rcdude

I was just at both of the those parks last month and here are some tips based on my experience. Six Flags St. Louis: Crowds: I was here on a Sunday, and the longest line was 20 minutes. I don't know how much more crowded Saturday is, but I'd wait until you got there to see what the crowds are like. If it is crowded, get a Flash Pass. If not, don't. I'm not sure how long you'll have at the park, but we did everything we cared about doing with re-rides on three-quarters of those rides in nine hours. If you have much less than that, you might want to get a Flash Pass anyway unless you're only there to do each coaster (and a couple other rides) once. Seats on Coasters: In my opinion (which may differ from that of others), I preferred the back on American Thunder, Batman The Ride, and Mr. Freeze, and the front on Boss and Ninja. Both the Front and Back were good on Screamin' Eagle, and it didn't matter for River King Mine Train. Pandemonium has single cars, so it won't matter there either. A fair bit of warning about Boss...it is pretty rough, and the trains aren't the most comfortable, so avoid the wheel seats at all costs and sit in the front half of the train for a smoother ride. Must-Do Non-Coasters: Scooby-Doo Ghostblasters is a really good shooting dark ride, and is water-based unlike most of them. Do this one early before it gets too crowded, as the line moves slow. I would also recommend Superman: Tower of Power if you like drop towers, as it is one of the taller ones and is quite fun (although not the best out there). Recommend Touring Plan: Start with American Thunder, and go clockwise from there, hitting (in order): Mr. Freeze, Scooby-Doo, Pandemonium, Boss, Screamin' Eagle, Superman, River King Mine Train, Ninja, Batman. After that, you can do the remaining rides in whatever order. Holiday World: Crowds: I was here on a Wednesday, and found that the Amusement park section was generally uncrowded (other than Voyage and Pilgrims Plunge, none of the lines were over 15 minutes), but the waterpark was very crowded. If you want to ride Wildebeest, be changed and ready to go when the waterpark opens, and head straight there. We waited 15 minutes for it, and by the time we got off the line was already past the 90 minute sign. There is a signle rider line, but I do not know whether it branches off or is a completely separate line. Seats on Coasters: Try the back on the three wooden coasters, but only if you are prepared for the roughness. It will give you a great ride, but it will also beat you up on the Voyage and the Legend (not so much on the Raven). Ride a non-wheel seat in cars one or two for Voyage and Legend for the smoothest ride. Must Ride Non-Coasters: Gobbler Getaway is another good shooting dark ride, and Pilgrims Plunge is an awesome water ride. In the waterpark, in addition to Wildebeest, be sure to check out Zinga and Zoombabwe, as those are both really good rides. Recommend Touring Plan: When the park opens, go to Voyage and get a ride on that and Gobbler Getaway, then get changed and wait for waterpark opening. Head immediately to Wildebeest, then Zoombabwe, then Zinga. Do any other waterpark rides you feel like doing, then head back to the ride park after lunch. Lines should be shorter, so you can do the remaining attractions in whatever order. I would be surprised if lines are as short as they were when I visited, since I was there on a weekday, but they still shouldn't be excessively long. The park is in the middle of nowhere, and I'm guessing it doesn't draw as many people as most other major parks do (although it is smaller).

I'm kind of hesitant to believe Deja Vu is leaving until I see something from SFMM stating so. It wouldn't make sense for them to give up one of their more popular coasters and the coaster crown unless they are indeed replacing it next year. If Deja Vu is leaving, that's too bad, as I really think (along with some other people) it is a pretty good ride, and certainly one of the best Vekomas anywhere. However, as long as its replacement is better, I'd be okay with losing it. I still think it's possible SFNE will be getting a new GIB, since Vekoma is still making them, and if the height mentioned in that article is indeed corrent, the ride won't be Deja Vu (the article mentions 267 ft. tall and Deja Vu is 191 ft.). Now that I think about it, if Discovery Kingdom is losing Pandemonium, perhaps that could be sent down here to keep the crown until the next new coaster. That could work, and would give SFMM something different.

