ytterbiumanalyst

I did. It was down for a planned refurb that day. From the videos I saw, it looked great. Ah, it must have just gone down for its annual refurb. You'll definitely have to come back at some point to ride it, it's my favorite dark ride in the US. Cool. Yeah, I'm going to want to come back when the Star Wars and Marvel lands are done. At least Disney announced on its website that it would be down, so I was able to plan accordingly. Like I say, it's disappointing but this stuff happens.

I did. It was down for a planned refurb that day. From the videos I saw, it looked great. Bill, I enjoyed meeting you as well. I'm sure there are lots of theme park shows that are great, but in the Midwest the arts in general are lacking (except Chicago--they've got some great theatre there). I'll just have to travel more and see more! Coasterbill, yeah, I loved Knott's, and since I spent the first part of the day in Ghost Town, it just felt so different from all the Midwestern Cedar Fair parks. Then, once I got to the boardwalk, I was reminded who owns it. No big deal; other than Xcelerator and Voyage to the Iron Reef, not much over there is worth riding anyway.

You need to see more theme park shows! Yes I do! This trip was the first time I had been to a theme park outside the Midwest. Silver Dollar City has really good shows, especially during the Christmas season. Cirque Imagine at Kings Island was good, and Holiday World has a couple of good ones too.... Yeah, other than that, it's all pretty terrible. So I will admit to being that hillbilly that went to the big city for the first time and was amazed by all the things I've never seen before.

Day 4 (Continued): I Wish I Could Be Part of Your World At the end of the day, I headed back to DCA for World of Color. It was the most amazing theme park show I've ever seen, and I hope these photos show even a fraction of its magnificence. Enjoy!

