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Hey TPR! As the season was winding down it was time to plan one last trip for the 2021 season. Initially the plan was to visit Kennywood, but then they decided to close Steel Curtain and half the park. Lagoon was the next choice, but flights were insane and the last of fast pass during Halloween events was a bit too risky. Then, we were reminded of SDC and Time Traveler with rave reviews coming in from Ride to Happiness! Our plan was: Fly into KC Friday, go to WOF for a first time visit during Haunt. Saturday drive to Branson for SDC at night. Sunday full day at SDC. Monday drive to KC and fly out. Oh boy some of Sean Whalen's sheep spotted in the wild! Arriving in KC, we got bbq right by the airport at Scott's Kitchen (https://www.scottskitchenandcatering.com/menus/) and the burnt ends were better than I could have ever imagined. Definitely go here if you want legit KC BBQ! The highway and roads in KC are a bit bizarre and so is the entrance to Worlds of Fun. The parking lot funnels you down into the woods to the new entrance. First impressions - this park is so pretty! Lots of Haunt decorations Let's go to the coasters! Slowly but surely checking off the B&M custom inverts. Patriot was one of four coasters I wanted to ride at WOF. I honestly haven't heard anything overly positive about Patriot, but I was pleasantly surprised! It's positioned on the side of a hill, it has some fun twisty bits and dips, and had a great flow to the layout! It's definitely not close to the top tier of inverts but it was a lot more fun than I anticipated. Already off to a good start for the evening! A nice sunset ride and by the time we were onto the next thing, it was dark. But you could still tell the park was very well taken care of. The park had a lot of fun Haunt food and drinks - and lots of local brewery tents! One of the many haunts, and just like any other park in October - it was busy. But not insane for a Friday. The park is really wooded outside of where Mamba sits. Timberwolf we get it you vape Really good looking sunset here in KC! Timberwolf wasn't bad, but we did wait for the front seat. It just didn't have much to offer and felt like a superior version of the Grizzly layout. Orion, is that you? That's as high as it goes lmao It's pitch black out here, it's time to see Jesus! Prowler starts with some wild laterals right out of the station. Come on Cedar Fair give this park some love!!! October 2021 - Prowler was funning fantastic. It's right up there with Mystic Timbers, Gold Striker, and Renegade for me! What an incredible night ride. While others wanted to get the little credits I decided to check out a nearby 'scare zone' that was obviously the dino alive path by boomerang. There was a TON of love given to this Pumpkin - blair witch themed walk through in the woods! This was way more than a scare zone. No one seemed to notice it since it was wedged between the boomerang and other haunts Then, things got really scary! This is what I get for skipping lame credits Thankfully it decided it was more scared of me and ran the other way. Skunks are fast! Damn! Sadly at this point in the night Mamba still hadn't moved and the ride op told us it would not be running at all, it was some sort of air brake issue. The crowds really poured in so our idea of a chill Friday night didn't really pan out so we voted to return in the morning in hopes that Mamba would be working. We found 54th Street Grill which had a ton of local KC beer on tap and a happy hour that went all night. We got a TON of food for cheap! Definitely a good spot to check out even if it's a bit basic: https://www.54thstreetgrill.com/kansas-city-mo-zone-rosa.html Seeing the park in the daylight was stunning! It felt like a Busch park! Please open please open please open please open please open please open please open At this point we were starting to creep in on our SDC night time. I wasn't sure if it was laziness or cold temps but the team didn't get Mamba open until about an hour after park opening. But it was well worth it! Mamba was really great! The layout is a smaller version of Steel Dragon 2000 and both front and back seat offered surprisingly good airtime. I think Mamba was the one where Morgan really got it right because their next coasters were - Steel Eeel, Steel Dragon 2000, and then Superman Ultimate Escape. Don't sleep on Mamba! Back over for more Prowler since we're here. Even early in the morning it was hauling, and we got a ton of rides in back to back! The flume looked like a lot of fun, would love to visit this park when CF invests in a new ride! Alright time, to get on the road to SDC! So final report: Patriot 1x Timberwolf 1x Mamba 2x Prowler 6x Worlds of Fun is an easy park to access flying into the KC airport. I'd love to visit again on the way to SDC and see more of the park in the daytime, it's really pretty. There's trees everywhere, a little Moroccan village, fun topiaries, and beautiful foliage everywhere. I know the park is getting some extra touches for their anniversary season so I can't wait to see how it looks!

