[2018 Adventures Photo TR]

Did they die the water red on the river rapids for Fright Fest? Fiesta Texas is probably the only Six Flags park that'd do that.

 

Nice report!

[Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread]

Is Nitro the largest roller coaster in the country (at a seasonal park) that runs during a winter event? I'm having a hard time thinking of a bigger coaster.

 

Technically SFOT is seasonal, right? If Titan runs, it beats it in height. Loses in ride quality though.

[Scotch Plains Amusement Park Bowcraft Is Closing]

Honestly I thought the Moser tower was the park's best ride.

[Six Flags New England (SFNE) Discussion Thread]

Last year we had three straight weeks where the temperatures didn't go above 20 degrees at all. Mind Eraser/Riddler showed everyone it's the lone survivor and won't go down even in those conditions.

[Dollywood Discussion Thread]

^ This. It's not like they raised the prices without adding something. I think the jump is definitely warranted and still worth it if you're visiting more than once.

[Splash Adventure (Alabama Adventure) Discussion Thread]

True, how discriminatory of me. It could be a show or a stand.

[Coasterbill's Alcohol, Coaster and Culture Trip Reports Land]

Great report! Did that beast of a coaster dehtrone Millennium Force?

[Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread]

It's like a parking garage.

[Six Flags Over Texas (SFOT) Discussion Thread]

That'd be terrible news if they're removing that dark ride. I had no clue it even existed before my visit and it was the surprise of the day. It's something you wouldn't expect from a park like Six Flags.

[Six Flags America (SFA) Discussion Thread]

Isn't the theme of Batman the Ride's queue that a beautiful Gotham park gets vandalized? Having spare coaster cars fits in perfectly.

[Splash Adventure (Alabama Adventure) Discussion Thread]

The park confirmed on Twitter that they'll be receiving 3 new rides next year. No mention yet what they will be.

 

[Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)]

I can't wait to get down to Florida and ride BGT's wonderful collection of B&Ms at some point, particularly Kumba. I absolutely adore Riddler's Revenge (which I hear people call the "Kumba of the West"), so it sounds like my type of ride... and probably a little more comfortable than Riddler, too.

 

Pretty much anything is more comfortable than a B&M stand-up.

[Dollywood Discussion Thread]

Unless you look at the map, it's pretty easy to miss Daredevil Falls too and the whole Owen Farm area.

[The alphabet coaster game!]

Helix at Liseberg

[Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's World Adventures]

Lake Compounce- Haunted Graveyard

 

I haven't been to many Halloween haunts, so my experience is limited. I think the only one I've been to outside of New England is Lagoon's Frightmares. But of the haunts I've been to, without question Lake Compounce's Haunted Graveyard is the best. I made three visits to the Haunted Graveyard this year and each visit couldn't have been more different.

 

Visit 1- The Walkthrough

 

After an afternoon at Six Flags, I made a side-trip to Lake Compounce for a night cap. The goal of visit one was to experience the walkthrough. As a season pass holder, the rides were free, but the haunt was a $25-30 upcharge. I had a 7 pm reservation, so I had two hours to burn. So I made a lap of the coasters not named Zoomerang.

 

Because of its putrid capacity, my first stop was Wildcat. Much is made of the fact that Boulder Dash only runs one train now. But swept under the rug is the fact that Wildcat does the same. I actually think it's worse on Wildcat since the trains hold a minuscule 14 passengers and take forever to return to the station. I only rode the retracked Wildcat once all summer because it usually had a line longer than Boulder Dash.

 

I finally got my elusive Haunted Graveyard Wildcat ride. Last year the coaster was closed due to the park's baffling decision to start painting the ride in September after the retracking fiasco and in the 5 years before that, I never saw it run once during the Halloween event. By going there at rope drop, I was in the front row on the second train of the day. Was it any better up front? Sadly no.

 

The retracking helped. In its prior state, Wildcat drew blood on a few of my friends and father. The retracking upgraded Wildcat from a dumpster fire to just mediocre. It's still far bumpier than a retracked coaster should ever be, but it's at least rideable. It just doesn't offer any airtime whatsoever. 3 out of 10

 

I never thought I'd see the day when Wildcat was open at Haunted Graveyard.

 

After a quick ride on Phobia, I began the part of the night where I ride nothing but Boulder Dash. That's the effect of having one of the world's best roller coasters in a park like Lake Compounce. I got four front row rides and each subsequent ride was faster than the last.

 

Boulder Dash's outward leg begins with some powerful laterals before transitioning to strong and very quick pops of air. After the turnaround, Boulder Dash kicks it into overdrive and accelerates at a shocking rate on the return leg. Every single hill gives copious floater air without even a hint of roughness. These rides were just the appetizer. The main event would be the night rides. 10 out of 10

 

Boulder Dash absolutely hauls and has been dubbed the supersonic wood coaster by one of my friends.

