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Linnanmäki ! Part 2 after the nutso Sirkus dark ride, it was time for the Haunt right next door. I had been correct in my guess that it was a walk thru - but I didn't realize it's in 3D. the glasses really DID enhance in some places, but as you can see from the pics, it works really well regardless. And it was fairly lengthy. this hall of mirrors section was truly spectacular. and with the 3D glasses on, it was so easy to walk into a mirror. but some of them have surprises inside if you do touch them! most of the games over here weren't open today - probably because it was a slow Sunday. But here's a good view of the entrance to the Haunt walkthru, and the Sirkus dark ride next door. I don't think I mentioned, but similar to Groan Lund, they go all out here at Linnanmäki in terms of theming for the Restrooms. no two are alike, and they don't seem to be tied into whatever area they are in. (for example, this one was by the Funhouse, Sirkus, Haunt). But they are heavily themed. wanna go in for a "pit stop" - literally? (and yes, racing sounds were played in the toilets via hidden speakers) looking towards the park's front gate, you can see the parks other drop tower (square vs round) some dark clouds were starting to move in, but it didn't rain until a bit later in the day (and then only for about 20 minutes) Loved the little areas that were just . . . there in the middle of things. such as this small wooden labyrinth just in the middle - that's also a water feature, with some occasional shooting jets of water. (I did do it, but managed to avoid the water ) would get to the Carousel soon, but I had wanted to come over here to ride Vuoristorata - the wooden coaster with a brake person. if you believe Roller Coaster Database, it's the same design as the one at Bakken (which no longer has the brake man), but it's slightly longer and taller. I love that they are so proud of their Brakemasters, that they have their pics up on a board in the queue. and tells you a bit of how they are trained. very cool. from the queue line, you can see the station (next door) for the Monorail. . . . would be doing that shortly! not a very crowded train. . all just TPR folks. sMisty and I went for the back, near our BrakePerson. . who happened to be the lady! twas quite cool. the ride was just OK, tho I did ride a few times. I think after starting the trip at Tivoli Gardens, with their incredibly fun Bakeman driven coaster, anything else would naturally come in 2nd. It was enjoyable, tho think of it as a scenic railway rather than a woodie, since there's no real pops of air (understandable, as there's someone standing on the back of the coaster ) we went down the exit ramp, and right up next door onto the Monorail, which offers some amazing views of the park. in particular the park's coaster collection Taiga on the left Vuoristorata & Ukko Kirnu Salama (the Maurer Spinner) the frying pan ride. . which no, I did NOT want to get on a spin and puke ride. (tho Robb did film this, and I believe he's posted the video on the TPR Youtube channel). earlier in the trip? I might have gone for it, but I was wanting "calmer" rides today. and this one was looking a bit "intense" wait. . . they have a "pony" ride? how had I not seen this on the map. DEFINITELY something to track down sooner rather than later. better view of the funhouse on Astroturf from above. not only some great sculptures around the park, but also some lovely flower work. pausing to buy some souveniers to bring home to my best friend. and then over to the Witch Hotel! sadly, no pictures allowed in the ride, so best I could do was queue line. maybe it would ruin the "storyline" wizard vs witch . . or something? LOL time for a coaster I hadn't been on yet, Tulireki - billed as a one of a kind. this is a Mack "e-Motion" coaster, where the trains "tilt" in certain areas to make you feel as if you're falling off the tracks. honestly? the effect isn't really noticable - the turns felt just as if we were on a wild mouse. So i guess it just doesn't work as a concept. . but it was a fun coaster. and yes, it IS painted the same color as Salama (the Maurer spinner) and Taiga (the Intamin LIM launch) that are right next to it - so it make a massive area of blue track. Speaking of Taiga - you can see how close it is, as it zooms by while you're in the queue for Tulireki Pine Cone creatures sculptures just wandering among the coaster supports. still from the Tulireki queue. Taiga zooming by, and Salama's lift hill as