ytterbiumanalyst

Powder Keg deserves a mention. Buzzsaw Falls was both a terrible water ride and a terrible coaster. It tried to be both and just failed totally. Powder Keg, on the other hand, is a fantastic launch coaster full of airtime and has enough headchoppers to make a woodie jealous. Couldn't be happier about that refurb. As for the worst, SFStL's attempt at a stand up mine train has to be one of the worst ideas ever conceived, with execution on par with the concept.

Silver Dollar City takes it by far, on average about once a month since 1989, except for 2007-2010, when we did not go at all. Our three children were born during that time period, so we had some other priorities at the time. We started going again in 2011, when my oldest was 3 1/2, big enough for the smallest rides. So that comes out to over 200 visits over 25 years. Aside from that would be Six Flags St. Louis; I've been there about a dozen times since 1993.

There are plenty of bad bumper cars, so I'll just list the best. Rue Le Dodge at Six Flags Great America. I kind of thought the "biggest" would be gimmicky, but it was seriously the most fun I've ever had on a bumper cars. There were so many people to bump into and so much space that you could get going fast before you hit them. It was totally chaotic and wild.

I'll cast my vote for Ozark Wildcat. Drop is 73', so I'm going to count it. Absolutely amazing ride in every way possible. It was the headliner for its park, and deservedly so.

^ Whom would you be defying by going? ;P

Just getting around to finally uploading my mini-trip report for the Roller Coaster Race last week. It was a rainy, cold day, but there were still quite a few who showed. For the uninitiated, Roller Coaster Race is a new 5K run event at theme parks. So far it's Silver Dollar City and a handful of Six Flags parks that are participating. The day begins with a 5K race, then once the park opens, the participants get to ride rollercoasters for a total distance of 5K. I chose not to do the run, as 1) I'm not really into running and 2) it was really cold at 7AM (about 45 degrees). Most of the day my camera was safely stored in a fluffy bunny, so I don't have a lot of pictures, but I'll post what I have. At the end of the day, when we tallied up our rides, I won! 16 coaster rides and 13.62 km! Of course, with everything a walk-on, I got to ride so many times, I didn't bother to have them punch my wristband every single time, so I'm not entirely sure how far I actually went. But that distance was enough to win! Since this was the first year, they only had medals for the running race and not for the roller coaster. I suggested they mail a trophy to the winner, and they said they may implement that for next year. I had a ton of fun, and SDC is already advertising this as a "first annual" event, so let's hope this thing grows! Other than these few tents right outside the front entrance, there wasn't a lot of indication there was an event going on. These kiosks are all over the park, and $3 gets you access to any fluffy bunny in the whole park. You can move your reservation without paying again! (Sorry for the quality on this one; it's the only picture I took of these) The first time you make a new reservation, it has you pay and create a PIN. From then on, when you make a new reservation, you enter the same PIN, and you don't have to pay again. This photo I'm particularly proud of. There was fog on the mountains all day, which was highly visible from Wildfire's observation deck. Simply beautiful. This is also beautiful. I also managed to snag a few construction photos of Fireman's Landing while walking through the park. Lots of steel in place already. You can see the balloon ride over the fence just to the ride of the map poster. THROUGH THE TREES! Play area is coming along nicely. You can see this from quite a long way away. This photo was taken next to the Dockside Theatre, over by the Rib House. But this was a coaster event, after all, and with the rain, everything was a station wait at worst, and even Outlaw Run was a walk-on until late afternoon. Woohoo!

Only time I've ever been stuck was on Superman at Six Flags Great America. We were stuck on the brake run in the flying position for about 15 minutes. It was legitimately difficult to keep my head up, but when I didn't, all the blood would rush. So I had to alternate. On the plus side, we got a free skip the line pass for our suffering, which we all of course used for Goliath!

For all you early planners like me, where are you going next year? I'm already lining up my trips for next year: Absolutely: Silver Dollar City Six Flags St. Louis Probably: Frontier City Bell's Amusement Park Kiddie Park, Bartlesville, OK Adventureland Nickelodeon Universe Valleyfair Zonkers, Olathe, KS Maybe: Arnolds Park Worlds of Fun

Outlaw Run and Goliath both have awesome first drops. Great airtime, great length, and they really give you that "holy crap" feeling. I also particularly liked X-Flight's first drop, especially on the left side, for the sheer novelty of being basically half a loop (yes, it's the only wing coaster I've been on). Props go also to Thunderation; the coaster starts at the top of the mountain and winds down almost like an alpine coaster for a good distance, not traveling upward at all until you hit the bottom of the mountain--so technically the first drop contains a tunnel and a double helix.

I don't believe any track was changed, but River King Mine Train at SFStL had stand-up cars installed in 1984, only to be pulled off after only a few weeks and the original mine train cars re-installed.

It's doubtful I will make it to any of these this year, but I am most interested in Thunderbird. We're going to wait until 2016 to go, though, because I want to see how RMC does Twisted Twins. Won't hurt to give Holiday World a year to work out the kinks, either, since it's a one of a kind ride.

I love the RMC trains, both of them. They have great visibility, the restraints fit you in snugly but comfortably, and they do allow for some airtime (in Outlaw Run's case, lots and lots of it). They're also both very detailed and highly themed. I haven't ridden the Gerstlauer ones, as the last time I went to a Texas SF park was in 2004, but I do like the RMC trains. Except for cosmetic details, both OR's and Goliath's are identical.

