MisterBrow

Great report. SFNE and LC is such a nice two park trip. Everything looks nice after you have been to Poughkeepsie, NY.

I have ridden both with issues with the restraints ratcheting down during the ride and then other times with no issue at all getting to enjoy them both to the fullest. Sky Rush does give that bit of HOLY COW I'm going to get launched off into the sky and I am thankful that the restraint clicks down to the next tightest position, it is a rush. On El Toro when the bar clicks into the next tighter position, as stated here your feet and legs are set in place, and it is uncomfortable. It is the classic this belt loop hole doesn't keep my pants up and the next is too tight- some people are odd (meaning in between) sizes. Both are in my top ten. I place El Toro higher on my list because it is a wooden coaster making it more unique in what it does.

They dedicated a show to that? If you ignore cost, then sure. This is a simple answer though. If they get stressed out and get neck pain when they drive then they should fly and spend the extra money. This is all a matter of personal taste. They handed that one off to the "B" team with Kari Byron. Kari Byron There is some cost hidden in wear and tear on the vehicle. More importantly I wonder though if driving hurts a person's neck and back should they be riding coasters for several days on top of it. Ultimately we are going to agree that personal taste and circumstance will dictate the answer. Cloudeleven, where are you driving to and from? Maybe we can suggest stops.

I have done Busch Gardens WIlliamsburg (Free Lee Greenwood concert!) and Kennywood on the 4th and have come to expect theme parks to be rather empty on the 4th with people with friends and families at BBQs and parades and stuff. If the park has fireworks that would be when crowds start to filter in.

Mythbusters came up with for trips less than 400 miles driving is likely the way to go. I tend to look at what is in the middle of the route when driving greater distances. Where are you driving to and from? Is there a credit out there that someone here knows about? A few years back my wife informed me that we were visiting friends in Cleveland and I was driving the 400 miles. Instead of invoking the 400 mile fly rule it simple turned into a drive to Kennywood, then Cleveland, day trip to CP, and a Pirates game on the return.

The home of hand-me-down rides, Six Flags America, would love to have the sky ride! Honestly I think we will just get a sign stating "DO NOT TRY TO CLIMB OUT OF THE RIDE". "No hot beverages allowed either"

I only rode because my youngest had to have an adult. It's small and I was laughing it off but I thought we got a good long ride time, don't know if it was because we were the only riders. I really thought I was going to be able to grab one of the trees and for that I would reride until I needed to reride WW.

Let's focus on a bunch of strangers deciding, "I could get hurt myself but we're going to keep this person from getting hurt really really bad." and helping anyway. And those people are people that like theme parks. Good people.

Just there last week and meaning we didn't see anything different from any other sky ride that would have caused this other than rider error.

We were just there and didn't notice anything different about the ride. But, basically this is why I was more freaked out with the family on the Lake Compounce Sky Ride than on a 300' ride. My best guess would be straightening out her body to get at her cell phone in her back pocket and slid down under the bar. They should move all of the all of the hard over the shoulder head banger restraints to the sky rides.

What can you see from WWloT? I assume Fed Ex Field. Is it tall enough to see anything in DC?

