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as noted, I have no issue with the prices. I DO have an issue with the surcharge added to every purchase. raise the prices if you need to, but don't insult me with that .99 surcharge bullshit.

There is no ground for the FTC to block the merger. There has to be a legal argument that the chain would be anti-competitive and there isn't one like there is with the big tech companies that the FTC is going after. Whether those arguments against the tech companies are strong enough to be legally valid is beyond the purview of a forum like this, but they are easy to understand and follow with a couple minutes research. What argument could they put forth about this being anti-competitive? There are the three well documented markets with arguable competitive crossover, but those markets are still saturated with other competitors. No argument there to block the whole merge. Maybe to divest one of the properties, but with all the other nearby competition that would be a tough argument to make. I think the "nightmare" scenario for the new chain is that they have to pick one each of SFMM/Knotts, SFA/KD, and SFGA/Dorney and sell off the other and I would call even that unlikely. There is nothing to work with in terms of blocking the whole merger.

Well, we're about halfway through the trip, and it's time to leave Denmark for good and head to Norway. So it'll just be a short "travel day" update. 14: Delicious Nut Cheese And how does one get from Denmark to Norway? Well, I suppose one could fly, but where's the fun in that? This ferry was a bit different, in that we had to get off the bus and board individually. Here's most of our group mixed with a bunch of randos, while I watch from the heavens like a god. Everyone on the ferry gets an assigned seat. Ours were in the buffet. Thanks, Elissa. You really know us. Apparently, Robb wasn't allowed to buy any more stuffed animals. So Smisty ran off and bought one for him...? I don't know. I don't get involved in such things. I was too busy with the 4-hour buffet. I've been on plenty of ferries--I live in Seattle. But I daresay this is the biggest ferry I've ever been on. We boarded on foot, but we leave on the bus. After a bit of a tight squeeze to get back on, mind you. I don't know what bridge this is, but...welcome to Norway! In front of our hotel is this lovely statue of Fry and Frya, twin babies who were raised by halibut and founded Oslo, according to Norwegian mythology. So, our hotel was two stories tall but quite long, with elevators only on one side and stairs that were emergency use only. As a result, the shortest path to our particular room was a bit of a trek. PXL_20230613_190317639.mp4 If this is impossible to watch--or just painfully unfunny--my apologies. I don't normally do video. The view from our room made the long walk worth it, though. Also, we could walk right from the hotel lobby into this mall/transportation hub. Now where have I seen this before? We had a couple hours left in the day for sightseeing in Oslo. Some people went much farther than us, and stayed out much later--but we're old and need our sleep, so we kept pretty close to the hotel. Luckily, there was some good stuff nearby. I mean, I say "luckily," but I guess I really should say, "Elissaly," as the hotel being near good stuff was certainly no accident. The Oslo Opera House is designed to be walked up, serving as a sort of public park/observation deck, and giving some pretty nice views of the harbor. A bit of the view, and a bit of the inside. Mexican food is a big deal for both Smisty and I, and because we're weird, we can't help but to keep trying Northern Europe's weird takes on Mexican food. But Oslo was different. El Camino was analogous to Chipotle. Now, sure, Chipotle isn't exactly authentic, per se--but it is closer to real Mexican food than the pickled onions and taco toast we'd been "enjoying" everywhere else in the region. Which is less an actual endorsement of El Camino, I suppose, and more just something I found interesting. I wouldn't say that we really saw everything that Oslo had to offer, but I did very much enjoy what we were able to explore. Thor's Hammer. But not the roller coaster at Djurs Sommerland. I must say it's quite interesting that Scandinavia wants to keep naming things "Thor's Hammer," when I as an American know the actual name of the thing. But nope, no Mjolnir round these parts, just "Thor's Hammer." Goodbye, Oslo. I can't imagine that I'll ever be back--but I'd certainly welcome returning. Next time: Thor's Hammer!

Fortunately for anyone with a dining pass, there is no surcharge, at least no one has mentioned it to me when I pick up my food. Having said that, this is one of the worst things the park can do. If they need to raise prices, then raise prices. Do not just tack on a junk fee. This is the kind of nonsense we can only hope the Cedar Fair half eliminates soon.

My wife can claim she's ridden 2. Because of that one at Walygator, you see. I mean, I rode both of them also. This isn't working.

My dining plan is to eat somewhere else.

Part 14 The Park with a Monster in a Subway: Grona Lund It’s been awhile since I updated this trip report, but before I get started about TPR’s latest visit to Grona Lund, I’d like to express my condolences to the families of the victims and to the park over the tragic accident on Jetline, which happened just a few days after our group had departed Stockholm. To the best of my knowledge, there hasn’t been a final report about what happened, and the ride remains closed. Like Kolmarden, I’ve written a lot about Grona Lund over the years. I’ve visited this park a few times with TPR, and I like the place quite a bit. Even so, there has been a big change at the park since my last visit: Monster, the park’s B&M inverted coaster. When I was there with TPR a few years ago, they gave us a construction tour when the ride station was just a concrete-lined, partly flooded hole in the ground. I’m happy to say that Monster is even better than I’d expected. I love how it swoops over the park, just barely missing the roofs of buildings. There’s even a surprising pop of airtime at one point (not something you expect in a B&M invert) and this cool little “carousel” bit it does at the park boundary. The concrete-lined hole from a few years ago now resembles an old-time subway platform. Monster was definitely worth a solo “Zen ride.” I took one during an ERT session. It was quite a nice experience with just the B&M “roar” for company and some great views of the Stockholm waterfront. Let’s move on to the photos of TPR’s day at Grona Lund. You may see guys in wet t shirts--you have been warned. Morning ERT is serious business, as you can tell from Steve and Big Mike’s expressions. In case you hadn’t heard, this park kind of likes towers. So, you have to walk upstairs to get into the subway to ride Monster? Makes perfect sense. This station needs a barbershop quartet, if they have such things in Sweden. Everyone can now claim that they have truly ridden a Monster. I can’t vouch for how much “stump thumping” occurred or who the “stump thumpers” were. All I know is that "stumps" were, indeed, "thumped." "Why don’t we call it ‘Soarin’ Over Grona Lund’”? “What the hell? A letter from Disney’s lawyers?” “Let’s stick with ‘Monster.’” This drop into the brakes before entering the station is pretty cool. Best final brake run anywhere. Intense, yes, but old geezers like me like it too. (Photo by Elissa, I think.) I don’t want any of you to be too nervous about Insane, but notice I’m not riding it. I think they kind of like it. “My god, what is happening?” Last known photo before they were spun into a different dimension. It appears we have a dissenting vote in the “Do you like Insane?” poll. “Really? We vote both vote ‘yes.’” How’s the Vilde Maus water challenge going, guys? Watch out for that hill! Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened to me, too. What? No water cups? Get the buckets ready. Welcome to one Insane workshop. Intamin in all its naked glory. “YOU THINK I AM INSANE? NO, IT IS YOU WHO ARE INSANE!” “OK, before you Insane guys start carving yourselves up with chainsaws, get your tickets and wristbands.” Er, lady? I don’t think you’re properly dressed for this particular fun-house obstacle. Good luck, men! I see you’re wearing appropriate attire. Eric nearly blends in. Soon he will be one with the FUN DIMENSION! This crazy slide/conveyor belt practically throws you over the side. Eric enters the Multiverse of Madness. When the Swedes build a “Tunnel of Love,” they build a real “Tunnel of Love.” I’ve always been impressed with how well they use space at Grona Lund. The harbor is pretty busy today. I’m glad the giraffe crane is still here . . . . . . as are the Swedish tacos. This Angry Bird went a bit off course. Twister is down for retracking, but I love the old-school sign and entrance. Look--it’s Sarah’s favorite attraction! Just knock on the door, Sarah. Your host will be with you shortly. The “troll tree” is still here, but I guess it doesn’t shoot out flames anymore. I love how Monster just flies over its entrance. Joey has two balls. He is very proud. Elissa was not victorious in this challenge. Another beautiful, old-school ride entrance. Watch the ground rise up to meet you on Ikaros. The sun sets on another beautiful day in Stockholm. We'll be heading to Finland soon.

