SFMM & SFWoA Help Needed...

I will be making my first trip to SF World of Adventure over Labour Day Weekend. Then near Halloween I will be in SoCal and plan to hit Magic Mountain, Knotts, CA Adventure, and maybe DL (did they close the matterhorn permenantly?!).

Anyways, I have never been to either park and was wondering if anyone had any tips...

I've never been on a floorless coaster so that will be my main priorty in both parks...but what else?

Well at SFMM be sure to get X. It's a one of a kind experience, and I havn't been on anything that is even close to it in fun value. I heard it has gotten rough over the past year, but it was pretty bumpy when I rode it last year, but there wasn't really any headbanging because of the way the restraints are designed. Riddler's Revenge is also really good at SFMM. But besides those two there really isn't anything too ground breaking or out of the ordinary. Never been on Scream, but I really enjoyed Medusa (east) so Scream is deffinitely worth a ride, especially if you havn't been on any floorless coasters.

SFWOA is a really cool park. B:KF is awesome IMO, many say it's over-engineered or stuff like that, but it seemed perfect to me and my friends when we rode it. Make sure you get the front rows on the floorless coasters though, thats what really makes them stand out from your normal sitdown. X-Flight is also fun, the line can get long though as it does seem to have constant mechanical trouble, and just the way the Vekoma flyers are designed don't make for easy loading. If you've never been on a flyer don't miss the experience. S:UE is another great ride, if it's back open by then. I liked it and V2 a lot better than WT, the holding break is by far the best part. Villain, which isn't mentioned much is also good for a few rides, many complain about the trains, but I found nothing wrong with them.

Never been to Knott's during Halloween, but I hear it's supposed to be even better than HHN at USF/IOA, which is saying a lot. Knott's is way underrated, Ghostrider and Xcelerator themselves pretty much can be ridden all day just the two rides. Perilous Plunge is also a cool experience, but in the fall you may be getting a little too wet for it to actually still be fun. Oh, and as far as I know Matterhorn is perfectly fine, in fact it just got out of a major rehab a few months ago. Space Mountain is closed though, and will be until 2005. Honestly I'd recommend skipping Disney and doing two days at Knott's.

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"This time I think ... I think it's ... it's going to work!" - Dr.Bruce Banner

i have been to sfmm but i dont know too much about the park so i cant give you any pointers. the park is uphill through the center so any way you can avoid extra walking is definately a plus.

at woa...be sure to plan the day out, if you do both sides then you'll need to know about the show times etc. the park is pretty big if you do the whole thing.

one thing you need to do at woa though, is to eat at mandarin buffet right across from the whale show. the price is iffy at like $13 or something, but ive been to the park where i just go around, get really hungry, eat in the afternoon at the buffet, and im good all day, no snakcs needed. that place is awesome. :)

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I know nothing of SFWoA, so I can't help you there.

SFMM hopefully won't be too crowded then, it shouldn't be as bad as in the summer months. However, their halloween stuff is lacking, at best. When I went, they had a couple of decorations, like spiderwebs on some signs, but nothing really spectacular. Don't expect any special Halloween stuff there.

My tips differ somewhat from most people's. Almost everyone says to get there early and make a beeline for X. I read reports where people say they went straight for X and only had an hour and a half wait. I generally head for X around 2:30 or 3 in the afternoon and have an hour and a half wait. The most important thing is try to get there on a day where it's running two trains, that makes all the difference in the world. Even a slow day can have a 3 hour wait when they've only got one train.

As far as X's queue goes, if it is running two trains, a line that stretches to the queue entrance is about 1 & 1/2 hours, if it's spilling significantly onto the bridge, you're looking at 2 to 2+ hours. If it's one train, a line stretching to the queue entrance is more like 3 hours, and if it's beyond the queue entrance, don't even bother, unless you *REALLY* have to ride it.

I love the ride, but 3+ hours is a bit much, even for X.

What I usually do is get there early and make a run for the back of the park. Scream, Batman, Riddler's, and Deja Vu are all back there, and are often walk-ons early in the morning. Almost the entire crowd goes for either X or Goliath first, I've actually gotten re-rides without having to leave the train on Riddler's and Batman in the morning.