Day 4: I’VE GOT BLISTERS ON MY TOES!!! The day after West Coast Bash, I went to Anaheim to attempt the impossible: To ride all the major rides at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure in one day. Spoilers: I actually succeeded. Do I recommend doing what I did? If you can possibly spare more than one day for Disney, you absolutely should. But if, like me, it was either one day or not at all, then one day at Disney definitely is better than none. I arrived super early, and I didn’t know that they wouldn’t open the parking lots until 8:30. So I just sat there and read for a bit until it opened. At 8:30 I was allowed to park and I opted to walk, because I wanted to see Downtown Disney. I stopped at Tortilla Joe’s for the best breakfast burrito I’ve ever had (as previously mentioned, morning protein is a must). The chorizo was amazing, and the agua fresca was the best I’ve ever had. We do not have good Mexican food in Missouri. At all. So it was a priority to me while in California to get some of the good stuff. Plus, it was pretty cheap too! Security lines at Disney were really easy. The employees were efficient and kind. I was able to line up for Disney California Adventure around 9:10. The lines were clearly labeled, so I knew which ones were for Magic Morning guests (not me), and which ones were for the 10:00 AM entry. Around 9:30, they began to let us all in, and I made my way over to the Hollywood Studios section of DCA. I guessed that Tower of Terror would have a huge line almost immediately, and it was also one of my most anticipated rides. I am a big fan of both drop towers and the Twilight Zone, so it was a must for me. At rope drop, we walked quickly and orderly to Tower of Terror. The Disney cast members walked with us and helped to organize the group going to Tower of Terror. I went directly to the fast pass line and got a return ticket, then hopped in the standby line for a 13-minute wait (ominous). I now understand why Disney calls their ride ops “cast members.” They really are playing a character. After I stepped into the library, the cast member said in a lackadaisical tone, “Please step away from the walls, the books…and especially me.” I love it! I haven’t even been on a ride yet, and already I’m having a blast! Tower of Terror was just so cool, with Rod Serling’s pre-show as well as the videos during the ride. It was so much more than drop towers usually are. This is a favourite flat ride type for me, but Tower of Terror just demolished every drop tower I’ve ever been on. It was the only ride I re-rode that day, and it was absolutely worth riding twice. If this is the inferior version of this ride, I absolutely must get to Florida. Next up was Radiator Springs Racers. The line by now (only about 10:30) was 75 minutes, but single rider line was around 10! I really enjoyed this ride; it was very different from anything else I’ve ever ridden. The theming is impeccable, and the sense of speed is really good. The turns were more forceful than I expected, too. It’s like a roller coaster for people who don’t like roller coasters. Next I grabbed the Fastpass for World of Color and Soarin’, then went over to Tower of Terror for my re-ride. Next I hit up Monsters, Inc., which was probably the ride I enjoyed the least all day. Still, it kicks the ass of just about every dark ride out there. Disney is just in a league of its own. By the time I got there, my Fastpass time for Soarin’ was ready, and I proceeded to that ride. I really liked it. The technology is very impressive, and the ride itself is really relaxing. My only experience with simulators up to this point has been the one in my local mall, so this blew me away. After that, I headed over to Grizzly Rapids, and on the way I ran into Robb again! Robb, you looked like you really needed a break, so I’m glad you got a day to relax after the hectic WCB. I got to ride with a group of 7, and we went completely through the course, only to be stopped right before the rotating station platform when the ride broke down. This is the first time I’ve ever been evacuated from a rapids ride, and it was a pretty cool experience! The cast member gave us an exit pass, which was a very much appreciated gesture. The group I was with, though, was very positive about the whole experience. Were this any other theme park, people would be upset by being stuck, but the overall day had such a tone of positivity that we were having a good time even just sitting there. Afterward, it was time to finish up my must-rides in DCA. I went first to Toy Story Mania, which was one of only two rides that had any real wait at all. It was about 40 minutes total, but totally worth it. If I had to pick one Disney movie to be my favourite, it would be Toy Story. I was 10 when that was in theatres, and I was a big fan of computer animation. Disney had flirted with it before in Tron, but Toy Story was the first time it was really used on a grand scale, and in 1995, it was super impressive. Plus, the kid’s name is Andy too, so it’s got that going for it. After Toy Story, I rode California Screamin’ with virtually no wait in the single rider line and on to Mickey’s Fun Wheel. I love Ferris wheels—they’re one of my favourite flats—and this one is so special. The only other one like it is at Coney Island, and it may be a while before I can get there. So this was a must-ride for me. From there, it was on to Goofy’s Sky School, which really doesn’t seem to fit in at all. For all the other rides that have superb theming and amazing experiences, this ride just seemed like it could have been in any other park. It wasn’t a bad ride—far from it—just compared with all the other jaw-dropping experiences I had that day, it doesn’t measure up. That was it for me at DCA until the evening, so I headed out with my Park Hopper Pass to Disneyland. I went straight to Haunted Mansion to get my Fastpass, then on to Splash Mountain for the single rider line. It was the second best log flume I’ve ever been on, right behind Knott’s Timber Mountain. I mean that. Next I went to Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the best dark rides I went on all day. The pirate battle room was especially amazing. Again, I hear this is the inferior version of this ride, so holy crap, how good are the rest of them? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was to be the next ride, but it was down temporarily, so I went over to Tomorrowland for Star Tours. I am a big Star Wars fan (I stood in line all day in full costume for Episode III, and I’ve even been to a convention!), so this was a highlight of the day for me. Next I grabbed the Fastpass for Space Mountain, then proceeded to Buzz Lightyear. I’ve never encountered a dark ride that was literally all vehicles before, but yeah, that certainly helps capacity! The ride puts you totally in Buzz’s world, fighting the Zerg as though they’re real. It was so much fun. After that, since my Haunted Mansion Fastpass was ready, I went over to that side, but was stopped for a parade! I only got to see the tail end of it (with Mary Poppins!). I wish I had more time for stuff like that, but I’m on a huge time crunch today. Once the parade ended, I proceeded to Haunted Mansion. This was one of the best dark rides ever! I’m a big fan of the Nightmare Before Christmas, so this was very special to me. Just like Buzz Lightyear (or more realistically, the other way around), it was all vehicles. By that time, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was open again, so I rode it. This is the first mine train that I liked better than Thunderation, and in the first park I’ve ever liked more than Silver Dollar City. Absolutely incredible ride; I loved the details, including the animatronic turtles and rattlesnakes on one of the lifts. Now it was time for Fantasyland. