boldikus Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hey guys need a little bit of help/advice about my season passes. Trying to make this as short and to-the-point as possible but it won't be easy. I have plans in place to go up with a buddy to Coasters After Dark next Friday but I haven't been to the park yet this season and therefore I have yet to process my pass (for whats its worth: they are Gold Passes w/ parking, were purchased in early Dec during their black friday deal and parking is on the same voucher as the passes are on). I am pretty sure I have read here and elsewhere that if I paid for parking and its on the same voucher (it is) that I don't have to go to processing to "add it" and since I'm not adding anything else right now (I might get the photo card but that doesnt go on the pass anyway right? Anyways, I'm not getting the dining/shopping stuff added). Is this true? I'd hate to go up for CAD for a night of short lines and have to spend it @ processing. Will they just give me my card at the gate and parking and all is done/processsed/etc and I'm good and can presumably just run to El Toro lol? Here's my other dilemma: my ride up to the park that night is from a non-SP holder, I was going to bring him as my BAF for $14.99. I know I can show my voucher for parking before I get my card at the gate, BUT can I use my voucher at the ticket booth if I won't have my card yet? Like I'll show my voucher at parking, can I show it at ticket booths again to get him in and then I can get my card at the gate? Does this make sense? Anyone? Bueller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hey...hey Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Good luck getting Six Flags to spend 20+ million on a wing rider for Gradv. I think a Premier launch coaster or something RMC in the 10-15 million would make more sense. Weren't there rumors regarding Gradv and RMC swirling around last year? The rumors just kinda fizzled, wonder if maybe there was some truth to it but pushed back to '16 or '17 I thought that there was a rumor that they were to get a RMC Goliath clone...maybe, maybe not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hey guys need a little bit of help/advice about my season passes. Trying to make this as short and to-the-point as possible but it won't be easy. I have plans in place to go up with a buddy to Coasters After Dark next Friday but I haven't been to the park yet this season and therefore I have yet to process my pass (for whats its worth: they are Gold Passes w/ parking, were purchased in early Dec during their black friday deal and parking is on the same voucher as the passes are on). I am pretty sure I have read here and elsewhere that if I paid for parking and its on the same voucher (it is) that I don't have to go to processing to "add it" and since I'm not adding anything else right now (I might get the photo card but that doesnt go on the pass anyway right? Anyways, I'm not getting the dining/shopping stuff added). Is this true? I'd hate to go up for CAD for a night of short lines and have to spend it @ processing. Will they just give me my card at the gate and parking and all is done/processsed/etc and I'm good and can presumably just run to El Toro lol? Here's my other dilemma: my ride up to the park that night is from a non-SP holder, I was going to bring him as my BAF for $14.99. I know I can show my voucher for parking before I get my card at the gate, BUT can I use my voucher at the ticket booth if I won't have my card yet? Like I'll show my voucher at parking, can I show it at ticket booths again to get him in and then I can get my card at the gate? Does this make sense? Anyone? Bueller? Yes, if your pass and parking are on the same voucher, they give you your card at the turnstile, no processing needed. I don't have an answer for your second question, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 ^ ^ Thank you, Genx24! Well folks, I reluctantly called the park about this and if you can believe it not only did they answer the phone right away (!!) the employee I spoke to was awesomely helpful, friendly and wished me good weather (!!!) and she was able to answer both my questions. For anyone curious - yes, if the pass and parking is on the same voucher you don't have to go to processing for parking UNLESS you want to add shopping or dining stuff. She did say I should just double check with the person at the gate when arriving and getting my card, so me being me I'll likely ask a few people to be sure. She even said "you wouldn't want to come back again and not be able to park for free!" As for my other question: she seemed even more confident in telling me that yes I'll be able to just show my voucher to the ticketbooth person and they'll give me the BAF$14.99 coupon my buddy can use for entry to CAD and I'll just give my voucher to the person at the gate in exchange for my card and shouldn't have any problem at all. Just wanted to share the update and my excitement at this unexpected interaction with the park. Also, who else from here is going to CAD? Meeetup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MIntaminGCI Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 What time does CAD start on Friday, I can't find any information about it anywhere, or I'm blind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 It's Friday night from 5-9 PM. For some reason the park doesn't really advertise it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 ^^^ Whatever the reason, I love it. Still haven't been up to the park yet this season and haven't ridden a coaster since Skyrush in October. 