The Great Zo

Always appreciated Ryan, thank you!

Very happy to contribute, and thanks for reading! Absolutely. There is no shortage of cool views, and it only got better at night. Yep, I don't think I was ever bored in those four days -- well, maybe once or twice while waiting for the family to catch up! GRR looked like a crap-shoot to me in terms of wetness, and I watched a lot of rafts go by while doing some photography later in the week. Essentially, I think you and Mike (Canobie) are both right. The geysers right at the end either don't go off, threaten to go off and then don't, or blow sky high and half the raft gets completely dumped on! I've got some great reaction shots in a future update.

I blame Kristen!

I've been to both multiple times and really just go to whichever one I happen to be closest too. They're both completely awesome, they're both easy to accidentally spend 2 or 3 hours in, and they both sell stroopwafels.

Nice set of pictures! You really focused on a few of the things I loved about Disneyland Paris -- the awesome castle, the arcades on the side of Main Street, and yep, Small World.

Pictures from DCA -- part 2! I mentioned in the body of the trip report that this ride is one big cookie advertisement -- one of the tunnels is filled with the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Here's why -- the cookie cart (Jack-Jack Cookie Num Nums) just in front of the ride's entrance/exit. Just go ahead and get over the fact that you're about to pay $6 for a chocolate chip cookie, and do it. It's huge, it's fresh, it's thick, it's warm, and it's absolutely fantastic. Mr. Potato Head welcomed us to Toy Story (Midway) Mania... ...where I had the best score in my vehicle! Hooray! Grizzly Peak -- the most underrated Disney mountain? This section of the park is a bit of northern California wilderness. Eureka! I'll share some photos of Grizzly River Run in a future update. That logo kind of looks like the NPS "arrowhead" shield. Disney does such a great job with the details. This trail map is actually one heck of a good match for this corner of DCA. You've even got "Grizzly Peak Lodge" near where the Grand Californian is located. As I mentioned, I really liked the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Here's the map of Redwood Creek, with several play / climbing areas and towers. One of the trails in Redwood Creek. It's not just a single direct path through the whole area -- there are actually several trails to explore. Porcupine tree. The Millennium Tree is a very old Redwood, with history annotated on its rings. This tree sprouted over 1000 years ago! It survived until 1937, when a windstorm took it out. A few posters in the ceiling of one of the Redwood Creek towers. I thought it was interesting that for all the NPS-esque theming and signage around DCA, the Sequoia National Park poster in this picture was the only place I found a /direct/ reference to the National Park Service. I wonder what would happen if you yelled and/or screamed into this radio? There are actual USGS topographic maps in some of the towers in Redwood Creek. Here's one that features Mount Whitney, the highest point in the state of California and the entire continental US. Oh, well, that's interesting too! Make your way from tower to tower across a net bridge. This is definitely a "fun for all ages" kind of area. You can climb up the Mt. Lassen Lookout. Or take a spill down the ... rock slide. Oh, Disney. Inside Kenai's Spirit Cave, press your hand to the wall, and "discover the animal whose qualities you share." I got the Eagle, which is probably what I would have told all of you even if I didn't. As the sun begins to set, a reddish glow on the Guardians tower. A two-train sunset shot on the Incredicoaster. Incredisunset, part two. Incredisunset, part three. Let's begin the long-exposure night photography, and there's a lot of it! From the Pixar Pier bridge, a look over at the Little Mermaid ride building. A stunning view of the Incredicoaster, the wheel, and the crescent moon. I do enjoy long-exposure shots of a spinning, well-lit Ferris wheel. Even got some of the Earthshine on the moon in this one. Pixar Pier is lit up bright at night. Fantastic reflections. Didn't go in the Lamplight Lounge, but it sure looks nice. Just love how this area looks at night. More spinny-ride long exposure! This is the Golden Zephyr. The wheel, all lit up in red. Bright white. Can see some of the cars still swinging on this shot, and some of the cars remaining in place. Just some bizarre patterns on the wheel, with the way the lighting package works on the spokes. I think it looks best in purple. Alright, these may not be my best pictures -- it's hard to do hand-held shots of moving objects in the dark -- but I'll share what I can from the Paint the Night parade. Here's the lead float. I was really impressed with this parade. I thought it was a nice spiritual successor to the Main Street Electrical Parade / SpectroMagic, and even had some musical references to the Electrical Parade that did not go unnoticed. The doors of the Monsters Inc float. This is who /should/ have won the "best Owen Wilson impression" contest at West Coast Bash. The light effects on this truck are almost impossible to describe, but it's one of the coolest things I've seen in any Disney parade. Cars and random patterns... ...a checkered flag... ...and an array of lights that is like staring into the void. Yep, Disney was kind of next-level with their use of light and color in this parade. Hard to get good pictures of the performers between the floats, but here's one that kind of works. Heading under the sea. Up for some badminton? Slinky Dog, all lit up. It's been a long time since I thought about Lite-Brite, but it's a perfect fit in this parade. Buzz takes up Slinky Dog's caboose. Stockholm Syndrome: The Float. So much detail. It's almost too much to take in at once! Sorry Rapunzel, you don't get your own float in California, but you do get your own restrooms in Orlando. The Incredibles float was really spectacular. Three costumed characters up front... ...and the other three from the family were referenced in various ways. I caught all of them here! Mickey closes things out. One of the most impressive Disney parades I've seen. So, let's get back to the long-exposure photography! Heading over to the back entrance to Cars Land. Willy's Butte, framed by the Lost Wheel Arch. Willy's Butte again, against the backdrop of blue-green rocks. This is stunning landscaping during the day, but it's breathtaking at night. The Cadillac Range against a dark sky. Headlights from Radiator Springs Racers... ...as they race toward the finish line. So much color in Radiator Springs. Luigi's sticks to the green, white, and red of the Italian flag. Green lights in the trees, and a few Route 66 signs to spare. No vacancy at the Cozy Cone tonight. Naturally, orange is the dominant color here. No churros this time -- the park was already closed! Neon is the scheme at Flo's. Flo's was so bright it was tough to balance it out for this picture, but the end result worked fine. A catch-all view from down the road, with one of those cone-toothed grins in front of Mount Fifty-Nine. Purple and red lights at Sarge's. Heading out of Radiator Springs and into the main hub. Another interesting mix of colors at Carthay Circle. This building is based on the Carthay Circle Theatre, a movie palace from the golden age of Hollywood, demolished in 1969. A stunning blue tower against a clouded sky. I still want to call it the Tower of Terror, but those days are gone. A Hollywood backdrop along the trolley tracks. The slightly-crazy facade of Monsters Inc. Storytellers at night. The best statue in the park is right behind it. Say hello to the headless horseman! Sure, he looks frightening now... ...but just wait 'til he starts breathing! A terrifying gleam in the eye. Finally -- over an hour after the park had officially closed -- I exited the front gate. I was not the only person there late doing photography with a tripod, and nobody was ever asked to leave. As the crowds disperse, it's truly an awesome time to get pictures of the scenery without people in the way! Between Oogie Boogie and the approaching clouds, this is one very Halloween picture. A "clean" version of the shot I edited for this thread's header image. Goodnight from Carthay Circle, Oogie Boogie, and Disney California Adventure! One day at Disneyland complete, and three more to go.

