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Cedar Point held their annual Winter Chillout event this weekend benefitting "A Kid Again". The park raised over $150,000 for the organization through this event. Some things the park announced at the event: Chick-Fil-A, Mac Shack, Wild Turnip are all being removed this season. No word on their replacements. It was noted that Chick-Fil-A being removed goes along with the other Cedar Fair parks removing theirs. No bad blood with CFA, just expiring contracts. Forbidden Frontier will not be returning as well. The park says that not enough people visited the attraction. I believe that even though Forbidden Frontier is being removed, Professor Delbert's Frontier Fling the park's skycoaster will still be operating. The Boardwalk section will have beautiful marquees at each end designating the area of the park. Concept art was shown but no pictures were allowed. They are inspired by the logo used in this pin and other Made to Thrill products. For some reason I couldn't find the specific logo on google. https://madetothrill.com/collections/made-to-thrill-x-cedar-point/products/made-to-thrill-x-cedar-point-original-sign-pin Each Wild Mouse car will have a name. There is The Cheese Car, Ziggy, Zaggy, Mazey, Larry, Dizzy, and Chase Walking taco stand on main midway will become a new alcohol stand, walking tacos moving in with Derby Dogs. Grand Pavilion will include quick service food with a similar system to that used at other newer dining locations like Farmhouse, Hugos, Backbeat BBQ. There will also be two large dining rooms on the ground floor with windows that can be opened. Second floor will include a walk up snack stand and of course a large bar. Patios on the second floor overlooking the lake. I think thats about all for the very noteworthy news. They also took us down Top Thrill Dragster midway. There is A LOT missing. Of course all the track aside from the tower is missing, but they've also removed all the cement, gates, old queueline, etc from the whole unload and load area. All that is left is the station canopy. Matterhorn and Scrambler are also gone and awaiting their move to The Boardwalk. Here's some pictures: Matterhorn and Scrambler area. Foodstand in this location was also removed. It most recently sold the CP Juice Sippers. Piece of Iron Dragon has been removed. Noting the location in relation to Dragster, let the speculation begin. Tony did confirm nothing is happening with Iron Dragon. It is "just getting work done" and will be open in 2023. The following few images is a few shots from a behind the scenes opportunity we got with Millennium: Now some Dragster pictures... Better look at the missing piece of Iron Dragon. And now some Wild Mouse content. We were not allowed down that midway as it is an active construction zone: Thanks for reading!

Yay! Get rid of judgmental jesus chicken at all parks please!

For a park that needs restaurant capacity badly, I'm never against replacing a restaurant that can't be open on one of the busiest days of the week with one that can.

Move on everyone. Also, Anyone who thinks ChickFilA isn't in the hate business is wrong. They're just better at hiding it after the backlash. Also, this is the most excitement CP will be getting this season!

^I have always believed in Karma and balance in the amusement park industry. SF and CF cannot both be great at the same time and they both can't be terrible. This has been since the 90's. They seem to ebb and flow and go back and forth and put some sort of terrible balance into the world!

(Screen cap from a video they just uploaded) Ice Breaker is back open with no comfort collars, an added seatbelt, and a 48" height requirement! Also: Pipeline: The Surf Coaster made it's first full circuit test run! Exciting stuff!

Yeah, I always applaud "weird" in this industry, especially from B&M (unless it's an Orlando standup coaster being built in 2023, then no).

While I’m not an expert in local Florida politics, the fact that Disney isn’t bothering to fight this is probably telling. That’s a PR calculation, but not one that they would likely make if they were all that upset about it. My gut says that they need to have DeSantis act like he accomplished something big, but it probably won’t change much-of-anything of substance so Disney would rather just let this stupidity die. This is just so stupid. They never cared about this bill and Ron DeSantis knows that they never cared about this bill. The last thing they ever wanted to do was make a statement on it, but their own cast members protested and demanded it. Then they caved, and miscalculated the reaction that they were going to get from the other side while trying to stay out of it and play it down the middle in a world where that’s no-longer possible. They don’t care and everyone involved knows that they don’t care. Everybody involved in this knows this whole thing is made up bullshit for political points but yet, here we are… it’s childish idiocy.

