SFGAm 8-16 First timer's angry TR
Associated parks:
None
I'm sorry to all of those SFGAm fanboys out there, but I was very disappointed with this park. Where to begin.....................
Raging Bull- Ran to RB from the opening gates to be on the first train of the day, second last row. Great, great, great first drop, but the rest of the ride seemed to kind of just wander around slowly. I tried to understand the trims, but they just don't make any sense. The ride does have a very interesting layout, and there are a few other good drops, but the term "forceless" comes to mind. Hit this about 5 more times for the ridiculous first drop. Only 10-20 min waits.
Giant Drop- Next went to the walk-on Intamin 2nd generation drop because everybody was sitting around RB. I love any drop ride big or small, this one was better than all of the S&S drop rides I have been on.
American Eagle- Only backwards was running early, with forwards opening later in the day. This ride just screams "good" to me. I didn't feel as out of control as Racer backwards, but I did get to nice pops of air after the first drop. Forward was about as good as backwards. Very nice drawn out first drop, and too great hills after that. Thank God for the trims before the two helices. I really feel that the trains would just rip themselves apart if not for the trims. Good, not great.
Iron Wolf- We were just missing the crowds as we were working our way around the park. Walk on ride on this old stand-up. Although the trains were shuffling (something I have never seen on a B&M ride), this ride rocked. I love the small, compact layout through the trees, and I even got a pop of air after the quasi-brakeless-MCBR. My first surprise of the day was on this ride, I liked it as much as Mantis.
V2- By now the crowds were rearing their ugly heads, but we only had to wait about 25 minutes for this 2nd gen Intamin impulse. Took row 2 and had a blast watching one annoying kid get his head ripped into the seat when he thought heknew when the launch was. Although my friend finds Impulse coasters to be very painful because of the restricting restraints, I still love all of them. Although the twist is very slow compared to WT, the holding brake is where it is at. I like V2, WT, and S:UE equally.
Batman: The Ride- I give major props to SF for innovative theming on this ride. I especially love how they incorporated B&M's names into the theming (they are the city contractors). Only a 25 min wait for the back row. My only gripe with the station is that the line for the front goes way back in the cave but is actually for all of the fron rows. If I wanted to wait for Row 2, I would have to wait a long time. Short and sweet I say for the first inverted coaster ever. Although I didn't find it to be as intense as some people say, it gets lost in all of the inverts I have ridden, no better, no worse.
Demon- OTSRs--WHY? I wasn't expecting the random sounds and lights in the tunnels. The odd sounds made this ride worth another two runs. Pretty rough, especially on the horrific entrance into the corkscrews, what was Arrow thinking with that section of track?
Whizzer- People sure still think that this ride is closing. I know this only because the ride had a 45 minute wait (we waited 30)and people were talking about thise ride closing "indefintely, maybe". I'm so glad that they kept this ride. A great family coaster that carries so much rich history. Although I have only ridden three of Shwarzkoph's smaller coasters, I am in lvoe with all of them. Smooth, fast, and fun, it is everything one could want in a coaster(especially for the little ones!)
Viper- Longest wait of the day at 35 min and a slow moving queue to help that. Could somebody explain why the train stops at the top of the lift hill? I like that there are no seatbelts on this ride, and that the lap bars do not staple you. This ride fulfilled my expectations, but didn't blow them away. About 4-5 great pops of air, but that is about it.
Speaking of Viper, I can now bring up one of the most annoying practices I saw this SF park doing. The ops load the train and check the restraints then WAIT until the train hits the brake run to dispatch. I'm no genius, but aren't the rides blocking systems supposed to allow the other train on the lift hill and stop it in case there is a problem with the brake run? I saw this being done on Whizzer, Demon, Viper (especially), and American Eagle. This is a shame, because the crews are actually pretty good at this park. Only on the park's three B&M's was this not being done.
