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Popped over to SeaWorld San Antonio today, to check out the Seven Seas Food Festival (running Thurs-Sun until May 18) - and in hopes it would be a quiet day, since it was Thursday and the weather was beautiful. there have been a few changes since last year's festival. the most noticeable is that "Greece" and "Italy" are now gone. (what was used for Greece is now a year round Boba stand, that seemed quite popular - and what used to be Italy, is now: Mediterranean, that serves a sorta mix of what the two stops used to serve) France is no longer over by Journey to Atlantis, and has been moved over to near the Penguins (meaning that France and Japan are now really close to each other, great for sampling from them both). a new "area" booth has opened just outside of Catapult Falls, called "Gulf Coast" with all new dishes (and all were quite good) and what I think is the BEST change? your punch is now good for ANYTHING on the menus - including the full sized (not sampler sized) cocktails. 10 punch lanyard is $70 (~$79 after taxes and fees). . .but passholders not only get a free sample via the Pass portal for all of April, but also can buy a 12 punch lanyard for the same price (you have to ASK for the 12 punch lanyard, and they scan your card). But still. . .that averages out to just over $6 per dish. a steal if you are getting something pricey or just getting cocktails (that average $16). had a great time today. . on to pictures! as noted. . beautiful day! and not super crowded to start out. . tho it did get a little busier as the day went on. we were there just a bit too early for 7Seas (they start serving at 11:30), so instead we headed to the park's newest coaster: Beach Rescue Racer. the prior time I was here a couple of weeks ago, the wait for this was almost 2 hours! so we didn't wait. but got my first ride on it today. a fun, family, Zierer, with some pops of air in the back car. not something I'd wait on if it's a busy day, but for a 15-20 minute wait? a fun ride. As it's Thursday, the main 7Seas booth was not being staffed. But Guest Services sent us over to the main restaurant near the entrance (where they had absolutely no idea what we were talking about when inquiring about wanting to purchase the 7Seas punch card - you know, the big festival they have going on???? luckily, a Manager was available and apologized and sent us over to Hawaii to buy them - and third time was the charm (and they had *literally* just been handed them the moment we walked up, so they did have both the 12 and 10 punch cards). we didn't want to start with Hawaii (or Brazil, which we had passed going to Hawaii), so instead headed on to Japan. Steel Eel was running 2 trains and was walk on, but we skipped it today. we managed to time getting to Japan just as the Living Garden show was starting, with the drummers and the water Geisha. so we ordered food and sat down to watch the show. here's a look at the Japan menu sadly, the Sashimi is no longer an item I got the Pork Gyoza, Beef Bulgogi Bowl, and the Double Dragon Punch (with Rum and Passionfruit) everything was excellent. I even was thinking of @SharkTums as I devoured the yummy Gyoza and the cast of the Water Garden was happy to stay for pictures after (everyone was afraid to approach them, but once I started it, they had a line for pictures) as noted, France is pretty close to Japan now, so Russell went over there and got a couple of things here's the menu: top is the Crepe Suzettes w/ Ice Creame, and bottom is the Spinach, Mushroom, Swiss Crepe. both were excellent as well. I asked to see the Escargot, and tho I might go back and try them next visit? the NEON green color was kind of a turn off. (didn't take a pic, as the cook was kind enough to show me them) the "regular" SWSA 7Seas photo ops are out. . so of course as we continued our way around the park. . . Wave Breaker had only a 20 minute wait. . but we passed, as the new place caught my eye. this is the Gulp Shrimp Cocktail. and I think it ranks as #1 or #2 out of the things I tried today. absolute perfection, with a bit of zing, and nice and refreshing. (and while we were relaxing here, Catapult Falls started testing - the other two water rides, Journey to Atlantis, and Rio Loco were down today for Technical issues. . so as soon as Catapult Falls started testing, a lot of folks came over to this area. We ended up on the first public log of the day - sharing with the folks I had been chatting with while eating. Got SOAKED today, even tho the Gysers were again, not working) we were feeling a bit too full to stop at Jamaica today - even tho I want to go back for a few things. that Bread Pudding sounds amazing, and I love that chicken and coconut roll. (next time) and this also caused us to skip Great White - which finally WAS back up and running. So all coasters were up and running today. still stopped for some pics tho and we had managed to time it that Orca Encounter show was starting soon. . so we went in and sat down to relax and get edjumacated. we sat two rows behind the last splash zone. . and STILL got wet. . LOL beautiful. get ready to get wet, with tail flaps that's a LOT of water headed this way! tho we were sad to see no "Greece" stop, at least the new Mediterranean booth has offerings from both. the meatball looked WAY too heavy for me after the eating.. so we instead went for: Beef & Lamb Gyro and a Blood Orange Bellini (which Russell said was really good. .. tho I was a bit surprised at how small the Naan was!) I got the Chicken Schwarma. . also VERY good and I HAD to try the "Kickin Shrimp and Pineapple Flatbread" it was. . .a thing? I mean, it wasn't BAD. But I'm not sure I liked it enough to try it again. having eaten to our fill, and it being 3pm, we decided to head back to Austin, and hopefully beat some rush hour traffic (we didn't . . oh well) but first I wanted to stop in Germany to try the new item: the Black Forest Strudel I call my Boyfriend "Strudel". . so I took this pic for him. it was decent. . . not the best thing I ate today.. but everything was decent. not a BAD bite in the batch. we decided instead of taking some Empanadas from Brazil to go (always a good call)..we'd just skip and use the 7 remaining punches we each had for next visit. we had a great day, and I highly recommend this event.

