sfmman2000

We did get on TC, although only once in the morning. It was my first ever ride on it, although not my first RMC (rode Wicked Cyclone last month). I might give TC a slight edge over WC, due to the dueling aspect and top gun stall (my favorite part). However, they are really both incredible rides. Neither ride has an Intamin i305/Maverick level of wildness, but they more than make up for it with crazy elements, graceful transitions, and amazingly comfortable trains.

Here's a quick trip report from Wednesday September 23rd. We arrived around 9:45 -- 45 minutes before opening -- to find a decent line of cars waiting at the gates. Approaching the entrance, moving through security, and at the front plaza, everywhere was packed with guests. I hadn't been to the park in a couple years, so I was curious to see how the park operations were going to be. Overall, operations were decent, except for a few coaster crews that were really sluggish (Full Thrøttle, Twisted Colossus). However, I was happy to see all the coasters running, at least. It was frustrating to see that most food and drink locations had lines about 30 minutes long. Many of the dining locations don't seem to be set up for efficiency with how food is ordered and prepared, and plus many dining areas were only at half capacity or so. With the big crowds, I would have hoped for more staff to keep the lines shorter. It makes the park look bad. I'd rather see the park take a more Disney-like approach ("Capacity will increase our guests' fun time") and add more staff if they anticipate large crowds. Fortunately, the first few hours were light on crowds towards for rides towards the back of the park. In order (all rides 1x): Twisted Colossus - 20 minutes Lex Luthor - 5 minutes Green Lantern* - 10 minutes Batman - 5 minutes Riddler's Revenge - 5 minutes Gold Rusher - 5 minutes Ninja (1 train) - 60 minutes Superman (both sides) - 15 minutes Tatsu (both stations) - 45 minutes Viper - 5 minutes Twisted Colossus** - 90 minutes Full Thrõttle - 60 minutes *never again ** skipped

Quick TR from Saturday night (9/5/2015). Got to the park around 6pm. Came to process my 2016 season pass. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the process was. Then give you your pass right at the entrance turnstile. They scan your fingerprint, no picture (this could be old news, I haven't had a season pass in years). Medusa was a walk-on. Rode the Dare Devil Chaos Coaster for the first time (10 minute wait). It was surprisingly smooth and the restraints were comfortable. The ride was, dare I say, fun! V2 was another walk-on. Superman was about a 20 minute wait. IMO, Superman is the star of SFDK's coaster lineup. Medusa is a great ride, but it doesn't really pack a punch. Overall, the park was much less busy than I expected late in the day on a holiday weekend.

Yep, came here to say this. Just rode Kennywood's for the first time and it's so much better than what's at King's Island and Cedar Point. The Huss versions seen so lethargic with the swinging motion, and the rotation doesn't feel as fast. Also, the restraints are much more comfortable on the Zamperla version.

^ ^^ Ah, thanks! Hopefully it won't be too busy since it's such an odd day to be open. Then again, if a lot of schools are closed because of the holiday, it could be quite the opposite...

This is what SFMM's September 2015 calendar looks like. I was thinking of going on September 23 (Wednesday). But how weird is it that they're open on a random Wednesday, but not any other weekdays? I'll call to double check, but thought I would check here in case anyone has any insight.

Disneyland posted a video that shows Soarin' over California from the operator's perspective, including a few control board shots. Here's the full video:

Huss Tri-Star control panel from eBay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUSS-TRI-STAR-AMUSEMENT-PARK-RIDE-carnival-GREAT-CONDITION-IN-COSTA-RICA-/161198002672 archive for when listing is over: https://web.archive.org/web/20140911215022/http://www.ebay.com/itm/HUSS-TRI-STAR-AMUSEMENT-PARK-RIDE-carnival-GREAT-CONDITION-IN-COSTA-RICA-/161198002672

^^^ ^^ ^ Thanks! I have to wonder if they planned the new parking system well, since I can imagine long lines to pay when many people leave at the same time at the end of the night. However if parking cars faster is the main concern, this may help solve that issues (along with creating a few new ones). It will be interesting to see how it works out.

