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the moment they pulled out Kangaroo and Bayern Kurve ? this park went from "must do again next time in Pennsylvania" to "eh . . been there, got to ride the unique rides and classics before they retired several of them (including the log flume).. no rush to go back" Would I like to ride Steel Curtain? sure. . but not making a trip just for that.

^ Tron has that covered.

Just wanted to chime in and say that Velocicoaster is the real deal. The restraint system caught me off guard right away, the fact the the "lap" bar did not touch my lap at all and had several inches of room between me and the restraint. This provided an even crazier ride. I know people have watched the POV and know what to expect but POVs don't do the ride justice. I really really really really wish I could have rode it more than once. The ride closed around 10 or 10:30 am or so for weather. When the rain stopped after we had lunch it reopened, and when we walked by we saw an empty train going around the track. Turns out they were cycling people off and the ride was have a technical delay. We rode some other stuff and came back and just waited and waited and waited. There was nothing else left in the park I wanted to ride and we needed a rest so we just sat in front of the entrance for a few hours hoping something would start up. It never did. We had Horror Nights to get to and the ride still hadn't opened by 5:30. It was so disappointing as there would be no other chance for me to ride it anytime soon. Went over to horror Nights and did a few houses. I got an alert on my phone that the ride reopened. You have to be shitting me. I was in a long line for the house and debated my next move. I looked on my phone to see if they offered re-entry into Horror Nights but saw nothing on the official site about it. I also found a 2021 unofficial guide that said reentry is not allowed. I thought this was weird because I could have sworn people said they ate at City Walk and came back in. I decided to ask in a HHN Facebook fan group and immediately got answers that I would be able to get back in. It was now 7:35, I was all the way in the back of studios near MEN IN BLACK and IOA closes at 8pm. I said F it and left my group behind (we were all in pain from walking around all day and they didn't think they could make it) so me and my Jell-O legs booked it as fast I could to the ride, hoping for the best. It didn't help my phone had 2% battery which was holding my tickets. Put it in airplane mode to conserve energy. So I ended up making it by 7:55. The line was posted 45 min and single rider was closed. I waited it out and am so happy I did. For anyone wondering about lockers they work by scanning your ticket. I only had a digital ticket on my phone so I had no idea how this would work. Turns out they had little cards with barcodes on them to hand out for those in that situation. Phew. Anyways, the ride is fantastic. The last inversion is absolutely bonkers insane. I loved it. Yesterday was a crazy day for sure. I ended up in row 2 which made it very hard to see due to the high backs but I didn't care. I would love to try it again in the back I think I would have enjoyed it even more, but alas the ride closed for the day by the time I got off. That's my story for now.

Went to Halloween Horror Nights for the second time ever tonight(last went in 2019) and we were able to do every house and watch the show in the lake without an express pass. It was definitely more crowded this time and closed at 1am instead of 2am the last time we went but the lines really weren't too bad. Longest we had was like 55 mins for Hill House. Overall I thought the original houses were way better than the IP houses. Case files and the pumpkin lord houses were our favorites. IP wise thought Texas Chainsaw massacre was the best. Bride of Frankenstein had a really awesome opening scene though. I would definitely have a frequent scare pass if we were closer but was really happy to get though everything again in 1 night without having to get an express pass. Happy to have the event back and didn't mind the actors being behind the screens but really looking forward to next year when we are hopefully back to a more normal world and event. My only real complaint was that some of the staff inside some houses that had bright orange glow sticks like the airport tarmac workers use to wave people to go faster. Was completely unnecessary and distracting, even more so when everyone was in a close conga line to begin with anyway.