 

One new addition for the graveyard walkthrough was a VIP option that allowed you to skip the line entirely. The timed option does a good job minimizing your wait time, but you usually still have to wait 20-30 minutes to enter. I didn't see how much the VIP option cost, but I decided to just wait the line out.

 

This walkthrough is why Lake Compounce's Halloween event is the best in my opinion. Most haunts consist of several 5 minute haunts that you have to wait a half hour for. Because of this, I rarely do haunts if they have any sort of wait. Haunted Graveyard is a single hour long haunt, which is definitely worth it. The walkthrough has great set designs, preys on every phobia in existence, and is loaded with scare actors. 10 out of 10

 

I didn't get any pictures of the Graveyard, but there's some theming set up elsewhere in the park.

Bozo is one creepy clown.

 

The night ended with a front row ride on Boulder Dash. I rank coasters based on the optimal conditions I've experienced them in. I know that's different than how some rank coasters (for those who even rank them), but it's this reason that Boulder Dash is a top 5 coaster in the world for me. Boulder Dash is absolutely out-of-control at night. It's pitch black and I always get tears in my eyes from the relentless speed.

 

The line was all the way back to the midway and took about 45 minutes. If there was ever going to be a night to finally add the second train, this would have been it. Then my prayers were seemingly answered. I saw a parade of employees heading up the exit. Some looked like executives and others were maintenance workers.

 

"Attention those queuing for Boulder Dash, there will be a brief delay in operations but you're in for a treat. Boulder Dash is going into two train mode!"

 

The fact the park calls two train operations a treat is somewhat a slap in the face, but I was too excited. They dispatched an empty train and I anxiously waited to see if they'd stop it on the lift or brake run after last year's mishap. Sure enough they stopped it on the lift. An employee went over to the transfer track. After 5 minutes, the lift restarted. The same empty train returned. Another guest asked what was going on.

 

"Change of plans."

 

I say this half joking, but does the park seriously not know how to add a second train?

 

Visit 2- The Power Outage

 

One epic night ride wasn't enough on Boulder Dash, so I planned a return trip after work the following week. As I pulled into the lot, something was wrong. It was dark. Too dark. Cars were rolling past the parking booth too fast. I had a sneaking suspicion the park was without power and the employee manning the ticket booth confirmed my fears.

 

However, I heard a rumble in the distance. It sounded like the roar of Phobia. Intrigued, I walked towards the main gate and it was ominous. Usually the tunnel under the park is brightly lit and filled with fog. Tonight, it was still. It looked completely unnatural.

 

This is what the Haunted Graveyard is supposed to look like.

This is what the Haunted Graveyard looked like during a power outage.

 

As I reached the gate, it was pure chaos. The ticket booths and guest relations were darkened. Employees on megaphones were warning guests that they were no longer selling ride passes. Fortunately they were still honoring season passes and pre-purchased admission tickets. The only thing they were selling were Haunted Graveyard tickets. And they were being sold from the Potato Patch French Fry stand, which was one of the few stands with power.

 

Here's the line of angry and confused guests trying to purchase Graveyard tickets at a French fry stand.

 

To the park's credit, most rides were actually operating. Everything to the right side of the park was running outside of Saw Mill Plunge and the kiddie rides, neither of which operate during Haunted Graveyard anyway. However, everything on the left side was closed. That included Wipeout, Bumper Cars, Down Time, Carousel, Wildcat, and...Boulder Dash.

 

The line of demarcation cut me off from Boulder Dash.

 

Boulder Dash being down completely changed my plans for the night. Instead of getting a night marathon until closing, I grabbed quick rides on Phobia and American Flyers before departing for Six Flags New England. The drive was only supposed to take 40 minutes, but somehow it took almost 2 hours due to a horrific traffic jam at 9 pm in Hartford caused by a five lane highway being reduced to one lane.

 

On the bright side, Superman was absolutely flying and the Diamond Membership skip-the-line passes are absolutely clutch.

 

Superman isn't a bad consolation prize. In fact, many would actually prefer it to Boulder Dash.

 

Visit 3- Boulder Dash Marathon and Red Sox win the World Series

 

After another afternoon at Six Flags New England, I returned to Lake Compounce for the final night of Haunted Graveyard. I had a one track mind to get as many front row Boulder Dash rides as possible. I also wanted to see the Red Sox win the World Series. Fortunately the marvels of technology allowed me to stream the game from my phone.

 

I got a total of nine rides with all but one in the front row. The lone exception was when I used my complimentary exit pass from the night of the power outage. While I could have asked for the front, I would have felt guilty doing so and simply asked to fill in an empty seat.

 

Ultimately I'd say it was a successful night. Lightning Rod was able to top Boulder Dash for the best night ride, but that's the only coaster that has.

 

Boulder Dash is relentless by day and absolutely berzerk by night.

