ryder

A saw an email from a passholder who did already pay, and they were told they'll be able to redeem 2 free park passes once the park reopens. Also, when I looked, it seems they also lowered the price. It's now only $49 per car, as long as you have 4 people or less in the car. If you have more than 4, then the price does go up.

I'm so not a car show person either... but I do definitely think there's an audience for this. Like, whenever I do the Universal Studios Tour, one of the areas that gets the most attention for pictures is the part where they show cars from movies. People eat it up, for reasons beyond me. Also, keep in mind that West Coast Customs is SoCal based.... their headquarters are right in Burbank. So there's likely a stronger fan base for it here. Which is probably a big reason this wouldn't work so well at any other SF park. While it's not an event I'm really interested in, and probably not many on this board, it isn't even trying to appeal to a coaster crowd. This is a totally different audience. And while I don't think it'll be as popular as their HitP event (which can appeal to a very broad base), I think it'll likely find a decent draw. This didn't come out of nowhere. SFMM sent out a survey last year about other possible Drive Thru events, and this was one of the options they listed. I suspect it got enough positive response on that survey to warrant making it happen.

Yup. Most SoCal Holiday Drive Thru events are $60-$100 per car. Stranger Things Drive Thru? About $130-$200 per car. The new Drive Thru Electric Mile EDM and light experience? $80-$140 per car. Another newly announced Candy Themed Drive Thru called "Sugar Rush" (seriously... I wish I could make this stuff up)... tickets start at $75 per car. That $20 a person they were charging for HitP was a relative bargain for this area (unless you had more than four people in a car, I suppose). It was way cheaper that most of our comparative Drive Thru events. And I'd estimate the SFMM Drive Thru to be about 10-15 minutes longer than the other ones (except Stranger Things, which takes about an hour), so in a way, it still works out cheaper than the other Drive Thru events, since it lasts longer for the same price.

I didn't think it was. I know some recent drone footage showed some of the roof being removed, but I thought it was more for repairs. I mean, their app is really unreliable, and probably even more so now since it's basically useless until the park reopens. Even in the off chance it is being removed, I think the ride not appearing on the app is incidental.

I think it's being overly optimistic, given all the problems the vaccine rollout in CA has had.

Yup, right where Hurricane Harbor is now. There also used to be the Mountain Express right at the front of the park as well, a Schwatzkopf Wildcat. Loved it as a kid in the late 70's.

^Same. Didn't that park close long before the Chaos even came out?

While I haven't been on it in a while, Canyon Blaster really is a pretty great Arrow ride. Hopefully it's not too rough by now. I'm curious to know how many Chaos rides do still remain in the US. Does Adventuredome still have an Inverter?

If I recall correctly, the OC Board of Education wanted all the students to return to school as normal. Even months and months into the pandemic, when it was pretty clear it wasn't really a safe option. Lots in OC government do not exactly have a great track record here. Knott's and Disney do better about enforcement, as it's private property and they actually (well, Knott's more than Disney) enforce the rules. Go to a mall down the street and you'd likely see a fair share with improperly worn (below nose) or maskless.

My guess is summer the earliest. While the vaccine is slowly being rolled out, the new cases of Covid in CA are insanely high. LA County alone has over 10 million people, which is more than all but ten states in the US. It's almost equal to the entire state of North Carolina. California is nearly12% of the entire population of the US. Severe outbreaks here affect a lot of people and can spread really fast because of our extreme population density. I'd gamble that most people in CA at least know of a few people that have been diagnosed. I can think of 3 people right away that have it just in my own social circles. It's really out of control. According to the NYT Covid tracker pages, we now are averaging 30,000 new cases a DAY, with a total now of 1.5 million. That is more than the entire population of Hawaii (and about 10 other states). It's going to take a while before we get this under control in CA.

We went in July of this year when the park just had the zoo portion open, and we noted that VooDoo was still standing there, and that there was still no visible progress on the spinning mouse. Didn't really look at the theater area at all, not a real priority for me.

It goes up the later in the year you go. They announced a while ago that it'll go up to $30 by the end of the run.