Photo TR: My first visit to SFoG, September 4th, 2021 After several planned mega-trips this summer that were cancelled for a variety of factors, I managed to swing a trip to Georgia for SFoG and to visit my friend who I haven't seen since 2014 over Labor Day Weekend. Anticipating major crowds, I splurged for the Platinum Flash Pass, but probably would have been fine with the Gold at the end of the day. Anyway, on to the report. First off, the drive. Google told me 11-14 hours to drive from Delaware, not counting bathroom stops, so I was definitely anticipating closer to the 14. Thankfully, it only took me 12 (including stops), which marks a new record of longest consecutive drive for me. Being from the northeast, I was definitely getting annoyed in NC, SC, and GA....everyone just chills in the left lane under the speed limit, randomly jabs their brakes for no reason, no one understands what a flash of the high-beams from behind means, and my biggest gripe of all - NO ONE uses cruise control. It's so annoying to be cruising along at XX mph, you go to pass someone slower, then they're passing you back, and back and forth for 50 miles. Ugh. I've driven to GA before but didn't recall the drivers in these southern states being so terrible. Second off, the hotel. Wow. Nothing but praise for the Brick Lodge Norcross/Atlanta. It's about 20 minutes northeast of the city proper, so about 40 minutes from the park, but this was hands down the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in outside of Las Vegas or Atlantic City. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but man were the rooms quality. Oh, and there was this in my room, totally unexpectedly: After the 12 hour drive, I spent about 30 minutes in this thing. Wonderful. My only two gripes with the hotel were that the elevator was super slow, and the tubs didn't have a stopper mechanism to enable baths. Okay, enough about ancillary stuff. here's what you're really here for: the park! I arrived at around 8:45 for a 10:00 park opening, thinking that they open the parking gates an hour early like very other SF park I've been to. First one in line for the "small" lot, which I would later learn is the preferable lot to be in due to the shorter walk. Alas, they didn't open the parking gates until around 9:30. I will say, I appreciated the scenery of coasters on my walk into the park. They opened the main entry gates at around 9:50, and I bee-lined it over to the Flash Pass building to cash in my voucher (none of that "on the phone" nonsense for me, thank you!), and then snapped some pictures of the entry way. I'll say this, the park offers plenty of shade, and is quite scenic, especially for a SF park. Clearly, they were setting up for Fight Fest. A nice fountain/stage that was not in use. See? Plenty of shade. I made my way towards Dare Devil Dive, learning here that it tends to be the slowest operating of all of the coasters, and made it to the station (first one!)... ...only to have it break down, with the employee tester stuck on the vertical lift hill. I didn't stand there and watch, but she was still up there around 30 minutes later when I passed by again. Anyway, at this point I met up with @Kyndmusicand we wandered a bit, discussing the parks history, trying to find something that was actually running aside from Georgia Scorcher. He did turn me onto Monster Mansion, which I'm glad he did because I probably would have skipped it, but I'll talk about that when I got on it. Great to meet you, sir. As of approximately 10:30, pretty much nothing in the park was running aside from Scorcher, so I went to find something that I sorely miss from Cedar Fair Parks: The park has a pretty nice atmosphere.... ...with plenty of shade... ...but is still Six Flags. Are they going to reinstall the Sky Ride at some point or what? LOL After wandering around for a while, I decided to make my way back over to Gotham City to see if anything was running back there. That poor ride op was still up there... Got into Gotham City... ...and proceeded to grab a whole bunch of pictures of the good assortment of flats, most of which were not running. Joker (one of two rides here that bear his name), not running and wouldn't run all day. Crime Wave, not running and wouldn't run all day. But I gotta give it to the park here, they really nailed the theming on this one. Toxic Spin. Wild Whirl, not running. Maybe ran later in the day? And finally, Catwoman Whip, which I would ride later in the day. For now, though, it was time for Batman! I would wait 13 minutes because I couldn't find the Flash Pass entrance. Back row, right edge. Definitely smoother than the one in NJ, and I like this paint scheme better (still not as good as the original black/black with silver rails though). Amusingly, in the station the two back rows were blocked by a giant fan, but they were still letting people board them from the other rows' chutes. Just too lazy to move the crap out of the way? And this brings me to a good time to talk about the staff. While none were downright rude, and they were doing countdowns in the station to try to hurry people up ("You have 10 seconds to board your seat...9....8...."), most didn't seem to really care to be there. The only enthusiasm I would see from employees was at Mindbender later in the day. They also frequently did not have anyone manning the merge points for Flash Pass/general queue, meaning that the investment was largely a complete waste. I get it, short staffed blah blah (the panel operator at many coasters was also checking restraints!), but come on. Anyway, on with it. After Batman, Mindbender was still not running, so I headed back to Dare Devil Dive, which was now running. Walk on for front row (with Flash Pass). Interesting ride, only my second Gerstlauer. Very intense restraints though...they power-lower when you're in the station and clamp you right in. Did I wander into a Cedar Fair park? I then decided to hit Georgia Scorcher, since I was right there. 