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From: Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada on 4 Mar 2010 12:51
GodsOnSafari wrote:

>-GALAXYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK-

>Let's get this out of the way: Galaxyland is poorly run and dirty.

> Its also expensive; $31.95 for an all day wristband without any of the
> walk-through attractions, which means if you want the haunted houses
> or funhouses, you gotta blow more money. I skipped all of them, in
> case you're wondering. The one big noncoaster attraction I was
> interested in, the Moser Hoppla called Solar Flare, was closed.
> Apparently its been down for well over a month too. A new Moser
> Sidewinder was being finished being built, and another empty ride pad
> was being prepped for something or other.

*** All symptoms of the recession. Alberta is a big oil and cattle
province - both us which are at lower prices than two years or more ago.
People just aren't going out and businesses that should be spiffing
themselves up to retain the few customers that are going out, are not
doing so. )-:


>-COASTERS-

> Mindbender (#557): This is it; the biggest and baddest of the
> Schwarzkopf rides. Well, maybe whatever they call Thriller now in
> Mexico is competition, but no one is getting to that ride anytime soon
> to compare. I can, however, reasonably compare it to my ride on Dreier
> Looping from several years ago. So, how is it?

> It's a pretty darn good ride in the front seat, that's for sure.
> There's a couple pops of air during the ride and the positive Gs are
> as advertised. They aren't blackout crazy (my wife doesn't think
> they're significantly stronger than, for instance, Dragon Fyre at
> Canada's Wonderland), but they're strong enough and common enough that
> they're darn impressive.

*** "Mindbender" originally had much higher positive Gs (6.5, I
believe), but they were reduced after the accident.


> The pacing is that old school sorta drop/slow
> rise thing that you see more out of wood coasters from the 20s than
> you do most steel coasters, and that's in large part due to the number
> of block brakes on the ride.

> Unfortunately, the way its now run, those blocks are irrelevant. With
> only one (or sometimes two) insanely slow ops, ride cycles take
> upwards of ten minutes for loading. My wife refused a second ride on
> the coaster due to the inane procedures alone. Two three car trains
> were used when we were there, and with them, a wait of perhaps 50
> people was stretched out to nearly 30 minutes. Truly dreadful.

*** Whatever happened to pleasing the customer? This attitude has
affected way more than amusement parks here in Canada.


> The coaster also shuts down three times a day for maintenance; Dreier
> Looping similarly opened well after Flamingoland and closed early as
> well, citing "overheating". I wonder if similar reasons are at play
> here, or if it is really because of the coaster's 363 days of
> operation.

*** I'd say this was imposed after the accident. I vaguely remember
increased maintenance, or at least increased numbers of inspections, as
being one of the recommendations.


> Worst of all is the ride in the backseat. It's violent with
> serious headbanging. The accordion restrains left some massive
> scratches. The drops are pretty impressive, but when you're trying not
> to get knocked silly, much less fun. While Mindbender is a good ride,
> it is not a *great* ride IMO, and certainly not the sort of
> destination coaster worthy of such major cash expenditures in and of
> itself.

*** Sorry to hear this. As with many great rides, they deteriorate
over time, and park owners seem to think that reputation will bring riders
and have them leave with positive comments. I suggest that you send this
report to the mall's owners.


> Autosled (#559): Zierer Tivoli style coaster that wanders the inside
> of a mall. This sounds familiar too. It has some sudden braking and is
> the best run coaster in the park, in part because it has more than 6
> seats on the train.

*** Interestingly, The "Bullet" at Crystal Palace in Moncton, NB is a
coaster that continues to run well. I wonder if that is a coincidence, or
do Zierer engineer their trains/track for minimal maintenance?


>2) The elevators are terrible. Having one be broken all day doesn't
> help matters, especially when no one is servicing it. Isn't there
> someone on staff to fix stuff like this?

*** Elevators in Canada are licensed and likely are only maintained
by the installation company.


>3) Local merchants know right up until when the keycards need to be
> used for elevators. We had a number of flyers for 24 hour pizza joints
> appear under our doors as we waited for our tub to fill. Never seen
> that before at a hotel, and was a little disconcerting that it was so
> easy for such folks to get in and distribute stuff.

*** It may be a symbiotic relationship with the pizza companies, or a
licensing agreement. Hotel staff may actually be distributing them, not
the pizza company staff.

> We had taken back some greek food to the room, and it was pretty good,
> I gotta say. Also had no trouble finding Bueno bars at the nearby
> London Drugs location. It was thanks to the flyers that we learned of
> "Donaire": a strange pseudo pizza being sold by greek restaurateurs
> featuring ground beef, a "special sauce" (tzatziki, we learned),
> mozzarella cheese, and various vegetables. Didn't have any here, but
> it was in my mind to do so promptly.

*** I don't like them, but they have been extremely popular in Canada
for almost 40 years. There are mutton Donairs, as well.


> Fantasyland Hotel's roomwasn't bad, but for the price (over $200US)
> and star rating, youshould be getting a high level of service. This
> wasn't just subpar, it was embarrassing.

*** Send your trip report to those that issue the star ratings. Nothing
will change if one does not notify those that might make a difference.
--------

By the way, did you submit receipts to get back any taxes paid for
items with which you returned to the States? Any purchases made in Canada
by non-Canadians that are not consumed in Canada, qualify for tax refunds.

Richard Bonner

The Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
www.CEC.chebucto.org

From: GodsOnSafari on 4 Mar 2010 13:54
> > Fantasyland Hotel's roomwasn't bad, but for the price (over $200US)
> > and star rating, youshould be getting a high level of service. This
> > wasn't just subpar, it was embarrassing.
>
> ***   Send your trip report to those that issue the star ratings. Nothing
> will change if one does not notify those that might make a difference.
>                               --------

I plan on filing a formal complaint with the hotel first. Not sure
what good it will do, I suppose, since there's nothing they can offer
me to return.


>    By the way, did you submit receipts to get back any taxes paid for
> items with which you returned to the States? Any purchases made in Canada
> by non-Canadians that are not consumed in Canada, qualify for tax refunds..

I'm pretty sure this is just for goods and not necessarily services
(which meals qualify as). Honestly, all of our souvienrs were either
photographs, flyers, or items promoting the Olympic Games set out at
the Valemount, BC tourist visitor center. One thing that can
definitely be said is that the people were both nice and loving the
Olympic Games out west.
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