hoppedup

Happy 3/25! Can't wait to get back down to Charlotte soon and ride this beast.

The Magnum XL-200 Gate and WindSeeker Gate are reserved for Hotel Breakers and Lighthouse Point guests only from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Looks like if you are not staying onsite, you will have to use the main gate. :shrugs: I'll just be heading to MF with that lineup anyway.

Had a great day at BGT Thursday. I knew going in that Sheikra and Montu would be closed. But my vacation is "use it or lose it" so I went for it. I got Cheetah Hunt x4, Cobra's Curse, Tigris, Kumba x3, Scorpion x3, Sand Serpent, Falcon's Fury, and took the train ride. Cheetah Hunt was a blast. Park was pretty dead. I have been easing in to dark ride and flat rides. Falcon's Fury was my first drop tower. I have never researched drop towers, so I was surprised by the face down drop. I sat down by the entrance to Iron Gwazi to take a break and they started testing, first empty cars, then with what I assume were employees. Why must they torture an enthusiast with 199 coasters under his belt so? lol Guess I'll have to go back later this year. Photo trip report will follow eventually.

I visited IOA last Wednesday. As a person who has mostly visited SF, CF parks, I have to say the theming and detail blew me away. Animatronics and effects that work? Great ride ops? Check and check. I did not watch POVs of the coasters right before the trip. The rubber tire lift/launch on Hulk was a nice surprise. The drop track on Hagrid's was unexpected as well. I've been trying to branch out so I rode Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey. It really messed up my stomach more than any other coaster I've done. So I spent my necessary downtime waiting for Flight of the Hippogriff. It is genius to split the Harry Potter stuff between two parks. The star of the show and the real impetus for the visit was, of course, Velocicoaster. It did not disappoint. This coaster has a bit of everything. Intense and smooth generally don't go together when discussing coasters, but they do here. It is certainly a world-class coaster. I got two rides in the last row and two in the middle. You do have to have more than one ride just to figure out what happened. Not sure I could pick a favorite element. It is amazing throughout. Full trip report with pics will follow at some point. Final thought on the cost of the ticket (that I thought was high before my visit): You get what you pay for.

It was a blast! My phone crapped out for a while on day 5, so I am waiting on a teenager to send me pics to post that report. (might be a while lol) Trying to post this trip chronologically.

I just noticed that I can book a room near RDU with a Park & Fly package with free shuttle that is really close to the price of long term parking at the airport. I'm only an hour from the airport, but WTH, why not start earning those freebies, right? I saw 3,7, and 10 day parking options, most with $5 or $6 per day additional parking if you need longer.

I kinda get it. SF passes have always been way underpriced, IMO. Looks like my platinum pass I bought at SFDK three weeks ago for $94.99 will equate to an $169.99 Extreme pass. But yeah, go home Six Flags, you're drunk.

Day 4: Big Sur The original plan for this trip did not involve San Diego and included getting all the coasters in before my daughter's passes expired December 31. That plan included 2-3 days to drive the PCH from SF to LA. That plan being shot by Holiday Bowl, I still wanted to at least drive through Big Sur. I highly recommend a drive through this area, and hikes if you are so inclined. We did an out and back drive of about 100 miles overall from Monterey to Big Creek Bridge. Absolutely gorgeous! We stopped a Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to check out some redwood trees. Water was up due to all the recent rain We stopped in Monterey at Alvarado Street Brewery for a delicious dinner (crab mac 'n' cheese for Mags, wings and a Mai TaIPA for me) We rested well that night preparing for Golden Gate Bridge, SFDK, and CGA the following day.

Day 3: Balboa Park and walking SFMM Tuesday we woke up and walked to Mitch's for breakfast burritos, the cheapest and probably most delicious meal of the trip. The Holiday Bowl was still on and so we decided to check out Balboa Park before checking in to our downtown hotel before the game. We hiked a couple of miles in Balboa Park and checked out the Casa del Prado and desert garden. Feed me, Seymour: ! We were almost back to the car when my daughter got a text that the Holiday Bowl was canceled due to COVID cases with UCLA. She was heartbroken as she has become an avid fan of her school's team (NCSU Wolfpack). I was a bit relieved because we could start the long drive to the San Francisco area. We were cruising up I-5 when I saw SFMM. I didn't realize it was right on the interstate, so we decided to duck in and check it out. I knew we'd be back in a few days, so we just walked around and got our bearings and checked out the lights. Crowds were huge and queues were 90 minutes to 2+ hours. We stopped about 45 minutes south of San Jose and planned for some Big Sur exploration the next day.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Looks like I will at minimum spend a day at IOA with these kind of VelociCoaster reviews. And try the other suggestions out as well. If I find it really enjoyable, I can always plan a return trip with the offspring and spend more time. So you're saying it's better than Motocoaster at SFDL, or Pony Express at Knott's? lol

Not really. I'll probably have about 3 hours at Sea World the afternoon I land, Tuesday the 1st. Then do one or both Fun Spots that night. I plan on doing a full day at BGT on Thursday. I have a platinum membership to BG/SW parks so admission isn't a concern. I will probably bite on a Fun Stop pass as well since I will be in Atlanta this year as well. If VelociCoaster is that good I would plan on a 3/4 to a full day at IOA and ride it until I just couldn't anymore. That would probably be Wednesday, February 2. I haven't done a lot of research on UNiversal but it looks like adding Rip Ride Rockit would require a two-park pass? Just trying to gauge the value. IOA has never piqued my interest until this new coaster. I would assume parks aren't busy mid-week in February, but I really have no experience with Florida parks.

I will be in Orlando and Tampa the first week of February to hit up SWO, BGT and both Fun Spots. I have been reading all the hype about Velocicoaster. Is it worth the admission price for someone who will probably only ride that and The Incredible Hulk? Any deals to be had that I am not seeing?

Great Falls of the Potomac is cool if you head north. Colonial Williamsburg is pretty awesome. Richmond is a fun town and a great beer city if you are so inclined. The James River through downtown has some good rapids if the water is up. Legend Brewing has good food, drinkable beer, and the best patio in Richmond, with a view of the downtown skyline form across the river. Ashland is a quaint little town between KD and Richmond with a couple of breweries and a nice downtown inn. I actually like Six Flags America. I have traveled from KD or BGW to SFA three times. One time (I-95) was really stressful. The other two I took highway 301. But I also took highway 9 to 13 to get back to North Carolina from SFGAdv once because I detest I-95 so much. I have now driven in almost every major city in the US at rush hour and IMO, DC is the worst.

That is cool. I just rode this Sunday and it ran great. I hadn't ridden a Schwarzkopf shuttle looper since Carowinds lost White Lightnin' in 1988. I explained to my daughter that it was the OG launch coaster.

I love all bbq. I am just an aficionado of whole hog pork with vinegar & red pepper flake sauce. Mac's is great, just order anything other than pork bbq. I see they actually list it as pulled pork on their menu. Dead giveaway. I'm sure there is decent bbq in Charlotte. I just haven't had it yet. I take the train to charlotte once a month to see a friend play at Free Range Brewing. I mostly hang in NODA for beer. If you are downtown, the light rail will pretty much drop you off on Suffolk Punch's patio. Or The Chamber by Wooden Robot if you head north. Triple C is across the street from Suffolk Punch and Lenny Boy is around the corner. Protagonist, Heist, and Salud are quick walks from the station at Wooden Robot. The food at Salud is really good. The Parkwood station on the light rail is really close to Optimist Food Hall which has a Fonta Flora taproom. They are based in Morganton, NC and make great beer.