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Highlights: - The new Power Surge is not a portable model. It's permanent. I didn't even know that they made permanent models. The program will be crazier. The ride will not open on opening day. - They repainted Impulse even though it barely needed it - The park is very well staffed this year already - Every car of the Bayern Kurve apparently had it's own PLC. They've changed that. The delays have been due to that but it should be open in 2024. They also just had to reallocate people to other projects last year, like reopening the Skyway (suck it Lake Compounce). The ride will be the fastest ride in the park. The max speed is 70 mph. They're not sure if they can safely run it at 70 mph but they're going to try and if not, run it as close to 70mph as possible. - Some changes have been made to some haunted mansion scenes. - The cub cars are going away for awhile but will probably be back. This is where the Rock O Plane will go (between Phoenix and Fandango). The ride will not open on opening day. - They replaced a lot of sections of the flume. It will open around Memorial Day. - Paratrooper and the Teacups are both undergoing restorations and will open later in the year. - Sky Slide is coming back after being closed since the start of the Pandemic. It may not reopen this year but it will finally reopen. Hopefully no lawyer actually looks at it. -They've done a bunch of track work on the three wood coasters but that's to be expected.

I've seen some pretty over the top locker takes in the last few days, but I will say one thing... if the only way for a guest to read a park map is on their phone, they shouldn't be charged for needing to store it. If the park is already operating under the assumption that every guest will have a smart phone on them, the ride policies need to reflect this as well. I don't understand what could have changed during ride testing that would affect having your phone and keys inside a zipper pocket. Like... the explanation that it was a late change due to testing and Zamperla recommendation doesn't make any sense. And they can't add zipper pouches to the trains like RMC has done?

Nobody is going to walk a literal mile round trip to save $2, and if they do... just let them do it. lol

I miss the old "just dump your crap in this bin" systems that were so ubiquitous before Six Flags decided that single-use pay-per-ride lockers were the way to go. Like surge pricing, it has only led to frustrations and annoyance across the industry.

Paintball park coming in 2025.

Don't you mean..... Faire enough?

Why is everyone all up in arms? Once Six Flags officially merges in, there will be no more free lockers anyway. Cedar Point will basically be Great Adventure without the Saturday night fistfights

Well, if they're going with Zamperla, this would make an interesting replacement for the Spider, hm? https://www.zamperla.com/product/zarantula

I'm actually really surprised people are voting yes, if I'm being completely honest.

