Schrecken

I've been to Hershey Park twice this year, and this August I'm planning a trip out west to hit the park in the Mall of America, Valleyfair, and Mount Olympus. I will likely go somewhere else in the early fall, possibly SF Great Adventure.

Then there are rides and coasters (perhaps not a distinctive enough category to have its own thread) that cause moderate to serious misgivings and give even the most jaded riders pause. I can't say I've had anything really scare me badly since those coasters I've mentioned in a previous reply, but I have had a couple of rides that I was "concerned" about riding. I've run across two rides in the past year that I got nervous about riding, simply because of their storied reputations. One was the Zipper I ran across at the Maryland state fair last summer. I had heard a lot about this legendary flat ride (and even some grave warnings from my mom, who rode one with a friend as I watched when I was a child, and forbade me to ride it - so for me the Zipper is truly the ride my mother warned me about ) and I waited for quite a while after I got to the fair before I took a ride. And while it didn't scare the daylights out of me, I do think if I had ridden one years ago before I was exposed to some of the rides that I mentioned before, that it would have scared the heck out of me for sure. And yes, the reputation is well-deserved. Then there was my worries about Skyrush during my trip to HP three weeks ago (I also went back there this past Monday). It was that coaster's fearsome reputation that caused me to spend all day avoiding it (part of that was a fear of it giving me a killer back ache + it was a Saturday and I heard the lines were longer in the early part of the day), and when I did finally decide to ride it, I was pretty nervous beforehand. I was really hoping on that short trip up the lift hill that I hadn't made a mistake as far as my back was concerned, where of course there isn't much time to think of anything. Like the Zipper, the ride didn't scare me, but it did take my breath away and blow my mind. Skyrush didn't live up to its reputation of being rough and painful (though the one front wing seat ride I took didn't make my back feel real good; a back wing seat might have had me in pain had I taken that chance) but it did live up to the reports of providing killer airtime. So I've run into a few rides since then that didn't really scare me, but, because of their reputation, had me rather nervous about taking my first ride.

Still operates at BGT as Sand Serpent. Let's see..... Python (BGT) Ghoster Coaster (KI) SOB (KI) King Cobra (KI) BBW (BGW) Roller Coaster (Fantasy Farm) DT (CP) Wild Cat (CP) I looked that one up on RCDB but didn't notice it had been moved and not scrapped - would not have counted that one otherwise.

You do in China! I've seen cats at Knott's and at SFNE! Disneyland has quite a few feral cats, too--and Kings Dominion has its share of skunks, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg of deer. Kings Dominion has fearless squirrels that think they're pets as well. Last time I was there, eating lunch out by Hurler, I dropped a french fry on my shoe, and a squirrel rushes out from under a bush and over to me to start eating it. It didn't even steal it to eat it anywhere else, it just sat next to my shoe and ate off it like its own little dinner table. I even reached down toward it like I was going to touch it (wasn't actually going to, I'd rather not get bitten by wild animals) to see how it would react and it just looked up at my hand like a dog expecting petting. Was cute enough to make me tempted to try, but caution got the better of me. You ought to check out the ones that inhabit the Dinosaurs Alive area - I thought it was hilarious to have all these scary-looking growling animatronic dinos with all these squirrels wandering around right next to them, going about their business of digging up nuts and foraging. It kind of killed the feel of the dinos for me....if I had wanted to take pics I would have felt the need to Photoshop the squirrels out of them, at least if I was going for a serious, dramatic effect.

This past Monday the 24th, no less than 9 times, including my last rides of the night (wow did I ever hurt the next day but it was worth it!):

I've got quite a few, especially considering that I haven't even ridden my 200th coaster (might do that this summer, though). Let's see....(not counting moved or re-build rides) Drachen Fire Roller Soaker Son of Beast Flashback (SFMM) Psychlone Hypersonic at KD Wildcat at CP Windjammer at KBF Big Bad Wolf Wild Maus at BGE Greased Lightnin' at CGA Python at SFA (I think this was gone before the park became SFA) The Laser (OK, maybe shouldn't include this one because it's still operating, but just not here in the US) There were a couple of coasters at Ocean City, MD, that are long gone - one was an ancient wild mouse (someone said it might have been a Schiff mouse) that was near the boardwalk, and the other was one of the defunct ones at Jolly Roger at the Pier - to this day I still don't recall which one of the three it was, as all I remember was that it had red track and no loops - any one of these three Jolly Roger at the Pier defunct coasters. Edit: all the ones at Geauga lake that are now defunct - I had forgotten about that whole park somehow. That's about all I can think of at the moment.

