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Oh wow, that's pretty high to be fair. Blackpool do actually do Big One lift walks, so knowing them they charged the riders for the walk down.

Wicked Cyclone hasn't declined. Sometimes at the end of the ride it runs slower based on weather / time of day or whatever (all coasters do this of course but it's a pretty noticeable difference with this one) and that's been true since the day it opened but even then I've never had a bad ride on it.

Cedar Point No Longer Requiring Face Masks -Face maks no longer required on rides, though it is still recommended -Temperature checks for guests have been discontinued. -Health-screen questionnaires will be conducted at entrance gates, not through the Cedar Point mobile app. Also Cedar Point said face coverings would still be required while guests are indoors, unless actively eating or drinking. “In addition to continued guidance from health professionals, none of our rides are long enough to meet the criteria that’s been established by the CDC as consistent exposure,” -Tony Clark

Baker will announce today that amusement parks and bars can reopen. Restrictions will be in place until August 1st.

^^ It's for California residents ONLY at this time. Period. If she's from Arizona ...... well, isn't it obvious she shouldn't go? I do not understand why someone would even ask about non-residents getting in, at this time. Or cheating to get in, too.

^ if they aren't a California resident, then she shouldn't try to go, unless Universal has announced that out of State are welcome to visit. if you're asking for if she can get around it? well, I dunno if anyone is going to officially tell you to violate park policy. official web site specifically notes it's still for California residents only, and that reservations must be made: https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/web/en/us/plan-your-visit/park-reopening

Theme Park Review was invited out to Knott's Berry Farm this morning to check out the all new Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair. "“Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair” is a new 4-D interactive dark ride that will take guests on an exciting journey through reimagined show scenes that are reminiscent of the original dark ride, including the Boysenberry Pie Factory, Frog Forest, Fortune Teller Camp, Thunder Cave, and Weird Woods, culminating in a celebration at the County Fair. The story takes place 34 years after the original adventure and will follow Boysen Bear and Girlsen Bear as they travel to the Country Fair to earn the blue ribbon prize for their famous boysenberry pies, but Crafty Coyote is back along with his mischievous pups intent on stealing all the pies for themselves. Guests will climb aboard ride vehicles equipped with jelly blasters to try and recover the stolen boysenberry pies as they travel through whimsical and beautiful environments while competing for the highest score." This is somewhat of a re-skin of Voyage to the Iron Reef. But, calling it that is doing a disservice to all the theming inside the ride. There is much more than just the screens. Even some theming looking up where it's not just a blank ceiling. Similar to Toy Story Mania, Bear-y Tales uses a Knott's Berry Jam jar with berry pull string to fire at the screen, gaining points as you go along. I love these rides, just because it's a game and a ride. Even if you don't care, there's still so much action to watch as you ride along throughout the story. Knott's Bear-y Tales has a much more family friendly theme that I feel fits in great and more families will want to ride than the previous Iron Reef. Of course, there's all new merchandise to go with the ride. A lot of plushies, pins, shirts, etc. Here's a full POV of the attraction:

@Danrarbc @bossstl @castaway_kid The beans are spilled, and looks like we were correct, and I can't wait to see it completed: CREDIT: Sean McCormac This is great to see, I'm glad the park is finally getting the needed improvements! Now speculation time, I wonder with all the front end improvements that are happening, that SFStL is getting ready to announce something big for the park for the 2023 or 2024 season

I'm glad they finally have a path to reopening!

Don't go out of your way to see what were talking about, its not finished yet. Hopefully by Friday it will be completed and it will be a very nice and long needed surprise.

The fact that you thought that just because you were going to Six Flags New England this year and Goliath is located in that park meant that you were going to get to ride it is actually adorable.

100% we expect all TPR members to follow all park guidelines. So the answer is she should not be visiting the park at this time. Thus far, only Sea World has changed their guidelines to allow vaccinated guests from any state if she wants to visit a park.

MOST of the museums in STL are free. Which is really nice. You can walk through the Science Center, Zoo and Art Museum (even History, but it's really not in the same league as the other three I mentioned) all for free. No none of them are the absolute best, there are paid facilities that hold those honors for obvious reasons, but they're all really good without having to add the "for a free museum" qualifier. Edit: The Fair St Louis site seems to be down right now I wonder if they're doing an major update on it. Edit2: Nobody drove by the park tonight?

Keep in mind with your planning that the Zoo and the City Museum both require reservations at the moment. Whether they will or not in July is anyone's guess but 4th of July weekend in Forest Park will be insane. The Cardinals are out of town which will help but if the VP fair goes on as usual at the Arch it will only compound the crowds. You will need to plan and I would make Zoo reservations early and plan on that taking up most of the day. The aquarium really only needs an hour or two, so you will have to decide if the money is worth it. It's not bad just really small and a "short" experience. Again depending on the status of the fair parking could be a nightmare all over downtown and there will be streets blocked off. I have not heard if they have made a decision on how or if the fair will be conducted this year but that is crucial information to your plans. If it goes on downtown hotel rooms will be sold out for the whole weekend. And it will make every tourist spot way more crowded.

