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Every roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach:

SWO teasing track! Surf coaster...???

I was there yesterday, single rider - no, quick pass - yes! Visited for the first time since 2018 and I highly recommend staying at Charles Lindbergh, it was absolutely amazing. And I loved Fly, really fun, long layout with good airtime. And the new loading system is genius, and they can operate 3 trains with no stacking at all!

So this past Sunday, I made it back to SeaWorld San Antonio to help celebrate the 25th Birthday of the Great White roller coaster - and to try out the Seven Seas Food Festival booths I missed out on the last time. Ray Gonzales (who's a member right here on the TPR forums, in addition to being one of the Marketing Guys for SWSA), Chuck and all the SW folks did a *fantastic* job, turning this into an event by inviting anyone with ACE or Thrill Seekers United (a Texas based group on FB) to sign up for the "party" and it included early entry into the park with ERT on both Tidal Surge and Texas Stingray for an hour before heading up to Great White for the Birthday Party as well as some ERT for 30 minutes as the park opened to the General Public. here I am with some friends from TSU & ACE arriving at SeaWorld and sending a pic home to my Spouse to let him know I arrived. to explain the pic - the day before I had sent home a picture of myself on the Carousel at SFFT, and had caught my friend Paige on the horse next to me in the pic. my Spouse replied almost immediately, "LOL that woman next to you looks like she's having an orgasm" of course, I showed the text to Paige, and to several friends and we laughed hysterically at it. (hey, give him a break, he's an older gay man - he has no idea what a woman's orgasm looks like!). So when I sent home the below pic, of COURSE the text said: "Just here at SWSA having Orgasms" (ain't I a stinker ? :P) Soon enough we were in the gates, and being walked back to Tidal Surge & Texas Stingray for morning ERT. ooo. . Tidal Surge now has a *gorgeous* sign up out front. and it's running brilliantly. I highly recommend the seats facing outwards towards the lagoon for your 1st ride. after a couple of rides, I made my way over to Texas Stingray - stopping to admire the Turtles 1st. TSU members "the Quirky Coaster Couple" had made Birthday Hats fro Great White, and several of us wore them. here's Erica, Ray G. and Myself, in our party hats, after a ride on Texas Stingray. after ERT was done, we headed over to Great White as a group, and Ray gave a short speech about the Birthday. I did not know that Great White was the FIRST Rollercoaster ever built at a SeaWorld park! So not only was it 25 years old on Sunday, but it's the Granddaddy of all the SW coasters! Unlike a regular Birthday party, the attendees got gifts today! cookies, and a nice "Tidal Surge" shoulder bag! and they announced the 1/2 hour ERT on the coaster for those attending. . . so that was a lovely surprise! the front entrance of this coaster is so impressive. here's Ray G posing with some of the party attendees. once our morning Birthday Party was over, attendees all split up and headed into the park. We headed over to Wave Breaker to grab a walk on ride (before the crowds made it back to this side of the park), while Amy from TSU killed time waiting until the Seven Seas Food Festival started selling alcohol (since it's Texas on Sunday). here's Me, Erika, Juan, and Amy and then it hit the "magic" hour of 11:30 am, and the Seven Seas Food Booths started serving. . . and so with my 12 remaining punches, we started off to hit the booths I had missed the other week. 1st up? Japan: the Tuna Tataki not only looked very similar to the picture advertising it? but was really fantastic! Absolutely a must get, at the festival. the Gyoza were crisp, with a refreshingly tangy Ginger dipping sauce. either they were out of the slaw, or the just got made incorrectly, but everyone at our table who got the Gyoza got the little salad, instead of the advertised slaw. while they weren't the "best Gyoza I've ever had" (those would be in Japan), they were very good. these are the sticky ribs a friend got, and tho she said the meat was tender, they didn't have a whole lot of flavor. So not a bad choice at the Japan booth, but I think there are better options. the Green Tea Ice Cream, with Pocky sticks, was really good too. So another suggestion to try here. This time, we had timed it well and got to watch the Taiko Drummers. what a fun, and entertaining, performance. after finishing up at Japan, we headed towards Greece & Italy. . stopping along the way for a photo op I hadn't noticed the other day: hey, what can I say. . mentally, I've a 14 year old ! and can't pass up a chance to "pose with/ touch the balls" at Korea either! and then we were at Greece, and