VegasCoaster Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 EDIT: Read the photos backwards. I initially posted them in the order I wanted to have them, previewed it and they came out backwards, so I switched them all and now they are actually backwards. So yesterday I kind of went nuts going around Phoenix doing all the stuff my parents wouldn't be up for in Phoenix. Mainly driving out to Deer Valley to go to a mexican restaurant that was on Food Network's Diners Drive-ins and Dives and seeing movies. On to what most people care about, the park! So while Castles 'n Coasters is a ghetto park, I found that the employees were actually very friendly and helpful. Most of them seemed to wish you a good rest of the day while you were leaving the ride. The only main problem with the operations was the fact that they had to wait until they had enough people to dispatch the rides. The ride ops were good about letting people know that and allowing people to get off the rides and wait until more people got in line, since in the heat sitting in a coaster train for a while is rather uncomfortable. The park doesn't have a whole lot there, but has a lot of rides that the entire family can enjoy with the exception of the drop tower and Desert Storm. Desert Storm deserves its own paragraph for being so special. As with most other Hopkins coasters, its kind of funky. After the lift you linger for a while which is kind of odd but builds the suspense. You drop into a loop and head up a hill into a dropping turn into the wtf moment of the ride. Its not quite a loop and it not quite a corkscrew, not really a loopscrew either. Most loops trail to one direction or the other so you can clear the track on the other side. This loop seems to be perfectly straight for the first half and then makes a hard right. While some other coasters may do similar things, I don't think I've seen it where your entire body is just thrown to the side like a ragdoll. Not to say that this was entirely bad, the loop has some pretty intense g forces especially in the front, just don't hold your hands up if you're riding with people. That is unless you don't really like them and want to "accidentally" knock them unconscious with an elbow. Good ride, but weird. On to the pictures! First stop: Food Network quality gas station Mexican food! While normally gas station food isn't that good, this place cooks everything to order! Carne Asada Tacos! Pretty good, though apparently they are known for their El Pastor plate. The main reason for making the trek out to Deer Valley, The Dark Knight in IMAX! Unfortunately, tickets were sold out for the show I wanted to go to, so I had to figure a way to kill some time. How about some credits to kill the time! The entrance has kind of a prison feel to it. Once inside you are greeted by a slew of arcade games, more on those later. There are credits to be had! Everything is kind of piled on top of each other here, so ambiance is kind of lacking. Prepare to hit whoever you are riding with in the head if your hands are up. Spelling is not this parks strong point as others have pointed out. Reminds me of an RCT mini map where you just have to stack rides to get anything done. The flume ride actually looked pretty decent, but I didn't go on because I didn't want to get the mini wet. Kind of an interesting mix of themes though. Half of the ride seems to be in a port and the other half has elephants. Don't know who these people are, but they apparently like the ride. Sky Diver, the park's carnival drop ride. One of the scarier drop rides I've been on. It wasn't scary in that it was suspensful, or high, but it did rattle an awful lot on the drop, so you wonder if you are going to stop. Well more accurately, you wonder how quick of a stop you're going to have. They also have a Himalaya ride, but there was a sign saying no single riders. : ( Credit whoring time! Did they ever need a queue for this ride? Not the most comforting sign. WTF? This isn't spelled incorrectly, its actually Spanish for carousel. You have to roll the r's. Money shot. I thought it was nice to have the actual ride blueprints on the ride building. They also have bumper boats and go-karts, but neither looked like you could get above a nice brisk idle. They have four mini golf courses to choose from as well, but since it was hot as hell, I was going to retreat inside to check out that arcade. I've never seen little abbreviated like that. They have one of the largest pinball collections I've seen. A good mix of new and old too! They also have a shooting gallery. The park has a kind of middle eastern theme, but they went for a Robin Hood theme here. Strange. This is an arcade game? The true test of a ghetto park, copyright infringement! Homer was Canadian, who knew? Upstairs they have a ton of older games like Joust, Lunar Lander, and Tron! Its hot, why am I playing mini golf? Grammar isn't their strong suit either. Loopage! Hole in one! There should be a game you can play here where if you find all the spelling errors you win something. My chariot awaits to take me back to the movies. All in all Castles 'n Coasters was better than I thought it would be! Why so serious? Unbelievably awesome! Go see the Dark Knight now if you haven’t already. So on the way home I needed grub, so I hit up the best fast food place ever, In-n-Out! This may look normal to people in California, but I've never seen an In-n-Out this empty. Double Double animal style, fries and a strawberry shake. Yum! One very happy guy after an awesome day. Thanks for reading!
ctriceman Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 Great TR, reminds me of all the fun I had during the two and a half years I lived in the valley. C and C is a nice little park but way too small for a metro area like Phoenix. I've seen a few movies at the deer park amc, one of the nicest ones in the area. Which In n out burger is that? I used to frequent the one on Frank Lloyd wright quite a bit.
VegasCoaster Posted July 27, 2008 Author Posted July 27, 2008 Its actually the one on Frank Lloyd Wright! There was one near the theater too, but I'd have to take 17 home or back track a lot to get to it. I agree, we need something more, so hopefully that Decades park can come to fruition.
ms13 Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 Ah, castles and coaster. The home of my first looping coaster. Brings back memories! Thanks for the TR! BTW- Completely agree on The Dark Knight! One of the years best!
TheRapidsNerd Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Nice pinball machine collection! What else was there again? Kidding. Looks like a fun place and thanks for putting this up.
Philrad71 Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Nice trip report! Don't feel bad about posting the pix backwards...I have done it as well and then went, WTF(?) when I previewed and saw all of them backwards! The park definitely looks unique with all the stacking of rides and coasters. I love the classic arcades with the video games I grew up with! (IE: Robotron, Joust, Zaxxon, Defender, GORF, and Crossbow). And of course, pinball rules too!!!! I would go there just for the arcade alone! CP has an awesome collection, but I think that they are 50 cents now instead of a quarter, like they used to be.
dino Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Cool TR. Seems like a nifty little park with a GREAT pinball collection . And you are so right, In-N-Out is the best fast food ever .
BeemerBoy Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Double Double animal style, fries and a strawberry shake. Yum! Okay, it's 5:30am as I'm reading this right now, and yet, all of a sudden I'm hungry for In-N-Out. That's just wrong to taunt me like that. Seriously though, awesome report. Very well done! Oh, and Tron rocks.
hansrubens Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Great TR. Was Desert Storm as rough as most of the Arrow/Vekoma coasters are or is it surprisingly smooth like the Premier Rides coasters? I really love those rooms which are stacked with pinball machines. -----Hans
Luka Posted August 5, 2008 Posted August 5, 2008 Very good TR! Why wouldn't you want to go on the log flumes? I mean, if it's hot, and you get wet on them, then...
VegasCoaster Posted August 6, 2008 Author Posted August 6, 2008 Desert Storm isn't that rough, though it does throw you around quite a bit. To explain that a bit more, it doesn't rattle you a lot, but it throws you forwards and backwards and side to side (especially in the second inversion). It really isn't too bad of a ride, its just not great either. Looking back the flume could have been a good idea, but I didn't want to get the new mini wet or stinky from amusement park water.
gk Posted August 6, 2008 Posted August 6, 2008 ^ The lack of OTSR's helps a lot, it would probably be brutal if it had 'em.
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