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the only good news I can report on today. Six Flags Fiesta Texas, has quietly dropped the height restriction on Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger. . . . after Park President Jeffery Siebert started teasing the other day that the Doctor was expanding her practice. the Dive coaster was minimum height 52" not anymore!

Day 1 part 2: Oktoberfest at night. . after the rain has come. the downpour for a couple of hours while we were eating, really cleared out the crowds. side benefit is that it really made for some beautiful pics, with the lights from all the rides reflecting up off the wet ground. we entered not thru the main entrance (that would be tomorrow), but the group I was with, including Jon, Nick and Christopher), went in on the side closest to the restaurante we were at, on the right. near what they call: "Vomit Hill" I would have renamed it "Vomit and Piss Hill" as there were so many people doing both. . . which was a bit shocking since it's on the side of a beautiful building (a Museum?) with this incredible statue out front. but as noted. . it's on the far right side of the Oktoberfest fair - which is about as big as 3 football fields, I'd say - so I guess it really IS "off the beaten path" even tho we came in on this side tonight (for the only time) looking across. . the main corridor is up ahead and if we turned left, would see many of the HUGE beer tents that line the main corridor. the rides are all on the outlying corridors and the outside of the fair. with the "big" rides separated to help out with crowds, I'd assume. this, tho it looks like a ride, is a game booth. the rides are all independently operated, and there are multiple versions of some rides (I counted at least 4 breakdance type rides) - and they all run insane cycles to help draw crowds to them. The incredible lighting, fog, and fire effects help do that too. the giant Ferris wheel at the back of the main corridor of the fair (if you come in under the Oktoberfest sign and walk straight back, eventually you get to it). interestingly, my favorite area of the entire fair was back here BEHIND the Ferris wheel on the right - it was an "Oktoberfest Museum" of sorts, that had classic artwork, posters, haunt figures, information, food, drink, and a bunch of classic (like ancient) rides, that also ran crazy cycles - including a waltzer that the operator hand cranked to get it to go faster, and you had to fight for an open carriage when the ride stopped! NEVER in America LOL. and the rides in this section were all 1.50 Euro (much cheaper than anywhere in the fair, tho you did have to pay 4 euro to get into this section). I visited back there on day 3, so will be pics forthcoming of that. Christopher and I in front of one of the official welcome signs. pretty sure this is a different BreakDance again, this is relatively empty ! because it had rained. . can you imagine what a Friday night would have been if it had been nice? (we'd see that the next night when could barely move in the place!) tho there were several drop towers in the fair, this is actually a pic of a drop tower and a Catwoman's Whip style ride. but really, I think I was trying to get the pic of the Alpina Bahn sign along side the huge Lowenbrau tent - where we would be on Monday. this is one of the beer halls. made to look like Gingerbread and candies. Incredible that they build this up just for ~3 weeks. this amazing thing is called the Predator. imagine an Enterprise that's on a Gyroscope. and yes, I did ride it on one of the days - before eating of course - and LOVED it. but look at this crazy thing! multiple Himalayas and Music Expresses too ' more looks at what Predator does.. it really is mesmerizing. and a really long cycle too. but enough foreplay . it was time to head to the very back of the fair, for what many of us had wanted to come on this trip for: Olympia Looping. and it's jaw dropping in person snapping pics as we walked up to Olympia Looping. a variation on a Breakdance, called Parkour, and another Drop Tower this was a ghost train, but they had added VR to it. I did ride it one day, and it kinda made me nauseous. . but when it's over? you're not done. . . they make you go thru a fun house to get out! including stepping on mushrooms to find your path, and if you miss? water below it. but yeah, they really want you to get your $$ worth out of it. oh, and not everyone is seeing the same VR thing. . so you'd have to ride multiple times to make sure you get all options. (once was enough for me) the outside is very cool tho. and now a bunch of pics of Olympia Looping. . . i mean, are you really looking at