So Skyrush blew your mind too? It's such an ordinary, run of the mill-looking coaster (yes, the trains and seating arrangement and restraints are unique, but I'm referring to the general appearance of the track and various elements) that gives no clue as to what the ride is really like. I can't wait to get back to HP this coming Monday, as I only got three rides on Skyrush the last time I was there a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, your pics aren't bad - all they really need is some brightening up (which of course can be done with various photo editing software).

Based on the video, it looks like the only thing that would prevent that from happening is the very slow speed at which the trains appear to travel thru the top of the loop - in the top of that loop you might even get the brief sensation of falling since the centrifugal force is probably not enough to pin riders to their seats. The other thing is I think I'd fall asleep on that lift hill - that has to be one the slowest I've ever seen!

A 600ft coaster would be awesome, but this looks like it needs at least a couple of long drops. Otherwise, the coaster may indeed be record tall, but perhaps not as exciting as it could be.

Luckily I haven't had too many unpleasant surprises, and most of those have been coasters that were way rougher than I thought they would be. These coasters are often ones I have ridden in the past and then come back to ride again years later and I'm shocked by how rough they have become. One is Alpengeist at BGE - I rode it when it was new and it was great, but now I pretty much avoid it (unless I can get a front seat ride) because it so much rougher than when I first rode it. When I went to CGA many years ago, I was shocked at how rough Vortex was (this was a good 15 years ago or more) and I couldn't believe a B&M could be that bad. I was expecting a smooth ride because it was a B&M (that, and I had been on Riddler's Revenge many times and found it to be smooth) but my expectations weren't met. I also wasn't impressed with Raging Bull at SF Great America - it was perhaps the roughest B&M hyper I've ever been on and was just lackluster overall. Then there are just coasters that totally under-whelmed me - two examples are The Dark Knight at SF Great America and SF Great Adventure. Now I had heard that these two indoor mice were lame, but I thought that was simply BECAUSE they were mice. Worse yet, I ended up waiting an hour or more for the one at Great America, and that made the disappointment all the more acute. All I know is that when I got off, I couldn't help but think that the Exterminator at Kennywood was light years better, and that coaster didn't suffer from the over-hype. I was at least expecting some cool theming, or at least that the cars would spin, but no, nothing! Just a plain, garden variety wild mouse in a box. There's also both Supermen: Ultimate Flights (SFOG and SF Great America) - the only B&M flyers I've ever been on and both were rather boring and save for the one looping element, basically forceless. On the upside, there have been at least a few coasters that I feared would be rough/painful or lame and were anything but... When I heard about Verbolten I thought it would be something on the order of Jaguar! at KBF but partially indoors - just a plain old family coaster with a gimmicky trick. But actually I liked Verbolten a lot - while it isn't an I-305, it's got some pretty good forces, cool theming and I love the drop track (was thinking I might not like that part because I don't care for drop towers; that and it might be rough). Then there are other coasters that aren't quite what they seem - coasters that just don't look like much but blew me away. One is the Voyage (remember this was a year after it opened, I haven't ridden it since 08' or '09, and back then it wasn't that rough) - I was thinking this would be just another woodie. Even the name "Voyage" didn't bring to mind anything earth-shattering, in fact it sounded a bit pedestrian to me. But as soon as I was heading up the lift hill I thought to myself that there must be a reason for the steel rather than wood framing structure and boy was I right! I couldn't believe that there was a coaster out there where I had to hold on the full length of the ride (well, everything after the first couple of drops anyway)! Who would have figured a little family park would harbor such an intense woodie? As said, I don't know what the Voyage is like now; it may be too rough for me to want to ride more than once in the front seat, but that was my impression of it back then. Then there's El Toro - again, I figured that the idea of Intamin making a woodie was lame, that is, until I rode it. Also was afraid of roughness and thankfully that was totally unfounded. (I have good reason to fear roughness - I have a bad back and I have to be very careful of what I ride and where I ride) I never experienced continuous airtime like that on a woodie (well, at least not for the entire ride) before. Then, finally, there's Skyrush. Like most of the other coasters, I had read a lot about it, and therefore my expectations were a bit prejudiced. Most of all I feared that it would be painfully rough, that and the "thigh-crush" moniker the ride had taken on since its opening year had given me serious reservations about riding it. There was also the "ejector airtime" - I had seen plenty of on-ride POV's, and still photos of Skyrush and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why this apparently un-remarkable non-inverting steel coaster would garner such reviews. It was about the same height as SROS at SFA, just another non-inverted steelie (or so I thought). Surely the airtime couldn't have been much more than something like SROS....Skyrush just looked so ordinary and run of the mill to me, and no one would figure a nice family park like HP would build some kind of a mind-blowing monster coaster. There is really nothing about Skyrush, IMO, from the name, to the 19th century station theming, the track colors (colors you'd find in a little boy's bedroom) that would indicate the true nature of the ride. I spent the whole day at HP futzing around riding everything else I wanted to ride, and I saved Skyrush for after sundown because I was truly expecting a serious and painful beat-down on this ride. That way, if I got the expected beat-down, I would be ready to go home anyway. Then there was my friend who had ridden just before I did, and she said her thighs were killing her and she had been robbed of her flip-flops, even though she had been sitting on them! Well, with less than an hour left, I finally decided to ride, taking the safest option by sitting in one of the middle front seats. Well, the scary-fast lift hill (I didn't even notice or know that it had been slowed a bit at the top) took me by surprise - no time at all to contemplate the ride to the top, as is the case on every other elevator lift hill coaster I've been on. The drop wasn't too out of the ordinary (save for the speed at which you crest the hill) for a good 200 ft steelie, but then came the rest of the ride. This was rather like the Voyage in that I didn't feel as though I wanted to let go, and my brain was racing to try and anticipate the twists and turns of the track before the train crossed those elements. It was at night and of course harder to see, but it still felt like everything was coming at me so fast I could barely react or breathe. I prefer to liken it to being like a rat seized in the jaws of a terrier (a toothless one for sure) that's running really fast, zigging and zagging and shaking its head around! And thankfully, the forces of the ride itself didn't cause me any pain, and the infamous "thigh-crush" was no where near as bad as I had heard (including someone who had ridden before me who said he thought his legs were going to turn purple!). I would characterize the lap restraint as "uncomfortable" but certainly not painful. But considering the potential options, I'd much rather have what feels like a couple hundred pounds of rock on my lap for the duration of a coaster rather than having my head, neck and ears battered about like a punching bag by an OTSR. Of course I'd rather have B&M type hyper restraints, but in this case that isn't an option, and therefore I'll take the first choice hands-down. So in a nutshell, Skyrush totally blew my mind - the bad parts I feared (well, I did take a ride in a front wing seat, and honestly my back won't be able to take much of any of those seats, so I will end up being a middle-seat rider on this one for the most part) didn't materialize and it was so much more awesome than I could have imagined.

