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I guess I will take the opposite opinion. While the design is cool, it would also better fit in with the budget resorts like Art of Animation or Pop Century. Re-doing the rooms in the Deluxe resorts just cheapens them. If I wanna see Pixar or Disney characters in my hotel room, I would expect that in the lower resorts, not the ones where rooms start at $500 per night.

Updates: ------------------ Cedar Point Day One - Coasters, coasters and more coasters Cedar Point Day Two - Snake River Expedition, coasters & merch Kennywood - Coasters, classic rides and lots of history Hershey Day One - Chocolate World, Hersheypark and lots of food! Hershey Day Two - Chocolatetown, Cupfusion and even more food! ------------------- Original Post: After 14 months of no travel as a result of COVID-19's impact around the world, it was finally time a few weeks ago to get back out there and leave Orlando for a spell. My last trip was in April of 2020 and consisted of a cold birthday weekend in New York City. I planned a long weekend with a few friends, neither of which had been to Cedar Point before (my first visit was three years ago for the opening of Steel Vengeance)--and we figured since we were already making the trek, we'd visit a few more parks along the way, adding Kennywood and Hersheypark to our itinerary. For our first day we had the Fast Lane Plus as well as the All Day Dining and All Day Drink packages. Compared to my last visit where Steel Vengeance was running one train, during this visit we had all three trains running. With the Fast Lane Plus access, we never waited more than a half hour to ride--and at opening we waited only 10 minutes from entering the queue to when we were seated. Fast Lane was more effective with some coasters (Steel Vengeance, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick and Magnum) than it was for others (Millennium Force, Wicked Twister and Rougarou) but still absolutely worth the money. We visited on a Thursday and Friday and both days were very busy--I could only imagine what Saturday or Sunday would have been like. It was nice to be on a plane again... Our first day at Cedar Point started with early access thanks to our stay at the Express Hotel at Cedar Point. The morning fog eerily masked several of the rides for the first few hours of the park operation. Raptor is still a ridiculously good B&M inverted coaster! Slurm or Fanta Lime? Either way, it was delicious and I could have as much as I wanted of it thanks to the All Day Drink Package that came with our hotel package. The package works on any open location that has a soda fountain (including Coca-Cola Freestyle machines). What a roll! Valravn diving from the fog... In case you were wondering about the legend of Valravn... Of the three B&M dive machines I've been on, Valravn continues to be my least favorite. Despite the extra height and inversions, I think Sheikra has the best layout and Griffon has the best (wide) trains. "Do a Cobra Roll!" Looking down the midway... Dive! Dive! Dive! The fog certainly adds something to the visual buildup of Millennium Force as you approach. Honestly didn't surprise me as much this time around but still a very fun coaster. Lots going on in this view... I love that you can walk under Corkscrew with no nets! As the fog cleared, Top Thrill Dragster revealed its massive height. I'd love to experience a rollback... Gemini was running really well during our visit! Time for the good stuff! What an absolute beast! The money shot! This outward-banked airtime hill always gets me! Steel Vengeance is an absolutely relentless coaster. Not a single moment to breath throughout. And the second half inside of the coaster's wooden structure gives you moments where you can barely tell what is the right side up. The initial 90 degree drop is unreal. We rode twice during this day but we would be back for more the next day. Amazing! Time for the truly wildest ride in the wilderness! I adore everything about Maverick. If it weren't for Steel Vengeance, Maverick would be my favorite coaster in the park. Such a unique layout and the way the trains move across it... I'm always amazed at how much this ride throws you around. Heading into one of my favorite elements... Living it up! We hopped over to Top Thrill Dragster to have our wind-blown faces launched into the sky. Millennium Force towers over the Frontier section of the park. We had lunch at the new BackBeatQue venue using our All Day Dining plan... The brisket looked amazing! Sadly the portion size for the brisket platter was underwhelming, but the food itself was really good for quick service dining plan food! The half chicken platter was a more hearty portion... As was the pulled pork platter... The back patio for BackBeatQue provided outdoor seating with a live band performing folksy versions of classic rock songs. Back to the coasters... Ready to race! We ran out of time to experience the Cedar Creek Mine Ride during this trip... Sadly the Town Hall Museum was closed during our visit (likely due to COVID) but Pig-Pen was out front taking distanced photos with guests. Another ride on Maverick? Don't mind if I do! Skyhawk is so fun! There was additional entertainment in the Frontier section of the park for the Cedar Point Frontier Festival, which was the park's food and wine festival-style event. Corkscrew is a pretty solid, classic Arrow coaster. It doesn't get a lot of recognition compared to the newer coasters that surround it, but Corkscrew is a really fun, well maintained ride. And again, nothing beats the unique experience of walking under this element as the train works through the namesake maneuver. Magnum was way better than I remembered from my last trip... And yes, that is a tube of sunscreen flying at me from someone's pocket on the train sitting ahead of me. Blue Streak is a classic wooden coaster.... And a pretty wild ride at that. I'm always surprised by just how much you feel the PTCs bending around you as they move along the track. Iron Dragon exists... It is a fun ride but definitely the most tame of the Arrow suspended coasters I've experienced. In my opinion, Millennium Force's speed is its greatest element. Zoom, zoom, zoom! I do like how this overbanked turn traces the queue... Millennium Force does has some really solid airtime too. I never had the chance to experience this coaster when it was Mantis... But this is not a regret of mine. This is an underated B&M maneuver right here. I do love the visual layering of coasters you find at different angles throughout the park. Since my last visit, dual sided lockers have been added to the Steel Vengeance queue... You can pay to use the lockers outside of the queue opposite the entrance of the attraction, or you can stand in line (standby or Fast Lane) towards the end of the queue, you'll reach a set of metal detectors and ride attendants who ask you to empty your pockets to put your belongings in these free lockers. You step out of the line to put your things in a locker, and then you wait in a small line to re-enter the main line to go through the metal detectors and up towards the station. Once you exit the ride, you go back through the entrance of the attraction to access the opposite side of these lockers to unlock yours and collect your belongings. It is a messy process, but it gets the job done I guess. Glorious. Oh-hi-yo-Millennium Force! Wicked Twister was a pleasant surprise for me to experience during my last visit so I made sure to try it again this time around. Gatekeeper is still one of my favorite coasters in the park. For Larry. Loving every second of this fantastic ride! I'm so glad I rode Wicked Twister again during this visit--it was even better than I remembered! Back for more! With the 150th anniversary celebration going on, there was a lot of neat park merchandise available to purchase. Ride themed Squishmallows. Kind of brilliant. I think it is pretty neat that CoasterDynamix is selling nanocasters versions of classic/extinct coasters from parks' past. These Coaster Cutouts were a newer concept to me but pretty cool. The French Quarter Confections is a newer addition to the entrance plaza in Cedar Point. ...Or at least my life does. All too easy. Artsy fartsy. What a skyline! We ended our evening at Twin Oast Brewing about 20 minutes away from the park... Great food and fantastic beer... With a truly picturesque setting to enjoy while you're eating and drinking... Next up: Day 2 at Cedar Point!

