Theme Park Discussion / Pacificoaster's Trip Report Thread

Well I tend to be spamming the RL thread with constant trip reports so I though why not make a thread just entitled to my own park experiences.

8/24/12:
Six Flags Magic Mountain
Valencia, CA


Headed out to Six Flags Magic Mountain today. We arrived at the park at approximately 10:45 AM. We headed to Lex Luthor first thing to realize it was broken down. Therefore, we took a ride on Goliath which had about a three train wait. We waited for the back seat and I would have to say that this is my favorite place to sit in the train. The first drop just features a great amount of airtime and.

After Goliath we decided to head back over to X2. Not ideal geographically to walk back to the front of the park but hell, it was worth it. The line was about 30 minutes, which was quite reasonable. We ended up snagging the front row which IMO is the best spot to sit on the coaster. The first drop front row is just amazing. My ride this time was actually quite smooth. Not to mention the audio was working which added to the ride experience for sure.

Not sure why we did it but we decided to take a spin on Viper. Being about 6 ft tall the restraints push down on my shoulders and makes for a painful ride. Also, I am not sure if it just the front car but the floor of the trains are very badly designed because the wheel wells are positioned so it makes sitting so crooked. I thought for sure i would have scoliosis by the time I reached the top of the lift hill. Another little painful section of this ride is the section just before the MCBR. The train will transition up the hill and get a good pop of airtime that sent our knees up into the top of the car which easily banged em up.

Stopped in for a ride on Revolution before taking a stroll to Ninja (which was a walk on). We then headed to Apocalypse which surprisingly had about a 20 minute wait. Again we waited for the back of the train which is my favorite seat on the ride because of the great amount of airtime on the first drop and relentless pacing throughout the rest of the course. Something I noticed is that the front of the train is a lot weaker than the back. The front pumps during a few sections of the ride which is quite noticeable.

We then made our way to Jet Stream which was just the right amount of wetness for how hot it was today. The wait was very short in comparison to Roaring Rapids with about a 6 flume wait. While continuing clockwise around the perimeter of the park we took a walk on ride on the all might Goldrusher. It has been weird riding it with no water in the lagoon down by the old Log Jammer site. I hope that will soon be changed. Hell I think it would be great if we could get a water coaster next year.

After taking a spin on a couple of classics we headed to the Lex Luthor single rider line. It was 2:30 PM at this point and the ride just opened up and they weren't running the SR yet so we did stand by which was a reasonable 40 minutes. For being an indoor queue LL:DoD does not utilize the space well. It is poorly lit and has no air conditioning. Overall this has been a great addition for the park this season. I see nothing but smiles and chills when people get off the ride and it is very re-rideable.

We took a spin on Green Lantern, which had about a 30 minute wait. My ride this time did not flip but it definitely had some good moments of spinning and the feeling that we were going to fall out. While staying in DC Universe we rode one of my favorite rides, Batman. I don't know if it just me but I tend to grey out at the bottom of the first drop or the trough before the zero-g-roll. This coaster is also pretty relentless and pulls a good amount of positive g's.

On our way down to Scream we stopped by the Coca-Cola Cool Zone and I picked up a Coca-Cola. I guess it was just my lucky day because the vending machine dispensed two for one. Gotta love BOGO. Therefore, I was double fisting sodas down to Scream which was a walk on. The ride really isnt aging well as the train rattles quite badly at the base of the first drop. We got off Scream to head to Colossus, but at this point it was 4:30 and we still wanted to re ride Lex Luthor and Goliath before heading to Tatsu.

The single rider was back open for Lex so we took advantage and waited about only 4 dispatches. Superman was down for most of the day which was quite disappointing because the way it makes the tower sway adds a lot to Lex. We got off Lex and headed to Goliath again at approximately 4:45. The wait now was about 45 minutes. Again, we sat in the back and received that good airtime on the first drop. We got off and it was 5:30 and still had a 30 minute window before the park closed.

