CedarFlags

I stopped reading when I saw that. Considering the full price of a single day ticket to ONE PARK at the Disneyland Resort is $99 when Six Flags is always running deals on gold passes that cost less than that for an entire year with parking and Hurricane Harbor (I got my gold pass during the Labor Day flash sale and pay the $6/month membership)...you can't compare the two in any way. Also, FYI: You're still paying for FastPass. It's just built into the cost instead of being offered as an up-charge. FastPass existed at Disneyland WAY before $99 tickets did though, so the "it's just built into the price of your ticket" point doesn't hold water for me. From 1999 (when FP was launced) to 2000, ticket prices only went up by $1.50. When DCA opened in 2001, a one park ticket went up by $2.

RMC seems to have a bunch of projects already lined up right now, so idk if it would be able/willing to fit another one in that starts just a few months from now. Also, it seems like RMC would probably be able to charge more than GCI because it's so hot right now.

GCI is probably more realistic, but it's fun to dream about RMC. Haha.

Cedar Point upcharges you for the level change form regular to Plus to get 4 more coasters included, but doesn't then also charge you another fee on top of the upgrade for any specific rides, nor are there any restrictions for how often you can utilize your upgrade on those rides throughout the day. That's what sticks in my craw the most, at least with Magic Mountain's Flash Pass... I may be judging other SF parks to harshly by lumping them in with MM.

JFC... that's... ya.

How does any of this make sense to you? I've purchased Gold and Platinum level FastPass and it has significantly reduced my wait time. SIGNIFICANTLY. Was it worth the money? You bet. My time waiting, baking in the sun is totally worth it. Hell, Disneyland Fastpass allows you to be virtually queued for said ride while you occupy yourself with other things to do, including waiting for another ride (same as SF). It just saved you waiting 70+ minutes for Space Mtn while you waited 40min for Thunder Mtn. By the time you're off Thunder, youre ready to BYPASS a majority of the Space Mtn line. How does that NOT save you time? Without it, you would be waiting that 70+ min after you get off Thunder Mtn. How is that not valued.... One word, entitlement... Critically analyzing the relative value of similar products makes me entitled? This is interesting. Tell me more...

How does any of this make sense to you? I've purchased Gold and Platinum level FastPass and it has significantly reduced my wait time. SIGNIFICANTLY. Was it worth the money? You bet. My time waiting, baking in the sun is totally worth it. Hell, Disneyland Fastpass allows you to be virtually queued for said ride while you occupy yourself with other things to do, including waiting for another ride (same as SF). It just saved you waiting 70+ minutes for Space Mtn while you waited 40min for Thunder Mtn. By the time you're off Thunder, youre ready to BYPASS a majority of the Space Mtn line. How does that NOT save you time? Without it, you would be waiting that 70+ min after you get off Thunder Mtn. How is that not valued.... No this guy probably has never used a Six Flags Flash Pass and misunderstood. The "one time only" thing is specifically for Twisted Colossus, X2, and YOLOCoaster. Because of their high demand and/or low capacity, the park doesn't want them on the full Flash Pass, so they are set up on a reservation system. Once you buy your Platinum Flash pass, you have the ability to purchase individual single ride reservations for those attractions. This allows people to still skip the line while not overly slowing down the standby queue. For every other ride in the park, you can use the Flash Pass as much as you want. The only limitation is that you can only reserve one ride at a time, so you just reserve your next ride each time you check in. I think it's actually a little better than Fast Pass/Flash Pass is that the Six Flags version in that it is remote, so you don't have to be physically at the next ride to check in for it. There are definitely days where a Flash Pass isn't worth it, and I'd wager there are more of those than days than ones where it's necessary. But there are a lot of days, especially in the summer, where it's a great advantage. The busiest day I ever visited the park on was on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and I sure didn't feel like it was a ripoff then, more like a life saver. Here's a breakdown of why I think the SF Flash Pass system is the worst value out there. Flash Regular - Compare Six Flags' regular level Flash Pass to Disney's FastPass... They both do exactly the same thing, but Disney's is free and also available for all the major attractions. Six Flags' is about $40 and only available for certain rides (which tend to not have the longest lines anyways). Flash Gold - If you want to have your wait times reduced, you have to pay more money for the Gold Flash Pass. This is somewhat comparable to Cedar Fair's Fast Lane, but with Cedar Fair, your wait time is only determined by how many others are in the Fast Lane line, not the regular line. If the regular line is an hour, but there are only a couple people in front of you, you can get on in 10 minutes with Fast Lane vs 30 minutes with Flash Gold. Depending which Cedar Fair park you're in (like KBF), there may be only one level of Fast Lane, which covers all the major attractions. Flash Gold covers most, but not all. Flash Platinum - If you also want to go on the rides whose lines will be the longest (which is one of the main reasons for getting the thing in the first place), you have to then spend EVEN MORE for Platinum. Then, once you've spent well over $100 for your Flash Platinum, you have to pay ANOTHER FEE to be able to reserve a time on some attractions and/or only be allowed to use your reservation ability one time per day. Cedar Fair's Fast Lane Plus is 20-30% cheaper than Six Flag's Flash platinum, and there are no restrictions on how often you can use it, nor are there extra fees for specific rides.

Honestly, the Flash Pass is a ripoff any way you slice it. Disney's FastPass also is just a reservation system that doesn't actually decrease your wait time, but at least it's free. Cedar Fair's Fast Lane costs extra, but at least it significantly reduces your wait time for a fee that is still only in the double digits, and you aren't limited to one ride per day.

