Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Discuss theme parks, roller coasters, and donkeys!
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Bucket List item checked off! Bert does the UK with Theme Park Review (a photo trip report)
Day 2 now updated: full day at Thorpe Park! Hyperia! Stealth! the Swarm! Nemesis Inferno! and more at this thrill park.- 17 replies
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Castle Park - Palace Entertainment - really bad years of ride closings - any other palace parks?
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How will AI impact the amusement park industry?
The impacts artificial intelligence (AI) may have on amusement/theme parks.- 11 replies
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Playland Closed Until FRIGHT NIGHTS in October.- 1.3k replies
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[TR] Europa-park / Rulantia experience July 2024
A full recap of the Europa-park / Rulantica summer holiday during our Summer holiday France Alpes road trip 2024- 5 replies
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By prozach626 · Posted
I really need to make it down to this non-Six Flags park sometime. -
By prozach626 · Posted
Sounds like a really great spot, especially for the child/family range as well. I could see myself being persuaded into ride that swan boat all day. (By persuaded, all it takes is, "Dad, can we please ride the swan boats again?") -
By prozach626 · Posted
People will make a lot of money on this, regardless if it ever opens or not. Like whoever got the prime demolition contract. -
Day 2 (part 2): Thorpe Park! We also went and did the "Ghost Train" - which I knew nothing about, but had been recommended by several park employees I had talked to. It's not really a "ride" but rather an experience - an interactive show, with some brilliant special effects and a set that "moves". . so it feels like you trapped on a train that's moving as crazy things happen. It was very cool and I loved it so much I bought multiple Magnets from it. . and was looking to buy a shirt for it (but they didn't have anything I really loved). for some strange reason, I don't have ANY pictures of this ride - I'm shocked myself. I know I was incredibly distracted (or as my friends call it "dickstracted") by a cute bear couple that was in the queue with us - which would explain why I have no pics of the outside of the ride. And you couldn't take pics during the experience. but still. . I'm truly surprised I don't have any pics. . LOL I think it was around this time, that (*I think) we got a message from Robb asking who wanted to ride the Tidal Wave as a group, and if so, meet by the ride. So a whole bunch of TPR folks got together, and our park guild got them to set aside a boat for TPR (plus one family who were added to the back row not realizing a completely full TPR boat was gonna be heavy and get a bigger splash) and off we went. COMPLETELY soaked. . like being dipped into a bathtub. . and I loved it. the following pics are all from either Robb or Andy, I believe: the aftermath. . posing in front of the next boat's splash. with time in the day running out, several of us headed to the last section of the park - seemed to be themed to a lost Jungle/ruins, to ride the flats over there: a giant swing, an Enterprise, a Flying Carpet, and a "claw" the swing was ok, but kind of underwhelming to me because a) the cycle was so short, and b) I've been on the tallest one at SWSA here in Texas. it was fun, but not exciting, if that makes sense. loved the theming over here tho. . .very, very green and "overgrown" looking, but with rides just popping up in the center of it. Zodiac is the Enterprise. the Flying Carpet went down while we were in queue for the Enterprise (had to wait for next cycle), so didn't get to ride that - think it was just too close to end of day for Maintenance to mess with it today . . but it framed Swarm very nicely for a picture I thought and the claw was also over here. see? I LOVE Enterprises (Robb just asked about who loves them on the TPR Facebook page) . . . this one didn't run a great cycle. . and it was really quick considering how long it took the one operator to get it loaded. . but any Enterprise is a fun Enterprise. it was so close to the end of night, that Stacey and I hit a store for shopping before heading back to the Pavilion to meet up with the group. no, I didn't buy this. . but I was VERY tempted. LOL.. if it hadn't been at the start of the trip and I was already worrying about suitcase space, prolly would have grabbed it. as we waited for the park to clear (and more importantly the Hyperia line to clear thru), we headed over to Swarm for our 1st ERT. apparently the theming is an alien invasion. . tho Thorpe park does seem to have a thing for wrecked planes (there