Another SO CAL trip report

We headed to the Dollar Rent A Car to pick up our car. After 10 minutes in line, we were off to KBF. This was going to be my first trip to KBF and I was very excited to ride the legendary Ghostrider and the new Silver Bullet. We made our quick stop at the local supermarket to get a canned item for our $16.95 admission to the park. When we arrived in the parking lot it was 12:30. I looked around and wondered if the park was closed. There were no more than 25 cars in the parking lot. We asked the parking attendant what was going on and he said to enjoy all the rides as many times as we wanted.

A quick walk to the front gate and we were in. We headed straight to Ghostrider. I was very impressed w/ the structure and the landscaping. We continued through the que to the top of the loading station. No line no wait. We went to the back seat for our first ride. Quick load and we were off. I am so hyped to finally get to ride this coaster. Up the lift hill and over the top we went. OMG-it was so rough. The entire ride, I kept thinking that I was two years too late. The ride had great pops of air time and great laterals, but not an enjoyable ride. Hopefully the downtime for Rehab in Feb will help. Next we go to Silver Bullet. Again no line no wait. We head to the front car and are on the next train. What a beautiful coaster. The paint job is increbible. I can't get over how quiet this invert is. You can hardly hear the train. No roar like Batman and others. The ride is fun, but I don't think it is broken in yet. It did not have any forces that I have experienced on other inverts(Montu, Raptor, Alpengiest). We then took a few minutes to walk around and look at the very clean park, eat some ice cream and head toward Excelerator. Excelerator was another walk on. We were able to get three back seat rides w/ out getting off the train. What a great ride!!!!! I loved the thrust out of the station, the top hat and the Intamin ending. We decided to try out some the old classics like Montezuma's Revenge, Jaguar and the Boomerang. I loved Montezuma's Revenge. I have ridden two other Schwarzkopf shuttle loopers, but this was the best one yet. No braking in the loading station on the backward pass through. Very intense. We were able to reride all the coasters several times and left the park by 4:00 in the afternoon. What a great first experience at KBF. I will definitely be back.

We spent Friday shopping on Rodeo and visiting Hollywood. We headed toward the Santa Monica pier late Friday afternoon. A very heavy fog drifted in and we were hardly able to see one foot in front of us. That did not deter us from wanting to ride the Santa Monica Wester Coaster on the pier. We arrived before six and had to wait for the park to open. We paid our $4.50 for the ride and boarded the back seat. This was a neat little coaster. It had two quick pops of air and a fun helix. We got a bite to eat at Venice Beach and headed to the Marriott for some needed rest.

Saturday was another beautiful day in sunny California. We set out for Valencia, stopped at IHOP and were at SFMM by 9:15. We had purchased our discount tickets online for $25.00 and were one of the first in the park that day.

