Photo TR: Scandia Ontario with Erik & Smisty

Hello! Erik and Smisty here. You may remember us from such photo trip reports as Southern California & Nevada, with Erik & Smisty or Erik & Misty's Smoky Mountain Adventures, featuring Dollywood.

Or maybe you don't. In any case, a little over a week ago, we attended the second day of TPR's 2015 West Coast Bash at Knott's Berry Farm. We also visited Disneyland Resort and few other places. But none of those are what I want to tell you about. Let's face it, you already know whether or not you want to go to Disneyland or Knott's, or if you want to attend a WCB (for the first time, or again) and the answer is probably yes. So, instead, we're going to show you something a little more off the beaten path....

Scandia Fun Center - Ontario, California

Yes, it's a FEC, but it's a good one. We opted for the all day rides and mini golf wristbands for $25 each, which I think is well worth it if you're going to spend a couple of hours there, and aren't just credit whoring.

It's the little things that impress me. Like these little cups for your tokens in the arcade.

The arcade was standard, and sort of medium-sized. But they had Skee Ball, so Misty was happy.

Shooty thing that goes crazy when you use a flash.

We don't care about go-karts, but there is this one course. So...cool.

That is not the same kid. And you're racist.

Now we're talking!

There are two different courses. We did both, because we love mini golf. I didn't see any difference between them in terms of difficulty or quality.

Both courses were well maintained, for the most part, with lots of water and greenery.

If I had a complaint, it's that the chlorine water smell was overwhelming in some areas. Not that that has anything to do with this photo.

This castle was quite large, and two sided.

Plus there was a troll under it. He didn't do anything. But, still, a troll. Because Scandia has a Scandinavian theme. I probably should have mentioned that earlier in the TR.

Remember when I said that the courses were well maintained, "for the most part"? Yeah....

Okay, good courses. But I see some rides over there!

Actually, we did the rides first, but half of creating PTR's is rewriting history.

Gearing up for their Halloween event. I dunno, might be a little too intense for me. Do you dare sit in...the spooky recliner?!

Looks like they have two houses. This one is built under the big coaster and on the midway that is a second entrance to the park...? (That they're obviously not using at the moment? Or maybe they never do any more?) Is that too many question marks?

Okay, so the big draw here is the Scandia Screamer. And, yes, the sign is very funny. But what I want to focus on here is: Who brings their broom to the park?!

The Scandia Screamer is a 20-year old, 88-foot tall Hi-Miler.

The ride is somewhat wild, and there is some airtime. The front was good. The rear was a bit of a back-breaker.

If you like your coasters rusty, Scandia is definitely the place for you!

Honestly, it's a nice little park. Sure, it's not Disney World or Cedar Point, but if that doesn't entirely sound like a bad thing to you, you might want to check it out. We're glad we did, but we're weird.

We didn't eat in the park, but there is food. And, hey, I found the dustpan that goes with that broom!

This train ride looked cute. The scenery is consistently nice throughout the park, and I like how this is built under the coaster.

The ride operators were moving from ride to ride, so you had to be committed enough to wait for a few minutes at a ride that you wanted to go on. It was slow enough and the attendants were on the ball, so I didn't find it a problem. It was also advertised that way when we bought our tickets, which was good. Certainly, it was much better than what they do at Castle Park, which I'm still really bitter about.

I think this is called the...um...kiddie coaster. *Pulls up Google* Ah, this is "Little Dipper Coaster." We rode it. It was pretty, and weird in that way that only kiddie coasters are.

This kid seems like he's enjoying it.

I can spin a little, but you're on your own here, Misty.

All of the rides have these cool facts on them that help tie them into the Scandinavian theme.

The other haunted house. I'm not sure what's normally in the spot, if anything. That's some quality right there, though.

Always excited to see a Tilt-A-Whirl, but this one didn't whirl much.

This little ride is called the Skagarrak Zoo, which is also the name of my band.

I love the shout out to Liseberg, and also that they misspelled it.

I would have ridden this one, but I was too fat. Except, I'm not really 100% sure that I was, because the restraints were adjustable, in the sense of being able to slide up higher. And while the attendant adjusted the restraints for others, she didn't for me. It really seemed like mine could have gone higher, but I don't really know. Certainly, I've been on similar rides with no issues, but I wasn't going to argue the point, because I don't want to be that guy. So...I don't know what happened here. But Misty enjoyed it.

Who want to ride the Viking Poop Ship?

Every park needs a Viking Poop Ship.

Tiny (but cute) carousel.

Not so tiny (but even cuter) me.

Didn't ride, who cares.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Again, I really dig Scandia's scenery.

Looks like the Screamer has a second train. No idea if they ever use it, but they certainly didn't need it on this day.

Welp, that concludes Erik & Smisty's Ontario Oddventures! And while I don't think Scandia is going to be anyone's favorite park, we've been to quite a few better places that were a lot worse.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Do you see what I did there?

Here you can see both the Cliff Jumper drop tower ride and the *ahem* natural beauty of Ontario, California.

Neat! It may seem odd, but that Miler coaster instantly went on my bucket list when I first learned of it.

It's like they took their kiddie coaster design and just decided to make it ... oh I dunno... five times taller ... with no changes to the track or vehicle systems. Which just looks so wonderfully messed up. Never again did they build anything even 60% as tall as this, I believe.

Yay for an Erik & Smisty trip report...it's been a while and this one didn't disappoint!

A couple things...

I wonder if Texans are offended that they are bringing in over 100 of their Waco freaks in for the Halloween fest?

Also wonder if that Viking Ship was renamed/rethemed to the Ween song Poopship Destroyer?

That coaster surprised me when I visited the park, I wasn't expecting much. My visit was during the Halloween celebrations and the place was absolutely packed waiting for those haunted houses to open.

That coaster surprised me when I visited the park, I wasn't expecting much.

Agreed. Scandia Screamer looks sketchy but it is actually a pleasant surprise with some nice pops of air.

Never again did they build anything even 60% as tall as this, I believe.

It seems you're quite correct. I went to RCDB to figure out what other Milers I'd been on, and was quite surprised to find that they built the Big Timber Log Ride at Enchanted Forest, which is a ride I also very much enjoy.

Thanks for the look at Scandia. Might get to Ontario as part of a longer California trip someday.

Or, probably not. I grew up in California and never visited Scandia back then, as my family was fixated on Disney, Knott's, and sometimes Universal.

Neat! It may seem odd, but that Miler coaster instantly went on my bucket list when I first learned of it.

 

It's like they took their kiddie coaster design and just decided to make it ... oh I dunno... five times taller ... with no changes to the track or vehicle systems. Which just looks so wonderfully messed up. Never again did they build anything even 60% as tall as this, I believe.

It is on my bucket list as well! One of the very first coasters that really intrigued me when I was young and started researching parks and coasters.

I have been on Viking Voyage at Wild Adventures and it is pretty crazy, so I can only imagine this is crazy as well!

Awesome report -- these are always among my favorites at TPR.

This may be the Erik & Smisty-est picture ever.