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Luckily any day now Lightning Rod is probably due to launch a wheel into a mountain or spontaneously combust or something so we can stop talking about covid...

Um no offense to any individual or SFFT but if you think brisket at a theme park is the best you have ever had you have clearly never been to a Jewish deli; or had real brisket.

Eh, he's a Yankee.

^ I don't even think it's that. Anti-Olympic feelings are quite high in Japan lately, with more and more seeing it as an unnecessary risk so it's a bit of a political hotspot right now. Damned if they do cancel for all the money wasted, damned if they don't because if the numbers spike during the event people will say it shouldn't have gone ahead. I think it's more a case of each area has an acceptable limit and if that limit is passed they go into instant shutdown since this is what they did for the previous waves and the numbers went down, it's more a case of if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Osaka's passed that limit so USJ has shut down. If this was a case of being extra cautious before the Olympics, like they said was the reason for the last big lockdown, they'd have shut down nationwide to err on the side of caution and currently places like Tokyo Disney, Fuji Q and Nagashima are all still open.

The operators have been well rested.

I went for opening day yesterday, it was a mess. No consistency with rows. For example(s), Raging Bull and Whizzer were loading every row, Viper was most but not all rows, and then Maxx Force was less than half the train. Most restaurants were closed. For lunch, Chop Six was still closed at noon. We went to Johnny Rockets and their computer software was not working in the kitchen. So after you placed your order they took your receipt to fill orders. It was a gigantic mess and they fell way behind. They would come by every 5-10 minutes and ask for your order number, and nobody knew theirs because we did not have our receipts anymore!! We ordered two burgers and they ended up throwing away our receipt after we got the first burger. I reminded them three times that I had only received half my order, and overall we were there for 75 minutes. Later in the day I ordered on the app for dinner. I got the notification it was ready half an hour before my window. When I went to pick it up later, the restaurant was flat out closed, shuttered at all. Mind you when I ordered the food they had windows until park close, and this was around 6:30. I tried to get the employees attention and they didn't acknowledge me. The app said the order was completed and it used up my dinner and snack. Luckily I went to Chop Six and told them what happened and they gave me two entrées free of charge. I had an experience I will never forget with Maxx Force. SFGAm is my home park and when Maxx Force was announced I was morbidly obese, so I wanted to get on it but I knew I had work to do to get there. I did not get there for 2019. By 2020 I had lost enough weight to get back on coasters, but you know, COVID. So I was on a mission yesterday: the only thing I wanted to do was ride Maxx Force. Especially visiting the park with my sister, who does not do coasters. I told her I did not care what happened, as long as I got on Maxx Force I would be happy. Let me tell you, Maxx had a rough day and did not make it easy for me. I met up with Zero Credits Remaining and we joined the line, and we did not know what was ahead of us. In short, it broke down 4-5 times and we waited 3 hours. After the first hour, we were "too close" to leave the line, and after waiting 2.5 years for this, I was more than determined and refused to give up. My poor sister out in the park waiting three hours for me, she kept calling me all mad asking how much longer I would be. One breakdown forced them to move to single train operations. Finally we got in the station. We were next to ride, and sure enough, it broke down. Eventually they were able to move the train from the brake run to the station to get the riders off. They ran three cycles and allowed us on. We rode, and it was awesome! #2 in the park, top 25 for me! The only problem, sure enough, was that we got stuck on the brakes! For whatever reason the mechanics had a harder time getting us in the station, we were probably stuck for 20 minutes. My sister was calling me and came up the exit to talk to me and make fun of me, she was happy I got stuck after all the waiting I put her through. Only fitting this is what it took to get on after I couldn't for 2.5 years!! Despite the day going really poorly, my ride on Maxx Force made it a great day, and I am genuinely extremely happy now!!

^ that looks like the base of a Batman statue going in. similar to ones they've installed at SFFT (that now has Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman statues close to the entrances to "their" rides).

