The Good, Bad & Ugly..SFWOA
Associated parks:
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The coasters with multi-trains ran at capacity (except Serial Thriller due to problems with the red train, only the green train was used and Double Loop, which just reopened). Yes, even Batman ran all three trains and X Flight ran with two trains in both stations.
The park was clean. Won't tell you about the restrooms as I have also experienced dirty restrooms at CP and PKI but they weren't as bad as some people have made them out to be.
As I made my way through the park, I observed a park that really tried to give it all it got and guess what - it succeeded!
I'm not the only one who has witnessed the park succeed in this way. I have read more positive trip reports about SFWoA on other roller coaster message boards than I have in the past two years. And many of these positive reports were from people who dissed the park in the past.
Do you also realize that the park has it's third GM since the conversion? Do you think that could be the reason why it seemed like it had a lack of leadership in 2000 and 2001?
Even though I have been there many a time I still go with an open mind since I realize each visit can bring a new experience. I've never had a bad time.
Do you think that some of these people who read other trip reports about the park, as negative as these reports can be, can somehow automatically be swayed to think their visit will end up the same way?
Open your eyes and open your mind and take SFWoA for what it is. At least the park's accomplishments don't scream at you around every corner like some other park nearby. I could care less.
X Factor, who after visiting BGW this year can't understand how CP was voted #1
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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com
I will agree SFWOA draws a completely different crowd then CP. Go to CP sometime and you'll see that more then half the people there are from Indiana and Michigan. Or northwest Ohio for that matter. CP is the only park for us, we have never heard of Geagua Lake.
These ads claming we drove right past Cedar Point to get here are clearly aimed at the people who live to the west of Sandusky. Namely Jackson, Detroit, Toledo and Ft. Wayne and all the areas in between.
I will also say that with a family SF seems likr the better deal. They have great shows, and included waterpark, and other attractions besides rides. CP pretty much has rides and a few shows. I wouldn't think of taking my 60 year old parents to CP but would take them to SFWOA in an instant. The same goes for families with young kids. To bad the little things aren't as good as CP.
Anyway if SFWOA can raise itslef to the standard of say SFGAM we would have a world class park. Right now they are just a wanna be. I had a great time there but I have heard to many bad times people have had as well. I don't know if this is because I just tried to have fun and not try to find fault or what.
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All I need is 4.5 million bucks and a half a mile long sliver of land and maybe someone could build me my very own Shivering Timbers. ;)
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When it comes to liking something or disliking it, I make up my own mind. I stated that I was comparing my trip from last year to this year. A hardy thank you to the few who are telling me my opinion was formed by the views of others. I guess the fact that I have NEVER looked at a TR from WOA is meaningless. It's easy for you guys to proove that SFWOA isn't that bad when the basis for what you are saying is that our opinions and observations of the park are wrong.
X Factor said:The coasters with multi-trains ran at capacity (except Serial Thriller due to problems with the red train, only the green train was used and Double Loop, which just reopened). Yes, even Batman ran all three trains and X Flight ran with two trains in both stations.
Im confused....Other TR's that I have read stated that, B:KF only ran *2* trains and X-Flight only ran *1*. Why am I hearing conflicting reports about July 20,2002?
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Dayuum, Your HOT!
Maybe SFWoA isn't to the level of, let's say, CP or SFGAm. But I support and enjoy the park for what it is and I don't waste my time comparing it to other places.
And Coasterr, it may have depended on when said poster rode said ride that there may have been only one or two trains going. As I was video taping BKF, I saw all three running and as I left the park, there were two trains on X Flight.
X Factor
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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com
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All I know is this. I visited both SFWoA and CP and I got back to the windy city satisfied with both parks.
Combined, you have 25 coasters. Within a couple hours of eachother. That was my main purpose of the trip I took so I didnt get to know both parks in a manner that the northern Ohio locals experience.
However, I walked out of SFWoA feeling fullfilled. They had a great variety of coasters, friendly employees, and a clean and well themed animal park. Capacity issues could have been a little better in some areas but overall it wasnt to the extreme so I wasnt aggravated at all.
CP does have the capacity thing down to a science. I will give it that. The coaster collection is impressive. However some of the employees could take some lessons in being more down to earth and develop a personality(this was mainly with the Magnum ride-ops).
If I lived in Ohio, I would be rotating between both parks. "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS GUYS"!!!!
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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!
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Drive It Like You Stole It!
Ride It Like You Own It!
But see, you don't live in Cleveland, you didn't grow up with the standard we've grown up with. Think about it... if all things were equal, we would share our time between parks, but we don't. Hell, SFWoA is actually closer to where I live and I still go the extra distance.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"
Doesnt have to be equal Jeff. While I thought CP overall is better than SFWoA, it still had what I wanted.
Target is better than Walmart, but I will still go to both.
Meijer is better than Sams Club, but I will still go to both.
Come on now. Didnt grow up with the same standards? SFGAm is pretty darn CP-ish to me. When it was Marriott, it was heaven on earth.
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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!
Great point Chitown....avoiding a park (or bashing it for how much it sucks) because it isn't as good as or doesn't live up to the standard of another park is IMO just plain stupid. Sure, being around a great park may make the differences stand out a bit more. But if it becomes so bad that the other park isn't plenty enjoyable, it's time to stop comparing the parks!
