rcdude

I don't mind all the superhero stuff at SFMM as long as it is contained to the same general area. Batman, Green Lantern, Riddler's, Superman...all those are relatively close together, and the other rides that are superhero themed are right next to them. I do agree, however, that having too much of one theme would not be a good idea, especially if it was spread all over the park. If they build another coaster behind DC Universe or next to Scream, then its fine by me if it is superhero themed because it would fit in that area. However, if the replacement for Deja Vu is themed after a superhero, or they built something with that theme by X2 or Roaring Rapids, it really wouldn't fit very well. Either way, I'm not going to avoid a ride just because of its theming, although I may not think it fits too well. As for Scream being turned into Bizarro, I'm all for a retheme of Scream, even a superhero one, but not as Bizarro. I rode SFGAdv's Bizarro a couple months ago and I prefer Scream in its current form to that ride. The audio was either annoying or inaudiable the whole ride and the theming didn't do much for me. I may like Scream more than the average person but I think its fine the way it is and unless they are actually going to do a good job on a retheming job it would probably be better to leave it as it is for now. It works, and when I'm on the ride I don't pay too much attention to the parking lot anyway.

I don't like the unlimited amount of money thing, since I could do everything I ever wanted and still have way too much left over. So, I will answer this question instead: If I had a large (10 digit) sum of money... 1. Give enough to my close family members that they would all be able to retire immediately. 2. Get a nice house, nice car, whatever other personal stuff I would want. 3. Visit anywhere in the world I want to visit and do anything I feel like doing. 4. Save the rest until I have a use for it or donate it to charity, keeping only what I need. If it was really unlimited, then of couse building my own theme park would be on the list. However, with a finite amount, I'd rather not as I'd like the flexibility to create whatever attractions come to mind without worrying about going bankrupt due to them.

I went here on my St. Louis trip this past summer and it was probably the second best thing we did (after the Segway tour). The place is completely insane, seems unsafe, and looks like it was put together out of random junk. Surprisingly, I didn't think the 10 story slide was the best one. The roof slides were better even if they weren't quite as large. Definitely a must do if you are in St. Louis.

La Ronde was a very interesting park with several things you'd never see in America, both good and bad. That whole day, I was really trying to like the park, and while it certainly isn't the worst park ever, there are just too many problems with the place, including some of the slowest operations and worst operators I've ever seen. I kept thinking, "Even by Six Flags standards, this place is pretty poor." Other than Goliath and Vampire, nothing there is really worth the waits they get, but I'm still surprised how much we were able to get done that day. It may sound a bit generic, but great report. Even two months later, I'm still looking back on this trip and remembering the general awesomeness of the whole thing. It's really too early for me to start thinking about next year's trip, and since my report's done I'm paying much more attention to other North East reports (always like to hear the opinions of others). I thought Untamed was good, but not great. For a small park, it is an excellent ride, but at a larger park I probably wouldn't wait more than fifteen minutes or so for it. The ride is very short, and is a bit rough, though not horrible. The other Eurofighter I've been on (Mystery Mine) is much, much better, but the two rides are so different it it hard to compare them. Basically, I'd say Untamed is a must-ride if you visit Canobie, but definitely not worth going out of your way for. It is Canobie's best coaster, but I only enjoyed it slightly more than Yankee Cannonball.

If someone were to ask me what my local park was, I'd probably say Knott's (which I visit most) or Disneyland Resort (which is closest distance-wise). However, by my definition, a local park is any park you can reasonably make a day trip to. In that case, I've got ten. First, the ones I visit regularly (at least once a year, and have a pass to): Disneyland/Disney California Adventure Park: 30 minutes Knott's Berry Farm: 35 minutes Six Flags Magic Mountain: 95 minutes Then, the other majors: Legoland California (try to visit every other year): 50 minutes Universal Studios Hollywood (usually, I get a pass every three years and visit a couple times in that year): 70 minutes SeaWorld San Diego (only visit when there's a major addition): 85 minutes Finally, the minors: Adventure City (haven't visited in over ten years): 30 minutes Castle Amusement Park (visit once every few years): 50 minutes Scandia Amusement Park (visit about three times a decade): 50 minutes All these times are traffic dependent, but they are approximately how long it takes when there are no delays.

