WayCool64

I didn't notice an official single rider line when I was there, they were just asking for single riders out of the standby line. Where were you doing Single Rider? Fastlane line. How does that exactly work though?

So yesterday I rode Railblazer four times during passholder previews. I definitely think it was worth the wait. Despite the length of the lines it actually wasn't too bad. The ride itself was pretty smooth and had a lot of airtime and g forces. But the only thing that made this ride from being a solid 10/10 was the shoulder straps in the restraints. These things are really uncomfortable, especially if you're a tall person with broad shoulders. It's really hard to fully enjoy the ride when the g forces bash and strain your shoulders into the straps. Personally, this is a roller coaster I wouldn't mind riding again, but I don't think I'd ride it more than twice. I give it an 8.5/10. It's an awesome ride, but it's rough on the shoulders.

David Ogden Stiers just passed away at age 75. Some people will either know his work as Major Charles Emerson Winchester on M*A*S*H or as the many different animated characters he played for Disney's films (Cogsworth, Jumba, Governor Ratcliffe, etc.).

Yeah, showed up on the CGA park blog today. As far as I know there was no announcement before this. https://www.cagreatamerica.com/blog/2018/blazing-new-trails-all-around-the-park Also taking out a Planet Snoopy ride, "Snoopy’s Splash Dance". On the plus side, some bathrooms are being renovated and a bunch of midways are being redone. So...there's a lot going on at the park! Damn! The one ride I never rode or cared for that much in CGA, and now I'll never be able to ride it. I knew I should've ridden it last season when I had the chance. Oh well. Let's hope something interesting will take place in its location.

It almost looks like a small model from the picture. I really can't wait to see just how big it is next time I visit!

I've always been kinda interested in doing a TPR trip. But unfortunately, I can't do it this year due to some circumstances I really need to take care of. I hope there'll be another opportunity in the future, because It'd be cool to try out a TPR trip. I wish you guys the best of luck and have a great trip!

While I myself haven't ridden this nor have done VR rides yet, I don't understand why they can't just invest in demolishing the ride and build a brand new and better coaster in its place. I agree that trying to use a gimmick like VR on a bad coaster doesn't make it better, in fact, I'm pretty sure it only makes it even worse.

Much as I'd love to have it ready by opening day, my guess is that it'll most likely open sometime between April and May. Especially when you consider not just the theming, but also the fact that it's one of the first RMC Raptors being built which will probably take an extensive time for testing and make sure that it doesn't constantly break down or something.

Man, that thing's going up faster than I ever expected! I'd be surprised if they get the whole track completed by the end of the month.

I guess that is true. I mean we do have a Toy Story ride in both parks and one of the parks has a bigger Pixar area.

As fitting as it is, the problem with bringing the Iron Man ride to Disneyland is that it probably wouldn't make sense in terms of placement since DCA is getting the Marvel Land in the future.

All animation but...The Incredibles and Big Hero 6? I could totally see a BH6 ride being done in Tomorrowland. Especially with the new series on Disney XD coming out. It's got plenty of potential, even as a possible simulator replacement for ST.

^ This. Very good point made. I do think we shouldn't really argue over which park is better. They're already the two biggest and most well known parks in the NorCal region anyway.

I may be in the opposite spectrum here. I go to CGA more often since it's closer to where me and my family live. We never really go out of our way to go all the way to Vallejo and SFDK for some reason. I only went there twice: once when I was really little and before it was bought by Six Flags, and the last time which was in 2007 I believe, just when it was renamed Discovery Kingdom. I enjoyed it, but because I haven't visited it often as CGA, I can't really say or appreciate much about the SFDK or the way they use its theming. Yes, I do think CGA has been in a bit of a rut between the 90s and 2010s, but like what everyone else has been saying, stuff like Gold Striker, Mass Effect, Railblazer, and the new events are really helping bring new life into this park. I kinda feel like they're trying to return some of its greatness (pun not intended) that was once lost from the Marriott days. I'm still excited to see these new developments coming in the future, most especially the hyper coaster and entertainment district. I feel like CF is really starting to take this park in the right direction, and I still wish them the best of luck.