Europa Park just released the POV of it's newest roller coaster Voltron

While not on my planned trips for 2023/2024, when my wife found out that Kelly Clarkson was doing a limited residency in Las Vegas, before I knew it, we had tickets booked. This would be my second visit to Las Vegas to date (my first-timer report can be found here) and for this reason, the focus was less on rides and attractions (though I did squeeze in a few) and more on shows, Area 15, experiences and an underlying search for "Lost Vegas" along the way. I have been fascinated with the ebbs and flows of Vegas' attempts to offer family experiences and as such, looking at the legacy resorts on and off of the Strip to see what they tried (and in most cases, ultimately removed) to appeal to travelers with younger guests became a goal to seek out. It is worth noting that the weekend of the concert (Friday and Saturday) was also shared with a little-known sporting event... We might have been the only people in town that came in for the weekend but not to end up here. We left on Saturday afternoon before the Sunday madness set in. We scored a fantastic rate for a recently refurbished room at the Rio. The hotel itself was fairly standard, as was the casino, but as I was leaving the resort to head to their Uber pick-up, I noticed the peculiar structures in the ceiling that distinctly looked like some kind of track. And I'd know a covered station anywhere... As it turns out, there was once an attraction called Masquerade in the Sky, a parade/show of sorts that guests and performers could ride along floats overhead the casino and throw beads from above. In ended its run in 2013 and the track is no longer in use. We arrived late in the evening, but not too late to venture out for a quick stop at The Golden Tiki. The Golden Tiki is filled with tiki decor throughout and features lots of fun surprises in each room. Not unlike Trader Sam's on either coast, this bar does feature some effects that are triggered when guests order specific drinks. Tiki flight for the win! The space is truly gorgeous! And yes, they have a real, working animatronic tiki bird perched above one side of the bar. Fire makes all tiki drinks better! I spy with my little eye, something Mary Blair! The next morning we made our way to our next stop with our drive revealing lots of preparations for the Super Bowl under way. I remember the Eiffel Tower being much larger the last time I saw it up close... While delicious and refreshing, we didn't have time to visit the Coca-Cola Store during this trip. We really enjoyed it last time! I went into this trip fairly confident I wouldn't be riding any coasters this time around, but I would end up being wrong. Unlike our previous visit where the dry heat had us drowning in sweat, this time around we were graced with beautifully cold weather throughout our weekend. A pleasant surprise was the panoramic view of snow-capped mountains not too far off in the distance. Our main objective for the day... Liftoff was something I was very excited to try. I can tell you I was VERY excited to finally get a chance to check out Area 15. We didn't have enough time during our last trip to stop by and especially after the Orlando location was announced, I was doubly eager to visit for myself. I think people often underestimate just how much there is in the current Area 15 complex, not to mention how much more is coming in the year ahead. I've seen VR simulators before but never ones where you can actually simulate the experience of bird-style flight first-hand. The Sanctuary Lounge is a visual focal point inside Area 15 and looks like such a neat venue in which to hang out. Asylum Bar & Arcade is a great place to get a drink and play some games. Omega Mart was the biggest draw for us, having loved experiential explore at your own pace offerings like teamLab Borderless in Japan or City Museum in St. Louis. This would also be our first Meow Wolf installation. Omega Mart starts off feeling very familiar but upon closer inspection, you'll notice little (and sometimes big) details that make everything feel "off." A majority of the products on the shelves of Omega Mart are purchasable... No, this image isn't corrupted. The meat counter is full of fresh options that feel otherworldly and nutritious. Pjork is the most kosher of meats. Without spoiling the "how," you are able to escape the confines of the Omega Mart storefront to unlock worlds of technological, supernatural and multi-dimensional intrigue... Each room offers different experiences, many of them are hands on and interactive and others are passive but lengthy in that you can stay to experience a variety of content if you give it time. Spaces throughout the experience can be as narrow as a tight crawl space (my claustrophobia kicked in at one point) to massive rooms such as this... And visual effects such as projection mapping transform those spaces as you visit them, so exploration and re-visitation is recommended. There is just so much to take in at Omega Mart. And nothing is as it seems here! There's an underlying story about a family who gets involved in an interdimensional produce business and that family's sinister intentions... Some rooms are just ridiculously cool to experience in person. Paying attention to detail as you move between spaces can... Yield some interesting visual payoffs. You can buy Happles from the Omega Mart store if you so wish. I watched this full video loop and I was absolutely engrossed. Familiar but different. Nothing is exactly as it appears in Omega Mart and there's lots to discover. I recommend giving yourself lots of time to take in the stories and explore. You never know what you'll find... There's a lot of spaces within Area 15 that just look ridiculously cool! And yes, the rails you see overhead are for a powered hang-gliding experience around the interior of the complex. Museum Fiasco was an absolute visual overload! Wink World is described as a "psychedelic art house" developed by Chris Wink, one of the founding members of Blue Man Group. I won't ruin the experience other than to say that as you progress from room to room, the effects and visuals (in sync with custom music) as mesmerizing to say the least. Very Tron-esque. While there are more scenes to be experienced, this earlier one was one of my favorites...

Where's the "who cares" selection?

I thought about making a belt buckle that had a clock in it. But I realized it would be a waist of time.

I usually carry a heavy steel bracket in my cargo shorts, so I get your point.

I feel so bad for those poor team members working entrance for TT2. Imagine the verbal bashings they are going to get. The flip flop/backless shoe/sandal thing is going to be an absolute NIGHTMARE. I feel bad for those team members. - I feel like CP royally f**ked this one up. - I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see Steel Vengeance style lockers show up next season, or even mid season this year. Some how. Idk how with the current queue layout. However, they going to have to figure something out. Or move the entrance to under the giant TT2 sign, and make the lockers past that “free.” Again, idk how that would work. But they gotta figure something out because this is going to be a cluster.

