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Closer to actual summer than SFMM's definition?

The gods were a randy bunch.

So yesterday, I went up to SeaWorld San Antonio to enjoy the 1st weekend of Seven Seas Food Festival. had a really good time, although dealing with some Med interaction issues, that made me take it pretty slow when moving between Food Stands (resulting in one loop around the lagoon taking ~5 hours to stop at each stand), and tho it was a GORGEOUS day, the ride I did the most was "Bench" Here's how the day went. . and please keep in mind that I didn't try anything from Hawaii, Japan, Italy, or Greece (yet. . was just too full! So those will get tried, along with my favorites from Saturday, when I'm back in 2 weeks to help celebrate Great White's Birthday). let's take a look at the Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld San Antonio! Lovely drive from Austin to San Antonio today. . . SW is a bit further than SFFT for me, so it takes ~1:40 to get there from my house. but I arrived just before opening to a bit of a back up at the parking gates, and a LOT of cars in the lot already. Luckily, because my Season Pass has a hard time reading, the gentleman at the parking booth apologized for the extended wait, and gave me an Up Close Parking pass. I'll take it, even tho a day at SWSA involves a lot of walking anyways - it's a big park! hmmm. . . doesn't look too busy just before opening. oh. . . on the OTHER side of the main arch. yeah. . . Luckily it turned out the vast majority of these folks were either heading to Aquatica, or were going into the SW side for some sort of cheer competition that was taking place at one of the large auditoriums. so it meant that we had lovely weather, and really short lines for both the food, and the rides (tho as noted, I skipped pretty much all rides due to concern about my BP being low) Once the main gates opened, the lines moved fast tho, and before long was at the main Welcome booth - where i decided to wait in the short line to pick up my Seven Seas Food Festival Badge - which would have been WAY quicker, if both registers were only selling that. However, the registers also were selling meal plan. .and almost everyone in front of me were large groups buying meal plan for the day, and unlimited Drink Cups. So . . yeah, that took a while. On the website it notes you can pick up your prebought Seven Seas badge at any booth. . but I only saw one other booth (Korea) that actually had them available, so I was glad I waited here to pick mine up. To be fair, it's the 1st weekend. . I'm sure as it progresses, more booths will have the lanyards/badges available for pickup. one thing I noticed as well. . many folks were paying cash for the daily meal plan. So SWSA is still a cash *and* credit park. once i had my lanyard/punch badge, I headed to Mexico. . where I was meeting up with several folks from the "local" / Texas Based: Thrill Seekers United Group. and my Friend Amy, who had helped organize the casual meet up to tour the world of food, wanted to start at Mexico (I suspect for the Margaritas :p) Unfortunately for me, alcohol is a no-no for me at he moment. But everyone that tried the drinks said they were excellent at every booth. here's the offerings at Mexico: these are the Baja Grilled Shrimp Street Tacos. the shrimp were great, as was the tortilla, but I found the red cabbage way too dry. . I think the fix for that would be to either add more of that Aioli, or toss it in a vinaigrette - or a quick pickle - would have made it better, I think. But it was good. the top are the Chicken Tacos (which I was told were good) and below are the Sopapillas - which I tried one of and were really great. Just sweet enough with the brown sugar & honey, and pillowy soft. this is the Deep Fried Elote - which I was told I must try when I go back (so I will). . it looks great. and below is the Braised Beef taco, which got the comment to "pick off the jalepeno, as they are super spicy" While waiting for some to get Margaritas (with edible flavored straws!), I peeked over a construction fence. what in the world is THIS?? . . .hmmm. . . . we discussed among ourselves, and we think we know exactly what this foundation is for. . but wont' say in public, as we wouldn't want to ruin the park's big 2023 announcement! then it was onward to France! this is the Chocolate Cherries & Cream on the left, and the Caramel Apple on the right. I'm not an apple fan, but