my tummy was screaming "feed me!!!" the Gyro (without the tomato at my request) - had a fantastic Tzatziki sauce, and some super tender and flavorful lamb and beef. . . with the only letdown being a very gummy and undercooked pita (which I left, but ate all the rest of it) the Lamb Slider is the home run at this booth! Incredibly flavorful with just the perfect amount of spice in the Feta spread. And a super soft roll. Amazing, and highly recommended. the Shawarma looked really good, but any part of it that didn't have that fantastic sauce on it ate very dry, unfortunately. It's good, but I'd suggest asking for more of the sauce, as that's what makes this eat much better. but pleasantly the Naan bread was fantastic on this, and I loved every bite of that. the Greek Yogurt Ice Cream is interesting. the flavor is a very pleasant Honey. . but the consistency is a little odd - it was kinda like eating taffy? But I liked it. Right next door to Greece is Italy. the Flatbreads here are very popular, and because they make them fresh? the line is very slow moving. Even a short line can take up to 25 minutes. .and the kids / teenagers all seemed to flock to this booth. Just a warning, this might have the longest line at the Festival. this is the Chicken Margherita flatbread with a Blood Peach Bellini on the left & and Frozen Espresso Martini on the right. was told the Flatbread was delicious, and between the two drinks? everyone preferred the Bellini, but said the Expresso was ok. this is the Chocolate Chip Cannoli. . . which had *just* the right amount of tartness, and exactly as much sweetness as I wanted. this one might be my favorite "desert" I tried. .or perhaps 2nd to the incredible Rum Raisin Ice Cream at Jamaica or the Black Sesame Ice Cream in Korea - tho folks also raved about the Apple Strudel in Germany & the Pina Colada Ice cream in Hawaii) ooo.. another photo op back here? with Tidal Surge in the background? yes please! We then headed over to Mexico so some of my friends could try out the Margarita there. . . and planned to loop back around to go see the Penguins (a must do!). but we passed Ray Gonzales walking around the park with some of the ACE group (that had helped organize the ERT earlier), and we thanked him/them for such a great day! they asked if we had ridden all the coasters (and we actually had, other than Steel Eel - which I was gonna pass on today, as my back was a bit sore from so much riding yesterday at SFFT, and I didn't want the airtime drops to mess it up). .and he was surprised that we hadn't ridden Grover's Soapbox coaster. now. . I don't do Kiddie coasters. Like ever - tho I did ride Wilderness Run one year at Coastermania, strictly because it's the 1st Intamin. But Ray insisted I should give it a ride, because SWSA is one of the few parks where they don't discourage adults from riding it (and to be fair, there are a few rides in Sesame Street Bay of Play that are perfectly suitable for adults too). So I agreed - at his perseverance - to at least give it a look. Once i saw this car was available tho? yeah..I gave in and credit whored for the kiddie coaster! LOL ^as to those restraints? OH MY !!! and I thought "the green meanie" over on Tidal Surge made it so one had to be really careful getting into the seats! we also rode the Carousel while over here - but after all that food? yeah, the seatbelt wouldn't click for me today! HA!. . so I stood up to ride the carousel today Juan & Erica wanted to ride this "spin and puke" ride. . I rode "bench" while they rode this - again, this is in the Sesame Street Area! but just look at that face on the young lady behind them! BWAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAAA (and the best part is how oblivious to her Juan & Erika are to her!) and because I like being proven correct? Juan got off this feeling a bit nauseous - but at least we got him on Tidal Surge once he'd had some liquid courage. He REALLY didnt' want to do it, and I thought he'd leave the line a couple of times while we waited for the prior cycle to finish. but he rode it and loved it! as we were headed to Brazil to finish off the day with 4 clicks - I had a tupperware in my bag, so I could take Empanadas home (!). . we saw that Big Bird and Tally Monster were out! you bet I got in line for that . . . tho Big Bird was acting very strange, doing an odd "stare" thing at me. . so yeah, a bit awkward in the pics, but makes me love them even more! and then it was just after 4pm, and it had been a very long weekend (and a great day at SWSA). . so I packed up my Empanadas, and hit the road. Seven Seas is a GREAT food festival, and well worth a visit to SWSA just for that. . . but so is Tidal Surge, Texas Stingray, Great White, and Penguins! more reasons to visit the park. And yes, the Empanadas were fantastic for lunch on Monday with an incredible chimichurri sauce!

