southpuddle

There were more people in any given shot of that home movie than were in the entire park last time I was at CGA... on a bright sunny Saturday in September.

The on-ride photo on Riddler has been there ever since the ride opened in '98. As far as I can remember, it has flashed ever since then despite the photo booth being inoperable for (I'm guessing) the last five or six years. The Batman and Superman photo booths have suffered the same fate, unfortunately. I don't quite understand this... as long as they sell two or three photos an hour, those booths must be profitable. Put the photos in a nice-looking sleeve and people will buy them.

Hadn't seen anyone post any pictures of the fully-repainted Batman, so I thought I'd share some of the photos I took at the park today. Other than blue Batman, Viper was running three trains today, which is something I don't think I've ever seen before (I don't generally go in the summer). They stacked all three every time. Se la vie... I was opposed to it at first, but it really does look nice. Still think it would have looked just as nice with a new coat of grey and black, but... Still, it's nice.

I called the park again. Apparently the online pass processing is automated to the point where if I would have requested a new pass in the mail, I would have just received another non-Xtreme pass. That's what I was told anyway. The person I talked to said that there were a lot of passes that got mixed up like mine did, so if anyone else out there got the wrong pass in the mail, you'll have to go to the park to get it straightened out.

Just called the park. I was informed that there was a mix up and that I'd have to go to the processing center on my first visit to get the new pass and then to Guest Relations to get my parking fee refunded. Still a hassle. I'm wondering if I could also get the $5 shipping fee refunded as well considering having my new pass mailed to me was all for nothing since I now have to deal with the whole processing center mess. I'm going to call the park again and see if they can just mail me my new pass.

Calicoasters, my new 2010 Xtreme Play Pass doesn't say anything about being an Xtreme Play Pass either. I really hope this isn't going to case me a hassle... and I better not have to pay to park until I can get it straightened out, either...

It's necessary to slow the train down to a crawl right before the first cammelback not even 15 seconds into the ride so that the rest of the ride is mind-numbingly boring, slow and pointless? Interesting. The way Raging Bull operates is nothing short of tragic.

^^ Any element can be done on any type of coaster. Just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't. Any element can be as intense or weak as the designer wants it to be.

I've actually been on every one of those coasters, Robb... Maybe it's the fact that I'm not your average 500lb+ coaster enthusiast and my body type lends itself to getting airtime on Magnum, but I get massive amounts of airtime on Magnum - especially that third hill which is the single most amazing moment of airtime on any coaster I've been on. Talk about flojector for a good 3 seconds.

As a Magnum crew member in 2007 and 2008, I've ridden Magnum more times than all of the other coasters on my list combined... well over 300 times and I've been on 350+ coasters. It sits firmly at the top of my steel coaster list. I can't really even explain it. The view, the second drop, third hill, classic Arrow awkwardness, tunnels, and my GOD the airtime. Out of my 300+ rides, I MIGHT have had three or four unpleasant ones where my lapbar came down too tightly and I was unfortunate enough to be sitting in a wheel seat, but 99.9% of my rides have been pure bliss. Sit in the second row of any car (so that you're not directly over an axle) and you'll be fine. As for the sign, It's pretty sweet and WAY overdue. The most frequent question I got while working at Magnum entrance was... "What ride is this???" "This is Magnum." I'd tell the guests. "Which one is the Magnum?" they would ask. "You can't see it from here. Walk down the midway 100 yards and you'll see it on the right or you can get in line and you'll be able to see it." "Nah - let's go ride Dragster!" "D'oh!"

^I never commented about it not being a record-breaker, rboarderd did. I was simply commenting on how none of those "records" netdvn spoke of were actually records.

netdvn, I get what you're saying, but none of those are "records". Besides, wooden coasters really shouldn't break records... when was the last time a record-breaking wooden coaster came out that didn't turn into complete crap a year after it opened?... Son of Beast Rattler Mean Streak Texas Giant Hercules... Need I go on? Aside from maybe length and steepness, I think that the race for record-breaking woodies is over. At least when it comes to "true" wooden coasters... Intamin Plug-n-Plays are a whole different story As for Terminator, I was completely underwhelmed when the ride was first announced, but now I'm super excited and pumped to be able to ride it! It looks like a really awesome GCI with a bunch of extra goodies to make it that much better. It's looking to be very unique, and I think the fact that it's a wooden coaster themed to Terminator makes it just that much more special.