were several of them thruout the park as theming. . LOL). but I loved this. and I was actually sorry I hadn't gone over here during the daytime, as I absolutely LOVED this B&M Flyer. my favorite ride in the park, and I think I rode every cycle of our ERT. glass smooth with an amazing diving first drop, and an inversion over/thru the station - which is themed to a bombed out Church. the inversion I mentioned, from inside the station the design of the trains is SO good. . this is the back of the row in front of us! Pic courtesy of Elissa, I believe (or possibly Robb) following pics courtesy of Elissa, Robb, or Andy: whee. . . front row! after 25 minutes or so at Swarm (and I think 9 rides), we headed as a group over to Hyperia. HAHAHAHAHA. . and I actually *did* get a pic of the front of Ghost Train as we walked past it. so good on me. . tho all closed up, doesn't look too exciting. and here is the main course. . ERT on Hyperia. after it had warmed up and was running amazing. Edit: D'oh!!! that's Kristen with her Dad (Robb) in the seats behind me in this pic! She looks so much like her Mom! So this pic must be courtesy of Elissa. I couldn't ride Hyperia over and over, as by the end of the day, it was a wee bit too intense for me (I kept having to tuck my shirt back in after riding)! . . . so I didn't do every cycle, but I did ride 2, then rest, then 2 then rest, then 2 - including last ride. so I THINK I got six rides on it at end of night during our ERT? but some in the group ride every dispatch. . . more power to em! and they look like they are having a blast! end of night pic with our park guides, and the crew. . thank you to Thorpe Park for an amazing day! Pic by Robb and then it was time to head back to the bus for the ride back to the hotel. I *believe* this stunning pic of Stealth during sunset is from Brad. and back on the bus. .everyone is happy. . . except for Robb's plushie. getting back to the hotel, several of us headed back over to WagaMama for dinner. . . not really recalling what this is, but I think Firecracker chicken & pasta? and Gyoza. . so good. and after filling up on Wagamama? back to the room to shower, and crash. we had another busy day tomorrow - checking out of Hotel and off to the next hotel. but along the way? Suprise Park! we were gonna visit LegoLand Windsor for a few hours, and ride their brand new "mini figure speedway" dueling coaster. hopefully won't take me a month for that next update! -
Day 2 (part 1): Thorpe Park! First off, apologies that it's been so long since the Day1 update from Chessington. Life got in the way, and have been so dang busy! (I'm rewarding myself for doing two things I *had* to get done this weekend - completed, so came to update day 2). so, I didn't know very much about Thorpe Park. I mean, once there, I was familiar with one or two rides, but I had never really paid much attention to it, as it was in the UK and I'd probably never go there. and I prefer to be "surprised" so when going on a TPR trip, I almost never do a lot of research on the parks themselves. But I was very much aware about Hyperia, as folks had been talking about it for months, and I was keeping fingers crossed it would behave for us, as it had been having a lot of down time since it had officially opened. a fairly short bus trip later, and we were parking at Thorpe park and spotting Hyperia immediately from the entrance bridge across the lake to the park. the main entrance over the lake, is quite lovely: we were walked back to what would be our "basecamp" for the day - back at the events pavilion that's under those white tent-like building behind the water rides. that coaster there is "the Swarm" - which I recognized the name and hadn't realized was in THIS park. it was testing as we walked by, but we were there slightly before park open, so many of the rides still stood silent. better view of Swarm from our basecamp pavilion patio. . and that white coaster back there is Stealth - but that one seemed like it was down today, as folks were working on it. just before the park opened, our hosts were very kind and walked us back to Hyperia. . . we weren't getting ERT on it until after park close, but everyone was excited to be over there and near the front of the line when it opened. it's a lovely park, and walking thru, I simply had not realized this is a major thrill park. . with many "extreme" rides. just looking on RCBD, of the 8 roller coasters at this park, SIX of them are ranked "Extreme". the other is the kiddie coaster, and an indoor coaster. and the flats are pretty crazy too. . so this is really a park going for the adrenaline junkies. . . we were held in front of the queue, and when the park opened, the opened up the queue and we all headed thru the back and forths and then it tested once (or twice) and. .stopped. the line, which had