Possibly not, but they should have done.
Antinos' 2017 Thread (Dollywood Finale! - Page 5)
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Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Alright, my two week vacation has come and gone and I am home safely in Louisville. I'll be spending the next week or so spacing out my trip reports to avoid burnout and save time. As the five parks I visited were either new or it has been so long since I've last visited that they might as well be new, I'll have a full review for each. I am planning on using a bit of a different format though - just to keep things interesting.
My flight landed in Los Angeles around 2:00pm west coast time on Saturday, June 24th and @tomahawk picked me up. We headed to his parents house for dinner and a pool party. After plenty of Mai Tais, brisket, and pool volleyball, we turned in for the night. Sunday would be a chill day with a few hours in the afternoon at Knott's.
Knott's Berry Farm - my last visit was in 2005 when Silver Bullet was brand new. The high temperature on this day of the trip was 95*F.
Sierra Sidewinder - We planned on getting all of the low capacity creds out of the way first. Sierra Sidewinder was right inside the main entrance so that was our first stop. The ride offered some good spins and good pacing towards the end, but that's about all the ride has to offer.
Xcelerator - We saw the line for X was short, so we hopped in line for a lap. The ride is still as fantastic as I remember it being 12 years ago. The launch and turns are intense and there's plenty of airtime in the tophat.
Coast Rider - Why did they build this? These rides aren't fun to begin with, but then they decided to add shin guards to the restraints at a point where even I had trouble fitting (I'm 5' 8", or 1.73m). I just don't get this one.
Silver Bullet - We headed to Bullet next because Tom got an exit pass for not fitting on Coast Rider. Bullet is underrated. It's much more forceful than people say, especially in the cobra roll and final helix. The floaterbank and corkscrews are extremely fun as well.
Pony Express - This is another ride which I'm not quite sure why they built it. I was most intrigued by the launch hardware. The rider position is interesting, but also uncomfortable and the ride doesn't do a whole lot.
Montezuma's Revenge - Still a fantastic Schwarzkopf.
Jaguar - This was the best of the family coasters at the park. It's a fun, sprawling ride that has some interesting parts to it. Tom and I squeezed in one row together with our lap bars not really holding us in place at all. That definitely added to the excitement.
Ghostrider had a two hour wait so we skipped it. Fortunately, we already had the cred (and Boomerang as well) so we're not upset about not riding it. I am a bit bummed that we missed Iron Reef as I've heard great things about the ride. The line was pushing an hour all afternoon so we passed on it. I did make up for this by purchasing some delicious chocolate and boysenberry drizzled popcorn from the shop.
Overall thoughts - Honestly, the park is kinda bad. Not a whole lot has changed in 12 years and the few new additions aren't that interesting (save Iron Reef) or thrilling. Hopefully whatever ends up taking the place of Boomerang gives the park a much needed boost in interest and excitement. Regardless, Tom and I had a great time getting to hang out.
We're just getting started. Check back tomorrow to read about a FANTASTIC day at Six Flags Magic Mountain!
My flight landed in Los Angeles around 2:00pm west coast time on Saturday, June 24th and @tomahawk picked me up. We headed to his parents house for dinner and a pool party. After plenty of Mai Tais, brisket, and pool volleyball, we turned in for the night. Sunday would be a chill day with a few hours in the afternoon at Knott's.
Knott's Berry Farm - my last visit was in 2005 when Silver Bullet was brand new. The high temperature on this day of the trip was 95*F.
Sierra Sidewinder - We planned on getting all of the low capacity creds out of the way first. Sierra Sidewinder was right inside the main entrance so that was our first stop. The ride offered some good spins and good pacing towards the end, but that's about all the ride has to offer.
Xcelerator - We saw the line for X was short, so we hopped in line for a lap. The ride is still as fantastic as I remember it being 12 years ago. The launch and turns are intense and there's plenty of airtime in the tophat.
Coast Rider - Why did they build this? These rides aren't fun to begin with, but then they decided to add shin guards to the restraints at a point where even I had trouble fitting (I'm 5' 8", or 1.73m). I just don't get this one.
Silver Bullet - We headed to Bullet next because Tom got an exit pass for not fitting on Coast Rider. Bullet is underrated. It's much more forceful than people say, especially in the cobra roll and final helix. The floaterbank and corkscrews are extremely fun as well.
Pony Express - This is another ride which I'm not quite sure why they built it. I was most intrigued by the launch hardware. The rider position is interesting, but also uncomfortable and the ride doesn't do a whole lot.
Montezuma's Revenge - Still a fantastic Schwarzkopf.
Jaguar - This was the best of the family coasters at the park. It's a fun, sprawling ride that has some interesting parts to it. Tom and I squeezed in one row together with our lap bars not really holding us in place at all. That definitely added to the excitement.
Ghostrider had a two hour wait so we skipped it. Fortunately, we already had the cred (and Boomerang as well) so we're not upset about not riding it. I am a bit bummed that we missed Iron Reef as I've heard great things about the ride. The line was pushing an hour all afternoon so we passed on it. I did make up for this by purchasing some delicious chocolate and boysenberry drizzled popcorn from the shop.
