10-6-07

[DiSab]

It was a great day to go to the park. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect. There were five of us total - myself, Jimmy (with whom I had come here a few months ago), Leah (who had never been to a park this large - she's from a small town in Iowa), Sarah, and her brother Andy. I had meet Sarah and Andy here once over the summer, but they had yet to be here since school started.

We had planned on getting to the park earlier, like around 4-ish, but that didn’t happen. We were delayed a little getting off campus, so we left close to 4:30 instead. We picked up Andy in Centerville, and got to the park a little before 5:30. It was a perfect time to arrive. We walked up through security and the front gates with no line at all. First thing to ride was Son of Beast. Jimmy and I had been on this when we came last, and it was (according to him) the most painful thing he had ever been on. Of course, he's from Long Island, so he's been to SFGAdv plenty of times, and was probably spoiled from El Toro. The wait wasn't too bad, only about 30 minutes for front row. While I waited for the front with Andy, the other three rode in the middle of the train, and got on a few trains before we did. They all enjoyed it, and Jimmy said it felt a lot better than the last time. That made me excited - if the middle of the train was smoother, then I couldn't wait to see what the front row was like, which I have heard was smooth since the re-opening. I wasn't disappointed. It was most likely the smoothest ride I have every experienced on the Son of Beast. It was actually enjoyable!

Feeling good after Sonny, we headed toward Face/Off, only to find the line out the queue gates. Since it goes slow enough already, we decided to skip it and ride something else. We walked toward Coney Maul, and saw that Racer didn't have a long line. We rode the recaR in the back row (which would be the front had it been running forward :wink: ) with a 20-minute wait. I was surprised. This had more air than I remembered, especially the ejector air over the first drop and the hills going to the turnaround. Nothing like The Voyage's ejector, but still good air.

We decided to check out Firehawk next, but the line was full in all the cutbacks and out the queue entrance. It looked to be close to 2 hours long. We skipped it, and got in line for Flight of Fear instead. We thought it would be long, since the line was out the building and into the outside queue. But it was a pleasant surprise to find out that the UFO room was being completely bypassed, which means the wait was only about 30 minutes. I rode in row 3-2, Leah and Jimmy in 3-1, and Sarah and Andy in 2-2. This was my fifth time on FoF, Jimmy and Sarah's 2nd, and Leah and Andy's 1st. It also happened to be Leah's first coaster with inversions, so she was a little nervous. But she really enjoyed it when she go off. I have always loved the ride (remember, I never rode it with the OTSRs), and this was no different. There seemed to be more lights on in the bowl than previously, but it was still a good ride.

It was dinner time after this, so we headed for the Festhaus for some LaRosa's pizza. We ate it and hung out in the AC for a bit before heading back out.

We decided to take it easy and let our food digest, so we went for the Eiffel Tower, only to find it closed. Since it was getting close to 8, and the fear zones would be starting, we decided to check one of them out. We say CornStalkers had people in line, and they were letting them through. So we jumped in line before it got long. We only waited about 20 minutes for it, but it turned out not to be worth it. We didn't get many good scares, and it was fairly easy to see the scare-actors ahead of time. But we did get one or two good ones, from the paneled boxes toward the middle and end of the zone. Other than that, we all thought it was weak, and the worst of the ones we went through that night. Final verdict - 2.5 out of 5

Since we were already in Rivertown at the end of CornStalkers, we decided to try The Beast. However, the line was out the entrance, and it looked like all the cutbacks were open. It was probably a 1.5 - 2 hour wait. We skipped it, and headed back through Rivertown. Both Tombstone Terror-tory and Red Beard's Revenge lines in excess of 1 hour, so we skipped them. We continued toward Nick Universe, and came across CarnEvil. The line didn't look too bad, so we got in. We were right - we were through in probably about 45 minutes. It was really enjoyable. The fluorescent 3-D paint was done perfectly, and several of the rooms gave us good jumps. The trick wall panels with scare-actors got us pretty much every time, so that was good. The room with the "jumping" mannequins was a nice touch, as was the polka-dot room. But the best part was the last hall - the spinning tunnel. I don't think I have ever been so disoriented in my entire life. That made the whole house worth it. Final verdict - 4.5 out of 5