Part 15 An Identity Crisis and Dueling Infinity Coasters: Power Park Puzzled strangers are nothing new on Theme Park Review trips. Here’s a case in point. We flew to this rather small airport in northern Finland en route to the country’s (and I imagine the world’s) northern-most theme park--Power Park. The group was hanging out at baggage claim when I noticed this, I presume, Finnish gentlemen in a suit and tie staring at us in astonishment. It was as though he couldn’t believe that anyone who wasn’t Finnish would fly here unless they absolutely had to on business. Hey, fun is very serious business. Sometimes, fun requires you to wear a fire suit! So, off we went from the adorably cute little aerodrome to Power Park . . . or was that “Powerland”? The resort and park bear both names. From what I’ve gleaned, “Powerland” started out as the amusement section of the Power Park resort. However, over the years the “Powerland” name was dropped, and the whole place--hotel, go kart tracks, stables, and amusement park--became known as “Power Park.” But I could be mistaken. Power Park boasts two Gerstlaurer Infinity Coasters: Junker and Pitts Special. Junker is a launched ride with a sprawling layout, some inversions, and plenty of airtime. Pitts Special has a vertical chain lift, a twisty layout with no inversions, and some decent airtime. The rides are next-door neighbors. When you see all that green track from the park’s go-kart grandstands, it looks like it’s all one ride. Everyone seemed to love Junker, but were more indifferent to Pitts Special. I look at it this way: Junker is great ride, while Pitts Special is a good one. There was a TPR Gran Prix this year. I drove in the 2009 version and found that I wasn’t a “go-kart guy” (I also had the worst time of anyone on the track that day, as I’m far too cautious). But Power park had plenty of other attractions to offer, such as Thunderbird (an old GCI built in 2006) and a fun Wild West shooting dark ride in a haunted saloon. (Yes, like other Scandinavian parks, Power Park has its own western town.) Start your engines and come on in. The cleverly named “Park Hotel.” It’s actually quite nice. The photo of the photo session of the video session of the TPR Gran Prix. I’m dizzy just from writing that. See all that green, twisty Gerstlaurer track? It's two Infinity Coasters that seem to merge into one! Perhaps Power Park is a portal to the Multiverse! I think the train in the foreground (red stripe) is Pitts, while the train in the background is Junker. But it’s really hard to tell from this vantage point. Is "Powerland" the alternate-universe "Power Park"? We’re not talking “junker” as in your cousin’s old 1980 Chevette. This is “Junker” as in the old WWII German airplane. A dramatic shot of Junker in flight, diving out of the sun, strafing an enemy airfield . . . well, maybe not that. Pitts Special cannot do this. Reactions range from “whee” to “why did I get on this thing?” Put me in the “whee” group. I really liked this ride. Time to unleash the group on an unsuspecting park! (Photo by Robb Alvey.) Neo’s Twister is a ride that exists. The fact of its existence is neither “good” nor “bad.” It simply “is”--and that’s enough. Bill Maher in a cowboy hat doing a set in Vegas--Finnish style. “You gonna flip them flippers or whistle ‘Dixie’”? It’s a truck and a restaurant? O brave new world with such people in it! “I’m Jack Palance. And tonight, you’re going to ride a Vekoma Boomerang that doesn’t actually try to kill you! Believe it . . . or else!” Joyride. It too exists. Like Neo’s Twister. This gives you a good look at Pitts’s weird “treble clef” element, which reminded me of Fury at Carowinds. At least that's how it looks from this angle. Thunderbird runs surprisingly well for a 17-year-old GCI. I like its nice sign and waterfall, too. It does, indeed, have hair time--if you provide the hair. “This here’s the wildest ride in the Finnish wilderness!” OK, this was apparently a somewhat uncomfortable section of track. (Photo probably by AJ or Andy.) I vote for the front row on Thunderbird. (Photo probably by AJ or Andy. Or maybe Elissa. I forget.) So that’s what happened to WDW’s old Tower of Terror billboard. Let’s have another look at Pitts Special. It’s the best Infinity Coaster at Power Park that isn’t Junker. OK, I kid--it’s a fun ride. It’s also endearingly bowlegged. Here’s another ride that happened, but I’m not sure it exists as more than a hallucination. There’s this little indoor mall near the park with a collection of unusual cars--such as James Bond’s Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me. You get a nice view of the park’s skyline on the walk back from the mall. Before we bid a fond farewell to Power Park . . . . . . here’s one last look at Junker.

