Leaderboard

Good news Xcelerator has reopened.

Hi Everyone! Here it is! The final TR from my big escape from the coaster desert...Dollywood! (plus a bonus theme park history nerd moment) Much like BGW, Dollywood has been on my A-List for a long time. It hasn't fascinated me in the way some of my other A-List parks have, but it's always been one that I've wanted to visit. And...when your flying across country for 6+ hours...what's another 5/6 hours of driving from Williamsburg to add another amazing park (plus the Smoky Mountains as a bonus). And...I have to say of all three parks I visited on my grand escape (Knoebels, BGW, and Dollywood)...I think that Dollywood was the one that surprised me the most. Going in I had a good idea of what to expect, but I wasn't as excited for it as Knoebels or BGW. I'm glad to say thought that I walked away very impressed, and I can see why so many people love this park! So...here we go again! Buckle in cause it's a bit of along one! Ahhh Dollywood....the park I've heard so much about. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect with this park. I mean, I knew what the park's lineup was, it's layout, it's history, almost everything about it...but still I wasn't sure what I'd think of it. This was a park that I had heard so much about, and after BGW was easily an A-list park. So let's see if it lived up to it's reputation... Upon entering the park I made an executive decision to make a left and head up the hill towards Mystery Mine... ...which turned out to be simultaneously probably the best decision of the day, and a fatal mistake. When I made this decision I knew that it was probably a risky one, since I might be passing up a shot at Lightning Rod, but I subscribe to the strategy of hitting low capacity rides (jokes about LR's capacity aside) first. Little did I know that Dollywood posts the wait times for all of their rides on every wait time sign (Pro tip for anyone planning a visit!). When we reached Mystery Mine, Lightning Rod was already listed as "Closed for the Day"....wah wah wah.... While this was the upside of going to MM first, you'll find out about the mistake later... Anyways, back to Mystery Mine! After a 15 minute maintenance delay, we were off in the back seat! And...um...how do I put this? This ride was like Two-Face. On the one hand it is very well themed (for a regional theme park coaster), all the effects seemed to be all working, it has a solid finale, and it has an AWESOME theme song! Mystery, Mystery, Mineeeee!!! (Seriously, how come people don't talk about that theme song?) On the other hand, it's rough, had uncomfortable restraints, has a queue that floods (What's with that big puddle in the middle of the stairs?), and has an...uuhhh...interesting layout? I didn't notice the new section of track vs. the old, but it seemed like they made one less place for me to bang into the restraint (Whoo Hooo!) The whole ride seemed to shuffle a little (not terrible but noticeable), and the OTS restraints just made it plain uncomfortable. Giving this ride lap bars I think would help, but finale aside I thought the layout was kinda weak and felt like it was meandering around for the sake of meandering around. Perhaps the joke Mystery "Meh" is pretty accurate after all... After bouncing around like...I mean "making memories worth repeating" on Mystery Mine we made our way over to Thunderhead! (I know, I know you are probably screaming at the top of your lungs...) Now having not been to CGA, and passing on InvadR at BGW, this made Thunderhead my very first GCI! And...it was fun! I think that's the best way to describe this ride, fun. I would NOT call it the best wooden coaster in the world, nor would I consider it top 20 or anything (If I'd actually ridden 20 wooden coasters...), but it's a good solid ride..."Great" if you will... I don't think it's layout is perfect, I sensed that GCI was still trying to find their formula, but that they were getting close here. If Gold Striker and Mystic Timbers built on this formula and the lessons learned from Thunderhead, then I am very excited for those rides. The biggest weakness I found was that none of the elements really popped or stood out. No crazy airtime hills, no wicked lateral turns, no surprise elements, every element was just "good". There was a little shuffle in a couple spots, but nothing that I could complain about, which was better than I was expecting. I was especially impressed with the length, but I could tell that it was running out of steam on the last few elements, which was a bit of a disappointment. All in all, solid and fun, but certainly not the best. Now let's talk about those Millennium Flyer trains a sec. I've heard about these things for years now, and I've heard them simultaneously proclaimed as both the best and worst wooden coaster trains out there. So I was really curious to see what I thought. And you know something, I don't know what to say about these. They just didn't impress, nor disappoint, they were just kinda there. Maybe I'm just so used to battling bad wooden coaster trains, that I don't know what good ones look like? I just felt that they didn't have anything special about them. The only true pluses that stood out to me were that the lap bars were slightly more comfortable then PTC's individual bars, and that there were no seat dividers with one shared seat belt (which I like!). Other than that, I don't see why people make them out to be so special. Could someone please help me to understand what makes Millennium Flyers so special? That would be greatly appreciated. Next up was Wild Eagle....(now your really screaming at the top of your lungs...I think I can here your now....) This is where I'm really gonna get in trouble...I think Wild Eagle is the best coater at Dollywood (Remember, Lightning Rod was closed...) Now, now here me out. This could be a side effect of the fact that there are no B&M Wing Coasters west of the Mississippi (Why are all the good B&M's in the east again?), so there could be some novelty to it. However, for me, with the smoothness, inversions, unique layout, and great views, Lightning Rod aside, there really is no context. And...don't say it's forceless...I'll be the first to admit that I greyed out at the bottom of Wild Eagle's first drop. Every time, in every seat that I rode (front, back, and middle). IT IS NOT MY FAVORITE STEEL COASTER, by any means, but at Dollywood I think it's the best in the park (minus LR). After passing on a 45 minute wait on Tennessee Tornado (lol, bet your still screaming...), we decided to head for lunch. We thought about Aunt Granny's, but the health