Paws off my phone!://Wildcat's Revenge Media Day 2023

                   Date:5/31/2023-6/3/2023

Destination: Hershey, Pennsylvania

Goal: Media Day for Wildcat's Revenge

Distance: 510  Miles

Means of Travel: Driving

Potential Credits: 1

I fucking hate, HATE ancient outdated wooden coasters, and on that may not be quite as old as the rest of 'em but still plenty awful, is Hersheypark's Wildcat. From day one, I got my spine grinded good by that damn thing while lovely, beautiful, more advanced Lightning Racer would deliver hand-cut racing perfection just down the midway. RMC was already a thing by the time I got to Hershey, and because of that, I never saw any sense in not RMCing Wildcat. They've got not one but two GCIs just around the corner that are way better than shitty ol' Vilecat could ever be, there's no shortage of wood coaster character at all in the Keystone State, aside from being GCI's first coaster it has no historical value, nobody ever rides it compared to the other rides, it's a no brainer. RMC the hell out of it.

So you can imagine how happy I was when at some point late last summer, work on Wildcat was being done and a closure was announced. And to add to it, RMC Connection (not Connoisseurs, we've rebranded) was invited to their media day! And on top of that, there was a video shoot that afternoon that we were added to. And with me planning to stay an extra day Friday, I had a media day, a commercial shoot, and a full operating day at Hershey to look forward to.

Day 0

Ben and I's friend Rachel from Coaster Crew had invited us to stay with her on the night before media day, with Ben's only flight option being a late midnight arrival into BWI nearby, so that made my destination for the day Baltimore. I worked for four hours that morning, finishing up my job just in time to get on the road, with a long but smooth seven hour trek to Baltimore ahead. I got through about Columbus when my friend Chelsey called and we shot the shit for a bit, killing about an hour or two. And by then my chocolate, despite being in a lunchbox, had already melted. From there I cued up some of that Deathbed Confessions podcast I like to listen to as I drive, and it was pretty good. Guy that cried out he was Jack the Ripper as he was being hanged, multiple people who admitted to being the infamous DB Cooper airplane pirate, and the man who allegedly killed Adam Walsh gave me plenty of interesting stuff to listen to. Got a little bored of things about halfway into DB Cooper and about an hour from Rachel's, so I switched gears back to my Hershey mixtape (and by mixtape I mean Spotify playlist) and before I knew it I was there!

Side note, this is a beautiful drive. Ohio East of Columbus and then Pennsylvania/Maryland/West Virginia always feels a bit like a frontier to me, as somewhere I don't usually go 100% of the time. It feels like good road trip territory, even though West Virginia is my least favorite state by far. It's mountainous, no huge cities, just you, some nice views, and little Americana towns with cheap rural gas!

Swung by Wendy's to get some chicken nuggets and this in the window was really funny to me for some reason.

I got to Rachel's around 8 and was able to sit down and have some food, she goes to make a burrito, and just as I'm about to eat a nugget, I hear, "no!!! Stay away from the food you know better!!!" I jumped, startled, wondering what I did to upset Rachel, the next thing I know a cat comes from out of nowhere (was not even aware a cat was in the room), leaps over the counter like an Olympic hurdler and scampers up the stairs into the sunset. And she's like, "oh no you're good I wouldn't talk to you like that," and I just laughed, knowing it was gonna be one of those trips.

My father recently had surgery and I got him some of UDF's (Ohio area gas station chain that sells ice cream) peach ice cream and it became his favorite recovery food. So it made me happy to see that of all ice cream flavours Rachel had it was peach, so we enjoyed that. We stayed up and chatted, she showed me some of her books, and eventually her and her kid had to get to bed. I stayed up, went to BWI to get Ben, red a chapter of my Atlantis book in the cell phone lot, and drove him back home and we passed out on both of her couches straight away, needing to get to Hershey the next morning with a two hour drive in hour way.

Day 1

I had a weird af dream that I was trying to catch a cat around Rachel's townhouse, but I could firebend in the kitchen if I asked Amazon Alexa, and then I realized I was in a dream within a dream so that became a lucid dream within a dream and that put me in Tears of the Kingdom for some reason and I started skydiving. And then I woke up and my sleep paralysis demon, otherwise known as Wall-E, was watching me sleep on the back of the couch.

We got up the next morning, Rachel went to work, her kiddo went to school, and Ben and I had a long commute to Hersheypark for Wildcat's Revenge.

Baltimore was hell to drive in, there were several car accidents and Waze routed us wrong, and that made us a little late to Media Day. But it mattered not, we got there and Hershey was awesome about getting us our press credentials and putting us where we needed to be. We were at Hershey!

Back in 2015, I was already hoping this would happen. Eight years later, it's finally happening. Wildcat's Revenge let's go! 

Not a lot of opportunities to shoot this coaster except from the stretch of queue that goes right next to it, it's a pretty secluded coaster. Didn't have many photos of it from before, even.

Only seen this sign on one other coaster and that's Skyrush!

Wildcat's Revenge has a locker system a la Steel Vengeance, Twisted Timbers, or Velocicoaster, but the lockers are bigger and you have to remember more. There's a bank number, a locker number, and a PIN you create to access it from the other side. Like the colored picture symbol a bit better but this is fine too. The sign also says 6 digit PIN but it's 4 digit. Remember it like a phone number, [LOCKER BANK][LOCKER NUMBER]-[4 DIGIT PIN]. So for example, locker 20 in bank 4 with a password of 6969 you'd remember as the phone number 420-6969.

The Wildcat's Revenge station has some pretty low ceilings but the pump up music they play is perfect for the ride. Same energy as Skyrush with basically a wall on one side of the train, and somewhat claustrophobic.

