ryder

I'm from LA, so I don't know this park that well... but how does enclosing the lift hill increase operations? Not being sarcastic, I'm honestly confused about that.

Meh... Goretorium didn't really have that great of a location. I suppose it was great in terms of "middle of the strip", but not great in terms of the fact it was part of a very long, dull, tourist trap/strip mall connector hallway. It wasn't part of a casino, and it was practically surrounded a magnet kisok and a store that sold novelty socks. Not really that appealing of a location. It didn't even really have any close access to a parking lot. Also, while I seem to recall it had a bar, it was minuscule (maybe 8 stools) and barely themed. The place practically had zero curb appeal. Now, it's still not a given this place will be successful. But being it's own building, more (I presume) free parking, adjacent to the successful Area 15, and having a much more elaborate full restaurant and bar will definitely put things more in it's favor. Will that be enough? Still hard to say, but I'm a bit more optimistic. Even if it does ultimately go under, I think it'll hang around for a fair number of years first (Goretorium lasted barely just over a year). If nothing else, it has the backing from Universal, so they'll have some money to throw at it if it flounders (another luxury that Goretorium did not have).

Have any of you been to Vegas lately? This price point is right in line with nearly every other attraction there. Omega Mart is about $60-80+, the downtown zipline (which isn't exactly long) is $50-70+, the Fly Over (which is basically Soarin') is about $40-70+, and Zac Bagan's Haunted Museum is $50-80+.

They did move out a lot of the seating to the adjacent Gerties in the meantime.

As best as I can tell, Stark is more like the old Knight's Tournament ride at Legoland. Basically just a 2 person ride vehicle attached to the end of a Kuka Arm, and then it waves around like crazy. One thing about Knight's Tournament... you were able to select the level of intensity, 1 being very slow and mild, up to 5 with lots of inversions. It'd be cool if they offered that here too, but I'm not holding my breath. I do like how it seems to have detachable seats, to further increase load times. KT didn't have that, and it took forever to load.... I figure that had to be at least part of the reason I don't think it's there anymore.

Yeah, still a lot of unanswered questions about how the legacy memberships will work at CF parks if the add-on is purchase. Currently, I have the Diamond Elite VIP. That gets me preferred parking, drink refills, 50% most mech and food, and 4 Flashpasses per visit. Will that also carry over to CF parks? If not, is it possible to upchage to do so? Because prior to this, we got the CF Prestige Pass, and that also includes preferred parking, access to VIP lounge, and 1 Fastlane per visit. Am I still going to have to get a separate Prestige Pass for CF if I want those benefits? And how will that mesh with the SF Membership? If I can't combine these benefits, then it appears I'll still have to get two separate passes?

I was actually there, staying in Hotel Colosseo, the night of the same soccer game. Was able to get a decent view from our, which was on the 3rd or 4th floor, just out of frame of your pic.

I figure legacy SF Memberships will be going bye-bye... so get all the use out of them now, while you still can

You only get the gut check at the end of FT in the back rows. The front row is much better in that regard (and you get a bonus pop of air over the loop!) It was also notable that nearly every open coaster was running two trains, after months and months of so many rides being in single train ops. I think the only ride still in single train ops is Revolution (though I didn't check X2)

It was stated at a recent Q&A with the management that they just got a new head of maintenance, and their goal is to have all coasters to be open with two train ops (where appropriate... like obviously not Superman) within 2 years

Can't help you on the metro stuff, but as a whole, most schools do not get Earth Day off. LAUSD now gives April 24th off in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, which is on a Wednesday this year.

No, they still have the Gearworks Theater, near the entrance to the Steampunk area. All the dance/cheer competitions the park hosts throughout the year will be moving there (actually, they already have moved there, some events have already happened in that location)

I suspect they just reused the old footage. I figure we'll get an updated video when more is finalized.

I still haven't gotten this email, and my membership price hasn't gone up in a year. Maybe because I have Diamond Elite VIP (which was given because I continued payments during the pandemic)? Which I'm keeping for as long as possible, because not only does it get me 50% off most merch and food, but 4 Fastpasses per visit. Can't beat that. That said, I'm not going to be surprised the day they announce memberships will be revoked, and everyone will have to go back to the seasonal AP. Honestly, I'm surprised it's lasted as long as it has. I suspect the merger may finally put the nail in the coffin for this by next calendar year.

