FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Let us know what happened with the rental company after you finish your trip then. It might help to temper the insane jealousy I'm feeling over your awesome trip
25-state, 40-park, month-and-a-half, post-pandemic extravaganza
- Thread starter MestnyiGeroi
- Start date
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Heh heh. Here’s the short version I just texted a friend:Let us know what happened with the rental company after you finish your trip then. It might help to temper the insane jealousy I'm feeling over your awesome trip
Yesterday was an infuriating day with the car company. Had to work to get past being livid, so I’ll give you the very short version. Email yesterday morning: just a reminder that your car is due back today. Phone call, me: I have a CONTRACT in front of me saying it’s due back on the eighth! Phone call, them: We have a policy that no cars can be rented past 30 days. Phone call, me: I have a CONTRACT that your company agreed to with me, and I planned my vacation around it!!!! A CONTRACT, which you can’t change for whatever policy you may have.
Other email from claims department: You owe us $750 for the windshield you didn’t break.
But I still keep in mind that my original contract with the company was an insanely good deal, costing me a third to a quarter of what the going rate would be if I hadn’t booked so early.
FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
What's that all about then?
CanobieFan
Strata Poster
loovvveeeed me some Bear World! haha. Also, never thought about most 'remote' credit before, got the old coaster they had, I'll need to go back for the spinner <3
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
It’s a follow-up to what’s described under Day Eight. I knew it was coming, but the timing was not helpful, adding to the car company’s other sudden assault.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
I have learned well to expect that there is no coaster too remote for CanobieFan.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Thirty: Idaho
I’ll have to make this quick as I have a very early morning tomorrow.
Today was a wonderful first-time, open-to-close visit to Silverwood. Sections of the park seem impressively themed to the 1890s-to-1920s, something I didn’t expect. Generally, the park looks nice and has an inviting atmosphere. Even the music played around the park was better than the grating, lowest-common-denominator pop of Six Flags and so many other parks.
This was the first ride I went on:
And it was stunning to me to realize that the last time I rode this coaster was in the 1970s!!! It was a sea-change coaster back then for the coaster industry around the world, but even as a kid my main thought was that it was far too short to be considered very good. Still, it was amazing to get back on it after all these years.
Aftershock is great fun, rather intense if one sits in the front row, and certainly smoother than the one at SFNE (although my one ride on Goliath was not the horrible experience it seems to be for most others).
Timber Terror and Tremors are both great fun, but they both suffer from clear pacing issues in the middle of the ride. Timber Terror is the tamer of the two, although my second ride in the front had a bit more airtime than my first ride in the back, surprisingly. Tremors’ great moments are the dives underground, especially the first two, which come back to back. The flojector airtime leading into the headchopper tunnels reminded me a little of the bridges on Ravine Flyer II (albeit not on the level of RF2). My first ride in the front was great, and the second ride, in the back, was wilder, but also with a couple of jarring clangs the front didn’t have. Overall, Tremors is a great wooden coaster — just not about to break into my top twenty woodies, I don’t think.
For me the big surprise of the day was this one:
It seems to be a pretty well established consensus now that Stunt Pilot is the mildest of the RMC single rails so far, but that’s an incredible thought, as I felt it was really intense! I will get on Railblazer in about a week, and on my visit to SFFT I missed Wonder Woman’s opening by about two weeks, but I did go on Jersey Devil at the start of this trip. OK, yes, Jersey Devil is more intense on the whole, but that doesn’t mean Stunt Pilot isn’t crazy stuff. Unlike JD, SP is GLOSSY SMOOTH from start to finish, AND it’s FILLED with great ejector air. I don’t care what anyone says: that’s a phenomenal combination. Stunt Pilot surprised me with how great it was, and it sits unexpectedly among the coaster highlights of the trip so far.
And it had a single rider line, so I was able to marathon it. Oh, and Stunt Rider was my 650th, so a half-milestone, you might say.
One last mention of the park food. For lunch I had decent fast food Mexican, but with only one window for a lot of people, this was actually my longest line of the day! For dinner I ate in a true restaurant, one rather elegantly decorated and themed to the 1920s, a place called Lindy’s, and my food was superb. I wish all amusement parks had options like this.
