California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[Angry_Gumball]

^^Yes both Loggers and WWF are open during the day, a great way to see the props for BWC without the effects or scares. Last year I went and did a 'normal visit' on a saturday however it was rainy...so very little crowds. The year before, I also did a day visit on Saturday and was really not that bad, much lighter than some of the Sunday crowds I saw this year. The park will probably most likely be full (not that full this weekend anyway) of the younger set to hit up the Snoopy's costume party. Last year, I also visited on a Sunday a couple times and the park was pretty quiet, especially on Halloween day...crowds didn't start showing up until after the park closed from 'normal' hours.

[Sunfire]

Well, seeing as Haunt starts in 3 days, as a supervisor, I'm pretty excited for this year's event. Tonight and tomorrow night, employees will be previewing the mazes before the GP, can't wait to see the changes to Slaughterhouse, plus the new shows.

[Nibbler]

lol I posted the V.I.M packages a few pages back

 

Anywho, come say hi if you're going, i'll be Supervising the Gauntlet this year, My clowns and freaks are like my children..my very demented children...that have no souls..and take pleasure tormenting you...just like me! I'm happy with all of them and have 100% confidence that they're ready and rarin' to go!

[robman]

^Opps Well I guess its a refresher for everyone.

[CAGreatamerica]

One more day... Haunt is looking scarier and better than ever! Lots of awesome new details being added to existing mazes and new.

 

Hope to see some of you at the park on Friady night!

[sjsharkattack10]

Looks like I'm going tomorrow night by myself. If anyone wants to meet up let me know

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm going Saturday for a 'normal operation' visit, followed by some Haunt action right after. If anyone's going the route I'm going, it is probably worth doing the park's Boofet deal...$13, all you can eat, plus some monsters running around the picnic grounds. We even get early entry (by 10 minutes, trust me it helps a lot) into the park, entering through between Delta Flyer and Flight Deck...great way to avoid the 'running of the bulls' and the 'clog up' at the metal detectors.

 

I know Robman mentioned something about also going Saturday. Anyone else here going?

[sjsharkattack10]

I would go Saturday but I'm going to the Winchester mystery house flashlight tour and maze everyone should check it out

[ABW]

Let's turn this into a mini-TPR gathering shall we? I see you all who choose to show up on Saturday.

[Angry_Gumball]

Let's turn this into a mini-TPR gathering shall we? I see you all who choose to show up on Saturday.

[robman]

Yup I will be there Saturday with a couple of family members and a friend of mine, which will be his first time at Haunt. Hopefully I will see you guys throughout the evening. Should be a great night! Usually the first weekend is quite so that should be nice!

[sjsharkattack10]

Got a review from haunt so I went last night and let me just say I have never seen so many people there on opening night. The improvement are pretty good, I was suprized. The old mazes haven't changed much, club blood now starts where u use to exit and the go go dancers are at the end. Slaughterhouse is pretty much a new maze and was one of my favorites of the night, won't spoil anything so u can experience it for yourself. The scare zones did improve but really nothing special. I didn't catch any shows but another tpr member told me "zombies gone viral" was just ok. The worst maze by far was werewolf canyon, not many actors and at least when I went no chainsaws. Like I said earlier all the other mazes were the same but they are still a good time. Overall if it was a fun night and I hope that if we dont have haunt next year we at least have some kind of Halloween event.

[CoasterBeagle]

^ do remember that if you come in a couple weeks the talent will be better because they are just getting used to it. Especially if they are new. I would be nervous at first.

[Flagg O'Dim]

WARNING! HAUNT SPOILERS AHEAD! SKIP THIS POST IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON GOING!

 

 

I went to Haunt on opening night yesterday. It was great to be back! Certainly a lot more crowded than opening night last year. Nobody was waiting for the rides, all the lines were for the mazes.

 

I finally caught the opening ceremony, after missing it last year. It was very well done, especially with the Overlord rising almost to the top of the Carousel.

 

Lots of noticeable improvements throughout. The most obvious one being Slaughterhouse: Annihilation (more on that later), but also some surprising ones (you can hardly recognize Underworld Alley now, lots of new additions). Black Widow's Cavern seemed to have more monsters this time.

