Re: Cedar Point Opening Weekend Trip Report

[skiguy777]

On Tuesday, May 15, 2012 3:13:33 PM UTC-4, Theme Park Review wrote:
> Here's some pictures and whatever....
>
> http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1180640#p1180640

Great TR. Did you see Single Rider Bob (goes on MF) or Single Rider Chris (goes on TTD)? They're not hard to find, one wears a green shirt and the other Orange. Did they get on camera? Wouldn't that suck if they only used 15 seconds of your interview and talked to Chris for 5 minutes?

Seems like Fast Lane is practically required. Only problem is people will become spoiled, and it will increase the time of the normal line. Over on the Trip Advisor forums, I read reports of other people using it, and they got dirty looks from people stuck in the regular line. The thing here, is if the overall experience sucks, then people will find something else to do. Like going to Vegas, or saving up for a ski trip. The lines at ski resorts are much less.

So I guess you didn't see any more work markers besides Wild Cat being torn down. That mean nothing for 2013, a record 6 years without a new coaster, unless we consider KI as part of the over all attraction. CP IS RUNNING OUT OF ROOM.

[Surf Dance Chris]

On May 16, 8:14 am, skiguy777 <skiguy...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>
> Seems like Fast Lane is practically required.  Only problem is people will become spoiled, and it will increase the time of the normal line.   Over on the Trip Advisor forums, I read reports of other people using it, and they got dirty looks from people stuck in the regular line.   The thing here, is if the overall experience sucks, then people will find something else to do.   Like going to Vegas, or saving up for a ski trip.     The lines at ski resorts are much less.

That's already happening to me. The desire to go to parks with these
systems is lower and lower every year. I'm doing more and more non
park trips, and the ones I do with less and less parks with these
systems (mostly smaller parks, which are generally better anyway). I
still love going to parks, don't get me wrong, but between the overall
costs of going (which has increased tremendously in recent years), and
more and more of these systems that increase the regular line (finally
someone who agrees with me), it's less and less worth it.
An example of increase in cost- I was going through some old stuff
yesterday and a paper from Great Adventure with the rates from 2000
include parking listed as $5 per day and $25 for a season pass parking
or 2 for $20 season pass parking. Parking for one day is $20 I believe
now. That's 400% of what it was just over 10 years ago. Even parking
at the Florida theme parks were $5 and $6 in 2000.

[Surf Dance Chris]

On May 16, 2:58 pm, Theme Park Review <robbal...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On May 16, 10:02 am, Surf Dance Chris <surfdan...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > On May 16, 8:14 am, skiguy777 <skiguy...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> > > Seems like Fast Lane is practically required.  Only problem is people will become spoiled, and it will increase the time of the normal line.   Over on the Trip Advisor forums, I read reports of other people using it, and they got dirty looks from people stuck in the regular line.   The thing here, is if the overall experience sucks, then people will find something else to do.   Like going to Vegas, or saving up for a ski trip.     The lines at ski resorts are much less.
>
> > That's already happening to me. The desire to go to parks with these
> > systems is lower and lower every year. I'm doing more and more non park trips
>

> Doing fewer park trips because of skip-the-line-passes?  Wow!!!  This
> is GREAT NEWS!  The fewer idiots that go to parks bitching and
> complaining about pointless crap, the better the overall experience is
> for everyone else!
>
> Please, Surf Dance Chris - I would encourage you to annoy people in
> other hobbies.
>
> Oh, and we also normally get the "skip the line pass" at ski resorts
> too, so you might want to cross that hobby off your list, too.
>
> --Robb "When you're spending nearly $1000 on a theme park trip, an
> extra $35 for the front-of-the-line pass is NOTHING!" Alvey

Doesn't that make your Skip the Line Pass less valuable?

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

Well, I'm much more likely to want to go to the parks with fastpass
systems. If I know I can pay a bit extra and get a ton more rides, then
it's a good value for me.

When you add the cost of admission, parking, a hotel, car rental gas and a
portion of the airfare, then adding another $50 to get 2-4 times the number
of rides is a huge deal! Especially if it means I can do everything I want
in one day and don't need a second day of my vacation (and hotel and car
rental and admission for that day!)

