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I ended up taking tndank's advice, and although I wasn't able to get the passholder rate at Cabana Bay, it did end up saving me about $500 off my previous lowest attempt. I took a look at all the different deluxe hotels and sure enough, Portofino Bay was the cheapest with that passholder rate discount. The others didn't have it available for the dates I was looking at. In any case, the trip has been booked! Thanks again everyone for your help, and looking forward to finally getting back to Universal next month and getting our first rides on their elite coasters. Robb's recent video has definitely amped up my excitement.

If you're not doing waterparks then you can absolutely do Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World in 1 day. Just be aware that if you do Holiday World first you will lose an hour because of the time zones. I also wouldn't spend equal time at both parks. I would spend an extra hour or two at Holiday World.

to add. . DON'T give in and just get FL. . you want FL+, as that's the one that will give you access to Orion, Mystic Timbers, Flight of Fear, and Beast (and the Antique Taxis, which are beautiful, if not very exciting. . tho they do run right next to Racer, and offer some great photo ops). Can't advise on HW or KK in same day, as never been to those parks (my 1st visit will be in 2 weeks). . . tho we are planning a full day at HW on the way to KI - and have been told DO NOT MISS the 4 water coasters in the waterpark area. and then only 1/2 day at KK on the way back from KI.

Kings Island without FL+ is a HUGE mistake. Just sayin. Pinch pennies, and buy it for whatever day you go. . .w/ FL+ it really won't matter if it's Sat or Sun. . .as many have also said, FL+ at KI is magic: it's on 90% of the rides (coasters/flats), and almost 95% of them drop you directly in the station from FL+ line. as I've said in the TPR FB page when someone asked about KI, I'm going in 2 weeks for Coasterstock - with *tons* of ERT both days. .and we STILL bought FL+ for that Sat to use during the day between ERT sessions.

BuT ThEy ShOuLd BuILd A nEw RoLLiE CoAsTiE!!!.!.!! ItS WhAt tHe ThOoSiEs WaNt!!,,!!

I can’t even make sense of what this argument is about, but everyone really needs to chill out.

The waterpark really shouldn’t be the priority. The park hasn’t received a new coaster since Renegade in 2007 and the last waterpark expansion was in 2015. So why would they do another waterpark expansion before giving this park a new coaster that they so desperately need (especially if the expansion means removing Excalibur)?

is this guy serious

My brother and I made our first visit of the 2022 season to Canada's Wonderland on April 30th, which was Opening Day. Below are some photos of the new facilities that have been built over the off-season, as well as the new large dining facility that is still well under construction, and some other changes around the park. Here is a look at the new dining facility under construction. It will be themed to a mountain lodge and will be able to seat many people when it opens. Here's a side view of the new dining facility. It looks to be massive from the ground and above! Nearby the new dining facility behind Wonder Mountain a new Coca-Cola Refresh station was constructed during the off-season. It is tucked away off the path and looks like it has always been there despite being brand new. In order to make room for the new dining facility behind Wonder Mountain, the Mountainside Bakery (formerly Cookie Café prior to 2016) was demolished. Instead of removing it completely, the park constructed a new building across the path which will be home to the new Cookie Café. Across the Windseeker in Action Zone, a new structure was built across from Windseeker. It replaced an older structure which was home to Fast Lane sales. I believe this new structure will serve the same purpose and possibly more! For the 2022 season, Dairy Queen is no longer at the park. The locations have been replaced with park-ran ice cream shops serving soft-serve ice cream and sundaes. Pictured above is the Swiss Dip shop on International Street. Below is Arthur's Sundaes & Cones in Medieval Faire. Also new this season, The International Marketplace Buffet in Medieval Faire has been retransformed to the All's Well Hall, which it was known as in the 1980s. I love seeing the park continuing to revert rides, attractions, and facilities to their original names over the past few years! Also, the Tim Horton's location in Kidzville has been replaced with Tree Top Café. It will now serve Starbucks. More photos from opening day can be found on my blog, Amusement Views.

