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| ERT Sign |
When did I first learn about ERT? It was early in 2008 when a co-worker mentioned to me that he was going to Holiday World for a coaster enthusiast event Holiwood Nights. I was like, "what is that?" He then proceeded to tell me that it was an event the park sets aside for members of online coaster clubs where they feed the group food and you get to ride the roller coasters and get into the water park before and after the general public gets into the park. At this point I was in a state of shock and excitement! I mean how in the world had I gone all these years and never heard about this type of opportunity?! Needless to say I told Ashley that we had to go to this event and we went in late May of 2008. I have been hooked ever since. I guess that's when you could say I became a true roller coaster enthusiast.
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| Me with the ride all to myself |
What makes ERT so special? Have you ever been to an amusement park on a very crowded day and waited in a line longer than 30 minutes or even an hour for a ride? If you have then you know that it is not always very fun. You get hot, tired, and by the time you reach the ride your excitement has dwindled. With ERT you never have to worry about any of that. You will usually not have to wait longer than 15 minutes for any ride during an ERT session and most of time you barely wait at all! A lot of times you can just stay seated on the roller coaster train or just switch seats. This is what enthusiasts call "marathoning" a roller coaster. I know that sounds absolutely delightful doesn't it? Or maybe it doesn't to some. Let me just say you really have to enjoy riding roller coasters to partake in this type of extra ride time.
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| Empty Banshee Queue |
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| Empty Goliath Queue |
Why is ERT so much fun? Just look at the pictures above and below! However, the obvious answer is that you can usually get multiple rides on roller coasters without waiting for them. This, to me, is a huge win! The atmosphere around ERT sessions is also EPIC. I mean you already have roller coaster enthusiasts going crazy to ride the coaster multiple times. You then throw in the ride operators and their enthusiasm. They will usually high five riders and sometimes they will start chants and sing-a-longs in the station as well. It is just an all around great time. It is quite fun.
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| Enjoying NO Wait |
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| Have Fun on that ride to yourself Ashley |
I have been to a park on a busy Saturday and then have ERT sessions both morning and night give complete walk-on rides when during the day waits were close to an hour or more. Yeah talk about awesome. I once rode The Voyage roller coaster at Holiday World 12 times in a row without waiting. That was probably my limit for a roller coaster. It was a blast though and yes I know I am crazy. In 2008 I rode Bakuli (Holiday World), an awesome water slide, 19 times in a row with no wait. Again, yes I am crazy. I figured since there was no wait and I was having a blast I would just keep riding so I did. Ashley and I rode Millennium Force at Cedar Point four times in a row during one ERT session back in 2011. This is still something we often talk about because it was such a rare opportunity and made for a very memorable moment. Most of the times, even on slow days, Millennium Force demands at least a 15-30 minute line so being able to get off the train (separate unloading station from loading station) and hop back onto the other train was unreal!
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| No General Public means a Happy Us |
Where have I done ERT? I have participated in ERT events at Cedar Point (Coastermania! - please read the previous blog post to see details of this event), Holiday World (Holiwood Nights - INCREDIBLE EVENT), Dollywood, Kings Island, Beech Bend, and Six Flags Over Georgia. A sample schedule of an ERT session would be like this:
7:30 am - Registration for event starts
8:00 am - ERT begins on rides designated by park
10:00 am - Park opens to general public
10:00 pm - Park closes to the general public
10:15 pm - ERT begins on rides designated by park
Midnight - ERT session ends
Normally parks will give enthusiast groups an hour of ERT in the morning and an hour of ERT in the evening. For the bigger events like Coastermania! and Holiwood Nights you can get anywhere between 2-4 hours of ERT in the morning and evening which is even more perfect.
Again, you really have to enjoy riding rides and roller coasters to make the most of ERT. However, even if you don't like riding roller coasters over and over again you can still ride a few times without having to wait much. That is a nice perk especially when it is a busy day at the park and you don't feel like waiting in huge lines. It is a good feeling to know that you can enjoy a park all day without worrying whether or not the lines are going to be long. If you see a line that is 30 minutes or an hour long you can just skip it and wait till the ERT session to ride the ride.
Also, being part of an exclusive group in an amusement park after it has closed or before it has opened to the general public is a neat experience. You get to see a much different atmosphere than the chaos that normally surrounds the park experience. You don't have to worry about teenagers yelling/being obnoxious, people cutting in line, or bumping into park goers everywhere you turn. It is just you and the open midway. It is just you and the wide open ride queue. What an experience! If you ever want to know more about these ERT events just ask me. I am always willing to talk about my experiences. I plan to share more specific details of other events I have been to in later blog posts so come back and ride on.
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| Empty Kings Island |
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| I got the Park all to myself! |
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