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Thursday I went back to The Fair, this time taking in the dog show "Super Dogs", and an annual fave for a lot of visitors - "For The Love of Drag." Really. The 1/2 hour Rock Icons show, complete with ~air~ guitar playing and lip syncing, was pretty good, and not only had drag queens in the show but a couple of drag kings, too! One played 'Prince' and the other did 'Jon Bon Jovi' It was fast, quick, and less microphone talk. I think David will enjoy this, too. However...... "Super Dogs" was a lot of introduction of the dogs, explanation of the course, and challenges ..... it was a lot of talk. The "action" of the dogs charging through the setups was great. I think the audience especially enjoyed it, when two dogs were pitted against each other. Made for fun, loud cheering them on. But I really think that this may be the last time I see this show. It's always a themed variation on the usual challenges, and the only big difference here, was that the show was moved to the small Agrodome, as the Summer Nights Concerts were moved to the Coliseum, where Super Dogs used to be. And the dogs being in the Agrodome, eliminated a number of horse showings, and a great knights on horses show. And I think the setup won't change too much, since the Amphitheatre will still be being built, But hey - the dogs really worked their ....um .....behinds of! And the races are really intense for what they are, to and for the dogs. But I think I'll pass on next year's at least. Then, when the Amphitheatre opens in 2026, I'll maybe give the doggies another look-see. And coming out of the drag show at 6:30pm, it was mobbed at nearly every food truck, so I didn't get my Henry's BBQ Chicken <sad>. But when I return on Tuesday, I'll sure to get my Henry's earlier in the afternoon. Back to the fair we go.... I'll be visiting this garden and another one on Tuesday. And the Sanctuary as well. Today's corn dog comes from .... Another foot long. It was good. Add a beer, and it's a perfect snack! A lot of seating, including picnic tables all over the fair. This bar also served mixed drinks and cocktails. Must remember this. The bar inside the Roadhouse, where .... ^ .... is playing. (o: The main stage. After the "Love of Drag's" last show of the day, "Dueling Piano Kings" schedules shows into the evening. This was 'Jon Bon Jovi'. And this was Pat Benetar. I think this was .... 'Prince' ? The guitar playing sister, (Nancy Wilson) of 'Heart.' 'Dolly' singing "Rock Star." Coming out for bows. That's 'Prince' in blue, back there. They also did photo shots with the gp. I declined to do that. Since I couldn't get Henry's chicken, I went to Lil' Cocos for (guess what?) another corn dog. But I got this one with a green Ranch dressing on it. Fancy, eh? Now to the dog show. The 7:30 one. Souvenir "Doggies for Sale" in all shapes, sizes, and furriness. The ceiling of the Agrodome was this moving, artsy creation. Most of these photos turned out very fuzzy. Got to figure out my camera, more. So these are the best ones out of the bunch. Yay! A clear shot of the setup. And a dog is entering that tube, upper right of the shot. There were three pugs that just went crazy all over the place, while one of the three actually did the course. Conga! This was a game of "Musical Chair Stars-On-Spots." Had it's moments of fun. The Bow(-Wow)s. <sighs> This is Henry's Quarter and Half BBQ chickens. I could just stand there, inhaling for a while. Soon... A mariachi band playing for the public. They were great! Amphitheatre Construction carries on... Good on the PNE! Not exactly totally dark. But overcast enough for all the lights of Playland to turn on. Two of the 'four extra rides' at The Fair. The other two of the 'four extra rides' in Playland(PNE). Hellevator's signage is so neon and retro (to me). Undersides of Gladiator. I didn't notice that the Break Dance middle orb tower wasn't lit. Too bad. Skybender Shot #1 The statue at the right is very nice to see. Skybender Shot #2 All the AtmosFEAR seats have white lights under their butts! A blurred Wheeee! The Merry-Go-Round Carousel all in white lights. Enterprise on full tilt. Explorer (Lit Up) Balloons. Another Wheeee! on The Beast. This was about the only thing lit at night, at this kids' coaster. I figured this could be a mildly scary kids' coaster, with all the darkness around the coaster itself. Blazing White Lights on the Swings Sea-to-Sky Swinger. That's it. Another beer, and I exited The Fair. Till Tuesday, then.

So Cedar Point can give a months notice to ride a water ride before it closes, but Busch Gardens only gives 9 days for a classic coaster that I'm sure has been in the plans for months. Okay. I really need to ride Shockwave at SFOT, feels like it may be the last Schwartzkopf with intensity left (that hasn't been neutered by Six Flags).

