scooterdoug

How strict is SFMM with closing the park for inclement weather? I'll be in LA next week with my family, and we were planning to go on 12/24 (Christmas Eve). The weather forecast calls for a 40-50% chance of rain ("overcast with rains showers at times", according to Weather Underground). We're hoping that the combination of a major holiday and lousy weather will keep the crowds away, but I'm also concerned about the park being closed altogether that day. If it closes, then so be it. I'm just curious, should I brace myself for a closed park, or am I concerned for nothing? Thanks. -Doug

^They built shade structures with solar panels on top. So, now a large percentage (more than half?) of the lot offers shaded parking, and the park gets solar power to boot. It was a pain during construction, as they directed everyone to the fairgrounds parking lot. The construction is done, so their regular parking lot is back in effect. But, yeah, it's still a long walk from the parking lot to the main gates.

Hello everyone, I'm taking my first visit to Disneyland since high school grad night (I don't recommend that) 25 years ago. The main reason is to take my daughters (ages 8 and 9), who have never been before. We'll be going mid-week in February to avoid the crowds (2/11 & 2/12). I'm hopeful that those will be dead days at the park. I do have a question regarding accommodations. We will be staying on property, as we want to have the full experience. I'm trying to decide between the Disneyland Hotel and Paradise Pier (Grand Californian is just too expensive for us). So, my question: What's the difference between the two hotels? I see that they both offer the early entry, and DH is 1/10 mile closer to the gates than PP. However, I'm not sure what other differences there are (aside from what I just mentioned, and the price). I'm leaning towards DH, simply because of the history. But, I'd like to see if the higher price than PP is worth it. Any insights you all can give would be most appreciated. Thank you. -Doug

Thanks for the advice. We'll definitely hit Ghostrider first, followed by the boardwalk. According to isitpacked and queue-times, the park is quite crowded today. If it's the same tomorrow, I'll just bite the bullet and get us all FastLanes. After all, I don't get to Knott's very often. Thanks again FireandBlood91, thrillseeker4552, Canobie Coaster, and VegasBaby.

Hello all. I will be going to KBF next Tuesday (11/26) for the first time in a decade (Hang Time, the spinning coasters, and the GhostRider re-profile are all new to me). I will be going with my wife and kids (my older daughter is tall enough for everything except for Silver Bullet, while my younger daughter is tall enough for everything except for Silver Bullet, Xcelerator, and Supreme Scream). My daughters have never been before. Our focus will definitely be on the thrill rides, but we won't be eschewing the milder options. My question: Does anyone have any advice on which rides to hit first, or any other pieces of strategic advice? Isitpacked.com says that crowds, while not low, should be "manageable". We want to maximize our riding time. I haven't been in so long, that I am clueless in regards to strategy. Thank you for any advice that you can give. -Doug

I was reading the New York Times and came across this article: https://nyti.ms/34mJmAb It's about videos of last times on a ride before they are removed. Robb features prominently in the article. It was cool to see in my typical morning reading of the news.

^It's possible...as long as the crowds are low enough. Railblazer gets the longest line of the three, while Flight Deck gets the shortest. I'm not sure which you should go for first, Railblazer or Gold Striker. I'll leave that to those TPRers who visit more frequently than I do. So, in short, it's possible...but not guaranteed.

1. Yes, the Flash Pass is absolutely worth it. It should be quite crowded. So, unless you enjoy waiting in lines, I enthusiastically recommend getting one. I'll be there on 9/1 with a friend, and plan on getting one. 2. You get an electronic unit (they used to be small, egg-shaped devices with screens, but I believe they are now similar to watches). You scroll through the list of rides (and corresponding reservation times) on the screen. You find the one you want and select it. When it's your time to ride, the unit buzzes to let you know. You go to the separate FP line, where an employee checks you in, and you walk right into the station (for the most part). At that point, you can reserve another ride (you can only have one reservation at a time). 3. Yes, the three tiers are distinct from each other. Regular Flash Pass doesn't reduce the wait time, but you don't actually have to wait in line. The gold level reduces your wait time by 50%. The platinum level reduces it by 90%, and you have the added bonus of getting two rides in a row (you get to stay in your seat when you return to the station). I believe, however, that this bonus is excludes the front and back rows of any coaster. To elaborate on the wait times, the unit gives you reservation times based on your FP tier. Say that it's 1:00, and you want to ride Medusa, which has a 1 hour wait. If you have the regular level, the reservation time on the screen will be for 2:00. You reserve it, and go do other things in the park (don't have to wait in the physical line). At 2:00, the unit will buzz, and you can go to Medusa, the employee in the station will check you in and clear out the reservation, and you head right into the station to pick your desired row. If you have the gold level, the reservation time will say 1:30 (cutting your virtual wait time in half). If you get the platinum level, the reservation will say 1:06 (cutting your wait time by 90%). I find that for SFDK, which typically doesn't get waits longer than 1 hour, the gold level will suffice. If you make your reservation immediately upon checking into a ride (where the employee clears your previous reservation), by the time you wait in the station, ride the ride, and walk to the next ride, it's typically time for your next reservation. I hope this helps. Enjoy your day.