World's First Wax Museum Coaster

Sky Ride's seemingly endless budget-cut is ending... ... in like 7-9 months before they probably close it for budget again in like October (I mean "refurb")

It's Merlin, so probably nothing noteworthy whatsoever...

Also... adding my 2 cents to the new coaster speculation: If you believe that Knott's is spending $20-30 million on a parking lot giga coaster, you haven't been paying attention to this park for the better part of a decade. The park has been putting nearly all its focus into the Seasons of Fun mentality of providing various seasonal activities & entertainment to drive repeat attendance. Literally as I'm typing right now, an ad popped up for Merry Farm that features the big tree plus a photo of the Saloon with Christmas lights on and snow. Not a single ride visible. The 100th Anniversary celebration that happened in 2021 was almost entirely entertainment driven, except for a family dark ride that leaned in to the park's history, nostalgia, and unique quirkiness. The coasters are still important, but they don't run the show anymore. Knott's stopped being part of the coaster wars quite a while ago. I think the park (correctly) realized that it's strength was not in trying to compete with Six Flags, but to offer something different. There are definitely some thrills to be had, but Knott's is about more than rides... there are experiences, shows, themed areas, history, and special food (which has exploded in the last couple years). This isn't the Dick Kinzel era anymore, and I would go so far as to say that Knott's *doesn't want* a massive hyper/giga. Hangtime is a fun addition to the park that gives thrill seekers something new, but it's also neatly placed into a footprint. Plus, they found a way to make it pull double duty with the light & music shows they program on it for Scary/Merry Farm.

Oh yeah this will definitely be a great addition. I think many of us just thought their next coaster would be a Gravity Group or a Eurofighter because of that ACE event a couple years ago where they said they intended to add a water coaster and a roller coaster by about 2023 and that they were considering either a Gravity Group or a Eurofighter. Really the thing that keeps getting me is that they are putting a relatively small coaster up by itself on that hill. It is a winding path to get up there from the rest of the park, so I kinda figured they'd save that area for a large new expansion when the time was right. I figured a very small coaster like this would be better fit on the flat area where the Space Shot used to be behind where Galleon is now or on the plot of land where Buzzsaw Falls used to be.

I know Fredd Grubb is retiring and has sold the company to Darren Torr. I do not think Schilke has retired.

^ Geez, that's tough for you and all concerned. I hope it all (eventually) works out for you and all of your family.