I mean I see people with hooded sweatshirts at parks when it's in the 90s but I see your point .. Honestly the summer heat doesn't really bother me that much anymore but I still can't stand those stretches when it won't go below 75 at night. Glad to have these 45 degree mornings back and humidity gone (for a few days anyway). I love fall.

Trip Report: We kicked off our annual summer road trip made the drive down from the Canadian border, basically, to Doswell on Saturday the 14th. I only bring up the drive to mention the first time I noticed what would become the theme of the next few days: heat! I hadn't looked at or thought about the weather going into this. The days we could go were the days we could go, so weather didn't matter. We would show up at the parks and do what we could each day with what the weather brought. Well, it brought the heat. It was 11 PM and I was in Maryland when I noticed it was still 87 degrees out. Yikes. Quick aside before I get to the park: We stayed at the La Quinta in across from King's Dominion. Don't do that. I am one of the least picky travelers you will ever meet, but this place was an absolutely filthy dump with abysmal service. If anyone wants more detail, ask and I will provide, but this is a coaster forum so that is what I will talk about now. I just wanted to give the warning. The forecast for Sunday was a high of 97, but it didn't matter. We walked over to the park at opening and decided to walk towards the back at gate drop while letting the GP hit the stuff by the entrance. This was my third time in the park, but the first time since 2012. It was my 13 year old son's first time. Grizzly -- First ride we came to was this woodie. The entrance is weirdly through a gift shop, but they had signs up so it was no big deal. The coaster itself was also kind of no big deal. We were on what I think was the second train of the day and got a zen ride, so that might of contributed, but at the same time it was already well into the 90s out so I think that is kind of a wash in terms of the impact on the ride. It did its thing. We found it kind of boring, I guess. Inoffensive, but boring. Apple Zapple -- We saw Twisted Timbers and were excited for it, but I pulled my son over to the big wild mouse to hit it in case a line was going to build up. You know how these things go in terms of capacity. I was actually pretty disappointed by this one. Not that I had some grand expectation of greatness or anything, but I thought the big drop that this expanded model brought would do more. It was uninteresting and otherwise just a standard wild mouse once you popped up from it. Twisted Timbers -- We were 2/2 with minor coasters in terms of having basically no reaction to them. Was it the heat getting to us? RMC would put our ability to feel to the test. This was my first new credit, one of two for the day (or so I thought at the time), and it was both a laugh and a scream a minute. It is a little short, but Twisted Timbers has a GREAT layout for an airtime junky like me. I really loved this ride. My only problem was that I found the restraints pretty painful. After hitting back then front, a third ride was out of the question. I have found RMC restraints to be a really inconsistent experience for me. Some rides hurt a lot (this one), just a little (ex: Steel Vengeance), and some not at all (ex: Wicked Cyclone). Some even slowly release up and distract from the ride completely as I wonder if they are going to hold! (Storm Chaser) Still, even with the restraints making me feel like I just got off Superman at SFNE, I loved this ride. Racer 75 -- We went up the left side walkway first and hopped in the front row of the blue train for a race. The race lasted a quarter of the way up the lift hill when we were stopped so the ride ops could scold a lady for having her phone out. Race ruined. But the ride continued and ended up basically being the same experience I had at King's Island. I don't know if this ride is actually a clone or not, but it felt like it. For both Racers, I thought the ride out was really fun and the ride back too slow to deliver on its hills. Good ride overall though. You could feel it isn't tracking super well in the places that haven't been redone, but as with many of these old PTCs, they slow you down any time you turn around and the roughness doesn't matter much when it is going straight. Afterward, we repeated the ride on the right side for the second credit for the son. It was a let down to realize the ride was running three trains between the two sides though, so again we missed the race. Oh well. Coaster nerd bonus: When we got back to the hotel and I added these to the sheet, I realized I had not remembered that I had only ridden one side of Racer prior so there was a third credit I didn't expect. Tumbili -- Next we wandered over to the new themed area, which looked very nice. The heat was starting to get to me though, so I probably didn't take it in as well as I could have. We also got a view of the new B&M launched coaster going in while waiting in line. Another reason to come back eventually! Can't complain about that. Anyway, I have a weird relationship with 4D Free Spins. It seems like the longer I go without riding one, the more I like them. Then each ride very rapidly has diminishing returns until I hate them. Since it had been a couple years since I ran into a new one and I hadn't re-ridden any, I actually really liked Tumbili. We only got one spin, but the jerky drops and partial rotations were fun. This is was a nice filler addition. It was also my last new credit for the day. Reptilian -- What a difference a coat of paint makes! Avalanche/Reptilian is what it is. It is slow and meandering until