The Master

Well I was at the park today, Sunday 4/23/23, and Nitro was closed again. Batman was running with both trains. Skull Mt was still only running one train and had a worse line than Batman. Dark Knight was running but broke down. 

On 4/19/2023 at 12:03 PM, coliwood_studios said:

I can say from personal experience that this isn’t the case.  I’ve stayed in the station and rerode Kingda Ka, Zumanjaro and others multiple times this year when able to, and never had any issues.

I also was able to reride Kingda Ka when noone was in line for my row this year. 

Skull Mt has been a real mess so far this season. It has much longer lines than Kingda Ka. I assume this is caused by single train operations on Skull Mt while KK has been running two trains. 

I finally rode Mind Blower last fall and was surprised how rough it was. Hopefully the steel retracking will smooth it out. 

GADV has not been a well ran park in the decades I have been going to it. Many of the other SF parks I visited over the years seemed better ran than GADV except for SFMM and SFA, those 2 were worse than GADV. 

Finally some good news.

6 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

I thought Green Lantern and SUF were running? 

I misspoke, those 2 are running as of yesterday, I just hardly ride them and didn't think of them when I typed. However, the majority of B&M coasters are still closed, Nitro, Batman, and Medusa. I didn't ride GL or Superman yesterday but it appearred that both were probably only operating single trains. Dark Knight was also closed yesterday and Skull Mt had a 160 minute line.

Screamscape reported there have been fights among teenage guests during the opening weekend for Worlds of Fun. Supposedly many of that park's rides are not yet running which probably doesn't help the situation. Hopefully this is not a new trend among seasonal parks to Spring open with ultra reduced operations. 

Anyone have an idea when Nitro and Batman are supposed to open? (Edit fix)-The majority of the park's B&Ms are not operating. 

Sadly GADV is a real mess this year with so many rides closed. News like these permit issues doesn't surprise me at this point. 

The blood bucket looks like a old splash bucket from a water playground. It even still has bearing blocks on the pivot shaft. 

21 hours ago, GAcoaster said:

They just know he's a better choice than Chapek, but he's the reason why Chapek was there. The COMPANY flourished under Iger which is all the stockholders care about. The parks declined. 

 

An interesting point about Iger saying they are spending $17 billion over the next ten years at WDW is he didn't say in capital improvements. A former Imagineer pointed out that may also include normal operating expenses. 

Problem is, he is only better by amount that can only be measured by a Delta value. Its like saying a sandwich sitting in the sun for two days is better than one sitting in the sun for three days. Neither are any good. 

The big problems with Iger is that he has a massive ego, a huge mouth, and is pretty full of himself. The recent shareholder meeting was a complete crapshow that he bungled badly. Worse yet, his slip of the tongue during the meeting potentially revealing that Disney may have been misappropriating Reddy Creek government's bonds can expose the company to charges of securities fraud and bond repayment. The company once flourished under Iger, but it many sink under him too as he is making bad decision after bad decision since his return. The studio isn't doing well either with the fact that Iger

has sunk the Star Wars IP, the MCU is in rapid decline, and a string of flops like Lightyear and Strange Worlds are not painting a rosy future. Then there are the 7,000 employee layoffs which isn't a sign of a heathly business.     

All these people expecting Bob Iger, of all people to be some great savior of the Disney parks are in for a rude awakening. 

Went to the park today, Wednesday, and things could have been better. Drove through the safari first which was nice, but the theme park had many issues. In addition to the rides that have been listed being closed till Memorial Day, Batman, Nitro, and Houdini were also closed. Along with single train operation on Skull MT which made that line slow. Jersey Devil broke down in the afternoon. Its probably the rockiest first visit of the season I have seen in years.    

13 hours ago, Gyrotron said:

 

On the flipside, they're a convenient way to get snaps of the park without bringing a full-on camera. But I totally agree that the electronic transition has made it a burden, I feel like I have to watch my phone battery or conserve it if I need to utilize my phone for reservations/food/map etc.

The situation has certainly become a paradox with phones. They are a physical hazard on most rides, yet many parks are turning phones into a unnecessary necessity.   

On 3/21/2023 at 9:16 AM, GAcoaster said:

It's funny with so many Go-Pros now, more parks seem to be allowing them if they are properly secured. I guess the issue of people being injured by cell phones flying out of people's hands has them taking more precautions. 

Cell and smart phones really have been a bane to amusement parks, among other negativities. . 

On 4/4/2023 at 1:36 PM, 29yrswithaGApass said:

 

I think in general visiting a park has become a less enjoyable experience and more of an advanced planning military-like series of maneuvers.  The days of a spontaneous enjoyable day at the park are over - regional or destination wise.  

This is one of the many problems with parks now, and it stems from increasing crowds flooding parks. Park crowds are very much like inflation in that they both increase over time. 

Then there are increacing costs, new upcharges being introduced, and decreacing value in return. Yes many parks are building new fancy rides, but some like Rise of the Resistance are so difficult to get on even once during an entire vactation trip that it might as well to have never been built for many visitors. Visiting a theme park should not be a day long chain of hassles and hoops to jump through. If it is, you might as well just go to work and have a cash inflow rather than an outflow. 

If the condition of the park is real bad, it won't be surprising if park opening is delayed again. 

Hopefully they didn't get that much damage. 6ABC reported there was a confirmed tornado in Jackson Township last night. 

It just seems that much of the amusment park industry has been going down the tubes for the past decade. When you think things can't get worse, they somehow do. 

If I known so much of the park was going to be closed I would not have renewed my season pass this year. Do other SF parks also have large sections closed down too? 

3 hours ago, Mr.Six said:

Unfortunate new signage around the park

They have to be kidding! So most of the Northern half of the park won't open until the Summer? That is pathetic. So that half of the park will only be open for the Summer season from now on? Last year they closed that section down in the middle of Oct. This is going to be a rough season. 

This explains why they are opening the haunted houses this spring. Its to help offset all the closed rides. Especially convenient since the haunted houses are upcharge attractions and the closed ones aren't.  

I have seen pictures of Teepee themed flying swing rides that would be great in the Giant Teepee's old location. 

3 hours ago, BillyG said:

Dialect?

My spell checker sucks. 

I prefered the original white color sceme for the tower too. Beauty is in the eyevof the beholder and sometimes when you grew up. 

Tron is a good theme for an attraction, but not such a good fit for a retro art deco themed Tomorrowland. The sleek Apple look of the coaster doesn't match the original 70's style of Tomorrowland either. Hence the complete clusterscrew Disney has recently done to WDW's Tomorrowland theming trying to get late 2000's styling of the coaster to fit in with 70's and barely covered up 50's styling. The ride would have been a better fit for Studios or Epcot.