Time to bring this thread back from the dead. I stopped by the Boardwalk recently, and thought I would highlight a few new things. Perhaps the biggest change is that the Boardwalk has converted to a points system for rides, up-charge attractions, games, and arcades. No more tickets (although they are still accepted). Wristbands still exist and have a long barcode printed on them for scanning at ride entrances. Here's more information about the MyBoardwalk card: http://beachboardwalk.com/myboardwalk/ Another interesting change is that the Boardwalk's parking lots will soon switch to a pay-later system, much like any standard parking garage. Parking will still charged by the day ($15), but with the new method, cars will get parked faster to hopefully alleviate traffic in the area (anyone who's been to the Boardwalk on a summer day knows what I mean). The park recently built another wooden walkway extending on to the beach And a new food and drink stand There is a new kiddie ride called Kiddie Cruzers The ride is located in between Sea Swings and Rock and Roll Nice attention to detail with the cars Somewhat new, you can buy freshly-made stuffed churros. This replaced the waffle cone stand. There is also a machine that pumps out the dough (didn't get a picture) What's this? Water blasters at Logger's Revenge! They aren't in operation yet, but they will take the MyBoardwalk card as payment. Cool! The rock wall is new, too. One of the Rock-o-plane cars has a new rainbow paint job. Awesome! You can buy and recharge the MyBoardwalk card at self-service machines around the walk Buying $50+ of points gets you bonus points The new Crazy Surf ride (KMG) has been facing a lot of down time. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I hear the park may opt to remove it if the reliability can't be improved. Here are a few pictures of the Boardwalk area to end the report How could I forget: One of the worst intersections in Santa Cruz – right by the Boardwalk – is getting a roundabout. Nice!

You're not just imagining it. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222153758/http://www.engineeringexcitement.com/product/polercoaster/

Interesting, thanks. I wonder if it makes sense for the park to have to more procedures about how many Fast Lane riders per cycle. 1/3 to 1/2 sounds like a lot (which is what I witnessed at Gold Striker), especially when the standby queue is full. Letting on Fast Lane riders so quickly could increase the standby wait time by 50-100%. On a higher capacity ride like flight deck, I'm sure it makes less of a difference.

^ Sorry about your bad time. I think we experienced a similar level of overall quality of the scare actors. I hadn't realized there was a different between Fast Lane and Fright Lane. I thought it was all-in-one. The event has great attendance.. why aren't they able to do a better job?

Trip report: We headed out to the Haunt on Friday, 10/17. The last time I was at CGA was for the Gold Striker media shoot. Before that I hadn't been to the park for a couple of years, so there were a few new things to experience. tl;dr — The park has a few great mazes, and a couple great rides, but needs even more to alleviate the long lines. Some of the scare actors were not fully in character. The maze and main ride lines were all at 45 minutes to 1 hour long and the guest experience suffered. Read on for details. Walking in the park, I was surprised to see the walk-through metal detectors missing and instead, all guests are personally searched with a hand-held metal detector. The procedure is you hold all your metal items with your hands spread out while they wave the wand across your body, front and back. I think it's an interesting change that removes a lot of overhead, although I have to wonder — what's the point? They weren't searching or wanding bags. Due to logistical reasons, we arrived at the park around 8:30pm. Our first stop was the Wax Museum. I really enjoyed this maze’s props and theming. I'll stop short of saying the experience was excellent, because it wasn’t. There was nearly a constant stream of guests walking through, meaning barely any of the scare actors were in position as we walked through. I did like the aspect that you weren't always sure whether a body was a prop or actor. This was one of our longest waits, of about 45 minutes. I would hope that after waiting that long, groups would be nicely spaced out. Next up was Zombie High, another 45 minute wait. The photo booth before walking through the maze was a fun effect. Without giving it away completely, the best part of the maze was a scare actor that pops out in a very unique way. Again, not many actors in position due to the constant stream of guests. Overall, this maze did not particularly stand out in any way theme wise. Having not known about the theme prior to walking in, I thought Zombie “High” meant something else Next, we got in line for Drop Tower. However, after waiting a few minutes, the line had only moved a matter of inches. I noticed that one cabin was out of service completely. And another was climbing the tower normally, although guests were not being seated in it. So with the queue being 2/3 full, 1/3 of the ride out of service, combined with a steady line of Fast Lane people being given high priority, we exited the line knowing the wait would be too long. Since it was already 10:30pm, I knew that if we wanted to get on Gold Striker, we may have to choose between that and Drop Tower, since the lines close prior to midnight. I figured we could do more mazes after Gold Striker, since they are open until 1am. On our way over to Gold Striker, we stopped at Toy Factory, whose line seemed to be moving very quickly. We ended up waiting about 10 minutes for this maze, which would be our shortest line of the night. It turns out, they were pushing people through like cattle, just a constant stream of guests. Although I have to hand it the scare actors — they were doing well considering they couldn’t exactly jump out at most people. However, something was missing. Where did the air room go? I don’t know what it’s actually called, but I'm trying not to give it away. I would consider that the main event of this maze, and was disappointed that it’s missing. This was arguably the most unique aspect of any maze at the park and I think it would be a big mistake to keep it out of the maze in the future. As we headed over to Gold Striker, the line was nearly all the way out to the entrance. Having waited in the full queue before, I remembered it moving fairly quick. However, that was not the case tonight as the line moved ever so slowly. Fast Lane guests were let on with a seemingly very high priority. As the Fast Lane guests walked up the stairs (some of those guests riding again and again) they were let on the ride nearly immediately. Since there was a small but steady trickle of Fast Lane guests, I believe this artificially inflated the length of the standby queue, which ended up taking over an hour (2 trains, by the way). The ride itself: incredible. So fast and smooth and an all-around great time. It feels even smoother than the last time I rode it before it opened to the public. Even my non-roller coaster enthusiast friends thought it was worth the wait (the true test!). Definitely the highlight of the night. Next, we did two more mazes before leaving. First up was Roadkill Roadhouse. Not sure what all the hype is about. Yeah, the props are decent, but I remember them in a maze of a different name a few years ago. The great ending scene in the restaurant is now missing. But I guess my main complaint is 1) the scare actor wandering the line was out of character talking to a friend who was waiting in line and 2) some of the scare actors inside the maze were communicating quietly to each other, not really in character. Just before 1am, our last maze was Madame Marie’s Massacre Manor which ended up being a great choice. The theming was great, and the scare actors were really into it, actually speaking to individual guests. If all the mazes were like this, CGA might have an event to really be proud of. Final thoughts: Capacity — I felt that the park was definitely at “critical mass”, with each attraction averaging about a 45 minute or longer wait. And not only were you waiting so long for most mazes, once you were in it, there were other groups right in front of and behind you! I would have an easier time standing the long lines if the experience that followed was something great. Judging from other reviews (such as on Yelp) a lot of others aren’t happy with the waits either. I’m glad that CGA now has such a popular halloween event, but it’s time to expend it even more to accommodate the crowds. I can only imagine the lines this upcoming weekend. Fast Lane — I have some questions about Fast Lane, and I’m not necessarily expecting an answer. It’s obviously a great perk for those who have it, but at what cost? Should a 5-6 hour event have a Fast Lane line? Does it make sense that for such a short event that a high majority of the guests have to wait extra? I’m looking at the entire guest experience. I would have been a lot more satisfied waiting 30-40 minutes for Gold Striker, as it would have enabled us to ride one more ride. And, what is the priority that Fast Lane riders are given? Should they all be let on immediately (this is what I witnessed taking place), or should those riders be given a 5-10 minute wait to discourage re-rides and create a shorter standby line? I’ll be honest — I’m not too enthusiastic about going to this event future years until they add another maze to thin out the crowds. Another decent capacity roller coaster would be nice too. To sum it all up: Gold Striker

