coasterlvr

i'm not sure i knew this. i thought you were just being a bitch.

stopped by earlier today to check out Ghostrider since it opened back up today or yesterday. the mid course block/trim/brake is in place. i couldn't feel anything going thru it though. you do hear the air pressure released after going thru it. so i'm not sure if it's just super super light, or the fins don't touch at all. but i'd call the ride experience, unaltered. couple rides on it, and on the other big 3 and was out in an hour. crowds were pretty light. ghostrider sent mostly filled trains while i was there from around 2-3. two trains. silver bullet two trains, about half full each time. hangtime and xcelerator maybe one train wait. anyway, just wanted to do a quick report on ghostrider.

a few rides the ops weren't using a microphone and shouting the directions. i thought that was unusual.

green lantern has been down about a year. well, i think so, from what other say. i don't pay any attention to is since i plan to never ride it again. lol neal thurman said at west coast bash that viper is getting a "new control system". but i've also seen pictures with the chain missing. so maybe it's also getting a new chain at the same time. i doubt new trains or retracking. neal also joked about it getting new trains with solid steel over the shoulder restraints.

Yom Kippur holiday. always packed this day.

i don't think i got down the stairs and that candy bar was gone.

great report and pics!

it took me reading this whole hersheypark and looking at all the pictures to remember where the second place i ate that day was. nathan's in the waterpark area. LOL i need an all day body cam with audio to remember half the stuff i did that you're writing about each day, bert.

it's an awesome event, bert. definitely recommended. i think andy said magic mountain was what he expected. or maybe he said a little worse. lol i don't remember. pretty sure at some point within the year there will be a trip report from him. lol

i'm not sure any coaster at magic mountain dispatches in that time.

current of this writing. video taken by robb and comeagain took of our ert on twisted timbers. go pro 360 camera and software allows for this cool perspective.

2:10 "and you guys have Really More Coming in 2020, correct?" hahaha

yeah, both of you.

I can't remember that far back anymore. LOL yeah, those comfort collars were way awkward to get on on tempesto.

Here's a video on Reddit... https://www.reddit.com/r/rollercoasters/comments/9eordo/tatsu_has_new_lightup_wheels_and_they_look_amazing/ corny. put that on Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers.

i know i've seen the house on tv before, but i don't think the one i saw was hoarders. more like some travel type show.

West Coast Bash, Knott's Berry Farm day. Knott's Berry Farm really goes all out for West Coast Bash each year. Knott's day was going to be really, really long. It all started at around roughly 7:30am while pulling into the McDonald's parking lot for an sausage biscuit with egg, hash browns and orange juice. Then, onto parking and to registration. Showed my ID and picked up all my stuff and tried not to lose it instantly. The stinkin' badge... Do you see that? 4 freakin' hours of ERT! That's can you even hang, amount of ERT. Look at this awesome shirt. Next while waiting for the gates to open, Robb snapped a quick group photo. Enter the gates and make your way to your first ride of the day. We chose Hangtime. Well, because new hotness for 2018! Then some Xcelerator, a trip on Supreme Scream, and one on the old goodie, Montezooma's revenge. I think we finished ERT off with a number of laps on Xcelerator. Once the gates opened, we planned to knock out some rides that might have a line during the day. So, the so so popular Pony Express was our destination. Walking to ride Iron Reef, we realized that there was going to be a group photo at 10:30 we forgot about. It being about 10:28 at the time. We made a dash for Wagon Camp. If it said Stunt Show, I would have known exactly where to go. Anyway, we barely made it into the picture. Disaster averted. Some random photos. Before lunch, I needed a snack, so I got one of these... The cookiewich is so good. But, I think I should have loaded up on Lactaid pills beforehand since I believe this is what made my stomach unhappy while trying to rest for day 2. Next up was lunch and games. I always look forward to this at West Coast Bash. Jeff Tucker and Robb did not disappoint and had me laughing as usual. A lot of prizes to be won. I don't remember all what happened, but i kind of remember seeing a dance contest, some trivia questions, and a kid take his bare hand and grab a handful of coleslaw and put it in his pocket. Some of the prizes. I would probably pay for one of those Hangtime road wheels. It would make a cool clock. Although I'm local, I've never watched Mystery Lodge since it opened in 1994. Since it was hot, and we had ridden a ton, a show in air conditioning sounded appealing in the heat of the day. So, Mystery Lodge, here we come. But our first try, we got stuck on the lift hill. So, we had to be evacuated. We came back later to try again, and this time we made it over the lift hill. I don't remember when it was, I think fairly late because it was pretty dark by then, but I took a break and went to rest in my car for a bit. Came back somewhat refreshed to finish out the day with our night ERT session. As in the morning, we rode a lot, but did tap out about a half hour early for the hope of getting some sleep before the next day. Another awesome Knott's West Coast Bash. Thanks to Knott's, Jeff Tucker, Robb, and everyone else involved to make West Coast Bash at Knott's so amazing!

The first time I saw Comfort collars on Tempesto at Busch Gardens(after riding superman at discovery kingdom), I laughed out loud and said "did they REALLY just call those comfort collars?" personally I'd just go with the seat belts... also, i wasn't really thinking when i asked, but i just automatically called them comfort collars. is that a premier term, or busch gardens term? either way, neil knew exactly what i was talking about.

does anyone have confirmation of this? sure, there's a crane onsite, but you can't see what's going on near the former mid course brake run area. jeff tucker is in entertainment and probably wouldn't have had a good answer anyway.

funny, i don't have any recollection of Dare Devil Dive, the actual ride itself. but will always remember what happened at Dare Devil Dive on the TPR Tour. is that a GP next to you? lol, j/k. what up, jeremy? We got invited to a party. A monster party! Also: John, before he learned his s i g n a t u r e m o v e it's still funny to me, but getting pretty long in the tooth. i need to figure out a new one before the next trip/event. That was an amazing ERT to start the tour. Just an awesome ride. Great start to your report, Zach!

Interesting logic. In my experience, Tempesto (comfort collars) was slightly slower loading than Joker's Jinx (seatbelts) - even with BGW's great operations and SFA's not-so-great operations. i thought about it afterwards, not thinking about it much when i asked. i forgot until later when riding YOLO, that its a lap bar, then the flimsy comfort collar is put on after. also, i forgot to mention that West Coast Racers will have a place where you store your crap. you put your crap away before entering the individual rows, then after will be able to pick your stuff up. so, you're not fumbling with crap before getting in to the trains. sounds great and i hope it works that way too!

Um...what? i should clarify just so everyone knows. these were answers or statements directly from Neil Thurman himself. the question to the answer about the giga was..."will there be a net above the parking booths where the RMC T-Rex Giga coaster passes over?"

i think the hit has a delayed response and you forget. lol this time, i also had the restraint loose, instead of tighter since it makes it harder to breath. big mistake, i got thrown around like crazy which made some parts more uncomfortable than normal, i think.

Did you go to West Coast Bash at Six Flags Magic Mountain? Well I did, and, this is most of what I can remember. lol I almost didn't make it. I'm not sure what didn't agree with me, but I suspect it was the, awesome at the time, cookie ice cream sandwich at Knott's. Stomach was not happy the night before during my short 4 hour sleep from the late night before at Knott's. But, by the morning, I felt decent enough that I could make it through the day at Magic Mountain. So, up real early for the 50 plus mile drive from home. Andy, Zack and I made early, and had a couple cars in front of us waiting for parking to open. Got in, walked to the front, and got all our registration stuff. long shadows means it's early! 2 hours of morning ERT is next. Lines? What lines? We don't need no stinkin' lines! Being Sunday, Chic-fil-A the ride, was closed. Andy got this next shot of me about 3 minutes before the concussion hitting last raven turn on X2. Every time I ride it, after getting off, I swear I'll never ride it again. But I really think that might be the last time. At some point during ERT, we made our way to Chop Six for some donuts, muffins and drinks. Stomach still holding up after donuts and orange juice is a good sign. 2 hours is a pretty long time for ERT, even if you have to walk around Magic Mountain to get to different rides. It seemed like forever until we started seeing the general public join us for the rest of the day. We walked around trying to get to things before major lines built up. Andy's first time to Magic Mountain. So, we made sure to hit the large rides as soon as possible that weren't on ERT. Helping Honda, Ninja, Superman, Justice League. This is where I was drained. I took a break and went back to the car and just relaxed a bit in the a/c. I came back about an hour of so later armed with my new drink cup, and Theme Park Review cool towel. Those two items help make the 100 degree weather somewhat more tolerable. Lunch was up next with some photo contest winners and Q&A with Neil Thurman, Park President. Six Flags Magic Mountain park staff excited for more "coaster enthusiasts" questions. Happy Happy Joy Joy!! Neil with the "dude, are you seriously asking me that dumb question?" face. BTW, he was looking at me. Some of the questions were answered that I can remember. Mostly just mine. lol Green Lantern will come back in 2019. The new section formally known as Cyclone Bay will be named, The Underground. Sky Tower isn't coming back. Maintenance can use the elevators that do work, they just aren't cleared for the general guests. Total track length for West Coast Racers is just under 4,000 feet. The "Pit Stop" section on West Coast Racers will have a short and long version depending on dispatch time. You can guess which I'm sure we'll see more of. The comfort collars seen in the animation will definitely be on the ride. The collars will allow the ride not to use seatbelts. Viper is not going anywhere. But, new trains with thick solid steel over the shoulder restraints will be added. The RMC T-Rex Giga Coaster that flies over the parking toll booths will not use nets to protect cars driving under, but, will instead use a tunnel. I'm not sure if the coaster of the cars will use the tunnel. I wasn't paying close enough attention to clarify. After lunch, we mostly walked around while Andy was doing his photography thing. Check out @thegreatzo Once the park closed at 6pm, the park cleared out and the extended time started. It was basically ERT on almost every ride that stayed open. We got a ride on Crazanity, Drop of Doom, then, a number of laps on Twisted Colossus, then finally, Andy's first ride on YOLO to finish off West Coast Bash. Gigantic thanks to Robb, William and Joey for the early mornings getting everything going. Thanks so Neil and the entire Six Flags crew for a great day! We missed seeing Elissa and Kristen this year so pictures from Taste Epcot will have to hold us over until next time. West Coast Bash is awesome, and if you missed out, you're dumb.

that's so weird i didn't even remember that until i found those photos. those were from i think the first year. they had 3 trains for it too. i know i went to an event in 1995 where they ran at least two trains. but yeah, i don't know what's up with that mish mash of parts. lol