3 Weeks in the US: SoCal, SF area and Texas

[rubysparkles]

After last years completely crazy 6 week trip to the US, I decided on a shorter trip this time. I started out in the Los Angeles area for 11 days then I flew up to San Francisco for 6 days onto Austin for another 6 days and finished with an overnight stay in LA so I could catch my flight the next day.

 

Parks I visited (Parks that were new to me are starred):

Knott's Berry Farm

Disneyland

California Adventure

Universal Studios Hollywood*

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom*

California's Great America*

Six Flags Over Texas*

Six Flags Fiesta Texas*

 

The first day!

 

Landed early in the morning after a long 13 hour flight with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong. It was my first time flying with them and I was upgraded, so will definitely try and book with them again. Luckily I was picked up from the airport and I was not at all tired. My first hotel was the Knott's hotel so I think the view when I was dropped off definitely woke me up. I could see Ghost Rider from my room.

 

I'd been to Knott's one time before in 2003, but that was when I was 16 and before I was an enthusiast. Xcelerator is probably the roller coaster that started my obsession and Ghost Rider was my first wooden coaster, so the place holds fond memories.

 

I didn't waste any time, freshened up, let my mum know I was safe and was out the door into the theme park. So much had changed since last time! On my visit before it was a rare rainy day in California so the park was completely empty. I didn't make it for rope drop but was there not long afterwards. The crowds were manageable and the queues for the coasters weren't that bad. I rode Ghost Rider, Silver Bullet, Jaguar and Montezooma's Revenge (twice) and then went off for an afternoon nap and to meet my friend (from Hong Kong) who had flown from Las Vegas to meet me. Montezooma's Revenge is my second favourite coaster in the park, because I like Schwarzkopf shuttle loops a little too much after discovering the one at Nagashima Spaland and riding it about 8 times in a row.

 

I think we got in all the coasters in that day apart from the Boomerang. I had a ton of missed credits from my last time here. Xcelerator is still probably the best launched Intamin that goes over 200ft. Another TPR person i<3coasters aka Judd met up with us too after he finished work and his advice of re-riding Ghost Rider without my hands up meant I enjoyed the coaster in the evening much more. I didn't realise I could NOT put my hands up on a coaster. Illuminating. Pony Express was so cute and my first motocoaster!

 

I only bought one boysenberry thing that day, which was the tart. It was good but not enough to get me addicted. I did try a sip of the coffee though and that was really delicious. It made me start to see the whole appeal.

Ghost Rider!!! Ow, ow, ow, but not as bad as people make it out to be.

Montezooma's Revenge, shuttle loops are the most under-rated coasters in the world.

Look at the pretty colours.

This thing is beautiful.

One of my favourite colour schemes on a coaster!

Xcelerator!!!

Hell no! My fear of drop towers came from going on this thing alone when I was 16.

And another of Xcelerator...

Edited November 9, 2015 by rubysparkles

[robbalvey]

Nice photos so far!

 

Ghost Rider!!! Ow, ow, ow, but not as bad as people make it out to be.

I think people make it out to be worse because it used to be so, sooooooo much better. I had it ranked easily in my top three woodies at one point and for it to fall so far down the list is just depressing. Crossing fingers it gets fixed up soon!

[DJeXeL]

GR was "El Toro good" back in '98.

[i<3coasters]

Great TR so far Caroline! Keep 'em coming!

[rubysparkles]

Nice photos so far!

 

Ghost Rider!!! Ow, ow, ow, but not as bad as people make it out to be.

I think people make it out to be worse because it used to be so, sooooooo much better. I had it ranked easily in my top three woodies at one point and for it to fall so far down the list is just depressing. Crossing fingers it gets fixed up soon!

 

GR was "El Toro good" back in '98.

 

I remember loving it back in 2002 or 2003 when I first rode it, but it was my first wooden roller coaster so not sure whether I trust that opinion. It's the damn PTC trains that make it painful for me, *hint hint KBF*. Get rid of those and I'd fall back in love with it.

 

Great TR so far Caroline! Keep 'em coming!

 

I'm going to try and do it a lot quicker this time. Also, as I said something nice about Ghost Rider, can I have that $20 you promised me?

[cfc]

Nice photos so far!

 

Ghost Rider!!! Ow, ow, ow, but not as bad as people make it out to be.

I think people make it out to be worse because it used to be so, sooooooo much better. I had it ranked easily in my top three woodies at one point and for it to fall so far down the list is just depressing. Crossing fingers it gets fixed up soon!