It depends on what you want to be closer to. The hotel gate will put you close to Magnum, TTD, Corkscrew, and Gemeni. The marina gate puts you close to Raptor, Millennium Force, Rougarou, and Iron Dragon (with Maverick being about a 7 minute walk). Yes, parking is $15. I got there for early entry on a slower day, so I was able to park super close. If you're going at regular park opening, and on a fairly busy day, I'd suggest getting there 30-40 minutes early. Grab some breakfast and eat while you wait.

Why would they build a 2nd wing coaster? And also, no. That area is pretty close to the property line, and they need to keep at least some backstage space.

First of all, check out THIS thread. It helped me immensely for my trip to CP last week. 3. Enter the park at the Marina gate, do MF, then walk back to Maverick and work your way toward the front of the park. Park in the regular lot, toward the front/left side and the walk down the road next to Blue Streak about 5 minutes. There are much fewer people at the entrance, and it puts you in the middle of the park, really close to MF. 4. If at all possible, consolidate everything into a small fanny pack so you don't have to deal with lokerz. I saw people wear them on almost every ride, and I wish I had brought one instead of my backpack. Because the park is so massive, it's really a pain to have to choose between re-renting lokerz all day, not having your stuff with you, or constantly hiking half a mile to retrieve something. GateKeeper has lokerz, but you don't need them because there are also loose item bins in the station, so don't be fooled.

It depends on how long the line is for the ride you want to go on. Flash Pass just reserves you a time to come back to the ride (like Disney's FastPass, but not free). If you upgrade to the higher levels, it cuts down your wait time to a percentage of the current regular wait time. With the Gold pass, you wait for half as long as the regular line.

I'd love to see a Dynamic Attractions SFX coaster, but I know that's just a crazy dream. My craziest dream would actually be for them to buy some land in the hills behind the park and throw a super quick and terrain-y Intamin giga coaster back there. Maybe remove the go-karts and use that space for the station and queue area.

I totally agree on your first 2 points. I've also heard here that a test seat is coming out front. Yes, no loose articles on the platform. That will dramatically improve the boarding process. it's a small inconvenience on rides like millennium force and top thrill dragster, but definitely helps capacity. i'd definitely not be against it. I just made my first pilgrimage to CP and I have to agree. MF and TTD ran like clockwork because of their station design and because of the no loose items. It was inconvenient having to re-rent "Bunnies" throughout the day, but the system works miracles for capacity.

The one huge pain in the butt about CP is the "Fluffy Bunnies". I probably spent 15 or 20 bucks on them throughout the day, and then didn't have any of my stuff with me for most of it. Because the park is so huge, it's really a pain to try and go retrieve anything, only to have to go put it back for another ride. My suggestion would be some kind of transferable rental where you pay a little more money than a standard rental. but you can take your stuff with you when you're done with one ride, and then put it in a different "Fluffy Bunny" later when you need to.

Colossus was boring. There, I said it (somebody had to). Maybe back in the 70s and 80s it was really fun, but for the last 10+ years, it has been "meh" at best. They have to give people something to come back for, and when space is limited, stuff has to change. Rides can't rest on laurels from 30 years ago when the ride experience doesn't deliver anymore. Especially for Magic Mountain being so remote AND having to compete with two other major theme parks that are in the same population center... they need to sell tickets.

I just got back home form my very first visit to Cedar Point, and... WOW. Seriously. Back on topic... I read up about the seat belt thing on Magnum and it totally worked. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the ride. A couple shaky spots here and there, and the lap bars aren't great, but... for being as old as it is, and an Arrow coaster, it's pretty fun. Definitely a lot easier to ride than Desperado, which is 5 years younger and twice as painful (and has been for a decade).

They seemed to be shifting between 25 and 45 minutes. Lots of school groups in the park this week, so it's busier than one might expect.

Apocalypse was still fabulous just a few years ago... has it really gone downhill so quickly?

It actually makes sense from a cost standpoint. GR always goes down for maintenance both before and after Haunt, so they're saving the labor cost of of having to schedule in-house maintenance employees for an additional couple weeks. The fiscal year resets in early October, so it'll help keep the department from going over its labor budget in the final weeks of the fiscal year. Plus, it'll make life so much nicer for the backstage mazes without that thing rattling by every minute.

In most of the testing videos, you can hear a pretty noticeable squeal after the High 5

So, the weather forecast for this weekend looks like it most likely going to rain at some point... just not consistently. What's the best game plan for patchy bad weather? Trying to formulate a plan so I don't have to miss out on the major attractions.

That timing sounds about right, Colossus stopped operating in August and the full iron horse makeover was ready for Memorial Day. If GR goes down for a topper track rehab in September, then it would probably be ready for spring break or Memorial Day at the latest. I would imagine that topper track rehab would take less time than a full iron horse makeover. And yes, please get rid of that damn trim brake! I meant the timeline for RMC. I remember reading somewhere on here that the company was going to have its hands full for the next year.

I cannot possibly agree more. The absence of that brake is my litmus test for whether or not the rehab works.

I spoke with someone who works in Rides Maintenance at Knott's today and she told me GhostRider is scheduled to go down for a long rehab in September, and that it's being done by an outside contractor. I couldn't get any more details from her than that. I would love if it got a topper track from RMC, but I don't know how realistic that would be in that timeline. Unless they only replace a few of the roughest sections instead of doing the whole ride...