cfc

^That Lurch clip is useful on so many levels.

Vertical Velocity--SF Great America

^Ah, you saw what I did there!

Agreed--there's little point to "inventing" a flat that someone else can provide. That's like waiting for your "research" people to "invent" a tea cup ride in Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Oh, wouldn't we? I was also doubtful about Dreamland coming back; like you, I'm quite happy to be proved wrong.

^That's just my take on Cut Throat Cove. The "Ports of Skull" "TERROR-tory" is weaker this year. In that past, the "Torture Hill" photo op area had more going on (for example, they had two pirates that would always talk to the crowd over the PA system); "Ports of Skull" also gets my vote the most awkwardly named scarezone ever. They've had better mazes in Festa Italia in the past (such as "Wicked Woods"). But, overall, HOS is pretty strong this year.

Hmm--it seems to me that for this ride to work, you'd have to put it inside a building with some interesting lighting and some other effects. Then you might have something. No but if you're lucky you might get given a TV remote so it feels like your on a real couch! "Couch Potato: The Ride."

So, it's a simulator without a video with which to interact?

I was chatting with someone on opening night who mentioned that Cut Throat Cove was their "evil clown maze," only with pirates. It seems like a "starter maze" for kids--see if they can handle Cut Throat Cove first. Bitten has held up pretty well--more so than Club Blood at Kings Dominion (which is the oldest maze there).

^Cut Throat Cove is particularly weak this year. It was neutered the first year they did it, thanks to, of all things, ISIS. The maze featured a collection of severed pirate heads (there were severed heads on display in the vampire scarezone, too), but there was a uproar on Facebook over them when the ISIS beheading videos started hitting the Internet; the heads were then removed. They used to have a pirate in the "armory" section who would "shoot" at people as they exited the room, but he's gone now. I've always liked Catacombs due to its atmosphere. No other park does a maze quite like that one. The oldest maze is Bitten, with Catacombs the second oldest.

Ya, it looks really great, what if Epcot did that too? Because the hard-core Disney fans would probably, at first, riot; get used to the "defaced" Spaceship Earth; then complain when the decorations were removed.

Speaking of last Saturday, the park hit capacity during Howl-o-Scream: http://www.dailypress.com/news/york-county/dp-howl-o-scream-brings-busch-garden-to-capacity-20151017-story.html. Remember--if you're going to the park on Saturday during HOS, go early.

^Pizza Port did not disappoint, even if Belmont did.

I like how they decorate the big globe to match the season.

^Holy crap! I should book a trip now to try all this stuff.

Bloody hell that ride was awful! It was soooooo dizzying, I have never wished more for a simulator ride to end quickly... I'm not a big fan of flying coasters, but I do like Florida's Manta and a few others. California's Manta is more my style. At least you can skip the Wild Arctic simulator. The exhibit (on both coasts) is very well done. We all liked SeaWorld San Diego, even though we had to miss out on the shows that day. It's very nice park with beautifully landscaped grounds.

Gilroy Gardens

We're still exploring the frozen Arctic at SeaWorld. I don't know. Sounds like an exaggeration. What do you think, Eric? I like the shipwreck in the walrus tank. "Yes, I wrecked that ship! I did it, and I'm glad I did it. Do you hear me? I'm glad! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Damn you, walrus! Yes, I'm a terrifying polar bear. Grr. Grr. "Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy my eggs--they're delicious!" Aw, polar bears are so adorable when they're not ripping open seals and eating their guts. Here's the old-school Penguin Encounter. At least you don't have to endure some goofy ride to see the damn things. Penguins may rock, but they still smell. Ahem! Are those "sustainable" fish tacos? As I said, the park wasn't too busy that day. Yay! Sharks! Someone needed a bigger boat. A much bigger boat. "You! Under the glass! Your leg looks pretty damn tasty." How about some drier rides on Manta? This little ride will surprise you. I'd much rather ride this Manta than the one in Orlando. Plenty of air at the top of this hill. Thanks, Manta--what a great ride. Pull my finger . . . ow! That was not directed at you! So, we left SeaWorld . . . . . . and drove to Belmont Park to ride the Giant Dipper--or so we'd hoped. This did not look promising. Because of the heavy rain that morning, and some nearby flooding, the park never opened that day. Oh well. When the going gets tough . . . . . . the tough get pizza . . . . . . and beer! (In this case, a concoction called "King Fu Elvis.") That's it for WCB, Disney, and SeaWorld, Thanks for reading!

