JimPanky wrote:Anyone know if LAFF is showing today?
I went yesterday. Love at First Fright was showing in the Grand Music Hall at 2:30 PM, 7:45 PM, and 10:30 PM. It lasted 45 minutes. The Ringmaster's Cabaret was showing at 4:00 PM and 6:45 PM, and lasted about 35 minutes.
I was at FF for a bit today. Decorations were sparse. The park music was pretty cool. Didn’t see a Pictorium grave at Six Saints Cemetery. Has anyone else spotted it? It would be funny if it said something like “ Pictorium- 40 Years of Memories. Lived Life to the Maxx.”
I didn't see anything for the Pictorium in the Six Saints Cemetery. Also American Eagle ran both sides yesterday but refused to race them so I am not sure what was going on with that. Eagle was also a walk on for most of the day or close to a walk on so I am not sure why they operated both sides all day.
I went to FF on Saturday, and here is my review. This is just a review in my opinion. I've been to FF for the past 4 years, so whether or not my experiences were just "business as usual" or just foibles by the park itself, is completely up to interpretation.
First and foremost. My wife and I are Diamond Elite members, which I will brush up a few of our nuances. We reserved and printed out our Preferred/Reserved parking passes about 4 days before arriving to the park. Upon arriving, the usual section that is cordoned off for Preferred/Reserved parking was gone. No attendant, no shack...nothing. I understand it's at the park's discretion that they have the ability to provide/remove benefits at will, but a head's up would have at least sufficed. Also, a part of our benefit is getting haunted house wristbands every visit during FF. Well, we did get our wristbands, but as hackneyed as it was, we had to wait in the member services line which of course, stretched all the way back to the Coke Freestyle/Trudy's Sweet's at that particular point in time. I can only proclaim it was due to individuals getting their memberships/passes processed as part of the Labor Day sale. A separate line for the wristbands would have been nice. The shops could not provide the courtesy of issuing wristbands to members.
Regarding the Haunted Houses... Hell Fest - decent experience, the house is located behind the shops across from the Go Carts. We found ourselves walking on the boardwalk (I think that's what it's called), so it was evident why they posted to make sure you don't have any small items that may fall out because it will fall through the cracks in the floor. You get a coupon from Atom Films to get $5 off at the exit. Massacre Medical Center - Is it just me or did they turn down the lights on this attraction? It definitely appeared darker. Manslaughter Manor - this year, the attendant provided flashlights for one or two individuals in our group. Big Top - Definitely looked like it was set up better than the last time we visited it in 1996. Gates of Hell - Roughly the same experience we had in prior years, but we did get stuck upon entering the second part of the attraction as there was a door that we couldn't see. Infestation - This seemed to be the less scariest of them all in terms of actors. We counted only around 3 or 4. I miss apocalypse already.
Regarding the shows... This year we didn't have time to see LAFF, but we will be going again in October and may catch it then. Seeing the show in the past, I'm sure it won't disappoint. Ringmaster's Cabaret - Started slightly late, from what I heard the previous LAFF show had technical difficulties which caused the delay. Everyone seemed to love the balancing actor. Uprising - 3rd year in a row with the same thing...you know...dancing...calling out Nox, resistance fighters, blah blah. My wife and I expected more. 2015's show was much better as it was more original. This show was actually was an exact copy of SFA's "Awakening" stage show that they had in 2015...nearly word for word (see https://youtu.be/936TWLeHA_g ). Is it just me or does anyone else miss Xander?
Regarding the food/drinks... I didn't see anything regarding special snacks for FF, even though in an aformentioned e-mail I received a day or two before stated there was. I understand due to manning, that not all of the food locations could be open. However, the "water hole" in SWA was completely closed, which played a role in many of the lines at the restaurants being absurdly long in my opinion. We had a salad and sub from the Fresh Cafe (across from Rue Le Dodge). The lettuce in the salad looked old and the chicken was overcooked. They were out of mixed fruit. After that we had italian food, couldn't remember which location it was...the food was good but I think the servers were a bit overwhelmed.
Overall Experience... I know you can't stop people from being stupid, but we had two rides cut short because of individuals with their cell phones out recording/taking pictures. After 6PM, there were still many kids in the park, many of which were younger than 7. Once again, can't stop people from being stupid as I encountered one child (around 5ish) who freaked out as one of the scare actors hit us with the CO2 rifle. Casually, I told my wife that the cost of a babysitter is much less than shelling out for a therapist.
coasterkidd100 wrote:I didn't see anything for the Pictorium in the Six Saints Cemetery. Also American Eagle ran both sides yesterday but refused to race them so I am not sure what was going on with that. Eagle was also a walk on for most of the day or close to a walk on so I am not sure why they operated both sides all day.
