805Andrew

I don't think a giga coaster is going to happen at Knott's unless they have it leave the park and go across the street through the parking lot and back, but that's not likely to happen. I feel an Intamin Megalite or Aquatrax, Eurofighter, or even a B&M Dive Machine would fit Knott's better for their next thrill coaster in 2-3 years as none of these types of rides are on the West Coast and would be unique to Knott's. A Maverick type of coaster would be a great addition to Knott's and they could even theme it to the Wild West, they just have to figure out where to put it.

^^ I'm jealous of all the cool technology you're surrounded by right now. Indeed it's sad of all the Technophobes we have here and of all the technological advances we'll never have here (at least until years later) due to peoples' perceptions of technology and their blind love of nostalgia. It's also sad that innovation is being limited due to cost constraints and the lack of short-term profitability. Too many people just think about the short-term only. It's sad that our airports are compared to the Flintstones, while the ones in Asia are compared to the Jetsons, not to mention our lack of high speed rail (what is Amtrak?) and our lack of investing in updating our aging infrastructure. Robb, enjoy Japan while you can.

Just compared the two water parks. Cowabunga Bay definitely looks like the most interesting and unique of the two. And by delaying the opening to next Spring, it shows they want to have everything up and running by day one. I do like the mountain backdrop of Wet N Wild, though it will be more out of the way. Vegas can definitely support both parks (probably more), especially being on the opposite sides of town, though both will be out of the way from the strip and require a drive (aka "locals" parks). I like the fact Cowabunga Bay will have several firsts including the racing slides that race up with a bridge crossing over that element. I also like the fact that it will have three distinct themed areas that fit well with the theme of Cowabunga Bay. Cowabunga Bay is definitely stepping up their game from their Utah park ( which looks really nice) for Vegas. Shane looks like he is in it for the heart while Wet N Wild looks like they are just in it for the $$. I'll have to squeeze a day or afternoon for Cowabunga Bay on my next Vegas trip. I almost went to the original Wet N Wild in 2003, but it was really mild and cool on the day we were supposed to go with a chance of rain (it was Spring Break) so we decided not to go. I was thinking, I'll go there next time I'm in Vegas, not knowing it would close a year and a half later. The funny thing is I never got back to Vegas until 2010, and it was also mild when I went back (April) and it rained the first night we were there. We had planned to do Desperado on the way into Vegas and it was around 8AM when we got to Buffalo Bills. We found out it opened at 10 and my friends wanted to get into Vegas so we decided we'll hit it on the way out. We did the coaster at NYNY that night, and had planned to do the Stratosphere rides two nights later but didn't get there until almost 11 PM and they were closing earlier then what their website listed so we decided to do it before we went home the next day, which we did. We didn't leave Vegas until after 3PM and had still had that 7 hour drive to San Luis Obispo, CA, so as we were driving by Buffalo Bills we decided we were tired and would do Desperado next time. Hopefully it will still be there, lol. I didn't even think about Speed as it was late at night the one time we were at the Sahara and it was pretty dead there. I didn't think the Sahara was going to close so soon after but I'm not surprised based on how dead it was. And we were only there because we took the monorail from MGM (we were staying at Hooters) to Sahara with the intention of doing night rides at Stratsophere. The next day since we were leaving, we just drove to Stratosphere. By the way, that part of the Strip between Sahara and Stratsophere is hella sketchy at night, not something I'd want to walk again. I kinda went off on a tangent here, but the moral of the story is if you get a chance to ride / experience something, do it as it may not be there tomorrow, especially in Vegas.

The only way I think a video game theme park would work is if they used IPs that were known world wide and had mass appeal, like Nintendo characters. A World of Nintendo Theme Park with different themed lands to Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, Donkey Kong Country, etc would be awesome, but it would to have to be more like a conventional theme park with some interactive experiences. It could be indoor/outdoor like Ferrari World so it could be open year round in a place like NYC or Seattle (Nintendo's US HQ - though I don't know if Seattle has the market or tourism to support this) or Las Vegas (I feel a world class theme park would do well there) and/or a location in Nintendo's home market of Japan. This is the video game theme park I would like to see, but it would have to be at least as big as Ferrari World, as opposed to the size of Sega Joypolis. I wish Nintendo would team up with a major theme park company to make this happen.

Grizzly at CGA now that Gold Striker is up and running. Not because Grizzly is the worst or roughest coaster in the world, but because it is boring and now pointless being at CGA. Plus something good can go in its place and cross the midway to also use Invertigo's old spot if needed.

