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Sunfire

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  • Birthday 11/15/1991

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  1. I, too, think it's great that Ouimet is staying on board for Cedar Fair! Although there are still some minor things that can always be improved, his direction has made a positive impact on the company, particularly Great America. While Kinzel was running the show, it's easy to see that he had every intention of selling CGA (did he even want the park in the first place?), which could very well have put the park out of business. However, once Ouimet stepped in, he was able to start turning things around. For CGA specifically, the most major contribution under his reign is, of course, the smash hit Gold Striker, which has had an incredibly successful first season (despite some minor problems regarding sound, only to the fault of the office buildings nearby). In addition to this, the park has received a good amount of TLC, whether it be a fresh coat of paint on many of the buildings, the newly paved parking lot, or even plenty of new landscaping, the park is looking better than it has in years! I have not visited any other Cedar Fair parks, but if Ouimet is treating the rest of the parks in the chain with the same amount of love given to CGA, I can only see good things to come in the future for this chain.
  2. Had a great time at Haunt last night! Despite large crowds, we were able to do all 8 mazes, got to ride Drop Tower, Orbit, and Gold Striker, and watched Blades of Horror! If anyone is going to brave Haunt tonight (Saturday), be sure to start in the back first!
  3. Haunt TR from last night! (Saturday, 10/19): Before I even went, I was fully aware that the park was going to be packed. Even so, my cousin, her friend and I made the trek out to Haunt. Once we started nearing the parking lot, we realized it was going to be flat out crazy! There was a good quarter mile line of cars on Great America Pkwy coming from Hwy 237, and from what I hear that was the less busy direction. From waiting to park, buying tickets, and getting through security (guards were performing more thorough checks - definitely a good thing to ensure safety), it took almost 40 minutes to actually get into the park. Once we got in, that's when it really got crazy. Since I was with my cousin and her friend, who are both GP, and considering the lines were already quite long when we got there, we opted to budget time just for Gold Striker, the new mazes (Dia De Los Muertos and Zombie High), and Madame Marie's (new to both of them). In between doing these attractions, we found ourselves walking around in awe of how many people were in the park. I hadn't seen the park this crazy in a while (at least when I was working as a ride op during Haunt). Every single ride (with the exception of Vortex and Berserker) had queues spilling out onto the midway. Even Endeavor and Orbit, which hardly ever have a wait, had long lines last night. When it comes to mazes, every line was absurdly long. A pleasant surprise was that maze lines were moving pretty quickly. Zombie High's queue stretched far past the entrance and was actually blocking the exit to Tiki Twirl, but we only waited about 30 minutes. The most crazy thing I saw crowd wise was when Toy Factory's queue stretched all the way out the entrance and was in front of Food Festival. There, the queue came close to converging with Cornstalkers, which was also spilling out, and many guests were confused about which line was which. Speaking of Food Festival, all food stands/restaurants were swamped, looked like the waits would be quite long just to get something to eat. I didn't bother, just waited until the park closed and got some grub elsewhere. Surprisingly, crowds seemed well behaved (at least from what I saw). There didn't seem to be too many problems apart from a couple of people who had a little too much to drink. One interesting mishap happened while in line for Dia De Los Muertos. We were almost to the entrance of the maze, and suddenly the line came to a halt. We heard an air horn blast from inside the maze. Suddenly, the maze music turned off, the work lights came on, and within 30 seconds, everyone inside the maze was quickly evacuated. We even saw the scare actors exiting. About 10 minutes later, the regular lights came back on and they restarted the music and the maze was back to normal. I'm not sure what happened in there, but it was clearly some type of emergency. It's great to know that the park has very organized evacuation procedures in case something goes wrong. Although there was a ton of people there and we weren't able to get much done, we still had a good time at Haunt. The crowds stayed in good spirits and everyone seemed to be having a great time. CGA definitely has found their high season! Ride/Maze count: Gold Striker - 70 min Madame Marie's Massacre Manor - 40 min Zombie High - 30 min Orbit - 20 min Carnevil - 25 min Dia De Los Muertos - 50 min (including delay)
