scooterdoug

While that would be nice, I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. I just called the park and was informed that Superman's downtime should be 6-8 weeks (maintainance began 4 weeks ago next Tuesday), though they are trying to make it shorter than that. I spoke to a park representative who might not have the most up-to-date details. I'm going to call their administrative offices next week and see if I can get more detail. I'm betting on the weekend of 2/21, though wouldn't be upset if it opened sooner. Needless to say, I want it done soon. I'm going through withdrawals! Glad you had a good time. If you come back on a weekend that I'm there, I'd be delighted to meet up with you. It really is a nice park, a total Six Flags outlier.

I'm with you on this one. I really like Roar. I shouldn't, it's rough, but I have so much fun on it. I find it to have a dynamic layout, good floater air, and great laterals. The re-tracking has certainly made a huge difference. The bottom of that first drop was murder...much better now. Before the re-tracking I usually didn't ride more than twice in a visit. Now, I'll do a half dozen and still want more. And, yes, I also have noticed that cooler weather makes for faster, wilder rides. I had a night ride on it in December that was an absolute delight. I didn't expect to be out of my seat so much. Loved it. Glad you had a good time. Come back when Superman is open to get the missing piece of your SFDK puzzle.

Tons of options if you are considering everything between SFDK and SFO. The one that stands out to me is great, if you like Chinese food and don't mind taking a little stop in Oakland's Chinatown. Shan Dong makes amazing food, the highlights being their house made dumplings and hand-pulled noodles. I've never had chow mein that good. It's mostly on the way, just a bit of a detour. Could make a good dinner option after your day. As for stuff in Vallejo, I can't help you there. I always bring food with me and eat in my car when I get hungry.

Head banging isn't a problem for me. It's the roughness that's the issue for me. I've found that the best way to avoid Kong pain is to simply not ride it. Works every time!

Please share your secret. All of my Kong rides have been nothing but pain and regret.

Thanks for the heads up. I might be going Sunday so I'll probably just check out the animal sides of the park and maybe finally ride kong. Good luck with that concussion. I'll be there as well this Sunday...probably giving Medusa lots of love. Perhaps I'll wear my TPR shirt. If you see me, come say hi!

Just to let you all know: Superman is down for annual maintenance for 6 weeks. It should be back up and running on the weekend of 2/20. This is from a park representative.

Hi. I left a message for the park asking this question, but haven't heard back yet. So, I figured I'd ask here as well. I'm going to the park this Sunday and am bringing a friend. Since I've got a season pass, I can bring her for free. Does anyone know how this works (I've never done this before)? Does she just come straight through the turnstile with me, or do we need to stop at guest relations or the ticket booth to get her admission? Thanks for any info you can give. -Doug

I think this will be a great addition to the park. Yeah, it's a clone. However, it's a really great ride. Unique, intense (ranging from crushing positive G's to powerful ejector air), and just plain fun. I've ridden Superman at SFDK at least 300 times (by my estimate), and it never gets old. As for, capacity, I wouldn't worry about that. If ride operators are quick, then the ride will chew through riders. Before the seat belts were added, the Superman crew would hustle riders through the process. It was astoundingly quick. I've seen how good BGW ride operations are, so I'd personally expect a quick-moving line...as in less than a minute from hitting the brakes until the next launch. Virginia locals are in for a treat!

I had a great visit to the park yesterday, possibly the best I've ever had. Crowds were comically light. I went straight to Superman at park opening, and by 12:45 I had ridden it 20 times, not counting 2 back-to-back rides on Roar and one on V2. I essentially had ERT on Superman for 2 hours. When I first got to the ride, I walked right on to the front seat. After the ride was over, there was nobody in the station. So, I stayed where I was. Same thing after that 2nd ride was done. After my 3rd ride without getting out, there was someone waiting for the front. So, I switched to the back seat, where nobody was waiting. After 2 back row rides, the people in the front left, and, once again, nobody was in the station. So, I moved back to the front for 5 more rides in a row without getting up. The ride operators were saying, "Don't throw up. Do that at Roar." They were all keeping count while looking at me like I was nuts. It was great! And that was in only 20 minutes. All said and done, my ride count was: Superman x 21 Roar x 4 V2 x 2 Medusa x 5 I dream of park days like that.

Good TR, Chuck. I definitely agree with your assessment of Dorney. I was wondering why everyone seems to find the park so uninspiring, and now I understand. Nothing bad about it, but nothing really stands out. It's very "middle of the pack". I heard so many people on these forums say that you only needed until noon, and then you'd be done. I was skeptical of this claim, because I even spend more time on my regular visits to my home park, SFDK. But, at exactly 11:51 I looked at the time on my phone and realized, "I'm done, I can totally leave now". Still, not a waste of a day by any standard, and I had fun. Though, the glaring absence of crowds of even the slightest sort on a Saturday in early August still baffles me. Looking forward to the next installment!

I got a train all to myself on Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFDK last February on a rainy day. I got wet, but it was great to be sitting in the front row with nobody else on board. I also got a train all to myself on Thunder Dolphin in Tokyo back in 2007. Barely anyone was there, and I rode 12 times in an hour. One of those rides had me as the only ride, sitting all by my lonesome in the front seat. It was a bit awkward having the ride ops do the entire pre-ride spiel (including dropping the stuffed dolphin...those who have ridden it now what I mean) for just me. Neat experience, though.

I'm definitely going with Twisted Colossus. Primarily because it's the one ride with the highest likelihood of me riding it in the near future. That, and I've been dying to ride an RMC creation since Texas Giant.

The off-season for most people is my riding season, which has just started. SFDK is now open year-round, so I take full advantage. I hate waiting in lines, so I avoid my local parks during the summer. I'll be going to SFDK roughly every other Sunday and marathoning my favorite rides (I'm looking at you, Superman). Definitely my happy time...