Day 12, morning: Walt Disney Studios up and out for rope drop, as today was going to be a slamming busy day. It was Saturday, so knew the parks were going to be PACKED. as an alternate plan, I had weeks ago, booked a visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower Saturday afternoon, with the Alvey's to get away from the crowds during the busiest part of the day. James wasn't going to do that (tho a few others on the official trip did join us too), so we planned to go to the Disney Studios park at rope drop, I'd leave for Eiffel Tower around lunch time, and then would meet back up with James at Disneyland later that evening. plan locked, and off we went: Lovely entrance. . thru an indoor section (that I think was mostly shops - we never actually stopped here on any day - tho Brown Derbey looks like a food court) Up ahead the main park, and the Walt & Mickey statue. noted - we'll be back for you this morning. . . but first, we are following the crowd to the right side of the park. Aladdin's flying carpets. . never really had much of a line, but I don't think we ever actually rode it here at Disney Studios.. . . I mean. . it's right next door to where everyone was going. . . Crush's Coaster. and yeah. . . STARTED off the day, at rope drop, with a 30 minute wait. (we had some skip the line passes, and would use them later in the trip. . but we wanted to not waste one right away and joined the flood of folks headed here) a few other TPR folks were in line here too first thing. . . the theming, as expected, was well done. it's a fun spinning coaster. is it great? no, but it IS fun, and if the line is shorter than a 30 minute wait (or you have skip the line), I'd say it's worth it. Capacity seems to be pretty bad tho. . . so never really saw it with a "shortish" line after a fun ride on Crush, we headed out to continue our way around the park. during our trip, lots of construction walls were up - Avengers Campus area opened shortly after we were there. So there really wasn't all that much to do at the time at Disney Studios. But I did have a fun time there, and the rides they DO have, are mostly pretty great. this ride (cloned at several Disney parks) had really no line - I think maybe folks just miss it's there? so James and I hopped in the queue for it. it would have been better if it hadn't been out in the direct sunlight. . . . but with both of us in the back seat, we got some decent "whip/swing" action. Crush's coaster does have this interactive section where the cars zoom by outside, enticing those walking by to come take a ride. is it as Detailed as Car's Land at Disney California Adventure? I dont' think so (tho never have been there since they opened it). . but I thought it was really well done here. outside of Cars land is Toy Story area. . . with a bunch of rides that LOOK way better than the actually ride. but man, do they look good. we passed by tho, as first we wanted to ride Ratatouille. . . I'd only heard raves about this, and couldn't wait to experience it. the Gusteau animation in the sign comes "alive" and chats with the people in the queue. Ready for our 3D adventure! trackless ride, similar to Pooh's Hunny Hunt system and you ride inside a rat! that's scurrying under counters and thru the kitchen during your adventure. I LOVED this..and think we rode it at least 6 times during our visit. thru the windows back there is Remy's. . the sit down restaurant, where you are shrunk down to the size of a rat for the meal. the food there was good, but well worth it for the theming, which was amazing. an ok. .let's head over to Toy Story Land, entering thru the Barrel of Monkeys really well done. . the queue for RC Racer is great. . and the look of the ride is great. peeking across the way at Slinky Dog. . we'd be there next unfortunately, RC Racer looks way more thrilling than it actually is. the restraints weren't my favorite, and the ride is really short and doesn't do much. I think I got more airtime from a giant frisbee than this. I'm glad we rode it, because it looks so neat. . but yeah, this was one and done for us. same with Slinky Dog. . . it LOOKS just amazing. and as a Toy Story fanboy? I loved it and no way would I pass up a ride on it. but it doesn't really DO anything. (another 1 and done). but it looks so great. this is the only ride over here that I did more than once. which is surprising, because it looks like just a standard Parachute Drop ride. but it actually holds in spaces, and goes up as well as down during the cycle. It was quite fun, actually. Pic from Slinky Dog queue too much of a glare. . but "I've been Packaged!" Rex is eating his head!!! ooooooooo I have ZERO memory of what this is. I recall it's from the food truck that was near the Cars Roadtrip tram ride. . but hell if I can recall.. it didn't make much of an impression, I guess. ham and cheese? hell if I know? ah. .the infamous (ly) bad "Cars roadtrip". . the replacement for the Studios tour. we're here, and it's a people eater, so let's ride it. huge queue space, not many folks in line. . . I know that look - "why do you wanna waste time riding THIS???" but we did ride it. and even got a bit excited (tho that might be because we got to sit down after a full day yesterday and already a lot of walking today) hmmm. . THIS looks . . . "familiar" FIRE FIRE!!! sparks! and water! lots of water lots and lots and lots of water yup and once we saw the Eyefull tower , it was over. really? yup. but the toilets over here had car part themed toilet seats. . which were cute. I still had about 40 minutes until I had to head out to the train station, so we decided to hit the only other ride here we hadn't gotten to yet: Tower of Terror. the line wasn't "short". . but it was moving. . . nah. .it was closer to 20. . but the sign was right there and with permission took a pic. spooky. . . and love the uniforms here too. . . we moved pretty well, and made it all the way into the gas pipes room.. . THIS close.. and the ride went down. and stayed down.. . 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. I started to panic, as I still had to leave the park and make it to the train station. . . so at the 20 minute down time - KNOWING it was coming back up shortly - I flagged down a cast member, and told him I had to exit the line, as I had to meet up with folks. and he walked me (and a couple of others - mainly parents with kids who had to pee ) out the back way and thru to the exit. I powerwalked over the train station at DisneySprings. It had been a really fun morning. . but I was pretty psyched for the trip into Paris and to the top of the Eiffel Tower. to be continued. . .

