SFA - April 2, 3

Well, so much for SF improving this year... not only was EVERY roller coaster closed, but so was every flat ride!!!! I mean, WTF?

;)

Kidding! I went there to get the jump on purchasing a season pass. On Saturday, they were hosting a 'Car Theft Summit', so I took advantage to wander through the gates. It was kinda eerie walking around Main Street with nearly no-one around, no shops open, and especially the absolute silence of no rides running whatsoever! I was able to walk to the theater, where they had a few tables set up with people hawking insurance, the LoJack car anti-theft system, and other similar items. (I got a free keychain. Ooh!) There also seemed to be something going on in the theater, but I didn't go in. To the left of the theater the path heading off to Shipwreck Falls was taped off. There was no such barrier to the right, but I got the feeling that it was open for employees, not for me to be snooping around in! After that, I made my way back up Main, and to the Season Pass processing center. It was nearly empty with only one family getting their passes processed. I gave them my voucher print-out, they took my picture, gave me my ID, and I was on my way. On my way out, I did snap a couple pictures of the freshly painted Mind Eraser:

http://www.photodump.com/viewer/psbales/DSC01135.html
http://www.photodump.com/viewer/psbales/DSC01136518.html

Besides that, the little I saw of the park is looking good! Hopefully, there will be some nice weather for a change next week!

-Paul! *** Edited 4/3/2005 9:27:45 PM UTC by PaulB11***

I really like the new look of MindEraser. Hopefully they can get the last of that teal color gone by opening day!

Now nobody can complain that SFA gets no love... At least they got a coat of paint! And here's to the obligatory I wish SFDL would get some attention. SRoS needs paint and the trains need some love, Predator needs track work, etc. etc...

SFA's gotten a LOT of love recently...just look at the past three of four years...new paint jobs on Mind Eraser, Joker's Jinx, Falling Star, Cyclone, The Tilt, Around the World, among others; new sound systems in several of the shows; a TON of new fences all around; new rafts on Renegade Rapids... and that was all in the years AFTER the park had it's initial transformation into a SF park. Add in Superman, Batwing, Penguins Blizzard River, and Krypton Comet as well as the massive ground up overhaul of Hurricane Harbor this year (from new paint on all the buildings, new themeing, more landscaping, expanded services, new resturants, shops, and of course new rides), there is NOONE that can say SFA get's no love. I mean, we may not get as much as some of the other parks, but then again they don't pull in as many people as the other parks, at least not yet. Let's hope that changes over the coming years.

Wow. I had no idea they had that much pumped into the park. When was SFA flagged? 1999 or 2000 or so? SFDL was flagged in 1999 and got SRoS, then Shipwreck Falls and Twister (Top Spin), and Tornado (ProSlides Funnel) this year, but not a whole lot else. I'm still jealous...

Did you by any chance get to see if they transformed any of the HH entrance?

SFA was transformed in 1999 when they got Joker's Jinx, Two Face, the Great Chase, the whole Gotham City Area with Batman Stunt Show, a whole new main street, and a whole new Loony Toons Movie Town...a $27 million value. The year after they built Superman for $10 million (based on the price of SFDL's similar ride) and the year after that they built Batwing for an estimated $17 million (based on the price of PGA's Stealth). Two years after that they built PBR. In 1996 they built TOD, Sahara Speedway and the Crazy Horse Saloon; in 1997 they built Skull Island w/ TSC, the now defunct Legend Of Skull Island Stunt Show, and Crocodile Cal's Outback Beach House for $12 million, and in 1998 they built ROAR.. ALL under the ownership of Premier. (Remember, Premier bought Six Flags, not the other way around so SFA has been under the same ownership since it became Adventure World).

If you add all that up, plus the things I couldn't find prices for, plus Hurricane Harbor this year... you can see they've EASILY spent $100 million on the park in the last 10 seasons. Not too shabby if you ask me... *** Edited 4/4/2005 12:31:17 AM UTC by Coaster Lover***

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Colin Fisher said:
Did you by any chance get to see if they transformed any of the HH entrance?

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Unfortunately, no. It was really a crappy day, so I did kinda just rush through. I wish I'd of thought of it though!

