Easter at KD
Apr. 9th, 2007 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blueeowynIt was wonderful.
I have a tradition of going to a park for Easter. It means a nice early trip to the park and usually light crowds. We have done Six Flags but I wanted to do KD since we didn't have that much time last weekend, my back was limiting us a bit, and it will be the last chance to visit the park until summer proper. With Six Flags, we can do something else (movie, visit with Java's parents, MTT, History Fair, etc. and still get an hour at the park).
So, we set off and the traffic was fabulous (WOOT!), it took just under 2 hours (and that is with a rest stop). We went ahead and used the special parking lot (got front row) just to be silly. As we walked in, I saw one or two spots in the front 2 rows of parking that were available within 6 spots of the end of the row at the park. Hmm, I wonder if the weather had anything to do with that? 1st stop, Season Pass Central to get our Scooby-Bucks (we buy them at 10% off face value and get to spend them at face value thus getting 10% off purchases ... change comes in regular money). This year, they are year specific (boo) and park specific (which they sort of were before but not stringently), and in $5 increments instead of $2. They will take the $2 ones all this year (which is fortunate because we had some left over and spent most of them last week but still have $6 or $8 left that were in the wrong car to use yesterday).
We parked the car at around 12:30, we left at around 6:10, so total time in the park was approximately 5 1/2 hours.
Normally, I would start with Scooby's Ghoster Coaster but decided to shake things up a bit. We started by going up the Eiffel Tower, it was COLD up there (and there was snow up there), we did a quick look around and I noticed that the log flume was running (the handout we got at parking said it was closed) but it looked like it was in 'test' mode (no people). Then it was time to start riding coasters so off to the Rebel Yell we went. Walk on to front seat of the 2nd car. Wheee! They have done a lot of work on the new wave pool (it looks like most of the concrete for the pool proper has been poured, last week it was all dirt). The Yell is in good shape.
Next we stopped at the carousel. They have obviously been doing some work but it is fairly subtle at first glance. One horse was missing (presumably getting refurbished). Several had new paint jobs but they were on the inner 2 rows and thus were less obvious. Nice work on one of them (nice detail pattern on the saddle blanket). I don't remember seeing that horse before (it has a curl in the mane) but since it was on the inner row, I may not have noticed it. They had music playing but the band organ is still down. Then it was off to Triple Spin which was fun. It surprises me how much it feels like the old Apple Turnover instead of like a Scrambler.
Then it was time to brave the bumper cars. Java and I (of course) spent most of the time chasing each other but I was pounding a few other people as well. I ended up in a very nimble quick car which I enjoyed. It cornered REALLY well (in fact, at first I was all over the lane as I over-steered the poor thing). It was so much fun, we jumped back in line and rode again (I got the same car). Then it was time for lunch. Pizza was had and it was very tasty but a bit suffering from warming oven.
Back to the bumper cars (yes, I got the same car again) and I was trying to hit every other car at least once. Java thinks there were 18 or 20 cars running, I think I managed to hit 12-15 of them. Not too bad (and yes, I got Java too but he got me thoroughly). We then headed around the corner to Italian Job. I've never ridden this one in the front and with the light day, they were allowing people to queue based on personal preferences so front seat it was. The other times I have been in the last car (of 3). The ride up front is VERY different. There was some nice floaty air on some hills that I so did not expect. Wheee! This was probably our longest line of the day ... maybe 15 minutes?
Next stop was Flight of Fear (formerly known as Flight of Pain). We head into the hanger and there is NO ONE there ... into the ship and nothing. Java wonders if we are the only people in the building when we hear the WHOMP of the train launching. We walk around the corner and there is the ride-op and something that is trying to be a line and failing. 4 people waiting for front seat, 2 for about 8 seats (scattered), we took an empty slot (2nd seat 3rd car maybe?). It took awhile to get us loaded and locked but finally we were ready (with much verbal silliness while we waited). WHOMP and off we went. It was darker inside than I remembered so I couldn't see the track but it was a good ride. So much better with the lap-bar instead of a horse-collar. I was a bit surprised when I got a shoe-lace tangled in the restraint while crossing the car. I also wish that the seat belt release button worked a bit better.
