Long time lurker of these forums. Thought I'd finally create an account and give a trip report. Background:
I've spent my entire life in SoCal, so the mountain has been a major part of my upbringing. Had season passes as a teenager, made many trips with friends, family, strangers alike. Seen the park's attendance, upkeep, ambiance, and notoriety ebb and flow over 30 years in relation to events like the Northridge quake, parking lot shootings, the attendance plummet in the aftermath of 9/11, and numerous park management shuffles in the midst of the recession. Visited the park on its busiest summer Saturdays in the 90s with busloads of LAUSD children bloating 3-hour lines for every major attraction; visited on its slowest winter weekdays of the oughts where you could walk-on any attraction.
Anyway.
My girlfriend and I have been attending "Out On The Mountain" for the last few years. She moved to LA from the greater Chicagoland area about 4 years ago (if you're curious, she falls into the "B" category on the LGBT spectrum), so she grew up with Cedar Point and SF:GA in her backyard. OOTM has proven time and again to be one of the most enjoyable nights the park offers. I feel it has to do something with the respect these particular adult guests show the park and its employees during the event. The gates close to the general public at 6pm, destructive youths are forced out, and a true VIP experience is had. Not to mention, it's arguably the safest night to attend the park, bar-none.
Rides operate so smoothly compared to typical business. I've seen so many TPR trip reports detailing major coasters running 1 train during peak hours, but this has never happened at OOTM. Every coaster we queued for last Friday -- Goliath, X2, Viper, Scream, Apocalypse, Ninja, Batman, Revolution, and Tatsu -- were all running 2 trains. TC was running 3. Again, I'd wager this has to do with the cooperative nature of this event's guests. No teens trying to cut through exits, no sticky-fingered children breaking their VR headsets, no disgruntled parents trying to haul their 4-foot fairground plushies to the exit lockers, no over-zealous mothers making unreasonable demands of the ride operators. The longest we waited in any queue was about 20 minutes, and that was due to ride popularity, not operator incompetence.
Of particular note, our final ride was TC. They chained the queue entrance closed behind us, so we knew we'd be among the last riders of the night (it was around 12:30am). When we finished our ride, without provocation, the TC team asked over the PA system if we wanted to go again. We cheered, and they treated us to 2 additional rides, both synced to race against the other trains. They went above and beyond their responsibilities, and it provided my girlfriend and I an unforgettable experience.
Further, as someone who's only ever experienced Revolution with those atrocious shoulder harnesses since 1992, I've got to say that their removal has altogether salvaged the ride experience. It was totally unrideable, but now it's like a dream -- Schwartzkopf's magnum opus. Because we opted out of the VR headsets, they let us walk to the front row without a long wait. I'm glad it has ACE heritage status. It's a classic that I hope never leaves the park. I agree with many here that, if they removed the added trim breaks, the ride would be even more improved; but the reality is that doing away those shoulder harnesses has infinitely improved this ride. It took them WAY too freaking long enough to get around to it, though.
Our particular X2 train ran without the music. The pyro effects also didn't trigger like it had in years prior. In fact, most of the ride lighting for both X2 and Viper were off. I wonder if this was related to Fright Fest or the park's attempts to curb power consumption.
To that end, as its aged, I've been able to prevent particularly bumpy rides on Viper by gluing my head to the back of the seat. That being said, last Friday was my roughest experience ever on the ride. It was very uncomfortable. It'll forever be imbued with the park's identity. It made the mountain a veritable coaster enthusiast's Mecca in its heyday, and I'll be sad to see it removed. But it's time. If the park gets its rumored dive machine, I'll be happy (if the park doesn't skimp on the price). Here's hoping they contract B&M at least $15M to build a suitable replacement.
Superman wasn't running, which I know consumes a ton of electricity and generally operates 1 side anyway.
Riddler was understandably closed due to the backlot theater demolition.
We consider Yolo the most embarrassing gimmick the park has ventured into since Flashback, so we definitely skip it.
Green Lantern is always a painful, unpleasant thing that we hope to see removed as soon as management gets enough negative feedback.
To be totally sincere, every facet of the park that isn't a major attraction/recent installation suffers greatly from lack of upkeep. While several rides (Scream, Revolution) have received a fresh coats of paint in recent years when they've been the particular target of refurbishment, in general, the lack of attention the park's general facilities is becoming ever more obvious. Granted, the park is always setting up for its Fright Fest activities around this time of the year, it's readily apparent that older paint, landscaping, and the general scenery all around the park are dilapidated, crumbling, peeling, etc.
Then there's the mountain's greatest sin. In-park food is abominable. Bottled vending machine soda are approaching $5/20oz. I can't remember how long ago they lost their license to operate the Panda Express on Baja Ridge next to Viper, but the franchise owned "Chop Six" that replaced it is abhorrent. Bland, overpriced ($15+ each) dishes that were clearly frozen and reheated. I didn't think it was possible, but they found a way to make orange chicken tasteless. The most palatable item was the pre-packaged fortune cookie. It was manned by 6 employees (more than your average Panda) but took over 20 minutes to produce our meals. I really miss the good old days of Laughing Dragon Pizza, Mooseburger Lodge, and the other small kiosks like the chili stand in Psyclone Bay. I would even welcome Johnny Rockets near the karts again.
While the event itself is well-intentioned and kind to this flavor of guest, the park management's disconnection with the actual LGBT community is also apparent. The night's activities don't involve pride, awareness, or inclusion. To be honest, it's more of a gay men's night. 9 in every 10 guests was male this year, where the ratio in the past has been much more favorable to the many other gender groups. This may have to do with the provided entertainment. At the park entrance are two paid actors clad in short-shorts doing the most apathetic, phoned-in gogo dancing you'll see anywhere. You can tell they hate being there as much as you hate watching them be exploited as eye candy. Next to Yolocoaster (RIP, Log Jammer) is the same stage they've setup the last several years. It's clear they intend the area to be a dance floor of sorts, but most guests just walk by and try to avoid the pulsing strobe lights and EDM the DJ is blasting. This year there was a guest performance by a reality show star around 1am, which attracted more fanfare than prior OOTMs, but generally speaking, all the park's efforts to make this an LGBT event really miss the mark with respect to what the LGBT community at-large stands for.
Gotta run home now, but I can answer more questions later if you guys have any. Would recommend OOTM to all of you, as it's likely the best experience you'll have at the park.
