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PCW or SFNE?

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Post April 12th, 2006, 4:50 pm

Posts: 414
Points on hand: 35.00 Points

I went to Boomers today, but when I got there, I found out that Dania Beach Hurricane was closed, and won't open for another week, and Blender has been closed since the latest Hurricane, so I got ticked off, alot, (the last days of the trip are reserved for the disney cruise and I'm going tomorrow) and when I got home, I looked for a park to "replace" Boomers. So I found out that PCW could be added to my SFDL/MFI trip, or SFNE could be added to my TGE trip. Anyways, I would like to know the atmosphere/service/quality of the 2 parks, and how good the rides are at each park. READ THIS NEXT STATEMENT ONLY IF YOU WENT TO BOTH PCW AND SFNE:
please tell me which park you liked better as to further help me get an opinion of where to go, as I have never gone to either before.

Post April 12th, 2006, 4:54 pm

Posts: 5367
Points on hand: 1,916.00 Points
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA

I didn't eat or buy anything during my visit, so I'm not sure about service. However, I'll post my TR.

Please excuse all spelling/grammer mistakes. I was new to foruming and I've improved at typing since them. I'm too lazy to fix allt he mistakes.

Heres how my day at the park went.

At home, we printed off Dunkin Donuts tickets, which were on sale for $31.99. We got mapquest directions, and head off for the 120 mile trip. The park opened at 12, so we left at 10.The park is kinda hidden in agawam on a little one lane each way road. You came around a corner, and wham! Colossus and Tomahawk(frispee) were right there. You park on the other side of the park, and walk about a third of a mile to the enterance. We got out or tickets, and getting in was easy.We walked in at 12:15 p.m. Right at the enterance was a merry go round. But i was there for the coasters, so i ofcourse skipped it. Infact, i only rode one ground ride. Along the main road they had a ton of theming, including blood pools and grave yards, ect. The main street area got really cramped, and ran into a intersection with three choices. Straight to DC superheros, left to Crackaxle canyon, or right, to batman/area 52/waterpark. Right at the Intersection, was thunderbolt. The classic sign was great, but the line was completely filled and spilling out.
IM GOING TO SHOW PICS OF THE RIDES BUT THEYRE NOT MINE,FROM OTHER SITES
Thunderbolt sign:
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I knew all the lines would be packed, so i ran over to Superman: ROS right away.

I ran to DC superhero land, and the theming was pretty good.This pic i found was taken from the exxit of thunderbolt.
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I got to theline, and the ride op suggested getting on right away. We did, and were we glad. In the stations there are about 6 switch backs, which were filled, and then the first set of switch backs outside the station. AS we got on, the seconbd and third switchbacks were filled. I watched the ride go around the twisted sections as i braced myself for my 100th coaster. Yes, i had exactly 99 before heading into this park. The wait was only about 30 minutes, and i walked into the station. The line for the frotn was completely filled, and i had limited time at the park, si i skipped it. SFNE mantains the line before you go into the station though, so there was only abbout ine train already in there. Knowing the front was off, i amediatly jumped in to the back row line. My bro went with me, and my mom jumped into the next to last car. But ppl ahead of us(only 2) asked us to skip them so we could go on the next train. I obviously agreed, and here it was, my 100th ride, and on SROS. I got in the train, and left an inch between myself and the lap bar. Glad i did go in the back, for the airtime was immense, and this was my only ride. It clicked up the lift, and all i could see was the Conneticut river down below. We reached the top, and i was so exited.You couldnt even see the bottom! The 75 degree banked drop was awesome, and at the bottom we reached speeds of 77mph going through the tunnel. I was thrown for some floater airtime, also, when the front of the train pulled us over the lift. The second hill was really smooth, and provided for some great floter time as well.Next we were carried into the turnaround, banked at 120 degrees. It wasnt that tall, and the speed through it was great. It angled us at 45 to the second hill, and we took a sharp left turn and a little dip to meet the terrain. Next followed up with two great airtime hills, once again, all floaters. The ride was already great, and next was the twisted section. The rise banked to the left and we reached the top pretty fast. There was a little ejector air, but not much. We were whipped around the "diving helix" and back up to another switch direction hill. There was no airtime on this hill, but it was fun going left to right. The next helix was my favorite. It was flat, and the g's were amazing. The ride had great speed, and i really liked it. The transition between flat helix and tunnel provided great airtime, and a good view of batman and Mind ERaser. The tunnel was fast, and i noticed that at night red lights were on. The three next hill tops all provided great ejector air. It wasnt extreme, but had the right amount of speed to provide a nice ride throught the two bunny hills after the rise from the second tunnel. The sharp turn after the hills, was pretty intense, and I really enjoyed the ride, my 100th coaster. I think its the best coaster i have ever been on, and its just outta this world. I say, 10/10!
Here are some of the pics from rcdb! Wait:30 mintes

