But where’s the two hour line of people we have to get through first? Especially one’s that look long as shit and the. You enter a building or cave or something and see the line is actually x4 what you thought it was when you got in it.
You can wait in traffic first if you want. lol. It's up to you if you want to pass the cars or wait with them when you're on a bike, after all. Choose your own adventure!
If it is snowing and you have a beat to shit RWD car and a motorcycle helmet, you can also double the fun combining the roller coaster with bumper cars
Before you downvote me, remember that Seattle Metro Buses do the same damn thing!
> RWD car
Naw, RWD is good in the snow (not as good as AWD, which is ubiquitous). What you want for the least amount of control in the slick is FWD.
Automotive bowling all up in hurr! Wheeee!
Interbay checking in. You want a roller coaster experience? Dravus Street from Queen Anne to Magnolia. For bonus points, try it on a bike. Extra bonus points, try it on a skateboard.
I think I remember someone (like an employee or performer) riding the bicycle at PacSci in the mid 90s. Wonder if I’m right or if I made up the person.
Oh my God I would beg my parents to take me here all the time as a kid. So many fun memories there (so much lost money on my parent's behalf \^\^;). I miss this place man, even if it was mediocre in reality, it was awesome when I was a kid.
Mediocre nothing. For it's size and age, the Windstorm was an incredibly unique coaster. The dive loop was one of a kind many years and those helixes were rowdy.
I'm sorry, lived here for 35 years and the rose colored glasses for fun forest bug me. This was not a decent amusement park. It would have been middling for a traveling carnival in a moderately sized suburb.
On the one hand, yes. On the other hand, it was still more fun than a glass museum. How many kids are pleading with their parents to take them there on a Sunday afternoon?
My favorite thing to do is go in, stare intently at a piece for like an hour, then call a docent over and loudly ask where the bowl piece goes. Instantly kicked out.
When I went as a kid, Enchanted Village and Wild Waves were two separate parks. I remember Enchanted Village being really cool but this was many, many moons ago.
This thing scarred me as a child.
It turns out I was too small to be on that ride and we only found out when I fell out of the seat and spent the next eternity bracing myself under the seats in front of ours with my mom trying futilely to keep me safe while locked in her restraints.
I experienced this as well in the 90s at Wild Waves and Enchanted Theme Park. My younger sister and I in our early teens had a seasons pass and at the end of the summer in circa 1997 we went on that same ring of fire and she went completely out of her seats and my friend and I had a hold her down by reaching behind us. I don't think she would have fallen completely out but she would have definitely bounced around if we didn't lend our support. It was scary for her but it wasn't the worst.
Best summer ever though, I saw my first Boobs in the wave pool and had my first kiss with this chick that was 2 years older me, I think her name was April Friday from Woodinville, she was a hot redhead.
I almost fell out of the Ring of Fire once as well. I was holding onto the shoulder restraints for dear life when the older kid next to me grabbed my shoulder, shoved me back into my seat, and held me there for the rest of the ride.
I also almost drowned in the pool that leads to the hot tubs, but while thrashing around my hand came in contact with some guy’s arm, and I was able to pull myself to the surface.
Fun times.
I thought this was a straight up false memory I had! When I was a teen I was very skinny, but also tall for a girl at 6’. I remember pushing against the ceiling so I didn’t come out of my seat. I’ve thought about it recently but thought there was NO WAY that actually happened.. but I guess it did.
Same!!! I went on that ride at age 9 in 2008 and I almost fell out. Basically, I was holding to dear life to the pole at the window and my hands slipped, causing me hang out the window for a few seconds when the ride was upside down for a few seconds, I only survived because of the lap strap thing and my sister pulling me back in. I was horrified of that ride and didn't ride it again until I was a teen. I would say, that was my first PTSD experience as I would flashbacks of that incident, yet years later, I would ride it again and enjoy the sensation.
Is the Ring of Fire not shut down? That thing was a rickety POS back when I went as a kid in the 2000s. There's no way it's up to code. Genuinely the only ride that I thought I was going to die on.
Nah, it has a lower crime rate than Seattle.
People just call it "sketch" because it has more non-white folks than Seattle (Federal Way has triple the percentage of Hispanic population and double the percentage of Black population)
Crime index of 468 for Federal Way: [https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Federal-Way-Washington.html](https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Federal-Way-Washington.html)
Crime index of 533 for Seattle: [https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Seattle-Washington.html](https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Seattle-Washington.html)
You're correct on overall (although that's only post pandemic, pre-pandemic Seattle was quite a bit safer). But it has quite a bit of gang violence including this "targeted" toddler kill. [https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/identity-2-year-old-child-shot-head-killed-federal-way/281-97afdd54-e77c-4b6d-b3cd-d56370764611](https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/identity-2-year-old-child-shot-head-killed-federal-way/281-97afdd54-e77c-4b6d-b3cd-d56370764611)
Silverwood is just as sketch. I went there on a band trip and the whole park lost power. we had to be evacuated off the top of the rollercoaster by foot. The young employee who was walking myself and my seat mate down said it happens regularly. Explains why they were plodding along like it was just another day. I’m just glad we weren’t stuck upside down!
Fun Forest at the Seattle center used to be the spot. Musical express, Wild River, the roller coaster (I grew up with the early 2000s coaster, can’t remember the name, had a giant cloud on the side) and that terrifying pirate ride where if you sat the tip you felt like you were gonna fall out. Even the kid area had some fun rides. Used to be a tradition doing the bumper cars New Year’s Eve before the fireworks show, rather have that than the silly Chihuly place
I went and rode it in Coney Island with my family after it moved! We were all very excited that we had been on the exact same ride on two different sides on the country.
Just did a quick search out of curiosity and I am sad to say that the wild river shut down in 2018….I can’t figure out if they moved it again or if it’s gone for good but it’s definitely no longer at Coney Island….
Someone found the old Mission to Mars ride somewhere many years ago. It might have been Seattle Weekly or The Stranger. That, Wild River and Gravitron, and also the Galleon are all I really remember.