99% sure we'll be there next Friday, it should be great if its like last years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolandmammoth Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Coasters after Dark is hands down the best event of the season for GADV. Every year there are virtually no lines. Last year I was only able to make the last hour or so and was still able to ride Nitro, Batman, El Toro, and Superman multiple times. Highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Coasters after Dark is great for marathoning. Last year at closing my friends and I got 5 straight laps in on Nitro, moving throughout the train each time because the station was empty. It's always a lot of fun. I'm about 104% sure I'll be back there next Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MIntaminGCI Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I figured it was 5pm start. Sweet, tempting to forget about inviting "friends" so me and the boy can get there at 5pm and not any later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro1118 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I went to the park today for the first time this season. Some notes... -Season pass processing is very easy now. They scan the barcode on your phone/paper receipt, give you your season pass, then right after you enter there is a table set up where they authenticate the pass and have you sign the pass...and that's it! So much easier than in the old, irritating method of processing. -Right from the start I knew operations were going to be an issue. At 10:15 I saw no coasters even testing. I used the early entry (which is poorly setup and involves one security guard trying to hold back regular visitors at the rope while simultaneously granting SP holders early entry) to head for Movietown first, where Batman nor Nitro were even testing. 10:30 came and went so we headed for El Toro...which was also not operating. After about 20min they let guests through the entrance, and then after a 15min hiccup and painfully slow operations that turned a 2 train wait into another 20min, we were on. Later, Zumanjaro broke down for about 15min when I was next in line, and KK was down until maybe 230ish. Overall, it was a very rocky start to the day, but once the day broke in the operations picked it up. -El Toro, due to the beautiful weather, was running in top form during my 2nd ride in the afternoon. Been waiting 7 months for that back row airtime! I will say, though, that in rode in 5-3 on that 2nd trip and I did get my roughest ride ever on it, which shook quite a bit through the turnaround. Nothing too bad, but very noticable. -El Diablo looks a little better now that I've seen it in person. Still looks like a cheap attraction, especially using RT's old switchbacks as a queue, but in person it does look a bit tallee than I was expecting. Honestly not a fan of the flames, though...hopefully they add some other theme elements to it prior to opening. -The Old Country path was open today. It was nice being able to walk that area again, even if its deserted. I know some people noticed some spraypainted markings on the ground of the pathway. I noticed them, but they didn't seem as plentiful or important as they did in pictures. Time will tell, but the one thing that is for sure is that Old Country is prime real estate for a major revamp. -The parking lot is a sea of potholes. Be very careful as you are driving around looking for spots! Overall, I had a fun first visit. Crowds were moderate to heavy, but that did not stop my girlfriend and I from enjoying ourselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejot Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 Regarding the parking lot, there are so many ways they could turn this negative, into a positive. Take the vertical faces of the potholes and convert them into rockclimbing attractions. Charge an extra $20 for admission and bill it as the "Grand Canyon of the East". Tie a tightrope from one side of a pothole to the other and have a Wallenda walk across before a paying crowd of thousands. Add some pyrite to the rubble and open a pan-for-gold attraction. The opportunites are truly endless.... Hold up now, that last one could actually work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastKid Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I also attended the park yesterday, Saturday April 18. Building on from what Nitro1118 said.... Operations: I too agree that operations were an issue throughout the day. Nitro was constantly double stacking. I think we were on the break run for almost 5 minutes. Also, Bizarro ride ops were probably some of the slowest operators I've ever seen. The two checking the restraints when I rode looked like they were going to fall asleep by the end of the train. El Toro could have been faster as well, but the crew there seemed to be much better than previous reports. Definitely need to give a shoutout to both Green Lantern and Skull Mountain crews! They were doing a great job making sure everyone was boarding quickly, and the crew at Green Lantern managed to pump trains out pretty quickly (for stand-up standards) while constantly checking each row to make sure people were in the proper position. Pretty good system there. Downtime: I'll also say that Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro are an unreliable disaster. They were both up and down all day. I didn't end up riding either attraction, however I did stand in line for Kingda Ka for about 45 minutes and barely moved through 1/3 of the switchbacks. No thanks. Something needs to be done to allow them to run independently of each other. The downtime and capacity issues (especially for Ka) are just ridiculous. Overall, I did enjoy myself greatly and the weather was absolutely perfect! I'm optimistic that the park will work towards improving the operations issues as the season progresses. Final Note on Nitro: Stay away from the back of Train 'A.' I know some others have mentioned it, but I'd just like to confirm it, as well. The rattling was really bad, and it was hands-down the worst ride I've ever had on Nitro. It was borderline painful. Hopefully they work on that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linearinduction Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I also attended the park yesterday, Saturday April 18.Final Note on Nitro: Stay away from the back of Train 'A.' I know some others have mentioned it, but I'd just like to confirm it, as well. The rattling was really bad, and it was hands-down the worst ride I've ever had on Nitro. It was borderline painful. Hopefully they work on that as well. Sounds like they threw some worn wheels from last year on it. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoGuy Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 So Six Flags took one of their better parks and made it one big operations nightmare. The last time I went to a SF park was a long time ago and I dont plan on going back because of this--it seems like every year each of their parks gets continually worse and worse. Its amazing to me that a hospitality-oriented company can have so little regard for the overall guest experience. What good are world class roller coasters if you cant even get on them in a reasonable amount of time, if at all? Its pretty sad that a park I once looked forward to visiting one day is now one I wont even bother with. Great business model Six Flags. Im sorry fanboys but this company just seems to really suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 ^Its April. This park has issues with operations every spring, and they seem to even out by summertime. I'm not saying this is a valid excuse at all, and from what I've heard it seems like it may be worse than most years, but I've never had major issues with operations at Six Flags Great Adventure outside of the first month of operation. That said, something needs to be done about Kingda Ka's capacity. If they can spend $10 million on a low capacity drop tower, they can afford to pay two more loaders/unloaders to operate the ride as designed wih multiple load/unload stations. Cedar Point has like 14 ops on Dragster--not saying they need that many, but they have three stations sitting vacant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 they can afford to pay two more loaders/unloaders to operate the ride as designed wih multiple load/unload stations That wouldn't matter. Kingda Ka always has plenty of trains loaded and ready to go when it's finally allowed to operate, they could have 100 ride ops and it wouldn't matter because the ride still needs to wait for Zumanjaro to cycle before it can launch and I believe the ride has to wait a set amount of time between launches. They can't just launch the next train as soon as the previous clears the top hat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 So Six Flags took one of their better parks and made it one big operations nightmare. The last time I went to a SF park was a long time ago and I dont plan on going back because of this--it seems like every year each of their parks gets continually worse and worse. Its amazing to me that a hospitality-oriented company can have so little regard for the overall guest experience. What good are world class roller coasters if you cant even get on them in a reasonable amount of time, if at all? Its pretty sad that a park I once looked forward to visiting one day is now one I wont even bother with. Great business model Six Flags. Im sorry fanboys but this company just seems to really suck. The park hasn't even begun daily operations yet, I think it's way too early to call the park an "operations nightmare" Why don't you actually visit the park and see for yourself instead of making a wholesale condemnation of the entire Six Flags chain based off of a few reports written in April. I realize this makes me sound like one of the "fanboys", but I'm honestly not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MIntaminGCI Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 When I went, the only bad operations I experienced were on El Toro. Ka isn't the ride operators fault, don't blame them. They can't help that the state won't allow them to operate with Zumanjaro. I don't mind slow operations though, at least when I'm sitting in the train, because most of the seats are comfortable, especially B&M trains If I have to sit on the break run for a few minutes, as long as it's not 800 degrees, I don't mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 So Six Flags took one of their better parks and made it one big operations nightmare. The last time I went to a SF park was a long time ago and I dont plan on going back because of this--it seems like every year each of their parks gets continually worse and worse. Its amazing to me that a hospitality-oriented company can have so little regard for the overall guest experience. What good are world class roller coasters if you cant even get on them in a reasonable amount of time, if at all? Its pretty sad that a park I once looked forward to visiting one day is now one I wont even bother with. Great business model Six Flags. Im sorry fanboys but this company just seems to really suck. Again, these operations are the norm in April. Many people already mentioned this same fact when writing their initial reviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beenagins87 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 When I went, the only bad operations I experienced were on El Toro. Ka isn't the ride operators fault, don't blame them. They can't help that the state won't allow them to operate with Zumanjaro. I don't mind slow operations though, at least when I'm sitting in the train, because most of the seats are comfortable, especially B&M trains If I have to sit on the break run for a few minutes, as long as it's not 800 degrees, I don't mind. The only time I hate sitting in brake runs are on flyers, Being faced down isn't the most comfortable position at any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastKid Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 So the problem with Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro is solely loose articles, correct? If that's the case, would a few storage compartments/bins located in Kingda Ka's station solve the problem if they were absolutely mandatory? If every rider was required to place all items (including cell phones/wallets etc.) into the bins, could they run together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithPlus1 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 I just hope they over staff Looping Diablo when it opens. I can't imagine how long the lines are gonna be for the new coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genx24 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 ^ Do you pat yourself on the back everytime you post something derogative about El Diablo? Anyway: anyone at the park today? I had to say no a trip today, and I'm wondering if it's crowded or not to determine if I should get mad at myself or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithPlus1 Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 ^ Do you pat yourself on the back everytime you post something derogative about El Diablo? Anyway: anyone at the park today? I had to say no a trip today, and I'm wondering if it's crowded or not to determine if I should get mad at myself or not. What did I say that was derogative? You just worry about whether your gonna be mad at yourself or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now