Matt 236

Welcome back, if the other parts didn’t bore you. Here’s my report for Knotts Berry Farm. But first, here’s a photo of the Hollywood sign. Seeing this in the flesh was just exciting. Out of the California parks I visited, Knotts has got to be the most divisive one I’ve done so far. A somewhat underwhelming park in the day, plagued by disappointing operations, some rundown areas and other bits. That said, the beef meal at the BBQ place was superb. Owned by Cedar Fair since the late 90’s (or should that now be Six Flags), you can see a mixture of styles with in the park, from it’s western setting towards the front and turn of the century look towards the back. Like many parks, it’s practically landlocked so expansion isn’t really possible. Coasters: There are 9 coasters at the park, I managed to ride seven of them. Accelerator is perhaps the most known coaster, which is like a mixture between Rita & Stealth. I found it ok, not amazing just ok. I think it just misses that oomph that stealth has and it probably didn’t help that it was in one train. Silver Bullet on the other hand was better than expected, hearing mixed thoughts about this ride. I really liked it, glass smooth yet forceful and some nice interaction with the western area. Probably somewhere in the middle for B&M inverts maybe. Hangtime is a very decent Gerstlauer coaster, especially given its remarkably small footprint (formerly a boomerang) with an interesting drop and ideal mix of elements including inversions. Better than Smiler, country miles from Saw. Ghost Rider is the park’s iconic woodie and makes for a spectacular night ride, which was of course done. The ride was forceful and intense yet remained smooth throughout. Definitely one of my favourite wooden coasters which is worth the insane wait times at night. Out of the park’s other coasters, Pony Express was ok but interacts nicely with the nearby rides. Coast Rider, the park’s wild mouse strongly reminded me of the Jungle Coaster at Legoland. It was pleasant if a little mediocre. Jaguar was probably my favourite non thrill coaster. I like how it wildly meanders around the area and keeps a decent length too. I still remember it from those channel 4 openings from the 2000s. Other Rides: The park boasts two water rides and two dark rides (though one of the former is both). The Timber Mountain log ride is perhaps one of the oldest and iconic rides in the whole park. Opening in 1969, the ride predates both of the Disney flumes, in their original splash mountain forms. The ride boasts several drops (one inside) as well as a mixture of indoor and outdoor sections. There are numerous dark ride scenes featuring animatronics throughout the ride, which are easily the best I’ve seen on any water ride. A ride that can’t be missed on visiting this park! The other water ride was the Calico river rapids, which felt a mixture between the intense spinning ones and one of the more scenic ones too. A moderate level of wetness and some impressive theming and animatronics around the ride too. Now for the two dark rides, it was all a mixed bag really. Calico Mine Ride was an interesting one, where you board a train which goes around lots of mining scenes (mostly inside the building). It reminded me of Nutty Jake’s at Oakwood and maybe the Goldmine at Blackpool, based from POVS. The wait was arduous but the ride was pleasant. Knotts Berry Tales wasn’t the best if I’m honest, but that was largely not helped by experiencing a breakdown and my blaster not working at all during my ride. As screen-based shooters go, I think there are better. Due to a late arrival and other bits, there was no time to experience the other park attractions. Knotts Scary Farm Knotts Scary Farm is the park’s annual scare event, and it has been a staple and popular occurrence since its launch, back in the early seventies. The park is decorated immensely with spooky decorations, from its entrance to many of its themed areas. The place is littered with scare-zones all over the park, which for a place a little bigger than Chessington is quite remarkable. The atmosphere is just surreal. There were ten scare mazes at this event, all with a vast array of themes and settings, from witch trials, Spiders and experiments gone wrong, as such. Whilst I did have my favourites, the astounding thing about this event was that none of the mazes felt weak or noticeably different in quality. All were very much of decent lengths, intricate set design and good scares, which managed to get me on some locations. Origins might be my initial favourite, due to it’s excellent backstory, but I also really liked the presence of the ‘out of the box’ circus setting in Mesmer, as well as the gangster setting in the maze Room 13. Cinema Slasher gave me strong trailer vibes, but one of it on steroids. It’s a big event and immensely popular too, with hours from 7 until 1-2 in the morning, making even frightful nights feel like an early bedtime. It was busy, it was intense, but definitely worth it. Not just for its mazes but its vast atmosphere and awesome park ride lighting too. I consider this the best Halloween park event I’ve ever done, surpassing both Halloween horror nights and Tulleys. My only criticism is, that if you want to get a lot done on peak days, express is unavoidable because the lines get ridiculously long, especially on the mazes and ghost rider. Conclusion: Knotts may have actually been the park on this trip I was the most disappointed with strangely and it has nothing to do with the rides, but more the operational side of it at least in the day. However it’s Halloween event absolutely kicks ass and throughout delivery both quantity and quality absolutely delivers, to the point I may never find another event to surpass this. Just as well this is the first time I haven’t done fright nights since 2012.

