Big Bear Mountain

[laughs] So, uh, in the meantime, we tried to get on Big Bear, um, which is one of the coasters next to-

Oh, Big Bear Mountain, yeah

... yeah, next to Night Flight.

Yeah.

Oh my God, dude

... that doesn't need to have bad operations-

Big Bear Mountain.

Holy moly

He had two days.

He literally saw it all day while he was sitting there lapping Big Bear Mountain all day.

He literally saw it.

He literally went right by it all the time.

Like, oh, I'm riding Big Bear Mountain.

Wait, lapping

Big Bear

Mountain? Dude, Wes doesn't know.

That might mean that I could start and stop pretty comfortably somewhere else.

That would be pretty cool because for listeners who maybe don't know the park super well, Wildwood Grove is a hike to get back into Big Bear Mountain, into Night Flight Expedition, which we're about to talk about.

So that'd be pretty cool.

I mean, we have two to 92 visitors.

And then you have to deliver the unfortunate news that timing is slowed down and you're trying to execute this ride at Excellence.

So people were obviously giving us a lot of grace, you know, through the year.

But the first time I rode the prototype, for this ride was two weeks after I opened Big Bear Mountain in 2023, I left on a trip to Germany to ride the prototype, because that's how long it takes us to get this activated and built.

13 months ago, the ground was just dirt.

You know, we originally started building this ride in 2023.

The couple weeks after Big Bear Mountain opened in May of 23, I was on a plane to Germany to work with the Mock Ride family.

And that's who was the conveyance system to this.

I rode the prototype to Night Flight back then in 2023.

oh yeah

yeah yeah then they finally like i think they're getting sued because like it basically like a false promise all those investors and all that stuff so yeah that shit's dead dead in case anyone's wondering about american heartland that's what it was uh yeah first pieces of werewolf gorge are are there i'm excited for that ride man look i like me some big bear mountain i think that ride is very cute uh this looks like more big bear mountain But it's just a lot more Big Bear Mountain.

And I like that.

And maybe, from what I'm hearing, maybe design-wise, it hits a bit more.

I've heard good things about it.

The best family coach in 2026.

Big Bear Mountain.

Sure.

We're actually at some point going to do a coaster episode where I talk you through all of the coasters in the park and what you can expect if you've never been and You're wanting to kind of pre-plan where they are and if you feel like you're up to them.

But one of my favorite newer coasters, I'll say that, in this part of the park is Big Bear Mountain.

So you can see some of the track here.

The track is over a mile long, so it's a very long ride.

It is one of the smoothest coasters I think I've ever ridden.

And The people who made Lightning Rod, Big Bear Mountain, and I think Dragonflyer, which is another family coaster back in this area, also made Night Flight Expedition, the new ride.

So pretty cool.

You can hear Big Bear going by there.

When I went to Dollywood, um, a few years ago, I rode this thing like eight or nine times.

Got off Big Bear Mountain, got the new credit, walked over there, run on the, and just kept riding it.

You know why? Because I'm a loyal, dedicated wooden coaster lover.

You know what I'm saying? Ass in the seat.

There is airtime here, but the restraints are supple enough that I think any rider would feel secure.

Vekoma family-launched coasters are exploding in popularity in America following the success of Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood, and while that ride is great, Gerstlauer's giving parks the possibility to level up on thrills.

Few roller coasters I've ridden bridge the gap between family and thrill like Mecladon.

The ride system lends itself to theming and could easily work at a Disney, Universal, or your local Six Flags or independently owned park.