Y'all its obviously gunna be Six Flags America.

I mentally put qualifiers around it. . .Canobie meant "best Brisket in a Theme Park" in my head tho I still think Kickin Chicken is way better. .hehe

I don't doubt you but the ops were so slow that day that even with qq a second ride was about a 30 -40 minute wait and eating apple strudel and ice cream at the Germany booth while listening to an accordion player do German tunes seemed a better use of my time.

Another update from Friday I forgot to mention is that Batman has a new logo made up in the new shortened queue line. I don't remember it being there last time, and I wonder if this a return to some sort of theming in the queue. Curious to see what the area looks like when its complete:

Don't see why its so hard to believe. Two guys with the proper lift equipment could get that reassembled in a day. It's not like the whole drive mechanism/gearbox is dismantled. If SFGAdv can replace a lift motor for Batman in one day, while the park is operating, this should be cake for the Knoebel's crew while the park is closed.

^The Raccoons of Satan!

I hate to be that person, but, yeah, you missed out and messed up! Steel Eel in the back car is AMAZING!!!!!

Thanks! The new track goes from the end of the first section of Topper Track (out of the second tunnel), all the way through to the end of the warped helix, before you drop into the first set of airtime hills. There is a picture a couple posts back where you can see the track that was removed, and I guess I am assuming that all of the track is being replaced with Topper/I-Box. It kinda looks to me like it's a I-Box 2.0. I mean it looks pretty similar to normal I-Box, but it just seems slightly different, like it's a bit smaller or something although the angle isn't very good to tell. It's also interesting that they have the traditional wood crossties (or whatever that pice of wood is called) and they just attached the I-Box metal crossties to thoose. I think normal I-Box has just the metal crossties that replace the wood ones. Maybe your on to something that with the competition to Titan Track thing. If it is an I-Box 2.0 kinda thing, I bet it's a test like the first section of Topper Track was a test back in 2010. This I-Box 2.0 could then replace the Topper Track as competition against the Titan Track for smoothing out wooden coaster. Or it could be that I-Box is now RMC's all purpose solution for retracking, and the park just decided they had had enough of dealing with that helix, and choose to see if I-Box could reduce the maintenance.

the Brisket that was part of our catered meal the other week supposedly came from there (as did the chicken and the cobbler). . the brisket was. . . . um. . .not good. Neither was the chicken (which was downright nasty). the cobbler was good tho.

Wow, you completely misunderstood. This isn't at all about park rules, it's about what YOU said. You're boasting about not wearing a mask, and speaking positively about a low mask usage rate in this park. You are thereby tacitly encouraging others to do the same, when we have a 27.5% vaccination rate nationally, and in a state ranked #43 in vaccines administered,[1] and in which only 23.6% of the state's adults have been vaccinated.[2] And sure, we can stay away from the park, but viruses don't stay in a park, and the people who don't wear masks in a park also don't wear them in riskier locations. When the virus is transmitted and then mutates in its new host, and that mutation shows up in my local grocery store, and I get sick despite wearing a mask and despite having a vaccine, that's very often because people like YOU said on the Internet how nice it is to see people refusing to do even the bare minimum effort possible to protect their neighbours against the worst infectious disease we've seen since HIV. Do you understand now why we might object to your glowing review of this park's guests not wearing masks? No, you don't care, or you'd never have written what you did before, but like I said earlier, I'm writing this for others. Keep on masking until we get to herd immunity! [1]https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/states-ranked-by-percentage-of-covid-19-vaccines-administered.html [2]https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/covid-19-vaccine-information.html

