Mini TR: Wild Waves Holidays with Lights - Federal Way, WA

[LuminousAphid]

So after bailing the week before due to traffic, this past Friday I decided to head down to Wild Waves for their Holiday with Lights event. Travelling down from Bellevue to Federal Way wasn't the worst traffic I have seen, and it was easier since I was heading somewhere FUN and not home to make dinner and go to bed, like I normally look forward to I drove by the Screamin' Swing at Family Fun Center in Tukwila, the only thing like it in this area, and I considered stopping for a ride but I didn't want to be late.

 

When I arrived I was the 2nd person in the lot, and close to opening this is what it looked like behind me- this is one advantage to going somewhere decidedly small-town in scale

The Thunderbird and the 3 other cars there at 4:45

 

I waited with about 20 other people for "gate drop," and I headed back toward Timberhawk. I had decided that would be my first destination, so a walk up the hill later I got to see this little coaster decked out in Seahawks themed lights

TimberHAWK

 

The station was empty, so I greeted the operators (same ones from my last trip, which was in May? so they must be dedicated) and took my seat in the front. No one else showed up so I got to ride my first coaster alone! It was a fun experience, but everyone knew who was doing all the screaming and laughing The next ride was even more fun; the back seat on that little coaster is really a fun ride in the dark. The first drop is sort of intense for being so little, and there's a second drop coming back the other way that's also pretty sweet. No sustained floater or violent ejector air for you crazies, just a good old fashioned fun little woodie- I liked it about 3x more in the dark.

View toward the exit

 

I rode Timberhawk 3 or 4 times, mostly in the back, then started to get a headache from the cold and gave in. After that I decided to go on their Disk'o- imaginatively called Disk'O Flashback. Nearby Disk'o Eats and Cool Treats completes the amazing theme this area captures! All kidding aside, it was actually fun to watch and a fun ride. I got a weird cycle/seat where I got jerked around in some weird ways, but it's always fun (until someone's kid pukes, and I've seen that already this year)

Disk'O Flashback- it's a coaster on their website, can I claim a credit?

 

Looks cool at night

 

Next I headed over to my old nemesis- The Wild Thing

Menacing

 

I have despised this coaster since a few years ago when I stood in line for at least 30 minutes with an ex girlfriend. It was horrible and the coaster itself is pretty horrible, and the day was already terrible so I associate it with bad times. It's also just an old Arrow loop & corkscrew, with some badly-redone transitions that make the ride unbearable in some seats. The lights made it look weird and somehow cooler, so I distracted myself with these thoughts as I got in line. It was a walk-on, and I learned from my Scarywood trip that the front might be the most smooth, so I jumped in front--and it wasn't bad! I could actually keep my head off the restraints and the worst rough spots weren't as bad. By the time we got back from the second lap, though--they send you around twice, another 'unique' thing about this park!--I was ready to be done.

 

Then I walked around a bit to see some lights. There was a kiddie area, with Santa, elves, Frosty and a snow machine!

 

I saw a familiar face here...

Do you want to build a snowman?

 

And from up on the hill, I saw the lights in all their glory!

My pics are half to blame, they actually did a good job with the lights!

 

This was the only picture I could get of Timberhawk- it's actually a nice coaster to photograph, but it was totally dark in this area since there are houses right across the road behind. I bet they love having this thing run until 10 each night this time of year!

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Coasting!

 

The carousel was nicely lit, but I really think it could use a refurbishment- especially for being old and "classic", it looks really plain.

 

Somewhere along the line I went on their Wild Mouse, Klondike Gold Rusher, which was again more fun in the dark. Their "Kamikaze"-style ride Timber Axe was broken, which was a bummer, since it's kind of fun. I also went on my "guilty pleasure" ride, the Zamperla Kanga-Bounce- I love this thing, and if it didn't make me look like a creeper to repeatedly ride a kids ride alone I would have gone on it more than once. Also have to give a shout out to our little kiddie coaster, that thing is funny loud.

 

I then went back to ride Timberhawk some more, then back to Wild Thing, then back up to Timberhawk for some more... At some point I rode a pirate ship, and I think that was about all I rode. I left about 1/2 hour early because I had to work early the next morning, but there was a sweet penguin display on the way out that I totally missed coming in:

Penguins are always cute

 

Merry Christmas!

[cal1br3tto]

I'm always surprised by how often the crowds are minimal here, especially considering the sometimes- crazy low prices. I keep guessing that people want to enjoy the water park as well. This looks like a worthwhile event and they keep more rides open than I realized, not that it matters much to me since I often only ride coasters at this park. It would be neat to finally ride Timberhawk at night! Your description of it sounds about like what I remember from most of my rides; it's decent and rerideable, but nothing to write home about for most enthusiasts.

[ajc47]

Riding the coasters at this time of year must have been....interesting. Pretty nice light display in the park and good for the weather that allowed you to ride.

[Nrthwnd]

Well, at least one outdoor park in the Northwest US/Western Canada is open and going holiday theme.

 

If I had a billion bucks, I would cover Playland in fake snow and surround it with trees.

All looked over by Coaster in a multi LED lighting package.

 

Thanks for sharing your WW visit.

[Philrad71]

This looks like a really nice little park....kinda reminds me of Waldameer.

 

I was thinking that the Arrow Corkscrew at Canobie was very similar to this, if not the same. And I was also thinking that they took us around twice, but I could be wrong.

 

Thanks for sharing your report!