Entertaining SFGAdv Story
-Danny
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Coaster Insomniacs- Coastin' the Night Away
I prefer the Talon/SF/Thunderhawk/Laser combo over the B:TR/Nitro/Rolling Thunder/GASM combo hands down.
I'll also take the multiple train operation on days with a 10 minute wait over the single train operation on days with an hour wait. ;)
I will give you Medusa though (until 2005) ...still not enough to warrant regular 100 mile drives to Jackson, NJ over the 5 mile drive to Dorney.
Hell, what do I care, I'm calling Kennywood home again in less than two weeks -
Phantom's Revenge/Jackrabbit/Thunderbolt is a nice combo too :)
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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 16
As for Great Adventure, I'll admit that my first trip there in '01 was awesome. Last year, however, it just didn't impress me as much, and I started to see similarities with my homepark, SFA. I think I was oblivious to these the first year because the park was a brand new experience for me. I was disappointed that Viper was down in '01 (remember all those TAER IT DOWN!!1!!1 rumors?), but last year I rode it and was pleasantly surprised. I like it. I'd almost consider it one of those 'hidden gems' of the park, based on its uniquity alone. Liz hated it, but that's her problem. ;)
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-Mike Buscema
'No matter how skilled the designer is, every time we push the envelope we learn new things about coaster design.' --Dana Morgan
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It sounds like the day I had was out of the norm (did you read that above?), so according to that, I prefer everything about SFGAdv more, especially the weird yet "crunchy" layout (a slightly more confusing Disney layout). Dorney has the "elephant head" layout that I'm not a huge fan of and while it's nowhere near one of my favorite parks, I wouldn't dare call it bad on its worst day. Randomly great sometimes works better than consistantly "ok".
There was single train op on Thunderhawk ("half train op" to be exact on this one), Hercules, and Laser when I went to Dorney. That's similar to what I saw at GAdv, although most coasters had two train op. I wouldn't call one better than the other here. I still had to wait 30 minutes for an extremely short line on Wild Mouse.
Talon is an exceptional coaster though and I need to spend some time at Wildwater Kingdom next visit. I was just kidding about the number of times you've been to Dorney and if I lived that close, I would have probably done the same. An important question: Did you ever get used to Hercules? ;)
For total experience, Hershey would actually be getting our business over either. :)
-Danny
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Coaster Insomniacs- Coastin' the Night Away
*** This post was edited by Koaster King 9/10/2003 4:36:28 PM ***
As far as Skull Mountain goes, I have never had a completely dark ride on it (light always seems to creep in), but its still plenty dark. I have never ridden at night, though, and I would assume that would make the ride almost pitch black.
I have never seen Chiller run both sides simultaneously, so I have no idea if the downtime that the author experienced was due to the mishap or not. I have yet to ride Chiller without OTSRs, but when I rode FOF at PKD, I found the lapbars a little tight, yet at SFA (two days layer), they felt less confining. I could see how they could be tight for larger riders, but not exactly confining. What do you want... seatbelts only?
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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002
you know, we went there with the best intentions. looking forward to riding some great rides, enjoying the day. but one thing after another was awfull and it led to a bad day. i lept letting things roll off my back and convincing my girlfriend to do the same but man, nothing is good about the place. after searching for ride entrance after ride entrance, dealing with line jumpers, bad ques, bad food and slow ride operations we were both sick of it.
and viper has to be the most violent ride i have ever experienced. my neck was incredibly sore, and my throat..... i felt violated. thats a never again will i ride ride.
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http://www.eightdotthree.net
The rides, however, I was impressed with, and actually think they have one of the best collections around. Next to CP, they have the best in my opinion. That is why it is sad to see that ruined by the atmosphere of the park. :(
Koaster King said:
...and GASM over Laser...
Oh no! Schwarzkopf blasphemy!
Who'd win in a fight? Anton Schwarzkopf or God?
Trick question - Schwarzkopf is God!
DILinator said:dropping the F-Bomb like it was a preposition
I myself am a purveyor of the fine art of profanity. However, I use it mostly as an adjective, sometimes as a noun and rarely as a verb. :)
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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 16
*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar 9/10/2003 5:26:34 PM ***
Lord Gonchar said:
The writer gives a perspective that seems as if he lies somewhere between GP and park enthusiast.
With references to B&M, Alton Towers, and the like, my impression reading the article was closer to enthusiast.
Still, a very entertaining article.
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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"What do you want, you moon-faced assassin of joy?" -- Londo Mollari, Babylon 5
-Danny
*** This post was edited by Koaster King 9/10/2003 6:00:40 PM ***
Lord Gonchar said:
DILinator said:dropping the F-Bomb like it was a preposition
I myself am a purveyor of the fine art of profanity. However, I use it mostly as an adjective, sometimes as a noun and rarely as a verb. :)
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www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 16*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar 9/10/2003 5:26:34 PM ***
I find that it is best suited as an adverb as in "I cant believe this F'ing $#!+".
But anyway, I've had several good trips to GAdv. The "surly" crowds dont bother me nearly as much as ppl here seemd o be ticked. I found the operations to be quite good. And I actually had no problem with the Qbot system. I daresay I much enjoy the park. Much more than any other park in the area save Hershey (which is just about the Queen Mother of all parks). But it is mildly interesting hearing the other side of things.
lata, jeremy
--who admits lines can get off the hook!
So many good points were made by not only the author, but by many who replied. Q-bot as a revenue source is a terrible idea. I have been against this since day one. I'm still not convinced that they don't purposely slow down their pace in order to sell a big run of them. I liked the original FastLane paper ticket concept when it was free. SF is already making $50 for a ticket, $10 for parking, and way too much on food. When will it be enough? It seems that the SF mentality is not for repeat business, but to squeeze every last dollar out of you during your one unpleasant visit to the park.
Being that this is my home park, I do not even set foot in it between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Even with a moderate crowd, the staff is so inefficient, it's terrible. They don't even run anything to full capacity when crowds are lighter, so thinking that you will have an opportunity for more ride time is a misconception.
It's time for SF and GADv in particular to get a clue, take a page from CP or HW and give the customer an enjoyable day at the park, rather than squeezing every dollar possible from the public.
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Jim Hansen
Number of coasters ridden: 313
-Danny
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Coaster Insomniacs- Coastin' the Night Away
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If given the choice I'd choose a hamburger over a hotdog anyday of the week.
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I'll do it to you like Billy White Shoes baby!
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http://sfdlmania.thrillnetwork.net
Six Flags Darien Lake Mania! Your #1 source for DL and other parks!
SJCoasternut said:
When will it be enough? It seems that the SF mentality is not for repeat business, but to squeeze every last dollar out of you during your one unpleasant visit to the park.
I believe that's the Six Flags mission statement, Jim. ;)
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Colin D.
Ask about my references!
*** This post was edited by Olsor 9/11/2003 2:28:20 AM ***
2Hostyl said:
I find that it is best suited as an adverb as in "I cant believe this F'ing $#!+".
Sorry to nitpick, Jeremy, but in your sentence above, you used the F-word as an adjective. If you wanted to use it as an adverb, your sentence would appear like this....
"I can't F'ing believe this $#!+"
or this
"I F'ing can't believe this $#!+"
;););)
While I seem to have seen more negative opinion than good, I am definitely keeping an open mind for my first SFGAdv visit in October.
Later,
EV
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"Everybody has desperate days of quiet questioning.
Everybody has times when they feel like they don't fit in."
- Color Theory, So Many Ways, 2001
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