I think it was brought up on here that both trains can’t run together on Eagle now because it wouldn’t be able to structuly handel it. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong about this though. At least both sides were running. I can tell you how many times I’ve gone this year where only one side was running.
Wow scariest Fright Fest ever? No not really. We get there for park opening Saturday. Get settled in and are headed off to start riding only to arrive at the bumper cars to find out there is no power and maintenance has to ok the ride and com ed has to ok the park. We were told the entire north side of the park was without power WTF?! but yet Superman was running trains, was he flying the trains up the lift hill? And we were able to get food off this years dining pass for dinner and use next years for lunch and have 6 snacks between the 3 of us. Decorations were INCREDIBLY SPARSE! No Larry, no burning people in STT just in general no nothing! With the coaster thon most lines really were not that bad! As previously stated AE was running both sides and even though the sign said 45 minute wait it was a walk on 1 train wait score practically unheard of during FF. DEMON was another walk on we rode once then noticed the section infront of where we were riding was empty and asked to ride again and were allowed again almost unheard of. Got 3 spins on TT2 2 with 2 cycle waits next immediate walk on. Ricochet 2 cycle wait River Rocker 2 cycle wait Fiddlers 2 cycle wait triple play 3 consecutive rides each color again most of these are almost unheard of during FF Viper was a 5 train wait for the front so not terrible. Carousel was loaded! something you almost never see. Bucky was still filled and could have been open in the morning it was so warm they didn't even turn the rain birds on until later.
House lines were just as bad as food lines 2 hours for Gates of Hell? No! But Nox actually was there this time. Massacre and infestation were easily tied for the worst! I like Massacre I find that to be usually good wasn't bad but very understaffed! Big top there were actors, but someone needs to tell them to ypu know say boo move something I think a good majority of them were asleep! Also the vortex tunnel is there, but its broken and coming off the frame had to wait til it was under us to walk because it was hanging down. Hell Fest had A LOT OF THEMEING, that being said the only thing from the movie to be there was the guy in the mask from the previews, everything else looked like it was straight out of Necropolis!
Food and drink refills were HALACIOUS! I ordered at the bar and ordered a Goliath (then rode the teacups... WICKED!) and the woman was like it's still a 30-45 minute wait that was fine with me because the line at JB's was out the door and down the boardwalk so 30-45 minutes would just about get you halfway through, plus then waiting for food would have been 90-120 easy. Drink lines were just as bad and the self serve which would have alleveiated much of the lines was CLOSED THE ENTIRE DAY! You know why fights were breaking out this year? People are damn tired of standing in line while people move step and fetch it! Places were running out of stuff. Maybe they should hire a temp agency! If food lines were this bad (even worse than Labor Day Weekend) HITP is gonna be a disaster, I just came across something that said they need to fill over 800 jobs for it...yeah good luck I just don't see it in Chicago especially up in Gurnee since you are closer to the lake (lake effect snow anyone?) Plus heard from a senior member of staff that the rides are not fans of the cold...so do the math and see if you also come up with 2!
*GROAN* My trip on Sunday was not so good. The food lines were horrible and we barely got our food and got out the park before the haunting happened (I noticed since the fog was starting to roll in). The only thing good about it was Terror Twister II and my god much better than I thought (better than Falcon´s Fury?). But I barely could get on it and a few others. By the looks of it the haunted houses were not so good too (word from a friend that is afraid of everything). So basically I´m probably going back for Last Call Fall or Holiday In the Park (it´s going to be lit ).
How come Lightning Rod is never open when I go.
Top 10: 1. El Toro 2. Steel Vengeance 3. I305 4. Fury 325 5. Maverick 6. Mako 7. Iron Rattler 8. Medusa Steel Coaster 9. Raptor Clones 10. Maxx Force.
Viper 88 wrote:Decorations were INCREDIBLY SPARSE! No Larry, no burning people in STT just in general no nothing! I like Massacre I find that to be usually good wasn't bad but very understaffed! Big top there were actors, but someone needs to tell them to ypu know say boo move something I think a good majority of them were asleep! Also the vortex tunnel is there, but its broken and coming off the frame had to wait til it was under us to walk because it was hanging down. Hell Fest had A LOT OF THEMEING, that being said the only thing from the movie to be there was the guy in the mask from the previews, everything else looked like it was straight out of Necropolis! Food and drink refills were HALACIOUS!
Yeah, I'm going to wait a couple weekends to go to FF. Mostly because I'm a bit busy, but also because I'm waiting for them to make the finishing touches (if any) and (maybe) flush out the kinks.
They say there isn't a spot in the park where rusting metal or peeling paint is at least 15 feet away from you.