Hey everyone! I went to Six Flags Great Adventure yesterday, and on the way home I went to Coney Island on whim to check out the progress on the new rides. Also, I snagged credits for Phoenix & SkyFlyer at Deno's. The roller coaster (Tony's Express) is mostly done and the log flume (Leti's Treasure) still needs plenty of work. The pieces that still need to be installed are sitting right next to it, next to a bunch of construction equipment. Here are some photos I took:

I just got back from an Orlando/Tampa trip and was able to ride Iron Gwazi. It was a fantastic ride, but it unfortunately did not live up to the hype for me. I rode Velocicoaster earlier in the week, and I much preferred it; it really shows how far theming can go to make an experience complete! Comparing to other RMCs, I put it behind Steel Vengeance and Twisted Timbers. Interestingly, I really enjoy the second half of SV that brutally nails you with a bunch of airtime hills that was described above. Because of the length of SV, it also feels like more of a dramatic experience. Even though IG has incredible pacing until the end of the ride, it feels as though it runs out of elements during the second half. The first drop, sideways airtime hill, barrel roll of death (way more crazy than I expected) and wave turn are incredible. After that, the stall and twisty bits just don't match up. It is kind of the opposite of Velocicoaster, which ramps up from beginning to end.

I think it's going off discussion but i'll try and put a cap on this since Osaka is only a 90 minute flight we've been checking in quite often: The country is very likely to be opening up in the late summer or fall months but it's pointless debating until there's some kind of official announcement. In terms of this discussion about closed vs not closed, yes tourists still can't go in. Bert is also right that you can go for business through his work. HOWEVER, you need a sponsor and Japan as a culture are pretty respectful of rules. If you've gone on a business visa and someone be it a person or company have put their name and reputation out there by sponsoring you, you're expected to try and be a part of the corona fight by limiting what you are doing to business. I'm sure you could do a trip to TDL while there but your sponsor might not be too impressed.

I don't really understand the point of posts like this. In this specific instance we are talking about realistic things this park could use like kiddie rides, but even if not and it was about a hyper or something, so what? Are we supposed to not discuss this kind of stuff on a theme park message board in a thread dedicated to this actual park? Anyways, in an effort to provide content, yeah, a legit kiddie coaster would be nice. Mine Train is a good kids/family coaster as is Pandemonium, but the height requirement for both is the same as Screamin' Eagle. Bumper Cars, a tilt a whirl, some other mid range carnival style flats would go a long way for the family demographic. As-is right now, you have either the big thrill rides or the baby rides, not much in between save for the Scrambler and Log Flume.

