Superman Drone Shoot Ptr

Had a great time at the drone shoot on Saturday, it was really awesome to keep re-riding while the GP was giving us dirty looks. I thought the drone they were using looked really awesome too, definitely very expensive. I heard around 40k which is crazy but I am sure it produced some crazy good video. I got 21 rides and they got some great footage so it was a win win for all of us. I wish they would ask ACE more often to do these shoots instead of hiring actors.

I also liked how Kyle came and talked to everyone and was surprised Superman got #3 this year. Unfortunately, those #1 days are over unless those trains are identical to MF or ROS at Darien Lake. I think its totally a #1 worthy coaster but those trains are dragging it down. Also what they did mid-season for VR didn't help much either lol.

After the drone shoot, I thought the crowds were going to be somewhat light because of the Big E, but I was very wrong. The crowd was one of the largest I have ever seen. Once I found out how crowded the park was, I knew we were not going to stay long. We went to the front gate to get our dining passes activated (seemed like we were going to do more eating than riding due to crowds).

Checked the gift shop quick and I found something I have been looking for for a year and a half. A grey Wicked Cyclone logo shirt. I snatched that up quick, I also saw they had the T-bolt shirt with one XL size left, but passed for some reason. The shop also had these huge Bizarro pencils for $1, they were kinda cool so I got two. So we went to head for the car to put the shirt in there and grab my brother's soda bottle. The security guy at the exit stamps our hands and ask my brother if the pencils my brother is holding are fireworks. And on our way back in, the guy would not let my brother bring his bottle lock in and kept saying talk to my supervisor. He said it was like talking to a brick wall, he has brought in the lock all year long and multiple security guards have even commented on it saying how cool it was. Shows how inconsistent the employees are at the park. The guard was inspecting the guy re-entering in front of me like crazy too, he poked through everything he had and even took his sunglasses off to inspect his stamp. Whatever.

Looks like Goliath is getting the SWF treatment next.




Here is the line for Superman right around when VR started. Those poor people.


GCG's line


SWF Demo. It is weird to think I went on it a few weeks ago and now its chopped up.
















For Lunch I went to Take Six for the first time and got a steak and cheese, it was excellent and tasted great. Highly recommended. Later on I got pulled pork from JB's which was excellent as well. Great options for dining pass holders. Also got a milk shake from Johnny Rockets which was delicious. The system there gets really chaotic when its crowded. I just held up a receipt and said I ordered two milkshakes and they went right to making them, didn't even take the receipt or anything. Seems weird because someone could just keep relaying the receipt to people.

So yeah we should have probably just left after the shoot, but I really wanted to ride Cyclone. Definitely not worth the wait but we decided to just kill time until the dinner time slot then we would leave. I got in line around 1 and got off around 3. Easily the worst ops I have ever seen on a roller coaster. When I got in line, the line was only to the storm chaser vehicle, this should have easily been under an hour with decent ops. Dispatches were so slow and once I got in the station, it was so easy to see the laziness and couldn't care less attitudes of the employees. I went to go wait for the front so I had a few cycles to observe. They had two ops checking restraints and they were walking like they were so slow. The flash pass guy also kept letting in all of these flash pass guys and would rarely open the regular line.

So this dad and two kids who were waiting for the front car were in front of me and they were talking to these two employees who were just standing around. They were near the booth just standing there like they didn't have to work. These kids were saying such stupid stuff about roller coasters and it made me crazy. The dad asked if their Batman was like the one in New Jersey and asked them if it goes like this and drew some circles with his finger. It was hilarious. So then these people from the exit come to ride and the kid in front of me gets his hand stuck in the queue gate and somehow that faulted the ride. They then had to send an empty train and call maintenance. So then these guys get in the train and the dad brought a backpack in and put it off to the side. The employee comes over and tells him that this has to go in a locker and they waste a few minutes. I could see hats littered all over the sports bottle rack so that makes sense. So they tell the dad that he can go put it in a locker and come back up the exit to ride. Ok, so when was that a policy? So the kids ride in the front row, get off then finally I get to ride. I got the blue train which was running ok, it was fast but not like media day and there was a loud sound and slight vibration, but overall it was good. But definitely not something I should have waited for. So I get off and I see those two kids and his dad walk right back on and take the whole front car for a second ride. Really!? You break the loose article policy and you are rewarded with a double front row ride?! Probably the stupidest waiting experience I have ever had on a coaster. Absolutely horrible ops on Cyclone.