Reading these stories about the long food lines is incredibly disheartening. I very much want our park to be a well run place that our family can go to for stress free visits, but it is continuing to spiral down to being the opposite. Opening weekend was a disaster for food lines - I sent an email complaint and did hear back and get an apology as well as one time use fast lane passes. The reality is, I'd much rather them fix their staffing issues so we can actually use or dining passes. As it currently stands, we have to sneak snacks into the park for our kids so that they can eat while we wait in line for an hour for food. We did not renew our passes next year and will be taking at least the summer off. Probably come back next fall with the next gold pass deal. Unfortunately, SFGAm Park Management does not care about their park or the guest experience. They can walk around and smile all they want, but the fact is they have done nothing to improve operations and improve staffing and retention. The Southwest refill zone was a great idea, although classic Six Flags it is shorted lived and we'll probably never see it again because they'd have to pay someone to restock soda boxes a few times a day. The park will continue to sell admission and dining passes dirt cheap, then do the bait and switch and make it wildly challenging to actually use your benefits. This is something I'd usually expect out of Mount Olympus. PLEASE RAISE PRICES AND PAY EMPLOYEES MORE TO RETAIN THEM My family will be back probably twice more this year. I'll miss out on MaxxForce next year but it'll be there when we return. I'm guaranteeing 5 minute dispatches and single train operation for at least most of next summer. I really wish this park would give a crap and turn it around.
_FuryBull_330_ wrote:*GROAN* My trip on Sunday was not so good. The food lines were horrible and we barely got our food and got out the park before the haunting happened (I noticed since the fog was starting to roll in). The only thing good about it was Terror Twister II and my god much better than I thought (better than Falcon´s Fury?). But I barely could get on it and a few others. By the looks of it the haunted houses were not so good too (word from a friend that is afraid of everything). So basically I´m probably going back for Last Call Fall or Holiday In the Park (it´s going to be lit ).
Hell Fest was the big highlight house for me. The sets/rooms were amazing and the actors were pretty good. My favorite scene was probably the forest or the mannequin room. I really liked the bigger set pieces with the large animatronic at the end. The music in the house was also cool, each room seemed to have it's own music track playing.
I went to Fright Fest this last Saturday. My brother and I were one of the first to get into the park. When I walked over to Trolley Treats to get our 2019 sports bottles, I was surprised that there was already a line. It turned out to be a short line (less than 10 minutes), but when I turned around to go to the Pass Services Center (next to Firehouse Snacks), I was surprised to see a line of people extending out to the Grand Music Hall. Ouch.
Viper was our first ride of the day. At 11:15 AM, it was a walk-on.
We then went back to the front gate to reenter the park with our 2018 passes. We were hoping that we could get double the food (2018 and 2019 Dining Passes). We got to Mooseburger at 12:15 PM. The better news is that we *did* get two lunches each. The worse news is that we had to stand in line for 30 minutes to get them. Even though we *each* had two dinners and two snacks left on our passes, the food lines got really long as the day progressed and for the rest of the day, we only stopped to get one snack each. We let four dinners and two snacks go to waste.
As we walked through the park, I was always on the lookout for short lines at any dining location so we could get ice water or soda. Aside from our first drinks we got from Trolley Treats, I only saw one 5 minute line at the County Fair Cotton Candy Factory (at 2:00 PM). It turned out their soda machine was busted, but we were happy to get ice water. That was the last time we refilled on Saturday. It would have taken 30 minutes to get a soda refill later in the day.
After the Uprising Parade at 6:00 PM, we went to see The Ringmaster's Cabaret (RC) and Love at First Fright (LaFF). I thought that last year's RC was better. After we left the Grand Music Hall, we didn't see many scare actors. We may have passed them, but we didn't *see* them. This year, the actors we ran across were in zones that were so dark, you couldn't tell the difference between a park visitor and an actor. If you can't see what is supposed to scare you, it's hard to get scared. Hearing a random, "Rarrrr!", doesn't have much of an impact on me.
Overall, the day was OK. The park was busy, but I'd still give the day a thumbs up.
UnclePennybags wrote: I only saw one 5 minute line at the County Fair Cotton Candy Factory (at 2:00 PM). It turned out their soda machine was busted, but we were happy to get ice water. That was the last time we refilled on Saturday. It would have taken 30 minutes to get a soda refill later in the day.
They honestly need to have some food line wait time signs posted.
They say there isn't a spot in the park where rusting metal or peeling paint is at least 15 feet away from you.
The regular Haunted House wristbands were available online at $17.99 a week ago, and now show $35, which I believe is what they were last year. I don't know if they put up the wrong price initially, or it was a very brief sale, but I wish I would have purchased at the time. Can anyone that bought them at the park confirm they are $35?
