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I went to the park yesterday & used the Ride Forces app to record forces on The Boss, you can clearly see how much smoother the Titan track is. The first graph is from 2024 recorded by StormSurge9099, & the second graph is the one I recorded yesterday.

Yes, it's a crap situation. Not knowing what their contracts said, though, this is perfectly legal for Disney to do. That being said, Unions are a great way to ensure stable employment, especially in the entertainment industry. Ask me how I know (20+ years of doing this stuff as a technician and an IATSE member). THAT being said, Unions aren't perfect and Actors Equity most certainly plays favorites on what contracts they give a crap about. AFAIK, Disney works with AEA and non-union for performers and their contracts demand only a certain percentage of performers be AEA members. Really what this boils down to is, if you ain't in the club, you ain't gettin' respect. I feel for the performers, but after decades of navigating this business I can only sit back and think about how this is a wonderful learning opportunity for those involved.

We were there once for a day and a half in 2018. For some weird reason my strongest memory is watching a guy get a hamburger at a stand, pulling the tomatoes out and just throwing them on the ground next to the food stand. Those tomatoes lay there all day, every time we walked by, getting increasingly more gross. I guess that kind of sums up the park. Not sure if they will relocate Wild One, maybe its historic nature will save it. Superman probably has a chance since several parks could use a hyper but are not likely to get the investment of a new one. Not sure much else is worth saving.

Breaking news: Cedar Point is the devil.

with a goat.

Silver Dollar City looked great last weekend during our short Branson trip to celebrate my daughter's fifth birthday. At the park, we started off with Fire In the Hole. The ride feels like modernized a copy of the old ride, which I consider a good thing. It was received with, "I'm never ever riding that ride again until I die." wtf ok I rode Outlaw Run by myself. It still kicks ass as my favorite RMC. It's borderline getting rough, but not to the level of real discomfort. I also grabbed a ride on Wild Fire near the end of the day, because it was walk-on. I'm always surprised by the airtime on the first drop. It's very smooth for its age. The observation deck was great for the family. When given the choice between "log flume" or "the bumpy kid's coaster" in exchange for a neurotoxin Dip-N-Dots reward, the "bumpy kids coaster" surprisingly won out. Earlier in the day it had the random walk-by rating of "That Holiday World roller coaster is TRASH!" (where does she get this from?) All in all, the Grand Exposition Coaster was much more suited for my daughter now than it was when she was three. At that time it received the rating of "I'm never ever ever riding that ride again." I think she actually had fun, which made me optimistic for the future. It's hard to tell. The Marvel Cave tour was a nice challenge for the kid. Caves make me uncomfortable. In my opinion, the tour guide took way too long incorporating the cave's history with story telling. We weren't the only ones in the crowd who looked bored with the five minute explanation of the original explorers throwing rocks into the deeper part of the cave that led to a bat shit filled pit. Like legit, dude went over the "He threw a rock and heard no response" reenactment about five times. I have a feeling the drawn out stories were to give the growingly restless crowd a break from the 600, but I don't remember the guides taking that long. I wish the extended story lengths would have instead just contained additional history, since the younger kids didn't seem to give a shit about the dramatization, anyway. Thankfully, the tram back to the top worked, because the lady gasping for air and breathing on my neck behind me was about to die. The train was great. The experience near the back half was a lot different with the Fire In the Hole area added. The robbery show was good. I feel like it got longer. Again, at one point I was wondering when it was going to wrap up, but the actors took extra time to interact with every row, which was worth it for all the kids. Staff did a great job of filling the train to make sure almost everyone in line got on. Flooded Mine is a great ride for kids. A lot of the effects weren't working, but the scoring was spot on and it's still a lot of fun. The gun accuracy is better than most considering this ride is old school. There were three animals out in the petting zoo. lol We originally made the mistake of getting in line for the BBQ place near the raft ride. (As I have gotten older, I really don't give two shits about most ride names anymore if you can't tell.) We got out of line when it seriously didn't move for the five minutes we were in it. I didn't understand the mistake of trying to grab lunch during prime time until I had a kid. Avoiding excessive hunger is a big part of preventing a meltdown, so the urgency of getting lunch increases. The quick-serve food stand pretzel nearby was decent and they had a fruit cup, which was nice. We later made it to the BBQ place when it had almost no line. The pulled turkey was ok, and the slaw was surprisingly not loaded with sugar. The pulled pork my wife had didn't taste like typical wanna-be barbeque crockpot meat. It's nice to have a healthy(er) choices for meat and vegetables. I'm not going to elaborate further on the kid and family rides we went on. Our experiences on all of them were great. The park was clean and the staff was friendly. I love how shaded the park is. It's a nice place to take it slow and enjoy the atmosphere. Does anyone know what they're building near the north side of the park? There was a lot of land clearing. It may be just the deconstruction of Fire In the Hole version 1. As far as Branson in general, we did the Runaway Mountain Coaster a few times. Two of the three times I went at a slower pace with my daughter and let her tell me when to slow down and speed up. If your kid is still afraid of roller coasters, this is a nice way to break them in at the pace you choose. I went by myself on one of the rides. There are a lot of small double down airtime hops in the layout and it cooks through the helix sections. Some of the areas seem to jut out at least fifty feet or so from the hill, with the optics of overlooking the valley making it seem much higher than that. For those interested in hiking, there's a nice waterfall hike nearby. Hiking is my daughter's jam, and this one doesn't have a lot of steep climbs. It's good for young kids. It takes a couple 2-3 hours if you stop to explore. If you go without kids, you can probably knock it out in a little over an hour. We chose to stay at a one room suite with a pullout, kitchenette, and porch at Hyatt's Timber Ridge. If you're looking for a well maintained property, I recommend it. There are activities at night for families. The resort has an indoor/outdoor pool that was unfortunately unavailable due to storm damage repair. The fitness center is really nice, but I chose to go the grueling route of steep elevation changing laps around the property, which was well worth it for being scenic and quiet in the early morning. Constants in Branson/SDC are that the gyms and running trails are rarely occupied... (Honorable mention to Holiday World area.) If you're in the area, I HIGHLY recommend Mr. Gilbertis pizza across the dam in Hollister. The cast iron Chicago style pizza seriously rivals Lou Malnati's. Cheers.

I would argue Six Flags Fiesta Texas has this one beat, but at this point, I don't even think you can consider it a true Six Flags park. It's like the unusually smart child in the family, which was secretly made on a business trip instead of at home.

Day 11 (pt 2) full day at Flamingo Land, continued: after the disappointment of the Haunt ride, we decided to head back towards the front of the park, where the main restaurants were. it was mid afternoon, and hadn't eaten yet, and we had seen posts in the group chat that the food in the pub was decent. the decor in here certainly was "eclectic" and the food was "typical bar food". .but that's fine, because it actually was all pretty good. the mozzarella sticks : and my Ham & Swiss with loaded nacho fries. we had a couple of hours left before time to meet the bus, so took the opportunity of being near the front gate, to check out the gift shop. capybaras !! then checking out the time, decided to venture way over to the other side of the park for the zoo portion. lazy afternoon for the lion pride. lovely Giraffe enclosure, surrounded by what looked like tracks for a SBNO train. perhaps it only operates on certain days? too bad, as it would have given some great views. This park most certainly can use a train or a monorail. . as it's a TON of walking, due to it being so big. monkeys, and free roaming peacocks. .that were everywhere! hmm. that's one way to ensure the big cats don't hide from visitors during the day - chain a big chunk of meat to the central enclosure. tho the Red Panda didn't seem to need any coaxing to be out. so cute! what's this???? ah. there's a "zoo area only" monorail.. and if I had found it a bit earlier, absolutely would have ridden it. but the station was difficult to find, and I was worried I wouldn't have time to check out the rest of the park. Nice to know at least one of the "sit and enjoy the view" rides (as I call them) was working today tho. thru the elephant enclosure, you can see just how far away from the SLC coaster we are - and there's still a whole nother "land" behind me. speaking of that other land. . . getting to it, and more free range Peacocks it looks like this at one point was a main entrance to the zoo? perhaps it's now the resort entrance? very small kiddie carousel here. . at least they had one, even if it's a tiny one. (but no, didn't try to ride it) and a few other assorted kiddie rides. that's why I'm guessing this park started out as a zoo.. but they slowly added thrill rides, and expanded out to the left. mini-ponies! and a whole "Peter Rabbit" section, that included a maze, and obstacle course, a gift shop / library (closed today) and a castle. and back behind the castle - hidden with NO signs, and not on any map I could find - was a classic carousel. i know it wasn't on the maps, because I tried to tell Stacy I had found a carousel, so she could come ride it with Myself and Nick. . but she wasn't able to find it, and kept getting directed to the kiddie carousel. called "the Gallopers". . . I was so happy to see this, and of course immediately hopped in line to ride it. I *believe* I ended up on Twister. . but can't really recall. still. . . Carousels are my happy place. and Nick seems to be enjoying it too. we looped back around the far side of the zoo to head back to the main gate / bus. as you can see, the sky cleared and it ended up being a beautiful day. more roaming Peacock I believe a buzzard sleepy meerkats antelope hiding in the tall grass a meerkat keeping watch while others dig for bugs and happy piggies in mud a photo op? why yes, please that's one way to make use of a dead branch that must be cut. . . carve into an owl. we got back to the front gate as the pirate show was going on. not sure what a pirate show has to do with Flamingo Land. . but I guess it explains the Pirate Ship stage. and there was a ton of kiddie / crowd involvement - those kids at the very front, expected to be chosen to participate. and the cast stuck around afterwards for photos .. . so of course! arrrrrghhhhhh!!! and this guy seems to be the mascot of the park. yeah.. I don't really understand it either. . why a Parrot for FLAMINGOLand? but hey, was cool to meet a mascot. and with that, we all headed to the bus and made our way towards the last hotel for the trip. on the group thread, either Andy or perhaps Brad shared these pics they had taken in the zoo portion. thought they were great enough to share. . .especially this first one. later that night, in the hotel, Stacy had a dilemna. she had gotten her bottle of Iron Maiden wine. . but how to get it home? no liquid allowed in that qty on the plane. well, the answer was to drink it of course, so she headed to me room and we drank like Troopers. and with that, it was time to go to bed. one final park before the trip was done. .and it was another surprise one.