July 24th, 2011-Six Flags St. Louis Six Flags St. Louis was the one part of the St. Louis trip that was up in the air until about two months before the trip. At first, we weren't going to include it, but since my brother and I had Six Flags passes, there was a ClubTPR discount, and my dad wanted to go back after last visiting 30-something years ago (when Screamin' Eagle was new), we decided to include it. We then spent quite a bit of time deciding whether to devote all day Sunday to the park, or about two-thirds of Monday to it. In the end, we went with Sunday after I heard a few reports that the park typically wasn't too crowded either day, and figured that, worst case scenario, we would buy a Flash Pass. We got to the park about 15 minutes before opening, parked, and walked to the gates just as they were doing the rope drop. There were a lot of people inside, but fortunately many of them were headed for the waterpark. We turned left and headed for American Thunder. American Thunder-I am a huge fan of GCI coasters, and I had heard a lot of positive comments about American Thunder. While I did like the ride and thought it was pretty good, I personally feel that it is a tad overrated. Almost everyone agrees that Thunderhead is one of the top three GCI coasters in the US, but most say American Thunder is better than Apocalypse the Ride. I feel the other way around...I prefer Apocalypse. American Thunder was still definitely above average, but I just don't think it held its speed as well as some of the other rides do, which is what I really like about the twisters. That being said, the airtime hills were something different for a GCI and it was still a lot better than Roar at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. My favorite ride at Six Flags St. Louis, and still one of my top ten woodies. Also, like all GCIs I have ridden, I liked this one best in the back. B+ After American Thunder, we headed over to Mr. Freeze to see a line outside of the entrance. As we got closer, however, we realized it just wasn't open yet (in fact, it wasn’t even testing). Instead of waiting, we did another nearby attraction in the meantime. Scooby Doo Ghostblasters and the Mystery of the Scary Swamp-All I knew about this ride was that it was a water-based shooting dark ride. It was actually quite fun. The ride didn’t seem like the best shooter out there, but it was certainly different and was pretty good theming-wise for Six Flags. I also did not know there was a mini-drop in the ride. Rode twice and it was fun both times. B When we got off Scooby Doo Ghostblasters, we heard Mr. Freeze testing, so we decided to wait for it to open. They sent two additional test trains, then opened the ride. We ended up getting on the third or fourth train of the day. Mr. Freeze-My favorite steel coaster at the park. The ride was really good, and quite unusual for a shuttle coaster. It reminded me a lot of the former Speed-The Ride in Las Vegas. Personally, I think Speed might have been a little better overall, but Mr. Freeze has one of the most interesting elements I have tried…the Top Hat. This was easily the best part of the ride, and gave quite a bit of hangtime at the top (especially toward the back of the train). Overall, Mr. Freeze is fun, intense, very smooth, and is certainly one of the best shuttle coasters currently operating. B Pandemonium-I have now been on three different Pandemonium coasters and this one is my favorite. It is significantly better than the Discovery Kingdom model, and is slightly better than the one at New England as well. It didn’t spin as much as the Discovery Kingdom model does, but this ride has a better layout and is overall more fun. Not worth a huge wait, but not a waste of time either. C We were going to head to Boss next since my brother really wanted to ride it, but unfortunately it was not open. After finding out that it would likely not be open until the afternoon, we headed to Screamin’ Eagle. Screamin’ Eagle-For an older wooden coaster, this one is pretty good. It’s not that intense, but it does have a little bit of airtime, is reasonably smooth, and does provide a good ride. Unfortunately, this ended up being our longest wait of the day the second time we rode (nearly 30 minutes due to one-train operation). I enjoyed this ride, but probably wouldn’t wait too long to ride it again on a return visit. C River King Mine Train-As far as mine trains go, this is not the best and is not the worst. We only waited about three trains for it, which is good because I probably wouldn’t have wanted to wait much longer. The ride is pretty slow and boring, and feels a bit disjointed as it meanders about. The drop into the tunnel at the end was the only exciting part on the ride, but even that wasn’t anything too special. Good for families, but not for coaster enthusiasts (of course, most mine trains are that way). D At this point, we decided to stop for lunch. We went to the Mooseburger Lodge, which is very different from the one at Six Flags Magic Mountain (counter service as opposed to table service), but was still fine. Even though it was about normal lunchtime, the restaurant wasn’t very crowded. In fact, the whole park wasn’t too crowded. We were all surprised that lines were so short for a Sunday (as of this point, we hadn’t waited more than three trains for anything except Pandemonium, which was about a five minute wait), especially since Six Flags St. Louis is considered a major park. After we were done with lunch, we spent a little while deciding what to do next. We didn’t want to do the two remaining coasters right after lunch, but we also didn’t want to sit around and wait for Boss to open. We ended up deciding to ride the train. Tommy G. Robertson Railroad-Not much to say about this. It’s a simple train ride around the park. There are two stations (one in 1904 World’s Fair and the other in Bugs Bunny National Park), but they are somewhat pointless as they are very close together. C While on the train, we noticed that the Boss was running with riders. After getting off at the Bugs Bunny National Park station, we headed over there. Boss-When we were walking through the excessively long queue line for this ride, I was thinking, “This ride reminds me somewhat of GhostRider.” Before this trip, GhostRider was the only CCI woodie I had been on. After riding, I decided, “This ride is almost as good as GhostRider.” I like the Boss a lot, and think it has a better layout than GhostRider, and it isn’t too rough in general, but during the whole ride there is a heavy vibration that is carried through the not-so-comfortable trains. In addition, there are a couple really good jolts in the ride where anywhere except the front row (best seat) gets quite rattled. I probably liked this ride the least out of my group of four, and do think it is slightly overrated, but it certainly isn’t bad. I just wouldn’t want to wait excessively long for it. C+ At this point, we decided to rent a $1 locker to store our stuff for a couple hours while we did the water rides and a few other attractions. We headed to Pandemonium and rented there as those are the most centrally located. Thunder River-I wasn’t so crazy about this one, and it might be my least favorite rapids ride. It did what a rapids ride needs to (got you pretty wet), but it wasn’t that interesting otherwise. Just a bunch of rapids with a tunnel and a couple waterfalls at the end. It was, however, quite fun passing other boats on the way back to the lift. Rode twice only because there wasn’t much of a line. D Log Flume-Probably my favorite of the three water rides at the park, but only one side was running. It was better than it looked, but there is no way the drop is six stories like the claim. It looked and felt like it was about half that. Also, the logs felt a bit smaller than normal on this ride. C Moon Cars-Pointless. About 400 ft long and less than a 2 minute ride. Once was enough. F Batman The Ride-I am not a huge fan of the Batman coasters. They are fun, intense, and smooth, but I just don’t like them too much. They aren’t bad, but I would rather ride almost any other B&M Invert than a Batman. For whatever reason, however, I enjoyed the St. Louis Batman significantly more than any of the other three I have been on. It is currently my favorite Batman (although that could change in the future). I just wish that they didn’t have such a long mandatory queue for the ride (the whole first half consists of a winding pathway through a park that has no shortcut…somewhat overkill, at least in my opinion). B Ninja-Oh dear. I wasn’t looking forward to this, but it actually ended up not being horrible. It was a bit more fun than I was expecting, and at least in the front seat it wasn’t much rougher than the smoother Arrows. I still wouldn’t wait very long to do it (maybe three trains max), but it was at least better than the mine train. D Tidal Wave-The only thing that makes this one better than the SFMM version is that it actually gets you soaked. The ride is not that exciting, and is only worth riding if there isn’t a line. My least favorite of the park’s three water rides. D Superman: Tower of Power-Intamin AG makes the best drop towers. For whatever reason, however, this one seemed a little weaker than other Intamin towers I have been on. It was still good, but it just felt less intense. This ride also operates differently from most: instead of dropping all the cars at once, they drop one at a time in a random order. C After Superman, we went and did our second ride on the rapids and re-rode Pandemonium before retrieving our stuff from the locker. At this point, it started to rain lightly. We tried for Mr. Freeze, but it closed on us. We also noticed that Pandemonium, American Thunder, and Boss had shut down. Hoping the rain would let up soon, we decided to do the Ferris Wheel while we waited. Colossus-Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this is the largest Ferris Wheel in America at an actual amusement park. It gave a good view, but wasn’t anything special. It was a little disconcerting, however, when we were in line and would hear the tires slip every time the wheel started up. F+ By the time we got off, the rain had stopped and Mr. Freeze was cycling again. We headed over there and re-rode Mr. Freeze, then made a list of what else we wanted to re-ride. The resulting list included American Thunder, Batman The Ride, Boss, Scooby-Doo Ghostblasters, Screamin’ Eagle, and Superman: Tower of Power. We made our way around the park in a clockwise manner (beginning at Boss and ending at Scooby-Doo Ghostblasters), stopping at each one. In addition, we did one other ride when we got to it. Rush Street Flyer-My brother wanted to do this after he saw it, since it reminded him of the defunct Gran Slammer at Knott’s. The ride was pretty much just as I remembered it. D Although we had planned to stay at the park until closing, we ended up finishing early and left about 7 P.M. We stopped at a McDonalds for dinner, then headed back to the hotel. Overall, Six Flags St. Louis is a good park, but it isn’t great. The park is not the best Six Flags out there, and it isn’t the worst either. It does have a good selection of coasters, but the biggest problem is the lack of a signature ride. American Thunder and Mr. Freeze are both great rides, but I really don’t think either of them are worth going out of your way for, and the next best coaster in the park is a relatively common Batman. However, it is one of the few Six Flags parks that does have a good non-coaster ride selection, and overall I think this is one of the most balanced Six Flags parks, but it could use a few newer flat rides. Other than SkyScreamer (which was unfortunately closed), most of the flats seemed like they were older and somewhat outdated. Other standard Six Flags issues, such as low quality food at excessively high prices, were present here, but drink costs can be saved with the Souvenir cups, which we all purchased. That reminds me…I believe it started here, but Six Flags St. Louis has Souvenir cup holders on all rides that require lockers. This is a great idea, and I’ve seen it at some other Six Flags parks as well (but not Magic Mountain, which I visit most often). I really think every single Six Flags park needs these, as they appear cheap to install and will probably really increase cup sales. I was also very surprised at how low the crowds were for a major park on a Sunday. Almost every ride was a walk-on for at least one of the rides I did on it, and even if they weren’t I don’t think I waited more than 20 minutes for any ride except for the one mentioned above (ride 2 on Screamin’ Eagle). I am surprised people got Flash Passes on a day like this, and I would never do so myself. I had a good day at the park. The weather was a bit hot, but wasn’t unbearable, and the rain was refreshing in the middle of the day. This is a park I don’t specifically care about going back to, but wouldn’t mind doing so, especially if they add a major new ride. Also, despite being a major park, it really isn’t a full day park. Two-thirds of a day would probably be sufficient for a return visit, although if you have never been plan a full day in case it is crowded or you want to explore the waterpark as well. Coaster Order: 1. American Thunder 2. Mr. Freeze 3. Batman The Ride 4. Pandemonium 5. Boss 6. Screamin’ Eagle 7. Ninja 8. River King Mine Train Ride Count American Thunder-2 Scooby Doo Ghostblasters and the Mystery of the Scary Swamp-2 Mr. Freeze-2 Pandemonium-2 Screamin’ Eagle-2 River King Mine Train-1 Tommy G. Robertson Railroad-1 (round trip) Boss-2 Thunder River-2 Log Flume-1 Moon Cars-1 Batman the Ride-2 Ninja-1 Tidal Wave-1 Superman: Tower of Power-2 Colossus-1 Rush Street Flyer-1 Total-26 rides in 9 hours (2.89 rides per hour) Photos: The first ride of the day, which ended up being the best ride in the park (that seems to happen to me a lot). Welcome to the Scary Swamp, home to Scooby-Doo and the gang. Although it is called Scooby-Doo Ghostblasters, it is very differetn from the normal Ghostblasters rides. Somehow, one of the worst Batman villians got one of the best rides. We'll get to you a bit later. The one feature that sets Mr. Freeze apart from the other launched shuttle coasters...the Top Hat. The LIM motors on the vertical spike actually give a stronger launch than I was expecting. I didn't think I'd be able to feel it, but it will push you back a bit if you aren't expecting it. Thunder River. My dad said the ultimate waterpark ride would be a normal rapids ride done on inner tubes. I somewhat agree, but I think some waterslides are more fun. Six Flags St. Louis does have themed areas, but due to signs like this it isn't always easy to tell them apart. Time for the spin cycle. I hope this seating configuration works. (note-my dad took this picture and the following photo since he did not ride...not a huge fan of spinning rides). It didn't work quite as well as we hoped, but we still spun a decent amount. Time for the Boss. The first half of the ride in particular reminded me of GhostRider. The second half...not so much. Okay, now that it is raining its time for Colossus, the giant Ferris Wheel. If I remember the sign correctly, this wheel has a 180 ft diameter. This is the view from the McDonalds we stopped at for dinner. The park does actually look kind of neat when you're approaching it (just a bunch of rides spread out over the hillside). Goodbye Six Flags St. Louis! Thanks for a great day! Maybe I'll be back sometime.

