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Whenever I watch a video on YouTube and they use a bluegrass-type background music (usually on the TRY Channel when they try American stuff), it immediately makes me long to be at Dollywood. Bluegrass is one of the great unique things about Herschend's two main parks. You hear it all around you as you walk around under the trees and along the babbling brooks. Those parks wouldn't feel right with modern music. For example, at SDC, they do the whole "Moonlight Madness" thing... When they do, they switch over the modern music, and the level of jarring that is to hear is BEYOND. I was in line for Thunderation and they started playing "Build Me Up Buttercup" in the queue and I was floored. It just did not feel right. I don't know if they still do that (haven't been to MM in years), but I do know from vids on YT that they finally clued in and started playing the bluegrass covers of modern songs, at least in the queue for Time Traveler. And I know I heard bluegrass covers at the buffet at Dollywood, too, a few years ago. That is how you integrate modern music into these parks. Younger people will be standing in line and then suddenly their ears will prick up and they'll realize that their favorite Lady Gaga song is playing, but as bluegrass! It's really, really fun to listen to bluegrass covers of modern songs, to get an idea of what these songs might have sounded like if written a hundred years ago. It's unique. So if they want to continue to use/add modern songs, but as bluegrass covers, I'm all for that.

Everyday I check this forum, and I see numerous people of different walks of life all coming together to share and talk about this park. A park that is “bottom” of the chain. Yet, we have one of the most populated forums on this site. If anything, our continuous nitpicking and wishing of what could be, just shows how dedicated we are as a fan base. Always thinking and wondering, ever curious. I hope we can all take a step back and acknowledge that even though the park may not be perfect, it brings us a sense of community and family that not much else can. I am always motivated about the future of this park by the stories and memories these acres have brought. I wish you all a happy 50th anniversary.

Hulk has the single rider line open and trains are being filled within rows to 100% capacity. You love to see it...

Bump... I skimmed the Q1 conference call so you don't have to. Here are some brief highlights. I highlighted some park-specific stuff for the uber-nerds that only care about that. - Total attendance for the quarter was 1.3 million guests, a 38% decline from first quarter 2019 which makes sense with covid restrictions and with two year-round parks in California (one with daily ops in 2019) being closed for the entire quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was a loss of $46 million compared to a loss of $32 million in the first quarter 2019 (largely for the same reasons). One thing that bumped the numbers up was that Six Flags over Texas was not year-round in 2019 but that doesn't make up for California or capacity restrictions elsewhere. - They expect to be profitable in Q2 - They have an Active Pass Base of 4.1 million passholders, which included 1.7 million members and 2.4 million traditional season passholders at the end of first quarter 2021. The Active Pass Base is up 1% compared to first quarter 2020 and down only 9% compared to first quarter 2019. In short, they retained 91% of their passholder base through Covid which is kind of insane, especially since they've been charging a lot of them unlike uh... that other company. The number of paused memberships is around 5% right now. - They will continue to operate the Drive-Thru Safari in New Jersey as a separately gated attraction - Applying a pro forma allocation to 2019, admission spending per capita increased 17% and in-park spending per capita increased 14% compared to the first quarter of 2019. - When allowed to raise capacity restrictions by their respective states they do it quickly if not immediately. The Texas, Oklahoma and Georgia parks are already at 100% capacity. When more states allow it they will do it basically right away. (Just me speaking here: This means that the reservation system at those parks only exists to give guests the illusion that they are capping capacity. They are not. At all...) - They want to work on reducing wait times at food stands . They see this as a major problem and are ramping up staffing to deal with it. They're confident that they can reach desired staffing levels soon. Unlike other chains that are blaming all of their problems on staffing, it's not a major concern for them going forward.

