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The Single Rider Line Episode 22: SoCal Trip Recap!
16 Plays20 days ago
Lance is back at it again with more roller coaster shenanigans. Today we recap his most recent SoCal trip with Your Favorite Coaster Sucks. a lot gets discussed today, mostly all good stuff. A lot of praise this episode!
Your Favorite Coaster Sucks: https://open.spotify.com/show/0bRnN2PNld3GRGI0stHM35?si=50259d4b8d334163
Lance's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/this_is_lunarus/
Lance's Twitter: @lunarusirl
The Single Rider Line Discord: https://discord.gg/s6ADnndH5x
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Transcript
Excitement for Record-Breaking Coasters
00:00:04
Speaker
Sunday! Sunday! you ready for the highest and fastest coaster in the world? Are you ready for... This
00:00:15
Speaker
island dares you to come face to face with the beast. The beast. 7,000 feet. You um
00:00:27
Speaker
hear my voice. The Loch Ness Monster. It's Andy Can-Ammy.
00:00:37
Speaker
wow Oh, no. Mr. Pop. Mr. Pop.
00:01:08
Speaker
All riders waiting and on top of the tractor. We are currently experiencing a mechanical a issue and we do not know the one. And welcome back to the single rider line back from Southern California, back to the shit fucking ass weather that is Ohio.
00:01:26
Speaker
And good Lord, do I want to be back already? Not in Ohio, but in, in, in California, this, the weather here sucks. It really does. Going from beautiful 70 degrees, 65 degrees consistently to gray and cloudy just all the time is awful. It's 34 degrees here right now, but it feels like 16 because the wind chill.
00:01:57
Speaker
Because Ohio. it's
00:02:02
Speaker
why Why do we live here again?
Reflections on Southern California and Ohio
00:02:04
Speaker
genuine genuine question but uh again welcome back the single ride a line back from vacation back from the your favorite coaster sucks meetup it's gonna be it's gonna be back i will say that it's nice to be back in my own bed as much as i do want to live out there and uh enjoy the Enjoy the weather all year long. Unfortunately, I do have a job and things I have to i have to get done. including
00:02:38
Speaker
Including doing a recap. ah That trip was awesome. Was out there with Ben and Zach from Your Favorite Coaster Sucks. um I've known them for probably four years now, I believe. I think i'm met i'm in 2021. It's been um it's been Yeah, 2021 is when I first when i first met them.
00:03:00
Speaker
So it's been not a super, super long time, but it hasn't been a short period of time either. Was able to head out to Southern California. I got a whole trip report.
00:03:11
Speaker
Got a bunch of stuff to talk about. so So honestly, let's just jump right into it. So last Thursday, that was February ah february twenty seven or I flew out of Cincinnati International Airport, ah which is not in Cincinnati. It is like half an hour outside of Cincinnati, but it is the closest major city near it. So that's what they that's what they label it as. It's technically in Kentucky.
00:03:43
Speaker
So that's kind of weird, but had whatever. um Girlfriend drove me to get me dropped off at...
Journey to California: Flights and Reunions
00:03:53
Speaker
ridiculously early in the morning. It was like 2 a.m. m um Whenever we left, we got to the airport about 335, 340-ish. So we did make a stop for caffeine, I believe, on the on the way there. She did not come with me on this trip.
00:04:12
Speaker
She was invited. However, things just didn't work out with her work schedule. And it was going to be all guys there, so I don't blame her for for not wanting to go but left ah left from there and flew to San Diego it was really weird because I had a layover in LA so I flew directly from Cincinnati to LA and then that was like four and a half five hours
00:04:44
Speaker
got to LA had a layover to San Diego from there. And that was 20 minutes, I think. So it was barely even ah barely even a layover. we i I'm not joking whenever I'm saying that.
00:04:59
Speaker
ah Okay. So the flight was technically an hour. However, we were on the ground for 30 minutes of that flight just taxiing because LAX is so huge.
00:05:12
Speaker
So spent 20 minutes in the air. Didn't, think we even broke 10,000 feet if I'm not wrong. So we, we just kind of hop, skipped and jumped on over to, to San Diego.
00:05:24
Speaker
And that is where I met up with Ben and Zach. Got to see them for the first time since 2023. So it's been almost two years ah it's been the, yeah, it's been over two years since I've seen Zach, um, because he was not at the previous one due to personal circumstances. I won't get into,
00:05:46
Speaker
um But yeah, it was great to see him. Glad to finally get to hang out with him again. We jumped straight to it. So we got a rental car.
00:05:58
Speaker
It was a, I think it was a a Chevy Malibu, if I'm not wrong. Not that that really matters, but if you're a car person, there you go. ah Just something with good gas mileage, something to get us around.
SeaWorld Adventures: Coasters and Costs
00:06:12
Speaker
first stop was ah Belmont Park. ah That is like right next to the airport. And their wooden roller coaster was closed until Saturday. And it was Thursday.
00:06:24
Speaker
And that's San Diego's kind of out of the way of where all of our other stops were. So we did not end up getting back to that park. And that's the only coaster they have there. So no credits gained at the first park we visited.
00:06:39
Speaker
visited um It was pay per ride, so it's not like you had to pay to get into the place. So that's nice. Didn't cost us anything. We did eat at a pretty nice restaurant. Got some good Mexican food.
00:06:51
Speaker
I had ah some pretty good margaritas while I was there. They were very strong on the pours. I mean, it was like 14 bucks a drink, but I mean, they were they weren't ah they weren't light on the pours. I mean, two of them and I was ah i was starting to feel it pretty good.