Silverwood is a fantastic place, and I left with ALL the credits and that special kind of warm afterglow one gets after a full day at a great park.
I’ll have to make this quick as I have a very early morning tomorrow.
Today was a wonderful first-time, open-to-close visit to Silverwood. Sections of the park seem impressively themed to the 1890s-to-1920s, something I didn’t expect. Generally, the park looks nice and has an inviting atmosphere. Even the music played around the park was better than the grating, lowest-common-denominator pop of Six Flags and so many other parks.
This was the first ride I went on:
And it was stunning to me to realize that the last time I rode this coaster was in the 1970s!!! It was a sea-change coaster back then for the coaster industry around the world, but even as a kid my main thought was that it was far too short to be considered very good. Still, it was amazing to get back on it after all these years.
Aftershock is great fun, rather intense if one sits in the front row, and certainly smoother than the one at SFNE (although my one ride on Goliath was not the horrible experience it seems to be for most others).
Timber Terror and Tremors are both great fun, but they both suffer from clear pacing issues in the middle of the ride. Timber Terror is the tamer of the two, although my second ride in the front had a bit more airtime than my first ride in the back, surprisingly. Tremors’ great moments are the dives underground, especially the first two, which come back to back. The flojector airtime leading into the headchopper tunnels reminded me a little of the bridges on Ravine Flyer II (albeit not on the level of RF2). My first ride in the front was great, and the second ride, in the back, was wilder, but also with a couple of jarring clangs the front didn’t have. Overall, Tremors is a great wooden coaster — just not about to break into my top twenty woodies, I don’t think.
For me the big surprise of the day was this one:
It seems to be a pretty well established consensus now that Stunt Pilot is the mildest of the RMC single rails so far, but that’s an incredible thought, as I felt it was really intense! I will get on Railblazer in about a week, and on my visit to SFFT I missed Wonder Woman’s opening by about two weeks, but I did go on Jersey Devil at the start of this trip. OK, yes, Jersey Devil is more intense on the whole, but that doesn’t mean Stunt Pilot isn’t crazy stuff. Unlike JD, SP is GLOSSY SMOOTH from start to finish, AND it’s FILLED with great ejector air. I don’t care what anyone says: that’s a phenomenal combination. Stunt Pilot surprised me with how great it was, and it sits unexpectedly among the coaster highlights of the trip so far.
And it had a single rider line, so I was able to marathon it. Oh, and Stunt Rider was my 650th, so a half-milestone, you might say.
One last mention of the park food. For lunch I had decent fast food Mexican, but with only one window for a lot of people, this was actually my longest line of the day! For dinner I ate in a true restaurant, one rather elegantly decorated and themed to the 1920s, a place called Lindy’s, and my food was superb. I wish all amusement parks had options like this.
Silverwood is a fantastic place, and I left with ALL the credits and that special kind of warm afterglow one gets after a full day at a great park.
Matt N
CF Legend
Great report @MestnyiGeroi, and glad you enjoyed Silverwood!
However, the quoted comment above interested me, as from the perspective of someone who hasn’t ridden an RMC, I thought all RMCs were supposedly glossy smooth? Does JD have a strong rattle or something, or is it just flat out rough?
I’ll admit that any RMC being rough would surprise me, but I guess stranger things have happened…
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Matt, if you have a look at my report on Jersey Devil at the beginning of the trip report (Day One), you’ll see I thought it was weirdly rough — not so much that I couldn’t get used to it, but enough that it’s very noticeable every ride.
Then there’s a different kind of roughness. Twisted Timbers for example is rough in the way that it jerks you around through moves that could be called violent. Now I love TT and rate it very highly among RMCs, but it definitely requires seriously bracing to ride. Stunt Pilot was wild but utterly smooth in every way. You can totally “relax” on it.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Thirty-One: Washington State
This will be a quick one.
In mid-day I visited Wild Waves, in Tacoma, Washington, a city that, on its surface streets and its freeways, had by far the most congested traffic of the trip.
Wild Waves is primarily a water park, but they have four coasters and a collection of other flat rides. I was pressed for time here so I concentrated on the coasters.