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was a goal for the day, and I got on to it quickly. It was so much fun, and such a classic. The hell sequence was ridiculous. Then I went on to Peter Pan for the single longest line of the entire day. It was very much worth it, as I don’t know of any other suspended dark rides. The scenes were great, and it was a lot of fun. By this point, I was running out of time. I had wanted to ride Roger Rabbit (that movie was big when I was a kid), but since it was a ways back in the park, I opted to skip it. I went to Matterhorn Bobsleds, and hit the single rider line for both sides. It was not smooth in any way, and was just so much fun. Next was Finding Nemo. Silver Dollar City used to have a submarine ride like this (actually assisted by the Disney Imagineers), but I never got to ride it since they replaced it with Lost River of the Ozarks in 1984. I was born that fall, so I just missed it. I enjoyed this ride immensely. I wanted to go to the monorail after that, but it was down, and would be the rest of the night. That was a disappointment, as the monorail is central to Disney in my mind. But stuff happens, and you roll with it. I went to Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy for my last ride of the night, and it was so good. I’ve been on some indoor roller coasters before, but never one like this. It was absolutely amazing. It was getting close to time for World of Color, so I went across the plaza back to DCA. I had reservations in the Yellow section, and I was able to get a spot right next to the fence. This is the single greatest theme park show I’ve ever seen, and it was totally worth the $155 admission all by itself. It was a tremendous way to end a day at Disney and fully exceeded all expectations I had for it. After the show, I went over to Catal for dinner and a drink. There was no time for food this whole day, so I had been running on that breakfast burrito up to this point. I had the fish tacos and a cucumber martini, and both were very good. It’s not cheap, but I highly recommend it. Theming: Disney’s theming f*cks all other theming so hard. It’s not remotely even close to a contest. I grew up with Silver Dollar City, which has amazing theming, and Disney just puts that to shame. Wow. Wow. F*cking wow. Food: I only got to experience the food in Downtown Disney, but everything I had was wonderful. I hear good things about the food in the parks as well, and I wish I could have had more time to experience it. Service: Oh my god. This is service done right. Every single person, and I mean absolutely everyone, was incredible. I have never felt so much like royalty as I have at the Disney parks. And I didn’t even deserve it. I paid for one day regular admission, not even any perks. It didn’t matter. Everyone’s major goal was to make my day awesome. Dark rides: So many of them! Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Toy Story Midway Mania, and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride were my favourites. Water rides: Both of them were spectacular! Grizzly Rapids has a spinning drop that I didn’t expect, and Splash Mountain is just so much fun. One of the best log flumes anywhere! Flats: Just Tower of Terror and Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Tower of Terror is absolutely the best drop tower anywhere, by a mile and a half. All the cast members were great, and they really seemed to be enjoying themselves, even knowing the impending fate of this ride. Coasters: California Screamin’: Not the most intense launch ever, but it was really fun! The ride is decently long and has some decent if not too intense forces in the helices. Goofy’s Sky School: This ride simply isn’t up to Disney’s standards. It’s fun, but it just doesn’t measure up to everything else. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: The absolute best mine train anywhere. Period. Matterhorn Bobsleds: Such a classic! It’s amazing that at the time when all roller coasters were wooden and focused on drops and airtime, that Disney was looking to the future with this ride. It tells a story, and it’s so cool. The splash at the end was very fun too. Space Mountain: I loved the Ghost Galaxy version, though I haven’t experienced the original, so I have nothing to compare it to. This is how you do an indoor coaster! Arriving at Downtown Disney! The Lego statues were impressive as always. Especially the dragon on top of the store. It's breakfast time! In the middle is Catal's Uva Bar, where I would have dinner later. Beautiful landscaping here. Arriving at the security lines Monorail! My first goal is Disney California Adventure. My spot in line. Not sure what these paving stones are all about. I'm sure some of you Disney fans know exactly were I was based on this photo. Carthay Circle restaurant just towered over the plaza. I loved the false backdrop at the end of this street. So cool! First ride of the day! Five and Dime! My introduction to the Disney cast members. I will never see ride ops the same way again. Eh, I think my hotel was better than this.... The boiler room had some really cool scenery. About to get in the service elevator! A Bug's Land had some really cool theming. Rides for later. Route 66! I've been there! It's at Knott's Berry Farm! Back at Tower of Terror now, this guy was reporting right in front of it. On to Grizzly Peak! If I could get stuck on a ride, this one would be the one. I'm in California, and I'm prepared to scream! This animatronic was cool. If you stand right in front of him, he'll call out your shirt colour and talk to you for a bit. It's time to scream! Great theming throughout this park. Until tonight, DCA! My first encounter with Disneyland. I'm really disappointed. They just copied Adventureland's entrance and added Mickey-shaped flowers. I got all the classic shots. Walt and Mickey and the castle! I'm ready for adventures! The Tarzan play area looks really cool for the kids. Tom Sawyer's Island This should give you an idea of the crowds that day. I'm amazed that with this many people there, the lines were so short. Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me! The boats were not running due to the Star Wars construction. Frontierland looked fun, but I had no time to linger there. I'm at the best mine train! Seriously, look at that theming. Awesome! I'm so excited! I'm in the world of tomorrow. C-3PO and R2-D2! Buzz gives instructions while Etch-a-Sketch illustrates. On the way over to Haunted Mansion, I stumbled upon this parade. Chim-chiminey! And Mary Poppins herself! It's time to experience the nightmare! Fantasyland had some really cool architecture. The exterior of the Peter Pan ride was undergoing some work. I'm ready for a wild ride! Matterhorn was very impressive. And back to Tomorrowland! Incredible theming in the station room.

