BGE 5-19 Griffon is good but the park let me down in some ways

You expect enthusiasts to be, uh, enthusiastic?

Hey, it's not as bad as the crap from the Disney nerds.

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coasterguts said:
Trip Reports used to be fun to read.

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I learned a lot about a number of parks before going from trip reports. I still do.

I must have a thick skin, cause unless there is crap and piss on every toilet, no soap and no towels or hand dryers working I can let a dirty bathroom slide.

Intamin Fan, your post title IS really negative. I was expecting to read that the rides were closed, the park was filthy and the staff was rude. But when I read your report it sounds like you had a great time.

Fascinating trip report, but I really want to know more about your acid reflux.

And maybe a few more tidbits about where you parked.

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Intamin Fan said:
I re-edited the post because you didn't want to read it, but I pointed out the twenty-three parks I've been to (many with multiple visits), and there were only four where I had major issues.

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Which parks have you found something wrong with?

I read his post before it was edited, and I believe the four were: Dorney, KI, maybe HW and/or SF Stl, and KY Kingdom....

He hated Dorney and KI because the two CB events last year were (alleged) organizational nightmares (which he even acknowledged Jeff wasn't there for Dorney, but that Jeff didn't have enough signs posted for Beast Buzz or that info was all online and he didn't have internet access).

Then I think Holiday World was because he couldn't ride anything the day after a heart problem he had while at SF Stl...and that KY Kingdom didn't have any rides open (no surprise there!) and he was only there for an hour....

All reasons, I could point out, that really are not *park* problems per se....

^^^ OMG, a1976, funny!!! That TR was like the long days' journey into night. But hey, at least he liked the coaster.

By the way, Intamin Fan, I think I've discovered why you are having so many gastointestinal issues - you need to be staying away from the tomato sauce and coffee. Stick with the pudding and breadsticks, and I bet you'll be able to quit the Protonix...... *** Edited 5/22/2007 5:43:48 PM UTC by ophthodoc***

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a1967Tigers said:
Fascinating trip report, but I really want to know more about your acid reflux.

And maybe a few more tidbits about where you parked.

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Wow, that's the first time I've truely laughed out loud while reading a message board post in a LONG time... nice!

^No, it's something in my dad's family's history (my grandfather died from Colon Cancer/uncle had part of his intestine removed), and we're just trying to make sure there's nothing wrong early. I rarely drink coffee, and yes the tomato sauce caused gas later on. This just started recently. This hasn't been an ongoing thing.

Okay, let's get one word out of the way right now--hate. I've had some bad times at parks, but the word hate is rather strong and I don't think I've ever hated an amusement park. I'm still onboard with the philosophy of "A bad day at an amusement park is better than a day at the office." Okay, unless you're at Great Adventure or Six Flags America (just kidding--sort of).

Coasterguts, what am I just supposed to sugarcoat everything? Some of things I talked about are nostalgic things--missing soundtracks (Apollo's Chariot/Corkscrew Hill), missing lights (Corkscrew Hill, Loch Ness Monster). Can I not say that I miss them and that I'm disappointed that they're gone?

I heard there's no fire this year on Tomb Raider the Ride at KD. What if they also took it away from Volcano the Blast Coaster? Would I not be allowed to complain about those things? Remember when they installed The Italian Job at PKI and people said "You watch, half of the effects won't be working by the end of the year."

Well guess what? The one at KD last year had a train with no lights and no soundtrack at the end of the night. The helicopter didn't work for our morning ERT and neither train had a soundtrack. And it's all part of the frickin' ride experience! Oh, I'm sorry you wanted to know which seat was best. My answer is usually "The one that gets me on the ride the fastest, unless the front row is available."

Yes eightdotthree, I was let down by some of the park operations. When your park is packed to the gills, you've simply got to do better in loading your trains. If the park can get almost every train of Griffon loaded to capacity, then they should be able to get Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist loaded to capacity as well. We could have done more things, had we not been waiting in some of the lines.

And let's see, I did ride every coaster at HolidayWorld last year, but I didn't ride the backseat of Voyage where Will Koch said was the best place on the coaster. Even he said he was disappointed by his first ride in the front. Was I bummed? Yes.

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Coasterkid200 said:
That escaladed fast, and with out me saying something dumb.

