Canobie Coaster

I've been to one event (Bizarro Bash) and one unofficial trip (2016 US trip). Both the bash and the trip were incredibly well planned with plenty of coasters and great people. I really appreciate all of the planning Robb and Elissa did to make the events as stress-free and relaxing as possible. And going to these events offers me perks that I can't get on my own (ERT, Q&As, more). The trips and events really should be dreams for roller coaster enthusiasts and I can't understand why people would complain. And then make it personal too? That's ridiculous. I'm grateful for the trip and the least I can do is give a big thank you, share trip reports of the awesome experiences, and not create drama.

Don't forget the totally crazy freefall tower. I love those Larson/ARM models. I was only there on one weekday, so I can't comment on lines too much. I would highly recommend the water park though even though you mention you were going to Splashin' Safari. Deluge and Deep Water Dive are 2 outstanding slides.

^ The new B&M vest restraints are so tight on the brake runs, but I never found the stops abrupt. I've found the most abrupt stops to me on wild mice. I remember the Zamperla one at Rye Playland being particularly bad.

I loved the Tennessee Tornado during my visit. While the ride was short, I'd rather every element be a home run than add a potentially rough corkscrew or helix. Though Arrow's track design and transitions were markedly better on this one than any of their other loopers. I was also there in the peak of summer and it was never more than a 1-2 train wait even with one train operations. The simplistic restraints really let them crank out the trains quickly.

^ Canobie used to have one of those and I loved it when I was a kid. Unfortunately it was standing but not operating for a few years and was then eventually removed. I had a chance to reride one at Dutch Wonderland about a decade later and it wasn't quite the same. Having been ruined by PlayStation 3 graphics instead of Sega Genesis ones when I rode the Canobie one, the visuals were comically outdated.

^ Yes Godzilla does look quite happy tearing up that building! Great trip report thus far! Everything looks so modern compared to the big city I go to (Boston). I really need to go to Japan someday and am looking forward to more updates.

It's not even the headbanging that makes Goliath bad. Most coasters smash your head left-to-right. Goliath felt like it was constantly shuffling my body forwards and backwards.

Other being the key word. Not to be Debbie Downer, but 99% of the time SFNE doesn't care and will assign you a row. The 1% is if you ask for a middle seat. They'll grant that request knowing them.

Wicked Cyclone is an excellent coaster. Of the 3 RMCs I've been on, it's my second favorite behind Twisted Colossus and ahead of Storm Chaser. The coaster really excels at keeping you out of your seat. I agree the park is trending upwards. There was a 2 year stretch where I actually stopped going to the park because I had too many frustrating visits (terrible operations, the clientele, they kept removing rides without adding things back), but now it's back to my primary park. Wicked Cyclone and Superman are two of the best coasters anywhere and the park has done a good job replacing lost attractions in recent years (outside of the Sky Ride) while improving the operations slightly...outside of the VR disaster. Hopefully that direction calls for the eventual removal of Mind Eraser lol! Or switch the VR there! That way VR stays the heck away from Superman and sends the public there.

Wooden Warrior isn't too shabby in the front seat either, but I agree the back is the best seat on that ride. Gravity Group has really excelled making these small woodies. Your sentiments as you rolled up describes how I felt the first time. Now they also have Frantic so there's two really good rides worth hitting. I usually go to the park 4-5 times per year, so I can give you the rundown on the park. Coasters- Sounds like you're familiar, but I'll reiterate that they have two of the world's best coasters in Wicked Cyclone and Superman. You can't always pick your seat, but if you can I recommend back on Wicked Cyclone and front on Superman. Batman, Pandemonium, and Thunderbolt are good too. Goliath is great in the front but is much maligned in every other seat; it also breaks down frequently and doesn't run in the rain. Unfortunately at this park, the only coaster where you get free choice of seating is Mind Eraser... Flats- Scream is a combo tower, so if you've never been on one of those, it's worth checking out. Ride on the side facing Superman if possible since you feel higher up looking at the river. The New England Sky Screamer is huge and gives amazing views of the park; it's twice as tall as Great Adventure's. Houdini is a lot of fun, but it's probably identical to the Great Adventure one. Water Rides- Blizzard River is a pretty average rapids ride. How wet you get depends if the waterfalls are turned on. You can tell if they're on if you sneak a peak when you're at the Sky Screamer. Water Park- SFNE has one of the better water parks I've been to, but the lines can get extremely long if you don't get there at opening. Typhoon (water coaster) is a lot of fun, but lines can reach an hour. The Bonzai Pipeline drop pod slides are a rush, but you can really feel where the slide pieces come together. The Swiss Family Toboggan tube slide is excellent and the raft really slides far up the wall. Lines- Not sure when you plan to go, but on a busy day in the afternoon you're looking at 60-90 min for Superman, 45-60 min for Wicked Cyclone and Goliath (expect a break down), 30 min max for Batman and Thunderbolt, 15 min for Flashback and Gotham City Gauntlet, 5-10 min for Catwoman. I rarely ever ride Mind Eraser because of how bad it is so I can't comment on that line since it's kind of hidden. Use the single rider line for Pandemonium (it's not well marked, but go up the Flash Pass return line and just say you're a single rider) since the normal line is 60-90 min. Scream's line can be up to 60 min but also as small as 15 min. The SkyScreamer is a slow loader and can take 30-45 min to get on. Flash Pass- If you go in the spring before Memorial Day, you likely won't need a Flash Pass. If you go on a weekday, it's also possible to get on things without a Flash Pass. However, if you don't plan to visit often I'd recommend a Flash Pass if you go on a weekend. You'll want to reride Superman and Wicked Cyclone a lot. The Platinum Flash pass allows double rides on everything except Superman (may be changed back if VR is done) and Wicked Cyclone. Because SFNE doesn't allow you to pick your seat on rides, most of the merge points allow you to get on the next train. So that's one positive for Flash Pass people. Food- The food in the park is basically the same as Great Adventure. I highly recommend Nicky's Pizza, which is just down the road. They have massive pizza slices and are really cheap too. The food there is excellent and I always stop there after leaving the park. No rerides on Wicked Cyclone... Also, FP had the distinct advantage of walking right up to the station and having the grouper pull the FP people in first, so guaranteed front row rides! Downside: they pull FP people first so that means zero chance at a back row ride At the end of the year, they stopped enforcing assigned seating and let you fill in any row and even wait for a row as long as the line wasn't more than 2 or so trains. Fingers crossed they keep that policy in 2017.

