i've beaten some pretty hard levels on ex+ (spin eternally, angel voices, 1.78, wtc) but danger is really kicking my ass. i've put probably 2.5-3 hours into it and i can't for the life of me get the ending part down. slowing it down just makes it worse because it doesn't really have any rhythm to it. anyone else feel this way or am i just really bad at this?
i've beaten everything on ex+ except for final boss chan, tempo katana, potsb, lustre, ghost, light it up, crystallized, and cycle hit (and all of ost 8 because i can't get my game to update). i really struggle with long bursts especially if there's a lot of diagonal/side to side motion (spin eternally took me like 4 months lol), what's the best order to do the rest of the songs in?
ride reviews:
flying fox (x2, 134/232)- smooth and pleasant, i think this is a perfect addition for families. it also had some decent positives (shamefully, i grayed out, lol).
lightning run (x5, 56/232)- i think this ride is overrated to some degree, but it's still pretty fun. the first drop is fantastic, and the rest kind of rides like a slightly toned-down rmc. my biggest complaint with this ride is how tight the restraints get- by the time you hit the bottom of the first drop you're fully stapled and your thighs are actively being compressed, which really detracts from the airtime for me.
woodland run (x3, 62/232)- surprisingly good! there's tons of airtime and it runs pretty smooth, other than the last ~300 feet which could REALLY use a retrack. but overall, this coaster needs some more love
kentucky flyer (x3, 74/232)- the walk to get to this ride is absolutely preposterous. i swear it's gotta be at least half a mile from the rest of the dry park and you have to go through pretty much the entire water park. but the ride itself is pretty good! i've heard a lot of people talk about it being rough but i didn't think it was bad at all, and there's a ton of fun airtime pops.
seed spinner (x1)- had never ridden a breakdance so thought i might as well ride this, and honestly it's probably one of my new favorite family flats.
wind chaser (x7, 24/232)- not the best rmc, but still a damn good ride. i love barrel roll downdrops, and while the rest of the layout doesn't have any standout moments, it's just overall very enjoyable.
treetop drop (x1)- always love a larson drop tower!
hollyhock and roll (x1, 188/232)- inoffensive.
overall, of all the parks i've visited, this is...definitely one of them. discovery meadow had some charm to it, but the rest of the park feels a little out of place. there were also only about 200 people in the park, which is why i find it interesting that herschend is pouring money into this place, although sections of the park definitely need it.
as far as ops go, everything was on one train, but nothing really needed 2 trains- everything was a walk on except lightning run, which was maybe a 2-3 train wait. ops were pretty fast aside from woodland run, which was doing 6-7 minute dispatches. my biggest complaint with this park is the drop off/pick up situation- i was traveling with my mom to see family, and to avoid paying for parking i had to walk almost 20 minutes each way to get to and from the car. all that aside, i'm interested to see what happens with this park in the near future!
ride reviews:
good gravy (x2, 156/232)- not especially thrilling, but the spike in the front row is kinda fun, at least compared to the other family boomerangs i've ridden. also, the queue is amazing and one of my new favorites!
thunderbird (x3, 58/232)- the launch has a really surprising initial punch to it, and the rest of the layout is pretty solid. i especially love the last inline twist with the simultaneous hangtime/chopper effects! i would've liked to get more rides on it but it had a pretty substantial line all day. side note- it is a ridiculously long uphill walk from the rest of the park to get to this coaster lol
wildebeest (x1)- i usually don't bother with water rides since i hate getting splashed, but this was kind of fun i'll admit. it had some crazy airtime sensations that i wasn't expecting.
mammoth (x1)- this was my longest wait of the day at about 45 minutes. personally i preferred wildebeest- it has more airtime and doesn't get you as absolutely soaked as this one does. still a fun ride though!
i skipped cheetah chase as it had a really long line and i honestly just wanted to dry off, but kind of regretting it...
voyage (x8, 5/232)- holyyyy shit. this is a fucking masterpiece. it has everything you could possibly want in a wooden coaster. the airtime and whip on this thing is insane and night rides on this are actually life changing- the first half at night feels borderline unsafe. i can't even begin to imagine what this would be like trimless. i'm a little bummed that i can't make it to friday night lights this year as i heard they're running it trimless for that, hopefully they'll keep doing that in the future!
