California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[Bubba]

Seems like it will be improvements this year which I can't complain. Just hit CGA for the haunt last weekend and Top Gun (I still call it that hehe) looks awesome red. I am hoping for a new coaster or water park addition the following year though. Gold Striker is still awesome and I'm just glad we have it, still feels brand new.

[rolercstrluvr]

I'm happy to see this improvement to Planet Snoopy. I feel this will finally complete that back area very nicely. Can't wait to see how it'll all look once completed.

[Myself]

Presumably Joe Cool's GR8 SK8 is the ride removed from Knott's Camp Snoopy this year.

 

I'd venture to say the Peanuts 500 is from Knott's as well...making the Space Buggies the only "new" ride in this expansion. Never mind...if Kings Dominion's expanded Planet Snoopy (also done by encompassing their KidZville) is anything to go by, CGA is in for a treat.

[WayCool64]

Well, what do you know? My prediction for next year came true!

[VF15]

I think this is a great addition for Great America because they're the last major Cedar Fair park to get Planet Snoopy (MiA doesn't have one, but I don't think they have a legitimate kiddie area to begin with). The other Planet Snoopys are really nice areas that small children have lots of fun in, so I'd expect the same to happen here.

Edited October 16, 2014 by VF15

[CGA_88]

^ The park does have a Planet Snoopy area. This is their other kids area, KidZville, that will be rebranded into an expansion of the current Planet Snoopy area.

[c0sterfreek]

So are these new rides going into "kidZville" or in the the older planet snoopy?

[cal1br3tto]

Am I the only one who read the announcement just to see if there would be a new credit? Note: no, I don't seriously care.

[sfmman2000]

Trip report:

 

We headed out to the Haunt on Friday, 10/17. The last time I was at CGA was for the Gold Striker media shoot. Before that I hadn't been to the park for a couple of years, so there were a few new things to experience.

 

tl;dr — The park has a few great mazes, and a couple great rides, but needs even more to alleviate the long lines. Some of the scare actors were not fully in character. The maze and main ride lines were all at 45 minutes to 1 hour long and the guest experience suffered. Read on for details.

 

Walking in the park, I was surprised to see the walk-through metal detectors missing and instead, all guests are personally searched with a hand-held metal detector. The procedure is you hold all your metal items with your hands spread out while they wave the wand across your body, front and back. I think it's an interesting change that removes a lot of overhead, although I have to wonder — what's the point? They weren't searching or wanding bags.

 

Due to logistical reasons, we arrived at the park around 8:30pm. Our first stop was the Wax Museum. I really enjoyed this maze’s props and theming. I'll stop short of saying the experience was excellent, because it wasn’t. There was nearly a constant stream of guests walking through, meaning barely any of the scare actors were in position as we walked through. I did like the aspect that you weren't always sure whether a body was a prop or actor. This was one of our longest waits, of about 45 minutes. I would hope that after waiting that long, groups would be nicely spaced out.

 

Next up was Zombie High, another 45 minute wait. The photo booth before walking through the maze was a fun effect. Without giving it away completely, the best part of the maze was a scare actor that pops out in a very unique way. Again, not many actors in position due to the constant stream of guests. Overall, this maze did not particularly stand out in any way theme wise. Having not known about the theme prior to walking in, I thought Zombie “High” meant something else

 

Next, we got in line for Drop Tower. However, after waiting a few minutes, the line had only moved a matter of inches. I noticed that one cabin was out of service completely. And another was climbing the tower normally, although guests were not being seated in it. So with the queue being 2/3 full, 1/3 of the ride out of service, combined with a steady line of Fast Lane people being given high priority, we exited the line knowing the wait would be too long. Since it was already 10:30pm, I knew that if we wanted to get on Gold Striker, we may have to choose between that and Drop Tower, since the lines close prior to midnight. I figured we could do more mazes after Gold Striker, since they are open until 1am.

