chadster

but that would be the best two minutes of his life...

^ probably would be a good view, probably cold too. Hey, here's an idea, TPR sock hats.

Ok guys, I think I have it all figured out. Since Cedar Fair had a few extra million left over out of their captial improvement budget, they went over to Mondail and asked them for a unqiue ride. They said no problem, we have just what you are "seeking". So, in order to place this new thrill "seeking" attraction in the best possible location for thrill "seekers" to love, it was necessary to remove part of the I305 track to make way for the installation of the tower for their new......wait for it.........wait for it...... Wind Seeker.

video looks to have succumbed to the same fait as the park.......(it's been wiped out) crap, would've loved to have seen it. edit: Found a fresh copy, hope it's the same one, made by the same person, same date caption, it's :39 shorter, the ending credits are missing that Robb pointed out in an earlier post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-e_olW6824

City councils are running amuck all over this country doing asssssssinine things such as this. I can't even begin to tell you the numbers of city officials currently on their way to jail or awaiting their turn to enter jail for backdoor dealings, mismanagement of funds, etc. in OK. This is just another prime example of elected officials trying their best to screw things up. Maybe the recent election results across the country will wake these people up to knowing that they could go at anytime, sadly, usually by the time they get voted out or arrested, the damage has been done. Suppose I should've made time for the park when I was in Cali two weeks ago, hope that's not going to be the case tho as it looks like a great seaside park.

Now we are ready for our Bonus Credit on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010. I was in town for several events, one of which was an NHRA national meet at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The day was plagued with track oil downs and down time, and after being at the track for 8 hours, I was over it for the day and snuck out of the track.. hmmm, so why are we here? is it for the go carts? for these? maybe the tornado? or is it the slide? nope, not at all, in fact, it's time to ride a dragon! it cost one half of a ticket, or 3.25, but you had to buy a full ticket the ride op and ticket sellers found it comical I would ride it, but, it counts! You got an incredible four trips around the track!!!! And, as an added bonus, it very well could've out ranked Roller Coaster @ NYNY, LMAO!! Sadly, the other Bonus Credit no longer exists.

So now for a little revue of two Cirque Shows. October 19, 2010: Viva Elvis. This show is located in the new City Center Aria tower and features the life story of Elvis Presley. The show opens with a bang with a stage reminiscent of Mel's Diner on two levels with the band on the lower level and Cirque performers on the upper levels. They have a character playing Elvis' manager who gives background information on how Elvis' started signing in church and then had a hard time finding a record label. They sing and perform to the classic Elvis songs like "Return to Sender" and move through his movie career, military draft, marriage, and passing. The show integrates well live music and signing combined with overlays of Elvis' voice. The stage is nothing short of spectacular with the latest in see-thru screen technology, sound, and lighting. The performers use a giant guitar to crawl thru, the chair stackers have moved over from the Mystere show, and a trampoline act that's indescribable. The set uses extremely large pieces some featuring what appear to be 35 foot tall statues of Elvis. 4.5 of 5 stars October 20, 2010: Mystere. This is the first Cirque show in vegas, and is still a great show. Feature again live bands, singers, and circus style performers this show is even great for the kids. This is the second time I've seen the show which opens with a clown taking people to wrong seats, spiling popcorn on guests, and generally setting the mode. Performers leap off of poles, perform high in the ceiling on trapezes, and has a scene with a half sphere that rotates in which two men, who have incredible body strength, use each other's bodies to lift one another in the air from the ground to a hand stand beginning using their claves and rotating around to a handstand. Some may think it looks a little gay, but trust me, anyone who has that kind of strength and can do it over and over again night after night, can't be worried about their sexuality, nothing short of amazing. As per usual, the trampoline act is great and the finale, well, you'll just have to check it out for yourself. 4 of 5 stars These shows are a must see and are real bargins at tix4tonite locations. Hint: Stay way from vegas tickets, they are run by Wingate Resorts (timeshare) and way overcharge. Stick with the original.