raven (x4, 101/232)- has one really good pop of airtime (second big drop), other than that it doesn't do much for me. it's also a little rough in some spots, but i'll always appreciate a coaster with a nice setting.
legend (x4, 105/232)- okay as someone who has a high tolerance for roughness (i LOVE mine blower), there were a couple spots on this thing that genuinely hurt. nobody ever talks about this ride being rough, so i wasn't prepared for that at all. the laterals are really strong but having my thigh jammed into the side of the lapbar left me with bruises, and being jammed into the seat divider wasn't any more comfortable. the restraints also staple really easily no matter how hard you try to hold them up, which made the roughness feel even more exaggerated. it did have a few nice airtime pops though, and a nice setting, so i can't rank it too low haha.
scarecrow scrambler (x1)- had a lot of time on my hands and i always love a good scrambler ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
gobbler getaway (x1)- nobody ever talks about this, but it might be my new favorite shooter dark ride. the theme is really unique and cute!
howler (x1, 220/232)- the smoothest of the zamperla 80stds i've been on, and the train is kind of adorable.
liberty launcher (x1)- this had some shockingly strong ejector at the top and was honestly a lot more fun than anticipated!
overall i loved this park! the theming was adorable, ops were fast, and the food was actually really good. all of the rides in the dry park were walk on except for voyage (35-40 minutes midday, 20-25 minutes later on) and thunderbird (consistently 25-30 minutes). the free parking, soft drinks, and sunscreen were also much appreciated. the only thing i think this park is missing is some sort of high thrill/inverting flat ride- it seems strange to me that thunderbird is the only inverting ride in the park, but that is seriously my only complaint lol. can't wait to come back sometime!
so my parents have said once i turn 18 i will still have a 10pm curfew- even once i'm in college as they plan to track my location. since they technically own my car they can stop me from using it and there's no way i can afford a new one. they also said they will stop paying my car insurance if i break curfew- definitely can't afford that either. are they being overly strict? do i just need to deal with it until i can afford a car and insurance?
ride reviews:
darkoaster (x1, 121/213)- i think this coaster gets a lot of hate because of the long lines and terrible capacity, but the ride itself isn't half bad. i just don't think it needs to repeat the layout twice, and it could really use some longer trains.
pantheon (x4, 3/213)- my 200th credit, and oh man, what a ride. i didn't expect it to be anywhere near as good as it was. the bunny hill in the swing launch is diabolical, and i always love a beyond vertical drop. there's also lots of great airtime moments scattered throughout the ride mixed in with a couple hangtime moments. imo, this coaster just kind of does everything right. but for the love of god the park needs to put their drones somewhere else...closing at 7:30 on purpose with no warning is pretty messed up considering it's the best ride in the park by a long way, i was really looking forward to lapping this thing for the last hour and a half of the day.
big bad wolf (x2, 124/213)- this is a pretty solid family coaster! there aren't a ton of forces, but it's surprisingly super smooth (although it sounds rattley) and a great step-up ride for kids. i'm glad bgw got a family coaster that doesn't pull the waits of darkoaster. also, i wish all b&m inverts could have these restraints lol
verbolten (x3, 46/213)- the theme/storyline on this is really confusing, but it's pretty fun! the launches are nice, the lighting inside is cool, the helix is insanely forceful, and the drop track gives some STRONG ejector. the last drop gives some mild floater in the back as well.
tempesto (x2, 61/213)- really like the color scheme, these rides always give such good airtime in the front and the hangtime is to die for.
apollos chariot (x11, 28/213)- after pantheon went down i ended up lapping this until close. it's not as good as some of the newer hypers, but you can never go wrong with one of these. the first drop gave solid ejector in the back, and surprisingly there were some laterals on the twisted drop after the first camelback! the last drop also totally caught me off guard on my first few rides with how big it was. on my last ride of the night i managed to get 2 clicks and i'm like barely 115 pounds, so that was pretty insane!
