GayCoasterGuy Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 A friend and I went to park Sunday night around 5pm. It was jam-packed, but people were leaving by droves in the next couple hours. Gone from Goliath (steeper doesn't mean better, huge surprise) was the speedy crew of a few weeks ago; every single train stacked and my buddy timed cycles at over 4 minutes (there were 6 employees up there, including a supervisor). I love my home park (especially some of our classic flats and coasters) but the operations are always so darn pathetic, aside from a rare burst of awesomeness. There are some really great employees and people on staff; I keep hoping one day the training will come together and something will snap into place. It must really suck for the employees that up to par and working to get things going. Maybe some training trips to Holiday World, Cedar Point and Dollywood? Nah... this sort of stuff needs to come down from the top. On the always reliable side of things, Whizzer and Demon were running like champs with little to no wait! Everytime I ride Whizzer I see more and more what a genius Anton was. The feel of the wheels on the track; it's smooth but it still feels like a roller coaster. The perfectly banked curves and occasional lateral movement. The spread-out layout and the couldn't-be-more-comfortable seating. Can't get enough of that! This is the coaster that kept me coming back to the park in the mid 2000's and will do so for many years to come. I got a head ache from all the AXE crap people were wearing. I guess the marketing worked. Yolo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beenagins87 Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I went in the middle of July on a Sunday and Monday, and both days it was packed.. Is Great America always that busy year around?? or is it because of Goliath?? I had a great time as I had a gold flash pass on Sunday, and a platinum on Monday, but seeing a posted 45 min wait for Batman on a Monday, when I go to SFOG on a Monday and can pretty much ride it non stop with no line was sort of shocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GayCoasterGuy Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 ^The park used to be open 10-10 through the entire month of August. Now look at the hours. Less hours open + same amount of people in a season = more crowded more days. A crude explanation, but that might be a part of what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodon Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 It appears that SFGAm is testing a new single use flash pass sold on smart phones for people looking for instant gratification. Not sure what coasters use this, but it is at least available on Raging Bull via a QR code or through http://www.rideragingbullnow.com. It looks like it will be $20 per ride for that instant gratification. I'm interested to hear others thoughts about this new style of flash pass. I always wondered why Six Flags never did any of the entrance games that Cedar Fair uses for opportunities to win line skips or other prizes. I have a feeling that it has to do with Six Flags contract with Q-Bot/Flash Pass to not offer anything in competition, but it will be interesting to see if other Six Flags parks are doing similar things, or if this single use Flash Pass will go the way of the Do Do bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBoarder Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 It appears that SFGAm is testing a new single use flash pass sold on smart phones for people looking for instant gratification. Not sure what coasters use this, but it is at least available on Raging Bull via a QR code or through http://www.rideragingbullnow.com. It looks like it will be $20 per ride for that instant gratification. I'm interested to hear others thoughts about this new style of flash pass. I always wondered why Six Flags never did any of the entrance games that Cedar Fair uses for opportunities to win line skips or other prizes. I have a feeling that it has to do with Six Flags contract with Q-Bot/Flash Pass to not offer anything in competition, but it will be interesting to see if other Six Flags parks are doing similar things, or if this single use Flash Pass will go the way of the Do Do bird. I can see this making the park money, for sure... At $20 a rider, it's an amount that will quickly add up during peak times... This is something that seems to be geared to the General Public though.... A Regular Flash Pass is $55... If you are going to do the one time, you may as well just get the Flash Pass and use it for the entire day... But they know they GP is dumb enough to do it, so it will be here to stay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I personally like the idea. I would use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I like the idea of it as well, but I don't like the $20/ride price. I'm sure we've all been in the situation where only one ride has a long line and we really want to ride it, but don't want to wait a long time for it nor pay a huge price to use a FP only once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFStl Fan Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I kind of like the idea. It would be more appealing if the price was a little less, like $10 or $15 but one big benefit is it doesn't require a deposit on the qbot device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 If the price was lower I think too many people would use it to the point that it would end up pointless because the instant flash pass line would be long as well. The higher price will probably cut back on the number of likely users which may be the point of this upsell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFStl Fan Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 If the price was lower I think too many people would use it to the point