California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

Vortex was actually running pretty smooth today.

 

Vortex smooth? I will never believe it!

Yeah, I call shenanigans!

The wheel is a brilliant idea: $2 to either win a front of line pass that costs the park nothing, or discounts that encourage guests to spend in the park!

Vortex was actually running pretty smooth today.

 

Vortex smooth? I will never believe it!

 

Yeah, I call shenanigans!

Yeah me too, ULTRA shenanigans!

The wheel is a brilliant idea: $2 to either win a front of line pass that costs the park nothing, or discounts that encourage guests to spend in the park!

40% chance of getting a front of line pass. Doesn't mean much if it is just for one and you are with a group.

The wheel is a brilliant idea: $2 to either win a front of line pass that costs the park nothing, or discounts that encourage guests to spend in the park!

Totally agree. I don't usually play carnival games, but as this is a guaranteed win and it's a prize I would most likely use I might have to give it a spin or two when I visit next week.

Had another great time with the gang yesterday! Got to ride Goldy 6 times. Was happy to see the new sturdier wire fencing replacing the flimsy ones the jeeps destroyed in the queue line. The $3 Spin Wheel was a big hit, as most of the people I saw kept winning the front of the line passes which everyone kept using for Gold Striker as the Fast Lane Line was all the way down the stairs practically the whole day. And Vortex smooth yesterday? Tell that to my head!

Yesterday was a blast! Clench-n-squish Logger's ride, lots of Goldy action, and just overall lots of fun. Goldy was running a little sluggish in the morning but got faster as things warmed up. Train B (peanut butter) was running slightly slower than Train A (red) throughout the day, and on the turnaround after the double up I could briefly hear the guide wheels screeching...looks like she might need a little lube!

Vortex? Smooth? Sometimes it is...early in the season it was ok, but today it was utter Ship High In Transit. We also decided to be complete idiots and ride with our heads against the headrest instead of being defensive and tilting them forward out of range of headbanging. Rough as hell, Vortex tried to kill us!

Haven't visited this thread in a bit but glad to know that the park got everything reopened quickly. I'm actually pretty stoked about all the tunnels, makes the ride different IMO.

As for the noise, I agree that if there is a regulation there CF should have made sure they weren't exceeding it. But Prudential just sounded like they were being jerks about it too.

When i was up there I walked from my hotel (The Hilton) to Togo's (which is across the street from the Avatar Hotel). I walked right in between the road where Gold Striker and Demon are and both were going at the same time. Demon made just as much noise as Grizzly did so I really didn't get what the big deal was. Granted, my ears aren't sophisticated sound instruments so take it with a grain of salt.

The wheel is a brilliant idea: $2 to either win a front of line pass that costs the park nothing, or discounts that encourage guests to spend in the park!

 

40% chance of getting a front of line pass. Doesn't mean much if it is just for one and you are with a group.

I can't speak for CGA but at Kings Island they have the same wheel and the front of the line passes are for you and a friend.

The wheel is a brilliant idea: $2 to either win a front of line pass that costs the park nothing, or discounts that encourage guests to spend in the park!

 

40% chance of getting a front of line pass. Doesn't mean much if it is just for one and you are with a group.

 

I can't speak for CGA but at Kings Island they have the same wheel and the front of the line passes are for you and a friend.

I can confirm (as I was there today and standing in front of it for an hour due to waiting for Gold Striker to ropen after being temporarily down) that the front-of-line passes are for two riders at CGA.

Another interesting thing from today..a couple people mentioned Vortex being unusually smooth lately; well it was closed all day today. Always take info coming from regular employees with a grain of salt but the person who was "guarding" the vortex entrance said that there was a problem with a wheel on the only available train and they were waiting on a part. Maybe it was just too smooth, so they had to fix that.

Bummer that I didn't get a spin on Vortex today but I got in 3 on Demon (all three rides smooth on both trains - what is going on with Demon lately? I love it!!), 2 on Flight Deck (seriously hauling..near grey outs even in the front row), 1 on Grizzly (I had never gotten the credit before, it was always down. Ride wasn't as bad as I was expecting but the load/unload was definitely as terrible as advertised), and 2 on Gold Striker. Boo to the operator who refused to let me sit in row 6 even though I was flying solo and was the only one in the station since I was first in line after it reopened..With no one else waiting what difference does it make? Oh well, still an awesome ride in any row.

Longest line in the park today - surprisingly - was Psycho Mouse. I was going to grab the credit real quick but it looked to be about a 45 minute wait so I skipped it. For comparison Gold Striker was about 30, Flight Deck was about 10. It was a pretty calm day but apprently everyone decided to ride Psycho Mouse at once..