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my California 2024 trip reports. This entry takes us Universal Studios Hollywood, the original universal park which has now been open for over 50 years, predating every other park considerably. Even the Orlando resort. As oldest Universal park, at first glance this park is significantly smaller than its other parks with considerably fewer attractions, especially compared to the Orlando resort. However this park makes up for much of that shortfall. Firstly, the park has a unique selling point, it’s adjacent to a working studio complex. This lends itself to the mesmerising Studio Backlot tour, more on that later. Not to mention a stunning and unique location, where the park is on different levels, requiring several flights of escalators to get there. Twice the amount of say Liseberg. You can get some stunning views of the surrounding area there too. Even if the attraction front is condensed, what they’ve got here is still a rather sufficient lineup, which will only be improved substantially by the Fast & Furious coaster eventually. Annoyingly Jurassic World unexpectedly shut during our visit and reliability issues also meant being spited of Hollywood’s Transformers ride too (darn it). Super Nintendo World (Hollywood version) Universal’s latest blockbuster area, Super Nintendo World.Opening last year, this is noticeably downsized version of the one in Tokyo, which opened two years prior. The main area differences are that this one only contains one ride and is all on one level pretty much. Walking around the area was absolutely stunning, with so many incredible details. Moving coins, characters, strong scenery and of course music too. There’s nothing quite like it (except Tokyo I guess) and was blown away by it all. There was always something new to find. The ride in this area is Mario Kart: Bowser’s challenge, which as the name suggests is based on the popular game, Nario Kart. The queue line is massive but is also beautifully themed, going through themed rooms and even a giant bowser statue. The pre-show/holding areas work in some ways, but not always others, due to some bottleneck areas. The ride itself was an absolute delight, utilising 3D glasses on a dual loading track circuit, where one can steer the car and fire and use objects from the game. A mixture between screens and animatronics are used. As someone who loves the game, this was a very enjoyable and addictive attraction, which was done four times during the visit. I also (somehow) won on all the goes Also inside the area are numerous interactive objects, which can be triggered by power up bands (additional cost) as well as a shop and the toadstool cafe, a restaurant where you can eat a variety meals in the mushroom kingdom. I had the meatballs and tiramisu block, both tasty enough, if a little pricey. The bowser attack sequence every 15 minutes made for an interesting touch. Wizarding World Of Harry Potter Just like Super Nintendo World, this version is also noticeably smaller than the others, still housing the impressive Forbidden Journey, within the grand castle as well as a variety of shops, restaurants and hippogriff coaster within the area. No Hagrid’s motorbike here unfortunately. Forbidden journey was just as enjoyable as last time, apart from the ride stopping both times we rode it and not fully resetting in the located scene. Oh well. Revenge Of The Mummy I’d heard a lot of reports saying the Hollywood version was noticeably weaker than the Orlando version and this is correct. However, it was still a greatly enjoyable ride, by going forwards, then backwards and then forwards again. There were fewer effects in this one, no fire or other bits, however space limitations are likely. Still an enjoyable dark ride coaster mind you. The first room gives me terror tomb vibes. The Upper- lot On a whole, most of the park’s rides are actually on the upper lot, the rest of the ride lineup, these include: A small Simpsons area featuring a few food places and the ride itself. Was about the same as the Orlando one, except maybe a little more bumpy for some reason. Despicable Me- Minion Mayhem, decent enough simulator ride themed after the popular despicable me films. Featured the usual gags and was a coool gimmick to become a minion. Secret Life Of Pets- Off The Leash- Charming dark ride using a mixture of old and new effects including a decent number of lovely animatronics too. Dream Works Theatre- Amusing Kung Fu panda show, featuring an open with many of the iconic dream works characters. Backlot Tram Tour One of the fundamental elements that makes the Hollywood park worth visiting is the backlot tram tour. This 45-60 minute experience passes many of the iconic sets and backlot areas used in universal films. Including the courthouse square, the psycho mansion and the jaws scene, although this was closed on the day. There were also Kong, earthquake and fast and furious segments in the experience too. The latter was definitely better than the atrocious ride in the Florida park. Halloween Horror Nights This was my second universal horror nights I experienced, only this time in Hollywood and not Orlando. The format is virtually the same, with numerous large scale house located in mostly soundstage like buildings, striking scare zones with numerous actors and set pieces as well as some shows too. The turnover especially for the latter is definitely impressive. There were eight scare houses/mazes located throughout the park. Some on the upper lot and others on the lower lot. A couple were relocated in completely different area, which was weird because you essentially walked a good 5-10 out of the way from the rest of the park. However given space limitations, this was probably logical. The typical maze involves one walking in an end-less group style way (a walking omnimover if you wish). Vast setpieces and design await, with various timers through. It’s great on the sense of design and immersion, but if you are after a more intimate experience perhaps not. Several Marshalls are hidden in some areas, prompting people on if the pace lessons too much. Out of the eight, the Ghostbusters and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were the ones I probably liked the most, with some awesome effects and interesting jump scares. The latter had some pretty gory set design for sure. Despite anticipation and missing out on it Orlando, I was rather disappointed by The Weekend maze, which besides his awesome music didn’t feel like one thing or the other. Besides some awesome scare zones, featuring 7-8 feet tall figures, we watched an awesome stunt show based on the Purge, in the water world theatre and an entertaining Chucky doll show in the dream works theatre. For me, this event definitely retains the awesome quality of the one seen in Orlando. And that’s the end of the report, it’s definitely still worth visiting despite being a park of only a dozen attractions pretty much. And here is Santa Monica.