last Day in Munich: at the fair for a final time. all packed up, shower and a quick nap taken, several of us met up in the lobby and headed back over to the Oktoberfest Faire for the final night (for us, the fair still ran I think for 2 more weekends?). a brewery we passed by every time we walked to the fair: as it was a weeknight, not as packed as we'd seen it. . but still the fairgrounds were pretty hopping. this is what they use for medical emergencies (or alcoholic emergencies: ie: pass-outs). they are to permit privacy, but these big, blue, coffins wheeling thru the crowds drew attention to them, I thought. this was my goal for tonight. . to get some pics from the ferris wheel at the back of the fair. so we headed that way. still pretty busy for a Tuesday night, I thought. we ended up sharing with a family who also wanted to take pics, so we took turns sitting in the end seat to grab pics as we cycled so colorful from above! a look down into the "older" section that had the separate entry. Loved that part of the Fairgrounds. and the beerhalls lining down one side of the main walkway Olympia Looping from the Ferris Wheel the ferris wheel off my list, there really was only one more thing I wanted to check out (and thanks to Erik for recommending it!) - one of the oldest rides at Oktoberfest! the Suspended Carousel. it was celebrating it's 100 years at the festival, and not only had a live band playing while it operated, but some daredevil operators, who jumped up onto the carriages as they swung around to take your ticket. it was amazing! the inner workings of the ride Erik even got on to ride it again with me. hidden way back on the complex, it wasn't packed tonight, but we weren't the only ones riding it. the live band - crammed into that little booth - that played while the ride was going. some signage celebrating the 100 years it' had been at the fair. I was actually starting a get a bit of munchies (having not really eaten today other than sharing that pizza).. so we started looking for a place to try that we hadn't had yet. LOL. .the sign ALMOST got me.. but I had flashbacks to those balls from night one.. and passed. Tho we stopped for a pic. no takes for the flume tonight. .even tho it was not raining I'm SURE this is 100% Disney approved, right? but since we were over here, and it was our last night? absolutely got some rides on Olympia Looping. this pic gives a good shot of the restraints. I don't care for them because as the coaster hits the loops, the pressure forces the shoulder harness down more and more..and you feel crushed by ride end. Fantastic coaster tho, and was able to knock it off my bucket list. luckily just out front of it was a place serving these wonderful things. Kinda like a Gyro, but on fry bread with more veggies inside. comes flat, but one folds it to eat like a taco. it was quite good. and met some folks who thought my jacket was as cool as their jackets, so they wanted to take a picture together. uh oh.. more of those "body boxes" things. . . stuff I hadn't seen in the prior 4 days, now suddenly a few times in one evening? and whom did we stumble upon? (and in a fantastic mood)? Jonathan, once again wearing his lederhosen. he joined us and we decided to check out Dr. Archibald - basically a ghost train, but with the gimmick that each rider gets VR goggles, and for the most part, all are watching different stories. honestly? I wasn't impressed at all with the VR. But the 'ghost train' aspects of it were fun (as was the exit funhouse), and it had some of the best lighting on the fairgrounds (purely to draw in customers - as once you had the VR on anyways, you couldn't see it. the ticket to get in. we're ready to be a-scared !! Jonathan really, REALLY wanted to try the toboggan again - as he was insisting that he had done well the night before. I worried he was wasting his $$, and that he was too far "gone" to have a chance, but he woudl not take no for an answer, so we all observed (and filmed for him at his insistence) as he gave it a go. whoopsie! but he made it to the top.. then kinda disappeared. he took his time coming down.. but eventually spotted him on the slide. where he sat giggling.. until staffers - who did NOT think it was funny - came and "helped him" out. but hey, it made fora *classic* short film clip HYWX4608.MOV after that fun, Jonahan wanted to go even deeper inoo the fair as possilby prior noted: Even tho it doesn't do anything TOO nuts. . but still, I think, it' possibly my favorite coaster at the fair. note: these pics were taken on the final brake run into the station - WITH PERMISSION from he ride operator. never pull out a phone for pics on a coaster, unless you get an ok from the folks who operate the ride! some "artsy" pics i have on my batch. . .and I think they are probably Andy's pics that he shared. finally managed to get the natural lame on Voodoo Jumper. and one final look back before we head out to go back to the hotel. Long day tomorrow with drive to Europa Parc it had been a fantastic visit to Oktoerfest, and still a few days to go on this trip. for now tho? off to rest. . .

Hard to believe even now, but the last day of my Oktoberfest adventure with Theme Park Review had arrived. It was bittersweet to say the least. Another full day of fun planned at the incredible Phantasialand, but the end of that day would bring the end of the trip. I snuck out the bathroom window one more time to admire the view of Rookburgh during the daytime... The walk down from the hotel to the land through the property's exclusive park entrance is both convenient and immersive. The group was up bright and early to take in the steam and get our head start on lining up for the remaining attractions we hadn't ridden during the prior day. Crazy Bats (previously Temple of the Night Hawk and before that, Space Center) was a surprisingly long indoor coaster that now features VR headsets. Even nicer, the VR experience is included in your park admission and all riders get a headset to wear. The coaster has three light hills and lasts nearly four minutes, which gives the VR experience (themed to three bats in a frozen castle) plenty of time to take you through their story. I would've never expected it, but this ended up being the best VR experience I had across the entire trip! I was very excited to get the chance to explore the Deep in Africa: Adventure Trail, which had only opened a few years earlier. By once again squeezing another experience in and around others park elements, Phantasialand maximizes the space the park uses, while making the big attractions (like Black Mamba) feel even more deeply interwoven into the land. If you know where to look, the adventure trail offers some great vantage points of Black Mamba. Up close and personal. The Deep in Africa: Adventure Trail is also a great way to get soaked if you don't pay attention to where you're going and how you're trying to get there. Case in point. I got drenched. We had some sweet treats, like this trio of eclairs, along the course of the day. The Hotel Ling Bao towers over the Chinatown section of the park. And there are great options for food inside! Today was the day where we had planned to tackle at least one water ride... Ponchos engaged. I fell out of my seat on Mystery Quest trying to keep my shoes dry but it was worth it. This was quite a fun rapids ride. I was fairly confident I'd be leaving Phantasialand without having a chance to ride my much-anticipated Chiapas... But as luck would have it, with three hours left in the operating day, boats started to cycle for testing. About an hour later we were seated for our journey downriver... This is such a fun log flume! And the airtime hill is a great touch! We got wet, but I wouldn't say soaked. But it was great fun and a highlight of the visit! An acceptable amount of wetness! I went back to the room to change before our exclusive ride time and couldn't help but to take in more of the view. Just incredible. It is nearly impossible to articulate just how much this coaster weaves in and out of the other elements of the realm. Just incredible. And so ridiculously smooth. One of my favorite parts of F.L.Y. is how the second launch sends riders directly between two sides of cabins belong to the Hotel Charles Lindburgh. Pics or my visit didn't happen. I'm kind of a fan of this place... Kind of. One of my favorite photos I managed to grab of F.L.Y., not because it is the highest quality, but because this angle does a good job of showing just how much coaster (and other stuff) that is packed into a small section of the land. Overbanked turns on this kind of coaster are a joy. Dessert waffles for a snack. It was time for our final ERT of the trip... F.L.Y. elevates the flying coaster experience with its unique loading system, over-the-top-theming and its incredibly immersive environment. It was one of my favorite experiences of the trip and one of my favorite coasters I've ever been on (if only for the total package of it all). And it was an amazing final ride with which to round out the trip. One more dinner at Bar 1919... If you ever get the chance to visit, do yourself a favor and get the sliders... Trust me. Dessert was great too! The next morning we flew from Cologne to Munich... From Munich it was time for final farewells as we all flew in our own homeward directions... Naturally I had to choose Madame Web for my flight home. Many of us were anxious about getting home because flights back in the Southeast were being cancelled as airports announced their closure due to an impending hurricane. There was a very real chance I could have been spending a few days in Toronto. Fortunately enough, mine was the last flight to Orlando from Toronto to not be cancelled... I gave my thanks to the Saint of Good Travel, Tim Hortons... I had my first Western-ish meal in over two weeks before it was time to board the plane home. Much rainier skies were in my future but the last sixteen days would make it all worth it. It's taken some time to prepare and post all of these updates, but in recollecting the experiences I shared with so many friends on this trip, I'm eternally grateful to Robb, Elissa and so many others who made this trip what it was. I experienced several bucket list moments and went to places I was fairly confident I'd never have the chance to visit in my lifetime. I ate (and drank) well throughout and visited some of the best parks I've ever been to. It was an incredible trip and I cannot wait for the next chance to travel with TPR... It will surely be another incredible adventure!