Volcano was down due to the weather (Saturday, the park didn't open at all, 2 inches of snow will do that). It was cold enough and windy enough that they worried about the operation of the extreme coasters in those conditions (XLC was also down). So the next logical stop was Avalanche. Very cosy riding with Java on that ride. He got the back so I had a nice cuddly back-rest.
Then we headed to Scooby's haunted mansion (one of those shoot the target with a laser games). My gun was a bit out of alignment but I got reasonably close to Java's score. The 2nd time through (walk-on without stopping) he wiped the floor with me. At the final stop, I had a good line on some targets and went from being embarrasingly behind to losing thoroughly. Oh well, it was fun and the picture was amusing. Scooby's Ghoster Coaster was right there and running (with no to speak of) so we may as well (oh, twist my rubber arm). We took the back car (there was a 1 train wait for the front car and we rode up frontish last week). SNAP over that 35 foot hill. WHEEEeeeEEEEeeeEE. I like this ride. There was a full train of passengers waiting when we got back to the station so we exited.
Java wanted some coffee so we headed up front to get coffee, I did some browsing and we picked up Cinnastix. YUM! The 4-D movie was only showing Sponge Bob and Java decided he didn't need to see it again so we did some window shopping and headed towards the Flying Eagles. We were given the opportunity to ride together but we didn't want to so we sent the next pair of kids in, then someone decided they didn't want to ride, so we sent the next pair of kids in. Then they closed the ride after that cycle (one of the birds hit a tree and they wanted to trim the tree). The decision was made as we were sitting in our birds. The {sarcasm} highly educated and refined gentleman who was in line behind us took the news with such grace{/sarcasm}. Well, Grizzly is right there so off to Grizzle we went. Charming dude was behind us and mentioned we were following each other. NOT! Grizz is still rough but frontish isn't too bad (esp. front of car). Then we did DDR (Java won but not by too horribly much) and it was fun (and warming). Back to the Eagles and my bird needed some lubrication on the sail so I pretty much held her steady and enjoyed the wind and minor swoops. We decided to re-ride and my 2nd bird was much smoother in the sail. Java took the one I had just vacated and I could feel the vibrations from his moving the sail through the handle of my sail while we waited for the ride-op to check everyone's restraints. Bizarre!
Then it was time to Hurl. We decided to wait for front seat and I am glad we did. There was some serious popping on some of the hills and one lovely unexpected float going into the 3rd turn-around. Ahhhhh. They have done some retracking which seems to have helped with the walking. They removed the baby factory (Java hated seeing the lights up there not being used for anything constructive) and that space looks surprisingly empty. I do wish they could shorten the line a bit. Then we went to Riccochet and once was enough for my back (I wisely took the inside seat and let the ride fling me a bit with Java on one side and the rail of the car on the other to buffer my swings instead of trying to hold myself steady with my back). I did Whee a bit.
Then it was time to think about heading out. Front seat of the Yell with my hair down. That fabulous view as you crest the lift hill then look down, down, down the tracks as you hang for a split second as the rest of the train crests then off you go. It was a great race, I kept seeing the backwards side pull ahead, fall behind, pull ahead, fall behind. Lots of wonderful air even with my hands down (another concession to the back was keeping them down and loose for most rides). Ah, bliss. Then Java twisted my rubber arm to ride again. We took front seat of the last car and it was rougher but it was still very nice. The only really iffy part was going into the turnaround. For some reason that one is rough (pretty much anywhere in the train). We wandered out via some more window shopping and I stoppedy by customer service with some questions and comments. Then northward ho we went.
I am VERY glad we did the axel avoidance strategy. For those who are not familiar with it. PTC (Philadelphia Toboggan Company) makes most of the wooden trains used today. They come in 2 bench or 3 bench cars. The last seat in each car sits on the rear axel and tends to produce the most jarring ride (and a lot of vibration throughout the ride). If the train leaves the tracks (which they do, there is a reason wooden coasters have up-stop wheels) when it comes back down, the force in the back is pretty extreme. The other thing that PTC is known for is Carousels. The one at KD is a PTC (PTC and Dentzel are 2 of the better known park carousel builders from the golden age of carousels, they tend to be more realistic in the legs, and much less whimsical in the faces than Dentzel). NAD (National Amusement Devices) is the other big name in wooden coaster rolling-stock.
I feel it in my back but I didn't hurt the back again (WOOT!)
