CoasterMania 2005

I got the flyer for CoasterMania 2005 in the recent ACE News today, and had a few questions about CoasterMania in general.

1. How are the crowds? I believe I heard numbers near 1000 enthusiasts there for 2004, is this correct? Are the crowds large enough that you only get a few rides for ERT?

2. How does the nighttime ERT work, since there are five rides with ERT at the same time? Can you go from ride to ride or are you expected to stay at one ride the entire time?

3. I've never been to an enthusiast event before, this may be my first. What tips do you guys have for an event virgin like me, especially for CoasterMania?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

as an employee last year. coastermania was amazing. unlike anything i've ever seen. the crowds were huge and they got to ride the rides real late at night.

When is Coastermania?

Not when i coming over no doubt?

Its June 3rd

Rocafella03 said:
as an employee last year. coastermania was amazing. unlike anything i've ever seen. the crowds were huge and they got to ride the rides real late at night.

Are you sure? I know CoasterCon was a big thing last year, but was CoasterMania really that big?

Last year wasn't anything like the past few years, undoubtedly due to the late season date and because of Coaster Con. 1000 in 2004 is way down from the 2000+ in years past, but it's still a lot of people

To answer the original questions, the crowds are tolerable and you can go from ride to ride during the sessions.

If you've never been to an event before, there are soooo many tips that I couldn't possibly cover them all here. First and foremost, make sure you take it easy sometime in the middle of the day. Coastermania is a marathon and you have to pace yourself or at least crash sometime mid-day. Unless you want to be first in line, you don't have to get there at the crack of dawn when the parking gates open. I'd say about a half-hour before the ERTs start. As long as the rides are at full capacity, your waits should be minimal. Above all, you have to ride Magnum a few times during the ERT. This is when Magnum truly shines. Some of my best rides have been during CM ERT.

Enjoy!!!

I'll be working Magnum this year and I'm an ACE member, so I will have fun during CoasterMania.

Scott (ShiveringTim), for example how long would the wait be for a given ride during ERT?
*** Edited 2/20/2005 10:33:35 PM UTC by Froshy***

Info here:

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/pdf/CoasterMania2005.pdf

Coastermania is not your typical enthusiast event, because it's so big. The "E" in ERT really means "extended," not "exclusive." That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of fun to be had, because you essentially can have an 18 hour day at the park. Personally, I don't have that kind of stamina and I can't get through the entire day.

The evening schedule looks a lot better this year with lots of open rides. That's a good plan. Having maXair in the mix is nice too.

Waits depend on when during the session you're there. If you're in line for a ride when the session starts, you're going to wait a bit, probably 15min or so. As the session goes on and the crowds spread a bit, the waits become minimal. That's how I see the night going.

The morning is different. With both MF and TTD up (crosses fingers), there's probably going to be a split of the crowd. I'm not sure how that's going to go because I don't think those two have ever been in the same ERT before for any event (please correct me if I'm wrong).

So it's probably something I shouldn't visit since I'll be at the park the next day anyways for my 3rd visit of the year? I really don't care to wait in long lines during ERT if I'm going to be waiting in long lines on Saturday.

If you want more laps than you'd ordinarily get, then yeah, you should go. Even with a big crowd you're still better off than you'd be on a Saturday afternoon in July.

So since I would get in for free (season passholder), it's definately worth the trip to meet some new people and enjoy the park... alright. Thanks guys!

This will be my first event as well. Really looking forward to the early morning rides on TTD. I hope its running. The lady will be sleeping so I will be by myself.

The only places you'll get the "long" lines are in the morning sessions for MF and TTD. The night sessions are usually walk-ons after the crowds disperse. With all the rides going on, there shouldn't really be a line for anything except MaxAir IMHO.

Come on... you know people are going to flock to Disaster Transport for the lights-on experience. :)

CB Club is an est. roller coaster club, correct?

Question: There's no way i could start that early. Could i arrive at the park at 8 or 9 AM and go from there? I'd miss the morning ERT but I'm ok with that.

Yes, CBC has been around since 2001. The park has been allowing CBC members in to Coastermania since that time. In fact, CP is a corporate member of the club. Check the event list here:

http://www.coasterbuzz.com/club.htm

PKI: Yes. But the lines for the morning ERTs close at 8:30, so you should come later, or your standing around.

Does anyone know why there's no ERT from 8:30 to 10:00?