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Day 1: Waldameer Basically more of a pit stop than anything, but it was my first time here. Arrived shortly before 5 and was pleased to see they offered an after 5pm wristband for $29 (I was prepared to buy $40-50 in tickets) so my day was already off to a good start. Started off with a front row ride on Ravine Flyer II as it was only running 1 train, but ops were decently quick with loading. Front row was pretty good, a few pops of air but nothing to really write home about. But I would return later... Stopped by Pirates Cove which was a walk on and certainly an interesting walk through fun house. Lots of cool gas and a couple dizzying crooked sections. You don't find these too often anymore so it was really awesome checking this out. Intended on riding the Flume next but it was down and drained with maintenance milling about in various areas. So I continued back to get by Steel Dragon credit. Pretty much a walk on, not the greatest spinner but a couple briefly intense sections. Didn't spin a whole lot. Right next door was the awesome Larson drop tower XScream. I would be perfectly happy lapping one of these for hours on end. I was on limited time, or I would've done the same here. I love these things. Wish there were more of them. Noted the Flume was starting to fill back up with water, I quickly detoured over to Comet to get my final credit of the day (with only two hours I wasn't wasting my time with the kiddie coaster and the Visa). This was running 2 trains and was a really fun, perfectly smooth family woodie. Even had a couple quick moments of floater. Too bad these junior woodies are as rare as they are, they almost all run good. Headed back over towards the empty Log Flume which was cycling empty logs. As fate would have it, maintenance shouted down to the greeter to open the ride right when I walked up and I would be the first one in. This is a really awesome Flume. Neat tunnel section at the beginning and two good drops. Nice splash but not totally soaking. Two thumbs up for this flume, which is very popular as the line filled right up behind me so I'm glad I got to it when I did. Unlike Great Adventure, Waldameer knows how to quickly get a Fluke fixed and back running! Was 6:15 by this point and I rode everything I wanted except Whacky Shack which had a long slow line, so I headed back to Ravine Flyer for a 20 minute wait and back row ride. This is absolutely a back row coaster, the first drop is insane back there and the intensity throughout is turned up to 10. While the front felt kind of controlled and graceful, the back felt like a rampage through most of the ride. I thought this coaster felt similar to Excalibur at Funtown, maybe slightly more intense. Hope to get back to it someday. Walking back through the park I noticed the line for Whacky Shack was a lot shorter so I hopped on. Another very fun dark ride. Really enjoyed this just as much as its neighbor. Finished up with one more quick ride on XScream. Had to hit the road to Michigan and was sad to have to leave the park so quick. This is a great little park with a world class woodie, a couple fun support coasters, a great flume, 2 fun dark rides, a Larson Tower, and what looked like a very good package of flats. Not to mention it has a lot of charm and is very family friendly. Felt like a better Canobie. Off to Michigan's Adventure tomorrow and FINALLY riding Shivering Timbers for the first time. Can't wait!

