TheCoasterTaco

Instead of talking about threads, let's talk about the Boardwalk! So my family and I went last night to the Boardwalk for dollar nights (Tuesday is a good day to go). Had lots of fun, rode great rides, and ate delicious (and unhealthy as I had a Deep Fried Twinkie ) food. It DEFINITELY wasn't as crowded as last week. Haunted Castle Update: Again, great ride as always, but again not everything was working. First off, the cars were going way too fast during the ride. It felt though as if the speed was not slowed down from the downward spiral to the swamp. In the swamp, the falling bridge was very late in that you can hear it, but can't see it since you are already past it. As always, in the graveyard the tree falling was late because I hear that in the first couple of rides from coaster-crazy's dad that the tree falls before you reach it. Also, since the cars were moving too fast, the end was ruined because you would stop in the middle of the ride while the animatronics still go (SCBB needs to fix that). At least the executioner and the guillotine were working. All in all had lots of fun and can't wait to go again. (Which is tomorrow since I am going with coaster-crazy and my grandpa to take pictures as well as take a ride on the Haunted Castle. Ride update should come tomorrow as well to see what's fixed and what's broken.)

Why would somebody want to do that?! Shows how smart that kid was, and he was probably showing off to his "friends" how cool getting arrested was. Well, it's NOT!! Doesn't he have a brain???? Use common sense!! >.>

Yeah, I was lucky on my first ride that everything was working. I am coming back next Tuesday to see what's working and what's not. Till then, THE GUILLOTINE AWAITS!

Just came back from the Boardwalk. Unfortunately, the lines were LONG! I got in 11 rides in 5 hours, which isn't many for the Boardwalk. Went on the Haunted Castle once. Another spot of graffiti has been added to the queue unfortunately. Some scenes and props were broken though. The collapsing bridge wasn't working, and the end scene was all messed up. First, the headless skeleton went on very early. Second, the guillotine part was screwed up. The executioner looked like he was having a seizure (and not talking), the lights were flickering the whole time, the guillotine didn't drop down, and no air was blown on you. It seemed as though the ride was a bit ruined. Other than that, it was still great fun! Also, LOL at the video wumwip. That was funny, and interesting lyrics

My favorite song is the Queue Music 2. I don't know, but I just love that piano in there. It's creepy and catchy at the same time lol. EDIT: By the way, I'm going to the Boardwalk today and I'll get to ride the Haunted Castle again

Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Probably one of the most fun coasters out there and tons of opportunities for !

Just went on the New Haunted Castle yesterday for the first time during Pepsi nights at the Boardwalk. I rode it twice, once at around 5:30 PM and at 11:00 PM. I knew from videos and reviews that it wasn't a scary ride so I kind of knew what to expect. The first time I rode it the second encounter of the king wasn't working so it ruined the ride aspect a bit, and the fireplace wasn't as hot. The second time EVERYTHING was working and that even surprised people who have been on it many times already. I didn't see it breakdown once or see a "Haunted Castle is not operating now" card on the ticket window. Now for the ride: *SPOILER ALERT* Stop reading now if you don't want to ruin the experience. First off in the queue, I think the somewhat scary music in the queue and the people screaming out the exit from the guillotine scene makes it seem like it's scarier than it actually is. I think they need to improve that so you should know that it's not going to be really scary. Nobody was cutting the line which was nice, but there was already graffiti on the wall. I can't believe someone would do that already, and I hope that this trend doesn't continue or else people would think that the Boardwalk isn't a safe or secure park. For the ride itself, I like it for what it is, fun not scary. Yes, I do agree that a touch of startling features would make the ride better, but they did a good job for what they intended it to be (a fun attraction). It's fun, has great animatronics, and features that make you laugh. I loved going backwards because it's disorienting and gives a fun "Weeeeeeeeeeee" opportunity. The first scenes almost seemed rushed because I would like to hear more of what the king says at the beginning since you can't really hear him for more than two seconds. The pictures are in random places as well and you can't really see them as the car kind of moves quickly throughout the first scenes. After the dinner table the speed of the ride seemed to balance out and give you time to see all the features that are in there. The heat in the fireplace was a nice touch, and after that came my favorite scene; the swamp. The bridge part was really cool in that you think something is going to get you, but then the car turns at the last second. The swamp monster there was kind of boring to me. It just popped out and did nothing. To me, the swamp monster should pop out and move his arms around resembling a "I'm going to strike you" feature. I also agree that the dinosaur was random, but I thought it was better than the swamp monster since it was hiding more in the bushes. Near the end of the swamp, there is a hill that also gives another "Weeeeeeeeeeee" opportunity as well as a put your hands up opportunity, which is always fun to do. For the graveyard, I love the Santa Cruz tourist stuck there saying "You again!?" It was funny, which is also a nice touch for the fun factor rather than the scare factor. Then came the guillotine scene. When you are going up the hill, you can see the outside light (which makes the Haunted Castle a better ride at night so you don't see as much light) so it is either a ruining ride effect OR they made it like that so think "Oh, it's over. Phew!". Then the headless skeleton comes on and you think "Ah! It's not over!" Then the executioner comes on and "drops" the guillotine on you. I LOVE that part because it made me laughing out into the station and I was clapping on a job well done on the ride. The second time I went on this, the unloaders were too slow so we had to stop before the guillotine hits us and it ruined the ride a bit. Oh well! Still a great ride anyways! *SPOILERS ENDED* Overall, it's a great ride for what it is! Not because it is scary, but because it is fun. Same goes with the Giant Dipper. It isn't huge, twisty, full of forces, it is FUN. I think that is what the Boardwalk is aiming for. They want it fun, not scare the crap out of everyone's pants. That is why this ride is a great addition to the Boardwalk, and I recommend kids, teens, and adults to do it at least once while visiting the Boardwalk. The ride does need some improvements and hiding more of the electronics, projectors, lights, and what not, but I am sure they will do it when the time comes. I give the Haunted Castle an 8.5/10! And that was my experience of the Haunted Castle.

Wow! I can't believe it is already done! I feel like just recently the old one was torn down lol. Congrats on being on of the first 4 riders and fantastic video! It has been great following this blog since January! You should do more construction blogs!

Nice update coaster-crazy! It seems just recently the building was put up and now the track is there! Only a matter of time until it opens... until then I can't wait!

^^ Medusa in the backseat in my opinion is better than the front seat because it gives a good amount of airtime and force especially on the first drop. The front seat gives you the full floorless experience and gives more positive forces than the back does. And for SFDK changing their sign, it's always been the same since 2006. The coaster on top always has been there to represent "Sky".

On Friday April 2nd, 2010, Nicholas, his family, and I went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to celebrate Nicholas winning the Facebook Fan Referral Contest on Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's Facebook page. First of all, congratulations to Nicholas for winning that contest and thank you for inviting me along to this amazing adventure! By the way, Nicholas is a member of this site (coaster-crazy) and occasionally he puts updates TPR with pictures on the new Haunted Castle at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The other two people that came along were Brian and Courtney who are Nicholas' dad and sister. First off, thank you Six Flags for putting this on for us as it was truly amazing and a once in a lifetime experience that blew away all of our expectations! It was a rainy day that day, but that didn't hamper us from coming here and having a great time because even in the rain, it was still exciting and a lot of fun! For the rides, Medusa was great, V2.5 is always fun, Tony Hawk gets really spinny, Roar was closed all day (you'll see why), Kong we didn't do because it's an SLC and we rode it before, and Boomerang we didn't do because it was too long for a line and we had to get to the next show. It started off with a 2 hour trip that involved a very hard to find McDonald's! Then at 10 we see the beautiful skyline of coasters at Discovery Kingdom! The first thing we did there is we got our Six Flags T-shirts and then headed outside to open the park. Nicholas got to go on the Fun-O-Meter stage and help everyone countdown from 6 to open the park. After the opening, we headed off to Medusa for an hour of ERT (including Season Pass holders which there were a lot of). We rode four times and the ride is still awesome especially that first drop! After our ERT, Nicholas and Captain Lee hosted the Dolphin experience where Captain Lee got to show people how they trained the dolphins. It was cool to see that dolphins will follow a stick no matter where it goes. Then it was off to lunch which I thought was the best part of the day. We got to eat with Captain Lee and Park President Eric Gilbert. I thought what amazed me was the gourmet food that they put out for all of us. We thought we were in a different dimension because it was food you would normally see in a fancy restaurant and not in a Six Flags park. I learned many things about Six Flags that I haven't known before. Once our lunch was over, we took a few pictures and headed off to Shouka where we got close-up (and I mean CLOSE-UP) seats. Nicholas got chosen to dance and pet Shouka as well. It was a good Shouka show as well and every time I go see Shouka the show is different. Afterwards, we headed off to Odin's Temple of the Tiger show to see some tigers do what tigers do. We got front-row seats where you can see the cats up close. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy so the tigers didn't go in the water, but it was still cool to see the tigers. Nicholas got called up again to feed the tiger some raw meat, which is pretty cool I think. After the show, the people at Six Flags let us do whatever we wanted, but that was the time it started to rain hard. So we went over to V2.5 and Tony Hawk and get a couple of rides in the rain. The rain got us cold so we went in the gift shop for awhile. Nicholas and I decided to go to Medusa for one more ride and the sun started to peer out over the park. Unfortunately, the ride broke down twice while we were in line so we decided to skip it. We got back to the gift shop and the sun was out with no clouds in site. We all went hooray until we realized there was nothing to ride. Medusa was broken down, V2.5 broke down, and Roar was broken all day. SLC, Boomerang, spinny Tony Hawk, or a funnel cake? I chose the funnel cake which is very good. We left the park at around 6:30 (30 minutes before closing) and got some very nice shots of coasters walking back to the car. And that was our day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom! Now let's get on with the pictures shall we! (Some photos are on Six Flag's Discovery Kingdom's Facebook page) Here we are