Any idea on when the part will arrive? A week? Two weeks? I didn’t even bother asking. If it gets fixed within a month, consider it a bona fire miracle.

Took a trip to the park yesterday. The crowds weren’t too bad. I was there with my daughters, so we stuck to the 48” rides. Goliath held steady at about 20 minutes all day. Revolution was 5-10 minutes. TC was only running 2 trains, the line was just under an hour. X2 has a broken part (according to guest services) and is waiting on that. The crowds definitely seemed more reasonable than the reports from last week. All in all, a good day. My daughters got to expand their coaster repertoire. Revolution and Goliath were their favorites. TC is still my favorite. I swear that coaster runs faster each time I visit. It was very aggressive, and the airtime was gloriously strong.

No offense, but that song and video of the childlike enthusiast supports my belief that maybe I'm starting to outgrow this... None taken. It's an annoying song. However, when my wife heard it the first time, she turned to me and said "Yep, that's you". I hope that you and your wife can experience your own "coaster renaissance". Riding Batman (SFDK) while holding my 8-year-old daughter's hand as she hooted and hollered through her first ride was better than most rides I've had on any other roller coaster.

I'm with you on this. If I only went to parks with friends or family, I'd only ride coasters a fraction of the time I typically do. It wouldn't be nearly enough to feed my addiction (my wife says that the song is my theme song). I really don't care what other people think, or the demographic make-up of others in the park. I go to my home park (SFDK) on my own multiple times a year. I go to CGA once a year with a Fast Lane and marathon RailBlazer and Gold Striker. I used my Six Flags season pass and Southwest Airlines miles to take a trip to the two Six Flags parks in Texas some years back. I did all of it on my own and had a blast. I can see how people might feel awkward at a park on their own. I guess it's being a 5th grade teacher, but I'm numb to the age and behavior around me. Heck, I enjoy going to SFDK with my children. However, getting them on the roller coasters (even ones they've been on previously) can be hit or miss. My last visit, only one of my daughters went on Batman, while the other would only ride The Joker. We all had a great time. However, if I just want to scratch the coaster itch, I just head to SFDK on a quiet day and ride myself silly. And if the opportunity presented itself, I wouldn't hesitate to spend a couple of days at Cedar Point solo. Beats going to work!

I think that's possible. On Wonder Woman at SFDK, the seats opposite the ride entrance (closest to The Joker) always end up facing the sky at the top of each swing. Also, the ride always starts and stops in the same position. Perhaps I haven't ridden enough times to be absolutely sure, but this pattern has been absolutely consistent on all my rides on it. Try watching Crazanity from the queue and see if such a pattern exists on it as well.

^I agree, the park has been pretty inconsistent as of late. I went last Wednesday, and none of the rides in the DC area were open at the park's opening time. The Joker was the first to open at 11, followed by Batman close to noon. Superman was perhaps a full half hour after that. I was there yesterday as well. Batman opened pretty promptly (though not exactly at 10:30, while Joker opened at about 11. Superman was open right on time, while Wonder Woman opened later in the day. It's frustrating. They did, though, get The Flash up and running in the early afternoon. The good news: The Joker's second train is back (as of yesterday). They were running it empty when the park first opened (with the plastic wrap still over the seats). Though, they took the train off before opening the ride. For the rest of the day, the ride ran with only one train, while the other train sat on the transfer track, being worked on by mechanics throughout the day. So, it looks like the park's best ride will be back to two-train operation soon (if it isn't already).