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PLEASE READ: This post wasn't meant to offend or anger anyone; I apologize in advance if it does. So please don't post a reply just to rant about it. :)
Well I guess we're all stupid then. Like I said, if you're not local, you don't get it.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
7/27: Subdivision Cam becomes party cam at the year's hottest Ohio luau!
Look it is not just us local enthusiasts that have this opinion of the park - the one time I've been there and countless times when talking with other people I know (none of which are enthusiasts) all you hear is comparisons to PKI, CP and Kennywood. Geauga Lake was the "forgotten child" of the area for a long time, now that its bigger people are taking notice and expecting the same level of service that they grew up with.
Are we spoiled? hell yea, more than we should be. We are spoiled rotten when it comes to parks - but you have to consider your audience. If WoA was built in the middle of Idaho or something, it would be a world class park, everyone would love it ... cause what's its competition? A field of cows. In its place now, its competition is argueably the best 3 parks within 3 hours of each other anywhere on the planet - an amusement park troika in the soviet sense of the word. And WoA is trying to break a power-bloc like that with a park that so far is performing sub-par. Its just not gonna work.
And I love how all these people keep saying go in there with an open mind, form a new opinion every time you go - if that was the way the human mind worked, there would be no such thing as these arguements. First impressions last a lifetime, no matter how much you try and forget them, you always have a preconcieved notion - and for GPs that know nothing more than PKI, CP and Kennywood, WoA does not live up to that preconcieved notion of what a park should be.
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Steel - #1 Mantis, #2 Millie, #3 Wicked Twister
Wood - #1 Thunderbolt, #2 Villain, #3 Beast
"The key to a happy life is moderation" -- Jon Stewart
"CP does have the capacity thing down to a science. I will give it that. The coaster collection is impressive. However some of the employees could take some lessons in being more down to earth and develop a personality(this was mainly with the Magnum ride-ops). "
That's wierd. I found the CP ride ops to be extremely friendly and knowledgeable (some noticed my various colaster t-shirts). When I was at SFWoA I thought that some of the emplyees were rude and didn't care. Maybe things have changed, I'm going into the park with an open mind this year and will see if they deliver. If they deliver for me, Joe Q customer, then there is hope. I think we are all looking for consistency with SFWoA. We know that they can run the park well, it is just a matter if you catch the right day or not.
This didnt apply to all the employees Craig. I never said they werent knowledgable.
However, a number of them took their job so seriously, that they were almost in a "zone" so to speak. Some of them were acting like they were the boss and the guests were the employees. I think they tend to forget that the guests are what provide them a paycheck and thus should be treated with more respect.
Example would be a guest standing on the yellow line even though the airgates were closed, and instead of the employee asking the guest to "please step back behind the yellow line", she decided to bark at the guest the first time around. Even though it wasnt me she was yelling at, I still gave her a dirty look. Not the way you treat your customers.
I dont want people to take this the wrong way in what I am saying. This was just a handfull of ride-ops. It wasnt the whole park doing this.
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Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!
Why is it so hard to understand that if a guest's previous experience was bad, they won't come back? Sure, it might get better. Sure, it might have been a bad day. But why spend the time and money at a park that might give you a bad day when you can spend your time and money at a park that you know will give you a great day? Especially if the bad park claims to be better than the great park.
Well I just went to Magic Mountain, and came back a little dissapointed overall. I went in thinking it would be something like a Cedar Point type park and came out thinking of Sfwoa. It was condensed and dirty just like Sfwoa. I expected a little better in the atmosphere there. I went in thinking too high of what it really was. If I went in thinking of Sfwoa, I bet you I would've liked it even better than Cp.
My home park is Sfwoa and I love it. I don't really have anything to say on this topic except for that I don't see why people bash it so much. Why don't people ever bash places like Darien Lake. They don't think high of it.....With Sfwoa, because it's located in this area, everyone tries to look at the things wrong with it. I agree with PittDesigner on how if this park were located somewhere like Idaho it would be a world class park out there. But I definately disagree with you saying Sfwoa doesn't live up to expectations. By looking at your top 3 coasters for each category, I can honestly say I really don't like your opinions.
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Top 5:
5)Raptor 4) Goliath 3) Ghostrider 2) Apollo's Chariot 1) Millennium Force
Since it has the equal amount of coasters as CP, I was sort of expecting a CP type park as well. Let's just say I prefer SFWoA over SFMM anyday. Goliath and Riddler's Revenge are the only two coasters really worth going for. (X was under construction at the time).
But even though I was disappointed with SFMM, if I were to head out to California in the near future, I sure would go the park again to see what it's like. Form a new opinion and not think of my past experience there.
And Jeff, being a local myself, I grew up with the standards of CP and as of the most recent visits, the park isn't like it used to be. Personally I feel all the accolades have gone to their head and I can feel the arrogance when I walk in the gate.
X Factor
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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com
Arrogance? What arrogance is that? "We'll show you! We're going to show you a good time and get you on as many rides as possible today."
Arrogant bastards.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
7/27: Subdivision Cam becomes party cam at the year's hottest Ohio luau!
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