00:07:07
Speaker
So... um That was good food. Good food right there on the beach too. So we went on over to SeaWorld for the last like two or three hours they were open.
00:07:21
Speaker
And SeaWorld wanted to charge $90 me to get in for a half day.
00:07:32
Speaker
I get SeaWorld is not cheap and they have a lot of things to maintain, a lot of animals to take care of. But, oh my God, why? $90. That's so much.
00:07:44
Speaker
That's so much for like only a few hours at a park. And the coasters there are are mid as hell. um That's not true. They're not mid. They're pretty good. But they're like nothing super mind-blowing, you know?
00:08:00
Speaker
So anyways, we get there. their Skyrocket 2 electric eel is testing, but it is down all day. ah It's undergoing its yearly maintenance. So...
00:08:12
Speaker
My guess is that they probably had to get like a certain amount of test cycles done so they could ah technically reopen the ride, and that's what they were just doing. so SeaWorld did miss a credit there.
00:08:26
Speaker
So we went on over to Emperor. That is their dive coaster. It was pretty good. i like That was my first like shorter dive. All of the dives I've rode are near Hyperheight.
00:08:39
Speaker
um So I've been on Valraven and then... Griffin as well. I'm trying to think I've been on any others. I don't believe I have. I'm thinking no. Yeah, that's that's all I've been on. But yeah, that was the first shorter dive I've been on.
00:08:57
Speaker
I like the shorter dives a lot more than larger ones. I found that out while while writing because the elements are a lot more compact, a lot tighter. They're not as large and swoopy.
00:09:08
Speaker
There's nothing wrong with that on dive coasters. I think that's what they're going for. But it was definitely... do how I put this? More intense a ride. It wasn't super intense. But intenser than your traditional dive coasters. so ah Emperor, pretty good.
00:09:29
Speaker
Probably my favorite dive. i don't know. i have to give I'd have to give Griffin and Valraven another try. But yeah, pretty pretty nice so Went on over to Arctic Rescue or like the the rescue coaster.
00:09:49
Speaker
um And we went to go hop in line and that was down. ah We did get on that later in the day, but I'll circle back to that. So we walked on over to Manta. Manta was pretty good. um It's like a mock family coaster, if you haven't rode it.
00:10:06
Speaker
It is not the B&M flyer like at Orlando. it It was all right. It had a few rough spots around the edges, but it was a good time. um i had us a fun pre-show where it kind of swings you back and forth it's got projections it does a little like underwater sequence that was really nice i liked it good visuals just in general there let me back up a little bit just in general being able to get on a coaster again after not being on one since december It was so, so nice.
00:10:40
Speaker
I know it's December. I know December wasn't that long ago, but I missed it, man. I missed it so much. It was such a good... it was just such a good feeling to be to be back on one. Getting the airtime pops and going over first drops.
00:10:56
Speaker
it was It was so good to to be back. to The warmth and the heat and... riding steel machines that throw you around and discussing them far too, uh, far too in depth.
00:11:13
Speaker
So Manta was all right. Good family coaster. Probably my favorite coaster there at SeaWorld, ah San Diego. It's good. It's got a very strange, like mid course break section where it like brings you to almost a near stop before hitting the launch again.
00:11:32
Speaker
It's only got two trains, so I don't know why it has to kill your speed so much. You could very easily just roll through that section without it doing that. It's on a downhill portion, too, so it's not like it you're about to hit some insane Gs or anything like that.
00:11:49
Speaker
um A little ah little odd, but was a good a good ride. So rode that twice, front and back. i prefer think I prefer the front on that ride.
00:12:02
Speaker
i know that you get some better airtime in the back, but it it just seems like a front row coaster to me. But Manta, nothing super, super special, but was not bad in the slightest. I liked it.
00:12:16
Speaker
Went on over to Arctic Coaster, and it was Arctic Rescue, whatever that coaster is technically called. And I got off of it, and so did Bat, so did Ben, so did Zach.
00:12:31
Speaker
And we all kind of had the same consensus that it's just a... ah It's just the same as Manta, really. It's very swooshy and it has two launches and there's some forceful elements there, but I think it's far too similar Manta.
00:12:51
Speaker
I get that they want and try and add as much as they can to that park, considering the height limit they had because the San Diego airport is not too far away. but But you could have gone with a bunch of different options for a good family coaster and that...
00:13:06
Speaker
Probably wasn't the best. was it ah Wasn't the greatest. mean, it wasn't a bad ride, but it's far too similar.
00:13:17
Speaker
all I'll put it that way. I don't have a whole lot of thoughts on that ride. it's It's a family coaster. We went and saw the Dolphin Show there as well. Something that Zach pointed out that I thought was a good catch was that the...
00:13:35
Speaker
i animal trainers, they made a special note like every single like probably four or five times throughout the show that you know we won't make the dolphins do any tricks unless they want to.
00:13:47
Speaker
ah Which, if you guys have watched the documentary Blackfish, then you're going to know why if that's ah kind of a big deal.
00:13:58
Speaker
So you know they I think they're still trying to recover from that. and It's been long time since that documentary came out, but I think they're trying to just avoid any bad PR going forward.
00:14:09
Speaker
But yeah, they mentioned it five or six times. you know we're not goingnna let if the dolphins don't want to do any tricks, you know we're not going to force them to, we're not going to pressure them to, that sort of thing. So good on them. not saying it's a bad thing in the slightest. I'm glad they're cleaning up their act and that the dolphins and other animals are being are being treated well.
