Note: The content of this post has been modified by the moderator

I just thought I'd see what everyone's best amusement park memory of all time is. Mine is going to Hersheypark for my Senior Class trip for an all night event. It's amazing how fast all those rides run at night. I can't wait to hear everyone else's stories.

I smell a Top Ten List....memories like this are like potato chips..can't have just one. In no particular order:

1st day at Cedar Point this summer with Judy_P_in_Pgh. Lotta great memories from that trip, but that's the day that really sticks with me.

October '07 at Knoebels...meeting a dear friend from this board for the first time at my 2nd PPP.

Winning my 2010 SF Season Pass at SFGadv in October '08..all I had to do was answer trivia, spin the Wheel Of Fright, and eat some raw squid and octopus.

October '05...finishing off the season after my Mom died in September with three consecutive weekends at GAdv, Hershey, and Dorney..very cathartic. Helped put my mind right(?) again.

First Rides on El Toro in '06..the beginning of my love/hate relationship...I LOVE the ride, but HATE the occasional longish wait.

June '07...50 rides on Voyage over two days...medical issues notwithstanding, still a great memory.

1978..bus trip with my mom to Busch Gardens: The Old Country..my introduction to the Monster Of The Loch.

June 20, 2009...31 rides...my one day, one coaster high..on Ravine Flyer 2 at Waldameer.

My first ride on Magnum back in the early 90's...when she was still smoooooth!

A very special ride on the Log Flume at Dorney on August 7th, 2009.

I know there's many other contenders that didn't immediately jump to mind...but there's others coming, too, so I'll leave it at this.

Thanks for the post, Taurus03.

Mike

Well, if everything goes according to my plan, my best memory will be in two weeks when I visit Fright Fest at Great America. I won't say why quite yet. Just in case it doesn't work out.

-Josh

> Well, if everything goes according to my plan, my best
> memory will be in two weeks when I visit Fright Fest at
> Great America. I won't say why quite yet. Just in case it
> doesn't work out.

> -Josh

I have a hunch..and I'm not talking like Igor's in Young Frankenstein!

Mike

1989 when me and my family went to Cedar Point for the first time to ride the tallest roller coaster MagnumXL200. We pulled over on the causeway and looked at the Magnum and said were going to ride that wow.

1- Riding the Beast in a strong rain storm when it had the skids and they didnt catch. Could here the wood bending after the shed run turn. Fast ride. Last train out...

2- BG Tampa. 42 on Kumba, 22 on Montu , in the same day.. as well as 144oz of their fresh draft bud 16oz at a time.. 1998 i think???

i wont go top ten, there are too many....

* This Post Has Been Modified *

> My first ride on Magnum back in the early 90's...when she
> was still smoooooth!

Had to reply here because i have been riding Magnum every year several times for the last 20 years, and evey ride has been the same. My question is, what do you mean about "used to be smooth"??

> My first ride on Magnum back in the early 90's...when she
> was still smoooooth!

> Had to reply here because i have been riding Magnum every
> year several times for the last 20 years, and evey ride has
> been the same. My question is, what do you mean about
> "used to be smooth"??

I still like the ride, but it's been a bit jarring my last coupla visits.

Mike

> My first ride on Magnum back in the early 90's...when she
> was still smoooooth!

> Had to reply here because i have been riding Magnum every
> year several times for the last 20 years, and evey ride has
> been the same. My question is, what do you mean about
> "used to be smooth"??

> I still like the ride, but it's been a bit jarring my last
> coupla visits.

> Mike

Maybe because they dont use the brake anymore, hhmmm...

Magnum has always kicked your a$$, very jarring since 1989, hmmm...

Random best amusement park memories in no particular order.

Riding BoulderDash at night on July 4th and seeing the fireworks explode above the trees.

Getting 24 rides on Voyage during my one and only trip to Holiday World.

My frist ride on Magic Mountain's Revolution in 1976.

Going to the Long Beach Pike with my fmily when I was too young and too short to ride the big coasters.

Spending the day at Disneyland with my young neice and nephew and seeing their excitment.

Taking a day trip from my family reunion for my first visit to Ceder Point.

-Streaker-

The very first time I went to Great Adventure in 89.I remember pulling into the parking lot and seeing the massive Scream Machine.The backwards Lightnin Loops,Condor,Bayern Kurve(soooo fast),Free Fall.Busch Gardens Williamsburg 87or88.Nessie and Wolf,I am a big fan of interlocking loops,just love them.The ride that would brake in half and slide back together(Gladiator's Gauntlet)that one just sticks in my head to this day.When my whole family rode Sidewinder(6 of us)one got sick,another got benched,the others except me(I'm immune to this ride)said never again,except my mom.These are my favorite memories and the others involve alot of Chance Zipper,Ring of Fire,Flip N Out(Zamperla Windshear)the only ride to make me feel sick and have to stop riding for an hour or two.

I have several as well:

My first trip to Disneyland with my two year old. Her excitement over Dumbo was wonderful. The trip to Disney Sea a year earlier was memorable since they treated us like royalty letting us get to the front of the lines since we had a baby.

Our trip to Cedar Point, and what turned out to be our only chance to go to Geauga Lake. The ERT at CP was unbelievable, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed GL, especially BD, RIP.

My cross country trip to some parks I have only been to once: Kennywood (the only time since PR), Hershey, Knoebels, and a couple of visits to Lake Compounce. This included my first trip to HW and a stunning rain ride on Legend when it was still in its prime.

Getting to meet several people from here, and seeing friends from our coaster club at the first Holiwood Nights. Voyage was of course amazing, and I had 5 night rides in a row without the brakes at the end of ERT. Wow!

