edgeboy
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Posts posted by edgeboy
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Fantastic story. It's amazing to hear all the work that went into those efforts, as well as the personal first hand account.
I'm also just as fascinated by the Turbo. Didn't know San Diego had one! That ride continues to be elusive. Hope to ride the one getting restored one day.
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All I want to know is, how was the smell in La Jolla?
http://www.10news.com/news/foul-poop-smell-returns-to-la-jolla-cove-10222013
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I'm so mad, because I made a trip to SDC with the obvious intention of getting on Outlaw Run... and it was closed. All day. So I never got on it, just got to stare at it. Fortunately, it was my first time to the park, so I did get to enjoy everything else, but that was a pretty bad taunt now made even worse.
But I am glad I saw this list. Not knowing any better, I was about to make a trip to Wisconsin Dells. Guess we'll be going elsewhere now.
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Not a thing has changed as of last Saturday.
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Went on Saturday as part of the MiceChat/ACE group. I know, Lord help me, lol! I just kept to myself and my friend, went more for the bargain than being social, so don't judge.
I liked the idea of the Skeleton Key rooms, but for me, the only one that really worked was for Black Magic. Dominion of the Dead was next (although the sound effect was LOUD, to the point of ringing our ears), followed by Gunslinger. That one was not particularly scary, but it set up the story well. Could have done without the ones at Slaughterhouse and Endgames (two mazes that have overstayed their welcome, IMO).
I enjoyed Mirror, Mirror, but think it could be a bit expended, even with that concept. I had sort of seen that trick before (they use it in the London Dungeon), so I wasn't as disoriented. But many clearly were. Go early in the night, but do also make sure it's dark... there's no roof, and it's better with the lighting. You can get on quickly if you have a Front of the Line pass.
Saw Elvira. Not bad, she's still got it! Looks exactly the same, and is still sharp as a whip. Just wish she were actually in the show longer. The dancers come out, she does about a 10 minute stand up act (which is actually quite funny and well delivered), then she goes off stage while a video of her in various parody movies plays. Some of those hit more than others, but the main thing is that the video seemed to go on for a long time. By the time she reappeared, she danced/lip synced one more song with the dancers, and the show was over! A bit short, but she was very entertaining.
I did do Trapped. I didn't do it last year, so this was my first time. I don't want to give away spoilers, so I won't describe too much. I will say it was fun, but not particularly scary or horrific. It's most just puzzles set in a dark atmosphere. Don't expect scares, just some creeps. The actors were great, but some puzzles hit more than others, and there was one that I still wasn't sure I understood or actually "solved" (the white room for one). Although I did get a great kick out of the vent room, though I also felt it was abrupt. And I will second that you don't have to eat anything.
I had only paid $10 bucks to do Trapped with the event. After reflection, I maybe would have paid $15-$20, but after that, I definitely felt I'd be overpaying. Even $20 is pushing it. So get a large group and split it, because $10 feels about right to m.
I've been to HHN at Universal for the last few years, as it is my home park. Hadn't been to Knott's Haunt in a while. But both my friend and I agreed... Knott's is way better than HHN this year. HHN mostly feels it's stuck in repeat mode. Knott's is continuing to improve and try new things.
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I think it's mostly a matter of "have you been to HHN before" vs. "my first time". If it's your first time, you'll most likely find it fairly impressive. But for those of us who have been there year after year, you can really spot all the recycled materials... literally and figuratively.
I do feel the Scare Zones have been really uninspired for a while. Granted, a few of the locations don't allow for a lot of options (London or Paris). But especially the opening zone has been basically the same concept/new costumes every year. It's getting very predictable.
I'm surprised how many people are saying they like 13. That's the most recycled maze to me, it's basically House of 1000 Corpses/Alice Cooper thrown together with leftover props from Saw. Literally, I could identify specific props from specific mazes. Not just a few times, but a lot. It's almost a game to figure out where a given prop has come from rather than enjoying the maze for what it is. To me, the best mazes are the ones that feel newly built.
It also seems to be the year of "hang things down from the ceiling for people to push through." Ugh.
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I was lucky enough to ride this back in the Circus World days. I was fairly young (probably 14 or so, and I'm 42 now), so I honestly don't recall how rough it was, although I'm sure it was. But at that age, I probably had a high tolerance for a rough ride anyway.
I do remember these two details pretty vividly, even now: It was intimidating to see the train in a twisted position in the load/unload station, and at the time, they had these safety belts that were not unlike fighter plane pilots--they buckled around each shoulder and then together in the middle.
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I think I need to know more about what happens in Murder Lodge!
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So I don't post a lot of trip reports here, mostly because most people do a far better job at parks that I've already been to. But I think I finally got my opportunity to hit something a bit unique... it's basically the only coaster in the entire state of Nebraska.
Nebraska? Yup, it is certainly not a state one associates with coasters. There are only three in the entire state, and two of them are kiddie rides. While I realize they are technically credits, I personally don't count them. Sorry, credit whores. Just my preference.