16 minute wait for row 7 left edge with the Flash Pass. Surprisingly smooth for a B&M standup, not terrible at all. Now that the park was starting to open up, I made my way to Goliath (back row inner right). Very impressive, nice bit of ejector air on the hill and substantial positive Gs at the helix turn-around. Better than Nitro and even Mako in my opinion. Next up was Monster Mansion. How this continues to exist in a SF park blows my mind. Super-cute, awesome animatronics, very long, great visual effects (the evil face projected onto the wall of fog was great). With some research after the fact I learned that this was one of the original rides in the park, and most recently underwent a major refurb in 2009, right in the middle of the RedZone bankruptcy phase. Impressive. Next up was Joker Funhouse Coaster. A better ride than Blackbeard Quinn's Lost Crazy Train at SFGAdv, but still a kiddie coaster at the end of the day. Took some time to just peruse the park's shaded, but hilly, terrain, and came across this: The remnants of the old splash boat ride, just hanging out and deteriorating. Closed for three years now, this just looks horrible from a guest perspective. And worst off, it still shows on the park map in the Six Flags app. This is the Six Flags I know. This definitely isn't: a 1908 carousel, perched at a a top of a hill overlooking another section of a park, completely shaded by trees. Made my way into Metropolis (got enough DC-themed areas here, SFoG?) and rode Great American Scream Machine, my second coaster with that name. I don't get what everyone complains about. Rode in the front, found it to be very smooth and a great classic coaster. Next up was Superman: Ultimate Flight, the OG. 17 minutes for the back row. Only one train running; second was in the never-used other loading station and the third was disassembled in the storage area. Definitely better than it's NJ counterpart, entirely due to the use of the terrain as opposed to being installed in a parking lot. Next up was the mine train, which I found to be better than expected as well. Front row, 17 minutes. Three lift hills, nice and long. Came across this nice monument to Angus Wynne, Jr, the founder of the company. And yet another shaded walkway. And then it was time for coaster #200, Twisted Cyclone. Train shot and nerd shot in one! The wild pre-lift area. 21 minutes for the back row. Wildest pre-lift section that I've seen yet on a RMC. Too short, but a good ride...that inverted-cobra-roll whatever they call it was awesome. Better than Wicked Cyclone at SFNE, but just barely scrapes into my top 5 hybrid rankings. After that, I made my way back to Blue Hawk, which was now running. Very picturesque coaster here, and I think the blue/grey paint scheme works great over the water. 23 minutes for front row. Very intense, especially the butterfly element. Wish it would have stayed in Wildwood. I also noticed this: Like, seriously, that just looks like shit. I get not cleaning the rails around the whole course, but in the station where everyone sees it? Just looks horrible. After Blue Hawk, I had ridden everything I figured I was going to here. The log flume was closed, as was Acrophobia, and I don't do spin-and-swings like Pandemonium. So, I made my way back into Gotham to see if Mindbender's preview period had started yet, and it had! Awesome!. 26 minutes for the front row, and I'll just copy-paste my review from a few posts earlier here: -The whole operating system has been replaced. Brakes, sensors, drive tires, lift chain, presumably the PLC, basically everything except the track itself appeared to me to be brand new. Even the track *appears* brand new, because of the paint, but we all know its not. -Capacity was great. They were chugging through the trains, and the ride ops here actually seemed to have some enthusiasm for the job (can't say the same for the rest of the park). Since it was just preview, Flash Pass wasn't an option, but I waited 26 minutes for the front row, with about 4-5 trains where I didn't move since exit-pass people jumped to the front. Probably would have been under 10 minutes had I gone for any other row. Notably, I entered the line maybe 10 feet out of the station. SFOG's lack of groupers didn't help here, so the station got very crowded and at one point a group of people waiting for the front blocked the entire line and some empty rows went out before they made an announcement to fill in the station. -The trains: Yes, they are lab-bar only. Yes, there are seat belts. Yes, there are carve outs for your butt with the little bit that goes between your thighs. I have to imagine it was better with the original Schwarzkopf trains, but as it stands these trains were not bad at all. Yes, there are only 5 cars, but there are 3 trains (though they double-stacked every cycle I saw). -The ride itself: It's a Schwarzkopf, which means positive Gs. And you get them in the loops here, even the "non-loop" in the middle of the ride. No grey-outs for me, but it did force my arms down at the entry to the two true loops and at the bottom of the non-loop. That said, it is what I believe to be tamer than it once was (entirely speculating here); the lift slows considerably before cresting, and each of the trim/block brakes at the start of the turns definitely took off some some speed. Without those, this ride would be absolutely insane, but even with them it was still pretty damnned good. and the fact that they chose to invest so much into this instead of just scrapping it wins a lot of points me with. And here's some nice action shots: Catwoman Whip (I still say it should have a 's in it) was running now as well, so I hopped on that. A poor replacement for a real Enterprise. As with most Zamperla rides I've been on, the seat/restraints are just not comfortable...and me being super short (26" inseam) had some struggles getting in and out of the seat. I did not particularly like how the swinging of the seats "locks" into place when the ride gets to its max elevation; spin it faster if you don't want the seats to fall over. After that, I decided to hit the road at around 4:00. It was hot (85 and no breeze) and I was exhausted from the hills. I did take a glance in their tiny water park, and decided to pass based on the lack of things to do. A note on food before I wrap it up: Every where I went had massive, massive lines. Often, the line for mobile-order-pickup was just as long as the standard line and was taking just as long. Also, food and beverage here is STUPIDLY expensive. $6 for a 20oz drink out of a machine (though "only" $4.25 for water), $8 for a shitty pretzel, etc.) I don't know if all SF parks are like that these days, since I try not to spend any money when I'm in SFGAdv or SFA, but wow. In closing, this park is tough to describe. It's definitely Six Flags, but some rides like Monster Mansion are decidedly not modern Six Flags. Decent coaster collection, but nothing that really stands out as incredible. Very scenic in most places with lots of shade, but the remnants of the splash boats and Skyride detract from that. That said, probably my favorite Six Flags park overall. I think Great Adventure has the better ride lineup, but the overall experience at SFoG is top notch (for Six Flags LOL). I probably won't be back until their next major ride (thanks, Six Flags, for your new Season Pass policy), but still my favorite park in the chain. And now, some rankings: Coasters at SFoG 1. Twisted Cyclone 2. Mindbender 3. Goliath 4. Batman 5. Blue Hawk 6. Great American Scream Machine 7. Superman: Ultimate Flight 8. Georgia Scorcher 9. Dahlonega Mine Train 10. Dare Devil Dive 11. Joker Funhouse Coaster Six Flags parks (that I've been to) 1. over Georgia 2. New England 3. Great America 4. Great Adventure 5. America Thanks for reading!