I have a tradition of going to a park for Easter. It means a nice early trip to the park and usually light crowds. We have done Six Flags but I wanted to do KD since we didn't have that much time last weekend, my back was limiting us a bit, and it will be the last chance to visit the park until summer proper. With Six Flags, we can do something else (movie, visit with Java's parents, MTT, History Fair, etc. and still get an hour at the park).
So, we set off and the traffic was fabulous (WOOT!), it took just under 2 hours (and that is with a rest stop). We went ahead and used the special parking lot (got front row) just to be silly. As we walked in, I saw one or two spots in the front 2 rows of parking that were available within 6 spots of the end of the row at the park. Hmm, I wonder if the weather had anything to do with that? 1st stop, Season Pass Central to get our Scooby-Bucks (we buy them at 10% off face value and get to spend them at face value thus getting 10% off purchases ... change comes in regular money). This year, they are year specific (boo) and park specific (which they sort of were before but not stringently), and in $5 increments instead of $2. They will take the $2 ones all this year (which is fortunate because we had some left over and spent most of them last week but still have $6 or $8 left that were in the wrong car to use yesterday).
We parked the car at around 12:30, we left at around 6:10, so total time in the park was approximately 5 1/2 hours.
Normally, I would start with Scooby's Ghoster Coaster but decided to shake things up a bit. We started by going up the Eiffel Tower, it was COLD up there (and there was snow up there), we did a quick look around and I noticed that the log flume was running (the handout we got at parking said it was closed) but it looked like it was in 'test' mode (no people). Then it was time to start riding coasters so off to the Rebel Yell we went. Walk on to front seat of the 2nd car. Wheee! They have done a lot of work on the new wave pool (it looks like most of the concrete for the pool proper has been poured, last week it was all dirt). The Yell is in good shape.
Next we stopped at the carousel. They have obviously been doing some work but it is fairly subtle at first glance. One horse was missing (presumably getting refurbished). Several had new paint jobs but they were on the inner 2 rows and thus were less obvious. Nice work on one of them (nice detail pattern on the saddle blanket). I don't remember seeing that horse before (it has a curl in the mane) but since it was on the inner row, I may not have noticed it. They had music playing but the band organ is still down. Then it was off to Triple Spin which was fun. It surprises me how much it feels like the old Apple Turnover instead of like a Scrambler.
Then it was time to brave the bumper cars. Java and I (of course) spent most of the time chasing each other but I was pounding a few other people as well. I ended up in a very nimble quick car which I enjoyed. It cornered REALLY well (in fact, at first I was all over the lane as I over-steered the poor thing). It was so much fun, we jumped back in line and rode again (I got the same car). Then it was time for lunch. Pizza was had and it was very tasty but a bit suffering from warming oven.
Back to the bumper cars (yes, I got the same car again) and I was trying to hit every other car at least once. Java thinks there were 18 or 20 cars running, I think I managed to hit 12-15 of them. Not too bad (and yes, I got Java too but he got me thoroughly). We then headed around the corner to Italian Job. I've never ridden this one in the front and with the light day, they were allowing people to queue based on personal preferences so front seat it was. The other times I have been in the last car (of 3). The ride up front is VERY different. There was some nice floaty air on some hills that I so did not expect. Wheee! This was probably our longest line of the day ... maybe 15 minutes?
Next stop was Flight of Fear (formerly known as Flight of Pain). We head into the hanger and there is NO ONE there ... into the ship and nothing. Java wonders if we are the only people in the building when we hear the WHOMP of the train launching. We walk around the corner and there is the ride-op and something that is trying to be a line and failing. 4 people waiting for front seat, 2 for about 8 seats (scattered), we took an empty slot (2nd seat 3rd car maybe?). It took awhile to get us loaded and locked but finally we were ready (with much verbal silliness while we waited). WHOMP and off we went. It was darker inside than I remembered so I couldn't see the track but it was a good ride. So much better with the lap-bar instead of a horse-collar. I was a bit surprised when I got a shoe-lace tangled in the restraint while crossing the car. I also wish that the seat belt release button worked a bit better.
Volcano was down due to the weather (Saturday, the park didn't open at all, 2 inches of snow will do that). It was cold enough and windy enough that they worried about the operation of the extreme coasters in those conditions (XLC was also down). So the next logical stop was Avalanche. Very cosy riding with Java on that ride. He got the back so I had a nice cuddly back-rest.