Taking it at face value with that statement, it makes sense that the recommendations were made too late to implement in-queue lockers. However, having that policy in place for years on SV and knowing the reason TTD shut down in general (loose object causing great harm to a visitor), it should have been a plan from the beginning to implement a strict no loose objects policy. Easiest and quickest solution is replace the "pay for play" lockers outside of the entrance with ones that operate for free, but Cedar Point won't do that outside of a queue as it gives access to anyone. Just horrible foresight and planning on this one.

Now there will be PAY LOCKERS ONLY at TT2. Here is the latest post from the park.. Safety is their excuse. Right. This will make a mess. The long lines will start to get into the lockers now. LOCKERS Working with the manufacturer’s recommendations, Top Thrill 2’s rider safety guidelines were revised after initial testing, resulting in our strict policy of loose articles not being permitted past the ride’s entrance. Due to the later revision, the integration of lockers into the queue, similar to those at Steel Vengeance, was not possible. We encourage riders to leave any loose articles with a non-rider. If you wish to rent a locker, they will be near the entrance for a nominal fee. These policies are in place for the safety of our Guests and Associates – and safety is our first priority. Thank you for adhering to these rider safety guidelines to ensure a safe and FUN ride. We look forward to seeing you on Top Thrill 2 this summer!

So, the only Bayern Kurve I've ever ridden was the one that used to be at SFGAdv and, good lord, I can't imagine that thing ever going 70mph. Is the Knoebels version an XL model or something? Because godDAMN that'll be a wacky ride.

Does anyone know if there was ever a Bayern Kurve in the US that ran at 70 mph? Seriously, that sounds illegal... but I'll be in line for it when it opens!

looking for a present for my daughter's birthday and chatting with the chihuly garden and glass customer service. We would like togo there with the kids and relatives this week, but have no idea if they will work. Read some good reviews about this place, hopefully it is worth it.

There is a new(ish) casino called "Ocean" that took over a few years after Revel closed. The giant escalator and rooftop terrace are pretty cool but otherwise a pretty forgettable property IMO. And no there is no giant water park or ferries to Manhattan or whatever other pipe dreams they thought of 10 years ago. From a casino standpoint, other than Borgata, there's nothing really worth visiting in AC anyway. And if you're not a casino fan, just wave as you drive by on your way to Ocean City and Wildwood.

Snoopy's Soap Box Racers testing I like the color scheme and graphics on the train.

^ oh no, I'm not a LARPer . . at all. and outside, in the woods? with people being "in character" ??? add tons of bugs, and it's HELL for me

or.. maybe don't go to a fully immersive LARPing event if you're not into it? (it's why i don't bother with Renaissance Festivals)

Yeah or ya know.... maybe have a couple of actual rides so that people who aren't into the role play stuff have something to do.

...but what about girth? Mountain coasters don't "count" to me because you as a rider are in partial control of your speed.