-Paul!

I was at the park on Saturday also and didn't see a rehabed Hurricane Harbor entrance. That's something I would have noticed.

Funny thing about twister...it originally was gonna be built at SFA where octopus is now but for some reason SF decided it was best to send it to SFDL instead.

Anyhow I'm going saturday,hope to see a few of you guys there & of course I'll be running for Superman first thing.....good thiing I got my pass processed at the end of last season so all I gotta do is get my coupon book at the pass office.

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BATWING FAN SFA said:
Funny thing about twister...it originally was gonna be built at SFA where octopus is now but for some reason SF decided it was best to send it to SFDL instead.

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Maybe it would've been more of an attraction at SFA. There is never a line more than a cycle or two at SFDL, since it's stuck way in the back corner of the park. It's actually closer to the campground than anything else, and the path it's on is a dead end. Good job, Six Flags...

I guess the reason for passing on it was because of the roto-shake that SFA has would seem too similar to a top spin....still I would've liked to have it there anyway.

I like the location of Twister at Darien Lake. That is Darien Lake's ONLY good flat ride. It hold tons of people and they always run it for 2 circtuits, and the program is a blast.

I agree that the ride motions of the Rotoshake and Top Spin are similar, but I would argue that the Breakdance and Scrambler have similar motions too. Of course, SFA has both. I think Iron Eagle and the Top Spin could've co-existed. My hope is that one of these years they put the Rotoshake out of its misery like Knott's did. There are so many better extreme flat rides that would probably run a lot more reliably also.

So many options... Revolution (Chance), Inverter (Chance), Booster (Huss), Frisbee/Giant Frisbee (Huss), Jump/Jump 2 (Huss), Top Spin/Giant Topspin (Huss), Topple Tower (Huss), Suspended Twin Hammer (Intamin), Hawk (Zamperla), Mixer (Zamperla), Power Surge (Zamperla), Shocker (Zamperla), Wind Shear (Zamperla), Sky Swatter (S&S)... yes, SO many options for good flat rides SFA could get... even if they go where Iron Eagle is. I love Iron Eagle though. As unreliable a ride it is, it is mighty fun when it is open. Personally, I think it is VERY different from a Top Spin, especially considering most Top Spins now ALL contain some sort of water effect. I'd love to see a Top Spin at SFA some day, if it has to go in place of Iron Eagle, so be it, but I'd rather see Iron Eagle stay. If Iron Eagle does go, the least they could do is completly redo the area considering the vacent lot across the path from Iron Eagle where SkyEscaper once stood.

I would disagree that most Top Spins have water fx. The Top Spins at Great Adventure, Dorney Park, and SFNE don't have anything (I believe there is a fountain in front of Hang Time at DP, but it doesn't shoot up at the ride. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.).

My whole argument about Iron Eagle is that I don't think it's that fun of a ride to be putting all that money and/or effort into. The program is way too long (almost 5 minutes), and the restraints aren't very comfortable either. Having all the blood rushing to your head over the course of the program just isn't a comfortable experience for me, or for most people. Sure, I try to ride it here and there (cause you never know when they'll rip it out), but I think they could get something a lot more reliable and comfortable. I agree that they need to get something in that Sky Escaper spot pronto. A Power Surge would rock and would fit the footprint. I also think moving the Alpine Bobs to that location would make more sense then its current location in Gotham City. *** Edited 4/7/2005 3:41:59 AM UTC by Intamin Fan***

I would disagree that most Top Spins have water fx. The Top Spins at Great Adventure and Dorney Park don't have anything (I believe there is a fountain in front of Hang Time, but it doesn't shoot up at the ride. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.).

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Ride of Steel said:
I like the location of Twister at Darien Lake. That is Darien Lake's ONLY good flat ride. It hold tons of people and they always run it for 2 circtuits, and the program is a blast.

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I agree that it's a fun ride, but the location is awful. Imagine how many more people would ride it if it were, say, next to Mind Eraser or on the Superman midway. Where it is now is so tucked out of the way that my friends didn't believe me last year while we were at the park that there was another thrill ride we hadn't ridden yet...