SFOG1991

It would be really nice if they still had that sky ride.

Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia has one on their rapids ride (Tasmanian River Rapids). It's a very cool feature and definitely makes these models of rapids rides more exciting. They are very tame otherwise.

I'm honestly surprised Draggin Iron ever makes it through its course. I'm sure that isn't the first time this has happened.

This makes me very excited! Hopefully they won't change it. I would love to be at the park until midnight during the summer. It would be great if they did that more nights.

I have to admit I absolutely love this in depth valley report. I watched the Mantis video 4 times in a row and now I feel dirty.

Went to the park for Pumpkin Fest and Ghost Lake this past weekend. It was an absolute blast! Blue Streak now has some decent airtime on the return stretch, and the first three hills have ejector air in the back as usual. Rode well except for one very aggressive pothole going into the second hill. You can see they added new additional support to that section which is probably holding it together safely but making it more rough. Very similar to the big jolt/pothole on Boulder Dash's triple up from hell. Ghost Lake was absolutely AMAZING. I was at Busch Gardens Tampa for Hawl-o-Scream the weekend before and thought it was great, but Ghost Lake was significantly better. By far the best haunt I've experienced. I love that they let each group in separately so no one was around you, and being in an actual haunted hotel, hundred year old 3 story abandoned homes, etc. is simply amazing. The actors are very aggressive and hands on, and there are a lot of fake-out distractions in place so the scare actors can really catch you off guard. I had one chase me out of the house down a steep old flight of stairs, and I definitely fell a few times. It's awesome a haunt like this can exist without lawsuits ruining the authenticity of it. GREAT event.

Anaconda at Kings Dominion is hated by tons of people on the internet, but I thought it was great! The drop is really fun, and the inversions are all very impressive. And it's obviously pretty jerky and has some rattling, but there's only one awkward transition where it actually hurts. Arrow coasters in general are incredibly unappreciated, especially by other young enthusiasts. Loch Ness Monster is super underrated and is really great, and Magnum XL 200 is a masterpiece. Carolina Cyclone is also a nice little ride and their mine trains are enjoyable, especially Runaway Mine Train at Great Adventure. Speaking of Runaway Mine Train, that's also a guilty pleasure that I often ride. There are usually mostly little kids riding it, but I like it for the scenic ride and the ejector hill! SFGAd has an obsession with small family coasters that have one insane airtime moment. I happen to be a fan of all those coasters you mentioned, although I think Vortex is better than Anaconda. Anaconda is still a great Arrow though. Magnum is definitely a masterpiece! It was the first hypercoaster ever and is probably my #1 hyper. I wish they had built more. If every Morgan hyper could be an Arrow instead, I would be ecstatic.

^Since you name dropped Vortex, I'll take this chance to say Vortex is my guilty pleasure ride. So many people hate Vortex, but I absolutely LOVE it and it may be my favorite coaster in the park. It's certainly in the top tier of KI rides for me.

The fact that this park is now completely gone, including a classic 1925 John Miller, is incredibly sad. It is really unfortunate Cedar Fair (or anyone) didn't save the ride. We are running out of classics and so much history has been lost. Big Dipper goes back at least 3 generations in my family. I'm glad I got to visit and ride it when the park was still operating (my grandmother came along and got to see it again, which brought back memories for her as well).

^Thanks everyone, especially the detailed info from coasterbill. Very helpful! I should know this stuff by now but feedback from regulars always helps. If anyone has any other good tips, please let me know! Very much appreciated.

I'm also headed to the park tomorrow! I will have Fast Lane Plus, but can someone tell me how it works on each coaster? Which coasters still have a significant wait after the Fast Lane Plus entry? (I know Millennium Force still makes you wait like 30 minutes) Are there any coasters where you can't pick your own row with Fast Lane Plus? Are there any rides worth riding that aren't on FLP? I can't remember even though I've been to the park a handful of times.

I was hoping to be in the area to try the water slides out but I was never in western PA this summer. Glad you had fun and that the slides are intense! I will be at the park this weekend for Pumpkin Fest and Ghost Lake (also doing the Cedar Point and CLP thing). The last time I went for this event they had all 4 cars on the train and the back car was providing insane ejector air, so I hope they have the full four car train running again this time!

