Was up and ready in plenty of time to arrive well before 10. I wanted to get there early because I knew it would be pretty busy. BUT...car wouldn't start...dead battery. Had to call AAA and wait for them. I was so mad. Managed to finally get inside the park around 11:30. The parking lot was already pretty full, we had gotten a late start, and I didn't plan to stay all the way 'til close, so we decided to each get a Flash Pass. I'm not too fond of the FP system and managed not to cave and get one all summer but this was for sure my very last '06 visit and I couldn't stand to spend it all waiting in lines. This was also my first FF trip and I wanted to enjoy that.
After leaving the FP "store" I had to go to SW Territory to find the park's only working ATM to get some cash. We waited 2 cycles for Terror Twister since we were there and that was fun in the dark except for the people who kept coming in the exit and tossing back the black curtain to stand there and gawk and let light pour in. Next up was Demon for a 15 minute wait. Vu's line looked a little long and I was hungry, so went to Area 51 and had some undercooked Papa John's. I'd forgotten my jacket in the car so on the way out to get it, we did Superstition, which was really cool, I thought. I've never done the Space Shuttle ride, but something tells me Superstition is better and it was only a 5 minute wait.
When we came back in, we stopped and watched some of the Dr. Fright show in front of the carousel and headed towards Superman. It was in full switchbacks and was spilling out by Condor which was a walk-on so I rode that. I really like Condor. Seems a lot faster than it really is when you are riding it. And it looks great when lit-up at night.
We headed back through Mardi Gras to check out Batman and saw the line weaving all through Gotham City Park and out onto the midway, so we decided that would be the first Flash Pass. We waited for front and it was a great ride as always.
I wanted to see the Freak! parade, so we headed back to Superman, used another Flash Pass and got off just in time to see the parade roll through. We followed it to King Chaos and I wanted to ride that but it was stuck with people in it and they had closed the line. It wasn't down long though, but I never got on it. My friend who was with me today doesn't really like it for some reason. It's one of my favorite rides.
I wanted a pop then but every single machine would not take money. I guess they were all empty. Finally, I found one that took my money, but was empty and wouldn't give me my money back. That really irritated me. What are you gonna do? Go waste an hour at guest relations complaining about 3 dollars? Of course not. Not on a busy day anyway. Just Irks me.
It was about 2:45 after we rode Whirligig and walked back near the entrance of Necropolis, but I had a 3:30 train ticket and didn't want to rush though it so went and had a funnel cake a played a few games before catching the train ride. The skits along the way were a fun touch, but the scary guys jumping around on the train were just enough to frighten some of the little ones. There were tears. There was a little crying.
We walked through Necropolis after the train and it was decorated well, I thought. There weren't too many monsters but the ones there were all doing their jobs well. It was fun. I'm sure it's even better after dark. We were going to go through Mausoleum of Terror, but it was more expensive than we thought so we didn't do it. We had already splurged on Flash Passes AND there was the matter of three dollars and a certain Coke machine.....grrrrr. Still, Necro was cool.
We walked back around front and waited 3 cycles for Rue Le Morgue. The lighting and decorations seemed a little skimpy here. After leaving the bumper cars, the Welcome to my Nightmare Trolley was rolling by so we stopped and watched that. Good costumes and make-up jobs. These guys were great. Looked like they were having fun. Not bad singers and dancers either.
I was ready to use a Flash Pass on Whizzer next but it was only about a 15 minute wait. I love this ride. I can't believe they almost got rid of it a few years back.
Then we went to use a pass for Bull, but the FP person just waived a bunch of us through. I held up my pass for him and he just ignored it. I just kind of stood there with my pass out for a second or two but the people behind me were starting to push, so I just got in line. I did NOT feel right about this. The normal line was a good 45 minute wait at this time. That's not fair. I know that if I had been waiting in the "real" line and saw that happen, I'd be really angry. I tried to justify it by saying "oh well that makes up for the three bucks I lost in that Coke machine." But still I know that's not right. Anyway, I had a great back seat ride on Bull. By then it was after 5 and the bug-eaters were starting to line up with their exit passes, yet I still noticed people being waived through the FP entrance as we left Bull. I still don't understand why this was happening. Was this employee just too lazy to take and tear the Flash Pass tickets? Who knows. Some people in the regular line must have noticed this. I'm surprised a riot didn't break out.
Anyway, decided to use the extra pass to ride Batman again. Then we waited a cycle for Monster Mash. It was getting dark now and all the lights were on and the park looked great. We used the last pass for a dark ride on Superman. Last coaster ride of the season and it was a great one.
We headed slowly towards the front just before seven o'clock, really enjoying the park at dark. The Sky Tower and the carousel pond both look great at night. The fog and flaming gates of Seven Sins Cemetery made for some nice atmosphere too. It was a great last visit today despite getting a late start and having to shell out for a Flash Pass. I see why the park gets so busy in October. Fright Fest is a bunch of fun in the crisp fall air. It almost feels like being at a totally different park.