A.J.

I'm way late with this one. A lot of unfortunate life circumstances and a hurricane that never actually got to our part of the state have screwed all of my plans / days up. Hopefully I can get back on track here... Episode 4 - "Turning Toverland Upside-down", or, "If You Don't Get Injured You're Not Doing It Right" The third day of the Europe trip took us to, basically the middle of nowhere. But there happened to be a theme park in the middle of this nowhere! It's Toverland! The new entrance, and the new logo, fitting with Toverland's pivot to a true fantasy-themed park. Toverland is, quite simply, one of the most unique theme parks I've ever visited. Efteling is great, some of the later parks on the trip are great, but there is just so much to talk about when it comes to Toverland. So I shall! For those of you that don't know, Toverland started life as a strictly indoor family entertainment center, because the park's owner wanted to get around the cold weather seasons and operate in some capacity all year. Toverland got popular and started to expand, and recently, they've set their aspirations on becoming a world-class European theme park, with a goal of one million annual visitors. They're getting there, for sure - in 2018, they had over 800 thousand! Troy (TROY!!!) is now one of the prettiest parking lot coasters in the world. But it's still a parking lot coaster. For our group, a lot of us didn't know what to expect. Some of us, like myself, were experiencing Toverland for the first time. But for others, it was the first time they had seen the park since their most recent expansion, so it was almost like seeing a brand new park! We arrived and met up with Hanno (Hhappy) who was joining us for this park and the next. But when we got there, we weren't sure what to do! Eventually, Robb and Hanno found the park's new main entrance, and then they found the management. It's a true arrival experience! I've come to understand that it was inspired by the Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure in Florida. The management took us back for some filming on Fenix, the park's new B&M wing coaster. We all got a whole bunch of rides, and Andy even got a "zen ride", where he got to have an entire train completely to himself! Phoenix phlies! I mean... Fenix flies. Fenix is pretty fun, though not as fun as that other Phoenix I really like! It was my first wing coaster with a dive drop. The hill after the drop actually gives some decent airtme, and the spiral after the Immelman was pretty intense! Plus, unlike Wild Eagle, the vest harnesses allow for some slack, which means your lungs won't get crushed during the ride. The seats were comfortable, and secure, though having not ridden many wing coasters I often found my legs inadvertently hitting the safety bars attached to the inside seats. It's so GAW-GIUS. But really, what makes Fenix awesome is its setting. Fenix is part of Toverland's most recent themed expansion, Avalon. The entire area is decked out in intricate rockwork, fantastical theming, Disney-style forced perspective, and lush foliage absolutely everywhere. You can't climb the tower, but you can admire it. After our quick filming session on Fenix, the park was opened and we were just sort of set loose. Groups split up, while Robb and Hanno went around the park getting new footage on all of the rides. I sort of floated between groups. The other attraction in Avalon is Merlin's Quest! It's two-thirds outdoor boat ride, one-third indoor dark ride. I had literally zero idea what was going on, but neither did anyone else, so I didn't feel bad. You can also catch a great establishing view of the Flaming Feather restaurant. I absolutely adore green / living roofs! Next stop was D'wervelwind and, help us all, that thing is nuts. I wish I could stop gushing over how pretty (almost) all of the coasters are around here, but you're just going to have to deal with it. Everyone says, "oh, it's just a Mack spinner, what could go wrong", and let me tell you, everything did. For one thing, I had no idea which direction the train was facing in the station platform, so I got in the back car thinking it was the front. And then, in the back car, you get whipped and dragged over every hill and turn. Plus, if you end up in an unbalanced car like I was, you spin and spin and spin! All while some interesting magical fantasy soundtrack plays out of speakers right in front of your lap bar! Ten out of ten. Best ride. Best ride. We did it multiple times and I regretted it every single time after the fact, but I don't regret it now. Theme park, or real life fantasy meadow? It's like the rides don't even exist. Next on our checklist was Booster Bike. Booster Bike is the first Vekoma motorbike coaster, a system which originally saw use in smaller parks but has since gotten a big upgrade in the two Tron Lightcycle coasters at Disney parks in Florida and China. Originally the ride was just themed to motorbikes (obviously), but then they decided to put eyeball stickers on the fronts of each seat and play fairy dust sound effects before the launch. I guess that makes it fantasy-themed now? Greetings, programs! It was fine. Much like Python has for Efteling, Booster Bike has a bit of historical significance for Toverland so it's worth keeping around. It certainly looks gorgeous, with all of the theming around it now. Finally in the outdoor area, we have Troy (TROY!!!). For many years Troy was considered to be the best coaster to come out of Great Coasters, but it's since been beaten out by Knight Valley's mountain wooden coaster, and others. Troy is probably the only attraction in the park besides the ropes course to still be surrounded by mainly flat, open land. It could really use some screening to bring it in line with Fenix and D'wervelwind. Here comes an unpopular opinion! I actually liked Joris en de Draak better than Troy! The station fly-by was great and there were some cool pops of air, but I didn't get a whole lot out of Troy. An interesting thing happened though - as we were waiting in the station, the