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well.. . can't really post about it anywhere, because I know so many are suffering right now (certainly not mentioning it on FB). but this thread does seem to be the perfect place. so will just be vague and say that I got an unexpected bonus yesterday. I mean, I knew the company had hit the goal numbers to give employees a bonus, but the actual number is the biggest I've ever gotten in 35+ years of working in the tech industry.

I was moving pictures over to my new computer and I came across these pictures from one of my trips to Japan. I never rode this unique ride and honestly didn't pay it any attention at the time, and recently found out it's been demolished. Looking back I made lots of choices where I've missed out on a ride or park that is no longer an option. I'm wondering, with hindsight, what everyone's biggest missed opportunities/stupid mistakes have been. Mine are: 1) My probably only trip to the Pennsylvania area, and I decided not to experience Knobels, instead opting for a second day at Cedar Point. We hadn't got everything done on the first day and so instead of driving back we got a motel and did a second day there. I didn't think too much on it at the time, and really enjoyed Cedar Point, but I blame Coasterbill's talk of the food and his pierogi map as well as many years of peoples TR's has made me really regret this. 2) The above pictured ride. It didn't look anything special but I remember they had a Zamperla Disk-O ride and I only had enough after riding the coaster for one more ride. I thought to myself 'I've never rode a Disk-O before,' and chose some boring generic ride over a historic unique ride. 3) Also on another Japan trip, I had time for one quick small park. It was either Tokyo Dome for the unique Tokyo Panic Spider-Man style ride or Aqua Stadium for their very unique Intamin Launcher. I chose the Intamin and that also got closed down, so I don't regret that one but it was still a missed opportunity for me. Biggest Missed Opportunity: Way back, when I was younger and with my Uncle's up North in the U.K., I had the choice between Flamingo Land or Alton Towers. I chose Alton Towers and missed out on experiencing Top Gun, the Intamin Flight Trainer, and experiencing The Bullet. Considering most of Alton Tower's rides that I rode are still there and made many trips afterwards as a teenager, and the Flight Trainer rides are now extinct I wish I'd chose differently. Honorable Mention: I was desperate to try out Eagle's Fortress after seeing the TPR videos but I delayed my trip to Korea by a year to get a teaching job because I figured I might as well get paid to fly here and travel here than just do a vacation and missed out on the ride due to that decision. As much as I hated seeing that ride SBNO for over 6 years of trips but the reason it's only an honorable mention is by delaying and taking that job I met my future wife, which lead to our son so seems a worthwhile trade-off.....Maybe.... Curious what others have missed out on.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Busch Gardens Begorrah! It's almost St. Paddy's Day and the wee folk be on the loose at Busch Gardens, looking for their Lucky Charms, drinking green beer, and scarfing down corned beef. Wait--that's just the guests at another BGW special limited-attendance event, although you might spy a few leprechauns if you look carefully. This marks the first time that the entire park has been open since. well, 2019. That's not to say that everything's running. The water rides remain closed, but you can ride all the coasters, except for Loch Ness Monster and Tempesto. My understanding was that Alpengiest was to be closed, too, but it was running last Saturday with both trains. No Skyway or Rhine River Cruise, though. The Smokehouse is still closed, but the Brauhaus in the Festhaus is back in business--yay for beer and German meatballs! If you want green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and bangers and colcannon, Grogan's is the place to go. But if you want your photo with Clancy the Leprechaun, you'll have to walk to France. It looks the park has been doing some work on Pantheon. One train (covered with a tarp) was on the track, and the other was in the barn. I haven't heard whether they've done any testing, but there's been some more painting and other "finish" work on the station and queue since last October. It's projected to open this year. For now, we'll have to content ourselves with views from the Apollo's Chariot lift hill, Verbolten's covered bridge, the top of Griffon, and the train. Let's look for leprechauns and beer, shall we? I think Bill and Brit are around here somewhere, too. You just might see a few of the photos they tagged me in on Facebook here. Welcome to Busch Gardens . . . who the hell is that looking over my shoulder? Everything is green from Big Ben . . . . . . to the traditional tree balls of Italy. Pantheon sees you shiver with an . . . . . . tici . . . . . . pation. But Apollo’s Chariot is open. Let’s start there. Sheesh! They’ll let anyone in here. “Aye, they will, me bucko!” N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o . . . A leprechaun in lederhosen? Has the world gone stark raving mad? Look at all these hopeless drunks lining up for beer before noon! Well, when in the Festhaus . . . What excites Bill almost as much at the Brauhaus being open again? Good guess. Here’s a good spot if you want to see a bit more of . . . . . . Pantheon. Sigh! Opening this year, I hope. This ride has some crazy airtime potential. Meanwhile, back at St. Paddy’s Day Central HQ . . . That’s the biggest freakin’ leprechaun I’ve ever seen. If you’re in Ireland, you must have either green Bud Light or Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale with bangers and colcannon. It’s the law (at least until March 17). “When Irish wolves are smiling, they’re about to eat your leg.” With colcannon, no doubt. “I’ll swallow your soul, begorrah!" All in all, a very nice day with great company at Busch Gardens--just watch out for soul-sucking leprechauns.