it's just too good for the grave. Agreed.

Apocalypse really was not rough. I understand they did some track work right before WCB, and it apparently helped.

I think so. I look entirely too serious in it, though, being the only one who didn't know where the camera is! I hope so; I had a good time! Just don't stand right behind me next time, or else. Not a problem...I just had no idea they were quite that bizarre with regards to pushing out their religious beliefs. Neither did I! That was my opinion, and it was the prevailing opinion among our group. They used a Brazilian hardwood for the top rails that has a similar strength to steel, in order to prevent the deterioration that had previously happened. The Knott's staff are very proud of this ride, and it's really great.

Day 3: Knott’s Berry Farm This was the best single day of the trip. I had a lot of fun at Disney and Universal too, but Knott’s went way beyond to make this a great day. The story of Knott’s is so similar to that of my home park, Silver Dollar City. It began as an actual berry farm in the 1920s. Boysenberries were a newly developed hybrid and they took off in popularity. The Knotts decided to open a restaurant and serve chicken and boysenberry pie. The restaurant was so popular that the Knotts wanted a way to entertain guests while they waited, so Ghost Town was the answer. We started the day with a walkback tour of Ghostrider. This was my most anticipated coaster of the trip, and it ended up being my favourite coaster as well. I really enjoyed getting to go through the backstage areas around it and hearing all about the refurbishment. Ghostrider is clearly the pride of the park, and it definitely deserves to be. After the tour, I went to Voyage to the Iron Reef and rode twice in a row since there was no one waiting. It definitely has a video game feel to it. Don’t think too hard about the story, and it’s very enjoyable. Then on to Xcelerator, Supreme Scream, and back to Xcelerator. I actually liked it better than Top Thrill Dragster. Yes, it’s not as tall or as fast, but it feels more complete. The launch is amazing. At this point I returned to Ghostrider for the first ride of the day on it. Wow, it’s great. I only got to ride once in the morning because the line stretched over an hour almost as soon as the park opened. No worries; I’d just wait for evening ERT. I proceeded to Pony Express and Bigfoot Rapids. I had heard that Pony Express is popular and low capacity, and it was highly anticipated. That may sound weird to a lot of you, but I highly value unique or unusual rides when they’re high quality. I’ve never ridden a coaster in that position before, and that added a lot to it. Basically that is the point of the whole ride, as that layout in a regular train wouldn’t be anything at all. At this point I had about an hour until lunch, so I wanted to do two other highly anticipated rides: Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride. I loved that these had both been recently refurbished, and they look so good! Calico was a lot of fun, such a classic, and one of the best dark rides anywhere. When I got off that ride, I proceeded directly to Timber Mountain. I happened to get in line right at the same time as Robb, so we talked for a while, and I got to ride with him! He’s a really cool guy in person, and this was a highlight of the trip for me. Next up was lunch and the Knott’s Q&A. I am really glad they served the chicken and boysenberry pie here, as that was a goal for the day. The Knott’s staff were so great, and I loved the contest they put on. They had us write down questions, and they would read every one of them. Any questions that were especially good and/or funny would win a prize. There was a collection of random coaster and ride parts to choose from. My question won, and I picked the log flume argudo, mainly because it’s small and light, so I could take it easily on the plane. On a related note, does anyone know what an argudo is and what it does on a log flume? See picture below for reference if you need to. After lunch were more rides. There was a Haunt tour, but I decided to skip it in favour of more ride time. I’m not a big fan of haunts, and they’re not really a thing in the Ozarks. There are a couple that pop up in Springfield every year, but they’re pretty low budget. Silver Dollar City doesn’t do a haunt event and probably never will. Around here pumpkin patches and corn mazes are just a bigger deal. Jaguar! was fun, but the air conditioning wasn’t working in the pyramid, so it was really, really hot. Coast Rider was okay, decent for a mouse. Montezooma’s Revenge was amazing. This was my first Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, and I rode it three times in all. That was all the coasters except Boomerang, which I wasn’t going to ride, and Silver Bullet and Sierra Sidewinder, which were open during ERT. Time to turn my attention to the last two non-coaster rides I wanted to do: the train and the stagecoach. The train was fun, and I totally wasn’t expecting it to be robbed. It was built in the 1880s, and Knott’s acquired it in 1955 when the last of the steam locomotives were being phased out. Very cool history. The stagecoach was even better, since it’s totally unique. The coaches are pretty low capacity, so the line was long and slow moving, but it was worth the wait. The staff were washing down the horses after every few laps and giving them more water. I could tell the horses were very well cared for. At this point there was about half an hour left until closing, so I went to Sierra Sidewinder. It was pretty good. I don’t particularly care for spinning coasters, but this one’s definitely good quality. I had fun. Next I went to Silver Bullet and waited for the front seat (only a couple of trains; the line was very short at the end of the day). Around 7 when the park was closing, one of the TPR members came over and informed us that Ghostrider’s line was around an hour, so I decided to just keep riding Silver Bullet for the next half hour. I rode 7 times in total, and it’s great! I loved the helix over the lake especially. At 7:30 I went over to the waiting spot for Voyage to the Iron Reef walkback. It was very cool to see how the 3D effects are done. I would never have guessed this method, but it actually uses UPC bar codes, yes, the very same ones from your cereal box, to determine the position of the vehicle. Also, there are apparently no sensors in the middle of any screens, so shoot toward the edges to score. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle! The other half is violence. Around 8 it was time for Ghostrider. Night rides on it were absolutely amazing. I rode an additional 6 times for 7 total that day. I was on the very last train to end the night. A few TPR people had posted on the board that they were going to Rock ‘n’ Brews, so I headed down there after closing time. It’s a nice place, and I had a good time chatting with them over a couple of beers. Overall, this weekend was incredible, and I will totally do another TPR event like this, if there are any more. Both days, but especially the day at Knott’s, were just the most fun I’ve had riding roller coasters in quite a while. Theming: Top tier theming. Each area felt like its own world, and stepping from one into another felt like you had really gone somewhere else. This is how you build a theme park. Food: Boysenberries!!!!! I had so much boysenberry stuff throughout the day: Boysenberry beer Boysenberry coffee Boysenberry ICEE Boysenberry muffin Boysenberry pie Boysenberry punch And I took home a boysenberry jam too! The boysenberry ice cream machine was down, but other than that minor setback, it was a perfect boysenberry day. The chicken was excellent for lunch, and I was very happy that was what they served. The chicken was as much a goal today as any of the rides. It would feel wrong to have missed out on it. Service: Incredible. Everyone was very friendly, operations were good, and the management who gave tours and did the Q&A were awesome. Everyone wanted us to have the best day, and they certainly succeeded. Dark rides: Calico Mine Ride is the clear standout in this category. It tells a story, it’s full of animatronics, it’s visually impressive. Voyage to the Iron Reef is fun, but it’s all about shooting stuff. Don’t think too hard about its story. Just shoot the robotic squid thing. Water rides: Timber Mountain Log Ride is the very best log flume I’ve ever ridden, and yes, I rode Splash Mountain the next day. I was in awe of this ride all the way through. It’s just beautiful throughout, and the splash at the end is very good too. Flats: Supreme Scream was okay, not the best drop tower I’ve ever been on (that would be Tower of Terror, but patience, grasshopper). I enjoyed Sky Cabin as well; old-school observation towers are always fun to me. Coasters: Coast Rider: A fun but merely okay mouse coaster. Not much more to say about it. Ghostrider: The best coaster of the entire trip! I loved it in the dark especially. No better way to end the night at Knott’s than six laps on this beauty. Jaguar!: A fun but merely okay family coaster that winds around a lot of its section of the park. The pyramid queue/station building is really cool, except when there’s no air conditioning. Then it’s the furthest thing from cool. Montezooma’s Revenge: I loved it! My first Schwarzkopf shuttle loop, and it was way too much fun. Pony Express: A fun Zamperla motocoaster with horse-shaped seats. The ride position is everything. Sierra Sidewinder: A surprisingly intense spinning coaster. Silver Bullet: One of the better B&M inverts I’ve ridden. Not super intense, but it does have some great interaction with the ground in a couple of places, and the helix over the lake at the end is the highlight. Xcelerator: It takes off and zips to about 83 mph. I liked it better than its bigger cousin, Top Thrill Dragster. The launch is intense but not overly so, and the coaster feels more complete. I liked the near misses in a couple of places also. Today I'm headed out to the farm. It's early morning, and there are roosters crowing! I don't know which I'm more excited for, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant or Ghostrider! Jeff, the park's director of maintenance and construction, leading us on the Ghostrider walkback. I'm amazed at the level of detail. This is a backstage area! It's twisty! If you have wood for Ghostrider, put it here. I'm not sure who Gary Reynolds was, but I thought this was interesting. I hope I'm not hitting a sore spot. I love this attitude. Millennium Flyers! Cleaning windows in preparation for the day. Ghost Town This is a house made entirely out of glass bottles. So cool! Human remains apparently fall under "general merchandise." Train and Calico Mine Ride This coffee shop was open in the morning for us. But the iron reef is beckoning. Moving down the boardwalk now, Boomerang is very prominent. For those for whom riding coasts is better than riding ghosts. First coaster of the day! They are pretty, and I'll watch them and take pictures of them, but I think I'm done riding Boomerangs. Every time someone tells me "But this one is better," they're wrong. Just absolutely wrong. After the morning ride on Ghostrider, it was time for the rest of the park to open. They have a blacksmith! Little known fact: Zamperla got its start in the 19th century breeding horses for the Pony Express. Another little known fact: This is the world's only rapids ride that is powered by Bigfoot tears. Now it's time for lunch. These look pretty good. They had some great picnic areas. After lunch, it was time to finish riding. Knott's still has the Camp Snoopy theme rather than the Planet Snoopy the others have. I'll come back for the sidewindin'. This was a cool walk-through area with floating bridges. Camp Snoopy Such great theming here. The Ferris wheel was down all day. If only all revenge were this good... ¡Viva la revolución! Jaguar!'s pyramid looked amazing. This is the station platform. Caring for the stagecoach horses. Next I moved on to this beautiful steel mess. A history lesson. Voyage to the Iron Reef tour These are the UPC bar codes the ride uses to determine where the vehicles are. The ride vehicle in front of a 3D screen And the projectors--they're in pairs, one for each eye. And the hour of Ghostrider ERT. We are on a log flume! This is the log flume argudo I now own. Anyone know what it is?