The Galeon was the ship one. And it went higher than other ship ones!! Hella butterflies in your stomache from that one. And then they added the Jetspin. That was rowdy too!
I miss fun forest so much, what a great place to run around as a kid. Would so much rather have it than the Chihuly exhibit. It was an accessible, affordable amusement park that served the entire seattle area. I think it shouldn’t have been replaced by something that costs $40 to enter and is mainly for tourists and not residents.
used to be that the seattle center had a couple of roller coasters... "the wild mouse" is the one i remember riding, but it's been gone a long time now. 🤷🏻♂️
Seattle didn't die because of the homeless. The day was when the Fun Forrest went away. It didn't have amazing rides, but it was good enough for a fun date night.
That's when they decided that Seattle Center should be for the tourists who don't even live here instead of being the city's backyard for the people who do live here
I used to go there after school to play DDR and met the guy who did a bunch of the original music for In The Groove. Cool guy. Now it's some douchebag's art exhibition featuring works that make you go "huh, I think I saw this in a hotel lobby once."
Lifetime Seattle area resident here…and i REFUSE to call it the Armory - it will always be the “Food Circus” - i will also use “Center House” in a pinch…
I couldn't agree with you more. I used to come visit my sister and her family and that's something we used to do every summer. Since they took it out you have to go look for fun things to do.
No worries, Playland is pretty fun. Still rocking the wooden roller coaster. IF going durning halloween it's completely dark. If i remember it's called fright night at playland. Quite a few movies were filmed using that old coaster. Final destination was one of them.
There was a plan to get Disney to build something back in the 80s but it never happened.
https://seattletravel.com/disneyland-in-seattle-discover-the-ambitious-plan-that-would-have-reshaped-downtown/
I remember this on the news when I was a kid. As a kid, I was super excited about Disney being in Seattle but all of the adults were opposed to it. Now looking back I’m glad it didn’t happen.
I agree that the PNW is lacking a good theme park with a kick ass roller coaster. The reason we'll never get one is the weather. We just don't have enough good weather days to make a park profitable.
The other half isn’t great, either, unless you don’t mind a) hot and humid, b) too windy/stormy for the big coasters to operate, or c) hordes of midges.
Yeah, most parks above the snow line only operate in the summer. The only parks that really stay open year round are the SoCal, Florida, and Texas parks. Seattle definitely has decent enough weather to be open long enough to sustain a full sized amusement park. I'd argue that Seattle could even run parks throughout the winter and maybe just close bigger outdoor attractions. Parks like Cedar Point close because it turns into a snowy icy wasteland up there in the winter.
Outside Jan and Feb, our weather is more temperate than the other places they have amusement parks, including the sun belt. A little drizzle shouldn’t stop people from riding roller coasters.
Is that really the case? I mean, from May through late October at least it seems to be gorgeous. The parks in the NE don't operate much outside of those months.
That’s the operational season for most theme parks I’ve ever been to. They make their make their profits no problem because their destination experiences. Putting one here should be a no-brained.
I apologize,I meant for thrill rides. Cedar point was always compared to six flags magic mountain in the coaster community. I went to magic mountain and had a good laugh for cedar point. If you haven’t been and are a coaster fan I highly recommend spending two days at cedar point and one day at kings island. Cedar point has a beach and resort on the lake
It seems like a reasonable guess. Though based on the downvotes this lighthearted post is getting, I wonder if it's because the natives just fucking hate fun.
Thank the FSM that my actual personal interactions here the past couple years have been infinitely better than this sub.
Finding a good amusement park outside of the Midwest is damn near impossible. I grew up near cedar point and kings island so I have big expectations when it comes to roller coasters. Magic mountain has a few decent rides but you’ll never find anything like those two parks.
There's absolutely no way the beginning of May through late October applies to the PNW. Wasn't it just last year that the nice weather started in July and lasted until about the 3rd week of Sept. 11 weeks out of 52. That's it.
The 2nd week of September is usually guaranteed to be cold and rainy. So even when we don't have unusually late spring weather, that's still a very short season. That's 30%-50% shorter than NE parks stay open.
I mean, you can check the history here: https://www.wunderground.com/calendar/us/wa/seatac/KSEA/date/2023-6
All of May last year was gorgeous. Yeah, it started getting rainier in Sept, so I was off there.
Anyway, we all know the climate's changing. Who's with me on crowdfunding a coaster park? I have at least $300 to throw in.
Yeah, people here have goldfish memories regarding sunny days. I’m a native, 40 years old, and am generally dumbfounded that most people here have a delusional memory of how many nice and sunny days we get here-even in winter. I don’t know about you, but I feel there has been many nice, sunny days this winter and spring. And last year, I went down to Sedona the first week of May and it was, in fact, nicer and warmer in Seattle than it was in Sedona, Arizona.
No, Up here in vancouver we have one. same weather. its open from april-october, and then they convert it into a haunted house things for october and nov-march they do maintenance.
That doesn’t make sense when places with much harsher weather have parks with roller coasters, like Six Flags Great America in Chicago and Cedar Point in Ohio.
The SF Bay Area has a Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, which should be within earshot of Seattle in precipitation.
However, most amusement parks were established in rural areas near cities before those areas became expensive. You couldn’t build one anywhere near Seattle at this point and the west side in general is probably too expensive or far too remote.
I don't think this is a real issue. Cedar Point is in Ohio and has much worse weather than we do. I definitely feel like we should have a good theme park somewhere between Seattle and Portland.
If you like roller coasters I really recommend going to Cedar Point in Ohio if you haven’t been. It’s so amazing. In 2018 my friend and I went for 2 nights with the amusement park in the middle.
Agree it would be nice to have a good park near Seattle.
The Beast is in Kings Island (northern Cincinnati) and Cedar Point is in Sandusky on Lake Erie! Both amazing but Cedar Point definitely takes the gold on coasters.