Day 20: Thursday, June 22nd - Power Park Part II the Pizza Buffet was decorated just as "eclectically" as the rest of the park. it was over a grill (on the 1st floor) that only seemed to sell cheeseburgers & Pepsi - shades of Classic SNL), but upon going up the stairs, greeted by this funky Roman guard. why? hell if I know. sticking with the Owner's plane theme tho. .there are lots of planes in here hanging from the ceiling. how that ties with the Roman guy? yeah.. again, I dunno. the buffet had a few things more than just pizza (which was so so - tho they again had the pizza with corn on it). the Chicken nuggets and happy face hashbrowns were good, I recall. oh. there was also an Indian. .and a witch mirror (which I liked, especially the bat under it) and can't forget the Conquistador - that was guarding the staircase down to the burgerjoint below. pleasantly full, we headed out to the section of the park near the front that we hadn't explored yet. The sky was turning a bit darker, and it was getting a little chillier. . . luckily the hotel was right across the street, so made a quick stop while over here at the gates, to grab a hoodie. the Pizza place is on the 2nd floor of this building. the green tower is the park's Asian themed drop tower. the mentioned "main entrance" for the Hotel guests. . that building back on the left is the giant events center and the Movie theater. they were setting up for a big concert coming the next day. . didn't recognize the band names, but they apparently are popular in Finland. Time Square is another Kiddie flying carpet type ride. back behind it you can see a few other kiddie rides. back there is also the parks smallest coaster, and a shooting dark ride. the cars are a bit "steampunk". . so maybe that's the "Time" in the name of the ride? on the left was a weird little "station" that definitely gave me the impression that at one point it was a loading platform for a small train. the park doesn't have a train, and it's an odd "oversight".. so I've got to wonder if they used to have a trackless train type ride that at one point used this as it's station? no ride here. .but hey, a Rabbit riding a carrot. sure, why not? Mine Train is the parks final coaster, it's a Zamperla family coaster, with a fun little layout. tho they certainly made it less "family" and more "kiddie" with the train design which had VERY tight seats - especially after gorging on pizza buffet. but we squeezed our butts in! Next door was a car ride which was part Jurassic Park, part Antique Taxi, and part " we got this ride via multiple Garage Sales" here's Kristen and Brayden, looking excited to ride! ooo.. nice theming. . very Blair Witch. rather than squeeze into the front seat, we chose to ride front and back. look how excited we are! (and got yelled at by the operator for having my phone out. I was confused. this is a slow moving car ride that you aren't steering, but was told that I MUST put my phone away - and note, several extreme rides I had been on today, was told it was ok to have phone out for pics - so I went ahead and put my phone away and we "enjoyed" the ride. but it was weird, that THIS is the ride they won't let you take pics on. you can take pics OF it. . . so they aren't concerned about the content of the ride, or the design. it was just weird. hmm. . the drop tower hadn't gone in a while.. was it down? answer was yes, it was down. . but the same maintenance guy was there working on it, and he did get it back up. so Kudos to this amazing Mr. Fixit, who was able to get every down ride back up and running. we went on it a little while later. Kiddie Ferris Wheel, and behind it looks like a Himalaya, that I don't even remember seeing, so I didn't ride it! whoops. walking around the Dino Safari ride, to go to the park's dark ride. . here's a pic of the kind of Dinos you'll see on the safari. yup. . a plastic Zebra. this area suddenly got very well themed, to kind of a western Boom Town. Really well done. don't recall if the Steakhouse was open, but as we had recently eaten, didn't check anyways. here's the Dark Ride. . the Devil's Mine hotel (I think it's called that?) this one had working animatronics, even on the outside. with the cowboy up top talking to people in the queue, and various characters emitting "bodily noises" and it's a SHOOTING dark ride. I hoped it was good. and it was. . it was VERY good, I recall. I rode this thing at least 4-5 times. speaking of motion activated animatronics in this area: (yes, he yells at you for watching him while he's pooping. . .complete with fart sounds). As the sky threatened to open up, I headed back over towards Pitts Special to get a ride on it, just in case the Evening ERT had to be cancelled. passing back thru the "main street area" I again was impressed with the facades here. a photo-op to sit on a Cowboy's knee? why sure! I rode Pitts Special - I didn't care for it (not a fan of vertical lifts. . but this one doesn't even have inversions, so it seemed "not worth it". the fact I didn't get any pics of it when I went over to ride it? kinda says it all. heading back up to the rides in the front I hadnt' gotten on yet, I eyed this as I passed it. I was GONNA ride it, just had to get my nerve up. you can really see how threatening the sky was looking in this picture tho. an adorable kiddie flume, that really wasn't operating today as there just weren't a lot of tiny kids in the park. but look how cute! I will say that Pitts Special LOOKS pretty neat. .that ampersand feature. . .I mean, it looks like it SHOULD have inversions. taking a spin on Typhoon - going thru the house really adds so much to this ride - as does going completely upside-down. oh. .I actually DO have some pics from when I went