Craziest Park Weather Experiences

[Jon Sabo]

my top 5:

-performing a ride escort (training) during high winds and slight amount of snowflakes atop of Griffon @BGW. Lift was swaying back and forth pretty good, but I enjoyed it.

-riding Alpengeist in a heavy downpour/thunderstorm....my eyes still remember that ride.

-test ride Big Bad Wolf when the ride had a shutdown (air pressure switch) and a huge thunderstorm hit.

-Manta (SWO) in a heavy downpour.

-Working at BGW when a massive thunderstorm hit and a tree fell onto the track on Nessie near #2 lift (was last train to return to station).

[GwaziBSRider1]

I remembered another rain incident on LeviaTHON last year. We were on Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake and it started to pour down rain. After a while, the tracks got so wet that they couldn't stop the train in the station when the lightning started. We barreled through the station at probably 30-40 mph. They actually had to turn off the electricity to the ride and stop us on the lift. We sat on the lift for a few minutes before they evac'd us. We weren't even allowed to walk back through the "dry" tunnel. We had to run beneath the structure and across the transfer track to get back!

[kidcoaster 2]

This photo sums it up nicely, this was during the 2010 Europe Trip during our ERT on Colossos at Heide Park. (Notice the front right wheel).

[rcdude]

I remembered another rain incident on LeviaTHON last year. We were on Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake and it started to pour down rain. After a while, the tracks got so wet that they couldn't stop the train in the station when the lightning started. We barreled through the station at probably 30-40 mph. They actually had to turn off the electricity to the ride and stop us on the lift. We sat on the lift for a few minutes before they evac'd us. We weren't even allowed to walk back through the "dry" tunnel. We had to run beneath the structure and across the transfer track to get back!

 

THIS! Definitely this.

 

For just the craziest weather overall, when I went to Disneyland Paris last year we visited during the one week of July where it rained significantly, and we were at the park on the rainiest day of the week. Throughout the day, it ranged from cloudy to torrential downpour. This actually was to our advantage as we only had one day for both parks and the rain caused everyone to leave mid/late afternoon, shrinking 60-90 minute waits to 15 minutes or less.

[bill_s]

I've definitely ridden in the rain. I even sometimes take in a pair of old glasses if I'm expecting rain.

 

Something different, one night at KD there was low cloud cover and Drop Tower's lights were projecting its shadow on the low clouds. When it dropped, it looked like standing right under it, it got bigger until it covered the whole sky. Was like that most of the night, very cool when sitting back going up the lift of the coasters.

[FreeFaller]

Due to a HEAVY snow storm in Paris (January 2013), it looked like this! Our flights were cancelled and there was pure chaos in the city of love! Disneyland in the snow was amazing

Disney's Resort covered in snow!

[cfc]

^Looks like a winter scene out of an old Western movie.

[Philrad71]

I remembered another rain incident on LeviaTHON last year. We were on Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake and it started to pour down rain. After a while, the tracks got so wet that they couldn't stop the train in the station when the lightning started. We barreled through the station at probably 30-40 mph. They actually had to turn off the electricity to the ride and stop us on the lift. We sat on the lift for a few minutes before they evac'd us. We weren't even allowed to walk back through the "dry" tunnel. We had to run beneath the structure and across the transfer track to get back!

 

I forgot about riding the Blue Streak in the snow & in the dark two years ago during Ghost Lake...that was certainly interesting, if not terrifying!

 

I like how you quoted "dry" in tunnel...the tunnel where half of the roof is caved in!

[Coaster Cow]

Both of my stories involve torrential downpours. One was riding Thunderhead at Dollywood for the first time ever, were the only ones on the ride and got soaked to the bone, but wow, what a ride! It's too bad my eyes weren't open because of the stinging rain. My other experience was walking back from the front entrance of Blackpool Pleasure Beach to the Blue Hotel (right against the park near the Steeplechase), when a huge storm stopped us 100 meters or so from our hotel. We stood underneath a ledge for 20 minutes.

[MoonCadet]

I have definately had a few.