Yes and the back seat is certainly bumpy or just uncomfortable Sometimes but its still isnt like, ouch that hurt! If you sit in the middle in the back there is little to no problems. Its just with the wings. And it only happens in the last 3 rows. And it is always vibrating in the gray corner, but thats the only spot I may be going back to HP in a couple of weeks, and I was wondering how the middle and back center seats on Skyrush compare to the very front center seats. I rode a wing seat in the front and I found the increased forces a bit hard on my back, but I had no problem with the center front seats. I'm just trying to figure out if I want to risk riding towards the back in the center seats (I'd like to experience the back seats just to see how the airtime is back there, but don't want to aggravate my back).

I like the sound of TTD's launch - you can hear it from much of the park and it's a pretty unique ride sound. Also the classic "clank-clank" of a typical woodie's lift hill, just because it is such well-known and easily identified sound and always associated with coasters. There are also a couple of flat rides that make some really ominous sounds that add much to the total ride experience - one is the sound of an S&S swing - those sound for all the world like some kind of huge creature inhaling and exhaling - if someone was afraid of riding one of those IMO those sounds would make it ten times worse! S&S swings just sound scary! Then there's all the mechanical noises a Zipper makes - noises that make it sound like the ride is going to fall apart and increases the feel of danger. I do like the B&M roar, but only when I don't have to try and talk over it! It took me almost three days for my voice to get back to normal after I rode SDL once and Great Bear three times at HP this past weekend!

Skyrush - three times in a row this past Saturday, and I'm really hoping I can get back to HP later this year to ride it again!

