Silverwood Photo TR - 10th, 11th & 13th August, 2015

I am going to Silverwood! I brought a 16gig SD card so that I can take all the pictures I can.

This park wasn't my first amusement park- we have Wild Waves, which back then was 70% water park and a few carnie rides, and previously the Fun Forest in Seattle Center (Windstorm you are missed). My parents also took my sister and I to Disneyland and Universal Hollywood--Back to the Future put 1993 Star Tours to shame IMO--but the first time I experienced a real, true-blooded roller coaster was at Silverwood about 15 years ago. We lined up with what seemed like half of Idaho for Timber Terror, and as soon as we got off everyone agreed that we should immediately go on Tremors. And after that, my mom rode Timber Terror more than a half-dozen time without us (the kids) throughout the rest of the afternoon! I was pretty excited and liked the rides, but I don't remember thinking "Oh my I need to go on another one of these ASAP!"

Fifteen years later, I am back in Idaho with a couple of friends and we are heading to Silverwood and Boulder Beach for a couple of days! After driving from Seattle in the late morning/afternoon, we checked into our hotel today, and it's very nice! We are staying in Coeur D'Alene since I get a screamin deal as a person employed by a certain hotel chain, and are going to drive up to Silverwood either tomorrow or Tuesday and go for 2 days. I am very excited and can't wait to try Aftershock and SpinCycle, even though I fear getting sick on the latter. Boulder Beach should also be fun, and I'm hoping--perhaps foolishly--that the lines won't be horrible early in the week. I got advice from some of you to go to Boulder Beach early since it will get packed later once it's hot out, so that's the plan. Then we can sweat it out in line for some coasters in the afternoon.

I forgot the charger for my camera, and of course no stores carry the batteries or chargers for the camera I bought, so I had to hunt around for a universal charger. Target has a truly "universal" charger where the contacts are manually positioned, and it seems to work great, even though it looks iffy. Pics of that setup tomorrow. By the time the battery was charged, it was dark out, so I don't have any photos yet.

We ate dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, it was pretty good and the beer I had, apparently called Irish Death, was extremely tasty. It was like a Guiness but much better. This place also has very reasonable prices for steaks and a lot of other food, so it's a good place for a family meal. It was packed at 8:00PM on a Sunday, so call ahead if you have a group.

Now I must get some sleep, but expect pictures tomorrow evening.

(sorry for any typos, I am typing in the dark on my laptop)

Spin Cycle is very relaxing and smooth. I'm thinking you wouldn't get too sick riding it. Timber Terror (still hard for the life of me not to call it by its original name, The Grizzly) has great airtime. And if you're evert back for the Scarywood event, riding Timber Terror backwards is even MORE FUN!! I prefer backwards on that ride.

The Cd'A resort is a beautiful one and one of the more upscale in the area. Staying at Holiday Inn by Triple Play can be a good bet too though if you have kids along. Hope you have an awesome day at Silverwood. I look forward to enjoying pics from your TR.

Day 1: Today was great! Silverwood has really grown since the last time I was here, and they are really doing things the right way (with a couple of small exceptions). The friends I was with didn't care for roller coasters, but it turns out my stomach doesn't appreciate repeated coaster rides either, so it worked out well. I got to ride everything I wanted to, and some stuff I ended up enjoying more than what I was looking forward to.

We woke up and I realized our coffee cups are mustachioed!

The gardening and theming really are top notch from the entrance throughout the park. I especially liked the flower displays they have all over the park, and appreciate them more since I have done some of my own gardening the past few years. A lot of work must go into upkeep, but it's worth it for the professional, first-class look it gives the park.

There were flowers everywhere!

Carousel horse with flowers

These guys were heading to the new 3 point challenge

Planters everywhere

And full gardens!

