rcdude

Unfortunately, it's nothing on that scale. The Fast and Furious attraction is just another addition to the tram tour. From the announcement, it sounds identical to the King Kong segment, which I find disappointing. King Kong 360 3D is probably my least favorite section of the tour, and I'd much rather the route add more backlot time than another gimmicky attraction, as it is a tour after all (on the plus side, it will make holding those 3D glasses for the entire ride slightly less annoying...slightly) The rest of the new developments, however, sound great. Despicable Me seems like it could be the one of the best rides at the park, Springfield was popular in Florida and I'm sure it will complement the Simpsons Ride nicely, and I'm very excited about Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I'm not sure if I'll get to visit the park before 2016 (might try to get there this summer, but if I don't make it I'll probably just wait), but hopefully by then the park will no longer feel insanely overpriced like it currently does. I really like the park, I just can't justify visiting more than once every 3-4 years at the price they charge.

My bottom 5: 5. Quassy Amusement Park-Wooden Warrior is decent, but nothing else at the park is really that great and the place is tiny. 4. Scandia Amusement Park-This one's really more of a family entertainment center, but it does have a full amusement park section so I count it as an amusement park. Similar issues to Quassy, with Screamer being the only worthwhile attraction. 3. Palace Playland-This one is a permanent carnival, so I didn't expect much. Similar to the first two, but without any standout attraction. 2. La Ronde-Here's a legitimate park that is terrible. One train operations, horribly slow and unpleasant ride operators, 45 minute waits even with Gold Flash Pass, unkempt areas in public part of the park, decrepit buildings left to rot, only one good coaster out of ten...the list goes on, but this is definitely the worst major park I've been to by far. 1. Marineland Theme Park-While La Ronde may be the worst park, this is definitely my least favorite park. The place feels trapped in the 80s with outdated attractions by today's standards. Unfortunately, the dozen or so rides are scattered out over an area larger than Cedar Point and the park isn't flat. They do have a few animal attractions to fill in the gaps, but none of them are that interesting. Add in the lack of decent infrastructure (I think there was only one full restaurant in the entire park) and the excessive admission price, and this place just isn't very good.

My Disneyland pass expired, so probably Knott's Berry Farm whenever I feel like visiting next (dependent on school schedule). I haven't gone yet this year despite having a pass. However, if I don't get there in the next month or so, it would be Six Flags Magic Mountain as soon as spring breaks are over in order to ride Batman backward.

It's been a few years since I last visited Vegas (going again this summer), but here's what I remember from my previous trips. Adventuredome isn't in the greatest shape (at least it wasn't when I visited several years ago), but it is kind of a must if you're going for amusement parks as it is the only full amusement park in Nevada. Canyon Blaster is good, El Loco sounds pretty good, but nothing else here is really noteworthy. It's fun for a couple hours, but I wouldn't plan more time than that. Haven't been up here in a long time (when I went up, they only had Big Shot and High Roller). Basically, there are three rides: X-Scream (the teeter-totter over the edge), Insanity (a spinning ride that dangles you off the side of the tower), and Big Shot (a standard Space Shot on top of the tower). The rides are expensive ($15 each), so I'd recommend getting an unlimited pass if you want to ride more than one. If you're looking for an extreme thrill and have the money, the Stratosphere Skyjump (a vertical descent from the top of the tower) looks pretty cool. I've never found the New York, New York coaster to be a terrible ride, just on the lower end of the spectrum and a total rip-off ($14...not worth it IMHO). If you do decide to ride, go early because the coaster can have 45-60 minute waits at night but is usually 10 minutes or less during the day. If you have a car and can get out here it's worth visiting, but I wouldn't rent a car just to go out here. Desperado is a good ride, but it is rough, the log flume is very average, and I don't think Turbo Drop operates anymore (at least it isn't on the website). Note that the rides only operate weekends and holidays outside of the summer and run very limited hours, so be sure to go on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. For amusement parks, the only other place in the area is the Las Vegas Mini Gran Prix, which I've never been to. Vegas.com has a pretty good list of other attractions in and around Las Vegas that might be worth checking out if you want to do something other than gambling. I've always preferred the front car or the middle row of the back car. I definitely would advise sitting in the middle row of a car if possible as the ride is much smoother when you're not over the wheels. To me, it's one of those rides that can be ridden multiple times, but one ride is satisfactory. Usually, I'll stop by and ride once if the coaster is running, but I've only once purchased the wristband (on that particular visit, I did three rides). As far as delays go, I don't remember there being a minimum rider requirement but I do know that they will wait a few minutes between trains when it isn't busy in order to fill it as much as possible. On busier days, note that they only ever run one train (at least when I've been there), so you may encounter a bit of a line.

