Day 1 (SFGA)
Our first stop was Six Flags Great Adventure. We do not go to parks very much so we decided to pay the money and get platinum flash passes, which give you tiny wait times and allow you to double ride as long as you are not in the very front, or very back of the train. These proved very helpful, as it was insanely packed that day and the park was only open for about 9 hours, but we were only there for about 8 (noon to 8).
As soon as we got our Flash Passes we noticed that Kingda Ka was not running, we heard from a local that it hadn't been running recently because of Zumanjaro. Disappointed, we ran to Nitro, and got on after only waiting through one train as the normal line was only about 10min, so the flash pass line was tiny! We double rode somewhere in the middle of the train. I liked Nitro, the drop has a lot of floater airtime, the helix is very forceful, and it has a super long ride time. The track is smooth, but the trains rattle quite a bit though.
After Nitro we went to the nearby Batman and only waited about 5 minutes. We double rode in the middle again. Batman was even more intense than I remember it being at SFMM last summer, the end is so compact and fast. Definitely my favorite invert I have ridden (and the only one I have ridden
). This was the only time we rode this, I wish we rode it again.
By this time it was about 12:30 so we ate some overpriced chicken strips by Batman. And then proceeded on our great journey
.Now it was time for El Toro. As we walked over, we saw that Kingda Ka was still closed, but El Toro was running perfectly! We waited about 10 minutes and got on the middle of the train on El Toro and double rode. This was instantly my new favorite ride. It combines the classic wooden structure with smooth track, amazing amounts of ejector airtime, and it makes for a great, intense ride that is smoother than Nitro!
Next up was Bizarro. This was a nice simple looper. We decided to ride front row and not double ride and it was very fun, I like it much better than Scream from SFMM mainly because of the theming, which Scream lacks.
On our way down to Green Lantern and Superman we stopped by El Toro for another double ride, this time in the second to back row. This completely changes the ride, it greatly increases the airtime and is definitely the best area to ride in. The hill just before the S curves has and absolutely incredible amount of ejector airtime.
Next was Green Lantern. After about 15min we got on in the front row. I was excited for this one, but for some reason it hurt my ankles really bad when all of the blood rushed to them in between elements, so I never came back to this one sadly.We then tried to ride superman, but it broke down as soon as we go into our seats, so we just decided to come back later.
Kingda Ka was still not working and it was about 2:30 already, so we decided to go see what was going on on our way back to El Toro. When we arrived park officials were just taking down the barrier and said that it would running in about 20 min. We happily walked to ElToro, and while we were in line we saw the first runs of Kingda Ka for the day. We rode El Toro two more times, then tried to make a flash pass reservation for Kingda Ka, but to our surprise the reservations were temporarily full.
We went back to Nitro to pass some time and got in two more rides there, as soon as we got off Nitro we were able to make a Kingda Ka reservation (literally, we made the reservation while sitting on the brake run!). So we ran across the entire park, super excited to ride on The King. When we got there we were met by a 30min Flash Pass line (and a 2 hour normal line!)! To our surprise they let us double ride! So we rode in the middle and did the double. Kingda Ka is insane, the acceleration is crazy and the ride is quite rough, but not too bad for me, but my dad said it hurt him. The airtime on the hill isn't too crazy, but overall it was a great ride!
Guess where we went next! El Toro for another second to back row double ride. So many negative g's...
We decided to check back on Superman, which was now running again! We double rode in the middle. The pretzel loop is good, but not as great as Tatsu. On the second ride two guys had their phones fly out right next to us, for a bit I thought that one of them was mine, but then I felt it in my pocket, so relieved
.We went back for some rides on Kingda Ka again, and after waiting for about 20 min we got on second to front. This time the drop seemed to have a bit more airtime and the ride was a tad smoother.
Now it was 7:30, and the park would be closing soon, so we went back for our last ride on El Toro, then we bought a couple of shirts, and left the park, hoping to return again someday.
Ride count:
Nitro: 4x
Batman: 2x
El Toro: 10x
Bizarro: 1x
Green Lantern: 1x
Kingda Ka: 4x
Superman: 2x
Total: 24
All in all, we had a great time at SFGA, but this was just the first day of the trip.
Day 2 (Knex/ Rodon)
This is the reason we made this trip: the Knex factory tour (because of winning Knexpert). We started off our day at the Rodon factory, where the Knex parts are made. We got an hour-ish long tour of the entire facility and got to see the whole process of making the part design, making the mold, and then doing the plastic injection molding! It is actually a very cool process to watch.
Blurry picture of a knex making machine
We also got to see Rodon's amazing robot: Baxter! Baxter is very cool, he displays emotions and can be programmed by simply moving his hands! They said that only a few people who do not work at Rodon have ever seen Baxter in person, so we were very lucky to see him.
After about an hour at Rodon, we drove over to Knex! I was amazed, when we arrived there was banners saying "Welcome Graham!" And there was one of the designers as well as a photographer there to meet us!
The designer (Wes) showed us around the entire facility. The design area is amazing, Knex everywhere, cubicles made of Knex, and concept coaster sets all over. Some of the concept sets actually looked kind of realistic! They had made a coaster on the ceiling that they were using half for fun an half to test some new VV invert cars!
We got to see the factory area, offices (with Knex clocks and nametags), lunchroom (with a Knex fireplace), as well as the meeting room where we ate lunch!
Now, you guys are probably wondering if I have anything interesting to tell you about future products, and I do! First off, the VV cars may be getting a redesign soon, I am not sure if it will just be the body (from what I saw I assume it will be just this, the new designs I saw are great!) Or if they will redesign the entire mechanism. Also, more SS style sets are coming! Other things I heard were partnerships with Titanfall and possibly more Mariokart.
After we all ate lunch and everybody asked me questions (they asked about SSC!!!), I got a giant plastic sack that I could fill with parts! I got lots of most VV parts, a bunch of invert cars, a few 12v motors, some hinge connectors, a lot of other stuff, and one odd thing; some SS! I got maybe 100-ish X ties, some tubing, and a couple of blue SS cars! I plan on making a tiny SS coaster to sit on my dresser as soon as my package of parts arrives (it is so big it had to be shipped!).
After a great day at the factory I went back to the hotel, and jumped in the pool
.I had a great time, what do you guys think of my trip!?!
