thrillseeker4552

^It is nice to hear you had a good time. Knott’s has really turned around for the better in the last 8 years.

I have ridden 9 B&M Inverts with 3 of those being Batman clones (which all feel identical to me). 1. Banshee. I know this ride is a little controversial among Inverts, but I still love it. The first drop is fantastic, several of the inversions have good forces going in and out of them, and the final inline twist is a blast. I also like the restraints and think they work well on an inverted coaster. Oh, and the theme is awesome. 2. Afterburn. I suppose you could say this is my favorite "traditional" B&M Invert. The elements all flow perfectly, the batwing has insane whip, and the final corkscrew tries to rip your legs off. 3. Batman clones. I have ridden three (SFMM, SFGAdv, SFOG) and like them all equally. Super forceful and tons of fun. 4. Great Bear. I think this is the most underrated B&M Invert. The first three inversions are awesome, the lake fly-by is cool, and the final corkscrew has great whip. Yeah it does meander a little, but I like it's unique layout. 5. Raptor. It's a good ride, but there are some parts of the layout I'm not too fond of. The cobra roll is pretty uncomfortable, and the final snap into the brakes is... weird. I will say I love the first drop, loop, and zero-G roll though. 6. Flight Deck. This ride definitely brings the forces and whip of an old-school Invert, but I wish it had a few more elements. It just feels cut short. 7. Silver Bullet. I feel bad putting this one last because it's my most-ridden Invert and first B&M overall, but I will admit the first drop is very tame and the layout doesn't quite bring the "whip" of the '90s layouts. I still think it's a great ride though. Very smooth, awesome overbank turn and zero-G roll, and the corkscrew-helix finale is fantastic. There isn't a B&M Invert I've ridden that I don't like. They're all great, just some more exciting than others.

September 12th is also the day SeaWorld Orlando announced their new coaster, right? That's definitely a day to look forward to now.

And what makes you think they'll do any better of a job timing the dispatches on this one? WCR will almost always race, according to the park. This is for a couple reasons: 1. The “pit stop” feature allows the train to sit and wait for the other train to load, however long that takes. There is no “timing” involved. 2. Syncing up launches is way easier than syncing up lift hills, logically. I think the only time this ride would not race is when it runs only two trains (which will happen eventually as we all know), in that case it would happen every other dispatch.

Vertical construction has started with the transfer/maintenance platform. Photo posted on the KI Blog two days ago. I'm sure some more work has been completed since then. Might I also add that I LOVE the color blue for this coaster. It's going to look fantastic in the skyline.

The boats were modified in April. I don't know the exact reason why, but it probably has to do with people "sliding forward" during the final splashdown and injuring themselves. They are definitely not as comfortable as the old ones, but at least there are still no seatbelts.

It's funny that your wife had almost the exact same reaction to Gold Striker that my mom did. She LOVES GhostRider and the Beast (her two favorite woodies), but both times we rode Gold Striker she said it was the worst roller coaster she's ever ridden and absolutely hated it. I guess intense layouts that are smooth (like GhostRider) are fine, and boring layouts that are rough have their own charm (like Beast), but once you get an intense AND rough layout (like Gold Striker), it's just bad. I actually like Gold Striker, but I do think it's overrated and I see why my mom hated it.

I rode a couple new ones this year, so here is an updated list. 1. Twisted Timbers. This one was the whole package for me. It has the most airtime of the ones I've ridden (those three consecutive hills!) and is ultra-smooth. I also love the barrel roll drop. 2. Twisted Colossus. This is my most-ridden one of the bunch, and yeah it doesn't race very often, but I really love its length and cool elements. It feels like two rides in one. It also has some sweet airtime (particularly the blue side). 3. Railblazer. I LOVE this ride. It's just so wild and feels like it runs with zero friction. The airtime is extreme in the back seat, and the restraints don't bother me at all. 4. Wicked Cyclone. This one is quite similar to Twisted Timbers but just not quite as well-paced. Granted, I rode it in 2016, so it has been a while. I remember extreme airtime all over place, but maybe if I ride it again soon it will get bumped up a few spots. 5. Twisted Cyclone. An AWESOME ride for its size, but aside from the wave turn, nothing on the ride really stood out to me that other RMCs don't do just as well or better. 6. Joker. Still a great ride, but it definitely has the weakest airtime and weakest layout. It's too bad the park still has several operational issues with the ride and just can't get it to run as fast and wildly as other RMCs. I don't even think it's my favorite coaster in the park!

