California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[154bmag]

^Well, it's definitely not the best, but I thank you for spending your time on this recreation. It seems like the portion of the ride you did the best is on the "Prudential turn".

I just love that name.

[Shawnk]

I went to the park today! There were not many guests there so hardly any waits for the rides. I was the first guest on Flight Deck and had the train to myself twice . It was probably the best ride I've ever had on Flight Deck, probably because I hadn't gone on a coaster in 7 months. After that I twice had the train to myself on Vortex.

 

Demon had rough loops but smooth corkscrews. I think Demon has one of the best headchoppers I've seen; It usually makes me cringe and duck a bit when I get to that part of the ride. There's nothing like a little fear to enhance a coaster! It was so slow at the park I was able to get this picture from the car ride with time to spare

Demon tunnel+headchopper

 

I'm not sure the retracking of Grizzly made it much better. It makes me look forward to a new GCI even more!

[Angry_Gumball]

Unless I've miss-counted, this is CGA's 3rd week of Spring Break? Last year, I could swear that they only had 2 weeks of it.

 

And Demon, try sitting in what I call the "Magical Arrow Seat." That is, yellow train, last car, front row (for leg room). Even that nasty transition into the corkscrew I found to be smoother as well as the loops. Demon's corkscrews themselves have always been pretty smooth, just entering them can be a real....if you know what I mean.

 

Lastly, I've always found that long tunnel after the loops disorienting as you're going from a loop to total darkness. Sometimes I still feel like I'm traveling upward, especially when I can't see ahead of me due to being in the back rows.

[JJnCFL]

Unless I've miss-counted, this is CGA's 3rd week of Spring Break? Last year, I could swear that they only had 2 weeks of it.

 

CGA's spring break schedule for 2012 started after Easter, April 11-15 & April 18-22.

[The49er]

I'm going on Saturday and hope that there won't be a massive line for Vortex like last year...Any suggestions for avoiding crowds?

 

BTW trip report going up on Sunday.

[Angry_Gumball]

Since it's spring break still (I'm surprised Spring Break was done for the 2 weeks following Easter, especially since there's schools around here that have break before Easter), I can imagine Saturday being moderately busy, especially since kids are probably wanting to get their last bit of excitement out by visiting CGA. Sunday last week was a little busy and a bit surprising. Flight Deck's line started just outside the rollup door/shaded area and Logger's Run's line was about halfway full. Demon had a bit of its line also out on the cement pad just outside the station. And as previously noted, Grizzly was on 1 train so you had about 5 minutes of waiting in the courtyard before having a 3-6 train wait depending on what row you were after.

 

Oh yea, 49ers have their groundbreaking ceremony tonight, saw a clip of it on the news last night. You know it's pretty bad when you're totally ignoring what's being said and you try looking for GA in the background...in which the park was featured, mainly the Star Tower.

[JJnCFL]

Was at the park yesterday, 4/19, and it was completely dead. Everything was a complete walk-on. I literally rode everything 10-15 times, though they are still enforcing the "ride twice, go back in line" rule on the major rides. While on Flight Deck towards around 5sh I saw a steady stream of cars coming in and parking by the area where a tent and several portables are and a helicopter flying above that stayed in one spot by the parking lot till literally after the park closed. I had a feeling it had to do with the Stadium, guess Gumball just confirmed it was indeed for the stadium groundbreaking ceremony. Also while on Star Tower looking down by the Pictorium and surrounding area, I couldn't help but smile knowing (minus anymore hiccups) how the skyline will be totally different come this time next year.

[jzoole]

Sorry if this has already been posted here, but it's the first I've seen it.

 

So the permit to build the woodie has been officially approved.

 

smartpermit.santaclaraca.gov/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=PLN2012-09049

[larrygator]

Sorry if this has already been posted here, but it's the first I've seen it.

 

So the permit to build the woodie has been officially approved.

 

smartpermit.santaclaraca.gov/tm_bin/tmw_cmd.pl?tmw_cmd=StatusViewCase&shl_caseno=PLN2012-09049

 

Yes, someone posted this on April 17th. All it means is that no one currently has an active appeal filed. Another appeal can always be filed before the work begins, but let's stay positive.

[Angry_Gumball]

According to LA Times the latest rumor seems to say that CGA could see the Luminosity show, after the waters are tested at Cedar Point, found their post on CGAs wall. Luminosity seems to be a pyrotechnic and light show set to music, sounds cool!

Full article: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-luminosity-cedar-point-04201219,0,4896829.story?l

[Double0Kevin]

Not sure that really says it's going to CGA. It just says Ouimet said it could end up at other CF parks and then listed all of them. It would be cool to see it, but CGA's schedule doesn't really allow for many "nights" to feature the show with the usual 8pm close time on weekdays.

