Photo TR: Sam's Summer of 100+ Credits

[thrillgeek]

Yeah it definitely was a BAD decision on our part but hey, like he said, some of my friends wanted to go and I just couldn't turn down the invite. But yeah I'm never going again during the weekend unless it's for fright fest or holiday in the park. The hour long lines just aren't worth it any more. Maybe for a park I haven't been to in a while but not at my home park.

 

Oh and instead of the 4D theatre they should install a motion simulator like Spiderman at IOA. That would be the best choice in my opinion

 

Today, Adam (Miller Lite) and I met up at SFDK with some of his friends.

 

^Haha Sam that's my name on rcpro not on here

[Goliath513]

^ Fixed.

 

Yeah you read that correctly. We rode the Manteca Waterslides that were brought over to CGA's Boomerang Bay today. For me, the Manteca Waterslides fanboy, this was quite a thrill!

 

Monday and yesterday, Adam and I went down to CGA so he could go there for the first time and get new credits. I already got most of mine back in 2002 when I was last there. The park was empty enough that we got a walk-on for most of the rides throughout the day, and never had to wait more than 10 minutes for anything.

 

7/14-15/2008: CGA

New credits for Sam: 1

 

 

Day 1

 

 

This is where we are.

 

This area will look VERY different next year!

 

Peering over the wall towards Firefall and the old Greased Lightnin station.

 

Pain: The Ride

 

For all you abandoned amusement park structure enthusiasts. CGA has many more remnants of the past like this!

 

This one's for you Derek.

 

Drop Zone, er...Drop Tower. Bad Cedar Fair name

 

Please burn this down.

 

Here's a shot that can be bashed. Vekoma at a Cedar Fair park with trash cans. Bring on the negativity!

 

Rough, but considering it's a 70's Arrow, its okay.

 

TV Show: The Ride

 

We didn't even see any ACErs around.

 

There used to be a coaster here.

 

"If the restraint fails, I'm dead"

 

I see you, Manteca Waterslides.

 

We also got a Geauga Lake ride credit.

 

Quite possibly, one of the worst color schemes for a B&M.

 

This is all that was changed for the ride. All the Paramount era theming was still there.

 

Not quite as lame as SFMM's rapids ride.

 

All three of the main park's water rides are very Dan friendly.

 

 

A Great America classic.

 

Time for credit whore credit number one.

 

I went up in line, only to be rejected because I did not have a kid to ride with. I thought if I could get on Jr Gemini without a kid last month and successfully get the credit, I could get anything. Wrong. We came back several times in the day when there were different ride ops only to be rejected again. The following day we even tried to accompany Adam's little brother on and have him tell the ride op it would be his first roller coaster and wanted us to accompany him for it. They wouldn't buy it because he is over 54" Because of this lost credit, my #100 will have to be the crappy wacky worm at Astroland instead of the Cyclone.

 

 

With the failure at Taxi Jam, we headed over to Runaway Reptar for an attempt at the credit.

 

The ride op there told us we were to tall. But we were able to talk him into letting us on since there were no other kids in line and we would be the only ones on. New credit brings my count up to 83. Yey!

 

 

Success, success, success

 

Another Dan friendly water ride.

 

Peering over another fence at Boomerang Bay offers a new angle of Top Gun.

 

First up, we got the Manteca Waterslides' Thunder Falls credits!

 

This was a joyful day for me.

 

 

We also rode each of the main slides once. Nothing special about any of them.

 

Lets have a moment of silence for Stealth, who can no longer be with us. *tear*

 

More remnants of Stealth. There are many more scattered throughout Boomerang Bay too.

 

Logger's Run from the waterslides queue.

 

After Boom Bay, we went back into the park. With nothing better to do, we decided to see the "Endless Summer on Ice" show at the Great America Theater. Let me just say, THIS SHOW IS AWESOME (for guys). The ice skater girls were hotter than any other girl we saw in the park both days. You have to see the show in person to see why! Even as a hardcore coaster enthusiast, this show is Sam approved!

 

 

Lol

 

Very secluded.

 

Adam has a picture of me taking this picture. I'm sure he will post it.

 

Berserker. Flat ride that goes around on a track = a Jeff Johnson credit

 

Flying Eagles and Orbit

 

Firefall is quite impressive at night. (Photo by Adam Miller)

 

Enough light is enough.

 

Night shot of the opening picture!

 

Overall, Drop (Zone) Tower is awesome. Got many re rides on that. Firefall is much better than Voodoo at SFDK in terms of ride thrills, and theming. CGA needs a better collection of coasters. They have quantity, but certainly not quality. I'm really looking forward to the new coaster (I read somewhere it will be called "Santa Clara Stampede"). No signs of construction yet.

 

 

 

Day 2 to be posted shortly.

[thrillgeek]

Nicely done Sam. Here are some of the pics (in random order) I took from the 1st day. I'll post my 2nd day pics and write a review after Sam does his.

