Canobie Coaster

Thanks! I'm fortunate to do a lot of traveling for work. In the past year, I've had trips to my company's other sites (both US and international), vendor sites, conferences, and customer sites. And since I'm usually stuck on a plane for most of those trips, I can easily write these up while they're fresh on my mind and save them.

I agree. I love Power Surges, especially when they have all the motion going. But it's rare to find one with the rotating base now.

^ Sorry I missed you too. It was a last minute decision.

Thanks! Enchanted Forest really is one-of-a-kind. Plus the Portland area has a ton of other interesting stuff nearby like a 600 foot waterfall, Mt. Hood, and (if you want to drive 1.5 hours) Fascination and Lusse skooters.

Oregon State Fair Whenever I plan a coaster road trip, I sometimes do my due diligence and check if there are any big state fairs in the area. 9 times out of 10, that search comes back empty. This was that 1 time out of 10. My route between Enchanted Forest and Oaks Park would take me right past the Oregon State Fair. I had no clue how big it was, but I saw Rainier Amusements owned a few coasters so I made a quick stop. Worst case scenario, I could stuff my face with fried food. The Oregon State Fair is brought to you by Canobie Coaster. Because yes, I was that much of a credit whore to make this pit stop. The fair was pretty sizable, both in terms of the midway and overall fairgrounds. Since I hadn't eaten yet, I decided to start with the lobster fries, which was a mixed bag. The lobster was great, but the fries themselves were extremely bland. The lobster corn dog sounded intriguing. But I went with the lobster fries. They were ok. In terms of coasters, the star was Arctic Express. From a distance, I thought it would be one of those Interpark galaxi ripoffs, but this was actually a classic galaxi coaster. And I have to say the original is better. Beyond the absence of comfort collars, this one was a bit smoother and still maintained the quick pops of air on the first two drops. 5 out of 10 Turns out this used to be owned by Rockwell Amusements in Rhode Island. Explain this to me. The fair has two Miler kiddie coasters. Both have the same layout. The Kiddie Coaster is considered a kids ride and gives 5 laps. The Scream Machine is considered a major ride, so you pay more for just 3 laps. The logic is infallible. 2 out of 10 Kiddie Coaster 1 Kiddie Coaster 2 that is advertised as an adult ride for some reason. At most US fairs, the highlights are the flat rides. And that was certainly the case with the Oregon State Fair. The top ride was a bizarre experience on a Power Surge. These rides aren’t known for their reliability. Just look at coasterbill’s Pierogi Map or the amount of them whose bases no longer spin. Well apparently the locking mechanisms were acting up. So rather than shut the ride down for maintenance, my good friend the carny had us covered. He jammed an Allen wrench into the vehicles one-by-one to raise and lower the restraints. The whole process took 10 minutes. After locking my harness, he removed a pin and I immediately rocked to the side. I was confused. That was new. And when the ride started, I flipped non-stop. I’m not sure if other Power Surges have this magic pin, but it’d be great if they remove it too. 9 out of 10 The Power Surge was flippin' awesome. I also rode my first ever Loop O’Plane. I was a bit apprehensive to try these since I have an odd relationship with pendulum rides. Giant frisbees and screamin’ swings are no issue, but swinging ships can do me in. I loved the alternating high Gs on the full speed inversions and hangtime on the slow inversions. And it had the perfect cycle. It wasn’t too short, but it ended right before I started to feel queasy. The key takeaway is that I should never ride one of these at a European fair. 8 out of 10 There was no shortage of ways for people to vomit. While I spent a little less than an hour at the fair, I could tell it was pretty popular among locals. And for a state without a major thrill park, I could see the midway having a bit more appeal. Definitely don’t make a special trip for the Oregon State Fair, but don’t be afraid to pop in if it’s in town. Oh and there were sea lions. Can't say I've seen them at a fair before.

Didn't happen for me on either of my rides yesterday, but I did have that happen last year. When I get the constant flipping I think I may like it more than Wonder Woman.

Great report! I really need to check out Kyoto when I return to Japan.

I'm trying to think if I can ever recall a time I've seen Riddler/Mind Eraser go down for even a minor technical issue over the years and I can't. The thing was able to run in single digit temperatures two years ago.

I thought Cyborg was running better for me this year than when I rode it last year. It kept flipping start to finish for me on both my rides yesterday. Was it fully loaded or empty? I noticed last year I got non-stop flipping if it was mostly empty, but if it was fully loaded it spent most of the time rocking.

Great report! Fiesta Texas's holiday show looks quite a bit different than the ones at New England and Great Adventure. The one up here is a combination of music and dancing and stunts.

^ I saw someone post on Facebook it was due to ice on the tracks. That would make sense since Massachusetts got hit with 3-6 inches of snow earlier this week and I don't think the temperature went above freezing for it to melt. But even if everything was open, I have no regrets driving the extra distance to Great Adventure and eventually getting home at 2 am.

That perfectly sums up Great Adventure's willingness to push the limits of their rides. I don't recall seeing anything go down yesterday (even briefly), but the lowest temperature was 35-36 degrees. I've gone on days where the high doesn't even reach that, so the rides are used to far worse.

Great report! Is the actual queue line not too long in terms of length or is it unfinished? Or did that many coaster nerds come out that an overflow queue was needed?

I also agree. These were fantastic. They were the perfect thing to eat before a Nitro marathon. Speaking of Nitro, my buddy and I got a (fro)zen ride on it and I've never seen Nitro move so slowly. This led to the mid-course brake not grabbing us and the return run had way stronger airtime than I've ever gotten on Nitro.

This looks like Copperhead Strike with spinning cars and a vertical drop!

Very cool to think this little park in Oregon shares something with one of the best dark rides out there.

Thanks! The amount of walkthroughs and things to explore at this park are what makes it special.

^ Skyline Scream already had some netting on Saturday. I noticed in a video from yesterday that Skyline Scream was parked atop the tower. On Saturday, the vehicle was at the bottom. I know the vehicle is supposed to rotate at the top, but it the rotation wasn't working when it opened. Maybe they're trying to fix that? For Shredder, I've seen a few trip reports mention the ride struggles to engage the chain which causes it to "valley". I didn't see it testing last weekend either.

^ I forgot that ride was trackless too!

Great report! Journey was down for me as well when I was there last year. But the attention to detail in the park plus the big 3 of Indy, Tower of Terror, and Toy Story was enough to keep me happy.

It feels like a flume mixed with a night spectacular. It was easily my favorite ride there and it can't be cheap to run.

On one hand that sounds great. On the other hand, that would likely mean the end of Quirks in the Works.

I'm interested if they mix Hasbro characters with space since they are keeping the Galaxyland name. But it'll definitely be interesting how they use some of these IPs.

But Play Doh in space!

Galaxyland at the West Edmonton Mall is being rethemed to leverage the properties of toy and entertainment company Hasbro. The transformation is expected to take just over a year with the park remaining open throughout this transition. Link to Global News article