Photo TR: Inland Empire Bash!

[atem122]

So this past weekend has been in the works for a while now. My buddy, David (Creditcrazy) and I were initially to credit whore both Castle Amusement Park and Scandia Fun Center (or whatever it's called) since I needed the credits (I'm now up to the glorious 61), and just to have fun. Well, Castle was offering an $8 entrance deal, so it was finally our time to do this weekend that had been in planning for months. As the weekend drew closer, the idea of also going to Knott's to ride Xcelerator came up. Needless to say, it turned into a 2 day super sexy sleepover, and the most fun weekend I've had in a long long long long time.

 

I'd also like to thank upfront David and his family. His parents are probably the coolest people ever, and they helped make this past weekend even more enjoyable than it would have been. I'd also like to take this time to call David out for totally cheating at Mini Golf, Tennis, and Hot Hoops...you suck!

 

Day 1: Castle Amusement Park and Scandia Fun Center

 

ADMIN EDIT: I added the "Photo TR:" notation to the front of your thread's title. Thank you for sharing this with us!

First thing's first. Castle Park! Home of Merlin's Revenge, the undisputed greatest roller skater around for a good 30 miles!

This ride is so intense that they have the back row closed off. ...It's just not pictured here.

However, the ride achieved a mildly janky status by having its fountain turned off. But don't worry, it gets jankier.

After realizing that the park's other two credits were closed (I'll miss you Little Dipper), we headed to the park's log flume aptly named "Log Ride."

While Log Ride was totally balls to the walls crazy, we had bigger fish to fry. Err I mean dragons.

Between the extreme yank at the top, and the lax ride ops who let you leave your restraint decently loose, you fly out of your seat faster than a hipster running through a flannel shirt store!

Putting the word 'Dragon' in anything makes it way scarier.

For instance: Would you prefer S&S? Or S&S Dragon?!

This park is cool because it has two separate trains that go to the same areas. Here's one of them.

Disney allows this?!

...At least Disney wasn't singled out or anything.

But hey! It *

 

*denotes TAKES A TUNNEL...but since you can't hear "TAKE THE TUNNEL" on Termy (Hi Skycoastinsteve who hates that nickname!), it cannot officially appear in my trip reports anymore.

"The tunnel really didn't fit on this ride. I feel the wild west theming...along with the ghosts, really clashed with the Americana-Medieval feel this park is going for."-Standard coaster enthusiast

At one end of the park was this baby. All I can say about it is...RELEASE THE DRAGONS!!!!

I feel that the "made in China" tag really clashes nicely with the ride that was most likely not made in China.

The dragons hath been released. However, while flyers definitely aren't as cool as I was expecting, the dragon decals really made up for it.

If only this were the best Larson ride I'd be riding today...

Also at the park was a Flying Star...which I now realize are uncomfortable and not very fun. I suppose I'm not too much of a flat man...and I don't mean I have large tits. That's just a coincidence.

I actually thought this was a pretty cool idea for an attraction. Basically, you catapult water balloons at each other. You're bound to get wet.

Also at the park is a fantastic mini golf course. Where you are reminded to hit your balls easy.

While I always love visiting amusement parks, it's even better when they're happy to see me!!

Back in the Medieval times, the knights used to kick back and relax next to the carriageways and put their way around 18 wacky holes.

While this may seem like a steep price for a shirt with a small logo, keep in mind that it was made by the knight who slayed the legendary Drachen: Fire.

Just as all hope for riding Screamin Demon had faded, David's mom called the park and informed us that the ride was just down for maintenance and would in fact be opening soon!

Unfortunately, they had no one to staff the ride. So it remained closed. However, we actually met with the manager of Castle Park, who gave us his card and told us that we could come back and ride the 2 closed coasters (since he knew we were enthusiasts) whenever we had the opportunity! That's actually really nice, and very good customer service.

So while we missed 2 coasters (well, Davy had already ridden them in the past, and we only payed 8 dollars to get in anyway), Castle Park was actually better than I was expecting. The Dragon's Tower really makes that park worthwhile. However, an even greater tower awaited us later that night.

