Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (SCBB) Discussion Thread

[coaster-crazy]

Here are my thoughts:

 

• The Cave Train was updated and completely redone in 2000, so I don't think that really needs an update yet. They are adding new stuff every once in a while to it.
  
• Fright Walk could use an upgrade, or just something new all together. Maybe get rid of the non-popular Desperados game and combine it with the space used for the Fright Walk and create some larger. Possibly bring back the old 3-D Funhouse, or some other type of walk through attraction.
  
• The Hurricane opened in 1992 - that makes 18 years. I think it's about time to get an upgrade. Regarding this upgrade, I would expect to see a new coaster during the 2012 or 2013 season. I'm hoping for a mouse type coaster. Maybe they could try and make it look like the old wooden one that was at the Boardwalk until 1976.
  
• The Merry-Go-Round does infact turn 100 next year. I know they will be doing something great for it, since that is a big feat for any ride.
  
• Ghost Blasters - ... this seems to be great for now, though a more complete/finished facade would really tie everything together.

 

 

~Nicholas

[ScottBrown]

Lets just all pray it isn't a Pinfari XP56

[wumwip]

^

@ Nick:

 

Yeah, the Desperado game isn't so great. I think they should change it to a pirate themed shooting game, or like you said, make it into an extension of the Fright Walk, or... they can make the Desperado space into a new Funhouse Attraction... And put Laughing Sal at the entrance. It would also be cool if they made the Fun House facade like the one that was once at Playland At The Beach.

 

I just feel Boardwalks aren't complete without a fun house... I don't know why they took out the 3D Fun House... And no, I do NOT consider the Fright Walk as a fun house, even though it has some "fun house elements"...

[larrygator]

So I just caught up on this thread and saw reference to a Desperado ride and did a quick Google search. I did not realize SCBB put in a Desperado Sheriff Academy since I last visited the park. All I have to say is that the patrons of SCBB are insane if this attraction is not popular.

 

It is of one the greatest shooting rides ever made. I did not realize there was one installed in the US. I may have to return to the Bay Area just to ride this with English directions.

[wumwip]

I rode it once... It wasn't so great. Too short. They should change it to a pirate theme or get a new fun house I say.

 

Plus the western theme doesn't fit the Boardwalk properly... I mean the Desperado attraction is straight acrosss from the Pirate Ship ride for crying out loud...

[larrygator]

^Sorry but you are mistaken. It is the greatest amusement park attraction ever.

 

Western theme doesn't fit on a boardwalk? You don't mess with the perfection of Desperado. What makes the Haunted Castle fit on the boardwalk?

[ghost007jas]

I wasn't aware that there was a cohesive theme at the boardwalk... Isn't part of the charm the fact that everything is just kind of inexplicably there? Like a melting pot of awesome?

[cal1br3tto]

^Yes. Especially the "melting pot of awesome" part.

I honestly didn't pick up on an overall theme at the park although the themed elements are certainly well-done. Overall, it simply personifies a classic, traditional amusement park.

[sfmman2000]

When Desperados first opened, I believe the price was set at $3.00 a play. Soon, the price started decreasing. First, set at 2 plays for $5.00. Soon after, only $1.00 or 2 for $1.50. This is the current price, which is really a bargain.

 

 

All I have to say is that the patrons of SCBB are insane if this attraction is not popular. It is of one the greatest shooting rides ever made.

 

The game itself is great. But, there are some things wrong with this version or at least the way it is marketed:

 

1. I think most of the general public visiting the Boardwalk has no idea what Desperados is. How could the park easily inform guests of what the ride is? Call it a shooting gallery! The park makes no mention of this on any signage.

 

2. The ride is only fun when a majority of the seats are full. Gives a much better feeling of competition. Due to the [un]popularity of the ride, this rarely happens.

 

3. Guests sitting in the front row have a great advantage over guests sitting in the back.

 

4. The shooting mechanics could use a little work. First time guests will probably have a hard time realizing where they are shooting.

 

5. edit: I almost forgot. The ride is way too short.

