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I'll take the pics, but not the life stories. I cringe at my prior reports.

Word. But, for the masses and the draw of wing riders, that will probably put it at the top of the list for quite a few people.

That's dumb. She's known what a carousel is since she was probably 2. It would have been a nice memory for us, regardless of how long it lasted. Again, you're never going to convince me the closure isn't anything but hilarious.

Jeez. We're staying at Breakers for 3 nights, which will even leave a lot of intentional downtime. I have never been to SFDL, but I imagine the park can be done in four hours, not four days.

Yeah even the big parks like CP and CW are only two day parks. If they could build the park up to something like that then the hotel will pay off. Until then it's a bit of a waste

Wait a minute, they're offering a 4-night package to Darien Lake? What are you gonna do for the other 95.5 hours you're there? Sunbathe in the farmlands?

We were there exactly 3 years ago and got stuck on the brake run of I305/Pantherian for about a half hour on the last ride of the night. There were only 4 of us on the train and the park was well closed and totally emptied out when they finally got us off. The music and atmosphere of Jungle X going out, in the dark was quite effective theming! I don't suppose they gave a date for Pantherian as opposed to just a generic "summer" opening? Curious because right now we are supposed to get ert on it for SpringCon on May 17, so thinking that may not happen. Of course those sorts of plans are always a crapshoot and there is no way in hell I can marathon Pantherian anyway, lol.

So in other words, perfect timing, because she's old enough to remember riding with you at age 5 and will form a core memory! Unlike riding at age 2 or 3 and having no memory of it and then rolling her eyes at you when she's 13 and you show her a picture of the too young to remember ride trying to remind her of how cute she was then. Congratulations on the timing.

I saw that as well but who wants a 4 night package at this point? That is like a destination park package. Currently DL is a half day park.

Lost Island has entered the chat... There are so many clones, namely SLCs, Boomerangs, and Six Flags clones in general, that I've walked right by without even looking at the wait time. Those are always afterthoughts for me in case I have extra time or I'm just reallllllly bored. Hell, I skipped half of Six Flags Mexico's lineup because there's a Dark Knight indoor mouse, a 4D Free Fly, an off the shelf spinner, a Boomerang, an SLC, maybe a couple others. Medusa and Superman were the only two coasters I genuinely cared about because they're originals. Medusa was fun but not worth the 90 minute wait while Supes was a 10-minute wait all day and is easily one of the best coasters out there; certainly Morgan's best coaster. All that to say, yes, you save a lot of time and effort by skipping mediocre clones.

Ditto for me! My concise trip reports are much more about laziness on my part than aversion to a more detailed report, lol.

I enjoy the long, well written TRs loaded with pics that many used to post and a select few still post. But I don't have the time and patience to do all that myself lol. I do take pics sometimes!

A couple years ago I went to SFOG for the first time (and it's not a place I'll probably get to very often)...I waited over an hour for Superman just to get the credit because they were running 1 train with terrible dispatch times. I could've ridden Twisted Cyclone or Goliath 6 or 7 more times during that timeframe, but I waited an hour for a credit that I can ride at Great Adventure whenever I want (and never do when I'm actually there because it sucks). Ever since then I decided riding anything just for the sake of a credit will never be worth waiting an hour for, especially in parks that I'm making a special trip to get to that I might not get to again. I like trying to ride everything once if I can, but if it's going to be an obvious waste of time then it's not worth it that much to me. As for kiddie coasters...there have been times when I decided to be an idiot and whore them for no reason other than the credit. Hell I just rode Lil Devil at Great Adventure last year lol. But again, not doing it for the sake of a credit at a park I might never get back to that has awesome coasters that I want rerides on.

As of today, Fantasy Springs will allow people to line up for the rides without the need for standby passes. I kind of hope this means the recent culture of everyone standing around frantically tapping screens will disappear again, always seemed a shame to be in one of the most beautiful parks and people too busy refreshing their screens throughout the day to fully enjoy it.

