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Finally, here is some info on some additions and changes for 2021! Brand-new coasters for 2021 Abyssus - Energylandia Boomerang - Luna Park Sydney Boomerang Hyper Coaster - Trans Studio Cibubur Blu Power - Tetysblu Theme Park Decepticoaster - Universal Studios Beijing Dragon - Legoland New York Dragon Slayer - Adventureland Fighter Jet - Fanta Park Glorious Orient Ningbo Fighter Jet - Fanta Park Glorious Orient Jiangxi Flight of the Hippogriff - Universal Studios Beijing Jersey Devil Coaster - Six Flags Great Adventure Jurassic World VelociCoaster - Islands of Adventure Krampus Expedition - Nigloland Kondaa - Walibi Belgium Legendary Twin Dragon - Chongqing Sunac Land Light Explorers - Energylandia Monster - Grona Lund Namazu - Vulcania Orochi - Parc du Bocasse Phoenix - Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park Ride to Happiness - Plopsaland De Panne Space Factory - Yomiuriland Stag's Gauntlet - Oriental Heritage Taiyuan Storm Chaser - Paultons Park Studio Tour - Movie Park Germany Stunt Pilot - Silverwood Theme Park Rockin' Blu - Tetysblu Theme Park Wooden Dragons Roller Coaster - Jinan Sunac Land Valkyrie - Gyeongju World Coasters scheduled for opening in 2021 but have not yet officially opened, and will be excluded All Speeds - Sunac Land Chengdu Big Dipper - Luna Park Sydney Some notes on the poll this year: During this off-season, Lightning Rod at Dollywood was given extensive refurbishments that changed the majority of its track to steel I-Box track. As a result, and based on the RCDB's own classifications, Lightning Rod will officially be re-classified as a steel coaster on our poll. We will not be listening to any further discussion on this and any requests to change this will be ignored. Despite its slight layout differences, we are counting Stunt Pilot at Silverwood as a clone of the Rocky Mountain Construction Raptor Track. It will be aggregated along with Rail Blazer and Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, and the three will be ranked as one entry in the results. Jersey Devil Coaster's layout is unique so it will not be in this group. We are doing this to allow for more diversity in the top 25 coasters. Any requests to change this will be ignored. Coaster poll protocol for standing but not operating (SBNO) coasters: If a roller coaster that was previously listed on the poll goes into a standing but not operating (SBNO) state, and it's assumed that the coaster will operate again eventually, you will still be able to rank it like any other coaster. However, during any season(s) where the coaster is SBNO, it will not be calculated in the final ranking and will not show up on the final results. Any coaster that is SBNO as a result of an upcoming conversion, such as with wooden coasters being re-made by Rocky Mountain Construction, will be eliminated from the poll entirely as the "old" coaster is effectively defunct. We will be adding Harpy, Hydro Racer, and Storm Rider at Xishuangbanna Sunac Land in China to this list for 2021. Please help us out! If you see a coaster on the poll that has closed and shouldn't be there, or if you see a roller coaster that was re-named and it's not reflected, please let us know! coasterpoll.com And, as before, please let us know if you have any questions!

