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4 Days of Universal Studios Finale! This portion of trip could be defined as 'ecstasy and torture' due to the weather, crowds, and bad luck, haha. I didn't take as many pictures as I thought I did and I can't recall the order of stuff, so I'll start off with an intro and Velocicoaster post. We stayed at the Royal Pacific, so express pass is included and you get the early entry, and the parks are a 10 minute walk away. Morning Day 1 was a reality check. Early Entry started at 8am, park opened at 9am. By the time we left the hotel at 730 the line to get into City Walk was almost to the path that leads to Royal Pacific. And it was not moving much at all. The line for the boat by that time was probably a bit less of a wait but we were already in this line and an HOUR later we get to City Walk. The massive line we were in ended with only 2 metal detectors. No wonder it took so long to get in. Never. Again. So after getting up and being hyped to get in the park, we were already pissed off. But wait, more confusion. My 4 day 2 park ticket that I bought was coming up as already used. Oh boy. Thankfully I didn't have to wait long to get help confirming the ticket had not been used, I had proof of purchase, etc. But all of that frustration started to melt away when I was Velocicoaster running. At this point it was close to park opening and VC had a 45 minute wait, which is totally fine, you really get to appreciate the coaster going through the whole queue. Velocicoaster: It's as amazing as I wanted it to be and more. The level of detail, commitment, creativity, design, to every inch of this attraction is awesome. It's as if every room has all been thoroughly double checked by multiple teams because I don't see any flaws anywhere. The locker system is efficient and easy. The lighting package for the area with how it changes and syncs is so eye catching. The raptors you see in the queue are too cool. There are Easter eggs everywhere. There's real talent in the pre show videos. Universal also kinda breaking the wall with saying "You asked for this. Faster. Crazier. More airtime. More speed. More teeth." Then you have the trains. They are special. They're so comfortable, your feet can't touch the ground, they give you something to hold onto. The ride itself completes the package and the crew/team running the ride makes Velocicoaster the best coaster on the planet. I can't compare it to Maverick, that's unfair. The Jurassic Park/World theming is awesome, this coaster is so perfect. The first half is pretty unique with a big blend of strong airtime, unexpected airtime, laterals, high speed turns, and the initial launch out into the paddock has some fun theming. Anyone else really love that mini roll back wiggle it does when you first arrive by the raptors? The second half really goes wild. I love how minimal the supports are on the top hat. Riding in the back seat, you really get to appreciate being up on that top hat, it feels like time pauses for a moment.... until you're absolutely ripped out of your seat down that drop. It's seriously amazing. The stall stretches for a long time to allow you to look around upside down, and then you've got crazy twisted airtime until the barrel roll over the lagoon which definitely deserves the title for best inversion. Somehow it tries to throw you in with a burst of airtime before you bounce up into the paddock/station. Thank you Universal and Intamin teams for this huge hit. This coaster is world class and it feels like a coaster from the future! What a way to start the day! It's finally my time! Loved this center piece. It's stunning. There was a fire alarm pulled or something on our first day, so we were able to get in a quick ride right when it re-opened! There's the most unique, crazy, intense burst of airtime here and it makes no sense! Yep, right here it's like an upside down airtime hill making you think you're going to end up in the lagoon. Hey Elissa! Don't sleep on Blue. Best coaster I've been on so far. Sorry DoDoDonpa. Sorry Maverick. Sorry Hakugei. Sorry i305, Skyrush, Phoenix, Outlaw Run, Millennium

It's annoying because this event should be great if they opened the whole park (minus the midway with key west, Turtle Trek and the dolphin rehab area and Pacific Point and a few other animal areas obviously). Imagine how cool that Antarctica section would look with fog and creepy lighting and a house somewhere but... nah, screw it. I get why they want Infinity Falls open because the ride actually has a really cool vibe at night but at the same time it's more fun to watch than it is to ride once it gets dark (or actually ever).

I actually believe this and changing all the passes to reservations will create much needed balance in the parks. Not all will purchase lightning lane and AP’s can’t flood the parks (since Disney can cut off reservations at any time), so the ratio of fastpass to standby line should be much better for both.

I will add that the rides close if the temperature reaches those limits anywhere on the ride. Your weather app will be reporting the surface temperature, but the temperature at, say, the top of the lift hill can be 2-3° less.