Olympia Looping if you don't get pics of all 5 loops? time to ride! waited one train for front row (I discovered quickly it's much more forceful in the back, but for my 1st ride? I wanted to ride in the front) they were running 2 trains this 1st night due to the rain, but some days we were there they had 4 running. proof! as it got later the fair got a bit quieter. . but it didn't stop all the friendly (ie: drunk) folks from making our acquaintance. a pic of me in front of Looping turned into this wonderful pic with drunk revelers. and even Christopher - who had been taking the picture - got into it with a selfie. tho I did get this cute photo op they set up out front of it. other nights were so crowded, no way to get a decent pic, so I'm really happy we went and rode this 1st night. Right next to Olympia Looping is the Carousel Bar - where the center of it is actually a Carousel that spins while you drink. even on a relatively quiet night it was packed, tho I did spend quite a bit of time there during our visits to the fair. Um. . . ok? you GO, "Jumbo Flug" the famous Toboggan slide, with the Conveyor Belt lift hill. no, I didn't do it - I'm a klutz and would have broken my neck. But it was a ton of fun watching people try it, and several from TPR did really well on it. (the guys standing along the wall are to help pick up the people that fall on the conveyor belt and get them to the top) equally as well known from the fair is this. . aka: the Devil's Wheel - the spinning ride where you pay to go in and watch, and run down when they call groups to try and be the last one on the wheel. Adam from TPR won a round on this trip. probably due to the weather (it's covered inside) it was PACKED in there tonight even, so didn't go in, and just got this pic outside of it. one of three ghost trains at the fair. This one was the middle one (there's one much better and one much worse) but in this one? you ride in cages. so, of course, Jon and I wanted to ride the outside does a fantastic job making you want to go in and ride. it was just a lot of props in front of black drapes tho. meh. . .C- the Wild Mouse was fantastic. not only was it all lit up, AND they were racing it the whole time. . but I've never been on a Wild Mouse with so much airtime. it was so good. . . both sides. and I'm sure the wild mouse on ride photo was officially licensed too (didn't get one, because it was more than the one at Olympia Looping). incredibly well lit, and flashy Rotor. with a waterfall, and what looked like a funhouse prior to getting on the ride. classic looping ride. and it made me laugh that they have the Olympic rings on the front Bannister. how drunk must one be to think this is Olympia Looping? one of two massive Claw rides. . this one was Konga, and had giant fire effects too. finally made it over to my other "must do tonight" ride: Alpina Bahn the trains were lit up, and the tracks were wet from the rain, and this sucker was FLYING. I absolutely loved this, and think I may have ridden it more than Olympia Looping during my visits to the fair (tho I rode both of them 5-6 times) the bears up top are Animatronic, tho since they were speaking German, I have no idea what they were going on about even on the 1st night, I got to see the "true meaning of Oktoberfest" turns out that unless you pass out in a walkway? Security leaves you alone. . this guy was just fine on a bench, and saw many folks laying on the grass on the sides that were left undisturbed. as we were headed back to the hotel - it had been a really long day, and I had ridden all 3 of the coasters (only one side of Mouse), I was ready to sleep - we passed by the biggest of the ghost trains, and had to stop by to take a look at it. wouldn't ride it until the next day. . but ended up riding it several times, it was that good. Geister Palast (Ghost Palace) still headed towards the exit (the fair is really big!). . here's a shooting dark ride, that was Nintendo - adjacent. I think Elissa had the high score on this one for a bit (posted outside the ride) one of multiple FunHouses thruout the fair - this one with the whole lower level as a mirror maze and yet another infamous ride spotted, the Tagada. this one with a metal floor. this one was pretty violent, and was shooting people off the seats and into the center during some of the spins. very fun to watch. . . and with that, we made our way back to the hotel, and I crashed. tomorrow was the official start of the trip and we were starting out the day with Skyline Park. and a ride I was terrified of, but had promised I'd ride it (and made the statement publicly) after I chickened out and didn't ride it in Finland. but for now? sleep. . .