The kiddie and family coasters were not in operation. The Arrow looper-and-corkscrew called Wild Thing was not rough, at least not in the front row, and it was nice riding such a classic.
Their large woodie, Timberhawk, sits impressively on the top of a hill, nestled among beautiful lodgepole pines. I rode it first in the front, and it was fine — with one pop of airtime — but overall it lacked pace. I then rode it in the back row, and this improved the feel of the pacing a bit. Overall, it’s an enjoyable ride, but nothing that stands out, simply because it’s a bit mild and a bit slow.
I then drove to Portland, Oregon and returned the car. After all the aggravation I got from the aforementioned email and phone conversation with the rental company, when I returned the car I dealt with a very competent and helpful man, and the final charges he quoted me were even lower than the previous number, because he lopped off a couple of days at the end. $1400 for a month and a half is really a steal, and would be impossible now. This went a long way to assuage my anger over the ridiculous conversation I had on the phone.
Now I’m in Portland with a friend for a few days. I’ll visit the two small parks here and report on those when I do. Other than that, we’re just hitting the town, which we started last night.
This will be a quick one.
In mid-day I visited Wild Waves, in Tacoma, Washington, a city that, on its surface streets and its freeways, had by far the most congested traffic of the trip.
Wild Waves is primarily a water park, but they have four coasters and a collection of other flat rides. I was pressed for time here so I concentrated on the coasters.
The kiddie and family coasters were not in operation. The Arrow looper-and-corkscrew called Wild Thing was not rough, at least not in the front row, and it was nice riding such a classic.
Their large woodie, Timberhawk, sits impressively on the top of a hill, nestled among beautiful lodgepole pines. I rode it first in the front, and it was fine — with one pop of airtime — but overall it lacked pace. I then rode it in the back row, and this improved the feel of the pacing a bit. Overall, it’s an enjoyable ride, but nothing that stands out, simply because it’s a bit mild and a bit slow.
I then drove to Portland, Oregon and returned the car. After all the aggravation I got from the aforementioned email and phone conversation with the rental company, when I returned the car I dealt with a very competent and helpful man, and the final charges he quoted me were even lower than the previous number, because he lopped off a couple of days at the end. $1400 for a month and a half is really a steal, and would be impossible now. This went a long way to assuage my anger over the ridiculous conversation I had on the phone.
Now I’m in Portland with a friend for a few days. I’ll visit the two small parks here and report on those when I do. Other than that, we’re just hitting the town, which we started last night.
Bpolson75
Roller Poster
As one of these American evangelicals you quickly stigmatize and criticise I can say that of the hundreds of others that I know like me, none of them I know of are a) anti-vaxers b) anti-science and c) (for good measure) election deniers. In fact, I have a close evangelical friend who is a theoretical nuclear physicist and another that is a lead cancer researcher at MD Anderson hospital In Houston (RIP Astroworld). I appreciate the defense given by mestnyigeroi. I do hope in the future you will thoughtfully engage with more than a few statistics and perhaps a real evangelical or two before drawing too many nefarious conclusions. Thanks for listening- be blessed.
and mestnyigeroi i am loving this blog!
FarleyFlavors
Mega Poster
Apologies if I upset you. Please bear in mind that I'm from the UK, which to all intents and purposes is now a secular country.
But it remains that the percentage of Christians who are anti-science due to their beliefs (mainly Biblical inerrancy) is significantly higher in the States than it is in other first world countries, and that's at least partly due to the prominence of evangelicalism.
Oh believe me, I've been there. I took Religious Studies for two years as part of my university degree and was sharing a house with three Pentecostalists at the time. I attended a few of their services and Bible study meetings and in my experience using logic and reasoning with them during discussions was well-nigh impossible.
Bpolson75
Roller Poster
I am unoffendable about my faith,,, (except for one time a comedian at a comedy show specifically said he was going to offend me, told a joke and it had nothing to do with MY beliefs… i was offended he couldn’t properly offend me). It’s just not helpful when we publicly choose to paint a whole segment of any population in an unfavorable light knowing the incredible nuances in any group. I think your real problem with us is that we got the first and most RMC Hybrids and single rails! You can’t handle not having one on your island! To be fair, I would love to experience Smiler and Oblivion!