...But before I can bring you that, I need to bring you proof that Castle Park does in fact own a communist Falling Star!

Now it was time for Scandia! Home of the famous rule that states that you cannot wear clothes that show affiliation to anything. Which makes me a rebel because I wore my track shirt. I'm a BAMF.

First order of business was their Little Dipper. Which is a definite contender for jankiest coaster of the trip because it a) Rolls back before it hits the lift hill. b) Turns at the top of the lift hill. c) Feels like it's going to fall over at any minute. d) Almost slices your head off!

The next ride was Cliff Jumper. Quite possibly my favorite drop tower EVER! It just never stops...*insert off-color sex joke here*

This was the best idea since the Shake Weight for men!

Commence speculation as to what might replace the looping starship...

..Which has definitely seen better days.

And finally, the thing I was most excited to ride: Scandia Screamer!!!

A wise choice of words. The head choppers got awfully close.

After riding Hi Miler at the LA County fair a few years ago, I couldn't wait to ride this. Needless to say, between the neck snapping, the @$$ smashing, and the turns that threw you into the person next to you, this ride delivered. It was one of those rides that was SO bad that you couldn't help but have fun on it!

I also consider it a janky coaster as the back car is closed off, and the front car was taken by some bags after staff members rode it and decided that nobody could sit there....

The last turn is the best one on Earth. To get an accurate idea of what it felt like, take an office chair and a fire extinguisher, then, use the fire extinguisher to blast the office chair into a hard wall. Needless to say, that was my favorite part of the ride.

And then came the true highlight of the whole trip: Souplantation! Between the extreme airtime at the salad buffet, and the intensity of the ice cream machine, this meal did NOT let up. However, I will let up and say goodbye for part 1 of this trip report! Next on the agenda, Day 2: Adventure Park and Knott's Berry Farm.

Edited May 21, 2010 by atem122

[CreditCrazy]

This report is so janky.

 

PS: Haaaaaht hoops.

[cooksta77]

I love it.

To get an accurate idea of what it felt like, take an office chair and a fire extinguisher, then, use the fire extinguisher to blast the office chair into a hard wall.

Awesome Photo TR of the park that's 5 minutes down the 15 from me (Scandia). And as for the looping starship replacement..... Intamin Mega-Lite.

Andrew "I'm out of whitty comments" Iorio

[the ghost]

^ I dont think it will be a mega light... I'm pretty sure its going to be an aquatrax.

You know what would be awesome though? An Intamin ball coaster. It would probably fit, and even though I know it wont go there it is an awesome thought.

Awesome TR of 2 parks less than 30/40 minutes away that I have never been to, besides in Ghost form. Thats where me and my homies were in the tunnel on the train ride, ruining the theming.

 

The 1000th Ghost

^ Who can figure out what this means considering Im a Disney nerd?

[cal1br3tto]

^Haunted Mansion?

[the ghost]

^ Damn, I actually thought that was kind of hard, but yeah,youre right. I totally forgot though, Californian Disney/coaster nerds are different than all other nerds in the world. I went to florida last summer and no one was saying the stuff on the elevator except me, and no one screamed at the laughter and stuff.

 

The Sorry for high jacking this awesome Tr Ghost

[ebl]

Strangely, I've never been to Castle Park. It looks like a fun place. That spinning coaster there, Screamin' Demon, has an identical twin that tours as "Pole Position" with one of the carnival companies (Butler Amusements, perhaps). I rode that at the Ventura County Fair a few years back and...no. Not much fun. But I will give it points for the rather funky (dare I say "janky?") lift it has---you go halfway up, turn left 90 degrees, and go the rest of the way up. (Space Mountain has three separate lifts, which I'm guessing is because there isn't enough room inside there for one single straight one---the same issue I think it is with this model.) When I rode, I just found it to be pretty rough.

 

As for the other coaster at Castle Park, I'll be riding an exact copy of it at SFMM in 3...2...1...

