LA Trip(SFMM and KBF) August 11th and 12th

Associated parks:
None

Every summer, my dad and sometimes a friend and I make our way down to LA, and hit Six Flags Magic Mountain, but this trip was a little different. With the opening of Xcelerator, I thought it was time to finally go to Knott's.

Day 1 *SIx Flags Magic Mountain*

This trip marked my 3rd time to the park. As you drive into the park, all you see is a giant pink and yellow structure known simply as X. They were testing it, but I knew for a fact it wasn't going to be open. :(

We arrived at 10:00 and after parking the car and paying admission, we made our way to Deja Vu. I thought this ride would have the longest wait out of them all later in the day, so I thought we should ride this one first.

* Deja Vu (1 lap)

I was really excited as I walked into the line, which appeared to be two hours. I had no idea how BIG this thing is. The train seemed to be going really fast throughout the entire ride, which was surprising to me, because I had heard it was slow at some points. Before I knew it(sarcasm), the wait was up, and it was our time to ride.

I ended up being in the middle, not on the outside. I'm not really sure how this affects the ride though. The restraints are HUGE! Another thing that surprised me was how fast you get pulled up the spikes. I was shocked. After about 7 seconds of being pulled up, your released, and the ride begins.

I personally loved the first drop, and it ended up being my favorite part of the whole ride. I blacked out on the cobra roll, which has never happened to me before. The rest of the ride was a blur, but I loved it. When I got off, I was really dizzy, and I had a hard time walking at first. Hehe.

After Deja, I spotted Freefall in the distance, and after hearing great things about it, I decided to ride it.

* Freefall (1 drop)

After waiting 15 minutes, I was slowly being brought up the 100 foot tower. Great view! At the top, you slowly slide out onto that platform, which was really scary. Then suddenly, WHOOSH! I have never lost my stomach that bad...it was crazy.

After stumbling off of Freefall, we made our way to Riddler's Revenge, which is such a photogenic and beautiful coaster.

* Riddler's Revenge (2 laps)

The wait was around 40 minutes both times we rode, but I thought it was worth it. I love the first drop and the little airtime hill. Those things really stood out to me. The ride as a whole is good though, but nothing amazing. The trains were really comfortable and there was no head banging at all. The vertical loop is nice as well, but the dive loops did nothing for me. One thing that did bug me was the station...it's called air conditioning...look into it ;)

We decided to go ride Batman next , because of how close it is to Riddler.

* Batman: The Ride (1 lap)

I loved everything about this coaster. The theming, the trains, the pacing, the intensity. Everything. I wasn't expecting much, because the last time I rode it was 2 years ago, and I didn't remember how intense this thing was. Almost every element was forceful and enjoyable, and the speed never let up. :) My favorite part was the second vertical loop, it just seemed to be the most intense.

After Batman, we walked around a little bit, and then came upon Goliath. I love the entry way and the misters so much! Hehe.

* Goliath (2 laps)

The wait was about 50 minutes, which isn't too bad at all.I rode this thing last year, and it easily became my favorite coaster. This year, I was a little let down.Maybe I was just expecting too much. I rode in the very back on both laps, so I don't know if that is why. The drop was of course amazing, and I loved the camelback hill(which gave me crazy amounts of airtime), but everything else was lacking. I got off of it wanting more :(. I do love the trains though, and the tunnel is a very nice touch.

I decided to go ride Viper next, but I rode alone, because everyone in my group thought it was too rough and not fun at all.

* Viper (1 lap)

Last year, I had a horrible experience on viper. Every moment was rough, even the drop. This year, things changed. I rode on the red striped train, and waited about 30 minutes. After being pulled up the massive lift hill, I was sent flying down the drop. I no longer experienced head banging! Yay! I relaxed a bit, and ended up really enjoying viper. The vertical loops were intense and the boomerang/batwing/pretzel element was great too.

I wanted to go ride Colossus next, because I had never been on it.

* Colossus

I had no idea how far back the station is in the park! I was expecting it to be near the front, but I guess I was wrong. We waited about 15 minutes, and rode in the back. I actually thought this ride was really fun! Some of the drops were intense, and I even got airtime :) The only bad parts were the SLOW turnarounds. But I still thought it was enjoyable.

We all decided to go check out Superman: The Escape next. After walking up the steep hill, we noticed the wait to be around 2 hours. I personally didn't want to wait two hours for what I considered to be a not-so-great ride. We then walked over to Ninja, and found a 20 minute wait.

