8/6, PGA. Huh?
Associated parks:
None
First of all, SFMW is my homepark so that'll probably be my reason for the statements.
I only go to PGA once a year and it's over the summer so I get pretty excited about it. We got in the parking lot at about 10:30, and to my surprise, there were only about 150 cars in the parking lot. That's not a lot at any park a half hour after opening especially at SFMW & SFMM. Parking is a whopping $10, but I'm used to it.
First things first, we headed to Top Gun. On the way we saw the bumper cars and we couldn't resist. The line for Top Gun was about a half hour long with two trains running. The second train hardly waited in the brakes even with the ride's short track. I sat in the back row, right seat, and it was better than before because I hadn't been on it in two years instead of the normal one year.
After that we took the Delta Flyer (transport ride) over to Psycho Mouse. The ride was much better than I expected. I sat in the back row with my grandma who hates rides. The hairpin turns are great, and so are the sudden drops. The braking on the ride was unnecessary IMO but it didn't take away too much. The wierd part is at the end, there's a sharp banked right turn, then it banks a little left, then you turn right. Strange. The photo taken on this ride is excellent. I bought one for myself :) . Out of eight cars (I think) that are on this ride, only two or three are going around while 5 or 6 are waiting in the station. They don't let a car go until the previous one is past the first brake area and almost to the second one.
Next, we rode the go-karts for $7 each which lasted forever. Then, the Centrifuge (don't know what the type of ride is called). After that we went to Stealth after stopping to let the Gak fountain go off. I did NOT want to get wet. Last year when Stealth was new, I waited 3 whole hours in one train operation. Now, I waited 45 minutes with two train operation. That was more like it. I went in the back row after discovering on SFA's Batwing that the front is a lot slower. It was bumpier, much bumpier than I remember from the other two times I went on Stealth. The entire time it was bumpy, but it didn't ruin it at all. I still love the ride.
At 1:00 or so we went to the car to get lunch and dump half our party (two people). We re-entered and went to The Vortex. There was only one train running, but the small layout helped A LOT. I went in the third row to avoid waiting any longer. I didn't remember so many G's on the vertical loop, but it was probably due to the fact that I was standing correctly for once.
The Demon was our next choice, which also had only one train. Again, the small layout helped. I hadn't been on that ride for five years minimum. Back then my head was between the OTSR and that's why I hated the ride so much. Now, I like it a lot because my ears and head hit nothin' but air. The banked dive down into the skull before the corkscrews was neat. The line was 30 minutes or so and even lead out into the main queue.
Since 7th portal (in 3D) was new to us, we decided to go on that. The overall ride was better than people give it credit for, but the seats didn't move with the screen. The seats actually moved a lot more than the screen did. Also, the ending was short and sudden. But it was good! The movie on the other side of the theater was some Indiana Jones wannabe which should definitely bite the dust. I just hope that it's supposed to be in 3D because that would have made it much better. The ending was sudden on this one as well.
By then, we were worn out and decided to do our last ride on Top Gun. In the line, people came up the wuss exit and cut in front of us. We just sort of shoved them aside and got in front of them. Then, the people in front of us said to the violators, "are you VIP's or something?" They just stared blankly at them. After that, the people behind us (whom were cut in front of) said, "Do you have a real reason to cut in front of everyone like that?" With that, the violators acted like they didn't speak English and let them go in front. There's where the complaining stopped. I didn't care because I was in front of them. We got in the back row again, same old good ride.
That was the conclusion of my day at Paramount's Great America. All the ride ops spoke little English, so you couldn't understand their speech on top of the fact that they mumble. I do like PGA a lot and will continue to go back every year. It's a lot of fun to me. On a side note Greased Lightnin' (shuttle loop) was closed and The Grizzly is a danger to all who ride it.
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"Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?" - George Dubya Bush
I only go to PGA once a year and it's over the summer so I get pretty excited about it. We got in the parking lot at about 10:30, and to my surprise, there were only about 150 cars in the parking lot. That's not a lot at any park a half hour after opening especially at SFMW & SFMM. Parking is a whopping $10, but I'm used to it.
First things first, we headed to Top Gun. On the way we saw the bumper cars and we couldn't resist. The line for Top Gun was about a half hour long with two trains running. The second train hardly waited in the brakes even with the ride's short track. I sat in the back row, right seat, and it was better than before because I hadn't been on it in two years instead of the normal one year.
