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Our annual OUT ON SCREEN Film Festival, just wrapped up a ten day schedule last night. Lots of Shorts Collections this year. More than I ever remember, seeing before. A lot of good Feature Films, too. Best one was "1946", which looked at how the word "homosexual" did not appear in The Bible until.... that year. It's true! Really, an amazing documentary, with a lot of film shot in Canada. It is worth seeking out, if you ever get the chance to see it. And during the Festival, lots of photo ops, heh. Also, I manage to 'decorate' my Passholder Pass (I am at "Producer Patron" i.e. monthly donations) every year, since 2008. And here's a link to OOS' website. https://outonscreen.com/ Can't wait for next year's Festival! Somebody always takes photos of us and my pass, every Festival. This was Opening Night, Aug.10/23. My Passholder Pass and the Festival Program Booklet beside it. The theme of the 'decor' on my pass, is always dictated by the Festival's Program booklet. And I give thanks to Michael's Arts & Crafts in Vancouver, as well as any Dollar Tree store, which has the cheaper supplies. etc. ...And I added stickers to the back of it, as well this year. Clark and myself, having our photo taken for.... (David took this side pic of us, being 'taken'.) Damn I hate those bags under my eyes! <sighs> Clark still looks as woofy as ever. Clark, Lisa and my David in their 'shot'. Great Festival!

online didn't disappoint . . IMMEDIATELY, instead of being excited by a new ride - and a new ride type from Intamin - some morons are already complaining about "another low capacity ride" these people are all idiots.

If you're a carousel fan, a trip to the Herschell Factory Museum in North Tonawanda, NY is a must do. NT is also the home of Wurlitzer but I dont think there's any public display for it, the Wurlitzer Factory Park is mostly a mixed use development.

Name will be from the public. They are going to have a contest for it. Also, I verified with the park, riders do not get wet, only spectators. And they can run it without water in cold weather.

Getting caught up, I laugh every time I think about our people trying to go back later in the day to get a 'normal' ride on Tornado only for the ops to put it back to insane mode special for them! Also, all those unsuspecting GP!!! lol!!!

Silver Dollar City has announced a brand-new version of Fire in the Hole to open in 2024! Silver Dollar City today announces the new groundbreaking $30 million FIRE IN THE HOLE indoor family roller coaster, the largest in the Midwest. Opening in spring of 2024, the highly-anticipated attraction joins the park’s lineup of revolutionary rides. Located in the newly incorporated Fire District, FIRE IN THE HOLE doubles the size of one of The City’s most popular areas, already home to Station No. 3 firehouse and a collection of family-friendly attractions. Just ten months ago, the 1880s theme park, Silver Dollar City revealed an additional $30 million investment in new guest experiences and improvements, hinting at further development in the next five years. Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel guidance platform, recently announced Silver Dollar City, located in the picturesque Ozark Mountains, as the number one amusement park in the United States based on traveler reviews and ratings. “Signifying our biggest investment in a single attraction, FIRE IN THE HOLE continues Silver Dollar City’s strategic, multi-phased growth plan offering families opportunities to play and stay together in the heart of the Ozarks,” said Brad Thomas, President of the Silver Dollar City Company. “Spurring the creation of The Fire District, the custom-designed FIRE IN THE HOLE makes history as the Heartland’s largest indoor coaster. As the District’s anchor attraction, it will be a favorite rite of passage for families where one generation introduces the next generation to this adventure and where the heroes of today spark the heroes of tomorrow.” The coaster experience, with a powered incline and gravity descent, including three drops and a quick splash-landing, promises a thrilling ride. In addition, a custom soundtrack with high-resolution onboard audio, show lighting effects and enhanced special effects, like using fiber optics to create a fast-burning fuse, heightens the ride experience and brings the FIRE IN THE HOLE story to life. Nearly a third-of-a-mile long, the new ride is housed in a five-story, temperature-controlled building to ensure ridership regardless of weather. True to Silver Dollar City’s roots, the new ride's storyline is steeped in authentic regional heritage as the story is a fictional account of a real night in Ozark Mountain history when the mining town of Marmaros was burned to the ground by notorious vigilantes called the Baldknobbers. Created for multiple generations, FIRE IN THE HOLE depicts the day when Silver Dollar City citizens of all ages are pressed into service to save their town. The makers of the finest fire wagons in America’s Heartland, the Silver Dollar City Pumper Factory, invite the townspeople to the unveiling of their newest model. Instead, the visitors find the town in flames due to the reckless Baldknobbers. Ignited into action, everyone bands together to battle the fire. Known for pioneering innovation in the theme park industry, and a decade since they first teamed together on the history-making, award-winning Outlaw Run, Silver Dollar City once again partners with Idaho-based Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) to custom engineer and manufacture the new FIRE IN THE HOLE. “Like Silver Dollar City, Rocky Mountain Construction is committed to creating custom-built ride experiences that haven’t been done before,” said Darren Torr, President of RMC. “We loved the challenge of engineering, fabricating, and installing the one-of-a-kind FIRE IN THE HOLE, creating a new ride experience while honoring a legendary coaster. It feels fondly familiar, yet it will be daringly different.” The new attraction is inspired by the original FIRE IN THE HOLE attraction, first imagined, engineered and custom built at Silver Dollar City in 1972. Now celebrating its final season at the Ozarks park, the first FIRE IN THE HOLE made history when it opened, being lauded as one of the world’s first indoor roller coasters. To date, more than 25 million guests have experienced the original Ozark adventure and final rides continue through the end of the 2023 season.