And I can handle dirty looks. I don't feel even slightly bad about it. I
did exactly what they could have done, if they weren't cheap.



"With the first link, a chain is forged. The first speech censured,
the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us
all irrevocably." -Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
"The Drumhead", _Star Trek: The Next Generation_

[skiguy777]

> When you add the cost of admission, parking, a hotel, car rental gas and a
> portion of the airfare, then adding another $50 to get 2-4 times the number
> of rides is a huge deal! Especially if it means I can do everything I want
> in one day and don't need a second day of my vacation (and hotel and car
> rental and admission for that day!)

Yep, it's $50. Depends on the day you go. Was looking at the KD web site at ticket prices. A one day ticket into the park is $50 (bought online), and Fast Lane is $50.

Ski resorts also have fast lane, but it's only necessary on a few of the lifts. For example, Park City has an area where all the trails funnel into. The wait for this lift was 10 minutes. Everything else was a ski on.

I'm going to KD in early June on a week day. I'll skip the Fast Lane, go early, do a thrill ride tour, and I'm sure I'll get on everything. $50 makes it a splurge for couples, or single riders who can pay for themselves. I don't see a dad shelling out an extra $200 for a family of 4, unless they're rich.

[GodsOnSafari]

On May 16, 5:53 pm, skiguy777 <skiguy...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> > When you add the cost of admission, parking, a hotel, car rental gas and a
> > portion of the airfare, then adding another $50 to get 2-4 times the number
> > of rides is a huge deal!  Especially if it means I can do everything I want
> > in one day and don't need a second day of my vacation (and hotel and car
> > rental and admission for that day!)
>
> Yep, it's $50.    Depends on the day you go.   Was looking at the KD web site at ticket prices.    A one day ticket into the park is $50 (bought online), and Fast Lane is $50.
>

Depends on the day and number of passes bought. If you get a
discounted ticket from a coupon and you're buying a Fast Lane in a
group of 4, you'd probably be able to ride every coaster in KD as much
as you want all day long for the price of a one day entrance ticket to
Busch Gardens Tampa or any of the Disney parks in Orlando. If I'm
going all the way to PKD and its a Saturday, that's a no brainer for
me. God knows I've spend more for a lot less.

[skiguy777]

>
> Depends on the day and number of passes bought. If you get a
> discounted ticket from a coupon and you're buying a Fast Lane in a
> group of 4, you'd probably be able to ride every coaster in KD as much
> as you want all day long for the price of a one day entrance ticket to
> Busch Gardens Tampa or any of the Disney parks in Orlando. If I'm
> going all the way to PKD and its a Saturday, that's a no brainer for
> me. God knows I've spend more for a lot less.

I'll explain it from my point of view for Rob. People are always trying to save money. Read message boards and most ask if there's a coupon for park admission. Next they try to get the lowest air fare and hotel rate based on what they can afford.

It's kinda like first class on an airplane, I can't afford it, so I walk past those snobs and think bad thoughts about them. In the past I used to bring an entire bottle of Barcardi on the plane and mix rum and cokes until the Muslims ruined it all.

Next analogy. Bag fees on jets, people refuse to pay them, pack everything in one carry on, and don't check a bag. I won't fly Spirit because of all their extra fees. I won't check a bag, and the airlines wonder why it takes so long to load the plane and why the over head bins are full. Because EVERYONE has a bag with them, plus the personal item.

Now we move on to parking. At KD it's $12, at BGE it's $13, I plan on going a total of 4 days on my trip, 3 different parks in 4 days (SFoG, KD, BGE). That's about $50 depending on how I do it. What am I going to do? Take public transportation (rail and bus). So now we have $50 to park, and if I did the fast lane thing at each park, it would be another $100 or more. It's not $35 like you say. It's more than one day at more than one park. That's an extra $150 if I pay to park, and do the fast lane thing. That's why I'm such a tight wad about it. It all adds up when visiting more than one park over 4 days.

Yeah, I get it, if you fly into one city, visit one park for one day, then fly out. But that's not how I do it. I visit 3 parks in 4 days.

