AmyUD06 Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 12 minutes ago, Kyndmusic said: On another subject he did give me some details about Mindbender. Instead of (2) 7 car trains there will now be (3) 5 car trains. I'm sure that means they have to modify the braking/staging system to accommodate the extra train. Possibly not. It was originally designed with 3 trains in mind, so if there's already enough blocks built into the system (and they haven't substantially modified since), it won't need a complete rework. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotologist492 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 I was at the park yesterday and today (13th/14th) and I have to admit I have not seen crowds this large since 2019. I am wondering if the reservation requirement is just window dressing at this point (to comply with state guidelines) and, judging by the crowded state of the park, if capacity limits are even being enforced. But the crowds were not unexpected: the weather was perfect and very warm for this time of the year, and many folks have pent up demand to finally get out after the winter as well as limitations related to COVID. A few observations: All major food and beverage locations have added at least one new distinctive option to their menu. (Miner's Cookhouse now offers a "Western Burger"; Prominade Pizzeria now has garlic knots and a caesar salad as side options - and the additional option to add a second side for an upcharge) just to name a couple. Unfortunately, this park still has no Asian or healthy eateries (think "Chop Six or Go Fresh). The large crowds really showed how understaffed the park is. Wait times for Flash Pass or Guest Relations were an hour each! Food lines were terrible too but the mobile app partially solved that. If they cannot figure out how to staff up the park, this summer will be dreadful. And speaking of the mobile app - it too was pushed to the limit. It was challenging to order food on the app as there were only a couple of eateries showing on the list and available time slots were as much as an hour later. I kept refreshing the app on my device and earlier time slots sometimes popped up. And the app would not allow me to 'check in' to rides to earn points. At the Freestyle location, it seems they are having a tough time deciding whether to allow self service or have attendants there to dispense beverages (like all of last season). Yesterday it was self service. Today they were dispensing drinks for the guests. This might simply be due to understaffing. The new Diamond Elite VIP upgrade sure came in handy with the four STL passes. The upgrade was automatic; getting the fancy new card at member services was easy. Nearly all rides were operating. Thunder River was closed. Mindbender is coming soon. Skybuckets are RIP. Rides like Justice League were now allowing more than one party per vehicle (but not per row). More rows on the train are now available. Many of the walkways were resurfaced in the short off season, most notably in the Piedmont/French section. Face Masks were being enforced but social distancing definitely not! Overall the park looked great. Everything looked clean. I plan on returning next weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyUD06 Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 8 hours ago, Lotologist492 said: I was at the park yesterday and today (13th/14th) and I have to admit I have not seen crowds this large since 2019. I am wondering if the reservation requirement is just window dressing at this point (to comply with state guidelines) and, judging by the crowded state of the park, if capacity limits are even being enforced. True park capacity is often a lot more than you might imagine. SFGADv in NJ has a absolutely maximum capacity of around 30,000. In the six years I worked there we hit it twice. 50% of that is still 15,000 people...that was an average Friday in the summer. It's going to be busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsupercity Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Who fabricated the new track and trains for Riddle MIndbender? Premier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The username Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 On 3/14/2021 at 1:38 PM, Mike240SX said: Possibly not. It was originally designed with 3 trains in mind, so if there's already enough blocks built into the system (and they haven't substantially modified since), it won't need a complete rework. It looks like they'll finally be using that mile long break run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash1984 Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 3/15/2021 at 11:02 AM, grsupercity said: Who fabricated the new track and trains for Riddle MIndbender? Premier? Back in August Premier released this statement and while they do not mention the coaster or park by name it certainly screams Mindbender. http://premier-rides.com/premier-service-awarded-its-largest-service-contract/ Quote The Premier Service division of Premier Rides has announced that it has received its largest ever service contract and will be producing a new fleet of trains in addition to providing other technology upgrades for a non-Premier Rides existing attraction. Despite the world’s current events, the project goal is to have the trains available for the 2021 season. Additionally, the upgrade is aimed at providing a ride experience that will motivate riders to desire to ride multiple times. And after the pandemic, this major upgrade is seen as a powerful way to bring back old fans and create new ones. The location of the project will be announced at the appropriate time by the client. The trains will incorporate advanced technology elements used on the Sky Rocket series of attractions that have been extremely popular with guests due to the ability to combine enhanced rider comfort features with high thrill elements and high speed. Additionally, the trains will incorporate some new precision-machined lightweight technologies as part of the adaptation to the existing ride’s track design. Premier Rides President, Jim Seay advised “we are honoured to be able to provide a fantastic technical upgrade to a truly iconic roller coaster. Fans will be excited when the location of the effort is announced. The Sky Rocket attractions continue to be recognised for their advanced technology and superior rider comfort, and the Premier team is certain that the addition of these newest generation of trains will take this coaster’s ride experience to the next level.” Seay adds “there are always unique challenges in layering advanced technology equipment onto an existing attraction. All through the design and integration phases, our technical team has worked closely with the client’s talented maintenance team who are passionate about keeping their equipment operating at the highest level and raising the guest experience. This new fleet of trains will help them do just that.”... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 20 hours ago, crash1984 said: Back in August Premier released this statement and while they do not mention the coaster or park by name it certainly screams Mindbender. http://premier-rides.com/premier-service-awarded-its-largest-service-contract/ Couldn’t that have been for the New York New York coaster though?? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The username Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 On 3/14/2021 at 1:38 PM, Mike240SX said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The username Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Motivate riders to ride multiple times huh?? Backwards Train niarT sdrawkcaB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 21 hours ago, DoinItForTheFame said: Couldn’t that have been for the New York New York coaster though?? I am thinking it was for that project. Wasn't the Revolution project done in house? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoshiFan Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 I was trying to make a reservation for next month. The site stated you have to select a date and entry time but I only had the option to pick a date. Does anyone know if that is a glitch or is this a park that is just using a date only and not time as well? I got the confirmation and a print out, so it looks like the reservation went through without the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 No times at SFoG. Been that way for awhile. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 On 4/7/2021 at 6:26 AM, tndank said: No times at SFoG. Been that way for awhile. I can confirm that. Just made reservations today and it did not have me choose a time. Just a date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Visited the park today for the first time in the Covid era. Great day overall. Made reservations and while they were asking if you had made them as you were walking into the temp screening tent, at no point was I actually asked to show one. Mask wearing was good overall. All the operators were enforcing it. Everything seemed to be up and running except obviously Mindbender and Joker Chaos Coaster. Got my first ride on Catwoman and it was pretty good. It is absolutely pathetic they have zero shade structures for the queue. Only major (non water) rides I didn't hit up were Scorcher and Acrophobia. Operations were pretty good overall. Both Batman and Goliath's crews were really good. Also tried the mobile ordering for food and while it took a little longer than I would have liked it was a pretty smooth process. Can't wait to get back once Mindbender is back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The username Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Are we still in the dark on when MindBender reopens? I drove by yesterday and it looks like it's all back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 It's been together for a month or two. Last of the paint job was finished a couple/few weeks ago. No word from the park but it's been assumed Memorial Day for awhile. Who knows, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 Yeah there were no signs of life there yesterday either. No workers, no sign of trains, etc. Hopefully they get it back up and running by memorial day weekend. I know I mentioned the lack of shade structures for Catwoman, but the "new" Gotham City is a**. No batmobile, you take out the original Batman entrance and replace it with that cheap sign, etc. It's frustrating seeing some of the improvements SFFT and SFSTl are doing and then seeing...that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 On 5/3/2021 at 8:54 AM, tndank said: It's been together for a month or two. Last of the paint job was finished a couple/few weeks ago. No word from the park but it's been assumed Memorial Day for awhile. Who knows, though. Rats. We are going to be there on 5/15 and was hoping it would be open. Trying to make the stars align so my son can have LR as his 250th. But we kinda need all the coasters at SFOG open, lol. I knew it would be a longshot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 34 minutes ago, teacherkim said: Rats. We are going to be there on 5/15 and was hoping it would be open. Trying to make the stars align so my son can have LR as his 250th. But we kinda need all the coasters at SFOG open, lol. I knew it would be a longshot. Could fill in some numbers with mountain coasters if it's really important. Does he have Screamin' Eagle at Fun Spot Atlanta? Or maybe Cannonball at Lake Winnie? Also, Joker Funhouse is going to be a 50/50 credit. Plenty of days it doesn't run or valleys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherkim Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 14 minutes ago, tndank said: Could fill in some numbers with mountain coasters if it's really important. Does he have Screamin' Eagle at Fun Spot Atlanta? Or maybe Cannonball at Lake Winnie? Also, Joker Funhouse is going to be a 50/50 credit. Plenty of days it doesn't run or valleys. That might work, I will check them out. We are driving into Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge the next morning and while we have done most of the mountain coasters there, we did have Anakeesta and one of the Rowdy Bear ones in PF that was still being built last time we were there to add as well. We couldn't do Anakeesta because it was closed to high wind. Then I found out when rescheduling the zipline that the coaster up there was hit by lightening and is currently closed pending a part coming from Wiegand..........! Will do our best but it's always a crapshoot trying to hit that milestone with a particular coaster. He's 17 so it's important now but you know, probably won't be in 10 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Screamin' Eagle was fun enough, but that FunSpot really has the Mini Golf as the top draw (in my opinion) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Go Kart track isn't too bad. Another coaster nearby in PF is at NASCAR. And one at the island. Perhaps he has both of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taeshan Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Hey I’ll be coming down in June when the Union play United and likely visiting Sunday evening and Monday morning. Does SFOg have outside lockers as I’ll be leaving from there to my flight home and will have my duffel bag and don’t want to carry it all over or really get it through bag check. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tndank Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Yes. Slightly bigger lockers can be found near Guest Services. After entering, go left before the fountains and look to your left. It's tucked away back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taeshan Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 Thanks. follow up I’ve just added a meal pass the better one that can be used at any of them, does anyone know if I must go to my home six flags first to set that up like my pass or can I add that at any of them since unlike cedar fair there doesn’t seem to be an easy option to set it up online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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