Grizzly

[CoasterSkinny]

I was on the first train out of station on Saturday morning! The reengineered first drop and ascent into the turnaround are astonishingly great. The fan turn lost SOME intensity, but I still felt some whip on the exit. The roughness at the end is fine with me; at least it's BEARable now because you aren't already beat up from the first half! It's intensity without pain.

The lights have to go (same with the new lights on Racer 75's turnaround, which screws up night rides on R75 AND I-305). I-305 and Grizzly are the best night rides in VA. This has to be fixed!

Also, seeing as how they've invested so much in Grizzly, there needs to be a entrance that makes sense so that GP know where the ride is. The Grizzly statue can return to the main midway. People should enter the Grizzly midway from the left of the gift shop and exit through the store.

I'm currently planning to go Sunday and expecting to do some Grizzly marathoning, especially since I have a condition right now that will make riding anything with an OTSR or vest potentially painful. Main thing I want to ride is New Grizzly anyway. Hopefully the rain holds off or is only minimal.

How has the line been for it? Are people back to riding it or is it still too hidden (or just not known that they did this work)?

It was raining Saturday morning when I rode, so it was a walk-on for the 5 rides I got. Rode in the back 4 times, the front once (both are great in their own way)!

 

[outhikn]

I'm currently planning to go Sunday and expecting to do some Grizzly marathoning...

How has the line been for it? Are people back to riding it or is it still too hidden (or just not known that they did this work)?

@Crunchewy - Just like CoasterSkinny mentioned, for its first weekend here, Grizzly has pretty much been a walk-on.

On Saturday I did a marathon myself - where typically ride ops let you ride up to two times before walking back around. But on Saturday afternoon/evening there were so few people in the station waiting for the next train (and as rides ops didn't care too much), I was sometimes able to get 4 to 5 rides before exiting and going back around.

And Sunday was very similiar, where it was typically walk-on, or a one train wait.

One of my favorite aspects of Grizzly in recent years, has been the low crowd factor; where on a busy weekend, I can always get a number of rides in, even if everything else in the park is slammed.

I was really fretting the retrack would change that. But so far (fingers crossed), though there certainly has been some increased traffic to the ride, the average park goer still seems to be overlooking it.

 

[Jonesta6]

That's a double-edged sword though. It's great for re-rides, but if the park doesn't see the desired response - increased ride attendance - it's unlikely they're going to spend much more on the ride.

Good thing it was just re-tracked, and so it's unlikely they're going to further neglect it for a long time, but if there's ever a possibility for needing the space for another ride, guest demand is going to be one of those deciding factors.

However, I think we're a decent way off from that being a possibility given the folks indicating the park is now surveying the old Volcano plot.

 

[Crunchewy]

Yeah, I was hoping riders would come back to it. There's certainly pluses to it not having a crowd, but maybe now they are going to neglect it. What's the point if it's not drawing park goers? Next thing people are going to be calling for it to be another RMC. Well... they already do that. I really wish they had redone the entrance so it was more prominent/not so hidden.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I agree they should put that bear statue on the main midway with a large new sign to pull traffic from the main path. I also think if they finished the retrack next year the ending would be just insane at that point.

 

[bwick29]

Are we reasonably comfortable attributing continued low ridership of a nearly-hidden coaster to the absolutely abysmal entrance location/style? Sure, it's on the map but it's out of sight, out of mind for many, and the newcomers to the park may not even know it's there at all.

New track. Smooth ride. Great coaster. Moderate hype (currently). Freshly opened....... Still hidden behind a gift shop for some insane reason.

 

[Mushroom]

Did they bring back the little Grizzly sign on the pathway with an arrow that points to the gift shop and says something like “Entrance through General Store”? I thought that was helpful when they added it a year or two ago.

 

[rswashdc]

The other issue besides way finding is there isn’t any other thrill ride in the area - it’s all family and water rides. Distributing another thrill ride or two to Old Virginia would help as much as better signage.

 

[bwick29]

While I 100% think you're correct, I'm torn on actually doing that.

Part of me wants to have all the thrill rides. Place them anywhere and everywhere. The other part of me loves the calm-ish break from the rest of the park that Old Virginia gives and I have to assume that there is a decent segment of the GP who would agree. The shade is very welcomed, Parched Pig is the best sit-down bar in the whole park, Shenandoah Lumber Co.'s meandering path is exceptional, the cohesion there is better than anywhere other than JungleX (Go Karts aside), and anything new there should really fit that same mold that the rest of the area has. What else fits the mold of "chill thrill"?