grover's alpine express (x1, 194/213)- this might be one of the shortest coasters of all time, but it's pretty smooth at least i guess
alpengeist (x4, 72/213)- this one might ruffle some feathers- i had high hopes for this one, but i didn't end up liking it as much as i thought i would. the cobra roll is for sure one of the whippiest elements i've ever experienced, but i was graying out hard the whole time, and i think that took away from the fun of it to some extent. the corkscrews are great, there was just nothing else about the ride that really stood out to me.
invadr (x3, 63/213)- this ride is pretty slept on imo. it's not the most intense gci, and it's not the smoothest, but it has a few good airtime pops and some decent laterals. i liked it a lot more than i thought i would.
griffon (x3, 56/213)- the otsrs help a lot with the airtime! i can usually game the vest restraints on dives to the point where i get airtime on the first drop anyways before i get stapled, but it was nice to get some airtime pops on the second drop and the bunny hill into the splashdown. also, the coke advertisement on the ground is iconic lol
finnegan's flyer (x1)- pretty standard screamin swing but it was nice to ride one of these with a longer cycle, cedar point is my home park and on its screamin' swing you only get one swing at peak height, while on this you get three.
loch ness monster (x4, 45/213)- great coaster! the first two drops give solid sustained ejector, the loops are fun, and the helix is so ridiculously long that you gotta love it. it's not too rough and also one of the best named coasters out there imo!
sky ride (x1 each way)- UNBELIEVABLE views of loch ness monster on the way from france to england
train (1 full loop)- the 10 minute stops at each station were annoying, but it was super cool to go right through the middle of invadr, and there were some nice views of pantheon and bbw too. also got a duel with loch ness monster's lift, which was fun!
overall, ops were decent, food was good, and lines were nonexistent (aside from darkoaster), most likely due to the air quality. it's also one of the most beautiful parks i've been to, with a really solid and balanced coaster lineup. united parks is a total mess right now, but this park is a gem and they seem to be maintaining it pretty well. here's to hoping they continue to do so!
the park was a ghost town on thursday probably because of the heat, so almost everything was a walk on! unfortunately, pantherian, fof, and racer south were all closed, but i still really enjoyed the park and i was able to get a ton of rides in.
ride reviews:
rapterra (x3, 109/213)- i used to think people were being overly dramatic about the b&m rattle, but i was shocked at how uncomfortable this one was. the back 2 rows in the outside seat are absolutely miserable and gave me a headache, and even the front inside seat had a lot of bounce to it. the launch is okay and the first element is surprisingly fun, but the layout doesn't do much for me afterwards, so overall this was a pretty big letdown.
tumbili (x2, 114/213)- i usually love free spins and think they're generally super underrated, but between my 2 rides on this i only got 1 flip, so i couldn't justify ranking it any higher.
reptilian (x2, 182/213)- i was actually looking forward to this as my first bobsled coaster, but jeez it was uncomfortable. i don't mind a rough coaster if it's decently thrilling, but man, the layout did absolutely nothing. the restraints kinda crushed my thighs too.
backlot stunt coaster (x2, 92/213)- finally a positive ride review lol! i don't know why, but this one and the clone at cw both have a crazy pop of ejector on the last drop that ki (my home park) doesn't, and that on its own puts this coaster in my top 100.
woodstock express (x1, 159/213)- this was on SLOW one train ops, so i had to wait around 20 minutes- my only real wait of the day lol. it's fine, no airtime but pretty smooth.
drop tower (x2)- great views, and a pretty punchy drop, but the slam into the brakes is unnecessarily aggressive. still a fun ride though
racer 75 north (x4, 102/213)- good airtime on the first bunny hill regardless of seat, the front car gives some great sustained floater going into the turnaround and the back gives a pop of ejector dropping out of it. the return run could use some retracking though lol.
windseeker (x1)- great views of twisted timbers and grizzly!
apple zapple (x1, 148/213)- it is a wild mouse.
twisted timbers (x14, 8/213)- wow, what a great ride. the first drop is really fun, the triple camelback is AMAZING, and the rest of the ride is just non stop action. there's not a dead spot on this thing. my literal only complaint (other than the restraints but that's an issue on all rmcs) is the lack of a prelift.
