Photo TR: 805Andrew's 2011 Season

[805Andrew]

On Monday, July 25 I was up in San Jose for the day. My parents needed a ride to the San Jose International Airport for their 7:45 AM flight to Kona, HI, so I had the rest of the day to kill in the San Jose area before having to go home. I decided I would go to Raging Waters San Jose for the day and then drive to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk afterwards for a few hours before heading back home to San Luis Obispo County.

 

First off I help my parents to check in for their Alaska Airlines flight. Everything goes smoothly. San Jose is a compact, modern airport that is very easy to deal with once you find the parking. Afterward, I have a couple of hours to kill before Raging Waters opens. My GPS finds a Krispy Kreme in nearby Mountain View, so I head there for breakfast. I haven't had Krispy Kreme in over a year as they are an becoming endangered species in

California.

Raging Waters is located inside Lake Cunningham Park in San Jose. I pay the $6 to enter the park which includes parking for Raging Waters. I drive around half the lake to get to the water park. Lake Cunningham looks and feels more like a rural regional park than a city park.

We're almost there! There's the new Bombs Away.

This is how close I parked to the main gate.

I parked behind this car.

Time to enter the park.

i rented one of these.

This is a new water park for me. Raging Waters San Jose gives me a good first impression.

Time to look at the park map, which is also my park souvenir.

The park map. What should I go on first?

Shotgun Falls it is. This slide is very short and drops you into a 10 feet deep pool.

Serpentine Slides. I did these next, they were very fun. I skidded across the pool on the pink and orange ones and dunked into the water on the yellow one with my floater ring landing around my neck.

Shotgun Falls and Serpentine Slides are next to each other.

Raging Waters is right next to a lake which gives it a nice backdrop.

I went on the White Lightning and Blue Thunder Speed Slides next. These slides had massive airtime (especially White Lightning) and were my favorites here. Towards the end of the day I splashed pretty hard into the pool on White Lightning and the lifeguard said that was the biggest splash she has ever seen there.

The Shark Tums slide was next ... uh I mean Great White Shark. This slide merges into the park's Lazy River at the bottom (which I did afterward). I found out at the top this was a 2 person only slide. Luckily there was a group of 3 ahead of me so I rode with one of them. This slide was fun but was overrated for what the wait was (10-15 min).

This is the Pirate's Cove splash tower which I walked by on the way to Dragon's Den and Bombs Away. I went through it later.

Next up was Dragon's Den. This was a another "two person only" slide. Luckily there was a person at the bottom (not pictured) waiting for another single rider. I've done the exact clone of this slide at the Raging Waters in San Dimas so I knew what to expect... a lot of fun! We went around the Tatsu dragon in the bowl four times like a roulette wheel spinning before our floater turned around backwards for the final drop. This one had a similar wait to the San Jose Sharks slide but was actually worth the hype.

With the same single rider and one of his friends we head to Barracuda Blaster. This was a two or three person slide in which people ride down in three person rafts. The first ride I had on this was very fast and thrilling and we banked a turn at over 90º - it was one of my favorite runs of the day:) On a ride later in the day with two different guys, the run was very tame and nothing like the previous one:(

Riding all these slides was building me up to one thing...Bombs Away

Looking back, I can see White Lightning, Blue Thunder, and Great White Shark in the distance. There's no turning back now.

While Barracuda Blaster had a long line (15 min), Bombs Away had a very short line (2 min). It was funny how the newest slide in the park had the shortest line (at least the first time I rode it). I'm put into a capsule with my legs crossed, hands behind my head, and holding onto my aqua shoes. The countdown begins. 3, 2, 1, Bombs Away! On my first time I scream and close my eyes for half the ride. This was my first slide of this type and it was my favorite slide here after the White Lightning/Blue Thunder Speed Slides. On my 2nd ride, the line was much longer, and it was short again for my 3rd ride. A lot of people in line were talking about how the slide should have a on ride photo and that the park would sell a lot of on ride photos. The lifeguard at the top agreed.

This was the least impressive part of the park. This Wave Pool was very tame and I've seen better wave pools at most other water parks I've been to, including the Island Water Park in Fresno.

Now you guys know what I look like.