If that everything is standing in an unmoving line in Pandora, sure! You're right, though. Without the Avatar waits padding your day there's really not much at the park outside of enjoying the atmosphere and the shows. We finished our trip with an AK day and managed to fill it between shows and multiple laps on Everest and Kilimanjaro. If I were still a teen or 20-something, though, I'd have been aching for an excuse to leave. Now that I'm almost 40 with a toddler, well, the day was fan-friggin-tastic and I wouldn't change a thing.

A B&M dive, even a small one, costs considerably more than an RMC Iron Horse.

back on the bus, we headed towards Swansea. . we were gonna be spending the next day at Oakwood (home of Megafobia!) but for the rest of the day, was gonna be travel, and check into the hotel. Then later tonight was the Snack Exchange - where everyone brings a treat they enjoy to share with everyone else, and we do a lobby takeover to share. some pics from the bus: and then once checked in, any of us hit the closeby Grocery Store to stock up on any needed things, as well as grab some food for dinner. in the store, I noticed this and snapped a picture. a decision was made as to what was most important here, methinks. back at the hotel, some pics of the snack exchange. . . .most everything was very good, or at least "interesting" - yes, I'm talking about your Vegemite, Nick! and seems that I didn't take separate pics of the swag. . so here's some pics of swag that cover most of what I've covered so far anyways. . . including that Lego figure from Legoland! hopefully another update coming not too far off. . . but first, to get started on my Oktoberfest report!

Day 3, LegoLand Mini-Land pictures: these figures partied too hard with the sheep, and passed out after