Armed with SF gold pass and dining plan we embarked on a northeast trip without the intent of hitting the water parks. Myself, wife (noncoaster rider), 12 year-old daughter 60”, 8 year-old daughter 50”. Home park: SF America. We stopped off to have dinner with family in upstate NY and then stayed at the Comfort Suites (Clean, friendly, small pool slide, mini golf adjacent, higly recommended) that night (Wednesday 6/14) about a mile and a half from SF Great Escape. The website listed a 10:30 open but the front desk at the hotel said 10AM and when we arrived there was a sign off a printer in the parking booth window saying 10AM. Local schools were still in session and so there were about five busses of school groups. We simply went left as the youngest was excited about Steamin Demon upon arrival. Since this park is made for the 48” rider she led the way. - Walked on Canyon Blaster - IMO Ghost town theming is the easiest to do. The ride was way short with two lift hills and even for a family coaster unspectacular and rough. - Condor Spinner was dizzying with the mountain views. Easy to overlook but give it a shot. - Steamin Demon was a rough ride. The little one would ride Loch Ness and Super Dooper Looper all day. She wanted to reride but big sister and I were not into it. - We watched the dive show and then headed over to the Flashback (Vekoma boomerang) grabbed some pizza and every time the school groups subsided we walked on, went back to lunch, rerode, refilled drinks at the Freestyle booth, rerode...one kid, just dad, dad and three kids... - Sasquatch (Not yet the VR drop of doom) on the launch side was a stay on reride four times. Good views and a nice upsy daisey feeling. - Obligatory ride on the Larson loop here named Greased Lightning. This and the boomerang coaster are my little one’s go to rides it seems. - Swan boats were relaxing and Thunder Alley is a top notch antique car ride. Cool looking 50’s cars with radios playing 50s music. Two mild rides for the wife. - Alpine Bobsled, I like the bobsled rides. The only knock on this one is the small seating compartments. The three of us rode twice, the girls rode twice more as we were leaving. Walk on all four times. - The wife took a break from holding the backpack and drinks to ride the Giant Wheel - Comet is the star attraction. The 90 year-old coaster was walk on and gave us five solid rides. All the way in the back of the park we saved it for the end as the buses had left. Good air and just enough rattle to remind you that you are on a (hybrid) woodie. We had to admit that it is much better than our hometown 100 year-old Wild One. - Extreme Super Nova is a smaller Zamperla Discovery Revolution. I could stay there and go back and forth between that and Comet for a while and we did. Overall, it the park hits the mark for 48” riders as it has some “real” rides and would be the park to progress to after Dutch Wonderland and before Hershey. We were in at 10:15 and out at 3:30 with a threat of rain and desire to eat nonpark food with a view of the lake. Ride ops were friendly and enthusiastic although a bit slow moving. It did fit the laid back mountainous vibe of that part of the country. Up and out later than expected Friday the 16th under dark skies and through rain. 2:15 to SFNE, we arrived around 11. My last trip here was when it was Riverside Park decades ago to see the stock car races. I think only Thunderbolt was there and I wasn’t tall enough. Today was destined to be a disjointed mess because of the weather. Not crowded other than some buses. - We made a beeline to Superman and took the third train to ride the front row. The tunnels, Superman shields, positioning along the river, audio etc… all add to a great coaster. Anymore I am a sucker for theming. While the same length as the Superman coaster at our home park this one feels longer. We walked on again with the taller kid trying to decide whether or not it was her new favorite. We could have stayed on but we wanted to hit more before the rain arrived. The shorter kid was enjoying a well positioned Kryptonite Kollider. - After the ride in the car we were in different needs for lunches. I took the smaller rider on Thunderbolt while the wife and older kid headed to Macho Nacho. Thunderbolt was what I would expect from an older woodie still in service. I liked the cables and turnbuckles that keep the ride station standing from the rumbling. She was more interested in Johnny Rockets being on the dining pass here than a reride which tells me a lot for a kid that that was already being told that she was too short for many rides. - I swapped kids for ride up the Scream tower. It gives a good view of the park and an appreciation for the height of the Sky Screamer. - Bribed the little one with her snack and pointed to the Flashback coaster while we took a ride on Goliath. While I get bored with the boomerang the giant boomerang is a whole other ball of wax combining a dive coaster and boomerang. It was extreme enough to get lost in where exactly I was within the layout during the ride. I grabbed something to eat and sent the kids on Flashback. - At this point we broke out the rain ponchos and went to Wicked Cyclone. I wasn’t going to miss my first RMCed coaster and 48” rider was chomping at the bit. We had a wait but were not disappointed. All three of us are still trying to figure out where it fits in our top five. The zero G rolls might well be my favorite ride feature of any coaster. Smooth and quick and the orange tracks look wicked. - The other ride not to be missed was the 410’ Sky Screamer. The wind gusts made it very exciting. The rain made it a wet your shorts ride, literally, as the rain was blowing up my shorts. - We hopped on Pandemonium as the rain had stopped and then restarted while we were in line. We enjoyed it more than we thought we would. Ride ops throughout the day ranged from sluggish to efficient. It kind of matched the weather, we headed to our hotel in East Windsor to rest up and dry off. Well rested on Saturday we headed to Lake Compounce. Holy cow, don’t use GPS trying to find your way there. We kept driving by and finally turned into the employee lot where the attendant had printed directions to the actual lot ready to hand out. (By prepurchasing parking online I saved $.53!) There were a few buses and a couple of company picnics there but overall a light crowd for a Saturday. Through the rainbow lights in the tunnel exiting to park tucked between a lake and a foothill. The nostalgic look at the