SFGAm had your standard SF line jumping and smoking in line. I saw ONE op all day enforcing these rules in the Batman queue. This is the only time I have ever seen an op enforce this rule at any SF park. I guess one is better than none.
Finally, I can get to my two best experiences of the day. Shockwave and Deja Vu. Oh wait, they were closed all day! I understand that Shockwave is closed because they might be removing it, but they could at least say that they are removing it instead of posting a sign that says it "MAY" be closed today. Deja Vu's train was valleyed in between the loop and cobra roll along its way to the second tower. Now this would not have angered me if I saw SF busting their a** to fix it, but no, nothing. Not ONE mechanic working on it ALL DAY. I have never been more frustrated in my entire life at an amusemtn park. I was willing to wait 3 hours for this ride, but now I will never get a chance ot ride it, until I go to SFMM next year (maybe). I assume that this ride would have made the 6 HOUR DRIVE all worth it, but it wasn't worth it for RB and V2. We went to guest services for a refund, but of course didn't get one and weren't even given a "sorry" or anything. Instead the snobby empolyee said, "out of our 13 roller coasters, only two were down." EXACTLY, two of your four biggest rides we're down all day with no maintence workers working on them. You can bet your money that I will be writing a letter to SF and will never go to SFGAm again. I will sooner take my money to a certain CF park where I know that 15 OF 15 COASTERS will be operating all day with no break downs.
Sorry guys, this is just what I feel about the lackluster service at SF parks.
Happy coastering!
-Craig
*** This post was edited by Craig the Coaster Freak on 8/19/2002. ***
Craig the Coaster Freak said: We went to guest services for a refund, but of course didn't get one and weren't even given a "sorry" or anything. Instead the snobby empolyee said, "out of our 13 roller coasters, only two were down." EXACTLY, two of your four biggest rides we're down all day with no maintence workers working on them.
You want a refund because *2* of their rides were down for maintenance? Even though you probably spent the entire day at the park. I just don't see any justification in that.
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Dayuum, Your HOT!
Craig the Coaster Freak said:
" My only gripe with the station is that the line for the front goes way back in the cave but is actually for all of the fron rows. If I wanted to wait for Row 2, I would have to wait a long time. .Speaking of Viper, I can now bring up one of the most annoying practices I saw this SF park doing. The ops load the train and check the restraints then WAIT until the train hits the brake run to dispatch. I'm no genius, but aren't the rides blocking systems supposed to allow the other train on the lift hill and stop it in case there is a problem with the brake run? I saw this being done on Whizzer, Demon, Viper (especially), and American Eagle. This is a shame, because the crews are actually pretty good at this park. Only on the park's three B&M's was this not being done
Finally, I can get to my two best experiences of the day. Shockwave and Deja Vu. Oh wait, they were closed all day! I understand that Shockwave is closed because they might be removing it, but they could at least say that they are removing it instead of posting a sign that says it "MAY" be closed today. Deja Vu's train was valleyed in between the loop and cobra roll along its way to the second tower. Now this would not have angered me if I saw SF busting their a** to fix it, but no, nothing. Not ONE mechanic working on it ALL DAY. I have never been more frustrated in my entire life at an amusemtn park. I was willing to wait 3 hours for this ride, but now I will never get a chance ot ride it, until I go to SFMM next year (maybe). I assume that this ride would have made the 6 HOUR DRIVE all worth it, but it wasn't worth it for RB and V2. We went to guest services for a refund, but of course didn't get one and weren't even given a "sorry" or anything. Instead the snobby empolyee said, "out of our 13 roller coasters, only two were down." EXACTLY, two of your four biggest rides we're down all day with no maintence workers working on them. You can bet your money that I will be writing a letter to SF and will never go to SFGAm again. I will sooner take my money to a certain CF park where I know that 15 OF 15 COASTERS will be operating all day with no break downs.
Happy coastering!-Craig"
Batman's front row line is ONLY front row. I don't know what your talking about.