Then we headed to Scooby's haunted mansion (one of those shoot the target with a laser games). My gun was a bit out of alignment but I got reasonably close to Java's score. The 2nd time through (walk-on without stopping) he wiped the floor with me. At the final stop, I had a good line on some targets and went from being embarrasingly behind to losing thoroughly. Oh well, it was fun and the picture was amusing. Scooby's Ghoster Coaster was right there and running (with no to speak of) so we may as well (oh, twist my rubber arm). We took the back car (there was a 1 train wait for the front car and we rode up frontish last week). SNAP over that 35 foot hill. WHEEEeeeEEEEeeeEE. I like this ride. There was a full train of passengers waiting when we got back to the station so we exited.
Java wanted some coffee so we headed up front to get coffee, I did some browsing and we picked up Cinnastix. YUM! The 4-D movie was only showing Sponge Bob and Java decided he didn't need to see it again so we did some window shopping and headed towards the Flying Eagles. We were given the opportunity to ride together but we didn't want to so we sent the next pair of kids in, then someone decided they didn't want to ride, so we sent the next pair of kids in. Then they closed the ride after that cycle (one of the birds hit a tree and they wanted to trim the tree). The decision was made as we were sitting in our birds. The {sarcasm} highly educated and refined gentleman who was in line behind us took the news with such grace{/sarcasm}. Well, Grizzly is right there so off to Grizzle we went. Charming dude was behind us and mentioned we were following each other. NOT! Grizz is still rough but frontish isn't too bad (esp. front of car). Then we did DDR (Java won but not by too horribly much) and it was fun (and warming). Back to the Eagles and my bird needed some lubrication on the sail so I pretty much held her steady and enjoyed the wind and minor swoops. We decided to re-ride and my 2nd bird was much smoother in the sail. Java took the one I had just vacated and I could feel the vibrations from his moving the sail through the handle of my sail while we waited for the ride-op to check everyone's restraints. Bizarre!
Then it was time to Hurl. We decided to wait for front seat and I am glad we did. There was some serious popping on some of the hills and one lovely unexpected float going into the 3rd turn-around. Ahhhhh. They have done some retracking which seems to have helped with the walking. They removed the baby factory (Java hated seeing the lights up there not being used for anything constructive) and that space looks surprisingly empty. I do wish they could shorten the line a bit. Then we went to Riccochet and once was enough for my back (I wisely took the inside seat and let the ride fling me a bit with Java on one side and the rail of the car on the other to buffer my swings instead of trying to hold myself steady with my back). I did Whee a bit.
Then it was time to think about heading out. Front seat of the Yell with my hair down. That fabulous view as you crest the lift hill then look down, down, down the tracks as you hang for a split second as the rest of the train crests then off you go. It was a great race, I kept seeing the backwards side pull ahead, fall behind, pull ahead, fall behind. Lots of wonderful air even with my hands down (another concession to the back was keeping them down and loose for most rides). Ah, bliss. Then Java twisted my rubber arm to ride again. We took front seat of the last car and it was rougher but it was still very nice. The only really iffy part was going into the turnaround. For some reason that one is rough (pretty much anywhere in the train). We wandered out via some more window shopping and I stoppedy by customer service with some questions and comments. Then northward ho we went.
I am VERY glad we did the axel avoidance strategy. For those who are not familiar with it. PTC (Philadelphia Toboggan Company) makes most of the wooden trains used today. They come in 2 bench or 3 bench cars. The last seat in each car sits on the rear axel and tends to produce the most jarring ride (and a lot of vibration throughout the ride). If the train leaves the tracks (which they do, there is a reason wooden coasters have up-stop wheels) when it comes back down, the force in the back is pretty extreme. The other thing that PTC is known for is Carousels. The one at KD is a PTC (PTC and Dentzel are 2 of the better known park carousel builders from the golden age of carousels, they tend to be more realistic in the legs, and much less whimsical in the faces than Dentzel). NAD (National Amusement Devices) is the other big name in wooden coaster rolling-stock.
I feel it in my back but I didn't hurt the back again (WOOT!)
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Date: 2007-04-09 11:02 pm (UTC)