SFGA or SFNE
- More
- 1 of 2
- 2
------------------
If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.
Boulder Dash is the best wooden coaster that I've had the luck to experience. The setting is unimaginable as you manage to climb 141 feet without ever being more than 5 feet off the mountain's surface. And the first drop is stunning: good airtime considering it's twisted, and it feels as though you're hands will be torn off by the rocks when you raise them; amazing. The rest of the ride is pure bliss with amazing doses of air while weaving in and out of the trees and rocks.
SFNE has a better supporting cast for S:ROS than LC does for BD. However, LC has very small lines, especially during the week, so BD can be ridden 10 times without even breaking a sweat and still managing to cool off whatever small sweat you might get at the waterpark.
Definitely SFNE and LC.
SFGAm is practically a flawless park. The rides are world class, the park is gorgeous and well taken care of, and the operations are awesome. It's a bigger park, with a bigger selection of rides, and even though S:ROS and B:DK are awesome rides, they can't stack up against Viper, Bull, B:TR, S:UF, IW, V2, and AE. There's no water park, but there are water rides. But you'll probably be too busy with the huge selection of rides here (much greater than SFNE) to notice. And if you have access to a car, you could make the drive to IB. Or, you could time your trip with the Wisconsin State Fair and get a ride on the awesome Fabbri Megadrop and the mother of all flat rides - the Mondial Topscan.
In other words, definitely SFGAm.
-Nate
------------------
#1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!! My top 7 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Montu 3. Yankee Cannonball 4. Kumba 5. Gwazi 6. Cyclone (SFNE) 7. B:DK
Then again, I've never been to SFNE, so I'm a bit biased - but I doubt you'll be able to not enjoy a trip to SFGAm, so it'd be worth a shot.
------------------
« adix@nedesigns.com »
First Rider in Best Spot on the Best Train of the Best Ride in the Best SF Park in the Midwest - First Rider, Back Right, Teal Train, Raging Bull, SF Great America [6/16/03]
-Nate
coasterdude318 said:
CoasterZak, don't get so excited for your SFNE trip yet. You will *not* find the operations you witnessed at SFGAm. In fact, prepare yourself to be frustrated with SFNE. No matter how long the lines, there's going to be one-train operation. And crews are *still* slow as heck. The rides are great, the park is nice, but just don't make it up to be one of the "great two" Six Flags parks (that is, SFGAm and SFGAdv).-Nate
SFNE only runs one train operation on slower days or in the spring and fall. But now that summer has kicked in they will be running two train operation now. Well, exept maybe for Cyclone which doesn't make sense.
SFNE may not be one of the two great SF Parks but it has S: RoS, Batman: DK, Cyclone, and a great selection of flat rides.
I'd say to go to SFNE and LC just because you've already been to SFGAM. You just have to expirience S : RoS!
------------------
Top 3
1-S:RoS @ SFNE
2-Boulder Dash
3-Yankee Cannonball
I have never been to Lake Compounce, but would absolutely love to go.
Great America will be pretty busy after July 4th, on the weekends it gets packed (hour+ waits for pretty much all the coasters), you should take that into account as well.
Like I said, it's a very tough decision .. one that may be made easier by asking yourself which of the two locations you're more likely to be able to visit in the near future. If you think you'll have another chance to head to New England, then do Great America first.
On the bright side: where-ever you choose, you will have an awesome time.
Cam.
------------------
Cameron Silver
I've been on many world-class rides, and I still find myself getting off all of them and saying "that was good, but it wasn't Superman." I'm referring of course to S:ROS at SFNE. It has more airtime than MF, a more sophisticated layout than Nitro or Magnum, and consistent speed thanks to no brakes on the entire ride (unlike Bull). It's never been a question that it is my favorite coaster, and even if i didn't live in MA, i would still travel great distances to ride it at least once a year.
As for the rest of SFNE - well, it certainly doesn't have that "superpark" feel that you get from parks like CP, SFGAdv, and SFGAm. There's only 6 "adult" coasters. However, on the plus side it's usually not too crowded unless you're there on a weekend, so you can easily ride them all in half a day. The flats are good, and unique to most SF parks, and the scenery is very new and freshly landscaped, so the park has a pretty clean and modern feel.
In the wood category, both parks are equal IMO. Viper is an excellent ride, well deserving of the praise it gets, although i wasn't that impressed with AE - even backwards it's a mediocre woodie with a predictable layout and minimal airtime. As for SFNE, i like to think of Cyclone as the "black sheep" of woodies. It's layout doesn't seem to be thought out too well, and as a result is extremely violent with transitions that no other woodie would dare attempt. Truly a "white-knuckle" experience. Thunderbolt is cute, and worth a ride if there's no line, but nothing to write home about.
