I love MM!! The Lost River is fun to ride in the dark, like rafting in the dark! American Plunge would be cool through the already dark tunnel emerging into more darkness, Thunderation (TNT) is my favorite though, becuase you get to fly through the trees in the dark.
dont know yet, but we have a trip planned for aug. 3rd, i'll let ya know then! ;D
I would really like to ride the train at night (if they are actually running the train that late). I rode Wildfire last year and it was a lot of fun. A lot better in the dark.
We rode Wildfire last year in the dark during OTC. It was a BLAST! You go down the hill and can't see the bottom at all...loved it!
I rode Wildfire in the dark and had fun...the flashing lights of the cameras as we flew by them sorta messed with my head however...
The Giant Swing is fun because you get to look up at the stars!!!!
FITH and FM! (But they are in the dark ALL the time) LOL! ;)
We rode Wildfire in the dark during a warm December evening in 2009.... it was amazing in the dark. As another poster commented, you can't see anything but "blackness" when you crest the lift hill.
We have never been to Moonlight Madness but are planning on going this year. For this event, is the park pretty packed during the weekdays (Monday - Thursday)? Also, do all the rides stay open during the extra hours? What about restaurants? Thanks for the help in advance!
I know there are others that help you more than I can, but I can tell you that last year only a few food vendors were open. And, yes, the rides were open (I remember most of them being open). You'll have a great time. I wish I could be there again this year. I really enjoyed the evening time at the park.
I close my eyes so it all would look the same as riding at night to me! (j/k)
Quote from: Major Havoc on July 23, 2012, 07:34:35 PM
We rode Wildfire in the dark during a warm December evening in 2009.... it was amazing in the dark. As another poster commented, you can't see anything but "blackness" when you crest the lift hill.
We have never been to Moonlight Madness but are planning on going this year. For this event, is the park pretty packed during the weekdays (Monday - Thursday)? Also, do all the rides stay open during the extra hours? What about restaurants? Thanks for the help in advance!
We went today (Monday) and it was packed! I bought tickets for my friend and two kids who can never afford to go and had to end up buying Trailblazers passes just so her kids could do all the rides. I saw all rides open, not sure if train was or not. Most restaurants were open until 7, some had food deals after 7. The Pathfinder will tell you everything that is open/on sale. TNT was AWESOME in the dark, flying through dark trees, Wildfire wasn't as dark, with the exception of the bottom of the drop. American Plunge and Lost river was great in the dark. Feet are wailing though for staying 12 hours! Worth every second!
Just an FYI based on feedback I received directly from the SDC folks:
During Moonlight Madness the buffets will close at 7 p.m.
Restaurants that are open until 9 p.m. are Aunt Polly's, Buckshot Annie's, Hatfield's Tater Patch, Wagon Works Grill, Dockside Grill, Lady Liberty Dining Pavilion, and Hannah's Ice Cream Factory.
Concessions on the Square remain open until 10 p.m.
I've only rode PK in the dark. Lost River would be FUN!!!
Would I be dissapointed to go during MM? My friends and I are discussing it but I dont know.....
It's the most BUSIEST tiiiiiiiime of the yeaaaaaar. If you like waiting in lines, than this is the time, to go during the yeaaaaaar. You won't get to ride much, but if you don't get the hunch, this is the worst time to go ridddddddddde of the yeaaaaaaar!
You won't catch me anywhere near the park once the "discount admission" kicks in for MM.
Lines make me sad. Thanks for the warning. :-[
Trams, I was there last year not so much to ride rides, but just to walk around the park. Lines were long, but the bummer was that food vendors were running out of food items and those lines were reallllllllllllllllly long.
Quote from: Gilligan on July 25, 2012, 04:03:44 PM
Trams, I was there last year not so much to ride rides, but just to walk around the park. Lines were long, but the bummer was that food vendors were running out of food items and those lines were reallllllllllllllllly long.
The only lines we waited for was Lost River and Powderkeg. Don't go on a weekend!
Honestly, with MM, you have to choose one ride that you REALLY want to ride in the dark, because with all the lines and the fact that it doesn't even get dark until close to 9pm, you don't have much time to ride "in the moonlight."