00:14:28
Speaker
at SeaWorld. But, uh, yeah, the dolphins were super cute. They were super friendly and, uh, they were, they were splashing people doing jumps and they camped some of the guests in the pool and, uh, they, they looked like a lot of fun. I would love this one with them. Obviously I'm sure that's expensive as hell, but I would love to do that someday.
00:14:47
Speaker
So after that, we left SeaWorld, not a whole lot happened there. um it's a very It's very much not a coaster. It is a coaster park, but it's not all about the coasters. It's more about the animals ah more than the coasters. I mean, the coasters are there, but they're just more so to be a park of going. you know That's not the reason you go to SeaWorld.
00:15:16
Speaker
You're not missing out on much if you skip that park. It's nothing super special. Don't feel too bad if you do skip it.
Magic Mountain: Coaster Reviews and Experiences
00:15:25
Speaker
But yeah, see what was all right.
00:15:27
Speaker
Would been nice if Electrichea was open. Just saw it do test run after test run and never got on it. So after that, we took the three-hour drive up to Valencia.
00:15:41
Speaker
And it was more like four with traffic because that's LA for you. We took the five up to Valencia where Six Flags Magic Mountain is.
00:15:52
Speaker
park was closed but we got a We had a hotel booked there for two nights. So we got there Thursday night, got some Del Taco and went to bed. So that was day one of our trip.
00:16:07
Speaker
Day two went to Six Flags Magic Mountain. And oh boy, do I have a lot to say about this park. So ah first off, really cool that my pass works there. My Kings Island pass with the all park passport.
00:16:23
Speaker
ah The fact that works in the first place is kind of wild. It was after the merger. I thought it would take a while for them to implement some sort of system so that you could go to all the parks. But no, i my pass just works there.
00:16:37
Speaker
It's very cool. scant Scanning that in on like a Cedar Fair app. at Magic Mountain felt pretty weird, but still kind of cool. So Magic Mountain, first thing we did, we is we went to full throttle because that gets a ridiculously long line and Six Flags Magic Mountain is not well known for their operations.
00:17:01
Speaker
Well, actually they are well known for their operations, just not in the good way. um They are historically bad. is what I've been told by a lot of people. so Hopped on that first.
00:17:15
Speaker
Didn't really have to wait. Perfect. And that's going to be a common trend throughout the rest of this rest of this trip is bad operations and dead parks. So just to sum this up for the rest of the day, Six Flags Magic Mountain was dead all day.
00:17:31
Speaker
I mean, besides some downtime on some coasters, we did not wait more than 15 minutes for anything. It was awesome. Like, basically everything was a walk on no major weights.
00:17:44
Speaker
We, we went through the park in an entire day. I mean, it was back to back to back to back to back and there was no stopping. It was, it was awesome. So it's a full throttle. And then we went on over to, I believe was it X2.
00:18:02
Speaker
I'm trying to think what of our ah our exact rotation through the park was.
00:18:08
Speaker
Where did we go next? We went to... Oh, yeah. We went on over to ah Wonder Woman because that also has bag capacity. So we went over there.
00:18:19
Speaker
That's honestly my one of my favorite single rails. ah For those of you who don't know me, I am not a fan of the smaller single rail models like Railblazer and Wonder Woman at Fiesta, Texas.
00:18:35
Speaker
I think that they are... ah far too rough for what they're trying to do. The track segments, you can like feel the transitions in them. and like not in a good like You can feel the transition of track segments. like You can see where they bolt of them together and you feel it every time you go over it.
00:18:52
Speaker
Wonder Woman was a little rough, but it wasn't anything bad. i had a lot of fun on it. is my third favorite coaster third favorite coaster there so good time went to Riddler's Revenge it was okay it was a B&M stand-up my first ride wasn't that great but that's because I got the restraint in a weird position we came back and rode it later in the day got it in a better position and it was just still okay I'm just not a fan of B&M stand-ups I'm glad that they're dying out I'm glad that they're pretty much gone
00:19:24
Speaker
I want to try the surf coaster. Whether or not I'm going to be able to do that here in the near future is a ah toss-up, but oh well. ah you know To those of you who do like it, glad you like it.
00:19:39
Speaker
Went over to Twisted Colossus. Got a perfect half duel. They were only running two trains on Twisted Colossus. That's also a common theme. Only one train on most of the stuff and still short wait times.
00:19:55
Speaker
So got a perfect duel on that first lap around, second lap around since they were only running two trains. Had to run it solo. But Twisted Colossus, that RMC got a lot of hype.
00:20:07
Speaker
And I... Hot take incoming. Twisted Colossus is just okay. It's a good time. Don't want to hate on it. Not saying it's a bad coaster by any stretch of the imagination. Not in the slightest.
00:20:22
Speaker
However, however, it's ah it's just OK compared to some of the other RMCs I've rode. I would say Steel Vengeance and Airy Force and Wildcat are just superior rides.
00:20:37
Speaker
I know that those are newer, but. It's just my opinion. So nothing nothing to be upset about there whatsoever.
00:20:48
Speaker
ah Please roast me on Twitter if you disagree with my comment on Twisted Colossus. It's fun when you're dueling. I mean, that does add to the experience. Whenever you're not dueling, though, and you're able to judge it as...