This was a cool fountain made out of stumps

Log flume log with banana trees? Looks like banana leaves

Main street and the train tracks

They had this camp site to make this dead spot interesting

Beautiful

As far as rides, my favorite ride of today was Panic Plunge. I have only done one other drop tower, Big Shot at the Stratosphere, and this was completely different. The extremely short lines, the anticipation and the drop itself were all awesome. Second time I decided to try getting a bit of wiggle room (was not stapled at all, all day) and keep my hands out, and that made it even better! This thing drops at exactly the rate of acceleration of the riders, so it's pure 0g all the way down- no downward yank, no negative G's, just pure freefall. The only complaint I have: it should be taller!

I was mainly interested in roller coasters, and here are some pics:

Corkscrew - SO MUCH BETTER than the Arrow looper at my home park, glassy-smooth in comparison. I like the back seat- seems less shaky and also gives a pop of airtime on the drop

Aftershock - this one made me a little bit ill, but I really like it. I tried near the front and near the back, I don't know which is better but try to get an outer seat. It was down for 1.5hrs+ in the afternoon, so it's still temperamental per its reputation

Timber Terror- great little woodie, but I am beginning to agree with others, one-train ops are just frustrating. I can't imagine what it's like on the weekends, the wait must top 2 hours if the queue is full

This thing was so dusty, I don't know if they have cleaned it since they placed it there!

"Strongly suggested"

Tremors - I only got shots of the cockeyed station, but it was a fun ride. Near the front it was intense and nice, but the back of the train really starts to shuffle and rattle laterally during the huge "warped helix" That part needs RMC topper desperately. The rest of the ride was nice and smooth, the tunnels gave some great headchopper effects and it's fun to be able to see what you look like riding with the on-ride camera

It's all out of alignment due to Tremors

Ride op booth is all crooked

And here are a coupld bonus pictures of the log flume and station- I like the theming inside

And there is an area behind the log flume where something is being built/put together

Day 1 was super fun, but a little hot and sweaty, so being in the water tomorrow will be a nice change. Here's the last pic I took, Corkscrew at sunset

edit: more words

Great trip report and great pictures!

I haven't been to Silverwood in 5 years! In my honest opinon, it's the best. Granted I've only been to Wild Waves, Magic Mountain and Disneyland California but it beats those with the beautiful grass, landscaping and awesome rides!

Plus being grounded to Wild Waves isn't too appealing either.

Did you try the new spinning coaster in the kiddie area? It looks so fun!

If you're still out there in Coeur D'Alene, you might want to consider hitting Capone's Pub and Grill for a meal. They have a bunch of craft beers on tap and good "pub grub".

http://caponespub.com/

Crafted Tap House is another option. It wasn't there the last time I was in CDA, but it seems to have very good ratings. It also appears that Crafted has the most craft taps (50) of any place in that area.

http://www.craftedtaphouse.com

Day 2: Boulder Beach and more coasters

Today we started out in Boulder Beach, and I have to say this about Cabana Island: highly recommended. It was unbelievably nice to have a place to leave things without worry of them getting stolen (though the locker door could be pried open enough to fit an arm inside, so we left valuables at the bottom-rear, not ideal) and a place to meet your friends if you decide to separate. We had our double tube stolen from behind our backs (literally, the 2 people I was with were sitting in the cabana and someone took it. Ours was even on the far end!)

View from our cabana, everyone would scream every time the buzzer sounded for the wave machines, which was super funny

The cabana island area is nice and uncrowded, we made jokes about keeping out the riff raff but in all honesty it was worth the price for some space and privacy and everything else included (towels, 2 tubes, big locker)

We also didn't need to wait in lines like this for food and drink, because the workers in the cabana area will bring you that stuff, but I did anyway because the poor employees looked busy and it was hot out. We got huckleberry ice cream at the place to the left, it was yummy but go for the waffle bowl! I got a cone and had to eat it as fast as I could so it didn't drip everywhere/fall apart. As many people have noted, the serving size is ridiculous, there was almost a pint of ice cream handed to me on top of a waffle cone

The first slide we tried was Avalance Mountain, it was fun but I think a little too intense for the people I was with! Both of them got thrown up the walls several times and said they were glad they listened to the operator telling them to hang on. Ricochet Rapids was awesome the first time I rode it, second time was meh... for some reason we just went right down the middle the second time without all the 'ricochets' we got the first time. I rode with different sets of people so maybe that was the main factor.

