Arthur_Seaton

Bizarre, isn't it? I thought I was just misremembering it at first, but I know that ride pretty well as I always used to ride it when at the park, and I still can't figure out why it feels that slow and sluggish now. Train weight? Over-active trims? Even though I've no interest in VR myself, it does seem that the slower ride will allow for a less nauseating experience. And yes, the broken and malfunctioning headsets was also happening when I rode Shockwave. That's largely what was causing the 5+ minute dispatches: people couldn't get their headsets to stay on their heads or focus, and then it seemed like at least one would break for every train causing the ops to have to replace it before the ride started. I saw several people arrive back in the station complaining that their screen shut down midway through the ride as well. TC ops at SF have been pretty great since the ride opened, I find. I also find that most of the staff at the park are consistently on-the-ball, but the TC crew are always especially great.

Both the line and the ride now seem painfully slow to me

I had a similar experience with Revolution. I'm not sure what the cause is but it felt seriously attenuated to me even though I don't think a significant speed reduction is technically possible (or it wouldn't complete the course). Maybe the weight of the trains made it feel more forceful in the past, or maybe the new trains allow them to run it much slower without too much traction, but it felt like it was struggling to crest some of the hills. I skipped the VR as it's not my thing, but I agree that operations are going to be a mess when the place is busy. I don't know what Shockwave's (SFOT) usual dispatch is like, but problems with the goggles pushed dispatches beyond 5 minutes every time I rode it. Fingers crossed SFMM will figure out a good system.

I think one would be great in the park. There's a pretty good sized piece of land where Deja Vu once stood that's just filled with junk (the queue line and ramp up to the station is still standing there), but that corner of the park is so buried that the visual spectacle would be lost. Sticking it up on top of the mountain would be great because of the elevation, but there's not that much room up left there, and Tatsu gets too close to the Sky Tower to even consider some kind of potential swap-out. If anywhere, that space in front of FT where Flashback used to be is probably the most viable. Then again, the park has the kind of acrophobia Starflyers achieve pretty well covered with Lex Luthor.

