Canobie Coaster

Funtown USA will not be opening for the 2020 season and if the pandemic extends into 2021, they fear they'll have to close for good. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/no-splashdown-at-funtown-this-summer-due-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic/97-a745e832-3c09-4785-a2d5-0d996e301181

Funtown USA in Maine will not be opening for the 2020 season and if the pandemic extends into 2021, they fear they'll have to close for good. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/no-splashdown-at-funtown-this-summer-due-to-the-coronavirus-pandemic/97-a745e832-3c09-4785-a2d5-0d996e301181

Absolutely! Manta is way better than its stats would suggest.

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is probably the chain's worst park from a coaster perspective, but it's arguably the chain's best park from an appearance standpoint. This is a gorgeous park. But SeaWorld San Diego has been on a coaster kick like the entire chain. In 2018, they added Electric Eel. In 2019, they added...something. This year they're adding a shiny new B&M dive coaster. And next year, they're rumored to be adding something else. But alas, there were zero new credits for me. Emperor wasn't quite ready (totally expected) and Tidal Twister was being its usual unreliable POS self (not surprising). At least Manta was open unlike last year. That was my top priority. And I also needed to process my platinum pass that was way cheaper here than SeaWorld Orlando or Busch Gardens. The day I visited SeaWorld was supposed to be Tidal Twister's first day after its winter rehab, but it had a crane positioned over it. I considered it mercy. Discovery Kingdom's Harley Quinn was brutally rough and by all accounts, Tidal Twister tracks just as poorly. How did Skyline manage to make RMC track ride so rough? But I bet Emperor tracks quite well. Every B&M dive machine I've ridden has been smooth as glass and Emperor seems to have a unique, inversion-focused layout. I'm definitely looking forward to trying it on a future visit. Emperor's drop is almost as impressive as SeaWorld's stock drop when the pandemic struck. But in all seriousness, it will fill the niche as the park's looper quite nicely. The best views of Emperor could be had from the queue of Journey to Atlantis. The park's original coaster was closed during my visit last year for an extended rehab. I was hopeful the ride would receive some theming, but the beautiful facade is still as empty as a fortune cookie on the inside. The ride simply got a fresh coat of paint. As for the ride itself, it's disappointing. It lacks the charm of a log flume, but the lack of theming makes it a naked shell of its Orlando brother. I honestly think I prefer the San Antonio version since it skips the fluff and goes straight to the drop. 4 out of 10 New look. Same empty Journey to Atlantis. And that's also the reason I like Electric Eel. It may be a clone, but it's non-stop action from start to finish. Solid launches, great hangtime on the barrel roll, and strong ejector airtime cresting and descending the tower. I just wish the ride was pointed towards Mission Bay since the view would be incredible. 7.5 out of 10 Clones aren't necessarily bad. It's just that most clones are bad. Sky Rocket II's are not bad. Look at those beautiful comfort collars. Case and point, here's the view from the Bayside Skyride. An upcharge for non-passholders, annual passholders are able to ride this scenic attraction for free. As opposed to most sky rides that travel across the park, this one takes you beyond park boundries alongside Mission Bay. Enthusiasts probably prefer this view to the bay. And in case of a ride stoppage, each cabin includes an emergency kit! But the highlight of the whole visit was getting 15 rides on Manta. I hadn't ridden the coaster in 6 years, but I remembered it packing quite a punch for its size. And that's still the case! Manta is the best coaster in the world no taller than 30 feet. Even the Gravity Group woodies are taller than Manta. I think the most shocking thing about Manta are the launches. The launches themselves are decent. What shocks me is that these launches have some semblance of force to them while Mack's larger coasters like Helix and Copperhead Strike- that are supposed to be bonafide thrill rides- are bested by this family coaster. In total, Manta has two launches are two distinct halves. The first half has some nice pops of airtime, but the second half is where Manta really shines. It has two wicked s-hills with a crazy combination of ejector airtime and laterals. And the helices have some force to them as well. This coaster is super reridable and extremely underrated. 8.5 out of 10 Manta is one of those coasters that is just pure fun. It's glass smooth, surprisingly forceful at spots, and well-landscaped. Ride the ray! I also rode the Riptide Rescue flat hoping it would run as fast as the version at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Unfortunately, it did not. That being said, it was still a decent flat, albeit one with a brutally short cycle. 6 out of 10 I only had about 30 seconds to take this photo. That's how short the ride cycle is. And no visit to SeaWorld would be complete without the animals. So I made sure to visit as many exhibits and shows as possible between my coaster rides. SeaWorld San Diego is often overshadowed. It's overshadowed by both its chain and the SoCal market. But it really is a nice park with an improving ride lineup and more animal attractions than most zoos.

^^ Thanks for the update on Florida! I saw Busch Gardens Tampa posted some hours starting mid-May (or maybe they hadn't yet removed them) when I checked yesterday.

Great report! With the new trains, Paris's Hyperspace Mountain was enjoyable for me. But I totally see how that would have been brutal with the old OSTRs since it definitely jostles you around.