Second hill and turnaround
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First drop and surrounding area
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The awesome twisted section
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Ok, since i was off Superman, I decided to go over and check out poison ivy, why the heck not? I got in the back(walk on) caus ei fugured it would be pulled over the hills. It was kinda funny cause this lady goes, "Yay, i could but my hands up all the way around on this ride!" But hey, i liked it, just because it was ling, and a kiddie coaster with airtime!!!! Overall: 3/10
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Next, we headed over to the Mr.Six side of the park. We got there and the line was completely filled. I was like, WTF? But we waited anyways, in the sun for an hour and 35 minutes. But actaully, the ride was quite fun. The free spinning was a great feature onthe main twho helixes, and it was alot of fun on the three bunny hops at the end. I would of ridden again , but the ride ops were sooo slow. BEsides, we (bor and me) rode with a 600 pound gorilla, so we spun to the left side where he was sitting like crazy. Overall 7/10
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Since we were in this section, we decided to hit up Cyclone. It was 3:30 after mr six, so i thought we could squeeze it in. The line waqs about 40 minutes, and we jumped into the second car. This thing was rough. I noticed in the Que that pieces of supports were unattached. The best part of the ride was the best.It went up and then droped maybe 30-40 feet, whipped sharp arounds at about 70 degrees, and then droped into the large figure 8. It went unde the lift, and up again. as it turned 180 degrees, there was little drops and rises. It reached the end, and plunged by the station. It rused again above the first drop area, turned around it, once again going up and down, and dropped under the lift opposite dirrection of the second drop. It went under the third big drop and down and around that section of the big 8. It then hit about 3 big bunnys and back around to the station. It was intense, and the fourht rise next to the second drop after the flyby gave extreme ejector air. But hey, its and old woodie ya know. Overall- 7/10
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After the ride on Cyclone, It was 4 o clock. Ive been on a boomerang before, so i skipped FLashback. Besides, the wait was like an hour. There was a hitmantist show from 4 to 5, so my mom headed over to it in area 51. My brother and I headed over to Thunderbolt. The Q was still full, but since our mom was gone till 5 we decided to wait. To My surprise, the line moved rather quickly. Also, only 1 train was running. We got inline at 420, and at 450 we got onboard. They let 24 people from line go get in a row at once. We were numbers 19 and 20, so the back and frotn were taken. I saw the front row of the second car empty, so I hopped in. The prelift are was a wide 180 and it took a little dip before the lift. We were even with the lift, and i noticed it was sideways, lol. I was like o great, this is gunna be rough! AT the top we took another 180, and the ride was off. The bottom of the drop banked and turned slightly left at the bottom, and rose to the top. The next 180 was pretty slow, but the rest were fast. The double dip provided little airtime ofr us but i bet the back was awesome. Then next turn was about a 270 and we got across the first drop. The hill above it gave great airtime, and the next 270 was taken pretty fast. Then the next hill came up. It gave HUGE ejector air. Guys, be careful ;) lol. WE let our seatbelt hang loose and the lap bar only came down evven with the train at a right angle, so we were sprung outta our seats pretty good. The next 180 was taken furiously fast, and then there was alittle dip before the station. The ride seemed to get faster as it went, and had plenty of speed killed at the end. I really enjoyed this alot, and i give it a 7.5/10
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After our ride on the classic Thunderbolt, weve been in the park 5 hours and ridden 5 rides. We met upw ith our mom at area 51, and headed over to see if Batman was running. We also saw the double trouble with no wait, so we went on it. It was pretty fun hanging upside down, but it was pretty ancient(made scary noices, i mean creaks)

