TR: Valleyfair Coaster Craze 2005, 7/29/05

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2005
VALLEYFAIR FAMILY AMUSEMENT PARK
SHAKOPEE, MINNESOTA

The final Friday in July has become the unofficial date for Valleyfair Coaster Craze, my home park’s annual enthusiast event. So what better way to prep for it the night before than to go to the bar and celebrate a friend’s birthday by getting quite drunk? Ah, can’t get much better than that.

I awoke shortly after 6:30 AM to find that my buddies, whose apartment I had stayed at for the night, were giving me grief about sleeping sitting upright. A quick stop at the campus Burger King and a fast drive against the horrendous Twin Cities rush hour traffic later, and I was in a familiar place: outside the front gates at Valleyfair. Morning ERT was on Steel Venom, Wild Thing from 8 until the park open at 10, with RipTide and Corkscrew joining the festivities at 9 AM. My perennial partner in crime, Jerry Dorf, was there at the open, along with Tim Dahl, another Minnesota enthusiast, and occupied the very back seat. My other compatriots, Cameron and Loren Willis, showed up at the Venom after the first cycle.

There is nothing quite like breaking a hangover (albeit a relatively small one, but still a hangover) with the front seat on Steel Venom. I managed to get 3 rides in various parts of the train before a vicious power-riding headache/eyeache set in. I then set off for the back of the park with Cameron, Loren, and Mark Fletcher, the manager at ComoTown.

A stop at RipTide showed that it was being run in the wet cycle. Having heard a story about a RipTide wet cycle from Jerry and Tim, we decided to pass. Besides, none of us had anywhere dry to stash our wallets, phones, etc. Anyway, we then made a few runs on Wild Thing. The train was noticeably rougher than normal, and this was attributed to the early time and lack of cycles. The jury remained out on Wild Thing.

Next in the ERT was Corkscrew, the Arrow looper that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this season. We all rolled to our default spots for our run. OK, so I went to my default spot, which is the very front. Long legs are a pain to get into anywhere other than the seat with the nose cone. I think I could pull off eating a banana on this Arrow looper (a la Donald Sutherland in Space Cowboys). Lots smoother than its bigger sister on the mountain, Viper.

Back to Wild Thing for another run, and then a pause on the way out for “The Star Spangled Banner.” Power Tower is adorned at the top with large American flags, so it was a very nice sight. After the anthem, and a slight holdup from 9:50-10:00, the seven of us made our way towards the back of the park. Going by Mad Mouse presented an opportunity to get another credit. You see, I had never ridden the Mouse, as the line had always been astronomical. SO… I found that this mouse wasn’t as nuts as either the Exterminator at Kennywood or the Crazy Mouse portable at the Minnesota State Fair. A good family coaster, but not one that is going to knock socks off.
Excalibur awaited at the back of the park. This guy is truly a hidden gem. Very well done trains, nice pops of airtime, and plenty of speed. It is also known as the Thunder Canyon Spin Dry, as soaked patrons from Thunder Canyon’s exit queue go straight into Excalibur’s entry queue. Since I have NEVER seen more than a 1-train wait on this, 2-3 cycles are the norm.

Back to the front of the park, where we watched Cam use his Ripcord season pass endorsement. After watching a squirrel scare the living daylights out of the girl in the booth (message for details), six of us opted to try the go-karts. In order to provide for a proper start for the go-kart race, the six of us went slowly out of pit row, grouped up 3 across and 2 deep, and started at the shadow in the tunnel. Since I had the pole position, my kart was an absolute dog. It had NO go. I was dead last of us 6 when we were waved back to the pits.

Lunchtime! Valleyfair does know how to do fried chicken right (sorry KFC). Crispy breading with a great flavor. Must have gotten a few tips from Mrs. Knott. Also, Valleyfair had made a 25th birthday cake for Corkscrew, and Cameron got the piece with the train. Apparently, his iron count was running low.

After that was the prize drawing. Prizes included lots of T-shirts, a few pullovers, pins from CP, a blanket, and some Nalgene bottles. However, the most coveted prizes, which were tucked into some of the shirts, bottles, and jackets, were…

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GOLDEN TICKETS.

No, these were not the Wonka Golden Tickets. These were Enthusiast Golden Tickets. The Golden Tickets are exit lane passes to Jr. Gemini at Cedar Point that allow one person per ticket to ride Jr. Gemini WITHOUT ACCOMPANYING A KID. You read that correctly. Tickets to ride Jr. Gemini without a kid in tow. Printed on bright yellow paper. Coincidence? I think not.

After lunch, most people who had been there all morning went elsewhere. Your fearless hero went back to the U of M campus to help out as an Admissions Ambassador, giving tours to prospective engineering students.

Returning to Valleyfair around 9 PM for the night session of ERT, there were still a LOT of cars in the lot. However, there was lots of parking close by the gate. After finding Cam and the gang, we headed for High Roller, which was a rare 2-train operation. The trims were still in business, and the little double-dip right before the station is the only powerful kick of air on the whole coaster. We remained there for the start of night ERT. Trims stayed on the few rides we rode there.

Over to Wild Thing for what everyone was hoping for: a brakeless ride. Last year, during evening ERT, the brakes were turned completely off. This year, all of us there were hoping for the same thing. Maintenance had pulled one of the trains, so it was only a 1-train operation. The brakes were definitely tuned down, but they weren’t completely off. You could see this by the full train overshooting the main brakes. The brakes varied during the ERT. However, even on the last train, the brakes were never completely disabled.

That last point did not bother me at all, but a couple of people thought quite poorly of the event. One gentleman, wearing a Hydra shirt, was bellyaching about how the queue was not cleared so that the ERT could start EXACTLY at 10 PM, among many other things. He was going to Guest Relations to complain. For those of us within earshot of this man’s tirade, it was all we could do not to harshly shut him up. Personally, I’m grateful that VF went through the trouble of being open for 3 extra hours, and won’t be bitching unless it gets REALLY bad. I had a great time at Coaster Craze, and I hope it gets firmly entrenched into the enthusiast calendar.

Paul “STOP WHINING!” Miller