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Phantasialand started its winter season today. Notable changes: the "Tacana" in the Mexico area is no longer a burger restaurant but serves Mexican style food (burritos, nachos, wraps, quesedillas). The pre-covid winter show-and-firework finale did not return - but the "Tiempo de Fuego" mapping show did. And more than that: there is now a second mapping show in the Mystery area, the Rookburgh light show from last year returns and there are new light shows in the Berlin area. So it looks like mapping/light shows will now permanently replace the fireworks (thank you dear neighbours with your noise complaints). The "Talvia" show has been replaced with a new show "Spectaculum Phantastére", returning are the "Every single year" ice skating show and "The Golden Thread", which is a best of the shows from the past years. You are able to buy same day tickets again - but ticket counters remain closed, online sales only. Is visiting Phantasialand in the winter worth it? It hella is! There's great street food, Glühwein and of course the high quality restaurants like Uhrwerk and Rutmor's Tavern are open in every season.

yet another reason why SFFT and the team there are among the crown jewels in the SF chain. Very nice tribute, Mr. Siebert, and R.I.P. Mr. Zamperla

Disneyland has announced that Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway will be opening on January 27th, and the entirety of Toontown will be opening on March 8th! https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2022/11/mickeys-toontown-to-reopen-at-disneyland-park-on-march-8-2023/ It’s Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse’s birthday! In honor of this special occasion, the Disneyland Resort is pleased to announce the official reopening date of Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland park – March 8, 2023! It was this time last year that we first announced Mickey’s Toontown would undergo an ambitious reimagining, and reopen with some all-new experiences for families and young children to have more opportunities to play together inside Disneyland park. At D23 Expo in September, we shared a bit more about the interactive play areas and how we are stepping into a new era of inclusive experiences in this land for families of all ages. I know we are all excited to see just how Mickey’s Toontown will become a vibrant symphony of sights, sounds and sensations very soon. Here’s a look at some of what you can expect when the land reopens on March 8! The reimagined Mickey’s Toontown will provide open, grassy play spaces for everyone to unwind, starting with CenTOONial Park, the first space guests will see when they enter the land. CenTOONial Park will be anchored by two new interactive play experiences; a beautiful fountain featuring water tables designed for play that invite guests to have a sensory experience, plus a nearby dreaming tree with sculpted tree roots providing an opportunity for children to crawl and explore. Mickey’s Toontown will be home to the new attraction, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway! Inside the El CapiTOON Theater, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will put you in the wacky and unpredictable cartoon world of Mickey and Minnie, where you’ll board a train with Goofy as the engineer. One magical moment after the next leads you to a zany, out-of-control adventure filled with surprising twists and turns that the entire family will enjoy! As you may have read, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will open on Jan. 27, when the Disney 100 Years of Wonder Celebration comes to life at Disneyland Resort! Over in Goofy’s neck of the woods, you’ll find Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard, as shown in this new aerial rendering of the area. Dedicated to all things play, Goofy’s How-To-Play Yard incorporates a whimsical sound garden where kids will discover new ways to make wacky noises, as well as enjoy an all-new, elevated clubhouse. When you step inside Goofy’s House, you’ll find a fun, interactive candy-making contraption that only Goofy could imagine! The confectionery contraption begins high outside of Goofy’s home, as drips of honey fall from a beehive onto a chute that slides the colorful drops around and down into the home. From there, junior candymakers will help Goofy make the candy, and the silly sounds of household appliances will combine to make a truly Goofy symphony. Donald’s Boat will be perched in the duck pond of the Goof homestead. Imagine larger-than-life spinning water lilies, balance beams and rocking toys at Donald’s Duck Pond that will help little ones get the wiggles out. Kids will definitely love making a splash in this space! You also can look into the boat through the portholes to witness bubbles of fun inside the flooded vessel and interact with some familiar ducklings including Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby. For those wanting to get a little “nutty,” you can head over to Chip ‘n’ Dale’s GADGETcoaster, where Mickey’s Toontown’s favorite tinkerer, Gadget Hackwrench, has created a one-of-a-kind, fun-sized coaster for the town’s tiniest citizens. And at Mickey’s House and Minnie’s House, you’ll once again be able to step right into their homes and enjoy a self-guided tour as you discover special surprises in every room. You may even be able to visit with Mickey and Minnie while you’re there, should they be home! Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin will also return, where you can board Lenny the Cab and spin through the streets and alleys of Toontown as you follow the adventures of Roger Rabbit. And when you feel a snack attack coming on, you’ll be able to turn to two new places to appease your appetites in the land: Café Daisy, where acclaimed culinary expert, Daisy Duck, serves up diner classics at her sidewalk table eatery; and the Toontown Farmers Market at Good Boy! Grocers, a friendly roadside stand, offering grab-and-go drinks and treats.