It's really unfortunate that this park is closing, as it is one of the more unique waterparks. Many of the slides there are not what you would expect to find in the average waterpark, which is the main reason I love the park. Rides like Congo River Rapids, Serengeti Surf Hill, Wahtubee, Bombay Blasters...in fact, any of the concrete and foam slides just aren't built anymore. From what I have heard, the park is being closed to build houses/condos on the land (which I think is pointless until the amphitheater closes), but a new park will be built somewhere in Southern Orange County (most likely in the Great Park or elsewhere in Irvine, although I heard they were considering Laguna Niguel as well). There is no current timeline for this new park, but it will most likely happen and will contain new attractions, not relocated ones. As for Wild Rivers, I've been going there at least once per year for the past fifteen years since I live only ten minutes away. I still have to get my final visit in this year (probably the week before or weekend after Labor Day), and it will be sad to see it go, but I figured it would happen sooner or later. The park isn't the most popular anymore, and the whole area around it is being developed for residential/business purposes. By the way, there is a little bit of misinformation in the first post. Nobody ever drowned on the Liquidator slides, and I doubt it would be possible as the attraction doesn't even involve a pool. When the rides opened, they were known as the Edge and Ledge and one slide featured a steep 3-story drop at the bottom. They were among the most popular slides in the park. At some point (I think about 10 years ago), there was an injury on the Edge (steep drop side) where someone injured themselves by flying up into the top of the tube due to weightlessness (at least that is what I heard from an employee). I never rode the slide back when it was the Edge, but as the upper portion of the drop was enclosed and riders were moving at a pretty good speed, I could definitely see that happening. The ride was closed for the remainder of that season and modified during the off-season to remove the drop. It reopened the next year as the Liquidator, but was never very popular after the accident (I'm guessing it was a combination of the modifications and Bazooka Bowls opening around the same time). I never saw more than ten people in line for the ride, and never waited more than a couple minutes for it. The second season after the modifications, the ride was only open on weekends and holidays to lower park staffing requirements, and after that season it was closed for good. According to a different employee, it was scheduled to be replaced for 2006, but since the park started getting 1-year lease renewals that season, the plan got cancelled. Over the years since then, the ride has become abandoned. The tubes were bolted shut (at least at the bottom), the runout area was walled off and allowed to be overgrown, and the upper canopy was removed, along with the stairs to the platform being taken down. The abandonment of the Liquidator, instead of its replacement or removal, was really the first sign for me that the park didn't have much time left to live.