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

On Wed, 16 May 2012 15:19:30 -0700 (PDT), Theme Park Review
<robb...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>On May 16, 5:53 pm, skiguy777 <skiguy...@bellsouth.net> wrote:

>>I don't see a dad shelling out an extra $200 for a family of 4, unless they're rich.
>

>It's $160 for a family of four, and if they value their time, they
>will shell out that extra money, absolutely. It has nothing to do
>with "being rich", it has EVERYTHING to do with "making choices."

You know, this is one point that I think is very important to note in all
of this. People forget that every single one of us in this newsgroup is at
the very least middle class. Every single one of us can afford to buy the
fast pass systems -- if we choose to. We make choices every day as to what
we want to spend out money on. A newer, bigger TV, a better car,
cable/satellite TV with the extra channels, more expensive clothes and
jewelry, a nicer restaurant (or a nicer meal at that restaurant -- or going
out more often), a better hotel, first class when flying, more video games,
or whatever.

I don't see how this is any different.

And more to the point, in this very hobby, just about every one of (except
Viands, probably) has been to a coaster event where we paid (in the
registration price) for ERT. We PAY extra to get more rides in. How is
this any different? It's ERT all day. That's a GOOD thing, to me!

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

On Wed, 16 May 2012 15:20:03 -0700 (PDT), Theme Park Review
<robb...@gmail.com> wrote:

>I honestly don't understand how any roller coaster enthusiast can
>bitch and moan so much about front of the line systems put into place
>that allow them to get MORE rides on roller coasters! The argument
>seems to defy all logical sense. We blew past 2+ hour queues for
>Millenium Force and Top Thrill Dragster and probably could have gotten
>10 rides on each in the same amount of time as I could have stood in
>line once. It's like an ERT session on 20 rides where you control the
>schedule. This should be considered the most amazing invention ever
>to be brought into the coaster enthusiasts world! Why would any
>coaster geek choose to wait two hours in line when you could be riding
>that entire time???
>
>I just don't get it. Some of us spend hundreds, even thousands of
>dollars each year on travel, park tickets, enthusiast clubs, season
>passes, etc, and the one thing that will allow you to get MORE of the
>thing you like the most, I see so much complaining about.
>
>It makes ZERO sense to me.
>
>On our TPR tours, we get people ERT *AND* front of the line passes for
>all the parks that offer them, and all we ever hear is how amazing it
>is having "ERT all day long" at the parks we visit. How the hell is
>this something anyone would complain about?
>
>--Robb "I chalk it up to there just being a lot of really, really,
>really stupid people in the world." Alvey

No, Robb, it's a lot of really, really CHEAP people!

But seriously, I can see how it might be annoying at your local park, where
you go a bunch of times all year, and when people like me show up and cut
you all day in line. But you have the advantage of getting to ride all
year. I can't. So, I make up for it by paying more to get more rides now.
Whether it's for ERT at an event or for the line cutting system.

And even at my home parks, I work a lot and can't get out to them terribly
often. So, if I can get more rides in, that's a plus, too.

Not everyone has the time to go to parks for the entire summer (and
longer). This is meant for the people who will only visit once per year.
It helps even the score to let us get more rides on our one visit, if we're
willing to pay for it.

And if we're not, then we have to wait.

I, for one, will almost always use the line cutting system at a park,
unless it's a very quick visit or the park isn't very busy.

To not do so is kind of like skipping the ERT session at an event. You may
choose to do it, but it's a bad idea!

[skiguy777]

> I don't see how this is any different.
>
> And more to the point, in this very hobby, just about every one of (except
> Viands, probably) has been to a coaster event where we paid (in the
> registration price) for ERT. We PAY extra to get more rides in. How is
> this any different? It's ERT all day. That's a GOOD thing, to me!

I went to ERT at West Coast Bash a couple times for X. So I understand how ERT works. The difference is that ERT doesn't effect the GP. The coaster geeks show up early in the morning, go into the park an hour early, and get to ride 2 or 3 coasters before the GP is let in. This is similar to what CP does every morning. During the afternoon, there's a lunch, presentation, maybe a behind the scenes tour of a construction area. At night there's more ERT after the normal park closing hours.

With Fast Lane, the GP is effected the entire time. The regular line has a longer wait all day. And what happens to the Single Rider lanes? Are they still even there? Big fans of the single rider option.