Next up I bring to you Speed: The Ride. But first, I realized I needed to bring you a few more culture shots. in my hotel, they have this in front of their gift shop, so naturally.... ...I had to see what was underneath, and found Granny Panties!! So now we head over to the Sahara Hotel and Casino, which just happened to be on Oct 25, 2010, and located in the NASCAR Cafe area for Speed. This ride features two LIM launch sections and was built by Premier. They greet you with a custom painted vehicle. here we go! I was able to sneak a shot of the ride in, ok, I didn't sneak it in. so you get launched out of the station and curve around here and dart down this tunnel which takes you in to the loop which then launches you a second time and zoom past the building on your way up to the top of the tower, then, you get to do it all again in reverse. Interesting notes about the ride. In years past you got two shots for one price. Now you get one shot for $10. The ride also only operates every 15 minutes. Not sure if that schedule changes on the weekends or with demand or not, as I didn't further inquire as the ride ops seemed annoyed I asked them why we were standing around. This policy also makes it odd for those purchasing an all day ride pass. I really liked the two launch sections and the overall ride was really good. Smooth, no head banging, and for being the first time I was ever able to catch the ride in operation, I left feeling much more satisifed with this, than I did Roller Coaster @ NYNY And finally, they also have some NASCAR momento's in around the Cafe area, here, someone clearly didn't abide by the sign (yes, before someone lets me know it happened in race and it wasn't sat on, I know)

Larry: It's a neat see for sure, especially during the holiday season when they are creating their custom chocolates. Eric: Yes, the timeshare folks are out worse than ever. I'm staying in the Flamingo (note that its rooms are in need of being refreshed, even the "new" "Go" rooms weren't very well constructed) in the tower nearest the buffet and they have a booth setup right off of the elevator bank. It gets annoying trying to dodge them every time you go up to or come down from your room. They are selling the Hilton Grand Vacations on property, but being the location that the booth is in, I find it border line harrassment.

So on Thursday, October 28th, 2010, I made a visit to the Circus Circus Adventure aka Frightdome. This indoor amusement park features 25 rides and attractions, and, during the month of October is completely in the dark. They dim all of the lights on the rides not needed for safety reasons and let the party begin. I had a $5.00 coupon which would have made entry 29.95, they were also selling a VIP front of line pass to the haunts and mazes for 15.00. Luckily for me, someone recognized my TPR shirt and asked if I was alone. As per usual, I was. The good part, they had a "fifth wheel" that they were looking for someone to pair up with as they had a 2 for 1 entry coupon, so, that made the cost 17.50 each, thanks guys! So, it was basically almost too dark to take quality pictures, but a managed a few. After entering the dome, you were greeted with a few chain saw carrying freaks chasing after you with fog filling the building. First stop was the hillbilly maze. This attraction was kinda crazy featuring toothless hillbillies and freaks jumping out after you, through walls, and made you feel like you were walking through a trailer home. The laundry portion feature dirty laundry hung from the ceiling that you had to walk though, I gave it a 6/10 Next was Saw, based on the movie and is clearly their signature attraction featuring pretty much recreated scenes from the movie. Wait time was about 90 minutes regular, with the line for VIP pass holders at roughly 45 minutes. At one point the lines for VIP pass holders appeared to be just as long as the regular line. Basically, they would let in one or two groups of VIP holders to one group of regular folks. So, here are the pictures. If you are in the area during Halloween, the attraction is open Thursday to Sunday. I was told by workers that Friday's and Saturday's are stupid crazy and packed to the walls. don't adjust your focus this is where it gets dark, and the chain saws come out told you it was dark entrance to a haunt this one had a 60 minute wait. I did manage to get this shot of canyon blaster coming out of the second loop nerd shot. This arrow was fairly smooth. It has two trains, but they were only running one train. Loading was freaking fast, ride time 1:30. And, get this, they encouraged and mandated that you take your phones and cameras WITH you on the ride. you may not take lap children, smoke, eat, or drink while on this ride. these people are ready to ride. look! they've wrapped their trains! lol and they're off. nerd station shot they even had thier splash boot ride thingy open, note, not an acceptable amount of wetness. there's a swinging ship over there to the left somewhere, you can sortof see the lights, this place is freaky with no lights on! bumper cars drop tower with up and down drop so they had a stage show with different performers every so often, they guy slept at a holiday inn express last night he's playing the part of a magician, his wife is behind him here, he puts on a chastity belt and then tries to escape behind this karate kid shower curtain then, with saw in hand, saws his wife in half. the end. they had a party atmosphere going on these virtual spheres are becomming popular, you basically get inside this american gladiator sphere with a gun and goggles, and run around shooting things. It's actually pretty cool and reasonably priced. finally, we went to wait in line for the disco. They had additional baracades outside of the normal queue line to accomidate the crowds. I thought it would take forever, but is all reality, even at the beginning of the queue, was only a 5 cycle wait. speaking of ride cycles, this thing was set on INSANE! It was worth a second and third ride before leaving. I only expereince three of the I believe 5 haunts/mazes due to the lines, I give them an average of 7/10 Thanks CC for an entertaining evening. Worth the trip if in town, just make sure to go on Thursday night