Pictures from DCA -- part 1! I have found Robb's personal hell! First stop -- the Candy Cane Inn, to gather my family. A compass rose with mouse ears? Must be the place. "Storytellers" -- the "Partners" statue inside DCA. The waterfall off the side of Grizzly Peak speaks loudly that this isn't some cut-rate Six Flags park. We'll start off by Soarin' around the CGI world! Seems a little short to be an active runway. The queue and building theme (historic pilots) is far superior to the clean/sterile modern airline look in Florida. Hey, speaking of Florida... It's easy to draw a comparison to Disney's Hollywood Studios, as the entrance and Hollywood areas of DCA share several of the same design elements. A trolley departs the former Hollywood Tower Hotel. The hotel has seen some renovations in recent times. This Tivan guy seems to like collecting things. Here he is, stroking his pet ... something. Yeah, I haven't seen the movie. Are these the Ewoks of the Marvel universe? Is this The Terminator? Something tells me this Tivan guy is a sore loser. Hey, is that Disco Yeti? Moving to something a little more cartoonish, we've got some monsters. Disney queues are full of little details that are easy to miss. Check out the phone book in the Monsters Inc queue! A Bug's Land is being taken over by Stark Industries. This was one of only two construction areas at DCA, with a couple sections of Pixar Pier also being worked on for new rides. There may be no finer themed land in any park in the US than Radiator Springs / Cars Land. The local union hall, with some ads for the drive-in theater. Of course it's a drive-in theater. It's Cars Land. If there's a pun to be made, Disney will find it. The Cozy Cone Motel is just the right amount of ridiculous. Even the traffic cones are grinning! If your teeth are this orange, maybe see a dentist? For when you need to top off your ECV with some Tulsa Tea. One of several Cars characters that were out and about. You'd think it wouldn't be easy to do with big vehicle-sized creatures, but Disney pulls it off without a problem. The Gateway to Ornament Valley -- and to one of the most anticipated moments of the whole California trip! Who wants to race around in giant anthropomorphic slot cars? Welcome to the 8 3/4th wonder of the world. Love this view -- it means the fun is about to begin. From winding roads... ...to beautiful mountain scenery. Luigi hooks you up with some new tires -- for considerably cheaper than a set of four will cost you in real life, I might add. (I might be buying new tires for my car right now) (it's kind of expensive) Hit the starting line and head on out. There's even a bit of gentle airtime! A hero's welcome at the end of the race. We rode Radiator Springs Racers twice, winning once and losing once. This may be the most classic view at DCA -- sans the work being done on World of Color, anyway. But next up, it's time for lunch, and there's a bit of a Coco celebration going on. They were running with a specialty Mexican menu at the Paradise Garden Grill, which was actually quite good! Probably the best meal I had at DCA all week. Got to watch a Mariachi band perform, too. They were good. Of course they were good. It's Disney. The Golden Zephyr is one of the stranger spinny flat rides I've seen, so I had to give it a ride. It was actually originally scheduled to be down for maintenance during our trip, so I was happy to see it open all week -- outside of a brief closure for wind. A view across the Pixar Pier bridge, with the Cadillac Range in the distance. Hey, there's that big wheel. We'll catch a ride on it later in the week. Meanwhile, well, things weren't looking so hot for World of Color. There are people down in that tent working on things. Knocked out of commission by an incident a few months before our trip, we knew going in that it would be down. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the whole convoluted process of finding a place to watch it, so I guess that's one benefit of ... well, not getting to watch it. So, what's new in the world of The Little Mermaid? Ariel's still trying to raise the roof. Sea level change will take care of that for her. Ursula's still scheming a bit out of her league. They still get married at the end, which is pretty good for a couple that spent a decent chunk of the movie's running time unable to verbally communicate. It's an official Disney survey marker. Another fun thing to do at Disney parks, if you're into geography / geocaching. Disneyland has about 40 known survey markers, and I think I found most of them. When you're walking around, look down -- you just might find one. Let's head back to Radiator Springs for another ride on Racers, and a tour of the other attractions. A horn-o-plenty filled with motor oil. A Route 66 sign with button copy! For Halloween, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree was transformed into Mater's Graveyard Jamboree. That means that you get to hear an endless loop of Larry the Cable Guy singing car-themed parodies of songs like Monster Mash. That was not quite my favorite part of the week. If you're gonna do a flat ride, do it like this. A well-themed, advanced version of a theme park classic. It's fun for all ages! Next up, the Casa Della Tires. I'll take the Lightyears. You guys do free alignment and rotation? Ferrari might have paid a few bucks for this display. Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters was changed into Luigi's Honkin' Haul-o-Ween! I don't think the ride experience was actually altered at all. The cars are all free-wheeling, but their motions (and quick changes in direction) are all synchronized. At the house of tires... ...where the cars spin and dance around. Near the end, they all spin in unison, and everyone goes absolutely crazy. I guess I'll have to take a ride myself. Though I preferred Mater's, all the rides in Cars Land are just plain fun. Ha, it's a Burma-Shave joke! The way Disney aped the style of the National Park Service interpretive signs is just spectacular. The black bar with the white text up top is the key to the visual nod. The full-on NPS-style description of the fictional Ornament Valley is even better. Oh, and everyone knows that the Cadillac Range is named (and designed) for the tail fins on the late 50s / early 60s run of Cadillacs, right? See! There's '58, '59, and '60! Oh, and how awesome is this ride? The windshields get in the way of the view a bit, but you can't lose that important part of the ride theming. This is a top-tier Disney attraction, but if you're on TPR and you're reading this, you probably already know that. So, then there's the Boudin Bakery Tour. I guess that's pretty cool if you like bread, or if you're a Boudin employee, or whatever. Anyway, let's head on over to Pixar Pier and take a spin on the Incredicoaster! Yep, this is probably the only way I'm getting my whole family on a 6,000-foot-long Intamin launched looping coaster -- theme it to a Disney franchise. I always thought that California Screamin' looked like fun. I can safely say that the Incredicoaster is indeed a lot of fun. Though I know little of the story -- again, not really keeping up with the movies -- I didn't think the thematic elements were a detriment to the ride at all. I actually enjoyed the majority of it! Oh, and then there's this loop. This is a coaster that I'd describe mostly at the higher end of a family ride in terms of intensity, but the tight vertical loop pulls Gs like a Schwarzkopf. I was surprised and impressed! Ready to board the front row! The water effect on the launch is a lot of fun to watch if you're in the back. The area beside the launch track is a photographer's dream. Lit nicely by the afternoon sun, it's a fantastic spot for reaction shots! You might just catch people doing a bit of ... California Screamin'! Ha ha ha ha ha. Some people look mostly happy. Some look terrified. Oh, and I enjoy the Incredibles paint job on the train. Much better than an ad for Kia or hair gel. We're apparently reaching out for something here. Rock on, bro. This guy is chillin'. New York dude is having the time of his life! Tougher photo angle from the other side, but here's the view. You can catch the train just as it heads up into the post-launch tunnel. Here's one more from way across the water.