Saving money on trips becomes a game in itself for me. It's not necessarily about the number of rides I get on a coaster. More about the fact that I made it to the park and got to ride. For example, I've done every American coaster in the RCDB record listing, except I-305. That will be taken care of early June. So while it may be great to get 5 rides on I-305, I'll be happy to get one and move on. Yes, I understand I can pay $50 and get more rides, the option is there, great.

I think that's why they're pricing it at $50, they don't want everyone to buy it. There's a fine balancing act. It's kinda like staying onsite at Universal and getting Express all day, exact same thing. Universal limits Express for the top rides so they don't piss off the GP. They don't want everyone re-riding the top attractions over and over all day. A few times, great, now move on and let the GP ride.

[Rastus O'Ginga]

On May 16, 5:20 pm, Theme Park Review <robbal...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I honestly don't understand how any roller coaster enthusiast can
> bitch and moan so much about front of the line systems put into place
> that allow them to get MORE rides on roller coasters!  The argument
> seems to defy all logical sense.  We blew past 2+ hour queues for
> Millenium Force and Top Thrill Dragster and probably could have gotten
> 10 rides on each in the same amount of time as I could have stood in
> line once.  It's like an ERT session on 20 rides where you control the
> schedule.  This should be considered the most amazing invention ever
> to be brought into the coaster enthusiasts world! Why would any
> coaster geek choose to wait two hours in line when you could be riding
> that entire time???
>
> I just don't get it.  Some of us spend hundreds, even thousands of
> dollars each year on travel, park tickets, enthusiast clubs, season
> passes, etc, and the one thing that will allow you to get MORE of the
> thing you like the most, I see so much complaining about.
>
> It makes ZERO sense to me.
>
> On our TPR tours, we get people ERT *AND* front of the line passes for
> all the parks that offer them, and all we ever hear is how amazing it
> is having "ERT all day long" at the parks we visit. How the hell is
> this something anyone would complain about?
>
> --Robb "I chalk it up to there just being a lot of really, really,
> really stupid people in the world." Alvey

I can see people getting upset at their HOME parks, simply because you
most likely won't pay the upcharge there, since you go often. It's
easier to go one evening after it rained all day, driving everyone
away. But, it really depends on how expensive it is, and how many use
it. $40 seems rather cheap for a park like CP. I'd guess the price
will be more on a Saturday in June. It has to be, unless CP is really
going to a tiered guest plan. I would think tons of folks would pay
$40 to skip lines all day in a packed park in the Summer. Especially
a destination park like CP. IF Disney's FP became a $50 upcharge
only, I'd definitely pay it on some days, but locals likely wouldn't.

I think enthusiasts are spoiled by events, including yours, Robb :).
Where they pay LESS than normal prices and get ERT and other goodies.
LIke next weekend. For $25, we'll get 2 days at Schlitterbahn ($60
normal), plus 3 meals, a T-shirt, two parties, and ERT that usually
allows all the Master Blaster you want in 2 hours. Plus,
Schlitterbahn employees in bikinis (Jeff Seibert NOT included,
hopefully). On a Saturday, MB can easily get a 3 hour line.

Schlittercon is probably the best deal of ANY event. And it's only 9
DAYS AWAY!!!!!

-RO

[Wolf]

>> That's already happening to me. The desire to go to parks with these
>> systems is lower and lower every year. I'm doing more and more non park

>> trips
>
> Doing fewer park trips because of skip-the-line-passes? Wow!!! This
> is GREAT NEWS! The fewer idiots that go to parks bitching and
> complaining about pointless crap, the better the overall experience is
> for everyone else!

Downside: that only drives the "fat sunburned guy with inexplicable tattoo"
ratio upward.

--
|\-/|
<0 0>
=(o)=
-Wolf

[Wolf]

"David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply" <davidhhh...@bellatlantic.net>
wrote in message news:cs08r75sr1mnc4bdp...@4ax.com...

> Well, I'm much more likely to want to go to the parks with fastpass
> systems.

You're not exactly someone with large odds for visiting small parks in
general. Regardless of whether they actually have a Paypass system, you tend
to visit the kind of park that would have one.