While on vacation in Vietnam, we decided to try to hit up Asia Park. We'd already been to the other Sun World theme park (Ba Na Hills mini-TR coming later), so it wasn't a big priority for us but with the park only open a few hours every day, we decided if we were ever in the city of an evening to see how the weather was and try and squeeze in a trip. The main reason being, as you've probably seen from my decade of reports, I live in South Korea. For a place where theme parks tend to aim at families, there's a surprising lack of smaller-medium family roller-coasters like Ice Breaker or a mine train. Lotte World has none for young children, and Everland and Seoul Land just have 30-year-old powered coasters and old junior coasters then for all 3 parks the next step-up is straight into just as old Arrow Loopers. My son, a year ago, rode Everland's Vekoma coaster but, being almost 20 years old and running backward had a pretty bumpy ride that put him off, so he'd wanted to go out to this park to try to experience something better for his height (he just hit 120cm) to decide if he did actually like roller-coasters. Unfortunately, the park is well known for closing during the rain, which they only announce 4-5 hours before opening. We were greeted to this notice on Facebook on the Monday of our vacation. Although the park was open by Wednesday, a rain shower passed through, and my wife found on a Korean blog that the park was only operating the Ferris Wheel and indoor kids-play area. Before we continue my wife would like me to point out to anyone with young children that the indoor playground that's shown on the website has been ripped out so the indoor play area for children included in the price is actually just a bunch of arcade games and a ball-battle zone so be aware. The outdoor playground and rope-course in some older photos was also gone. On the last day of the trip we just decided to gamble and go for it, despite the threat of rain, even if it was a bust the night market was next door with a lot of food and entertainment to see, and did have some indoor rides and play-area as out back up plan. This park is pretty unique in that with Vietnams heat and humidity the whole park doesn't begin operations until 3PM. Wife edit: She'd also like me to point out for families, that we didn't see any restaurants at all and maybe one place for snacks in the park, so stock up at the Lotte Mart supermarket next door or just wait for the night market to eat. Note all the different times that everything runs, the rides only ran for 3 hours on the day of our visit. On top of all the different times for the parts of the park, each ride also has a different running time. Disaster for my son though, the junior roller-coaster he planned on trying wouldn't open until 5:15 (actually 5:30) and the one he'd really hoped to be his first 'big' coaster the mine train would not be operating... we figured we'd leave and my trip report will end here..... .... until we saw the prices. 200,000 VND works out to just over $8. Even if we only got 2-3 rides and a go on the famous Sun Wheel, we figured we'd get value for our money. 10 seconds before opening and the crowds were getting restless for rope-drop. Rope drop and all of the restless crowd was off. The first ride spotted and we've already found our first Hard Rock Park survivor. It was unfortunately down for the day. And the second Hard Rock ride found, sadly also closed. This was the closure that bummed my son out the most. A third Hard Rock ride already, and this one was open. And a fourth. Next door was another of the rides down for the day was the Singapore Sling. This one seems to have had a lengthy closure. Nearby was a small train ride, I believe another Hard Rock ride (fifth). Over in the China area, we found a 6th Hard Rock ride.... ... a chair ride.... ... and a pirate ship. In the Korea are this ride was blasting out some K-Pop, strangely it had one of the strictest height restrictions of 130cm for riders. Over in the Korean section should have been the 7th Hard Rock ride, Paradise Fall was originally where the Maximum RPM roller-coaster was constructed. However, for whatever reason it was replaced by this Intamin launched roller-coaster. Being that there was almost no one in the park a lot of the pictures will look like this. Even when people did ride, there were 5-10 minute dispatches so it was almost impossible to get pictures of the ride in motion since we'd also be riding. And I do mean we.... With the mine train closed and the junior roller-coaster not opening until 5:30, my son decided he'd try and give this a go. I tried to talk him out of it as I thought this would be too much for his second-ever roller-coaster. He tried it.... hated the launch and big turn then loved every moment after. But again that's a huge jump from a junior coaster as a baby to this. Having only tried 30-year-old powered coasters and his first real coaster being a backward 20 year old Vekoma, he didn't realise roller-coasters could be and I quote 'not bumpy'. He ended up riding 4 times. He never did like the launch or first turn but it was a big achievement for him. The Sun Wheel was now open so we headed there next. Once the tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, like a lot of the rides here, it was brought from a closed park. This time from Japan. Some views, you can even see the famous Lady Buddha statue. One ride my son was really bummed that was removed, was the new Intamin monorail. You can see the pillars where it used to run. Interestingly although all of the park is situated to the left of the river, the monorail was the only ride to cross and go on the right side of it. You can also see the overgrown bridge where the monorail would pull into the station. We headed over to the junior coaster, also from Hard Rock Park (7th) however it wasn't opening until 5:30... ... so we grabbed another Hard Rock Park ride (8th)... ... and another (9th). The bumper-cars were also located here. I have no idea where these people came from... we rode and then never saw any of them again, the only place we saw a group the whole day apart from at the Sun Wheel. The junior coaster finally opened. I should mention the sun sets in Vietnam REALLY fast. There's not much time between this photo and the one above. We did 2 rides and I planned to ride until closing and sacrifice my last credit. However he decided he wanted to try out a roller-coaster solo for the first time and loved it, so my wife kept an eye on him so I could grab the last roller-coaster. Heading out as all the park lit up. Grabbing a quick solo ride on the way to experience it properly without having to watch my son. Sadly, despite buying all of Hard Rocks roller-coasters, I was not greeted by a B&M looper, but this instead. At least it had the newer style trains. IT wasn't that smooth, but it was fun enough that I rode again which I think I've only ever done for one other SLC (Fantasy Island's Odyssey opening year) Despite the train only using 2 rows, I ended up waiting a long time for someone else to come along and ride so I bailed after that. I should also point out, since it was in the queue while I waited that even when the rides are open all night and not 3:00-6:30, they operate split-shifts. This style has become really popular in Asia post Corona, if you look at my Korean TR's of Legoland/Everland you'll see that a lot of parks have adopted some form of this style of operations, usually with rides sharing the same crew. Fuji-Q being another example of doing this during Corona (not sure if has been discontinued now though. for them), although this style is still alive in Vietnam & Korea. Heading out, I ended up riding this rattly drop tower, so the two girls lined up didn't have to split up for weight. This was originally the location of Hard Rock's roller-soaker however it was replaced by this suspended coaster. I'm not sure if this roller-coaster ever opened either, every report I'd seen had it as SBNO and I couldn't find out if it'd ever had riders outside of publicity shots. After over 20 rides we weren't sure if we'd got enough value out of our $8 tickets so we grabbed 2 more night rides on the Sun Wheel. Note the Dragon Bridge in the background... ... on the weekends it breathes fire and shoots water to soak people on the bridge at 9pm (picture taken the previous weekend) Being rainy season, despite the forecast saying 0% chance of rain, a shower passed through so we decided to leave early (the ferris wheel and amusement arcade inside runs until 10 but rides were already closed) and head out to the market. Wife final edit: All-weather apps were useless for Vietnam, but really don't use Weather Underground for your vacation planning, we found out too late the app and site aren't even authorized in Vietnam. So that was Asia Park. Were operations slow... yes, 10 minute dispatches if other riders didn't show up. Was the ride opening times very short... also yes. Nowhere to really eat.... yes. But we had an amazing time and would recommend it... if you can get a good weather day, $8 is just too cheap for it not to be amazing value for money. We've been to quiet or dead parks before but this took it to a whole other level. Employees waiting outside asking us what we want to ride, walking us over and starting it up. If you're ever in Danang or Hoi-An you could knock out all the credits in about an hour or two, and that's more because of opening times/split shift rides than crowds.

In honor of Xcelerator's reopening, please enjoy some vintage Knott's photos I just found on my computer. I believe these were from 2004/2005.

Bingo. Just to compare the SoCal market... Disneyland 1yr max visits + parking/discounts: $1,649 Universal Studios 1yr max visits + parking/discounts: $629 Knott's Berry Farm 1yr max visits + parking/discounts: $375 Six Flags Magic Mountain 1yr max visits + parking/discounts: $99 There's no way the gate of a flagship park of a proud brand should be sold that cheaply. I'm sure people would be just fine paying a bit more if it meant dick moves like the surcharge aren't considered necessary. They may even be able to maintain their park and start paying people a decent wage too while they're at it.

I'll trade freezing coaster rides for the everything else that CF does better than Six Flags any day of the week. There's more to parks than coasters.

They will be added after the first time an overweight guest posts a viral TikTok video of not hearing their restraint "click" so they "thought they were going to die and experienced 'trauma" because they believed the restraint wasn't locked since the ride isn't "accommodating large guests." That, or they just weren't installed when they showcased the train.

So it actually did crash, get disassembled, shipped, repaired, repainted, reassembled, and tested quicker than SFStl's carousel could have all of the horses bonded, sanded, and repainted?

Spent 1:30-6:30 in the park today and rode nonstop. Walk ons everywhere. Even Justice League was a walk on. Felt a bit holiday in the park-ish with both Frontier Adventures and the Boardwalk closed. 60% of the B&Ms were unavailable today but the two best ones were open and they made up for it by making sure 100% of the Intamins ran pretty much flawlessly all day. Temps in the mid 30s at closing but Ka and Toro didn't care. And that's still too warm for Nitro and Batman, they need it to be colder. I don't care if you think I'm on crack, Great Adventure in the late fall/early winter is one of the most gorgeous parks in the country and you won't convince me otherwise. How much did your Intamins run today, Hershey? Sunset laps on Nitro are just the best.

I just hope Cedar Fair and Six Flags have been paying attention to this thread. Otherwise, they probably never even considered how the FTC will view this merger. Six Flags Saint Louis clientele have been neglected repeatedly over that mindset.

She won't stay out of it even though it clearly should not be viewed as an issue

Have you considered that perhaps the problem isn't that "theme park ppl" are paid too much, but rather that entry level "corporate jobs" (along with everyone) aren't paid enough and CEOs and other executives are paid too much?

quickie follow up before we went to bed. . as in the morning we'd be leaving Denmark, on our way to Norway via ferry. .. but when we got back from Legoland, it was still fairly early (I think perhaps 7:30 or so). . . .and some of the folks were hungry. although I'd had a big lunch, I'm always up for hanging out, so I joined Jon & Jason for a walk around the neighborhood to see what was avail. we ended up finding a mostly deserted (I guess 8pm was late on a Monday) Sushi Place that was still open. The proprietor spoke no English at all - and seemingly no Danish either. Luckily, I knew a small bit of Japanese . . . oh let's be honest, we were successful because the place had pictures of all the Sushi on the wall for a menu, and one only had to point at what one wanted. I'd assume that's how they got around the language barrier for any customer it was SO good. after eating we headed back to the Zleep Hotel for our last night in Aarhus, and I spotted a "Pride" bench. a Photo op? yes please: I made Daniel proud, and I even did "the Method" on the bench: and then it was back to the hotel, where I believe we joined in the lobby to share some wine with folks saying goodbye to Caroline - who was heading home in the morning. and then off to bed. big travel day tomorrow!