Part 3 -- Disney California Adventure Tuesday, September 11, 2018 As I mentioned in this thread's intro post, a family trip to Disneyland was the centerpiece of my whole California vacation. Timing it out with West Coast Bash was not just convenient, but also made sense from a crowd/price standpoint. It also meant that we'd be visiting near the beginning of the Halloween celebration, so we'd be seeing special decorations and dining items all around both parks. We planned out four days (Tues-Fri) at Disneyland, though I had sometimes asked myself -- is four days too much? Ultimately, it worked out perfectly for several reasons. 1) This was the first visit to Disneyland for everyone in our group. Absolutely everything was new to us. 2) Traveling with my parents and my grandmother, I knew the pace would be a little slower than I'm used to. 3) I tend to be able to occupy myself with photography for long periods of time. By the end of the week, we'd completed everything important that we wanted to, and I got second (or third) rides on the best attractions. Even with four full days, there were still a couple minor attractions that we had to skip, plus two big items -- Matterhorn and World of Color -- that were not in operation. Our plan was to spend the first two days as full-day visits to one park each. For crowd control purposes, we aligned our schedule opposite the Extra Magic Hour, and that led us to start our adventure at DCA. I won't do a full play-by-play, but we essentially got through the entire park in one shot. We started with a Radiator Springs Racers Fastpass run, then rode Soarin' while the line was short. From there, there wasn't any need for an overarching strategy, as crowds were manageable. Strategic use of Fastpass helped us out with Toy Story Mania, and even afforded us a second ride on Radiator Springs Racers after Toy Story went down for a while. We had time to split up for shopping / photography purposes in the afternoon (guess which one I was doing) before reuniting for the "lighting" of Cars Land at sunset. We also watched the Paint the Night parade together in the evening. After the parade, my family left, and I stayed in the park for night photography until well past closing time. I should note that we did not budget for MaxPass. It wouldn't have been cheap with five people, and with four full days, we got through everything just fine using the paper Fastpass system. Sure, over the course of the week, we had a few 15-20 minute waits. The problem at Disney is that in most cases, a Fastpass (or MaxPass) doesn't bypass the final 5-10 minutes of the queue. It's a big difference compared to something like Fast Lane at a Cedar Fair park, where you may very well just walk right onto a coaster train. That being said, I'd get MaxPass on a short visit with a small group, but it just didn't make sense for us. How Was DCA? Loved it. At first, I think some of my family members thought it wasn't "Disney" enough, but by parade time they had come around. I never saw the original version of DCA, which is probably for the better, but I think the current state of the park is an even more well-tuned microcosm of California than the original one could have ever dreamed of being. Rather than the prototypical whimsy one typically associates with Disney, the theming at DCA is a bit more realistic and natural. The Disney elements are the accents, rather than the theme itself. And to that end, I think the park is just enough Disney to go along with the rest of the experience. Theme isn't enough, though, and a park like this needs standout attractions to make the visit worthwhile. That's no problem here. I'll put Radiator Springs Racers, Guardians, Incredicoaster, and Toy Story Mania up there with the best of any other Disney park I've been to. Add in some great second-tier attractions -- Mater's, Monsters Inc, Turtle Talk, Pixar Pal-a-Round, a really good parade -- and there's no shortage of things to do. I should note that while I didn't ride Grizzly River Run (rapids ride) a few family members did, and gave it a glowing review. Have I gotten this far without mentioning Cars Land? I have zero interest in the Cars franchise, and yet I was blown away by both the grandeur and the detail of what is probably DCA's most fully-realized accomplishment. If we can expect this level of work from what's coming in future expansions at Disney parks around the planet, it's going to be a really exciting time to be a theme park fan when they all open up. Any complaints? The Halloween specialty pizza was $8-per-slice or $40-per-pie, which even by Disney standards is completely insane. We skipped that. Overall, I thought the restaurant options at DCA were good, but not great. Maybe Carthay Circle would change my mind, but that wasn't in the cards for this trip. I thought the west end of the lagoon felt like some of the "Disney on the cheap" had yet to be cleaned up. The attractions over there never pulled any kind of a wait. I thought the wharf area was under-utilized, though it's probably too late to expand that section now. This is all pretty minor. DCA is a fantastic piece of work, and it's become a place that I thought was easily worthy of its location directly across from the original Disneyland. How were the attractions? Radiator Springs Racers -- How could this ride possibly live up to the hype? I won't say it exceeded my expectations -- which were quite high -- but it met them. This ride is a fantastic mix of outdoor scenery, dark ride elements, great animatronics, and the thrill of the race at the end. It's also one of the most immersive attractions I've been on anywhere -- outside of a brief glimpse of the Guardians tower, you're fully enveloped within Radiator Springs the whole way through. I like Test Track at Epcot, but this one wins out for sure. Mater's Junkyard Jamboree -- Leave it to Disney to take a simple flat ride concept and turn it into something really fun and well-themed. It's like a Whip on a series of interconnected turntables, and it's slightly disorienting in the way each vehicle moves through the ride cycle. I've heard enough of Larry the Cable Guy singing to last the rest of my life, but it's certainly something I'd ride again -- maybe with earplugs. Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters -- I really don't know what to think of this. Unlike Mater's, it's probably more fun to watch than it is to ride. It's really something to behold -- the synchronization of the individual cars into one cohesive dancing unit. Incredicoaster -- Fantastic! This is exactly what a "fun" higher-end family roller coaster should be. A coaster enthusiast can find things to like -- the launch, some airtime in the back of the train, and especially the unexpectedly-intense vertical loop. Still, it's not too much for the whole family to enjoy. One of my favorite parts about the ride is its length -- it's no one-trick pony. The themed tunnels are a lot of fun, and the visuals really pop at night. I'm also not ashamed to admit that this coaster might be the world's best cookie commercial. One minor complaint: the seats are kind of an uncomfortable hard plastic without any contouring, and the OTSRs aren't really needed. Nothing bad to say about the ride experience, though. This is of my favorite attractions at Disneyland. Toy Story Mania -- A favorite in Florida, and a favorite here too. You'd need wrists of steel to marathon this, but that won't be an issue, because it pulls in consistent lines all day long. Having just been on Iron Reef and Justice League, I was wondering how this one would hold up. Quite well -- though I love Justice League, this one is my favorite of the three. Pixar Pal-a-Round -- I didn't ride this on the first day at DCA, but later in the week I did one cycle each on the swinging and non-swinging cars. Having been on the original at Deno's (Coney Island), I knew what to expect from the swinging, and thought it was pretty fun. The full cages on the cars made photography a big challenge, but when I get to the pictures from later days of the trip, I'll share some results with the zoom lens that I'm pretty happy with. Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout -- I've been on the original Twilight Zone version in Florida and Paris, and I love that theme. I also don't really keep up with modern movies, so I had little knowledge of the whole Guardians franchise. None of that mattered too much, as I thought this was a really fun version of the tower! The ride experience is about the same, but the storyline is more exciting than creepy. Well, perhaps bump up the "creepy" a bit for the Monsters After Dark overlay, which we rode later in the week! That was a cool change as well. This is a top-flight attraction in any version. I guess my preference would be to keep the Twilight Zone theme in Florida, and keep the Guardians theme in California, so I can ride them both! Soarin' -- I have never been a huge fan of Soarin', but as this was my first time on the Soarin' Around the World version, I was hoping I might enjoy it a bit more. Nope. It's still just a glorified IMAX motion simulator. The scenery on the film is fantastic, but then it's ruined by obvious (and unnecessary) CGI effects. The best part about Soarin' is that it still draws crowds away from the better attractions elsewhere in the park. Goofy's Sky School -- It's themed really well, but it's still a mouse at a Disney park. One ride was plenty enough. Golden Zephyr -- It's kind of pointless, but at least it's unique. I don't think I've seen a spinny flat ride built like this one anywhere else. Actually, the calmness of its motion makes it a decent ride to get pictures from. Silly Symphony Swings -- It's a wave swinger! At a Disney park! I mean, I guess there's nothing wrong with that. Monsters Inc - Mike and Sulley to the Rescue -- It's a cute dark ride, and it's also quite funny. The door scene near the end is great. The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure -- Another cute dark ride, but not a new experience, as I've been on the one in Florida. Honestly, I'm kind of one-and-done on straight-up story-based dark rides like this one. Consider that a preview for my review of Fantasyland in the next trip report. Sorcerer's Workshop -- Kind of neat for a quick stop, I guess, especially if you are into animation. It's pretty hidden, so I'm guessing most guests never even get in there. Turtle Talk with Crush -- The world needs more digital puppetry attractions. Turtle Talk is great. You can do a lot with the whole surfer/stoner character, but pulling off humor for the kids and adults in the room is a bit of a balancing act. Whoever they had portraying Crush during our visit nailed it. The Bakery Tour -- It's bread. They're making bread. Yep. Redwood Creek Challenge Trail -- Every Disney park needs one of these. Actually, every theme park on the planet needs one of these. It's nature! It's a play area! It's educational! It's a place to let off some steam! As someone who enjoys national/state parks as much as theme parks, this was an unexpectedly fun little mix of the two. Red Car Trolley -- Yeah, we rode the trolley! I still don't know exactly why we did, but we did. There was a spontaneous little show element as we stopped in front of Guardians and some cast members tried to bring a caged animal on board -- perhaps an escapee from the tower? Give the staff some credit, I guess, for making some fun out of an otherwise-inconsequential transportation ride.

