edgeboy

I can't understand people who say HP may not have staying power, either. When I first visited HP in Orlando (before USH had theirs), I had neither read the books nor seen the movies. I had no idea what I was looking at. But I was still able to totaly enjoy myself. Great theming is great theming. I've since now seen all the movies, but still haven't read the books. They're on my to do list one day, really. But that series has tapped into the same "hero's quest" storyline that Star Wars has. It's a Universal story, no pun intended.

Yeah, I just returned from visiting again this morning, and I did see the test seat. But I think in light of the fact the employee at the front of the line is so busy checking for APs, they're not thinking to check and/or request people try out the test seat before getting in the line. Again, I feel/hope this is something that would get smoothed out in time. But just as last night, the grouper is continuously yelling for single riders. Very few are volunteering. If they keep this up, they really just need to have a separate single rider line (probably just use the ADA/Fastlane line, and have SRs stay to one side, similar to how FotH does it at USH). There are so many seats going empty... with a long line, it's a bit infuriating. Something else to get ironed out, I hope. And heads up to anyone visiting the park today... line for Hangtime seems to be over an hour. GhorstRider is down, and Xcelerator is only running one train.

^Yes, I was thinking this is the only vertical lift hill is SoCal, so it'll be a first for many riders. I only got one ride it, but found it enjoyable. Like took just under an hour when I got there (about 6:30pm), but seemed to be just over an hour when we left. The pacing of the ride is unusual with fast and slow sections, but I liked that. For those who want a constant rush of speed, you'll be disappointed. My problems are with the ops, which I hope will get worked out over time. The assigned seating is a bummer. The rows are not yet numbered, but I figure that'll happen before next week (I'd hope). The entire station and queue area are nicely done, but it's very quiet. Right now, no music is being piped through at all, and very little announcements (if any) from the station at all. It's eerily quiet. There's a recorded spiel at the end of the ride saying to exit to your left, etc., but it was mistimed, playing after a train had already left it's holding brake. Also, they need a test seat out front, because I caught a few walks of shame. Hopefully all that can be rather easily ironed out. Biggest issue I can possibly see is the need for a single rider line, especially if they plan to continue assigning rows. The grouper was constantly yelling for any single riders, and very few were replying, so there were a lot of empty seats on each train. It made me realize that Knott's is one of the only parks in SoCal that doesn't use Single Rider lines for any of their attractions, and with their AP base growing (because people can't afford Disneyland anymore), this is something they really need to start looking into.

I'm seeing they're having a deal where annual passholders can get in early ride time for Electric Eel on May 18-20 and June 16-24. I don't have an annual pass, but a Fun Card. Does that count? I've asked Sea World directly, but no word back from them yet.

I'm with you. While I haven't been on it recently, it was surprisingly good after the first retracking around Halloween. I rode it at night for the Haunt, and it was actually an amazing experience--I nearly would have put it in my top rides in the park, ever. Seriously. I wouldn't have believed it myself had I not done it personally a few times. The only part that was bad at all was the final turn, but that's right at the end and slowing down anyway, so it didn't bother much. That said, I'm hearing it's beginning to get rough again, so not sure what condition it's in currently. But based on your recent review, it may well still be holding up.

There's a filming today for Hangtime, from noon til 9pm. Select ACE members were invited.

As much as I love RMC rides, one drawback about them is they're making the traditional wooden coaster a relic of the past. So I don't mind them keeping it as a woodie. Yes, some of the airtime was neutered, but the speed hasn't been sacrificed a bit, and providing they can keep up the maintenance, I hope it stays as is.

There still hasn't been any word of an official opening, has there? I'm trying to plan a trip there in June, but am awaiting an "official" announcement to be sure. Yes, I realize it's very likely to be open by June, but I also would've thought it'd be open by Memorial Day weekend, and here we are, 3 weeks away from that, and still not a peep. :/

Parks get rented out for private events all the time, including Disney. Typically, it's corporate events. AAA Member night, "Out on the Mountain" (LGBTQ night), LAUSD employee night, etc. Generally individuals can't afford it, but a few celebrities can and do. Usually it's after the park closes to the public, but occasionally that means closing a bit early to the public depending on the event.

^Glad to hear that. So if nothing else, there's a pretty strong historical context. Even if it's not the greatest ride, you have to honor where they began. Not unlike the Matterhorn at Disneyland. I actually gleaned that fact from an ACE magazine article. It's funny, because the Wikipedia page for B&M doesn't even mention CGA's Vortex/Patriot, only Carrowinds, that's why I wasn't 100% sure. Someone should probably correct that. It's also a bit interesting to me that I've actually been on their first 5 rides ever made.

Patriot is a lot better than Vortex was, so I give it a pass. Also, isn't it essentially the #2 coaster B & M ever made, after the now defunct Iron Wolf? Which, if true, makes it the oldest operating B & M ride. Can anyone confirm or refute that?

Stopped by the park today for a bit after work. Many small news updates: 1) Security lines are getting new shade awnings installed. Great plus! Now Disney will officially have the worst security line in all of SoCal. 2) Honda Express/funicular is still closed, but there was a lot of work being done along the tracks. Appeared to be lots of tree clearing. 3) Batman now has video cameras on the ride, and on ride videos available for purchase 4) Crazanity is still a big plie of level dirt, but there is a lot of crew and machinery around it. 5) Scrambler is slowly being reinstalled in a shade of royal blue. Part of the queue covering has also been painted blue. 6) References to The Flash have been installed the old Gotham City facade 7) TC is still the best crew in the park... actually got to race both sides! I have pics on my twitter at Rideguy70.