Viper was probably a bad crew. They weren't doing that when I was there friday.
Valleying between the loop and Cobra Roll is not a quick fix. They need a crane. How do you expect to get a refund? It CLEARLY say in the park brochure ,"Due to maintenance and other circumstances, certain rides and attractions INCLUDING NEW RIDES may not be open to the public.
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No Signature
Having signature attractions closed and not seeing workers on it is not just a Six Flags problem. When I was at CP this year WT was down the first day I was there and NO ONE was working to fix it that I could see. It is often something that is beyond the park's control. Do you think Six Flags thought they were going to get a ride that valleyed all the time? I don't think so. I think they wanted a ride that was going to run reliably and push through as many guests as they could.
I will give you that employee's at this park and other Six Flags parks have a tendancy to be rude but I think as far as the chain goes, Great America is about as friendly as they come(except maybe St Louis). I know that Guest Services is probably tired of hearing people b**ch and moan that Deja Vu isnt running. It is clearly nothing they can fix in the short term and definately nothing that they are going to refund you for. You had the opportunity to ride 9 other great coasters in the park and I think that alone was probably more than worth the money you spent to get in. If I were behind the desk there and you asked me for a refund because two coasters out of 11 are closed I would tell you to take a big flying leap.
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Bob Hansen
A proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"
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Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone/B:TDK
Not to mention there's signs at the entrance gate telling you which rides are down.
You were told what wasn't open before you spent your money. If you have a problem with it, turn and leave.
-'Playa
(who didn't have the best trip ever to SFGAM but knew DV was having trouble)
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
And to top that off, after you decided to enter the park after knowing these rides were down, you seemed to enjoy the coasters you did get on.
I know its frustrating to travel long distances and then be greeted with ride closures, but heck, the discussion of Deja-Vu and Shockwave being closed has been mentioned plenty of times here on CB.
Call it what you want but its still considered one of the best SF parks in existence.
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""To be the man, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!, You got to beat the man""!!!
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Why do you have to have a license to own a dog, but not to have a child?
Whoa whoa. We knew that we weren't gonna get a refund, but we decided it was worth a try. She actually told us that if we went for a refund first thing we would have got one, which is understandable. It is just so bad that I get one day to go and get screwed up the rear with Deja Vu.
With Batman, the line for the front was so crowded I guess it didn't seem like there was any room to get in the other rows. It seemed fishy to me that the line was for all of the front rows.
Out of the 5 TIMES I have been to CP this year WT has been running perfectly all day (not to mention Mantis, Raptor, Magnum). My friend had to experience breakdowns of Deja Vu and closure of X at MM and we missed S:UE at SFWoA. Maybe SF should fix their old rides before buying new ones.
Also, you buy your tickets, THEN the sign at the entrance gate tells you which rides are closed.
*** This post was edited by Craig the Coaster Freak on 8/19/2002. ***
*** This post was edited by Craig the Coaster Freak on 8/19/2002. ***
Craig the Coaster Freak said:
I'm sorry to all of those SFGAm fanboys out there, but I was very disappointed with this park. Where to begin.....................
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he did apologize in advance to all the SFGAm fanboys...please don't rip him for having an opinion and trying to be proactive about his visit.
i have gone to GR many times there and have never gotten so much as an apology from them either.
too bad too, cos Whizzer, Viper, V2 and RB are great rides. great rides, wrong park...
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Thanks for SAVING THE WHIZZER!! it couldn't happen to a better ride...
*** This post was edited by servo3000 on 8/19/2002. ***
Craig the Coaster Freak vehemently stated:
I will sooner take my money to a certain CF park where I know that 15 OF 15 COASTERS will be operating all day with no break downs.
REALLY ? All 15 coasters operating all day with no break downs, eh? Gee then I must have been at a different CF park that has 15 coasters, because CP had WT down all day (and for many days since that time) at their PREMEIRE coaster fan event - Coastermania - in June.