Also this video wasn't shot on media day, but major shoutout back to the RMC guys that waved hi from the platform!

So let's break it down, how is Wildcat's Revenge?

It feels like yet another step forward in time from RMC, a company that does just that. It feels just like an RMC of this tech level should feel, they've figured out how to make coasters that aren't Steel Vengeance or Iron Gwazi scale continue to consistently have violent layouts, full of great ejector, insane pacing, but Wildcat's Revenge takes it a step further with snappyness and laterals.

The ride starts out with a really fun little downhill prelift, possibly my new favorite on any RMC, before engaging the lift, and the climb into the chain is kind of spongey and probably still needs dialed in because it bounces you a bit as you begin your ascent. The drop is an RMC drop, great ejector, but nothing surprising about it. Best part of this might simply be the nice view of the rolling pastures of Pennsylvania's Dairyland, the Welcome to Hershey sign, Milton Hershey School, and Hotel Hershey atop the hill. The underflip feels a bit like ArieForce One's raven dive, much moreso than just a standard dive loop or something, but it's the camelback afterwards that sends the message that this kitty still means business. A double up leads into a little wave turn, which comes back out into a stall, which snaps VERY violently in the front. Like, you could be right side up, blink, and be upside-down. This pulls out into a second equally awesome wave turn, which then rises into what many think is the best part of the ride: a double down with a twist. It drops sharply, turns sharply, and drops again, with no banking on the turn. You're essentially lifted up diagonally out of your seat. It snaps through another inversion before slamming pretty violently into a little helix and pulling out of yet another zero-g roll, forming somewhat of a 270 degree twisted horseshoe that pulls a lot of positive Gs for an RMC. Like, it slams you pretty hard into your seat as you come out of the inversion and around the turn. After this roll through the structure it does this very Wicked Cyclone-esque dancey turn thing before a lovely finale of two final kicker hills, one of which looks as if it's going to smash through the structure as you slam into the brakes.

Element-wise, it feels like Wicked Cyclone meets Storm Chaser. Lots of basic but well executed hills, rolls, and other inversions meet a few fun dancey tipping out elements, and the ride getting more and more intense as it progresses reminds me of both older RMCs, but with a fresh take utilizing new technology. And it's incredible for it. Better than Skyrush? That's to be decided later, along with overall rankings. But it definitely has a solid case in a US-only top ten.

In addition to the media ride (we actually got to go twice, super nice of them!) they also had this really cool 360 Activation video op that was set up. Some of you may have seen this at Pipeline Media Day done with people standing on surfboards, this is essentially the same thing except we got signs to dance with. Lot of fun to make this and it's a cool technology, albeit very simple. Lots of things parks can do with this!

Wildcat's Revenge has some...odd differences in its restraint device from other RMC trains of the same generation. For starters, Hershey is a bit more hands on (no pun intended) about the whole "hold on" rule than most other parks, and I think to address that, they added this weird little horse bridle bolted to the restraint knee defender. So you have something to hang onto but it isn't solid at all, it's a loop of cable wrapped in padding and hooked to little hinged eyelet things on either side.

In addition, and more importantly I think, the buckle for the seatbelt isn't like a flat Intamin buckle like on the gen 1 trains, or a square airplane buckle like on the gen 2 trains, but it's a chonky plastic clip thing like you might see on a kiddie car seat. And if it gets between your thigh and the lap bar, it hurts over the ejector hills. When putting the belt on, make sure it rests vertically against your stomach, not flat on your thigh. The airtime will smoosh it into your lap and it will hurt.

After this, we went to the video shoot and got all signed in and wristbanded and all that good stuff. Took them a bit to get the equipment ready and an eagle about took out the drone so that was funny, but a few hours of staying hydrated later, we were able to ride!

Also special thanks to Brandon Strouphauer for the photo pass access!

We rode it several times over the course of the afternoon, plenty to get a well-formed opinion of the coaster, and the big thing I noticed comparing seats is that while the experience is different in the front, middle, and back, there's none that's necessarily better than the other. A front row ride highlights just how snappy this ride is, the rolling elements somewhat out-Iron Gwazi Iron Gwazi, it feels like I305 level snapping going through some of those rolls and in/out of the stall. A back seat ride is all about the airtime, from getting pulled over the hills and out of the stall to getting ripped into the twisted horseshoe thing (can we name this element? I feel like it needs its own name), and middle, while usually being a dud, is a perfectly balanced well rounded ride experience. I can't think of a single other coaster where I can't decide between the front, middle, or back as readily and to me that makes this very unique as a design. There are no bad seats on Wildcat's Revenge, only good ones.

Filming wrapped as we were told it would, Ben left a few minutes early to use our media day tickets to get Skyrush and I followed after he had ridden and fallen in love with the damn thing. So I hightailed it around to Chocolate Town and got in myself.

Skyrush became my #1 in 2015 and retained the spot for a year until Lightning Rod kicked it down a notch in 2016, but it remained the only non-RMC that could run toe to toe with the products of my favorite ride manufacturer for a very long time. In 2017 it took a kick to my rankings when I noticed it starting to develop a nasty rattle around some of the curves, and Ben warned me that while the ride is incredible, the rattle is still there.

I met up with Ben, we rode it together, and while I still think my criticism is totally valid, I also don't think I was giving it enough credit for what it does right. That ejector is easily top tier even compared to RMC legends like Steel Vengeance and Iron Gwazi, but doing it suspended off the side of the train with just that tiny seat and lapbar is nucking futs. Add in the creek setting and I'm reminded of why this coaster gets eaten up like candy by even the most hardened coaster junkies. Granted, I do still think the long, drawn out curves at either end of the figure eight kill the flow of the ride somewhat and it definitely has a nasty rattle there, but it's still a fucking awesome ride. Definitely warrants a raise in my rankings, but where? And more importantly, how compared to newcomer Wildcat's Revenge, which also demonstrated merit in my top ten today?