Woke up and realized I could make it by gate opening, so took an unplanned trip. Right to flash, got two rides (after the 2nd line was already up to an hour) once in the middle, once back row. Middle was fine, was fun, back row was very good, air and whip was stronger, just a better ride all around, even the hang felt better! For the 40 mins I waited for my 2nd ride was still worth it but not sure I'd want much longer than that. IMO this is an hour at tops, ride was quite fun but just wish it had a liiiiittle bit more oomph. Like it felt close to being great just needed some more. But yeah the line itself wasn't even that terrible but ofc due to 1 train it was getting long, I can't fathom what summer would look like. To be clear: It was not the ops, I felt they were moving quite quickly! Also restraints were nice and comfy, willing to say some of the best I've experienced. Besides that got a walk on to Nitro and even a stay on re-ride. It just doesn't hit the same it used to, but still a solid ride. Jersey Devil, then the heat was getting insane already so bailed. So yeah not much to report, it still makes se sad going here just seeing how much the park has lost over the years (no not this year, I still maintain most of that wasn't really a big deal and KK barely ran anyway) and as noted El Toro while still great has become so rough. Some solid rides here so I really hope the long run investment they talk about does happen. Wanna see this place have a good number of quality, interesting rides. But for now, got some good rides and after being prepared to be let down Flash was better than I expected!

this pic of us CHOOSING to ride MindEraser pretty much sums up my feelings on Six Flags America: and one of my other memories of it were the absolute shit-holiest Carousels I've ever ridden (yes, it had a Pink Elephant on it, but there were freaking holes in the floor of it, and all kinds of tears in the canopy) but to be fair? I DO have some fond memories of this park too: Daffy Photobombing our photo, when we asked him to step aside so we could get a pic with Sam only: that fantastic sign for such a shitty, shitty coaster: and the first time ever, I got to ride a coaster with Robb while he filmed: so. . . all in all, I won't really "miss" it, but it wasn't the greatest park in the chain, and gotta wonder if a rival might pick it up and actually give it some love.

Sooo....why new trains for Superman? Oh if you're not really gonna use them, feel free to ship them to 1623 Main St Agawam MA 01001

AlpenFury top hat done. Beautiful https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJFSjiNCTnJ/?igsh=dXdhd213NzR5cGhx

Cedar Point has announced that Top Thrill 2 will be reopening on May 3rd!

I know the popular thing is to complain about not getting new rides or investments (I'm guilty as well), but it really is nice to see the strategy they are taking as of late. Refurbing/maintaining the coasters and rides they already have is no small effort. Are we ever going to have a "top tier park"? No. Are they just giving up on the park like people can make it seem on different social platforms? Also no. It's very refreshing to see. Just my opinion

I don't think anyone has mentioned Jeffrey Siebert is now GM(?) of the Texas region and over all the TX parks. Sounds great to me.

I wish I could answer your question but I'd have to shoot myself before I went to Florida in July so I have no idea how the crowds stack up during the summer. Other times of year, on Tuesdays I've generally found most things to be a walk on depending on what time you get to them. Hagrid and Velocicoaster will probably be 1.5 hrs and 45 mins respectively. Water rides will probably be long. Usually almost everything else is very short. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to get through the whole park without express on a Tuesday. In Epic news...it's day 2 of regular operations. Ministry currently has a 1 hour line. I seriously am starting to think that they sold more tickets during preview than they're selling now. Fingers crossed it's still like this on June 2, I will have a blast that day if it is.

We were at the park all day 4/16 and part of the day 4/17. The Friday was the park's 50th birthday and my son's 22nd birthday so it was fun to have the fireworks and special atmosphere. Had not been to there for about 3 years so first time on Darkoaster and Nessie with the enhancements. Darkoaster is kitschy in a fun way and the theming is well done. The retracking on Nessie was noticeable and appreciated, I liked the added screens in the tunnel but I'm guessing some purists will view it as an unwelcome alteration. The giant Nessie is a bit over the top and was definitely bigger than I was expecting. The new BBW was available for passholders but we did get ert on it Sat morning before park open. Just like most of the other new gen family inverts it's butter smooth with a nice layout. Just as fun it has a creative story line, fun trains, and very well done theming throughout the ride. I never rode the original so not sure how the people that have apparently never forgiven the park for taking it out feel, but I thought the new coaster to be a great addition to the park and will probably take some crowd pressure off of Invadr for all those looking for a slightly tamer experience. Verbolten very very dead. I mean cobwebs growing over the entrance dead. Everything else open without any noticeable downtime. The log flume was out of action both days but there were employees on site messing with it. Griffon, Appollo's Chariot, and Pantheon still probably my favorites and was able to get night ride's on AC and Pantheon which we had never had before so that was fun. The food festival was great! We tried several booths, everything was pretty good and there was a good variety. To honor the 50th they were selling 75 cent beers on Friday and while it doesn't affect me because I don't like beer, it was obviously very popular with the masses. Sorry I didn't partake so I cannot tell you if there was a limit or the size of each, etc

We were at the park last weekend and got a couple rides in on Rapterra. While it's not a blow me away top ten coaster, it is a solid addition to the lineup. Well themed and creative that they got it packed into a relatively small footprint. In my opinion worth a wait if you are already at the park, not necessarily worth a trip for it alone. Still no action at Pantherian. Timbers running well but of course only if you appreciate the typical ejector air of an RMC. I actually thought the star was Grizzly. That thing is running really really great after all the retracking. I was actually quite surprised at how smooth it is right now.

I will be attending the commercial shoot Friday!

My way of transferring camera photos to Online Photos keeps changing on me, lol. Nonetheless, I decided to tackle the current photos taken yesterday...and was successful! Most of them are of the new Amphitheatre being built (opens next summer). At the entry gate, you can see the cranes being used, to build the new Amphitheatre. Testing, testing. The arcade, and most food spots, don't open until noon. Still no Play Quarters Games seen. <sad> A closer look at construction. Peeking thru a fence, for a slightly better look. Seen from the queue for Skybender. My one and only ride, yesterday. Till next weekend...

Yay first post! I was also here for opening day. Did Mind Eraser two separate times and I definitely agree its a better ride the closer towards the back you are. First time I was in the middle and found it enjoyable, second time I waited for the front and ended up regretting it lol. I did see that Predator was up and running before I left but it immediately got a huge line so I decided I'm saving it for next trip At this point I typically skip Viper and Boomerang because both just make me sick so I can't comment on those Tantrum was down for a while when I got there but when it came back it was running with two trains. I hope it stays that way all season I really hope they're not doing the thing they've been doing where Motocoaster doesn't open until later in the season but we'll see ig Darien Lake has so much potential if SF would just properly invest in it and this seems like a step in the right direction. Hopefully later in the season we'll see the second trains getting used because they could definitely help a lot.

Not sure if it's a permanent change but Ministry virtual queue was dropped today. Wait time according to the app was 2-3 hours for most of the day. I'll be happy if this change is permanent. It will be comforting knowing my chances of riding when I am there in 2 weeks don't rest completely in the hands of a flawed lottery system. I know there are a lot of other obstacles but it will be my choice on whether to wait out the issues and the long line.

