joelwee

Definitely planning on riding this year: Maverick Millennium Force TTD Magnum XL-200 Raptor Rougarou SteVen The Beast Diamondback Invertigo Banshee Hangtime Storm Chaser Lightning Run Definitely next year, if not this year: Railblazer Joker (SFDK) Superman: Ultimate Flight (SFDK) Demon (CGA) Iron Rattler Superman: Krypton Coaster WWLOT Maybe someday: I305 Fury 325 New Texas Giant Mr. Freeze

That's a mega bummer. Definitely not the case with the sister Intamin reverse free fall in Australia. What about the rain causes Superman not to operate in the rain as opposed to Tower of Terror? The moisture interferes with the ride's sensors, which causes it to brake prematurely. Since the ride consists of a launch, a second of weightlessness, and then a brake run, there's no point in opening the ride when it won't launch properly. (Source: my brother, who is a ride op on SEFK). I've noticed Full Throttle has this same problem. I've visited the park on a few rainy days, and it was always closed. One time, it began testing a few hours after the rain stopped, but the ride would brake the train halfway through the launch, which caused it to barely reach the loop. It ended up not opening that day.

Superman's closure actually is weather-related. It can't operate when it's wet, and the park always waits several days after any rain before reopening it. When HITP was going on, I believe they had Apocalypse closed during the week, as well. I'm surprised about X2, Tatsu, and Scream being closed, though. I'll probably stop by the park for a few hours tomorrow afternoon; I'm curious to see if those rides are still closed tomorrow. Honestly, though, I'm just glad to have the park open with a few coasters operating during the week, so I can stop by on my way home.

Quick question... for 2018, I upgraded my Knott's Regular Pass to a Platinum Pass. Will the park give me a new pass, or do my Platinum Pass benefits work on my old Knott's pass?

Desert Storm was definitely a unique experience. I love lapbar-only looping coasters, and this one really throws you around. It's one of the few coasters where I don't recommend putting your hands up, especially when riding in the back. Those inversions should be called "back crackers". Also, I think the lift hill is steeper than the drop. Thanks! It really is a weird park. The theming is a mixture of Medieval Times, pirates, and Disney knockoffs. Patriot's lift hill is spanned with a wall full of Disney knockoffs. Thanks! I had the same conundrum in 2016, but finally made time to visit this year. I'm glad I did. True, but this ARM tower was pretty dang suspenseful on the way up. The catch car blocks the view above you, so unless you're facing the tower's shadow, you have no idea how far you have left to go. When you reach the top, it doesn't hesitate like Lex Luthor does; after a quick "ker-chunk", it drops you like a hot potato. The fall was just as thrilling as the lift, IMO. True. It's definitely not a destination park, but it's good for a visit if you happen to be in the area. I've wondered why AZ doesn't have any other parks. The ridiculous summer heat may very well be a reason.

I'm to Phoenix, AZ for New Year's weekend, and used this opportunity to check out this local park. It boasts that it is the home to AZ's tallest, fastest looping coaster (it also happens to be AZ's only looping coaster) - Desert Storm. Its other coaster is Patriot, a steel family coaster. I hadn't researched the park much before going, and figured I'd end up leaving after riding the coasters and playing mini-golf, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much there is to do there besides the two coasters. The park has a decent selection of flat rides, a log flume, and even a zip line; I'll delve more into these in the pictures. One thing that impressed me is how well the park uses the little space it has. Desert Storm takes up about 1/4 of the park, but the go-karts and some of the flat rides are nestled underneath it. The park has different tiers of passes; their main package deal is the Gold Pass, which includes unlimited rides, 18 holes of mini golf, and $10 worth of arcade games. I wasn't interested in the arcade, so I bought a Silver Pass - which is a Gold Pass minus the arcade credit - for $35. Without further ado, let's dive into the pictures. Desert Storm was the first ride of the day. It's a Hopkins looper with two awkward vertical loops, which are both quite jerky. The restraints consist of a lap bar only; said lap bar sat quite loosely on me, so I slid around quite a bit on the turns. For that reason, I really enjoyed this ride. Why you shouldn't drink and design coasters... The trains looked a bit like Arrow trains. Patriot, the park's family coaster, sits at the other end of the park. It was an enjoyable little coaster that was surprisingly forceful. It rattles quite a bit - not surprising, considering its age. Sorry for the bad pic... the sun was in my eyes. There are a couple of places to find grub around the park. Waffles -N- Stuff sells some of the best waffle cones I've tasted, topped with a generous serving of ice cream. That waffle on the roof rotates, tempting the riders of Desert Storm. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture until I had finished 2 of the 3 scoops of ice cream and part of the waffle cone. King's (Re)treat is the main restaurant. It offers standard theme park food - burgers, fries, pizza, Doritos chili cheese nachos... These tasted much better than they sounded. Some other sights around the park... Splashdown, the log flume, nestled underneath Desert Storm's lift hill. This drop tower was a blast, and actually scared me more than Lex Luthor. This painting of Disney knockoffs scared me more than the drop tower. The park was full of these weird Disney knockoff paintings. The go-kart track, underneath Desert Storm's helix. The mini-golf course is in the background. Bumper boats - perfect for a warm, Arizona winter day. This nerve-wracking obstacle course was in the front of the park. Some of the obstacles were blocked off due to snapped ropes, broken steps, etc., which added to the suspense. The zip line The park's main building, which houses the ticket office and arcade. Overall, I really enjoyed this park and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Phoenix area.