So we get our last ride, get ready to leave so we can take a quick Sheetz, and get Ben to Harrisburg's airport for his flight, but to our horror, something is wrong as we get off Skyrush: our phones have been replaced by similar looking devices that are not ours. Thinking quickly, we get their devices, knowing they're now considered lost articles, and borrow a wonderful nice lady's phone for Ben to log into his Android account and GPS our phones, hoping we'll GPS into another panicky group looking for lost phones while far from home. Meanwhile, I see a staff meeting and alert a green tag to our situation and she takes me to security, and as we're there, the Skyrush supervisor comes up to security yelling if anyone has lost a phone, holding Ben and I's devices. I swap him phones, out of breath, thank both of them for their help as well as the nice lady who let Ben borrow her phone, and we head out, and if we weren't out of breath before we sure were by now!

So we head to Sheetz, get the most disgusting, greasy, delicious hot dog ever and some boneless wings, and chew on the wonderful day we just had before Ben drove back to Harrisburg's teeny tiny airport, and I headed to my sketchy hotel out in the middle of nowhere with several annoying flies in my room. I hit the showers and get some sleep, planning to return tomorrow for Wildcat's Revenge's first public operating day!

Day 2

Of course I couldn't sleep, waking up around 7:30 when the park didn't open til like 10, so I took advantage of the situation and gate crashed! I left around 8:30, got a disgusting Sheetz breakfast sandwich on the way (fried chicken egg white pepper jack and guac? Hell yeah!) and got a spot near the front of the line for ticketed guests. My buddy John was to be my partner in crime today, for his first ride on the new RMC and my first time seeing him in two years.

Rope dropped and we did the running of the bulls to Wildcat's Revenge where everyone filed into the queue line. Usually at Kings Island, this line would stretch all the way back to the Eiffel Tower and wait would be seven hours long and you were lucky to get in the queue for the brand new attraction, but here it just filled up what was built, strangely. Probably because passholders already rode it.

What's this? A look at me without my signature flannel? Stop the presses Jarrett's posting his nudes cover that shit up nobody needs to see your goddamn ninnies and turkums flobbering about all over Hersheypark!!!

In all seriousness, yes, I had to take my flannel off in line because it was HOT. Like, 93 degrees hot. Not 97 and falling, 93 and steadily that hot throughout the day in a park that isn't the best at shading their queues. Wildcat still has the little wooden pergola things over the cattlepen but it was just a skeleton, no frame or awning or anything. The only fans (teehee he said OnlyFans) I remember were in the path from the cattlepen to the lockers. Wildcat's Revenge has a hot queue with minimal shade, make sure to bring sunscreen and water if you go in the dead of summer.

Then it hit me I did something dumb. Sun was out, coaster was hauling, we've got a wait in the only spot you can see it well, so I get my camera out to shoot some photos of it. Turns out I was an idiot and left my memory card in my laptop which was back at the hotel, so great. No DSLR access for me today, gotta make do with a phone and the shitty photos that come with!

John wanted to ride in the back first so we got row 9 and made do with that, and I really liked this ride! It wasn't quite as warmed up as our later ones yesterday but the ride itself was great. Best part in the back is probably the double down, the airtime is unreal but combined with that yank to the side, that takes it to the next level. Getting ripped out of the following zero-G to be slammed into the twisted horseshoe is also pretty awesome.

Stormrunner was next since it usually gets a line, but we caught it early and beat the crowd for a damn good morning ride. I love the launch on this thing, especially since we have nothing like it back home now, and the flying snake dive dishes out great airtime that was well ahead of its time. It's like Velocicoaster 20 years earlier.

And for some reason or another...Wildcat's Revenge wasn't all the way out the park in terms of wait, it was actually pretty reasonable so we did that again next. And in the front...holy shit this ride is good! Like, the snapping in and out of the rolling elements makes the ride this is like RMC's take on I305 while fixing the concept for what I dislike about 305. I think I like it better the closer to the front you get, and that's saying a lot considering the back row is the "all about the airtime" seat.

Also, ran into our friends Dan and Luke at the exit as we hit the brakes, so thanks to both of them for this photo!

We were gonna do Jolly Rancher but by the time we got off it had a really bad line, guess Skyrush will have to suffice! The school groups were in full force at this point, we saw a whole bunch of them line jump right in front of their chaperone before she waved them off and said to go have fun as she left to get a beer at Chocolatier or something. Wait wasn't too hateful, we got on, and it was just as good as last night, though that rattle is still very much there.

I had no idea what this was about to do to my rankings, or what my favorite coaster in the park is. Both are pretty neck and neck in terms of intensity, and that's awesome considering what a legendary ride Skyrush is. Skyrush has the stronger force magnitude, yes, and the better seating arrangement and location, but the ride is definitely somewhat marred by those long drawn out turns at either end. Doesn't kill the ride nearly as much as they kill 305, but they do rattle more and it is a dead spot in the layout you ride through three times. Meanwhile, Wildcat's Revenge doesn't have the phenomenal airtime on an exposed wing over water, but I also don't have any real complaints at all about the ride itself.

Time to compare them yet again, by some miracle it still had a 30-40 minute wait, so we did Wildcat a third time. It was starting to get hot and the school groups had claimed it by now, so we knew it was probably our last ride. This time John wanted closer to the back, so we did row 11. And as I said earlier, this is where the airtime is at the start of the ride and through the wave turns. You get pulled out of a lot of cool elements pretty violently, the only lagging/pulling drawback however is on the double up into the first wave turn how it isn't as violent as it is in the front or middle. But it's far from a miss of the airtime moment and you do get a pop. 

