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USA June 2014 - Three Goons, One World Cup

Haha I secretly get so annoyed when anyone posts anything about how great Boulder Dash is! **** coaster is like a billion hours from my house and I FINALLY got to ride it and it was having a crap day. BLERGHHHHHHH, can't even express the frustration. I have a hard time believing that it would beat out Voyage for me though, even when running well.
 
Day 5 - Dorney Park and Knobels

Getting our Cedar Fair season passes at Dorney Park was so much easier than the Six Flags faff we endured a few days earlier. The Cedar Fair passes look better, too. And Cedar Fair park tat is better than Six Flags. All in all, I think I'm a Cedar Fair fanboy more so than a Six Flags fanboy.

Dorney Park is the sixth Cedar Fair parks I've visited. That's half of them. Out of the six, Dorney is by far the most welcoming and nicest of them all. It might not have the best rides (although the line up is far from crap) but it didn't have the imposing grand entrance plaza like Kings Island or the overwhelming clutter of coasters like Cedar Point. It was pleasant. Thankfully that atmosphere carried on throughout the park.

We started off on Hydra, the floorless B&M.
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I don't really pay much attention to coasters, I just like to ride them. I think my lack of goon knowledge surprised both East Coast(er) Goonral and Darren Goonfield throughout the trip. At times I felt like I was the least informed. We sat back row so I had no idea of the "jo-jo roll" immediately out of the station. I squealed with delight as I said "what the **** was that?". I thought it was fab. The inversion out of the station on Smilier had a similar effect on me. The ride passed by in a fun way but never thrilled me as much as the "J-Lo roll" did. A solid ride, it was ok.

The Hydra ride op was female Jarret. Uncanny resemblance!
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We walked to the back of the park, passing some nice open areas, flower beds and a thankful lack of concrete, to Possessed, the Intamin Impulse. I remember getting excited about these coasters in 2007 when I rode the ones at Cedar Point and Valleyfair!, so I was semi-excited about this. During our one-train wait (it was dead quiet), we spotted the ride op manually releasing the OTSR by pressing the circled button (see pic below). I got excited and tweeted from the CF account about it.
[tweet]http://twitter.com/CoasterForce/status/476127297687531520[/tweet]

Seven years and about 400 coasters later, my love affair with Impulse coasters was over. I think I'd rather ride a ZacSpin than an Impulse coaster. Actually nah, they probably rank above Boomerangs but below SLCs.

Steel Force back row was the next coaster. I like Morgan hyper coasters and this was no different. Good fun, abrupt-ending airtime and a slight tinge of vibrating bottom. A coaster I could easily reride. So far 66% of the coasters at Dorney Park were above average. I'm happy with that.

But then came medicoracy in the old, wooden and white coloured shape of a yet another forgettable (probably) ACE Classic Coaster - Thunderhawk. I can't remember anything about it that sticks out. I was already fed up with riding old, white coasters by this point. They might as well paint them beige so they're sort of white but scream "BLAND".

We minced on after a quick cigarette break and I got excited to see Demon Drop. For those who think I dislike anything of historical value because I slag off old, white coasters, you are wrong. I like 1st Gen Intamin Drop Towers. They're great fun and their workings and ride experience are very unique. Darren had never done one before so we happily queued for all of five minutes to ride it.
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It was ok but the best thing was the station music! Cedar Fair are using a cheesy rap song with an awful beat to inform riders how to ride. "P-p-pull down on your harness, p-p-put your head back and let the operator check-check-check-check!" This had me giggling for about 10minutes. Unfortunately I can't find an audio link on YouTube but I thought it was amazing.

Dorney Park was feeling less corporate than the other Cedar Fair parks I've visited. I was liked what I saw.

The front row of the kiddie cred - Woodstock Express - was soon ticked off, as was the wild mouse, originally named Wild Mouse. The only notable thing about these two coasters was the cheese shaped corner supports holding up Wild Cat's station roof. I like detail. Well done, Dorney.

We ended our visit with a ride on Talon, the B&M invert. It's orange, my favourite colour. (USA: fovorite color).
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We rode up front and I enjoyed it. It would probably rank in the top half of my favourite B&M Invert list. It did feel slightly formulaic and there were some longish sections of "dead track", but the immlemann and the second drop under the lift hill into the corkscrew (I think) felt fantastic. Well worth a reride.