grizzly (x8, 36/213)- the airtime pops on this thing are batshit insane, and i was able to game the restraints to the point where i had probably 6 inches of space. there is a TON of dead space on this ride, and the ending bunny hills are all pretty weak, but the highlights of the ride more than make up for it.
eiffel tower (x1)- preferred the view from both windseeker and drop tower.
delirium (x1)- this had some nice airtime, i think i like it better than the huss pendulums at ki and cp.
bad apple (x1)- always love this model, but this ran a crazy short cycle.
dominator (x3, 91/213)- some crazy whip on the first drop, but honestly past that there weren't any super notable elements. it was also really hot and i tend to gray out really easily, so i think i spent more time graying out than not graying out...not a bad ride by any means though.
i was super bummed about missing pantherian, so after spending friday at busch gardens williamsburg (didn't want to make this tr too long so i'll make another one for that separately), i decided to come back for a bit on saturday to see if pantherian would open. luckily, it did! i stayed for about an hour and a half and was able to pick up the rest of the credits i'd missed from thursday as well.
pantherian (x4, 15/213)- i honestly wasn't sure i would like this one since, as i mentioned before, i gray out really easily. i was worried about what it would do to me and half expected to pass out given my history, but i actually thought it was a lot of fun! millennium force is the only coaster i'd fully blacked out on up to this point, and that was only for a second before i got some of my vision back- but i have to say, it's actually pretty cool having your eyes open and not being able to see for 4-5 seconds. besides that, this ride has a few really, really good airtime moments, especially the first drop, and some nice lateral whip as well.
flight of fear (x1, 85/213)- much smoother than ki's version, but the launch was surprisingly one of the tamest i've ever done, and it wasn't quite as whippy as ki's. the lighting was slightly dimmer though which i appreciated.
great pumpkin coaster (x1, 194/213)- doesn't have the same uncomfortable jerk when engaging the lift chain as ki's, so i have it two spots higher lol.
racer 75 south (x1, 103/213)- nothing to say here, indistinguishable from the north side.
overall i really enjoyed this park, it has a great top 3 and a decent supporting cast, and it's super well maintained. looking forward to coming back someday!
so this tr was actually going to be much longer, but long story short, my car broke down on the way to georgia, which meant i had to skip lake winnie and carowinds as i couldn't extend my trip any further to make up for lost time. that totally sucked and i'm still mad about it, but i'm super glad i could still make it out to fun spot! i had initially planned on being there for 5 hours but was only able to stay for 3, i'm not too upset about it though because i'm not sure my thighs could've taken many more laps on arieforce, lol. when i first arrived, arieforce hadn't even started testing, so i went ahead and picked up the other two credits:
sea serpent ( x1, 189/207)- not much to say here, but the first drop on this model has some decent whip in the back.
hurricane (x1, 136/207)- got stapled pretty hard on this one, but could still feel plenty of airtime, putting it well above the kissimmee version for me. some of the turns were hilariously painful!
after that i went to camp out by arieforce, which finally opened at around 10:45. it stayed on one train ops and dispatches were only every 5 minutes or so, but i never had to wait more than 2 trains/10-15 minutes. ops were stapling on both sides, but with some effort i was able to get a decent amount of room on the right side...for 2 rides, after which my thighs were so sore i gave in and just let them staple me lol.
side note: what is up with the weird hand scan thing the ops do here before sending a train? it genuinely adds like 15 seconds to every dispatch. anyways...
arieforce one (x11, 10/207)- genuinely an incredible ride. the first 3 elements (drop through stall) are fun and floaty, although i wish the stall had more hangtime. after that, it's mostly just ridiculously strong ejector moments one after the other, mixed in with two of the whippiest and fastest zero g rolls i've ever experienced in my life. the bunny hills at the end probably had the strongest airtime i've ever felt, stealing two of my hair ties throughout the course of the day. i have to say though, i do find it to be just the slightest bit overrated? i was expecting it to challenge steel vengeance based on reviews and it didn't even come close, mostly because of the short length i think, and some of the elements felt just a little too spaced out. but it's still one of the best coasters i've ever ridden, and if you haven't made the trip out to ride it, i HIGHLY recommend doing do.
