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I've learned that Mom is always right, even when she isn't.

Watched the POV of new Fire in the Hole on the main page here. I think they did a great job of keeping the original spirit of the ride but with some modern elements. I think some might complain they didn't change enough and I can kind of see that, but keeping it simple is probably better for them in the long run. It seems a shorter ride now? Might just be perception though. On a more personal level I'm super happy to see they kept the painting at the end of the ride of the guy with his foot sticking out, my kids always love trying to reach up and grab his foot as they pass under

Quick jump in because I'm going out of town tomorrow. We were there on Easter, agree with most of what Dan said although the GP on FB were all thrilled that Buccaneer had gone back to it's original theme and no one at the park seemed to care that it looked Carnival like, just saying. FYI-Easter crowds were very manageable so a good day to go while all the pious are in church. Agree there is no way Joker will be ready until later in the season, but I didn't expect it to be. One thing to note on parking. We used the speedy pass thing. The lanes that were labeled speedy pass were closed but another lane opened up for us automatically anyway So, we went to preferred because we get it on our pass. The security guard checked my pass level and let me in, but I did notice some people still had cards they had gotten at the tollbooth. I was chatting to him while my son was putting the chargers on plugshare and he told me that there would be days when reservations would be required but only on days they anticipated it to be really busy and he thought it would be on the website. He did not seem very sure and I'm thinking there are still some operational kinks to work out on this one. Speaking of the chargers, we saw at least 4 getting used, mostly by plug in hybrids which have less charging opportunities than Teslas or full electric for example. There were 8 in preferred and 12 in regular. I asked the parking lot guard about non electric vehicles using them and he said it hadn't been a problem the first few days but that there was nothing they could do about it anyway since they didn't own the chargers. Ok, but they are on your property? I take that more to mean, we don't have the manpower or will to deal with it and don't want to start a fight. I get it, but irritating just the same. Hopefully, their proximity to the parking guard will discourage most. Overall though, it was obvious that work had been going on and hopefully now that we have a dedicated park president once again the effort will continue which will result in better environment for the employees and better guest experience; the FB updates are a good start. OK, I'm outta here for a couple weeks.

I get that, I'm much older than you and was around for all that plus Epcot and Animal Kingdom...........but, my point is that this is going to be on such a grander scale on both the rides and how grandiose it will be than those were when they opened, or at least it seems that way to me. Maybe I'm just not remembering the hype or maybe I'm just legit way more excited about a Universal park than Disney And to be fair I wasn't really thinking along the lines of China or Dubai, since those are not easily accessible for most people from the USA

^ It's a thing, remembering characters not seen, that often. Marvin and K-9 are standouts, to me. And .... apparently we're all bored, lol. (kidding)

note that Pepe is there too. nothing to do with "woke". . .which is a GOOD word, it needs to be taken back from those who think it's an insult.

Someone took away his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator. Its either the woke people, a dastardly rabbit or that front gate security. Help! Security has taken my space modulator! Delays, delays.

Even in person you can't really trust looking at it. I thought while on it the lift was surprisingly fast, we all did. I came down to my husband who was with my son and pointed up and said the lift was pretty fast for a chain and yet looking at it from the ground it looked super slow lol

I saw a side by side of 2016 and 2024 Lightning Rod that was synced up at the exact same time after the crest of the first hill; I have to say it's extremely neutered. I'm sure they will take uptime and reliability over the guest frustration and guessing game of open/closed each day, but that thing is definitely a shell of it's original form. After watching the official TPR on and off-ride, you can tell that thing isn't as whippy and out of control as it's v1. As someone who rode in 2016 and then 2020, I noticed a HUGE difference in pacing and a slower launch. I can't imagine how clipped it must feel now. I'm certainly not one to cause problems or throw shade, but I'm a bit shocked and disappointed Rob continuously replied to comments on his POV YouTube that "I couldn't tell one bit of difference". I'm not sure if that is genuine, or if he was wanting to help the PR train with Dollywood....but it's sad to see videos of the old vs new with this coaster. That quad down in 2016 was literally absolute chaos and insanity. If you look at POVs from this year, that thing is crawling over that first return up and over to start the quad down. But, again, I'm sure Dollywood is happy their big investment has more uptime. I just wish people would admit to the glaring difference in pacing and how it runs.

