Associated parks:
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We arrived to the park at about 11:15 to discover two things. Visionland had a very small parking lot and it was less than 1/4 full. I found the first to be very surprising. Most Wal-Marts around here have parking lots as large or larger than this one. The second discovery was almost expected. The weather was looking very rainy and both major colleges were playing home football games, so I expected the park to be less than capacity.
My friend and I paid our admission ($20) and decided to head straight for Rampage. Unfortunately they were in the process of changing trains, so we decided to wander around the park for a little while and sample some of the flat rides.
I noticed several things about this park while we walked around.
-The park still has a 'new' feeling to it.
-The landscaping is very nice.
-The park was very clean.
Once we wandered around to the back of the park we saw 'Pirate' a Huss swinging ship. It has been a while since I've ridden one of these and I've always liked them so we decided to hit that. When we walked up to the ship we discovered no line whatsoever. We hopped on and happened to be the only ones on the entire ride. I sat on one end and my friend sat on the other. Fun ride, I even think the ride-ops let us ride a little longer than the group before us (if that's possible).
After this we saw that Rampage was running so we decided to go hit that. This was my first chance to ride a CCI coaster (2nd first) so I was really excited. After all the good things I've heard about virtually all their coasters I was ready to be blown away. We waited 2 trains for a front seat ride. So finally my first CCI was...
Rampage
I think this is the first time I've suffered from HED (High Expectation Disappointment). Although I still thoroughly enjoyed this ride and it shot up to my favorite wooden coaster easily, I just wasn't blown away by it, but that would change soon enough. Rampage has a very fun layout. It twists around its structure several times and produces some great head chopper effects. Being built on the side of a hill is also interesting. Several times on the ride you're fooled into thinking you don't have enough room for another drop and then boom, you drop down farther than you thought you could.
After riding Rampage again we decided to hit the Statosfear Towers. This is an S&S space shot/turbo drop ride. I've been on a Space Shot ride several times, I live less then 5 minutes away from one, but I had never been on a turbo drop. There wasn't a line for either side so we walked right on to the space shot side. The thing that makes this ride fun is that its built on a hill in front of the park. You can easily see the entire park from the top. After hitting the shot I wanted to do the drop. Most people I've heard tend to like the turbo drop better than the space shot. I think I'm about equal on both. We could've ridden it much longer, but we opted to go get some grub and then hit Rampage until we had to leave.
We then stopped to let my friend get a Taco Pie. I just got something to drink. I noticed that the line still wasn't long for Rampage so I decided to go hit that while he ate. I know by know you're wondering 'OK, so what was his 3rd First?' Well here it is. There was absolutely no line for Rampage. I got on, rode it, and when we got back into the station no one else was in line so I got a re-ride (3rd First). This may not be that big of a deal to others, but its never happened to me.
After that my friend and I went and got a back seat ride on Rampage before we left. This ride is much better in the back. Much more forceful and throws you around a lot more. I wouldn't say it was rough, but it definitely lets you know who is boss. This helped Rampage move up to almost the status I was expecting. I would've liked a little more airtime, but its still a great ride, I'm looking forward to my next CCI.
Major kudos to one of the ride-ops on Rampage. He was quick and very friendly, especially when I got in line for the back seat by myself and he told me that single riders can't ride in the back. He said if there would've been more people on the platform he would've ridden with me, but he couldn't.
Another note, the Lemon Chill stand was closed so I didn't find anything out about new rides for next year. ;)
All in all a very nice day in the park. The rain held off while we were there fortunately. Its definitely a park I won't go an entire season without visiting again. This is a park that has major potential with a little improvement. If they can get out of debt and start adding more attractions, this will definitely become a season pass park for me.
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