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Went to the park yesterday, actually the only visit we've made to our home park all year; partly because my son no longer works there as he has moved on to his first full-time adult job. FF was just as expected, I think the houses and scare zones were better staffed than last year but that can vary nightly. Crowds not bad on a Sunday night, we managed to get through all the haunt stuff in a couple hours and we didn't even have haunt fast passes. Just wasn't necessary. We did see the main show in the Palace. Cute. Entertaining way to kill and hour (which is what we were doing while waiting for the haunts to open) Probably a little disappointing to us because we were coming off of a weekend at Lagoon where the shows were extremely high quality. In my opinion tame enough for pretty small kids unless you have one that is really really freaked out by monsters, but there were several small kids in there and I didn't see any of them get scared. It's more of a comedy/musical than any scare factor. In fact if you do have little kids Sundays 12-4 would be a good time to go, quiet and all the kids stuff going with minimal waits. They trick or treat trail next to Freeze looked fun for the little ones and they can wear costumes. We did try out the October fest festival food. All of it is at the Mooseburger which has been nicely decorated. And.......I have to say it was fairly tasty and better quality than I expected. There is an outdoor bar, walk up snack stand, and then a different menu that you order inside. Unfortunately none of it is on the dining plan but if you go for sure check it out, it was definitely a cut above the usual offerings. We also had a later meal in Johnny Rockets and it was by far the highest quality I've ever had there. Rookie Racer-Super smooth, nice on board audio, quick load. I never saw a line for more than maybe 15 minutes. We got through the turnstiles about 5 min after rope drop, walked quickly (but not speed walking or anything) right to it and waited maybe 5 min. Just as everyone has said a needed attraction for the park and something grandparents can do with little kids. Train operational until about 5:30 when they shut it down to bring the freaks in. Freeze opened late, about 3:15 Ninja, Spinsanity, Colossus, Supergirl, all down for the entire day. Carousel still down as well of course. Scrambler was sporadic and only seemed to open for a short time in the late afternoon. Of course all three water rides done for the year. Mine Train, Boss, Eagle all started the day on one train ops. I know they added the second train back to Eagle because we caught a night ride but not sure if they others got a second train back or not. Catwoman carried a 2 hour wait all day. I don't get the love for that one. Although it's pretty at night, lol. They have definitely already been working on the site where Joker is going. Almost all vestiges of Dragon's Wing are gone. I did notice on arrival that they are preparing to make the parking lot toll booths automatic without the need for humans. There are scanners installed, but not yet operational where I assume you will scan either your pass or a cc. They had two lanes designated for the speedy pass thing where you buy ahead of time on line. And they have new signage up for preferred parking to use the left two lanes. I'm hoping they make a dedicated lane right into preferred parking from there instead of having you drive all the way around. It would make a ton of sense and then essentially negate the need for security to have to stand all day at the preferred parking entrance. The only thing I'm not sure of is how they will deal with pickup/dropoff, maybe it will also get a dedicated lane? Again they weren't using any of the dedicated lanes yet but I'm guessing they will next season. They will probably still have a security person there and maybe an employee to deal with issues but it should not only cut down on the staff needed at the toll booths but hopefully make it faster to get through and eliminate some of the normal backups.