Overall thoughts - Honestly, the park is kinda bad. Not a whole lot has changed in 12 years and the few new additions aren't that interesting (save Iron Reef) or thrilling. Hopefully whatever ends up taking the place of Boomerang gives the park a much needed boost in interest and excitement. Regardless, Tom and I had a great time getting to hang out.
We're just getting started. Check back tomorrow to read about a FANTASTIC day at Six Flags Magic Mountain!
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Six Flags Magic Mountain - last time I was here, they were moving dirt for Tatsu and X2 was still pink and yellow. The high temperature was 103*F.
It was an early morning, as we had to drive across LA and essentially into the desert:
The drive actually took an hour longer than expected due to extra heavy traffic, but finally we arrived. We saw that X2 and Tatsu were both closed, so we started heading for Twisted Colossus.
Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom - We got a bit sidetracked because we soon realized that the park was empty. We walked right on the second tallest drop tower in the world. Up we went. At the top, they had a slight fake-out right before dropping you...and HOLY **** what a drop! It was actually terrifying - we were seemingly in freefall forever. And of course, we grabbed a second ride later in the day.
Goliath - We backtracked slightly to walk on Goliath before heading to Twisted Colossus. The ride was just as fantastic, smooth, intense, and fun as I remember it. That helix of death <3
Twisted Colossus - More RMC goodness! Honestly, this is my least favorite of their rides, but it's still one hell of a ride. The prelift section is more intense than expected and the rest of the ride is packed with the thigh bruising airtime that we all love. I liked the green side better than the blue because the outerbank, step down, stall, and step up are all an excellent combo and flow quite nicely. Unfortunately, the second lift just takes way too long. They slow it way down to allow more time to load and it really kills the pacing. Also, we did not duel in any moment of our three rides. But with all that said, it's still delicious.
Scream! - It was right next door, so why not. It got a bit rough. The layout is still extremely fun, but the roughness and the heat radiating off the pavement really detract from what should be a great ride.
Green Lantern - The ride just opened as we were walking by and we knew the line would get long later on. I went solo as Tom is not a fan of these anymore. I really like the idea of these rides; I can imagine that they're extremely thrilling if the coaches are weighted properly. My ride was less than stellar, as our weight distribution caused us to be inverted in every valley. Hopefully I'll be able to get on another of these or one of the S&S free fly's soon for a second chance.
Superman: Escape from Krypton - I didn't wait an hour for either side of this ride last time I visited. Luckily for us, both sides were open and we walked on each! The backwards launch is surprisingly good...once you get used to going backwards. The hangtime in the tower is excellent as well.
Apocalypse - There were a few sleepers on this trip and Apocalypse was one of them. I'm not sure what it was about the ride as to why I never paid attention to it or gave it much thought. Maybe it was because all of TPR was losing their minds over it or maybe I paid too much attention to Diamondback...whatever. Walking through the queue, I picked up on a bunch of subtleties that hinted that the ride might have something exciting to offer. The ride was very fast paced. Every transition was shaped such that it'd deliver a pop of air before sending you through a curve or blasting through the structure. The station fly through was also a neat touch. Our second ride turned into a third when we returned to an empty station and the chill operators let us stay in our seats. Definitely an unexpected experience.
*At this point we grabbed lunch and cooled off at Panera Bread. The reentry lady earned MVP status by letting us back in the park even though our stamps had washed off due to sweat, hand washing, and whatever else.*
Revolution - We got lucky when we returned to the park and found an empty queue for Revolution (they weren't doing the VR garbage at the time). It's another Schwarzkopf gem. Not much airtime, not super forceful with the exception of the loop, but it's quality all the way through.
X2 - We were shocked and delighted to find only a 10 minute wait. We were on before we knew it and...it was rough. But it was rough because Daddy was choking me. Holy ****, it was a religious experience. Who cares how many issues they had with the ride. Who cares how rough it is. It's way too insane and way too fun. Our first ride was in the front row and was completely bat****. Our second ride, the last ride of our day, was a bit further back on the opposite side. It was a bit rougher the second go around, but still incredible.
Tatsu - This was actually my most anticipated ride of the trip. I've been in love with its aesthetic since it was announced and I was eyeing it sitting on top of the hill all day. It was a perfect experience. The sudden, drastic elevation changes as you fly above and over the sides of the hill combined with the light, gentle, floaty rolls and turns in the first half of the ride really make you feel like you are a dragon flying through the sky. The ride then kicks you in the ass with some skull crushing geforces in the pretzel loop and the final turnaround over the entrance, rounding off the flyer with a healthy mix of elements, forces, and sensations. We got a second ride at dusk and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Gold Rusher - **** this noise what is this?
Batman: the Ride - If I remember correctly, this was my first Batman clone and it's still fantastically forceful and fun like the rest of them.
Riddler's Revenge has been closed all year so far due to Battle for Metropolis construction. They really closed off the entire path and didn't even consider any sort of temporary access or entrance to the ride. I wouldn't have minded a revisit as my last ride on it was dire, but I didn't mind much.
Full Throttle was closed all day. Again, we didn't mind much as we don't think we're missing out on much at all.
