SFKK Opening Day
Associated parks:
None
My friend Dennis, his girlfriend Fran, and I left Chicago late Friday night for Dennis' parents' house in Shelbyville, Indiana. The drive form Chicago to Shelbyville was uneventful, and we arrived in Shelbyville at about 2:30 am local time. After some late-night visiting with the 'rentals, it was off to bed for about 3 hours of much needed sleep.
We got off to an early start Saturday, and pulled into Louisville at about 10 am to begin our day at SFKK.
First impressions of the park -
I really thought the $3 parking was cool, and suppose that this is a benefit of the park sharing the grounds for the State Fair. How many people would pay $10 to park at a fair? Pulling around to the actual SFKK part of the lot, we found it to be empty. Really empty. This was the theme for the day.
I quickly, and without hassle, got my SFoG season pass voucher redemed for one at SFKK, and met up with Dennis and Fran at the ticket booth. While we were waiting to purchase their passes, we noted that almost everyone at the park was there to process a season pass, so we decided to check out some rides while everyone else went to the processing center. Good idea.
After going through security about 5 times, we were off. We headed across the bridge, and proceeded to the coasters as we got to them in a clockwise manner.
Chang - One train wait front seat.
Stand-ups are really growing on my thanks to RR, Georgia Scorcher, and Chang. I really liked this ride, particularly the sheer power of the first half. There were a couple spots where I got my dome rattled a bit, but I think that's a fair trade off for a ride that's got some "oomph" to it.
T2 - Walk on - random middle seat.
My first SLC. As Bill the Cat would say: "Ack." I really didn't like this at all. I used to figure that "Hang and Bang" was some enthusiast snobbery, but it's accurate. Noone in my group wanted to ride again. Quoth Fran: "What's wrong with their Batman?" Quoth chris: "Well, it's not the same as the one in Chicago." Quath Fran: "No kidding that ride sucked azz." We left it at that, and moved on.
Twisted Twins - Stella ("The Green One") One train wait back seat.
Only one side was running, which kind of was a bummer. I didn't expect them to be dueling, but I hoped to check out both sides and compare the layouts. We were informed that only Stella was going to run today. Oh, well.
I really liked this ride a lot. I got some pretty wicker air on the first two drops, and the laterals up to the helix were pretty decent. The slight breaking entering the helix wasn't enough to wreck it, but it was enough to take the edge that I really dig off. Too bad, as it causes a great ride to end a little flat. We were allowed to re-ride, as our rows were empty back at the station.
We got some front seat rides later in the day that I actually prefered. The pop of air coming into the right hand turn at the crest of the second hill was great, as was the floatage coming down the second drop.
If it were maintained properly and set on a nicer plot of land, TT probably wouldn't get dogged as much as it does.
Thunder Run - One train wait, back seat.
Another winner. I didn't get the ejector air that I had heard of, but I got some great floatage on the first drop, and the three bunny hills into the second turn. I really, really thought the banked turn off the first drop was excellent and unique. The ride seemed to die a bit toward the end, with the last bunny hills being "teasers." It looked like there would be air, but there was none to be found. I found this to be the case in the front later on, as well. We were also able to grab a mid-train re-rdie on this, as there were empty rows to be filled.
Roadrunner Express - 15 minute wait.
Our first wait of the day, and it figures it's for the mouse. Why can't everyone load them like Hershey? I like mice, and found this one to be pretty average. It was fun enough. Fran thought the Acme theming was cute, and I'd agree.
At this time it was 12:45, and there was no wait at season pass processing. We were in and out of processing in about 10 minutes, and back to get in lots of rides.
Thoughts on park: I really enjoyed my day, but I could tell that if it were busy the park may be a nightmare. The bridge connecting the park is odd, but crowds were so light it wasn't a problem. I also found all of the fenced in walkways between the "Gotham" section and TT to be claustrophobic. I shudder to think of those on a crowded day.
Overall another great 2002 trip for me.
Totals:
Chang - 3 laps (1 front, 2 back)
T2 - 1 lap, "Ack."
Twisted Stella - 12 laps (7 front, 5 back)
Thunder Run - 6 laps (2 front, 1 middle, 3 back)
Roadrunner Express - 1 lap
Roller Skater - 1 lap
1 Cheese on a Stick.
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"He's blazin' away like the stars in the universe.." A. Vega + M. Rev "Ghostrider"
*** This post was edited by chris on 4/1/2002. ***
I also think that on TCFKATS (The Coasters Formerly Known as Twisted Sisters) CCI "toned down" the forces on purpose, to be a more family ride. But if it is still good despite this, cool!
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Nothing... NOTHING... can prepare you for... the Fourth Dimension!
Chris,
Nice TR.
I have found that riding in the very last seat on an SLC coaster provides a much better ride (to me anyway) then any other seat. The park did something to it the last two years or so that made the ride more enjoyable than it used to be. I used to find that ride to be un-ridable but it has improved believe it or not. My 'back seat rule' doesn't always work though. There are at least two SLCs I know of that are not all that enjoyable regardless of where you sit at.
Next time you ride Thunder Run, try giving the front car a ride. I have found that sitting in the front provides some of the most airtime I have felt on a coaster of that size.
-Sean
I'll have to give T2 another chance in the back sometime, although that's where my friends rode with the same result. I just took a random seat in the middle for the sake of us all getting on the same train.
Sean - I rode Thunder Run a couple times in the front, and it was very enjoyable. Just not very different from the back. I thought the floater air over the 3 bunny hills after the drop was great, in the front and the back. I'll definitely give it another go, as the front seems to be the consensus. Could just be a case of it not being completley broken in for the season yet.
I also should note that only our first ride on Thunder Run was truly in the back seat. When we came back later in the day, that back seat was roped off, so the later rides were actually 2nd to last. Aparently, the left side lap bar was sticking closed.
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"He's blazin' away like the stars in the universe.." A. Vega + M. Rev "Ghostrider"
*** This post was edited by chris on 4/1/2002. ***
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