Part 13 Hey, It's an Old Park for TPR: Kolmarden I've been to Kolmarden a few times with TPR in the past, so I'm not sure how much more I can tell you about it now. It's still a great zoo with Wildfire, one of the RMC's best creations, which careens around natural rock formations and beautiful woods. The park is also mind-numblingly, blister-inducing big. It takes between 30 and 40 minutes to walk from the main entrance to Wildfire on some steep, hilly paths, which provided the biggest challenge to Barry and his comrades after the Skara Sommarland incident. Seriously--you need decent walking shoes for this park. I can't really add much here to what I've previously written about Kolmarden, but here are a few highlights: Wildfire is still amazing, both on the ride and backstage. We got a nice behind-the-scenes tour of Kolmarden's gondola safari, including the big engines that run it and the place where they store the gondolas at night. The park offers a fun opportunity to "camp out " (or perhaps "glamp") next to their wildlife habitats. We got a good look at the campsite when the group went there to feed their giraffes as part of a wildlife tour. The pictures and captions will tell the rest of the story of our great day at Kolmarden. Enjoy! Zombie mastodons can be dangerous--watch yourselves! Happy Halloween! So, their way is the highway? How novel! Who's ready for something you apparently can't do at Busch Gardens Tampa at the moment? Hey! Big-ass body of water! You're distracting from my view of Wildfire! "Whoever splattered me with this white stuff is gonna get the horns, I swear to god!" "I say, Cyril, you didn't spray paint the chap with the horns again, did you?" "Me? Er, why of course not. I'm too busy here, umm, enjoying these . . . sticks." "I'm a real zebra. Not like those phony ones in the old Tarzan flicks." They plunged into the mysterious fog and were never seen again. At least not in this dimension. One must step lively to take a backstage tour of Wildfire. "Welcome to Wildfire! Who's ready to lube a train?" Off they go. Back they come. Here we are at the nerve center of Wildfire. The train gave me permission to take this photo. "You sure you want to let those guys in here, sir? They'll see the BIG BOARD!" Here we have an example of "forced perspective." Is Wildfire's wheel really big, or is Robb's head really small? The only thing better than taking a tour of Wildfire . . . . . . is taking a ride on Wildfire. One of the best rides in Europe.. It's tough to beat this natural setting for a coaster. Who's ready to go behind the scenes at the safari ride? Watch your step. Here's where they store the gondolas after closing. The chords are for recharging the on-ride narration, which is offered in multiple languages. This ladder is even steeper than those stairs. This is like climbing around inside a battleship. "Yep--the lion dragged him down there. Well, half of him, anyway." Looks like something out of a 1970s sci-fi movie. "Captain! We canna maintain this speed much longer!" Is this the best theme-park "safari"? Possibly. It gives Kilimanjaro Safaris at DAK a run for its money. " Just call me 'Skull Loki.'" Aw, this coaster is so adorable! Who doesn't love dolphins . . . except for sharks? And orcas? "Hi. We're chimps and we're ready for some flingin' if you catch my drift." OK, who's up for some bear baiting . . . I mean feeding? Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake. Shot from Jason's point of view. "Oh, I'm so glad you're still alive. Pay no attention to the man in the hockey mask. Now you can give me some of those delicious pellets." "After you've fed us, we really don't care." "Yes, Jason can decapitate or eviscerate you then. It's totally fine." "Yes, you'd better move along. Jason is not known for his patience." Do not let his adorable, dreamy appearance fool you. This is a Satanic Raccoon! Die, panda wanna-be, die! They still have the half-buried bus where the tigers can whiz on you. "Could you toss me a small child? There's a good chap." One last look at Wildfire before we head out.

Swag from Djurs Sommerland. . . just magnets (as no shirts that were large enough, or I liked):

Day 8: Sat, June 10th part 1 (of 2): Djurs Sommerland Elissa had mentioned this one was among her favorite parks, and I totally understand! a wonderful combination of park, playground, and Amusement park, I absolutely loved this park (and the next Sommerland, Farup, we went to the next day for similar reasons) It really did feel a bit like we were out in the Countryside in Denmark. . but before I knew it, we were turning off the main road into Djurs Sommerland parking lot. walking up to the main gate from the lot we parked in, really felt like we were at Summer Camp group photo before we start off our day (courtesy of Robb) soon enough we were met by the park rep, and they brought us in for a walk back to the first of two coasters we were going to have ERT on before the park opened: Juvelen the park is just beautiful. . and i was very impressed with the theming in and around the kids area (or at least one of them - where many kids rides were centered) Park Map large open areas of park, for picnics, and yes, those are all trampolines! dozens of them all over this park. I believe this coaster we passed is Vilde Hønsejagt (Wild Chicken Hunt). . one of a couple of Junior/kiddie coasters in the park. and before we knew it (tho it was a bit of a walk - this is a very large park), we were standing in "MexicoLand" in front of Juvelen (Jewel) my impression of the logo. . . LOL for some reason, I don't seem to have ANY pics of this coaster itself - hopefully either Chuck or Erik got some of the ride itself - which