I highly recommend Powderkeg. Giant Swing and Wildfire are brightly lit, so you don't get the full force of riding at night, but PK is mostly dark. I've not done Lost River for MM, but I'd like to this year. As long as it's warm, you can ride the dry rides at night during Christmas, but MM is the only time you can experience any of the water rides after dark.
my brother is there as we speak, he said TNT was way cool at night & that ya cant even see the track while ya'r riding. he said AP was neat at night too. 8)
You know what my favorite thing to ride in the dark is... Fire-In-The-Hole... :P
Just got back from a Moonlight Madness visit on 7/31. Crowds were large but manageable. Powder Keg was about a 20 - 25 minute wait (non-front seat) with two trains running, and Wildfire was about a 10 minutes wait (also two trains). Thunderation was only running one train (does it ever run more than one?) and was a three train wait. Ride ops at the coasters were really on the ball, and the crowds were in pretty good spirits.
Longest non-coaster lines were American Plunge (no idea on the time as I didn't wait, but the line was almost out to the Wildfire/American Plunge split) and Giant Swing (only one swing in operation, about a 30 minute wait).
We had a fun visit, and I did not think the overall crowd level was anything compared to the crowds at Christmas time, which seems to me to be the most crowded time of the year, by far.
On a side note, I did snag a couple photos of "The Outlaw" on 8/1, which I will post in an alternate thread.
I have seen two cars run on TNT before; however, i've only seen two ran during MM! Also Giant Swing sometimes has two swings in operation during MM
Two weeks ago when i was at MM everything had atleast 2 trains/swings running!!
Wildfire and ThuNderaTion! Both of those are night are amazing! Will be there either tonight or tomorrow night. Not sure which quite yet. ;D
Quote from: tiffanylynnt on July 28, 2012, 12:11:36 AM
You know what my favorite thing to ride in the dark is... Fire-In-The-Hole... :P
I actually agree. I had a completely dark ride on it last year and it was surprisingly different.
I don't know what the big appeal of riding the other stuff in the dark is. You can already do that during the winter with less lines. PK is much better in the dark than Wildfire because Wildfire usually has flood lights in the infield.
Can you imagine what the extreme features on the Outlaw are going to be like in the dark? :o :o :o
How has the music been this year during MM?
standing in lines for the rides it has been country music. anything else, i didnt pay attention. there was hip-hop type dance going on at the square when we left friday night. alot'a people were dancing to it tho', we had fun watching them all, it was ok.
Today's the last day for MM so you better hit it while you can. It will be nice to see the employees get a break!
Quote from: How-doFolks on August 04, 2012, 10:07:05 AM
standing in lines for the rides it has been country music. anything else, i didnt pay attention. there was hip-hop type dance going on at the square when we left friday night. alot'a people were dancing to it tho', we had fun watching them all, it was ok.
As long as it is not the Lady Gaga fiasco from 2010! ;)
Quote from: Ozark BBQ on August 07, 2012, 10:46:05 AM
Quote from: How-doFolks on August 04, 2012, 10:07:05 AM
standing in lines for the rides it has been country music. anything else, i didnt pay attention. there was hip-hop type dance going on at the square when we left friday night. alot'a people were dancing to it tho', we had fun watching them all, it was ok.
As long as it is not the Lady Gaga fiasco from 2010! ;)
Is that the year she hatched from an egg?
Beats me.
But that was the year they played current pop music, including Lady Gaga instead of traditional bluegrass/country during Moonlight Madness.
Quote from: Ozark BBQ on August 07, 2012, 12:56:28 PM
Beats me.
But that was the year they played current pop music, including Lady Gaga instead of traditional bluegrass/country during Moonlight Madness.
That is sad: sad, sad, sad
So I went on the final day of Moonlight Madness and waited until about 8pm for it to get dark and rode Wildfire, Lost River, and Thunderation. All those rides were amazing in the dark. I felt like I was flying through the forest in nearly complete darkness on Thunderation. I will definitely be doing this next year.
Moonlight Madness really is a treat! I am glad though, that it is limited to just the late summer nights. That's what makes it a little more special, and such a success each year.