Starting off with pics of myself and friends, but I promise will get to the costume stuff. . and to SFOG so. . . after Covid killed off so many plans in 2020, Dragon*con 2021 was actually gonna happen. Dragon*con is a unique convention in that unlike bigger Conventions (like San Diego ComicCon), Dragon*con is "hosted" by 5 hotels in downtown Atlanta, + 4 levels of the Expo Center, 2 levels of the Merchandise Mart, and even takes over the Georgia Aquarium for one night. Because it is hosted by the hotels tho (utilizing multiple grand ballrooms, conference rooms, and event areas), unlike other conventions? Dragon*con runs 24 hours from start on Thursday at 10am until close on Monday at 4pm. That means that at 2am, 3am, 4am, 5am, etc. . there will be multiple things to do: panel, concert, drum circle, dance, rave, performance, anime/video rooms, etc. . . .something that isn't' true of other cons - where once the dealers room closes ~7pm? the con is done for the night unless you've made your own plans to do something away from the convention hall. In 2020, due to the unprecedented health crisis, the State of Georgia issued restrictions that forced cancellation of Dragon*con. DCon actually ignored the "all sales final and non-refundable" fine print, and offered roll-over or refund to those who had purchased badges in 2020. Absolutely not getting political here, but just stating fact, that because Governor Kemp in Georgia refused to issue any mandates as Delta began to surge? Dragon*con was gonna happen this year - even as multiple other conventions/concerts/events around the country started cancelling again. Without any legal shutdown mandate to point to? I believe that if DC did cancel, then likely insurance would not cover them. note: I don't know this, but I do believe it to be true. Anyways, so con was gonna happen. Precautions were put in place: Proof of Vaccine, or neg Covid test (within 72 hours), Masks required at all times in official con spaces (meaning all hotels, exhibitor/vendor hall, gaming halls), reduced capacity (con capped at ~42K instead of the over 85K from 2019), reduced room capacity (chairs spaced out, and only 2/3rds crowd allowed into concerts, dances, dealers room, etc). Less overnight programming (only a couple of things offered instead of many options). They also did not sell 1 day tickets this year, only Thurs/Fri or Sun/Mon. . so no Sat 1 day, which *greatly* would reduce crowding thruout the con on Saturday - which tends to be the day that all the locals swarm DC, due to the Parade Sat morning. I also knew that I have a lovely group of friends, most of them members of a group called "Digitribe" who every year set up the Digitribe Dungeon of Doom - a con-suite that's invite only, where I typically spend a portion of the con, relaxing, drinking, game playing with friends. This year, the head of the group asked that Digisuite be restricted to members only (no guests), and that everyone be vaccinated - meaning that masks could be less restrictive if in Digi. So that made me feel much safer, and I figured I'd be spending way more time in Digi than roaming around the con all hours of the night (as usual) with these precautions in place, and feeling safe enough? I took a deep breath and set off for Atlanta. --> I'm gonna cliff's notes over the horrific week/weekend prior to leaving on Wednesday - when we got a call from my Spouse's Oncologist telling us we needed to rush him to the hospital *NOW* and she had secured him a bed (which was very difficult to do with the hospitals overwhelmed with Covid patients). So he was in Hospital from Friday night until late Monday afternoon.. and was finally able to get him released (with Picc line and daily antibiotic infusiions for the next 8 weeks) on Monday evening. If we hadn't been able to get him out of the hospital? I would not have gone to Atlanta. . but since he was home? I felt ok to leave, and had multiple friends checking up on him while I was gone - as well as talking to him every day multiple times. So the 6 days prior to my leaving were a horror show that left us both stressed the hell out, and concerned, and I didn't' really pack until the day before I left. "Pack" is being kind. . really it was just throwing things into a suitcase, and I figured I'd make "outfits" out of what I ended up bringing. (it did work out OK tho). on Wed I had an early direct flight from Austin and my Spouse insisted on dropping me off at the airport. Really the plane was not full and no issues with Mask compliance at all. We made great time, and I got to Atlanta almost an hour before I had expected to, and before I knew it was off the MARTA and meeting my friends at the hotel (we always stay in a Host hotel. . makes the con so much more enjoyable). Every Year DC chooses a charity, and this year was Big Brothers/Big Sisters Atlanta. One of the events added this year for Charity was a "virtual marathon" where everyone who signed up and donated, would get a virtual runners bib, and an actual "trophy medallion" in the mail. It's a great cause, and a great idea, because with so many unable to attend (due to travel restrictions, or simply feeling unsafe in a crowd of 42K) quite a few folks were going to be experiencing the con thru the virtual streaming option. . and this gave them (and attendees as well) another way to participate. They only wanted 3500 steps tho.. LOL. .we did that the 1st day! we could create our own virtual bib. . so here's mine: Austin airport was dead: and before I knew it? was in Atlanta and in the MARTA on the way to Peachtree Plaza - where the Dragon*con Host Hotels are (Hyatt, Marriott Marquis, Hilton, Sheraton, Westin). Such an easy ride from the airport, and only cost $2.50 (vs an expensive cab ride) a quick check in at the front desk (and some schmoozing to get the "special" stuff we like to have. . a benefit of getting there on Tues or Wed before con? the desk clerks are not frazzled from dealing with so many demands and if you're nice to them (and tip them) you can get all kinds of bonus stuff that others don't end up with access to here's the view of the Hyatt Lobby looking up in the main atrium. . . kinda schmaltzy. . but really. . I took this pic, and felt. . "home" (I've been coming to DC since 1997) I quickly made my way up to the room and my friends Marce & Neal - that would be my home and family for the next 7 days and sent "proof of life" pic home to Nick: it was really early (I think maybe 11), so our first course of business was to head down to the mall (that's between all the hotels) and get some coffee from Caribou Coffee. There's a Starbucks across the street, but for Dragon*con? ONLY Caribou Coffee. .they have some amazing flavors on the menu, do special drinks just for Con, and best part? the owner is a big ol nerd, and each day of con there will be a nerdy trivia question that can save you 10cents off your coffee price..LOL. (on the 2nd day he handed me the ring and told me it was "so heavy" and could I carry it for him? Then he kept track of the answers, and I was one of only 6 that kept the ring for myself. . the others carried it to Mordor to toss in Mt. Doom. . LOL. . he showed me the results the next day) coffee secured, we headed back up to the room so I could unpack, relax, update them on what was going on with my spouse, and plan out the rest of the day. some errands had to be run to fix a phone card (since Marce and Neal are Canadian and she needed to go to a Tmobile store to activate something here in the US). And of course, we had the important need to go hit the Vortex for lunch (a tradition), and by coincidence (LOL) go to the Liquor Store and the Publix next door to stock up the room for the next 6 days. Marce brought along an empty Carryon with wheels - which was perfect for transporting way too much liquor back to the room. a hop on MARTA - 3 stops up at Midtown, and we were at the Vortex. another tradition.. the Phallus shrine. Rub on it for luck. (hey, there's a sign right there explaining it :P) I ignored Marce's advice, and went with what my belly was telling me and got my favorite: Hell's Fury (as described on the menu: Pepper jack cheese, Atomic Death Sauce, habanero relish, and a roasted jalapeño. Not for sissies. ) So good, but boy did it burn (going in and going out if ya know what I mean. . . :P) luckily the Acid Trip (a rum / blue curacao drink I love at the Vortex) helps calm the heat. liquor and snacks bought, we headed back to hotel to relax a bit until Marce reminded us there was a BSG (BattleStar Galactica) meetup at Trader Vics at 5:30. I'm not into that fandom, but I had friends who had been pinging me to see when I'd be in and if I'd be at Trader Vic's on Wed night. There was a big meet up from members of the Queerios Group there too, but I didn't want to eat, having just gotten stuffed at Vortex. . but we changed and headed over that way, and I messaged my friend David & Jesse that we were headed that way. we were on 22nd floor of International tower. . and on the way down, the elevator stopped at 10, and who gets on? David and Jesse. Just the kind of stuff that ALWAYS happens at DragonCon. here was are at Trader Vics and here's how "not crowded" it was on this night. . which is HIGHLY unusual. . this bar area is typically *packed* the night before con start. they had removed many of the tables, but didn't seem to be restricting entry. (tho the lack of tables kept people from standing around long, since not anyplace to put down your drink). Marce & Neal visited with the BSG group, and David and I talked. . but Jesse had disappeared. So I asked eventually where he had gone, and David said he had a group he was meeting on the 5th floor of the Hilton (Trader Vics is in the basement). . . so after a while, I said, let's go up and see if we can find him? so we headed up there and found a small group of nerd-ish guys hanging out. . which eventually turned into a group of about 40 guys, an organizer (she was very nice), and one very pretty goth girl. I whispered to David - it's like an Incel meeting! and it turned out? it was one of the DragonCon singles groups that were meeting up. . . BWAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAAAA boy. . did *I* stand out among the introverts. I think I kinda maybe took control, and started talking to the goth girl (as guy after guy came over and awkwardly said hello to her). . . LOL. . I got an IM later thanking me for crashing the meetup and saving her from being bombarded by horny boys who didn't know how to express that they were horny. . . . eventually I decided I was tired (and pretty buzzed. . those Mai Tais at Trader Vic are strong), but swung by the atrium of the Hilton - which was themed to Stranger Things (I have pics later on coming up of that) - to see if the traditional "inflatable Dinosaur Dance Party" that happens in the Hilton on Wed night before the con really starts on Thurs was happening. Disappointingly, there was only 1 or two in the atrium. . but then I heard music, and followed it. . to find they had moved the party outside i guess to make it safer - even tho, yes, most of the participants are sealed within their own inflatable dinosaurs. LOL they were having a good time tho: and then it was time to go back to the room and crash hard. . . it was only ~10:30, but I'd been up since 3am. Tomorrow things would really start with the con, and we'd see how weird things were going to feel this year. to be continued. (with some costume pics coming if not in the next update, then soon after)

