Photo TR: Scandia Amusement Park

[haux]

This is the last trip report from my 2006 Southern California park tour. For the other trip reports visit:

• Disneyland - Jan. 3
  
• Disney's California Adventure - Jan. 4
  
• Knott's Berry Farm - Jan. 5
  
• Six Flags Magic Mountain - Jan. 6
  
• Adventure City - Jan. 7

 

Click the links for pictures!

 

We drove down some freeways and arrived at Scandia Amusement Park about an hour after we left Adventure City. We bought wristbands. This park is similar to Castles n Coasters in the sense that you walk through an arcade to get to the rides.

 

The first thing we did was get on Scandia Screamer, which is a Miler Coaster elevated about 10 feet so it can sit above the midway. I've been told this park has a sense of humor, and we saw a pretty funny sign in Screamer's station. We rode in the front first. The airtime at the beginning of the hills is crazy. You're ejected on every little hill. There are some camelbacks along the ride that give good airtime when you enter them. The headchoppers are great. The only real disappointment was the last hill had a trim brake on it that took away any possible airtime. I sort of expected a helix at the end of this ride, but it just turned into the brakes. 8/10.

 

We tried the back seat next. The airtime is brutal in the back. Every hill gets you slammed into the restraint. Ouch. It's fun, though.

 

We went to Olga's Tilt-a-Whirl next. I got a few good spins when the ride started, but I got stuck in a horrible rut and didn't get a full spin for most of the ride. Blah. I wish I knew how to make these rides spin. 4/10.

 

Bryan and I went to Little Dipper next. My brother sat out because he's not a credit whore. We sat in the back, and a kid sat in the front seat, but the ride host told us they couldn't have empty rows of seats between riders. We had to move to the second and third rows. The lift hill has no anti-rollbacks, so I thought we were going to roll back every time we engaged the chain. The train actually rolled back a little before the chain caught. The top of the lift hill turns to the left a little, which I thought was odd. The ride travels over some bunny hops over a little stream. The return leg goes under Screamer, and there are good headchoppers there. We went around the course three times. It's a fun little ride. 5/10.

 

My brother and I got on Swedish Scrambler. I'd forgotten how fun Scramblers are. The ride ran for about three minutes, which was great. After I crushed my brother on every single turn, Bryan and my brother rode. I stood to the side and took pictures. 7/10.

 

Bryan and my brother rode Viking Ship next. I usually sit out on these because they make me sick. Bryan sat on one end, and my brother sat on the other end. The ride host sat back and propped his feet up while the ride was going. He let it run for a long time. Bryan and my brother got a little bored on it.

 

We walked over to the go karts and got in line, but we got out of line because it was long.

 

We were about done, but my brother and I wanted to ride Screamer again. My brother wanted to ride in the very back seat, and I wanted a front-seat ride. I sat by myself, but the ride host said single riders weren't allowed in the front, so I had to wait for a kid to sit next to me. The airtime's great there. The drops are lots of fun. There's an airport nearby, and a plane flew over us as we were on the coaster. That was cool. My brother got to see how brutal the back was.

 

We exited the park after spending about an hour there. We took some pictures from the parking lot and left. Screamer is really layered. Scandia is a fun little park. It's good for a visit if you're in the area. 6/10.

[Zoltan_Kodaly]

Nice stuff!

 

I only had the time/money to get one ride on the Screamer, and I unwisely chose the backseat. CRAZY airtime, but at the bottom of every drop it feels like the seat is being ripped out from under you! It was the oddest thing, "WEEEE! OOOWWWW! WWWEEEEEEEEEE!!!! OOOOOUUUUCCCHHHHH"