You make it sound so sort of nice. 4:30 all heck broke loose with massive wind and lighting strikes in the area and hail like a mo-fo. It lasted about 40 minutes then skis cleared and winds drop but by 5:40 winds were back up and it was interesting. Park closed at 6pm so non issue being so late in the day. I was there for a few hours today as well. The weather certainly started out weird with momentary gusts and some light drizzle but then it all landed at once — hailstones and high winds. The air seemed electrified. It was quite beautiful soon after, though. I got there around 2pm and stayed until around 5pm. It was dead and pretty much everything was a walk-on for the time I was there except for Revolution. When I arrived, the line was down through the switchback to the cement arch and the phone app clocked that to be around 70 mins. I watched for a little while and it didn't seem to be moving, nor were there any trains going around the circuit, so I figured I'd try back later. I had no interest in doing the VR thing as I tried that in Texas and wasn't impressed by it, but I did want to try out the new trains. I returned later and the line was about the same, but the VR had been shut down due to the weather, and that supposed 70-minute line took all of 10-minutes without headsets involved. I doubt the line was ever 70 minutes to begin with, but I couldn't help but wonder just how much the VR will be slowing down operations during the busy times. I like the rubbery seats in the cars and the way they grip you. This is actually kind of helpful for the VR rides as, when I tried the headset on Shockwave, I was using one hand to support the phone-mask thing and the other to control it so I had no way to brace myself against laterals. The seats really grip you quite well here, so there's no sliding around at all. Although the ride is 100 times more pleasant without the OTS restraints, there are a couple of parts of the track that still give you a jolt, and I couldn't help but wonder if the left turn after the loop and the drop into the right turn before the tunnel would benefit from a little re-profiling. Schwarzkopf is the master, in my opinion, but I still find the ride to be a bit shaky in those spots. Also, I swear the ride felt slower. In fact, it seemed that the first hill after the initial drop was braked quite a bit more than I recall in the past, to the point where the train barely even slowed down before entering the descent into the loop — it was already crawling at that point. Furthermore, I thought it was going to roll back before entering the final helix as it crested the hill incredibly slow. So, I must say that I was surprised by how tame the ride felt in the new form, yet I can't imagine it's changed that much. The area around the back of the station looks fantastic, FWIW. The new area behind Revolution I noticed something interesting on Twisted Colossus: One of the trains (I'm certain it was the green, but may have been the blue) felt a tad sluggish compared to the others. I rode three times, and the ops were great at setting up duels each time. But when the blue left the lift at the same time as the orange, they stayed close for the whole course and ended at virtually the same level. The green, however, would get left behind next to the blue or the orange. Riding the green also felt a bit more rattley than normal, and I noticed that the others provided more consistent air — especially on the blue-side drop out of the high five element. This was also the first time I'd ridden TC after trying New Texas Giant and TC is definitely a more intense ride to me although I prefer NTAG's layout. TC Line (all day) Scream was rattling away, but not as bad as I've noticed in the past. Riddler, however, was as rough as the last time I rode it (and it was bad then). Really rough in a number of spots now, calling for some major defensive riding to avoid both brain damage and sterility. I've never been a fan of that ride and usually skip it (I dislike gimmicky standing / flying arrangements), but the past two times I've been, I've ridden it and have been surprised how crunchy it's become. Apocalypse was as jacked up as ever, but not quite as bad as it has been (the hail didn't help though). I was the only one on the train at one point — that's how dead the place was. This was also my first time riding Goliath after riding the Texas version, and I do indeed prefer ours. It's definitely more smooth at the bottom of the drop, and the fewer black-outy helixes the better. Also rode FT, Ninja, Superman, Tatsu a few times. Due to walk-ons and re-rides, I managed to get a good 15 or so rides in overall in about 2.5 hours before the weather turned insane. Ghost town with looming clouds Perhaps because it was because the place was so empty, and many of the staff were preoccupied with staying warm, but there was more shenanigans going on than normal with the GP. Lots of line jumping (on Revolution, at least), lots of cell phones out on rides, people smoking while walking around (actual cigarettes as opposed to those vapey thing), and a decent amount of couples dry-humping each other. People are still determined to drag all kinds of luggage onto TC with them, and at one point, a dispatch was held up because a young couple couldn't get their in-car selfie right and wanted to retake from different angles. It's hard to keep from getting all judgy about people's behavior at a place like SFMM

I've only ridden one version of this rides (and found myself utterly underwhelmed by it), but it seemed to me that the ride mechanism was actually quite basic. It was mainly a bunch of video games projected onto screens with a bit of fog here and there, so I'm guess that the manufacturer designs them for high-traffic parks in such a way that plugging the ride in in the mornings and booting up the computer is really all it needs (although it sounds like the game crashes and needs a reboot quite often). The version I rode seemed very similar to that video game ride at Knott's, so I assume it'd be a huge hit with the GP.

I went to all three last year (first-time visit to HHN). Personally, I think Knott's is the most well-rounded and some of the mazes are comparable to HHN but they still have the right amount of cheese. HHN is very well done with some original ideas, but whereas Knott's feels like you're in a world, HHN is much more broken up — simply due to the layout of the park. Knott's feels more complete, historically as well as thematically. Be prepared for intense crowds — either suck it up and buy a front of line pass or make sure your group is diligent and strategic if you want to maximize on the experience. SFMM's last haunt was abysmal. The year prior was a bit better, but I went to the 2015 one several times and it was consistently poor. Only go there if you're interested in getting on some of the rides.

I had a bit of a soft spot for Windjammer too. It had a home-made feel to it that I kind of dug, but then again, I'm one of the few people who liked Flashback at Magic Mountain as well.

For what it's worth, SFMM is my home park, so I know when to go and how to navigate the place to avoid crazy crowds. As the result, the idea of any kind of fast pass at that park seems bizarre to me. However, I just visited Six Flags Over Texas for the first time a few weeks ago and, knowing that I wouldn't be back anytime soon, I splurged on the platinum pass. It was perfect, and I didn't regret it once. My point is that your point about avoiding the headache is totally legit and sounds like a good enough reason to pay for the platinum — especially at place that has as many rides as SFMM. I'm pretty sure that I'll be buying fast passes for any park I visit that draws a big crowd and that I probably won't be returning to in the near future.

The space was cleared and some of the pieces seemed to be present when I was there a couple of days ago.