[Hopi Hari Theme Park 2011 - Brazil]

Interesting...I wonder how long it will take them to fail to assemble this.

 

In all seriousness this is pretty interesting, I hear GIB’s (when not run with the awful Premier trains) can be awesome, and I hope the park can manage to avoid a repeat of the last new coaster they tried to open.

 

I miss the original trains so much. They are in fact very good rides with those trains. They're very temperamental though unless a park has the magic of Silverwood.

[Adventureland Long Island!]

Interesting. Looking at the coaster's age, it looks like it's only 20-25 years old so it makes sense they'd look to keep it around.

[Dollywood Discussion Thread]

The only thing that would worry me is the fact Silver Dollar City removed a very similar attraction. From a weather standpoint, it's not a shock it'd only run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That's what a lot of parks do with their water rides.

[Coney Island (Luna Park / Deno's) Development Discussion Thread]

I always thought it would have made more sense for them to have the smaller version of the Air Race but I expect they'll add something entirely different in that spot.

[Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's World Adventures]

Lagoon

 

Lagoon was never intended to be on the docket of parks in 2018. I’ve always heard very good things about this park, but it’s location makes it a rarely visited park for enthusiasts. However, a work trip routed me through Salt Lake City and it would have been an absolute shame to skip out on Lagoon.

 

Salt Lake City’s airport has an unbelievable setting. Your descent takes you over the vaunted Great Salt Lake and you are surrounding by mountains. I audibly gasped at the beauty. It looked like something straight out of a fantasy film. Except here, it was real. I knew it was going to be a good day.

 

This is Utah. This is real.

 

I was visiting during Lagoon’s Frightmares event and the forecast called for rain leading up to my visit. I’m not going to lie, with the cooler temperatures, I was a bit worried. However, I found some old videos of Lagoon operating rides in absolute downpours, so that placated my concerns. Plus the weathermen turned out to be dead wrong. The skies were overcast, but I didn’t feel a drop of rain all day.

 

My original plan was to visit Lagoon for 3 hours, leave to hit the nearby mountain coasters, and return for the final 4 hours. However, that plan was as concrete as Prince Desmond’s plan to save the Big Dipper. Lagoon is unequivocally a full day park. I had 11 hours and that still wasn’t enough time to ride and experience everything. Considering its location and proximity to other amusement parks, Lagoon could easily mail it in. But they don’t. This is one of the best run parks I’ve encountered.

 

I guess I'm visiting Frightmares today, not Lagoon.

Lagoon went all in for the Halloween season.

I mean just look at that theming and the scare actors getting into it.

 

Operations can be a mixed bag at independent parks. It’s not uncommon to find staggered openings and one train operations. Not at Lagoon. I arrived a half hour prior to their posted opening and they were already admitting people into the park and cycling every attraction.

 

Additionally, Lagoon has some of the fastest moving lines I have ever seen. They had multiple trains running on almost every coaster and I can’t recall a single instance of stacking. For this reason, do not be deterred by something that looks like a long queue. Plus the queue lines themselves are very short. They cannot hold many people. Multiple queue lines were spilling out into the midway; yet the wait wasn’t more than 10-20 minutes.

 

Without question, my first stop was going to be Cannibal, so I patiently waited in the staging area and struck up a conversation with the security guard who was a fellow coaster enthusiast herself. When the rope dropped, I moseyed my way over to Cannibal. It’s one of the most imposing coasters I’ve seen. That beyond vertical drop looks unreal. I’ve seen my fair share of Eurofighters, but they’re not even half as tall as Cannibal.

 

Returning to the efficiency of Lagoon, Cannibal was running 4-5 trains with a dual loading platform. For this reason, their star attraction never had a wait exceeding 15-20 minutes. Further, single riders such as myself can utilize the single rider queue and usually board in less than 5 minutes thanks to the 4 across seating. This made Cannibal a very easy coaster to marathon.

 

I’d also like to note two odd policies that Lagoon has on their coasters. One, Lagoon bans single riders in the front or back row on all their coasters. The only other time I’ve encountered something similar was at Six Flags Over Texas with the back row. Second, the park is very much against riders raising their hands. It’s not uncommon for rides to advise guests to hold onto the lap bar, but at Lagoon, I saw operators explicitly tell riders to put their hands down if they raised them.

 

Back to Cannibal. Fortunately the 4 across seating allowed me to get multiple front and back row rides. The coaster was exceptional in every seat, but I had a slight preference for the back to get the full effect of the drop. The lap bars were a bit tight, but I’ll take a tight lap bar over an OSTR any day of the week.

 

I really wanted to buy a Cannibal shirt, but realized people back home wouldn't know it was a coaster.

