Coaster Palooza Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Gyendolynne and I headed to SoCal for the ACE Tatsu event last weekend. We flew down Saturday morning and went straight to Knott’s Berry Farm. It was a little crowded, but we rode Xcelerator and Supreme Scream. After walking around a little bit we decided to head over to Mrs. Knott’s for some chicken. Neither of us has eaten there before, but I won’t bore you with it because I am sure you have all heard about this place. We headed back to KBF for a quick walk around and then left. Adventure City is right down the street, so we went there since we haven’t been there before. It was a nice park. There were all sorts of groups there. The staff was extremely polite to us. Tree Top Racers was a fun ride, thank goodness for the padding. The little drop tower was fun too. We walked through the reptile shop and then headed to Santa Monica Pier. We were able to get our rides on the West Coaster that we missed when we were down there during the West Coast Bash. Once we were done there we went up to Valencia to have dinner at Claim Jumpers with R&E. Thanks for meeting up with us! Sunday – ERT at 8am. We arrived at SFMM just after 7:30, registered and headed up to Tatsu around 8:15am. It was a great time. I remember reading about putting your stuff in the lockers, but they let you set everything down before you rode. They did this throughout the day too, not just for the ERT. After around 12 rides on Tatsu and 4 rides for Gyendolynne, we rode X for a little bit. Four rides and a concussion later L I had about enough. Gyendolynne stopped after 2 rides. The park was opening and I wanted one more ride on Tatsu. We got there just about 10am and I ran into Evan (What Now). At 10:03 the GP was already filling in. I thought, “WOW 3 minutes to run from the gate to here, now that’s fast!” I rode in the front row and then we headed to Goliath. There was no line at all and Robb said that with Tatsu and X it seems like the rest of the park is empty. He is right. Goliath and Batman were both walk-ons. The operations were much better than what I was used to at SFMM too. The kids were really hustling. We had to have our ride on Colossus and then head over for the ACE lunch. On the way to lunch, this man with his kids was saying, “You don’t want to ride Colossus, it is old and rickety and made of wood.” I just started laughing. It was also funny that we had the same thing for lunch two days in a row. J One more lap around the park, and a stop by the not operating Sky Tower…GRRRRR, then we left to get a nap before dinner and ERT at 10pm. ERT at 10pm. We arrived back at the park around 9:15 and headed straight to Goliath. It was a walk-on and we must have ridden it around 6 times before heading back to Tatsu around 10. The ERT on Tatsu was fine except for the rain. I was surprised that they cleared out everyone that wasn’t with the ERT so fast. It was sprinkling at first and then started to pour after our 3rd ride. A person named Brian Metgers (sp?) was there and rode with us in the front row one time. He helped build Tatsu and it was interesting to get to talk to him. After around 6 rides and pouring down rain, we decided to leave. Our flight was in the morning and we had to get up at 3am, which gave us around 3 hours of sleep. Monday was a very long day. That’s all I have. Tatsu kicks butt, X kicks you’re a$$ and the ERT was great. I liked Tatsu’s lift hill, but the egg roll is very hard on the sinuses. Thanks for reading! I can't believe I did this and posted it. Hey, is that Chevy Chase? No one has ever done this.... Ellos tuvieron estos anuncios por todo el parque. They had these signs all over the park. Ninja dude, never seen this guy before. More characters.... At least there were characters. Just getting packed. Unbelievable, everyone runs to this now. Here is the queue at 10:03. I ran into Evan (What Now). Just before the park opened. Yep that is Mantis Man in the last row. Skyride NOT operating today. This was before my head was bashed around. Alright, let's go ride X. hmmmm yep, you can't get enough. Heheeee Tatsu..... More Tatsu photos. I am on the ride somewhere. The pole is in the way, but that is my hand. Tatsu is here to make you fly! No one has this picture Here we are at ACE registration and what trip isn't complete without some smashed pennies Now it's our turn Hard G's being pulled here. Extreme lift hill We're here to ride you West Coaster. Santa Monica Pier. Finally! I thought this was pretty cool. These turtles were actually moving very fast. The reptile store was next. We rode the train before we left. Neat little drop tower Hi Gyendolynne We were very happy with all the padding Nice fit Tree Top Racers Having a wonderful time. I'm in, but it looks like a tight fit behind me Look at the terrain Time to squeeze into the kiddie coaster. I see you!!! Very colorful flowers just inside the entrance. Next place on the list, Adventure City. Hey what's this? Silver Bullet Another Silver Bullet Exclusive.. The stagecoach Silver Bullet One more photo of the crowd More of the event They had some event going on with a few religious groups singing. Mrs. Knott's Waiting to get on Supreme Scream Here's the queue Here's the walk-up Xcelerator wasn't... Silver Bullet was too crowded early.