conscious part of our group won out and we ultimately settled on the steak wraps at the giant skillet. This was good! Definitely better than Trapper's, although not quite enough to top the All-You-Can-Eat BBQ at my home park IMO. It was very fresh, and tasty. Highly recommend! After lunch I decided to pay my respects at the almighty church of the broken RMC...Lightning Rod. While this was a hard one, I had a mind set going in that it would probably be closed, because that's just how my luck works (See Knoebels switching to tokens at Fascination, and Verbolten missing it's fake roof). So I wasn't entirely surprised or disappointed to see it closed...but bummed none the less. This is now my new favorite sign...even better than my home park's "This is a slow moving line". Lightning Rod does look like an awesome ride, and I'm (almost) sure that it's the parks best coaster. I hope RMC and Dollywood figure this thing out, and fix it for good. I think it would be a huge bummer for everyone if they gave up on it. After leaving the church of the broken roller coaster...we rode the train! I've heard a lot of about the Dollywood Express. I've heard the praises, and the awards. However, my home park's train (when it was at it's prime, which it sadly no longer is...) seems to me to be a high bar to clear. A bar that in my opinion the Dollywood Express failed to surpass. It's not that I didn't like the train (because I love trains as much as I love theme parks), it just didn't live up to my expectations. I knew that there was no on-board show, but I was under the impression that the DE was a scenic 30-40 minute journey through the woods with banjos playing, and maybe some wild life or a shenanigan filled vignette scene along the way. Instead it kinda felt like a short 20 minute trip past "The future site of Wildwood Grove Phase 2", to a random loop around a field and back. The only interesting thing that that happened was what wasn't supposed to happen...the train couldn't make it up the hill. For whatever reason it stopped just past the crossing by the Dreamsong Theater/Owen's Farm, then proceeded to back up all the way to Lightning Rod, and HAUL up that hill. Almost legit scary haul up that hill (Lightning Rod's launch has nothing on that train engineer, memories worth repeating right?). It was actually kinda hilarious, but other than that I just found the experience kinda underwhelming. It made me think, that maybe, just maybe, my home park might actually have a world's best on it's hands. Although I think a certain other Herschend park might have something to say about that... After the train ride, we headed back up the hill too...Daredevil Falls! (You've probably lost your voice from all that screaming by now...) I thought Daredevil Falls was a fine log flume, but nothing special. A little short maybe...wait...maybe I shouldn't talk about short log flumes... I wish it had some animatronics or something, that would at least give you something to look at besides the pretty scenery....you know what...let's just move on from log flumes... ...to...Blazing Fury! Blazing Fury is great. There I said it. It's great. I love semi-cheesy old school dark rides (like Black Diamond...), and Blazing Fury fits perfectly in that category. Some people in my group thought it was tacky, and weird, but I liked it. I do wish that Dollywood would bring in Garner Holt and let him do his thing. I think that would really make this ride go a long ways towards being great. The only complaints here were I thought that the cars traveled a little too fast for my liking, and the splashdown...or unsplashdown I should say. Now, I know why the splashdown was removed, but couldn't they come up with a better replacement then some blue Christmas lights and an air compressor? It was like the ride was going "Alright, were barely gonna escape the fire! Oh, look lets escape by dropping into a big ole hole, filled with some cheap lights and a blast of air! Impressive escape huh?" Why couldn't they drop you into a cave or something or just add one more scene of the firefighters being victorious? I think that would of been much better. After Blazing Fury (which for some reason had the best ops at the park that day) we finally got to Tennessee Tornado! And to be honest, much like Tempesto I can't remember too much about Tennessee Tornado. Unlike Tempesto though, I can say that I liked it, but the only things that I remember were that it was smooth...and short. I greyed out on the second loop, but I remember being very impressed by how smooth this ride was. I think that if Arrow could have built more of these smooth multiloopers, the theme park industry would look very different today. I was reminded of how short it was though, and I found myself wishing there were just a few more inversions. For that reason I think I prefer the Loch Ness Monster in the race for best Arrow looper, for the length and then the unique layout. After another ride on Wild Eagle...we know come to the mistake I mentioned earlier. FireChaser Express is a coaster that means a lot to me. When I was first getting into theme parks and roller coasters, Dollywood was in the middle of building this and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever. The mistake I made was not going here first or second after Mystery Mine. I had been watching the 50 minute plus wait time all day, hoping it would die down but it never did. So, sadly I choose to cut my losses and skip it... I thought about sucking up and doing it, but I just couldn't bring myself too. That being said, it looks as fun as I imagined it would, so I definitely have something (besides Lightning Rod...) to look forward too next time I go to Dollywood. But still... After giving up on FireChaser Express, we went for a few more rides on Wild Eagle before deciding to do the real reason people come to Dollywood...CINNAMON BREAD!!!! And...OH MY GOODNESS!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST THEME PARK DESERTS OUT THERE, IF NOT THE BEST!!!! I thought the sundae at Knoebels was good...but this cinnamon goodness just obliterated it. So so good, you have to get it when you go to Dollywood! We also saw a turtle in the pond next to the Grist Mill. So next time your headed there, be sure to say hi to Earl the Turtle (or whatever the TPRers shall name him/her/it?)