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Last Call Fall Festival

Talk about anything that has to do with Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor here.
Postby jwlnroe on November 6th, 2017, 5:49 pm
Whizzer Whiz Kid wrote:I don't really have time for a full trip report, but it was seriously dead today. Here are some pictures..Cheers!


Was Xflight the only coaster not running? Do you think any others might not be operational this coming weekend
with the temps looking like in the 30s and possible snow? Can the coasters even run when its that cold? I've heard
parks using heaters under them when loading/unloading to keep them warmer.. not sure if six flags does that. Just curious.. really long drive
so up in the air about this weekend at the moment.
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Postby Whizzer Whiz Kid on November 6th, 2017, 7:02 pm
Yes, X-Flight was the only coaster not open the entire time I was there, however I do not believe it was because of the cold weather. They were sending trains quite frequently, but it kept stopping halfway out of the station from what I could see during my Eagle marathon. There were a few other rides that opened late. And yes, certain rides do have suggested temperatures that they are supposed to run at. Not sure how strict Six Flags is on that though.
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 6th, 2017, 8:44 pm
X-Flight can't run in cold weather. When the wind gusts are above 35mph the ride automatically shuts down (Which I guess explains why it got "Stuck" at the bottom of the lifthill on Tuesday and never reopened.) Same thing happens if the temperature drops below 40° F.
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Postby jwlnroe on November 6th, 2017, 8:54 pm
RollingCoasting wrote:X-Flight can't run in cold weather. When the wind gusts are above 35mph the ride automatically shuts down (Which I guess explains why it got "Stuck" at the bottom of the lifthill on Tuesday and never reopened.) Same thing happens if the temperature drops below 40° F.


ok good to know... makes sense. thanks for the info.
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Postby Hugehungry on November 6th, 2017, 9:58 pm
My park report from sunday:

We got to the park and walked right on to the Whizzer 3 times in a row. (that was pretty great)
my family was the only people riding triple play
We rode the little dipper and spacelys
since the line was so short we just walked on to dark knight.
I did end up riding xflight but it was EXTREMELY rough. I rode it twice in a row (not the best idea) and got a headace for the next few hours
Last riders on JLBM :)

I think i rode more rides in 2.5 hours than in 5 hours normally xD


Could the cold have been why it was xflight so rough?
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Postby CoasterRiderSC on November 7th, 2017, 8:45 am
RollingCoasting wrote:I plan on going closing day. All of the coasters (except Spacely's but...) were running on Halloween with temperatures in the mid-30's, so I'd imagine they'll all be running for Last Call too


RC, Was X-Flight running on Halloween? I'm going this Sunday and hoping to get some last rides in for the year!
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 7th, 2017, 9:06 am
It seemed like it was for the first hour or so, but after that I noticed it was stuck on the bottom of the lift with riders. I walked by later and it was closed with one train in the station and the other on the brake run.

If if I were you I'd ride it as early on as possible, since the temperature may drop to 29° on Sunday.
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Postby Muck Finnesota on November 8th, 2017, 12:34 am
Pumped to take advantage of what is essentially three (well, now two) weekends of Last Blast. Hopefully, enough people show up to justify (a) not closing the park four hours early, and (b) even more extended season dates going forward.
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Postby CoasterNick3157 on November 8th, 2017, 4:01 am
39 degrees for sat and sunday good luck
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Postby CoasterCale on November 10th, 2017, 3:09 pm
Thanks. I'm gonna need it.
Check out my Coaster vids
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_o4Mtg8LDHpRuK7rRKMdAQ

It seems like the other side always wins on American Eagle :?
Also, I've ridden Goliath 23 times in one day. HBU? :roll: :P
(Sorry in advance for unnecessary commas and parenthesis every where)
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Postby Lizardgi on November 11th, 2017, 1:54 pm
Currently at the park, so far only coasters running are V2 and Dipper. Most flats are open. Goliath and spacelys now open, heaters running under spacelys station. Eagle testing.
Last edited by Lizardgi on November 11th, 2017, 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby coasterjoy on November 11th, 2017, 2:07 pm
Lizardgi wrote:Currently at the park, so far only coasters running are V2 and Dipper. Most flats are open.


Ooooh that is not good news considering we we are going tomorrow for our last trip of the year...can you please give an update if any coasters open? Thank you!!


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Postby Lizardgi on November 11th, 2017, 4:26 pm
Will give full report at end of day. Right now currently open includes V2, Dipper, spacelys, Goliath, demon, eagle, xflight, dark Knight. Batman, bull, Superman cycling. Joker, whizzer, viper not running. Park is doing a great job trying to get stuff running.
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Postby UWW-10 on November 11th, 2017, 7:52 pm
Is staffing just as much of a struggle as the weather? I can't imagine that they have a large pool of seasonal employees left for these last weeks. I wonder if there was some kind of bonus involved for employees who stayed until the very end.
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Postby Lizardgi on November 11th, 2017, 11:26 pm
Just got home, might do a longer report tomorrow, but all coasters opened today except for whizzer. If you can dress for the cold, I highly recommend going tomorrow. Pretty much walk ons all day, especially after sun went down.
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 11th, 2017, 11:38 pm
Hoping it's like this next Sunday as well :) Forecast is predicting a low of 23°
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Postby coasterjoy on November 12th, 2017, 12:11 am
Lizardgi wrote:Just got home, might do a longer report tomorrow, but all coasters opened today except for whizzer. If you can dress for the cold, I highly recommend going tomorrow. Pretty much walk ons all day, especially after sun went down.