I actually don't mind the ride either. I liken it to an open air Zipper, which, since I can never find anyone to ride one with me, is the closest I get to on. That said, I do understand all the hate as well. It's a pretty brutal ride, or at least can be. FWIW, I also was one of the 3 people that loved Flashback. I know most people said it banged the heck out of them, but that was never my personal experience. Maybe it was a circumstance of my body proportions/height, or I knew how to "ride" it and brace for the turns, but I never had the headbanging seemingly everyone else on the planet did. In any case, I'd imagine the reason they'd want it back up and running would be to maintain a high coaster count, in the event a *future* coaster would bring up their working coaster count to 20. Most people would gladly cry "foul" if they announced a new coaster as their 20th if that were SBNO.

^I do think that's the primary reason for the name, but the actual hangtime in the inversions probably play a part as well, IMO.

^Personally, I feel it's shut down to due to pure embarrassment. That ride had to be one of the biggest fiascos since Superstar Limo.

Actually, that "sluggishness" is what makes it fun. Comparing it to Monster at Adventureland, which I've been on, it was great to be "sluggish" during the loops, because you got that hang time while upside down, not unlike FT at SFMM.

Granted, I've only been there once on a slow weekday, but usually during the off season, I'd still notice that mostly Viper, Revolution, Ninja, and Goldrusher would still run two trains (TC often 3), and often so would Batman, Apocalypse, Riddler, Goliath, X2, Scream, FT, and Tatsu (though not always). That's actually a decent chunk of their major coasters. I can imagine on these slow off season weekdays, many would drop to one train... but if the station/train isn't anywhere near full, why should they continuously cycle 2 empty trains? For once, I wouldn't blame them.

^I was in the park about 10 days ago, and it was SBNO then. To my knowledge, that's the current status of the ride, though I don't think anything "official" about it has come from the park directly.

I think Adventuredome in Las Vegas still has one (as well as a Chaos!). But yes, it is a dying breed. That said, I only thought it was a so-so flat ride anyway.

^They do open that Western gate mostly for special events (dance/cheer competitions) and haunt. But yes, if it's open other times, it means the park is mobbed. I went on the last Saturday, and it was pretty dang crowded--this past spring break was the most crowded I've ever seen the park. But I'm happy to see Knott's doing such booming business! This park has really found it's niche, and appears to be very successful with all these special events to keep the locals coming back. It's working for me, I find myself returning way more than I used to!

Actually, the last few times I've been in the park, TNR has had more than a station wait, often going over the bridge or down the hill, even on relatively slow days. I think it's gained some popularity with the removal of the OTS.

I did just go yesterday to their Seven Seas Food Festival, and was actually fairly impressed with the quality of presentation. The booths and detail, as well as the passport book listings are all on par with Epcot's Food & Wine--maybe even better, as the lines are shorter. I also liked that they had "food ambassadors" available throughout the event to answer any questions and keep eating areas tidy. And the ability to buy tasting cards in increments of 5, 10, or 15 items is another big plus. That said, a few of the food items didn't impress us too much. But many were very tasty indeed. I'd go again. Park also seemed relatively busy. Submarine Quest remains SBNO... probably a wise choice, though I sort of wanted to experience the awfulness of that first hand. On a side note, Manta continues to do 3 train operation, which is great. I feel it's one of the most underrated rides in SoCal. And it's always fun to get to ride a skyway again. Props to the crew there, they really had the line moving very quickly!

I went yesterday, and it was super crazy busy. The queues were full and maxed out for Ghostrider and Bigfoot Rapids (!). Even had a full house for Mystery Lodge! Lines for all food options were very long all over the the park, except for the Boysenberry Festival items (mainly because they can move people faster since it's only a single item and they can pay by a tab). Much of the crew seemed a bit overworked, but were trying their best. It was still pretty overwhelming. If it weren't for a Fast Lane pass, there's no way we would've gotten on much. Even some waits with Fast Lane were semi-long. Sol Spin seemed to be down all day. Hangtime was testing, but there's still a lot of construction work going on around it. It tested at night, but without any lighting. Has anyone seen it test it's night lighting package? Personally, I can't see it opening until after the Boysenberry Festival is over mid-April. But I would guess it'd open not long afterwards. Knott's has tweeted both that that the March 31 opening date was wrong, and that an opening date would be coming soon, but still no word yet. It was nice to ride Xcelerator again, and I had one of the best rides of Ghostrider in my entire life at park closing... I had no idea it turned into such a beast at night!

So you'll get exit passes? That's an interesting way of doing it. I'm bummed x2 is exempt, but I can see why. I am a bit surprised Superman is exempt. If anything else, I would've thought other exemptions would be Tatsu or FT, just because of their massive popularity with the GP. I know Superman has a relatively low capacity, but are there really that many people riding it? I mean, I like it a lot for what it is, but given all the other coasters in the park, it would seem to be somewhat low on the GP's radar.

^Yeah, I didn't think it was very crowded for a Spring Break crowd either... but I also left around 12:30, so I didn't know if it lasted. I did notice there was a fair amount of people wearing the Gold membership lanyards and cards. It made me wonder, does anyone have one yet? Especially the Elite level? I'm curious how they handle the "front of the line on one/two rides" (depending on membership level) pass for those cards. I'm assuming they scan your pass at the Fast Lane, somehow?