Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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 8/30/2005 10:36:58 PM
Thrill-ville USA / Enchanted Forest / Oaks Park
Great Northwest Tour - Day 3
August 24, 2005
Whether: Sunny again, high in mid 70's
Complete galleries can be found here:
http://cyclonic.smugmug.com/gallery/769117
http://cyclonic.smugmug.com/gallery/769157
http://cyclonic.smugmug.com/gallery/769238
Well, since I have had the chance at some sleep, and I'm not doing this on a bus where I can't see the computer screen, with luck this report will at least look a whole lot better then the last, which really was not up to my normal standards. Oh well, I try anyway 
Another early morning for another long bus ride, this time to the south of Portland. All three of the parks on this leg of the trip are small, and I wasn't expecting too much, but I was looking forward to Oaks and the KMG Afterburner as well as their Lusse Skooters.
But first up was Thrill-ville, USA.
(Gotta love the sign  )
We got to the park at about 10:30, half an hour before opening. The park operations manager, Ed, was out at the coaster waiting for us though, and opened the coaster half an hour before the rest of the park just for us, so we got some unexpected ERT on The Ripper, a Schwarzkopf portable ride. The coaster was fun and well maintained, and give the intense ride that you expect from a Schwarzkopf.
I got a few rides on it and roamed the park before the rides opened. First up was the little kiddie coaster, aptly named the Lil' Ripper. It was you typical Herschell type ride, and gave the typical experience.
Our wristbands included a ride on the Go Carts, so I headed over there next. They were decent, I got lucky and got a fast car, and was passing people left and right. The track itself was a small oval, with a couple of little bumps that made things interesting. Over the Go Carts is the Skycoaster, which I did not ride, but was an interesting affair. It actually used an old crane to hold riders, which I though was certainly a different and creative way to put together such an attraction.
Next I went over and rode the Rock-O-Plane. I had never been on one of these before, so was delighted to see one here and get my first ride. It was nice looking and maintained well (all the rides in this little park were). I played around with the brake and got some decent flips, but not any repeated flips. I guess that is a learned talent.
A bunch of the group had gone over to race on the giant slide, so I joined them. This slide was nice and smooth, and in this case, weight has its advantages, and I skidded to the bottom before everyone else.
Next to the slide was an older model Octopus, one with the single cars on the ends of the arms. This was a wild ride. The ride op had it running a long time at insane speed, and you got a ton of fast, heavy G spinning. I was truly impressed, I didn't think an Octopus could be this good.
To finish up my hour at the park I took a ride on their miniature train. It is a fantastic looking little diesel looking train. It was also the slowest miniature railroad I have ever been on. I guess it was to make up for the very short track or something, but this thing crawled along the rails at a slower pace then I could walk.
The park staff was very good, friendly and enthusiastic. The Octopus op was especially good, not only running a great ride, but also asking how the ride was and making sure we were having a goo
Message updated 8/30/2005 10:44:37 PM by Cyclonic
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Hercules
Posts: 4037
Registered: 10/13/2004
Rank: Platinum Critic
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8/30/2005 11:14:35 PM
Unbelievable report Cyclonic. I can't wait for the next one.
I was very impressed with the way Enchanted Forest looked in the pictures. To me, from the outside looking in, that really looked like the nicest park (visually) on the trip so far. There is just so much to say about the report, but I won't bore anyone. I'll just say good work. And I'm glad to see that you got some good rides on some hard hitting cars.
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BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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8/30/2005 11:42:21 PM
I echo Jay's comments 
That's great to hear that the newer-style Lusse's still deliver a pretty good ride. I mean, they have to be better than some standard Italian models..
The Carousel looks great too, and I like the varied assortment of animals.
That first photo from Enchanted Forest looks awesome, I like their approach to themeing.
How the hell do people fit in those trains? I've never been in a C.P. Huntington or anything small like that, down south we still like 'em full-size
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