Now that I am back from my trip and I'm fully recovered, it is time to start updating this thread once again. I want to have my trip report finished by the time I start school (Mid/Late September), so I'll be doing two or three days of the trip per week. First up is the St. Louis trip, which is not all park related (although there will be reports from Six Flags St. Louis and Holiday World) and following that will be the TPR North East Trip. July 23ed, 2011-St. Louis Day 1: Arrival, Budweiser Factory Tour, and City Museum My alarm went off at 4:00 A.M., much earlier than I wanted it to. The reason for this? We had a 7:15 A.M. flight out of LAX (about an hour from my house), and I needed to do my last minute check before we left. After ensuring that I had everything I would need for the next two weeks, I put my suitcase and backpack in the car, then waited until everyone (my brother, sister, and dad) was ready to leave. Shortly after 4:30 A.M., we were off. The drive only took about 50 minutes, about what we were hoping. We parked, then got our luggage and waited for the shuttle. Fifteen minutes later, we were at Terminal 4. After passing through airport security, my brother and sister got Burger King for breakfast, then we all waited at our gate for the flight to depart. Due to construction, we were bussed out to a satellite gate to board the airplane, then we were on our way to St. Louis. We got to St. Louis on time, made our way through the airport, then got on the shuttle to Budget rentals to retrieve our rental car. Everything went very smoothly. We went to a Wendy's for lunch, then went and looked at my Dad's Grandmother's house (I think that's the one it was). Following this, we headed to the Anheuser-Busch brewery to take the beer tour. The tour was very interesting. It began with a trip to the Clydesdale stables, where we got to see the Busch Clydesdales. The stables are very elaborate, and if you didn’t know better they wouldn’t seem like horse stables at all. After this, we went into a number of different rooms, each the location of one of the steps of the brewing process, where we were told what happens at that point. There was also plenty of outdoor walking, giving time to take in the wonderful architecture of the brewery. All the buildings are made of brick, and there are a lot of little decorations that improve the aesthetics of the various buildings. The last stop on the tour is the bottling plant, which was unfortunately shut down when we were there. However, you could get a general idea of how the process worked. After this stop, you got on a bus to the hospitality house, where everyone of age was allowed two free beers (for others, like me, who were underage, soda was provided). Overall, the tour was decent, and I’m sure it would be better for those who have an interest in how beer is brewed. I thought it was interesting, but I wouldn’t have considered it a must-do attraction. Following the tour, we went and checked into our hotel in downtown St. Louis. We unloaded the car and relaxed in the rooms for a bit, then headed out for dinner. After some searching, we decided to try a random pizza place that was actually fairly good. After dinner, we walked up the street to what would end up being one of my favorite things of the St. Louis trip: City Museum. For those who do not know what City Museum is, here is a general picture. Although it is called a museum, it isn’t really much of one. Instead, it is basically a gigantic playground built inside and around an old shoe factory. The main indoor part consists of three stories with all kinds of tunnels, slides, and other random objects to entertain pretty much anyone. In addition, through the Enchanted Caves in the back of the museum is the Shoe Shaft, a ten story spiral slide that used to be used to transport shoes down from the upper levels to the lower ones. There are additional attractions on the roof (which is an upcharge) and outside next to the entrance of the museum, consisting of more slides, tunnels, and tubes. As I didn’t take any pictures of this place, I recommend checking out the trip report from TPR’s Middle America 2010 trip to see what this place actually looks like. We began our visit on the first floor, checking out a few of the attractions down here such as the roller slide, the vertical slide, and the treehouse. However, after a short time we got tired of this section of the museum, as the first floor really doesn’t have that much to do. We headed into the Enchanted Caves and climbed up ten stories to the roof. Here, we played with the lethal rope swing (falling from this thing would hurt), then my brother and I decided to climb up to a cage above the top of the rope. It was quite a workout, but I’m glad I did it (even if it is only to say that I did). We all then headed outside, up to the highest point, to try the roof slide. This slide is really long, somewhat steep, and gets going pretty fast. We also took the time to check out some other attractions on the roof, such as the school bus, the water walk, and the giant ramp slide, among other things. After about 30-45 minutes, we had done everything on the roof except the Ferris Wheel (which is fairly normal and had close to a 30 minute wait), so we decided to head back inside. Instead of walking down, we took the Shoe Shaft. It was about a 15 minute wait, but it was worth it. The slide wasn’t that fast, but it did seem to go on for a long time. It wasn’t my favorite slide in the place (I liked both the roof slide and the giant ramp slide better), but it was still unique and still fun. Once we all got down, we headed out to MonstroCity, the outdoor part of the City Museum. This part of the museum was what we all decided was the sketchiest section. Metal tubes that you could crawl through were all over, some as much as fifty feet in the air. My dad, who doesn’t like heights, was barely able to make it through them, and my sister, who also doesn’t like heights, stayed closer to the ground. There were also several slides out here, including the dragon slide (which I got stuck in) and the quarter-pipe slide (which was more intense than I expected). When we were done out here, we took an ice cream break, then headed up to the third floor to see what was left. Most of the stuff here was more displays than anything else, but they were still cool to look at. We also checked out the Skateless Park, and found some tunnel/maze thing that continuously got smaller until you had to crawl to proceed. I didn’t make it all the way through, but my brother did (at least as far as he could go). We then decided to leave as the museum was progressively getting more crowded and we were all tired. We spent 3 hours at the City Museum, and I still don’t think I saw everything (especially since the 2nd floor was closed for a private party). We headed back to the hotel, and watched TV for a little while before going to bed. Most of us had only gotten 4-5 hours of sleep the night before, and as the next day was Six Flags St. Louis, we all wanted to be well rested. Due to my camera being packed in my luggage, I didn’t have it for the Brewery Tour. I also didn’t bring it to City Museum as I didn’t want to risk it getting damaged. However, I did take one picture on day one. This was the view from our hotel room window in St. Louis. We were on the north end of downtown, overlooking the rest of it.