at Discovery Kingdom! What a beautiful skyline! The old Ski Jump show stadium. I asked Eric what they were going to do with it, and he said Discovery Kingdom has no plans with it. Tony Hawk's Big Spin with its twisty and curvy track. A dive loop for dive loop fans. Zero Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! Loop de loop! GCI sexiness! Too bad you can't see trains go by... Ooooh! Aaaah! A sea serpent! You don't see many of those. Hooray for Intamins at 45 DEGREEEEEES!!! First drop of ROAR! GCIs always look good even with depressing clouds. Here is Nichole who helped escort us throughout the day! Thanks to you! OMG ITS THE VIP OF THE DAY!!!!!!! My snazzy looking Six Flags shirt. Don't we all look sexy in those T-shirts? I'm on the far right. (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Bugs and Mr. Six dancing to We Like to Party to kick off the day and opening! Nicholas gets to countdown with Joe and Captain Lee to officially open the park! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Nicholas now gets to join Mr. Six and Captain Lee for a photo op! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Now who's ready for ERT on Medusa? I am! Having a great ride in the back seat on Medusa! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) The only thing SLC's are good for... some nice pictures! Captain Lee and Nicholas get to... BRAINWASH DOLPHINS!!! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) "I love brainwashing dolphins with sticks!" Yep, they follow the stick wherever it goes. (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Now that is awesome! Nuff said! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Now it's time for DONKEY ERT!!! Hooray for TPR's mascot! Except this donkey doesn't like his picture taken. See! Since he was with the VIP, he requested that half of him is allowed to be in the picture. FOOD TIME! This doesn't look like any Six Flags food.... It looks like something that didn't come off a fryer! Are we sure we're at a Six Flags? This dessert was really good! Even Eric and Captain Lee were impressed! Captain Lee and Park President Eric get a photo with the VIP in front of the dolphin statue! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Bugs and Daffy were jealous that they didn't get their picture taken with Nicholas so we let them have one too! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Off to Shouka! Now this is what you call VIP front row seats! See what I mean! You can't get much closer than that! Also, you really get an appreciation of how huge killer whales can be! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Nicholas got called up to do a funny dance and touch Shouka's tail! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) After the show we got a glimpse of Shouka swimming with some dolphins. While heading towards Odin's, we stop by Boomerang to get some pictures. Catch car theming! OH NO! It's a coaster enthusiasts nightmare! Two Vekomas in ONE PIC! RUN AWAY! So we ran over to some tigers to be safe... that doesn't sound right. More great front row seats! Here you can see the two stars of the show and that it is raining. "I've wanted to do this all my life!" -Polar Express Not really, but there's nothing like feeding a tiger! (Photo Courtesy of Six Flags) Not that we were left to do whatever, we went to see a dolphin show which was better than the last dolphin show I saw here. You're swimming the wrong way! (I see you Captain Lee) Jet propelled humans or dolphins pushing humans? You decide! This picture creates an illusion! Can you find it? The show ends with the dolphins spitting balls! Hooray! Bye to you too dolphins and trainers! While walking we heard the Thomas theme song so why not get a picture of Thomas Town's sign! V2.5's spike. Ya, it's a boring caption. Gotta have one per TR! This is where Roar's train was stuck all day! I don't think it's supposed to be there especially in the rain. We went over to Tony Hawk and I got a pic of the layout. (I see you Medusa train!) WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I LOVE SPINNING! Just an SLC, moving on moving on... So this is the part where we decide to leave the park (after a funnel cake of course). Note the sky in this pic compared to the rest! Dive loops, blue sky, and GCIs! OH MY! Ya, it's lame deal with it. The Medusa train goes *click click click* right here. Oh no! Shouka jumped out of her tank... oh wait that's not Shouka. Oooooh! Pretty picture! Roar poses for a nice picture in the sun! Nothing much to say other than Tony Hawk coaster picture. Dive loop of Medusa and Tony Hawk car going around hairpin turn. I like this picture a lot! Very nice V2.5 spike picture to end the day. Thank you Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for such an awesome! Also thanks to Nichole, Captain Lee, Eric, Nicholas, Brian, Courtney, and everyone else involved for making this day truly memorable! And thus, this concludes the photo TR!

