thrillseeker4552

Yeah, if Six Flags makes a 2021 announcement video, I think we all should assume it just points out the delayed 2020 rides and no more. The only park that I see being an exception is Magic Mountain.

^That makes sense. It was definitely a great move for them. The event ran very smoothly and it seems like it is paying off for them. I anticipate they will continue the event as long as the park is closed, even though it only says until mid-September for now.

I visited the Taste of Knott's event today with my family. Overall we had a great time, and the food was quite good. I haven't been able to visit the Boysenberry Festival for the last three years since I am always away at college in Utah during the spring. So in a weird way, COVID has allowed me to finally go to a Knott's food festival since high school! I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of compliance with park rules regarding face coverings and social distancing. Except when people were eating/drinking (obviously), I saw almost 100% mask compliance. It seems like people are happy to be back at the park and willing to follow all guidelines for some great food. My favorite tastes were the boysenberry meatballs, the chicken and waffle, and the brisket-slaw sandwich. All so good! Unfortunately I didn't take photos, but the website has several photos of the food options. With that being said, it was a little odd to have almost the entire park open, but no rides running. It was eerily quiet! The only sections of the park closed were the southwest corner (near the theatre and bumper cars) and Camp Snoopy. If you ask me, it is strange that the state is allowing the park to operate like this, but they still cannot open rides. It honestly felt like a normal day at the park in terms of crowds, just no rides running. I wonder what the difference is. The risk of COVID can't change significantly if the rides were open. But I know the park is doing the most they can and complying with the state. I bet they want to open their whole park just as much as we do. Oh well. I still had a great time. If you're a local and are missing the park, I highly recommend the event. The food and atmosphere is great. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before they can fully open. Based on what I can see in terms of closed off seats on rides, distancing markings in queue lines, and more, I have a feeling they are ready as soon as the state/county gives them the go ahead.

^I can totally see where you're coming from. If SFMM weren't a year-round park, I would feel the same way. But given that it can basically open at any time in the year, we figured we may as well keep paying. Although their original deal was that if you keep paying, you get a free upgrade to the next tier membership until the end of 2020. But given that I could easily see SFMM staying closed for the rest of the calendar year, I wonder if they will modify that deal.

Great reports! I am glad to see a generally positive review of SFA. That park seems to be the punching bag of Six Flags. I am a pretty big critic of Firebird, but I also only rode it once in the front seat. Perhaps riding it a few times in different seats would've changed my opinion of it. But to be honest, we just wanted to book it as soon as possible and head to Kings Dominion! I will admit that I am a big fan of Joker's Jinx though (and Poltergeist for that matter). Those two are infinitely better than both Flight of Fears and it baffles me why.

Great news! It was definitely starting to fade.

Here is a photo of Lagoon's new ride that I took during my visit (July 31). I forgot I had taken it when it wrote up this^ mini report. This was taken from the park's ferris wheel. They allow bags and phones on that attraction. It looks like there are foundations and supports outside the "mountain," so this coaster will definitely be partly outdoors as well. I just thought I'd share.

I try to always take Screamscape with a grain of salt, but SFMM still getting the RMC Raptor in 2021 doesn't seem too far fetched. They didn't have any planned 2020 attractions, and given that there is track at the RMC shop, and that it was likely purchased/planned before the pandemic, it makes sense. Maybe if they try to get started on it while the park is still closed, it won't have to open in January 2022! The S&S air launched coaster is interesting too. Who knows where that would go (if it's even real). I thought August this year would be a total bust since everybody is just delaying 2020 stuff, but maybe we actually have something to look forward to? I'm keeping my expectations low for announcements. But maybe there is a glimmer of hope for some new (not delayed) 2021 stuff.

Nice report. I am happy to see BGW "open" in compliance with Virginia's strict restrictions. I guess some coasters are better than none!

Yep. This has been my mentality since, like, May. I visited Lagoon recently because I was in the area and have a pass, but in terms of California, I have no expectations. We went to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons this summer instead of theme park travel. And it was frickin' awesome.

I have found this especially true for Floorless coasters. Empty train vs full train, front row vs any other row, and inner seats vs outer seats really makes a difference on those.

^I suppose I included Diamondback because my opinion of it isn't too great. Of course I enjoy the ride (I find a way to have fun on basically every coaster I ride), but everything after the MCBR is a dud for me, and it definitely has the most rattle on a B&M Hyper I've ridden (theming? lol). But as always, smoothness can vary year-by-year, train-by-train, and even seat-by-seat... so this is all totally subjective based on my 2014 and 2017 rides. I guess I got lucky with Banshee and unlucky with Diamondback. And I agree about Beast too. I don't think anybody expects it to top their list, but the quality of experience can definitely vary depending on your seat.

I find it interesting how polarizing Orion has already become. Some people say it blew away expectations and is more forceful and intense than expected, and others say it's rattly, not intense, and underwhelming. Oddly enough, I think these same polarizing opinions also exist for Diamondback and Banshee. When I visited in 2017, Banshee was my favorite in the park. Diamondback was in pretty rough shape. I'm hoping to visit again in 2021, and I am now very interested to try out Orion.

