California 2010 PTR

[Brookes]

Welcome to my California PTR! It will be probably be quite long as it covers 6 parks amongst other attractions over a two week period but there will be lots of pictures. This first post will include the first park Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

So after staying over at a Travelodge on the Wednesday night following travelling down to Heathrow, my family and I including my nana and granddad flew to San Francisco on Thursday 19th August. After a 2 hour delay we landed in the evening in California time and got to the hotel, Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf. We checked in and had tea and went back to the rooms ready for the first full day at SFDK.

The next morning we left the hotel in foggy San Francisco at about half 9 and we got there just before half 10. When I saw Medusa and all the other coasters appear out of nowhere as we entered onto the last freeway before the park I got really excited. It was my first Six Flags, it was a holiday of many firsts, and it looked awesome.

We walked to the entrance, went through the gates and went to season pass processing to get them all done, as we had got them to go to SFMM as well. Couldn’t believe how quick they did them really fast compared to Alton Towers, they were all done (6) within about 5 minutes.

After all this was out of the way, my dad and I started with Medusa. I couldn’t believe the lack of queue it went straight to the station. I think it was running 2 trains and we walked straight on the back of the next train.

So the first coaster of the trip was brilliant, really good ride. I especially like the first drop as it is really exhilarating and I also enjoyed the roll over element as it was a little bit different.

The part after the MCBR was also pretty unique and all together it was a great ride.

Next up was Kong. As I like Infusion I thought this would be good, but, it wasn’t. We were in the train with the deodorant sponsor on or something I think and I noticed there was a gap between the top wheel and track which made for a bit of a jerky ride.

We got on front row and again there was no queue at all. It was alright, but I prefer Infusion.

While my dad and I had been riding the others had been watching the whale show so we all went and got a coffee after. Then we went to ride V2 but it was broken down so we hopped on Roar instead. There wasn’t much of a queue again and we got on the front row in about 10-15 minutes.

Overall I thought it was great. It had a crazy out of control feel and I loved the first drop and the rest of the layout, the track seemed to just drop from beneath you. Although it was a little bumpy, it was a cracking ride.

By this time I think it was dinner so we went to Johnny Rockets. After it was the rapids as far as I can remember and I had no idea what to expect as I didn’t even know there were rapids. Anyway there were brilliant, they were pretty unique and the bit with the waterfall, people shooting and photo guy came out of nowhere. The boats were different than normal as well. Overall great water ride.

Next up was V2: Vertical Velocity. It had a bit of a queue due to slow operations, probably about 20 minutes. Got on front row again and thought it was amazing. My first Intamin impulse coaster and it blew me away. Love the first launch and the twisting hill, probably my favourite ride in the park it was awesome.

I went to ride Tony Hawk’s Big Spin on my own after and I got on after about 20 minutes.

I thought it was pretty good, spun a lot, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Maurer Söhne ones as it felt a bit slow and lacklustre in parts, but it was ok.

Went to ride Cobra after, not much to say really, was faster than I thought it would be though and it had a massive train.

The last coaster I wanted to ride was Boomerang Coast to Coaster, we tried to ride it earlier in the day but it broke down as we were in the queue. But I went back to it after Cobra and it was my first boomerang.

We sat in the middle of the train and I thought it was really good. Wasn’t that rough at all and I loved both forward and backward parts. Much better than I expected.

So, after Boomerang it was nearly time to go but I wanted to ride Medusa once more so we went back over to it. It had hardly any queue again and we got on the front row and it was even better than the back. The first drop was excellent and the zero-g was insane. Really great ride on the front and I also bought an ORP.

I really enjoyed my first Californian park, although the operations were a bit slow, yet I think I am used to different parks. However, the queues weren’t very big anyway so it didn’t really matter. Medusa, Roar, V2 and Boomerang were great. The park was clean, themed well and the weather was good while we there which probably made it better as well.

