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Good news - construction restarted on Jersey Devil!

According to Six Flags Mexico’s Twitter, Superman has given its last rides and will be leaving the park (based on rough translation). They have replied to a few comments under the Tweet saying information will be released on their socials and website soon. This is a shocking move. Superman is their largest, most iconic, and (to some) their best coaster. Wow. EDIT: Turns out today is Mexico’s equivalent of “April Fool’s Day”??? DANG they got me!

I lost all the progress I'd made doing keto and a couple weeks ago I was at the heaviest I've ever been - 283lbs. Then a week ago I started on Wellbutrin. After a week, I finally weighed yesterday and I'm down to 279.2! I'm glad my doctor was willing to let me try this med. I think my mentioning that an off-label use of Wellbutrin is to help ADHD, and since my Medicaid rejected covering Adderall without further "evidence" (despite my doctor and I filling out all the required forms), I thought maybe this could help and my doctor agreed. It can take 4-6 weeks for improvement to show regarding the ADHD, but already I'm noticing a lessening in carb cravings as well as getting onto a decent sleep schedule (I can't even begin to explain how bad it's been). My naps have ended up shorter than their norm, too. I think I'm getting some energy from this med and it's great!

OH. MY. GOD. A SPIRAL MAINTENANCE STAIRCASE!!!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO WALK DOWN IT!!!!

Cedar Fair is dumb: part 3,472 Meanwhile... at regional parks that decided to not close right before a Holiday week And down the road from Kings Dominion...

Dude is smoking some strong stuff in that video. The "prediction" youtube videos always make me laugh. They're responsible for users in groups such as the SFSTL Facebook page predicting hypers and RMC's for the past 10 years, yet we can't even get a full size endeavor. I'm predicting Knoebels will get a giga coaster in 2031, based on nothing, because my theory has just as evidence.

Maybe Intimidator wouldn’t valley if they would turn off even one of the 837 trims that line the track. As for them closing the ride just because it “almost valleys” with riders on the previous cycle... that’s adorable. The person at the Nitro panel just has to take a deep breath, remember that “mama didn’t raise no bitch” and press the dispatch button again (it’s in the operations manual just like that I think). PS: That said, I don’t expect every park to do that. Still, does this even matter? These are the highs as far out as the forecast go. Carowinds is in Charlotte, not Barrow, Alaska. We just spent a week there. It was unseasonably cold. It was still not cold. It’s going to be almost 60 degrees today. Stop. Even if they kept their own dumb policies they could run anything they wanted almost every day for the next nine days... well, except they can’t because they’re closed for the holiday week because Carowinds is gonna Carowinds.

I had hit my goal, then put some back on, and spent from Feb-August dropping it again to come back to where I was before. I got "bad" in Sept, back on track for maintenance in Oct/Nov, then had a really bad Dec - it's been rough, and I've prolly put back on ~12 lbs. so I'm guessing I'm in the 190 range right now - so still ~60lbs lighter than I was a couple of years ago, when i really started to focus on dropping weight (I was at 248#). but, 190 is ~13lb gain from my lowest, so really wanna get back to ~180. so yep, back to being serious about my "no fast food/no sodas" restrictions, and go back to exercising 6x per week (I had dropped off to every other day, or every few days) we can all do it!

I always love finding out that I've actually dropped a few pounds, after I've been walking around parks. And hydrating with water helps, too.

Hey Guys! With the new year rolling around, I am sure a few of us have some resolutions to lose some weight. I hit my goal in October, but I am hungry for more! My goal is to hit 194 pounds at any point of the year, which would put my bmi in "normal" range. I will also be focusing more on strength than cardio this time around. Does anyone else have any resolutions?