Hey all, I initially thought that I would be handing in my blogging quill following my Florida trip 2 years ago. However I guess my passion and interest for parks and traveling has perhaps resurrected this. Until last month, I had never set foot in a Six Flags park (shock horror). However that finally changed, following a significant trip to California. After some sightseeing shenanigans in San Francisco, it was time to experience my first major park. Six Flags Magic Mountain. For me this had been a bucket list park for many years, from its vast array of thrilling coasters to its presence in Roller Coaster Tycoon and Wally World. Until Energylandia expands again, this park has thr highest number of coasters at any operating park. Thats if they all operate. During our time, we were spited both Goliath and Superman. A pity perhaps, especially given the latter may be on the chopping block. Least the former was getting a repaint I guess. As a 365 park (supposedly), spiting was expected and I have heard some disappointing trip reports. However this visit wasn’t too bad, all things considered. It’s certainly a vast and iconic park, its entrance is a little dated, but still seems fitting. Operations were a mixed bag, with some rides running fine on two, but others on just one train, even with noticeable queues, which was a bit of a shame. There are some rundown areas, but they didn’t look as bad as expected. Maybe sky tower will eventually reopen. Now, the rides: X2 An incredible coaster, it’s extreme, intense but largely unique and complex. It mixes the old with the new, no wonder it bankrupted arrow. Pity it’s difficult to photograph! Tatsu I have mixed reactions when it comes to flying coasters, I don’t mind Galactica but generally disliked Manta. Tatsu however I really enjoyed. Flying around the mountain, interacting with other rides, it was surprisingly comfortable and didn’t feel over-intense either. Possibly my favourite B&M flyer. Twisted Colossus Being my fourth RMC (Ibox) and predating the other (famous 3) I’ve experienced. Despite this, it certainly made a highly interesting ride with a decent variety of air and hangtime. The layout didn’t feel too competitive, despite its old life as a duelling woodie. It’s no Zadra, but still ticks boxes and an RMC lover. The DC Coasters- Riddlers Revenge, Wonder Woman & Batman Understandably Six Flags have a lot of DC Comic themed attractions in their parks, a number of which can be found in here. Including three coasters, two B&Ms and an RMC. Riddlers Revenge is a very solid standup coaster, featuring a variety of smooth yet forceful elements and easily my favourite standup coaster. Using a variation of Sash’s Ecuador in the station is one of the most upbeat tunes I’ve seen in a station since Euromir. Sadly the operations didn’t follow with a 1 train service. Wonder Woman marked my first RMC single rail and 300th coaster. It’s an interesting concept with one seat rowed trains flying through tight and nifty elements, however it doesn’t hit the same spot as other such coasters, even if it is a unique one. Batman the ride was overall great, though again like a number of coasters here rather tucked away from being visible. The station was one of the better themed and the ride experience feeling largely similar to Nemesis Inferno, albeit a little longer and more intense perhaps. Which is no doubt a good thing. West Coast Racers My experience with premier rides in Florida, left something to be desired, however it’s warmed up a little in California. I enjoyed this a lot more than expected, with some nippy little elements and interaction from the other half of the ride. It’s a strange entry, given it feels like it should’ve been two duelling coasters, rather than one large ride that duels against itself. The wait in the middle is therefore a little tedious. Full Throttle It might be one of the shorter (major) coasters in the park, but those launches really give this ride a kick, from its giant loop and airtime hill after the second and third launches. Could maybe do with a slightly longer length, but maybe that’s me. Apocalypse Another GCI coaster and one where theming/experience