Post by Bud Parsley on Aug 18, 2008 20:26:57 GMT -8
So I just got back from 2 days at Silverwood this past Friday and Saturday. Of course the weather was in the 100's which made for an amazing time, particularly at Boulder Beach. While I'm not going to go into all the gory details of my trip, I do want to point out some high and low-lights of the visit.
First the good:
1) The addition of Aftershock was an EXCELLENT move by the park. The theme park really feels very "complete" with the addition of this coaster and Panic Plunge two years ago. I used to be bored with the theme park after a few short hours but that has changed now. There are now around 10 "must do" attractions at the theme park. Aftershock WAS up and down the entire trip I was there, but it was nice to see that when sensors were tripped, etc., the park was working full-speed to get it back up and running and it was in relatively short time. They seem to be committed to keep this ride up and running, no matter what. And the ride itself was great. I've personally never found the GIB's to be rough and this one was no different. Nice and smooth, lots of fun. And kudos to the ride ops...they were really into it, and made it even better with their enthusiasm.
2) The park has dumped a TON of money into landscaping this year and it really, REALLY shows. There must be literally THOUSANDS of new trees, bushes, and flowers all over the place and it is just beautiful.
3) I was very happy to see that ride ops were filling up the Thunder Canyon rafts as full as possible - no exceptions. This was a welcome change from what I have seen in previous years.
4) Finally, can I just say one more time how absolutely AMAZING Nick Norton is? His magic show tops many that I've seen in Vegas. Absolute must-do when visiting Silverwood, and gets better every year. Whatever they are paying this guy, it isn't enough. WORLD CLASS.
Now, the bad:
1) I keep thinking that every year I'll get used to the fact that Timber Terror and Tremors only have one train. And you know what? I don't. This is still the most bizzarre, frustrating thing about this park. I even heard people around me standing in line making comments about this. Silverwood really does need to address this.
2) I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with the lack of enforcement by the park of the "designated smoking areas" and "no swimsuits in the theme park" rules. I can understand that there will always be a few people who break the rules, but the number of people that I see doing this is far beyond "just a few". If Silverwood wants to have these rules, they should enforce them.
3) I don't understand why the Ferris Wheel only loads half of the seats? I love the views from this ride but it drives me crazy that the line moves so slow and half the seats are purposefully never loaded. It has been this way for as long as I can remember.
4) Finally, it is clearly time for the park to add some more places to sit down and eat something besides hamburgers and hot dogs - especially down by the roller coasters. It was nice to see the new eateries at Boulder Beach this year. Now just add more variety to the theme park - and maybe make one of them a sit-down eatery.
Overall, a great trip. The park just keeps getting better and better every year. It's amazing to see how far they've come in the past 5 or so years. I'm very excited for the future...
First the good:
1) The addition of Aftershock was an EXCELLENT move by the park. The theme park really feels very "complete" with the addition of this coaster and Panic Plunge two years ago. I used to be bored with the theme park after a few short hours but that has changed now. There are now around 10 "must do" attractions at the theme park. Aftershock WAS up and down the entire trip I was there, but it was nice to see that when sensors were tripped, etc., the park was working full-speed to get it back up and running and it was in relatively short time. They seem to be committed to keep this ride up and running, no matter what. And the ride itself was great. I've personally never found the GIB's to be rough and this one was no different. Nice and smooth, lots of fun. And kudos to the ride ops...they were really into it, and made it even better with their enthusiasm.
2) The park has dumped a TON of money into landscaping this year and it really, REALLY shows. There must be literally THOUSANDS of new trees, bushes, and flowers all over the place and it is just beautiful.
3) I was very happy to see that ride ops were filling up the Thunder Canyon rafts as full as possible - no exceptions. This was a welcome change from what I have seen in previous years.
4) Finally, can I just say one more time how absolutely AMAZING Nick Norton is? His magic show tops many that I've seen in Vegas. Absolute must-do when visiting Silverwood, and gets better every year. Whatever they are paying this guy, it isn't enough. WORLD CLASS.
Now, the bad:
1) I keep thinking that every year I'll get used to the fact that Timber Terror and Tremors only have one train. And you know what? I don't. This is still the most bizzarre, frustrating thing about this park. I even heard people around me standing in line making comments about this. Silverwood really does need to address this.
2) I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with the lack of enforcement by the park of the "designated smoking areas" and "no swimsuits in the theme park" rules. I can understand that there will always be a few people who break the rules, but the number of people that I see doing this is far beyond "just a few". If Silverwood wants to have these rules, they should enforce them.
3) I don't understand why the Ferris Wheel only loads half of the seats? I love the views from this ride but it drives me crazy that the line moves so slow and half the seats are purposefully never loaded. It has been this way for as long as I can remember.
4) Finally, it is clearly time for the park to add some more places to sit down and eat something besides hamburgers and hot dogs - especially down by the roller coasters. It was nice to see the new eateries at Boulder Beach this year. Now just add more variety to the theme park - and maybe make one of them a sit-down eatery.
Overall, a great trip. The park just keeps getting better and better every year. It's amazing to see how far they've come in the past 5 or so years. I'm very excited for the future...