It's located at the Fun Plex and called "The Big Ohhhhhh!!!" I swear that's how it is spelled on their website, though I actually saw no signage to this effect in the park itself... and I do think it's a play on the town of "O"maha. At least, that's the best I could figure out, aside from obvious sexual inference.
I turned out to be a bit disappointed that it was a standard Zyklon. I knew this was basically a putt putt place with rides, so I didn't have super high expectations, but I was hoping it was a custom design, ala Scandia Screamer in Ontario, California. Still, a credit is a credit. And I figure it being the only adult roller coaster in the entire state of Nebraska made it noteworthy.
The park also had a Go Kart track, but those don't really interest me much. Although I will note that the track completely surrounded the perimeter of the coaster, which was kinda cool. They had a pool, which seemed to be the main draw to the place, as it was summer and hot. Aside from kiddie rides, they really only had a Tilt a Whirl and a surprisingly well-maintained looking Rock-O-Plane. There was a Choas, but it appeared to be quite non-operational, and it was in fact not mentioned on their website, so I figure it's on it's way out (no surprise there). This was basically the entirety of their rides.
The kiddie coaster they had. I didn't ride it; sorry I'm not that much of a credit whore. I draw the line at kiddie coasters.
IMO, the park was not great. I would not go out of my way for it; I was lucky I was in the area already for other reasons. But if you wanted to get a unique, "only coaster in the state" credit, then go for it. I will say the coaster was smooth (although I've found generally most Zyklons are anyway), the seats were well padded, there was no seatbelt (a big plus), the line was short, and if you pay for it as an individual ride, it's only $2. They do also seem to host a haunt in the fall. It wasn't open when I was there, so I couldn't vouch for it. But if you were there at that time of year, it would give you something else to do.
Oh, and if you are counting, there is one other kiddie coaster in the state, but it is not located at this park, and I didn't get to see that one. Still, I hope you enjoyed a view at a rarely mentioned coaster!
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I have two standout memories.
One, I was on Phantom's Revenge at Kennywood. On one of the bunny hops, an empty water bottle flew up into the air from the first row, floating like an object in outer space. A person in the third row raised up their arm and caught it. It was pretty awesome coordination.
Secondly, on Roar at SFDK many years ago (when the ride was still fairly new), two hunky college age guys decided to take their shirts off as they rode, and whirled them in the air like lassos for the rest of the ride. Being a gay man, and them being quite fit, my interest was definitely piqued. Sadly, this was before cell phone cameras were popular, or else I would have taken a picture... they were shirtless in the on ride photo, which I lingered over quite a bit on my way out. But I had never seen that before or since.
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Finally got my first ride on it today. I mainly went for Hurricane Harbor in the morning, and was just going to see it in operation in the afternoon, figuring the line would be too long. It was down, and the line was well in the temporary area under the main canvas. Ran and got some food, and when I came back, it was just re-opening, and there wasn't any line yet, so I went for it.
They didn't seem to be allowing people to choose seats, but the woman doing the row assignments saw I was alone and let me have the front row. Nothing much I can add to this that people haven't already said: hang in loop is great, ride is short, very smooth. Front was nice, but I'm quite sure back would be way better (which I didn't know because I haven't been following the thread as I was trying to remain as spoiler free as possible). Acceleration doesn't actually feel all that forceful or intense to me... in that department, I still think Xcelerator is way better.
The thing I noticed is the GP's response. They love the ride. And while we enthusiasts are generally "meh" about the backwards launch, I think it's catching most of the GP completely off guard, since you can't see any sign of it from the queue. I can see that if I had no idea it was there (and I did... I didn't stay that spoiler free), I'd be impressed with it too.
Don't get me wrong, I think it helped that the line was short at the time. I don't know if they'd love it as much after a 90 minute wait. But for a 10 minute wait, it was pretty great. Load times are slowly improving. Not great, but getting there. And by the time I got off the ride, the line was still only at the bottom of the ramp, so maybe 15-20 minutes. Left after that, so I don't know if it got longer or not.
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So glad to see this update! I'm heading there for my first time ever this Saturday. Was debating if I'd need to get the Flash Pass or not, but it seems that nothing was much more than a 30 minute wait. Is that normal?
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It does all look great. Disappointed the Scrambler still seems to have the unnecessary and slow foot releases for the restraints. Slows unloading so much! But the log ride does look great so far, and I can't wait to ride it.
And not quite everything's open... we're still awaiting Windseeker, right?
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I think Knott's is generally being smart. It seems to be targeting the "tween" family market: those kids that feel Disney is for babies, but aren't quite ready for Magic Mountain. Plus, I'd almost argue it's a better family park than Disney: it's way more affordable, and there are attractions for nearly every age range. Is it extensive? No, but at least it has it. While I do hope future ride is more thrilling (or a dark ride to replace the KOD space--like that will ever happen, but one can always hope), this is fine in the meantime.
I personally enjoy scramblers. I'm just dreading the agonizingly slow, only the operator can open with a foot switch one at a time restraint system they have. Always seemed so unnecessary, and makes the line take forever.
