Associated parks:
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We arrived around 10:30, and the park wasn't too crowded yet (that would change in short order). The weather was on the warm side, with lots of sunshine. We headed straight for Magnum. On the way, we noticed that Dragster and Wicked Twister we're down. (A short time later we learned that Millennium Force was also down - a bad morning for Intamin coasters.)
We got 5 quick rides on Magnum. As I've seen RideMan post before: They might make them taller and faster, but I'm not sure they make 'em any better than Magnum. The airtime-filled return trip after the turnaround is one of the best coaster moments ever.
Next was Gemini, were we actually had a wait. Only one side was operating, and only two trains were running (can they even run 3 trains per side anymore?) Great ride as always. They did open the other side eventually, I guess after the crowds got heavier in the afternoon.
We continued on, and throughout the day we tried to get a lap on most of the coasters: Raptor, Wicked Twister (which came back to life sometime during the afternoon), Mine Ride, Mean Streak, Iron Dragon, Corkscrew, and even more rides on Magnum. We never did get to ride MF or Dragster (see below).
Overall, we had an absolute blast, as usual. The large crowd was a bit of a bummer, but I knew that going in, since we were going so late in the season. We didn't bother with Dragster, since everyone had been there, done that, and it wasn't worth the 2+ hour wait to any of us. My only real complaints....
-What the heck is going on at Millennium Force? We ventured over that way in the afternoon, and saw that it had opened, with an advertised wait of 90 minutes. Well, the line had already snaked 4 rows past the vending machines, so I was a little skeptical about the wait only being 90 minutes, but we gave it a shot anyway. Big Mistake. In 30 minutes of waiting, we hadn't even made it to the vending machines yet. I started watching for train dispatches, and the average interval was around 4 - 5 minutes (the longest I noted was over SIX minutes). I can only assume that it's the whole seatbelt issue clogging up the works. Heck, it looks like Wicked Twister is dispatching trains faster than MF. Anyway, we bailed out of line, and went and did something else.
-$3 for a Pepsi out of the vending machine? Ouch.
-The plastic covered seatbelts on Woodstock Express are the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
Other obervations (in no particular order):
-Seatbelts on Corkscrew? Hmmm, I didn't know those Arrow OTSR ever had a problem.
-I think the Midway Buffet is the best lunch value in the whole park. For $12, you get all you can eat burgers, pizza, salad, drinks (and a whole lot more).
-maXair had a long line all day long, so it looks like it's just as popular as it's PKI counterpart.
-They already had some props out advertising Halloweekends.
-The more I ride Wicked Twister, the more I like it. The last row is an incredible experience. (Plus the crew running WT was kicking butt that day.)
Thanks for reading.
Jerry
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