AmyUD06

So, unfortunately, my big trip to the southeast is cancelled due to a variety of factors: impending weather, financial constraints, and the general state of parks this year. I'm going to try to get down to SFoG and SFStL independently, to make the most of my SF pass, but nothing set in stone yet.

Staffing for rides has never been a problem. They have no issue dedicating 20 people to work the carousel (a slight exaggeration but not by much). The staffing problems have been food service aside from Melt.

The parking gates open at 8:30. You want to be there at that time. Get FL+. Sorry. For the double post; can't figure out how to edit to include a quote on mobile.

So the hits keep coming for CP... Gatekeeper's chain snapped today.

I swung by the park today at around 4:30, to find the main parking lot 80% full, Flash Pass sold out (they were giving all-season FP holders 2 skip the line passes,WTF?), And Jersey Devil with a 2 hour line. Yeah I'll try another day LOL.

I had the Fast Track Unlimited for my trip in 2020. It is indeed a wristband (with a RFID chip in it) that you need to touch to a panel in each FTU queue; that got kinda annoying since it didn't really work that well, but on the positive side most employees didn't care. As for how it actually works, yes, each coaster has a separate queue with a merge point where you join the regular line; none have designated seating. Where this merge point is varies by ride. From what I remember, Fahrenheit and Great Bear are the only ones where the FTU line goes all the way to the station. On SkyRush, Comet, Lightning Racer, Candymonium, and Wildcat, the merge is DEFINITELY right before the stairs/ramp to go up to the station. Storm Runner and SuperDooperLooper were closed last year, so I'm not sure where the merge is for those....and any of the other rides I don't remember. As for if it's worth it? If it's busy, which it will be, I'd say yes. Fahrenheit and Great Bear especially, but even on Skyrush you skip a large portion of the queue, and if you're not waiting for the front, it's definitely reasonable.

So....not tomorrow.

Jackson Township is decidedly Central Jersey, thank you very much. And the 80s were a weird time.

Have you been to a park this year, 2021? If no, then all of your experiences are invalid for this conversation. It doesn't matter what day of the week it is...unless the weather is absolute shit, parks are packed.

Is your trip on a day that ends in y? Buy QuickQue. Rides that are open and closed are listed on the website.

I think you did. They were selling it in stores on Memorial Weekend Sunday, when the place was packed.

Let them kick you out, then make a boat load of money in the lawsuit. Chances are they won't actually kick you out though, just harass you. Yet another reason why I refuse to give that dumpster fire any of my business.

FL+ is awesome at Dorney....for the water park.

Haha I didn't use SV as my example because of the lockers, but yeah. And when I was there there were two at the lockers, one on each side, and a dedicated spiel-er in the station.

This is neither here nor there, but I think a large part of CF's staffing woes come from how many employees they dedicate to each ride. For example, at Millennium Force on the Sunday I was there, here's how many employees were working just that one ride: -Two greeters -One at the FL merge -One grouper in the load station -Four checking restraints in the load station -One actual panel operator -Two in the unload station That's 10 employees for one ride. Meanwhile, when I was at SFGAdv back in early May, El Toro had the following: -Two contracted, outside-company employed, security officers as greeters (don't count) -One at the Flash Pass merge -One actual panel operator -Two checking restraints That's 4 actual park employees for one ride. The trend continued at both CP and KI for all rides....there was always almost "too many" employee's stationed at each ride. That said, based on my experiences at both CP and KI, the rides departments are not where they are having staffing problems...it's food service. Which, by the way, Six Flags is also suffering horribly with.

You know the days they listed in this post are Fridays and Saturdays, right? I agree that it's not a big deal, but please don't misrepresent.

I think this entire coaster was built from the ground up in the time that Iron Gwazi has been SBNO LOL.

LOL everyone misses the little ramp from 537 eastbound into the park. They've been doing it since the 90s. At least back then people had the courtesy to go down to the light at the McDonalds and WaWa and do a proper U-turn rather than do...that.

Just read back through the past few pages. Things are busy, but running spectacularly. As with any park, weekdays would be better than weekends....just common sense stuff. I would wait until after June 26th, when 10PM closings resume, so you can get some awesome night rides on Beast (or Mystic, or Orion, or Adventure Express....) EDIT: In fact, @Carrie, here is a link to my report from my trip there last Tuesday.

And this my friends is why I always have the Fast Lane/Flash Pass, and don't frequently wait in food lines, at a park that has more than 3 other people in it.

Haha @tndank, fair enough. Just going to be headed to this park on the 23rd and was hoping for some Schwarzkopf classic goodness.

So....still no word on Mindbender?

Probably just a matter of greasing the right palms LOL. I jest, I jest. In all seriousness, I'm sure the NJ regulations for running an amusement/water park are the most stringent in the country. Wouldn't surprise me if you needed to cycle a ride literally 500 times for certification to operate. After all, NJ does have the greatest ratio of attorneys to residents of any state.

Been that way since COVID started.

It's okay, I consider KD my "home park" too, and went to KI and CP more frequently last year (for obvious reasons) and likely this year as well. Good luck...everything I've read has said be ready for a shitstorm.