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Days Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, and Thirty-Four: Oregon
Another short installment. The last two days have been spent exploring the city of Portland with a friend. Washington Park was particularly awesome.
Today we visited Enchanted Forest, a small park near Salem, Oregon.
The park is one large storybook/fairytale forest, and while it can’t compete with the massive one in Efteling, it is the best one I’ve experienced in the U.S., topping Idlewild and NJ’s Storybook Land and the like. And if you like endless hidden passageways, this is the place for you. There’s also an enjoyable, walk-through haunted house and a dark ride.
The park includes a fun log ride, which, for some reason, features one nice dip on a roller coaster track — enough for Coaster-count to consider this a credit.
But the real star here for the enthusiast is the wonderfully unique Ice Mountain Bobsleds. Riders are smashed into tiny cockpit-like capsule cars, which are awesomely wacky. I always imagined they’d be a lot more claustrophobic than they are, but the shells are clear plastic and the front has air holes — enough for me to feel fairly comfortable. The ride starts with a lift hill that has a nice waterfall running down alongside it, and at the top of the Matterhorn-like mountain, the three-car trains enter into very tight tunnels, cruising slowly at first. However, the coaster soon picks up speed, hurtling through fun swerving turns, elliptical drops, and bunny hills. One of the bunny hills had enough airtime in the front car for my head to hit the top of the cockpit (not painfully). And toward the very end there is another bunny hill that dives into a tunnel, making it perhaps the most effectively startling headchopper I can recall experiencing. All said, the coaster is quirky, charming, and fun: everything I hoped to get out of it.
We were essentially done with the park in less than two hours, but it was well worth a visit.
Another short installment. The last two days have been spent exploring the city of Portland with a friend. Washington Park was particularly awesome.
Today we visited Enchanted Forest, a small park near Salem, Oregon.
The park is one large storybook/fairytale forest, and while it can’t compete with the massive one in Efteling, it is the best one I’ve experienced in the U.S., topping Idlewild and NJ’s Storybook Land and the like. And if you like endless hidden passageways, this is the place for you. There’s also an enjoyable, walk-through haunted house and a dark ride.
The park includes a fun log ride, which, for some reason, features one nice dip on a roller coaster track — enough for Coaster-count to consider this a credit.
But the real star here for the enthusiast is the wonderfully unique Ice Mountain Bobsleds. Riders are smashed into tiny cockpit-like capsule cars, which are awesomely wacky. I always imagined they’d be a lot more claustrophobic than they are, but the shells are clear plastic and the front has air holes — enough for me to feel fairly comfortable. The ride starts with a lift hill that has a nice waterfall running down alongside it, and at the top of the Matterhorn-like mountain, the three-car trains enter into very tight tunnels, cruising slowly at first. However, the coaster soon picks up speed, hurtling through fun swerving turns, elliptical drops, and bunny hills. One of the bunny hills had enough airtime in the front car for my head to hit the top of the cockpit (not painfully). And toward the very end there is another bunny hill that dives into a tunnel, making it perhaps the most effectively startling headchopper I can recall experiencing. All said, the coaster is quirky, charming, and fun: everything I hoped to get out of it.
We were essentially done with the park in less than two hours, but it was well worth a visit.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Thirty-Five: Oregon
Oaks Park was yet another park featured in the aforementioned PBS doc Great Old Amusement Parks, and any park included in that show is one I want to visit.
I knew Oaks was a small community park, but I was still surprised at just how small it was: really just one fair-like strip.
I managed an opening zen ride on the kiddie coaster (sometimes I like to get there early for those, before I need to get in line among children, lol).
I got four rides on Adrenaline Peak, a Eurofighter like so many other Eurofighters. Its major pro is that it was glossy smooth, and its major con is that it felt short. Oh, and another nice feature was that the top of the vertical lift hill transition into the drop didn’t seem to be braked in any way. Definitely a fun ride, but the shortness makes it one of the weaker Eurofighters.
I covered all that I could cover in not too great a span of time, and then I had an enjoyable walk back into the city on a path along the river.
Oaks Park was yet another park featured in the aforementioned PBS doc Great Old Amusement Parks, and any park included in that show is one I want to visit.