I can't think of too many coasters or rides I really miss, as most of those that have gone away were ones I didn't like at all. I do miss BBW at BGE, simply because it was such an uncommon and unique coaster, and fit so well into that hillside. I also kinda miss DT at CP, mostly because it was a good ride for very hot afternoons (or inclement weather) and when you just finished eating and didn't want to risk riding a more aggressive coaster for a little while. Same thing for Wildcat at CP - that, and losing a Schwarzkopf is always sad. Also the dinosaur dark ride at KBF - glad I got to do that when I lived in CA. I never liked Flashback at SFMM, but something about that coaster did fascinate me - it was so different from anything else and I went about researching it to try and figure out exactly what kind of coaster it was and who made it, back when I didn't know much about coasters. I had always hoped that maybe they would put new trains on it and it would be a fun ride, but alas that was not to be. Then there was Two Face at SFA - I never thought inverted boomerangs were that bad, and actually it was much better than the Mind Eraser. I would have rather seen ME go rather than TF. Also the Python at SFA - Arrow shuttle loops were never great coasters, even in their time I don't think, but it did give some nice pops of airtime if you rode in either the very front or very back. I have fond memories of riding that with a friend around Halloween. Once it was really foggy and dark and we were the only two people on it and it was actually a pretty spooky experience. This was also one of the coasters I rode as often as I could to help break my coasterphobia (and unlike the Mind Eraser, it wasn't painful to ride!). So I miss that one for sentimental reasons (but don't miss all those stairs at all!). Then there are coasters I was glad to see disappear - Windjammer at KBF, Psychlone at SFMM, Son of Beast and Drachen Fire are four that come to mind. Only Drachen Fire had some redeeming values IMO - if somehow they could have gotten rid of the neck-snapping element and given the coaster a Steel Phantom type re-do (not removing all the loops, just the neck-snapper(s) ) then it might still be around as a classic Arrow looper. There are two other coasters that aren't defunct but have been altered to such a degree that they are apparently nothing like they were when they were built. Colossus at SFMM and Revolution at the same park. I would love to have ridden Colossus before it was re-profiled and of course Revolution w/o those nasty OTSR's. I can't really miss them because I never rode them before they were altered, but it makes me wish I could have done that. Then there are coaster regrets - coasters I could have ridden but was too afraid to ride, and now they are gone. These include the Schwarzkopf looper that was at KD in the late 70's, and the woodie that was at Circus World in Florida around the same time. I'm sure I would have been old/tall enough to ride either, but was just too scared of coasters back when I was a kid.

Already been to: Hershey Park Plan on going to: Valleyfair the park inside of the Mall of America Might go to: SF Great Adventure

I rode Skyrush for the first time last night; I got in three rides - two in the center seats in front and one on a wing (left side) seat. I found the wing seat to be a bit rougher than the center seats, which isn't surprising, since even on many B&Ms the outer seats tend to be a little rougher. I found the restraints to be uncomfortable but not really painful. But they weren't so bad that I didn't want to do repeat riding. I did really enjoy the freedom of not having any kind of shoulder harness or vest or anything around the upper part of my body, so the vice-grip on the legs is, I suppose, a fair enough trade off. I did, however, find this to be the absolutely most mind-blowing-ly intense steel rollercoaster I've ever set foot on! I didn't even know that the lift had been slowed as it seemed extremely fast to me, or maybe that was because I took my first ride after dark. My friend rode it right before I did (we separated and then met up later to ride it) and I found her sitting shoe-less on the bench in front of the entrance! The ride op let her sit on her flip-flops (she didn't think to put them in the storage area) and when she came back, they were long gone. Never heard of a coaster so potent that it could rip your flip-flops right out from under you, especially with the way the lap bar pins you down (well, I suppose it could also happen on El Toro). Every time I rode I also noticed that my t-shirt (which was a bit loose on me) kept creeping up around the back of my neck - conceivably if I had my hands up it could have ripped my shirt right off! Either way, I would rank it in my top 5 steel even though I don't think I could handle too many rides in a row on it. As for all the walking in the park - that was a major complaint my friend and I had yesterday - we were seriously wore out by the end of the day! What they need is something (like the skyride at BGE) that actually moves people around the park, not just a scenic monorail and a skylift that brings you back to where you started out at.

