StuckInSD

Silver Bullet at Knott's. Still don't get why it gets crap.

Huh. The damage doesn't look too bad. Yet now it looks like there's a Goliath bite mark in it.

No man should have this much power. I'd Revive: The ancient wooden coaster types that have been long forgotten (Virginia Reels, Switch-backs, Prior & Church's woodies); Flying Turns is getting close, but we need MORE. Also Intamin Shoot-the-Chutes with near vertical drops (RIP Perilous Plunge). I'd Not Revive: Inverting wooden roller coasters done wrong (Hades 360, Son of Beast). I'd Kill Off: Really bad and sketchy Chinese knock-off rides. And Goudurix.

I'm a bit surprised it took Disney this long to finally go ahead and make a Frozen-themed ride. I would've thought they'd have plans for one while making the movie. I've never had the privilege of going to Orlando for anything, but that won't stop me from being a total nerd about WDW, and I enjoy Disney's constant efforts to please the public as a whole, GP and junkies. This will definitely keep more people coming to Epcot, and it gives a rather odd "Disney" ride a much-needed face-lift. That being said, it makes you wonder how the people who work at the Norway pavilion are taking this in. The movie isn't really "set" in Norway, even though it's clearly influenced by it, and I'm sure the Norwegian-raised staff are aware of it. I'm not sure how they'll react to little girls coming over to their Norway pavilion and asking how it was like living in Arendelle and if they met the princesses. I'm sure they'll be trained on what to say, but wouldn't it be grating after a while?

Being in SoCal, snow and low temps are like bedtime stories we tell our kids. But in all seriousness, I hate it when winter hits. Because when it gets cold everywhere else, that's when all the snowbirds and other tourists flood California, and in particular, the parks. I've been at Disneyland, Knott's and Legoland at their worst in the cold, and it gets horrid. Knott's at least has some elbow room, but the other two turn into Comic-Con levels of crowded. All the benches get taken up, lines stretch into hours long for everything, and food, bathrooms and guest services take a nose-dive. I'm used to being stuck in long waits for rides, but On the other hand, when we get actual cold weather (like precipitation or a cold fog), the parks are abandoned (or at least emptier). Rainy days at Disneyland are a god-send because the locals and hardcore fans go, and most (if not all) of the smelly tourists stay away, since rain is apparently the second coming of the plague. Lines are cut in half, staff relax and get friendly, and I don't have to deal with some Chinese touring group clogging up the walkways as I motor around from ride to ride. All I need is a jacket and a hat/umbrella and I'm good to go! Plus, it's nice when body heat actually helps more than it hinders.

Now that I think about it, ________ Mountain is just being lazy. You can put whatever word you want in front of it and call it done, such as: - Space - Splash - Runaway - Dragon - Dinosaur - Happy - Big - Thunder - Magic - Twister The Spanish variant is worse. There's literally 39 coasters with "Montaña Rusa" in the name. And those are just the onese RCDB lists.

Most rides you see at county fairs are from extremely sketchy to okay at best, and unless it's a Schwarzkopf, the roller coasters are usually the sketchiest of the bunch. Rusted tracks, coupled with the constant swaying of the ride itself (as in the entire track), made me extremely uneasy once I boarded. Now granted, Giant Dipper isn't really all that different except that it's made of wood... and actually has some decent structure, but an experience similar to that would've been fine. Unfortunately, I was the fat guy of our three-person whirling dervish of death that was called the Crazy Mouse. Easily the worst thing I ever did for $3.

SeaWorld: Manta Belmont Park: Giant Dipper (also the ONLY coaster at that park) Legoland: ... can I choose those mechanical arm thingies instead?

That's still 3 more fires than what I've heard coming from any other manufacturer. I love RMC's projects but geez, if this is going to be a reoccurring thing they better have plans for the next one. The last thing we need is an actual "wildfire" around Wildfire at Kolmården.

