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After a restful evening, we woke up early to rope drop Oktoberfest for our full day at the fair grounds. As it turns out, most of the attractions don't open until a few hours after the grounds open, as most people are (justifiably) rushing to the beer tents. But the emptiness gave us a chance to see the space more freely before it would be time to check in for our reservations at the Lowenbrau tent. Must be first! (No, not really.) Might I interest you in some cured fish? The celebrity portraits on this game booth are so bad they're great! Dr. Archibald Master of Time is a huge dark ride experience that somehow has no physical show elements as riders experience the full attraction with VR headsets while moving through the physical building on ride vehicles... You know the rule. There's something about a giant ferris wheel that just feels right at festival grounds. Dan, right behind you. Timmy hates explanations, or so I'd assume. The gang's all here! This will be a moment long remembered. This is currency and in it, we were rich. Sweet elixir of life. Good beer, good food, great company--many memories! Reed and his refreshing radishes. Yes, I ordered a hearty helping of sauerkraut and it was worth every bite. This pork knuckle was the small portion option and I had the meat sweats after eating it. The strength astounds me. More delicious shredded pancakes for dessert! This happens at Oktoberfest. And this. When the pickle vendor passes, you don't pass up a chance to pick a pickle. Tangy yet satisfying. The better (butter)beer mustache. Prost! Such an amazing experience! And a good time was had by all! After our time in the Lowenbrau tent, we roamed the grounds to enjoy more rides... This standing "Looping the Loop" was intriguing but that much manual effort didn't feel right after consuming so much food and beer. The sheer scale and ornateness of this Rotor's facade was impressive. "The Devil's Wheel" had long been something that interested me... And witnessing the experience was well worth the hype... But trying it out firsthand? Wacky. Hilarious. Uncomfortable at times? Yes to all of the above. As unflattering as this photo is, it is my trophy showing the moment not only in which I gave birth, but in which I won the round by being the last on the Wheel! We had to try one more time... Some of our group passed the test with flying colors. Me, not so much. Such a great view! Down Joey goes! As the sun began to set we continued to try more experiences... Here on the giant slide my victory was sure to be documented for all to see... Nevermind. I'm not above riding both sides. Clench and squish! Bob joined me in finally riding the aneurism-inducing Predator. It was insane and intense but one of my favorite rides at Oktoberfest. The Pixels shooting dark ride was... Bizarre. Alpina Bahn is Olympia Looping's sibling at the fair and it features newer trains from Gerstlauer. While it was still fun, I definitely preferred Olympia Looping overall. Time for a meter long marzipan crepe! It has a waterfall, therefore we must ride. It was quite fun! You could've guessed where we'd end up for dinner... The booth that makes this amazing pasta even featured us on their social media in all of our embarrassing glory!

Six Flags purchased Kentucky Kingdom. It's being removed without warning.

Luckily, when you own the largest theme park chain you can just lower the standards. That way, when HITP goes away from SFGAdv, it will just be expected.

Kings Dominion has officially cut WinterFest starting this year. Of course they've been selling season passes for months with "includes Haunt and WinterFest" listed right at the top, but hey... I'm sure once they decide they haven't already taken enough away from Great Adventure then HITP will probably go away there too.

Eagle is far one of my most favorite coasters EVER. I was still working at the park for her 40th. I cant remember if it was that season or a few prior where she got the most love since she was built... new paint, a bunch of new lumber and new chaser lights. Needless to say the lights lasted about half a season and since then, she has been neglected. Now I know with older classic woodies, the attention they need is nonstop, and we all know Six Flags isn't the type of park/ chain to continually keep her topnotch. But it WOULD be amazing to see her get the biggest overhaul since her debut for her 50th. I miss the old que, the massive sign on the mid hill, and the rock logo. All just memories

You really don't need to.

I agree, it gets frustrating to visit both parks because of the operations and lack of rides. I was recently looking at BGW's ride collection and saw they had almost twice as many rides (not counting kids rides) as BGT. BGT could use some flats and a dark ride to help spread out crowds. Kumba and Congo River Rapids are still closed and not supposed to be reopening anytime soon (rumor is Kumba has a broken lift motor and the rapids needs a new pump) and now Sheikra and the log flume are having their annual maintenance with both supposedly closed until March. Even with those 2 rides open until today, these past few weeks had some of the highest wait times ever for some coasters with Cheetah Hunt and Iron Gwazi both having up to 4 hour posted waits.