Thanks Zach! One of your favorite parks is coming up next!

Let's go with "barely there." Lots of empty seats, and not much to cheer for. Winning cures all, and I'm sure they'd be lively for a successful team, but it was a mediocre season in Anaheim.

Hey again -- here's a quick little interlude, just to get something up while I'm working on pictures for the next major segment of the report. Part 2.5 -- The The Angels Angels of Anaheim Monday, September 10, 2018 After two exhausting days at West Coast Bash, it was time for a quick breather! Monday the 10th was the arrival day for the rest of my family, in advance of our four-day adventure at Disneyland. To John -- another million thank-yous (but not a million dollars, sorry) for your hospitality and hilarity! After a good night's sleep, John and I headed out to lunch, and then he dropped me off at my hotel near Disneyland so I could wait for my family to arrive from the airport. So, here's the story with the hotels. My family decided pretty early not to stay on-property at Disneyland, even though we always do that at Walt Disney World. The benefits to staying on-site at WDW are numerous, and there are several hotels at the price point we're looking for. That's just not true at Disneyland, where even the cheapest hotel (Paradise Pier) is remarkably expensive, with few real perks that are exclusive for Disney hotel guests. I guess the biggest perk would be the extra hour in the morning (every morning) at one of the parks, but since we were doing a four-day stay with manageable crowds, that wasn't enough to put it over the top for us. So, in early 2018, I started research into all the hotels on Katella, Harbor, and other nearby streets within walking distance of the front gate. I probably looked at 40 different hotels initially, but based on price/proximity/quality, eventually narrowed it down to two: the Candy Cane Inn, and the Hotel Indigo. Both had rooms for just over $100 a night, and both appeared clean and safe. So, I put it to a vote -- where did our trip participants want to stay? The result: the old people voted for the Candy Cane, and the young people voted for the Indigo. Rather than compromise, we just booked rooms at separate hotels. The end result is that the two places had their different strengths, but both worked out quite well, and I'd be happy to recommend either. Anyway, that's the boring hotel stuff -- and obviously there will be plenty more from Disneyland in the next few posts. But how did we spend our first night together in California? Baseball. My family likes baseball, and while it's not my favorite sport, I do like to try to check out different stadiums when I'm traveling. With the Angels in town during our first night in Anaheim, it made sense to take the short trip and check out a game. And since the Angels aren't very good, I got us some decent upper-level tickets for under $10 each. So, here's a short photo set from Angel Stadium! Angel Stadium is the 10th MLB stadium I've visited -- though that counts two that are no longer in use. Baseball game tonight. Big baseball out front shoulda told ya. DISNEY CONTENT! It's a big Mickey from the 2010 MLB All-Star Game. Look! I found another one! I wonder how many were created? In a display case on the main concourse, the trophy from the Angels' 2002 World Series championship. A statue of Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry, the original owner of the Angels. He later sold the team to the Walt Disney Company, who sold the franchise to its current owner, Arte Moreno. Win one for the Cowboy! A relative of mine asked me to take a picture of Mike Trout and send it to him. I sent him this. I did not check to see if the head actually bobbles. He's got his very own Trout farm! The Big A, a major landmark alongside I-5. Culture Club and Tom Bailey from the Thompson Twins!!! Live in concert!!! Sign me up!!! Walking around the stadium to check out the views. Here's the cool rock / waterfall formation in the outfield, just left of the batter's eye. Behind the rock formation. This guy hit a lot of home runs -- but he was injured and not in the lineup for our visit. Something I like to do at every stadium -- check out the view from the seats in the far corners. Here's left field... ...and here's right field. You're a long, long way from the game action up here. Hey, remember when Gary Bettman blew a duck call during a press conference? That was something. The view to the east -- the Saddleback peaks (Santiago Peak / Modjeska Peak) that dominate the Orange County skyline. Hey, way off to the north, it's that huge mountain I mentioned in the first TR segment. I wonder if it might be important later... Sunset to the west, and if you look close, you might just see something Incredible. And something ... Galactic? OK, it's DCA. Sunset in the stadium lights. Yes, that is the name of the team. Looking down from the upper deck as the game was getting ready to begin. Wide view from behind home plate! Another view I like to get from every stadium I visit. Here's the view from our /actual/ seats. Not bad for $9 and change. A look at the Texas Rangers' dugout, celebrating a run. A look at the Angels' dugout, celebrating ... well, probably nothing. They weren't very good. Press box wonks, hard at work. All of a sudden, I would like some noodles. One last night view of the field! Pretty nice stadium. Not one of my very favorites (the parking lot stadiums are going to have a hard time making the top of that list) but I enjoyed my time there. Goodbye, Angels. Next stop -- Disneyland!