^That makes sense for them to hold off on the announcement for now. I guess I'm just used to the Cedar Fair that teases rides quite well and makes it obvious they are adding a new coaster, but of course, nothing is normal right now in the industry. I suppose they could announce it later this fall. With that being said, there is green Free Spin track currently on site. So whether it's for 2021 or 2022... it's happening!

While disappointing, this is not surprising. The wording in their message makes me think the Free Spin is actually a 2022 addition. It is already August, and given that they listed out things to look forward to in 2021, you think they would at least mention an announcement if they plan on adding this for next year.

Great reports! Dang, I miss traveling. I am looking at doing a similar trip next summer that would include SFGAm, Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, Kings Island, and Cedar Point. Mostly because I NEED to get on Voyage sooner or later. That is by far my biggest bucket list coaster in the U.S. that I haven't ridden (even moreso than Steel Vengeance). We seem to have similar tastes in woodies. Mystic Timbers didn't do much for me when I rode it in 2017.

My sister and I visited Lagoon on Friday for the first time during the pandemic. It was our first theme park visit since Knott's on March 7th, so we were eager to get on coasters. I thought I would write a mini-report (no photos) about our experience with their policies and operations, since they have been open for over two months now. Generally speaking, I felt safe. The park was not crowded at all, so maintaining physical distancing was not difficult. It was 100 degrees on Friday (probably the hottest day I have ever had at Lagoon), but I didn't have any issues with wearing my mask. I kept it on all day, except when eating/drinking, however the park only requires masks to enter the park and while in queue lines. Most people took them off on the rides and while walking the midways. We kept ours on for all the coasters and didn't encounter any issues with them falling off or slipping. I think we were so excited to ride some coasters again, we kind of forgot about the heat and the masks on our faces. But I am 21 and my sister is 14, both healthy and able, so I can definitely see how a crazy hot day with a mask can affect other people with different abilities. Luckily the park has plenty of shade and places to sit and take off your mask. I wish it was always this empty! It was actually very nice. Now onto the rides. I know when the park first reopened back in May, they were spacing out rows on coasters. This is no longer the case. It seems they are simply putting one party per row. For the coasters that sit 2-across, this means most seats were filled. For Wicked and Cannibal, this means one party per row. So my sister and I had the row to ourselves on the 4-across coasters. Aside from Roller Coaster and Colossus running one train (they usually have 2), operations felt like a pretty normal day at the park - just no single rider lines and more empty seats than normal on the coasters (especially Wicked and Cannibal). Oh, and Jet Star II is closed, and probably will be for the entire season is my guess. Overall a great day at the park. I was excited to break my almost 5-month coaster hiatus. Hopefully parks in California can reopen soon with new policies and procedures. I felt way more safe outdoors in an almost-empty theme park, in the heat, riding coasters with the breeze blowing than I do crammed in a Wal-Mart or restaurant.

Happy to say that I finally ended my coaster hiatus from COVID. Went to Lagoon yesterday and Cannibal was my last ride. It felt great to ride some rides again. Nothing since March 7th!

I can’t remember if I ever posted this or not, but I have had this exact same thought before. Honestly though, comfort collars on FT wouldn’t be a big issue IMO. Comfort collars become an issue on moments with extreme laterals (such as the high five on WCR, or the vertical twists on Sky Rocket II models). Full Throttle is mostly vertical forces and smooth transitions. I don’t think there is any moment on the ride where it would be uncomfortable. I wouldn’t mind it if it helps dispatches.

I will admit that I was *interested* to see Intamin take on several concepts that other manufacturers have tackled. It looks like their version of a single rail, a PowerSplash, and a Sky Rocket II. That Gigasplash looks wild though. But I will never complain about more competition in the industry. Intamin just usually goes off on their own path and inspires other manufacturers, not vice versa. I still love and worship Intamin and look forward to any of these getting built! Probably Energylandia.

For steel coasters, I have to go with Apolcaypse/Firebird. Rode it as Apocalypse in 2016 and hated it. Rode it again in 2019 in hopes it improved as a floorless, and it was somehow worse. For wooden coasters, Mean Streak was bad. But I also think Beast and any of those 3 bench woodies from the '70s are pretty bad, especially in a wheel seat.

This is exactly how I feel about Rougarou. I wonder how long they will hold onto that coaster. It doesn't even compare to the park's other three B&Ms in terms of ridership. It sits on some nice land that, when combined with the former STR plot, could be some prime real estate for the park. But I also imagine it's relatively easy to maintain (when compared to the park's Intamins), and it's not a terrible ride either. It's just SO easy to ignore when it's literally across the midway from one of the world's greatest and most iconic coasters. It definitely is in an awkward phase of life right now.

That's a nice surprise to see that SFFT's new addition will open this year. Good for them!

Update... Ended up staying home in California all summer due to Ms. Rona. Next park will still be Lagoon, at the end of August. Although I will be riding my first alpine coaster next week, if that counts?

West Coast Racers, #230 for me.