Well, it was NOT a good day. Does "3 Crazy Hours" sound familiar?!? Yeahm we were there for that long....everyone began to leave the same time as we did because the weather made operating rides impossible! We made it onto three whole rides! YAY! I'll post my Count before continuing...
1st: BTR (Walk on) 2nd: East River Crawler 3rd: Viper
Almost had eagle as our fourth....I'll explain...later.
So, we made it to the park, we were already worried that the weather was going to really "blow" but we tried to get something done. As tradition, we headed to Batman the Ride First. And of Course I sat in front row for my first Coaster of '09! Me & my Buddy went to see if V2 was going to open...They told us that it WOULD OPEN....eventually. We wandered around aimlessly until we remembered that Viper was actually running....duh. So this was a second choice. We were in line and it begins to POUR!! All rides were closed and lightning was spotted so even after the rain stopped shortly after, it took the park forever to get approval! We waited a half hour until they even began testing....Anyways, we headed to demon, but it wasn't open yet (disappointment) but we were surprised to see that American Eagle was open! I was even more surprised to see that the tent at wiggles world looked like as if it never broke....and the EAGLE IS BACK FINALLY! So we get in line and when we are under the station (It had a line past the bridge ) It begins to rain again! and it pours even worse than last time...We decided to wait again. When the rain stops, we come out from under the station into the stairs, BUT after waiting at the top of the stairs for 15-20 minutes, the Cold front rushes in and gusts hit us at 35mph or so....it dropped from 65 degrees to 42 degrees almost instantly! Considering I was soaked from rain before and only wearing two layers of shirts, it was horrible! We waited for a final decision at Jonny Rockets....a few cold minutes later, we went back to the car and were going to leave....That's the best I can tell you about my crappy day at the park.
4 Things that surprised me:
Superman was running 2 trains! V2 was open! THE EAGLE IS BACK! The Weather...
The weather forecast went from great, to horrible all in a matter of 12 hours....
I'll add another story of AE later, along with some pictures, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW! (My camera is at a repair center)
Pics added: (Not much new to see)
They ran Viper with the restraints opened during testing....I was anxious to get on.
Are those stairs part of the queue?
WORK FASTER! THE KIDDIES ARE TOO EXCITED! (I could care less for BB)
Blah, blah...
sorry no pictures of V2, those are all I got....look forward to a PTR tomorrow if anyone is going to that event! There were a lot of great opportunities to get good pictures.
Last edited by Goku1910 on April 25th, 2009, 8:48 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"I've been told that some part of every wish will be heard but lately I lost sight of the truth in those words."
I checked the weather for Gurnee at about 5:00, it was in the 30's! I was just glad we left when we did...Being soaked and cold like that actually made my arms partly numb.....So I'd be clenching a fist and wouldn't be able to open my hand completely.
"I've been told that some part of every wish will be heard but lately I lost sight of the truth in those words."
I have a feeling this will be the one and only season that SFGAm opens this early. I know this was a private event which happens this time of year, but the April 3rd opening has been a disappointment attendance wise.
I finally retired the Sarah Palin signature because she is now 100% irrelevant.
I just don't quite know what they were thinking last season opening this early. I guess there's always a "first" for everything and I'm sure it wasn't a split second decision to open this early either, but I wouldn't be surprised if they never did this again.
Oh...and as for the lapbars on viper, as long as no one is sitting in the row, both lapbars can stay up but the seatbelts have to be fastened regardless although by the time the train comes back to the station, most of the bars are pushed down anyhow due to the forces of the ride (at least that was the case on Eagle all the time)
I agree too with the opening so early, I wasn't there but April in the midwest really isn't the best I mean that's common sense really so hopefully they'll think of opening a little later next year. And one of the restraint tops was peeled off already what the heck?
Yup, prep-wise, staffing-wise, weather-wise, Opening last weekend in April is the best option. Or first May weekend. Buy-outs, however, should happen before the park officially opens so the general public is not kept out for a weekend or two after a later start.
) It begins to rain again! and it pours even worse than last time...We decided to wait again. When the rain stops, we come out from under the station into the stairs, BUT after waiting at the top of the stairs for 15-20 minutes, the Cold front rushes in and gusts hit us at 35mph or so....it dropped from 65 degrees to 42 degrees almost instantly! Considering I was soaked from rain before and only wearing two layers of shirts, it was horrible! We waited for a final decision at Jonny Rockets....a few cold minutes later, we went back to the car and were going to leave....That's the best I can tell you about my crappy day at the park. 