over to ride Pitts Special. . just had them filed wrong. here ya go, a few pics of the Gerstlauer coaster with the Vertical Lift and looking the other direction, this is Junker. . with the loops. I AM "Kapteeni Koukku" I think this is a stage for a show, that they probably run on busy weekend days. from the backdrop, guessing it's a comedy pirate show. I've grown to appreciate these rides. . they are way more fun than they look, even tho really you're just going in a circle and controlling the "swing out" the Enterprise ran the whole rest of the day once it got fixed, but I can't recall if I went and got another ride on it. at first couldn't remember why i took this pic, then realized it was to catch the collapsing balcony on the tower there on the 2nd floor. I'm not sure WHY it does that, but it was pretty cool to watch steeling up my courage, headed towards the big ride I was gonna force myself to ride. *and I think this is when I grabbed my Mr. Slushie. taken from in line for this thing. I DID ride it, and we didn't' flip much. . so it really wasn't near as terrifying as I was afraid it was gonna be. in fact, this was running a crazier cycle than the one I was worried was gonna flip. luckily it stopped before I got too sick to my stomach. LOVE the angry fish faces on the cars tho a few more pics of Thunderbird, while over here. . . and then a treat for me. it was time to ride the Carousel! and Mike and Jon rode with me too. .so wasn't the only on riding. yup. . my happy place. while we were on the carousel, the drop tower started working again, so we went right next door to ride it. as with the starflyer, there are two separate lines: one for thrilling drop, and one side where it cycles as an observation tower. we chose fast, of course pretty neat that the top of the loading station is clear, so you can look up and see the prior riders. and the queue line has windows too. . so was able to get this shot of Collin, Barry, and Andy as they also had come right over when it started running again. after that ride, it was back to the dark ride (again) with yet another shot of the Dino Safari... that seems to have no dinosaurs, just zebras and military trucks. oh, I found this other carousel too this park lets you bring your doggie if you want to, and you can put them in the stocks while you enjoy the park. so of course I had to! I saved one of the best for last. . . I sat and watched this for a while, tho didn't ride it. it's the gayest, straight ride I've ever seen. you climb on top of the "bull" and wrap your arms and legs tightly around the "bull weiner". . and then it bucks like crazy to try and throw you off, while LOUD music blasts from those speakers. no. . really. I was worried about breaking my neck - even with all that padding underneath it.. so I just enjoyed watching. it has different settings too. and the operator controlled how extreme it was gonna be. i tell you. . just TONS of enjoyment watching this crap. . LOL it was time for our evening ERT over on Pitts Special, so we headed that way. now, I might be mis-remembering this, as it's been 10 months, but I *believe* Robb asked us if we wanted to do ERT on Pitts Special, or just do Junker again, and it was unanimously decided that Junker was the better coaster, so did that instead. while waiting for them to clear the short queueline, snapped some pics of the back end of Junker. (while getting eaten to death by mosquitos who came out in forces as it got overcast) some wonderful woodcarvings on the sides of the buildings back behind Junker. including the hawk (Eagle?) with it's catch the garages where the owner of the park keeps some of his classic cars (per the operator I was chatting with) whee!!! and now back on for more ERT.. this seems to be my pic, since I'm not on this train. . but I think the rest of them are from Elissa (and yes, I was so glad I had grabbed my hoodie) the Ride building, with a weird restroom/storage area for park food carts beneath it. and then a pleasant surprise. . . more ERT. on Thunderbird. I really liked the coaster, so was a happy "yes" for this too. i think I rode every cycle on this ERT, so these pics must be courtesy of Elissa (I see Robb, Andy, and Brad on the train) rider cam. . WHOOOOOOO!!!! just look at that smile on me. . such a good coaster. even if it DID 'put put put' thru the brake run every time, sloooooowly inching into the station. Steve looks thrilled. . HA! and then it was over, and time to go back to the hotel. Robb sent to the group chat a couple of spectacular pics he got from the top of Dragon Tower - when it was in "observation mode" look how amazing the setting for this place is! Pitts Special from the Dragon Tower, thanks to Robb. and back to the hotel to refresh for dinner. this was the welcome mat at the hotel: and before dinner, wandered a bit to snap pics of the oddball theming. the 2nd floor over the dining room - called the Lido Deck - looked like it was a bar area for use when they were really crowded. but there were planes hanging in the hotel too.. so not JUST boat themed. Eclectic! taken thru a closed glass door. . hence the reflection. very Nautical. . . the lobby on our side of the hotel, and Main Deck is the dining room. I believe the appetizer and Desert were the same as the prior night and that's why have no pics. but I do have a pic of my main course this evening. . . and I'm STILL confused by "why a cup of ketchup with my fish?" and the watermelon seems a bit out of place as well. one last look out the window towards Power Park. . and with that, I went to the room, packed stuff up, and was ready to head out in the morning. had been such a fun day, and I really enjoyed the wackiness of this place. tomorrow. . onwards to Sarkamniemi