Sam getting his coaster porn

2nd best coaster in the park!!!

Yay!!! My 1st arrow looper. I was really excited for this one.

Flight Deck off in the distance from the sky ride

What a great ride at night!!!

We hit the swings while we waited for the show. (Hehehe sorry Sam)

Top Gu....I mean Flight Deck was easily the best coaster here. Short but the intensity and G-forces are what make this ride stand out.

Best ride by far!!!

[Goliath513]

Day 2

 

 

I didn't get nearly as many pictures yesterday. Here they are.

 

 

 

The best show ever.

 

In case you forgot where we were.

 

Crowded.

 

Don't I already have this photo?

 

Fail

 

Failure of a name for a great ride.

 

Demon is the best landscaped ride in the park. Or all of northern California for that matter.

 

The lift hill has some major pumping though. It can really be felt when riding in the back.

 

Demon's station doesn't quite live up to the typical Cedar Fair quality coaster station.

 

 

That's all for CGA.

 

 

 

Next stop, SFGAdv on the TPR east coast trip in 3 weeks exactly!

[odie]

I love the night picture of Firefall. In some of the day ones I've seen, you can't even tell fire is involved in the ride! We are hoping to make a trip out to SFDK and CGA in August. I was wondering if you were able to get most everything done that first day? We were planning to just do a day trip to each park; do you think I could hit everything?

 

Thanks!

[thrillgeek]

Yes you should easily be able to get everything in in just one day. As long as you go on a weekday that is. I've never been on a weekend but I'm sure it's packed. For us the longest wait was about 10 min for Phyco Mouse. Other than that every ride including the coasters were walk-ons. Except for Grizzly oddly enough which we also waited a good 10-15 min for. So to sum things up if you plan on going durring the week you should able to get it all in.

 

Ok here's the rest of my pics

Demon about to go down the 1st drop. Thanks for viewing!!!

Denied credit =(

Hahahaha me and my my Lil Bro.

Parking lot shot of Flight Deck.

[robbalvey]

I went up in line, only to be rejected because I did not have a kid to ride with. I thought if I could get on Jr Gemini without a kid last month and successfully get the credit, I could get anything. Wrong. We came back several times in the day when there were different ride ops only to be rejected again. The following day we even tried to accompany Adam's little brother on and have him tell the ride op it would be his first roller coaster and wanted us to accompany him for it. They wouldn't buy it because he is over 54."

I really hope you don't try anything like this on the TPR East Coast trip. There are going to be a few kiddie coasters where you need a kid. If the sign or ride op tell you "You need a kid" it's one thing to ask once, be denied and walk away, I find that acceptable. It's another thing to keep going back OVER AND OVER to try again. I find that totally obnoxious.

 

My advice, follow the park rules. If they say you need a kid under 54" get a kid under 54". You're just bothering the ride ops who are trying to do their job by constantly going back. Even worse you tried bringing a kid that's OVER 54" inches and trying to get on with him knowing full well you were denied the previous day.

 

--Robb "Try that on a TPR trip and it may be your last TPR trip..." Alvey

[Goliath513]

Don't worry, I won't. In fact, thanks for the advice. I just thought a different ride op might have been more lenient about it.

 

 

I did not know that what we did was against the park rules. And I will not even think about trying that on the east coast trip in 3 weeks.

[thrillgeek]

I'm saving for a TPR trip for next year. I also won't do that again Rob.

[Angry_Gumball]

With the failure at Taxi Jam, we headed over to Runaway Reptar for an attempt at the credit.

 

The ride op there told us we were to tall. But we were able to talk him into letting us on since there were no other kids in line and we would be the only ones on. New credit brings my count up to 83. Yey!

 

You got rejected on Runaway Reptar? I think they goofed up on their part as I had no problems getting on the ride and the queue was full of both kids and adults alike. Not to mention, there is no max height restriction for Runaway Reptar, according to my park map. Taxi Jam, however, did.

[thrillgeek]

With the failure at Taxi Jam, we headed over to Runaway Reptar for an attempt at the credit.

 

The ride op there told us we were to tall. But we were able to talk him into letting us on since there were no other kids in line and we would be the only ones on. New credit brings my count up to 83. Yey!

 

You got rejected on Runaway Reptar? I think they goofed up on their part as I had no problems getting on the ride and the queue was full of both kids and adults alike. Not to mention, there is no max height restriction for Runaway Reptar, according to my park map. Taxi Jam, however, did.

 

Yeah I noticed that on the map as well. We did indeed get the credit. We just had to convince the ride op.

[sfmmrules!]

Um have you forgotten about Summit Plummit at Blizzard Beach? Its the tallest & fastest slide in the world. Everybody says!

[Goliath513]

^ Never even heard of it.

 

^^ Not talked in to. He said no, then looked around to see if any kids were entering the line, then let us in when he saw none.