A quick bump rather than starting a new thread for Sandy Lake. I visited the park yesterday and it was exactly what I expected — rural and charming. I could see a place like this appealing to families and birthday events and whatnot. I went to check out the old-school pretzel as I'm a big fan of classic dark rides and this one didn't disappoint. The park is basically a small collection of vintage flats and one-of-a-kind rides, so it's a worthy stop for enthusiasts who are in the area (it's about 20 minutes from Six Flags Over Texas). The Pretzel is pure vintage with a lot of original tricks in place. The guy who operates it has been working there for many years and will talk your ear off (his name's James). He was a fascinating figure with a bunch of stories about the park and his life — many of which he'll repeat as though he's telling you for the first time. The ride itself is really just a large room with some dividers, and the effects are what you'd expect — papier-mâché-looking models dressed in flaking fluorescent paint. Sometimes the scenes would light up; sometimes they wouldn't. These are the kind of dark rides that appeal to me the most, and James' stories only added to the experience. I also rode the Zumur — which, when I saw it running, I couldn't believe how fast it was going. I did capture some footage of it as the speed that it spins at is pretty incredible. When it's at full speed, the seats are almost at 90-degrees and the g-forces on the ride were pretty intense. I don't handle spinning rides too well these days, and this one pushed my limits, but I had to ride it as it looked too crazy to skip. The op speeds it up and slows it down to change the elevation, but toward the end of the cycle, he set it on high and left it there for a few minutes. I skipped rides like the scrambler, the spider, and the tilt-a-whirl as I've ridden those kind of rides many times before. I did, however, ride the space shuttle as it looked like it was knocked together in someone's garage. Pretty fun, producing the exact same effects that you'd expect from a regular swinging ship. The tire-drive was on the axle instead of the base, but aside from that, it followed the same logic. I also rode the roll-o-plane as I used to ride them when I was younger and wanted to see if it brought back memories. I kind of wussed out and kept the cage upright for the whole ride (not a fan of that zac-spin style face-planting effect), but it was certainly fun. There was also a little train that I was tempted to ride, but it wasn't clear to me exactly where it went, so I skipped it. Overall, a nice quirky little place that's worth checking out if you're into old-school flats. There's clearly a lot of history to Sandy Lake, and the place upheld much of its vintage charm with authenticity.

I'm not a native to the park, but I did just visit for the first time yesterday. I guess it depends on what rides you're most interested in, but NTAG is the standout, and Titan's clearly popular as well. They're right next to each other. I'd then hoof it over to the other side of the park to hit Mr. Freeze and potentially Sky Screamer. If you end up getting a pass because the place is busy, I'd suggest knocking out a few of the non-fast pass options early (like Runaway Mountain and Judge Roy Scream) and save your fast pass rides for later.

