Red Benny

I'm still baffled how Invertigo is such a good ride and all of Vekoma's other non-boomerang SLCs are terrible.

What did they replace Whizzer with? The first time I went was after they took Whizzer and Greased Lightning out. I think the entire park could use an overhaul, mostly with little things though. Since the park runs in a circle, it's a pain to get to get across to the other side without walking all the way around. I definetely agree that they need to do more to compete with SCBB. When it's 90 in San Jose and 75 in SCBB it's not a hard decision to make. Especially seeing as SCBB is free and has wristbands for sale for much cheaper than entry to PGA. When I lived in Santa Cruz there was a joke that no locals went to the Boardwalk. If you go there on any weekend in the summer you can tell that everyone there came from San Jose. Not to mention the awful traffic going down Ocean St. :shock:

This is a little off topic, but along the lines of making dark rides more thrilling. When I was a kid I was afraid that the dark maintenance areas of It's a Small World led to some huge drop. That would be a major thrill.. just add a 50 foot drop somewhere in the middle of the ride. Then again, that would just be cruel

Accidental fire! Now, that's an idea! (evil grin) I'm sure it won't be necessary as the coaster will probably collapse on itself over time. There's nothing more comforting than seeing a crooked lift hill because the wood is all warped. Then again, maybe Grizzly wouldn't be considered so terrible if the Giant Dipper wasn't right over the hill.

I love dark rides as well. For the longest time I wouldn't go on anything thrilling at Disneyland, but I loved all the dark rides. As much as I would love more parks adding dark rides, I think it's a good thing they don't simply because nobody (except Universal) can come near the quality of Disney dark rides. The Prehistoric Cave Train at SCBB is a perfect example of this. I think it simply comes down to parks not willing to put in the effort and money for something that people may or may not go on. I think it also comes down to licensing. Disney has some great intellectual properties, but what does Six Flags have? They could do a great Superman or Batman darkride, but they can draw more people with another cloned coaster. Paramount has some great properties, but few that would make good dark rides (other than Spongebob, etc.) Cedar Fair wouldn't do well with anything other than a Snoopy themed darkride. Kingdom of the Dinosaurs at KBF was neat, but as it was something people were unfamiliar with, the crowds died as quickly as the hype for that ride. Don't get me wrong, I love dark rides, but Disney does them so well... and I don't think most companies want to spend the money or the effort to try to outdo them.

It's a pretty good park. Top Gun is great, though short. I disagree that they should take out Demon. It might be a little rough, but it's nowhere near as painful as Grizzly. I also like how Demon is almost completely covered with trees.. few coasters hold surprises like that. I don't, however, think it's a great park. It's a fun way to spend a day, but I wouldn't go out of my way to visit when there are much better parks in southern CA. What they need are more innovative rides. "Innovative" in the way Top Gun was when it was first installed. I still don't understand why they took out Stealth for a so-so waterpark. The only positive side of the waterpark is that it sucks all the kids away from the other side of the park. But yeah, it's a decent park.

Hey! Oxnard! I grew up there! It makes sense seeing as where SFMM is in relation to Oxnard.

http://www.ridemax.com/ Anyone ever use this? It seems like a silly idea, but then again I've been going to Disneyland all my life, so ride patterns are second nature to me. It also sounds like it would ruin the experience having an itinerary made up for you. I can see the benefit for tourists who have never been there and go on a weekend in the summer. It's a shame you have to pay for it. In the sample plans section it mentions that as of Jan. 2005 there are three attractions with fastpass that are not connected to other fastpass attractions (meaning you can get more than one fastpass at a time). It claims one of them is Star Tours, does anyone know what the other two are? ..or are they simply full of it?

I would love to be able to find the vintage Disneyland posters (ther ones for old rides when you walk through the entrance), but I doubt they have them available. EDIT: Nevermind that, I just found them doing a quick ebay search.

They could always start building up the side of the mountain.. haven't they run out of space yet?

Tough call.. neither one of them is exactly a coaster "mecca." I'd go with CA.. simply because I grew up here and can't stand the humidity of FL

Wow, how'd you miss the train looping right past the queue? That would've scared me as a kid. Great ride though, also my first real coaster. It's good for people scared of coasters because the trees hide most of the track.

Wacky Soap Box Racers at KBF.. though I'm glad they put something awesome in it's place.

That's great! I'm glad it won't be a hassle. I would've thought that having a video camera on screamin' or TOT would've been a bit much. Glad I was wrong!

Wow.. that looks incredible. Great job!

I'm going to DLR in a couple weeks and my girlfriend wants to videotape the whole time. I realize you can tape inside most of the less intense attractions as long as you don't use a light, but I was wondering what attractions they don't let you take a videocamera in. And if you can't take a camera onboard, can you leave it with someone? ..or do you have to leave it in a locker or your hotel room? The videos are just going to be for personal use, but I was curious what you do with your video camera say if you want to go on Star Tours or Indiana Jones.

I remember that park. It wasn't bad.. just a pain to get to. I don't think most people even knew about it because you had to walk all the way through the casino and through the mall section to get to it. Last time I was in Vegas all they had left was the monorail to Ballys (which is a great way to get down the strip).

How funny.. I'll be going out there around the same time. I'm only going to Disneyland though (Apr. 20-23). As far as the christian nights go.. about 10 years ago (back when I was christian) I went with my church to both DLR and KBF. It's a hassle, yes.. but it's not as bad as you would think it would be. Try to find out when the big concerts are (whatever people actually line up for), and hit the bigs rides then. Later in the evening the crowds start to thin out. I don't know if it's the same at SFMM, but when I went to KBF they cut the park off to the general public around 8pm. It's tolerable, but avoid it if you can. On a sidenote, does anyone know what the crowds at DLR are like during the week? I haven't been in so long and I wasn't sure if April would be a busy time at all.

I'm sure they bring in a lot of money, but admittance is free... and a lot of people just go for the beach. Not everyone buys the unlimited wrist bands. I bet if you looked at a list of earnings it would be beaten by almost every Six Flags park. Not to say it's bad park though

Cool sign! Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll open it a little early

I hear ya. I used to live across the bridge from the beach flats. That area can get really shady at night. I remember some random person got shot near there on NYE the first year I lived there. I imagine a lot of people are "trapped" in that area. I rented a one bedroom apartment for $1200 a month and that was considered cheap. I'm surprised the double shot got cleared at all. Santa Cruz has never been very tourist friendly and they generally oppose any expansion of any kind. It's a shame.. especially since most of the people who go to the boardwalk come from San Jose. Hardly any locals go to that park.

I've only been to DW once and I can't imagine not staying in a resort hotel. Traffic like that can kill a vacation.

^ I had never heard of Disney's America. It's too bad it got scrapped, I think it would be interesting to see how it turned out. Westcot would've been neat. I grew up an hour from Disneyland so we went at least twice a year. I guess because of that I always enjoy Disney parks that don't fit the "Magic Kingdom" mold.

The Giant Dipper at the SCBB in the rain and at night is the only way to ride. I rode Steamin' Demon at Great escape once in the rain. Going up the lift hill I saw a lightning bolt strike about a half mile away. Not a good feeling.

I'm very curious as well. It has to be at least 12 years old because Toontown isn't on the map yet.