^THIS. The fact that I can come to this forum after all these years and there are still nerds like me posting DAILY about a park that doesn't make any headlines says a lot. EDIT: I think Theme Park Review deserves some credit here too. Thanks guys for providing a home for our nerdiness.

why do You keep typing your posts this way is there something wrong with your keyboard

A few updates: The Temperature Check Tent at SeaWorld Orlando is gone. Social distancing has been changed to 3 feet For those following along, this is a 3 foot reduction from what the sign used to say but a 3 foot increase from the typical level of social distancing that has occurred at SeaWorld since reopening last year. The second part doesn't really matter since this will not be followed by anyone but it will probably raise their self-imposed guest cap if they even still have one which they probably don't and even if they do they never hit it anyway. Source

that was garbage. lol well, the 2 minutes i was able to handle.

Bump, OLE' ! Wow! Talk about an update! This is how I celebrated Cinco de Mayo today. By eating at our local Pizzeria, LOL! Which is right across the street, from where we live. I hadn't been there since it first opened ..... 9 years ago??? Pizza was great, hot and perfectly gooey. The lager tap beer was fine, too. I might come back again, heh. https://viateverepizzeria.com/ As per Covid Rules, Vancouver is going crazy with outdoor, patio seating. No indoors at this time. View from my table. That's our house, first one you can see there. With the rainbow flag on top. Le Menu. I went with their signature pizza ..... the Margherita. And a beer. How things looked before The Arrival of ...... The Margherita. Looks marvelous. And ..... "The first cut is the deepest." (o; Almost gone. And I did indeed, eat it all up! Oink Ole'! How I really wanted my beer to be, mixed, "The Mexico Way"! At a park, during the TPR Mexico Tour, 2013.

I'm always pretty patient about these things. Absolutely better for a coaster to be built right than quickly. But knowing the history of this one, y'all take as long as you need to fix it up safe.

I think it's useful and entertaining to discuss topics like LIMS. I'm thankful for your knowledge and I think it's relevant. Keep it coming, as far as I'm concerned. I just don't want to discourage the employees from participating in our conversations. It may sound like I'm shit talking some of the posters, but I'm trying not to. RIP, HWFan used to provide us with extensive information 5-10'ish years ago, including direct input from the park president (Dave). He was an incredible person, but he stopped providing us with information after that, because he got discouraged from the constant suggestions and negativity. I was partially to blame at that time, despite eventually meeting him and texting/snapping with him frequently, which I truly miss. I don't think we're to that level of scaring employees off yet, but I like our employee base on this thread. Seriously, thank you, to all the SF employees who provide us insight. Sorry for getting off topic.

New for La Ronde in 2023...

Mine don’t, but they love to go for rides, food and the overall experience. My parents don’t ride rides, but they love to go to the shows, food, shopping and overall experience. Thanks for pointing out that they have successfully established that hard to achieve pinnacle of appealing to different ages and demographics.

I have no clue what kind of mental gymnastics people are doing to make a perfectly flat huge park with tons of space a "challenging location". They just really want this coaster at Cedar Point so they can get off it and immediately film a hype vlog where they declare it the 7th best coaster in the park.

Meh. Wake me when we get an Aquatrax.

If you can make it during the week next week or the week after you may not see lines. This week was dead. I mean, most rides didn't have a queue this week. LR yesterday never showed anything but 0 wait.

Never been here before, but really thinking of coming up from Portland this summer to check it out. What are the lines usually like here? Can it get pretty slammed?

It's a fit for Cedar Point. It's also fit for like 50 other parks in America.

After six flags we drove to Cedar Point. Arrived there late at night.. but they had no power. so i think we got some flashlights and made it to our rooms. As i could see Dragster from the room window i tried to make some pictures while the entire park/area was dark. not my best pictures, but still. The next morning we all woke up early (after a short night) to get in line for the new hotness that was called Maverick.. i'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story 10 second exposure attempt this was a little better at 30 seconds.. but yeah.. it was dark. power is back so the next morning we got in line... for Maverick while waiting in line... and then this came.. yeah.. it was about to get a lot more wet. after heading back to the hotel, having a bite and fun there at the bar the rain stopped late in the afternoon. The park and all the rides opened and i left my camera in the hotel room to not have to worry about a bag and just get the rides in. We had another day at the park and plenty of time to get some decent pictures that sky was the craziest sky i had seen in a long long long time. Welcome to Cedar Point

I keep asking the Time Traveler gift shop to sell a CD of the queue music, it's REALLY good. They won't because of rights issues but a fella can dream.

