PTR larrygator's 2017 Coaster Affirmation Tour

It's a pleasant surprise to pull back into the station and think "Wow, Hades *isn't* the most painful roller coaster ever".

Too bad you didn't have time to run kids off the road on the go cart tracks....I thought those were the most fun part of the park.

Great updates!

It's a pleasant surprise to pull back into the station and think "Wow, Hades *isn't* the most painful roller coaster ever".

 

Too bad you didn't have time to run kids off the road on the go cart tracks....I thought those were the most fun part of the park.

 

Great updates!

I really enjoyed the go karts back in 2005 except for the idiots that refused to follow the rules. I also really enjoyed ride ops walking up to some rule violators with a pair a scissors and cutting their wristbands when the go karts stopped.

July 25th, 2017 - Six Flags Great America

I anticipated being really tired this day and did not want to do a lot of driving and Tuesday's are usually a good day to visit Six Flags parks. This was my 3rd trip to SFGAm with the most recent visit being in 2010. I thoroughly enjoyed my previous visits but was worried about this trip since a few friends have not been as thrilled with recent visits. I did have a very good trip with my only issue having to deal with the food service. I love JBs Smokehouse but the wait time was almost an hour from getting on line to getting my food. In hindsight, I should have tried JBs Smokehouse Express as the line was much shorter for their limited menu. Also I was surprised there was only one Coke Freestyle location in the park, but was then more disappointed 5 weeks later finding only one machine at SFoT.

I opted not to get Flash Pass and in the end didn't wait more than 30 minutes for any rides. X-Flight and Goliath were both new to me (as was Joker). I must admit the B&M Wing coasters are starting to row on me and I rode X-Flight 4 times. Goliath was also a lot of fun, I have heard some list it as their least favorite RMC, but I prefer it over the Texas ones. I used to rag on Raging Bull in the past, but I enjoyed it more this visit. I still love the flat ride collection at SFGAm and that's why I consider SFGAm (along with SFoT) as the most complete SF parks. I was also finally able to ride Sky Trek Tower.

I liked X-Flight more than I probably should have.

Goliath appeared to have a 30 minute wait.

Since I didn't care about my row, I went the Single Rider route and saved about 10, but still got a ride in the second row from the back.

Picked up another Joker credit. This ended up being the longest wait of the day, due to a 15 minute protein spill delay.

I'm always a big fan of Justice League

Even with this line

If all the Justice League rides had this sign it might cause less confusion for the GP. Then again nobody reads the signs.

I'm not so sure about that. The park wasn't dirty, but I've seen cleaner,

I love the support going through the building.

Still runs great after all these years

For the second meal of the day, I went to where the lines were short

The Southwest Territory stills looks great

I completely forgot to go back and ride their Calypso.

Great report. We made our first trip to Great America over Labor Day weekend and really enjoyed it. I don't understand the negativity surrounding this park at all.

^ I don't get all the negativity either. Maybe I just get lucky when I go. It is my second most visited park outside of my home park of VF and have always enjoyed the experience.

^&^^ Glad you guys have had good visits. We used to love the park but with 3 really crappy visits in a row we're just over it. Terrible operations on both rides, games, and food. Terrible employee attitudes at rides, games, and food. And higher ups at the parks that don't seem to see any of this as a problem.

Glad you had a good time, Larry. X-Flight and Goliath are both great (I think they're best coasters there). Really, it's a lot like Great Adventure in that there are a few annoyances, but there's also a lot to love about the place.

July 26, 2017 Adventureland

I had been to Adventureland once before, meeting up with the TPR Tour (I think it was in 2010). The park's ride line-up has not changed much since then. Silly Silo (Rotor) and the Log Flume are gone while Storm Chaser (Windseeker) and Monster have been added. Most enthusiasts would consider this a huge upgrade and I concur, certainly worth the 4 hour plus drive from Chicago. Monster is just a lot of fun and comfortable to ride. I visited mid-week so lines were minimal. I rode all the other wood coasters again this trip but did not ride the Hopkins coaster. Rain was in the forecast and it was drizzling lightly at times. I was very concerned even making the drive to Iowa since there was a 60% chance of rain. So I got my fill of Monster (about 8-10 rides), the woodies and a few flats.

Beyond the rides, the food and aesthetics were much better than my last trip. For one, in 2010 the Main Street area was under renovation after a fire. I don't know how it looked before the fire, but it looks great now. Also, a gripe I had in 2010 about the park was the food selection. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right places, but the offerings were much more varied this year.

