This report will be shorter unlike the usual novels I write
Went with my buddies Carole and Jimmy today. The last time we went there together was about 2 years ago. We left about 4pm which was nice because it gave me a chance to sleep in late since I was out so late Friday nite. Once we exited from the freeway the lines of traffic were backed up all the way to Gurnee Mills and off some of the exits.
We decided to get something to eat first so we stopped at Joe's Crab Shack. I've never been there before and the food was awesome. It was around 7:00(I think) by the time we actually got into the park. Took a bit to check in because the lines at the entrance were really backed up. There was actually a sign by the parking entrance that said the park was extremely crowded and to come back on another day. Luckily the park wasn't filled to capacity so we still got in.
First we watched the big pumkin thing in front of the carousel and that was so cool. They should keep that year round because it was so neat.
Decided to go on Elvira Superstition first. Only waited about 5 mins and got the front row(Row 5). Very fun except there was a malfunction during the last 30 seconds of the movie and the seats slammed to a halt and all the lights came on. Even though it was frustrating it added probably one of the hugest elements of surprise I've had on a ride in a long time and was sort of a thrill. They were going to cycle us through it again which would've been great but then said we all had to exit. Not sure if it ever opened again.
Next we went on Terror Twister. The line queue was completely full but it was only a 15 min wait when we timed it. They played Sandstorm-Darude and we had the cup thing spinning the entire time. Stumbled a bit when we got off the ride which made it all worth it.
Headed to the Eagle next and this was a 20 min wait, which was pretty good. Rode the blue train in the back 2 rows. You feel like you are going 50 times faster when you ride this in the dark. The trim brakes were turned off right before the final helix which made for an incredible finale.
We wanted to do some shopping since there was only 20 mins left before park close but all the stores in the back were closed. Went to Necropolis but the line was too long to get in so we walked through the rest of the park to the front.
Decided to go on Superman next with 10 mins to spare. Rode the back row and we were one of the final trains for the night. This is a totally different ride at night and it's much better than riding during the day. We bought the onride photo package and got a pretty good deal.
There were a few stores open so we went first to the one by the bumper cars and didn't find much there so we finished off at the Flags store and it was so awesome because they actually had Fright Fest clothes, never saw those before. I got a cool sweatshirt with a skull and coaster track on it.
We stopped off at IHOP before going home and even though it was crowded the service was great.
I plan on going again next Sunday for the last trip of the season.
I was also here today (wearing a Dominator shirt if anyone saw me). It was packed as expected. Just a few notes...
--Deja Vu seemed to be running very well again.
--Rise of the Demon was very well done, as numerous other people have said.
--To me, it's kind of distracting to have an employee watching the actors at all times. I actually saw one of the actors get pulled out of character in Rise of the Demon at the end because the "grader" had to tell him he was doing something wrong.
--Why do kids have to be such jerks? I saw 3 teens walking through Necro hitting the characters, to which they also had to break character and tell them to never do that again.
Otherwise, a great busy day.
Coasters Ridden: 131 Top 5: Maverick, El Toro, Voyage, Fahrenheit, Dominator
danhockey04 and i were also there yesterday. we got a flashpass to make things easier, and got on those rides at least three or four times. We walked through necro three times too. It was very busy, but flashpass makes things better!
Yeah, it was very busy on Saturday, we left by 5 because it was starting to get a little too busy to even walk around. Friday night, however, was great! Most rides were a near walk on/10 min wait all night long.
I was there as well... I went to Gurnee Mills beforehand and just like a previous poster said, traffic was backed up off the tollway and made it really tough for Eastbound traffic coming down grand ave. Once I got to the front entrace of the park the lines (cars) were basically parking lots within themselves waiting to actually PARK in the lot. So I decided to just park across the street and just walk across Grand ave to the park.
I was thinking was this a good idea after all and if i would be able to get in because of the crowds and I saw the sign as well saying the park was crowded along with seeing the overflow lot filled as well . So, at this time I am thinking ook. Well i'm all the way here might as well try to get in. So i bypassed the long line at the cashiers and went to the entry gate with my fingers crossed and season pass and I was good to go!
Once I got in the park, i noticed the plaza was really packed so i zig zagged through the standing people to make my way counterclockwise throughout the park. As I was walking at a slow pace I was listening to nearby comments from the people next to me and sitting on the benches in the midway saying how packed it was in the park. I was like, wow, if someone made a mistake and triped and fell it would cause a domino effect throughout the park!
As I made my way further, seen whizzer's full queue and said to myself "Next!" lol only to find that all the coasters and flats I passed on the west side of the park had full queues. Vu was actually running as well with a full queue, I stopped for a sec to gaze at the ride itsself and the people waiting in line was thinking that these people really want to ride Vu to wait in THAT line. After seeing all the lines, i decide just to make this trip a spectator's trip and just looked around since I've ridden all of the rides in the park numerous times and the waits didn't seem worth it.
