PKI Fall Freak Out!! Oct 2nd '04

Forget any and all previous Fall Freak Outs because this one was by far the BEST one ever for me!! :) GOCC is a smaller, less known club than ACE and we needed their clout, connections, reputation to join us for a most memorable event. So 1st and foremost let me thank ACE for helping GOCC to have such a great event! :) It wasn’t until hubby and I arrived at the park and we got our itinerary list we realized what an awesome day we had ahead of us! :)

High Points:

FOF Behind the Scenes Tour: I think any of us who have ridden FOF since the ear killing harnesses are history KNOW what a truly awesome ride this is. To see it with all the lights on, to listen to some of the construction nightmare stories and to get to watch 2 trains do their run was incredible!! There are a few of the King Cobra cars sitting in there, as well as one of the old FOF/Outer Limits (killer) cars.

The Beast Walk Back: We snuck in 3 rides before park opened to GP. Waited for front car for all 3 rides....Beast running it’s usual awesome self! :)

Spooktacular Scavenger Hunt: We opted not to "play" this...we were too busy riding! :)

The Beast Behind the Scenes Tour: The whole Beast course will NEVER be the same to us again after being able to walk the course and see many trains pass. Needless to say how some of the riders freaked when they would come around the one corner (after the last long cement tunnel and before the 2nd lift hill) and saw like 200 people standing there!! Priceless! :) The beauty of the woods with that classic woody in there was breath taking! :)

EHT: Exclusive Haunting Time: Nope, I made us pass on that..no scary stuff for me! :)

Son of Beast Behind the Scenes Tour: This coaster STILL having it’s issues, we rode it and memories of MS were quite strong. BUT..to watch it run the "Rosebowl" helix was incredible! It wasn’t until Jeff Siebert pointed out how much the supports "give" when a train goes by we stood there is total awe. Listening to some of the nightmare construction stories, as well as the on going SOB issues was very interesting. It is nice to know that in no means has PKI given up on SOB, it is a constant process to improve the ride and make it enjoyable for all the guests. (Remember the aforementioned FOF, how much that SUCKED in it’s early years!!) I also found out my hubby and I probably made a mistake riding SOB in the front car when we had rode it earlier in the day. We were told (too late) that the back is smoother. Standing inside the structure and watching the invert was great too (which btw, we found out is the ONLY part of the whole ride that has been absolutely trouble free)

Dinner: The usual food, hotdogs, pulled pork, chicken, salad, rolls, cookie, pop. The Q&A with one of the Beast original surveyors (I think) was very interesting. I found it rather curious that the Beast, despite being built LONG before computers really has held it’s own over the past 25 years. He mentioned too that the (unlike many other woodies) original structure is still pretty much intact. I think most of us have always noticed the lack of replacement wood anywhere on the main structure, which really helped me admire the true quality of workmanship and materials in the Beast.

After dinner, getting EVERYONE together for the group photo was a riot, it will be interesting to see how that picture came out! :)

Beast Landmark Plaque Presentation: We were back on FOF so missed this!

Awesome Awards Presentation: We were hitting up rest of park so missed this too!

Beast ERT: We actually got to Beast 15 minutes early so hubby and I snuck in 2 extra rides even before ERT. ERT was priceless and thank goodness I was smart enough to have 5 layers of clothes on cause it was a tad bit chilly back in the woods! (We could see our breath by then!) Rerides were ok as long as no one waiting on your row. Ended up getting 4 rerides in a row, and was even honored to be on the last train of the evening! It was a blast! :)
I remember my very 1st ride on the Beast back in ‘79, I even remember the water, the goldfish and the working water thing by the platform. That 1st ride was just as incredible to me as the last ride early this morning at 1am. The Beast STILL kicks butt after all these years and we are SOO lucky to have it at technically our home park! :)
We actually got a total of 10 Beast rides yesterday! :)

This years Fall Freak Out was absolutely wonderful! :) The weather in the morning and early afternoon was pretty bleak but no rain and the blue skies finally appeared around 3, which lead to a crystal clear evening. The park never really got overly crowded until after 8pm, and most of those people were on line for the haunted stuff, not on line for any of the rides!
My thanks to PKI, and Jeff Siebert who was so courteous and too funny! :) To the Beast crew who worked so hard till 1am for us nuts. To all the people who introduced themselves to me (maybe the Raptor patches and the Raptor jacket was a hint who I was? ;)) it was great meeting all of you!! :) I really appreciated the ones who congratulated me on my 1k Raptor flights!! :)

And again thanks to ACE and it’s members for helping GOCC with such a successful Fall Freak Out! :)

It was really a great time and I can not wait to get my pictures developed!! :)

Jo
'00, '02, '03 Raptor Crew
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1006 :)

-Don

Yep, those Raptor patches gave you away- I rode in front of you on one of those icy Beast rides. Hope to see you on the midways.

It was great to finally meet you after seeing your posts on here and reading about you in the Dispatch a while back. I am sorry we didn't get to talk much. I had a great time at the event as well. Those night Beast rides were insane!

Oh, and yes, your jacket did give you away.

-Sean

Sean: It was very nice finally meeting you as well! I had thought later that day "hey, he posts on CB I think!!"
Guess I was right!! :)

If I was able to wear shorts my Raptor tattoos usually give me away as well, guess the jacket was a nice replacement!! :)

See yas on the midway some place I'm sure!!

Jo
'00, '02, '03 Raptor Crew
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1006 :)