IronWolfman

^In the past two months I've seen multiple vlogs on YouTube with people at the park riding it, so I believe it's open

^^I'm checking the forecast twice daily currently, and for now they seem to be thinking it's going to warm up slightly. High of 60* for Sat 2/13 & 50* for Sun & Mon, and showers possible before the park opens. Could still easily change in the next few days but praying for even warmer. ^Thanks for the update, guess getting the dining pass/QQ set up and Steel Eel will be the first things to do!

Interesting. I bought the QQ available to Platinum Passers that just had one ride for Texas Stingray, I wonder if they'll just give me QQ with unlimited Texas Stingray at the park. They also dropped the price, which is a little frustrating since I already $25 payed for what is now showing as just $10 with the membership. Also, does anyone know what the minimum temps to run each of the four major coasters are? I know we're still a week out, but the upcoming polar vortex for the whole country, weather(.)com is currently predicting a high of just 48* on the 13th. Praying/hoping it warms up, but in case it doesn't will any rides for sure be closed if that's as hot as it gets?

^Thanks again!

^Good to know I figured that was off but just wanted to ask here first, since calling back to ask would have taken like two hours with the hold wait times.

Hey everyone, So due to some issues with attempting to get my membership online, I was able to do it over the phone, and thus got my reservation set up for my trip. Something the rep said to me was that for the reservations, there is a "morning & evening session", and they did not specify the times for those or if we had to select one. My reservation e-ticket has no specific time, so I was wondering, did anyone actually have to deal with a specific session time to enter when they visited recently? Also does anyone how early we're allowed to arrive? My plan was to show up around ~9:30 for the 10:00 am opening

So with my upcoming reservation, I chose the earliest time, 9:30, which is an hour before park opens. Does anyone know if this means I will just be able to park and wait outside at that time, or if we'll get COVID & entry processed and allowed into the front entrance area? If the latter is true, in that time before rope-drop would I be able to get my All-Day-Dining setup? I know the Flash Pass center is down by Boomerang so probably can't get that processed until after 10:30.

^Definitely an "attempt at your own risk" thing. I have a large laptop-style bag that barely fits within Frontier's personal item requirements, and though I think it'd pass if they checked, it's nice not to have had that hassle yet. Don't know if I could say the same for a backpack. I use it for all my Frontier flights, and fortunately I haven't had many issues with them, so I like to take advantage of the low costs ($75 for my upcoming Denver to San Antonio round trip )

I recently changed my plans to visit SWSA to Feb 13th. Being a Saturday with the Mardi Gras event, and Quick Queue unlimited being only $25 (with Platinum Membership), would anyone recommend I just buy it ahead of time? Or still think it'd be good to just wait until day-of to see how crowds are?

IDEAL: SFFT/SWSA in mid-January. SFMM in late spring. Luna Park/NYC in mid-July. Southeast/MidAtlantic (SFOG/Dollywood/Carowinds/BGW/KD) in mid-August. Lagoon/Silverwood in mid-September. & additional trips to WA state & NorCal that aren't coaster related. REALISTIC: There are a few upcoming circumstances that will determine if I can make ANY of these plans happen at all, but granted those work out- SFFT/SWSA trip. SFMM but whenever it is allowed to reopen. Luna Park if NYC allows it to reopen by July. Southeast trip could just be SFOG & Dollywood. Silverwood but no Lagoon, and just one other trip to WA state. There's of course still so much riding on when parks reopen, keeping my job, how my last semesters in college work out, etc., but I'm still fairly optimistic.

^Thanks for the advice! I'd be visiting on the 16th & 18th (SWSA on the 17th), so Mid-Jan weekend. Definitely will wait to see if I'll need the Flash Pass, if it picks up it'd be very nice for IRat at least. Definitely understandable that water stuff wouldn't be open, though I might brave Bugs even in 65* weather just since it seems like a really cool flume. Also would be cool to catch the new ride, recently rode the normal Air Race at Lagoon so I'd bet this one will be even better!

