Canobie Coaster

^ Superman isn't on the Flash Pass. And Full Throttle, X2, and West Coast Racers are one time only on the Flash Pass. If you don't plan to get a Flash Pass, I recommend hitting these three attractions early in the day since they will build up the longest queues. If you plan to get a Flash Pass, I recommend hitting these rides anyway since you probably will want to get a few rides on them.

^ While the Beastly Kingdom definitely would've been interesting, I can't complain about the park eventually getting Pandora.

Thanks! Animal Kingdom is one of the most unique Disney parks since their E-tickets haven't really been duplicated.

^ And that makes sense the MGM lion's roar is really a tiger too now.

Superman wasn't even on Flash Pass the last few times. But as of my most recent visit, X2 and Full Throttle were one time only.

^ It's also cooler now so it'll be interesting if the ride's reliability doesn't revert next summer (if heat was an issue).

Animal Kingdom After a half day at Epcot, Emily and I met up with our friends the wildest park in the wilderness, Animal Kingdom. This always used to be my least favorite Disney park, but it has definitely grown on me*. * Plus I visited Paris’s Walt Disney Studios this past year. That place owns the bottom of the list now. Welcome to the wildest park in the wilderness. We started with Dinosaur. I really like Dinosaur. The wild motion of the EMVs is incredible and when paired with the detailed dinosaur figures, you have a winner. Who could find a flaw in that? 9 out of 10 That’s right, Disney fans could. I know the joke is that Disney ran out of money making Dinosaur. You have these amazing dinosaurs at the start and end of the ride. But in the middle, you have a lot of darkness and empty sets. But guess what, Indiana Jones Adventure has some dark bits too! I’m pretty sure most people would have a higher opinion of Dinosaur if Indiana Jones Adventure didn’t exist. But I don’t want to think about that dark reality. Universal may not let us go back to the future, but at least Disney lets us go back to the past. Even with Chip n Dale wearing dinosaur costumes, I'll never be on board with Chester and Hester's Dino Rama. Everest had a sizable queue, so we used the single rider line to board in less than 10 minutes. Emily hit the jackpot and was assigned the front row. I was seated two rows behind her. Everest has to be one of the most visually stunning coasters on the planet. I know Disney has made some marvelous mountains, but this is arguably the grandest. And the coaster utilizes that mountain to the fullest. Plus it actually has some force to it! The big drop has a pinch of air in the back and even the most jaded enthusiasts have to admit that backwards helix pulls a surprising amount of Gs. Heck, even the outdoor helices have some Gs. 8 out of 10 We then debated whether or not to hit Kilimanjaro Safari. On one hand, we knew it would only get darker. On the other hand, we didn’t want to risk missing our Flight of Passage window. So we made our way to Pandora. Along the way, Emily stopped to rub the glowing penis of power. I know Kentucky Kingdom’s Dick Rock Mountain is one of