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So, we decided on a bit of a whim to spend the day at the park yesterday. About a 3 hr 15 min drive for us each way, so we just did a day trip. We did not go to the water park this time since it had just opened and I suspected they wouldn't have everything going yet (that turned out to be accurate) and I also assumed the water would be fairly cold especially after the storms and hail of the night before (not sure if that was correct but based on the frigid temps of the log flume, probably) Although from observations there did look to be plenty of people that gave it a go. Good Gravy is a very basic layout, as expected with a Vekoma family boomerang, but the theming and the queue are absolutely fabulous. Grandma's house is still decorated in all of it 60's mid century kitsch, including dark brown cabinets and orange countertops in the kitchen. If you're old enough you know what I'm talking about, lol. Even if you don't want to ride it, go through the queue. Ops were still brushing the rust off. Really slow at Voyage but we saw a whole group being trained so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they just need to get a little more practice in. Although the Legend crew was rocking it. All major rides going, no downtimes that I am aware of. In fact the only rides I saw not open were some of the slides in the water park as mentioned. Crowds were manageable. It was a good day. Already had a couple shows running, the high dive show and a magic show that seemed to be geared toward kids. Thanks to HW for having the EV chargers! Nice to get some free juice along with the parking, drinks, and sunscreen.

Official Park Website: https://www.rasti-land.de (German only) Backstory to this post: About a decade ago I discovered both the TPR Website and this fairly small park in Germany: Rasti-Land in Salzhemmendorf, Lower Saxony. It is a family-owned park, opened in 1973 and has been steadily expanded since. When I visited the park, I did take pictures and thought about posting them here, but never actually got around to actually doing that. Since that park still doesn't exist in this forum, here are pictures from my 2015 visit. To start with, the park is a little out of the way, I passed a village and my satnav led me along a road which didn't look like it would lead to an amusement park until it told me to turn right. Yeah... right. Well, at least I was pretty unquestionably in the right place. After this short tunnel, you have free parking and depending where you found a spot a bit of a walk to the entrance. Now that looks a bit more park-y. Pretty much right after the entrance, you find the first example of nice and possibly DIY landscaping. Also one of the first rides you see is this, which seems lifted pretty much straight out of RCT: Monorail! It is partially elevated, so you have a good view through parts of the park and a short "dark" ride section, I think in this building. One of the things you see from there is this kiddy-sized merry-go-round... ... accompanied by similar fun-sized flat rides. like this ferris wheel (mini version) and another merry-go-round, this one probably with seats swinging out as it spins (didn't see it in action). Also on the way, you see more things which could come out of RCT like those tracks (the park wasn't particularily full, so there wasn't much happening on those tracks) Continuing further into the park, there is a nice and quiet boat ride with fairy-tale themed animatronics (no pics of those though) The current moving those boats is generated by a paddle wheel right next to the station, also the boats are lifted out of the water by a conveyor belt to allow easy boarding and leaving. There is also an old tracked car ride which has been modernised into a photo safari. All nice and quiet, maybe a little too quiet but eventually you enter... ...the realm of T-Rex. That's more like it. This is a rafting ride with dino-themed landscaping Gives a bit of a Jurassic Park vibe ...a breakthrough of genetics... But it's not all just landscaping, at the bottom end of this helix ramp, there was quite a bit of Skloosh! action. And if you aren't wet enough... ...this water battle ride is right next door. Of course, not all big attractions are water-themed. For example, there is this nice and nicely pink Vekoma Junior Coaster (apparently their first one) It was pretty hot that day, so even a little mental cooling was welcome. This is the station to a powered bobsled ride. Also quite fun as you get to control your own speed (within limits). Some more DIY landscaping. At some point it was rainnig a little, just enough to drive up humidity but not enough (yet) to drive down temperatures. Here you can do a bit of climbing while attached to a safety harness. This was briefly closed due to the drizzle, but I either got up and back down before or it reopened when I got there. Continuing with somewhat smaller attractions again... ...there is a small drop tower... ...Bumper Boats... ...and a small "steam" railway (smelled and sounded like powered by a two-stroke engine). Of course, grilling and two-stroke exhaust from that go-kart track go wonderfully together. Going a bit back towards water, we find the classical combination of... ...a swinging pirate ship... ....and a pirate-themed dark ride. The Park also has a nice assortment of slides. Dry and enclosed as part of a playground. Dry, open and standalone and a few moist slides the slide boats run on water, but the tracks are confined enough that you shouldn't get really wet. This does however not appply to... Skloosh! 2, an unfortunately not terribly photogenic log flume. Finishing with the water is this spinny thing The boats don't just spin around the pirate, they also go up and down on a track (and they can also spin backwards). This was one of the last rides I rode that day and I hope these pictures gave you an indea about this small but nice park. Even back then there were more rides I didn't take pictures of and since my visit they built several more, including three rollercoasters (Holta di Polta, Strohnado and Verrücktwärts). In summary, this is a really nice small park with rides for all ages and almost all types of riders (except hardcore thrillseekers) where you can easily spend half a day to a day, so maybe think about a visit when you are in the general area of Brunswick/Hannover. If you come from further away, you should combine your visit to the park with other places as the park on its own isn't so much of a reason for extended travel (unless you are REALLY desperate for coaster credits). EDIT: BTW, Strohnado seems to be same model as the hamster wheel coaster from this TPR IAAPA 2021 video, although from on-ride videos the spin cycle of Strohnado seems a lot tamer. German Wikipedia calls this a Mixed Coaster by SBF Visa, they also produced the other two new coasters.