Day 20: Thursday, June 22nd - FULL (and I mean FULL) day at the Northernmost Theme Park in the world: Power Park in Finland I had turned in early from the exhausting travel day / TPR Grand Prix. .. but many folks hung out at the "bar" that was near the Park's hotel. these pics are from Andy - and based on the time stamps, the 1st pic was around 11pm, the 2nd was around Midnight, and the 3rd was just about 1am. here's me, just after Hans came in, and raved about it being light after 1am. .and how I should get up and look. he was very insistent. . so here's my sleepy ass out on the balcony snapping a quick selfie, so I could go back to sleep (thanks Hans!) better pic (camera takes much better pics when it's not a selfie). . fast forward a few hours, and I believe was up just before 8am, and snapped this pic then. Sun now coming up and blue skies. we'd have some foretasted rain later in the day, but nothing really terrible, and tho was overcast (and colder) much of the day? ended up being a great day to visit the park. here's a look at what I got from the Breakfast Buffet served in the hotel. most of it was very good, and I loved the mustard Herring at the bottom center. and some fruit - gotta be "healthy" and then we headed across the street as a group to start the day at Power Park. I believe we were about an hour before Park Open and we were gonna get some ERT on Junker - the Park's Gerstlauer launched Infinity Coaster. With some ERT later in the day on Pitt's Special - the Park's Gerstlauer vertical chain lift Infinity Coaster, and Thunderbird - the Park's big woodie. making our way thru the gates, we passed a carousel (so of course got pics) and this thing, which was scary as hell... but I DID ride it. Nice, large, Ferris Wheel a swinging carnival ride. . but this one has an amazing setting - you swing THRU the house while spinning. It really feels like you're going to hit it every time. the Park also has a Boomerang - Cobra This was the first Boomerang to use Vekoma's "new" MK1211 open sided trains (spoiler, it didn't help, the ride STILL sucked, and I regretted getting talked into trying it out) tho I did love the theming on the Octopus ride there - and the tower behind it, which seemed to have some animatronics on it, so the balcony collapsed as if there was an earthquake going on, and then re-set. this crazy thing - for some reason called "Pegasus" (yeah, a lot of the ride names were a bit odd to me) - was AMAZING. this one did all the flipping and spinning that several similar rides we had been on earlier in the trip didn't do. Fantastic and a do not miss ride if visiting the park. the park's Spinning Wild Mouse coaster - called "Neo's Twister" (Based on a Finnish Cartoon mouse). If I'm recalling correctly, we got stuck on the brake run here facing the wrong direction, and they had to call someone to turn the car around so we could exit after the ride and there it is. . . Junker. or is it Pitt's Special? hard to tell - as they are bother Gerstlauer Infinity Coasters, and the park painted them the same color - so it looks like one massive coaster, but is actually two separate ones side by side. the park's flume ride. . which is really more like a Chute the Shoots boat in a river with some flume elements. Called Kwai River. and the big woodie back there is Thunderbird. I believe this one is actually Junker. I THINK that's the one that wrapped around the walkway. Lion King ? what the heck is this? and why is Johnny Depp in front of it? I LOVED the WTF-ness of this park. . it just comes out of nowhere sometimes. LOL such as this Enterprise. (I LOVE this ride, and they are disappearing). but this one? they took it literally, and named it after the USS Enterprise - with Star Trek theming and characters inside the base, that one could only see when the ride went vertical. it was down in the morning, but they had maintenance (the same guy who rescued us from the Wild Mouse) working on it most of the morning, and he DID get it working, so I could get a ride on it here's the TPR Group picture in front of Junker - with our Park guide. Thanks Robb for the pic headed into the station.. wow. .loved the Art Deco design on these trains. I *believe* they told us that Junker is a type of classic Plane (so is Pitts Special). .so that would explain the cool engines on the back of the train. wonderfully comfortable restraints. a look at the magnetic brake run, as it does come into the station really fast. looking out from the exit ramp from the station. . it's lovely here! (that's some of the owner's housing, I was told, tho he rents it out to