after leaving the Zoo ~3:15, I headed up I10 to SFFT (about a 15 minute drive). . and hit a TON of traffic at the Six Flags exit. I knew it would be crowded - the Holiday in the Park had just kicked off yesterday (tho the Holiday food festival didn't start for another week). . but I'd hoped that coming an hour + after opening, most of the gridlock would be done. Oh well, at least the Light at La Cantera/I10 was running the extended program, so only took three lights to get thru, and by 3:45 I was pulling into the SFFT parking lot. um. . yeah. . it's crowded: but what's this that I noticed as I was driving over to the parking side for "general parking"? why it's the staging area for the new 2022 coaster: Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger. with several pieces of track just hanging out. I walked over, and security came by in a little cart and I asked them if it was ok to take pictures thru/over the fence, and they gave me thumbs up and drove off. so here ya go! Looks like the 1st drop (and possibly the 2nd) as you can see where the "holding" brake is gonna stop the train over the drop prior to the dive. pretty cool, I thought. Pics of the new coaster track taken, I headed towards the front gates. . noticing this view of the park thru the Whitewater Bay section - a view I'd not really ever seen before. . so snapped a pic. and after going thru the front main gate/metal detectors. . noticed something else now missing. yup. the big row of ticket booths (that were still there during my visit on Halloween day)? now GONE I exchanged my printout for my new Platinum Season Pass at the gate (I was surprised, I thought I'd have to go to the Season Pass processing, but nope, they just handed me this at the gate): as expected, it's just the Platinum Membership card. . which will act as my 1-time pay Season Pass. I still had to go into the Season Pass building to activate my Dining Plan I had added. . but bypassed it for a moment to go into the main plaza and snap pics of some of the decorations (the line was non-existant anyways. . thank goodness I didn't have to go to the Membership line, as that was all the way around the outside of the building. . . at least they are keeping Season Pass Processing separated still - for the moment at least). plenty of roaming characters out and about (and yeah, I see the guy in the blue checking out the female elf's backside in this pic. . LOL). the male elf is adorable tho, innt he? several of the Looney Tunes were out in their holiday garb too. . but there was quite a line for them, so just settled for a pic from the side. the holiday shows were pretty active, although this show didn't start until 4:30, so they were just warming up when I snapped the picture. so I go into the Season Pass processing (no line at all), and the counter person tells me "oh, you don't need to do anything, you're activated" and I asked. . the dining is activated? that's stated on the print out that I need to go to Season Pass processing to activate - but he assures me it's on there, so I shrug (and keep the receipt just in case I need it for next time to prove) and ask. . . about how the "free sodas" I get with Platinum work? do I just show the card, and they give me the soda? and he says, "oh no, you have to go next door to membership, and get your refillable cup there" so yeah, I ended up having to stand ~35 minutes in a very slow moving line for the Membership help. . only to discover that once inside the building, they have a little kiosk where an employee is scanning cards, and handing out the cups (sigh). I wish they had advertised this SOMEPLACE. .as I was not the only person standing in that long line just to get a cup/replacement cup. but now I know for next time if I have to replace the cup / forget to bring it on a trip. and how nice, it declares I'm a Member (even tho I'm a Season Pass holder. . don't care tho, I'll take it!). it was pretty dang busy (expected), but the crowds seemed to be majority in the ride queues, and not really out in the walkways. so it gave an impression it wasn't too busy. it let me snap some nice pics of the Holiday in the Park decorations that had gone up tho. I decided I wanted to ride Daredevil Dive, since I don't often ride that, so headed over that way towards CrackAxle to get in the queue. passing by the old Sundance Theater: AKA the location of the new Coaster for 2022 to check out the progress. still mainly just dirt. . but looking good, and lots of space to put it now that they've demolished the theater (what you see in the background there is Lone Star Lil's - the big theater that backed up to Sundance) and I'm here. . and the line is long. but I wanted to ride (and didn't realize I get a 1 time skip the line pass with my Platinum Season Pass. . . I know now, so will use at some point) So I got in the line nice views of Iron Rattler from this queue..so the time goes pretty quickly. hmmm. . the ride doesn't appear to be raising any longer? (after I posted about this on FB, park President Jeffrey Siebert responded that they are awaiting a part from the manufacturer, and once they get that, the ride will once again go up to the top of the lift when operating). after about a 40 minute queueline wait, it was finally my turn to ride. . . we got in the assigned planes, the music swelled and the ride started to spin.. . and then there was a buzz, the music stopped, and the ride came to a stop and we were asked to de-plane and go back into the bull-pen. (as I teased on FB.. . "NOW it's a "six flags day"") apparently what caused the hard stop was that the ride attempted