California​'s Great America: Trip Review

By Beemerboyz803

       On Saturday, April 12, I was able to visit California's Great America in Santa Clara, California. I had never been before, so I was excited to visit a new amusement park. First thing I rode was a little baby swing ride, and then we went to Vortex, a giant roller coaster with three loops. Thinking that it was too tall, too fast, and had too many loops, I was among the four who chickened out in my group.

After Vortex, we walked into the half-hour line for Gold Striker, the park's newest coaster. It was made of wood, and was extremely noisy. The first drop (which goes through a tunnel) was suspenseful, and may remind a thrill-seeker of The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at California Adventure. It had a lot of high-speed twists and turns that elevated. It was quite an adrenaline rush.

Next, we walked to Whitewater Falls, since it was so hot and we were pretty desperate to get wet. Since I am not that smart, I jumped into the front row and was drenched by a wave of water. After exiting the ride, we stayed and kept ourselves occupied wasting quarters at the spray cannons. We scared quite a few people, and upset a few others.

 

       After Whitewater Falls, we went to Berserker, a small ride that goes up and down (pretty much a kiddie ride). Then, we boarded Demon, another roller coaster, with four loops. It was a lot of fun, because the drop was extremely tall and the final drop before the last two loops goes through the mouth of a stone sculpture. 

 

       Next, we ate food and then walked over to Psycho Mouse. We pretty much got through 10 yards of the line in 25 minutes, so we walked out of the line and waited 45 minutes for Tiki Twirl, a basic theme park ride with a giant disk (where the passengers sit) that rides a track. Let me just say, we were all pretty scared after that ride. It was taller, faster, and definitely spun more than I thought it would. After Tiki Twirl, we went to Drop Tower: Scream Zone. Since I was one of the four who chickened out, I went 30 feet away to the carnival games. I won two minions from Despicable Me at the water-squirting game. 

 

       Finally, we rode Grizzly, another wood coaster that was as rickety as a car driving over rocks. After Grizzly, we did some shopping and then waited 20 minutes for Flight Deck, the park's famous roller coaster that goes over water. Formerly themed after Top Gun, it was certainly a lot of fun, and the first drop was quite scary since I was sitting in the back and the vehicle just plummeted. After Flight Deck, we left for dinner.

 

       My overall thoughts about Great America? One of the best amusement parks I've ever visited. I hugely recommend it to anybody, because it pretty much has something for everyone, from thrill-seekers to little toddlers. 

 

Watch our on-ride video of Tiki Twirl once we post it on the blog. We apologize in advance if the commentary in the background is displeasing to any viewers.