First, a massive thanks to Robb And Elissa for getting these events and setup. Had a wonderful time at SFMM and KBF this weekend. Overall, both events were great, but the Knott's event really stood out.
As someone who's been coming to WCB since 2009, it's clear that Jay Thomas had lots to do with why the event was excellent. It was always great to see the park president and hear first hand about the changes coming to the parks. When Bonnie came in, she has never attended WCB, and I think that they were very dismissive of the event this year. While their were some pluses (like the coupon sheet), there was no attempt to wow us like last year. However, I think that SFMM doesn't feel that they need to wow the fanatics anymore, because they are doing well - they've come out of their down period - the park looks great, makes tons of money, and maybe they feel that they don't need the word of mouth, because we'll come for the thrills. The truth is, we were spoiled. They were operating a whole park of coasters for about 800 people the last few years, and it was over the top. So I feel disappointed this year? I still had a wonderful time, but yes, I did. Knowing this, I will set my WCB expectations lapbar a few clicks lower for next year. As always, thanks to Tim and Neil for the presentation and insight into the new Drop of Doom.
Knott's knocked it out of the park again though. In addition to a free T-shirt, we also had an amazing lunch, some fun morning ERT (Log Ride ERT!) and a great day. Tours were outstanding! I got some personal time with the Montezuma's launch cable, saw some boiling tires, got to sit in the B&M suspended maintenance ball, and got to ask some nerdy train questions in the Roundhouse. The group photo was fun with Snoopy (and his WCB shirt!), and the Stuntsman. Lunch was wonderful (Mrs. Knotts Fried Chicken!) and solving the night ERT problem was classy. In addition, they gave us a FULL VALUE ticket, enabling us to upgrade to Season Passes for only $2! Again, amazing day. The Q&A with Jeff was a blast (MiceChat shoutouts, woo! ), and I enjoyed the insight from Raffi (sad he didn't get the
reference), the Haunt presentation, and some ride ops insights.
Overall, it's clear that Jennifer and her team at Knott's did an AMAZING job!
It's clear that Knott's was the best, and beat the rest this WCB, but both events were enjoyable. Thanks again to everyone involved, as I know how difficult this can be!