After that we took the Delta Flyer (transport ride) over to Psycho Mouse. The ride was much better than I expected. I sat in the back row with my grandma who hates rides. The hairpin turns are great, and so are the sudden drops. The braking on the ride was unnecessary IMO but it didn't take away too much. The wierd part is at the end, there's a sharp banked right turn, then it banks a little left, then you turn right. Strange. The photo taken on this ride is excellent. I bought one for myself :) . Out of eight cars (I think) that are on this ride, only two or three are going around while 5 or 6 are waiting in the station. They don't let a car go until the previous one is past the first brake area and almost to the second one.
Next, we rode the go-karts for $7 each which lasted forever. Then, the Centrifuge (don't know what the type of ride is called). After that we went to Stealth after stopping to let the Gak fountain go off. I did NOT want to get wet. Last year when Stealth was new, I waited 3 whole hours in one train operation. Now, I waited 45 minutes with two train operation. That was more like it. I went in the back row after discovering on SFA's Batwing that the front is a lot slower. It was bumpier, much bumpier than I remember from the other two times I went on Stealth. The entire time it was bumpy, but it didn't ruin it at all. I still love the ride.
At 1:00 or so we went to the car to get lunch and dump half our party (two people). We re-entered and went to The Vortex. There was only one train running, but the small layout helped A LOT. I went in the third row to avoid waiting any longer. I didn't remember so many G's on the vertical loop, but it was probably due to the fact that I was standing correctly for once.
The Demon was our next choice, which also had only one train. Again, the small layout helped. I hadn't been on that ride for five years minimum. Back then my head was between the OTSR and that's why I hated the ride so much. Now, I like it a lot because my ears and head hit nothin' but air. The banked dive down into the skull before the corkscrews was neat. The line was 30 minutes or so and even lead out into the main queue.
Since 7th portal (in 3D) was new to us, we decided to go on that. The overall ride was better than people give it credit for, but the seats didn't move with the screen. The seats actually moved a lot more than the screen did. Also, the ending was short and sudden. But it was good! The movie on the other side of the theater was some Indiana Jones wannabe which should definitely bite the dust. I just hope that it's supposed to be in 3D because that would have made it much better. The ending was sudden on this one as well.
By then, we were worn out and decided to do our last ride on Top Gun. In the line, people came up the wuss exit and cut in front of us. We just sort of shoved them aside and got in front of them. Then, the people in front of us said to the violators, "are you VIP's or something?" They just stared blankly at them. After that, the people behind us (whom were cut in front of) said, "Do you have a real reason to cut in front of everyone like that?" With that, the violators acted like they didn't speak English and let them go in front. There's where the complaining stopped. I didn't care because I was in front of them. We got in the back row again, same old good ride.
That was the conclusion of my day at Paramount's Great America. All the ride ops spoke little English, so you couldn't understand their speech on top of the fact that they mumble. I do like PGA a lot and will continue to go back every year. It's a lot of fun to me. On a side note Greased Lightnin' (shuttle loop) was closed and The Grizzly is a danger to all who ride it.
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"Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?" - George Dubya Bush
No love for The Grizzly... you're not alone.
I really want to plan a NorCal run before the end of summer, but it looks like I might not be able to this year. Good TR.
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"X" marks the spot in 2001!
I really want to plan a NorCal run before the end of summer, but it looks like I might not be able to this year. Good TR.
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"X" marks the spot in 2001!
Glad you had fun at my home park! Too bad Vortex had 1 train and too bad Demon has been one train all year! Did you ride invertigo?
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Steel top 5
1.S:TE
2.Stelth
3.B:TR
4. Riddler's Revenge
5. Goliath
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Steel top 5
1.S:TE
2.Stelth
3.B:TR
4. Riddler's Revenge
5. Goliath
Sorry for the late reply. We passed up Invertigo because my sister didn't want to go on it.
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"Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?" - George Dubya Bush
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"Rarely is the question asked: is our children learning?" - George Dubya Bush
C'mon, the Grizzly isn't THAT bad. The backseat is actually fun during the first drop. Sometimes after the second drop, I can feel my stomach wobble inside, which goes for a pretty intersting experiance. I personally enjoy the Grizzly roughness over Stealth roughness. And trust me, Stealth is rough.
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*** This post was edited by Davis on 8/23/2001. ***
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