BillyG

5 hours ago, Great Adventurer said:

Hopefully everybody who was on an attraction at the park during the earthquake is okay. Probably caused quite a stir among some of the safari animals too.

Depending on what the attraction is, people may not have even noticed it occurring.

I remember from being at a county fair when the one hit the DC area (but was felt up here into NY State) that we noticed it (since we were sitting at a table in plastic chairs, and those felt like they were getting ready to break as has often occurred with such chairs), but others who had been moving or on rides didn't notice that anything had happened (since they are already in motion it may not be enough difference to make it obvious).

20 hours ago, GASM said:

Sounds good, just let me know! Probably wouldn’t take me more than a day or two to set up if so, less time if I get a day off from work lol.

 

I have no idea what BillyG means by Discord not allowing everyone to participate. It certainly does assuming you have or make an account and join the server, and we all made accounts here throughout the years.

I attempted to do so for another forum, and it WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO, since it would only "confirm" who I was by some type of text, and a computer can NOT get such messages!  Most things will send a code to your email that you then enter, or even call you and give the code (which works for a regular phone where text does NOT).

Not everyone in the world has every single type of device!

2 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

I will keep that in mind! I am leaning towards Discord although I know very little about it, so if I do help will be appreciated. 

Once again, that site DOES NOT ALLOW EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE, thus it would be a STUPID place to set up.

Why not just find out how to run things as they are and then figure out what costs really are (and how to cover them, as many sites do beyond one person paying), or just move to a forum that doesn't charge much (if at all) and keep everything else as is.  Seems to work fine now!

2 hours ago, jollyroger said:

 

With Facebook compared to Discord, you can have topics similar to the forums on discord, and you can search for stuff, I like the GAH forums more too, but just would be nice to keep the GAH forums going in some sort of capacity.

 

Except that that site does NOT allow EVERYONE to participate, which is stupid!

7 hours ago, harry2004 said:

I think supply chain issues are to blame for this

Could be, though it's hard to tell from that photo. 

Looks like it is all there, but without someone who knows the exact product it could be missing one small but critical piece.

4 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

I do give the park credit for extending their season and being open select weekdays in the fall.  I just think they would be better attended if the days they were open were communicated better and in advance. 

Or at least they have the calendar set and don't take anything away.  It's understandable that they might add a day (or extend it), and that may not be known far in advance (say they see a forecast for a day in October with a high of 85 a couple days out, and decide to open as a bonus), but certainly not helpful to show as being open then close last minute (unless it is absolutely necessary like a hurricane).

One also has to wonder if these charges are due to everyone now having to use cards to pay (which, of course, come with extra fees that weren't always there, especially for smaller purchases that one may make during a day in a park)?

17 hours ago, jollyroger said:

Eh, Flying Turns may not have as much of a moisture problem, but it doesn't always open. The Mack bobsled seems to be the most reliable, example being Kings Dominion's Avalanche. 

Could be as well.  I was more pointing out that all the stories about this one closing, the majority of replies would be "it was open?" or similar - that meaning that most people reading it thought it was never open.

That doesn't seem to be found in any postings about Knoebel's, so they must at least have it run frequently enough that visitors don't notice when it isn't

14 hours ago, The Master said:

I will be disappointed if the park discontinues the drive thru safari which looks very likely. This glamping idea sounds like something Shapiro would have  thought up. 

Though, as 29yrs said, it looks like there will still be a way to "drive thru" it in one of their vehicles, without having to enter the regular park (unlike the first time they changed it).

So, you still get the drive thru feel without having to use your own car (as they used to offer years ago with their own bus, as I remember).

20 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

As much as I love the Bobsled, it was problematic (and Knoebel's is as well). Between low capacity and the fact the track has to be bone dry to run it's not a particularly practical ride. Cedar Point solved one issue by enclosing it, but it still lacked capacity which is why they removed theirs. 

The point being, the one they have must operate better, as you don't see the complaints about it not being open.

They just needed to modify so that the moisture issue isn't an issue - after all, people ride down wet water slides all the time in various things (such as rafts), no reason a car on a ride like this can't do the same if made correctly.