00:21:02
Speaker
you know, just the ride without the dueling aspect. It's not the greatest, even with the dueling aspect, it's a lot of fun, but it's just a little off. I don't know what, I don't know what exactly I don't like about it, but it's just not my favorite.
00:21:17
Speaker
So Twisted Colossus got that credit done, went over to scream. That was the roughest and most boring roller coaster I've rode in a while.
00:21:31
Speaker
Uh,
00:21:33
Speaker
It sure is a floorless. wo but We'll just say that. nothing Again, nothing special. i I genuinely can't really think of how I felt walking off that coaster aside from just, eh, you know, got the credit and that was it.
00:21:51
Speaker
So left went to Lex Luthor Drop of Doom, not a roller coaster, but what is now currently the tallest drop tower in the world, now that Kingda Ka has bit the dust. It was a lot of fun.
00:22:04
Speaker
I love drop towers, but they still freak me out to this day. i mean, no matter how many times I've rode a drop tower, I know subconsciously that I'm gonna be fine. i'm not going hit the floor, but just that dropping feeling just gets me. And it's only on drop towers, not on roller coasters.
00:22:22
Speaker
I don't know why but i yeah, I liked it. The dropping sensation lasts far longer than your traditional drop tower so that was that was pretty cool like you expect the brakes to hit sooner than you know sooner than they actually do so you're waiting for them and waiting for them and waiting for them it's like uh are they gonna work and then you finally hit them and it's like oh okay all right we're good so good time there way over to west coast racers and it is down
00:23:00
Speaker
down all day on friday so we had to circle back to it on saturday which we'll get to here in a bit um got on ninja that was probably my favorite uh aero suspended coaster it's not super short it's a really long ride it's a good time it's ah I mean, it's a good family coaster. I'm glad it's there.
00:23:29
Speaker
Magic Mountain has this issue where most of their coasters are like pretty intense. a lot of positive Gs and little to no negative Gs.
00:23:42
Speaker
it's ah It's something that I don't think they're going to correct anytime soon. But if there's anything that I could put into that park, it would be a B&M Hyper. Because Goliath is not the hyper they needed.
00:23:55
Speaker
They needed a very large and swooshy hyper with a lot of floater airtime. Something to lighten things up so it's not just intensity all the time.
00:24:08
Speaker
I mean, but that was that's very much how Legacy Six Flags like to run a lot of their parks. so Especially Magic Mountain. That was just kind of their thing. So... Went to Apocalypse.
00:24:21
Speaker
That thing needs some serious track work. Oh my God. It's so rough. The theming was good, but it's really it's really bad. the it's It's just not not a good ride in the slightest.
00:24:36
Speaker
I got off that thing and was thinking, this is worse than pre-retract beast. And if you've rode pre-retract beast, that's awful. It was just, God, it it needs a lot, a lot of work. It wasn't not fun.
00:24:50
Speaker
it was just hard to enjoy because how rattly it was. So that's another one and done for me that easily dropped to the bottom of my GCI tier list and probably the bottom of my roller coaster, not the very bottom, but towards the bottom of my ridden roller coasters list.
00:25:07
Speaker
I don't have all of them ranked, but, uh, you know, Sorry. had to yawn recording this at 947 on Wednesday because I had couldn't do it last night after getting back from the trip.
00:25:24
Speaker
I was tired and just needed a mental break after flying all day. But um yeah, Apocalypse, it's not good. It needs a retract.
00:25:35
Speaker
And I was thinking, you know, maybe wooden coasters aren't just meant for being out west because Gold Rusher wasn't very good. and And Apocalypse wasn't very good. I was thinking, you know, maybe wooden coasters aren't just good out here.
00:25:51
Speaker
And that's what I thought until until we went to Knott's. And i'll I'll get back to that. But Apocalypse, it's alright. nothing Nothing bad.
00:26:05
Speaker
ah ah Sorry, I shouldn't say nothing bad. It was just extremely mediocre. I went to Tatsu. My...
00:26:15
Speaker
uh, first flying coaster that isn't a clone. And I am not sure how to feel about Tatsu. I love flying coasters.
00:26:26
Speaker
I love the Superman clones. I know they're very kind of like me. and and I know they meander around a lot, but they're very, uh, they're very simple, but that's what I, I appreciate about them. They're not anything that's trying to rip my head off.
00:26:41
Speaker
Um, I like the, the floaty motion, the slow inversions as a ton of fun. Tatsu tries to rip you out of your seat, especially on that pretzel loop. That pretzel loop is so intense. Oh my God.
00:26:55
Speaker
It's a ton of fun, but man, that, that's a, that's a, that's an intense inversion. It's a very just strange, uh,
00:27:07
Speaker
It's a very strange ride. It's like mixing. if you took 90s B&M and m put a flying coaster in them, that's essentially what Tatsu is. it's not to you know Obviously, it's not as intense as some of the night and the real 90s B&Ms, but it's like they they took everything they could to try and make it like some of their older stuff.
00:27:26
Speaker
Because, I mean, that thing is super, super, super violent. not and And it's not not smooth. It's a very smooth ride. But, I mean, it just throws you around for for a flying coaster. But would suggest riding.
00:27:39
Speaker
I don't know if i like it more than the Superman clones. Probably not. Superman clones are a lot of fun, in my opinion. I'd have to ride back-to-back. I haven't rode a Superman clone in quite a while. So... Went on over to Viper and it sure was Viper.
00:27:54
Speaker
i mean, it's a, it's an arrow. It's an old arrow mega looper. It's janky. It's old. It's kind of rough. I'm ready for it to be gone. Why it's still there.