I've got four separate lists. Everything listed is in alphabetical order, not priority order since a lot of things share the same level of priority. The Park List: Beech Bend Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Hollywood Studios Dutch Wonderland Epcot Europa-Park Farup Sommerland Grona Lund Hersheypark Idlewild & SoakZone Kemah Boardwalk Kennywood Kings Island Knoebels Amusement Resort Little Amerricka Magic Kingdom Morey's Piers Nickelodeon Universe Pleasure Beach Blackpool SeaWorld Orlando SeaWorld San Antonio Silver Dollar City Six Flags Fiesta Texas Tokyo DisneySea Universal Studios Orlando Universal's Islands of Adventure The Waterpark List: Blizzard Beach Discovery Cove Kalahari Resort Noah's Ark Schlitterbahn Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Splash Landings Typhoon Lagoon World Waterpark The Coaster List (only for coasters at parks not on the park list): Balder at Liseberg Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland Coaster at Playland at the PNE Colossos at Heide Park Cornball Express at Indiana Beach Cyclone at Coney Island Cyclone at Lakeside Park Expedition GeForce at Holiday Park Georgia Cyclone, Goliath & Mindbender at Six Flags Over Georgia Goliath at Walibi World Hades at Mt. Olympus Theme Park Hellcat at Timber Falls Katun & Ispeed at Mirabilandia Kumba, Montu & SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Mamba & Prowler at Worlds of Fun Megafobia at Oakwood Leisure Park Mindbender at Galaxyland Nemesis at Alton Towers New Texas Giant & Shock Wave at Six Flags Over Texas Raging Bull & Viper at Six Flags Great America Rampage at Alabama Adventure Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Renegade at Valleyfair Ride of Steel at Darien Lake Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure Steel Force at Dorney Park Superman Ride of Steel at Six Flags America T Express at Everland Thunderbird at PowerPark Timber Terror & Tremors at Silverwood Tonnerre de Zeus at Parc Asterix Troy at Toverland The Non-Coaster Ride List (same as coaster list but for non-coaster rides): Frankenstein's Castle at Indiana Beach Hotel Gasten at Liseberg

I've got several, but note that while all of these are rides I consider overrated, I do not consider them bad. Most are still above average or are at least good rides, but they just didn't live up to the hype and weren't quite as good as I was expecting. Blue Streak at Cedar Point-Too short and not as much air as I was expecting. Both Giant Dippers-The Santa Cruz version is pretty good, but I don't see how people say it is the best woodie on the west coast. The San Diego version was a total letdown...rough and no airtime at all. Comet at Great Escape-Fun, but not a lot of airtime. Rode in five different seats and none of the rides were as good as I was expecting. GhostRider at Knott's Berry Farm-I still hear people say this is one of the top ten woodies in the US. It used to be, but now it is a bit too rough. Still a good ride, but not worth more than a fifteen minute wait anymore. Grizzly at Kings Dominion-Only rode once because the ride hurt worse than even Hurler. My least favorite of the four woodies in the park. Holiday World's Legend and Raven-Legend was way too rough and didn't give as much airtime as I expected, Raven was too short and lacking a bit on the airtime. Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion-I only rode it when it had the brake on the drop, but I just didn't really enjoy the ride. It wasn't rough, but just wasn't rerideable for me because of all the quick transitions throwing you about. It's still good, but I don't think it's one of the best in the world. Six Flags St. Louis's American Thunder and Boss-American Thunder was pretty good, but I honestly was expecting a bit more. I still prefer Thunderhead and Apocalypse to this ride. Boss looked good but was too rough anywhere but the front seat to be very enjoyable. Space Mountain at Disneyland-It is a really good ride, but I don't think it is the best dark coaster ever like a lot of people say. It may be the best one I've been on, but I've seen videos of others that look significantly better (including some of the other Space Mountains).