Anyone go last weekend? It's confusing, because the ride times were 35 min or less for a lot of stuff a couple weeks ago(and last week), but the reports say it was basically a disaster. I really wish they'd either make it cost an extra $60 per person to add Fright Fest to a pass or give us the option to buy a cheaper pass without FF. The event has been pretty much useless from 2014 on. Once the hordes found out about it it was done.
batmanfan80 wrote:Anyone go last weekend? It's confusing, because the ride times were 35 min or less for a lot of stuff a couple weeks ago(and last week), but the reports say it was basically a disaster. I really wish they'd either make it cost an extra $60 per person to add Fright Fest to a pass or give us the option to buy a cheaper pass without FF. The event has been pretty much useless from 2014 on. Once the hordes found out about it it was done.
Cheaper passes? LOL! They already are dirt cheap compared to every other major chain.
batmanfan80 wrote:Anyone go last weekend? It's confusing, because the ride times were 35 min or less for a lot of stuff a couple weeks ago(and last week), but the reports say it was basically a disaster. I really wish they'd either make it cost an extra $60 per person to add Fright Fest to a pass or give us the option to buy a cheaper pass without FF. The event has been pretty much useless from 2014 on. Once the hordes found out about it it was done.
Cheaper passes? LOL! They already are dirt cheap compared to every other major chain.
batmanfan80 wrote:Anyone go last weekend? It's confusing, because the ride times were 35 min or less for a lot of stuff a couple weeks ago(and last week), but the reports say it was basically a disaster. I really wish they'd either make it cost an extra $60 per person to add Fright Fest to a pass or give us the option to buy a cheaper pass without FF. The event has been pretty much useless from 2014 on. Once the hordes found out about it it was done.
It's not really confusing. The day you are saying it's a disaster is because the other days STINK! Friday night was probably really, really empty because it was way too cold for people to go to. Right now (Sunday), it's raining, so people cram into the one day that is better than the others - Saturday.
A typical person is going to be like, I really plan on going Friday Night. Oh, my goodness; it's 48 degress tonight. We can't go on a 48 degree night. Well, how about Saturday than instead of Friday? You also hear that it's going to be raining during the morning / day on Sunday. That kind of stinks also. So, Saturday it is; plus you know it's open till whatever time - 11 pm maybe. Your magnificent, wonderful day (better than the 2 other days) of the 3 days is going to be the WORST day to go to the park. I'm sure if you would have went Friday, you would have been this place is AMAZING. I can ride this ride, and that ride with no line. I can't believe it. It's so EMPTY! So, basically 1 bad day moves the people to another day. So, you get the 2 crowds into 1 day, and that's why you are complaining it's so packed on that Saturday.
As I thought, it didn't look crowded on this Sunday as compared to Saturday. Saturday was the "good day", and everyone came to the park. The other days, people didn't go to the park, it SEEMS. This has nothing to do with raising prices. It's all weather related. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... ater&ifg=1
And if you want to talk about shows, I know that (at least last week), that Love at First Fright was only ONCE during the day on a Sunday, and the other time was probably a no mercy type of show. It's funny that the park runs a no mercy show yet only has TWO shows the entire day & night. That doesn't work anymore, I'm sorry to say. You need like 4 shows in order to have 1 be a bad show. So, many people are going to cram into that one show during the less scary part of the day (rather than at night), plus now you have no Pictorium during the day which was packed during the day on a Saturday or Sunday. So, you have these people wanting to see shows, and now only have 1 Love at First Fright during the day (one at night), and no more (probably 4) Hypnosis shows. I don't like the phrase "no mercy" anyway. It should be more like adult content in this show. "No mercy" for a show makes no sense anyway.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
The last 4 years, any FF day that didn't have rain had record crowds. It was so bad sometimes that people seemed to be parking at Gurnee Mills and walking. We went to GM after seeing what a disaster it was and there was only one empty spot. But there was nobody in the mall. Rain keeps thousands of people away, so the majority of the people going must be pass holders who live close enough to make going an impulsive decision. I'd definitely like an option to buy a discounted pass that didn't include FF, since FF has been a disaster since '14 and the hordes decided they all needed to ride Goliath.
I was there last Sunday. It was pretty rainy, so pretty dead.
I get the idea of wanting a non-Fright Fest pass. The thing is that passes are so cheap already that it's kind of a silly idea. Any cheaper and they might as well not even sell single day tickets anymore...
anewman35 wrote:I was there last Sunday. It was pretty rainy, so pretty dead.
I get the idea of wanting a non-Fright Fest pass. The thing is that passes are so cheap already that it's kind of a silly idea. Any cheaper and they might as well not even sell single day tickets anymore...
Cough cough the thrill pass already exists and it doesn't include fright fest.