We took a trek all the way to Tatsu where the line had only about a 20 minute wait. Yet again, we rode in the back seat and it was great. The first drop has some great acceleration and the pretzel loop pulls some insane amount of positive g's. If you ever plan to head out to Magic Mountain, this is a coaster that you must ride.

Overall, it was a great day. A bit hot at the peak of the day but it cooled down nicely and we managed to ride all of the major coasters besides Riddler's, Colossus, and Superman.

Ride List:
Goliath x2
X2
Viper
Revolution
Ninja
Apocalypse
Jet Stream
Goldrusher
Lex Luthor x2
Green Lantern
Batman
Scream
Tatsu

shame you didn't get on Riddler's Revenge, that is seriously a top 5 coaster for me. The surprise of my trip frankly. But you probably get out there enough by the sounds of your constant trip reports, so you would know anyway

I haven't been to magic mountain since psyclone was still around, but its stall a damn good park. especially tatsu.

I went this most recent Sunday and Monday with some friends while I was in California. It was insanely hot and most of the refill stations shut down, rendering out $15 sports cups useless. Nowhere had ice. It was awful. Surprisingly, Monday was more crowded than Sunday, and since it was open fewer hours we didn't get on much.

All the rides are becoming really rough... particularly noticeable on Riddler's Revenge and SCREAM. I've always hated X2, even more now that you have that hideous rocking motion because of how shoddy the second track is. Lex Luthor and the newly-redone Superman were very fun, though.

I can't ride in the back on anything anymore, the roughness is skullcrushingly awful. Maybe I'm just getting old (but I don't exactly like having my day ended with a headache from a single ride).

That sounds awful Ling. I have begun to notice the same trend in crowds from Sunday to a weekday. Sunday really does seem like the ideal day to go but perhaps it just varies throughout the season.

I have to agree about Riddler's. It really isn't a must ride for me. There seems to be people that hype up that coaster a bit more that others and quite frankly I just don't see it. I was never really a fan of the stand up design. Maybe it is just because by the time I get on a coaster of that type my feet are beginning to hurt and the last thing I want to do is experience 3+ vertical g's on them.

Can't sit in the back row of any ride? You poor thing. You are missing out on some solid airtime.

Riddler's Revenge is one of my all-time favorite coasters, but only when it's butter-smooth. Over time, as with all steel coasters, it can get pretty bad. Mantis has been that way every time I've ridden it, yet I've seen many posts on coaster forums lauding its smoothness. Just depends when you go.

I just got an email a few hours ago saying SFMM is going to announce something big on August 30th. I kind of wish they would pump more money into refurbishing old rides (like Batman - god was that fun to ride with the new paint and everything) than brand new ones, but oh well. The popular rumor seems to be a steel coaster in the log flume region (it's completely barren, in case you didn't see it) with the tallest vertical loop ever.

Rough B&M's suck, I was shocked by the rattle Skeikra had. I'm always so suprised how smooth Titan is even though its as old and stupidly layed out as it is. Is Goliath the same way?

Just curious, do you prefer Superman or Lex?

LA is really a place I need to get to. Maybe Knott's opening a hypercoaster would be a good excuse!

Goliath was still really nice. I personally preferred Lex Luthor. The backwards launch on Superman was a bit awkward.

Goliath and Titan aren't B&M's. They are Giavanola's. Goliath is in my top five coasters for sure. It is smooth, has good airtime, and an infamous grey out helix. Just a great ride IMO.

^goliath is pretty decent, I would have liked another one or two big hills though. It sort of petered out IMO. Isn't Giavanola a guy from B&M though?

^Vice versa I believe. B&M booth worked for Giavanola and Intamin I believe before becoming their own company.