Overall thoughts - Six Flags Magic Mountain is one hell of a park. They have a ton of rides to offer, and unique ones at that. And we genuinely had a great day at a Six Flags park. We had one stupid operations snafu at Tatsu, but despite that, walk ons and rerides kept us more than happy.
One last thing...we capped off the day with some In-n-Out burger. Somehow it was my first time dining there. Absolutely epic burger. The fries were alright, but the milkshakes make up for that. And it's quite cheap - I think what's pictured cost somewhere around $5.00. Can't beat that!
What did Disneyland Resort have in store for us? Tomorrow...
It was an early morning, as we had to drive across LA and essentially into the desert:
The drive actually took an hour longer than expected due to extra heavy traffic, but finally we arrived. We saw that X2 and Tatsu were both closed, so we started heading for Twisted Colossus.
Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom - We got a bit sidetracked because we soon realized that the park was empty. We walked right on the second tallest drop tower in the world. Up we went. At the top, they had a slight fake-out right before dropping you...and HOLY **** what a drop! It was actually terrifying - we were seemingly in freefall forever. And of course, we grabbed a second ride later in the day.
Goliath - We backtracked slightly to walk on Goliath before heading to Twisted Colossus. The ride was just as fantastic, smooth, intense, and fun as I remember it. That helix of death <3
Twisted Colossus - More RMC goodness! Honestly, this is my least favorite of their rides, but it's still one hell of a ride. The prelift section is more intense than expected and the rest of the ride is packed with the thigh bruising airtime that we all love. I liked the green side better than the blue because the outerbank, step down, stall, and step up are all an excellent combo and flow quite nicely. Unfortunately, the second lift just takes way too long. They slow it way down to allow more time to load and it really kills the pacing. Also, we did not duel in any moment of our three rides. But with all that said, it's still delicious.
Scream! - It was right next door, so why not. It got a bit rough. The layout is still extremely fun, but the roughness and the heat radiating off the pavement really detract from what should be a great ride.
Green Lantern - The ride just opened as we were walking by and we knew the line would get long later on. I went solo as Tom is not a fan of these anymore. I really like the idea of these rides; I can imagine that they're extremely thrilling if the coaches are weighted properly. My ride was less than stellar, as our weight distribution caused us to be inverted in every valley. Hopefully I'll be able to get on another of these or one of the S&S free fly's soon for a second chance.
Superman: Escape from Krypton - I didn't wait an hour for either side of this ride last time I visited. Luckily for us, both sides were open and we walked on each! The backwards launch is surprisingly good...once you get used to going backwards. The hangtime in the tower is excellent as well.
Apocalypse - There were a few sleepers on this trip and Apocalypse was one of them. I'm not sure what it was about the ride as to why I never paid attention to it or gave it much thought. Maybe it was because all of TPR was losing their minds over it or maybe I paid too much attention to Diamondback...whatever. Walking through the queue, I picked up on a bunch of subtleties that hinted that the ride might have something exciting to offer. The ride was very fast paced. Every transition was shaped such that it'd deliver a pop of air before sending you through a curve or blasting through the structure. The station fly through was also a neat touch. Our second ride turned into a third when we returned to an empty station and the chill operators let us stay in our seats. Definitely an unexpected experience.
*At this point we grabbed lunch and cooled off at Panera Bread. The reentry lady earned MVP status by letting us back in the park even though our stamps had washed off due to sweat, hand washing, and whatever else.*
Revolution - We got lucky when we returned to the park and found an empty queue for Revolution (they weren't doing the VR garbage at the time). It's another Schwarzkopf gem. Not much airtime, not super forceful with the exception of the loop, but it's quality all the way through.
X2 - We were shocked and delighted to find only a 10 minute wait. We were on before we knew it and...it was rough. But it was rough because Daddy was choking me. Holy ****, it was a religious experience. Who cares how many issues they had with the ride. Who cares how rough it is. It's way too insane and way too fun. Our first ride was in the front row and was completely bat****. Our second ride, the last ride of our day, was a bit further back on the opposite side. It was a bit rougher the second go around, but still incredible.
Tatsu - This was actually my most anticipated ride of the trip. I've been in love with its aesthetic since it was announced and I was eyeing it sitting on top of the hill all day. It was a perfect experience. The sudden, drastic elevation changes as you fly above and over the sides of the hill combined with the light, gentle, floaty rolls and turns in the first half of the ride really make you feel like you are a dragon flying through the sky. The ride then kicks you in the ass with some skull crushing geforces in the pretzel loop and the final turnaround over the entrance, rounding off the flyer with a healthy mix of elements, forces, and sensations. We got a second ride at dusk and it was absolutely breathtaking.
Gold Rusher - **** this noise what is this?
Batman: the Ride - If I remember correctly, this was my first Batman clone and it's still fantastically forceful and fun like the rest of them.
Riddler's Revenge has been closed all year so far due to Battle for Metropolis construction. They really closed off the entire path and didn't even consider any sort of temporary access or entrance to the ride. I wouldn't have minded a revisit as my last ride on it was dire, but I didn't mind much.