Quick trip report from 4/23/16: Not much changed from last Friday, crowds were light and the weather stayed decent. It was an awesome night to spend riding roller coasters as every ride was a walk on with a lot of coasters allowing instant rerides if a spot was open. Quick changes, they opened Xclaibur and Shazam for people to ride, Spinsanity was down a few times. Mr. Freeze never opened and The Boss was running a sandbag train so operations at Boss was slower than usual. No Kids area rides were opened this time, and River King Mine Train was only operating every other row unlike the rest of the park filling every spot. Oh and it seems like they adding more LED color lights around the park. ALSO the park extended the Power Nights into May! The new nights are: -April 30th -May 7th (American Thunder and Justice League will be closed for a private event the 7th!) -May 14th -May 21st -May 28th

glad you had such a great visit. yeah. . things break down a lot because despite it being Fiesta Texas (a spectacular park)? at the end of the day it's a Six Flags. (but because it's Fiesta, they get the rides back up fast fast fast). and Poltergeist DOES get faster as it goes, because the two Six Flags versions (at Fiesta & at Six Flags America) don't have the Mid Course Brake Run that the Kings Island/Kings Dominion versions have on Flight of Fear. if you get a chance to go back tomorrow. . the best food in the park is at Kickin Chicken (across from Roadrunner Express) and Macho Nacho (across from Superman). tho they did just add some german dishes to the Sangerfest Halle foodcourt that I've been told are really good (haven't tried them yet).

I disagree, I think there still very much is a point to rebutting idiocy. It's not to convince the idiot, we all know that'll never happen. You're really talking to a third party who is reading and not speaking, who knows the science and needs encouragement to keep going.

So is COVID gone from Tennessee now? I have had both shots yet I will continue to wear my mask to protect others. I know we are all "over it" but until we reach herd immunity through vaccines or antibodies, people are still dying.

Some notes from today's visit: It's nice facemasks are nearly gone. Only time I wore one was when on a ride, restrooms and walking through the gift shop. Dollywood's food festival seems rather small, food wise. It's fairly uninspired, portions are small, and prices aren't great. We tried a few that were good, but nothing I'd get again any time soon. And the lines are long. And the average age of folks working the stands is up there so speed and/or urgency is not something you'll see. Blazing Fury is running very well now. Drops at the ends were really smooth tonight. First time on Lightning Rod since opening day. Great ride but it's def a 2.0 version. The quad down just isn't the same. Still tons of fun, but not exactly the same beast it was. New drop on Mystery Mine gives a tiny pop of air. Didn't hate it but the rest of the ride is still as rough as ever.