 

On our way over to Gold Striker, we stopped at Toy Factory, whose line seemed to be moving very quickly. We ended up waiting about 10 minutes for this maze, which would be our shortest line of the night. It turns out, they were pushing people through like cattle, just a constant stream of guests. Although I have to hand it the scare actors — they were doing well considering they couldn’t exactly jump out at most people. However, something was missing. Where did the air room go? I don’t know what it’s actually called, but I'm trying not to give it away. I would consider that the main event of this maze, and was disappointed that it’s missing. This was arguably the most unique aspect of any maze at the park and I think it would be a big mistake to keep it out of the maze in the future.

 

As we headed over to Gold Striker, the line was nearly all the way out to the entrance. Having waited in the full queue before, I remembered it moving fairly quick. However, that was not the case tonight as the line moved ever so slowly. Fast Lane guests were let on with a seemingly very high priority. As the Fast Lane guests walked up the stairs (some of those guests riding again and again) they were let on the ride nearly immediately. Since there was a small but steady trickle of Fast Lane guests, I believe this artificially inflated the length of the standby queue, which ended up taking over an hour (2 trains, by the way).

 

The ride itself: incredible. So fast and smooth and an all-around great time. It feels even smoother than the last time I rode it before it opened to the public. Even my non-roller coaster enthusiast friends thought it was worth the wait (the true test!). Definitely the highlight of the night.

 

Next, we did two more mazes before leaving. First up was Roadkill Roadhouse. Not sure what all the hype is about. Yeah, the props are decent, but I remember them in a maze of a different name a few years ago. The great ending scene in the restaurant is now missing. But I guess my main complaint is 1) the scare actor wandering the line was out of character talking to a friend who was waiting in line and 2) some of the scare actors inside the maze were communicating quietly to each other, not really in character.

 

Just before 1am, our last maze was Madame Marie’s Massacre Manor which ended up being a great choice. The theming was great, and the scare actors were really into it, actually speaking to individual guests. If all the mazes were like this, CGA might have an event to really be proud of.

 

Final thoughts:

 

Capacity — I felt that the park was definitely at “critical mass”, with each attraction averaging about a 45 minute or longer wait. And not only were you waiting so long for most mazes, once you were in it, there were other groups right in front of and behind you! I would have an easier time standing the long lines if the experience that followed was something great. Judging from other reviews (such as on Yelp) a lot of others aren’t happy with the waits either. I’m glad that CGA now has such a popular halloween event, but it’s time to expend it even more to accommodate the crowds. I can only imagine the lines this upcoming weekend.

 

Fast Lane — I have some questions about Fast Lane, and I’m not necessarily expecting an answer. It’s obviously a great perk for those who have it, but at what cost? Should a 5-6 hour event have a Fast Lane line? Does it make sense that for such a short event that a high majority of the guests have to wait extra? I’m looking at the entire guest experience. I would have been a lot more satisfied waiting 30-40 minutes for Gold Striker, as it would have enabled us to ride one more ride. And, what is the priority that Fast Lane riders are given? Should they all be let on immediately (this is what I witnessed taking place), or should those riders be given a 5-10 minute wait to discourage re-rides and create a shorter standby line?

 

I’ll be honest — I’m not too enthusiastic about going to this event future years until they add another maze to thin out the crowds. Another decent capacity roller coaster would be nice too.

 

To sum it all up: Gold Striker

Edited October 22, 2014 by sfmman2000

[laqueefa]

Fast Lane — I have some questions about Fast Lane, and I’m not necessarily expecting an answer. It’s obviously a great perk for those who have it, but at what cost? Should a 5-6 hour event have a Fast Lane line? Does it make sense that for such a short event that a high majority of the guests have to wait extra? I’m looking at the entire guest experience. I would have been a lot more satisfied waiting 30-40 minutes for Gold Striker, as it would have enabled us to ride one more ride. And, what is the priority that Fast Lane riders are given? Should they all be let on immediately (this is what I witnessed taking place), or should those riders be given a 5-10 minute wait to discourage re-rides and create a short standby line?

