California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[ABW]

^That's already happened. I've seen it happen multiple time of CGA's Facebook. It'll make no difference. So how many TPR memers want gather at the buffet and make our very own GP-less table?

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm down! An unofficial TPR Bay Area member dinner sounds fine by me!

[MrSum1_55]

Or, even worse, I once had someone confuse SFDK and CGA, to get SFGAm. So, they bought tickets to that, and showed up at SFDK with tickets to the wrong park!

 

However, jeeps will confuse anything that possibly can be confused. I once knew someone who actually booked a hotel room near CGA, and planned to spend a full day there. However, there was one small problem. She thought CGA was SFDK, and bought SFDK tickets. She ended up actually using her tickets on the drive back.

 

Great America is meant to be a park themed to the best of America. I guess the jeeps that go there are part of the American theming!

[robman]

I know one thing we will be seeing tomorrow for those of us going to Haunt, line jumping. There has been a lot of it the last couple weeks. The people working the end of the line and the employees that walk by once an awhile try to stop it but they still continue to do it. I wish they had more blackout type people in the lines to try and reduce that but whatever.

[ABW]

^You probably won't want to be around me for most of the time. Line jumpers and I don't mix well.

[Angry_Gumball]

I will most likely be on "jeep alert" especially towards evening. I think a nice group of us can overthrow/foil the line jumping jeep's plans

[robman]

^You probably won't want to be around me for most of the time. Line jumpers and I don't mix well.

 

If your able to put them in their place and the stop that's fine with me, plus it's probably a good laugh too.

[Angry_Gumball]

The best part is watching them fail and give the ride attendants their sob story of why they should get to stay. Sorry, not going to work, save the headache and leave (and get back in line the real way). In the mean time I can sit back, grin and move on.

 

At the park now. So far I wouldn't call it dead but more of light crowds. I've got about 10 minute wait for Grizzly but scored 4 Flight Deck rides this morning, 2 back-to-back rides.

[robman]

The park is PACKED right now. Vortex has all switchbacks filled and they only have one train. Demon's line is completely full also. About to watch Zombies Gone Viral not expecting much but I will see. I've done every maze so far except Werewolf Canyon. I got recognized a lot tonight so far, lots of talent are remembering me and asking me why I'm going so much. My response, I love Haunt!

[Angry_Gumball]

Tonight was indeed packed. In fact the park sold out on their tickets. JMA I really hope you are taking some notes! Haunt's a cash cow for the park! I will go into detail/trip report mode later today, numerous interesting "jeep" stories to share. All in all, it was a great way to put my 2011 season to a rest.

[Nibbler]

Indeed we did! Sorry to all about the line cutting issues, rest assured we all make an effort to catch it when we can, and yes guests do (tonight was no exception) get ejected for repeat line jumping.

[XYZ]

Yesterday, I went to CGA for the last time of the season.

 

Some things that were out of the normal:

-Lake beneath Demon's corkscrew was drained (or was it always drained?)

-More line cutting than usual especially on Survivor & Grizzly

-Top Gun is sadly starting to show its age as it is starting to rattle in the corkscrew/last helix part, though it wasn't just today I seen this every day

-Vortex had a long line, not worth it for such a horrible coaster

-Bulldozer behing Invertigarden is put somewhere else

-Demon wasn't talking in the 1st tunnel

 

The day was not that crowded on a Saturday and was far from SFDK's crowd 2 Saturdays ago.

[robman]

Yesterday, I went to CGA for the last time of the season.

 

Some things that were out of the normal:

-Lake beneath Demon's corkscrew was drained (or was it always drained?)

-More line cutting than usual especially on Survivor & Grizzly

-Top Gun is sadly starting to show its age as it is starting to rattle in the corkscrew/last helix part, though it wasn't just today I seen this every day

-Vortex had a long line, not worth it for such a horrible coaster

-Bulldozer behing Invertigarden is put somewhere else

-Demon wasn't talking in the 1st tunnel

 

The day was not that crowded on a Saturday and was far from SFDK's crowd 2 Saturdays ago.

 

The waterfall on the Demon mouth has been off for a while it seems,not really sure why. Last night at Haunt the park reached capacity and stopped selling tickets. There was lines for some ride thy I had never seen so long before.

 

Last night was just crazy with all kinds of line jumping and what not. I know there can only be so many people in one place and they all try to control the mobs of people. For example last night when I was entering Slaughterhouse there was a big group of people entering there was a guy sitting in a chair and they all freaked out ran backward crushing into me and the rest of my party. I ended up getting a decent bruise on my hand because of this guy crushing into me. Then to top off the whole thing they cut under a whole set of ropes cutting everyone. Im not sure if they got caught or not but I sure hope they did! Other then that I had a really great time to close off the season!