 

In 2000 or so I was at one FREEZING COLD rainy opening day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Everything was walk on but several times I would be ready to get on a coaster train and they would have to shut it because it was too cold. When I did get to ride the "rain" felt like needles especially on Apollo and Alpengeist and I could not open my eyes.

 

I spent New Years eve 2000-2001 in Disney World and it was colder there than in New York City

 

I got caught in a horrible storm at SFA with my friends horizontal rain hail and flooding and an amazing show of lightning and thunder. Pretty sure I have some crappy phone video of that somewhere.

 

More recently in 2012 while working a Busch Gardens Williamsburg I had several crazy weather experiences. Sudden storms blew people and tables over chairs got broken and table umbrellas got ripped to shreds. We had to rush people into the Globe theater as the path became a river and we got pelted with peanut sized hail. There was even lightning strikes in the park. Some guests ended up watching Pirates 4D three times that day. The park basically shut down no parking trams to get you to your car... just Pirates 4D over and over......

 

The worst weather by far though was when the Busch Gardens actually did shut down. The park went on complete lock down because of a tornado everyone was forced inside buildings immediately. I was not in my usual zone because I had just gotten off work and had wandered back to New France(the main employee access to the park is right next to The Smokehouse). I had stopped by the little coat of arms bag embroidery shed because one of my friends worked there. I actually ended up locked in that flimsy little shed with swords on the wall with my friend. All the while I was thinking I might end up reenacting a scene from Twister. They had literally padlocked us in so we could not get out until the unlocked us, so we cowered behind the counter listening to the wind hoping nothing sharp or heavy would fall or go flying and hit us. We lived but I will admit that actually was scary if exciting.

 

My last crazy experience isn't really weather but a force of nature none the less. August 23, 2011 I was at Kings Dominion with a friend. We were riding Boo Blasters and remarked that it seemed a lot more difficult than we remembered. Came out people were running around screaming and crying as if the world was ending. Go figure... it was an EARTHQUAKE. All the rides closed we hung around for a few hours and ate then left. Everyone who was in the park that day could return another day free.

 

It was also fun getting flooded out of Outer Hanks during coasting for kids this year.

[azza29]

My first ride on Apollo's Chariot was in the front seat, in the rain. Like a thousand tiny needles, it was!

[Homeboy23]

^ that was a fun ride

 

I305 at east coast bash 2010 was probably my craziest or the SLC at Darien lake last year.

[Angle O. Descent]

I went to Dorney this past summer. Around dinner time, it downpoured like crazy. Instead of leaving, we went to the car, put on our swimsuits, went back to the park and waited in line for Steel Force. Then the rain stopped, and we had the entire park pretty much to ourselves the rest of the night

[beatle11]

 

Due to a HEAVY snow storm in Paris (January 2013), it looked like this! Our flights were cancelled and there was pure chaos in the city of love! Disneyland in the snow was amazing

 

 

 

Pfft...that looks like an ordinary winter day up here.

 

 

As for me, riding Sky Rocket at Kennywood in 2011, in what could only be described as a monsoon.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

SFMM in the snow for sure. That was an amazing morning/early afternoon. Very likely a once in a lifetime chance to see that park in the snow.

[TOPGUN1993]

Not really "Weather" but during 2011 Halloween Haunt we had extra thick fog and this was the result.

You can barely see the train

Some of the best night rides are with thick fog.

[Diamondbacker27]

I've had 2. I think Kings Island was my worse when it was under the Paramount name so it was around 2006. We had to get into a building immediately. And then Cedar Point this Summer in August.

[coasterbill]

I always check the weather before going to parks so I rarely have issues but earlier this year we went to Great Adventure even though the weather was questionable. It was actually pretty nice for most of the day but right around 3 pm it started pouring while we were on line for Rolling Thunder. We decided to ride the coaster anyway and when we got off we saw that El Toro was a station wait.

 

We figured the ride was closed because it really couldn't have been raining any harder but they let us into the queue and we got 3 rides on it with a 1-2 train wait each time in the back car. It hurt, but those were some of the most insane rides we've ever had on El Toro. It was absolutely pouring for the next 4 hours but they never closed anything except for Kingda Ka. We got a few rain rides in on Nitro too which was also a station wait and the Log Flume because at that point... why not.