Thunder Dolphin with the Fireworks all over the place.

That's all this old man can remember...

-Tim

Here, fixed it for you:

"The very first time I went to Great Adventure in 89. I remember pulling into the parking lot and seeing the massive Scream Machine. The backwards Lightnin Loops, Condor, Bayern Kurve(soooo fast), Free Fall.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg 87 or 88. Nessie and Wolf, I am a big fan of interlocking loops, just love them. The ride that would brake in half and slide back together (Gladiator's Gauntlet) that one just sticks in my head to this day. When my whole family rode Sidewinder(6 of us) one got sick, another got benched, the others except me (I'm immune to this ride) said never again, except my mom.

These are my favorite memories and the others involve alot of Chance Zipper, Ring of Fire, Flip N Out(Zamperla Windshear) the only ride to make me feel sick and have to stop riding for an
hour or two."

* This Post Has Been Modified *

The very first time I went to Great Adventure in 89.I
remember pulling into the parking lot and seeing the
massive Scream Machine.The backwards Lightnin
Loops,Condor,Bayern Kurve(soooo fast),Free Fall. Busch Gardens Williamsburg 87or88.Nessie and Wolf,I am a big fan
of interlocking loops,just love them.The ride that would
brake in half and slide back together(Gladiator's
Gauntlet)that one just sticks in my head to this day.

When my family rode Sidewinder(6 of us)one got

sick,another got benched,only mom and I liked it. These are my
favorite memories and the others involve alot of Chance
Zipper,Ring of Fire,Flip N Out(Zamperla Windshear)the only
ride to make me feel sick and have to stop riding for an
hour or two.

Thanks,I had it broke up into three paragraphs but when I hit post message it came out like it did the second time.I was frustrated and didn't feel like retyping the whole thing. I'll remember next time though.

Np. Also try to space out your sentences at the very least. But thanks for posting about your experience.

#1 1999 - Taking my niece to Kings Island for her 7th birthday & her 1st ride on the Beast.

And the rest of my top ten, in cronological order:

1979 - Visiting Kings Island to ride their new wooden roller coaster...hmmmmm I can't remember the name of the thing, but it was a beast.

1999 - Attending a pre-opening event at Islands of Adventure. I didn't want to leave Suess Landing.

1999 - Attending our 1st media event (FaceOff at KI) and doing a few TV interviews.

1999 - Raging Bull Media Day - 52 rides and getting to meet Walter B.

2005 - Visiting Disneyland during the 50th Anniversary kickoff celebration.

2006 - Visiting WDW for the Expedition Everest media event

2006 - A magical trip to Mexico City, hitting SF Mexico & La Feria (along with many other sites in the area.)

2008 - Attending the Grand Opening of Hard Rock Park.

2008 - Visiting Waldameer and getting our 1st ride on Ravine Flyer II. Also, enjoyed getting a photo tour of the ride.

We have been fortunate enough to attend many events and experience many amazing events, I could easily have made this a top 25 list.

Carol H

What, no mention of anything related to Tilt-a-Whirl spin art somewhere in Western Michigan in 1998? Oh wait, nevermind- that was one of *my* favorite amusement park memories....

That experience wouldn't even make my top 100 Mr Sparky! I can say I rate that park's trash cans highly.

Wonder what ever happened to that little smart a$$ ride op anyway? Probably, got booted from the industry and is now working at a Nathans somewhere in Jersey.

Carol H

>
> Wonder what ever happened to that little smart a$$ ride op
> anyway? Probably, got booted from the industry and is now
> working at a Nathans somewhere in Jersey.

> Carol H

Obviously, I don't know the story. But, there IS a Nathan's at Great Adventure....in Jersey....hmmmmmm. Maybe he's running the Great American Scream Machine between the deep-frying sessions. It is right nearby, after all. But that's not a "real" Nathan's.

Mike

The best memory I have is from just last spring actually. I was at Disney World with my high school's marching band. It was at the end of our first day there and I was standing between two friends who had just had a really big fight and couldn't stand each other at the moment. That's when the fireworks show started. It was the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed, seeing thousands of people on Main Street looking up to the sky with smiles on their faces, not one person looking away. The more amazing part, though, was afterward, my two friends sat together on the bus ride back to the hotel and carried on like nothing had happened! It proved to me the power of something truly spectacular.

> Obviously, I don't know the story. But, there IS a Nathan's
> at Great Adventure....in Jersey....hmmmmmm. Maybe he's
> running the Great American Scream Machine between the
> deep-frying sessions. It is right nearby, after all. But
> that's not a "real" Nathan's.

> Mike

LOL!I won't tell all, but Sparky was the smart a$$ ride op & he has gone on to have a career in the industry. He is an NJ native and swears Nathan's hot dogs are the only real dogs on the planet.

Carol H

I remember Sparky when he was POST!

Roz

Welp, It's official. Last weekend at SFGAm's Fright Fest, i proposed to my girlfriend, Kailee. She said yes! :D

TR will come soon.

-Josh

Congrats! Best of luck to you both!

Your original post:

Well, if everything goes according to my plan, my best
> memory will be in two weeks when I visit Fright Fest at
> Great America. I won't say why quite yet. Just in case it
> doesn't work out.

> -Josh

My response back then:

I have a hunch..and I'm not talking like Igor's in Young Frankenstein!

Even a broken clock is right twice a day! Congrats, Josh and Kailee! (sp?)

Mike

Thanks, guys. Yes, Mike, it's Kailee.

I'm sorry the TR has been so late. I just can't get motivated enough to write it. School has been draining me. But it will come. I promise!

-Josh