Check-In
When I arrived I was greeted by a massive crowd for this event. With 130+ attendees, this was the largest ACE NorCal event since the grand opening of Bonfante Gardens (now Gilroy Gardens) in 2001. This crowd was more than DOUBLE what was usually expected.
During check-in we were split into four groups (red, yellow, green and blue), given raffle tickets and then escorted into the park.
During check-in we were split into four groups (red, yellow, green and blue), given raffle tickets and then escorted into the park.
Now that the park's 2nd annual WinterFest is in the books, the overlay sign, polar bears and 'snow' white gravel has been removed and the smaller pieces as well as some dirt for future landscaping has been removed and remained on the ground to soon be swept up. Here's what the WinterFest sign looked like.
One of the main new park improvements that the park touted this year was the newly replaced midways. Gone are the days of aging asphalt and in comes newly poured concrete tiling and landscape bricks for accents before and around greenery. It looks very nice and I can't wait to see these changes make it all the way through the park in the coming years.
Entering the backstage areas.
As per the usual schedule we began with a presentation of what the park plans on bring in this season. In order to get there and avoid the construction zones we passed through the employee only areas under Patriot and behind the Great American Theatre and through the side door. (I must stress that this was only for this event and by NO means should you venture into these back areas as a guest unescorted no matter how good the photo ops are.)
Park Presentation
For those coming from my video, this is the section I was talking about. It was quite a long presentation so I wasn't going to put that massive video in full video.
Here I'll show most of the slides that I photographed and then a short explanation as to what was discussed.
At the beginning of the presentation park staff were asked (via cards) questions about anything. They only had time for three, but I actually got mine answered!
1) Q: Can the lights in the Demon's tunnel ever be restored?
A: Yes, but we'll see if we have time.
2) Q: If you could bring back one classic attraction what would it be?
A: The Scenic Railway.
3) Q: When will we see year round operations? (my question)
A: The park will soon be able to once we need to accommodate more guests.
Here I'll show most of the slides that I photographed and then a short explanation as to what was discussed.
At the beginning of the presentation park staff were asked (via cards) questions about anything. They only had time for three, but I actually got mine answered!
1) Q: Can the lights in the Demon's tunnel ever be restored?
A: Yes, but we'll see if we have time.
2) Q: If you could bring back one classic attraction what would it be?
A: The Scenic Railway.
3) Q: When will we see year round operations? (my question)
A: The park will soon be able to once we need to accommodate more guests.
Now to begin the presentation hosted by Clayton.
A new summer show "High/Xtreme Altitude" will (I think) bring back the former cast of Vertical impact, but will be story driven. A name is still undecided.
A new summer show "High/Xtreme Altitude" will (I think) bring back the former cast of Vertical impact, but will be story driven. A name is still undecided.
The RailBlazer Big Basin Bluegrass Band will take to a new stage (location TBD) playing bluegrass (obviously) to fill the air with the perfect outdoor tunes.
The Cable Car Connection will utilize the WinterFest 'cable' car to transport performers and serve as a mobile stage playing what I presume is music from a certain time.
Big Easy Sound will be a story driven window show based off a aspiring singer trying to finish writing songs with the help of guests.
Patio Pianos will take the stage at the newly (soon to be) constructed French Quarter Funnel Cakes and Churros.
Hot Rhythm Nights will return for another season playing the classic music I never heard cause I didn't go last year, but I saw that it looked great.
Upcoming Special Events
During opening weekend Flight Deck, the park's B&M invert originally named Top Gun, will be celebrating its 25th anniversary with showings of the film, free necklaces, and a WORKING model of the ride (that's what I'm looking forward too).
Also it was revealed that for two weeks only, operators of the ride will be wearing the ORIGINAL aviator uniforms worn when the ride first opened nearly 25 years ago with leather jackets and these patches (shown below) ironed on.
Also it was revealed that for two weeks only, operators of the ride will be wearing the ORIGINAL aviator uniforms worn when the ride first opened nearly 25 years ago with leather jackets and these patches (shown below) ironed on.
