Zand
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Posts posted by Zand
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Finally getting to this park next month after last April's trip got cancelled. Always kinda been a bucket list park for me and combining that with some of the country's finest skiing will make for an awesome week.
Does anyone know yet if any rides will be down for maintenance to start the season or is it too early to tell? I'll be there April 18th so hopefully any early season kinks will be worked out by then.
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11 hours ago, Canobie Coaster said:
Massachusetts announced they will move into Phase 4 Step 1 starting March 22. I believe theme parks are the step that follows. From March 22 onwards, the only other items closed along with theme parks will be ball pits, saunas/hot tubs, bars, and nightclubs.
If the positive trends continue, hopefully Phase 4 Step 2 will start by the end of April, which should include theme parks.
Yeah, April 2022.
I dont understand how theme parks ever got lumped in with nightclubs in our reopening plan anyway. One of them involves hundreds of people packed into a small indoor space and one of them involves a limitable amount of people fully outdoors. Another way to look at it is ski areas have (thankfully) been fine (and very busy) but essentially the warm weather version of waiting in line, sitting in a chair, and flying around at various speeds is still a no no.
I'm hopeful for mid spring also but I was hopeful for July last year and we're 7 months past that now.
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14 hours ago, Canobie Coaster said:
The other good thing with how the park is set-up is that you can see all the coasters from the edge of the balcony.
The day I went, Shellraiser had so few customers that it didn't run for the first 20 minutes I was there. Legitimately thought it was closed. When I went up to the station the ride ops were just sitting there waiting for riders.
So if you don't see something running from the balcony, don't let it scare you off lol.
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Guess I didn't look closely enough at the Dinosaurs Alive sign to see Grizzly in the fine print lol. Good to know!
Missing it probably allowed me two additional rides on I-305 so I wasn't all that sad.
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I feel like Kings Island circa 2007 is the poster child for this thread. The best coaster (other than a Beast night ride) was either the Premier Clone or Vekoma Flying Dutchman. Insane how fat they've come in 13 years.
My home park is SFNE and I think it kind of belongs on this list, but I think Canada's Wonderland takes the cake for current parks.
Also, on the Grizzly topic...when I was at KD two years ago I wanted to ride it but couldn't find the damn entrance. I didn't dedicate more than 30 seconds to looking for it but I legitimately just gave up and went elsewhere. HELP?
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10 minutes ago, coasterbill said:
Six Flags America is opening a full month early this year!
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If the governor gives up on the insane restrictions in MA, I'd love to see SFNE open in March with 2 feet of snow still on the ground. The place would still be mobbed.
Maybe a SFA/BGW trip is in order this March, and I'll wave at Kings Dominion on the way by.
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57 minutes ago, coasterbill said:
I feel like the guy Gillian’s hired to set the park on fire and make it look like an accident for the insurance money put the wrong place into the GPS.
"Damn it, I told you to go to the park with the bigger and rustier Ferris wheel!"
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May their pirate ship come back bigger and better!
Glad to hear that it was contained to one building and that they have a contingency plan for this year. I know those boardwalk fires can get out of control, especially in the winter so nice job firefighters.
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Is that the same building as the entrance arcade?
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11 hours ago, coasterbill said:
Frontier, the greyhound bus of the sky. Sometimes they raise prices artificially and issue promo codes so sign up for the email list and then just watch that and the website. Like today flights from Providence to Orlando in March are "expensive" at $27 (lol) but it'll drop.
Spirit has $37 round trip flights between Hartford and Orlando almost all winter. And I've never had a problem bringing a normal sized backpack on a Spirit flight for free.
At that rate I would even be willing to fly down to Orlando for the day just to go swimming and fly back.
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I was amazed at how much Castaway Cove has crammed into so little space. I feel like the Pirate Ship swings within a foot of the Ferris Wheel.
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Ah yes...Lights Out. Great waterslide but the inside of the lighthouse while waiting in line was the worst smelling thing ever built in a park.
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On 11/3/2020 at 1:31 PM, KIEnthusiast said:
Sounds cool for the “safari village.” What will the name be?
Talladega: The Ride
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I was there something like 2-3:30.
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A few years ago I rode the Flume at Lake Compounce solo and they crammed four more people in with me. So awkward and uncomfortable.
Even more awkward was when I was on a Ferris Wheel with my wife and they put a teenage couple in the same car with us...the guy ended up throwing his girlfriend's cell phone off the ride at one point. We just kind of sat there silent for the whole ride lol.
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Firebird. I would like to erase that experience from my mind, although if the thing bashed my head any harder it would have done it for me.
14 new credits in 2020, 10 of which were in New Jersey in a year that I did not go to GADV or ride anything at Wildwood, so I guess that's an interesting stat. Thanks to the aforementioned Firebird, the Seaside Pirate Coaster was not my worst new credit of 2020.