I am surprised that it is not a Skyline! This is Six Flags' return to Vekoma for an attraction, which is exciting. Also I am glad it is an original name, and not slapping on a DC or Looney Tunes trademark.

^ your outdated source is incorrect. Chick-Fil-A - thru it's owner, Dan Cathy, continues to donate millions to anti-LGBTQ groups. so yeah. . .screw their Jesus Chicken. and as Detox sings,

Strong line-up for early entry this year. Hit it out of the park here. GateKeeper Wild Mouse Atomic Scrambler Matterhorn Calypso Dodgem Kiddy Kingdom (select rides) https://www.cedarpoint.com/early-entry

Yesterday Raglan Road hosted TPR and other outlets for a preview of this weekend's Mighty St. Patrick's Festival. This annual festival has been running at Raglan Road Pub for 17 of the 18 years that the Pub has operated at Disney Springs, and each year the offerings expand with new acts and new food and beverage options, all on top of what already makes Raglan Road a special place to visit year round. The Mighty St. Patrick's Festival takes place this year between March 16th and March 19th! One of my favorite places to eat and drink in Orlando! We had an opportunity to sample some Raglan Road favorites as well as new menu items, starting with the Berry UnIrish (a non-alcoholic drink featuring muddled blackberries, fresh lemon juice, rosemary & honey syrup and sparkling lemon Pellegrino) and the Misty Irish Eyed (a mixture of Irish Mist honey, Grace O'Malley gin, Italicus, lemon sour & prosecco). While a normal visit to Raglan Road is filled with entertaining musical and dancing acts, during the Mighty St. Patrick's Festival, the schedule is filled from end to end authentic Irish entertainment! In what I could best compare to a savory cupcake, the Truly Scrumpet Goat Fig features caramelized (torched!) goat's cheese with a fig & port jam on a chive scrumpet with walnuts, pickled beets & poached figs). This was easily the most unique and standout taste of evening! "That Salad with Seared Beef" was a surprising combination of flavors, textures and perfectly prepared ingredients. I'd happily order a plate of this during my next visit! A staple on the Raglan Road menu for many years, the Dalkey Duo is a perfect Dalkey mustard beer battered Cheshire Heritage pork sausage served with Dalkey mustard mayo and buffalo apple sauce. These battered sausages are heavy and filling but the rich batter and unique sausage make them perfectly addicting bites that you'll definitely want to keep digging into. There's lots to see and hear while dining at Raglan Road! The center of the restaurant gives guests an up-close chance to experience all the fun of the pub. The Seafood Sharing Board offers a selection of sesame crusted tuna, smoked fish cakes, "The Pink Panko" (panko crusted seared salmon) and the "Kiss Before Shrimp" (a garlicky-bathed set of shrimp bites with toast). It is always a pleasure to hear from the owners of Raglan Road Pub. The restaurant along with the attached shop, bars and Cookes of Dublin quick service venue are all owned an operated independently of any larger corporation. The venues operate out of scratch kitchens so you know everything is served at its freshest. Much of the staff and entertainers are Irish and the menus offer authentic tastes of Irish heritage with modern flair. Clare Sands (pictured right) is a 6ht generation fiddler, bilingual singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist who is performing daily along with her sister (pictured left) during the Mighty St. Patrick's Festival before moving on to perform in New York, Washington D.C., the United Kingdom and Europe. We capped off our tasting experience with the Guinness Chocolate Cake, made up of dark chocolate, soda bread ice cream and a whiskey caramel sauce. There is no better place to experience authentic Irish step-dancing than at Raglan Road Pub. Defying gravity. Step-dancing isn't reserved to the main stage, with a center stage to put guests in the center of the action. A truly unique experience! Thanks again to Raglan Road for hosting us for another fantastic evening! Be sure to check out the Mighty St. Patrick's Festival this weekend, or if you can't make it before then, don't hesitate to add the Pub to your future Orlando plans--you won't regret it!