 

I'd love the chance to experience what Ghostrider was like in its prime.

[rubysparkles]

My friend, Carrie and I woke up bright and early but not quite early enough. Despite all the best intentions we missed rope drop by a few hours (rookie mistake). We both got park hoppers and I got the two day option so I could come back later on in my trip.

 

Firstly, god this place opens early. Second, it takes forever to get parked and on a tram into the park. Third, why are there so many people? Haven't got anything better to do than go to Disney on a Wednesday in July? Can't they go another day? I've come to learn people tend to exaggerate about crowds and queues at theme parks, but Disneyland has got to be the exception. And it seems pretty unavoidable when you're there in July. Last time I was here was November 2010 and I was staying on property so even with previous experience I was completely unprepared for what I was walking into.

 

You may notice in the photos I wore some sequined Minnie Mouse ears, this was my first time wearing that kind of thing and getting into the swing of it. I was kind of hoping they were a Hong Kong original and that I'd be the only one wearing them. But they're sold everywhere, so I wasn't a special snowflake. I'm glad I wore them though, as it seems like the thing to do at this Disney. I saw a lot more ears here than anywhere and loads of really unique ones.

 

Despite the crowds we had a great time. Lunch was in New Orleans Square (my favourite area of the park because it's unique and I've never been to New Orleans) at Cafe Orleans. The Mardi Gras sandwich wasn't as good as I remember but I'd still go back and try other things.

 

For once I actually took the touristy snaps you expect from a Disney park (I've been to them all but have very little photographic evidence of ME being there, I tend to take pictures of things not people). I got the photo in front of the castle, one with a Princess (Tiana) and, most importantly, one with Captain America (and Thor too).

 

We didn't get to do everything in one day but luckily I knew I was going back in about a week. We did a lot for one day starting with Haunted Mansion (wish it was the holiday overlay, all parks should do that). During the morning/early afternoon we also hit Jungle Cruise (a man tired of Jungle Cruise jokes is a man tired of life), Indiana Jones (we got to drive the Jeep!!!), Splash Mountain (single rider queue meant we got on in less than 5 minutes), Gadget Coaster (yay a new credit!) and Big Thunder Mountain (love what they did in the refurb!). We made our way over to DCA and queued up a ridiculously long time in the single rider line for California Screamin'. I got my last missing credit on Goofy's Sky School right after the Pixar Parade (which we kind of stumbled upon). We also made a stop at Ariel's Undersea Adventure which I loved.

 

Sadly, when we were in the queue for Mickey's Fun Wheel we saw some idiots messing around and being told to leave the ride (sitting on the floor instead of properly on the seat, for example). Of course, they then started being ridiculous to the CM doing her job but she handled them really well. Shouldn't have to put up with those kind of morons but whatever, the CM was capable and professional and made sure the other guests still had a good time by getting the ride moving again with minimum fuss.

 

It was getting dark and we queued up for single rider on Radiator Springs Racers which probably halved our time waiting in line. Great little ride, shame about the insanely long lines. It didn't seem to get lower than 90 minutes and we saw it go up to something like 160 minutes when checking the tip boards. We watched World of Colour, so I've seen that now. Definitely won't bother again, sure it's fine but I'm not a show or fireworks person so I don't really appreciate it too much.

 

We made our way back to Disneyland and went on Mr Toad's Wild Ride. Wild is the right adjective, that dark ride is pretty scary for kids. We also did Pinocchio's Daring Journey. Disneyland has the best collection of the traditional dark rides. I love that Disneyland and Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland's are so different. Love them both.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean's wait time had gone down to nothing (during the day it was pushing the hour mark) so we hopped on and it's still the best one in the world. Can't wait to compare it to Shanghai's version. We also got Star Tours II in before closing. As someone who is ambivalent to Star Wars in general, I REALLY LOVE STAR TOURS. The idea of not knowing which journey you're going to go on (why's it always the damn pod race though), the beginning when they use the picture of an audience member as a rebel spy and the themeing in the queue is perfect. Shame it's such a big hit at Disneyland, when I went to the one in Hollywood Studios it hardly ever had a queue so I think I went on it ten times on my first visit.

