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Robb and I rode Iron Gwazi this morning! Check our socials for a fun video! More videos and photos coming soon!

If I were on that flight I'd be pissed too, and it's funny but in reality I've never in my life understood the complaints about Frontier. I break it down into two categories (aside from crazy circumstances like this): 1) People with unrealistic expectations. These are the people who go to Applebees and complain that their $8 burger is medium and not medium well. I grade them on a curve because they're Frontier. If I flew from New York to Orlando for less than it costs me to take a train into New York City from my house an hour away am I really supposed to get mad when my plane lands 40 minutes late or when the seat isn't very comfortable on my very-short flight (but is still better than United)? Am I really going to get mad when they want to charge me $2 for chips on a $25 flight and say that I would have free chips if I would have just flown on the $120 flight instead? Also, if they are 45 minutes late they'll give you a voucher that usually makes the flight basically free. 2) People who don't read, even when the text is huge and in giant red boxes and then show up at the airport claiming that there are hidden fees even though they agreed to them 3 times during the booking process. If you need checked bags and a huge carry-on, this airline isn't for you but you knew the size limits when you bought your ticket, I check that on every airline. The only fees that are really tough to find are the fee to print a paper boarding pass and to make a reservation over the phone and not on the website but honestly, what year is it? You should not book a connection a budget airline ever, but that should be common sense. I also prefer to fly from airports with multiple flights per day so I have options rather than a very small one with like 2 flights per week, but that's just me. The only gripe with them that I feel is legitimate is that they always change flight times a few weeks / months out. I absolutely hate that. One positive is that their customer service is excellent. If you call American, they call you back in 9 hours. If you call Frontier you'll be talking to a human within 5-15 minutes every time. Frontier isn't for everyone but even all things being equal, I don't think they're the worst airline that I've flown. JetBlue makes Frontier look punctual. I love their in-flight experience once you actually manage to get on the plane but they always screw us. American is a train wreck. Their website sucks, their customer service sucks and can't even use their crappy website properly and their hold times are often 8-9 hours. They also put us on a plane at Newark once and then told us that the pilot was stuck in traffic on the George Washington Bridge and would be there in an hour. Even Frontier would laugh at that... Also, the most unruly passenger I've ever seen (once on the plane) was also on American Airlines. lol

Iron Gwazi is AWESOME!!! Take a front seat and back seat ride on this amazing new roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa! VIDEO:

Herschend Enterprises has announced details about their new GROW U program to all employees to pursue higher education with 100% of tuition, fees and books paid for as a part of the program. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/herschend-enterprises-11-000-employees-to-receive-100-free-tuition-301477917.html Today Herschend Enterprises, the nation's largest privately-owned themed attractions corporation, announced it will cover 100% of tuition, fees, and books for its 11,000 employees who choose to pursue further education. The significant investment in employee education will be made through Herschend's GROW U. The program aims to make it exponentially easier for employees at all levels to pursue their personal and professional dreams through education. Herschend's GROW U. will officially launch on February 24, 2022, for all seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees across its 25 US attractions including The Harlem Globetrotters, Dollywood Parks & Resorts (Tenn.), Silver Dollar City (Mo.), Adventure Aquarium (N.J.), Newport Aquarium (Ky.), Kentucky Kingdom (Ky.), Wild Adventures (Ga.), and Pink Adventure Tours (Ariz., Tenn., Nev.). "Herschend's GROW U. is not only a significant and transformational investment in our employee's growth but also our love culture in action," said Andrew Wexler, CEO of Herschend Enterprises. "Herschend is rooted in love – it's evident at every Herschend property, every day –in the way we treat and support each other, how we Create Memories Worth Repeating for guests, and most importantly, how we care for our employees." "Whether it's to pursue a new dream or advance their career with us, we care about our employees' personal and professional growth, because we believe that their futures should be grown with love, not loans," continued Wexler. "Our team members' success is our success – and that's why we're thrilled to make this benefit available to all, regardless of their role in the company and without the burden of debt." HOW IT WORKS Herschend's GROW U. offers 11,000 eligible seasonal, part-time and full-time employees and hosts more than 100 fully-funded (100% free) diploma, degree and certificate programs across 30 learning partners in Guild's Learning Marketplace, including programs in high-demand fields such as business administration and leadership, culinary, finance, technology and marketing. Additionally, the company will provide partial funding, up to $5,250/year, for 150 additional programs in fields including hospitality, engineering, human resources and art design. Herschend Enterprises selected Guild Education, the nation's leading education and upskilling platform, to power GROW U. because of their strong reputation for connecting employers and high-value learning providers to create opportunities for America's workforce. Herschend employees will have access to Guild's proprietary Learning Marketplace to select from more than 30 learning providers and utilize resources like professional coaches to support their educational journey. "We're proud to partner with Herschend to provide their employees with an equitable education program to advance their careers," said Natalie McCullough, President and Chief Commercial Officer of Guild. "With this program, Herschend is preparing its workforce for the jobs of the future with new skills and mobility opportunities." About Herschend Enterprises Launched in 1960, Herschend Enterprises is a family of companies that focus on family entertainment. Its operating companies include Herschend Family Entertainment (Dollywood® Parks & Resorts, Silver Dollar City®, Adventure Aquarium®, Newport Aquarium®, Kentucky Kingdom®, and Wild Adventures®), Herschend Live (Harlem Globetrotters®), Herschend Entertainment Studios (Splash & Bubbles® and Chuggington®) and Herschend Adventure Holdings, LLC (Pink Adventure Tours®). Herschend properties entertain more than 14 million guests annually. For six decades, Herschend has operated with the purpose of bringing families closer together by Creating Memories Worth Repeating®. For more information, visit www.herschendenterprises.com. About Guild Education Guild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America's workforce through education and upskilling. A certified B-Corp, founded to bridge the gap between education and employment for working adults in the U.S. in need of upskilling for the future of work, Guild's industry-leading technology platform allows the nation's largest employers — including Bon Secours Mercy Health, Chipotle, Discover, Hilton, Macy's, Target, Walmart and The Walt Disney Company — to offer strategic education and upskilling to their employees. Guild connects workers to a learning marketplace of the nation's best learning partners for working adults with tuition paid by the company. Guild's payments and technology platform, curated learning marketplace, and advanced education and career services come together to help working adult learners advance in their education and career, debt-free. For more information, visit https://www.guildeducation.com/