[Angry_Gumball]

Now to talk about yesterday since I've gotten some rest after probably the longest park visit I've ever done at 14 hours!

 

I decided to do an AM session to get on all of the rides and do as much as I could, then face the evening (record-breaking) crowds of Haunt. I got to the park just before opening to get my meal ticket and headed on in, kicking off the day with 3 Flight Deck rides, 2 being back-to-back, no leaving the seats. Another CGA fan that I met via Facebook joined my cousin and I, followed by ABW later in the day. Average wait times during the day were probably 10 minute waits with the exception of Psycho Mouse. Delirium was down all day but I believe it opened for Haunt at some point. In total I did the following:

Flight Deck:7x

Vortex: 1x

Demon: 3x

Psycho Mouse: 1x

Grizzly: 2x

Logger's Run: 3x

Firefall: 2x

Sky Tower: 1x

White Water Falls: 2x (Insane airtime on first ride, I thought I was going to land on my cousin's lap!)

 

An interesting story to share during our day visit after getting off of the Sky Tower. We're passing by the Blood Drums stage and passing signs advertising the "Peanuts Party in the Plaza" when some lady comes up to us. The Peanuts show is happening at that time when she asks us "Where's the Peanuts show at? It says it's supposed to be right here but it isnt!" We then proceeded to tell her that the signs say that the show is in front of the GA Theater and kindly told her where it's located. Giving her some simple direction we tell her and point "It's over there, just past the swings." She then responds "Well, can you be a little more clear than 'it's just over there'?" Finally we split on our own ways as she says "Thank you, whatever." A little ungrateful much? I'd have to say, yes... I don't know what she expected in terms of direction but at least we didn't tell her to Google it.

 

So now onto Haunt! To avoid the beginning crowds, we did the traditional Boofet in which it seemed that the talent got a late start getting in. However, when they showed up, there seemed to be a large handful of them and they came in groups. This time, my cousin got chased to the restrooms 3 times, twice by one of the clowns known as "Shuffles" (one of the park's talent that I know as of last season).

 

Getting into the park, we attempt my plan of attack with a slight variation. Kicking off, we did CarnEvil which was starting to already fill up fast! After that, the park had opened. Skipping Club Blood on the first loop, we did Slaughter House (which had already had it's switchbacks just beyond the sign) filled up. As we were getting in line by normal means, this group of girls (probably 6-8 of them) cut through the ropes ahead of us. When they got up to the entry building, they were avoiding entering due to a surprise they had in there. Already tired of their 'cutting' and not respecting people around them, my group barged our way through them so that we can get into the maze. So we ended up cutting back in front of them . This maze (along with CarnEvil) were probably the strongest even though they were continuously letting people in. Hooray for the mini 'Toy Factory' tunnel that was actually being used!

 

Now that I mentioned Toy Factory, we headed to the back to pay that a visit. Everyone was still up towards the front and the wait time for this was maybe 5 minutes if that. Unfortunately, the maze was killed by 3 things: the group of teenage girls right behind us constantly screaming (was beginning to hurt the ears), lack of 'pulsing', even though the crowds were light back there, and lastly, the lack of effort to scare. The 'birthing canal' was however being used. One did however get me at the end of the maze, the person/monster sitting on the packing table. I was trying to see if it was a real person or not when they suddenly jumped out at me.

 

Next was CornStalkers, another 5 minute wait. This was another strong maze despite the idiots behind us using their flash lights. I tried to ignore that fact and enjoy the maze. Finally, a blackout got on them for using their light when we yelled out "Thank You!" In the splitting paths, I ditched the group and walked down the empty path. Going through a haunt alone with nobody ahead of you and nobody behind you is a completely different story, much more eerie. Nothing happened but that suspense was building up, walking down the dark paths. Eventually I reunited with the group.

 

We attempted Toy Factory again to see if our experience would change. However, I think we spent probably a good 10 minutes or so in the maze, about the same time as we waited to get in. At the beginning, it was funny to watch maintenance guys repairing a light in the midst of all of the activity. Once we got to the strobe room, things came to a screeching halt and I was in that room for probably a good minute. Finally, we moved again in short increments until we got to the game room. That is where I probably saw the most activity with the Toy Factory crew. Finally, it felt like Toy Factory just took some stool softener and everyone just started flowing out. Yes, our beloved inflatable hallway was deflated.

 

Over to Black Widows Cavern, the line was already using half of the switchbacks just outside the ride's entrance. Once we got into the 'wooded area' we hear the dreaded 'technical difficulty' spiel. We waited it out and in a matter of an additional 15 minutes, the ride was back up to speed. Some good scares on this and some cold wetness to be had too!