Lightning Racer was another we'd been wanting, and it's a top five favorite for me in the park, but sadly was down all morning. Only one side was up, and somehow several teeny tiny penises had been drawn in the little queue lattice, but our one ride on Lightning was pretty solid, albeit lacking the duel. It's no Mystic Timbers or Gold Striker, but it is a very good ride with a fun unique layout and I can respect that. It was weird, however, riding it not thinking about how it's so much better than Wildcat now.

John and I's Chocolatier reservation was coming up, so we hoofed it from Midway America all the way up to Chocolate Town, got our table, and waited for Dan and Luke to join us. I got this frozen chocolate cocktail thing that was a milkshake but also wasn't a milkshake or something, it had Bailey's and Kahlua and shit in it with Hershey chocolate, it was absolutely delicious, frozen drinks are the bomb on a scorching hot day.

Candymonium is an end of day ride for Hershey, and it had been down all day and that was driving wait times through the roof in some cases, since it eats people like a fat kid eats chocolate. Dan and Luke joined up and we ordered, sat around, chatted, caught up, typical enthusiast talk. So I've got drink in my mouth...when I see the Reese's train ascend the lift! We continued to keep an eye on it, waiting for it to possibly open its doors and let us in. 

But first...food! I was brave and got something I wouldn't usually think to try: a Reese's burger. First one they gave me I ate a bit before realizing they'd basically cremated it and cooked it medium well when I ordered medium rare, so they brought me back one that was basically still mooing as I like it and this was AMAZING. It's got peanuts, peanut butter, the patty, this delicious acidic shallot jam, and these little cocoa spiced sweet potato crispies to give it some chocolate flavour with the peanut butter. There was also a little fun size Reese cup on top that I put on the burger to get all melty and put some ooey gooey chocolate and peanut butter all over the sandwich, it was delicious. You probably read that and are about to throw up in your mouth at the thought of eating a burger that tastes like a Reese's Cup but if you go in expecting sweet and savory, or like peanuts in tandem with savory veggies and meats like you find in Thai food, and you like that kind of thing, you'll love it.

We went downstairs, I got a Wildcat's Revenge keychain, a WCR shirt, and a Skyrush shirt, but still no Candymonium so we went back to Skyrush.

Got a ride on SooperDooperLooper before heading to Skyrush, which was still just as mental as before, but now with much less wait. It was the perfect way to close out the trip, getting yeeted over that drop as you watched the sun set into the Poconos on the horizon, and then the out of control OMFG insane flight to hell this thing takes you on.

This machine is a fucking monster.

My Wildcat shirt was too big so I went up the hill to see if I could exchange it, I couldn't, but we found Stormrunner with a short line so we did that! Love another ride on this as always, I think it might be #3 in the park behind Wildcat's Revenge and Skyrush.

Bonus! We get off and see Jolly Rancher Remix has no line, so we snag it since neither of us have ridden it since it was redone. The theming is a little goofy, they play bad dance music around it, and the Flavor Tunnel (lol) is just a headchopper with some lights in it, nice touch but not any cooler than what's on Demon at Great America or New Texas Giant. There's dance lights and more bad dance music on the lift hills, reminds me somewhat of a tackier, lower budget, American take on what Walibi did with Psyke Underground, and remember to buy our candy so your kids have enough energy to go Super Saiyan.

We walked out, fingers crossed Candymonium would be open, but it sadly was not. So off into the sunset we strolled, everyone returned to their cars, and our hopes melted like the Reese's Cups twenty minutes after being placed in my car on the way out. But at least I had my phone this time!

But on a positive note: The school groups, as they left the park, were marched back into the gulag where they belong.

(Serious note: Compared to what I deal with at Kings Island back at home, these school group kids were actually mostly well behaved. I did Music In The Parks when I was their age, I know they're usually the geeky band kids, that's an age range where maturity varies the most between in my opinion, and I don't actually have an issue with these school group events going on at all. But it makes a damn funny meme so we will laugh.)

On the drive back to the hotel, I found a liquor store but they lacked cold beer, and I wanted cold beer, so they directed me to the Giant around the corner, where I got one of those build your own six pack for $10 things. Then I tried to ring it up in the checkout lane and the cashier about had a heart attack because PA liquor laws, directed me to the special AA register in the liquor section where my ID was taken out of my wallet, scanned, I was judged for having taken beer out of the special turnt corner built for Woody Harrelson in Hunger Games, and left the store feeling like I had just bought something at the out of state dispensary that I'm not supposed to have. Good beer though, which I thought was odd considering the draconian liquor laws here. I haven't seen Leffe since France last year!

Day 3

I slept in as much as I could, getting up around 8:30 to hit the road, and was on around 9 for a pretty quiet, boring, but relaxing drive home. My trip mixtape, calling friends to catch up, and of course, Deathbed Confessions were my choices of entertainment for the 7 hour ordeal.

Stopped at Sheetz for gas and some cheap disgusting food, which was some pot stickers (overpriced and just okay), and a typical Sheetz sloppy ass hot dog with chili and olives and gooey cheese and shit. But they "can not" take payment for gas at the drive thru. However, the lady did do me the service of informing me which state I was in, since I was basically riding the Mason-Dixon line home and passing in and out of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia like nobody's business.

Eventually I crossed back into Ohio, and made it home around 5:30, just in time to shower and go to Dungeons & Dragons that night!

But that leaves the burning question: Which coaster did I like better?