I saw lots of ads recently for SFDL lodging. I really like the new lodge logo for the hotel and campground. If this is any indication, SF may be trying to market SFDL as a true resort, which would also mean they meed more and better rides/coasters. I really wonder if SF may buy DL from EPR and do something good. I doubt it but it's a thought

I like your TR's. They're less about you and more about the parks. It's a good balance of personal experience and opinion, combined with park information. That, and your TR's are brief. Just figured I'd add that...

Because it's cool to make fun of it it in the coaster community. "I'm too extreme for Thunder Striker." Mad respect for not whoring the kids ride and not giving a shit about the wild mouse just for an arbitrary number. That's some grown shit right there. It sounds like you made the best out of your limited time.

I think its funny you called Fury B&M's Millennium Force, makes sense but I like it a lot more then Millennium Force. Did you happen to notice if they sold Copperhead Strike Fastlane's? I know some rides at Kings Island and Cedar point you can pay per ride via the app.

Flash is good! Rode twice today, once in front and once in back. Floater on the launch side of the tower is nice. The hangtime on the stall is excellent and the restraints are extremely comfortable and perfect for this ride (after experiencing some squishing in the nether-regions on Copperhead Strike yesterday, this was a welcome relief). Nice air on the double up, borderline ejector in front. Barrel roll is a nice tribute to Chiller. Still trying to understand how they're applying Flash Pass to this ride. When I first arrived (I have all season Platinum FP) it said I could not reserve Flash. I went and rode El Toro and then headed back over, and by then I could reserve a ride so I did. After a couple hours I went to get another ride and once again it would not let me. This time I settled for the one time use FP for $11 (seriously...if you see how slow the regular line moves, it will be the best $11 you'll ever spend). Was on within 5 minutes through the FP line, but the regular line had to be well over an hour. It's a great ride but that line is going to get very ugly on all but the deadest of days. Hit a few other favorites. Toro running the same as last year. Wheel seats will give you a headache. I'm excited to see how nice the retrack makes the ride. Hope it gets restored to its former glory. The first half of the ride is still bonkers, but the second half is pretty brutal at this point and makes it tough to reride. Nitro and Batman both running fantastic even in the cold cloudy weather. Didn't get over to Devil but I could see it crawling through the course. Didn't get on anything else, was in the middle of a 14 hour ride home from Carowinds so really just wanted to hit Flash and anything else was a bonus today. Lots of food stands still closed. Even with the dining plan in hand I still just settled for Wawa. Also, I don't believe Superman opened at all today. Harley Quinn has not run since it's derailment last fall. I think everything else I noticed looked operational.

First thing I thought of.

I understand with the contract the park is on they aren't going to get anything great (sadly), but they have done quite a bit of work maintaining/improving the rides they have. I will always applaud this, but why isn't any of it ever discussed on socials? GP isn't going to know Predator got Titan Track bc there are fake balloons in front of the track section. This Mind Eraser work could have been a perfect opportunity to market the new trains and "snoother" ride experience. Radio silence.

Yeah when I was waiting for Jersey Devil when it was down the one guy said something new was replacing Ka. I inquired and he claimed it would be record breaking "the park wants the height record back" I said that one in Saudi Arabia is I think over 600 feet and he shrugged "I dont know, just they say it will retake the record" while I've gotten some legit insight from park employees before needless to say that one....yeeah not gunna bank on it LOL That said, seeing a big open area was not just weird but made me realize how much space was there. Whatever is going there it can certainly be something big. So I knew there was risk going opening day, (esp with a new ride) but it was too nice the weather, and my schedule won't have a weekday I could take off until May so why not? Got a pass, can go anytime and bail if the day is bust. .....Kinda was. Even going in knowing "OK ops will not be great, there will be rides down, various issues, rides have been removed etc" it was still kinda rough. A lot of food places/stalls weren't even open, ops were indeed rough(er than I prepared for) and except Nitro and maybe Batman I think everything went down once. And of course the biggie: Flash.... was going down basically all day. Not streaky, but like every 4 rides going down. At one point I figured **** it, I'll go for it, they say 2 hour wait but as it goes down maybe people will leave and it'll balance out. Was kinda working but as 2 hours neared I was still a bit away, and after it went down the FIRST loaded train after its last test cycle I bailed. Ride looks sick. The hangtime looks epic and just such a unique and interesting layout. The one person I bumped into who rode (dont think many did today) said has good air and the back end is very interesting. Maybe in a few weeks it'll be running smoother. That said there was redemption for Jersey Devil. I lucked out and was the first person to catch it upon reopening (was down for I think 2 hours) so got 3 in a row. Front row, near back, and back row. Front was fun but a tad lackluster, as I felt last time, but near the back holy hell that was wild. Back row was insane! Also felt El Toro wasn't as rough as its been in recent years, maybe just memory lapse, and in back Nitro is still a damn solid ride given its age. OH! Also got stuck on the lift of Superman and goodness that was...uncomfortable XD All in all OK day, looking forward to future visits.