I think it will be a flop. I expect no lines for anything once 10p hits because everyone will be done with everything. I can't imagine going until 2am in what will likely be such an empty park. Should have made Ice Breaker a HOS exclusive. Now that would be a smart business move right there... make up for disappointing everyone with lack of rides with some new hotness. I mean, I HOPE I'm wrong. I want it to succeed. But I just don't see it. Not trying to be a negative nancy but there is so much missed opportunity. And everyone is going to compare it to HOS in Tampa and be disappointed with lack of rides, etc, for a much higher cost. Maybe it's because I still have Six Flags Darien Lakes fright fest stuck in my brain from a few years ago. lol. I'll find out soon!

^I am only speculating of course, but I don't think Illinois will go full shutdown again anytime soon. Just today Pritzker sounded very optimistic (for him) and said the cases in Illinois hospitals are starting to flatten. Well over half of Illinois is vaccinated, and even though the delta variant is surging, we are in a better place than last fall. The positivity rate is just over 5% and dropped today, but was around 20% when we went full shutdown last year. I am a public school teacher here, and 4 weeks into the new school year, we have not had one case in our district of almost 4000 students and over 300 faculty and staff. The schools who are having outbreaks are not usually more than 5 cases per school, I just read this week. I think the indoor mask mandate will be the height of the mitigations for the time being, and right now that is the only place SFGAm is requiring masks, indoors. Hopefully you will be okay to take your trip out here. Have fun if you come!

Aaaahhh don’t say that name, you’re triggering my PTSD. But onto the topic; The flyer model at SFOG. I don’t know much about the manufacture but pretty sure it’s impossible to snap. Correct me if I am wrong.

My god, that "Kentucky Show" thing looks like a VR demo station at a convention, lmfao. I liked your analogy of the layout of this park being like an amateur RCT build; perfect description!

HA! Pass. Do they just hate money? Who is in charge of this company these days? I feel like it's been a steady downward spiral. Soon enough they'll put Pontin's Holiday Camp to shame.

Sometimes we have 60-70 degrees for Xmas, other years there a dusting of snow and it's freezing. Hard to tell. For the most part winters are mild here until January. Even then it's generally not bad. ACE event in Dec a couple years ago. Beginning of ERT they said, "Hurry because we have to shut down LR if it drops another degree." Luckily it stayed 36 and we got the whole hour of rides.

Here's Dollywood's site listing the temperature cutoffs: https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Rides/Ride-Temperature-Guideline

FYI: Fun Spot has done $76 season passes (maybe cheaper for renewals) at Thanksgiving the last couple of years. As of last year it works at all 3.

Awesome day! Glad you made it onto Mystic River Falls, was worried you might have missed out with all that downtime. And you had me going on the cinnamon bread until the very end! The burgers are probably the thing they do the least well. Nothing there is bad at all, but they do other things so much better. 100% good choice on the brisket grilled cheese. That stuff is awesome. The Flooded Mine is a very old ride, over 50 years now. The guns and targets were added in the 1990s, and also the final scene was changed. In the original plot, the prisoners didn't escape, but instead died in the flood while the mine owners left them to their demise because they didn't want to spend the money to save them. It used to have a bunch of ghosts rising ro the top of that lofted room that had laser eyes. It was fantastic. I guess they figured that was too scary or something. Prior to Wildfire, the American Plunge used to be all like that last scene before the tunnel. Its current iteration in the plain concrete tunnel is a dim reflection of what it used to be. Pre-Wildfire Plunge is still the best log flume I've ever been on. Post-Wildfire, still good, just not quite the same. And in fact the American Plunge is itself the second version of that flume. The original was called Jim Owen's Float Trip, and you can see some homages to that ride on the current Plunge as well as elsewhere in the park. That conversion was before my time though, so no idea about the specifics of the Float Trip. Outlaw Run at night is the best choice. No regrats. As to the idea of SDC early on ruining other parks for you, looking forward to how that plays out but knowing you went to Holiday World, I'd say you prolly be aight.

COVID is surging, mask mandates are coming back, and Lightning Rod is acting like a pile of shit. Looks like things are almost right back where they were a year ago.