It was a very close call, but I'm giving it to Wildcat solely on the fact that while I liked both coasters very closely, Skyrush I can list more negatives than I can for Wildcat's Revenge. Furthermore, Wildcat's Revenge also dishes out an equally good ride in every seat, something Skyrush doesn't do quite as well, and I can't think of another coaster that's quite as all around in every seat as Wildcat's Revenge. Both of them are touching in my rankings, both of them made my top ten, Wildcat for the first time and Skyrush securing a higher spot from when I last rode it and now able to compare it to a good RMC, but I love them both and with coaster technology getting progressively better year after year, picking ten out of 440+ is going to be pretty fierce competition. So even top twenty or even top thirty for someone like me can still mean the coaster is really really good. It's not like I'm one of those people that claims to like coasters but only enjoys five of them out of several hundred, I like most of what I ride so if I like it that much, that speaks volumes. So regardless of which one of these I pick, I think the real winner is Hersheypark simply for having two coasters that are this great in their lineup, it really elevates their lineup and raised them into my top ten parks.

Meanwhile, Wildcat's Revenge slid into my RMC Rankings at 5/14, below Steel Vengeance and above Twisted Timbers. All three coasters have tons of airtime, Wildcat's Revenge can certainly rival these two in that category, but it also introduces some other interesting elements, like Iron Gwazi's snapping and Wicked Cyclone's dancing.

I'm finally glad I got caught my the cat!

Havarti Party on The Boardwalk://Cedar Point Media Day 2023

                   Date:5/4/2023

Destination: Sandusky, Ohio

Goal: Media Day for The Boardwalk at Cedar Point

Distance: 292  Miles

Means of Travel: Driving

Potential Credits: 1

It's no secret that my favorite place in the world is Cedar Point. This island/peninsula/whatever is a land formation in Lake Erie surrounded by water on all sides, and functions just as much as a summer beach resort as it does an amusement park, and has done so from the 19th century at that. And as a lover of all things nautical, I always had wanted them to get something that was thematically beachy or coastal or the like to sort of throw back to this. It was right up there for something I wanted the park to get along with a GCI to give them a good modern wooden coaster or a wild mouse because the little mechanical carnival-esque coaster would match the vibe of the park.

So when it was announced the park was getting a boardwalk-themed midway with a Zamperla Wild Mouse, I was totally onboard with it, no pun intended. I definitely enjoyed Wicked Twister, but I do think its demise opened up the beachfront and presented the opportunity to do something really cool, making this seaside park really feel like one. Wicked Twister's plot would be reused for a large restaurant called Grand Pavilion overlooking Lake Erie and Scrambler, Troika, Matterhorn, and Tiki Twirl would be moved over here, creating a classic carnival ambiance akin to something like Kings Island's Coney Mall or Hersheypark's Midway America. An addition that was intended to be both new and polished as well as historic and nostalgic.

As admins of RMC Connoisseurs, Ben applied for us to do the media event and were invited to do so, so plans were made, and hastily. I would get off work Wednesday, drive up to DTW where he was doing flight attendant stuff, and we'd stay the night there and head for Cedar Point the next morning. After normal roommate shenanigans including a haunted alarm clock that kills you after it chimes four times, we got on the road to the park!

Cedar Point had us walk back down the beach walkway, and Grand Pavilion looks great from there, but I don't get why you can't just walk in from here. This could've easily been Cedar Point's Chocolatier but this just looks like they somewhat gave up on that idea. Like, at least put some art or something here. Great concept but it feels like it's missing something.

We lined up by the Windseeker entrance and from what I could see, we had something fun and colorful behind the gate waiting for us! We waited about, got sorted into our lines, and I knew it was about to open when I saw a gentleman with a straw hat and pinstriped shirt stroll out and start juggling.

It didn't even feel real to be recognized as official media by Cedar Point. Like, this is the most official photography anything I've ever done.

Welcome to The Boardwalk! I love this sign!

I walk in, and see these performers roaming about, presumably the entertainment that guests will experience when they come here on public days. So I've got my camera and I'm looking around for that money shot. This girl sees me with my camera out...and just sits down on a planter and bends her knee back complete with a cracking sound! 

Lots got repainted around here, and this is the perfect home for these otherwise inconspicuous carnival rides. They also have soundtracks now!

The theming is here is minimalistic in approach, but it works because of what that theme is. You can't go Disney with a boardwalk the way you can with, say, medieval or spooky, but Cedar Point still put effort into this simple theme with roaming performers, props, simple architecture choices, and even a unique trash can design for the area as opposed to the standard Cedar Fair trash bin.

Aight, everyone went over to Mouse first, which was already slow to wake up because they were still doing stuff in the station. Finally, we get in line, and get to the front, before we're told we're in the wrong line and to go over to the media line over by the exit. Queue greeter apologized, it is what it is, and we headed over there to wait to get our video.

We get up to the front...and it breaks down. They evac everyone, take a car off, test it, and reopen it...and it breaks down again. Same as before, harness up, get people off, fix it, and Ben and I get the cheese car we had wanted!

Guys it's gouda! Seriously, cheddar than the other Wild Mice! 

Wild Mouse is easily the best Zamperla coaster I've ridden, it's smooth, and even with balanced spinning it still felt like being flushed down a toilet as a tornado hit. Or if you're in the Midwest, a typical Sunday afternoon. The little dip into the hairpins helps you get a little off center, it spins you a bit through there as typical for a good spinning mouse, and then after that it just goes ballistic and doesn't stop until you hit the brakes. And once you pull out of that helix, the shit essentially hits the fan and violently whirls you all the way to the brakes. Long after we stopped spinning I was still dizzy.

We got off, collected our SD card, and went to go take photos of the rest of the area. Sadly no Grand Pavilion as it had opened and closed while we were in line waiting for it to reopen, but we could at least see everything walking around!

Grand Pavilion is gorgeous, shame I couldn't eat here because it looks really good. But the building is beautiful and I can't wait to maybe one day take my family here and eat looking out at the water like we love to do. And I gotta try that funnel cake shrimp this season!