Report from Saturday, April 2nd (with a few crappy iPhone pics): Before I begin, a quick word of thanks to folks in this thread who offered sage advice about visiting the park for the first time. All my questions were answered by the kind folks here, and my day at the park was made even better as the result. As has already been noted in this thread, April 2nd was a hideously busy day for the park. I suspected this would be the case a few weeks in advance so I’d already decided to suck it up and splurge on a Platinum Pass in order to make the most of the day. I’d never used a flash pass at any park before, and I’m pretty good at navigating crowds at my home park, so this was uncharted territory for me. As a season pass holder who’s already used his pass a crazy amount of times, I figured the extra $110 would be worth it to make the most of the day. And I was right; the pass was the best decision ever. I was so busy running from one ride to another that I never really got a true sense of how long the lines were that I was skipping. I would occasionally ask people I chatted with, but I didn’t want to rub it in to people who’d been waiting for hours that I’d waited just five minutes. The app listed most rides at around 85 minutes all day, but from what I was told, several of the bigger rides were hitting 2-3 hours, and even the smaller ones like Runaway Mountain and the Mine Train were hitting the 2-hour mark. I figured that the park would operate in the same manner as my home park, letting gold pass member in a few minutes early, but as it turns out, the park was letting people in 90 minutes early for ERT on a number of the bigger rides. I did not see any advertisement for this otherwise I would have been there at 9am sharp, but I already planned on arriving there an hour early to scope the place out and maybe grab a quick breakfast before the day began. As I approached the entrance from the freeway, I noticed that not only were cars already lining up for the parking lot, but that several rides were already running — with people riding. So I skipped breakfast, grabbed a parking spot, and headed into the park as fast as I could. I was in by 9:35 and the place was already fairly crowded. The Flash Pass store had not yet opened and, although there were only two other people in line in front of me, we were told that it wouldn’t open until 10am. I decided to grab a single-rider ride on La Vibora but once I saw just how fast the place was filling up, I decided not to risk it and to keep my place in line at the Flash Pass store. This was a smart move as within an hour, the line for Flash Passes circled the entire entrance plaza. There were a lot of new people working at the park that day (self identified), and the Flash Pass crew were having some problems understanding the process, but I was paid up and out of there pretty fast. I plugged in a ride on Giant for 10:15 then went and jumped on La Vibora’s SR line. Flash Pass Line Obviously the day was an anomaly, and this was my first visit to the park, but I found the place to be a bit of a mixed bag overall — one that made me appreciate my home park even more. Magic Mountain gets bashed a lot, but I’d say that the park is generally a step up from this one in a number of ways. That’s not to say that there were any real major issues during my visit to SFOT, but several factors contributed to my impression. The employees ranged from friendly / pleasant to quite poor, veering more toward the latter as the day went on. My guess is that this was due to the intense crowds and that the season is still really only in warm-up mode, but some of the employees . . . oh boy! I rarely let such things bother me as I don’t expect to get stellar service from, let’s say, a fast-food restaurant, so when a park opts to pay low wages, poor employee attitudes and behavior is more reflective of the park itself. The overcrowding was clearly impacting guests as well as I saw a number of very public meltdowns and some downright aggressive behavior. The big WWF “conference” may have been played a role, but the public in attendance was an interesting lot. I lost count of Southern Cross neck tattoos and un-ironic overalls. The park layout is fairly confusing — to the point that several of the employees didn’t seem to know where things were (again, new people). Walkways tended to be quite narrow, and severe bottle-necking was taking place due to some SUV-sized strollers, convoys of mobility scooters, and some ample proportions. As every ride and restaurant’s queue line exceeded their switchbacks, multiple lines crossed paths and people had a hard telling what it was they were actually standing in line for. While riding both Judge Roy Scream and Sky Screamer, I could see the line of cars trying to get to the park backed up far into the distance. Extreme lines were certainly the theme for the day, and the park was clearly having some challenges with crowd control and organization. Fortunately, the platinum pass spared me of virtually all of that (except for food — which was just out of the questions), but for the handful of rides that combined single-rider and flash pass lines (Pandemonium being the worst example of this), utter confusion ensued. Although I didn’t feel the brunt of it myself, it was pretty clear that people were agitated. Overcrowded walkways. Food at the park was a real problem for me — not because of the long waits for anything edible per se — but because the selections were quite limited. I eat healthy and don’t eat meat, so I really don’t expect to find much of anything at any theme park I visit, but there was virtually nothing I could eat at SFOT. I even asked the employees at the “healthy” food place (no substantial veggie food there) and they noted that there’s really not much on offer. Bottled water machines were broken and/or empty, and that started a whole debacle in which, following a small group of us losing money in a line of machines that clearly weren’t functioning, a nearby employee told us to talk to the area manager who told us to talk to call the number on the machine (which was just a series of automated responses that hung up on you) and then told us to talk to Guest Relations who told us we were SOL and made it clear that she had more important things to do than Relate to Guests. So, again, while I keep my expectations very low with food / drink in theme parks in general, SFOT was a bust — which isn’t ideal when you’re there all day. I'm a super-picky eater though, so I have to at least own my part in the problem The park stank — literally. But this was clearly another side effect of the crowds as there was a lingering smell of vomit in a number of areas, and the area around Justice League was having some fairly serious sewage issues. While the restrooms and trash cans at SFMM are nothing to write home about, it was just one of the small details that made me appreciate the place more when compared to the Texas version. SFOT is clearly an older park and is a bit more run-down, but MM shines by comparison. Trying not to let the impact