jackstephan wrote:Hello all, I am brand new to the site. My son (14 years old) and I are driving in from metro Detroit tomorrow (he has 1/2 day of school) and plan to be at the front gate at 4:30 pm. Which coasters do yo recommend that we hit first before it gets busy?
I would do Goliath first, as that is by far the most popular coaster. After that, you can really do whatever you wish. My recommendation is head left after Goliath, hitting up American Eagle and X-Flight. After those two, go into Southwest Territory to do Raging Bull, Viper, Giant Drop, Justice League, and Terror Twister 2. Next to Demon, then head back toward the front gate, hitting Whizzer. Behind the carousel, there is a path that connects to Orleans Place, which has Superman and The Dark Knight. After those two, you can head under the bridge into Mardi Gras(which has no coasters), and then into Yankee Harbor, which has Batman and V2. With that, you've done all the major rides! If you really want to, you can ride Little Dipper after V2. Just take note that there are going to be Scare Actors about the park, if that changes anything. Have fun!
If he has never ridden an inverted coaster, such as Raptor at Cedar Point, then Batman is a must ride, as it was the world's first inverted looping coaster and still the figurative centerpiece of our park. Be sure to ride either the front or back row, or both, and if the line is short you'll probably want to reride.
Also, make sure your son knows how steep and fast Goliath is! I took someone (21 yo) on Goliath first thing one day and he was NOT very prepared for what the ride does! I assumed he knew about it, but once we got up to the platform he was surprised!
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
Last night was amazing! No lines. Longest wait was 5 minutes for Goliath. Everything was a walk on unless you wanted front or last row. Never waited more than 5 minutes even for those seats! Many re-rides. Didn't even start raining until late and it was only a drizzle until about 9:30-10:00.
I visited Fright Fest last weekend (no haunted houses, I am saving that for two more weekends). I honestly thought it was really improved over the last couple years. The theming was largely missing from some areas HOWEVER there seemed to be a huge amount of additional actors roaming the paths. I also didn't miss the props too much because it seemed to open the paths up which is needed with the crowds. Anyways, the fog was also done really well, and the bridges (especially Yukon to Yankee Harbor) were awesome. Terror Twister 2 also didn't let down. Again, I didn't do the houses but overall for the first weekend, and despite the crowds, it was a great time.
Haven't been to the park yet for FF....but a thought just popped in my head:
With all the Cedar Fair backlash about their asylum haunts and how that gives mental illness a bad rap, how has GAm not caught any flack (with MMC--especially since this house has been around for a few years now) or any other Six Flags park that has some psycho-themed/mental hospital type of haunt theme?
Guy_With_A_Stick wrote:I guess I'll tell everyone my experiences with the 3 houses I did:
-Apocalypse: It's the same as every other year. I still liked it, although I knew most of everything happening. I did get spooked by one or two actors, but overall, the scariest bit of this was the fact that there was leftover rainwater in the path.
-Gates of Hell: Have yet to do this one, so it was new for me. And I loved it! It's long, scary, has some nice effects, and overall is a nice experience. I love how they combined Mausoleum of Terror and Necropolis into one giant house. I do wish there were a few more props around, but they weren't really needed. I would certainly recommend it!
-Massacre Medical Center: I have yet to do this one, and it was such a relief to finally be able to do it. And I think this is my favorite one. Theming is fantastic, deceivingly large, and was a tad scary at some points! I would certainly do this again.
I was about to do BTT, but the line was too long for me. I might do Infestation, and I've already done MM before, but might do it again for this year.
So I did the other 3, and here's what I thought:
-Big Top Terror: Probably the biggest disappointment of them all. I know someone else earlier said that there were only 3 actors in the whole house, which might've been due to the first week lack of staff. When I went in, there were plenty of actors, but they just weren't scary at all. They just followed you around and said nothing(I think only like 1 or 2 actors said anything). I will agree with the guy who said the last room was the scariest. However, in the rest of the maze, there really wasn't much to it. Very little theming, no animatronic wall bits(if you know what I mean), and one part of the house was a literal maze with no actors nor theming! The fact that I did this in the day might've had something to do with it, but I didn't like this one as much as the others. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one cut from the lineup next year.
-Infestation: Another slight disappointment, but still pretty good. In it's entirety, it's really just a generic house with the bugs/creatures glued to the wall/hanging from the ceiling(or, at lest the top of the walls). I loved the lighting on this one though, very versatile. I think if they spent a little more effort on this one, it could've been great, but the actual 'infestation' wasn't all that creepy. Oh, also, there is one bit that can really catch you off guard if you're not paying attention(you know what I mean if you've done it). I did do this one at night, so do it at night.
-Manslaughter Manor: I did this one a few years back, so it's nice to do it again. The theming was some of the best, and included quite a few animatronic walls/effects. I didn't like how all the actors used the same makeup, but oh well. They did do a great job at scaring people. I did like this, but I did feel that it could've been done a bit better. They probably could've made more of the maze look like an actual house, especially in the transition between the house and garden. Would probably do it again.
After doing them all, here's how I'd rank the houses:
1) Gates of Hell 2) Massacre Medical Center(although it's REALLY close behind) 3) Manslaughter Manor 4) Infestation 5) Apocalypse(this and 4 could be interchanged, I can't really decide what I liked more) 6) Big Top Terror
Also, I love the fog in the paths! Really sets the mood.