Next we walked back toward International Street and the Eiffel Tower, and decided to go through The Cemetery. The wait wasn't bad either, only about 30 minutes. We got in line, Sarah and Leah went to get everyone drinks, and made our way through the scare zone. This was probably the best one we went through all night. The atmosphere was perfect. The old Paramount Story is the perfect setting for a cemetery. The fog was thick and creepy, and there were plenty of scare-actors around. We got plenty of good scares throughout, and it was a lot of fun. We even got lost once, and one of the zombies kept telling us to go the other way. we weren't sure if she was screwing with us or not, but we eventually turned around. This was everyone's favorite at the end of the night. Final verdict - 5 out of 5

Since The Cemetery exited on Coney Maul, we decided to head back toward the Action Zone for Club Blood. When we went past Adventure Express, though, we made a detour to ride it, as it didn't look to have a very long line at all. The wait ended up being about 20 minutes, but this ride still leaves me empty afterward. I will say that it is better at night than during the day, but I still feel like there is something missing afterward.

Next up was wat I had been waiting for all night - Club Blood. The wait looked really long, but it only ended up being about 45 minutes. It was totally worth it. From the minute to enter, you know this is like no oter haunted house or maze. The atmosphere, the music, and the lighting make it what it is. There are some really good scares right off The Bat. The motorcycle at the front got everyone really good. We definitely were not expecting that one. The room of the girls dancing in the cages was quite different. The best scare, though, had to be the one kid running up and slamming against the Plexiglas window. That got everyone really nicely. But my favorite part had to have been the room with the hanging bodies. There was a pair of girls in front of us, and I was leading my group - they let me lead them through the body room and the rest of the maze. 8) I actually expected one of the bodies to try to grab at us, but no. Either way, though, it was a good effect. And the scare-actors coming out from behind the corners was very nicely done. Final verdict - 4 out of 5

One more ride on Sonny was needed - this time at night. We waited about 20 minutes for the front row, and rode in the blue train. Again, it was me and Andy in the front, while the other three rode in the middle. Therefore, they got on a few trains before again, and they liked it even more. I must say, front row at night was awesome. It did seem that the blue train was slightly rougher than the red, but it was still extremely smooth. Very enjoyable overall.

Andy and I wanted to give The Beast a try at night, but the other three didn’t feel up to it. So, we split up. They rode Delirium while the two of us headed back to Rivertown for one last ride. We waited about 20 minutes, then it was just our luck - it broke down. We decided to wait a while longer and see if tey would get it back up before the end of the night. A lot of people left, and we were able to get up near the gates. However, they eventually told us that they wouldn't be able to open it up the rest of the night. That was a little disappointing, but understandable. We headed back to the front of the park, met up with everyone else, and headed back home for the night.

Final Counts:

Son of Beast - 2 (1 @ night)

recaR - 1

Flight of Fear - 1

CornStalkers - 1

CarnEvil - 1

The Cemetery - 1

Adventure Express - 1

Club Blood - 1

While I still wasn't able to get my night ride on The Beast, we all had a great time. The weather was perfect and unbelievable for this late in the year. We decided that we needed to come back, so I think we're going to try to get back once or twice more before the end of the season, probably on a Friday night when the crowds should be thinner. We didn't get a whole lot in, but it was good for a Saturday with those kinds of lines. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Overall -- 4 out of 5

And now for the best part - PICTURES!!!

The Club Blood sign in Sonny's crate.

Red train coming back to the station.

A pan-shot of the Action Zone, called the Waste Land.

Alien pods hanging from the Waste Land water tower.

The Coney Maul entrance banner.

These skeletons must still be in college.

Cincinnatus, you might want to get that check out soon...

A CornStalker that I stealthily snapped a shot of.

A juggling, freakishly tall zombie outside of CarnEvil.

The CarnEvil sign (albeit a little washed out).

The Cemetery entrance gate.

Close-up of the sign over the gate.

Club Blood building facade.

Club Blood signage.