to go up, and they were not allowing it - since waiting for that part, I've since found out. . . so the operator had to hard stop. they started playing the announcement that the ride was down, and we were welcome to wait, but they didn't know how long it would be. I had waited in the line long enough, and didn't really have plans, so I stuck it out - chatting with the operators. . while we waited for Maintenance to come out and reset the ride. (aka: push the button). it took them about 25 minutes to show up (I'd guess they were either at lunch, or tied up elsewhere in the park).. so I killed the time in the "bullpen" taking pics of Iron Rattler. but eventually they reset, cycled the ride empty, and then we were allowed to board. i was in plane 6, which seems to be the one that does quite a few "whips" during the cycle. Love it, but was really glad I hadn't eaten lunch yet in the park.. .LOL. I was getting hungry tho. so decided to head over to Sangerfest Halle. . even tho I knew it was undergoing some refurb and the individual food lines were closed, they were offering some holiday options. the one that I was most interested in was the Tamales, tho once I got there. . this one is what caught my eye more: so I ended up with the Holiday meal. But didn't need no healthy Salad! so the kind ladies on the line told me I could get pie instead. . so I greedily got one of each offered. (to be honest, the Apple was much better). . but overall, this was a lot of food, and was very good. AND it was on the dining plan (which worked via my card, so I guess it really did get activated at the front gate when they scanned me in). some pics of the refurb going on in Sangerfest. . they are restoring it back to how it used to look for the park's 30th Anniversary in 2022 I believe. but thank goodness "Sweet Connie" is still here - for the moment at least. i love this hookah. I mean. . Sangerfest is right next to the Grand Carousel. . . like I'm NOT gonna ride it? Wonder Woman had just reopened after a brief refurb, so I headed that way to check it out. it was dark enough already from the overcast day that Poltergeist's lights were looking eerie. Having just eaten tho? I decided to bypass this today, even tho the line didn't look too bad - as opposed to everything else that had pretty decent lines. Nice decorations. .tho I think the park should have left up the graveyard here from Halloween. it would go well with Poltergeist's theming yeah. .when Batman has a line like this? it's a busy day. heading to Wonder Woman thru Rockville. . . the street ahead was already starting to get blocked off. . what was going on? oh. .it's the tree lighting that happens ~6:45, but before that is a show by the Sleigh Belles. I was early enough (about 30 minutes before the show) that I could end up right at the rope. . but it was already so busy I decided to just wait on Wondy, and stay for the show/lighting. tho had a great view of Supes (and Wondy) cycling while I was waiting. soon enough, the crowds really filled in, completely blocking the pathway (I was glad I was in the front, even if off to the side), so had a good view of the show. the idea behind it is that a Christmas show is broadcasting live from Fiesta, but all the "name" acts have cancelled during the show, and the Belles have to fill in and cover all the songs. (the lady with the mic is the "host" of the show being broadcast, so she's pretending to talk into a camera thruout. all the ladies have good to very good voices, so it's a lot of fun, and I expect I'll watch it again on Saturday when I'm back in the park again. Sleigh Belle butts and Wonder Woman on the drop (hands up!) they pushed the button, and nothing lit up. . . perhaps we don't have enough Christmas Spirit yet? let's bring out some folks who can help with getting us in the spirit! Looney Tunes, and stilt walkers (who handed out candy) and Santa (on the top of Rockville High) Here we go. . . we have enough Christmas cheer to light up the tree!!! beautiful. and lots of fireworks too! usually at this point in the show, the street is covered with "snow" that blows down from the tops of the buildings on the street. for some reason, we didn't get that tonight. . . either something was down and they couldn't do it? or maybe they don't do the "snow" on Sunday nights? regardless, it still looks great over here, even without tons of stuff falling on the crowds from the rooftops. the show ended, and I TOTALLY forgot about riding Wonder Woman. . after an exhausting two days in San Antonio, I was getting tired, and still had to drive home to Austin. so I headed towards the front gates. yes, grand total of ~4 hours in the park was two rides (DareDevil Dive & Carousel), a big meal, a good show/tree lighting, and getting my Platinum Pass activated. but I accomplished what I wanted to do at SFFT today, so I was ok to head home. dang. . Poltergeist's new sign looks AMAZING at night. and the park looks beautiful with all the lights up. the lights even make a crap-tastic Boomerang look beautiful! it was dark enough, the walk thru presents in the main plaza were looking fantastic: on my way out, I realized I never snapped a pic on the way in. oh well. . it looks prettier at night. Happy Holidays all! hope you enjoyed my TR from the visit the other week to San Antonio parks! I'm back at SFFT this Saturday for another event, "Feliz Fiesta". . with heavy emphasis on the Park's Christmas Show offerings. . I'll bet I'll take pics from those too.. . LOL.. so might be another update coming relatively soon. but for now? thanks for reading my Trip Report! bert