Same happened for us, back around the 2006 TPR tour. I TPR toured it there, twice, first had one of those clone corkscrews; the 2nd visit (2010) had the replacement motor cycle (?) coaster. Very speedy that was. BUT - still "No Adults" on that kids' only one. I remember one of the group, who was 11, touring with his mom - no go - was turned away. That was sad to watch. The dark ride was just new back then, so I guess it's seen better years. And Kumali was GREAT back in 2006! I think I rode it several times, during our visit there that year. One of the more perfect SLCs imHo. And then I rode/loved/lived on Mumbo Jumbo on the 2010 Tour...bliss. Wanted it here in Vancouer at Playland. But we got ThunderVOLT instead. <sighs> Good TR on it and the zoo, Bert!

Day 11 (pt 1) full day at Flamingo Land: on the way to the last hotel for the trip (back near London), we stopped to spend most of the day at FlamingoLand. this is a weird ass park - on the one hand, it's very, very run down, and seemed to be falling apart in places. With some pretty awful operations (most coasters were running one - or less ! no really, a coaster was running one train ops with only loading the first 4 rows). . . *but* the rides/coasters they do have offer a wide variety of thrills, and included one of my favorite coasters on the trip. it's also a HUGE park. .that includes a zoo. and mixed in past the zoo? some more rides (tho these were mostly smaller rides, and I got the impression that this was the original park, and then they expanded behind the zoo to add the newer thrill rides section). the day we were there was overcast, and tho there was a lot SBNO - including a section with a chute the chutes and a mine train coaster that was completely shut down - and a LOT of stuff that broke while we were in line for it (tho they mainly got them back up and running fairly quickly) - AND it turned out we were there on a day that was a standard "Families with kids with special needs" day at the park (so was busy), it never really FELT crowded, as the park is so big. and I really enjoyed chatting with some of the special needs kids while they were in line with their companions and their excitement at riding "big coasters" was contagious. made for a wonderful day overall. even tho the appearance of the park, and the operations, definitely get a C- ? the day I had I'd give a high B+ to. (tho the SBNO monorails, train, race track, and other rides really are a giant eyesore, and they make no attempt to hide the "rotting" rides) on to pictures! it was so sad to leave Blackpool. . but at least I still had the lovely sights to see out of the bus windows a roundabout, with the first sign I'd seen pointing us to Flamingo Land and before too long, we pulled into a mostly empty parking lot (we had arrived before park open) hmm. . SOME theming here. wonder how it is thruout the park? (answer, very hit or miss. .with some areas really themed, some areas looked like they had been themed and over the years the park just gave up, and some areas with little/no theming). the big draw (at least for us) was staring at us right from the parking lot: SIK - an Intamin 10 loop coaster. it's very similar to Colossus at Thorpe Park, but with a different restraint system (and trust me, that makes ALL the difference in the world) Inside the front gates, and tho the day started out cool, it did warm up a bit. ok. . some nice theming near the entrance gates - tho really not sure what a pirate ship has to do with Flamingo Land. I'd try to catch a show later to see if there is a connection. on this side behind Sik is another (in)famous coaster here - Hero - a Zamperla Volare. oy. next to it in this pic is a Disc-O, and a drop tower (neither of which were operating during our visit). . . but that station on the right and the orange track, is another coaster: Velocity - a Zamperla MotorBike coaster (it was up and down all day, but got lucky with out skip the line passes and managed to get a ride on it). THIS is what we were gonna start off with tho. and the park does have the "classic" photo op in front of the multiple corkscrew inversions (and I could SWEAR Robb took a pic of the group there), I don't have that shot. . so here's a "not exactly lined up" shot of the multiple inversions. walking back over to SIK before the gates open, here's a pic of Hero. just looking around from in front of SIK while they get the morning test runs out of the way. that blue track behind the Disc-O is Kumali - the park's Vekoma SLC. yeah. it's like the park has the "greatest shits" in terms of the coasters. . LOL. and SIK is testing, yay! here's an onride shot (that I bought on a magnet) with Stacy, me, Doug and Nick. it shows off the different restraint system than Colossus has, and this makes is SO MUCH BETTER. no headbang (nothing to bang against!).. and turns this into such a great ride. by the time I got done purchasing the picture - don't ask. .it was a 15 minute shitshow - the park had opened and Velocity had already gone up and down a few times. they got it running again, and so I headed right over, and managed to get a ride before it went down again, using our quick queue passes. I sat out the Zamperla Volare - having already had the horrific experience of riding one of these in a park in Helsinki. So I just took pics and waited for those I was hanging with to ride. to be fair tho, those that did ride it? said it was running very well, and was way smoother than they expected. walking back over towards Mumbo Jumbo (the park's S&S El Loco), and Kumali (the park's Vekoma SLC), you have to go around this huge - and not operating today - race car attraction. Not sure if this is SBNO or was just not open today. . .but since what looked like the loading station was all blocked off and full of storage? I'd guess is SBNO. a shame, as it's huge, and in the center of this whole side of the park. Mumbo Jumbo was a new to me coaster. . I'd never been on an El Loco - as I've never been to Indiana Beach (for Steel Hawg) or to Adventuredome since CircusCircus put that in. so I was nervous, but excited. even with passes, and not much of a line, this took a while to get on, as it doesn't have the best capacity very intimidating. . . but those who were riding it, seemed to really be enjoying it (ignore the scowling kid in row 2. .LOL) just as we were about to get on.. . a restraint arm fell off. no. . really. . . bwaaa-haaa-haaaa did not have me feeling very "safe". . . but maintenance came out fairly quickly. . and after messing with it for a bit, just locked off that seat, and then tested and reopened the ride. Did I like it? not really. . I can see why others do like these El Locos, but for me, just felt a bit too. . . "im gonna try and kill you" for me to enjoy it. so was one and done for me, but I'm glad I got to ride one of these finally. Hey Andrew! speaking of "I'm going to try and kill you" rides, next up was the Vekoma SLC this one had the upgraded train (not trains, as they were only running 1 train, and of that 1 train, were only loading the 1st 6 rows, leaving the back 4 rows empty on every cycle). so yeah. .this one took a while to get on, especially with the apparent restrictions that special needs couldn't ride in front or back (so row 6) so the operators were pulling 2 quick queue, 4 special needs, and 4 standby line for each cycle). was it worth the wait? well, it actually DID ride better, I thought, than Infusion, which I had just ridden the prior day at Blackpool. but at the end of the day, it's an SLC. I mean..I'm smiling in the pic back behind this ride is the closed off section where the Chute the Chutes ride is (and looks like also an SBNO swinging ship too) this water battle ride, was not operating today. . .tho they did have the water features going, and it LOOKED like it typically does operate. one thing I did think was interesting here was how many kiddie coasters they have. when we visited, I think there were four, but looking at RCDB, it does appear that at least two of them closed down at the end of 2024. this one is still operating in the park tho. (and you can see in this pic the SBNO Monorail. . parked in the middle of the place, so you can get excited about riding it, but it's not working) whee. . . I believe I DID ride this one (Runaway Mine Train) with Stacy too, even tho I tend to skip the kiddie coasters. this one, called "Dino Roller" , I did not ride. but did take pics for those riding. . there's Nick in car 2. and Stacy in the back row. very interesting ferris wheel next door. I don't think I've ever seen a "covered wagon" wheel that had so many arms. while we were over in this area, my most anticipated coaster actually opened - tho it had been down all day thus far. Zooom! - a Zamperla Air Force coaster. yeah it doesn't do much, but it's my kind of dumb fun. .wheeee. we were among the first to get over to ride, but did find that Jon and Daniel had already hopped in line and were on the cycle before us. clouds really coming in. . was hoping it would hold off until our day was done (and it did) this small claw ride (adjacent to zooom!) was operating, but it looked like it was SUPPOSED to be over a lake, with water features that squirt as you swing over it. it was kinda looking sad and run-down without that in place. Jon having a blast me too. . . Whee!! another pic of a parked Monorail. . . I guess I just don't understand why have it out, if there's no way to actually ride it? Maybe the station was back in that SBNO area they are tearing down the chute the chutes in? I actually was interested in riding this, but it had a decent line, and there was so much more of the park to explore. still think it's super interesting tho. this big dino area, was another spot where they seemed to go in bigtime with some theming. there was a spinning coaster back here too. . so we headed in. I only seem to have taken pics of the queue line, tho we did ride it. it's called Twistosaurus, an is a Zamperla Twister Coaster (there are some pis of it on RCDB if you're curious). fun, but not super exciting. interesting factoid posted at Twistersaurus. looking at the park map, it appeared there was a haunted house attraction (family friendly) if we headed towards the zoo side of the park down this path. so we headed that way. quickly coming across another kiddie coaster - this one also now showing as removed at the end of 2024, called "Go Gator" adults were NOT allowed on this one, and I could see why. . nevermind getting in the train, that track didn't look like it could support over 80 lbs. a lovely cottage and picnic area, just in the center of a huge amusement park. and then we came upon Mischief Mansion. . ok, totally NOT an adult ride. . but man, was this embarrassing. I was embarrassed for the park that they were even operating this. only 3 cars working (the main operator told me they had 4 cars until last week, but one of them got stuck - and he was telling the truth, as in the ride? the car that broke is just sitting right by the side of the track - where they pushed it against the wall - and I guess riders are just supposed to pretend they don't see it? with only 3 cars, this one took a while, even with very small queue line. it seemed to be aimed at the 3-4 year old crowd, which I had gathered from the cutesy monsters. . . . but id say at least 75% of the triggered effects did not work, and those that did work? all seemed to make a fart sound. (not that farts aren't funny to the audience I guess they were going for). was told no pictures on the ride, so put my phone away, but this is from the queue. Yeah. .that's not theming. .that's a lot of cobwebs and dead bugs in the light. ewww. . .. lowest point of the visit I would say, if only because the idea of a haunt got my hopes up. to be continued. . .