If Log Jammer is actually leaving, I'm fine with that. Although it is a good ride, I honestly prefer the Jetstream (probably in the minority there) and I think Log Jammer is just an average flume ride when compared to all the others I've been on. I don't ride it very often because the line is usually longer than I'm willing to wait (I'll typically skip it if the line is greater than fifteen minutes) and it gets you a bit wet. Also, those water cannons are annoying. One thing I do hope, however, is that if the ride closes it is removed. I either want the park to close it and tear it down, or continue operating it, and not leave it sitting there dormant for a significant amount of time. As for the replacement, I've heard SFMM may be getting a complete circuit launched coaster in the next several years, and that would be a perfect site for a terrain hugging family-friendly launch coaster (maybe something like Cheetah Hunt, but on a mountain). If they took out that section of Metro track, they could use the tunnel as well. As for the current construction projects, I'm guessing dismantling will begin in the next week or two for Deja Vu, but I doubt we'll see much significant progress on Lex Luthor until after winter break. The park will probably want to keep Superman open for the holiday crowds, and I can't see them installing Lex Luthor without at least a month of downtime for Superman.

I rarely play games at an amusement park, but I used to play them all the time at my local fair (until they went cashless and the prices skyrocketed). Here are my top five (no particular order): -Dart Throw (Balloon Pop version only) -Toss the ball into the angled basket -Break a plate -Racing Games (prefer ball rollers to water shooters, but like them both) -Ring Toss (I never expect to win, but its fun to share a bucket of rings amongst a group and it isn't that expensive) My least favorite games are probably the Shoot out the Star (nearly impossible) and the Bank off the board game (also very difficult). Most others I have no interest in (guessing game) or I'm just not very good at them (ping-pong ball toss, goblets, coin on a plate)

At this point (or very shortly), Deja Vu will have given its final rides in California. While I liked the ride, SFMM has so many better coasters that it has always seemed somewhat overshadowed. In my opinion, the ride was third or fourth best in the park when it opened (not that I rode it then, but based on the park's 2001 coaster line-up), but every single coaster that has opened since then (except RRE for obvious reasons) is a better ride, causing it to drop to somewhere in the middle of the line-up. Now, it is moving to SFNE, where it will be second or third again, and instead of destruction, the ride is simply being rebooted as a new experience in a new market. Although we will soon be calling it Goliath, I will always know this ride as Deja Vu. It's sad to see it go, but it will just make the ride more special when I next get a chance to ride it. Goodbye, Deja Vu.

Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland on Wednesday. 4th to last train of the night.