Lightning Rod was open for part of the day on Passholder preview and same with Sunday. Got to rid it twice on Sunday as it was a walk on. Everything was a walk on on Sunday. We weren't planning to go but when I saw waits of 5 minutes for Firechaser we decided to head out. It was 0 by the time we got there and twice firechaser went out with just my family on it. It was a great day. Doubt any other day will be that empty this week. Passholder wasn't bad either. The parking lot was FULL when we arrived at 3 PM, but lines were fine.

Today would have been my Nick's 64th Birthday. Despite knowing the parks would all be gigantic overcrowded clusters? I just couldn't bear to sit at home alone and be sad. So I called a friend and we drove to San Antonio to go to SeaWorld the park was ABSOLUTELY *slammed*. . .we're talking 45 minutes to get to a parking spot (and that was WITH preferred handicap parking), with the line to get in stretching well past the gates onto the main road out front (Ellison). And if you've been to SWSA you know how much "driveway" there is between the main gates, and the parking gates! speaking of, they had all the parking gates open, and staffed with both sides open. today was also opening day for Aquatica as well, and once we actually got into the park? crowds in the walkways weren't bad at all - so Aquatica was drawing quite a bit of the crowd from the parking. Oh the shows were ABSOLUTELY packed. I dont' think I've ever seen standing room only in Orca Stadium But rides remained walk on for most of the afternoon. . . even the two water rides open only had 20 minute waits or so: Journey to Atlantis & Rio Loco (which had waterfalls on and SOAKED the one of us who wasn't ok getting wet - and only sprinkled me, since I declared to the universe upon entering the queue that I didn't care if I got soaked but here's probably what you really care about. . . the progress on the park's new 2023 launched flume with lift. it's coming together really quickly, and looking great: it started to warm up and got too crowded to be comfortable for me (the line for the Carousel was an easy 40 minute wait). . .and the food lines were all pretty nuts. I didn't really want to eat any of the Generic park food, so we decided to take off and stop for some good Tex Mex for early dinner on the way back to Austin. so after about 4 hours we headed out. in that time tho, we -rode 4 rides: Stingray 2x, Journey to Atlantis, and Rio Loco (could have also walked on to Steel Eel and Great White, but passed on those this visit). -saw the Orca show in standing room at the back (which worked out well as a very nice breeze back there (AND - barely - out of the splash zone. . . seriously, those splashes got all the way to the upper rows!) - Got a frozen drink from the bayside bar - got a cookie and a drink from Coaster Coffee - stopped and looked at construction (so we basically walked the entire park - even seeing the Count out for pictures over in Sesame Street. . with an INSANE line). & - went into Discovery Cove on the way out to see the Dolphins and Sharks. all in all, a pleasant day, and kept me distracted.

The ride has character and I love how it roars around the park. Honestly, keeping it backwards and SFoT keeping theirs launching facing forward actually makes them a little unique from each other. For the love of God, don't advocate for any additional ride removals, even if it comes with a replacement. It won't be as good or intense. Freeze is one that makes the dudes in RCT say, "Mr. Freeze looks too intense for me."

this calls for Willam, Detox and Vicky Vox to do their thing:

here are some of my pics from Fiesta Fest yesterday at SFFT. (many behind the scenes shots. . . and as always, gotta get pics with the #1 & #2 reasons to go to SFFT - Park President Jeffrey Siebert, and Sweet Sweet Connie in the Sangerfest Halle. Jeffrey: Sweet Connie: she even got some company in a new Mural painted on the back wall near the bathrooms! the shows were excellent as usual. . the Jamboree one is kinda adult, but really fun too: and the Saloon show is great too. and of course, some rides were done before the backstage tours. (I actually rode a LOT of stuff today, but only snapped a couple of ride pics): We got a tour of the new virtual Gaming center they are building in the old restaurant space in the central plaza: and then went upstairs for a tour of the new Diamond and Above VIP lounge they are building on the 2nd floor overlooking the main plaza (with some nice views from the balconies, including some great viewing space for the evening fireworks): and then a treat, we got to go back to the machine shop to see the pieces of the 3rd train for Iron Rattler: and the refurb currently going on for the Giant Cowboy Hat that dumps the water from the top of the Play Area in the waterpark: then across to the other building to see the 2nd train for Iron Rattler (back on the tracks by next weekend!) and the pesky little pneumatic safety locking mechanisms that were on back order and is why IR has been with one train ops for SOOOO Long: if you're wondering why Wonder Woman is only running 2 trains? here's the 3rd one. (yeah). luckily a new 3rd train will be coming when they work on the track later this year! we got to walk by the floats that most of us would be riding on later. . . .this is the newest float, the amazing Crocodile. not only is it awesome that they have this sign in the backstage area from an old bet with Kings Island. . . look. .it says "Bert" right there in it time to drink and ride some more things! until we got called back to get ready for the parade. first they dressed us up all pretty like: and then we got assigned floats. got lucky, and we got chosen to ride on the front section of the newest float! we threw so many beads, and the park was so crowded, that we were completely out before the end of the parade route! luckily there were many other floats behind us with lots of beads for everyone. a great event and a great time at SFFT.