The Parc Asterix / Walibi Belgium Intamin coasters look absolutely crazy. I know they're still a few years out, but it's hard not to start looking forward to them already!

Glad you enjoyed Hollywood Rip - Ride - Brake-it! I, too, thought Poseidon's Fury was enjoyable. Congrats on your engagement!

I want that Welcome to Wakita sign! (but as I recall, it didn't even have a price tag on it, and if you have to ask the price...)

The captain of the duck boat has been indicted.

Yay, another Zach trip report! Really interesting to see your reactions as a first-time visitor. Can't disagree with your negative reviews of Simpsons and Transformers, but right there with you on the positive reviews of the two big Potter attractions. I don't give two craps about Harry Potter but I was seriously impressed with those rides! Plus, a trip report with Jared and Alex automatically gets ten bonus points. Oh, and I'd have a field day with those views from the rooftop. You can basically see all the big attractions at the parks! After Cedar Point, I expect this to be a feature of all your trip reports from here on forward.

What. My only visit to SFOT was a mixed experience like yours. The park, taken on its own, I really liked! The ops, guest behavior, etc, well, yeah. Not so much. Interesting to hear your thoughts on NTAG after riding SV first. Sounds like the latter is the more complete experience!

From Knoebels... First time I've ever been called an expert at the Flyers! Honestly, I just got lucky a few times at the beginning of my cycle. For my money, Laura was pretty much ruling the skies. I've been on Cosmotron several times, and it's always been a mix of modern and classic pop music. Well, on this day, they went full on metal. Was not expecting that! Whatever floats your boat! From Hershey... That is the face of a broken man! From Cedar Point... I rode Magnum twice, both in the same row. The first ride was awesome, the second ride (the next day) was horrible. As I've heard said before, there are tricks for Magnum, but they're never guaranteed to actually work. Thirded. They're long past due to dump some money into this! That was really funny, just walking past TTD and seeing you two up front and basically nobody else anywhere near the ride. And that's it! But wait, you forgot the part where your flight got cancelled and you somehow ended up with the coolest chauffeur in all of Ohio! OK, now that's it!

Seriously! OK, so let's take a look at this. RCDB lists 19 coasters at the park. But ... three were closed: 1) Apocalypse 2) Green Lantern 3) Viper And ... four are kiddie coasters: 1) Canyon Blaster 2) Magic Flyer 3) Road Runner Express 4) Speedy Gonzales ...so really, I only had 12 coasters to ride. That's still a lot, but it's a lot easier than going in and thinking I had to get on 19 or 20 coasters.