That is very unfortunate to hear, I ain't sure how much impact they had outside of the forums, but at least HWfan will always be remembered on here. I got curious and checked ACE website, and it is not designated as Coaster Classic, rather a Coaster Landmark "A designation reserved for rides of historic significance". So I guess there would be no hurt if Six Flags decided to outsource to RMC topper or Titan Track, if they believe the ROI is worth paying. I honestly believe that most days Screamin Eagle is pretty smooth though, the only downside is the tight squeeze in the trains. Agreed, outside of a few places on Facebook, TPR is really the only place left that we can convene to talk about our favorite parks, even the ones that don't get all the love from the GP. Negative-G (yeah I know, I'm going to get stink for mentioning) I think was the only other forum, but they too shuttered their forums as the cost to run it was too great as of last year. So yes, I really hope TPR will be around for decades to come, we all need a home for our nerdiness I can't even remember the last time I saw promotions for Six Flags in my area, all I ever see is Holiday World billboards and park ticket discounts offered everywhere. (Heck our local Taco Bell sells discounted tickets to a park 2 hours away )

Starting tomorrow, no more temp checks. Moving markers to 3 feet distancing.

Sadly, HWfan is no longer with us as of maybe 6 months ago. Very unfortunate. I believe Screamin' Eagle has the ACE coaster landmark designation and I think it would be able to keep that. The coaster classic designation is the one that requires original rolling stock, mechanics, etc.

They don't have pizza rollers up North. They have to improvise.

I've never seen pizza sliced with Scissors

Employee insight within what they're allowed to share is always great and appreciated My speculation isn't necessarily making requests either. The only time I've ever made a request, even jokingly, was when a park manager took my order at Fowl Ball and when they asked what I wanted I said "a hyper would be nice". I really do genuinely wonder if such an upgrade supported by the manufacturer is remotely viable. I'm not using the word possible here because anything is possible even if it might require new rolling stock. But if it costs $5 million that wouldn't be viable, even for relocations of a LIM coaster (where you'd have to reinstall everything all over again so labor cost wouldn't really impact an upgrade). I think I'd be fine with Titan Track in high wear areas of Eagle to keep her young longer. Though I'm not aware of any particularly high-wear locations. Reviews suggest Titan Track doesn't feel significantly different the way RMC track does.

Fresh new onride of Kondaa! Kondaa will be open on the 8th of May, the moment Belgian themeparks finally reopen for public!

Not just for the Kingdom Heirs, but they both like the music in general. From the live acts to the recorded music played elsewhere. And yes they go see the Kingdom Heirs along with other shows. My daughter's favorite live music at the park is the small Bluegrass groups. Like me they both listen to a wide range of music, not just the current pop charts. They'll go see Dolly in concert and then Poison, Cheap Trick, and Journey, then 21 Pilots and Imagine Dragons. We saw Blackberry Smoke last month and have tickets for Foreigner later this year. My son and I will see Motley Crue if the tour ever happen and we saw Metallica in 2019. Then we'll see Broadway musicals once that starts back up (Season tickets at the Fox Theater in Atlanta).

This discussion is dumb, there are a lot of people, a LOT, that go to Dollywood for the country/gospel/bluegrass music (and the shows and the crafts and the food) only, not the rides. You're trying to fix something that aint broken here.

Good shopkeeping and maintenance should dictate that all items are regularly dusted regardless of turn. Thanks for reporting that they are doing a great job keeping the shops clean!

This exactly. Why do you think Dollywood has so many crafty type shops? Home goods type shops? The older crowd spends tons of money on this stuff. Just watch the package pick-up guy pushing everything to the front.