Capacity isn't as much an issue with the current park, as they are smaller/less attended than someplace like Great Adventure is/was.

Sort of unfortunate that they decided to remove this (it is being replaced by a wooden coaster that is on the small side - one issue this park has is restrictions on heights of rides).

Being that Six Flags has the two larger parks not that far off (both down there in NJ and over in MA), it seems they would do better making this one more focused towards things they can have that are different from other parks and keeping the historic parts as well (which they have been renovating this year).

Something like this ride that isn't available everywhere would draw some to go there, if it was made so it could run more regularly. 

They might have taken a page from Knoebel's down in PA that built their own ride (from plans for one that existed years ago) that is very similar (wooden but bobsled style, cars not fastened to the track), that seems to work fine though it took time to get it right to begin with.

2 hours ago, Mr.Six said:

Deja Vu

 

Except this mentions two options, where the original version didn't have that?

So, people could still see the safari without entering the theme park (as was the case originally and more recently with the drive-thru version).

Makes sense to allow for both options, as there will always be some people that have no interest in a theme park but would enjoy the animal side.

16 hours ago, Gyrotron said:

It's time for a fun fact! The Vekoma Super Boomerang first inversion is listed as 30 m (98.4 ft). This makes the stall taller than the dive loop on Medusa (96 ft), the first drop on Batman (84.5 ft) and the pretzel loop on Superman (78 ft). It's going to be a large attraction, albeit on small footprint

Seems like that was their plan when they first started building these types of rides - allowing places with limited space the option to have something with the same types of thrill level as would normally require a much larger space.

22 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

I don't see how all that would be possible.  It totals more than the chain has invested in ALL parks together over the last three years.  Not to mention the recent staffing shortage issues.

Probably not, but then again there is always a possibility that someone somewhere realizes that 50th anniversaries don't happen all that often

14 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

Just like the park at the Meadowlands-- price is out of line with what is being offered, but I guess people will pay or they'll end up out of business... 

On 7/14/2023 at 5:09 PM, Yoshi said:

It looks like it recently opened

https://islandwaterparkac.com/

 

I'm kind of surprised at the admission cost of $89 for the day or $69 after 4 pm. I know it's a tourist area but that still seems kind of expensive. I never went to Kalahari in the Poconos for the same reason, it's difficult to justify paying close to $100 for a day when a Dorney or Great Adventure season pass with water park access costs less than that.

Possible that they either get people who are already going there (something for the younger members of a group to do if the adults are gambling), or will do better during the many months that the other options aren't open?

On 7/12/2023 at 11:23 AM, pashacar said:

I mean, I totally agree that it's not needed in theory, but there's clearly a reason that so many parks have put them up –– most likely just to cover their butts legally.

 

I'm not sure what you mean when you say "If these places would actually fight" things like this, because parks' legal teams have definitely fought, and won, when they've had frivolous suits thrown their way for things like people jumping fences and getting hurt.

Good that they did do that, then - it just seems that many major companies automatically settle cases to avoid the time/effort needed to fight them, even when they are totally the fault of someone else and not the company.

57 minutes ago, pashacar said:

Every time I see those 10-foot fences with the big red signs at parks I think of the idiots who made them necessary. I visited Kings Island earlier this month and was shocked that in a lot of spots, they just had standard six-foot fences. What a concept, that that should be enough to stop people from jumping over!

Actually, the higher fencing isn't needed.  As long as they had the posting of signs that say not to enter, if someone is dumb enough not to follow them it becomes their fault.  They might try to go after the park, but if these places would actually fight stupid things like this, they would win and maybe others would get the point!

48 minutes ago, pashacar said:

 

Wait, what is the big E?

 

Impressed that this is the best food you've had at a SF park. I know Selim has been talking a lot about improving the food. I would love to see this level of quality more evenly distributed, and not just available from certain stands, and only on weekends.

Basically, the equivalent of a state fair, held in later September (sometimes into early October), except that it has representation from all 6 New England States.

As part of the event, each of the 6 states has a building (often designed to look like their state Capitol buildings, or at least what they were when built in the 1920's-early 50's), and those buildings feature businesses specific to the state. 

Thus, the food offerings tend to focus on things said state is known for (a lobster roll stand, baked potatoes and blueberry items in ME, other seafood like clam cakes, clear chowder and Del's Lemonade in RI, maple items in VT and so forth).

The fair is held in West Springfield, which is just across a bridge from Agawam (home of Six Flags New England). 

23 hours ago, Sluggo77 said:

This one is at Great Adventure not SFNE. 

OK, maybe they shouldn't use a link that starts off with sfneonline (sure sounds like New England to me) - oops!  But still a thought for that park to do it as well, particularly if it was offered like this one over the summer, prior to the fair in Sept/Oct.

Looks like a version of what Epcot does at certain times of year as well.

Plus, maybe throwing in a bit of their neighbor in the fall, the Big E.

Now, if they made it New England foods, that would be much more of a competition with that neighboring event

7 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

I'm trying to understand why they are still keeping them ranked based on 2019 numbers-  it's good to see GA's numbers, but at the same time I'm sure it has fallen below #20 with only 2.1 million attendance. Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and several Cedar Fair parks and even Six Flags parks that had higher attendance last year.  

Probably since following years wouldn't be a good comparison, as rules varied and some parks didn't even open for part or all of seasons.

On 6/10/2023 at 12:09 PM, 29yrswithaGApass said:

Cruise ships have been doing cashless for decades and is a standard for that industry. 

True, though I think they still do (or at least did) allow people to use cash to pay for things (that is, it didn't HAVE to be put on a credit card at the end of the cruise, you could pay cash at the office on the ship).  And the casinos also took money (in the machines or such).

I guess that is sort of similar to having a machine that takes money and gives you a card as the parks do, except that you have to know up front how much you will spend (where the ships allowed at least some spending to occur before requiring payment) - of course, they are also much harder to get out of without paying

2 hours ago, The Master said:

 

Houdini's queue used to have a ramada, a sun shade structure over it's rarely used overflow queue. This year the park has converted that ramada to a solid roof structure and turned the former overflow queue into a VIP garden lounge along with rerouting Houdini's queue.  

OK, never heard of that name for such a structure - thought maybe it was one of those auto correct errors

15 hours ago, The Master said:

The smoke really kept crowds low today at the park. Many of the school trips were cancelled which caused the low attendance today.

 

Moreover, I saw they are doing strange changes to Houdini's queue. They have converted the old overflow queue under the ramada into a VIP lounge and took off the old pathway by the fountain which is still operating. Between that and removing the fountain in Batman's queue, I wonder if this is some new safety move? 

 

 

The ramada?

16 hours ago, The Master said:

 

I was referring to the build a bear workshop. I don't know if build a bear is faster with plush toy purchasing than regular toy stores or park gift shops as I never been in one. I assumed it would be slower as customers must choose parts and assemble their plush toy for purchase as opposed to just buying a preassembled plush toy off the shelf. Its similar to going to a theme park just to play video games in a arcade which again can be done at most malls for cheaper.

 

 

Sorry - saw all the posts (and title) about the Just Walk Out and was referring to that

However, it may still be a situation where people are NOT going to the park just to buy such a toy that could be gotten elsewhere, but rather that they are already at the park enjoying that and figure it is worth taking time to get the toy instead of having to devote time/effort to go to a mall-based store on another day.  Maybe even a touch of people who just don't want to go to malls any more, but this is something they would want and not be able to get through other options (probably not quite the same to build and buy on a computer).

18 hours ago, 29yrswithaGApass said:

Build a Bear better double check where their store is suppose to be!

 

Well, they were 75% correct - I guess they still get a passing grade

15 hours ago, The Master said:

 

Why pay parking and admission fees for something you can do at a mall? Especially since it takes time away from rides, the main point to be at an amusement park instead of someplace else like a mall. 

The point is, this store is carrying things people need (or at least want) WHILE already at the park.  Thus, they are not taking time away from doing things at the park any more than they normally would, in fact if this allows for faster purchases it may even give them more time to enjoy the rest of the park (and maybe spend elsewhere).