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Media Day: A Sneak Peek at the Loch Ness Monster & More The steep plunge, interlocking loops, and dark cavern helix of Busch Gardens’ Loch Ness Monster have been thrilling riders since 1978. For many Virginia locals, it was the first “big” coaster their kids could ride, and the park takes a lot of pride in it. But age, metal fatigue, and maintenance issues can catch up with any coaster, and the Monster was no exception. But anyone worried about the ride’s future can relax when the Loch Ness Monster: The Legend Lives On opens this May. The park shutdown the ride last year and started a major renovation project. The coaster’s classic profile now boasts 900 feet of shiny new track fabricated by Premier in Utah--this includes the signature loops. But the track isn’t the only part getting some love. New thematic elements are being added to the queue and station, along with a new sound system, to help tell the story of the hunt for the legendary sea serpent. New special effects, especially in the cavern, will give riders the chance to see the Loch Ness Monster “very vividly,” according to Kevin Lembke, the park president--but that’s a story for another day (I presume next month). Busch Gardens invited Theme Park Review for a first look at the Loch Ness Monster Sighting Center and the refreshed queue and station. They also shared what they’ve been doing to bring the 50-year-old Squire’s Grill restaurant up-to-date and let us sample a bit of the new fare for this year’s Food and Wine Festival. I didn’t see the Monster today--maybe I should’ve brought binoculars--but I can give you a look at the queue, station, and some other things. Come on in. Theme Park Review thanks Busch Gardens Williamsburg for inviting us to their media event. See you in May! EDIT: May 10 is the official opening date. Platinum and Premier members will have exclusive early ride time on May 2. All members have early ride time May 3-5. Welcome to Scotland! Nessie's entrance is looking quite spiffy. Kevin Lembke, park president, and Suzy Cheely, vice president, design and engineering, fill us in on how the legend will be living on. OK, adventurers--follow Suzy! The station now looks more like an old castle than it used to--complete with with rather medieval looking winches. They've added more "texture" to the walls and floors, too--along with a new Quick Queue entrance. I like that the transfer track is covered now. A little shade will help on hot, sunny days. They added an office to the queue, with plenty of high-tech (well, for the early 1900s) gadgetry. Photograph the Monster of Loch Ness! Win money, money money! (Well, if they allow you to take your camera on the ride.) Richard Smith, of Guernsey Tingle Architects in Williamsburg, tells us a bit about the coaster's back story: Nessie has finally been seen again after a long absence, and guests now have a chance to join the expedition searching for her. They're still adding thematic elements to the queue, as well. About 50% of the contractors working on the ride are local, and companies from Orlando and elsewhere are also involved in the Loch Ness Monster renovation. Here's the lower queue installed for the ride's 40th anniversary. It's pretty much the same. Look at those shiny new loops. Who wants to dine at the new Squire's Grill? They're upgrading the menu, too. Plans call for some seasonal burgers, with a chili-cheese burger to start. Hmm--I wonder what sorts of burgers they have planned for Howl-o-Scream and Christmas Town. Hungry guests will enter through this door and order and pay for their food. Guests pick up their food in here--under the watchful lords of the House of Spork. Here's what interior will look like. Seating will be outdoors, and there's a new covered seating area off to the left as you face the restaurant (around the corner). It should be a big improvement over the old facility. Big Ben is getting some love too--including a new motor. The Loch Ness Monster: The Legend Lives On Sighting Center opens "officially" this Friday (April 5). Read all about the history of this classic coaster here . . . . . . and see some classic photos, such as the "Flying Elvi." I think Nessie is related to Mega Shark. Speaking of "chomp," here's a sample of what to expect at this year's Food and Wine Festival: Peri Peri Chicken (Africa), Dalgona Korean Coffee (South Korea), Simit (a savory bread ring from Turkey), Bourbon Chocolate Tart (BarKastle), and Coban Salatasi (Turkey). There will be 85 new food items this year--these are 5 of them. "See you in May--GRRR! ROAR! GROWL!" Thanks for reading.