Alright, we've done animals, we've done kiddie coasters... ...we're all here for Wildfire. A beautiful ride sign for a beautiful coaster. You want some facts about Wildfire? We've got facts about Wildfire. I'm going to start with a few wide-angle shots from the last trip, just because I didn't get much of that in 2019. Here's a nice view from behind the lift. (photo from 2016) Looking up at Wildfire's imposing structure from the marine area. As coasters go, this one looks good. (photo from 2016) Heading down on that impressive first drop. (photo from 2016) The rocks are not far below. (photo from 2016) Ah, the zero-g stall. So much fun to ride, but so hard to photograph. Maybe I'll get some better shots later... (photo from 2016) This is kind of a moody pic from early in the day in the 2016 visit, but I love the colors of the wood with the darker skies behind. (photo from 2016) In 2016, we got to do one really interesting thing ... a visit to the lodge. (photo from 2016) The lodge is a little building nestled under the Wildfire structure. To be honest, I don't recall seeing it at all in 2019. Does the lodge even still exist? We met Parks and Resorts owner (and TPR forum member) Mattias Banker at The Lodge, for some fun info on Wildfire and a refreshing lunch. (photo from 2016) This picture, which hung in the lodge, is absolutely amazing. That's Mattias riding at front left, and, I believe, Fred Grubb of RMC at the back left. (photo from 2016) From the lodge, you also got some great views of how Wildfire was built right into the rocky terrain of Kolmården. (photo from 2016) Some interesting "behind the scenes" views of Wildfire as well. (photo from 2016) That's it from 2016 -- everything from here on out is new (well, newer) and previously unseen (unless you're on Twitter) so enjoy! We'll start from the station -- where any good coaster begins. And then, after a little turn around the top of the lift, the drop. The hair goes flying. You're out of your seat at this point. Great lighting on a beautiful day, so let's test out the zoom lens on the first drop. Kid in front-right is a little too calm. Because the people behind him are having a good one! Wildfire proved to be quite spectacular for rider reactions. Oh, the screams, and the lack of anything to actually hold on to. Having fun at the top of a 184-foot tall coaster. I'm enjoying the dad who's chillin' a bit too much in the front seat. Chillin' dad shows some excitement! Now that's a range of emotions. The marine area (and the Wildfire overflow queue) offer some nice views of the quick drops later in Wildfire's circuit. You will get some airtime. In other words, there will be some uplift. Hair just gets flying everywhere. Chillin' dad is still chillin'. How does he do it? Oh, and we've also got three inversions. Here's one of them, visible from the public area of the park. It's quite the twist. It's tricky to time out shots like this through a quick inversion -- you've gotta hit the shutter at the exact right moment. With light crowds, Wildfire was only running one train, but that kept the trains full, too. A photographic trade-off. There's a quick banked turn past the station, probably about 2/3 of the way through the ride. Just have to say -- Wildfire and Balder were responsible for virtually all of the near-wardrobe-malfunctions I accidentally photographed on the entire trip. A quick curve -- with a guest appearance by Chris and John in the back row! Hold on tight! Wildfire through the trees. I think I took this one from the Tiger habitat area. Finally, the turn into the brake run. Exhilarated riders. Excited riders! Exhausted riders. That's a lot of Wildfire. But wait ... there's more! All of the above pictures from 2019 were taken from the public areas of Kolmården. But we're not done yet. We got a trip backstage for some extra views of Wildfire -- and some new camera angles yet to be seen. We'll start with the first drop again -- this time, viewed above the trees from the west. That's a 161-foot drop. Great in any seat, but amazing in the back. Wildfire's structure is mostly wood, but there are some steel supports at the drop. A drop and a tree. This one was fun to compose in real time. A big curve somewhere in Wildfire's back half -- not even sure I remember exactly where. Up and around it goes. Supports below, trees above. An overbanked turn that passes near the Safari ride station. Here's another one of Wildfire's inversions -- from zoomed in very close. Wildfire's second and third inversions are both corkscrew-kinda things, though I'm not sure if that's the technical term for it. Flipped sideways. Restoring order right-side up. There is, however, one more inversion to go. Ah, here it is -- the zero-g stall. In my mind, even more so than the first drop, this is Wildfire's signature element. It's virtually impossible to photograph from the public areas of the park, but there are some interesting angles back here. Wildfire's zero-g stall is not just my favorite element on Wildfire, it's one of my favorite elements on any coaster. It's taken at just the right speed to make you feel truly weightless, while you're flipped totally upside down. If you tilt your neck up, you can watch the supports (and the ground) pass by below you ... but it feels like they're above you. It's almost surreal. So, I wanted to show a wide view of where I was set up for the next few shots -- along the ride's perimeter fence with a view up to the exit of the zero-g roll. Hello, bent 103B! The zero-g sequence begins. You lock into this straight, un-twisting position for a solid few seconds. Then, the twist on the way out. Right on into the next element. This is a zero-g stall the way they were meant to be taken! Alright, one more -- and maybe my favorite of the whole batch. Another shot that was tough to time out, and maybe the focus isn't perfect, but it's so wild to see the entire train flipped upside down through the stall. Well, that brings us to evening ERT and filming. I don't have much to share, because I was too busy riding, but the YouTube video tells the whole story. It was an amazing hour of coaster riding -- one of TPR's best ever. Also, no axes on the ride, please. If this is your view, you're in for a good time. I'm going to end this with a tweet from the TPR account -- a still image from the filming session. That was my view for our dozen-or-more consecutive rides on Wildfire. Seriously, does coaster riding get any better than that? That's all from Kolmården, and one of the most scenic coasters on the planet. We'll cruise on into Stockholm for the next installment at Gröna Lund.