Like a few other people above, I went to the park today to check out Fright Fest. I'm not that into Halloween Events (never been to and don't have much desire to visit Knott's or Universal's events), but since I have a season pass and wanted to try Colossus Backward (in addition to the other Fright Fest rides), as well as get a final ride on Deja Vu, I decided I'd go. First, the normal day: -Crowds were fairly low. Other than Green Lantern: First Flight, X2, and Goliath, I didn't wait more than 15 minutes for anything. Lines did pick up a little in the afternoon, but never got that bad. -I got on everything I wanted to do once, anything I wanted a re-ride on twice, and a few selected rides three times (Apocalypse the Ride, Goliath, and Riddler's Revenge). I also took the time to do Buccaneer and Scrambler so I have now been on every non-kiddie ride in the park. -Green Lantern seems to be running better (as in few mid-course stops and quicker dispatches), but I discovered how uncomfortable the ride can actually be. In the second part of the ride, the vehicle didn't rotate fully and I ended up doing the whole lower curve in an inverted position, creating massive force on my shoulders. Although I still think the ride is pretty good, I have to downgrade its rating to a B (from A) and its rank to 6th (from 3rd). It is now below Riddler's Revenge and above Scream on my coaster list. -Got a final ride on Deja Vu. It will be a great fit for SFNE, and will be their second or third best coaster. Even if they have a standard boomerang the ride is a different experience. Now, for Fright Fest: -I didn't purchase a maze pass so I didn't go into the mazes. -The scare zones, with the exception of DC Universe, were mostly disappointing. They all seemed too small or too sparsely populated. 2nd place would probably be the path from Tatsu down to Revolution, but it still wasn't that great. Note that I did not go into the Samurai Summit area, so I cannot comment on that one (I entered the other five, however). -I was very surprised how much shorter the lines for rides got when the mazes opened. Even X2 was only a three train wait. The only exceptions were Batman and Green Lantern, probably due to being located right in a scare zone and having low capacity (Batman has one and only one available train at the moment). -Only Riddler's Revenge had a true lights-off ride (all lights in the ride area, including the lifthill, were out). Other "dark" coasters had at minimum lift and queue lights on, and mostly felt like normal night rides. -Foggy Nights Batman was not as foggy as I remember it being at WCB, but it was still fun. If you did it at WCB, I'd advise skipping it as the line is long due to noted one-train operation. Otherwise, it is a must ride. -Despite being advertised as a haunted attraction, there is nothing special with Sandblasters AT ALL! I didn't even bother to ride. -X2's audio was completely out in both trains (1 & 2 were running) all day, rendering the Area 19 theme pretty much useless. At least it is still a great ride. Finally, Colossus Backwards. To put it simply, it is fun, it is different, but it isn't necessarily spectacular. I rode both the forward and backward train, and I think I prefer the forward side. The ride is just a little too nauseating for me in reverse (I don't do well with rides in reverse for long periods). I'm glad I did it once, but once per visit is probably my maximum and I don't know that I'd wait more than fifteen minutes or so to do it again next year (about what I waited this time). Overall, it was a good day. According to employees, Sundays are the least crowded Fright Fest days. While Fright Fest was underwhelming and overhyped, I was expecting that and wasn't really too focused on the typical Halloweeen event part of it. Now that I know what they are like, I might consider doing the Knott's event next year if it is offered again and is a reasonable price. I'll probably do Fright Fest again as well, but mainly for any modified rides they might have and to (hopefully) get a fall visit with reasonably short waits & night rides.

^^I believe that SFFT was advertised as getting a 200 ft. model, so I highly doubt this is a ride swap. More than likely, Six Flags just decided that it would be better for marketing to get a taller ride, as the park already has a number of tall attractions and a 15 story model wouldn't look too impressive. Unless I am mistaken, a 200 ft tall model at SFFT will be the tallest (or second tallest) ride there so there isn't much purpose to make that one taller. Whatever the height, I'm just glad SFGAdv is getting some non-coaster rides, as I found the park seriously lacking in that department when I visited this past summer.

Fright Fest at Six Flags Magic Mountain this Sunday Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort next Wednesday (not technically an event, but I count it) That's it for this year. I'm really not that into Halloween events, and am only doing this ones because they offer event-only attractions and I've never done either before (plus I get admission with my pass).

I think Blue Streak is a good ride, but not a great ride. It is certainly something I enjoyed riding and would re-ride on a future visit, but is not something I would be willing to wait too long for (20 minutes max). It is a bit overrated by some people, but I think it's Mitch Hawker Rating (somewhere in the 70s if I remember correctly) is probably about correct. Also, the ride did have a bit of airtime, but when you've got three coasters in the same park that have better airtime (especially Magnum XL-200), that isn't really much of a reason to ride what is essentially an oversized family coaster. As for the GCI idea from a couple pages back, I am definitely in support of it, and I am definitely in support of replacing Disaster Transport. That is my second least favorite coaster in the park (only Cedar Creek Mine Ride ranks lower on my list), and Cedar Point could use a better woodie. They have enough steel, and while an Intamin prefab would be a great addition, I think they're better off with a GCI since it would be more different from the steel coasters than the Intamin (plus they've already got enough Intamin coasters).

^I'm thinking more along the lines of what Green Lantern: First Flight does (since the capacity will likely be similar): Only available on Platinum, $15 per person per ride, no double rides. Personally, I'd rather it be a non-Flashpass ride, but I'm pretty sure that won't be the case. Judging from the POV animation, it looks like the ride will only be able to handle 300-400 people per hour, and that's with a reasonably good crew.

Xcelerator a Knott's Berry Farm a couple weeks ago. Still California's most underrated coaster.

14/20. Most of those were guesses. Very tough quiz.

Six Flags Magic Mountain for Fright Fest on October 9th, followed by Disneyland Resort on October 12th.