Day 19: Wednesday, June 21st - Travel day! From Sweden to Finland, were we were gonna spend a couple of days at the Northernmost Theme Park in the world. And have the TPR Grand Prix! it was sad saying goodbye to Stockholm, as I'd really enjoyed our time here, and what I'd seen of the City. (and I LOVED Grona Lund). but it was time to move on. before heading down to the lobby to meet everyone and head to the airport - we were flying today from Sweden to Finland - I finally DID remember to get a pic of the room at the hotel we stayed at. (this is after Hans and I pushed the beds together. .for our stay we had separated them with the little tables in between). not neat, but at least can see the room pretty good size. but with one of those annoying 1/2 showers, that this American always has trouble figuring out, and get a flood in the bathroom. eventually I'll figure out how to use the hand shower without spraying all over everything. waiting for our bus - we were saying goodbye to Didier today too, as he was leaving us at the airport - one final peek into the coffeshop/cafe connected to the hotel & ABBA museum. I recall this being a good size airport (pretty crowded too) with plenty of shops to explore while waiting for our flight to be called. I knew it was gonna be a small plane, as luggage for carry-on was really restricted. but I was surprised. I think this is the first plane I've ever been in with Propellers. Snug fit. . but we all were on the flight - spaced out here and there in seats thruout the plane. I ended up with a window seat, not my usual choice, but I didn't mind as was interested in looking out the window. ok. .that's gonna freak me out a little. not sure if this is leaving Sweden, or going into Finland. . . .but it sure is pretty. landing in Finland. Can you tell??? this was hysterically a big, one room Airport. with the bag claim and arrival on one side, and the "lobby" for departures on the other. I'm in Finland. yay! no worries about which luggage carousel our bags would be on. . .there was only one. and I think we were the only arriving flight anyways. Our new bus driver was waiting for us, and very quickly we were on our way. the country side in Finland looks a lot like many of the other Scandi Countrysides I'd seen. . and very much like mid America as well. for the most part. some houses stood out. many of them were painted Red with Yellow Door. (I did ask about that, and was told that painting your home Red was a sign of Finnish Pride, as it was reflective of the Copper Mining the area was first known for). the many fields of Finland but then, seemingly in the middle of no where, this appeared on the horizon. The Power Park complex (depending which sign you looked at in the park) all owned by the same folks - including that Road House, the complex contains a theme park, a big event center, a big 5D Cinema, a big Race Track - that can be configured for professional racing, as well as for full size go karts, mini-Golf course, and probably more! the owner collects all kinds of stuff (I didn't go into the Road House during our visit, but those that did have pics of some of the James Bond Movie vehicles from in there). like this plane. just displayed there, for some reason. not sure if it's from a film? but I'd assume it IS, and I should know that? yes, one of the configurations of the Track DOES go around one of the coasters. NEVER in America. and look at the size of those grandstands. . they must draw quite the crowd for some races. on the far right in the back, is our hotel (my room would end up at the farthest right, upper corner - overlooking the turns of the track, and what looked like no-longer-used grandstands). Kinda spooky, but all kinds of weird too. the front of the onsite Hotel. There were other guests here, but mostly it was the TPR group. kinda funky design, and the truck in front says "Power Park" so we're in the right spot. one side of the hotel - there are apparently more buldings around the corner too (near the abandoned grandstands), but they weren't in use, I was told. this hotel (called "Park Hotel" based on the name over the door on this side, has two entrances. . but the lobby is only on the other side, and the two sides connect via the Dining Room - which is only open for Breakfast and Dinner. funky, and I liked that it looked like we were gonna be staying inside a Koo Koo Clock. large Pool (but not for swimming.. tho we did see a drunk guy get naked and jump in on the 2nd night), with Stingray sculptures (for some reason), surrounded by that building that was a sauna/bar/ snacks area. it DID get rowdy at night, even with not many folks in the hotel. I remembered to take a pic of our room as soon as we got in it this time. the "info about the hotel" booklet. our room - with Hans enjoying the balcony the view down from said balcony. . . there were folks racing. we were planned to race tomorrow. the TPR Grand Prix. but the weather forecast wasn't looking great. I was looking forward to a nap before dinner, as it had been a really long day and I was exhausted. (I can't remember why I was so tired. .maybe it was an early morning check out after closing out Grona Lund with ERT and so my adrenaline made it hard to sleep? Or it could have just been the travel day - flights always stress me out a bit). . but when the park worked with Robb & Elissa to let us do our races this afternoon instead of possibly being rained out tomorrow? I got perky again and we all headed over to the Race Track area of Power Park. "Pit Lane Cafe" wasn't crowded at all. . .but the had some snacks to purchase if anyone was hungry, while we filled out all the forms and insurance things before we could race. this..did NOT make me want to eat one of the ice creams. . It's