Hey everyone! The TPR Coaster Poll is back once again for 2021! coasterpoll.com We have over ONE THOUSAND coasters that you can rank on the poll, so whether you've been on every Intamin coaster in the world, or only have been on the coasters at your "home" park, your vote matters! As always, we're taking steps to promote the poll on Theme Park Review's social media channels. If you're one of TPR's followers on social media, and you're reading this for the first time - welcome! Please read this post and all that directly follow in their entirety! So how do you vote? Follow these steps! 1. Go to coasterpoll.com. That's the easy part! 2. Click the green "Sign Up" button at the top right of your browser window. This will be your login so that your vote will be counted, and your rankings will be saved for next year. If you are already a member of the TPR forums, we kindly ask that you give yourself the same username that you have here. 3. Search for parks and coasters that you've been to! You can use the search bar at the top right to search for a specific coaster, or use the "Coasters" link at the top left to see the the full list. When you're viewing the full list, you can use the "Change List" button to sort or filter the list out. You can view all of the coasters at one particular park, or all the coasters by one manufacturer... It's up to you! 4. IMPORTANT - Mark the coasters that you've ridden. Next to every single coaster is a green "ridden" button. If you've ridden a coaster, click that button and it should turn to a solid green color. You need to do this for every coaster you want to rank! 5. Rank your ridden coasters! When you click the "Ranking" link at the top left, you'll be taken to a listing of all the coasters you've marked as ridden. Now, you'll want to assign each coaster a number rank. You can either drag and drop each coaster to the order you want, or complete your ranking in a spreadsheet style. It's up to you! You can also give coasters tied rankings if you want, like if you can't decide what your favorite Vekoma SLC is! 6. If you voted last year, make sure you click the yellow "Not Done Yet" button to "release" your rankings so you can add the coasters that you've ridden in 2021. 7. IMPORTANT - Click the green "Done Ranking" button! When you click this button, you're all set! If you ride a coaster between now and the day the poll closes, you can go back to your ranking and click the yellow "Not Done Yet" button and adjust however you please. Don't forget to click the green button when you're done. Just like other enthusiast polls, you will find that not every roller coaster is included, as that would be impossible, but we have included as many relevant ones as possible. See the next post down (the FAQ post) for more info on our selection process. Voting in the 2021 TPR Coaster Poll has officially CLOSED! Thank you for participating! The other thing that would really help us out... Please SHARE this link as much as you can! On your social media, on your blogs, in any videos you might produce, etc, getting as much data as possible will allow this poll to get better and better! This is a continued team effort by Chase (Comeagain?), Robb (robbalvey), and myself (A.J.). We appreciate your support and we look forward to seeing the results as much as we're sure you all do. Have fun, and happy ranking!

I actually saw some videos from that event and it looked shockingly fun. They actually did something cool for once. Anyway, Nick Universe at American Dream is actually having their first real sale of any kind on tickets that doesn’t involve forcing you to also buy a waterpark ticket. Save 20% with the code Cyber20. This even works on Twilight tickets so you can get a ticket for $33. Note that Sandy’s Blasting Bronco is closed for maintenance right now. It’s supposed to open on 12/24 but it was supposed to open last month and it keeps getting pushed out. I wouldn’t by tickets in the next month or two if riding the best ride in the park matters to you (plus, I’d rather just go to Great Adventure’s Holiday in the Park) but you can buy tickets way in advance with this promo. This deal also works with the other attractions in the mall.