Highlights: - The new Power Surge is not a portable model. It's permanent. I didn't even know that they made permanent models. The program will be crazier. The ride will not open on opening day. - They repainted Impulse even though it barely needed it - The park is very well staffed this year already - Every car of the Bayern Kurve apparently had it's own PLC. They've changed that. The delays have been due to that but it should be open in 2024. They also just had to reallocate people to other projects last year, like reopening the Skyway (suck it Lake Compounce). The ride will be the fastest ride in the park. The max speed is 70 mph. They're not sure if they can safely run it at 70 mph but they're going to try and if not, run it as close to 70mph as possible. - Some changes have been made to some haunted mansion scenes. - The cub cars are going away for awhile but will probably be back. This is where the Rock O Plane will go (between Phoenix and Fandango). The ride will not open on opening day. - They replaced a lot of sections of the flume. It will open around Memorial Day. - Paratrooper and the Teacups are both undergoing restorations and will open later in the year. - Sky Slide is coming back after being closed since the start of the Pandemic. It may not reopen this year but it will finally reopen. Hopefully no lawyer actually looks at it. -They've done a bunch of track work on the three wood coasters but that's to be expected.

I've seen some pretty over the top locker takes in the last few days, but I will say one thing... if the only way for a guest to read a park map is on their phone, they shouldn't be charged for needing to store it. If the park is already operating under the assumption that every guest will have a smart phone on them, the ride policies need to reflect this as well. I don't understand what could have changed during ride testing that would affect having your phone and keys inside a zipper pocket. Like... the explanation that it was a late change due to testing and Zamperla recommendation doesn't make any sense. And they can't add zipper pouches to the trains like RMC has done?

I miss the old "just dump your crap in this bin" systems that were so ubiquitous before Six Flags decided that single-use pay-per-ride lockers were the way to go. Like surge pricing, it has only led to frustrations and annoyance across the industry.

I've learned that Mom is always right, even when she isn't.

So we unexpectedly ended up at SFStL for 75min on Saturday night before close. It was my first Six Flags park in 15 months! - Electric vehicle parking was interesting and they had a lot of those spots, didn't realize it was new. Wonder if it will last? - Employees seemed very friendly, but I would hope so as we were on day two of operation! - Freeze still running amazing! - New kiddie coaster decent, like what Vekoma has become and what they're doing from the kiddie to the big rides. - Screamin Eagle ended our night with a double ride and a nice crew! - When did drinks become $7-$10!?!?!?! People complain about Disney pricing need to go to Six Flags!!!

^ YAY for a Marvin encounter! Me here, with K-9, Marvin's pet dog, at SFMM/ Sept-2016.

Watched the POV of new Fire in the Hole on the main page here. I think they did a great job of keeping the original spirit of the ride but with some modern elements. I think some might complain they didn't change enough and I can kind of see that, but keeping it simple is probably better for them in the long run. It seems a shorter ride now? Might just be perception though. On a more personal level I'm super happy to see they kept the painting at the end of the ride of the guy with his foot sticking out, my kids always love trying to reach up and grab his foot as they pass under

Nobody is going to walk a literal mile round trip to save $2, and if they do... just let them do it. lol

Paintball park coming in 2025.

Don't you mean..... Faire enough?

Snoopy's Soap Box Racers testing I like the color scheme and graphics on the train.

or.. maybe don't go to a fully immersive LARPing event if you're not into it? (it's why i don't bother with Renaissance Festivals)