operations folks dropped from two-train operation to one-train. We could actually see them run the second train through the circuit, stop it on the transfer table, and actually push the table to the side so that the first train could run like normal again. The whole process only took a few minutes! The wild Ryan stares at the wooden coaster, contemplating his existence. Now, let's take a walk inside... Toverland's original bread-and-butter were its indoor areas and its amazing playgrounds. Is it socially acceptable for adults to play on these? Does it even matter? Just go have fun! We first made a stop inside the Wunderwald building, the park's first indoor expansion. We immediately headed over to Maximus' Blitz Bahn, the park's Bobkart attraction. Bobkarts are basically powered alpine slides. The vehicle runs in an open trough and you can control its speed. Unfortunately, Blitz Bahn ended up being the longest wait of the day - I believe we waited at least a half hour for it. That being said, I finally got to ride a Bobkart! I've been wanting to ride one of those for years and it was totally worth it! Up, down, left, right, forward, backward... This flume has it. Staying in the same area, we putted over to Expedition Zork, the log flume. Expedition Zork (nee Backstroke) is one of those interesting log flumes that uses turntables to change the directions of the logs. You turn backwards at the top of the first lift, go over the first drop backward, turn forwards in the middle of the second lift, turn ninety degrees at the highest point, and go over the largest drop facing forward. Plus, it runs both indoors and outdoors! It was really fun and even when you ride in the front (like I did) you don't get wet enough to have soggy socks all day. On some log flumes like this one, the splash channel is actually elevated above the main water source. We moved over to the Land von Toos building to satisfy the needs of the credit whores on the trip and took a spin on Toos Express, one of the park's original attractions and a custom Vekoma junior coaster. For what it was it was actually really fun and we got two laps! No, Toos Express is not on the Coaster Poll. No, we won't be adding it. The group I was with then wandered back over to Avalon to try out the new Flaming Feather restaurant. I had a really good burger there! We were then informed we were leaving early, so I bugged out of the restaurant to poke around Fenix and take some photos. Of course, I had to get another one of the Flaming Feather because it's probably my favorite theme park restaurant I've ever seen, at least in terms of architecture. With time winding down I ran over to the ropes course, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time for me to participate. I found some others and patiently waited for the rest of the group to take their turns. I was certainly not disappointed, as there were a wide range of emotions from the ropes course crew, including... Confidence... Determination... Dramaticism... ...and regret. And that was it for Toverland! I freaking loved this place. It's probably the most unique theme park I've ever been to, and I say that even after experiencing all of the other parks on the trip. Toverland isn't even twenty years old, and yet, here they are, growing and changing into something beyond the scope of their original vision. The staff and management were so good to us, and despite us visiting on a summer Saturday, crowds were beyond manageable. If I were to make a "bonus" stop in the Netherlands before another trip, I'm honestly not sure which park I would go to! They're all so cool! Enjoy some more photos... These rides may be brand new, but they look like they've belonged here for years. Dive! Dive! Dive! I wish I could get this close to roller coasters in the United States without signing a "you might die and we won't be held responsible" waiver. Bridge to Toverland. So, how exactly did this park look ten years ago again? Only a few of us were able to keep up with Kristen on this thing. I was one of those people, though not without a big bruise on my calf. Elissa told us that if you don't get injured at Toverland you're not doing it right, so, successful rite of passage for me! Normally you don't want theming from other areas to be seen from where you're standing, as it breaks immersion. However, all of Toverland's themes work so well together, so it fits! How about some stealth marketing? Even the indoor building fits right in! Thoughts and musings: Weirdly, I rarely rode any of the park's coasters more than once, with the exceptions being Fenix (for morning filming) and D'wervelwind (twice total). I guess I was just so enthralled by taking everything in! I even missed some areas like further inside the Land von Toos, and further in the Magische Vallei area near the rafting ride. More fun for next time! I know that generally things in Europe are better than the United States, but the stairs in the park, especially in the Fenix queue / platform, were ridiculous. They were steep, narrow, and slippery. I know I'm young and shouldn't be complaining but there were a few times were I almost tripped and fell down. Of course, I'm obsessed with the number of playgrounds and play areas in the park. It's part of what makes it so unique. I was recently doing some research on the park for another project, and going back to see Theme Park Review's visit from 2005 in the park index. It's astounding how much this park has changed. What used to be an open field behind Booster Bike is now a wonderful landscaped themed area and I just love it. Do I think that Toverland will be on the level of Efteling in terms of attendance in ten years? I'm not sure. But I absolutely think that they will break one million visitors, and sooner than you think. I have so little bad things to say about the park. They may not have anything that would make us go nuts with excitement, but everything in the park is so lovely and it makes it a wonderful place to spend time. Thanks for reading! Next time... Walibi Holland, The Grafitti Lover's Paradise!