Three Visits ~ And (sniff) No HOT DOG Day! Here are a bundle of photos taken from a few visits to the park. There are repeats here and there, but I'll do my best to see that it doesn't get toooo boring, lol. 06/22 This was around 10 am - one hour before the park opened. Testing. History board. Noted. But I didn't have to wait that long, thankfully. Progress on the new amphitheatre. Have no idea what that 'hole' is for. Will eventually fine out, next year. Lookin' good, there. Future landscaping? ThunderVOLT in action. I get headaches from Enterprise, so it's a No-Ride for me, now. Kettle Creek Mine coaster. One I can still ride, enjoy, and not get banged about. Oooo... Got my fave beer to end this short visit. The onride photo. What IS that woman doing??? 06/27 This was another short visit, and I got to try and the new special milkshake at Triple O's ( a/k/a the White Spot restaurant). The lineup was HUGE for this day. Thankfully I was there around 10 am, 1 hour before the park opened, so I missed all this. Near opening time. And allll the way down the block! Viewed from ThunderVOLT. Ongoing construction of the new amphitheatre. Sad, empty-looking little train. There's an adult up front, so I suspect a child is there, too. The Cotton Candy milkshake. With a bit of the real stuff on top. And it's Canadian-made, too! And it was good. Might order it again soon, if still available. Last shot before leaving the park. 07/02 Today was another brief visit. The only thing new here, was the ongoing construction of the new amphitheatre. But that's okay. I enjoy just walking around and taking in the 'atmosphere' of Playland. On the way to the park. A good place for hot dogs! The menu. Not too crowded right now, for Coaster. Well, hi there! Fancy running into you today. It's pretty plain looking, but still an important part of Playland. This looks somewhat completed Cloudy day over the mountains nearby. I am guessing this is to become the entryway into the amphitheatre. Getting better. But still, a not-too-great attempt of a 'selfie' on the Carousel. By the way, FYI - a Carousel goes counter clockwise, like this one. Merry-Go- Rounds go clockwise. Easy! And that was it for this visit. 07/16 Today was supposed to be "Hot Dog Day" as advertised by the email I received from Playland (I'm on their mailing list). But it turns out Coaster Dogs wasn't offering their One Dollar Hot Dogs till the 19th, Saturday. And Beaver Tails, which was also offering a special hot dog, had no clue what I was asking about. Then, I tried to order something off their regular menu ...... and "that wasn't available" I was told ...WTF? A Fail for Beaver Tails. Anyway.... Back we go... Wheee. Dead Unicorn. Yeah. Hot Dog Day. Not here I found out. From the West Coast Wheel. Big ass hole still there. Nice shot of Coaster from The Wheel. Damn, I love this coaster! Not really that busy, this visit. Up and over it goes! Clear sky, with a great mountainous view. I still enjoy riding Gladiator. This is a sweet little family ride I enjoy riding, sometimes. Touching the sun? And with that, the visit was at an end. Playland did send another email out, with the 19th as Hot Dog Day, with both Coaster Dogs and Beavertails offering their special dogs. But I didn't go. Not on a Saturday there. So I passed. I have no idea how these three shots got in, here. Nonetheless... a shot from ThunderVOLT's queue. An early shot of construction.

I got to ride Wrath a few days ago and it's easily my favorite dive coaster. Starts like a standard dive with large elements, then quickly turns into a twisted mess of flips and sudden changes of direction. Everything from the third inversion until the brakes is bonkers and it had me laughing like a hyena. Also, the beyond-vertical drop is ass-out-of-the-seat the entire time. I rode in the back on the left edge, hardly any rattle but the pansies are making noise about the ride being rough. They're idiots and can't take a stiff breeze without bruising. This ride is nuckin futs, best ride at Great America. Fight me.

I'm here in Indonesia and got to try one of the local beers it was actually our guide from https://gowithguide.com/Indonesia who suggested it! We had such a great time exploring with their help and really appreciated having someone to show us around. Just a quick note if you're visiting: drinking rules here can be different depending on where you are. In places like Bali and Jakarta, it's pretty easy to find alcohol, but in more traditional areas, it might not be as available. It's always good to be respectful of local customs. We were lucky our guide knew where and when it was okay made the whole experience super easy and fun!

Careful...................them's fighting words, you'll restart the very divisive "corporate hates us" argument again

Unfortunately (or is it fortunately) the City of DC has no say over anything that happens outside of its city limits, which SFA is by like eight and a half miles.

Every Park needs a Drop Tower. But anything is better than an empty concrete pad.

SFTL could use Flying Scooters would work in the Excalibur slot too. Or an Air Race. But CGA's Flying Scooters will soon be available. Please don't make them un-snappable though.

Agree 100%, don't cheap out SFSTL!!! All the main Valley's need Titan Track. Gut feeling tells me we will receive a coaster from SFA, probably Firebird. Also, I hope they install a Drop Tower where Excalibur stood.

Looks awesome! Thanks for sharing pics! Canada’s Wonderland has been on my list for a while, and seeing your shots makes me want to plan a trip even more. I’ve been browsing reviews on TripAdvisor to check out which rides and food spots are must-tries. It seems like it’s worth it.