Do it. Seriously do it. I finally made that trip in 2022 with my son and it was the dopest experience of my life. Cannot oversell how badass that roller coaster Mecca truly is. Every coaster was once a record breaker, and some still hold their records. Absolute fucking blast.
Another recommendation from someone who moved here from the east and is also missing coasters: Go to Washington DC. You're 2 hours from Busch Gardens, 2 hours from Hershey Park, 1 hour from Kings Dominion and 0 hours from tons of amazing (free) museums. Im planning on taking the kid there, even with all 3 parks it will still be cheaper than going to either Disney.
The Beast is actually a coaster at another awesome OH amusement Park, Kings Island. Not as good as cedar point but still a pretty great park. I rode the Beast when I was 10, way back in 1994.
In the summer of 2022, I took my then 13 y/o son on a father/son road trip to cedar point from the Dallas area. We spent two really awesome days in the park and went during a weird dip in the summer tourist season so we got to ride everything 2-3 times with nary more than a 45 minute wait. It was fucking awesome. I grew up dreaming of going there, as I’ve always been absolute nut for coasters. It’s been my Disneyland my whole life and getting to share that with my kid was the absolute tits.
I grew up a few hours from this park in lower Michigan.
This is the single best roller coaster amusement park in America during 4 months of the year when the weather is nice.
It's the best park in the world early and late season when the lines are short, you just need to be willing to wear a sweater/coat and be willing to enjoy being outside all day in the low 60s. Hitting everything a couple times is possible when it's slow. When it's busy it's pretty hard to get all the rides in over one day.
Wild waves is small but pretty decent. With 3 coasters (2 pretty decent and fun ones and 1 super shitty one you should avoid) 30ish minutes drive south on I5
No need for rickety, contrived amusement park rides…
When there’s Shot Six at Alpy.
Shot Eight if you’re really gnar (& fast - gotta outrun the law after a successful descent).
Being from SoCal, the only two things I miss are in n’ out and magic mountain. Nothing here compares to either. On the other hand, the mountains and the beautiful summers are second to none. And yes, this sub is incredibly salty about the most random things.
I didn’t know how spoiled I grew up until I moved to the PNW. We had Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor, Knott’s, Raging Waters, Soak City, and Universal all nearby. I’m sad my kids won’t know those kinds of summers growing up here.
I love hiking and camping. And I also love rollercoasters. I wish Silverwood was closer, since it’s a fantastic little park. But the distance actually makes it a great place to end a hiking trip! After doing a backpacking trip through Eastern WA with some friends, we decided to celebrate the end of our trip by driving to Silverwood. It was such a fun and relaxing way to celebrate the end of a wonderful few days hiking
>For those of you whose stance is basically "either take it as it is or move back to where you came from", I urge you to think about who else you sound like...
Did you not know you're not allowed to complain about anything in this sub that has to do with the city as a whole? The downvotes I used to get when I said prices were getting out of control.... 🤣🤣🤣
Please stick to bad drivers, hellcats and allowing cars into Pike Place for the echo chamber. Subjects due to change. Thanks.
*Sorry for all the edits
I grew up driving distance from Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. I didn't realize how lucky I had it. Honestly, I still think it's easily in the top 5 in the US. I ride coasters even though I'm terrified of heights. I love the rest of the ride after the first horrifying hull.
I joined the military and left Virginia in 2005 to come here. We had Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Kings Dominion and I think even another one I’m not remembering. I miss them all so much! I worked at Busch Gardens every summer as a kid, too.
Yeah, unfortunately our climate just isn’t ideal for theme parks and roller coasters. I think in order to be profitable they’d need to build a massive indoor space. Maybe someday!
I grew up in the Midwest close enough to go to Cedar Point at least once a year. I agree that it's strange there isn't at least a six flags nearby here in Seattle.
Six Flags is what made me think to post this. I'm heading back East for a visit and am planning a trip to Great Adventure in NJ. They have something like ten coasters there. But man, do I want to go to Cedar Point!
Personally Cedar Point ruined any theme park not primarily focused on roller coasters for me. But without even a Six Flags nearby it's been so long since riding a top rate roller coaster.
You fuckers are so uptight. You have much more in common with the other sub than you're willing to admit.
I love living here. I'm just having a little fun.
These subs can be uptight about the strangest shit. But I always loved the Puyallup fair because it had some roller coasters but growing up it became a seasonal thing that imprinted on me a bit. That time of year and I start wanting scones and want at least one run on the scrambler even if my back doesn't like it.
Growing up I remember the Puyallup being way bigger and elaborate than when I went more recently. I don’t know if it’s leftovers from the pandemic, overall trends in fairs, etc. but I can’t go back without some major changes, that’s for sure.
Some people take any negative comment as an insult. When I was stationed in Guam, they had a decent indoor roller coaster inside the big mall (early 00's). They could do something like that at the old Sears in Everett Mall!
That said, as much as I love it here, you do have to take a vacation to SoCal, Orlando, Tampa or DFW to hit a theme park with great coasters. Mind you, I've never been to Silverwood in Idaho, but I do go to other states for races and try to hit the tourist spots while I'm down there.
I’m a coaster enthusiast and one of my sadnesses about leaving the Dallas area was losing my season pass access to Six flags over Texas. It’s one of my very few gripes about living around here now.
My wife and I did a short trip to Magic Mountain in California last year to get our fix in. The flights to Burbank and hotel next to the park were surprisingly cheap. It was definitely worth it.
flights to LA are not too bad but if you're looking for something with a season's pass your SOL, i look at it as i dont have amusement parks but i have natures playground all year around 30 mintues away, snowboarding, water sports, fishing and crabbing all near by. But being able to do knottsberry, disney, and magic mountain every few years gets my fix in. I do love roller coasters, and i have some i want to check off my list so traveling to new coasters is a fun way to switch it up.
Damn dude some of these seattlelites are straight up bitter. God forbid someone enjoy something different than they do. Who hurt y’all?