On Tuesday the 22nd, I decided to make a drive up to SF Great Adventure to get some more use out of my $60 season pass and check out the holiday lights. Hadn't planned on any rides (truth be told I didn't realize how cold it was and didn't dress adequately, but I got on a few). Pulling into the park around 4:30 (3:00 opening), the park was dead. Figured I wouldn't need Flash Pass but since I have the all-season option I figured I'd grab it. Much to my surprise, it was just a wristband, not the electronic watch system. With my home park Kings Dominion getting one of these next year, I decided to actually give Joker, my first S&S FreeSpin, a try. It was a two-train wait (including one cleaning cycle). I got 3 flips. Never again. Maybe I'm too old for it, but yeah, these are not for me, just as I had suspected. Next up was Harley Blackbeard's Quinn's Lost Crazy Treasure Train, another ride I've skipped on all of my prior visits due to it having any sort of a wait. This time, the park's deadness helped me out, and I had a one-cycle wait. Sat all the way in the back of the stupidly-long train, and the first drop is a doozy and feels like it's going to throw you out of the car. All other cycles were getting 2 laps, but mine got 3 for some reason. Amusingly enough, someone pulled out their phone on the lift and they stopped the train until they put it away. Upon restart, the train slipped backwards maybe 6 feet, which was entertaining. These two raised my count to 155. Made my way back towards the "east" end of the park* to check out decorations, and surprise surprise Cyborg was actually running. Only one person on it LOL. I passed, of course...if the flipping of Joker messed me up I'd hate to think what that would do. I did, however, walk on to Justice League for my first time ever, and was pleasantly surprised. Was not expecting the motion of the cars...definitely a much more entertaining experience than Boo Blasters at a Cedar Fair park. I scored around 140,000, which didn't seem high, but the ride told me at the end that it was in the top 4% of scores all time. After snapping some more pictures, I hopped on the Sky Ride to get some aerial photos, then walked back up towards the Superman area, and then back to the exit to head out. Not so amusingly enough, at the exit there was a portable sign instructing people to return Flash Passes, so I asked the lady sitting at the exit gate if I still had to return a paper wristband. She said yes, "or I'd be charged $100" (this would be a total Six Flags thing to do), so I made my way back to the Flash Pass building and waited 20 minutes for a "typical SFGA guest" to bitch to the poor girl behind the counter about "not being able to use his Flash Pass due to the pandemic." He eventually gave up, and I asked the girl if I needed to return the wristband, and she said no, as I had thought. Made my way out of the park around 6:30 and called it a night on my last amusement park trip of 2020. *Fun Fact many may not know: That side of the park is referred to as the "east" side because of the western theming on the other side, no other reason. It's actually geographically west. And now, enjoy some photos and a video proving Cyborg was running. MOV_0229.mp4

I dropped nearly 2.5 pounds in the past week which included 4 days at amusement parks. While my goal has never strictly been weight loss, it's good to see what kind of progress one can make if you spend a lot of time walking around parks.

We found a secret way to enter Gringotts bank technical maintenance vaults! Indoor rollercoaster inspired by Harry Potter and Universal's Escape from Gringotts...

Walruses are back at SFDK!! ? This makes me really happy. The walruses were some of my favorites and I was really sad when Uquq had to go away. Glad she's coming back and she has a new friend! I'm not sure what the verdict on walrus breeding is but it would be super cool if we got to see a baby in the future. ?

Ideal/Typical of the past warm season traveling: Another Cedar Point Breakers/FL+ 1st weekend of full operations trip >OR< return weekend stay at Hershey Another 10 day flying/road trip hitting a few parks along the way. Another August beachfront condo week in Pensacola Another FL+ 12am Closing trip to KI and another FL+/Fright Lane KI Haunt. Another trip to SF Great America to visit the park during the day and Lou Malnati's at night. Maybe during Last-Call Fall Festival 1st trip to SFoT or maybe a return trip to BGW. A night in Louisville and KK day. The strip at night for drinks. Reality: We had a COVID year baby. If we're very lucky we'll accomplish the following: A couple few-hour nightcap trips to SFSTL for beers and Screamin' Eagle rides. A day at KI My parents rented a beach house for immediate family in the Outer Banks, baby included. (bitter/sweet) Maybe an Indiana Beach weekend. Maybe a day/night stay at another Midwest park within 5 hours. (KK, KI, SFGam, SDC, WoF, IB, HW) At least one of those will not happen. I agree. There's a reason people are leaving the state. Good luck with housing near anywhere you'd want to live...