Only counting parks I've been to, these are the ones I feel are most deserving (no particular order)... Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park Great Escape Holiday World Lake Compounce LEGOLAND California Oaks Amusement Park Wild Waves Theme Park

Major Records: Kingda Ka (Tallest coaster, Largest drop on a coaster, Fastest coaster in the US) El Toro (Largest drop on a wood coaster, Fastest wood coaster, Tallest wood coaster in the US) Full Throttle (Tallest vertical loop) Bizarro, Medusa, Scream!, Viper (Most inversions in the US) Minor Records: Millennium Force (Longest steel coaster in the US) Tatsu (Fastest, Tallest, and Longest Flying coaster) Wicked Twister (Fastest and Tallest Inverted coaster, Largest drop on an Inverted coaster) Riddler's Revenge (Fastest, Tallest, and Longest Stand Up coaster, Largest drop on a Stand Up coaster, Most inversions on a Stand Up coaster) Ninja (Fastest suspended coaster (tie)) Vortex (Fastest suspended coaster (tie), Tallest suspended coaster, Largest drop on a Suspended coaster) Iron Dragon (Longest suspended coaster) Pointless Records: X2 (Fastest, Tallest, and Longest 4th Dimension coaster in the US, Largest drop on a 4th Dimension coaster Most inversions on a 4th Dimension coaster in the US) Alpine Bobsled (Fastest, Tallest, and Longest Bobsled coaster in the US)

All four of those days will probably be about the same crowd-wise. I've never been to the park during this time of year, but as this is spring break time I would expect the park to be fairly busy, though probably not insanely packed as those are weekdays. I would recommend budgeting for Flash Pass, but don't purchase it ahead of time. Instead, wait until the day of your visit and judge crowd levels at the park before spending the money. You will likely be able to do all the coasters without one, but if you want a large number of re-rides you'll probably need either regular or gold Flash Pass (don't invest in Platinum...not worth it). I definitely recommend heading to Full Throttle first, as this is right at the entrance, has long lines all day, and the capacity is pretty poor. Even if you plan to get a Flash Pass, ride this first and then pick up the pass. If you get a Flash Pass, the ride order doesn't really matter, but if not I would recommend going around the park counter-clockwise until you get to Tatsu, then going up over the hill and back around to the front of the park (save Gold Rusher for your second pass). Lex Luthor is a must ride, but I'd skip any other non-coaster attractions until you've done all the coasters (unless they are walk-ons). As for food, nothing at SFMM is particularly great so take your pick and don't expect anything better than the average fast food joint.

In that case I might have to give those rides increased priority. I just can't have a list of 20+ must do attractions and 5 hours to do them as I likely won't finish. For now, I've got a small number of must-do attractions and I'll do everything else (excluding common models) as time permits. Ideally I'd like to spend a full day at the park and do everything (with plenty of re-rides), but that just isn't possible this time. If Cannibal is as good as rumored, however, I may have to make a return trip sooner rather than later. Thanks again for all your help, linearinduction. I'm sure I'll have a great time and I'll be sure to post a trip report to give this relatively obscure park a bit more coverage.

That sounds like a Good Plan of Attack. Did you join Lagoon's Fun Time Club for Discount Tickets? Also don't forget some of Lagoon's other Rides, especially the Dark Rides (Terroride & Dracula's Castle), Samurai, Flying Aces, Rocket, Dino Drop and Lady Bug Bop, and Sky Scraper for a Bird's Eye View of Cannibal Construction. Also, LagoonisFun.com is having an Opening Day Meet Up in the Ensign Terrace, so feel free to bring in a cooler with food and leave it there. If anyone asks who you are, just tell them you are from TPR. I joined the Fun Time Club, but haven't received any email yet and I don't know if I'll have printer access between now and Saturday. If they'll take it, I can always show the coupon on my smartphone but worst case scenario I'll just pay full price (it's still cheaper than my local parks). Don't worry, most of those rides you listed are on my to-do list (not Flying Aces since I've got a flyers at my local park and Dino Drop/Lady Bug Bop are low priority), along with a few others (Centennial Screamer, Air Race, the Wild Kingdom Train, and the water rides if they are open and temperatures are acceptable). Unfortunately, I don't have a cooler and am pretty much trying to maximize ride time, but I'll have a TPR shirt on in case anyone happens to see me and wants to say hi (planning to be there from about 9:45 to 2:30-3:00).