 

After purchasing Fright Lane tickets for Saturday the 18th, I would have rather spent the money on Fast Lane. Talk about a waste of money I was hopeful, given last years Haunt seemed to step it up, but this years Scare Actors were horrible. Unenthusiastic, and no where to be found! We walked through at least 3/4ths of the mazes without seeing one scare actor. That is not an exaggeration. One of the maze attendants held us up for the skeleton key room at Doll Factory for 10min, then waved us through without access to the special room. What a mess. If it wasnt for Gold Striker and Flight Deck I wouldn't have purchased a 2015 Gold Pass, because those rides and Haunt are my only reasons for purchasing them.

[sfmman2000]

^ Sorry about your bad time. I think we experienced a similar level of overall quality of the scare actors.

 

I hadn't realized there was a different between Fast Lane and Fright Lane. I thought it was all-in-one.

 

The event has great attendance.. why aren't they able to do a better job?

[cgaridesman]

Fast Lane — I have some questions about Fast Lane, and I’m not necessarily expecting an answer. It’s obviously a great perk for those who have it, but at what cost? Should a 5-6 hour event have a Fast Lane line? Does it make sense that for such a short event that a high majority of the guests have to wait extra? I’m looking at the entire guest experience. I would have been a lot more satisfied waiting 30-40 minutes for Gold Striker, as it would have enabled us to ride one more ride. And, what is the priority that Fast Lane riders are given? Should they all be let on immediately (this is what I witnessed taking place), or should those riders be given a 5-10 minute wait to discourage re-rides and create a shorter standby line?

 

I've worked a CGA the past two summers and the only real instructions we got when working the Fast Lane lines was to alternate between the Fast Lane line and the standard line. We weren't instructed to have them wait for any amount of time, simply "if there's Fast Lane riders, let them on". If there's a ton of people in the Fast Lane, I would only allow about 1/3 to a 1/2 train of Fast Lanes per cycle. If there's no line for Fast Lane I would just let them on the next cycle. I'm not saying that's the right or wrong way of doing things, that's just what we're instructed to do.

 

Just from my experience at Flight Deck, assuming there's no line for Fast Lane, you could get in about 8 or 9 rides per hour with a Fast Lane pass if you kept getting back in line.

[sfmman2000]

If there's a ton of people in the Fast Lane, I would only allow about 1/3 to a 1/2 train of Fast Lanes per cycle. If there's no line for Fast Lane I would just let them on the next cycle.

 

Interesting, thanks.

 

I wonder if it makes sense for the park to have to more procedures about how many Fast Lane riders per cycle. 1/3 to 1/2 sounds like a lot (which is what I witnessed at Gold Striker), especially when the standby queue is full. Letting on Fast Lane riders so quickly could increase the standby wait time by 50-100%. On a higher capacity ride like flight deck, I'm sure it makes less of a difference.

Edited October 23, 2014 by sfmman2000

[CGA_88]

^Although Flight Deck does have 4 additional seats per train, Gold Striker can push out more cycles than Flight Deck, so they are about the same in terms of riders per hour. One of the reasons for this is Flight Deck struggles a lot more with large people not being able to fit, where Gold Striker is able to accommodate them better.

[cgaridesman]

1/3 to 1/2 sounds like a lot (which is what I witnessed at Gold Striker), especially when the standby queue is full.

 

I should have also mentioned that VERY RARELY did the Fast Lane line at Flight Deck ever exceed 10-15 people. The vast majority of the time Fast Lane is empty and people just walk on. On the weekends in an average hour on Flight Deck we would do about 24 cycles with about 600 riders, 20-30 of whom were Fast Lane.

 

The most Fast Lane riders I ever got in an hour was somewhere around 60-70. I think there was a promotion where Gold Pass/Season Pass holders were given Fast Lane vouchers.