Day 20: Thursday, June 22nd - Power Park Part II the Pizza Buffet was decorated just as "eclectically" as the rest of the park. it was over a grill (on the 1st floor) that only seemed to sell cheeseburgers & Pepsi - shades of Classic SNL), but upon going up the stairs, greeted by this funky Roman guard. why? hell if I know. sticking with the Owner's plane theme tho. .there are lots of planes in here hanging from the ceiling. how that ties with the Roman guy? yeah.. again, I dunno. the buffet had a few things more than just pizza (which was so so - tho they again had the pizza with corn on it). the Chicken nuggets and happy face hashbrowns were good, I recall. oh. there was also an Indian. .and a witch mirror (which I liked, especially the bat under it) and can't forget the Conquistador - that was guarding the staircase down to the burgerjoint below. pleasantly full, we headed out to the section of the park near the front that we hadn't explored yet. The sky was turning a bit darker, and it was getting a little chillier. . . luckily the hotel was right across the street, so made a quick stop while over here at the gates, to grab a hoodie. the Pizza place is on the 2nd floor of this building. the green tower is the park's Asian themed drop tower. the mentioned "main entrance" for the Hotel guests. . that building back on the left is the giant events center and the Movie theater. they were setting up for a big concert coming the next day. . didn't recognize the band names, but they apparently are popular in Finland. Time Square is another Kiddie flying carpet type ride. back behind it you can see a few other kiddie rides. back there is also the parks smallest coaster, and a shooting dark ride. the cars are a bit "steampunk". . so maybe that's the "Time" in the name of the ride? on the left was a weird little "station" that definitely gave me the impression that at one point it was a loading platform for a small train. the park doesn't have a train, and it's an odd "oversight".. so I've got to wonder if they used to have a trackless train type ride that at one point used this as it's station? no ride here. .but hey, a Rabbit riding a carrot. sure, why not? Mine Train is the parks final coaster, it's a Zamperla family coaster, with a fun little layout. tho they certainly made it less "family" and more "kiddie" with the train design which had VERY tight seats - especially after gorging on pizza buffet. but we squeezed our butts in! Next door was a car ride which was part Jurassic Park, part Antique Taxi, and part " we got this ride via multiple Garage Sales" here's Kristen and Brayden, looking excited to ride! ooo.. nice theming. . very Blair Witch. rather than squeeze into the front seat, we chose to ride front and back. look how excited we are! (and got yelled at by the operator for having my phone out. I was confused. this is a slow moving car ride that you aren't steering, but was told that I MUST put my phone away - and note, several extreme rides I had been on today, was told it was ok to have phone out for pics - so I went ahead and put my phone away and we "enjoyed" the ride. but it was weird, that THIS is the ride they won't let you take pics on. you can take pics OF it. . . so they aren't concerned about the content of the ride, or the design. it was just weird. hmm. . the drop tower hadn't gone in a while.. was it down? answer was yes, it was down. . but the same maintenance guy was there working on it, and he did get it back up. so Kudos to this amazing Mr. Fixit, who was able to get every down ride back up and running. we went on it a little while later. Kiddie Ferris Wheel, and behind it looks like a Himalaya, that I don't even remember seeing, so I didn't ride it! whoops. walking around the Dino Safari ride, to go to the park's dark ride. . here's a pic of the kind of Dinos you'll see on the safari. yup. . a plastic Zebra. this area suddenly got very well themed, to kind of a western Boom Town. Really well done. don't recall if the Steakhouse was open, but as we had recently eaten, didn't check anyways. here's the Dark Ride. . the Devil's Mine hotel (I think it's called that?) this one had working animatronics, even on the outside. with the cowboy up top talking to people in the queue, and various characters emitting "bodily noises" and it's a SHOOTING dark ride. I hoped it was good. and it was. . it was VERY good, I recall. I rode this thing at least 4-5 times. speaking of motion activated animatronics in this area: (yes, he yells at you for watching him while he's pooping. . .complete with fart sounds). As the sky threatened to open up, I headed back over towards Pitts Special to get a ride on it, just in case the Evening ERT had to be cancelled. passing back thru the "main street area" I again was impressed with the facades here. a photo-op to sit on a Cowboy's knee? why sure! I rode Pitts Special - I didn't care for it (not a fan of vertical lifts. . but this one doesn't even have inversions, so it seemed "not worth it". the fact I didn't get any pics of it when I went over to ride it? kinda says it all. heading back up to the rides in the front I hadnt' gotten on yet, I eyed this as I passed it. I was GONNA ride it, just had to get my nerve up. you can really see how threatening the sky was looking in this picture tho. an adorable kiddie flume, that really wasn't operating today as there just weren't a lot of tiny kids in the park. but look how cute! I will say that Pitts Special LOOKS pretty neat. .that ampersand feature. . .I mean, it looks like it SHOULD have inversions. taking a spin on Typhoon - going thru the house really adds so much to this ride - as does going completely upside-down. oh. .I actually DO have some pics from when I went