Future EPCOT Showcase "Country RUMOR": Columbia ~ with an ENCANTO attraction "at the end" of it's layout..... Hmmm? Works for me!

Right now it's hard to say. They were going to open Pirates sometime in April, but I'm not sure if that's still possible. I'll see what I can find out this Saturday when I visit the park.

^ Another series that bears mentioning, is The Neighbors, which is basically about a non-alien family. moving into a total Alien cul-de-sac, that has famiies including the Grand Leader and his family right next door to the ... ..... other neighbors. Ran for two years. Awesome stuff. Available Season #1 online, but #2 might not be available. Which is a silly shame since they DO have Season #1 out,right, I mean RIGHT!??? <anyway> it's another keeper I'd advise to look for. What you can buy, out there. "Balle Balle" One of the most entertaining episodes of this series. It - Was - Surreal!!! All great!

Great POV views, Robb! Unfortunately, a couple of the newer ones I haven't ridden (yet) but old faves (or not) I do remember, with smiles. Thanks for putting this BPB coaster montage together. It's really great! EDIT To Ask: Robb, was the indoor coaster that was Alien-based, ever gutted out of it's bldg? I remember being one of the lucky ones on the 2006 UK Tour, and several of us were "right there" in front of it, when it was open and running. Then some time later, it was shut down, and never re-opened for the day. <sad-for-no-reride>

Every roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach:

This shows where they will put the hotel. The Archway in the middle of the hotel will go over the main straight and will effectively be the entrance to the park after the main entrance. The artwork above shows the hotel form the deck of the theater and shows the back of the main entrance. Hope this gives a idea how and where the hotel will come.

Id like to see a replacement wheel as well, with a good lighting package. Always looked great at night walking around/out of the park or to the campground.

Some impressions from this weekend’s park opening - the park looks better than ever. Pictures taken from: https://www.rideonblog.com/vor-ort/phantasialand/2022/phantasialand-saisonstart-2022

I wasn't going to go anywhere near these rides even before the accident. Neither one interested me.

It's not a "park" the way they're talking about it on the news. Icon Park is just an outdoor area of I-Drive that has a ton of restaurants and shops NOT ASSOCIATED IN ANYWAY with the Slingshot Group/Funtime/Free fall accident. We eat at the Carrabbas, Outback, Shake Shack, and Yard House there all the time.

Another thought came to mind today... we've seen videos of people passing out on Sling Shots. With how easy he slid out and the way he looked as he fell, I wonder if he passed out on the way down before the brakes. To be clear, im not saying this would be the primary reason for him falling, but a contributing factor.

Didn't a worker fall off a starflyer here like last year? Fuck this place, how insensitive do you have to be to reopen like 12 hours after your ride killed somebody.

I am appalled that Slingshot group / Icon were open and running the other attractions yesterday. I'll never set foot on their properties my lifetime.

Yea if the ride didn't tilt this would not have happened. He just would have had a harrowing ride. Funtime is 100% responsible with the operators only being responsible if they didn't follow protocol. The park is the one who will pay the 2nd biggest price (after the victim of course).

ICON Park was looking for a record holder and didn't want to spend a lot of money here we are. Funtime wanted to make a record holder but didn't want to spend money designing testing seats/restraints so here we are. This is the exact reason why parks do not mind paying top dollar for a Bolliger and Mabillard. The cost of one mistake is literally worth the millions. I recall Mack showing off their new restraints (now old because it's on many of their rides) and they clearly spent a lot of time researching it and ensuring it would be safe and comfortable. I knew when they came out with that restraint design that their sales would spike. I think it was at an IAAPA expo but can't find a clip. This change in restraints and intro of a hyper model literally made Mack an Intamin/B&M alternative when it used to be a Zeirer alternative. Gerstlauer needs to stop letting 3rd parties use their technology. It's ruining their reputation. I noticed these are the same restraints as TMNT etc. The guy riding FF appears to have the restraint just as high as the victim on Icon Park's tower. Again such a tragedy and so sad he was from out of town.

^Exactly. ^^Yeah, they know that, they're just showing that due to the tilt PLUS the forces on the brakes is why he slipped out.

^ You get a vest, you get a vest, YOU get a vest, EVERYONE GETS VESTS!

It's a horrifying and terrible accident. Clearly the restraint and body shape of the boy did not work. A seatbelt might have helped but we have seen this exact accident before. I'm sure we'll see FunTime add seatbelts to all of their towers now but we also have to be careful with OTSR's positioning.

This honestly has to be one of the most overly-complicated ways to get people to go downhill.

So... what were we supposed to get excited about this season? All I read was better chicken strips and some sprucing up of front gates. Nothing seems to be near term. I'm glad they recognize Six Flags Saint Louis has enough thrills. We've been spoiled ever since Boomerang.

^^ Ten bucks to ride Thunderbolt? You would be better off just walking in the city and having a hobo kick you in the nuts for free.

Funeral for the young man is happening today in St. Louis, it's been a major story on the local news. They are having the service at St. Louis University which is run by the Jesuits. I'm kind of assuming this was arranged as a donation through catholic charities, I know Cardinal Ritter, an elite private catholic high school here, was courting him for a possible football scholarship. He was from East St. Louis which is one of the poorest/roughest neighborhoods in the St. Louis area and his success at football would have been his way out.

Oh STFU