I had wondered what you and the others were talking about. I didn't notice the Bible verses at all while I was there. I'm not a fan of trying to convert people. I go by the Gospel According to George Carlin: Be excellent to each other. A lot of religious people are the furthest thing from that. Around here, there are a lot of businesses that advertise themselves as "Christian-owned," and in general, they're the absolute rudest and shadiest businesses in town. That fish lets them get away with a lot. I'm rather surprised that my praise of In 'N' Out has caused such a commotion. I didn't think it would be so controversial!

You know, I super appreciate this comment. I have a lot and I mean a *LOT* of respect for someone who has dietary restrictions and takes it upon themselves to be responsible about it. Instead of coming to an event and complaining that we aren't catering specifically to certain people's needs, like we heard some vegan and gluten-free people loudly bitching and complaining on Saturday. You're welcome! I just read your description of "light continental breakfast" and expected exactly what you provided. And the muffin and coffee were really good too! I'm sorry people choose to be horrible. Reminds me of the joke, "A runner, a Texan, and a vegan walk into a bar. How do you know which is which? A: Don't worry, they'll tell you."

Day 2: Six Flags Magic Mountain I got up early the next day and proceeded north to the most magical of mountains. I got there very early, as I wasn’t sure what traffic was going to be like. I parked at Marie Callender’s and went for a walk to pass the time. Once they opened at 7, I went in for a great breakfast. I know TPR was providing donuts and muffins, but I have chronic low blood sugar, so I need protein in the morning. Marie Callender’s was great, and I had more than I could possibly eat. Highly recommended as a great start to your day at Magic Mountain. Around 7:30 I headed out and proceeded to the mountain. They provided us with free parking, which is very much appreciated. I parked and walked in, and proceeded up to the table which Robb and Elissa were manning. This was my first opportunity to meet you, and you guys are celebrities to me. Once registered, I got to meet Bill and Bryan. It’s a little weird introducing myself to people I know from trip reports on the Internet, but they were really cool. Bill spoke highly of X2, which I was really nervous about, but this gave me the courage to try it out. Robb came out and pumped us up to enter Magic Mountain, and then they let us in! I went straight to New Revolution as planned, since I understand the VR really slows down the line. I was able to get on the last row of the first train of the day. David and Spears were in the row ahead of me, and they’re really cool people. I enjoyed the VR, especially in the loop. I was impressed with how much the VR took over the experience and really made the coaster even more than it is already. I absolutely adore Schwarzkopfs, and the VR really added to this one. Winner! Next I went to YOLOcoaster, then on to Twisted Colossus. I ended up riding it eight times in the morning and two in the evening. Absolutely amazing coaster, and far and away the best ride at Magic Mountain. Thanks for the ERT—I would never have been able to ride it that much otherwise! I then got a muffin and coffee at the breakfast bar, and went back to X2 . This was the coaster I was most nervous about—I’m not typically a fan of flipping rides, especially Top Spins, so I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy this one. I rode the back row, inside seat, as I understand that’s the smoothest one, and I had a great time! Thanks so much to Bill (Nrthwnd), who convinced me to go! After that, I proceeded around the park, to Viper, and then Roaring Rapids. I was lucky enough to catch Tatsu and Superman when they were just re-opening after being down, and then went on to Apocalypse, Jet Stream, and Gold Rusher, before heading on to lunch. After lunch I did the backlot. Riddler’s Revenge was great, as was Batman. In fact, the Batman here is the best one I’ve been on so far, due to the air conditioning in the tunnel. I skipped Tidal Wave, as its line was about 45 minutes, and it’s the same as the one in St. Louis. I rode Goliath, which was incredible. It was my first Giovanola coaster, and bigger than anything we have in Missouri. In fact, it was the only one I re-rode other than Twisted Colossus. In all, I got to ride everything I wanted at Magic Mountain, thanks to ERT. I appreciate the great effort put forth by everyone who made this happen, as otherwise I wouldn’t have experienced all I wanted to. Thank you so much for a great day at Six Flags Magic Mountain! Theming: Typical Six Flags. Good in some areas, very minimal in others. Food: The buffet we got for lunch was good. I didn’t buy any other food that day. Service: Merely okay. I thought the New Revolution crew was very good at helping us through the myriad technical difficulties of the headsets, and the Twisted Colossus crew was excellent. Other than that, met expectations, but didn’t exceed them at all. Water rides: I have never up until this point ridden a bad log flume. Jet Stream changed all that. Constant slamming into the sides and bottom, lackluster drop. It was not good. At all. Roaring Rapids was pretty good. I didn’t really get wet at all, but the people across from me very much did. I had fun. Flat ride: Lex Luthor’s Drop of Doom was the only one I rode. It was great, best drop tower I had been on up to that point (though it would be demolished by Tower of Terror just 2 days later…). Coasters: Apocalypse: This is better than its reputation would indicate. I enjoyed it a lot, especially since it told a story of survivors taking on their machine overlords. Way above your average Six Flags ride. Batman: This is the best Batman. It has air conditioning in the tunnel. Would that they all have that. YOLOcoaster: For a coaster that’s basically just a loop, it’s great. The queue looks pretty cheap, and I’m not sure what the theme is (adrenaline?), but the ride delivers. Gold Rusher: Possibly the worst mine train I’ve been on. And I love this ride type. Goliath: The only ride other than Twisted Colossus worthy of re-rides. I loved it. It’s fast, very forceful at the bottom of the first and second drops and the helix, and a lot of fun. Ninja: This is possibly the best suspended coaster I’ve been on. Not sure if this or Kings Island’s Bat is better. And that’s a very good problem to have. Scream: I love B&M floorless coasters, and this one is no exception. I loved that there was no line during evening ERT. Superman: It’s all right. The backward launch wasn’t as good as Mr. Freeze or Powder Keg. It was fast, but I didn’t get the same sense of speed that I had on Top Thrill Dragster. It was fun, but not especially memorable. Tatsu: Other than Twisted Colossus, probably the best coaster at Magic Mountain. The pretzel loop is so forceful that I couldn’t even breathe. Amazing ride. The New Revolution: The VR was interesting, but I don’t think I’d do it again. It took a long time to load, but that had more to do with the equipment than the crew. They were working quite hard on making sure we all had working phones and knew how to use them. The Riddler’s Revenge: This was my first stand-up coaster, and I enjoyed it! I bent my knees being fitted for the bicycle seat, and I stood up for the ride instead of being near the seat. It wasn’t painful at all, and was a lot of fun. Twisted Colossus: Far and away the best coaster in the park, and next to Ghostrider, the best coaster of the entire trip. I loved it and rode it ten times: eight on morning ERT and two on evening ERT. Viper: It was okay, but I wouldn’t mind if it were replaced. It was great through the three loops, but as soon as the inversions changed direction, it was hell. I love Arrows, and am a big fan of Demon at SFGAm and Vortex at Kings Island, but this one simply wasn’t good. X2: Thanks to Bill (Nrthwnd) for convincing me to go on this! I rode in the back row on the inside to minimize roughness, and I had fun! I’m not a fan of flipping rides at all, but this one was controlled flipping and predictable. Sitting in a smooth row, I actually had a good time. X2 and Viper! What a way to wake up! La Chupacabra is coming to get you! The observation tower. Closed all day.... New Revolution, through the creepy tree! Tatsu! Several people lined up for when it re-opened. It's a bird! It's a plane! I loved the Japanese garden on Samurai Summit. Sneaky sneaky. The views from the mountain are amazing. Don't bring kryptonite on this ride! This is the absolute worst log flume. Go karts. I didn't ride these. Observation tower, sadly closed the entire day. A little taste of home! O'Reilly Automotive is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri! Apocalypse! Theming. More theming. This appeared to be a former log flume station platform that isn't used anymore. Gold Rusher was possibly the worst mine train I've ever been on. Riddler's Revenge was my first stand-up coaster. It was really fun! I wanted to ride Tidal Wave, but the line was too long. Superman was quite visible from all over the park. This is the sort of food line we didn't have to wait in. Thanks, TPR! That's us! After lunch, I headed over to Goliath. I loved it! Second best ride in the park, after Twisted Colossus! I loved all the shady plant life in the queue. Really helps to make the wait better. This is the best ride entrance. Next was Riddler's Revenge. This was a new ride type for me, and I used the advice I've read here, keep your legs bent while fitting the bicycle seat, so you can stand above it. It worked, and the ride was very fun! Ninja was very fun. The log flume? Not so much. Some decent theming in the DC area. Oh hell no. This is the best Batman. It has an air conditioned tunnel! I don't think the suit is quite ready for prime time. Probably need two arms. Scream! With no wait. Thanks, ERT!