Psyclone is also back that way, but I imagine not many people really want to ride that. Colossus also falls in that bunch, and it's pretty fun, but it's definitely better at night, if you can wait for that.

In addition to the back of the park, almost nobody makes their way up the hill to SF:TE and Ninja, though Ninja tends to open late these days and only runs one train (I've heard rumors to the effect that the second train didn't pass muster on state inspections and is being rehabbed). If you want to get a quick ride on either of those, get to that part of the park early.

Finally, if you want to kill some time and enjoy yourself while simultaneously checking out X's queue, ride Viper. You get a couple of great views of X's queue from the first drop and from the boomerang-y element, so you can get an idea of the wait for X while riding another ride. Bonus!

Goliath tends to churn through people pretty well, so it doesn't matter too much when you get there. It'll get crowded at night, though, lots of people want that to be their last ride in the dark before leaving the park.

Knott's is all about getting there early. GhostRider's queue tends to fill up, so try to get on that one as early as you can. Then, after getting your fill/having the line fill up, head back to the back fo the park for Xcelerator. Most people won't have made it back there yet (I rode 4 times from 10:15 to 10:45 last Saturday), and I find the park clientele to be less brave than SFMM, so Xcelerator's line never really gets too crazy. The front is very cool, so you may want to wait for that once, but I still prefer the back and usually have a 5-6 train wait, even on busy days.

I can't help you much with Disney, unfortunately.

Anyway, enjoy your trip!!
*** This post was edited by Tom Servo 8/13/2003 2:12:27 PM ***

Can't help you with SFMM. LA is about the only major city I haven't been to.

As a Cleveland area resident who travels for a living (allowing me to visit parks around the country), I would ask you why you would go to SFWoA when Cedar Point is under 90 minutes away. Ok, X-flight, S:TE, and B:KF are moderately fun, but MF, Raptor, Magnum, and TTD (granted, when operating) are some of the best coasters in the world. I finally got on TTD after 7 tries this summer and can tell you there is nothing I've ever ridden like it. (Going at night is truly a life altering experience!)

I don't mean to be a total CP homer here, but I have visited three of the SF parks, PKI, and BGF and can tell you that none compare. (Although Raging Bull at SF:GaM is a great ride)

Since I'm working in New England currently, I'm hoping to check out S:RoS this fall for comparison to CP's MF. Still, having been to both CP and SFWoA multiple times, my advice would be go to CP.

You may flame me now.

I wondered how long it would take before someone was gonna say that TopThrilledMember

The reason I'm going to WoA as opposed to CP is for one I will be in Cleveland w/out a car or much time. Also I've never been there. But the main reason is that I spent 8 years working in various theme parks and CP was the WORST working experience of my life (counting McDonald's!). Their employees work 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week and get no overtime and only 2 breaks during their overly long shifts. As far as their end-of-season bonus- they fire many of their employees a week before they qualify if the know that employee is not planning on returning another season. Also their training is EXTREMELY lacking- to a point I'm surprised they don't have more accidents.

Scenically- the park is UGLY- very few reminders of its historic past and they ruined the wilderness shops and the cute boat ride by installing Magnum Part 2, err MF- incidently any park who relies traditional Arrow coasters as their big draws (i.e. Magnum) is not going to be liked much by me.

If their training is so lacking than why are there never accidents and why does CP have the highest capacity?

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"No, it offends me as a comedian."

Ok, I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I do admit back in my youth I vowed never to work at CP since I figured it would ruin the park for me. I'm shocked by the labor practices, but wonder if they are unique in the industry. (I am encouraged when I come across park employees coming back on their days off just to ride some of the rides. Had a pair of employees behind me on TTD one night and they said they had been on it 16 times already. Perhaps your experience is out of the ordinary?)

Anyway, if you prefer the SF:WoA Vekoma head jerkers over the Arrow rides, enjoy. Personally, I go to CP for MF, WT, TTD, and Raptor - none of which were designed in Utah.

Either way, I hope you enjoy your time in Cleveland.

I have been to Geauga Lake...SFWOA. The park improved beyond my dreams since SF took over although I miss the Sea World part.