It was 520 when we got off, so we headed to Batman. The sign said there was a two hour wait, so we went anyways. We started before all the switchback were(about 12). By 5 minutes we started the swithbacks. They are located behind the extra train storage. The line had all the batman characters along the sides, with the batman tune playing. By an hour, we were finishing the switchbacks. Next, a long path went pack up to the station and up a big set of stairs. AFter waiting an hour and a half, we reached the top. They did the same thing as thundebolt, and eneded up as the not going on the first train. We were the first tow(me n bro) to be held up. I was thinking we were going to get the front. But they let one fastlane group get on, so we sat in the second row. The first drop was awesome, and i even got some little air going down it. The loop was smooth. Now the dive loop ont his ride was way different from what ive ever seen. It was shapped differently, but it was amazing!!! It was my favorite inversion ive been on. It felt way better than the diver on Scream at SFMM. Plus ut was awesome flying over the exit at night.(it was now 7 when we rode) The helix through the loop was banked nicely and was pretty fast. The zero g was pretty good and fast, but there wasnt much air. Superman Krypton COaster offered a tpn of air on its zero g. The turn after the zero g was sharp and fast. It led right into a tight set of interlocking corkscrews that were great. Overall, this "mini floorless" offered a great night ride, and I loved it. It was my 105th coaster, but broke into my top 10 at number 10. Loved the dive loop, and the ride kicked ass. 8.5/10, just needed to be longer.
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We got off at 715, and mom was waiting with food. We scarfed it down, and were told we were going a 8. We went to check out supermans line, but it was 2and a half hours long. No go for us. SO we just waled around and checked out firght fest for 30 minutes. It was well themed, and there was ppl everywhere scaring ppl. WE wanted to check out TErravisions, but a 2 hour line. ALso, the lines for Nightmare Island and Trail OF Terror were immense. It was 8, so we headed home. I slept in the car, and we made it back by 945. It was a great day, even though we rode 6 coasters in 8 hours. Owell, atleast they were outstanding rides IMO. (everyone knows SROS thoguh lol)

What I said in the CP vs. SFNE forum:

Flashback - just a boomerang, not much to say

Mine Eraser- headbanger, but still fun

Thunderbolt - great classic woodie that offers great airtime and a dose of lats. When full the line is only 30 minutes!

Cyclone - Awesome classic if you love heights. Its a mix with great speeds and lats. Not much airtime, but some of the elements are crazy, including the first drop.

Pandemonium - Fun ride. The line can get very lng and the line is hott as theres no covering aywhere. The ops are kinda slow, but spinning through those helixes is a lotta fun

B:DK - awesome smaller Bnm. The drop has some airtime, and the loop is a loop. But the vide loop around the exit is awesome. Easily my favorite part of the ride. The helix is meh, but then 0g's are always fun. The corks are pretty sweet because of how close they are together. Very compact down there!Fun stuff!

SROS - Most amazing coaster experience ever. Period! The first drop is huge, it feels so big. Then you speed through a tunnel, and shoot up to where the airtime feast begins. And its fun to fly through the overbank and ground hugging turn/little drop. The next two hills deliver great airtime each. So awesome. The the spaghetti bowl. Woohoo! Two switchbacks, an awesome turn that dives byt eh station, and ground hugging helx, another airtime "pop" and a 1.3 lat turn to the underground tunnel. Then you shoot up, have 3 more airtime hills and then fly around a corner into the breaks. I love it so much.

Post April 12th, 2006, 5:56 pm

Posts: 2145
Points on hand: 3,189.00 Points
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I dont know anything about sfne, but i know about pcw. Its my home park. Yea, theres a bunch of fun rides, nothing that high, but still fun. 230 foot free fall ride(i dunno what its called..), a good suspended coaster called vortex that goes above the mountain at the park. Theres NEVER any really, really long lines. The longest i've ever waited was about 2????????? hours for the italian job-stunt track, but the next time i went on it the line was 15 mins!!Also, there are all kinds of coasters there...Flyers, inverted, stand up, wodden, etc. here are a bunch of pics....

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there were lots more pics, but they were too big,, sooo..yea. Thats not nearly everything at the park, though.

Post April 13th, 2006, 8:23 am

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Points on hand: 35.00 Points

^Oh yeah, I forgot about Shockwave. The freefall tower is called Drop Zone. I know there are a lot of cooaster types in PCW, but I heard Zamperla Flyers suck, Togo Stand Ups are one of the most painful coaster types ever, and SLC's hurt like crazy. (I went on SFDL's Mind Eraser, but the only difference is that Top Gun has a helix, so I'm not so sure).

Post April 13th, 2006, 8:29 am

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Location: Monroeville, PA, USA

It comes down to this. SROS > Everything else at PCW.

Post April 13th, 2006, 3:04 pm

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ya PCW is my home park too, the stand up its not that pain full its smooth i rode it last year. The (tomb raider) its a verry boring ride and the top gun doesnt have a helix its like kinda of mind eraser

i have a couple of picture to show you...



Psyclone
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Cliff Hanger
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Night Mare
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Dragon Fire
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Thunder Run
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The Bat
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Post April 13th, 2006, 6:06 pm

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Location: Devon, UK
In-deed Jimmy, SFNE simply for the fact that it holds Superman Ride of Steel.

