BUNDLE UP AND FUN!!!!!

[Chitown]

Just wanted to say have a great day at the park. Wish I could be there.

Coaster withdrawal will now be over for some of you.

Don't be a fool and wear shorts. Especially if you go tomorrow as it's a high of 43 and rain. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[Trailblazer Tony]

I second that! I know most of you are at the gate right now, but have fun, be safe, take awesome pics for us here and not at the park! (it'll help me get through the final projects i'll be doing all weekend)

[Jerrykoala2112]

I am in the car right now and it doesnt seem too crowded for opening day, i expected more people. But less the better for shorter lines.

[rct2wizard360]

Hope everybody has a blast!

I'll be there tomorrow, getting soaked and freezing my ass off.

[superflybri]

I wish I was there... There had better be pictures!

[w00dland]

I expect atleast 3 PTR's by 10PM tonight...

First opening day I'm missing in 6 years.

Have fun!

[rasslin]

Hello Everyone,

We just got home from opening day at SFGA! It was cold and windy, but wasn't too bad if you stayed behind walls and in the sun.
A lot of people complaining because a lot of the rides were not running. But as usual, very nice employee's who actually look and act happy to be there (a rare thing nowadays!)
Getting our season passes was a fiasco this year and took us 40 minutes waiting in line and getting everything sorted out. Big lines at the picture area too. Only 5 out of 8 windows open and everyone sharing a couple of computers.
Other than that, it was great to be back at the park. I hope you all get a chance to go soon!
While it's a happy day for most, I had to look longingly through the gates at the entrance to Hurricane Harbor. The opening day for the Harbor is my big day.

[onyxhotel08]

Which rides were not running? I would be PISSED if any of the big three aka Raging Bull, SUF or American Eagle did not run when I go there. Any pics? Anyone? Was V2 running?

[sixflagsgurneeboy]

^superman was not running. Eagle and V2 was running strong while i was there.......Sky trek went down as i was going to it for high winds, other than that i think all the other coasters were running even though i didnt get to ride them all, because i was mainly there to processes my season pass. I might be going for the whole day tomorrow depending on weather

[rasslin]

I wish I could tell you first hand which ones weren't running (coasters) But I can tell you first hand that the giant drop, superman, the train, wiggles world and quite a few others weren't running that I saw.
I heard a lot of people complaining saying they should get $40.00 back, etc. Most of the concession stands and restaurants weren't operating. I saw some show called Back Trac which was a movie about country western music from 1977-2005 (Don't ask me why, I only went in there to keep warm.) I saw Barbara Mandrell perform live at Great America about a hundred years ago when it was still Marriots, and she was in the movie. I saw Tweety and Robin walking around. There wasn't a parade at 3:00PM Turnout was low. When we left at 3:30 or so, it was a ghost town at the front gate.
But again, considering how badly the season pass renewals were handled at the corporate level, the employee's there were extraordinarily well trained and friendly even under the duress of the problems which most season pass holders were trying to resolve at the gate. I even told one of the supervisors that the kid sweeping the ground came up and asked us how we were doing and if we purchased our season passes, the guy at the gate was high fiving everyone as they left. They do an exceptional job in HR at this park. As uspset as I was about the pass problems, I was happy when we left because we were treated so well.

[Mr. D.T.]

No kidding. Guest Relations was literally the worst of both worlds. They had a line on the outer side, and one on the inside. There's been some problems with season passes today. Then again, opening days in most theme parks are not the best to begin with; many of the people are still in school or college, the new attractions/rides aren't ready yet, and the weather isn't cooperative which such an example is today.

AE's line was slow because only the red side was running. Iron Wolf was down. Many of the food units were not in operation yet, but why do we need all those food units on a slow day like today?

[ttd rox]

Just got back. Worst SFGAm visit ever! Bull, many flats, GD, and many other things were either already closed or closed during the day. Bull was closed the whole day and didn't run once which got me very mad! Check my TR.

[onyxhotel08]

Yikes, that sucks! Why would Bull not be running (painting)? SUF is the second biggest coaster why would they have it closed opening day? IW was not running? Bleh, not point in goin there today then I guess. What about Vu and Splashwater Falls? What is left?