Life gets in the way so took me over a week. .but here's my TR from Fiesta Fest at SFFT on 4/9/22 FiestaFest is an event put on by American Coaster Enthusiasts, but ACE also invited those in the Thrill Seekers United (Texas based group) to participate as well if they wanted to. SFFT goes all out for events like this, and I try to attend when I can- and it's great to see all my friends from TSU (and ACE as well). here are LOTS of pics: best thing about these events, is that the check in is usually well before the park opens. . so even tho there were other events going on today (a cheer competition, and a car show in the parking lot). . still ended up with really up close parking. right next to the Valet parking (which - shocking to me- some people later in the day DID use, at $70 a spot!). Guess that's why Six Flags is doing that now. Got checked in and met up with my friend Sean (a local Austinite whom I often drive up to San Antonio for TSU events with) once we were all checked in (think the total count was ~125 people if not mistaken), we were brought into the park, and past rope drop area where Jorge gave us a welcoming to Fiesta Fest, and explained the agenda for the day (and how our badges would act as Flash Pass - yay!! that was super unexpected, and super appreciated!). .and then they brought our group back to Wonder Woman where tho we didn't have ERT, we did have 1st rides of the day on it before the park officially opened. Here's Jeff (not Jeffrey Siebert, who'd we see later, but the other Jeff in Promotions), who also "managed' our group today, and was telling us about the up close tour we'd be getting of Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger Coaster in about an hour. . they had just finished putting in the last piece of track the day before and it was now a full circuit! skipping past Wondy rides, and the other assorted stuff to about an hour later, and here's Jorge leading us back into the construction area, and giving us the stats and directions about being careful where we step and where we could and could not go. the construction guys were working on the lift hill, and stopped to wave hello to us. yeah. .we were gonna get really close! see? either a paint test for the Patina. . . or Dr. Diabolical has already started her experiments on unsuspecting workers! the transfer bay to work on the coasters, and the work that had already started on the Station (all that wood, and foundation work on the right) this is truly looking impressive as hell in person! and it just LOOMS over the biggest outdoor stage at the park. the great lawn, where we'd be later to watch the 30th Fireworks/cliff show. YEAH!!!! since the Train is not operating right now during construction, we were able to walk along the track to get some unique views of the new coaster LOVE this rare picture. . and have to thank Chris from SFFT for taking this pic of me. really love it. but here's the main reason we went up the tracks. . to see the Golden Bolt - the last piece input to complete the circuit. This will be visible from the Queue line if you know where to look for it. . . really cool. Unique views from the train tracks: after the tour, we were free to enjoy the park until 5 pm, when it was time for a performance of Rockin at Rockville High - one of the classic shows the park has brought back for it's 30th Anniversary. even tho we had ERT on it after park close, we also had Flash Pass, so we headed right over to Iron Rattler. I really like how they have added Single Rider lines, in addition to Flash Pass lines to several of the Big coasters now. then we tempted fate and got in line for DareDevil Dive. I've actually only once before gotten in line ,and ridden it without having to wait out a shutdown and maintenance having to come reset. but the universe was on our side today, and we not only - using Flash Pass - got up to the station pretty quickly, but we actually got on it and got a ride with no breakdown! since we hadn't really eaten yet today (tho I think that there were perhaps cookies handed out in the morning. . can't recall. . LOL). . but it turned out that SFFT is doing a 30th Anniversary Food festival too, and added bonus to our event were some food/drink coupons to the special booths (most of the food is also avail as a "snack" on meal plan, so I recommend trying them out. Of course, I headed here - and ended up convincing everyone I was hanging with to try the Armadillo Egg. . OMG . .it was so good. nearby at the Pour Haus festival pop up, I got the 30th. . . wow, this thing is kinda scary, in that it tastes like a wonderful fruit punch. . .but man does it sneak up on you! Recommended and of course, we can't go into Sangerfest Halle without stopping to grab a pic with Sweet Connie. I love the renovations in here, and I'm not sure that Jeffrey Siebert really knows just how much I appreciate that they "saved" Sweet Connie when they re-did everything. Yes, I've told him multiple times how much I appreciate it, but not sure he "gets" how wonderful I think it is that she exists in this park. She's an ICON. .LOL me, Paige, Conne, Sean, and Juan (my "hang out crew" for most of the day) it had gotten hot, and the water rides were pulling huge lines . . so we took advantage of the Flash Pass to ride both Gully Washer (the waterfall was on, and we got soaked. . so no pics, because phone was put away), and also Bug's Whitewater Rapids. . . I did not feel guilty at ALL bypassing this massive hour + line. Sam and Dragon at the Flash Pass entrance! Sean didn't want to get wet, so he took this pic of us as we left the station: and yes, we got a bit wet - much of it from that darn spitting dragon, that TRACKS the log, and gets everyone soaked! around this time, I left the park for 30 minutes to run across the freeway and check into my hotel (had to do it in person