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I like the game, and think it's a great idea. I sort of also wish there were some easier levels so that my non-coaster fanatics wouldn't be so overwhelmed, but I understand it's not really made for non-coaster people in mind.
I also understand that there's only a limited number of questions in the free version, but I played the game only 3 times before I had multiple repeat questions coming up. Maybe I just have bad luck, but maybe some way to take a question out of the selection process until all other questions have been picked? Is that a possibility, or is the programing a headache? I can imagine it would be, but you never know.
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Heh, I had to leave lunch early, so I missed the fact that I seemed to be one of the two guys that tied for the high school on Boo Blasters with a score to 2010. I have no idea how I got that, either; I usually suck at shoot out games. But I had my boyfriend in the car next to me, and we do tend to get pretty competitive. He usually beats me, and he had a score of 1980. He claims he was beating me for most of the ride, but I hit either a lot of targets at the end, or some sort of high point target, because I pulled ahead of him at the last minute.
I did already contact Rob, and I'm okay missing out on the poster. Just wanted my 5 minutes of glory, though.
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Green Lantern has a Single Rider line now? I didn't renew my pass this year, so I haven't been this season, but as far as I can recall from last year, there wasn't a single rider line. Is it reliably staffed?
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I think this is generally a good idea. And I've never even read any of the books, nor seen any of the movies. I know, I live under a rock.
To a certain degree, no one's going to care what a bunch of coaster/park fanatics think. We're talking about the general population here. They're the ones who keep going to IOA for Harry Potter, and fuel the fire, so to speak. And I think the GP is going to be overwhelmingly for it. Isn't that their bottom line?
And just because the rest of IOA may be going to pot, that doesn't mean the same will happen here. Isn't IOA like, at least 3 or 4 times bigger than USH? Of course it's going to be harder to keep the rest of it up. And besides, since when have properties on two coasts have the same management ideas? I mean look at the maintenance/upkeep differences between Disneyland and WDW. What happens at one doesn't necessarily happen at the other.
Let's also not forget that no substantial details have been released yet, either. No one knows what, if any, rides/shops/attractions will be copied, if they're copied at all. No sense in creating opinions about specifics until more is known.
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I may be interested, but I too am concerned about the FOTL pass being one time for each maze only? Am I reading the correctly? Also, it does sound expensive... I'd rather have a cheaper option that does not include dinner.
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BTW, what have the wait times for Green Lantern been lately?
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^You know, I was thinking about the lockers/where people are going to put loose items to ride. I didn't see any sort of lockers either. Guess they figure the loading's going to be slow anyway, might as well just have people put stuff on the side?
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Didn't see a single rider line yet. I'd hope they'd get one too, but I see no sign of it right now. But the Flashpass signs are already up.
I addressed what Tim said about the block brake in my previous post. That was right from the horse's mouth.
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Yup, if you look at my pic of the station, you can see the roof line and the station supports are the same distance from the cars. It actually surprises you a bit with how close it is if you're in the outside seat as you go up the lift.
Other have reviewed, but I already mentioned that: it's more intense that it looks, and it feels a bit similar to a zipper.
The line is single file, and splits at the very end. If it'll work anything like today, you will be assigned into groups of four and then told to go to one side or the other. You'll wait at the bottom of the stairs first, then climb up the stairs (there's only space for one group of four at the top of the stairs). The station can hold four cars. The one on the furthest end is boarding, the next is exiting, and the other two are in a hold. It's a bit confusing at first, as one group exits and one group boards at the time time, but they have to cross each other. But I think it'll make sense as things get in a "groove"... meaning that the boarding group will be seated before the exiting group gets off. I know it sounds confusing, but you just sort of have to see it. Maybe adjustments will be made to the boarding process as time goes by.
Also one thing to note... there is a somewhat lengthy mid-course break pause. It's not really a true stop, if you look carefully, the car does continue slowly inching forward. Tim said this was for two reasons: 1) to slow down the rotation of the cars, and 2) to help keep the boarding flow a bit better. When you watch it from the ground, it looks like it'd be a big interruption in the ride. But when you're actually on it, you almost hardly notice it, believe it or not. A lot of people were initially disappointed to see a "mid course brake" before we got on it, but not a soul mentioned about it after riding (well, not one that I heard, anyway).
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^Can I say one more time... the clearance issues are in the station. It's very tight it there. It'll make sense when you actually ride, but the fencing and supports at the boarding area are extremely close to the cars.
Perhaps the pic will illustrate:
See the gray posts on both sides that look like they're 6-8 inches away? They really are. Thus arm guards.
Erik & Smisty's Florida Oddventures
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
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I visited a couple of years ago. I am not exactly what you would call a believer, but I was curious. It was a mix of surprisingly nice, over the top, and insane. These were some of my favorite pics from my visit.
I'm not sure I can single out my FAVORITE praise song.
This was my personal favorite sign of the entire visit. 50% off, Praise the Lord!!!
They look very happy about you leaving.
It's no haunted mansion effect...
I heard it's being built at the Creation Museum in Kentucky... try there.
Apparently, this angle was overcome. It's pretty much how I felt my entire visit there.