of overcrowding color my impression too much, the general experience at SFOT seemed a bit shoddy overall — from layout, to presentation, to organization, to employees. Again, nothing egregiously untoward, but lots of room for improvement. But enough of all that — onto the rides: La Vibora: Far rougher than a gliding, slaloming ride should be. I’ve only ridden the bobsleigh ride at Blackpool (and that was many years ago), and Flying Turns at Knoebels, so I don’t have much too compare this to, but the seating and wheel system produced some unexpectedly bone-jarring jolts. It’s a fun ride overall — but it looks like it should be much more graceful than it actually is. Single-rider / Flash Pass is a must for this though as the throughput is a joke. Mr. Freeze: I generally like Premier launchers; I always loved Speed in Las Vegas, and I kind of hoped that this would be somewhat similar. To be honest, I found it a bit too intense and disorienting to be enjoyable. The backwards launch was fun, but the snappiness of the twists while going in reverse was a little much. I liked the LIMs on the spike as well as the freefall back down (a little bit of a launch too, I detected), but overall I didn’t dig the ride as much as other Premier rides I’ve been on. Although I did go on it a couple of times, it’s not one that I found myself drawn to and would have a tough time riding over and over. It seemed to be having some problems throughout the day too as twice I had to cancel Flash Pass reservations due to it going offline. Cool loading station though — a really smart design for these boomerang-style layouts. Mr. Freeze earlier in the day Sky Screamer: I rode the version of this in New Jersey, and this one’s just as intimidating. There’s something unholy about being up that high with just a few little chains holding you in. Of course it’s totally safe and whatnot, but that doesn’t help much when you’re on it. When the seats start to spin in the wind, that’s when things get super-gnarly. I rode it several times but the horrifying factor never really subsided enough for me to fully enjoy the flight, but these are fantastic rides for parks and they’re especially good at night. I hope more of them pop up. Horrifying, but fun. Justice League: These just aren’t my thing. I love dark rides — the older and cheesier the better (I went to ride the Sandy Lake Pretzel today and had far more fun on that!). I guess I’m just not into rides that really only push you up against a video game screen as this reminded me of that newer ride at Knott’s Berry Farm, and I was not a fan of that one in the slightest. To be honest, I’m not even sure what the Justice League actually is, but I did see Superman and maybe Spiderman in there (I think). The plot made no sense as the result, and found myself thinking more about what I’d ride next rather than actually shooting the various superheroes and whatnot. I see the appeal for fans of the material, but I’ll take a crappo carnival ghost train any day over something like this. Batman: It’s a clone — not much to say. I only rode it once as these things don’t vary much. They’re swift, intense etc., but I actually find them a little forceful and don’t ride them that much. This one both sounded and felt shriller (if that makes any sense) — which I assumed might have something to do with the wheels? It had an almost tinny whine to it. Batman (and Mr. Freeze) Titan: I really, really like Goliath at SFMM, so I was looking forward to checking out how this slightly modified version differed. Even though the changes are small, I do prefer the SFMM version. The camel-back airtime hill on the SFOT version seemed like it pulled out too soon in favor of that long, awkward straight section (I could be wrong about that, though). But the one things that I don’t like too much about the SFMM version is the helix (I grey out pretty easy), and so doubling the helixes wasn’t going to help me like this version more. The mid-course helix into the brake run felt just as intense as the way the old Goliath helix used to run — I had to really lean into it to keep myself conscious. Also, I’m not sure what the cause was, but the bottom of the first drop seemed much more rattly than the SFMM version. Titan’s one of the most intense rides at SFOT as the result, but that’s less true of Goliath at SFMM — largely due to the fact that there are crazier rides there. Titan still seems to be one of the “big ticket” draws at the park whereas at SFMM, it’s long been eclipsed by other stuff. Shock Wave: And speaking of rides being eclipsed, Shock Wave seems like a better candidate for the VR makeover than Revolution (aesthetically speaking), because the ride itself isn’t that impressive. I’m a huge Schwarzkopf fan, but this one didn’t do much for me as far as a stand-alone ride goes. A few more pops of air than you’d ordinarily find on a Schwarzkopf, but somewhat of an uninspired layout. I’d take a badass little Jet Star or Wildcat over this layout any day. As has been stated in other threads, the VR makeover isn’t nearly as silly as what it originally looked to be. Here, it’s well implemented and certainly adds a new dimension while preserving an old ride. I still think this tech has a way to go, but the groundwork has been set. It’s not my cup of tea even though it didn’t make me feel sick in any capacity, but I find that it takes away more than it adds. I was going to attend the SFMM Revolution pass holder preview, but I ended up skipping it as I’m just not that excited about the concept. Having now ridden this one, I’m certain that I’d much rather ride Revolution with my vision unobscured. Like Justice League, this simple isn’t my thing, but I certainly see the way it would appeal to others — especially gamers. The big concern I’d have though is the general feasibility of the whole endeavor. Operations were painfully slow (6-8 minute dispatches), and the headsets keep breaking. It seemed that for every train, there would be at least two headsets that would break either before or during the launch. The whole ride would shut down periodically, and the headsets — despite being cleaned onsite — were fairly disgusting. In fact, when my headset broke prior to my first ride, the manager on duty raised concern over how filthy the headset was that I’d been handed. While waiting in line, I watched closely how the headsets were being cleaned, and at least two of the three people working at the table were preoccupied and barely cleaned the sets at all. It’s a grim job that they have — simply wiping headsets like standing in front of an assembly line conveyer — but cleanliness is kind of important here, and the cleaning process seems flawed. While there’s some real potential for this tech, I don’t see it being sustainable for much longer in this specific format. Either that or there’ll be a massive outbreak of pinkeye linked to one of these rides. Also, as they don’t instruct you very well on how to use the devices, several people were complaining that the image was blurry, but nobody tells you about the focus feature, so