well, I certainly jinxed myself, didn't I? Tho I guess *technically* it didn't take me a month for the next update..it took me almost 7 weeks (whoops). and that I went to Oktoberfest with TPR earlier this month, means that I'll have two trip reports running concurrently - but gonna TRY to keep things sorta consistent. so onward. . day 3: Legoland Windsor! where we stopped for a visit on our way to Swansea, Wales. our first "Surprise Park" of the trip. we got there before opening, and not only is it a gorgeous setting, but it's up in the hills. . so lots and lots of walking (turns out there is a funicular that we could have used to get back up later but I didn't spot that until we were almost back at the front gates near the top. . . LOL) Group Pic courtesy of Robb this park is just beautiful. . . just look at that view (more on that later). the park is all "hidden" down steep pathways below us. a slow moving monorail type ride. . one of my favorite "stupid" rides that I love doing at parks. and tons of "full size" mini-figs sprinkled all thruout the park as we were walking down. this is what we were headed towards. . the park's brand new Dueling Family Boomerang coaster! we got to watch it testing, and I love the theming on this. . .they even did a "crash thru" of a billboard. . . forwards and backwards. . the heavier train did seem to win most times. . . and out front is the "World's Biggest Mini-fig", Roxie ! Group Pic with Roxie, courtesy of Robb time to ride! I believe they CAN operate just one side, but where's the fun in that?? ya gotta race! and that means, of course, riding both sides. first I rode blue (and our train won) and then I rode Orange, and we won again! (and I'm not taking credit for making the train that much heavier ) but it really is a rather fun family boomerang (by Zierer, not Vekoma). it wasn't "meh" at all, and I think it will be a huge hit for the park. our next stop was walking over to the Castle for DragonCoaster, just before official park open. we passed by Mini-land to cut thru and I snapped some pics while walking, but most of the mini-land pics will be in the next post. the famous Fire Academy at this Legoland hadn't opened for business yet when we passed it. nor had the shooting mummy dark ride, but we'd come back for this once turned loose in the park. and before we knew it (after walking a bit, as it's a larger park than it appears) we were at the Castle for the Lego-land signature Dark Ride/Coaster, Dragon. no cameras allowed on ride, but I had gotten an ok to take pics while in queue. . . so at least got the adorable train! group pic in front of Dragon Coaster courtesy of Robb ummm. . . . other than the Duplo Kiddie coaster, the only other coaster at LegoLand Windsor is the family, Dragon's Apprentice - and that was down today. . so we were cut loose and a group of us made our way into the park. several of us did the Mummy Shooting ride, and then noticed the Train was about to pull up (the Mummy ride queue actually crosses the train tracks in the center, and had a woman with stop signs there to ensure no one was on the tracks when the train passed thru the queue. . a bit odd, but charming). so we hopped on the train for a trip around the park lots of theming around the tracks on this train ride: the boats didnt' appear to be on a track here, and it was a pretty large course too. we had limited time here tho, and I was more interested in the SeaLife Aquarium and the mini-land. . so had to pick and choose what to do. and of course have to stop for any photo ops! we had been advised by our guides that the flying theatre here was pretty good and to not miss it, so headed over that way into the "Mythica" area of the park. I really loved how the queue has lego creations of the creatures featured in the film. (having now been to LegoLand Germany, and ridden their coaster that's also themed to the Tri-Lion, I know they use these same models in that queue too. . making them a bit less unique. but still rather cool) after the aquarium (and I think the Ninjago area. . which I strangely have no pics of, but probably because was rushing to get things done on my list). . I did stop for a photo op. and then it was time to head to my last "biggie" here. .the haunted house. which was right across from the lego boats, so got some more pics of those as we passed by. the queue for the Haunted House is adorable. I remembered how the Haunted House in LegoLand Billund ended in a surprise ride, so was looking forwards to what this one might contain. oh my. . it's a dance party in the lobby. no, really. . and it was fun and we all danced. and then you go into the house, and the actual whole thing is a ride - it's a madhouse! (a gentle one, but I always love a madhouse). splitting up to hit the last things we wanted to get on, Stacey and I headed to the kiddie area, as she really wanted the Duplo kiddie coaster credit. passing by the Fire Academy, it was busy this time, so snapped some pics (it's a real workout!) I think what I liked best about the Duplo Coaster (besides how absolutely adorable it is), is the setting - it's just below the new Coaster (s). . so from that line, you can get some good pics of the racing boomerang. D'awwwwww. . . OMG . . it's so cute! so even tho I tend not to ride kiddie coasters? yeah, I had to ride this one. and I spotted this just across the walkway from it. . which checks EVERY single box for "dumb ride that bert will love" it goes up and down. .and turns a little bit. . that's really it. of COURSE I had to ride it. thanks to Stacey for the pics after time spent in Mini-Land, we started our trek back up the path towards the front - making sure to leave us enough time to get back since the park is so large. lots more figs and things to look at on the way back up too. I even found the figure I had bought a magnet of earlier in the day! back at the top. . check out this view! I believe that's London way off in the distance? and from the park? A view of Windsor Castle! a glimpse of the winding paths down into the park proper. and right by the main gates? a large Lego store, of course I SO wanted this, but no way to get it home.. just too big. So I'll have to order online And with that, we headed back onto the Bus, and continued our drive towards Sansea, Wales. but first, I split out all the Miniland pics into a separate post below

Those animatronics look pretty amazing! Didn't it look like Frankenstein's Monster was "walking" at one point? Also, and I may be completely wrong, it seems like the Monsters land is really focused around the castle as the "HQ" for the baddies. Dracula seems to have his own restaurant, the Stakehouse, run by vampires (familiars?) Maybe something similar with Curse of the Werewolf -- it's related to the Unchained storyline perhaps? Anyway, this is by far the portal I want to explore the most.

A new video that Universal has released, shows a few of the the AA figures for the "Monsters Unchained" attraction. But I noticed at :35 of the video, the Wolfman is in a crouched position, looking down and taking a swipe at ....? It made me think that this AA is for the "Curse of The Werewolf" spinning coaster, in that barn where the back-and-forth goes through it twice. I forget the name of that coaster element. Sorry. But in the barn, it would be at the end of it, where the train is shot back through it and up into that banked curve, IMhO.