thegajone

I got my pass processed yesterday. The calendar said they will be processing "during park hours", which I hoped would include ERT. Thankfully it did! I actually showed up at 9:25 and they were already processing passes. It took literally under 60 seconds for me to get my pass processed. It worked out perfectly as I was able to take advantage of ERT, which was a necessity given how crowded it got as the day went on.

It was not when I rode it yesterday morning I showed up for ERT and got through Banshee, The Bat, AE, Racer, Vortex, Beast, DB, a walk through DA, and finally lunch at LaRosa's all by 1:00. Then it got crowded FAST. I rode RFYLCB, WWC and KI&MVR, walked around for a bit to dry off before leaving at 2:30, but the crowds were picking up big-time at that point. Also, not sure if anyone has made it there yet, but the Wurlitzer at the Grand Carousel sounds awesome! I just wish it was a little louder and/or the speaker near ET was turned down a bit so I could hear it beyond just a few feet from the ride. But I was glad I made the walk over there.

I finally got to ride it yesterday morning during ERT. The crew was REALLY working hard and moving fast. I sat in 1-4. I'll echo what many others have said; it's intense from start to finish and just doesn't let up at any point. You get no time to recover from one element to the next. Also, I didn't feel like the restraints were uncomfortable in the slightest.

I rode Days of Thunder, James Bond, 7th Portal and Smash Factory, but no others after that. I have no interest in NASCAR whatsoever and have never seen the movie Days of Thunder, yet I still enjoyed that experience the most, I guess because it was the original. I too enjoyed the queue theming and pre-show as someone else mentioned. Hard to believe that the line spilled out well into the midway the first time I rode it. I did enjoy 7th Portal a lot too, as nonsensical as it might have been. Combining the 3-D with the motion simulator was great though.

I want to love Tom+Chee, but I just think it's way overrated. I've been a few times and tried a couple different sandwiches that were ok to me but nothing to rave about, and I didn't like the tomato soup much at all. The prices are definitely fair though, I'll give them that. It's a place I'll eat at maybe once a year but that's about it. HOWEVER, I'm all for a place like that moving into the park. The food itself would be a good fit for the park I think, plus I would love to see a smaller local establishment like that get even more exposure. And even with the prices marked up, it could still be an affordable option. So even though I'm not a huge fan, I would support a place like that moving into the park.

Oh ok, thanks for the info!

I need to call anyway to see how the parking situation works on the first visit. Not sure if my voucher will cover my parking or if I need to pay and then get reimbursed when my pass is processed, or if I'm just out the parking fee this first time. So I'll just ask about a processing deadline at that point.

You can process it any time; just need to purchase it by the 26th. Edit: Or so I thought. When you click on "Season Pass Processing Hours", the calendar only goes through the end of May. I would imagine they would still process season passes after May, but I could be wrong on that. Either way I'll definitely be there at some point before the 31st so I'm not going to sweat it too bad. 2nd Edit: I checked my season pass voucher that I printed out and it makes no mention of the timing in which the voucher needs to be redeemed and the pass needs to be processed.

I purchased my Gold Pass online yesterday. I know I won't make it to the park before the Gold Pass deadline passes, which I believe is Monday? All I know is I'm happy I looked that up. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that you could purchase a Gold Pass through the end of May. I'm glad I didn't rely on that false memory.

I would love to see an Exotic Seafood Stall 1 somewhere in the park.

Thanks for the info. That actually makes a lot of sense. I've decided that concern over crowd size will not be what keeps me out of the park this weekend; the ability to leave work early tomorrow and/or the plans my wife has for me on Monday are much bigger deterrents.

Thanks for the info. What about Memorial Day itself? I figured Saturday and Sunday get pretty crowded, but what about Monday? My work schedule is brutal through at least the end of June so I'm trying to squeeze a day in May while I can!

Extra security is never a bad thing, IMO. I don't mind the very minor inconvenience.

I have been contemplating going on Friday. I've been wondering if the fact that it's Memorial Day weekend will have any effect on the Friday crowd.

For me it's wildly inconsistent. Sometimes I get soaked, sometimes I feel barely a drop of water. And it all seems to be random. Doesn't matter if I'm in the front or back, or by myself or with a group of large men. The results seem to be random no matter what the circumstances are.

While the LIM technology had never been used on a roller coaster in the way Flight of Fear used it, that technology had actually been used on at least one roller coaster over 15 years prior...on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad of all rides. I think the People Mover even used it as well. But I like Flight of Fear's use of it a little more to say the least

Correct. You will never see 3 trains on the lift hill at once.

Pretty good summary that I agree with. SOB, just as a structure, was truly a sight to behold. Just the sheer size of it was quite impressive. And you're right, that first ride on it was about as exhilarating of an experience as I've ever had on a ride. But man did that thing get rough. I would occasionally have an experience that was tolerable, but far more often than not it was too brutal to enjoy, to the point where I refused to ride it altogether. And like TombRaider, I too feel that I have a high tolerance for roughness on a coaster. I know I will enjoy Banshee for far longer than I did SOB, but nothing matches the exhilaration that SOB offered.

Thanks for the info.

Sounds awesome, but will that even be open in 2014?

The idea of WindSeeker is cool, it just doesn't do it for me. It goes too fast to really be able to see/focus on anything in the distance, but too slow to be a thrill. It's really the only ride in the park that I don't enjoy. I love all the other flats, just not this one.

Eh I'm not sure I agree with that. I would almost consider inverts to be a "classic" form of coaster these days. One of the reasons I love Banshee (and Diamondback) so much is because they DIDN'T go the gimmicky route, and instead perfected a type of coaster that has been around for a while now that, oh by the way, happens to be high-capacity. I expect that KI will get another high-profile roller coaster in probably 5 more years, and when they do, I hope they continue to follow the Banshee/Diamondback model again instead of going the "the world's first!" or "the U.S.'s only!" route, or some other kind of gimmick...though at the same time, I'll take whatever we can get!

Also must-rides if I ever get to Universal & IOA, to be honest. Possibly even more than the coasters they have. (No offense- Hulk, Dragon Challenge, etc etc. look very fun but those water rides...) I'm a coaster enthusiast but my 2 favorite rides anywhere are Splash Mountain and Ripsaw Falls. The Popeye ride is awesome too, and if you were a big-time Jurassic Park fan as a kid like I was, you will love that ride as well.

Since I've never been to a Cane's, can someone explain to me what the sauce at Chicken Shack tastes like? Is it similar to like a Chick-Fil-A sauce, which is kind of honey-mustardy (though not as honey-mustardy as honey mustard), or is it more like a ranch? There's a place called Tender Towne about 5 minutes from where I live; their tenders are outstanding but their dipping sauce is like a really weird ranch that I'm not too keen to. I'm hoping to try Chicken Shack my next visit, but only if their dipping sauce is top notch.

Yes, someone is. Sorry....