This morning I was able to stop into Universal Studios Florida for a passholder preview of the new DreamWorks Land. This new area replaces the former Kidzone including the Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse Coaster, Fievel's Playland, Curious George Goes to Town, DreamWorks Destination (formerly the Barney show) and a Shrek and Donkey meet and greet. The new land takes up almost exactly the same footprint, but distributes experiences in themed sections inspired by the world of Shrek, Puss in Boots, Kung Fu Panda and Trolls along with the addition of the new DreamWorks Imagination Celebration show and some meet and greet spaces for a variety of DreamWorks characters to visit throughout the day. This corner of the park will once again be a go-to spot for families with younger kids. Troll's Trollercoaster is the rethemed Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. Guests ride aboard the Caterbus in this familiar experience. The layout of the coaster remains the same but the queue and surrounding area has been updated to fit the new theme. Yes, this coaster train has an actual butt. The legend lives on. The former Curious George Goes to Town area has been transformed into Po's Kung Fu Training Camp, inspired by the world of Kung Fu Panda. Some of the water play elements from the former attraction remain and the core structure has been retained, but there's some pretty significant differences up close. The water play area is on the right side and the dry play area is on the left. Inside the former ball play area is the new Po Live! interactive meet and greet experience. The former ball play area has essentially become a theater for this interactive experience (the second floor walkways area still accessible). Some simple dry playground elements on this side of the Kung Fu Panda area... The tipping bucket returns from the past version of this complex. Even more water play areas can be found throughout the Kung Fu Panda portion of DreamWorks Land. There are multiple Haystack Dryers available to use in DreamwWorks Land. Onward... The Trolls section of the land is cute and feels different than its predecessor. All aboard the Caterbus! Trolls Treats offers two types of soft serve inspired by the two main characters of the Trolls films. Over in Shrek's swamp you'll Pinocchio's Fact Shack, where you can ask the wooden boy questions where his answers may or may not be true... This slide starts in a port-o-potty and the sounds it makes are as you would expect for the theme. The elevated play structure in Shrek's swamp provides the best views of the Troll's Trollercoaster in all of the land. Shrek's swamp features some water play elements as well. Shrek, Donkey and Fiona meet guests here in a relocated meet and greet from the former Kidzone. Swamp Snacks offers stuffed waffles, pretzel dogs and Shrek pretzels with green cheese sauce. Gabby's Dollhouse is represented with a meet and greet location for Gabby. King Julian from the Madagascar franchise is among the rotating cast of characters that meets guests throughout the land. Mama Luna Feline Fiesta is an interactive nook where you can toggle triggers for cats in this covered open air experience. DreamWorks Imagination Celebration replaces Dreamworks Destination (formerly the long-running "A Day in the Park with Barney" show). Characters from throughout DreamWorks Land appear in a show featuring music, dance and a lively atmosphere that is fun for all ages. The same theater-in-the-round design is still in use for the venue. The projections throughout the venue help to transform the theater with each segment. One final dance before the show is over! High Five Hideaway is the land's merchandise location, offering items inspired by all of the land's characters. King Harold's Swamp Symphony is an interactive play area where guests can jump on lily pads to make the frogs sing. Adjacent to DreamWorks Land, E.T. Adventure has shifted its entrance slightly to accomodate the new land, and with this shift comes a prominent new entrance sign.