I finally was able to scratch off a major piece of my bucket list today with a somewhat whirlwind unplanned trip to Carowinds. My plan was to spend the weekend at King's Dominion, but with Pantherian suddenly not opening I had the crazy idea to drive 5 hours to Charlotte this morning, spend 6 hours at the park, and start driving the 13 hours back home tonight. My wife was surprisingly on board and replied with "well you've been talking about that place for 10 years" so we decided to do it. Arrived around noon and headed straight to Fury. This was the main reason for the trip and why would I start anywhere else. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes (and opening queue times to discover that this would be the shortest line in the park for some reason) I decided to purchase Fastlane because who knows when I'll ever be back here. Anyway, of course I built this thing up a little too much in my head. I know it's a lot of people's #1 steel and I get it. But I crave intensity and airtime, and while this has a little bit of both, it's not as in your face as Pantherian, Steel Vengeance, etc. I look at it as B&M's Millennium Force...another ride I absolutely love, but barely cracks my top 10 while being a lot of people's #1. I rode 5 times, lucking out with the front or back each time. Not sure which I preferred...the airtime and speed were great up front but a couple of the elements definitely hit better in the back. On one ride I didn't feel the trims engage at all and we f*cking SAILED through the speed hills at the end. As for the rest of the park: The Top Scan (whatever it's called): Glad to finally ride one here after getting teased by the one at Lagoon which decided to break down just before I went to ride it. I guess it's one of those rides that looks cooler than it is. The cycle just kind of sucks. It spins once or twice and then stops for 10 seconds and you just hang there. Then rinse and repeat a few times. Copperhead Strike: I loved this ride but wasn't a big fan of the restraints which I felt were a little male unfriendly. But the hang time filled inversions were a blast and the pops of ejector were crazy. Very slow moving Fastlane line (regular line pushed 2 hours) or I would've rerode for sure. Wish there were more of these Macks in America. Afterburn: Basically Montu's little brother. Nice intense old school B&M Invert just the way I like it. The tunnels and trenches went a long way to enhance the Montu vibes. Thunder Striker: This is heavily bitched about among coaster enthusiasts and after riding it I have no idea why. Sure, the layout isn't very inspiring but even with the trims every hill absolutely launches you out of your seat. The airtime is just as good as Diamondback. Why is this ride bitched about so much?!? Goldrusher: Basically a couple long helices and that's all. More interesting than Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Trailblazer but not sure how many other mine trains it can compare to. Vortex: Not awful but not my favorite ride by any means. I miss Green Lantern it didn't deserve the hate or the fate. Cyclone: Almost avoided it as it broke down but was open when I was about to leave the park after reriding Fury a few more times. I wish it stayed broken down for my own sake. It's not THE worst Arrow corkscrew coaster I've ridden, but...just...no. Hurler: It's really not that bad. First half is fun with some good airtime pops and fast turns. Second half jackhammered a bit. But I couldn't help but imagine Twisted Timbers elements coming up at me as we rattled through the course. Flying Cobras was down most of the day...no big loss. Ricochet not on Fastlane and I didn't feel like waiting an hour for a basic mouse, no big loss there either. Didn't feel like whoring the Hang'n'bang or the kiddie coasters. This park is obviously very top heavy with a terrific top 4 and then a bunch of crap after that, but that top 4 is among the best in the country. Not sure if I'll make it back in the next several years, but damn am I happy to have finally made it. Do have to mention one of the major cons of this park and that is the groupers. I've never liked not having a choice of seat (luckily as a single rider with Fastlane I pretty much mostly got front or back on everything anyway) but it's even worse when they're terrible at their job. Entire rows going empty on Thunder Striker every ride. Groupers on Fury and Afterburn not putting groups of 2 with other groups of 2 and causing 6-8 seats to go empty every ride. Sometimes they were so slow that the last 2 or 3 rows would go unfilled. This park was by far the strictest about no choice of seats. Parks like Universal, Disney, and Cedar Point scratch the happy medium of having groupers make sure they fill the train as best as possible but also almost always accommodating requests. Or better yet...just let people into the station until every row fills up like Six Flags parks do and call it a day. I noticed this at Kings Island a little bit a few years ago but Carowinds was the absolute worst with this. Kings Dominion doesn't group at all. It annoys the crap out of me seeing 1/4 of the train go out empty when there's a 2 hour line. Sorry for the rant Overall though I am glad I followed through with my insane idea and made the spur of the moment trip to the park. It's hard to know when I'll ever get back since it's just not near much else, but hopefully it's in the cards someday.

