singemfrc

Last time I was there they just asked "Have you rented here before" and if I said yes I could go straight to the rental room. SFMM policies change like the weather though. Re: gold vs platinum - Platinum now includes YOLO, and Gold no longer includes Superman, so there's kind of a reason to get platinum now that wasn't there before.

August is typically busy almost every day so you will probably need one even in the middle of the week. I forget the charge exactly but its a lot, I want to say like $200.

Riddlers still looks great but Tatsu looks terrible. It's got the same "sucked on skittles" look as Scream did. It's the only coaster in the park right now that really looks in need of a paint job.

Reading that back I really should have said "the least painful ride" on X2 instead of "the smoothest"

Scream's paint is mostly done with the exception of the station, but it isn't open yet. Its likely to stay closed while the screampunk district is under construction. For the smoothest ride on X2, ride on the inside seat with someone heavier on the outside. For the best view, the front row is what appears as the back row when you're in the station (Since the train goes up the lift hill with the riders facing backwards down the hill) Yeah the park has been getting busier lately, but as you're going on a Wednesday, it may not be necessary. You may want to wait until you get there to see how busy it is and if you want to pay for it.

I was wondering the same thing recently. To avoid parking fees, Bay Bridge Toll fees, and traffic all in one fell swoop, my recommendation is to hop on a "Daly City" BART train @ the Fremont station (Approx 30 min drive from your Hilton Garden Inn Cupertino) and take all the way to Powell St. station in SF. Fare will be around $6 each way. Then, hop on the cable cars (Just outside BART station) to the wharf which is approx $5 each way or you can buy a "Day Pass" for $13 which also includes buses and street cars down by the Wharf/Pier 39. I try to avoid driving into SF as much as possible thus why I heavily rely on BART when I visit. Good advice. I do the same thing. Driving (especially during busy hours of the day) and parking in SF are a colossal pain, BART is so much easier. If you end up with transportation or don't mind a walk (Its about 20 min walk from the Powell St BART, I've done it in under 15) the one place I always recommend people go to eat is Tommy's Joynt at the corner of Geary & Van Ness. Amazing food and cheap as you'll find in the city.

Last year opening day wasn't very busy, but I think it will be this year..I think a lot of people might be avoiding Sunday due to the probable traffic mess and more may go Saturday than usual.

I have vacation from work May 16-20. If Twisted Colossus is open (or soft open) by that time period then I'll definitely be going to SFMM that week and then SFFT in September. If not, then I'll go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the soft open of Batman on May 17th and then come back to SFMM when I have more vacation in September. I usually only do one day, but when TC opens it's going to have an insane queue and no FlashPass, so I'll probably be spending a lot of time in that line, so I'll probably end up doing two days. Yikes..hate to see you have to take the bus. If you're nearby the park I wouldnt mind giving you a ride to the park..as long as I dont have to fight the traffic of Los Angeles proper. I usually fly into Burbank (when I dont just drive down) and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn right across the street from the park.

I know someone who's there. It's moderately busy but not really crazy, just really hot out there.

X2 requires an upcharge and is only available on Gold or Platinum. YOLOcoaster and Superman do not require an upcharge, but you must get Platinum in order to use Flash Pass on them and you may only use it once per ride. My guess is that Twisted Colossus will have the same restrictions as YOLOcoaster and Superman for the first year or so (that's what Goliath used at SFGAm), then it will become unrestricted once lines shrink to a manageable level. It's possible the park could have no Flash Pass at all for the first couple months (I believe they did this on YOLOcoaster), but as capacity should be reasonable for Twisted Colossus and that ride would be the main reason to purchase Platinum over Gold I'd be a little surprised if they did that. It's also possible they could charge extra for Twisted Colossus, but I'm guessing they'd end up making more money by not upcharging the ride. Yes, in this thread, a few pages back. Here's a clear breakdown of the rides that are not "normal" flash pass use: X2: Unchanged, still an upcharge, requires Gold or Platinum. YOLOCoaster: No longer an upcharge, but requires Platinum. Superman: No longer a normal Flash Pass, now requires Platinum, but no upcharge. Twisted Colossus: If they follow the same pattern as they did when adding YOLO, and Lex Luthor, it will be a $15 upcharge reservation with Platinum required. What I'm not sure of and haven't seen confirmed is how exactly theyre doing the "one per day" restriction that I've heard there is with YOLO and Superman. Ideally they just program your QBot device to allow one use, but they might be using boarding passes, reservations, or just marking off your wristband in some way.