was told it was good. The Chocolate Cherry is excellent, but a little bit too sweet for my tastes (tho others with us loved it) the winner of the day for me: the savory Turkey, Mushroom, Spinach and Swiss Crepe. this thing was AMAZING. . .I could have had several more of them. Favorite thing I tasted today, and highly recommended. oh looks. . some of the Countries have entertainment, and some of them have Photo Ops set up. how fun. . I'm in a Seurat painting! (A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte) Seurat, knew a lot, about dots While sitting eating the crepes, we got a lovely view of Steel Eel & Wave Breaker across the lagoon. . look at that Lovely Weather! It got a little warm, but beautiful. (tho by now I was really feeling "off" and knew I wasn't going to be riding anything "extreme" today) Sad that Tidal Surge had very little line, but no way could I chance a ride on it. So I focused on the food, and visiting with friends - which were the main reasons I had come today anyways. onwards to Germany! this is the Beer Braised Bratwurst with Caramelized onions. the Bratwurst itself was very good. The onions simply didnt' have enough to counteract the amount of mustard on this thing, and therefore couldn't really taste them. but the real sad part was the pretzel bun just was not good. . it tasted a bit stale. Top is the Braised Beef Spaetzle, and bottom is the Beer Cheese (without the Onions) the folks who got this said it was "ok" but it doesn't look like a "must try" to me, which is a shame. and this is the Apple Strudel - which I was told was fantastic, and the best offering on the Germany menu (didn't try, as I don't like apples). It's a shame the food isn't as great as I expected, because the German Beirgarten area is fantastic, and was among my favorite "areas" for the festival. Great photo ops we made our way over to Greece next. i was so full. . I knew what I wanted to try here, but my stomach insisted I take a break..LOL So Lamb slider for SURE on my next visit. the Baklava looked SO good. as did that Lamb Slider! and it smelled absolutely wonderful. (the drink behind it is the Sparking St. Tropez cocktail. .that everyone who tried it raved about. Here's the Gyro (also on my to try list. . as was the Shawarma, which no one in our group tried yesterday.. so basically, next time in the park? Greece gets a lot of my punches!) the "entertainment" over here is the living statue. . she was wonderful! and repositioned herself for pictures. . . I love this stuff. I was a bit worn out here, so I rode some Bench: the Ride, while folks went back to Italy (tucked back by Tidal Surge) to sample some deserts (they also offer Flatbreads) so I don't have a picture of that menu, but will get it next time. I really wanted to try the Caramel Chocolate Chip Cannoli, but i was simply too full.. so again, next time! This is the Tiramisu Gelato (told it was very good) and the Frozen Peach Bellini coctail here I am enjoying "bench" and you can kinda see Italy behind me some in the group I was hanging with wanted to go on some rides, since the lines were really light today. . so I found another bench and enjoyed the surroundings. Texas Stingray was a walk on? on a Saturday? and stupid blood pressure.. . I was afraid to ride. most of the group split off with the kiddos to go to the Splash Pad area in Sesame Street. . so I went with Juan and Erika to head to the next booth around the lagoon: Jamaica: Juan got the Curried Chicken Street Patty, and said it wasn't too impressive. I got the Spicy Beef Street Patty, and the Rum Raisin Ice cream. the filling in the spicy beef is incredible. . flavorful and SO good. . but it's severely let down by the bland (and cakey) dough around it. If this had some kind of sauce drizzled over it, I think this would be greatly improved. But as it is, I'd recommend it for the insides only, but otherwise skip. NOT to be missed, however? The Rum Raisin Ice Cream. SO, SO good. The photo op at Jamaica is adorable! I only wish I had a cocktail in my hand instead of Powerade. tho I couldn't do any intense rides, Juan, Erika and I decided to ride Rio Loco. . . I always bring along plastic bags for important stuff to go into on Water rides. . and I put my phone/keys/wallet in that. . but Juan wanted to get a locker. the timing was iffy, as the ride was a walk on. . until a Show let out, and EVERYONE headed here. . luckily Juan got back after only 30 or so folks caused a 5-10 minute