great to see all the NJ parks. . every time I visited my Aunt and Uncle growing up (they lived in Tom's River), we'd go to the shore. Usually Seaside Heights, but also to some of the others you visited (Ocean City was a favorite too). needless to say, they look nothing like they used to when i went with them in my teens. but still wonderful memories brought back. thanks for sharing!

Very true. Looking forward to hearing how it goes this weekend down there.

I believe there is a media event for Howl O Scream tonight. That may not be a nightly occurrence... but it also might because, well... SeaWorld.

BAD BOB!!

^ LOL . I'm TEASING. it's great tho innit?

At SeaWorld today for a few hours, have a platinum pass or whatever they are calling it now at Williamsburg so doesn't affect me too much but an fyi they are shutting down mako, xfinity falls, sesame street and the other Halloween areas at 4pm today. I know it's the first weekend but 3 hours in between the park actually closing and the event starting seems a bit excessive if they keep doing that from now on. Mako was still as fun as ever.

Good stuff here. Hit almost all of these parks over the summer with the exception of Fantasy Island, Steel Pier, and Keansburg... as far as Keansburg goes, been there all of once and it was the most depressing experience I've had at a park not named "Six Flags Discovery Kingdom". And from the pictures you've shown, it appears to have only gone downhill since then. Every now and again I get the urge to maybe check it out again... and then my better sense of judgment takes over. Squadron 33 at Castaway is LEGIT. Although I miss the ride that used to be there, Tropical Storm, this one is a fantastic replacement and one that I wouldn't mind seeing pop up more frequently in the States. And that one flat you mentioned that looks like a bigger Kang-a-Bounce? It's called Tidal Wave, and do NOT sleep on that. I thought I knew what to expect going in but it ran the most insane program, alternating between slower bouncing, high speed spinning both low to the ground and high up, and then a combination of both. Way crazier than I thought it would be and I'm definitely giving it a few re-rides the next time I'm down that way.

