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This is my first trip report to Coasterbuzz. I used to post reports to RRC or rec.troll-or-coaster so forgive me if this type of report seems different than what others may have posted on Coasterbuzz.
The last year or so has been amazing as far as my coaster season goes. While parks close around my area for the off-season, that no longer stops me from going to a park to ride a coaster or two. Last year I went to Vegas when I was itching for a ride. I was in a park every month last year with the exception of December. I had plans to go ride X in December but I canned the trip once I found out it was delayed again.
I did promise myself that I would head out to the L. A. area as soon as the ride officially opened. As soon as I heard X would open in Janurary, I used my Rapid Rewards free flight coupon from Southwest airlines and soon found myself at Port Columbus waiting for my flight.
So who would be joining me this day? Let's find out.
I was to meet up with..
Barry Short-- Richmond Va. Barry was just as excited about riding the coasters out in California as I was, but he had never been to California before. I had been there a few times before.
Ron Rockwood-- Central Missourri. Ron has family out in California but has never been to a park there.
Chris and Tim Murray-- Out great hosts! Chris is the man and his sense of humor is outrageous! We would be staying at his place.
As I boarded my plane to leave Columbus at around 11:40am, I wasn't aware of what was going on just a few gates down from mine. I didn't hear about this until the next morning while I was in Califonia, but a man in Columbus hid a small knife in his belt buckle and got onto his plane with it. Not only that but he called a local radio station after he was aboard bragging about what he did.
My 4 hour flight would take me to Phoenix where I was to change planes. I had never been there before. My uncle lives there and I have been wanting to go out and visit. From what I could tell, Phoenix is a nice place. I couldn't believe how large it was while flying over it.
As I found my gate for my flight to L.A, I turned my cell phone on to listen to any new messages. My phone started to ring instantly. I answered it to hear Barry's voice on the other end. Barry said he was stuck in New Mexico and he wouldn't be meeting up with us at LAX until later. He then told me to look to my left and smile.
I had been had! Barry was standing near me, talking on his cell phone, and the worst part is he has it all on tape! As it turns out, he was on the same flight as myself. He had known this all along and everyone was in on it....with the exception of myself.
The flight to Los Angeles was pretty short, and as soon as we got off the plane, we met up with Ron Rockwood. A few minutes later, we met up with Chris Murray. Once seated in Chris's SUV, Chris asked us if we wanted to go to Knott's. Since it was around 3:30 PM, and I knew Knott's closed at 6:00 PM, I didn't think we would have enough time there.
An hour or so later we were standing inside Knott's. The park was very empty. Since Barry and Ron had never ridden anything there, we decided to ride all the coasters we could and then ride anything else.
-- Ghostrider--
I really enjoy this ride. It has that trademark power of other CCI coasters, airtime and laterals. The ride was going pretty quick. After a couple of rides, we met up with a ride op known to a few enthusiasts as " The Stapler". Heather is her name. We enjoyed talking with her before moving on to..
--Timberline Twister (#392)--
This is the one coaster I had not ridden at Knott's. Luckily a nice ride op allowed us to ride. We ended up getting three laps on it. It has a cool layout with a lot of small hills and some sharp turns. The ride op seemed so happy that we enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting to get this credit so I was happy with that.
We also ran into the GM of the park (Hi Jack!) who we talked with for a few minutes. We talked about the new Xelerator as well as a few of the other rides that are going to re-open soon. Jack is a super nice guy and he loves to talk with people when he has the chance.
--Montezooma's Revenge--
Out of all the Anton shuttle coasters I have ridden, this one is the most intense IMO. It has a great launch, and a insane return. Ron and Barry enjoyed it also.
--Jaguar--
Not a big thriller IMO, but a great, fun ride the whole family can enjoy. It has a pretty long layout and the whole theme for the ride works well. One of my favorite parts of the ride is being able to look at the flywheel launch system on Montezooma as we pass next to it.
--Boomerang--
Most of us know what a ride on a Boomerang feels like so I won't go into a play by play. Barry and Ron felt dizzy after their first ride so we decided not to ride it again. After riding all the coasters, we walked around the park to check out other things.
The new paint job on Perlious Plunge looks fantastic! It combines sky blue with Raptor green for a striking contrast. I have yet to ride this. Maybe next time?
-- Supreme Scream--
For some reason, these S&S Turbo Drop towers run full force. If you like CP's Power Tower, you have got to try Knott's version. The power of being thrusted down is amazing on SS. Since there was no wait, we got a double ride!
We still had a few minutes to spend in the park so we went back to Ghostrider for a night ride. The coaster was running faster than our first rides we got a couple of hours before. We also ran into Heather again who suggested we go eat dinner after the park closed. We agreed.
As we were leaving Ghostrider, we found a Dance Dance Revolution machine in a arcade and played a game or two. I really have been getting into this game within the last couple of months and enjoy playing it, even thought I may look like a @ss while jumping around on the pad.
A half an hour later we met up with Heather at The Olive Garden a few miles from the park. We had a great dinner and got to know Heather a bit. She is a very nice person but if you tick her off by acting immature, she will let you know. =:^) From the sound of some of her stories, it really sounds as if there are a few enthusiasts who like to push her buttons just to get her angry.
After Dinner, we hopped back in Chris's vehicle, dropped Heather off at her home, and took the hour-plus drive back to....
----Scandia-----
We had called in advance to make sure Scandia was open until 10 and they assured us they were. We arrived at the park at 9:30 PM. There was no one in the ticket booth so we went inside the arcade to find someone. We were kind of ticked to find out that the ticket booth closes at 9:00 PM, so we couldn't buy any tickets to ride the Scandia Screamer.
Chris said he wanted to talk with a manger. As he was waiting for the manager to arrive, Ron, Barry, and myself played another game of DDR before joining Chris. The manager kindly opened the ticket booth for us so we could get our tickets to ride.
--Scandia Screamer--
When I first rode this back in 2000, I considered it the scariest steel coaster I have ever ridden. This time, this was not the case. Since it was chilly out, the coaster barely made it around the turns. It was till fun, but it clearly wasn't running as insanely as I remembered it. Barry and Ron still enjoyed it.
After two rides, we left to head back to Chris's house. We were really tired by the time we got there so we fell asleep rather quickly. We had to be up in 6 hours so everyone got in as much sleep as they could.
Coming up..
A quick trip back to Knott's, and a great day at DCA.
Thanks for reading..
-Sean
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