You have no idea how many people I've met who still call Flight Deck, "Top Gun". Eh, I don't know, I've known a lot of people who confuse CGA for the Six Flags one in Gurnee. Heck, one time my neighbor bought the wrong Great America ticket, just because he wasn't being too careful which park it was. Honestly IMO, as long as they keep the name "Great America" I'm okay with a change of name/title.

That's honestly the most heartbreaking news I've heard this year. I had just learned about David Cassidy not through the Partridge Family surprisingly, but rather the old and very obscure Las Vegas show EFX. I knew he was suffering through dementia recently, but this came as such a shock. It's a real shame I'll never get to meet him now. Since I originally knew him through EFX, I think it's appropriately fitting to use this song from the show in remembrance (which ironically was in a scene where he played a spirit):

It's most likely the space will be used for something related to the waterpark. And I personally think it should be renamed Yankee Harbor since that's what part of the area used to be called when the park first opened, and I feel it'd be an interestingly nice throwback.

Out of all the water rides they could've shut down, they chose this one? I get that maintenance can get a bit expensive with these types of rides, especially given Arrow's no longer around, but there's a perfectly bulldozable Whitewater Falls, which (last I saw) isn't that much wet and doesn't even get that many riders (plus the fact that there's a good amount of space in that area). I really hope something better replaces this (especially given one of the masterplan documents mentioned a new flume ride), but my guess is that they'll just use the space for more Boomerang Bay stuff. Also, why do these parks gotta announce ride closures just a few weeks prior? I've been noticing a pattern with these.

I've often said this. Why is CGA a seasonal park? The Bay area gets zero snow and doesn't even get that cold. I believe once the Masterplan is well into effect and by the time the new entertainment district is built, they'll most likely turn it into a year round park.

It's up now. It looks about the same as last year but they've added Patriot. I was hoping they would do that since it's right up front. Solid move. I'm disappointed that they're not opening Mass Effect during WinterFest again. There are possibilities to utilize it during the event (Especially given that it's a 4D simulator ride that has re-programmable software and the ride itself has a specific theme of a fictional travel agency). I dunno if it's a cost issue or what, but if they have the area open with Delirium running, why not have ME open? Well, at least we have Patriot now along with some of the other rides.

IKR! I was shocked that Cedar Fair was able to get someone like him, and for something like this even. What's next, are they gonna get Lin-Manuel Miranda to record a brand new song for the park? (That'd actually be pretty cool, and I would totally give CGA all my money in support if they could do that.) I believe that it may be a cover of the original song, as that song used to play in both Great America parks when Marriott used to own them, plus in the article written on the blog they said that they were "recreating and recording a new theme song". So we can fairly guess this may be a new cover (which I really hope ends up sounding great).

Apparently, they're really pulling out the punches for Demon Re-Ignited. They're getting Tony Award winning actor James Monroe Iglehart (who was in the Broadway version of Aladdin and Hamilton) to voice the Demon and most likely sing the new song. And according to the new post on Facebook, there's apparently going to be on-ride music. [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]

I created this picture in tribute to Gary Goddard, who developed a lot of amazing theme parks and attractions. As seen in this picture, the man himself is surrounded by some of his work. From Monster Mansion to Jurassic Park, to Spiderman, to T23D. I also included some of his more old and obscure works such as the Conan show that used to be at USH and the mostly forgotten Las Vegas musical EFX. I recently met Gary at Power Con in L.A. last weekend and was able to show this to him. He liked it so much, he asked me to sign a copy of it for him and give it as a gift. It was one of the best experiences I ever had.

Perhaps my greatest moment this year: Getting to meet theme park legend and former Imagineer, Gary Goddard last weekend at Power Con in L.A. (he was there as a guest). It was an experience I'll never forget! Long story short: We pretty much spent most of the day just having some small talk, he was super nice, and he even invited me to come visit his office in the future to discuss some theme park industry related stuff. I also gave him a gift in the form of a picture I worked on, which he really appreciated (I might post that in the artwork thread). He was nice enough to give me his autograph.

The park just started doing a live stream of Railblazer's construction. https://www.cagreatamerica.com/explore/live-video