TheSchwitek

2013 is shaping up to be another great season! 1) Universal Studios Florida 2) Sea World Orlando 3) Fun Spot U.S.A. 4) Magical Midway 5) Frontier City 6) Six Flags Over Texas 7) Parque Francisco Villa 8) Six Flags Mexico 9) La Feria 10) Perimagico 11) Parque Bicentenario 12) Selva Magica 13) Worlds Of Fun 14) Cedar Point 15) Holiday Valley Adventure Park 16) Canada's Wonderland 17) Colasanti's Tropical Gardens 18) Kokomo's 19) Six Flags Fiesta Texas 20) Schlitterbahn New Braunfels 21) Hersheypark 22) Dorney Park 23) Victorian Gardens 24) The Funplex 25) Kids 'N Action 26) Adventurers Amusement Park 27) Bowcraft Playland 28) Boondocks 29) Superslide Amusement Park 30) Paul Bunyan Land 31) Spirit Mountain Adventure Park 32) Como Town 33) Six Flags St. Louis 34) John Ivers' Backyard 35) Mile High Flea Market 36) Breckenridge Fun Park 37) Lakeside Amusement Park 38) Elitch Gardens 39) Pueblo City Park 40) Story Land 41) Attitash Ski Resort 42) Cranmore Mountain Resort 43) Okemo Ski Resort 44) Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort 45) Hoffman's Playland 46) Party Zone USA 47) Six Flags New England 48) Atlantic Beach Park 49) Barnstable County Fair 50) Michigan's Adventure 51) Donley's Wild West Town 52) Mount Olympus Theme Park 53) Santa's Village Azoosment Park 54) Six Flags Great America 55) Park City Mountain Resort 56) Yellowstone Bear World 57) Amusement Park Drive In 59) Funderland 60) Fun Town At Micke Grove 61) Kiwanis Kiddieland 62) Rotary Playland 63) Six Flags Magic Mountain 64) Knott's Berry Farm 65) California's Great America 66) Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 67) Happy Hollow Park 68) Busch Gardens Williamsburg 69) Central Park Fun-Land 70) O.D. Pavilion 71) Family Kingdom 72) Six Flags America 73) Knoebel's 74) DelGrosso's 75) Martin's Fantasy Island 76) Adventure Center At Greek Peak 77) Sylvan Beach Amusement Park 78) Santa's Workshop (NY) 79) CBK Mountain Adventures 80) Land Of Make Believe 81) Mountain Creek resort 82) Fantasy Forest 83) Playland's Castaway Cove 84) Steel Pier 85) Wisp Resort 86) Adventure Park USA 87) COMING SOON.

River King Mine Train at Six Flags Over Mid America in 1990.

Wildcat, Frontier City, 5.6 miles.

Great report as always. (Although I do like Tatsu better than Manta...) Can't wait for your next project!

Wow, that took forever. Here's the top 50 of the 200 I just organized. (I, unfortunately have not been on Skyrush or Leviathan yet.) COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,1 Texas Giant Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,y,2 Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,n,3 Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA,y,n,4 X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,5 Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,6 Ride of Steel Darien Lake NY,y,n,7 Superman - Ride of St Six Flags America MD,y,n,8 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,n,9 Storm Runner Hersheypark PA,y,n,10 Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,n,11 Mindbender Galaxyland Amuseme AB,y,y,12 Intimidator Carowinds NC,y,n,13 Behemoth Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,14 Diamondback Kings Island OH,y,n,15 Griffon Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,16 SheiKra Busch Gardens Tamp FL,y,n,17 Fahrenheit Hersheypark PA,y,n,18 Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,19 Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,n,20 Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,21 XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,22 Goliath La Ronde Parc Amus QC,y,n,23 Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,24 Goliath Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,25 Raging Bull Six Flags Great Am IL,y,n,26 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,27 Titan Six Flags Over Tex TX,y,y,28 Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,29 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV,y,y,30 Phantom's Revenge Kennywood Park PA,y,n,31 Wild Eagle Dollywood TN,y,y,32 X-Flight Six Flags Great Am IL,y,y,33 Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,34 Wild Thing Valleyfair! MN,y,n,35 Mamba Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,36 Steel Force Dorney Park PA,y,n,37 Incredible Hulk Islands of Adventu FL,y,y,38 Expedition Everest Disney Animal King FL,y,n,39 Hydra the Revenge Dorney Park PA,y,n,40 Superman:Krypton Cstr Six Flags Fiesta T TX,y,y,41 Kraken SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,y,42 Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,43 Medusa SF Discovery Kingd CA,y,y,44 Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,45 Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,46 Batman - Dark Knight SF New England MA,y,n,47 Manta SeaWorld Orlando FL,y,y,48 Superman – Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,y,49 Steel Eel SeaWorld San Anton TX,y,n,50 Mindbender Six Flags Over Geo GA,y,n,51

If it opens on opening day, it will certainly be Outlaw Run. I think that's a pretty good way to start a season.