the Seven Wonders of the Amusement World, but the fact this phallic object exists at Disney is stunning. On second thought, it all makes sense. I’ve seen the front cover of the Little Mermaid. Before taking her flight of passage, Emily rubbed the Pandora Penis. I apologized to Emily that she missed Flight of Passage’s well-themed queue. For some reason, she didn’t mind missing a 2.5 hour wait. Per usual, Flight of Passage was stunning. It is easily one of the most immersive attractions in the world. The combination of the visuals, sounds, smells, and movement is the complete package. I always come off this attraction buzzing. 10 out of 10 Pandora at night should be on everyone's bucket list. We then doubled back to Africa. Emily’s most anticipated attraction was Kilimanjaro Safari. We weren’t sure how it would be in complete darkness. And I guess we’ll have to keep wondering. It was closed. It made sense though. And to the park’s credit, the fact the ride closed an hour early was clearly listed on the app under the ride. We just missed it. And just for reference, Kali River Rapids closed early too. So as a consolation prize, we saw Rivers of Light. I’ve never actually seen this show since I’ve always gotten in line for Flight of Passage right at closing. Heck, that was the original plan before the Fastpass gods worked in our favor. The show started with a water screen a la World of Color. It projected classic scenes from animated films like Lion King and Tarzan. And this was accompanied by an incredible soundtrack. I still have the songs from Rivers of Light stuck in my head. Then these floats came onto the pond. And then it went dark. Uh oh. Thankfully, it was just a 5 minute delay and Disney reset the entire show. So basically I’ve now seen it 1.5 times. I still prefer Fantasmic, World of Color, and Illuminations, but I’ll take this over a generic fireworks show any day. I can't decide if I prefer the official night spectacular... This park is loaded with nighttime spectaculars. You have Rivers of Light, Pandora, and projection mapping on the Tree of Life. Our original plan wasn’t to return to Animal Kingdom. However, we couldn’t leave Florida without Kilimanjaro Safari. So we made an executive decision to return to Animal Kingdom the following day at the expense of our Hollywood Horror Nights time. And we have zero regrets. We got the coveted sunset ride. The views over the African savannah were stunning. And the animals were more active than usual. The highlights were the lions. I had never seen one move before in person. But even better, they were roaring! And for those unaware, a lion’s roar is a lot less impressive than you’d think. It sounded more like he was chucking a hairball. It was like hearing a dinky little horn coming from a Ford F150. 9 out of 10 Riding the safari at night was definitely a different experience. And the lions actually did things...just not in this photo. It still feels odd for me to visit Animal Kingdom in the evening. For years, this park closed by sunset. But now, Animal Kingdom has a full-fledged nighttime spectacular in Rivers of Light and Pandora (which really is a nighttime spectacular on its own).