Most vertical lifts on a single coaster?

Continued: we made it over to the boardwalk area, and they let us in because of our badges (past the growing line of folks who were ready to head to this portion of the park, that opened up at Noon). It was ~11:40, so we still had time to make the pirates walk thru, and I was really glad to get this opportunity. I've ridden this a TON of times, but what a difference walking thru it with lights on makes - I noticed all kinds of detail that had escaped me before! granted, no effects were really on (safety, of course, you cant have live effects when folks are walking), but I still really appreciated getting to see the detail work! (and being able to get some clear pictures, when you're not in a moving vehicle that makes them blurry) Bumped into Jeffrey on the way out of Pirates, and chatted for a few moments. he was wonderful to chat with, and really, as I've said before : he makes this park feel so welcoming. It's like visiting with family when you see him. (he even answered Joel's question about why Boomerang was called "Coast to Coaster" - which really is a pretty silly name. . LOL.) Kim doesn't do "spinning" rides, so while Joel and I headed over to Hustler - with plan for he and I to then go grab back seat ride on Iron Rattler using Flash Pass, Kim headed to the car to drop off the jackets they had been wearing - the wind had died down, and it had started to warm up. Hustler was fun as always. caught a few moments of the Disco Fever show as we passed in front of Rockville High on our way to CrackAxle another snap along the way. (as noted, it was crowded by now, but I'm a photo ninja, so able to get shots where it looks like no one is around. . LOL) FlashPass said it was our time to ride, but the folks queued in front of us on the stairs said "nope.. you're gonna wait at least 30 minutes" we ended up waiting even longer than that, because moments after I snapped this picture? a power surge hit the park, and took down EVERYTHING. I mean, the entire park shut down. They were very quick to get the food stands, and some smaller rides back up pretty quickly, but I think Iron Rattler and several other of the "big" rides were down for the better part of an hour. with one train operations, that wasnt' a great situation - even tho many folks gave up and left the line (resulting in the open food stands and open ride lines to swell). Something out of the park's control, and I don't blame them at all. . . hell, they did an excellent job getting things back up as quickly as they did! we bailed after about 40 minutes, as Kim was texting that she had gotten in line for food, and that Joel really needed to eat something, so we should come meet her. (I hadn't eaten at all yet either, so even tho we knew we were going to be eating in 4 hours or so, I wanted Kickin Chicken too). what *WAS* a horrible situation, and unfortunately we didn't bail before that point? the group behind us in the line had one of those portable sound pods. . and after about 25 minutes? started blasting "Baby Shark" to the delight of anyone under 10 in the queue (and the audible groan of anyone over that age) - seriously. . 5 days later, I still have that damn thing stuck in my head. Oh he also played "What does the Fox Say". . . but thank goodness Kim convinced Joel to bail shortly after that. we got food, ate, wandered the park, and rode a few things - I believe Joel had Flash Passed Batman so we waited while he rode that (about 20 minutes) and he and Kim used a skip the line on Wonder Woman. They also did the Joker (tho only Joel rode, Kim just did the funhouse queue and then walked past the ride. .LOL). a few other things, and then Kim really wanted to ride the Bugs Bunny Flume. I can't recall if they used the Flash Pass or a skip the line, but we headed that way and waited about 25 minutes in the Flash Pass line. Unfortunately, the power surge knocked out all the cameras - so there really weren't any onride pics I could get for them. Since I hadn't gotten Flash Pass tho, I did my best to get some pics of them by