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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. . .

at first, when I heard that TPR was doing an Oktoberfest trip in 2024, I thought there was no way I'd be able to participate - I mean, I'm not a big drinker, and the trips are really limited space wise. but after talking it over with Elissa and being assured I wasn't the only non-drinker that would be on the trip, and besides, imagine getting to experience the Halloween event at Europa Park (180,000 pumpkins! and the Traumatica night time offering), I was all in, and luckily was invited to join along. so yes, I'll have two TPR trip reports running at the same time, since I'm still nowhere near finished on the UK Trip I did in June/July it was an AMAZING trip, with multiple bucket list things checked off (Olympia Looping, Voltron, Alpina Bahn) and even things I didn't know should have been on my bucket list (experiencing a Halloween Haunt in Germany - holy crap were these amazing) . .and hopefully these pics capture that. Starting off, I was flying the day before the trip officially started, and was arriving in Munich the morning of the trip. I would have preferred to have a little more time (especially between flights, since I had to sprint thru the DC airport to make my flight to Germany due to flight delay out of Ausatin), but I knew there was some sightseeing time on this trip, so I did my best to make use of my available vacation and headed to the Austin airport. starting off smiling and perky at the Austin airport. barely made my flight to Munich. . and then we sat on the tarmac for about an hour + as they dealt with one mechanical issue after another. Not exactly what you want to hear before a trans-atlantic flight. but at least I wasnt' alone on this flight, as CFC was also on this flight and we had said hello as I rushed thru boarding. eventually we got on our way, and enjoyed a nice dinner: and breakfast, before landing in Munich. because we arrived so late, there was no gate available for us at the Munich airport, so we parked on the tarmac, took the stairs down, and then took busses to the side Customs entrance - which worked out wonderfully. Customs was a breeze, as it was only OUR plane using this side. Soon enough was down in Baggage claim, where I met up with CFC, and also Nathan. . and we all hopped into a taxi and made our way to the 1st hotel of the trip (a close, 15 minute walk to the Oktoberfest grounds). several folks were around this morning who didn't have enough time to do outside of the city sightseeing, but had a few hours before the welcome dinner. So several of us teamed up, and hopped on the train, and went to the City Center to see the famous clock tower: the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. I was impressed by the train - one long, open train. . . . . it was surprising not to see it separated by subway cars as they do here in the USA. lots of folks on this train headed to Oktoberfest too, even tho it was a Friday, and the skies had been threatening rain. coming off the train and looking at the amazing architecture in the City Central plaza and here's the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel it goes off at Noon and has several tiers of moving characters that enact a joust (complete with riders falling from horses) and a complex dance recital. we were still a bit early for that, so the square hadn't quite filled up, but it DID get pretty crowded as it got closer to noon. better shot of the tiered levels of the clock. . and you can see we still had about 25 minutes till noon. the group I went with: Myself, Bob, Erik, Nathan, and Chuck (CFC) a photo op? don't mind if I do! the clock in action during it's 10 minute or so performance (interestingly, this clock runs about 4 minutes behind. . so all the other clock towers in the area finish chiming Noon before this one starts up). I angled the pic upwards to go over the crowd, but the square is PACKED now. afterwards, we went into the actual tower (tho didn't pay for the tour. . it's free to just go in tho to look around) Munich has a bunch of sister-cities, and they're represented here in the entrance arch. Cincinnati? really? gorgeous stained glass windows in here. some pics from the interior square of the clock tower building the gargoyles in here were a ton of fun. . and many of them were of the "drainage" variety after wandering around for a bit, and buying some souvenirs (the Oktoberfest fair has a store here in the Central square, so could buy stuff here without the crowd), we stopped for a light snack. we were gonna eat in a few hours, so i stuck with an apple fritter desert only, and it was fantastic. (there are 3 here, and I shared with the table) we made it back to the hotel, and our rooms were now ready, so was able to relax for a bit (and shower) before it was time to head to the lobby and meet up with everyone to walk over to the restaurant for the official welcome dinner. i remembered to snap a pic with Elissa - proof of life to send home - and got to say hello to more friends I hadn't seen in a bit. Nick had been on the UK tour a couple of months prior, but it had been a year or so since I'd gotten to see Jon. it was great to hang out with them again. as well as see folks I hadn't see in years, and meet some folks for the first time whom I've interacted with online for a long time, but had never met in person. we all followed Robb & Elissa to the restaurant for the "welcome dinner", and just outside - for some reason - was this giant snail. so we stopped and posed for a pic! (photo courtesy of Robb) here's the restaurant we went to - a traditional German beerhouse, that was packed (as it was very close by to the Oktoberfest fair) we had 3 full tables in one part of the restaurant. . so it was a mini-TPR takeover. (oh, and it started pouring literally moments after we sat down, so no rush to finish off anything as the food started coming out. . and coming, and coming!) Prost! LtR: Barry, Andy, Colin, Hawk, Doug, and I think John's arm, and Eric's coke? yup. .a Beer as big as Eric's head! these gluttonous masses were . . . . something. I think they were supposed to be the potato dumplings. . but they were a very strange texture, and had a flavor like . . . air. yeah. .they were something. I wasn't really all that hungry, the problem was the food was all HUGE! So even trying to eat small meant taking big pieces. felt guilty for wasting food, but not gonna lie, the chicken was the best I've ever had. I mean ever. the braise on the crispy skin was so damn good.. ate way more than I should have. my plate, with TRYING to eat small.. . tiny scoops of the sides, so i DID try. (that's the smallest pork knuckle that was available on the tray!) the texture of a breast implant, and the shape of a ball. . . yay! tho good for a picture, it was really the only thing (besides the liverwurst - but I don't like liver) that I didn't care for. Everything else was excellent. Official pic of our table from the waitress *or maybe it's Colin doing a selfie? LtR: Hawk, Doug, Eric, Jonathan, Jere, Hanno (hiding behind Jere), Jon, me, Barry, Andy, Colin with the meal winding down, and the rain slowing to a really light drizzle. . . several of us decided to check out the Oktoberfest Fair, figuring (correctly) that the rain probably drove a lot of folks out. and some, like myself and Christopher, really wanted to get rides on Alpina Bahn and Olympia Looping. . . why wait? do it now. it made for some great pictures. that's the next post in part II of day 1

Ka is coming to SFSTL, I can feel it in my gut! Instead of your typical Trains however, they will use the Horses from our SBNO Carousel. This explains why it hasn't opened in the last 5 years, this was on the Books.

the Safari can take up a lot of time too. . . depending on what time of day you hit it.

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!

So happy to see some movement on the dinorama area. Good riddance. Seems like there’s a good 3 months or longer to ride Dinosaur. I still need to get on Bugs Life for the first time since 2002 ha.. Sure you can speed run the rides since there are so few of them, but the wildlife walks, theater shows, character interactions, and animal shows are really what makes the park an all or most of the day visit. Not to mention the amazing restaurants like Yak n Yeti and Nomad and Harambe market! I may be in the minority that I wish there was more to do in Pandora. Like Hogsmeade / you have one star attraction with an instant and all day massive line. River Journey is usually too long to justify and is just okay to me as the #2 attraction there. Great for families and people of all ages and heights but… at times boat rides at WDW have a long stack at the end of the ride that is as long as the ride itself or longer kills the buzz a bit. This has happened every River Journey ride for me.

Thank God. We were getting spoiled.

And now that Hallowe'en is done... the PNE is now selling tickets for their annual Winter Fair. The Fair runs from beginning of December, to the 23rd. Lots of stuff to do, see, eat, drink! https://www.pne.ca/winter-fair/