@bert425, no offense intended by not knowing about Monster Mansion. I guess I just missed it. Yeah, I would have preferred to go on a non-Saturday, but the trip schedule was dictated by my work schedule, so there was only so much I could do. I'm generally not one for soaking raft rides, but I definitely wanted to get on the Log Flume, which was closed when I was there on Saturday. I'm a pretty plain eater (many compare it to "eating like a 5 year old"), so anything from Macho Nacho would have been out. I did try to get a burger from JB's Smokehouse but wasn't waiting in either the standby or mobile order lines. I did skip Justice League; I've been on the one at SFGAdv. Guess it would have been a nice air conditioned break, but oh well. I'll definitely be coming back to the area to visit my friend some more, so perhaps I'll swing in again when more things are running. Thanks for the commentary!

No it isn't. Not at the current price. I can go next door to Shake Shack and get myself a large combo, plus a large concrete or milkshake, and still have a couple bucks leftover for the slot machines. I'd much rather do that than ride a geriatric coaster that crawls through most of the layout.

There must be cameras and the ride ops and other guests know if she was scared and trying to get out or not. The argument will be should the restraint have been enough to stop someone from trying to get out. And that's a worrying part of our litigious society. If all restraints have to become Saw Traps to prevent people who want to get out from getting out we will have a problem.

I don't know the specifics of what's wrong with this thing, but considering it's Kennywood I think it's fair to assume that the park probably shares in the blame along with the manufacturer. I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt on anything.

I saw they didn't have October up yet and figured they would be open. I dm'd their Instagram so we'll see.

That's insane but I'm glad you got to ride it.

Revenge is not expected to close for painting. And yeah, the new management team is not happy about some of the prolonged downtime or repetitive issues with certain rides. Obviously not everything can be addressed at once but expect to see more work being done to improve.

This is probably the best news we've heard on the coaster in awhile. Hopefully this means fixing whatever kinks it has to get it to a somewhat normal operation. Whether that's retraining, second train, or a quicker lift, all together would result in amazing operations but even just one of those things would at least cut down 5 minutes on each cycle.

We also visited both for the first time last year and loved both!

I didn't pay any attention to the Racer project but can someone explain what makes Gravity Groups prefab wooden track different/innovative compared to the Prefab wooden track Intamin innovated two decades ago? (also, screw the GTA, their picks for top coasters is mostly laughable, as always. Candymonium in the top 5? GTFOH. And MF... still? The Beast over every RMC? lmfao)

I wish they themed/dedicated the ride to Daft Punk. It could go with a more futuristic theme and even a change of name.

Here's to hoping it's some kind of outdoor boardwalk/restaurant/patio/bar area. That seems like it would fit in well, considering the resort is only a few hundred feet away. I know people are hoping for a boardwalk GCI, but it seems like Cedar Point has more of an interest in opening up the beach area, rather than boxing it off. I'm sure Cedar Point could easily get another 30 people to man the area...

I'm dizzy from seeing all those 'go-rounds' lol. Awesome report on all the parks you visited, thanks!

Looks like a neat credit run! Thank you for taking the time and effort to take the pictures and post the reports

Really enjoyed your report. Amazed how how similar some of these parks are. If you continue south (Rehoboth / Ocean City MD) all this parks look just like these except for a different dark ride or 2.

Great report, and yeah Atlantic City could fall into the ocean and it would improve New Jersey!

