As we usually do when there is an evening media night at Knott's, I took a half-day of work so we could at least beat "some" of the traffic down. And of course, have some fun in the park. 

While we were trying to figure out what to have for a late lunch, we headed over to the ride to get some daytime pics (we ended up having a fabulous meal at Boardwalk BBQ). 

The ride looks amazing!! 

Hi Walter The Salmon!!! (there is a story here, but that comes later) 

More on these later as well. =) 

After a quick lunch we decided to ride a few things since the park was pretty empty. 

We took a LOT of video during the day, the first was a slo-mo of HangTime. Because why the heck not. 

Hadn't done the Dragon Swing in a LOT of years, so decided to give it a spin. Great ride. 

The stage is set for the opening of the ride!! 

Before you even get to the ride, the queue is simply spectacular. So much to see. 

There were some questions about the height requirement, so here you go. 46". Not sure if this is the same as Bigfoot Rapids. Can anybody confirm? 

We did a walk-through of the queue of course. 

The detail is amazing, and the smell of fresh wood is everywhere. 

Bear Cub 

Campground 

Hey little guy!! 

Arooooooooooo!!! 

Remember the old switchbacks from Bigfoot Rapids? 

Well, this is them now. 

The cabin looks amazing 

So much detail to take in 

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck ... oh, woodpecker!! =) 

For when you need to take a nap (totally don't take a nap here)

Even the ride loading area got some love

Armed and ready to go for our POV's!! 

So the story behind Walter the Fish. 

The Citizens of Calico were out and about the entire night, showing off their new adventure and having fun with the media. Note, can't wait to see the interactions in this area for Ghost Town Alive. 

One of the interactive parts is exploding of "dynamite" (as you'll see in the video below). 

In talking to one of the citizens, they asked if we lost anybody on our voyage. And we of course said yes. Gabe (from Theme Park Duo) said his name was Walter and that he ended up in the mouth of a bear. 

And then, without missing a beat, the citizen asked if it was a Salmon. 

And thus, Walter The Salmon was born. 

They also had Pony Express open for us, and because it was Media Night, we were able to get a POV of this as well. Score!! 

As the sun went down we were able to get some nice night shots of the ride. 

As well as a quick interview with Garner Holt who talked about the ride and the other creations he's done for Knott's. 

To say we were impressed and blown away with the updates to the ride would be an understatement. 

I think with this one, the upgrades are definitely more jarring than they were with the Log or Mine Ride (because, let's face it, those rides have always had a great story). 

Bigfoot Rapids was always fun, but it's story was that it was just a Rapids Ride. Now? The ride fits squarely in with the rest of Calico and has a great story and theme. And it's still the fun rapids ride you remember. 

Lastly, we'll leave you with our Nighttime POV. Sure it's kind of hard to see, it's night and we're using GoPro's with no lighting. But SO fun to ride at night. We seriously can't wait to ride this on those warm summer nights. Or those scorching Knott's Scary Farm nights. 

Thanks again to Knott's for having us out, we had a blast as usual. We can't wait for Ghost Town Alive in a couple of weeks. Make sure you head out and ride Calico River Rapids!! 

Since Sean was at Universal doing an update and I was staying at Cabana Bay, we decided to meet up at CityWalk at around 6:00. After a very nice dinner at CowFish, we made our way to the first Fun Spot in Kissimmee. 

Credit #299

Hi Kitty!! I know it has a name, I don't remember what Sean told me. 

Hi Mine Blower!! 

Credit #300!!! 

I really did enjoy the ride, it was a bit bumpy, but I was ok with it. What a tremendous investment for the park and I hope it's paid off for them. 

We explored the park a bit, got the kiddie credit and then it was off to ... 

Fun Spot #2!!! 

This was my first of the Jr. Suspended coasters, I found it a lot of fun!! 

No SkyCoaster for us tonight

We see you Enterprise!! (best flat-ride ever)

The star of the show was 100% White Lightning. I loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this coaster. 

I wish more parks would invest in these smaller GCI's. It just goes to show you don't have to be the tallest or the fastest to be completely awesome and fun. 

Hey Six Flags Over Texas!!! Great Enterprise as it actually went full Vertical! 

A great selection of flat rides at both Fun Spot locations. 

And last, but not least. 

Had a really great time at Fun Spot. We have a few similar type parks here in CA but none of them have coasters like Mine Blower, White Lightning or Freedom Flyer. I wish some of them would invest a bit more. 

Thanks again to Sean for being my Chauffeur. How did we not get a selfie the entire night? Lol. 

After taking the red-eye from LAX I arrived at Cabana Bay around 7:30am last Monday. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to check in that early but that turned out to not be an issue at all. I was able to check in, get something to eat and head up to the room to take a bit of a nap before my first training session at 1:00pm. 

​Hi Orlando!! 

The first day of the trip was obviously catching up on sleep, but I did make my way to/from the Convention Center for some pre-conference sessions. I utilized the I-Drive Trolley on the first day since there was no shuttle on Monday. It took me a couple of trips to figure out where the closest place to catch the Trolley was from the hotel. Something that won't be a problem when Universal opens their two new hotels (more on that later). 