 

Speaking of the scare zones, I have to say that I felt they were a bit underwhelming. The Dead Man's Cove "expansion" is barely noticeable, and the Gauntlet is just...there (sorry, Nibbler!). Also, having the bridge by Firefall empty is just awkward, it was better to have a mediocre scare zone (Witch Doctor's) than none at all. However, last year the scare zones improved as the month progressed, so I'll reserve further judgment, and classify them as a work in progress. They're still fun to walk through, I was just expecting more. On the bright side, Underworld Alley and Dead Man's Cove have some excellent new theme songs, exactly the type of quality you would expect from the CGA crew. Please release these songs (along with Slaughterhouse's new song) for download!

 

On to the mazes...listed in order from best to worst.

 

Slaughterhouse: Annihilation (x2): Well, they did it. After being the worst maze (in my opinion) last year, I can say without a doubt that the redone version is now the best maze in the park. Excellent, and very, very dark and mature (gone is the quirky Mcdonalds ending). Navigating your way through squirming (how did they do that?), hanging body bags? Disturbingly awesome! Taking a cue from Toy Factory's ending? It's all here. Great soundtrack as well. I noticed maybe two or three scenes left over from the original Slaughterhouse, but other than that, everything is new. I like the new line entrance scene as well ("Help us" in blood). Also with the new line location, you can see a bunch of old Whizzer footers.

 

Carnevil (x2): Not much different here, but it doesn't need it! Lot of monsters in here. I've realized that the song is much better when you're listening to it in it's proper context. I wish CGA would release the alternate lyrics version that plays while you're inside the maze ("We'll deep fry anything!").

 

Toy Factory (x2): With the new Slaughterhouse, and the stellar Carnevil, Toy Factory's fallen a bit behind. Don't get me wrong, it's still one of the best mazes in the park, but I just wish there was something new in here, because there really isn't. The ending is still as forceful as ever, and the song still stays in your head forever.

 

Cornstalkers (x2): New sound effects, and many new branching paths. I was disappointed in the truck part though, the horn's gotten very quiet.

 

Club Blood (x2): The old exit is now the new entrance, and the new exit is the old entrance. As a result, you're walking through the maze in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, they didn't change the order of the scenes from last year, and now the story doesn't work as well. The vampire-infested backrooms of the club are now the first things you see, and the actual club with the dancers is at the end. Is it bad that I think the best part of this maze is being in the Pictorium? I was looking up most of the time, the height of that ceiling never ceases to amaze me. One of the emergency exits in the maze was slightly open, so I took a quick peek while walking by, and I could see some of the theater seating. Highlight of the maze.

 

and last, and certainly least...

 

Werewolf's Canyon (x1): If Cedar Fair was going to be around next year, I'd say this maze would be the next to be redone. There was barely any monsters here, and the maze is too long for it's own good. Although, the guy with the gigantic werewolf mask was great.

 

Random tidbits:

 

Had a mini-ERT session on Vortex. My brother and I were literally the only ones on it, and we stayed on for two rides. For some reason, Vortex is better on the second consecutive lap.

 

The Spongebob TVs were on, but I don't think the Action Theater was open. Equally odd was the fact that the TVs for the right side of the theater were on, displaying some green text.

 

I didn't see any of the shows, but I happened to pass by Blood Drums (looked pretty good) and the Freak Show (same ol', same ol').

 

Haunt 2011 is pretty damn good. The new Slaughterhouse alone makes me want to say that this year is better than 2010, but the fact that we're missing a scare zone keeps me from saying that with confidence. I think it's on par with last year, and that's a very good thing!

 

On to the pictures (I apologize for the blurriness, my camera does not like the night).

 

The Overlord summoning his minions. Look how high he is!

Monsters roaming around. You can also get an idea of what the crowds were like.

The monsters bowing to their master.

This is one of the best costumes.

The elaborate Blood Drums set.

Slaughterhouse -- great entrance, even better maze.

Check out the new gates for Underworld Alley.

How fitting -- a hearse parked on the Invertigarden. I was disappointed that they didn't take more advantage of the "Green" for this scare zone, and for Haunt in general.

The disturbingly realistic electric chair guy.

Doc Brown would be proud.

You know you can hear the theme song now!

Toy Factory line themeing.

While waiting in line for Toy Factory, the Grizzly kept going by, nearly empty every time.

Drop Tower is even better at night.