^ granted, this is a pic I took at Cedar Point. . but yeah. . disagree that "nothing looks more tacky than a broken TV" LOL

Thanks for the warm welcome! Honestly, ride operations were really good. Dispatch times were about average from what I've experienced but the major rides just weren't able to handle the crowds. I think that may have contributed to the poor behavior of some of the guests, but it was still a little disappointing to me. And yeah, I have generally noticed that wait times go up pretty significantly after the waterpark closes. Silverwood itself is such a small park that it gets overwhelmed super easily. I am very excited for Stunt Pilot, but I do think that a high capacity dark ride would be a wonderful and much needed addition for the park. I think that it's really time for a 'next step' to really separate Silverwood from the rest of the pack. I saw Gary Norton walking around on opening day - I should have asked him

I haven't had experience with Fridays in July, but I think you might be ok. I know that Saturdays tend to be the worst, and that July is technically part of their busy season. However, if you get to the park before opening and spend the whole day there than you should be ok. I know Idaho is one of the few states in America that doesn't have laws specifically governing amusement rides, only requiring an electrical inspection upon completion. This probably makes it so that they only have to test till RMC give the "Ok" and then they are good to go. They mentioned somewhere I thought that some of the theming won't be installed till next year, so my guess is that they'll get it open on May 29th and finish the theming and landscaping later. Still ,even though their not Six Flags, giving them an extra month or so probably isn't a bad idea...

Well, SDC would certainly fit the "challenging location."

Ooh, I want to play! My guess is Silver Dollar City. (I'm unlikely to be right--but if I am, I'll look like a genius!)

They don't exist, they're just a myth. You must be confused by the less exciting Trax at Lotte World.

Takabisha clone at MOA, 122 degrees

did it not come from right here at TPR? I thought it started here - as a joke, that stuck: New Tex Ass Giant. NTAG

Lake Winnie hasn't added a coaster in awhile. I bet it's going there.

We could rename it to “I have a hunch it’s conveniently going to *insert park closest in proximity to me* ... The Thread!

Oh this thread should be fun. Can we just rename it to "Crackpot Predictions" already and get it over with?

How to say a lot ... without saying much at all. I love publicity.

Who would have thought a 37 year old roller coaster purchased during COVID from Mexico, that had been previously located at 5 other parks, and had once tragically killed riders, would take a little time and TLC . Maybe we should give Indiana Beach a little credit.

Hey, who'd have thought that the friggin' crow of all things would be more masked up than the patrons and employees?

I think we would all like all of these threads to go back to being just about theme parks, but right now the reality is that America's bats*** insane leaders, and their lack of Covid-19 response, are limiting us from enjoying all of our favorite parks as we are used to enjoying them. Hell some of our biggest 2020 rides are locked down due to liens thanks to the virus. It didn't have to be this way. New Zealand is open. Parts of Europe are already scheduling concerts again - even indoor concerts. Meanwhile we have morbidly obese, scooter-driving, red-hat wearing crazy people threatening to shoot Walmart employees because they're told to wear a piece of paper over their mouths. About 40% of Americans seem to have *zero* empathy or concern for anyone around them. I imagine we're going to continue seeing these tantrums until the November election when these embarrassing trolls will hopefully be sent back to their caves.

Yes. Forbes' valuation is based on his own estimates of his property's worth, which he has repeatedly overvalued and undervalued depending on what is advantageous to him in the moment. He inherited hundreds of millions of dollars and has lost it all by repeatedly paying way more than things are worth and then driving them into the ground--losses so great that it resulted in his not owing taxes for a number of years. He is a liar and a fraudster and only a fool would base anything on the things that come out of his mouth. Banks won't lend to him because he has repeatedly refused to pay them back. The only way he can get any credit at all is through the Russian mafia. This is all well known and well documented. There is a high probability that his net worth is actually negative.

You have a good argument, but I'm still not on board for any government funding. I wonder if a temporary tax break for a few years might insentivise a new owner to step up to the plate and leave some room for further investments. It would be a compromise, but it might be a good long ball strategy. Then again, I don't know what kind of tax burden the park currently faces. It might be drops in the bucket compared to other expenses.

For the country that created poutine and maple syrup, I'm surprised Canada was the place where this abomination was made.