[Wolf]

"Theme Park Review" <robb...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:70941b12-cf7a-45c1...@n42g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
>
> Fly first class to the park
> and then stay in a motel 6, or fly coach and stay at a Breakers suite.

You speak as though there was a difference in the two.

[Dave Althoff Jr.]

"David H.--REMOVE \"STOPSPAM\" to reply" <davidhhh...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>
> You know, this is one point that I think is very important to note in all
> of this. People forget that every single one of us in this newsgroup is at
> the very least middle class. Every single one of us can afford to buy the
> fast pass systems -- if we choose to. We make choices every day as to what
> we want to spend out money on. A newer, bigger TV, a better car,
> cable/satellite TV with the extra channels, more expensive clothes and
> jewelry, a nicer restaurant (or a nicer meal at that restaurant -- or going
> out more often), a better hotel, first class when flying, more video games,
> or whatever.

Can we?

The reason some of us tend to be "cheap" at the parks is becasue we want
to spend more time there. An extra $50 to get a couple of extra rides
at one park today means I can't go to another park next week. Or it
means I can't come back to this park next week. Yes, it's all about
making choices...and for some of us, that money is already spoken for.

I learned long ago possibly the most important secret in the amusement
business: in the absence of company picnics, go on Sunday.
Unfortunately, I am getting to the age where getting home late on Sunday
night makes it increasingly difficult to go to work on Monday morning...

-- Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
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NEW! When emailing this account, include the 'canonical magic word' in
the body of your message for a quicker response.

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

???

What are you talking about?

I've visited almost every park in the country that has more than a kiddie
steel coaster -- and quite a lot that only have a kiddie coaster, too!

The last trip I planned that wasn't based around a major coaster event
(I.E. Con, ACE Scandinavia, etc) was my Midwest trip two years ago. And
sure I went to chain parks SFGAm, Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun, SFSL, Kings
Island, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens.

But I also visited Little Amerricka (and cut my time very short at SFGAm to
be able to finally get there, since they've never been open when I've
planned trips in the area!), Knucklehead's in the Dells, Mr Olympus, Timber
Falls, Noah's Ark, Nickelodeon Universe, Arnold's, Adventureland, Holiday
World, Kennywood, Waldameer, Hersheypark (or would you put that in the
former category?) and even little Go-Karts Plus in Williamsburg. If it
hadn't looked like my whole day was going to be rained out, I'd have
visited Como Town, in St Paul, too.

That's a pretty good balance of small to larger parks, don't you think? And
that's a pretty typical trip for me, if admittedly, an extended version of
one.

In fact, none of the chain parks were the main reason for that particular
trip, actually. My main goal was to get on the three GG woodies at Holiday
World (for Holi-Wood Nights, of course, which the entire trip was planned
around!), Mt Olympus and Waldameer. And my secondary goal was to finally
get on the woodies at Little Amerricka, Arnold's and Adventureland. My
third goal was to finally get back to Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun and SFSL,
mainly to try out the trio of new GCI woodies there. The bigger parks were
added in, since they were nearby or on the route. (Plus, I hadn't been on
Diamondback, Maverick, Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, Intimidator 305, or
Griffon yet.)

I'm not sure where you got the impression that I only tend to visit larger
parks. I've always been a big supporter and fan of smaller parks.

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

On Sun, 20 May 2012 04:54:12 +0000 (UTC), dalloff....@sbcglobal.net
(Dave Althoff Jr.) wrote:

>"David H.--REMOVE \"STOPSPAM\" to reply" <davidhhh...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>>
>> You know, this is one point that I think is very important to note in all
>> of this. People forget that every single one of us in this newsgroup is at
>> the very least middle class. Every single one of us can afford to buy the
>> fast pass systems -- if we choose to. We make choices every day as to what
>> we want to spend out money on. A newer, bigger TV, a better car,
>> cable/satellite TV with the extra channels, more expensive clothes and
>> jewelry, a nicer restaurant (or a nicer meal at that restaurant -- or going
>> out more often), a better hotel, first class when flying, more video games,
>> or whatever.
>
>Can we?
>
>The reason some of us tend to be "cheap" at the parks is becasue we want
>to spend more time there. An extra $50 to get a couple of extra rides
>at one park today means I can't go to another park next week. Or it
>means I can't come back to this park next week. Yes, it's all about
>making choices...and for some of us, that money is already spoken for.
>
>I learned long ago possibly the most important secret in the amusement
>business: in the absence of company picnics, go on Sunday.
>Unfortunately, I am getting to the age where getting home late on Sunday
>night makes it increasingly difficult to go to work on Monday morning...