 

I had no clue what would happen as we rolled into the tower. I don’t want to spoil it, but I’ll say there was more theming than I expected. Jumping to the drop, Cannibal has one of the best drops out there. Without fail, beyond vertical drops always give powerful bursts of ejector air and Cannibal was no different. The difference here was the sheer length of the drop. The drop went on forever and after the initial pop, the ejector air morphed into sustained floater. Cannibal clearly was not messing around.

 

Cannibal then alternated between an Immelmann and dive loop. The Immelmann offered some decent hangtime while the dive loop began with a small pop of air before whipping riders back to the ground. But Cannibal doesn’t dive all the way to the ground in one fell swoop as it’s a surprise double down with another solid pop of air. The following overbank is the lone forgettable element on the ride.

 

The MCBR saps a majority of Cannibal’s speed, but it’s a rare situation where it works to the coaster’s advantage. The Lagoon roll consists of two very slow barrel rolls giving hangtime rivaling Hydra’s jojo roll. My phone was safely tucked away in a zippered pocket, but I still instinctively reached for my pocket because of how long you’re held upside down. That’s followed by a zippy downwards helix through some beautiful rockwork and one tiny pop of air into the brake run.

 

Cannibal is one of the most fun and reridable coasters I’ve been on. The coaster is glass smooth, which is especially impressive considering that Cannibal was designed in-house. As for where Cannibal ranks, it’s a borderline top 25 steel coaster for me. I’d go as far to rank it ahead of coasters such as New Texas Giant, Mexico’s Medusa, and Leviathan. 9.5 out of 10

 

Cannibal's drop is orgasmic.

The whole ride simply looks massive.

If you don't have zippered pockets, I sure hope you stored your items in a locker. Cannibal shows no mercy during the Lagoon Roll.

 

I decided to give a token ride on Flying Aces, their set of flying scooters. As I approached the ride, the only thing that stood out was the fact that you boarded on the inside. I can’t think of another set of flying scooters that does that. Once I sat down, I realized the fins had far more movement than I expected. Maybe these could be snapped? Then the ride started and we reached Knoebels speeds. Oh yes, these babies can be snapped!

 

With the speed and fin movement, it was a piece of cake to chain together consecutive snaps. The result was a near death experience that caused audible gasps from folks watching the attraction. I was nervous the operate would chide me out or stop the attraction (like the Knoebels operators occasionally do), but neither happened. I got an uninterrupted 2 minutes of violent snapping. These were as good as Flyer albeit with a shorter cycle (the length was fine, it’s just Knoebels gives legendary 5 minute cycles).

 

A reride was necessary, but I figured I should wait a while. I didn’t want to get blacklisted. As I exited, I tried to avoid eye contact with the operator, but she smiled and remarked, “It looks like somebody had a good time.” Then I realized I was being silly. There was no need to worry since Lagoon is awesome. I got back in line and my tub moved as disjointedly as a poor quality Internet stream.

 

It was no surprise that Cannibal would be the top ride at Lagoon, but I was not expecting a set of flyers rivaling those of Knoebels. If these were at any other park, I guarantee you would hear Flying Aces mentioned in the same breath as Knoebels’s Flyer. They are that incredible. 10 out of 10

 

I thought I was going to die at least 5-6 times on these flyers. That's the sign of quality.

 

Flying Aces is the reason I didn’t ride the mountain coasters. Flying Aces educated me that Lagoon’s flat rides should not be missed. Because of this, I now had a full day. I followed up with Samurai, a rare top scan. I love top scans, but they’ve relatively uncommon. I had visions of that insane top scan I rode last year at Oktoberfest, but it wasn’t to be.

 

Don’t get me wrong, even a poorly run top scan is a great flat. It was just a disappointment after Flying Aces got my hopes up. The cycle was ridiculously short and the arms barely rocked, but at least there were some sustained inversions. The one oddity about Samurai was how long it took to reset. It probably took a minute of the arm slowly rotating forwards and backwards until the arm would lower us. 7 out of 10

 

I wish there were more top scans in the world.

Don't lose your sushi; that's what the lockers are for.

 

Up next was the park’s drop tower, the Rocket. Without any hesitation, I selected the re-entry side. For one, it would give me more time to appreciate the gorgeous mountain view. Second, S&S space shots usually don’t do much for me. The drop on this one was decent. It gave a burst of air at the start, but the intensity just isn’t there compared to its Intamin and Larson brethren. 7 out of 10

 

For some reason, the dude in the logo reminds me of the mascots from Backyard Baseball.

Lagoon lets you blast off towards the stars or re-enter the atmosphere.

 

There was one credit I was skeptical I would get. And it wasn’t the kiddie coaster either. The coaster in question was Jet Star 2. For one, I read online the coaster doesn’t run in the rain. Thankfully that wasn’t an issue. What was an issue was the no single rider policy. Due to the restraints, Lagoon requires guests to ride in groups of two or three. I patiently waited on the ride platform for 10-15 minutes until I found a winner- a father whose teenage girls didn’t want to ride in his lap. While the girls took selfies, I got up close and personal with their father.

