Bad Weather Riding

My Wife and I are going to Williamsburg this coming Friday, then to Busch Gardens on Saturday. The weather forecast states 70% chance of rain and thunder. What are the odds we can get in all 5 coasters without them closing? If they do close, how much of a window will we have before (if) they open them again? Will they still run if a minimal amount of rain falls? How minimal would that amount of rain have to be? How much rain would cause them to close and for how long?

I haven't been there since they closed Drachen Fire, in fact, I was there just a month AFTER they closed it so I am quite P.O.'d about that so I CANNOT miss Alpengeist, Griffon and the other 3. PLEASE HELP!!!

Steve, buddy you need to chill for a bit. Going to parks is not about "having to do all the coasters" but enjoying the experience...

Now that thats out of the way, looking at noaa.org (the website my brother the meteorology major recommends) it looks like the chance for thunder occurs prior to sunrise, which is good because BGE isnt a CF park and will run the rides in the rain. That said its not a very pleasant experience, in addition to the rain droplet missles also beware of Alpengeist's grease that can and will drip down on the riders (and ruin clothes) when the track and train are wet.

Anyways though, as a plus rain=less crowds, so the lines should be shorter. My suggestion to you is to first go to Griffon at opening, then over to Alpengeist, take the skyride over to England, hop on Apollo's Chariot, then do BBW. LNM shouldnt have much of a wait the whole day. However, if you arent into just roller coasters you might want to hit Darkastle after Alpengeist, its a 4-D (Spiderman) dark ride/haunted house/simulated free fall ride thats quite fun. Also as Im sure you realize its Howl-O-Scream time and BGE puts on a good show for that, be sure to check out all their Halloween Haunts and shows.

^I agree, especially with a park like Busch Gardens. You have to take in the whole park, not *just* the coasters. ;)

-Tina

A few years back we went to Busch on a rainy day. By the time we got to Alpengeist, it was pouring. The ride remained open and since there was hardly anyone riding, you could keep your seat provided no one was waiting for it, or move to another one if someone wanted yours. I took two laps in the front before the rain really started to hurt, then I moved back a few rows and had the time of my life.

^Rain can be your best friend at times with regards to driving the crowds away. ;)

MForce doesn't feel too good in the rain, though. :)

-Tina

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coasterqueenTRN said:
^Rain can be your best friend at times with regards to driving the crowds away.

-Tina

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That's what I thought when the weather took a turn for the worse when I was in Texas in March of '93. Before I went to bed that evening the Forecast called for "Partly Sunny" with a high in the Mid 70s. The next day (The ONLY day i could visit SFOT) The forcast changed to "Periods of Rain" with a high in the low 50s! The only6 thought that I had was "At least the Rain will keep the Crowds down." Right?

WRONG!

By 3:00 that afternood the park was TURNING GUESTS AWAY because the Parking Lots were Full! All the Coasters remained open but waits were as long as 90 minutes for them. In spite of that I was able to ride each Coaster once, and take in a cpuple of Shows before the park closed that evening.

I believe this is what happened. On that day A LOT of people had the same thoughts I had "The rain should keep the crowds down" Consequently "Half the Town" Showed up!

Here in Florida I once saw the OPPOSITE thing happen at Disney World. During the week between Christmas and New Years the local News ran stories each night on how Crowded the Park was, and of guests being turned away. Our family took a Bus in (They did NOT turn these away) But I DREADED the thought of how Packed the park was going to be. Turns out I practically had the Park to myself! All the "E-Ticket" Rides were "Walk On" and I must have gotten a dozen rides on Space Mountain before my Stomach couldn't take it anymore! The next day they turned people away again! I thought was "People thought about how crowded the park was going to be and decided to go somewhere else!"

Answer my Prayers, Overbook my next Flight!

*** Edited 10/25/2007 4:29:06 PM UTC by Borntocoast***

I agree Tina. I experienced that a few seasons back. MF isn't that fun in the rain.

