Valleyfair 8/31 - Bulletpoint Format

ARRIVED: 11am

LEFT: 4pm

PARK APPEARANCE/ATMOSPHERE: After having just gotten back from a huge California trip and being at Knott's Berry Farm, I was expecting this to be similar seeing it was Cedar Fair. Unfortunately I forgot that Knotts is the only themed park in the chain. That said, I still liked the atmosphere of the park. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was about the park I liked, I just felt very comfortable there. Everything just seemed so much more relaxed than most parks I have been to this year. It was a refreshing change.

RIDE QUEUE TIMES: Longest line of the day was 45 minutes for the space shot side of Power Tower. Everything else was somewhere in the walkon to 20 minute wait window.

BEST EXPERIENCE: Being able to fit into Steel Venom without to ride operators pushing on the restraint. Why can't all impulse coasters have seats this roomy? I fit in the ride without any assistance.

WORST EXPERIENCE: Not really a day of worsts. I guess I will share someone elses worst experience instead. Their trunk was broken into with a crobar in the parking lot. Guess they dont have parking lot security at Valleyfair.

MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE: The general friendliness of all the employees in the park. To be honest I was a dumba$$ and went to the park with all of the "Valley UNfair" comments rolling in my head. The employees were all helpful and very friendly.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: One of the things I really like about Cedar Fair parks is that they usually display wait times for rides and have someone measuring kids at the beginning of the queue. Only some rides had a measurer and rarely could they judge the wait time for a ride.

COASTER RANKINGS

WITHOUT FLAW:
None

REALLY QUITE GOOD:
Steel Venom: I love impulses. I rarely fit in impulses, but I still love them. Not only did I fit into this impulse, I fit in and was still able to breath. Kind of a disappointing first launch, otherwise I didnt really notice the difference in size between this and V2. Anyone want to make a trade of V2 for Steel Venom? I want this one instead, or at least your restraints.

Mad Mouse: I have to admit, I love the cars on this ride. Those rodents really look pissed off. Call me weird but I like mouse coasters and this one was pretty good. Had some good airtime, although there were a few painful moments in the ride.

COLD FRIES BAD
Wild Thing: This is a very pretty coaster and all those camelbacks had my mouth watering for impending airtime. The first drop wasnt too bad, but after that the ride was fairly lackluster. Not much airtime on the camelbacks, the turnarounds were kind of slow. Kind of a case of anticipointment.

High Roller: Love the look of the ride and the trains, didnt really care for the ride. It was a bit on the rough side with a lack of air on a coaster that looks like it should just have it in abundance. Anybody have information of the type of upstops used on the trains? I noticed everytime it would crest a hill it would screech a bit and then slow down. Is it just using steel flanges without wheels?

Corkscrew: Not bad for an Arrow looper, minimal headbanging, I just hate the cars. At 5'11" I feel like Shaq trying to ride in these things.

Pepsi Ripsaw: Stopped at the Mall of America to whore out this credit. This was a big yawn. I do like how it went through the log flume area though. Is this made by the same manufacturer as Jaguar! at Knotts?

JUST PLAIN AWFUL
Excalibur: Just plain painful, especially for a tubular steel tracked coaster. Put this on my list of never to ride again.

MAJOR NON-COASTER ACTIVITIES:
Did the Mall of America and Camp Snoopy. I especially liked their flume ride there.

BEST NON-COASTER RIDE:
Power Tower. I am really getting addicted to these S&S Space Shot towers.

OTHER COMMENTS:
All in all not a bad little park. There is no doubt that we will visit this park in the future. This might even become a yearly park for us. Can any locals tell me if this was a normal crowd? I know there was a State Fair going on at the same time so I am just wondering how busy the park might really get on a Sunday versus the seemingly light crowds that were there that day.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

I happened to be at Valleyfair at about the same time you were there. Did you eat up the free Corn on the Cob?

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Skol Vikings

I forgot all about that. Yeah we got a few cobs of corn, not as much as some people I saw. I saw one lady, honest to god she had like ten bags of corn with two cobs a piece in it. She must really like corn!! I found it to be way to soggy to eat and ended up discarding mine.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

That was good stuff, we may have seen each other there, the corn on the cob was packed, I know my fiance and I ate our fair share.

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Skol Vikings

Sunday was more like a July Sunday at VF, so yes it was crowded..

Combined with lack of staffing, very nice weather and the corn feed it created a packed park.

Some people like there corn crisp like I do, others like it mushy. So you can not please everyone.