We sadly had to leave the park at this point to head to Knoebels. Darren fell asleep on the way.
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Although that sadness didn't last long because Knoebels was such a refreshing change from the corporate America I had become accustomed to. Free parking, free entry and a happy carnival atmosphere without a hint of pikey in the air. Jerry took me and Darren to the offices where we met with the marketing manager and his two new disciples. Best of all, Richard Knoebel met us and gave us free coaster wristbands. Knoebels love (except for one ;)) coaster groups so they do a special wristband for those who just want to grab the creds. As if that wasn't generous enough, Richard walked us over to Flying Turns.
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I've been in many situations before where a park manager has accompanied me to a ride. I've skipped the queue and walked straight on. Not this time. Richard walked into the main queue and we (with Richard) waited for about 15mins to ride it. Wow. No abuse of power, just a ordinary chap who doesn't want to annoy other (paying) guests. I'm glad we waited because it gave us chance to chat to him about the park, the future of coasters and learn some interesting stuff (my lips are sealed). The four of us rode Flying Turns together and had a ball. It felt like I was trying to walk on ice. It's not the most thrilling coaster but it's one of the most fun rides I've ever been on. The history and dedication to open the ride does influence that opinion, but as Darren remarked, "if a coaster leaves me smiling, job well done."

Richard showed us the control room.
[tweet]http://twitter.com/CoasterForce/status/476126827040485377[/tweet]
The operator can visually check the ride is safe at nearly every (flying) turn. There is also a system that monitors the speed and ride time. I looked down the list and saw a time of about 18 seconds - the fastest in the last 5mins. It had to be ours ;)

Richard left us to do our own thing. Phoenix, the infamous wooden coaster, was our first stop.

We rode front row on the first go. The airtime was good. Not as exceptional as I've heard but I could see the potential. According to ECG, it rides best in hot weather (it was overcast and about 23c for our visit). I felt a little ripped off because I was expecting orgasm ejector airtime. ECG noted it wasn't a good day for it but, as always, that meant nothing to me. I can only judge it on the ride I had, not what other people think or the weather conditions. We did ride it for a second time later that evening but although it was good, it was never great.

Darren rode it an extra time whilst me and ECG did the Ghost Train. I liked it. It was old fashioned, as one would expect and it had a sense of humour/in-house cheesiness to it. It went on forever, too!

We rode the Dark Ride/Coaster Black Diamond next. I really enjoyed it! It told a story of the miners as it went along. It started with miners happily working then something happens and then...well, I don't want to spoil it, but the way the subtle storyline and action was played out by the animatronmics and effects left me with a grin from ear to ear.

Twister was up next. I didn't expect much and I got what I expected. A woodie with some interesting turns, little airtime and a sprinkle of meh.

We passed the carousel on the the way to the final coaster. I wanted to ride it because it's one of the ring collecting carousels that I've yet to experience (it's an American thing). However, it was five mins until closing time so getting our Kozmo's Kurves plus 1 cred was more important.

Due to the generosity of Mr Knoebels, we ended up spending a small fortune on tat in the tat shop. Darren and ECG bought ****, I got myself a new cap and a few items for the GhosterForce Faffle. I think I've excelled myself by finding something very dreadful. Seriously, it's the worst thing you'll ever see. I can't stand it being in my flat. You'll have to be at CWOA GhosterForce to find out what it is! And no, it's not this hat...
[tweet]http://twitter.com/ianmbell/status/476157691296219136[/tweet]

After the lacklustre day I had at SFNE the day before, this day felt tons better. Dorney Park did not feel like a large chain park or have that hustle and urgency found at the other Cedar Fair (and Six Flags) establishments. Knoebels is a park built with love and proud of it's history (the various references to flood levels over the years shows that). It felt like I had stepped back in time at both parks, as if I had left plastic fantastic America and discovered Anglo-Saxon gold in Staffordshire.

In the next part.... Goon spots Goons, media whore and, well, "it's all about Skyrush".
 
Ian said:
The ride passed by in a fun way but never thrilled me as much as the "J-Lo roll" did.]

Hahahaha! I hope it also had (Jenny from the) Block brakes. I'm enjoying your comparisons of bad coaster types, it's like the 'Would You Rather' game: goon edition.
 
Glad Darren got to do a first gen drop tower, I loved the one in Italy.

Really enjoying these trip reports all parks I want to visit at some point.
 
I've been corrected and it's apparently a hard K, so Kah-no-bulls. Someone who has been there can probably give real answer though.
 
Yes, it is pronounced "Kah-no-bulls" as Tom stated. Although I still reckon it's one of those Hyacinth Bucket things.... (Watch from 5:59)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTQjT8r6dLE[/youtube]
 
A montage of her on the phone, I never knew that existed <3 funny thing is, according to Richard (her husband, Richard, not Stone Cold) it always used to be pronounced 'Bucket', I love that show.

Anyway, back on topic :lol:
 
caffeine_demon said:
Ian said:

Looks like she's giving a forearm smash!

Shame you weren't sat behind her! ;)

Sorry for my lack of reports. Obviously I'm going to blame in on too much work etc. I'll hopefully catch up within a couple of days; especially as I don't have many photos to contribute.

