Red Benny

I'd be scared if that happened to me only because I'm really afraid of heights (ironic, huh?), but I wouldn't scream or anything. I mean, it's just a coaster.

You're right.. that would've made a great DISNEYLAND commercial, but I guess they're keen on celebrating Disneyland's 50th anniversary at every Disney park. Seems a bit weird when you think about it.

I never understood why some parks in CA close for the winter. Granted it's colder, but it never gets cold enough where you couldn't enjoy a few coasters. It's not like how it is in the northeast where a lot of parks stay open practically up until the snow.

I recently scanned all these pictures so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and post these. I can't remember if this was my first trip to Disneyland. In fact I don't remember much of this trip at all (I was only 3 at the time). If I remember the story my parents told me, they took me around until I got tired and my grand parents took me home while everyone else hit all the good rides. I grew up only about an hour away from the park, so my family would end up going several times a year. The only thing that really sticks with me from this trip is that you should not take a 3 year old on the Matterhorn, especially if they don't know what's going on. Enjoy! This picture is actually from '87. I had to include it because that was back when the Skyway and the Peoplemover were still around. :sigh: Tomorrowland will never be the same... ..but I get to ride the Railroad, so it's worth it. I don't look to happy to be leaving Fantasyland... If you look at the line for It's a Small World you can see how crowded it was that day. I look SO happy to be on It's a Small World. ..but I end up looking bored. Like every 3 year old I look thrilled to ride the carousel... I don't know how my parents got me to do this, I always remember being deathly afraid of people in suits when I was a kid.

I still wish they had never taken out the Soap Box Racers, but oh well. At least they put something good in it's place.

I agree. There aren't many non-Disney family parks around any more and it's nice to have a place I can take my 4 year old neice. If they were to get a new coaster I think a junior woodie would fit in well. With PGA so close there's no way they can really compete in the coaster department (not like they need to compete since they're owned by the same company).

Great Escape in Lake George can sometimes have a bad crowd. It pretty much depends on how crowded it is. The worst person I ever saw: this woman who weighed at least 500 lbs in a tank top and cut-offs, and she had a homemade tattoo on her arm that simply said "SEX." I shudder even to think of the site of her. While I never had a problem with the crowd at PGA, I've heard stories from the ride ops that they don't like to keep the park open after dark because they have a problem with gang fights. It's always reassuring to hear that. Then again, that was 2 years ago so they might not have that problem any more.

I completely agree with you about the Dipper. I used to live about a block away from the Boardwalk so I would go all the time. The Dipper was the first wooden coaster I'd ever been on. I assumed that if a 76 year old coaster would be that smooth, that most woodies would be that smooth. It's such a great ride. IMO, the only woodie that beats the Dipper is Lightening Racer at Hershey Park. But then again, they're completely different rides.

I think I went to Knotts for the first time around the same time! I had never been anywhere else other than Disneyland up to that point. I remember looking up at the Corkscrew and being scared to death of such a "huge" coaster. Needless to say I chickened out. I wasn't a very brave kid. Even the Matterhorn scared me when I was that young.

I'm bummed I never made it there before I moved out to the east coast, it looks like a beautiful park. Still, the idea of ice skating in CA makes me chuckle.

Apparently they were thinking about putting one of these in at PGA once (maybe they still are). I remember taking a survey maybe about a year ago asking what kinds of rides I would like to see there. One of the descriptions sounded an awful lot like the tilt coaster. Low and behold, the next section of the survey had a prototype picture of the ride. It would be interesting, but it's not something I think I would ride.

Since I'm originally from CA I consider my home park to be Disneyland. It's only about a 43 hour drive for me depending on traffic. Though, I suppose if you want to get technical La Ronde would be considered my home park since it's 45 minutes away. But since I grew up in Southern CA I will always think of Disneyland as home.

I almost went today but decided against it since it was so darn cold. I still have never been there and I live 45 minutes away! Whatever the coaster is, that'll be a great incentive to get up to Montreal more often.

Everest! Though I don't think I'll make it down there til late 2007 unfortunately.

Demon at PGA. Strangely enough I rode it a little over a year ago. Better late than never, ehh?

Strangely enough, most of my friends and my family share my obsession. Maybe not to the extent that I do, but it's never hard for me to find people willing to drive 8 hours to a new park.

1. ParkTrips - Top Thrill Dragster 2. ing king - Guantanamo Bay - The Ride 3. CoasterFanatic - Soarin' Over Soren When does the next contest start?

I've been here on and off for 2 years now and I can think of no other coaster site I would rather visit. In fact I don't think I can even name another coaster site other than rcdb.com.

As much as I think Screamin' is a great coaster. I would go to CA Adventure without it. It's nice to have, but at the end of the day it's just a coaster.. and that park is about so much more. You don't go to a Disney park just because they have a great coaster, you go for the whole experience. The detail and "magic" they put into each ride is worth more to me than any airtime. I'm just as happy seeing the Bugs Life show as I would be on Screamin'. If they need the extra time to make it safe, so be it.

Unfortunately my coaster trips are limited to what's near me or what's near my family when I go visit. Chances are next year I'll hit up Great Escape, La Ronde, SFNE, SFDL, SFGADV, Hershey Park, and maybe Disneyland if I make it out there.

I would definetley hit up SFNE seeing as it's about 6 hours away. I live in upstate NY and the drive time for me is about the same. I think there's a deal with the Days Inn near the airport where you can get hotel rooms and park tickets together for a huge discount. I think I paid something like $150 for 2 people for 2 nights + park tickets. Not bad if you ask me. If you are going to hit up SFNE.. I highly recommend getting the gold q-bot. It's roughly $75 for 2 people, but when I was there last year I waited no longer than 5 minutes for every ride... including Superman. It actually got to the point where I was tired of going on coasters and decided to leave after 5 hours. Granted I had been on at least 30+ rides by that point. Highly recommended. If not that.. Hershey is about the same distance. I went to Hershey during on a weekday in July and waited only 15 minutes for Storm Runner. It's another great park with some great hotel deals if you shop around.

Honestly, I don't care who wins. I think it's such a great idea that I make stuff just for the fun of it. This board is full of so many creative people that it's just fun to participate! Robb should do contests like this more often!

There's my vote for the winner. I'm pissed I didn't think of that first! It's so obvious!

If you go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk at the right time of the year it's absolutely empty. They didn't let me reride the Giant Dipper, but I got 14 consecutive rides where I was the only person on the ride. Why they didn't just let me go again is beyond me.

The Cyclone at SFNE. The back seat throws you into the lapbar really hard after the first drop. I don't think I've even been on a coaster where I've been in that much pain the entire ride.