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Highlights of your 2016 season

Hixee said:
Now I've actually finished for the year, I can do this. Yay!

Been a good year for me - much better than expected. 97 new creds and 24 new parks (that's the most new parks in a year I've ever done - although hardly surprising when you consider all the +1 mall creds). Plus, finally rode my first coasters in Asia, rode the fastest in the world and broke both my 400 and 450 milestones. Not to mention all the fun stuff I got up to outside of parks (including driving a F3000 car round the Yas Marina circuit, swimming in a wadi in Oman, touring the palace in Madrid, trekking in Nepal, I could go on).

Best new cred - Storm Chaser, Lightning Run, Thunderbird, Lightning Rod, Fury 325, Skyrush, Storm Runner and Flying Aces were all brilliant. Lightning Rod, however, stole the show.
Worst new cred - Not sure... I hated Coaster Express at Parque Warner Madrid, and nothing else (that wasn't a Wacky Worm or something) springs to mind, so that.
Biggest surprise cred - Probably Lightning Run to be honest. I said it on the day, and I'll say it again: "Why aren't there more of these?!!"
Worst spite - Parque de Atracciones Madrid was pretty spiteful, closing both Tornado and Abismo as I was waiting to get in.
Favorite park of the season - I think probably either IMG Worlds of Adventure or Holiday Park. Had a great time in both.
Best experience - Lightning Rod ERT was pretty special. <3
Worst experience - You know, nothing really stands out? I suppose that's good.
Best individual day at a park - Does two parks in one day count? I think the first day of the USA Live. Everyone was there, everyone was excited and we were riding some great coasters (Storm Chaser, Lightning Run, Voyage, Thunderbird). Just so much fun.
Worst individual day at a park - See "worst experience" above, I don't think anything really springs to mind.
Best trip of the season - For a theme park based trip - the USA Live and the add-ons before and after were great. For a non-park trip - Nepal was absolutely beautiful and I don't think I could rate any other trip higher.

Best people you met - New people at CF Lives are always great!
Best non park experience - Seeing the Milky Way with my naked eyes in Nepal. Something I've wanted to do for many years and finally got the chance. Plus I think I managed to get some decent photos of it - which I'm pleased about.
Favorite travel moment - Probably nearly making Marc drive off the road with our inter-car shenanigans on the road to Holiday World and Dollywood.
Worst travel moment - Again, I think I got quite lucky here. I guess my bag getting lost on the way from Kathmandu to Abu Dhabi? Thankfully they sorted it within 24 hours, but it was a bit annoying.
Funniest moment - "Happy 14th Birthday Joey". That one really sticks in my mind.
Favorite memory - I'm not sure I could pick a favourite...
Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related - Meeting my girlfriend is probably number one, she's fab. Clearing the high pass on the trek in Nepal was a huge effort and I'm very proud of that. Also getting to go and see my work on the airport project in Abu Dhabi for real, that was a good experience. I am also quite proud of the Table of Elements series Hyde and I put together (with the help of Jerry's amazing catalog of footage), which seem to have been popular enough for us to be starting a second series. It's been an excellent year. :)

As for photos, see above: Go look at the trip report, CF Live trip report and photography threads you lazy bastards. ;)
Click to expand...

My love for you knows no end. :D
 
2016 has been a great year for me generally, despite turning 40… I rode 62 different coasters, 56 of which were new creds, and visited two of the best parks in Europe. Overall I rode over 37 miles of coaster track and was inverted 121 times!


Park related-
*Best new cred – Taron
*Worst new cred – Hero (Flamingo Land) – just WHY?! :mad:
*Biggest surprise cred - Muntanya Russa (Tibidabo) – pretty forceful for a family cred and the views were incredible!
*Worst spite – Oki Doki (Bobbejaanland) – looked like the best coaster at the park too. :(
*Favorite park of the season – PortAventura, which just pips Phantasialand due to the marginally better selection of coasters.
*Best experience – Nemesis, front row in the rain at night
*Worst experience – Queueing 40 minutes to be tortured by Hero.
*Best individual day at a park – Alton Towers for Scarefest. Really enjoyed my first experience of scare mazes and got to ride Nemesis in the dark for the first time.
*Worst individual day at a park - Bobbejaanland being unexpectedly busy for a Monday. Bloody kids!
*Best trip of the season – Barcelona/PortAventura