You could say the same thing for Blue Streak at Cedar Point, but that doesn't mean it's preferred to just tear it down for no reason.

I second trying to get a flight from Burbank if possible. The problem is price and times can really be a crapshot. But location-wise, it'd be ideal. SNA isn't really near anything except Disney. I've stayed at the Quality Inn near Knott's. It's okay, but it would be a pretty long walk to Knotts. The on-site hotel would be easier, and it is being upgraded. I've never stayed at a hotel near USH, but there are quite a few of them around, and most should be fine. While I haven't stayed there myself, I've heard nice things about the Beverly Garland hotel. I believe it has a shuttle to the park, and the on site restaurant The Front Yard is surprisingly good and great atmosphere (though expensive). Needing two days at Knotts depends on how involved you want to get. If you're just interested in rides, one day should be enough. If you also want to dig into shows and food (especially if there's an event going on like the Boysenberry Festival), you may need that extra day.

Heard reports of it testing and training, and that they hope to have it open before Haunt.

Was in the park today. While the top of the mountain was closed (Ninja, Superman, Magic Mover--and they often close those rides as they prep for Fright Fest), the only other closed rides today were Apocalypse, JL, and Crazanity. Everything else was open, even Roaring Rapids, Jet Stream, Riddler, Goliath, Drop of Doom, and all the flat rides. Although the app said some rides were closed that were actually open. Also saw all the walls are now up for the Saw maze, as well as large boards for a possible facade. And nearly all the scare zone props are out.

In a world where parks are charging $40-$65 just for parking your car, around $20 for a meal shouldn't really be a shock. Welcome to the world.

The Conjuring has been started, and has been getting worked on for at least a month or more, and is slated to open Sep 15. I know someone working on it, and he says it looks great. Saw seems to be another story, there's nothing there yet, but is scheduled to open at the end of the month.

Apocalypse is being retracked. Superman has been mostly been open, but it can be hit or miss. Riddler has been open of late, that new if it's closed. Same with Roaring Rapids (although it does tend to open later in the day). Goliath has been down for a number of weeks now... same for Crazanity and Ninja. For Ninja, I thought it was for new fencing going up around it, But it's admittedly been down for a while as well.

They haven't announced any scare zones, nor the rumored 2 shows (the Waterworld space and Dreamworks theater), so they could still be incorporated in any of those capacities.

To be fair, I found the app confusing at first, but it becomes more intuitive if you leave on the location tracking. Basically, the games in the app are a treasure hunt, and it tracks you as you move through the park and rewards you the more of the park you see. When the location tracking is left off, you'll get automatic notices to your phone when you've found stuff, and it'll start to make a bit more sense. I think it's something that would add repeat value to the park, because it's clearly a small park, but on subsequent visits, you could devote more time to the games in the app and still be entertained. And the cupcakes are amazing. It's a flight, so they are NOT full sized, but bite sized. But they're high quality, as you can see. Pricey, but worth it IMO. I'll add that while the cupcakes are sold in both main eating locations (at room temperature), they are also sold in refrigerated form in the gift shop at the front of the park.

I visited earlier this summer and was super impressed. Yeah, it's small, but it's so amazingly well themed, there was still a lot to do. You can interact with the park via the app, earning badges by visiting as many locations as possible, which will reveal additional stories. They partnered with a local bakery to create a flight of cupcakes that represent each land (some of the flavors are blue berry, blood orange, and hazelnut). There's a specially made children's book in the gift shop that has one of the characters going through the park. And they even sell a dictionary that translates the language they created. It was really impressive, and the staff was super nice. I do really hope this park makes it, though. There were maybe only about 35 cars in the parking lot the whole day. They seem to be under the umbrella of the waterpark and casino... not really sure why there isn't a shuttle going between those areas to increase more visits. Another problem is location... unless you're local to the area, it's a huge headache to get there. The closest major town with an airport is Des Moines, but it's a regional airport, so flights can be expensive, and it would still be about another 1.5 hour drive. Next closest would be either Omaha or Minneapolis, both at about a 3.5 hour drive. And Chicago is about a 4.5 hour drive.

That said, Lagoon is partially hosting an event in early October of this year, and Primordial was promoted as part of it... so they at least expected to have it open this year (the event was promoted just a month or two ago). Could always change, of course, but wondering if I should get my hopes up at all.