bill_s

They would have announced already something opening with the park next year, but just when would they announce something opening later in the year? Is there any precedent? It may be too early to even predict. Only 2 months late so far.

I went to one local haunt that was quite good. It also grouped you with around 7 people and used scenes. I had one obnoxious kid in my group (have to consider could have been karma). If you can bring your own group with you, you will probably have a better time. On the other hand, I went to another that wasn't near as good and was also mobbed. Dragging friends along might have made that one worse. Something to consider when attending haunts.

KD has more, KD has better, but like almost any park SFA has some things the others don't. And, if you aren't ready to be picky and just want roller coasters they definitely have them.

I305's was down last night and has been since midday Sunday. I guess breaking a rib would have been worse than getting here to no Intimidator. I used to drive by every day, did that for 4 years before deciding I'm going in. Lame friends or awkwardness won't stop me, I'm there and it's time to ride. I must have stopped outside and stared at Dominator 5 times before that.

Last night was decent, actually could have been gloomier and wetter but was better than too much. Medium-short lines on houses at peak, short for rides. Of the houses, I liked the new Trick or Treat and was tempted to go through again (I will eventually of course). I don't know if they need to learn to work Blackout but it was a huge loss compared to Club Blood. I got a solo trip through Darkside Manor and it was great. That, T&T and maybe the Doll's House are the musts for houses. The new Urgent Scare is basically Maze of Madness renamed. Also good but tends to collect a line. As to Saturday/reccs, rained all night but finally moving off. Remember FoF closes early (and backs up just before, probably). Dominator front row is actually great, it's just weird how little of that you get in the 2nd row. Grizzly is more any non-wheel seat but RY is front 2 rows or near back. Frankly, I305 is any seat but of course you'll want to try its extremes at least once.

Taking a chance with rain and storms can be worth it for locals but may be too chancy for a long trip. But unless you're planning on fast pass, on a Saturday it's still probably better... unless you're mainly interested in Dragster. I went to my park 2 evenings close together with the exact same forecasts which were equally correct. I think it rained a little on one but was pleasant. The other there was a storm starting 1.5 hours from close, knocking out the entire visit. You never know... There was a storm the time I went to Hershey. I saw a nice show and if I'd gone on and took a short break and eaten without going to the suddenly-crowded Chocolate World, so I'd been waiting for the rides to open and got the best break in the crowds, it would have worked out as a big plus, since I needed to do some of that stuff anyway.

New is cool and grabs attention. I can get tired of going to the same old park a little and definitely can get tired of dragging my ass around in them, but any decent coaster ride and I remember why I'm there. I'd really have to work on it to actually get bored with a coaster, merely riding something a couple thousand times over the last 20-40 years doesn't come close. It worked out great with my local park's last big addition, but I actually have a concern of a fancy new ride bringing in tons of people far beyond the increase in the park's capacity, thus harming the whole park and contributing very little usable value.

Looks like the vertical track has more vertical strength, supports simple weight, plus just the visual effect on & off ride. In a sense this isn't coaster because it doesn't coast, but actually it could depending on how the drive works and is made to feel. You get an accelerator but they control the brakes

CBS channel 6 had on the news last night that riding coasters can be good for you in helping clear out kidney stones! Kept showing a POV clip of Shockwave over and over, between little clips of other stuff. I knew it was good for you.

^^-- no I think it was just for a smooth ride. When Hypersonic was in its original prototype state before being installed at KD it had giant drag car slicks for the back tires!!!

The first weekend is somewhat crowded, but then it also usually seems too warm for Haunt yet to me so that might have a lot to do with it. After that it's fairly light or at least very weather dependent. The second to last weekend perks up and the last is crowded unless partially after Halloween (not this year). Suddenly lining up to freeze on I305 is the thing to do. With the late closing times, things will taper off nicely at the end unless they were just that crowded. You only can be so many places at one time though and maybe the thing about fast passes is you can keep going right through the worst part of the day. At the same time, it's likely you would only really "need" it to do all rides and haunts on a Saturday or in only 5 hours some Friday nights. Saturdays are the only days that get really crowded at KD, it's alright but the other days are so good. They run in the rain when possible, but I305 is pain and they've seemed a little more cautious since that opened.