Which water rides were running? ANY?

[sixflagsgurneeboy]

Oh yeah, now that i think about about it, bull wasn't running when i glanced over there for a bit. IW was running when i walked past it, but it must have cease operation later on. I think the coasters and flats were going down as the winds picked up, so that's why i decided to just get my pass and hop on a couple rides that were actually open (eagle, demon and east river crawler were the ones i rode )and then headed out....i felt sorry for the ones that came from more than 30 minutes away, they wouldnt have much to come for

[onyxhotel08]

High winds? Thats the excuse? I live an hour away and if I came there today (never would happen) and all those rides were closed because of "high winds" I would not be coming back. Do high winds cause ride closures typically in the season? I feel sorry for everyone who came there today. Tomorrow the weather will only be worse.

[ttd rox]

^That's no excuse! I don't care if it's dangerous to ride in those conditions! That's what gives it the thrill! Still had an ok time. Check my TR for more info. BTW, IW was running fine the whole day, or at least from what I saw when I walked by it.

[onyxhotel08]

Any pictures...

[Bob O]

There were numerous rides closed today, at times it seemed more were closed than opened, escpecially early in the day.
It was windy in the park today, but I have been at the park in the past when it has been as windy and I dont recall as many rides being closed down, escpecially when V2 was open thru-out the day and seems to close more often due to weather, the same for whizzer which ran for a good portion of the day.
The only BIG disappointment of the day was RB being closed the whole day, escepcially when later in the day Superman/IW/BTR/V2 were all operating and RB was the only main coaster closed. Ive never seen RB closed the whole day before(of course I could have just been lucky).

If the park was going to close the rides due to weather, which I can understand will happen, they at least could have notified the guests about this prior to the park opening or with signs in the front of the park as Im sure they knew what the weather conditions were at 900am and what they were likely to be at least during the early part of the day.


The line for seasonpass's was VERY long and Im thankful I got my seasonpass during FF. The employee's were very friendly. I thought someone said on a post that there was going to be special activities for opening day,and I didnt see anything special, though i could have missed it and im sure someone else here would have seen it.

[ghost455]

They had the parade and autograph sessions and also were giving out 1 ballpark buck at the entrance when you come in.

[steve0145]

I just got back home, and I looked I have over 600 pictures. I need to look them over and see what I have on the cam so let me know what you want to see and will put them up

[onyxhotel08]

Everything you can of course.

[yankee Clipper91]

I went on on Loggers run before they shut it down. It was not that bad to be honest. But I was dissapointed that a lot of the rides were shut down, but I can understand it due to the wind. I really wanted to ride orbit and the Yankee Clipper.

[FParker185]

SFGAm strictly follows manufacturer specifications, and in thoses specs there is a max wind speed listed, generally 30-35mph, anything over that and they cant operate, and that includes the kiddie rides in Wiggles World even inside the tent, Zamperla doesnt care that they are semi inside, over 35mph and it's a no go. Other than that it was the absolute worst opening day I can remember and that goes beyond closed rides.

[tsalas08]

I was there today, the season pass center was horrible(nearly an hour wait); however, all of the staff were VERY friendly throughout the park. There was only one issue with the lockers that I personally noticed(i was there open-close) some lady was yelling at the host at the entrance to the que line of AE about the locker policy and had her husband hold the back pack and stuff she had. I noticed down the line he went up the exit and joined her and after the fiasco she put the other guy through, i decided to tell him and he called security & had me notify the ride ops at the station who kicked the guy off the ride and security ejected him from the park. Other than that, after 5 pretty much every ride was a walk on. The only major ride closed was Bull (all-day) and superman was closed until much later (after 3-ish? anyone know what time they actually opened?) for high winds. Several flats were closed but not a ton. It really was much warmer than I anticipated. The longest wait for a ride I had was for front seat BTR which was ~15 minutes.

[onyxhotel08]

What about Yankee Clipper, Logger's Run and Roaring Rapids?