There are new rumblings that a buyer from Florida might be lining up to take another stab at reopening Ghost Town in the Sky as a new attraction... https://www.facebook.com/NationalAmusementParkHistoricalAssociation/posts/1111008691062973?ref=embed_post Ghost Town Village in Maggie Valley may soon see a revival, as a potential buyer from Florida has expressed interest in purchasing the long-closed amusement park. Owner Jill McClure, who inherited the property, hopes to sell it for entertainment purposes rather than housing. The buyer envisions a venue featuring country music, rodeos, and festivals, aiming to keep the park family-friendly. McClure had a professional appraisal valuing the 285-acre property at $6.4 million1. If the deal doesn’t materialize, she plans to put it on the market. Locals are optimistic about the revival, believing it could boost tourism and revenue for the town. Movement on the sale could happen within months. The potential buyer first became interested in the property after delivering hurricane relief supplies to the area. McClure has full discretion over the sale following legal maneuvering after the passing of previous co-owner Frankie Wood. While some residents prefer Maggie Valley to remain a quiet town, others see the revival as an opportunity to restore its tourism-driven economy. The amusement park, originally opened in 1961, was once a major attraction featuring Wild West shows and celebrity performances.

Great TR Adam! Phantasialand was such an amazing park! I loved how dense many of the sections felt, especially with how much interactions there are between the big coasters and the paths. FLY was a huge surprise for me. It rides really differently to other flying coasters, even without the launches. While it doesn't have the ridiculous intensity of B&M pretzel loops, it was so much more forceful throughout its layout in general and had several good pops of air (especially the top of the second launch in the front). I really hope we see some more of these pop up around the place. Hotel Charles Lindburgh was really great to stay at as well. And yes, the rooms were small, but I never felt that cramped in them (and we barely spent any time awake in there anyways), and being surrounded by FLY was totally worth it. I think about the goat cheese and fig pasta I had on the first night constantly because it was so good. And relaxing at the bar in the evenings was great. Overall, this was another amazing TPR trip! It was so nice to be able travel to new parks and places with an amazing group of people. As always, a huge thank you to Robb and Elissa for all the work that they do in putting together a trip like this. Also, thanks to you, Adam, for being a great roommate, it was wonderful getting to know you over the trip along with everyone else.

With the 2025 season now underway, just wanted to give a couple thoughts on the state of the park and what could happen in the future. I visited on Passholder preview on Saturday 5/10. Park president at enthusiast events has stated that a new coaster is a "when," not an "if." Park needs infrastructure improvements before that happens. While he hasn't elaborated, I'm guessing this includes in part: the entry experience (parking tolls/parking lot/park entrance), dealing partly with the Flood Plain, upgrading certain facilities such as restrooms, and food service upgrades. I didn't see that much noticeable work on any of these during my visit. And it's worth noting how many closed--as in, shuttered, food service locations there are around the park. Ride signs for select attractions could be updated. Renegade's sign is extremely faded. Wild Thing could use new sign to go with its paint job. The starflyer and Disk'O only have the ride safety sign and could use a logo sign. Per maintenance: No titan track planned for Renegade. Wild Thing MCBR unlikely to ever turn off/down--final brake run too short. Park pres wants more limited time events a la Grand Carnivale, though none are currently scheduled. I remember getting a survey on this a couple years ago. Park pres is excited for the park's 50th anniversary. While the park opened in 1976, it didn't open at all in 2020. Either 2026 or 2027 could be used to celebrate. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a 2 year celebration. The Skycoaster has been removed from the park. The footings for the arch have been removed. The back spike footer still seems to be there. The op booth is still up. The concrete path has been torn up. I picked up a Worlds of Fun Mamba hat in a gift shop. It was tucked in among Wild Thing hats.

Went to Valleyfair this past weekend for Opening Day. Park looked clean as always. Ride operations were slow with new staff, but that is to be expected. There was a group of kids from Owatonna that kept getting away with using the Fast Pass lane and didn't have Fast Passes, which was kind of annoying, but whatever. Small issues... Retracking of High Roller did wonders on the second hill drop! So smooth.. While riding High Roller on the turn around, I did notice there was some trees removed and have red X's spray painted on the stumps in the old Antique Autos/Dinos Alive area. I would usually start to get my hopes up, but I've been a season pass holder for over 20 years, so not going down the roller coaster hope road ever again until there is an actual announcement... There are some areas of the park where a new ride just seem obvious: 1) slide complex at old Looping Starship 2) roller coaster at old Dinos spot 3) games midway always just feels empty and a waste Other Notes & Rambles: Power Tower is looking rough. 25 years old now that I think of it. Wild thing paint job looks great! Looks like they turnaround up to the brake run. Hope the lift hill/return hills/station area to complete it this next offseason! Renegade kicks ass as always! Could envision Steel Venom exiting the park's line up in 5-10 years with a coaster replacement in that corner of the parking lot too. It is pretty rare to see that ride batting 1.000 on the day, but I know they just put some money into it with the holding brake repair, so probably safe for awhile. Looking forward to another good year at the park with the family!

the refurbished Sangerfest Halle is now officially open. not only looks great, but the new layout VASTLY improved wait times - with the line splitting at the front for two sides with same options, and then 4 cashiers on each side. The Beverage station is also now on the same side (looks like what was the beverage station across the dining room area is going to be refurbed - if I had to guess, it will be a beer/alcohol stand, but at the moment it's all blocked off). the new food options are excellent, and this is NOT "theme park food" - other than the pizza and chicken fingers option that I guess they must offer for the picky eaters and kiddos. I DO wish some of the options that went away - such as my beloved Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich - will come back, as I feel they could use a few more options. opening options are: (all are Meal options on dining plan, and both deserts are Snack options) Salad (good size comes with grilled chicken chunks) Pizza plate - one large slize (cheese or Peperoni) with a pretzel bread stick Chicken Tenders - with a pretzel breadstick Sangerfest Platter - I entree, 1 side (+6.99 for additional sides) Entree Options: Traditional Braised Beef with Spaetzle, Grilled Brats, German Pork Loin, Chicken Tenders Side Options: Macaroni & Cheese, Fried Brussel Sprouts, Steak Fries, Fried Apples Deserts: Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake, Parfaits Everything we tried was excellent, and the serving size for the pork loin was big enough that could easily be shared. I always bring along baggies, and took home leftover pork and Brussells that made a great lunch today.