front gate is second only to Main Street in Disney. While the groups assembled we entered right at open and headed to Boulder Dash. The lift up the rocks and through the trees and then bam! While not the fastest woodie in the world being close to the ground and the trees make it feel like it is. I have to admit I thought it was rough the first run but knowing what to expect on subsequent runs made it better. The favorite wooden coaster title in my mind was officially an unanswerable question. Throughout the day just hearing it rumble through the woods and seeing it burst into view adds an excitement to the park like none other I have experienced. - Phobia Fear was walk on and we had a train to ourselves. Having been on Tempesto previously and logging so much coaster time over the last couple of days it just didn’t do anything for us. We were just riding and waving at people. Same goes for Thunder and Lightning preferring Sky Hawk at Cedar Point. They do add a nice complement to the other rides in the park. - We then finally turned the reigns over to mom and so we rode the Ghost Hunt several times and then made our way toward the lake and I held the backpack. We picked up some Pink’s hot dogs and sat lakeside to eat. The free drink model here is just the best, carting the bottles around is annoying. - The Sky Ride. What can I say about the Sky Ride. I strap my kids into seatbelts and lapbars reaching around to triple check they are locked to corkscrew hundreds of feet in the air. The sky ride with its nonlocking bar as we played look down at all of the stuff people have dropped scared the daylights out of me. Then when you think you’re at the top you go higher. The return view is spectacular and worth the time. - Wildcat lifthill reconstruction was active and ongoing. While disappointing it provides a reason to return. - The little one got in her daily boomerang coaster ride, some more flats, and we got a couple more spins on Boulder Dash and headed back to the hotel. Ride ops were friendly, enthusiastic, and efficient. I really enjoyed this park. The scattered rain stayed away and so we dropped off the wife and shorter kid and headed back to SFNE, it was crowded at this time. - Even Mind Eraser had a line. I was met with being told my bag had to be placed in a locker. My string bag held two refillable SF cups and two rain ponchos. I complied to watch people bring basketballs to the gate and the woman in front of us waving her purse on the ride. With the new restraints ME is tolerable. - Leaving the stuff in the locker, we bounced to Batman again with a moderate wait. We decided at that point Joker wasn’t going to happen. Having ridden it last year at SFNJ it just wasn’t worth a long line and we figured we would be at SFNJ soon. - We figured Gotham Gauntlet would be quick. We were wrong and boy it was rough for a mouse ride. - With what started as a great idea returning to the busy park was turning into annoyance, we decided to hit Cyclone one more time rather than Superman. Again hit with the locker thing. I took the items out being told the cups are ok, put the bag in your pocket, and the ponchos on. I drank my soda and stuffed the poncho into the cup, only to stand in line between people with giant stuffed Scooby Doos. I'm still a newbie here and don't know how exactly how to use the pink bunny fluffy goo expression but I think this is where is goes. Sunday morning, Father’s day, was a different vibe. Enroute to SFNJ we stopped off at Quassy Park. We talked our noncoaster rider into riding Wooden Warrior for the Warrior’s first run of the day. Deceptive of us as she looked at it like it was a kiddie coaster. This coaster would be the coaster I want in my backyard. You get air, there’s a tunnel, the drop is bigger than the height, and the trains are just comfy. Just enough rattle to feel like a wooden coaster and speed in a small space. Reride for the three of us and then off to some flats. Ride ops were great. Alex was running the Warrior and he was great to talk to and he follows the forum here. We got the ultimate coaster picture of the four of us in the train in the station. Found a good place called Ceviche for lunch and headed to family in NJ for dinner and rested up for Great Adventure. Into the lot before 10 and into season pass holder line as guests 6,7,8,9. Monday, with school still in, and severe thunderstorms in the forecast, I have never seen that lot that empty. There were several large school groups though. - Battle for Metropolis opened Saturday and we headed there. The map showed a right hand turn to get there but either it was blocked off or everyone of us missed it. Some people like new car smell. We have decided we like new ride queue smell. The mix of practical and the 3d screens work great. We got several rides and then split up. Non tall coaster people to ride again and then to the safari and flat rides. We left the cups with them. - The taller of us went to Batman. We remarked how after some of the rougher rides during the week that a smooth ride almost makes a coaster like this seem tame. - Then… Nitro. Walkon and rerides without exiting. Again, a coaster that smooth and with good restraints almost makes you miss the highlights, until you get to the hills after the brake run. - At that point we hadn’t seen Kinga Ka but headed that way. That ended up being our longest line of the day. Still like Top Thrill Dragster better due to looking out over the lake. Anything in your zippered pocket sir? Nope. - Our plan at that point was to meet at Toro so that the little one could get her rides in but they were feeding giraffes so we headed to Bizarro and grabbed some lunch along the way. Bizarro still has just enough theming and is a good coaster but I can’t get past that one spot that bangs your head. I don’t understand those hard over the shoulder restraints. Reride without exiting but couldn’t take the shot to the head a third time. - The little one got in her ride on Diablo and then to El Toro. It was cycling between near empty trains and school groups. My last run the lap bar clamped down so tight I couldn’t enjoy it so I sent the kids back on without me. Anything in your zippered pocket sir? Nope. - The little one wanted to ride the minetrain and we grudgingly obliged. Our plan was to then sky ride over to Joker but both were closed with the winds picking up. - We ducked into Houdini to cool off and headed out before the storm hit. All told a couple of dozen coasters in less than a week dodging some nasty weather.

