SFOG Advice?

[cprocks22]

I'm going to SFOG this sunday (Easter sunday) and i was wondering if anybody had any advice. I know that if its too crowded ill pay for the flash pass. Also i only have one day there and want to get on as many things as possible. Any advice will be helpful, thanks.

EDIT: Forgot to say, if anyone wants to come i would love to meet up with some people.

[Erik Johnson]

Yes, the Flash Pass machine/Q bot is well worth your investment. If you do get one you may want to ride Deja Vu or the Mine Train first since they both do not use Flash Pass. Try to get to the park about 45 minutes before opening. Sometimes they do open the front section early so you can ride either the Georgia Cyclone or Scorcher before the park "officially" opens.

[KrakenKing]

When I went last year the park opened about 15-30 minutes earlier than expected. I went in June and July (One Saturday in July) and didn't buy a flash pass... Here's what I did:

 

Go straight to Goliath and get one or two rides on that

 

Next, head down the hill and get on Deja Vu IF it's open... (You can probably do this twice without a wait)

 

After Deja Vu go over to S:UF and ride it once or twice

 

After that you should do GASM, Ninja, B:TR, Mindbender, Canyon Blaster (If you're a credit whore), Delonoga Mine Train (Eat) Acrophobia, Cyclone, Georgia Scorcher...

 

I did the rides in that order the times I went last year and never had a problem finishing everything by about 3pm with multiple rides on Goliath, Deja Vu, S:UF, Mindbender and Acrophobia... after that I even got to do the other rides one or two more times.

 

 

Edit: Erik... the three times I went last year Deja Vu had Flash Pass :-\

Yup, it does

[Erik Johnson]

^^ Oops, actually I think you are right. It is SFGam that you can not use the Flash Pass with Deja Vu. At least last year.

[ParkTrips]

If you do get one you may want to ride Deja Vu or the Mine Train first since they both do not use Flash Pass.

That is incorrect, Deja Vu is on the system.

 

Get to the park early, as mentioned above they open a little early so you could probably ride the Scorcher before the park officially opens. If you have a season pass, you can get in at 9 on Sunday for an hour of Goliath ERT (assuming it wants to run)

 

Before the park opens, FIND OUT IF DEJA VU IS RUNNING!!

 

If it is, go to Deja Vu first! Then ride Superman. Resist temptation to ride Goliath first! If Deja Vu isn't going to be open, or when you get down there you find out it's not opening at 10 or whatever, go ride Superman. Again, don't ride Goliath first!!

 

Once you do Superman (and DV if applicable), ride the Scream Machine (do not ride in the third bench of any car) and Ninja (if you desire) since you are close. From there, head over to Gotham City - if Mind Bender (ride in the back) is running two trains, ride Batman first -- if it has one train, ride it first and then go to Batman.

 

After doing the rides in Gotham, go back up the hill and ride Goliath. I hear it's fun.

 

Once you finish with Goliath, you should ride Canyon Blaster and the Mine Train if you so desire.. otherwise head back to the front, where you should be able to walk-on to Cyclone (ride in the first row on the back car) and ride Scorcher if you didn't do so first thing in the morning.

 

As far as other rides go, really the only ones that are special in any way are Monster Plantation, Acrophobia, and.. uh, well that's it since the park has practically no rides.

 

I'd say you could do everything above by noon, or if its busy, 2 pm. I know you're gonna I know we basically did so last Sunday, and that wasn't even a holiday.

[Erik Johnson]

Darn it, I said I was mistaken....Maybe I should just edit my post...

[ParkTrips]

I actually started my post before you were corrected for the first time, sorry

[TopThrill182]

I'd expect that day to be mobbed or empty. I've always experienced odd crowds when visiting parks on holidays. Based on my experience with the park though, and their latest snafu, I'd plan on it being crowded. Heres what order I would do things.

 

1. Deja Vu - If you do want to get on this ride, which I highly recommend as it is in my top 10, go to it first! This is a must. Even on uncrowded, days, the ride can develop over a 2 hour line which I have waited through. Its not fun. Even if the line looks short, it will take a while. If you go there first you can jump on immediately, and possibly get a re-ride. The ride is great, so I really stress coming here first. If its not operating when you arrive, ask the attendant how long it will be. If the ride is testing, or they think it won't be too long, stick around. It may very well be down for quite a while, in which case you'd want to move on.

 

2. Superman - I'd definitely do this ride second. Lines can also get to be really long (upwards of an hour and a half) so I'd do this immediately after Deja Vu.

 

3. Acrophobia - I wasn't able to get on this, but from everything I've read its a great ride. It is also supposed to have horrible lines though, so I'd try to do this one quickly.

 

4. Batman: The Ride - As said above, resist the temptation to ride Goliath. Everyone will be running to it so it will have long lines from the get-go. The line also moves pretty quickly so don't worry, you'll get on it later.

 

5. Mindbender - This is a great coaster, and can easily be overlooked. It's close to Batman, and you should be able to get on it without much of a wait about now.