Great report! The giant body slide looks like a supersized version of the Lights Out slide Lake Compounce removed.

^ I haven't been to the Aquaventure in the Bahamas, but I have been to the one in Dubai. That one also has some single tube Master Blasters. It felt more out-of-control since the rafts spun uncontrollably, but it was never violent.

Great report! I'm glad you guys didn't let the rain ruin your day.

^ I feel like someone named Canobie Coaster should have something related to Canobie as their avatar. Otherwise I'd have the photo of me in my Slinky Dog hat riding the Slinky Dog ride in Paris.

Thanks for the update!

Epcot It had been almost a decade since Emily had visited Disney World. That is simply too long! So we decided to spend a super long weekend at both Disney and Universal. Where we'd start would come down to what FastPasses we could get last minute. Since our friend provided us with complimentary passes, we could only book things a few days out. That made it difficult for the attraction deprived parks. Since JetBlue has free wifi, I spent my flight constantly refreshing the Disney app until I got a Fastpass to my liking. After a bazillion tries, a Test Track Fastpass appeared and you can bet I took it. The FastPass gods determined we'd start at Epcot. Even better, we got an early Fastpass for Test Track. This ended up being a major blessing since Test Track had a lot of (predictable) downtime in the afternoon due to rain. After designing a vehicle had could single-handedly cause global warming, we boarded Tron Test Track. And per usual it was great. The dark ride bit is enjoyable and the high-speed outdoor bit is exhilarating. 9.5 out of 10 I was sort of disappointed we didn't score lower in efficiency. We then used our second Fastpass to skip a 50 minute wait at Spaceship Earth. This is one ride we were sure to prioritize with the 2-year refurbishment on the horizon. I’m sure this ride bores kids. In fact, I know it does. I was bored out of my mind on it when I was younger. But now, I enjoy the leisurely voyage through time. And I know it shouldn’t be the highlight, but I do love the cartoony future finale. Usually it grabs your face and photoshops it onto these comical scenes. However, Spaceship Earth goofed and grabbed the face from my Slinky Dog hat. The end result was priceless. 8 out of 10 I guess Emily is going to be marrying Slinky Dog someday. Since we were visiting on a beautiful Saturday during Food and Wine, the park was slammed. This made standby waits prohibitively long. For reference, the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride and Journey Into Imagination had half hour waits. Thankfully, Epcot has World Showcase. You don’t even feel like you’re at an amusement park when you’re in this area. Emily and I went Around the World in 30 Minutes while we waited for our Via Napoli reservation. I never thought I'd see the day when Donald had a half hour wait. This felt exactly like Germany...except with more mouse ears. Some will probably call me stupid for skipping the unique items of Food and Wine for this Epcot staple. But I simply love Via Napoli too much to visit Walt Disney World and not eat there. The wood-fired pizza is orgasmic. I had some great pizza when I was in Italy, but Via Napoli trumps anything I ate over there. In fact, this may be my favorite pizza outside of a Lou Malnati’s deep dish or the original Pizzeria Regina in Boston. Mmmmm pizza. We then braved the Frozen Ever After line. While the ride is probably not worth a 100 minute wait, it was a must since Emily loves Frozen. Plus it’s a fantastic ride. No one ever said that about Maelstrom. The ride has some of the most impressive animatronics at the resort. The Olaf ones are particularly stunning. When you mix those animatronics with a beautiful soundtrack, you have a real winner. 9 out of 10 I don't miss Maelstrom one bit. We then used our final Fastpass to walk right onto the Orange side of Mission Space. I’m still stunned an attraction this forceful exists at a Disney park, but I am certainly not complaining. I will complain about how autopilot won’t let me sabotage the mission. Thankfully, Disney saw the error in their ways and added a different motion simulator that can be sabotaged by a guest. But more on that later… 8 out of 10 This is the most visually stunning pavilion if you ask me. We then checked the remaining Fastpasses. One did pop up for Illuminations, which was very tempting considering it was the revered show’s final weekend. However, we found something much better- a Flight of Passage FastPass! Needless to say, we park-hopped over to Animal Kingdom. Oh, and sadly this shirt was only available in kid sizes. That mad me sad.

It's worth noting Carowinds is off a highway with no crosswalk. If you're across the street, you should take an Uber even though the distance isn't far...unless you like playing Frogger.

Glad to see this park get another dark ride. Also Sandy's Blasting Bronco may have been topped for the best ride name of 2020.

^ On the contrary, maybe 1001 Nacht is moving in with her.

I really hope Sandy's opens up all of the sudden to change this conversation.

And like I said earlier the security guards were nice. They were just persistent.

Great report! The whole Underground area looks better than I expected.

Gold Rush was a lot of fun and had some snappy elements. I don't mind one bit seeing that ride cloned.

Great photos of the Scandi parks. It's nice for me to see Wildfire and Helix in broad daylight since it was dark and dreary when I visited Kolmarden and Liseberg.

This wasn't a high school security guard like Six Flags. These were older officers from K9 units wearing bulletproof vests. They were not messing around so I wasn't going to put up a fight even if it was annoying. I've seen articles stating it's almost 90% leased at this point. I'm really intrigued how much of that is entertainment since this mall has the Blue Law keeping retail stores closed on Sundays.