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I have to give you some props, that was actually pretty funny :) If we bust on you, it's out of fun to make you a better poster, not out of hate. My stance anyway.

*** Edited 5/22/2007 7:12:46 PM UTC by P18***

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Intamin Fan said:

Coasterguts, what am I just supposed to sugarcoat everything? Some of things I talked about are nostalgic things--missing soundtracks (Apollo's Chariot/Corkscrew Hill), missing lights (Corkscrew Hill, Loch Ness Monster). Can I not say that I miss them and that I'm disappointed that they're gone?

I heard there's no fire this year on Tomb Raider the Ride at KD. What if they also took it away from Volcano the Blast Coaster? Would I not be allowed to complain about those things? Remember when they installed The Italian Job at PKI and people said "You watch, half of the effects won't be working by the end of the year."

Well guess what? The one at KD last year had a train with no lights and no soundtrack at the end of the night. The helicopter didn't work for our morning ERT and neither train had a soundtrack. And it's all part of the frickin' ride experience! Oh, I'm sorry you wanted to know which seat was best. My answer is usually "The one that gets me on the ride the fastest, unless the front row is available."

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All of that was in your trip report? I stopped reading after the first 10 paragraphs. All of the other posts were far more interesting.

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Intamin Fan said:
Was I bummed? Yes.

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Erm, I didn't think CoasterBuzz was that sort of message board? :)

(with apologies to the mods, delete this if you want!)

The music on Apollo's Charriot was working when I was there early this season.

I almost forgot,

the park is known for its dirtiness...

Good trip report, a bit negative but that's how the world turns now apparently.

I do appreciate your attention to detail. You should be a critic!

They can fix the empty seats with single rider lines on ALL major rides at every park. I would be so thankful if parks started doing this.

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Hatham and his Freedom Falafels said:
the park is known for its dirtiness...

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Are we still talking about BGE/W or did the topic change somewhere and I missed it?

I was merely going along with the picking apart of the trip report, kind sir.

I was stressing, in a horrible example of sarcasm, that the trip report was a bit on the complaint side. Well, it was made out to be, and if I had been there I would have had a pretty good day. I mean, he did get to ride Griffon already, a luxury some of us haven't received.

Anyways, a half empty train on a busy day...there's something a bit off with that...who knows.

About the whole restroom thing, maybe the park should employ a janitor for each stall, and two for the sinks and towel dispensers. The janitor could just stand in the stall with you, and when you are done he tidies it up! It's foolproof! *** Edited 5/22/2007 11:35:08 PM UTC by Hatham and his Freedom Falafels***

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Hatham and his Freedom Falafels said:
Good trip report, a bit negative but that's how the world turns now apparently.

I do appreciate your attention to detail. You should be a critic!

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I'm a live sound engineer. Paying attention to details is crucial. I went to my friend's house last year after several months and told him all the fire hyrants had been changed from red to yellow in his development. He didn't even notice. By the way, I would not want to be a critic. This is as far as it goes.

I went back and read the trip report, and I didn't find it overly negative. Should I have cut it down a lot more? Yes. Could I have come up with a better topic title? Sure, but it's too late now. I just think that certain people can get away with murder and others can't on here. I've read plenty of reports with way too many superfluous details on here, and those people have been praised.

What really surprises me I guess is that I make any bad comments about a well-regarded park as though it's their park, and everyone gets all defensive. People, it's my money and my experience. I can say anything I damn well want.

^ Yea, why is it that some folks around here are "preferred" and can get away with certain things that others can't? If everyone isn't treated equally, then don't open up the forums to everyone.

Rob, say whatever you want in your TRs--it's your experience and your opinions. Personally, BGE is one of my favorite parks, but I have seen them drop the ball before. Granted, it's not to the extent of our well-beaten horse, Six Flags, but it does happen.

Also, about those Griffon floors--someone posted a short video of them on that forum that some don't like to speak of around here -- ya know, the one with "reviews" about "theme parks" :)

*** Edited 5/23/2007 6:50:22 PM UTC by rablat5***

"Some folks" don't frequently talk about how much they've gotta use the little enthusiast room.

^ Even if that's the case, I still appreciate a review of a park's bathrooms. It can be a decent indicator of how well-run a park is, and it can show how much they care.

Personally, in terms of tidiness, I've found that Hersheypark's are some of the best I've seen.