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The subject of Zamperla's lower price for TT2 needs to be considered to scale. The difference is surely multiple millions. I heard B&M's proposal was to tear it down and build something else and Intamin's could have been also -- Red Force 2? I doubt many others would want to modify an existing ride. There are also certain cost thresholds such as the original cost of TTD, preferably not adjusted to inflation. It seems a good guess that would exclude Intamin. Zamperla could be costing them that much. I think reusing that top hat gives Zamperla a huge break. There is nothing complex about the new trackwork. The launch design is extremely conservative.

We also spent some time at Ba Na Hills theme park. You could probably do a full day there if you wanted to really explore, but a lot of the rides there were copies of films we'd seen in Korea, so we didn't buy any buffet tickets and opted to leave after half a day since Korea has some of the busiest water parks in the world, we wanted to maximize our hotel water park time. The park is supposedly one of Vietnam's busiest tourist places, a theme park on top of the mountain and home to the Golden Hand Bridge aka 'The World's Most Instagrammmable Bridge', this park features in 100s of reels and YouTube videos on the topic of Instagram/Reality. So how bad was it really? Off to Ba Na Hills we go. Like most Vietnamese theme parks and the one In my previous TR, this one is owned by Sun World. We'd been warned that Ba Na Hills has it's own climate and heard many horror stories of terrible views and shut down cable cars. This was the only time we ever saw the resort all the way from our hotel, and with only that one cloud in the whole sky we chose to go that day. Being a Saturday and the best weather day in rainy season we knew we'd probably be in for the worst. Despite it being only a 30 minute taxi drive from the hotel clouds quickly formed. Instagram Vs Reality 1: We'd seen people recording hour-long queues for the cable car and tons of tour buses. We had an early breakfast and were at this entrance by 8:30.... ... and were not only on instantly but it was quiet enough even small groups weren't made to share gondolas yet. If you look to the right of the picture you can also see they're installing a 4th cable car line to reduce the lines. Despite the blue sky at the bottom, we entered the clouds after 15 minutes, at over 20 minutes long this is, I think, the world record holder for longest cable car journey. The famous bridge appeared out of the clouds. It's mostly there to connect the two cable car stations. Instagram Vs Reality 2: This bridge is known for being horribly crowded, but at 9am it wasn't bad at all. A lot of the crowds moved on because of the clouds wanting to come back when it was clearer but I kind of enjoyed the mist and clouds as a back-drop. Personally, if you just want to enjoy the view and don't care too much about getting the perfect shot on the bridge, head to the back side of the park. 99% of the crowds will be on the bridge and you can enjoy looking down the mountain without being jostled. Later in the day the bridge was starting to look more like the videos, and only got busier from there as guided tour groups packed in. The gardens are also in this area. At the other end of the bridge is the cable car to the theme park area. Note all the different lines that go to the other areas or back down the mountain. The twin alpine coasters, the parks signature attraction. Normally even on quiet days these rides can have an hour queue and shut down easily from weather. We'd been told the track in this picture, and the one you'll come across first from the cable car is the quieter one of the two, but this information is now outdated. Operations have now changed That one is now the free alpine coaster, and the other is fast-pass only. A fast-pass ticket was about $3 a person so skip the free one and just buy for the ticketed one. Also, tell the staff if you want a fast ride. They were great and would always check the car ahead was almost done before dispatching us. We saw many cars stuck behind slow riders but every time we asked the staff for a fast ride they obliged and we had brakeless runs whenever we wanted. Between the alpine coasters is the main indoor theme park, home to some kids rides like this ferris wheel, SBF Airborne Shot (closed for maintenance), single rail horse ride, and bumper cars. Also home to a 4D cinema, Desperados shooter, and a 360 screen. We've rode this many times at Seoul Land but it's always funny watching people jump out of their chairs on this when the dinosaur head closes around them. The main attraction indoor is the drop tower that goes and gives you a view outside. Like a lot of Vietnam, the arcade games scattered around were set to free play. There was also a dark ride but the line was long and a Youtube search suggested not worth the time. Link The outdoor area is mostly full of buffet restaurants and photo ops. But there is a chair ride and Merry go round here. The rides outside go down at the tiniest bit of rain which is pretty common even on sunny days. On the other end of the park, is the newest area,this empty castle, where there are 2 more movie rides. One a 4D cinema for 300 people showing Monster Family every 30 minutes. We'd seen it at Everland so we skipped it for the other ride. A 20-seater ride as you fly across the world feeling heat rain and wind. It felt like it was designed for a Flying Theater ride but they budget cut it back to a regular simulator. Before heading out we decided to sample Vietnam's coffees: Coconut coffee and egg coffee. We wanted to grab some swimming pool time so we left early but it started to pour, my son was saddened he might miss out on the outdoor pool but we would hit up the indoor one instead. However as we descended it became clear, Ba Na Hills really does get different weather than the rest of the city.... the rain disappeared.... ... and the journey back was sunny with a slight chance of cow. So we abandoned the rest of the day at Ba Na Hills for a indoor water park Plus a public clothed onsen (and gender-specific private areas for the more adventurous) Outdoor water park And Vietnam's 2nd? biggest lazy river. And the infinity pool, however unlike the rest of the water park above, where day tickets can be bought, you needed a hotel room key for here. This ends the Vietnam Parks TR. We had originally planned to hit the 3rd Sun World park, a zoo/water park/theme park combination,Link, but with 2 theme parks done and a water park-inclusive hotel booked due to the rainy season (as well as not being able to see which attractions were actually running at that park), we used the rest of the good weather days to experience the cultural sites and other tourist places like the famous lantern and basket boats instead. Bad coaster enthusiasts but good tourists.