If steel is your thing, SFGAm definitely has the advantage. Despite S:ROS's dominance, SFNE doesn't have much else you haven't seen before. Thank god we have a Beemer or else the Vekoma clones would be the only backup steel in the park. SFGAm has all kinds of steel; old: Demon (possibly the most enjoyable Arrow looper left), Whizzer, and the best Batman: TR; and of course the newer gems: Deja Vu, V2, and S: UF. Much more variety; you could easily spend two days just on the coasters alone!
I think two factors would skew my decision if i were you:
A) the new waterpark at SFNE. It's big enough now that you can easily spend a whole day there; has all the classic features (wave pool, lazy river, speed slides, tube slides) plus the Tornado (which is similar to Holiday World's "Zinga."); and some crazy looking new slides that i've yet to ride.
B), Boulder Dash. Although i've never been, I can only imagine the ride lives up to it's hype. However, the rest of LC probably doesn't, so make it a day trip.
So obviously i've made a pretty strong case to visit SFNE/LC, which i'll admit is fairly biased because i live closer to them. Honestly, if i had to choose, i'd pick Great America because it's still foreign to me, and therefore more "exciting." But can i honestly say which i'd choose if they were both equidistant to me? Nope. That's for you to decide...
~me
------------------
S:ROS; SFNE. Ride it, and you'll understand.
-Nate
Lake Compounce became one of my favorite parks with just one visit and SFNE is still the best overall SF park of the six I've been to. S:ROS and Boulder Dash alone make it a worth it to me. Two of my top 4 coasters right there.
------------------
www.coasterimage.com
Dorney Park Visits in 2003: 8
DON'T GO TO SFGAm we do not need bigger crowds! JK. I would reccomend a trip to SFNE over SFGAm anyday. SFGAm is my home park so i see it differently but the hotels around the park and not good and the park it's self is good, yet ridiculously expensive. If you need to make a choice choose SFNE because the Bull is not Equal to S:ROS and V2 is not worth a 12 hour drive. Come in 2005 *wink**wink*
------------------
Assume The Position!
The flying position S:UF
times on RB:615
DV:65
V2:123
S:UF:26
Oh yeah if you do decide to go to Great America I reccomend buying the Fastlane pass if you are only gonna be there on the weekend. Otherwise you will have a hour wait for the bull in 2 train operation thanks to Fastlane! Also money saving tip is to not buying food in the park but instead walk the 3/4 of a mile from the park gate to the Burger King across the street. Enjoy your trip.
------------------
Assume The Position!
The flying position S:UF
times on RB:615
DV:65
V2:123
S:UF:26
I still stand by visiting SFGAm simply because it's a better park and there's more to do. Yes, S:ROS is amazing and so is B:DK, but what do you do after that? SFGAm has a heck of a lot more solid rides. Plus, the operations are so much better than SFNE it's not even funny. As an example, I visitied SFNE on a day when the waits were half hour on everything because they ran one train. At SFGAm a week later, the park was *empty* yet they still ran two trains on everything (except V2 of course). That's my kind of park.
Additionally, SFNE is absolutely the most expensive SF park I've ever been to (in terms of food and such). The food selection is awful, and far more overpriced than anywhere else. It's a difficult choice when you throw in Lake Compounce, but like I said - there are parks/places you could throw in to your SFGAm visit too. The WI State Fair (one hour from SFGAm) is July 31-August 10.
-Nate
------------------
Top 3
1-S:RoS @ SFNE
2-Boulder Dash
3-Yankee Cannonball
coasterdude318 said:
Raging Bull ran three trains this weekend. Also, I don't know what your deal is with the hotels surrounding SFGAm, but Gurnee is a nice city and there are plenty of decent to very nice hotels.I still stand by visiting SFGAm simply because it's a better park and there's more to do. Yes, S:ROS is amazing and so is B:DK, but what do you do after that? SFGAm has a heck of a lot more solid rides. Plus, the operations are so much better than SFNE it's not even funny. As an example, I visitied SFNE on a day when the waits were half hour on everything because they ran one train. At SFGAm a week later, the park was *empty* yet they still ran two trains on everything (except V2 of course). That's my kind of park.
Additionally, SFNE is absolutely the most expensive SF park I've ever been to (in terms of food and such). The food selection is awful, and far more overpriced than anywhere else. It's a difficult choice when you throw in Lake Compounce, but like I said - there are parks/places you could throw in to your SFGAm visit too. The WI State Fair (one hour from SFGAm) is July 31-August 10.
-Nate
Have you only been to SFNE once? You can't say that SFNE has the worst operations ever based on one decision. The times that I've been to the park they have had two trains on the coasters that can have two trains except for Cyclone. The ride-ops were definately hauling their butss off and even used the loud speaker to keep the guests excited and lively.
I'm not saying that you should go to SFNE instead of SFGA, I'm just telling you that from what I've experienced the park's opertaions are pretty good.
Note: Superman is worth a trip by itself.
- More
- 1 of 2
- 2
You must be logged in to post
