teacherkim

Bert! Congrats on the weight loss and thanks for the trip report. We are determined to reschedule for next year and make it down there. Will have a lot to celebrate at the end of the school year; my last year teaching and the boy's last year in high school. Of course at the moment I am teaching virtually from an empty classroom. We are required to drive in to school but are not allowed to meet with anyone, so we have to zoom with other teachers in other empty classrooms. Seriously.

JL is closed for the season, due to the entire experience being inside. Batman not too bad because the inside part is mostly visible to ride ops that will ask people to wear their masks (not that that is a guarantee it will happen) It seldom backs up past the station. Biggest issue is probably Freeze where the line is out of site of the ride ops. I can tell you that in addition to the trains being disinfected the ride ops also sanitize the railings periodically, in case that helps you make a decision.

Looks like they have finally made a decision about a Halloween event. Modified event with no haunt mazes but they will have outdoor scare zones and shows on the Palace porch. Sat and Sun 2-10, details on the app and website. Sounds like a reasonable compromise. They are also still showing HITP under events on the website.

While we overall liked the advantages of the virtual queue; we did notice this as well. Sat outside the entrance for Raven for about 15 minutes waiting for our window to open and watched several trains go that were nearly empty. Perhaps, just a little training for the ride ops to know when to allow people to enter the line early if the line has become a walk on? Hopefully, they can work out the kinks in the system.

I guess I should have clarified that you are allowed to take them off on the rides at HW, we kept them on during rides at KI and CP where it was required HW asked people to wear them where it was crowded but tended to not force the issue. About 50% complied with ride stations and lines. Everyone did have them on during the entry process however so they could get in, once in the park left a lot of wiggle room on whether or not you had to have them on. Well the sign at Mammoth's ride entrance definitely said 500 lbs and when we started to walk away knowing we weren't even close it was the employee that nodded toward another party of two in the same predicament which we proceeded to buddy up with. Wasn't too worried since 4 people in a Mammoth raft still gives you quite a bit of room to spread out. I'm guessing there must have been a few rides that were much too wild and it made them raise the weight limit.

Yeah we were just at CP, no INDOOR live entertainment. In addition to local bands they had CP staff performing bits of some of the indoor live shows on the outdoor stages. They were performing the same Snoopy beach themed show that we saw last year on the stage across from MF. As well as the usual 50's singers outside of Coasters diner. So to say there is no live entertainment is not correct.

I should add that we tended to wear our masks in the ride lines/stations and then just take them off once the ride was underway and while not everyone was doing that we experienced no mask shaming and everyone was very good about wearing masks during the crowded entry process, inside, and when we were all crowded up for rope drop.

We were there about two weeks ago and I agree with JG-77. The virtual queue was truly very easy to use and allowed you to spend very little time in the lines. If you can work a smartphone you can do the virtual lines. Waterpark definitely a different issue and there were times in the lines when social distancing was not always adhered to, however I found this to mostly be kids and one mean teacher starte normally backed them off. The only time I was truly uncomfortable was during a rainstorm closure while waiting for Cheetah Chase when a lot of people tried to huddle under the station canopy. However, it was our choice whether to leave or stay of course. And if you want to ride Mammoth you have to have a minimum of 500 lbs in your party, which means unless you have at least 3-4 in your group you will have to buddy up with strangers or pass.

OLD???? You're in your 30's, how do you think that makes those of us in our 50's feel, lol! Also, teens at a theme park? Who would have thought of such a thing, although after spending everyday with 7th graders for the last 27 years, I am glad that this is my last year teaching.

I'm guessing FF chances are pretty slim since it seems that all of the Halloween events are being cancelled industry wide. Maybe ok on HITP, although the roaming singers will probably have to be put on a stage instead of singing in people's faces I can tell you that I don't think they have made a final decision yet because employees have only been asked to post their availability through the end of September. However, my prediction is that they will be open throughout the fall but without FF. HITP I still have no idea. At least whatever happens we are better off than KC, WOF is shutting down completely after Labor Day.

I can't see them closing after Labor Day because they are still advertising jobs. I could see them not doing Halloweekends and just having "fun fall days" or something like that through October.