I'm a former AP holder and still visit once or twice a year, so I can give you some input, although others may have better advice (haven't had an AP since 06). At Disneyland, I would advise you to go to Tomorrowland first. Either get in line for Star Tours or Fastpass it first thing. After that, ride (or Fastpass) Space Mountain, and do Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters while you are in Tomorrowland. Most of the other attractions in this area either don't get long waits or are not worth long waits, but Star Tours and Space Mountain can be longer than an hour and run out of Faspasses early. From here, make your way around the rest of the park and do all the attractions you wish to do. There will be lines everywhere for a good part of the day, so the order of attractions is not extremely important. Just note that Toontown and some Fantasyland attractions will close early. At Disney California Adventure Park, you should start with Toy Story Midway Mania in Paradise Pier. I have seen this ride get lines in excess of 90 minutes when everything else was around 20. After this, ride (or Fastpass) California Screamin', then go around the pier counter clockwise, visiting (in order) The Little Mermaid, Goofy's Sky School, Mickey's Silly Symphony Swings, and Mickey's Fun Wheel (only do the last two if you like those types of rides). After you are done with Paradise Pier, the rest of the park is easy as there are only three must ride attractions in the remainder of the park (Soarin' Over California, Grizzly River Run, and Twilight Zone Tower of Terror). Only listing major rides here... At Disneyland: Jungle Cruise, it's a small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion are all typically below 15 minutes At Disney California Adventure Park: Unfortunately, none of the major rides here stay short all day, but a few of the smaller rides do. Not that I can think of. Depends if you are a show person or not. If you are into shows, I'd say you should see Fantasmic at Disneyland, and Aladdin at DCA. I haven't seen World of Color yet, but I've heard some people love it and others think it isn't that great, so I'll leave that one up to you. You have three park days, so even if it is crowded, you'll be able to get everything done. I would personally recommend you split Disneyland in half. Do half of it one day, and half the other (for example, maybe do everything in Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, and Toontown one day and Adventureland, Critter Country, Main Street and New Orleans Square a different day). DCA is easy, and if you get there at opening you will probably be done with the park by 4 P.M. No matter what you do, I'm sure you'll have a great time. If you are indeed going in early September, the crowds should be minimal (provided you are visiting after Labor Day).

El Toro during night ERT at Six Flags Great Adventure on Thursday, August 5th, the last day of the North East Trip. I only could take six rides in a row, but from what I've heard that is better than quite a few people.

I'm still confused on whether or not Space Mountain at Disneyland is actually a Vekoma. According to RCDB, it is, but I've heard otherwise before. If that counts, it is my favorite Vekoma. If not, I'd say Deja Vu at Six Flags Magic Mountain (it likely would be Stealth/Nighthawk, but I can't remember my one ride on that from 2003 very well).

I don't have a Kindle or Nook, so I probably won't be getting this (at least not anytime soon). However, I remember reading quite a few of these stories on his website, themeparkinsider.com (which is the other theme park site I use frequently). They used to get posted there once per week or every other week for about a two year period, but stopped around a year ago. Many of them are quite humorous, and they really show what goes on behind the scenes working as a cast member. If I ever get something for e-books, or it comes out as a normal book, however, I will definitely get a copy.

For wood coasters, I'm going to say the defunct Psyclone at Six Flags Magic Mountain. I thought it was worse than Mean Streak and some other woodies I've been on that are known to be rough. For steel, I'm going to go with Shockwave at Kings Dominion, as that thing just hurt.

Steel: Top Thrill Dragster (but it will be Kingda Ka in a couple weeks) Wood: Mean Streak (but it will be El Toro in a couple weeks)

Once again, another awesome update. I really like seeing the videos of Tokyo Disney attractions that I've been on, as it is quite funny to see them in a different languange. Also, most of them end up being better in Japan (typically due to theming). I also prefer Holiday Small World and Haunted Mansion to their regular versions (Holiday Mansion is my favorite attraction at Disneyland). If you do Japan trips every two years (approximately) i don't think I'll be able to do 2013, but I'm planning Japan 2015 (yes, a bit far out, but whatever). Thanks for the updates from Japan for your entire trip. I know it must have been a lot of work, but I really think these were some of the best updates ever.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was really, really good. I was at a midnight screening (yes, I know this post is a bit delayed). Everything in the movie was really well done. However, it was also very different from the book. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but given how close all but two of the other films have been, I thought it would be a little closer. Either way, probably the best movie of the series or maybe second (after PoA, but I need to see DH2 to decide) and my favorite movie of this year so far. Looking at what is to come, it doesn't look too likely that anything will beat it.

