29yrswithaGApass Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Please feel free to share your thoughts and activities of Opening Day 2008. Also don't forget, the Galleries are always available for your favorite photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Hey guys. I figured I'd give a little detail of our opening day experiences and thoughts on how it went: We left in time to arrive at the park at around 10:40 or so. Bought our season parking pass and got a parking spot nice and close right outside of the preferred parking area which was definately nice. For the day we actually skipped the Safari simply because we didn't actually have our passes processed yet to get in with our admission. So we got ourselves a locker for the day (prices went up this year to $10.00 for a smaller one and $15.00 for a larger one) to put some of our stuff away like coats and our wallets and phones and the like. We went over to the Season Pass Processing Center where we had a slight wait (actually our longest line of the entire day) and got our passes processed. One thing we immediately noticed were the new uniform shirt colors that everyone was wearing. Those lime neon green shirts really do stick out amongst the park visitors. I actually remarked to my girlfriend that I though it was a good idea though because a park employee will be very easy to find in a crowd whether they be needed by an adult, or even more importanly a child if they for some reason get separated from a parent or group they might be with. I really like the idea of having uniform colors that stick out so well in a crowd. Before getting into any ride experiences or anything else, let me say that the park as a whole was extremely clean, the employees that we cam accross were all very nice, welcoming, and accomodating. We did see at most of the coasters with new lockers the employees looking for people with items that would have to be taken off and stored away before riding. Considering they are standing right on the outside of the line queues it will be interesting to see if anyone manages to bring prohibitted items on as the employees seemd to be quite vigilant the entire time. I think a good idea on the park's side is definately placing a security officer at many of the big ride entrances (i.e. Nitro, Kingda Ka, El toro, etc...) because there are bound to be the one or two people during the year who will make a major issue about the new locker policy. After processing, we went directly next door to the Fly Me To The Moon simulator. Going in we both had a rather open mind about what we were seeing. While in the waiting area we didn't notice any real preshow for the ride other than the usual warnings about eathing drinking and such. One complaint many people seemed to have on the ride was that in the beginning and sporatically throughout the ride the picture seemed a little bit blurry. While this wasn't a major issue, it was noticed by quite a few people around me. Even with the blurriness of some parts, the show as a whole was enjoayble and we both agreed that while a little more motion could have been put into the ride, it was still not bad at all. In all honesty, I don't look for the simulator to be anything overly amazing, and as a nice little show to see through the day I think it works. Our next ride was the Great American Scream Machine. While the ride is usually pretty bumpy and rough in the last few years, we found that the ride experience was rather enjoyable as we didn not feel much of the shaking we normally do. This could just be from riding so early in the season after off-season routine maintanence or anything else so who really knows. We literally walked right onto the ride (as this was the theme of the day in all honesty at most major attractions) and had no real wait at all. At this point Superman had not been running with any guests and had actually seemed to be having a slight issue when we arrived so we left that area to come back later on. We next took a walk through the Golden Kingdom to see if the Galapagos Tortoises were out yet, and were a little dissapointed not to see them out, but with the cold weather as of late I can see them not coming out until closer to summer. We opted not to take a ride on Kingda Ka for the day (this is a ride we are quite selective of and is something we really need to be in the mood for on a particular day). We checked out the times for the Tiger show, picked one we would come back to watch and then headed off again. As is our normal we stopped to check out the tigers out in their viewing area with the trainers and playing around. My girlfriend got a kick out of two tigers sitting next to one another licking each other and I just like to see them no matter what they are doing. When we neared the Plaza De Carnival Rolling Thunder was not yet up and a lot of poeple were heading for El Toro which seemd to be running a bit slow so we instead chose to head for a ride on Medusa first. Once again we walked literally right onto Medusa with no wait and it was again a great ride as it always is. It was a little dissapointing to see the paint still looking a bit worn and all, but at the same time it doesn't look too bad. Looking into the Safari from the lift hill, it seemed like the animals weren't too active next door and we didn't see a single car within the compound portion we were next to. After Medusa we decided we headed off for a ride on the Runaway Mine Train which is a ride we both still really like. One of the trains is still tarped over and so they weren't running near full capactiy (although they didn't really need to simply because the ride enevr seemed to have more than say ten people on it at any time). The ride was fun as usual, and while riding I happened to hear a siren ringing over on Rolling Thunder and I noticed that the yellow train was stopped near the top fo the lift hill so I don't know if they were doing some testing on the ride, or if it happened to get stuck at that point or not. While leaving the train we noticed that the belt on the Log Flume was still in the same place it was during the construction tour, so obvioulsy nothing had been done to the lift since that point in time. At this point it was around 12:45 so we decided to get some butterfly fries on the Boardwalk while deciding where we wanted to head next. As always the Butterfyl Fried were superb and thoroughly enjoyable. We heard an announcemnet advertising the Dolphin Shiver Me Flippers show would be starting in about fifteen minutes so we decided to head over there at that point. On a side note here, both my girlfriend and I though it was nice to hear them advertising the shows over the park PA system as even we who usually know when all shows begin, had not checked out the dolphin times yet. I hope they continue through the entire season with this as I think their animal shows are especially entertaining, but all of their shows deserve proper audiences. As in every single year, the Dolphins were outstanding to watch. It seemed the Dolphins and even Sea Lion were very excited to see people as they performed all of their tricks and stunts amazingly. Last year during a few shows the dolphins seemd a bit hesitant and sometimes simply didn't want to perform (which I mean they are animals with free will so you can't blame them) but it is definitely nice to see them when they are that funfilled. As an added bonus to the show (and if they did this at the later showing I am not sure) the trainers offered the audience the chance to stay and see two new additions to the Great Adventure Family. There are two new Sea Lions at the park this year who have recently arrived from one of the west coast parks (I believe Magic Mountain). They informed us that they were slowly helping to get the two used to crowds and clapping and the noise, so they briefly came out to the main portion of the pool and performed some tricks and seemed a little shy to be honest. The kids in the arean really seemed to get a kick out of the two little ones and they were definately fun to see especially considering how small they were compared to "Squid" who has been here for a few seasons now. After the Dolphin show we headed directly for the Temple of the Tiger, to see the new Team Tiger show for the year. We were lucky that we had Kingda Ka featured in our show as he is a very nice looking Tiger and his coloring is spectacular. We also got to see Ka's "girlfriend" perfomr some nice leaping abilities and all. While the information expressed in the presentation is basically the same as last year, it is still nice to see the Tigers looking so healthy, and also it still can be a bit stunning to hear the details on the number around in the wild today and all. I was impressed to learn that our tiger show last year had earned itself an award from the IAAPA I believe for best edutainment show. Always nice for a hometown show to be honored for something like that which embodies both education and entertainment. We sat within the first few rows of the stadium, and before the show one of the employees came over to us and was talking to us about soe of the new things they have for the season such as trainer for a day and other sorts of special behind the scenes things that guests can do with the Temple Tigers. Following the Tiger Show we decided to make a stop at our locker to put away our passes and a sweatshirt. At this point we headed out for Nitro which is an absolute must for us. As with the rest of the day we walked right up to about the staircase which lefts us with basically a five minute wait to get onto the ride. Nitro is probably my favorite ride in that park, however it did leave me feeling a little bit sick and dizzy after getting off this time so we ended up scrapping our planned ride on Batman simply because I was feeling pretty crummy. It was odd seeing no water at all in Congo Rapids or the surrounding area, especially because of how nice the weather was at this point (sunny, sixty something, and no clouds anywhere). We walked around the small section currently open in Movietown to look around. To my amazement there were three guys taking turns hopping the fence to take pictures next to the Batmobile with a security guard stading about twenty feet away at the queue entrance to Batman: The Ride with nothing said. Not a biggie but it did kind of catch my attention. Since I was still sick we decided that instead of another coaster we were going to head on over to the Big Wheel for a ride that we always seem to take at the park. This had probably the longest ride of the entire day which only amounted to about ten minutes or so to get on. The Big Wheel is always amazing to be on to get a ride in the park. It was interesting to see how few people actually seemed to be in the park as the view from the Wheel seemed to show more open concrete in the walkways than people which is very rare at the park. It was also fun to look into the remaining Old Country and see how deserted it is now that nothing is in there. There are still pieces of The Dark Knight scattered behind the Chiller station, but it doesn't seem to be anywhere as many as during the construction tour we got pictures from a couple of weeks back. After the Big Wheel, we headed over to do the parachutes which is something we haven't done in years (actualy myself I can't remember doing it anytime in recent memory). The ride was again a couple of minutes wait simply because of only four chutes working during the day. The ride was fun and quite the view to say the last and We'll definately be visiting again during the season. We headed off for a little Ben & Jerry's ice cream after the Parachutes and then happened to notice that the skyride was working which was nice for me because I