 

Eric

[Top Thrill Dragster]

^Its a nice medium sized family fun center.

 

The Dragon Tower and Mini golf are really good.

[rcdude]

It's been a couple of years since I last went to Castle Amusement Park, but that place is still my favorite minor park in Southern California. While none of the three coasters are that great, the park does have a pretty good log flume and the best S&S ride I've been on. They've also got a few other rides you don't see often at major amusement parks anymore, and for the price it's a great place to visit for three or four hours (but gets a little boring after about six).

 

Scandia Amusement Park, on the other hand...well, I can't remember when I was last there because I'm just not a fan of the place. They do have a good roller coaster, but there isn't enough other stuff there to keep me interested for more than two hours. I want to go try the new drop tower at some point, but since it is close to an hour drive from where I live I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

Great photos of parks that don't have many trip reports. I can't wait to see part two.

[atem122]

PS: Haaaaaht hoops.

These words will haunt my memory forever.

 

 

Thanks for all of the great comments guys! I think I'll have part 2 up some time soon...maybe...I need to wait for Davy to upload his Knott's photos so that I can steal some of them for the report. But it should be very Xciting!

[cal1br3tto]

I'd like to credit whore Castle Park sometime. Glad to hear the other credits should be up and running. But now I really don't get why Screamin' Demon wasn't on my park map? (I've ridden its clone sibling, and yeah, not that great. But there's a bit of airtime and the janky lift is kinda funny/freaky.)

 

I'm really glad I got the chance to ride Scandia Screamer, but I was not that impressed. And this is coming from someone who loves airtime and is strangely drawn to janky portable style coasters. It's just not an overly memorable ride imo, but I'm still glad I got a chance to ride this surprisingly tall, record-breaking Miler. I'd only seen pictures, and WOW, it looks even bigger in person.

 

Entertaining TR of some parks I've visited in person or voyeuristically.

[fatdaddy]

Can it really be IE bash without Johns Incredible Pizza? I mean every bash has food and credits, johns has a credit, johns has food, food and a credit, its a no brainer.

 

I don't find screamer to be all that rough, scary, like I'm gonna fly outta the seat or get scalped, but fun with lots of air time. I keep forgetting that new drop tower is finished, thanks for reminding me. Good to see a report from the IE.

[atem122]

Can it really be IE bash without Johns Incredible Pizza? I mean every bash has food and credits, johns has a credit, johns has food, food and a credit, its a no brainer.

 

I don't find screamer to be all that rough, scary, like I'm gonna fly outta the seat or get scalped, but fun with lots of air time. I keep forgetting that new drop tower is finished, thanks for reminding me. Good to see a report from the IE.

Souplantation>John's Incredible Pizza + credit (besides, I can just whore up the one in Nor Cal next time I go back )

Thanks for the comments again! It's greatly appreciated.

[CreditCrazy]

BTW, I'm 99% sure Screamin' Demon IS Pole Position from some traveling carnival. Castle Park bought it from Butler's Amusements.

[ebl]

I do know that Pole Position was at last year's Ventura County Fair (didn't ride it, though), so there are at least two of those floating around---or should I say "spinning" around?

 

Eric

[CreditCrazy]

I guess it was just too amazing to remove from the fair completely then!

[fatdaddy]

^All i know is that when it arrived the cars were painted like race cars, so probably was pole position, or a clone.

[atem122]

Day 2: Part One: Adventure City: The Phantom Menace: The Revenge

So now comes day two of Inland Empire Bash! We originally planned to wake up early and get to Knott's for opening, but we overslept, and David's dad had plans. So we had quite a late start...however, this worked to my advantage at least. Since we'd be arriving after 11, David and his family gave me the option to go to Adventure City (which is literally a couple miles up the same street as Knott's) so that I could reach 60 credits. Of course, me being the whore-in-training that I am, I graciously accepted. So off we went, we drove by Knott's and into the parking lot of the wonderful Adventure City. I didn't quite know what to expect other than two janky coasters...and boy were they janky. That said, it seemed like a nice park for kids half my age...and then minus two years.