! I hear if you don't he starts to chew on the power cord for the Cinnamon Bread machine... After the Cinnamon Bread, we checked out the Dolly Parton museum and some of the other cool little things on that side of the park. I thought the Dolly Parton museum was nice, but a little cluttery and disjointed. I'm not a Parton superfan by any means, but it was fun to see her story. After that we finished up the day with another ride on Mystery Mine (this time in the front), and a couple more ride on Thunderhead because...why not! And then ended our day at Dollywood! A couple random tidbits and thoughts: - We went back into Wildwood Gove...I mean Concreteland, towards the end of our day and while I thought it was nicely done and very imaginative, it didn't exactly feel like a grove... I've seen pictures of what the area looked like before they put in WG, and I wish they could have left those trees up. That would have made the area so much better. We were there on an overcast day that wasn't overly hot, and it still felt like a sauna back there. I can't imagine what it would be like on a hot summer day... - Passed on Dolly's Magical Butterflying Coaster (i.e. Dragonflyer) and Whistle Punk Chaser, mostly because I'm not a credit whore person. Dragonflyer look fun, but I thought Thunderhead looked more fun so I did that instated. As for WPC...well...I just couldn't do it... - Didn't have time (or desire) to venture into Country Fair or Owen's Farm. Barnstormer looked cool, but totally forgot about it in the grand scheme of things. - Did I mention that this park is pretty? I didn't? Well, it is! I honestly have a hard time deciding if Dollywood or BGW is more pretty. I think I have to give it to BGW for now, but Dollywood is certainly in the hunt. I could tell that they had removed a lot of trees in the park lately, which to me is a shame. I'm not a tree hugger, but removing trees that take 20+ years to reach a decent size for no apparent reason really bugs me. My home park has been doing it recently too, and I hope they stop it. I think nice trees really add to a park's beauty. - They were doing some construction in Craftsman's Valley in between, what I presume was, the old blacksmith shop and the candle making shop. I don't know what the building was used for previously, but looked like they were going after it pretty well. Must be where they are putting that new strata coaster for next season... - Lastly, what is the deal with this park and hair bands? Could someone please explain this to me? There were a whole bunch piled up on the fake rocks in the queue for Daredevil Falls, at the base of the lift for Wild Eagle, and a few other places. I've never seen this at any other park so...do the people of Tennessee really like hairbands as lawn ornaments or something? Please...someone explain? All in all, I think Dollywood is an amazing park. You can tell that they have spent a lot of money on this place, and that they take very good care of it. I thought it was interesting that when I initially walked into the park I was a little underwhelmed. I'm not sure why, I just felt like something was missing initially. However, as the day progressed I found myself warming up to the park, and loving it more and more. I don't know if I'd call it my favorite park, yet, but it is one of my favorites for sure. I hope they keep up with the good improvements (and plant a few more trees along the way...), as I think they have done well so far. I don't know when I'll be back to that part of the country, but if I ever am I'll be sure to go back! Looking towards the future...I'm not actually sure what this park needs. When I was there I kept thinking "This park is like BGW, it justs needs that one stand out ride.", but I think Lightning Rod IS that ride, so it doesn't need that. Personally I'd like to see a B&M Dive Coaster themed to a flooded mine with an elevator lift, be put into the area where Daredevil Falls, the old Mountain Slidewinder (RIP), and Owen's Farm are. That would add another major ride at the front of the park (which the park definitely needs), and it could be really unique and a GP crowd pleaser (Does Dolly read these forums?)! Other than that enthusiast pipe dream...I'm not sure. This park has almost all the boxes checked, and I just don't think a B&M Giga would be a good fit here. Oh well! I'm sure they'll think of something fun to spend $300 million on... And...with that all my TR's are done for my latest coaster desert escape! (Whew...I thought I'd NEVER get them done!) I want to say thanks to tndank, CoasterBill, SSL, teacherkim, BitterOldHag, and TEDodd for their advice on planning a trip to Dollywood and the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Smokey Mountains area (Plus, anyone else I might have forgot!). The advice was much appreciated and made for a great trip! Thanks to the moderators and contributors, your hard work also helps make TPR such a special place! I'd also like to give a big special thanks Robb and Alissa, you guys have done an amazing job with this site and forum. It is such a fun place to visit and read peoples comments and thoughts. Please keep up the great work!! I don't think I'm alone in saying that it is very much appreciated by everyone who frequents your site! THANK YOU!!!! Oh! I almost forgot! The bonus theme park history nerd moment... Our (unfortunate) return to the coaster desert from Pigeon Forge, necessitated a flight out of Nashville...and I'm sure you can guess what happens next... When the country music fans in your group decide to kill time by going to see the Grand Ole Opry House...and your a theme park enthusiast who loves history...you have to ask yourself... Can you tell me how to get, how to get to, Sesame Streeeeeeet Opryland!! It's kinda hard to believe that a parking lot and an old house are really all that remain of the park. How could such a pretty, lush, and fun looking (at least in the pictures) park be reduced to this? Who thought a silly mega mall would be cooler than an amusement park themed to music! (Come to think of it...didn't someone else try that?) Oh well, I guess I'll never really know how great Opryland was. Sometimes I wonder what the park would look like today, and how it would hold up against the modern Dollywood? What could have been...? When flying out of Nashville, I looked out my window and we happened to fly over the Opry and it was pretty cool how you could kinda see how the park would just "fit" right into the space where the parking lot and the north end of the mall is. Maybe someday Nashville will get a proper successor...Storyville Gardens, anyone? Lastly...I think this sign might challenge Lightning Rod for the best sign award... Any ideas who thought this one up? Thanks everyone for reading! I really enjoyed sharing, and I'm grateful for the fun environment that TPR has. See you next time! P.S. Hey! There's no random photos at the end! Whoo Hoo! I finally figured it out!!

