California Dreamin, Part 2

Six Flags Marine World

On Saturday morning one mother and twelve coasters enthusiasts gathered together at the entrance to Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo. This would be one of the most memorable days in their lives. We met at the entrance - myself, Matthew Sullivan, Mike Miller, Greg Galley, Jeff Johnson, Sean Flaharty, Sean's mom, Phyllis, Scott Short, Chris Murray, Steve Gardino, and joining us today, Dan Chase! Later on that morning Steven Wilson would join our group as well. We immediately went to Medusa. This was the first ride on a floorless coaster for most us, myself included, so we all waited for a front seat ride. The park wasn't crowded and there was very little wait. Two train operation throughout the day ensured a minimal wait! Medusa. Meh-dooooo-saaaahhh. Ahhh, what a ride!!! As much as I enjoyed Stealth, I liked Medusa even more. That straight first drop is pure bliss, and from the front it is flat out freaky! The backseat actually gives the better ride, but the front seat view is without a doubt worth the wait. The hangtime in the vertical loop is amazing! In fact I really love the first three elements - the vertical loop, immelman and zero g-roll. The sea serpent element was nice, but it's main allure is the fact that it's just different. Compared to the other elements it's not particularly memorable. The second half of the ride is nearly as enjoyable as the first, with plenty of directional changes and some actual airtime in the dips! We all got off of Medusa loving it. Sean said it was better than the eastern version, and Phylllis proclaimed it her very favorite coaster! As for me, I *loved* it! Sentimental Kumba fans may side with the Florida original, but I love the straight first drop, the additional height and size, and the floorless aspect, particularly from the front. Medusa is a top ten ride! We then headed for Cobra, SFMW's family coaster. This train is 20 cars long!!! It's the most outrageously long train I've ever seen! It was great fun - I rode third from the back, and Matthew laughed hysterically seeing me get tossed from one side to the other down the first drop. Kong had a rather long wait as only one train was running. This was nice though, as it gave us all a chance to talk. I got to talk to Chris Murray quite a bit and really enjoyed it. I also got to have Steve bat his eyes at me again, how hypnotic. Kong is not the banging coaster everyone leads you to believe, but it does have the shudder typical of SLCs. Next we headed for what would turn out the be the best flat ride of the trip! The Huss Frisbee or, as it's known at Marine World, the Tasmanian Devil. This ride is heavily themed and painted, and the lighting scheme looks awesome, with concerts lights mounted overhead and around the main axis. I would love to see it lit up at night! We rode this four times, it was so much fun. I put my feet up and Sean immediately followed suit and the two of us got great airtime on some of the spins! This ride is great fun - one of the best flat rides out there! We were all impressed by Scott Short's enthusiasm for it! The only thing I didn't care for was the protruding thing in the middle of the seat! Dubbed the "Sullivan bump," I'm sure Matthew enjoyed it, and Phyllis said she thought it felt good, but I found it rather invasive and not a warm fuzzy at all! SFMW has some other great flat rides, including the Hammerhead Shark, which is an inverter, and their teacup ride, called Monkey Business. These teacups are INSANE. Sean, Phyllis, Steve, Matthew and I rode together, and Jeff said we were going at least five times faster than anyone else on the ride. Matthew showed the most talent by far, getting us going insanely fast. But I would just like to point out that I held my own on this ride, and after the fiasco I experienced on the teacups at Disneyland (and the humiliation that followed) , I want my good name restored. I am a competent teacup spinner! For some reason we ignored the advice of Dan Chase and headed to the lakefront food court for lunch. Well all of us except for Dan and Mike Miller, who's keen sense of who to follow for lunch must be finely tuned. Some went for pizza while most of us ended up at Subway. I was glad because I like Subway, and I suppose it makes me a terrible hypocrite since I am so dead set against Disneyland allowing McDonalds to operate in their park. We got some tables in the lakeview pavillion and had a great view of the lakefront while we ate. This is a really nice touch. Of course Dan and Mike came back sporting yummy looking plates of rice, pork and veggies. One thing I noticed about all the parks in northern California is how many Asian foods are offered. Rice bowls for everyone! I would also like to say something about this park. It's very pretty and very unusual. Premier has a real gem on their hands. There are two wonderful fountains that pay tribute to the animals in the park, and trellises have been set up against the walls in the newer section of the park, for beautiful floral displays to grow. It's a very pretty park, and I was constantly struck by comparisons to Busch Gardens Tampa. Both parks have comparable coasters (Gwazi-Roar, Kumba-Medusa), both have a tropical setting, and both feature animals prominently throughout the park. Marine World has a wonderful variety of aquatic shows, but they also have a great mix of interesting and unusual animal displays. I'm so glad we went through the shark exhibit. You stand on a people mover inside a glass tunnel, and you get to see the sharks swimming alongside and above you. This is what they have at Mall of America called Underwater World, only sharks are not as prominently featured. After the people mover