RandallDuell

Great photos - I guess there hasn't been any RMC-branded vehicles on site? Also, and this may sound odd, it's still striking to me how vivid the old hills are in the structure...do we have close ups of what they look like? It's really interesting that all these years later, they're still so prominent when you look at the structure.

Funny how the old school rides like The Edge (SFGAm) and FreeFall (SFMM) and others like it really did/do provide a much better free fall experience....obviously it was a true free fall experience, and I think that all of that clattering sound really added to the fear factor. I've tried keeping up on, then reading back through, this thread - but why do the seats need to start returning to the "home" position" that early? I see that 130' of the tower is brakes, too! Sorry if this has been discussed, or is an insanely easy explanation, but why don't they stay in the face-down position until, say, 20 feet up - then rotate back to load/unload position? What I'm wondering is why the rotation back to the sitting position seems to be PART of the drop? If anything, it seems like it would be easier to rotate without the ride is motion, right? Or maybe I'm wrong. Clearly, either way, I'm confused!

It would be interesting to see how many non season pass holders they have to turn away - and how angry people get. I don't really understand this perk, as it seems that it would only cause bad PR for the park. I don't know, just seems odd to have an entire? day where the ride is having trains sent out with people on it - but only folks who bought a season pass get to ride (the day before they literally start tearing down/modifying parts of the ride structure.

Great, thanks for the clarification. Anyway, back on topic: I didn't realize that a couple of the rides had already found their way to a local Myrtle Beach park (Seaside) - http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/08/01/4383202/seaside-amusement-park-keeps-fun.html

Did you have an actual idea where these rides are going, or were you just busting balls? Clearly no one "followed" your trail, and this thread has been buried....if you know, would you mind posting it? I checked out screamscape, and apparently that really cool "Whammy Bar" neon sign is up for sale on eBay - I wonder how in the heck a guy from VA got that sign, and why he's just now deciding to sell it (unless he just picked it up during this recent flurry of activity at the old park)? Also, for a sign that size $2500 seems really light for a starting price...especially because it's fully functional! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whammy-Bar-Sales-And-Service-Est-1955-Neon-Sign-Amusement-Park-Hard-Rock-Large-/301249933379 (edit to add: the guy selling this sign has some other Hard Rock/Freestyle stuff for sale -- I wonder if he was some sort of amusement vendor who was allowed back in to reclaim items, and was given/allowed to take some other stuff??) They also mention a tweet that states that several pieces of track have already been removed from the park.

Have to agree about Raging Bull's trim - an absolute killer. Has anyone who has attended an enthusiast/TPR/ACE event had a chance to get a clear answer on "why" - both to this brake AND to the death of the holding brake on V2? They seem like small things, but both of those really do change the experience on two of the park's excellent coasters.

We also had one of the worst single customer service moments at the park as well. I honestly don't think they care. Between how we were treated by the president of the park, their group sales, and their guest relations office, and it seems our experiences are the norm not the exception, I really just don't think this park cares any more. Calling to complain I feel would just fall on deaf ears. On one hand I'd like to say that it's Six Flags company-wide, as Great America is not the only park in the chain we've seen a recent decline in customer service, but we had an absolutely AMAZING visit to Great Adventure a few days later. I think it's pretty clear that some parks get it and some don't. Perhaps the team at Great Adventure should spend some time in Gurnee showing them how a park should be run. Do you care to expand on this - or maybe you have somewhere else, already, that you could point me to? I understand it was something about your daughter's height - and even after you got a height wristband, she was given a hard time by the ride attendant? I'm sorry if this is posted in detail somewhere else, I've only seen references to it here and there. I'm curious, as I've been to this park every year since it opened - and while it's quite a bit of distance (in every aspect) from the Marriott days, I'm with most others here when I say that I've never come close to anything other than a minor inconvenience...and have multiple "wow, that was really nice/thoughtful" type stories from the park (both things I've observed and things I've experienced). The situation with the beer sounds pretty ridiculous, but having read prozach's attitude, in general, over several years in the SFSTL thread - it doesn't surprise me, and I'm certain that any amount of real fault on the employee's part was at least matched by the customer. Anyway, sorry for the long post - it, as it did others, just strikes me as odd that this park is suddenly getting a bad rep (at least here).

Is there any sort of updated estimate of opening for Fury? This isn't going to turn into a Flying Turns, right? Also, I'm struck by how much slack is given to the park/manufacturer here -- I get that it's a prototype, but holy smokes what would the discussion be like, right now, if this were Six Flags Tampa?

Fair enough - seems strange that there isn't someone with a "guy" at the park that might have mentioned what is going on, right? And I did note that there was off and on downtime lately - but based solely on that, I'm not sure how you can flatly say "no" when someone suggest that the noise may be an issue (again). I get that it's not as likely as some mechanical/track issue (based on the recent downtime), but seems like it could be a possibility (as the noise issues did cause downtime early on, right (meaning they had to shut it down until they erected more tunnels etc>)). Anyway, curious if anyone has tried calling or emailing the park and simply asking what's up -- or, what the employees are telling people when asked?