^ I was there the two days before the chain broke.

I really know nothing at all about any of the areas I'm heading to outside Chicago itself, so that's very helpful, thanks! I'll plan on leaving WoF early then and find somewhere close to SDC. Shouldn't be too difficult. The ABVI is the one in St. Robert; I'll stay with that then. Going to try to book these places Monday, so if anyone else knows anywhere I should be avoiding, please let me know! Also, anywhere along the route I really should be going out of my way to stop for food? (Or food at the parks?)

I’d like to see more confirmation on this but if it’s true I might actually go there (once they fix Gatekeeper). Despite all of my shit talking lately I do love this park, which is why it’s a shame to see it run like crap.

Well I can finally say we went to Hersheypark for the 1st time the past 2 days. Unfortunately my friends and I got in line once we got in the park. It was a little over a 2 hour wait (longest I have ever waited for any ride) but it was fun. The lift hill seemed like it took forever and the rest of the ride flew by. It felt too short for the wait. It was sooo packed. Every ride had long lines and waits. We didn't get a chance to ride any other coasters due to the wait times. I'm sad cause I really wanted to ride sooperdooperlooper just because it is such a classic coaster there. The best flat ride we rode was The Whip. None of us had ever been on anything like it but it was such a fun ride we agreed. We'll be going back next year for a concert so we will definitely be spending 2 more days there to ride. Needless to say, my friends and I should've done fast passes but $100/person/day was not in our budget. Food wise...the crabfries are amazing and worth the $9.50. I had bought chocolate chip cookies the day before and was disappointed that they weren't tasty.