Full Throttle was closed all day. Again, we didn't mind much as we don't think we're missing out on much at all.
Overall thoughts - Six Flags Magic Mountain is one hell of a park. They have a ton of rides to offer, and unique ones at that. And we genuinely had a great day at a Six Flags park. We had one stupid operations snafu at Tatsu, but despite that, walk ons and rerides kept us more than happy.
One last thing...we capped off the day with some In-n-Out burger. Somehow it was my first time dining there. Absolutely epic burger. The fries were alright, but the milkshakes make up for that. And it's quite cheap - I think what's pictured cost somewhere around $5.00. Can't beat that!
What did Disneyland Resort have in store for us? Tomorrow...
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
Disneyland Resort - I was a toddler the last time I visited, so the park was essentially new. I brought my real camera to Disney too. The high temperature today was 88*F.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I was originally in agreement with the droves of people who were not a fan of the conversion as Tower of Terror is so special, but my opinion completely flipped after one ride. In typical Disney fashion, the queue had extraordinary detail, including an animatronic of an Ultron drone. The pre-show gave us a few chuckles prior to boarding our elevator. The ride cycle is slightly different and a bit longer from what we remember and it's absolutely brilliant. We laughed the entire ride. In my opinion, all of them should be converted as it was so much fun.
Soarin' - I didn't really have a clue what this ride was before riding it. Soarin' straps you in a chair and lifts you into the center of a giant, super high definition omnimax screen. The ride offered some fantastic vistas and scenes from around the world with some pretty neat transitions between scenes.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - It's a fun ride with great theming. What more can I say?
Haunted Mansion - It was a cute ride, but a bit too dark. I also remember the Orlando version being a bit more spooky than this one.
Radiator Springs Racers - Another Disney masterpiece. The entire Cars themed section is so visually stunning and the ride extends that even more so. The ride itself is quite fun with a few quips from the films and a thrilling race against another car to finish it off.
California Screamin' - I wasn't kidding about there being a lot of sleepers on this trip. Screamin' is another ride that I just never payed much attention to. It's an older Intamin with a weird layout - almost cartoon-y with a lift launch only a few turns after the main launch. Despite that, the ride had excellent pacing and some good forces. The loop had strong positive Gs and there were quite a few fun turns throughout the ride. My biggest surprise was the train interaction - It's not like Maverick was back in the day, but it's enough where another train catches your attention in a cross-over.
Toy Story - It's a strange dark ride shooter where your coach is stationary for most of the ride and you play a series of mini-games. The blaster is a rope which you have to pull like a catapult type cannon. Tom and I giggled the entire ride due to the naughty motion required to shoot the targets.
Goofy's Sky School - It's a wild mouse...but it's a wild mouse that I didn't know was at the park! Surprise cred!
Matterhorn - This was actually another surprise cred as I forgot there were two sides! I genuinely thought it was the scariest ride at the park. I hadn't the slightest clue what was going on while ascending the pitch black lift - I had no clue that the ride involved a yeti. The ride was filled with nostalgia and fun, although it was a tad jerky in some corners.
Space Mountain - I enjoyed it! This version seemed faster than the variation in Florida, and obviously different from the Paris version.
Overall thoughts - I'm actually surprised. I had the expectation that Disneyland Resort would be a cred run, but I genuinely enjoyed being at the two parks. I thought their rides were much more thrilling than those in Florida and the atmosphere overall was great. I absolutely fell in love with the art-deco architecture all over California's Adventure - especially the gorgeous monorail. I'm glad the park had so much to offer.
We took the train from Los Angeles to San Jose the next day. I'll write a short post with some photos later - it was scenic enough where it's worth a share, even if it's not coaster related.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I was originally in agreement with the droves of people who were not a fan of the conversion as Tower of Terror is so special, but my opinion completely flipped after one ride. In typical Disney fashion, the queue had extraordinary detail, including an animatronic of an Ultron drone. The pre-show gave us a few chuckles prior to boarding our elevator. The ride cycle is slightly different and a bit longer from what we remember and it's absolutely brilliant. We laughed the entire ride. In my opinion, all of them should be converted as it was so much fun.
Soarin' - I didn't really have a clue what this ride was before riding it. Soarin' straps you in a chair and lifts you into the center of a giant, super high definition omnimax screen. The ride offered some fantastic vistas and scenes from around the world with some pretty neat transitions between scenes.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - It's a fun ride with great theming. What more can I say?
Haunted Mansion - It was a cute ride, but a bit too dark. I also remember the Orlando version being a bit more spooky than this one.
Radiator Springs Racers - Another Disney masterpiece. The entire Cars themed section is so visually stunning and the ride extends that even more so. The ride itself is quite fun with a few quips from the films and a thrilling race against another car to finish it off.
California Screamin' - I wasn't kidding about there being a lot of sleepers on this trip. Screamin' is another ride that I just never payed much attention to. It's an older Intamin with a weird layout - almost cartoon-y with a lift launch only a few turns after the main launch. Despite that, the ride had excellent pacing and some good forces. The loop had strong positive Gs and there were quite a few fun turns throughout the ride. My biggest surprise was the train interaction - It's not like Maverick was back in the day, but it's enough where another train catches your attention in a cross-over.