Day 5, part IV - the conclusion of the day: arriving at Phantasialand ! it had already been a packed (and thrilling) day, but we weren't done yet! Soon, we pulled up outside of Phantasialand (which is really well hidden from the surrounding area, as you couldn't really see any rides at all), stopped in front of our home for the next two nights: Hotel Charles Lindbergh - a fully immersive ON SITE boutique hotel that is heavily themed from the moment you walk inside. unloading bags from the bus and waiting outside for our room keys/directions. so I wandered and took some pics of the outside of the hotel facade as noted, it's heavily themed. you are an "Aeronaut". . . traveling thru time and space, and you've checked into this steampunk/time lost hotel to rest between time jumps. here's the lobby check in: these long hallways connect the lobby to the main "Pod A" (tower) of the hotel - which has, I believe, 4 "pods" of rooms. Although Pod A also has the access into Rookburgh. what is Rookburgh? well, Rookburgh is the themed area of Phantasialand where the new F.L.Y. coaster is. It's also where the Hotel is located, and guests at the hotel have access to the area after the park has been closed to guests. (no the coaster is not operating after hours. . . but holy crap is it cool to wander around that area, JUST with hotel guests - as you will see coming up). anyways - the walkway that would lead to Rookburgh/Pod A: and the way we went to get to our Pod C rooms OMG. . yeah, the coaster is RIGHT there. interacting very closely with the hotel. this is going to be so cool during the daytime operating hours! the coaster is literally outside the walkways to the rooms! love the old-timey / lost in timey tin ceiling tiles in the stairwells between floors. looking across at Pod B tower. . those are the back-side of rooms (ie: the bathroom windows) here's me looking out our bathroom window in Pod C and the view from said bathroom window: (went a little out of order). . . here's the door to our room and what the inside of the room looks like. Very small - in keeping with the theme. and a LITTLE cramped with two people plus luggage. But OMG, so cool, it doesn't matter. again, heavily themed (we didnt' turn the tv to anything other than the "old time static" broadcast it was on when we came in the whole time). James and I standing in doorway to get a pic of the walkway across to Pod B (and the access to the rooftop viewing platform that only guests of the hotel have access to) Bathroom. Small, but decent. again, the theming is that you're an Aeronaut only resting briefly before your next jaunt. ok. . settled into the room. . it's time to stretch our legs before dinner (which is included in the Restaurant attached to the hotel. (the only area of the hotel that during the day, non hotel guests have access to). from the end of our pod walkway, you get an EXCELLENT overview of Rookburgh area, and the F.L.Y. coaster and how much it weaves in and out of the theming in the area. SO well themed. . other than Mystery Castle - the tower off to the right in the distance - you can't see anything else of the park other than Rookburgh. They really put some thought & design into this theming! the steps under the rounded turret on the right are the ones that lead down to the Hotel Entrance into Rookburgh snapping pics, as we walk over to Pod A and head up the steps to the Hotel Exclusive viewing area. . . up on the viewing area, we bumped into Andy (the Great Zo), who had the same thought to come up and see the view/take pics. so we took a pic of all of us. the view from up here is SPECTACULAR. and even up here, other than Mystery Castle, you can't really see any other parts of this park! Pics taken. . let's head down into Rookburgh popper, since we still have about 30 minutes until dinner seating. such an amazing job with the Steampunk/time lost theming. . the private gate out of the hotel into the park. and looking back into the hotel entrance - during the day, there is a staff member stationed here that only will allow Hotel guests in and out of this gate. down the steps and into the deserted Rookburgh. the park had closed a couple of hours earlier, so we were the only ones there. . one of THE best reasons to splurge and stay onsite here. the theming is incredible, and it's so cool that you can see it / touch it/ take pics of it - without hundreds of people around! fully immersive. . . one of the "exit gates" into the other sections of the park. . .tho as noted, the park closes off this area at park close, to keep Hotel Guests inside Rookburgh and maintain the "Aeromaut" role-playing. . . the special gate for F.L.Y. that we would use our hotel passes at tomorrow or the next day. the main / standby