 

I do love Disneyland a lot, but I also really hate crowds and lines. So sadly Disneyland and DCA maintains it's place as middle of the pack of Disney resorts for me (TDR, DW, DL, DLRP, HKDL, if you're interested). If only we could do something about the people... Then maybe I'd like it better than Disney World... Oh, who am I kidding, Disney World has Epcot and Epcot has World Showcase and there I can get margaritas from El Cava Del Tequila so I'll always love Disney World more than Disneyland. Also, the castle at MK is tear-inducingly amazing to me. I enjoyed the first day there and still had a lot more to pack in on my second day later on. I definitely needed a 2 day park hopper and would have really regretted only buying a 1 day ticket.

I was more interested in this huge black circle of smoke in the sky than I was of the World of Colour show. I thought it might signal the end of days.

Single rider lines are the best, Splash Mountain was basically a walk on.

Is that a valve or something? It's in a really weird place. Haha.

The Pixar parade!

It sure is colourful.

Duuuuuuuude.

I actually got the tourist shot (I've been to every Disney park but I think I only have a picture of me standing in front of HKDL's castle and now this one!)

Haunted Mansion, the stretch room never gets old. Didn't really *get* all the fuss about the hatbox ghost but he was pretty cute and nice to see something new.

Still haven't eaten here, hopefully next time!

Tomorrowland! The queue for Space Mountain was 2 hours every time we looked.

Love this park!

Mater, yes, I know his name.

California Screamin' fun ride but there's not much that hasn't already been said about this one.

And finally the castle at night.

Probably the best float of the parade!

Flo's Cafe at night. Love all the neon signs.

We waited FOREVER for Captain America and ended up getting two Avengers for the price of one.

[rubysparkles]

Somehow I let my friend convince me it was "okay" to turn up to Universal Studios Hollywood after lunch on a Sunday. It was not "okay". It was my first visit to this park and my number 1 priority was the Studio Tour because of Courthouse Square. Courthouse Square is the place where the greatest movie of all time Back to the Future was filmed.

 

We drive up, park and get a tram to the park. I was already nervous turning up to a park so late, but it couldn't be as crowded as Disneyland, could it? I was unprepared. We walked in to see a tip board that told us every ride had a 2+ hour line. Great.

 

Luckily we seemed to make some excellent choices so our trip wasn't a complete disaster. First up was the most important thing for me the Studio Tour, I think the posted wait time was 2.5 hours (I'm not kidding). It was frustrating but kept kind of composed as we snaked our way through the queue. The end was in sight after just over an hour, the queue time was vastly exaggerated. We also were lucky as most parties were big groups that day in the queue so before we made it to the final stretch we were taken out of the main queue and put in a small parties (singles and pairs) queue which meant we probably skipped the last 20 minutes of the queue. So our 2.5 hour posted wait time was probably only about an hour and a quarter.

 

The studio tour is amazing! I was excited from start to finish. My least favourite parts were the ride-like portions (Fast and Furious and King Kong), the parts where we saw where actual movies were made were so much more interesting. Poor Carrie got her arm pinched with a little bit too much excitement when I saw Courthouse Square. And everyone was surprised that there was a Mindy Project fan on the tram, I don't think that usually gets a reaction.

 

By the time we got off the Studio Tour the waits hadn't changed too much and we noticed Jurassic Park: The Ride was closed. I really wanted to go on that one, I'm a big fan of the movies and going on this one would mean I'd have been on them all. In fact, going to this Universal meant I have been to them all. Just a couple of stray observations, I was surprised by the scenery this is a really unique location for a theme park and the views are awesome. It's a shame the space is so small and with the huge crowds that this place pulls, it really could do with a few more rides. Harry Potter will be great for the park, but the wait times are going to be horrendous.

 

We made our way down to Revenge of the Mummy which had something like a 90 minute queue time posted and that was pretty accurate. Jurassic Park was sadly still closed but we saw that the Velociraptor shows were going on throughout the day so after Revenge of the Mummy we decided to try and get our pictures taken with a Raptor. Revenge of the Mummy was good, these rides are really great but they're never my favourite in the park. Still top quality. Once we exited, I noticed that there seemed to be some kind of changes going on with the posted queue time of Jurassic Park. On further inspection the ride queue opened right in front of us. I have to say that's a theme park first for me. Have a ride reopen and get to be one of the first in the queue. So we had less than a 5 minute queue for Jurassic Park. Love this ride, Singapore is my favourite version but I love them all. Then we queued up for a photo with a Velociraptor, it wasn't that long of a wait and I enjoyed the show with the Raptor trainer. Great edition to the Universal parks which have adopted it. Not sure if either of the parks in Asia have or not.