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Posted pics to the FB group, but figured I'd add my reviews to the park here. Spent about an hour and a half in the park on Friday. Obviously $62 is very steep for just an hour and a half, but it's right in line with my Jersey Shore pier experiences over the summer. Good news (for me, not the park) is that it was pretty dead and I had free reign the entire time I was there. Hit each coaster at least once as well as a couple flats. If I had time I would've loved to hit more of the flats and reride the coasters some more as they have a very good lineup. Here are my thoughts on what I rode...
Sandy's Blasting Bronco was my first ride of the day...rode in back and it was a blast. Totally smooth, fun floating sensation through the immelmans and some good forces. Very strong launch, especially the unusual backwards launch. Rode it again later in the front. Definitely a different ride up there...thought the floating sensations were more prevalent in the back but more positive G's up front.
Shredder was a solo ride for me and therefore I didn't spin a whole lot. Much longer layout than I expected and while there's nothing crazy in the layout, the ride is great for families and could get pretty intense if you can get a good spinning ride. Was surprised by its height as well. While I've definitely ridden spinners that give a wilder ride, the length of this one puts it right up there as well.
Shellraiser was a love/hate ride for me. The layout is insane with a good powerful launch, that awesome drop with the holding break on top with the view of New York, and some great inversions. However, some spots got so rough that it was bordering on being brutal, especially at the bottom of the big drop. If they can do some work on those spots, this ride would be top 20 material for me, but I just can't put it there the way it is. BTW, the rest of the park patrons were avoiding this thing like the plague. I thought it was closed because I never saw it run the first 20 minutes I was there, but just turns out no one really wanted to ride it. Not sure if it's the buried entrance, the intimidating look, or if the word is out that you get pretty beat up, but it was a ghost town in that station the whole time I was there.
Slime Streak had some pretty terrible trains (and I'm only 5'8") but the ride itself was actually really fun. You get some minor floater over the hills and this thing cruises along pretty good through the course. Also surprisingly tall with a big drop for what is intended to be the small family coaster.
Timmy's Halfpipe Havoc was my first Halfpipe coaster because I've never wasted my time with Elitch Gardens. I was totally alone on the ride and it was really damn fun. Sandy's was my favorite coaster in the park, but this was my #2. Got some good spinning going and the airtime was a fun sensation. It feels like a glorified swinging ship but just a lot of fun.
Unfortunately I was too short on time to hit many flats, but had to hit a couple of the unique ones. The S&S tower was a must ride and for some reason it was almost freaky the way it went up in its own shaft, which really added a sensation of height to the ride. Not sure what the actual height is, but between being way above the mall roof, having a long view of the NJ Turnpike, and being face to face with the NYC skyscrapers, it felt a million feet tall. It was running in combo mode and while the launch was pretty good, the drop sucked. But the uniqueness more than made up for the lame drop.
Also, not sure what the name of it was but had to get a ride on that modern looper style ride. Instead of having to work a floor pedal to get the car flipping, you simply had to use the joystick to flip either forwards or backwards. Very easy to ride in "flying mode", stay upside down, or just flip the thing manically forwards or backwards. I don't get nauseous easily but I held the stick forward for like 7 or 8 consecutive flips and was almost ready to hurl. This stupid thing is insane lol.
Wanted to get on the Air Race, Frisbee, and maybe some other stuff but had to hit the road. If you want to check this place out, right now is a great time to do so as crowds are very light and you'll get to just do whatever you want as much as you want. Just remember you can't re-enter once you leave so plan accordingly. Plenty of food and restrooms inside the park. Didn't encounter any unreasonable security (I was alone while my wife shopped) which was a positive. The free lockers were very easy to use with the same wristband you get when you enter the park.
For me, skiing is my #1 passion (parks are #2) but I didn't end up checking out Big Snow as the real season is only a few weeks away. But I did see quite a few people heading in with equipment. Maybe next year in July I'll have to stop by if I'm in Jersey. For now, I'm still trying to get over the shock that this place is actually open and that I can do my two favorite things (neither of which ever involve a roof) under one roof.
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SFA had all those marijuana and horseplay signs too. With the weather it was pretty dead last night, but they still had Saturday level security which was pretty funny. There was a security guard or cop for probably every 12 park patrons. Never seen anything like it.
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2 minutes ago, Canobie Coaster said:
Nice report!
Superman wasn't loading every row earlier this month, but I'm not surprised considering they were trying to pair groups up at Batwing when I was there. Both those coasters were only running one train for me and I'm guessing it was the same for you?
I enjoyed Firebird in the back, but it was awful in the front.
Two trains on the woodies (which didn't need them) and one on the rest (Jokers Jynx had a 10 minute line, the rest were walk ons). No one grouping on any ride that I saw.
