ryder

If you are spending all that time at Knotts, also make sure you head over across the street to see Indenpendance Hall. It's a nice, quite respite that is very often overlooked. If you really want to explore the park, there is so much history here. Parts of this park have been around for nearly 100 years... many of the building in Ghost Town are actually authentic, moved from real ghost towns. Aside from the obviously, try to catch the small things: a melodrama at the Bird Cage Theater (if running), visit the Schoolhouse, see (and hear) Catawumpus, feel the heartbeating grave at Boot Hill, listen to the "Private Club" across from the bumper cars (Wheeler Dealer), talk to Sad Eye Joe, catch the ghost in the coffin near the Bird Cage theater, view all the peek-ins around Ghost Town, catch the Wild West Stunt Show, and view the MIssion dioramas. For Ghostrider, if you go first thing in the morning, there are local feral cats that get fed by the nearby Pan for Gold every morning... look for them! And also listen for the sounds of mining as you enter the tunnel for Ghostrider, as well as in a pit near Boot Hill. And if you look up around Ghost Town, you may see some rocking chairs rocking all by themselves... Mystery Lodge is a lovely show, very underrated. And the Stagecoach is unique, but it can get long (and very slow moving) lines, so try to hit it on the early side. You may encounter some robbers on the train. The Hat Dance is a great, speedy tea cup ride that can really fly. If you're a Snoopy fanatic, there are at least two "hidden" Snoopys: one in the ironwork fence around the large fountain across from Iron Reek, and one in the Iron Reef loading area mural/steelwork. Good luck finding them. And go to the Chicken Dinner restaurant in the Marketplace (outside the park)... they have been serving the same recipes since the place got 4 hour lines in the 1930's. There's a reason it's popular. And eat as much Boysenberry as possible (the Boysenberry punch, served at most food locations in the park, is not to be missed)--it's the local crop that originated right on that very land. Also in the Marketplace, in some "hidden" doors in gift shop (they are marked "This is not an Exit"), is a lovely atrium and nook that is recreated to look like George Washington's fireplace (and all important bathrooms, lol).

The entire place was built off the chicken dinner restaurant... so gotta eat there. Kind of a must. Also, Mystery Lodge is a surprisingly thoghtful show for a theme park. I do recommend it.

On a side note, if you are using membership for your front of the line passes, it does not include: X2, Superman, or Crazanity. I'd use it for FT or Tatsu... the line for TC generally moves pretty fast, especially if you get there early. I'd get to X2 ASAP, but also keep in mind it frequently has trouble opening with the park, and is frequently delayed by about 2o-30 minutes. Revolution hasn't had SR in a long time. I think Viper may have removed theirs as well. But I would use it on Riddler and Drop of Doom.

Exactly... which is why it's a total mystery to me why they haven't done this yet for Hangtime... where they even have a grouper on hand, and space to do it if it shared the Fastlane path (which is how CGA handles their SR for Railblazer). So many empty seats go by wasted on that, probably way more than Ghostrider gets. Same for Iron Reef.

^On a side note, the roosters and chickens aren't at Knott's any more. They were shipped off.

According to a video online, when Windjammer was a flop, Knott's sued Togo, which caused them to go bankrupt and essentially put an end to the company. I also heard that when Knott's also had it's problem with Windseeker, Mondial gave them a good deal on the Sol Spin replacement. Maybe Knott's should stop making rides with the word "Wind" in their name?

Keep in mind SFGrAdv has a HUGE animal attraction... so unless they decided to close that (and it's so immense and integral to the park, I can't imagine it)... SF will always be forced to dabble in the animal game.

^I mean... that's the entire point of Fast Lane. They want you to buy it. I mean, non-obstructed seats at a show DO cost more...

^They did it that way last year, too.

LAUSD will be off next week, so don't expect low levels of crowds to last.