A town that I haven't been to for probably 30 years... Ocean City, NJ Yes, I know I skipped Atlantic City and Beach Haven (for now) - that's because, as you can see in the photos, a wicked storm was approaching and I was desperately trying to get Gale Force before it hit. Did I make it? Read on to find out! So, Ocean City is unique amongst NJ beach towns that have boardwalks in that it's the only one that's dry. Yes, no alcohol - no bars, no liquor stores, no beer stores, no nothing. You can bring in your own, and recently some BYOB restaurants have popped up, but yeah. Needless to say, this town is focused on attracting families. That's why I find it so odd that one of the parks built perhaps the most insane coaster I've ever been on. But I'll get to that later. First, some pictures from the boardwalk itself. They have designated lanes for bikes, walkers, and trams. A pretty sizeable water park. Did not go in. Partially-under-the-boardwalk go-karts. See, Morey's, you can still have this! Bring 'em back! This arcade featured nothing but real video games, no redemption whatsoever! Lots of classics as well as some modern games. Anyway, on to park #1: Gillian's Wonderland This park is partially indoors and partially outdoors, and features a cool castle-motif entrance. Each of the letters that spell out "Gillian's Wonderland" spin; it's quite a cool retro thing to keep around. And first, the indoor rides, which are all kid-targeting. Carousel Boats-go-round Crazy Bus themed to a submarine; first time I'd seen one of these. Balloons-go-round Fire trucks-go-round. Amusingly, some of them have trailers, which I'd never seen before. Kiddie Whip Dumbo-go-round A variant on the Zamperla buggy bouncer that I hadn't seen before. Cars-go-round Moving outside, we start with a standard climbing structure. Glass maze Zamperla spinning flyer Kiddie bumper cars A variant of the Dizzy Dragons, themed to the park's mascot. Wave Swinger Bungie Bounce. Been a while since I've seen one of these at a park. Musk Express Larson drop tower A train ride themed to chopper motor-tricyles. First time I've seen one of these. Standard burlap-sack slide. Big spinny-swingy-thingy that is not for me. An elevated monorail train ride, also goes around the inside part. Adult bumper cars Log flume that is also a dark ride. I really wanted to go on this, but I also really did not want to get wet with a lot of trip left to go, so I passed after seeing some people coming off it considerably dampened. Decently sized Ferris Wheel Standard Moby Dick, without the full backdrop. And a Ring of Fire. Waiting to be assembled, or waiting to be shipped off? I don't know. And now, the rides I did ride: Yep, that's right, I rode a Wacky Worm. Probably the low point of my coaster-riding career. But hey, I really wanted to get to 200, and a credit is a credit, right? Right...?! Anyway, it sucked. Two laps, and one little tiny barely perceivable pop of airtime on the one actual drop on the course in the back row. You know what else kinda sucked? Their dark ride, literally named "Dark Ride." Despite the name, it was full of large rooms and neon-painted decorations. Very little animatronics. Only one story despite the two-story building. I mean, I've been on *worse* dark rides (see my report from the Delaware State Fair), but yeah this was not that good. After those two at Gillian's, I headed down to Playland's Castaway Cove, definitely the more balanced park of the two, grabbing a small cup of Kohr's Brothers orange custand (with rainbow sprinkles), my staple, on the way. No NJ boardwalk trip is complete with out it. This place is cool in that everything is right on top of each other, sometimes literally on an upper deck. First, I'll showcase the rides I didn't ride: Wave Swinger Kiddie swing Kinda a jumbo-sized Kanga-Bounce from Morey's. Drive-'em cars. Tank-control bumper cars!!! I would have ridden these if I weren't alone...bumper cars with strangers is always kinda weird. But, I LOVED the gas-powered ones that were at Dorney Park before Demon Drop got installed. These were electric, but probably still tons of fun. Pirate's Gold Rush, their kiddie coaster. Would have ridden it (adults-sans-kids were allowed), but....you'll see. Burlap-sack slide. Cars-go-round Kiddie whip Kiddie drop tower Helicopters-go-round Standard climbing structure Zamperla spinning flyer Two-drop log flume Tilt-a-Whirl, with the new style cars. A Musik Express called "Rock-n-Roll." Guys, that name is already taken for a different type of ride... Gravitron Moby Dick themed to a Hurricane. Seriously guys, too soon. KMG claw ride Bumper cars Train ride, pretty sure it's the same model as is in Jenkinson's. S&S tower. Nope, still not the smallest one I saw on this trip. Pirate ship Carousel Balloons-go-round Okay, so what did I ride? I first tried to ride Gale Force, but upon arrival at the station, was promptly informed that it was shut down due to impending lightning. Here's some pictures anyway: Bummer. I figured Wild Waves was the same way, so I went to this: I had never seen something like this before. Apparently, it's a Technical Park brand ride model called "Aerobat" (click here for their website and better pictures/video). Castaway Cove calls it "Squadron 33". The wheel spins, and raises like a Zamperla Endeavor, but at a point the longitudinal rotation of the cars unlocks, and the rider controls it by angling the wings to divert airflow. My god was this thing nuts. At first, I was having trouble getting the car to flip, but once I did I could barely get the thing to stop. I must have flipped a half-dozen times before I got it to stop doing full rotations, and this is all while spinning around, coming what felt to be dangerously close to the platform while upside down. It felt like a super-long cycle, and once I got the hang of it I was able to do one or two flips and then recover. Insane, great ride. Why more of these don't exist, I can't fathom. 11/10, 6-stars, A+++. Wow. At this point, everything started to go dark, and they made an announcement that they were shutting down for the impending storm. I double-timed it back to my car just in time for the skies to open and a horrific deluge of water to pour down upon us. I thought about waiting it out, but it was already 7 PM and I had to get to Wildwood to check in to my hotel, so that's what I did. See the Morey's report in the next post. I did make it back to Castaway Cove once the storm had passed, though, and was able to get on Gale Force, Wild Waves, and Whirlwind, but not Pirate's Gold Rush kiddie coaster. What did I think? Gale Force - I think my notes video (I do this after ever ride to keep track of things for writing these reports) speaks for itself (warning, foul language): VID_20210830_221949594.mp4 Bonkers. No ride should have any business being this intense. Just, wow. I have no words. Incredible, incredible ride. Again, like I said about Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach, why are these not cloned everywhere instead of those stupid S&S 4D coasters? 12/10. That said, it does not make my top-10, simply because it's TOO intense. Wild Waves - It is what it is. It's cool how it interacts with Gale Force, but I was expecting at least a couple pops of airtime, but no dice. Whirlwind - It's a figure-8 SBF Visa Spinner. 5 laps I think? Sadly, at this point, the park was closing for the night, so I missed out on the kiddie credit, but all in all, a great trip. I will be back here again, for Gillian's dark ride log flume and more laps on Gale Force. Luckily I still have a bunch of tickets for Castaway Cove, too. Next up: Morey's Piers in Wildwood (that one will be a lot shorter)