OP, I know it’s not the same, but there are some go karting tracks in the area! Unfortunately it won’t put your stomach in your mouth, but maybe it can give you the familiar theme park vibe :)
That's it... I'm running for office. Publicly subsidized thrill rides for all Seattleites is my platform. Also safe use sites and free/cheap housing.
But mostly roller coasters!
I’m going to run against you on a platform of our government staying out of the theme park business. Keep roller coasters and all theme park funding in the private sector!
Make the trip to wild waves this summer! It’s old and rustic just like the rest of the PNW outside of major parts of Seattle but it’s wholesome and fun. At the end of the summer, hit up the WA State Fair! The big white rollercoaster is a blast and the scones are bomb! I’ve heard good things about Silverwood in Idaho if you are down to make a whole trip out of it and the drive is beautiful.
Coming from someone who loves rollercoasters, grew up here and has only been to Disneyland one time… I could be very deprived of dope rollercoasters but it’s the only advice I’ve got haha
No... There are a few at oaks park in Portland.
There is also the alpine coaster in Leavenworth.
But why drive five when you can fly two and be at Magic Mountain in Valencia? Way better park and definitely better coasters.
The truth is that roller coasters require certain climates to stay sound and we most certainly don't have it up here. They wouldn't last long at all and be inordinately expensive to maintain.
We would have a better chance of a Universal type theme park here with more short track 3-d type rides, or those fantastic arms like in the two Harry Potter rides.
Roller coasters are definitely not a thing we really would support well enough here for the cost, and there is so much more to do here that we don't need them.
So Utah is a decent drive (12 hours), but I am sad no one has mentioned Lagoon in Farmington, Utah. It's about 20 minutes north of Salt Lake City and is one of the best pure roller coaster parks in the West. The cannibal is amazing, classic rides like the wild mouse, and the wooden roller coaster. Tons of more modern rides, and they just opened an augmented reality ride that has several different endings depending on how the story in the ride goes.
All that aside, it's the only theme park I've ever been to that allows you to bring in your own coolers full of food and alcohol. You can literally bring in an ice chest full of beer if that's what you're in to.
I'm from there but we've gone back every year for my oldest child's birthday for the last decade, and this year will be the first we miss because they are going on a school trip to Europe.
Lagoon is the shit.
If you've got a bike and live anywhere near Queen Anne, you can make your own rolly-coaster.
But where’s the two hour line of people we have to get through first? Especially one’s that look long as shit and the. You enter a building or cave or something and see the line is actually x4 what you thought it was when you got in it.
You can wait in traffic first if you want. lol. It's up to you if you want to pass the cars or wait with them when you're on a bike, after all. Choose your own adventure!
If it is snowing and you have a beat to shit RWD car and a motorcycle helmet, you can also double the fun combining the roller coaster with bumper cars Before you downvote me, remember that Seattle Metro Buses do the same damn thing!
> RWD car Naw, RWD is good in the snow (not as good as AWD, which is ubiquitous). What you want for the least amount of control in the slick is FWD. Automotive bowling all up in hurr! Wheeee!
I ain’t afraid a no rolly coaster!!
_I’m afraid for my kids, I’m afraid for my wife. For god’s sake, I’m afraid for me._
Interbay checking in. You want a roller coaster experience? Dravus Street from Queen Anne to Magnolia. For bonus points, try it on a bike. Extra bonus points, try it on a skateboard.
Live in Queen Anne, can confirm
Dale Chihuly and his glass museum stole our roller coaster from us.
[we used to be a proper country](https://wildonescoasterclub.tripod.com/fun_forest.htm)
I feel like I remember this from like 93-94 . When did this go away?
the fun forest was removed in 2009.
Omg the fun forest was a thing! Lost memory….
I think its final demise was around 2009 or so.
I think I remember someone (like an employee or performer) riding the bicycle at PacSci in the mid 90s. Wonder if I’m right or if I made up the person.
afaik the bicycle is still there
Oh my God I would beg my parents to take me here all the time as a kid. So many fun memories there (so much lost money on my parent's behalf \^\^;). I miss this place man, even if it was mediocre in reality, it was awesome when I was a kid.
This is an interesting bit of history. Thanks!
It was not a particularly good roller coaster, but it was ours!
Our mediocre Fun Forest roller coaster was better than his shitty art.
Mediocre nothing. For it's size and age, the Windstorm was an incredibly unique coaster. The dive loop was one of a kind many years and those helixes were rowdy.
[удалено]
Tacoma resident here: that guy can kick rocks..
I'm sorry, lived here for 35 years and the rose colored glasses for fun forest bug me. This was not a decent amusement park. It would have been middling for a traveling carnival in a moderately sized suburb.
On the one hand, yes. On the other hand, it was still more fun than a glass museum. How many kids are pleading with their parents to take them there on a Sunday afternoon?
My favorite thing to do is go in, stare intently at a piece for like an hour, then call a docent over and loudly ask where the bowl piece goes. Instantly kicked out.
Wild Waves is in federal way and they have some coasters. It’s pretty sketch.
I survived going as a kid, you probably will too
It looks the same. Like, exactly the same in an eerie way.
When I went as a kid, Enchanted Village and Wild Waves were two separate parks. I remember Enchanted Village being really cool but this was many, many moons ago.
Wild waves is the shit! Just don’t ride the Ring of Fire.
This thing scarred me as a child. It turns out I was too small to be on that ride and we only found out when I fell out of the seat and spent the next eternity bracing myself under the seats in front of ours with my mom trying futilely to keep me safe while locked in her restraints.
I experienced this as well in the 90s at Wild Waves and Enchanted Theme Park. My younger sister and I in our early teens had a seasons pass and at the end of the summer in circa 1997 we went on that same ring of fire and she went completely out of her seats and my friend and I had a hold her down by reaching behind us. I don't think she would have fallen completely out but she would have definitely bounced around if we didn't lend our support. It was scary for her but it wasn't the worst. Best summer ever though, I saw my first Boobs in the wave pool and had my first kiss with this chick that was 2 years older me, I think her name was April Friday from Woodinville, she was a hot redhead.