Nickelodeon Universe (NJ) This is a report I never thought I’d write. I bet coasterbill thinks the same thing with most reports. (sorry that was too easy, but we are waiting for that next installment…) Except this is because I never thought the American Dream mall would ever open. It was the joke of all my friends from New Jersey. After two decades of delays and multiple companies, it finally opened. I'd like to thank all the locals who donated their tax dollars over the years to make this happen. Good thing they opened just in time for the Christmas season...with 0 stores. Granted the mall opened with absolutely no stores (a comedy in itself), but it did have a full-fledged amusement park in Nickelodeon Universe. I knew the park didn’t have everything open yet, but I found myself just 15 minutes away. The mall itself felt very upscale. The design was ornate and it’s clear the focal point of this mall will be the entertainment. I can only imagine how electric this place will feel once they have everything open. As of my visit, only Nickelodeon Universe, Big Snow, the ice skating rink, and a candy store were open. The mall looks very upscale with its modern design. I was skeptical how popular an indoor ski slope would be in NY, but it seemed to be a hit! It's definitely aimed for beginners. Say hello to the only open store. What's another few weeks of delays after 2 decades worth of delays for the mall? I'm really excited for this park. Heated water! My first impression of the park is that it doesn’t look quite as nice as the Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. Whereas the one in Minnesota doesn’t feel like an indoor park, this one feels like an indoor park. It’s sort of dark and has a warehouse feel to it. I also find it a bit odd this park doesn’t offer a pay-per-ride option. Maybe that’s something they’ll offer once the entire mall opens, but I feel like there’ll be a lot of people who don’t want to spend a full day here. This park takes security very seriously. More on that later. It feels like a warehouse. But it's a nice warehouse. In terms of rides, I missed out on several of them. I knew Sandy’s wasn’t open yet, but the park had five rides closed. That included Shredder, the drop tower, the flipping bumper cars, the wave swinger, and the unicoaster. I was disappointed, but the park was transparent at the ticket booth so I wasn’t mad. Bummer to see so many rides closed, but the park was open about it. This one stung the most. The ride may have been closed, but at least it had this nice photo op. It seems like the Invader Zim flipping bumper cars have been closed for months with no activity. Did anyone actually ride this? I think SpongeBob is going to need a bigger net (and a mechanic). I visited on a Saturday and the park was an absolute ghost town for the first hour. In just a half hour, I already had ridden the three operating coasters multiple times. This was clutch since the park was flooded with families by mid-afternoon and the operations at this park are pitiful. Beyond the multitude of closed rides, the dispatches were glacial and the policies were inconsistent. For example, on my first ride on Shellraiser, I was told I could wear my glasses since I had a strap and keep all items in a zippered pocket. Later in the day, I was told glasses weren’t allowed under any circumstances and you couldn’t have anything in your pockets. I’d love to see consistency going forward. But for whatever reason, Shellraiser never had a queue. Maybe it's the multi-train operation, maybe it's the location in the back corner, or maybe it was too intense for the kids. Having ridden Takabisha, I was interested how Shellraiser would compare. In general, I preferred Shellraiser. While Shellraiser’s pre-launch sequence is out in the open unlike Takabisha, the windowless walls and roof around Shellraiser made the inversions extremely disorienting. After a barrel roll that might as well be a jojo roll, Shellraiser hits riders with a surprisingly powerful launch. That’s followed by my favorite inversion on the ride- a supersized corkscrew. It feels like you’re going to rollback and you get some nice hangtime. That’s followed by a funky banana roll and a fast corkscrew. You then hit the brakes before climbing the vertical lift. And this is my biggest criticism- the pacing. I wish the first and second halves of Shellraiser were flipped so there’s no chance to catch your breath. Shellraiser’s second half starts with an incredible beyond vertical drop. The ejector airtime is both powerful and sustained. It’s one of the best drops out there. The remaining three inversions are floaty and blend together, which isn’t a bad thing if you like that type of inversion. I also want to mention this ride had a shuffle to it. There’s no headbanging, but you may get a headache. But ultimately, Shellraiser is a great star attraction for this park that does a little of everything. 