As far as all-out full length intensity, my tops of the list would include (in no particular order): The Voyage (it's quite rare for me to find a coaster that I feel I have to hold on for the entire length of the ride, unless of course it's just very rough and I'm trying to brace myself) El Toro (this coaster has but one small spot where you can actually catch your breath!) I-305 (especially after the brakes on the drop were removed and the bottom of the first drop was re-done; I never got to ride it before the brakes were put on) Skyrush (just rode this yesterday for the first time, it has shot to the top of my most intense steel coaster list - I've never seen a coaster so potent that it literally ripped my friend's flip-flops right out from under her butt and flung them away, and did its best to almost rip my shirt off!) Then there are coasters that have (or had) some very intense elements: Goliath at SFMM - the grey-out helix Afterburn - the main loop Flight Deck at CGA - also the main loop Batman the Ride at SFMM TTD - the launch Nitro at SF Great Adventure - the helix Hypersonic XLC - the launch Raptor - the helix For flat rides, I found my first ride ever on the Zipper to be very intense.

I've ridden a few coasters in the rain, most notably Goliath at SFMM. It was the media day and it did rain for a little while, not super hard but just a steady rain, but it was enough to really sting. I don't wear glasses so I got a couple closed eye rides that day. Then there was the soggiest day I've ever spent at a park, at BGE back in the summer of 03'. It was cloudy early in the day, and then it started to pour down a little after 11 am and never quit. There was no lightning or thunder so I think they kept all the rides open, or at least the ones we really wanted to ride. My friend and I rode Alpengeist a few times at night in the steady rain (at that point I was already soaked to the core, sneakers all squishy and even my underclothes wet) and the rides were actually very good (this was when Alpengeist was much smoother than it is now). The only bad thing was that oily water from the track got on my shirt (a downside to riding suspended coasters in the rain for sure), but it did come out in the wash. They had a sign warning that track grease could get on your clothes in the rain, but it didn't deter any of us from riding. Also got soaked on a Disk-O (not sure where that was) - just as the ride started it just poured. My friend insisted that we ride it but I suggested that we hold off a bit and wait as I thought it looked like a downpour was coming. All she noticed was how short the line was, and so we decided to ride. Bad move - after the rainstorm it suddenly got really chilly and everything - including our light non water proof jackets, were soaked. The sun was going down and we spent a long time trying to get warmed up and dried off. Actually I think we may have been at Waldameer when this happened (and Ravine Flyer was totally intense after the rain passed, as is the case with most woodies and rain).

I have faced the single rider challenge on several ferris wheels in various places, both at parks and traveling carnivals and fairs. I went to the Maryland state fair last year and found that at least 3 or 4 rides had a no single rider policy, including the zipper. I was 42 years old and had never ridden a zipper, and found to my dismay the "no single riders" sign right when I went to get in line. However, as luck would have it, there were three little girls (all around 8-10 years old) waiting first in line to ride, with no one behind them. Well, I knew the zipper only seated 2 people to a car, so asked one of the girls if she didn't mind riding with me. So that worked out really well - no waiting, no searching for a ride partner. And yes, the zipper is indeed like being inside of an old noisy clothes dryer (sans heat, unless maybe it's really hot outside) set on air-dry and fluff! I can see where many would find it scary, as it did have quite a good dose of negative g's and a feeling that I was going to be slammed face-first right into the ground when the car came around the lower part of the circuit. But it was fun, and I'd gladly do it again if I ever get the chance. The other place that used to irk me with a "no single rider" policy was SFMM - because many years ago I was an avid back seat rider on many coasters (not any more for the most part due to my bad back) and SFMM prohibits (or at least they did in the late 90's and early 00's) single riders in the back seat. I loved riding Goliath in the back seat but it was a rare treat as I was usually there alone because I did contract work for their costuming department and when I was done my job, I'd just go into the park and ride. But at least you can still ride the coaster (they only had this policy for coasters, because a lady who was riding alone in the back fell out on Colossus not long after it opened; guess they figured people would be less likely to fall out if they were accompanied by another rider. But my understanding of why she fell out was due to her being very overweight and not simply riding alone), unlike rides with no single riders permitted anywhere on the ride.

It sure was. Perfect weather and crowds to get all the haunt attractions in. Love that they have the 4D movie "Haunted House" I was there last Saturday and I agree the Haunted House 3-D movie is something well worth doing, even if you have to wait a while. Really feels like you are right there. As it was a saturday, it did indeed get very crowded once the afternoon rolled around, and by about 6:30 pm I really had to do some crowd-dodging to just get thru the park. Also 2nd that - after dark rides on I-305 are awesome!

