PKD 4/3/04

What a great day!!

After 2 days in Richmond, we spent Saturday at PKD. A little rain in the morning was all the precipitation for the day, and by noon it was nice, dry and the sun was poking in and out of the clouds. We didn't want to ride any coasters right away after eating breakfast so we first headed to check out the new Scooby-Doo Haunted Mansion. It was themed very well, but i think maybe a little too scary for younger kids. Wait time: 5 mins.

After that we headed to Volcano and FoF. I've heard others say Volcano was rough and head banging, but I found it very impressive and very smooth. Wait time: 10 mins. FoF was also a great themed ride. As we boarded the train, the booming bass in the station made an eerie feeling. The launch was awesome, and so was the ride. Having not rode FoF with OTSRs i'm glad I didn't, the lap bars weren't the most comfortable lap bars in the world, but better than if it still had OTSRs. Wait time: walk on.

Next was Anaconda and Avalanche. After riding Anaconda, nobody was in the ques, so we asked the ride ops to stay on, and they said yes. Total Anaconda rides: 5. Wait times: walk on/sit ons. Avalanche was my first un-enclosed bobsled. It wasn't that impressive of a ride. Wait time: walk on.

Getting hungry, we headed towards the Grove area of the park and planned to eat along the way. On the way we hit Drop Zone. What an amazing rush!! Wait time: 1 ride about 2 minutes. After DZ we ate burgers at Johnny's. Wait time in line and for food: 15 mins (One of our longest waits of the day!) After eating, we wasted some time and money and settled our stomachs playing in the Arcade by DZ.

$20 later we left the arcade and went to Ricochet. Total Ricochet rides: 4. Wait times: walk ons. Then to the wood, Hurler was rough but fun. Wait time: 5 mins. Rebel yell was actually very smooth. Some air time. Wait time: walk on. After hearing the air compressors or Hypersonic all afternoon, we saw the line was low, and jumped in it. An insane ride, short but totally awesome. Wait time: 15 mins. Next to Grizzly. Total Grizzly rides: 2. Wait times: 5 mins.

Then we headed back to the Congo to get more rides on Volcano. On the way we hit Shockwave. Wait time: 10 mins. And we also rode DZ again and Dodgem. Both: walk ons. Volcano's line looked a little long so we got in 3 more Anacondas and 2 FoFs. All: walk ons. Volcano's line had gone down so we got on. Wait time: 10 mins. The only other coaster we hadn't rode (besides Taxi Jam) was SD Ghoster Coaster. Wait time: 5 mins.

With about an hour left, we walked around and rode some flats and got some food. Over all it was an excellent day. Longest coaster line was Hypersonic at 15 mins. Every other coaster was a walk-on or 1 train wait. Will definitly be back this year!

TWISTER

I hope its that empty when I go. Was that the first time Hypersonic was open in the season? I heard it was down.

How was the new seats and restraints in Hypersonic? I'm disapointed in the new trains. Also did they add magnetic breaks or the manual ones?

The seats and restraints on Hypersonic I think are very comfortable. The only thing is the seats are so big (wide and tall) that if you're not in the front 2 seats, you cant see anything. The breaks are still the loud manual ones. The first time I heard the train hit them I thought there was a crash. ;)

TWISTER *** Edited 4/5/2004 2:10:58 AM UTC by T-W-I-S-T-E-R***

Wow, everything was a walkon on a saturday. AWESOME!

You've heard Volcano had alot of head banging? Oh my! That has got to be the smoothest coaster I've ever ridden.

I cant wait to check out FOF! It's my favorite coaster @ PKD and this new bass thing sounds pretty cool.

I'm glad to hear that Hypersonic is operating now. Ugh, I was hoping they added magnetic brakes :(

Enjoyed your TR. Glad you had a great time!

~Corey