Knotts 10/10/18: HangTime, "new" GhostRider

I had a conference in Carlsbad, and took an afternoon off to duck up to Buena Park and catch a lap on HangTime and a couple other new-to-me things.

Overall, the park seemed to be in very good shape. It was a relatively quiet Fall weekday for which they didn't bother opening the main parking lot. The crowd wasn't "where is everyone" sparse, but there wasn't a wait for much of anything other than Timber Mountain (to be expected) and GhostRider. Xcelerator only had one train on, but everything else had at least two, and given the waits one train was fine there. Crews were reasonably efficient, staff was very friendly. The food outlets seemed to be backed up some, particularly around the early afternoon. They were not operating Fastlane for obvious reasons.

I hadn't been in several years, so Coast Rider was new-to-me. Meh.

HangTime is a fun little ride, and packs a surprising number of elements in a small footprint. It never seemed to generate much of a line. I rode twice; the first was disorienting, the second (front row) was just plain fun.

Another new-to-me ride is the renovated GhostRider. Way back in the day? Awesome ride. Last few years before renovation? Bone-rattling. However, with the track work, re-profiling of a few bits, and the Millennium Flyer trains, this thing is back to what I remember as its former glory. The patrons know a good ride when they see it, as this was clearly the #1 draw in the park in terms of generating a wait. If you've not been since the re-do, and remember the pain it used to inflict, make a point of stopping in next time you are in town. You'll be glad you did.

CF Platinum passholders get 20% on merch/food rather than the 10% I was expecting, which was a nice little bonus.

My one experience on Ghost Rider was 5 years ago this month. I assume this was during its rough period, but I really enjoyed it, and didn't find it unbearable.

Need to make it out there. On the list in the next few years.