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There comes a time when you just say "What the heck", and decide to make a road trip. I have been putting off visiting CP and SFWoA for the last 3 years so it was time. I decided to leave the negative comments I hear of SFWoA at my computer and go to the park with an open mind. I like to form my own opinions. What you are about to witness is an outsider who's opinion of this park differs greatly from the majority.
I rented a car and hit the road Saturday afternoon. I arrived in the Cleveland area around 8:30 PM. Finally found Rte 43 and started driving looking for SFWoA. This park is way off the beaten path (Ohio Turnpike) but I finally found it. After locating it so I knew where it was I checked into the Super 8 motel on Rte 14.
Next morning I am up and heading for the park. I pull into the entrance and see that its $7.00 to park. As I am pulling out my cash I also pull out my SFGAm season pass which has a parking sticker on it. I figured what the heck. I will try to see if it works. I show the lady my pass and asked if I could use this to get in. I was suprised that she accepted it. I didnt have to pay to park. Wooo hoooo!!!.
Parking and entering the gate didnt cost me a penny. I was now a happy man. As soon as I got through the main gate I looked to my right and saw S:UE, Mind Eraser, and X-Flight.
1. S:UE, I went to this coaster first figuring the lines would build. I waited about 5 minutes for back row. Intense and fun just like V2.
2. Mind Eraser, This was my first boomerang ever. I still have not gotten on Deja-Vu yet :( . I thought this ride was fun and I braced my head figuring it would be rough. It wasnt to bad.
3. X-Flight, I absolutely LOVE this coaster. Vekoma did a great job on this. The G's that you feel going through the turns is unbelievable. They had both trains running all day and the ops were pumping the trains out. If Vekoma's is this good , I can only imagine what B&M's version is like.
4. Serial Thriller, While its not as good as its B&M counterparts, I still loved this Vekoma inverted. The foot choppers on this are insane. I caught myself lifting my feet especially going through the rock valley.
5. Batman: Knight Flight, This is my first B&M sitdown(even though its a floorless). True to all of the other Bolliger and Mallibard creations, this is another world class coaster. I found myself power riding this as well as Serial Thriller.
6. Double Loop, Closed all day :(. Oh well, I know its another typical Arrow looper but I still wanted to experience it.
7. Roadrunner Express, Man is the train long on this kiddie coaster. It seems like when its running the course that it takes up about 1/3 of the track. Basically just rode it for the count. ch-ching!!!
Now this is where I was a little disappointed. All 3 woodies were running 1 train. What is up with that? I can understand it maybe on Big Dipper or even Raging Wolf Bobs, but on the Villian? Anyone know why they were only doing 1 train on Villain. Oh well, besides that here are the 3 woodies and my thoughts.
8. Big Dipper, I really couldnt get into this old coaster to much. I really wanted to because its classic status (and the oldest woodie I have ever been on), but it just didnt do to much for me. The train jerks forward and back through the course.
9. Raging Wolf Bobs, Nothing Raging about this wolf. Very little pops of airtime and the helix on both ends are ruined (IMO) from the bank of the track. That just ruined it for me. If this is considered a re-make of the Chicago Bobs, they need to go back to the drawing board.
10. Villain, Now this woodie I dig. The airtime and laterals are pretty good. Anyone know why the chain lift is so loud? It seemed louder then any other woodie I have been on. Still though, this is a world class ride
Well, now its time for my thoughts on the Wildlife side. I slowly made my trek down the floating boardwalk which is where I took alot of pics of the coasters. Great view.
I dont know why people dog SF for taking care of animals. All of the exibits were clean and the animals looked healthy to me. I loved the aquarium exhibit as well as the Shark exhibit. The highlight of that side was getting to see Shouka, the female killer whale. I havent seen one since I was at Sea World in Florida when I was a kid. One of the supervisors was so proud to have this whale that he was encouraging people to sit in the marine mammal stadium and witness this beautiful whale bonding with her staff. Great Kodak moment.
I am a softy for animals so I spent half of my day over on the wildlife side just taking in the sights. I enjoyed a chicken fajita while I was over there (which was pretty tasty).