What does that mean? Assuming your short response indicates that you know why it's been closed, why not post that? If you have no idea, I'd think that the sound issue wouldn't be an absurd idea to throw out there. I always find it strange when people post "I know something but can't say" type posts -- I noticed that in the Hard Rock/Freestyle thread, too. Apparently some here KNOW where those rides are going/gone, and it should be obvious to everyone else, but the poster can't just come out and say it. Sorry - got off track there. That just seems like a very short response, and assuming you are correct - surely you must know why. ALSO: is there a specific reason why there is no " 's " on the end of California in this thread's title? For a long time I assumed it was branded as California Great America - but after seeing a map or something, it is California's Great America.

Didn't a ride OP state both were closing? Also, put me down as a 'that sucks' vote in terms of taking out another car ride at an amusement park.

Thanks, I wasn't paying attention to the actual length of the marathon, and that they'd be mandated to actually stop the ride to do their usual inspection(s). That's a bit of a haul from the front to the back of the park -- and I'm guessing people basically sitting for hours on end will probably have leg cramps, right? I'm assuming they'll have golf carts or something? Or maybe now I'm over thinking it!

This seems incredibly tone deaf and pointless, no? What's the point of this? It literally sounds like they're trying to convey that "hey, we'd have to PAY you to ride this ride for an extended amount of time!!" Am I the only one confused by the elaborate nature of this? And what exactly do they do during the three hour "scheduled" break? Also: why are they using a @gmail.com gmail address for the contact? Seems like amateur hour, right?

Paula, you seem like a swell lady!

Incredible job by the team at Holiday World - how many other parks have been this successful at allowing ZERO leaks ahead of time? I know it helps that they're not a GIANT park, but still...impressive. I don't follow this park too closely, but it's interesting just how quickly they chose to go big steel after the "split" in the family...right? Seems like they were pretty consistent with what they did for years, and now that a part of the family is down in AL, you get a BIG deal like this. unrelated: prozach continues to make really impressive contributions to the forum

So if you literally spread out entering the single rider line (group member #1 walks up .... member #2 waits a 15 MISSISSIPPI then walks up .... then member #3 strolls in a few beats later), that's ok? If they can "tell" you're together, that's a no-go? Really? I've actually wondered about this, as I could imagine me and my friends/family just choosing to go to the single rider line together...and wondered why "everyone" wouldn't do this? This is an interesting topic I don't think I've seen discussed.....the park is leaving it up to a 16 year-old attendant to make the judgment call/to tell people "no" when an obvious group shows up to save some time in the single rider line?

Is anyone here going out to the park soon, and interested in doing a photo trip report? I understand they cut down quite a few trees, and did a lot more trimming, in Ninja's course. Also, have we seen a current picture of the track where the tree fell? I'm assuming there was no damage to the track, just wondering if there is any visual evidence that anything happened there? Also interested if anyone has ridden the new kid's coaster - from pictures I've seen, it looks decent. Thanks!

Maybe it's really 400 groups per day? So that'd be 800-1200 people per day? I can see a raft only being ready to launch/clear once very 60secs.....so if it's doing about 50-60 groups/rafts per hour X 8 operating hours?

The last two posts are very strange to me - why does this ride have a higher liability? And how do you know it's not going anywhere? Am I wrong in saying that it looks like a tree uprooted a bit and literally leaned against the track? I keep seeing "branch" used, but some of the pictures I've seen look to be more than just a branch....

I don't get the snarky thread rename? Have you ridden this thing? Has anyone? It's already slow and boring based off of an early POV with sandbags? Guess you have some power if you happen to start a thread!

Did anyone here make it out to the Speedy Gonzalez / Bugs Bunny World grand opening? Looks like they did a really nice job refreshing the area, and the coaster looks pretty nice......... It's also insane to see the Carrot Club theater actually all shiney and ready to go! Hopeful someone from this site/board made it out to cover this.

By your reaction I'm guessing that they don't disclose this at time of purchase, saving it as a pleasant surprise for you at the ride platform? Seriously, I don't know what you think would be a better option for a new ride - especially THIS ride. If I were into paying extra fees to avoid waiting with the unwashed masses, I'd certainly be appreciative/excited that they at least had some option for me. Price point seems high, but it's all supply/demand....why not gouge those who can't be bothered with waiting? I know in your shoes there is no way you'd ever give them credit for this, but for the vast majority of guests that DO wait I think it's a smart move to not further slow up the wait time by allowing/selling multiple re-rides etc. Sounds like a crappy deal to me, but that's the choice you make - again, while you'd never do it I certainly give them credit for giving some consideration to the thousands of people waiting in line (by not further clogging up the throughput with multiple rides for people buying their way to the front).

The filter isn't going anywhere, since YOLOCoaster is a much better name than what Six Flags calls it! Yahhhh! On an unrelated note, what's the status of Sky Tower? I don't see it on Magic Mountain's website, and I've not read any recent gossip about it?

Huzzah!

I humbly request a Photo TR from anyone who stops by the park soon -- I'm interested to see how the park is looking, and specifically interested in more photos around the old Hannibarrels site -- I'm still not quite picturing how it fits in/looks in that area (despite seeing some closeups of the actual ride). Also, does Six Flags do any sort of cross-promotion with the City Museum?