wait. Turned out it was worth the effort for him (and Erika's phone too) as the Waterfalls on Rio Loco were on. freezing cold water, dumped directly onto most of the raft - tho I lucked out and only got "moist" For them tho? it was like being directly under a full blast shower. . . so here's the "after" pic To help dry off, we strolled over to Korea to check out the Menu there. the Galbi sounds really good, and is on my list to try. . but the *must get* here is the Black Sesame Ice Cream it's very "peanut butter-y" tasting, with a really pleasant after-taste of nuttiness from the sesame. Recommended. This booth too, has a lovely background for photos. we were SO full. . . but multiple things offered at Japan really had my interest, and I was gonna get something and force it down. in particular, the Tuna Tataki (that's in the pic at the top of the menu) really sounds amazing. And those we saw carrying it? it looks as good as it does in the picture. I'm also a sucker for Gyoza. . . but yeah. . the Japan booth had the longest lines of any we saw all day (it was probably a 15 - 20 minute wait) and as we weren't super hungry anyways? the wait convinced us to keep moving along. Japan is across from Penguin Encounter, and they have some very nice decorations up here. Unfortunately we just missed the Taiko Drummers.. so they are on my list to see next time as well. (we would have hung around and waited, but it was getting close to 4pm by now, and SFFT was calling. .and we still had 2 more booths to stop at!) They even have a Cherry Blossom photo op set up in Japan. lovely. this one is so odd. . . as the rest are all Countries. . but "Hawaii" gets their own Food Stop. Still.. can't argue with the food choices available as pretty much all of it sounded amazing. and I absolutely LOVE that for an extra $5, you can get your cocktail in a Pineapple! Here's the Salmon Poke Bowl, and the Tuna Poke Bowls (from a nice guy who called me "Bro", as in "Sure thing Bro!" when I asked if I could take a picture of his order). . . somewhat appropriate for Hawaii I thought. LOL And the others got the Pina Colada Sorbet. . . which I tried, and must say, it was really impressive. Tart and coconut-y. the Hawaii stop has Totem Poles, lots of thatching. . and, of course, Surfboards. "Bro" as we waddled towards the last booth (actually first booth, we did it backwards by starting at the Mexico booth which is last on the map). . we knew that some of us just had to try the Empanadas. LOL. . Brazil is a food truck. .. but it WORKS! it fits in the area so well.. so Kudos to SWSA for that choice here. This is the Frozen Blackberry Acai and it was also a strong winner. . . tart, and not too sweet, with just the right amount of sour "punch" from the berries. a wonderful palate cleanser. . and I got the Spicy Beef Empanada with Chimichurri sauce flakey, with a wonderful filling. . .it blew the similar presented (but different tasting) street version from Jamaica. SO good, and the Chimichurri was just the perfect amount of spicy/sweet to make a perfect bite every time. I'm eager to try the Chicken & Spinach versions. the Brazil area (where the children's hay maze was for Howl O Scream) is perfectly decorated, with the shady trees wrapped in traditional colors a very "Carnivale!" photo op. . and a show! - that I didn't notice any signage for, but while sitting and eating, they just came out and started performing. Now, were they up to EPCOT level of traditional Brazilian performance? Not necessarily. .but they crooned a good 4-5 songs (including "Girl from Ipanema" and interacted with the guests in the area. . including starting up a dance party for the final song. even coming to join us at our table while singing all in all, it was a fantastic day, even tho I hadn't been feeling 100% (tho the food and hydration helped, and I remained perky for much of it). Highly recommended to check out if you're in San Antonio. . . you'll want to try so many things! in summary: by FAR my favorite 3 of what I tried today (and keep in mind, I didn't try anything from Hawaii, Japan, Italy, or Greece (yet. . was just too full!): 1) Savory Turkey, Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Crepe in France 2) the Beef Empanada from Brazil 3) the Rum Raisin Ice Cream from Jamaica . . .but also good and I'll try again: the Black Sesame Ice Cream from Korea, the Aciai Berry Sorbet at Brazil, the Pina Colada Sorbet from Hawaii, & the Soppapillas in Mexico.