Alright new idea: I saw this from one of the Facebook group and I think a Wild Moose idea is growing on me

Day 10 (pt 2) full day at Blackpool Pleasure Beach as we came up the stairs from the Nickelodeon section, I saw Wallace (of Wallace and Grommit) out and went to say hi and get a pic, only to be informed that if you want a picture of them, you must purchase the opportunity. I politely declined, and we continued past the Wallace & Grommit ride (I'd ride it tomorrow. . long line at the moment) and headed towards one of the park's other classic woodies: the Big Dipper, a PTC built in 1923 I *love* the classic feel of the thing. and it's right next to Infusion and the Big One in the middle of everything. the inside of the station is charmingly retro. . and hey, look. . there's Stacy and Andrew in line up ahead of us. Bert, Nick, Doug, Nick. the windows in the queue for Big Dipper give one a fantastic view of Infusion's 1st drop thru the windows. too bad it's a Vekoma SLC. . but hey, it LOOKS good almost our turn. . a bit rough, as one would expect from a coaster this old, but really quite a decent ride and I enjoyed it. pic is courtesy of Andrew I believe. since we were RIGHT NEXT DOOR to it. . we gritted our teeth and headed over to Infusion. as noted. . at least it *looks* fantastic. Especially built over a water feature. already dreading this decision. . . but at least there's not much of a line. smiling BEFORE we ride it. . . . oooo. . .a train? where is the station for that? made a mental note to look for it. yeah. . it rides like a Vekoma SLC. one and done. . . but I rode it. having ringed the outside of the park, we headed into the center, where the Avalanche Bobsled is located. charmingly themed over here. ' and you get really close to Revolution's loop feature. aha! . . crossing over the bridge to get to the Avalanche entrance, I discovered the train station. . in an odd place, with an entrance from the actual bridge. noted for later! this was closed today, and tho it was small, it was quite lovely. sadly, I think this is one of the 3 smaller rides the park announced has been removed to make space for a new ride coming in. (come to think of it. . all 3 smaller rides they said they were removing, never opened the two days we were there, and were closeby the shut down car tracks.. so must be something big coming into this area) I'm ready for a bobsled ride! it was among the smoother of the bobsleds I've ridden. and I did go back and ride it the next day too. Lots of Photo Ops spread among the park. . even of many of them didn't make a lot of sense. I got Nick to pose too, after being my photographer. I believe I had reached out to Stacy and she and I made our way to the train station - as she loves this kind of stuff too. the train really does weave all in and out of everything at the park, and gives some really interesting views/perspectives of things. well worth a ride, if you go to this park. you get REALLY close to some of the coasters too. . . and it passes right in front of our hotel (and spoiler. .. right there is that wonky as hell transition on the Big One that WILL mess up your back if you aren't prepared for it. . . every time we rode the next day. . right THERE). looking up. .there's my room! LOL. . with the curtains open on the top floor. the tunnel at the end of Big One, where it dives underneath Nickelodeon Streak's structure after a wonderful, relaxing, train ride, I was ready to hit the grouping of Dark Rides (Alice's Wonderland, Ghost Trains, and the park's Racing Derby are all right next to each other in an area of the park). Alice in particular is sorta/kinda like the Disneyland ride, but there are many differences. great photo op, even if it looks like I'm creeping out the Mad Hatter while the March Hare is tickling Andrew's armpit. no one wanted to be the Caterpillar.. but I wasn't gonna pass up being