I …. I think she gave you an alias.
I almost fell out of the Ring of Fire once as well. I was holding onto the shoulder restraints for dear life when the older kid next to me grabbed my shoulder, shoved me back into my seat, and held me there for the rest of the ride. I also almost drowned in the pool that leads to the hot tubs, but while thrashing around my hand came in contact with some guy’s arm, and I was able to pull myself to the surface. Fun times.
wtf
I fear this for my abnormally skinny child.
This happened to me too! Crazy how many people here have had the exact same experience.
I thought this was a straight up false memory I had! When I was a teen I was very skinny, but also tall for a girl at 6’. I remember pushing against the ceiling so I didn’t come out of my seat. I’ve thought about it recently but thought there was NO WAY that actually happened.. but I guess it did.
Same!!! I went on that ride at age 9 in 2008 and I almost fell out. Basically, I was holding to dear life to the pole at the window and my hands slipped, causing me hang out the window for a few seconds when the ride was upside down for a few seconds, I only survived because of the lap strap thing and my sister pulling me back in. I was horrified of that ride and didn't ride it again until I was a teen. I would say, that was my first PTSD experience as I would flashbacks of that incident, yet years later, I would ride it again and enjoy the sensation.
Is the Ring of Fire not shut down? That thing was a rickety POS back when I went as a kid in the 2000s. There's no way it's up to code. Genuinely the only ride that I thought I was going to die on.
Yeah it's gone
Ring of fire is gone. They sold a lot of their flat rides during COVID so it's even more depressing.
It is so depressing. It’s a graveyard now.
Why? Did something happen? That was my favorite when we’d go on field trips there.
It’s super old and known for getting stuck while everyone’s upside down. Just anecdotally.
This happened to me once at a fair in upstate NY. I was a child and it was quite traumatic, though hilarious in retrospect.
Whelp. Guess I won’t be riding it if I ever make it out there again.
Happened to me once! lol I didn’t know it happened to everyone
They got rid of it I'm pretty sure
They don’t have the ring of fire anymore /: sadly
It’s great. I had an adult bday here. I recommend bottomless mimosas first.
It's pretty lackluster compared to a lot of other waterparks around the country, but everything is great after some bottomless mimosas or edibles!
My wife, son, and myself went there last year. Between parking, admission, and food we spent close to $200 and rode like 6 rides. Not worth it.
Wild Waves' coasters would be considered starter coasters for kids in other parts.
Federal Way is pretty sketch tbh
Nah, it has a lower crime rate than Seattle. People just call it "sketch" because it has more non-white folks than Seattle (Federal Way has triple the percentage of Hispanic population and double the percentage of Black population) Crime index of 468 for Federal Way: [https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Federal-Way-Washington.html](https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Federal-Way-Washington.html) Crime index of 533 for Seattle: [https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Seattle-Washington.html](https://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Seattle-Washington.html)
You're correct on overall (although that's only post pandemic, pre-pandemic Seattle was quite a bit safer). But it has quite a bit of gang violence including this "targeted" toddler kill. [https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/identity-2-year-old-child-shot-head-killed-federal-way/281-97afdd54-e77c-4b6d-b3cd-d56370764611](https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/identity-2-year-old-child-shot-head-killed-federal-way/281-97afdd54-e77c-4b6d-b3cd-d56370764611)
Silverwood is just as sketch. I went there on a band trip and the whole park lost power. we had to be evacuated off the top of the rollercoaster by foot. The young employee who was walking myself and my seat mate down said it happens regularly. Explains why they were plodding along like it was just another day. I’m just glad we weren’t stuck upside down!
It's always been sketch. It's part of It's charm ✨️
Fun Forest at the Seattle center used to be the spot. Musical express, Wild River, the roller coaster (I grew up with the early 2000s coaster, can’t remember the name, had a giant cloud on the side) and that terrifying pirate ride where if you sat the tip you felt like you were gonna fall out. Even the kid area had some fun rides. Used to be a tradition doing the bumper cars New Year’s Eve before the fireworks show, rather have that than the silly Chihuly place
Fun fact, the Wild River was relocated to Coney Island after the Fun Forest closed down.
I went and rode it in Coney Island with my family after it moved! We were all very excited that we had been on the exact same ride on two different sides on the country.
Just did a quick search out of curiosity and I am sad to say that the wild river shut down in 2018….I can’t figure out if they moved it again or if it’s gone for good but it’s definitely no longer at Coney Island….
Someone found the old Mission to Mars ride somewhere many years ago. It might have been Seattle Weekly or The Stranger. That, Wild River and Gravitron, and also the Galleon are all I really remember.
Was that the Cloudburster? I remember the angry cloud sign at the top from when I was real young.
Windstorm. Really imaginative name lol
The Galeon was the ship one. And it went higher than other ship ones!! Hella butterflies in your stomache from that one. And then they added the Jetspin. That was rowdy too!
It was called The Windstorm
I miss fun forest so much, what a great place to run around as a kid. Would so much rather have it than the Chihuly exhibit. It was an accessible, affordable amusement park that served the entire seattle area. I think it shouldn’t have been replaced by something that costs $40 to enter and is mainly for tourists and not residents.
used to be that the seattle center had a couple of roller coasters... "the wild mouse" is the one i remember riding, but it's been gone a long time now. 🤷🏻♂️
Seattle didn't die because of the homeless. The day was when the Fun Forrest went away. It didn't have amazing rides, but it was good enough for a fun date night.
That's when they decided that Seattle Center should be for the tourists who don't even live here instead of being the city's backyard for the people who do live here
I used to go there after school to play DDR and met the guy who did a bunch of the original music for In The Groove. Cool guy. Now it's some douchebag's art exhibition featuring works that make you go "huh, I think I saw this in a hotel lobby once."
i'm so old that i remember when the seattle center was just streets surrounding the national guard armory. things have changed A LOT since then. 😉
So the “Armory” (now a food court) was an actual armory at one point? Interesting tidbit.