I guess thats good for Firebird, but I don't plan on ever riding it again. I'd rather marathon the SLC.
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Was down in MD visiting friends this weekend and after making a quick stop at American Dream on Friday on the ride down (threw a couple pictures on FB), I started the ride back with a stop at American Nightmare...err...SFA!
After a gorgeous day yesterday, today was dreadful with temps in the 40s and showers. I expected to see SFA post that they would be closed for the day but around 6 I decided to head over, parked nice and close, and headed in with a heavy mist falling.
This park gets sh*t on a lot, and for good reason, but on a gloomy night with a small crowd and walk on rides everywhere, it was a good time. Grabbed dinner on the meal pass on the way in and then made my way back to Mind Eraser...LOL just kidding, screw that. Started with a nice front row ride on Roar. This is like the Hershey Wildcat to me...everyone on here bitches about how rough it is but it's a fun and decently forceful woodie and not that rough at all. Sure, an RMC makeover would be awesome for the park, but Roar is a nice ride as it is.
Firebird is one of the two new to me coasters in the park and was my next stop, but was down temporarily so I made my way to the drop tower. Not a very tall one, but a nice forceful drop. Can't just walk by a walk on drop tower and not hop on.
Next up was the biggest gem at SFA, Wild One. How Six Flags manages to keep a 103 year old wooden coaster so smooth is one of the world's great mysteries. Lots of good airtime all over the layout and great laterals in the helix of death, all while maintaining a mainly perfectly smooth ride.
The other new to me credit, Rajun Cajun, was closed so kept heading back to Jokers Jynx. Another great ride, very whippy but smooth in the transitions.
Headed back further (lol this park has the worst layout in the world) to Superman which was an absolute blast. For some reason they were loading every row which felt weird after not seeing that at all this year. Rode in back and it was absolutely flying through the darkness behind the park. Not the most inspiring layout ever made but still good Intamin fun and cool to see the old trains (coming from an SFNE homer).
The world's most ridiculously placed coaster was next, Batwing! The good thing is the dark foggy night masked the fact that the ride is plopped way out in a field. I want to love the ride, it has a much better layout than the Supermans and is very intense. But good lord those trains suck. They shuffle like typical Vekoma trains and the vests don't really hold you in so the buckle point pretty much does the Heimlich on you through the flying sections. A Batwing layout with B&M trains would be an awesome ride.
Started making my way back to the front, intending on getting my Firebird credit and heading out. Couldn't resist a 2nd ride on Wild One, but then made my way over. After making my way through the queue that is about 4000 feet too long, I walked right up to the front.
Backstory: I don't like Rougarou. I'm one of the rare people that actually preferred Mantis. But most people seem to approve of that makeover. On the other hand, I've seen people who like Rougarou not like this one at all. Anyway, yeah...this thing is a pile of sh*t. Just bashes your head around from beginning to end. I came off with the worst headache a roller coaster I've ever gotten from a coaster. Hopefully the asteroid coming for the earth around Election Day lands directly on this thing.
If I didn't have a horrible headache I would've ridden Mind Eraser to remind myself what a coaster that only bashes your head into nice soft padded restraints feels like. But with a long ride home I decided I was hurting enough and called it a night.
A sour ending, but overall I actually had a really great time at SFA. I know people drive right past this place all the time to head for much better places, but honestly it's a great place to break up a ride to BGW for a couple hours and really has a few decent coasters in its lineup.
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Glad to hear things have been better this month than they sounded pre-covid. Hoping to stop in for a couple hours next Friday, only have time for the dry park but looks like a great time to go with the restricted crowd size.
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^Lawn ornament lolz.....so much lolz for that piece of junk at SFNE in crack axle.....missed going this season ....clearly not opening....so sad couldn’t get on Superman
Guessing you are right but I still haven’t seen a full closed for year announcement yet like Darien Lake & Great Escape put out so maybe an outside HITP chance but not looking good.
Starting today, we're allowed to pour our own soft drinks and coffee again in fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
SFNE might be allowed to open by 2025
EDIT: Baker just announced that starting next Monday, "indoor and outdoor performance venues" can have 250 people in attendance. Maybe SFNE can worm their way into taking advantage of that for HITP somehow?
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^ Nickelodeon Universe actually has bathrooms. That I can confirm from my one visit last year.
Did security follow you in?
They're apparently so good at making people uncomfortable that I thought maybe they really went the extra mile
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^ Nickelodeon Universe actually has bathrooms. That I can confirm from my one visit last year.
Did security follow you in?
Six Flags [FUN] Corporate Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I think Dorney should buy it, put it right next to Demon Drop, and open some kind of f*cked up living Intamin Tower museum.
That would get me to visit Dorney like once a week.