So 2012 was a busy year for me. I made it to a ton of new parks and got to see some awesome parts of the country. Today's update is from Western Playland, right outside of El Paso, Texas. The park has actually recently moved across the state line to New Mexico. It's a nice little park, but has no shade at all. You can definitely see everything the park has to offer in under 2 hours. On to the pictures... I took the scenic route to El Paso, and drove through Guadalupe Mountains National Park. That's Guadalupe Peak in the background. The Mini hit 100,000 miles on this trip! This was its last moment of the teenage years. Oasis Lanes used to be the home of a coaster named Cobra that is now at Zoomers in Florida. I felt like I should at least stop by and get a photo while I was in the area. After a long drive through West Texas, I finally arrived at my final destination, Western Playland! The park didn't open until 5 pm this day, and there was a pretty nasty storm coming from the West, so I snapped a few pictures from the parking lot before the park opened. Look, its a decent sized coaster! Well shoot, they even have a Shoot the Chute! Extreme close up of the Entrance sign just in case you want to make a T-shirt. Park's open, let's check out the park map and get on some rides before it starts to pour. Look at this lovely collection of kiddie rides! It's a carousel, or a carrousel. Forget about the carousel, I see a coaster. Oh, it's a Miler Miner Coaster. Look at those Miner themed Miler cars. Lift Pic. It was a fun little ride, and no problems letting adults ride. (Not that I'm an adult) Next up, a Round Up. A swingy Pirate Pharaoh Dragon thingy. There's some bumper cars in there somewhere. A Himalaya with a barn built around it. A short, but scary drop ride. A Whirl that is Tilted. Yo, a Yo Yo. Para Troopers. Not as funny as Super Troopers. The park is basically a big circle with "room for expansion" in the middle of the circle. This train circles around that circle. At this point the lightning was getting very close, but everything stayed open! This is the machine that makes scrambled eggs. Even the Shoot the Chute kept running with lightning striking within a couple miles. There was a skyride, but most importantly, there's another coaster over there in the distance. I hurried over dodging lighting bolts. Yes! They are still running it. Hooray for another Zyklon coaster. Action shot. The entrance sign for El Bandido. I think some of the track grease was leaking onto it. I had to wait for enough people to fill the train, because apparently it won't make it around with only one person riding. Finally on the ride with lightning booming literally a mile away, and rain starting to fall. This is the "Lift Hill." That mountain over there is Mexico. The park is only about a mile from the border of Texas and Mexico. You can see Canada from Magnum on a clear day, or you can see Mexico from El Bandido on a rainy day. Lots of fun to be had here. As the storm got worse I left, but they just kept loading the rides. I was actually scared of getting struck by lightning on the way to my car, but I survived and lived to tell the tale of my evening at Western Playland in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

Sooo, yeah. Son of Beast is still in my top 10. Bring on the hate. I normally rank the kiddie/junior woodies in the bottom because they are simply the ones that I am least excited about re-riding. The only woodie I have left to ride in the US is Coaster Thrill Ride at the Puyallup Fair. Maybe next year. Here's the condensed version: TOP 25: Boulder Dash Lake Compounce CT,y,n,1 El Toro SFGAd NJ,y,n,2 The Voyage Holiday World IN,y,y,3 Coaster Playland BC,y,y,4 My Favorite Steel Anypark Anywhere **,y,y,5 Hades Mount Olympus WI,y,n,6 Shivering Timbers Michigan's Adventure MI,y,n,7 The Beast Kings Island OH,y,n,8 Son of Beast (SBNO) Kings Island OH,y,n,9 The Boss Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,10 Renegade Valleyfair! MN,y,n,11 American Thunder Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,12 Prowler Worlds of Fun MO,y,y,13 Thunderhead Dollywood TN,y,y,14 Apocalypse S. F. Magic Mountain CA,y,y,15 Ravine Flyer II Waldameer PA,y,n,16 Screamin' Eagle Six Flags St Louis MO,y,y,17 Rattler Fiesta Texas TX,y,n,18 Rampage Alabama Adventure AL,y,n,19 The Legend Holiday World IN,y,y,20 GhostRider Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,21 HellCat Timber Falls WI,y,n,22 Dania Bch Hurr (S) Dania Beach FL,y,n,23 Roar SF Discovery Kingdom CA,y,y,24 Roar SF America MD,y,n,25 BOTTOM 5: Woodstock Express Carowinds NC,y,n,125 Woodstock Express Kings Island OH,y,n,126 Underground Adventureland IA,y,n,127 Kiddie Coaster Playland NY,y,n,128 Lil' Dipper Camden Park WV,y,n,129