These are awesome! Have you considered trying a wooden coaster yet? I imagine the supports could be more difficult from a material consumption point and then painting the supports.

Six Flags New England The end of October marks the end of the New England theme park season as Jack Frost becomes more and more prevalent. As usual, I made sure to finish my season right with a trip to Six Flags New England on its final operating day of the year. My goals for the visit were to ride all of the coasters (except Mind Eraser and Great Chase) at least one more time before the end of the year. Thankfully the park wasn't overly crowded thanks the cool and rainy weather. Despite the cooler temperatures, all of the coasters were running really well, particularly Wicked Cyclone and Superman, which were both hauling through the course and providing plenty of air that will be missed over the next few months. As of 8:55, I had been able to hit all of the coasters except Goliath, which had been closed due to the rain earlier in the day. I tried to finish my season with a final ride on Wicked Cyclone. However, the line was blocked off at 8:55. Seeing that, I was a little disappointed and made my way towards the exit. However, Goliath was finally running and the queue was still open so I decided to give it a ride. Up to this point, I have been lucky enough to never receive a bad ride on this coaster even with the new trains. Unfortunately, Goliath finally gave me that awful ride that everyone else has been complaining about on this forum. Maybe my luck can come back in the spring, but now I won't take my good rides for granted. The park did a great job with the Fright Fest theming. Several rides had solid overlays like Pandeomium, the Tea Cups, and the Bumper Cars. The SkyScreamer was also running in reverse, which was amazing for two reasons (thrill and the wind wasn't sent right into my face on a frigid night). The park already had Splash Water Falls taken down and was clearing the site for the Joker, but I didn't notice any track. I'm really looking forward to riding it in 2017 since the one down in New Jersey was closed for all of my visits this year. It's impressive how many elements were crammed in such a small space. The other superhero isn't as good as Superman, but few rides are. Still one of the best zero-g rolls of any coaster. I'll be back on April 1st. Boomerang 1 Boomerang 2 1/20 of the SkyScreamer. Mind Eraser looked scary enough as is. Such an awful ride. One of the best parts of Fright Fest is the backwards SkyScreamer. Pandemonium by day. Zombie Coaster by night. They did a nice job transforming some of the attractions. It's a miracle! All 3 Scream towers were open! And it wasn't even a crowded day. In typical Six Flags fashion, two broke down immediately after I took this photo. Even the bumper cars had some added theming. While Wicked Cyclone is my favorite coaster at the park, I still like to have my final night rides on this. Superman has been running much better this year thanks to the TLC in the off-season. Probably the best part of Bizarro has been kept. I'm glad the VR is gone. Please never come back to Superman. Terror Twist, the artist formerly known as the Tea Cups. This reminded me of those indoor scramblers. One of the best coaster signs anywhere and a pretty good woody too. I love the second to last hill. I hate going six months without this ejector air. The last operating day of 2016 means my last rides on Wicked Cyclone. This ride is insane and I don't regret the park's decision to transform the old Cyclone.

Unfortunately I didn't grab any photos of it. But just imagine a downtown street filled with carts of apple pies, apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. They also had 3 small carnival rides (carousel, Dizzy Dragons, fun house) and carts with your standard fried fair food. Though one cart had pumpkin fried dough which was a weird and unique item. What did they have at the garlic festival? I'm picturing tents with garlic spices and foods like fries sprinkled in garlic.

