boldikus

I only really started going to parks regularly again this year but I went to SFGAdv 10 times between April and October, so about 1-2 times per month?

I'd like to add Wildcat at Hershey to this list. The station is fine but the ridiculously long entrance/exit ramps are totally uncalled for, especially for a ride everyone seems to hate. Agreed on the loading/unloading on the same side for Skyrush. Super lame capacity killer.

Sea Serpent. It sucks, but it was my first ever looper.

I really like KK in the front but I could see why someone would find it too intense. The wind blowing in your face + the high Gs you pull when entering the top hat make it quite extreme. I think for me its less about the G's and more about my height - I'm 6'2, right at the max height for it, and no matter where Ive sat (2nd row, back row, middle of the train) those shoulder harnesses sit right on my shoulders and its hardly a smooth launch IMO so it kills me. Its just not pleasant. I have yet to ride Dragster so maybe I'll like it better for that reason. Edit: that said, Storm Runners and Fahrenheits harnesses were the same, and sat at the same place on me, but it wasnt an issue.

Great Bear @ Hershey

pleasant: Wild Cat (Hershey) Based on the reviews I expected this kill me but it just felt like a good wooden coaster, and rough the way it should be. Not my favorite by any means but its not the death machine folks make it out to be. Skyrush This was at the top of my list when I went to Hershey but based on the reviews of its intensity I went into it a little bit intimidated. I actually had a knot in my stomach while boarding, which is rare for me. Yes, you do have to hang on for dear life, but it turned out to be one of my favorite coaster experiences ever. Its insane but I could ride it til my thighs fell off. Talon I expected this to be good but it blew me away and became another I could have rode all day. Hands down my favorite B&M invert and one of my top faves overall. Perfect pacing, not too intense, smooth as butter, and love the low-to-the-ground maneuvers. Dominator (Dorney) This time last year I wouldn't have gone anywhere near a drop ride, but I braved Zumanjaro and then made it a point to ride every other drop ride since. It's been my own little personal challenge all year. All of those that I rode this past year *except* Dominator pale in comparison to Zumanjaro. The space shot side was cool but didn't blow me away but for whatever reason the drop side, even though its half the size of Zum, gave me one of the biggest "OH SH*T" moments I had on anything all year. unpleasant: Kingda Ka Ahhhh the ride that got me back into coasters last year, and I was so, so excited to ride it. Since then, Ill only ride if I have FP/no wait or someone with me who has never ridden. I appreciate its speed and height and how its a "must do once" coaster, but its just such a quick ride and I don't find much of it pleasant. The launch is so intense its not enjoyable for me. I have bad eyesight and don't wear my prescription glasses on coasters so I can't really see well from the top hat, and the twist down the drop kinda kills that for me for whatever reason. I have ridden it multiple times (yet never in the front, and I know thats the magic seat) but its always at the bottom of my list when I'm @ the park. * all photos from the TPR park index

Thanks for the photos, lookin' great!

Just chiming in to say thanks for these great updates!

^^^ good choice, great band. im kind of a super nerdy interpol fanboy - have tix to see them then night before my b-day next month, which will be my 7th time seeing them since 2004. right now: depeche mode - everything counts.

First woody - The Flyer, Wildwood, early 80s First steel/first Schwarzkopf - Jumbo Jet, Wildwood, early 80s First indoor - Space Mountain, Disneyworld, mid 80s First steel looping/first Vekoma Boomerang - Sea Serpent, Wildwood, 1985 First Shuttle Loop - Lightning Loops, SFGAdv, late 80s First Arrow - Runaway Mine Train, early-mid 80s First Arrow Multi-Looper - Great American Scream Machine, SFGAdv, 1990 First Standup - Shockwave, SFGAdv, 91/92? First B&M/first Invert - Batman: The Ride, SFGAdv, 93/94ish First Vekoma SLC - Great Nor'easter, Wildwood, 1995 First Hyper - Nitro, 2013 First B&M floorless - Bizarro, SFGAdv, 2013 First Strata - Kingda Ka, 2013 First Intamin Pre-fab, El Toro 2013 First B&M stand-up - Green Lantern, 2014 First B&M flyer - Superman:UF @ SFGAdv, 2014 First CGI - Roar, SFA 2014 First Intamin Hyper - Superman: Ride of Steel, SFA 2014 First Premier launcher - Jokers Jinx, SFA 2014 First spinning mouse - Ragin Cajun, SFA, 2014 First Vekoma Flyer - Batwing, SFA 2014 First Arrow Hyper - Steel Force, Dorney 2014 First Intamin Twisted Impulse - Possessed, Dorney 2014 First Schwarzkopf looper - Sooper Dooper Looper, Hershey 2014 Favorite wood - El Toro, Wild One, Great White, Lightning Racer Favorite steel - Skyrush, Nitro, Ride Of Steel (SFA), Talon, Possessed, Storm Runner