The only hiccup appears to be that Store Capital, an Arizona investment company, owns the land. It looks like Gene Staples is trying to purchase it from them. The article I saw in the Chicago Tribune suggests that Staples's purchase of Indiana Beach is contingent upon also buying the land. https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-indiana-beach-amusement-park-reopen-20200424-v76qdzpjnbe4nheixm4h6e4yg4-story.html

Travel and Leisure claims they received the famous Cinnamon Bread recipe from Dollywood if anyone is doing some quarantine baking. https://www.travelandleisure.com/food-drink/official-dollywood-cinnamon-bread-recipe

Now that's how you celebrate a 150th anniversary! A brand new woodie!

Do we know if any rides were removed or sold by Apex? I can't seem to find any confirmation that they have or have not.

^ I rode Samurai last a few years ago and I agree it has a longer cycle, but it has similar intensity to Sol Spin from my ride at least.

Fantastic news! Looks like I have another chance to reride Cornball now.

Thanks! I'm glad I've gotten a chance to ride a few shuttle loops since they're a fun, but dying breed. What can I say, Mickey and his friends have me on a leash when I'm in SoCal.

Silver Comet looks so lonely.

Knott's Berry Farm My past few visits to Knott's Berry Farm have been abridged. I'd shoehorn in an hour or two after touching down at LAX or stop en route to LAX. And that's not fair to Knott's, as it's one of Cedar Fair's strongest parks. This visit coincided with the final weekend of the Peanuts Celebration, a winter festival with special food, photo ops, and ride overlays. Most statues of people are commemorated in bronze or gold. Birds are commemorated in berries. Where's the equality? The most notable overlay was the Grand Sierra Railroad being converted into Beagle Bonanza. Snoopy and his siblings decided to throw a fair called (you guessed it) the Beagle Bonanza. The ride has some cute cardboard cutouts along the course and special audio narration. My only gripe was that every car had the same narration and it was only truly synched with the caboose. I'm sad to report, the Beagle Bonanza had no coaster credits. But there was a fun house. In my last visit, I noted that Knott's had a crappy rain policy. Basically the whole park shut down except for the water rides. And there was a half hour stretch where it sprinkled in the evening. But one coaster ran in the rain. Can you guess which one? If you said Xcelerator, you'd be correct. I thought the accelerator coasters were automatic closures in rain to prevent rollbacks and rider discomfort, but Xcelerator was rocketing down the track. It appeared Knott's was content running the ride in a light drizzle to empty out the station, but they weren't allowing new riders into the queue. But i didn't mind because this emptied out the dreaded front row queue. Once Xcelerator reopened, the front was a walk-on for the remainder of the day. That never happens. And I love feeling the full force of the launch up there. Plus, I think Xcelerator has the best top hat of the accelerator coasters because of the strong ejector you get cresting it due to the speed. Top Thrill Dragster always seems to teeter on the edge of a rollback, but Xcelerator seems to have plenty of speed to spare. 8 out of 10 Dear rain, thank you for gracing SoCal with your rare presence to clear out this queue. I remember when Xcelerator was red instead of Pepto Bismol colored. For the past few visits, I've found HangTime to be my second favorite coaster in the park. But now I'm not so sure. I might prefer Xcelerator now. As for HangTime, it still has an epic drop and some other decent elements. But it has developed a very noticeable shuffle in the corkscrew. 8 out of 10 One other note about HangTime is that it received new seatbelts sometime between my last ride on it in December 2018 and my visit earlier this year. The old seat-belts were counter-intuitive and required you to push them inwards before they'd release. It felt like skilled labor to get those things to unlock! But now HangTime has standard seat-belts. Is this a dive coaster? Is Orion a giga? Enthusiasts will always debate. I don't care what you call it, HangTime is great! Only low point was this corkscrew being quite rattly. Another highlight for me was finally being able to reride my white whale...er brown pony- the Pony Express. For one reason or another (rehab, technical issues, rain), this ride is never open for me. But I finally rerode the ponies. And now I understand why people mock this ride. I get Knott's didn't have much space, but this coaster has a high height restriction compared to its intensity level. The launch is fun, but the rest of the layout doesn't really do anything. 3 out of 10 After years of failure, I finally rerode my white whale. Back to the good steel coasters, I took several laps on Silver Bullet. I know a lot of people call this the worst B&M invert, but in general it's an enjoyable ride. It has some solid inversions and that helix finale is among the most forceful elements out there. It's up there with the intensity of a Batman the Ride. The only thing Silver Bullet can (and should) be mocked for is that embarrassment of a first drop. Calling it a drop is offensive to the other drops out there. I'd refer to it as an ADA-compliant ramp. 8 out of 10 You'd think a coaster called Silver Bullet would actually have some silver on it, but it surprisingly doesn't. But the trains are rainbow colored. I never noticed that until this visit. I know Silver Bullet gets a lot of flack, but I enjoy it outside of that embarrassment of a first drop. And it's incredibly photogenic. But the highlight for me was of course GhostRider, one of my favorite wooden coasters. On this visit, I found a newfound appreciation for the front row. I still prefer the back, namely for the drop into the second half, but only by a slim margin. The front had ejector pops on a few of the other bunny hills while the back only has floater airtime on the bunny hills. But wherever you sit, you're going to get some insane laterals and this is one of the best paced coasters out there. 9 out of 10 GhostRider is easier to photograph from outside the park, but I was up for a challenge. GhostRider has great pacing, strong laterals, and some good airtime too. GhostRider at night is legendary...unlike the Nick Cage movie. I also took quick laps on Sierra Sidewinder and Montezooma's Revenge. Sierra Sidewinder is a very underrated spinning coaster with some good Gs (7.5 out of 10) and Montezooma's Revenge is fun, but I don't appreciate it as much as I should since I can walk another few minutes up the midway and ride Xcelerator. 6 out of 10 Mack spinners are the best spinners. Still one of my favorite coaster names. Oh and I rerode Timberline Twister. I wasn't credit whoring; I actually had this credit from a past visit. I just had delusions this coaster was something it wasn't. For some reason I remember getting some great airtime on this when I rode it years ago. Needless to say, it didn't have that airtime. I guess I misremembered it? This time I was stunned just how difficult it was to fit in the dang vehicle. For reference, I'm right at the maximum height and I completely understand why that's in place. I was almost walk-of-shamed! 2 out of 10 Snoopy keeps an eye on credit whores. One of the areas where Knott's really shines compared to the other Cedar Fair parks is in the non-coaster lineup. The star is of course the Timber Mountain Log Ride, one of the best themed log flumes in the world. While the drops are just ok, the theming on this ride is enough to carry it. 9.5 out of 10 My favorite part of this ride is that it inspired Splash Mountain. I also gained a greater appreciation for the Calico River Rapids. When I rode it last year, I had set my expectations too high. I guess I was expecting a dark ride similar to what Movie Park Germany did with their Excalibur river rapids. With tempered expectations, I realized the animatronics and sound effects along the route were nice pluses. And while no one element will soak you, there are about a dozen or so that will get you quite wet including a generally turbulent river. 8 out of 10 What's scarier? The bear? Or the geysers? Voyage to the Iron Reef was closed for its upgrade to Knott's Beary Tales, but I was able to ride the Calico Mine Ride. This ride has grand setpieces, a few in which you pass multiple points at different vantage points. It has a different feel than a lot of other dark rides, but I sort of like its uniqueness. 7 out of 10 It's not a mirage. It's an actual dark ride at a Cedar Fair park not called Boo Blasters. This is one of the park's boulder attractions. Last but not least, I hit some of the park's most thrilling flats. The one I was most excited to ride was Sol Spin, the park's top scan. I keep wishing I can find one stateside that runs as well as the one I rode at Oktoberfest, but I need to just accept the fact it's a pipe dream. Sol Spin only inverted 2 or 3 times, but it had plenty of violent rocks. 7 out of 10 I know it's called Sol Spin, but it looks way better at night. I also got a nice long cycle on La Revolucion (7 out of 10) and enjoyed the sheer size of Supreme Scream, even if the latter isn't as forceful as some of the other drop towers out there. 7 out of 10 Fun fact, this was once the world's tallest drop tower beating Pitt Fall by 1 foot. Even funner fact, the record was broken a few months later by Dreamworld's Giant Drop, which was over 120 feet taller. And no visit to Knott's would be complete without that famous fried chicken. I didn't allocate time to dine in, but I made sure to grab some chicken to go and I wolfed that down like a ravaged animal. KFC has nothing on Knott's. By giving myself another full day at Knott's, I realized just how well-rounded and unique this park is. While I do still prefer Disneyland and Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's isn't a park that should be forgotten on a SoCal trip.