* Ninja

Nothing great here, just an enjoyable suspended. I liked the station and trains a lot. Some parts were filled with a lot of speed, and I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. The lift hill at the end does kind of ruin it though.

We were all really tired at this point(8:00), and so we decided to leave. All in all, I had a great time at the park, and I thought it was really clean and tidy.

Day 2 *Knott's Berry Farm*

We arrived at the park at 10:15 and went straight to the boardwalk area. The ride-op's over at Xcelerator told us that it would be opening around 12:30. :(

We decided to go ride Surpreme Scream instead.

* Supreme Scream (1 drop)

The wait was about 25 minutes. One of my friend's told me it was kind of dull, so I didn't know what to expect. I was really nervous as I pulled down the shoulder restraint, and before I knew it, we were being pulled up the massive 250 foot tower. When we reached the top, I heard a loud "whoosh" and I gripped the restraint even tighter. Then suddenly, we dropped. I got off with a huge smile on my face. I really liked supreme scream, and I thought the drop was really intense.

Perilous Plunge seemed to broken down, but people were lining up at the entrance. We decided to do the same. After waiting like 20 minutes, they opened the ride again.

* Perilous Plunge (1 Plunge)

We were assigned to the back row, and I have to say, I was nervous. The restraints calmed me down a little bit, because they are so tight and secure. We slowly left the station, and began climbing up the lift hill. We were almost at the top, and then we just stopped. Yes, we were stuck. We waited like 5 minutes, and then we began to move again. The drop was coming closer and closer, and then it came. It was really fast and intense, and I loved it. As we reached the base of the drop, we were COVERED in water. Splash after splash rained over us, and it seemed like it lasted forever. I have never been that soaked in my life.

Dripping and cold, we made our way over to Ghostrider. I love the entry way!

* Ghostrider (1 lap)

The wait was around an hour, which was ok, because it would give us a chance to dry off. The mine theming is amazing, and it really added to the ride experience. We were dry when we boarded the train(silver train), which was good. We rode in the very back. As we crested the lift hill, we were sent soaring down the drop and at the base of it, my neck snapped back and I let out a giant scream in pain. It was like no pain I have ever experienced before. This happened at the base of every drop on the ride :(. It totally ruined it for me. But, some of the drops were intense and fun, and it had it's moments.

By now, it was 12:30, and I was ready for Xcelerator!

* Xcelerator (1 lap)

As I aproached the coaster, I noticed the line to be extremely long. It ended up being an hour and a half, which isn't too bad. I rode in the front, and that added an extra 45 minutes to the wait.

The theming and the trains are so great, and Knott's put a lot of work into this one. I pulled down the comfy lap bar, and prepared myself for the launch. The lights went from yellow to green and then it happened. *WHOOSH*
Now that is an intense launch. Before I knew it, we were climbing straight up into the top hat and then sent flying back down. Head-choppers galore! After that, the ride calmed down a bit, and the overbanks honestly did nothing for me. All in all, Xcelerator is a great ride, but the launch is the best part.

It was 3:00 by now, and we had a plane to catch, and so we left. I had a great time at Knott's, and I can't wait to go back. :)

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"There's no such thing as a mistake. There's what you do, and what you don't do."

My SoCal trip wasn't really lucky with the letter "X." I went about 3 weeks ago and both were closed! Sorry you're Ghostie experience wasn't the best. Honestly though, you havent ridden that thing til youve ridden in the back at night. I rode in the back during the day, and then again at night, and trust me, they are definately different rides lol.

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5)Raptor 4) Goliath 3) Sros @Sfdl 2) Ghostrider 1) Millennium Force
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I went to Knotts on the 11th too. Xcelerator broke down again around 4, and then opened up at 7. Very unreliable ride (but usually opens up again). A power shortage means hours of downtime as was experienced on tuesday (the 12th). Perilous Plunge too, and i agree that it' best to rush over to the ride in a breakdown to ride during the day (hit it in the morning before 11 and the wait will be very short too..i mean a walkon). Ghostrider ride ops were haulin @$$ on the 11th and 12th. I found a 25 minute line around 4:30.
I agree Speedy, the Ghostrider op's were really moving quickly. I saw a few of them actually running up and down, and just doing a great job :)
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"There's no such thing as a mistake. There's what you do, and what you don't do."
And they actually had 4 ride attendents (plus one who did nothing but go between the photo booth and turnstyle and ride op booth) and a greeter.

I bet the capacity was over 1000 for the first time for a year.

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