TEDodd

Well, that at least looks just like the old Gold plus option that I had for 2020 and 2021. Well other than the "Member-Only events" bit, but there were pass holder only events that included members. Not sure if there were ever member only events that excluded pass holders. I wonder who they sent the survey to. I didn't get it.

See edit. My phone was acting up. Came from Newsletter this morning, page 11. https://hfe.widen.net/s/rv2mv6vnvm/dw21_web_newsletter_christmas?spMailingID=45744209&spUserID=NjU5OTUxODc2MjA3S0&spJobID=2100747359&spReportId=MjEwMDc0NzM1OQS2

New names for passes. Gold pass devalued (15% discount) and new Platinum to replace old Gold pass (20% discount and season mug). Diamond looks a lot like the old Gold Super pass (water park included). But no option for platinum level benefits w/o water park.

Cinderella (#71) has a lot more power (25,200 lbs traction force) than Katie (16,000 lbs). But Katie dates back to Rebel Railroad. Herschend brought in #71 (and #70 at SDC), but she wasn't restored to operation until '87. Katie often has trouble, especially with full cars. And they engineer probably just misjudged things. The ride was better before WWG and the removal of ole Rebel Rail Road buildings in the upper loop. I never saw much wildlife though. FWIW, WE is my daughter's favorite coaster while LR is mine. I haven't seen all the trees cut, but I heard a lot were for safety, adding clearance around the coasters. TT is great, probably my #2. The fake drop at the top then the real drop into the hill. Always catches new people off guard. Just as they start complaining about the fake you hit the real drop.

Not sure of your park, but SFoG sent the same 2 day sale and it was the same $40 price that they offered last month then extended a few days.

Not proof, just speculation based on the sister park closing earlier than planned/normal. I hope I'm wrong, for all wanting to ride them in October. I guess looking at weather forecasts is the best bet. I'd pay attention to the low temps more than the highs.

Yes, not as late as SDC normally, but they still closed like a month early. Hope I'm wrong and SDC doesn't close them early.

Well Dollywood usually keeps them open later too. So I wouldn't count on this year being "normal"

Dollywood closed there water rides a few weeks ago, a lot earlier than normal. I think it was more people than temperature.

Sorry if I offended in anyway.

So you trust the ride ops to ensure you're in properly but not him? You think your hand on him is going to hold him if there's a failure in the system? Helicopter much? I was so happy when my daughter jumped to a short line up front without me on WE. (She came back around and rode with me too) Or when she ran from LR to Drop Line to get one last ride before close, then back to LR for the last train of the night with me.

And I've been more times than I can count in that period and ridden LR 2 or 3 times on most visits since it officially opened.

Um, there's no safety chain to catch. Just the braking from the LSMs. And does the next train enter the station before the train clears the launch hill? I didn't think it got in that fast.

For sure not happy. I doubt RMC is happy either (might be a black mark for them). But a black eye on the whole park? Nah. And outside of enthusiasts it's an annoyance but not that big of a deal. For every complaint I see about it being closed on FB/Instagram there are 2 from people that rode it and it was too much for them. It's extreme and too much for the majority of the park visitors. I'm still surprised they did it (glad, but surprised). If WE wasn't so smooth, it'd probably be in a similar boat. Too much for a majority of guests (might be anyway, but I don't see it mentioned as much).

I think they have. The last few visits (pre pandemic) it seemed different than 2012-2017. Still good, really good. But not the same and not as good,

My thought is parts supply. Something is a little flakey and needs replaced but not available so limiting operating days to stretch it's life. Not a safety issue, just prevents the ride from working. There was a report earlier itnwas down waiting on parts. It has been more reliable this year than last year. So it was improved. Still parts wear and break. If not available to replace what can you do? But it's just speculation. DW has been tight lipped about LR issues from the start. Could be personnel shortages during the week, though I'd think LR was a ride you'd prioritize. But I could see training being a factor there. Can just pull someone from another ride.

That was my speculation earlier. Just need some more data points.

The week of the 1st looks to be when it when down. I think on FB there was a post motioning parts. But ran OK the last weekend of August up til Sep 2. About half the day on Sep 3th. And down until the 10th, running until 6:00 then down. Good start Sat, but down for an hour around 4:30, but then ran til park close. Didn't run Sun or the rest of the week. Waiting on parts again? Only running on busy weekend days to prolong parts that need replaced for reliability (not safety)? Waiting to see what happens this weekend to see if there's more of a pattern.

Soon... A week? A month? It was testing with 2 trains Sunday. One had dummy weight and the other looked empty. The time between trains was really long.

And I see they extended the sale on the crappy passes. Must not have sold as well as they thought. Too many like me that don't want the limited pass nor memberships.

No company I deal with regularly does, at least until SF did this. My insurance providers either require annual payments or offer discounts for paying in advance And we almost know how insurance companies view profits. So I don't see how monthly memberships look better in a P&L. Paid in full, means get guaranteed got the full amount. Monthly, sure one year but then that money can go away at anytime. While one might forget to cancel in month 12 or 13, they will soon. That extra payment or 2 doesn't add up to much in the long run. Or in August I plan to go a lot, but the pass. Come March that changes. Well the pass is paid. Use it a little then come August again and I buy again. Membership? That March in year 2+ I cancel and don't visit all summer. No food/merchant sales. I won't bother in Aug/Sep either as there's no benefit. Sign up any time for the same cost. I had membership for 1 year. And canceled, went to a pass. If it was so great I would have stayed. It's only good for people that can't save up $70 to buy a pass. But not really, it's more like pay-day loan companies.

Some people (like me) just don't want the hassle of recurring payments. That's why I pay for my car insurance the full 6 month premium, not monthly. And lots of other services. And no other place charges more to pay in advance. Usually there's a discount for paying upfront. So if I stay with SF I'll open a new account, deposit the annual cost and use it for payments.

Ridiculous.

So renew automatically at the monthly rate unless you cancel or prepay another year.

Costly? If it's not the same or less it's a ripoff. It's cheaper for them if they don't have to process payments every month. Just a fact of how payment processing works. Those fees are why so many small stores have minimum purchase requirements for card transactions. Less than that and the fee is more than their profit margin.