^ & ^^ Thanks for the info and tips. After talking with my dad we're going to plan on going unless the weather is terrible. Hopefully the crowds aren't excessive, but if they are I'll just make the best of it. One last question: Is there any recommended strategy for touring the park? I was thinking it would be best to start in the South Midway, do everything of interest there, then take the Sky Ride to the North Midway and work back down toward the southern end of the park, then check out Pioneer Village, then re-ride as time permits. In other words, the coaster order would be: Wicked, Spider, Wild Mouse, Colossus, Jet Star 2, Bombora, Bat, Roller Coaster, Puff. If there's a better way to do it, let me know. Otherwise, I'll just go with this and I'll try to do a trip report afterward since Lagoon is a fairly obscure park.

I'll likely be going to Lagoon on Saturday since I'll be skiing in Park City this week. Yay for a new park that I'd be unlikely to visit otherwise. Only reason I wouldn't be going would be if the weather is terrible.

How about an episode focusing on the implementation and impact of virtual queue technology and line skip options in theme parks? The episode could cover how Disney came up with and started using Fastpass, then branch off into various other line skipping options (Q-bot, Fast Lane, etc.), and finish by showing where the systems are headed for in the future. It would be really interesting to see how parks have managed to implement these systems without having a negative impact on the average visitor's day and/or how they have affected traffic patterns at major theme parks.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland on Thursday. First new credit of 2014.

Out of all the parks I've been to, these have three coasters I'd consider top tier rides. From best trio to worst trio... Cedar Point: Millennium Force, Maverick, and Top Thrill Dragster (the Intamin Trio) Six Flags Magic Mountain: X2, Tatsu, and Full Throttle (you could also add Goliath for a quartet) Six Flags Great Adventure: El Toro, Nitro, and Kingda Ka Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Griffon, Apollo's Chariot, and Alpengeist (the B&M Trio) Dollywood: Thunderhead, Mystery Mine, and Wild Eagle (haven't actually been on Wild Eagle, so this could be misjudged)

Um, yeah...this game is pretty much Roller Coaster Tycoon in name only. This looks worse than the 3DS version, and that game wasn't very good. If this is the direction Atari is taking the games, then as far as I am concerned this series is dead.

Okay, I've got a couple questions about Lagoon for anyone who frequents the park. It turns out that I'll be in Salt Lake City in a couple weeks for skiing and due to the schedule I could possibly make it to Lagoon on opening day (Saturday, March 29th). However, to justify the trip, I'm wondering... 1. Is everything typically open on opening day? I especially care about the three large coasters (Wicked, Colossus, and the Roller Coaster). 2. How crowded will the park likely be? If I go, I will only be able to stay until mid-afternoon (around 3 P.M.) and I would like to get on all the coasters (Bat and Puff are skippable), the two dark rides, any uncommon flats, and ideally have enough time to re-ride a few rides (at the very least, enough time for a second ride on Wicked). If this is likely not possible, I may just ski on Saturday and try for Lagoon at another time. Hopefully this trip ends up working out, as I'd really like to visit the park. If not, there is a chance I could be in the area in June, but that is less likely.

It ended up being Space Mountain at Disneyland last month.

Wow, those effects on the third lift hill look great. I can't wait until I get a chance to ride this in a couple weeks. It's been too long (last rode BTMR in September/October 2012 despite being an AP). If you would count Space Mountain as a new credit, you should count Thunder Mountain as one too. If you wouldn't count Space Mountain again, don't recount Thunder Mountain. As for me, I consider it a new credit as even though the ride experience will be very similar, the coaster itself is brand new. Personally, I'd consider double-counting Space or Thunder more legitimate than counting a relocated coaster at multiple locations.

Glad to hear that Namtab is going over well so far. I really hope this is around for a bit as I may not get a chance to visit until May. Although I'm not a huge fan of backward coasters, it will at least be an interesting experience.

