anonymouscactus

It says "pass holder" in the heading of the fast lane ticket name, but I don't think they would care... especially if they were there along with you.

It's not too bad today. The lot is a bit misleading because the Shores parking lot is (mostly) closed because of the concert yesterday.

^^ great report! Love the photos and it's great to hear a "first timers*" point of view (so much has changed!) Excited to hear the rest.

Mmmm....

Free mints at the end of the ride! Now with cooling crystals![emoji769] I thought SeaWorld would have learned their lessons about artist renderings with Antarctica... but alas, people will think this ride will literally come down a mountain. And go through water. And then wait 6 hours and complain that it's nothing like the picture. (I opened Antarctica, so... yeah) Anyway, looks cool! I'll be there in 2020 between this and the Iron alligator thing nearby. Thanks for the coverage!

Actually I just looked and the free Fast Lane is only for those who renewed (and is still available on the website) not for new pass holders like others in the chain have done. So maybe the fast lane effect won't be so bad. Unless they offered it for new pass holders too but during a certain time frame only? https://www.cedarpoint.com/tickets-passes/season-passes

General Halloweekends advice: Traditionally (and keeping the tradition alive), we have always gone the first Sunday of Halloweekends. Lines up at the front of the park (gatekeeper, raptor) were not existent after 3-4pm (right around the time the houses open up). Lines were always super manageable all day compared to any normal summer. Houses when they open at 4PM were always 15 min or less each and we'd get through ALL of them in less than 2 hours. Last year I remember it being more crowded than previous years. That being said, my prediction is this year is going to be pretty crowded even on Sunday (all those people with gold passes PLUS the free fast lane that comes along with all of them) I have a feeling it's not going to be like previous years. That being said, as the season gets deeper into Halloween, it's only going to get even worse, so if you have an option I would highly recommend this Sunday. You may feel it's crowded, but honestly, it's going to be WAY WORSE as the weekends go on. And it will be way less crowded than Saturday. Sundays are great. You will miss out on scare zones and cornstalkers (2.0) because the park isn't open late, but I'd rather deal with smaller waits than deal with Saturdays. Even with Fright Lane and Fast Lane expect long waits on Saturdays. Columbus Day weekend Saturday is traditionally the worst day/time of the year to go for Halloweekends and onwards is just as bad. **If** you are staying until park close on a Halloweekends Saturday, I recommend parking as close to the exit as you can, and don't even think about the Shores parking lot -- even if you get there at opening, don't be tempted to park up close.... -- you've been warned. I have no experience with Friday nights but have heard that in the past it's a great time to do the rides with minimal waits. This may be a better option if you're only looking to do rides.... but again, no personal experience there.

As a former employee at SeaWorld Orlando, I would definitely go for the shows as well and make a longer day out of it. Love the SeaWorld Parks!

Lots of great comments and info. Thank you everyone! I'll have more questions once I read through everything again and have more time to type up a longer response. I didn't realize SCAD towers were still a thing!

I'm looking to go on a "Texas Tour" next year sometime. I want to hit SeaWorld, SF Fiesta Texas, SF Over Texas, and Schlitterbahn (now a Cedar Fair park) -- my issues are that it's going to be awhile until they release their schedules and unfortunately the Six Flags calendars don't let you go back historically so I can at least get an idea of what to expect. I was thinking Spring Break week so I could hit the parks Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But then I saw that SeaWorld has Thursdays open starting at the end of March anyways which I thought was weird. If that leaves another park open on Friday and the other parks on the weekend that would work... The other thing I noticed is that only sections of Schlitterbahn are open in the early season and not the entire park? There appears to be four different areas. Should I wait until summer for this reason? Is it worth going to just a couple of the sections? Does anyone have a recommendation on the best time to go to hit all 4 parks? Does anyone know what week "spring break" is next year (or does it differ throughout the state?) I would fly into either San Antonio or Dallas, and then leave out the opposite airport and do a one way car rental. Any tips or suggestions? When do the park schedules typically come out? I can get flights out cheap right now for March but if I'm not 100% sure that I can do Thursday-Sunday and pick the right dates then I would want to wait. Or maybe it would be better off to wait until summer, but deal with the unattractive weather... Thoughts? Is there anything else I should do between parks or extend my time a day or two other than amusement parks, in those areas, that anyone would recommend?

^ who is "they"?

Isn't tornado a "better" version of this anyways? Seems like a downgrade / VERY similar experience. Unless I'm missing something. I have not seen the full layout and I've never been on one of these before. At least it will help with capacity.

Edit Removed my commentsry. Sorry didn't realize announcement wasn't posted by mods yet.

Video I took in Kenya!

On the purchasing page for the 2020 pass it actually stated that you had to process the pass beginning Aug 29 to receive your benefits and the new pass. That being said, it does not state this on the main page, it just says you need to process by October 27th. So they were half-right. EDIT: I just realized you stated you got a platinum membership, so if you are paying for it now you should get those benefits. That stinks.

^^^ awesome photos [emoji41]

Just a very small snippet of video I took of the baby lion puddles [emoji7]: https://youtu.be/AJb2A2ZFxMo

Last day... check out *this* Cheetah Hunt... [emoji50]

Kenya has been absolutely amazing! Baby lions, hippos, Giraffes, wildebeasts, zebras, hyenas, rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, and so much more. Will upload a video montage once I get back to the states!

^ yes, it applies to platinum as well! As long as you buy it from the wonderland site and process it there / use it there first, you will get those benefits for CW Keep in mind it will be an international purchase and your card may decline / you may need to call your credit card company to authorize the purchase depending on the card.

For those asking about 2020 passes.... they will go on sale on national roller coaster day and even NEW passes get a fast lane plus for this year in addition to unlimited admission

I don't know why they would have so much trouble finding parts, you can find them at Wal-Mart on the cheap

With the buying of a 2020 pass, historically, if you were to buy it as a "new" pass you would get a single free ticket for the previous season. If you are renewing (you can renew from ANY home park) you would get a free fast lane + to use this year. In 2016 I bought my CW pass on Aug 29 (they probably went on sale way before that), In 2017 I bought my CP pass as a renewal on Aug 20 In 2018 I bought my CW renewal on August 16 In 2019 I bought my CW renewal on August 15th. If you don't currently have a pass but are looking to get one for next year, you definitely want to wait to get it at Canada's Wonderland when they go on sale. Not only will you get the free ticket for this season, but your pass will be way more inexpensive with the exchange rate (even if you have a foreign transaction fee). Historically they charge the same in Canadian dollars as they do in USD for the same price as all platinum passes. As for crowds, I know we went on Labor Day one year, but honestly I can't remember how it was. Sorry!

Every mention of the leprechauns made me laugh out loud. I agree with your sentiments of Superman and Wicked Cyclone when I rode them a few weeks ago. That drop on Superman just feels weird because I'm damn spoiled by all of these rides with steeper angles. Wicked Cyclone I've had good and not so good rides on but the other week they were quite sluggish. Still good rides, but other RMC's are way crazier.

The 2pm "stay and scream" ticket in ORLANDO was discontinued in 2015 according to my brief research. As long as you have a daytime ticket you get "early access" compared to everyone else because they have holding areas and open up a few houses early strictly to those who have a daytime ticket, annual pass, etc. They don't have a separate "half day" ticket anymore.