Toy Story - It's a strange dark ride shooter where your coach is stationary for most of the ride and you play a series of mini-games. The blaster is a rope which you have to pull like a catapult type cannon. Tom and I giggled the entire ride due to the naughty motion required to shoot the targets.
Goofy's Sky School - It's a wild mouse...but it's a wild mouse that I didn't know was at the park! Surprise cred!
Matterhorn - This was actually another surprise cred as I forgot there were two sides! I genuinely thought it was the scariest ride at the park. I hadn't the slightest clue what was going on while ascending the pitch black lift - I had no clue that the ride involved a yeti. The ride was filled with nostalgia and fun, although it was a tad jerky in some corners.
Space Mountain - I enjoyed it! This version seemed faster than the variation in Florida, and obviously different from the Paris version.
Overall thoughts - I'm actually surprised. I had the expectation that Disneyland Resort would be a cred run, but I genuinely enjoyed being at the two parks. I thought their rides were much more thrilling than those in Florida and the atmosphere overall was great. I absolutely fell in love with the art-deco architecture all over California's Adventure - especially the gorgeous monorail. I'm glad the park had so much to offer.
We took the train from Los Angeles to San Jose the next day. I'll write a short post with some photos later - it was scenic enough where it's worth a share, even if it's not coaster related.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
The day after Disneyland was a day for travel and much needed rest. We elected to take the train up to the Bay Area, an all day excursion, instead of flying due to how scenic the route is. The train departs LA's Union Station and heads West through the Simi Valley, towards Santa Barbara, and to the coast. The route parallels the coast through Vandenberg Air Force Base - where companies like ULA and SpaceX have their west coast launch facilities (typically for spacecraft requiring a polar orbit). The train then crosses the mountains near San Luis Obispo before ripping down the middle of a valley south of San Jose. The ten hour train ride allowed us to see a significant portion of California that we would have otherwise missed.
Alright we'll get back to the coasters and what we thought of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom tomorrow.
Alright we'll get back to the coasters and what we thought of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom tomorrow.
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
After arriving in the Bay Area and hanging out with my buddy (interning at NASA Ames as part of his PhD research) the previous night, we headed up to Vallejo for our next dose of creds. The drive was unexpectedly scenic and went much more smoothly than expected, especially for me driving a giant F-150 pickup.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - This was the first visit for all of us, so naturally we were gooning a bit. High temperature today was 81*F - a relief after the previous three parks.
Superman: Ultimate Flight - Alright, say it with me: SLEEPER. SFDK was surprisingly quick at loading and checking the train prior to launch. Although it's a triple launch, each sequence is surprisingly strong and there is a good amount of airtime throughout the ride. This ride is very fun and it's great to see a bunch of these popping up all over the place because of that. Now if only every park with a boomerang could rip that out and put one of these in its place...
V2 - This is now my favorite of the few Intamin impulses out there. The front spike is one of a kind (and runs right over the park's main entrance). They managed to shape the roll such that it provides plenty of floaty airtime instead of leaving riders hanging against their restraints while upside down. Unfortunately, the back spike did not have its holding brake activated, which would have made the ride absolutely wonderful.
Cobra - It's a standard Tivoli Large. +1
Kong - It's terrible. It's definitely in the bottom 3rd of all the SLCs I've been on.
Medusa - It's a really fun ride. Compared to Scream, it was extremely smooth and well paced. The sea serpent is an excellent element and the final turns are great. The ride also provides some great hangtime through the drop, loop, dive loop, and 0-g roll.
Boomerang - It's a boomerang alright, but fortunately it was decent.
The Joker - We had to wait patiently to get another RMC fix on this trip. The Joker was suffering from electrical issues all morning and continued into the afternoon. The ride went down as we were about to enter the station. After waiting for about an hour for what was probably just a "flip of a few switches," we were on. The Joker is the most complete feeling iron horse with a healthy mix of RMC's trademark elements. This characteristic combined with its pacing make up for what I believe is not quite as intense airtime. Also, the first half sequence - the 270 roll, stall, and outerbanked step up into the overbanked turn - is perfect in every way.
Overall thoughts - I was genuinely surprised with how much I liked the park. SFDK is split into two sections - the rides and the animals. The rides are all stacked on top of each other which makes for a really neat atmosphere. The area with the animals offers a nice way to take a break from the rides by allowing guests to see some exotic animals. Unfortunately (actually...now that I'm actually thinking about it), every ride had a one train operation. Superman, V2, Cobra, and Boomerang are self explanatory. Kong had a second train, but didn't have a line. Medusa had one train which had a fresh maintenance issue, as a mechanic was working on it when we rode, and a second train which looked like it was going through a restoration. The Joker also had a train with an entire row where the seats were straight up not installed. Not a good look. Despite that, I did enjoy most of the rides.
It would be nice in the next few years to see the park add a hyper-style coaster, like Goliath at La Ronde or Hollywood Dream (a true hyper coaster is out of the question due to their height ceiling). The park is situated next to a lake with the parking lot sort of on the other side of the lake and a path around the side to connect the two. I could see them shoehorning something into a thin strip of land there.