Never noticed the wood, but same...

possibly the best description of Frontier that I've seen (posted on a news site, in response to a Frontier flight from NY to Orlando having to emergency land in Raleigh due to unruly passenger/fight yesterday) "Frontier is always an adventure. They make flying Spirit and AirTran look like a private Gulfstream. Plastic seats. $3.00 for a soda. And... of course, the sort of fellow passengers that make you wish you didn't try and save a few bucks. In the end, you don't really save much and it's a huge crapshoot that you even get there." it's like a comedy bit. .

I had no idea this was even a controversy, but I can think of many other parks where Valravn would be a crowd favorite. Hell, think about Worlds of Fun. At this point they would gladly take Corkscrew, let alone Valravn.

^ Valravn at most other parks would be the pride of that park. That's just true and can be accepted as such by people who don't want to buy Cedar Point's trash.

Most interesting to me this year is the placement of Twisted Colossus. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a really fun ride...but it's definitely a "mid-tier" RMC for me. Plus, it sits on a parking lot. I'm kind of shocked to see it ahead of Steel Vengeance (and Fury...and I305) in the Steel Poll.

They are working on re-hires and hopefully will have some success with recruitment of new employees. Being so short staffed like last year is hard on the guests and employees. Training should start in the next couple weeks.

Marcus Leshock will be riding Iron Gwazi tomorrow morning live on WGN 9 news Chicago at 7:15am CST. He's bringing his coworker who said he hasn't been on a coaster since around 1980, so might be fun to watch him go from The Demon in 1980 to a world class RMC! No idea how that will go lol

Looking to visit for the first time the last week of March (it would be Sunday and Monday). I know Lightning Rod is always a crapshoot and is completely unpredictable, but how is the rest of the park in the first few weeks of opening, in terms of operations, crowds, etc.? If anyone has hotel recommendations in the area that are affordable please advise as well. I'll have my own car so I'd be willing to stay a good distance away from the park too if it's significantly cheaper.

Today I was so deep into my boredom that I was killing time by fartin' around on Imgur and I came across a rather, shall we say, interesting looking building plan. Now, I'm no expert, but this sure seems to match a certain construction site in Epcot and if, IF this is what I think it is, then hot damn, I see a significant portion of the layout in the Universe Of Energy building, seemingly dark ride-ish. Possibly multiple endings? I don't know. I do know, though, that the top portion of the building is unquestionably a transfer track area. I wish the resolution was better than potato-cam.

And I'm sure they love selling you their trash.

They would leave the rust at Six Flags and call it Themeing.

So the question on everyone's mind: Iron Gwazi or Steel Vengeance? I know you've ridden both, and while they're both extreme RMC creations, they look vastly different in the ways they were built. Aesthetically, I am leaning toward MF since it's a tangle of wood AND it sits on the lake. But what are your thoughts? Thanks!

And the same as Emperor.

There are photos floating around (not sure if I can share them here) of the Corkscrew being dismantled.