WhiteWater and ProSlide seem to kind of have this back-and-forth where one company comes up with a new thing and the other puts their own spin on it. In this case, the Tailspin is Whitewater's newest slide element that's kind of a mix between their Constrictor slide and Proslide's Flying Saucer. It's an open, very tight diving turn sized for large / long rafts. The above photo is from Whirlin' Waters in North Charleston, South Carolina. https://www.whitewaterwest.com/products/tailspin/

16th. Rocky Mountain coasters that placed ahead of it in the wooden coaster rankings were Lightning Rod at #7, and Outlaw Run at #8. I think it's just that not enough people in the voting pool have actually ridden it yet.

At least based on the concept art, the purple / dark green / light green / yellow color scheme looks really good. It'll be fascinating being able to keep up with the construction of an amazing new coaster for once, since I go to Busch Gardens pretty often.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing our poll expand to doing a parks ranking sometime in the distant future. But going off of what Robb said, it's not worth our time to split off into all those categories. We have so many trip reports around here, enough for our community (and our casual readers / lurkers and social media followers) to get a really good understanding of how parks, attractions, and peoples' opinions of those things change over the years. Knoebels might win "best food", but, how about that Raclette at EPCOT this year? To be honest, even a roller coaster poll like ours is pushing it somewhat because there are so many factors that determine why people enjoy a coaster enough to put it at the top of their list, and those factors could be completely different for someone else. EDIT: Besides, there are always opportunities to ask us about the best in a specific category after the poll results are posted (best B&M, best in the U.S., etc) and I am always happy to oblige.

Sooner than you think. We'll be soliciting feedback for new / closed / renamed rides here in a few months and we're looking to have the poll opened up for voting in early January.

Honestly, the best part of the whole day was Larry's completely serious recounting of the experience to all of us while we were waiting for the park to close. I'm still not sure if anyone actually believed what he was saying at the time.

This year was a good one for me. I got Tigris, Fury, and Untamed.

According to their website, they basically have five voter pools (four geographical quadrants of the U.S. plus international). Apparently they prefer that interested potential voters have visited at least forty parks in their lifetime. Everyone casts one vote per category and also submits their top ten coasters of each type (wood + steel). http://goldenticketawards.com/frequently-asked-questions/

The funny thing with "best new coaster" and "best new attraction" is is that both Steel Curtain and Hagrid's Magical Creatures won first and second in both categories.