8 out of 10 What comes up... Must come down. But not before a 30 second pause (no seriously, it's that long). On Takabisha, this bit is enclosed in complete darkness. So much track intertwined. Nickelodeon Slime Streak is this park’s version of the Pepsi Orange Streak. Both are high-speed, aerial tours of their respective parks. However, there are a few differences. Whereas Orange Streak is manufactured by Zierer, Slime Streak is manufactured by Chance. I think Slime Streak tracks a little smoother, but the restraints are atrocious. I only had 1-2 clicks of room and I’m 5’10, 160 pounds. I think I saw at least 1-2 adults get the dreaded walk of shame per cycle. Slime Streak is also a far shorter ride. It’s half the length of Orange Streak. The main reason is because Slime Streak has only one lift. However, Slime Streak does feel faster than Orange Streak. There isn’t any airtime or major G-forces, but that’s what I expected. This coaster is all about the visuals. 6 out of 10 Are you ready to have the slime of your life? Slime Streak does a better job circling the park than the monorail (also pictured). Before Slime Streak, the only streak locals were used to was a losing streak by the New York Jets. The final operating coaster was Timmy’s Half-Pipe Havoc. This coaster behaved exactly as you’d expect from an Intamin. It was down a large chunk of the day, but I was able to ride it once. If you’ve never been on one of these half pipes, they’re pleasant rides. The launches have a nice kick to them, especially with the spinning, and you get some nice floater air on the spikes. 7 out of 10 Are those spikes beyond vertical or is it just the perspective of this photo? Lap bars only too! Since most of the flat rides were closed, the only one I experienced was Kraang Prime Pandemonium. And I was absolutely blown away by this looping frisbee. Something I didn’t realize until after my ride is that this one doesn’t have a set program. The operator manually controls the rocking and flipping with a toggle in the operator booth. And because it had no line, the operator gave us a very long cycle. The swings had sustained floater airtime, the inversions had major hangtime, and every downswing pulled some serious Gs. I actually prefer this to Great Adventure’s Wonder Woman. 9 out of 10 This was the only flat I rode. And I'm glad I picked this one. The sleeper hit from this park was the ropes course, the Legends of the Hidden Temple Challenge. Ropes courses are nothing new at this point, but this one was quite notable. It was massive. I’d estimate this complex was at least 10 stories tall. The most shocking thing about it is the fact that it’s the third tallest structure in the park. You are actually looking down on Sandy’s Blasting Bronco. If your legs aren’t shaking as you navigate some of these obstacles, you’re lying. Beyond the height, this one had some unique elements. My favorites were a series of swinging vines and a rotating log. I hadn’t seen either obstacle before. And this was included with admission! Sandy’s Blasting Bronco was having some work done on the structure in the morning (they appeared to be grinding), but it tested consistently by mid-afternoon. The acceleration is very impressive for such a small ride. I couldn’t take my eyes of it. I spy some sparks. Intamin track is super sexy. I can't wait until this opens. The acceleration is really impressive. And that leads me to my next point- this park’s security. I felt very awkward there as a single adult. And this is coming from someone who has no qualms going to Sesame Place or Story Land by themselves. Anytime I took a picture of a ride, security interrogated me. Anytime I was alone on the midway, security asked me why I was there. Heck, I was sitting on a bench at one point and a guard asked to see my ID. I know of at least one other enthusiast (also alone) who has had a similar issue here. It made me feel like a criminal. If the park takes security this seriously, I sort of wish they add a bag check as you enter the park rather than having guards in bullet proof vests and K9 units interrogating guests. And this could easily be done since it’s at the corner of the mall and only has one entrance. Nickelodeon Universe is still a work in progress. But once everything is open, few indoor parks will be able to match what this park will offer.

