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Holiday World, July 1st. I made the drive out to Holiday World in the morning, taking advantage of the time zone change to get an extra hour of sleep, and arrived before opening. I always love to see parks with their own water towers. Fast scanners again. Seriously, Cedar Fair...let's go. A nice classic entrance facility. With nothing operating for about another 30 minutes, ducked into the waterpark to stow my aquatic gear, and took pictures of the areas I could access: Even without his famous coat, Santa must get really warm in that velvet suit in these temperatures. I could tell already that this place wouldn't have the same shade issue as Kentucky Kingdom. A great theme for their drive'em cars. Amusingly, I did not spontaneously burst into flames while taking this picture. A nice little kiddie ride section, each ride with a nice Christmas theme. Though I don't quite understand how seahorses work into the Christmas mythos... I see you....I'll be back later! Once the park opened, I started making my way towards the back of the park as per recommendations I received here (Thanks everyone!), for my first top: Voyage. I love when parks put 3D logos on the fronts of coaster trains. Nerd shot. That is a tall lift... 14 minute wait for the front row. WOW! That was insane. Awesome, awesome ride. A little rattle-y, not gonna lie it gave me a little headache, but it has everything you could want in a wooden coaster: Speed, airtime, laterals, positive Gs...you name it, it has it. 11/10. On a brief side note, this is the first park I've ever encountered where the ride ops actually encourage guests to hand them their loose articles rather than have them cross the train and put them in the bins. I continued my way up towards Thunderbird, taking some more pictures as I went... A great theme for a Tilt-a-Whirl. I did not ride the turkey-shooting dark ride. All that remains of Pilgrim's Plunge. Uh...so about that shade? This part needs it the most! No, this doesn't cut it! What's with these Zamperla Starflyer-clones being so prolific in this part of the country? Finally, after the long long hike uphill in the direct sunlight, I made my way to Thunderbird. 15 minute wait for the front row, left wing. Great ride. This was my first ever launched B&M, and I don't know why they don't make more. The keyhole element was incredible and I greyed out a little bit at the top of the vertical loop. 9/10. And of course, gotta grab a picture of the first hill on Voyage through the trees. At this point, I made my way into the water park and stowed my phone, so obviously no pictures. The first stop here were of course the three water coasters. Reasonable waits for all of them, and all were very very good. I had never experience true airtime on a water coaster, and wow they blew my mind. I loved the dividers in the giant tubes on Mammoth. These should be standard on every ride that uses these large tubes. Otherwise, the water park is very expansive and has a ton of slides and splash-around areas, though I wish there were more single-person-tube slides as opposed to the big-family-tube type that proliferate at this park. I get it, adults without families are not the target demographic for this park, so it's definitely a me-only problem. The lazy river is quite long but doesn't really have a lot of elements in it, and is quite shallow (only like 2.5 feet deep), making it a little odd for riding it in the body-through-the-tube fashion that I prefer. That said, I did like the U-shaped "lounger tubes" that were offered that allowed one to be mostly submerged while in a sitting position...these should be standard on lazy rivers. I left the water park at around 2:15 and made my way into Halloween. I absolutely loved this theme on the Wave Swinger. Unfortunately, Legend was closed on my first pass, with a train stuck halfway into the station, but I would get on it later. Only the second non-lighted scrambler I've ever seen. I was surprised that they still had a diving show; these are long-gone history at most parks. Anyway, I made my way up to the next coaster, Raven. Awesome little thematic details on the walls in the station. And once again, a 3D logo on the front of the train. And some nice graphics on the sides. Why more parks don't do this, I'll never understand. Two-train wait for the front row. HOLY. SHIT. This ride was absolutely insane. I was out of my seat for the entire first turn after the drop, getting some nutty laterals+airtime. It held great speed through the woods, and provided great laterals and airtime throughout. It honestly reminded me a lot of Beast. 11/10. As Legend was still closed, I made my way back up through 4th of July to the kiddie area, grabbing a "few" more pictures along the way. Great theme on the bumper cars. Great theme on the Calypso. Not really sure if you want to advertise eating something "dog" named when your park's mascot is a dog LOL. Nice little song and dance show. Man it must be brutal in that costume (it was like 92 degrees ambient on this day). I was honestly surprised to see one of these kid's climbing things in such a major park, but I guess they are independently owned after all. Grabbed a ride on Howler, their kiddie coaster (no wait), and made my way back in to the main part of the park. Another show venue. This stupid little kiddie flume that has zero verticality...I love it. I stopped in to the merry marketplace for some food. The mac & cheese was pretty good, but the breadsticks were super dry and hard. Finally, I made my way to Legend, which was now operating! Three-train wait for the front row. Absolutely insane laterals here. There's a double helix, that's basically taken with no banking and at a pretty good speed. This ride is all about the lateral forces, and I love it for it. 10/10. Exhausted from the heat and with a mild headache from the not-perfectly-smooth wooden coasters, I decided to call it a day around 4:00. All in all, I really enjoyed Holiday World, and anyone who thinks Kentucky Kingdom is objectively the better park is out of their mind. Boo hoo, there's no alcohol...what are we, back in college? Oh, and the free drinks was awesome and every park should do this. Next up is an unplanned bonus visit to the Columbus Zoo!