Backyard Bands & BBQ will be a food and music event built around the outdoors/camping ambience of RailBlazer.
Guest favorites "Red, White and Brews" and "Taste of Orleans" will return again this season bringing delicious food and tasteful music, dates listed below.
Our Tour Beings...
After the presentation we were all split up into the groups we were assigned and given all the food offerings mentioned above we lucked out as our first stop was to taste some new sweet and savory funnel cake offerings. But first we walked back the way we came and were greeted by RailBlazer peeking through the trees.
In a classic view, the remnants of Tidal Wave, the park's long removed Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop still remain. The footers, about half the station and some electrical lines still remain.
I always had the idea of if a firm would ever create a ride that can reuse the footers of long removed shuttle loops to retrofit them as a the footers still seem to be in good condition. I did ask and they said that these remain as there's no major construction or demolition being done in this area so when something does come through here requiring equipment they'll remove it then. ;) As for now the footers of Stealth have been removed as Loggers Run was being removed recently.
Before heading to the pavillion for our tasting our guide stopped us to allow us to appreciate the new midways showing the old versus the new that will soon cover the park.
Before heading to the pavillion for our tasting our guide stopped us to allow us to appreciate the new midways showing the old versus the new that will soon cover the park.
We were told that the patio (which was being worked on while we were there) will be extended outward on both sides (left and right photos) and that "all the parks in Cedar Fair are EXTREMELY jealous because we're the only park that has this usable space."
In addition, the new patio (middle photo) will soon hold 500 people.
AND if that STILL wasn't enough, "This will continue a pathway all the way to the creek and there will be patio space after patio after patio space all the way around the whole lake."
In addition, the new patio (middle photo) will soon hold 500 people.
AND if that STILL wasn't enough, "This will continue a pathway all the way to the creek and there will be patio space after patio after patio space all the way around the whole lake."
Dessert is served.
Chocolate ThreatChocolate funnel cake, chocolate drizzle, chocolate chips and (not shown) a chocolate mousse.
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Hot ChocolateWill be served with hot chocolate in a jar/mug, but it's called the 'hot' chocolate because it's made with cocoa powder and cayenne pepper. I imagine this will be a popular prank come WinterFest.
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The CampoutBecause of RailBlazer and its outdoors theme, what's more outdoors than a smore? That's what this is, a churro with a melted torched marshmallow, chocolate drizzle and graham cracker crumbs.
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Strawberry ShortcakeFresh cut strawberries, funnel cake, whipped cream and sponge cake on top.
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Key Lime Pie ChurroChurro with key lime curd, whipped cream and graham cracker crumbs.
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Apple Pie CakeFunnel cake or churro (undecided) with housemade applesauce and fine diced apples with whipped cream and cinnamon.
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And my personal favorite:
THE PULLED PORK BBQ FUNNEL CAKE
Sweet made in house BBQ sauce, in house pulled pork, string onions and of course the funnel cake. Sounds weird no? It's not! It's actually REALLY good. I'm for sure going to be getting one of these nearly every time I visit, it's a must have! Trust me, it's really good.
Before moving on to our next stop Brian, our guide, pointed out that at the intersection in front of Flight Deck and Delta Flyer you can see four attractions that have been unchanged since opening day. Those are: The carousel, Rue Le Dodge, Delta Flyer and and Orbit. A neat little tidbit I might say.
The Consulate
Just as a preface, for those who don't know (and I personally didn't) that The Consulate was the Marriotts' apartment back in the Marriott era in much the same way Walt Disney had his apartment above the firehouse on Main Street in Disneyland.
While the consulate was closed to the public, it was used previously as a meeting room, but now it will be transformed into a rentable venue that will allow for catering as well. It will become rentable now because it will receive it's ADA compliant elevator in the back of the soon to be renovated Orleans Candy Kitchen (formerly Trending Now). Across from the Orleans Candy Kitchen will be the new Funnel Cake stands, there'll be two of them to speed up service. Right now it's what the park might call their BPOD, their Big Pile Of Dirt. It's beautiful isn't it?