Ok, that’s hilarious. Saw the rumor on another site and immediately navigated over here. I was thinking, what the hell reason would they close that coaster? The more you know!

LOL Screamscape fell for it too.

Speaking of off season changes... I noticed today that their were some subtle changes to Silverwood's website, and they seem to not be in Garfield's favor...after loosing his dark ride at Kennywood, he seems to also have lost his position as Silverwood's mascot. I first suspected this when the icon that symbolizes the park's website is not a "SW" logo instead of a picture of Garfield's face. I then noticed that under the shows page the Garfield and Friends Meet and Greet section was suspiciously missing... The last bit is that the rides in the kids area (the only area that actually had any connection to Garfield) have had the location changed from Garfield's Summer Camp to Critter Camp (Uh, I'll reserve judgment for now on that name...but here's a sneak peak ?). Some of the ride descriptions still say Garfield's Summer Camp and the meet and greet page is findable via a Google search but, this leads me to conclude that, for better or worse, Garfield is no longer the mascot of the park. Edit 1: I almost forgot that Garfield was on all of the height stick signs at all the ride and slide entrances. That too me was probably the park's most effective use of him. Any ideas for a good replacement? This could be bad intuition since, the Krazy Koaster descriptions still says "Garfield's Summer Camp Expansion" so yeah...whatever happened to that Kite Flyer and Balloon Ride they promised? I thought I remember reading somewhere that the Garfield deal was a 3 (or 5 or something like that) deal starting in 2001, with year to year renewals after that. Considering he had a 19 year run, I don't think its a huge loss since he never had a large presence in the park anyways, mostly in the kids area and even then it was limited to the name of the area and a meet and greet. I don't remember seeing the characters this last season, but that could have been because of COVID. No matter what, between Stunt Pilot and no Garfield, 2021 is going to be a year of change for the park. Here's to them brining back the old mascot's that I've seen in old promotional pictures of the park! Edit 2: Upon some further research, it seems that Paws. Inc. (The company that owns the Garfield rights) was purchased by Viacom in late 2019, and was made part of Nickelodeon. My guess then is that Viacom had the licenses to both Silverwood and Kennywood cancelled after the sale was complete (Which explains why Garfield's Nightmare was rethemed?). Not sure why, but maybe it has something to do with the Nickelodeon Universe licenses for the Mall of America and American Dream? If that's the case then I would expect Garfield to become a part of those parks, and Silverwood will either find or make (Yay for original characters!) a replacement.

^ Good for you! Keep at it, too. ?

Boomerangs

^ I was going to respond with Silver Bullet at Knott's. The first part is lovely and spread out. Then, coming back towards the station it amps up with tight turns, and that great upward helix over the pool of water there. I always love that last part of the ride. And Ghostrider, too!

Theory on next coaster

Really happy for them! Love Blizzard Beach!

Awesome night and day shots John! But this one.... Money shot. And I love how this catches the blue at the top. Well done!

I saw it yesterday during the daytime and night. It is beautiful and gives me hope for the future of Epcot. If they continue to "plus" the park with nods to the past, the park will be great all around. Next stop: Journey Into Imagination! I can dream, can't I?

