dougdrummer

IPs?  I've only heard the computer networking term....

I went last year on one of the colder days/nights.  I remember having to bundle up quite a bit, with temps down around freezing by sundown.  I couldn't get there this year before Christmas because of medical issues, and I sure as heck wasn't going there the last couple weeks with this crazy arctic freeze.

15 hours ago, ericthewanderer said:

When I was a kid I got to buy fireworks from South Of The Border,and  light them off on New Year's & July 4th,so fireworks DO have a shelf life as long as they're in a cool dry spot.

However,Great Adv. probably put a refundable down payment  at a professional pyrotechnical company for a New Year's display.

That makes sense, but I can't imagine it's fully refundable.  I'm pretty sure SF took a financial hit for cancelling.  Those fireworks probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

15 hours ago, ericthewanderer said:

Once again-I like the pre-show,but then again Great Adv. isn't my home park(if it was I probably hate it too).Maybe they can make a shortcut that bypasses the pre-show and leads straight to the ride station;it could be themed as one of Batman's secret escape routes. 

I always wondered if the pre-show served some functional purpose.  Is it a way of metering the flow of people into the boarding area?  Do they have it because there is not enough queuing area inside the building?  Skull Mountain is an indoor ride but it just has a conventional queue line that extends around the inside of the building.  Dark Knight has an outdoor queue area.  If I see people in that queue, there's no way I'm going to stand in that line, then torture myself with a pre-show, before starting on a 1-2 minute ride.

So what do they do with the fireworks?  Is it a vendor that supplies and stages the display?  Do fireworks have a shelf life and can they be saved until next summer?  Or are they specific to the holiday season and need to be saved a whole year?

The pre-show needs to be completely redone, or just eliminate it.  It's been showing its age for many years now.  I stand there looking at my watch wondering when they'll open the doors to the ride, so I don't have to suffer through the boring presentation.  The only benefit to the pre-show is to cool off or warm up on hot or cold days.

I'm thinking about getting a Mazda CX-5 over the winter (probably 2-3 years old used, low mileage).  My family is tired of my Hyundai Sonata.  It fit my needs when I bought it, but it is showing its age and the vague steering is annoying when you are driving on the highway, since you have to constantly correct the wheel to stay in your lane.  Everybody who has reviewed the CX-5 has said it is a blast to drive, which would be nice for a change.  Also looking at Escape, CRV, RAV4, Terrain, etc.

My wife says she wants a small SUV instead of a car, since she is tired of "sitting on the pavement" and wants a better driving position.

On 12/21/2017 at 7:54 PM, Yoshi said:

It would still be my favorite coaster in the park and my 2nd highest ranked steel coaster regardless of the theming. I do like that is has an original name (not counting other coasters in other parts of the world that opened up later) but I would have been fine with whatever name and theme Six Flags used.

x 2

It's the only coaster I must ride every time I go there, and usually as soon as I get there when the park opens, so I can ride without any lines.

Its sister coaster at SFNE is a little more unique (dips below ground), but it was incorporated into the Superman theme - I like Nitro's unique name better.

Health willing, we'll probably get the season pass and dining pass again for 2018.  For around $300 for both of us, we really got our money's worth in 2017.  The only bummer was that we couldn't get to HITP this year because of health issues.  In 2017 we visited SF New England, and this coming year I'd like to get the the SF outside of DC.

15 hours ago, ericthewanderer said:

I know this is wishful thinking,but it would be cool if Great Adv. tried to get "themed" concrete for the walkways:basically in Frontier Adventures the concrete would be dirt-colored and have animal prints in it(deer/wolf/horses,etc) and in Movie Town they could try to make it like the Hollywood Walk Of Fame,but with Warner Bros./DC Comics characters.

Agree 100%.  I've brought up this topic many times over the last couple years.  Now that I attend regularly with a season pass, I tend to look at the details, and one of the first things I notice is the horrendous conditions of some of the pavement.  At best, the walkways throughout the park are inconsistent, and in worse case they are a hazard.  One the areas over by the old Stunt Show arena still has foundations from old buildings removed, with rebar and concrete footings sticking up slightly above the ground line.  Not only does this look awful, but it has to be a tripping hazard.

I really like the themed pavement idea, which was started in some areas. Stamped and colored concrete would be the way to go in my opinion.  I'm not so sure about the new Justice League area, which was paved with a lot of plain white concrete.  That surface absorbs rubber from work vehicles, and also stains very easily from whatever falls off of any trees in the vicinity, as well as stains quickly if you have any iron in the soil (cedar water is common in this part of NJ).  I imagine in another year or so the concrete is not going to look very aesthetic.

On 11/16/2017 at 3:16 AM, Yoshi said:

Some Walmarts seem to have good clearance deals like that, others are horrible. Unfortunately my local Walmart is one of the bad ones, where a $29.44 item marked down to $29 is their idea of a clearance price.

 

 

and you still have to wait in long lines and get crappy service

15 hours ago, Mr.Six said:

Primo’s Pasta has opened and it’s on the dining plan. It replaced MaMa Floras by the Big Wheel.

that's great news - never went to Mama's, but smelled it all the time....LOL

20 hours ago, FlumeOp1974 said:

It would be nice to see something like this return to GA

 

Nice, but I don't ever see it happening.  I'm not sure millennials really care about this kind of stuff.

On 11/13/2017 at 10:32 AM, Lemur said:

I'm a woman. 

 

I have zero interest in shows.

 

I would like better menu options and more trees though. 

My wife would definitely disagree with you on the shows, but agree with the other two.

Kudos to the title of this thread!

How long does it typically take between approval and breaking ground?  I assume detailed drawings had to be completed in order to get the approvals.

My daughters had a pretty good time.  They only attended the festival, and didn't pay for park admission.  They shared a bottle of wine and ate at one of the food trucks.

On 11/6/2017 at 12:37 PM, Lemur said:

 

They were open.  They'll be open Tuesday and then Thursday through Sunday.  Best time to ride the rides, the park is usually dead quiet and the longest wait is for Justice League.  

The park is becoming more and more like a year round destination.  The only time of the year it's really closed is January through late March.

My daughters are going today but unfortunately it looks to be a wet day.

Thank you for that video - it was enlightening.  It's amazing how many full time workers the park employs year round.  I wonder how much the carpenters and mechanics get paid?  Do the inspectors on the rides get extra hazard pay for having to work at such heights and under those conditions?  I've never been a big fan of unions (that's a topic for another day), but in this case with safety (both patron and employee) being so important, I can see the value of union labor doing this work.  They have to get it right.

On 11/3/2017 at 7:09 AM, Mr.Six said:

 

Coca Cola Freestyles or Pepsi Spire?

forgive me, but what are these?

My daughters are going to the wine and food festival tomorrow.  You have to buy a special ticket on top of the general admission ticket.  Fortunately one has a season pass and she can bring the other in for only $10.  I did not think the park and rides were open again until HITP started.

Is that the big ugly colored building you used to see from the Turnpike, or is it new construction?

Go to the panorama view and scroll - it is sweet!  Looks like this will be a amusement park you would be able to take the train to.  There aren't too many of those!

On 10/31/2017 at 9:17 PM, Viper26 said:

Never tried Coca Cola Zero Sugar and it seems redundant so I say Diet Coke.

 

Hershey or Mars?

I'd prefer to visit Hershey.  And eat it too.  LOL

Toyota or Honda?

It's still mind boggling to me that they closed the NB entrance, but there were no signs or traffic directors to tell people where to go....total mayhem with people getting REALLY pissed trying to get into the park.