Just doing a test to see how photos & videos upload with the latest forum software… IMG_7525.mp4 IMG_7526.mp4 IMG_7527.mp4 IMG_7528.mp4 IMG_7529.mp4 IMG_7530.mp4 IMG_7531.mp4

Day 10: Mon, June 12th part 2 : Legoland Billund continued the folks I was hanging out with today kept talking about "Ice Piolts School" and how we had to do that before it filled up. I didn't know what they were talking about (not putting two and two together). So we headed back over to Polar X-plorer, and I was even more confused, when they went to the side of the coaster entrance then up a short path into a warehouse. oh. . this thing. yeah.. this is that INSANE "robot arm" ride, where you can program it yourself, and then the robot does what you've asked it to do. You have to pair with someone, as it's teams of two, and I was feeling rather brave (realize that you can't see the actual Robot Arms. .they're behind the walls), so I told David, yeah, I'll ride with you - after everyone else passed on riding with him because he wanted to ride in *extreme* setting. here are the screens where you pic what actions you want the robot arm to do. then it spits out a card, that you take around the corner to give to the operator - who feeds the card into the Robot, and it does what you've programmed it to do for your "ride" oh my! well, that doesn't look too bad! looks like fun. and then I watched someone ride who had apparently chosen "Extreme" as well. . ..seriously, it looked like the Robot Arm was bashing them against rocks, like a cavewoman doing laundry! LOL too late to turn back now! yeah. .there are people on that arm (in that blur) our turn. .here's David an I ! MBSX9787.MOV and I believe I have Elissa to thank for capturing this. . . . can't really remember, but I *think* we hopped on Polar X-plorer, since it's right next door. before heading over to that Egyptian themed ride I had seen earlier. I wasn't exactly sure what this ride was, but I prayed it was more gentle than Ice Pilots School. . .it HAD to be. . lots of littler kids in this queue. Turns out it was a shooting dark ride. i don't recall much about it, so I guess it wasn't a super exciting shooting ride, but was cool to see all the stuff made out of legos. it was almost time for lunch, so we headed back towards the park entrance. That observation tower - while not super tall - was tall enough for my liking and wanted to try it out post lunch, as hadn't been on that side of the park yet. lunch was in the Pizza Buffet. . which had some wonderfully strange pizzas (as Erik pointed out in his report), as well as seafood salad, and that wonderful tasting "Not Butter, Not Chicken" - which actually WAS butter chicken, and was one of the best things I had at any of the parks we visited. the fountains weren't working, so we got bottles with lunch. hmm. .maybe those Lego polar bears on the way into the park WERE Coke cross promotion? David happy with his small cup of Ice Cream, Me pleased with my larger (not as messy cup) and Jason upset he didn't think to use the drinking cup for Ice Cream. Letting the food settle a big, we wandered towards the observation tower, but stopped to browse in the giant Lego Store at the front of the park on the way. so soft!!! Bwaaa-haaaa-haaaa! I'm a rebel! see?? grrrrrr map of the park. . .it seems SO much bigger when you're walking around in it. it's very spread out. LOVED the Lego store. Even if you're not really into the blocks..it's still amazing just to see what they have on display in there! I went back and forth on if I should get Banana or Hot Dog. it was so hard to decide. Luckily no KISS ones. . or would have been schlepping big things back with me! exclusive to this store? after too much $$ spent, was time to head back into the park and up in the observation tower! We'd be heading back this way shortly, because the Aquarium and the NinjaGo section is back there behind Mini-land. on the left is one of the Legoland HOtels, and I believe way back over there is the Lego Campus (with the yellow brick on top) looking down at part of Mini-land as we head up. that's Lego House in the back with the giant window on top. not sure what the castle is. . possibly one of the Legoland hotels? (one is called the Castle Hotel) better view of the spread out park - that's polar X-plorer way back center right. . . and a better view of Lego campus on the left. and catching planes landing in the airport across the street. back at ground level, checking out some of the awesome mini-land as we walked by. i wanted to spend a lot of time here, but there were other things on my list I wanted to knock out first to be sure I did them. these planes taxiied. . and pulled into the terminals! so freaking cool. Safari time! I might be mis-remembering, but I think it was this line where a park goer got into an argument with the operator because the operator wouldn't let him ride without a shirt. So he threatened to put his shorts on over his head so he could ride, because the rules only said "Shirt and shoes must be worn" but nothing about pants. after he stormed off, we laughed with the operator about it. Pretty sure that happened in this queue. myself and Jonathan shared a jeep on this safari. a picture of Jason and David, taking pictures of us as we passed them on the "Savannah" Big Mike scores his own Jeep! we found our way back! and perfect timing too. . the train pulled into the station right next to the Safari ride. it's a rather tiny/cute train tho. . can a bunch of TPR guys fit in it??? you betcha!! a little "snug". . but a nice slow ride, that goes around the park a bit, tho mainly by Miniland. watch out for Robbers!! Traffic School. . . LOL. . loved this, but was for the littler kids. I could have done the Fire Brigade one, as that's for adults/families. . but the line for it was a bit long, and as mentioned, I still had some "must dos" on my list. some lovely picnic areas sprinkled about the park too. off the train, and we headed across the walkway for one of the most classic Legoland rides (at least one I'd always heard about) the boats! a nice slow moving ride, that you don't actually have to steer, that brings you among the world's greatest wonders. all made out of Lego of course. I recall you COULD sorta "steer". . but it really didn't make much difference where you went. hey, I know that!! I've been referring the Sphinx as "Sfinx" ever since I saw this. . . it's rotted my brain and stuck in it. . LOL I imagine it's what a cat sneezing and farting at the same time sounds like: Sfinx ("bless you") ta-daaaa! what can I say? it's a classic. next up? the Haunted Mansion. . I mean. . . . "Ghost" the Haunted House. which, I will admit up front. .I absolutely loved. doggie ghost? uh-oh. . Frankie's on the Juice again! parts of the walkthru are interactive - say you pick up a flashlight and shine it on something, and the figure moves. or pull a book out of the book case, and a fart noise happens. same thing if you step in the wrong spot on the steps - loud fart sound. yes, juvenile, but funny. and there's a mirror maze in the center of the house! with some mirrors hiding ghosts that appear out of nowhere. but the biggest "whaaaa?" is at the end of the house, when they move you into a room and load you into a small drop tower (think mini version of Mystery Castle at Phantasialand). . where you face across from another row of guests, also about to be dropped. not a huge drop, but fun and had us laughing. and the operator was kind enough to take this picture for us before the lap bar came down over our heads. creepy ass giant spider made of Lego greets you at the exit. to be concluded. . .