I can't pick just one, so here are some of the best... -Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain at Disneyland (best of the best at Disneyland Resort) -Dragon at Legoland California (also decently themed) -Revenge of the Mummy at Universal Studios Hollywood (see above) -Batman The Ride at various Six Flags Parks (they're all about the same, and they're good by Six Flags Standards) -Untamed at Canobie Lake Park (very nicely decorated) -Wooden Warrior at Quassy Amusement Park (simple yet effective) -Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion (It's really creepy to see the train launch and then an empty train pulls in behind it) Honorable mention goes to Riddler's Revenge, as it would be on the list if the bent rows didn't disqualify it. Outside of Disney, Riddler's Revenge wins the award for best station music/audio.

Now that I have returned to school, my summer is officially over. However, I do have a few places I visited which I did not do a report on yet. Instead of giving each park a full report, I am going to give mini-reports (1-2 pages instead of 6-8) for each of the three remaining parks. All of them have been reviewed by me before, so you can refer to those reviews for more details. August 17th, 2011-Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is one of those places that I enjoy visiting, but don’t visit very often. The problem with the park is not that it is bad, but instead that there are very few attractions and it is very expensive. In fact, in the whole park, there are only six attractions I care for. Four of them are rides, and that includes all four rides in the park. The other two are shows. In addition to these six attractions, the park does have a few more shows, a haunted house, a kids area, and a few other miscellaneous attractions, but even on a crowded day I have never needed more than 2/3 of a day to get everything done. How expensive is the park? $77 if you do not have a discount for a one day ticket. That is outrageous, and gives USH the title of the most overpriced park I have visited. If it was $30-40 instead of $77, however, I would likely visit once per year. Fortunately, the park does have a “buy one day, get a year free” promotion a lot of the time for So Cal residents, or offers a discount of around $15, but this isn’t a park I’d visit more than once per year and it is still expensive with the discount, so those don’t help me much. In fact, I wasn’t planning to visit the park until next summer, but my brother and sister both wanted to go, as we haven’t been in a couple years (I usually visit once every three to four years, usually when they add a new attraction). I was somewhat reluctant, as I wanted to wait until Transformers opened, but when I saw that Club TPR had an offer of a three-day ticket (any three visits within 12 months of first use) for less than a one-day ticket, I decided I’d take them now, and then go back next spring/summer once Transformers opens. Due to LA traffic, we didn’t make it to the park at opening. Instead, we arrived about 9:30 or so. The day just consisted of making our way around the park, riding the rides and seeing the shows. I’ll give full reviews for a couple things, then just assign letters to the others. Attractions are listed in the order we did them. The Simpsons Ride-B Revenge of the Mummy-B (still my favorite Premier Rides coaster) Jurassic Park-The Ride-B Studio Tour-Part of my reason for going was this attraction, as I wanted to see the “new” King Kong 360: 3-D segment as well as the rebuilt New York section of the back lot. Well, the King Kong attraction wasn’t my least favorite of the staged events, but it really was one of the weaker parts of the tour. All it is are a pair of 3-D screens and a motion base where you watch a 2 minute movie, and it is promoted as a stand-alone attraction. Maybe it is just me, but this seemed way overhyped and I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few people are let down by it. Of course, it could also be because I don’t like 3-D films in general. Personally, I still think Earthquake is my favorite staged event on the tour, enjoyed the old King Kong Encounter much more than the current one, and would rather have the Collapsing Bridge (as simple as it is). I also wish they had a better solution for the glasses, as you have to hold them for the entire tour just so they can be used in that one park. The new New York street, on the other hand, looked pretty good, and I like that they’ve added a “modern” section to it. As a whole, the Studio Tour is still a pretty decent attraction, and King Kong must be working, as the ride had the longest line I’ve ever seen for it. B overall, but King Kong gets an F. Terminator 2: 3-D-B (I really hope this isn’t leaving soon. It’s my favorite show in the park.) Waterworld-B (Same with this, but second favorite instead of favorite) Special Effects Stage-This is a replacement for the epic failure of Creature from the Black Lagoon (which I never saw). It’s a bit different from the old show, but does have some references to it and demonstrate a few of the same techniques (along with plenty of new ones). I think I liked it better than the old show, but only slightly. It’s still my second least favorite show at the park. C Universal’s