^I was thinking something more along the lines of donkeys to pull it up the side of the hill. That way there's NO debate it has been slowed down. It would fit the theme of the park perfectly!

eh, more like a failure of the launch system. I was expecting it to get near the top and just fail to make it over.

Rollback video from yesterday. https://youtu.be/IiU2E5dNcDs

Cant' say who as don't wanna get anyone in trouble. . . but I queried someone who would know, and the response was: "at the moment (as of staff training this pas weekend) it's SBNO, but apparently whispers from someone in park maintenance is that the plan is it will be removed ) darn. really glad I got to ride it when at SFStL in 2019

Maybe I missed it. But I'm surprised no one on here mentioned some of the new merch available in the online shop. Mainly this... https://cedarpointonlineshop.com/products/sky-ride-wooden-cutout

Just finished doing my taxes, and it turns out I might get a few $$$ this time 'round! As I get older I am finding, that filling out the forms by hand (& mind) is getting tougher every year. But, I'm hoping I was good with all of it. And mailing it in early, means they can check it quicker ..... ...... and then the $$$ will go directly into my bank.

Sorry, I guess I misread your post. I figured with you mentioning the "primo land" cleared up by Grizzly Run and the other removals, the next logical step (for a Darien Lake fan) is to presume they're getting some new major ride. You have my apologies.

as you note, Hornet was the "Mayan Mindbender" at Astroworld. while it's not near as fun when it was an indoors dark coaster (it was housed in a giant Mayan Pyramid at Astroworld), it's still wonderful it's one of only a couple of Astroworld rides that still exist and can be ridden (the only other one that's operating is Superman at SFStl - which was Dungeon Drop at Astroworld). So just for the historical purposes, it's great you got a ride on it.

If the only change was that they painted the cars a new color you'd still get people claiming it rides different.

Two weekends ago I made my way back to the Universal Orlando Resort to experience the new Mardi Gras offerings, but also to get a chance to see Velocicoaster testing. I'll have photos from Mardi Gras to share soon, but I figured I'd start with the most exciting update first, which is a giant Intamin coaster opening in Orlando! Entering Islands of Adventure, you'll notice something new on the horizon... I thought my timing couldn't have been better... A few seconds later I stood corrected. I finally had the chance to see the Velocicoaster in action and it looks ridiculously fun! Jurassic Park wasn't the only section of the park that was looking great today! Passing through Hogsmeade towards Jurassic Park, you get a view of the bowl section of the second half of the coaster... Making its second loop around before making its way back towards the station. New Velocicoaster signage has been put up in Jurassic Park matching the styling and theming from park signage shown in Jurassic World in the film of the same name. The entrance path features several raptor statues. It is going to be neat to walk this space with trains flying upside-down overhead. There are few spots in Jurassic Park where Velocicoaster can't be seen running at this point. This is a pretty awesome thing in that it adds a new kinetic energy to the land. Definitely cool to see! The walls have come down around the first half of the coaster. I was so excited to see the coaster running up close that I totally forgot to get an overview shot of what the area looks like from behind the themed barriers, but as you'll see in the following photos, they allow you to get some really fantastic, unobstructed views of the ride in motion. The entire first half of the coaster can be seen from this side of Jurassic Park. I absolutely love this angle... So I stayed in this same spot for a few minutes to watch the trains cycle. Velocicoaster weaves in and out of itself in a really neat way. Time to fly into the second launch! It really is a spectator-friendly coaster! The rockwork does a really great job of framing the coaster elements. Dive! Dive! Dive! It looks so great! I also love the design of these trains! The transition into the 2nd launch is really quick. Rockwork appreciation... Zoom... Zoom... Zoom... I feel like this will probably end up being the most photographed section of the Jurassic Park after the coaster opens. More fun angles. I'm ready to ride. How about you? The skyline at Universal Orlando has definitely changed!

So glad you both are going to get the vaccine! It's been so hard in MO to get one too...We get this vaccine, then we fight for better government, right?

It was a real solid house last year. Hopefully nothing changes!

Great for you guys! We have to wait until at least April or May till we get our first dose. Up here in Canada, they're announcing that the time period between the two dosages might be a bit longer, since they've found the first dosage is working significantly better % wise, and a longer time between doses seems possible. Which means a lot more people can get their first dosage, sooner. Which is great! Whatever the case, we hope everybody IS getting their vaccine ASAP. And to all you people who are against getting vaccinated...

Take a front seat and back seat ride on Kraken at SeaWorld Orlando!

Roller coasters don't always have to be the "tallest" or "fastest" to be fun! Nagashima Spaland's "Jet Coaster" takes on a thrilling ride through the trees!

Take a ride on Cobra's Curse at Busch Gardens Tampa!