Family took the day and went to Hersheypark for their Christmas Candyland event. Weather was perfect; cold and overcast. Park looked beautiful with all they lights. The snow definitely added extra beauty to everything. The new Chocolatetown looks fantastic. Cant wait for the restaurant and ice cream parlor to open up! I did not ride Candymonium, did not feel like doing the walk of shame. Now onto photos! The new entryway is great. Love the openness and the view of the water and coaster. I like fun and chocolate ? Love the color of the ride. The sign is one of the best i've seen! I always need to take some type of sunset picture! Wish the lights went up the tree more, but they still looked great! New this year was TREEville At the Boardwalk. Some tree were decorated by a certain group and if you took a photo in front of them, you got a price. And the price was...... HERSHEY CANDY ?? this was decorated after hot chocolate! This was themed to.... PEPSI (Coke is still better) Seems a little cold for the wave pool. Waterpark themed tree!! They had the 'welcome' sign at the end of the treevillage. ? Grabfries are a gods gift from heaven. From Fahrenheit all the way back towards the whip, they had the 12 days of Christmas. Unfortunately, this is the only photo that came out half decent. We did ride the train, but we did it before the sun had fully set, so we didnt get to see the lights in their awe. Triple tower looks good in christmas colors! So the area down by the water was absolutely beautiful. The trees were all full of lights. Some videos of the light shows! Here is a quick hyperlapse! 20201220_183234.mp4 20201220_183124.mp4 170351803_20201220_1830451.mp4 Fresh giant donut? YES PLEASE!! Lastly, we made our way over to Chocolate World to end the night. New entry way looks nice at night! This house of candy was absolutely incredible! I can not imagine spending numerous work days building this. Love the kit-kat flooring. Really brighten ups the house! This was so cool to see. Great job by the people that built it! All in all, it was a great day at the park. The new entrance was great. Hershey really made a great investment with that. Hopefully I can come back and ride Candymonium.

I like this much better than the "Leave a Legacy" monoliths, which looked like a field of jagged, broken teeth. The fountain fits Epcot's aesthetic perfectly and makes the entrance less cluttered.

Disney has unveiled the brand-new entrance fountain at EPCOT! https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/12/first-look-new-entrance-fountain-celebrates-the-past-present-and-future-of-epcot/ The past, present and future of EPCOT are all coming together today in one special moment at the front of the park. Anyone visiting as of this morning will see in real life what we at Walt Disney Imagineering have been dreaming up in our heads for many years now. Overnight, our crews removed all the “progress walls” from the main entrance plaza, giving you the first full look at this next major milestone in the park’s historic transformation. While there is still more work to be done here in the future, the area is much more open and welcoming now. It features new planters, pathways, lush landscaping and a vibrant new color palette that will eventually tie into the four new neighborhoods we’re creating inside the park – World Celebration, World Discovery, World Nature and World Showcase. And there in front of iconic Spaceship Earth you’ll now see a reimagined fountain, standing in the footprint of the original that welcomed guests on the park’s opening day in 1982. Our design team took special interest in this water feature, as we looked back to the geometry of the original for inspiration while creating some new magic of our own. In the fountain’s center is a brilliant light, a unique liquid-cooled fixture we’ve designed with new capabilities that complement the fountain’s changing colors and will coordinate with new lighting coming to Spaceship Earth and the upcoming World Celebration beyond.

Probably. It’s a Christmas tradition.

^Please do all of your research before moving to California! Make sure it's really where you want to live and not just vacation.