I guess I should probably finish this report sometime within a month after it happened, right? Kentucky Kingdom, June 30th. This was my first time ever at this park...and boy was it...underwhelming? That's a big flag. At least the entrance is nice. And they use the fast-scanners too. Come on CF, get on the ball with these. My first time ever seeing a Huss Breakdance that wasn't themed to something. First up here was Lightning Run. Two train wait for the front row. This was kinda insane. Definitely a fan of the Hyper GT-X model and will join everyone else in echoing "Why aren't there more of these?" A few of the transitions were a bit abrupt, but yeah this was awesome. 9/10. Also, did RMC have something do with the restraint design? It's almost identical to theirs. Same Ferris Wheel model as at Morey's, except without the suicide-prevention cages. Next up was Kentucky Flyer. One train wait for the back row. A very fun ride...I was expecting something like Wooden Warrior at Quassy, but was pleasantly surprised by the solid airtime. Still not sure how I feel about the Timberliner trains though, and it could be longer. 8/10. That is one tall water slide...reminded me of the massive speed slides that used to be at Action Park, NJ. I had to do it to make Thunder Run my #250th at my fellow TPRers recommendation, plus I'm never one to turn down a credit, so yeah...next up was T3. This sign speaks the truth: 22 minute wait for the front row. So what did I think that is widely regarded as one of the worst coasters on the planet? Not too bad. I don't know what everyone complains about. It's no Great Nor'Easter, sure, but it's far from the worst SLC I've ever been on. Yeah, the restraints got a little tight by the end, but nowhere near bad as SkyRush. You've just gotta follow the instructions and brace against the restraint by pushing against them with your hands while you're riding. It's also incredibly photogenic on the exit path, but I didn't feel like standing around for 10 minutes for them to send another train. Still, it is a janky SLC, so...3/10? Moving along, we come to Storm Chaser. One train wait for the back row. This is a top tier RMC, right behind Twisted Timbers in my book. It has everything I love about RMCs...wild airtime, funky turns, and those super-quick inversions. It was a little rough, but I blame that on the 1st generation RMC trains with the single axles. I deeply regret not making this #250 (you'll see why later). 10/10. This park has a 1919(?) carousel that doesn't appear to have ever been updated (it still has the stairs at the platform), and it could certainly use a little love. Maybe not a SFStL 3 year refurbishment, but something. Next on the list was Roller Skater. Like a 10 minute wait solely because they won't run it with only one person on it. Whatever, it's a kiddie coaster...no rating. I did express solidarity with the ride op and wished him a happy last day of Pride month...I couldn't imagine being LGBTQ+ in Kentucky. Nice little history board...mostly about other parks LOL. The infamous flying-shoe swings ride. And finally, it was time to get my 250th credit...Thunder Run! My first ride was on the front row (one train wait). This was awesome...tons of airtime, good laterals, easily tied with Storm Chaser for the best ride here. Maybe could use some Millennium Flyers, but overall, awesome. 10/10....or is it? My second ride was in the back row (half-train wait). OMG this was just a jackhammering, shuffling mess, and gave me a massive headache. I have no idea how the same coaster could be so different between the front and back rows. 0/10 in the back....so I guess 6/10 overall? I grabbed a salted pretzel with vanilla icing from Twisted, absolutely delicious and only $7. Amusingly there were 5 employees inside the pretzel place, but only two were actually working...the others were just chatting about nonsense with eachother. A few other notes about this park: -Most food stands were not open. -Lots of long pathways with no shade or anything to do on them. -Half of the soda stations were unmanned but did work; the other half had staff charging you. A decent stop on the trip, but I don't see myself coming back here anytime soon barring some new major coaster. My next stop was Holiday World, a much, much better park.