Being a woody fan, I suggest Villain. This is what Mean Streak at CP should have been. Check out the structure of that ride. The support structure is made out of steel, but the track is wood. There are many air times on that ride especially on the back. This is in my top five "Woodies". Big Dipper is also good (75 years old!) I cannot say I like Raging Wolf Bobs. That is a horrible ride! Try X-Flight, Superman and the Batman. One cute coaster is the Road Runner Express. That was my daughter's second coaster. She rode that 8 times! Even though the ride is a kiddie ride, it is a fun ride.

I haven't been online much recently, but my trip over Labour Day weekend was a blast! Although I felt the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was way over priced, SFWoA was Grrrreat! My favorite ride was Knight Flight, but I also really loved S:UE- which in my opinion riding in the very front and riding in the very back is like riding two different rides!

My trip to SoCal has been delayed until early December- has anyones' comments on advice changed due to the schedule change?

Also I need advice on where to stay- can I stay near Disney/Knotts and still "go out" in Silverlake and Long Beach?

Neighter park should be croweed in early December. Disney and Knott's arn't too far from Long Beach; don't know where Silverlake is.

When you go to WOA, be sure to ride Raging Wolf Bobs first. Then you'll enjoy everything in the park by comparison. Plus, the pothole at the bottom of the first drop is mega extreme, so ride in the back.

When I went to Anaheim over the July 4th weekend, we stayed at the Howard Johnson across from Disney. It was something like $70 a night and had free high-speed internet (needed that for my job). Knotts was like a 5 - 10 minute drive from there, SFMM was like an hour drive w/ LA traffic.

Both days at SFMM, X was running 1 train and was a 3-hour wait. This is a must-ride, sit last-row, inside seat if possible. Be careful, the station is a cluster-f*ck. Viper is a actually a good Arrow mega-looper that has no line a bit later in the day. All the other coasters had about 10 minute lines when they were running 2+ trains. About 1/2 through the day, Batman, Riddler, & Psyclone all switched to 1 train op. Watch when you get in line for those to make sure you aren't wasting you're time with a long line for a coaster you already rode. Scream had a station wait both times I went on it, as well as Goliath.

By going in the Winter, Flashback might actually be open!

I worked at GLP/SFO/SF WOA for over eight years and i can personally vouch that everything listed about working at Cedar Point is exactly the same in Aurora. And from talking to others i think that is pretty much the norm.

That being said i would say CP is still the better choice for coasters and FREE Halloween attractions.

Finally if you don't have a car in Cleveland i can't think of any other way to get to WOA other than a taxi at this time of year.

I have already been to Ohio- Labor Day weekend- I'm looking for advice on SoCal- btw are Legoland, Sea World, and/or Mission Beach worth the drive down to San Diego?

Although I started this post to get advice on a few parks others want to make it into an argument. That stated, let me say this: I have worked at Fantasy Island, Darien Lake, Disney (FL), Universal (CA), SFGAm, Knott's Camp Snoopy (mall of america), and CP was the worst place I have ever worked- ALL of the others paid over time and did not MAKE their employees work 10-14 hours per day, 6 days a week- I don't even feel safe with people working that many hours operating rides. Incidently the season I worked there Magnum came with a foot of having a rearend collision, Mean Streak had TWO rollbacks, filmed footage of several rides running during a tornado (its visable in the shot), and numerous other incidents.

Those are some pretty serious allegations your are making regarding CP safety practices. Do you car to elaborate a little? What year was this tornado? What happened with Magnum? Was the near collision in the station, on the lift hill, or somewhere else? What are these numerous other incidents? (The Mean Streak rollbacks are hardly a safety issue, most coasters experience occasional rollbacks).

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Bob M.

My best advice on SFWoA is don't go there. Go to Cedar Point.

But if you insist on being such an asshead, here is my OTHER tips.

-Don't make B:KF a priority. Make S:UE and X-Flight your priorities.

-RIDE THE BIG DIPPER. Some of the most incredible air ever.

-Don't bother with Double Loop... unless the line is under 5 minutes.

-Don't be a wuss, ride RWB, very intense, furious ride.

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God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts!

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Don't make B:KF a priority? That is one of the best looping coasters I have ever been on. The air off the block brakes is incredible and the first drop will take your breath away.

He said that he had already been to Ohio.