We continued our day with some sightseeing. Within minutes of departing the park and Vallejo, we were in a national wildlife refuge at the top of the bay. We headed over to Marin to take tourist-y photos of the Golden Gate bridge. We then meandered up to Muir Woods where our souls were completely stolen by the trees (I'm not joking when I say that this part of the trip was far better than any of the parks we visited) before ending our day at the bar.
There's one more park left (on this trip)!
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - This was the first visit for all of us, so naturally we were gooning a bit. High temperature today was 81*F - a relief after the previous three parks.
Superman: Ultimate Flight - Alright, say it with me: SLEEPER. SFDK was surprisingly quick at loading and checking the train prior to launch. Although it's a triple launch, each sequence is surprisingly strong and there is a good amount of airtime throughout the ride. This ride is very fun and it's great to see a bunch of these popping up all over the place because of that. Now if only every park with a boomerang could rip that out and put one of these in its place...
V2 - This is now my favorite of the few Intamin impulses out there. The front spike is one of a kind (and runs right over the park's main entrance). They managed to shape the roll such that it provides plenty of floaty airtime instead of leaving riders hanging against their restraints while upside down. Unfortunately, the back spike did not have its holding brake activated, which would have made the ride absolutely wonderful.
Cobra - It's a standard Tivoli Large. +1
Kong - It's terrible. It's definitely in the bottom 3rd of all the SLCs I've been on.
Medusa - It's a really fun ride. Compared to Scream, it was extremely smooth and well paced. The sea serpent is an excellent element and the final turns are great. The ride also provides some great hangtime through the drop, loop, dive loop, and 0-g roll.
Boomerang - It's a boomerang alright, but fortunately it was decent.
The Joker - We had to wait patiently to get another RMC fix on this trip. The Joker was suffering from electrical issues all morning and continued into the afternoon. The ride went down as we were about to enter the station. After waiting for about an hour for what was probably just a "flip of a few switches," we were on. The Joker is the most complete feeling iron horse with a healthy mix of RMC's trademark elements. This characteristic combined with its pacing make up for what I believe is not quite as intense airtime. Also, the first half sequence - the 270 roll, stall, and outerbanked step up into the overbanked turn - is perfect in every way.
Overall thoughts - I was genuinely surprised with how much I liked the park. SFDK is split into two sections - the rides and the animals. The rides are all stacked on top of each other which makes for a really neat atmosphere. The area with the animals offers a nice way to take a break from the rides by allowing guests to see some exotic animals. Unfortunately (actually...now that I'm actually thinking about it), every ride had a one train operation. Superman, V2, Cobra, and Boomerang are self explanatory. Kong had a second train, but didn't have a line. Medusa had one train which had a fresh maintenance issue, as a mechanic was working on it when we rode, and a second train which looked like it was going through a restoration. The Joker also had a train with an entire row where the seats were straight up not installed. Not a good look. Despite that, I did enjoy most of the rides.
It would be nice in the next few years to see the park add a hyper-style coaster, like Goliath at La Ronde or Hollywood Dream (a true hyper coaster is out of the question due to their height ceiling). The park is situated next to a lake with the parking lot sort of on the other side of the lake and a path around the side to connect the two. I could see them shoehorning something into a thin strip of land there.
We continued our day with some sightseeing. Within minutes of departing the park and Vallejo, we were in a national wildlife refuge at the top of the bay. We headed over to Marin to take tourist-y photos of the Golden Gate bridge. We then meandered up to Muir Woods where our souls were completely stolen by the trees (I'm not joking when I say that this part of the trip was far better than any of the parks we visited) before ending our day at the bar.
There's one more park left (on this trip)!
Jarrett
Most Obnoxious Member 2016
SFDK look gorgeous and Joker looks awesome! That boomerang's actually really pretty too. And I'm very glad I'm not the only one who likes those Premier Sky Rocket II coasters!
It looks like you guys had an awesome time and the park certainly looks fun and compact, can't wait to get out to NorCal someday!
It looks like you guys had an awesome time and the park certainly looks fun and compact, can't wait to get out to NorCal someday!
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
California's Great America - Alright alright alright! Final park of the trip. High temp of 76*F today.
Psycho Mouse - it's another mouse, but it's an arrow mouse so it's actually comfortable and does a little bit more at the end of the ride.
Woodstock's Express - Creds! This family coaster was fairly shaky and that's about it.
Demon - This is a clone of the Demon at SFGAm and it's just as bad. Somehow the corkscrews were smoother than the loops, but I don't want to get anybody's hopes up because the ride is still horrendous.
Patriot - Honestly, we thought it was a polished turd. There isn't a whole lot to the ride and it's surprisingly rattle-y for a freshly converted ride. It did have one fun corner into the corkscrew...meh.
