simon8899

Colossos at Heide-Park again...

Krake and Big Loop at Heide-Park. Now standing in line for Colossos...

It's nice to see they keep their "oldies" - Arrows and Zyklons are facing to become scrap metal in many parks....

Some rides come back after years: Like the two restored weight-drop Schwarzkopf shuttle-loops in south-africa and brasil. I still hope someone will resurrect the Katapult someday....

Taking a plane to ride a SLC......you should get your priorities straightened.....

Great TR - rode Jetline some years ago and its a great one. Even the station is cool... Maybe doing a Scandinavian tour myself in 2 years - but thats still in loose planning stage....but you hinted my at some places to (re-)visit....

Nice TR And not very often you see a Huss Giant Frisbee in the US.

As they're no longer available: As kid I loved the portable Schwarzkopf Katapult at the carnival...

In northern germany Hansapark has the best food in the self-service restaurant near the entrance - and for a very reasonable price. At Heidepark you should bring your own picnic.... At Disneyland I had some decent Jambalaya in the New Orleans Square which was a little spicy. At Knotts they've a Johnny Rockets - complete with serivce - which I quite like in the US.

After my visit to Vegas I've to say Manhattan Express (mostly awful) and Canyon Blaster (shaking support beams). Revolution was also bad but only due to the shoulder-restraints - this ride was never build for them, and that you can feel painfully. SFMM should take a look a how Knotts made it with Montezooma's Revenge - lapbars plus seatbelts!

Now thats some good news! Maybe they will install some nice lightshow effects for the indoor loop....

Nice TR - I plan to do the Walibi park in the netherlands in September on my way to/from Amsterdam. How were the Vekoma collection doing at this park? And I guess the Schwarzkopf shuttle-loop still out of operation? Which is such a shame as I rode it at Knotts lately and its BIG FUN!

Topscan is a smooth ride - could book vacation on that one....lol. Lucky you also had a Frisbee....

@orangeblue Maybe I was just lucky at SFMM - at Disney and Knotts they had busloads of schoolchildren - at SFMM only two busses, maybe they've prepared for more poeple that day... @Disney looper I of course meant at the Anaheim locale....

My last coaster-stop during my travels at Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Sadly had only limited time there as I was going from Monterey to Frisco the same day... Did the Giant Dipper multiple times - a cool old woody to ride again and again.... Also did the american classic Rock-O-Plane which was cool after getting the hang of the handling. Had to do the Round-Up - one of my fav non-coaster rides. Plus they also have a nice indoor Breakdancer with some good light and laser effects. What a nice sunny day.... Some might ask why I didn't do any Frisco parks while beeing there? Simple: It was Memorial Day weekend and I'm not going to parks to stand in lines....

Last LA day: Six Flags Magic Mountain This was a positive surprise. I've read much about long lines, sloppy attendants, dirty park and breaking down rides - nothing of those statementents I can make for my day as it was a wholesome great experience. Nearly all rides ran with two trains with friendly attendants all the way. Moderate waits for the popular rides (40 mins for X2 and Superman / 20 mins for Tatsu) and no lines for the others. I hadn't that much time taking pictures here as there was so much riding going on.... An outside view of Viper which was one of the smoother Arrow loopers - did this a couple of times. Station of the X2 - this was a very cool ride but IMO not the big frenzy some are making about it, but a unique riding experience. Riddlers Revenge, my first stand-up looper. While beeing a smooth B&M ride it was not so suited for my aching feet - so only did this 3 times... Scream - or as I dubbed it: The Rollercoaster At The End Of The Park. Located behind the closed Batman and Green Lantern only a few poeple found their way to it - so it was no lines with nearly unlimited re-rides - and even running with 2 trains. Over 20 rides in 1 hour on a B&M smooth floorless looper... Another great one - and with an intensity seldom found on coasters located in the US. One girl even passed out in the last row - thats what I call G-forces! Tatsu was a cool and smooth ride - but I like the Volare-type flying coasters more as you're really lying in those which is more comfortable. I was really looking forward to the looper that started it all.... ...but what a letdown: The shoulder-restraints have ruined this - Anton Schwarzkopf would rotate in his grave! Loading station of Superman: Escape From Krypton... And there it goes... A nice ride but IMO not worth a longer wait... At last some loopy impression for you: Doesn't it look beautiful?