I've worked at the park for going on four years, so hopefully I can help. First off, as long as you go to the park any day but Saturday, you should be fine. Saturdays are really the only day of the week that is consistently packed. Any other day of the week can be hit or miss. I've seen a packed Monday one week and then the next week Monday is dead. A lot of it depends on the weather as well. Crowds are large in the summer, yes, but the only rides that are going to have huge waits (except on the busiest days) are: Dragster, Millennium, Maverick, Raptor, and possibly Mantis. Everything else will typically have a wait anywhere from 15-30 minutes, tops. Getting there any earlier than an hour before opening is basically a waste of time. People really don't start to show up till about 9:30. Yes, there are official hotels and you can buy tickets at them. If you stay at one of the off-point hotels, they have transportation. Actually, pretty much every hotel in the area will have some sort of a shuttle service (for a price). I'd recommend running to either Millennium or Dragster right at park opening. Maverick will most likely already have a full queue from the Joe Cool riders. Millennium's queue is typically 20-30 minutes long with Joe Coll before park opening, and Dragster opens with the park. Either this, or you can save one of these rides till right before park closing. As long as you're in line by close, no matter how long the line, you still get to ride. No, CP does not have any sort of a Fastpass system (thank God), unless you want to drop $400 for a VIP Tour. But, like I said, there are really only four or five rides that are going to have a horrible wait. You're going to have plenty of time to hit every coaster at least once, with opportunity to re-ride a couple of your favorites, given you don't go on a Saturday. Hope this helps!

Yes. The queue rails at SFMM. Most of them are painted (as in not plain stainless steel rails), and what happens to that paint? People take coins, keys, and what have you, and scratch things in to them. It looks like crap. This wouldn't be a problem if they would get repainted frequently, but that's not the case. Cedar Point has a better alternative: don't paint them in the first place. And no, SFMM isn't the only park in the universe that has to deal with vandalism, but due to it's geographic location (and subsequent demographics that the park attracts), it gets more people that have a propensity to vandalize things than a park in, say, the Midwest (see again: CP). In summation, if a park wants to use materials that are highly susceptible to vandalism, that's fine. But they need to be more on top of their game in the upkeep department.

Those new queue rails for Roaring Rapids look really nice. Too bad they're going to be completely carved up with vandalism after a week. You'd think that SFMM would have learned by now not to paint their queue rails and to avoid anything wood that is within reach of any park guest.

Seems to me that the park let the ride run "all out" for media day, and then watered it down (just like every other B&M hyper) for opening day. The reviews between the two days are like night and day. I heard reviews from media day describing the airtime as "ejector in every row" and now the airtime is just blah and the ride is slow. Oh well. That's what Magnum is for.

I checked Clay Aiken's labbar at Magnum at CP in 2007. No big whoop - wanna fight about it?

^^ Say it with me now: sar - ca- zum ... sarcasm.

purple + blue = bleh...

^ Exactly. see: Magnum XL-200. Just wouldn't be the same if it were butter-smooth

...Apparently Joey goes everywhere that Robb and Elissa go. Does he have a life or am I missing something? Random guess: Bermuda.

Very nice pictures. Hopefully Diamondback is better than the other B&M hypers I've been on (other than AC) because Nitro and Raging Bull were a snoooooooooooze.... but I'm not getting my hopes up.

My guess is that the theming will stop at the queue and station. Holiday World hasn't really ever themed their larger rides beyond those two places.

OMG what kind of a crazy SLC is that??!!

Just got back from a SoCal trip - Knott's/Disney/Universal. Hadn't been to Universal in over 15 years... If you've never been to Universal Studios Hollywood, there is an upper and a lower section to the park (the park is built on a hill) and a huge set of escalators that join the two. Anyway, one of my big pet peeves (not just at amusement parks but in general) is people that STAND on the escalator and completely block anyone else from getting by them. It seriously took us five minutes to get to the bottom section of the park. The whole purpose of an escalator is NOT for you to be lazy. Escalators were invented so that you can get up or down FASTER by WALKING on the moving stairs. This goes for moving walkways at airports as well. But if you do decide to be a lazy @$$, stay to the side of the escalator and let others walk by you. End rant. As a ride operator, I have a lot of other park-related pet peeves: - Guests that try to line up their parties so that they will be on the same train but don't bother to ask anyone behind them if they want to go ahead of them and let the row go empty. - Guests that SIT ON THE SEATBELT! - Guests that think that they have to whip the chain around on all of the unused queue switchbacks. - Guests that play with the turnstiles. - OMG basketballs... Worst park prize EVER. - When I'm at grouper/crowd control and I ask the next guests in line "How many in your group?" Simple question, right? I can't tell you how many times their answer is "Two." even though there are seven or eight in their group. I KNOW that the ride seats two across - I want to know how many ROWS your group needs so that I can get all of you on the same train!!! - Guests that take it upon themselves to unchain any chain that is up. It's there for a reason - leave it alone. - Guests that whine and gripe when I go to open up another queue switchback and I ask them to walk around. You're going to walk anywhere from 5 to 10 miles today - what's another 50 feet, seriously? - ACErs that asked me to pull the trims on Magnum. Yes, I'm able to do it. No, I won't do it for you. That's a special privilege reserved for those who work at the ride