there was a fascinating display of live shark embryos, and you could see them moving about inside their cocoons! Speaking of cocoons, the butterfly aviary was one of the most beautiful and unusual displays I've ever seen. You walk through a wonderfully pathed and very humid building, and butterflies of all shapes and colors fly freely throughout. There are mirrors positioned before you exit the building so you don't accidentally walk out with a hitchhiking butterfly! The highlight of our day came when Steven Wilson arrived. We got off the Frisbee when he said he had a surprise for us and we should all go back to our lockers and grab our cameras. We then walked over to Roar, where we met a man named Jeff. Jeff works for the park, but in what capacity I'm not sure. Anyway, he led us past the barriers that inform the public that Roar is closed for repairs, and walked us up to the station. He then apologized (apologized!) for Roar not running for us, and explained that the restraints are being redone so that they don't ratchet down on riders so easily. !!!!!!! Way to go Marine World! Then came the big news: he said that in lieu of the ride not running, he'd been authorized to allow us to walk up to the top of the lifthill and we could stay up there as long as we wanted and take pictures and ask any questions! THE TOP OF THE LIFTHIlLL!!! Can you believe it! At first we were all stunned. Then we realized exactly what he'd just said and it was like we turned into a bunch of schoolkids! YAY!!!!!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!! Sean and I looked at each other and made the opposite of the face we made when we found out we couldn't spin on the Visionland spinning ferris wheel! We were allowed to walk either side. I was in front and took the side closest to the track. We stepped down into the track and started walking out of the station and around the dips and curves and heading for the lifthill. Oh my God, I cannot believe we are doing this! The amount of room in this particular bit of track was *very* narrow, only big enough for one foot in front of the other. Pretty soon I was past the entrance and staring straight up the lifthill. I took off. I don't know what got into me but I nearly bolted for the top of that lifthill! It was like the most natural thing in the world and I wasn't the least bit afraid! I figured out how to walk the steps rather quickly and I just took off! Before I knew it I was over halfway up the hill and I turned around and looked back and the closest person to me was Jeff who was maybe a quarter of the way up. I turned around and resumed the climb and in no time at all I was on top of Roar! To say the film "Titanic" came to mind is an understatement. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world! Sean's mom (who chose to stay behind) later commented that as fast as I went up there I must not have had a fear of heights, which isn't true! But this was something altogether different. I can't even properly describe it, other than to say it was totally exhilarating! Medusa was just off to the left, and the entire park was spread out before us. You could even see the Golden Gate bridge off in the horizon! Everyone else eventually made their way to the top with the exception of Greg Galley, who I think freaked out about halfway up the lift. I think a few of us were either nervous or just plain scared. Jeff Johnson said he was scared to death! But you could tell everyone was thrilled beyond belief. We snapped pictures and shot video non-stop, some of us posing to have our pictures taken with the rest of Roar laid out behind us and Medusa just off to our left. Jeff said we could cross over as long as somebody on the other side held onto our hands. I was already on the good side, so I helped Sean get over. It actually looked very scary, and Sean said he was a little freaked out by it. Then we helped Steve, who had stopped to smear some track grease under his eyes and called it Roar paint! HA HA!! I thought that was brilliant. Everybody took more pictures and Sean and Chris videotaped the moment for posterity. We were up for there for a good twenty minutes and somebody remarked that we could say we rode Roar for twenty minutes! But this was better than a ride. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would never have traded it for a ride. At the bottom of the lift we all posed for several group photos, some at the base of the lift, and others staggered along the entrance. A bunch of us stood or sat down in the middle of track, but Matthew got perhaps the most original photo in the bunch. You'll see! I can't even begin to say how grateful I am to Steven Wilson for arranging this, and to Jeff for allowing it. This was one of those rare moments that, no matter how old I get or how many great things I've yet to experience, will never be forgotten. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!! We ended our day at Marine World riding Medusa. At this point line jumping became a real problem, which was odd considering that the park wasn't all that crowded. We got our final ride of the day in the backseat, Phyllis bought a Medusa photo keychain, we all did some shopping (I was good), then headed back for our hotels. It was at this point that I had to say goodbye to Sean, Phyllis, Scott and Jeff. Listening to Sean and his mom, it was evident throughout the day that they did not want their time in California to come to an end. For weeks I have been telling Sean that he was going to have the best time of his life on this trip, and from what I saw, I was right. I am SO GLAD I got to be a part of your' trip. And I'm even more glad that you all were a part of mine. < user kicks his heels up in the air > Up Next: San Francisco