Theme Park Review

^ Uh huh. And a klassy Marlboro (cigarettes) lettering on it's side, too. 😏

The new coaster

Unless they somehow win the lawsuit, next MAY is now what's being circulated in the break room so that by then most people will be hopefully vaccinated. Too much liability if some sick person comes in and spreads it however which way.; they'll just have to spend all that money to ramp up and shut down again. There's no ride manual for COVID. They are also going to need a huge amount of security staff and cameras because people tend to let their guards down around their friends i.e. all the young guests and somehow they've gotta keep this under control. You know how respectful people were and appropriate acting before COVID 🤪. It's going to be really weird how things work and damn hard to make sure people don't hoard together in queues as it's always been. And the indoor rides are apparently on the back burner when they re-open, which really sucks because everyone loves that air conditioning in the Valencia summer months They don't want a post-holiday spike. Who knows what'll actually happen from D.O.H. It's the definition of insanity for a SFMM-sized park to be closed for 15 months and sit empty. Except for those drunk kids who climbed the SkyTower

It is actually pretty funny to see a "modern version" of Hulk. Vest restraints, smoothed out transitions, and slightly different shaping on the inversions. All of the characteristics of 2021 B&M vs. 1999 B&M. Nonetheless, the park looks great.

Dollywood has been BEAT UP in social media for their customer service all around this year yet they stay mum on everything. I’m not sure it’s ALL warranted, but they have certainly tarnished their image a lot and I’m not so sure they will get some of the shine back      

So we were at a Korean park last week. Even before corona the parks tend to shut half the rides or operate them on half day shifts on off peak weekdays. I bring this up because the lines I'm talking about here aren't a handful of people, I took my son to a park on Friday and because less rides run, we waited maybe 30-40 minutes for some children's rides in cattle pens.   The park has footprints painted in the lines but people just didn't social distance or follow the stickers in any of the lines, you were packed in for 20-40 minutes. And although everyone wore masks people were constantly bringing food into these crammed queue lines and eating. There was also gloves at some Halloween games and hand sanitizers all around the queue lines but people ignored this and rides weren't wiped from what we could see. Despite all these examples, what Korea does have is  a very good track and trace so I can tell you at least 2 positive people have been to Lotte World and 1 in Everland and yet there were 0 transmissions found to have happened in the parks. I hiked a mountain with my wife and we passed over 140 old people mask less in 2 hours. So far more possible contact than people walking around the theme parks in masks and we had less room to maneuver around them than at any theme parks, yet there's been almost no cases of transmissions or clusters there either.   You know where it did spread in Korea? A Starbucks. And yet even in that enclosed air-con space the masked employees escaped infection: https://fortune.com/2020/08/25/covid-outbreak-starbucks-seoul-masks-employees/   It seems ridiculous to me that these giant open air spaces, where it is quite hard for it to spread have to remain closed, while so many other places can be open.

A couple years ago I was berated by a user for making a comment about Chinese food, so I won't rule anything out.        That's a lot of buck for that bang.

there are a few Flats on Flash Pass at Fiesta (not many, but a handful). but even those like Joker had minimum 45-1 hour wait on Gold.     Granted if you go Platinum, that will cut way down on that, but I believe the only Flats with FlashPass are: Joker (giant Pendulum) Bugs' Rapids (Flume) Scream (Drop Tower) Skyscreamer (Starflyer) Hurricane Force 5 (Disc-O) Pirates of Deep Sea (Dark Ride/Shooter) & Gully Washer (whitewater rafts) so yeah. . All the coasters but Wonder Woman have it tho!

Thanks. It's strange, right? I guess folks are so desperate to get out and have some fun, that everyone is coming out, resulting in the crowds. Covid doesn't seem to be on many folks minds - in particular, the lack of social distancing as the crowds got larger thruout the day (not that really anything could be done about that - if you're letting that many people in?  you're letting that many people in).   Agreed 100%     heck, we even took a 25 minute break to wait in standby for SuperVillain Swings (W-I-D-E standby line) while waiting for our Iron Rattler FP time.    But yes, wandering thru the scare zones, and sitting down in Sangerfest Halle and people watching while waiting for Superman to come back up (so we could use the FP) was *way* better than standing in the line there with the hundreds of folks right on top of us.