We have Five Guys and Carl's Jr. here (though we call the latter Hardee's), and they're both really good. I've not had the privilege of eating at Shake Shack, but I hear very good things. Maybe it's different if you grow up in SoCal, but as a visitor, I was pleased. Go ahead and call me an ignorant tourist, because that's very much what I was.

Day 1: Westward Ho! First of all, I have to say a big thank you to Robb, Elissa, and everyone at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott’s Berry Farm who helped to put on this event. I know you all worked so hard, and I want you to know that your efforts translated into results. I had such an amazing time over the weekend. Now on to the description of the trip itself. I’ve been reading the reports from the last couple of West Coast Bashes, and the event looked so fun. Once I saw Robb’s announcement video, I decided I must go this year. Originally this was intended to be a trip with my son, as he has made so much progress with his autism, and he hit 48” this year. Roller coasters are his favourite thing, and it’s been a real point of bonding for us. However, as we got into the summer, I didn’t feel that he was quite ready for a trip by airplane, so this ended up being a solo trip for me. Those of you who have kids with autism or love someone with autism, you understand. I only had a few days that I could take off work, so the schedule went as follows: Friday 9/9 – fly to LA, Pacific Park Saturday 9/10 – Six Flags Magic Mountain Sunday 9/11 – Knott’s Berry Farm Monday 9/12 – Disneyland & Disney California Adventure Tuesday 9/13 – Universal Studios Hollywood Wednesday 9/14 – fly home I would have loved to have had more time in LA, especially for Disneyland, but that’s all the time I could get off work, and I wanted to visit all those places, so that’s how the week went. I decided to fly Spirit—it’s the first time that I’ve flown with them—because they are the only airline that has a direct flight from MCI to LAX. The week would already be a big time crunch, and I didn’t want layovers to eat into that time. I had to work a half day on Friday, but after that, I took off for Kansas City. It’s a very well designed airport, and I was able to get in and through security quickly. I was able to get a window seat on the exit row, so the trip was quite pleasant. This is the first time I’ve been west of the Rockies (though I have been to Denver, Colorado Springs, and Albuquerque), and I enjoyed seeing the desert landscapes below us. Skies were clear for much of the flight, so I was able to see a lot. I arrived at LAX around 5:00, caught the shuttle to the Alamo rental car lot, and headed to my first destination: In ‘N’ Out Burger in Westchester. This is simply the best fast food burger I’ve ever had. There are quite a number of transplanted Californians in Missouri, and they all praise In ‘N’ Out very highly. I must say it totally lives up to the hype. Their menu is extremely limited, but that doesn’t matter. It’s amazing. With that ticked off the list, I proceeded to Santa Monica. The GPS directed me to the freeway, so I had my first taste of L.A. traffic. This may amaze some of you who live there, but I loved it! The L.A. freeways are simply the best I’ve ever driven on. For the most part, people know where they’re going and pay attention. I never had to guess what someone intended to do, and I never had anyone tailing me or doing anything else dangerous. It was such a relief from the typical Missouri traffic, where drivers routinely tail me, honk, flash their lights, anything to change my driving—instead of using the perfectly good, totally clear passing lane to the left. Missouri drivers have an attitude that was conspicuously absent in California drivers. Every commute I had on the freeways was totally relaxing. I arrived in Santa Monica and parked in the lot just north of the pier. I had, thanks to TPR’s access to Tickets at Work, a combo ticket for Universal and Pacific Park for about $80, compared with $120 for Universal and $18 for Pacific Park through their websites. Club TPR pays off yet again! I rode the West Coaster twice and the Ferris wheel once. That was all I cared to do as far as rides were concerned. My main interest in the pier was to visit the Pacific Ocean. I’ve never been there before (but been to the Gulf twice and the Atlantic twice). It was very, very cold, and I didn’t wade out very far. I didn’t go swimming at all. Still, it was fun to be on the beach. This was a Friday night, and they had a DJ. Most of the time I just walked the pier and played Pokémon Go. All the Pokéstops were lit up with lures, and there were a number of them. I got several Pokémon that were new to me: Sandshrew, Sandslash, Diglett, Graveler, Onix, Primeape, and Kabuto! The pier was by far the best Pokémon place of the whole trip. I headed out about 11:00 (which felt like 1:00 AM to me, being used to Central Time) to get some sleep in preparation for the first day of West Coast Bash! Theming: It looks amazingly like a pier! Food: No experience with food on the pier. Service: The ride ops were a little unsure of what to do with me as a single rider. Still, I eventually got to ride the Ferris wheel and the coaster. The wristband distribution was quick and easy, though. Well done on that aspect. Flat: The only one I rode was the Ferris wheel, which offered great views of the ocean, the beach, and the Santa Monica skyline. Very fun! Coaster: If you want to ride a coaster here, you want to ride West Coaster, because that’s the one they have. It was an okay ride. If it were in a cornfield, I’d say it’s terrible. But the location by the ocean really added to the atmosphere. I'm in L.A., or as it's commonly known, the City of Our Lady, the Queen of Angels, on the River Porciuncula! First things first. In 'N' Out Burger! I got to sit outside in the cool California breeze and smell the sea air and jet fuel. Wwwwwhat are you doing? Wwwwell, I took the 405 to the 10 and got off on 3rd street in Santa Monica. I arrived just in time to see the sun setting over the ocean and the mountains. Eventually I was persuaded to peel myself away from the sunset and head toward West Coaster. Oh hell no. They had a good number of standard flats, including this scrambler.... ...and this drop tower. This was the actual background for your Ferris wheel photo. Congratulations, Pacific Park, you win. The beautiful Santa Monica beach. There are no single riders on the Ferris wheel, so I was placed with a Japanese family who were kind enough to take my photo. They had a pirate ship that had an odd shield on one side. Not sure what that's about. West Coaster is themed to ladders. After dark, the Ferris wheel was lit up with a great light package. Springfield, Missouri, where I'm from, is the birthplace of Route 66. I've been to one end of it, Grant Park in Chicago, several times, so it was very special getting to see the western end of the Mother Road. End of the trail, and end of the night! Next up is West Coast Bash!