 

The coaster itself was decent. The drops had good zip to them, as did the first helix. However, saying the brakes were harsh would be an understatement. The stop was so abrupt that it felt like my riding buddy was trying to go in my back door. If Jet Star 2 allowed single riders, I definitely would have given it another whirl. But it was a one and done for me due to that policy. 5 out of 10

 

I'll take awkward coasters to get a boner on for 00 please.

 

Sky Rides are a photographer’s dream. They’re especially nice when they can transport you from one end of a park to another. Lagoon’s Sky Ride satisfies both. As we were descending, in the corner of my eye, I spotted a kangaroo. For a second I thought I had ridden Puff the Magic Dragon, but my eyes weren’t deceiving me. Lagoon has a random kangaroo exhibit. I love this park. 9 out of 10

 

That's a distinct lack of fencing for a ride in the US.

40 degree temperatures and water parks don't mix.

Of course Lagoon had a lagoon.

They weren't a mirage. The park really did have kangaroos.

 

Up next was Colossus the Fire Dragon, a coaster with an almost identical layout to Dorney’s now removed Laser. I didn’t have fond memories of Laser. I remembered the coaster offering enough vibrations to appease a porn star. However, that was also at a time when I thought Steel Force was the best coaster in the world, Boulder Dash had no airtime, and the Internet was only for schoolwork. I was a confused child.

 

Colossus set me straight. The first drop had a powerful snap to it like Alpina Bahn and the following two loops were the usual Schwarzkopf perfection. But what came next was the coaster’s most intense moment. I have never been more thankful for lap bars. The transition into the helix folded me over onto the seat next to me. Colossus abused my body. Yet I liked it.

 

The final two helixes were decent, but nothing compared to the first half. Colossus was surprisingly the second best coaster in the park. 8 out of 10

 

Anton Schwarzkopf was ahead of his time.

This is the unassuming turn that catches you off-guard. Just look what it did to that front row rider!

 

In most areas, wicked means evil. For musical fans, Wicked is the spin off from the Wizard of Oz. To coaster enthusiasts, Wicked is simply, as we’d say in New England, a wicked cool coaster. Like Cannibal, Wicked had a single rider line. However, it wasn’t too much of a time saver. For that reason, I preferred to wait in the main queue to ensure myself a front row ride, where Wicked was noticeably smoother. The lap bar only trains prevented headbanging, but the rattle in the back row bashed my legs against the shin guard quite a few times.

 

After hearing a blaring siren, Wicked treated me to one of the most unique launches out there. In terms of raw speed, it’s pretty pedestrian. What’s special is the fact that it’s a two-part launch. It starts horizontally, has a brief reprieve transitioning up the tower, and then surprises riders with a vertical launch. That vertical launch had way more force than I expected and it was absolutely mind-bending to be accelerating as we climbed the tower.

 

Wicked then treated me to two strong and distinct pops of air, one as you crest the tower and another on the vertical descent. That’s followed by a decent airtime-filled speed hill, an ok overbank, and a dazzling zero-G roll loaded with hangtime. In some ways, I wish Wicked had stopped right there. It had already done more than most launch coasters.

 

Instead Wicked crept through a laughably bad second half devoid of any speed, forces, airtime, or excitement. It serves no purpose other than to add a block section and some additional length to the ride. It’s reasons like this that I don’t mind a ride like Twisted Cyclone forgoing an extra lap for a fast and memorable finish. Still Wicked’s first half is good enough to carry the coaster. 8 out of 10

 

To the person you thought up a vertical launch, you are a mad genius.

Inversions + Lap Bar Only Trains = Happiness

Wicked's first half is (as we say in New England) wicked pissah.

15 mph overbanks like this is all Wicked offers in the second half.

 

Up next were the two mice coasters. Both had full queues and took about 25-30 minutes to get through. I started with Spider. For the most part, this was your standard Maurer spinner except we started to rotate after cresting the lift. Usually you don’t start spinning until the second hill. While it was cool to start the spinning sooner, there was hardly any spinning the rest of the ride. It was especially odd since we had a very unbalanced vehicle with a couple on one side and me on the other. 6 out of 10

 

I hope you don't have arachnophobia.

Spider spins when it shouldn't...

and not when it should.

 

Wild Mouse was a minimally braked version of the commonplace coaster. This resulted in some powerful laterals on the top section and a bit of air on the big drop. But the highlight was the brief, house-themed tunnel. The amount of detail in that single tunnel is impressive considering the coaster flies right through it. But it does make for a nice visual off-ride. 5 out of 10

 

Lagoon knows how to run a mouse, unbraked.