I went back to take a few stills of Wild Mouse in action...and it went down again, because it's a new ride being a new ride.

And with that, it was time to get Ben to the airport and me home because Battlebots was that night and the tournament was starting and I wasn't about to miss more drama with Team Riptide this season!

Ben and I headed to Dirty D's, a diner place in Sandusky known for their delicious food and delightful service with a smile, where I got a gyro and some soup for like fifteen bucks before we got on the road.

This is exactly what the park needed. As I said, it was lowkey something I've wanted to get for a while in some form, so I'm so glad it's so similar to what I had wanted. Is it Steel Vengeance? No. They have Steel Vengeance. They needed The Boardwalk. Something that takes advantage of the park's gorgeous location, really embraces the old school amusement park vibe that Cedar Point's managed to retain, and feels like that wonderful summer season Cedar Point has. This made me want to go in the water, dry off, and get a spin in on a coaster. I love this addition and I'm so glad Cedar Point got it! Now onto Grand Pavilion next time I'm back, I want those funnel cake shrimp!

Atlanta 2023 Region Trip://Day 3- The "Not As Big A Dump As It Could Have Been" Award

                    Date:3/30/2023-4/2/2023

Destination: Atlanta, Georgia

Goal: Fun Spot Atlanta, Six Flags Over Georgia

Distance: 524 Miles

Means of Travel: Flying

Potential Credits: 4

Day 3- The "Not As Big A Dump As It Could Have Been" Award 

It would be a crime to ride a coaster called Twisted Cyclone in happy spring sunshine, right? As with last time I was here, I woke up and saw some ominous storm clouds overhead, which turned into a horrible downpour during breakfast. And again, as with my first trip to Busch Tampa, I learned that during the night, a tornado had hit the Dayton area and actually put a friend's parents in danger.

I've been to Six Flags Over Georgia twice in my life. Once in 2006 and once in 2018. However, it was my father's childhood home park and I grew up hearing stories about Dahlonega Mine Train and Okefenokee Swamp and those rides. We went in 2006 on a family vacation so he could show us the park he visited as a child, when Goliath was the big new baddie in town. I didn't go back until 2018 for Twisted Cyclone Media Day, but even then I didn't get much time there as my evening at the park I had planned beforehand got completely stormed out, and even the following morning was wet and rainy just for a coaster called Twisted Cyclone. But I knew a lot had changed, Six Flags has changed hands since I believe, Dare Devil Dive had been built, the infamous Ninja that was the worst coaster I had ridden for years was now Blue Hawk and had been updated, and there was another one of those cool Screampunk Districts that had also gone up in LA.

So I waited around my hotel playing OpenRCT2 on the new laptop for Jess and them since they said they could get me a lift the next day, but then I get a text that they're slow to get started so David saved the day and picked me up and decided to go in and chillax around the park with me for a bit.

It had dumped, and I mean, DUMPED down rain at Six Flags Over Georgia in the early hours of the morning, I had to step over puddles because this was the only pair of shoes I had brought and I wasn't about to do the whole trenchfoot thing again. But despite that, Over Georgia has a favorite entrance of mine, with it being impossible to enter the park without Goliath towering overhead. Visually it's one of the most impressive B&M hypers, so glad it was my first.

David had something to take care of with his pass and instructed me to run on in and wait for Twisted, so I did that. I always loved the theming on this weird little RMC, in contrast to Wicked Cyclone's dark, brooding take on the "severe weather at sea" theme, Twisted Cyclone has a lighter, almost joking take on a theme usually associated with destruction and destroyed shit as theming. The whole area has a beautiful pastel pallet and beach house architecture, boards nailed to the windows talk about a cyclone party (and used to say "grab a beer, run like hell"), and being from the yee yee Ohio part of the midwest where we mow our lawns during tornado warnings and the first coworker to go to the storm shelter is labeled as a chicken, yeah I can appreciate the humor in that. Mostly because, like most of the stuff I find funny, it's not as much a joke as many people realize.

Not sure if this was just the beating my legs took from ArieForce One yesterday, but Twisted Cyclone has cut its teeth nicely! This was my first public, warmed up, not media day, normal operation ride on this coaster and it's better than I remember it being. Much better. I was getting good ejector in every spot, the rolls were nice and snappy, and it feels much more like a proper babby Wicked Cyclone. Again, could be the sore legs, but I was ready for it to be over and felt like I'd gotten a good ride out of it by the time it wrapped up. Amazing coaster! Definitely confident in the initial call I made that it was better than Storm Chaser.

David got in next and we went for Goliath, which was just coming back up from a breakdown. My first ride on this was somewhat of an enigma, it was among the tallest I had ridden at the time (I think the only taller one might have been Son of Beast), and it intimidated me all day while being down for...some reason. When we got back to ride it later, to the tune of a shortened hour line (it was 3 before it had closed), we learned just as we were dispatching that it was because someone had had a medical emergency and passed away on it. So that's a tragic memory I'll always have with this coaster that I ended up loving that we still talk about to this day.

Goliath reopened from a breakdown and we boarded the massive B&M hyper in row two, understanding it might be the only ride of the day with just one train on the track. And I loved it! It's no Mako or Candymonium, but it's better than most of the ones of this era, reminded me a bit of a more modern Raging Bull. But its biggest drawback is it's gotten a bit rattly, not painful by any means but definitely doesn't feel like the silk smooth cruise I remember from childhood.

Time for the last credit of the trip! Call me Guy Fieri because we're hitting up America's greatest Dares, Devils, and Dives! This was the credit I was missing last time I was here but I missed it because my park evening got rained out, and to be honest, I had heard mixed things about that. Some told me I lucked out, others told me I missed out, and it's not a coaster you even hear about to begin with so I had no idea what I was in for.