noted, the ride was enjoyable enough, but not anything really special (it certainly didn't live up to the "e-motion" promise. so moved on to another coaster I'd yet to go on: Pikajuna - a custom built Mack powered coaster themed to a mine train (it's a really long train too. . so very high capacity) the rides here all are built next to each other, but the fun part is the queues are all interacting with the rides next door (like the Vuoristorata queue showing off the monorail) and this one here, that wraps around the Rapids ride. a good view of the trains for Tulireki - the bob sled style train is cool. . just wish the "tilt" had been more pronounced long train! (this coaster's track is the grey on the left) I chose to ride in the back. . . not that it makes much difference for a powered coaster. still, a fun ride. exiting Pikajuna, you have a wonderful view of the rapids ride. and this turn around not only has water, but fire features. Kewl! and no, the water does NOT turn off..they want you wet. another we'd yet to go on, Salama, the Maurer Spinner. a look at the train (4 per, back to back). This one was on the transfer track - wasn't busy enough to have all trains running I suppose. the monorail track, and where I wanted to head to next - the giant Ferris Wheel. Andrew, Erik & sMisty had the same idea, and were getting off, as we got in line so many things in this park give you wonderful opportunities for great pics. Overlooking Helsinki a mass of tracks and rides. . .LOL. .tho the only train on any of these tracks in this pic is Salama (one lone spinning car) there we go! a little further left, and got a train from both Tulireki and Taiga in the shot howdy Big Mike, and Jon (who again, is not a fan of Ferris Wheels, but came on this with us) sadly the rainbow Enterprise was not working today. . but thought it was a rather amazing location for it (it's on the roof of a restaurant) a couple more shots of the BrakeMan on the Scenic Railway. I was still iffy on riding Kirnu, but was leaning towards giving it a shot. but first, we were gonna take a ride on Linnunrata eXtra, the indoor Zierer coaster. the little train was circling the building, so snapped a pic as we headed up the stairs. it's a very "Space" coaster type queue, which makes sense, as the name translates to "Milky Way" and like very other "Space" coaster I've ever been on? the queue felt like it was *miles* long. finally go to the loading station. A pic thru the glass at the train loading. I can't really recall anything about this ride. no, really. . I can't even recall if I did the VR or rode it without. but I DO know I rode it - how's that for a sparkling review? I wonder if these lips indicate this is a tunnel of love, or a kissing tunnel. and I wonder if these two guys noticed that? again. . just a lovely park. that concrete slab apparently used to be a Top Spin, and it's going to be the park's new for 2023/24 ride. If recalling, it's a star flyer? another themed bathroom. . this one was apparently "Steampunk Harry Potter" some of the gears in here moved, and there was a "moaning Myrtle" type sound piped in. it was almost time to meet up for the goodbye dinner. . so we hung around the front of the park area - near where the restaurant we were meeting up at was. decided to check out the SeaLife Aquarium, but decided against it, as it wasn't included here (and seemed smaller than the others I'd seen, so decided to save the money). . but for some reason - which I never understood, and no one could explain - out front? is a statue of three naked men eating Ice Cream. I don't understand it, but yeah, it's worth a few pics while we were relaxing and killing time until dinner, Robb shared the below pic of Taiga from the observation tower. (it's a great pic, isn't' it?) I took one look at it, and decided I needed to ride that and get some pics too, so we headed over that way. seated (ahhhhh) in the air conditioned gondola, we started our ascent - and I got a wave from a monorail driver oh! we're right next to the pony ride!! I had forgotten about that, we need to do that next - since we had gained time before dinner by not doing the aquarium. got a pic of all three "blue" coasters this one is from, I believe Robb as well (based on the sharper quality of the pic, and the rounded horizon). tho it could be Andy or Brad. . but I'm thinking Robb. it always is rather neat to see the Brakeman standing on the back of a moving coaster. a better view of that ride pad where the Top Spin was, and where the new ride is going (again, based on the "swing" text on the walls, I believe it's a Star Flyer) getting off the observation tower, immediately tracked down the entrance to the pony ride. Yay! but I waited and let some go ahead of me, as I wanted to ride the Zebra no seatbelt, and it really does go right along the edge of a steep drop. never in America, but I guess the Finnish folks don't do as many stupid things, so they can be trusted with this kind of exposure. whee! it's a fairly long course, crammed into a smallish space. you DID IT, Jon whee! High Five from Big Mike (or is that "Low Five?") look at that face. . . shenanigans! it was just about now that the sky opened up and it started to pour for about 20 minutes. We hung out and played pinball in one of the arcades, and once the rain stopped, we made our way back towards the restaurant at the front of the park. but found these really impressive wire sculptures. the aforementioned arcade and absolutely no idea. reminds me of a Japanese Anime Character (the teacher from "Assassination Classroom") we did manage to stumble across some costumed characters out and about. she was Princess Pink, and Cotton Candy Girl (and no, not sure why Princess Pink was all in Orange. . . . unless she's "Cotton Candy Girl". .but that didn't make any sense either) back to the Witch Hotel. this time managed to get a pic of the ride vehicles. Thought they were rather neat. there were wire sculptures, so why not some Wicker sculptures? it was really well done. as you can see, once the rain passed? everything immediately opened back up. I believe I took another spin on the Monorail (this seems to be from that queue. . this time looking over at the coaster, instead of the other way around) and I had been convinced to give Kirnu a try - I believe the deciding chat was with Chuck (CFC) who told me he liked it. so I did end up riding it, after getting off the monorail. pics got out of order, but here's Jon and I riding it. They put two tiny little girls (employees) on the opposite side of us, which had us off balance the whole ride and we got a number of flips. but we were all laughing the whole time. i do believe these are courtesy of Brad. back on the monorail pics - got the whole train for Pikajuna as we passed by. but no trains on the tracks for Salama or Tulireki (tho there MIGHT be a Salama car on there behind the tree. . I see some pink) and got the angle correct this time to see both the round drop tower (in back) and Observation tower. shudder. . . . ride a painted pony, let the monorail turn. . . .. . or something like that. Ukko doing it's thing from the Monorail. post monorail ride, time for Carousel, and then bathroom break. we ended up back at the one themed to Pit Stop. . and I noticed that they do have a little sign up top giving away the themes. looks like the Women's restroom had the Princess Character I had seen walking around. but since no ladies with us at the moment (Erik and sMisty had gone to the Aquarium I think), I just have to imagine what it looked like in the ladies room. empty ride pad where the Top Spin used to be. heading to the restaurant for the farewell dinner, I noticed just now that the Kirnu sign moves back and forth, so snapped a pic of it) the farewell dinner was an all you can eat Indian feast. . and it was really good! not just as far as "theme park food" is concerned. . it was actually quite tasty! it was the last night together for most of us, so I made sure to thank Robb & Elissa for inviting me along on their trip and got some pics. Robb and I being excited, with a bonus Shane photobomb Elissa and I being happy, and bonus Barry butt. after dinner, we still had an hour or so in the park, and I had ridden pretty much everything I wanted to (and had firmly decided I was not going to ride "Ukko" - I just don't like Skyloops). . . so headed back to the observation tower for another cycle. and, of COURSE back to the Witch Hotel (think I also did Sirkus again) ha! hadn't noticed these guys earlier. They were animatronic and were just chatting away (in Finnish, so no idea what they were saying) but were interacting with each other, and - i assume - talking about the people beneath them in the queue. and then it was time to go. . it had been a really great day. these pics of Ukko are from the front entrance, as we were walking down to the bus to take us back to the hotel. and with that, we climbed back on the bus, and headed back to our final hotel in the heart of Helsinki. it had been a fantastic trip - and tho I didn't want it to be over? it was almost time to go home.