[Angry_Gumball]

According to the LA Times article (how they get all of this info is beyond me) they said this:

Former Disneyland president and new Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet has said that if Luminosity proves successful at Cedar Point he plans to expand the show to other properties in the theme park chain, which include Knott's Berry Farm (California), Canada's Wonderland (Ontario), Kings Island(Ohio), Kings Dominion (Virginia), Canada's Wonderland (Ontario), Carowinds (North Carolina), Dorney Park (Pennsylvania), Valleyfair (Minnesota), Worlds of Fun (Missiouri), California's Great America and Michigan's Adventure.

 

Where they would set up Luminosity is beyond me unless they used the Redwood Amphitheater (as that's the only open-air theater GA has to offer) or...invertigarden? However, unless GA plans on expanding its schedule on weeknights and weekends, I could only see this happening on Saturdays.

[gromithere]

I couldn't imagine them putting a significant investment like that in to something that would only be able to show one night a week. It would however be a great addition in my opinion.

[robman]

I think if they were to extend the parks hours and have very good advertising it could be a success. If the new coaster were to be built also it would give a longer opportunity for people to ride the coaster also.

[Double0Kevin]

I would love to see later hours like a lot of the east coast parks (CP, KI, KD, etc) but I doubt that would happen any time soon. There just isn't enough to do at the park to warrant that late of a closing. Also, Northern California crowds tend to run away when the temp drops below 70 degrees so evenings are tough to make money on in the Bay Area. It really on special events like Haunt that keep the people in late.

 

On a side note, I visited the park yesterday for the first time in 2 years. Was only there for 2 hours but rode everything I wanted to. Here is a quick rundown of my trip.

 

Vortex - Sucked, no surprise there.

Top Gun... ahem, Flight Deck - Awesome as always. This is my favorite B&M invert for sure, and I've ridden a decent sampling of them. I was pretty bummed to see that the rides pain job basically included the loop and first helix and then wing-over and final helix. The middle of the ride wasn't touched. None of the supports were don except at the end of the ride near the lake.

Demon - Pretty rough, but the corkscrews are as smooth as ever.

Grizzly - Ran pretty well. It was warm so it was running at a decent speed and really wasn't rough at all. It's just not particularly exciting either. People were getting of happy though so it's doing what it needs to do when it comes to pleasing the GP. Why do they force you to walk through the rope switchbacks when there is no line? Seems like they could be moved to the side when crowds are so light.

Drop Zone - Do they ever run all 6 cars? There is always one down it seems.

 

 

Park crowds were non-existent. Staff was very friendly and efficient. Only slow crew was on Vortex but one of the attendants was limping so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. The park looked great, landscaping was awesome and everything was very clean. Probably the best I've seen it in years.

 

Overall a great visit. I left around noon and went to Gilroy Gardens (my first time). Was pretty bummed to find Quicksilver Express closed. So I rode the train and the little coaster and took off.

[Angry_Gumball]

Drop Zone - Do they ever run all 6 cars? There is always one down it seems.

Last season, at several points, all 6 cabins were actually running. I think that may have been the first I've ever seen that happen. To get better rides out of Demon and Vortex, I usually stick to the last car, front row on Demon, and front row, inner seats on Vortex. How Demon seems to be smoother in the back is beyond me unless it's those positives entering the loop at the front car that does it.

[The49er]

TRIP REPORT:  April 17, 2012

 

My buddy's trip report. He went to CGA for Music in the Parks, a proud member of the Ustach Middle School jazz band. He'll take it over from here...

 

THE PARK: Duh! California's Great America for Music in the Parks

 

THE CREW: Myself (on alto sax), my bro Jacob (on trumpet), our friend Jonathan (he's on YouTube as a violin or viola player - search Jonathan Altman; he played viola today), and my friend Erik (on trombone).

 

HOURS AT PARK: Almost 7

 

RIDES EXPERIENCED: 7 as well

 

-Got to school at about 6:50 AM (ugh...). We got on the road for Santa Clara at 7:08 AM.

 

-Arrived at Milpitas HS sometime slightly before 9 where we (except Jonathan) performed at 9:40. Afterwards, my bro and I changed into normal clothes and watched the two other performances (Erik was in the other two ensembles, while Jonathan was only in orchestra).

 

-Took the bus to CGA around 11:30 or 11:45, I bet.

 

-Arrived at the park around noon.

Succession of rides/attractions/stops with brief comments are as follows:

 

-Flight Deck, front row and far right of Shark train - Wow. Felt SO much faster than in 2010. My friend Jonathan looked dead in the  on-ride photo. Only took about 10 minutes in line.

 

-Vortex, 4th row and far left seat - Much better than 2010 because of a short 15-20 minute queue. Definitely had more intensity than last time. No uncomfortable sensations aside from a little head-banging and slightly sore thighs.

 

-Hydration break. After using the Vortex line's vending machines, some idiot stuck his legs out in front of me so I had to crawl...

 

-Demon, 5th row and left seat? - Again, felt more intense than previous years. Extreme head-banging in corkscrews. Yelled "LOOPTY-LOOOOP! TWO LOOPTY-LOOOOP! THREE LOOPTY-LOOOOP! FOUR LOOPTY-LOOP!" during the appropriate inversions. Why? Because I can

 

-Headed toward Grizzly, but had a long line and 1-train operation. Went to Psycho Mouse (front right seat of (a) pink car) instead. Aside from the breakdown, about a 15-minute wait or so. Had fun here as well - ride picture looked extremely bored except for Erik.

 

-Completed circuit around park. Sat down next to Celebration Swings and chilled for approx. 30 minutes before Erik left our group. Purchased more water (83 degrees has never felt so darn hot) somewhere in there.

 

-Celebration Swings, middle circle - A nice wave swinger. Jonathan managed to drink his water on ride and water the landscaping...LOL. Very short line, and my second swing ride. Shorter line than my 1st (Silly Symphony Swings at Disney California Adventure).

 

-Passed by Grizzly again, but line was still long (or so it seemed), so we proceeded to ride Tiki Twirl (second seat to the left of the boarding area One of our longest waits at 20-25 minutes. My first ever Zamperla ride, and rather nice except for the awkward position on my stomach. That combined with the spinning and rocking made me a bit nauseated, but was still fun.

 

-Dinner at Food Festival. I went to Taco Tom's and ordered a Chicken Enchilada with some Fanta orange soda. It was decent (great considering it's at a non-Disney theme park), and didn't come up on our last ride.

 

-Grizzly, 5th row and right seat of Blue train - Only 1-train operation. Pretty smooth after the re-tracking during the off-season. Everybody in the group had the same idea: Run the red train! We waited 30 minutes which was the longest wait today. Everything else was fun.

 

-Went to Peanuts Playhouse for awards at 6:30. Ustach won 1st in double-A jazz band (out of - gasp! - one ensemble), double-A full orchestra (out of one group again), and symphonic band (out of 4).

 

-Got back to bus around 7 PM, where I write this fabulous TR (it's 8:20 as I type on my iTouch), and are currently heading home. We got back to Ustach at about 9 and subsequently went home.

[SantaTeresaHills]

 

Why oh why did they have to sell off the land to build those office buildings? I don't remember who did but my guess would probably be the city of Santa Clara. I remember for a while that there was a danger they would just close the park and put up all office buildings. Still given that the park was still there, anybody building office buildings there should expect noise. Great America and their parking lots were there long before the office buildings.

[Angry_Gumball]

Something I did since I had nothing better to do than make a video worthy of complaining about: (I'm sure you've seen those endurance videos on Youtube, being "X for Y minutes/hours"

I got bored and decided to make a portion of the video loop for 10 minutes...then, though I didn't do it, I got the idea of extending the length of one of the screams...but that would be too much to put up with. This may cause you to go crazy, you have been warned!

 

Funny thing is, that Carowinds has the same commercial and nobody's complaining there. Their facebook isn't flooded with complaints and neither is their youtube video...must be a California thing...I guess the people of our state really are that whiny about every little thing.

[Tmcdllr]

^Yes.... we are!

[Nibbler]

I also don't think people realize how useless it is to complain on Facebook..

[larrygator]

I also don't think people realize how useless it is to complain on Facebook..

 

Actually, it can be very successful if done properly. i.e: Coherent arguments and proper writing style. Many companies now have social media teams dedicated to following the social media world (blogs, discussion boards, twitter, facebook, etc...) for trends in order to track positive or negative sentiment about their company.

 

There might not be an immediate result, but companies are paying attention.

 

However, in this case complaining about a video is USELESS.

Edited April 25, 2012 by larrygator

[Nibbler]

What I mean is when the public treats facebook like a customer service outlet with issues they've had at parks, when the issue would actually be resolved directly if they were to speak with the actual guest relations department instead of Marketing etc.. it's kind of like calling a company and pressing random numbers on a phone prompt and then complaining that you had to be transfered because you failed to dial the correct department

[rolercstrluvr]

CGA has released a new commercial. Here's a link: http://youtu.be/1VjBEXW9jgE

[fpsphil]

CGA has released a new commercial. Here's a link: http://youtu.be/1VjBEXW9jgE

 

Love how the ride they show is Ghostrider