A.J.

Efteling has announced Nest, a new inclusive / accessible playground opening next year. The playground will be themed to Efteling's roller coasters and attractions, for younger children and those with disabilities to feel like they are experiencing them and taking part. The playground will indirectly replace the Polka Marina roundabout ride. https://www.efteling.com/nl/blog/nieuws/20201013-aankondiging-nieuw-speelbos-nest

So long as Knoebels remains free-admission and free-parking, it will never become cost-prohibitive because all it costs to enter is a family's time and fuel / electricity for their car. For a free-admission park, riding X amount of rides in a day and paying for them individually will always cost more than a pay-one-price option.

So is the "link to a specific post in the subtitle" feature completely gone? That was probably one of the most useful features in the old forum.

I would be surprised if Knoebels did the horn. They get enough complaints about Downdraft's compressed air noise, and they have an active campsite right next door.

Make sure you always link to the source of your posted images, unless they're actually yours. https://twitter.com/llen_Bradley

Apparently a Bayern Kurve attraction on a trailer was spotted at Knoebels over the weekend. Has anyone been to Phunfest this year and knows anything more?

Curious... Those flipping bumper cars would show up at the IAAPA expo every year. Does anyone know of any FECs that have them?

Wow, it really does look like 2013! The mobile functionality is going to be HUGE. Nice going!

I'm pretty sure that's what they're for. Stalls may happen and having that little LSM up there means that they don't have to bring in the cavalry if the train doesn't make it over.

They're not, they're Intamin's newest setup, which, at least on Hyperion, are decently comfortable. But what's an AquaTrax?!?

Yep, I saw that. It's just going to make the airtime even better on the opposite ends of the train. Welp, I guess I still have 36 hours or so to decide if I want to get a Universal annual pass. What's a Blitz coaster? [/s]

Not me, that's for sure.

First B&M gave us Tatsu's Mega Footer, now B&M gives us Monster's Mega Support.

It's twelve new credits.

They could be pulling a Tremors and just replacing the track itself with Topper Track without changing or re-profiling the layout.

There absolutely is an on / off switch, it's called government. If cases pick up again due to winter flu season and a vaccine has not been distributed to a large swath of people outside of healthcare professionals and front-line hospital workers, we're going to see 2020 all over again. If state and / or regional governments limit gatherings next year like they have done this year, parks aren't going to open again, or they will only open in areas of the country that are unashamedly pro-business. For the sake of theme parks, live events, museums, aquariums, and any other related businesses, it's important that the public trusts that a vaccine is safe to receive, otherwise no one will go get it.

It's not that 2021 or 2022 are going to be "the bad years", it's that the 2020s will be "the bad decade". Five- or ten-year master plans are completely out the door across the board. In the short term, parks and operators are going to have to spend a metric ton of resources regrouping and coming up with new long-term strategies. That's not even taking into consideration how many of the decision-makers (the designers, not the executives) are currently on furlough and need to be brought back - and how long will it take to generate enough revenue to start paying those people again, especially as seasonal parks begin to wrap things up for the year again? Then, as with everything, it's going to take years for the new plans to come to fruition - less so for a typical flat ride and more so for a new Disney E-ticket or land. The vaccine isn't going to magically cure everything because it's going to take months and months to fully distribute it - and that's also not taking into consideration all the people who may refuse to take it for whatever reason. I wonder if documentation of a vaccine will be required for international travel in the future. Indie parks and small chains are most at risk here... And I wouldn't be surprised if executives with deep pockets are ready and waiting to scoop the properties up to convert to mixed-use if they were to go under. And certain states and regions are still prohibiting parks from even opening at all... If COVID gets worse due to the actual flu season, some previously-opened places may be forced to close again. TLDR: We will survive, but things are going to look a lot different in 5 to 10 years or less.

They most certainly did. Right now, much like U.S. citizens are barred from entry into the E.U., E.U. travelers are currently barred from entering the U.S. until further notice. While plenty of companies have U.S. subsidiaries that can represent them, a whole bunch of ride manufacturers, for example, are based in E.U. countries exclusively. The U.S. is also still restricting travelers from China, a big contributor to the show floor. It's September, and the rate of daily new COVID cases in the U.S. is leveling off, and not decreasing as fast as it was a little while ago. And we're going into the traditional flu season. I don't see any travel restrictions lifting until early 2021 at the earliest. Plus, like we've learned from Six Flags, pretty much any 2020 investments have been pushed to 2021. Add that to a pretty substantial decrease in revenue, for obvious reasons, and you have an industry that just doesn't have the money to invest in anything but its survival right now.

In news that's really awful, but shouldn't surprise anyone, the physical trade show portion of the IAAPA Expo has been cancelled this year due to the ongoing global situation. https://iaapa.org/news/iaapa-press-room/iaapa-cancels-iaapa-expo-2020-due-covid-19 In the expo's place, the IAAPA will be holding online education sessions for industry professionals instead. Note that this is coming off of 2019's expo, which was the largest attendance in the show's history. Now, discuss!

My roller coaster headcanon is that Olympia Looping ends up at Knoebels after it retires from the fair circuit. A refurbished Dreier Looping would be an acceptable substitute.

Interesting antecdote for weekend visitors... I've gone two weekends now on the reservation system. The first time, I was driving on the ramp at around 9:15, and got backed up for a long enough time that I wasn't able to get in the park before 10 AM for a Rise of the Resistance boarding group. But the second time, today, I got there at 9 AM on the dot and was in the park with a half hour to spare, even after a delay before they started letting people through the booths. I want to say that this would help people with their planning, but... Inconsistencies!

Have we become complete wimps in this country? Good gosh this has gotten ridiculous. I cried the first time I rode a kiddie coaster - stuff is scary sometimes! I'm not particularly fond of snapping myself.

To sum up my recent experience today, on a weekend: I got on Flight of Passage twice. That is all.

I'm thinking really hard about ditching my SWO / BGT pass and getting a Universal one instead... At least for me, a full annual pass makes more financial sense than the "until December 24th" ticket. The ticket still requires you to pay for parking for each visit. Meanwhile, the Preferred and Premier passes get you free parking after the first visit, and three months for free. So it's 15 months with included parking, or 4 months without.