I knew Oaks was a small community park, but I was still surprised at just how small it was: really just one fair-like strip.
I managed an opening zen ride on the kiddie coaster (sometimes I like to get there early for those, before I need to get in line among children, lol).
I got four rides on Adrenaline Peak, a Eurofighter like so many other Eurofighters. Its major pro is that it was glossy smooth, and its major con is that it felt short. Oh, and another nice feature was that the top of the vertical lift hill transition into the drop didn’t seem to be braked in any way. Definitely a fun ride, but the shortness makes it one of the weaker Eurofighters.
I covered all that I could cover in not too great a span of time, and then I had an enjoyable walk back into the city on a path along the river.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Days Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, and Forty: California
Day 36: I traveled to Los Angeles (flying there from Portland). I grew up in L.A., but haven’t lived there in decades.
Days 37 and 38: Visited with family in L.A.
Day 39: I headed off with my nephews on a five-day, five-park trip. On the first day we visited Magic Mountain for about two-thirds of a day. This was my home park growing up, but I hadn’t visited in years. The main new cred for me was West Coast Racers. I expected it to be a lot of fun, but not a world class coaster, and that was about what it was — though perhaps a tad less great than I have heard it rated since it opened.
Getting on Twisted Colossus again was a reminder that this is still in the top tier of RMCs, IMO, despite many CFers not liking its “interrupted” ride. It’s just phenomenal.
And food service still stinks at the park.
Also, I managed to nab two new kiddie creds I’d never gotten.
Day 40: Today was a first ever visit to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
The negatives: Food service was still Six Flags food service. Three of the nine credits were not operating — sigh.
The positives: Joker may be one of the weaker RMCs (not the weakest, though), but it’s still an RMC and therefore a fantastic ride. We got two rides on this, back and front, and they were both a real blast.
Medusa’s one-time high reputation has faded over the years, perhaps, but it’s still great fun — especially the wonderful whippiness of the third element. We returned to this one as the park was closing and got some repeat, stay-in-our-seats rides. Overall, we had an enjoyable day at SFDK, but we’re looking forward to CGA tomorrow even more.
Apologies if this report was brief and a bit dry, but I’m tired and just trying to fire this off before falling asleep.
I will add one last tidbit for those who might remember the previous business with the car rental company saying I owed them 750 dollars for the cracked windshield, something I knew I’d have to fight after the trip was over. Well, last night the rental company sent me an email that absolutely stunned me. Of their own volition, without any further input from me beyond the report I initially filed, the company decided to change its mind from its previous position and let me know that they’ve decided to swallow all the cost of the window damage themselves. The case is closed. When does something like that ever happen?
Day 36: I traveled to Los Angeles (flying there from Portland). I grew up in L.A., but haven’t lived there in decades.
Days 37 and 38: Visited with family in L.A.
Day 39: I headed off with my nephews on a five-day, five-park trip. On the first day we visited Magic Mountain for about two-thirds of a day. This was my home park growing up, but I hadn’t visited in years. The main new cred for me was West Coast Racers. I expected it to be a lot of fun, but not a world class coaster, and that was about what it was — though perhaps a tad less great than I have heard it rated since it opened.
Getting on Twisted Colossus again was a reminder that this is still in the top tier of RMCs, IMO, despite many CFers not liking its “interrupted” ride. It’s just phenomenal.
And food service still stinks at the park.
Also, I managed to nab two new kiddie creds I’d never gotten.
Day 40: Today was a first ever visit to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
The negatives: Food service was still Six Flags food service. Three of the nine credits were not operating — sigh.
The positives: Joker may be one of the weaker RMCs (not the weakest, though), but it’s still an RMC and therefore a fantastic ride. We got two rides on this, back and front, and they were both a real blast.
Medusa’s one-time high reputation has faded over the years, perhaps, but it’s still great fun — especially the wonderful whippiness of the third element. We returned to this one as the park was closing and got some repeat, stay-in-our-seats rides. Overall, we had an enjoyable day at SFDK, but we’re looking forward to CGA tomorrow even more.
Apologies if this report was brief and a bit dry, but I’m tired and just trying to fire this off before falling asleep.
