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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 Ilovthevu' on November 13th, 2017, 1:18 am
For the Balloons, people don't like the 5 second ride on them. Get a LONGER program. The ride program is terrible. It seems like i have to wait until a "famous" youtube person says something, and they will actually change it. Or until they take it out in a year or 2 because no one wants to ride a 5 second ride anymore.
Last edited by Ilovthevu' on November 21st, 2017, 3:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 13th, 2017, 1:29 am
Last time I rode it (October 15th), Big Easy Balloons was actually running a fairly good cycle (About a minute or so). Why does it need to be any longer than that? The ride rarely ever gets more than a cycle wait so you can usually just hop right back in line again. :lol:
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Postby Ilovthevu' on November 13th, 2017, 1:42 am
^The ride takes time to get going to the top of the "tower" where it actually gets to a tilt. Rides that people like, people are willing to wait. With a longer cycle, more people will ride it.

With ANY line whatsoever, the ride is not worth it to ride it for me. I'll have to settle for Santa's Village Azoosement park instead, and go on it a lot there (Balloon Race) with it having a normal ride cycle. I have ridden that ride since year 1 (2004), and they ruined that thing maybe a year ago, so oh well. This is life. You can't take things for granted.
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Postby Guy_With_A_Stick on November 13th, 2017, 2:28 am
Dude, Balloons is meant for people who find the other rides to be too scary, or who are too short to ride anything else. They wouldn't care if the ride was 5 seconds(which it most definitely is not). They just want to be able to ride something to make their $60 ticket worthwhile.

By the way, if your whole park experience is going to be dictated by a single ride(let alone a Zamperla Balloon Race), then I think you should at least take into consideration the other rides in the park. ;)
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Postby n9yty on November 13th, 2017, 11:20 am
I was really ticked off they closed Sunday... I get it, the weather, the abysmal attendance on past days, they knew they weren't going to make it worth their while financially. The rain did eventually clear off, but it was obvious they weren't going to get many people. That isn't the part that got under my skin so much...

They have an app, and they added notifications to the app, and the description of those notifications even says it will announce changes to park operating times. DID THEY? NOOOOOO..... So we checked before we left, everything said open, but an hour and half later when we arrived they were closed. THAT SUCKS. If they have the capabiliy in their own APP to push out a notification of such a radical change in operating hours, they should do it.

Well, now I'll get spamed with all their twitter posts, but I guess if that is the only channel they are going to use. It sucks to spend 3hrs in a car with the kids for nothing.

A few things I think this Last Call has shown:

The temperatures have been quite cold, and people aren't coming out for it.

They won't ever have Holiday in the Park here if this is the kind of attendance they will get in this climate. I get that having all the holiday decorationas might draw more people than Sprint-sponsored craft beer event, but I think it shows that in general there is little appetite by the masses to come this late in the season in this location.

There was very sparse attendance and with that the very short ride lines seemed to have everybody in much better moods, guests and staff (well, okay, not all guests, still hear a lot of grumbling from people walking by, but they will always grumble about something).

I know a lot of folks here are just hard-core ride fans, but we really liked the new Lumberjacks Wanted show, and it was nice to have Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay make a reprise, although it was really Ta Ra Ra Freeze My A, if you ask me. Poor performers, I feel for them!! But we enjoy those shows quite a bit, and was glad to see the park make an effot to at least offer some options for those for whom the rides aren't the only thing they enjoy.

So, waiting to see what the closing weekend brings...
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Postby Jackluver18 on November 13th, 2017, 12:28 pm
Closing Day is gonna be bone chilling cold. As of right now, the temp is showing a high of 30 and getting down to 25 at night. No rain in the forecast....just freezing cold. They better not be closed next Sunday or I'm gonna be really mad.
SF trips 09 = 15
SF trips 10= 11
SF trips 11 =7
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Postby CoasterRiderSC on November 13th, 2017, 1:49 pm
We drove there on Sunday figuring the park would be open. I had checked the Six Flags site the night before and it said Sunday 12-8. We arrived around 11:40 am and were greeted by security outside the outer parking gate. Our drive was about 50 minutes one way.

I don't feel so bad now, knowing that Six Flags posted the decision to close AFTER we had left for the park.

Hopefully this Sat and Sun they're open! I can't imagine them not being open at all on the last weekend.
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Postby coasterjoy on November 13th, 2017, 1:56 pm
n9yty wrote:I was really ticked off they closed Sunday... I get it, the weather, the abysmal attendance on past days, they knew they weren't going to make it worth their while financially. The rain did eventually clear off, but it was obvious they weren't going to get many people. That isn't the part that got under my skin so much...