Pictures from SFMM -- Part 2! Rock on, park guests. Like, woah, dude. I feel stupid every time I have to type out CraZanity. Girl in middle: screaming. Guy to the left: not impressed. It's Lex vs Superman in a giant drop tower showdown! Those aware of the situation in New Jersey should have no fear: neither Lex or Superman were dispatching fast enough to worry about simultaneous rides. Everybody enjoys these things a little differently. Hold on to your hat! Alright, giant steampunk spider thing, what's next? Scream! The Parking Lot Coaster! It's a scream eclipse. This ride looks like it was painted pretty recently. The colors were nice. Hey, that guy from Lex Luthor is /still/ holding on to his hat! 90 degree drop, or photo trickery? You decide. That's a very large vertical loop. So, I made a big deal about Jaguar! at Knott's having an exclamation point. I guess I should do the same for Scream! Or, maybe even call it SCREAM! in all caps. SCREAM! has seven inversions, which is a lot. It also has a few fast bits near the ground, but these aren't used as well as on Dominator, in my opinion. Corkscrew, part 1. Corkscrew, part 2. The turnaround, as seen from the parking lot. While I was taking pictures, a brief dust storm whipped up out of nowhere. That was amusing. Goliath's defining characteristic is it's absolutely ridiculous ride sign... ...and the giant foot in the pavement, which I guess counts as "theming." Spoiler alert: the wait for Goliath was not 2 hours. Coaster / palm tree juxtaposition #807. Coaster / palm tree juxtaposition #841. A long-distance view of the top of the Goliath lift. Hey, nobody said this was a water coaster! Meanwhile, we've got this super genius at the front of the park. And now, lunch is served. Welcome, us! What's hidden on the table? My prize! My ... shock / piston thing! Yeah! ...so, um, what is it? Truth be told, not even the maintenance staff at our group lunch knew for sure! The best guess, after talking to a few people, is that it's a shock or a piston from the restraint system on one of the big coasters. The most likely culprit was X2. Seeing as X2 tried to kill me earlier in the day, I'm gonna go ahead and declare myself the winner in this battle. Take that, X2! Alright, so here's the problem. This prize is cool and all, but it looks like a weapon and it weighs about 20 pounds. How was I to get it home to Ohio? We'll get back to that at the end of the post... John also won a prize. He got a Superman hat. Robb asked him to do the Superman pose. John did ... this. I don't think John is familiar with Superman. No, John, that's not it either. Seriously, go watch the movie or something. We had a good Q&A with Neal Thurman! Neal told us about how they spruce up sections of the park when they put a new ride in. He also told us that West Coast Racers is going to get a new object-storage setup that sounds similar to some of the more efficient options that parks have used in Europe. With lunch complete, I went to finish my photo lap. Viper was not operating, but I got a picture of the faded ride sign. What's this??? Markers on the pavement! This must be for ... well, probably that new coaster they just announced. But maybe it's for John's parking lot tunnel T-Rex gigacoaster! You never know! OK, speaking of John one more time, you see that guy in the middle of the picture? In the blue and lighter-blue striped shirt? Yep, he's world famous -- on an advertisement at Six Flags Magic Mountain. At least he's not looking straight at the camera in this one. Heading up to the bridge that leads to X2, which has a few good views. Curse you, Sky Tower. Maybe some day... Goliath, in all its oddly-shaped-lift-hill glory. It's not so much a drop... ...as it is a really long ramp. I mean, it's steeper than Silver Bullet, I guess. Rest in peace, Giovanola. It's really, really hard to get a shot of Twisted Colossus from up here, but I tried. No dueling this time, but here's one train heading to the second half of the ride. You say you want a revolution... Jet Stream! Log flume time! So, what happens if you put too many people in a boat, and can't even get out of the station? A ride op hangs on the tarp and, with all his might, forces your boat into the trough. This entire process took about 30 seconds. I was really tempted to just caption every single photo in this section with that line from the log flume song. You know the line. It's literally the only line in the song. Plenty of good photo spots for Jet Stream, especially from the bridge that leads to the station platform. Oh, and this does still count as a log flume, even though the boats aren't shaped like logs, right? Splashdown reactions. Pay no attention to the rusted supports. More people on a flume! I didn't notice it at first, but the right-side trough is blocked by a pipe shooting out a ton of water. The boats tended to skip a bit on the shallow pull-out. I think these are TPR people on this boat! Hey, if you're reading this, hope you like the picture! Alright, I'm out of ideas for captions, so... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are on a log flume... ...we are filming the drop on the log flume! (See, I mixed it up there.) I don't really trust going hands-up on a flume. Because I still remember when I almost flew out of the one in Guadalajara. More people with their phones out! Kicking up a splash. The end of the flume pics! Oh, one more coaster to go! It's Chick-fil-A! The ride! I was expecting it to be closed, since it was a Sunday, but it was not. I don't hate YoloCoaster, but it's just ... weird. And seriously, vertical loops and top hats shouldn't have the same shape. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for the other. Full Throttle went full-on dance club after dark! Yep, this is the only time we rode during the day, and two rides was enough for me. But this picture is meant to illustrate the awesomeness of ERT -- nobody in line at all! So, here's one phone-quality picture on the way out of the park. Nothing fancy like at Knott's, for reasons mentioned early in this trip report. That's it from SFMM! ...but wait, there's one piece of unfinished business. My X2 restraint piston thing? John found a mailing tube, we shoved it in and packaged it up all tight, and I mailed it home to myself! Ta-da! It made it home safely! What am I going to do with it? Absolutely nothing! Alright, /now/ that's it from SFMM. Thanks for reading!

Pictures from SFMM -- Part 1! Six Flags! 365 Days of Thrills! So some poor schmuck has to work on Christmas! The view from the parking lot. It's a skyline of coasters. Scream: The Parking Lot Coaster. Superman kind of towers over everything else. It's twisted, it's big, and it's white. I got a picture of the high-five! Unfortunately, it was before the park opened, so there are no trains. Sorry. At the gate. The park's about to open, and our ERT is soon to begin. Starting off on Twisted Cycl... no, that's not it. Wicked C... no. Try again. Yeah, that's it. The future of thrills -- today! A map of the coaster, though I'm not even sure that I know what an "outward banked floater" is. Stats! Nerd yourself away. ...and now I know that "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" is a thing that exists. "All by myself..." "...don't wanna be, all by myself..." Ah, that's better. Twisted Colossus was dueling intermittently during the day, but more consistently during ERT. Some action from the blue train and the orange train. Airtime on the second lap. It's not a huge drop, but it's steep enough to pack a bit of a punch, especially in the back. The orange train makes a big curve. Next up, it's the New Classic Revolution on Fire! It's ... a roller coaster landmark. This picture was taken during ERT, which means 80% empty trains! This drop is revolutionary. Hey, people in the front, show some excitement. There, that's a start. On the way up to Tatsu, I passed these frightening mushrooms, which reminded me of that famous rock formation at Kentucky Kingdom. OK, this is what we're looking for. But what, if I may ask, is the speed of fear? Tatsu takes an inversion during ERT, with -- as far as I can tell -- not a single rider on board. Later in the day, it was a popular attraction. Tatsu could probably use some paint. Tatsu opened in 2006, and is the only flyer with a zero-g roll. It's also got the very intense pretzel loop, which is the best part of the ride. With Tatsu's position at the top of the hill, and the way it interacts with the terrain, it gives the best views of any B&M flyer by far. "Are you going to stand by the side or ride?" Zach Z opts to ride -- twice. John rides once and bows out due to possible brain damage. You are now free to get thrown around like a rag doll. It's a very exposed feeling going up that lift, facing backwards. Hard to get good pictures of the riders on X2. So, instead, have a picture of the back of the train. As the train comes back into the station, it doesn't even look like a fun roller coaster -- it looks like some kind of industrial-grade torture device. Which, well... Helpful Honda Express! Best ride in the park! Look at how helpful it is! It was built in Austria! You know what isn't built in Austria? Hondas. At the top of the hill, Ninja was our next ride. A piece of artwork hanging in the Ninja station, which I just had to share with everybody. Not too many of these suspended coasters still around. Ninja's interesting, with two lift hills -- one at the start and one at the end. Super nice thing I can say about Ninja: it's better than Iron Dragon. Also, it didn't derail. Superman! Escape from Krypton! Pretty cool queue / station, actually. Only the right side was running, probably due to the light crowds. The coaster credit completionists out there would be sad. But, they weren't even filling full cars, so it made sense. There's a really great photo spot near a glass-enclosed restaurant at the base of the tower. LOL! This is a classic! Beginning the drop. It's funny to watch people go from terror on the way up... ...to delight on the way down. Now, for an overview from the top of the park. There's a lot of construction going on to the west. Oh, and there's poor Apocalypse, not operating yet again. Just off frame: John Wayne about to ride into the shot on horseback. Have I mentioned I love the landscape of southern California? Mountains make me happy. Ninja, Jet Stream, and some of the DC coasters in the background. Two-train shot on Batman and Riddler! Coasters in the foreground, mountains in the background. I like. A Rip Roarin' mine train! Only picture I have of Goldrusher is a train pulling out of the station. Not an easy ride to see from the park pathways. Sally Corp Is Awesome: The Ride. It's hot as heck outside, so we're gonna step inside the Hall of Justice. Our mission: rescue the Justice League. I scored a 120,582. Yep. Is this ... the Riddler's Revenge? I'll never complain about a park being empty, but admittedly it's not great for coaster photography. When I rode, I almost got stuck "sitting" because the seat was too high. The ride op wasn't too anxious to help me out. Nonetheless, my "seat" was fixed, and the ride ended up being fairly comfortable. Coaster / palm tree juxtaposition #643. The Ride. Kick the Sky! [gets sued by Cedar Point] By this point, your feet feel like they weigh about a hundred pounds each. Oh hey, you know what coaster I didn't ride? This one. Because it's horrible. And, well, because it's broken. I did ride CraZanity! With a capital Z in the middle of the name! Ride / palm tree juxtaposition #754. CraZanity gets pretty high, which is obvious when comparing it to the Superman tower. As far as pendulum rides go, CraZanity is probably the best I've been on. Oh, hey, I caught Superman running too! It's intense, fast, and lots of fun. See, look at these people having fun! Some interesting photo angles against a crisp blue sky. The benefit to waiting 30 minutes for a ride? Some genuinely nice photo angles from the edge of the queue! Also: nice lighting from the sun.

