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JimParker85

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Everything posted by JimParker85

  1. We started going in the mid 90s, 94-96 we went every year when I was 9, 10 and 11. After 96, we only went up a few times before Cedar Fair took over, I remember our last Paramount trip was Italian Job's opening year. We went in Behemoth's opening year, and then every year since Leviathan opened we've been going yearly, usually 2 or 3 times each season. It's always nice to get the platinum pass and add ons through Wonderland, saving on the exchange a bit. I can't wait to get back. I saw that even more markers have been found all around the White Water Canyon area, so hopefully major investment will resume for 2022-24.
  2. We tried that Smores bread on Sunday, it was so good. I only wish I had some cold milk to have with it!
  3. It can be a very frustrating park. I love it being my home park (Covid lack of access notwithstanding), but there are a lot of things I prefer at CP and KI, which we also visit for multiple days each year. The food at Wonderland can really be awful. They've added some improvements to the dining plan, but frustratingly removed several in 2019. Drink locations are sparse and restrooms are oddly located. Merch, specifically ride merch, lags well behind CP and KI, and even smaller parks like Dorney and Dominion. Flight Deck/Time Warp is the obvious candidate for removal. I'd favor that to be their next major new coaster location, but a lot of people think it will be in the back of Frontier Canada, where the park's two water rides are currently. Cedar Fair inherited an awful coaster lineup, and WMG was a big miss in my opinion. The 3 B&Ms are all excellent fits, Yukon was a smash hit in 2019. The flat ride lineup deserves all the praise it gets, however. I love that they spent the money to refurbish their top spin, rather than scrap it like so many other parks. SkyHawk is great fun and Sledgehammer is the high maintenance nightmare/awesome one of a kind star. My wish list: 1. Modern indoor multi option eatery, replacing the decrepit Backlot Cafe (nasty building). 2. Remove Flight Deck and Time Warp, replace with a Mack, B&M, Vekoma or Intamin. If any park were going to bring Cedar Fair back to Intamin, I'd say its Wonderland and not CP. 3. RMC the Wild Beast. That'll likely never happen for a couple of reasons, but I can dream. 4. New park entrance and toll plaza. 5. Re-theme of the two kids areas into one coherent theme. They did a ton of work in that area for 20/21 it seems, so that's a step in the right direction.
  4. It's all over the KI season passholder Facebook page today. Multiple reports of employees at the Soak City gates saying reservations are no longer required and I saw two people mention they heard that also announced by the train host. We rode the train on Saturday, and at that time he was still reminding of the reservation requirement. Looks like finishing up our trip on Sunday was the right move ..
  5. Park started slow again today on the 4th. We took a few hours off mid-day and came back at 615, it was busier by then but not insane. It took them nearly an hour to get Beast/Orion back open after the fireworks (20 minute show tonight) but we managed to finish with 2 Orion and then Beast at midnight. Great 3 day trip has come to a close.
  6. It was a legit light crowd during the first half of the day on Saturday. I was shocked. We have the all season Fast Lane, but standby lines for the big 5 were all low. Mystic was only 2 switchbacks. Crowds increased after 5-6pm, but overall it felt, at worst, like just a standard busy day. Friday evening was similar, although we observed some of the fastest operations I've ever seen at the park on 7/2, the 3 B&M crews were lightning fast.
  7. We've had two great days at the park with yesterday and today (7/2 and 3). Really impressive ride ops, food and drink staff keeping the lines moving. We like the live music all over the park as well. Tonight, it looked like they had some issues with the longer fireworks, it started and then stopped for a while, but still looked nice. Only thing I'm seeing a lot of is trains getting sent with a lot of empty rows. Seems like the seat assignment process at the top of the stairs just can't keep up with the fast dispatches I've been seeing on the 3 B&Ms. Our final ride on Orion today we had 3 completely empty rows in front of us (rows 5-7).
  8. It is hauling with the full trains. We had 1p rides over the last two days, 7 in the back row. So good. The drop is still the star, but every element on it is so much fun. It has jumped Leviathan for me with these full train rides.
  9. We just had dinner at Coney BBQ and my wife really liked the "Power slaw" side.
  10. The restraint choice is EVERYTHING with Gerstlauer. If its the very comfortable lap bar from Monster or HangTime, sign me up. If its the horrid over the shoulder units like on Shellraiser, it would be a big letdown. Front row Shellraiser beats the hell out of you. The lighting package would be awesome in the right space at any park. HangTime's blew me away. I think of something like that being a great idea for that beach plot at CP to eventually replace Wicked Twister and the former Oceana plot.