 

Those are the attractions that are generally really well rated, and thus develop abnormally long lines. After those attractions feel free to do anything else in any order. Ninja, Great American Scream Machine, Dalonega Mine Train, Georgia Cyclone, and The Georgia Scorcher are all other coasters you should enjoy that don't develop such long lines. Also, be sure to ride Goliath! It is one of my favorites and is truly a blast. I'd also recommend riding it twice (once at day and once at night if possible). Goliath lines remain about the same all day, and dwindle a little at night. If the park is REALLY crowded, I would invest in the Flash Pass. This park is hard to do on really crowded days even with a good plan. SFOG is a great park and I hope you have fun!

[cprocks22]

Awesome, thanks a lot everyone that helps a lot. One more question, if it is crowded and i do want to get a flash pass, whens the best time to get it. Should i hit everything up first and then get it for re-rides or get it first thing when i walk in the park. Again thanks a lot for the help!

[TopThrill182]

Well due to the Flash Pass's price, I'd assume you don't really want to buy one until you need one. They weren't really all that popular when I was there, so I don't think they will sell out. You do have to keep in mind though, that the longer you wait, the greater the risk that they could be sold out. Just keep riding rides until you see that crowds are huge. Then go get one. You probably don't want to get one first thing at park opening, because you don't want to get it only to find out later you didn't need it.

[noyzz]

Joe...You can get in early on sunday? what if you have friends with you and they don't have passes? Anyone else going on Easter? We have a big group going....should be a nice cool fun day!

[dougstanton]

You would be able to ride GOLIATH for an hour...and they wouldn't. I have gone today and Wednesday simply for the hour of ERT. You are guaranteed at least 10 rides because they do not make you get off. You just switch rows if somebody is in your line.

[Lawofinertia]

I'd hit Scorcher first, then Goliath (Which you MUST ride in the back seat!)

 

Then head on to Gotham and hit Mindbender and Batman.

 

Then just do waht ever from there!

[ParkTrips]

Joe...You can get in early on sunday? what if you have friends with you and they don't have passes?

Then they don't get into the queue and you can laugh at them as you go up the lift.. right Doug?

[dougstanton]

I have 12...you have zero. Haha...good times.

[crazydaveh]

I used the Flash Pass two years ago and it saved the day. We arrived around 3 in the afternoon and didn't think we would get on anything. We went to the Pass place and they were out, but some lady was turning hers in and handed it to us and said, "have fun, please turn it in."

 

If it wasn't for the Flash Pass, we would not have enjoyed the day like we did.

[noyzz]

Joe...You can get in early on sunday? what if you have friends with you and they don't have passes?

Then they don't get into the queue and you can laugh at them as you go up the lift.. right Doug?

 

 

Thank you sir!!!!!Goliath Tomorrow!!!!!!!Man it's ride time!

[cprocks22]

^Ya Goliath should be a nice way for me to start out the coaster season. Were getting our season passes tomorrow and i am taking full advantage of ERT, which starts at 9:00 correct?

[willski]

I used the Flash Pass two years ago and it saved the day. We arrived around 3 in the afternoon and didn't think we would get on anything. We went to the Pass place and they were out, but some lady was turning hers in and handed it to us and said, "have fun, please turn it in."

 

If it wasn't for the Flash Pass, we would not have enjoyed the day like we did.

 

No. She would have turned in her drivers license or credit card as collateral, so I don't think she would've just handed it to you.

 

Well due to the Flash Pass's price, I'd assume you don't really want to buy one until you need one. They weren't really all that popular when I was there, so I don't think they will sell out. You do have to keep in mind though, that the longer you wait, the greater the risk that they could be sold out. Just keep riding rides until you see that crowds are huge. Then go get one. You probably don't want to get one first thing at park opening, because you don't want to get it only to find out later you didn't need it.

 

Flash Passes are really not effective after 3 pm or so, since the virtual lines become longer than the regular lines. It's better to get it right at opening. Often the virtual line for DejaVu will be a walk-on (5 or so minutes) from 10-noon while the actual line is over an hour. Also, it's better value for your money to have it all day. If you're going to drop that much money on something, better to have it all day than half the day.

 

Unless you go on a Saturday in July, you can easily ride everything without a Flash Pass. Actually, you can go on a Saturday in July and still ride everything, just not multiple times.

 

3. Acrophobia - I wasn't able to get on this, but from everything I've read its a great ride. It is also supposed to have horrible lines though, so I'd try to do this one quickly.

 

4. Batman: The Ride - As said above, resist the temptation to ride Goliath. Everyone will be running to it so it will have long lines from the get-go. The line also moves pretty quickly so don't worry, you'll get on it later.

 

Acrophobia usually has a maximum line of 15 or so minutes, even on a busy day. The most I've ever waited for it is 35 minutes on a Saturday in July during it's opening year.

 

As for Goliath's line, it is usually never is more than 30 minutes, it sometimes can reach 45 minutes to 1 hour on the busiest days.

[cprocks22]

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for their help, it did help a lot. I had an AWESOME day there with literally 1 train waits for Goliath all day. Photo TR to come soon.

[coasterlover04]

^^ Oops, actually I think you are right. It is SFGam that you can not use the Flash Pass with Deja Vu. At least last year.

 

That should be changing this year.

[Guest]

/\ That is changing this year.