Photo TR: November 27th, 2021 On the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, I hit up Kings Dominion for their Winterfest event. Disclaimer: I generally hate Christmas music, but do appreciate a good stage show and very much dig Christmas lights (fun fact: I once decorated my office at work with 4,700 lights in an area like 350 square feet). So, Google maps tells me that Kings Dominion should be a 3 hour drive from my home. Knowing Virginia traffic can be nuts just south of DC, I left at 12:45 for a 5:00 opening, thinking I'd still be able to get there around 4:30. How mistaken I was...the traffic was even worse than normal, and I arrived at the park at around 5:05. Though still twilight, the main entrance was nicely decorated. Grabbed my Fast Lane band (yes, Kings Dominion does offer FL during Winterfest and honors the all-season pass add-on), and made my way to the bandstand just in time for the end of the Tree Lighting Spectacular show. Made my way down Artisan's Alley, where various craft-makers were selling their wares... ...and across the Old Virginia bridge, where the skull was replaced by a glowing sphere.... ...ducking past the Kings Dominion Theater momentarily... ...for a quick lap on Blue Ridge Tollway (walk-on), which for the holidays is transformed into 12 Days of Christmas. This drive-through features light-up decorations for each of the 12 days, and I actually managed to sync my timing with the song, which plays on an endless loop. I feel bad for those employees LOL. After that, I took in the Charlie Brown's Christmas Spectacular show, which while no different from the last time I saw it in 2019, was still a nice production featuring a ton of costume changes. Here's a bunch of pictures: After that, I strolled down to the entrance of Candy Apple Grove and the Twisted Timbers area... Unfortunately these LED sequenced lights that are on the trees were not as well synchronized with the music as in 2019. ..to take in the Holly Jolly Trolly show. Impressive enough, but yeah remember the disclaimer above? Not really my scene musically. Nice costumes though. I also hung around for The Mistletones show which immediately followed, but apparently neglected to grab a picture. I took in some more of the sights... See, we're not just about Christmas! Hard to tell because of the light, but left to right that's a dreidel, a menorah, and a kinara. Note that these were the only non-Christmas decorations in the entire park. Get with the times, KD...I want to see a Festivus pole next year! Grabbed a bite to eat at Mac Bowl (er, "Vixens Fixins") and made my way back up to the front the park, passing through the Jack's Frost Zone (yes, this is what it's called...I think the possessive is in the wrong place too). There he is... They had some cool plaster snow angels in various sizes for various people: Here's a shot of where you can rent an igloo, which I guess is a thing? Personally I didn't see the point...the event is only 5 hours long, and if you want to see all of the shows and get on some rides you really don't have a lot of time to spare. They had these completely-open fire pits scattered throughout the park. How the Fire Marshall allows this, I'll never know. The Four Drummers Drumming show. Live drummers playing to a techno backing track. Entertaining enough, but not enough for me to hang around. Now this really impressed me. The area seen in the next photo is way off the beaten path, en route to the designated smoking zone, outside the park gates, and is probably only viewed by a handful of people each night. Still, KD decided it was worth it to put some lights here...a very nice touch. Cool Yule Christmas was a show. Tons of typical Christmas songs, with a couple of nice lyrically-tweaked renditions of The Chordette's 1958 Mr. Sandman (modernly known for it's role in Back to the Future), and The Flintstones theme. Talented singers, and nice costumes with plenty of changes, but again...not really my thing. Here's some pictures and a few quick videos: VID_20211127_191216477.mp4 VID_20211127_191457986.mp4 The Flintstones theme rendition: VID_20211127_191707602.mp4 I then took a trip into Planet Snoopy, which was decorated as per usual, with the dim but huge lights up in the trees... ...and light-up Peanuts character bushes. The next show on the agenda was Tinker's Toy Factory. Though clearly aimed at kids, it opened with some Trans-Siberian Orchestra music, so how could I not love it? I had never seen this before and was impressed with another KD show with a cohesive plot. Lots of renditions of Christmas classic songs, but some original songs too. Despite its target demographic, it was a very cute story and I even teared up once. Bonus? The male lead was the awesome performer who was also the male lead in the Heads Will Roll Haunt show! Enjoy some pictures and videos. VID_20211127_193227348.mp4 I just love this guy. VID_20211127_193649245.mp4 VID_20211127_195453089.mp4 After that, I ducked back up in to Old Virginia to take a look at the Jingle Jazz show. Again, not my taste in music, but talented enough performers. I grabbed a walk-on ride on Bad Apple, and then some Auntie Anne's pretzels (which was my longest wait of the day at 20 minutes). It was now nearing 9:00, so I staked out a good place in Candy Apple Grove to watch the Winterfest Wonderland Parade. Very well done, with a ton of floats, characters (including some from every stage show), songs, and audience participation (sing-along and candy canes being thrown at you). Here's two clips containing the entirety of the parade show, for anyone not able to make it. They stop twice, once in Candy Apple Grove and then again around the Eiffel Tower. VID_20211127_210936572.mp4 VID_20211127_211513801.mp4 Now that I had taken in almost all of the shows the park had to offer (I completely skipped the Sounds of the Nativity and Peanuts' Guide to Christmas shows), it was time to hit some coasters! Er...maybe not? Twisted Timbers was totally dark, without even a greeter at the front of the queue to tell people what's going on. So, I made my way back to the front of the park to see if I might have better luck at Dominator, and grabbed this cool clip from inside the base of the Eiffel Tower: VID_20211127_214521435.mp4 Captured some of the cool blue lighting in the Berserker/Dominator area... And then was greeted with this sight: *sigh* Oh, Cedar Fair. It was only 35 degrees. So yeah, if you're planning on going to Winterfest with hopes of riding either coaster that's running, I highly recommend you do that first thing upon arrival lest the ambient temperature drop below 40 (confirmed with guest relations) and Kings Dominion does its nonsensical thing. I could rant here about Six Flags and operating temperatures, but there's really no point. Cedar Fair is gonna do what it does and be happy about it. And you know what, that's okay too. Not everyone is a coaster enthusiast, and this event is clearly not for coaster enthusiasts. Judging by the crowd, they're doing just fine with that decision. I did some shopping at the vendors, and bought a funny tote bag and a cute bracelet... ...made my way out of the park... ..and began my three hour drive home. Overall impressions of Winterfest 2021? Very well done. Much better than the "Taste of the Season" event from last year, bringing back all of the shows (and then some) and lighting effects of pre-2020 years. Though as I said, I'm not a fan of Christmas music, all of the shows were entertaining, and the lights were great. I'll definitely be back at least one more time before the season's through. Thanks for reading, everyone!