  11. The new Fonix (Fenix, sorry on the spelling) coming to the smaller park in Denmark next year from Vekoma is about 15 million USD when you do the conversion of what they are paying. It looks very similar to Lech Coaster (Bermuda Blitz). I think that would be an outstanding fit for The Vortex plot both in terms of cost and guest satisfaction. Comfortable over the shoulder vests, combo of airtime and inversions, could be marketed as the first of its kind in North America and the station fly by inversion would be a real wow element for the general public, at least in my opinion. They'd need to work out a way to run 3 trains at KI, but otherwise I think it looks phenomenal.
  12. Tornado warning in Warren county? I hope everyone is ok. Nasty weather day.
  13. I'm not sure about the downstate/tri state stuff, but i used it last night as proof for our Yankees/Blue Jays tickets, which were in the fully vax sections. When you open the app it has the QR code square. I had to use some info from my vaccine card and set up the profile. The pass became active 14 days after our second shot back in April. You can also present your actual vax card at events in NY as well.
  14. Two fully lost years for the travel and leisure economy that is a big part of border areas will be a significant loss, but I see a full closure to all leisure travel staying in place well into next year. Personally, I find it ridiculous that fully vaccinated persons cannot cross in either direction. I worked on the Peace Bridge for 4 years and have crossed over a hundred times. Border checks could be modified and enhanced to require proof of vaccination. Specific to NY, we already have the Excelsior app, designed in part for such use.
  15. The two Six Flags parks I've been to so far this season have been well staffed. I think they got the jump on Cedar Fair by announcing operating calendars early, thus being able to staff up more confidently. They've offered SIGNIFICANTLY more value to their passholders during this entire pandemic and have ADDED hours vs their pre 2020 offerings at several major and minor parks. As someone who has both Platinum CF and Diamond Elite VIP SF, it's easy to spot the difference. Cedar Fair is operating almost like they don't want to be open. The Carowinds and KD calendars, in particular, are pathetic, and hours are in danger of being cut at all times. Whether it was starting late or not having the right approach to hiring overall, a noticeable gap has opened between the two chains in terms of availability, at least in my opinion.
  16. No, it is not. I went ahead and booked a day on 8/27, hoping against hope that maybe they'll open to fully vax US travel by then. August calendar looks nice, it's always our favorite month to visit our home park. Open all 31 days, 10pm closures.
  17. Braves fan, actually. But I love MLB and like to see the Jays doing well. No animosity like with the Leafs. As far as Fall/Winter lockdowns and a never ending border closure, it's just a prediction based on some of the seasonality increases we saw last October and a desire to restrict travel/public movement by both Ford and Trudeau, albeit for different reasons. There are already a lot of hedging stories and warnings coming from the national press about Delta and general opening sentiments. In the states I think no state government can afford to lockdown again come fall/winter. Even in the most progressive states, public opinion has turned wildly against harsh restrictions. And in the South, forget about it. If Canada surprises and allows proven fully vax Americans in, my wife and I will be there as soon as we can get a reservation. NY's Excelsior app is excellent and we are ready to go. I highly doubt it, however.
  18. True! Going Thursday vs the Yankees and then a day game coming up vs Baltimore. Jays looking good. Yankee ticket price made me cry.
  19. As fully vaccinated passholders who live 5 miles from the border in Tonawanda, NY, we still expect to not be allowed to visit in 2021 and potentially 2022. Very sad, but it's at least nice to see Ontario MIGHT actually allow the park to open this time, unlike what happened last July. There will be fresh lockdowns in Ontario in the fall/winter (prediction) and will lead to the border closure for nearly everyone being extended into Spring/Summer 22 (another prediction).
  20. A chaperone policy, reservations required Friday-Sunday and the closure of the drop off area to all non employees are all options they can look at to immediately address these concerns. I know that most people on this site are against those measures for a variety of legitimate reasons, however the public perception of the park can be ruined by these news events/viral videos. It's a very serious issue for the park's future, at least in my opinion. They have an interesting passholder renewal period coming up for several reasons, as well as decisions to be made on fall and winter operations. Maintaining the status quo and hoping for the best, other than increasing in park security staff, is a big risk. If something happens that leads to serious injuries or worse after several incidents that have already received media attention, it's going to be very bad.
  21. Herschend is, in comparison to Cedar Fair, on another planet at this point. Robust (and regularly expanding) operating calendars, massive investment planned.
  22. I think there will be some passholders who don't renew due to the reduced calendar (and in park experience, in some cases) combined with the very large crowds they experience this year. Also, if the cost goes up (and it should, in my opinion) that could also be a factor.
  23. I think a year round smaller to moderate sized hotel with a name brand that the park has ownership of and offers perks with could be very successful. Pair it with the next major coaster debut season. (Similar to Carowinds Springhill Suites)
  24. The demand is so high, I really think it could look like this through the end of daily operations. KI being the only major CF park not capping dry park attendance could make the park the busiest in the chain this year.
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