chadster

^^ I agree, but its not just great adventure that needs more flats, all SF parks do. I really enjoyed great adventure when I was there, however, as I recall, the only "thrilling" flat they have is a huss top spin, they don't even have an S&S anything, slap some towers or a swing in there and combine that with a frisbee or other quality huss rides and you have something. The basics are in place, but add about three more attractions (outside of Chang) and then you would, IMO, have a well rounded park. They have plenty of room to add things around the park, and god forbid they have to remove a game or two.

the only time I've gotten a walkon ride on volcano is during the 10 minute early in, and I ran back to it, luckily, it was up and running

Yes, this scarey charcter lives in my hood.

Thanks again Larry! Another twenty minutes has been successfully burned at my desk, looking forward to the rest of your journey!

i'm starting to think paddle boats

I'm just sayin for me, it doesn't scream make a special effort to come out and ride it this season. There are many coasters I won't ride over and over, and yet there are certain fliers that I will ride over and over. I know it's not a thrill ride, it's a water ride with a tall drop and big splash at the bottom, and staying wet all day just doesn't interest me, that's all I'm sayin on it. I do feel bad for CF that the interest level isn't too high ( by high, I mean lines wrapped around two or three times) judging only by reports of queue time length.

i think a 300 foot tall, elevator cable lift version of the switch back would be cool

yeah, a billion in the hole and selling a ship is gonna get them out of it, not.....So I guess we have less than three weeks before they tell us what they are really up to, I am ready for whatever it is, because honestly, STR just isn't something that screams to me "hey, book a flight and come ride me all day, it'll be awesome" I mean for some it probably does, and it looks like it is themed really well, so I give them credit for that. Of course, I'm not a huge water ride fan, but will ride them on occasion, so that might have something to do with it

^Thanks, it was a scorcher that's for sure and I only last an hour and a half. I too am glad it's open most all of the year, I just hope this year since the giant will be down during the holiday's that they open batman and run at least one train, likewise on Mr. Freeze.

^ no no, that's okay, work productivity won't decrease at all, no way, nada, same production level Actually I spend all day waiting for nodes to break down or people to call and complain, and that, thankfully, doesn't happen too often, and when it does, its 90% of the time an id10t error...

Awwwwwesome Larry, you just assisted me in screwing off for 45 minutes at work, can't wait for the reamaining parks, I need to screw off some more, Thanks so much!

it would be easier if they just let you take a couple of bottles of water in on super hot days. I personally usually wear baggy enough shorts that a pepsi or aqua bottle will fit in my back pocket with a shirt covering it and walk on in. so far i haven't been caught... another option is to have filtered water stations in the park where you can refill your 4.00 bottle you purchased earlier when you want. Speaking of that, I need to check the KD/KI forum, i thought i saw where CF was testing out that concept on soda....but could be wrong.

I just have to think in the back of my mind that HRRR should have been put over at IOA instead of Universal, but I suppose being as it's placement is by the concert facility at UO it sort of fits. OR they are getting the point that they need to update a bit with more thrilling rides, problem is, the thing breaks down all the time, even when I took a survey the lady asked if there were any rides that were broke when I arrived to the line queue and she already was marking the Rockit on the sheet before I got it out of my mouth. That and they are still advertising it as being new, which I suppose it might be to a point, but for me, you only get 6 to 9 months out of the new claim before people start laughing at it. They just need a woodie. Theme it to rambo weaving in and out of the forest with bombs and gun fire, dipping below ground multi times to avoid getting blown up, and then you have a good, somewhat current feature ride. That or they just need an Achmed the Dead Terriost attraction where you can blow S#%T up. Now that would be cool.

^wow, still? thats disappointing to hear. Thanks for the insight!

Coming from someone who used to live and work there, I can agree with The Bebes on every point. If you are looking for Credits, also check out Adventuredome at Circus Circus (last I was there you could get ride tickets if all you want is the coaster) and Sahara for Speed (you get two shots at it) For thrills, Stratosphere, ride the S&S (launch is kinda soft) or hang off the edge on one of their three other rides, including jumping off the top of the building for a c-note. The Rio does have the best buffet around, Planet Hollywood is also a good bet. You didn't mention which Cirque show you had tickets to, but "O", KA, Mystere, and Love are good shows. I have yet to see the Elvis production, and again I agree, stay away from Cris Angel and Zumanity. There are lots of good Italian restuarants at the Venetian/Palazzo including Mario Batalli and Wolfgang Puck, also check out Craft Steak at MGM and Emeril's. Spago (Wolfgang) at Ceaser's Palace's Mall is always a good bet. Don't fogert that Hoover Dam is not far away and they offer two different tours. Take the "VIP" tour, it's not much more than the regular tour and you can get down on the floor where the generators are. If you are looking for speed, checkout LVMS.com, they have where you can ride in/drive an indy car a few times of year, and Richard Petty's Experience is there too, also if you are into cars Carrol Shelby offers a tour of the factory, call ahead for reservations, the tour only happens once a day. The excalibur, hooters, imperial palace, tropicana, and sahara are dumps. Unless you plan on taking lots of gambling money and plan on losing it (hey I programmed slots in a former life, I know how they work) you may find when you get there you really don't know what you are going to do. The advice I give to everyone going to Vegas for that length of time is to pre-plan and allow for so much money each day, if you don't, by day 4 your will either be bored, wore out, or broke. If you do find wanting something different to do, check out Mt. Charelston, it's not too far away and a nice peaceful area. Another note, there are multiple half price ticket locations where you can get really cheap tickets for same day shows. Tix4tonite is the place to go. One is at the coca cola store, hawaian market place to name a few. Carrot Top is worth the half price ticket and they sometimes have ticket to the NYNY coaster for half price, tho I haven't seen it recently. Also you can get Hoover Dam tickets (sometimes), but don't expect someone like Elton John or "O" to be half price, Jersey Boys is a good production and you can sometimes get those for 25% off. Blue man group is ok, but not worth full price. Another funny character is George Wallce at the Flamingo. Like I said, plan it out a little but not to the minute, and you will have fun.

so now that we are in to mid July, of those who've recently been to the park, whats the lines like on STR? I'm more curious than anything.

