A.J.

Hey friends, which coasters are glasses-safe? I've been looking over the park policies and they're very strict on loose articles for Twisted Cyclone, Georgia Scorcher, Goliath and Superman. I've resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to pay $15 for an all day you-know what for my phone and wallet but I'd really like to keep my glasses on for everything except Superman if possible.

Unfortunately the decor of the cottage is really just an "old school central Pennsylvania aka Pennsyltucky" thing. Having lived up there my entire life, I've come to learn that some people in the region have almost hick-like appearances and mannerisms but in the end are perfectly decent people. A while ago, my parents and I would often go to this local restaurant where the food was amazing and the hospitality was absolutely wonderful BUT they had taxidermy all over their walls because nearly all of the family members that ran the place and cooked the food were hunters. Also, it's about time someone actually posted a trip report about Penn's Cave. I've driven past exactly seventeen million "Penn's Cave, See It By Boat" billboards in my life and yet have never gone.

The big difference is how the lap bars appear to be anchored at the front of the car. The "older" style trains have an anchor on either side of your legs like a regular old U-shaped lap bar. The "newer" ones (Twisted Timbers, Steel Vengeance) have a single anchor in the center and they're kind of like a fat T-shaped lap bar (V-shape? Y-shape?).

I've been considering picking up a membership myself, I guess the functional difference between the Gold Season Pass and the Gold Plus membership is that the benefits of the membership extend to all of the parks in the chain. The Gold Season Pass is just for the park you bought it from.

Knoebels had theirs under that extended refurbishment for a few years but I've rarely ever heard of it going down under normal operation.

Oh geez, I'm so looking forward to the coaster lineup next week but that makes me apprehensive... Were you able to ride everything without rushing around?

According to Cedar Point's policies, the disabled guest and only up to three other people can enter through the alternate entrance, the rest of their party has to wait in the regular queue, AND if they all want to ride together the disabled guest and their companions have to wait until the rest of the party is on the platform before entering at all. Also, the policy states that disabled guests' parties are given a specific return time to board in every circumstance. I would also assume that the disabled guest isn't allowed to ride three times in a row with different party members accompanying them, either. https://www.cedarpoint.com/help/accessibility Now, whether this stuff is actually strictly enforced or not, that's anyone's guess.

Episode 2: "SeaWorld Orlando During the Day This Time" - OR - "How To Get The Best Parking Spot Without Paying For Preferred Parking" Hey everyone, I went back to SeaWorld Orlando today, this time during the day, when I could, you know, actually see things with my glasses off. Thoughts and photos below: Manta is first this morning! I arrived bright and early after popping into my local Toyota dealer to get my car washed. I was anticipating large crowds later in the day and throughout the weekend, so I really only wanted to stay until noon. Turns out that was a good call! Manta is seriously the prettiest coaster. I had another good couple of rides on Manta. Though, I'm not sure I was seated properly the second time today. I kind of got chucked into the pretzel loop at the top and it made it uncomfortable. Perhaps the harness was out one click further than it was on my first ride, no idea. It was still fun and it's still one of my favorite B&Ms. Speaking of B&Ms... HA! You were expecting a photo of Mako now, weren't you?!? ...well, so was I. Apparently the area past the tower doesn't open until an hour after the park opens, which is kind of lame! I'm sure they have their reasons, but unless I'm seriously an idiot, it really isn't communicated well. Even in the short time that I found myself there after my Manta rides, there were several groups that were genuinely surprised when they had to turn around and go somewhere else. Now, where was I? Oh, right, Kraken! It was fine. Perfectly normal. There's a coaster train running around out there somewhere... Okay, I'll be serious now for a moment. If any of you have ever met me, I'm rather...small. I've been dreading the day I ever ride Intimidator 305 because I probably won't remember it. While it was somewhat early in the day for me, I was borderline greying out on Kraken. It was kind of sequential - at the bottom of the drop, I noticed a little bit, then at the end of the loop it was more noticeable, and then before the zero-G roll I nearly lost my vision. I was fine afterward including through the cobra roll and second loop, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't freak out a little bit. Also, that photo above with the near-empty train? That was all morning. Walk-on for every row, and a single-load wait for the front. It's a shame, as Kraken is still a pretty good coaster. Oh, what's that, it's 10 AM? Quick, run as fast as you can to... LASER SHARK HORSE ON FIRE!!! Two rides on Mako, both in the front. It's still my favorite B&M (though Montu and Kumba are on my schedule for next month, can't wait), and I still think it's OMGAMAZEBALLS but I found myself being stapled - both times. It kind of sucked the life out of all of the airtime. Mako...THROUGH THE TREES! Is that joke still relevant around here anymore? Mako was also relatively empty for most of the morning. Filled trains for sure, but single-load waits all around. It was kind of nice. I skipped Journey to Atlantis because soggy car seats are the worst, and instead took a spin on...this thing... Hello there, pen-gu-ins. All right, look. Waiting to ride this thing - especially the "wild expedition" side - is pretty much pointless, in my opinion. I waited fifteen minutes to even get into the pre-show room, and then another ten minutes to get grouped into a car, and then ANOTHER ten minutes standing in front of a closed door with "wild expedition" projected on it. The ride system is cool, and the way that the vehicles sort of dance around each other is freaking amazing, but the constant spinning is silly and the first-person scene of the penguin jumping into the water and being chased by predators is broken by the static ice blocks surrounding the giant screen. That being said, the quick turnaround reveal of the actual exhibit space at the end is very well-timed and it definitely works. That ALSO being said, I will be joining the "non-rider" queue from now on, unless someone I'm with really wants to ride it. And even then, the "mild expedition" side with no spinning, much like the green side of Mission Space which I also prefer, always has a much shorter wait. That that also also being being said said, I'm a big fan of the exhibit. It's amazing how cold it is in there. The operators even have to wear heavy jackets! And...that's pretty much it. I like the coasters much better during the day when I can, you know, actually see them. Again, I'm glad that I went in the morning and got the heck out of there before noon, because the ticket counters were mighty crowded when I left. Only three major coasters, but...quality over quantity, am I right? Next stop for this ongoing trip report is probably a Disney park, then Busch Gardens Tampa. But before either of those... Six Flags Over Georgia! Stay tuned... P.S. - thanks again for the pointer Robb, I've got a nice plastic pass now!