I rode Viper for the first time at WCB. I have no nostalgia for this ride at all, but I do love Arrow loopers. I'm a fan of Demon at SFGAm and Vortex at Kings Island. That said, I couldn't get into Viper. I did like the first drop and the three vertical loops. At that point it was still good. Not smooth, but still good. Right after that, it became hell. So really I wouldn't mind if it were replaced. There's not a lot other than X2 to being people to that side of the park. A dive coaster would be great, since the closest one to y'all is Valravn. But really any modern coaster would be an upgrade. An airtime machine would be nice, as Twisted Colossus is really the only one you have.

I totally agree. I loved that ride. I also had Travis the first time and Dan the second, and they were both great. Only ride I re-rode all day, but it was so worth it. For further fawning over Disney's ride ops, see my forthcoming trip report.

Why? Doesn't SFMM have enough inversions as it is? In fact they hold the record for most inversions at a theme park with 36. King's Island comes in 2nd place at 25... SFMM already has 11 MORE inversions than any other park. I'd argue that they should move away from inversions, not get ANOTHER multi-looper cough...ScreamRiddler'sViperBatmanTatsu...cough. Starting next year, they will actually have 37 inversions as the Flash builds a loop in the JL:BFM Ride. "Loopty Loop coming up!" But is it really an inversion? Let's argue about that for the next 6 months!

^ What? You've seen it broken down? What manner of madness is this? I thought there ain't no party like a B&M party, cos a B&M party don't stop!

In the meantime, Bill, why don't you come out to the Mall of America? You can take a little road trip, too. Adventureland, Worlds of Fun, SDC? Let me set the stage for you. The American Midwest, destination of a lifetime! Experience our endless cornfields. Marvel at the cheapness of our gas. Wonder how many miles until the next restroom when you really have to pee. And best of all, ride some good coasters run by friendly people who have great food. TL;DR version: Come toward the cinnamon bread. I've had a Valleyfair / Mall of America / Target Field weekend trip in mind for awhile now actually. I'm sure it'll happen eventually. Brit's on board, now I just need to save up for airfare and pull the trigger. Sounds good! We really enjoyed the Twin Cities. Don't listen to the complainers; Valleyfair! and NU are doing just fine. They're both definitely open-to-close parks. MoA is on the light rail (basically an above-ground subway), and you can catch that back to your flight home. Save you some on the rental car (which you'll definitely need to get to Valleyfair!).

That's great. Timber Wolf at Worlds of Fun has had wonderful results like that. They're only half finished, but the first half is great.

In the meantime, Bill, why don't you come out to the Mall of America? You can take a little road trip, too. Adventureland, Worlds of Fun, SDC? Let me set the stage for you. The American Midwest, destination of a lifetime! Experience our endless cornfields. Marvel at the cheapness of our gas. Wonder how many miles until the next restroom when you really have to pee. And best of all, ride some good coasters run by friendly people who have great food. TL;DR version: Come toward the cinnamon bread.

I don't think that would make it through security...

Yay! I'm glad to hear a good report on it, because I loved it last time I was out there, and have been disappointed hearing the terrible reviews coming back from it lately. Nice to know that maybe that work they did on it helped it get - wait for it - back on track! Fixed Nice. And I agree with you, Apocalypse was pretty good. Much better than its reputation would indicate. Seems that recent retracking has made a big difference. That, or enthusiasts just can't handle a wooden coaster. Either way is possible.

I love this report! They do start early. When you have 4 million lights to string, it takes a while.

This is pretty much exactly how I look at it. I don't even call it a "credit," since that's a line of thinking that I just don't adhere to. I'm not riding something to get credit for having ridden it; I'm riding it to have fun. I just say I've ridden x coasters, and only if someone asks. Some of the coasters I've ridden turned out not to be fun. Sometimes I just didn't know it would be bad. Sometimes I've heard it's bad but I want to experience it for myself. I've found my opinions are different than other people's, and so I can't always trust that a coaster's reputation will predict how it is for me. I have ridden a few children’s coasters, but I'm proud to say all of them were ridden either when I was a child myself or when I was with my children. Family coasters I will sometimes ride when I'm on my own, if I think they'll be fun. A coaster doesn't have to be huge and intense for me to have a good time. So that's where I stand right now. My count is pretty small, but I see that as a good thing. 90% of the coasters on the list are good ones, and they all are in parks I enjoyed visiting. I don't see any point at all in doing something that wasn't fun for you so you can tell other people you did it. Oh, and I'm in the early planning stages of a Dollywood trip next year. I want to stop by Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. Zero "new credits" for me in either of those two parks. I expect each to be an awesome day.