Same here. The front row of the back car is my favorite seat. The left seat allows me to check out X2's queue line, but the right side gives more hang time on the corkscrew. I splurged on an all-season picture pass at Six Flags, and also bought a couple of pics on my last trip to Knott's. Here are a few of my favorites. (They're all pre-jaw-surgery. ) My first ride ever on Xcelerator. (Yes, I am wearing a Full Throttle shirt.) Riding Tatsu during HITP 2016 with a few buddies. The guy second from the left side of the train swore off Tatsu after this ride. His brother (far right of the train) found his screams hysterical. Not an official on-ride photo. X2 broke down in the station for about 10 minutes, which gave me time to take a selfie. RIP me

Tatsu - Six Flags Magic Mountain

Last summer, when I saw Dunkirk. When was the last time you ate a donut?

Gold Rusher @ SFMM, in the dark. It's so much better at night.

Neckbelts are a great way to reduce head-banging. If parks just installed these on their old Arrows and Vekomas, they wouldn't need to invest in new trains.

Why is there wood on the support structure? So much for it being STEEL Vengeance!

Looks like a fun layout, but those neck restraints look super uncomfortable.

If we're talking about fried chicken restaurants in general, Mrs. Knott's Chicken Restaurant wins for me, hands down. There's nothing like finishing off a fantastic chicken dinner with a slice of boysenberry pie. If we're just focusing on chains, my favorite is Chick-Fil-A. The sandwiches are quite tasty and not too greasy, and they have a decent selection of breakfast foods, too. My one complaint is the price - but you get what you pay for. I also really like Raising Cane's; I tried it for the first time when I visited AZ this past New Year's; great food, great service, great pricing. They recently expanded into CA, but the closest one is an hour away. KFC and Popeye's were pretty tasty, but my stomach wasn't a fan of either.

Other than Dippin' Dots types claiming that pieces of the track have been removed, I've heard nothing. I'm planning on visiting Knott's within the next month or so and am bummed out I won't get to ride Xcelerator.

Green Piece o' Crap - Six Flags Magic Mountain

I've thought about how cool it would be if RMC could revamp a freeway, but any coolness would disappear during rush hour, when L.A.'s freeways turn into parking lots.

I'll try it out this weekend.

Under that overhang is the last remnant of Boomerang - the air compressor. Obviously, the park decided to reuse it for Hangtime. Thanks for the pics! My bro was at the park today and send me a pic of the lift hill. I can't wait for next spring.

What's different about Batman during HITP, other than the perpetual blast of cold air throughout the ride? I've only ridden Batman at SFMM and Silver Bullet at Knott's. Silver Bullet was one of two coasters that made me sick the first time I rode it. Batman didn't... go figure. That being said, they're both really enjoyable coasters, but I prefer Batman for its intensity.

Let's hope that this extended closure will lead to the dumpster fire known as Green Lantern being removed. Heck, I wouldn't mind if SFMM replaced GL with Knott's old Boomerang.

Goliath at SFFT. It actually did have a Batman theme when it was at SFNO. I'm not sure why SFFT renamed it - maybe so "GP" parkgoers wouldn't realize that it was the same Batman coaster that sat underwater for a month in New Orleans? Anyway, back to the game... -Proudly advertised as "Arizona's tallest and fastest looping coaster"

Driving up to a park that's closed forever. What's worse than three straight days of wind?

Mine is just one of the forum's default avatars, but I chose it because it combines two of my favorite rides.