After I left Raging Waters I drove around Lake Cunningham before leaving the park. I saw people sailing in the lake while I was in Raging Waters and people rowing afterwards when I was driving around the lake. They were people walking, jogging, biking, and picnicking around the lake as well. This lake park has a lot of things to do even if you're not going to Raging Waters.

 

I ended up staying at Raging Waters until it closed at 6 PM. Raging Waters has 11 different water slides (not including kiddie ones) and I tried them all. I ended up doing 24 water slides total. The weather was mild when I arrived (about 67ºF) but it warmed up quickly and went up to 78ºF. It was completely overcast when I arrived at San Jose in the morning (about 58ºF) so I was concerned at first, but it cleared up by 10 AM. This was my first time to Raging Waters in San Jose and I really enjoyed it. Although it is not nearly as big as the Raging Waters in San Dimas, nor has nearly as many slides, the park is nicely landscaped with a lake in the background and all the waterslides it has are enjoyable. This is a great water park for people living in the Bay Area and just needs few more water slides to round out the offerings. I would recommend though coming here with at least one more person, as 3 out of the 11 water slides will not let you ride alone.

In case you forgot where I was at.

 

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk here I come (pictures coming soon)

My breakfast at Krispy Kreme. Left to right: Cookies N Kreme donut, Lemon Cake donut, Lemon Kreme donut, coffee. The Lemon Cake donut was by far the best one. The Cookies N Kreme one was too much of a sugar overload. The coffee was nothing special (tasted like Denny's coffee to me) but at least they gave me a free refill.

 

(Note: I meant to put this pic first but accidentally deleted it and when I reloaded it went to the end)

After Krispy Kreme I went to Costco to buy a ticket to Raging Waters. There was a Costco right next to Krispy Kreme but it didn't open until 10 AM so I went to one in San Jose. I found RW tickets here for $23.99, $10 off the gate price. Now off to Raging Waters.

 

(Note: this picture was supposed to be 2nd in my TR but ended up here)

Edited August 9, 2011 by 805Andrew

[Andrewoplis]

Nice TR! I live pretty close to that park but Ive never been there, maybe next year!

Bombs Away looks like a really cool slide, is there a lot of force on that turn? It sure does look that it!

Thanks for sharing!

[805Andrew]

Nice TR! I live pretty close to that park but Ive never been there, maybe next year!

Bombs Away looks like a really cool slide, is there a lot of force on that turn? It sure does look that it!

Thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you It's my first TR on TPR so it was a learning curve for me and I managed to get the first two pics of the trip at the end . My Droid X camera ended up working pretty well (since my real camera needed a new charger which was coming through the mail from Amazon). It was my first time at Raging Waters San Jose (I've been wanting to try that place for years) and I really enjoyed it. On Bombs Away, I didn't really notice the force of that turn because my mind was still focused on the intensity of that drop. On my second run of it, my foot bumped against the side at the end. The stop at the end with water gushing at my face was more intense then the turn. Bombs Away was one of those slides that everyone was talking about there (saying it was the first new slide at the park in 7-8 yrs) yet most people were too afraid to ride it which equaled a shorter wait and more rides for me . I would definitely go there next year (if not this year) if I were you since you live in the area - and check Costco (if you are a member) for discount tickets ($10 off) or BK for a $7 off coupon.

 

I will try to put my Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk pics up either tonight or tomorrow.

[805Andrew]

Here is a 720p HD video of Bombs Away! It was taken with my Droid X phone therefore I couldn't zoom in to see the capsule drop. My normal camera (a Sony Cybershot w/ 12.1 megapixels and 5X zoom) needed a new battery charger which UPS delivered to my house the next day. I wish I would have filmed the rider right before this one because he had a much bigger splash at the bottom - oh well!

 

 

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk at Night pics coming soon!

[805Andrew]

Now its time to head to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for 1907 Nights - $1 rides (one ticket each), $1 Pepsi, $1 hot dogs, and $1 cotton candy! First things first, since my eyes are now red and twitching from the chlorine of some of Raging Waters rides I need some eye drops ( I didn't notice this until I left RW). I also need food. I find a Lucky grocery store (didn't know those still existed) right outside Raging Waters so I get Visine in my eyes (much better ). There's also a In-N-Out in the Lucky center, so a one-two punch.

