John's West Coast Bash 2015 Photo TR!

[Mr Stratosphere]

Hey everyone!

 

This past weekend was West Coast Bash 2015 with events at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm. With the event weekend, I decided to make a weekend trip out of with with a visit to 4 parks in 4 very short days!

 

Just a high level recap:

9/10/2015: Left Vegas around 6PM and got to the Knott's Berry Farm Hotel around 11:00PM, staff here is always super friendly and I totally love the renovations going on at the property, new hotel lobby, new elevators, new hallway corridors and new mattresses. We decided to base camp at the KBF Hotel for 4 nights since it was centrally located.

 

9/11/2015: The first time in many years that I went to the Disneyland Resort and did not park hop, we spent the entire day at Disneyland park with a short sidebar to Trader Sam's for some libations. Disney was very crowded this day as it was the launch of Halloween Time at Disneyland. When we arrived both Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy and Haunted Mansion Holiday had delayed / opening issues, but that got sorted out. I guess it is to be expected on an opening day? We had a solid day at the park and got to experience the new parade, fireworks and got to end the night with Fantasmic! though I am not entirely sold on the new Fastpass system they have in place for Fan!

 

9/12/2015: Woke up super early to make the hour drive up the 5 to Valenica for Six Flags Magic Mountain. We got to the park around 7:30AM and registered for the event. From 8:30AM to 10:30AM we had ERT on Full Throttle, Goliath, Lex Luthor, Scream! and Twisted Colossus. During the afternoon we had the opportunity to take a backstage tour of Twisted Colossus to get some pretty cool photos and some footage. At night we had ERT on X2, Superman, Viper and Twisted Colossus. During Night ERT we had an amazing crew that sent out train after train quickly ensuring we were able to race multiple times. I have to say, when the trains race, it is a super fun and visually stunning experience!

 

9/13/2015: We woke up super early for check-in, from 7:00AM - 9:00AM we were treated to an awesome photo op in the ride area of Ghostrider and were taken on a guided tour of Sierra Sidewinder's maintenance shed that is built below the station! From 8:00AM - 10:00AM we had ERT on Jaguar!, Montezooma's Revenge, Supreme Scream, Voyage to the Iron Reef, Silver Bullet and Xcelerator. Lunch was phenomenal as it had a huge assortment of Knott's favorites including Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken and Boysenberry Pie, and my favorite.... Bottomless Boysenberry Punch! Later in the day we were also treated to a sneak preview of one of the Knott's Scary Farm mazes, I absolutely cannot wait for the event to get here! From 7:00PM to 9:00PM we had ERT on Xcelerator, Supreme Scream, Coast Rider, Boomerang, Timber Mountain Log Ride and Voyage to the Iron Reef. I have to say I really liked Voyage to the Iron Reef, the shooting games were a blast and seemed to be enjoyed by all! Knott's was an awesome day and the staff is super friendly there!

 

9/14/2015: Decided to make a quick trip to Universal Studios Hollywood and was able to hit up every single major attraction: Studio Tour, Jurassic Park, Mummy, Transformers, Shred 4D, Minion Mayhem, Simpsons and WaterWorld. We drove back that night and got stuck in the awful LA Traffic, but made it back to Vegas around 11PM.

 

I can absolutely say that this weekend was an awesome success, I am exhausted, but it was totally worth it! I wanted to say THANK YOU to Theme Park Review, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Knott's Berry Farm for hosting such an amazing event!

 

Enough with the words, here come the photos!

You know you have gotten to Disneyland early when the tram is empty!

The Esplanade had a minor flood in the morning, but it was handled within an hour. It was quite the site to see.

Opening day of Haunted Mansion Holiday

I really enjoy this overlay!

9/11/2015 marked the start of Disneyland's Halloween Time

60th Anniversary Diamond Castle

I had the most insane rides on Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, I totally love this overlay too, and it just seems to haul serious a$$!

Pit stop at Trader Sam's, two drinks did me in though, they have a heavy pour there!

This was the temperature outside. It was brutally hot this day!

What better way to cool off than grab a nice Dole Whip and cool off in the Tiki Room.

Paint the Night!

This was the most frightening/awesome float that I have ever seen!

I love the projection mapping during the 60th Anniversary Fireworks show!

Absolutely beautiful!

Fantasmic!

X2 is always an impressive sight when driving up Magic Mountain Parkway

ERT=Empty Queues!

Got a nice piece of the original Colossus to take home during lunch!

Backstage tour of Twisted Colossus, this is what we do when we are not riding coasters!

Money Shot!

I think the picture says it all, Twisted Colossus is just plain fun, easily re-ridable and a hands up, out of your seat experience!

My favorite photo of Goliath! We got to get up close and personal with the ride!

Nerd shot!

TWISTY!

Good morning Knott's!!

Waiting for the backstage tour of Sierra Sidewinder

Coastery parts...

The maintenance bay for Sierra Sidewinder is below the station.

This track piece moves up into the station to transfer on/off trains. Smart design if you are limited on space.

Got to get up close and personal with Ghostrider, I really hope the restoration makes it a top ten coaster once again!

So much wood due to the risk of Earthquakes in California.

ERT on Xcelerator!

My Voyage to the Iron Reef Score

Won a piece of Montezooma's Revenge during the TPR Quest

Backstage Tour of VooDoo for Knott's Scary Farm

Backstage Tour of VooDoo for Knott's Scary Farm

My favorite photo of the entire trip, the water feature was off in the lake below Silver Bullet during Night ERT, it made for a wonderful reflective surface!

First time back to Universal in a few years.

I love Jurassic Park!!

Waterworld!

Who knew that Hogwarts was part of an Atoll in Waterworld!

No one has ever taken this photo before....

Lots of things go bang!

See ya later Universal!

[DoinItForTheFame]

Awesome photos!! Looks like you had a great time!! All of the WCB trip reports are really making me want to plan a vacation to the west coast!! Thank's for sharing!!

[Mr Stratosphere]

Awesome photos!! Looks like you had a great time!! All of the WCB trip reports are really making me want to plan a vacation to the west coast!! Thank's for sharing!!

 

We all seriously had a great time this weekend!