It looks like Scorpion reopened today.

I heard it's going to Indiana Beach, opening in 2027.

We get one small family coaster clone and daydreaming goes rampant.

100% if no one told you? pay for Preferred parking. It's not that much more expensive, and lets you park in your own lot way up at the front. it also has a dedicated entrance to the park. AND a dedicated exit from the parking lot at the end of the day.

You are not missing much, my friend. The ride was OK, but any ride that calls itself a "coaster" when it is not needs to just go away.

We had a really nice time at the park yesterday. It was a bit warmer and busier than expected, but ride lines were manageable. We grabbed QQ because the price is so cheap with the Platinum 50% discount and it was definitely helpful but not mandatory. S&S Screamin’ Swings are my favorite flat ride and Serengeti Flyer was no exception. We faced Kumba forgetting that most of the safari “action” is on the side facing Montu. It will be a great 1-2 punch once FF reopens next door. Fills a huge void! The biggest call out is that Kumba and Montu did have 2-trains running all day, which has been fairly inconsistent in recent months. Kumba was a walk on and Montu’s standby looked about 20 mins. The finally seemed to have fixed Cheetah Hunt’s operations. The sweet spot seems to be 4 trains, two stations with strict bag checks. The line was only about 30 minutes all day, which I think most know used to be unheard of. Just leaving a picture of Montu, because it’s Montu. And yep, Scorpion is open, running like a dream, and comfort collar free.

Sad, I never got the credit.

This thread is getting mighty cohesive, so I just want to add a few things to spark some real arguments. Sea World tortures animals. The carousel will never be finished. We should get a Chick-Fil-A. Finally: Corporate hates our park. This should counter some of the good news and bring balance back to this thread.

I think this family coaster is the best fit for the park at this time. It's fill the one big gap we had for the younger guests, and thank god it's not one of those prototype skyline coasters.

My last public comment in response to the above: I will not be apologizing for anything, as posting a link to a highly credible news site (USAToday) and asking for someone to back up their assertion is not something that I need to be sorry for. That is all....

@Haymaker You will have a PM in a few minutes demonstrating our point; not trying to clutter the thread with off-topic-ness. I expect a public apology to Bert and myself.

Disappointing, but anticipated given that all of the other CF parks have done away with their custom Mac-n-Cheese places. And good riddance to Hate Chicken.

Hello, I wanted to give my thoughts and review on this park, since I went last weekend (February 18-20th). This was my first time there and my second in the Six Flags chain (one of my most frequent visited parks being Six Flags Great America). I may be going on an unorganized chain of thoughts here. Just some info for anyone doing research on the park during the colder months (Jan-February). The coldest it was during our visit was in the mid 50s and everything was running. Also winds (according to my weather channel app) in San Antonio were up to 9-11mph and everything was running as well. Just as I know winds can affect the rides due to the quarry. First impression, what a beautiful park! the entrance had colorful buildings and the Mardi Gras decorations looked great! The crowds were not too busy at all and the longest wait was Iron Rattler. Wonder Woman was running two trains and the first afternoon we were there it was very temperamental. It wasn't running , they let us wait in line and then kicked us out of line. We ended up going to Dr. Diabolical instead and by the time we got off WW was running again. A lot of walking back and forth on that side of the park. Superman wasn't running for a while on that first afternoon either. But we got on all 4 major rides the first afternoon. The mardi gras food wasn't as good at Fiesta Texas as it was at Sea World, both places had really good entertainment. I was very impressed by the theming on the queues (especially for a six flags park). The German section was beautiful, the boardwalk also had a good vibe. I liked that they had a dark ride (we waited over 30min for it), but found it enjoyable. Basic "boo blasters" sally dark ride, but glad it was different in that it was pirate themed. Boomerang wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (not a bad headbanger). My least favorite was the S&S 4D free spin. I've been on Joker at Great America and this one was more uncomfortable and rattled more (probably because it's the oldest/first). We had some hiccups while waiting for Pandemonium. Dr. Diabolical had a rattle in the back row, I actually quite liked it in the front. We got onto Goliath right when we left the park. I would definitely want to come back here! I want to experience a train ride. Overall, I really enjoyed this park! 8/10

Confirmed?