 

One of the reasons for this is Flight Deck struggles a lot more with large people not being able to fit, where Gold Striker is able to accommodate them better.

 

Oh man, having to tell people they can't ride because they can't fit was my least favorite part of working there. I worked on Vortex and Delirum my first year and we had to kick people off all the time. Delirium is the worst, not only because it's very restrictive, but also because everyone else watches as you push to try to fit larger guests in.

[jray21]

That definitely is one of the worst parts about the job. It's always tough to have to tell someone they are too big to ride.

[Mechanic]

I'm going to take my chances that the weather won't be too terrible and check out Haunt tonight. Wish me luck!

[CoasterBeagle]

To those complaining about haunt..

 

The ratio of actors to guests is low. Maybe if people on here applied and tried to get jobs as talent things would be better. Also the air room isn't gone just somewhere else in the maze.

[Coaster Palooza]

We had special behind the scene tours of Mirror Mirror and Wax Museum. CGA Haunt is a great event! You must do Voodoo Chophouse and Fright Lane Skeleton Key, if you want to fully enjoy every maze.

[laqueefa]

Maybe if people on here applied and tried to get jobs as talent things would be better.

 

I doubt that would be the fix it so desperately needs.

[CoasterBeagle]

Actually more talent would fix it. If you paid attention with how they were advertising for job fairs. Put in perspective, Knott has 1,200 talent then on top of that blackout. Cga 800 or less. They were trying to hit that target

[rumble]

I saw a lot of adverts and Facebook posts, and the like, trying to recruit monsters in the run up to, and even after, the start of Haunt. It did make me wonder whether they were struggling to find enough.

 

This weekend Toy Factory, Carnevil and Wax Museum all felt really light on monsters. It's especially noticeable in Wax Museum which has these name signs where the characters should normally be positioned and it feels really odd walking past and seeing these name signs in front of empty spots.

 

I'd love to be a zombie, and would gladly do that on the side at weekends, but sadly my work Visa wont allow that.

 

Unrelated, I witnessed a sad incident in the Gauntlet tonight where two guys tried to trip up the stilt walker clown, following which a bizarre stand-off occurred where several of the cast of the Gauntlet surrounded these idiots whilst a supervisor called for security. Unfortunately security did not respond in a timely manner and after about 10 minutes of this awkward situation the guys managed to get away. I chatted briefly with two of the Gauntlet cast as this was going on and they said that this kind of thing happens more than you would imagine, usually because a fully-grown Alpha Male feels humiliated in front of their friends for having jumped at a scare, and they try to look big again by taking it out on the high-school and college kids that work so hard to make the event fun. Such as sad state of affairs, and this particular incident was certainly a real failure on the part of Great America's security team for not keeping their performers safe.

[michaellynn4]

I know nothing has been officially released, but any rough idea on when you guys expect CGA to open for the 2015 season? I'm planning a trip to SF to visit my sister and want to try and incorporate SFDK and CGA into the visit. I tried finding old brochures to establish a trend, but wasn't having much luck and figured you guys would be able to help.

[Fire2box]

I know nothing has been officially released, but any rough idea on when you guys expect CGA to open for the 2015 season? I'm planning a trip to SF to visit my sister and want to try and incorporate SFDK and CGA into the visit. I tried finding old brochures to establish a trend, but wasn't having much luck and figured you guys would be able to help.

 

Late march 2015 if that it seems. I don't get why they aren't doing weekends all year like SFDK is though.

[laqueefa]

I know nothing has been officially released, but any rough idea on when you guys expect CGA to open for the 2015 season? I'm planning a trip to SF to visit my sister and want to try and incorporate SFDK and CGA into the visit. I tried finding old brochures to establish a trend, but wasn't having much luck and figured you guys would be able to help.

 

Late march 2015 if that it seems. I don't get why they aren't doing weekends all year like SFDK is though.

 

Maybe they are reluctant to do so since the 49er's home schedule take up some of the Sunday's that would be used? Just my speculation.