CP 5/17-18: The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Went to The Point this past weekend and was very suprised to see how busy the park was. I worked in the park (on coming riders wlecome to the Giant Wheel) during the summers of 95 and 96 and I don't ever remember the park being this busy during May. We didn't let the length of the lines deter us from having a good time. We decided to wait until Sunday to ride most of the "bigger" rides when the lines would be shorter.

I had missed out on going to the point last year because my wife was on bed rest w/ twins so I wanted to make sure that I rode WT. This was the first ride we went to Sat. morning. No line. None. Four rides in 20 minutes. front car, back car, and two int he middle. The front car is the best but was not overlly impressed with the ride as a whole.I did like the hang-time on the back spike but there just seems to be some intensity missing from this ride. Not bad but I wouldn't wait for more than a half hour for it.

Throughout the day we rode some of the more minor coasters (Iron Dragon, Gemini, Disaster Transport, Mine Ride, and Wildcat) as well as many of the flat rides. We had a great time in spite of the longer than usual lines. One thing that I did notice throughout the day is that there seemed to be more than the usual breakdowns. I know at one time during mid afternoon TTD (big suprise), MF, Power Tower, Iron Dragon, and Disaster Transport were all down mechanical. I know it's early in the season but this seemed a little excessive.

On Sun. (5/18) our one goal was to ride TTD. After that we hoped to ride MF and Raptor. We rode one ride on this day and it took us 5 1/2 hours. We got in line at 10:00. At this point the line looked to be about 3 hours long. After 4 or 5 breakdowns, we walked off the ride at 3:30. There is no doubt that this ride is impressive, but I really hope that CP can work some of the bugs out of the ride. I know that it's early in the season but in the two days I was there I really think that TTD was down more than it was up. Now I knew that it was probably going to have mechanical problems while I was in line, but I don't think the GP expects that. There was a lot of negative remarks made about the ride and the park while in line. These remarks continued after the ride was over. There were some that made comments about going to part ops and asking for compensation in the form of free park tickets. This made me laugh because I know how often CP gives out free tickets. Very rarely. I don't think these people deserved compensation because they could have gotten out of line at any time. However, I can still understand their frustration. It will be interesting to see how the capacity of this ride improves throughout the summer. Several in line had nicknamed the ride "Top Thrill Rip-Off". If the capacity issue is not addressed, this kind of negative WOM may continue. Good ride, but not worth 5 1/2 hours. I still enjoy MF and Raptor more. Just my opinion.

Weird... most everyone I know totally forgot about wait time after actually riding.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

Most people on the breakrun were exclaiming how it was definately worth the wait! The longest I waited was about 3 hours, and it was still WELL worth it!

It also makes a big difference what seat you ride in. The front is an entire different experience than the rest of the train. Most people who haven't been overly impressed did not ride in the front.

-Matt
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TTD: the most exciting & intense moments of every coaster rolled into 17 seconds of pure sensory overload!

Jeff, I think a lot of it had to do with the time that was spent in line and the actual downtime of the coaster. The group that I was in were actually loaded onto the trains TWICE and then unloaded. Each time they did this there was a good twenty mintune wait as they tried to figure out what was wrong. Finally after we were loaded the third time we had a chance to ride. I'm not sure there was one person on the train I was on that said it was worth it. I know this because most of these people gathered around waiting for their pictures to come up (they never did) and were discussing the ride. One couple mentioned that they were still planning on going to the park op. office to complain. Whether or not they ever did, I have no clue.

Matt D, No, I didn't sit in the front. I don't think that should be the only seat to sit in to be impressed with a ride.

Maybe I need to ride it a few more times to really take it all in. Maybe my opinion is a little tainted from the long wait and all the negativity around me while in line. Maybe this type of ride just doesn't do it for me. Whatever it is, TTD definately won't be first on my list the next time I make it to The Point.
*** This post was edited by Banshee 5/20/2003 2:02:05 PM ***

Banshee: It definately takes a few rides to take in everything that is happening in that short amount of time. The last 3 rides I got on Dragster were probably the best since I was able to actually pay attention to what was going on. It really does make a difference by riding in the front, and would advise anyone to wait for that seat.

