Did I catch SFWoA on a good day?

I probably should have asked this question when I posted my TR a few weeks ago but didnt think about it at the time. This was my first time to this park (along with CP the next day).

"Did I get lucky and catch SFWoA on a good day"?

I constantly hear the negatives of this park and as I have been home for the last 3 weeks I am just shaking my head as to why this park is not liked? This is what I experienced when I was there.

1. A 2 train operation on X-Flight the whole day.

2. A "not so bad" couple of rides on Mind Eraser (I am tall so that probably helped) :)

3. A 2 train operation on Serial Thriller. I actually enjoyed this coaster with the insane leg choppers and unique layout of the ride.

4. A 2 train operation on BKF. Awesome ride and the lines were moving.

5. Clean midways. I saw no signs of garbage spilling over on trash cans.

6. S:UE was down for maybe a couple hours but other than that it was running pretty good.

7. I enjoyed a very tasty chicken fajita on the Wild Life side and the price wasnt that bad (for an amusement park).

8. Healthy looking animals.

9. Nice landscaping on the Wild Life Side.

10. Very friendly, and informative animal trainers and staff.

11. Decent shark and aquarium exhibits.

12. "I GOT TO SEE SHOUKA"!!! YEAH BABY!! :)

13. And last but not least the opporutunity to go to a park that offers thrills and animals. That is a big plus for me.

The only gripe I had about the park was the 1 train operations on all 3 woodies.

So in conclusion, was my pleasant visit a stroke of luck or should I be confident enough that when I return next year to expect (or closely expect) a good time?

I can understand the whole capacity thing when it comes to measuring it against CP, but as far as what I listed above, did SFWoA just know that I was coming? lol, :)

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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!

It's all about YOUR attitude! Some other peeps would see the same things you saw and see negatives in all of them.

For example,

"ONLY 2 trains on BKF an X-flight?Unacceptable!"

"Shouka? Doesn't jump as high as Shamu did!"

"The animal habitats are somehow too crowded now, even though the only thing that changed is the fact that it doesn't say 'Sea World' on the sign anymore"

When you go to a park looking for negatives you WILL find them no matter what park it is. But if you go looking to have a good time you will find that too. So, I congratulate you on actually being able to (gasp) enjoy yourself at SFWoA.

*** This post was edited by G-Money on 6/20/2002. ***

This year the focus has been being a clean and friendly park. From the first day at Ops 101 to now so far its stressed. All supervisors and above always carry trash pickers. Midway sweeps are out and about everywhere. The park knows the complaints it's had and is trying hard to fix them. Hopefully word will get out about the park doing better guest services and cleanliness wise and people will start coming back.

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SFWoA ATL in 2002!

I had a great day at SFWOA last July, but even a good attitude can't mask certain things. X-flight opened 2 hours late, and ran all day with 1 train with one row blocked off. Also, at 11 am in the main bathroom, every soap dispensor was empty. This was just the tip of the iceberg.

Again, I had a great day, and I know rides break down, but I couldn't think of a reason why there should be no soap in the main bathroom first thing in the morning! (I didn't let it ruin my day, but it was kinda weird)

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- Peabody

*** This post was edited by Peabody on 6/20/2002. ***

When I was there last week, the only real problems that I had were one train operation on X-Flight and B:KF in the morning(but Batman ran two later so it was okay) and a really disgusting bathroom. It was so horrible. It stunk up the whole section of the park. There were worms on the toilet. It was not a pretty sight. It was just aggravating seeing a relatively short line, and having to wait an hour for the ride(happened with X-Flight). It was especially strange because I had just been to Cedar Point where the same line would've been like ten minutes. Not a bad park though in my opinion

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"Grit your teeth, bear the load. Enjoy your ride on Thunder Road"

Canning the entire sorry park service dept from last year didn't hurt either.

Many of the problems that are talked about on boards are in referance to internal issues. I always felt that the ride selection, food selection, and other forms of entertainment to be a fair product. Last year was a hard year for the park, unfortunately it will haunt them for years to come. (Not to say that i don't think it is deserved)

I had a nice visit on the Wildlife side when I went, but didn't have the multi-train operation on the coasters. So, either you hit it on a good day, or they are getting the message about lines moving too slow.

The chicken fajita place is great, but when I went that to was closed. Major bummer as I really like those. Going back sometime in July to see the whale show, hopefully I'll be able to get the fajita also!