Just got back from a little getaway, and Dorney Park was one of our stops. It was sandwiched between Knobles (first time visit) and Hershey. Unpopular opinion... Dorney was our favorite! Why? Small crowds, great line up, fun waterpark, and just a really "fun" experience. Things to note: Talon is an underrated B&M invert! Thunderhawk winter refurb was AWESOME! We rode it last year and it was rough, one and done. Gave it another chance this year for it's 100th, and very glad we did! Sure it feels like a woodie, but no longer a pot-hole-filled journey to the chiropractor. Hydra is funky and fun. For a B&M floorless, it's still quite smooth and still so fun to ride. Steel Force is so much fun. The fact that this was a walk-on our entire time there blows me away! This thing is fast, smooth and pulls some serious G's in the turnaround. Now, what about Iron Menace? We rode it twice... and I was good. It has a LOT of vibration! That was the biggest surprise to me. So much that it really took away from the "fun" factor of the ride. The first drop is great, and then after that... it does stuff I guess? I will say riding on the LEFT side is a smoother ride, especially that final transition into the break run (you've probably seen that video floating around of that transition). On a positive note: The theming, lights, music and the whole atmosphere in that section of the park is great! I wished the park as open later than 8pm so we could have seen it in all it's beauty. If Dorney repainted Possessed that whole area would feel really cohesive. The new food option at Iron Mill Grill and Bar is great! The flatbread pizzas and pirogies are fantastic. The desserts looks good too. This was our third time visiting this park in the last year. Because there are other bigger, flashier parks less than 2 hours away I feel Dorney gets overlooked. We loved it. Great rides, good ops, good variety, and just a fun park to be in. We may be back there for Halloween again, we'll see

Proof that you don't read my trip reports! (Or, you just have a bad memory.) Short version: There's a famous statue in downtown Helsinki of three naked workers with tools. (I think it's kind of a socialist thing.) So the park has a homage/parody of that where the guys are taking a break and having some ice cream. Anyway, I really enjoyed Linnanmäki. In fact, it might just be a top 10 park for me. I thought I'd seen it quite well during our day there, but you had quite a few photos of things I'd missed entirely! Great day. Fun hang. Thanks, Bert.

It's been about 15 years since I've been to Cedar Point, so I decided I wanted to attend Coaster Mania this year. Naturally, I was (like everyone else) hoping to be able to ride Top Thrill 2, but, as we all know, it will be down for a while. Even so, I knew I'd be able to add at least a few credits to my count (which is probably around 265 coasters as of now). Luckily the weather was good, though it was a bit windy, so much so that there were whitecaps in the lake. I got there around 7 am, right before the start of the morning ERT. They had Gate Keeper, Magnum XL, Millennium Force, Valraven and Raptor up and running. Having not ridden my favorite coaster in the park in years, I headed for Millennium Force first. I got in two awesome rides on it and then I headed over to Valraven. I got one ride on it but I wasn't particularly impressed. I was expecting something like Griffon or Sheikra, but I was rather disappointed. I am not sure why, perhaps it was the lack a scenic location like the two aforementioned dive coasters. It also didn't seem to have as much “hang time” at the first drop as the other two. I don't know, for me it is the weakest of the three dive coasters I've ridden. I passed on Magnum, not wanting to start my day with a possible aching back since I recall my last ride on it being a bit rough. So I took a ride on Blue Streak, for old time's sake. Then I headed over to Raptor. It was every bit as intense and disorienting as I remembered it to be, and is a coaster I can only ride once or maybe twice in a row due to the intensity. I headed back to Millennium Force but by this time it was down, and ERT was about over. I thought about going back to get a ride on Gate Keeper but being it is at the front of the park I figured I'd wait to catch up with it later when the crowds died down. I went over and picked up the Top Thrill 2 poster and pin they had for us (appreciated, but it kind of sucked that I had to either carry it around with me or stow it in a locker – might have been better had they handed that out at the end of night ERT). By then the park was getting busy and I decided to take a break, leave the park and have lunch with my husband (who isn't a coaster fan and was out doing other things outside the park). When he brought me back to the park a little later on, we took a drive around the perimeter road and I got some nice pics of some of the other coasters. I came back in around 2:30 pm, and I noticed that the line for Gate Keeper wasn't bad, so I went to ride it. I wasn't expecting much out of this one, despite the fact that it is very visually interesting, especially with its position at the main entrance of the park. But I was pleasantly surprised – it was a fun ride and the keyhole effect was neat to see as the train passed thru and around the towers. I rode the right side first, and then the left, and the left was by had the best view, being on the lake side and the rotation of the first drop. I rode the outer seats both times. Then I rode Max Air (another one of my favorite flat rides at the park) and couple of other flats. Then I got on the ferris wheel to get some good photos. It took forever and a day to load and unload (as is usually the case for ferris wheels) but the pics I got were worth the wait. By then it was dinner time. After the meal and the Q&A session, I