^I don't know for sure. I think the aquarium was under the observation tower, but I'm not certain.

People under-estimate how cheap this park is. People put them up on a pedestal, but at the end of the day they're a regional park in Ohio that sells day tickets for $49.99. All we heard about at IAAPA was about how cheap the train was and how cheap it would be to maintain. It's proof-of-concept for Zamperla so they probably got a good deal, but I feel like people focus too much on the up-front cost and not the continuous costs of ownership. Intamin's spare parts are expensive. Zamperla is... Zamperla. Intamin could have built an insanely kick-ass ride but it would have cost more money up-front and probably more money every year going forward. Cedar Point is cheaper than most enthusiasts want to believe that they are. The entire motivation behind removing an Intamin multi-launch and replacing it with a Zamperla Wild Mouse was cutting costs without acting like they were cutting costs. It cost them money up-front, but think about the change in power consumption and staffing / maintenance costs every year forever. The entire motivation behind Top Thrill 2 is... exactly the same thing. Less staff positions, less maintenance, cheaper parts... etc. I'm not even upset about either of those things, but let's call this what it is.

HOOOOLLLYY SHIT! Severely strained MCL and bruised bone. It likely will not heal on its own for a long time, so I got a steroid shot in my knee, I'm prescribed anti inflammatory medications for ten days, and a healthy dose of physical therapy. I can get on my skates in as early as a week, as long as I take it easy... which is going to be difficult with my personality. The doctor told me it looks like I dodged a bullet. He said it pretty much just wasn't healing on its own and that when it finally did, my muscles would have been imbalanced unless corrected with a longer period of physical therapy than I have now. That horse needle on that massive shot tho... holy shit. I took it like a boss though. I called off work tonight since I'm supposed to take it easy for the rest of the day. My Lieutenant didn't give a shit. He was just happy I won't be out for six months. Hopefully, I'll feel strong on my skates again soon. I'm very relieved and thankful. It makes me realize at nearly forty years out that I need to dial it back a little. This could have been much worse.

I went in yesterday expecting to buy the Twilight Pass (good for the last 2 hours of the day) for the low low price of $46. But then I checked the closure list and saw Sandy's on it (which is somehow the first time I've been there with it closed) but also saw Skyline Scream is closed which I did want to get a night ride on. Wouldn't hate going back sometime in February if Sandy's is open to get an off-season fix in. And at the rate this winter is going, maybe I can bring my skis and manage a day without skiing in mud.

