ytterbiumanalyst Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Universal has metal detectors at their entrances for their coasters. I'll let you in on a little-known secret: There are other Universal parks that aren't in Orlando. Ssh, don't tell. You have to realize that the rides at Disney are much less intense than the ones at GADV or your typical theme park. lol You also have to keep in mind the huge difference in guests who go to either park. Really? Is it that much different than DFW? SFOT has pouches on several of their rides, including both Titan and NTAG. SFOT has quite a few guests of the sort you've described, and they've made it work. And on intense rides too. If we had cubbies like those, then prepare to have all of your values stolen. Oh sh*t, that is gangsta. Leave your bag in a cubby, BAM. Sense of justice, gone, just like that. See you, desire to improve the world around me. Nice knowing you, kindness to strangers. Damn, Great Adventure is a rough place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Universal has metal detectors at their entrances for their coasters. I'll let you in on a little-known secret: There are other Universal parks that aren't in Orlando. Ssh, don't tell. You have to realize that the rides at Disney are much less intense than the ones at GADV or your typical theme park. lol You also have to keep in mind the huge difference in guests who go to either park. Really? Is it that much different than DFW? SFOT has pouches on several of their rides, including both Titan and NTAG. SFOT has quite a few guests of the sort you've described, and they've made it work. And on intense rides too. If we had cubbies like those, then prepare to have all of your values stolen. Oh sh*t, that is gangsta. Leave your bag in a cubby, BAM. Sense of justice, gone, just like that. See you, desire to improve the world around me. Nice knowing you, kindness to strangers. Damn, Great Adventure is a rough place. If you've actually read this thread at all numerous people have said that pouches and cubbies don't prevent people from taking cell phones out on rides. That's why Universal Orlando(yes I know they have other parks but clearly pouches don't work here cause they have metal detectors) has metal detectors and that's why great adventure is trying this out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkFunk Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 The same people who told me before the metal detectors came in that they were going in swore up and down it had nothing to do with cell phones and everything to do with stuff like knives. I get that there's a lot of disinformation - I can't even name the person who told me what I know as hearsay! - but not once do I think Universal has stated that the metal detectors were brought in because of cell phones on coasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psaulaferraz Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I don't know why parks are not implementing what Merlin has been doing lately. In Alton Towers latest coasters (Smiler, Thirteen...), when you are towards the end of the line you pass through an "office" where they give you a wristband with a number, and they store your stuff. When you finish riding, you just give them the wristband and that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njcoasterguy34 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Luna Park in Coney Island, NY does the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psaulaferraz Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 It's a good method, but it requires more staffing (2 or 3 per attraction). At the end is the park/company who decides what kind of experience they want to give the user. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesinclair Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 If you've actually read this thread at all numerous people have said that pouches and cubbies don't prevent people from taking cell phones out on rides. That's why Universal Orlando(yes I know they have other parks but clearly pouches don't work here cause they have metal detectors) has metal detectors and that's why great adventure is trying this out. Not a pouch, but a box that locks at the same time the restraints are put down. It would have to be part of the car design, not an easy retrofit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 If you've actually read this thread at all numerous people have said that pouches and cubbies don't prevent people from taking cell phones out on rides. That's why Universal Orlando(yes I know they have other parks but clearly pouches don't work here cause they have metal detectors) has metal detectors and that's why great adventure is trying this out. Not a pouch, but a box that locks at the same time the restraints are put down. It would have to be part of the car design, not an easy retrofit. There would still be no guarantee of people actually putting all of their stuff in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigil Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 So my friend is planning a trip for us to go to to Great Adventure the weekend of May 5th, driving up Friday morning and spending the rest of the day in the park and the spending Saturday there too. It would be the first time for both of us. Is that a totally crazy idea? Are lines going to be absurd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Toro_Ryan Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 So my friend is planning a trip for us to go to to Great Adventure the weekend of May 5th, driving up Friday morning and spending the rest of the day in the park and the spending Saturday there too. It would be the first time for both of us. Is that a totally crazy idea? Are lines going to be absurd? You should be able to hit up the entire park in just one day if the lines aren't too bad. They usually aren't absurd around this time of year but if the weather is nice, expect to wait 45 minutes to an hour for some of the bigger rides. Since you guys are spending almost 2 days at the park, I highly recommend checking out the Safari! It's an awesome experience and I'm sure you would love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigil Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Awesome! That sounds like really neat, I'll have to check that out. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViperGTS500 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Are you saying the lines for Bigger rides will be 45 min if the weather is nice on Fri or Sat? If not, how would they be on Fri if the weather is nice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 On Friday, I would expect 10 to 20 minute waits most of the day and walk ons from around 4 to 5 until closing at 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefed29 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 This is a bit of a random question, but are the Go-Karts an upcharge? I've passed by them the last couple of times I've been there but never looked into it; and I'll be spending two days here in a couple weeks, so thinking I might want to get some Go-Kart action in. Been forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymouscactus Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 It is definitely an extra charge, but I don't know how much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.anarchy Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 This is a bit of a random question, but are the Go-Karts an upcharge? I've passed by them the last couple of times I've been there but never looked into it; and I'll be spending two days here in a couple weeks, so thinking I might want to get some Go-Kart action in. Been forever. Yea there like $10? I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaellynn4 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Lines are pretty crazy right now. Long lines for even some of the flat rides. At this point we're just kind of just walking around, gonna give Nitro a shot. EDIT: Brother and I spent a few hours in the park this afternoon. A few random thoughts: Guest services were very professional and helpful when it appeared I was having serious issues with my season pass, and were also very nice and understanding when it turned out I'm just a friggin' idiot and was using an outdated pass I forgot I never took out of my wallet at the end of last year. Glad they reconfigured the Joker's queue under the tent. The cut-through makes it so much easier to walk through it versus the forced-path method from last year. Don't know why they just didn't have that to begin with. Are those new lights on the center of the Teacups? It was lit up with blue and white lights. I can't remember ever seeing them before, but it looked really good. Some of the new games they had looked interesting, especially that giant "soccer darts" one. I also really liked seeing the new water bottle flip game - as stupid as I think that trend is, it's brilliant that they took advantage of its popularity and made a boardwalk game out of it. Bizarro's crew easily the best I've ever seen it. Between creating a sense of urgency on the mic ("Once the gates open, you have three seconds to board the train", "Train must dispatch in 45 seconds, please hurry hurry hurry to your seat", etc), train-checkers hustling through each row, and literally running to their dispatch stations once the train was checked, pretty much each train was getting sent from the station while the previous train was crossing the mid-course brakes, something I haven't seen in years. Seriously impressive. Food service is still pretty slow - took us twenty minutes to get a cheesesteak from the new location on Boardwalk with only two guests in front of us. However, it was actually pretty good. Could've used some more meat IMO, but the bread was soft yet sturdy, peppers and onions cooked well, and meat was properly seasoned. For a theme park meal, you could do a lot worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HurricaneHauk Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Been 3 days and I'm still having diarrhea from their food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 We were also there yesterday and I completely agree, the Bizarro crew was amazing. Honestly, guest distribution yesterday was just weird. There was no rhyme or reason to the wait times at all. Bizarro was between 0 and 15 minutes all day, El Toro was generally around 10-20 minutes, Superman (which always had a line) had short waits of like 20 minutes all day, Batman never really got above 20 minutes and Zumanjaro was a near walk on all day. On the flip side, Lantern was almost always around 60 minutes, Kingda Ka's queue was always totally full and Skull Mountain's line filled the entire cave all day. As for operations, they were good across the board. The 3 B&M's we rode were all riding like they had rockets strapped to the train. Nitro was delivering ejector air that rivaled El Toro's which never happens, Bizarro was running like it was Kumba and Batman was running so fast that our entire party felt like they had just spent 5 minutes on one of those weird barrel foot massage things that Cedar Fair has. Our legs and feet all felt like Jell-O by the end of the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry M Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 ^ Wow, sounds like a great day. Shame about KK having a long queue, but apart from that, it sounded like a great day. Do you think it was due to SF actually looking after their rides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBad Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Nitro with El Toro's air sounds like it would be about the best coaster in the world. Hopefully that'll keep up throuyhe season for when I visit on a day that isn't cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 My honest guess is that they have the fast wheels that they use for HITP on the B&Ms since Spring Break is usually really cold but with this unseasonably warm weather they're completely hauling. Maybe Ryan knows. All I know is that all of the B&Ms were flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canobie Coaster Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Wow that sounds absolutely amazing about Nitro. A few of SFNE's crews were noticeably better than in the past so maybe that's a focus chainwide this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Theme Parks. Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Batman, and especially Bizarro are running super well on the warm days this season so far, but Nitro having El Toro air? I didn't get that at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesinclair Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 If you've actually read this thread at all numerous people have said that pouches and cubbies don't prevent people from taking cell phones out on rides. That's why Universal Orlando(yes I know they have other parks but clearly pouches don't work here cause they have metal detectors) has metal detectors and that's why great adventure is trying this out. Not a pouch, but a box that locks at the same time the restraints are put down. It would have to be part of the car design, not an easy retrofit. There would still be no guarantee of people actually putting all of their stuff in there. Agreed, but for 99% of us, we have keys and a phone all day. Saying "pay $1 to leave it before you enter a 1 hour line" sucks. 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