I went. You have to make the reservation at the website first. When you get there, they scan your reservation, as well as scan any other passholders/members that may be in the car as well. This all happens at the parking gate, which is why that can back up a lot. It took us less than 10 minutes, but we also had one of the earliest reservation times. I've heard the line to check in can be anywhere from 20-40 minutes, so plan ahead just in case. No bathrooms are open in the park, but there are a few portapotties before and after the main drive (the first in the RV parking area/Dog House, the exit ones are in the premium parking area). Masks are required if you have your windows down, which I recommend, as you can hear their music better and interact a bit with the live entertainment more.

Despite the few who are complaining about the "high" price, it seems to be the cheapest option for a holiday drive through in SoCal by far... and based on what I'm seeing from many people on twitter, I haven't seen one person who hasn't liked it yet. It's been getting rave reviews. The only issue I've heard at all is sometimes the line to get in gets a bit clogged, because people don't understand how reservations work, or that non-passholders/members in the same car as a member/passholder still have to pay. But as for the event itself, nothing but good things.

As far as I can see, it's literally the cheapest Drive Thru holiday experience in SoCal. The next lowest price I know of is the one at Raging Waters at $30 a car (which still screws you if you're alone, but admittedly is a better deal if you do have a group--however, it definitely doesn't look as good as what SFMM is offering, it seems to be literally a switchback queue in a parking lot). After that, prices jump up to $55-$100+. This is actually a bargain price, comparatively. As I said before, WonderLAnd So Cal is charging $70 per car. It seems the average SoCal price for Drive Through events is about $60 per car, and many charge more if extra people are in the car. And I also did the Stranger Things drive through, and at the low end, it was $79 a car, If you had five people or more n a car for their VIP experience, it's $329. Heck, even Drive in movie theaters In LA typically are charging $20 a person, and if it's in a special location, it's often $60 or more. Like, I just can't comprehend those of you who are saying $20 a person is expensive. Read the room in SoCal.

Have you priced any of the other Drive thru events in SoCal? WonderLAnd SoCal, a similar event, is charging $70-100 per car, regardless of how many are in the car (which really screws you over if you're by yourself). Dodgers Stadium just today announced a holiday drive through event at $55 per car. Most of the drive thru haunts in SoCal charged $80-140 per car (again, even if you were the only one in the car). The only one to charge less was Tunnel of Terror, and that's because it was literally just an automated car wash. Still thinking $20 a person is too much?

Could've done the Tunnel of Terror car wash in OC.

It's free if you're an active member or season passholder.

Actually, Orange County is in the red tier, and (at the moment) shows no sign of slipping back. And I was thinking, "how can they be in red, when so many there are anti-mask?" But I think the answer lies in what you said about SF: it's a wealthy area, so they have no issue staying home.

^^Theme parks are the yellow tier. There is no green tier, which should explain why you've never seen it. It doesn't exist. It was intentional, because (paraphrasing), "we will never be entirely safe.". And he's not really wrong on that point. At this point, it's like getting toothpaste back in the tube.

The Halloween version did have some minor "Ghost Town Alive" interactions. Plenty of characters in Ghost Town. Peanuts characters on the trail. Sad Eye Joe is available. There's a DJ near Hangtime, and the stage nearby alternates between screenings of Krazy Kirk and a live magician. as well as a few more live performers in the Boardwalk. That's not enough? Essentially can't do any more than that in these times.

Actually, I don't see why they can't do Holiday in the Park in much the same way Knott's is doing their events. It's the one event they could actually have some draw, and it doesn't require the rides to be open. Add is some food (which, frankly, they have been doing the last few years), and it seems to be a no brainer. Plenty of space to socially distance, it's a huge park.

In terms of covid, I actually think SFMM will be one of the safer parks. Outdoor/outside ventilation is one of the major factors to being safe, and nearly all their rides are outside already. Again, in terms of covid, I'm going to feel a lot safer at SFMM than, say, Disneyland. When that places opens up, it'll be a madhouse (and even if they limit entry with reservations, I personally am not going to count on other guests practicing social distancing), and nearly every attraction is indoors there. Similar for Universal, although I do think they'll mostly be able to handle mask wearing and social distancing more a little better, since their fan base isn't quite a ravenous. Knott's falls inbetween, but I think will mostly be pretty safe.

I'm still betting on nothing till 2021 at best. Number are still not great. They do go down, but then often go right back up.

For rides? I'm thinking 2021, yes. But I wouldn't be surprised if it opened just as an outdoor venue for a Holiday in the Park experience.