Free Day in Munich: Part 1 oy.. seeing that Adam is actually on his last day of the TPR trip, reminded me that despite having so much going on, I've GOT to get back to my dual Trip Reports (both Oktoberfest, and the UK) - not only because I love doing them, but because I have to make time for myself to do the things I love doing. so after a lengthy wait, here's an update for day 5 in Munich - our "Free Day" to explore the city, go back to the Oktoberfest faire, or just do whatever we wanted to do. Andrew and I decided via chat before the trip (and at the suggestion of options from Elissa that she had sent out prior to the trip) that we would spend our free day at the Munich museum of Science and Technology (the "Deutsches Museum") and I had prebought tix for us. a quick cab ride from the hotel, and we had arrived. the Deutsches Museum is a HUGE and very interactive museum, and as we were here on a Tuesday, we knew there would likely be school groups here (there were, but they pretty much stuck together, and so we were able to avoid the large groups most of the time - but the place is SO big, that even if packed it probably wouldn't have felt very packed. a view across the lovely waterway that passes by the Museum. it doesn't look that big (that's what she said!), but the more you get into it, you realize there are levels below ground and farther back. and they are doing some massive construction near what would be the front entrance (the gift shop is on the left) to build, I believe, a Planetarium. so this is the current entrance, down the side of the building, under the large "Barometer tower" Munich truly is a very lovely city from the current entrance, one enters by one of the working scientific labs that suspended above a large conference area - where they were holding talks and shows that the public are welcome to join. you can join to work in in the lab with the scientists too. . . tho that's an upcharge and only during certain hours. another view of the lab from the coffee shop they had set up near this entrance. a most important stop to get to once we scanned in (and a potty break too) looking out the back window while sipping coffees.. yeah, the building goes way back, and there are even full size boats just out back that one could touch and go on. as the museum is so big, we decided to follow the extremely helpful map, and just go along the route it recommended. the first large room, was also where most of the school groups started too. So tho you can't see it in these pics, there were a LOT of kids in this first display area. once we moved on from this room tho, we didn't really interact with the school groups. they were mostly doing the audio tour - which we could have done - but chose instead to skip so we could spend more time on the things that interested us most, instead of going from case to case with the audio tour. the first exhibit hall was about the history (and future) of robotics - starting out with toys: a display about how a robot would "see" with thermal imaging CREEPY !!!! one of the first ever full size robots built with a human face the historical robotics stuff here was SO interesting. I could have spent way longer in this hall, but it was getting crowded. they even had a Golem. I was super impressed this guy played guitar. . down this next hall was the way to proceed into the main museum.. .and I snapped this pic to show Andrew how once we got out of this room, there was plenty of space and way less kids. i mean, it's GREAT there were school groups of kids at a museum. and it was GREAT they were all well behaved. but.. I mean. . kids (shudder) one last pic in the robotics room. . . and then quickly buypassing the next room (about trains and transportation) to get more ahead of the groups. it was a really impressive train set up tho. . . we went back later to catch it fully running. in the base of the "Barometer Tower" is a Foucault pendulum display. . . very interesting, even tho I'd seen a version of this at Tokyo DisneySea in the Michelangelo challenge area. the point is that it proves the Earth's rotation. the next exhibit hall on this floor was about Bridges/Tunnels/construction. i totally got why Elissa had described this as a "fun" museum. So interactive, with so many displays. I loved it, and think we spent over 6 hours here this day. yes, they actually have a glass suspension bridge build across the area! pretty cool to walk over and look down to displays you'd get to later in this hall. most of these models are working - you push a button and they show how they operate. honestly, the history of construction materials and types was WAY more interesting than I ever thought it would be! we spent so much time in this room the groups started to catch up with us. and the area about water, and how it's utilized to generate power to move the machinery is really cool too.. tho the sound over here did make me have to pee as noted. . some really impressive models in this museum Andrew and I posing in front of a cross section of a cable that supports a Suspension Bridge. LOL.. in this pic you can see the groups starting to filter in so we moved into the next connected hall, which was all about machinery and how it's powered and what energy is required, and what energy is produced and just off the hall from this is a huge, 4 story area, that all about aviation and space. this just shocked me. . suddenly was in a space that was just as large as the Air and Space Museum main exhibit hall at the Smithsonian! full size planes on display, and hanging from the open area ceilings. Andrew actually chatted with another tourist that was a fan of flying and they stood and talked aviation for a good 20 minutes over here. I found a lot of it interesting too , tho of course I found the display with the Stewardess Barbie. and no, putting Ken's Pilot hat on Barbie doesn't make her the pilot museum folks ha! a Playmobil TSA set. peeking out the windows over here, at what I think is a nearby cathedral ? the hall is so big, they even talk about commercial airlines, including a cross sectioned plane so you can see how the food, luggage are stored. up the stairs to level 2 of the museum - tho still sticking with the Aviation atrium area where they have a 360 flight simulator and they begin to talk about missiles, rockets, and space tee-hee another view out the window from the 2nd floor now. looked like it was gonna rain today, but for the most part, the weather held out full size walk thru of classic planes - inside a museum! finally found a direction board . . and I was wrong, thought we were on level 2, but we were now on level 1, as we had come in on level 0 as you can tell. . still LOTS to do. into the Space section, and a nice model of the shuttle and skylab not as much on display as they have at the Johnson Space Center outside of Houston. . but for a museum across the world? I was really impressed by how much they do have on display. didn't seem to take many pictures in the "Science" hall.. .but I think that's because there was so much interactive stuff to do, that I just didn't even think to take many pics. thought these tubes/thermometers were pretty dang kewl tho. and who DOESN'T want a "Gilbert Nuclear Physics Atomic Energy Lab" playset???? to be continued . . .

Walt Disney World has revealed new details regarding the Pirates of the Caribbean-themed tavern coming to Magic Kingdom Park, The Beak and Barrel. https://disneyparksblog.com/wdw/the-beak-and-barrel-new-details-from-pirates-of-the-caribbean-tavern/ It’s time to raise a glass and let out a hearty shout – The Beak and Barrel opens later this year in Adventureland at Magic Kingdom Park! Established by the legendary pirate rumrunner, Captain Meridian “Merry” Goldwyn, and her talkative first mate, Rummy (more on them below), this lively pirate pub will soon welcome swashbucklers, scoundrels, bandits and buccaneers of all ages from every corner of the seven seas.  Meet Rummy As Merry’s trusted companion and first mate, Rummy serves as the tavern’s quartermaster keeping an eye on the place from his roost high atop the bar. Although retired from seafaring life, Rummy is a dutiful crewman to his beloved Merry, ensuring everything is ship-shape, sharing tales of piracy and leading the bar in a rousing toast or two.   Eagle-eyed Disney fans may notice that Rummy bears a striking resemblance to the original Barker Bird that previously sat at the entrance to Pirates of the Caribbean but flew the coop some time ago.  The Mess The largest and central space at The Beak and Barrel was once the mess hall for Spanish soldiers and is now known appropriately as “The Mess.” Long tables span the room, allowing for pirates to gather ‘round and tell their own tales, while an imposing anchor covered in candles and dripping wax hangs high above.   A large bar anchors one side of the room, cobbled together from salvaged portions of a cursed shipwreck. At its center, the skull-shaped stern holds an impressive collection of grogs and brew. Guests may also spot the Enchanted Rum Bottle, which was gifted to Merry by the enchantress Tia Dalma and seemingly serves as the source of the tavern’s specialty brews, or Rummy hobbling along the bar’s ledge, greeting the patrons and keeping a close eye on the crew while Merry is away.   Captains’ Quarters Inside the Captains’ Quarters, visiting pirates can enjoy a taste of the finer life, which was once the living quarters of the Spanish Comandante. However, the fine artwork and drapery hasn’t escaped slashing blades or burn marks over the years by rambunctious pirates, and in some places, faded spots on the wall are all that remains of now plundered portraits.   Above the fireplace are mounted five miniature ships in glass bottles, rumored to represent pirates from every corner of the world banding together to defeat tyranny. Keep a weathered eye out, as these mysterious bottles have been known to come alive and engage in a fearsome battle.  There’s still plenty more to be discovered inside The Beak and Barrel, but that’s enough for today. Be sure to stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more details, including the opening date and a first look at some of the sea-worthy selection of drinks and bites fit for pirates of all ages coming soon. It’s a pirate’s life for us!

I don't think Six Flags Saint Louis and World's of Fun compete with each other. They're regional parks. I've never talked to anyone in my circle who has heard of World's of Fun. Holiday World gets all of the family travelers' attention in my area, which is just a little less farther and World's of Fun.

First public train on TT2 this year has 2 rollbacks. Lucky riders.

Dueling Superman doesn't exist. You don't have to be scared of it. Six Flags: Yet.

Dive Coaster track spotted at the Clermont steel factory in Ohio. Likely headed to SFOT! Credit photos to JB Thrills.