Hotel Matamba is the African-themed hotel and Nrthwnd is right, it's a lobby bar with a patio available.  It's nice and the drinks are delicious but it's nothing compared to Dragon Bar.  Really, is there ever a choice between "ground floor lobby bar" or "indoor/outdoor rooftop bar overlooking the park"?

As a theatre industry professional (backstage, design, management), I'm gonna have to disagree with you there.  Here's an non-exhaustive list of reasons why - Let's get this out of the way right out in front.  Too many goddamn video/projection-based effects.  This is a stage show, so use some stagecraft.  The constant projections instead of the multitude of better, prettier illusions that could be used are a slap in the face to any stage tech worth their salt. Speaking of video and projection reliance, most of the "sets" are not sets at all, just a video with a large open stage.  This is a story set in castles (stone and ice), forests, etc, yet they refused to populate the stage with anything but open space.  Those three stupid doors are the entire set for the kingdom of Arendelle.  You kidding me? Holy hell the choreography.  Someone was called up from Carnival Cruise Lines for that crap. The Let It Go dress transformation.  My god.  I've seen more convincing quick changes in elementary school productions.  How does the Broadway version of this gag kick all kinds of ass, yet the park version equates to literally turning the lights off for a second while Elsa pulls a zipper?  Awful. The wolf chase sequence would have been incredible if they spent more than five minutes rehearsing it.  The lighting is on point and the sled is very well made with the motion base, but the cast is far too slow and not nearly as urgent as one would think while being chased by wolves.  Also, the final "Jump, Sven!" and all three characters flying into the air?  Again, it would be fantastic if they choreographed it to happen faster than a snail taking a sunday stroll. The trolls are...not good.  The costumes are a train wreck themselves, but you'd think a theme park show would skip over the bad songs and stick to what people enjoy, right?  Not here!  You're gonna hear Fixer Upper from front to back and you're gonna damn well like it! The finale. And here's a list of good things - Elsa's staircase.  That thing is a wonder to behold as a tech.  A full-size, cantilevered staircase that rotates over the audience with only one point of contact?  Holy crap!  Damn shame that's the only part of Elsa's castle that actually exists outside of the screens. The idea and half of the execution of the wolf chase sequence.  See notes above. Sven's puppet was much better than the Broadway nightmare-fuel version. It's an amateur, half-baked, rush job that had no reason to be as bad as it was.  Frozen on stage had the potential to break new ground and really go hog wild with illusions and set design.  Instead we got what we got.

I would imagine like any other year around park would do it. It's not like the park has never been open during constructions. Chickies and Petes was in the middle of construction when the park reopened in 2015, 2016 County Fair was still getting rides put together from opening weekend all the way through early June, Copperhead started construction in summer 2018 went vertical during Winterfest  in November. We the local people are use to by now . It honestly to me is good marketing to let people see in person stuff being built, gives them add reason to really come back now that they've seen said new attraction in progress with their on eyes on site

That is something the park would love to do, however light packages are expensive especially for a good one. Right now that money is better spent elsewhere in the park.

Thing is, people are so used to following Covid protocol right now – especially in California where they have had some of the strictest restrictions and guidelines. Social distancing/mask wearing/sanitizing is so engrained in our day to day lives right now that people are just as safe going to a theme park they are as any other activity, and far safer than just about any indoor activity such as going to the grocery store or Costco. I’m also no anti-masker/Covid denier - I’ll gladly wear a mask anywhere and everywhere and I’m definitely not voting for a certain former reality TV star. I just don’t know who Mr. Newsome is attempting to appease, because I can’t imagine anyone in California - be it left or right - is happy about this.

The point was that under Newsome's guidelines, that's how every state would qualify - not saying what each state is actually doing.