I had a different experience with Big top of terror. I really liked it granted I went in at night and by myself. Short haunt but lots of fun. The actors that were in it got me really good and were sure to keep lurking behind me through the whole haunt. I thought they were really interactive. Did this haunt twice just for the last room alone. My favorite house was massacre medical center. This one was a surprisingly large and detailed haunt. From what I remember there were tons of actors in that one I'm just now kicking myself for only doing it once. All in all the haunted houses were worth it this year. Last time I went to fright fest haunted houses were back when they only had two. Mausoleum of terror and whatever they would decide to do in southwest territory so it was nice to experience these brand new ones....well brand new for me. Manslaughter scared the crap out of me. Went in alone the first time and with a group the second. Infestation was neat and Gates of Hell was just like mausoleum of terror minus the vortex tunnel but plus the added outdoor sections. Very neat haunt tho. If anything I'd say apocalypse was a bit of a let down, I did it at night, but there were very few actors, not a whole lot to look at and just kind of blah. Still the actors they had still managed a couple good jump scares out of me. All in all had a great night went on friday and It was perfect. Very little rain and every ride/haunt was a walk on. Biggest letdown of the night was my experience on rage of the gargoyles which I wont even begin with that nonsense I dont even know where to begin with the bad.
Went on 10/1/16. I happened to meet up with Guy_With_A_Stick on Goliath on first ride of the day after 90 minute rain delay to start! It was totally by chance because I had never met anyone from the forum in person and had no idea what he looked like, etc.
I Started mentioning his writeup of Goliath and how I was going to pay more close attention to details and he said that it was HIS writeup! How cool is that!
Then our paths crossed again and we hit Giant Drop and Chubasco together.
The day was a bit dreary though with the constant rain. I don't think it stopped until 6pm or maybe 7pm. Around 715 pm I went on GD again with my friend who had arrived around 5pm and we actually got STUCK about 20-30 feet from the top! Well, having read articles on how the ride works I explained to the people in our car that we would just come down really really slowly (and we did).
The good thing is that we got exit passes which we used on Goliath, and free beverage ticket -- not good for beer though .
Whizzer was amazing at night with the fog. I still LOVE that ride!
Overall a very memorable day! 30 total rides even with the 90 minute rain delay! I ended the night on my fave ride X-Flight!
Last edited by CoasterRiderSC on November 3rd, 2016, 10:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
We went Sunday around 5ish even though the queue times sites were sporting times like 70 min for Eagle and X-Flight. Started with using the snacks off the dining pass. Caught Susan Rosen since the ride times were still 35-85 min a few min before show time. Show was not one of her best. Previous ones had been a lot better.
Then went to Raging Trimbrake. Line was to the back but they weren't using the interior queue beyond the first four rows or so. Normally this would take 45 min at least and probably close to 60 if this were 2012 or 2013, but they were playing an announcement that we needed to get going so the train could dispatch in 30 seconds. This is still a quality ride, but after going on Mako, it feels extremely underwhelming. We were in row 2 and nothing on Raging gets close to the airtime on any Mako hill. And Raging has all this start n stop and spiral turning that I've never been a big fan of. Still a top notch ride, but Mako really shows the full potential of what a hyper coaster can do in terms of airtime. Wait time was like in June, maybe 20-25 min. Gotta give them credit for having 30 second dispatch instead of 5 minutes. Stated wait time was like 35.
Dinner at JB's next door had no real line. At previous FF the line had been out the door and as long as a lot of the rides. Headed over to hit the last show of Love at First Fright. We could have hit a ride instead, but no guarantee the lines were gonna be good as the posted wait times weren't really indicating walk ups. Oh, they had shut down Whizzer still at 6 something. That LAFF show was probably the best I've seen. The regular showings in recent years have been kinda underwhelming.
After this we went to Batman. Complete walk up, even for the front. Since I found front row of Montu to be pretty wild, I talked the wife into riding front here. Wow! It's like a totally different ride. I remember the 2nd row feeling more like a launch coaster but there is nothing like riding an invert in the front where you have nothing shielding you from the elements. I missed the kick down the hill you get in the back rows. Batman was throwing me into the harness, pulling me forward, very opposite of what happens in the back. Head-banging is pretty prevalent in the front in the first half, but it wasn't painful at all. Every part of the ride was exhilarating. It just throws you over the inversions. It's more forceful, but in a good way. It's not the type of forces that make you feel sick or dizzy. Still wish it was longer. But it was so satisfying that I couldn't complain. Best coaster experience I've had since the first few times I rode Batman at all. Hopefully I can try it again before season's end. Batman had been losing luster to me, but I'm not sure I see the front getting dull ever.
Looks like my theory that tens of thousands of people impulsively decide to attend FF based on weather was correct. With the rain we got May-June lines instead of crowds that the park can't handle.
Is GuyWithAStick the dude who walks around with the walking stick all the time? If so, I rode Giant Drop with him once and he was able to count down the drop perfectly somehow.
^ No, he doesn't carry a walking stick! He explained in another thread how he got his userid: he was on a forum and there was a "Cop_With_A_Stick" person and he liked the name so he came up with "Guy_With_A_Stick".
Last edited by CoasterRiderSC on October 4th, 2016, 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
^^ Row 2 on Bull... I actually cannot remember a time in which i rode Bull in any other row other than 9(unless i was reriding). Backseat at least competes with Mako, but you get SOLID airtime in any seat on Mako which I was very impressed with. The lack of "any seat" airtime on Bull is at least tolerable though with it being a hyper-twister, makes it unique from any other B&M hypers i guess.
So, the boys wanted to catch another showing of Love At First Fright to close the night out, and we decided to catch the last show. We were in line for about ten minutes before I noticed the sign that it was not your average show, mature audiences (18+) only...
What do they do to the show to get that kind of warning/rating? It seems to me that it would ruin it. But that's maybe becuase I'm a more family-friendly entertainment kind of guy anyway. I've seen YouTube videos up for previous years, but never saw a hint of that.
The boys were kind of bummed, and we couldn't go again last weekend so we are going to try to brave it this weekend, Halloween and all, and hope for the best.
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