over to ride Pitts Special. . just had them filed wrong. here ya go, a few pics of the Gerstlauer coaster with the Vertical Lift and looking the other direction, this is Junker. . with the loops. I AM "Kapteeni Koukku" I think this is a stage for a show, that they probably run on busy weekend days. from the backdrop, guessing it's a comedy pirate show. I've grown to appreciate these rides. . they are way more fun than they look, even tho really you're just going in a circle and controlling the "swing out" the Enterprise ran the whole rest of the day once it got fixed, but I can't recall if I went and got another ride on it. at first couldn't remember why i took this pic, then realized it was to catch the collapsing balcony on the tower there on the 2nd floor. I'm not sure WHY it does that, but it was pretty cool to watch steeling up my courage, headed towards the big ride I was gonna force myself to ride. *and I think this is when I grabbed my Mr. Slushie. taken from in line for this thing. I DID ride it, and we didn't' flip much. . so it really wasn't near as terrifying as I was afraid it was gonna be. in fact, this was running a crazier cycle than the one I was worried was gonna flip. luckily it stopped before I got too sick to my stomach. LOVE the angry fish faces on the cars tho a few more pics of Thunderbird, while over here. . . and then a treat for me. it was time to ride the Carousel! and Mike and Jon rode with me too. .so wasn't the only on riding. yup. . my happy place. while we were on the carousel, the drop tower started working again, so we went right next door to ride it. as with the starflyer, there are two separate lines: one for thrilling drop, and one side where it cycles as an observation tower. we chose fast, of course pretty neat that the top of the loading station is clear, so you can look up and see the prior riders. and the queue line has windows too. . so was able to get this shot of Collin, Barry, and Andy as they also had come right over when it started running again. after that ride, it was back to the dark ride (again) with yet another shot of the Dino Safari... that seems to have no dinosaurs, just zebras and military trucks. oh, I found this other carousel too this park lets you bring your doggie if you want to, and you can put them in the stocks while you enjoy the park. so of course I had to! I saved one of the best for last. . . I sat and watched this for a while, tho didn't ride it. it's the gayest, straight ride I've ever seen. you climb on top of the "bull" and wrap your arms and legs tightly around the "bull weiner". . and then it bucks like crazy to try and throw you off, while LOUD music blasts from those speakers. no. . really. I was worried about breaking my neck - even with all that padding underneath it.. so I just enjoyed watching. it has different settings too. and the operator controlled how extreme it was gonna be. i tell you. . just TONS of enjoyment watching this crap. . LOL it was time for our evening ERT over on Pitts Special, so we headed that way. now, I might be mis-remembering this, as it's been 10 months, but I *believe* Robb asked us if we wanted to do ERT on Pitts Special, or just do Junker again, and it was unanimously decided that Junker was the better coaster, so did that instead. while waiting for them to clear the short queueline, snapped some pics of the back end of Junker. (while getting eaten to death by mosquitos who came out in forces as it got overcast) some wonderful woodcarvings on the sides of the buildings back behind Junker. including the hawk (Eagle?) with it's catch the garages where the owner of the park keeps some of his classic cars (per the operator I was chatting with) whee!!! and now back on for more ERT.. this seems to be my pic, since I'm not on this train. . but I think the rest of them are from Elissa (and yes, I was so glad I had grabbed my hoodie) the Ride building, with a weird restroom/storage area for park food carts beneath it. and then a pleasant surprise. . . more ERT. on Thunderbird. I really liked the coaster, so was a happy "yes" for this too. i think I rode every cycle on this ERT, so these pics must be courtesy of Elissa (I see Robb, Andy, and Brad on the train) rider cam. . WHOOOOOOO!!!! just look at that smile on me. . such a good coaster. even if it DID 'put put put' thru the brake run every time, sloooooowly inching into the station. Steve looks thrilled. . HA! and then it was over, and time to go back to the hotel. Robb sent to the group chat a couple of spectacular pics he got from the top of Dragon Tower - when it was in "observation mode" look how amazing the setting for this place is! Pitts Special from the Dragon Tower, thanks to Robb. and back to the hotel to refresh for dinner. this was the welcome mat at the hotel: and before dinner, wandered a bit to snap pics of the oddball theming. the 2nd floor over the dining room - called the Lido Deck - looked like it was a bar area for use when they were really crowded. but there were planes hanging in the hotel too.. so not JUST boat themed. Eclectic! taken thru a closed glass door. . hence the reflection. very Nautical. . . the lobby on our side of the hotel, and Main Deck is the dining room. I believe the appetizer and Desert were the same as the prior night and that's why have no pics. but I do have a pic of my main course this evening. . . and I'm STILL confused by "why a cup of ketchup with my fish?" and the watermelon seems a bit out of place as well. one last look out the window towards Power Park. . and with that, I went to the room, packed stuff up, and was ready to head out in the morning. had been such a fun day, and I really enjoyed the wackiness of this place. tomorrow. . onwards to Sarkamniemi