hopefully they’ll address that soon enough too. VR Goggles (part of that debris looks like bits the padding materials) VR Goggles (part of that debris looks like bits the padding materials) Superman: These kind of drop towers (S&S) are surprisingly tame to me, but this one’s fun because of the launch up and subsequent launch down program. Not much to say about it, but it reminded me of the one at Knott’s a little — relatively sedate when compared to Intamin, but probably aiming more for fun than thrills. In that regard, it succeeds as the intimidation is less, making the ride experience a little more enjoyable. Pandemonium: The singe-rider I rode with said she’d been waiting in the single-ride line for 60 minutes to ride (they do form separate lines midway up the staircase) and she seemed genuinely bummed that the ride didn’t add up to much. Even though I only waited a fraction of the time she did, I wasn’t impressed by it either. It’s a crowd-draw kind of ride to me, largely due to its position in the park and the visual spectacle of what looks like an interactive, crazy experience. I’d rather ride something like this without the spinning, but I’m not one for gimmicks. It’s smooth, a little disorienting, but it really just felt like a standard-fare Mack wild mouse to me. Rodeo: I’m not a fan of spinning rides these days (the insane high-g chair swings at Sandy Lake near did me in), but I’ve never ridden a breakdance before so I was curious to check it out. I actually quite enjoyed it, and didn’t walk off feeling like death. Granted, it didn’t spin much, so it might have been a scaled down version for all I know), but the spinning motion itself seemed well suited to the moves the ride made. Overall, a fun little ride that I’m glad I tried. Oil Derrick: More intimidating than it seems. The elevator looks like it’d rust out at any second, and the slight swaying of the tower made me want to get down from there pretty quick. I actually feel more secure on rides like Superman than I do wandering around the top of towers like this. Still, despite my skittishness, it was worth the ride up. Judge Roy Scream: I loved this; just a good, old-fashioned woodie that does everything right. Nice speed; nice pops of air; not too-too shaky. Because it wasn’t part of the flash-pass system, I rode it early before the place got too packed, but I would have ridden it several times more later had I been given the chance. Definitely a park favorite for me, but I find that I tend to enjoy classic rides more than most. Pro-tip: If you do get a platinum pass on a busy day, knock out some of the non-platinum pass rides while everyone’s rushing for the bigger stuff. By the time the place is filled and the bigger stuff is commanding 2-3 hour waits, people will inevitably gravitate to the less-popular rides (like this), resulting in massive lines that the Flash Pass won’t help you with. I’m glad I knocked JRS out early with both front and back seat rides. Runaway Mine Train: I don’t expect much from these, but the SFMM and the New Jersey version stand out a bit more to me. Too much of the layout of this one seemed like it was made by twisting a coat hanger — it was kind of a pointless design. The final saloon/drop scene was a nice touch, but this was a one-time ride only for me. Again, ride before the park gets crazy busy as all the kiddos drag their parent on it, and it was clocking in at around a 2hr wait by mid afternoon (according to the app). Runaway Mountain: This showed up on the phone app as “fast pass” but not on the Flash Pass device. The line was about 2 hours for much of the day, so I wandered through to the exit station where the ride op told me to go through a hidden door just outside the exit. That door opened up directly into the boarding station where the manager said there was indeed no flash pass for that today, but she let me ride anyway by placing me into a group of three (I felt bad about that one though and took some serious stink-eye from the people waiting to board as the result). I love love love enclosed coasters — even if they’re just portable models. I recalled the layout from riding a Windstorm in Seattle a few years ago, but this was still very fun. Absolutely not worth a 2hr wait, though, and the family that I rode with were kind of pissed that that’s all there was to it after waiting for so long. NTAG: The best ride in the park, obviously. I must admit that my first ride on it made me appreciate Twisted Colossus a little more than I have in the past (I like that ride, but I really don’t like the layout that much to be honest). NTAG feels like a complete coaster as opposed to a couple of laps around a simple course design, yet I found several of the maneuvers to be a tad pointless (the overbanked turn) and the section leading up to (and through) the tunnels was actually a bit sluggish. The drop was solid toward the back; the airtime is more of the bruiser variety (I’m quite bruised from riding it so many times), and the overall ride was a blast. That’s what RMC does so well for me — more fun than simply intense, and that seemed to be the general consensus of the people I rode with. There was more laughter than screaming, and that’s what makes the RMCs I’ve ridden such good rides overall. Although I could do without the more aggressive ejector moments (the camel bump before the MCBR and the one that cuts under the lift — I feel the same way about the pre-high five hill on Twisted Colossus), much of the ride is a good mix of speed and interaction with the structure. That’s another thing RMC does well — integrating the ride experience into either the landscape or the structure itself. NTAG, like TC, is very re-ridable, and with the platinum pass, it’s not hard to marathon the ride and get a good 5-6 rides in per hour. I managed to ride it 14 times throughout the day, and the back seat was the best position to ride in, I found. NTAG - A never-before seen shot! It's actually tricky to photograph much of the ride. Running the line through the structure itself would have been a nice touch. I was at the park for just over 12 hours, didn’t stop to eat, and only really sat down once to slam an energy drink (I needed it). According to my watch-device, I walked almost 15 miles and I was certainly feeling it by the time I left. When I go to a new park solo, I’m willing to push my own limits to get the most value for my money, and this was certainly the case with this visit. Although I’m not sure that SFOT is a park I’ll return to anytime soon, I also don’t really need to as I covered more than my fair share of rides. Even though $115 ($110 with discount) for a Flash Pass seems steep (especially if you’re also paying for entry), the headache that you’re sidestepping on days like this makes it seem more worthwhile. I would most likely have given up midway through the day if I didn’t have that pass, and so even though I’m not sure where I stand ethically with them in relation to the experience of others, it was a smart splurge on my part for this visit. The lighting on Oil Derrick was great.