park staff to stay in mostly) I dunno how much I'd love living right behind a rollercoaster.. but would be cool at first, I'd think. Wheeeeee! LIM launch. guessing this pic is from Elissa ? yeah.. I liked it and rode it a lot during the morning ERT theming! morning ERT over, and park now open to the public, we spread out to meet up again later for more ERT. crossing the "bridge" that Junker circles - you can look over and see the vertical lift for Pitts Special (that's the one that goes over the road and in the center of the race track). We had Evening ERT on that one, so we decided to move to other things as we'd ride that later if weather held out. LOL. . they called the water ride Kwai River, so that this would be the "bridge over River Kwai" BWAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAA oh and a cactus theming for the Mexican place (didn't eat at it, but I think that Erik said it was ok) the loop on Junker going around the bridge that I just mentioned: across the bridge is Thunderbird - a GCI coaster with Millennium Flyer trains . .. looks like it's got some steep turns. . . one of the drops on the Kwai River ride. . you can see the wide flume and why I said it's more of a Shoot the Chutes with some flume elements. it even comes alongside the "bridge" before dropping under it - in the major drop that will soak everyone in the boat. as noted, Park is now open, and Thunderbird is testing. a peek towards the front of the park. . random Alligator. sure, why not? but I did love the attempt at theming with the sign. . it was lovely over here. more.."theming".. this one didn't really make any sense to me.. .but OK oh yes. . HOT PINK trains. LOL (the other one, as you may have noticed was neon yellow) and it's themed like you're taking a train between cities. well.. the station is themed like that. . not so much the rest of the ride. best thing about it? the brake run coming into the station. they brake the hell out of this thing. We made it a game later during ERT counting the brake stops, as we inched along, slowly thru the brake run and into the station. . . I swear it was no less than 23 "stops" before the station every time. LOL and you exit the ride thru the "Flipper Saloon" er.. or, maybe I should say, you USED to? I mean. . I GUESS you could play this one - if you're really, really skinny. wasn't very busy today - not sure if it's just the time of year, the weather forecast for today, or just that it's not a weekend. but most everything was open. and some of the themed sections were great. . . even if just facades that contained basically convenience stores. ah.. just noticed, the neon yellow train has green sides. I did ask what this was - it wasn't open today - and I believe was told it's a "storybook" area for kids, where the characters in the window tell stories for the kids. I was getting "Flowers in the Attic" vibes tho. .LOL and across from it. . seemingly appearing out of nowhere? A construction themed Fun House. It looked like nothing, but was SO much stupid fun, I think I went thru it twice. and yes, full of the kind of stuff you'd see in a traveling carnival fun house . . but also full of freaky mannequins - doing "butt" humor. of course I loved it! they did make you check all bags and loose articles - but it was ok to carry a phone to take pictures. (I didn't question why a phone is not a "Loose article". . you can see, Andrew didn't question it either. D'oh! ooo. .this is cool! and this is rather . . "snug" funhouse done. . there seemed to be an outdoor walk-thru area. I THINK this says: "Teruetuloa". . . and when I asked what it was all about, they said this area was built to film a TV series, and they just left the sets after so the Park could use it as a walk thru experience. the woods were pretty, so figured, ok, let's check it out. having never seen the show, I had NO idea what was going on. . are they trolls? hermits living in the woods? Nymphs? i dunno, but there was a Photo Op, so I was happy. ' lots of buildings and sets to check out. . even a little band-stand. Wonder if there's actually music here sometimes? and lookie who came out while we were walking thru! Mascots. i think? didn't see them anywhere else in the park. one looks like a hermit, and one looks like a Nymph. . so I'm still confused. but no matter. .let's pose! NIGHTMARE FUEL!!! even a sauna out here. . . and a place to sacrifice puppies???? hell if I know. . we had to pass back by Thunderbird again on the way out from the walk thru, so sMisty and i hopped on for a front row ride. whee! thanks Erik for the pic! the Wild Mouse was