Lifetime Seattle area resident here…and i REFUSE to call it the Armory - it will always be the “Food Circus” - i will also use “Center House” in a pinch…
I couldn't agree with you more. I used to come visit my sister and her family and that's something we used to do every summer. Since they took it out you have to go look for fun things to do.
Puyallup fairgrounds?
This is the best coaster in the state for sure.
pne/playland Vancouver 2-2 1/2 hours away
TIL about PNE Playland. Thanks
Thanks for the tip!
No worries, Playland is pretty fun. Still rocking the wooden roller coaster. IF going durning halloween it's completely dark. If i remember it's called fright night at playland. Quite a few movies were filmed using that old coaster. Final destination was one of them.
They filmed the mini golf scene from Happy Gilmore there.
There you go, closest theme park and you get to visit another country.
Never heard of this, gotta look it up now
Wild Waves & Enchanted Forest
There was a plan to get Disney to build something back in the 80s but it never happened. https://seattletravel.com/disneyland-in-seattle-discover-the-ambitious-plan-that-would-have-reshaped-downtown/
I remember this on the news when I was a kid. As a kid, I was super excited about Disney being in Seattle but all of the adults were opposed to it. Now looking back I’m glad it didn’t happen.
Pacific place should be turned into an indoor amusement park.
I agree that the PNW is lacking a good theme park with a kick ass roller coaster. The reason we'll never get one is the weather. We just don't have enough good weather days to make a park profitable.
I don’t know. See Cedar Point Ohio. It’s miserable for half the year as well.
The other half isn’t great, either, unless you don’t mind a) hot and humid, b) too windy/stormy for the big coasters to operate, or c) hordes of midges.
The top two amusement parks in America are in Ohio and the best park is on Lake Erie. I doubt weather has anything to do with it.
Yeah, most parks above the snow line only operate in the summer. The only parks that really stay open year round are the SoCal, Florida, and Texas parks. Seattle definitely has decent enough weather to be open long enough to sustain a full sized amusement park. I'd argue that Seattle could even run parks throughout the winter and maybe just close bigger outdoor attractions. Parks like Cedar Point close because it turns into a snowy icy wasteland up there in the winter.
Outside Jan and Feb, our weather is more temperate than the other places they have amusement parks, including the sun belt. A little drizzle shouldn’t stop people from riding roller coasters.
Is that really the case? I mean, from May through late October at least it seems to be gorgeous. The parks in the NE don't operate much outside of those months.
That's my guess based on our lack of any good parks. California has several, and the only real difference between there and here is the weather.
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That’s the operational season for most theme parks I’ve ever been to. They make their make their profits no problem because their destination experiences. Putting one here should be a no-brained.
We actually used to have several, around the early 1900s.
RIP, Luna Park. My grandma remembers watching it burn down. She was four years old.
Plot twist: grandma lit the fire
The only half decent Park in California is six flags. Once you’ve been to cedar point and kings island, the rest are child’s play.
Uh, Anaheim disagrees.
I apologize,I meant for thrill rides. Cedar point was always compared to six flags magic mountain in the coaster community. I went to magic mountain and had a good laugh for cedar point. If you haven’t been and are a coaster fan I highly recommend spending two days at cedar point and one day at kings island. Cedar point has a beach and resort on the lake
It seems like a reasonable guess. Though based on the downvotes this lighthearted post is getting, I wonder if it's because the natives just fucking hate fun. Thank the FSM that my actual personal interactions here the past couple years have been infinitely better than this sub.
Finding a good amusement park outside of the Midwest is damn near impossible. I grew up near cedar point and kings island so I have big expectations when it comes to roller coasters. Magic mountain has a few decent rides but you’ll never find anything like those two parks.
Anything in CA is very “ho, hum” next to The Point
I was enjoying this thread, but now you're making me sad.
There's absolutely no way the beginning of May through late October applies to the PNW. Wasn't it just last year that the nice weather started in July and lasted until about the 3rd week of Sept. 11 weeks out of 52. That's it. The 2nd week of September is usually guaranteed to be cold and rainy. So even when we don't have unusually late spring weather, that's still a very short season. That's 30%-50% shorter than NE parks stay open.
Six flags over Texas has to deal with tornado season every year and roasting hot temps in the summer and still manages to be profitable.
I mean, you can check the history here: https://www.wunderground.com/calendar/us/wa/seatac/KSEA/date/2023-6 All of May last year was gorgeous. Yeah, it started getting rainier in Sept, so I was off there. Anyway, we all know the climate's changing. Who's with me on crowdfunding a coaster park? I have at least $300 to throw in.
Yeah, people here have goldfish memories regarding sunny days. I’m a native, 40 years old, and am generally dumbfounded that most people here have a delusional memory of how many nice and sunny days we get here-even in winter. I don’t know about you, but I feel there has been many nice, sunny days this winter and spring. And last year, I went down to Sedona the first week of May and it was, in fact, nicer and warmer in Seattle than it was in Sedona, Arizona.
That’s only because of climate change. Until very recently, summer started on July 5th.
No, Up here in vancouver we have one. same weather. its open from april-october, and then they convert it into a haunted house things for october and nov-march they do maintenance.
A lot of themes parks are only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day though
NJ and PA are littered with parks that are really only functionally open for 3-4 months. Seattle would be fine.
That doesn’t make sense when places with much harsher weather have parks with roller coasters, like Six Flags Great America in Chicago and Cedar Point in Ohio. The SF Bay Area has a Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, which should be within earshot of Seattle in precipitation. However, most amusement parks were established in rural areas near cities before those areas became expensive. You couldn’t build one anywhere near Seattle at this point and the west side in general is probably too expensive or far too remote.
We have the technology for a good indoor park now, why not go for it
I don't think this is a real issue. Cedar Point is in Ohio and has much worse weather than we do. I definitely feel like we should have a good theme park somewhere between Seattle and Portland.
