My best friend and I made a last-minute decision to make a trip up for the day. Arrived at the park around 3 p.m., was forced to park near light post No. 65 in the overflow lot. That was by far the furthest away that I've ever had to park. With that, we were expecting huge lines. Thankfully, that was not the case. Here goes:
Instead of making my normal, clockwise lap that starts with S:UF and ends in SWT we decided to head through Hometown Square and see what was up. We saw Vu operating, so, given its track record, we decided to get in line while it was still operational. 2 or 3 switchbacks were being used and the line was spilled onto the midway when we entered. Waited just about 1 hour on the nose for a ride in 8B. I've never ridded anywhere but the back on Vu, but I don't see how the ride could be any better. The trip up the lift tower was awesome, as always, and the boomerang and cobra roll were disorientingly fun as well.
Went into SWT and headed to Bull. We could not believe our eyes! Neither queue house was being used at all. We didn't encounter a line until we approached the Fast Pass area. We waited 10 minutes for Row 9 (the only place to ride!). I stapled myself with the clamshell, like an idiot, but the airtime was still cool. I admit that, since hearing others talk about it, I notice the increased trimming, but the ride is still great from start to finish. But does anyone else think that the final brake run stop is much more harsh than it used to be? It really seems to throw you forward much more violently than I remember in the past. Oh well, small price to pay.
Since we were right there, Viper was the next choice. Didn't hit a line until we were close to entering the station. The wait time was in the neighborhood of 10-15 minutes for a ride near the back, not sure of the exact car. I couldn't get the damn lap bar very far at all while in the station. I'm a big guy (6'1" 215lbs), but I don't have a gut or anything, so I was a bit surprised at the difficulty. The ops didn't seem to worry about how high the bar was, however, so I was set to ride. I was a bit uneasy about all of the room, though, so I wound up stapling myself a bit. Viper is still a great ride. The airtime was sweet, even with the stapling, and the g's were great near the back of the train.
We were off to AE next, and I was very glad to see both sides running, as I am not a fan of backwards Blue. The line began right around the splitoff under the station. The total wait time was again around 10-15 minutes for row 3. It was a nice ride. They were doing their best to race the two sides and, because the trims were very light on red's side, the races were very close throughout the entire course. My buddy and I had fun checking one another into the side of the car as we were going around the helix. Heck, with how much you get thrown around, that's almost unavoidable! AE is still a classic.
Although neither one of us care for it too much, Iron Wolf was next and the line didn't start until right around the point where you're even with the sign. There were no switchbacks being used. We waited 10 minutes for Row 8. I knew we were in for head-banging galore by riding in the back, but we went for it anyway. Not a terrible ride. I actually locked myself into a comfortable standing position and I braced myself nicely for the quick turns. The ride is still quite intense, but it feels like I'm wrestling with the train the whole time. Both of our necks were a bit sore afterward, but it still was pretty fun.
My buddy had never ridden V2 before, so that was next in our path. There were 5 switchbacks being used but the line moved farily quickly, which was good considering that the line is right in the heart of the sun! We wouldn've been on in about 25-30 minutes but we decided to wait for Row 1. The total wait time wound up being around 45 minutes. I've gotten a new-found respect for this ride since I've begun riding it near the front! Man, the end of the front tower sure comes up on you quickly from up there! Definitely a solid ride.
B-TR was the next in line. We walked through Gotham Park and didn't encounter a line until we were near the storm drain. As usual, for this year at least, we went through the down and back switchback that leads into the drain. The total wait time was around 15 minutes for Row 8. I know it's not possible, but it sure feels like that train moves faster and faster every time that I ride it. It was another spectacular ride.
Neither one of us do spinning rides, so we breezed past Ragin' Cajun, which appeared to have a fairly substantial line anyhow, and we headed to S:UF. This is where the people were. Almost the entire queue house was being used with full switchbacks. There was also a brief breakdown. We waited about 1 hour 15 minutes for Row 8. Once we arrived at the station it became obvious why it was taking so long. The ops were keeping the station almost completely empty which led to several trains being dispatched way under capacity. This was the first time I've ever seen this done on S:UF. Oh well, it took a while, but the ride was still great. I've ridden in the front and back, and, for me, there's no comparision, the back is where to be. The g's that you feel as you go through the pretzel make it feel like someone's standing on your chest!
It was close to 9 p.m. at this point, so we had to start prioritizing. We decided to take a night ride on Bull first and then to see what Vu was doing after that.
Bull's line was larger this time around, as it was backed into the first queue house. There were still no switchbacks being used, however, so it still only took around 15 minutes for Row 9. Another great ride, though I freakin' stapled myself again. I have to be more gentle pushing the clamshell down! Oh well, this ride was one of the strangest I've ever had on Bull, as it really felt like we were maintaining much more speed than ususal throughout the course. We flew through the banked turns and really had an intense ride from beginning to end.
We headed over to Vu next, but, just as we were approaching, we heard the "Deja Vu has ceased operation at this time" spiele, and, considering it was after 9 p.m., we knew that it was anyone's guess as to whether or not it would be back up again before closing.
Oh well, it ran like a champ the entire time we were there. One ride on Vu is better than nothing.
Since we knew that there wouldn't be a line, we headed to AE-Red. The ride was a walk-on all the way into the station. We didn't even have to wait one train before we were on in the third seat from the back. I've never really taken AE that far back before, and I have to say that the ride was almost scary. The speed was incredible from start to finish. It felt like the back of the train bounced as we came down the second hill and it seemed like we were bouncing on and off the entire way through the helix and the following bunny hills. I had to check to see if I still had all of my teeth when we were done with that one. That was one stellar ride!
We continued to make the loop toward the front and found V2 to be a walk-on as well. We walked into the station and waited one train for Row 2. The ops all seemed mad at one another because they were preparing for closing, but the ride, nonetheless, was fantastic. It almost seemed like we got higher up the first spike this time around. Plus, this was my first night ride on V2, so that was certainly a winner.
It was around 9:50 at this point and we went for B-TR. We walked into the station and rode Row 8 with now wait at all. It was a total walk-on. The station was hotter than Hades, but, once the ride began, it was intense.
We only had 5 minutes left so we decided to see if we could get into line for S:UF before they closed it off. We made it by about 2 minutes. The total wait wound up being about 20 minutes for Row 8. So, at about 10:20, we finished the evening off with a night ride. As we all know, the ride is all about the pretzel, as that is certainly what S:UF is all about. Nevertheless, it was awesome. It was great way to finish a great day.
Ride Count: 13
Deja Vu-1
Viper-1
Iron Wolf-1
AE-Red-2
V2-2
Bull-2
B-TR-2
S:UF-2
13 rides in under 7 hours isn't bad for a beautiful summer day, especially on a weekend day that looked as if it would be packed. Plus, 5 of those rides came in the final hour. I was really surprised that the lines weren't worse (not that I'm complaining). My guess is that the water rides took a big chunk of the younger audience, and that's what helped out. All in all, it was a great day.
