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I live in Erie, it's nuts here currently. I do always enjoy seeing Waldameer post pictures when we get a storm like this though.

It's crazy to see how much snow they received in a short period of time. I also like seeing parks during the off-season.

Day 2 (1st official day of trip) - night-time at Oktoberfest Fair a quick stop at the hotel to relax and take off my shoes, and then a group of us on the trip met down in the lobby around 5:30 to head over to the fair. it had started to get colder, but I thought I'd be ok - something I really regretted by the time I got to the fair gates. so first stop was to buy a T-shirt that I put on over the shirt I had been wearing. this was Saturday evening, and Elissa had warned us that it would be the most crowded we'd see at the fair. and yes, she was correct! this time we went in thru the main entrance, and went all the way to the back down the main corridor: lot of people headed out. . but TONS more coming in as night fell, and the weather report cleared up the giant buildings are the big Beer Tents that line the main corridor. Each one brews a special beer just for Oktoberfest sales. this corn freaky thing is apparently a famous sight at Oktoberfest. not gonna lie, the corn smelled fantastic but he (it?) freaked me the hell out. the Enterprise was running a good cycle with a great lighting pkg. but of course, we headed over direct to Olympia Looping. . which had many trains operating at once tonight. this was the crappy Ghost Train. . . tho the outside was pretty dang tempting. the group I headed out to the fair with. . and a couple of photo bombers for dinner we found one of the many wurst stands that looked (and smelled) amazing. but this one had an area off to the side where one could stand relatively uncrowded and eat. so this won out. I have no idea what I ordered, I just pointed to one and said "that one" it was good, and at least had a normal size bun, even if it was a HUGE sausage. (and a nice view of the shirt I bought to help stay warm, and made a fantastic souvenir) the clouds really helped the lights reflect. . it was so lovely tonight. . tho very very busy peeking into one of the beer tents thru a window, as we walked down one of the many alleys to a restroom. all of them have live music too. we ended up at one of the oldest rides in the Oktoberfest Fair - Hexen Schaukel - which is a classic Madhouse, the type you would have gone to in the early 1900s. I loved the design of the tickets: but what really sold me was the gesturing finger (in the center of the pic) that drew customers in with a "come hither" movement. lots of signs up about the history of the attraction, but all were in German (of course) wonderful design work on the outside, tho the inside of the Haunted Swing only sat about 12 people, and the "room" that rotated around us was more like a giant paper bag. The artwork was charming tho - done as if by a child. . so it really did come across as a ride that had come thru time to appear at the fair. This attraction also had my favorite moment of this night at the fair: when they closed the door to start the ride, there were 4 of us from TPR, two girls, and across from us, these two guys in Lederhosen. the moment the lights went out, the guys started shaking out powder onto their hand and snorting it. they made a big production, offering to everyone on the ride - the girls strongly (but firmly and politely) declined, and all of us said no too. . even muttering - I'm not snorting some random stuff off some stranger's hand in Germany. But the guys thought it was hysterical. . and were laughing and giggling. when the lights came on at ride end, the offered me again, and I again said "no thank you". .but asked if I could take a picture of them. which resulted in one of my favorite pictures that I took: we kinda shook our heads, and laughed at the picture and then made our way over to Alpina Bahn for rides. this is a picture Erik took from the Ferris wheel, just of the main corridor of the fair. gives you an idea of just how crowded the place was around 9pm! there were so many amazing smells from the booths, so several of us decided to try Chimney Cakes. . that were rather unique looking. they make them fresh by putting the raw dough onto the spokes, then baking them and deep frying in oil, before dipping in toppings. served warm, the Cinnamon I think was the best (and we were told most popular), but I personally also tried the Raspberry sugar rolled, and that one was excellent too. about the consistency of a funnel cake, but tasted more like a sweet bread. headed over to the biggest of the Ghost Trains, and the one I liked the best - even loved the cars on this one. and then back to Olympia Looping for another ride right next to it (on the left) is the Carousel Bar. . which was much more crowded than the night before. But we spotted Hans in there, so headed in to join them for a drink. no luck getting on the Carousel tho ... it was pretty packed. so we hung out in a spot near the mug return, at the front of the bar entrance PROST!!! while chatting, Ryan and I made some new friends. we told them about the guys in the Hexen Madhouse and they laughed and showed us what they guys had been snorting. it's a Cinnamon & Sugar mix that gets sold exclusively at fairs (can't recall if they said it was only Oktoberfest or fairs in general in Germany). they said "it burns but gives you a boost of energy". . which made me laugh, as that could be a description for a different white powder one snorts. when they showed us the bottle, it matched what the guys on Hexen had. . . . so at least I was relieved it was nothing illegal. I still didn't want any tho. didn't stop them from posting for a pic for me, with a rolled up Euro tho. . . .LOL (and yes, I asked Ryan if he had an issue with me including this in the Trip report) best thing about our spot at the Carousel Bar? able to get some really nice pics of Olympia Looping from where we were standing. the mouse was still racing. . . and we HAD to go back, as Andrew and I had to ride the left side whee! and of course there was a kiddie coaster at the Oktoberfest I didn't want to ride it, but was able to document it for those who did. look at these proud faces and we then bumped into a very happy Jonathan! who hung with us for the next hour or so until we all headed back to the hotel. not sure where we are here, but I THINK it's the bar across from the Toboggan (the Garden bar?) wandering towards the main entrance / exit. . . we stumbled across what became my favorite flat at the fair: Voodoo Jumper. fire effects, long ass cycle, and just a ton of fun! Even Barry who doesn't like spinning rides, rode it twice the next night with us. So good. . I don't' video, but I'm sure someone recorded a cycle and posted online. of course we were gonna stop and ride it! whee! most of this fog here? is coming from a Bumper Cars ! Seriously, they loaded so much fog into that, it was like a 70s disco. and after convincing some that it was time to head back to the hotel, as we had another full day tomorrow. . . we did stop and watch the Tagada for a bit. people kept staring at me, and someone said they thought it was because with my shiny jacket, and standing next to Jon, I looked like a famous person with his bodyguard (ha!!!).. so they were trying to work out who I was. loved this Church just outside the main gates of the festival. and then it was a short walk back to the hotel. . where I promptly crashed. tomorrow was another full day!

Hi everyone and greetings from Cologne, Germany, my wife and me will be on a caribean cruise during Christmas, will be back in Florida on December 31 and fly back to Germany on January 1, 2024 from Orlando. Do you have any recommendation where to celebrate NYE in Orlando? We're staying close to Universal that night– but would be open for any suggestions. I thought that parks may be open till 2am – but it looks like they close at 12.... So where should we go to have good time, see a nice firework and maybe can go on some rides? Thanks for your help! WR Markus

Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and SeaWorld are all open till 1am. Disney parks are all midnight at the latest. The FunSpot parks are also midnight. So it's really up to you what parks, rides you want to do, SeaWorld would probably give you the best deal for rides, fireworks, and fun for the price.