Post April 13th, 2006, 8:08 pm

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Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I don't quite understand, so you can only choose one of these two parks to goto....on seperate trips? Why not just goto both? [lol]

I can only really tell you about Pcw as I havn't been to SFNE, yet. However with that said, SFNE looks like a pretty nice park with some fun rides (Superman.....).

Wonderland is a great park. It has some great scenery, good staff and alot of rides. The roller coasters arn't the best, but Vortex is really fun and Wild Beast has an awesome drop in the back seat. Most of the rides are fun, especially Shockwave, Psyclone and Sledgehammer.
The food at Pcw isn't really that good, I would just suggest getting pizza, anything else is just overpriced and not that good. However, it is really easy to just walk across the street to a few other food places or drive for 30 seconds to Vaughan Mills Mall which is just around the block which has a ton of places to eat at.
On the weekends in the summer the lines can get quite long, if you can I would suggest visiting during the week, but if you must visit the park on the weekend I would suggest going from open to close to get the most out of the park visit.

Post April 13th, 2006, 8:27 pm

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Location: USA
Having not been to Canada or to any parks in the east I only have one thing to say. PCW has a Zamperla death machine, but then again, SFNE has an SLC. I dunno, you'll probably like whatever you pick, Tanks.

Post April 13th, 2006, 8:33 pm

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Location: Monroeville, PA, USA

PCW has both a Zamperala and an SLC of death! Still seems like a nice park though.

Post April 14th, 2006, 12:22 pm

Posts: 1612
Points on hand: 2,593.00 Points
Location: Devon, UK
What the hell is wrong with SLC's anyway.
For people riding an SLC for the first time it seems a very good ride.
When i first stepped aboard 'TraumaTizer' at Pleasureland in Southport i enjoyed the ride to a high extent.
After being on Traumatizer more than 200 times it does get boring but the early days on the ride were awesome!

Post April 14th, 2006, 10:56 pm

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Points on hand: 1,916.00 Points
Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA

Originally posted by Jimmy Yoshi

It comes down to this. SROS > Everything else at PCW.


We have a winner. SROS will aboslutely any coaster you've been on. unless maybe, just maybe, you have been on MF. The airtime is absolutely insane, it has a ton of turns that are close to ground and it even has two tunnels. We also have a very cool Beemer floorless that includes all those fun elements (loop, dive loop, 0g) and is nicely themed. Pandemonium is enjoyable, and the two woodies are quite thrilling, although one is small and one is HUGE. Also remember they're getting SWAT and Diablo Falls this season.

I've heard the lines during the week are nothing compared to the weekends. Considering I got on every coaster onece ont he most crowded day of the year (planning sucked) you should be able to get alot of rides in.

Post April 15th, 2006, 2:00 am

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Points on hand: 2,083.00 Points
Location: Etobicoke(Toronto), Is Ontario a state?, Canada

Go to SFNE... Because PCW sucks ass, there's just so much wrong with it that it will make head explode, it is the worst park ever! All the rides suck... however Cliffhanger is cool. Everything else either sucks or could be better... because it sucks.

And I know I sound negitive, but after being to Cedar Point, I now see that PCW not only sucks... but it's a kiddy park compared to Cedar Point, like seriously, Cedar Point's parking lot is bigger then PCW...

Honestly, go to SFNE because PCW is a waste of your money... oddly I am getting a season pass to PCW, and I will probably be working there this summer(I have to wait until my birthday[July 10th])

Also, if anyone cares, I'm remaking most of PCW, and everyhting I'm doing is totally buildable and possible in every way, shape, and form.

P.S. go to SFNE...

Post April 15th, 2006, 2:35 am

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Points on hand: 5,806.00 Points
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Hm, not sure why you think so low of the park and can still work there. Maybe thats why so many people have bad thoughts of the park, because the staff themselves don't think to much of the park.

I much prefer the nice hand laid paver bricks used on all the walkways at pcw, all the hundreds of trees, golf course quality lawn (even under all the coasters where no one can walk or see from midways) etc etc over the mass concrete slabs that make up alot of Cedar Fair parks.

Not sure about the statement for the rides either. Pcw might not be able to compare to the size of Cedar Point's coasters (but even then, quality > quantity) but Pcw has most of the classic and best flat rides in the industry. Intamin drop ride, Mondial Topscan, a topspin, a giant frisbee ride, skycoaster, bumper cars, antique cars, raft ride (that is actually in a the woods like a real river), splashdown boat ride, huss ufo (giant round up), huss skylab (big enterprise) etc. The only things they are really missing is a wheel and a log ride.

Post April 15th, 2006, 4:04 pm

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ya its not has big has PCW, but one time they wanted to move it to a bigger spot but i dont know if it gona happen.


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