I will say though that Roar-O-Saurus is better than Boulder Dash! look at my top 10 and try and work out why ;)
 
Haha, yup! I think EGF and Collosos are the only 2 that remained in my top 10. I love how you STILL won't get rid of stealth from yours :D
 
^You've been on Baco ;)

Days 2&3, Roar-O-Saurus v Boulder Dash

Days 2 and 3 were all about wood; Roar-O-Saurus, Excalibur and Boulder Dash. On day 2 (Saturday) we arrived at StoryLand for opening, and after riding Wooden Warrior the day before I was looking forward to Roar-O-Saurus. We started off by grabbing the kiddie cred/family coaster, Polarcoaster; it was half decent. There wasn't much to do in the park so we headed straight over to ROS and patiently waited for it to re-open after it had broken down just after the park had opened. Was the 2 hour wait worth it?....

Hell yes! The best family coaster I've ridden by a mile, it's so good, infact, it's perfect! Airtime, airtime and MORE airtime. This little coaster is relentless, it doesn't give up; one of those coasters you could re-ride all day and not get bored. Everybody from children to adults were leaving the ride with a huge smile on their faces. I said on my previous post that ROS is better than Boulder Dash, now that maybe a little extreme and of course Boulder Dash IS actually the better coaster overall, but, for what it does in comparison to the length of track ROS is better than Boulder Dash in that aspect. Does that make any sense? If only this little coaster was 2000ft longer and 50ft taller it'd be my number 1 for sure.

So moving on, and it was off to Funtown Splashtown USA for park and woodie number 2 of the day. I was looking forward to Excalibur (CCI woodie) and it didn't disappoint. The first half of the ride is fantastic, like, top 10 quality. However, the second half of the ride dies a little and let's the ride down. The first half is packed full of airtime with one moment of utterly insane ejector airtime as it approaches the first corner but then once you enter the second half of the ride it doesn't really do much sadly. Still a really good coaster though that exceeded my expectations. We also knocked off the other cred (standard wild mouse), the drop tower and the log flume before re-riding Excalibur a couple of times before heading off to palace playland to grab a +1. We spent the evening at Buffalo Wild Wings eating, drinking and watching the World Cup. It was the first time we'd sat down and had a decent meal and the wings were amazing.

Day 3 started off with Six Flags New England. I've covered off Bizzaro in my first post so there's not much to talk about here. I'll quickly run through the creds and leave it at that. The park itself wasn't up to much.

Bizarro - Already covered this previously but to re-cap, it's fantastic (once you learn how to avoid the painful restraints). Best ride in the park by a mile. 9/10

Batman - Probably the weakest of the B&M floorless coasters I've ridden but it's still a really solid coaster. Wasn't particularly impressed with the corkscrews but the first half of the ride is pretty damn good. 7/10

Cyclone - ACE coaster classics as Ian has already explained are pretty bland (in our opinion) and this matched the criteria perfectly. Not a bad ride, but it doesn't really do much. 6/10

Goliath - MUCH better than any other boomerang or Invertigo I've ridden but it's still a boomerang. 5/10

Mind Eraser - **** ****. 2/10

Boomerang - **** ****. 1/10

Everything else was a +1 and not worth the wear and tear on my keyboard.

We smashed through SFNE pretty quickly as the park was surprisingly quiet and headed off to Lake Compounce. Boulder Dash coming up....
 
^I thought it was bland.

So after leaving SFNE mid-afternoon we arrived at Lake Compounce at 16:30 and decided between us to quickly knock out the ACE woodie (which was bland) and the Boomerang which was **** **** so we could spend the rest of the evening on Boulder Dash.

Over the years I've heard that Boulder Dash is either amazing or the most overrated coaster on the planet. The CFers who were sat very much in the 'overrated' camp in 2012 had apparently suffered because BD doesn't run well in the rain and needs hot temperatures to run in optimum form according to ECG. Well, the weather was glorious for our visit and the park hadn't seen rain in a while so BD should be running at its prime. Was ECG correct or was he just making excuses back in 2012?

After a 45 minute wait the time had finally come; me and Ian took our seats in the front row with Jerry sat behind us. We had massive grins on our faces knowing that finally, we were about to ride Boulder Dash! As we climbed the lift hill and detached from the chain we commented that nothing would deny us now, the ride was about to begin. Down the first drop we go and disappointment hits straight away, not a great first drop and there's a bit of a rib breaking moment at the bottom of it. Then we're off into the trees and then it hits you - Airtime, glorious airtime! Relentless speed, unnatural turns; this coaster is insane! Then we hit the trimmed turnaround and it's onto the second part of the ride. All you can see ahead is airtime hill after airtime hill; we hit the first one and WOW! incredible stuff. As we crest the second airtime hill I look at Ian and he's applauding the ride, whooping and cheering, willing the coaster over the glorious hills, I've never seen him so animated on a coaster before. But the ride hasn't finished, we keep on going; more airtime, our bums are hardly touching the seat, it's so relentless; we can't get enough of it. What a ride! 10/10. Easily the best woodie I've ridden and it went straight in to my number 2. We got off the ride and headed immediately to the smoking area, we likened it to having a cigarette after sex. We stood there, cigarette in hand, grinding like twats. Jerry was right! This coaster REALLY is that good. I really hope the goons from 2012 get another chance to ride BD in the future. I'm sure their opinion would change drastically if they got BD on a good day.