My $3.63 meal from In-N-Out Burger plus a $1.67 Red Bull from Lucky (not pictured). Cheap, delicious, and it refuels me.

 

Now on to Santa Cruz. Once I get out of the San Jose area the drive down to Santa Cruz on Hwy 17 is very scenic (sorry no pics, I was driving) with lots of hills and trees.

I arrive at Santa Cruz. I can hear the screams of the Boardwalk before I even leave my car. I find one parking spot right by the Giant Dipper so I take it. Its a metered spot and since its after 8 PM its free!

This is the Boardwalk's other main coaster.

Hurricane uses 12 passenger trains and had two trains running.

Time to buy the tickets. I bought 15 thinking I would have time to do 15 rides - BIG MISTAKE! I ended up doing 9 rides before the 11 PM park closing. Wish I would have gone with my original instinct and bought 10 instead.

Time to check out the park map, which is also my park souvenir.

The first place I head to is the nearest bathroom which is in this place. A pirate themed indoor mini golf/arcade area. Very nice!

I pass by the Double Shot which has a long line. Last time I came to SCBB was in 2005 and this ride was brand new back then. I figure I'll come back to it later (of course I never make it back to this ride).

Going up

...and back down.

 

There was a Pirate Ship ride next to it I would have probably ridden if I had more time.

A view of the beach at night and the wharf in the background.

OK, time to ride some rides, time is ticking. Hurricane is my first ride of the night. I didn't realize how long the line was until I had entered it, but the line moved quickly as the ride had separate loading and unloading areas and I ended up waiting 20 minutes. Hurricane packs quite a punch for its size and is fun.

Next up was Sky Glider to get to the other side of the Boardwalk. Luckily I only had to wait a couple of minutes to get on this. The ride across to the other side took eight minutes as it stopped several times (reminded me of a ski lift). I filmed the whole time while on this which will be a POV posted below.

Sea Swings was on the other side of Sky Glider so this ride was next. It was your average swings ride but its beach side location made a difference.

In case you forgot where I'm at.

The Giant Dipper sits in the middle of the Boardwalk. I'll get to you later.

Cliff Hanger was next. You can see the Giant Dipper in the background.

Cliff Hanger was fun but I was concerned as time was ticking away. I started to notice a pattern that SCBB is slooow at loading its flat rides.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk looks so great at night. All the other times I've been here have been during the day, so seeing it at night was a totally new experience for me.

Here you can see the splashdown from Logger's Revenge. I didn't ride it having been wet at Raging Waters all day.

This is the part of the Boardwalk where they have rides on top of each other. I remember back in the day when none of those rides were under the Logger's Revenge. I'm eyeing those two rides above Cave Train Adventure.

Tornado was the next ride I went on. It was a walk on so I thought what the heck. It ended up being my least favourite ride of the night. The constant spinning made me a little dizzy.

Cyclone was right across from Tornado, so that was next. It is one of those rides where you stand against the wall with one little belt strapping you in and all the G's suck you against the wall. It ran a long cycle (like five minutes). It had been seven years since I've ridden this type of ride and I now I remember why. More than halfway through the ride people were begging for it to stop, myself included. It will probably be another seven years before I attempt this type of ride again.

Next up was Crazy Surf. I almost skipped it because I was running low on time, but I'm sure glad I didn't! Its hard to tell from the picture, but this ride is an airtime machine. Loads of it on every turn over the top. It goes vertically counter-clockwise then clockwise. This was my second favorite ride of the night. The ride fits 18 passengers per cycle and I was kinda ticked off that in the cycle before my they let one seat ride empty as I could have been on that seat and then been off to the next ride (SCBB should have single rider lines on some of its rides or call out for a single rider). It was past 10:40 PM and I was concerned about time since they close the rides at 11 PM. The cycle right before mine was insanely long - over five minutes. My cycle was generous but not nearly as long as the previously one. The ride operator stopped the ride at the end waiting for the riders to demand more (as with the previous cycle) but someone had to throw up so they let her out and the ride ended. It took longer to unload every one else (time was ticking) because of this. I'm surprised someone throw up because of this ride but not because of Tornado or Cyclone.