For anyone not aware, details of proposed new rollercoaster coming this Friday (with possible pre-leaks from a local event on Thursday): https://www.thorpepark-consultation.com/

Thanks @joelwee, @Nrthwnd, and @coneyislandchris for the extra tips. I fly out tomorrow, so I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

A+ thread all the way. This last post is such a random mix of stuff and I love it. Garden of the Gods is great, and now I've got another couple of mini golf places to check out some day. I like art in airports and all that, but that horse is something else...

"Our revels now are ended . . ." Thanks for this hilarious look at things to do in Denver. Warren Zevon had some thoughts on Denver, as well.

Your amazing Photo TR reminds me of a very depressing article I read that talked all about how travel was going to prove more and more difficult due to global warming. Basically, screwed up weather and bigger meteorological disasters are going to screw over air travel and making plans and anything outdoors in our lifetime. So yeah, get ready for more disappointment I guess!!? Thanks for taking us along!

I haven't been on Mystery Mine since the layout change but I read it was to provide a smoother ride experience. I always looked forward to riding it because of the dark elements but did hate that it seemed so jerky. I would just classify that as an improvement. It is 14 years old now so it seems it has done very well right? I don't remember reading much about it being down. When I think of unreliable at Dollywood based on these boards and news articles Lightning Rod and Timber Tower are the ones that stick out to me. I did get to ride Timber Tower many times and it was fun. I am just glad I wasn't part of the group that got stuck up there for many hours!

WOW! I loved all of your details. I never would have figured out that turnaround point. It looks like there will still be part of the new clearing available too after this addition. I haven't got to visit in years but this is so exciting. I'm hoping for another Gerstlauer. Mystery Mine and Fire Chaser Express have been very reliable haven't they? Sometimes it is great to stick with good thing!

So it’s an RMC

yeah an addition like that would be perfect apart from it's similarity to firechaser in terms of look and launches. However, I do think a family-friendly version of time traveler is likely.

I mean a ride like Cheetah Hunt is pretty family friendly with it's 40 In height requirement, and consistently has the longest line at that park. I wouldn't mind something like that, a little more aggressive than Firechaser but still "family friendly".

I could not find a satellite pic that was so current. Where did you get that from?

Here's a better view featuring an overlay with current satellite imagery. As mentioned above the turnaround is behind the Food hall. (the V shaped building)

The wide dark line around the perimeter is a new perimeter road. The turn around for this is nestled up against the back of the Till & Harvest Food Hall. I've circled in red, a point that you can use to get your bearings on where it's located. Seems it might stay completely behind the restaurant. But essentially, yes, the new ride runs nearly the entire length of the area.

Lets pray they didn't paint the brakes. . .

^And they lost me at Virtual Reality Snorkeling!

We went to my sister's place for Thanksgiving. Came home that Monday. Few days later, my uncle is admitted to the hospital for a grand mal seizure (still don't know what caused it yet). He tests positive for Covid. My aunt blacks out in the waiting room from all the stress. She tests positive for Covid. She gets sent home with prescriptions. Next morning, she has to call an ambulance because every time she tries to get up, she blacks out. Turns out she was severely low on potassium and not hydrated enough. She's back home now. In the midst of all this, another aunt, who lives in California half a country away from all of us, ends up admitting herself into the hospital. She'd been told she had bronchitis and treated for that. It didn't work. Gets into the hospital and gets a diagnosis of Covid plus pneumonia. They're having to put her on her side, where her oxygen levels go up to 95, instead of laying/sitting on her back, when it dips into at least the 80s (could be lower, but we haven't been getting a whole lot of updates). So, the Tuesday after getting home from Thanksgiving, my mom gets sicky. She had breakfast with the first-mentioned aunt on Sunday. Then on this last Saturday lost her sense of smell & taste. Then *I* start getting sicky. So far I'm doing okay, and for a while I thought maybe I just had one of my reaction-to-cold-temps colds or perhaps whatever bug hit my sister, her hubby, and three of the four kids (they all thankfully tested neg for Covid), but today I woke up to find I'd lost my sense of smell and taste (well, not completely, but I am autistic and have SUPER sensitive senses, so the fact that I was able to sniff and even take a spoonful of apple cider vinegar without puking just from the smell... well, that was the ultimate test. I can get some tang/spices from my SlimJims and a bit of "spice" from my Dr. Pepper, but that's it, and for me, that's a HUGE difference in my senses). I am fully two-dose Moderna vaccinated, and I was actually going to be setting up an appt to get the booster when all this shit started. I am the only person in the entire family who is vaccinated at all, and I think that's why I'm at home dealing with something the level of which I've dealt with before, but I have two relatives in the hospital plus the one who was but is home now.