^When I spoke to a Six Flags rep, they said they likely just need to update the dates, so you're probably right that they weren't thinking they'd still need it. I haven't been to any of the Texas parks before, so I'm very excited! I was originally going to do SFOT, but with the way pricing/dates were working out, it's only ~$75 more to do SFFT & SWSA instead for MLK Day weekend. Hoping that weekend won't be too busy, but would you recommend a Flash Pass?

^Thanks again bert425! I'll give them a call. The have hours listed in January for when I'd like to go, so I found it weird that they didn't have an option to reserve past December.

So currently it appears we cannot make reservations for January yet in SFFT's reservation system. Does anyone know when this will be available?

^Thanks for telling me that! I had watched a blog where they had it but hadn't seen any confirming they weren't using it. Thanks Bert425 for the input too!

I'm currently thinking of doing a short trip at the beginning of 2021 to SFOT since I'd like to utilize my SFMM membership that I haven't gotten to use yet. I'd be able to get a couple hours at the end of Jan 1st, all of Jan 2nd, & a few hours in on Jan 3rd. For the 2nd, I currently am budgeting for at least the gold Flash Pass, but does anyone know if it'll be busy enough to just go for the Platinum? I also know that SFOT is using a ride reservation system, which I assume is one-at-a-time, does anyone know how the Flash Pass "connects" to that system? I am also curious if anyone has insight on what the weather could be like, as well as rides usually down for maintenance during that time.

Thank you for bringing up Tidal Wave. If the rumors of the SFMM Raptor coming in the next few years to that area are true, then Tidal Wave would have to go either way. Makes sense that it'd likely be Magic Mountain's pick for these removals

Bombora at Lagoon #55, back in August. Very solid family coaster!

I'm thinking either small/mid-size thrill coaster (A raptor really would be such a great fit for this park) or a large flat/tower ride, like a SkyScreamer or Screaming Swing

As an Elitch local, I have very little desire to go back. Sidewinder is my favorite coaster in the park, and most often closed, followed by Half Pipe in both those regards. I've been plenty of times, and with the likely hood that nothing significant (or even any new rides at all) will ever be added again at its current location, it's not very enticing. I do hope they relocate again, as it'd be a great opportunity with how much Denver is growing/will continue to grow over the next few decades, but that's pretty unlikely. Lakeside on the other hand is a lot of fun for good value, and Cyclone is my favorite coaster in the state. I'd like to go see their Pinfari Zyklon if that opens this year.

Apollo's Chariot!

Glad you guys are having a good time!!!!

Posted this on Reddit, but figured it'd be good to do here as well. Let me know if this should be somewhere else! I will be attending Bassnectar's Basscenter XII event in Hampton, VA for Labor Day weekend (show is Saturday, August 31st + Sunday, September 1st). Many fans, including myself, were expecting it to be a three day event including Friday, August 30th, but as it did not (and I don't want to try and change my hotel reservation), I've started seriously considering going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg that day. Some questions I have: >I figure I'll need Quick Queue, and I'm looking at either Unlimited ($55 for that day) or Unlimited Plus ($68, but also includes Invadr, Tempesto, and one ride on the new S&S Swing). Which would you recommend? Should I buy beforehand to avoid it selling out? Do Quick Queue lines merge before entering the station or do you have to use the exit ramp? >My hotel in Hampton is 23min from the park, do you think it'll be easy enough to uber/lyft both ways? I'm not sure how late I'll stay into the evening if ride back opportunities are sparse towards park closing. There appears (on Google Maps) to be one small road connection from the entrance road to the exit road before the parking tolls that should allow the driver to turn around, will it be easy enough to let me hop out there quickly? >Any coasters/rides that you have to ride with someone? I'll be traveling solo unless anyone wants to meet up from the few coaster groups I'm in on Facebook, and it'd be good to know if I need to find a single rider line for any of the coasters/major flats/log flume. >How much do food/beer cost during Bier Fest? Any good restaurant recommendations? I haven't ever been before (I'm traveling from CO), and this is probably the only time for quite a while that I'd be able to take this detour and visit BGW. Would love any advice/answers! Thanks to anyone that responds.