 

Heading to the Werewolf Canyon area, we were going to get in line but opted to ride the Flying Eagles ride instead. These are in fact snap-able by the way. While waitng and watching the ride, I had notice out of the corner of my eye and began to think "Wow, the line for WWC is really short now!" when after a good look, everyone was rushing the entrance like a herd of animal-like humans on Black Friday. With a minimal crew, they were able to quickly get things under control. We after congratulated the staff who had walked by our line for getting things under control without having to get security.

 

Afterwards, we attempted Flight Deck but it was down (Hi CoasterBeagle! Did Flight Deck get stuck upside down? Did it lose a wheel? ). Moving forward, we head towards Club Blood. Slaughter House's line was now using all of the switchbacks and starting to overflow. Club Blood on the other hand...uh, where's the line at? Seriously...this (along with the first round of CarnEvil) was the shortest wait of the evening clocking in at about 1-2 minutes. Some good scares in here and some GP too, deciding to sit on the bar stools in the night club scene.

 

Making one of the final loops around the park, all of the lines were just far too long to get in, with the last half hour we had. Ride-wise, we ended riding Peanuts Pirates, such a fun intense family ride! At this time ABW had to leave and we got in line for 1 last session in CarnEvil.

 

Scare Zone-wise, Gauntlet was probably the strongest, followed by Underworld, followed by Dead Man's Cove. I think this has to do with how well the paths handle crowds. Gauntlet's wide enough that you can walk through smoothly yet still interact with the talent, let alone spotting them. Funny thing, Shuffles (the clown I know) looked like he was going slider-bowling as he nearly slid right into a crowd of people. Funny stuff!

 

Standout in DMC was the pirate who blasted fog in our faces, ABW getting about 99.99% of the blast. You've seen those plastic air blaster guns at the store that sends a shockwave of air...well, this was full of fog.

 

Atmosphere-wise, the park was full of fog, more than I have ever seen. I'll get some photos up in a bit as I need to sort them out. Some are on iPhone, some on SD card. All in all, I feel like I got the most out of last night compared to the 15th when I went, despite the 'sell-out' the park had. Overall, the talent was much more active through the duration of the night. You could tell however once 11:30/11:40 rolled around, they looked exhausted (yet still making efforts to scare people). It was a great way to end the 2011 season.

[CoasterBeagle]

^flight deck was acting like a 5 year old brat that wasn't getting it's way. The conversations usually went like this.

Me: it's down and I don't know when it will open.

Gp: when will it open

Me: I don't knowol

 

I had a lot of people come and ask where the bathroom was which was odd. The most annoying was when they got it cycling again people flocked to it. Luckily when it started I wasn't down there but I took her spot which is when I saw angry_gumball. The kids right in front of me asking a ton of gp related questions. "has anybody died?" etc.

 

My best one was when the kid went, "my mom said that grizzly was the oldest ride in the park." my answer: "actually demon was built in 1976. It was called turn of the century. The newest ride is psycho mouse after they took out invertigo which is in dorney park in PA."

They kept trying to get me to confirm or deny rumors. Then I got replaced cause I had to go on break.

[Angry_Gumball]

Photos (not much but to give you an idea of crowds and stuff) as promised. It's a mix of day time and evening shots, just messing around.

Hello Snoopy!

Morning rides on Flight Deck are a must!

This is so not a Titanic reference

Possible last signs of Cedar Fair Coke machines at CGA

Poor Heather, getting chased once again (and again, and again!)

"CNN, this is ABW. Flight Deck in the California theme park, Great America, has stalled on the lift. Please get reporters here stat!"

"So what trash can should I use? I'll let TPR decide!"

Haunt time!

To JMA: Haunt brings crowds! Look! (Ok, Flight Deck was down, and people flocked once it began cycling.)

To those who think CGA's attendance is slipping...CGA has crowds!

Shot via iPhone, it captured the fogginess really well.

More crowds! Using all of Drop Tower's switchbacks!

Start of the line for Grizzly (which I did not wait for). The line wrapped around the back of the tree in the courtyard.

I'll end it with the Overlord. I knew I'd be kicking myself in the hiney if I didn't get one of these, not knowing what next year will bring.

[DougMJr]

Use the trash can on the right.

[greatamerica1990sfan]

CGA REALLY needs tighter security at night during the haunt to catch all the basterds line jumping & throw them out of the park. Wow it's been packed at night. I like reading about how packed it's been. Glad I don't go to haunt. I am asking for a huge request. If anyone is going tonight can someone take pictures of as many ride lines as possible? I want to see how full every ride is. Those few pics were great but I'd like to see more.

[Sunfire]

I don't expect tonight to be as crowded as last night. Although it is the night before Halloween, it's also a school/work night. But who knows? I guess we'll find out tonight.

[robman]

Great pictures! It was nice to have our own TPR table last night away from all of the GP. I still can't believe the park was that busy last night!

[Angry_Gumball]

I'm having a tougher time realizing that the season is over after tonight's final Cedar Fair Haunt.