I just returned from a Great Escape, SFNE, Compounce, Quassy, SFNJ trip and will be writing up something this week. First RMC conversion coaster ride for me on Wicked Cyclone and I am hooked. While I think an RMC ROAR would finally give the park a coaster I could love, I don't see it happening. ROAR is a cold weather coaster for sure and people will catch on to this only adding to FF and HitP. SFGAm's impulse seems most likely. If they were going to spend money I could see another Joker 4D cookie cuttered in. The easiest way to disperse that crowded parking lot in the park itself is a path between Coyote Creek and the back of Gotham. When they do that they can clear the area for the Impulse or a Joker 4D. It would create some hype and buy a year. Change the restraints on Mind Eraser (which made it a tolerable ride at SFNJ). Drop in some Freestyle beverage stops while they're at it. I would rather see them focus on ride op and food service training, couldn't advertise it, but it would help. I would love for them to partner with Chik Fil A in some way to have them train food staff and run the booths.

Looking back at my other pictures I do not see anything that looks like the entrance pieces. You could be right. WWLotT is listed at 242' with Superman at 208'.

WWLoT was not open today as originally advertised. They were testing and still adding plants, sod, the entrance decorations, etc... They had a solid dozen people working. If they wanted this thing ready they could have. Park staff directing people through Whistle Stop said they are still shooting for an unveiling on Tuesday. Wonder Woman face character was circulating. Season Pass Holder event was OK. We arrived at 9 AM when the parking lot was set to open with a line quickly behind us. By the time the 9:30 entrance arrived the gold pass line (the only line open) was all the way to the parking lot, curved to the Lost and Found building and all the way in front of that building. It was already getting hot. We walked to WW and then detoured to Superman. Three rides without exiting and the first with a train all to ourselves was decent. Batman was not running all day it seemed. Joker had a decent line inside the loading pavilion but it went quick, it seemed many of the early entrants went there first. By the time we exited the regular 10:30 open happened. With the pass holder picnic set for 12:30 we grabbed a snack off the dining pass. The 12:00 registration line was back past the Batmobile at 12:30. We hopped on Penguin which had the water drips off the crossbeams at the end turned on. I prefer those on as opposed to the spitting penguins while you wait to be unloaded. We decided that waiting in a line for the all you can eat burgers, dogs, pasta made no sense and just grabbed regular lunch. We left around 1:30 and the lot and entrance was pretty full. - Ride OPs on Rodeo were just slow and dense + New paint on the Fireball logo in front of the ride + New paint on the signs inside Roar + A lot of new wood trim and decking repair throughout the park

Home park of Six Flags America hopefully for a ride on WWLoT this morning and then a family visit in NY setting of a week of Six Flags Great Escape, Six Flags New England, Lake Compounce, Quassy, SIx Flags Great Adventure.