General and other-
*Best people you met – didn’t meet anyone new from CF but it was great to catch up with Furie (and meet the junior Furies) after more than a decade.
*Best non park experience – staying in a secluded cabin in Belgium for my Wedding Anniversary.
*Favorite travel moment – flying to and from Belgium with RyanAir and getting an empty seat next to us both ways.
*Worst travel moment – trying to get out of Brussels when there were tons of roadworks and it was raining.
*Funniest moment – being grabbed by a sweaty, half-naked, bearded skin-snatcher in one of Alton’s scare mazes. Literally didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and my mates found it hilarious. :D
*Favorite memory – too many to choose just one.
*Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related – my home arcade being shortlisted in the Games Room of the Year awards and attracting some press attention, including the front page of the local paper. Only came third though!

A few photos of my highlights and you can also check out my trip reports for more pics if you wish!
http://forums.coasterforce.com/threads/bobbejaanland-and-phantasialand-aug-sep-2016.40428/
http://forums.coasterforce.com/threads/dinos-and-dragons-uk-south-coast-midlands-–-may-2016.40060/

Muntanya Russa
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Nemesis in the Dark!
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PortAventura Coaster Porn :D
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*Best new cred - Wildfire, Kolmården
*Worst new cred - Euro-Mir, Europa Park (I know a lot of people like this one but it just made me ill)
*Biggest surprise cred - Silver Star, Europa Park
*Worst spite - Limit, Heide-Park (Only coaster I missed)
*Favorite park of the season - Europa Park
*Best experience - Helix, Liseberg, back row at night
*Worst experience - Having to wait two hours to make use of my Express Butler at Heide-Park that I paid fourty-two Euros for!
*Best individual day at a park - Europa Park, Friday in early June. Low crowds and everything flowed smoothly.
*Worst individual day at a park - Heide-Park, Saturday in mid-April. Lots of frustrations despite only medium crowds.
*Best trip of the season - Europa Park, two days in June.
 
Park related-
*Lightning Rod
* Blazing Fury (They count this as a roller coaster????)
*Tennessee Tornado
*couldn't make it to Six Flags over Georgia as planned.
*Dollywood
*Riding Lightning Rod when it was supposed to be under repair. (broke down later that day)
*Flat tire in Dollywood parking lot.
*Dollywood because LR was open.
*Kentucky Kingdom, I couldn't get on either Storm Chaser or Lightning Run
*Dollywood/KK trip

General and other-
*Taylor from CS
*Gatlinburg (before the fires :( )
*Driving through the Smokey Mountains
*Flat Tire
*Somebody's hat fell off on Mystery Mine
*His expression after the ride
*Passed math
Only went to Dollywood and KK this year sorry its dull.
 
Highlights:

+ Being on the first train of Boulder Dash of the 2016 season
+ Boulder Dash (credit #150!)
+ Wooden Warrior

-- SFNE's operations
-- Yankee Cannonball has somehow become both rough and boring
-- Not getting up to Story Land
 
Finding King Ina's rocks at Alton Towers, just outside the boundary fence.
Only took me about 35 years to find them!
 
Going to SFGAm on Halloween night was amazing.. first time I've ever gone to the park when it was absolutely dead. Got on Viper 3 times in a row, Raging Bull, JLBFM, X-Flight, and Goliath in less than half an hour. Compare that to closing day (Nov 6th.) when I got 2 rides the whole day (River Rocker + Chubasco)

Another fun memory was August 28th at SFGAm. Me and Guy_With_A_Stick almost met up and I stayed at the park until closing and was one of the last people to enter Raging Bull's line for the night. A storm though, caused it to not open so I had to go home after taking cover in the park (Storm) for 40 minutes after closing.
 
