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How did we all miss the fact that the ski slope caught on fire? “Welcome to the Dream” (shoutout to @boldikus for finding this gem of a photo). The rest of the mall is open (or as “open” as this mall can get) but Big Snow will be closed through the end of the month. Link to story

Yes, if you want to get multiple rides on the coasters and Mystic River Falls, I would definitely recommend their fast pass. As for food, the skillets offered at various locations are very good. The BBQ place next to Mystic River Falls is cafeteria style, but it has lots of seating and the food is also good. Plus it's right across from the cinnamon bread place!

^ I liked Row 2 better. . but yeah, I loved our front seat ride!

I'm surprised they would re-open Kraken the day after the busiest week of the year in Orlando concludes but you do you, SeaWorld.

Molly's Mill is a buffet restaurant but that's about it at the moment; there's also a Mine buffet but that's currently closed. The rest will be cafeteria or stands. We tend to snack rather than full meals just because there's so much to choose from, and more than normal during a festival. Its actually hard for me to recommend things because I like so much of it, but for a full meal I like Rivertown Smokehouse, for a sandwich/lighter meal (lighter being relative lol) I like Fry Bread company (which was not operating last weekend) or a skillet from Lumbercamp Falls. We never visit without getting a Tater Twist. For sweets/dessert/etc everyone will tell you to get cinnamon bread from Clara Belle's and rightly so, but don't neglect Eva & Delilah's bakery right at the entrance of the park, and easy-to-miss Sullivan's Mill has some great stuff too (including coffee ground by a grinder powered by the waterwheel you see when crossing the swinging bridge!)

See edit. My phone was acting up. Came from Newsletter this morning, page 11. https://hfe.widen.net/s/rv2mv6vnvm/dw21_web_newsletter_christmas?spMailingID=45744209&spUserID=NjU5OTUxODc2MjA3S0&spJobID=2100747359&spReportId=MjEwMDc0NzM1OQS2

POP is before my time, but thanks to the excellent (and way out of print) Gary Kyriazi book "The Great American Amusement Parks," I got to look at pictures when I was a kid. The Paige/Miller Sea Serpent coaster looked awesome, and in the last days was painted 3 colors: red, yellow and green. Great colors for a Sea Serpent indeed! There is a record cover for El Pito* with a great picture of the ride, which I cannot locate. POP was the movie star park and Sea Serpent a movie star coaster, before Magic Mountain and Revolution/Colossus. *El Pito does the song "I'll never go back to Georgia" on the Crooklyn soundtrack. Great movie, great song. Sea Serpent was originally called "High Boy." To go back in time for a day... Herman's Hermits at POP! Go to 4:10 for coaster shots. The good old days when you could take your ice cream cone on a ride. As a young coaster enthusiast in 1990, I at an ice cream cone on the original Zippin Pippin... probably not smart, but things were more relaxed then.

Glad you found the front of Diamondback! My favorite seat is row 2 in those long B&M trains. Fun hang time at the drop and then the air up and over the hills is better than the pull in the back in my opinion. I also got stuck in the shed for 30 minutes and it sucked, but they did walk me thru FL as a reward when it was fixed, did they get you back? I'll never willingly ride Beast on a wheel seat COVID protocols forced me to last year and it was so bad I felt ill. One of the worst rides I've ever had on it. Front seat or nothing!

I went on a couple of weekdays last week. Crowds were light, but there were one-train ops on everything except Twisted Colossus (which ran two trains). Everything had about a 5-10 minute wait except for X2, Full Throttle, and Superman - which were both close to 30 minutes. X2 was running 4-minute dispatches in addition to one-train ops, and only the forward side of Superman was running. Apocalypse, Viper, Riddler, Batman, and Scream were walk-ons. I would expect this week to be similar.

^ it only took us 35 minutes to walk to it from the front gates when we went on our trip in 2017! but I must admit, it was well worth it (and with so many coupons avail, it was, I think, only ~$17 to get in for the day, so we certainly got our $$ worth. and the animals seemed really well cared for and the environments well maintained)