having some issues, and wasn't quite open yet. . tho not sure why it says "Steam Power" on the sign, or why there are animals about to get ground into meat byproduct from gears. but just across from it, Pegasus was running. . . so we looked at each other and headed there. I had to look up what "HUOMIOITHAN" means, since I saw it on lots of rides, and surely they can't ALL be called that: it means: "Please Note" Erik said "hell no" to the spinny ride, but told us to have fun. so thank you to him for these great pics! This was one of the many kiddie rides sprinkled thruout the park. all of them looked like a hoot, but all of them were for little kids only. (most of them were paired up next to each other, with one operator for both rides) I REALLY wanted in on this: a bouncy house fill of balls, that actually moves! was told "little children" only.. but with some nice asking, was allowed to take a picture almost on it - even if I didnt' get to actually "ride" in it. I had to ASSURE him I wasn't going to go inside, I just wanted a picture. still.. good enough! I was happy Neo's Twister had opened while we were on the other ride, so we headed back over there and got in queue. the line stacked up while we were waiting for Maintenance guy to come spin our car around so we could exit. (making it the longest line we saw all day). LOL Having ridden most of the stuff in this section, before heading back towards the main promenade of the park, we decided to ride the Kwai River ride. the ops decided that all six of us should ride together in one boat - despite us asking if it was ok to split up between boats. yup.. they made sure we were heavy enough, and this was the result. does it get you wet? umm. . . yup: walking by Lion King again, it was running now, soi got a better look at what it actually is. seems to be a "flying carpet" type ride . with arms crossed neon colored lions sitting at the back of each car. No, that doesn't explain why there's a pirate there. but I mean. .flying neon Lions, and you're worried about why there's a Pirate? I didn't even ask about riding this one (tho did see some adults on it). . was worried it wouldn't support my weight. the Enterprise was up and running - which made me SO happy. we got a ride on it with a long ass cycle, and I was happy that I hadn't eaten lunch yet. It was nice of them to give us such a long cycle tho, as i had mentioned to the maintenance guy earlier how much I loved these rides. tho it did concern me that he hung around during our ride to make sure it kept operating ok - it had been closed due to getting stuck in the upright position the prior day. still. . . .whee!!! remember I noted some of the rides have strange names? here is "Fiesta Mexicana". . . which is the park's Starflyer. yeah. what I found rather cool tho, is that there were two separate lines - one for "thrill" (meaning that the Starflyer operated as normal) and a line for "Observe" (meaning it spun very slowly so you could use it as an observation tower. i thought that was rather a neat option, and have never seen a Starflyer operate that way. (there were only two people in the "observe" line, so the operator loaded up the Thrill side first to get us on. not the main entrance gate, but an entrance gate to the Park.. I think the one closest to the main parking area, for those who are not staying on property. were some clouds rolling in, but was still a lovely day. Finnish butt. I mean, I COULD claim I took the pic because I wanted to show someone standing in the "observe" line. . but no. . I took it for the butt who doesn't want to buy something from "Mr. FUNSLUSH" ???? (I had one later in the day. . super sweet. . like a slurpee with added sugar) here's that Cobra I got talked into riding. yeah. . still terrible, even with different trains, and some theming (a puff of smoke over the train when you leave the station from the 1st drop) the parks one remaining "big" coaster - which is a family coaster, called Joyride. it's pretty much a traveling carnival coaster, that is pleasant enough, and does have some steeply angled turns. and artsy shot of a crappy coaster, taken thru an ok coaster. Power Park really does like to paint coasters that are close to each other in the same colors. . .if you just glance at it, these two look connected. and closing out this part of the report with a park map: by now was starting to get hungry for lunch. . . so we took a look at the offerings, and I believe myself, Big Mike, and Andrew decided that the Pizza Buffet near the front entrance sounded promising.. so we headed there. to be continued. . .