https://coasterpoll.com/ Hey everyone! The TPR Coaster Poll will be back for 2021, as it is every year! And like every year, we are currently going through the process of making sure everything is up to date for when voting officially begins! With that in mind, we are looking for feedback from the TPR Forum community! Here's what we are looking for: Coasters that are not included on the poll but that should be / should have been. The rule has always been that any coaster that is larger than a standard-sized Wild Mouse (Mack compact mobile, Zamperla Twister Coaster, etc) qualifies, and we intend to keep that rule in place. Coasters that have closed or gone standing but not operating (SBNO) during calendar year 2020 or early in calendar year 2021, unrelated to recent world events. Any coaster that operated for the majority of the 2021 season qualifies for the poll, even if it closed at the end of the season. Coasters that have reopened during calendar year 2020 or 2021 after having been previously SBNO, unrelated to closures surrounding recent world events. Coasters that have been renamed, rethemed, or relocated during calendar year 2020 or 2021. We have put a lot of effort into making sure every qualified coaster is counted, but we always miss a few! So we appreciate the community's efforts in spot-checking our work. We're looking forward to seeing the results in early 2022! Thanks a bunch, and please comment if you have questions or concerns!

Outstanding TR's swfan. Great pics as well. Felt like I was right there! I have been to Dollywood 3 times as of 2019 and the park is definitely in my top 3. I think I love the "Frontier Trail" (CP) vibes that the whole original part of the park gives off. It's nice to duck into a shop and browse, grab a bite to eat, or hop aboard a ride surrounded mostly by trees. Plus, the staff has always been very friendly on each of my visits. I was honestly surprised by that, but definitely not complaining. My lone sin though is having never tried the cinnamon bread (where is that screaming coming from all of a sudden??!). I know, I can turn in my theme park enthusiast now. I promise next time I will... or if I get to SDC first, I'll definitely make time for it. Thanks for sharing your trip details and glad you had a great time.

Bring back Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. I have my reasons!

I don't think it's a big deal either. Ever since the Delta variant came into play, I always wear masks outdoors in crowded spaces. TBH, I still don't yet feel comfortable eating indoors, either. I either eat outdoors or take it home (or in the car if I'm traveling). Also, Orange County hasn't required it because they're run by insane people. And I don't think it's a safe assumption that everyone with proof of vaccination are being honest about it.

That's the main issue, outdoor transmission is proven to be close to zero. Since everyone in the park has been vaccinated or has a negative test, wearing masks is pretty much pointless.

Most people are assuming a Secret Life of Pets Dark Ride in the space. I honestly think that would be a BIG improvement!