They have an app, and they added notifications to the app, and the description of those notifications even says it will announce changes to park operating times. DID THEY? NOOOOOO..... So we checked before we left, everything said open, but an hour and half later when we arrived they were closed. THAT SUCKS. If they have the capabiliy in their own APP to push out a notification of such a radical change in operating hours, they should do it.

Well, now I'll get spamed with all their twitter posts, but I guess if that is the only channel they are going to use. It sucks to spend 3hrs in a car with the kids for nothing.

A few things I think this Last Call has shown:

The temperatures have been quite cold, and people aren't coming out for it.

They won't ever have Holiday in the Park here if this is the kind of attendance they will get in this climate. I get that having all the holiday decorationas might draw more people than Sprint-sponsored craft beer event, but I think it shows that in general there is little appetite by the masses to come this late in the season in this location.

There was very sparse attendance and with that the very short ride lines seemed to have everybody in much better moods, guests and staff (well, okay, not all guests, still hear a lot of grumbling from people walking by, but they will always grumble about something).

I know a lot of folks here are just hard-core ride fans, but we really liked the new Lumberjacks Wanted show, and it was nice to have Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay make a reprise, although it was really Ta Ra Ra Freeze My A, if you ask me. Poor performers, I feel for them!! But we enjoy those shows quite a bit, and was glad to see the park make an effot to at least offer some options for those for whom the rides aren't the only thing they enjoy.

So, waiting to see what the closing weekend brings...


THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO US!!! 200 mile trip for nothing! I was irate. I got the app for this exact reason too, and made sure to check it twice before we made the long trip. Very upsetting...I feel your pain. The lack of consideration on their part really doesn't make me feel valued at all after something like this, and we've been pass holders for 15 of the last 20 years. Thanks for listening lol


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Postby RollingCoasting on November 17th, 2017, 7:58 pm
http://sfgamworld.com/rides/ridestatus.php

Looks like Lobster will be closed for this last weekend, meaning it was only open 7 days this year... :lol:
Glad I got 2 rides on it atleast

Edit: It's open now
Last edited by RollingCoasting on November 18th, 2017, 2:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby anewman35 on November 17th, 2017, 10:56 pm
If you're planning on going Saturday, probably should verify they're open before you do. Looks about as bad as last Sunday did...
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Postby Jackluver18 on November 18th, 2017, 12:14 pm
It's snowing at my house and I live about 45 minutes south of the park....I don't think the park is opening today
SF trips 09 = 15
SF trips 10= 11
SF trips 11 =7
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Postby Muck Finnesota on November 18th, 2017, 1:10 pm
It's noon, and nothing on Twitter. Gave the park a call, and they're open at the moment- but that is liable to change. Whether or not anything beyond restaurants and bathrooms are open, I dunno. Snowy rain is falling outside my window at the moment.
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Postby batmanfan80 on November 18th, 2017, 1:22 pm
I don't think they're opening this weekend. Last year and I think the year before they were more swamped than ever on the Nov dates they were open since it was warm. I don't think the date has anything to do with demand. The hordes will show up in the middle of January if it's sunny and 20 degrees out. Rain keeps the hordes away even if it's 80 outside. November has had worse weather than December in a lot of years. Sucks because you basically can't go to Fright Fest anymore without horrible lines for everything unless it's rained and the park decided not to close.
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Postby coasterjoy on November 18th, 2017, 1:23 pm
Just a warning that they did confirm they were open last Sunday and closed without warning


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Postby RollingCoasting on November 18th, 2017, 1:29 pm
^^ Pretty sure they will be open tomorrow. Aside from the temperature the weather is actually kind of decent (Partly sunny)
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Postby Muck Finnesota on November 18th, 2017, 1:43 pm
Park is closing at 5 today, per twitter.
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Postby DejaVu2001 on November 18th, 2017, 10:39 pm
Anyone that didn't go today missed out. Every coaster was open today, even Whizzer. And when the park opened, there was accumulating snow. Joker and Giant Drop in particular were plastered in snow, and running. Definitely a day to remember.
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Postby anewman35 on November 18th, 2017, 10:53 pm
Really don't get the logic of not opening last Sunday but opening today, unless they thought it would look too bad to be closed two straight days (and one of the days on closing weekend). Was there anybody there?
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Postby RollingCoasting on November 18th, 2017, 11:05 pm
Apparently it was dead. Ah well. Hopefully tomorrow will be better :)
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Postby Muck Finnesota on November 18th, 2017, 11:12 pm
DejaVu2001 wrote:Anyone that didn't go today missed out. Every coaster was open today, even Whizzer. And when the park opened, there was accumulating snow. Joker and Giant Drop in particular were plastered in snow, and running. Definitely a day to remember.