[odie]

Yes you should easily be able to get everything in in just one day. As long as you go on a weekday that is. I've never been on a weekend but I'm sure it's packed. For us the longest wait was about 10 min for Phyco Mouse. Other than that every ride including the coasters were walk-ons. Except for Grizzly oddly enough which we also waited a good 10-15 min for. So to sum things up if you plan on going durring the week you should able to get it all in.

 

Well we'll be at CGA on a Sunday and SFDK on a Saturday. We'll be there for the whole day though so I think we will be okay. Those where the only days my dad wanted to go 'cause he didn't want to skip to much work. After all... it's only going to be a 13 hour plus drive (Yes, one way). So it's going to take us one day to get down there and one day to come home.

 

Well, wish me luck!

[thrillgeek]

^Damn that's a long drive. Well best of luck and hope you have as much fun as we did.

[dino]

The story about Taxi Jam and Runaway Reptar had me laughing at the sheer credit whoring going on . Seriously though, nice TR, even if it didn't include pics of the ice skating show .

[sfmmrules!]

They still let me on Runaway Reptar. I just walk right on. As far as Taxi Jam I don't even bother. But whenever I'm there I always be sure to get on Reptar.

[Goliath513]

The story about Taxi Jam and Runaway Reptar had me laughing at the sheer credit whoring going on . Seriously though, nice TR, even if it didn't include pics of the ice skating show .

No flash photography allowed + camera which takes horrible pictures in darkness = no pictures.

[odie]

I see you didn't get to many rides in at SFDK. If the park is that crowded when I go, would you recommend the flash passes? Even if they aren't the Q-bot ones? Or do you still think I could get everything done?

[Speeddeamon128]

AMAZING pics CP is my Heaven on earth. I went back in June for my 18th birtdhay. Oh I'm guessing you count racing coasters as 2 credits (Gemini) which would make CP have 18 coasters? I do that to Oh yeah Im on the East Coast Trip as well so I'll cya there! My name is Matt I'm the Yankee Fan if you look in the booklet we got a couple of weeks ago. Its only 2 weeks from Saturday if your doing the Behemoth/Ravine Flyer II trip as well (I am) Oh yeah I'll be getting my 200th credit on the trip!

[Goliath513]

I see you didn't get to many rides in at SFDK. If the park is that crowded when I go, would you recommend the flash passes? Even if they aren't the Q-bot ones? Or do you still think I could get everything done?

You could probably get everything in without flash passes when it's crowded. We didn't because we go to the park so often and it gets boring really quickly when you go there all the time. But if you want to have time for shows and other stuff, you should get flash passes if it is this crowded. As long as you don't go on a Saturday (like we did) or a holiday, you should be fine.

 

AMAZING pics CP is my Heaven on earth. I went back in June for my 18th birtdhay. Oh I'm guessing you count racing coasters as 2 credits (Gemini) which would make CP have 18 coasters? I do that to Oh yeah Im on the East Coast Trip as well so I'll cya there! My name is Matt I'm the Yankee Fan if you look in the booklet we got a couple of weeks ago. Its only 2 weeks from Saturday if your doing the Behemoth/Ravine Flyer II trip as well (I am) Oh yeah I'll be getting my 200th credit on the trip!

I'm not doing the add on, but the official trip begins three weeks from today! If all goes well, I should be getting my 100th credit on Cyclone at Astroland (meaning if I can get all 14 credits at SFGAdv during the "pregame" trip the day before and ride the wacky worm kiddie coaster at Astroland before Cyclone).

[thrillgeek]

Haha I would laugh so hard if Wacky Worm ends up being your 100th Sam

[R.C.]

It looks like you guys had a great time at both SFDK and CGA. It's too bad I could join you guys . Oh well, I was in El Salvador...

 

You guys both got some good pictures. Next up is SFGadv for Sam. I can't wait to hear your opinion on Medusa East.

[thrillgeek]

^I know me too! I can't wait to see all of the PTR's with Sam in them. Hahaha finally someone I will actually know that is in the photos.

[Goliath513]

Here I am at the Denver airport on their wireless during my 3 hour layover before my final flight home from traveling.

 

 

 

7-26-08

 

No credits here, but just a few photos from the Wisconsin Polk County fair. Being a northern California native, these midwest fairs are almost like culture shock for me. I left my camera at home, so these are from my phone.

 

 

Taco in a bag and cheese curds are some of the many foods unique

to the state and the fair itself. Cheese curds are a popular food in Wisconsin which basically are deep fried pieces of cheese. Heart attack waiting to happen, wet dream for an ACEr - these are some of the names for cheese curds.

 

 

Taco in a bag (my favorte) is basically taco ingredients in a bag of chips.

 

I decided to pass on the credit because it's not on Coaster Counter for me to add to my official count.

 

SFMM's Spin Out has been reincarnated as a carnival ride.

 

"Don't piss me off. I'm running out of places to hide the bodies."

 

Slide of death.

 

 

 

 

Nick Universe photo TR to come soon.