Opening day at SFGAm cut short!

To start the day they were calling for temps around a high of 51, cloudy and possibility of rain. It was cold but no rain. Went to Deja Vu first to find a man on a ladder up in the loop. So mad as I have not ridden this ride yet. So we headed over to the Demon and got back seat with my Daughter and the wife and son got the front. The paint on this looks great (not completed yet). The black train seems to be the train off and nowhere in sight. The Demon seems very smooth this year.

Next up was Viper and Giant Drop both great. Checked on Vu still not running. Off to American Eagle Forwards then backwards. Man Backwards really gives you some pops of air and we were in the front seat (first over the hill). Viper and AE are running very smooth.

The wife took the kids into Camp Cartoon Network and I ran back to the truck for our gloves as the temp had to drop into the upper 40's. Got back and off to V2. Did nott notice if the new supports made a difference in the feel of the ride but the spiral tower still swayed alot.

The foam Factory was in tip top shape with all NEW balls and every thing in working order. This was a pleasant surprise. We had to spend atleast a hour in there. We needed a break to warm up so we headed to "We Got The Beat" show and it was very good show with all the charactors dancing and singing to the 80's music. On the way there we passed up Batman and I am a fan of the paint job. It really makes it stand out and say hello. Rajin' Cajun has been started with track peices in place and the rest of Mardi Gras is shapin up nicely. All rides are up lookes as if only ques have to be made and asphalt to be laid down.

Stargate 3000 is one of the best sim rides that they have had in there IMO. Lots off herky jerky and lots of fun. Top Speed in the Pictorium was about 25 min to LONG.It was 45 mins long. It had a nice theme to it but man did it get boring. I could not count on my hands and toes at all the people that fell asleep. Only go in here to see this if it is raining not worth the time. I also seen about 20 people get up and leave after 15mins or so.

Now the bad hour of the trip. We left Top Speed all yawning and got a quick trip on Wizzer. With the cold air it woke us up in hurry. At the top of the spiral lift I noticed Deja Vu was running. So off to Vu and the line was not bad looked about 20 min or so. My kids went over to Demon while me and the wife waited for Vu. They got 3 rides on and came back to the Vu's exit to wait for us. Now the bad part I was telling my wife "watch it will break down or something and I still won't be able to ride it". Guess what? My stomach got so upset and I had to go #2 BAD but I was not leaving that line, I waited to long to ride this ride. We noticed the kids standing at the exit and my son was crossing his legs aand bouncing around. OH NO I thought but I am not leaving this line. Finally got on 3B right side wife on the left. really a smooth ride with the boomerang and all. I'd give this ride at least a 7 in my book. Was it worth it? NO, got off and my son didn't know wher the bathroom was and could not hold it anymore. The poor kid, his leg was soaked I felt so bad for him. For those wondering he is seven and not typical behavior.

So out of the park we go and as we leave the gates I noticed no line on Superman and the wife said go back in while I get them in there PJ's. Biggest mistake she could have made. I got a walk on in car 2 seat 4. Got off and they had the gate open in the exit and they were letting people through without having to go all the way around. Cool I'll get a quick ride on the back. Off we go up the lift through the pretzal around and around quick barrel roll and a sudden slam on the brakes and stopped. The train in front of us stopped one car into the station. So there I was flying and not going nowhere for 10 mins. They get the train into the station and around we go only to stop on the final brake run and sit there for another 20min. They finally come and manually let our seat down and we had to depart on the brake run. This was the longest I ever got stuck on a ride. Not a bad day though we had a blast! *** Edited 5/2/2004 2:27:24 AM UTC by Iggy ACE***

Damn. What coaster enthusiasts will do to get a first ride. :)

Hope your son wasn't to embarrased with the ordeal.

You will look back on this with your kid and laugh about it I am sure.

Can you actually believe I picked him up and put him on my sholders and walked him out. Took my jacket off first though.