I had an awesome day on June 1st. Best time I've had at Sfwoa. Everything was perfect except that Xflight wasnt reclining on the lift. I wouldnt have been dissapointed but everyone said that it was running with the recline on the lift but when i went it wasnt. Other than that, a picture perfect day, no lines whatsoever, and some great food at the Mandarin Buffet. I love Sfwoa and hate anyone who bashes it.

I'm giving the park a second chance next week. Last year we encountered:

1. Roughly 1 in 3 places to get a drink didn't have ice.

2. Park employees that couldn't tell us where certain rides were in the park or in one case even if it existed (I swear!).

3. A relatively light crowd and only 1 or 2 train waits at the most, yet dispatch times were literally (and we timed them) as high as 8 minutes for some coasters with no visible reason for the delay other than slow, uncaring ride ops.

4. Horrible directions given by the park taking us on roads with posted speed limits of 25 where we actually followed a tractor down the road for 3 or 4 miles. We asked a local guy at a gas station if there was a better way back and he cut about 20 miles and 40 minutes off the return trip for us...and avoided the more "rural" areas.

5. Full garbage bags left beside garbage cans throughout the day, rather than being taken at least out of sight.

6. A guest relations desk that pretty much said "Too bad" about the complaints we (and the other dozen people there) had as we left the park.

If you'd like to read my hastily typed, often misspelled, harsh as nails review of that June 2001 trip that I wrote 1 year ago to this date, you can see it here:

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/forums/thread.asp?ForumID=13&TopicID=8939

Let's hope this year's TR looks more like Chitown's than my 2001 SFWOA TR. We've given Six Flags 53 weeks to improve things, if they haven't we won't return...until 2003 for the new hyper. ;)

...oh yeah, if you do go read that TR - my wife never did call the number, so I guess we kind of slacked and blew it all off after we calmed down. Hell, we're dumb enough to go back after an experience like that. To date it still stands as my "Worst Trip Ever".

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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park visits in 2002: 12

*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar on 6/21/2002. ***

wow. Some people really must have gone on bad days! I went there, loved every ride, left feeling happy. I found the Villian to be almost as good as GR and X-Flight to be almost as good as Phantom's Revenge and much better than Stealth. All I can say now is that I can't wait till my next visit.

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www.EverythingRollerCoaster.com
~I rode my first coaster June 2001 and since then I have ridden 43 different coasters!

I was also impressed on my return visit to SFWoA this year. Midways were much cleaner and in general all rides seemed to be running better. This was the Saturday before Memorial Day (5/25, I think...). I walked on to most rides -- the only exception was Villain, which had about a 45-minute wait so I elected not to ride.

On speaking with one of the park employees (an animal trainer on the Wild Life side), I learned that approximately 2500 of last year's 4000 seasonal employees were not allowed to return. The park really seems to be concentrating on providing good customer service. When I was waiting to enter, because a friend of mine had a coupon for a free ticket he needed to redeem at the Guest Relations window, the Guest Relations line was held up by someone at the front of the line. In response to the delay, SF employees came to the people further back in line and did their best to help them immediately, rather than making them wait for the problems to be resolved. This put an impressive spin on my visit that day from the beginning. Nice touch, Six Flags!

So Chitown, I really think they've made strides this year, and I think you should see continued good service in the future. I hope so, anyway.

CoasterCrazyOne ... I appreciate that you enjoyed X-Flight better than Stealth, and almost as much as Phantom's Revenge, but... I understand the first comparison (to Stealth) because they're both flying coasters, but am I missing something on the second? To me, X-Flight and Phantom's Revenge are too different to compare... Of course, if you're just talking about your enjoyment, that doesn't really matter, does it...

Initial reports this year are that the park is trying to get their crap together (to some degree anyway), but for me, the damage is already done. Knowing I wouldn't be hitting any other Six Flags parks this year, Steph and I skipped on passes this year. With the new hyper next year we'll be back for sure, but with money a little tighter (from my four and a half months of unemployment), I have to be a lot more careful about where I spend money this year.

Before someone jumps all over me, understand I really want this park to succeed. It's closer and would be perfect for after-work trips all summer. It's just that after the disappointment last year of going to find Villain (or Batman, or S:UE, or X-Flight) down time after time, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

They'll get their chance again next year for me.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

We've been there twice so far this year and had a good experience both times. Clean, friendly employees, decent capacity on the rides and sweepers were out and about. The first time Villian only had one train, the second it ran two. Now the park wasn't busy either day but they still ran two trains on Villian and BKF which made the line non-existent. I think the new management has the right focus and hopefully they will be able to keep it up.