Huge kudos to CGA and CF for the season pass process. I already have a Six Flags gold pass and the process is just ridiculous and the lines are always about as long as the coasters'. I went in to get my cedar fair platinum pass today (So I can get the early morning ERT at Cedar Point when I go on Sept) and the whole thing took about 30 seconds, which is at least one reason there was no line at all for it (though admittedly I know its kind of late in the season). Costs quite a bit more but I'm hoping to be able to hit both Cedar Point and Knotts this season and try to get my money's worth.

^Demon has been unusually smooth, both the red and yellow trains. I have no clue what happened but it's pretty enjoyable! We actually originally were trying to ride Demon in the front, in a wheel seat to see if we can get the roughest ride possible only to find it performing like the so-called Magic Arrow Seat.

Vortex...was smooth during the beginning of the season (well, smooth is being used very loosely here) but has become a little . Well, if you ride in the positions stated previously (head forward/out of reach of shoulder restraints, breathing room below crotch...again keeps ears clear of restraint), Vortex is somewhat rideable...though 1 ride is enough.

I totally understand where you're coming from about the Six Flags passes...we bought ours just before opening day, and processed them opening day...we thought opening weekend would be relaxed but this felt like a summer holiday...at the end of the day we waited 90 minutes to process our passes. Lines earlier in the day were hitting 2-3 hour waits. The park was even offering people to fill out forms and be able to process the pass on the next visit due to the unexpected wait times. Back to CGA, this only makes me glad for 'renewing' my pass as my pass is already processed..just a matter of it being 'reactivated' online...and skip the lines altogether and start riding!

Demon I know sit in the very last seat which is known as the magic seat. You get a nice ride & especially your head doesn't jerk down going through the loops. But the front seat ouch! Vortex & Grizzly I don't even bother riding anymore. No Happy Feet movie likes? I thought it sucked. Saw it 1 time & won't see it again. Already miss Spongebob.

^ I sat in the front row twice today, once in each train (and once in the back row of the red train) and all three rides were as smooth as that coaster can possibly be.

Happy Feet...almost forgot all about its existence

I agree, Demon is actually rather enjoyable now, which is great. I actually don't need to hold on anymore.

Happy Feet...almost forgot all about its existence

It's a once and done for me, the 3D is pretty crummy.

^ I didn't touch the grab bar or restraint once on any of my rides, it was great!

^^ The 3D on the Nintendo 3DS XL is WAY better than the 3D in Happy Feet!

This is what we video game nuts do while waiting in line to ride.

^ The 3D on our handhelds are actually way more effective to be quite honest Now, take that, AFX theater!

This wheel is too loud can you put a tunnel around it.

 

This wheel is too loud can you put a tunnel around it.

Actually, several times yesterday I kept thinking the wheel spinning was Gold Striker's lift cog... I thought to myself 'wow the coaster's gotten louder!'

Speaking of too loud...I just had to do this

Normal fireworks show going on...right?

After being too loud, the park had to find a way to quiet down their fireworks while still being able to keep the show.

 

This wheel is too loud can you put a tunnel around it.

Post of the day.

Sounds like I'm definitely gonna have to make a visit to the park soon. Got myself a hold of some tickets so I really want to see all the cool stuff at the park. New tunnel on Goldy, prize wheel with possible front of line privileges, and I do want to see the new Broadway show.

And Demon, smooth?! That's something I gotta see! Though from my experience operating Demon, I will admit that it is always smoother if the train is full of passengers. If the train is empty, then...God be with you.

Speaking of half-empty (or half full) rides, we noticed a light Firefall load left the ride to have some strange shuffling movements (lateral shaking). On the flip side, no pun intended, we did a stall on our flip, remaining balanced for a brief moment until the gondola completed its single flip. A fun moment actually!

This is kind of funny. I got this email:

California’s Great America will host a wedding aboard our new Gold Striker coaster on Thursday, July 11 at 9:30 am. The happy couple will begin the ceremony in Gold Striker’s station and the ceremony will conclude with the appropriate “I Do” as the train returns to the station. The bride will be adorned in white with a bouquet (the veil would be a bit difficult on the coaster), guests will ride the coaster during the ceremony and there will be a wedding cake served after the ceremony.

 

Feel free to consider this your formal invitation to one of the Bay Area’s most unique summer weddings (and you don’t even have to buy a gift).

That's actually pretty cool.