SoCalCoasters

After visiting the park a few months ago, I'm glad that they're replacing this with a new attraction. My main issue with the Hollywood version (The Orlando one didn't have this issue) was the EXTREMELY loud nature of the film. There's a difference between loud and ear-splittingly painful...and T2 was right on the border, or crossing it, for nearly the entire movie portion. Overall it was a great attraction, and I hope they do a great job on the Despicable Me (of course I'm assuming it's probably a copy of Orlando's).

Works for me!

I've never actually abused the return system, nor did I know there was such abuse. Oh well. Hopefully the CM's will still be a bit- lenient on the time returns and not Nazi level strict. Sad to hear that the possibility of a Tron attraction has been thrown out in favor of an Iron man ride. Don't get me wrong, I love Iron Man, and I can't wait to see what they come up with... But I want to ride a Lightcycle! Not a huge deal, as both of the franchises fit in quite well. Who knows, maybe when it comes time to axe the subs, cars and Peoplemover track in a few years the next Tron movie will have grabbed enough cash to warrant a ride.

Completely agree with you there. TSMM and LM were more side projects for the DCA expansion when compared to their main focuses (WOC & Carsland), so they probably focused a lot less on the queue detailing. That's actually not true at all. Those attractions absolutely were part of the master plan. You go tell Disney financing that their $100 million dark ride was a "side project" and I think you'll get laughed out of the Roy O Disney building! I guess my wording was mis-interpreted a bit here. My intention was to state that compared to the huge amount of money and time poured into the Carsland part of the DCA revitalization, Little Mermaid or TSMM had less of a construction timeline and overall cost, making them less of a focus when one views the overall expansion as a whole. I wasn't saying they were side projects, I was simply saying they were not the main focus, hence why it was worded as a comparison.

If Mack could hire B&M for a coaster at Europa, Zamperla most certainly could work with GCI for a wooden coaster.

On the ride spectrum, I've heard several people refer to the ride as intense or extreme due to the unique nature of the ride's first plunge, coupled with the scenery and theming throughout the rest of the layout. Also, the forces on a Wingrider probably differ in feeling from those of a normal B&M sit down. So for Thorpe and its target audience, I think you could indeed classify the ride as extreme.

Apple may now be getting turn by turn navigation, but they still don't have a car. Edit: Yeesh, it was just a joke,

Did they ever get that Huss tower ride to work? Or have they just sort of given up on it? At this point, given its....rather...unique location... I'm not sure they could remove it or replace it very easily, short of hauling/bringing pieces in with a helicopter.

Looks like a great replacement for the older slide, doubles the capacity too hopefully.

Had stellar rides on both Silver Bullet and Xcelerator on Friday at Knott's.

The ride will probably be put back into service on the fair circut, much like most other fair rides retired from theme parks.

I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there's no one there to save it. IMAGINE THE FIRE

Completely agree with you there. TSMM and LM were more side projects for the DCA expansion when compared to their main focuses (WOC & Carsland), so they probably focused a lot less on the queue detailing.

There's going to be complaining about rides wherever you are, and I think sometimes California gets singled out because of the immense concentration of parks. You also have to remember that for every crazy Disney enthusiast, there's probably 3 dozen normal theme park enthusiasts. Mermaid looks amazing in both parks. The facade for MK fits perfectly with the fantasy theme and the facade at DCA fits in perfectly with the Turn of the Century Pier theme. The MK facade would probably look incredibly weird in DCA and vice-versa. Plus the DCA version was place in a pretty compact spot to begin with.

Just because Silver Bullet doesn't have insane G forces doesn't mean it's a family mine train. Really, it just means you can re-ride it over and over easily. It's still a relatively intense ride for the general public, and I enjoy every ride I've ever taken on it. At this point I think it's safe to say that if they're keeping the splash pool, it's for something major. From what we're hearing they'll probably be placing the family rides in the lift area of PP, but leave the splash pool alone.

It was canibalized mainly for parts for the chain's other Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, which is also now SBNO at SFKK. Several pieces of the ride's catwalk were also repurposed for an area around Kong,

