rcdude

Giant Dipper is probably my favorite classic woodie as while it isn't the most intense ride it is really fun and very smooth for its age, plus it has a great setting right on the beach. Definitely a must ride on a Northern California trip.

Coast Rider at Knott's Berry Farm when I last visited a couple weeks ago.

I didn't get to ride GateKeeper, but based on what I've heard it is an underwhelming ride. I've ridden Full Throttle several times and I consider it to be one of California's best coasters (and my second favorite at SFMM), so it gets my vote. Based on what I've heard, GateKeeper was the big disappointment for 2013 and Full Throttle the surprise hit, so it will be interesting to see how this poll turns out.

Current: Knott's Berry Farm Season Pass Six Flags (Magic Mountain) Thrill Pass Disneyland Resort Southern California Select Annual Pass (may not renew this one when it expires in March) Former: Universal Studios Hollywood 3-Day Pass (got one in summer 2011, only used two visits and didn't feel the need to get another)

2013 was a pretty dull year for the industry. Despite 30 new coasters in the US, I can think of only five I really cared about (Full Throttle, GateKeeper, Gold Striker, Iron Rattler, and Outlaw Run). Unfortunately, my travel was fairly limited this year, and although I got around ten new credits most were the unremarkable coasters of Oregon and Washington. I did, however, ride California's three new for 2013 coasters (well, the three that actually opened). Coast Rider: Just a normal wild mouse, nothing special. A nice fit for Knott's but not something anyone living more than 50 miles from the park is going to care remotely about. Full Throttle: I never expected this to be a bad ride, but I always thought it would probably be a second tier coaster among SFMM's collection. Turns out it's my second favorite coaster at the park and one of the best additions of 2013. Gold Striker: I'm glad to see that Northern California finally has a travel worthy coaster (Giant Dipper does not count). This ride exceeded my somewhat high expectations and despite the difficulties I think it could mark the turning point for California's Great America. Undertow: All I have to say is that I should have been able to ride this but wasn't, and based on the fact that it still hasn't opened I have to call this ride a fail. Regardless of whether it is the manufacturer, the park, the state, or a combination of all three that is causing the delays it is unacceptable for a coaster of this size to be this far behind schedule.

El Loco is looking like a great ride. It's nice to see there'll be at least one above average coaster in Vegas, and even though a standard layout would be good this looks like it could be even better. Perhaps I'll need to stop by the Adventuredome on my ski trip in January (time permitting, as we've got to get from Orange County, CA to Salt Lake City, UT in one day), but if not I'm planning a trip to Vegas this summer to ride it.

I may be wrong, but to me Double Shot's restraints seemed more restrictive than any other S&S tower I've been on. When I rode this past summer, I was barely able to get the belt buckled while on every other S&S tower I've ridden there is always at least a couple inches of slack. Perhaps it is due to the strong airtime at the top, but I've been on other Double Shots with more intense airtime that were less restrictive.

I've been on either 37 or 38 depending which Revenge of the Mummy is being counted (I've been on California's but not Florida's). Some of those choices are questionable at best, but the list seems to pull from new/notable coasters as opposed to best coasters.

I would like to do Texas, but I kind of hope it isn't chosen for 2014 because I'll then be forced to choose between that and Mini New Hotness (I can't do both). At least that's not a bad problem to have as I'll be on a trip either way. As for the other two, I live in California so West Coast has no interest to me. Pacific Northwest is one I would have been interested in before, but after visiting three of the five parks on the trip this year and having no desire to return to them my interest in the trip is much less, and it being the most expensive of the one week trips doesn't help. For anyone considering it, however, even though all the parks are small up there, the Pacific Northwest has some very interesting ones.

A couple good ones I heard at Disneyland last week (all Disneyland related conversations between random guests)... In line for Space Mountain: (Safety Video: Space Mountain is a thrilling, high speed roller coaster type ride in the dark...) Guest 1: "So this is a roller coaster type ride, not an actual roller coaster?" Guest 2: "No, it's only a simulated roller coaster." In line for Astro Orbitor: Guest 1: "What movie is this ride based on?" Guest 2: "I don't think it's based on a movie." Guest 1: "Everything at Disneyland is based on a movie. Some are just really obscure." Also overheard this from someone who appeared to be a Disney fanatic (talking to one of their friends): "Have you tried the new Flying Thru California ride over in Adventureland yet? I heard it's pretty good." Finally, from someone I rode Mickey's Fun Wheel (swinging cars) with: "I'll ride any coaster at Six Flags no problem, but I ain't ever doing that again."

I wouldn't necessarily consider Gwazi a ride fail as to my knowledge the problems were primarily due to the park not taking proper care of the attraction. As far as I know, the ride has operated fairly consistently since 1999, so it's hard for me to say it was a major roller coaster fail unless the ride has always been as bad as it currently is (I've never been on it, so I wouldn't know). A fail by BGT, yes, but not a fail by GCI in my opinion. When I think of a ride fail, I think of something that was an issue from day one, never operated consistently, never lived up to the hype, and was retired far sooner than it should have been. Rides like Hypersonic XLC, Son of Beast, Drachen Fire, Windjammer Surf Racers, etc. are what I would consider huge failures. Even the Deja Vu trio was a failure to some degree as they all had serious operational issues, although they all still exist somewhere and were prototypes.

