kidmanboy

It appears Sandy has been removed from the closed rides list!!! Anyone have confirmation that it's running? Would love to finally get this credit sometime this summer.

I was at Nick Universe on Sunday, and the train is missing its outer shell, seats, and restraints. Definitely appears it's waiting on some parts. Some may recall the front of the train had been removed for most or all of the time it had been operating. I'm bummed to have still not been on this ride - and also bummed that Shellraiser was closed, although it's downtime was known before I bought tickets and seems shortlived.

I was there a couple of weekends ago and the place was absolutely mobbed. We were in the waterpark, but the amusement park was also jammed and people were shopping up a storm. I think this place is catching on. As a semi-local, I've now noticed they're also advertising on radio and through mailers. I think it'll be just fine...

FYI, it appears that within the last couple of weeks, Luna Park has very quietly dropped the gated admission policy and has returned to their traditional pay-per-ride policy (along with a 4-hour wristband option which, at least online, is cheaper than it was this summer). Also, the Cyclone is running excellently! It was running faster than I ever remember it. I was in the front seat of the middle car and still got plentiful airtime.

But what about those kids under 12? Kids who will send their entire classroom into quarantine if they do end up contracting the virus. I think there’s valid reasons for those of us with young children to be concerned about the prospect of large massless crowds that aren’t verified to be vaccinated. I have a stay booked for a few weeks from now and may have to reconsider based on this news.

The majority of parks charge at least $20 to park. I have to spend $3 to park at my local target. I don't think this is worth complaining about.

Deno’s does not offer wristbands. There is a two hour reservation window to enter the park, but it is still pay-per-ride. We were back this past weekend at Luna Park. Granted we were with a kid’s birthday party, so it was slow moving, but with the sanitizing stoppages, the 2 hours goes by fast! I’m not sure you would be able to do everything. The kids waited about 15-20 minutes for the Circus Coaster and the line for The Tickler seemed quite long. Also several rides were having pretty persistent mechanical issues. Hopefully that will improve after they warm up for the season. I didn’t make it down to the Scream Zone. Do they let you pay per ride at those rides as they do for the thunderbolt and cyclone?

Agree that's steep....But Kalahari in the Poconos is also $129.99 for a day pass on the weekend. It seems that's the going rate for an indoor water park in these parts - and judging by photos I've seen recently, despite the pandemic, this place seems to be drawing folks in.

What’s the word on Lightning Racer? From looking at the app, it doesn’t appear as if it’s been open yet. Heading to the park in early June and hoping all of the coasters will be open by then!

They don’t show up in the wood coaster results.

That’s not entirely true. You can still pay individually to ride the cyclone and thunderbolt. Since the “thrill” wristband disappeared from their website, I’m assuming they will also go that route for the rides in the Scream Zone.

Update of the construction on Phoenix at Deno’s. Photos taken earlier today. Overall, Deno’s was running as per usual except for the limited access. I attempted to ride the cyclone on the way out, but they wouldn’t accept my Luna Card from 2019! Looks like I’ll be arguing with customer service. I’ll be back next weekend to check out Luna Park.

Flipping through and I didn’t see either of Indians Beach’s wood coasters. Any reason why they were left out?

Did you guys read the article? Their biggest problem isn’t the entertainment - it’s the retail. I also think the current state of the pandemic would have people a little more hesitant going to indoor amusement parks and especially indoor water parks. A recent photo I saw of the wave pool on a weekend looked like a great way to catch COVID.

I don't understand how anyone in the NY region could be surprised by the prices. My kids can blow through 70 dollars of ride tickets at Deno's in Coney Island in about an hour or two. Last night I spent $160/ticket for a 75 minute broadway show. If they can keep the customer service high, I don't think that price for a climate controlled and massive waterpark is at all outrageous.

Any word on the timeline for Ratatouille? I’m headed to Disney in early June and am hoping both that and Runaway Railway will be open.