Being in CA and based on all the parks I've been to, I have to say chain. But if I lived in PA or a place that had a great independent park my answer might be different.

Psyclone - SFMM Flashback - SFMM DeJaVu - SFMM (I'll actually miss this one - at least until something awesome goes in its place) Windjammer - Knott's Invertigo - CGA (Again, same as with DeJaVu to a lesser extent) Zonga - SFDK (was SFMW when they had this one) Hurricane - SCBB Montaña Rusa - Tibidabo, Barcelona Boomerang - Parc de Montjuic, Barcelona (SBNO at SFNO I think) Vikingo - Parc de Montjuic, Barcelona Ciclón - Parc de Montjuic, Barcelona

Just read this Europe TR. Wow, one of the best non-official TRs I've read in quite awhile. I really got the idea of what the Italy / Europe trip was like. A lot more German parks are on my radar now (Europa Park was before). The German parks have beautiful settings/surroundings (raining a lot must help keep them green) and that drive through Switzerland must have been amazing. Movie Park Germany and Parc Asterix look mediocre compared to the other big parks you went to. Gouderix is one of those rides that look nice in theory but is poorly executed. From that picture it looks like after the lift hill and drop it did five loops in a row which must be nauseating - it needs other elements and/or a MCBR in between those loops like Viper at SFMM has. I bet the reason it has long lines is because people like the way it looks (it stands out) and haven't be on it before. For most people it's going to be a one and done. As for the crowds, it's got to be due to the proximity to Paris. Parc Asterix looks like a locals park for those that want a day of rides but don't want to pay the price of Disney - a la the Knott's Berry Farm of Paris. I hope you got the chance to the see the beautiful city of Paris (at least for a day or two) and not just the mediocre CDG airport (which I still thought was better than LAX - at least the Air France terminal I was in). Again, great TR - well representing the 805.

Who would have thought a water park would have done so well in Las Vegas?

This looks like its turning out to be great addition to SFMM. Love the YOLO shirts by the way. The YOLO shirt should be the official WCB 2013 shirts.

Bloody Mary by Silversun Pickups

I guess the airtime on this thing is supposed to be pretty good according to those that rode it. Glad to see something at SFMM with decent airtime. I feel Full Throtle will be a welcome addition to the park. Can't wait to ride it this fall at WCB.

Thanks for sharing this. That coaster barely clears the loop and is a one trick pony (not even a good trick), but it looks like the riders enjoyed it due to a lack of riding coasters anywhere else. It's looks like a coaster designed on Roller Coaster Tycoon by someone playing it for the first time. I've seen better designed coasters in North Korea (of the ones still operating there). By the way, has any well traveled TPR member (Asian or European members - obviously not American members) been to DPRK and ridden any of the coasters or been to their "Funfair" parks?

Come on Sacramento, let Tony ride!

I'm loving this TR of Taiwan. Beautiful scenery around the parks, and Gravity Max looks OMFG amazing. I especially loved all the angles shown of Gravity Max, as it almost felt like I was on the ride too. If I am ever in Taiwan I will have to hunt down this park for Gravity Max. Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village also looks like a really nice park to visit.

^Nice! That's my local brewery, it's less than 15 minutes from my house. I had a Ballistic Brewing Company IPA with dinner.

San Luis Obispo, CA actually has some decent stations for being a small market. Being in a college town helps. New Rock 107.3 KURQ (Alternative) - This is the station I mostly listen to. They play current alternative/rock songs with a lot of 90s/2000s alt rock songs and some punk and reggae songs, album cuts, and a few local bands as well. For those that have Sirius XM, this station sounds like a cross between Alt Nation, Lithium, and Faction. They do a locally produced Saturday late night punk show called Punk Ass Bitches Show which can be really entertaining (and plays a lot of underground punk). They also do syndicated shows like Loveline, Sixx Sense, Scratch N Sniff (rock/hip hop mash ups), Full Metal Jackie, and Bob and Yawn (which I can't stand), and well as Mandatory Metallica. 93.3 KZOZ (Classic/Active Rock) - This is the station is listen to the 2nd most. I prefer their local morning show over the boring Bob and Tom though I don't really listen to radio in the morning unless I'm in my car and I'm not playing a CD. They play a mix of rock from the late 60's to present, but mostly 70s to 90s with a couple of newer songs an hour. If they played a wider selection of current rock tracks, I'd listen to them more often. Other stations on my presets that I listen to once in awhile are Wild 106.1 (Top 40/Hip Hop), 95.3/100.5 The Beach (Classic Hits), and 91.3 KCPR (Cal Poly radio station). On my drives through other parts of CA stations I listen to: LA - KROQ 106.7 and 98.7 FM SF - Live 105.3 Fresno - New Rock 104.1 Bakersfield - KRAB 106.1 Santa Barbara - KJEE - 92.9 Inland Empire - X 103.9 I've also heard Sirius XM in my dad's car and the stations I like the most on there are Alt Nation, Lithium, Faction, Octane, and Sixx Sense. I would consider getting XM in future when I buy I new car. I also listen to various stations on Pandora, Spotify, Radio.com, IHeartRadio, and TuneIn Radio on my iPhone as well.