Keep in mind that this is only on Central Florida Expressway Authority routes, or, any route with a YELLOW toll road font above the number. Green-colored toll roads, including Florida's Turnpike, still require SunPass (or will toll you by your plate). Thankfully, the majority of Orlando toll roads are the yellow ones, except, annoyingly, the stretch of the Beachline Expressway (Route 528) that intersects Orange Blossom Trail, John Young Parkway, Universal Boulevard, International Drive, and Interstate 4.

That's honestly what I was thinking when the land was revealed initially, an on-site themed resort with its own exclusive park gate would be breaking new ground in the United States. That sort of immersion hasn't really been seen much outside of Tokyo Disney Resort and Europa Park. Now, a big new different kind of ride for Phase 2? That's totally fair game. A new dark ride, a new water ride, a new big show venue, some other new thing... I just don't think Dollywood's next big thing is going to be a coaster the size of, say, Wild Eagle or Lightning Rod, before a few years from now. They have plenty of potential to use the in-between years to expand Splash Country too, right?

Hey, this coaster has been added to the poll. Apologies for it not being there, it being left out was not intentional.

It seems to be exactly what the land needs - an anchor family attraction. I would be legitimately surprised if Dollywood adds anything even close to a major roller coaster before the 2022 season. Wildwood Grove appears to be a hee-uge investment.

Curious, wasn't that supposed to be Goliath?

A raven drop / turn is where the track does half of an airtime hill and then finishes off with a downward half loop, sending the train in the opposite direction from which it came, oriented upside-down from where it was. Here's Eejanaika, the 4-D coaster at Fuji-Q Highland. It's basically half of a flying coaster pretzel loop. The raven turn only works on coasters where the trains can compensate for the upside-down orientation that happens after the half loop, such as 4-D coasters and flying coasters. 4-D coasters and the Free Spins (like Batman) can keep guests upright at the end of the turn, though they will be traveling backwards as a result. On Flying coasters, guests end up on their back so the intense positive Gs are still safe. If you were to do a raven turn on a "normal" coaster you would likely be subjected to up to 4 or more negative Gs, upside down. Not exactly safe.

Oh, I am too, but I'm so much more excited for Copperhead Strike. My Dollywood trip next year just turned into a two-park trip...

Was the entirety of Six Flags just upstaged by a single Cedar Fair park? A bold strike indeed. Looks fantastic. And it's the revenge of the Jojo roll!

Agreed that it's definitely an S&S. Air-powered launch and the train design are giveaways. S&S is also using a similar track style to Premier now, they're using it for Steel Curtain as well. EDIT: Someone's Instagram post...

This is my understand of how it should work. So it should always duel. Unless you're on the very first train of the day, in that case, you only get half a duel. Hopefully it does work this way. This is correct, you can see at about 40 seconds into the video that the second train is continuously moving through the station to the launch, and that the building appears to only have load / unload on one of the two sides.

It's definitely a Premier Rides coaster. It's also only one coaster, as it's a möbius loop, like Twisted Colossus. EDIT: Also, I feel bad for the poor Tesla Model S that had to shamelessly give its life to be turned into...whatever it is that West Coast Customs was displaying there.

Hey, I won! Do I get a cookie this time? Interesting that it's temporary, does this mean that it's going to be a trailer-mounted ride?

Some of those turns and clearances look really tight. If I may speculate, are we going to see B&M do an inverted looping coaster with TWO-across seating for the first time? Some of those revised support structures look like they've learned some lessons from their inverted family coasters.

Speed, height, flipping and a snake theme make me think of this, a Funtime Chaos Pendle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlVAP9Aga8 This one is a single-carriage model at the Wurstelprater in Austria, recently a newer double-carriage model with Gerstlauer seats has been romping around the fair circuit. Perhaps they're catching on as interesting alternatives to Boosters.

You should definitely get your money's worth and spend some time at Hersheypark the evening before.

The Covered Bridge Festival / Phall Phunfest weekend is always packed (relatively speaking) but 11 AM - 10 PM hours on the Saturday means that you won't miss anything. You might even find something cool to bring home from the local craft vendors.

Agreed. One or two more spins on a coaster is not worth cutting it close for your flight.