So I'm going to Stevens Institute of Technology for a summer program and surprise (!), we're going to SFGAdv. The problem is, I don't know what day we are going (weekday for weekend), how long we are staying, or if we have to stay in groups (if not, I expect some NJ TNers there to help me get all the credits).

The program is from July 24-August 3, so we could go on any of those dates. I'm sure the park will be insanely crowded during this time, but it's all I have. I was thinking of buying a Gold Q-Bot in order to get all of the credits in (and get more than one ride on Medusa, Nitro, KK, El Toro, and Chiller).


What should I do?

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Get gold Q-bot.

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Lol, your question pretty much answers itself. Yeah, do what RJ says.

Yeah, except are there any cheaper options than that, sicne the program and airfare is nearly $2000? I was hoping to have some cash for my car, but now I'm beginning to doubt that my job is going to make enough money to cover even that+my expenses.

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Ok, well, KK changes the park plan dramatically. I will make a plan for without KK, and you will have to use personal discretion with your choice with the ride. This plan gives you most rides without more than 10min wait, no matter time of year.

Get to park 10min before opening, and head to your left at the fountain. This will lead you to a TON of people stopped at a rope in front of Houdini. Squirm your way through rhe people to front of rope, and once rope drops, RUN RUN RUN to El Toro. My estimate is 70% of people will run to KK, 30% to Toro. Because of Toro's capacity and probably fast moving line, you should get 2-3 rides on it, all under 10min, before it strtas getting flooded with people. After Toro, get a quickie on RT. Head on over the bridge to medusa, and get a quick ride on that. Both RT and Medusa will be walkons this early. After Medusa, head on over to Movietown, making a quick stop at RMT for a walkon ride. By now it will probably be around 10:45-11am. Hustle your a$$ off to Nitro, and get a ride on that. It should only be a 20min line, so yeah. Get a quick ride on B:TR, which should be under 20min, and then head to Chiller. Batman side is the better of the 2, so if both are over 30min long (line is out of building), choose the Batman side. Now that you have ridden 8-10 of the parks 15 coasters, depending on if you had ridden both sides of RT and/or Chiller, you can slow down. It should be around 12pm by the time you finished all of that, not waiting any longer than 25min for any of the rides. The coasters you still need to hit are: KK, S:UF, GASM, and probably one side of Chiller and one side of RT. GASM won't be over 20min line all day, and RT probably won't be more than 30min all day. Both sides of Chiller will be long until night time. If you have the stamina, stay at the park until night time...both sides of Chiller and B:TR are walkons at night, and S:UF/GASM/RT/probably Toro will all have toned down lines. S:UF always has a 1-2 hour line, so if you have ridden that before, skip it.


As for KK, if you have 2 days at the park, I suggest one of them not waiting for the ride and enjoying all other coasters, as KK will take up approximately 1/5 of your time, just waiting for it/finally riding it. If on the 1st day you see it testing before park opens, run to it and ride early while not too many people are there. If it is not testing much before park opens, or isn't testing, make that the day you follow my plan.


Best seats on each coaster:

Nitro- Back row, far right
Kingda Ka- Front row, preferably on left side
Medusa- Front row
El Toro- Gonna be front row, just like S:RoS
Batman: The Chiller- Front row
Robin: The Chiller- Back row
Batman: The Ride- Back row
Skull Mountain- Back row
S:UF- back row
GASM- Front row
RMT- Front row
RT- Back row


Places to eat: Best of West (near Saw Mill Log Flume), Granny's Chicken (in back of Chiller's spike), Nathan's (near entrance of Boardwalk, across from GK entrance), Wok and Roll (next to Skull Mountain's entrance), and La Cocina (underneath Toro's turnaround).

Notes: if you got money for a qbot, get one. Then you can do my plan both days, and get a ride on KK without waiting in line.....ONLY run to KK if it has tested more than 3x that morning before park opens.......Remember, the park is divided into 3 corners, 2 of which get VERY crowded. 1 corner is Movietown, 1 is GK/PDC/FA. Early in day, Toro/KK/RT will get crowded, while Movietown will be empty. By 12pm, both areas will be filled up heavily. At night, Toro/KK/Nitro/S:UF will be very crowded, while everything else will be empty as hell.

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Top 5 coasters: El Toro, S:RoS at SFNE, The Voyage, Millennium Force, Cornball Express

^Thanks a lot, that was very thorough and helpful.

I don't know when we're going, but knowing that it involves a group (100+ high schoolers) probably means that we won't get there at opening and will leave fairly early. But all the same, I'll try the plan (plus I'll have a gold q-bot). I really just want to ride KK, having missed TTD (closed) and Xcelerator (closed also).

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Well a gold qbot changes everything. In that case, get it as soon as possible, and hit up whatever you want whenever you want. I got the gold qbot back in April, and it was amazing. In 2 hours I got 2 rides on Nitro, 2 rides on B:TR, a ride on Chiller, a ride on Medusa, a ride on Skull Mountain, ate, and was next in line for KK when it broke down.

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Top 5 coasters: El Toro, S:RoS at SFNE, The Voyage, Millennium Force, Cornball Express

The ribbon is not that far out anymore. The ribbon is blocking main street all of the way across before you get to the fountain. The opening ceremony takes place on a stage in front of the fountain.

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I'm usually very cheap in my expenditures in the park but I do know that I had one of my worst SFGADV experiences a few summers ago on a Saturday late in July. The lines were that bad. Getting Gold Flashpass or whatever the ultimate thing is called is a very good idea for that part of year, particuliarly the Saturday. Plan your trip to first get the 3-4 of the B&M's, Toro, then get Kingda Ka and the others.

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