I spent the day at Nickelodeon Universe yesterday with the family. We arrived shortly after the 10 AM opening to an empty park and though for sure we’d be able to ride every ride multiple times. We got on the carousel, slime streak, and shredder and played in the paw patrol area by ourselves. Then as we headed over to the shimmer and shine ride (day 1130 or so), the crowds started pouring in. For the remainder of the day the crowds continued to grow. We were able to get on the ropes course, skyline, and shellraiser with only a few minute wait for each, but everything else had a 15-30 minute wait - including, especially, every kids ride. By the end of our 6.5 hours there (with a 1/2 hour break for lunch), we managed to ride the three open roller coasters twice but missed atom smasher, Krang, avatar air bender, the Dora train, Ferris wheel, jellyfish jam, crosstown express. In other words, the park was mobbed with families and there was plenty to do at that pace to fill a whole day. And living 45 minutes away (yes, it was a 15 minute drive from midtown on a Saturday AM) it meant we will be back. I see this place doing just fine - and think the high pay one price may be necessary to keep the crowds manageable on the weekends. All in all we were very impressed. The rides were fun (shellraiser is truly a top tier ride and both of the other open coasters proved to be hits as well) and the staff was very friendly! Their operations could be a bit quicker, but they were working hard (slime streak’s team was timing themselves to try to gain improvement). My one odd complaint is that shellraiser and shredder still had construction dust on them. Given that they’ll never see a good rain, they could use a washing!

So you drove there for for "all our tailgates" but can't stand to drive there for a quality indoor amusement park? Also, the traffic loading and unloading an 80K capacity stadium is much different than that generated by a mall/entertainment center. If you're really concerned, just avoid a game day. I fully expect that once this is fully open, the mall (and local tour agencies) are going to do a lot more to get the tourist market in. I'm not sure why New Jersey residents would rather see this fail, have all of their tax money be a waste, and again have a giant abandoned building on the side of their highway than be glad to enjoy an entertainment center without peer in the area. Good thing the region has plenty of New Yorkers and 60-something million tourists a year!

Isn’t the point that it isn’t “just a friggin mall”? The area does not have an indoor amusement park, indoor ski slope, or indoor waterpark. The LEGOLAND discovery center, Kidzania, and sea life aquarium will also draw people like me, who have to keep two kids entertained through the dead of winter. People are very willing to drive “all the way to the meadowlands” for a day out with the family at these types of things. The negative attitude of New Jersey folks towards this boggles my mind. As a NYC resident this is about the only thing that would draw me across the river.

No, the coaster intertwined with the Eurofighter is a Gerstlauer spinning coaster (both open). The intamin short loop and half pipe coasters are still yet to open but the park has said the latter is expected to be open by this weekend. The Chance family coaster has been open on weekend but closed intermittently during the week - presumably to make adjustments to the restraints, which were a complaint on opening day and the park promised were going to be fixed. Over all, it does seem like the facility wasn’t quite ready (lacking the food court that is slated for between the park and water park and the large Nickelodeon gift shop). But, while expensive, the park is in a market where an all day pass at nearby Luna Park is only 10 dollars cheaper (and with an included ropes course, some additional unique rides, character greeting and climate control, that would seem to make sense). This is a city where people pay $250 to see a 2 hour Broadway show. With a metro area population of 21 million and NYC seeing over 60 million tourists annually, if they’re looking for a price point to keep crowds to a minimum, but still keep people coming in, it would probably be on the high side. I would be disappointed, however, if once the mall opens they don’t allow you to pay per ride so you can ride one roller coaster between your holiday shopping. I would also tend to agree with the predictions or a water park all day pass being over $100.

I agree that there is an odd shuffle on the way out (particularly in the zero g roll) but I find the turn-around and the return trip to be a blast. I also find the restraints to be a vast improvement on Sky Rush's, which were PAINFUL to my thighs. I do agree, however, that the cars could use a bit more padding. Not quite the "major" coaster I've been hoping for this park, but still a giant leap forward from the other small steel coasters Zamperla has added to the park.

I got a chance to ride it yesterday and have to say it greatly exceeded my expectations. Some of the transitions were a bit jerky, but it was still smoother than I expected given Zamperla's history. The turnaround element and the final corkscrew provided some great sensations. I rode in the front middle seat and the final corkscrew felt like I always imagined the B&M heartline roll is supposed to feel - you float and the car just rotates around you. There's also a few great airtime moments and there is a fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline from the top of the lift. It's a great addition to the park, and on opening weekend late on a Sunday afternoon, the wait was only about 30 minutes with two cars running.

First post!! I just updated my lists. Top 10 wood: 1) boulder dash 2) voyage 3) el toro 4) tremors 5) legend 6) timber terror 7) comet 8) ghostrider 9) coney island cyclone 10) the beast Top 10 steel 1) bizarro (sfne) 2) millennium force 3) storm runner 4) tatsu 5) maverick 6) x2 7) xcelerator 8) nitro 9) diamondback 10) ride of steel (Darien lake)