Zand

Damn I wish I didn't have to leave early last night. Love plopping down on Nitro at like 8:00 and not getting up for an hour. Did that on NYE 2 years ago and was treated to firework shows in almost every direction. Not sure I would've stayed late if I had the choice though - I got soaked by the sudden downpour on Skyscreamer and was dressed for the upper 50s, so riding coasters with a light but soaked sweatshirt and temps in the 30s wouldn't have been much fun. Early shift is worth it too though. Maybe 300 people there at opening, and 290 of them went towards Nitro/JDC so the Boardwalk was like a personal playground for an hour or so.

Cliff notes: "Knott's doesn't have a Skyride." I guess I'll wait and see what is open and closed the week leading up to my trip. Probably will decide on SFMM, but if Ghost rider isn't closed and lots of stuff at SFMM is then that might make my mind up for me.

Closing Day report: Arrived about 20 minutes prior to opening. When the gates opened I decided to head left to the Boardwalk as I usually skip that stuff. Flew with the Man of Steel on its first 2 rides of the day, both in back. First train had 3 total people and the second was pretty filled up, and the speed difference was noticeable. Moved over to Green Lantern next for a front row ride. Unpopular opinion, but this is a better coaster than Bizarro. Shame me all you want. Smoother and more forceful. Other than the lack of a zero-g, this is better. Took a walk on Parachute ride which is always fun. Can't believe this thing is still standing and running in 2022, but here we are. Also running next door was Twister, which I rode solo and got 7 or 8 flips on the come out roll. When it's running like that, why even bother with Joker? As I was walking towards the other side of the park, the gates for Houdini opened and I hopped on to be the first rider of the day. Effects all working which was nice. By then the clock was striking 2:00 and I had already managed 6 rides. As I continued walking across, I took note of how every single ride was open as well as the vast majority of food stands, shops, games, and plenty of characters as well. Eat your heart out Cedar Fair, Six Flags managed to staff a park better and get more open in January than you did in mid summer. Hit the back row of Skull Mountain next, followed by the back row of Nitro which has been kind of ruined by Diamondback for me. The airtime is far better in southern Ohio. Nitro is kind of the Millennium Force of the park to me...big fast and fun, but you could take a nap on it. I love both, but time has kind of passed them by on being list-toppers. Nitro was running two trains and usually there was a good 30 second wait after dispatch for the next train to come back, once again reminding me that I wasn't at a Cedar Fair park. Got 3 consecutive rides on JDC next, one in front and two near the middle. The ejector moments are great in front, but I think I like the back more just for the first drop. 2 of 4 trains running here, more than enough to keep up with today's small crowd. From there I did a loop through Gotham, hitting Batman in back, Mouse in a Box, Wonder Woman, and Justice League (which had a 25ish minute line, by far the largest i saw today). Fun rides on all. The truck horn effect on Dark Knight no longer works (although Superman would later hook me up, as I parked right next to its station and they blasted the horn on it right when I got to my car). By then it was getting dark, and while I could've stayed till closing the wife had prior commitments that required us to be back in MA at a reasonable hour. Last night was supposed to be the night riding session, but the park closed for inclement weather that never really happened. I got my Pork Kabobs from Jersey Devil BBQ which are always fantastic. Hit JDC one more time after a 10 minute wait, once again getting the middle. This thing was f*cking flying by now and I can't wait to marathon it next year during HITP. Last coaster ride was Nitro up front, my only night ride on it this year unfortunately but always a good one. On the way out we decided to hit the Skyscreamer. When we sat down it started to drizzle and naturally when we got in the air, the skies opened up and some gusts of wind came through. After being pretty hot and sweaty all day (on January effing 2nd) suddenly the day was gonna end cold and wet. Still a ton of fun, but after that it was time to call it quits. Call me crazy, but even though the World's tallest coaster, World's tallest Freefall ride, World's best wooden coaster, World's best ejector air Mine Train, the World's most mediocre purple B&M, and the Log Flume are all closed I vastly prefer going to Great Adventure during HITP over going midseason. The atmosphere of the park is so much better, the usual ornery crowd is calmed down, and the coaster lineup still kicks ass (even more so with the addition of JDC). I honestly don't even feel like I miss those rides when I go this time of year. It's an amazing event and I know some parks are cutting it next year, but hopefully there's no change to this one. Pics in the FB group since my phone is being uncooperative with posting here for some reason.

Looks like it might a permanent part of the menu at that BBQ joint and no longer just a Christmas item. I might be too fat for El Toro by the end of next summer if that's the case.

I hope this is a confirmation that they have them this year. I dont see them on the GADV site but was hoping it's just an incomplete list of HITP food offering. Knowing I might be about ~28 hours from eating one makes me very hungry.