Maybe an extra $50 to get "a couple of extra rides" would be a bad value.
I'd probably agree with that. But an extra $50 to get 2-3 times as many
rides as you could get otherwise is an exceptional value, in my opinion.
And I've never actually bought any such system where I didn't get at least
double the rides as everyone else, at least not on the signature
attractions that had the longest waits.

(For full disclosure, technically at Gardaland, we got about 8 rides with
our line jumper pass, which probably amounted to 4-5 extra rides.. But it
only cost about $14, too, so it was WELL worth it! And at Thorpe I bought
line jumper passes for three specific rides.)

And that's exactly what we're talking about at Cedar Point.

That said, I stand by my point about choices. Yes, you might have to
choose between the fastpass system or another day at that or another park.
Or you might decide to cut out a dinner or two out. Or those extra cable
channels (or cable altogether). Or buy cheaper or less clothes. Or a
smaller TV. Or a cheaper phone plan. Or whatever you decide to spend your
money on.

And those choices might entitle going to the park on a slower day. But
sometimes, we don't all have that option.

I'm not questioning your choices in life. You decide what makes you happy.
But ultimately, you're in control of what you choose.

[GodsOnSafari]

> Can we?
>
> The reason some of us tend to be "cheap" at the parks is becasue we want
> to spend more time there.  An extra $50 to get a couple of extra rides
> at one park today means I can't go to another park next week.  Or it
> means I can't come back to this park next week. Yes, it's all about
> making choices...and for some of us, that money is already spoken for.

Its like this Dave - when it comes to resources I can kick towards
travel, I have more money than time. I can't just choose to go to
Canada's Wonderland, Great America, or Cedar Point on weekdays
whenever I'm in the mood. I have a job I have to show up for, and most
of them are way too far to do in a single day. Cedar Point is on the
very edge of being untenable as far as being a day trip goes. I could
choose to use my two and a half weeks of vacation time at work to take
days off and go to these parks during far less busy periods, but then
I can't take any of the more exotic, longer trips I really enjoy. Now,
if I didn't have any money, the choice would be made for me.

So is it worth it to me to show up to Canada's Wonderland later this
year on a busy Saturday and possibly plunk down $45 for a wristband
with unlimited rides? Well, a vacation day is worth a lot more to me
than $45....

[Wolf]

"David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply" <davidhhh...@bellatlantic.net>

wrote in message news:j6ugr715d6h38ps8f...@4ax.com...

You talk repeatedly of not owning a car and of hitting many parks as part of
a coaster tour.

That limits your trip frequency to smaller, out-of-the-way parks, the kind
of place that doesn't need a pass system.

[David H.--REMOVE "STOPSPAM" to reply]

You can get a lot of smaller parks in on a coaster tour! One time, many
years ago, I hit three Jeepers, a carnival, and three other parks in one
day!

I tend to do all of my coastering on trips. I kind of joke that I'm a
coaster bulimic. I binge, then purge. Last year, all of my park visits
were in three trips: Texas for Con, Europe for the ACE Scandi trip, and NYC
for an electronic dance music festival. The year before, my only
coastering was during the long trip mentioned above, plus NYC for the same
festival. The year before, it was the ECC Italy trip along with the ACE
Spain trip consecutively, and that was it. This year, it will be Asia,
though I'll try to get down to Connecticut for a day to ride their two
great woodies.

And on those trips, I tend to visit a variety of parks. Though admittedly,
when I'm abroad, I don't tend to hit the smaller parks, unless they have
something notable, or they're already part of the organized trip. (And
even those organized trips usually have a pretty good balance or types of
parks.) I just don't have the time to spend on an overseas trip just to
CreHo when I could be seeing Venice or the Vatican or the Tokyo Sky Tower
or whatever.