I wouldn't say I hate any of these, as the very few coasters I truly hate are the ones with terrible designs that nobody likes. Rather, I would say I don't get how these rides end up on top 25 lists with some frequency as none of them are rides I would consider travel-worthy (although they are mostly still decent rides). Wooden Warrior: I know a ton of people love this ride, but to me it was little more than a family coaster. I enjoyed the ride, but it was super short and just wasn't that impressive in my opinion. Raven: This was actually my least favorite of Holiday World's three wooden coasters. It could be because I rode it last of the three, but I just found it tame compared to Voyage and Legend. American Thunder: This ride is actually one of my least favorite GCI coasters. It's not bad or anything, it just wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Comet (Great Escape): Another coaster that simply didn't live up to the hype for me. Granted, I only rode it in the morning before it had a chance to properly warm up, but in my opinion if a ride only delivers a top quality ride under certain conditions it doesn't deserve a top rating. Intimidator 305: Yes, I did only ride it in its opening year with the brake on the drop, but I still don't see how a coaster with mostly turns is one of the best in the world. Perhaps a lot of people like the high positive g forces and quick directional changes, but it's just not my thing. I'd personally take any Intamin or B&M mega coaster over Intimidator 305, but I know few others have this opinion.

This new Ratatouille ride looks great, possibly the best attraction at the whole Disneyland Paris resort. Even though Walt Disney Studios is my least favorite major park, this ride looks good enough to get me to return to the park. Granted, I'd have to be visiting France or at least Europe in the first place, but I'd add in a day or two at Disneyland Paris just to try this (and anything else they add by the time I next visit). I hope Disney will install trackless dark rides in Florida and California in the near future. They seem like the best types of dark rides out there.

If Carowinds is indeed getting a Giga Coaster, I would bet that it is either B&M or Intamin. Personally, while I do think Leviathan was a great ride and wouldn't mind seeing a similar ride built I don't think it should go to Carowinds. It felt redundant to have two very similar rides at Canada's Wonderland and the same thing would happen at Carowinds as they already have Intimidator. An Intamin Giga, on the other hand, would be a great fit for the park as they don't currently have anything quite like that (or any Intamin coaster for that matter).

Silver Bullet at Knott's Berry Farm on Sunday. We left before night ERT, but the ride was a walk-on when we stopped by on the way out.

After WCB I'm at: Local Parks: Knott's Berry Farm x8 Disneyland x4 Disney California Adventure Park x3 Six Flags Magic Mountain x2 Other Parks: Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park Six Flags Discovery Kingdom California's Great America Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Wild Waves Theme Park Oaks Amusement Park Enchanted Forest For the rest of the year, I'll be mainly getting more visits to Knott's and the two Disney parks. I might get additional visits to SFMM as well. The only park not listed above that I may still visit this year is Universal Studios Hollywood, but that would only be if visiting relatives want to go.

Thank you Robb, Elissa, and all the people involved at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm for another great West Coast Bash. I had an excellent time at both parks, and even though I visit SFMM several times a year and Knott's about once a month I still stayed for a full day at each (although I left before night ERT at both parks) and never ran out of stuff to do. I do have to be completely honest about SFMM, however...while the event was a lot of fun and still much better than a normal day at the park, it has become a shadow of what it was a couple years ago. I hope next year the park will give us a full presentation and/or some type of backstage tour, as it is difficult for me to justify the cost of a (mostly) ERT event when I can visit the park in the offseason and ride with no lines anyway. Knott's Berry Farm, on the other hand...best one day event ever! I didn't think the park could top last year's event, but they did. The backstage tours were worth the price of admission alone (The Log Ride tour in particular was fantastic) and the Q&A session was very entertaining. Even as a frequent visitor, I could have paid the $63 non-season pass price and would have still felt like I got every penny's worth and more. Easily the best day I've had at Knott's in several years, and I'm really looking forward to next year's Knott's WCB event.

Here are the worst I can think of at my local parks... Rocket Rods at Disneyland: Replacing the people mover with one of the most unreliable and trouble ridden rides Disney has ever built was definitely a major blunder. Every time I visit and see the empty track I'm reminded that even Disney fails sometimes. Superstar Limo at Disney California Adventure Park: Super cheesy dark ride done on the cheap that is not even the quality level of Disneyland's worst dark ride, plus it had capacity issues. I only remember riding this a couple times and I don't remember the ride ever having more than a 10 minute wait. The replacement is better but still suffers some issues. Golden Zephyr at Disney California Adventure Park: The ride is dull and winds as low as 5 MPH ground this attraction. I think this was the last of the original DCA rides that I experienced simply because it was rarely open. Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's Berry Farm: A trouble-ridden ride that rarely ran as it was designed to and gave one of the most unpleasant rides I've experienced. It was a tremendous step down from its predecessor. Windseeker at Knott's Berry Farm (and other Cedar Fair parks): The real mistake here was buying four copies of a prototype and then two more the next year despite the originals' known issues and troubled track record. Creature from the Black Lagoon at Universal Studios Hollywood: I don't think this show lasted more than 6 months. I never saw it, but I heard it was absolutely terrible. Green Lantern at Six Flags Magic Mountain: The mistake here is installing such a low capacity ride in a major park and then not running it the way it was intended to be run, not so much the design of the coaster itself.

Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park (depending on which I choose to visit first)...tomorrow! Then I'll be heading to Six Flags Magic Mountain on Saturday and Knott's Berry Farm on Sunday for West Coast Bash.

Just read the e-mail and everything sounds like it will be great. Even if SFMM is a little light compared to past years it still sounds like it will be a fun day and Knott's sounds like the best event so far. Can't wait for this weekend!

Filled out the questionnaire. All of the 2014 options look great. Barring a life-changing event, I'm doing Mini New Hotness next year as three of the parks are at the top of my park interest list and Holiday World is one of my favorite parks. I would love to do Scandinavia but unfortunately it's a little too early and far too expensive at this time.

It was a great trip. I definitely recommend anyone into nature stuff visit Oregon and especially Washington at some point. None of the parks have anything spectacular but they're all fun for a 2-4 hour visit and I generally find that small parks are just as much fun to visit as major parks since most of them have certain things that make them unique. It hurt to read this. That was one of the greatest sets around, even among Lusses. Quality bumper cars are dying out at an alarming rate these days. It is rare that I find something I'm not expecting at an amusement park, but this was one of them. My dad was a little surprised I considered the bumper cars a must ride attraction when they looked just like standard bumper cars. Fortunately the ride was one of the better bumper car rides, but I'm sure it used to be great. The change must have just happened this year as I'm guessing someone would have discovered it by now if it hadn't. I had a picture that showed the base, but due to the light it was very blurry. I've been to Sequoia National Park twice and Kings Canyon National Park as well and it's always amazing how big the trees actually get. Until I saw the real things, I thought the SFMM Sequoia had to be exaggerated, but it's not. I definitely agree with this. There is little in Oregon that is not nature-related that I'm interested in. While the state is not somewhere I'd necessarily like to live, it is definitely one I wouldn't mind visiting from time to time just to get out of a city environment. Silverwood is one of those parks I really want to get to but probably won't get to for a long time. In order to fit it on this trip, we probably would have had to skip Wild Waves, Mt. Rainier, the Columbia River Gorge, and possibly even Mt. Hood and still would have only had a half day for the park. Next time I visit the Pacific Northwest, Silverwood will be a priority (especially since I don't really care about returning to the other parks unless they add major new attractions).

I'd be surprised to see Carowinds add more than one major coaster with the $50 million. If they get a wing coaster similar in scale to GateKeeper that's half of the money already used. I'm guessing they'll get a wing coaster for 2015, and if there is another coaster it would probably be a family coaster or smaller thrill coaster the year after. In addition, they'll probably get a few new flat rides, maybe a new dark ride, and at least one new slide tower in addition to general improvements. For 2014, it's probably unlikely anything other than general improvements and a flat ride or two will be added, but 2015 and 2016 will probably have major attractions.

I'm only taking US additions into consideration as I typically pay little attention to announcements at European and Asian parks. That being said, here are my top five new attractions for next year based on how much I think I'd like them and how good they seem for the park: 1. Banshee (Kings Island)-Kings Island is overdue for a major new coaster and this looks like it could be the best at the park. 2. Goliath (Six Flags Great America)-While the coaster itself looks better than Banshee, I think it is a slightly worse addition as it isn't a needed ride at SFGAm. 3. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem & Super Silly Fun Land (Universal Studios Hollywood)-Despicable Me is an extremely popular attraction in Florida and should do well in California, plus USH needs all the attractions it can get if they want to keep people coming with their high admission price. 4. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Diagon Alley (Universal Studios Florida)-While I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, I do think USF is taking a bit of a gamble with the amount of Harry Potter attractions they're adding. I have no doubt the Gringotts Coaster will be a top notch ride and the area will be extremely popular, but I have to wonder if Harry Potter will still have strong appeal ten years from now given that there are no current plans to continue the series. 5. Falcon's Fury (Busch Gardens Tampa)-While Zumanjaro is taller and faster, I think this is the better and more interesting of the new drop rides. If the attraction is as intense as it sounds, this could be the world's scariest thrill ride.

^If I remember correctly, it used to be a restaurant. While I wish Knott's could have kept Windseeker, with all the trouble the state is giving them it's probably better to just cut their losses and move on. Depending on how long dismantling takes, perhaps the park could put a new flat ride here for 2014. Whatever they do, the area isn't large enough for a major attraction, but some type of thrilling flat would be a nice fit (I vote for a Top Scan).