ECZenith Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Hehe, I remember seeing both of you guys and Evan at the event. I remember saying "That kid's shirt is hilarious!" referring to Evan, too bad I didn't get to meet you guys at the event. The sky tower was running on Saturday, wonder why it was down only a day after?
Coaster Palooza Posted May 25, 2006 Author Posted May 25, 2006 Trip continued..... th, th, tha, tha, that's all folks..... Night ride on Tatsu First ride on Tatsu and rain some more..... and rain... Yes it did rain... Nighttime Tatsu with no one in the station. Did I say there were babies? More geese Another little baby. These geese are over by Scream! Home, Bart and Krusty and finally Revolution coming around. here's more Tatsu pictures that no one has ever seen!!! More characters ACE's lunch, good fried chicken. Very happy with the operations Batman's queue I'm the Flash I'm Batman Goliath's queue at 10:39am ..... What Sunday would be complete without a cheer competition? The 2 new things at SFMM.
vjgx Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Great TR! There are some photos in there of stuff I haven't really seen on here before (Batman's station), and yes, Tatsu is awesome. Unfortunately, I've only been on it once... BUT IT'S STILL AWESOME!
socalMAN123 Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Nice PTR! Looks like you had fun at the ACE event! How was Tatsu in the rain? ---Brent
Jon Sabo Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Nice photo's! Did you find Chevy Chase or Marty Moose? lol
robbalvey Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 OMG! Rick...Gwen...that was an AWESOME Photo TR!!!! Couple of random things..... - Where was that reptile store?!?! OMG! The russians were awesome! - Glad you got on Westcoaster. Nice to see they finally got the front car put on it and it looks like the whole ride has gotten a nice rehab and paint job. - Tons of great SFMM photos! Good to see the park wasn't very crowded for you guys thanks to 1. everyone runs to either X or Tatsu = rest of the park empty and 2. bad weather. Good seeing you guys for dinner. Hope we can do that again soon! --Robb
Coaster Palooza Posted May 25, 2006 Author Posted May 25, 2006 ^^^Tatsu in the rain isn't bad at all because most of the time the rain is hitting the ride since the track is on your back. When it started to pour it was pretty bad though. ECZenith - We're always up for meeting people. I met Rugged One while riding Tatsu. We were very disappointed that the Sky Tower wasn't operating. ^The reptile store is right next door to Adventure City. When we pulled in I thought it was inside Adventure City, but it wasn't. Thanks again for the advice on the park with the crowds all heading to Tatsu and X. Goliath and Batman were awesome and the operations were incredible. I can't remember the last time I rode those rides so many times in a row. Coaster Palooza Midwest Tour coming up!!!!!
Meteornotes Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Wow, lots of really good pictures! After seeing all of the photos over the last couple of months, and hearing Guy's description of the ride last week, I'm really curious to ride Tatsu now. Maybe some time in the fall... dt
CoasterCrazy Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Awesome Photo TR!!! Seeing all of these pictures is making me want to visit the Socal parks again. When I was there in 2004 Westcoaster wasn't painted yellow, how long ago did they start painting it?
Coaster Palooza Posted May 25, 2006 Author Posted May 25, 2006 ^I have no idea when the Westcoaster was painted yellow, but it looked that way when we were there in March.
CoasterFanatic Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 What is up with all the ladies sporting umbrellas at Knott's. The skies look clear as hell. Nice TR. See you this weekend!
haiderodes Posted May 25, 2006 Posted May 25, 2006 Cool TR... I too was at Knotts on Saturday for the Gospel Showcase...it was very crowded most of the day.
Freefallbestrideever Posted May 26, 2006 Posted May 26, 2006 Sweet man, i've ridden X in the rain and i can only dream of riding Tatsu in the rain lol I guess it's better to hit the rest of the park first as everyone heads for Tatsu or X. That batman dude cracks me up every time he tries too hard to look serious and i just don't buy it, plus i thought Batman had muscles?? lol I really have to get my westcoaster credit
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