But even when I've visited my local parks, I've been to Compounce at least
as much as I've been to SFNE. Admittedly, I haven't been to Canobie or
Funtown much lately, mainly because my friends aren't really interested in
going there, and it's not worth renting a car or taking a weekend day off
from work for an enthusiast event.

Honestly, since B&M tamed down the forces on their coasters, I tend to go
where the good woodies are. And they don't tend to be at chain parks. But
I'll usually hit up the parks in one area.

Any time I've gone to SFoG, I've almost always gone to Visionland/Alabama
Adventures, too, though I guess that's now out. Plus Dollywood, Myrtle
Beach (all of the parks there), Lake Winnie, Carowinds, and even Dixieland
and Southern Adventures. Most of the times I've been to SFGAdv or Dorney,
it's been in conjunction with PPP at Knoebels. Although the last two times
I was at SFGAdv, it was in conjunction with the festival in NYC, though I
also went to Luna Park (and Victorian Gardens last year), so there was a
smaller park (or two) included too. Any time I've been to SFGAm, I've gone
to the Dells and/or Indiana Beach. Any time I've been to Kings Island,
I've been to Holiday World.

Admittedly, for the smallest of the small parks, I generally go once, and
that's it. To get the credits, obviously, but also to support them.

But for any mid-size park with a decent woodie, I'm happy to go any time
I'm in the area. And often going there for the woodie is the reason that
I'm in the area, and the bigger parks in the area are a bonus.

[Jules Da]

On May 17, 2:14 pm, Theme Park Review <robbal...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On May 17, 11:37 am, "Rastus O'Ginga" <rastu...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I can see people getting upset at their HOME parks, simply because you
> > most likely won't pay the upcharge there, since you go often.  It's
> > easier to go one evening after it rained all day, driving everyone
> > away.
>

> Of course you wouldn't use it at your home park, unless it made sense
> to.  For example, I live down the street from Universal Orlando which
> offers an upcharge skip-the-line pass, but here's the thing....
>
> 1. I don't go when the park is insanely packed, or...
> 2. If I *do* go with the park is packed, I choose NOT to stand in line
> 90 minutes for rides like Spider-Man or Ripsaw, or...
> 3. In the off chance I end up having to do an all-day visit to the
> park with friends from out of town on a busy day, and they've never
> been to the park before, we bite the bullet and get the Express pass,
> because that is still a WAAAAAY better option than spending most of
> your day in line.
>
> So far, #3 hasn't actually happened yet!
>
> Fortunately, there are also single rider lines at Universal Orlando,
> but even still, that Spider-Man single rider line can sometimes be 25
> minutes when the park is packed.  I won't even wait 25 minutes in a
> single rider line.  Locals know when to go to the parks and when to
> avoid them.  There are actually times I enjoy, as a local, going to a
> park, and just walking around and not riding anything...or riding
> stuff I know that never has a long line.
>
> It goes back to making choices.  If you're a local, and you choose to
> ONLY go on busy Saturdays then you can only blame yourself.
>
> And I agree, we ARE spoiled by events (especially ours!) and it's
> things like virtual queue systems that encourage us to add more value
> to our events, and on top of what we offer, we always get these
> systems for our tour participants and try to get discounts on them
> during our events!  (Our Leviathan Bash is offering Fast Lane at a $20
> discount!)
>
> --Robb

Longer lines would be good for Blobb, he can burn more calories
waiting in line.

[Jules Da]

On May 27, 3:10 pm, Theme Park Review <robbal...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Not true!  I burn more calories doing laps through the empty
> Millennium Force Fast Lane queue bypassing all the people in the
> peasant line.
>
> How many times do you need to be told - fat jokes don't work on me
> because I make them about myself!  I know you're trying REALLY HARD to
> be funny, but please leave the comedy to the professionals -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLRQvK2-iqQ
>
> If you're going to make an attempt to insult me, try doing it with
> something I find insulting, like your mom.
>
> --Robb "We got some dumbass mother fuckers floatin' around this
> place..." Alvey

Still elicits a reaction from you, apparently it is hitting your right
into your 3 hundred and fiddy pound core.

Jules "you should try putting pin stripes your black outfits because
black alone is not slimming for ya" Davis