Black Widow's Cavern signage.

Putting the "fire" back in "Firefall!"

I just couldn't get a good picture of this, but it gives you a view of where the new Club Blood entrance is.

I'll leave you with the Overlord hanging out by Flight Deck!

[sjsharkattack10]

^ I'm in one of the pictures lol

[Angry_Gumball]

Just got back from Haunt, second to opening day (10/1/11). Let's say, this is the longest I've ever spent in a theme park, about 12.5 hours. For a first weekend, Haunt was really awesome (well, when isn't Haunt awesome?). Well, starting off, I did a day time visit to get some rides in since I knew I would be focusing on mazes. Let's start off with the day time.

 

The park was pretty much dead today, could walk right onto your favorite ride. ABW met us out at the park for the 'day time' operation. For some reason, we were lucky enough to have several 'breakdown' sessions happen to us. One happened right after we got off Psycho Mouse and the other 2 happened as soon as we stepped into the Flight Deck station. Not really too much more to report on during the day, other than it was just a nice relaxing day to just ride and have mini ERT-like sessions on a couple rides.

 

Now, onto Haunt! Being as I was already out at the park it makes enough sense to do their "Boofet" special they always run, basically an 'all you can eat' picnic in the front pavilion. After eating, we get a 'pre scare' followed by what we had today, a 20-minute early entry into Haunt and early access to Club Blood and CarnEvil. Only downfall was that the staff inside wasn't aware of the VIP and thanks to our friendly Gauntlet supervisor, 'Nibbler' he was able to relay the message and in we went! CarnEvil was good, felt a lot longer than I remembered though nothing was altered in it. Much like last year, CarnEvil was well done, and the actors were pretty well enthusiastic tonight. I still have the CarnEvil song in my head now! "Come and try your luck at a wonderful game!..." Followed by that, the now have the Overlord speech behind the carousel on the stage, which I think is a far better place than on top of the restrooms. His massive height however did surprise me as afterwards, he was about my height roaming the park

 

After that, it was the 'bull-run' into the rest of the park. My next haunt was Slaughter House: Annihilation. A complete opposite of how Slaughter House has been last few years. Gone is the 'chaotic noise' and just sheer chaos and in is the ominous humming ambiance with some heartbeats, and manufacturing facility sounds. Really, I found this much more fitting and in the end the maze was far more enjoyable. Yes, it is quite gross but that's what Slaughter House is all about! The maze as we all know is completely revamped though there are some elements that were reused. I honestly have no problem with that, still works for me. Due to getting to the maze in a timely manner, wait time was minimal, about a 2-3 group wait. Also while waiting, look in the Whizzer pond, some great views of the remains of Whizzer! Oh yea, there's some nice surprises in probably the 3rd scene though I only experienced it once out of both visits in SH:A as there wasn't much.....force?

 

Followed by that, it was time to head to one of my favorite mazes, Toy Factory. But before that, it was time to check out the modified Underworld Alley. It is amazing how throwing in some music (possibly another CGA custom, hope for a new soundtrack release soon), some entry signs, and some grave stones and bam! much better atmosphere. However, talent seemed a bit thin tonight, maybe there will be some more roaming around in the next few weeks.

 

Now, to Toy Factory ("Here in the Toy Factory..."). We had probably a 5-6 group wait before we were in. Good maze as always (Hey, I rhymed!), catchy theme. The ending felt more forceful this time around due to the lack of people ahead of me. This is one of the key things I'd like to bring up in general. People running the maze entrance did an excellent job letting in groups in at a timely fashion but not letting in groups too close. There is nothing worse than 'walking in a huge line' to get through the maze. I'd rather have a chance to explore the maze and not have the group ahead of me take all the scares away.

 

Next on the list was Cornstalkers, which now we're about 40 minutes into the night and this maze has no people in line. CS is one of those mazes that's best when you're by yourself (or with a really small group, like of 2 people) and when it's fully dark. However, it seemed to be lacking some talent-wise, not enough monsters. Still it builds up the suspense when you're on the backside of Grizzly and the branching paths are great for ditching your friends/whoever you're with.

 

Now off to Black Widows Cavern. Log rides are always fun in the dark, right? Throw in some characters, spiders, sensory effects and you've got yourself a fine haunted attraction. However, from a talent standpoint, I can see this being frustrating, being hard to scare guests due to the faster pace of the ride. Still some great scares though and great effects. You don't really feel like you're zipping through a bunch of plywood tunnels.

 

 

Werewolf Canyon - possibly the longest wait, slowest-moving line. Unfortunately, a good handful of the talent didn't seem to be that motivated or they just happened to totally bypass us rather than try to scare us...which to me felt like I was just walking through a decorated Rapids exit queue. I will say that some of the strobe areas did throw me off, navigation-wise and was quite disorienting. Also, see if you can spot some Camp Gonnagetcha Easter eggs in there...I found 2 so far - inverted car playing the Summer Camp song and some bulls eye targets.

 

Last but not least, Club Blood. This was just weird. Cool maze but was just...backwards...literally! This was probably done to keep Slaughter House's line and CB's line from merging. It felt awkward entering the 'back-stage' section of the night club, showing what's going on, then enter the night club scene where things look normal. Still some good stuff in there however.

 

Now onto the rest of the scare zones I have not mentioned.

Deadmans Cove: Forsaken Souls was the revamped zone this year. Don't go looking for props but do expect a much larger cast and some nice background music to fit the theme. The area spreads from behind the Snoopy shop over to the KidZville Bridge and just a little bit before Delirium. While this makes up for the missing scare zone, it was awkward crossing the other bridge with nothing at all.

 

Gauntlet: This zone got my vote tonight. Plenty of talent, theming, and enthusiastic talent. The nice use of lighting and fog make it hard to tell if it's a regular GP or a clown or freak heading right towards you. I also think this helps, having a maze to accompany the scarezone, giving the area a nice 'complete' feel.

 

Rankings:

CarnEvil: 9/10 - 3 visits

SlaughterHouse: Annihilation: 9/10 (suspended Dead bodies want smoosh-smoosh!) - 2 visits

Toy Factory: 9/10 (For some reason, not sure why but after 2 years, I still love this maze...maybe due to nostalgia purposes, the theme, etc.) - 2 visits

Black Widows Cavern: 8/10 - 2 rides

Werewolf Canyon: 7/10 (hopefully stronger talent will change this in the coming weeks) - 1 visit, excessively long lines tonight!

Cornstalkers: 8/10 - 1 visit.

 

Crowd levels were mixed, overall pretty busy for a first weekend. Some mazes were walk right up, some 10-minute wait, some 30 minute, some even more. Demon was deserted as well as some of the other rides in the evening. I just rode Flight Deck and Demon during Haunt so I can focus on Haunt itself. Now, Photos!!

Arrival to CGA bright and early!

Some more decorations they've set up

Hello again Jack!

Contrary to popular belief in the coaster community, roller coasters are actually powered by this large can of laughing gas, not gravity!

Next set of photos is a barrel roll sequence. Peppy: Do a Barrel Roll!

Giant spider's taken over the log flume station!

Let's go ride Psych Mouse...little did we know, it was bound to break down for 16 minutes or so after we got off.

Next, let's ride the best coaster ever!

And to those who claim wooden coasters are loud...the loudness can be turned down via controls under this manhole cover! In fact, all of Grizzly's sound (chain, etc) is all controlled from here

A few more day time shots, messing around.

Riding the 'buckets'

Alright...seeing this view, you know what this means!

Oh, just before leaving, we spotted this... Yup, 2 'forgotten' Cedar Fair parks!

So this green sticker got us into the the CarnEvil and Club Blood mazes early. Those who didn't have these had to just wait it out.

They're coming...Run!

!

*makes farting noise through megaphone*

The boofet crowds last night were pretty dead! Ha-ha! (Rimshot!)

Crazy guy running around, gave my cousin some good quality exercise after stuffing her face!

Deep inside she is shaking and panicking

Alright, the gates have opened! We are now entering the Gauntlet zone!

Hello again Jack! (You weren't working, why?)

Now this is what I call, talent!

Wow, the Overlord grew quite a bit since last year...someone give him some super mushrooms or something? Actually, it was quite amazing to see this really tall Overlord!

"All you fear is here!!! Halloween Haunt is now open!"

A bit hard to tell, but here's the Whizzer pond and footers.

This looks pretty cool, never seen Demon's lift lit up like this before.