great pics! (*and report) ummmmmm. . . I just NOW noticed that's supposed to be a sword, as I see the "fist" at the bottom of the sign. (I know I have a filthy mind. . but having the fist there makes it somehow even dirtier to me than it looked before!!!)

What Have the Roman Gods Wrought? Some Thoughts on and Photos of Pantheon Sing to me, o muse, of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and its tribute to the majesty of the Roman gods! Swift Mercury of the winged feet! Minerva, whose wisdom and beauty shamed the rosy fingered dawn! Neptune, master of the wine dark sea! Pluto, the sinister lord of the Underworld! And Mighty Jupiter, father of the gods and the most powerful of all! OK, my knowledge of classical poetry is a bit rusty, so I think I'll stick to regular old prose now. Pantheon, Busch Gardens' new multi-launch coaster, opened to the public on Friday, March 25. Well, "officially" opened following a few weekends of previews for Busch Gardens member passholders. I rode it three times during those preview days--front, middle, and back. The verdict: It's a very good ride that's finally brought some nice Intamin ejector air to the Williamsburg park. Here are a few thoughts: For me, the backseat is the best place to ride most coasters, and Pantheon is no exception. The ejector airtime is more pronounced, and when you go backward up that spike (excuse me, "Neptune's Trident"), it's pretty hair raising looking straight down. That being said, the front seat offers a great ride too--especially when it comes to the hangtime through the inversions. The initial launch into an inversion is a great beginning, and the weird outward-banked bit just before the brake run is a good finish. I like the outward-banked turn near over the banks of the Rhine River, too. I wish the Rhine River Cruise was operating, as you can get some good views of Pantheon from down there. The station is rather small for such a big coaster. The queue is a bit odd, too. The ride is susceptible to windy conditions; that is, they'll suspend operations during gusty days until things die down. Although this isn't a "top 10" ride for me, it could find a place in my "top 25." My first ride was in a middle seat during a cold day, and the coaster seemed a bit sluggish. But when I rode it on a warmer day in the back and front seats, I thought, "This is more like it." Let's have a look at Pantheon. This rather threatening sign shows you the way to Pantheon in Festa Italia. Those who would ride Pantheon must get past this imposing iron monster! (Fortunately, that's pretty easy to do.) Here's what you'll be getting yourself into. You can put your bags in the lockers on the left. There is a wire basket on the station for smaller loose objects. I think you can wear glasses on Pantheon as long as you have sport straps for them (they've been getting stricter about glasses on coasters this year.) After you leave the station, Winged Mercury gives you a nice launch through this inversion, which I think has something to do with Minerva. Perhaps Minerva, in her wisdom, is preparing you for what's to come. Come on, Mercury! You can do it!! Oops! Big raspberry from Jupiter, try again. Fortunately, Neptune is there to help with his trident. Jupiter says, "Greetings, mortal fools!" Yep--nice pop of air in the back seat here, as the train just makes it over the hill. Pantheon: Hi, Tempesto! Tempesto: Back at ya, new kid! Here's part of what Pluto has in store for you after your initial plunge. "Nice view . . . aghh! What the hell?" You can get a good view of this element from the bridge between Italy and Germany. It's such a weird (but cool) feeling as you lean toward the river. Tempesto: Hi, Loch Ness Monster. Loch Ness Monster: Best returns of the day to ye, laddie--as long as ye show proper respect to your elders." Verbolten: Ach! don't mind him, Pantheon. Those old Arrow coasters are always grouchy. Congratulations, mortals! Your quest is at an end! And that's a wrap from Pantheon. Get out to Virginia and ride it, lest your cowardice anger the gods! Thanks for reading.

Popped into SFFT yesterday after a day at SWSA for the Seven Seas Food Festival. I'll have way more pics up later. . but damn, does Dr. D's Cliffhanger look INCREDIBLE in person, and they have so much of it done already!

El Toro has now passed state certification. Looking good for this one.

I'm ready for #bigproject2023

Trip report from Seven Seas Food Festival posted in the SWSA thread!

please , no selfie !!!

Maybe once they get their population vaccinated with a slightly more effective vaccine they will open up more.

I saw it too.

I agree with the sad aspect of it, however I'm also thankful for clear video proof of more and more accidents these days (as eye witness accounts can be dramatically different depending on person.) Similar to black boxes on major airlines.

How is this not even close? Genuinely curious. Other attractions, due to fault of restraint design much like this, have had incidents that have killed riders elsewhere that did not cause the closure of the entire park following... SROS at SFDL, SROS at SFNE, Perilous Plunge, New Texas Giant, Drop Zone, etc... The rides close for investigation, the parks do not. I don't see why in this case why it would be any different. Why do you?