Hey everyone! As usual, I've compiled all of the winners from this year's Golden Ticket Awards! Find out more here: goldenticketawards.com/amusement-todays-annual-golden-ticket-awards-presented-at-2019-host-park-silverwood-theme-park/ Some of the categories have been removed this year, and some are new. I'll make note of those below. In addition, according to the presser, they have diversified the voter pool a bit to include fans, journalists, manufacturers, and suppliers. The highlights: Best Amusement Park – Europa Park Best Water Park – Schlitterbahn New Braunfels Best Children’s Park – Dutch Wonderland Best Marine Life Park – SeaWorld Orlando Best Water Park Ride – Wildebeest, Splashin’ Safari Best Wooden Roller Coaster - Phoenix, Knoebels Amusement Resort Best Steel Roller Coaster - Fury 325, Carowinds Best Kids’ Area – Wildwood Grove, Dollywood Best Guest Experience - Dollywood (new category) Breakout Family Entertainment Center - C.J. Barrymore's Best Halloween Event – Halloween Horror Nights, Universal Orlando Most Beautiful Park – Busch Gardens Williamsburg Best Christmas Event – Smoky Mountain Christmas, Dollywood Best Food – Knoebels Amusement Resort Best New Show - Reuben's Swashbuckling Adventure, Silver Dollar City Best Water Ride – Valhalla, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Best Dark Ride – Pirates of the Caribbean Battle For Sunken Treasure, Shanghai Disneyland Best New Attraction of 2019 - Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Islands of Adventure Best New Roller Coaster of 2019 – Steel Curtain, Kennywood Best New Family Attraction of 2019 - Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, Disneyland Best New Water Park Ride of 2019 - Cutback Water Coaster, Water Country USA Best Innovation of 2019 - Yukon Striker storage bin rail system, Canada's Wonderland (new category) Three categories were eliminated due to the same attractions winning many consecutive years. They've been given special "Golden Ticket Awards Legends" status. They are: Best Seaside Park – Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Best Carousel - Grand Carousel, Knoebels Best Indoor Roller Coaster - Revenge of the Mummy, Universal Studios Florida These categories were eliminated as well, though some may have been consolidated into the categories above: Friendliest Park (Dollywood in 2018) Cleanest Park (Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in 2018) Best Shows (Dollywood in 2018) Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction (Noah’s Ark, Kennywood in 2018) And now, the top ten coasters! Steel: 1. Fury 325, Carowinds 2. Millennium Force, Cedar Point 3. Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point 4. Superman The Ride, Six Flags New England 5. Expedition GeForce, Holiday Park 6. Twisted Colossus, Six Flags Magic Mountain 7. Iron Rattler, Six Flags Fiesta Texas 8. Apollo's Chariot, Busch Gardens Williamsburg 9. Leviathan, Canada's Wonderland 10. Nitro, Six Flags Great Adventure Wooden: 1. Phoenix, Knoebels Amusement Resort 2. Voyage, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari 3. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure 4. Boulder Dash, Lake Compounce 5. Beast, Kings Island 6. GhostRider, Knott's Berry Farm 7. Lightning Rod, Dollywood 8. Outlaw Run, Silver Dollar City 9. Ravine Flyer II, Waldameer Water World 10. Mystic Timbers, Kings Island And the usual tidbits / stray thoughts: Unlike last year where only one award changed hands, this year there were some shakeups. Dutch Wonderland took the "best family park" award from IdleWild, another children's park in Pennsylvania. Dollywood also received "best kids area" this year, for Wildwood Grove, over Kings Island's Planet Snoopy, which placed second. Canada's Wonderland took home the new "innovation" award for Yukon Striker's storage bin system. Other innovations highlighted by Amusement Today are Six Flags Great Adventure's solar farm, Intamin's new Dueling Dragons roller coaster in China, and SeaWorld San Antonio's water filtration system. The "breakout family entertainment center" is a new category this year. C.J. Barrymore's in Michigan took it home, but some of the runners up included Funland of Fredericksburg in Virginia, and Two Bit Circus in California. Hagrid's Magical Creatures -almost- took home the best new roller coaster award too, but Steel Curtain won that. Conversely, Steel Curtain was second in the "best new attraction" category, which Hagrid's won. Funny how that works. Tower of Terror, the longtime best dark ride winner, placed third this year. It was beaten by Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey in second, and Shanghai Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean in first. Some changes in the wooden coaster rankings this year. Thunderhead is down to #11 (from 10), and Gold Striker is down to #12 (from 9). Two other Great Coaster coasters take their places, with GhostRider coming in at #6 and Mystic Timbers at #10. Also some changes to the steel rankings. Superman The Ride and Expedition GeForce switched places and are now #4 and #5 respectively, and the same happened with Iron Rattler and Apollo's Chariot (#7 and #8). Nitro (#10) kicks out Maverick and Diamondback, which are now #13 and #14. Twisted Colossus screamed up the rankings and is now #6, way up from #24 last year. As usual, Rocky Mountain coasters are all over the board. Only two new-for-2019 coasters ranked in the top 50 in either category this year - Yukon Striker (#34 steel) and Steel Curtain (#42 steel). Significant new-for-2019 coasters that didn't make the cut are Copperhead Strike, Dueling Dragons, Fury, Hagrid's Magical Creatures, Maxx Force, and Untamed.