Thanks for the input everyone. Likely only have the one day, and the more I think about it the more I lean towards Knotts if I have to stick to one park. After watching QueueTimes the last couple days, SFMM has had multiple coasters down each day (on top of the expected Batman closure) and I'm guessing a lot of those might kinda extend through the "offseason". On the other hand, Knotts looked to be 100% open and as long as GhostRider, Xcelerator, Silver Bullet, Montezooma, and Hangtime are open I'll be happy. I figure if SFMM announces a pending closure of something before I have time to do a proper LA trip, I could just hop on a plane and go for a weekend.

So I decided that my somewhat sane "fly to Burbank, go to SFMM for the day, then fly back" trip might not be enough and I've come up with a second idea. I'm hoping someone will tell me "Your plan isn't even possible, stop being so f*cking greedy and just stay at SFMM" but here goes... - Land in Burbank from Vegas at 8:50, grab rental car and drive up to SFMM for 10:30 opening - Leave SFMM around 1:30-2:00 before traffic gets too insane and drive to Knotts -Hopefully get to Knotts around 3-3:30, stay till closing at 6. Eat a chicken dinner. -Drop car, fly out of John Wayne Airport at 8:50 back to Vegas. Flights $70 RT, car $90 (would be $40 less to rent and drop at the same place, but not having to drive back across LA is worth the extra $40). Passes to both parks, so no admission. WOULD be willing to buy fastpasses at either park in order to make this work, though not sure if it would even be much of a help on a Tuesday or Wednesday in mid January. Must-dos at SFMM (if open): X2, Viper, WCR, Full Throttle, Goliath, Twisted Colossus, Superman, (Tatsu if the painters are still absent) Must-dos at Knotts: GhostRider, Silver Bullet, Xcelerator, HangTime, Montezooma Is it even possible to ride the above 12 coasters (with the help of fastpasses if necessary) and drive from SFMM to Knotts in a 7.5 hour timeframe? Does anyone know if any of the above must-dos are going to be closed in January (aside from the aforementioned Tatsu)? Am I out of my mind for even thinking about trying this?

Planning on heading down for New Years Day. Naturally, looks rainy. Hoping for the best.

Now that I look more into using Uber, it looks like renting a car for the day is probably cheaper than Uber. Plus no worries about potentially getting cancelled on. Probably will go that route. All told, $60 for a car rental and $32 round trip for the flight is pretty damn good, especially since everything else about the day would be free (and WAAAAY less than I'd probably be losing in Vegas during the course of the day). Kinda sucks to be missing Tatsu and Batman among others, but I'll be back for a full LA area trip some day. I know this sounds weird, but my two biggest reasons for going right now are X2 and Viper, because if it's 5 years before I get back you just never know what might not be there.

How good is Uber service at SFMM? I mentioned a couple months ago that I was looking into driving down for a day from Vegas next month. I figured out that it's way cheaper to fly to Burbank (like...$30 round trip) and Uber to and from the park. Would this work out okay or is Uber service real spotty from the park?

SFMM in January Universal/SWO/BGT in...April? Typically take an early May trip to Cedar Point before the bugs and humidity show up...so maybe that? Would like to do a couple weekend park/baseball trips. Most likely Chicago and Atlanta, maybe Texas?

Oh...thanks! Sorry if I missed that somewhere. https://coasterpoll.com/u/Zand/rankings?shared

Been meaning to do this for years, finally submitted one! The link to share seems to be broken. Let's just say Steel Vengeance is #1 and T3 is #157.

Is that not the current Six Flags model though? Super cheap to get in, but then expensive food, expensive drinks, expensive merchandise, pay for lockers, pay to skip the line, pay to park. I guess theoretically the amusement park experience almost everywhere is like this, but Six Flags does it in every way possible while having the cheapest passes.

Say what you want about Spirit, but I've flown them 6 times in the past couple years and they've been on time EVERY flight. If Six Flags gets the bare bones but operationally sound treatment, then I think that's a win.

Just asking because I genuinely have no idea how long a coaster repaint takes in a year round park... Should I have 0 expectations of Tatsu being open in mid January or is there a chance it will be done by then?

If you expected competency from Six Flags, then I have a bridge to sell ya! When I go onto the SFNE website on my phone I only get the single season pass option. When I go onto the Great Adventure website I get the tiered selections.

Right...forgot Great Adventure doesn't half ass everything like SFNE. More like 2/3rds ass.

Maybe they'll just rename it "Medusa: The Ride", remove the speakers from the seats, and then not replace the missing seats where the soundboards are.