First of all the grounds aren't nice. Second of all, Blue Streak sucks. Third of all the park is a dump and if it were "barren and abandoned" then it would be pretty difficult to tell the difference anyway as opposed to now. I was going for a laugh, I'm not exactly wishing death on the park (though I wouldn't care at all if it closed because it's awful) but I'm tired of enthusiasts getting so unbelievably offended when you call the park out for what it is (a complete train wreck). The fact that we're impressed about the fact that they finally put chlorine in the water slide pool is a testament to what a joke this park is. I've honestly been waiting for this park to die ever since the Pepsi Refresh thing which was kind of a joke since the other finalists consisted of mostly children's / animal welfare charities but enthusiasts banded together and voted to instead give the $50k to Conneaut Lake Park (a park that will probably never be profitable) to fix up a terrible coaster. And then when the coaster re-opened so few people actually cared that they couldn't even fill a train and about 8-12 people showed up. So if you like the park then that's great, and while I was going for a laugh and I'm not really "hoping" it closes, I won't care at all when it does. I'm fine with you having an exceptionally negative opinion on this park compared to most people, but I still don't understand why anyone would wish death on a park that has a rich history, classic unique rides, a nice property (even if it needs more work to look nice), and people who are very passionate about saving, maintaining, and running the park that are working very hard to do so. Anyways, to each their own, and I'm sorry you had such a negative experience. Blue Streak is still probably in my top 10 or at least top 20 wooden coaster list (and there are a lot of great coasters in that list) and I still love this park and stand by my opinion.

Yea i read some other threads and you mentioned Conneaut a lot. your hatred for it. I never been there so i wouldn't know. Heck i never been to Penn. However i think your hatred for Conneaut Lake matches my hatred for Enchanted Forest indoor "amusement park" in Utica Il! lol There is so many rant comments i left on videos relating to indoor theme parks,SF Great America,etc about that lame place! Even left a Google comment....however i wasnt brave enough to leave one on Yelp or Tripadvisor. It is truely the poor mans Wisconsin Dells! The cabins dont even have Wi-fi and since its in the middle of nowhere cell connection is horrid too...i heard that place has money issues as well and probably wont last long either....but if i had to pick i rather go to Conneaut at least its a real amusement park and i heard it has a very decent roller coaster. To offer an opposing opinion, I love Conneaut Lake Park. Yes, it is hurting and has been hurting for a long time, but the passion for the park is refreshing and they have really done a lot to put it in a much better state over the last few years. The property itself is very nice (even though it needs to be maintained better and cleaned up, which they are trying to do with the little assets they have, it isn't like they don't care), there is a lot of historic value with the rides and hotel, they have a few rare rides, and Blue Streak is an awesome and intense classic wooden coaster.

I was at Busch Gardens Tampa last Saturday and Sunday. I've been to the park probably 5 other times in the last 15 years, but this visit was exceptional! It was my first time at Howl-O-Scream on Saturday night and I was thoroughly impressed! The haunted houses were all very good with the highlight being Death Water Bayou and the lamest one was Zombie Containment Unit 15 (which could've been great but the execution was just not impressive). The scare zones in the park were surprisingly great too! Rides at night were awesome of course. I spent big money on the Front of Line pass for coasters and haunts. It saved a lot of time in line for haunts at first, but the rides had no lines and the haunts emptied out as the night went on. The park was surprisingly dead! No one at Kumba at all at times. It was better than an ERT session (other than the two ride max rule). Sunday was very nice with the animals and getting to ride everything again. Again, brief lines. I've been on most of the rides before, and of course the B&M line up is second to none. As for new rides since my last visit... Falcon's Fury: During my last visit, this was supposed to be open but it was delayed for a few months. I was so excited to ride it this time, and while the drop itself was disappointing in comparison to Acrophobia at SFOG (which is probably my favorite drop tower) in terms of force, but the height was impressive and the tilting to face down at the top was surprisingly extra terrifying. It actually made me a bit "scared" and is definitely around the top of my drop tower list with Acrophobia and Larson towers. Cobra's Curse: For a family coaster, it was great. Decently forceful. I enjoyed the forwards, followed by backwards, followed by free spinning. The elevator lift was very cool as well. I love unique rides like this! Only downside was the spinning was minimal. Anyways, Busch Gardens Tampa impressed as always!

