Zand

I was off by an hour. Heavier rain is starting to move in now, but looks like all the important stuff has been open with no lines so I'm sure the 3.5 hours you had with lighter rain was more than enough! Sometimes it is worthwhile to visit when the weather isn't so...clement.

If you do go, the rain looks pretty light so everything should be open. With that forecast you'll absolutely be able to lap the entire park in about 2 hours and then have time for some rerides before the park inevitably closes by 3:00.

Visiting SFOG for the first time 3 weeks from today (Sunday after Memorial Day). Admittedly the primary reason for this trip is to ride the other RMC down the way, but obviously I have to finally check this place out as well and a park with a B&M Hyper and its own RMC should be plenty fun. Has the park veen running near 100% or have there been rides closed that might not be open by the time I go? Also, should I budget for Flash Pass? I have a full day but I have no idea how crowded this park gets so not sure what to expect. Preferably I'd like to lap the whole park and then get some rerides on Goliath and Cyclone.

Ok, so mega nerd moment... I can see VelociCoaster's top hat from my room. I decided to time the dispatches, and as you can see below they're really damn good! Meanwhile, I can also see Iron Gwazi and 3 trains have been dispatched during this time.

Thanks to Frontier getting us down here for $60 round trip, decided to come spend a couple days at Universal and get away from the gross constant rain and mist in New England that never seems to end this time of year. Universal has almost become my home park over the past year and I think I'm up to like 12 days in the past year on my pass (I don't think I've even been to SFNE 12 times in the last 10 years). With that said, just a few notes to pass along from the past couple days... After becoming big Aventura fans during our last few trips, we decided to try Cabana Bay this time. This place is like being at Disney and I don't mean that in a good way. If you have kids then this is great for them, but it's enormous, loud, and has none of the efficiency and relaxation factor that Aventura has. We couldn't even get any bowling reservations for any of the 3 nights we've been here. Just the word reservation gives me the Disney shivers. Definitely going back with Aventura next time. Park crowds were pretty typical. Feels busy when you're walking but most rides have been walk ons other than the usuals. I completed 100% of Studios in like 4 hours today, even doubled up on my Rip Ride Brake Runs because no one was coming up when my train pulled back in. And when I say 100%, I mean everything except Fast & Furious obviously. Got a bit pissed at the single line situations today. Rode VelociCoaster from standby at 6:00 or so and noticed that the single line was totally deserted (usually almost full and slow moving). Moved up to Hagrids and went into the single line. A guy in an ugly 90s-era Steelers t-shirt went into the standby line at the same time. We both got to the final switchback room at nearly the same time and I saw him get on the ride about 20 minutes before I did. So standby was 45 mins and singles was 1:05. After this I went back to VelociCoaster which now had the single line closed off even though it was deserted an hour earlier. So I guess they'll let you wait longer on some rides while closing the ones that will actually save you time? I don't get it. But I was pretty pissed on my Hagrids ride lol. Rode the two Toon Lagoon water rides for the first time yesterday. Now I don't mind getting wet from the ankles up, just leave my feet alone. But Ripsaw Falls (aside from having the most awkward/uncomfortable logs on earth) has like 5 sections where the water comes over the side of the log and dumps right in your shoes. So unnecessary. After that, figured what the hell and hopped on Popeyes knowing damn well what was coming. I hit both soaking waterfalls dead center, but I knew what to expect with that one. That thing is a hoot. Bid my farewell to Poseidon. It's a fun attraction, bummed to see it go but hopefully they do something good with that building. VelociCoaster is still pumping out 50 second dispatches despite reports that they've slowed down. The line definitely moves slower with the introduction of Fast Pass, but it's not the fault of the crew which still hustles. I'm also not sure why on earth it runs 4 trains. It's impossible to not stack 2 of them on any given ride. Still such a damn good ride. Not sure what my plans are this summer but I feel like whatever I do needs to include Atlanta. The #1 reason is obvious, but I've also never been to SFOG so I'm overdue on that anyway.