 

We got in the single rider queue for Transformers which was only about 15 minutes. Really short, I was surprised. I'm not a fan of the franchise but the ride is great and I always make time for it at the Universal parks. I prefer the Spiderman ride but this is good too. We finally went up to Minion Mayhem, I don't understand minions or their appeal. We skipped The Simpsons, but checked out the area and stopped for a Flamin' Moe. Which was a cool effect and an okay drink.

 

I wasn't a big fan of this park, it's definitely the least enjoyable Universal park. The lack of rides and the crowds make it somewhere I probably wouldn't bother visiting again. It's just not a nice park to walk around. For me, unless you've never been to another Universal park there's only one main draw: the Studio Tour. Definitely a once and never again park for me, unlike all the other major theme parks in the area I'm in no hurry to go back. I feel like I already want to revisit Knott's, SFMM and Disneyland, and would kill to have any of those 3 parks near me, but if I were a resident there's no way I'd buy a season pass there over the other attractions in the area.

The view from Universal Hollywood

Harry Potter and most importantly Butterbeer coming soon.

The Simpsons Ride.

The only person who cares...

The most important thing at Universal Studios Hollywood.

LIKE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED HERE. IT WAS ACTUALLY FILMED HERE.

AND NOW I'M HERE!

Byeeeeeeeeee.

I just loved the Studio Tour!

I was super happy to see a bunch of props from Jurassic World.

This demonstration was great.

Be careful of men who love their mother's a little too much...

Crappy movie, cool set.

Velociraptors are the best.

I even took an Instax picture with one of them.

[rubysparkles]

I'm going to say it: I love Six Flags Magic Mountain. In all it's stupid glory.

 

As a young, inexperienced, naive coaster enthusiast I made my first trip to this Mecca back in 2010. After reading pages and pages and pages of complaints I armed myself with low expectations. As soon as I got there last time just the magnitude of the place and the amount of coasters meant I was running around with rose tinted glasses on. So I've always had a little soft spot for SFMM as I've always thought it gets a bad rap.

 

I ended up going there twice this time, once with some non-coaster friends and once with i<3coasters and BlueTurbo aka Judd and Nathan who I met on last years TPR New Hotness Tour. I'm just going to mush those two trips together because I don't remember what happened on each day. This time around I had a lot more traveling experience so I wasn't quite as blown away by the place in general, but I had two great days here.

 

My first new credit was Yolocoaster, which I liked more than I expected but still it doesn't feel very memorable. I liked the launch and it's got a unique layout, however the ride was too short for my taste and it had the worst ops. They could speed things up a lot if they moved the boxes that you put your bags in to a more logical place so everyone isn't tripping over each other trying to put their bags away or pick them up again. I can't remember the specifics though.

 

I took my first ride on Superman (it was down last time I was here) which was alright. Probably my least favourite Intamin launch coaster. I wish I'd had the chance to ride it forwards. Everybody I was with said they preferred it that way, I'm sure Six Flags will change it back, rename it and try and market it as a new coaster sometime in the future.

 

The most important part of my trip (and probably the main reason for me wanting to come back to SoCal) was Twisted Colossus. As soon as this thing was announced, I knew I would love it. It was my third RMC (Goliath and Outlaw Run) and I was excited about everything to do with the stupid thing. I liked Colossus, I thought the colour scheme looked weird but yet awesome, it has a purple train, it's so long, there are unique elements... My favourite thing about it though (and the thing that makes me want to ride again and again) is the possible duelling. It's so fun going up the lift hill with the anticipation that maybe this time, just maybe, you'll go over the top at the same time as the other train. It adds a sense of drama! It is a different kind of excitement for a coaster freak. This coaster is the opposite of a one trick pony, it's got an entire bloody narrative and it feels different depending on how close you are to the other train. It just reverts me back to being a child. It also has so much airtime (and some hangtime) and it's just fun! I think over the two days I got in a ridiculous amount of rides, I can't remember how many exactly. I used the single rider queue a lot, especially on the first day I went with my friends who weren't so into coasters. It was so good I wasn't that excited to ride anything else. I know most people aren't that enthusiastic about it, but it COULD be my number one coaster. I'd like to re-ride I-305 again to compare it as I have upped my count considerably since I put that in the number one spot.

 

While I was in the queue for single rider (over and over and over) I got talking to some of the staff and they seemed to be really receptive to comments about guest experience around TC. The managers were monitoring the staff to make sure the lines were managed well. They really were trying their best to get every seat filled and get people on and off the ride as quickly as possible, but they can't control how stupid people often are. It seems like every train somebody was doing something to slow down operations that staff couldn't control. Even though I think ride ops in other areas of the park struggled to do a good job (mainly noticed it on Full Throttle), I thought the people working on TC did a pretty great job.