I typically start at the Boardwalk and go counter-clockwise around the park. For coaster order, that would be Xcelerator, Boomerang (skip if you don't care about credits), Coast Rider, Pony Express, GhostRider, Silver Bullet, Sierra Sidewinder, Montezooma's Revenge, Xcelerator. Other than coasters, the only must ride attraction is the Timber Mountain Log Ride, but assuming you aren't pressed for time I'd also recommend riding Supreme Scream and the Calico Mine Ride (if it is open by the time you visit). For flat rides, if you've never been on that model ride it, but otherwise skip unless there isn't a line. Depending on when you're visiting, you could encounter anything from walk-ons to 1 hour waits for major attractions (possibly longer during holiday weekends), but if you plan a full day you should definitely be able to get everything done (don't purchase Fast Lane...rarely worth it at this park and doesn't include Xcelerator). Finally, be prepared for some major changes, as the park today is nothing like what it was when you were young (don't worry, it's still a good park, just different).

As a local, I visit most of these parks regularly, so here's my take. If you just want rankings, look at the bottom of the post. Disneyland: Of all the Southern California parks, this is the only one I would consider travel-worthy on its own (well, this and DCA combined). Disneyland is a great park with a number of attractions not found at any other Disney park (at least in the US). You could easily spend two days here and not run out of stuff to do, especially if it is a new park and/or you have never visited WDW. Unless you are only looking for coasters, I would not recommend visiting Southern California for parks and not spending a day here. Disney California Adventure Park: Disneyland's sister park, DCA is still riding the popularity wave from Cars Land and its entire refurbishment. While the park has just as good of an attraction selection as Disneyland (including a better collection of thrill rides) and now features enough for a full day, I wouldn't recommend spending a day here over a day at Disneyland. If you want to do this park, either do both parks in one day or spend both days at the Disneyland Resort. Knott's Berry Farm: Knott's is a nice park, one I would definitely recommend. The park does have a good coaster collection (although the only top tier coaster is Xcelerator), some very historical rides (namely the Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride), and overall is just a nice place to spend a day. However, for the well-traveled enthusiast it probably isn't the best option as most of the park's other rides are fairly standard. LEGOLAND California: LEGOLAND California is geared towards kids, and while there is still plenty for adults to do it is more of a niche park. Unless you are really into Legos, it is hard to justify spending more than a half day here. The park does have a number of unique attractions, but keep in mind that a thrill ride by LEGOLAND standards would be a family ride by Disneyland standards. Universal Studios Hollywood: This park is really annoying because they have some of the best attractions in the area (in fact, there isn't a bad ride at the park), but there just isn't enough there to justify the cost. I prefer to think of this place as more of a tourist attraction than a theme park. If you've been to Universal Orlando, I do not recommend wasting time here, but if you haven't been and can find a discount it is worth a visit. Just remember that you'll spend more time watching shows than riding rides here. SeaWorld San Diego: In my opinion, this is actually one of Southern California's better parks just because of the setting and unique attractions. Unfortunately, it is quite a bit of driving to day trip it from the LA area and is somewhat overpriced (though not as badly as USH). I would definitely recommend this park if your trip brought you to San Diego, but otherwise it's probably not worth the drive. Six Flags Magic Mountain: I do not understand all the hate that this park gets. Yes, the park has issues (including lack of non-coaster rides, below average operations, and poor upkeep in some areas), but I still think it is a better park than many other Six Flags properties and I have yet to find a park with a better coaster selection. Apocalypse, Full Throttle, Goliath, Riddler's Revenge, Tatsu, X2...most parks would be lucky to have one of these, and SFMM has all six. If you are looking for a day full of riding coasters, SFMM is your park. Overall, I would rank the Southern California parks in the following order: 1. Disneyland 2. Six Flags Magic Mountain 3. Universal Studios Hollywood 4. SeaWorld San Diego 5. LEGOLAND California 6. Knott's Berry Farm 7. Disney California Adventure Park Since you only have two days for parks, I would recommend spending one day at the Disneyland Resort (your choice: both parks or just Disneyland) and one day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. None of the parks in Southern California are bad choices, but I think these are probably the most worthy parks for a traveling enthusiast.