Lets go check on Superman. I went to go take this picture and stepped about a foot onto the bridge and some employee told me to move back lol.


TWICE while walking by I saw the front two rows completely open on two different trains. Followed by many open rows on others. Could you imagine waiting in this line and seeing all the trains flying by with 5-10+ open seats per train? Too bad they don't have a single rider line. Oh wait, they did!

I cannot believe they are still doing VR on this thing, it is completely laughable. The employees on Cyclone were even telling guests that the headsets only work less than half the time and most of the time you ride with a black screen. It is 100% not worth sacrificing capacity for a gimmick. They are going to have a fun time during Fright Fest with those goggles.

Since the relaxation station was closed, this guy had to improvise.


This actually looked like a really nice shirt. Too bad its for a Larson loop.


I would buy this shirt in a heartbeat if the stats were right. I love the shirts that are somewhat simple and don't have a ton going on.


So overall I had a pretty good morning but I pretty much just stayed for food, a ride on WiCy, and a few single rider walk on's on Pandy. The park really is no fun to me at all when they are super crowded, I really wish LC was open, would have drove down there after lunch at SFNE, would have been the perfect day. But the drone shoot was very fun and it was awesome that they invited us to attend.

Nice review! I really wonder if the future of Goliath is going to be a long one...

^^People were out everywhere on Saturday. It wasn't just SFNE. The Big E was jammed too and when we stopped on the way home to pick up a pizza at a local restaurant it was packed like I have never seen it before. It must have been the nice weather and the Sunday forecast which included some rain that drove everyone out on Saturday.

I went to SFNE on Saturday also. Wasn't expecting it to be so packed. Wanted to come in get a few rides on STR and WC before heading to The Big E. Yeah I pretty much ate and then left lol. Big E wasnt much better. You couldn't even walk through the state buildings and everywhere else was packed. Never seen either place with crowds that big. Haven't seen STRs Line hit the back switchback since like fright fest of 2012.

That is truly a disturbing photo of Supermans line. Oh. My. God.

I was at Great Adventure for about 2.5 hours Saturday night. Went to get my pass processed, and then fright fest started at 6. The parking lot was probably the crowdest I have ever seen it. I don't even know what the wait times or lines for any major coaster looked like. The park gave out a voucher for 1 free haunted trail for season pass holders for Sat and Sunday only. Since I knew I wasn't going to be using mine, I offered them to some teenagers to use on a second trail. Watched one show of Dead Man's Party and it was fantastic as always. Literally DMP is worth the trip and the best thing about Fright Fest, such a shame SFNE doesn't have this anymore...

Looks like the drone shoot went well and glad you got a ton of rides in. Probably more than most of us have combined for the season on Superman.

Wicked Cyclone operations is just one reason why I'm done with this park for the year. :/

^You nailed that with the ride count. We have 17 rides on STR total for the year so far with just over a month left in the season. I am pretty sure that is the least ever for us. There will be at least one more visit there as we still have our exit passes from Nor'easter. Fingers are crossed that VR goes away, the station we know and love comes back and 2017 is better.

Great report! It was way too packed that day. I got to ride Blizzard River for the first time in like three years and the line was great maybe a 10 minute wait but the ops were terrific on BR! Ops on Superman were really good too without VR. Such a difference. But yeah that was the most packed I will ever see that park. And I f I have ever learned anything, NEVER EVER go to the Big E on a weekend, it's literally suicide. I've always gone on a weekday and the wristband for the rides is perfect. You never wait more than 5 minutes