[ScottBrown]

Not to worry. All of their rides Typhoon, Chaos, Video Storm, Wave Jammer, Bermuda Triangle, Autorama, Wipe Out (the one before Chaos), and even some parts of the old Haunted Castle are sold to other parks around the world (I was told that some of the old Haunted Castle stuff was up for grabs on ebay), so at least they find a new home an are set up to entertain millions elsewhere.

 

That's good to know! It would be interesting to see where some of those classic rides have resurfaced today.

 

Im pretty sure the old Chaos ended up in San Diego can anyone confirm that? Last time I checked Typhoon is sitting in a fenced area in the back of the main parking lot

[larrygator]

I'm just a crazy fanboy for the ride.

 

Is this version run with four phases lasting a grand total of 3-4 minutes? That's how it was on versions that I have ridden. Seems like a decent amount of time for the new low price.

 

In order to let people know what the ride is, I believe it was Bakken in Denmark that has a closed caption TV of the current game shown outside the building to those walking by or waiting.

 

Regarding not knowing what to shoot. Aren't you supposed to shoot your horse's number on the screen? (sorry inside joke)

 

 

When Desperados first opened, I believe the price was set at $3.00 a play. Soon, the price started decreasing. First, set at 2 plays for $5.00. Soon after, only $1.00 or 2 for $1.50. This is the current price, which is really a bargain.

 

 

All I have to say is that the patrons of SCBB are insane if this attraction is not popular. It is of one the greatest shooting rides ever made.

 

The game itself is great. But, there are some things wrong with this version or at least the way it is marketed:

 

1. I think most of the general public visiting the Boardwalk has no idea what Desperados is. How could the park easily inform guests of what the ride is? Call it a shooting gallery! The park makes no mention of this on any signage.

 

2. The ride is only fun when a majority of the seats are full. Gives a much better feeling of competition. Due to the [un]popularity of the ride, this rarely happens.

 

3. Guests sitting in the front row have a great advantage over guests sitting in the back.

 

4. The shooting mechanics could use a little work. First time guests will probably have a hard time realizing where they are shooting.

 

5. edit: I almost forgot. The ride is way too short.

[robbalvey]

When Desperados first opened, I believe the price was set at $3.00 a play. Soon, the price started decreasing. First, set at 2 plays for $5.00. Soon after, only $1.00 or 2 for $1.50. This is the current price, which is really a bargain.

 

 

All I have to say is that the patrons of SCBB are insane if this attraction is not popular. It is of one the greatest shooting rides ever made.

 

The game itself is great. But, there are some things wrong with this version or at least the way it is marketed:

 

1. I think most of the general public visiting the Boardwalk has no idea what Desperados is. How could the park easily inform guests of what the ride is? Call it a shooting gallery! The park makes no mention of this on any signage.

 

2. The ride is only fun when a majority of the seats are full. Gives a much better feeling of competition. Due to the [un]popularity of the ride, this rarely happens.

 

3. Guests sitting in the front row have a great advantage over guests sitting in the back.

 

4. The shooting mechanics could use a little work. First time guests will probably have a hard time realizing where they are shooting.

 

5. edit: I almost forgot. The ride is way too short.

How is it that this attraction seems to work in every other country other than America?

[cfc]

^Seconded. I've ridden Desperado in three different languages and never had a problem understanding what I was supposed to do.

 

I think Desperado is great--but to each his or her own.

[sfmman2000]

 

Is this version run with four phases lasting a grand total of 3-4 minutes? That's how it was on versions that I have ridden. Seems like a decent amount of time for the new low price.

Yes, I believe it is that version.

 

 

 

I've ridden Desperado in three different languages and never had a problem understanding what I was supposed to do.

Although many of us may find the gun easy to operate, I think the general public finds it hard to line up their gun with the actions on-screen due having 20 different bullet numbers popping up in roughly the same area of the screen.

 

That being said, I am a big fan of the game!

[Mechanic]

As a casual enthusiast that visits SCBB once or twice a year, I had noticed the Desperados attraction, but honestly had no idea what it was. I have never tried it. Now being informed of its awesomeness I will make it a point to check it out on my next visit.

[fatdaddy]

Anyone gonna bid on the Ferris Wheel seat they are selling on eBay?

[coaster-crazy]

^ I was going to, but it ended up become way too expensive. It ended with 46 bids and the winning bidder bought it for a whopping.... $1,026.01 !!! That's a great little chunk of change to the Boardwalk.