note that Pepe is there too. nothing to do with "woke". . .which is a GOOD word, it needs to be taken back from those who think it's an insult.

I don't usually care that much about mascots but I sure got super excited when I saw Marvin!

The prophecy is fulfilled! Or maybe not. But isn't it pretty to think so?

Surge pricing is a plague...

Why is everyone all up in arms? Once Six Flags officially merges in, there will be no more free lockers anyway. Cedar Point will basically be Great Adventure without the Saturday night fistfights

Well, if they're going with Zamperla, this would make an interesting replacement for the Spider, hm? https://www.zamperla.com/product/zarantula

I'm actually really surprised people are voting yes, if I'm being completely honest.

Europa Park just released the POV of it's newest roller coaster Voltron

While not on my planned trips for 2023/2024, when my wife found out that Kelly Clarkson was doing a limited residency in Las Vegas, before I knew it, we had tickets booked. This would be my second visit to Las Vegas to date (my first-timer report can be found here) and for this reason, the focus was less on rides and attractions (though I did squeeze in a few) and more on shows, Area 15, experiences and an underlying search for "Lost Vegas" along the way. I have been fascinated with the ebbs and flows of Vegas' attempts to offer family experiences and as such, looking at the legacy resorts on and off of the Strip to see what they tried (and in most cases, ultimately removed) to appeal to travelers with younger guests became a goal to seek out. It is worth noting that the weekend of the concert (Friday and Saturday) was also shared with a little-known sporting event... We might have been the only people in town that came in for the weekend but not to end up here. We left on Saturday afternoon before the Sunday madness set in. We scored a fantastic rate for a recently refurbished room at the Rio. The hotel itself was fairly standard, as was the casino, but as I was leaving the resort to head to their Uber pick-up, I noticed the peculiar structures in the ceiling that distinctly looked like some kind of track. And I'd know a covered station anywhere... As it turns out, there was once an attraction called Masquerade in the Sky, a parade/show of sorts that guests and performers could ride along floats overhead the casino and throw beads from above. In ended its run in 2013 and the track is no longer in use. We arrived late in the evening, but not too late to venture out for a quick stop at The Golden Tiki. The Golden Tiki is filled with tiki decor throughout and features lots of fun surprises in each room. Not unlike Trader Sam's on either coast, this bar does feature some effects that are triggered when guests order specific drinks. Tiki flight for the win! The space is truly gorgeous! And yes, they have a real, working animatronic tiki bird perched above one side of the bar. Fire makes all tiki drinks better! I spy with my little eye, something Mary Blair! The next morning we made our way to our next stop with our drive revealing lots of preparations for the Super Bowl under way. I remember the Eiffel Tower being much larger the last time I saw it up close... While delicious and refreshing, we didn't have time to visit the Coca-Cola Store during this trip. We really enjoyed it last time! I went into this trip fairly confident I wouldn't be riding any coasters this time around, but I would end up being wrong. Unlike our previous visit where the dry heat had us drowning in sweat, this time around we were graced with beautifully cold weather throughout our weekend. A pleasant surprise was the panoramic view of snow-capped mountains not too far off in the distance. Our main objective for the day... Liftoff was something I was very excited to try. I can tell you I was VERY excited to finally get a chance to check out Area 15. We didn't have enough time during our last trip to stop by and especially after the Orlando location was announced, I was doubly eager to visit for myself. I think people often underestimate just how much there is in the current Area 15 complex, not to mention how much more is coming in the year ahead. I've seen VR simulators before but never ones where you can actually simulate the experience of bird-style flight first-hand. The Sanctuary Lounge is a visual focal point inside Area 15 and looks like such a neat venue in which to hang out. Asylum Bar & Arcade is a great place to get a drink and play some games. Omega Mart was the biggest draw for us, having loved experiential explore at your own pace offerings like teamLab Borderless in Japan or City Museum in St. Louis. This would also be our first Meow Wolf installation. Omega Mart starts off feeling very familiar but upon closer inspection, you'll notice little (and sometimes big) details that make everything feel "off." A majority of the products on the shelves of Omega Mart are purchasable... No, this image isn't corrupted. The meat counter is full of fresh options that feel otherworldly and nutritious. Pjork is the most kosher of meats. Without spoiling the "how," you are able to escape the confines of the Omega Mart storefront to unlock worlds of technological, supernatural and multi-dimensional intrigue... Each room offers different experiences, many of them are hands on and interactive and others are passive but lengthy in that you can stay to experience a variety of content if you give it time. Spaces throughout the experience can be as narrow as a tight crawl space (my claustrophobia kicked in at one point) to massive rooms such as this... And visual effects such as projection mapping transform those spaces as you visit them, so exploration and re-visitation is recommended. There is just so much to take in at Omega Mart. And nothing is as it seems here! There's an underlying story about a family who gets involved in an interdimensional produce business and that family's sinister intentions... Some rooms are just ridiculously cool to experience in person. Paying attention to detail as you move between spaces can... Yield some interesting visual payoffs. You can buy Happles from the Omega Mart store if you so wish. I watched this full video loop and I was absolutely engrossed. Familiar but different. Nothing is exactly as it appears in Omega Mart and there's lots to discover. I recommend giving yourself lots of time to take in the stories and explore. You never know what you'll find... There's a lot of spaces within Area 15 that just look ridiculously cool! And yes, the rails you see overhead are for a powered hang-gliding experience around the interior of the complex. Museum Fiasco was an absolute visual overload! Wink World is described as a "psychedelic art house" developed by Chris Wink, one of the founding members of Blue Man Group. I won't ruin the experience other than to say that as you progress from room to room, the effects and visuals (in sync with custom music) as mesmerizing to say the least. Very Tron-esque. While there are more scenes to be experienced, this earlier one was one of my favorites...