I decided to kind of wiggle my way through the tight crowds and head to the other side of the park and visit Necropolis. Once I got there and seen the line that was almost back to wolf (maybe further, well when i was there it was! ) and I was pondering wether to stand in it, then all of a sudden the workers decided to re-route the line because it was all over the place and then i just said forget it because i had been in there already and it was pretty cool, but i just didnt want to stand that long for something already seen so i just kept going. I just kept walking taking in all the sights sounds and noticing how wierd it felt to be walking through the midways and not hearing or seeing the scareactors. I thought it was kind of funny because one kids parents were like they (scareactors) couldn't make their way to the crowds to scare people without getting trampled lol.
So once i finally got through County , Yankee and got to Mardi Gras area, i notice the crowds kind of gotten less packed and then i started to see the scareactors chasing people. At this time i was glad that I wasn't steping on someone's foot or them stepping on mine due to the tightness in the crowds and just went in random directions just taking in what was going on. I saw that King Chaos was closed and kept going til i hit the section in Gras were you hit the Superman, Condor, Rue Le Dodge and the others queue lines and saw the werewolves on their stilt thingies or whatever they are called and pictured them walking back there in county fair were the crowd was tighter. After walking the Gras section, i decide to head back around to the LAFF show since it was too busy to do anything else and caught the last show of the night and then headed out (the park) for the night because It just didnt seem the same because of the crowds hindering some of the scaractors from performing. I wasn't really disappointed that i coudn't do much, just amazed at the crowds and besides I had been just about every weekend that Fright Fest has been open (trying to use the crap out of my season pass before the season ends) and the fact that the park is only ten minutes from my house let me be able to come back again if things are to busy. Oh well, Hope you all got to do more than me while you were there
Last edited by sixflagsgurneeboy on October 23rd, 2007, 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I don't get why people automatically turn away from Necro's line.
It's not really a line, it's a re-route to break up the crowds more.
You're constantly moving, never actually waiting.
LAFFfan4lyfe wrote:danhockey04 and i were also there yesterday. we got a flashpass to make things easier, and got on those rides at least three or four times. We walked through necro three times too. It was very busy, but flashpass makes things better!
Worth the $55 Where did you two end? I ended @ Eagle Red and it was amaaaaazing! (Which is odd)
http://themeparkcritic.com/scripts/profile/ViewProfile.asp?ViewID=2909 A furious storm once roared `cross the sea, catching ships in its path, helpless to flee. Instead of a certain and watery doom, the winds swept them here to Typhoon Lagoon!
rct2wizard360 wrote:I don't get why people automatically turn away from Necro's line. It's not really a line, it's a re-route to break up the crowds more. You're constantly moving, never actually waiting.
Yes you are constantly moving through the maze of gates which helps swallow up some of the crowd. That part works well.
What doesn't work well is when that overflows across the bridge which it did for awhile Saturday night. Security couldn't keep people from just crashing the line in big groups and it was a little frustrating.
Lines were indeed bordering on ridiculous. (Yes, I know this weekend is always busy) However, at the same time I don't think waiting in line for 45 minutes (twice) for a soda is acceptable. They really need to have more then one register running at the food stands that have multiple registers. I know, staffing is a problem but that doesn't make for happy guests.
For the most part I thought the ride ops were doing a good job trying to move people through. Most of the train stacking I saw was caused by riders either trying to take something on they shouldn't, not buckling seat belts, etc.
rct2wizard360 wrote:I don't get why people automatically turn away from Necro's line. It's not really a line, it's a re-route to break up the crowds more. You're constantly moving, never actually waiting.
What doesn't work well is when that overflows across the bridge which it did for awhile Saturday night. Security couldn't keep people from just crashing the line in big groups and it was a little frustrating.
Lines were indeed bordering on ridiculous. (Yes, I know this weekend is always busy) However, at the same time I don't think waiting in line for 45 minutes (twice) for a soda is acceptable. They really need to have more then one register running at the food stands that have multiple registers. I know, staffing is a problem but that doesn't make for happy guests.
Yeah, i notice that's common in most of the lines(groups crashing lines etc), in the summer too.. that combined with people (mostly teens,from what i've seen) not paying attention to the line because they are showing off/trying to bring attention to themselves which makes the wait slower than it has to be. I've seen situations were the queue has a big gap in it in several areas throughout the line because Teen # 1 needs to show Teen #2 how well he can dribble a basketball in the queue line
sixflagsgurneeboy wrote:As I made my way further, seen whizzer's full queue and said to myself "Next!" lol only to find that all the coasters and flats I passed on the east side of the park had full queues. Vu was actually running as well with a full queue, I stopped for a sec to gaze at the ride itsself and the people waiting in line was thinking that these people really want to ride Vu to wait in THAT line.
You'll have to give us all directions from the park to Lake Michigan sometime . . .
RCDB says: "The Crystal Beach Cyclone is considered by many to be the most extreme roller coaster ever built."
sixflagsgurneeboy wrote:As I made my way further, seen whizzer's full queue and said to myself "Next!" lol only to find that all the coasters and flats I passed on the east side of the park had full queues. Vu was actually running as well with a full queue, I stopped for a sec to gaze at the ride itsself and the people waiting in line was thinking that these people really want to ride Vu to wait in THAT line.
You'll have to give us all directions from the park to Lake Michigan sometime . . .
That was a typo. meaning to say west.... just a honest mistake..
Where did you two end? I ended @ Eagle Red and it was amaaaaazing! (Which is odd)