Day 11: Evening. . . after a quick stop at the Airport to drop off those leaving (I think it was only a couple of folks). . we continued on the bus to Disney. and before we knew it, we were being dropped off in front of Sequoia Lodge (the DLP version of Wilderness Lodge, from what I gather). not everyone was staying at this hotel. . some were at Hotel New York (newly remodeled with a Marvel Superheroes overlay) and other hotels nearby. checking in was surprisingly easy, and as we were there just after 8pm, and the park was open until after 11? we asked if tonight counted as admission for our multiple day tickets. Upon being told "yes". . we went to the room, dropped off our stuff, and immediately headed out to the park. but first some pics of the room - among the largest of the rooms we had on this trip - only slightly bigger than that room at Europa Parc that started off the trip. very "earthy" / "Widerness" / "Sequoia Trees" colors but the room DID have a slight "Bambi" theme thruout: look how beautiful it is. . and after 8pm too. here's the backside of Sequoia Lodge, as we exited towards the parks.(tho only Disneyland was still open, the other park closed I think at 7) the view to the left - another of the Disney Resort Hotels (tho can't recall the name. . "Harbor Bay" maybe?) and looking straight across the Lagoon, the Disney Village (with Balloon ride) and behind them the parks. no way to cut across the lagoon tho. . had to walk around, either left, or to the right. . . so we headed right, to pass in front of Hotel New York - as that seemed to be the main entrance to the Disney Village area. I'm here! (yes, I'm a Disney nerd) Hotel New York really leaned into the Marvel Superheroes theme (Avengers Campus was opening soon - we missed it by a couple of weeks, but hey, reason to go back!). out front of the hotel were these life-size statues that were quite cool: the hotel itself: coming fully around the lagoon and ready to enter into Disney Village. that's our hotel in the back across the water. . I was a little confused by the theming over here. . it doesn't seem to be related to any Disney IP (at least not one I could think of). . but it certainly was "whimsical" Overview map of Disney Village ah. THERE'S some Disney branding! I don't recall if I ever went into this store. . .perhaps a quick stop on the way out on the final night? (there was so much merchandise inside the parks, that I didn't feel a real need to go in here and purchase anything more) several "street" entertainers were out performing. these folks were really good, but only stopped for a moment to watch. based on his nametag? I think this was a Disney Studios employee (probably the guy who mans the "Face painting" booths). Makes sense, as that park was closed already . . . but I liked his Captain America face paint, so snapped a pic as we passed him. and the heavens opened up. . and we were faced with massive construction walls (that I mostly managed to frame outside of picture) and we were facing the Disneyland Hotel. which is the entrance to Disneyland Paris. the hotel was in the middle of a years long rennovation, so was not open to the public (boo. . would have loved to peek inside), but still pretty neat that you walk under the hotel to enter the park. we made it! It had been a long day. . but Disney perked me up. James too, I think. (that look is "Ecstatic" for a Brit ) thru the entry gates, and under the "train station". . . all decked out for the 30th anniversary celebration. Can't really recall, but I think those "flags" spun around the circular pictures? Main Street USA. . not very busy as we were coming in towards the end of the day. first view of the castle. ooooo. . so pretty. surrounding the Castle Courtyard, on the Main Street USA side, are all these really amazing Metal Kinetic Sculptures. I *loved* these, and asked if the park sold miniature models of them only to be told, sadly, no. I'd absolutely buy a few of these. . they were so cool. Dumbo & Tigger Baymax! Ariel & Moana Tinkerbell Timon & Pumbaa snake from Jungle Book. . blanking on his name. . people were lined up for a parade, I believe. (dont' think this was for the fireworks, as it was still a couple of hours away, but COULD have been for that). James and I detoured around the crowd - we were here for 3 more days, so was more focused on getting on a few classic Disney attractions: The Paris Version of Haunted Mansion (called Phantom Manor here), Big Thunder Mountain (super unique here at DLP and my favorite version of the ride now), and Pirates of the Caribbean. going around the crowd gave some awesome opportunities for pics of the castle tho. Some of my favorites from the Disney parks visit. guess what we're headed for 1st. . . ooooo. . but nope. very pretty tho. here's where we were headed: Phantom Manor. Molly Brown was already "parked" for the night. . . so we'd ride that later in the visit. this late in the day on a Friday? really almost a walk on. Less than 10 minute wait. view towards Big Thunder Mountain from the front doors of Phantom Manor no real pics from inside on this 1st night, as was really enjoying the experience. And knew I'd ride it multiple times during the visit (so the sub par blurry ones I did have, not sharing now). I THINK we might have