You're right, the park is often overlooked, and you're right, it shouldn't be. After this TR I'm convinced I need to get down there soon. Between Medusa, Superman, Boomerang #1, and Joker (SFDK is my home park, I like to ride things after they've been relocated!) this should have been on my radar sooner. I'll need to get a passport, I haven't been down there since Customs started requiring it!

Wow how awesome of them to do that. I can't imagine Magic Mountain ever calling a customer like that.

I don't think that's a law, I think it's just Discovery Kingdom policy. At Magic Mountain they do inspect bags. They even have a "No Bags/Express" line on busy days.

Though I don't like it, I now see a reason to get a platinum pass and probably will end up getting one on my next visit, so bravo to the marketing team I guess. Yeah I think the fact that they are replanting trees is telling. To me that says that even though for whatever reason they needed to cut down all those trees, they don't want the whole hillside to be barren. If they were really just cutting down trees because they hated them or were purely overreacting, I dont think youd see them being replanted.

Looks that way. AND they raised the price! One thing is not very clear, though: is SF saying that you only get to use FP once on Superman and once on yolo and then the ride is cleared from the screen, or that they will not allow you to ride twice in a row but instead will ask you to make another reservation? It sounds like you will either make a reservation when you pick up your FP or will get some kind of ticket/boarding pass when you pick up your FP. Thats a bummer of SEFK is no longer on the menu for FP, that is one queue I really enjoyed skipping.

That still sounds like an upcharge if I have to buy a Platinum pass. Also, does that mean that Superman is no longer available on the regular Flash Pass?

The rides where you would need/want to wear googles (X2, Superman, YOLO) will probably not be open if there is enough rain that you would need the goggles. X2, Superman, and Lex close pretty quickly in rain or wind. Most everything else stays open unless it gets bad. Rain or even the threat of rain usually keeps crowds to a minimum as long as there isn't an event where lots of people are bused in. This might be one day where if X2 is running in the morning and it's not raining yet but it looks like it might you should go to X2 first, cause if it starts sprinkling later it may close and not reopen. Prioritize Lex Luthor and Superman for the same reason. As long as it doesnt rain hard all day you should definitely get Tatsu and most likely YOLO. Havent heard mention of anything being closed other than the obvious ones, Scream and Colossus/TC. On that subject I saw a great overhead photo yesterday showing what looked like 95% of Scream painted...I wasnt the biggest fan of the colors at first but it looks a lot better now that it's almost done.

Interesting (Not saying youre wrong, I say that with no sarcasm). I always thought the thick greenery made for a better ride, owing to the whooshing through the trees. Kinda the same effect as feeling like go karts are faster than they are because of how low to the ground you are. Agree with you there. It was never really a thrill ride, I always viewed it as a relaxing break since it is (or was) shaded.

I know the feeling! I was the 5th public rider ever loaded, on the first public train on 4/30/13. By the way, when has Gold Striker not been fast and smooth?

They already have one of those at Disneyland If you're not sure what I'm referencing: http://disneylandcats.com/about/

I dont think anyone is accusing it of being rough. It's just not very thrilling, which is actually good for younger riders. The only universal criticism is the painfully long time it takes to dispatch the trains. I think if anything has to be removed it should probably be Vortex. Everyone pretty much agrees it's uncomfortable if not outright rough, its nothing special but also not a good beginner coaster either. Who knows maybe theyll do a Rougarou on it.

This gets brought up a lot but Grizzly isn't in the "needs to be torn down" category. It's not a BAD ride, it's just not thrilling. The only annoying thing about it is how insanely long it takes to dispatch the trains. I actually saw a rumor that something is happening to Demon. The teaser said "March 1st, exorcise your Demon" with a photo of a demon train on course... I hope that's not a hint that Demon is being removed. I love that coaster like a family member, I'll chain myself to it. ACE is doing a backstage tour on Feb 28, maybe we'll find out then what plans are in store. Sad to be missing that since Brian and Ann from IOE will be there. Would love to have been able to meet them. (The controls for Gold Striker were IOE's first project)

That was expected though. It's standard procedure that the newest ride will be a FP upcharge for the first year or two due to popularity. When YOLO was added as a Platinum upcharge, X2 was downgraded to Gold and Lex Luthor was downgraded to standard. Perhaps now they will either put X2 on regular flash pass or downgrade YOLO to Gold. My guess would be the latter.

lol. If they ripped Scream out overnight, I doubt many people would give it much of a fuss. They could reallocate its operating/maintenance budget elsewhere. Maybe then they could staff Tatsu better so the line will moves faster. More parking spaces!

That would be insanely difficult, as you'd have to be careful of all the footers. Would have been a lot easier upon initial installation, and would look significantly better in my opinion. Anything looks better than parking lot. Sigh, all we can do is dream.