Glad to see more of these mountain coasters popping up. My favorites in the US are the ones at Attitash and Anakeesta. They have the most violent turns by far.

Washington State Fair (Puyallup Fair) European fair midways are awesome. You have insane flats operated by crazy carnies. Heck, you sometimes even have a portable 5 loop Schwarzkopf coaster. Most US carnival midways are embarrassing. They’re a wasteland of Orient Expresses and Dragon Wagons. If you’re lucky they may even have a portable galaxy/zklon or one/two great flats. The Washington State Fair (Puyallup Fair) is an exception. I actually split my visit over two days. After Wild Waves closed, the prudent decision was to start the drive to Silverwood. It was a good 5 hours away. But I couldn’t pass up the fair. I reserved a large chunk of time on Labor Day, but this gave me two shots to ride everything and a chance to see the fair at night. Welcome to the Washington State Fair. Is that bigfoot? On the Friday night, ride lines were minimal to non-existent since there wasn’t a pay-one-price wristband offered. Compare this to Labor Day when the coasters had half hour waits. Friday night was pricier per ride, but it was like having a Fast Lane. My priorities on Friday night were anything that was unique. So my first stop was the Classic Coaster. And I was ecstatic to see the same restraints as PNE Playland’s Coaster. No seat belts, no seat dividers, and a lap bar a good foot above my lap. My ride up front was pretty tame. Half the hills had small pops of air. Half the hills did nothing. The only shock was when the second-to-last hill tried to launch me into orbit. That hill was great! So I gave it another whirl in the back and noticed something interesting. This row had seatbelts. I figured there must be a reason and there sure was. The third drop is downright lethal! You get these wicked laterals combined with powerful ejector air. The fourth drop has similar airtime as well. Classic Coaster is undoubtedly a back row ride. Outside of those two hills, it’s a lot of weak pops of air. Classic Coaster’s third and fourth drops are reasons to plan a visit to the Seattle area when the Washington State Fair is underway. This coaster is very smooth and contains some surprising OFMG moments. 8 out of 10 What other fair has a wooden coaster? Just look how high the lap bar rests. Just look at the airtime on the 3rd drop. I love how each train has its own name. Most enthusiasts prioritize the credits, but my next priorities were two flats- Inferno and Tango. Inferno is a Zierer Hexentanz. If you don’t know it by that name, I didn’t either until a minute ago. This is the same ride as the former Tampico Tumblers at Knott’s Berry Farm and Mall of America. I thought this ride was extinct, so I lost it when I saw the Washington State Fair had one. The movement is certainly peculiar and it results in countless near-misses. I was disappointed it didn’t result in any airtime though. It would have with some more speed though. In short, this ride isn’t a reason to book a trip to Washington. But it’s an enjoyable flat for its uniqueness. 7 out of 10 It's so mesmerizing. KMG Tangos exist to tease me. Canobie used to have one and it blew me away. All the degrees of freedom and range of motion resulted in a truly wild ride. It may also be the reason why they never run. Equinox was at Canobie for parts of three years, but I only rode it once. Equinox was closed on all but one of my visits and even on the sole visit where it was open, it broke down constantly. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have ever ridden it. I’d say the one at Canobie was damaged goods, but I’ve had no luck elsewhere. The one at Reithoffer Shows was closed a few years ago and the one at the Washington State Fair was down for maintenance both days I visited. I guess this is my new white whale. Sleeping at night. Still sleeping during the day. Since I couldn’t exactly use my remaining ride tickets on Tango, I figured it would be a swell idea to finish the night with Rainier Rush. This is universally considered one of the worst coasters in existence and I had a morbid curiosity to see just how bad it really was. Let’s talk about the trains. You’re head gets trapped between this minimally padded OSTR and your knees rest below a metal lap bar that’s too far away for any reasonably sized human being to grab. As we crested the lift, the ride started with a literal bang. The ride kidney punched me in the back. And if I’ve learned one thing about riding coasters, it’s this. A coaster that screws up a lift hill or brake run is bound to screw up everything else. The first drop and inclined loop were intense (definitely not 5.8Gs like they claim), but they’re filled with nonstop headbanging. But that isn’t even the worst part. About halfway through the ride, there’s this off-axis airtime hill. Now it admittedly gives great floater air. But remember how I said your knees are below a metal pair? I felt like I got a crow bar to the knee caps. Folks, Rainier Rush is the real deal. This ride blows. 