overall i'm really glad i was able to make the stop here! it's not the prettiest or biggest park, but you can tell the owners care about it and i'll be sad to see it go. wishing the best for arieforce and the other rides! ❤️
so i woke up with what i think is milia all over my forehead and i currently ride my horse 5 times a week, which is not something i can easily avoid (i have to pay $75 each time the owner of the barn rides him for me). my helmet goes over my forehead right where the lumps are and hugs pretty tight to my head, and i tend to sweat a lot while riding. will it be okay or will it completely destroy my skin
so for context, i'm autistic and adhd and really struggle with managing my naturally curly hair (2c). i'm a very busy person so curly routines take too much time and energy, even the simple ones (not looking for curl advice, i wore my hair curly for years and got to a point where i couldn't keep up with it). i typically straighten it with a revair and touch it up with a straightener and that process saves me a lot of time. my issue is that because of my autism, i get so hyperfixated on keeping it perfectly straight that it's all i can think about half the time. i get bad anxiety if it's humid or windy, and i'm always running my fingers over my hair to check. i will also subconsciously walk around with my neck stiff and i feel like i'm unable to turn my head all the way without messing up my hair. i know that it's not a big deal if it recurls a little bit and that literally nobody cares, but i still feel like i can never relax and let it be (yes i've brought this up to my therapist, nothing helpful has come of it).
anyway, i feel like the only way i'm going to be able to get past this is to have it permanently straightened. i've heard a lot about the damage it can cause, especially the hair loss- my hair is very fine and prone to breakage, so i don't want to risk making it worse. if anyone has done a straightening treatment with fine hair and could share their experience that'd be much appreciated.
so for context, i'm autistic and adhd and really struggle with managing my naturally curly hair (2c). i'm a very busy person so curly routines take too much time and energy, even the simple ones (not looking for curl advice, i wore my hair curly for years and got to a point where i couldn't keep up with it). i typically straighten it with a revair and touch it up with a straightener and that process saves me a lot of time. my issue is that because of my autism, i get so hyperfixated on keeping it perfectly straight that it's all i can think about half the time. i get bad anxiety if it's humid or windy, and i'm always running my fingers over my hair to check. i will also subconsciously walk around with my neck stiff and i feel like i'm unable to turn my head all the way without messing up my hair. i know that it's not a big deal if it recurls a little bit and that literally nobody cares, but i still feel like i can never relax and let it be (yes i've brought this up to my therapist, nothing helpful has come of it).
anyway, i feel like the only way i'm going to be able to get past this is to have it permanently straightened. i've heard a lot about the damage it can cause, especially the hair loss- my hair is very fine and prone to breakage, so i don't want to risk making it worse. if anyone has done a straightening treatment with fine hair and could share their experience that'd be much appreciated.
so for context, i'm autistic and adhd and really struggle with managing my naturally curly hair (2c). i'm a very busy person so curly routines take too much time and energy, even the simple ones (not looking for curl advice, i wore my hair curly for years and got to a point where i couldn't keep up with it). i typically straighten it with a revair and touch it up with a straightener and that process saves me a lot of time. my issue is that because of my autism, i get so hyperfixated on keeping it perfectly straight that it's all i can think about half the time. i get bad anxiety if it's humid or windy, and i'm always running my fingers over my hair to check. i will also subconsciously walk around with my neck stiff and i feel like i'm unable to turn my head all the way without messing up my hair. i know that it's not a big deal if it recurls a little bit and that literally nobody cares, but i still feel like i can never relax and let it be (yes i've brought this up to my therapist, nothing helpful has come of it).
anyway, i feel like the only way i'm going to be able to get past this is to have it permanently straightened. i've heard a lot about the damage it can cause, especially the hair loss- my hair is very fine and prone to breakage, so i don't want to risk making it worse. if anyone has done a straightening treatment with fine hair and could share their experience that'd be much appreciated.