Pretty amazing how they only figured out it would be down for the whole year 3 days before opening, after plenty of people had paid for their season passes. Coincidences all around, I guess.

^ oh no, I'm not a LARPer . . at all. and outside, in the woods? with people being "in character" ??? add tons of bugs, and it's HELL for me

We planned two days on our own in Helsinki, after the end of the TPR trip, in order to do Erik & Smisty things. And we did! Here are the less good ones. (I don't know, it just worked out that way.) 26: Cork Is Sorry Up bright and early, but it's hard to tell because our hotel is in Finland and that's where the sun lives. Gotta have some beans and a donut to get me going, though. Helsinki is nice, and I'm happy to spend time in pretty much any northern European city--or really almost anywhere that I've never been. But, having said that, it's no Stockholm. Ooh, a grocery store! Yes, we're easily amused. OR We're fun and you're the problem. Ever think of that?? This seems like an unhealthy selection of breakfast cereals even by American standards. And I eat beans and donuts for breakfast, Speaking of unhealthy and American: I'd been looking for this particular Ben & Jerry's flavor the entire trip, after having encountered it at Gröna Lund in 2019., and really enjoying it. (Apparently it's a UK "only" flavor.) Okay, now that you mention it, "baby back ribs" is a pretty weird name for a food already, but leaving the word 'back' out of it doesn't make it better. Helsinkians really provide for their seagulls. Helsinkites? Helsinks? (I would go with 'Hellions' if it were me.) Time to ferry about! No wait, ferries carry cars. Water taxi? We're gonna ride on a boat boat, is my point. "Switch costumes, you ignominious pretender!" If you understand this reference, congratulations! You are unique in all the world and also you're me and your brain is broken. We did not ride the SkyWheel Helsinki, so I cannot say whether or not licorice consumption is required onboard. But what I can tell you is that the single brown cabin is the world's only sauna on a Ferris wheel. Actually, I'm just assuming it's the world's only. Their website actually says, "world's first," which seems to imply that someone else has since built another one. However, I can find no evidence of this. Which forces me to consider the even more insane possibility that SkyWheel Helsinki was so sure someone else would immediately copy this idea that they just went with 'first' right out of the gate. And here we arrive at our destination: Korkeasaari Zoo, which is located on an island. Just to reiterate: this entire island is a zoo. Which is awesome. But, to be honest, it feel less like an island that they brought a bunch of zoo animals to, and more like an island that just kind of had some animals on it already, so they declared it a zoo. So, the location is cool, but is the zoo actually any good? Well, no. Did you not read the last caption? But perhaps I'm being too harsh. It does have this leopard. And a statue of a goat. Note the building in the background. Which is a restaurant named--and I swear I'm not making this up--Restaurant Pukki. Which did not make us vomit, I am happy to say. Probably the most interesting animals at Korkeasaari, Amur tigers. Other things of note: Korkeasaari is the largest zoo in Finland, was established in 1899, and is open year round. These are also animals of some kind. Karhulinna means "bear castle." Yep, that's a bear. The old, no longer in use, bear castle. You know, from back when people thought that bears would be more comfortable in a castle than surrounded by trees and stuff. And that they might like being stared at by a mural of a tiger all day. Look, I'm pro-zoo, but just tear this thing down and never speak of it again, you know? "I bless the herpetariums of Afriii-cAsia!" Pop quiz: Is this snake from Africa or Asia? If it helps, I 100% do not remember because I didn't take a photo of the sign and it's been like 10 months since then and this is easily the longest trip report I've ever done and I'm starting to have regrets. I guess there's more to a zoo than just animals. There's also wooden planks. They're not exactly the word leader in gift shops, either. Wait, you can walk on and off this island? Why did we take a boat?? At this point, I can't really even get off on a naked statue unless there's a seagull on its head. We wanted to visit Stockmann for a few reasons. For one, it was recommended to us by one of Smisty's co-workers who used to live in Helsinki. Two, it's the largest department store in the Nordic countries, and we like going to stores and malls and things when we're visiting new places. And three, it was a possible place I might find a little something I was hoping to track down while in Helsinki. That third thing didn't really work out. As while I was able to confirm that it existed (in an employees-only area), I was not able to actually see or experience it. I know, I know, I'm being terribly mysterious. But I won't make you wait long. Just until the next update. Oh, wait...that could actually be awhile at the rate I'm going. You'll probably have forgotten all about it by then. Big store. Lots of different stuff. I don't know. Things adults like. We found our favorite section, toys! This game sucks. Okay, I feel better now. Ultimately, it is just a really big department (and grocery) store. But we enjoyed checking it out. Back out on the street, we get one of those classic European "this would be a national landmark in the US, but here it's a transit center" buildings. The Three Smiths Statue is the metaphorical center point of Helsinki. I think you're supposed to see this one before the parody of it at Linnanmäki (Three Smiths on a Break). Just one more day to go! Will I get it done before the end of April?? I mean, I have to get it done before the end of May. I can't take a whole year to finish this thing. Actually, maybe I'll just quit now. That would be funny. The end.