00:28:05
Speaker
i don't know, but I, it sucks. It's not good. It's Viper. I mean, it's a roller coaster, so it was kind of fun, but it's Viper. It's not anything special.
00:28:17
Speaker
So, And then the crown jewel of this park that we hit, the one you've probably been waiting for my opinion on, is X2. And holy fucking shit, X2.
00:28:31
Speaker
Oh my god, it's so good. I mean, it's so... it's How do I put this? If you haven't rode X2...
00:28:43
Speaker
there is no words i can say that's going to describe it properly. Like you just have to go ride it to understand how awesome this coaster is.
00:28:55
Speaker
Is it my number one? No, but the sensations that it puts on you is so incredibly unique and unlike anything else in the industry or just in the world, really.
00:29:09
Speaker
um
00:29:14
Speaker
Just go ride is all I'm going to say. i i got a back row ride, and it is genuinely, genuinely one of my favorite coasters of all time. It is probably in my top 10, if not my top five.
00:29:31
Speaker
It was really, really good. I don't know. just Just go ride it if you can. X2 is seriously such, such, such a good ride. And I wish more people could get out there and go ride it. It's like it's hard to go get on. It's just, just go.
00:29:48
Speaker
Go ride. Go ride X2. It's a really good coaster. So...
00:29:55
Speaker
We got some re-rides throughout the rest of the day and then we went ahead and bounced. Went back to the hotel. We actually didn't have to drive to Magic Mountain. and We actually just walked because of how close our hotel was.
00:30:09
Speaker
It was the Lakita Inn. It's about 15-20 minute walk from the park. Would suggest going if you or would suggest staying there if you are going to go and you need some outside lodging.
00:30:23
Speaker
so Day two, or sorry, day three, Saturday, we went back to Magic Mountain. and We rope dropped it in the morning.
00:30:35
Speaker
Went straight over to... ah We had a few credits to hit, actually. We had to hit Revolution. So we hit Revolution. And then we had to hit um and then we had to hit ah West Coast Racers. We went over the West Coast.
00:30:50
Speaker
And it was still down. So we went and rode some other stuff. Came back to West Coast. And it was still down. They told us it was a could be up Saturday. And they were very clearly working on it.
00:31:00
Speaker
Maintenance people were out there. They replaced a motor on it. They were cleaning up some of the copper conductive plates on the side of the train so that the the computer knows what the train is at.
00:31:13
Speaker
We stand there and waited for three hours. And it finally, finally came back up. And we were finally able to get on it. That is probably one of my favorite launch coasters.
00:31:25
Speaker
Not ever, but just... I don't know. It's just such a fun ride. X2 is seriously so good. Or not X2. I mean, X2 is seriously so good. But West Coast is is a lot of fun.
00:31:36
Speaker
um It's nothing super forceful. Not anything that's going to rip your head off. But it's just a good time. The slow inversions are fun. The dueling element's a lot of fun. I like the theme.
00:31:48
Speaker
The station looks really cool, too. They put a lot of work into that coaster. And I think they did a good job with it. I wish that something like that would replace a vortex at King's Island, but I know that's not going to happen.
00:32:00
Speaker
So, but I can cross my fingers and just kind of, and just kind of hope. So, um, Oh, one thing I forgot to mention on Friday, the the day that we were at six five magic mountain all day, whenever we went to close at the park with our last ride of the night on X2, we have to see a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful sunset.
00:32:24
Speaker
I got plenty of pictures of it. Go check out my Instagram. If you want to go see those, just type in the single ride of line and you will see me on there. It's the single ride of line Lunaris.
00:32:38
Speaker
You'll see all my pictures from this trip. Very, very pretty. And probably one of my favorite pictures I've taken all year so far.
00:32:49
Speaker
All right, I'm back. Sorry, had to take a yeah ah short emergency bathroom break. Where were we? Um... I'm trying to try to remember what we were talking about.
00:33:00
Speaker
ah the a Yeah. To go follow me on Instagram. Lunaris. i the Yeah. The single right of line. And you'll see Lunaris next to it as well.
00:33:11
Speaker
So just go punch that in and you'll see those pictures there. It's on the first post as of now on my Instagram feed. So go go check that out. We ended up leaving Six Flags at Magic Mountain after we got on West Coast.
00:33:29
Speaker
Good theme and all that. Good ride.
Knott's Berry Farm: Nostalgia and Cuisine
00:33:32
Speaker
Went on over to Knott's Berry Farm to close out the day. And oh my god, that park is amazing. So we wait when we got there, it was dark.
00:33:41
Speaker
ah We checked into the Knott's Hotel because that is where I booked our stay at. um we Went on over to the park for the last few hours or so.
00:33:55
Speaker
And I had never been to this park until this most recent trip. And walking in there the first time. And I have never seen a more perfect blend of roller coasters and theming in my entire life.
00:34:09
Speaker
Like, that is probably... About as perfect as it gets because like Disney, Disney, you go for a merchant. You don't go for the roller coasters. You go for being immersed in their IPs and rides and things and, you know, stories that they have built.
00:34:30
Speaker
And you can go to Cedar Fair and Six Flags Parks for roller coasters. You know, good rides, ah you know, super good time. um You know, the theming isn't there, but that's not what you're there for. You're there to hang out, have some food, ah enjoy the coasters and the flat rides. That's what you're there for. You're not there for the theming.