I believe the only one I've done is Railblazer this year at CGA (taking the bonus points for it not being my home park).

Haven't done a trip report in a while, and finally gathered the motivation to talk about my trip to CGA on August 5th. I'd never been to California before going out to visit family earlier this month, and had an amazing time. Though I hoped to visit CGA while I was there, I didn't expect that we would, as it hadn't been brought up much prior. It was very exciting finding out that my family would be cool with going to the park, as I haven't been to a new park since I first went to Lakeside here in CO (back in 2015 I think ). I'll also note that I've been to SFGAm, so it interesting to see the other "Great America". THE PARK ITSELF I was genuinely pleased with the park's appearance as I'd heard from many people that it would be a little sketchy. No such vibe was found, as the park was clean and had few areas or buildings with any sort of "run down" look. It wasn't super crowded, but enough that after riding the coasters with shorter lines, we decided to buy Fastlane for the remaining rides. Staff were mostly friendly and operations were a miracle in comparison to Elitches. The landscaping was great and I think the park looked very well put together. The layout of the park was a lot smaller than I imagined (I guess I thought it'd be closer to SFGAm's size), but was a convenient loop. Food wasn't amazing, but better than what I'd get for the same price at Elitches, and was sufficient. The workers at the American Cafe gave my family member some difficulty regarding their veggie burger to the point where they got it refunded, but other food staff were pretty kind and quick. Another grip would be not getting to pick your row on most coasters, but I see why it worked for station crowding/capacity. Overall the park had a really nice, relaxed atmosphere and I had a really good time. COASTERS Gold Striker (x2): We rode this coaster first, and it was another genuine surprise. It was my first GCI, and a lot more out of control than expected. I didn't think it'd be tame or mild, but I also didn't think it would become my favorite wooden coaster (surpassing Timber Terror & Tremors), or to be such an awesomely wild ride. I'd say it whooped my ass in a good way. My first ride was in row 4 I think, and the second was front row. Both were filled with crazy pops of ejector air, hard laterals, and had me all mixed up with the amount of direction changes. For those who've been on other GCI's, let me know if a lot of them are a similar experience, because that would definitely raise their priority on my want-to-ride list. 8/10 Patriot (x1): This coaster was a mixed bag for me. Iron Wolf, this ride's sole B&M predecessor, was my favorite roller coaster back when I lived near SFGAm (hence my name). Patriot is similar but obviously is no longer a stand-up coaster. It was also my first floorless coaster experience. I was expecting a rough or rattle-y ride as many people had noted since the conversion (and prior), but found the ride to be completely smooth in my one ride in row 4. I did enjoy the bit of positive G's from the first drop into the loop, as well as the snappiness of the corkscrew. On the flip side, I thought the layout overall was lackluster and short, and didn't think the floorless aspect contributed as much to the experience as standing would have (though that may be to me not riding in the front row). Patriot to me is the perfect "average" or "meh" coaster. 5/10 Demon (x2): As the only coaster at CGA that has a counter part at SFGAm, and also giving a kick to my Arrow nostalgia, I really enjoyed the Demon. I oddly found the roughest part to be the loops, which now makes me curious how Sidewinder's loop is so smooth. Definitely bumpy but not as bad as the nearby Grizzly or Elitches own Twister II or Mind Eraser. It was a classic with a fun drop, retro themeing, and hardcore SFGAm flashbacks. 6/10 Psycho Mouse (x1): First proper modern wild mouse (only previously been on Mount Olympus' Opa or Lakeside's Wild Chipmunk), and a rarer Arrow one at that. Brakes were on a little bit with a few of the MCBR's but didn't really detract from the experience. All the turns had more laterals than I thought there would be, and the drops were sharp and fun. Definitely a perfect family coaster. 