Just finished fully taking a looksee at your pics after a quick skim earlier. the park is looking great for this time of year and I look forward to coaster Mayham next month. Thanks for the picks! If you haven't shot one his way already, Larry was missing a pic of the ferris wheel for the park index, sadly out of over 1k pics of the park, I don't have one if the ferris wheel. Thanks again!

The least hot is right after it opens for the season in March through May, it's also open and cool in November and December, tho Batman and Mr. Freeze historically don't run during the holidays

For my final park, I drove up to SFOT for about the 6th time this year. (My sis lives around Dallas) I was greeted at the parking lot by an abundance of staff directing traffic and taking money (or season pass parking in my case). just 20 minutes after opening, the parking lot was filling up. The temperature was rising (10:50 = 96) so I got a move on. There was a major difference in staffing levels and park attendance vs SFFT. While you could tell that they had adjusted some outlets to open later and of course a few rides (uggg, why on a hot day would they not open the rapids until noon?????), any reduction in staffs that had been done at other parks were clearly not done here. Fully staffed, and fully packed. The rides that weren't have heat related trouble (we will get to that in a minutes) were running fantastic. Shockwaves winter/spring rehab did it well as the trains were running smooth and the ride was performing well. Batman and Mr. Freeze both had their A/C's runnin which was a welcome sign, and outside shockwave was a giant inflatable coke bottle that you could walk in, play video games, get your picture took, have free coke, and cool down to 70. I put my camera up in a lock box early on and just didn't have the umph two hours later to get more pics but there are plenty running around the site anyway. So.....here are the few pics I have Titan was running well, and I didn't get stuck on it!!! Line was short early on, but got longer as more people migrated to the back of the park. Always start at the back.... The all new texas giant lift hill. No one out working on it today, and can't say that I blame them. 11:15 = 97 La testing, opened a short time later, didn't ride it, and if you haven't been to SFOT, don't be fooled by the long line, it goes really fast, usually a 30 minute max wait hmmm, I would have to dig for old pics, but I could have sworn this used to be the Mr. Six Dance Party, it's now the Looney Toons Dance party? Maybe I'm wrong, but it would give strength to screamscapes rumor that Mr. Six is being retired. Plenty of shopping to cool off in passing by kiddie land still got places to eat this is a cool new addtion, they actually have non theme park logo clothes in here, geared toward the tween crowd. Aquaman's (wet boat ride) sign is looking sparkly Tony hawk was suffering from heat exhaustion maintenance was working hard to get it going, and it did open around 11:30 which by the way = 99 the cho cho opens at noon, but they offer you a ride on the mine train as a substitute superman power of tower was also suffering from the heat, only up shots, no down shot after the up. Was told the ride would overheat when attached to the top charging up and then go into fault, I wouldn't want to be up 325 feet and then get stuck, been there, done that. so we head to batman were I left my camera in a lock box to finish riding, so this is where the pics end. BTW the temp now is to damn hot to be outside up up and over, weeeeee. I hurt my ribs on the rattler and could only stand to ride once, but it was worth it. as we leave for the day, I must note it is still a clean, friendly park, and look forward to returning soon, well, maybe in september when it cools off!

^^ this is true. Advanced Instructions: Click Start > Run type "cmd" type "ipconfig /flushdns" or, right click on desktop, hold down shift, right click mouse, release shift, select run command prompt here then type "ipconfig /flushdns"

wipeout inclosed with strobe lights. http://www.worldsoffun.org/explore/Rides.asp?ID=14&ParkID=1

from a command prompt ipconfig /flushdns

looks like they've got their utilities marked out, here comes Chang, i like Chang for some reason, and I'm not a huge fan of that flavor....

google the title, you will be shocked at all who carried the story...

People just don't realize how much time and energy go into clubs and organizations. I have a similar problem myself with work related events and leagues that I've worked hard to put together. I really don't mind doing the work, I rather enjoy it. However, the wants and glorified expectations from some, sometimes make it less enjoyable for me when the event or outing occurs. I have learned to take it with a grain of salt and make an effort to ensure those people don't have a chance to influence anything in the future Before joining this site and later the club, I lerked for quite a few years. I'm glad I'm a member and thankful for the hard work you and Robb put forth for the enjoyment of myself others across the country. It takes a special type of people to dedicate their every spare moment to a club or organization, or in this mid season election time, a politcial campaign, and I have to say the two of you are those special type of people willing to, I'm sure at times, sacrifice here and there to ensure others have a good time. I mean think about it, you two have put together something that reaches people all over the world, and have done a damn fine job in the process. So when people criticize, expect more, or complain about something that you've work really hard to put together, and something that's not even on the schedule, then maybe they deserve a boot to land somehwere Oh, and thanks for the update, I am thoroughly enjoying it. I seriously hope to have the opportunity for WCB next year.