Marc Ricketts
Marc Ricketts is a writer/photographer who has not yet outgrown roller coasters, and provides news and information about San Francisco Bay Area destinations. Mark's columns can frequently be found on MiceChat in our Weekend Updates.
Normally, this time of year at California's Great America means the gates are locked tight, seasonal workers are filling out job applications elsewhere and...
I recently wrote about a great new nighttime candlelight tour at the Winchester Mystery House. Now, some lucky MiceChat reader has the opportunity to...
From the beginning of this column I've been aware that the parks here by the Bay would not have the never ending stream of...
Note: Almost the moment I finished writing this, Cedar Fair announced the permanent closure of Fear VR at Knott's Berry Farm and California's Great...
The days grow shorter, the corn stalks grow taller. Tickets sales are initiated, mazes are announced. Yes, it's Halloween time once again, and theme...
Inspiration, move me brightly. Light the song with sense and color. Hold away despair. -Robert Hunter
Lanterns have been part of Chinese culture for centuries,...
"We're the same sad story that's a fact
One step up and two steps back"
-Bruce Springsteen
While The Joker has captured most of the attention this...
When the Black Cat's in town, it's time to get down! - Dwight "Black Cat" Carrier
After some tumultuous years involving Levi's Stadium and rumors of...
Periodically I get away from The Bay for my other favorite kind of park, the National Park. Alert readers may have noticed we've mostly...
Since 1994 the Action Theater at California's Great America has hosted everybody from James Bond to Stan Lee to Sponge Bob. All the while...
"You don't stop playing because you get old. You get old because you stop playing" (Michael Pritchard)
After two days of passholder previews,...
I started this column for MiceChat with no book to sell or podcast to promote, but figured that I'd perhaps get to go on...
It's the slow time of year for the parks here by The Bay, with the promise of new things helping the slog through winter...
He brought us the personal computer. He brought us the US Festival. And now Steve Wozniak has brought us Silicon Valley Comic Con. Held...
With its lush flora and thick groves of trees, Gilroy Gardens is certainly the most beautiful of the Bay Area’s theme parks. And even...
Although we humans are no longer so fascinated by the light bulb that there is a nightly parade to the one home in the...
As the calendar moves on and the temperatures drop, tinsel and lights sprout up throughout the landscape. Theme parks are no exception, so I...
Fright Fest Stumbles at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
By Marc Ricketts
Saturdays in October draw a crowd at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. By late afternoon...
Great America Gets It Right at Night
By Marc Ricketts
Ah, Halloween. When theme parks filter or extinguish the lights, crank up the fog machines...
No Roar No More, Bay Area Briefs
By Marc Ricketts
August 16 was National Roller Coaster Day, and at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom it was...