LA help! - CoasterBuzz

I will be coming across from the UK to visit Cali for the first time. I arrive next Wednesday and am planning to visit most of the parks.

The park I am a bit worried about though is SFMM, we are planning to take our trip the Sunday after next. Has anyone been visiting on weekends at the moment, is it very busy? Also I see that they do a new thing called a Fast Lane Ticket which is $15 dollars and that gives you priority access to 4 rides. The rides I really want to ride are X, Goliath and Deja Vu because I would assume these are some of the most popular rides does this new system not run on these.

Any other hints and tips for the park, other than run for X straight away?

Saw a TR from a recent trip, but it was raining heavily, so it's a bad one to judge by. I have a feeling it won't be too crowded, but don't expect waits less than an hour and a half or so for rides like X.

As is, X does not accept Fast Lane passes, and Deja Vu will most likely still be in rehab. Goliath and Scream do accept them though, and at the rate Goliath's line has been going, you'll probably want to get them for that ride.

As a rule of thumb, SoCal theme parks tend to be less crowded in the winter months. I'm not sure about SFMM, but I went to Knott's a couple weeks ago on a beautiful sunny Saturday and Xcellerator was practically a walk on.

Any other local correct me if I'm wrong, but I wouldn't be too worried. Plus, Sundays tend to be less crowded than Saturdays.

Hopefully all this rain we've been having will clear out of here for you! Good news for you is the rainy season is coming to a close. Have fun! Where are you staying, anyway?

AGHHHHH! WAIT! I just checked their website. Sunday March 14th is High School Physics Day. Also, Sunday March 28 is Latin Festival. I would assume that both of these events will bring a lot of crowds; might be days to avoid.

Definitely days to avoid, Danimales.

Make sure you check the operating calendar as they are only open weekends this time a year and if they arent check the hours of operation...the shorter the hours usually means the shorter the lines.

...and such

Actually they will be open some weekdays during spring break, but I'd avoid those days as well.

But then again, I've been avoiding SFMM for over a year now.

mOOSH

Danimales said:
AGHHHHH! WAIT! I just checked their website. Sunday March 14th is High School Physics Day... I would assume that both of these events will bring a lot of crowds; might be days to avoid.

I was at SFMM last year for physics day. It wasn't that bad, really. Honestly.

They have more than one of them, I guess.

Mamoosh said:
Actually they will be open some weekdays during spring break, but I'd avoid those days as well.

But Moosh, last year during Spring break the park was empty. Dead. Waited 20 minutes for rides on X...

From my experiences last year on the week days that SFMM was open for "Spring Break" the park was not crowded at all.

I stopped going to SFMM during Spring Break due to the crowds a few years back. Perhaps its no longer as crowded, as you experienced.

mOOSH

Hey Mamoosh, was that when they used to have "Extreme Spring Break Out" or whatever they called it? I remember going one year right after that was over and they had a lot of decorations and stuff like bungee run, rock climbing, and all that stuff...but for free *gasp*...

wonder why they stopped doing that?

...and such

I'm sure that somewhere on PKS's balance sheet, it looked better to charge for those attractions rather than have some increased revenue from the ticket sales.

Live from West Coast Bash.

I'm in an internet cafe. It's 05:20pm, I was at SFMM today Saturday March 6th. Now I'm going to Knotts next. Here is a mini TR.

Park opened at exactly 10am. They don't do a rope drop. After you go in thru the gate, you're off. Ran to X. Lockers are located in the ride and they're .50 for 2 hours. These are the kind with a touch screen where you get a ticket. This is the only ride you need a locker for. Rode in the front outside seat, great. Went again in the back inside, great. It was now 10:45am, and the line went to the walkway. From this point, it's a 3 hour wait. And get this, they had both trains running and the crews we're doing a great job. But can you believe that? In 45 minutes the line goes all the way to the walkway and you're talking 3 hours.

On to Goliath. Only 1 train, 20 minute wait and growing. Get this, there is only 1 train period, none in the storage shed.
Batman - 1 train 20 minute wait and growing.
Riddler - 1 train 60 minute wait, now this was a bummer, because there we're more trains in the shed.
Colossus - 5 minute wait.
Scream - 5 minute wait, both trains running, the 3rd is in pieces on the ground. For this ride, place your bags on the other side of the gate, because there is a light sensor on the platform. Or get a locker, they have some at the ride, they're also .50 and are the key type.

Lots of people, parking lot was almost full when I left. Plus there is a cheerleading competition going on. I have to give SFMM an A- for having 2 trains running on X. They just gotta add one more for Riddler.

I don't know about the fast lane thing. I saw signs but didn't look into it. You need to get there early and run to X first.

Sounds like typical SFMM except for two trains on X. When I've had to wait in an almost completely full queue, the wait has been usually under two hours if there are two trains running, so any signage about 3 hours is probably incorrect. The worst I've had with two train op was about 2:45, but that was when the line was stretching most of the way down the bridge, almost the whole way to the Panda Express.

Glad you had fun!

I'm in the cafe one more time before flying home.

The event couldn't have gone any better. For those reading who didn't get to attend, SFMM came thru. Chris is da man. This is the way an ERT event should be.

I'd say about 100 we're at the gate at 8am. They let us in thru a different door to the right of the group sales window.

After a short delay, X started running at 08:15am. 2 trains, full crews, 5 rides in 45 minutes. Front row, back row, middle. At 9am, the station actually emptied out as people headed to Goliath.
3 rides on Goliath, park opened at 10am, front row on Batman.

I'd have to say, my favorite seat on X is front row, street side, inside. The outside seats are a little bit bumpy than the inside. After a few rides, you know what to expect. It's a good idea to hold your legs up, or they'll bump the seat hard on the calves.

A big thank you go Chris and SFMM. I'll be sending a snail mail to operations thanking them.

Oh, and the fast lane thing, it's $15 and doesn't cover X. It covers Goliath, Viper, Scream and a few of the water rides. If you wanna ride X, it's best to arrive to the park 1 hour early, be first at the gate, and jog to the ride when the park opens. Deja-Vu was still being worked on, no padding on the seats. Try this for your attack plan. X, Goliath, Riddler, Batman, see if Deja-Vu is up. *** Edited 3/7/2004 10:33:19 PM UTC by Robert Viands***