We went straight to X. After the journey up the hll, the ride was OPEN and they were running TWO trains. We were on the first train of the day. This was my 3rd trip to SFMM, but my first ride on X. For some reason, I was nervous. I am never nervous of coasters. I just was not sure what to expect. We boarded the back seat, buckeled up and we were off. Up the lift hill, over the top and WOW, the incredible view and dropping 200 feet upside down at 76 miles per hour. It was great!!!!!! I loved this ride. After our ride was over, there still was hardly anyone in line so we got back in the 15 minute line for our second ride on X. This time we rode in the middle of the train and still had a great experience. We then went down the hill and jumped on the old Viper. Still a solid ride after all these years. We decided to head toward Golith, got into the station, went to the back seat and were set to be on the next train. The ride went down. We waited about fifteen minutes and decided to go to Scream (another first for me). Scream was painted a beautiful color. I had seen the pics of Scream, but found the coaster much more stricking in person. Yes it is in the parking lot, but still a great looking coaster. The first loop looked gigantic. Is it higher than most? We boarded the back seat (you see a pattern here) and we were off. Another only one train wait. I thought the coaster packed a big punch. I loved all the elements and how they were packaged. As we were exiting the train, we saw Golith running. We went back to Golith and got on the next rain in the back seat. I love Golith! It is alot of fun! As the ride ended, there was no one waiting for the back seat. So we rode again. What a great day we were having at SFMM. Most all the coasters were running two trains. I have read many negative trip reports about the Mountain, but all three times I have been to that park have been great. OK, it was time for lunch so we grabbed a taco and headed to Riddler's Revenge. The last time I was at the park I waited over an hour for that ride. We walked into the station and were on the next train. Another great ride. I kept thinking about the fact that Scream and RR have alot of the same elements. We walked up the hill to Superman. A short 10 minute wait and we were on. Superman was the only coaster of the day running one train. It is still a fun ride even though it does not compare w/ Excelerator's take off. We walked down the hill to Deja Vu. Yes it was running and thanks to past trip reports I knew to go to the single rider's line. Two trains later, I was on. Thanks fellow Buzzers for the information. I had ridden Deja Vu' at SFOG and I wanted to see if there was any difference. I love the way you just hang in your seat while the train goes up the lift hill, then you are off on a fast and furious journey through the elements. What a great ride. We then headed over to the other side of the park to ride The revolution. Very disappointing. I do not understand the OTS restraints and no leg room. They have breaked the Hell out of this poor coaster. I would have loved to have ridden it in its day. But don't get me wrong, the ride is OK-especially if you are not tall and long legged. We decided to end our day with one more ride on X. The guard at the beginning of the que said the wait was 1.5 hours. Wrong. We boarded the train in less than 30 minutes. This time we rode toward the front of the train. The front seemed more aggressive than the other rides, but still an awesome experience.

A quick walk to the ice cream stand and we were on our way out of the park. I found the park to be clean, employees friendly, two train opeation on most all coasters and no wait all day. What an incredible trip in all w/ KBF and SFMM. I will definitly be back in another 3-4 years and will look forward to another ride on X. *** Edited 1/29/2005 10:41:42 PM UTC by Steve Perry*** *** Edited 1/30/2005 12:06:37 AM UTC by Steve Perry***

I must ask though, were Batman, Collossus, Ninja, Goldrush, and Flashback not open, or did you just not ride them?

http://pointbuzz.com/featurephoto.htm

Look what us Ohioans are stuck looking at!

Sounds like quite a good time for SFMM... were any of the rides besides Flashback closed?

*** Edited 1/31/2005 10:16:20 PM UTC by kpjb***

These reports on Ghostie are disturbing. I was out there in October and I found the ride was just fine. I was told by a local that riding in the second to last row is much better than the very last row and I found that to be very true. If you ever get out there, you may want to try that.

I know this isn't flatridebuzz, but did you ride any flats at Knotts? Did you get a chance to ride Riptide? Did you get to see some of the tamer rides there that have quite a bit of magic to them like the train ride where you get robbed or the Calico Mine Ride where you see animatronics that predate Disney?

Bob,

The Knott's fanboy.

I got some mid-day rides last February, and while it wasn't in its prime time night-time form, it didn't beat me up. I suspect some of those folks haven't been properly beaten up (see: Mean Streak or any one of a number of other examples) and so lack the proper frame of reference. ;)

I guess we'll know more in a month after The Enthusiasts descend.

*** Edited 2/1/2005 1:22:47 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

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Brian Noble said:

...I suspect some of those folks haven't been properly beaten up (see: Mean Streak or any one of a number of other examples) and so lack the proper frame of reference.

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If they are from So Cal they have... Psyclone anybody?

Worst...beating...ever...

As for Ghostrider, we go through this every year with that coaster. It runs almost 330 days a year and cycles more than any other wooden coaster on the planet. Around Dec-Jan, the ride runs like complete crap. Luckily, the ride gets a much needed rehab in Feb, right before Solace and this year is no different.

Anyone heading out to Knott's this month, fair warning, Ghostie will be closed.

Kick the sky- I ws very impressed by watching Riptide. I opted not to get soaking wet because it was a pleasant 78 degrees w/ a light breeze blowing. I have found that the older I get, I simply can't ride flat rides anylonger. I can go upside down, but I can't sit and spin. I miss my younger days. I did get a chance to ride the Mine Ride and thought it was great-especially for being so old.