Next up, we visit the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory, where they make their speciality chocolates and also host one the largest cactus gardens in captivity. Welcome! Inside, they have a hallway about 500 feet long where you can look through glass panels and watch the process. the mixing room this machine makes everlastinggobstoppers. it also makes chocolate bars. after the chocolate has cooled, it's ready to be popped out of it's mold. This is also the end of the line for the tour. At the end, you get a sample or two of chocolate before entering their gift shop which is also connected to a M&M store. just outside, its the cactus garden. Happy Hallochristmas! Each Christmas, they decorate their cactus with millions of lights. millions. he's happy to see you. they were replacing sections of concrete walkways. It's nice to see a company take such good care of their free attraction. so lets stop for a moment to get educated on various types of cacti and our final cacti in the educational portion of our trip. The factory isn't too far off strip and will take you 45 minutes round trip. The factory isn't in production on the weekends but you can still walk through, all in all, it will take you no longer than 45 minutes to view everything indoors and outdoors including the two gift shops. If you never been to a chocolate factory it's neat to see. The cactus garden is best during Christmas (at night of course)

So, for the first coaster, I decided to rough it out on NYNY's: Roller Coaster. Why? Because I wanted to waste 14 bucks on a very boring and not so smooth coaster. Rode in the front seat which felt like the engine cover was going to fall off. Loading was extremely slow. They were running two trains, but wouldn't let anyone on the waiting train, or, move it to the load area from unload until the train out and about was returning to the blocks. Odd. They also got really upset, seriously, at the mere thought of taking a picture of the station, it was an empty train for goodness sakes!! One guy was told to put his pocket sized camera in a locker (he had it out in plain view) and couldn't be placed in a zipper pocket on his person. I had mine safely put away and after the ride figured I try to snap a picture, nope, they made me delete the picture. Why, who knows. First I've ever encountered this sort of policy. And this for a ride who's idea of an "on ride" photo is taking a picture of you before you leave the station by a person walking around with their walmart camera. Anyway, here is what I can show you. BTW: as it's been said many times, only ride it if you need the credit, otherwise, it's a rip-off. the part of the coaster I can show you. you this place before going to the arcade which leads to the ride, complete with cedar fair pricing. sure. sadly, we will not be riding this today they even give you a floor map to follow not even close this is the point where if you have a camera, you best hide it, or pay for a locker, or hand to a non-rider so weeeee, off we went, this ride lacks speed, it almost felt like after the loop the top speed was 25 mph. It's still a popular ride for some reason, and they are making a killing off if it. It is also in some serious need of a paint job. As a matter of fact, I don't recall this ride ever being repainted after it's install. For the money they charge for it, you'd think they want to make it sparkle, instead, it kinda drags down the overall appearance of an otherwise kick butt property. One note tho, they opted out of any haunted halloween bridge this year. As I recall, last year's haunted attraction on the bridge didn't fair so well.