Ride count:

Medusa x2 (Back/Front)
Kong (Front)
Roar (Front)
Rapids
V2 (Front)
Tony Hawk
Cobra
Boomerang

On the way back got some shots as we entered back into the cloud of San Francisco of the city and the awesome Bay Bridge.

Hope you enjoyed reading and the next park is California’s Great America. Would you guys like me to do a report of Alcatraz and other stuff I did on that day including Golden Gate Bridge or just the parks?

 

[Ben]

I think you should add the culture in too!

And SFDK is a wicked, wicked park, glad you liked it!

And "I and my dad" upsets me

 

[Brookes]

^Think I changed them, did it on word first as me and my dad as I would say it and it changed it and I didn't notice oops. Thanks for the comment. Changed a picture that was a duplicate as well so it's all good now.

 

[A-Kid]

Looks like a nice park. Its good to see a more rarely talked about Six Flags aswell, so a plus there

It would be cool to see other landmarks in the area, and your experience of them! Go ahead!

Nice TR so far.

 

[Mike]

SFDK is definitely one of the nicer SF parks out there.
It's only really let down by their ****ty ride selection (SLC, Boomerang AND a Gerstlauer Spinner?? Eugh!)! Their version of V2 is probably my favourite Impulse out of the 3 I've done though, and Medusa is also one of the better B&M Floorless as well. SFDK's Roar is a million times better than SFA's version as well, but I still didn't find it that great!

You should definitely report the non-park activities too!

 

[Hixee]

Yeah, go ahead and post some of the non-coaster exploits too. California is somewhere I'd like to visit, so the more I know about it the better!

Nice PTR so far, was cool to hear your thoughts on a park that doesn't get mentioned that often. keep up the good work!

 

[Antinos]

I haven't heard too much about SFDK, so it's nice that I was finally able to hear somebody's opinion about the park. Overall, it sounds like a very nice park. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of this topic.

 

[CreditCrazy]

Very nice TR! I agree with most of your opinions, Medusa and Roar are both awesome rides and the rapids is one of my favorites as well. SFDK is overall a great little park.

Can't wait to see what you think of the rest of the California parks.

 

[Brookes]

Thanks for the comments everyone they are really appreciated.

Anyway on to day 2, which included Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge and Nob Hill! First up was Alcatraz so we drove to pier 33 I think it was to Alcatraz landing and got in the queue to board the 10 o'clock ferry to the island. It takes about 15 minutes to get there so after a few amazing views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate bridge we were there.

It was really cold that day, which probably doesn't help when you're on an island in the middle of the bay. For people who don't know, Alcatraz island used to be home to a prison, but it closed in 1963. When we first got there we started walking up to the top, and went into a theatre thing on the way up to watch a video about its history. It was quite interesting and told you the main things that happened during its operation.

We then continued up to the top to do the audio tour, which is the main thing to do there. You get headphones and start your thing at the start and it tells you where to go at each point around the main prison building. It was really weird seeing all the cells that were used and everything else, very interesting to learn about all the stuff that went on. Was freezing in there as well.

After that which took quite a bit of time, we looked at other stuff on the way back down the hill and got a ferry back at something like half 12.

Once we got back we went up to pier 39 to have a look around and had dinner there and did a bit of shopping. It was rammed there was loads of stuff on there, really nice.

By now it was mid afternoon so we hopped back in the car to go over the Golden Gate Bridge. We were going to bike over it but we didn't really have the time and it was quite a trek as well as the weather being not fantastic. We drove over it and back though and it is awesome, but not as cool as Bay Bridge.

After we went up the really steep street where the "cable cars" run to the top of Nob Hill. The cable cars were absolutely rammed with people though, they are just hanging off the edge as it goes down the steepest road I have ever seen.

I think then we went back to the hotel room and went out for tea. Overall it was good to do something different and see stuff like the Golden Gate Bridge which you see on TV. Got to see more of San Francisco as well which is a really nice city, there's loads to do and it was even better than I expected it to be. Next up, back to the parks, California's Great America!

 

[Brookes]

Hope you guys enjoyed reading part 2 of the report even if there were no comments. Anyway on to day 3, California's Great America.

