Pre-TR
After getting home from school on the 9th, my dad and I took the 3 hour trip down to Kansas City. We got to our hotel in good time and went to sleep.
Next morning we slept in, then drove over to Waffle House for some breakfast (there are two within ten minutes of the park - we chose the one with an awesome view of Mamba). And finally, finally, it was time to ride.

1. A Pleasant Surprise
The huge crane right next to the parking lot must've been good luck, because we were let in to the park at 9:30, an hour and a half before opening! However, the only thing open at this point was Spinning Dragons, so we enjoyed our first first ride of the day on that. Great family coaster, but nowhere near what OE must've been. - 6.5/10

2. The Waiting Game
After that, we walked over to Timberwolf, which obviously wasn't open yet. I was a bit doubtful, as I'd never seen it open with the park. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, after a half hour we were let in, and we got our second first ride of the day in the front row. TW is one of the best woodies I've ever been on. It's exciting, packed with airtime, and not too rough in the morning! 8/10

3. Grumpy Ops
We then took the short jog over to RipCord, where I had my worst skycoaster experience yet. The two ops were mad about something, so I didn't get awesome treatment. Right before I started the long, slow climb up, I realized I was lopsided, meaning I turned during the freefall. That makes it feel safer, which is not a good thing on skycoasters. Also, while loading me, they asked if I'd ever done this before. I had. I was expecting more info, but all I got was "Give yourself a big bearhug." See, the problem is, I've done skycoasters before, but never alone (I've found the best rides come out of a two-person flight), so I didn't know if anything else was different. That scared me a little - and I don't get scared anymore. So, the rating for my third first ride of the day is: 6/10.

4. Everything else (Part I)
When that was over, we decided to just do WoF. Headed back to Mamba for three walk on rides - front, back, back. I have to say I like the back a little more than the front on this one for the speed and airtime you don't feel in front. Maba truly is a work of art. It's very underrated and more people need to know about it! 9/10
Then, we took ourselves down to Boomerang - somehow I manage three rides in a row without dying. I actually like this Boomerang more than I liked Sidewinder. Go figure. 6/10
The rest of the day, we rerode stuff and did flats (Zulu, Sklyliner (mostly for Patriot), Bamboozler, Detonator, etc.). No Thunderhawk this time. I much prefer it without water, and as it was 93 degrees, well... You see my point.

5. Everything else (Part II)
We left the park and immediately talked to Guest relations, to see if we were allowed to look at some track. The first worker had no idea what we meant, so she got a supervisor, who called security to ask them. We were allowed, of course, so we walked out and got a bunch of pics.

Note: this TR may also be viewed here

Pictures can be viewed here

__________________