Something like that. I haven't ridden any true B&M hypers but Goliath is renowned for its helix which pulls an incredible amount of postive g's, something that I haven't heard of with other hypers. Not to mention its airtime hill after the first turn around. That extended apex creates a great amount of negative g's which is far different than the floater airtime that I have heard countless times from beemers. IMO Goliath is more Intamin than B&M. Sure I wish it were longer and had more airtime but it is still one hell of a coaster.

I've been on Apollo's Chariot and Goliath (SFOG) - those are my only B&M hypers, and it's been a long time since I rode either. Hopefully I will get on another one before long. In truth though I'm more excited about possibly going to Dollywood and riding Wild Eagle.

I can't ride in the back on anything anymore, the roughness is skullcrushingly awful. Maybe I'm just getting old (but I don't exactly like having my day ended with a headache from a single ride).

You are getting old
Actually I'm not even kidding as I've experienced this aswell. My tolerance for roughness dropped considerable over the years and the bigger you get the rougher rides (though technically I'm only likely to grow sideways these days xD) will be especially when the rides ages with you. Space Mountain in DLP changed from super fun to a painful nightmare.

As for B&M getting rougher, they probably do, but in my experience the seating and probably loading impacts the smoothness enormously. Silver Star for instant is a very smooth ride, but I've had a few rickety ones. This is most apparrant if you are sitting in one of the seats on the sides. It's usually better to sit on a seat more to the center of the track. Not really an issue as this coaster packs a punch on any row unlike bluefire where you realy have to go frontseat or bust (again my advise that when you enter the station, if the line is at the inner doorway it's actually faster to take that queue)

Hmm, can't be age ling, my mum is over 50 and still loves the back ^_^

Hey, I'm almost 21, I'm getting up there! Seriously though, in the past few years I've noticed my tolerances have dropped sharply, and I've never really sorted out why. Apocalypse was amazing fun, but I'm starting to feel really really sick after some rides that have just a few years on them since their latest re-vamp. Seems strange. It's like I'm approaching this point where I'll only be able to ride brand-new coasters without getting a massive headache and having to sit out the rest of the day.

Hmm, last time I had an update on your age you were 16. Then again I was 18 at the time, time sure does fly by. It can't really be your age, cos I'm still as tolerant as ever as well O.o, then again I haven't ridden a rollercoaster since I was 19, so who am I to talk???, almost 4 years

man I wish I were on the west coast but I guess I have more parks overhere

Hey, I'm almost 21, I'm getting up there! Seriously though, in the past few years I've noticed my tolerances have dropped sharply, and I've never really sorted out why. Apocalypse was amazing fun, but I'm starting to feel really really sick after some rides that have just a few years on them since their latest re-vamp. Seems strange. It's like I'm approaching this point where I'll only be able to ride brand-new coasters without getting a massive headache and having to sit out the rest of the day.

When you first said you were getting older I though you were like.. 40 or something. I'm 22 now and have no problems with roughness. That really sucks though, 'aging out', if you can call it that, so early! There are too many good rides left to be ridden!

10/27/12:
Disneyland Park & Disney California Adventure
Anaheim, CA

This weekend my sister held her wedding at the Disneyland Resort. The ceremony was on Friday at the Disneyland Hotel along with the reception. It was a beautiful wedding and the food at the reception was phenomenal. With the wedding being at the Disneyland Resort, my sister wanted the family and friends to visit the parks the next day.

For non Disney hotel guests, Disneyland Park and DCA opened at 8 AM. Therefore eight of us got there at 8 AM. After getting a locker and gathering our composure we headed to Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy. We waited stand by and the line only began to back up at the station and only waited about 5-10 minutes.

After Space Mountain we headed to Matterhorn where we also rode stand by with about a 5 minute wait. The new trains are pretty hard but the attraction is still enjoyable and the renovated mountain looks great.

After getting shaken around a bit we passed by the teacups, when we noticed they had no wait so we took a “spin” on them. Our party then took the cliché Sleeping Beauty's Castle picture before heading to Big Thunder Mountain where again we waited only about 5-10 minutes in the stand by queue.