Stopped in for a couple hours this afternoon. Weather seemed iffy on the way in with temps in the 40s and showers, but once there the sun came out and temps went up into the 50s so a nice afternoon and low crowds today. Obviously kind of a low staffing time of year, so Crackaxle Canyon was closed, as were Flashback, Blizzard River, and GCG. I believe everything else was open from what I could tell. Batman, Riddler, and Wicked Cyclone all running two trains, Superman running 1 which was fine with it being a station wait. Speaking of Superman, running a bit slow due to the cold wind but they must've done some wheel work because it was running incredibly smooth, like...smoother than any B&M hyper. Lots of food places closed, but had lunch at JB's which I hadn't been to in a while and has gone downhill a bit. The plates are smaller and they don't have different types of sauce on the tables like they used to. Glad I still have the meal plan as I couldn't believe two plates of chicken and 2 drinks rang up to $52. Was in the park for a little over two hours and rode Superman, Joker, Batman, Riddler, Harley Quinn, and Cyclone and ate, so a nice uncrowded day. Overall, the park seems to be in good shape and once we get towards summer they should be good to go. Most waterfalls run into a pond, but a PREMIUM waterfall just spills out all over the pathway. This view looks a little nicer with an open plot of grass than a POS Vekoma. Hopefully Selim will get us something really nice for this spot. Not sure when they traded in that ugly bus for a legit trolley car, but this was pretty cool! They were running this plus TWO trams so I'll give them credit where it is due... and also remember this when they're inevitably running one tram on Saturdays in July.

Not sure if the email they just sent is the first theyve spoken of it or if I just live under a rock, so forgive me if this is common knowledge, but apparently Boulder Dash got some titan track during the offseason. Will have to go check it out. If it's not a lot and the ride still sucks, at least Wooden Warrior isn't far away.

It looks like the NWS is surveying a path that started in Bordentown and pretty much went right down 195 to the shore. Looks like the park may have been spared from major damage but I haven't seen any pics to confirm that. But sounds like a big mess along the highway.

The weather for opening day isn't looking very premium tomorrow. Wonder how many hours they'll actually be open.

I'm sure. But it's just another thing that we all roasted Cedar Fair for two years ago that, meanwhile, Six Flags managed pretty well at the time. Now? Selim'd again.

Per the latest ElToroRyan video, El Toro won't open with the park (expected) but apparently neither will Medusa, Mine Train, or Skyride. I presume Log Flume would be thrown in with those closures as well. Basically HITP plus Kingda Ka/Zum. Not opening an entire end of the park until Memorial Weekend is hella premium.

The previous few posts had me thinking they were going to have to pull an SFNE and tear it down and send it off to Mexico. Glad that they seem to have things figured out.

Was anyone able to make sense of this? I see words such as pretzel, slides, scream, pizza, sunglasses, and store. I also see urn, zombie, die, and sin so I mean they just could be doing Goliath word association. Guessing traction and paved are just coincidences? Moral of the story...I don't see "B&M Dive Coaster" or "Launch Coaster" in there anywhere!

95% of me thinks the rumor is complete BS...Nitro is pretty iconic in the coaster world and in the public. Seems pointless to change it to something generic. The other 5% of me remembers saying the same thing about Superman at SFNE in 2008.

I mean...if it's getting SFNE Goliath's signs, that must mean it's getting Premier trains too right?

SFNE just posted on Facebook there are 3 months till opening day. April 7th is Good Friday, so that makes sense. This would be the earliest opening I can remember.

Wish I could've taken a couple Nitro laps or grabbed a beer with you guys but I had just gotten to the park when I first ran into you and I was spooked by how crowded it was and only had like 3 hours left at that point. When I was marathoning Nitro I almost went up front for a ride but had prime real estate locked down in the back row for like 4 consecutive rides and didn't want to get up lol. The fireworks ride to finish the day was sick. I was surprised they were lighting them off from an open area of the park!

The atmosphere was totally different than 2 years ago for sure. Last time it felt like a warehouse with a couple random stores plus a park and a ski hill. This time it legitimately felt like being in a real mall. It's kind of surreal watching my wife spend millions of dollars at Bed Bath and Beyond and thinking in 3 minutes I'll be spending an equally absurd amount to ride roller coasters. It's great that it finally no longer feels like a place that might shut down next week.

Given the forecast for this weekend (50ish, dry) I feel like whatever is open will be the best case scenario for the rest of the winter when it inevitably decides to actually become winter. Watching this carefully because the skiing up here in New England is bound to suck for the foreseeable future, so might as well go ride coasters instead.