The first day I took a bus to CityWalk, then a boat to Portofino (as I thought the easiest place to catch the trolley was at the DoubleTree). 

On the way back that afternoon, I took the shuttle back to the DoubleTree but made my way to the Water Taxi by way of the Hard Rock. 

I then transferred to the next WaterTaxi to Sapphire Falls. Which meant I was able to get Water Taxi POV for pretty much the entire route. Check it out below, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

LOVE the spiral staircase at Sapphire Falls

The trek back from Sapphire to Cabana was a bit longer than I anticipated, but after a day of traveling and training, it was nice to stretch the legs a bit. 

Love the Cabana Bay merchandise! 

Also made sure to take advantage of the free-refill cup for the duration of my stay. This came in very handy as I ate more meals in the hotel than outside of the hotel. 

Morning two, as I headed out to the shuttle to OCCC. 

The hotel shuttles didn't quite fit my conference schedule on Tuesday, so it was back on the Trolley. Which allowed me to get a couple of good looks at the two new Universal Hotels (and I figured out that the actual closest trolley stop was here and not the DoubleTree). 

I know some are asking why I didn't just Lyft/Uber (trust me, I did), but I always love exploring a city on foot. It just gives you a different feel. 

After a bit of a rest in the room, I met up with Sean from California, Florida, European Coaster Kings for dinner at Cow Fish and a visit to both Fun Spots. But that's a different update. =) 

Day 3 was about a 12 hour day at the convention center, but I did take the time when I got back to do a bit of a tour of the hotel. 

Let's Bowl!! 

I ate breakfast, dinners and snacks pretty much exclusively at Bayliner Diner, I was very impressed with the food choices and the staff was spectacular. 

The pool area's are kind of amazing. If it was a different kind of trip I can imagine spending a lot of time in the lazy river. 

What's up Volcano Bay

Cabana Bay Lobby 

More pools. 

I didn't realize that the hotel had interior and exterior corridor rooms, I had just asked for "whatever is available" when I checked in. 

​So if you have a preference, be sure to request it. Personally, I was happy to have a room with an interior corridor, away from the pools as that's not what I was there for. 

My last stop before heading up to the room to pack was the store to do some shopping. They had Hagrid's merch out. 

I was very tempted to buy this hat, but have a rule that I don't wear merch until I can ride the ride. 

​Plus, I prefer fitted hats. I wish more parks would have them as an option. 

Phone cases in a variety of styles 

And of course, lots of Magical Creatures 

Thanks Cabana Bay for a fantastic stay. 

I was totally blown away by Cabana Bay. I knew I would love it, and it's retro style, but I wasn't sure how much. Sure, I wasn't really there for relaxing and enjoying the hotel, but even as a conference goer it fit the bill. 

We're talking about a family trip to Orlando in the near future, definitely think Cabana Bay will be where we stay for our Universal portion. 

Stay tuned later this week for additional updates from both Fun Spots and SeaWorld Orlando where we discover there are still good people in the world. 

Written by Renée Girard 

Bonjour from Phantom Manor! ​

Phantom Manor Mickey is everything I ever wanted. ​

Now before I get into the parts of our day that were extremely frustrating I just want to preface this. I don't hate Magic Mountain, or Six Flags. In fact, it's been my "home" park for my entire life. I've never lived more than 50 miles from the park (which is how far I currently live). I remember as a kid being totally intimidated by Colossus, and getting off of it and wanting to ride again. I remember getting Twickets. Revolution was my first looping coaster. I've been a Season Pass Holder at the park for probably 30 of my 43 years on this planet. 

That being said, Six Flags Magic Mountain, we need to have a talk. 

​Let's start off with the good: 

I was super excited when I realized upon getting in for early entry that the front of the park was open. And that people could take care of membership stuff, do some shopping and even ... 

Get the "front of the line" pass for their membership. This was the first time I've actually used this benefit as the line was always too long. And I never wanted to waste the precious time you have before the park opens to get it. Always figured I was better served riding stuff. 

So yay, kudos for that!! (I would suggest having a food/drink location open though for those hot summer days)

So after getting my front of the line pass for Twisted Colossus I waited patiently for 10:20 and made my way over to Full Throttle. 

Closed

Ok, it happens, no biggie. Plus, it's sponsored by Chick Fil' A and well, that's another article. 

So I made my way over to Revolution. 

Nice to see them keeping up the planters, although they may want to trim some of this so you can see the sign. 

Hi Ace!! 

After a very fun ride on Revolution I figured I'd head up the hill, take a spin on Ninja and then take West Coast Racers pics. 

On the way I noticed that X2 was not open yet. Hmm. 

​Roaring Rapids however is back open!! 

Since I'll be riding Infinity Falls next Thursday, I skipped this. I've heard I'll get plenty wet on that one. 

And of course, the path back to Apocalypse is still closed. 

Headed up the hill, Ninja closed. In fact, they were still walking the lift hill. 

