aCoasterStory

Planning on being up at CP the Friday (12 or 1 till close)/Saturday (morning ERT till midday) of Labor Day weekend. What should I expect the crowds to be like? Thinking about maybe getting FLP for Friday and trying to win some plinko line skippies to use Saturday morning after ERT.

Just spoke with Guest Services at the park. They said Gold Striker is waiting on a part to get shipped, and that as soon as it arrives they'll be able to re-open it. They didn't have an ETA.

How long does it take before the lines for PM, G, & TT get that long? I'm guessing it takes an hour or two after opening? With Gold Striker closed, what all is open for platinum pass ERT? Is it a full hour before opening or just 30min? Right now I'm thinking I should hit a bunch of Flight Deck and then head to the back of the park. depending on how long ERT is and whether I think I can get around the CCW direction before all the crowds get to those rides. I'm also open to any other tips/suggestions. I figure I should be able to hit most everything by lunchtime, and then the plan is to head to Gilroy Gardens for the afternoon (any tips/suggestions for GG are appreciated as well).

I take it there's still been no news on Gold Striker?

So I have some family in Louisville, and they posted a link to the following this morning: The comments section below the posting is full of other people describing the less than friendly nature of many of the park's patrons and the lack of response by park staff or security. If KK can't get a handle on park security, they aren't going to last very long this time around. Several people pointed out that this sort of thing was why they went to Holiday World and loved it.

Also, while things like this are really cool, I can't imagine too many people want to pony up the cash for these wands when they already bought the other wands on previous trips. Who needs more than one wand? And is the RFID capability *really* worth the purchase price?

It just seems like Universal overestimated the popularity/demand. It probably didn't help anything that they jacked up prices AND forced people to buy the park-to-park tickets to experience HE. I think the lack of substantial lines for HE even right after opening is proof enough of that. I know for me personally, most of Universal's attractions don't really appeal to me (much more into coasters than 3D rides). So that being said, knowing that Gringott's isn't really a coaster means that I really have no reason to head back to Universal anytime soon. Transformers to me was a bitter disappointment (Spider-Man is a much better ride IMHO), and none of the coasters are really *that* great to justify the absurd ticket prices. I'm not a HP nut, and honestly even if I was, I don't know that there's enough to do besides just walk around & look at the scenery to make me want to visit Universal again anytime soon. I'll go back at some point, but it'll probably take a few years (and new attractions) before I'll schedule the trip. On the other hand, maybe people are just waiting till next summer because they didn't want to get stuck in the ridiculous opening summer crowds like when Hogsmeade opened?

At BGT, I prefer Cheetah Hunt in the front (best view & best pops of airtime) Montu in the back (overall just awesome, and the bottom of the batwing is epic), though the front is a reasonably close 2nd Kumba in the middle (it rattles my head around less) SheiKra in the far back right with the OTSR as loose as they'll let you (epic floater air, especially since you get pulled over each of the drops; the view in the front is cool, but the back is the better ride IMHO) Gwazi from off the ride (generally just brutal, though I will usually end up riding it once each trip).

I'm going to be at the park next Sunday. What's the best touring plan? My initial thought was to head straight for Superman and get a few rides in early, then hit the other coasters on that side of the entrance before moving to the other side. How are all the animal attractions or other park features? Anything particularly worth doing or skipping? Thanks!

What's interesting is that when I was there earlier this year, they were launching both trains but only loading one. Think of all the electricity they were wasting launching empty trains.

^ Has anyone ever actually bought Takis? The only time I've ever heard of them is at Six Flags, and the only time I've ever tried them were when they were handing out free sample bags at SFOG. I wasn't impressed enough to ever want to buy them.

Noooooo...... I guess I should just expect that it won't be open next weekend. Seems less and less likely as time goes on.

Are you aware that the park is closed on 8/17 due to the Niners game? Hope that doesn't affect your plans! The plan was CGA on the 16th, and then SFDK on the 17th. I'll be really bummed if can't ride it as it's unlikely I'll be back out to the Bay Area anytime soon.