Here is a good place to mention I went on almost every ride alone, because the 2 people I was with are older and don't like rides much (don't worry they loved the wave pool and just sitting in the cabana). I would like to encourage anyone who has a chance to go to a park but doesn't because they don't want to go alone: DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU! I had an absolute blast and met some nice people, everyone was having fun and let me ride in their group if I asked, and I got to do whatever rides I wanted. And if you're not comfortable meeting new people, this is the perfect place to practice! Plus if you make yourself look like an ass you will probably never see the people again, so who cares

I went on Velocity Peak, both the straight slides, and it was fun but a little scary- I know everyone always says, "OmGz I like totes caught air!" but I am certain there was a point on the steep one where no part of my body was touching any part of the slide. I know it was perfectly safe but

Lazy river was lazy, but don't expect peace and quiet- some water spray and kids playing around kept us busy

As usual, the scenery was really nice

Whatever this thing is called was actually really fun, water everywhere and you can spray/dump water on people below

More scenery and places to spread out

Main Street was fun, all the buildings are meticulous and everything is beautiful

First dry ride I did today was Corkscrew, I actually love this ride and I hope they don't get rid of it any time soon. It's much better/smoother than the other Arrow I have ridden, and the history is enough to warrant at least 1 ride from any coaster fan

More pretty places to sit, I liked the nice little touches like this almost everywhere there was free space

Train cars along the back fence, I think they are just for parts?

Lines were OK, this was about the longest for Tremors but it took a while due to a biospill I felt bad for the ops

I found Garfield when I was looking for the Visa spinner, so I had to get a picture with him!

Also I found a mini Screamin Swing

TImber Terror in the back row was phenomenal. The first drop is great and you get yanked right down every hill afterward. Rode 2x in that seat and wish I could have done it 5x

I got a ride in on Aftershock right at sunset, in the front seat, with my shoes off; that was excellent!

Behold the f-ed up cobra roll in all its weird and terrible glory!

Pictures and video don't translate how huge this machine is; the supports, the track rails, everything is just big and beefy. That was what surprised me most about it, how much bigger it looks when you're actually about to ride it

Apparently someone's neck was hurt while riding Aftershock earlier in the day; this was hearsay from another guest but I did hear an ambulance while waiting for Tremors (I remember because I thought someone was hurt on Tremors and that's why it was delayed, but that was the biospill). If true, I hope the person makes a quick and full recovery. Aftershock was indeed pretty forceful.

SpinCycle looks cool at night, turbos on the arm and LED's under the seat (can't hold a candle to those German rides)

I don't know what happened here... is this the new planking?

I think I might have missed some good pics, so I will post any leftovers later.

I also *might* go Thursday for after 5PM, it's half price! So stay tuned, but I probably won't waste much time on pics with only 4 hours to enjoy.

Edit: I am also going to try to stop by an abandoned water park and take some pics--from the outside, they have had problems with copper thieves according to the article so I do not want to look like I'm a vandal/looter. Apparently they closed due to growing competition and some gross mismanagement: http://www.inlander.com/spokane/running-dry/Content?oid=2494055

If you manage to get into the old Wild Waters park, I'd love to see pics. It's amazing what a vibrant thriving park it was 25 years ago. I had a great time there. Since then, I've been curious what happened with it. If I had a drone, I'd get video and pics, but that's just one of those crazy luxuries. Great TR and pics!

If you manage to get into the old Wild Waters park, I'd love to see pics.

Didn't get into it, like I said I don't want to be confused for a vandal/scrapper, but I got some pics from outside the fences

From across the road

Lazy river?

Some slides

Parking lot

Feral cats have taken over!

"Bench: The Ride - Aftermath"

Things go better in threes, especially with friends. (o;

"Bench: The Ride - Aftermath"

I also *might* go Thursday for after 5PM

So, this turned into, "I'm already in Idaho so why not go another day?"