OMG they're still building those things. No improvements either. A decent flyer would 1) allow you to see where you're going, look at a pic of Superman flying he's got his head tilted back in a way impossible with headrests, also your body could be tilted less, not as flat. 2) no pretzel loop torture (high Gs on back), which would be also required to remove/change said headrests. 3) the only reason to even endure any of that would be to have airtime in the layout, mostly noninverting but also an inverted stall type maneuver.

^^-- They just got rid of a standup, why would they want a flyer, the only thing worse? At least when KD finally gets another coaster, they should be able to avoid those mis-steps and failed experiments. I haven't tried the wing so I can't say on that, at least you're sitting down. (actually I think all those ride formats could be made better, but that wasn't the point)

This and this. If you have a ride as wildly popular as Shenandoah Lumber Company (and every Log Flume basically) and you want it to last forever then you can and should make it last forever. Those links are very interesting and I agree. The ride that got my parents/family back there (once) after the preview year visit. They could do with another slightly wet ride.

I hope it's open during Holiday. A nice thick coat and hat do wonders.

After riding Batman again (bringing my count on it from 2 to 7) I still think the SLC is the more intense layout and 2 wide cars have at least as many good seats. But the cars have a side-side resonance frequency and the weird restraints hurt my shoulders, so the intensity is a disadvantage. I don't know if retracking is needed but I'd sure like to try better trains/restraints. OTOH it's already over 20 years old and the Morey's version has a far better setting and is as ambitious a ride that anyone would care to try operate in that location.

Depends on how much coasters you have done. If you're picky, Great Adv. or Cedar Point. If you have a lot of catching up to do, the parks further south are somewhat to substantially less crowded. Kings Dominion and BGW down here in Virginia are a great 2 day combo.

I meant the end of Halloween season that the weather rule doesn't apply (replying to "in a few weeks" although maybe that meant a couple months). I knew that would be mistaken as soon as I turned off the computer this morning. I have mixed feelings about fastpasses. They are a money grab, but there is no perfect solution. The standard Flash is brilliant, from the park's perspective anyway, because people spend even more money waiting while not in line. I remember thinking there ought to be some way to skip the line back in 1975 or 6 at a park with only one big line for the one big coaster.

Actually, for only $50 ("$45" I saw) you still get plenty of time to catch them. Just stand in line for a less popular ride while Flash waiting for a popular one. This is so true at Great Adventure. Remember this in a few weeks because when it's 29 degrees with a gale warning. You're right, there won't be lines but you better get to Nitro fast because it's dispatching at 1PM sharp with or without you and it may or may not make it back to the station so don't miss it. On the last weekend, it could still be mobbed. Still, when I look outside at ugly weather I have trouble believing the park is even open. Of course they are.

There's at least a few of us for which one overnight trip anywhere is a lot. This website's free and my local park costs as little as $2 per visit (6 with gas). And I consider myself lucky.

