homestar92

^Gilroy Gardens is a different animal. It is (if I'm not mistaken) a non-profit organization owned by the city of Gilroy, CA but operated by Cedar Fair under contract. A Platinum Pass will NOT (to my knowledge) gain you admission to Gilroy Gardens. Now that that's out of the way, I have only been to two Cedar Fair parks outside Ohio, and only one that is outside Ohio and in the United States. However, with the parks I've visited in the chain, my favorite besides Kings Island has a roller coaster that shares a name with a song from an artist who was very popular in the early 1980s. Though I enjoyed it, this roller coaster did not make me cry "more, more more". Figure that one out. For what it's worth, if Cedar Point were introduced into the poll options, my answer would not change.

I spent last summer working in software QA and your post makes me cry. That is all. After-post edit: I am happy to have been next-paged.

A few things I noticed today at the park: Drop Tower no longer plays Van Halen, and is officially dead to me. Banshee, while certainly not rough by any stretch, seems to be getting a bit shakier in the last few rows than it was on Media Day and the first few weeks of the season. That single pop of airtime in 7-1 on Vortex is the greatest sensation that one can experience on a roller coaster in Ohio. Possibly the world. The Bat is still awesome no matter what anyone says. My phone rang while in the tunnel on Adventure Express. My ringtone is that tunnel's audio. My phone, zipped up in the pockets of my cargo pants, produced that audio much louder than is done by the ride speakers, and that's sad. Though the ride speakers WERE working today. I rode a second time to double check. I do not have the willpower to resist blue ice cream, and my wallet hates me for it. For what it's worth, I recommend buying your blue ice cream in Planet Snoopy, as the color is actually correct there.

There was a time when I contemplated the thought, "Hey, I really like amusement parks, maybe I should work at one!" Then I remembered the results of the time I thought, "Hey, I like Cracker Barrel, maybe I should work there!" I'm happy to be giving theme parks a chunk of my paychecks rather than getting them from a theme park. But maybe that's just me.

Could we hold a candlelight vigil at closing time on the 13th? We need to give our noodly pal #jonathan a sendoff so grand, even Goble will crack a smile.

I personally am glad that the Backlot Stunt Coasters are not themed to their respective cities. At Kings Island, you'd be subjected to the pungent stench of Skyline Chili and the great disappointment of Bengals football while riding. At Canada's Wonderland, the ride would just slowly creep around the track and take about 3 hours to finish its quarter-mile circuit (as an homage to driving in Toronto). I don't know enough about Virginia to make any judgments on theirs, but it would almost certainly be the best of the three.

Oh, it's a FUN video, alright.

I'm relatively certain that Reptar (the TV character) existed before Raptor, so would they have really had a case?

I lost faith in Paramount's movie themed rides when they failed to build racing Wild Mouse coasters themed to the movie "Rat Race"

They also never had a ride called Pitfall. - homestar92, a stickler for spelling.

I hope that our old Wheel of Fortune is well-kept at its new home. I'd hate to think of its future being in Jeopardy! Perhaps one day, it will change hands again if The Price is Right. I wouldn't Press Your Luck with a park in Santa Claus, Indiana, though. I hear they have a bit of a Family Feud going on, To Tell the Truth. I have no idea why, but I couldn't resist the urge to make that post.

I believe the sticker price is the same, however, if you buy on the park's website, you will have to pay a $6 convenience fee, so Kroger is probably the better bet.

Commas are important. They help you discern the difference between "Let's eat, Grandma" and "Let's eat Grandma."

Looking at old maps, it doesn't look like there's ever really been an entrance to an attraction there. At one point, King Cobra was in the same general vicinity. When the park first opened, one of the stations for the Skyride would have been around that area.

Would that have been around the Turn of the Century? I'm not always clever, but when I am, the uninitiated might think me a rather mean fellow.

Well, it's wood, so I think we can rule out an RMC considering they build steel coasters. No, I won't get off my high Iron Horse.

I only keep a count of roller coasters that I didn't have any fun on at all. (Other than keeping a spreadsheet of coasters I've ridden, which by default, gives me a count of that too) So far there is one. Flight Deck at Canada's Wonderland. Combine headbanging that makes Vortex and Invertigo seem as tame as Boo Blasters with an entry path longer than Kings Island's former Flight Deck and a completely dime-a-dozen, lackluster layout, and you have a coaster that I just didn't enjoy at all. I want to Erase my Mind of that entire experience, in fact. It's odd, too, because there are other coasters of the same make, model, and even track layout that I have found to be quite enjoyable. But that one is especially bad for some unknown reason.. I would sooner marathon Time Warp for an entire day than give that horrible instrument of torture another go, even once... And Time Warp is easily my second least favorite coaster of all time.

It is very uncommon for a major ride to be down for an entire day unexpectedly. It happens, but as a rule, if a ride can be safely operated, it will almost certainly operate. Generally, if a ride is to be down all day, it will be posted on the LED signs at the entrance to the park. It is hard to say which rides break down the most, but I can tell you that any day the park is open until 10:00, The Beast will have 20-30 minutes of downtime starting around 9:45 due to the fireworks. The ride is not broken down during this time, they close it for safety reasons due to the ride's proximity to the fireworks mortar. And rough isn't the right word for Vortex, though many people describe it as such. The ride experience is exactly as it was intended to be when it was built. Arrow loopers are known for their sharp, quick transitions, and Vortex definitely has some. I recommend the first row of the fifth car (9th row overall) or the first row of the last car (second to last row overall) for the best experience. Vortex is definitely a tamer ride toward the back of the train than it is near the front, contrary to what many riders would expect. Vortex is also my personal favorite steel coaster in the world, and is a popular attraction at the park, loved by millions. It is definitely not as silky smooth as Diamondback or Banshee, but it is by no means unenjoyable.

The farther back you are in the train, the less intense that hairpin turn is. In the last car, it's really not bad at all because by the time you hit the turn, the front of the train has reached the brakes and begun to slow down. Granted, I am also one of the few people here who will say that the most enjoyable seat on Vortex is not 5-1, but 7-1. Though I certainly do enjoy both a great deal.

As of late May, the cars do not stop in the helicopter scene at Canada's Wonderland at all unless needed for blocking purposes. It just kinda... slows down. They did, however, receive new fiberglass on their trains, and it definitely looks spiffy.

There should still be one in Coney Mall to the left of the Sports Games booth (And the old Flight Commander queue, if you know where that is)

In an effort to maintain my good reputation on this site, I will not go into my multi-paragraph dissertation about why Diamondback is placed very well exactly where it is, lest people start to think of me as a troll. Regardless of any of that, however, just look at the darn thing. I think one look at Diamondback and its complete domination of the skyline makes it abundantly clear that it isn't part of Planet Snoopy. You want a ride that teeters on the edge of the two sections? Look at our Arrow Flume. It has even moved between the two sections without physically moving.

This seems appropriate:

How long has the fire not been working? It definitely worked in early May last time I rode this particular ride... We would definitely be living in some kind of Wonderland if our Backlot were to receive some cosmetic improvements and TLC.

Or Skyrider at Canada's Wonderland...