singemfrc

This gets brought up about V2 all the time too...the seats and restraints are identical. If you look at the photos below, even though V2 has two buckles on most seats, there are multiple holes that the buckles can be belted into and theyre not all bolted in the same place. Depending on which hole the buckle is bolted to it might be very easy or impossible for you to buckle without the ride op even on the front buckle. Why they randomize it is beyond me.

Maybe I just fit in the restraints differently but I haven't found Vortex to be nearly as headbanging as something like Kong or Revolution. It's not the greatest coaster, but I don't dislike it. I'd tolerate 10-20min lines if I hadn't ridden it in a while.

Some of the single use ones have been removed (I know Viper's were recently) but they now have electronic fluffy fluffy bunnies so that you can purchase one once and then without paying again you can move your stuff to a new location by entering a code. There definitely are some single use units left, particularly for the coasters that need them the most such as X2..I know off the top of my head that Riddler's and Batman still have their single use FFB's. Riddlers has been running exceptionally well lately so it probably wont have a big line but in addition to LL, Green Lantern is a great one to use the single rider line on if you know where to find it. You walk up the exit and when you get to the elevator go up the stairs directly to it's left (if youre facing the elevator). You'll be directly behind the dispatching ride operator so politely make sure the ride operator knows you're there and they'll put you in the next empty seat. Lex Luthor's Single Rider line is not obvious either, when you walk up the exit there's a lane to your left just before the actual tower, the single rider sign will either be backwards and blocking the lane if they arent using it, or will be displayed if they are. Because of the way they load the gondolas you can still end up waiting 10-15 minutes here (they dont always fill them), so if the normal line is short you might as well just go it the normal route. Tatsu would be an excellent choice for your #150 as would X2. If you want you can do X2 in the afternoon as the line almost always dies down to nothing around 4pm or so as long as they're running both trains. Another idea would be Revolution; although it's not extreme anymore it's historic so that's kind of appropriate.

^^ busy but not ridiculous. As of about an hour ago they were about an hour at longest. Since it's your first time to the park a flash pass might make things more comfortable, I wouldnt bother with the gold or platinum though regular should be sufficient. If you're solo or in a small group and don't mind being split up you can take advantage of the single rider lines on Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, and Riddler's Revenge to all but eliminate waits for those three rides. (They exist on Viper and Revolution too but theres rarely any line for either of those) If you need details on the single rider lines, PM me. If you have an iPhone, download the RideHopper app, you can get and submit user submitted wait times.

^ Yep, that's exactly what I was saying, but you said it much better than me It's not something new, but I think getting video of a train's first test runs is becoming more common.

There's no way in hell that's full speed. The first test runs are always the slowest by design, it will be much faster by opening. Gold Striker at CGA was just the same way..when they released the POV from the first test run in mid April, it seemed to just mosey through the course at a slow speed and looked boring. When they finished testing and I got on it, it was running like a bat out of hell.

^ Id be happy if they just sprung for a coat of paint on Scream and Tatsu.

^ That sums it up nicely

I'd vote for Premier or Intamin, though I haven't had a chance to try an S&S yet I don't think.

Green Lantern ripped my face off, so Insane would definitely make me squeal as well..its on my bucket list now This will work on almost anything..the greyout is caused by the G forces forcing the blood out of your head..if you turn your head in a direction that prevents it, you wont grey out. On a helix, turn your head so that it is straight up and down with the ground (for example on Goliath at SFMM, tilt your head left, toward the car). On inverted coasters with vertical loops with high Gs, tilting your head back works.

Definitely the side facing the lift on the Green Lantern ZacSpin at SFMM. Swung forward and backward so fast it just about ripped my jaw off. I liked it, but it will make repeat rides rather difficult

I'd rather have Intamin build another Superman freefall coaster right next to Gold Striker, call it Superman: Flight Unlimited or similar. Soon they won't be able to hear the noise anymore.