ridden it twice, since it was a walk on? this pic is from the ride exit path. I mean I HAD to take a pic of a Mickey balloon. . . before we headed around the corner for BTM: 20 minute standby line. . . hmmmm. . . didn't look TOO crowded, and the line did appear to be moving quickly. and 20 minutes isn't too bad. so we hopped in line. well, hello! yeah. .my Selfie camera decides to brighten things up. but me, Phantom Manor, and Big Thunder Mountain at DLP. . I adore this picture. no Jungle Cruise Ride here at DLP. . so the best you're gonna get is: "the Back Side of the Castle" Just gorgeous as the sun starts to set. Chicken exit. . but we were so close to load station, no way were we gonna use it Lucky row 13 tho 20 minutes isn't bad at all. . . the wait was long enough that we just rode once tonight (knowing we'd be able to purchase ride bypass tickets on other days). . and headed over towards Pirates of the Caribbean at least we THOUGHT we were headed there. . .we didn't look at any park maps, and just headed where we thought we should go by following the signs in the park. and ended up in a "dead end" area, close to Pirates, but not actually there. Instead, we found ourselves in front of THIS. yeah. . Was *not* looking forwards to this. I not only knew it's reputation, but had ridden in in TDL, so I knew it was a rough mess. BUT. . we were right there in front of it, and it was Walk On. Like 0 minutes wait. So we sucked it up, and got in line. it wasn't AWFUL. . but I really do think that's only because we had ridden Goudruix a few hours earlier. . so the memory of that pain remained. LOL. . so there's your trick for riding Indiana Jones at DLP. I think I asked a cast member where Pirates was, and she gave us the correct turn and we headed that direction. Very cool. .walkthru not open still due to Covid restrictions (or staffing). . but still some great theming over here. (and the cave system WAS back open) Yay! it was getting fairly close to 10:20 at this point, so the back part of the Park had started to get deserted. So Pirates was a walk on as well (tho the queue is quite lengthy) restaurant in this version too. . . we'd eat here as a guest of John & Chris the next day. . really well done. and as you can see. . we pretty much were the only ones riding at this point. . . so when the cast members at the exit asked us if we wanted to stay on the boat and ride thru again (apparently something fairly rare?). . we said "heck yes!" so got to ride it back to back. We figured we'd catch the Fireworks, since were here. . but parts of the park pathways had been closed off at this point for safety, so we had to take a really long path back towards the front of the park. Didn't stop me from snapping pics as we walked tho. . we eventually came back to the front of the castle shortly before the show started. ended up way on the left, so this first night didn't get a GREAT view (we could barely see the drones). . but some pics came out nice enough that I wanted to share. Disneyland Paris Fireworks - THRU THE TREES !!!!! when the show ends, there's a stampede to the exits. Rather than get caught in that, we hovered around, and can get some nice pics of the castle lit up at night. . as the crowd started to thin, the cast members start closing the stores one section at a time, moving the crowd towards the front exits. I had been asked by a friend to please try to get her a DLP 30th anniversary Backpack (at the time, very hard to find) and had been told this store carried them. of course, Cruella. .. they were JUST about to close off this section. . when I spotted over her rope she was pulling across. . one of the backpacks. they had just restocked them for the morning. I asked her could I please just go in and grab a backpack? and she said "absolutely. . but I'd have to pay for it at one of the other registers, as she wanted to close off this area" I thanked her profusely, and noted that I hadn't seen these at all since we'd been in the park, and she told me they sell out immediately with people buying multiples, but since my timing was good, I caught it just as they had put them out for the display. them? yup. .they had both versions: I messaged Amy, to ask if she wanted both (but didn't get a response right away). . and I said, I guess i can come back in the morning once I know which she wanted. And the Castmember shook her head no, and said, "oh, they'll be gone 5 minutes after we open"! So I gritted my teeth and just bought the one I thought she'd want (didn't want to buy both as these suckers are expensive!!). Lucked out, in that the one I bought was the one she was missing, and already had the other one. I thanked the cast member profusely, and we headed out. it had been a very long day, but I was so satisfied and happy, and Nick had messaged me saying he was doing well and we'd talk in the morning. So we slowly made our way back to the hotel and crashed hard. Tomorrow was gonna be a big day as well.. . not only Saturday, so the parks would be crowded, but I had made arrangements to go with Robb, Elissa, Kristen, and a few others to the Eiffel Tower! So plan was to be in Studios, head out to Paris, then back and meet up with James in DLP that evening. was gonna be another exhausting day, but well worth it.