Being as this could possibly be the last trip report from me for a while, I thought I'd give you all a little treat. After leaving Cali on 2010 Oct 27, I flew over to Vegas to attend a few events, take in the sites, and visit a few coasters. Contained in this report (eventually) is: Las Vegas Culture - Uploaded 11.3.10 NYNY: Roller Coaster Uploaded 11.3.10 Ethel Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden Uploaded 11.3.10 Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elivs and Msytere show revue's Uploaded 11.4.10 Circus Circus FrightDome Uploaded 11.3.10 Speed: The Ride Uploaded 11.4.10 Bonus Credit Uploaded 11.4.10 Freemont Street Flightline Uploaded 11.11.10 Halloween Video Uploaded 11.11.10 - Includes Domo! Bonus Material Uploaded 11.11.10 Please note, if you are possibly offended with pictures of Las Vegas culture, you might want to turn back and visit the park index instead So here we start with a little refresh of what happens in Vegas, some pictures will speak for themselves, no captions needed. Welcome to Vegas, specifically, the Miracle Mile Shops @ Planet Hollywood here we have free pamplets being handed out with the promise of something arriving to your hotel room in less time than it takes to get a pizza delivered. The unemployment rate in Vegas is now 15%, as a result, many people have returned to dressing up as famous people for tips. Here we have one of a thousand people dressed up like elvis. This is one of the most brilliant ideas that casino's came up with, ladies danicing in the blackjack pit's. Why you ask? When asked, "would you like to hit that?" by the dealer, you best be sure your answer is relavant to the cards on the table, or you could go home broke. An ACE paradise. Creepy. hmmmm... ahhhh yes, staying hydrated while playing the slots is extremely important, afterall, we are in the desert! quality shows double advertising is very effective. you have a dirty dirty mind, we are talking about the spa here people! vegas has a store for everyone. you get to guess what it is, hint: it's art. it's pronounced areola, serious, no joke. people will do anything for money some people take the short bus to the casino. other people hang out with pedo bear and wrapping out the cultural aspect of the trip we have none other than gene simmons.

I don't know if I'd consider them lucky, it's kinda the equiv of riding poney express right after it reopened, of course I shouldn't talk considering I rode it for the credit a week after opening. nice way to spice up a trip report, now if we can just get them to all wear cheese heads on journey to wisconsin

^^ My head is almost alway in the gutter! I'm for sure missing some key wooden coasters, just didn't have the time to hit up Santa Cruz, but it'll be there during WCB, that is, unless Prince Desmond pays it a visit Lets see on the top wooden coaster board, 1-Prowler 2-Terminator 3-El Toro 4-Texas Giant 5-Lightning Racer 6-Colossus 7-Roar(SFDK) 8-Boss 9-Beast 10-Thunderbolt ^ Thanks! It was a tough choice between the two, but in the end, I'm a B&M fanboy of sorts