So I decided to just get West Coast Racers pics instead. 

As you can see, there is still a LOT of work to be done here. 

You can however see some of the retracking work done on Apocalypse. Let's hope they aren't done, they certainly have the time. 

Since Jet Stream wasn't open yet either ... had a clear view. Pretty sure the new "building" they are putting in will be electronics for the launch. 

Victory is in your future ... how far into the future? Honestly? I'd be surprised if it's ready by Fright Fest at this point. Just trying to be honest here. 

Looks like more footers still need to be poured. 

Some are already done as you can see here. 

Cage'y things that go in the hole'y things that the dig'y things make. 

Crane on site, not a big one though. So don't expect to see any track going vertical anytime soon. This is likely for the footer rebar. 

Over by Cylone 500, some digging is going on. 

Which brings me to my next frustration with Magic Mountain. They were SO excited about this ride, they had that huge party in August to announce it. And here we sit, in early May. The ride has at least 3-4 months of construction left to go. 

Yet Canada's Wonderland opened their new ride ... yesterday. We're talking Southern California vs Toronto. Yes, we got a lot of rain. Not more than them. 

This area of the park closed after Fright Fest. That was in November. That was SIX months ago. And this is the result. 

So if you're planning on making a trip to SFMM to ride WCR, maybe make them holiday plans? 

As I continued my walk around the park, CraZanity was also closed. It was now around 11:00 and nobody was even here to test the ride. 

Batman was open, however I had to do the "walk of shame". 

I rode Batman opening day. And have ridden it HUNDREDS of times. Today was the only time I've ever come close to not fitting on this. And I've been heavier than I am now. 

Have heard from a few people that they did shorten the belts on this and Riddlers in February. 

This frustration is on me though, not the park. Time to drop a few inches before our cruise in August. =) 

So I figured I'd use my front of the line on Twisted Colossus and then head ... oh, look, closed. 

The other frustration was, I had now walked all the way around the accessible area's of the park. And had yet to see any food/drink locations open. As you can see, Wascal's doesn't open until 11:30. An hour after the park. 

I did eventually get something to drink across from Full Throttle, so there was that. 

Before leaving I did do another lap around the park. Another Kudos, the restrooms on Samurai Summit appeared to have gotten some work. Very thankful for clean and refurbished restrooms. 

Glad to say that Ninja was open. CraZanity was open and by the time I got back over there, Twisted Colossus was open and I was able to use my front of the line. No walk of shame there!! 

The ride is still amazing. I'll give the crew credit, I raced on both laps. 

I think this is the right place

Let's get to eating!! 

Our first stop was for a waffle and chips with ice cream. You know, for Breakfast. Both were good, although the Waffle needed something, and that something is the ice cream. We got the chips later in the day and they were just as good.

​Both are found at the Ghost Town Bakery. 

Three things we got to try at the tasting preview, and they were just as good, if not better than they were then.

​All Three are available at Wagon Wheel Pizza across from Ghostrider. 

Something that we didn't know was coming, and isn't on your tasting card, but is delicious, found in Spurs Chop House. 

They are made to order, which is nice. I will say though, if we got this again we'd get it without the Hummus. I think that's part of the Shawarma, but I think we would have preferred a bit less of it. 

After eating all that food, it was time to take in some of the sights. 

Spring has sprung 

Goatses 

The merch game was on point 

Definitely my philosophy 

Cannot recommend the Boysenberry Cobbler enough. It's super easy and super good. 

Yo, Yo, Yo ... that's my jam

Our faces all day

You can smell the boysenberries as you approach, so if you want to smell like boysenberries after a bath, get all this stuff. 

And then of course, wrap yourself in your boysenberry towel

The wine and Beer tasting was back, although we have to say the "pours" you'd get with the tasting card were very inconsistent. By the end of the day you'd pretty much get a "shot" of Boysenberry beer. 

The chili was a hit in our group (Outside Wilderness Dance Hall)

As was the sausage (also found Outside Wilderness Dance Hall)

It's not very often you could spend all day at a theme park, only ride 2 rides and feel like you had a full day, but you can at the Boysenberry Festival

Green Frog, Blue Frog, Green Frog ... 

Purple Fly? 

We didn't catch the Jam-Boree, but I'm sure it's great for those who are into that kind of thing

BOBA!!! (Starbucks inside the park) 

Let's get back to the food, skirt steak skewer (also towards the front of the park) 

Chicken Wings (by Ghostrider)

Chicken Skewer (Indian Trails) 

Pulled Pork Fries (Calico Fry Co) 

Alright, we have a bit of a Rapids Construction update below, but before we get to that, we also have our top 5 food items to share: 

Let's take a look at the Rapids construction, there are finally a few walls up

Not a whole lot of visible work in this area 

They are definitely doing some work in the queue 

Alrighty, that's gonna wrap it up. We will probably head back to the park for more Boysenberry food at least once more during the Boysenberry Festival, probably in a few weeks. Be sure you head out to the park to check it out. You won't be disappointed. 

More details about the Boysenberry Festival can be found here. 

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