In the games areas, the skeeball is still only a quarter, yay. But my skills have diminished and I only won one prize. I think the park may have raised the minimum score you need for a prize.

The employees were as friendly as my previous visit, a definite strong suit for the park.

The front of the park and main street are beautifully done.

Completely restored since the 2010 fire.

They even have live bingo.

Must investigate

I'm not a big fan of thick cut bacon (too chewy) so I got the popcorn. Maybe this could become Tokyo Disney's next flavor.

First ride of the day will be this Monster.

For my second ride of the day I also choose Monster

On my third consecutive ride I got in the front row with a view like this.

Thankfully you can follow the queue line and don't have to battle the barbed wire that protects Monster.

Time to ride out the Tornado as it was drizzling and the skies looked like they had more in store.

In the interest of time I passed on Dragon, with the thought that I might ride it later if the rain held out.

Outlaw making its getaway.

I found this food stand next to Outlaw and got some beef jerky, which is one of my favorite snacks.

They also had cream soda. This is the GOAT of amusement park food cart. OK, the waffle cart at SFGAdv's HITP and Tokyo Disney popcorn cart are great also.

Elsewhere in the park I caught the magic/juggling show.

The left side of the park is loaded with fun flats

Like this

and their paratrooper

and shady places to relax

The park now also has a beer hall. The park has placed an emphasis on adult beverages, opening a few places since my last visit.

Even with the blurry picture you know what this place sells.

So. good. I planned to hop on the park train after finishing but the skies started to darken so I headed to my car.

Twenty minutes later it looked like I was trying to outrun a storm.

Then the rain and the Los Angeles Fire Department showed up. LAFD in Iowa, WTF?

Well with this rain I think the fire department can return to California.

Before crossing the Mississippi back into Illinois I pulled into the most scenic McDonald's Parking lot overlooking the river.

With the intention of visiting Antique Archeology (from History Channel's American Pickers)

The show where the boys dug this out of someones backyard in Massachusetts was one of my favorite episodes. Next up will be my trip to Indiana Beach.

Nice report(s). Monster looks like such a great ride. It makes me even more excited for HangTime at Knott's!

$6.50 for a 1/4lb of bacon at an amusement park?

This makes me all the more excited for my trip next year.

$6.50 for a 1/4lb of bacon at an amusement park?

[attachment=0]drooling.gif[/attachment]

This makes me all the more excited for my trip next year.

That's Iowa for you, a state with literally more pigs than people. And I was an English major, so you know I'm using the word literally in its actual meaning.

Larry, glad you liked Monster. It's a great ride and makes the trip out there worthwhile. I also enjoyed the food we got when we visited last year. People are tired of paying too much for crappy food at theme parks, so any park that gives you good food at a decent price is going to score big with their guests. Adventureland seems to be going in the right direction, and I'd love to go back in a couple years to see how they improve.

I'm enjoying this report, Larry. I see we agree in a number of coaster opinions as well as approaches to prioritizing parks to visit. This shorter report format is really readable but still includes a lot of useful details.

What did you think of Tornado and Outlaw this time around?

Outlaw has held up well for a CCI, but that probably because is was not near the top of the intensity level as some CCI coasters. To be honest neither coaster was memorable from my last visit so it is hard to compare, except to just say they are pain free to ride.

I zoomed in on that beer selection at Adventureland and could do nothing but drool!

Other than going to a Hofbrauhaus, they look to have one of the most impressive Bavarian beer selections that I have ever seen outside of Munich!

I zoomed in on that beer selection at Adventureland and could do nothing but drool!

 

Other than going to a Hofbrauhaus, they look to have one of the most impressive Bavarian beer selections that I have ever seen outside of Munich!

I know you zoomed in on the taps, but did you catch the prices.

$12 for the (24 oz) souvenir mug with $6 refills.

$15 for the liter souvenir boot with $9 refills.

^ Sounds about right on par with some of the other corporate parks that usually charge around $8-10 per beer. Not too bad actually, but I would probably want to stay at a hotel within walking distance (if there are any) like we did for Oktoberfest. Those Bavarian beers can tend to go down a little to easy.

You're in luck. How's right across the street sound?

https://www.adventurelandresort.com

^ Even better that there is an RV park!