July 13th, 2011-Six Flags Magic Mountain This was a long delayed visit to the park. As a general rule, I try to avoid visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain during the summer because it is too crowded and there are way too many line jumpers (worst park for line jumping that I have been to, even worse than Knott's). However, this year I decided to make an exception due to the opening of Green Lantern: First Flight. Originally, the ride was going to open Memorial Day, so I planned to visit in early June before all the schools were out for the summer. Of course, the ride got delayed, so I rescheduled my visit for the first week after it opened. As everybody knows, the ride was delayed all the way until July 1st, and this required me to push my visit until mid-July, as there was the only time I could visit before I leave for my trip. In an attempt to get to the park early and experience Green Lantern with a short wait, I left home at about 8 A.M. For this trip, my brother and sister came too, along with one of my sister's friends (who had never been to the park). There was a little delay due to traffic, but I still managed to get to the park early and be in line at the gate just after 10. For whatever reason, however, the entrance plaza was already about three-quarters full. A half-hour later, the gates opened and we headed directly to Green Lantern, along with about a third of the crowd. When we got there, we found the wait was a little over 30 minutes, which I figure isn't bad for a new ride. Since I have done other SFMM trip reports, I am not going to review every single ride, only the ones that are new or have changed rankings since my last vist. I also did not take any pictures as this is one of the best documented parks. Green Lantern: First Flight-This is a very unusual ride. It is very different from anything else I have ever ridden, and is certainly a lot better than it appears. On my ride, I only got one flip, but I still thought the ride was very good. Under ideal conditions, I think Green Lantern would be my favorite coaster in the park, but for now I am going to rank it as simply as a top tier coaster (see below for my rankings). A However, as much as I like Green Lantern, there are a few things I would like to see changed with the attraction. First, the ride has a decently themed indoor queue. However, they hold the line outside and only let a small number of people inside. This means that when you go inside, you have to walk right past all the theming and the movie without really paying much attention to it. I would much prefer it if the park would have the line inside instead of outside, both so you can appreciate the theming and so you aren't waiting in the heat and sun. Second, the seats on the ride vehicles are really high in the station. I am almost six feet tall, and I had difficulty climbing up onto them. Perhaps the park could consider adding a small step that raises about six inches for loading and drops before the ride is dispatched. It wouldn't need to be very large, and would help a lot. Finally, I don't know how much of a capacity boost (if any) there is with running five cars instead of just four. However, the loading takes so long that every single car stopped on the midcourse brakes and sat there for a bit. This really interrupted the ride, and if there really isn't a capacity difference between four and five cars I would prefer it if the ride was run with only four. Overall, however, Green Lantern is a decent addition, but it is just a super low capacity ride. Unlike other rides, which often get shorter waits as they age, I don't think the line for this will ever be short. Every other coaster in the park (except possibly Road Runner Express and Deja Vu) gets better capacity than this (even Superman with one track), so if you want to ride it go there first or be prepared for an hour or more wait. After Green Lantern, we headed to Apocalypse. Unfortunately, it was closed and hadn't opened yet. We noticed that Deja Vu was running, however, and rode that with a minimal wait. Still a solid B ride, and much, much, much better than a normal Boomerang. We then noticed that Tatsu was open (it was listed as closed at the entrance), but decided not to ride since it looked to have a long wait. This was a mistake. We went up to the top of Samurai Summit and rode Ninja next. Ninja-I don't know what it is, but my opinion of this ride seems to change every time I visit the park. Sometimes, it seems like a good ride, and other times it is "just okay." Today was one of those "just okay" days. It wasn't bad, and was still better than the other suspended I've been on (Iron Dragon), but I just don't think it's worth more than a three train wait. D We tried for Superman: Escape From Krypton next, but since my sister's friend didn't want to ride and the line was out of the building with one track running (probably at least an hour) we skipped it and went for lunch. After lunch, we did Riddler's Revenge (still the best stand up...A), Batman The Ride (still my least favorite Inverted Coaster...C), Colossus (good but not great...C), Scream (undervalued...B) and were going to do Goliath but it was broken. My sister and her friend then wanted to go off on their own for a bit, so they did, and headed off toward Viper. My brother and I instead headed toward the other new for 2011 coaster, as we needed the credit. Road Runner Express-This is the third Vekoma Junior coaster I've been on with the same layout, and it is probably my favorite of the three. It doesn't have as nice of theming as Gadget's Go Coaster, and it only does one lap, but fortunately the line wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, due to the extra slow loading procedure it took quite a while. For whatever reason, the station is one sided, so everyone has to get off, and the operator has to close the exit gate and open the entrance gate. He then lets people in until all the cars are filled, then everyone buckles the seatbelt and those are checked, then the lapbars are locked and those are checked, then the train is dispatched. The whole process probably takes 2-3 minutes. Also, they have boarding aisles even though nobody is allowed on the station while the ride is operating. I found these kind of random. One other note...the seatbelt is so short there is no way two adults can ride together. If two people are in the same car, one would have to be elementary-school aged or less. D By the time we finished this ride, Goliath was running so we headed over there and got on with a short wait. It is still a really good ride, and in my opinion, better than it is given credit for. A. We then rode Log Jammer. Log Jammer-With the recent rumor of this ride's upcoming removal, I wanted to be sure to ride it in case I didn't get another chance. This is a good log flume, but I don't think it is anything spectacular. It also is a bit too wet for my tastes. If it is removed, I'd be fine with that, but only if something better replaces it. If not, I look forward to enjoying it in the future until its time comes. C We then rode Revolution, which would be so much better if it had more comfortable restraints (in its current configuration, C) and checked the lines for Tatsu and Apocalypse. Tatsu was approximately 90 minutes and Apocalypse was nearly two hours, so we skipped both and did Jetstream. Slightly better than Log Jammer, at least in my opinion, but still only a C. I also got wetter than I expected on that ride. We then checked Gold Rusher, but since there was one train opted out...checked Superman, and found that the line had grown, so we passed...rode the Orient Express down the hill and checked X...75 minute wait...then I got called by my sister and we met up with them. I told them that the park was crowded, and that we wouldn't be able to do all four of the major remaining coasters. Her and her friend said they wanted to get dinner, but I told them we should do something first to avoid the dinner rush. Her friend wanted to do Deja Vu a second time, but when we got there and found out it was a 45 minute wait we changed plans. They didn't want to wait in long lines, and I didn't want to remain idle until they got shorter, so we got a snack and waited for X2. I was glad to learn that the audio was back in action, and the ride felt smoother than it had been last time I rode. A. I then asked what everyone else wanted to do. My sister wanted to do Superman, but her friend said he was done for the day and just wanted dinner. My brother and I decided we did Superman enough at WCB, so we decided to just leave and get dinner at Wendy's before heading home. As a result, we got home significantly early, as we left the park at 7 P.M. instead of 9 like I had planned. Six Flags Magic Mountain...not a place I like to visit in the summer. In about 9 hours, I got to do 14 rides. As a passholder, this isn't a big deal, but if you only have one day to visit and it has to be during the summer, you better invest in a Flash Pass or plan some rides to skip. There is no way you can do all of the park's coasters in one day anymore because there are just too many. It didn't help that a few were only running one train. Speaking of Flash Pass, this system is really starting to annoy me. In general, I don't mind skip the line systems as long as they are fair. The regular and gold levels are what I consider fair when you merge into the line at the pick a row point. On the rides where you go up the exit and can pick any row, the system is what I consider unfair, because it can affect people who want to ride together. The platinum level is always unfair, because people get to ride twice. At Ninja, a group with a platinum Flash Pass messed up the groupings of at least six different parties, increasing their wait times by two trains or more. I've also seen people abuse the platinum pass when operators are not paying attention, riding more than twice or switching seats. I know that is partly the fault of the ride operators, but it just annoys me. I think it would be much better if, at least with the platinum pass, the operators waited until there were 20 or so riders, then put them all on the same train and didn't load any people from the regular line. I know it would reduce capacity, but it would also cut back on the annoyance level of the regular line. Finally, I think any ride that is operating at significantly reduced capacity (one train) or is a low capacity ride by default (theoretical below 1000 pph) should not have the flash pass as it lengthens the regular line too much. Now, this may be just me ranting, as I have never used the Flash Pass at SFMM (but have used Qbots elsewhere) and never will since I visit so often, but the people I talked to were getting pretty annoyed with it as well. Okay, enough negativity. It was a decent day, just not as good as I was hoping. It's also too bad that my sister's friend, who has never been before and likely won't be back for years (his family only visits an amusement park about once every three years, and always Knott's or Disney), was unable to experience all of the park's best rides. Finally, here is my current ranking of SFMM's coaster lineup (I've been on all operating coasters except Magic Flyer). A couple are placed at two spots because it depends on conditions. Green Lantern: First Flight (predicted ideal ride) Apocalypse (at night) Tatsu X2 Green Lantern: First Flight (my one flip ride) Goliath Apocalypse (during the day) Riddler's Revenge Scream! Deja Vu Superman: Escape From Krypton Batman The Ride Viper Colossus Revolution Road Runner Express Ninja Gold Rusher Canyon Blaster That's it for this report, and that's probably all for a bit. Once I get back from my trip, I'll be adding at least one update per week until I am done.

