A.J.

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!

^ Yeah, well, but then I would be flying Allegiant, so...

Smoky Mountain National Park in autumn color was the main motivation for this trip in the first place, so I'm partial to going later for that reason, and you nailed it on desired re-rides. That day is "successful" so long as I get on the four rides you mentioned, and get some photo time in. Everything else is a bonus. Thanks for the assurance! Not ideal, though thanks for suggesting it. I want to be able to keep round-trip out of Charlotte to save on airfare and my rental car. I know, like I said, when I visited Dollywood on Labor Tuesday back in 2015, I actually ran out of things to do. I'll have to do some poking around Queue Times' histories to try and figure out a good couple of days to go. The "I hate photos of empty trains" side of me wants to find a day at when it's predicted to be quiet, and then a second day when it's predicted to be busy.

So why would I spend more time at Carowinds when I'm using Fast Lane, in a slow part of the season? If I were to purchase the earlier ticket I would be going on a day when the park is open from 10 until 8.

Hey everyone - I'm planning an autumn trip this year for myself! Tentatively, the plan is to spend a day and a half at Dollywood, a half day checking out Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, two days poking around Smoky Mountain National Park, and one day at Carowinds. Basically, fly out of Orlando on a Monday, trip Tue > Sat, and fly back on Sunday. The motivation for this trip is to check out the National Park in its full autumn colors glory, go to a park I've never been to (Carowinds) and finally go back for that Lightning Rod credit I miss... I MEAN go back for that cinnamon brea... I MEAN darn it Dollywood is so amazing. However, Cedar Fair just threw a wrench into my plans with their Presidents' Day sales - admission AND Fast Lane for $60! So now I'm torn. Do I: - Bite the bullet on the sale ticket to save $100, but lose out on the autumn colors since the ticket is only valid through the 13th of September OR - Go during October, but only get 10 AM to 5 PM at Carowinds, because I'm not interested in attending nor paying for the extra hard ticket of Scarowinds I'm running under the assumption that I'd have regular TimeSaver for at least one of the two days at Dollywood and Fast Lane at Carowinds. I really want more than one day at Dollywood because it's seriously one of my favorite places. Whether the half day ends up being an evening or a morning is still to be determined, though I'm leaning more toward evening. If I go with the sale option I'm thinking about going Labor Day week - when I visited Dollywood in 2015 on the Tuesday after Labor Day, the park was really slow and I got to do everything I wanted multiple times. Or am I just completely crazy? Advice is appreciated!

I'm one of those day one people, I think Mine Blower is a hot mess and I ride it on average once every few months, and only once. The layout is masterful but they really need to do something about those valleys.

At the risk of turning this into the Hollywood Studios thread, I'd bet that the reason THAT show existed in the first place was to draw attention away from the then-dormant Chinese Theater while Runaway Railway was being worked on. Now that the theater is supposed to be an icon again, the show has served its purpose. I'm pretty sure that timetable has been on the books from the beginning.

Other fan forums are already speculating of the entertainment-cut-a-pocalypse in a similar vein to what was going on while Shanghai Disneyland was being built.

And even then, annual passholders wouldn't have been able to ride it in 2019, right? Didn't they only open it for people in their membership program?

Like it or not, there is a very real guest expectation that a "new for 20XX" ride at a seasonal park will be open for the majority of that park's season. For year-round parks it's a little more fluid, of course. Disney, to their credit, at least lets guests know of opening delays pretty far in advance, and also sets confirmed opening dates far enough in advance to give people a chance to grab FastPasses or book their vacations around the opening date. The most recent example of this is Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios - it had a bunch of delays but was eventually confirmed for March of this year back in December, and, sure enough, FastPass booking for a March 4th opening just opened up a few days ago (I didn't get one, sad face).

You CAN do it without the mobile app, you just go to the cast members in the central plaza with the blue tent. Though, you'll probably want to get there earlier if you do so to be close to the front of THAT line, because boarding groups are often exhausted within minutes. You technically don't even need a smartphone, something like a cheapo iPod Touch could also do the trick so long as the mobile app is supported by it.

Ooof. Yet another example of why it's awful not to include spare tires in new cars anymore. Glad you were able to get it sorted and keep going.

Personally, I think it could be a lot worse... At least everyone inside the park at opening has the same chance of getting a spot. The one very nice thing about the virtual queuing system is that, once you walk through the ride's entrance, it's a maximum of 15-20 minutes before you begin the story portion. The main queue is always nice and quiet, though, the second queue section after the hangar scene will always be crowded regardless of what system they use.

I was referring to the ride - when I went in the middle of the January the ride opened at around 8, but when I went last Sunday the ride opened at 7:30. I had to dump my Rock n' Roller Coaster Fastpass for 7 AM - 8 AM because my boarding group was called much earlier than I expected it to be based on that previous visit. Though in all seriousness, the turnstile openings have also been inconsistent, they started letting people in at 6:30 back in January but last Sunday they started letting people in at 6:15.

And on Sunday they opened at like... 7:30 AM. It's rather inconsistent. It's an early day for sure, but the park becomes more than reasonable after, like, 9 AM, and you can park-hop if you wish (though you have to keep an eye on your boarding group, since you only have 1 hour to return). I've gone twice now and have not been disappointed either time.

Another new image has popped up of PowerPark's new coaster, this time of its crazy weird twisted top hat. From the rollercoasters subreddit. The original rumor was that they were going to hack up Junker but in reality they're just building another coaster with a similar color scheme.

I rarely ever see a wait for Falcon's Fury when it's open though, so you can pretty much just check on it as you walk through Pantopia and if it's open, hop on.

... well that dream is dead It's worth the early morning. Seriously.

The fact that they used the same sound effect twice in a row makes it even better.

I think Runaway Railway will open with FastPass. Then, once Rise of the Resistance gets FastPass enabled in like... one hundred years, Smuggler's Run will probably be dropped to Tier 2.

At least all the times I've gone to see Antarctica, the wait for non-riders has been significantly less compared to that of the riders.