Shockwave Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 ^This was a great report Erik! Your views on those coasters are pretty much identical to mine. If Psyclone was still there, that would be competing with Manhattan Express which was pretty poor even with the new trains. I rode Desperado at night and it was bouncing around like crazy, but it had great character.
Frade Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great picture and trip report, it seems you all had a great time, I miss Grand Californian alot, great hotel right?
jdsmartdude911 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great PTR Erik, I kept seeing you at Solace, but due to my shy behavior i didn't bother you. One thing about this TR, you kept saying "yeah" too often... Other then that, good job!
arrowfanman Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Wow Erik, that was a really great trip report! So nice to have a fresh perspective on my-area parks! (Note to Robb...I said "my-area" rather than "my parks"...is that ok? ) Hope to see another PTR from a Johnson-vacation soon! -Jahan
robbalvey Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 (Note to Robb...I said "my-area" rather than "my parks"...is that ok? Nope! Still pretty obnoxious. Like you're taking ownership of the SCV or something! When did you last ride? The reason I ask is because the Ghostrider just came out of a rehab and a lot of the problem spots where re tracked. Rode in December. My experience with GR's rehabs is that it might be running better for about a 1 week or 2, a month TOPS, but then it just goes back to it's totally craptacular self. I don't buy the whole "one train is better than another" on basically ANY coaster. While yes, technically there might be some validity to it, it's marginal by any means and most riders would not notice a difference. Overall, if a coaster is rough, not even a train coming out of rehab can "save" it. Erik, I think your opinions are DEAD ON! My opinion has always been that So Cal is a pretty good collection of "mostly mediocre rides." While there are a few stand out ones, like you note in your list, for the most part there better versions of most coasters some place else. --Robb
mcjaco Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 As usual, Erik's TRs are full of great pics and insightful. I wasn't blown away by anything I rode during that week, but it was fun finally riding some coasters that I'd seen and read about all these years. I was disappointed Ninja wasn't running the week I was there. Another Arrow suspended coaster manages to slip through my grasp. I guess I just have to go back! The drop on X was seriously intense. I found the whole ride to be much better than I expected. I enjoyed Tatso, but that pretzel loop is a tad too long for my taste. Which is funny since I think the Superman one is too short....
WillMontu Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. I remember going to a McDonalds in New Zealand that had a railcar as part of the dining room. The restaurant itself was built in the mid-late 80s, and according to Google Earth, it's still there. As for that other one, let's hope Elissa doesn't find out about it
Sexy No Jutsu Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Awesome awesome awesome! I loved this trip report. I'm glad you got to experience our Disneyland. I totally agree with you, your Space Mountain is better! Even though I LOVE ours, MK's space is more...wild, and has drops. I was really glad you rode our pirates too! I was at SFMM on sunday, but I completely forgot about ERT. I missed it. I loved Ninja's new coat of paint. Still a little bumpy, but I'm glad you liked it, as a lot of people feel it's boring. It's a shame Ghostrider is pretty terrible now. If only you rode it in it's early days. It was an AMAZING ride. I don't ride it anymore. Hope you had a blast! (looks like it).
bulldogmom Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Wow- that was great! As usual, great photos, great captions. I love how your kitty looks like the Lego one. Looks like a great trip. It would be really cool to eat in the Friends coffee shop!
Gnome Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Also sorry to read that you had a bad ride on Ghostrider, if you rode in the copper train then I really understand for such a crappy ride. I dunno, I've ridden in both trains fairly recently and I found them both to have equal amounts of suckage. If there was a "smoother" train, I certainly couldn't tell! --Robb "So disspointed in GR especially given that I did it's commentary as a top ten coaster in 2002!" Alvey It makes me weap at night. I mean seriously, they have enough coasters that what they should do is close it down after the Haunt and rehab all the way up till march, save maybe 1-2 weeks in december. I'm sure the ride would be SOOO much smoother if that was the case. I also concur with CA having a good selection of what are generally just mediocre rides, unfortunately.
crazydaveh Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 I didn't know anyone else on the boards knew what GatorNationals are! Looks like you Gators had a good time. GO DAWGS!
Erik Johnson Posted March 16, 2007 Author Posted March 16, 2007 I didn't know anyone else on the boards knew what GatorNationals are! Looks like you Gators had a good time. GO DAWGS! Heh heh heh, yeah the Gatornationals happen to be this weekend. So my mid-sized town's population has doubled in size for the next couple of days. GO GATORS!
Erik Johnson Posted March 16, 2007 Author Posted March 16, 2007 Great Photo TR Erik, I kept seeing you at Solace, but due to my shy behavior i didn't bother you. One thing about this TR, you kept saying "yeah" too often... Other then that, good job! You know, I never noticed that I way over used the "yeah" word as much as I did. It has been noted, and I will make sure not to overuse it again. I can see how that can get annoying.
cfc Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 ^I dunno--the Beatles rode "yeah, yeah, yeah" all the way to the bank.
the sound Posted March 17, 2007 Posted March 17, 2007 Possibly one of the best insights to SoCal parks and attractions i have seen. Thanks for sharing it with us!
M_Force_4_ever Posted March 17, 2007 Posted March 17, 2007 awesome PTR, it really makes me want to go back to SFMM...maybe Il go to the event next year. hmmmm
vjgx Posted March 17, 2007 Posted March 17, 2007 Hey, you got a picture of my friend and I! Great Photo TR, by the way. WCB was fun... X 4 times in a row was awesome!
robbalvey Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 You should have introduced yourself to us!!! We don't bite! --Robb
mcjaco Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 You should have introduced yourself to us!!! We don't bite! --Robb At least not hard. Maybe just a nibble.
cfc Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 ^And any resulting infection can be treated with standard antibiotics.
vjgx Posted March 19, 2007 Posted March 19, 2007 You should have introduced yourself to us!!! We don't bite! --Robb You looked a little busy...
mxman005 Posted March 22, 2007 Posted March 22, 2007 Truly amazing TR. Reminds me so much of Cali and how much I want to go back. Thanks for all the awesome pics.
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