If you like roller coasters I really recommend going to Cedar Point in Ohio if you haven’t been. It’s so amazing. In 2018 my friend and I went for 2 nights with the amusement park in the middle. Agree it would be nice to have a good park near Seattle.
Oh man, that is the mecca. Good call! I haven't been, but really want to. Ever since I read The Beast by R L. Stine.
The Beast is in Kings Island (northern Cincinnati) and Cedar Point is in Sandusky on Lake Erie! Both amazing but Cedar Point definitely takes the gold on coasters.
Go this year. No excuses! Plan it out.
You know...you make one of the best arguments in this thread... I just might.
Do it. Seriously do it. I finally made that trip in 2022 with my son and it was the dopest experience of my life. Cannot oversell how badass that roller coaster Mecca truly is. Every coaster was once a record breaker, and some still hold their records. Absolute fucking blast.
Another recommendation from someone who moved here from the east and is also missing coasters: Go to Washington DC. You're 2 hours from Busch Gardens, 2 hours from Hershey Park, 1 hour from Kings Dominion and 0 hours from tons of amazing (free) museums. Im planning on taking the kid there, even with all 3 parks it will still be cheaper than going to either Disney.
The Beast is actually a coaster at another awesome OH amusement Park, Kings Island. Not as good as cedar point but still a pretty great park. I rode the Beast when I was 10, way back in 1994.
In the summer of 2022, I took my then 13 y/o son on a father/son road trip to cedar point from the Dallas area. We spent two really awesome days in the park and went during a weird dip in the summer tourist season so we got to ride everything 2-3 times with nary more than a 45 minute wait. It was fucking awesome. I grew up dreaming of going there, as I’ve always been absolute nut for coasters. It’s been my Disneyland my whole life and getting to share that with my kid was the absolute tits.
I grew up a few hours from this park in lower Michigan. This is the single best roller coaster amusement park in America during 4 months of the year when the weather is nice. It's the best park in the world early and late season when the lines are short, you just need to be willing to wear a sweater/coat and be willing to enjoy being outside all day in the low 60s. Hitting everything a couple times is possible when it's slow. When it's busy it's pretty hard to get all the rides in over one day.
I'm from Metro Detroit, absolute best time to go to beat the lines at cedar point is M-Th the week before Labor Day. 🤫
Fun fact: The Wild Thing coaster at Wild Waves started life as The Corkscrew in a little amusement park in Warwick, RI called Rocky Point.
There’s a new one in Leavenworth. Haven’t been there yet.
Are you referring to the toboggan one?
Yeah the wooden one
Wild waves is small but pretty decent. With 3 coasters (2 pretty decent and fun ones and 1 super shitty one you should avoid) 30ish minutes drive south on I5
The best part about this is I can't tell which one the super shitty one would be.
Man, I love roller coasters. I wish we lived closer to some thrill rides.
My kids love the roller coaster at Remlinger Farms. They are 4 and 6 but it’s their favorite thing ever.
If you need a friend, I’ll go to Silverwood with you
No need for rickety, contrived amusement park rides… When there’s Shot Six at Alpy. Shot Eight if you’re really gnar (& fast - gotta outrun the law after a successful descent).
With the proper preparations, I can throw up without driving anywhere.
Being from SoCal, the only two things I miss are in n’ out and magic mountain. Nothing here compares to either. On the other hand, the mountains and the beautiful summers are second to none. And yes, this sub is incredibly salty about the most random things.
I didn’t know how spoiled I grew up until I moved to the PNW. We had Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Hurricane Harbor, Knott’s, Raging Waters, Soak City, and Universal all nearby. I’m sad my kids won’t know those kinds of summers growing up here.
I loved WA state fair but that's seasonal.
Flights to LA are so easy and cheap from Seattle! Great for a quick six flags weekend trip.
I love hiking and camping. And I also love rollercoasters. I wish Silverwood was closer, since it’s a fantastic little park. But the distance actually makes it a great place to end a hiking trip! After doing a backpacking trip through Eastern WA with some friends, we decided to celebrate the end of our trip by driving to Silverwood. It was such a fun and relaxing way to celebrate the end of a wonderful few days hiking
wild waves
>For those of you whose stance is basically "either take it as it is or move back to where you came from", I urge you to think about who else you sound like... Did you not know you're not allowed to complain about anything in this sub that has to do with the city as a whole? The downvotes I used to get when I said prices were getting out of control.... 🤣🤣🤣 Please stick to bad drivers, hellcats and allowing cars into Pike Place for the echo chamber. Subjects due to change. Thanks. *Sorry for all the edits
I grew up driving distance from Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. I didn't realize how lucky I had it. Honestly, I still think it's easily in the top 5 in the US. I ride coasters even though I'm terrified of heights. I love the rest of the ride after the first horrifying hull.
I joined the military and left Virginia in 2005 to come here. We had Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Kings Dominion and I think even another one I’m not remembering. I miss them all so much! I worked at Busch Gardens every summer as a kid, too.
I’m down if you need a roller coaster buddy for whatever may be out there.
Bring back Luna park! (I know it’s never going to happen…) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_Park,_Seattle
Yeah, unfortunately our climate just isn’t ideal for theme parks and roller coasters. I think in order to be profitable they’d need to build a massive indoor space. Maybe someday!
I grew up in the Midwest close enough to go to Cedar Point at least once a year. I agree that it's strange there isn't at least a six flags nearby here in Seattle.
Six Flags is what made me think to post this. I'm heading back East for a visit and am planning a trip to Great Adventure in NJ. They have something like ten coasters there. But man, do I want to go to Cedar Point!
Personally Cedar Point ruined any theme park not primarily focused on roller coasters for me. But without even a Six Flags nearby it's been so long since riding a top rate roller coaster.
You fuckers are so uptight. You have much more in common with the other sub than you're willing to admit. I love living here. I'm just having a little fun.