to make sure everything went smoothly since i had a free night I was using to make up for a major S#!tshow the last time i stayed there). . worked out well, and had a nice stay this time. Soon enough was back in the park. . and stumbled across a Sylvester and Tweety photo op. Yes please! since all we'd eaten was that Armadillo Egg, and was feeling the 2nd drink.. we headed into the Sangerfest Halle to grab a light lunch as we knew we had dinner at 7. the area is looking so nice. . hard to believe it's a Six Flags, but SFFT really is a jewel in the chain. my "snack" - Brisket stuffed Baked Potato. Yum and the entertainment is back in the Halle too! German themed band. .but for the life of me, I dunno why they played "Sweet Caroline". . tho we all sang along to the "BA DUMP BUM BUM" parts. we can't be in Sangerfest and not ride the Carousel right next door tho. unfortunately, they were running it with no music, and when I queried why no music? I was told that it had broken (I responded "what? they just refurbed this within the past couple of years!". . . so we sang "Sweet Caroline" while riding and here's the infamous pic that my Spouse thought looked like an Orgasm . . . . LOL we headed to the Boardwalk next - letting the food settle - and took a spin on Pirates (where my glow in the dark boots really live up to the promise) I do not like Disk-O's. . so I rode "bench" while Sean, Juan, and Paige rode Hurricane Force 5 after it was time for our special seating at Rockville High. the show was great, and even tho they have made some changes to it? well worth seeing (and bonus: indoors/air conditioned, with cushioned benches!). the whole cast is great, and all the female leads have really strong and great voices. after the show, everyone there for Fiesta Fest got to go up on the stage, and they took a group picture of us. (pic from ACE) The show is not as long as it used to be, but it's still a good 30 minute show. . so after it was over, we made our way over to the Picnic Grove for dinner. oh, before the show, we had seen Park President Jeffrey Siebert and said hello to him. When he asked how my day had been, I mentioned my surprise that the Carousel music had broken already and wasn't working anymore. He made a confused face and got on his radio immediately, and made a call. And as we passed the Carousel on the way to the Picnic Grove? yeah, the Carousel music was playing loud and clear. That's why he's such a great Park President. this is me "not too hungry". .but I had a really decent Pulled Pork Sandwich, a spicy hot link (so good!), and potato salad. after some speeches and door prizes were handed out, we were interrupted by Dr. Diabolical's assistant who crashed our dinner, to announce that we didn't NEED the Doctor. She was able to create the anti-aging formula on her own, and if we followed her she'd perform the procedure on us. who could say no to that sweet face? she led us back to the lab, and as she was getting ready to bring us in? Uh oh. . .she looks pissed. but since we were at the lab already, and had shown her respect? why not? after this wonderful train reveal, we headed back into the park for another hour or so until it was time for the evening fireworks. this park looks so good at night, and in particular the new paint on Poltergeist looks so great at night. the skyline forever changed (from the Poltergeist porch) ooo.. we got reserved seating for the fireworks/cliff show. with chairs even! I've not ever actually seen the fireworks here, as they take place so late, and I always have to drive back to Austin. But since was staying across the street this time and was closing out the park? I was excited to see them. really impressive the projections, lasers, and animation they show on the cliffside wall - they turn off the waterfalls for this. dancing fountains and FIRE !!!! a great fireworks show. .with some gigantic fireworks.. some of the biggest I've seen. and so close to us. and then it was time for Iron Rattler ERT. (but on the way over, Jeff, Jorge, & Chris brought out a mobile Ice Cream cart and handed out frozen Snickers, Twix, and all kinds of ice cream treats for us to enjoy, while the park finished draining the general line (~20 minutes). most of the FiestaFest folks stayed for at least the 1st ride on Iron Rattler. . but even then, not too much of a wait: but by 20 minutes in, the ERT crowd dropped to only ~30 people.. so got multiple night rides on Iron Rattler. including the front row (which I rarely do, since this is a back row coaster, and front row always has longest line anyways). But too fun. soon enough tho..it was time to call it a night, as I was exhausted (having been up since 6am to leave Austin. . and it was closing in on 11). and I had to be at SeaWorld San Antonio at 9am the next morning for Great White's Birthday. so we slowly made our way towards the front gate - taking the opportunity to snap a pic with the 30th Anniversary statue in the front plaza (rare to get without so many people around). the back side of it: all in all, a fantastic day at a fantastic park. (and we rode a lot more that I didn't take pics of. . but we got a lot of riding in and enjoyed the event). hope you liked the pics shared.

A Copperhead Strike-like coaster with airtime and a few inversions would look good there down the road. Well that's one less iconic "clackety-clack" Arrow in existence, but I admit that my rides on Vortex were brutal. Once in a while I can find a seat that's not so bad on those old Arrows, but I had no such luck with Vortex. Some of these bigger parks have been doing a purge and/or retool of their lineups in recent years, and I don't altogether mind it. It's sad to see classic-ish coasters go, but if the goal is for riders to have fun while these coasters cost money and cause pain, I'm not against replacing them.