Next day: Knotts Berry Farm. I've to say that this was the worst theme park experience on the whole vacation. Slow and at times unfriendly attendants serving rides that in part ran only one train while other rides were braking down again and again - which sheds some dim light on Knotts maintenance plans.... So far the day was starting out good. And the only glimpse of Silver Bullet - the ride was B&M smooth but with only one train and a resulting 50 minute wait I did this one only once. Perilious Plunge was one of the rides that was mostly malfunctioning during the whole day... Exception 1 from the rule: Xcelerator ran nicely all day and had only a 10-minute wait if you weren't going for the front row. There it goes.... Exception 2 from the rule: Schwarzkopf Shuttle-Loop running smoothly after 30 years without downtime and always a walk-on with no lines - did this over 20 times... Some Schwarzkopf-porn for you guys.... The best fun in all Knotts that day! ...and Snoopy would agree to that! Vekoma Boomerang - another looper with slow service an long lines. Gladly catched it once in the morning. What was also wondering me that the two lifts were sooooooo slow - knowing the Boomerang in the Vienna Prater and the Invertigo at Sommerland Syd were the lifts are quite swift... Another ride on Xcelerator... Did Ghotstrider first thing in the morning before it broke down for nearly the rest of the day - and when it was running it was with empty trains...

But then the real fun began - Disneyland and California Adventure on a 1-Day Park Hopper.... And so it was: This beautiful park has maybe the best theming in the world... Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, nice minetrain with even some airtime in the last car. Disney had in all US parks I visited the most efficient attendants - this rode with 4 trains on two plattforms. The Matterhorn Bobsleds are the best ride in Disneyland. Nice theming and a hot ride - plus love the old-school restraints (seatbelts only) - hope they'll never ever change that! Disney Railroad - a welcomed rest for sore feet. And over to California Adventure: Disney's only looper is waiting.... Disney efficency again: Two-plattofrm operations with 5 trains running equals a maximum wait of 10 minutes for non-single-riders. And off it goes: After those cranky Vegas-costers this Intamin looper was smooth and much fun. Here one train is on the run with another already waiting. Looping around... The Hollywood Tower Hotel: Disney's version of the freefall is the best with great theming and seatbelts only.... And another ride on the Big Thunder... Evening twilight on Main Street USA. Space Mountain having many technical downtimes the whole day - but fianlly got onto it.... Space Mountain station. The darkride has amazing effects, even better than the german spinning coaster Grottenblitz. Enjoyed this ride much, sadly only able to hit it once.

Los Angeles - the city of unlimited ride possibilities.... On a sunday mostly out for city sightseeing - and after getting by accident into the middle of the Kung Fu Panda 2 premiere and getting my pic with the star of Winona Ryder it was on to to Santa Monica.... Pacific Park is a quite small one but its location is what brings poeple in. Rode the coaster once and the attendants let the train go twice thru its tracks... The old carousel was filled mostly with mothers with their toddlers....

On to San Diego and one afternoon to Belmont Park - a nicely located oceanfront park. First ride on the woody Giant Dipper - a cool and refreshing ride after getting banged around in Vegas. All dips and hills in the SoCal sun with nice views of the pacific. Plus: No lines - so nearly unlimited riding... Another american classic - for me an inverted Frisbee. Much fun but on a very short program here in Belmont Park. The hottest flatride in years: Octotron. Looks quite simply but really kicks butt. With a joystick to rotate the seats forwards and backwards - with the ability to hold the seats upside down

As with many California trips this one started in Las Vegas. First evening: Out to the New York, New York for the Manhattan Express.... This is as worse as advertised as its really banging your head on the shoulder restraints. My hint: remove those restraints and it will be much more fun. The loop and dive-loop were not the worst elements, the banked curves resulted in the most banging. The maze to find the rollercoaster entrance. Luckily I've loaded most hotel maps onto my smartphone before the trip.... On the second day: rain. So all rides atop the Stratosphere were closed - instead I headed for the Adventuredome. Not many thrill rides there. The Canyon Blaster is also badly banging you around - even much worse than most Arrow/Vekoma loopers. But while making photos I saw that its due to the support-beams shaking when the train is running - not very convincing security-wise... This one was quite fun but it was build right under some cracks in the dome so you got also wet while riding. My first ride ever on this american classic - was a cool ride, did it about a dozen times. On the day I was in the dome some construction was going on for Rim Runner - as I saw it the old wood canal was taken out and a new plastic canal built in, also outside were standing some new boats.

Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Broadwalk

I never show up at parks during school holidays, public holidays or weekends, so for me the 50 minute wait for Silver Bullet lately at Knotts was by far the worst in years for me. I also love carnivals: Olympia costs € 5,50 (USD 8) per ride - so you always have a short line! For me they could make days with increased entry fees if that would scare some poeple away... @chadster: At Knotts I blocked some line-cutters at Xcelerator, and they even had the chuzpe to start fussing about it! A danish couple then sided with my point of view and those kids got lost. Also young girls often tried to cut line by playing cute - well, they tried...

Scream at SFMM

Never lost my sunglasses so far. In german parks you're reminded that they could fly off and if you nevertheless take them onride, as with cams, and they get lost the park wont do anything to reimburse you for the loss or search for them. In fairs no one cares, but whats lost is lost. I keep my sunglasses always a tight fit and always have another pair in my car, just in case...