has perhaps been attempted. A near immersive queue line ruined by slow operations thanks to a single train op and large amount of Flash pass sadly. The ride was a little bumpy, but I’ve done both better and worse woodies. The station fly through does contradict the escape theme, as I heard another guest say. Whilst waiting in the station. Scream As a floorless coaster it’s an enjoyable and decent one, however it’s pretty obvious it was built on a car park, as you can still see some of the markings below. Right. Ninja & Viper- Classic arrows Ninja makes for my fourth entry of the endangered Arrow suspended coasters and could possibly be my favourite one yet. It features a long lengthy layout, swinging wildly on the hillside whilst interacting with the jet stream (lisebergesque) flume. The lift at the end to the station didn’t ruin the pace near as much as I expected. Gutted to have never ridden Eagles Fortress or Big Bad Wolf. As classic arrows go I really enjoyed Viper, which despite its age was not rough at all. It has interesting pacing and feels like one of the more photogenic park coasters surprisingly. Hopefully this old snake still has life in her yet, unlike others that have since been demolished. New Revolution Great classic coaster, which reminded me of lisebergbanen a little, albeit with a loop included. Relitively smooth for a ride such its age and so glad they ditched the VR from whenever that terrible fad happened. Only gripes was ride staff not allowing guests to lower the restraints (weird) and the entrance was surprisingly hard to find. Other attractions Believe it or not, Six Flags Mountain has other attractions that aren’t rollercoasters (shock). Besides a large kid area in one corner of the park, other attractions include: Jet Stream- Classic flume ride with several drops around the hillside. It reminded me of Flume ride and has some good interaction points with the other rides. Justice League- Battle For Metropolis I’d been so focused on the coasters ahead of this trip that I completely forgot they had a dark ride there. Something between a mix of Webslingers and Transformers, I actually enjoyed this dark ride a lot more than I was expecting, which featured some cool effects and animatronics. Surprisingly good. Roaring Rapids- Nice classic rapids ride with moments of crazy wetness and spinning action. A decent length too. Riding this at night is a stark reminder of not being at a U.K. park. Lex Luther’s Drop Of Doom- It’s no detonator but the views are impressive and the drop still has some moments of intensity They had a decent selection of flats including a high flying Gyro swing, spinning wheel and the like. Due to only having 1.5 days to visit, I had no chance to experience these. The funicular trams (formerly orient express) were both closed when I went. Fright Fest The park’s answer to Fright Nights or Howl’o scream. There was a vast number of mazes (11 in total) and lots of scare zones. Although the quality did not equate to some of the other events on this trip, it was still highly enjoyable with some lengthy mazes with some good scares and acting throughout. The mazes with stranger things, the ‘failed’ tv show and museum were the ones I enjoyed the most. The two outdoor houses were very impressive too, especially with how the actors hid away and all the fire effects too. It reminded me of a larger scale fright nights so it is definitely worth visiting, even if you do an evening only day. Conclusion: I’d heard some absolute horror stories about this place. Bad operations, availability and being a poorly up-kept park. Don’t get me wrong, this park is not without its perfections but I certainly enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting with one of the most vast coaster selections I’ve seen since visiting Cedar Point. Whether it be during the Californian sun or dark evening. The atmosphere in the day was intermittent but maybe better at night. Food & drink was pricey but still better than Chessington’s. It’s worth a visit for its diverse selection and interesting location. But if you are a cred/attraction hunter, just don’t expect to get on everything!