Coaster whoring time! Sea Serpent is my newest credit. I almost had to skip it as it was 10:52 PM but since it was a walk-on with the coaster in the station I hopped into the vacant back seat. Sea Serpent was pretty wild for a kiddie coaster and while kids where putting their hands up in front of me, I was holding on in the back. Sea Serpent circled around the track twice and then it was done. I'm glad it didn't circle around a third time or else I might have missed Giant Dipper.

I made a mad dash for Giant Dipper. There was no way in hell I was going complete a visit on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk without a ride on the park's star attraction. I hop in the line (as others before me are doing) at 10:59 PM. Four people get behind me and then they close the line. Barely made it!

They have these cool signs to read while you are waiting in line in the station.

I can see my car through the window of the Giant Dipper station.

Cry little sister (Thou shall not fall)

The Giant Dipper has two trains running so the line moves quickly. The blue one...

and the red one. Each train holds up to 24 passengers.

Loading the train right before mine. I'm on the blue train which is the last one of the night. Last August I was on the last train of X2 at SFMM, and now I'm on the last train of the Giant Dipper. I sure know how to catch those last trains.

Saving the best ride for last, I board Giant Dipper in an available row. Of course the front and back rows are taken so I take a row close to the back, row 9 out of 12. I was going to sit on the right side but it was wet smelled of beer, so I move over to the left side which is dry. The guy sitting behind me notices a beer can on the floor and one of the on-ride staff members pulls out a Coors Light can from underneath his seat. The ride starts into a dark tunnel section and then goes outside onto the lift hill. On the lift hill, a guy two rows ahead of me on the right side cracks open a Budweiser can and starts drinking it! I hope none of it gets on me. After the first drop, turnaround, and second drop this hooligan chucks out his beer can to his right towards the street (luckily not behind him and onto me!) while the train is going up the third hill. That was annoying but at least no beer got on me (or anyone else). Even with that beer drinking idiot, I still enjoyed the ride.

There's me in the middle (photo #4251). That drunk douche bag that was drinking a beer on the ride is on the left side of photo# 4250. His face is cut off but he flipped off the camera with his left hand and was holding his beer in his right hand.

Its now 11:15 PM and everything is starting to shutdown.

But Fireball was still going strong. Of course they cut off the line at 11 PM or I would have hopped in. I never got to ride Fireball which is located next to the Giant Dipper and still managed to have the longest line at the Boardwalk.

Now what do I do with these? I had six tickets leftover which I would have gladly used if the rides were still open. I asked an employee if I could use these tickets on another day and she said they never expire and I could come back in a hundred years and still use them. Seriously, she said this! I guess I'll have to save them for a future visit. I'm only 2.5 hours away.

1907 Nights at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been brought to you by...

 

I was thirsty and kind of hungry so I get a $1 Pepsi and a $1 hot dog at one of the booths that was still open. I was going to get Mountain Dew but they were all out at the booth I picked so Pepsi it is. It ended up being one of the best fountain Pepsi's I've ever had. I was also going to get a $1 cotton candy for the road but all the cotton candy booths were closed.

 

I really enjoyed my night visit at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk- they really turn up the charm at night. So much better than during the day. It had more rides than I remembered. Had I known that the Boardwalk would have been so fun (and crowded) I would have came here earlier. I can't believe its been six years since I've last came here but it definitely won't be six more years before I return. I'll be back within a year, maybe even sometime later this year.

 

Two days later I went to the California Mid State Fair and those pics will be up soon.

[805Andrew]

Here's a video I filmed of Double Shot at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with the Pirate Ship in the background in 720p HD.

 

[805Andrew]

Ok here's a POV of Sky Glider that I took from the Hurricane coaster to the other end of the Boardwalk. It took me eight minutes to get from one end of the Boardwalk to the other end as the Sky Glider stopped several times while I was on. I would say this added at least two more minutes to the journey (and video). I filmed Hurricane, Double Shot, and Giant Dipper while I was on this. Excuse me for the shakiness of the video as I didn't have my main camera and was filming with my Droid X phone which has no zoom. Feel free to post any comments!

 

[Andrewoplis]

^ Awesome video! I haven't to been SCBW in while so I forget how amazing it looks at night!

[805Andrew]

^Thanks! I always thought SCBB was alright, but after visiting it at night I totally became a fan of this place. My three hours at SCBB were more memorable than a whole day I spent at CGA ten days later.