taken me a bit of time to get back to this, but hopefully worth the wait. my first EVER Legoland, and it's the biggie. . so took a LOT of pics, and will have to split this report up. Day 10: Mon, June 12th part 1 : Legoland Billund so we got up fairly early from the Zleep in and piled onto the bus for the drive. where were we headed? oh my. . .getting giddy! strangely located across the street from a functioning airport - tho it didn't seem to be a commercial airport, so must be mainly for freight (tho I'd guess used for executives coming to Lego headquarters?) - is the biggest and best Legoland (so I've heard. . this is my first one ever) even across the street in the parking lot, there's some theming going on. . . but this was nothing compared to what we'd see when we got to the actual park. it really is a full assault on your senses, with sounds and things to look at EVERYWHERE. this is still outside the front gates! Lego flag of Denmark? Modern Art? I dunno. . but I liked it. the lil Lego guys n gals hard at work building over the actual main gate. TPR Group Pic (courtesy of Robb) before heading into the park with out guide. and because he had on this AWESOME shirt, a pic (also courtesy of Robb) with Erik as the *STAR* - may we all burn so brightly some day! ah. . a bit more like it- as we're heading into the park. a more themed Trash can. wow. .this place is a lot bigger than it looks like on the maps! and that we were in before it officially opened, meant I could get lots of clear pics of many of the amazing Lego art all around the park as we headed to our first ride of the day: a ride on one of the park's 4 family coasters: Flying Eagle. Pizza pizza! . . and now I want a Coke! dang, this park is absolutely beautiful. I'd always heard and seen pics of some of the Legoland "Minilands". . but I was super impressed with how immersive this is! and so many of the parts are moving parts! cars, trucks, planes, trains, ships, even drawbridges. . . all work with the push of a button. a famous Legoland attraction - the boats. Oh yes, I was coming back for this once park opened. and the Lego safari. I didn't ever get to ride the Lego Catipillar. . and I'm wondering since in the pic I took, there's a maintenance guy there working on it, if it ever actually opened on the day we were there? but look how ADORABLE it is !!! and what's this? "Ghost". . . this Legoland has a haunted house walk thru? yup. . . + a surprise ending. naked hairy-chested Lego man in the Western section is making me have "feelings" that I'm not quite sure what to make of them. and adorbs Carousel. . . that I figured wasn't going to be allowed to ride, since it's so tiny (and I was correct.. . don't recall riding it, so must have been told no). ooo. . a log flume too over here. but this is what we had trekked back over here for.. Flying Eagle. since in the Western section, lots of "old West" Lego animals about.. such as this Buffalo and this Bald Eagle. some nice "Lego" theming on the coaster train itself tho the front car had a nice Lego Eagle piece attached. Here's Robb filming in the front row. whee!! the workers in this section were really getting into character. I loved his painted nails, so asked for a pic. whee!!! this wasn't operating yet (remember, we were there, I think, a good hour before park open), but this seemed to be a "Pirates" themed boat Dark Ride. Princess Garden? hmmmmmm. . . we bypassed Dragen (a Mack powered coaster) on our way to the next coaster. . .but I think everyone made a note to come back to this as soon as morning ride time is over, since apparently Dragen at all the Legoland Parks tends to be a slow mover. (wasn't the case here, as not only were they running two trains on this powered coaster / Dark Ride - having never been before I had no idea what to expect, but I LOVED the dark ride section it starts out with - but also because it was a Monday, so never really got super crowded). and outdoor theater for, I think, a Pirate vs Medieval Knights show? not 100% sure, as didn't make time to go see it. the castle that Dragen is located in really is a looming centerpiece here, and it's very cool how they keep the theming all the way around it. with lots of nooks and crannies to explore in. this is where we were headed tho: X-treme Racers (a Mack wild mouse) they weren't quite ready for us, and were testing to get it up and going, so I explored the area a bit. further down this way is the 4th coaster in the park - Polar X-plorer - we'd head there next. aw. . a cute lil dragon for checking heights me being a child.. . put your empty bottles in da butthole. it's a Llego Llama! this was intriguing. . . turns out it's a shooting dark ride. and peeking in the side of a gaming area. . all kinds of large stuffed toys one can win. the blue Koala looks kinda like Stitch to me (and the pink? kinda like Elmo) . . never noticed that. got the call back that it was time to ride X-treme Racers, so headed back that way. being in the front row means Elissa & Robb won, right? they beat those in the 2nd row? Big Mike and Bert going Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee (I think this pic is from Andy. . thanks!) Big Mike and Caroline are ready to race. . . but what I think makes this pic? is how thrilled Kristen looks that she's next on and then we headed over to Polar X-Plorer. . . the parks other "big" coaster. It's still a mostly mild family coaster, but this one has a very surprising center section! You break thru the "Ice" when you stop in a show building. . you hear all the ice cracking around you, and then suddenly? a drop track! absolutely thrilling for those few seconds, and the adrenaline keeps you tingling for the remainder of the ride. Someone told me there used to be live penguins around the coaster - or maybe you just ended up in a penguin encounter area? But I only recall seeing Lego Penguins (and Walruses) on this, and I rode it a few times. I think this tied with Dragen as my favorite coaster here, as both had elements that make them a bit more thrilling than just a family coaster. which is NOT to say that Legoland doesn't have rides for thrillseeking adults - oh, they most certainly DO. But the coasters are targeted towards those that prefer rides with no inversions or "extreme" elements. I don't seem to have any pics on Polar X-lorer. . but it was fun. before cutting us loose, our park guides asked Robb if the group would like to head into Movie World and get an opening ride on Emmet's Flying Couch. . . so we followed them next door into Lego Movie World I LOVED this area. . and not just because of the photo ops. but of COURSE I had to be "Banana Man" and Bunny. Kitty had two smaller drop towers. . group pic before going into Flying Couch. . which is a "Soarin" type ride with three stacked couches in each section instead of three rows of "seats" it's actually some pretty perfect synergy, and makes total sense! i did get a little bit motion sick from it - but that could have been as I hadn't really eaten yet that day, or maybe was just too close to the side of the screen. regardless, it was Awesome!! (or as they say in Denmark: "Super Duper!") getting instructions on where to meet for lunch, and planned leaving time. . and then cut loose to enjoy the park on our own, as it was now open. not everything opens at park open, so tho they have a "flipping Plane" type ride, it wasn't open yet. Iit was by a different manufacturer that typically makes air-race, and the folks that were going to be operating it told us the number of flips they have as the record is hard to beat (tho it was fairly low). we knew some in the TPR group could probably beat the flip record, so made plans to come back once open but for now, most of the group headed to Dragen. everything that would be breathing in this pic, is actually Lego.. even the ducks! lovely attention to detail in the large ride queue inside the castle gates. and many of these vignettes sprinkled thruout the queue-line. you pushed a button and they activated, causing song, and some movement. LOL.. I noticed the measuring system for the kiddos here on Dragen for the first time. LOVE it. the outfits for the workers here were cute too - and again with the foam sword. this operator was very into it as well, when I asked for a pic taken *with* permission from the photo booth person, as the machine was down and they couldn't print it out (otherwise would have bought it for a magnet) what is this? let's check it out! hmm. . looks like it's supposed to "mist" or "squirt". . . no harm that it didn't on us. . LOL ooooooohhhhhh. . it's this thing! I saw these last year at Klotten - where it seemed the point was to swing out under a waterfall and get soaked. tho here it didn't seem quite as wet. . and the riders were getting quite a bit of "whip" motion. so we stayed in line (pic courtesy of Big Mike) it was more fun than I had been expecting, and didn't end up wet at all. don't think I rode this again. . . probably just snagging pics as we walked back over to Movie World for the planes. but interesting they are launching the cars much closer together than would be done in the USA. hi David! this is who we figured would beat the flip record here. . and I'm pretty sure he did. actually, I'm positive he did. . even tho the ride plays dirty, and if you flip too many times, it slows you down so you can't get yourself too dizzy (at least that's what the ride op told me). and Jason and Jon giving it a go as well. me too. .tho I'm not really good at getting these things to flip. but whatdda ya know? on this version, I was pretty able to do it. oh, not a LOT of flips, but at least proof I did it a couple of times. to be continued. . .

Thanks for the photos! Wow, it's like my childhood visits all over again! That was right around the time I started getting big enough to ride things and my family would take me quite often. The park has changed so much over the years, mostly for the better, unless you count their bad operations or them destroying Monte!

