inverted coasters have a series of pinch wheels surrounded by anti-roll back slots. Tatsu and Bullet are the ones I've taken note of.

I might plan a trip back to ohio in '10 especally if CP gets something worth traveling for. Wish there was a park in So Cal getting a B&M hyper.b

This time of year parks are usually dead. Save your money for churros.

Thanks for sharing! Its nice to see Disneyland still has alot of its nostalgia today from this time...and the valley with a 213 area code? This HAD to be a while back!

It took me a while to say this without it beimg bitter bias, but Knott's Berry Farm sucks b@!!$

This park is doomed, but that doesn't mean that it can't go out in class. Make a gameplan for ought-nine and make the next move the best move...because it could be the last move.

Well there might be some factors that help the park out next year. The first being new managment. Bring in a crew of executives that can charge the right prices to balance operating cost with profit. They need to find a team that can find the lowest price on admission, merch, and food to still make money. They should also keep their fingers crossed that fuel prices continue to decline. If it's cheaper to travel, then people would start doing it again. I mean it more than sucks that the park is about half a billion dollars in debt after one season, which will make it hard to recover, but if Six Flags can go 9 years of dollar-per-share stock, why can't Hard Rock hang in there?

Well I've only been on four so far: Medusa West Scream! Superman:Krypton Coaster Batman:Knight Flight (Dominator) Superman wins hands down. IMO not only is this a damn good floorless, but arguably oner of the best B&M's ever built. Dominator (I rode it as batman) was a close second. Scream and Medusa West's layouts were just, "Eh, this is a kinda cool coaster...kinda."

Well I've only been on four so far: Medusa West Scream! Superman:Krypton Coaster Batman:Knight Flight (Dominator) Superman wins hands down. IMO not only is this a damn good floorless, but arguably oner of the best B&M's ever built. Dominator (I rode it as batman) was a close second. Scream and Medusa West's layouts were just, "Eh, this is a kinda cool coaster...kinda."

With theme park turnover rate? Not likely

I gave her my Black Mamba.