Honestly everyone was buying rounds every time we stopped, I probably spent $50 on beer and then lunch but I would easily spend that if not more going out to brunch with friends down here in the city. Also, I didn't pay to get in (season pass) and we didn't get flash pass, I didn't play any games or buy anything besides beer and food, and we had a great day beyond the rides just hanging out and catching up, so Id say it was money well spent. Wasn't trying to be critical, just put costs in perspective, and it really didn't even do that. Actually, my day was far more expensive than yours, coming so far. My issue is that if really waited 'til I could afford it, I'd be too old to ride and half those rides would be falling down by then. The more the cost of the trip demands Flash, the less I can afford it. This was my biggest trip in 15 years. I think a big reason I didn't get Flash Pass is with 3 options I didn't see a "sweet spot", if Standard is good then Gold is better etc. ... but actually now I realize that Standard was a kind of sweet spot for last Sunday. As it was, I met my "goals" of experiencing every ride I wanted to at least once, and all but one twice or more. Standard would have made it possible to go well past that minimum and approach my riding limits, although require more walking and strategy than the higher options. I may consider Gold or Platinum in the future if it allows me to do it as a day trip, but the middle of the day is the hottest. This is a terrible strategy to employ. As you can see by my day with moderate crowds if you are strategic and not wandering around aimlessly looking for a ride without a line, you can get a lot in. The app definitely helped I'll admit, but even without it I think we would have had similar success. Also, history shows us that the park is notoriously busy Saturdays in October so with a month and half notice of a trip its simply smart to put the money aside starting now and be prepared for it. If you don't need it because of weather or whatever, then you are $100 richer. If I was coming to GreatAdv for a one time type trip I would absolutely budget for FP because its a huge popular regional park that typically is busy. I would never ever travel far to a park without budgeting for the highest level of FP, especially knowing that the day & time of year I was visiting is particularly busy - you're only setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment which does not make for a fun day @ a park. Of course my suggestion is highly flawed, for one thing sometimes nothing like that will help. But when it comes to crowds, you do have a good guess and it makes sense to rethink your first impulse. Saturdays are my big pet peeve, I went to parks on Saturdays for years because I couldn't convince my companion to wait a day. We might wait a lot in lines and leave the park saying it sucked but next time it would be the same. Of course we knew Sunday would be better, but we were never there then so had no idea HOW MUCH better. Likewise with weather, heading out early, riding near the entrance/exit near the ends of the day. I'm giving out too much info even without specifics .

Again, it's simple: think of the best time, or what first comes to mind, for you to go and that's almost always the same as the worst time to go, because other people are like you. Be George on Sienfeld in "opposite" mode and do the opposite of what you'd normally do in theme parks and you're set.