Flight Deck - So here we are at this park that's somewhat disappointing so far and suddenly we find out (honestly, unsurprisingly) that this park is another dumpster with a gem of an invert. This monster has nearly Alpengeist levels of intensity throughout the ride. The first loop and spiral cause riders to gray out and the 0-g roll that follows is more of a wrestling takedown than anything else. Even the turns above the station are fairly forceful. The ride finishes off with the most intense corkscrew I've experienced and one more intense helix before hitting the brakes. This is honestly such an impressive ride that doesn't get much attention due to its length.
Grizzly - Just turn this entire ****ing ride into firewood.
Gold Striker - This ride was a little bit rough for its age which was disappointing, especially since it was a solid length for a GCI. Gold Striker has a great layout with some fantastic turns and, like Apocalypse, has airtime in every transition. The run after the back turnaround is quite a fun downhill stretch of twisted bunny hops which I really enjoyed. Maybe after a retrack it'll be more comfortable.
Overall Thoughts - CGA is a sprawling park. It seemed like it took us forever to walk across the park - something which I don't remember from any of the other Paramount parks. Unlike Carowinds, CGA has plenty of shade throughout and is definitely one of the more scenic of the Paramount parks, although ironically none of their steel coasters have station roofs. But aside from the cleanliness and the scenery the park is simply a lipsticked pig. Unfortunately, Flight Deck and Gold Striker are two shining gems in a park with not much else.
With all five parks on our trip complete, we started doing some sightseeing. We checked out Stanford's Campus and found Ford's Palo Alto office Friday evening after CGA. Saturday was spent in downtown San Francisco as a tourist day. We utilized Sunday to drive along a section of the Pacific Coast prior to parting ways with @tomahawk and his wife. I sure had a ball with them and cannot wait to see their lovely faces again. <3 Here's some more photos from the remainder of the trip:
Although I've completed writing about the California leg of my trip, I do plan on doing a quick post regarding the next portion of my trip - Hawaii. Check back later!
Psycho Mouse - it's another mouse, but it's an arrow mouse so it's actually comfortable and does a little bit more at the end of the ride.
Woodstock's Express - Creds! This family coaster was fairly shaky and that's about it.
Demon - This is a clone of the Demon at SFGAm and it's just as bad. Somehow the corkscrews were smoother than the loops, but I don't want to get anybody's hopes up because the ride is still horrendous.
Patriot - Honestly, we thought it was a polished turd. There isn't a whole lot to the ride and it's surprisingly rattle-y for a freshly converted ride. It did have one fun corner into the corkscrew...meh.
Flight Deck - So here we are at this park that's somewhat disappointing so far and suddenly we find out (honestly, unsurprisingly) that this park is another dumpster with a gem of an invert. This monster has nearly Alpengeist levels of intensity throughout the ride. The first loop and spiral cause riders to gray out and the 0-g roll that follows is more of a wrestling takedown than anything else. Even the turns above the station are fairly forceful. The ride finishes off with the most intense corkscrew I've experienced and one more intense helix before hitting the brakes. This is honestly such an impressive ride that doesn't get much attention due to its length.
Grizzly - Just turn this entire ****ing ride into firewood.
Gold Striker - This ride was a little bit rough for its age which was disappointing, especially since it was a solid length for a GCI. Gold Striker has a great layout with some fantastic turns and, like Apocalypse, has airtime in every transition. The run after the back turnaround is quite a fun downhill stretch of twisted bunny hops which I really enjoyed. Maybe after a retrack it'll be more comfortable.
Overall Thoughts - CGA is a sprawling park. It seemed like it took us forever to walk across the park - something which I don't remember from any of the other Paramount parks. Unlike Carowinds, CGA has plenty of shade throughout and is definitely one of the more scenic of the Paramount parks, although ironically none of their steel coasters have station roofs. But aside from the cleanliness and the scenery the park is simply a lipsticked pig. Unfortunately, Flight Deck and Gold Striker are two shining gems in a park with not much else.
With all five parks on our trip complete, we started doing some sightseeing. We checked out Stanford's Campus and found Ford's Palo Alto office Friday evening after CGA. Saturday was spent in downtown San Francisco as a tourist day. We utilized Sunday to drive along a section of the Pacific Coast prior to parting ways with @tomahawk and his wife. I sure had a ball with them and cannot wait to see their lovely faces again. <3 Here's some more photos from the remainder of the trip:
Although I've completed writing about the California leg of my trip, I do plan on doing a quick post regarding the next portion of my trip - Hawaii. Check back later!
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
@Hixee, I believe it got repainted last year. I vaguely remember Screamscape posting something along the lines of "surprise it's red now!"
I woke up bright and early Monday morning to fly to Hawaii for the second week of my trip. To get to the punch, Hawaii is a completely different world in many aspects. Geographically, the islands are fascinating. The north sides of each island receive hundreds of inches of rain per year and the vegetation has the most vivid colors I've ever seen. The lush green and dark gray from the rocks pair nicely with the deep blue shade of the Pacific Ocean and the teal of the sky. The south sides of the island, on the other hand, only get a few inches of rain per year because the storms get hung up on the mountains in the center of the islands. Thus, the landscape is arid and almost desert like. The people are incredibly and friendly and laid back. It was wonderful having conversations with the locals and learning more about Hawaiian culture. Local dishes are extremely fresh and quite interesting as well.