Unfortunately I don't think you'll be able to get early entry and I don't know of anyways to "sneak in" if that's what you're referring to. Honestly though if you have fastlane plus you'll get more rides in than you really need. Have fun! I actually work in guest services, and unfortunately no, the 2017 pass benefits won't start until 2017. Sorry about that! And no, there's no other way to get in to early entry without having a platinum pass or staying at a CP hotel! Thank you for this information! I'm a bit disappointed but with Fast Lane Plus for the day, I won't need the hour early entry. It will hurt watching everyone enjoying the coasters while I standby and watch but such is life! Thanks again!

Question!!! I was a 2015 platinum pass holder but did not renew for 2016. I plan to get a Cedar Point platinum pass for 2017. Will that allow me early entry when I go this Saturday? Also, does the pass processing open early? If so, any idea on how early? I am only at the park Saturday and want to make the most of it. I will be getting Fast Lane Plus. If my 2017 platinum pass won't get me in for early entry, is there any other way into early entry without staying on property?

I'll be at Cedar Point this weekend as well! Curious how you got a backstage tour! Very cool. I was going to do the morning coaster tour but they don't appear to offer that this late in the season.

Cedar Point Friday night (possibly) and all day Saturday! Conneaut Lake Park for Pumpkin Fest and Ghost Lake on Sunday! I may drive by Geauga Lake too if Big Dipper is still standing... pay my respects! I loved that coaster and miss this park so much!

Boardwalk Bullet runs year round I believe, but not daily. Cheetah at Wild Adventures used to run daily when the park operated every day of the year except Christmas Day. It really showed because just a few years after opening, the ride was a rough mess. It's fine now that GCI retracked it and the park cut its hours wayyyy back to mostly just summer and weekends.

Thank you for your input. I am thinking it'll be pretty busy, but I was hoping the hurricane may distract people from going to the park even though it will have already passed most of Florida. I'm hoping anyone who went to west Florida will be on their way back home now, and maybe tourists that had the options to adjust travel plans won't be around this weekend. I am sure most of the crowd is local and it won't really make a difference, but I can buy the front of line pass if needed. Luckily I already have a hotel in Tampa!

I'll be at the park Saturday night and MAYBE Sunday for the first half of the day. I've been to BGT many times but never during their haunt event, so I'm looking for any tips! How crowded will it be Saturday night and Sunday morning/early afternoon? I am usually more interested in riding coasters at night than doing haunts, but based on people's reviews here, I am starting to want to do the haunts. If I am there both days I will probably do at least some haunts. If I get the front of line pass for haunts and coasters, would it be realistic to do all the haunts and one front of line access to each of the six rides included and still have a decent amount of time to hit my favorite coasters again? (suggesting I don't go back on Sunday). Does front of the line access to coasters assign seats? I don't want to be stuck in the middle of trains, but I don't mind back if front is off limits.

I am driving into Florida tomorrow (Yes I know there is a giant hurricane, but I will be on the west coast where it will just be rainy and winds up to 35mph) and I am trying to add some parks in while I am down there. Busch Gardens Tampa on Saturday night and MAYBE SeaWorld and Fun Spot Sunday if everything is back and operating like normal. Orlando is expecting 90mph winds so I don't know what that means for turning around and reopening coasters. I may just spend both days at Busch Gardens Tampa and avoid Orlando all together.

A mine train concept from RMC that is family friendly would be amazing. It would be smooth and they could still include some light but surprising forces that would have riders laughing more than screaming. I am all for this idea. I wouldn't be against seeing a very thrilling and immersive coaster from them either, think of Expedition Everest as an RMC.

Well it sounds like Kraken is ruined for me for the time being. Good thing I had the chance to marathon it with no line and fast dispatches last year for three hours. I absolutely LOVE this coaster. I'm getting tired of VR expanding across parks, but I can see why they are doing it.