I find the e-mails quite useful, particularly for trip reports that often get glazed over in the constant shifting of threads. I'd say something about videos, but I'm browsing Youtube and checking the channel everyday anyways!

Just checked the video, and I think it's 3 or 4 trains. Two at a time race, while one's heading through the breaks and another getting loaded. That's just a guess, though. But I'm fully expecting Magic Mountain to be down to two trains a month or two after TC opens.

^^ Don't forget Screamin' Demon and Screamin' Eagle. Runaway Mountain: So... does the mountain have legs or something? iSpeed: iThink this iName thing is iRate. Hades 360: The ride did more of a 180 in the opposite direction than a 360. Laff Track: Straight out of a dictionary for all things Willy Wonka. Oh wait, that came from Hershey. Tickler: The extremely creepy face plastered all over the ride doesn't help.

^^ Maybe it's the fact that you have to go out to the middle of nowhere for the credit. Also, you might be a coaster nerd if you took it one step further and actually built one in your backyard. Like this guy: Pretty sure this one has been done before.

Hooray. Now my fat butt is even more likely to somehow get me wet on the first drop.

Geez. It's like those East Coast news reporters talking about "haboobs" in California/Arizona.

Yet to ride one, but I'll get my chance once the San Diego County Fair is back in season... and scams another $40 off me- ANYWAYS. Still has gotta be infinite-times better than the ghetto Crazy Mouse and pay-to-walk fun houses.

I've always wondered what Story Land is really like. To me, it looks like Legoland without the LEGOs, but I'm probably wrong. At least it seems to be getting good crowds! Though it saddens me that Roar-O-Saurus seems to be scaring off so many kids. Wasn't it designed to be like a thrillseeker's first coaster?

"Apocalypse" and "great" in a sentence? I haven't seen those words in the same sentence since its opening week.

^^ They used to have Ultratwisters, so there's hope. Is it safe to say that 2014 was the year that the mass extinction of stand-ups started?

Maybe they'll have some new, revolutionary train that puts you in a kneeling position and call it Praying Mantis.

When I was a little kid, the first coaster I was ever smitten by was the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park. You're just walking down the beach and BAM, there's a coaster right there! The way it rattled, the cool little tunnel at the beginning, and just the fact that it's literally a woodie in the middle of a beach city AT the beach. Also for the fact that at any given moment it felt like it was going to fall apart into a million pieces . Now I go nuts whenever I see any beach coaster or old woodie (or even better, a beach woodie ).

Looks Like Sky Scream at Holiday Park or Superman Ultimate Flight at SFDK.

I'm actually having a little bit of a hard time reading some CF threads because of that. I get that they're anxious, but 4 years is not that long ago. And at least 4 years ago they got a really good coaster; we got Pony Express at Knott's 2 years earlier and not a new coaster since. Since I got Knott's and Magic Mountain down here, I can't really declare a superior. Knott's theming, food and events are top-notch, but Magic Mountain has a LOT more rides (many of which I still think are good... poor Viper), especially credits. So really, I say whichever one is your huckleberry.

Some SoCal hipster will buy those.

Any theme park churro is a good churro, especially the ones that are 2-feet-long. I remember a lot of my good theme park food experiences being at, ironically, Disneyland. As long as you avoid the typical tourist fare, there's a lot of really cool and delicious things around the park. Those many things include Dole whip (Enchanted Tiki Room), all-you-can-eat BBQ (Big Thunder Ranch), hand-dipped corn dogs (Main Street wagon), gumbo in a bread bowl (right next to Blue Bayou), Coldstone-style ice cream (Gibson Girl Ice Cream Parlor) and FUDGE (everywhere). My last visit to SeaWorld was pretty good as well. Lots of barbecuing was going on, and I'm a sucker for anything off the grill. Legoland's food was sorta hit-and-miss last time I visited, but their apple fries, though overrated, are good. Still have yet to try one of those rainbow ice creams, though...