I went alone the third day, and it was interesting but the most fun I have had, again, in years: Aftershock was down all day to the dismay of many, therefore other lines were a bit more crowded, it was nearly 100 degrees, I accidentally stapled myself with a lap bar and had the worst coaster ride I have experienced, and got to ride in the last train before lightning cancellation on Timber Terror as a storm was coming in and had the best coaster ride I have ever experienced. For now, here's a video:

[youtu_be]

Wednesday after watching Tom Cruise and having dinner, I decided to go out and take some pictures of an old water park that had been abandoned (see previous post, sorry I didn't get pictures from inside but I don't want to get arrested!) and then went to check out Triple Play family fun center in Hayden, ID. It's about 10 miles north of Coeur d'Alene on highway 95, and it would make a nice (but equally expensive) alternative to Silverwood if it was rainy. I'm sure this would get crowded even faster though.

They actually have a pretty good range of activities for younger kids. Nothing super thrilling, and the water park consists of 4 slides and a jungle gym/water bucket dump - I heard the bucket was bought from the aforementioned abandoned water park.

There is an attached hotel, i think it used to be branded as a Holiday Inn but now just has a "T" and says "Triple Play"

Adding everything up, if you wanted to do it all, it's nearly as much as SIlverwood (more if you have a discount code for SW)

Go Kart track looked good, carts were slooooooow

The pink & green one looks fun

Pretty nice looking for a family fun center

Go Karts

Mini golf looks good

Volcanoes and waterfalls!

Night Karting

Laser Tag- supposedly they are getting a bigger one

Ropes course

Clean bowling alley

I don't know if this is a mini wave pool or what

Water bucket dumping

3 of the 4 slides

They had a pretty nice arcade

Boink!

This looked fun but it was only me

They even had indoor mini golf w/ black lights!

If you can't find enough to do in the area (hard to imagine), you could always go play some video games and go on air conditioned water slides!

I have another post for the last day of Silverwood, to follow shortly

Alright, so it's the next week and I wish I was still there... going back to real life has been a bummer. Like I said, I don't get many chances to have this much fun, so getting back to the Seattle area in a rain storm with terrible game-day traffic was a rude awakening. I felt like I lost any gains in relaxation because of the stressful time getting out of downtown back to my own house. I don't look forward to going back to work tomorrow either.

However, my time at the park was wonderful and I would go again in a second. It's far off the beaten path, but that is one of its charms, I suppose- I think if it was closer to a major city it would be a completely different experience. The drive from the Seattle area went pretty quickly, so I would encourage anyone with a couple of days to check out this park. Even though it's still pretty small and does get crowded easily, that doesn't stop it being a great place to have some fun. Even the water park, which I expected to be a mad house, was not overcrowded and the lines were reasonable. Of course these were mid-week days, so expect longer waits on weekends.

View from the car

Corkscrew going through the corkscrews

SpinCycle in the morning

Tremors and Aftershock- guess which one was down all day?

This grasshopper was hot and thirsty like the rest of us

Operator panel!

Went on Super Round Up, got a bit sick

Aftershock was down all day on Thursday, which I suppose was the one major downside for most people I talked to that day. I was thankful I had already ridden it, but I met a guy from Texas who had come out of his way to ride it and was disappointed- I assured him that most of the coasters at SFOT were more worth riding and he wasn't missing that much. He also told me about a roller coaster called Titan there, that has a 500 or 600 foot drop

I wish I could buy a print of this

Tremors- I loved the way this ride sounded and the tunnels, but it bit me

I experienced my first stapling on Tremors, and it was at my own hand! I accidentally pushed the lap bar down a couple notches too far, and the entire ride after the lift was like a torture session. The seatbelt buckle was digging into my stomach with every bump and jostle, of which there were many. After trying to find a way to save my stomach through the big messed up helix, I gave up and just took my punishment as I waited for the ride to be over. The on-ride photo somehow disguised my discomfort. I didn't go back on it for the rest of the day.