Today marks exactly one year since I drank my last beer. Started to do sports and love this lifestyle much more. I’ve been curious about the differences between Pilates and calisthenics, so I decided to read up on it. This article https://betterme.world/articles/pilates-vs-calisthenics/ on BetterMe really clarified the pros and cons of both. Pilates focuses more on flexibility and core strength, while calisthenics is more about strength training with body weight.

^ we also did a lap on Texas Stingray. . which was running a teeny bit rough in the back (which surprised me). . but was still a great ride.

Man, I wish I didn't live 900 miles away or I totally would come hang out with you at stuff like this Glad you had fun, tell Russell hello!!

This season's two Passes (Fun and Thrill) are still on sale, till May 21st. https://www.pne.ca/playland-season-passes/ Save $20 now. And these passes are on sale, for cellphone use, only. There is an additional charge for Passes that are printed up.

Small update from today. Everything was open except Kumba, Iron Gwazi and the rapids. The rapids reopened a few days ago but had a breakdown yesterday or Sunday and was closed all day today. Iron Gwazi has a sign at the entrance that the ride is closed for annual maintenance. Whether that is really true or it was just closed for the day is unkown as they sometimes leave those signs out for a temporary closure and there is no way to find out with the closed rides page removed. Sheikra was running 2 trains, rare for a day besides Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also are being more strict about re-rides. You can re-ride once and then have to walk around even with rows going out completely empty. I noticed the same at SeaWorld earlier this year. I found out that the log flume and bumper cars close early when the park is open past 6. I knew they opened late but didn't know they closed early too. Platinum Passholders were supposed to get $20 in Busch Bucks this month. It was lowered to $10 after showing $20 as an April reward for months. That's not the first time they changed or removed a reward at the last minute, last summer there was a free guest ticket for Adventure Island in July that they also removed as a listed reward at the end of June.

I think that’s against the law in rural Indiana.

I don't think it ever opened in 2024 either. That'd be two years SBNO. Honestly I think that land would be better used if they tore it, the French restrooms and Mooseburger down and built a new restaurant. The new restaurant should be something like the Pavilion at CP, Lazy Bear Lodge in Canada or Miami River Brewhouse. It's more land than would be needed but it can open things up a bit and perhaps allows for some modifications to The Hill to make it easier to climb now that there isn't a restaurant there. It's a lot - but Cedar Fair IS pretty focused on elevating dining. Even at some less-loved parks like Dorney. The 3 restaurants I mentioned each sit on around 15k sq/ft. That would easily fit in this area in a bunch of ways.