Alright here's my attempt at a full trip report from my first visit to Epic Universe. Scroll past to avoid spoilers! Arrived around 10:40 with an 11am official opening, although hotel guests had early entry into Celestial Park and Nintendo World. They were already letting non-hotel guests in at that point and you were able to go pretty much anywhere. No wait at all to get in although we got the usual ambush from the survey takers. The entry plaza has a gorgeous view into the center of the park and back to Helios. The app showed that Stardust Racers would be delayed to start the day so we headed back to Dark Universe to begin the day at Monsters Unchained. They were just opening the line, so we were sent around to the left past Curse of the Werewolf to access the line. While waiting for them to open, 11:00 came and literally everybody was staring at their phones for the same reason. At 11 on the dot, Battle at the Ministry virtual queue went live and 3 separate times I clicked on a time only to get to the next screen and be told that "that time is no longer available" each time. Meanwhile a lot of the people around me were celebrating getting a time, which was a little dejecting. Anyway, we eventually made our way into the queue for Monsters Unchained which is absolutely stunning. Room after room with crazy good theming made the ~45 minute wait go by seemingly in no time. The pre-shows were very good as well although tough to hear because as usual no one shuts up. The ride itself was a bit of a letdown to be honest. I don't think using the Forbidden Journey ride system here was the right play. It serves a purpose on that ride. But here, the point of the ride is to see the incredible animatronics but all the ride vehicles do is point you at them for a second or two before being swiftly pulled away. This would've been much better suited for slow moving vehicles ala Haunted Mansion. The animatronics are indeed amazing, I just wish you were able to see them for a little longer. Between the queue and the animatronics this is absolutely a must-do for anyone visiting but I just wish they went down a different path with the ride system. Grabbed a beer from the Burning Blade tavern and caught a fire show (I think every 15 minutes?) which was neat and I would love to see at night. The tavern was a little empty on the inside, kind of expected more theming in there but I'm sure they will add to it. Also grabbed a Frankenstein pretzel from the stand by Monsters which was pretty good. Curse of the Werewolf was posting a 25 minute wait so I hit that real quick on the way out of the area. This is a very short spinning coaster but also spins a lot more than I expected it to. Fun enough coaster when it has a short line but wouldn't want to wait much longer than I did. On the way back through Celestial Park I intended on heading over to Berk, but noticed Stardust Racers running with riders so I ran over and I'm glad I did. They only opened up the yellow side so this had a 60+ minute wait shortly after I got to it. Luckily I only had to wait 30. Sat in row 8 and simply put this thing is an airtime machine. There is awesome ejector all over the course. I saw a lot of folks reporting that they like it more than Velocicoaster and without the dueling element I can't say I agree, but this thing is definitely a home run. I was a little apprehensive about the seating after finding Copperhead Strike uncomfortable, but the trains on this are very nice and look great. Hopefully next time I can experience some dueling and see this thing at its full potential. Continued over to Berk which is stunning. One of the most colorful and well themed lands I've ever seen. Got into a 45 minute wait for Hiccups Wing Gliders which turned into about 1:15 because it is an Intamin and broke down multiple times. This is a very fun ride with very uncomfortable seats. The back support protrudes into your lower back and the lapbar tightens continuously during the ride and staples the crap out of your legs. It's a terrific family coaster with fun swoopy turns and great scenery but I was also kind of happy when it was over so I could stand up. Don't miss this, but also be forewarned that it's not a comfortable train. When we got off it was just about 3:00 but when 3:00 came and went the Battle of the Ministry times never came up on my phone. My wife tried 45 seconds later and they popped up on her phone but then got the same "this time is no longer available" message. Maybe this system works better on iPhone? Not sure but either way it's super annoying. We ended up walking over to Paris just to check out the area and it was really nice looking, but at the same time it's not the same feeling as walking into Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley and feeling like you just walked into the movies. Went over to the ride to see if I could use the single rider line and the attendant was like "you need a return time to access this attraction" so why even advertise the single rider line at all? There were numerous people standing around arguing with her so I just walked away and left the area. The roll out of this thing is a disaster. Either do it like Disney where you assign all the slots at once in the morning or just let people wait in line. Stopped in for a brisket sandwich at Oak and Star tavern which was very good. I like the full service seating at this park's restaurants where you just sit where you want and order on the app. Nice not standing in a long line to order. Made our way into Nintendo World next which is absolutely amazing. I've never seen HTTYD so Berk didn't give me that walking into a movie vibe as I didn't know what it is supposed to look like (although I've heard it is similar and that area is absolutely stunning). But this was just a total nostalgia trip into the video games of my youth. Started with Mario Kart which had no line before the preshow, and the queue for this is incredible. Literally felt like walking through the Bowser's Castle track on Mario Kart. After the preshow you need to wait another 20 minutes on like 528 flights of stairs before you finally get down to the station. The ride itself was pretty cool although my neck hurt from the weight of the goggles by the time it was over. I think using a Men in Black type car would've worked better for this but it was a lot of fun overall. Wife didn't want barbeque earlier so we stopped at Toadstool Cafe where she had a Mario Burger and Tiramisu and I had some garlic knots. The burger was good but the bread almost tasted stale. Tiramisu and garlic knots were very good. Made our way to the Yoshi ride which to me was amazing as Yoshi's Island was my favorite game when I was a kid. Heading the music and seeing things from the game was just a huge nostalgia blast. The ride itself is very short but has some good views and it had a short line so overall very enjoyable. It was pushing 6:00 and we had to leave for the airport by 7, so upon arriving in Donkey Kong country I saw Mine Cart Madness was posting a 90 minute line. I lucked out though as they had just reopened the single rider line and I was on in 20 minutes. While I was waiting the 6:00 Potter drop came up and the times finally came up on my phone! But then I clicked a time and it says "looks like you're not in Epic Universe"...WTF?!? This system is atrocious! Anyway...after heading the same 3 lines being spoken over and over about the golden banana, I got on an interesting ride. It has a fun layout and some neat visual tricks, but I can't believe how jerky and tough almost every transition on this ride is. Felt like an arrow mine train which is surprising for a brand new coaster. Overall though DK country is really awesome looking...all of Nintendo World really blew me away. Did a little gift shopping before heading out to the airport. Overall this is a really nice park and it looks amazing. It almost doesn't feel like a Universal park. When you walk into IOA the grand reveal of all the huge rides around the lagoon is one of my favorite things in the world. When you walk into this place it feels like Disney built a park in front of the Bellagio. You can't really see much from the entrance except a little bit of Stardust and the mountain in Berk. I think when they fully open on May 22nd the park is going to feel like it needs more in it. There's 11 total rides in the park, many of them with kind of low capacity, and a couple shows. Doesn't really feel like enough to handle the crowds they're going to get. It will be interesting to see how quick they add to it. I will be back on June 2nd (my birthday) and I will be pretty pissed if I don't get on Battle at the Ministry for a second time in a row. Thankfully I hit everything else I wanted to yesterday so won't have to worry about dealing with crazy lines. I plan on spending more time seeing shows and just enjoying the ambience of the park more. I'm not sure this beats out IOA as their best park until they add to it, but still very worth checking out.

The barbecue brisket is excellent.

Pretty shocked. Predator is getting more Titan Track this season. I figured Mind Eraser would be their 2025 investment. Looks like they are doing the 1st airtime hill (which could make that part really fun)....not sure ab the 1st drop though.

After eleven incredible nights aboard the Disney Dream, we disembarked for the last time of the trip in Barcelona. This would be our first time in Barcelona (my second time in Spain) and we had nearly two days of time in the city to explore. There would be food, culture, and of course, at least one theme park thrown in the mix while we were there. It was hard to say goodbye after such an amazing cruise (even before this, the Disney Dream is the ship I've spent the most time on out of any cruise ship) but we knew we'd be sailing again in the future. We'd heard that the LEGO Store in Barcelona was worth a visit... And it was. La Boqueria was our first meal stop in Barcelona... There was no shortage of ham to choose from... It felt like the appropriate time and place to indulge in some iberico ham and manchengo cheese. As excited as I was for the charcuterie, I was more excited for the prospects of fresh, raw seafood. And I was not disappointed with my choices! Just incredible. La Boqueria is an experience and you'd need many, many visits to try all of the unique flavors found within. We roamed the city for a bit before resting at the hotel. We planned an early dinner at a hot dinner spot that we'd been pointed to by social media... Tapeo was marketed as one of THE places to go for tapas in Barcelona. The classic patatas bravas did not disappoint. I had a rock shrimp, squid ink pasta served paella style (though this did not qualify as a paella) and my world was rocked. The next day we woke up bright an early for our reservation to visit Basílica de la Sagrada Família. I've been to many cathedrals, but this is easily one of the most unique. Simply unlike any others I'd visited before. The stone work is incredibly detailed and very much not in the traditional style of other houses of worship anywhere. But where its real magic lies is inside, where the stained glass windows animate the inside with light and color. I'd never seen anything like this in a church before. Stunning. And as the morning drew on, the experience evolved as the sun moved the interior lighting in different ways. This view reminded me of the one I had from Notre Dame during our trip to Paris years ago. After our time touring the inside of Basílica de la Sagrada Família as well as climbing the steps (which I highly recommend), we spent a significant amount of time exploring the incredible museum attached to the complex. Next up was Park Guell. I'll admit, this was an attraction that felt a little overhyped for me. The park featured some really nice views of Barcelona... And some unique outdoor spaces... It is all very impressive. But I also felt like, between the cost of admission, and the sheer overcrowding, plus the significant portions of "regular" park space, that this wasn't as special as everyone makes it out to be. While there was another church nearby, it was but a mere stepping off point to something I was far more excited to visit... Any guesses? How about now? If you guessed Tibidabo, you were right! While I would have loved to have had time to finally visit PortAventura, we didn't have enough time on this trip, and only had a few hours at Tibidabo because our visit to Park Guell was done sooner than expected. Sadly Avió was not operating during our visit due to high winds. A ride car from the former Montaña Rusa was on display in one of the central areas of the park. The park's unique location gives it the advantage of many incredible views. The park had a neat automated model museum (including a working model of Montaña Rusa) that could be explored. Because of its mountainside location, the park splits its sections across multiple levels. Forgive me while I begin to fanboy over Muntanya Russa for a bit. I don't know why, but for some reason, ever since this coaster opened, I've been curious to ride it. Despite it being a family coaster, the layout is modern Vekoma-smooth and features some really punchy helixes. There are no major, straight drops but it does have lots of curvy, terrain-ish maneuvers. I shouldn't enjoy this one as much as I do. But two rides on this awesome little coaster made my entire trip to the park worth it. Hard to explain why this was so much fun... But it was. The park does have one other coaster, a powered coaster called Tibidabo Express but it had one train in operation and a 60 minute wait, so I passed. If I had had more time, I would have totally checked out the park's knock-off haunt house, Hotel 666 (formerly known as Hotel Krueger for unlicensed reasons you can only guess). Embruixabruixes felt like a must ride and this bizarre scenic overhead monorail was definitely worth it for the views alone. The ride circles much of the park and even has an indoor section... Where some strange things happen. I wasn't prepared for the live actor to jump out and scare our car with a flashlight from complete darkness. I love a good old fashioned house of mirrors and Miramiralls was no exception. The park's new drop tower was preparing to begin ride testing during our visit. Maybe someday I'll return, but I'm glad I had the time in the park that I did. While we took an Uber to get to the park, I made it a priority to at least ride the Cuca de Llum funicular in one direction during our visit. It was a neat experience. The Cuca de Llum replaced the park's storied funicular in 2021 and the new trains look incredibly sleek. I do highly recommend trying this at least one way if you're visiting Tibidabo Amusement Park. Still delicious and refreshing. As we wound down for the final night of our trip, we went to a local mall within walking distance of our hotel to grab some final bites. While there, we happened to pass this neat store within an indoor ferris wheel. It was at this very late stage in the game that I realized I hadn't had a single paella on this entire trip. So food court paella had to be the move, and it was still delicious. Healthy Greens (that's the name) offered this incredible platter of steak and veggies that we were in love with. And this was my first time seeing a miniature IKEA in a mall. The next morning we left Barcelona to head back to London for a brief stop before flying home to Orlando... But we weren't going to miss our chance to have more Nando's while here! Halloumi fries for the win! Nando's Wild Garlic sauce for their chicken is incredible and I need it bottled stateside. And just like that, our 16 day vacation across Europe had finally come to a close.