Cassy and Travis's Trip Report for Phantom Fall Fest Preview : Yesterday Travis and I attended Kennywood's Preview event for their new halloween event, Phantom Fall Fest. We have spent a lot of time at Kennywood, but have not been to their halloween events, so we didn't know what to expect! From my understanding, they used to have two separate halloween events; one for kids in the day, then they would close and reopen for the haunt event in the evening. Kennywood's new event Phantom Fall Fest combines the two events and lets families enjoy the festivities during the day and at 6pm the haunting starts, so families with small children know when to leave if they needed to. They had five mazes: 1. Villa of the Vampire-vampire themed maze that takes place in the arcade building, they clear out all the arcade machines and build this maze inside the building, very well themed! (I liked the skull wall) 2. Shady Grove Memorial Hospital-you are going undercover through this maze, to see what's going on with the patients and hospital staff, there's rumors of an evil doctor (where did all their eyes go?) 3. Dark Shadows- this is their "blackout" maze, which was the first of these that I've been in that was outdoors, and we went when it was slightly light outside and we still couldn't see anything! (I love these kind of mazes) 4. Kennyville Cemetery- Very cool cemetery themed maze, located at the front of the park (loved the ghost in the water!) 5. Voodoo Bayou-cool voodoo themed maze that takes place in the rapids ride, they empty out the water and you get to walk around where the water was which I thought was really cool! Also we were told they use their old dying plants from the season as decor for the maze! They also had four scare zones: 1. Fear Fest- this is a carnival themed walkthrough section where the kangaroo used to be (rip kangaroo) 2. Manor Estate Sale- cool little area that makes it seem like you are in someones house looking at their belongings 3. Hellbilly Hollow-name says it all, your classic hillbilly-zombie themed area, some very good scare actors! (they were always chasing someone) 4. The Departing-the final walkthrough, this takes place in the tunnel when you leave the park, they put scare actors in the tunnel and pump up the fog! (this starts later in the evening, I think 90 minutes before they close) Here are pictures from our evening: Kenny was in his halloween best! love sky rocket! such a fun ride next was phantoms revenge, loved the theming of decor since they are currently working on painting the track the purple track looks cool! sad that this ride was blocked off, but thought it was funny they decorated the blocked off area had to try the "scary waffle cone" you could choose the ice cream flavor, then it had orange sprinkles and gummy worms for the preview we tried some of the new seasonal offerings they have this year such as roasted corn, turkey legs, hamburger steak, and spooky desserts! Noah's ark is one of my favorite attractions here, its so unique! have to ride the whip! such a great ride! Lots of photo-op areas everywhere! picture of the voodoo bayou sign in the day, this was my favorite sign for the mazes I loved the effort they put into theming the haunt decor to what was going on, these guys are doing a little construction! Next for the preview event, we went on a behind the scenes tour of Villa of the Vampire. Like I said before, this maze was inside the arcade area and is built from scratch every year after they move all the arcade machines out. Super cool to see all the detail you don't get to admire when the maze is dark (and avoiding vampires). I thought Laffin' Sal was scary as she was! Now she's hanging out with the vampires! this is the main room where they explain the rules of the maze we got to go where the scare actors go, and see all the doors and windows they use Mark showing off one of the secret doors my favorite area! I want the skull wall for my house! the woman in the picture on the wall was an employee for that attraction for years before she passed away and they honor her by putting her photo in the room where she worked the most gotta take that spooky mirror selfie! one of the cool effects they use for the bug rooms is they have fishing wire that brushes against your face and hair making you feel like you're walking through webs Then we got to go behind the scenes and see makeup being done on scare actors, and look at some of their masks and props they use to transform scare actors for the the night! had to get some pictures back there too! this is where they work on everything for the upkeep on their wooden coasters RIP Also RIP (I really miss this one) Glad we went on this earlier in the day cause the whale was full! love seeing real chainsaws being used for haunts! they pumped fog into the carousel, I thought this was a really cool touch! we left a little earlier than when they started this walkthrough area, but there were some scare actors at the end of the tunnel had to take a spooky tunnel selfie Overall we had a good time, and really enjoyed the night! Our favorite maze was Voodoo Bayou, and we loved that all the areas had a ton of fog and really good scare actors! This is a great family event, with something for everyone to enjoy!

Agreed, Jake. Every time they rehab/replace a ride they make it way better. I have loved FITH since I was a kid, it was my first roller coaster, but I can't wait to see how much better this new one is.

I was there around Easter time in 1963 (ten years old), with my mom. After visiting Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, plans were to hit P.O.P. (which also stood for Pay-One-Price, one of the first parks to do that.) But - the times as they were - the park was closed on the day we visited, with an uncle we stayed with in N.Hollywood. I was so crushed, standing at the fence looking at that waterfall entrance. I cried and cried in the car, until Uncle Cy and my mom found a Mini Golf place for us all to do. It worked. I stopped crying, lol. There is a book out about the park. called "Pacific Ocean Park - The Rise and Fall of Los Angeles' Space-Age Nautical Pleasure Pier." I have a copy. And at the time, the Entrance Fee for all the rides and shows? 99 cents. Times have certainly changed since then, heh. EDIT TO ADD: By the way, "back then," Disney and Knott's actually closed for two days each week (I believe it was Monday-Tuesday for Disney and Wed-Thurs for Knott's) as a good will courtesy to the other park, etc. Truth! That's how we planned visiting both parks, with ease. The front of the hard cover book. ...And the back of it.

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!!

If you're planning to go, there is a HUGE deal on Groupon now. You can also get tickets for Howl-O-Scream at Busch Tampa as well. And if you enter the code MISSYOU you get an additional 35% off! I got 2 tickets to use on any night EXCEPT Saturdays for a little over $60! Here is the link (and feel free to delete it if it goes against policy) https://www.groupon.com/deals/gl-sea-world-orlando-howl-o-scream?deal_option=0b01d990-7206-4915-8f5a-796fa495a9ef&fbclid=IwAR2GFGc-oSf2cRFXkS7OLvlzK0HYpKdPs-hf8Sas7VXaD8Phoy6b-qWlkPc

I'm partial to this one. Mummy @ USH.

I discovered some great pictures of Top Thrill Dragster's control board. Pictures are property of: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/just-how-quick-are-roller-coasters --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main control board shots. I believe LAUNCH BOOST ENABLE is used in early morning test runs to send empty trains out at a faster speed (140 mph+) for a better chance of clearing the tower. This position is responsible for launching the train. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See archived version of Cedar Point's On Point blog for more pictures and explanation of how TTD works. Part 1: http://goo.gl/6k6uz Part 2: http://goo.gl/6jKxK