line entrance for the ride. (which by the way is an AMAZE-BALLS flying coaster. . that some in the group didn't realize was a "flying" coaster until the seats tilted face down on the main lift/launch. . LOL). security stands here during the day. but off hours? yup, photo op! and I absolutely adore how they keep all the theming on even after park close in this area. steam and lights stay on until well after 11pm for hotel guests to enjoy the area/atmosphere. another "gate" that would lead to the indoor section where Winjas is located (tho oddly, these doors never opened while we were there. . so maybe they just don't use these any longer, as the other entrance - thru the tunnel - is way more immersive into the Rookburgh area) peeking across/thru the coaster track & theming, you can see folks sitting in the private Bar patio in our hotel. . only hotel guests have access to this bar/patio. (based on that blue shirt? I *think* that's Daniel sitting there?) tho it would be cool if they operated this coaster after hours for hotel guests? I can totally understand why they do NOT. can you imagine the noise in the rooms? I mean look how close it gets to the pods. Instead they give hotel guests "skip the line" / "special Hotel entrance" passes to use during the day. (so cool! and because we had ERT one day, and some folks gifted us extra passes, I didn't have to use all my passes and had some to take home as souvenirs) it was just about time for dinner. . so we headed to the restaurant parkside entrance (again, the only area that is open to park guests during the day). the downstairs level of the hotel houses the private bar, and the restaurant, UHRwerk: a peek at the menu. almost everything we had was excellent by the way, tho I thought the pastas were way stronger than the burgers. But all were decent. James showing off his Tartar appetizer (and that "newspaper" on the table? thats the full menu, and also filled with themed "stories" - none in English, but I still took one as a Souvenier, as they are also avail. in the lobby) I had the triangle fried ravioli like things. . . eye candy in our waiter (he was so nice too) TPR took over about 1/2 of the dining room, since it has limited seating (hence an assigned dining time, like on a cruise ship) John showing off his massage skills to Daniel. our table. . clockwise from Noon: Smisty, Erick, AJ, me, James, Ryan my Main - one of the Pasta bowls, but can't remember which one. Only that it was really good! one of the slider options (I think it had various meats depending on which one) one of the Burgers, another tablemate got. look how juicy! and of course, a stacked desert - I think the Nougat Surprise (which was dryer than it looked like it would be, but still was very good) by the time we finished eating, the sun had set, and the lighting in Rookburgh had come on. holy crap, as amazing as this looks during the day? INCREDIBLE at night. (and really the only way to see it at night is to stay onsite at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh) so I wandered around a bit in the area taking more pics: heading into the tunnel (which, as noted, was closed off at the end that would put you into the main street of the park). . but even inside the tunnel the theming is impressive. and with no people around, can get good pics of the design work on the walls. exit side of tunnel: entrance side of tunnel: peeking thru the closed gate into the main street of the park: it had been a really long day, but not heading up to the room to sleep without checking out the bar 1st! so went back into the hotel, and down to the private 1919 Bar it has indoor seating as well as the outdoor patio that is under the coaster, and between Pods in the hotel. looking up from the outdoor patio. . some of the rooms (bathroom windows of Pod A) after a cocktail, taking the steps back up to our room, so I could enjoy the tin ceilings (rather than wait for the elevator) one last peek down into the outdoor bar patio from the walkway outside our room, before I headed inside for shower and sleep. and then I passed out. . and probably kept James up with my snoring in the tiny sleep pod room. . LOL. . . but yeah. . stay here. COMPLETELY worth it. and with that, day 5 concludes. Day 6 (and 7) are full days at Phantasialand. . and I could not wait for these, as I knew very little about this park, other than I'd heard some rumors about the river raft ride, and of course knew about Taron and Black Mamba. So I was excited. and starting the day off with F.L.Y. ? yeah. . good thing I was exhausted (and slightly buzzed) otherwise would have been up all night with excitement. thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed. Day 6 coming up in the near future!