I’m not sure about V2. I was there on Wednesday, and it was down as well. It seems to spend half of the year closed. As for Joker, the second train is off the transfer track and presumably undergoing rehab. According to the ride op, they’ll be getting it to two train operation soon. I certainly hope so, it’s been running one train for what feels like nearly a year.

^I saw that as well. I'm impressed how quickly they moved on construction after a slow start. I won't go to this, as I have a gold season pass, not a membership. However, I can't wait to ride this. I rode the SFFT version, and it was loads of fun. I'll be interested in hearing from anyone who goes to this event, as the limit of 2,000 attendees could still mean crowds (though, they'll likely thin out as the night wears on).

I believe that there are couple of reasons for this. First, the land on the other side of the lake is residential, and the homeowners don't want noisy roller coasters echoing across the lake. Second, management keeps that side of the park quiet so as not to disturb the animals. I think that those are the main reasons for the lopsided layout of the park. The decommissioned naval base accounts for the 150' height restriction in the park. I could be wrong, but I believe those are the reasons that the park is laid out the way it is.

It all depends on the weather. If it's cold and dreary, low crowds. If the sun comes out, so do the crowds (but far less than a busy summer day). Also, be forewarned that they've been running one train on The Joker for the entire winter. So, even without crowds, you can still end up with a wait (though not an unreasonable one) for that ride.

FYI: CGA is having their President's Day sale...one admission ticket and FastLane for $59.99. It's cheaper than last year, I just picked one up. The offer ends on Monday, February 18.

Well, this sucks. I'm grateful I got to ride it back in 2014. I was always intrigued by this ride. I bought a Fast Lane + and got several front row rides on it. I'm really thankful for that. Like others have said, while not amazing, it was unique and fun.

I don't see how the plaintiff will win this lawsuit. Six Flag's website clearly explains how biometrics are used, and gives a clear opt-out option. This lawsuit seems frivolous to me.

You seem to have made coasters your primary goal over the last several years, and now that isn't working for you any more (which isn't surprising). Perhaps make coasters secondary? The world is a fascinating place. I backpacked Europe after graduating college, before I became a full-blown coaster enthusiast. I didn't visit a single park, and it remains the best trip I have ever taken in my life. Instead of looking at the world solely through the lens of parks and coasters, see what else there is to do in a certain area, plan the trip around that, then see what intriguing coasters and parks are nearby. You mentioned Scandinavia and Great Britain. Those are both interesting places, with tons to see and do that have nothing to do with roller coasters. If you plan a trip to Scandinavia solely for Wildfire and Balder, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. However, if you plan the trip to see Scandinavia itself, and have a 2 or 3 amusement parks tucked in there, your trip would be so much more fulfilling. To use the Scandinavia example again, the entire region is fascinating. The big cities (Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen) are all delightful. You can spend days wandering each one and not be bored. There are culinary delights abound, and Norway has some of the most dramatic natural landscapes I have ever seen. If you go to see these things, but also make room for Wildfire and Lisberg, I think you'll have a much more well rounded and fulfilling trip. So, that's my two cents. Like Robb said earlier, it pained me to read your first post. There is so much to see in this world, and limiting yourself to coasters and amusement parks is doing yourself a disservice. Pick a country or region that interests you, and visit, adding convenient coasters as a complement to your explorations. Or, let the coasters zero you in on a region, then see what else (non-coaster) the area has to offer. Just don't limit yourself to coasters.

The park has been open in its entirety for all of the past HITP I've been attending (7 years now). I don't see why this year would be any different.

^I did not know that. I thought that the entire park had the 150' height limit imposed by the city of Vallejo. I learned something new today.

That side of the park is ridiculously stacked now That's one of my biggest gripes about this. They got this huge unused area of land all over the west side of the park, and they keep cramming rides on top of each other in the exact same side of the park on a big sea of hot concrete with no trees or shade? And then because of the awkward layout of the park, all you end up doing all day is walking in a big horseshoe from one end of the park, all the way around to the other all day, (even though there couldn't be more than 200 feet from where Wonder Woman and the SkyScreamer stand as the crow flys) with practically nothing to do in between. It's kind of annoying. And I agree there's a lot more money that could be spent on improving the animal areas that look like they haven't been touched in at-least a decade. The rides are piled into that side of the park by necessity. Anything noisy on the lake side of the park and the residents in the homes across the lake will complain. That side of the park is kept quiet because of that reason. I agree that the animal areas need a serious dose of TLC.