The more you charge, the more premium the food becomes. Everyone knows that. I can't wait until this spills over to Cedar Fair.

LEGO House has been on our radar for a few years now, but just didn't seem like the kind of place we were likely to get to. But when this trip came up, it suddenly started to feel like a possibility, existing just down the road from Legoland Billund. Still, some logistical challenges remained. Basically, we would have to take 2 or 3 hours away from an already short-ish operating day at the world's fullest Legoland (which looked quite good and which we had also never been to). Would we be able to pull it off without shortchanging ourselves in the park? Am I trying to build suspense for some reason? Am I going to name this update "No Butter No Chicken"? The answers lie ahead.... 13: Today in the Dog Enough Daniel! It's Erik's special day! This shirt proved very popular with both the staff and the park's patrons. Full disclosure: I'd only ever been to one other Legoland Park, Florida's. Which I quite like. But, of course, that park has an interesting mixed-cultural parentage. Which is sort of its claim to fame. Billund's claim to fame is that it has a whole slew of rides that the other parks just don't. Much of Legoland Billund, with Lego Campus and LEGO House both in the distance. The park has 4 roller coasters, 3 of which are roller coasters, and none of which are particularly good. Most in the group seemed to like this one, Polar X-Plorer. The Lego Movie World section before park open. Lots of nice details, though the area does feel a little cramped. Yes, it's a flying theater! Turns out that Dansk for "Awesome" is "Super Duper!" I've no idea what "Today in the Dog" means. It was fun. But the smell-effects only worked on one side of it...!? World's Least Wild Wild Mouse Indoor/Outdoor Pirate Ride (though not nearly as elaborate as a Disney Pirate Ride). Le-Go, Le-Go, a plastic life for me! That's terrible. The queue for Dragen. The dark ride section at the beginning is quite similar to the one in Florida, but I don't think this works as well as a powered coaster, personally. Legoland Billund has a full scale (in terms of boats and trough-width) miniature (in terms of height) log flume! It basically just goes up, cruises past some Lego animals, and then ends in a small drop. But it's fun. Careful, Mr. Spider, those children really hurt if you step on one. A Legoland haunted house? Mostly a walk-through... ...that ends with an enclosed mini drop tower. Maybe the best attraction here? There was a walk-up selling different kinds of fancy hot dogs, and one that had steak instead of the hot dog. So I asked if I could get the steak on the hot dog, and the man shed a single tear and whispered, "American." Hey, I've been to the real version of this place! Now, when was that? Oh, like, 10 days ago. There's a miniature of the LEGO House in Legoland Billund. Which kind of makes sense, but is still interesting in historical context. The quick and dirty version: Lego, doing quite well with their product and their factory tour, decides to build a theme park. Then comes more theme parks. Then comes hard financial times and they sell off the theme parks in order to survive. They recover and try to buy the theme parks back, but no luck. So, back in their original position of doing quite well with their product, they build the LEGO House. So LEGO owns LEGO House, but not Legoland. However, Lego started an investment company a couple of years back that now has a 30% stake in Merlin, who currently own the Legoland parks. So...yeah. Man, all that corporate business talk has made me hungry. Time for group lunch at the pizza buffet! Traditional Danish hot dog and corn pizza. You already know if I used this as the title of this update, but I don't. Legoland Billund has a SeaLife Aquarium, but it's a bit smaller in scale and included with park admission. Yup, it's a real aquarium. Lego theming is the easiest theming. A view of the entry midway from the main store. At this point, we've decided to go for the LEGO House. And here it is! That wasn't so bad. The CreativiTree. It's not called that. Hang on. "Tree of Creativity" Wow. Mine is actually better. Is this better than a theme park? Well, no. But as someone who was into Lego as a kid, but doesn't do anything with them now, I'd say the LEGO House is still pretty cool, and well worth a visit. I might need help with this caption. Bert? The basement level is more museum-like. You order your food by putting Lego together. Like, a blue brick equals a tuna sandwich, and a red brick equals an apple, or whatever. We ran into AJ, who (as far as I know) is the only other member of our group to head over here. For clarity, this is not a photo of AJ, but rather of an elevator shaft. See, many parts of the LEGO House are free, included roof access. Which I had no idea was even a thing and probably would've missed if not for AJ. Looking back at Lego Campus and Legoland. It took all of our strength not to check this out. And, in different circumstances. But we were already on a pretty tight schedule, and there were still things back at the park we hadn't done yet. So LEGO House, yes. Teddy Bear Art Museum, unfortunately no. LEGO Campus. Not really for civilians and more of a fun-for-employees headquarters. We made no attempt to enter. We also passed by a couple of Lego Hotels on the way back to the park. So many transportation rides. Time for a shooting dark ride but karate chops instead of guns and also you can't do it! A classic Legoland "let the kids play with Lego while the adults wait in line" setup. Is it a good dark ride? I dunno, I spent most of it trying to figure out what hand movements to make to actually shoot at the targets. But maybe it's not really for me. I bet the kids figure it our right away. Ah well. Stupid kids. Lego sex is only for the very brave. Smisty insisted on a plushy. I tried to talk her out of it. I did not succeed. Legoland Billund also has a rapids ride. Yes, I know this is a photo of pigs. Look behind them. Complete with a vertical lift and a drop. The more normal shooting dark ride, The Temple. A pretty common Legoland ride. Basically, this park has most of the common ones, and then a bunch of rare and unique ones. Okay, time to make like a mummy and Lego. That made no sense. Score: 7

Can we change this thread to: fun with flags?

I'd be down for a Winterfest type event with limited attractions open.

Excelerator is back!!!

It's cute that you still have any faith in the FTC to enforce antitrust laws.

^ It's actually going to be a new stunt show arena where the cast just rides T3 over and over for twenty minutes seven or eight times a day. Real dangerous stuff, I'm surprised OSHA is allowing it.

Not only SeaWorld and Herschend but Disney, Universal, Palace, and the many many individually owned parks, whether it be a family owned park or one owned by a corporation like Hershey. The FTC is going to see that Disney still has more attendance and revenue than all the CF and SF parks together so I don't think they will consider it a monopoly. I mean if Ticketmaster is allowed to continue to exist then this isn't even close to a monopoly and look at how many airline mergers the government has allowed.

Sorry that was brutal, but it felt good to get it off my chest because the whole thing has been bothering me for months AND I thought the story was pertinent to much of what is happening at the park right now!

great update! in particular, this line: The photo of the photo session of the video session of the TPR Gran Prix.

Universal has released new information and concept art for their new resort in Texas - now called Universal Kids Resort! https://corporate.universaldestinationsandexperiences.com/universal-destinations-amp-experiences-creates-first-ever-theme-park-concept-for-families-with-young-children-universal-kids-resort/ Today, Universal Destinations & Experiences, a division of Comcast NBCUniversal, officially introduces Universal Kids Resort – the company’s first-ever theme park designed specifically for families with young children. Located in Frisco, Texas and first announced earlier this year, this imaginative, original resort brings the company’s innovative style of storytelling to a new, younger audience. Universal Kids Resort will include a theme park featuring immersive themed lands that celebrate Universal’s iconic brand of entertainment, humor and fun – bringing to life its beloved characters and stories in ways that will wow the youngest theme park goers. It will feature family-friendly attractions, interactive and playful shows, unique merchandise, fun food and beverage venues and character meet and greets. The resort area will also include a 300-room themed hotel giving families a place to stay and to play following their day of adventure. “Universal Kids Resort will inspire the unbridled creativity of kids through imagination, discovery and most importantly – play,” said Molly Murphy, President, Universal Creative. “We’re designing the resort so kids and families can feel the thrill of being physically immersed in their most beloved stories and characters.” Set in lush green landscape with a distinctive look, feel and scale specifically for younger kids, the park will deliver the quality the Universal brand is known for worldwide. Progress on the new concept is well underway following a groundbreaking in November. Universal Kids Resort will drive immediate economic impact for the region, creating thousands of jobs including more than 2,500 new construction jobs. Throughout the project, the company will remain focused on ensuring the resort adds value and positively serves the community.