Upon taking a train ride through one mountain we headed to another mountain to get a bit cooled off. Therefore, Splash Mountain was our next destination and to our surprise it was a walk on. We then wanted to check out the other Halloween Time themed attractions so we took a ride on Haunted Mansion. The wait time was only about 10 minutes and was worth the wait. However, I don't think I would wait much longer.

As we were intending to leave Disneyland Park we walked passed Pirates of the Caribbean and thought we would take a boat ride. The wait for this was only about 5 minutes.

After our ride on Pirates it was only about 10 AM and we headed our way to Disney California Adventure to knock out that park.

We acquired fastpasses for Soarin, World of Color, Screamin before we ate lunch at around 11 AM. After we ate, we could then get more fastpasses so I left my party to get Tower of Terror fastpasses before riding Soarin.

We then went back to Tower of Terror where we used our fastpasses. We exited the ride and met up with a few more people and waited stand by which only had about a 15 minute wait.

By cutting through A Bug's Land, we made our way to Cars Land to ride Radiator Springs Racers. As I was about to enter the Single Rider Line, another guest came up to me and gave me two fastpasses for Radiator Springs Racers. This was such a “right place at the right time moment” because those fastpasses run out by about 830 AM. I ended up giving the passes to my aunt so she could take her 4 year old on the ride, because that was the main reason they wanted to go. I waited single ride and it was only about a 20 minute wait.

Before exiting Cars Land we took a spin on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree. The wait time was only about 5 minutes and this ride is seriously one of my favorites. By transferring your body with the turns, you can really get those tractors sliding. Always a great ride and I highly recommend it.

We made our way down to Screamin' where the stand by was only 10 minutes. Therefore our larger group all got to ride the same train and we saved our fastpasses we acquired earlier for later. The first time I rode there was no audio and it was underwhelming for sure but still a fun ride.

While staying in Paradise Pier waited stand by for Toy Story Mania, which at no surprise, was a 45 minute wait (the longest wait of the day). Hell of a lot of fun and since one of the screens went out on the ride one of the people in my party got 5 re ride tickets. Since there was eight of us, I sat the re ride out and took a few laps on the carousel.

Before leaving Paradise Pier we used out fastpasses for California Screamin' where this time the audio was working and made the ride exponentially better. By the time we got off the ride it was about 530 PM so we made our way back to Disneyland.

After acquiring fastpasses for Big Thunder and eating dinner at the Village Haus in Fantasyland we rode Big Thunder Mountain. At this time it was dark and I got to ride in the backseat which made the ride that much better IMO, not to mention I got to ride with my 4 year old cousin. She had such a blast and it was the cutest thing to enjoy a coaster experience in the back row with her.

At about 730 PM we headed back to DCA to get a good spot for the 9PM show of World of Color. Before getting to my spot for World of Color, two of my party members and I checked out the Mad Tea Party, acquired fastpasses for Tower of Terror, and rode The Little Mermaid.

After World of Color we rode the Little Mermaid again with the rest of our party before making our way to Tower of Terror for out 10:15 PM fastpass return. Upon our third visit to The Hollywood Tower Hotel we checked out the Frankenweenie exhibit which was really cool. With that came the end of my day at the Disneyland Resort. We rode an astonishing amount of rides for it being a Saturday and it was great to go with such a large group.

Overall, the weekend was unforgettable. From my sister's wedding to the long day at the parks the next day, I cannot wait to head back down to Anaheim to check out the Christmas seasonal décor.

Ride List:
Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy
Matterhorn
Teacups
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad x2
Splash Mountain
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of the Caribbean
Soarin'
Tower of Terror x3
Radiator Springs Racers
Mater's Junkyward Jamboree
Screamin' x2
Toy Story Midway Mania
The Little Mermaid x2

Congrats to your sister. Sounds like it was a very fun weekend indeed.