so for context, i'm autistic and adhd and really struggle with managing my naturally curly hair (2c). i'm a very busy person so curly routines take too much time and energy, even the simple ones (not looking for curl advice, i wore my hair curly for years and got to a point where i couldn't keep up with it). i typically straighten it with a revair and touch it up with a straightener and that process saves me a lot of time. my issue is that because of my autism, i get so hyperfixated on keeping it perfectly straight that it's all i can think about half the time. i get bad anxiety if it's humid or windy, and i'm always running my fingers over my hair to check. i will also subconsciously walk around with my neck stiff and i feel like i'm unable to turn my head all the way without messing up my hair. i know that it's not a big deal if it recurls a little bit and that literally nobody cares, but i still feel like i can never relax and let it be (yes i've brought this up to my therapist, nothing helpful has come of it).
anyway, i feel like the only way i'm going to be able to get past this is to have it permanently straightened. i've heard a lot about the damage it can cause, especially the hair loss- my hair is very fine and prone to breakage, so i don't want to risk making it worse. if anyone has done a straightening treatment with fine hair and could share their experience that'd be much appreciated.
me and my family were in barcelona for a cruise ship departure and we had an extra day, so of course we had to go to portaventura! based on what i've seen on queue times we got pretty lucky with crowds- after 2pm, nothing got longer than 60 minutes, and for the last hour and a half everything besides furius baco was under 20 minutes. overall i really liked the aesthetic of the park and the areas themed to different countries- not mindblowing by any means but having cp and ki as home parks i'll take whatever theming i can get.
the day got off to a rough start- our train from the city was supposed to arrive at 9:57, but we didn't get there until around 10:15. we got into the park 4 minutes past opening and tried to make a beeline for uncharted, but the app wasn't working for us, so we couldn't get directions. this wasn't a problem later on in the day, it just meant that to get to uncharted, we had to use apple maps...let's just say i think we would've been better off randomly guessing where to turn. apple maps took us in a circle around the entire park, all the way through polynesia, china, mexico, and beyond. we finally got to uncharted at 10:55 and ended up waiting a little over an hour.
uncharted (69/184)- this was a fun little coaster! definitely on the shorter side and the show scenes were pretty lackluster, but it was a fun layout with two surprising backwards drops and a ton of cute little half-second lsm boosts. the queue is also themed pretty nicely, which made the wait less painful.
afterwards, we were able to get the app working and headed back to furius baco. the wait was posted as 1h50, but there were maybe 200-300 people in line, so we decided to take our chances thinking surely it wouldn't be longer than 30-45 minutes even with bad ops. nope. it ended up being a ~75 minute wait, with trains dispatching about every 8 minutes. like, what the actual hell? ops were bad throughout the park but none quite like this.
furius baco (65/184)- i'm sure this ranking seems a little high. most of the ride is objectively miserable, but i'm a huge sucker for a punchy launch. the launch on this thing is legitimately incredible and it leads right into a pretty solid airtime pop. however. as you slam into the first turn, you get stapled to an extent i didn't know was possible. at that point, i don't know how to explain it but it's almost like your body can't absorb the motion of the seats bouncing up and down, and so you can physically feel your organs getting jostled around. i've never felt that on a coaster before and if not for the launch and the floaty hangtime on the inline twist, i would have this ride in my bottom 10. also, sitting on the brake run for 6 minutes while your hip bones are getting crushed...not a good time.
after baco, we got some food and got in line for shambhala, which was about 45 minutes. this line moved much faster, and although it was still consistently double stacking it felt almost relieving after what we'd just been through. i slouched in the seat just a little during restraint checks to get an extra click of airtime room, which almost always works at my home parks, but man, the ride op was nottt having it. she yelled at me loudly enough that everyone in the station looked over and it took quite a bit before i even realized what she was asking since i don't speak catalan, which i'm sure made it a lot more frustrating for her. she then proceeded to jump up and put her whole body weight into the restraint several times. can't win em all i guess, but it was wild.