Suppose I should update some of my top 10 stuff, following that Cali trip. Coasters: 1/ Steel Vengeance 2/ Veloci-coaster 3/ Zadra 4/ Toutatis 5/ Mako 6/ X2 7/ Hyperion 8/ Voltron 9/ Hyperia 10/ Nemesis Reborn Dark rides: 1/ Tower of Terror WDW 2/ Rise Of The Resistance 3/ Indiana Jones- Disneyland 4/ Guardians Mission Breakout 5/ Pirates In Batavia 6/ Pirates Of The Caribbean Disney Cali 7/ Forbidden Journey 8/ Phantom Manor 9/ Runaway Railway 10/ Symbolica Theme parks 1/ Europa Park 2/ Universal Orlando 3/ Cedar Point 4/ Disneyland Resort 5/ Phantasialand 6/ Disney World 7/ Energylandia 8/ Six Flags Magic Mountain 9/ Parc Asterix 10/ Disneyland Paris TLDR, Wonder Woman was my 300th coaster.

Alton Towers in 2024 Everything except Nemesis Reborn!

I mean, that is true to an extent. But one could argue Hex has had a lot of more one and offs in the last eight years. Including the whole of 2016 on top of the whole of the last two years really. I have no information regarding the Asterix madhouse, but it is a pity if that too has been closed as that leaves the place without a sufficient indoor attraction at present. Following Transdemonium’s removal years ago.

That lasted about as long as the sale of the old Duel blasters. How they can’t run a madhouse sufficiently compared to other parks baffles me.

I’ve had three different trips to this place in the last year at Christmas, spring and summer, and certainly didn’t get bored at all. Europa as a destination reminds me that a great theme park can carry as much escapism as a lavish city break. Whether it’s the stunning rides, the lovely scenery or even the food. This place strongly delivers to levels so many other parks never will. Voltron is a ride that left me unsure to begin with, but after multiple re-rides has made me adore the thing. Mack produckt as some may say. I’m rather mixed about the changes in Austria. The flume has benefited the strongest from the change in landscape, but Alpen by far has suffered the most. I miss the mine, but creating something new made sense, especially since the original eighties charm and azure would’ve been impossible to replicate. Blue fire, Wodan & Silverstar are all coasters I adore and the new Batavia dark ride is top-tier. Must not leave it four years for my next return visit, even if my pass has finished.

Wild Asia isn’t the first area that comes to mind, when it comes to redevelopment. However there’s no denying there needs to be some work done and building a major coaster/indoor ride there makes a lot of sense. However monkey swinger’s likely demise makes me rather sad. Mexicana and the Children’s Zoo area redevelopment seems very predictable, especially given the need for a coaster for young families and Scorpion seemingly being kaput. The plans are relatively exciting, but when the rest of the park comprises an ageing flume/dark ride, suspended coaster, kids rides and cheap (new) flat rides, more needs to be done really.

A very random and interesting investment, if I ever did see one. Was under the guise the park’s investment would be on the stagnant side for the coming years. Given TT2’s problems, but couldn’t be more worse there. TT2 still isn’t out the woodwork to be fair.

Merlin always seem to this vicious cycle thing of going through investments followed by cuts, the latter seems to be coming into effect once again. I think it’s really disappointing that the parks right now are increasing less able to offer a full product offering, whether it’s been closed/mothballed rides or just not running them on low peak days. Thorpes cuts may be less noticeable, but they are certainly there. At Towers I wouldn’t be surprised if both Skyride and Hex are still closed in 2025.