Hey everyone! I had the opportunity to visit CGA before a wedding weekend, and I had a great time with long time coaster friend Andrew! I was supposed to visit during Winterfest in 2019 but the area had historic flooding so this is my first CGA visit. I visited on a Sunday, and everything worked out as I planned. I flew into San Jose (SJC) airport, which is 15 minutes from the park. It's a small airport so I was able to get off the plane, swing by my hotel, and be at the park all in 45 minutes. How awesome is that! Fast lane was pre-purchased since I only had 6 hours at the park, and it definitely saved time allowing me to walk on all coasters. First Impressions: I know of the Marriott background and the similarities with Chicago's Gurnee's Six Flags Great America and it was fun to see the double decker carousel and pool entry with the observation tower again. What I wasn't aware, is that the park shares the parking lot with Levi Stadium where the 49'ers play. It's hilarious how far out this place is from San Francisco, it's about as far away from Chicago as SFGAm is. But man holy shit Levi Stadium is MASSIVE and the park is closed if there's a football game. Thankfully my buddy picked the right wedding weekend to allow me to get to CGA It didn't take long for me to recognize CGA is a beautiful park featuring the PNW/Bay area's stunning redwoods, foliage, and natural beauty. There's really not an ugly spot in this park, other than some of the dated dining options that they seem to be turning around. The new waterpark look fantastic complete with its own set of characters meandering the park for photo ops and interactions. Operations: The day started out fine and the Railblazer ops were very consistent all day, but the crews really faded down the stretch. Gold Striker was the most frustrating as there were supervisors in the station yet they let trains stack for 5 minutes. Flight Deck, Grizzly, Drop Tower, were rivaling BGT for worst ops I've seen this year. Seat selection is usually never an issue in America unless it's Hagrid's Motor Bike Adventure but CGA gave me two wildly different answers: Me: "Hey, I'd love to wait for the front seat, I don't mind an extra cycle." Normal Op: "Sure go for it" That's what I got the first couple hours, then, the final few hours of the visit. Me: "Hey, can I wait for the back/front?" Op: "Oh yeah, no, we don't do that. Some guests have gotten really unruly with us over picking seats." ????????????????????????? The worst example was asking for Flight Deck's back seat and the op wouldn't budge, put me in the front, and then left the back 2 rows empty This also happened on Railblazer once, and it's like, really? There's only 8 seats..... cmon! It's just mind numbing and frustrating at times. Rides/Coasters: Railblazer - How could I not start here? With the issues surrounding the single rail coasters this year I was really wondering if I was going to miss out on one again. Not this time, I finally got to ride! A few things surprised me before I even got on the ride: it really looks like a hotwheels car zipping around the track, it's very raw - it's very bare bones and mechanically loud at times, the lift chain starts on the lift, and the ride itself looks good and fits well. It's just so fast, it reminded me of Arashi. It's a crazy experience that's crazy fun but I didn't come away loving the thing. The airtime is so abrupt and violent, those shoulder straps aren't really necessary right? I enjoyed the front more than the back, the airtime is just as nuts but it felt more comfortable, and the view is pretty awesome. After about 5 or 6 rides, the next day my shoulders were pretty bruised, hah. Demon - Just a classic Arrow that's still in great shape. The corkscrews were really smooth and the first drop always provides a good pop of air. Love the vintage effects/lights just like the sister park! Grizzly - Oh boy, the wooden coaster that consistently was voted one of the worst roller coasters in the world! Now I know why. This might as well be classified as a junior woodie. Anyone over 6' is going to not have a good time getting in these old arrow-mine-train ala CP lap bar things. It wasn't very painful, but the operations were. This coaster just doesn't do anything, it's gotta be the next ride to be taken out. Drop Tower - A great Intamin tower, stellar views of the mountains! Himalaya - Not that great of a cycle but it's one of the last ones out there. Mass Effect - A solid offering for what you are limited with when working with the 4D theaters. I'm not familiar with the game but it's easily understood and there's an actor or two performing with the show. Flight Deck - I wanted to like this invert a bit more, but it only does so much. It does everything very well, though! I wish I could have had that back row ride but I won't complain about 2x in the front. Patriot - Almost forgot about this one! Not much to say here, it's like a shortened Georgia Scorcher layout, it did have a cool little sideways dive into the corkscrew. Gold Striker - Here is the unanimously best coaster at the park and the most well rounded coaster in the park! After all of these other short but sweet coasters, Gold Striker offers a lengthy airtime filled twisted rugged ride up down and all around the front side of the park. From the looks off ride, you'd think the big turnarounds would sap speed and not offer much like some older GCI's but this GCI is an awesome combo of the newfound relentless speed in the newer GCI's. I absolutely loved the unique tunneled drop that sends the train rocketing around the twisted air hills, dives in and out of the structure, and it's so hard to predict what is coming next. Gold Striker, Renegade, and Mystic Timbers are all in an elite GCI tier in my book. Final thoughts: This park really needs Megabyte/Orion. All but Gold Striker are very short coasters, even though they are good coasters, a lengthy re-ridable coaster is just what this park needs. Fast lane wasn't really needed, especially if you have a full day. The park needs to continue updating their food and beverage offerings. There was not a sit down restaurant, it was all quick service and there was not an adult offering like a bar for adults, so I think there's a missed opportunity here. It's hard to beat the setting in San Jose, it's absolutely beautiful. Flying over the Great Salt Lake on the way. Lagoon is somewhere around here! Hey bert! Love this view again, the classic Great America entrance. Railblazer was my first stop, first time on a single rail! The ride is a blur after you're chucked off this steep drop! It's so hard to even register when you're upside-down, you're traveling on the track so fast! Look at how beautiful this park is! The Pacific North West and Bay Area is just so wonderful. New water park expansion and the giant Levi Stadium in the background along with the mountains! I see you, vintage B&M goodness! Palm trees redwoods, B&M's, mountains, ahhhh.. Flight Deck didn't disappoint, it absolutely flies through the inversons. The signature finale! This is Grizzly's train. The lap bars aren't individual, nor are they individual row, they are connected to the row behind/in front of you to your car. So if you have 2 kids behind you and a friend that's 6'3" next to you, that bar is gonna have to be smashed into your groin. Ouch! 3. Three! Seatbelts and this coaster doesn't even need a lap bar. Mass Effect was a good effort for one of those 4D simulators. Almost forgot about this old stand up turned Rougarou-like. Meh. Hey BGT, get your shit together!!! Back over for some more Railblazer fun! Loved this bonkers part! This is probably the main reason why my shoulders were purple the next day. This is at a Cedar Fair park. Yep! The whole park looks like this. Sadly the food and bev is the only ugly part of the park. This 'sports bar' supposedly had staff working but were nowhere to be found, and looks like it hadn't been updated since 1992. Couldn't even get a snack or drink here. Alright let's end the day with some Gold Striker rides! Love how it wraps around the observation tower. This GCI is a tangled mess of head choppers, hand choppers, crazy twists, airtime, and relentless speed and laterals! Even the pre-lift section gives you a taste of the craziness to come. It's tough to get photos of this thing, and it'll take many laps to figure out the layout. The rushhhh of striking gold! Absolutely ripping through the course! This twisted downhill airtime hill was the stand out 'holy shit' moment for me! Gold Striker in the golden hour. Gold Striker is the clear stand out coaster at CGA in my opinion. It's got everything you'd want in a twisted, wild, airtime filled woodie! And for post park fun, there's Bare Bottle Brewing around the corner which boasts some of the best IPA's I've had. Much love for the Bae Area! -Zach

Haven't eaten there but the beers are great. My friends say the food is great. The brewer is an acquaintance of mine from his days in Greensboro. And can confirm, Scarowinds would require a separate FL pass.

When I went in 2019, one FL purchase was required for each portion of the day. Sorry for the bad news.

New signage hung at the park yesterday about the new vax/mask requirements: The new rules are just one more incentive to avoid the park on weekends, IMO. I typically swing by the park on my way home from work during the week, and it sounds like those days won't be affected for now. If I get the coaster itch on a weekend, I'll just drive a little further to Knott's. In other news, it looks like a Tatsu repaint is in the works:

Which becomes the more dangerous version of "faking your ID to get into a bar", which is (to me) so 1950s. But I fear that some twats are going to do just that. Fake their Covid Vaccination card(s), and try to get away with it.

Samson (and the other animals at the zoo area in Cedar Point) would like to have a word with you.

@bert425^^^ "I spent an entire day at SFOG wearing a mask. it's NOT that big a deal, folks. either wear a mask if you go those days that require it? or don't go those days." Bert I hear what you're saying. It was your choice to wear the mask. It's not required. I did that (mask wearing) last year. This is just insane now! Nobody but LA county requires this when you're outdoors. Does covid know to stay away Monday -- Thursday??? Just kidding.

I really hope they replace it with someone ORIGINAL and relevant.