I agree Great Adventure is pretty ominous at night due to the lack of lighting. I especially found the area down where the Chiller used to be frightening since it was so empty during Holiday in the Park. Pretty much any large, poorly lit, sparsely attended park qualifies as creepy to me.

Fixed that for you! Holiday Valley/Ellicottville is about 40 minutes from our house. We have done the mountain coaster about four times although it is the only one we have ever been on - we'd like to do more. You're right in that it's difficult to get photos of the coaster and they seemed quite strict (understandably enough) about about the no camera policy before boarding. Not sure if you had time, but they do have a very nice brewery and restaurant in downtown called Ellicottville Brewing Company - good food and tasty draft beers. Unfortunately I missed out on the brewery. I had to make it to Ithaca's Apple Festival which was a weird and cool event.

It's more likely than the Wild Mouse allowing more than 2 adults.

As far as mine trains go, it's one of the better ones out there. It's relatively smooth and has a long, expansive layout. Granted I'm also used to Hershey's Trailblazer and Great Escape's Canyon Blaster. However, none of them have the Picasso of coaster endings. You look at it saying WTF but appreciate it.

Space Mountain (Omega slightly over Alpha) Entire Disneyland resort?

Berkshire East Mountain Resort Berkshire was my last mountain resort of the year and it was one of the best. I made the pit stop on the way to Six Flags (it's about an hour away) since I had heard good things about the Thunderbolt Mountain Coaster and it delivered. The resort was 90% dead when I visited. I didn't see anyone else by the coaster, ropes course, or playground. Everyone at the resort was waiting for the ski lift since there was a bike race. That worked out for me since I could hop right on the coaster and make my way down south to ride Wicked Cyclone and Superman for the last times in 2016. Thunderbolt is one of the longest mountain coasters in the world and the ride takes full advantage of it. The ride immediately builds up speed and flies down the hill. There are several small hills on the way down that give strong pops of air and the turns give pretty nice laterals as well. It's a toss-up between this one and Attitash's for the best mountain coaster, but I'll ultimately give it to Attitash's since I wasn't expecting that one to be as good as it was and it blew me away. I ultimately got three rides on the Thunderbolt, each time better than the last. I'd highly recommend stopping in the next time you're at Six Flags New England since it's not that far away and one of the best mountain coasters out there. Except for the chairlift since they were having a biking race. I was greeted with this lovely white van when I arrived at the park. The white van must have been disappointed to see an empty playground. Actually most of the place was pretty empty. The Thunderbolt is one of the best mountain coasters out there. This one has several strong pops of air and a really long layout.

Best Ending- Adventure Express Lamest Ending- Adventure Express The ending is so dumbfoundingly bad that it is awesome much like Tommy Wiseau's The Room. I'm a huge fan of airtime, so Fury 325, Phoenix, and Magnum particularly stand-out.

Sadly it is. Most of the remaining ones are in Japan.

While nontraditional, I did enjoy the Hogwarts Express in Orlando. They did a pretty good job with the show scenes and the ride made it easy to switch parks. As far as traditional trains, I like the ones at Magic Kingdom and Disneyland since they're long, good for getting around the park, and have pretty good sights along the way.

Sky High Adventure Park I apologize, but this is going to be an incredibly short update, even for one of the mountain resorts. Immediately after we got on the mountain coaster, the heavens opened up and did its best Niagara Falls impersonation. My phone isn't waterproof and I didn't bring any zip lock bags for the short trip. After leaving Niagara, we were visiting a friend at Cornell on the way home so we made a pit stop in Endicottville, NY to try the mountain coaster at Holiday Valley. Compared to other mountain coasters, the Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster was considerably cheaper. Usually these coasters cost about $15 per ride, but this one was only $8. As far as mountain coasters go, this one was pretty average. The entire layout was well concealed in the woods, the turns were fast, and there were a few bumps on the way down that almost gave air time. It's kind of out of the way, but if you're ever in the area, Holiday Valley is in a quaint town and the mountain coaster is worth a ride. The resort also had what looked to be a really good ropes course as well. There she is. Well this update was easy.

Unless the SLC has the new trains with the vests, the SLC will beat your head around every day of the week. They pack so much pain into such a compact layout. I believe that the new LED lights were added in early December. I would like to see for myself as well as the old lights were pretty decent (just outdated). I guess a return visit is in order then!

^ I hit both Darien Lake and Martin's Fantasy Island during my 2010 trip. I thought both parks were decent and had one star attraction I wanted to spend most of my time at. Despite being de-flagged, Darien Lake felt like a Six Flags park. The operations were relatively slow, the wooden coaster wasn't in the best of shape, and there was an awful SLC known as Mind Eraser. Ride of Steel was excellent though, as was the water park. Viper was actually pretty good as well, but they could use another big coaster to compliment Ride of Steel. Martin's Fantasy Island felt like Funtown U.S.A. Silver Comet is actually ranked right next to Excalibur for me and was a great wooden coaster with a mix of air and laterals. Lines were non-existent and they had a pretty good lineup of flat rides. The water park was small, but the mat slides were fast and very good.