House of Horrors-C Shrek 4-D-C Universal’s Animal Actors-C (my least favorite show) We only did each ride/attraction once, except for Revenge of the Mummy, which we did three times. We ended up leaving before 6 P.M. since we finished everything, and then got dinner in CityWalk before heading home. Unfortunately, we had more traffic to deal with, but I’ve seen worse and we made it home by about 8:30 P.M. Universal Studios Hollywood is a good park, but unless you are interested in movies (especially behind the scenes stuff) I don’t really recommend skipping another So Cal park to visit it (except perhaps Knott’s). The park is too small and has too little for how much they charge to get in. Now, Transformers is a really good start, and a much needed attraction, and if they ever add Harry Potter Land West, this would be a must visit destination. However, for now, it is not. September 11th, 2011-Wild Rivers Waterpark As many waterpark fans probably know, Wild Rivers is a waterpark in Orange County, California (specifically Irvine) that has been struggling for several years. Land developers want to demolish the park in order to make way for new housing, but up until now the park has managed to get a one year lease extension every year. Now, however, they have been denied the extension, and after twenty five years of operation Wild Rivers will close forever on October 2nd. As I have been going to this place nearly every summer since I was about five, I knew I had to get one final visit in before the park faded into history. Wild Rivers is not the best waterpark out there by any means, and it’s not even my favorite in Southern California. Given a choice, I would almost always pick Knott’s Soak City-Buena Park over Wild Rivers, and if Six Flags Hurricane Harbor was closer I’d go there more often as well. However, the reason I really like Wild Rivers is not because they have the best slides, but because they have the most unique ones. At modern waterparks, most or all of the slides are made out of fiberglass, and although they may have similar ride layouts, the experience is similar. At Wild Rivers, however, a lot of the slides are older, and are made of concrete with foam and a rubber coating on top. This gives the rides a very different feel, causing the rapids ride to jostle riders around and flip tubes often and the body slides to feel more like natural waterfalls. In addition, among the rides at Wild Rivers are several rides I have not seen elsewhere, such as Bombay Blasters and Sweitzer Falls, slides that end several feet above a pool and shoot riders into the air so they land with a big splash; Wahtubee, a standard style mat-racer that is done on double tubes, and Serengeti Surf Hill, a very old mat racer where it is extremely common to lose your mat or get stuck partway down. Now, some would call these rides ghetto, but it is the ghettoness that sets them apart from what can be found elsewhere. On the visit, we arrived before opening, and as a result were able to ride everything once or twice before the lines got significantly long. At this point, however, everyone else I was with was pretty much done, but I kept going for a bit longer, getting multiple rides on the attractions I liked, and trying to remember every last ride. By about 3:30, I felt I had done enough, and ended my day on Wipeout, a somewhat normal body slide other than the fact that it begins by flushing you down the slide with 200 gallons of water. There is no particular reason I chose this to be my last ride ever at the park, especially since I’m generally not a huge body slide fan, but it is one that I remember thoroughly enjoying on my first visit back in 1995 (or so). As we walked out to the car for the final time, I looked back at the park and thought, “This place has given me enjoyment for 15 years. I will miss it, but perhaps it is time for it to move on.” While I really do not support the closure of it, especially since the amphitheater nearby (which shares the parking lot) will remain for several more years and the housing market is already oversaturated enough, some things just cannot be stopped. If you have not had a chance to visit this amazing waterpark, enjoy waterparks, and live anywhere in Orange County, visit this weekend if you can. After that, it’s just a couple of private events and then the park is gone. Goodbye, Wild Rivers. You will never be forgotten. September 13th, 2011-Knott’s Berry Farm As Knott’s is my least favorite of the seven major Southern California parks, I usually don’t visit it too often outside of special occasions (WCB, Family trip in November due to Veterans promotion, birthday, and Summer trip with visitors). However, I do have a pass, so I can visit it more often if I choose. As Knott’s got a new ride this year, and it didn’t open until August, I decided I’d go ride it before school started. For those planning to visit Knott’s anytime soon, off-season weekdays are an excellent time to go. The park was DEAD! I’m guessing there were probably around a thousand people in the entire park. GhostRider and Perilous Plunge were both closed, but all other major rides were running. During my visit, I managed to ride every major ride once, many of them twice, plus a few rides I rarely ride (Calico Mine Ride, Calico