Dead tired from Haunt last night, but I thought I'd post my review while the memories were still fresh. For starters, I think Knott's did a tremendous job on the 40th Haunt this year. The talent, shows, and mazes were all top notch, and extremely enjoyable. I started off the night with five friends by doing the pre-scare dinner (which I HIGHLY recommend if you want some good food and to get into the park ahead of time). After eating and conversing with some of the talent wandering around the tables, we headed into the park, and went straight for Ghostrider. The ride is still pretty rough, but if you're in the first few cars, it's manageable. Here's where I'll start my maze reviews, in the order in which I did them. I'll keep the details to a minimum, as to not ruin the experience. Trick or Treat: This maze was rather interesting, especially since it was one of the new ones for this year. You're trick or treaters who've ventured into the witch's home. Theming was absolutely top notch, definitely one of the most detailed mazes I've ever seen the park do. Unfortunately, the costumes and the talent weren't quite "startling" enough to make an impression on a lot of people. This is definitely a "beginner's maze", but still shouldn't be missed. The other problem I had with it was the fact that it existed for one reason only: The Final Scene where you stop in a dining room and have a little show/encounter with the Green Witch (which has several cool effects). It felt like it was made just for the 40th Haunt, so I'm not sure what they'll do to it next year. End Games: I really really enjoyed this one, especially in the new location. The maze has an absolutely amazing atmosphere , with a heavy metal soundtrack that seemed to be majorly pumping the talent up. There's several cool animatronics (especially the last one). I should also mention that the theming on this one was also top notch. The talent here also did a great job, which gave me the opportunity to witness several hysterical encounters between monsters and my more petrified friends. Dominion of the Dead: This is another maze I have sort of mixed feelings about... Partly because we seemed to have caught the talent while they were still warming up. There were several "effect" scenes that the actors illy timed their assaults, resulting in us just seeing them reset. The the theming and soundtrack were eerie, and the costumes were great. The main issue I think I have with it is that it felt really disjointed. Even though I was at WCB and I heard the story, I still couldn't tell that much of a difference between the first and the second "lairs". For most people I think the maze was probably a bit confusing. Delirium: The facade! Need I say more? Out of all the mazes, the one that has the coolest facade is the one that's put in a back corner where you can't see it very well. Go figure, Anyway, after hearing everyone talking about how awesome this one was last year, I couldn't wait to check it out. I wasn't disappointed either. Lots of crazy, screwed up, nightmarish sets filled with demented creatures. Definitely an abstract maze, but enjoyable. Good talent and great atmosphere. Terror of London: The maze of the night for me. The talent here were absolutely awesome! At one point early in the maze, I called out my friend's name, and one of the female talent started following her saying: "Your name's Mikaela? My name's Mikaela too." In a perfect/creepy British accent. Between that, and a knife wielding guy early on who would get up in everyone's face, the maze was great. One aspect that I think really makes this maze so good is that it changes elevation, location and direction. This atmosphere made it feel like we really were in London. Scenery was great, talent was great. Pinocchio Unstrung: Out of the new mazes for this year, this one was definitely my favorite of them. Stellar theming and costumes added to the extremely creepy atmosphere of an almost picture perfect "Disney gone wrong" scenario. I really have to emphasize the theming on this one, because of how brilliant it looked, and how detailed it was. The animatronic at the end is really cool. Definitely recommend getting into this one. Dio De Los Muertos: Definitely one of the aging mazes, but certainly still a fun one. While the theming might not have been quite as good as some of the newer mazes, I still enjoyed going through it. For how small of a space those bumper cars are, they sure managed to stick a whole lot of maze. Uncle Willy's Slaughterhouse: In terms of gore factor, this maze takes the cake. Even though this is the veteran maze of the haunt lineup, the talent and theming were still great. Tons of gore and disgusting scenes, but highly detailed all around. Fallout Shelter: By far, the weakest maze of the night. Despite being only two years old, this maze just doesn't look good. The talent were okay but they didn't have much to work with besides the radiation room filled with fog. I'd like to see them either A: completely revamp the maze or B: replace it. This maze also seemed to have the shortest line out of all of them. Not surprising. And. Now the one that you've all been waiting for.... Trapped : Loved it. I know that Knott's has been trying to get an Upcharge maze for a while, and this one definitely had a lot of work put into it. I don't want to spoil what happens inside, as it would ruin the experience, but I would say it's worth the money. The Maze challenges you psychologically in various forms, and the finale rooms were frightening to say the least. Lots of cool theming in this maze and special effects that took us by surprise. I would say that they'll definitely have to completely change it up every year if they want repeat customers, as it's really a one time deal due to a few puzzle solving aspects. Definitely the best attraction at Haunt this year. Shows Blood Drums: Ow my ears. Owch. Great music and show, but waaaaaaaayyyy too loud to be completely enjoyable. The Hanging Games: While not quite as strong as last year per say, I would definitely call it great. With its usual crude humor and snarky dialogue, it's always a highlight of Haunt. The Witching Hour: It's the return of the witch hanging! Lots of pyro and special effects. Short and sweet, but definitely worth seeing, since it's only shown once a night, at midnight. Ed Alonso's Funhouse: There is no line that man won't cross. Mysterious magic and dance numbers were accompanied by the more than two dozen of the most racist Asian jokes I've ever heard in a two to three minute period. It was incredibly cringeworthy, and horribly hilarious, all at the same time. That's all I have for now, thanks for reading!

One more pic for now. I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there's no one there to save it.

There seems to be quite a few TPR folk over by the entrance of Canyon Blaster.

An increase of 14% is really awesome for the park. I'm really glad to hear they're upgrading the entrance. After seeing how nice Orlando's entrance is, I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. After this, the Penguin Encounter I think is really one of the few things that feels a bit outdated/aging. The park really has been doing great over the past few years...now...all we need to do is wait for them to announce the replacement for Cirque Del a Mer.

Is that ride company's name actually..... " Credible" ?

I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. Rise

It's been over a week with no news at all regarding the contest...has it been canceled?

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Sorry, but you're going to have to call Sallycorp for ghost related problems.

One question I had... Have you been working with Polin on trying making sure that the attractions do not develop issues like those they encountered with max the weight loads of King Cobra? They prevented the ride from being run with two person rafts on either side, which cut the capacity in half. I'd hate to see potential problems like that impact the park.