A.J.

^ 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.

OK sorry It probably wont happen but the terrain were slidewinder was could more luckily fit a raptor or a smeller hyper . A smaller hypercoaster is still a hypercoaster - a gigantic, imposing ride that takes up a lot of space. That area of the park is nice, and secluded, and somewhat quiet most of the time, and any size of roller coaster would just completely ruin the atmosphere.

So I know that they'll depart in opposite directions, do we know if you get two circuits per ride or just one?

1. Visited 21 parks total in 2019, 15 outside of Orlando. 2. My best new-for-2019 ride is Untamed. 3. Phoenix, Skyrush, Manta and come to mind. 4. I haven't ridden any flat rides, so none of them are the best! 5. Best Rocky Mountain coaster under 130 feet is Untamed. Easy. 6. Tigris is the most recent Premier coaster I've ridden. 7. I'll be visiting Dollywood again this year! 8. Technically SeaWorld Orlando is my home park, I visited at least six times last year. 9. I'm most looking forward to going back to Dollywood this year. 10. Dollywood is better than Kennywood. 11. Hyperion disappointed me the most in 2019, though "disappointment" is relative. It's still pretty good. 12. One hour of exclusive ride time on Batman, please! 13. Kolmarden's Wildfire changed my top 10 most recently, slots at #8 behind Kumba and ahead of Ravine Flyer II. 14. The last park food I ate was at Animal Kingdom's Harambe Village. 15. I wish that Liseberg was my home park. I love that place. 16. I'm not sure I'm attracted to rides in that way, but I am looking forward to Iron Gwazi. 17. Next visit is Busch Gardens Tampa in a few weeks. 18. My favorite breakfast is the one I eat at my house. 19. The last Cedar Fair park I visited was Dorney Park, way back in...2014? 20. No, it wasn't awesome, but it was still pretty good. 21. We won't know the winner of Skyrush vs Candymonium until Candymonium opens, silly! 22. I want to visit Tivoli Gardens and Djurs Sommerland the most right now. 23. The best B&M I rode in 2019 was Kumba. 24. The saddest thing I've ever done is ride Kozmo's Kurves, but it's wicked fun so it's okay. 25. What? People actually buy fastpasses? 26. The longest queue I waited in last year was for Avatar Flight of Passage (as always), about two hours. 27. I have a Walt Disney World pass, and the SeaWorld / Busch Gardens Tampa combo pass. I renew both every year. 28. Coasterbill, we're going to Knoebels! 29. I'd rather ride Iron Gwazi because I don't have to hop on a plane to get to it. 30. I rode Phoenix twenty times on year at Phall Phunfest, split between normal day rides and Phunfest ride time. 31. I'll go to Valleyfair because I haven't been there before. 32. Efteling's pofferjes are no joke. 33. Kumba is better than Montu - only very, very, VERY slightly. 34. I really dislike Great American Scream Machine and Dorney Park's Thunderhawk. Unpopular opinion, I also don't like the Kennywood Thunderbolt. 35. Ample Hills ice cream at the Boardwalk resort, it counts! 36. Let's replace Vortex with one of those fancy new Vekoma launched coasters. 37. Lightning Rod is at the top of my bucket list, and I'm going to ride it this year! 38. I already said Tivoli Gardens and Djurs Sommerland, so... Farup Sommerland (heh), Wiener Prater, and the City Museum! 39. Everyone fill it out because the off-season is awful! 40. See my avatar, silly.

Thanks everyone! Have some more, from Florida this time! SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa! The dive coaster splashdowns are some of the most photographed coaster elements. Manta at SeaWorld Orlando, this is the second roll before the mid-course brake. Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom from today (Jan 19) - very crowded and somewhat rainy. This thing dispatches probably once every 30 to 45 seconds! That's a thirty-four person train!

SeaWorld Orlando is attempting to keep their park rating over 700 by using their infinite money to build yet another attraction for 2021. No real confirmation as to what it is yet, but some sites and individuals are speculating that it will be a B&M wing coaster built in and around the pathway between the entrance and Bayside Stadium. Public permit info