decided to spend my time between then and the night ERT riding any rides or coasters I hadn't yet done. I rode Gemini (red side) and Fire Hawk, and a couple other flats, and by that time it was starting to get dark. I passed by Millennium Force, thinking I might get another ride, but the wait was over an hour, so I headed back towards the front of the park for another ride on Gate Keeper. This time I waited briefly for the front seat, and the keyhole effect was even better from the very front. I really liked that coaster – it's very re-rideable and the visuals are really cool. IMO it's rather underrated. But if you are looking for intensity you can always go ride Raptor or Maverick. It was getting close to ERT time but it was before 10pm, so I was wondering if I might not give Magnum another chance....if I got a back ache at least it would be at the end of the night rather than in the morning. Besides, the line was short and I knew the ERT would not start right at 10. I was trying to figure out what seat might be best as I entered the station (meaning best as in not too rough). So I chose the 4th seat from the front and hoped I had picked the right one. As it was the front of that car I was able to brace my feet against the floor board for stability. And that actually worked (that and maybe I got the “right” seat) and it was a reasonably enjoyable ride. Not what I'd call smooth, but not painful. Magnum is IMO a steel coaster that rides like a wooden coaster. I don't remember the lighting effects in the last tunnel when I was there years ago, not sure if that is a new thing or I just didn't notice it before. After Magnum the ERT for Gemini was beginning, and this time I rode the blue side once. Then I headed back for Maverick and Steel Vengeance. I had ridden Maverick before, and had a decidedly unpleasant experience with the old hard restraints. But I thought I'd give it another chance to impress me (instead of beat me up). Afterwards, I was planning on saving what might be the best for last (Steel Vengeance). Unfortunately it was at this point that I made the wrong choice, in hind sight. I got in line for Maverick, figuring I'd get a ride on it and then head for its next door neighbor. It seemed like everyone else wanted to ride Maverick, so the wait was longer than I expected. Anyway, the ride was much better with the new restraints. It's still not my favorite coaster at the park, but at least I could get a sense of it without the head banging. I'd vote it as the second most intense coaster at CP after Raptor. Not super re-rideable (at least for me) but a very potent experience all the same. Then I headed over to Steel Vengeance and was told I'd have to stow my fanny pack in a locker before I could ride. So I rented a locker and did that. Then I went for what was to be my first ride on what would be my third RMC coaster. But it seemed a third RMC wasn't in the cards for me that night... as I got about halfway thru the cue it broke down, with the train stuck on the lift hill. There was only about 20 minutes left of ERT at this point. Suffice to say I did not even get to ride it at all. Sometimes saving the best for last might mean that the best is no longer available. Sadly I had to leave without that credit for another year. It was unfortunately a disappointing end to an otherwise great day. The only other coasters I didn't ride this time was Corkscrew (ridden it before and not interested in headbanging), Iron Dragon (ridden before) and Rougarou (rode when it was Mantis, and it just wasn't high on my list of things to do). But either way I was glad to get back to Cedar Point after such a long time. I am definitely hoping to come back again for Coaster Mania next year to take care of this unfinished business (TT2 and Steel Vengeance). Finally, I had another stop on my vacation before I headed back home. This was not an amusement park but rather something totally unique and possibly of interest to anyone who likes coasters. I took an extra day and a two hour detour on the way home from Cedar Point to my home near Baltimore to stop at the New River Gorge national park in Fayetteville, West Virginia. This is a really beautiful place to visit and its easy see why it was made into a national park several years ago. If one of its main attractions was a coaster, it would be a really hard credit to get as it is more or less out in the middle of nowhere. Said attraction is the New River Gorge Bridge, and you can take a guided tour where you walk along the maintenance catwalk just under the road deck. And yes, you do wear a safety harness attached to a cable that runs the length of the walkway. The New River Gorge Bridge is the longest steel arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the third highest bridge in North America. This bridge is also the site of a yearly base jumping festival held on the third weekend of October. It is absolutely huge and tops out at 876 feet above the bottom of the gorge and the New River below. The three thousand foot long catwalk is 851 feet above ground and the views are spectacular. This is probably one of the coolest things I've done in my lifetime....but naturally I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with a fear of heights. Another freaky thing is that due to the wind and the constant traffic above you, the entire bridge really moves and shakes. Walking along the catwalk is kind of like walking on one of those vibrating floors in a fun house! Not enough to knock you off balance, but you do know you are moving. That and the whistling of the wind thru the structure and the whine of the traffic make for a very surreal experience. If you want to have a truly unique experience you can't go wrong here.

Happy Hump Day. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/happy-hump-day-camels-escape-petting-zoo-at-cedar-point