Railroad, Carousel, La Revolucion, Pony Express, Riptide), eat lunch at Pink’s (outside the park), get 4-5 laps each on Xcelerator and Silver Bullet, plus two rides on the new Windseeker, and leave by 3 P.M. I think I counted at some point, and discovered that I ended up getting 28 rides in 5 hours, or something like that. That’s 5.6 rides per hour! It’s almost like full park ERT! I never had to wait more than two trains for any of the coasters (granted, all but Sierra Sidewinder were running one train), and everything else was a walk on. I got solo rides on Riptide and Timber Mountain Log Ride, and there were less than five people on the entire ride when I rode La Revolucion and Pony Express. I saw some random guy get a solo ride on Xcelerator while I was on Supreme Scream, but unfortunately I was not that guy. Now, how about a review of the park’s newest attraction? Windseeker-I will admit that I was very skeptical of this ride when it was first announced, and as the other three tested, failed, and experienced delays, I became even more skeptical that the ride could be any good. Boy, was I wrong. This is probably the best non-coaster ride at Knott’s Berry Farm. The ride looks impressive, and it gives a great view from the top. It also feels a lot higher than I expected it to, and this is amplified by looking up the tower as you ascend. The music is also nice, although I did not recognize most of what was played (only recognized Hedwig’s Theme and the Superman Theme), and it was a little difficult to hear at the top due to the wind. The ride spins at a decent speed, but not any faster than a normal waveswinger and certainly not fast enough to get most people sick. The only thing I wish the park would do is leave it at the top a bit longer, as it feels that you are only up there for about twenty seconds before the ride starts descending, and it takes at least twice as long to ascend/descend the tower. Overall, a very fun ride, and although it is not too intense, if you are afraid of heights it will really scare you (the seats are extremely open, even with a large lap bar). A I don’t really have much else to say about Knott’s that isn’t a common thought among enthusiasts. The park has a decent ride collection, and the coaster selection is good (although it could use a little more variety and one more major coaster). However, the food inside the park is poor (except for Johnny Rockets), and the park is losing the charm of old Knott’s due to Cedar Fair’s construction of giant coasters, with the biggest offenders being Silver Bullet and Pony Express. Knott’s is my least favorite So Cal park, and my least favorite Cedar Fair park, but it is by no means a bad park. It is just a very average park in a whole lot of ways. Conclusion Well, that is it for my Summer 2011 report. While I still have a few park visits planned this year, they are mostly repeats and will not receive trip reports. However, I may post my reviews of the new attractions at Disneyland Resort to this thread after I visit next month (depending on if I feel like reviewing them). If I do end up doing the LeviaTHON tour next year, I may do another one of these. That would include that trip, plus coverage of all of California’s new for 2012 rides (Superman Ultimate Flight, Transformers, Cars Land, Manta, and Lex Luthor). Any comments or suggestions on how I could improve this for next year are appreciated (less text, more photos, shorter reviews, etc.). This has really been the best summer I’ve had, and it is unlikely I’ll have a better one soon (especially since I committed myself to getting a job next year). Pictures: I do have a few pictures from Universal Studios Hollywood to upload, but there are many better trip reports of the park. These are basically just random photos I took throughout the day when there was downtime. First up at Universal Studios. Although the ride is almost as good as BTTF, I liked the old look of the building much better. If there is one significant advantage to being on a hillside, it is the views. The three astronauts of Apollo 13 and...wait, there's a fourth guy there. What in the world? (I seriously did not realize someone was trying to take a picture here when I took this). This is the least Egyptian themed ride that is supposed to take place in Egypt that I've ever been on. Jurassic Park is still the most well-themed splash boats I've been on (sorry Escape from Pompeii). It also helps that the ride has a giant drop at the end (I think it's 85 ft, but I could be off slightly). Transformers, as of one month ago. I'm hoping there ends up being more than meets the eye with this ride. Back up the Starway. They really should count this as an attraction. I'd give it a C. I've always found it interesting how the Upper Lot has little areas that are themed to various European countries, while other parts are completely fictional. I wonder what would happen if the fountains actually sprayed coke. Time to go see what the governator is up to. After seeing the movies, little things like this make sense. I didn't realize the show took place inside the Miles Bennett Dyson Memorial Auditorium until this visit, and now I know why that is significant. Finally, for those going to the Halloweeen Horror Nights event next weekend, here is what you get to do.