Day 5, June 7th part 2: Ferry to Germany, bus ride, the incredibly odd Hotel Gremersdorf, and forced Schnitzel! after a very fun day at Bakken, we settled in on the bus as we headed towards the Ferry, where I believe we were going to cross the Baltic Sea? it wasn't a terribly long crossing (I think a little over an hour?). . . but passengers are not allowed to stay on the vehicles, so we had to leave the bus down in the hold, and relax on the ferry as we made the crossing. some folks ate, or had coffee - but most of us were still full from lunch, so just browsed the ship or the store onboard. Many also stocked up on snacks, as the hotel we were headed to didn't have a lot of food options nearby, and as we were arriving ~9:00pm it was going to be close as to getting food later. bye-bye Denmark a ferry coming the other way, from Germany to Denmark a mirror of our ship. . if you were curious what ours looked like. . soon, the announcements were made, and we funneled back down into the hold and onto the bus. hello Germany! shortly after getting on the road tho, we hit some major construction going on - on the bridge from the ferry!. . that pretty much brought us to a standstill for over an hour + but at least we got to see a beautiful sunset from the bus on the bridge: tho eventually we did get moving and made our way to the hotel Welcome to Hotel Gremersdorf. . .a very funky/odd hotel. the rooms all are slightly different. .and some in different buildings. It's kinda like an odd little self built commune, crossed with Winchester house. Some rooms had windows that opened into nowhere, some had slanted walls that you had to be careful not to bump your head when getting into bed. .and some had doors that you couldnt' open if a drawer was pulled out, or if the bathroom door wasn't completely closed (no space for the main door to swing open). It was so weird.. . I loved it! maybe has some of "the Overlook" from the Shining mixed in too! I took all of these pics after dinner. . . dinner? yup. . . the very, VERY kind folks who run the hotel? when we arrived so late due the construction, they kept open the dinner/buffet for us, and would not check us in until after they had fed us, because they felt bad we had arrived so late. so instead of checking in, we were directed to dump all our luggage into a dark corner of the lobby, and led into the restaurant. Where we were seated and they insisted on feeding us. yup. . forced schnitzel! (no shade.. was really good, even tho most of us ween't that hungry, we all ate. . . because. . . such kindness!) I had to take a quick potty break (while they were setting up the buffet for us), and this amused me: but on the way back remembered to take a pic of the offerings they had stayed open late (and awake) for us: as noted. .was really good! and that it was such a kind gesture made it taste all the better! once we had all eaten, room keys were handed out, and we were able to go into our rooms to crash for the night. as noted, pretty much every room is slightly different in this Hotel, but AJ and I lucked out with a very nice room: that had a "sleeper sofa" included. . . since I had been snoring, I figured I might be able to get some space so he could sleep better, so I took the sofa: large bathroom here too.. tho you had to be careful what you had open, otherwise you couldn't open the door to get in. . LOL I recall having a pretty good night's sleep here, even tho the window right behind where I was sleeping (which when slanted open gave a great cool breeze), opened up into a weird little courtyard that despite not seeing any way to get INTO the courtyard. . I still heard noises of people/things out there all night. LOL. . like I said. . funky hotel. i really did like it. soon enough tho it was time to get up for breakfast, and I got a good look at the lobby in the daytime: quirky! breakfast was great: and then we checked out, loaded back onto the bus, and headed off to what was once the original LegoLand. . know known as Hansa Park! (to be continued on Day 6 with Hansa Park)