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It's worth re-peeving about the mini basketballs that are given for some skill games: Parks, please give them out deflated. The winners can inflate them when they get home. Eric

^ I went to SFMM last year on Black Friday and waited about 45 minutes for X2. Use that as a gauge. I've thought about going again this year on Black Friday, but not sure at this time. Of course, Saturday might be pretty busy, too, but Sundays tend to not be so bad. Eric

I believe that the Knott family didn't have the capital that it would take to upgrade the park in order to be competitive with the other parks in the area. Selling to a corporation was the only way to keep the park going. True, the park no longer belongs to the Knott family. While I have joined others with complaining about what Cedar Fair has done, I also realize---as hard as it may be---that the direction that they have gone is what will keep the park going for years to come. Cedar Fair is introducing rides and attractions that appeal (for the most part) to families, which is where the money is. People's tastes in entertainment are no longer satisfied by the smaller, simple things that Knott's has had in the past. Eric

I'm not an Elvis fan myself, but I was speaking about the many people who are. Regardless, it's always a shame to lose another park. Eric

Wasn't Zippin Pippin the coaster that Elvis used to ride? I've read that he'd rent the park so that he and his friends could ride it. If that was in fact the "Elvis" coaster, it's too bad that it couldn't have been declared a landmark or that someone could have moved it back when it was closed, before it deteriorated as badly as it did. Eric

I just watched a video on Screamscape (scroll down the page a bit). Correct me if I'm wrong, but the video shows a train pulling back into the loading area with guests aboard. Didn't the trains let you off downstairs and then returned empty to the loading area? If so, then it looks like they changed it. It's funny to watch videos of most indoor coasters---like Space Mountain. You really can't see anything. But from what I've seen of the queue area, they did a nice job. Eric

^^ While I can't list anyone specifically, not all kids post stuff worthy of bashing. And there are adults on here who do post crap. So it goes both ways. Hint: When you post something of questionable nature, include your source. And what is "Thomaskelly427.com" anyway? I've been around the theme park website world for over ten years and have never heard of it. And what is their claim to fame? Eric EDIT: I need to type faster.

^^ Source? That's the only place I've seen anything about a drop tower. None of the management at SFMM even hinted about such a thing during any events I attended. Eric

My only issue with Pony Express is its length. In a sense, it's a throwback to the Motorcycle Chase (which became the Wacky Soap Box Racers). Great idea, concept, and theme---just done on the cheap for yet another credit. Funny how the WSBR track was only 450 feet longer, yet the two rides are night and day apart in terms of satisfaction. Of course, with four tracks, it always raced at least two of them. That made it more fun. Eric

^ Problems with posts. < Problems with finances. V Dances with posts!

Funny how Colossus was modified for three-train operation, and how often does it actually do that? At least I don't see it very often. Eric

^ I rode Colossus in its opening year (1978). After my first ride, I said that someone was going to die on it because of the forces and roughness. Sure enough, six months later, someone did. Ejector air like you've never felt. Roughest ride in the West...or anywhere. One big, mean bad boy. Today? An overgrown kiddie coaster. My First Woodie. Fail. Eric

^ No. The Flash Pass line merges with the standby line just before the first pre-show. Eric

^^ You would have liked Knott's in the '70s, Diablo. I was a teenager in those days, and our trips there were always a blast. You know a park is good when you can have a blast with only one or two coasters. The atmosphere is gone there, and it's become a generic amusement park. About Silver Bullet, I am an enthusiast and do like it. I've long tired of how people bash it for its "forceless" ride. That last helix is far from forceless, and I always get a bit of airtime on the overbanked turn and the S-turn between the corkscrews. My only complaints about the ride are the wimpy first drop (could have been more Batman-like) and the lame operator spiels in the station. Pony Express themewise is OK, but should have been about twice as long. But I'm just rehashing stuff that we've already said. None of this will change. And, unfortunately, I don't think Knott's will ever be as great as it once was. Eric

^ In Florida, perhaps, but out here in California, randomly yelling at people both as other drivers or pedestrians can get you shot. Really. Eric

^ I hope the neutron didn't give the bartender any static. Something like Vapor Trail would be fun, too. But I think it's too much like Gadget's Go-Coaster at Disneyland and SFMM wouldn't add that. I still say spinner of some sort. Eric

Dinner last night at SFMM, $9.85 at Katy's Kettle. Eric

^ Bus fan. < Rail fan. V Fan fan!

^ A 42-foot height requirement, huh? That's a tall order. That is odd for an Arrow looper to have such a requirement. But the restraints are basically the same as on the suspended coasters, so if Ninja can have such a limit, so could Demon. I'll have to see what the height limit is for Demon at CGA. Being an identical ride, I'd think the same, but then it's Cedar Fair... But as Arrow loopers go, Viper at SFMM has a 54" height requirement. While it's usually the manufacturers who set the limit, it appears that the parks can tweak them depending on the intensity of the ride. Apparently SFMM has decided that someone 42" tall might not be ready for such an intense ride as Viper. Eric

^ From across the pond. < From out West. V From outer space!

What's really sad is that Revolution HAD a 42" height requirement till they installed the OTSRs of Death. I am glad that Ninja is still 42". Do all Arrow suspended coasters have that same limit? All I've ridden is Ninja. Eric

I took a run out to SFMM this evening after taking Metro's new Gold Line extension for a spin out to East L.A. Arrived at 5, so I only had three hours to do anything. The park was fairly empty, so I got on Tatsu in about 10 minutes, Terminator in 15 (and, yes, had to watch the pre-shows), Ninja in five, Riddler in 10, and X2 in 15. Left the park at about 7:30 to beat the crush out of the parking lot. Noticed the "FLL" thing and wondered about it, too, but there were no activities going on at the time relating to it. Checked at Canyon Blaster about an upper height limit. There is none, so even Lakers players can ride, provided they'd fit... I wasn't aware that Season Pass Processing has moved...unless that was just speculation because they were closed today. But if they did move it somewhere else (and I think the original location was just fine), then that would be a nice chunk of space to give to Hurricane Harbor, along with the adjacent former Flashback space. I did stop by where next year's coaster is going. It was already dark, but I hadn't realized that the old building in that spot was as big as shown in Robb's picture above. Maybe there's more space there than we thought, and the new "family ride" will be significant. Finally, something funny happened at Tatsu---the ride op tried to get the crowd to chant "Tatsu" while waiting. Here's the exchange: Ride Op: "OK, everyone, repeat after me...TAT..." Crowd: Silence. Ride Op: "FAIL!" Kinda made my night. Eric

^ Yeah, I knew Percy's Railway did, but for some reason I thought you couldn't be taller than 69" for Canyon Blaster. Maybe I was thinking about Timberline Twister at Knott's. I'm 5'-8" (68") and got on Canyon Blaster just fine---even rode it all by myself once! Eric

If you go here you can see a dad and his daughter riding what looks like a mini mine train of some sorts. Could that be a hint? Y'never know... But it would be kinda silly given how close it is to Gold Rusher. "But everyone can ride Canyon Blaster." (Robb) Doesn't Canyon Blaster have an upper height limit? I thought it did. The official SFMM website doesn't mention it. I'll check it out next time I'm at the park. Personally, I'm still betting on a THBS/Pandemonium type ride. That would be a good fit and something a little different. Eric

^ I agree with you about Australia. Close to Sydney would be the obvious place for it, as the rest of the continent/country is rather barren and sparsely populated. Eric