Wonder if they'll just replace it with a new one... Also wondering about Tomahawk. The last couple times I rode it, it barely swung and theres been plenty of reports over the past years of it smelling like smoke at times. Not sure how often it's been closed this year but was surprised to see it closed Sunday. It was a fun ride in its heyday but gotta wonder if Harley Quinn has made it obsolete and they can do something better with that spot.

Justice League being closed is fine...I ride it enough at Great Adventure. Hoping to maximize on the coasters, particularly the ones that may only have a few years left (Viper, for instance) and the unique stuff like X2. I'm fully expecting to miss out on a few coasters but hoping for the best. Also definitely planning on a more complete SoCal trip in a couple years to hit Knotts, Disney, Universal, etc plus Dodger Stadium (and maybe a side trip down to Sea World/Petco Park) so I'll be back. Hopefully after Christmas LA will stop being so strict with the mask regulations, but I know that's unlikely. I saw that there's some days during holiday weeks that masks are required even outside. Glad I won't be there for that. Apparently the virus only transmits on Thanksgiving and Christmas and not other busy Saturdays?

Teddy Bear at Strickers Grove Perhaps the most "adorable" coaster I've ever ridden!

Potentially looking at visiting for the first time on Jan 18th or 19th. I'll be in Vegas that week and, if I decide to go, will be renting a car and driving down. Couple questions... 1. Does SFMM have a ride rehab schedule or is it a more Six Flags approach of "f*ck it, if it breaks we'll fix it"? I tried searching but haven't found anything. I know to expect a couple things to be closed, just hoping to know before I pull the trigger. 2. How are crowds typically on a mid January weekday? If necessary I'll buy a Flashpass as I want to do the whole park in 1 day. Pretty excited to potentially be finally knocking this park off the bucket list!

I will say...if that list is accurate then having the Scrambler being one of the rides open is a BIZARRE choice. It's way out of the way and nothing else would be open within 1000 feet of it. Anyway...brief Sunday report. Park was pretty busy, but hit the two essentials plus a few extras and are dinner in the 4 hours I was there. Arrived around 3 and hit DC first thing. Rode Skyflyer for the first time which was fun albeit a brief cycle. Queue building was only 1/3 full but this was still a 4 cycle wait as there are only 24 seats (and 4 of them were roped off). Missed the upside down view of Superman that Nightwing used to give in the same spot although obviously this is a much more comfortable ride than the old George Forman Grill Flying Machine. Hit Superman with a quick 5 minute wait and rode in row 3. Running great as usual. Still weird how forceless it feels now compared to most modern coasters. Almost like a Morgan hyper but really really good. Got in line for Cyborg next which I still had never ridden. Indoor section was almost full which was about 4 cycles. These new Trabants are fun, what more is there to say? Headed to the South End and the crowds really started picking up at this point. Harley Quinn, Riddler, and Batman were all near or over an hour so hit Crime Wave (a walk on) before a 15 minute line for Joker which was a great ride. Tried JBs for dinner but the line was out the door (Patriots AND Brady were playing so...yeah) so ended up getting a Cheesesteak and beer across from Flashback. Not too bad for park fare. Nice to not wait an hour for food like that clusterf*ck that was Kings Island...in fact I'm pretty sure I didn't see any closed restaurants or food stands today. Nice job SFNE. While the lines in the North End were also pretty long there was one I was willing to wait in. Wicked Cyclone had a line almost to the entrance, but despite the front rows of each train being closed for some reason and plenty of stacking, 45 minutes later I was in the backseat on the train to crazytown. Most of my rides on this have been early morning on hot days when it drags through the whole course. Tonight it was a little cooler and it was visibly running faster than I've ever seen it. And yeah...some of those quick pops of air were hitting so hard that it was borderline painful. When this thing is running full speed the layout is basically the 2nd half of Steel Vengeance...batshit crazy. Headed out after that, happy to have gotten on what I wanted to despite it being on the busy side. Seems weird to have only been there on opening day and closing day this year, but both visits I thought they were in good shape. I was surprised to see they've done next to nothing with Fireball since it got smooshed by a severe storm in June. The train is gone but there's still a bunch of debris lying around and the entry gates are still all bent. Looks weird without a grove of trees behind the ride. No signs of the crane by Goliath, nor did I see any signs of deconstruction. However, I did notice these wires under one of the lift spikes. Not sure what these used to be hooked in to. WTF is Carnevil and what did it do to Area 51?!? That was always my favorite theme of Frightfest. Speaking of which, I didn't do any houses but they seemed to have decorated the main midways more than usual this year. Lots of...uhh...cut up bodies and stuff on Main St. Goodnight SFNE!

They could close all the rides at SFNE to better staff Great Adventure for all I care lol. I'll be at SFNE Sunday for closing day. Haven't been since opening day. Seems like light years ago with the Covid restrictions lol.