Alice! or riding a horsie on the Derby Racer I LOVED this. . . but I will admit that tho it ran faster than Cedar Downs? I don't recall these horses moving back and forth. So between the two? Cedar Downs takes it as the better ride. but still, I'll ride this over almost any other ride, any day. Hey Stacy! stopped to watch the racing trains on Grand National. . .another PTC coaster from 1935. this one looked very very rough, and tho i did ride one side of it today, it bothered my hurt rib (damaged at Barrie Island), so never did go back to ride the other side. the suspended ships are near the main entrance tho. . and those were a lot of fun. back to Alice for another ride (of course). hmmm. . per this sign, this ride opened in 1962. . Disneyland's opened in 1958. Maybe the similarities aren't such a coincidence? and then it was time for Ghost Train! I'd held off on this, as I'd heard it was a good one, so was saving it. it was SO good, y'all. I rode this at least 10 times during my visit to the park. just kept going back to it. I loved it. the themed benches over here are great too! so good. .and so many pops of air! no idea who to thank for this. Stacy? it was getting towards the end of the day, and so it was time to ride the infamous "Valhalla" I don't want to ruin it, so all I'll say is that it's a very, VERY good dark ride, and a very, VERY wet water ride all at once. yeah. . even completely covered with a TPR rain poncho, still soaked completely thru. but we knew we were in trouble when they were using a wetvac to suction out water from every boat as they came back thru the station. . LOL SO good tho. actually rode it again the next day too. we were so wet from Valhalla, we went and rode Derby Racer a few times in an attempt to dry off (and it worked, since it spins so fast) since Stacy is in this pic with me, assuming this pic is thanks to Andrew? and with that (and slightly drier) our first day at the park was over, as it was time to shut down. it was still early. . maybe 5pm? but we went around to the front of the park, and I got this pic of the main entrance. From what I was told, this park used to have a Noah's Ark (like Kennywood has), but it was decommissioned many years ago. instead of destroying it tho, they moved it over the main entrance. so it's no longer an attraction one can walk thru, but the Ark does still "float" up and down, and most of the figures from it are around the base. so that's rather cool that they kept the history. waiting for the reception area for "hot ice" to open. it was a lovely set up, with a coffee shop, and bar in the outer entry area. it was opening night, so some folks did dress up - and I felt a little bit under-dressed - but enough of the TPR folks went that I didn't really stand out. TPR representing at the "Hot Ice Show" at Blackpool Pleasure Beach opening night. I have to imagine that we had been asked to take no pictures (as it was opening night), as I don't seem to have a single picture from the performance (and yes, they really DID set the ice on fire, and there was a lot of skating tricks done). there clearly was also an issue as the intermission seemed to talk almost an hour between acts, and when act II did start there was suddenly an odd number of women vs men skaters - so I think someone must have gotten hurt during the 1st act, and that's why the delay in act II starting. for what it was, it was enjoyable, and it's always fun to hang out with TPR folks. (and as Stacy and I are showing, they DID serve alcohol. . so it was a nice enough way to spend the evening before heading back to the hotel for shower, and sleep.. .. tho I'm almost 100% positive, we DIDN'T go back to the hotel, but instead went across the street to the casino for food and some gambling) but with that, Day 1 of Blackpool Pleasure Beach was done, and I had fulfilled a quest.. I was gonna sleep well tonight.