the Leif Garrett Smile and the Ascot/Pink Hanky that does it, I think. . . .LOL I was in Group 2 racing, so I stepped out front to get some pics of the park. I actually rode everything here. . including that Orange and Yellow thing that really scared the crap out of me. but I rode it. (I guess that's the same ride as Catwoman's Whip at SFStL ?) the starflyer runs in two modes, slow spinning for "observation" or fast spinning for "thrill". . you can line up for which one you want, and the operator sets the cycle based on which line she's loading from. Rather cool, I thought. (this might be another restaurant on the left, below. . .wasn't open that I saw, but probably most of their business comes during races. stepping out on the other side of the cafe over the track. you can see one of the Grandstands by our room over there in the distance, as well as some of the ones that looked abandoned, and the other hotel buildings on the left back there. as noted, there were other folks there racing, so snapped pics of them while waiting for our turn and the coasters running in the background. as mentioned by (I think) both Chuck and Erik in their reports - that tangled mess of track back there is actually TWO Gerstlauer Eurofighters, that are next to each other (one launch, one vertical lift) that the park painted the exact same color. . so it looks like one giant coaster. HAH! and then it was our time to go down to the lockers and get dressed for the TPR Grand Prix! they are serious.. as these are almost full size carts, with high speeds. Can be dangerous, so you must wear protective suit, and headgear, and glasses, etc. I'm ready to go tho! so is Hans. damn..everyone looks good in their suits. Except me. I look like a potato taking pics of Group 1 racing while waiting for our race. which car is Robb? the one with the Go-pro attached! a pic of Elissa taking pics of the group racing. Each Group got two races. a first race, and then a 2nd race depending on your placement - with the top speeds, or the lower speeds. so here you can see who is who based on the car numbers at the top. all these pics are, I believe, from Elissa, or possibly Chuck. 30: Kristen 3: me 11: dunno who that is. . maybe Hans? 23: Brad 1: Ryan 7: Brayden 9: Big Mike 5: Stephen 3: Me Big Mike & me yeah. . after seeing some of the others "spin out" and realizing these go REALLY fast - and I don't recall there being a great seatbelt! - I decided to just enjoy my driving, and take my time. So I came in last. but I had a great time regardless. Park employees were out on the track too helping with wrecks, as there were a few big ones (but no injuries). after both groups raced, the losers got to race again, with the winner of this group getting to run in the final laps with the winners. as you can see, I still came in last, but at least I had fun! (and Robb, who was filming everyone, had slower average than me. . so yay! I wasn't the slowest!. . LOL). I think this is courtesy of Chuck. it's a picture of Elissa, taking a picture of Robb, while Robb is filming, and I'm just happily puttering along enjoying my ride. Jon in 24, me in 8 oh well! the "safety" signs down in the pit. . . and this wonderful mural they had painted on the wall of one of the garages. Racing done, it was time to eat. (by the way the inside of the Koo Koo Clock hotel facade? the inside was SUPER weird. . designed and themed like a 1940's passenger ship. it was so funky). heading into the dining room (after showering and changing), you can see the breakfast buffet area. Only used in the morning, the rest is table service. a player piano, up on the stage. for some reason. mixed in with the lighting and instruments. . and yes, it was playing while we were there. closer look at the dining room. you can see how "non busy" it was. . . but dinner did still take about 2 hours. That seemed to be the custom, really long waits between courses, and taking the time to enjoy. not really an issue, but once we realized that every meal with a server would be that way, at least knew what to expect. the food was great tho. . . 1st course, Escargot Andrew had this (he was sitting next to me) yeah. . doesn't look appetizing, I know. I mean. .it LOOKS really bad, but it was very, very good. a non-super sweet desert. I think it was a Mousse over a Panna Cotta? I do remember liking it, but noting it wasn't sweet. Cheating a little, as Elissa didn't hand these out until the next night's dinner. but we all got a participation medal! how cool is that? then as I was totally exhausted, and dinner took so long, it was actually pretty late.. like almost 10pm. So I headed up to the room, while others headed over to the bar, or over to the Road House, or just to relax. I was asleep, so I DO believe these next few pics are from Brad or Chuck - who shared to the trip group, so I swiped them and have them on my camera roll. the sun setting. .probably around 1am. as noted, i was already well crashed. . . we had a FULL day tomorrow at Power Park. but the travel day was good, and Grand Prix was a blast. This kind of day is another reason why I love going on TPR trips.

I was hoping that Cedar Fair would fix up Magic Mountain, but my visit to Knott's on Monday, March 25th was the worst visit I have experienced. Even if two coaster trains were operating, the second train was stacked on the brake run for 5 - 7 minutes. I looked up several times throughout the day and it looked like every ride was closed or broken since nothing was moving. This is going to be one giant cluster eff merger solely designed to sell Fastlanes to pay off both companies' giant debt loads. Neither park has any hustle to load or run coaters efficiently. You would swear the employees were asked to help pay for the electric bills.