Ah, that hurts- but happy for anyone who got to experience it. Sounds like something that would have given Last Blast '02 a run for it's money in my book.
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Postby RobSFGAm on November 18th, 2017, 11:26 pm
I remember going to Freight Fest five or so years ago and the weather was a high in the 30 in October and it was still busy. I think the Last Call Fall Festival naming was not enough to bring in the crowds in. They could have done holiday lightening of the building (Osborne lights like) with holiday theming to encompassing fall, Thanksgiving and December holidays (I know that is Holiday in the Park, but we cannot have only rides as the draw). People might be more inspired to come out if it is something much different than the regular season, then riding rides in really cold weather.
Other Chicago area holiday attractions (ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo, Illumination at Morton Arboretum, Brookfield Zoo Holiday Magic (36 year) people will come out. Those events are packed even when it is cold, some you have to book in advance. But again they make it something unique compared to what is there in the summer months. If SFGAm want to ever do anything like Holiday in the Park (in this cold weather), they need to realize that it has to be more than just rides and it make the investment in like they do for Freight Fest. If Freight Fest had no haunted houses, halloween theming; and was just an extension of the regular season, it would not be nearly as popular as it is.
Look How Kings Island does it. Not a ton of rides, but a lot of holiday food, theming, attractions, but a different experience
https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/winterfest/attractions
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Postby CoasterRiderSC on November 19th, 2017, 12:38 am
I can't wait to go tomorrow! The sun, along with 0% precipitation and low winds should make it feel not too cold! I hope all rides are running!
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Postby coasterfanatic on November 19th, 2017, 12:41 am
They closed last week because it pretty rained ALL DAY long plus if attendance was not going to be there, it wouldn't be worth it for them to open.

Today, it did not rain all day. The rain/snow was ended by about 2pm and park stayed open til 5pm!

I was there with my cousin. We got there right at open and yes it was snowing. Mostly all the coasters were closed initially while it was snowing but we did go on on Giant Drop while it was snowing.

The Lobster was great. It's so quite and the new LED lights look awesome.

Every coaster opened today with one train! There really wasn't a need for more than one train as I would estimate there was no more than 1500 in the park. Overall, a solid day
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Postby coasterfanatic on November 19th, 2017, 12:44 am
RobSFGAm wrote:I remember going to Freight Fest five or so years ago and the weather was a high in the 30 in October and it was still busy. I think the Last Call Fall Festival naming was not enough to bring in the crowds in. They could have done holiday lightening of the building (Osborne lights like) with holiday theming to encompassing fall, Thanksgiving and December holidays (I know that is Holiday in the Park, but we cannot have only rides as the draw). People might be more inspired to come out if it is something much different than the regular season, then riding rides in really cold weather.
Other Chicago area holiday attractions (ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo, Illumination at Morton Arboretum, Brookfield Zoo Holiday Magic (36 year) people will come out. Those events are packed even when it is cold, some you have to book in advance. But again they make it something unique compared to what is there in the summer months. If SFGAm want to ever do anything like Holiday in the Park (in this cold weather), they need to realize that it has to be more than just rides and it make the investment in like they do for Freight Fest. If Freight Fest had no haunted houses, halloween theming; and was just an extension of the regular season, it would not be nearly as popular as it is.
Look How Kings Island does it. Not a ton of rides, but a lot of holiday food, theming, attractions, but a different experience
https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/winterfest/attractions


This was NOT Holiday in the Park. This was an event with craft beer and specialty food that was DESIGNED to test weather and park attendance levels in bad weather for a potential Holiday in the Park in the future. It was very well done and executed well, unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate this year
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Postby Guy_With_A_Stick on November 19th, 2017, 2:06 am
DejaVu2001 wrote:Anyone that didn't go today missed out. Every coaster was open today, even Whizzer. And when the park opened, there was accumulating snow. Joker and Giant Drop in particular were plastered in snow, and running. Definitely a day to remember.

Yeah, it was an incredible day. It was freezing cold, though. If you weren't prepared, your hands would've been blue! :lol:

Anyway, that was probably my last visit for the year. 2017 was an incredible season. Operations improved tremendously, lots of small in-park improvements, and just a generally solid year. Here's to hoping 2018 will be just as good, if not better.
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