Sent an email and got a phone call back. Park staff is expecting to ride WWLoT on June 9 and 10 and if all goes well it will be open on the 11th for the season pass holders to ride at 9:30 AM.

Know what i think? They are trying to coincide the opening with the movie. We have a winning guess here Do I get a prize? Of course my guess goes down the toilet if it doesn't open by next weekend. Still no word on this thing? http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/business/bs-bz-six-flags-wonder-woman-ride-20170601-story.html "The park announced the ride as the new "Wonder Woman" movie opens in theaters Friday. "Excitement around Wonder Woman is at its peak, making this the perfect time to debut the first ride bearing this iconic female DC Super Hero's name," said Rick Howarth, the park's president, in an announcement Thursday. The ride will be located next to the Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster. The park plans an official unveiling on June 13. The park, run by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., opened for the season May 26 and will remain open through Labor Day, Sept. 4." So, I "wonder" if pass holders will indeed get rides early on the 11th.

The need of a new paint job on the tracks (while the supports still look fresh) in those pictures make the ride look like it is in utter disrepair. Sunday I saw workers swapping out the rotted wood on the Penguin sign. I wonder where the track paint is on the ongoing in season to do list.

The last day of school for the two closest counties are 6/8 and 6/12. Basic theme park attack. In at open and hit the biggest coaster first (Superman and Batwing) hop on Joker on the walk back and to the Mardi Gras section. The whole park in is doable in three hours. Check out Annapolis for dinner.

Six Flags America. Superman. If the shorter kid is with us we hit Ragin Cajun. I am more willing to wait later on for Superman than RC.

We were in the park at open yesterday early and everything was walk on, my oldest and her friend set their record for rerides on Superman. During the rain we checked out the Western show inside. The performers were into it. Hopped on the rapids since I was already wet from the first rain shower. The water in the ride was coooooold, I don't know how anybody was in the water park. High tailed it before the bigger rain came. I asked about not putting the lapbar down on WO and the guy shrugged his shoulders and said we just need to make sure we check everyone. I usually exhale my big beer gut when they lower the superman restraints. I find it more important to get knees and manparts situated before they lock. I don't mind tight restraints on SkyRush with all of the air.

You must have been there before I arrived because they were only running one train on Joker, Superman (excruciatingly painful operations), Roar and Batwing for the several hours I was there. Wild One had two trains going but the ops were slow to say the least. What's up with them now pushing the bars down for you on Wild One? I was in at open, rode some rides, grabbed lunch, and then off to run the errands I was actually sent out of the house to do. One ride on Superman I did the little walk sprint that you do when someone holds a door open for you but you are too far away really and didn't get to the gate. The operator noticed and reopened the gates. Slowed things down for the 8 already loaded but got another 8 of us on the train and we appreciated it. I thought I heard them give the direction not to push the bar down on Wild One but did so anyway. They didn't say anything. Better microphones and speakers would be good. It sounds like a NY subway sometimes. I would imagine it is so that they can check the belts without rooting around in your lap. Or, maybe something extra they gave to the non "A" team.

Popped in this morning for a bit before the rain sprinkles. Indeed, two stations on BatWing. Two trains Wild One, Joker, Superman... Wild One "A" team no where in site! Nothing bad to say about ops today, some more energetic and friendly than others. New striping in the parking lots. Thankfully, the faded stripes were some straight and some diagonal and a bunch didn't match the curb direction. New bright white stripes alleviate some of the wacky parking jobs. New paint on the Super Man Logo at the ride entrance. Fresh mulching still in progress. Good that this stuff is happening but why after the opening. It's like they playing Roller Coaster Tycoon and have to wait to generate money to start the next little project. WWLoT now a part of the sky line. Stone retaining wall work near completion, looks like a circular ramp entrance being dug out to back fill the wall. Railings are being unpacked.

I guess that is just the point. Management knows they can relocate coasters and the GP is cool with it, if not psyched. Something simple like that pathway from the Creek to SM would be missed by most and they couldn't advertise it. It would be tough to monetize it with stalls and the real need is another restroom that way. If they ran the path through some trees for some shade they could have section where people might think hey this is nice. Then you could tell them about those other parks.