Hey everyone, figured I'd get around to writing out some of my trip reports, so here is my first visit to SFMM from 6/17/2021. I started my day at 2am in Denver to catch my 6am flight to LAX, and once getting there I immediately headed to get my car rental (via Midway Car Rental, would recommend for the cheap price). This was my first time in LA and essentially the first thing I really did here was get in a car and deal with it's infamous traffic, which fortunately wasn't too bad. Took about 50min to get to Valenica, where I ate breakfast and then joined the car line at about 9:45am. Got into the park itself about 10:20am, which was a breeze with the membership entrance, where I finally got my membership card (after having it for about 13 months), and was able to get my Platinum FP, dining plan, and member bottle set up before official opening at 10:30. With such a fast-paced morning, I had to take a second just for the surreal reality of actually being at this park, after learning about it, playing it in RCT2, and seeing videos, trip reports, & footage on the internet over the last 15 years. Throughout my day I must say that I thought the park looked fairly nice, with no notable thoughts of trash or uncleanliness. Nothing was as well landscaped as say, BGW, but I certainly wasn't expecting that, and I thought just about everything at least looked presentable. Rides were all well staffed, whereas food stands were not, which resulted in reasonable ops for the former and 30-60min lines throughout the day for the latter. I ended up getting my meals from the dining plan at the very end of the day and still waited about 15min, and fortunately was able to get both at once, as I took one meal back to my hotel. Only ate my snack during the actual day, which were some average nachos, and I got them during a power outage that lasted about 40min in the afternoon (only took down the rides). The Flash Pass on my phone worked super well, arguably better than the watches, and I appreciated having a full minutes + seconds countdown. Even with Platinum level, I "only" got 28 rides in about 10.5 hours (compared to a best of 37 at SFFT in March), but I attribute that to it still being fairly busy, some rides still having a 15+min wait after even being merged in at the FP entrance, not stellar ops, and the park being so massive. Unfortunately, Apocalypse was closed, likely due to staffing as we discussed here. As with my SWSA review a while back, I'll review the rides in the order which I rode them, and rate them via their rank in my current coaster count (which was nicely boosted after this visit): Viper - 8x Oh boy, y'all are in for an Arrow fanboy review (which you may recognize from reddit), so be prepared. Viper has been an icon of my growth as a roller coaster enthusiast since I got "into" coasters at eight years old, when I learned about it in the very first roller coaster book my family got me. I can still picture in my head the aerial photo of the ride, oddly opposite a description of the Coney Island Cyclone . It is arguably Arrow Dynamic's finest looping coaster, and with Arrow's significant legacy, as well as plenty of their rides I grew up with (ex. Silverwood's Corkscrew was my first inverting coaster), it's no shock I became an fanboy & that Viper has long been held by me as THE ride to get to. Having a recreation of the ride (and park) in RCT2, as well as growing up alongside footage of coasters on YouTube (of which TPR was the prominent channel), it all definitely promoted my interest in this ride. I watched as GASM & Vortex got torn down this past decade, leaving Viper as the last of its era, and at 31 years old, it's years are numbered. It's the main reason that drew me to finally get out to Magic Mountain as soon as I was able to, and fortunately my birthday this year worked fantastically. For me, it definitely lived up to the hype. The sheer scale of this ride (188ft is nothing to scoff at even three decades later), it's presence with the wonderful Arrow anti-rollbacks on the lift, it's loud rumble, and how well it fits into it's desert-ish setting creates such an imposing atmosphere. That drop is steeper than it looks, and it just twists and plummets you towards the ground. It hold such much speed as it flies up into that first vertical loop, which provides plenty of positive G's while being super high off the ground at the same time. The first trim doesn't feel like it slows the train very much, and then you kind of clunk into the high bank and absolutely barrel around the 180° curve. The next two loops are just insane with the positive G's, and definitely keep your head back or the G's will do it for you. The rise and then leveling-off into the MCBR provided a strong airtime pop towards the front of the train, and a good floater pop even towards the back. From here, the system wasn't very consistent on how much it slowed the train, which provided very different experiences in the second half. If it slowed you down only a little, you belted around the following curves, with more positive G's in the batwing and even some in the corkscrews, and flew into the final breaks. If it slowed you a lot, you more leisurely traversed the remainder of the course, with hangtime in the inversions instead, and a more casual slide into the breaks. In terms of smoothness, I benefit from being at a good height (6'0") where I both have my head above the restraints, but am not too tall to where I didn't fit comfortably into the seats. They're definitely more spacious cars than older versions, such as Sidewinder or Demon at CGA. It's not going to be a smooth ride, more clunky than anything, but if you thought it was unbearably rough, I implore you to ride literally anything at Elitches and get back to me, lol. There wasn't any huge jolts or jackhammering, things that are more present on rides like SLCs, and that's good news to me as those kinds of roughness aren't well fixed by vest restraints (in comparison to headbanging). I think if the park thought they could get more life out of the structure and decided to put the newer Vekoma trains on it, it'd ride very similarly to Blue Hawk at SFOG (rode last month so I have a decent idea how it feels), and would help shorter & taller riders enjoy it more too. I know Viper's current roughness is still too much for some people, but I definitely don't think it's dreadful as some have made it out to be. Overall, I absolutely LOVE this ride. It's my Arrow fanboy dream finally realized, and I'm very happy I got to ride it. I'm unsure how much longer it has, but I'd say maybe even expect another 4-5 years out of it. I doubt SF is going to want to spend the money on a ride that can replace that plot for a few more years, and it's still decently popular. In what I heard from non-enthusiast guests around me, probably just as many people said they liked it (in terms of "insane" or "awesome") as people who complained it was rough, and some even did both, lol. I think part of the reason it has a short line, aside from being older/rougher than many of its park siblings, is that it's one of the easiest/fastest coasters to load, as seatbelts and more-complex harnesses really slowed down other rides in comparison during my visit. I'll be back in August for some more rides, and I'll be grateful for every one I get on Viper. #5 of 88. New Revolution - 2x I don't have as many Schwarzkopfs in my credit list as I'd like, and the world's first modern vertical looping coaster sure was a nice add. My two rides stemmed from the ops accidentally mis-parking the train somehow, in which the front car was jutted past where they could released the restraints, so literally had to go around again! This is such a simple & fun ride, and a great first looping coaster for anyone. Aside from the solid G's in the loop itself and the two harsh trim moments, I'd even call the ride relaxing. It's amazing how these Schwarzkopfs are still so smooth and provide that classic feel after so many decades. The powerful loop is clearly the best part, and I also appreciated the upward helix before it, as well as riding so close to the terrain in the turns after it. Those new trains are pretty comfy, and overall the ride was a pleasant experience. #64 or 88 [Don't worry, anything 70 and lower on my current list is where you get to actual "meh" rides] Full Throttle - 1x This ride was my first thrilling launch coaster that has a full, 0-to-Max-Speed launch (as opposed to a swing launch or Arrow shuttle loop launch), and I was very satisfied with getting some proper launch power. That loop has such fantastic hangtime and a great upside-down view, and then I loved being flinged up the hillside into that dive loop, which actually had some decent G's (my one ride was very back row). The reverse launch also had some kick and the dive loop backwards switched from good G's, to hangtime, & back to good G's, and the subsequent booster launch was more of a short shove. The top hat was cool with great airtime coming off of it into the breaks. I understand why people want this to have been longer, but it's still good for what it is, and definitely a smooth, short, intense ride. #27 of 88. X2 - 1x Probably my second most anticipated ride after Viper, I only wish I could have ridden more than once (Even Platinum is limited to one ride), but lucked out with a front-row placement. I took the inside seat, per most guest's recommendations, and thought the comfort of the trains wasn't bad. The surreal moment for this hit me on the lift when getting that fantastic view of the park, knowing what to expect but also about to experience it for the first time. I kinda thought the lift was gonna be longer then it actually was, and cresting the top & sliding up into the harness was such a precursor "oh sh*t" moment before the actual one.. Flipping to face that 215ft, essentially vertical drop, while looking straight down was absolutely the biggest "OOH SH*T" moment I've ever had on any coaster, and I'll have that view burned into my brain forever. Picking up speed going down, then flipping fully and pulling out at the base of the drop kinda blurred together with such speed and intensity. The first raven turn is so weird with the angle you're held at as you slow over the top, and then barrel downwards into a heck of back-flip-times-mid-sized-hill combo. Turning around in that giant 180* is definitely the only breather moment. Fly-to-lie was so cool and had the fire effect working, which you can feel that heat for sure! The final raven turn was so weird as the track just rotates out from underneath you, and then twisting into the brakes was one last blast of craziness to finish you off. My ride wasn't very rough at all, but that of course benefited from my seating position, and I could tell that further back would probably be shakier along with crazier. Something I found amazing was how, in the front, you could tell the pure momentum those massive trains had as they pushed you along. X2 was truly berserk and I NEED to try it again when I go back. #3 of 88. Tatsu - 2x The original king of flying coasters was also highly anticipated, as I had just ridden S:UF at SFOG in May, but before that hadn't ridden a flying coaster in over a decade. This thing is so interesting as, overall, it absolutely puts the S:UF experience on steroids, yet the drop and first three elements of the ride are so graceful. That drop, first two inversions, and overbank are just prime flying coaster experience, with smooth transitions and incredible views. Then, the fast low turn after the overbank is like warning shot of what's to come, with a surprising jolt of intensity. Building up to the pretzel loop was yet another "Oh Sh*t" moment, and then front flipping into it turns this ride from a graceful experience to a downright scary one. That pretzel loop is probably the most intense single element I've ever been through, with what felt like the most positive G's too. Even with knowing what it'd be like after S:UF, it almost freaked me out just how much more powerful this one felt. I barely remember the following inline-twist, and even the turn-around over the entrance plaza, as that was all just recovery from the loop. I'd almost say that this coaster may be one of the most wearing in the whole park with how I just needed to take it slow from that one moment of intensity, but of course I got right back through to ride again. Certainly a varied, but amazing, coaster. #13 of 88. Gold Rusher - 1x Not too much to say, other than a fun family attraction. Definitely 1971 jerky, but nothing too bad. I liked how much of terrain coaster it is, and it's the epitome of a 50 year old mine ride. I think it's clearly underwhelming to a lot of the park's thrill-focused clientele, but was such a good fit for the family market, and I'm glad their keeping this classic piece of their history around. #71 of 88. Ninja - 1x My first Arrow suspended coaster, and it was a very good time. I was impressed with how much you actually do feel the swinging. Throughout the long ride experience, it does keep a balance of casual swinging up higher on the hill, and then some more intense sweeping moments lower by the water. Another attraction that I'd say is really good for families, with this, Gold Rusher, and New Revolution being great larger rides for that market at this park. Need to get back on it for more. #51 of 88. Superman: Escape from Krypton - 2x I didn't expect to get two rides on this, but it actually had a very short wait, with my second ride essentially walking up to the rows inside. I know Full Throttle's first launch has more kick, but this definitely has my favorite launch so far. With how people rag on it, I didn't think it'd be as powerful as it was, and it is just crazy to be accelerating backwards faster and faster and faster.. then some good G's as you rip up the tower. Did third row & front row, and both were nuts with how high up you get looking straight down. Almost lost my membership lanyard when riding in the front with the combo of wind and then sustained zero-G! The car made it up into the red on basically every ride I rode or saw during my visit. Looking forward to trying the forwards side if that's open on my return! 18 of 88. West Coast Racers - 1x Though I still have a bit of a hard time figuring out exactly where this coaster fits into the park's lineup with already having Full Throttle and Twisted Colossus, it did provide a very different experience from those coasters and was an absolute blast. The high-five element on both sides provided great airtime, and the stall and subsequent hill on the white track were great. Yellow side at that portion didn't do too much but was cool on either side to be able to look up and see the other train above/below you. Booster launches felt very similar to Full Throttle's. Corkscrews were kinda graceful on either side, and I understood what people are saying when they say the following figure-eight helix was more intense on the yellow track. There's a tiny bit of float in the little bunny hop before the final corkscrew, and both sides end strong with some speed into the breaks. I don't really have a preferred side, as I though the white track had the better first segment while the yellow track had the better latter segment, and both were a ton of fun. Doing both sides in the same ride helped it feel really complete. The "show" sequence while you wait between circuits is decent, and keeps the energy up until it - get this - just stops and goes silent after a certain period of time. I thought it was a bit weird that they didn't just loop it until the next dispatch, lol. "Comfort" callers weren't as noticeable on this as they are on Tempesto, and though I do think these Premier trains are pain to get into, they're not bad once you're finally sitting. WCR is a great ride and is very popular with the public, so I guess a win for the park in my book. #23 of 88. Goliath - 1x This imposing coaster, I thought, was a really good ride. The couple airtime-focused hypers I've ridden absolutely slam it in my rankings, but knowing what to expect here, I enjoyed my experience. I appreciate the huge scale of this coaster, and the views from its height are pretty (especially with the area's surrounding hills). The drop was decent being in the back car, trading off a steeper angle & airtime for an extended sensation of plummeting towards the ground. Ripping through the tunnel at 85mph was cool, and the height of the second hill is still crazy tall. The speed hill definitely had speed, as well as the teeny tiniest feeling of floater, as if they designed it to have 0.1G so you'd actually get zero-G if you were getting a fast ride, lol. Climbing into the MCBR slam went as expected, and fortunately we didn't come to a total stop. The following swooping turns were fun, and then you get to that helix. Not as strong in feeling as Tatsu's pretzel loop, but definitely sustained, and I actually experienced a bit of "graying out" right in the last second of it. Then more sweeping turns into the breaks. What I really like about Goliath is still a certain fascination of it being a big a**, fast coaster, as well as nostalgia tied in from RCT2. One day I'd like to wait it out for front row, but not sure my next visit will be it. #35 of 88. Twisted Colossus - 3x My third RMC I-Box behind IRat and Twisted Cyclone, and it really is a top-tier coaster. What I gotta give props to this coaster over those and the raptors is the huge length of this ride (didn't realize it'd be my current second longest coaster behind Raging Bull), even in just talking about the prime sections. The bunny hops leading up to the lift, as well as both sides of the lift, are great anticipation builders. Both drops off the lifts are fantastic, and reminded me of slightly larger versions of Twisted Cyclone's drop, since all have that twist in the middle. The speed hills had a nice air pop but really lead into what I thought were the best, most sustained air moments of the ride, being the first hills of the big turnaround. Even in the back, these hills had such incredible sustained ejector. High-five element was fun, with of course the green track being better with the outwards twist, and I loved the air on the blue side's drop off the turnaround over the green's double down. Blue's speed hill and sustained hill are great, and green's inverted stall was just STELLAR, being the first of those elements I'd done. Blue's zero-G roll is out-of-your-seat in renowned RMC fashion, with green getting another solid air pop underneath it. Both double ups are strong, and then blue's outer bank is very forceful, while green gets another pop into the breaks. This coaster, by a large margin, has the most airtime of any coaster I've ever been on, and my thighs certainly felt that with those RMC restraints. Probably should have had less stuff in my cargo pockets, lol. Twisted Colossus has firmly slotted into the second best coaster I've been on, behind Iron Rattler. As much as this coaster is longer and has more airtime, I found IRat's setting, comfort of the trains, drop, and sustained moments to edge it out. #2 of 88. Riddler's Revenge - 2x I hadn't been on a stand up since Iron Wolf (the namesake when I made this account in middle school) a decade ago. Unfortunately didn't get to ride Georgia Scorcher in my visit last month, so I'd all but forgotten what the experience was like, and I was excited to try it out again. Riddler's is a birth year twin of mine, having both of us turned 23 this year (me on the day I rode it, lol). I got both a front and back row ride, and I loved it. I found that if I can balance the narrow spot between slightly crouching and standing up straight (which was difficult with that long boarding process), I didn't experience any discomfort from the bike seat nor trying to be in that crouching position the whole ride. Definitely understand how hard it is to make that work and why people don't like it. The stand up position is interesting and fun due to the vulnerability of it, and if my feet didn't hurt so much from walking around all day already, I'd probably have really loved it. As for the ride itself, it's a forceful B&M looper with a unique layout, so lots of good to appreciate. The tops of the first three inversions all had a bit of float in them, and the inclined loop was an odd angle for sure. Both corkscrews had some wonderful whip, and the hill following the first one had a slight bit of float in the front. I think this is a great ride as is, but personally may be even better as a floorless. Who knows, haven't been on Rougarou to see if that turned out well. Riddler's has a good long ride, fun inversions, decent themeing, and above all else, a killer B&M roar. #20 of 88. Batman: The Ride - 1x With just one ride, this is my favorite BTR. Don't know if it was just the tired and heat, but my one front row ride felt more powerful than the back on either of the San Antonio pair I rode in March. These are always good, solid rides with wonderful pacing, and with an SLC as my local invert, I'll never complain about coming across one of these. Didn't get to ride the one at SFOG & I hear these two are considered the most intense, and I'll be back at both parks in August, so I'll have to see how a back row ride on each compares. #29 of 88. Scream! - 1x While it's no Superman Krypton Coaster, I still really enjoyed my back row ride on Scream. It's rattly, it's a parking lot coaster, and it has no real theme, but it's still a large B&M floorless looper and better than anything we have in Denver. There's some good G's throughout the first half, a bit of float at the top of the dive loop, the zero-G roll is not far behind SKC's in terms of whip & float, and solid inversion-based coasters are always fun to me. It should probably be sent to another SF park, but in the mean time, I had a lot of fun. #36 of 88. Lex Luthor - 1x My favorite drop tower so far. 400ft up is no joke and the view is amazing. That drop definitely does on for a while and you can feel that crazy 90mph. _____ I thought I was going to add pictures, but this essay of a review is long enough, and lagging my poor internet browser. To really finish off, I had an unreal, fantastic time getting out to SFMM for the first time. Looking forward to going back, and hope you enjoyed my thoughts!

https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/exciting-park-news?fbclid=IwAR16g7hQqKdY5KmT12BmBsIV2ny1WIcZdBsAA7z6rm13HuD8teX_wTGCsco Reservations will no longer be required to visit Cedar Point effective July 1. Also the park will now be open daily through Labor Day (it was previously mid-August).

This trip has been has been euphoric and torture. It takes SO long to get in the park either by boat or waiting in the painful line to city walk with only 2 metal detectors. Even waking up at 630am isn't early enough. The day is over after dinner thanks to weather and it's so frustrating because the radar willl be clear then storms pop off at any moment. We've been cleared out of so many lines at night we have 4 Velocicoaster passes and 2 Hagrids passes so at least today the last day will be decent. ET has had major issues and so has Rip Ride Rocket so over 4 days we likely won't get on them, bummer. But anyways the rides and attractions are awesome when you get on them. Bourne was really cool! Everyone sends thoughts and prayers to Universal today please let this be a good last day

Walt Disney World has released new details about the reimagined guest rooms at Disney's Contemporary Resort, featuring a new design inspired by the monorail and The Incredibles. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/06/first-look-inside-a-reimagined-guest-room-at-disneys-contemporary-resort/ When Walt and Roy Disney dreamed of a magical new future at Walt Disney World Resort, part of that vision became reality with Disney’s Contemporary Resort. With the Monorail running right through its A-frame tower, the resort was an instant icon at The Most Magical Place on Earth – a tribute to the future of imagination and progress. As Walt Disney World prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary this October, Walt Disney Imagineering is continuing to build on the optimistic spirit of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, enhancing the retro-modern aesthetic evoking Tomorrowland … with a dash of something Incredible, too. Currently all nine floors of guest rooms in the tower are being completely refurbished, and here’s a first look at the new décor debuting this fall. As you can see, these rooms will blend a sleek Monorail motif with some favorite characters from Pixar Animation Studios’ Incredibles films, including Jack-Jack, Frozone and Edna Mode. New custom artwork in guest rooms and along guest corridors will be modern, futuristic and oh so stylish, dahling, complementing the resort’s architecture while putting the Supers’ powers on display. In the lobby, you’ll soon see a collection of modern art pieces as well as historical, behind-the-scenes photographs of Disney’s Contemporary Resort in development and under construction. The resort’s lobby restaurant, The Wave… of American Flavors, will also soon close to make way for a reimagined dining experience in time for the Walt Disney World 50th anniversary celebration. And once the tower guest rooms are complete, work will begin on the rooms inside the Garden Wing out on the shore of Bay Lake. All the excitement at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is part of the ongoing evolution of the Disney Resorts Collection at Walt Disney World, where the magic you find in our theme parks extends to every moment of your vacation. We’ll have more to share on this project in the months to come as we get ready for “The World’s Most Magical Celebration” beginning Oct. 1, so keep checking back with us here at the Disney Parks Blog for all the details.

Visited the park today and it was very busy, but I can happily report that operations were outstanding. Everything was open and running multiple trains. Of course there were a few "Six Flagsy" moments here and there like Bizarro crew getting thrown off their stride by 3 guests coming through the handicapped line and some food service employees who had no clue what a mobile order was...lol but generally everything was very well-run and consistent. Bizarro and Nitro were both running 3 trains, El Toro 2, Kingda Ka 3 and Kingda Ka's crew was fastest in the park. We really liked Jersey Devil and it does a great job of splitting the difference between Nitro and El Toro. The restraints are awkward, though. We got Platinum Flash Pass and Jersey Devil was indeed unlimited on it. Upon arrival, the parking lot was pretty full and it steadily got busier as the day went on. You already know this is the best sh*t ever. If I really want to nit pick, there are some spots on El Toro that could use a little TLC, mostly coming out of the second large airtime hill, the bottom of the turnaround, and right before/after the speed hill. It wasn't brutal or anything, but a little bit headache-inducing when marathoning. But this is still basically the best coaster on the planet. We got one ride on Kingda Ka. It went down temporarily once or twice, but that's the sort of thing you expect with these. The operations were extremely fast and they were cranking out trains and it was running very smooth. Nitro was also running great. Super fast, great airtime, smooth, and they even got new restraint covers so the plastic wasn't all picked apart like in previous years. And we got a few rides in on Jersey Devil. It's still doing the thing where it breaks down a lot, but it's only for like 10 minutes at a time. There's a sign out front saying they're still calibrating it, but it really wasn't a big deal. Sometimes it would come back up and the flash pass would still show "delayed", but the ride attendants would just let us go through. The coaster was great. It wasn't as crazy nor as intense as the clone models like Wonder Woman. But it was still a very intense ride, just much more re-rideable. The elements flow very well together and the transitions are smooth and way less janky that some of the ones on the clone models. The restraints are different and more comfortable than Wonder Woman's, but they still manage to not be that comfortable. The lap bar sits awkwardly on your legs and if you accidentally pull it too tight, the drops can be a little uncomfortable. I think restraint and train design are RMC's biggest opportunity for improvement. It's not terrible or anything, just a little bit awkward. We also rode Skyrush the day before so maybe that contributed. The sea of people leaving the park. Honestly, I'm glad for Six Flags that they were so busy. I really want the industry to recover quickly and there's clearly a ton of demand right now. The fact that the park was so prepared to have a "normal" busy day impressed us. We've had several experiences this year with parks that have been a hot mess, like Busch Gardens Williamsburg basically falling apart on a busy day. I never thought I'd say that Six Flags as a company is handling such a major disruption better than the competition, but here we are. Go to Six Flags Great Adventure, you won't regret it.

