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So El Toro is my number 1 coaster after 15 years. I still haven't ridden a bunch of RMC's and other newer Intamins, but I feel like it would still compare favorably with newer classics like Steel Vengeance, Iron Gwazi, and VelociCoaster (will hopefully ride the latter two in the next month or two). As someone who has struggled with their weight, being able to fit on El Toro was tight back in 2008. When I returned to visit in 2014, I got denied. I haven't bothered to return to the park since. I am happy to report that, in the midst of a weight loss journey, today I weighed in at my "El Toro weight". 258 lbs was what I was when I rode in 2008 and I hit that mark today. Here's hoping SFGADv figures things out and I can ride once again in 2023!

Not a "full" report, since I'm at the park so often. . but here's a bunch of pics from yesterday, opening day of the Mardi Gras festival. showing off some of the decorations, the drinks, the food, and the Parade. tons of photo ops thruout the park but the drinks are KILLER. we went for the Fishbowl. . .two types of Rum, Blue Curaco, sprite, pineapple juice, and cherries (instead of the swedish fish. . because. . ewwwww) so good.. and we had a LOT of them. nightmare fuel! the Looney Tunes were out in the Mardi Gras regalia. . including Babs Sylvester Daffy and more. .but those were the only ones I wanted pics with. . we were hungry and ready to hit the food stands (and get more Fishbowls) this is the Crawfish Nachos - they were so good. To be honest, the chips could have been a little fresher tasting, but the topping? oh my. . everyone in my group got em and all of us loved them. no pics of the Boudain Balls. .as those got eaten before pic could be taken. . but nice and juicy, with a spicy kick. the Cajun Hushpuppies, with bits of Sausage cooked inside. Some of this batch were a little overdone, but still were good (and hey, it's the first day, they'll get the cooking times consistent quickly) we ate while the very good Jazz band performed in front of Rockville high. we also went thru Houngan's House of Voodoo (a free haunt, that is a permanent one on site, so the effects/props are VERY good). No pics allowed in there, so no pics, but absolutely worth a walk thru (or two) if you're in the park. LOL. . we drank so many fishbowls, the stand ran out of the cups, and had to start serving in the Hurricane Glasses (hey, there were 5 of us, and we had 4-5 each. . LOL) and um.. . .yeah, they are strong. (free pour, so tip your server at the stand! ) once we were all sufficiently full, fat, and happy? we headed over to the Carousel for a ride. But no trip to Fiesta (for me) is complete unless we stop in and say hello to "Sweet, Sweet, Connie" who's always at her post outside the ladies restroom in Sangerfest Halle. we headed around to get a ride on Cliffhanger as the parade was starting from the other end of the park (a walk on. . so yeah, hit the rides in CrackAxle right around parade time), and then walked around to the back entrance to Diamond Lil's - which is where the parade pretty much ends. you can get a GREAT view of the floats, and get TONS of beads, as they toss them by the armful to those at the end of the route (tho if you want pins, clappers, duckies, or anything other than beads? catch the parade towards the start of it, as those go quickly from the floats) here comes the parade! wasn't SUPER busy today - 1st day - but usually this double decker float has people packed on both levels. I suspect future parades will get these "free to ride, but you have to sign up" slots in the floats completely full. (don't mind the promotions folks squatting in some of the pics. . . I tried to use pics without them (as Jorge's butt ended up in a lot of my pics. LOL). . but I understand completely, it's the first parade of the season, and they wanted to capture as many promo pics as they could! so they're in some of my pics too). ah. . THERE's Jorge on the right blurry, and I got ride of several blurry ones, but I love this float, so wanted to include. the "hick" characters that march in front of the newest float. . an amazing Alligator (or is it a crocodile) they were fun. . and I got "forked" such an incredible float. . . and ending with King and Queen. from where we watched, we just walked back to CrackAxle and hopped in the line for Iron Rattler, as the parade ended ~20 minutes before Park Close. overall, we were in park for about 6 1/2 hours, and rode 3 things (Iron Rattler, Dr. D's Cliffhanger, and the Carousel), but also walked the park, did the Voodoo house twice, drank (a lot), ate (a lot) and listened to some music. all in all? a really fun day.

Since Universal's announcement OT and Fiesta have knocked $100 off the diamond pass for all parks.