I have a tough time getting to parks early when it’s Orlando or something where you have to be at Animal Kingdom at like 7:15 but when there’s a time change in your favor like with Great America and the park opens at 10:30 local time then I can be an early bird.

Y'all making me want to take a 1hr 30min round trip drive just to see what you're talking about. It's just a crane for Superman demo isn't it?

um. . . this tiny little thing you *might* have heard about happened in 2020 called Covid-19 ? and meant parks didn't have staff back to train up / fill positions until restrictions were lifted or relaxed. I'm guessing that has a LOT to do with why parks aren't operating the same as they have in past seasons (for both hours and/or days open)

My son and I checked out Coaster Power Hours this past Friday night. I'm not sure why more people aren't talking about this! Yes, it's an upcharge ticket, but if you're already a season passholder or member, it's literally $5 per person for basically five hours worth of non-stop uninterrupted coaster rides. Weather was cooperative this week and it was a beautiful spring evening in the high 60's, so all twelve of their coasters were open at one point or another. Aside from Kingda Ka and Bizarro, both of which had their own issues, we never ended up more than a station wait for a train, and the majority of the time we walked right on with a good chunk of those being front-row rides. Another nice factor was that for the first hour of the event, they were doing automatic re-rides; so if you were already on and you wanted to go again, you didn't even have to get out of your seat. Of course, thanks to the turnout, this basically was in effect all night long if you so desired because very rarely would you end up with a full train anywhere. Other than the coasters, no other rides were open. Only a handful of restaurants and snack booths were open, primarily around the Main Street area (also notably the Skybar next to SkyScreamer). Most of these locations had special items for sale that you can't usually get, like the pulled pork topped hot dog and chicken alfredo pizza. Other than a water refill though we skipped out on food while we were there in order to maximize our rides. They also had some of the carnival games in the Boardwalk section open, but other than that, it was really a barebones crew. In the span of the first four hours of the event, we managed to ride all 12 of the coasters, and that's even with doing two or sometimes three rides in a row. The last hour of the night we just spent backtracking our way to our favorites and getting extra rides in. All told, the final count ended up being: Superman x2 Green Lantern x2 Kingda Ka x1 (due to it dispatching three trains then going down, then coming back up ten minutes later, dispatching another three, and going down again) El Toro x4 (and yes, the locker rule is still in effect even at this low capacity event) Bizarro x1 (due to the one-two punch of someone horking on the front seat before our ride then getting triple stacked after our ride) Runaway Mine Train x1 Joker x1 Harley Quinn x1 Skull Mountain Remix x3 (the "remix" consists of a couple of colored disco lights strategically placed throughout the building to turn it into a rave-in-a-box, plus switching out the usual soundtrack to some electro house and dubstep. Volume was way too low to notice that anywhere but the brake run, though.) The Dark Knight x1 (no preshow) Batman: The Ride x1 Nitro x2 Seriously, I can't remember the last time I was at Great Adventure and got that many coaster rides in on a single day, even with a Flash Pass, short of maybe Holiday in the Park several seasons back before it blew up in popularity. The amount of people that showed up was way below your average Saturday and Sunday crowds. For the most part, the park well and truly felt deserted. It really felt like something special and to be honest I'm not sure how they're making money on this event, but as long as they're going to be offering it, I highly recommend that you try to sneak away to Jackson for a few hours on Thursday or Friday nights to take advantage of this. It was easily the best $10 we have ever spent at the park.

I'm late getting back to this to update my 1st visit to ZDT (!). . . I'll try to get it up in the next few days. but the positive coming out of my procrastination? the Admins from the TSU group - many of whom are photographers - have been uploading their pics over the past two weeks, so I have some pics taken of me I can use (they gave permission) here's just a tease, and I'll have my ZDT morning up soon. . . back right:

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.

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.

I have no clue what kind of mental gymnastics people are doing to make a perfectly flat huge park with tons of space a "challenging location". They just really want this coaster at Cedar Point so they can get off it and immediately film a hype vlog where they declare it the 7th best coaster in the park.

...and we have reservations to ride it! Yay!