1 out of 10 5.8 Gs. Yeah right... Unfortunately, the fireworks missed Rainier Rush. Just look at the profiling on this thing. It doesn't look right. After two days passed, I returned to the Washington State Fair to reride Classic Coaster, knockout the remaining coasters, try some crappy dark rides, eat some artery clogging food, and give the one fingered salute to Rainier Rush. I started with a reride on Classic Coaster. Despite every single switchback being full and the queue extending back to the ticket booth, the line was only 30-35 minutes thanks to insanely efficient operations. Even though the line stretched all the way back there, it was only a half hour. Wildcat was a bit tricky to ride as the park has a ban on single riders. After hanging around the back of the queue for 10 minutes, I paired up with a father and his two sons. He just warned me his kids had one requirement, we had to ride in the Seattle Seahawks car. For better or worse, Wildcats are basically jumbo galaxy coasters. The helices are forceless, but the second and third drops give quick pops of air. 5 out of 10 No single riders The Seahawks car likes to get close to the red car. It's sort of like how the Seahawks like getting close to the goal line in the Super Bowl. I love the sign. I then nondescriptly made my way into Sillyville to grab the kiddie credits. Dragon Wagon was off-limits to adults, but there was no such ban on Speedy Coaster or Tiger Express. I waited far too long for both coasters, but at least I can say I’ve ridden them. Speedy Coaster was a wacky worm. It was slow and uneventful. But it was perfectly smooth. 2 out of 10 I'm sure they have the rights to use Speedy Gonzalez. Tiger Express was torture. After being stapled, I was treated to not one, not two, not three…but 13 freaking laps on this rattly dumpster fire of a coaster. 1 out of 10 I'd say this isn't worth it, but I know that won't deter any of you. I have a low bar when it comes to carnival dark rides, but the two at the Washington State Fair failed to meet that. All the effects on Haunted Mansion were mistimed. That could have been forgivable had they not looked like trash and the ride been hotter than a furnace. At the time, I thought it was the worst dark ride I had ever ridden. 1 out of 10 That ain't no mansion. But the I rode Ghost Pirates. After hearing a loop of Pirates of the Caribbean’s theme in the station, you are treated to a ride that takes the term “dark ride” a little too seriously. It’s mostly an empty building. There were at least two spots with audio and no discernable visual effect. If a long ride has two effects out-of-commission, there’s still enough there to compensate. But Ghost Pirates wasn’t even 30 seconds long! That meant those two effects were like half the ride. This ride is so bad that it may have beaten Rainier Rush as the fair's worst ride. 0 out of 10 I don't think I've ever given a 0 before. Even that is too high for this ride. Due to the lines on the coasters and dark rides (yes I actually waited for Ghost Pirates), I only rode one additional flat in El Nino. I believe this ride is known as a KMG spinout and it was a lot of fun. When the ride transitions from rightside up to upside down, you are treated to a surprise pop of ejector air that morphs into sustained hangtime. And at the same time, you’re still getting high Gs from the spinning. It’s a work of art. It’s just a shame the ride is as short as Ghost Pirates. 8.5 out of 10 I also took a roundtrip journey on the Skyride. The views of the midway were spectacular, but I really can’t share any since the windows were so dirty. All aboard. This was by far the best photo. And I know it looks like some awful Instagram filter. Of the non-rides, the highlight was undoubtedly the pig exhibit. You had a litter of 9 piglets cuddling their mom. It was such a heartwarming scene. It makes you see pigs for more than bacon, but rest assured, they have a sign above the exhibit reminding you which section of the pig pork and bacon comes from. When I showed this to my girlfriend, she told me she wants a pig as a pet. Last but not least, let’s talk about the food. I went with the tried and true fried dough and a unique chicken and waffle bowl, but they had some odd items here. The most notable was deep fried butter. Yuck! Look at all that food (and a per ride S&S tower). That seemed like too much butter. Ok maybe I'm being a bit hypocritical... Best dish at the fair by far! I thoroughly enjoyed the Washington State Fair. While it can’t quite match the electric atmosphere of a European fair, the ride lineup is comparable and obliterates anything else you’ll find in the US.