Decided to hit the park today from opening until close and the weather said it was supposed to rain the majority of the day, but it ended up raining only for about 30 minutes during the afternoon.
So we got there at around 10:45 and got in early with our season passes. We pretended we were lost and couldn't find Hurricane Harbor, and headed to X-Flight's line. We were the first people there and the op said we weren't supposed to be in line at all until the chains are dropped.
We were expecting to be on the first train out, front row. It didn't look good once the chains were dropped, and a stampede of guests came running to X-Flight's queue lines. The ops had to tell everyone to walk and that X-Flight would open shortly. It did... and pushing and shoving was everywhere to be seen. Granted, we were first in line but somehow ended up farther back because of the pushing. As soon as we got to the station split, they opened the walkway to the second station and tada! We were in the front row, first train out for the day (both stations up, two trains). Woohoo! Front seat was GREAT, loop was intense. We were going to come back later for another ride.
We couldn't wait longer, and went directly back into X-Flight's queues. The wait was about an hour and 15 minutes for the back row. Intense once again, great dispatching times. Already the music was getting on my nerves... :lol
After our 2nd X-Flight trip, we headed to S:UE on the 3rd row. S:UE's crew was dispatching well today, usually sending out the train within 45 seconds. Great job!
Got some nachos and then headed for The Villain (which, BTW, was marked on the daily closed rides listing along with Batman: Knight Flight. Luckily, that wasn't true.)
Rode the Villain in the front seat with a 15 minute wait, much better than my last rides! The track seemed much more "in place" and it was a great ride. Two train operation.
Took another spin on the Villain and rode in the back seat.
We next headed out of the park and we walked over to the Odyssey, to pick up none other than our RL t-shirts. Finally got my hands on one and put it on as soon as we got back into the park.
Headed over to the WL side and saw the All-Star Pet Show, the Pirates 4D show, and ate at Shorty Pete's BBQ. The weather was still holding up luckily. Walked back over to the WR side (walkway closed) and noticed they were laying the cement down for the swinging ship's entrance.
I was pleasantly surprised how many people were over on the WL side, the most I've seen this year. The crowds seemed pretty evenly spread out throughout the day.
Took a spin on BKF, which we rode in the front seat. Good ride, except my ears were hurting just a little after the corkscrews. Waited 35 minutes for that.
Took two more spins on the Villain (front and back).
We decided to rest a little under the Monorail's station. Luckily, we got there just in time! Thunder was rolling in and it started to pour. HUGE puddles were everywhere, and some kids were even SWIMMING in them! Despite the weather, the kids seemed to be having a lot of fun. People packed into the pavillion we were in with people screaming everytime a lightning bolt struck.
Waited over by X-Flight's queues while it was still drizzling a little (the thunder was gone). X-Flight was now being tested with only one station and train being used. The wait was about 1 hour and 45 minutes, and we decided to wait. After all the testing and waiting (and waiting for DAN to sweep up that water from X-Flight's station 2 walkway. Any slower, Dan, any slower. :) ) So we got into the front seat and we were going up the hill.
Right when we were about to crest over the hill the chain stopped. CLANK. We were a little descended down that dip before the turn around. Gulp, and clouds were above us. We were praying that thunder would not come. Riders were screaming ("This hurts!" "Get me off!") and an announcement came that X-Flight was experiencing technical difficulties. Maintenance was called and we were off within 7 minutes. While up there, Dan came up and asked if we were okay. A long climb, eh? ;)
Decided to go over to the Villain for some night rides. I was feeling dizzy, BTW, from those X-Flight rides.
Rode Villain 3 more times that night, VERY fast and great. Alternated between the front and back seats and got a chance to say hi to SFOTim. We didn't chat too much, I think we both wanted to ride the Villain as much as we could that night. :lol
Bought some cotton candy and we were off.
Today was a great day, although a little humid for my liking. All the coasters were running great, and RWB's queue was actually a little filled today....
Thanks for reading.
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Chris B.
http://sfwoa.tripod.com/ Radioheader08@netscape.net