(Disclaimer: This is my first photo TR posted from my phone. Apologies if something goes weird or is out of place somehow. ) Last Thursday a friend and I had the chance to visit USH for their first official day back open as a park with rides. Getting a reservation the week prior was a breeze. In minutes I was all set for my visit during the "AP Bonus Days" that USH decided to put on. When I arrived parking, temperature screening and security were all quick and easy. Moved quickly to the park gates where where I was asked for my AP and the reservation code. After that I was through the turnstiles and in a CA park open with rides for the first time since February 2020! Boy was that ever a good feeling. Arriving at about 1pm to a park that would close at 6pm doesn't sound like a long time but it was enough to hit up all that was running. Simpsons and Despicable Me were both closed, presumably because of the CA 15min indoor time limit. Studio Tour, Jurassic World, Mummy, Transformers, and the new Pets dark ride were all open though, as were most all food and merch locations. Of course plenty of covid safety protocols were in place. Temp screening entering CityWalk, social distancing markers in every queue, and hand sanitizer sprayed on every guest's hands before boarding any ride. None of it was any problem at all. Overall it was a great first day back now that CA parks are allowed to operate again. Here are some photos from around the park on its first day back! After a long wait it's finally time to reopen! Yay! I'm 12... New park policies regarding masks, distancing, where to eat/drink were clearly communicated and easy to follow. Anyone who's been to Japan should already be familiar with only eating/drinking in areas designated for that! Distancing markers in queues and signage for foot traffic helped keep things flowing. I could really get used to this limited capacity! Oh, hello kitty! First stop, my first visit to Pottersville in over a year! Limited capacity and it being a Thursday made for a really comfortable time with hardly anyone milling around. No line for Butterbeer! But plenty of markers around for when people do queue up for it. I even had my *very first* Butterbeer to commemorate the occasion! It was frozen and wonderful on a warm spring day. Virtually no wait for Forbidden Journey! Next we headed over to see the new Secret Life of Pets dark ride. The former British street has totally been redone as New York City. It's almost like there was a little Revolutionary War again right here. The entrance is right across from Despicable Me, making this area poised to be kid-central. The queue is one of the best Universal has ever put on. Sooo many AAs to see, such as Buddy pleasuring himself in the kitchen here. Wait, what? Life size AAs of the franchise's main characters chat with each other about all the lost puppies, that's us, they see passing by. The rabbit up above the bed is another working AA. I honestly can't remember the last time I went through a ride queue with this many AAs! The ride is perfect for kids and just a great family dark ride. Of course it also has misters and screens, but it was still very enjoyable whether or not you're familiar with the movies. Even for 12 year old me... Simpsons was down sadly, but how often do you get a chance to take this photo with almost nobody in the way? Bart was very happy to finally be back! Studio Tour time! Couldn't get a photo but the new loading procedures are very well done here. Guests are directed to a car and row directly out of the main queue as though they were boarding a coaster instead of a tram. It's quite efficient and prevents congestion nicely. I loves me some Back to the Future picture cars! Oh no! A flash flood! AAHHHHH!! SHARK! SHARK!! SHARK!!! Overall the Studio Tour looks great for having been closed for a year. Kong/Earthquake/Fast & Furious all move like they just came out of refurb. War of the Worlds here looks as freaky as ever. The Starway to the Lower Lot provides a nice view of Super Nintendo World coming soon. Just so great to finally be back in a CA park with rides open! Splash down after a new encounter with the Indominus Rex. The new additions really help make this ride feel more complete. Transformers was running great also. Maybe I'm just out of practice but it felt like it was bouncing and whipping around with a bit more force. Many lockers were closed to discourage people from bumping up against each other. Heading out after a great day! As a 90s kid who grew up with American Gladiators and Nickelodeon, this view will *always* be recognizable! What better way to close out the day than at my favorite movie-based eatery? OM NOM NOM!!! Awesome first day back at USH. The park looked great. Rides ran great. Employees seemed happy to be back. I'm definitely looking forward to more visits as life here slowly goes back to normal!

I don’t know who needs to hear this but stop doing this: so you can make people stand in this twice as long in the name of social distancing. Just load every seat.

I think it's a bit more complicated than that. I do believe that the park management wanted to open the park last year but weren't able to because they didn't get approval from the state. The positivity rates, daily cases, and deaths are now significantly lower than they were last summer. In addition about 25% of the state is fully vaccinated at this point. Dining is open throughout the state. I don't see a reason SFGAm shouldn't open (with limited capacity) and be able to serve food at outdoor kiosks.

Bro, Jersey legalized pot not crack. Put it down.

I have been obsessed with DISCO by Kylie Minogue. I found it amazing that she not only recorded the entire project during lockdown, but she also taught herself how to engineer her own vocals and did so at her home studio. As a musician, I know how difficult it can be in the studio, so I applaud her for not only taking the initiative but also succeeding so well. And she did a live concert of most of the music from a studio in London. It streamed twice online, and the 2nd time they had a documentary about the making of the special. All of the dancers were kept 6 feet apart unless they were already living together as couples. They ended up having about 12 dancers, 6 of which were couples (male/female, male/male and female/female). It was so cool! Really hoping for a tour when all of this is over!

Ideal: Carowinds spring & summer, WDW fall, KD Halloween. Realistic: Planet Coaster & Youtube. I'll be happy if it's safe enough to visit *any park* at least once before 2022. Fingers crossed.

Ideal ~ Going somewhere, anywhere in the coming year. Realistic ~ Not going anywhere next year except (I hope) Playland(PNE), saving up, and heading to Europe in the fall of 2022.