Awesome! We will still go tomorrow then. Thanks for the update! :)


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Postby anewman35 on November 12th, 2017, 12:44 am
Another odd thing about today - many of the smaller food/drink stands were closed (signs said due to weather reasons, they probably had their water turned off to avoid freezing) so a bunch of places that are rarely open (even when it's really busy) were open (i.e. Firehouse Pizza, chicken place by the Eagle, Claimjumper Chicken). Not a huge deal, but amusing/frustrating to see a place that wasn't open on an incredibly busy Fright Fest day be open on one of the slowest days I have ever seen.
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Postby Lizardgi on November 12th, 2017, 10:11 am
Here’s my longish trip report. I won’t do a step by step daily breakdown as we were with our 6 and 4 year old kids and our daily plan is probably much different than most of this form.

Arrived just before parking lot opened at 11:30 and the gates opened at noon. Temp was consistently in the upper 30s. Upon first open, the only coasters open and cycling were Little Dipper, Spacely’s and V2. I was initially quite worried that would be it for the day. I did notice that Spacely’s had heaters running under the station area. Slowly throughout the day and as it warmed up a few degrees, more and more coasters began testing and then opening. By the end of the day, the only coaster that I never saw run with people was Whizzer. I give huge props to the maintenance team who seemed to be working in overgear trying to get everything up, and keep it going. Around 3pm I noticed people on Batman for the first time, about an hour later it was down and at 5pm we saw a maintenance guy on top of the lift track with what looked like a grease gun. Note that I do not mean the lift stairs, he was actually on top of the track. A bit later Batman was running again. Huge credit to them and Six Flags for getting it going again when it would have been very easy to just close it for the night given the temperature and low crowds. Of the rides that one might expect to be open, I only saw that Condor, Ricochet, and Whizzer were the only ones closed. Lobster never opened, Hometown Fun Machine was taken down, and any rides already closed for Fright Fest remained closed. Giant drop was a mixed bag all day. I spoke with one of the ops who said they were having consistent trouble with it in the cold and it was down to only two cars (still a walk on). By 6pm it was closed for the night.

Operationally, the park ran great. They were surprisingly well staffed and X-flight was the only coaster I noticed that was in single train operation. Even towards the end of the night when Bull and Viper were literal walk-ons, they still had two trains going and the crew was pushing it to dispatch quickly. Like the previous poster said, some of the outdoor snack locations were moved to other areas, including inside a heated firehouse which was nice. Food places had enough staff, and I did see that Mooseburger had a church group working there for fundraising, similar to what you see at sports arenas.

As far as park ambiance goes, it might have been the best I have ever seen. Employees were super helpful and friendly. Music played in the park was of a relaxed more mature vibe, and not blaring modern pop. It really made a difference! There were quite a few characters out interacting with everyone, including at the park entrance when we left. The low crowds (front lot was maybe ¾ full at peak, maybe a it less) helped this as well. As far as crowds go, best mix I’ve ever been a part of. Sorry if I offend anyone, but there were no school groups and of the young kids and teens that were there, they were behaved and respectful. It made such an overall difference in that everyone who was there seemed to really want to be there to enjoy the park. People were polite, respective, and just wanted to have a good time.

We did not partake in any of the special food or drink, but did see a number of people doing so. A few of the food stands had a fairly consistent line. I do hope this proves to be popular for Six Flags but with the cold weather and crowds I worry it won’t be. It really was a great event and day in the park and could pave the way for a winter festival. They still have options to make more use of indoor spaces to help with the cold as needed. If anyone is on the fence about going, I highly suggest finding some cold weather gear and visit the park for one of the best trips of the year. Don’t expect all coasters to be open at noon, and if you have a must-do ride, get on it as soon as you see it’s open.
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Postby Jodon on November 12th, 2017, 11:23 am
Fyi, park just announced on Twitter that they will not open 11/12 today due to weather.


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Postby American Eagle 1981 on November 12th, 2017, 11:41 am
I agree with Lizardgi! I was there yesterday as well for a little while and agree with a lot lizard said. The ambiance was noticeably different, by dark it actually seemed super peaceful. Employees were actually really nice and friendly which was great. Unfortunately it was more crowded than expected. I actually thought everything would be a walk-on but due to slower operations they weren’t. Maintenance did a great job but a lot was going down and reduced capacity operations made lines longer. I rode V2 which was a walk on, Eagle twice which was a station wait and then reride since nobody was in line. Also Triple Play and Joker which was a walk on. Good visit, last call fall festival was a success in my opinion, very well done.
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Postby Muck Finnesota on November 12th, 2017, 12:10 pm
Jodon wrote:Fyi, park just announced on Twitter that they will not open 11/12 today due to weather.


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Damn it. Thanks for the heads up. I really hope to make it to at least one of these things next weekend.
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Postby Jackluver18 on November 12th, 2017, 12:26 pm
Good thing I didn't head up there, 2 of my friends messaged me telling me not to go. Glad I didn't waste the gas money. It better not rain next Sunday and ruin Closing Day...I won't be happy since I already missed today.
SF trips 09 = 15
SF trips 10= 11
SF trips 11 =7
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Postby anewman35 on November 12th, 2017, 2:15 pm
I can't imagine the Last Call stuff is working out like they hoped at all, with one day so far a complete washout, another day cut in half because of rain, and the other two days not great themselves. Oh well...
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 12th, 2017, 5:05 pm
Off topic but since they usually don't get seen, I posted a meet-up thread for next Sunday:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15347
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