And why isn't this talked about more??? And why is there only one?

Dare Devil Dive is great, it's like babby Cannibal! Many of the elements, namely the cutback, dive loop thing, and brake run feel exactly like the big scary Utah custom coaster, so this was definitely ahead of its time. If I were a park in 2011 I'd be telling Gerstlauer to shut up and take my money and build more of these, why are we not funding this???

With Over Georgia and the trip cleaned out for new coaster credits, David and I elected to go take things a little bit easier. We knocked out Superman next, which I sadly did not photograph but I enjoyed this as much as my first ride on it, it's nice and terrainy and rode pretty smoothly for its age. I'm so glad I worked on my claustrophobia enough to enjoy these flyers because coasters like this and Manta are amazing.

Great American Scream Machine was next, a coaster that I've heard horror stories of but remember nearly nothing about it. It's my friend Drew's most hated coaster, he calls it Great American Jackhammer Machine, and David warned me up and down about the brakes. Childhood memory is pretty dry, remember it being just a wooden coaster that didn't do a whole lot, and honestly it's one I had almost completely forgotten about until I became an enthusiast. Is it terrible? No. It's boring and farts around and does absolutely nothing at all, like most coasters of its day, but it's definitely not horrible and doesn't belong in the conversation for worst coaster on the planet by any means. One and done. If anything it would be beneficial for Six Flags to tear it down if the problem with it getting flooded is really that bad.

Blue Hawk, on the other hand, is a coaster I remember as Ninja, and not fondly at all. On the 2006 trip our server at Fogo de Chao heard we were going to Six Flags and comes back to our table with "don't do Ninja," and we sadly did it anyway. When I became an enthusiast, this was the coaster I picked for my first "worst coaster in the world." Now it's Blue Hawk and gets mixed reviews, and there was no line so that was concerning, but I had no problems with this! Blue Hawk is a ton of fun, good headchoppers, good inversions, suspended over the water like that provides some cool visuals, I'm honestly sad I didn't ride it again. I like Blue Hawk now! And I can't believe I just typed that sentence!

David left just in time for us to enter assholeville...

He advised Pandemonium next after he dipped out, which is one of those big chungus Zamperla discus rides Six Flags has been putting in, though this one is special because of its insanely cool steampunk theme and nearby Screampunk District. Now, with my engineering tech degree, it's basically a given I love all things nuts and bolts so I had to ride this and like it, not a ton of theming on it but a theme is present, but as I get in line, some asshat playing OpenRCT2 hits the "Large Tram" button and it dumps a whole bus full of buzzed, loud, obnoxious frat bros in the queue! These guys were Wonder Bread Limp Bizkit Monster Energy basic, anyone on a certain UK-based coaster forum using the term "basic" to gatekeep coaster enthusiasm clearly hasn't met Chet, Dan, Michael, Brad, and the boys. They're clapping, chanting, basically behaving like a stereotypical Disney tour group but you could smell the White Claw on 'em. At 1 in the afternoon. I was getting a headache from not eating (sometimes I forget to and today was one of those) so I could only take so much "OLEEEE OLE OLE OLEEEEE." And the worst part of it all? I really liked the ride despite having to put up with these idiots as I enjoyed it. Same sensation as Delirium back at home but it's way higher. Hate Zamperla's coasters but I love their flat rides!

Though after we all got off, Brandon from the group of bros (they joked they had the same mother and several different fathers but never seriously answered how they all knew each other when a lady asked?) said he lost his phone and it went into some trees in the low zone, so that was satisfying to watch if not a bit infuriating. Leave your shit off the ride you'll hurt someone!

With that having...happened, it was time for an April Fool's prank gone horribly wrong. The plan among Ben and I for April Fool's was going to be for me to get a selfie in the SFOG bathroom claiming I was out of toilet paper and put it in RMC Connoisseurs asking if any members could bring me some. So I decide to get a Phili Cheesesteak from Birds of Prey Cafe in DC...and the next thing I know Six Flags food sends me sprinting to the bathroom again. Fortunately I had toilet paper and just had an exorcism to deal with, but at least I got a somewhat genuine photo showing real concern for the prank while I was taking care of business. Now I don't even know how one manages to annihilate a person from the inside out with a cheesesteak, it wasn't like it was a taco or Chinese food or something where it's to be expected, so I have no idea what didn't agree with me here but this is my warning to all who might be going, especially those of you with sensitive stomachs.

For the first time in my life I might have Six Flags Over Georgia cleaned out, but in a few months that won't be true with Kid Flash opening. Saw the construction walls over by Gotham but it didn't look like a very active site. I wouldn't expect to be racing down those single rail tracks for at least a few months.

My pass includes a Flash Pass so I went to use it for a spin on Twisted and ugh, now they don't do that for you at the counter and make you do it yourself on your phone, and normally I can do technology but my aging iPhone XR has been having battery problems and their website was really slow to load when I went to do it. The Flash Pass counter was dead, they should've been able to help me out better than "oh just do it yourself." But that mess aside, Twisted Cyclone another time was great! The morning's ride was not a fluke, she's really warming up, and after riding everything else I still conclude it's the best in the park. Literally David slaying Goliath...with David wearing an ugly Hawaiian shirt and mandals in the Hooter's parking lot after getting cut off and kicked out with the cops on their way. Probably a Florida Man, maybe this is why Florida isn't too fond of David right now.

After that, I did a quick photo lap and shot Twisted Cyclone and Goliath, then hit another coaster I had wanted to reride: Georgia Scorcher. I remembered riding this but nothing about the experience, and I was glad I got to reride it because this isn't a bad coaster! I had just made a standup in Planet Coaster for Christmas themed to a ski resort so on the ride I imagined I was carving out slopes and moguls as we raced around those tight curves. Also love the interaction with Goliath. New favorite standup, I honestly expected more pain out of the Canada goose nesting near the exit.