I dont think it's a publicity stunt since neither CGA nor Prudential has said anything publicly

Nice to at least have confirmation that all the tunnels and walls were indeed due to prudential complaining and not just theming (although the drop tunnel was done nicely and I actually like it) I almost think it would be better if some of those last minute sound walls were turned into short tunnels. Maybe if P' complains further that might happen. I wanted to believe CGA that it was really theming and not in response to claims but never fully bought that story. I can understand that they wouldn't want to tick P' off further by complaining about them publicly. Incidentally I just saw a Gold Striker TV commercial during the French Open showing all the different elements of the ride and this animation did not even have the first drop tunnel..it must have been made before they decided to add that, let alone all the other walls.

It's true that this is a normal pattern of behavior for SFMM, which is why I am neither surprised nor outraged...I expect any coaster built here to take longer than usual and if it doesn't then that's just a bonus.

A lot of the newer coasters out here in Northern California (and I noticed some down at SFMM too) have electronic locking mechanisms that prevent you from releasing the seat belt until the restraints are released by the operator.

I have the same instincts...a lot of my visits are solo and I ride with an empty seat next to me; any time I can reach I secure and unsecure the empty seat so that the park staff can save those few seconds on the dispatch.

This is the que tunnel

CGA posted this video of promo shoot footage on youtube. The last shot of the car coming into the station was the very first train from 4/30. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAbPAdh5BJc

^^^ In that story, the woman said she had "knee and back problems", the man refused to disclose what his disability was. It's also worth noting that you don't need to be rich to hire these people..the man was charging $200/hr but the woman was charging only $50/hr. Clearly there's a good reason that people with certain disabilities should not be made to stand in a line or if they're in a wheelchair or similar conveyance they may not be able to move through the normal que, but having them not have to spend any time waiting doesn't seem right to me either, and I've been one of them. (My mother is legimiately disabled and I've spent a day at disneyland skipping all the lines like the people mentioned above..I didn't like it. Even though we had a legitimate reason I still felt bad, and the rides lost a lot of their "disney magic" for me not going through the que at all) What if there were a system similar to the Q-Bot system that Six Flags uses (or heck Im sure Disney could have a modified version of their fast pass system) wherein your disabled pass could reserve you a virtual spot in line so that you waited the same amount of time as other folks, but could do so comfortably elsewhere and still use an alternative entrance if need be? (Obviously this doesnt apply to the Make A Wish folks - those should definitely always deserve to skip all lines)

^^ Right, the best way to do it is as soon as you check into the current ride you select your next one and it's ready when you exit, I thought he was saying you could preselect more than one ride and when you checked into one it would automatically reserve your next one for you

The problem with that plan is that there are many more busy days when schools are out than there are when schools are in. Days like you experienced suck, but are much less frequent. Your odds are much better when school is in. I wish the SFMM passes allowed this, but they don't..after you reserve the ride the display just shows which ride you reserved and gives you the option to cancel the reservation, you have to cancel to reserve a different ride.

^ And on all but the busiest days you can definitely get on X2 without much wait. Either hit it very first thing, or wait until about 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon when the line almost always dies down to about 10 minutes or less.

Your wait time will basically be zero. I've used the gold one before and on a busy day I was getting buzzed about 5 minutes after I requested a ride. As soon as I checked into a ride Id request another one and itd be ready before I got off the current ride. With Platinum it will probably just buzz you immediately unless theres a 90 min+ line for something. The big difference on platinum is you can re-ride a second time without getting off, plus you can purchase X2 or LLDOD upgrades, which I believe are $10/ea. (It might be $15, I cant remember). Unless you have a large group, you can save your money on the LLDOD upgrades and use the single rider line instead, you can pretty much walk onto the ride with no reservation if youre by yourself or dont mind being split up from the members of your party. Green Lantern, Riddler's, Viper, and Revolution have them too but you wont need those if you have flash pass.

Sorry to bring this back up but I stumbled completely by accident on TPR's X2 media day video and noticed that the seat shaking did not occur when the new trains were first added..therefore it couldnt be something built into the trains. Either it's something computer controlled that was programmed later, or (as I tend to lean towards after watching this) it is caused by wear and tear on the gears over time but perhaps for one reason or another didn't happen on the old trains.