Real answers: Honolulu, Fairbanks, any Island nation or city extremely far north or a place where people can’t leave like the Gaza Strip. What I want to say: Montreal

Had a wonderful visit to Hansa Park today. Operations were fantastic with Kärnan and Novgorod running 3 trains, resulting in fast moving queues and the longest I waited was 30 minutes for Kärnan. I rode Highlander for the first time and really liked it, not the most forceful droptower, but very long drop, beautiful views and I love the on-board audio. Kärnan was running great, and they have really nailed the show on the lifthill now, with soundeffects, music and projections in the ceiling. This is my 6th visit and I have yet to see Kärnan having any downtime, surprising considering how complicated that coaster is! As for covid measures: Masks in queues, on rides and indoors. They were not using the interior queue on Kärnan and Novgorod, on Kärnan they used the single rider entrance bypassing the interior queue so you end up directly in the bagage area, they were still running the preshows. On Novgorod they had a member of staff by the entrance to the building managing the queue, then you walked through the inside queue and directly on the ride. Two negative things at the end, Nessie was only running one train, and all the restaurants with inside seating was closed. I had a great day, and Kärnan looks fantastic in the dark!

Cool map, but I think it's missing a couple key parks, like Worlds of Fun.

Thirded. I always catch Cyclone Sam’s every visit! Even to the point where I sometimes skip Timberwolf which is located right next to it.

The two cities that immediately come to mind are Houston and Phoenix. Both cities are in the top 5 for largest populations in the US. At least Houston had a theme park for several decades. People always point to the extreme heat in Phoenix but it's not like it doesn't also get hot in SoCal, Texas, or Florida. Despite the heat, people still recreate and go outside in the summer. Parks in both of these cities could be year-round too. Perhaps an indoor park in Phoenix would work best - like Adventuredome. Las Vegas' climate is pretty similar to Phoenix. Seattle, Miami, and Memphis are also contenders. At least Miami has a bunch of world class parks a few hours away. Seattle is very isolated with nothing substantial until Silverwood, I think I would place that 3rd behind Houston and Phoenix. Memphis would be a bonus.

Since I massively overestimated the amount of traffic I would encounter driving down to Kings Dominion on Sunday, 10/3, I arrived in town approximately 3 hours before the park would open and 4 hours before I could check in to my hotel. What was I to do? Luckily, I saw a billboard on my way off the highway that said "State Fair Traffic - This Exit," and some quick mobile Googling later told me that the Virginia State Fair was only a 10 minute drive away. I checked the attractions list, and saw a coaster, so here I went! Photo TR: Sunday, October 3rd. I arrived, parked in the back of a giant field (do ANY state fairs have actual parking lots LOL?), paid my entry fee, and made my way inside. Followed the signs past the tractors (a LOT of tractors) and animal exhibits, to find the entry to the Deggeller Attractions "midway." First thing I did was take a complete lap of the rides area, checking out was was there and making note of ride prices. Reviews of the two rides I did ride will be at the end of the massive photo dump. Two-trailer dark ride. Standard mini- elevated swings. Standard lay-n-fly. Standard bumper cars Standard Tornado Standard carousel Standard Round-Up, but kinda small and by a manufacturer I've never seen before. Rip Tide, the lone coaster at the VA State Fair, a Pinfari Zyklon that ran some super old cars. Standard Yo-Yo Windsurfer. I've never seen one of these before...kinda a cross between a Tornado and a Flyers, with the controllable sail. Unfortunately it ran so slow that adjusting the sail barely did anything....definitely not going to be snapping these! Standard climbing structure #1 Standard pirate ship Mini drop tower, Larson. Typhoon, a pretty intense looking flying carpet ride. Standard scrambler Zipper, with original cars. Tilt-a-Whirl Musik Express Gravitron Ring of Fire with modern style cars Hydra, a standard mini-claw "Spaceport," kinda an odd name for a skyscraper, but more power to you. Standard climbing structure #2, and Ferris wheel. Apparently, there was a whole nother section of rides that I didn't see until I was driving out of the place, so sorry no pictures of those. So, rides were kinda expensive at this fair, with most going for over $5. What did I ride? Well, the coaster, Rip Tide, of course. Standard Zyklon, nothing really special to report, but the cars were super-old style with lap bars that did absolutely nothing. It's always a great time to feel so free on a coaster. I also rode Haunted Mansion, the dark ride, which was only slightly better than the horrible one I rode at the Delaware State Fair this summer. This one wasn't bad because things didn't work, this was terrible because there just wasn't things. Each room had maybe one decoration. I think I've learned my lesson about these traveling dark rides haha. Anyway, that about wraps up my hour stop in at my second state fair in my life. I know these aren't for everyone, but for the few that appreciate reading these, thanks for the read! Next up: Kings Dominion

Seconded on the "must ride Cyclone Sam's"! My favorite non-coaster ride at the park!