 

In regards to Desperados, no one ever seems to go in there for some odd reason. The Laser Maze right next store is MUCH more popular. I really liked Desperados, but I did not like how tiring it got using your finger repeatedly for over 5 minutes shooting at targets.

 

Still, I wonder why it's way more popular in foreign countries.

 

~Nicholas

[cfc]

As a casual enthusiast that visits SCBB once or twice a year, I had noticed the Desperados attraction, but honestly had no idea what it was. I have never tried it. Now being informed of its awesomeness I will make it a point to check it out on my next visit.

 

As well you should. Most of my friends will testify that I'm pretty bad at shooting dark rides, even though I enjoy them. Yet I usually manage to come in at third place on Desperado pretty consistently--and, yes, more than three people were playing at the time.

[larrygator]

I really liked Desperados, but I did not like how tiring it got using your finger repeatedly for over 5 minutes shooting at targets.

 

hmmm. A differing opinion versus the guy who thinks the ride is too short.

Edited September 22, 2010 by larrygator

[sfmman2000]

In regards to Desperados, no one ever seems to go in there for some odd reason. The Laser Maze right next store is MUCH more popular. I really liked Desperados, but I did not like how tiring it got using your finger repeatedly for over 5 minutes shooting at targets.

~Nicholas

 

Agreed about the Lazer Maze - there always seems to be a crowd gathered around there, and Desperados is usually empty. BTW, the current price of Desperados is $2.00.

[coaster-crazy]

I was at the Boardwalk today. The United Spirit Association (USA) was having their Cheer competition this weekend. There were at least 20 people in line for the Laser Maze while Desperados had not even a single person in line. Thankfully, the ride lines weren't too long thanks to many of the guests watching the cheer competition. It was nearly 100 degrees today, which was not fun.

 

While waiting in line for the Haunted Castle, it broke down and the line was evacuated. A 1/2 hour later, it was back up again. Everything seemed to be working well, but later in the day it broke down again and was closed up for good for the day. Another big downside to the day was that the Logger's Revenge was closed all day. On all days!

 

TODAY WAS THE NEW HAUNTED CASTLE'S 100TH OPERATING DAY!

The turnstile on the NHC has NOT been reset since opening. The current stats are as followed:

===

Date: 9/25/2010

Time: 1 PM

Riders: 319,171

Days open: 100

==

I'll update this statistic every time I get a chance to ride it. At this many visitors the ride is getting over 3,000 riders a DAY! ... Does that seem a little high? It sure does to me.

 

That's all I got for ya' today. Keep on Boardwalk-in!

 

~Nicholas

[sfmman2000]

^ 319,000 sounds about right to me, although I'm sure it is on the high side due to many employees passing through -- and if the ride breaks down, some guests pass through the turnstile to exit. Some days we it close to 5000 guests, and some days we don't get past 3000. It depends mainly on the crew, number of cars on the track (varies from 5-8), and lastly the crowds. Many nights lately and back in August, the queue for HC empties out completely an hour or so before the park closed. It was a great time to ride with minimal waiting (but not so good for our capacity)!

[Mechanic]

I'm not at all surprised by that ridership number. The queue moves reasonably quickly. I'm looking forward to getting down to the boardwalk some time early next month to get me a Giant Dipper fix and take a spin or 2 on Desperados.

[dws_57]

Any one else notice on the Boardwalk operating calendar that on Oct 30 they go to limited operation Not surprising as that's the time of year for it. But click the link (for the limited ride list) and the Giant Dipper will be closed from then till February 6. That means Oct. 24 will be last day of operation for the GD. Time to get down there for a few more rides on this year.

Dws_57

[megalyte]

Any one else notice on the Boardwalk operating calendar that on Oct 30 they go to limited operation Not surprising as that's the time of year for it. But click the link (for the limited ride list) and the Giant Dipper will be closed from then till February 6. That means Oct. 24 will be last day of operation for the GD. Time to get down there for a few more rides on this year.

Dws_57

 

I will be going to the Boardwalk from the 22nd to the 24th, Hopefully get the last full operation of the year. I look forward to riding the Giant Dipper too