At least they're not putting comfort collars on Scorpion, right?

^I don't know Bill, your wife is kind of short!

I'm fine with this as long as they don't screw with the ride, but I'm also a childless adult who selfishly doesn't care. I feel bad for the kids impacted by this.

Holy crap those clearances. I know it's been discussed before, but it's pretty wild that they are building a coaster from the ground up in 2023 that you'll have to be careful not to reach out to the sides. I'm sure the trains will have arm guards to prevent this. It's such an old school design and I love it.

Hey Elissa! Guess what? It's Chip 'n' Dale's 80th Birthday! And they've got a bunch of souvenirs to celebrate the occasion, at TDL Resort. https://tdrexplorer.com/chip-n-dale-80th-anniversary-merchandise-at-disney-store-japan/ Have fun deciding what to buy. Thanks to TDRexplorer.com for the great listing of stuff! It'll all be available from March 14 and 17th at various Tokyo Disney Stores.

Very recently, groups of enthusiasts and the press were invited to tour the World of Jumanji building site, witness the new B&M quadruple launch shuttle wing coaster 'Mandrill Mayhem' testing in person and speak to the land's designer John Burton. The 42 mph coaster has been confirmed to have a reversed backrow that will also not come with an upcharge. It was confirmed that a lot more planting was on the way before the area opens in mid-May, and a lot of work is taking place on crafting the area's immersive theming, which will also comprise of a mini recreation of the bazaar from 'Welcome To The Jungle', Alan Parish's treehouse as the Mandrill Mayhem station building, rockwork and sand dunes from 'The Next Level', and of course most of the area's planting (only four percent of which had been planted at the time of the hardhat tour). It was confirmed in the British tabloids that actor Rhys Darby, who plays guide Nigel Billingsay in the Dwayne Johnson movies, narrates guests as they walk around the land. A lot more information in this detailed breakdown on the hardhat tour with pictures from Attraction Source. I have posted some of the officially released pictures below, as well as embedded videos of the hardhat tour, testing footage and an interview with the area's designer.

On FB Fun Spot has stated the park and AF1 opens to the public at 4pm that day. They have also said there will be passholder ride times but they are not ready to release that info yet. Many people assume it'll be earlier in the day before official open, but who knows at this point. I would guess media first, passholders second, open to public at 4. I keep thinking after it opens it will be easy to marathon this thing if you can get there on a weekday. Will be really interesting to see how the wait times and crowds end up. It's such a small park.

This is the laugh that I needed today.

Does anyone really think the hyper or retracking Ninja, while disregarding The Boss, would have even a remote possibility of happening? Look deep inside of yourself. Anyone? Like one person? If miracles are going to happen, the prior plan already completed on The Boss will be signed off on. Honorable mention less likely miracle: The carousel will open.

Y'all already know my vote for the Ninja spot. The station for a hyper

I would cry no tears to see Ninja replaced with a Modern B&M Looper (Floorless). Even a transplant would be welcomed. Scream from MM comes to mind.

Shelf Life does not apply to SFSTL. Just look at the Ninja, that coaster should have been removed 15 years ago. It's an old handbanger from the 1980s ... plus it gets no ridership.

^Yeah, finally some good news. Six Flags made a good decision.

Yes, Frida looked very smooth. It will hopefully provide a more welcoming experience for my little girl's first coaster. Holidog Express is probably a little jerky.

A Vekoma? I see you Six Flags. I'm excited for what this means in the future... for other parks in the chain. Looks like this will be the first 247m (and this is a newer model in the family) Junior Coaster model going to North America. The other notable install is Frida at Energylandia (besides the ton in FECs in Asia).

Looks like it is a family coaster called rookie racer. "Get ready to start your engines! A new family coaster, Rookie Racer, is headed to Six Flags St. Louis this summer!" https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/attractions/rookie-racer?fbclid=IwAR2bu--9GeYc25VI4Z5UblwDni5LgIO_ErB5x4v9kKBNnvUA6883ylakm5o

the pool was closed for Renovation during my visit. *but there was a LOT of stuff undergoing construction/updates/renovation, so didn't really impact us. we had a "parking lot view". . but the truth is we were barely in the room, so the view didn't matter all that much. but a lot of greenery, was kinda nice. lemme look and see if i have any pics from the window. . . here ya go. . I think these are from the hotel room window.