^^ That's a great reason why the term "emergency stop" doesn't make a whole lot of sense, especially on an S&S tower. On an space shot/double shot anytime after the ride has launched, it's best just just let the ride run normally since it's the fastest way to bring the ride down. Also, In that small window of time from when the shot tank is filled and the ride hasn't launched yet, bringing the ride down (e-stop or not) will keep the restraints locked for a few minutes until the tank has depressurized. That would also be bad in an emergency.

This is the closest I could find (from Google Earth historical imagery):

^ I think the plan was to demolish the building that houses Frightwalk and park operations previously was. Removing this building would create a large plaza area in front of Doubleshot and Pirate Ship where more rides could be put in. I'm not sure what the status of this project is, but I'll do my best to find out.

You can also view the 3D imagery directly in your browser (Chrome or Firefox): https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cedar+Point/@41.475769,-82.6882213,148a,20y,82.95t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x883a44453409f6b7:0xae0d3d15735875a7

Keep in mind a long line at the Boardwalk is often just 15-20 minutes maximum. Your best deal on a wristband (must buy 2) might be at Costco, in-store or online (http://www.costco.com/Santa-Cruz-Beach-Boardwalk-2-Rides-%2b-Attractions-Combos-E-Voucher.product.100112236.html)

^ Cool, thanks for posting the control panel pictures and all of the details about them! Here's a shot I've been meaning to post: Not a full ride control panel, but there are buttons. It's the catwalk of the old Haunted Castle at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The red button on the right is an e-stop which cuts power to the track. The bottom two buttons turn on and off the work lights.

Thanks for the great trip report from the Boardwalk (and other parks)! If only the park could have gone with a custom layout for Undertow, too. Lucky for us, I've been told Logger's Revenge will remain at the park for a long time. If they ever wanted to replace it with something different, the park would have to deal with approvals, height restrictions, and they wouldn't be able to build a ride that goes over the railroad tracks like Logger's does. Yeah, the backwards cycle is really short and slow. I think it's because when the ride slows down after going backwards, the cars rock very high (not exactly sure why). Going backwards any faster would cause a lot of out-of-control cars...

^ Ah, gotcha. I guess I was thinking more in terms of injury to riders. If the tree fell differently or if Ninja was not a suspended coaster, I think the park would have a much larger problem to deal with.

Are you sure you don't mean BEST case scenario? I can think of a considerable number of ways this could have been a lot worse.

Green Lantern is now listed as closed on the Six Flags website. Not surprising. https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/attractions/green-lantern-first-flight http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/british-teenager-dies-after-falling-from-rollercoaster-at-the-terra-mitica-in-benidorm-9590682.html

Any chance they had the trims open? Every time I've ridden it, every trim brake has been in use, making for a fairly dull ride aside from the first drop.