For what it's worth, I'm staying right across the freeway from Batman / Mr. Freeze, and I can already hear both of them running right now. EDIT: Looking at a flier I was given yesterday, there's ERT at the park for pass holders from 9am to 10am on both the 2nd and the 3rd.

See if you can get in early. I showed up yesterday around 9am thinking I'd get breakfast and camp out, but some of the rides were already running with people on them — 1.5 hours ahead of opening. Also, I wasn't into the VR experience either (there's a dial on the top to fix the blur), but Shock Wave wasn't that great even without the headset — and I'm a Schwarzkopf fan. I'd get more rides on Giant if possible, but I also really enjoyed Judge Roy Scream. I'll write up a full report once I'm back home.

I was also at the park today but I bought a Platinum Pass and got to ride tons of stuff. The place was an absolute zoo, but I didn't really feel it on the rides as the pass made pretty much all of them a walk-on. I arrived early and stayed until the very end, marathoning NTAG for the last hour. I also really didn't stop to eat (food was just out of the question today), which is partly why I was able to accomplish so much. Here's my count: NTAG x14 Titan x2 Mr. Freeze x3 Sky Screamer x4 Batman x1 Superman x3 Pandemonium x1 Justice League x1 Judge Roy Scream x2 Runaway Mine Train x1 Runaway Mountain x1 La Vibora x2 Oil Derrick x1 Rodeo x1 Shock Wave x3 (2 with, 1 without VR)

