Associated parks:
None
For 5/23:
Entered the park at 2:00 in the afternoon. The weather was overcast, light breezes, and the temperature hovered at 60.
Wicked Twister: The line was approximately 30 minutes. The time went by fast, although my one friend complained of the breeze blowing sand into his eyes. We all told him to "walk it off" and he was able to wipe it out. The ride was not operating at full power, and the train only reached about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the towers. The train went forward 3 times and backwards 2 times only. Although it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, there was still some good g-forces. A good way to start the trip. (7 out of 10)
Disaster Transport: The queue was really different than it was before. But the line went on and on. For some reason, the line was 45-60 minutes. On the ride, it was exactly the same as I remembered it, with the same scenery. The only thing that I thought seemed different was that the second half of the ride seemed to be darker. I was saddened that there was no soundtrack of the pilot like there used to be. (6 out of 10)
Corkscrew: 3 minute waits are something that I can't argue with. The ride was rougher than it has been in past years, but as far as Arrows go, its still smoother than my local Arrow (Viper at SFDL). Plus, the back seat definately gave some nice pops of airtime.(5 out of 10)
Dragster: (part I) We went and found out the ride was down, but was about to be opened. The estimated line was 4 hours. We decided to skip it for now. Began walking down the midway, and the train shot past us. As we stood there, we were almost trampled by a huge wave of people who were running to get in line.
Gemini: Still somehow manages to be my favorite coaster there. I was a little surprised at the size of the line, which was 15 minutes. The reason for my surprise is that the last few times I have gone, the ride almost seemed like a walk on. Obviously, I have nothing to say about the ride. (9 out of 10)
Mean Streak: After last year's awful ride, I was expecting the same thing this year. The line was 45 minutes, which is a long time for a ride that I usually say is rough, and can only be ridden once. This year, I don't know whether its just because it's early in the season, but I had so much fun on the ride that it went up in my wooden coaster rankings. While the mid-course brakes hurt the ride, it was full of airtime and speed. And unlike last year, my elbow didn't end up going into the face of my riding partner. She was very thankful for that. Perhaps another reason I had such a good time was because I, along the rest of the train, laughed at my friend who sat at the very back and in his best falsetto voice, gave little high-pitched screams every second that sort of sounded like a gull, which he did from the crest of the lift hill, throughout the ride, through the time on the holding brakes before the station, and into the station. Everyone kept turning around to look at him and laugh. Unfortunately, this gave him the idea to do this on every ride. (8 out of 10)
Mine Ride: This is one of those rides that I go on just because there is nothing else that is really close to the Mean Streak. The line was short, and we managed to get on the ride in under 10 minutes. As the ride began, we entered the transfer track shed, where the whole train was quiet. Then, really loudly, my friend said in his best Joan Rivers voice(my apologies to anyone who could be potentially offended with this comment) "Oh Jesus! This is scary! Turn this train around!" which of course made several people laugh. Halfway through the ride, he began his screaming again, and as we entered the station, the guy behind him must have been concerned and asked him if he was alright, which he is. My only real complaint with the ride was the new padding on the seats. It was so firm that it was like sitting on plastic. (5 out of 10)
Millennium Force: We got in line, and hoped that it wouldn't take too long, since we were beginning to feel the need to go to the bathroom, and the hunger pains were beginning. However, we ended up standing in line for over an hour and half. The CP cops were following us in line, which of course made me begin to freak out. We did overhear the girls behind us in their "private" conversation say something that led us to believe that the cops were there for them. After a long line, we were finally getting close. I was getting annoyed, since it seemed like the trains were stacking more this year than usual. I just had to chalk that one up to new crews still learning the ropes. The ride went well, and it gave the same ride that it did last year. Those girls who the cops were following god really mad at my friend and almost began cursing him out as we were entering the unload station. Everyone else just had these looks on their faces like he was either scared or a little special.(8 out of 10)
Iron Dragon: How busy must the park be if the line for this ride is 30 minutes? Again, there was no difference from past years. It is cool to fly over Dragster, but at the same time, I missed some of those trees. They don't need to replace all of them (as if they could), but some of the growth needs to come back.
At this point, we took our bathroom break, and I had my dinner of cholesterol on a stick.