00:34:50
Speaker
knots is this immaculate blend of both um you've got ghost town which is so well put together you've with just so many buildings you can just walk into and all of the employees are dressed in uniform like or like in costume for the town um
00:35:17
Speaker
Everything just works in the entire in that entire section of the park. Just throughout the entire park. The theming is so well done. um While also having really, really good rides that surround it and go with the general theme they're going for.
00:35:34
Speaker
ah but Like, for example, Pony Express. That's a very, very short and very, very simple ride. Is it a very good ride in my opinion? No, not really. But does it fit the theme? Hell yes, it does.
00:35:47
Speaker
That's works perfectly for that area. I, I love it. They got the raft ride and they've got the, uh, log flume, uh, which both of which were closed while I was there.
00:35:59
Speaker
Granted it was like 65 degrees. So who wants to be riding a water ride in those temperatures? ah But it's just so well put together and so well done. I love Ghost Town.
00:36:11
Speaker
Love, love, love Ghost Town and Knott's. Knott's is not my favorite park of all time um because its ride collection is a bit small, but it's definitely up there just because the charm it has.
00:36:22
Speaker
It's truly, truly an awesome park. Uh, got some food when I first walked in there cause my meal plan works there. Got some boysenberry punch, had that for the first time. i don't suggest you drink it because then you're going to become like me and become addicted to it.
00:36:38
Speaker
Uh, that stuff has crack or something in it. It's really, really good. Um, they have a sugar free version. That's what I was sipping on the entire time.
00:36:49
Speaker
Oh my God, dude, this stuff. I don't know what illegal drugs they put into this fucking drink, but it's, it's so delicious and it's so amazing.
00:37:03
Speaker
Uh, I love, Love boysenberry. The amount of boysenberry stuff they had there in general was awesome. Boysenberry Dippin' Dots, drinks, ah candy, ice cream, Dippin' Dots, popcorn. ah but Even the Knott's Hotel, the hand soap was boysenberry and vanilla smell.
00:37:25
Speaker
The Soap, the the body wash and shampoo and conditioner they give you are all boysenberry. ah They even have little bottles of lotion for you that, guess what, are also boysenberry.
00:37:42
Speaker
It's so cool. I absolutely love that about this park, just the amount of boysenberry stuff everywhere. um Ate my food, met up with Ben and Zach. They had to go to a convenience store real quick.
00:37:55
Speaker
We hopped on accelerator and man, do I miss accelerator models so much. we We rode this thing and I got off this ride. not Not only was it a good time and it was smooth, but this just makes me miss dragster more by the day.
00:38:11
Speaker
That ride is so, so much fun. The powerful launch. the airtime or the top hat, it's super short. All right. Like as a ride or like as a long, consistent coaster, you're not going to get that.
00:38:25
Speaker
However, the time you do get with the ride is quality over quantity. If you ask me, um, Good sense of speed. The airtime on top is great. The swooping turns, you don't get much off of them as far as ah negative Gs go. Positive Gs, very nice, though.
00:38:47
Speaker
i i love that ride. And it's surprising that Accelerator outlasted Dragster and Ka. So i have now been on two of the three remaining Accelerators in the in the United States.
00:39:03
Speaker
Because we the only one that's left for me is the one at Lost Island Adventure Park in Iowa. I forget what that one is called, but that's the only other one I have to get on.
00:39:17
Speaker
ah We waited about 45 minutes, I think, for Accelerator. We were not able to... And then we went over, our sorry, no, we went over to Ghost Rider for our last ride of the night.
00:39:29
Speaker
And here is where I'm going to take back what I said earlier about ah wooden coasters not being meant for parks in California. Ghost Rider is a s tier plus roller coaster.
00:39:46
Speaker
And you cannot convince me otherwise. Oh my God. Back row. At night is genuinely one of the best coaster experiences I've ever had.
00:39:58
Speaker
Just hands down. It's not even close to to most of the wooden coasters. That is my favorite wooden coaster of all time as of right now. So unless something wants to top it, that has also made its way into my top 15.
00:40:14
Speaker
I don't think it's top 10 worthy. I think it may be Actually, yeah, it is top 10 worthy because I think it's better than Mystic and Thunderhead by not a lot, but it is better.
00:40:26
Speaker
And I know Mystic is in my top 10 and Thunderhead. So Yeah. Top 10 coaster. Back row is where it's at, in my opinion. You get way more airtime back there, especially over some of those drops.
00:40:39
Speaker
That is an amazing, amazing, amazing wooden coaster. I've said that a million times now, and you're never going to hear me shut up about it because it's such a good ride. ah it's I could have laughed that thing for hours if they would have let me.
00:40:54
Speaker
um But the park did close and we had to go. So went back to the hotel. Got some pizza and rang it in for the night.
00:41:05
Speaker
ah Day four, Sunday, we spent all day at Knott's. And would you believe it or not, it was dead. um We didn't wait more than probably 20 minutes in line for anything.
00:41:18
Speaker
we It was super, super, super short. ah Or and I shouldn't say super, super short. Because like some of the low capacity stuff did get lines later in the day or like around midday or so.
00:41:29
Speaker
Like Pony Express did he get lines. um Trying to think what else. No, that was really it. That's the only thing that really got like any major lines. Superstition Mountain I think is... No.
00:41:46
Speaker
Lost Coaster. No, I was thinking something else. No. i did What's the name of that? Mine Ride. I think it's just Mine Ride. Calico Mine Ride. There we go. um We did get on that. That's not a coaster, but Was able to get on it.