I personally don't have a problem with the park opening up, but my tolerance for these sorts of things is higher than most. It's like... what is the industry standard for how long to stay closed "out of respect?" Pace yourself. When it comes to jumping to conclusions, it's not a race.

A Six Flags park sending out a train in 30 seconds This is the same park that had their star attraction (IR) running one train on a Friday during spring break last week. There was a 3-hour line and filled entire empty rows from the singer rider line rather than try to find groups of two from standby. That MCBR is there only to feature a second near vertical drop. Capacity is the last thing on their mind.

I’m 100% with those saying don’t blame the operators. These multi million dollar (deadly if not run properly) machines are literally put in the hands of teenagers and low wage employees. They need to be engineered to not ALLOW unsafe operation. A light on a panel saying restraints are good naturally gives a false sense of security to the operators that everything is 100% safe if the ride wasn’t engineered to contain anyone it could dispatch with. That’s just exactly what’s happened here. You don’t have to be an expert in control systems for this to be obvious, but when you are one it’s even more obvious.

it's a custom design. . so the 2nd half is different than any other Dive Coaster. it's the 1st of it's kind with 7-across seating as well. . .

Looks steeper (and longer) than Yukon Striker’s post-MCBR drop… Not that that’s saying much Impressive considering the smaller stature of the ride in general. Should provide a good pop of air!

Per Park President Jeffrey Siebert's twitter update, the Midcourse drop is now complete! so a big portion of this beast is complete, and only 21 more sections of track to install and they'll have full circuit! can't wait.

Because it's a giant mountain of suck that has actually harmed human beings. We've done worse things to people who have done less to harm the human race. Yes. They're called "People who have never left the state of Ohio." Whoa, whoa, whoa... easy now. You're going to upset WickedTwisterFan07. But if we don't complain all the time about how it should be torn down, how else will Cedar Fair know that they should tear it down?

Yes, pictured here:

A few thoughts here. First, regarding the coaster, who were the design wizards that thought this one up? Seriously. Were they not allowed to watch any skateboarding footage at all? I don't consider myself an extreme sports expert by any means, but I think they missed a golden opportunity with this one. This may only make sense to some of you, but shouldn't the coaster have been dropping in to a massive half pipe off the lift hill? And considering Tony's signature 900 move, wouldn't a huge vertical 90 degree moment, a la Dragon's Fury, have made more sense? Don't get me wrong, I love the thought behind the theming, and this will definitely be a winner for the park, but man, what a missed opportunity to make it really kick arse. Now onto Mr. Hawk. A whore? If so, then every professional athlete and everyone in Hollywood fits that description as well. Heck, I wish my name alone paid my bills. And as someone else eluded to earlier, I can think of much worse "role models" to endorse stuff...*cough* T.O. cough* Barry Bonds *cough* Britney Spears*cough*. Believe me, Tony Hawk should go after every advertising dollar he can. If he and his manager were really smart, he'd start looking into sponsoring pain killer meds. It may seem grand to be Tony Hawk now, but ask him how it feels in 10-20 years. The abuse he's put on that body is gonna start catching up real soon. Scott "I need some of that Tony Hawk cough syrup now" B.

seriously are you retarded? SFFT is most likely the best themed Six Flags park, granted much was USAA/Gaylord and not Six Flags, but Six Flags has actually kept the themeing somewhat superb.

The whole city of Shanghai will be subject to lock-downs with a spike in cases since China is still pushing for zero-corona. It seems Disneyland has been shut since March 21st. I think a lot of Chinese parks are going to be hurting and it's hard to see if China can keep the zero policy going for the long run. Hong Kong has been quarantining and hospitalizing everyone and those parks will have been closed for 4 months if they are even actually allowed to reopen.

This story just shows the worst aspect of social media. I can't even imagine being those parents and family/friends and knowing that so many people watched a video of your loved one dying.

Yeah, go ahead and try to sneak one past them. Get your bell rung by cold steel at 70mph. Have a blast! I'm sure ICON Park would be ok with this plan, why not Busch?