it isn't at the end, but when it finally picks up the speed to be exciting, the ride immediately ends. I like the ride fine and would love to feel it without the first trim completely stopping the train someday. I can imagine how insane the finale would be if it got to keep the initial speed, if that would be safe of course. But back to the paint! The new look and re-theming to fit into the new area was brilliantly done. It is a very pretty ride now and fits great. Well done, KD. Backlot Stunt Coaster -- Now for the opposite. What the heck is this thing at this point? Just tear it out. Not a single effect is working anymore, quite literally not one, so I guess the theme is riding through a... junkyard? The launch is fun. I always think the first helix on these is an underrated intensity moment. Being launched the second time through the dark is fun, sure. But without any of the effects that mostly still worked last time we were at KI and CW, the coaster is just weird and lifeless. Take it out if you're not going to let it be what it is anymore. It isn't like the place is lacking for launches. Anaconda -- Oof. I will always be nostalgic towards old Arrows and hopeful while in line, but we got a really poor, headbanging ride on this one. I don't really remember it from 12 years ago, but I wish I did to compare how it has aged versus what it was then. The current state is not good. It is time to put in the money to fix this thing or replace it. Flight of Fear - I forget how much I end up liking these each time I ride them. The launch isn't the amazing punch it looks like it will be out of the station while waiting in line, but it is good enough and the spaghetti style, inversion filled layout with limited lighting is disorienting in a way that I always end up liking. I didn't notice any real differences between it and the other two I had ridden more recently either, unlike with Backlot Stunt Coaster. I also want to praise the restraints on these. I wish they caught on. The lap bars are super comfortable, there are no OTSRs, and the seatbelt clicking into the lapbar as a backup is much better for the rider, at least in my opinion, then having them actually wear the seatbelt. Project 305 - The last time I went to Kings Dominion and my first ride on I305 was the first year after the reprofiled turn, if I am remembering right, and I had kind of a funny experience. My wife and I rode it together, as we always did then, and I had no idea what the hell just happened to me. I grayed out hard right after even the reprofiled turn and barely registered the rest of the ride. I knew I needed a re-ride, but my wife... said no. She just flat out refused to do that again. This is the only time in our life together that she ever refused to ride anything. With that, I didn't ride it again until this trip. It was one of those perfect walk ons too. We grabbed the back not only without waiting with anyone ahead of us, but without even waiting at the gate. It opened as we joined the queue and we walked right on without ever stopping. Despite the heat and my dehydration, I did not gray out fully this time, though I was close, and I was able to recover quickly enough to enjoy the rest of the ride. I like this one better than I thought I did! What a powerhouse this giant Intamin is. I can only imagine the borderline 100 degree weather had it hauling particularly fast too. It will need to move up my nerd rankings for sure. I305 did make me nauseous though as I sat on the break run, probably because of the heat and dehydration, at least in part, so we left it again to one ride. We talked about coming back later at night and hitting it again after cooling off at the hotel, but we never did. Woodstock Express -- We peaked into the kiddy land to see if there was a line for this. Unsurprisingly given the heat and lack of lines all day, it was a walk on so we grabbed the credit for my kid. Every time I ride one of these, I think about what an underrated ride it is for the kids. Modern bigger kid friendly coasters like Gravity Group family woodies or Vekoma Family Inverts have upped their speed and intensity, so this bigger looking ride with its calm, but not boring (for a kid) layout is an increasingly rare sweetspot as a stepping stone for young kids working their nerves up for the big rides. We also grabbed a ride on the air conditioned little shooter while in the area to cool off. I am sad to report my son beat me on one of these for the first time ever, thought to be honest we both performed poorly! Dominator -- We closed our time in the oven with a ride on this B&M Floorless. My god was it moving in the heat. This was unquestionably the fastest and most intense ride I have ever gotten on a B&M Floorless, bar none. It was very rattly, but that rarely bothers me on B&Ms and I loved the ride we got. If we weren't dying from the heat at this point, I would have wanted another go. We were very much dying from the just under 100 degree heat, however, so we walked back to the hotel and ended up calling it a night. It only took about five hours on the dot to work through the entire lineup at King's Dominion. The crowds were light due the forecasted highs and I imagine those who were there were mostly at the water park. I think the only coasters were waited at all for were Tumbili and Backlot Stunt Coaster. Neither wait was more than 20 minutes. All in all it was a good, albeit HOT, day at the park. I hit credit number 237 and Dominator was my son's 175th. Busch Gardens Williamsburg was our plan for the next day. Somehow the forecast was even hotter, but that is a post coming in that thread. Thanks for reading. EDIT: I put the date as the 20th instead of the 14th. What is time, anyway?