I thought Scream would have a been a good option as there's no theming there and the ride never really draws much of a crowd. The maneuvers would have leant themselves well to a kind of swooping video game VR feel, but it's not in the best shape. Revolution, for me, is one of the best rides in the park because of the way it interacts with the landscape. It's one of the last rides I'd want to obscure my vision on, to be honest. Glad people are enjoying it so far though.

To give you a sense of what you're looking at, the line does something like this. The place where the red line ends is approximately where the picture was taken. The place where the yellow line starts is where the actual entrance to the ride is. With one train, that must have been 4-5 hours. Even when X opened, I don't recall it ever going under the bridge.

Maybe it's because I rarely go to the park on busy days, but I haven't seen X2 develop a serious line for years — which is why that image is so shocking. I usually skip the ride, but the last few times I've been there, X2 has been a walk-on or, at most, a 5-minute wait. On the last three or so times I did ride it, trains were being sent through with just a few people on as there was hardly anyone in the station whereas Tatsu and FT were still pulling 45-60 minute waits. Time of year and even time of day clearly play a big role in that one.

Even, from that point (the bridge, right?), it seems like it would be longer. I haven't waited in line for that ride in many years, but the I seem to recall that when the switchbacks are full, that's a few hours right there. And when it's running a single train? It seems crazy!

Actually, I found a place right on the other side of the 30 that clearly didn't get the memo that there was a big event going on. The prices were super reasonable, and it's probably close enough to walk to the park (although, looking at Google maps, it doesn't like there's a sidewalk!)

Thanks, Chadster. Again, noob question: re-queueing a ride is simply a matter of getting off the ride, selecting the ride again on the gizmo, then jumping back in line? In addition to the friend deal, ScreamScape has warned that there's some WWF nonsense taking place right down the street as well, so hotel prices jumped through the roof, and there have been warnings that the traffic will be a disaster in the area. I'm expecting the worst, so I think the platinum pass is inevitable. Now I'm torn between buying online ($117, it seems) or waiting and buying in the park ($85 with gold pass discount).

I'll be heading to the park next weekend, and as a few people have pointed out, it looks like it'll be crazy-packed. I'm tempted to buy a platinum flash pass, but there seems to be a discrepancy of info online. Does anybody know if you can use the pass for multiple rides on the same ride? There's a scathing complaint from someone who claims that you can only ride each ride one time during the entire day. My guess is that they're referring to the consecutive re-ride rule on NTG and Titan, but from what I can gather, all you have to do is jump in line again? I've never used a flash pass at any park, so any clarification would be helpful. I'll probably get there super early and buy on-site, but I'm also willing to skip a number of the rides (only really care about riding NTG, Judge Roy Scream, La Vibora, Mr. Freeze, and Shock Wave), so the flash pass might not be necessary at all.

Wow! I'm surprised that's only a couple of hours though — I would have guessed somewhere between 4 and 6 hours. I skip it if the wait's any more than 6 minutes

When TC first opened, there were attempts to hurry the crowd up. They would announce before the air gates opened that you need to get in fast if you want to duel, but they do seem to have given up doing that. The ops are consistently fantastic on the ride, but the way the ride was designed makes it very difficult to duel consistently. The station doesn't help, but I suspect that the ride itself is to blame. If there was a way to hold and release a train after it has left the station built into the design, they could potentially have maximized the dueling, but I'm not quite sure how that would work. Add on top of that a barely-conscious GP that try to drag luggage, toys, and sundry other household items onto the ride with them, and you have problems. With that said, I've ridden it 50+ times, and I'd estimate that it's dueled far more than not. It doesn't seem like there's much the OPs could do except banning all the junk that people drag onto the ride with them. And yeah, it's a shame about Apocalypse — it's in a very bad state these days.