VF normally has very friendly staff and glad you liked my home park

I like Excalibur, however it seems to have some flat wheels right now.

Steel Venom seats have abit more room than the other impluses I have been on. No you can not trade trains.. I like my pet snake !

Height measuring always seems to be a problem with the 48" on the nose riders. Best bet is to stop at Guest Relations for a offical measurement and a wristband. I noticed a supervisor making a decision at Wild Thing early in the morning.

Normally VF security patrols the parking lot quite well.

I was at VF on Sunday.

Jerry

I was at VF last friday, and in the morning there were all walkons on every ride, yet later on in the afternoon, the lines on Power Tower and the Major Coasters were around 15-30min.
*** This post was edited by Montu001 9/2/2003 9:49:09 PM ***

If that was a busy day at your park, then I definately will be back. The visit I made was like a light day at my home park of SFGAm.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Kick the sky, the one thing I don't agree with you on is Excalibur, I do agree that it is bumpy, but I have to admit that it has gotten better. As a kid, I rose my hands on that ride and always got bruises on my elbows. Now, it is not to bad, and the air time of the second hill is absolutely amazing. I wouldn't but it on your "never ride again list"

I am a HUGE fan of Excalibur...but then again I can recall its pre-2000 days when it was about 18,000 times worse. Trust me. By local yokel standards, it's quite rerideable and the only reliable source of wicked Gs.

Of course, the layout is just plain silly (really, who puts in a tight, low helix in the middle of a coaster?) but VF brass decided to 'rescue' it rather then scrap it. Arrow rebuilt major segments of track and supports in the 2000 off-season.

So IHMO there's a nice overbanked twisting drop into a nasty banked turn into a quick rise into a good spot of violent twisting air--if you know it's coming. Otherwise, you'll be too busy getting smacked around like a rag doll to notice.

-'Playa
(who'd proudly wear a 'Got my @$$ kicked by Excalibur' T-shirt if they printed one)

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

CPlaya, I completely agree. You have to ride Excalibur a few times to learn how to ride it, if that makes any sense. The figure 8 section is the most intense section of any ride in the park, IMO. I prefer to sit in the front, the back makes my teeth chatter.

I am a second-from-last-row purist. You, Timo are a wussy. NO SHIRT FOR YOU! ;)

CO,

my Excalibur ride was in the third-from-last row (front seat of last car). Do I get a shirt?

Later,
EV
-----
"Everybody has desperate days of quiet questioning.
Everybody has times when they feel like they don't fit in."
- Color Theory, So Many Ways, 2001

Mine was in the back row! E Gads was that painful!

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

Begone, little beggars! You must enjoy your ride to wear the shirt. Timo may borrow it on Tuesdays only. Just know that you're still a wussy.

-CO

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 9/4/2003 6:19:49 PM ***

Ouch, does that even justify a response on my part. I will have a reason to look forward to Tuesdays now, would you like to borrow my "No Smart @$$e$ Allowed" shirt and which day would you like it?

Completely unrelated to VF, I heard MoA mentioned, and yet the FLUME gets the praise....and to think I *like* you Bob...;)

I desperately hope you just *forgot* to mention one of the awesomest flat rides ever constructed, the Zierer airtime machine....please tell me you rode it, esp. now since it's my understanding that CF cannibalized the one I loveed so dearly at Knott's....STILL my fav non-mechanical flat...

bill, thinking VF must fit in *somewhere* with next year's pilgrimage to The Dells...

Which airtime machine would you be referring to? There are a few flat rides at Mall of America that have decent airtime. You have to be more specific Bill ;) Must be the old age catching up with you ;) Hey, if you want a tag along for your Dells/VF pilgramage, I am game...

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

The Treetop Tumbler? Only downside with that thing is the extremely long load times.

I guess Treetop Tumbler is the one....it's the Zierer ride, the one at KBF was called Tampic Tumbler...don't think I've ever seen a flat with clearances THAT tight....well, until I turned our Chance Skydiver car upside down in the station at Silverwood...:)

Bob, of course you should come with....:)

P.S. I waded through their *graphics-intensive* website....argh!....and YES, it *is* the Treetop Tumbler....please take pity on those of us with dial-ups, MoA...;)

Oh yeah, I rode that flat ride. It was a lot of fun. I wouldn't really call it an airtime machine but the clearances sure were close. So when are you coming out for your Dells/VF trip and are you including SFGAm?

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore