pashacar

There are definitely some "unwritten" ones and given the park's location, people are happy to shout about them. When we were teenagers, my friends and I thought it was the height of humor to ride the kiddie rides and act like they were big, scary thrillers. Once, a mother who apparently didn't think it was quite as funny as we did spent most of a ride's cycle shouting at us, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE, HUH?!"

^ For me it was by far the best of the crop last year. (Not that that's saying much....)

Yep. They cut them to save money, so now you're forced to pay up or walk a lot.

^As with any park, crowds depend on the day you go. The last time I was there we had no trouble riding everything without any Flash Pass.

Wow, only on that one cycle? Do you know how that happened? Did the operator push a button due to the small number of riders? Or is the train somehow weighed in the station or on the lift (a la Dueling Dragons) so the computer knows how to apply the brakes?

Stop at Knoebel's on the way! Right on the way, cheap, easy, and you can go for as short or long as you'd like.

Nice report. What are the SDP hours for HITP?

Mrpq, if you can swing it, going during the week in late August is amazing. Super light attendance, especially Tue-Thu in the last two weeks before Labor Day. If you go that time of year, you'll easily be able to do everything at the park in two days, one night at the Breakers, without Fast Lane. Or, if you want to have a more leisurely time and maybe hit up the water park, too (which has comically light attendance that time of year), you could do three days, two nights at the Breakers. Then you'd have time to maybe chill at the beach a bit during one of the days, or head to downtown Sandusky for dinner one night (this place is good). You certainly don't *need* to stay at the Breakers to have a good time, but I highly recommend the experience you get there, if the cost is doable. Plus, you save a lot on admission and parking to help offset what can feel like ridiculously high room rates.

I think it's hilarious that they cite safety concerns in the parking lot, considering that security booth is staffed about 5% of the time. At least the structures holding up the panels could have cameras that someone could watch for suspicious activity.

^ Hadn't seen that answer until now. Good one!

I can't remember -- was Big Wheel open last year? I hope that it is, along with a round-trip Skyride for the arial views. More decorations in Boardwalk would be nice, and stronger use of the themed scents in each area -- I heard so much about them last year but couldn't sniff out any when I visited. Overall, these are all all small notes, though; it was a really great event last year so mainly I hope they maintain the level of showmanship and quality.

^ Can you explain more? Sounds fun!

Other parks have had similar shows (zombie make up, bad lip-synching, fire) under different names, as well. Many of SF shows, in FF and the regular season, are microwaved versions of things that were once good at one park.

How were crowds? Waits for mazes?

Just to play devil's advocate, if you push this logic further, it means the park shouldn't spend anything on cleaning bathrooms or staffing the front gate. Obviously there's indirect ROI from an improved Guest experience, even if SFI doesn't seem very interested in that.

There was a nice article about the event a few years ago: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,699426,00.html

^Dorney's, in my opinion, is maybe the best rapids ride anywhere.

^They just don't care about Guest experience nearly as much as they should. BTW, thanks all for the Giant Discovery comparisons. I *LOVE* MaxAir, so something that's even better than that sounds like a great potential addition.

Has anyone been on a Zamperla Giant Discovery and a Huss Giant Frisbee? I love the latter, and I'm curious how they compare considering the former is likely in our future.

^ It's the one park I know of where Preferred really makes a difference. Instead of being over a bridge and up a hill, you're right next to the gate -- it's a whole separate lot and not just a cordoned-off portion of the main one.

Is that the new DMP set? Looks nice! Glad to see them refreshing/rethinking it to some extent. It's been an old, microwaved version for too many years now.

^Agreed, but remember that the Fort is old as well. Who knows if it will still be around in 10 years.

^Yep. Skyride feels like it's in good shape, but I could easily see the chutes disappear by 2020.

Lolololololol

^ Agreed. Would love to see them make a comeback, even as the "historical" elements of our park dwindle.