My dad and I headed off to the park at about 9 I think and got to California's Great America around about opening at 10. There were hardly any cars on the car park when we got there; must have been about 20. Was a good sign indeed!

First stop was of course Flight Deck, one of the first B&M inverts with a very cool layout indeed.

We entered the queue and it went straight to the station and we walked on the back row.

It was a fantastic ride, really forceful with a great layout. I loved the first drop into the loop and the corkscrew and the final turn over the water; that turn is even more forceful then Nemesis' turn after the corkscrew in my opinion, awesome coaster. And I finally realise where the shark cartextures come from on NoLimits.

Next was my first B&M stand up, Vortex. The queue again went straight to the station walk on, and we waited a bit for the front row.

I had heard about the head banging, but after riding Shockwave at Drayton I didn't find it a problem. However, whatever B&M do different with their trains it nails your head. Down the first drop and through the loop I had my hands up and it was fine, but as soon as you hit a turn, bang. It was really disappointing as it had a really good layout but it was just too rough unfortunately.

After we had a coffee and strolled off to Demon. On the way saw this water ride but didn't ride it. Looked good though, it flies over that bump.

Entered the Demon queue next and again it was walk on. When we got to the station there was nobody in any of the bays so we went on the front. They were running two trains and loading them well unlike the previous two rides which were loading slow, but there were no queues anyway.

I thought Demon was good, a bit rough but very forceful; the two loops were insanely forceful especially on the entrance/exit.

Next up was Grizzly, no queue again went on the front. Was pretty good, was never expecting anything amazing from its layout but I enjoyed the first drop and other drops.

After was Psycho Mouse and there was an actual queue! I had forgotten what they looked like. We queued for about 20 minutes I think and got in the front of the car. I actually really enjoyed the Vekoma version of the wild mouse and it is probably one of my favourite wild mice I have been on.

Next was dinner I think, but after that I'm not sure of the order so it will be approximate. I think we went to Invertigo next which also had about a 20 minute queue.

We got on the end seat which faced forwards up the first lift hill.

Wow. It was absolutely nuts. I had never been on a Boomerang before this trip, never mind an Invertigo and I thought it was brilliant. I loved the first backwards drop, cobra roll and loop, and flying back down forwards after being dragged up the second lift hill. Fantastic ride, probably my favourite at the park.

Next up was the rapids which didn't have much of a queue. I thought they were good, and there were people spraying and waterfalls I think, and overall it was one of the better rapids out there.

We were going to go on the flume next but it had a big queue and it didn't look that good anyway, so we carried on and I went on Woodstock's Express. Was ok for a kiddie coaster, faster than I expected but I could hardly fit my legs in the car haha.

After went and got another ride on Flight Deck this time front row and it was great again, even better than on the back I think as there were a few jerks on the back. Overall, awesome ride though.

I grabbed another ride on back row seeing as it was walk on and again was really forceful, rode it with my arms just hanging out the side like I do sometimes on Nemesis, threw me about like crazy was insane. Great coaster.

Was going to grab another ride on Grizzly and look in the shop next to it to end the day, but saw Survivor had opened which had previously been closed during the day. I had been on a Disk'O before but not one with a hill so had to get on it. My dad didn't want to go on so I joined a queue of about 20 minutes.

Anyway I thought it was really fun, much better with a hill I think and I really liked the theming on it.

After that popped in the shop next to it which was meant to have "coaster gear" but there was hardly anything really.

Jumped on Grizzly and sat near the back and it was pretty forceful nearer to the back. The first drop must be pretty wild on the back. I enjoyed it as before and it was a good way to end the day.

On the way out got a picture near the entrance and took a few photos of Flight Deck from the car park.

Overall I thought California's Great America was a great park. It was not up to the standards of SFDK but a pretty empty day for the most part meant I could enjoy the ride selection. However, I think they need to add a new coaster to their offering as they have a few average coasters, and only a couple which I would want to ride more than once. The operations were a bit slow on some rides but that was to be expected for a slow day, but overall I really enjoyed it!