OK.
Quite a tale.
When I first did Alton Towers, with my mum, there was only the Corkscrew as a "real" ride, with lots of smaller attractions.
So we checked out the map and there were lots of walkways through the gardens and into the valley below.
Mum spotted the path to King Ina's Rocks, so, as intrigued as you Howie, we walked a long way into the garden valley, but got lost and gave up after about half an hours walking into the River Churnet valley.
Over the years the park attractions expanded, and the security fence was put up with a large portion of the valley gardens fenced off, including the path to King Ina's rocks.
This year I had a break from Blackpool as a season ticket and did a Merlin instead.
On one of my many visits, I followed someones advice on how to find the fabled rocks from outside the Towers, parking by the River at the bottom of the valley. I then walked via a long footpath along a disused railway line, then up towards the park through a wooded public footpath that goes up towards the back of the Alton Hotels.
After a bit of hunting, I found the rocky outcrops where it is alleged that King Ina took shelter after being battered by a competing king (Ceolred) many hundreds of years ago, in the battle of Slain Hollow. The battle was meant to have taken place roughly where Thirteen's track runs, then Ina ran off the half mile or so to where the rocks are.
Rock climbers often use the rocks for freeclimbing, but on the rainy day in question, I was quite alone in the misty woods, able to hear the screams and thunder from Nemesis in the distance, but completely alone in what I can only describe as an ancient woodland.
The gap between first looking and actually finding the rocks, about 35 years.
You can find them quite easily from the Towers car parks, behind the hotels, behind where the new hotel is going to be, in less than 5 minutes, but I had walked from the bottom of the valley, and that took me about half an hour.
There is a public footpath right to them, but it is quite tricky to find.
You can see pictures at "Alton Towers memories".
Well worth the stroll if you are staying in the area... now I just have to do the Chained Oak.
 
Wow, I had no idea, thanks for that. I'm definitely gonna seek them out - I like mooching round Alton Towers' old 'secret' bits.
The chained oak is quite cool too, well worth a look :)
 
2016 was dedicated to smaller parks filling the ranks in the Netherlands and Southern Germany.

Best new Park: Duinrell - really liked the atmosphere there, what a great little park
Best new Coaster: Baron 1898
Best new flat: Gerstlauer SkyFly
 
Park related-
*Best new cred - Taron
*Worst new cred - Insane
*Biggest surprise cred - Kärnan
*Worst spite - Wood Coaster, Knight Valley
*Favorite park of the season - Phantasialand
*Best experience - Any time spent on Helix
*Worst experience - Being denied entry to Plohn
*Best individual day at a park - A relaxed day at Europa
*Worst individual day at a park - 2nd DBGT event at Thorpe
*Best trip of the season - Several amazing Europe trips, couldnt pick a winner
 
Wow! I just realized I forgot to do this.

Park related
Best new cred - Maverick at Cedar Point. I already kinda knew that it would be in my Top 5, but wow, it was more intense than I thought!
Worst new cred - Invertigo at Kings Island. Who's idea was it to make a Vekoma Boomerang like an SLC?
Biggest surprise cred - Beast at Kings Island. Everyone said it sucked, but the experience was just fantastic. Flying through the woods and all the tunnels/helixes/speed are fantastic.
Worst spite - Top Thrill Dragster's operations. 'Nuff said.
Favorite park of the season - Cedar Point. 'Nuff said.
Best experience - Probably Night ERT at Six Flags St. Louis. Screamin' Eagle is fab, and me, my sister, and dad got a train to ourselves on American Thunder. Great times.
Worst experience - Waiting in line for Top Thrill Dragster for just under an hour, only to break down.
Best individual day at a park - Gotta go with Wild Waves/Enchanted Village. Yeah, the park's OK, but there lie some of my best memories with my cousins.
Worst individual day at a park - Going to SFGAm during the Fright Fest. By about 2:30 PM, everything had 2 hour-plus lines. Way to spend your last visit at your home park for the year.
Best trip of the season- My only trip was my Ohio weekend at CP and KI.