the time we got done with Bugs' it was time for dinner in the picnic grove. We weren't all that hungry, as had eaten at Kickin Chicken - however the fact I dont' have any pics of the meal kinda tells you if it was great. (it could have just been the servings I happened to get - but the chicken was way overcooked and stringy, and the brisket was fatty and undercooked on one side. I didn't complain because: a) I wasn't super hungry, b) it's a theme park, so dont' expect great food if the place isn't Knoebel's, and c) the hot dog was good, and the Cobbler (tho not heated up) was excellent. I had peach and would buy it in the park if were available for purchase anywhere. but the event by the park was really well organized, the folks running TSU are great and friendly, and the park reps that spoke to us during the meal were full of information. The upcoming Roller Coaster Rodeo Event sounds like a great time. oh, and there was a raffle too, and Joel won a wheel from an Iron Rattler train (perhaps explaining why there is only one train running now? LOL) here's Jeffrey addressing the group after dinner. after food, we got together for a 2nd attempt at group photo, with perfectly timed Goliath loop in the background. (Everyone I met at this event was great, and a lot of fun) food settled, we headed over to DareDevil Dive so Joel could get a ride (he liked it too): and then back over to Wonder Woman Killing time while waiting for Kim & Joel to get on the coaster (we didnt' ride Superman during the day, because we knew we had ERT on the ride - along with Zoom Jets and Skyscreamer after park close). . so we did ride it later, but for now, just took some pics of it. and here they are in seat 1 & 2 a few more things ridden and Kim/Joel wanted a night ride on Iron Rattler. I was starting to wear down a bit, so i relaxed with a Dr Butterskotch Elixir as dusk fell, and they waited ~30 minutes in Flash Pass line. (it was while I was waiting for them that I checked Facebook, and found out a friend of mine had passed in a traffic accident. .so that put me in a really odd mood for the remainder of the evening, but I tried my best to have fun, as there wasn't anything I could do that would change it, and he would want me to have fun at a Theme park) by the time they got off of Rattler, we were limited on time, since the park was only open for ~45 minutes longer. But Joel had gotten flash pass reservation for Poltergeist, so we headed that way and Kim and I sat and visited (and chatted about my friend) while we waited for him. he got of Polty with ~10 minutes left of park officially open. he REALLY wanted another ride on Wonder Woman. . . I was pretty convinced that the line had been closed off at least 40 minutes earlier, but he wanted to try. So Kim and I decided to go to Pirates for a ride, since we were close to the boardwalk - and Joel would go attempt WW. and we'd meet him over at Superman entrance for ERT. Kim and I were pretty much the last folks on Pirates for the night (they announced park was now closed while we were on it). . but on the way over to Superman, we stopped by WonderWoman to look for Joel - and were shocked to see him getting off the ride! He had been able to get into the queue 5 minutes before park close. SUCH amazing customer service at this park! (and again, i think the longer lines never really recovered from the power glitch earlier. . but HUGE Kudos to the park - the entire time we were doing ERT? they were still clearing lines on Joker & Roadrunner Express. That's some amazing service that not every park would do - letting those in line, still get a ride well after park close). here I am on Zoom Jets during ERT. I rode 4 times total. . it's a fun ride, with some real fun centrifugal force. look at that blur! it really does move pretty fast. . LOL and an official photog pic from earlier in the day Leaving the park ~10:20, I was already in my hotel in Shertz, and in bed by 11pm. Exhausting but fun day. . hope you've enjoyed reading along! in the next few days , I'll post the pics from the next day at ZDT.