already gotten a bit long was held just before entry into the actual ride queue. (which is beautiful by the way) we hung out in the line about 20 minutes, reasoning if it does open soon, it's still going to be a shorter line than any other time today. but the other coasters nearby started cycling with guests. this is Colossus. *(and you can see the full rows of queue behind us already) the park announced they weren't quite ready to open yet, and had no established time to open Hyperia. since this was a new park to many of us, most decided to call it (we were supposed to ride later anyways with ERT) and we headed to the closest coaster, Colossus. over the shoulder restraints? uh oh. . this is the 10 inversion coaster! it's pretty. . but yeah, it beat the crap out of me. . .so one and done. luckily I had aspirin with me and popped on right away. while we were on Colossus, Hyperia started testing. . but the train was full of water dummies (we know they were water dummies, because some of the lids weren't closed tightly and in some inversions the sprays of water were as impressive as fireworks. it was pretty funny. water dummies are a good sign, but also means it wasn't opening right away yet. anyways, we were over here by Samurai (the Top Scan at the lower bottom) and Saw: the Ride (on the left there) I don't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure we had fast pass at this park (only ride it wasn't good on was Hyperia). . so the line was short enough we got in it for Samurai it ran a pretty good cycle too. . .again, this seemed to be a park geared to the extreme thrillseekers. Watching Saw cycle next door while waiting for our ride. and then we headed under the bridge and past Colossus towards the custom Gerstlauer Eurofighter NOT a fan of Eurofighters, but I was loving the theming (you drop undeneath spinning sawblades). . .so we got in line. it moved fairly slow - capacity, I guess, or maybe someone that couldn't fit in the seats? but eventually we made it up to the platform. and there is some nice theming in the queue line. Stacey and I finally at the station! how was it. . . um. . pretty rough I thought. but I've been on worse Eurofighters. This one did have some headbang - I recall we sat in the front row. but others who rode it said it wasn't that bad. so maybe we just had a janky car? anyways. . 1 and done. Hyperia seemed to be cycling now. . so we headed back over to be faced with a pretty massive line. lunch was fairly soon, and we didn't want to miss that, so instead we stopped into the bathrooms over there (themed and Neon). . kewl. the closest I got to Hyperia this morning and then headed over to a section we hadn't been in yet - which was sorta on the way back to the Pavilion. ooo.. .the "Hyperia Fairies" were out and about - I didn't realize that these folks are part of the show that gets put on near the entrance (more pics of that coming up soon). . but they were happy to pose for pics. this guy was the Choreographer of the show, from what I understand. but they were all charming. Mr Monkeys Banana Ride!! what amazing theming for a swinging ship ride. . LOL yeah, baby!!! we headed back to the pavilion for a very decent lunch served to us by the park: and then our hosts surprised us by giving each of us a one time pass for Hyperia to use the quick queue line. . .so many of us - myself included - headed over to Hyperia to have a ride. here's the aforementioned show that takes place several times a day at the stage near the ride entrance. without even asking, Stacey and I got assigned to Front Row !! we took the advantage - mainly because it meant that later during ERT we wouldn't have to ride in the front, and could leave that open for those folks who love the front row. ya'll. . it's SO good. yes, it's a little short, but so what. . that extended stall is incredible. LOVED it after our ride, we headed back over to the section we had just peeked our head into on the way to lunch, and continued into it. . . our next ride was going to "Nemesis Inferno" - a B&M suspended themed in (and around) a volcano. the view from the Nemesis Inferno queue: entrance to the river rapids ride, which was closed this morning, but seemed to be cycling empty rafts, Stealth - still no life in it, but the maintenance folks who had been working on it earlier were now gone, Swarm in the background, and next to it Tidal Wave, the parks' Chute the Shoots ride - that seemed to be VERY wet. a look at the Chute the Shoots. . that drop is a bit steep! the drop tower on the right (behind Nemesis track) was not open today. Nemesis Inferno Queue. . with "active" volcano in the queue this compact B&M has some real kick. . I loved this. . and ended up being my 3rd favorite coaster in the park - behind Swarm & Hyperia. really rather intense, and it mostly stays pretty close to