Well my overall conclusion here is, this park is fun. While its not quite the caliber of a CP or SFGAm, its definitely got the variety that families want and the atmosphere with the lake (dont know why its called a lake because its borderline pond size). They have some awesome coasters to. I had a great time there and I will definitely make the trip once a year to visit both SFWoA and CP.
I left the park around 8:00 PM to start making my travels to Sandusky where I checked into another Super 8 motel on Rte 250.
Ohio road trip, day 2 of CP coming soon with a trip report.
Thanks for reading. :)
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
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Wash away us all. Take us with the floods.
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Top 5 Coasters
1.Deja Vu(SFGAm) 2.Raging Bull(SFGAm) 3.Millennium Force(CP)
4.CornBall Express(IB)
5.Viper(SFGAm)
I will be visiting SFWoA in just 2 weeks. However, I will also be visiting SFoG for a ride on B&M's latest sensation, Superman: Ultimate Flight.
I will be visiting SFoG on Sunday June 9th. I live in Texas and I was planning a trip to Ohio and CP, SFWoA and PKI. I was told, however, that I would be changing planes in Atanta. I immeadiatly arranged for the latest possible flight from Atlant to Toledo and a rental car while in Atlanta.
I'm sooooo looking foward to S:UF, I can't tell you. But this coaster trip will give me the chance to compare B&M's masterpiece with Vekoma's X-Flight. Talk about excited, I can't wait.
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TITAN RULES!
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Valleyfair Security 2002! 8Years working at Valleyfair :)! SRM Holiday World, Coastermainia CP, Kings Island June 9th, Timbers Fest. May31st-June10th 3Days and counting :)!
Great report! About the Villian only running one train.....they said it valleyed two weeks ago and do not want to run it in the cold weather.
They DO have 4 outstanding, world class coasters (X, SUE, BKF, Villian). Glad to see you had a great time in Ohio, hope I have the same fun in SFGAm in July.
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There's nothing like a woodie...
I was at SFWOA this past weekend and had a great time - and with the announcement of a 2003 Hyper coaster on its way this park is only getting better.
I don't know why this park gets a bad rap, compared to SFGA is a beautiful and SFOG it is empty. This park has come a looong way.
I cannot believe you didn't like the Big Dipper!! Did you sit in (or near) the front - that is where maximum air time is. This is just a good-old fashioned fun ride.
You were right to run to Superman first; I was there this past Saturday (Memorial Day Weekend) and the line was empty for the first hour then it built up. The load-in time is soooo long.
I don't like X - I feel like I am in a dentist chair the whole time and I felt too restrained for me to enjoy it; it is not the most comfortable ride.
I love Villain and Batman both great coasters.
Too bad about the Double Loop - that was closed when I was there too.
I am off to SF America this weekend!
Woody said:
Great report! About the Villian only running one train.....they said it valleyed two weeks ago and do not want to run it in the cold weather.
Well, you can rule out cold weather because it was in the low 70's this last Sunday when I went. I read over at Refreshing Look that one of the trains chassis is messed up.
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
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Jes
Jes's Roller Coasters DJ Jes MCS Please, Feel Free To Call Me Jes!
Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure 2002 Ride-Ops Crew
The employees were for the most part friendly and doing their jobs. They were especially friendly on the Wildlife side. They were answering questions from guests regarding the animals.
Bottom line, I had no problems with this park (except for the 1 train operations on the woodies).
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
Sounds like you ate at Swampwater Jacks, good grub there.
What about the 3rd G train? Villain was running a black one last year I believe. Wonder what's wrong with that one or even if it's still around. One out of three isn't bad I guess . ;)
*** This post was edited by Joe E. on 5/30/2002. ***
It is always funny to see adult pile on roadrunner express. I admit, I was one of them on Monday.. Here's to you Chitown, Ch-Ching...
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I fool so feelish....
Chitown said:
I am a softy for animals so I spent half of my day over on the wildlife side just taking in the sights. I enjoyed a chicken fajita while I was over there (which was pretty tasty).
LOL! I like how you paired those two sentences together! Ever wonder if the tuna in their tuna sandwiches is dolphin safe?
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- Peabody
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