So we went to Taste of Carowinds yesterday since we’re visiting the in-laws who live ten minutes away. Before going I was confused as to why this event was even a thing and after going I’m infinitely more confused. I’d review it in depth but there’s no point since they’re now closed for the season since why would you want your Christmas event open during the holiday week where you could do daily ops anyway? Here are the cliff notes: - The food samplers were very hit or miss, mostly miss. The best thing was a chicken tender. It was bangin’ though. - If I paid to get in I would be livid unless I was the kind of person who just went to ride Afterburn and Copperhead Strike for hours straight. If I went for the Christmas stuff or the food like a normal person then I’d be pissed. - Cedar Fair should go to Six Flags and learn how to actually a run a theme park in the age of covid. I can’t believe I’m saying this but loading all rows on Afterburn but only in groups of two and having people sit 2 on the inside, two on the outside, two on the inside is the dumbest thing ever. Honestly most of the things that they’re doing make you scratch your head. - The decorations were really thrown together which was to be expected. - It was nice walking around looking at palm trees without a jacket on in December thinking about how thankful we were that Fury was closed for our safety. On the same day our friends were posting pictures of this: - On a more positive note like a half assed compliment sandwich, Afterburn is such a fantastic ride and Copperhead Strike is too. I ate crow on Copperhead. I had no expectations for it whatsoever but I love it. The first loop is just so great, so is the jojo and honestly the whole package is really solid. Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.

I've had strangers literally tell me they were going to grab onto me if they got scared during the haunt. ? I remember one time these teenage girls I had just met five minutes prior grabbed onto me and held on for the entire haunt. It was awkward but I felt kinda bad for them. Conga lines suck for the actors, too. You can't always scare everyone in a conga line. They absolutely drain the energy of the actors. I've worked a contact haunt so one of the things I like to do is grab onto the back of someone's shirt like that and pretend I'm a part of the group. One time, I got between a husband and wife--the wife was in front so I grabbed onto the back of her shirt and she grabbed onto the front of mine. I let go of her shirt and let her lead me on for a little while. I was considering seeing how far she would take me before realizing, but since I didn't want to leave my scene, I whispered in her ear, "Can I have my shirt back, please?"

Not to derail this thread any further, but a huge part of the problem is there not anything actually tough about them. They exist, and some businesses (like Knotts when they were open for all their food festivals) do great at enforcement, many others don’t. The Southern California region on its own has a population that is larger than all but the state of Texas. The odds of being able to contain a virus in the region are zero given that millions of those people work “essential” jobs and there are probably another million who still believe it’s a hoax. Masks help and we respect all park rules here. End of story. That being said, it is absolutely fair to criticize how our Governor has put all businesses at a huge disadvantage by rewriting the guidelines a few times with no prior input. Changing from tiers, to colors, and now to a regional system without notice makes it almost impossible for any park to invest in trying to create new experiences like Knotts had done with the “taste” events.

Toughest mask mandates in the country for months and months. When will masks start working?

ICU beds are at capacity in Orange County, LA County isn't far behind. Wear your damn masks, people Also, stop coming to Vegas. We may technically be open but there's nothing to do but gamble and ride the stupid ferris wheel. Shows are all closed and that includes the ones that just reopened with limited seating a month ago. Spiegelworld (Absinthe, Atomic Saloon, etc) just fired nearly everyone on Monday and they're packing up to move to Australia. Things are rough.

Universal has sent us a photo of the new Velocicoaster train with the tagline of "Most Extreme Coaster Ride Vehicle!" Thoughts on this?

On the topic of guest experience. I am sure under current circumstances it is not as consistent as they would like, most businesses are not if they are even open. That being said after the excellent support in the previously mentioned lost car key debacle at the ACE event, I had another issue completely (once again) of my own making. Apparently it was my weekend to be stupid. In the panic and then subsequent relief of the key, and the fact that we stayed an hour late for ert and went out the resort gate; I totally forgot that I had sent a package to pick up earlier in the day. ? I realized the next day on our way home and called the park. Of course got a machine, left my sad tale and offered to pay to ship or in lieu of that possibility could I get a refund. I did not hear back for about 10 days BUT did eventually get a call from a very nice and obviously harassed supervisor who asked for my address so they could ship it to me at no expense on my part. So......maybe just a little patience.

There was a time in my life when I would have cared what Lightning Rod was made of. So refreshing to give precisely zero effs. I just want to go to Dollywood and not worry about it being open!

There's only one logical answer to this question...

I appreciate that 2020 is ending with topper track being debated again...