I can tell you that the Eruption at Frontier City will 100% not be going to Silverwood. I can also tell you that Eruption will never run again at any park. (At least not in its current state...) That is all I can say about that.

I say its a RMC creation with a heartline roll just after the lift. (Like Hydra, but off the top of the lift.) Ha. I crack myself up.

From Silverwod's Facebook: I wonder how they counted the Theme Parks?

-Silver Dollar City -Six Flags Fiesta Texas -Michigan's Adventure -Cedar Point -Hersheypark -Great America (California) -Six Flags Magic Mountain -Knott's Berry Farm -Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk -Puyallup Fair -Canada's Wonderland -Six Flags Mexico -La Feria -Selva Magica -Parque Rehilete Alcade -Parque Bicentenario -I'm sure a few little parks will be added along the way

I voted for Coaster Expedition. While I love them both, it has been a very long time for the Coaster Expeditions. I think its time for a rebirth. I don't think anyone will mind that the footage is a couple years old. The two series are SOOOO diferent that there are definitely room for both of them.

The Vampire at Kentucky Kingdom was my first in the mid-90's. My sister and I loved it. It was such a new ride experience at the time, and I remember running to get back in line after we got off. Oh, how things have changed.

Hands down, my trip to Western Canada was my highlight. Coaster at Playland was amazing, Mindbender at Galaxyland was incredible, and my trip through the Canadian Rockies was one of the most beautiful road trips I have ever taken.

For November, it has been Wild Eagle. So much different than X-Flight, but they are both decent rides in they're own way.

Its just like playing Pokemon. Yeah, Mewtwo and Mew are awesome (Millennium Force and Expedition Ge Force). Sure Pikachu is really well known, but not the best in the world (Coney Island Cyclone). But in order to complete your Pokedex, you are still going to need to catch a Magikarp and some Dittos (Miner Mike and some Boomerangs). Some people just want to collect the whole set. Plus, I'm sure it will make Professor Oak (Anton Schwarzkopf) happy.

Batman The Ride at Six Flags Great America in 1993. That was also the first time I waited over 2 hours for a coaster.

I would expect to see something else pop up in a place that is a mile high.

I want to make sweet love with the view from these coasters. Then, afterwards I am even interested in cuddling. There is a good chance I would even call this view back the next day and not ignore its texts. Even if it was raining, I would probably not even wear a poncho while enjoying the ride and this amazing view. Its that good. Times 5.

Good to see the Alabama Adventure rides finding new homes!

Is the Mount Olympus Facebook page hinting at something?

I'm guessing they just clean the marker off of the plate and start again if they don't sell it. What an amazing, money saving idea!! Hahaha. The trip looks amazing as always. Can't wait to see more.

I went last fall and successfully got a ride on the coaster at Tuscora. First, i bought the ticket/tickets and wasnt told anything about any restricions. When I walked up to the ride the ride operator asked me how old I was. I responded with "how old can I be to ride?" He responded with "no one over 17 is allowed." I followed with "well, I'm 17." (I'm 28, so he obviously didn't believe me.) Since there was no one else in line, and I gave him my whole sob story about driving 12 hours just to ride this ride, he eventually let me on. I thanked him, and went on my way.

So coasterguy06, I finally stumped you. I knew you had to have a weak spot; and obviously "things that aren't on rcdb" are your weak spots. Game on. Hopefully I will find the time to do a couple more Mini updates this week!