I'm interrupting the Log Jammer debate for a brief report as I was at the park today. Here are a few notes (I apologize if any of this is old news). 1. Rode Green Lantern: First Flight. I only waited about 30 minutes since I went there first thing, and the line seemed to hover around an hour and fifteen minutes (according to posted signs) for the rest of the day. Only got one flip, but it is still a very good ride and I highly recommend it. Don't underestimate it...the forces are quite strong. 2. Tatsu reopened today. It was listed as closed, but about five minutes before opening I noticed it was testing, and when I went over there a bit before noon the ride open. Didn't end up riding due to a 90+ minute wait all day, but in case anyone is wondering...it is open. 3. Apocalypse is still running only one train. Didn't ride due to the 2 hour wait. Also, for whatever reason, Deja Vu was running fine all day but Apocalypse seemed to be having issues. It opened late and didn't seem like it was sending the train that often, even when compared with other visits where one train was running. 4. Goliath was having issues all day, opening on and off throughout the day. Managed to get a ride with almost no wait due to timing. 5. Superman: Escape From Krypton was only running the left side. The line was over an hour all day, so I did not ride (but I did it several times at WCB). 6. Got the Road Runner Express credit. Good family coaster, and very good theming by Six Flags standards. However, the loading procedure causes the line to move very slowly, and the queue house is confusing. 7. The park was very crowded. The entire parking lot was full and they were using the dirt lots. There were also a lot of day camp kids. Maybe this is normal for the summer, but as I rarely visit in the summer I'm not sure. 8. Finally, X2 had audio on both trains that were running. It appears that the audio system isn't dead at all, and was just experiencing some glitches recently.

Until I hear more, I'm not going to believe that Log Jammer is closing after this year. However, given what has been said/hinted at during the past two WCB Q&As, I could see a 2013/2014 coaster going in there. Possibly a complete circuit launched coaster that makes use of the mountainside terrain and the old monorail tunnel. I may just be dreaming here, but if the Log Jammer does indeed close I think that would be a definite possibility. Either way, I find it extremely unlikely the park will get a coaster next year since they added two (plus refurbished one) this year. Just in case, I'm going to ride it on my trip today, and making a point of riding it every time I go. It isn't the best log flume I've been on, but it is a decent ride. I just hate those water cannons, and that is the main reason I prefer the Jetstream.

I really like Disneyland in California, but every time I see pictures of Tokyo Disney I always think "California Disney could be so much better." If only California Adventure had some of the rides Tokyo DisneySea has. Awesome update, and I really enjoyed the included videos. Sinbad, Journey, and Aquatopia all look like really interesting rides, and I didn't realize how different the Japanese Fantasmic was from the Disneyland version. Since they are so different, I'm just going to say they're both really good shows instead of saying one is better than the other (especially since I've only seen the California version live). I really need to start saving money so I can join the next Japan trip (provided it is three or more years off). Can't wait for part 2.

I can't wait for the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. From everything I've heard so far, this is sounding like it will most likely be the best one. I'm going to watch Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on Thursday afternoon before I get in line since both were adapted from the same book and go together (plus I've rewatched the other six movies over the past two months). As for seeing it multiple times in theaters, I saw Part 1 twice, and I'll probably see Part 2 twice as well (or possibly three times). I personally don't get the appeal of seeing a movie more than two or three times in theaters, and would rather save money and watch it successive times on DVD. In other news, I saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon over the weekend. I feel that it is underrated, and is the best of the three Transformers films. However, it isn't some groundbreaking movie, and still has a relatively weak storyline. It did correct many of the faults present in Revenge of the Fallen, but unless you're a fan of Transformers or are looking for a CGI character & explosion fest, it might not be your thing. My least favorite movie of summer 2011 so far (out of this, Thor, X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Super 8), but still a decent flick.

Out of what I've been on, the following four are what I would consider as having the most airtime throughout the entire train (in no particular order): Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg California Screamin' at Disney California Adventure Park Intimidator at Carowinds Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point Other than those four, there are only two or three coasters I've been on that I would say actually have a decent amount of airtime, and those are mainly in a single seat or a small number of seats. Fortunately, this year I'll get on several rides well-known for delivering a large amount of airtime.

I prefer the floorless rides, especially on diving machines, but it really isn't enough of a difference to affect the ride. I just like the more open feeling the cars have when they are floorless.

I highly doubt Viper will be going anywhere unless it becomes too expensive to maintain. It is popular with a lot of the general public (probably the most popular of the older coasters), and is a high capacity attraction. Since Great American Scream Machine just closed, I'm assuming SFMM got some of the spare parts from that ride and can use them to maintain Viper. However, out of the 18 coasters the park currently has, Viper does seem like the most likely candidate for removal should the park decide to remove one, although I'm going to give it at least 5-10 more years before that happens.

17/20, but I had to guess at several of them. I guess I know more random amusement park history facts than I thought I did.

This may change after my upcoming trip, but for now (excluding kiddie coasters, and 1 is the worst): Worst Wood Coasters: 1. Woodstock Express 2. Mean Streak 3. Hurler Worst Steel Coasters: 1. Cedar Creek Mine Ride 2. Disaster Transport 3. Pony Express None of these are rides I would never ride again, but if I'm visiting the park by myself they have no wait or I won't ride. I'm happy to ride with someone else who wants to ride provided the wait isn't excessive.