Day 10: Mon, June 12th part 3 : Legoland Billund concluded. . Headed over to the Pirates dark ride. .and how neat, the sharks circle the old man on the island. he looks emaciated tho. . why doesn't he eat a parrot? or a Turtle? not as fully immersive as "similar" versions of a Pirate ride, but this one is starting out rather fun. Dead Men Tell No Tales! a bar b queue? looks tasty! and you can certainly tell who's in charge here. . . whadda ya want lady? you seem to be leaning in!! Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Turtle's life for me. Oh my! this is getting PG-13 yeah.. .we're ALL thinking the same thing. . . . since we're already a LITTLE moist from the waterfall in the Pirate ride. . let's head over to the flume ride. themed to Canoes. this really seems to be the only picture I have of it! I guess it was an ok flume.. not a big one by any means, but pleasant enough. but was able to get some good shots of the Flying Eagle from the flume queue and for some reason, took a pic of the Lego goats in the station., le sigh. . . too tiny for adults to ride (which I knew as soon as I saw it. . so wasn't TOO disappointed), and was happy to see it had people on it at least. the park does have a rapids ride too. .. which if I didn't have this pic of us on? would totally have forgotten about. I guess it didn't soak us! time to head to the very back of the park, for the NinjaGo section! pretty cool statue. . . tho this is a really large area, and it was really pretty empty. Seems like maybe the line isn't as popular as once was? this was tough! It's an interactive ride where you use "ninja moves" by waving your hands/arms over the sensors to fight Ninja/bad guys on screens during the ride. think Midway Mayhem, but instead of having pull toy guns. . you have nothing.. just your hands to figure out what motions might get a reaction and shoot/throw something I can't really say it was "enjoyable" because too much of the ride was trying to figure out how the system works, so you could "play". but it was an indoor seated ride, so there's that. and THIS is right next door in the same building!! we had managed to bump into another group of TPR folks in the Ninja ride, and all headed to the maze together. in all honestly? this was quite a lot of fun. you had to go down the hallway, avoiding the lasers and you could compete for best time. there were two side by side tunnels, so didn't get pics of everyone, only those that came thru this side. I believe this blur is David. Jason Jon hands down, my favorite. . .Caroline just walked thru them and hit the buzzer. Bwaaa-haaa-haaa. . she had the fastest time, but the tunnel was very upset with her, turning bright red! Colllin of course, Daniel was great at it Barry this is listed as an "attraction" in the Legoland guide. . it's a musical fountain, that performs every 15 minutes or so. to be honest? I quite enjoyed it! another look at the Driving school as passing by on the way to the overhead Monorail station. and now the view of the park from the Monorail. . which goes around basically the same area the train does. . . but hey, we're up in the sky now! you can see the Blue "sister" train (we're on red) across the way next to the trees on the right. and there's Yellow. It's a long enough course, they can run 3 trains at once..it was a pleasant ride around the center of the park. . mainly over Duplo Land (kiddie rides) and the Miniatures area. realizing we'd missed the Aquarium. . . cutting thru MiniTown to head over to it. a little (working) street carnival! I swear, this whole area was so neat. and SO much to look at. here's the included aquarium. . which started out with a really odd pre-show room, that had a film that mentioned "if you feel ill raise your hand" so I've got to wonder if at one point, the first room was actually a motion simulator, that took you "undersea".. because it certainly looked like it was set up to admit groups of perhaps 25-30 at a time (what you would expect in a motion simulator) and when the room doors opened, we were in the underwater aquarium. if they removed that at some point, it's a shame, as it would have made the seemingly pointless pre-show room make sense, and added a little fun. tho I loved the theming (even if not made out of Lego) leaving the Pre-show room and into the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. it really is a pretty cool walk thru Aquarium. .just rather small. they do have lots of buttons to push, that make some of the Lego figures in the tank move, or blow bubbles. I shit you not. . .this guy, when you push the button, farts in his suit. He then reacts thru the speakers (lots of "ewwwwww") and then bubbles seep out of his suit. Klassy with a K. . . . but yeah, I stayed and pushed the button a few times I'm sure the Kiddos find it hysterical. Lion Fish photobombed by Big Mike how YOU doin? Jason wonders about the meaning of life. . and yeah, i'm not missing THIS photo op.. tho I was trying to look scared and I have failed all the "major" stuff checked off my list, I broke off to wander about Minitown to check out all the stuff I hadn't seen yet, while the rest went back to ride, Polar X-plorer, I think. some of these are SO damn impressive. so many moving parts. . .the trucks , the boats, the bridges. as I keep saying, so. freaking. impressive. Elissa pointed this out to me, so I had to get a pic too! "DO NOT HUMP" the firetruck pulls out and rescues a kitten from the tree! NEVER in America. . look how close to the tracks those people are standing. . . bumped into Andy also checking out the Miniland Airport it was getting close to the time to leave, but I popped in to check out the "hands on building" area, where there are plenty of bricks for folks to let their imaginations run wild and build whatever they can dream of. the really good stuff gets kept and displayed, while the workers undo the bricks to get them ready for the next day for all the others. what's interesting to me is they have cases surrounding the build area, filled with specialty/custom builds and unique builds that have been done for the park/company that they want to display. some are truly incredible. an example out on the work counter of the kind of stuff Guests can build with the available yellow bricks. Ferrari also had a full Lego Ferrari on display! it was incredible! (and amazingly, most paid attention to the little sign and did not climb on it)! I'm not sure what this big plantation/farm display was near the front of the park, but it too had a lot of moving parts. . . or should I say Moo-ving (cows, get it? wink wink) if you went around to the farm side, there were buttons to push and the animals would come out of their stalls and performed a song. headed back to the bus, and passed this guy and this beautiful dog. asked his permission and he said sure. . love how the dog is looking RIGHT at me. what a pretty doggo, and the perfect way to end a great day at LegoLand ! hope you enjoyed following along. bert

...and while I was checking out something else (looking for the date of Original SPAMALOT opening...) at http://www.ibdb.com (great site for everything Broadway), I came across one of the musicals "coming to Broadway in 2024." I know it's a bit of a wait for it to open (Mar-April) next year, but knowing what "the score" consists of, has me Definitely Interested for it. And here's the website for the show. https://heartofrocknrollbway.com/ With the songs of Huey Lewis & The News! I also love this logo for the show. It would make a great pin!

it's now a moot point for me anyways. .as I took advantage of the Cyber sale and did 2-meal-per-visit dining plan (as they note - in bright red on the site -- that dining is good at all parks your pass is good at. and since I splurged for the Diamond pass? that 2 meals per visit is good at all six flags parks). so since I'll have meal plan now? no surcharge for me. which is what I expect they were trying to drive people to anyways. i still think it's tacky and horrible. . . but a non-issue for me now.

Playland(PNE) just posted info. about the 2024 Season Pass available. PLUS, info. on the new coaster opening next year: ThunderVolt. That's what they're calling it. https://www.pne.ca/playland/ for the coaster info. https://www.ticketleader.ca/events/detail/playland-2024-season-passes ThunderVOLT current construction shot (posted by Playland).

I went on opening night; the place was dead. My longest wait of the night was 5 and a half trains for the back row of Twisted Timbers. I should have my TR from it up soon. Be sure to check the weather forecast before going, since they don't run Twisted Timbers or Dominator (the only two thrill coasters open for Winterfest) if it drops below 40 degrees.