SpinCycle in the afternoon

As the day was winding down, it began to get pretty cloudy, so around 6:30 I went from Boulder Beach back to the "Silverwood" side, and did as many rides as I could until closing. I loved Panic Plunge after dark. Overall I think that was my favorite flat- I was really under-impressed with SpinCycle. I think the cycle is too short and the arm swings too slowly to be very forceful until at full speed. I still rode it again just to make sure, and there are only a few moments out of the ~3 minute ride that are really fun or intense. Too bad it looks more fun than it is, in my opinion.

Timber Terror - I love everything about this ride.

I managed to get on the last train on Timber Terror before everything tall was shut down due to lightning. That was an awesome experience, with a bit of rain and lightning visible in the distance from the lift hill. Being in the dark made the ride even better, and it made me really excited to go back and try it in the dark and backward in October! I felt really bad for the people behind me, who had to wait but didn't get to ride!

Aftershock lit up, was down all day

During the ride home, I found a radio station playing actual music (not country music) and rocked out to Bohemian Rhapsody while already reminiscing about how awesome the night was.

So, that's my first ever trip report, I hope it wasn't too boring. I had an excellent time and am already looking forward to going back, and it has also made me want to get to other parks. I hadn't actually been to a park for quite a few years before now, so I wasn't sure whether I would want to continue as a "coaster enthusiast" or not, but now: DEFINITELY YES! My next stop is to get my enhanced drivers' license so I can go to Canada and ride Coaster at Playland. It's a much shorter drive and they also have some pretty good flats. After that, who knows; I was even talking with the friends I brought to SW about going to Orlando and they were totally into it!

Thanks for reading, and hopefully you will be hearing more from me soon!

- Ryan

It's weird hearing that Aftershock has had so many problems recently, it usually works pretty well.

It's weird hearing that Aftershock has had so many problems recently, it usually works pretty well.

My completely uninformed opinion was that it might be sensor-related; they had it cycling every so often but when it would get back to the first tower, the catch car would grab it and then just freeze there. Then it slooooowly lowered back to the station after a couple minutes. It seemed like the system didn't register the train being caught, or for some reason was locking up after it got to that point. I don't think it was anything mechanical, so I hoped it would be running later, but it never happened

It was still super fun, and now I really want to get to other parks; I am trying to be able to go to Vancouver for the Fair at the PNE, but at least going back to Silverwood for Scarywood, so look for my TR on that!

Most likely catch car related. The catch cars were the biggest issue with the GIBs. I know SFMM had issues with Deja's catch car overheating and causing the train to "park long" in the station.

More so controls system stuff. Reporting errors for things that didn't happen - with the catch cars.

^When random errors start happening that's when the real fun begins for the electricians.

Great First Trip Report!

And quite a number of really nicely shot ride photos, too.

I especially like the one you took of the Round Up.

And even if Aftershock wasn't running that day, your night shot

of it is really nice. Looking forward to your next TR, when you post one.

And even if Aftershock wasn't running that day, your night shot

of it is really nice. Looking forward to your next TR, when you post one.

Thanks a lot, I had to have a few tries since it was by hand, but I finally got one that wasn't blurry

I wish I could get up to the fair @ PNE and do a trip report there, but I didn't plan ahead well enough to have a enhanced drivers license in time If you go, try to take some pics for me!

For content, here's one more shot of Timber Terror I don't think I included:

All the other pics are raw, but I photoshopped this one a bit

Also here is one of the shirts I got, I like orange so it was perfect!

Souvenir prices were really reasonable. I didn't get the small

I also got this tank top; I will know who is observant and/or a coaster nerd if they notice it has nothing to do with Marvel

^ Just think of the PNE being the two weeks before Labor Day weekend in September. As for the fair itself, I just went Opening Day today. And took a load of general walk-around shots, just taking in everything that was there. I didn't take many (if any) ride pix as most of the Playland rides, I've already photographed. But I'll do a TR through Playland, eventually. I got myself a Fair Gate pass for the entire fair's run, so I have plenty of time to check things out, then TR back on them, individually.

Nice t-shirt you got there, by the way. I like the orange, too.