the ground. when we got off Nemesis Inferno, we noticed the rafts were now running with People in them. . .so several of us (minus Stacey - who didn't want to get wet) hopped in the completely empty queue for a walk on (remember, it had JUST opened, and I don't think word had gotten out yet) it was a fun little raft ride, that was more "spritz" than "soaked". . but it helped cool down what had turned into a warm day. most importantly tho? Stealth - the Intamin Launch coaster - had started testing while we were on the rafts! unlike the rafts, the whole park could see that Stealth was testing so there were quite a few folks milling around the entrance. but it had not opened yet. so after giving it a few minutes, we headed over to the other coasters we hadn't hit yet: Flying Fish - a Mack powered coaster, and took a spin on that (tho I don't seem to have taken any other pictures of it) by the time we got off our ride - and I think he sent us around 4 times, so it was a good long ride - Stealth *had* opened, and was cycling with riders. so we headed back over that way. even with the quick queue the line had gotten pretty decent, quickly. again, it's capacity, even tho this has a longer train than things like TTD or Xcellerator still. . .So worth it. . it's an amazing ride! even if it only lasts, 12 seconds or something like that. and yes! lucked out again with front row. the only other coaster we hadn't done yet (besides Swarm, which I had forgotten about, but we had some ERT on it later anyways) was the indoor coaster. . .now themed to the Walking Dead. hmmmmmmmm. . . . . most of it was long, dark, corridors - that go on for a long time - as part of the queue. The theme is that you are being "cleared" to enter Terminus. . so they are putting you thru the pens, and testing (the queue) and then put you on the train (the coaster itself) to take you there. it's a fun little indoor coaster, and we ended up riding this twice since we liked it enough - once later in the day, and that time there were lots of "live" zombies in the exit portion of the queue, chasing after you. to be continued. . .
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I went to the park last July to experience The Bobcat and wow such a great addition. Goog layout, zippy and smooth glass. I wish some parks in the Northeast would order a larger Gravity Group woodie! -
By moviemansig · Posted
Here is a trip report. The Giant Dipper was the first ride of the day we did and it had just one train operation. I did Wave Rider for the first time, where you sit in a roll out rug and slide feet down. It was pretty enjoyable. Surge, which came out this year, is a spinning ride that goes up, down, and sideways. I definitely enjoyed it. Dream Wheel, which also debuted this year, is a gondola like Ferris wheel. It's an open-air configuration that rotates, but it feels like you're stationary as much as you're in motion. The views are quite good, but overall it's just a so-so ride. I did Twirlin’ Teacups for the first time. This is a spinning ride where you control the spin. It's tame, but kind of fun. Lastly, I did Lighthouse Lift-Off for the first time. This one has a unique design. You determine the height of the ride by pulling on an attached rope and then can release it anytime, but for the best experience would want to release it at the top. You can do this multiple times. I liked it, especially for its different approach. -
By SoCalJasonland · Posted
Honestly, I saw the article, posted it, and I was thinking that SFNO was going to be a small water park and sports fields, so something good for them. But then Prozach pointed out the lack of funding though: "Bayou Phoenix is still lining up the anchor hotels and water park operators which are expected to finance their piece of the project." So, why demo the park if this is just another unfunded project to redo SFNO? You can't see it from a domed stadium, but I don't know if you can see it from the plane to the airport or if they think the news will report on it. I could believe that there is a demolition contractor that could convince city officials that it is a bad look for a city hosting the Superbowl. I am sure us people in So Cal will bus a few homeless and druggies up to San Fran so they don't embarrass Los Angeles during the 2028 Olympics plus put some lipstick on our other pigs. You have to look good, I guess, when you hold an important event. This is speculation, but why demo something when there is nothing but empty space around you where you could develop for cheaper? Per the Vice Abandoned episode, there is no shortage of vacant unused land in the area. I would like something to happen for New Orleans but after 10 - 20 years of hopeful news articles, I need to see some actual action instead of faiiled dreams. -
By jedimaster1227 · Posted