I spent today doing this instead of my homework (fortunately that isn't due until Tuesday). Here's my complete ballot (all 105 of them), reordered for a better reading experience: --rcdude@cox.net------ LOCATION IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN BALLOT) ~"California" NAME IN NEXT LINE (Please LEAVE THIS LINE IN THE BALLOT) ~"AJ Hummel" RANK THE FOLLOWING RIDING SENSATIONS <-LEAVE Abrupt Airtime_____________________________,y,y,2 Floating Airtime___________________________,y,y,1 Lateral Forces_____________________________,y,y,6 Out of Control Feeling/Directional Changes_,y,y,3 Positive G's/Loops_________________________,y,y,5 Sensation of Speed_________________________,y,y,4 COASTER NAME PARK LOC <-LEAVE Bizarro SF New England MA,y,n,1 Favorite Wood Coaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,2 Tatsu Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,3 Maverick Cedar Point OH,y,n,4 Top Thrill Dragster Cedar Point OH,y,n,5 Nitro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,6 Millennium Force Cedar Point OH,y,n,7 Leviathan Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,8 Intimidator Carowinds NC,y,n,9 Griffon Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,10 Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,11 Ride of Steel Darien Lake NY,y,n,12 Full Throttle Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,13 Afterburn Carowinds NC,y,n,14 Volcano: The Blast Co Kings Dominion VA,y,n,15 XCelerator Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,16 Alpengeist Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,17 Mystery Mine Dollywood TN,y,n,18 Medusa SF Discovery Kingd CA,y,y,19 Goliath Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,20 Raptor Cedar Point OH,y,n,21 X2 Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,n,22 California Screamin' Disney CA Adventur CA,y,y,23 Dominator Kings Dominion VA,y,n,24 Behemoth Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,25 Kingda Ka Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,26 Manta SeaWorld San Diego CA,y,n,27 Goliath La Ronde Parc Amus QC,y,n,28 Riddler's Revenge Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,29 Magnum XL-200 Cedar Point OH,y,n,30 Fav Schw Shuttle loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,31 Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion VA,y,n,32 Vortex Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,33 Tennessee Tornado Dollywood TN,y,n,34 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,n,35 Batman The Ride/Clone SF & Other Parks **,y,y,36 Fav Intamin Impulse Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,37 Space Mountain Disneyland CA,y,y,38 Crush's Coaster Walt Disney Paris FR,y,n,39 Superman: Escape From Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,40 Mr. Freeze Reverse Bl Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,41 Superman - Ultimate F Six Flags Parks **,y,n,42 Space Mountain Disneyland Paris FR,y,n,43 Flight Deck California's Great CA,y,y,44 Silver Bullet Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,45 Scream! Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,46 Bizarro Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,47 Flight of Fear Kings Dominion VA,y,n,48 Batman - Dark Knight SF New England MA,y,n,49 Gemini Cedar Point OH,y,n,50 Matterhorn Bobsleds Disneyland CA,y,y,51 Revenge of the Mummy Universal Studios CA,y,n,52 Big Thunder Mountain Disneyland CA,y,n,53 Fav X SC2000 Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,54 Loch Ness Monster Busch Gardens Will VA,y,n,55 Sierra Sidewnder Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,56 Revolution Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,57 Fav Gerstlauer Spinn. Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,58 Desperado Buffalo Bill's Res NV,y,n,59 Avalanche Kings Dominion VA,y,n,60 Superman Ultimate Fl. SF Discovery Kingd CA,y,y,61 Journey to Atlantis SeaWorld San Diego CA,y,n,62 Viper Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,63 Fav Vekoma Boomerang Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,64 Fav Wild Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,65 Scandia Screamer Scandia Family Fun CA,y,n,66 SkyRider Canadas Wonderland ON,y,n,67 Fav Loop-Screw Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,68 Hi-Miler Traveling US,y,n,69 Dragon Mountain Marineland Theme P ON,y,n,70 Green Lantern:1st Fl. Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,71 Backlot Stunt Coaster Cedar Fair Parks **,y,n,72 Green Lantern Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,73 Fav Zamp. Motocoaster Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,74 Fav Powered `Coaster' Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,75 Ninja Six Flags Magic Mo CA,y,y,76 Anaconda Kings Dominion VA,y,n,77 Mantis Cedar Point OH,y,n,78 Fav Galaxi Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,79 Vortex Carowinds NC,y,n,80 Canyon Blaster Adventuredome NV,y,n,81 Fav Arrow Mine Train Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,82 Quicksilver Express Bonfante Gardens CA,y,y,83 Roller Coaster New York New York NV,y,n,84 Pony Express Knott's Berry Farm CA,y,y,85 Ice Mountain Bobsled Enchanted Forest OR,y,y,86 Indiana Jones et le t Disneyland Paris FR,y,n,87 Fav Intamin Bobsled Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,88 Skull Mountain Six Flags Great Ad NJ,y,n,89 Shockwave Kings Dominion VA,y,n,90 Fav Vek Susp Loop SLC Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,91 Viper Darien Lake NY,y,n,92 Big Timber Log Ride Enchanted Forest OR,y,y,93 Ninja Six Flags St. Loui MO,y,n,94 Iron Dragon Cedar Point OH,y,n,95 Vortex California's Great CA,y,y,96 Le Cobra La Ronde Parc Amus QC,y,n,97 Fav Zamperla Volare Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,98 Fav Zyklon Loop Any Park Anywhere **,y,y,99 Santa Monica West Coa Pacific Park CA,y,n,100 Fav Eurofighter 320+ Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,101 Fav Vekoma Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,102 Fav Arrow Corkscrew Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,103 Fav Spinning Mouse Any Park Anywhere **,y,n,104 Dark Knight Six Flags Parks **,y,n,105 I think the only new coasters I added this year were Full Throttle and the Oregon coasters. 2013 was a pretty light year for me. This year, however, has the potential to be my biggest ever (in terms of new credits).