love them. When we got over the Skyride was still finishing up their initial runs and had just gotten done with loading all of the cars onto the line I believe so we hung out in The Fort for a little while until it opened up. Once they were running we headed in for our ride. The attendants were actually really nice on this ride with a little saying of enjoy you scenic ride ___ft (terrible with these numbers) about the park and sent us off on our way. The view was really nice and we got a good look out over the lake and the rest of the park. I always like the skyride as both a means accross the park and a nice scenic view of the surrounding areas. When we reached the unloading station it was pretty busy for those looking to ride over to the fort already which is nice to see as the skyride is a pleasant experience. At this point I was feeling slightly better so we took a ride on Skull Mountain for the heck of it. When the lights are all off and it is dark inside the ride, Skull Mountain can still be an enjoyable ride, though obviously nowhere near some of the other dark coasters out there today. Had they ever really went all out on the ride wth some indoor theming instead on the pure warehouse feel it has the ride would be much more popular. After Skull Mountain the gf and I were talking about rides we hadn't been on in ages and realized we were right next to the Buccaneer. We decided to take a ride on, and so off we went. Unfortunately this kind of got me feeling a little bit worse in terms of being a bit dizzy and sick which pretty much ruled out finishing up our coaster tour for the day. This was a little dissapointing, but we still had gotten to do a lot during the day as a whole to this point and it was around 5:30 in the afternoon so we had been there for the majority of the day. Trying to see if I would feel a bit better, we sat down on a bench out in front of the Big Wheel and just watched the other guests apss us by for a little while deciding what we were going to do. I never got to feeling much better at that point so we decided that while it would be nice to stick around and see the park as the sun went down, it would be beneficial to head out and just relax for the evening and see if I would feel better. On the way out we stopped in the Main Street gift shop just to see what was new for the season and everything. I really have to say that the first day was extremely enjoyable. Everyone in the park was in such a good mood. Things were so clean and the park was more than able to keep up with any messes that were being made. Security seemed to be out in full force and with the light crowd, they had no problem having a presence. I did not seem to see anybody who was overly upset about having to their stuff in a locker on the major rollercoasters even for a fee, and employees also seemed to be doing a good job noticing when people were bringing things onto the queue that were prohibitted. We were glad that glasses were not considered things that needed to be stored as that would just be leading to many problems since they are so necesary for so many people. The day as a whole was a blast and I really hope that the rest of your guys enjoyed it as much as we did since so many said you were going for the opening day or weekend. If anything disspointed me it would be the fact that the signage from Houdini was closed all day with most of it's signage missing which could be a sign of things to come. We shall see, however, so it's not that big a deal until something is announced. I look forward to reading about everyone else's adventures this weekend. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 (edited) Well I went to the park on Sunday, got there arond 4 and it was cold! First I rode Skull Mt 4 times in a row. Then I rode Nitro 2 times but it was the coldest coaster so I could not ride it more than 2 times. After Nitro I rode Batman 2 times, then took a look at the Dark Knight. Next I rode Skull Mt one more time then The Big Wheel and headed over to Fly Me to the Moon which sadly was not as good as Spongebob. After that I headed over to El Toro and rode it 8 times which is the most I have ever ridden it in a row, then it was closing time and I headed home. I had a good time. Edited April 8, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Damn sounds like a great day for ya there. I dunno what my deal is right now but I used to be able to do coaster after coaster during the day. Hopefully I'll regain my form but still very impressive trip for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted April 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 I posted a bunch of random shots from opening day to the galleries. Click here to see the rest of the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcji Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 ^^^Really nice photos! They all came out perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Excellent photos of Opening Day Harry. I considered taking my camera myself, but figured I would enjoy the first day more without having to worry about carrying it with me or having to store it away (especially with the new locker systems in place). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Adventurer Posted April 9, 2008 Report Share Posted April 9, 2008 Great pics Harry! Here's how my opening day went down: Superman first Scream machine next Then on to Kingda Ka (Front row! I had a blast) Toro after that, again in the front row Medusa next To the other side of the park for some TDK photos And Nitro, front row again And ended with Batman the Ride, on which we stayed in the seat after the harnesses were released for another ride since there was no line! Even though I got there around 2:00, really late, what a day it was. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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