Ride count:

Flight Deck x3 (Back/Front/Back)
Vortex (Front)
Demon (Front)
Grizzly x2 (Front)
Psycho Mouse (Front)
Invertigo (Back)
Rapids
Woodstock's Express
Survivor

 

[Antinos]

Honestly, I thought that CGA would be a worse park than Carowinds, but after your report, I don't know if it's true. The rides look like they suck, but I'll have to go experience it for myself.

 

[alexr]

Great report and photos so far!

 

[Hixee]

Alcatraz looks cool. Pretty desolate place to be honest, shame they don't make them like that any more! Also, the film there is excellent too, really good.

California's Great America looks cool actually. I agree with Antinos in that I always took it as a bit of an average park, but it actually looks pretty cool.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Ben]

I'd LOVE to go to Alcatraz, that's really cool. I've seen it from afar but not been in so I'm quite jealous

And I can't agree with anything that has been said that is positive about Great America Well, Flight Deck's pretty good but everything else... ugh

And as if Invertigo has re-opened that upsets me

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

SFDK is a good park...

GA... is not... Just looking at pics of Vortex makes my legs hurt...

Alcatraz looks funky cool though, I'll be seeing a load more of that when my parents come home from their trip to Cali... Urgh...

 

[CreditCrazy]

As much as I hate Invertigo, I have to agree that the ride is crazy. So much more forceful than you would expect!

Keep it up, and don't get tired of posting TR's and put it off like I'm doing with my East Coast trip!

 

[Mike]

CGA is a poor excuse for a park... Everything about the place screams mediocrity!

Apart from Flight Deck, which has got to be one of the most forceful coasters I've ever been on (it's the only coaster to have ever made me grey out!), everything else just sucks big time.

Even Grizzly. Where it may not be the roughest woodie ever, it's just soo slow and boring. I have to say I'm not quite sure why it's right at the bottom of Mitch Hawker's polls, as it's definitely nowhere near the worst coaster out there, but the ride is just stupidly pointless. What's the point in making it so there needs to be a lift hill because the train can't make it up the first hill after the drop???

I also think CGA has the most "Cedar Fair" feel to it out of any CF parks. It's grey, drab, not a lot of shade, not a lot of green, and a hella a lot of bins! Compared to it's counterpart owned by Six Flags, this park is just pitiful!

Alcatraz has fascinated me since stumbling across Escape From Alcatraz on a late Channel 5 viewing, and definitely somewhere I want to visit once in my life. You're so lucky you got to go, as I hear waiting times can get pretty long to actually go to it!

 

[Antinos]

I also think CGA has the most "Cedar Fair" feel to it out of any CF parks. It's grey, drab, not a lot of shade, not a lot of green, and a hella a lot of bins! Compared to it's counterpart owned by Six Flags, this park is just pitiful!

So basically, it's Carowinds, but with less rides.

 

[Mike]

I also think CGA has the most "Cedar Fair" feel to it out of any CF parks. It's grey, drab, not a lot of shade, not a lot of green, and a hella a lot of bins! Compared to it's counterpart owned by Six Flags, this park is just pitiful!

So basically, it's Carowinds, but with less rides.

If Carowinds is like that, then yes!
Actually, thinking about it, Kings Dominion is actually worse than CGA by a mile!

 

[CreditCrazy]

I also think CGA has the most "Cedar Fair" feel to it out of any CF parks. It's grey, drab, not a lot of shade, not a lot of green, and a hella a lot of bins! Compared to it's counterpart owned by Six Flags, this park is just pitiful!

CGA isn't one of my favorite parks either, but I completely disagree with this. One thing that I'm always pleasantly surprised with when I visit CGA is how nice it is and how it's NOT just "concrete and coasters". I don't even know how it could have the biggest "CF feel" if they've only owned the place for three years and all they have done to the park is add a Top Spin.

Dorney by far gets my vote for "biggest CF feel".