I hate the smell of smoke and being subjected to it, but I don't specifically dislike smokers (as long as they are considerate) nor think they should be banned from theme parks. A clearly marked designated smoking area far enough out of the way that non-smokers never need enter it or smell it but not so far removed as to be a major inconvenience is the best solution in my opinion. At smaller parks one or two are fine, at larger parks having one per area or so is sufficient. As far as enforcement, I feel that someone who lights up on a midway should be asked to put it out and directed to a smoking area, as an immediate ejection is a bit harsh. However, if someone lights up in a line or any other crowded space where those around them are forced to breathe in the smoke that should be an automatic ejection, especially if there are no smoking signs in the general vicinity. Also, the policy needs to apply to all types of smoke-emitting devices without exception. I actually had an unpleasant experience with a smoker yesterday at Disneyland. While waiting for the tram, someone decided to use an e-cigarette in the holding area (one of the scented ones), and just based on the comments of those around me everyone nearby could smell it (there were a few good ones, such as people saying Disneyland pumps out the smell of food to make people hungry so they will buy more in the park). I was even more surprised that not a single cast member ever asked them to put it out, which considering it was a two/three tram wait there were several that came by.

I was at the park today and every time I walked by BTMR it was running. I watched it during lunch and trains were coming by every 90 seconds or so. With cast member previews coming up very soon, I'm guessing it will be in the soft opening phase within a couple weeks and fully operational by the start of spring break season. Other random notes from today: -Overall today was a good day at the park. Crowds inside Disneyland were almost non-existent outside of Fantasyland in the morning (only Star Tours had more than a 5 minute wait), and even at DCA and later in the day most attractions were posting 15-20 minute waits (only majors I saw longer waits for were Toy Story Midway Mania and Radiator Springs Racers). The downside of today was that a number of attractions are still in refurbishment, so several attractions I typically do (most notably Splash Mountain and Soarin' Over California) were not open. -I was surprised Indiana Jones Adventure was running today as the ride had a major show quality issue: there wasn't a single light on in the Chamber of Destiny. You just turned the corner and it was pitch black until the doors opened. The audio still worked, but I'd feel sorry for anyone who got this as their first time on the ride. -Randomly got drenched on the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Seriously, I got almost as wet on it as I did on Grizzly River Run later in the day. Getting sprayed a bit isn't uncommon, but I don't think I've ever gotten a real splash on the ride before. -One of the cars in front of me broke on Autopia and created a 20 car pileup in the middle of the ride. Quite funny as I happened to be riding right around rush hour. Also got into a race with a guy on the track next to me (I lost). -Over at DCA, Radiator Springs Racers seemed to have a large number of malfunctioning effects. Unfortunately, that ride seems to have minor issues quite frequently. -Random uninformed GP quote of the day: "Space Mountain has two tracks, but one isn't used anymore because it broke and a car flew off."

Assume I've ridden all major coasters in the following states unless otherwise noted. California: Tatsu Connecticut: Boulder Dash Indiana (only Holiday World): Voyage Maine: Excalibur Massachusetts: Bizarro Missouri (only Six Flags St. Louis): American Thunder Nevada: Desperado (formerly Speed-The Ride) New Hampshire: Yankee Cannonball New Jersey: El Toro New York (excluding Coney Island): Ride of Steel North/South Carolina: Intimidator Ohio (only Cedar Point): Maverick Oregon: Ice Mountain Bobsled Pennsylvania (only Conneaut & Waldameer): Ravine Flyer II Tennessee: Mystery Mine Virginia: Griffon Washington: Timberhawk: Ride of Prey Depending on what happens this summer, I could end up having a few new states and a couple changes.