is an Intamin multi-launch "straddle" coaster, where you're riding on 4x4's low and fast to the ground. it also had a pre-ride / dark ride show section before the first launch with some tribal chiefs sending you off on the search thru the jungle for the jewel (if I'm remembering correctly). I rode this multiple times during ERT this morning, but don't think I ever went back to ride it again - regardless of how good it was, as there is just too much to do at this park to do a lot of re-rides during the day. That might be why I never got a pic of the coaster itself? anyways. .here's a jewel from the queue line. . and the group picture (courtesy of Robb - tho yay, he's in this one, so the park rep must have taken it) before we moved on to the next coaster. before we headed across the park for the other morning ride, I snapped a pic of this "flying carpet" type flat in front of Juvelen I didn't ride this today, because - yes, those "idols" on the sides? got everyone wet! ah. .here, in this pic you can see SOME of Juvelen's green track. .. walking back across the park to the "Wild Asia" section. . . snapping pics as we walked. that's the giant pendulum type ride that replaced the Topple Tower this park used to have.. it's HUGE. . . Never in America. . no crossing arms, just a sign noting to look out for the train. this is where we were headed in "Wild Asia": DrageKongen (Dragon King), and Intamin suspended coaster tons of really cool theming over here in this section of the park. on the right here, is another Junior/Kiddie coaster, Jungle Rally (a Zierer) even the queue line here in the "Wild Asia" is heavily themed. . a fun ride, but not the most exciting in the park. I did enjoy it tho, and rode it a couple of times. a "Crazy Bus" type ride with Asian theming. . our two morning ERTs done, we were about to get cut loose in the park, when the rep offered to walk us over to "TIgeren" - the giant pendulum for a couple of rides if we wanted. of course! so most of us went to ride it - while the "non swinging/spinning" ride folks watched or took pics. the detailed theming continued over here, and I loved it. these pics are courtesy of Elissa (who stood under one side of the pendulum and took pictures straight up, while the group rode twice) man. .the arc of this is REALLY extreme. . nearly upside-down! LOVED this. on our 2nd cycle, the park had been opened, and so there were park guests joining us on the ride. cut loose to enjoy the park until lunch time, a good chunk of folks headed right next door to the log flume, called "Long Cun Expedition" oh. . did I mention I have a VERY juvenile sense of humor? tee-hee. Caroline & Barry Myself & Big Mike Daniel, Barry & Collin Didier - who was driving the TPR bus. . he had a blast too! Andy & Steve these pics, I think are courtesy of AJ ? (really appreciate that he captured these, it's great) the group I was walking around with then headed back a little bit to get a ride on Jungle Rally. . and found some other happy TPR-ers had also made that call hey. . no judgement! we rode it too since we were already "moist" from the flume - well. . most of us were. . .we decided to go ahead and ride the park's rapids ride, which is located in "WesternLand" not too wet for a rapids ride, but pretty heavily themed which was adorable.. little playgrounds litter this park too. . . the loading station is full of "animatronics" . . .so it's sorta a "dark ride" ? and they wore cute little "western" outfits. . . .(the staff styling was a little weird. .some sections of the park? the uniforms fit that section and were full on "costume". . but in other parts? the employees wore khakis and polos. . as noted, it was a little weird. Maybe in the middle of switching things up). he was thrilled I asked if I could take a pic of his outfit a bit young, but wow, look at the size of that gun!. . .LOL he was having a blast staying in "western" character. . .made the interaction with him so much more fun than just "how many?" and being seated. um. . ok. . only slightly ethnically insensitive. . . (and from what I understand, a pretty big improvement over some of the attractions that used to be in the park section called "AfricaLand") as you can tell. . we had fun riding . . staying in WesternLand. .they have this little set up where you can buy supplies, and either buy bread balls or makings of a Smore, and sit on the little horses around the campfire and cook them! We made note of this to come back later when it was opened. the section of the park that used to be called "AfricaLand" is now redone into "Dinosaurland"! home to several flats, and a new powered family coaster by Mack - "T-Rex Family Coaster" the Disc-O rides along the back of a Dinosaur skeleton. . . great theming. a large kiddie playground here too the T-Rex Coaster has a really long train, and although not exactly "thrilling". . it was fun, and it goes around twice. the queue line is pretty heavily themed with Animatronic Dinosaurs too. . so that was pretty neat. and next to it is Dino X-pedition - which looks like just a powered jeep ride, but has a dark ride section, and lots of animatronics too, and is worth a ride. queue line for the T-rex coaster and then next door the queue and some onride pics from Dino Xpedition oh look. . I managed to get a pic of the T-rex coaster train. . LOL. . . SPOILER!!! ---- . Kong shows up in the DinosaurLand Jeep ride. . . I was told he was leftover from the "problematic" dark ride they used to have here when this area was AfricaLand. heh. . .got a pic of Robb filming on T-Rex Family coaster. Dino Eggs. . ready to hatch! to be continued. . .

I can't speak for anyone else,but I became distracted by the coasters.