Great report! That's a funky looking support structure on the corkscrews on the looper at Central Park.

Great report! It's incredible to see how this park has evolved over the years.

Until this year I would have said Tokyo Disneyland. I'm in the rare minority here that prefer the castle park to DisneySea. That's not a bash against DisneySea, but more a testament to just how well executed Tokyo's castle park is. But Rise of the Resistance and MaxPass has swung my vote back towards the original Disneyland.

Judging from their social media they are not open. Thanks, I'm surprised they didn't bother to update their site like most other parks.

I find it unlikely, but I have to ask, is Wonderland Park in Amarillo, Texas actually open right now? Their website has no mention of the pandemic and their calendar shows them open weekends (opening day was April 4).

Especially given that Cedar Fair said they were suspending at least $75-100 million of non-essential capital in the 2020 and 2021 season. Not surprising given that an annual pass for Cedar Fair is currently good for 2 years in light of the pandemic.

I agree F.L.Y. looks amazing from the little I've seen.

Thanks! I agree it's a super long ride anyway with the double lift hills, but it was torture having the train crawl for a second train that was never going to come.

^ I just hope it's operated better than my lone visit where 5/6 coasters closed or broke down and half the non-coasters were closed. But I loved the feel of the park. With great ops, it would have been one of my favorite parks.

^ My biggest reservation is that I get one free flight change on my original flight and I genuinely have no idea if or when things will reopen this year. I have no doubt there will be changes with regards to how they operate if they are able to open at some point.