AmyUD06

Congrats! Don't rub you FL-ness in the face of those of us who have to do without LOL. Edit: Next post is 1,000! Better make it a good one...

Thanks for the tip... It paid off! Got in line for Orion at around 8:10 a got off around 9:25, plenty of time to make it over to Mystic, where I currently am after snagging another grilled cheese to get the 4th meal out of the wrist band. Been waiting bout 20 minutes so far, with probably another 20 ahead of me (plus the fireworks shutdown if they do that on this ride). All in all, not a bad 2 days at KI when I kept my expectations in check.

Yeah. It was crazy. Zach, the teen groups here are still mild compared to a Six Flags crowd, and I guess I'm exaggerating their "obnoxiousness" and I'm just getting old and can't tolerate any presence of today's youth culture LOL. So I'm back at the park now, lines are still bonkers per the app. Like 105 minutes for FoF. I've been standing in line for Beast for about 20 minutes and just started up the ramp so I guess that's no too bad. My plan ito get in line for Orion around 8:15 to get a sunset/night ride there then head to Mystic.

Day 2 update: Got to the park around noon, bought my all-day dining wrist band, rode Bat (front row, 50 minute wait) and Banshee (back row, 20 minute wait) with two meals in there too. A little too hot, so I left and came back to my hotel to rest and pack, then going to head back to the park around 7 PM for another meal or two and to grab yet another lap on Beast and try for night rides on Orion and/or Mystic Timbers. Packing now will help later, since I'll be on the road by 6 AM tomorrow to make it to Cedar Point for opening.

Any park making announcements for next year is being incredibly optimistic at best and plain stupid at worst. Assuming that this COVID-panic will go away by next summer is crazy. Just take it one month at a time. Also 2nd to Screamscape being taken with a grain of salt. Half of what they post is their own random speculation, and the other half is a week out of date.

I had a great view from Beast's queue LOL. I thought it was cool how they kind of synced Orion's mood lighting with the fireworks. EDIT: So, my first night back at KI turned alright. Ended up with rides on Mystic, Racer (Red), Adventure Express, and 3 cycles on Beast - 2 in row 14, and my last ride of the night at around 10:40 PM in the front row! Still the best coaster at this park as far as I'm concerned. Given that I only included KI on this trip to try to get some night rides on Beast and Orion, I'm gonna call this a win. With the lack of FL availability for tomorrow, I'm gonna sleep in and get to the park whenever I do, planning on staying until close to try for that night ride on Orion. Unless people tell me that Mystic is better as the night ride, which I have experienced and is pretty damnned good in itself. Hint hint.

How privileged that two (and a half) super awesome woodies, Phantom's Revenge (for those that praise it), some cool dark rides, and a bunch of classic rides you can't find elsewhere aren't enough to convince you to make a 30 min drive. Yeah, I was overall unimpressed with Kennywood when I was there in 2017, but to not go just because one coaster is closed when you live that close and they probably are desperate for any kind income is kinda crazy. Meanwhile, I've driven 9 hours for second time this summer just to get a night ride on Beast and a chance at getting on Dragster. Different priorities I guess. Enjoy what you can while you can. COVID might not be going away as soon as we all hope.

You have a PM sir.

So I'm at KI now, arrived around 4:00. Place is comparably packed... Waited 52 minutes for Mystic Timbers. Fast Lane for tomorrow will be a must. Way too many unsupervised teens/tweens. On a Covid note, mask use and social distancing in that line were atrocious... I'd say 50% of masks were below the nose and another 25% below the chin. Very few people were paying attention to social distancing markers, largely due to groups of 5+ obnoxious teenagers. I'm sure it's working out for them financially, but from a guest standpoint they should have kept the reservation system. EDIT: Looks like FL is sold out for tomorrow...hooray. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be able to be at parks, but this is painful.

Unless you count the half-dozen song and dance routines at Cedar Point each day.

I'm pretty sure SF passes don't have photos on them either (the last one I had in 2017 sure didn't). Sounds like a marketing ploy to get people there, then tell them their pass has to have a photo (knowing damn well that none of them do), in hopes of people buying a daily ticket at the gate since they're already there. EDIT: I called them out on it in the FB comments. We'll see what their response is. EDIT 2: They replied that showing the pass and your login on a park app would suffice. I suggested they update their original post to reflect this since no CF or SF passes actually have photos on them anymore.

I would easily spend several hundred dollars for such a "face pass."

Or they're waiting to do 2021 additions in a CF-wide announcement. Plus, there's really no advantage to them announcing a new ride right now with everything in flux. Or maybe the free-spin is cancelled and we'll actually get something I'll ride, but that's just me being selfish.

Yeah. And for some idiotic reason all of the pools in Vegas close at like 7-8 PM in the middle of summer. Makes no sense, but that's the way it is.

Kings Island also put out a statement today, along with most if not all of the other CF parks, announcing their fall plans. In summary - open through Nov. 1, but only with the family-friendly Tricks and Treats Fall Festival - Haunt and Winterfest are cancelled this year.

In conjunction with the other CF announcements today, Dorney will not be open past Labor Day in 2020:

In conjunction with the rest of the CF announcements today, Kings Dominion officially giving up on 2020:

*shrug* Knoebel's seems to be making it work.

I think the wristband-only model is hurting them. I know that I, for one, would have been happy to swing by on my last Ohio trip or would be on my next Ohio trip for rides on Ravine Flyer II and Comet, but there's no way I'm spending $45 for two rides. I would, however, be inclined to buy a $10-15 tickets card or however many I would need for the two wooden coasters and perhaps drop some money on food as well while there.

Last I heard was that SEAS was not allowed to operate any of their new coasters for failure to pay for them, so that might put a damper on filming POVs. Also, it's SEAS. You expect too much.

Hopefully it stays that way for my return on the 10th.

Kinda like what happens at every seasonal park everywhere? I worked at SFGAdv for a while in the late 90s and early 2000s, and in the off-season the place was a ghost town. Full-time administrative staff were there, sure, along with some maintenance and maybe a dozen security officers, but otherwise everyone else was gone, off-the-books. Had to re-hire everyone every year. It's a simple process - call former employee, ask "do you want to come back?", if yes, reactivate them in the system. If no, move on to the next. This is actually done largely by individual unit supervisors, who get the call from the administrative staff a week or so prior. Maybe a first/rarity for Magic Mountain but it's not outside Six Flag's wheelhouse.

Headed back to Kings Island on August 7th and 8th and then Cedar Point on the 10th and 11th, with the 9th as a flex day to spend at either or both parks depending on how the weather plays out.

Haha they would have to dig a 200+ foot ditch to put Dragster in just to get around Lehigh County's height limit. Fun Fact: That's why Steel Force is built where it is.

Welcome to 2020, where up is down, right is wrong, law and order is terrorism, and illogic rules the day. The Governors do not require your comprehension, merely your compliance. Doublethink is a reality. Two plus two is sometimes five.