shambhala (12/184)- all b&m hypers are a little underwhelming stapled, but i did manage to get some more room on later rides, and this is for sure my new favorite b&m hyper. the view is amazing, the airtime is fantastic, the turnaround is cool, the splashdown is really picturesque, and the lack of seatbelts is always a plus. you also get a pop of legitimate ejector on the speed hill as the trims disengage. by far my favorite coaster in the park
my brother and i had bought the express 10 passes, so we decided to break off from the rest of the family and start using those. we went ahead and got another ride on shambhala, which was a walk on with express. as soon as i got in the station, the ride op from before was staring me down. i made sure to sit on the other side of the train and didn't even try to get extra space this time, but she walked onto the train after checking my brother and started jumping up and down on my restraint again. guess she was having a rough day or something, but jesus.
afterwards, we headed to dragon khan, which was also a walk on with express.
dragon khan (60/184)- i was a b&m rattle denier up until this point, as someone who has banshee at my home park and has ridden penguin trek. but...yeah. i'm with you guys now. what the FUCK was that cobra roll. the rest was pretty good though, the zero g roll in the back is a near elite element and the only other rough part was going into the first loop.
coming off of dragon khan, we noticed that the single rider line only had 4 people on it, so we went ahead and got another lap. afterwards, my brother wanted a break, so i got on diablo and stampida by myself- both also walk-ons with express.
diablo (121/184)- this ride does a whole lot of nothing especially considering how tall it is for a mine train. i can't remember a single element on this thing. not bad by any means, but i was expecting some theming at least
stampida red (86/184)- the first drop had some strong airtime, but man, this type of restraint just doesn't belong on wooden coasters. it wasn't uncomfortable, but it got tight enough that if there was airtime past the first drop, i couldn't feel it at all, where with a ratcheting restraint you'd at least have like a quarter inch at worst. this side wasn't bad, but something about it just didn't feel right.
it was about 3:45 at this point, so i went to meet my family at the gate to ferrari land. they let us in at 4:15 and everyone ran like a bat out of hell to red force, but my family was exhausted so i stayed back and walked with them. painful, but necessary. ended up in a ~40 minute line, but ops were surprisingly fast compared to the main park, so it wasn't too bad.
red force (36/184)- shockingly punchy launch with some nice ejectornentering the top hat. unfortunately the restraints get kinda tight so you can't get much airtime on the way down, still a fantastic ride though and the sound of the launch is incredible. also, the front row goggles are ridiculous, what if i WANT to feel the wind against my eyeballs.
after this, my brother took a second look at the express pass lineup and decided that he not only didn't want to ride furius baco again, he also didn't want to ride stampida as he thought it would be too rough, so i got to use a couple of his passes. i went ahead and got two more laps on furius baco using both of our expresses (waited 10-15 minutes each) then headed back to the western area for stampida's blue side. the ops on this side unfortunately wouldn't let me take the back row even though it was empty, and then proceeded to not fill the back two rows at all...weird, but whatever.
stampida blue (118/184)- this side was much rougher than red for some reason. i tend to rank coasters based on their standout elements (hence why furius baco is so high), and this was another such case. great first drop, but the rest was miserable. it was the same situation as furius baco where the restraints don't allow you to absorb the motion so you feel your organs bouncing around. i definitely wasn't expecting there to be such a huge difference between the two sides, also this side consistently ran much slower from what i was seeing.
i then headed over to tomahawk, which was a 1 train wait without express.
tomahawk (116/184)- glass smooth and super comfortable trains, pretty mediocre ride experience but cool interactions with stampida.
i ended the day at portaventura with 2 rides on shambhala, and had plenty of airtime room on these laps. then i went back to ferrari land until it was time to catch the train back. after paying a ridiculous €21 for a slice of pizza, i got another lap on red force, then decided to do the flying theater, which had no line but still managed to take 45 minutes somehow.
flying dreams- spent about 5 minutes in the first preshow room, then almost 15 minutes in the second one. the safety video lasted maybe 5 minutes tops, the rest was just waiting around. after finally getting on the ride, it took the ops around 10 minutes to check seatbelts- they have a policy where the seatbelt has to go through a loop hanging off of your seat, of course nobody paid attention and they had to redo seatbelts for 75% of the riders. it was frustrating, but the ride itself was pretty okay as far as flying theaters go.
ended the night with a final lap on red force (the single rider line on this is pretty great) and we headed back to catch the train.