The SeaWorld Day: Getting a Bit Soggy in San Diego We have nearly reached the end of this report--just one more day left. This was the day we hit SeaWorld in San Diego, a park I haven't been to since I was a kid; back then, all they had was fish, fish, and more fish, as I recall. They have a bit more now. As many of you probably know, California is in the midst of a terrible drought. Reservoirs are down to dangerously low levels, grass is parched and brown, and the mountains have virtually no snow pack. So, naturally, the day we drove to San Diego, it rained. And not a wee little sprinkle or two. We're talkin' an all-out deluge, with rain coming down in sheets in-between smaller showers. It was very wet and soggy when we hit the SeaWorld parking lot, and we sat in our cars for an extra half-hour, checking a weather app that promised that the wetness would start to taper off around noon. Finally, the rain subsided to a pretty light shower. We entered the park, bought ponchos, then headed for Manta--SeaWorld's launched Mack coaster. And it's a damn good one! This "little" ride packs plenty of air and laterals in its twisting layout, and the two launches have quite a kick. It's well themed to boot, with a nice aquarium and manta "petting" tank. This ride is a win for SeaWorld. We practically had an ERT session on Manta, thanks to the rain. The crowd was so small that the operators let riders get off, pick a new row, and get right back on. Eric and I had one particularly interesting ride on Manta. The coaster begins with a "pre-show" in a tunnel, just before launching you through the first half of the course. We sat there as digital manta rays swam around us, and the train rocked back and forth. Ah, so relaxing. Then the tunnel door opened, and we launched right into a downpour that would've terrified Noah! I held the hood of my poncho over my eyes during the entire ride, and the rain stung my face like a million angry bees. After that, we decided that lunch would be a good idea. Then the rain pretty much stopped for the day--yay! I also enjoyed Journey to Atlantis, the park's Mack water coaster, even though it's not quite in the same league as its cousin Florida. The ponchos came in handy again. We were hoping to ride the old wooden coaster at Belmont Park that day, but that didn't quite go as planned. More on that later. So, here's a look at SeaWorld San Diego on a very quiet day. Welcome to SeaWorld! Sorry, but we had to put the drought on hold today. This is the driest spot I could find to get a photo of the park's very nice looking entrance. The rain actually caused my camera viewfinder to turn off due to dampness, but it came back once it dried out. My god! It's the ghost of Erik Johnson! The legend was true! This is an acceptable amount of wetness if you have a poncho. A little (well, a lot of) rain didn't stop Manta. "Hello! I'm sort of a back story. I hope you enjoy reading me." "Me closed? Hell no! Where do you think you are, Cedar Point?" More on Manta later. Time for lunch at Shipwreck Reef. The whole area is themed to being shipwrecked on a tropical isle. Yet they have a radio station where DJs play tropical-type music and make bad shipwreck jokes all day. I guess the Professor made it out of coconuts and bamboo. Yes, I had the "sustainable" fish fry at SeaWorld. Please don't judge. If you're not careful, you can really get screwed here. What is that strange glow in the sky? Have the rain gods deserted us? We checked out Dolphin Point for a few minutes. "Why, hello there, random Japanese kid." Watch out! That dolphin's got a bomb! We'll be back later Manta. Meanwhile, carry on. This should give you an idea of how much it rained that morning. "Aye. a giant tentacle suckered away me sucker! And a crab the size of a cow ate me candy corn!" Where there's a SeaWorld park, there will be flamingos. It's a federal law. Oh, you silly Floridians! Much wetness awaits here. I like how ride queues feature these themed aquariums at the SeaWorld parks. These poor fools are now officially doomed. As were we! Damn you and your extra quarter, Brad Roach! We skipped the Wild Arctic simulator ride. Riding it once in Florida was enough. Be-l-u-u-u-u-ga is fun to say. Well, I guess we better get moved in before winter hits. I wonder if all these food-processing companies had to pay for product placement. OK, this could make for some long Arctic nights, indeed. "Tell me about it! I ate some dude who'd been chowin' down on those refried beans all winter. Now none of the other bears will come near me! Ah, wait . . . oh, that feels better. Sorry about that." More to come.

Raptor, but I haven't ridden on Rougarou (only Mantis). Raptor is much better than Gatekeeper.

Nemesis--Alton Towers