I think there is a difference between recognizing that there is a problem with people getting free food and recommending someone to do it if they want to "save some money" (your words). Two completely different things. Your original post makes it seem like you are endorsing it and suggesting it as an alternative to paying. Just my two cents.

Nice report. I mostly agree with your sentiments. I LOVE Railblazer as well and think Gold Striker is extremely overrated. I will take GhostRider over it in a heartbeat. It's still a solid woodie though. The park is very nice, but like you said, it's simply lacking in major rides. Railblazer, Gold Striker, and Flight Deck is a solid top 3, but after visiting two summers in a row ('18 and '19), I likely won't be back until they get their B&M Hyper. It will happen, one day...

If this park ever adds an RMC (whether that's 2020 or not), I will finally decide to make the 10-hour drive north to visit this park. There just isn't quite enough there at the moment to draw me in. EDIT: Just read their Facebook post and it says an "addition to their entertainment lineup" so I wouldn't get any hopes up.

Really wish I could join you on the 7th as well, but I'm the one that chose to do marching band and our first football game performance is on Saturday. I was at Lagoon today though and like ^ said, there were very mild crowds. I guess people in Utah prefer other activities besides theme parks on Labor Day weekend. Have fun. It's a nice park. I marathoned Colossus the last hour of operation and it was worth every second.

I love Air Race at Lagoon. I imagine adding some height to it will make it even more awesome. Great addition!

Nice report. Do you have any more photos of the trains on the mini-B&M Hyper at Happy Valley? I can't find photos anywhere of the trains and from that one photo above, they look beautiful!

The only coaster that has ever made me gray out is Intimidator 305. I don't experience gray outs on Batman, but they are still stupidly intense rides. I've ridden three (SFMM, SFGAdv, and SFOG) and they all feel absolutely identical in every way to me.

I don't care a single bit that they aren't adding anything new for 2020. Like others have said, West Coast Racers will still be the "new hotness" once next summer rolls around. I'm still very excited for that ride. Holiday in the Park is my favorite time of the year to visit SFMM and WCR being open will make it even better! Let the park breathe a bit. They've had lots of big construction projects in the last few years, often times overlapping. WCR is also a huge project that required tons of "side work" besides just constructing the coaster itself.

If they do repaint a ride, I hope it's Maverick. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it has been painted at all since opening in 2007, and it could definitely use it.

I visited on June 30th and July 1st and it was running two trains both days. Sounds like you just got hit with some bad luck.

This is an awesome addition. I'm sure it will be insanely popular on those hot Texas days. It also appears this is just a one-car version since the animation doesn't show a turntable and RCDB lists it as having one car. Capacity should still be manageable though considering the length of the ride cycle and that it holds 20 people per car.

I'm a little surprised to see no Free Spins this year! They have added at least one every year since the prototype in 2015! I love all of the additions. Obviously SFGAdv and SFOT have the best additions IMO, and both are very welcome rides at their respective parks.

This is great! I'm happy to see SFGAdv get a brand new, custom coaster since the last one was in 2006. The layout looks great and knowing how Wonder Woman and Railblazer run, this thing will HAUL. I'm also glad to see 12-seat trains. This combined with a MCBR (hopefully meaning 4-train operation if there is a continuous station) should give it a slight capacity edge over the other RMC Raptors.

This is a great addition. The park desperately needed a new family coaster after years of thrill rides. It's also refreshing that this is in a new area of the park and NOT themed to a DC character!

If it's a front row ride, Kingda Ka. Any other row and I prefer TTD.

So what are the chances SFMM re-markets West Coast Racers as their 2020 attraction? I'm joking (kinda), but I also think it's totally possible for them to do something like that...

Well I guess there's no denying it now. This will be an excellent fit for the park.