Like in the station thread, no specific coasters, just general trends (with examples in parentheses). -Coasters with three-tone schemes (except primary schemes-Red, Yellow, and Blue) (ex. Scream at SFMM and Nitro at SFGAdv) -Coasters with only bright colors (except red and yellow) (ex. X's original paint job, Tatsu, SFNE's Pandemonium) -Coasters whose colors don't fit the theme (ex. Silver Bullet and Nighthawk) -Any wooden coaster that isn't all natural wood or white with colored trim (ex. Ghoster Coaster and Blue Streak) I also don't like it when similarly colored coasters are too close to each other (ex. Green Lantern: First Flight and Riddler's Revenge at SFMM).

Wood: Apocalypse the Ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain by day, Boulder Dash at Lake Compouce by night. El Toro is a really close runner-up Steel: Bizarro at Six Flags New England. Runner-up would be Intimidator at Carowinds, but it's not even close. Rides like Millennium Force and X2 that a lot of people like actually rank toward the bottom of my top twenty for whatever reason, and Green Lantern: First Flight could have the potential to rank pretty high if I got a good ride on it.

I can't remember which one, but it was one of the significantly large Miler coasters (I believe Scandia Screamer, but it may have been Hi Miler). Well, the restraints on the ride are manually operated by the operator, so they have to go to each car and lower the lapbar. When I was on it, the operator hit dispatch without doing this. Fortunately, everybody on the train screamed out, so he stopped it halfway out of the station and lowered all the bars, then sent the train. A bit scary, but if it was the Screamer the ride has seatbelts in addition to the lapbars so I doubt I would have gone anywhere. As for restraint checking in general, every park I've been to with the exception of Disney and traveling carnivals has performed a physical restraint check on pretty much every ride. At Disney, with the exception of California Screamin' and Maliboomer (when they had it), they did a visual check then asked everyone to pull up on the bar/seatbelt. On those two rides, they typically do a physical check, probably due to maunfacturer requirements or because those are more intense than everything else at the park. At most carnivals, they just look from the sidelines to make sure the restraints actually came down (a lot of rides have self-lowering restraints), or walked around and latched empty seats while visually checking others.

Instead of a top ten, I'll do a top five for each category. Major Parks: 1. Holiday World 2. Dollywood 3. Busch Gardens Williamsburg 4. Disneyland * Disney California Adventure Park (upon opening of Cars Land) 5. Cedar Point Mid-Size Parks: 1. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 2. Lake Compounce 3. California's Great America 4. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom 5. La Ronde Small/Minor Parks: 1. Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park 2. Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. 3. Canobie Lake Park 4. Castle Amusement Park 5. Adventuredome

There are a number of stations I consider bad, but here are what I would consider the worst (not individual rides, but things I see somewhat frequently on various attractions, although I will list examples). -Any station that has loading gates, but not one per row (ex. Xcelerator at KBF) -Any station that is not covered, at least where the waiting area is (ex. Flight Deck at CGA) -Any station that has too large of a gap or too small of a gap behind the row railings (ex. Magnum at CP) -Any station that enters the pick a row point from the side instead of the middle (ex. El Toro at SFGAdv) -Any station that has bent rows (ex. Riddler's Revenge at SFMM)

Although I still have more parks to visit this year (SFMM, Knott's, Disney), here's what I'm planning next year. Definite: -Disneyland -Disney California Adventure Park -Knott's Berry Farm -Six Flags Magic Mountain -SeaWorld San Diego -Universal Studios Hollywood -Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Likely: -California's Great America -Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk -Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park -Canada's Wonderland -Darien Lake -Marineland Theme Park -Martin's Fantasy Island -Waldameer -Other parks included on LeviaTHON trip/add-ons Possible: -Legoland California (dependent on their new attraction(s) and possible visitors) -Raging Waters San Jose (schedule pending) -Dollywood (schedule and finance pending) -Six Flags Over Georgia (only if also doing Dollywood) -Lagoon (schedule pending) -Adventuredome (only if Las Vegas trip happens)