Just returned home from a two-day trip to the City and I can confirm the reports firsthand. On Friday, we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic just past the light at Hwy 465...at about 9:15. Luckily, it moved relatively quickly and we were pulling into the preferred lot just past 9:30. We couldn't believe how many people were already in the lots. And stunned when we entered the park and discovered how many people were already there. I haven't been to the park throughout the season like many here have, but have been during typically crowded "peak" times, as well as during OTC when the crowds can swell. We have never seen anything like it.
The line for Wildfire filled the entire station house queue and stretched down the hill past the entrance to AP.
The line for PK also filled the entire station queue capacity and at one point, stretched down the hill near the new Fry Bread Stand. Speaking of which, PK was down for periods more than once on Friday and again today. At one point late Friday, we waited in line 45 minutes, only to be told they were closing it as we were just feet from entering the main station. I know this is a beloved ride, but at some point they have to address the continued lack of reliability with this ride. Can they not simply invest in improved trains that offer more reliability? It seems to be getting worse. For still being such a popular attraction more than a decade after its debut, it's a real shame they haven't done something to take care of this.
FITH had consistent lines stretching out of the station back to the Fry Bread stand as well.
OR had wait times listed up to 60 minutes, but the lines moved favorably well despite crowds spilling outside of the covered queue and into the mulched corral area adjacent to.
Crowds were such that even the smallest of rides in FL and GE (Lucky Dogs, Balloons, GE Coaster, etc.) at times had waits over 30 minutes. If you wanted to ride anything, you were waiting.
FM clearly got some love as previously reported here. New mannequins look nice throughout. Definitely made me wonder what the future holds for this attraction.
Looked as closely as I could for signs pointing to any new developments near GE and between PK and WF, but did not see anything obvious.
Speaking of GE. Swoosh had reported new paint to all the rides in the area during the offseason. Unless I wasn't looking at the right thing, that did not seem to be the case from what I saw. I personally saw original, chipping paint on Several of the rides. Did not get close enough to all of them and in fairness, I never really paid close enough attention to this in particular when we were on park last Fall so I really have no frame of reference to compare it to other than the fact that several of the rides clearly still show some pretty obvious signs of wear. Signage did looked pretty fresh throughout as far as I could tell. Oh, and the Hi-Topper game is definitely still there, but tucked a little further back from it's old position near the swings.
The new Fry Bread station looked very nice and seems well visited. My wife tried some and enjoyed them, but I did not try any.
Other observations...
Once again, SDC unfortunately, was clearly not prepared for the crowds.
Wait times for rides are one thing. Waiting in line for over 45 minutes for any morsel of food is inexcusable. Sorry, it just isn't. Hire more people and have more stations to move people through. Do something. It's just ridiculous. There were well over 100 people in line for Skillet in the Lumbercamp area and the line (like too many others) moves at an absolute snails pace.
Speaking of that area. It is clear and insanely annoying that HFEC and/or the PTB at SDC have clearly done little to nothing to address the need for improved traffic flow in this area. It is flat out stupid and nearly impossible to navigate through this area on an even moderate day, let alone one with heavy patron volume. The fact that entrances to two of the parks major coasters and many favorite eating options nearly converge in this area, and it is very narrow on top of it, it just plain idiotic. I took the photo below on Friday well outside of the lunch time hour. The fact that the Campfire Skillet and Kettle Chips stations are located where they are is an enormous issue. This has been an issue for quite some time now and it's beyond me how it has yet to be efficiently addressed. Simply re-locating those two stations would dramatically improve that area. The Positioning of the Kettle Chips station is literally in the middle that area. Makes no sense whatsoever. Navigating through that area is without question the most miserable experience anywhere in the park.
It was not quite as crowded today, but still heavy and plenty of waiting everywhere.
Despite the crowds, we enjoyed two days of beautiful weather and the opportunity to spend a lot of fun times in the City.