Part 2 -- Six Flags Magic Mountain / West Coast Bash Day 2 September 9, 2018 I've spent my whole life going to Cedar Point, a park that has billed itself as "America's Roller Coast" and the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World," among other things. Yet in those great days of the coaster wars, it was a property on the other side of the country that always seemed to be the foil to my midwestern home park's claims. In recent years, you probably won't find many arguments as for which park is the more well-rounded, or has the better overall collection of coasters. Still, when I'd heard even recently of people who considered this Californian destination their favorite park, I just had to see for myself. How would Six Flags Magic Mountain hold up? Did we have a Six Flags day? Welcome to Day 2 of West Coast Bash. Let's start with the agenda. So, this one was a really, really early morning -- a solid hour of driving to get from John's place to Six Flags in Valencia. Or is it Santa Clarita? Eh, whatever. It's in the desert north of LA somewhere. Before we even got to the gate, I ran into an issue. In six years of traveling with a Gorillapod for my camera, and going to tons of theme parks every year (usually with TPR) I ran into some overzealous security who wouldn't let it in. "We don't allow selfie sticks." "That's not a selfie stick." "Well, we don't allow, um, anything that connects to a camera." Whatever. With the West Coast Bash event ending at 8PM, I probably wasn't going to get many night pictures anyway. I took the Gorillapod back to the car. We're gonna dock a flag for that, so we're down to five. Check-in was next, and man, Robb and William have some epic levels of patience. "No, the registration table is not quite ready yet, we'll let you know when it is!" So, once we got in, it was off to begin our ERT! What better place to start than on Twisted Colossus? Very good ride. Best ride in the park. We even dueled for most of our ERT rides, or at least came close to it! It looks like it's tough to get the drops to match up exactly, but for the most part it was within a second or two. We got a spin on New Revolution -- or is it Revolution? Or Revolution Classic? I can't keep track of what they're calling it. Anyway, it was a perfectly fine ride on an old Schwarzkopf. Not the most exciting thing ever, but smooth and enjoyable. We headed over to Chop Six where the park was serving breakfast. Donuts and juice, not orange chicken and general tso's, just to clarify. And you know what, their donuts were quite enjoyable. X2 had just gone down for a break in the action, so we headed up to Tatsu, which was probably my second-most anticipated ride at the park. It delivered! So, uh, if I'm reading the Kings Island thread correctly, there are actually people who prefer Vekoma flyers to B&M flyers? You folks are insane. X2 opened back up, so, well, we experienced that. Yeah. It was an experience. I'll save that for the coaster review section below. With ERT complete, we headed to the front of the park and then began to make a lap around the place to take out the rest of the rides. John and I did not get Flash Passes, and this would work out just fine -- the park was not very crowded. It was a Sunday, which is a day you might expect to be somewhat busy. However, it was also close to 100 degrees. That might have kept some people at home. We started out by riding the Helpful Honda Express to the top of the hill. If that sentence doesn't make any sense to you, well, now you know: it's a funicular that sold out its naming rights to a car company. You're welcome. Ninja was running one train, so as we were already at the top of the magic mountain, we hopped on that first. From there, we hit up Superman, Gold Rusher, and all the coasters at the north end of the park. We basically walked right on to everything, maybe waiting a cycle or two for seating preferences. John headed back to the car for a break, Zach Z went to ride a few more things, and I did some photography. Then, John tried to get his meal plan put on his season pass, and had to run back and forth between two or three guest services locations while they tried to deflect responsibility to someone else. Yep, that was entertaining! Docking another flag. We're down to four. At 2:30 PM, we all met up for lunch. For this special lunch event, we were treated to a Q&A with park president Neal Thurman. Neal was a great speaker, and took a barrage of questions from the WCB attendees. Let me just suggest that this might not be the most advantageous time to complain for a solid two minutes about how you lost a dollar at the X2 fluffy-bunnies. Also, John did his best to get me an invite to the top of the long-closed Sky Tower, but despite his immense charm, the efforts were unsuccessful. If you want a little more of what Neal talked about, check out John's trip report. Oh, and there was a photo contest! Which I wasn't even really trying to enter (that's my story for why I didn't follow instructions!!!) but apparently won anyway. So, I got a prize. Want to see what it was? It's in the pictures below! Robb said some stuff about how I'm a good photographer (aw shucks) and that people should follow me on Twitter. I checked and I gained exactly zero new Twitter followers on that day. Them's the breaks. Thanks for trying, Robb! After lunch, I continued my photo lap of the park, as it was hot and I really didn't feel like riding much. Oh, but I did get on the log flume, even though I had to ride that one by myself. It had a bit of downtime, but the line was not too long. Random: in my Knott's report, I made a mention about how TPR bash crowds are different than TPR trip crowds. That came up again at SFMM! Because TPR trip crowds know how to not lose their keys on Tatsu, and TPR trip crowds know not to stand on the exit platform of Twisted Colossus for a full minute, talking to your friends across the train, delaying the dispatch and screwing up the dueling rides that the employees were honestly trying really hard to get right. Don't do that, friends. Don't do that. Evening ERT was good. Even though it was shared with another group, the added crowd was hardly noticeable at all, because ERT extended to the entire park. We got in line for CraZanity right as ERT started, and had to wait a few cycles as the general public finished going through. That was really the only wait we had all day, and it was maybe 25-30 minutes. From there, we rode Lex Luthor (which was somehow cycling both sides with only two or three ride ops) and took a few more spins on Twisted Colossus. Oh, am I forgetting something? YOLO! We finished the day on Full Throttle, or -- as John puts it -- "where's the second half of the coaster?" Two