 

Edit: How about a POV of Tree Top Racers?! (It was taken with permission)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKQ2DW55ltc

Here we are! The glorious credit number 60! Freeway coaster! I felt mildly loserish being the only person on the ride when I rode this.

While it was very janky and seemed to slowly roll its way through the course, it gets bonus points for hopping a tree.

As I was walking over to the other credit, I noticed this. Why do these small parks like stealing copyrighted things?!

Now time for the 100% certified jankiest coaster of the trip: Tree Top Racers!

These are wise words. And *gasp*, is that a 42'' height limit I see?!

This definitely looks like a quality ride.

However, due to the weird restraints, it had really slow operations. I definitely expect more out of my $13 dollar family parks.

What do this lift hill and Tom Cruise have in common? They both pretend to be straight, but they're clearly not.

I still don't know how this thing hasn't collapsed yet. It must be on some kind of coaster Viagara...

As you can see, it takes a lot of knowledge and complex mechanisms to operate this steel wonder.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but the last turn could literally take your hands off if you're not careful. Therefore making this a strong contender for jankiest coaster of the trip!

And finally, more Tom Cruise-like track.

 

Okay, that's it for Adventure City. Next comes Knott's...whenever I decide to get around to that.

[RoCo]

Poor Tom Cruise... Anyway, great TR and you've really convinced me that this summer must include a visit to Castle Park and the Scandia joint. And janky it may be, but the Tree Top Racers are da bombdiddy-diggity.

[atem122]

Poor Tom Cruise... Anyway, great TR and you've really convinced me that this summer must include a visit to Castle Park and the Scandia joint. And janky it may be, but the Tree Top Racers are da bombdiddy-diggity.

Haha yeah, the drop towers at both parks are really worth the price at both Scandia and Castle. And I was very surprised at how Tree Top rode. I was expecting tons of pain, but got none. It was actually decently exciting for a wild mouse!

[fatdaddy]

I think Tree Top Racers is the only wild mouse i ever rode that felt like a real coaster, not just something for the kids. Those seats are like someone stuffed a lazyboy recliner inside each car, i could probably take a nap in one if i wasn't afraid of getting beheaded.

 

I had my daughters birthday there and they let her drive the train with all her "guests", pretty awesome, especially for a 3 year old.

 

Again, great to see a report from a small park. Oh, and i wouldn't consider tree top racers credit whoring, but freeway coaster is another story.

[RCFreak]

Tom Cruise jokes are so 2005. Now if you would have said George Rekers, I would have been impressed.

 

Nice TR so far. I still have yet to hit Adventure City, oh well, doesn't seem to be going anywhere too soon.

[atem122]

Tom Cruise jokes are so 2005. Now if you would have said George Rekers, I would have been impressed.

 

Nice TR so far. I still have yet to hit Adventure City, oh well, doesn't seem to be going anywhere too soon.

Note to self: Find out who George Rekers is and add him to the Knott's part. Yeah...I'm well cultured.

 

Thanks for the comment!

(you too fatdaddy)

Edit: I forgot to add this picture into my PTR! Goats make any park, like adventure city, awesome! And it's post a goat Thursday!

There seems to be something hairy next to that cock...and by cock, I mean rooster. Too bad this park had no ass. And by ass, I mean donkey.

[the ghost]

Congrats on 60! I am doing a San Diego trip, but my mom said we can go to Belmont and Sea World... meaning I will get to 49 credits! I will be flipping out on such a border line mile stone, but Mr. Six will probably be 50th at Bash next year. Anyway, this TR is filled with liquied epicocity!

[atem122]

Congrats on 60! I am doing a San Diego trip, but my mom said we can go to Belmont and Sea World... meaning I will get to 49 credits! I will be flipping out on such a border line mile stone, but Mr. Six will probably be 50th at Bash next year. Anyway, this TR is filled with liquied epicocity!

Thank you, sir! And if 50 means that much to you (mine was Medusa up in Nor Cal!!!), just find a family entertainment center with a coaster! There's bound to be one near you!