An Evening at SFGAm - 7/15
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Approaching the lot from Grand Avenue at about 7:30, it was obvious we were going to have a good night. Scores of folks were heading out of the park as were headed in, and only about 3/4 of the front lot was full.
I noticed while Maggie was parking that I hadn't seen a S:UF train cycle, and sure enough Superman wason the list of rides not running today. No big deal for us, as we're both pretty much 'over' S:UF. The only real draw back to the closure would be longer lines at other attractions. It was also nice to arrive at the park after the 'camera kids' had called it a day, and not be harrassed into posing for a picture.
We high-tailed it to SW Territory, grabbed a Diet Coke, and got in line for Raging Bull. As Superman was down, most folks were in line for RB, but solid three train operations got us to the platform in about fifteen minutes. After a brief shut-down (ten minutes or so) we were off for the first of our four backseat Bull rides for the night.
I've never been a big fan of RB, but the ride has grown on me quite a bit over the last couple of years. It still ranks below PR, Magnum, and S:RoS on my hyper list, but far above Steel Force, MF, and Goliath. While not matching those above it in my rankings as it lacks multiple instances of extreme air, Raging Bull has enough solid floatage in its graceful layout to keep me coming back. I've also really started to appreciate the B&M trains (sorry Gator), and have fallen in love with the fourth drop that dives to the left (particulary in the left seat of the last row).
After our Bull ride, we decided to head over to SW Territory's other star attraction, Viper, to see how it was fairing in comparison to our rides on July 4th which had left me a little cold. What appeared to be a ten minute wait took more like twenty, as Viper has what I consider to be the biggest clusterf*ck of a station I've ever seen. Could someone *please* just make those handrails go back a little farther so that people could actually tell what rows they're waiting for? Or maybe just cut about a third of the station of so that the depth of the queue house was actually proportionate to the length of the handrails.
Anyway...We were soon enough off for a wonderful ride in 1-3, and my doubts about Viper were put to rest. It's still a great ride, and a solid good time. We noted that the second row on one of the trains is still not in operation, and I'm puzzled as to what could be wrong with it that it's been blocked off for a while now (we first noticed this on July 4).
I wanted to get my mandatory B:TR fix in, as it is still the best ride in the park (IMO), but were sidetracked by a quick stop by The Demon.
ACK! What happened to Demon since last year? Has it been visited by Shockwave's ghost? I had never experienced so much headbanging on this coaster, and was really surprised at our awful ride. I almost wanted to ride again to make sure what I experienced was real, but didn't want to subject Maggie to another round with Tyson.
Oh well, on to B:TR for a twighlight ride in row 7. While waiting one cycle to board, we noted that the wheel covers were on both trains running last night.
After a fantastic ride, we said 'farewell' to the lonely Bat Suit in the station, and headed back to Bull to finish out the night, scoring three backseat rides in about 35 minutes. Not too shabby. We had planned on hitting Giant Drop, but got caught up in our Bull rides.
Upon leaving the park, we saw that S:UF had opened ('So that's why we got those three Bull rides...'), and learned that the park had opened the ride up at 9:00 pm.
And this is when it dawned on me that I'm really lucky to have SFGAm as my home park. It's really a telling sign that the park would get its star attraction (even if it's not in our eyes) up and running an hour before closing when it could just have easily called it a wash for the day and not opened for that last hour.
We left at 10:20 or so with S:UF still cycling riders through to empty the queue, satisfied with a couple great hours at the park.
*** This post was edited by chris 7/16/2003 2:40:19 PM ***
...and you CAN love those blasted Beemer trains all you want, chris....nobody's *stopping* you...;).
Sounds like you and Maggie had a great evening, and I am green with envy...(or is that just my scales)...thanks for posting, nice TR!
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It seems today, that all you see, are violins in movies, and sax on TV....
Thanks for the TR.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
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Mike Miller - Fun TR, chris...wanna trade SF parks?
chris said:
I almost wanted to ride again to make sure what I experienced was real, but didn't want to subject Maggie to another round with Tyson.
OK Chris, you neglected to mention the fact that I incurred an injury on Demon (scraped and bruised knees.) It's been a long love affair, but Demon and I are through.
And, to the Diet Coke critic - I'll have you know that Chris and I have signed a product placement agreement with the Coca Cola Corporation for all of our trip reports. We get one sip of Diet Coke every time delicious, refreshing DIET COKE is mentioned in a trip report. Hopefully this thread alone will earn us one can.
Mmmmmmm, Diet Coke! Just for the taste of it!
Maggie
*** This post was edited by Top Thrill Magster 7/16/2003 10:38:10 PM ***
Somehow I doubt whoever came up with the gentle moniker "Mountain Dew" ever imagined the drink's current ***EXTREME*** advertising.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
Yes, it's true. After enjoying our Diet Coke, TTM did indeed take a beating to the knees on Demon. It seems that her knees smashed into the top rim of the tub at some point. I'm assuming around the MCBR or maybe in the corkscrews. Nothing that a little Diet Coke couldn't fix.
Den-Shut up to ***THE EXTREME,*** and pass me a Diet Coke. w00t!
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
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Diet Coke...supplies nearly 100% of my recommended daily allowance (requirement?) of caffeine...:)
Sorry to hear you got hurt on the Demon, Maggie. I have heard from many that they have felt Demon has been a bit rough lately. My last ride on it, which admitedly was at the beginning of the season was suprisingly smooth. I always sit in the front for this ride. Just a good ride for good visuals(although it does take away from that incredible airtime filled first drop.) I really hope the ride isnt taking a turn for the worse. Drinking some Diet Pepsi would have helped you recover faster, however.
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Bob Hansen
Who is just trying to be the smarta$$ voice of desent.
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Never Has Gravity Been So Uplifting.
It was like a Quiet Riot concert, I tell ya!
My drink of choice is Mello Yello, which is, of course, hard to find and still costs $3.99 for a 12-pack even when every other Coke product is on sale for $1.99.
If I lived about 90 miles south of where I do, the only thing I'd drink would be Ale-8-One.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
Bob - Maybe we should try giving Demon a front seat spin next time we're out at the park enjoying an ice-cold Diet Coke.
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Mike Miller - This post was brought to you by Stoli Oranj, the vodka of SERIOUS enthusiasts.
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