No, Superman isnt being removed. DDC is going where the Season Pass Processing Center currently is. Thank goodness for that. If they removed Superman and replaced it with that carny ride (which they obviously wouldn't), I would cut up my season pass. Oh, the humanity!

Unless you're an S & M afficiando......the flogging it gives you could be nice..LOL. On the first drop it is for the out of your seat feeling, but after that you better hold on tight for dear life!!!! I guess that makes me an S&M aficionado. I had my hands up the entire time, every ride. I guess I like getting thrown around like a rag doll. Also, riding hands-free makes me feel like I conquered the ride, as opposed to merely surviving it. It's definitely my favorite coaster at the park. I loved it! As usual, great TR Chuck. Fantastic photos and appropriately clever captions to boot! Looking forward to the next installment. I enjoyed this trip down memory lane.

Dorney Park baffles me. I finally went for my first time early last August on the Mini East Coast Tour. It was a Saturday, and the park was absolutely dead. Before lunch I had ridden every major coaster, as well as plenty of re-rides on the ones I liked. It was weird.

None of the rides at SFDK have single rider lines. However, when Superman first opened, I went to the park to ride it. The queue was pretty full, but ride ops were coming out on a regular basis and requesting single riders to fill missing seats. I skipped the line a half-dozen times that day thanks to being a single rider myself. I only saw that on that one day, however. During subsequent trips (and there have been many), I have made it a point to go on quiet days. I never saw ride ops request single riders again, but I never went when there was a long queue. Perhaps someone who has been recently on a crowded day could give more accurate information? Hope this helps. Really, if you go on a Sunday from now until spring break 2015 (with the exception of the week that they are open around Christmas/New Years) crowds should be low and you would have no need for a single rider line. That's what I do, and it rarely fails me.

Hi all, I posted a couple of weeks ago for advice about the Quick Queue. The responses were very helpful, thank you. I have one more question. My visit to BGW is next Monday. I emailed guest relations about the opening times for the different sections of the park. I got a very informative email back detailing the typical opening schedule for July. Since I'm mainly interested in the roller coasters, this is the info I got: 9:45 - England (Loch Ness Monster) 10:00 - France/New France (Griffon) 10:30 - Germany/Oktoberfest (Alpengeist & Verbolten) 10:45 - Fest Italia/Italy (Apollo's Chariot) My plan is to hit each of the coasters as they open, though I realize this could very well be too ambitious. I could also skip some rides to wait for others to open and be among the first riders of the day. Or, perhaps the park will be quiet enough and operations quick enough that I'm simply over-thinking this and none of this planning is necessary. Do any of you locals have advice for this newbie? Thanks! I can't wait for my first visit to BGW.

I'm visiting BGW for my first time on Monday, July 28. I plan on getting the Quick Queue Unlimited to make the most of my time. Even in moderate crowds, it would still be worth it to me to be able to ride myself into a coma (unless, of course, the park is absolutely dead, but somehow I doubt that will happen). I was just wondering how the Quick Queue works. Are there designated rows for QQ riders, are you seated on the first available seat, do you get to choose where you sit, or is it a station merge? Also, a food question. I love ribs, and see that there is a smokehouse in the park. For those of you who have eaten both, which do you think serves up a better rack of ribs: BGW or Pierce's Pitt BBQ? Thanks for your input.

Hi everyone (especially you KD locals). I've seen some of the recent advice you've given regarding crowds and wait times. Very useful info! I also plan on visiting (for my first time) on Tuesday, July 29. I plan on getting Fast Lane Plus, simply because I want to make the most of my time there and don't know if and when I'll be getting back for another visit. Frankly, I'd like to ride Volcano more than once, and that alone would make Fast Lane Plus worth it for me. I do have a couple of questions regarding the FL+ system. 1. Since the consensus seems to be that crowds won't be anywhere near heavy during the week, could I wait off on buying FL+ until I get there, or is pre-purchasing online recommended to avoid the risk of them selling out? 2. How does the system work. I see that FL+ does not allow front row seating on I305. Does this mean that FL+ people get to choose where they sit on the other rides? Or is it where they seat you on the first available seat? Or, is it a station merge? Thank you for the help. This will help me plan my day better. I can't wait to visit, as I've wanted to go since the I305 ride announcement years ago.

Wise move. I would have done the same thing.

I solo it to parks all the time. Typically, I fly solo to my home park, SFDK. Once the off season hits, I go roughly every other Sunday while my wife looks after the kids. I spend a few hours riding at my leisure. The lines are short, so I get lots of rides in before I leave. I bring my iPod with me and listen to music or podcasts if the lines are at all long. If they're really long, I just go home. I never feel awkward. I'll even be going alone to a couple of parks I've never been to over the summer. Before I go on the Mini East Coast Tour, I'm flying into Virginia a couple of days early to visit Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion. Yeah, I would rather go with someone. But, if the choice is between visiting the parks alone, or not going at all, it's a no-brainer. There are worse things in life than riding Intimidator 305 by yourself. I'm looking forward to my little solo adventure.

I've already had multiple visits to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (my home park), with more coming after Labor Day (I avoid crowds like the plague). This summer, I'm heading to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, and TPR's Mini East Coast Tour (Hersheypark, Knoebels, Dorney Park, and Six Flags Great Adventure). 2014 is a banner year for me!

^I second that. I've done a couple of visits to CP and stayed in Hotel Breakers. The early entry (which is essentially ERT on the big ticket rides) and freedom to head back to your room to rest/relax/eat is invaluable. I wouldn't do a trip to CP without staying at Hotel Breakers.