I have been at Busch Gardens in the rain, and everything was running. Crowds were thin, and it made for a great day. They are one of the parks that will keep running coasters in the rain as long as there isn't lightning along with it. I don't know if their policy has changed on it, but that was 2 seasons ago when I visited on a rainy day.

Back when GL was not part of any big chain a friend of mine and I would PURPOSELY go to the park when it was raining. We had season passes and there would be nobody at the park and all the rides were still running. To top it off they often closed the park at 8PM, two hours early, and handed EVERYONE a raincheck for free admission any time the rest of the year. We had quite a collection and came back many times with a variety of friends. Now that I have a conscience I probably wouldn't do that again but I was young and stupid. Now I'm old and stupid.

Tom

Editet for spelling errors, told you I was stupid.

*** Edited 10/25/2007 7:38:06 PM UTC by LdScotsman***

I third that MF is not fun in the rain, but I cant see why going 93mph in the rain isnt fun?;)

Eh, MF is a unique experience in the rain. I was lucky to experience that this season even with the strict "no operating in rain" policy. While going up the lift, I could see what looked like fog coming across the Bay and then it started to rain right when we started going down the first hill. We actually outran it for a little while once we were through the overbank but then the rain caught up again. I still enjoyed the ride for the novelty factor.

BG can be a lot of fun even in the rain. I was there for Coaster Con a few years back and it poured most of the time we were there. I think each and every ride was experienced at least once in the pouring rain (excepting the Wild Mouse which shut down due to rain.) Big Bad Wolf was especially interesting in the rain, as the "diapers" under the wheel bogies just collected the pouring rain and drenched us whenever the coaster went downhill, especially right off of the first lift.

As for MF in the rain, my one rain experience happened when I we waited for front seat. There are certain roller coasters where one rides defensively to prevent a sore back. On this ride, however, the arms were up and in front of our face to shield us from the rain drop darts that bombarded us as we rode. I'm glad to have had the experience, but I don't think I'll go for the front seat in the rain again.

Disney will run their coasters in every possible bad weather except thunderstorms! Pouring rain? No problems... Expedition Everest is still running 4 trains. Snow and 40 degrees temperatures? No problems, DLP maintenance change the wheels and grease of Big Thunder Mountain and Indiana Jones so they can run it in the middle of the cold and humid Paris winter.

Why can't all parks be like them?

I rode the Raging Bull about 24 times in a row in 25 mph winds, pouring rain, and 45 degree temps. Fun ride, but not in the rain, I had bruises.

Fast coasters like Millennium Force and Alpengeist can be pretty painful in the rain. Then again, I've been on Phoenix when it was raining (a coaster much slower than the two just listed) and sometimes that hurts too. I guess getting pelted in the face by drops of water at any speed is going to be felt to some degree.

^Riding Jack Rabbitt in the pouring rain for two hours (during a recent charity event I was involved in) was pretty fun, though. :) Phantom's Revenge was another story. OUCH!

The most "fun" riding experience in the rain was PPP 2005 on the Phlyers. HOLY ****! High winds and pouring rain.....I literally thought I was going to die.

It was awesome!

-Tina

Jack Rabbit is probably one ride that I could stand in the rain for a few hours because the trees and tunnel would provide temporary relief. I envy you being treated to that experience!

My daughter (then ten) and I rode GL's Serial Thriller it's first year during a frightfest. It was like 42 degrees with driving sleet. Hurt like hell. her smiles made for good times, though. we rode it like 12 times.
Man, we had a blast. It was almost like skiing.

^Almost like skiing through a forest and banging your head on every tree branch? ;)

Update on CF handling of rain:

I was at KI over the weekend and on Friday night and Saturday we got some rain (not pouring, but not sprinkles either) and none of the roller coasters stopped running and Ive been there on other days when it rained, and they had the same policy CP had most of the summer. So either KI decided to ditch corporate directives (I doubt it) or CF has revised their rain operations back to close what it was pre Memorial Day.

^If it is a steady rain that last all day, the coasters can run, but only with one or two trains depending on the coaster. If the rain is only for a hour or two, it's a waste of time because it takes way to long to get two trains taken off, then putting them back on when it stops raining, and then the five testruns for each train.