Sunday May 13th, 2007

Couldn't make it up north for opening day so was really excited bout getting up there today. Hubby couldn't make it at the last second so sadly I went solo. Thank goodness I checked the weather before I went or I would have been WAY under dressed!
Grabbed my "Got Raptor?" hoodie and put the shorts and t-shirt away for another day!

Made it to front gate before park opened naturally ;)
Banged into fellow CP freaks, Flora, Tim (aka Jeff) and their sons.

Headed right to my fav bird of prey for Joe Cool. The 1st thing I noticed was all these things attached to every car. At 1st I assumed they were additional safety things (you know Cedar Fair) but turns out they now take a video of you riding that you can purchase. I don't know how much, I didn't even really stop to see them.

I have always loved my 1st Raptor ride of the season because it really is the only one that gets my tummy. I managed 6 Joe Cool rides, when I was on ride 6, the GP started coming in and we went down. We were let off the train on the runway. No idea how long it was down, felt like it was running fine to me, but what do I know? ;)

"Stack" was the word of the day but since it is only 2nd day of operation maybe overlooked, but stacking ALL 3 trains? I think they were causing their own misery by waiting for people to get to the platform and on the train. A couple of times they opened the gates again to let people get on. No one was hauling to do the seat belts either. Again, early in the season, once the team gets their routine teamwork routine together, hopefully "interval" will be the word of the day.

Once Joe Cool over I walked around the park to shoot a few pictures. I wanted to see Maverick all done (and dead) I must say it does look wonderful and looks like it is going to be alot of fun.
The last time I saw it there was snow everywhere, its hard to believe how much was done in just 3 months. They made a Maverick specific gift shop, obviously it was lacking people. I spoke to the girl working in there and she said Maverick looks like alot of fun and she said they were taking the heartline roll out. They weren't doing work of any type on it today nor did I see (or I may have missed) where they are going to replace the sections of track.

There are PLENTY of new Maverick shirts, I really liked a couple of them, but I am sure it's due to the whole horse thing.

They incorporated White Water Landings station really well and I must admit for a park that stays away from the whole theming thing they did an awesome job on Maverick. Of course it was sad seeing 2 trains sitting quietly on the tracks, but I am still siked to ride it, seeing it enforced that excitement.

They finally remodeled the bathrooms on that side, thank goodness. I know the woman's room there was like an outhouse with plumbing, it was way antique. Now it's bigger, plenty of stalls, very nice.

I had forgotten they added a Chick-fil-A, LOVE that place so will definitely be hitting that a few times this season, even though I am sure a simple chicken sandwich will probably be $87.50 :)

Noticed some people were observing the smoking areas but alot weren't. Some were still puffing away on the midway but I will give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know the new designated areas. I did notice a couple of employees saying something to people when they caught them.

I jumped on Maggie for a quick ride (did front car and waited a whole 5 minutes) she is running awesome. I couldn't help but think about past CoasterMania trips and how much fun we always have on Maggie.

Eventually I jumped on SkyHawk, still takes my breath away, nice to see both sides working.

I rode the train around a few times for more pictures and left the park around 2pm. I got to do exactly what I wanted to do, rode Raptor and got to take in the entire park from Mean Streak back to Demon Drop. It was wonderful seeing the sights, smelling the smells, watching everyone have such a great time and buying a bunch of CP stuff I probably didn't need. I was really disappointed in the Raptor shirt this season but sometimes mid season they add so I can always hope!
fyi: scoped out all the other stuff I want still, just don't let my hubby know!!! :)

Considered hitting Raptor 1 last time before I left but the hour wait changed my mind!

All in all a great 1st visit of the season I had a great time and can't wait for the rest of our visits this season!! :)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1169 :)

Jo, I definitely saw you at the park. I figured someone with a "Got Raptor" shirt was an enthusiast, but I had no idea it was a fellow Pointbuzzer! Raptor is a great ride to work, as I loved racing the train on the lift hill to make sure my seats were checked in time. It's really not that hard to hit interval, and I've never quite figured out why Raptor crews can't quite do it. Regardless, I thought the crew was doing just fine yesterday.

Peace!

Raptor crews of the past have hit interval. I've waited less than an hour with full queues for Raptor back in like '01 and '02. I've watched Raptor crews run three trains on a ride night without having the second train stop behind the station let alone stack all three (this might not be possible any longer due to slower parking and different braking). Hopefully this year's crew will improve, but they certainly weren't doing well over the weekend.

I think it starts with not making excuses to justify mediocrity. Yea, the bins suck, but you know what? Raptor has had them for years so it's not new to this year or even last year. It's also an easy ride (compared to say Magnum or Gemini) for guests to walk through, put things in bins, and get back in their seats. It is a ridiculously easy ride to check restraints on as well and the staffing on the platform is almost always adequate.

I hope the sups and the leadership crack the whip (get on the platform and show them how it's done yourself too) and get that crew moving so they don't think that what was going on over the weekend is the right way to run the ride.

Raptor is an amazing ride to sit and watch when it's being run the right way - there should always be a train on the lift and a train on the course. When one finishes, the next should be getting ready to drop off the lift. On Sunday, there was just this weird silence at the front of the park with all three trains stacked.

Not that I'd mind seeing Magnum bury your numbers (again)! ;)

MDOmnis said:
Raptor crews of the past have hit interval. I've waited less than an hour with full queues for Raptor back in like '01 and '02. I've watched Raptor crews run three trains on a ride night without having the second train stop behind the station let alone stack all three.
Hopefully this year's crew will improve, but they certainly weren't doing well over the weekend.

I hope the sups and the leadership crack the whip (get on the platform and show them how it's done yourself too) and get that crew moving so they don't think that what was going on over the weekend is the right way to run the ride.

Matt you forgot the crew of '00 too! :)
The crew of '02 was one of the best crews EVER I will NEVER forget working with them, I loved them all and had such a good time!!!

We busted butt to keep up with intervals. Who ever was on controls would announce to the crew how many intervals we had going, our p/hour rider count, and even encourage and praise us. It was our TLs goal (Mike-loved him!!) that we kept up with intervals.

Maybe I feel that since I was on the crew for 3 years I can say something about the way it's (not) being run this season. I know how to do all the positions and how to do them right.

The only time intervals were in trouble was in '03 when they had turned the mid course brake off, then the trains were making it back to the station too fast to keep up with them!! :)
But don't think the crew was not still trying.

I'm giving this crew the benefit of the doubt that it is still early but I did see my share of things that were causing the trains to stack. I know if it had been the '02 crew I betcha I could have gotten 10 rides in, no lie!

Your comment about sups and leadership was right on Matt. I'll tell you what, if any of the crews I was on was slacking during the day you can bet Woz or even Bill Spehn would be making a visit to see what was going on. We didn't see alot of them in '02 that's for sure, but as for '03 we saw them quite often! ;)

But Matt, you need to shut the **** up anyway! ;)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 1169 :)
*** Edited 5/15/2007 12:22:29 PM UTC by LuvRaptor***