New Underworld Alley entrance, looks really good!

"Here in the Toy Factory, there's lots of fun 'n games! Here in the Toy Factory, everyone knows their names!"

Grizzly at sunset

BANG show

Yay, Black Widow's Cavern!

Is this an acceptable amount of wetness?

Some DMC: Forsaken Souls stuff

"Avast me hearties!"

Now for some night time ride shots!

Do a barrel roll!

Back into Gauntlet!

Talent and his supervisor

Club Blood (Or, what kind of loos like "Club Bloid")

So now here's a beagle...how much longer he'll be around the park I don't know.

And here's a CoasterBeagle!

We make our way back for some night time acceptable wetness!

"Pider X"?

And a big black 'pider!

The freaky moment of the night. I was supposed to be in this shot but was somehow not there when the photo was taken. Strange I tell you, still trying to figure this one out!

Now for some Firefall shots...been wanting to do this last year but when I was by it, the fire effects I don't believe were working that night.

Yay, fire!

Just some random stuff

Back into Gauntlet again for 1 last maze for the night!

Alright, goodnight Haunt and CGA will be back again soon! Thanks for reading!

[Nibbler]

haha glad you had a great time, and even more glad my Gauntlet folks did their job

[Flagg O'Dim]

^^Great report and pictures as always!

 

Looks like the Gauntlet has improved already. The problem I had with the scare zones on opening night was the fact that there wasn't really that many monsters. At one point, Dead Man's Cove only had one pirate in the tunnel.

 

^ I'm in one of the pictures lol

 

haha! What were the chances of that happening? I'm assuming you're in one of the beginning pictures with the crowds?

[sjsharkattack10]

Yep I'm in the blue sweatshirt in one of the crowd pics. I look like a nerd taking pics lol

[Angry_Gumball]

One thing I forgot to note which kind of irritated me some (not on the park's behalf but on the GP)...I saw several strollers being pushed around. This is NOT an event for toddlers! I saw some that were entirely covered in blankets to 'protect their kid,' one sitting in a plastic push-car that was in tears just outside of the Toy Factory area, and a couple other strollers with kids. Yes, a bit ridiculous, the parents should have arranged a babysitter/family/friend to watch the kids while they go to such event. Ok, done ranting. Though it won't do any good posting on here since we already have common sense

[CoasterBeagle]

^saw the strollers to which I don't get. I like the picture of me and it was also completely dead on my shift today, today as in the Sunday haunt shift. Lot of people got mini ert's.

[Nibbler]

^^Great report and pictures as always!

 

Looks like the Gauntlet has improved already. The problem I had with the scare zones on opening night was the fact that there wasn't really that many monsters.

 

Thanks haha 1st year as a Sup, so i'm trying to build them up as much as i can haha..

 

We (Gauntlet) have a start time now at 6:30pm for the Boofet guests, unlike last year where they didn't open until 7..

[XYZ]

I went to CGA yesterday and here was some interesting observations:

 

--The park closed at 5:30 because of Haunt and Delta Flyer/Eagle's Flight closed at 5pm! Why does this ride always have to close so early?

--In the store, Inside CGA, I found the Michigan's Adventure cap and I found a Cedar Point cap that was brought here by accident.

--Firefall was running fire and music making the ride 10 times better. (This one GP asked me if the fire was supposed to go on)

--This probably was here all season, though on the bottom of the Logger's Run drop, I saw a new piece of track since it had a stronger blue color than any other peices of track.

--Survivor is getting rough and starting to be unbearable with the roughness and the tight restraints

--I saw good theming on the Underworld Alley and was amazed it was all built using very cheap materials.

 

Really, CGA usually is supposed to be dead on an October Sunday but it had a good amount of attendance and wasn't a "ghost town" like it was in previous seasons. Though I'm still wondering why Delta Flyer/Eagle's Flight closes early?

[CoasterBeagle]

It closes early during the entire season. It's not open for haunt due to safety. My guess why it closes early is maintenance on the cabins.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Great TRs Angry_Gumball and Flag O' Dimm!

 

Since I know I won't be able to go, I was wondering if one of you can explain the "surprise ending" of some of these (namely Toy Factory). Feel free to spoil everything, I read the descriptions of the mazes and have been following the TRs and the curiosity is killing me!!