Well, as promised here is my trip overview perspective. John Wayne Airport is ghetto, but in a good way. It’s easy to get into, easy to get thru security (unless you have a bag of camera equipment, lenses, and accessories like I do, then, they get confused and want to hand search and swab), and you don’t have to worry about LAX evacuations and delays, unless you were on my flight which was delayed 30 min, but all others were on time from what I could tell. That will be my airport of choice for sure. LA traffic wasn’t near as bad as I had envisioned, albeit I was driving off peak at 11am and 6pm, but fuel was a sticker shock to me, almost a buck higher than Teepee land. Overall, California treated me well except for maybe the rain. 90% of the folks I encountered were friendly, which I found to be a good thing. It also helped that the girl at the hotel in Valencia was cute. On to the parks. California’s Great America. I should say I’m not really a haunt person, but will partake if it’s up for grabs. The scare zones were so so with one of the scaracharcters beating his 55 gallon drum every 5 seconds, that really takes away from the surprise. Corn Stalkers was decent as the zombies had their parts down as was carnevil. Really enjoyed the log ride all decorated up, and the employees seemed to be enjoying themselves, without that, you don’t really have a good event. So for haunt, I give it a 7/10 Rides, I will go ahead and give them the edge for the park with the better selection of flats as mentioned earlier. I was on the fence on this one and SFDK has some good flats as well, but after thought, SFDK doesn’t have a drop tower or survivor, so CGA wins that one with their selection, though it good be better. (all of them could really use some additional flats) Flight Deck is clearly their signature coaster and again for 17 years old, it’s still a good ride, vortex needs to be melted down, psycho mouse, well moving on, invertigo been there done that at KI, Grizzly, while not jerky in any seat I rode in, kinda gave me the wondering why feeling, and then we come to their Arrow, Demon. Quality old school arrow, good themeing, smooth ride with a few unexpected dips and turns, hope they hang on to it for a while. If I were in town, I would go back, but doubtful I would make a special trip. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Despite the rain, I had a good time. The employees were fun and interactive and trying to keep everyone’s entertained. Left before haunt, so can’t comment there. Roar, another quality GCI product with the best pre-lift track I’ve been on in a while, although it was a one train wonder, the crew kept it going solid minimizing wait times. Speaking of the one train, where is the 2nd train? The back seat had plywood on the floor, not sure what’s up with that. Didn’t much pay attention to the other rows, just that one stood out. V2, solid ride, they need more of those around. Kong can go away and Medusa, what can I say, if it had the theme of it’s sister, I would give it a 9. They actually had some flats, the gorilla himalya was seriously pissed off. The animals were a trip and gave added value to the park, just wished the dolphins and sea lions had a better place to play. Enjoyed my wet day, would I go back, probably so. Six Flags Magic Mountain. Avoided running with the bulls and hit up Tatsu, my now #2 flying coaster. The G’s you feel in the loop are incredible and I didn’t find the ride to be boring at all. Terminator Salvation, my #200, really really like the ride, it is like .10 close to taking over my #1 from Prowler, but since that will never happen, it will be #2 to coincide with my #1. Colossus, what can I say, excellent classic racing woodie, tho it wasn’t racing today, forwards and backwards, both a great ride. Goliath, sorry doesn’t beat titan, Riddle my new #1, great layout, keeps things interesting, even better at night. Batman, well, I still like them even if they are mostly clones. Scream, it’s a good floorless ride, found it funny you could still see the parking lot stripes on the ground. Revolution is a keeper as is Viper, X2, wild ride to say the least, felt like I was being thrown around like a rag doll, loved it. Their log rides were solid and they had a Himalaya, so they scored bonus points. I would definitely return and recommend . Knott’s Berry Farm. Great small park, smaller than WoF foot print wise, but a good selection of rides. ERT on Xcelerator and Silver Bullet were the highlights of my day. The crew on Xcelerator had their mojo working, but gave Silver Bullet the edge on best crew of the park, interactive, fun, and personable. Ghost rider, great in the front, not so great in the rear. The layout is nice, and for certain not boring, and I don’t think it’s as bad as Mean Streak. Pointless Express went down while I was there, so thankful I got my ride in. Monte was a solid shuttle, really like the force of take off, and no fear of cable snapping. Sidewinder, blah, maybe because I didn’t spin enough. Calico Mine was the bomb, and their log ride is now my #1, the sudden drop in darkness takes the cake. Just wish they didn’t charge for their screamin swing, that’s not cool especially when Cedar Point doesn’t charge more for theirs. Wipeout, same ride program as Cloud Poofer 2000, but the cloud takes the prize due to its themeing. I would also definitely return to and recommend this park. Had my first Pinks Dog at the park, like the chili and the snap of the wiener. Overall, great trip. Should be present for any WCB next spring. So here is my chart, please note I didn't change the criteria from my east coast trip ranking variety or rides and not quality of rides. Thanks for looking

^ agreed. On to the last part of Knott's and my final review. should i be offended, probably not. log ride braking system, aka, nerd shot emergency braking with an acceptable amount of wettness. be sure to obey your penal code there is just somethin about a horse outside a chop house that seems odd. Pony Down! i didn't brave the rapids, didn't have a change of clothes and was unsure on the wetness level got the last ride of regular operating hours, then headed to the airport say goodbye jack

