Re: TR: Canada's Wonderland & Other Stuff (6/19-6/21/09)

In article
<sanddave-7B5984.07560024062009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
David Sandborg <sanddave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Going there soon again, we'll see if Behemoth warrants the expectations,
but I still expect to have a fun day. My biggest worry is crowds; I've
never really had an empty day at that park.

Well, we're back, and we did have a pretty empty day at the park.
Timing may have been a difference (day before a Canada Day that happened
to fall smack in the middle of the week and couldn't easily be tied to a
weeked), but weather may have been more of a factor, as it rained off
and on all day--and the whole week was pretty bad.

Behemoth was pretty good. It's only the second of this new generation
of B&M's I've ridden so I don't have the greatest basis of comparison,
but I liked it. I'd put it a notch below the one in Georgia, mainly
because the ending is just not as good (love to see what it could do
without that mid-course though). Still the sequence of three middle
hills is excellent, and the tight turnaround was much better than
expected. I honestly don't see how you can really compare Raging Bull
to this, but I fully admit I never "got" Raging Bull anyway.

I managed to ride just about everything else in the collection at least
once though it was a struggle to do so between the heavy rain that kept
passing through. I missed the former Italian Job (early on they took
all but one train off and the line was never short enough to justify the
wait) and the former Top Gun.

The rest were about what I expected. I have to admit a strange
fascination for Skyrider's unusual (for a standup) layout and like the
additions beyond what PKD's does. However it's not easy to ride without
getting punched around by those restraints, and even the three train
wait I had was well-nigh endless.

My opinions of Minebuster and Wild Beast are almost reversed now. Wild
Beast definitely has more potential but is running too roughly to be
enjoyable. Minebuster is almost forceless but at least is running
smoothly enough for me to get a fun speed ride out of. The odd bucking
of the train over some of the replacement hills seems to be gone, though
perhaps the ride benefitted from rain-slick track.

I wish we could have gotten a bit more out of the flats. Sledgehammer
was down all day with a small crane nearby and no sign of actual work
being done on it. I'm guessing that it's not running at all these days.
Psyclone was running and would have been a more worthwhile ride anyway,
but we just never got to it; a nearly empty Behemoth queue nearby
usually beckoned instead. They did have Orbiter running for the first
time I remember so we gave that a try--and subsequently got drenched
when the rains hit us.

The big disappointment of the day was food. Prices were really high,
even accounting for exchange rate, and what we had was subpar. We went
to the Backlot Cafe looking for a fresh-mixed salad but nobody manned
that counter (and nobody else around either told us whether anybody
would come). We eventually got wrap sandwiches that were at best
decent. Mine was mislabeled spicy chicken when it really was a creamy
garlic chicken. The latter was my second choice anyway but I didn't get
what I should have.

All in all not a bad day, but not great either. It's definitely
satisfied my appetite for going to that park. Our next visit is likely
to be 2-3 years down the road, and I don't think I'll have any trouble
waiting that long...but will be anticipating the trip when the time
comes.

--
Dave Sandborg
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