Just heard the new NIN "Came Back Haunted". It's pretty good.

Wow, that's news to me. I knew that the former Paramount Parks (like CGA) had Coke but I thought they would eventually switch to Pepsi, not the other way around. I guess I haven't been paying too much attention to Cedar Fair press releases this year. That's a major loss for Pepsi, the only major Theme Park account they still have is Sea World/Busch Gardens I think and some smaller independent parks. As long as Knott's keeps its Boysenberry Punch though, that's all that really matters to me. Pepsi lost Sea World Parks too...haha. I just found this out today that Pepsi lost Sea World parks in 2012. I guess I haven't been paying attention to the soda contracts. I know Disney will always have Coke, and Six Flags has had Coke for as long as I know so I doubt they will switch, so that just leaves Universal which has had Pepsi in the past but has had Coke for quite awhile now as potential Pepsi contract in the future. What a big blow for Pepsi to lose both Sea World and Cedar Fair two years in a row. Is there any major US parks left that have Pepsi? Or just smaller indie parks like Holiday World and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk?

Wow, that's news to me. I knew that the former Paramount Parks (like CGA) had Coke but I thought they would eventually switch to Pepsi, not the other way around. I guess I haven't been paying too much attention to Cedar Fair press releases this year. That's a major loss for Pepsi, the only major Theme Park account they still have is Sea World/Busch Gardens I think and some smaller independent parks. As long as Knott's keeps its Boysenberry Punch though, that's all that really matters to me.

If this ever goes into fruition they will doing what the Stratosphere should have done. I like the fact that they want to put this at the South end of the Strip (hopefully the airport won't be too much of an issue) as the action packed parts of the Strip are the South (Mandalay Bay to NYNY) and the Center (Bellagio to Venetian). The North end of the Strip by the Stratosphere is dead.

Awesome Japan report! I don't think there are any TRs I enjoy more than Japan ones - I never get tired of reading / looking at them. Japan is definitely on the top of my bucket list. I especially loved the snow covered Disneyland pics. What an experience you got to visit a Disneyland in the snow - something that will never happen ever in CA or FL (or probably Hong Kong). I liked how Disney opened most of the outdoor rides the moment the snow stopped and had plenty of indoor rides to keep people occupied in the meantime. Having the snow also scared away enough people to keep the lines short for the rest day to your benefit (although they came back the next day). You made a smart decision going to Disneyland instead of DisneySea that day. On Fuji Q, looks like you had a decent day there especially with the circumstances you had to deal with in the morning, and the weather cooperated. You got on all four of the major coasters so it looks like a Fuji Q win to me.

I didn't realize Sea World was that old. All the buildings in Sea World San Diego look like they were built in the 1980's or later.

I'm glad Knott's refurbished one of their classic rides, the original Splash Mountain. The new rides also make more sense than Perilous Plunge, which was a one-trick pony. They may not be the most exciting rides, but I'm glad they managed to fit three rides including a coaster into Perilous Plunge's spot. Now I hope they start refurbishing other rides like Ghostrider and Calico Mine Ride, and adding combos to Supreme Scream. Then hopefully, Knott's can add a major coaster that is unique to California, like a Dive Machine, Euro Fighter, or Aquatrax. On a another note, I noticed Coke products in the Media Day photos. When did Knott's switch back to Coke? Is that happening for all Cedar Fair parks or just Knott's?

Cool TR, thanks for sharing. I haven't been to Gilroy Gardens, but I'll eventually have to go there sometime in the future. Gilroy Gardens is one of the best kept secrets in California.