 

Roller Coaster is the unoriginally named classic coaster that is the park’s senior citizen. The station definitely looks retro with the architecture and flashy neon lights. And it’s clear the park appreciates the coaster’s rich history as there’s a detailed montage in the station. I think the funniest bit is an old photo where everyone has their hands raised and Lagoon has a disclaimer stating it was a historical photo and that riders must now hold on.

 

The Millennium Flyers were new additions in 2018. For this reason, I was optimistic this oldie would be reasonably smooth. That wasn’t the case. Roller Coaster is a pretty bumpy ride. However, I am willing to look past that because of the airtime. If you ride towards the front, you get nice pops on any smaller hill and powerful bursts on the final two turnarounds. In the back row, you get nice floater air on any sizable drop. 7 out of 10

 

True beauty is an illuminated station of a classic wooden coaster.

I love the history montage, especially seeing the time when raising your hands was allowable at Lagoon.

For a coaster almost 100 years old, Roller Coaster has some solid airtime.

 

I hadn’t heard much about Lagoon’s dark rides. Both Terroride and Dracula’s Castle had impressive facades, but I still expected something on the level of a carnival dark ride. So imagine my shock when I saw the detailed scenes and large props on both dark rides. Now they were both on the shorter side, but if that’s what they had to do to ensure enough budget for high quality rides, it was a worthwhile decision.

 

I had a slight preference for Terroride. It had two really well executed jump scares. And it cemented the fact that Lagoon clearly has a thing for human sacrifice. Their star attraction is called Cannibal after all. Meanwhile Dracula’s Castle was free of jump scares, instead relying on the detailed design of the cornucopia of horror monsters. 8 out of 10

 

I absolutely love everything about Terroride's facade- the castle, the rocking sign, and the animatronic skeleton.

I caught Dracula after a breakout so I avoided a queue.

 

Boomerang was more violent than usual. Vekoma Boomerangs usually concentrate their aggression towards rider’s skulls. Lagoon’s Boomerang focused on delivering body shots. Fortunately, Lagoon’s Boomerang isn’t a Vekoma Boomerang. Instead it’s their set of bumper cars. The cycle is definitely on the shorter side, but the arena is huge and the cars actually have some oomph to them. 7 out of 10

 

Usually it's not a good thing to be rougher than a Vekoma Boomerang. But with bumper cars, that's actually a good thing.

 

I wasn’t quite sure if I’d ride their pseudo top spin due to the water effects, but the attendant assured me they were off. This was true, but I think they also turned off the inversions by mistake. Cliffhanger was an absolute tease. It came as close as possible to flipping without actually flipping. Maybe the ride just needed some WD-40 since it sounded like metal on metal screeching with each movement. 1 out of 10

 

Grinding Metal the Ride

 

Thankfully the Rock-O-Plane delivered inversions in bunches. Now that I know what the magic lock and release lever does, I lock and unlock my vehicle to my heart’s content to maximize inversions. The only downside with Rock-O-Plane is the painstakingly slow loading procedure. Every other time I’ve ridden a Rock-O-Plane, I’ve been the only rider so I’ve never had to witness the load procedure that makes a Ferris Wheel look like the Phoenix’s dispatches. 7 out of 10

 

One of the few rides where you don't get in trouble for rocking the vehicles. You can try on your own, but I bet you'll need the magic lever.

 

Centennial Screamer was the park’s enterprise. Going into my visit, this was one flat that I heard was run particularly well at Lagoon. It was fast, but I’ve been spoiled by the enterprise at Fun Spot. I love the friction pads on the seats that prevent riders from sliding and wish more had those. Nonetheless, enterprises are a dying breed so I make it a point to ride these intense flats whenever I see one. 6 out of 10

 

Those grey skies sure looked ominous, but they never produced a single drop of rain.

 

Air Race was probably Lagoon’s least efficient ride. Beyond having a third of the ride’s vehicles closed due to maintenance, the loading wasn’t particularly fast. As of late, I’ve been running into the smaller air races so it was refreshing to see a larger model. However, this one had a much shorter cycle. Still it was enough time to get at least a half dozen inversions. 7 out of 10

 

I forgot just how big of a footprint the larger air races occupy.

 

I still had 3 credits left, so I made my way to Bombora. Before they built Cannibal, Lagoon designed this roller skater on steroids. Bombora probably has the most gratuitously overdesigned trains that I have ever seen. Not only does this junior coaster have on-board audio (themed to surfing of course), but it also has LED seashells that illuminate at night. As for the coaster, it was glass smooth. There wasn’t a bit of force, but that’s pretty typical for a junior coaster. Really it’s those trains that make this coaster somewhat memorable. 5 out of 10

 

Bombora was the gateway coaster for the park's designers. They weren't satisfied with the small stuff, so it led to Cannibal.

Just look at those trains. Hot dang!