This place started as an interesting concept that had the unfortunate timing of Covid destroying its potential for a growing audience. Shame to see it go but I'm curious about the future plans for the site. It could make for a nice little outdoor FEC if given the right team.

Where's the "who cares" selection?

Photos from SFOT Solar Coaster Total Eclipse viewing event!

Some new (and past 'new') musicals are about to release Original Cast Recordings in a a few weeks or so.... Sondheim's Final Scored Musical. Closed and Off-Brdwy, but still... Based on The Book. Based on The Movie. Now closed, but still..... Book of Mormon Reunion! (sort of) P.S. The 2024 TONY Awards' Nominations are happening on April 30th. And Ariana DeBose is hosting again, Woo Hoo! The CBS TONYS' Broadcast will air on Sunday, June 17th.

WOF introduces the KidZPass. For kids ages 3-8 and Seniors 62+. Unlimited visits through Labor Day for $24.99.

One character I'll probably never meet at Six Flags parks is Road Runner. I've met Coyote, though. And I also bought a Road Runner plush in one of the shops.

I went for the first time last year. Had after 4pm tickets and it started raining off and on as soon as we walked in. Park kept everything but Zinger open and we had a blast. I couldn't get enough of Mamba. I got a solid 45 minutes of rides on Prowler at night. They still ran the Carnival parade even with off and on rain. Can't wait to get back to this park. I could ride Mamba and Prowler all day long and be happy. I really liked Timber Wolf, too.

After some time ...... Looking (above) at the layout for ThunderVOLT, I am really REALLY hoping, that you get not one, but two cycles on it. Otherwise .... yeah, ok.

They confirmed the loop replacement on Instagram.

Jumping Donkey Kong coaster!

I wonder who is most excited in this photo? The puzzled looking service pug, Whittles with Boysenberry jam on his beard, or mommy who got a picture of baby with Whittles.

I get that, I'm much older than you and was around for all that plus Epcot and Animal Kingdom...........but, my point is that this is going to be on such a grander scale on both the rides and how grandiose it will be than those were when they opened, or at least it seems that way to me. Maybe I'm just not remembering the hype or maybe I'm just legit way more excited about a Universal park than Disney And to be fair I wasn't really thinking along the lines of China or Dubai, since those are not easily accessible for most people from the USA

^ It's a thing, remembering characters not seen, that often. Marvin and K-9 are standouts, to me. And .... apparently we're all bored, lol. (kidding)

Granted.. it's not a fair comparison, as SFFT is run much differently (although SFStL does seem to be copying style/ideas from SFFT now with the updates). but Joker: Carnival of Chaos (previously planned as Joker: WildCard) is the exact same ride that's going here. At SFFT: they started clearing for Foundation pour on 2/23/19 footers poured by 4/7/19 ride pad, and queue house done by 4/28/19 ride parts arrived on site 5/18/19 main supports bolted together (on ground) and LED light package installed 5/25/19 ride vertical, and 1st testing on 6/26/19 finishing touches over the next week. Ride was ready to go by 7/14/19, but did not open until 8/10/19 due to waiting for inspections. so from actual starting of pouring the footers, until ride was up: ~3 months. and from actual RIDE PARTS ARRIVING ON SITE until ride was up? ~2 months. (all dates from construction updates at SFFT source) So, yeah.. they COULD still hit mid/late summer, if they get it going.