I will add one last tidbit for those who might remember the previous business with the car rental company saying I owed them 750 dollars for the cracked windshield, something I knew I’d have to fight after the trip was over. Well, last night the rental company sent me an email that absolutely stunned me. Of their own volition, without any further input from me beyond the report I initially filed, the company decided to change its mind from its previous position and let me know that they’ve decided to swallow all the cost of the window damage themselves. The case is closed. When does something like that ever happen?
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Forty-One: California
I visited California’s Great America once, decades ago, when it was Marriott’s Great America, and really the only thing I recognized today from that previous trip was this:
We had a great day at the park today.
The line for Railblazer was managed with a different set-up than Jersey Devil and Stunt Pilot’s, and the effect was a clearly more inefficient system than the other two single rails. The resulting slow line limited us to two rides.
That negative aside, Railblazer is a fantastic coaster, with several hills with ejector air and drops that yank the riders downward with wonderful force. The back row is clearly the best ride.
I must echo what I mentioned during my Silverwood report and say that the difference I had heard described between Railblazer and Stunt Pilot seemed to me quite exaggerated: there was for me very little difference in the experience. Whatever the case, these single rails are great, and I didn’t find them rough or uncomfortably forceful in any way.
Speaking of exaggerated reports of roughness, I’d heard from many that Gold Striker had become very rough over the years, but from my two rides in the back I didn’t find this to be the case at all.
The coaster could use more moments of powerful airtime, as the best GCIs have, so it certainly didn’t threaten the GCI crown I currently have Renegade wearing, but it was a wonderfully fun ride, nonetheless. I think I love GCIs a little more than the average enthusiast, so I was glad to get on this one, the last of the acclaimed North American GCIs I hadn’t ridden.
Patriot felt weak riding it the day after the superior Medusa, but Flight Deck was an enjoyable invert. I especially liked the turn that skimmed over the surface of a small lake.
After the park, we made our way to a seaside hotel in Santa Cruz, ready for my first visit to the celebrated boardwalk park tomorrow.
I visited California’s Great America once, decades ago, when it was Marriott’s Great America, and really the only thing I recognized today from that previous trip was this:
We had a great day at the park today.
The line for Railblazer was managed with a different set-up than Jersey Devil and Stunt Pilot’s, and the effect was a clearly more inefficient system than the other two single rails. The resulting slow line limited us to two rides.
That negative aside, Railblazer is a fantastic coaster, with several hills with ejector air and drops that yank the riders downward with wonderful force. The back row is clearly the best ride.
I must echo what I mentioned during my Silverwood report and say that the difference I had heard described between Railblazer and Stunt Pilot seemed to me quite exaggerated: there was for me very little difference in the experience. Whatever the case, these single rails are great, and I didn’t find them rough or uncomfortably forceful in any way.
Speaking of exaggerated reports of roughness, I’d heard from many that Gold Striker had become very rough over the years, but from my two rides in the back I didn’t find this to be the case at all.
The coaster could use more moments of powerful airtime, as the best GCIs have, so it certainly didn’t threaten the GCI crown I currently have Renegade wearing, but it was a wonderfully fun ride, nonetheless. I think I love GCIs a little more than the average enthusiast, so I was glad to get on this one, the last of the acclaimed North American GCIs I hadn’t ridden.
Patriot felt weak riding it the day after the superior Medusa, but Flight Deck was an enjoyable invert. I especially liked the turn that skimmed over the surface of a small lake.
After the park, we made our way to a seaside hotel in Santa Cruz, ready for my first visit to the celebrated boardwalk park tomorrow.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Forty-Two: California
Today we visited Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the quintessential boardwalk park and yet another park included in the aforementioned PBS doc Great Old Amusement Parks.
We rode three dark rides, the sky ride, the log ride, and all three coaster credits. The highlight here was the classic woodie Giant Dipper. First, this 1924 coaster put me one step closer to my goal of completing the ten oldest coasters in operation. Second, it’s a wild and fun ride, including several drops with airtime (albeit mild airtime). We rode it in the back and it threw us about a bit — some of the laterals were even a little painful the way they’d throw the rider into the seat’s low center divider — but overall it was very much a tolerable kind of roughness. Generally, it was a great ride, especially for such an old coaster, and I also appreciated many retro aspects to the station.