Went to the park (Monday). We had a great time. Park looks good. New section is beautiful. Well done area. I think our longest wait today was about 5 minutes. And once we had to wait 3 trains because we wanted front row. Had a dozen rides on TT and I305 each. Both still tons of fun. Rode all the others once or twice. Grizzly could be great again but it needs some TLC. Still no effects on Backlot which makes me laugh at that point. I still like Reptilian and had to do a few laps on that as well. My only complaints is they only had 1 side of the racer going. Wife and I wanted to duel. Dead park so I understand. And the line was basically a walk on all day there.

Worlds of Fun adds some Sunday nights to Haunt schedule this year! Haunt starts Friday, September 16th. Then will be on Thursday and Sunday nights in addition to the Fri/Sat nights in October starting on the 6th, except for Sunday, Oct 30th. The park will also be open the first two Sat/Sun in November.

Wildfire had a single rider queue, though I've only seen it in use once. It was located towards the entrance of the main queue, roughly to the right of the big water tank theming piece. If I remember right, the signage was still there for it when I visited last October. Though, I think it's only used when they have enough staff to have a dedicated grouper loading trains.

Kings Island, July 3rd and 4th. So, most of us have been to KI, and there's a ton of pictures out there of it, so I'll spare you them in this post. However, I did take a lot of pictures of the 50th Anniversary History walk they have set up in the garden, the Phantom Theater Encore show, as well as the art contest winners that were on display in one of the stores. These can be seen in a post on the Kings Island Thread. As for my time at the park, day one I spent a huge amount of time in the water park to start the day, then went back to my hotel for a while, then went back to the park and got a front row ride on Beast (12 minute wait). After that, I met up with a new friend (one of the bartenders from the waterpark) bar and we did a lap on Adventure Express, wandered around looking at history stuff for a while, did a lap on the back row of Mystic (I forgot how awesome this is at night). After that we took in the fireworks/drone show, and then did two laps on Diamondback (rows 2 and 11) to close out the night. Notably, Beast's Fast Lane line after the fireworks show extended all the way down the exit ramp, almost to the photo booth. Eeesh. The next day, I went back for park opening, and hit the following rides solo, with ducking away for a while in the middle of the day to visit Stricker's Grove: -Woodstock Express, walk on for back row (full train, which I rarely ride this with, made it fly)/ -Diamondback, train-and-a-half wait for back row, right wing. This ride is growing on me. -Mystic, three-train wait for front row. Cars and snake monster ending, same one I had last night. -Banshee, train-and-a-half wait for front row/ -Orion, train-and-a-half wait for back row, left edge. -Beast, two train wait for front row. -Banshee, half-train wait for back row, left wing. -Racer left side, one train wait for front row (did not win). -Flight of Fear, 10 minute wait for row 3. Honestly one of the better rides I've had on this for a while. -Mystic, three-train wait for the back row. Maneater and snake monster ending. At this point I met back up with my bartender friend and we closed out the night with a night ride on Beast on the last train of the day (Hour and 37-minute wait through the fireworks shutdown). Unfortunately, while we lined up for the front, we were right at the cutoff and had to move to row 11. Notably on Beast, the stop-and-go shuffling when pulling into the station has been largely resolved but not entirely. And that about sums up my stop in at Kings Island. Next up, the ultimate in rare park credits: Stricker's Grove.

Thanks for the write-up. Did you have a chance to do Raven in the back as well? It/ think it's much crazier / life changing (especially in the dark but I know that's normally not possible). Glad you enjoyed your trip I always love reading HW reviews especially from those who have never been.

Also, don't forget LR has a single riders line. Follows the fast pass line for the most part. I've been on in 10 minutes or less when the line was 90+ minutes lots of times.

Allegedly it was a pump house that went up and tool the slide with it

row 17 is the sweet spot. its a non-wheel row, back car. best seats on the Beast

Anyone else noticing all the old spots that were just mulch getting replaced with nice river rock? The landscaping team is really doing a good job this year trying to make the park look nicer! Also nice to see so much more sod being put in to replace the mulch beds around the park. Looks a lot cleaner.