Both of the fun spots are in the plans, though we might just buy one ride on the coasters. I know it's not the best economically, but we are going to be limited on time.

Isla Magica has announced that they are adding a new attraction called "Wooden Coaster" to the park's lineup, in addition to two new swimming pools. The expansion will cost €2.7 million and is planned to open in 2026. Sevilla's Isla Magica theme park will get a 25-metre-high rollercoaster over its lake plus two new swimming pools. The ride will reach a top speed of 68 km/h and building licences have been granted for the expansion. The rollercoaster will cost €2.7 million and will be called Wooden Coaster. It will join the park’s other coaster ride- Jaguar. The new ride will occupy an area of around 6,000 m2 and is expected to open in 2026. It will be a three-dimensional wooden structure supporting a track of steel rails with bends, ascents and descents coming in at 595 metres in length. Each train carriage will have capacity for up to 16 people with a journey time of 93 seconds. The park capacity will rise by 500 to 15,500 people but car park spaces will be cut by 213 to accommodate the new features. The Aqua Magica section of the park will be expanded by 5,665 m2 currently used for car parking. The two swimming pools will be developed into two aquatic areas with attractions, rest areas and auxiliary buildings. Surrounding the water attractions will be 600 sunbeds distributed in different locations separated by flowerbeds with vegetation and artificial grass. The cost of this extension will be €1 million.

They started testing the tilt track over the weekend what the means for a timeline no idea.

Hey! It was a compliment!

If I recall correctly, they paid something like $23 million to acquire the leases (a few parks have been added since then with this structure, so likely a bit more now if they sold them as a package) and then they pay rent to the owner, in this case the company out of KC, EPR I think it is. I don't believe they own any of the rides or structures....that is EPR who does, so I assume EPR chooses to add new attractions or not and how much to spend. Maybe they just fall on SIX to help with buying in bulk or leveraging any deals with vendors. Here is from the press release at the time, which is why I interpret it that way, but I may be incorrect: Houston, Phoenix, Buffalo, and Oklahoma City Parks Expand Market Reach GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Six Flags EntertainmentCorporation (NYSE:SIX), the world’s largest regional theme park company, today announced it has entered into a purchase agreement with affiliates of Premier Parks, LLC to acquire the lease rights to operate five parks owned by EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR). The parks have previously been operated by Premier Parks, LLC of Oklahoma City. These latest acquisitions will expand the company’s portfolio of North American parks to twenty-five. “Today’s announcement represents another milestone in our strategic North-American growth initiative to seek out park acquisitions that expand our addressable market,” said Six Flags Chairman, CEO, and President, Jim Reid-Anderson. “These are all fantastic properties that complement our existing portfolio and provide tremendous added value and cross-visitation opportunities for our extensive Membership and Season Pass base.”

Yea it looks great, Just starting to see the Cedar fair influence roll over for the better.

Our final sea day was a day for relaxation and food, as we made our way to our final port of call, Palma de Mallorca. During the sea day we took the chance to indulge in some of the ship's food and fun before our more active, and final day of the cruise. What better way is there to start a day than with churro Mickey waffles? Long had I been interested in trying the Remy Dessert Experience, but it had been quite some time since I had had a chance to be able to pull it off. I'd had dinner at Remy years ago and for this reason I was eager to give this offering a try. I opted for the wine pairing with the experience (because when you're here, you're here) and it started with this awesome riesling. Darker than I expected but the flavor was amazing. First up was the Creme Brulee, which was classic in taste and texture, but unique in that it was served and prepared outside of the traditional ramekin and had a slight pie crust. We had a chance to preview the Pithivier course in its full cake form before it would be sliced and served to us later in the experience. Next was the Macaron Framboise (raspberry macaron) and it was one of my favorite courses of the experience. Next up was a nice chianti (not served with a fava beans)... It too was delicious. The Choux Pistache Cherise was a traditional Pâte à Choux, this one served with an incredible pistachio filling, cherry jam and whole cherries. The Pithivier was filled with almond paste, not unlike marzipan. It was one of my favorite dishes of the experience. Finding out that Taittinger Champagne was among the three wines paired with the experience, I was sold. I love trying their different champagnes onboard Disney cruises and I was pleased to have this chance to try one. Well worth the entire pairing. Remy's take on a Chocolate Croquant was very indulgent--despite being light and airy due to the thin chocolate layers, it was very rich for its deep chocolate flavors. The Citron was the final item of the experience. While this looks like a lemon (and tastes like one), this is actually an entirely composed dessert meant to look on the outside like an actual lemon. Each layer, from the chocolate shell down to the citrus filling in the center is house made and the dish takes close to a day to prepare. It was an insane ending to a wonderful experience. A certain "little chef" can be found in the restaurant if you know where to look for him. That night we enjoyed Mickey's Color Spin Dance Party on the upper deck. The show features a great mix of music and characters and I really loved every bit of it. It was my first time seeing this Wall-e towel animal! One of my favorite pieces of enchanted art on the ship has a fun tie in to Gran Fiesta Tour at EPCOT. The next morning we woke up in the port of Palma de Mallorca for our final day of the cruise. It also happened to be the Fourth of July on this day and the ship would celebrate the holiday in multiple ways. The Catedral-Basílica de Santa María de Mallorca looked incredible from afar. And even more so up close. Alternate modes of transportation. Our first taste of Gaudi-inspired architecture came from our visit to Can Forteza Rey. A little taste of Madrid in Palma... My one artistic photo allotted per update. Art and culture collide in Palma... Very cool things inside. Back on the ship for our final evening aboard, it was time for a special Fourth of July celebration in the atrium. Mickey and the gang hosted a dance party to celebrate! One final towel animal for the trip! Our final dinner was in Animator's Palate, participating in my favorite experience there, Animation Magic. Clearly I'm not very artistic. In addition to the normal Animation Magic menu, we were offered a special Fourth of July menu. What a great meal to finish out the cruise! Black Truffle Pasta Purseittes for the win! I went with the Slow-Braised Beef Short Rib from the Fourth of July menu and I was not disappointed. My art came to life alongside others'. One more Mickey Bar for good measure. One of my favorite historical ship details found in the 687 pub. One final adults only game show in Evolution... It was neat to see a Planet of the Apes film being shown onboard. I wish I had time to experience the film in the Buena Vista Theatre onboard but maybe next time. Mickey, Minnie and the gang came out for one final farewell...

The reason why I wanted to see them replaced KF with a another Junior coaster instead of a flat because we still needed a stepping stone coaster