It was a packed Saturday, which meant long lines, but it also meant an optimally festive atmosphere. When it comes to my own opinion on the greatest boardwalk park, I’d have to say Indiana Beach, if that qualities for the category, because of its quirkiness and the superiority of the coasters. But when it comes to standard boardwalk parks, Santa Cruz has to be considered the best, simply because it’s bigger and brighter and more complete than any others. I was very glad to have finally visited this park.
Gilroy Gardens is on the agenda for tomorrow, the very last one on the itinerary. It’s amazing how the time has flown by.
Today we visited Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the quintessential boardwalk park and yet another park included in the aforementioned PBS doc Great Old Amusement Parks.
We rode three dark rides, the sky ride, the log ride, and all three coaster credits. The highlight here was the classic woodie Giant Dipper. First, this 1924 coaster put me one step closer to my goal of completing the ten oldest coasters in operation. Second, it’s a wild and fun ride, including several drops with airtime (albeit mild airtime). We rode it in the back and it threw us about a bit — some of the laterals were even a little painful the way they’d throw the rider into the seat’s low center divider — but overall it was very much a tolerable kind of roughness. Generally, it was a great ride, especially for such an old coaster, and I also appreciated many retro aspects to the station.
It was a packed Saturday, which meant long lines, but it also meant an optimally festive atmosphere. When it comes to my own opinion on the greatest boardwalk park, I’d have to say Indiana Beach, if that qualities for the category, because of its quirkiness and the superiority of the coasters. But when it comes to standard boardwalk parks, Santa Cruz has to be considered the best, simply because it’s bigger and brighter and more complete than any others. I was very glad to have finally visited this park.
Gilroy Gardens is on the agenda for tomorrow, the very last one on the itinerary. It’s amazing how the time has flown by.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
Day Forty-Three: California
The last coaster day of the trip saw us visiting Gilroy Gardens. I always imagined the park would have more natural gardens, but while there are many lovely gardens, they’re arranged very much as a manicured family theme park.
What the park does have is a fair amount of charm. There are rides themed to garlic and artichokes, foods the region is famous for:
There’s an ‘autopia’ car ride with vintage 1950s cars and gas pumps and great theming along way — the best car ride I’ve ever experienced.
There’s one garden path that goes up to, behind, and through waterfalls — we left that looking as if we’d been on a serious water ride.
And of course there are two coasters, both of which adults can ride. The main attraction is Quicksilver Express, a mine ride that has a little kick on some of the drops if you sit in the back.
Overall, this is a charming little park and two more creds. Admission is rather expensive, but free with a Cedar Fair pass (something not many visitors bring to the park, as I could tell when I showed the card to a food vendor who didn’t know what it was and had to get his boss to approve the discounted rate for the food).
And with this cute, little park an epic coaster trip has come to an end. Time really flew by, and I can’t believe it’s over already. In the next days I’ll see what kind of summary posts, stats, and final tidbits I can include.
Thanks to those who followed along!
The last coaster day of the trip saw us visiting Gilroy Gardens. I always imagined the park would have more natural gardens, but while there are many lovely gardens, they’re arranged very much as a manicured family theme park.
What the park does have is a fair amount of charm. There are rides themed to garlic and artichokes, foods the region is famous for:
There’s an ‘autopia’ car ride with vintage 1950s cars and gas pumps and great theming along way — the best car ride I’ve ever experienced.
There’s one garden path that goes up to, behind, and through waterfalls — we left that looking as if we’d been on a serious water ride.
And of course there are two coasters, both of which adults can ride. The main attraction is Quicksilver Express, a mine ride that has a little kick on some of the drops if you sit in the back.
Overall, this is a charming little park and two more creds. Admission is rather expensive, but free with a Cedar Fair pass (something not many visitors bring to the park, as I could tell when I showed the card to a food vendor who didn’t know what it was and had to get his boss to approve the discounted rate for the food).
And with this cute, little park an epic coaster trip has come to an end. Time really flew by, and I can’t believe it’s over already. In the next days I’ll see what kind of summary posts, stats, and final tidbits I can include.
Thanks to those who followed along!