cal1br3tto

Come to think of it, I did make some tweaks and additions this season. My steel list still seems kinda awkward to me, with some early-credit loyalty going on, but that's okay. I'm happy with my wood list, with a couple common #1 woodies a few spots lower than the norm seems to be. I'm still partial to well-run traditional or classic-inspired rides. Wood 01. Boulder Dash 02. Coaster (Playland) 03. Voyage 04. Phoenix 05. Giant Dipper (SCBB) 06. American Thunder 07. Timber Terror 08. Outlaw Run 09. El Toro 10. Tremors Steel 01. X2 02. Maverick 03. Iron Rattler 04. New Texas Giant 05. Phantom's Revenge 06. Top Thrill Dragster 07. Aftershock 08. Medusa 09. Tatsu 10. Flight of Fear

Iron Rattler

65, soon to be 66.

Totally didn't know about this. What a beautiful track color. And those rolls sure are photogenic. Thanks. A lot.

^I've lost track of my opinions on first drops, since there are plenty of great ones, as well as some average ones on otherwise amazing coasters. But I wouldn't be surprised if Timber Terror in the back would still make my top 5. The front is no slouch, either; excepting the first drop, it offers all the air you could possibly want.

^I think you knew I was in here writing an essay about carousels. ^^Not saying it's a big deal, but I think Knoebels runs the best carousel by far. Their passion for carousels is evident throughout the park. Only downside is that the ring toss isn't a "game" there, but the brass ring makes up for that.

Nice report. I always used to love pony rides. But the best part is that charmer of a kiddie coaster. OMG, it has WINGS! How adorable!

I was so close to looking for a parlor in SoCal before WCB. Oh well, we had a tight schedule on the trip, anyway. Coincidentally, just today I dreamed of going to my local parlor. Except in the dream, it was GIANT Fascination.

Knocked out a handful of my highest-priority new parks this year, but still have plenty more to go. Currently my list includes any park in the US with at least one wooden coaster as well as most parks owned by a major corporation. There are a couple exceptions plus some other interesting parks I have yet to add to the list. 25 parks make the official list...and most are helpfully in the middle of nowhere! Arnolds Park Bay Beach Amusement Park Beech Bend Belmont Park Camden Park Cliff's Amusement Park Darien Lake Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Hollywood Studios EPCOT Family Kingdom Amusement Park Frontier City Fun Spot America Lagoon Lakemont Park Legoland California Legoland Florida Magic Kingdom Martin's Fantasy Island Michigan's Adventure Seabreeze Stricker's Grove Universal Studios Hollywood Waterville USA Wild Adventures

Lone Star Nights looks pretty creepy when captured in still photos. Gotta love it.

PNE Playland Six Flags Fiesta Texas SeaWorld San Antonio Six Flags Over Texas Texas State Fair Park Magic Springs Silver Dollar City Six Flags St. Louis Mt. Olympus Timber Falls Little Amerricka Six Flags Great America Cedar Point Waldameer Park Conneaut Lake Park Kennywood Idlewild Delgrosso's Knoebels Dutch Wonderland Hersheypark Pacific Park Castle Park John's Incredible Pizza (Riverside) Six Flags Magic Mountain Knott's Berry Farm Disney California Adventure Disneyland Washington State Fair Kemah Boardwalk 30 parks 11 new parks 46 credits

Classic Coaster at the Washington State Fair last night. Rebuild complete, it's still poppin' in the front and ejecting in the back. And no more seatbelts!

Goofy's Sky School. By my perfectly sane and legitimate counting methods, this was #500.

^Was that just a wild rumor, or did it actually happen and no one's talking about it? Is it possible the riders signed an NDA? I think they had people do that for the new ride announcement that was a day earlier than the official one. Maybe they felt it just isn't complete or polished enough to properly introduce to the public?

1. X2 2. Tatsu 3. Full Throttle 4. Goliath 5. Green Lantern 6. Riddler's Revenge 7. Scream! 8. Batman: The Ride 9. Viper 10. Colossus 11. Ninja 12. Apocalypse 13. S:EFK 14. Revolution 15. Gold Rusher

Hey, me too! I definitely was not wildly impressed, and didn't even bother trying to maximize my view. Single rider line saved me on the Matterhorn, especially since I initially didn't remember which credit I already had. While the ride is far from smooth, I didn't find the trains painful, perhaps in part because I preemptively held on tight to the bar. The left side seemed a little more jerky, but also slightly faster and more exciting.

Too bad the BBQ pizza is underwhelming...I'm still reminiscing about the surprisingly good BBQ slices at, um, John's Incredible Pizza the other day. Will be back for more of that...

This. Thanks for posting what I always think when this topic comes up. Tragedy aside, this is way more horrifying to me than the Jersey fire thread.

Wood: 1. Boulder Dash 2. Voyage 3. Timber Terror Variations: 1. Coaster (triple out-and-back freeform twister) 2. Phoenix (double out-and-back) 3. Giant Dipper, SCBB (double out-and-back) Steel: 1. B&M hypers (Apollo's Chariot, Goliath, Intimidator, etc.) 2. Morgan hypers (Mamba, Steel Force, Steel Eel) 3. S:ROS, SFA

Stella seems to have a cult following, but I can't stand it, myself. We escaped to the Tilted Kilt from SFMM, but had no problem spending the entirety of the next day at Knott's, despite enjoying minimal to nonexistent waits on nearly everything.

Kings Dominion was already a pleasant park to visit, and this'll make it even better. I'm glad people are so appreciative.

I'm going to make 1970 the cutoff for my list, though I'd say many built between then and 1985 also qualify. 1. Coaster at Playland (1958). It's not at the best park, isn't the most charming and doesn't have the most interesting layout, but it has the best trains, operations, and airtime. 2. Phoenix (1948 at Playland). Amazing park, above average setting and some intense airtime and laterals. 3. Giant Dipper at SCBB (1924). Delightfully charming coaster with a satisfying, airtime-filled layout. 4. Comet at TGE (1948 at Crystal Beach) 5. Wild One (1917 at Paragon Park) 6. Yankee Cannonball (1930 at Lakewood Park) 7. Coney Island Cyclone (1927) 8. Coaster Thrill Ride at Puyallup Fair (1935) 9. Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park (1938) 10. Thunderbolt at SFNE (1939 at Fantasy Forest)

Not really a fan of Cesari's, though at least it isn't some variety of (sub)standard cafeteria pizza. Can't believe I forgot to get birch beer the last time I was at Knoebels. I thought I didn't like root beer until I tried birch beer and realized that the two are much alike.

Hit 38 this year. Most have been proper visits, but I do count airport stops, state credit runs and short drive-throughs. I have also been to Washington, DC; British Columbia; and Quebec. Missing states: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota. I daresay most of these are understandable.

I've always had good luck with airtime on Millennium Force (morning, midday and night on fairly hot days). I like to ride in the middle or towards the back. I've heard before about an unexpected ideal row in that area; may have been 5.1. While it's way too popular to be at all underrated, I think MF doesn't always get the credit it deserves.