00:42:00
Speaker
um And we just lapped accelerator as the night went on. And we just took our time at the park. Being able to go to a park and just breathe and relax and not have to worry about hitting everything while you're there once you've done it is such a nice feeling.
00:42:19
Speaker
Because we rode everything. Got all the credits. And by that time, it was like 1 o'clock and the park closed at 9.00. So we just took our time. We sat down.
00:42:30
Speaker
We had some food. We went and Knott's Berry Farm chicken dinner. um Had some drinks. Had some more boysenberry punch.
00:42:42
Speaker
And we just chilled. It was a great time. Being able to just really take in a park and everything that it does amazing. really something special that I wish I was able to do more on more trips, but it's not always feasible whenever you're trying to get all the credits and hit everything because we went at the perfect time of year.
00:43:04
Speaker
I mean, going in February, early March is, you know, it's not spring break. It's not the holidays. It's not, you know, any sort of national holiday.
00:43:18
Speaker
So it worked out. It was pretty good. Slow lines. We rode Accelerator probably five times. I know they rode it seven times. the only reason I didn't ride it seven times is because I was... ah Or no, we didn't ride seven times.
00:43:36
Speaker
No, we rode it once Saturday and then four times Sunday night. There we go. Yeah. So I... am
00:43:47
Speaker
Yeah. And they, they wrote it four times. i wrote it three times because I wanted to get some boys and Barry dipping dots. And, uh, I wasn't able to earlier. So, uh, road accelerator five times total.
00:44:00
Speaker
I missed that ride already. And I wish that it got transferred over to Kings Island. That's not going to happen though. Um, Boysenberry Dippin' Dots was like the only thing boysenberry flavored that I didn't like ah they're very like. Dippin' Dots are very good when they're creamy, and that was their ice sub-brand, so it was like boysenberry ice.
00:44:23
Speaker
and it it wasn't It wasn't that great. It was all right. Wouldn't suggest them. All the other boysenberry stuff do get, though. It is very good. We close out the night on a another Ghost Rider ride. And again, that coaster is just amazing. I'm not going to go over it more. I've already talked enough about it.
00:44:44
Speaker
But Ghost Rider, go ride, would suggest.
First Disneyland Visit: Immersion and Favorites
00:44:48
Speaker
Ben was not able to join us for the fifth and final day on Monday at Disneyland. He had some work stuff he had to get done back at home.
00:44:58
Speaker
So he had to leave Sunday or very early Monday morning. Me and Zach went on over to Disneyland and DCA for the day. Disney's California Adventure.
00:45:11
Speaker
I have never been to a Disney park at this point in time. So Disneyland was my first Disney park. And the amount of money they put into immersion is written ridiculous.
00:45:24
Speaker
Like, oh my, like just walking in there and the amount of detail in everything is so fine. And like, even the most my mute minute things is like taken taken into account.
00:45:40
Speaker
ah like eat The amount of lights that are on each building and what color they are. and Zach even pointed out this specific light bulb to me where it was red and white because Walt didn't want an uneven number of red and white light bulbs on the on the outside of this building. So there was one that was made that shined both.
00:46:01
Speaker
Like... What other park takes that amount of detail ever? Genuine, genuine question. Um, I think disney Disney is obviously not the park you want to go to if you're looking for roller coasters.
00:46:15
Speaker
That's not the way this, that is not the way. There we go. Uh, you know, Star Wars reference there sort of, but, uh, Yeah, the detail was was nuts. The first thing we did was we went to what did we hit first? We're trying to think. Oh, yeah, we we hit Space Mountain first.
00:46:36
Speaker
We ah went through that got got a pretty long line later in the day. So we wanted to get that done first rope drop it so we didn't have to wait very long. It was a good time.
00:46:49
Speaker
get why people like that coaster so much. It's not personally my thing, but got the credit. Good time there. Went over to Matterhorn. um Was only able to get one of the sides because the other side was closed because they were filming something on it.
00:47:05
Speaker
What they were filming, I don't know, but it was ah something, whatever that may be.
00:47:12
Speaker
Went over to, what's it called? but
00:47:17
Speaker
The... God, I'm blanking. Their Mine Train. i for and forget what it is. You know what I mean. The Mine Train ride... Hold on.
00:47:32
Speaker
Disneyland roller coasters. This is go to bother me if I don't get this correct. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. There we go I'm an idiot. Whoopsies.
00:47:44
Speaker
um Anyways, went over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, got that credit done as well. It just wasn't really my thing. It was okay. Not the greatest. I thought Matterhorn was a lot better. I liked the Yeti.
00:47:55
Speaker
He was kind of cool. little scary looking. um much better Much better ride there. And then we went to what is my favorite area in the entire park. Galaxy's Edge for Star Wars.
00:48:08
Speaker
Oh my god. That section of the park is... awesome as a big star wars fan just being able to see all of that come to life and not have like any broken seams or anything like that in the theming is so so goddamn cool um We, me and Zach got the pilot role for ah the Millennium Falcon ride.
00:48:34
Speaker
And then we also got to get on Rise of the Resistance. Awesome as well. Got to meet R2-D2 and got to meet Boba Fett. um Got to see the Mandalorian. Didn't get a picture with him though, because he was walking off stage.
00:48:51
Speaker
Rise the Resistance. Holy shit. I have never had a smile sweep across my face so much on something that wasn't a roller coaster because the amount, it's so detailed and it's so cool. And ah just go check it out.
