A.J.

Do you mean the area in the top right? Up there it actually looks like two separate attractions - one racing attraction (Bobkarts maybe?) and a coaster. The coaster looks like a Great Coasters wooden coaster with a station fly-through.

A plan drawing like what was leaked could be made during any phase of a project, including early concept. I don't think it's confirmation that the coaster was actually purchased at all.

I'm reading reports that Tokyo Disney Resort will be closed until March 15th due to COVID-19, but none of the blasted sites reporting on it have actually posted the text of OLC's press release. Can anyone find it?

SeaWorld's pivot and continued ride investments for their parks seem to be working - they just announced some record-setting financial results. https://www.seaworldinvestors.com/news-releases/news-release-details/2020/SeaWorld-Entertainment-Inc-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Fiscal-2019-Results/default.aspx

Spaceship Earth will be going down for its extended refurbishment as part of EPCOT's new transformation starting on May 26th. https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/02/the-reimagining-of-spaceship-earth-at-epcot-begins-may-26/

I was thinking "Alternate Universe Mako".

That's exactly what baffles me. I feel like for this ride, they don't even need the shin guards either (except for the front seats of each car).

Part of the reason why I still love Knoebels is that they focus so much on "quality of life" improvements to the park each year instead of the latest whizz-bang attraction.

Because "cramming another park in" means driving all the way out to Altoona when he's in eastern / south-central Pennsylvania. It's a two to two-and-a-half hour drive from both Hershey AND Knoebels, and close to a four-hour drive from Philadelphia. Plus, if you're going there from Hershey or Philadelphia, you're paying PA Turnpike money and that's a torture I wouldn't wish on anyone. Unless you're from around there, Altoona is really only "useful" to traveling as a pit stop between State College and Pittsburgh. Trust me, I'm originally from Pennsylvania and still travel back there often. You can avoid tolls AND expose yourself to a little culture (ahem) by sticking to PA-283, US-30 and US-202 instead of taking I-76. It will take longer but you'll save some money and might enjoy the detours. Do NOT try to drive out of Philadelphia on the night of July 4th, you will perish in flames. Find a hotel, bite the bullet on parking, and just stay put. You'll be happier.

Another thing that apparently came out of a recent presentation from the park is that Impulse is receiving new trains that will allow riders from 48" to 52" to ride without booster seats.

That is most certainly a Vekoma.

The wealthy benefactors of 2020 don't see "a classic piece of amusement park history that needs to be preserved and modernized", they see "prime real estate for a profitable mixed-use development with high-end apartments".

I thought very hard about going today, too. The weather is a lot cooler today than it usually is around here.

Tesla lets you skip on their "full self driving" option and charges whatever the "current" price is (which can increase), plus $1,000, if you enable it later in your ownership.

Oh yeah, there are plenty of classics still around, thank goodness, but the 80s Zierer / BHS / Schwarzkopf coasters are the endangered species of the bunch.

An interesting development. This social media screenshot has been floating around... It's caused a flurry of speculation that Fun Spot may be in talks to purchase some rides from the park, or, as some are speculating, the entire park itself. Steel Hawg in Orlando, anyone? https://www.facebook.com/CoasterNerds/photos/a.257902394564903/1047865132235288/?type=3&theater

On both coasts it's that you have to be in the park (Disneyland / DHS) to get a boarding group. But once you get your group you can basically do whatever, including park-hop.

Money, sure, but not time. Think about how long it takes to get all the way to the entrance, hop on the tram, go to your car, drive all the way out, go to your local McDonald's, drive all the way back in, re-park your car, etc etc...

Ready? All together now... Ugh. The modern theme park has not been kind to these classic Schwarzkopf coasters. Kudos to Grona Lund, Liseberg, Barth, Bruch, and Triple Five for keeping theirs running.

Manta's always been the same as far as I've noticed - lockers next to the queue entrance, and small open bins on the unload side of each station.

Yes, but Hagrid's also has a double-digit number of trains on the circuit, key show elements that must be working at all times, onboard audio, a unique seating / restraint system, two separate freefall drop tracks, and... Sandy's Blasting Bronco is nowhere near a follow-up to Hagrid's. It's another Intamin LSM coaster that's just like all the others, but also happens to have a turntable. For all we know, the delays could be coming from the park, and not Intamin.

That's how I've done it since I started going on a regular basis. Personally though, I'm just not a fan of possibly having to go all the way back out to my car to grab my camera bag if I can't get a locker rental because they're all sold out!

Apparently one of their readers told them that the new policy has gone into effect already and that they are walk-of-shaming people who attempt to leave items on the platform, but I'll believe THAT when I see it first-hand. This new loose articles policy is awful if true - not only are they money-grabbing by forcing you to rent lockers, but now that everyone has to rent one, it means that there will likely be scenarios where entire banks of lockers are sold out. What does the park expect people to do then? Walk all the way back to Kumba to rent their locker, then all the way back to Cheetah Hunt to get in the queue? If this policy is "successful" I can see SeaWorld Orlando doing the same in short order. This has also been the case for Tigris since it opened. EDIT: Hello word filter, my old friend. It's been too long. Has anyone had any noodles today?

It's unfortunate that this has become the mentality of the people and groups that gobble these small parks up only to attempt to resell them later... If it's not a good short-term return on investment, then dump it! Who cares about slow, steady long-term growth, am I right? It's times like these that make me thankful Knoebels has always been run by the family.

That's what's implied on their calendar - it's general admission from 10 to 5 and then hard-ticket Scarowinds afterward. They're weekend only for all of October, and every operating day has Scarowinds. Historically according to Queue-Times, it's always been busy those days. Looks like Fast Lane will at least come in handy for Fury 325 and Copperhead Strike! Now, now, don't raise my already-high expectations!