  4. Had a great time yesterday at CGA! Met up with Angry_Gumball and his cousin and neighbor for some good ol' daytime operation goodness. I was busy in the evening so I couldn't stay for Haunt, but I still had plenty of fun getting multiple rides on all my favorites! Here's some small observations from my visit. Good stuff: -For the most part, all the rides are running in very good shape! Gold Striker of course is doing amazing, and Flight Deck felt like it was running on steroids most of the day. Also, Demon was surprisingly smooth (we sat as close to the Arrow magic seat as possible). -Ride operators were being very enthusiastic and friendly at most of the rides. It was very refreshing to have ride ops who clearly enjoyed their job. Not everyone was like this of course, but the ones that were really enthusiastic made a big impression, especially as a former ride op myself. -Short wait times made for lots of repeat rides, especially Goldy (we couldn't get away from it!). Also managed a rare ride on Psycho Mouse, which the line is usually too long for me to even bother. -Funhouse Express was pretty fun! It was quirky and unusual, but I think that's the whole fun of Halloween. The 3D was a little out of focus but I digress. -Halloween decorations are looking fantastic as usual. The big hay maze looked really fun for the kids. Good attention to detail with all the decor. Not so good stuff: -Most of the ride operators needed a little pep in their step. Maybe it's because the end of the season is near and they're getting tired of these rides, but operations were pretty slow. I understand that the park was not very busy today but they should still aim to get high dispatch times. Flight Deck and Drop Tower's dispatches seemed particularly sluggish. -Line jumping even on a slow day? Come on people. Of the many times we rode Goldy, at least 3 times we were line jumped. What's the point? The wait was only 10 minutes! This happened a couple of times in other places, such as Delta Flyer/Eagle's Flight. Ride Count: -Gold Striker 6x -Flight Deck 3x -Delta Flyer/Eagle's Flight 1x each way -Flying Eagles -Orbit -Funhouse Express -Delirium -Logger's Run -Psycho Mouse -Drop Tower -Demon -Whitewater Falls 2x Overall a really fun day at the park, can't wait to visit during Haunt! Thanks Angry_Gumball for a fun day with you and your group!
  5. The new sleds have definitely increased capacity. With the original sleds, they were capable of holding 8 people if everyone sat in pairs. This didn't happen often since many people insisted on sitting by themselves. The new sleds with individual seats (and a single rider line, which I recommend) constantly dispatch 6 so it's a higher average throughput. Also, the queue now starts off as one line that wraps around the mountain on the Tomorrowland side and once it reaches the station it splits off to the two sides, meaning a faster moving queue.
  6. When I visited on Thursday, I was very happy when I saw the Single Rider line for Delirium. I was prepared to wait in the (lengthy) regular line and was greeted by the sign instructing single riders to use Fast Lane. Since I was by myself it was perfect, was able to get right on the next cycle. I really hope it gets implemented on other rides in the park (Especially Gold Striker!).
  7. In the park all by my lonesome today! Time to (finally) get more laps on Goldy and bring my count up to more than 2!
  8. Great video of Superman! It perfectly captures how ridiculous the ride is. I never really thought of it as screwed up before, but it really is kinda wacky if you think about it. That said Robb, were you able to try different rows on it? The front is definitely great for the view and the OMFG moment of airtime after the upward spiral. On the other hand, the back has the crazy airtime on the drop and whips you around.
  9. 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.
  10. My name's not Patrick, and I left CGA over a year ago... And learn how to write sentences, not fragments...
  11. I also met up with the group tonight and had a great time. Finally got my first ride on Goldy, and wow! I heard everyone raving about it but it still exceeded my already high expectations. Such a fantastic new coaster with a twisted and unique layout, with plenty of airtime! Wait times were pretty long as expected, though I was surprised that the line stayed mostly within the switchbacks, I only saw it spill out into the midway maybe once. CGA has a winner on their hands!
  12. Excited to hear that Goldy is finally opening! I'll be headed out to the park in the late afternoon/early evening to check it out and also meet up with the group!
  13. ^^It's not really that bad. Besides, it's better than waiting 2 hours in line. I did the commercial shoot for Superman at SFDK last year, and had a blast. Although sometimes I would have to wait for a while for them to set up cameras or for them to pick me, it was a lot of fun. I got to ride it 20 times that day (though I did feel a little queasy at the end of the day). If you get the chance, you should do it!
  14. The park is open to the public those two days. No idea why, but they are. When I worked at CGA, those two days are open as designated "school days". Plenty of schools will be bringing their students on their end of the year field trips, and when I worked those days, it got VERY crowded. I remember the park had been open for only an hour, and Demon had a full queue with switchbacks and everything. I also had to deal with a few unpleasant line jumping situations (teenagers, what else would you expect?). That said, in the afternoon the crowds died since a lot of school groups tend to leave around 4:00 or 5:00. If that's the only day you can go, plan ahead and be there as soon as the park is open and hit the rides in the back first. Or Fast Lane might be a good investment. Otherwise I'd suggest going another day.
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