boldikus, so I did see you yesterday at Toro around noon, I shouldn't have been shy but it's weird only knowing internet names ... I'm kind of mad at myself for not getting basic Flash Pass. The morning Ka strategy was effective enough that I underestimated the need. On further thought, the standard Flash is perfect for someone like me who came a long way to a "moderate" (for there) crowd but is only human and can only ride so much. Probably would have been $10 per extra ride but on the better rides and also less stress and more chance to cool off. I mean, boldikus must have spent that much on beer. I even considered going on and getting one late afternoon after 2/3 of the day without it. One thing was, I slept little or none Sat. night at the hard bed hotel and was uncertain about the 4.5+ hour drive back last night. I could have run out of energy and had to stop wherever I could despite the cost. The incremental cost was low but I have difficulty justifying the total cost of this trip ... although I'm already ready to go back. Also, Flash would have given me equality to those with the park app on their smart phones while still leaving the rest of the outside world outside, as it should be. On to the pseudo-trip report ... I went 1.5-2 hours Saturday night. Stood in line an hour for my only Nitro ride, but it was a good one. So dark out there and it being my first time on it was actually a little scary. Could have waited half that at closing time but it was a long day, should have could have.. still, with this, managed night rides on opposite sides of the park between the 2 days. They were running 3 trains with only 2 seat check people and making the station mostly vacate before letting people in, making the 3rd train useless. [batman] The Ride was the only one I rode both days, 5 total. I also heard people saying it's rough . I couldn't handle a lot of rerides on it myself but really liked riding again after nearly 2 decades. I was right back then that back center seats really box you in and suck, this time I found even row 3 outside is diminished and center front row is really how it's intended to be experienced. I think the 2 sharp curves in the middle of the layout add a lot. Good ride for something normal coaster sized. On to day 2, straight to Ka. Was nervous first ride and went for the back. Wow. It really does vibrate from the speed. I was correct that the height didn't bother me that much since it's a coaster. Went back around for the front. Felt like it was going to rip my eyelids off, crazy. Also wasn't as much like Hypersonic as I expected. That coaster launched to ~2/3s the speed in maybe a sixth the distance and the spike felt totally different, with ejector air vs. Ka's feels like it's not going to make it. One hell of a machine, for sure. Someone said Toro was down then but probably opened minutes later. Anyway, went on to Bizarro. 1st ride, loved it, but after the reride the comparison to Dominator became clearer. The addition of an Immelman and zero-G roll on top of all of Dominator's inversions types is nice, but the ride becomes all inversions and lacks the high speed turn, loop hangtime and pop of air off the MCBR of Dominator. Laughed hard at the corkscrew thing in the middle of the interlocking corkscrews, funnily I was thinking Dominator's 'screws want something there just a few weeks ago. Felt a little sick after 2 rides there, between the heat and the inversions. Back to El Toro. The 2 day rides were really great but still seemed like a cross of I305 and any good woodie. My first night ride had me going OMG OMG OMG insane! The ejector is different from I305, mostly from the lap bars but also not quite at that speed level so you get a sharper descent coming down the hills. That last ejector is as insane as they say, pretty small hill to get that level of force and descent angle, and that sound it makes there is scary. The finale of curves also doesn't let up 'til the end. On the negatives, the big one is: better get your rides now because it's rough enough already. Some quibbles, the prefab construction is often mentioned but at least as important, this is a urethane wheel coaster, not a true wood coaster of which the steel wheels on steel are almost as distinguishing a feature as the wood construction (This park doesn't have any of those running). Also the restraint was uncomfortable on me because the sensors required otherwise unnecessary tightness. It really looks like the restraints could handle 2-3 clicks larger at least, for larger guests. For lunch I went to Best of the West, seeking A/C. Food was good though small and overpriced but once I got a little in me and looked around it was worth it. This really is an impressive structure with huge logs and not only that is inside the log flume! Just looked it up, this dates back to the original park opening in 1974. I can't imagine anyone building something like that now. By then, it started to get crowded and hot. Looked around and decided Green Lantern was the only doable line. Wasn't bad at all but wasn't good either. It doesn't feel like the standing position is vulnerable because it doesn't try to make you feel like you're going to be thrown out. What you're left with is a very mild looper without even any airtime back row on the drop and some need to be careful of the restraints. What I'd like to see is a standup with straps at most over your shoulders and nothing else next to your head, designed by someone who knows and cares what standups are about like Togo did but better (or even the same, really). Next was Houdini's Great Escape. This was really cool. It did make me slightly sick but not like a simulator ride like I was afraid it was. In fact this is a good measure of my motion sickness so if someone felt the same and has also ridden Joker I'd like to hear about it. At this point I headed out of the park for a bit a break from the crowds and heat and a rest. Came back to much cooler and a few more laps on The Ride. Nitro was an hour again so I went onwards. I could have probably walked faster to where I should have been going than waiting in line for the Skyride, but you can really see the size of the park skyline from it, from Nitro leaving the park proper on one side to Bizarro and Ka on the other. This was one view and feeling of awe that will probably stay with me and drive me to return above all. .... From there I checked Mine Train, line too long, Bizarro, long line, Toro ditto, running out of time .... Well there was one substantial coaster left unridden so I waited for Superman Ultimate Flight. I found this worse than Green Lantern and it's ironic or something they have probably the world's largest collection of B&M novelty riding position coasters next to each other. You feel less like Superman and more like a wounded person he's carrying who's in no mood to enjoy the view. The main thing it has over Batwing is it's thankfully shorter. I did like the pop of air entering the pretzel loop. I've already covered my last 2 rides on Toro. I went back to Ka at closing time for one more ride and heard it break down as I arrived -- should have stayed at Toro but you gotta try. After not even hearing test runs for 10 mins., I made the prudent choice and headed home. As to the park overall. I like that in some ways it feels more like a smaller park, sort of lumpy walkways, no huge International Street type entrance, and yet is absolutely massive. It is a lot more crowded-tending than KD but there is some justification. It doesn't have a lot that KD can't match, but I'd still make that long drive cheerfully if I had money to throw at accommodations and Flash Pass.

^^-- Plus, the view from higher than the flume would include some ugly stuff. I think that's fairly absurd considering the age of some of their coasters, although the flume is even older than most and won't last forever.

Yeah hope so. I know I went the same day 2 years in a row to SFA, 3rd weekend of Sept., first was good the second year was mobbed, who knows why. I was going to look and see if I saw you. So the regular flash pass: I'm guessing you can reserve one ride and since it's electronic you don't have to be at the ride to reserve it? I was planning to stay 'til close, but the regular flash is same price as another night in a hotel...