^I don’t get the sense that this would be a major motivator for moving ahead with finally clearing the site unless it was being replaced with something that was not only a draw but would be ready in time for the Superbowl crowds, neither of which are realistically possible between now and February. They’re also 18 minutes’ drive apart, so it isn’t necessarily a major eye sore (any more than it has been since Hurricane Katrina) enough to justify to push. -
By SoCalJasonland · Posted
Since New Orleans is going to have all eyes on it, and people flying into the city from all over the country for Superbowl 2025; I wonder if that put any urgency into cleaning up some of the old 2005 hurricane Katrina damage? The movie idea is good but New Orleans really can't afford tax breaks any more than California can at this point, and movie companies hate taxes;-) I thought about it and I would like to see Eli Roth do a low budget Cabin Fever or similar type horror movie of an ex-exployee that wore a evil mardi gras clown suit and wasn't happy about the park closing so he stayed in the park and killed anyone trying to sneak into the park to film it. He would take the dead bodies and build a dark ride with the stuffed corpses as props. -
It's motorized swan boats that go up and down a small creek. There's a miniature train on the riverbank next to you and the Skyride crosses overhead. It's funny that Great Escape still has a Skyride considering that the incident that led to some other parks closing their Skyrides happened there. But yeah, the place was totally dead so we got a boat to ourselves and it's just a really peaceful experience and it feels like there's no way you're in an actual Six Flags park. Like I said, this park sucks from a thrill standpoint (aside from having two good woodies and an awesome skyscraper ride) but it's a park I would love to have as a home park as it's just a great place to have a relaxing day for a few hours. You almost experience withdrawal not having to deal with roving groups of teenage douchebags acting like idiots everywhere. For example... Fully operational freestyle machines right out in the open with no employees nearby to monitor them. Meanwhile, 200 miles to the south at Great Adventure they took all their freestyle machines and had to move them to where only employees can access them. Because New Jersey. I would love to see this park take out Steamin Dump and replace it with some kind of family launcher like SFNE is getting. But otherwise it doesn't bother me at all that their lineup is what it is. It's a nice family park. -
By SoCalJasonland · Posted
Knotts is dead during the week in most of September and October during the day. Fridays can be busier, and don't go on Saturday or Sunday. Keep an eye out for ride rehabs during the offseason but they will try to keep Ghostrider and the logride open during peak haunt. The daytime ride staff may be short handed so operations will likely be slow but he lack of crowds and hopefully lack of heat will make it better than a weekend or the summer. Hopefully by then, all of these fires will be out. I haven't been in a few weeks since it has been really hot out here. I am trying to go back but have been busy lately. If I can find out what is going on with Silver Bullet, I will for you. -
By SoCalJasonland · Posted
I know it is a lot harder to find good food at SFMM, but Knotts has added some decent stuff over the past few years. It is still less than 10% of the total offerings if I had to guess. I still wish that they had fresh brewed iced tea instead of the general unsweatened stuff on the mixed soft drink machine. It doesn't have sugar or artificial flavors but I still trust real iced tea better. I don't drink soda much but an occasional boysenberry soda is a treat when I find a machine without unsweetened tea. The Boardwalk BBQ and Mexican restauraunt with the burrito bowls are as healthy as the stuff I cook at home so I don't complain too much:-) I hope the legacy Six Flags parks get some better food based upon what Knotts offers and not the other way around. -
By prozach626 · Posted
Sounds like a fun day. It seems like parks are really starting to push the envelope of what is considered a family coaster. Drink a Gatorade next time. It's full of chemicals and refined sugar, but the electrolytes may help. I'm assuming you don't carry magnesium, zinc, sodium and/or potassium supplements, like almost no normal person does. (I do at work. lol) I used to think drinking my weight in water would help get rid of headaches, but that can actually flush out your electrolytes. Anyway... just a tip. What's up with the boat ride? That looks pretty chill. -
By prozach626 · Posted
Well done. I like GeisterWölf (Ghost Wolf). Basically the return of Big Bad Wolf from the dead.
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