El Toro was the first thing I thought of when I heard about the fire on the local news the other night.

While the Flyers were all but confirmed, glad to see they've finally announced them. I'd sooner take a new coaster but they've been on and off again with it for almost a decade now and this is a solid addition I'm pretty excited about. I love these things and its always nice and windy by the ocean!

I have yet to ride one of these, but they look like a ton of fun to me. My first will likely be Dare Devil Dive early next year.

LOL I'm really grasping here but I've ridden 100% of the B&Ms & Intamins in Pennsylvania and New Jersey haha

Absolutely, huge help. Thanks so much everyone. These responses are exactly why I love this board. I know its not for a while but you all have me stoked for what will likely be the start of 2015. From what I can tell and have heard the park is really nice, after reading about it and looking up stuff today I'm excited to check it out.

^^ This is the type of info I'm looking for. I plan to go as early in the season as I can. Was hoping for a weekday but maybe a Sunday in March or April. Also, I didn't even realize they had that drop tower, so thats awesome!

Awesome, thanks. Keep in mind SFGAdv is my home park so I'm used to dealing with insane crowds. Again, I absolutely will budget a platinum pass into this trip. I refuse to travel to a park I don't go to frequently and stand in line, just seems like a huge waste of time.

Sooooooooooooooo now that all the parks around here have closed I'm steady planning a few long distance trips for 2015. I have family in Athens, GA (which I know is not exactly close but its much closer than I am now!) so thinking of a trip early in the season. I've heard really good things about this park and since it will be relatively easy to get to I'm making this my first focus of the new year and want to get the ball rolling soon. Curious if the folks that are really familiar with this park can tell me - how early in the season does SFOG typically open? And when do weekday operations start? (Maybe they've already announced this but I haven't been paying attention.) Can all the coasters be done in a few hours with Flash Pass? Any days/times better than others to go for low crowds? Any must-dos other than the coasters? Any worth skipping? Best plan of attack to hit all the good ones in a few hours? Their coaster line-up doesn't scream "AMAZING!" to me (likely because I already have B:TR and S:UF clone at my home park and I rode Ninja when it was Kamikaze in Wildwood) but Dare Devil Dive, Goliath, Mindbender and few others look pretty awesome. I'll likely be with family that isn't trying to run from ride to ride, doing re-rides, etc. but I'd like to try to get on all of them at least once if possible. I'll be flying down and already have a place to stay so no lodging/driving advice needed. I will absolutely be budgeting a FP into this trip and will get one unless its absolutely dead. I've just started researching the park and don't know much about it so all the locals - clue me in if you can! Tips, insider knowledge, secret shortcuts, etc lol Thanks in advance.

i love that coaster as is but oh god iron horse wild one would be the best thing ever. just make the drop a bit higher/steeper and just iron horse the rest of the course with minimal changes to the track layout and it would be incredible.

Man I love Skull Mountain, its so underrated. The back seat is where its at for the airtime pop and its just generally a ridiculously fun ride. Even better when they have the death metal really cranked loud. I laugh so hard every time I ride it, so so fun.

Bring inside the park: Camera/phone Wallet Sunglasses Bring but leave in car: Hand sanitizer Sunscreen Sweatshirt (unless needed) Lunch Advil Tums/Rolaids (riding coasters with heartburn is not fun!)

My lady and I just bought our first home and my buddy is rehabbing it as I type. Most of the next 5 months will be filled with finishing that up, packing up my current house, moving it all (likely right around Christmas, fun!) and setting up shop in my very own first home. Its exciting and scary all at the same time, kinda like a coaster ride!

Kanye West - Heartless

This is going to round out a really nice collection of flats.