00:49:03
Speaker
Seriously. It's a lot of money. I know Disneyland is not cheap, but it is 110% worth your money to go check out Disneyland in DCA.
00:49:14
Speaker
Awesome, awesome parks. The amount of just everything that goes into those rides is ridiculous. And I fucking love it. um Rise the Resistance, my favorite non-coaster ride, ah period.
00:49:30
Speaker
it's it's It's awesome. It's so well put together. it runs great. um And the animatronics are spot on. So...
00:49:44
Speaker
just Just go check it out go Go to Disneyland. It's a great time. We got a Haunted Mansion. Hot take. Haunted Mansion is a mid as hell.
00:49:55
Speaker
It's not very good. I guess why everybody likes it. I get the appeal. It's just not my thing. i I can't really understand what half the ghosts are saying.
00:50:05
Speaker
The song at the end, I don't know. The stretching room is cool, but it's ah it's okay. I gave it two tries while I was there and neither of them. I did not enjoy it. I just wasn't really my thing.
00:50:22
Speaker
uh in credit coaster got to get on that and goofy sky school got my two credits there and credit coaster it was all right nothing nothing special as well just a very swooshy intimate with over for the shoulder restraints that doesn't need over the shoulder restraints um Goofy's size school was very much a mock wild mouse.
00:50:46
Speaker
It was okay. What else did we get on? We got on Guardians of the Galaxy as well. That is a great drop ride. That is a lot of fun. um Something I realized whenever I was on Guardians of the Galaxy was...
00:51:01
Speaker
I was sitting there with my seatbelt on, on the ride. And whenever we dropped and we got that airtime, um that's kind of where I realized like, yeah, I like, I like coasters more than I like theming. Theming is awesome. And I don't, not go say it doesn't add anything to any of the rides there. It 110% does.
00:51:20
Speaker
That's why like not so much because it has um good mix of theming and coasters, but The thing I enjoy the most is the sensations that coasters and rides give to you.
00:51:31
Speaker
And the rides at Disneyland aren't about the forces. It's about the stories. And not saying I don't like the stories. That's not what I'm getting at.
00:51:43
Speaker
But it's ah not. What's the word? It's just not. I'm just not their target target audience. There we go.
00:51:54
Speaker
That's what I was looking for. I am not the target audience of Disneyland for the most part. There's parts that I absolutely love and I would definitely go back and 110% think it's worth the money. But I'm not who they're trying to draw in. They're trying to draw in families and people who may enjoy roller coasters or may not.
00:52:14
Speaker
They have a much broader appeal than your average park does. So, ah but would still heavily suggest going there, whether you are a roller coaster person or not, you can always find something fun to do there.
00:52:26
Speaker
There is so much going on. um Pirates of the Caribbean was awesome. uh jungle cruise it was all right um but the star wars land man man i love that that was that was a totally just amazing ride and it's so well done every detail is like spot on the nose with the cannon and the movies and it's i really glad disney bought star wars i'm not a fan of how they executed the most recent movies however
00:53:01
Speaker
That land is very well put together. And that probably never would have happened if Disney didn't buy it. So day six was yesterday the time of recording.
Trip Reflections and Community Building
00:53:12
Speaker
Tuesday, March 4th.
00:53:15
Speaker
And that is the day i had to go home. Came back yesterday to gray and miserable oh Ohio.
00:53:26
Speaker
And now we are back to waiting for the coaster season again. It was a good break though. It was a good, good break from the cold.
00:53:37
Speaker
Definitely something that I needed and it was good to be able to see my friends again. I missed them a lot and I'm glad I was able to spend some more time with, with the, your favorite coaster sucks guys.
00:53:48
Speaker
They were, they were a lot of fun to hang out with and I can't wait to see him again. And I'm not going to delve into their personal lives, I'm not sure how long these meetups are going to keep going on.
00:54:00
Speaker
um But I'm going to be at every single one and start my own here in the future because I want to be able to to keep this going and make more friends and and hang out with all you people and and just have a great time.
00:54:15
Speaker
So I appreciate you guys listening. um I was considering doing a meetup at some point this year. Whether it's in Ohio or not, I will keep you posted.
00:54:27
Speaker
But I'm considering it and woll we'll let you know if something does pop up. so i Ben, Zach from your favorite coaster sucks.
00:54:39
Speaker
It was good hanging out with you. Can't wait to do it again in the future. Go give them a listen. they were This was their meetup. I just happened to go with them. um It was only us three throughout the entire trip.
00:54:51
Speaker
We actually recorded a very short episode for the Your Favorite Coaster Sucks podcast that will be going up on Friday, last I was told. Do not quote me on that because if it doesn't go up Friday, I'm going to look like a real idiot.
00:55:05
Speaker
ah but yeah, go check them out and go give them a listen. So appreciate you guys hanging out. Glad you guys were here. Go check out the live little recording I did while I was in, while I was at Disney in the Rise of the Resistance line.
00:55:28
Speaker
And that is all I got for you. Go check out my social medias. Go follow me on Twitter at Lunarist IRL. Or you can just type in the single rider line. I'll pop up there as well.
00:55:40
Speaker
um also go follow on instagram type in the single rider line lunaris and that will pop up as well if you want to go check it out there i appreciate you guys listening i really do i'm glad that we are slowly rolling back into the new coaster season ah We're not there just yet, but we're getting close.
00:56:07
Speaker
This
00:56:15
Speaker
We're inching our way into spring. So that is all I got for you guys. appreciate you listening, and we'll see you next time the Single Ride Line.