CedarFlags

Emperor looks short but sweet. I think it's a solid addition to the lineup, and I'm very interested to see what difference the smaller trains make. I tend to find Dive coasters a bit... lumbering. But hopefully the smaller trains add a little quickness.

The SFGAm Facebook is advertising a hiring event on Feb 19, so that probably explains why there's no operating calendar yet. They seem to not have a reliable prediction for their staffing.

I'm not sure about Magic Mountain, but Knott's is kind of unbearable most Saturdays so I would avoid. Fastlane passes will help with rides, but there are long and slow lines for everything else. One thing to consider though is that Knott's has been offering significantly longer hours than MM. MM will probably be dead for crowds on Monday, but will also only be open for 6.5 hours. Even with light crowds, that doesn't leave you a lot of time to experience everything. If you only care about coasters, I would say... take Saturday for yourself, then do Six Flags on Sunday (traffic will also be way better), and Knott's on Monday.

I've got the Southwest card and I'm pretty happy with it. My biggest thing is to always try and hit more than one park per trip. Flights are typically the biggest expense, so I maximize what I do with only one round trip flight. HOWEVER... renting a car post Covid is a different ball game , and depending where you're going, extra days can cost more than a plane ticket.

They said the same thing when Knott's got a new GM who came from Disney... some rumors just never die

^^ This is excellent news. Tbh, I was expecting a worse outcome.

Holy moly! Those buildings are wild, I definitely don't have the patience for stuff like that.

I wish they'd at least do a shade cover The weather in San Diego is nice, but when visiting a park for a day it's really nice to have shade in the queues and stations since you're standing stationary in the sun.

Okay, so I've been complaining about this for a while, but I am genuinely curious to see if anyone knows the reasons for this. American parks seem to have an issue with buying from Vekoma nowadays and I don't understand it. Back when the SLCs and Arrow looper knockoffs were trash, American parks couldn't buy them fast enough. But now that Vekoma has been producing really top-tier loopers in Europe and China for 5 years now, it's crickets in America. Other than WDW, the only other American Vekoma coasters of the last decade have been family suspended coasters... and there are only 3. Is the company difficult to deal with? Do they have a bad reputation for service? Considering they have 30 year old Boomerangs still running all over the world, I feel like the answer to that is no. Are they more expensive now than they were? Or are sit-down loopers just too retro in America and not marketable enough without a record and/or gimmick?

I might be taking a trip to Chicago this spring. The calendar on the website is totally blank right now, anyone know when the park tends to announce opening day?

Well... as far as stuff like quarantines for employees with symptoms or exposures. Masks are obviously a lost cause in TX

Also, re: staffing.... Texas absolutely annihilated its previous COVID case records this month. In January of 2021, there were about 600,000 new cases in Texas. January of 2022 has had over 1.5 million. Fully 5% of the state got Covid just this month. I'm sure that's having a massive effect on a company like Six Flags with a huge workforce and intentionally cautious safety policies.

Xcel has been bouncing back and forth between open & closed. I wonder if they're working on it during the week and opening it for the weekends? They used to do that with Ghostrider.

I was about to head to Magic Mountain this weekend and then I noticed that half of my favorite rides are closed... surprising. Fair warning for Knott's, it's very common for Ghost Rider to close for maintenance in the weeks right after a major season (summer, halloween, xmas). Sometimes they'll work on it mid-week and have it open for weekends, but just prepare yourself for the possibility of it being down.

I think it's very funny how all the youtubers are posting videos with titles like "Knott's Giga CONFIRMED". Like... bless your optimistic hearts but it most certainly is not. I was a nay-sayer at first, but if this plan is what ends up happening, I would say I'm actually in favor of it. It keeps Ghost Town intact, it adds a much needed parking structure, it appears to be a high capacity ride (FINALLY), and it would be a thrill experience that no one else on the West Coast is offering.

I'm also super intrigued by the Jason Bourne stunt show at Universal Orlando. I've heard nothing but praise for it.