This next TR segment is basically three mini-reports combined into one. The first bit is from the 2019 trip, and the rest is a look back to my 2016 visit to Gothenburg. That should finish everything up from the west side of Sweden. Friday, July 26, 2019 Day 15 Continued: Liseberg Backstage Liseberg is a place of class, magnificence, and history. But one tradition stands above all the rest: scribbling your signature on the wooden supports of Balder. Following that essential event, Pontus Hallsberg took a few of us on a backstage tour of three of the park's coasters: Balder, Valkyira, and Lisebergbanan. This is some fun stuff I didn't have space for in the last TR, but it might have been the best parts of the day! So, let's get it started with Balder. We'll begin at the recently re-designed entrance to Balder. Through a gate, we headed into the ride's infield turnaround. Some nice views of Balder in action from the inside. This is what we came for -- to add our names to those who have signed before us. Pontus explains the tradition... ...and behold, the marker of doom! So we all split up and found some wood. Meanwhile, Balder kept on rumbling above us. I have done my part. So did the rest of the group, with a selection of their signatures shared here. Daniel wants it in a box! David! Ryan is the first of us who was smart enough to put the full date! Barry! Brad points it out. AJ (who is actually one of our many Andrews) has added his name. John!! Caroline! Signatures from years past -- Elissa in 2014, and perhaps also 2011? KT loves ocean sunfish. Oh, this one might be my favorite. The backstage tour started in the ride op booth at Balder. We got a nice view from behind the glass of their very quick operations. Control panel shot! I never worked at a theme park (or even wanted to) but I bet this will interest one or two people who have. A view of the blue train out the window. The red train takes off. Can't do a backstage tour without getting a ride! Pontus and Robb look ready for some airtime. I jumped on the next cycle. What lies beyond this gate? The entrance to a haunt, for one. They even themed the escape route map. I love it! What else is behind the gate? The old Lisebergbanan trains! Fare thee well, old trains. Meanwhile, Valkyria cycles overhead. Some views from the Valkyria infield you can't normally get. Hey, you're upside down. Valkyria was also pumping out the trains, which made it easy to try some different photo angles. I like this view because you can see every row on the vehicle. Dropping down. Curving around. Hairtime is the best. An infinite spiral. Overbanked. Running out of caption ideas, but yeah, this is a great place to watch Valkyria from. Always some fun rider reactions, too. There's a decent view of the top of Balder's lift from over here, too. Balder takes a dive. From there, we headed into Valkyria's maintenance bay. If I wasn't writing this TR almost two years after the visit, I'd probably remember what more of this stuff is. We got a winch thing on the ceiling! A place to put the trains. You'll always need wheels. You also need tools. Wrenches of exceptional size. They didn't invent the wheel -- they just diagrammed it. More dummies than your average TPR trip. Very important! Also important: the sword of Valkyria. A strange view up at the station. A view from the loading platform. A rather steep lift hill. The anticipation is building. Checking in from the Valkyria control booth. A careful eye before the dispatch. End result: happy people. Across the way, there's Helix and some other stuff. We'll head over there and through Lisebergbanan's vacant extended queue. Way up the hill -- Helix and Uppswinget. A speedy Lisebergbanan passes. I spy a clearance envelope! There are some interesting views of Helix from way back here. Thankfully, Helix was behaving enough that we got a few pictures. Up and down the hills. This is some pretty good airtime. Helix only has two real airtime hills, but they're both quite strong. But this isn't a backstage tour of Helix, so... ...here's the Lisebergbanan maintenance bay. Under-the-track shot. More wrenches! I have no idea what this is, but it looks interesting. Another shot of the maintenance track. Pretty cool to get to see parts of a theme park you don't normally get to see. In case someone needs a hose-down. Orange wheels. Blue wheels. Varied wheels. Shiny silver wheels. Some stats for those of you who enjoy stats. And also know Swedish. Ah, yes -- the Zierer / Schwarzkopf combination. A map of the ride! And a view of the park from the way up to the control booth. One random shot of Balder from way over here, just because. Behind the glass at Lisebergbanan. They're collecting some awards. And cats. Balder and Valkyria were cycling quickly, but Lisebergbanan moves even faster. So many buttons, so little time. More buttons and lights. This is my favorite part of the control panel. It's a light-up schematic of the progress of the trains on the circuit. With that, we'll depart Liseberg C on one of the ride's new trains, bringing an end to the backstage tour. One more round of applause for Pontus for everything!

Boomerangs

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