Not to mention the Flooded Mine (both parks), the waterboggins (both parks), Grandfather's Mansion/Inventor's Mansion, and past attractions such as the Gandy Dancer and Rube Dugin's Diving Bell at SDC. I'm sure I'm forgetting a number of attractions as well. I know both parks used to have lots of play structures and little side-attractions that were custom as well. The Silver Dollar City Company used to almost be seen as the Disney of the Midwest... Lots of interesting stories behind that era. The park technically wasn't Silver Dollar City yet, but the cable train in Marvel Cave was also designed and built in-house.

Mr. Freeze at Six Flags St. Louis, 1998. Still the best ride in the park.

Outlaw run 5 times yesterday! Rain off and on all day! It really was!

^And it was most definitely there all day yesterday, and loud, in the rain. The park hasn't changed anything; it's just affected by changing weather conditions, that's all.

^ We went there this summer, and I loved it! Meteor is absolutely the most fun I've ever had on a roller coaster. It wasn't the coaster itself--although it is definitely above average--so much as the ride operator who made it so much fun. He was engaged with everyone in line, all the way to the end. The line moved a bit more slowly than if he had just gotten everyone in as fast as possible, but no one seemed to mind at all. I certainly didn't. The line was only about 30 minutes to begin with, and we were all having fun even while in line, so it just didn't matter at all. As for the other coasters, I was actually a bit disappointed by the toboggan. I came off feeling mostly "That was weird." In fact, all three of the coasters that weren't Meteor had jolting drops that should have been airtime hills; good coasters except for that moment of deep bone pain at the end. The main flat ride we were there for was the parachute drop. I had never been on one of those. I rode it with my oldest daughter several times. I like that so many of their rides are equally enjoyable by adults and small children. They have plenty, including a monorail that goes over most of the park, a scrambler, and a tilt-a-whirl. The real treat, though, was the train. It takes you back probably a couple of miles from the park, through some beautiful Wisconsin farmland. The ride lasts a very long time, and you even get to see some exotic animals, such as zebras. In all, we were very glad we took the rather substantial detour when we went up to Chicago. Meteor alone would have been very much worth the trip out there, but the park as a whole has so much more to offer than that.

I rode two new coasters this year, Goliath and Wildcat at Santa's Village Azoosment Park (yes, don't forget Chicagoland got TWO new coasters this year). Goliath was fantastic, easily the best coaster in the park. Can't say enough good things about it. Wildcat was the real surprise. Azoosment Park has more rides for small kids than Great America does, and that was the big draw for us. I've been on Galaxies before, but Wildcat was by far the best I've ever been on. Most of the time you'll find a Galaxi in a county fair or a small amusement park that can't afford anything bigger. So they're usually not as well cared for as they could be, and therefore quite a bit rougher than they should be. Wildcat was awesome! It really showed the potential of the Galaxi model. The first drop was surprisingly fast for not being all that tall, and the helices really gathered speed, rather than meandering as they usually do. Add to that some fantastic landscaping, and brilliant four-car operations keeping the line moving, and Wildcat is a real winner for the park. If you're anywhere around Chicago, go ride Wildcat.

Yep, looked it up and corrected my post above. They apparently changed it from ridiculous to insane. Point is, get the gold pass.

Gold season pass/membership includes parking. Otherwise, $20.

Get the platinum. it's the only one that includes Goliath, and the double rides make it so much better. Goliath and Vertical Velocity are the only rides exempt from double ridng. You'll still spend a short amount of time in line, so getting to stay on a second time really gives you so much more for your money. I got the platinum when we were there this summer, and it was worth every penny.

We're shortlisting the Twin Cities for our summer vacation next year, and I'm wanting some help on what to expect at Valleyfair. We last went to Minnesota in April 2007. Valleyfair wasn't open that early in the season, but we did the Park at MOA. So I'm excited to get to ride all the additional things that have been added since Nickelodeon took over, but since we've been there before, I've got a good idea of what to expect. Valleyfair is a bit less familiar to me. Worlds of Fun is the only Cedar Fair park I've been to, so I'm drawing a bit on my experience there, but I've got a few questions too. Our plan is for a weekday in late July. 1. Fast Lane for Valleyfair seems very cheap. How does it differ from the Flash Pass for Six Flags? Would it be necessary on a weekday in late July? 2. Waterpark Fast Lane--The website doesn't seem to indicate that Fast Lane is available for the waterpark. Is there a different line-skip system like Six Flags has, or is it just not available at all? 3. If Fast Lane is not available for the water park, how are the lines there? Is the waterpark more or less popular than the theme park? I'm especially interested in the new thrill slides, and I imagine the line will be lengthy for those. 4. What are the can't miss/unique rides there? I've ridden everything in Missouri, but not a whole lot outside the state, so even clones are okay if no Missouri park has one. 5. Day trips from the Twin Cities--I'm looking at maybe trying to work Arnolds Park in. Is it worth going? If you've been there, what was your experience like? Are there any other cool things to see within a couple hours' drive from MSP? I've already been to Duluth and I feel I've done all that city has to offer.

Raging Bull. I was really excited to go on this one finally this summer, but it was trimmed so badly that it wasn't even fun. It just started and stopped far too often. I enjoyed X-Flight and Viper much more than Raging Bull. As far as hypers go, I'm sticking with Mamba.

My very first big coaster was Thunderation. It's perhaps a bit unfortunate, though, that I rode the best mine train first, as none of the rest quite measure up. I got to ride it again last weekend, and 20 years on, it's sill great. When properly cared for, these rides can still be fantastic.