SFWoA is a much better park if you don't go there every other day. It seems alot of the negative reviews come from the people who get too much of the park.

Just a thought.

While we haven't been to SFWoA this year we have gone twice in the past and both times our two complaints were

1. The large crowds jamming the small midway areas.

2. Several coasters closed (Raging Wolf Bobs, Mind Eraser, Big Dipper). But none of the major coasters were closed.

We had a really good time both times we went.

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

I'll second what Lori said. Both visits this year (opening weekend and the day after CoasterMania), the park has been pretty impressive.

Oh, wait, I was WITH the Uhings both times... ;)

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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page

It seems that SFWoA is trying to work out the problems. I look more at the overall experience, not just the rides. Clean restrooms and midways, and friendly employees are important to me.

I haven't been to WoA yet (it was still Geauga Lake and Sea World when I visited). I wouldn't go last year because there were more "bad" TR's than good, and I don't want to feel like Jeff who had bad experiences which have colored his opinion. It's too easy to overlook the improvements when some of the same old problems still exist. And I know I will compare my experience with that of my home park CP. It just can't be helped.

I've seen several trip reports that have specifically noted improvements, and it's possible I may make my first trip to SFWoA this summer.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Most of the bad TR's come from other bad TR's.

I wise man once said ;)

"IF you go to a park looking for problems, you will find it!" :)

I find nothing wrong with SFWoA. I dont get mad over stupid things. On the wildlife side they had beutiful bushes carved into things, such as people, animals, etc... They have wonderful gardens they you walk by that are just amazing. They have benches where you can sit right by the railing next to the lake, looking at the WR side that just has an overall impressive view.

They have lots of animals. The new whale Shouka is very impressive. I saw her show a couple days ago, and wow. I was stunned on how much she progressed. Way to go SF and Shouka!

Yea, sometimes I see a dirty bathroom, but I rarley see dirty midways anymore! I havent this year looked on the ground and said, "whats up with this garbage?" But I usually say " Wow, this is really clean! "

As for slow ride ops, i have nothing really to say about them. They are awful. But hey, SFWoA is great none-the-less! Whats good about SFWoA are the differant things you can do! If you dont want to ride rides anymore, just walk over to the WL side and see a few shows, see Shouka, play in Happy Harbor, or do anything thats over there. Even if its just watching those tigers. They are extremely playful, and my mom will come with us just to sit on a bench there and watch them for 3 hours until they go inside. The WL really is THAT nice! I never really left that park and said, wow, what an awful day! The worst was maybe "gee, this day sucked, I only rode BKF 6 times :( " ;)

But It all comes down to the person at the park really, and ones own opinion.

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Six Flags Worlds of Adventure Online
Team NL
NITRO ~ The most EXPLOSIVE coaster on the planet!

If it weren’t for the slow ride-ops, I would visit SF:WOA much more then I do. I have never had a problem with any other aspect of the park and all of the rides (except one certain head banger) are all fun. It takes me about the same amount of time to get to SF:WOA as it does CP. If I’m looking for a quick coaster fix after work, I’ll go to CP every time because I know all of the lines will be fast moving. If SF operations moved as fast as CP’s, I would definitely split my time between the two parks.

I have one comment on Nates post that most negative reviews come from people who go to the park often. I think these are the most reliable reviews because they see the park on good and bad days. They can judge if a slow moving line is an anomaly or the norm..

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Bob M.

*** This post was edited by RPMGuitar on 6/21/2002. ***

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Jeff said:

. Knowing I wouldn't be hitting any other Six Flags parks this year, Steph and I skipped on passes this year. With the new hyper next year we'll be back for sure, but with money a little tighter (from my four and a half months of unemployment), I have to be a lot more careful about where I spend money this year.

They'll get their chance again next year for me.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

what happened to the $100,000 you made for pop forums?

I, personally, have never had a bad experience at the park and have only seen one upset guest who was an ignorant old beast. She complained nothing was on the website about the Life Side being closed during School Days Coaster Craze (because they were filming a commercial). She claimed there was nothing about it on the website the previous night, i pointed her out and she told me, "I dont give a F" Then when the guest services employee politley gave her a printout of the website she said, "You just made this...I still want my free tickets" Stormed off and yelled, "F Six Flags...F Six FLags" and had to be escorted out, all in front of her 5-6 year old daughter. This was also 1/2 hour before closing too.

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