General and other
Best people you met - Bob Olenjack at ACE Events. He's about 70, but couldn't feel younger with every B&M Credit in the US and over 800 credits!
Best non park experience - White Water Rafting at Yellowstone.
Favorite travel moment - Driving around Cedar Point to Hotel Breakers for the first time
Worst travel moment - All of them were good, but I remember when we were driving back from Kings Island, some idiot on his phone almost drove into us while on a bridge over a river. What a jackass.
Funniest moment - All the little kids staring at me like I was retarded when credit whoring on Whorestock Express at Cedar Point.
Favorite memory - Too many! However, like I mentioned above, Night ERT at Six Flags St. Louis was fantastic.
Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related - Achieving all the new belts in Karate
 
2016
- Best new cred = Taron at Phantasialand
- Worst new cred = Infusion at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
- Biggest surprise cred = Taron exceeded my already high expectations. And The Smiler was a cred I was expecting not to like yet ended up loving it.
*Worst spite = Missed out on Droomvlucht at Efteling, simply ran out of time when there.
*Favorite park of the season = Phantasialand
*Best experience = Wintertraum at Phantasialand
*Worst experience = Infusion at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
*Best individual day at a park = Wintertraum Phantasialand
*Worst individual day at a park = Was still a great day but Efteling - it was really busy, lots of queues and not great operations.
*Best trip of the season = Phantasialand

*Best non park experience = SS Great Britain in Bristol.
*Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related = Started working for National Museums Northern Ireland. :)
 
Hey everyone! First post, figured this is as good a place as any.

Park related-
*Best new cred - Going with Goliath at Six Flags Great America.
* Worst new cred - Either the Mighty Canadian Minebuster or Flight Deck at Canada's Wonderland. Both awful.
*Biggest surprise cred - Hmm... I'm going to go with West Coaster at Santa Monica Pier. I really wasn't expecting to ride it, and then they let us ride it a few times in a row. It wasn't particularily thrilling or even fun, but you can't really beat that setting when the sun is going down.
*Worst spite - Didn't really have one this year. 2015 was Impulse at Knoebels, I was finally able to get on that coaster this year, so I fixed a previous spite.
*Favorite park of the season - Always a tough call. Going Cedar Point slightly over Knoebels.
*Best experience - Twisted Colossus. It was much better than I remembered it from the previous season. This year it was dueling, the ride ops were amazing (shocking, I know), and they kept letting me pick the back seat.
*Worst experience - The line for X2. Moved at the pace of an elderly turtle. The ride itself was much better than I expected, though.
*Best individual day at a park - Knoebels - a day with Phoenix and the flyers is always one of the best days.
*Worst individual day at a park - Canada's Wonderland day 1
*Best trip of the season - Technically, this is two trips but I went back to back with no buffer in between, so it was like one long trip for me. I went to Summerfest (music festival in Milwaukee), Six Flags Great America, and spent a day in Chicago (part 1), and I followed that up with a trip to Cedar Point, Knoebels, Niagara Falls (not the park in that area, sadly), Canada's Wonderland, and Michigan Adventure.

General and other-
*Best people you met - I met some ACER in CW. He seemed like a cool guy, with a ton more credits than I have. Was interesting hearing his perspective on things.
*Best non park experience - Another tough call. I think the whole area around the Golden Gate Bridge is amazing, but I'm going with Niagara Falls.
*Favorite travel moment - We bought one nice hotel for the trip, in Toronto. Just drinking and hanging out in the rooms hot tub was pretty great.
*Worst travel moment - Traffic not moving for two hours on my way to LA. Ended up late for a festival, and missing a band I was really looking forward to.
*Funniest moment - At Magic Mountain, a buddy of mine didn't realize the haunt people were out. He freaked out at the guy that scared him. It was hilarious.
*Favorite memory - This should be an easy answer, I'll have to get back to ya'.
*Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related - Paid off 3/4 of my car. Almost done.
Post pictures too if you want!
 
Bat Fastard said:
With 2016 pretty much in the books, I figured this topic would be appropriate now.

Park related-
*Best new cred
* Worst new cred
*Biggest surprise cred
*Worst spite
*Favorite park of the season
*Best experience
*Worst experience
*Best individual day at a park
*Worst individual day at a park
*Best trip of the season

General and other-
*Best people you met
*Best non park experience
*Favorite travel moment
*Worst travel moment
*Funniest moment
*Favorite memory
*Biggest accomplishment not theme park/travel related
Post pictures too if you want!
Click to expand...

Feels like the right time to bring this back for 2017.
 
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