Blue Streak: Since we were at the front of the park, and we needed to meet our group in 20 minutes, we decided to get a quick ride in. This was always a good ride. Like Corkscrew, we were able to almost walk on. The airtime on the ride was good, but it seemed just slightly rougher than Mean Streak. My friends (who are non-enthusiasts) said that the ride beat them around more than MS. I enjoy all the pops of airtime, and no trip to the Point are complete without a ride on this. (7 out of 10)
***Went to hotel, slept, etc.***
For 5/24:
We got to the park at 9:15 since the marching band that I went with wanted to be the first to perform, which we did at 10:00. The two other groups went after us, which allowed us to get in lines and ride before them. The funniest thing was that all three groups stayed at the same hotel.
Dragster: (pt II) We got in line, which was past the "200 feet to entrance" sign. One of the employees told us that the line was over 5 hours long, so we decided to skip the ride, and come back later in the season if necessary to get on the ride.
Magnum: The line was inside the station. I think that it only took 2 trains to dispatch before we were able to get our back seats. As we were going up the hill, I informed the person in front of me that the kid behind me will be screaming in an annoying way throughout the ride. He was prepared for the worst. Instead, he had the funniest ride. Due to all the screaming the day before, my friend now sounded like he was a chain smoker. As we made the turnaround, he said "I sound like an ******* seagull!" I thought that the ride seemed to be rougher that usual. Perhaps that is because the last few times I rode, I was in the middle or front. As we got off, the man turned to my friend and told him that he thought he sounded like a dying wallaby(sp?), and shook his hand, saying that my friend made his ride experience enjoyable. It was funny, since on the ride home, my friend kept telling everyone that. (8 out of 10)
**Edit: I was just informed by my friend that he said the shounded like "a ******* dying crow."**
Mantis: This ride has the worst queue lines ever. I realize that it is not due to the ride ops' fault, just a poor station design and difficult restraints for many people. As we ascended the lift hill, I noticed that the line for Dragster was on the infield, so I told everyone that we were going to run there. The painted rails have helped this ride. I felt that we were moving much faster than we did last year. There was still some headbanging going on, but being in the back, you have to expect that. The tricktrack was more intense back there, and I will never ride that again if I am not in the back. (8 out of 10)
Dragster: (pt III) As we got to the entrance, we were told that the wait would be over 3 hours, and it would be even longer if it began to rain. We decided that this would be our last chance to ride it before we had to go back to the bus for the return trip. Luckily, we were having a good time at that point, especially making fun of the facts on the wall (our personal favorite: A top fuel dragster holds only one driver, while Top Thrill Dragster holds 16 passengers. Really?! I did not know that!) I went to the back of the train, while my other friends went to the front. The launch absolutely is my favorite moment on any ride in existence. I have never felt anything like that before. During the entire top hat, I swear that I was out of my seat, and the only reason that I think that we had airtime was because my riding partner said she didn't feel the seat either, which scared her half to death. My friends in the front said that they did not experience a lot of air, but they were able to see the ground rushing towards them. I wish my local park would put something like this in. As people have stated before, the short ride make you want to ride it again even more.(10 out of 10)
Next we headed to the Midway Market for lunch, since we didn't want to eat McD's again (lunch the first day, dinner the second) So we waited in a line that was roughly the same length as our wait for Disaster Transport. That was the only downside of that meal. Everything else, including the chocolate and the strawberry cheesecake slices, was good.
Since we only had a half hour left, we diceded to get our only non-coaster ride in, and it ended up being the Demon Drop, which for some reason scares me more than any other ride, including the Turbo Drop. I don't know what it is.
The best non-food/non-ride item in the park are the Xcelerator (sp?) hand dryers that let you see the fat in your hands move around. Those dryer entertained me more than tv has this year.
So, to summerize the trip:
The Good:
1.)Dragster
2.)The hand dryers
3.)The weather (perfect for a park day)
4.)I ended up making money by stuffing may face when I could and saved up the money given to us for meals.
5.)Mean Streak's new life
The Bad:
1.)Lines were longer this year at this time than they have been in the past.
2.)Wicked Twister is still not at full power.
3.)Stacking on Millennium Force
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"Hello, this is Molman in the morning. Good Molman to you. Today part four of our series of the agonizing pain in which I live every daaaay."
*** This post was edited by Evil Zucchini 5/25/2003 11:45:02 PM ***
*** This post was edited by Evil Zucchini 5/26/2003 9:00:14 PM ***
*** This post was edited by Evil Zucchini 5/26/2003 9:13:26 PM ***
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Summer 03-CP, HP, Canobie, SFNE, SFWOA, and SFGAm.
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"Hello, this is Molman in the morning. Good Molman to you. Today part four of our series of the agonizing pain in which I live every daaaay."
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Beware of the Ska Robot Army
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