I mean THE shutdown, we booked the Halloweekends trip before I realized it was going to be more than a few weeks delayed start to the season. Unless you are being sarcastic then, lol, I can't tell. No they do not start giving out ride passes til 11. You can get in at 10 and on the big 4 there will be two lines, one standby that they will shut down after a certain number are in and one line pass that last until the tickets are given out. And they will only give one line pass per person so no getting in line for the group. Our experience was that you could get in the standby line and get a ride, or sometimes 3-4 rides in, and then get in the pass line to get a pass for later in the day. Also, they do a second pass handout at 3:30 for evening times.

So we stopped by the park Sat evening. We started out the day at CP and didn't get there until about 5, there was light but steady rain the whole time we were there. Lost Coaster and Tiger'r also closed for us which was a bit disappointing for my son since there were the two weird ones he really wanted to get the credit for. We could have waited but it did not look promising for either to open and with the rain and complete lack of anyone wearing masks or making any attempt to distance in the lines we did the other 3 coasters and hightailed it out of there. I'm not super paranoid or I wouldn't be going to theme parks to begin with but honestly it was pretty bad. We have never been there but it was not horribly out of the way coming home from CP so decided to stop. Now I wasn't expecting much but honestly most of the rides were pretty janky looking and at the risk of sounding elitist; I just cannot see the new owner making this thing work unless he puts some serious cash into it for upgrades in order to attract a more affluent clientele. I'm not saying he has to price people out but right now there is just not any reason to go there if you can afford better except for the most die hard enthusiasts chasing credits. Maybe it is just particularly rundown now and if so I hope he can restore it to it's former glory. You know keep the carnival boardwalk feel but do some serious updates. No offense to anyone with childhood memories of the place but just my honest observation.

I realized I should have added from our visit last week that masks and social distancing were pretty much non-existent at the waterpark even though they did have security with megaphones regularly reminding people to keep their distance. So, fair warning if you go.

Every coaster was open while we were there on Thurs, Fri, and Sat morning with the exception of SV on Thurs but that was some sort of maintenance issue. Of the non access pass coasters, Valravn seemed to have the most consistent longer lines. We actually have plans to go back the first weekend of October for Halloweekends, planned before the extent of the shutdown was realized. Now just waiting to hear if I will need to cancel that or not.

Yeah, it is not the place to go if you are uncomfortable with people not wearing masks. Although I will say the employees were making an attempt to enforce it in ride stations and such. It usually doesn't bother me if I can keep my distance but when everyone crammed into the CC station I was pretty uneasy about the situation. One very cute and funny thing I forgot to mention. Whenever they made the announcement reminding people about masks and social distancing they played the chorus from "Don't Stand so Close to Me" by the Police. Gotta appreciate anyone trying to keep some sense of humor.

Yeah, imagine that? Who could live that long without a new coaster?

You bet Bert! The boy was able to get in 5 rides on SV between 11-12 when they then would only accept access passes. The other 3 coasters looked about the same. So if you get to the gate (especially the resort gate) early, get right in at 10.....you can get at least a few rides in on one of the coasters and then get in line for an access pass.

It was super cool last year. And I meant Carowinds, don't know where carpet ds came from. Auto correct is weird. In line now and they are testing SV

We were at the park on Tuesday 7/28. Didn't even get there until about 1pm Rode SC,TR,LR a couple times each and spent a couple hours relaxing at the water park. Could have easily done more if we arrived at open. Masks required during entry, as well as in shops, bathrooms and restaurants not walking around on the midway..... Ride stations seemed to be a grey area.

Good to know, we were up by GK during the last hour so obviously missed it, bit gives us hope that it will be up tomorrow. I forgot to mention that we did see many employees cleaning rides and sanitizing queue railings.