Our first full day was a free day - we hiked the Diamondhead crater and chilled on the beach. We saw the USS Arizona Memorial, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Bonzai Pipeline, and Oahu's north shore on day two. We flew to Maui on the morning of day thee and spent the rest of the day driving the Hana Highway - a twisting, winding road through the rainforest where many spots are a single lane. The drive to Hana is only about 36 miles, but it takes three hours. We drove back to the middle of the island on day four and spent some time by the pool. On day five, we woke up at 2:00am and got on a bus that took us to the top of the Haleakala volcano to watch the sunrise. Following a spectacular start to the day, we biked down the volcano (as part of the tour). After a nap, we ended up back at the pool. My last day in Hawaii was spent exploring the west side of Maui before my return back to Louisville. Here's some media from the week:
And that wraps up my giant summer adventure! But I still have quite a few parks to visit this summer. Speaking of, I finally got my ass to Kentucky Kingdom yesterday. I'll write a bit about it tomorrow!
I woke up bright and early Monday morning to fly to Hawaii for the second week of my trip. To get to the punch, Hawaii is a completely different world in many aspects. Geographically, the islands are fascinating. The north sides of each island receive hundreds of inches of rain per year and the vegetation has the most vivid colors I've ever seen. The lush green and dark gray from the rocks pair nicely with the deep blue shade of the Pacific Ocean and the teal of the sky. The south sides of the island, on the other hand, only get a few inches of rain per year because the storms get hung up on the mountains in the center of the islands. Thus, the landscape is arid and almost desert like. The people are incredibly and friendly and laid back. It was wonderful having conversations with the locals and learning more about Hawaiian culture. Local dishes are extremely fresh and quite interesting as well.
Our first full day was a free day - we hiked the Diamondhead crater and chilled on the beach. We saw the USS Arizona Memorial, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Bonzai Pipeline, and Oahu's north shore on day two. We flew to Maui on the morning of day thee and spent the rest of the day driving the Hana Highway - a twisting, winding road through the rainforest where many spots are a single lane. The drive to Hana is only about 36 miles, but it takes three hours. We drove back to the middle of the island on day four and spent some time by the pool. On day five, we woke up at 2:00am and got on a bus that took us to the top of the Haleakala volcano to watch the sunrise. Following a spectacular start to the day, we biked down the volcano (as part of the tour). After a nap, we ended up back at the pool. My last day in Hawaii was spent exploring the west side of Maui before my return back to Louisville. Here's some media from the week:
And that wraps up my giant summer adventure! But I still have quite a few parks to visit this summer. Speaking of, I finally got my ass to Kentucky Kingdom yesterday. I'll write a bit about it tomorrow!
Antinos
Slut for Spinners
So as I mentioned in my previous post, I visited Kentucky Kingdom on Sunday...
When I rode The Joker, I thought it had the slightest edge on Storm Chaser...until Sunday. Storm Chaser was mind-blowingly fast - fast enough to get thrown to the side in the overbanks and the final four bunny hops were nearly uncomfortable due to how much the ride was tossing riders about. And the barrel roll drop is still incredibly fun. I think we grabbed about seven rides during our time in the park.
Thunder Run has a bit more new wood on its rails and a new train. It's not bad, but it's definitely not good.
Lightning Run is still ace. Like Storm Chaser, it was zipping around its circuit and delivering almost uncomfortable airtime.
We also rode their car ride, flying scooters, star flyer, and drop tower. We also noticed that the water park actually looks pretty good. We might pick another Sunday to head there to check out the water park after binging Storm Chaser and Lightning Run.
I believe my next "park" visit will be the Columbus Zoo for their single cred. Following that is a long weekend to visit @Youngster Joey and visit Darien Lake, Seabreeze, Fantasy Island, and Canada's Wonderland (let's be honest, we'll probably stop at Waldameer on the way back too) in mid-August, and I guess we'll see if I can squeeze in a trip to King's Island or somewhere else before then.
When I rode The Joker, I thought it had the slightest edge on Storm Chaser...until Sunday. Storm Chaser was mind-blowingly fast - fast enough to get thrown to the side in the overbanks and the final four bunny hops were nearly uncomfortable due to how much the ride was tossing riders about. And the barrel roll drop is still incredibly fun. I think we grabbed about seven rides during our time in the park.
Thunder Run has a bit more new wood on its rails and a new train. It's not bad, but it's definitely not good.
Lightning Run is still ace. Like Storm Chaser, it was zipping around its circuit and delivering almost uncomfortable airtime.
We also rode their car ride, flying scooters, star flyer, and drop tower. We also noticed that the water park actually looks pretty good. We might pick another Sunday to head there to check out the water park after binging Storm Chaser and Lightning Run.
I believe my next "park" visit will be the Columbus Zoo for their single cred. Following that is a long weekend to visit @Youngster Joey and visit Darien Lake, Seabreeze, Fantasy Island, and Canada's Wonderland (let's be honest, we'll probably stop at Waldameer on the way back too) in mid-August, and I guess we'll see if I can squeeze in a trip to King's Island or somewhere else before then.