 

Around 7:00 the lighting came and the park finally closed all of the coasters (though for some reason most of the flats were all still open), we ended up marathoning Skull Mountain until the storm passed. For some reason there was no line for it even though it was one of only 2 coasters open.

[2012jarrett]

We roll into Pigeon Forge. It's pouring buckets of rain. We wait the storm out and go to Dollywood around 5. Nobody's there. We walked on Wild Eagle for my first ride on it. The Smoky Mountains are doing that thing that gets them their name where you can see the rain evaporating off of them. On Wild Eagle's view. Still the best ride I've ever taken on that thing.

 

There was another time when another TPR member, his friend and I were at Kings Island in the Flight Deck station when we discovered we walked all the way over there to find it closed to wait out a storm. And all three of us ended up SLEEPING IN THE FLIGHT DECK station while the storm passed. It wasn't comfortable but the ride ops didn't care!

[Mr Stratosphere]

I totally forgot about the X2 Campout at SFMM, we got to ride the ride late the night of the event. But late that night while we were all camping in the picnic pavilion it just poured that night! I remember some of the campers were soaked in their tents, but some of us slept on top of the picnic tables and were able to stay dry. Man was that a cold night!

[alilstronger]

While on the Leviathan tour two summers ago with TPR it beyond poured when we were on Darien Lake's SLC. Also on the same tour it beyond poured and was lightning/thundering when were we on Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake.

[printersdevil78]

As long as I live, I will never, ever forget riding Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer in a lightning storm during my first TPR trip.

 

I also remember (but not as fondly) attending a company picnic at Kennywood as a guest of some friends. As we were waiting for one member of our party to finish her ride on the Thunderbolt, the sky turned jet black, and we high-tailed it to the picnic pavilion the company had rented for the day. We made it just as the first few drops began to fall, but it didn't do us much good; the storm came in so fast and furious that the rainwater quickly rose into the pavilion and covered our feet. It was over in about 20 minutes, but it did enough damage to the park (toppled trees, etc.) that it closed for the rest of the day.

[GwaziBSRider1]

Another great rain experience was at Hersheypark in 2004. On our way to the park, we caught a radio broadcast about Hurricane Bonnie hitting the shores. Surely, it couldn't come up to PA that day, right? Well, we were in line for Storm Runner and it had broken down for like the hundredth time (That ride was a lemon back in the day). About 20 minutes later, the rain came. It was so heavy, you couldn't see a foot in front of you. We ran to the nearby Subway and tried to wait it out. After an hour and a slightly flooded park later, we got the hell out of there. It poured tremendously the entire drive home.

[yay101]

I went to Six Flags Great America a few months ago, and it was raining a lot. Fortunately they left their flats opened, so I got a ride on Ricochet. It was just merely heavy rain, but what made it crazy that it affected Raging Bull a lot. There was water all over the tracks so there was less friction between the track and wheels. Raging Bull was crazy; it actually had ejector airtime on the brake run drop and the hill after it.

[Canobie Coaster]

I have two crazy park weather experiences: one good and one bad.

 

A few years ago I went to the Great Escape and it started pouring. Most of the park cleared out, but I stayed and decided to see if the Comet was still operating. It was and those were the best rides that I have ever had on the Comet. The ride was absolutely flying. Every hill gave even more air-time than usual and we didn't have to get off since the station was empty. I probably got 30 straight rides.

 

Last summer, I went to Dorney Park for the evening. There was a chance of a thunderstorm, but when we pulled up it was clear. I hadn't been there in a long time, so I wanted to ride everything. I began with Talon and absolutely loved it! So I decided to ride again. Well the lift hill motor cut out and we got stuck at the top of the lift for like 30 minutes. Meanwhile, the clear skies turned to gray and there was lightning in the horizon. The wind really picked up as well. I give props to the Dorney employees for handling the situation well and evacuating us quickly the second that they saw the lightning.