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Santa Clara, California
Last Visited: September 2009
The primary feature of this park is its proximity to my living room sofa. (Just about 10 miles)
In reality, it's a perfectly pleasant park. Even if it screams 1976, the older areas of the park are actually quite beautiful.
Gotta love being able to ride a classic skyride.
With the park's marquee Invertigo closed (more on that later), the main draw defaulted to Flight Deck, the 1993 B&M inverted.
No question that what this ride does, it does well. But at a scant 2000+ feet, it really only feels like half a coaster.
It's got the great and forceful elements an intense inverted should, just not nearly enough of them. I scoff at your mere three inversions!
Making a loop around the park, we were sure to hit some of the flat rides. This Chance offering looks much more overwhelming than it actually feels.
The ride is pretty much what you'd expect, but the smoke and fire elements were a nice surprise, especially considering it was an empty park in the low season.
No question that what this ride does, it does well. But at a scant 2000+ feet, it really only feels like half a coaster.
Around the back of the park, we find a rare Arrow Wild Mouse, and one of the biggest ride marquees you'll ever encounter.
After you ponder whether the coaster is worth such an entrance, you'll actually get treated to a solid ride.
The trick track and some tight banked turns almost make this version stand out among its peers.
With Survivor, I'm not sure which is more disappointing, the uncomfortable ride experience, or the overzealous attempt at themeing and immersion. Not a favorite.
Definitely a favorite. Great views of Silicon Valley (can't quite see our place) plus a gut-wrenching drop.
I'm hard pressed to find a coaster that offers LESS thrill with MORE roughness than Grizzly.
Not quite as painful as the next coaster down, but almost entirely pointless.
That's an awful lot of wood. (Coincidentally, the ride experience is also awful.)
Consider yourself warned, you'll thank me for lowering your expectations.
The high-profile passenger-stranding lift incident has left Invertigo silent for a while now, knocking out one of the few highlights the park has to offer. Lame.
If only Demon were so well-hidden that we forgot to ride it.
What looks like a classic coaster surrounded by lush foliage is actually one of the most unpleasant rides I've come across.
Rough, jerky, and jarring all at once, it's much more pleasant to sneak a peek than to actually ride it.
Things are only slightly better over at Vortex. B&M's third coaster has not aged nearly as well as its Inverted counterpart on the other side of the park.
While not quite as painful as Demon, this standup offers its share of ear abuse. Take off those earrings, folks.
This park is an odd mix of Marriott themeing, Paramount rides, and Cedar Fair operations.
And, with the ongoing real estate issues, don't expect any improvements anytime soon.
Fortunately, it's not a bad place to spend the day, especially if you can make it back home in about 10 minutes.