Photo TR: Friday, October 1st Eager to get as much value out of my CF Platinum Pass with All-Park Fast Lane add-on, and also eager to get as much Halloweeny amusement park stuff as possible after last year's complete blank, I headed up to Dorney Park this past Friday. First things first, as mentioned, Fast Lane and Fright Lane are one in the same at this park. So if you have it on your pass, you automatically get the Fright Lane included! This park also does not do the typical CF lanyard card for Fright Lane; it's just the standard Fast Lane wristband, meaning you can do the mazes as many times as you want...if you wanted to....which you probably don't. So, park opening was 6:00, and I'll be damnned if they didn't wait until the clock struck exactly 5:45 for them to open the gates. No early entry here haha. Made my way inside, saw this nice decoration right after the gate. Nicer than most CF parks Haunt-intro things, but I guess this makes up for doing nothing to the entrance plaza. Hard to tell with the lighting, but the eyes glowed red. After grabbing my Fast/Fright Land wristband from a gift shop (and a quick visit to Guest Services for a refund on my pre-purchased Fright Lane), I did a quick lap on Wild Mouse (walk-on), then it was time for Dorney Park's #1 coaster - Talon. Here was the standby line, only 30 minutes after opening. Yowch. With FL, two train wait for the back row, left side. Awesome as always. I will say that the supports could use some paint though. I then took in the "Overlord's Incantation" show, which passes the mantle from the Overlord to some new witch character as the new "Queen" of Haunt. Predictable, about 10 minutes long, but the costumes were nice. I stuck around a little bit for the "IllumiNightmares" show, which I expected to be cool, but was only some drummers playing over an EDM backing track. They had talent, sure, but not really my scene. I did grab this cool sunset shot covering most of their taller rides before moving on. I then grabbed a quick lap on Hyrda (one-train wait for back row, left side), for the smoothest ride I've had on this since opening year. Very nice. Still, in my dream Dorney Park if I won the lottery and buy it, it would be torn down and replaced with a RMC I-Box named after one of Hercules' kids that follows roughly the old layout. I then took on my first Haunt maze of the night, Blood on the Bayou. It was decently long, lots of great gags and places for people to jump out of, and I guess CF got a group rate on the animatronic snake prop since it was used here as well. Next up was a half-cycle wait for Wave Swinger, which was looking nice in red lighting. Grabbed a ride on Kalediescope with a one-cycle wait that took about 5 minutes longer than it had to due to the lone ride op continually letting more people in once he had started the spiel and checking restraints. But damn if this ride isn't pretty. Next up was Tourist Trap. Decent enough I guess....not particularly entertaining or great artistry. You'll notice I haven't been mentioning waits for the Haunt mazes - because I didn't have any. Even the standby queues were quite minimal, making it even better that I didn't have to actually pay for the Fright Lane. They had some jugglers performing in the middle of the Steamworx scare zone. And a really cool haunted tree at the entrance to The Hollow scare zone. Next up was a ride on Possessed (three train wait for the front row). As with most other rides here, no sense of urgency from ride ops, who stopped in the middle of checking restraints to have a personal conversation more than once. Skeleton Crew show was back, with some fire twirlers and other acrobatics in addition to the standard "fall off the wall" act. Next up was a walk through Enigma. I thought this was a great concept (mirror maze, strobe lighting, and other optical illusions), but not really all that well executed. Not a lot of actors, but I guess it doesn't really need them. Still nothing on the Laser/Stinger site. Next walk through was Necropolis, an outdoor "maze" in the dirt field to the left of the old Dinosaurs Alive site. This was basically a grave yard, with all of the headstones with fake names and prior rides strewn about, and actors moving through it. VERY open layout, to the point that I at first thought you could wander anywhere, but sadly that was not the case. Next up was Trick or Treat. I remember this one being better. Artistry was just okay, and there were several rooms with no actors at all. Next up was a quick lap on Steel Force (two-train wait for front row), which is always awesome in the dark. Black train is back on site at least, sitting off to the side of the parking track under tarps. Walked down the path in the infield of Thunderhawk, and experienced The Lair, something they call a scare zone but should probably be called a maze since you could only walk through it in one direction. Very well done, great props and actually got spooked by one of the actors, which almost never happens. Next up was a two-train wait for front row of Thunderhawk. Amusingly, only the left side of the lights along the track were on, and they were just steady-burn. Don't these normally run in a chaser pattern? Either way, was a smooth enough ride. Trim brake on the final bunny hills didn't grab as hard as it normally does, which was a super-nice surprise. Cornstalkers was up next. If you've read my Cedar Point report, I'm completely over this concept, but Dorney does it right: You start in some redneck-themed house area, then do the corn maze, then end up in a slaughter house type building with a few rooms there. Ingenious! Each of these themes are overly played out by themselves, but in combination, it works. Obligatory picture of the Dorney Haunt monster truck. Then, on my way back to the front of the park, I grabbed a night-close out ride on Talon (back row right side, walk-on). All in all not a bad trip. Definitely glad I didn't have to spend any money for the Fright Lane, because it would have been a complete waste - none of the mazes had any sort of substantial standby queue all night. The Fast Lane, on the other hand, was incredibly useful - these were perhaps some of the biggest dry-park ride crowds I've ever seen at this park (Talon was posting a 60 minute wait time in the app for much of the night). And that about wraps up might night at Dorney. I headed home, needing to work the next morning, which should have taken me about an hour and half but actually took close to three because PA road construction is never ending. Stay tuned for my next report!

Most everything was running when I was there last, including the HUSS condor. Very minimal lines, and multi train operations. I wasn’t there for Haunt so I cannot comment on that. If you have never been I urge you to ride Cyclone Sam’s before you leave. Just do it, don’t look anything up about it, don’t worry if there is a line, just ride it and thank me later. You going to be in town just that evening?

https://www.knotts.com/scheduled-ride-closures Just checked, both Xcelerator and Hang Time are still listed as dead in the water. I'm gonna be at Scary Farm this Saturday and, I'll be honest, I'll be a bit miffed about spending upwards of $200 $236(!!!) and not being able to ride either. I'm well aware that they can't control when things break but, you know, give us a break on the price if the two star attractions are out of commission. I just checked out The Old Joliet Haunted Prison outside of Chicago this past weekend and they gave the guests who purchased the Fastpass entry free zombie laser tag because there was no difference in wait between standby and Fastpass. Something small like that goes a VERY long way towards making people happy.