We we're there yesterday. We did get FP+, bought them ahead of time on line. You do not need access pass for Orion if you have FP. Park looked good and the entry was stunning as always. But like all the parks I've been to in the last month there were some shops and restaurants closed. Not enough to mess up your day but just enough to harsh your vibe. However all the coasters were running 2-3 trains. Exactly what you would expect, lower than normal crowd levels but not a ghost town and due to low capacity there were still average queue times. I would say that 80-90% followed the rules pretty well and employees were doing their best to enforce it. At the Rapids ride ride opd did tell you to feel free to take it off once in the boat.Of course there was some deterioration as the day wore on. I thought Orion was awesome. Not going to get into any arguments about how it compares to Diamondback or which ride elements were good or bad, blah, blah, blah. Bottom line it is a very fun coaster that is very re ridable. Don't want to hear any complaints about the new giga when my home park doesn't even have a hyper As far as fastlane and the "is it worth it?" question: To me it was, no I didn't see any lines more than 30 min or so but with fatlane everything was a walk on. Which meant no running of the bulls and time to have a leisurely lunch and still get in everything you wanted before park close. All plusses for us since we still had to drive up to CP that evening. Don't live beyond your means but do it if you can.

So we are at CP right now. SV was down all day. Something apparently happened during testing but no one was spilling the beans. They shut it down and cleared the line before 11 and never handed out the ride passes. We had no trouble getting an early standby ride on Maverick and then passes for Mav,MF,and TTD. TTD did go down for a short time but they then did not hand out the afternoon passes and instead honored all the morning passes at any time. Gemini was indeed racing and hand slapping was in full force. Rougarou and WT were operational, in fact I believe all the coaster were running other than SV. A few long lines due to reduced capacity but definitely quieter than a normal July day. Parking lot at the Breakers half full. They did open the resort gate by ten so you could get in line for one of the big 4 and get a standby ride first thing. You will get a big advantage of you can swing staying on property with the early resort gate opening. Also if you stay on property they will do your health and temp check when you check in and give you a wristband, so no wasting time getting in the resort gate. And I agree with Zach that the Breakers is worth it. It's not about the room, it's about location and amenities. Be fairly warned, they shut the park down immediately at 8, not just rides but stores and restaurants too. I did spend some time sleuthing and chatting up some employees. Apparently the rumor going around is that there will be Halloweekends but that they might do it earlier. Not sure what advantage that would provide.....take that with a grain of salt. I was also told that the Carpet ds employees were going home in a couple weeks. I'm assuming about the time they go to weekends only. Overall it was a lot more normal than I thought but definitely a diminished experience. Missed the flower beds and living wall. But of course operations are more important. No indication whatsoever that they plan on selling g fastpasses. We'll be here tomorrow as well and will post more soon as I can.

We were there on Mon 7/27. Masks now required during entry, inside shops and restaurants. Most people were doing it. However it was pretty much do what you want at the water park. Only place there masks were required was bathroom/changing rooms. In fact during a rain storm everyone rushed under the canopy of the station for Cheetah Chase to get out of the rain; even though they were at a water park and in swim suits. Seriously. They did have social distancing markers pretty much everywhere to various degrees of success. Really just a matter of you decided to obey or not. The ride ops were policing this best they could in line. One genius tried to use his shirt pulled up over his face as a mask. Again. Seriously? All the coasters were running and I saw no shutdowns. Cheetah chase is awesome! No single rider lines for any ride but pretty low crowds. Keep in mind it was a Monday with storms predicted. The virtual queueing worked really well, I hope they keep it. Was super easy to use and if you can't figure it out, there are plenty of teenagers about to help you.

My husband also has a heights issue, but doesn't usually have a problem with water slides. We did get him to go down summit plummet at Blizzard Beach but he had to rest in the shade with multiple adult beverages to recover He isn't a huge theme park guy but has ridden quite a few coasters even though there is a lot of "AAAAHHHHH" at the top of lift hills. God's little joke, I love coasters but have to work around motion sickness and he is lukewarm but never gets sick....just has to conquer his own fear. We did both ride one flying coaster, Superman at SFGAdv, don't know if either of us ever will again. He completely freaked out looking straight down at the top of the lift and I got sick despite having a patch on. He absolutely puts his foot down with the B&M clamshell restraint. No way will he go with the "whole side open" as he puts it, lol.