The living room has been stripped down and will be cleaned later.
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Main dining room. This large table will be cut up into two smaller tables. One a small table, the other a large corner desk.
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Here's the small, but sizable bedroom. There's, again, nothing in it, but much of the wood will remain after the renovation.
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Here's a bit of an inspiration board showing not renders of the new consulate, but what the designers will be referencing along with some paint color swatches.
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The Consulate's balcony offers quite the quaint view.
RAILBLAZER
With the tour of the consulate out of the way, it was time for RailBlazer! Or it would have been, had my phone not died as soon as I took a photo!!! But fear not, I did get some video, so here are some frames.
One train is on site (we'll see it later) and the majority of track is done. I say majority as the barn has yet to be installed and the station concrete has not cured yet. It will be a while before we see any tests so for those hoping for a March opening or even April, it seems this is still a summer project.
Brian here is explaining what happened to Stealth with the infamous C-shaped patch a tower for Loggers Run needed delaying the opening. That's why clearances are so important and that a single car will have the ride envelope attached and be pulled through the whole course to avoid the problem Stealth had.
Getting up close and personal with a section of track for RailBlazer. It will use a mix of both magnetic and friction brakes. The mechanics of the brakes I saw are quite ingenious. The brakes sit on top of a big air bubble and air is pumped in to apply the brakes.
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While writing this report I noticed in this photo that all the drive tires on this section are all driven by one single motor and are simply chained together. XD It seems that 's where RMC decided to cut corners, but it makes sense and as long as it works.
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The track itself is by no means fragile so we did of course get to touch it. It's quite dense.
With that we moved on to the next stop, the maintenance shop.
But first, here's the secret phrase you need for my CGA Opening Day contest: "Built to Thrill"
With that we moved on to the next stop, the maintenance shop.
But first, here's the secret phrase you need for my CGA Opening Day contest: "Built to Thrill"
On our way Brian explained that all the arcade and midway games are going completely cashless. It cuts down on the need for cash handling and confusion that comes along with making accurate change in a loud location.
Here's an old sign now without a home. RIP Snoopy's Splash Dance, you weird, weird little attraction.
When we came in we found that the red train of Grizzly was currently being refurbished. All the cars were stripped won and were in the process of being reassembled. I hope they did the blue train as well.
Of course all you care about is RailBlazer's cars so here they are!
And finally to wrap the stop up here's a photo of me where I look more like me and less like the leader of North Korea [as I've been told :( D: ].
The restraints, if you're wondering, are quite comfy. They're roomy too which will help cut down on the number of 'walks of shame' that will occur. They're less OTSRs and more lap bars with shoulder straps, but don't worry, they auto adjust so no need to clip them yourself like the so-called 'comfort collars'. It think they work well and they should accommodate a wide range of people.
The restraints, if you're wondering, are quite comfy. They're roomy too which will help cut down on the number of 'walks of shame' that will occur. They're less OTSRs and more lap bars with shoulder straps, but don't worry, they auto adjust so no need to clip them yourself like the so-called 'comfort collars'. It think they work well and they should accommodate a wide range of people.
There were also some wheels from various attractions on display.
Loggers Run and H.M.B. Endeavor Update
More RailBlazer Photos
After this we headed back to the theater my phone finally booted back up again so here are some more RailBlazer photos I took after the closing presentation as everyone set up to take the main group photo.
Xtreme SkyFlyer
As a bit of a bonus I finally got to try out a SkyCoaster. Yep, up until now I'd never tried one because they're always upcharges.
Thank you!
Overall this event was remarkable and I want to personally thank Nicholas Laschkewitsch for allowing me to be his guest for this event. I plan on joining ACE very soon so I can continue to bring you all more exclusive looks at NorCal parks. Thanks and make sure to subscribe to my YouTube below.
Bye for now! :)
Bye for now! :)