There is a great solution to the urination problem. I thought of this when I almost pissed my pants on Son of Beast (the constant vibration and length of the ride was not helping at all) a few years ago (should've held off on that large soda at lunch). Head immediately to the bridge of your shoot-the-chutes ride, and no one will be the wiser:) Of course if it's cold, that's not such a great ideal. More important though was that you made it out of line without brown shorts.

Kinda reminds me of opening weekend at SFA this year...man were we freezing our butts off that day!

At least it was nice & warm yesterday despite some rain in the afternoon,but I'll take rain & 70 degree temps over dry & 50 degrees any time.

Iggy ACE thats funny we were both stuck on Superman. I was in the car at the station in the last row. The guy next to me kept yelling hey chris I want a shirt. Chris was one of the ride ops. They got you off in ten mins and us in twenty five(at least me). I also had the same idea as I never rode in back before and as I got to the station I had a decision to just walk on back row or wait for the front.I chose back as when can you ever just walk on superman. Glad to see they added it to fastlane this year.

Never wrote my own trip report before and don't seea reason to start now so I'll just add my $.02 here.

Picked up my nieces (13 and 10) and got to the park at 1:30. Temp at 45 degrees, overcast, windy and an empty parking lot. Sweet!

Longest wait of the day? Season pass processing.

ALL coasters open with 2 train ops despite station wait and walk-on rides all day. In fact, the only rides I didn't see operational were Triple Play (refurbish I guess since the ride tups were nowhere in sight) and Whirligig. Throw in Ice Mountain Splash, Logger's Run and Roaring Rapids and that's it. Splashwater Falls, you ask? Yep, operational and taking on an idiot of two.

Note: Ice Mountain Splash was testing (at least there were boats circulating through the station witnessed from the exit of V2). Haven't seen IMS in operation for years now.

Security: A visible presence all over the park. The metal detectors are going to be a problem this year as they were constantly malfunctioning.

I wasn't impressed with the Stargate SG-3000 sim. Of course, just back from a week in Orlando so my standards are high for this type of ride. Over-all, the story sucked and the movement of the ride was uninteresting at best. But hey, it was indoors and we were freezing.

Paint job on Batman looks good. I always forget how much I like this inverted. A short ride, no doubt, but intense and non-stop from first drop to brake run.

Revolution was the only new ride operating on Opening Day. A nice addition to the park, especially in the County Fair section, but if you've ridden Delirium, well, most other rides of this type fail by comparison.

Bathrooms were spotless throughout the day and I checked them often as the hot air hand dryers came in very useful on this cold and blustery day. Didn't notice too many sweeps but the midways were clean, not very surprising during a very light opener. I would love to see SF follow the designated smoking area trend that we see at so many other parks. Keep the butts in one place and not littered all over the place.

Viper and Bull performed like the champs that they are. Kudos to GAm for know how to handle their wood. Viper ran beautifully, even on opening day in the cold. if it wasn't for Cornball, all my mad wood love would go to this gem. Backseat Bull delivered as usual. My niece and I have started to ride Bull with our eyes closed for fun. If you haven't done so, try it once. Good times.

MForcer I was one of the last people let out on the brake run and when I came through I was laughing at you guys in the last row. At least we got a coupon for a free soft drink. ;) They didn't have to give us anything. It was worth the story.

IBsteve triple play had their cars over at the building by superman you could see them when you rode it. They were repainted (one set green,one gold and one the same orange). I wish they would have left them orange. That is a favorite ride of mine. I was a little dissapointed it wasnt running. I always ride it at least once a trip. On the plus side 17 straight runs on Batman without getting off of it was sweet.

you could see them real good fron Condor! I think the change is awesome!

Oops! Thanks for the clarification guys. Didn't ride Condor and didn't notice them on my Superman trip. Somehow I even managed to miss them on my trip up the Sky Trek Tower!

The girls and I love Triple Play as well. It's always been our first GAm ride of the season...but not this year. :-(

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Iggy ACE said:

The foam Factory was in tip top shape with all NEW balls and every thing in working order.

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I'm glad to see that the park got some balls.

*rimshot*