Stopped by the mall for a couple hours this afternoon. Last time I was there was Oct 2020 when the mall had nobody in it and the park REALLY had nobody in it. After hearing about how dead it's been recently I was surprised to see the place really hopping today. Didn't have a lot of time and I spent most of the time shopping with the wife, but stopped in Nick Universe for a few minutes. They had a really healthy crowd and some lines for the more family based attractions, but with pay per ride now available I only had two things I wanted to hit. First was Shellraiser which I really didn't like last time I was there. I had a brutal ride and it left me with a pounding headache. I seemed to be in the minority with this experience and have been looking forward to riding it again and hopefully getting a better ride. I walked right up to a waiting front row and we were off. Definitely had a better ride on it this time around. Very minor bumpiness in spots but nothing much. There is still one brutal moment at the bottom of the big hill where there is a pothole so strong that I felt my brain slosh around in my head, but no headache this time at least. I definitely have a more favorable view of it now...the positives are great in the first half, fun inversions, and a couple areas of great airtime. Launch is great and the drop is incredible. The other ride I hit was Sandy's...not only because I love it but also because I know it can be very temperamental. Walk on for a back seat ride, fantastic as always. Definitely will come back when I have more time so I can make a wristband worth it and ride everything else. Still blows my mind how good a park in a mall can be. Would love to get to Minnesota and check out that park too sometime. Guess my "offseason" starts now although a 2.5 hr drive to the meadowlands or a 3 hr flight to Orlando would take care of that. Hopefully 3 months or so until outdoor parks return in the northeast!

Hit closing day for about 5 hours. With the gorgeous weather it was much busier than I've ever experienced for HITP and while the coaster lines were still pretty short, the crowds kinda took away from the "magic" HITP usually brings. I know I always drank way too much Great Adventure Kool Aid with that statement, but the light crowds and family atmosphere always made it worth only having half the park open. Today felt like Frightfest but with half the park open. I didn't exactly hit a big variety of rides today, but from what I would tell everything was open except Green Lantern. On the other hand, getting food was a bit of a challenge as a lot of stuff was closed and what was open was very busy most of the afternoon. One of my favorite HITP traditions was Bacon Wrapped Pork Kabobs and last year on closing day they sold out by like 4pm, so when we got to the park we went right over to Jersey Devil BBQ and the place was already closed and mothballed. Guess having secondary food places open doesn't fit the premium experience mold as we would see quite a few closed and after walking into a mob scene at Granny's, we had to go over to Yum Yum Cafe for lunch that didn't require waiting 20 minutes. Around 4:30 we finally started riding stuff. Pretty much just hung out in Movietown, hitting Nitro, JDC, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Skull Mountain. Mostly short waits, but by 7 everything was a walk on. After a couple more JDC rides, I decided to do what I did with Superman on SFNEs closing day and spend an hour parked in the back row of Nitro. Had to relocate to row 8 a couple times and briefly ran off for a front row ride on Batman, but returned for a few more laps including the final ride of the year with fireworks in the background for added effect. There was a temperature inversion which was really neat, as the temp would drastically drop in the valleys but warm up on the tops of the tall hills. Briefly ran into coasterbill and crew a couple times at Nitro, ironically I believe this marks the first time I ever met a TPR member outside of a bar. Getting out of the park was a real premium experience as they have a grand total of 4 turnstiles for people to go through, but they are too narrow for strollers to fit so people with strollers had to cut across the mob to get to the wider exit path. That said, the usually mundane task of exiting the park couldn't be done without some people yelling at each other and employees yelling at people because New Jersey. Fun first day of 2023, and keeping the coaster party going tomorrow with a quick stop at American Dream in the works on the ride home.

Looks like the showers for this weekend will be in and out in time for a mostly sunny New Years Day and temps in the 60s. No cold closing day laps on Nitro this year, but hopefully it will be flying instead.

It wouldn't be unsurprising at all, which is why I believed the app lol. Looks a lot different for New Years weekend...50s and 60s possible.

Currently in Orlando: 43 degrees. Hulk and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit closed for temperatures. Currently in Jackson, NJ: 15 degrees. Put a coat on, pull down your lapbar, and enjoy your ride on Nitro.

I'm wondering how long it'll take them to either jack up the price of or totally cancel the grandfathered in memberships. The monthly payments on the new diamond passes are almost $10 per month more than I'm paying for diamond plus meal plan. I'm honestly shocked they've let the old passes live this long and even more shocked that the price hasn't changed since 2019.