 

The sun was beginning to set and I was a bit nervous. I had yet to make my way to the back of the park where the two water rides are located. In some ways, I figured venturing to the back of the park would be a waste of time. The temperature had plunged into the 40s. Surely Lagoon wouldn’t be operating their flume and river rapids. Or would they?

 

It took me a while to find the water rides. These rides are separated from the front of the park. I thought I made a wrong turn as I passed through the picnic pavilions, but that’s how you reach them. The only other alternative is to pass through the water park (when it’s open of course). The Log Flume’s station was deserted outside of an operator. It appeared open, but I was worried I’d be turned away as a single rider considering that’s a policy I’ve encountered on several flumes.

 

Oddly enough, Lagoon had no problem with me riding as a single rider. The flume has one of the most tranquil experiences I’ve had on a ride. While the scare actors and crowds were roaming the midways at the front of the park, Lagoon’s Log Flume quietly meandered through the still woods in the back of the park. Then plunge at the end wasn’t anything to write home about and fortunately it wasn’t a soaker. The last thing I wanted was to get drenched on such a cool night. 6 out of 10

 

It was so peaceful in the back area of the park. No crowds, no scare actors, and lots of trees.

In case the logs in the flume weren't a queue, the park kindly reminds you it's called Log Flume.

 

Yet I was stupid enough to ride Rattlesnake Rapids. I talked myself into it saying my next visit wouldn’t be for quite some time and Lagoon would probably have the effects dialed back anyway. Unlike the Log Flume, Rattlesnake Rapids did ban single riders. Fortunately there were two teenagers as crazy as me and I rode with them.

 

Rattlesnake Rapids is one of the best landscaped river rapids rides I’ve ridden. If the mountain backdrop alone wasn’t enough, the ride’s layout is completely concealed by trees and is loaded with rockwork, including a lengthy, fog-filled cave. This is one of the longer river rapids rides I’ve ridden and there was easily more than a dozen rapids. If I had to guess, the ride was toned back due to the temperature. The rapids didn’t offer more than a sprinkle and there were a few points that looked like obvious candidates for a waterfall. 7 out of 10

 

Rattlesnake Rapids is extremely well landscaped. And long too.

But most people weren't as dumb as me and decided to actually try and keep their core temperature up on a cooler day.

 

The one coaster I was dreading to ride was the Bat. For one, it had one train and a full queue. I really did not want to burn a half hour waiting for a cruddy coaster that is the beginner’s guide to CTE. Fortunately the park’s speedy dispatches got me on the Bat in just 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the Bat still sucked. I leaned forwards for self-preservation, but still took a few headshots. 2 out of 10

 

It's considered a rite of passage for a father to share a beer with their son. With the Bat, younger riders get a chance to pop an Advil with their parents to treat the headache this coaster could potentially cause.

 

The final coaster was Puff the Little Fire Dragon. By this point, I knew the drill. As a single rider, I had to sit somewhere in the middle of the train. However, the operator moved me to the back of the train. I stopped trying to understand Lagoon’s seating policies and instead happily got my kiddie credit. 2 out of 10

 

When I told friends and family I rode Puff the Magic Dragon, they didn't think I meant a coaster.

 

I also rode one other dragon. This one was Jumping Dragon. The park has two Himalayas. I think I rode the one targeted more towards kids and families, but the ride was too beautiful to skip. Not only was the ride vehicle a bright and colorful dragon, but the ride was nestled in a pagoda. As for the ride, it was faster than expected and traveled in both directions. The latter is something that even most adult Himalayas fail to do. 6 out of 10

 

The dragon alone would have been impressive. But the pagoda too? Lagoon spoils the locals.

 

Originally I wasn’t intending to experience any of Lagoon’s haunts. I figured they’d have lengthy queues and I’d rather spend my time racking up night rides on the coasters. But Lagoon offered an absolute lifesaver in the Time Warp pass. For just $15, I was granted 7 skip-the-line passes for the 5 different haunted houses. I cannot recommend this pass enough since the haunt queues easily looked to be over a half hour in length.

 

This is the third park I've seen recently that offers a Halloween haunt skip-the-line pass despite not having one for the rides. Canobie and Lake Compounce do the same thing.

 

Malevolent Mansion was the best and scariest haunt. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a haunt has well-designed set pieces, but it’s too dark to enjoy them. It’s possible to be scary in a lighted environment and Lagoon proved that. The haunt actors were extremely aggressive and not afraid to get right up in my grill. This resulted in several excellent jump scares. The haunt was short, but it excelled in every other area. 8 out of 10

 

It's queues like this that made Time Warp worth it.