Meanwhile, Holiday World continues to make money with free drinks. Imagine that.

Someone took away his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. Its either the woke people, a dastardly rabbit or that front gate security. Help! Security has taken my space modulator! Delays, delays.

Soooo it was the year they did the retracking (whenever that was) and I recall seeing a side by side comparison and the current looked dreadfully slow. There was no way eyes can deceive like its right there. I did ride it that year and full sincerity it felt exactly like the year before (before the retracking). And in general POVs of the same coaster can look very different....it depends on a lot of factors. You also can't totally trust one, I recall Skyrush looking cool but....OK, then we rode in person and uh yeah. Point being, you really can't trust POVs to make much of a claim, you have to ride it. We're enthusiasts we're all insanely critical and crazy lol I doubt anyone would fake their opinion. If people are saying they don't notice any real difference, they mean it. They'd have no issue saying otherwise. Also this is my personal opinion: the launch was great but a bit overhyped. It was fun but as we know it slowed down after a bit and didn't really go over that quick (I never got to experience the OG sadly). To be blunt I felt more WOW going over the top of Skyrush. It was ofc super fun and its a bit sad its gone but I truly cant imagine it'll impact the overall experience, deff wont make it slower bc again it was going over not that quickly anyway tbh TLDR: dont use POVs to make definitive claims. Im sure it'll be great still as some are confirming.

The first time I rode this ride was 2019 and I have been lucky that every time I have gone it has been open and I have been able to ride it. I normally go in March and/or June and I guess I am lucky. But I have ridden it a lot. We were there last week and I have to agree with the people riding and seeing no difference. I told my kids to warn them it was chain, but after hill it is not supposed to be different. They were disappointed when I told them, but I told them to give it a shot. We had the last 2 rows of the coaster. It whipped us over that lift hill which shocked me honestly. But my kids and I all agreed it is still super fun and FAST. My one daughter said she thought it was better than last year. The lift hill was also faster than I expected and my oldest said the same. She expected Eagle and it was much faster than Eagle. My one said "I hate when you are right mom, but you were it was the same after the lift and really a lot of fun, can we go again?" Iron Gwazi is a chain lift and a very similar coaster and super insane and fun also. I agree with others, other coasters have come out that are better. I used to have this at the top with Iron Gwazi and now I have ridden coasters like Velocicoaster and now that is my top. Memories are an interesting thing and play tricks on us. I think this is a win for the park. I can't comment on up time vs down time since this vacation was no different than any others as I said we were always lucky and had a lot of up time on the days we went.

FYI - not my pic, that is from the FB post, thought I should clarify. Meant to post it the other day. Instead of going to church we are going to the park with the other sinners on Sunday, so I'll post a quick trip report afterwards. First time my son is going back as a civilian, lol.

I'm not Robb, but we're certainly not sucking up to Dollywood. The ride really didn't seem any different to me. That being said, I think a lot of the newer RMC's and other coasters just out do it and it is an older ride now so it's not as crazy as it once was. People have this memory of riding it back in 2016 when it was legit amazing and new and something we hadn't really seen before. Since that time there have been a ton of new coasters that are bigger and faster and have equally crazy elements so I think it's more a memory issue. Oh, and the day we were there it ran two trains all day with a 5 minute wait so there you go. I'll take that thanks!

I took this picture on Saturday. We were hoping for a soft opening later in the day but sadly it never happened. Maybe next weekend…

Riddle me this Batman... How do companies get away with advertising these completely impossible rider capacities? For a Super Boomerang to actually hit 800 riders per hour with a 24 passenger train, they'd have to unload, reload, and dispatch in 30 seconds flat.

It was daytime out, no Flash was needed.

I agree those lap bars are amazing. My dream is for SFNE's Superman to get those restraints if it ever gets a new train.