[Flagg O'Dim]

Nice pictures! Like I've said before, imagine the lines during non-Haunt season if CGA got a new coaster...

 

Since it's the end of the season, I thought it would be funny to quote my post from the end of last season. Let's see how wrong my predictions were for the 2011 season! From October 31st, 2010:

 

Realistic expectations:

-New movie in the Action Theater (nope)

-All six cars working on the Drop Tower (It took most of the season, but yes, I was right!)

-New Haunt maze (Yep, Slaughterhouse)

-Invertigo operates at least 75% of the season (hahaha, oh man, those were the days...)

 

Not likely, but in the realm of possibility expectations:

-Another hand-me-down used flat ride: Cedar Point's currently-for-sale Chaos perhaps? http://www.italintl.com/detail_page.php?record_id=1267 (nope)

 

Not in this universe, but still fun to speculate expectations:

-The Stampede (Well, we did get some glimmer of hope)

-Pictorium reopens (actually no, I asked this question on CGA's Facebook, the response was "Not at this time") (At least I got to see the theater seating this year)

-Vortex gets a complete overhaul, new name, color scheme, theming (fire cannons at the bottom of the first drop, etc), and runs smooth. (Vortex did have two trains running most of the time this season, certainly an improvement)

-The neighbors shut up (Of course not)

 

Yes, I completely bombed in my predictions.

[robman]

It still seems that Cedar Fair still owns the park for the time being, the city of Santa Clara still hasn't approved the sale. I wonder what Cedar Fair would do if they denied the sale?

[Angry_Gumball]

Let's take a look at my hopes/expections and see:

-More staff in Jack-a-roo landing. Some of those slides look fun though they're for the younger set)

Realistic wants/expectations:

-Some Vortex TLC, is getting very rough. I noticed the upper portions of the seats have some slop, probably contributing to the the headbanging. Demon's red car was down last season and when running this season was super smooth. Still rough

-A major overhaul on Demon's yellow train now that the red train's been running smooth. Maybe the orange one's being worked on as it's been missing all season. Yellow Train, see you in 2012!

-New movie in the theater as well. Spongebob seems so out of place now. Sponge will probably continue to stay

-Some kind of new ride even if it's a flat ride just to keep things fresh and to draw new crowds in my dreams

-New Haunt maze added (no replacements)Nope but the revisited Slaughter House was a nice changeup.

-Fully functional Drop Tower as well Yay, one thing happened!

 

Unrealistic desires/fantasies:

Revival of the "Stampede" as well (GCI woodie) Does the 6/29/11 activity count as a revival?

Addition of a new coaster in general Nope

Would be nice to see both chutes working on Logger's Run nope

Something to fill in Triple Play's spot other than a tree. Maybe a new weed or two sprouting out of the area but that's about it

 

With this said, let's perhaps share our 2011 highlights, letdowns, and 2012 hopes/expections.

Starting with letdowns:

-Invertigo removal

-No signs of any new attraction

-No new additional maze

Highlights:

- TPR day

-Haunt in general

-Meeting fellow local coaster enthusiasts from TPR

-Nearly flipping out of our raft (ABW and I rode DownUnder Thunder and came off the exit run sideways at a decent speed and hit the dry spot. When that happened, we were dumped out of the raft.)

-Finding out that CGA's scooters are in fact snappable with some work

-Dead Cabin 4 finally alive, loved the shiny new restraints, made it feel like a new ride

-Late in the season, all 6 cabins alive

-Post 2010 season Haunt music releases

Mixed emotion highlights:

-Cedar Fair dropping CGA, JMA to take over (also involved with Stadium).

 

Expectations:

Honestly, seeing how this season went, I'm approaching the following seasons with a yellow light rather than going full speed ahead with hopes. With the JMA purchase, here are my expectations:

-New branding of the park and park materials

-Perhaps an announcement for a 2013 attraction

-Orange and Yellow trains to run on Demon (Yes, I'm looking at that Demon will continue to live at the park and not get scrapped since there's no reason to remove it).

Wishful thinking/hopes:

-An attraction for 2012 even if it's a flat ride

-Official announcement for the "Stampede" coaster.

-Release of more Haunt music: Dead Man's Cove, Underworld Alley and possibly Slaughter House (As much as it's just background noise)

[CoasterBeagle]

CGA REALLY needs tighter security at night during the haunt to catch all the basterds line jumping & throw them out of the park. Wow it's been packed at night. I like reading about how packed it's been. Glad I don't go to haunt. I am asking for a huge request. If anyone is going tonight can someone take pictures of as many ride lines as possible? I want to see how full every ride is. Those few pics were great but I'd like to see more.

 

Speaking of line jumpers I just caught some and told them to go to the back of the line or I would call security and they went to the back.