Off to Knotts. I had the entire park to myself!!! It's been over twentyfive years since I've been hear, heck, I don't even remember it, but, mom pointed out the picture evidence the other day, so I will take her word for it! noted. darn it. camp spooky I'll start the credit run here. this is one of those rides that if the balance, or out of balance, isn't right, it can be dull, if it's spot on, OMFG car shot. for some reason I noticed something about the prices, more on that in a bit. excellent theming at this park she knows how to handle a stick such a classic park. love it. down shots only today, walk on rides, ride as many times as you want. love these! one train, check. new cable, check. let's do it. found the entry at least i don't have to worry about two trains coliding. so, i ended last night with 45 minutes ERT on Terminator, today, I start with 45 minutes ERT on Xcelerator, never got off, what was that you said, did your jaw drop, re-rides at a CF park???? Yes sir indeed!! Another guy rode it for over three hours. bomerthang credit, not the smoothest, not the roughest. ok, to compare prices, the drinks are not consistant. Coffee for one is more expensive here, than up front. A few other things are little out a kilter as well. I just found it odd, that's all. oh well, next year. like i said earlier, the theming is incredible it's also a real life ghost town, now on to other pointless things. such as this, and just to be safe, I will do a pre-ride inspection. dent in train, check. spring loaded brake, check brakes close after launch, check. i took a trip in the front and back for the experience, then that's was enough for me. do it now, and be cool the calico mine ride was interesting to say the least. and on to more important things, like, ERT on silver bullet X3. Rode three different 45 minute sessions, never got off. helix of death traditional loop shot and a B&M ball the ride crew on silver bullet was nothing short of amazing. Top notch, friendly folks, laid back attitude, and on their game. When the restraints failed to release after braking, they immeditaley sprung into action getting everyone out manually, not even 5 seconds went by before they had the tool out releasing the harnesses. Kudo's to them for being the best crew in the park! Catawampus says, Moo. remember the cloud poofer 2000 from WoF? Having ridden it many times and then this, I can say with 98% confidence it's the same ride program, it's just something about being in that building with the sound effects that makes the 2000 tops. Monte was down in the morning, mechanics working on it's motor. I elected to let it run a while once it came on line, just to be safe. But, after a mechanic assure me there was no intamin cable on board, I took a few spins. Awesome ride. they even had a do it your self ride for kids! hmmmm... not good. no re-rides allowed here, says it would mess up their counts, but the others ones were doing it!!! hmmmm, again, good thing I rode Jaguar before I saw this. ghost town but i thought you couldn't have knifes in the park... anyway, my battery is dying, so i will finsih up later tonight or in the morning, complete with my wrap up spreadsheet. speaking of ghost town, ride ghost rider in the rear personally, I like it in the front

Ok, so off to the Mountain! I have to say I really liked this park, the staff was friendly and the crowds were light. I even scored #200!! Here we are preparing for battle. I've really struggled with the quote on this one, so I will let you pick. The dude in the lower corner 1. "Hey big boy, I have a broom stick you can ride" or 2. "I want to drink your blood" and they're off! run baby, run! Thanks to some fantastic advice from fellow C-TPR member, PAL, I had an escape route pre-planned for me. A last minute obligation prevented us from meeting on this day, but I'm sure we will meet up in the spring! running around the corner I spotted this engineering marvel, wonder where I've seen that before, hmmm...oh well, and we're running, well, I'm not, but others are Dude in the red looks like he's gotta go, the girl on the left looks like she's losing her pants. bye bye crowd! B&M goodness, first ride on second train. This was a good ride, unfortunatley, other people thought so too and started to fill up the queue, so no re-ride. Manta's my #1 on a flyer, this will now be my #2 Deja Vu was wanting to give me a ride, but park management said it couldn't Ninja. I never got to ride Big Bad Wolf, but of all of these I've ridden, this is the better one. yea!! no one's here yet! Time for #200. I love woodies, especially those with mellenium flyers on board. So this was a pefect fit. I almost came walking up the pre-show. I'm not usually a fan of pre-shows, but for a park that gets as busy as this one does, this is a well thought out system of keeping just enough riders in each stage so that once you get to the platform you don't have to wait more than 60 seconds to board. It's a little entertaining the first time or two, after that it's like, hurry up, I wanna ride! let me on!!!!! Thank you Terminator, for being #200, excellent ride indeed. Ended up getting a couple laps in before the masses decided to boot me off. So, I ventured down the path on search of the elusive flat ride. tower shot left or right, left or right, left or right. while I'm trying to decide, tower shot. Ok, coaster time, legend says it's the first coaster in the park so off we go on a typical mine train ride, with a pinch of attitude. Next on the todo list. I am getty inside, ANOTHER B&M, yes!! this is now my #1 stand-up coaster, re-rideable, great layout, perfect balance. through the tree shot i think we're missing a tower shot. so, I asked the moose out front if I could ride superman, he said sure. someone didn't tell the moose there was an obstruction on the track. Comming back next year for sure. hey look, it's a flat ride!!!! Since I've been on Titan, I kinda had an idea of what to expect here. Sorry guys, I like titan's upwards helix to the brake run. Backwards Colossus wasn't in operation until later in the day. But frontwards was awesome, so I had a real goot idea getting it from the back was going to be better. SCREAM!!! ANOTHER quality B&M, I'm in heaven. on the floorless front Kraken = #1, Bizzaro #2, Scream #3 Before I made my way to revolution, I stopped by log jammer. I really liked the layout and speed, and, until I went to Knotts, this was my #1 log flume ride, it's now slipped to #2 huh? Another quality ride, I really enjoyed it for its age. brake, check. backwards, check. So, i left for a few hours to check into the hotel and whatnot, Note: Don't eat at Johnny Rockets @ Valencia Town Center, something will go off like a rocket if you do So to sum up, it got dark, and began to drizzle, people went home, good for me. Flashpass was not needed today unless you wanted it for X2, and close to $60 for one ride isn't worth it. Viper was running smooth, Ninja was good as was revolution, and now to X2. I sat in the inside front row, right. Holly crap, I swear that seat was freshly armor all'd. that first drops was INSANE, I was sliding all around my seat, but had a blast. Line at 8pm was only about 20 minutes so hit it up twice, before a final run on Tatsu (love the loop), and then a personal ERT session on my #200, Terminator. For 45 minutes, I didn't get off. Prowler still #1 for it's intensity, Terminator a VERY close second. Great day, short on flats as ususal, but would defintely reccomend to anyone who has not been. Please note, when I do my re-cap sheet, I'll include a few more details of what I thought. So, next up, Knott's Berry Farm.