Must be all the pot in the air and the water and the food and the blood and the....

What is it with Colorado and amusement parks that seem to be on borrowed time...? This place looks so sad that it might just ball over and cry...which makes me sad for it. Where's Gene Staples and Ed Hart when you need them?

Yay, some interaction! Thanks guys. Yeah if you get to go to CGA I'd recommend eating outside of the park before or after. If you like Indian or Chinese or Thai there's tons of those restaurants around.

Great report. I really like CGA too, based on my 2018 and 2019 visits. It's a well-kept park and I really had no complaints at all, it's just that most of their ride lineup is pretty old and outdated excluding RB and GS. They desperately need that B&M Hyper. I hope it still comes one day.

It looks like a place the mechanics take rides that have started to misbehave and threaten them this that is where they could end up if they don't change their ways.

What follows is one of the most difficult trip reports I've ever compiled. Why? Because of the place itself. Literally every photo Smisty and I took of it is interesting. Not because we're amazing photographers--although, obviously, we are--but because every square inch of the place is a study in joy and decay. So get ready for lots of weird analogies, because we're going to.... Lakeside Amusement Park First, a quick reminder of the weather conditions during our trip to Denver: hot and choked by wildfire smoke such that you could stare directly at the sun without (obvious) eye damage. So some of these photos may seem washed out or oddly colored. But that's just what things looked like at the time. In the background, you can see Lakeside Speedway, which apparently used to be a big moneymaker for them, but then some people died and now sits abandoned. Welcome to Lakeside! It's here, about halfway to the entrance of the park, that you start to wonder if this is maybe a bad idea. The, um, "entrance." Okay, imagine that every park you've ever been to is a person. Some are ugly, some are beautiful, some are tall, some are short, some are trans, and some are in Canada. Now, maybe you've seen photos of, or have even visited, an abandoned amusement park or two. Those are dead people. But Lakeside is none of those things. Lakeside is a zombie. Why is no one riding in the front seat? I didn't ask. I don't want to know. This ride is closed for maintenance, but it's open. Analogy. The wildcat or whatever is closed, the little ferris wheel thing is closed and the truck is a question mark, but the dead end murder path is open. Striking the right tone here is already proving to be difficult. Because I love this place. It's amazing. It's like going back in time but then realizing that everyone you meet is riddled with diseases that will kill them before they make it to 30. It's hard to even describe it. Like, if everything here worked and someone actually cared about "show" this could honestly be one of the best amusement parks in the world. But as it is, I half expected Haley Joel Osment to be waiting for me on my way out to reveal that I was the ghost all along. Let's play, "Was it Open?" No, the answer is no. But at least the Whip looks like we can ride it! Hey, what park is this? This looks beautiful! You probably already know that this park is famous for its Art Deco architecture, signage, and lighting. Of course, we weren't here late enough to see the lighting, but I have no doubt that it is beautiful and also that half of it doesn't work or only partially works. This mirror maze looks a smidge too easy for me. Lakeside features two defunct and completely-stripped full-sized ferris wheels. So that's a thing. There's no ride here. When did it close? Who knows? What was it? Well, Speed Boats, obviously. What does that mean? I have no idea. Only two missing ride vehicles? Attraction of the Month, ladies and gentlemen! You could tell me that this place was themed to The Shining, change nothing, and I would totally buy it. In the background, you can see the Tower of Jewels, which is, obviously, haunted. But also is--or rather was--the park's real entrance. Can you go up there? Ha ha, no. Why do we not use this entrance any longer? I don't know. Maybe we just like the dirty dirt dirt one better. Or maybe it's because there's two flights of stairs between this and the park proper with no visible ADA lift or ramps. I mean, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to add one of those things. But then again, Lakeside does very much smack of being out of money in RollerCoaster Tycoon and just sitting there waiting for a new person to come through the gate so that you can build a new bench, so who knows? If you really want to cry, look up the list of rides that used to exist in this park. Did I peek behind a fence to get this shot, or is this just smack dab in the middle of the park, naturally visible from every direction? Based on what you've learned so far, which seems more likely? The park has a couple of eateries and some redemption games, but no traditional fair games (that I recall) and absolutely no gift shops. But seeing as how Lakeside is both the best and worst place we've ever been, we had to have a magnet. So we bought some extra ride tickets and will just create our own. Analogy. This might be a good time to mention that rides don't actually have queues here. Just an entrance gate and an exit gate and people lined up down the pathways wherever they feel like it. This park is like the saddest old dog at the shelter and I just want to take it home and love it but it costs 100 million dollars and it definitely has heart worms. Wild Chipmunk's ride vehicles each hold exactly one preteen Elvis-impersonator. Why did we not come here at night? Oh, right, because we're old and we go to bed super early. My first and last Vettel coaster. Not because it was bad, but because there aren't any more. In fact, this ride is kind of amazing. I mean, there's no airtime or anything. But it's fast and relatively-smooth and it exists in a park with 3 non-functioning ferris wheels and no gift shop. Basically, all of their maintenance budget goes here. Actually, I doubt that anyone here uses budgets. But they keep this ride running, and that presumably keeps the park running. Somehow. And I'm glad it does. I think this photo nicely sums up Lakeside,. And yes, I'm pretty sure that I could've reached over that fence laid my hand on the track with no effort. But I didn't, because I don't want to know which of us is real.

I've noticed the side that is closest to Viper (in the station) is significantly rougher than the other side, too. There are some points on that side of the track that cause all of those seats to rattle as they pass over them. The other side doesn't have that issue.

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.