I'm a bit concerned to hear about the Dolphin Pool going away... I'm going up next week to do the Dolphin Encounter that's included with the Diamond Elite. We signed up and got a confirmation, so it's happening somehow... does that happen in a different location?

Word on the street is that it will be a dark ride... which the park badly needs, so I'm all for it.

[quote="powpig" No love for Desperado? Way closer than Cannibal. Not in its current condition... when it does run anymore, it’s pretty rough. Although it essentially is currently SBNO. So no, it doesn’t count at all a time the moment.

When you bought that membership, you agreed to a contract that you'd remain at the level for a certain time period (probably a year). While you will have to read your own fine print, probably not until your year is up.

It's easy to forget, but when Goliath first opened in 2000, it was, for a brief moment, the tallest coaster in the world at 235ft (with the drop being 255ft since it goes below ground level). It opened about 2-3 months before Millennium Force took that title away. Even so, with the exception of Superman (which many view as a one trick pony, not a true coaster), it's still the tallest coaster on the West Coast to this day. I believe you have to get to Texas for Titan before you get anything taller.

I believe we were both referring to the Christmas pass. You are correct, there's never been one sold for the Boysenberry Festival.

^^If I'm not mistaken, they no longer sell that "craft fair" pass. Everyone has to pay full admission, and has full access to the park. I can't find where the Boysenberry Basil Lemonade is sold... it's one of the only items not listed in the guide. Is it the same place that sells the boba?

That's some great advice! But I know I'd also want to do many of the rides (since I haven't been to this park since Shriekra)... and I'd imagine the ride lines are huge? Definitely want to also do Falcon's Fury, and CoasterBill was saying that's closed during Howl o Scream (Cheetah Hunt is also a must). Or is there a way to also add ride FoL?

Hey there! I'm thinking of traveling to BGT for their Halloween event. I've been to the park before (back when Shriekra was the latest, so it's been a while), but never for Halloween. I know their Halloween event in a separate ticket, but about how much does it cost? And I imagine it's probably very crowded... do they sell a "fast pass" type ticket? And if so, is it good for haunt mazes only, or haunt mazes and rides? If not, do they sell sort of "day/night" combo ticket? Because we'd like to do the park rides as well as the mazes, but would rather not pay for two separate tickets in one day. I'd check the site myself, but it's so early in their season, they don't have any info on that posted yet, so I thought I'd ask from advice here to get an idea.

^I've been hearing that SR line is new, and will only be used on heavily attended days. So there's no guarantee it'll be available. But I do agree they need a few more SR lines, especially Hangtime and IR--it could be done really easily there, as those rides already have a grouper. Xcelerator would be nice as well, but I do understand it'd be a bit tougher to manage.

I can imagine all this rain we've been having must be adding to the delays... so I'm not really holding my breath on an opening anytime soon.

I wouldn't mind a few credits...where is the Bug House and the Dutch Wonder House located? I enjoy these attractions a lot as well. Whenever I visit SFGA, I find myself enjoying Houdini's Great Escape more than nearly any other ride there. I really don't know why these haven't hit more on the Western half of the US. Personally, I think one of these would go great at Knott's Berry Farm... they don't take up much space, it's very family friendly, and I think they could have fun giving it a haunted western theme of some kind. For many years, we did have a "mad house" style attraction on the West coast... the old ice/volcano/mummy tunnel at the end of the Studio Tram Tour at Universal Studios! That one was especially memorable to me as it was unexpected to drive into one, and because it went the entire length of the tram, seemed to stretch on forever!

^That was verified at another coaster event around the same time. Management does keep insisting they are going to get it back open again, despite never seeing anything happening to it.

Also, I've heard reports the show will be 8 minutes long. It can't be too much longer, because the viewing area is so small, they have to be able to cycle many shows in a given evening. I've also heard rumors it may play after summer, into another noted season...

Yes, Disney's California Adventure had one in Bug's Land as Lady Bug Boogie.