SFGAM 8-19-06

Since I've missed out on virtually every trip I wanted to make this year, the hubby and I decided to get a group of people together and hit SFGAM this weekend. I just got home, and have that 'ow ow ow ow ow' feeling going from my ankles to my lower back, so it was a good day. ;) But there's alot to tell, so here we go. Forgive me if I sound tired; I won't have time to type this up tomorrow. Yay for deadlines...

Firstly, the Citgo on Grand just outside the park has gas for $3.01. So if you're in the area, take advantage of that! Thought someone might benefit from that.

The first thing that took me by surprise was that some poor fool's radiator blew right in the main line to get to the parking lot! Not fun. And the backup wasn't pretty. Once we got through that mess, I caught sight of the parking sign. $15?! Good grief! I suppose that's the lamest thing to complain about, but good gravy that is insane.

We got ourselves parked, and after flipping through the little pack of paper goodies the oh-so-enthused parking attendant gave us, we noted Hurricaine Harbor was closed for the day. I heard mixed responses on why, but I can only assume it was some issue with the water. That seemed to be the running thought. We didn't really come for the water park anyway, so I didn't pay it much mind. But many people were complaining about it through the park.

After purchasing the anniversary ticket (mostly so we can come back at least one more time this season), we caught up with our friends and headed inside. Now, this was where I noticed the typical SFGAM issue; down rides.

Down today in addition to the water park were:

Revolution, Giant Drop, Sky Tower, Sidewinder, Space Shuttle America.

Now that we know what wasn't working, on to the rides!

1. First up was Batman. We had a rare front row ride since one of the guys we were with prefers front. I got my back row ride early in the evening, so we managed 2 rides on Batman. The theming was all in working order today as well-bonus! Still a great coaster and always fun, even if the staff working it was a bunch of sour pusses today. 7-10

2. A quick jaunt on fiddlers fling (yay for spinney-pukey-rides) and my husband dragged me kicking and screaming to Dare Devil Dive. Now, theres a story here but I wont get into all of it. I will say that I 'owed' him a trip on one since I dared him to do this thing ages ago, and he did. So he and a friend dragged me onto it. The ops on this were alot of fun and seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I owe the nice girl from Jamaica who was working today a big thank you for calming my nerves. I think the park heard me screaming about a divorce while swinging; I dunno, it just freaked me out. Fun, but not something I'd do again unless someone really wanted me to. (no rating; I was too busy getting ready to pee my pants to think about the fun aspect.)

3. Raging Bull. Always fun, always a blast, and back row, always full of mean airtime. I will admit I had a little fun egging on the terrified older lady in the seat next to me who was line jumping...tee hee. 8-10

4. Viper. God, I hate that line. Funny ride ops today though. Not a terrible time, and it was running pretty well today. 7-10

5. V2. The brake seemed to be an on again off again thing today. The ride before ours didn't use it, and I saw some punk jerkface yelling at the ride op for it. Seriously, people, get a life. >< Grr! Anyway, not a bad run today. Love back 2 rows on this one as well. 7-10

6. Superman. I didn't enjoy this as well today for some reason. I think it had something to do with my body beginning to protest all the running around and eating too much fried chicken at Aunt Martha's. Go me... 7-10. And Six Flags? Please, clean the puke on the landing pad. Ew.

7. Eagle. I was a bit dissapointed that the blue train was running straight forward again, but then again I'm amused by stupid novilties like that, so meh whatever. Red train wasn't running at all, so there was a bit of a line. But it wasn't a terrible wait. VERY rough tonight though. I actually got banged up quite a bit on this bad boy tonight. We jokingly re-dubbed it Shockwave. 6-10.

We skipped alot of other stuff and had some fun with the midway games and arcades, as well as chowing down on some eats. So I will leave you with a few pros and cons.

PROS:

The park really is much cleaner this year than I've seen it in a long time. They've done a good job with that much.

I saw a TON of costumed characters out, no fewer than 6 in the course of my day. And yes, I'm guilty of taking a picture with tweety. Bite me. =P

The little bead toss in the Mardi Gras section seemed to really please the kids and get them pumped.

Many of the staff seemed to be much more approachable and friendly than in past years. I saw alot of them really enjoying themselves. There are still the boring crabs that are just there for the paycheck, but it's nice to see some people actually care about the guest experience.

The fried chicken at Aunt Marthas was to die for today for some reason. It wasn't greasy at all and the people working there were very sweet and fun to talk to. Still the best damn value in the park and I love that place.

Designated smoking areas. =) Yay!

CONS:

LINE JUMPING! Good god, I had 1, count it, ONE line today that someone didn't cut in front of us. It was extremely frustrating. One time on Bull, I saw two kids get off, go through the exit line, and slip into the fast pass right off the bat without waiting IN the fast pass line, which was considerable. The staffer working fast pass didn't seem to care, and lame as it was, I said something to him about it. We saw 3 people do the same thing just on Raging Bull. They really need to do something about that if they can. It's very irritating and it was hard not to get nasty with people and keep my mouth shut.

Security was non existant. I saw a few security guards, but none of them did much of anything. One saw a line jump plainly in front of him and didn't do squat. Either get your current staff to DO something about this crap, or get better security guards. Sorry, I know I sound like a total biznatch on that one but it;s irritating.

I hate the games that give away basket balls. I just do. I'm sick of basket balls.

The Triple Play (I think) has been dismantled and is sitting there in parts. =( Sad Shannon! I took a picture that I'll be sure to post later if there's interest.

All in all, the day gets a 7 out of 10. There was alot of fun to be had, but also alot of very frustrating things. While the park has definately improved, it could still improve in a few areas. I dunno. Maybe I'm just picky because it's my home town park.

And now, I'm going to go face plant myself in my pillow.