 

[Intimidator325]

REMOVE GO CARTS!

 

[EdK]

I'm glad to see grizzly restored to it's 80's glory. I wish I could remember what it was like when it first opened I just remember I loved that coaster back then.

 

[bwick29]

REMOVE GO CARTS!

No. Improve them so they're actually a unique and viable attraction.

There are plenty of ways to do this, especially with the additional pay-per-ride cost of that attraction:

• Add lap times and a leaderboard. Park lap records, daily lap records, etc. Could even have each guest have a unique ID (cough, season pass, cough) that tracks your personal bests, your lap count, promotions for buy-ten-get-one, etc.
• Move to the electric karts that K1/Pole Position uses to reduce operating costs and be more "green". This does require having two full sets to ensure charged karts at all times, but again, there's cash generated here. This also reduces maintenance.
• That track has decent complexity already, but could use a bridge over the access road and a track expansion to add some variety. Expensive, I know, but it's pay-per-ride on top of an admission price. Cheaper option would be to re-route the old Dinosaur path and add racing in the woods, while minimizing tree removal at all costs. Maybe bridge the path over the kart track?
• Increase the speed to the maximum allowed without needing helmets/headsocks/etc.

I could go on forever with karting ideas but this isn't the thread for it. Ultimately a kart revamp could increase the "thrill" level on that side of the park (without any major changes) and help drive folks toward Grizzly.

 

[EdK]

No. Improve them so they're actually a unique and viable attraction.

There are plenty of ways to do this, especially with the additional pay-per-ride cost of that attraction:

• Add lap times and a leaderboard. Park lap records, daily lap records, etc. Could even have each guest have a unique ID (cough, season pass, cough) that tracks your personal bests, your lap count, promotions for buy-ten-get-one, etc.
• Move to the electric karts that K1/Pole Position uses to reduce operating costs and be more "green". This does require having two full sets to ensure charged karts at all times, but again, there's cash generated here. This also reduces maintenance.
• That track has decent complexity already, but could use a bridge over the access road and a track expansion to add some variety. Expensive, I know, but it's pay-per-ride on top of an admission price. Cheaper option would be to re-route the old Dinosaur path and add racing in the woods, while minimizing tree removal at all costs. Maybe bridge the path over the kart track?
• Increase the speed to the maximum allowed without needing helmets/headsocks/etc.

I could go on forever with karting ideas but this isn't the thread for it. Ultimately a kart revamp could increase the "thrill" level on that side of the park (without any major changes) and help drive folks toward Grizzly.

True, but as mentioned previously I'm not sure how go karts fit into the old Virginia theming. I would move them beyond the water park and fill that area with trees.

 

[Jonesta6]

I'm in the camp to remove them from the current location along with the Xtreme Skyflyer and infill with rides/scenery more appropriate to the area.

I'd think the Skyflyer could go near the entrance to Soak City, and the karts... Dunno, but not where they are

 

[bwick29]

Glad to see y'all are even more about keeping that atmosphere intact than I ever thought to be.

 

[CoasterMac]

^Oh absolutely. Whatever they do in the Go Karts/Dinos area, tree & atmosphere preservation should literally be the #1 priority.

That being said, if they were to clear out some of the Dinos area, I personally think a 'Hypersonic II' back there would be sweet. In the style of Maxx Force with the super punchy launch, but a more substantial layout.

 

[Crunchewy]

^Oh absolutely. Whatever they do in the Go Karts/Dinos area, tree & atmosphere preservation should literally be the #1 priority.

That being said, if they were to clear out some of the Dinos area, I personally think a 'Hypersonic II' back there would be sweet. In the style of Maxx Force with the super punchy launch, but a more substantial layout.

That would be very loud. Those air launches are noisy. I'm not sure I'd want that there.

 

[Jonesta6]

^Oh absolutely. Whatever they do in the Go Karts/Dinos area, tree & atmosphere preservation should literally be the #1 priority.

That being said, if they were to clear out some of the Dinos area, I personally think a 'Hypersonic II' back there would be sweet. In the style of Maxx Force with the super punchy launch, but a more substantial layout.

So... Grizzly?

 

[Unagi]

Do we think they will give the last 3rd the same treatment in the “off-season”?

I'll see if I can find that out. I do know that Grizzly's overhaul isn't completely done.

 

[Crunchewy]

I'll see if I can find that out. I do know that Grizzly's overhaul isn't completely done.

Why did they feel they had to open it if it wasn't done? I think I'd rather they had waited until the refurb was complete. Mind you, I haven't tried it yet.