So here is our the latest NY-style attempt from last night. First up, the dough… This was just over a 5-day fermented dough, the longest I have done yet. The crisp/texture, workability and overall flavor was just spot on. I think aside from adjusting the yeast/ferment time as needed depending how long in advance I prep, I am perfectly happy with this dough for this style of pizza and don't plan changes. Sauce … For this one, I bumped up the oregano, sugar and cayenne to give it some robustness. Of course, fresh garlic too. A splash of red wine vinegar for acidity. I didn’t really take notes when I made up the sauce, so next time I will have to keep record so I can be consistent the next time I make it! Cheese blend on both was a heaping pinch of pecorino romano right over the sauce first, followed by a blend of mozzarella/provolone and small parts of munster and asiago for added sharpness. This has been my absolute favorite cheese blend to date and will be my go-to blend on these types of pizza. I’m a fan of sharper cheese flavors on pizza compared to just mozzarella for example (except on margherita’s!). Toppings on the one was bacon, olive and red pepper (can’t see the bacon as I placed it under the cheese). The second was just Italian sausage I made and rolled into little meatballs and par-baked before going on the pizzas. Cooked in the Ooni with an adjusted bake technique… Full pre-heat to a stone temp of 700-800F and then when the pizza was launched the flame was off. Let the dough set for about 2.5 minutes before kicking the flame back on low for another 2-3 minutes until the pizza was done. A bit slower so the bottom/crust could crisp up a bit more with the additional time on the stone. Came out perfect! The crust texture was just SO good... A light crispy shell on the outside, but delicate/soft chew. No soggy/flop going on in the main body of the pizza underneath. We both agree, this may have been some of the best pizzas made to date. Def top 5 material! The crust, cheese blend, toppings and overall flavors going on was just right. Happy we have leftovers to enjoy later this week! This coming weekend, we plan to make traditional margherita pizzas this time around with just the fresh mozz, basil and olive oil.

Take a ride on all the roller coasters at Parc Asterix! Video also includes a construction tour of their new for 2023 coaster, Toutatis!

Timber Wolf >>>>> Prowler. This thread’s impending disappointment… priceless.

^

The building looks pretty impressive. Here is the most recent update that was posted to reddit: I guess it's harder to get excited because not only is it hidden inside a building but it's also a replacement ride for a long standing favorite classic attraction. It's a tough gamble by the park because everyone will be comparing it to the old ride rather than allowing it to be a brand new experience, but I applaud them for trying and not just junking FITH for another random coaster. As far as updates on here goes... a lot of us who still use forums are simply too old to deal with it anymore. I used to have a lot of fun with the speculation, keeping an eye out for markers, and going to the parks sometimes just to see construction progress. These days though I just don't have the time/energy/money and would rather spend what I have on other things - even though I still enjoy aspects of amusement park fandom occasionally. The kids who are coming up into the fandom who care about that kind of stuff are all on instagram/tiktok/youtube. Forums like this one aren't as appealing because it's a different type of interaction and quite frankly can be a little insular and hostile as KBrylczyk's comment displays, lol.

Was driving by the park today on the way home from a different excursion so I stopped in for an hour. Tunbili -- went here first after the park opened (after getting lost a few times) ---- despite only having 3 groups ahead of me, they were only running 1 train. Being the smaller model the ride is REALLY way too short. Got 2 good flips but otherwise I've had better rides on the various Jokers. The op asked me what my favorite ride in the park was, and said I was "basic" for liking i305 the most. Pssh. INTIMIDATOR - walk on. Jesus Christ how does this ride exist. Usually greying out is fun but I think it was just too damn hot and uncomfortable this time around. And I was also getting lightly misted in the face by the sprayers in the station and residue on the train during the lift/1st drop. After the turn and being fully recovered the ride was fantastic and I still can't believe how intense this thing is. I could only do 1 ride this time around... I'm getting old. Twisted Timbers - after trying to open the package to the FL+ wristbands (I have all season platinum for Cedar Fair) for 5 minutes because neither me or the shop owner could get it opened (I wasn't going to be nasty and use my teeth) finally she found some scissors as I figured there might be a line by this point (there was not ... 3/4 the trains were empty). Damn this ride is fun, but still a little uncomfortable. Not nearly as bad as some of the other RMCs. I really dig this ride and layout. That's all I rode in my hour there. Too much walking for things days prior so I was hurting, it was too damn hot, and I wanted to be able to get home by 10pm with an 8-9 hour drive from the area. I was just there in October of last year, so it was really just a "bonus stop" since it was literally off the highway where we were driving. Not sure why I made a not very exciting trip report, but whatever lol

Electric Eel. Journey To Atlantis (San Diego). Steel Eel. Great White. Texas Stingray. Ice Breaker. All of these are coasters plopped onto dirt, grass, or gravel. I think you're nostalgic for late-90s/early-00s Orlando SeaWorld. That's when the original JTA and Kraken showed up and they're easily the most heavily-themed SeaWorld coasters chain-wide.

Tony Dow (Wally Cleaver), age 77; July 27, 2022. Pat Carroll (Ursula), age 95; July 30, 3022.

Nichelle Nichols just died at 89 of heart failure. Godspeed, Lt. Uhura.