^ I am having trouble believing, that Playland does eventually, want to turn into a kind of theme park. This will be expanding the site to a second, lower level, where parking currently is. With more rides, food, games, entertainment stuff. And less than 90 days operation right now, doesn't help me imagine the (future) situation. Bottom part, is where the current Playland sits. Upper part would be the expansion area. And the rides noted, are only name fill-ins for now. But imagine allllll those coasters in one park, hmm? Too awesome to imagine!

Our next day started out with a visit to Legoland Deutschland (with a brief stop at Peppa Pig Park next door). The second Legoland property I’ve been to so far, this was a really charming park! The lineup features some unique coasters (including a bizarre wing-rider that’s not quite for kids but also not a super-thrilling ride compared to some of the larger versions of this coaster type) and lots of fun smaller experiences throughout the park. We had express access to all of the park’s major rides, which cut our wait times down to minutes at a time. Similar to Legoland Florida but different. But first... Somehow I ended up experiencing Peppa Pig Park in Germany before ever getting to its counterpart in Florida. What you see in this photo is the majority of what the park is/includes. There are water play areas... And a few family flat rides... The youngest of kids will find the experience exciting. Papa Wutz´Achterbahn was the real reason we were here. It features a themed zero car, a traditional lift hill and a booster launch (Zamperla is known for big, launched coasters after all). Bis Bald Peppa Pig Park! Now on to the main event! Rope drop included a cute dance number featuring some LEGO characters. Bavarian LEGOmeister is the best! Familiar but different. Really, really picturesque on a level I hadn't expected. It feels like I've been here before. I thought it was kind of interesting that they had one of these kinds of rides in Legoland only to have a similar, albeit smaller experience in Peppa Pig Park. The newest addition to Legoland was our first stop of the visit. The realm features many mythical creatures built out in LEGO form. The station and queue building for Maximus - Der Flug des Wächters is pretty neat. I've been on a few B&M wing-riders before, but never a kid-oriented version. The coaster wraps around the mini-land's many elements. A look at the coaster's trains up close. One of the coaster's two inversions twists directly overhead the land's entrance/exit corridor. TPR takeover! After riding this one, I’m not convinced family/kid-friendly B&M wing-riders need to exist anywhere else. Drachenjagd was a fun junior coaster near the larger, more traditional Feuerdrache (Dragon) coaster. Feuerdrache was a good time. The park's express pass system is handled entirely through your own mobile device and allows you to reserve a priority entrance within a few minutes' time. The system seriously worked great! Power Builders is the original KUKA arm-based attraction and it was quite fun to experience the highest intensity program. Flying Ninjago was the first time I've ridden a Gerstlauer Sky Fly and for whatever reason, I couldn't get the thing to flip... But others around me were spinning the entire ride through. Das Große LEGO Rennen is a carbon copy of the one in Florida. It has its value with a few pops of airtime and some sharp turns. Lunch was a surprisingly great plate of veal spare ribs and a baked potato for good measure. It doesn't matter what the attraction is themed to, this is the quintessential Legoland experience. Temple X-Pedition was short but fun. This section of the park was quite nice with a kinetic energy thanks to several moving attractions within view. I do like that this park has an observation tower. A look at the bulk of the layout of Maximus. Jungle X-Pedition was a fun log flume with a few surprise twists. This looks familiar! A moving LEGO model of Ninjago was one of my favorite elements of this park's Miniland. It's like apple juice but carbonated! Fun to see this guy here, considering he has a near-identical twin at Disney Springs. Love this! Dinner was unsurprisingly another bowl of our favorite truffle oil pasta... By now, I think you know the rule. Hi Robb and Jack! One of the oldest attractions at Oktoberfest. The size of these portable funhouses never ceases to amaze me. There's just something about that Oktoberfest nighttime glow... Back for more... Elissa beat the Toboggan with style! Sarah nailed the lift as well! This is one time where I definitely recommend looking down. This Jumanji-inspired funhouse, complete with a knock-off Robin Williams continued to crack me up throughout our time at Oktoberfest. There aren't many Enterprises left out there, so it was fun to see one here. Voodoo Jumper is one of the best flat rides at Oktoberfest to observe, in addition to riding! Our next day would be our big day at Oktoberfest with time at the Lowenbrau tent, rides and more festival food ahead!