You're right that it is a MASSIVE investment and if it all happens, I don't see this opening until 2023 or possibly 2024. It's essentially 3 entire projects rolled into one... the expansion inside the park, the coaster, and the parking lot re-do. It might already be a hyper... I think it would be more likely to get something in the 250 range that can be marketed as the tallest coaster in the West. Would save some money and be essentially the same marketing angle as if it was 300 ft. As far as noise... the Ghostrider tunnel was actually added because of noise complaints from Hotel guests. And this plan shows a new parking structure going in place between the Hotel and the ride, so I think that would probably help deflect some noise. Plus they would probably opt for the filled-track like on Silver Bullet which eliminates the roaring noise. Also, the first drop appears to be a reasonable distance from the property line, so that should help with neighbors.

This is why I'm absolutely losing my mind over this being very possibly real. The joke of a KBF Giga was like a secret handshake for online enthusiasts.

@Zand That trip **might** be hypothetically possible, if everything went exactly according to plan. But I think it would also be stressful af and you'd spend more energy watching the clock and than enjoying yourself. Also... it has absolutely zero margin for error / delays.

Wow, I guess I stand corrected. I truly did not see this coming at all. Interesting though... the two pages have totally different footprints. I wonder if there is a range of options to get approvals for?

So obviously most of us here visit theme parks primarily for the rides... coasters, flat rides, dark rides, etc. But theme parks also have some hidden gems with non-ride attractions / experiences. As much as I love coasters, I'm a huge proponent of parks having a wide variety of experiences to create a well rounded visit and capitalize on the unique environment of a theme park. I'm a pretty big fan of shows, particular special effects kind of shows. Mystery Lodge at Knott's Berry Farm, Poseidon's Fury at Universal IOA, and WaterWorld at USH immediately come to mind. Noah's Ark at Kennywood is also iconic and unique, and I was totally blown away by Houdini's Great Escape at SFGAdv (kind of a ride, but kind of not). What are some of your faves?

Xcel is back open as of last night. But it looks like the park just caught a tough break with the Home For the Holidays show. There was an announcement that it's closed early due to "staffing and technical issues". Shame, it was a pretty big Christmas extravaganza show and it went down right before the big busy couple of weeks. Got to see the ice show a couple days ago and it was lovely as usual. Ghostrider is still doing well. Some ops were SLOOOW when I was there a few days ago, seems like the rides dept is hurting for staff as well. Lots of operators having to do multiple positions (seat check, fast lane, handicap passes). Also, Bullet was doing assigned rows which was pretty unusual. I've never seen it run like that. And the grouper who was assigning rows just disappeared as soon as my train got back to the station... everyone was just picking their own rows again.

Also... adding my 2 cents to the new coaster speculation: If you believe that Knott's is spending $20-30 million on a parking lot giga coaster, you haven't been paying attention to this park for the better part of a decade. The park has been putting nearly all its focus into the Seasons of Fun mentality of providing various seasonal activities & entertainment to drive repeat attendance. Literally as I'm typing right now, an ad popped up for Merry Farm that features the big tree plus a photo of the Saloon with Christmas lights on and snow. Not a single ride visible. The 100th Anniversary celebration that happened in 2021 was almost entirely entertainment driven, except for a family dark ride that leaned in to the park's history, nostalgia, and unique quirkiness. The coasters are still important, but they don't run the show anymore. Knott's stopped being part of the coaster wars quite a while ago. I think the park (correctly) realized that it's strength was not in trying to compete with Six Flags, but to offer something different. There are definitely some thrills to be had, but Knott's is about more than rides... there are experiences, shows, themed areas, history, and special food (which has exploded in the last couple years). This isn't the Dick Kinzel era anymore, and I would go so far as to say that Knott's *doesn't want* a massive hyper/giga. Hangtime is a fun addition to the park that gives thrill seekers something new, but it's also neatly placed into a footprint. Plus, they found a way to make it pull double duty with the light & music shows they program on it for Scary/Merry Farm.

If we're being honest at the gig.... I love the fresh coral-red on Xcelerator but this grey, yellow, orange situation is not doing it for me.

Breaking news folks…. welcome back, Hangtime!