I always forget how wonderful it feels to be in California, the cool ocean breeze and the smell of the sea, but what surprises me more is how good of a time I have at amusement parks there. They smell great, the sky is clear, and the coasters are fabulous!
Anyways, I hit SFMM for the first time in a while yesterday, and I had another wonderful time. My fourth visit, this park is far and away the best SF park I've been to, and the most beautiful park of any I know of. The only coasters me and my east-coast buddy weren't having a wonderful time on was Psyclone, but we rode in the front and there was no line, so no problem!
X is spectacular, much more so than is shown in the construction pictures on twisted rails and americacoasters, it's absolutely huge! I never thought I would like the color scheme, but it stands out beautifully against Viper, and the supports are dense and thick. Looks like a fabulous experience, the pull-through was entering the 2nd raven turn when we left.
Deja Vu has gotten it's new motors, and there were workers working on them all day, this ride is also monstrous, and if it's like an Invertigo, I think it will be amazing as well.
Thrill Shot was testing all day, and it looks like great fun. The car actually continues to travel a ways past the top of the towers, so the actual ride experience will be well over 300 feet tall. The seats didnt change direction yet, but everything seemed to be going well. Still some work to be done on the loading area and queue.
Goliath is running fantastic. I had heard the brakes are on harder, but I didn't notice them any different than last April and July. Also, I don't think the brakes are extremely "uncomfortable" in any way, although magnetic braking would of course be slightly smoother. I must say the back seat on this ride is incredible, as is the front! The airtime on the first drop, and especially the 3rd, is enough to make me reconsider my top 5 steels again altogether. The helix is still absolutely insane, as is the speed through the entire course. The very dense and wet mist over the entire queue was much appreciated in the summer heat. I can now honestly say I much prefer Goliath over Millennium Force, Nitro, Phantom's Revenge, and any looper that I've ridden.
Riddler's Revenge is also running fantastic. I've always loved the ride deeply, but it seems now that every part where the ride was slightly hesitant to keep speed is now very fast, and the speed runs between the elements were very thrilling. Still far and away the best stand up, in a class of it's own.
Batman seemed more intense than I remembered, much more so than SFGAdv's, Viper is running well, Ninja is a very fast and hidden suspended, Colossus is good, although the Morgan lap bars try to minimize the airtime on the ride. I rode Canyon Blaster for the first time, enjoyed it more so than some other kiddie coasters as it had some semi-air at the end. Revolution is great, but brakes are a bit much. Superman is still amazing for what it is.
I'm off to Knott's on monday, then to DCA, Pacific Park, Scandia, and Adventure city. I'll let you all know how it turns out.
-Ed
Nice to hear about Goliath- glad my 2nd favorite ride is appreciated by someone besides me... have fun at KBF (GET ON GHOSTRIDER FOR ME!!!), DCA (GET ON CA SCREAMIN!), and the others. Nice TR- lookin forward 2 hearing the rest!
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Mr. Crap Caca is my name-o, C-r-a-p, C-a-c-a, Mr. Crap Caca. Just ask SFMM Salvi and his 3-year old cousin! :) Thanx for the cool name SFMM_fa_life!