Just signed up and it's awesome to be a "Charter Member"

The way I see it is that the scariest part of a first time big coaster is not even on the ride. It is waiting in the station. All of the coasters I have been on, the scariest part is the line. It seems odd, but it's true for most of us. So I bet you'll have a great time on the 300+ coasters especially since you loved the 200+ ones.

First Park: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk First Ride: Double Shot First Coaster: Hurricane First New Credit: Hopefully Terminator First Food Bought: Bacon & Cheese Hot Dog (at the Boardwalk)

This thread needs a new update so here it is! 14 new photos of the Haunted Castle construction have been posted on the Boardwalk's Facebook page courtesy of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Here is the link to the page: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Facebook Page Thank you SCBB for some nice photos!

I'd love to see one in the Northstar area since my family owns a cabin near Tahoe and Truckee. There isn't any in the Tahoe area and I believe there should be at least one due to all the resorts there. Plus, it would bring more publicity during the summertime.

I love pinball! My favorite ones would have to be Pinball Magic, Travel Time, and Circus Voltaire. Many of the pinball machines mentioned here are at Playland-Not-At-The-Beach in El Cerrito, California. All of the pinball there is free unlimited play. The only price is the admission. Even pinball legends go to Playland to play pinball because it has such a nice collection.

Looks like construction is going well. Can't wait for Cars Land to open so I can ride Radiator Springs Racers! Looks like a lot of fun!

You're right. It does depend on the person and his/her opinion about whether it is worth it. And if Terminator doesn't have an additional fee, Six Flags needs to change its website.

I'm actually glad for the seatbelts B&M loopers because of one experience I had on Vortex at California's Great America. Me and my cousin were just going on another ride on Vortex. When we got on and the ride-op locked the seats the seats were locked, but the restraint wasn't. Both of our restraints were loose! We told the restraint checker that these restraints were loose, but he said, "It's alright... don't worry about it." So the ride started with the restraints loose and the only thing holding us in were the seatbelts. It was one of the scariest rides of my life. Thank God for those seatbelts!

It's ridiculous to see this $10 upcharge for X2 and Terminator (yes, it's for this one as well). Why can't they do it like Disney or make the Flash Pass cheap? I mean, you already have to pay money to get into the park so why pay a lot more for less waiting. With Disney, it's FREE and still not many people use the Fastpass. My understanding for making it free or a cheap price is that more people will have less time waiting and more time riding rides, buying gifts, and buying food. I think it will actually get Six Flags more money if they do it this way, plus customer satisfaction will go up meaning that there is a better chance for people to return to the park and/or getting a season pass. That is just my honest opinion. But, I have done the Flash Pass at Magic Mountain, and it is still worth it.

So the ride ops will get error messages saying brake errors even though they are working correctly? Yep, they will hear a buzz and a yellow message saying "Texas Giant has broken down." Once that happens the train will come through and make a red explosion and have a buzzing red message appear saying "Texas Giant has crashed!". Then once you a touch the ride and go to the gears tab, it will say "Station Brakes Failure" in orange letters.

Hello! My name is TheCoasterTaco, but you can also call me Crazy since that is what I'm called on mariokartwii.com (I guess I'm just used to that name ) I live in California and my local park is California's Great America. BTW, I am planning to go there on May 16th *cough* Bay Area Bash *cough*. My current credit count is 51 (I count fair coasters a 1/2 credit [4 fair coasters]) and my park credit is at 19 (fairs count as 1/2 credit [2 fairs]). I also love to play Roller Coaster Tycoon (even though I haven't played it for a while) and Mario Kart Wii (I am on a Mario Kart team called Road Rage). That is just a brief background of me and I can't wait to meet some new peeps here at TPR! ~TheCoasterTaco~

Snoopy statues have arrived at California's Great America today! Two pictures of them can be found on CGA's Facebook. Looks like the construction in Planet Snoopy is going really well. Can't wait for Planet Snoopy!

California California's Great America Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Gilroy Gardens Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Disneyland Disney's California Adventure Six Flags Magic Mountain Legoland SeaWorld San Diego Nevada Wild Island (used to have a coaster) Adventuredome Washington Fun Forest Amusement Park (defunct park under the Space Needle) Arizona Castles n' Coasters New Hampshire Canobie Lake Park Florida Magic Kingdom (got my first credit there! ) Animal Kingdom Hollywood Studios EPCOT P.S. First post on TPR!