Out of the 4 parks you visited in California I would say CGA is by far the champ in the flat ride department, Definitely kicked SFMM's A$$! P.S. Doesn't get any better than Survivor! I can't argue with that at all!

So here I arrive at SFDK (10.23.10, 3pm), it started raining about 5 miles out, but I didn't care. This park is no Sea World Orlando, but has everything you need to satisfy your cravings. Surprisingly they had flat rides. Most rides were operating, missed two credits, one for being sad and pathetic, or too tall, and the other, cobra, wasn't allowed to operate in the rain. So off we go. rain rain go away, come again another day, or not, cuz the crowds went away just inside the gate, well maintained. might as well, I'm already wet. first up, V2, nice ride, still missing a row, but really enjoyed it. time for roar this has one of the best pre-lift journey that I've been on in a while back to v2 and the rain, see the rain? a little tony hawk action this guy didn't care that it was raining. neither did they, they were just begging for food dolphins don't care either. and now we have thomas town. somethings wrong with this picture, but I can't seem to put my finger on it. i got denied my credit in here crepes! denied! shucks. look everyone, a flat ride at six flags!!! i really wanted to ride another frisbee, but no go due to rain show reservations, LMAO! kong, donged me, one and done. stupid vekoma this dude was sticking knifes in peoples necks this was one pissed of gorilla. another flat!!! so it was getting a little wet, haunt was starting, but the rain started coming down harder, so I checked out. Medusa, quality, but its sister in SFGAdv is much better with all the theming. Liked roar, another quality GCI, but with only one train, V2 also quality. Nice park overall, wish it wasn't raining so I could've road more of their flats, but oh well, it'll be there next year I'm sure. So next up, the Mountain. That will probably come tomorrow, or tonight if I feel like it. After leaving Knotts yesterday I flew into Vegas for 10 days, so I might not be able to type or comprehend for a while.