-Matt
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TTD: the most exciting & intense moments of every coaster rolled into 17 seconds of pure sensory overload!

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Banshee said:

Maybe my opinion is a little tainted from the long wait and all the negativity around me while in line.

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So your saying, because you stood in a long line and the constant breakdowns, ruined the ride for you?

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100th coaster....Dania Beach Hurricane!
*** This post was edited by Coasterr 5/20/2003 2:45:11 PM ***

Coasterr, I never said wait "ruined" the ride for me. I simply said that my experience was tainted. If you read what I wrote you would see that I thought it was a good ride, just not worth 5 1/2 hours IMO. I probably would have enjoyed the experience a lot more if I had waited only an hour or two. That would be a reasonable amount of time to stand in line for this ride. Anything longer than that and, yes, it is going affect my overall experience of this ride and I won't have as high of an opinion of it. If the scrambler was a walk-on, I may ride it and really enjoy it for what it is. If I had to wait for an hour to ride the scrambler my experience, on the whole, would be much less positive. I know thats a stretch (who's going to wait an hour for the scrambler).

Banshee said:
I probably would have enjoyed the experience a lot more if I had waited only an hour or two.

Ok, you're confusing me. Based upon that statement, one would suggest that it did?? I think it was your choice to stand in that long line...But nevertheless, sounds like you had fun, I guess.....

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100th coaster....Dania Beach Hurricane!
*** This post was edited by Coasterr 5/20/2003 3:14:56 PM ***

I am well aware that I could have gotten out of line at any time. It was my choice the whole way. Not sure what your point is there. I was willing to wait all day to ride it if I had to. If you read my report, a ride on TTD was one of my only goals for the day. All I am basically saying is that my experience of the ride was not quite as positive as some others. Not a big deal. Just trying to give another viewpoint. It is possible for people to have different views on the same subject.

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Banshee said:Maybe my opinion is a little tainted from the long wait and all the negativity around me while in line

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Well, there's a big difference if you didn't like the ride; however, saying it's not good because of *your* long wait is a different story. My point is, it's kinda silly to knock a ride because of the "long wait and all the negativity around me", as you put it.......

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100th coaster....Dania Beach Hurricane!

Maybe another opinion might help.

I waited 2 hours for my first ride, it was to be my 50th coaster, and with JCC, I figured I was in the shortest line I'd see all season. I certainly was impressed by the ride itself. It's the most intense coaster I've ever been on, and a great experience. But it was over so fast, my brain didn't have nearly enough time to process exactly what my body was feeling. I want to, and will ride it again.

On the other hand, I would not have waited the 3, 4 and 5 hours that other people waited, even for my first ride/50th coaster.

Standing in long queue lines makes me cranky. It DOES affect the way I feel about the entire ride "experience". It certainly affected my opinion of Deja Vu at SFGAm, which again, was a great ride, but not worth the long wait. The only reason I waited is because I didn't know when I'd get back to that park again.

Just like MF in it's first year, TTD is a coaster that people are flocking to from all over the US and overseas. I expect even the normally slower days CP generally sees at the beginning of the season are going to be much more crowded than the last couple of years. It's got general breaking in and first season problems, which I EXPECT for a ride system as complicated as this one is.

CP will work these problems out, and opinions of the ride will definitely change once the wait times get shorter.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
http://www.webtechnik.com/ebony/CPLady.htm

Yeah, I don't think it's worth waiting in line five and a half hours for any coaster, no matter how great it is. I waited three hours (at least two were after park hours :)) for my one and only ride on X, and hope to never go through that again.

