Yes nice trip report, I've only been to three SF parks, KK, St. Louis, Great American was my favorite.
I remember St.Louis opening time was 10am, then rides opened at 10:30am, and the park closed before dark, this was in late July 2007.
Haven't been to SFMM to ride Tatsu, but it does look like what a flying coaster should be.
ThunderHead at Dollywood is like TS, with the station fly by.
Great American opened at 10am, and closed at 10pm past dark for night rides. This was July 2006.