5/10 Flight Deck (x2): We rode this after buying Fast Lane, as it'd been down all morning and the line was long after it reopened. This was my most highly anticipated coaster of the park, even with Railblazer, as I don't remember a lot of B:TR at SFGAm, haven't been on Aftershock since 2013, and have been subjected to a sub-par invert in Mind Eraser for the past 5 years. This was the only coaster where we got to choose our seat, and we got a solid back row & front row ride. People don't lie when they say this ride gets very intense, very quickly. The turn over the station is the only break you get, as the rest of the ride is crazy positive G's and two incredible snaps in the zero-g roll and corkscrew. Aside from the snaps, the ride is smooth as butter and lots of fun. It joins Patriot with being on the shorter side, but makes up for it with doing more and doing it better. Thought it was right alongside with Gold Striker as a really solid coaster. 8/10 Grizzly (x1): This ride was on the disappointing side, but not outright awful. The layout is boring but kinda aesthetic, load times were abysmal but not much worse that Twister II, and definitely some pretty harsh jolts and consistent bumps but not unbearably rough. I did not expect great or terrible, and received neither. I think it is a great step up from kiddie rides to the more intense coasters. 4/10 Railblazer (x3): We were a little worried that we would not get to ride this, as it had a 90+ minute line all morning and went down just before we bought the fast lane (we didn't know it when we bought the passes). It stayed closed most of the afternoon and fortunately we got a decent use out of our fast lane with the Flight Deck rides, our second Gold Striker ride, Grizzly, and our second ride on Demon. Around 9:15 (the park closed at 10) the coaster reopened with one train, and since we were at Demon we literally ran over. All I can say is WOW. First RMC did not disappoint. Every second is jam packed, and you go through every element so fast it doesn't look or feel real. The best airtime I've ever experienced, crazy positive G's, feeling the Zero-G throughout that whole roll, a killer transition going through the dive loop, everything about the ride was absolutely incredible. Fast crew with the one train, and cool themeing that added to the night rides. I really hope more of these Raptors pop up, as Railblazer is assuredly my favorite coaster thus far. 10/10 OTHER RIDES Drop Tower (x1): What surprised me the most here was this ride being a walk-on. Tower of Doom, another Intamin drop tower at Elitches, always has one of the more significant waits in the park, so being able to get on immediately was great. May have something to do with capacity, as this ride was running 5/6 sides with the sixth car sitting in its spot on the platform, while Tower of Doom runs 2/3 sides and the third car hasn't been on the ride in years. Mass Effect: New Earth (x1): Never been on one of these "4D" rides, but I really enjoyed it. The "host" was funny and didn't break character, and the actually effects were really interesting with a few surprises. I don't know if these always have the same program, but it'd be cool if they could switch up the routes/effects/something to not make it appear as a one-and-done. Carousel Columbia (x1): I never got to ride this ride's twin at SFGAm, so of course we had to ride it on the second deck. Was cool to be elevated like that on a carousel. The ride was running a dreadfully slow and short program but I don't think most kids would notice. Orbit (x1): Loved the Orbit at SFGAm, and was under the impression that CGA removed this ride (maybe because I believe SFGAm took out theirs). Was a very short cycle, got to fully inverted and then came back down, but very fun and the most dizzying experience of the day. Tiki Twirl (x1): Also never been on any of these "Disco" rides, and I actually really enjoyed it. It was odd to feel the spinning motion while facing outwards on the motorcycle-esque seats. Definitely a good (and popular) family ride. Didn't ride anything else but I would like to try the Berserker next time I visit, hopefully next summer. May upload some pictures at some point, but I didn't get any very good shots. Hope you all enjoyed!