i had a great day here and i'm so sorry about the length of this trip report :)
so i'm hoping to apply to some top schools (leaning towards majoring in bio) and don't have room in my schedule for ap french. i could get it on my transcript through a shitty online program (educere) but it's kind of expensive and time consuming, so i don't want to do it if it won't actually help me. it's worth noting that i'll only have 10 ap credits as it stands including senior year, and it would potentially bring my weighted gpa up to 4.2 (3.99 uw, just have a ton of unweighted credits from various choir and orchestra groups). worth it?
as part of a group trip to austria, i ended up at prater for around 4 hours. i really liked the carnival aesthetic and overall i absolutely loved this park! ops were some of the fastest i've ever seen, most lines were short, and they have arguably the best flat collection in the world- my one complaint is the ride closing times. they're incredibly inconsistent and unpredictable, and since i wasn't able to get to the park until around 7:30, i missed a few rides i was really looking forward to. tornado was the most painful one- it closed around 9, i missed it by one cycle and as far as i'm aware it's the only one of its kind so that totally sucks. also missed hochschaubahn which was closed when i passed by it at 8:30, and the starflyer which closed around 9:15. still had a great time but i don't understand why they can't just close the whole park at once.
anyway, on to the coasters:
gesengte sau (rank 112/175)- this was my first gerstlauer bobsled! it was fun but beyond the couple of wild mouse-like turns i was honestly really surprised by how tame it was. not a bad ride, but definitely nothing to write home about.
maskerade (88/175)- a lot more fun than expected! the props inside the building were a nice touch and the ride was surprisingly forceful. it was only on 1 car for some reason, but it had no line so i can't complain too much lol.
megablitz (97/175)- the seating on this ride is ridiculous and really threw me off, you're basically fully leaning back. what's equally ridiculous is the fact that there are THREE double helixes. it pulls some surprising positives and made me gray out a couple times, and although there's not a ton of variety in the layout, it's still a fun little ride. it's also shockingly smooth for its age!
wiener looping (35/175)- loved this one! the first drop and airtime hill gave god tier airtime and there were a couple really nice hangtime moments. it's just so short that i can't rank it any higher, an extra airtime hill at the end would be a significant improvement imo. but as prater's only real thrill coaster, it's pretty solid.
wilde maus (99/175)- rode this at the end of the night because it was cheap and one of the last things running, and honestly zero regrets. there was almost no braking on this, so it ripped through all the turns and gave 3 solid pops of airtime towards the end. really surprised me, highly recommend
other rides:
extasy- holy. fucking. shit. call me crazy but i think this is my new favorite flat ride. the speed of the spinning, the 30 seconds fully inverted, the strobe lights/fog and ominous countdowns, the fake ending- there are constant surprises and it's just so ridiculously cool and fun. i could write a whole essay about how good this ride is. please cedar point put one of these where monster was im begging you
black mamba- it's fun, but i was honestly expecting it to be slightly more intense? none of it was particularly forceful and there wasn't really any hangtime either. this is one of those instances when i wish my thrill tolerance wasn't so high tbh.
turbo booster- alright this might be my 2nd favorite flat ride i've ever been on. the seat rotation puts you at some wild angles and the sense of speed/wind in your face is insane. cresting the top is so disorienting, and the view from the top in between the two cycles (yes there's 2 cycles per ride!) made me slightly less sad about missing the starflyer.
magischer rotor- compared to turbo booster, this fell a little flat, but i'd still absolutely kill to have something like this at one of my home parks.
air maxx- this was a weird one! it's really tame except for...when it's not. about every 20 seconds there's a short burst of super intense spinning/swinging, other than that you just kinda slowly go around in circles. it was fun though
geisterschloss- pretty much your standard ghost train, with a couple solid jumpscares and also a weird disorienting downwards chain lift?
blue planet- went into this completely blind, this was ridiculous and i love it. it's 3 separate rooms each of which does some weird and unexpected motions while you listen to ominous dinosaur noises. you really have no idea what's coming next with this thing which is what makes it so fun
and there you have it, my longest tr yet for one of the shortest park visits i've ever done :) hope you enjoyed i guess lol