 

Fun House of Fear was just a notch behind in quality. This haunt traded scares for interactivity. The scare actors were plentiful and holding creepy conversations throughout. Combined with the colorful set design, some neat animatronics, and the gimmicky 3D effect, Fun House of Fear was a really nice haunt. It reminded me of a toned down version of Canobie’s Carnivus haunt that I love so much. 8 out of 10

 

Nightmare Midway started off as a disappointment. It began with a pitch black corridor with nothing but jump scares. For many, this is all that’s needed for an effective haunt. But as I said earlier, I look forward to theming. Fortunately the second half had some interesting sets like a strobe maze, streamer maze, and an Area 51 section. 7 out of 10

 

Fun House of Fear and Nightmare Midway shared the same building, but they couldn't have been more different.

 

Nightwalk was where the vampires and witches came alive. It had as many jump scares as Nightmare Midway except it had a decent set to compliment them. Nothing in particular stood out, but it was a solid all-around haunt. 7 out of 10

 

Lastly, there was the Frightening Frisco. Tucked away in the back of the park by the water rides, it wasn’t too surprising this was the only haunt without a queue. Or maybe it was because it was easily the worst haunt. However, it shouldn’t have been the worst. It may have had the best set design as they went all in with the western theme. The haunt was just missing scare actors. Not only were there less actors than the other haunts, the actors that were there just weren’t getting into it. I’m hoping I just caught it on a bad night. 6 out of 10

 

If only the scare actors were as good as the sets.

 

Probably the best part of Frightmares was the Seance upcharge. It cost $10 and was well worth it. This is something that is way better if you do not know what is going to happen. For that reason, I really won’t go into detail. I will say that it had some really impressive effects and it was an intense show. One of the guests asked to participate looked like she pooped her pants worse than Nathan Peterman in the fourth quarter. 9 out of 10

 

What happens in there is a mystery and well worth the admission.

 

The only area that left me disappointed was the food department. Yes this is a rare park that charges for water, but that wasn’t my issue. My issue was the food quality. After a mediocre soft pretzel and substandard fries, I decided to try one of the chains at the park. In retrospect, I should I gone to Subway, but I had never been to Arby’s. And let me say that I will never be going back to Arby’s. My “roast beef sandwich” tasted more like bologna. Please come to New England if you want a real roast beef sandwich.

 

My best meal of the day came at the surprising In-N-Out Burger location on the way to the highway. And I’m going to be honest, this is the most overrated fast food joint out there. It’s not bad by any means. In fact, I’d take it over most fast food restaurants. I’m just perturbed by In-N-Out Burger fanboys. If you thought Cedar Point or SFMM fanboys were bad, try telling an In-N-Out fan that their burgers are just ok.

 

You know you’ve visited a great park when you feel sad exiting through that turnstile. You think of all the pleasant experiences you had and then get distressed that it may be quite some time before your next visit. That’s how I felt leaving Lagoon. I don’t know when I’ll be back at Lagoon, but I will definitely be back there someday. It really is a fantastic park. It’s a shame more enthusiasts don’t make it to Lagoon because it has a very well-rounded ride collection combined with efficient operations.

 

Even Lagoon's bathrooms are awesome. The bathroom itself was clean (sorry PKI Jizzman if this gives you Cedar Point PTSD), but I especially loved the signage on the building and the rotating toilet out front.

[SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread]

Hey look it’s this rumor again...

Seriously. SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment is growing. I really don't think that they have any reason to seek out someone to buy / bail them out of a jam. I also think that unless Six Flags just acts as a non-intrusive parent, the logistics of such a change to licensing agreements, season passes, staffing, creative talent, and about a million other things would be completely nuts.

 

Add me to the "I don't think that this is a good idea if by some tiny chance it turns out to be true" camp.

 

Agreed. I feel like this rumor is unlikely because of SeaWorld's positive quarterly results, but the mere thought of Busch Gardens and SeaWorld being flagged sends shivers down my spine.

[Dollywood Discussion Thread]

I know this has been discussed earlier in the thread and the rumor was even put to rest when someone emailed the park concerning it, however, I am still hearing rumblings that mountain slidewinder is indeed done and being removed. Any thoughts? Or has anyone heard any additional rumors or speculations about it?

 

I think the concern started from the fact that Dollywood removed Mountainside Slidewinder from their website around Labor Day when it was closed for the season due to weather. I just checked the website and they've removed Daredevil Falls and Smoky Mountain River Rampage as well. I guarantee you they aren't removing all three of their water rides at once, so they probably just took them off the website since there's no chance of them opening at Smoky Mountain Christmas.

[Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)]

Kumba gave me a headache after a 6-7 consecutive ride night marathon, but I don't remember banging my head around. I think it was from how forceful that ride is and not giving myself a break.

[Photo TR: Adam's first visit to Volcano Bay]

Great report! I'll be sure to visit Volcano Bay on a cooler day since a park full of walk ons sounds awesome. That water coaster and the drop pod slides look fantastic.

[Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) Discussion Thread]

I believe this is the final weekend of El Toro and Kingda Ka. The only thing I've heard closed in November in the past has sometimes been the area back by Bizarro.