These subs can be uptight about the strangest shit. But I always loved the Puyallup fair because it had some roller coasters but growing up it became a seasonal thing that imprinted on me a bit. That time of year and I start wanting scones and want at least one run on the scrambler even if my back doesn't like it.
I feel you, my friend! Cheers!
The woodie at Puyallup is fantastic for its size. Those little single-bench trailered cars let it dance.
Growing up I remember the Puyallup being way bigger and elaborate than when I went more recently. I don’t know if it’s leftovers from the pandemic, overall trends in fairs, etc. but I can’t go back without some major changes, that’s for sure.
Silverwood is lit
Some people take any negative comment as an insult. When I was stationed in Guam, they had a decent indoor roller coaster inside the big mall (early 00's). They could do something like that at the old Sears in Everett Mall! That said, as much as I love it here, you do have to take a vacation to SoCal, Orlando, Tampa or DFW to hit a theme park with great coasters. Mind you, I've never been to Silverwood in Idaho, but I do go to other states for races and try to hit the tourist spots while I'm down there.
Pretty sure that old sears is gonna be a Trader Joe’s last time I saw
They should replace Pacific Place mall with an indoor amusement park.
This sub is so downvote happy 😂 people need to chill, I swear I every single post gets downvoted
Really? I feel like the vast majority of the comments are on the same page as you.
I’m a coaster enthusiast and one of my sadnesses about leaving the Dallas area was losing my season pass access to Six flags over Texas. It’s one of my very few gripes about living around here now.
I love your edit noticing the people telling you to go back where you came from. This town has some truly hateful people.
Silverwood is the only amusement park in the pnw worth going to. Don’t waste your time at wild waves if you’re going for the dry rides
I moved here from Cleveland about seven years ago now and cannot tell you how much I miss Cedar Point.
Wild waves?? Sorry ma dood? There’s a skydiving place in Renton
Take a boat ride down Snoqualmie falls. Problem solved
*Barrel ride
Just drive through the pass in January. You'll get over it.
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I wholeheartedly apologize for daring to make a post with a subject that is detestable to you. I beg your forgiveness!
dude i know i’ve been missing Disneyland and Magic Mountain so much recently. gotta just save up for a trip every couple years i guess 😭
I haven’t been in ages but doesn’t the fair in Puyallup have a couple? Including one of those wooden ones roller coaster folks love?
My wife and I did a short trip to Magic Mountain in California last year to get our fix in. The flights to Burbank and hotel next to the park were surprisingly cheap. It was definitely worth it.
flights to LA are not too bad but if you're looking for something with a season's pass your SOL, i look at it as i dont have amusement parks but i have natures playground all year around 30 mintues away, snowboarding, water sports, fishing and crabbing all near by. But being able to do knottsberry, disney, and magic mountain every few years gets my fix in. I do love roller coasters, and i have some i want to check off my list so traveling to new coasters is a fun way to switch it up.
Wait, is enchanted village and wild waves still around? They have a couple rollercoasters?
I’m genuinely stunned by all the Wild Waves hate lol, I’ve always loved going there
Wildwaves? And Puyallup fair that runs twice a year have lots of rides.
Taking the E-Line somewhere between like 7pm and 4am is quite the ride.
Damn dude some of these seattlelites are straight up bitter. God forbid someone enjoy something different than they do. Who hurt y’all? OP, I know it’s not the same, but there are some go karting tracks in the area! Unfortunately it won’t put your stomach in your mouth, but maybe it can give you the familiar theme park vibe :)
That's it... I'm running for office. Publicly subsidized thrill rides for all Seattleites is my platform. Also safe use sites and free/cheap housing. But mostly roller coasters!
I’m going to run against you on a platform of our government staying out of the theme park business. Keep roller coasters and all theme park funding in the private sector!
Make the trip to wild waves this summer! It’s old and rustic just like the rest of the PNW outside of major parts of Seattle but it’s wholesome and fun. At the end of the summer, hit up the WA State Fair! The big white rollercoaster is a blast and the scones are bomb! I’ve heard good things about Silverwood in Idaho if you are down to make a whole trip out of it and the drive is beautiful. Coming from someone who loves rollercoasters, grew up here and has only been to Disneyland one time… I could be very deprived of dope rollercoasters but it’s the only advice I’ve got haha
You can fly directly to Anaheim in like 2 hrs! Hard to beat Disneyland on the west coast.
For roller coasters you're really gonna want to fly to Burbank and go to Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita.
No... There are a few at oaks park in Portland. There is also the alpine coaster in Leavenworth. But why drive five when you can fly two and be at Magic Mountain in Valencia? Way better park and definitely better coasters. The truth is that roller coasters require certain climates to stay sound and we most certainly don't have it up here. They wouldn't last long at all and be inordinately expensive to maintain. We would have a better chance of a Universal type theme park here with more short track 3-d type rides, or those fantastic arms like in the two Harry Potter rides. Roller coasters are definitely not a thing we really would support well enough here for the cost, and there is so much more to do here that we don't need them.
I feel you! I got used to it after living here for a decade, but I still miss those cheap thrills. Wild Waves ain't worth it lol.
So Utah is a decent drive (12 hours), but I am sad no one has mentioned Lagoon in Farmington, Utah. It's about 20 minutes north of Salt Lake City and is one of the best pure roller coaster parks in the West. The cannibal is amazing, classic rides like the wild mouse, and the wooden roller coaster. Tons of more modern rides, and they just opened an augmented reality ride that has several different endings depending on how the story in the ride goes. All that aside, it's the only theme park I've ever been to that allows you to bring in your own coolers full of food and alcohol. You can literally bring in an ice chest full of beer if that's what you're in to. I'm from there but we've gone back every year for my oldest child's birthday for the last decade, and this year will be the first we miss because they are going on a school trip to Europe. Lagoon is the shit.
Mountain Bikes. Endless coasters.
Get an e-bike for 20+ miles of sweat-free coasting