There are a few coasters I've ridden that I have/had a bit of a soft spot for that most everyone else either disparages or, at best, badly under-rates. One is Flashback at SFMM. Granted, I always felt like I was riding in a big box I could barely see out of, with the ever-present risk of having my head bashed, but there was something about that coaster that I appreciated. It always intrigued me, especially before I knew a whole lot about coasters, and I wondered about the B&M like track (and roar) and the unique hairpin design. I always thought Flashback was rather like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree - it could have been something special with a little love (like if they had put new trains on it or modified the original ones). Another is Mind Eraser at SFA. I couldn't care less about most SLCs, but this one is special to me. Not because of the ride, but because this is the first inverted coaster I ever rode and the coaster that I spent the summer of 97' riding over and over to finally banish 21 years of severe coaster phobia. I have fond memories of the Mind Eraser (and back then it was practically brand new, and hence not as rough as many of these rides have become over the years) - riding it at night, riding it on hot summer days, riding it on frigid nights around Halloween, riding it in the fog.... The only other coaster I can think of (can't say I've ever heard anyone say they hate it, but it certainly tends to be relegated to undeserved obscurity) is the Exterminator at Kennywood. It suffers from being a wild mouse, and wild mice don't ever rate very highly anywhere. But I can't for the life of me figure why it doesn't rate more highly, mouse or not, especially since it never had to live up to the hype that Dark Knight at SFGA and SFG Adv tried to live up to. IMO it's one of the best rides at Kennywood.

The only park I've been to in the month of October so far is KD, and the best one there IMO is I-305, which I rode 7 times this past Saturday.

Looks like a perfect location for a coaster to be - right on a very scenic coast line.

I'm from Maryland and when I visited KI for the first time a few years ago (back when SOB was running and still had the loop) I had a positive impression of the Beast. I really don't know where it would rank in my faves list for woodies (or coasters in general) as I have a tough time ranking them, but suffice to say I'm not sure it would make my top 10. What I really did like about it was the great use of the terrain and the way that most of the coaster is hidden by the woods (and that it's pitch black back there at night and that adds to the ride immensely for night riding). I wasn't real keen on the rough spots, as I also remember looking like someone kicked me in the ribs over and over again when I got back home a couple of days later. IMO in this case it's like real estate (and likewise layout) - location, location, location - is what makes this ride. I'd imagine the Beast wouldn't be anywhere near as legendary had it been built next to a parking lot on a flat, open field.

I have a few things on mine, specifically Leviathan (might be going to Canada's Wonderland this coming summer so that may not be far off), Kingda Ka (just missed it - was at SF Great Adventure last fall and it was down - I've been on TTD many times but would like to compare them as they are the only two of their kind in the world so far), Sky Rush (hopefully they will get the restraint problem worked out before I can get there), and the Coney Island Cyclone simply due to its historical significance (though I might want to do that one sooner than later as my back isn't getting any younger!). Also, there is one coaster that's near the top of my bucket list - and I hope to heck that I can get to it before they re-build (can't imagine they would get rid of it) it - Space Mountain at WDW. I have ridden it once before but as a terrified 6 year old - I really, really want to ride it again at least once in my lifetime as an adult who loves coasters. I have sort of a mini-obsession with this ride as it is the one that sparked a 21 year long coaster phobia in my life. In some ways I'd choose to go to WDW and ride Space Mountain before all the others on my list just because of this - there's no other ride that I have so long of a personal history with. I'd also like to ride any type of coaster I've never been on before, like a wingrider (I get to CP fairly regularly so I'm sure that will happen fairly soon). As for parks, I'd like to expand my credits outside the US (again, if I go to Canada's Wonderland next summer that will do it, at least as far as hitting a park outside the US). It will be a long time before I can get outside North America but eventually I'd like to do a park in Europe at some point in my life. Here in the US I'd love to get back to BGA - sadly I haven't had the chance to set foot in that park since the Carter administration. That would bring back old memories the same as going to WDW to ride Space Mountain. I'd also like to get back out west and go to SFMM and KBF again to ride all the new coasters they have installed since 01'. Also, I'd like to go to SFOT as I've never been to any park in Texas. As for other rides, I did have one that was on my bucket list but I just managed to finally cross it off a couple of weeks ago - I finally rode a Zipper at the Maryland State Fair. That's another ride I have been intrigued by since I was a child, when my mom forbade me to ride it after she and her friend rode it when they took me to a carnival when I was 9 years old.