I really hope it re-opens soon. I've already got my flights & hotels & such booked for the next weekend (8/16-17), and Gold Striker is the coaster I was most excited to ride on this trip.

I'm sure there are more, but the first two that come to mind are Big Bad Wolf & Hypersonic XLC.

Just curious - has there ever been a case of a child falling out of an adult-sized roller coaster because they didn't meet the height requirements? All I've been able to find are incidents where kids fell out of kiddie coasters because they got scared & worked their way out of the restraints (despite meeting the height requirements), and then cases where teens/adults fell out due to being too big/improperly restrained, intentionally defeating their restraints, or not being fundamentally able to be restrained by the restraints at all (legless veteran incident). With that in mind, how do manufacturers determine the height requirements for a ride? Because sometimes it just seems arbitrary (especially when parks unilaterally decide to raise the minimum height themselves).

Is Diambondback not on the ERT anymore?

Going to the ER and being admitted into the hospital itself are considered different things.

Bizarro (not a top-2 coaster IMHO) Skyrush (ouch) Intimidator (expected something Dale Earnhardt-themed to be a bit more intense; i305 fit that bill) Voyage (also ouch) Gatekeeper (rattle rattle) Kumba (not even in the top 3 in its park, much less best ever) Raptor (Montu & Afterburn are much better and don't have cobra rolls) Kingda Ka (only passable in the front row; TTD is much better all around) El Toro (too distracted by the stapling to enjoy it)

I actually consider Flight of Fear at KD to be the 3rd or 4th best coaster in the park. No offense to KD, but that's really not saying a whole lot...there's quite a bit of falloff IMHO from i305 to #2 at the park. Everything else is really just kind of meh. In fact, I'm not even sure which coaster I would put at #2. I know Volcano is popular, but other than the launches, it's really not all that impressive to me. Dominator is your standard B&M floorless--nothing really to write home about. What's left? 4 woodies, an old Arrow, a Mack bobsled, a TOGO death machine, a wild mouse, and the 2 Premier launch coasters. But enough about KD. It's good to know that the KI FoF is a bit more jerky than the one at KD these days. I may end up skipping it altogether if the line is anything much more than a station wait. I just can't stand the massive low frequency rumble crap they pipe into the queue. It drives me nuts.

This is one of those important details that is really good to know. Any idea which rides open when? Or where to find that info? Thanks!

Youll probably be done by an hour after the park opens at that rate. Anything else I should make sure to hit/do/plan for multiple re-rides on? It's possible I might be able to swing by right before closing for a couple of night rides.

Well, that is super disappointing.

Planning to be at the park the Friday (all day) and Saturday (morning only) of Labor Day weekend (8/29-30). What kinds of crowds should I expect Friday? And how do people flow at park open now that Banshee is open? Any reason I should plan to need fastlane (other than if I wanted to leave for a few hours in the afternoon to go check out the Beach waterpark and still wanted to be able to ride everything as much as possible)? I always love to hit the Beast at night, but how is the Banshee night ride? Also, is Banshee included in morning ERT? If so, I figure I'll do that (and maybe Bat) during ERT on Saturday, then quickly head to Beast for a ride or two before the line gets too long, and then utilize the Diamondback SR line for a few rides before heading out (and up to Cedar Point!). Is that a sold plan? Any other tips? Thanks!

I know we're in the middle of discussing the cable issue and all, but I'm planning to be at the park over Labor Day weekend. I've been on weekends in late July the last few years and they haven't been too insane, but I'm guessing the crowds Labor Day weekend will be ridiculous, right? I'd probably be getting to the park around 5pm on Saturday and be there from opening (ERT) till dinnertime on Sunday. I'm planning to get FLP for Sunday, but what are the chances I could live without it Saturday night? (Maybe just try playing plinko?) Any tips to maximize my riding efficiency for Saturday night? I'm also likely going to have a CP newbie with me, so I want to make sure he gets the full Cedar Point experience. Thanks!