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I'm not sure I like the idea of a 300+ foot monster of a coaster dominating the park's skyline. Every time they add a new coaster, the park seems to become less "pretty", but maybe that's just my changing tastes.

Funny story, Zamperla actually made a traditional sit-down version of the Tango. It's called the Shocker, and I believe they only ever made one. Here it is in 2012 at what I believe is the Tulsa State Fair. Caution: vertical video. The company in the video, Murphy Bros, still lists the Shocker as available for use in their midway packages. It should also be noted that I've seen photos of at least one Tango running around that has metal footrest bars for each seat.

Welcome.

So based on the lead car, can we call Jersey Devil the "om nom nom" coaster?

Wow, that's significant. That mega coaster on top of the building looks like it will be really good.

I'm not sure I'm convinced that a significant amount of people are skipping Dollywood due to a lack of larger roller coasters, nor am I convinced that Kings Island is as much of a competitor as you're making them out to be. Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia, perhaps. Dollywood is just in a different segment. They're a full-on theme park, with a four-star resort and spa, and a dedicated water park, in a picturesque tourist destination. I'd air that there are just as many people interested in Dollywood's shows, food, exhibits, and atmosphere as there are interested in the thrill rides. I could see a family of six (two parents, two children, one set of grandparents) going to DreamMore for several days to experience everything that Dollywood has to offer, but only three people of that same family (two parents and perhaps an older sibling) may get the same fulfillment out of a coaster park like Carowinds or Six Flags Over Georgia. I distinctly remember going to Williamsburg, Virginia with family every year when I was younger and my younger sibling was a toddler. We would always go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg over Kings Dominion because there was always more for our entire family to do at Busch Gardens.

I recall hearing somewhere that Vekoma's "traditional" coaster backlog is almost exclusively for Fantawild theme parks for at least the next few years.

We typically talk about companion water parks in the main parks thread, so you're good. (Dorney Park + Wildwater Kingdom, Dollywood + Splash Country, Busch Gardens Williamsburg + Water Country USA, etc)

There were several occasions when I thought that I had seriously "camera of doom"ed the log flume! Thankfully it started back up each time...

Ooof. Sorry that happened, at least you got to see the horse on fire! I saw that during the ride and kind of just sat there in silence until we moved onto the next room. I don't think I've ever seen two sumo wrestlers represented as one gigantic two-headed person before!

And wonderful work they did. No I do not, but in my defense, I only ended up having the afternoon and evening at the park due to the plane snafu, and most of my time was spent checking out everything else. It's on the list for next time! Or... Was I smart enough to skip the scary face-down drop ride? You decide! Always a pleasure, Erik. That's gonna stick. I'm never going to be able to call that coaster by its regular name again. I refuse to call Shamburgerandcheese by its real name either.

Overly-long wait times aren't the best guest experience, you'll get no argument from me there! I also think that that's their plan but I'm leaning more toward a new dark ride than another roller coaster. I do speculate that the "new hotness" of Dragonflier -may- fade during the next operating season. Obviously you can't predict everything that transpires after a new ride opens (Lightning Rod, I'm looking at you), but I'd be surprised if Dollywood built Dragonflier without a long-term strategy in mind for Wildwood Grove or whatever new area they end up building up past it.

That particular Vekoma layout and its smaller sister (Kvasten, Freedom Flyer, et al) have only ever been designed to accommodate one train, as the only brake sections are in the station. A brake run before the station would really shorten the ride, those layouts don't last very long. I wouldn't consider Dragonflier a headliner though, on Disney's scale that's a D-ticket at best. Perhaps they're accepting that wait times for Dragonflier will be a bit unreasonable for a few seasons but, long-term, will eventually die down when another major family attraction opens.

You know, I was about to cheer for the bird queen in the end, but then she literally drowned the bad guy and I became unsure of who the villain in the story actually was. Can confirm, it is not worse than hitting yourself with a brick. Great commentary as usual Chuck!