 

The next new coaster for me was Green Lantern. I'm a fan of forceful rides but it was a little too much even for me. There's nothing nice about the force of the ride. It's just not enjoyable. I was happy to ride it once but I had no inclination to do it again. I'd consider riding it again on my next visit but I wouldn't be that happy about it (there's only one coaster I've ever said that I would never ride again that's Venom the Zamperla Flyer at Rye Playland as it's a torture machine).

 

Other than all the amazing rides on Twisted Colossus, the most memorable ride for me was Lex Luthor's Drop of Doom. Usually this would be an absolute "nope" for me as I'm fairly terrified of drop towers. For some reason on the day I went with the Judd and Nathan it was different. They kept saying I wasn't going to go on it, like I was definitely too scared. It got to me a little bit. On the trip last year they'd ASKED me if I might consider every drop tower we went to. This time they just assumed it. So I stupidly said I was going to do it. I really nearly didn't go through with it though, pretty sure I got a few little physical pushes once I got really close to the ride (re: THEY FORCED ME). The restraint going down was the worst part, I immediately wanted it off. They should have filmed the entire thing because it would have been hilarious to watch back. The entire way up I swore. I don't think a full sentence came out of my mouth, just one swear word after the other. Going up was horrible. An absolute living nightmare. I have no idea why these things scare me so much. I have no reason to be scared, but even trying my hardest to stay calm was impossible. Once we started plummeting down it was ok, I managed to open my eyes then, but I had to close them on the way up. The funny thing is I would probably do it again. It's kind of nice to have something you are genuinely scared of, because then at least you still get that crazy rush of adrenaline every time. I want to try again one day and try to keep my eyes open the whole time. Maybe. If I make it back to SFGAdv I'll try Zumanjaro and see whether I react a little less like an idiot. Probably not though.

 

In summary even though this time around I spent a lot of more of my time complaining, I still love the place. Sure, it wasn't perfect but I can deal with average operations and a lack of general atmosphere for their coaster collection, especially for a ride like Twisted Colossus.

I had forgotten this thing was even called Full Throttle, I always refer to it as Yolocoaster

It was a lovely day at SFMM

Superman was just as disappointing as I expected

I do love a flying B&M but Tatsu will never be my favourite while Manta is around

Still a glorious mind -er- scramble

It looks harmless from here

I cannot type any word that I said on this ride because I didn't make complete sentences, I only swore

Glad it got a coat of paint, wish they'd have repainted the lines on the car park spaces to provide more ambiance

I miss it

Yay! It's going to duel!

What is that THING attached to the side of a roller coaster? I can't believe I was made to go on that thing

It was an 'experience'. Once was enough!

I can't even remember whether I bothered to ride this or not.

But it looks cool in photos.

Instax in front of my favourite

[rubysparkles]

So this is an OK park. If you're there for the animals, meh. If you're there for the coasters, meh. If you're there for the atmosphere, you probably made a mistake. I missed out Kong because the line was two hours and I do not need a Vekoma SLC credit that badly, nobody does. I'd say this place isn't a full day park but it was ok. Nothing bad happened, I had no terrible experiences, the staff was fine but this place is incredibly forgettable. If you're in the area, it's not a bad way to spend half a day but it's definitely not somewhere that needs to be rushed out to. Of course, that will change a little once The Joker opens. I'm glad I got a ride on Roar before the change.

Medusa looks great and compared to the other floorless models, it probably lands middle of the pack.

The sky screamer.

What is this colour scheme? I hope they got a discount on paint. But a fun coaster that's a little different from the impulses I've been on before.

You could get very close to the giraffes.

Roar! Which was cute but didn't really live up to it's mighty name.

I liked it a little more than I expected to, can't wait to see The Joker emerge.

My first Larson loop, sure it's annoying that they're everywhere but the ride itself is an enjoyable flat ride.

Superman was definitely my favourite ride in the park, I got in the queue at rope drop and was on the second car. However the line seemed long for the rest of the day so I didn't re-ride, sadly. Very nice coaster.

Medusa again, like I said an average B&M floorless but then I'm not a fan of this type of ride at all. I wish there were a lot less floorless models in the US.

Everybody's favourite new "coaster" hahahahaha.

[Blue Turbo]

Great report! Lex Luthor was definitely the highlight of our day at Magic Mountain