Knott’s Merry Farm has returned from now through January 7th, and the park has transformed into a dazzling winter wonderland! Knott's own vocal quartet, the Calico Carolers, transports guests back in time to a Victorian Christmas as they perform the season's songs throughout the streets of Ghost Town. Christmas in Calico continues as the Snow and Glow experience fills the buildings and paths with thousands of lights dancing to the beat of Christmas music while “snow” gently falls throughout Ghost Town. Over at the Walter Knott Theater, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang take to the ice in Snoopy's Night Before Christmas. This guest favorite returns with the Knott’s Ice-Skating Ensemble and Snoopy retelling the classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” re-imagined Peanuts style. It’s not a holiday celebration without festive food. Throughout the park, guests can indulge in traditional holiday classics with a twist! Below are four of the items we tried. We loved the Classic Turkey Sandwich with all the Trimmings (all inside the bun)! Chicken Tamales Fries Rudolph's Chicken, Artichoke, and Spinach Dip Pizza Garlic Truffle Mayo and Mushroom Burger Be sure to visit knotts.com to plan your visit to Knott's Merry Farm! Thank you to the Knott's PR Team for once again inviting us to ring the the merriest season of them all!

Thanks! Our hotel is like a block away from Bryant Park so I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time at that Winter Village (racclette!). Ellen's Stardust looks like a perfect spot for us so thanks for that! The girls have seen touring productions of Aladdin and Lion King, but Six would be fun if we can get tickets. Since it's the week of Christmas a lot of shows appear to have low availability (and seem to be pretty expensive) so we'll see what happens with adding a show. I have a feeling after a few days of walking they're gonna be worn out so maybe trip to American Dream wouldn't be the worst thing. Thanks for the response!

Oof, this is a big question... First off, I do really like American Dream. I know the reports are very hit and miss based on what's open but we have really enjoyed a few visits to the park and water park. The "mall" is not a real mall at all so keep that in mind. It's more an entertainment area indoors with a few random stores and food. For a second broadway show with kids that age I would probably suggest Aladdin or Lion King unless you think they're a little more advanced then Six could be a fun option too! Food wise, there's just soooo much. Bryant Park Winter Shops will still be going on and it's a ton of little food booths that are all AMAZING, that can be really fun for the kids. Ellen's Stardust Diner for the singing waiters. Any specific food they really like you'll be able to find a really cool restaurant in NYC I guarantee it! Feel free to reach out to me if you have more questions!

so it can ride a Morgan Hypercoaster (with those hard plastic seats) with no worries of pain. - did that help? Great update!

Here is the link to the reveal for the new TT2 trains with Tony and Zamperla from Cedar Point at IAAPA. Nothing was said about the lighting package in the video. I hope it has it too...

Six Flags / Cedar Fair is small potatoes compared to what's currently on FTC's plate. The worst case scenario of them possibly selling off 1-2 parks is honestly something they're probably going to do anyway simply to optimize operational resources.

Something to add, about Space Mountain. I totally forgot that besides there being a new design look for it, the whole 'mountain' itself was being rebuilt and moved farther back from it's current location! And where the Mountain once stood, a new Plaza is being created. It makes me wonder, if in rebuilding SM, will it be a clone of the original one, or a track re-design and build, etc? Time will tell. Artist Concept art of the new Space Mountain and Plaza at night.

Change makes me uncomfortable

Awesome! We're planning to (hopefully) visit* Japan and TDR in <gulp> 2029, when the newly designed (outer) Space Mountain is also open, by then. *If by then, we can still afford it, too. This looks nice, too. Closing in 2024. Re-Opening in 2027.

Returned to the park during the vacation, when a rainstorm earlier had meant the park wasn't too busy. Sadly Everland's icon, the magic tree seems to have been completely removed after the fire. A little bit of a shame when it features in the new fireworks show. There'd been a typhoon the previous day so I wasn't too surprised to see this sign. The whole area was roped off even at closing Friday, but T-Express was back up and running the next morning. At least Roling X-Train was open..........yay.... The birth of the twin pandas and the uncertainty of when/if the current baby panda Pubao will have to go to China seems to have driven up interest. Reminded me of trying to see the Mona Lisa. And I ended up seeing the panda mostly by lifting my phone up.... so just like the Mona Lisa. The baby panda not looking so babyish anymore. Unlike the Mona Lisa however, you can live cam the exhibit while standing right next to the exhibit. We waited 10 minutes to get in, but this was the line on the weekend... and this is even before the new pandas go on display. Interest seems to be extremely high. My wife and son both desperately want to go when the baby twins do go on display but I'm assuming, based on the way they displayed Pubao when she was a baby, those reservation tickets will sell out in seconds when they go live. We recreated the viral thing. And finished our time there with panda ice cream. Oh no, my son loves the Summer Night dance parties, but the amount of water is insane. Those tipping buckets in the picture are over the seating areas. A very drenched child... ... Being already wet we hit up the rapids. We hit up the ride 5 minutes before they shut it down, around 8:30 to make sure the ride is emptied out before fireworks, so we waited 5 minutes. Everland has really been putting out a lot of new fireworks shows lately. Instead of the Summer Jukebox (usually themed around musicals or film scores), there was an original production Evertopia The Origin of Everland, this year. In over 12 years of going to Everland, I think this is the first time I've ever seen them run it in the rain. It's always been outright canceled or just the media portion. Usually, since we've only ever seen it run on dry days, everyone has to sit down for the fireworks, so this was my son's first time ever standing up. He is 120cm and has got very spoilt on being able to see from wherever from sitting shows. He moved 3 times in this performance due to new people coming in, standing, and blocking his view or one or two children on shoulders, and has decided he doesn't want to do standing shows again. Unlike previous shows with fireworks throughout, it's mostly a 15-minute cartoon starting the Everland mascots, with only a few fireworks here and there and then a big 4 minute firework finale. Until I can figure out how to upload movies to the forum and embed them without them just turning into download files, here's a copy I put on my Youtube. IMG_7205.MOV

There's a pretty simple explanation for the decline in foreign workers. You can not want to talk politics all you want, but there has been a well-documented decrease in work and student visa applications in the last year and a half ever since the White House and Congress begun initiating steps to make acquiring the visas more difficult. Additionally, various tech companies are starting to rely on the H1-B work visa program more and more, which is the program parks would use to hire temporary foreign workers in the past. This, coupled with the overall decrease in approved visas across the board, and that helps explain why theme parks may be struggling with staffing issues. You can have whatever opinion you'd like on the current state of politics and the administration, but those are facts. There are also some very interesting statistics on a variety of contributing factors to the decline of the "summer job", as it's not necessarily just an increase in laziness. From the article: Short answer: more and more teenagers are focusing on their education, including an overall increase in college enrollment and an increase in students taking summer classes. As someone previously stated, the days of a bachelor's degree being enough to stand out in a job market are long gone (hell, I'm kicking myself for going straight to grad school and getting a generic MBA instead of waiting and choosing a more specific masters degree in my field to help my resume stand out more). Are there lazy kids out there? Absolutely, but that’s no new thing - I worked with plenty of other teenagers growing up who had questionable work ethic. It’s important to avoid the rose-tinted glasses when discussing this subject. I myself am one of those middle-class adults who tends to wax nostalgic about my summer job experience and used to have pretty strong opinions on "making sure my kids grow up right, know the value of a dollar, understand the meaning of hard work, blah blah BS BS yadda yadda". However, facts and statistics don't lie, and, once my kids are old enough, I'll need to consider what the culture, education environment, and job markets are like in order to figure out what's really best for their future before I choose to “gift” them working papers on their 14th birthday like my mom did to me.