1/ A great group can make an average park day a great one I started attending meets on this forum in early 2013 and have had the privilege of attending meet ups at parks around and beyond the U.K. Though some better than others, a great group of enthusiasts on trips can really make a mid-tier visit a great one. Whether it’s game about asking what people’s chosen coaster is, fun banter and excitement or any other reason. The thorpe park ministry of sound nights were certainly a crazy time indeed. 2/ There are different types of park enthusiasts The depths of this could honestly be endless, but you have so many different factions on this area. The ones who know literally everything about rides, the ones who just ride coasters, the ones who are more about the experience or those that are there mainly for the social element. In large meet-ups such as the European Coaster Club etc., you are naturally going to get others such as the other halves are just the plus one but ok to be there. 3/ Every enthusiast has different expectations and opinions To one person Efteling will be the most magical theme park in the world, to another it will be the most mundane thing to exist. To one person Hyperia will be the best coaster in the country (if not the world). To another it will be an underwhelming experience. Every enthusiast has a different opinion about rides, parks, expectations and everything else and can say I know some from different circles with similar opinions of the above. At the end of the day, being an enthusiast would be a more boring place if we all shared the same opinions there. 4/ A return park can visit can hit different, in the best and worst ways Parks and people, sometimes we visit parks 6-8 years ago and find ourselves absolutely amazed and blown away by these places, only sometimes to have a more recent visit and whilst still pleasant, those same wow factors from that previous visit seem missing. I think this is often down to a number of factors, that wow factor from that first visit has just worn off, you are not the person you were when you went before or the park has declined somewhat. The last 5-10 years have certainly been unkind to the park industry. Contrary to that, I’ve also revisited a number of parks and have felt feelings nothing short of joy. Walking through Europa’s entrance one bright sunny day, forgetting just how mesmerising Phantom Manor is or the amazement of everything random and wonderful in Energylandia. Feelings and emotions can be a strange thing. 5/ Your expectations change over time we change through our whole lives, so naturally our expectations to being an enthusiast can and will too. Ten years ago, I was that enthusiastic desperate to travel to as many parks in the whole and do everything physically possible, whilst perhaps trying to vlog like one of those famous YouTubers. I physically wanted to do everything in a park. Over the years I’ve gone through phases of wanting to visit places based on their coasters, dark rides and even landscaping. But today, I like to value a well rounded park. I would rather value a handful of decent rides than lapping one until I’m tired and nauseous. As more and more parks gradually get ticked off our lists, through time it becomes more valuable with who you visit these parks with, rather than where you go. Some enthusiasts who you can call your mates.

The price of a Blackpool Platinum Pass in 2025

Well, I probably should wait until Drayton’s new coaster opens. However there’s just too many top 10’s to update at this point in time. Right. Top 10 UK Roller coasters: 1/ Hyperia 2/ Nemesis (Reborn) 3/ Wickerman 4/ Icon 5/ Nemesis Inferno 6/ Swarm 7/ PMBO 8/ Stealth 9/ Big Dipper 10/ Mandrill Mayhem Top 10 Mack Roller Coasters: 1/ Hyperia 2/ Voltron Navera EP 3/ Blue Fire 4/ Ride To Happiness 5/ Icon 6/ Helix 7/ Euromir 8/ Slinky Dog Dash 9/ Trace Du Hourra-Asterix 10/ Poseidon- Europa, Top 10 overall Roller Coasters: 1/ Steel Vengeance 2/ Veloci-coaster 3/ Zadra 4/ Toutatis 5/ Mako 6/ Hyperia 7/ Iron Gwazi 8/ Nemesis Reborn 9/ Voltron Navera 10/ Wodan Honourable Mentions: Taron, Hyperion, Millenium Force, The Beast, Maverick & Oziris

Having done the ride in the front, back and middle, it is without a doubt a stunning ride. Operations seemed very good yesterday. It’s a shame the splashdown looks messy at the moment, but hopefully this is something that can be sorted sometime. The moments of floater, ejector and hang time on this ride are simply immense IMO.