I'd be curious to know what the Wonder Woman rehab was all about. I rode it today a few times and noticed a pretty hefty "clunk" right as it passes the ride camera — multiple trains, different seats, so I assume there's something up with the track there. Probably hitting a bolt Everything else about it felt pretty okay to me. Crowds were light today, and I just went for a few hours to grab my gold pass (glad the park came around on that). Ops were so-so with lots of rides going up and down all day or rides opening super late. The new Poltergeist additions look really solid, and the more-enclosed station works well. I can't imagine the budget was super high, but they used it well. The ride also felt a bit smoother to me. New wheels? ^ I think this may do something? Not sure. ^ The station is much more enclosed now, and you enter through a different side.

I love how cliffhanger track looks. Love the poltergeist pictures - I will take this from Six Flags any day!

You do it either on the app under "My Six Flags" or you can do it through the pass holder site at sixflags.com/member. For Over Texas here are the upgrade prices: Plat: $20 Diamond: $70 Elite: $140

I like that it is strong, there are 3 wicks and I love the scent of pine! Pretty cheap too. I forget the exact price, but it is Aldi. I'm sure you could get at least 2 of these for a similar sized Yankee Candle

Hang on. I get that you can book at 7 but I thought the two hour window did not start counting until park open, so if you book Slinky at 7 you wouldn't be able to book Smugglers Run until you use Slinky OR 11 whichever comes first. (assuming a 9 am park open) Am I confused on that? We are staying on property Dec 13-17 with multi gen family members. They don't care about Slinky but want to see GE and do the stuff there. So I think we will book the ILL for Rise and regular LL for Smugglers at 7 (2 people on 2 phones should be able to do it) and then my son and I will use early entry to standby Slinky. We're staying at CBR so can hop the skyliner and be in before 7:30 for an 8 am regular opening. Geez. This is why I don't do Disney very often so f***ing complicated.

Tickets/hotels/car booked (all for quite cheap!) for early May. Can't wait for Velocicoaster as it looks quite awesome. I also have not yet ridden Hagrid's. The next day I'm driving to BGT for Iron Gwazi. Think there's any realistic way (like using single rider lines/even skip lines) I can get done Universal than pop over to Sea World? Crazy crazy I know but understand: I lived in FL four years so I did Universal 4 years in a row, I love it but just being realistic: Those 2 rides are all I NEED to do, meanwhile I've never been to Sea World If feasible, I'll speed through the former to get to the latter. EDIT: This fills me with dread, will probably get a dirt cheap flight to Orlando for another time instead of attempting this lol

No one was hurt. They'll rebuild, no worries on that. These were very old buildings, and had the charm of the park from its first couple of decades, so that's a loss. They'll likely rebuild in their new style, which is fine but not the same.