I went back for Mindbender next, and I should've brought my Riddler cosplay from Con on the Cob 2022 because I really like this character and cosplayed as the Batman The Animated Series version of Edward Nygma. David warned me the ride had been nerfed somewhat, but I didn't care. This Schwarzkopf is still great, has some great pacing and works masterfully with the terrain, not to mention the loops are still great.

Afterwards, I was headed for Monster Mansion and Macho Nacho when I ran into Tim and Jess and their gaggle of delinquints again, so we all met up and rode Twisted Cyclone. Hundreds of carpenter bees were chilling around the station but thankfully they don't sting because we were packed in there for a while with this thing on one train ops. But it was great to see these guys again and walk them out of the park and wish them safe travels before the journey home to Florida!

With the peanut gallery having been successfully removed from Six Flags, THEN I went to Macho Nacho, which took forever and the seating area was disgusting. I put my hand in some sticky ABC gum and the were out of napkins, not to mention the food wasn't even that good. So I ate what I wanted of a subpar Six Flags burrito and decided to go do Monster Mansion to close out the night.

This ride is special because my father rode it as a child. Okefenokee Swamp Ride, he called it, was "like Splash Mountain without the drop at the end." We rode it together as Monster Plantation, now I'm an adult riding it as Monster Mansion. And this cute little dark ride just made me so happy! It's similar character designs, similar tech level, similar storyine, but it's been cleaned up and now it's nothing outside of good, clean, wholesome fun. Also shoutout to the crew who seemed to be the only ones having fun with their jobs, being kind to guests and dancing to the catchy song and stuff.

After that, I used my snack on an ice cream and the park closed. I went to the MARTA station, but the bus was late, and worrying that I would miss the airport shuttle from the airport back to the hotel, I took David up on his offer once again and he sent his girlfriend to pick me up...in a super cool Slingshot! Like, I got to speed past Six Flags at night in this cool car/motorcycle/thing on a beautiful night, the perfect way to close out the day! May or may not have gotten a few crazy looks practicing tai chi footwork in the parking lot waiting on my ride, but anything to kill time. I thanked both of them from the bottom of my heart for all the help, they're good people and I think we sort of share that desire to help fellow travelers out in our own necks of the woods when needed. So...now I gotta go home and pay it forward!

I remember Six Flags Over Georgia from my childhood as a pretty park with some awesome rides, and some not so awesome rides, and some of the rudest staff we've ever encountered going to parks as a family. My last trip here was cut short, but I liked what I saw. But this time? I love this park now. Not without its flaws, but I had an awesome time with their awesome coaster collection and just experiencing the ambiance of this traditional Americana themed amusement park. The wooded hillside setting is gorgeous, the dichotomy of Goliath and Twisted Cyclone being the best rides as well as both keeping the gate somewhat is really cool, and they've even got a solid supporting lineup with Dare Devil Dive and Blue Hawk and more. Their food department needs completely overhauled, some of the coasters (Goliath primarily) could use some paint and TLC, I did have a few employees who weren't rude but were unhelpful. But no park is perfect, and compared to how I remember the service here being, I was pleasantly surprised. I'm interested to see how this place changes over the next decade, because it felt like it was on the upswing. And that makes me so happy to see my father's childhood home park as the warm, fuzzy, fun place he told me it was when I was a young child getting into roller coasters.

Day 4- Early Bird Gets Annoyed By Frontier Again

I got this yesterday:

This, according to Ben, basically meant nothing. My flight didn't board until 12:30, and I woke up at 8-ish, but I figured being early wouldn't hurt anything. So I snag the 9 am shuttle from the hotel to the airport, get there early, and basically the second I'm at the Frontier counter the Frontier began to Frontier again.

I had purchased my carry on on the app, having learned how they do things, but when I get there early, per their instructions, I get told I can't get my bag tag because it's 4 hours before we take off...despite having been told to get there early. And this lady has the nerve to tell me it'll be $25 to print it at the counter if I can't use the kiosk. So cue the Jeopardy theme, I wait fifteen minutes, plane leaves at 1:15 so I try at 9:15, and it still won't take it, so THEN the counter agent does it for me free of charge after I waited around for nothing. And further insult to injury? Shit wasn't even bad at TSA, I've seen it way worse and got through in maybe twenty minutes. ATL TSA was at least kind, they were telling us to leave our shoes on so when I asked about my belt the sweet old lady tells me "take your belt off but leave those pants on baby," which got a laugh out of everyone. But here I am, at the airport way too early for my flight, because of Frontier, after Frontier tried to charge me for getting there too early like Frontier had asked me to do.

So I fired up the laptop, edited the Over Georgia photos, and got Chinese while I watched the planes move about the tarmac. Finally Courtney the Cougar came back to get me a ride home, we boarded, I did the boring ass flight, and Grant picked me up after a minor mix up at baggage claim.

Eh, not gonna lie that trip was pretty normal by my standards. Carry on trouble with Frontier, delinquents at Six Flags, got shaken up good by the RMC, and Ben's keys teleporting under the A/C, all in a weekend's work for Jarrett. But that's exactly why I subject myself to this stuff. Planning this it felt a bit like a glorified Fun Spot Atlanta business trip almost, but I ended up really falling in love with what theme parking the Capital of the South has to offer. Anyone passing through here going to Dollywood or Florida should definitely consider a day or two here, there's two RMCs, one of which is arguably the best American one, as well as a good B&M hyper and some decent loopers, flats, and even a dark ride. So hop on a plane, in a car, or atop a unicycle, and head on down here! It's...

...wait for it...

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!!!!