It's T-shirt time! Cabs ah here! Come at me bro! Casino Pier, Seaside Heights Ah, Seaside. The place where I spent most Fridays back in high school, with the same group of friends, only two of which I still actually periodically talk to. A place where I've dropped hundreds of dollars in to Dance Dance Revolution and the retro-arcade in the now-destroyed Fun Town Pier. A place where I rode my first ever looping roller coaster, Fun Town's aptly-named "Looping Coaster" (a Pinfari looper). A place where I worked the two summers between my junior and senior year and the one after I graduated college. Doing what, you might ask? That's right....games carny, just like my father did in his youth. Some things come full circle. I've gotta talk about that though. I'm not going to mention which company's games I worked for specifically, to protect the owner who is an awesome guy, but let me tell you about this job. Here was a typical day for me: Get into town around 9:00 AM and lay out on the beach for an hour, before they started charging (yes, Seaside is one of NJ's many pay-to-go-on-the-beach towns), then start my shift at 10. Every three hours, get a 15 minute break, in which I'd stroll down the boardwalk to the Beachcomber Bar & Grille (famously where Snooki was punched*), pound a shot or two, and come back to work. Did the bosses mind? Nope, not at all! Alcohol made me more animated in my spiels, which got more customers to play, which made the bosses more money. At the end of the day (typically midnight on a weekday, 1 or 2 AM on a Friday or Saturday), I'd go to the bars or a house party with people I hit on during the workday, or play poker with the guys, or shoot down to Atlantic City for an all-night blackjack session, just to come back and do it again the next day. This happened 6 days a week. Honestly, it was the greatest job I ever had - very laid back, could smoke whenever I wanted, met tons and tons of people...if I could do that for what I get paid now, with benefits, I would in a heartbeat. *Fun Fact: I was there the night it happened, but not actually in the bar when it happened. When their "advance team" rolled into the bar to tell the owners they were coming, I promptly ske-daddled my way right on out. I wanted nothing to do with them. Anyway, you guys don't care about that. On to the park! Casino Pier is the only remaining amusement pier in town. The other park, Fun Town Pier in neighboring Seaside Park, got absolutely wrecked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and then completely destroyed by a massive fire in 2013. Though investigators deemed the cause to be an electrical short under an ice cream stand, I'm thoroughly convinced that the owners didn't have Hurricane coverage and burned it down on purpose for the insurance money. You can't convince me otherwise. Anyway, yeah, Casino Pier. A nice collection of both thrill rides and kiddie stuff here, along with an awesome roof-top mini-golf that I sadly didn't have time to get pictures of here. Needless to say, it hasn't changed much since I played it weekly back in high school (the player with the worst score amongst my friends always had to buy everyone's Kohr Brother's frozen custard), and it's a nice classic course with all of the standard mini-golf gags (loops, windmills, etc). This park has four coasters: -Hydrus, which we all know about -Pirate's Hideaway, famous for appearing like a well-themed dark ride but actually just being a coaster-in-a-box -Hot Tamales, a kiddie coaster -Xolo Loca, a variant on the SBF Visa spinner with the flipping seats. Unfortunately, Hyrdus and Xolo Loca were both closed during this trip. I had ridden Hydrus on a previous trip, so no big loss there, but I was eager to try out the flipping seats on Xolo Loca. But I'll get to the two coasters I did ride at the end of this post. First, the ride collection: So this is what the Zamperla buggy-go-round is supposed to look like, huh? Wave Swinger Motorcycles-go-round (I promise there won't be so many this time!) Disk-o Various-vehicles-go-round Claw ride, Super Storm. I think it's a KMG model. Either way, sideways spinning and swinging does not agree with my stomach. Standard Moby Dick. Skycoaster. Hard to tell here, but the cable running from the other tower was not attached, and the ride was obviously not operating. Also, note the knockoff Mighty Mouse. Musik Express. Tilt-a-Whirl with the new style cars Pretty sizeable Ferris Wheel, one of their newer additions. Centrifuge, an indoor Scrambler. Think like Cosmotron at Knoebel's - light and sound show to blasting music. Yes, in retrospect I realize I should have grabbed a shot of the actual ride. Kiddie carousel Standard burlap sack slide Standard climby structure Boats-go-round Another Dizzy Dragons. Zamperla must be making a fortune on these things and the buggy-bouncers. Horse-and-carriage-go-round Dumbo-go-round Kiddie whip themed to NASCAR Bumper cars Standard wacky-house Another Crazy Cabs. A well-themed example of the most pathetic log flume ever An actually-sizeable S&S drop tower, set on the double-shot program. And wrapping out the non-coasters, a Sky Screamer. Here's a shot of Hydus, not running, just because. And a few of Xolo Loca and Hot Tamales; the former is the orange track in these pictures. I think it's kinda cool that one coaster wraps completely around the other. And finally, Pirate's Hideaway. So I'll talk about that one first. The outside looks really cool, right? Awesome airbrush paint job, you'd think you're in for a treat of a pirate-themed dark ride, right? Nope. You get nothing inside. Just a big open box, complete with various tools at the ground level. Check out TPR's POV to see what I'm talking about. What did I think of the actual ride, though? Not terrible....until the second to final brakes, which slam you to a complete stop and drive your gut directly into the lap bar. Pass if you don't need the humorous credit. And Hot Tamales...it's a kiddie coaster, there's not much to be said. 5 laps, which is almost too much. So, opposite the Pier is the Casino Pier arcade. Which used to house a 100-plus year old Dentzel/Looff carousel, right here: For whatever stupid reason, the owners decided to sell it. Supposedly, it's being refurbished and will be placed in a new structure that has yet to be built along the boardwalk, but I'm not holding my breath. Of course, before heading out, I had to get some Three Brother's Pizza. Honestly the second best pizza I've ever had (yes, better than Mack's in Wildwood). Huge slice, but also huge price (like $6). And that about does it for Seaside Heights. A good park for both kids and thrill-seekers a like, when everything is running. For other adult entertainment, you've also got almost a dozen bars and nightclubs, both on the boardwalk and inland a few blocks (though sadly Karma, made famous by Jersey Shore, is now a wedding venue after the city pulled their nightclub-liquor license). Next stop: Ocean City's parks, Gillian's Wonderland and Playland's Castaway Cove.

So many kiddie rides!