I got to the park around 2:30 PM, which is very late for me. I normally always make it for opening so that I can get some El Toro laps in. But today, I was not able to make it early. I headed into the park, which looked and felt very crowded. Hurricane Harbor was closed due to capacity so people were just coming to the park instead.
Once inside the park, I headed over to Kingda Ka and was very happy to find that the line was only a half an hour long. I figured since the line was only a half hour, I should wait for the front row, so I did, and had a blast!
Next, I headed over to Zumanjaro. I only rode it once because of the terrible capacity they were having today. The 3rd gondola was closed for "issues" so only the first 2 gondolas were open, making capacity 33% worse. Funny enough, the 3rd gondola had test dummies in it to help balance the weight of the cars, which doesn't make sense since I thought the 3rd gondola was broken and couldn't hold people. I don't know, so I moved on.
After Zumanjaro, I headed over the food stand to buy a slurpee. I bought a slurpee, not to drink, but to gain a wristband for ERT at the park that night from 10-11 PM on Superman, Green Lantern, and Parachutes.
After the food stand, I headed over to El Toro. It was lucky to find that the line was about a half hour also. After waiting in the main part of the line, I headed for my favorite row, the back, and had a crazier than normal ride!
The line was shorter when I got off, so I decided to go again!
I then headed over to the Nitro side of the park and rode The Dark Knight coaster, which had a 5 minute wait. I personally enjoy this coaster for the Pre-Show, and the AC, so this ride is always a must do for me. I then headed over to Nitro, expecting a 45 minute wait, but to my surprise was only a station wait. It was tons of fun!
After Nitro, the line was still short, so I rode again!
After my 2nd ride, there was an empty seat on the train I just got off, so I just moved to that row and rode again!
After the 3rd Nitro, I headed over to Superman. Superman was down, but testing, so I waited it out. 10 minutes later, it re-opened and I was the first person on, and in the front row!
Once that ride was over, the station still wasn't filled up yet, so they let us re-ride in a different row!
Same story after the 2nd ride, so I got a 3rd ride!
After that, I headed over to get some Fish and Chips with my dining plan and headed to Kingda Ka.
At this time, Hurricane Harbor had just closed, so now everyone was flocking from Hurricane Harbor to the park. This made the park a bit more crowded, but not as bad as I would have expected for a Sunday.
I got to Kingda Ka and saw the line was an hour, so I decided not to wait and I went to Zumanjaro instead. The Zumanjaro line was 45 minutes, but I rode it twice within 10 minutes via the Single Rider line! That line is so great when no one knows about it. But once people in line saw me ride twice in the time they were still waiting, a flock of people went into the Single Rider Line, so I decided to leave Zumanjaro at that point.
It was 9:00 now, and people were starting to head out, so I headed over to El Toro again for some final rides on it. The line was 20 minutes, so I easily waited for it. I got into the station, headed for the back row, and had a blast!
After the first ride, I saw an empty seat on the next train, so I hopped in there for another ride!
After the 2nd ride, same scenario again, so I got a 3rd ride!
After the 3rd ride, and fearing being caught, I left El Toro and headed to El Diablo, which had a 1 cycle wait. El Diablo really is a fun ride once you get past the fact that this company still calls it a roller coaster.
After the El Diablo ride, it was 9:30, so I headed back to El Toro. El Toro had a 15 minute wait at this point, so I figured this ride would be my last. I was so wrong. I got up to the station, headed for the back, got on, and had another awesome ride!
Then, I row hopped to get another ride!
Then finally, ran around to the entrance and got in as one of the last people before the line closed.
And then I waited in the station for the last train, and let me say this, this was the most enthusiastic train I have ever been on. EVERYONE has their hands up on the drop!
It was now past 10 and the park was closed for everyone else.... except me and other Slurpee purchasers! I headed over to Superman and was there by 10:20. The ride was empty, and when I say empty, I mean empty...
I got 7 rides on Superman in the ERT and as a special treat, 3 of those 7 rides I was alone. That's right, completely alone, ONLY PERSON ON THE TRAIN. I made sure to stay quiet to see what the ride sounds like empty. It was very different. In addition, 5 out of the 7 rides were in the front row due to the lack of people. Absolutely great ERT session!
I was heading out of the park at 11:15 and aparently I was one of 6 guests left in the park. So that was interesting. Here's an idea of how empty the park was.
Ride Totals For The Day:
- Kingda Ka: 1
- Zumanjaro: 3
- El Toro: 8
- El Diablo: 1
- The Dark Knight: 1
- Nitro: 3
- Superman: 10
- Total: 27
Overall, much better day than I expected! Can't wait to go back on Friday!
And PS: Saw a funny guy on El Toro, so I took his photo with me