Coasterr, why is it so difficult for you to believe that the incredibly long wait caused Banshee to believe that the ride was NOT worth that kind of wait? 5.5 hours is a really long time, I've never waited that long for anything. If her opinion is that TTD is not worth a 5.5 hour wait, then so be it. I'm sure the ride is mighty impressive, how could it not be? It is possible that some people didn't like it as much as you, for whatever reason.

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SCREAM with me... in 2003!

I think its funny how people jump on an unpopular opinion. He didn't think it was worth a 5.5 hour wait, neither would I. I would love to ride it, and I can't wait for my turn.....but i'm better off waiting untill next year or possibly the year after to get my first ride. One of a kind record breaker is true, but that doesnt mean everyone is going to like it.

On opening day I waited for just under six hours. I believe that for my first ride it was worth it, just to be there on opening day and to know that I was one of the first. But I will never again wait that long. Three hours is doable, but two hours would be real nice. However dispite the wait, it was still the best 17 seconds of my life, thus far.

Now I will throw my opinion into the hat.

5 plus hours is just insane. I dont care how fast, tall, long, etc., etc., a coaster is, that wait time would bum me out. We are talking almost half of an operating day at the park to wait for one ride.

Like as mentioned before, I can wait until next year or the year after when the "hype" has settled down.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

I was there on the 18th and my 2hr wait turned into 4hrs because of downtime, which i expect for a new ride. I enjoyed the ride. However, i experience numerous rude employees and my biggest complaint was standing in line at TTD for 45mins of downtime without a single announcement that it was down.

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SFWoA TL 2003!

I was there on Saturday myself. I was going to type a post at GTTP. It was going to be titled "What used to take 2 hours now takes all day" That was my experience on TTD. It was down for 3 different times during my 5 hour wait. I would say the line moved smooth for the first 45 minutes. The first real long down time I was pretty close near the fencing and could see that they took the back tires off of the green train. They did that, waited about 15 minutes and sent three or four test trains. Now I can't remember but they started to load people they ran it for I think 15 minutes and shut it down for the second long breakdown. This time they removed the tires from all the trains. Another thing I forgot to add was they had about 4 people in shirts and ties walking behind the fence between the queue and Iron Dragon near the lagoon.

This was my first time on the ride. Yes, the launch is amazing, thats what sticks out in my mind as I think about the ride. For all you people who have a fear of going up a rollercoaster don't worry. The launch is very intense to the point that you fly up the coaster and don't really think about the height, until you crest over the hill and look straight down. Yes the straight down twist does make a GREAT headchoper effect. Was it worth the 5 hour wait? For me yes, that was the only reason I went. I've rode every other ride many times over the past yikes almost 20 years of going I believe. I didn't mind the missing out on a few rides. Would I have pissed off if it was my only trip to CP for a few years. Yes it would have pissed me a little bit I guess. Its a unique ride, and I would put it neck and neck with MF. But I don't think it would be worth the 4-5 hour wait. The launch and drop are amazing, but again it is just that. The only other disappointing thing I would say is I didn't get that "OMG look how tall it is" factor. You have a 275 tower off to the right of it as you pull in to CP, you have MF hill not to far from it. It just doesn't have that awe factor for me after going all these years, expecially after the last 5-6 years. It was more like, wow it doesn't look like 400 feet.

Juding the ride without the wait times and factors invovled. Yes it is a great ride, like I said neck and neck with MF. Fix the wait times and its something that I think the general public would love even more. Did I mention the theming? They did a standout job on this one. The pull up to the light and peel out tire squeel made the experience all that much better.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers

Oh yah, btw when in line you did hear a few people who said "it was worth the wait" but I also heard a "this ride sucks" little chant, which I do think was planned before hand in the line. But the reaction was mostly positive from people when they were after the brake run.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers

I had the same "that doesnt look like 400ft" feeling till I was standing right under it by the Magnum.

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SFWoA TL 2003!