Greeting's Ride Warriors! Having just completed a bucket list trip to CGA, SFMM, SFDK, and Knott's Berry Farms, I bring to you the start of my trip report. As I sit in the very Ghetto John Wayne Airport, I am taking advantage of their ultra fast internet service in my second attempt at starting this report. I started out on Friday, 22 Oct 2010 by flying in early to SNA and then making the 400 mile journey to California's Great America. Why did I choose to do this, well, I like to drive for one, and two, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see farms, mountains, farms, farms, mountains, farms, and dust bowl signs brought to you the farmers, which reminds me, remember to Vote Nov 2, don't care who you vote for, just VOTE!! So, here we go, arrive at CGA around 7pm and thought my first stop would be the entry gates, and I was mistaken. After being told they were unable to verify platinum passes from other parks, I was sent to wait 30 minutes in line at guest services. After getting my "comp" ticket, I was granted entry to the park, only after they had to override my comp pass. Come on Cedar Fair, you can do better, I don't have to go through this at any other CF park. Six Flags can do it, why can't you? I hear that other people have had similar trouble at CGA and even other parks, but I have not, so, not really sure what to make of that, other than they need to really get a few things ironed out. Ok, enough of my small rant, and on to my CGA visit. oooooo spoooookyyyyyyyyy. ok, i blurred it on purpose for the effect. evil eyes the horses are spooky jack is spooky carnevil is spooky, but the line wasn't. it was pretty short early on, not a bad little attraction. and the prices for food and beverage are spooky flight deck is spooky, actually, the load time was spooky, the lines were managible, but the loading was creaping along slowly spooky queue for flight deck. more on flight deck later. the flipper is suuuuuuper spooky a decent ride, also spooky on to my second credit of the night, psycho mouse. this mouse was not all that psycho on to the woodie, not a bad ride, but not a good ride, fairly smooth. the brakes on grizzly were not spooky. Invertigo was up and running, and a little bouncy on the ears, took two trips on it, that was about enough excitment for me. Wait a minute, what is this? A daytime picture? Yep. So here's the dealio. Vortex died about 8ish and never re-opened, having traveled this far, I had to come back and get the credit, plus a kiddie credit due to it being closed for haunt. I liked Demon in the dark, well themed, and a quality smooth arrow ride that I hope they keep around for a while. So, I make it back to the park and have to do the whole guest services thing again. I went straight to this ride as the park was loading up with high school kids, who thankfully went straight to the outdoor theatre for some sort of pep rally, so, I had the park to myself. another shot of vortex. I'm pretty confident that this is the worst B&M ever. I made the mistake of riding it in the back. My ears still hurt, rough as hell the swing set was in good working order the graveyard, where vortex should be so after getting crap beat out of me, I went over to flight deck. New day, new crew, still slow loading. I give this ride a 7 (which btw, when I'm finished with this four park report, I will post my comparrison sheet once again) It's a good ride, but like most things in life, I've rode better, and I've rode worse. but still, for a 17 year old ride, it satisified my needs. next up yep, I'm sad and pathetic. Got denied the taxi credit, told I was too tall, aka pervert helix of no return words to live by hmmm, it's 55 degrees outside. the log ride was themed really well, especially at night, with spiders, fiber optics, scarey noises. The line was long, but worth it, even had an entrance/exit scare zone. see, spooky we're sorry, we can't r#$% you today on $4 chips and drinks, but if you prefer, you can get r$#@!% up the path a ways sweet ride noted. finally, for some ariel photos. I like survivor, nice ride. The intamin pole in the background, I stayed away from, not sure about it's cable. log ride down! log ride down! log ride down! my head still hurts. noted! So as I leave the park, I find this dude, apparently drank too much last night. Overall this park gets a 7, decent selection of rides, but really needs a new signature ride. It has an ok selection of flats and plenty for the kidos, which makes it great for families. So, next up, I drive 60 miles north to SFDK, get your rains coats on! (no, not *that* rain coat, get your mind out of the gutter, pervert)

^^ they also had several feet of play on where the footers went. Loch was welded together on site and had enough play that they could move things around, alot, if needed, so they more or less expected it. My thing is, on this project, with all the GPS surveying these days, advanced autocad, a working model, etc, something right out of the station really should line up, and I'm really surprised. Something midway through the track in a helix or whatnot I could see. I'm no rocket scientist, but I think I would have had the transfer track in place when setting the track just past the transfer, and being as the track wasn't in place at the time, oppsie. In the end, that'll just give them another new challenge to work on.

wow, i can't believe their measurements were so far off on the transfer track, that looks like a good four inches. So that could mean 1. they will have that re-cut, 2. they weld on a bit more track, 3 they have some sort of locking mechanism they will attach that locks the two pieces of track, or 4. they leave it as is for emergency roll back braking. Maybe they thought they could just put some windex on it, it does fix everything after all

well, since it's not going to be a coaster or thrill ride, I'm wondering if they aren't up to putting in a ropes course