rides on that and it was time to head home. How was SFMM? Well, what's my tally at? Four out of six flags? I think that's about right, honestly. Look, this is a Six Flags park. It's full of advertising, concrete, and roller coasters. I knew what to expect going in. The good news is that this is a comparatively good Six Flags park. It's honestly one of my favorites in the chain that I've been to. It can't beat Great Adventure (my #1 SF park by a long shot) but for the overall experience, I'll put it in the next tier with Georgia, Fiesta Texas, and maybe Over Texas. How was the coaster collection? Well, there's really no competition here with Cedar Point at all. Cedar Point has better coasters in virtually every category, and Cedar Point has 4 or 5 coasters I'd rank above the best coaster at SFMM. Also, we all know that SFMM is a park that inflates its world-record coaster count with kiddie coasters. But here's where I'll give them some credit -- compared to a lot of other theme parks that aren't Cedar Point, their second-tier of coasters is actually pretty strong. Batman, Scream, Goliath, even Ninja and Revolution. These are legitimately good rides. And sorry, Cedar Point, but in the battle of 1976, Revolution is a million times better than Corkscrew. Do they need more flats? Yes, but they're clearly working on that. Lex Luthor, Justice League, and CraZanity are all very good rides -- and all are recent additions. SFMM is big. There's a lot of terrain. Combine that with the sheer number of rides, and it's an exhausting park to get through. West Coast Bash was the way to do it. My thanks go to John and Zach Z for the coaster rides, and Robb and friends for setting it all up! How were the rides? Twisted Colossus -- My fourth new RMC this year! How did it stack up? It's so different that it's tough to say. It's definitely weird basically having the ride split into two halves, with a break on the lift hill in the middle. I love the first (blue) half, but I'm kind of indifferent on the second (green) half, which isn't among RMC's more inspired designs. When dueling, this coaster is a ton of fun, and most of our ERT rides were dispatched correctly. Give the crew some credit, because they were working their hardest to make sure that happened! Overall, although this is a really good coaster and probably my favorite at SFMM, it'll probably rank near the bottom of my RMC list. That will still put it in my top 30-40 overall, out of over 400 coasters, so that's nothing to sneeze at. Tatsu -- Tatsu is really good. The pretzel loop is crazy, yes, but I think the overall layout and progression of elements is the best of any flyer I've been on. Manta's close, but Tatsu takes the top spot for me. X2 -- Um, well then. This was a ride, alright. I was genuinely kind of not sure what to expect from this, and I was a bit nervous going in. The first half wasn't that bad. I actually enjoyed the drop. Then it gets rough, it gets crazy, and it flips you around in ways you aren't expecting. My head was jackhammering against the seat back. At one point, both of my legs were flying over the seat divider onto the right side! No, I wasn't in any danger of slipping out, but that's not a very comfortable position to be riding in. I just don't know what to think of this thing. I just remember that when I got off, John and I looked at each other and were like "nope." So, we're gonna go with that. Full Throttle -- The infamous YoloCoaster was not a favorite of mine at all. The launches aren't that strong, and it's way too short. My biggest complaint, though, is the speed at which you hit the brake run while you're still coming down from the top hat. That was very uncomfortable. Sorry, YoloCoaster, but I'm just not a fan. Batman The Ride -- It's a Batman clone, so you know what to expect. Lots of fun, and very intense -- a little more intense than I prefer. Riddler's Revenge -- Probably one of the best B&M standups, but it's still a standup. It's a good coaster, but I only needed to ride it once. Scream -- A good floorless, though not to the level of Dominator or Superman Krypton Coaster. Still, you can do far worse than this for a mid-tier coaster. Goliath -- I've been on Titan at SFOT, so I sort of knew what to expect. Still, what a weird, inconsistent ride. It's got a huge drop, but with such a shallow angle that it's basically forceless. It's got what may be the best perfect floater airtime hill on the planet. Then, it's got the crazy grey-out helix near the end. I'm still not sure what to make of this one! New Revolution -- Really enjoyed this one. It's nothing special by 2018's standards, but I'm all for keeping pieces of coaster history like this one around if they still ride well. Ninja -- A pretty good Arrow suspended coaster. We didn't hit any branches, but I swear we came close. Gold Rusher -- It's a mine train! The only thing I remember about it is the giant pile of hats and shirts laying underneath the track about halfway through the ride. Superman Escape From Krypton -- This thing was a big, big deal when it opened. I was pretty unimpressed. It's hard to ride something like this when you've been on TTD and Kingda Ka and, heck, even Xcelerator the day before. Lex Luthor Drop of Doom -- It's a giant drop tower with killer views, and sometimes that's all that needs to be said! Honda Express -- It's a funicular! At an amusement park! Best funicular I've been on since Hillbilly Golf in Gatlinburg. (hi, Russ/Jared/Nathan!) Jet Stream -- I know people like to talk about Log Jammer, which looked like a pretty awesome flume. But you know what? Jet Stream is pretty good in its own right. Better than I expected, for sure! Not too wet, either. Pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in a standard log flume. Justice League: Battle for Metropolis -- I think this is the first time I've ever seen the pre-show for one of these. I also think it's the first time I've had all the effects working properly, but this one's just a year old, so that makes sense. I really enjoyed Justice League, and have to say that it's a lot more fun than Iron Reef. CraZanity -- This thing takes a while to get going, but once it does, it puts the Huss models to shame. It runs a pretty long cycle, too, so you get several big swings once it hits full speed! Every park needs one of these.

The lapbar restraints definitely make it feel way more open than the B&M dive coasters! To me, that's one of the things I liked the most about HangTime -- the trains are very comfortable and open.

Thanks Ryan! Working on the next batch right now.

I was there in mid-September and it had a significant amount of downtime. The coaster sections were a little rough, too. It seems like it could probably use some work.