that it would end up pointless because the instant flash pass line would be long as well. The higher price will probably cut back on the number of likely users which may be the point of this upsell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmanfan80 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I'm gonna try to head there tonight. Tried to go Sunday but the wife made us leave right away because the crowds were worse than the last couple years and she didn't feel like dealing with all the issues discussed here. Whizzer looked to have around a 30-40 min wait around 5:30ish. The place was kinda overrun with unruly kids. Great America probably makes a great babysitter for kids too old for daycare. I'm surprised they don't adopt that as their next marketing ploy. This new flash pass idea is insanity. If they advertise this inside the park, you will have an even bigger imbalance in wait times. We'll get the same amount of flash passers, but now they'll be joined by people who decide they want the instant gratification(and who maybe didn't feel like going through the normal FP process). If people buy the $20 pass instead of a whole pass, to me that's better. I don't see that happening as only SFGAM fanatics have enough ride experience to strongly favor one ride over another. Most flash passers look like people who rarely go and want to hit everything. Yes, there will be exceptions, but I see this as an attempt to sell flash passes to a different market. It may become necessary to purchase some kinda FP on a good amount of the days the park is open. Busch Gardens had instant gratification flash pass stations outside Kumba and some other places, I wonder if their lines are ever bad enough to need them. I feel less and less motivated to visit GA. The coasters just don't feel like they're worth the wait times, especially after riding stuff like Maverick and Montu. For the amount of time we havta wait, these coasters should be longer and have more going on. Unfortunately it seems that GA has been handsomely rewarded for hyping up a new coaster which is over about 30 seconds after you reach the top of the lift, making the already short Batman and X Flight seem epic by comparison. On the topic of operating hours, I always get the impression that GA tries to be closed anytime that is not peak time. There's plenty of demand for the park to remain open at closing time whenever I'm there. Droves of people turn out when it's 30 some degrees. They could be open in a snow storm in January and still probably draw 10,000 if a record Fright Fest day is 50,000. I guess the private event a couple weekends ago hosted employees of Fifth Third and some other financial companies. As I understand it, they open in April, but it's all private events then too. These must be pretty profitable. SFGA must still be making a good gate on most days. I find it hard to believe they lose money much at all. SF has done a great job of cranking up a ton of demand and then maximizing their revenue on the limited supply of rides and operating days/hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterchitchat Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I feel less and less motivated to visit GA. The coasters just don't feel like they're worth the wait times, especially after riding stuff like Maverick and Montu. For the amount of time we havta wait, these coasters should be longer and have more going on. Unfortunately it seems that GA has been handsomely rewarded for hyping up a new coaster which is over about 30 seconds after you reach the top of the lift, making the already short Batman and X Flight seem epic by comparison. I have never found one "stand-out" OMFG ride here. Sure, Goliath is good, but it's too short. Raging Bull is just braked to death and twisted and barely has airtime. Batman The Ride is fine. The rides are too short here. I'm really ashamed to say this is the nearest Six Flags park near me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 I feel less and less motivated to visit GA. The coasters just don't feel like they're worth the wait times, especially after riding stuff like Maverick and Montu. For the amount of time we havta wait, these coasters should be longer and have more going on. Unfortunately it seems that GA has been handsomely rewarded for hyping up a new coaster which is over about 30 seconds after you reach the top of the lift, making the already short Batman and X Flight seem epic by comparison. I have never found one "stand-out" OMFG ride here. Sure, Goliath is good, but it's too short. Raging Bull is just braked to death and twisted and barely has airtime. Batman The Ride is fine. The rides are too short here. I'm really ashamed to say this is the nearest Six Flags park near me. Go to aZoosment then. Or you could have a lesser Six Flags home park (Six Flags America, Magic Mountain, La Ronde) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 It appears that SFGAm is testing a new single use flash pass sold on smart phones for people looking for instant gratification. Not sure what coasters use this, but it is at least available on Raging Bull via a QR code or through http://www.rideragingbullnow.com. It looks like it will be $20 per ride for that instant gratification. I'm interested to hear others thoughts about this new style of flash pass. I always wondered why Six Flags never did any of the entrance games that Cedar Fair uses for opportunities to win line skips or other prizes. I have a feeling that it has to do with Six Flags contract with Q-Bot/Flash Pass to not offer anything in competition, but it will be interesting to see if other Six Flags parks are doing similar things, or if this single use Flash Pass will go the way of the Do Do bird. I actually like this idea, but paying $20 to skip the line once seems a bit excessive. I could see myself using it if it was $10 or $12, but if you're