Skara Sommarland is mostly a waterpark with a handful of amusement rides. So perhaps it's unfair to judge the entire park based on only the dry sections. I'm still going to, though. 17: How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything Skara Sommarland is owned by Parks & Resorts Scandinavia (which itself is entirely owned by the Tidstrand family). Also owned by this group is Kolmården Zoo, Furuvik, and Gröna Lund--all of which we will be visiting on this trip. Fun fact: Skara actually means to cut, slit, carve, or reap. But only if you put that little o-thing above the first A, and your name is Barry. Bad joke, or ominous foreshadowing? Why not both?! On the right is Snake (or something), the ride that was temporarily at Gröna Lund when we were there in 2019, now seemingly in its permanent home. The ride on the left is the reason to visit Skara Sommarland, Tranan (or, "The Crane.") I was quite excited to try this ride. It just looks so weird, and maybe fun? And it is weird. Fun? Well, not especially. I mean, it's okay. It's hard to describe, really. To the point where I'm not able to even declare it good or bad. Let's start with the seating. The sides of the cars are quite low, the seatbacks are quite low, and you're secured by a seatbelt. Now, I'm 100% certain that seatbelt is enough to keep you in, but it sure doesn't feel like it. There's also quite a lot of metal near your knees and legs, giving you both a mental reason and a physical reason to hold on and brace yourself for dear life. Which is work, and distracting, in a way that detracts from the ride--at least, for me. And yet, I'm extremely glad I got to ride it. Because I'm sure if someone had told me that I actually wouldn't like it all that much, I would be skeptical. You don't know me! I'm contrarian! And it looks super-cool! It also only does its big trick (of spinning all the way around the track) one time. I'd be interested in riding a bigger version of this. Something with larger, more graceful elements. Because a lot of the turns are quite crunchy. But, then again, who would pay for a larger one when the prototype is so...unconvincing? Not my photo. Plucked from the group chat. Sorry person I'm failing to credit. Andy, maybe? Or Elissa? Anyway, it's a ride. Which sounds like an insult, but isn't really, except in that I was hoping that it would be really cool, and it's just kind of...strange. This seems like a trap. Unlike the "Taco Loco" in the background, which seems totally legit. Speaking of lunch. Warning: The above image may not be suitable for all audiences. Oh. I probably should've put that before the photo. Anyway. The park was quite eager to show off their new bumpercar ride, BadringsBumpers. Whereas I am surprisingly unashamed to show off Robb's "crotch cam." Most of the smaller, older rides are in this area--which maybe used to be its own thing? Like, a separate gate or something? No idea. Regardless, it's a rides midway. I should've just said that. I call it: Doesn't Work Land! The entrance to the park's powered coaster. It was working here, but I don't have any photos of the train, because when I went back to ride it, it was down. And it stayed down. I think until we left? Definitely for quite awhile, as I checked back a couple of times. A Rockin' Tug. It did not run, that I saw. Closed troika-type ride, with permanently sealed off swinging ship in the background (that had a sign saying that it had failed its inspection for the year, or some such?) Unattended game. I'm sure it's fine. This did open later, but the course was quite short, mostly unthemed, and people were coming soaked, so I passed. Pretty sure the vehicles were the best thing about it. I do love a good bridge. No idea if this is one, as it's permanently blocked off. But my statement still stands. What do you think of this park, Smisty? Go on, Bert, don't be scared. Put it in your mouth. The park had a train, and it was working. However, we were accosted by this street urchin begging for money. No, just kidding. He wanted drugs, actually. Apparently, Barry had gotten a splinter in his foot at the waterpark. A splinter. Part of the waterpark, as seen from the train. Yep. Yep, I'm good. A lone bit of incongruous theming, behind a fence? Outside of the park, maybe? No idea. Did you see how close Daniel got to the train, though? What's the concern with the dinosaur figure?! R-A-D-I-O-B-I-L-A-R-N-A What is this, some kind of bumpercar-lover's park? Is this a ride, or...? The spin mouse had been down all morning, so all the coaster nerds rushed over once it started testing. It ran a few cycles, and then a car got stuck on the block brake. The maintenance guys came out, released the brake, and then sped off. No testing, no empty cars. The very next car got stuck in the same place. Smisty says nope. (For clarity, I am not accusing anyone of unsafe practices. But just assuming everything will be fine after a quick reset does strike me as a bad look.) It's worth noting that for all the rides that were broken down or not operating, the most important one (Tranan) seemed like it ran pretty consistently all day. So that was good. Ooh, a crooked house or something! Wait a minute..."Miniradiobilarna"? Yeah, it's just more bumpercars. The Main Street Janitorial Parade A poncho with a map of the park on it? That's pretty cool. Except they were only for kids. And the image was blurry. But at least they're honestly named. It's probably not a great park if you're that excited to get back on the bus. Erik's Score: 1 Sorry, Skara Sommarland. It's not you, it's me. I'm sure others in our group probably liked you a lot more. Well, maybe not Barry. Arriving at the Backstage Hotel in Stockholm. This is where Misty and I stayed for a few extra nights after the official end of the 2019 trip--except then it was called the Pop House Hotel. We really loved the city, and were quite happy with our choice of accommodation, so it was nice to be back. They may have changed their name, and rearranged the lobby area a bit, but it's still houses the ABBA Museum, and it's still right next door to Gröna Lund. Our room for the next few nights. We might've checked out the ABBA Museum (even though we went last time) or done something else for the evening, but Gröna Lund had a better idea.... Surprise night ERT on Monster! We got to tour this underground station in 2019 while it was under construction. Turned out great! Not my photo, to be sure. Robb's. I will of course share more detailed thoughts about Monster when the proper Gröna Lund update comes around. But this was a great night! Next up: A park that no one in our group had ever been to!