SFGadv & Hershey TR - 4/19 and 4/20
Associated parks:
None
Anyway, the next morning we were off to SFGadv for the day. The last time I was there was in 2001, and I was not impressed... Well, except Nitro... Anyway, after paying the extremely cheap price of $15 to park and receiving a park map poster, not a map, we parked.
We arrived at the main gate in which we got extremely mad at ourselves for forgetting to get online tickets and saving each of us $23... Stupid us. $63 for a ticket? Oy. It was quite funny though to hear the complaints in line and the amount of people who had to run to an ATM prior to purchasing tickets!
On to the rides...
SUF - My first time on a B&M flyer and I was excited! I was shocked on how SLOW it did move through its course... Anyway, being used to X-Flight, I was very interested on the comfort, the feeling, and ease of loading. Well let's just say B&M are masterminds of course. Loading takes half the time, getting to prone position takes less than half the time, and it is much safer for employees as well. It was extremely comfortable up the lift (I thought it may of been awkward), and our first ride was underway in the backseat.
The pullout was stronger than expected. The pretzel was nuts! The rest of the ride was decent, but SLOW. However, later on we rode (walk-on) in row 3 and the ride was 10x better. I totally dig the B&M's over Vekoma's... Park's just need to start buying better layouts!
Kingda Ka - Waited 1 hour for this and was extremely curious to how it would compare to Dragster, as we have been on that well over 50 times... We waited one hour, sat down, and it broke. 45 mins later it reopened and we were off.
The horn sounded and blast off! It was awkward feeling compared to Dragster, as it seems to get stronger the farther it goes down the launch track in pump type feeling unlike dragster which has a constant pull sort to speak. However, this thing was fast...er. I did notice the extra speed and it felt much more out of control compared to Dragster, and the bunny hill was a blast. We were able to ride again and I decided I did like Kingda Ka better, despite the OTSR's which are barley noticeable. However, Storm Runner is better than both :)
Medusa - After riding it in 2001 and not liking it aside from the G-roll, I wasn't too excited. However, this time it was amazing! Much smoother than 2001 and out of control. Great ride! Def not expected. 10min wait.
Batman - Like Medusa, it ran much better this time around. Extremely Intense. It still is my least favorite B&M invert though. Walkon.
On a side note: El Toro looks absolutely stunning. I really cannot wait to ride this come fall when we go again... I hope it rides as good as it looks!
Nitro - Perfection. Just as good as it was in 2001. First ride was in backseat and I was EJECTED multiple times, to the point of being scared J The first trim was completely off and the second was not even barley touching. I felt like I was going to die honestly... I do not see how anyone thinks THIS RIDE lacks AIR! I would compare the air I got to ROS @ DL's 3rd hill... It was nuts. Rode a few more times and then we went for some...
Oxygen! We were curious to try this, especially after I missed the chance to try it out at IAAPA in 2003... My cousin raved about it. So for $10 a piece we kicked back for 15mins sucking oxygen. Great stuff! I felt relaxed, my headache was relieved, and it smelled good... I liked the chocolate covered cherry one myself, as well as the ocean one... mmm.. I would not do it again unless half price, but it was neat to try!
After riding other rides and the park closed, it was time to drive back to Lancaster. I was surprised how clean the park was, how great the employee's were, and the themeing of the Golden Kingdom. I was really surprised! The only thing the park needs are more flats, but with Nitro, El Toro, SUF, King, etc... I am good for the time being! :)
The next day, it was time to go to Hershey to get our passes (Note: free parking with pass!!!), chocolate, and check out the new tour as well as the zoo, and the city. Being my favorite park, I convinced my lovely friend that she must go with me a lot this year, and she agreed (no choice really ;)) and then totally surprised me for my birthday right outside of chocolate world... A day at the Hotel Hershey Spa later this season with multiple treatments! Cocoa massages, water thingies, and other cool things of the sort... Really really awesome of her! That will be amazing and I am extremely excited. Best friends are great! :)
Anyway, on to chocolate world… The new tour is great and I do prefer it to the old one! The new rooms and cows are very nice, but I did prefer the old final room before your picture is taken to the new, screen projectors they have now. Great improvements though. We received our Hershey chocolate, bought some more, and went off to the zoo. We were really surprised by the quality of it and had a lot of fun. Awesome place to go to relax and really glad it’s open year round!
We spent a few more days in Lancaster with our buddy and just got home tonight. The trip was awesome aside from the high price to park and the lack of online tickets to save us $23, but it was a great time all around. I really cannot wait to go back to Hershey, Dorney, and Gadv later this year!
*** Edited 4/23/2006 1:57:52 AM UTC by SteveWoA***
So for $10 a piece we kicked back for 15mins sucking oxygen. Great stuff!
Oh God. Wait until the "Six Flags makes you pay too much" crowd gets a hold of that one. :)
I can't wait to hit up all those parks this year! Glad you enjoyed yourself.
*** Edited 4/23/2006 11:17:48 PM UTC by coasterniece***
CP was amazing, going back next June to ride Maverick 
SFGAdv has set up a "relaxation station", not sure if it was there previous years, but it has water massagers, chair massagers, the oxygen bar and internet acess stations.
There were about 7 oxygen stations, each with 4 different flavors of oxygen. Once you paid you could try any of the flavors you wanted and move from station to station to get in all of the flavors. You wear an oxygen tube that is inserted in your nose, and basically just sit back and relax as the flavored oxygen is pumped in.
Some of the flavors I remember are: Pina Colada, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Sugar Cookie, Vanilla Bean then there were some other ones with names like "Chillin" and "Tranquilty", which varied with flavors of grape, mint and so on.
I also had a headache, which cleared after the oxygen session. Oxygen has many health and immune system benefits, there is a sign hanging in the relaxation station that lists many of the benefits.
It was def something fun and unique to try! Not something you see at a lot of places, so it was really neat to come across at SFGAdv.
Does that mean, if I have a gold bot that I could breathe first?
Or does it mean that someone else will breathe in for me while I breathe some place else?
Or does it mean that I can breathe in two places at the same time?
Oh, I understand. it means I can only breathe virtual air.
Here's To Shorter Lines & Longer Trip Reports!
There is no high from the oxygen. Yes, it can be refreshing, but so are things like massages, a nice shower and so on...
I can see it now... costumed characters and bathroom attendants at SF parks pouncing upon unsuspecting "captive audience members" pinching their nostrils closed until they agree to hand over $10.00.
How much is Hershey charging to smell their chocolate? How much did the Amish of Lancaster County charge to smell their cow manure?
In a way, I don't blame Shapiro. As long as he can make money by appealing to people's pride and vanity, more power to him.
Hershey may not charge to smell their chocolate in the park, but if you check out the visitor's center, there's an awful lot of people buying an awful lot of chocolate (I can remember seeing every register with people lined up five or more deep). Have you checked out that 5lb. bar? That's enough chocolate for an entire neighborhood.
It certainly doesn't seem to be hurting their hotel business either. According to the Travel Channel show a month back, the Hotel Hershey caters to Millionaires who love the smell of, well you know...
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