willing to pay $20 to skip the line for Raging Bull just once, you might as well just spend more money and buy a Flash Pass and get more value for your dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoGuy Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 ^thats pretty much the idea. Im sure most people would agree with you that $10/$12 would be reasonable, meaning everyone would use it thus defeating the whole purpose. I dont predict this becoming a widely-used feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Turbo Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 ^Or they would have to limit the number that could be used/assign times to offset the increased demand with a lower price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batmanfan80 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Magic Mountain might have the best coaster lineup, although I keep hearing how horrible Viper/Shockwave is nowadays. For my tastes, Cedar Point is just alright. Mean Streak and Magnum are very painful and I hear Gemini is bad now too. Mantis wasn't exactly comfortable before, going floorless may improve it. Blue Streak is a lot like our Viper. Didn't ride MF or Dragster and don't really find them appealing. Maverick has some awesome moments, but I'd like it better with a few more inversions. Still a top coaster. Raptor is good but pales in comparison to Batman and Montu. Corkscrew is decent and less forceful than Demon. I'm a big fan of Iron Dragon, but I hear Ninja does this type of thing better. Haven't been on Gatekeeper. Where CP excels is as an overall experience. SFGA does have a coaster lineup that while lacking any obvious star attractions, is difficult to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewman35 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 It appears that SFGAm is testing a new single use flash pass sold on smart phones for people looking for instant gratification. Not sure what coasters use this, but it is at least available on Raging Bull via a QR code or through http://www.rideragingbullnow.com. It looks like it will be $20 per ride for that instant gratification. I know they are also doing it for Superman (http://www.ridesupermannow.com) and I saw a claim that they were doing it for X-Flight, but I don't know the website for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Got a bit of a transportation challenge for everyone. I'll be in Chicago next weekend and am planning on visiting Six Flags on Sunday. I thought renting a car just for Sunday might be the way to go, but all the major rental agencies are closed Sundays. I don't need a car for the entire weekend, just the one day. Any suggestions for getting there and back? I'm staying about 40 miles to the south of the park. Thanks for any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceBoarder Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Got a bit of a transportation challenge for everyone. I'll be in Chicago next weekend and am planning on visiting Six Flags on Sunday. I thought renting a car just for Sunday might be the way to go, but all the major rental agencies are closed Sundays. I don't need a car for the entire weekend, just the one day. Any suggestions for getting there and back? I'm staying about 40 miles to the south of the park. Thanks for any suggestions. Where exactly are you staying? The 40 mile range does put you in the area of O'hare, and I would imagine that most rental car operations there would be open 7 days a week... That would also make using public transport an easy option to get there initially as well... Unfortunately, Gurnee isn't the easiest place to get to via Metra (trains) or PACE (busses) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I'll be staying in Andersonville. I'm flying in to O'Hare, but didn't want to rent a car for the entire trip. Was trying to avoid taking a trip to the airport just to pick up the car, but that may be a solution. I could rent Sunday morning and return it Monday before my flight out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Got a bit of a transportation challenge for everyone. I'll be in Chicago next weekend and am planning on visiting Six Flags on Sunday. I thought renting a car just for Sunday might be the way to go, but all the major rental agencies are closed Sundays. I don't need a car for the entire weekend, just the one day. Any suggestions for getting there and back? I'm staying about 40 miles to the south of the park. Thanks for any suggestions. I ran into this same problem not too long ago. I ended up renting a car on Saturday, and returning it Monday. It was a little more expensive for me because I'm under 25, but otherwise it would have been more reasonable. For me, public transit was a no-go because the closest train was closed on Sunday. I liked renting a car because I had more control over the timing than I would have had with public transit. Maybe you could rent a car and use the extra day to go twice (if you have a season pass) or visit the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Thanks. My plan at this point is to try to rent Saturday and return Monday at the airport. Unless I can find a place that's open nearby. I do have a membership pass, but I'll only have time for a single visit this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewman35 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 You can try to take a taxi or an Uber? Seems like it might be about $50 each way, which seems like a lot, but might be better than renting a car for two days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milo Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 That's a consideration as well, but for similar money, I'd rather drive myself. BTW, is there wi-fi available inside the park? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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