And Servo, what do you want the park to apologize to you for? Rides go down, it's a fact of life.
On each trip I have been to CP in the past two years, I have been unable to ride a coaster due to breakdowns...did I get an apology from the park? No...you know why? Because I was mature enough to understand this fact and didn't ask for one.
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Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
*** This post was edited by redman822 on 8/19/2002. ***
I agree. They DO provide signs at the entrance, and if you go in anyway, spend several hours there riding other coasters, and then feel you deserve a refund, then you need to learn a little more about the REAL world.
It's one thing to not be happy with a particular park, but to say all are bad because of a less than stellar experience at one park does not mean they are all bad. Sheesh.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
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"Jessica, you're turning me into a criminal, when all I want to be is a petty thug." -Bart Simpson
Craig,
Based on my last two trips to CP (which are the only ones I have had in the last decade), I have a 100% chance of having at least one ride being down. I understand that that is unusual for CP, but conversely, I have been to SFGAm a total of eight times this season and there was only one time when a ride was down all day, and that was on 8/11 when Shockwave was down.
So, from my perspective - based on my previous trips, CP is much more likely to have a ride outage than SFGAm.
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Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
I just noticed your post in the middle of the thread, Craig and here is a notable excerpt...
We knew that we weren't gonna get a refund, but we decided it was worth a try. She actually told us that if we went for a refund first thing we would have got one, which is understandable.
...snip...
Also, you buy your tickets, THEN the sign at the entrance gate tells you which rides are closed.
So you did see the sign at the gate and instead of complaining at that point, you go and ride all the remaining rides and see all the shows all day, then go and complain that your whole day was ruined at the park? What did you expect guest services to do? Have you bend over so they could kiss your hairy butt?
Not just that, but you also complain that SW was down all day...Are you telling us that you hadn't been on this site for the entire previous week where everyone has been talking about it being down/possibly being removed???
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Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
I said, "I understand that Shockwave is closed because they might be removing it." I do know that because of coasterbuzz. We went in to guest services not expecting a refund, but we felt that SF should know that we were disapointed that two of their biggest rides were closed. Just so people will get off my back with the CP analogy, when I went to PKI every ride was running, IOA every ride was running, BGT every ride was running, Kennywood, every ride was running.
As I said, I'm sorry for bashing your park, but if SF is ever gonna improve somebody's got to complain, right?
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Bob Hansen
A proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"
I think, Craig, it's just your strong language. "Angry TR", and how you "HATE" all SF parks based upon one ride you knew in advance was going to be closed, and a second ride that had a major breakdown and needed more than a little time to repair. Even CP can't do anything about major breakdowns like WT has had. Believe me, there were a LOT of upset people (Coastermania) when WT, a new flagship ride, was down for days at a time. And what about last year's Millennium Mania when MF was down for the first two days with a broken cable lift? Both times you did not see maintenance people crawling all over the track because both times CP was waiting for parts.
You have to be a bit more realistic when complaining, otherwise the park is going to ignore you.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
*** This post was edited by CPLady on 8/19/2002. ***
Why do almost all negative-any-park TRs turn into negative-any-park Vs Cedar Point threads? At least you're trying to steer it to negative-SF-park vs Paramount Kennywood Busch Universal... I think that might be a good thing, maybe not. And, when I was at BGT, Python was down. It didn't upset me, and if Shockwave is one of the "biggest" rides (I assume you mean in popularity, not physical size), then Python must be, too. I'm sure Python is just as rough, but even less fun due to the lack of loops, than Shockwave. Just because one ride (1/5 of the coasters, just like SFGAm for you) being down, didn't mean I was going to go and ask for a refund. There are too many other things to do in parks to let a couple closed rides ruin your day.
Be gald you didn't ride Shockwave. Most of the time it's a painful ride with nothing to enjoy. There are rare times, however, when it is fun.
And when did SF go bankrupt? Did I miss something? I thought they just had worthless stock.
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