BGT: 9/14/02 (Real Short)

A quick TR to answer those frequent questions about BGT crowds this time of year.

We made a quick visit on Saturday afternoon to upgrade our Gold pass to Platinum (more on that later). The park was using preferred parking as regular parking, with the standard lot across the street holding maybe 500 cars. Based on this, I would estimate, maybe 3000 guests.

Montu was a walk on, that's right a walk on. They were running a two train operation. Even with slow ops, there was minimal stacking. Even with the oppressive heat, Montu was flying. The trims on the batwing were on very light and the MCBs were more noise than brake. In 100 or so laps on Montu, these were possibly the fastest ever.

I don't know about BGW, but here in FL, the Platinum Pass is the way to go. The pass alllows immediate re-rides on Montu, Kumba, Gwazi, Kraken, Journey to Atlantis, and Wild Arctic all day, any day. We got 4 rides on Montu in 15 minutes. We spent more time on the ride than in line. That is highly unusual.

Unfortunately, the standard afternoon storm came through on its way to the gulf, and we headed home. BGT has a new policy that allows ticketholders to get a raincheck if they feel their visit was hampered by rain. There are some considerable restrictions, but relatively unprecedented in today's corporate theme park world.

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Sometimes lurkers speak . . .

*** This post was edited by CoasterDad64 on 9/17/2002. ***

Satueday afternoon walk-ons. Don't find that often.

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-Sean

Go on Python?

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Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone/B:TDK

With the "tropical storm" drenching us, we just went home. Python, while nothing special, is a nice little ride. If you catch the right ride ops, you can take immediate re-rides without even getting out of your seat. Ridership seems low, yet it stays open. Because its small, and a "generic" Arrow, upkeep must be relatively inexpensive.

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Sometimes lurkers speak . . .

I am considering going to the first night of their Halloween festivities on Sept. 27. What is your guess on crowds and is thier Fright Fest worth it? I'm heading down to Orlando for the week and can go another day. What do you think?

Howl-O-Scream is a pretty busy time. However, 9/27 is the first night, considered a "preview" so it will most likely be the lightest of Friday crowds. They are also open Thursdays starting 10/3. Those will be the lightest. If you are really concerned about crowds, they have a VIP program (for $25-30 over the $30-40 admission) that gives you a private tour and front of the line privliges at all the haunted houses. There are more details at the buschgardens.com site.

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Sometimes lurkers speak . . .

*** This post was edited by CoasterDad64 on 9/18/2002. ***