Cigarette done and it was time to ride Boulder Dash again, this time at the back. It was AWFUL! Not the ride, the trains. In the back there is a gap below the seat in front, where this gap sits is where I like to put my feet so I can keep myself pushed back into the seat. PTC's seat 6 people in 3 rows of 2, the first row is fine but the rear 2 rows have this problem. I'm getting glorious airtime from the ride but every time I land back on my bum I'm forward in the seat with my knees pressed against the seat in front and it's painful, very painful. It ruined a fantastic ride. For the third and final ride we're back in the front and everything is back to normal; another amazing ride! Have an ORP...

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We leave LC at around half 8 after purchasing tat and head back to Jerry's in preparation for day 4. Day 3 was the highlight of the trip so far. Boulder Dash made my year!
 
Darren B said:
^You've been on Baco ;)

Bah! Baco's launch is NOT better than Stealth's!

Glad you guys got such a good ride on Boulder Dash. I'm glad it's so near somewhere as central as NYC, means it's easily reachable with a car and can be reridden.

edit: Conor left himself logged in on CF, awkward...
 
Interesting about that gap you're talking about in Boulder Dash's last seats. I never really heard of that before and never noticed it when I rode it. But glad you guys loved it and looking forward to the rest of the report!
 
^He talking about the space under the seats in the 2nd and 3rd row of every PTC car, so he always has to sit in the front row of any PTC car to avoid slipping forward in the seat. I've never heard of anyone else having this problem. :?

So I might as well chime in while I have the chance before heading off to Europe. I'm going to trry to avoid repeating what Ian and Darren have already posted about the rides and parks. All photos are from my phone, so apologies for the quality.

Day 1 started off with this fun photo before the two of them rode the kiddie cred and I'm not referring to Wooden Warrior, which came later.

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After whoring WW and a chat with Ron, we hit the road for SFNE. I was looking forward to finally trying out the new Vekoma train with 4-across seating on the GIB, but spite. :(

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Yeah. It kept getting stuck there every 3-4 test runs. So after Ian and Darren got a ride on Bizarro and a couple of other credz, it was off to Canobie Lake for my second spite. :(

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I've been wanting to do a POV of it ever since it opened last year, but it's not worth the trip all the way up to New Hampshire. So taking Ian and Darren was the perfect excuse, but we arrived too late as it had been running earlier in the day.

Day 2 and we're off to Story Land - my first visit to the park. Roar-O-Saurur was being spiteful as well, but we waited it out and were rewarded for our patience with two glorious rides before Rory started acting up again.

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We liked Rory so much that we would have waited out some more downtime, but we had to move on to Funtown-Splashtown USA before that park closed. After two hours of some great back-road scenery we arrived for a few nice rides on Excalibur.

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Too bad it looses so much speed half way through and all that fun airtime goes bye-bye for the remainder of the ride. After a few hours the park closed just as Place Playland was opening just a few miles away. Another spite awaited us upon our arrival.

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At least the two Brits got the kiddie cred and I got to film the spin & spew this time (I haven't posted the vids on YouTube yet). On the way back to the car we passed these trikes. Not sure what they're called or the manufacturer.

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Day 3 and it's back to SFNE. First stop was Goliath before it had a chance to break down.

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The new trains make loading/unloading much faster and it's nice to be able to ride together, but the ride is actually better on the old trains.

After mopping up the rest of the credz it was off to Lake Compounce for some Boulder Dash whoring. Needless to say I was quite pleased that it was running as usual so Ian and Darren could experience it the same way furie did.

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I usually get to ride it about a dozen times every year and it's still my #1. It only let me down once when it had been raining all day (and the previous 3 or so days). Too bad it was when Taylor, the Swedes and the other Brits visited the park.
 
I think there's a conspiracy theory that the smaller groups say how great boulder dash is, to make the big group who went a couple of years ago jealous! ;)
 
Sanchezmran said:
Interesting about that gap you're talking about in Boulder Dash's last seats. I never really heard of that before and never noticed it when I rode it. But glad you guys loved it and looking forward to the rest of the report!

This is what both me and Jerry are referring too...

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Like Jerry said; I'm the only person that knowingly has a problem with this. Whether it's because I ride with my hands up, or with the restraints loose? I really don't know but it's annoying as hell!
 
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