^Are you kidding this is hot breaking Six Flags America action! https://patch.com/maryland/bowie/six-flags-ride-shuts-down-video-shows-structure-shaking-report Park PR confirmed the ride is closed for inspection. I am an engineer myself, and I can’t tell you how close this was to reaching a critical stress point because I don’t have any specific information about the ride. I don’t work for Zamperla! I can tell you that is not a normal amount of deflection expected in a typical ride cycle though, and if it were this ride wouldn’t last very long. Within a factor of safety? Sure. Comparing it to regular operating track sway on Xcelerator?.... No.

Anyone else just get blasted with emails from SeaWorld's entire chain?

Knoebels also benefits from the pay-per-ride model. People visiting can pay specifically for riding whatever's open, whereas buying a day ticket to any of these other parks when half the rides are closed for the day would no doubt create a customer service uproar. Knoebels' model, while not alleviating disappointment, at least means they don't have to factor that into a decision to close the whole park down.

Also gotta love that a park in the literal middle of nowhere (Knoebel's) can manage to operate a daily schedule even though the labor market in "middle of Pennsyltucky" is considerably more sparse than the Lehigh Valley. Now granted they haven't been immune (as seen with the numerous ride closures during the week that are not mechanically related) and it also helps being a family-run organization that retains staff with literal decades of experience, but still, literally every other park in the area is showing how to properly handle this labor challenge. Yes it sucks to not have as many night opportunities as in the past, but most people will take the early closures over not being open at all during a hot summer day.

I know that labor supply is a huge issue for everyone and don’t want to downplay that, but is it crazy to wonder if some of this is just them going “Well, now we have to pay people $15-$20 an hour at a theme park that’s going to be empty-as-empty-can-be on most Mondays and Tuesdays and we’ll probably lose less money if we just don’t open?” I don’t believe that this was a factor for Cedar Point. I think it’s highly conceivable that it was a factor for Dorney. I wonder if that may be why Cedar Point is going to attempt to go back to daily ops in a few weeks and Dorney was happy to slash them from the calendar for the whole year, push demand to some other dead weekdays and call it a day. ...I also wonder how long before someone catches that July 5th thing.

Laugh reacts only...