The last time we drove by this park (back when I was around 16), I wanted to think that they were building a resort and had a campground next door. I also remember one or two of those big a$$ Iowa truck stops being on the same exit.

Silly Silo (Rotor) and the Log Flume are gone while Storm Chaser (Windseeker) and Monster have been added. Most enthusiasts would consider this a huge upgrade

I feel like you said "most" and not "all" because you knew I'd pop in here at some point. Good call

Great report by the way. This...

is a ridiculously impressive amount of beers on tap for an amusement park and I approve.

^ Despite the fact that this is no Cedar Point or Busch Gardens, this could turn into probably one of the most fun amusement parks in the country with that beer selection.

The park would be wise to put on an Oktoberfest celebration with that stellar collection of taps. Add a couple of makeshift Munich-style beer tents, an oom-pah band, giant pretzels, lederhosen with a decent selection of rides and coasters and you have yourself a pretty awesome German-style festival!

Edit - this park is way ahead of me on everything!

Oktoberfest!!!!

July 27th, 2017 - a return trip to Indiana Beach.

Let me start off by saying that Indiana Beach used to be one of my favorite parks. Years ago it felt like Knoebels lite. My last trip was back in 2011 (I think) and by that time it had started to slip since the park was purchased by Morgan RV in 2009. The life just seemed to be sucked out of the park. The vibe just wasn't right and small problems seemed to grow into larger issues. But my main concern in 2017 was, how are the wooden coasters running. Cornball Express still runs well, but could use more TLC, I think my rides were also hindered by being in a near empty train. The coaster felt like it wanted to breakout, but just couldn't. Hoosier Hurricane is still a fun ride as it intermingles along the inner pier with Cornball Express. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain is as strange as ever. Only know there is only one car (when the coaster operates) making lines insane on summer weekends. Luckily my visit was on a Thursday and I only had to wait for one train. When I returned later for a second ride, LoCoSuMo was already down for the day. Maybe 50-60 lucky riders the whole day. I enjoy Tig'rr Coaster more than usual. The crown jewel of the park is still Frankenstein's Castle. However, maybe my memory is failing me. Did there used to be a room, with multiple doors, where only one door was an actual exit?

Overall the park (even with few visitors) seemed more vibrant than my last visit. The only big disappointment was made of the video games I used to play in their arcade were gone. However, the tacos at Indiana Beach are still huge and filling.

This would be my first time entering from the south entrance over the suspension bridge.

Such a beautiful view

My first stop would be LoCoSuMo.

Oh good, only a 30 minute wait

How can you make a scrambler more fun? Put it on a pier

How can you make a Paratrooper more fun. Put it on a pier.

How can you make flying scooters more fun. Well you get the idea.

This is a carnival ride...see the wires.

A nice pop of air at the top.

I did not play, even though only a couple of older people were playing I'm sure they would have kicked my A55.

The first El Loco in the US

Where is the ride operator when you NEED her.

Tig'rr Coaster impressed me this time around

My favorite flat in the park.

Cornball waiting for riders

Not in tip top shape, but I'm glad they still have a shooting dark ride.

Worth the upcharge

The only place to eat in the park

Nothing fancy, but damn tasty.

Did there used to be a room, with multiple doors, where only one door was an actual exit?

Absolutely, positively. Very disappointing if that's gone; one of the highlights of a top-quality haunted house.

I love this park in theory, and more-or-less in practice (visited in 2010 and 2014), but reading about the declines and negative changes is always disheartening. I hope things (continue to?) get better.

Did there used to be a room, with multiple doors, where only one door was an actual exit?

Absolutely, positively. Very disappointing if that's gone; one of the highlights of a top-quality haunted house.

As a haunter who has worked this style of room before, I take this as a personal offense if true.

Great report! Cornball was running very well on Memorial Day weekend as it made it into my top 5 over woodies like Shivering Timbers, Ravine Flyer II, etc. Every drop gave really powerful ejector air, especially considering there's just a buzz bar. My only issue with the coaster was the uptime. It ran for a total of 30 minutes while I was there so I could only get 2 rides.

If the park could improve their operations, they have everything to be a top park. And also that Lost Coaster line did in fact stink on a Saturday night, especially since half the other coasters were closed.

I hope the yo-yo is still running that unnerving cycle over the water!

Cornball remains very bright in my memory, but it has been 3+ years since I've been. Really hoping it stays in great shape because that ride can be wild! Also glad to see the double shot working as that was never open when I visited.