ernierocker

I just ended up doing this exact thing at Six Flags over Georgia. Been planning a trip to Texas with the kids to see family and we are going to SFOT and Fiesta Texas. With the membership option gone at both of those parks now, the current season pass options made absolutely no sense for me to get now, but getting a membership at the park 3.5 hours away did. My kids have only been to Dollywood and the Disney parks so now they get to go to 3 Six flags park in less than one month.

^Please tell me they sell Corona there?!?

My google earth doesn't show wildwood grove yet dang it lol. Is that a big concrete patch just past wildwood grove? Maybe that is the base of the new dark ride It's a paved parking area for maintenance and storage. It used to be where Wildwood Grove sits now, so it keeps getting moved as the park expands. It would make sense for them to launch the fireworks from here as it would be flat paved area that is clear of nearby structures. That has been assumption ever since they cleared the entire train loop. I could see them gradually expanding that way or doing a gondolier type attraction similar to what is at Anakeesta.

I've highlighted in red the area that has been cleared already and what will likely be the areas for the next expansion. Train loop is to the east from here and has a significant elevation change that will have to be dealt with to ever expand that way.

Google Earth has now been updated to include the Wildwood Grove expansion. It is pretty obvious where the expansion is going based off what has been cleared and the elevation to reach other areas that hasn't been cleared. I don't see them reaching the train loop in the next few years without some type of sky lift/gondolier system. The elevations difference it still too great to provide ADA access without major infrastructure improvements. Edit: It's just Google Earth that appears to have been updated. I'll take a snippet when I get to work tomorrow.

^The epicenter will be at the old Inventor's Mansion site. Big mistake tearing that down.

The Mafia.

There is also Lookout Mountain which has several attractions including Ruby Falls, Rock City, and an Inclined Railroad. Rock City is geared a little more towards kids but has some amazing views that include seeing seven different states on a clear day.

You know how you go in the main entrance and there are several levels of balconies that are visible.. when they are trying to drum up business the scare actors will jump from balcony to balcony when interested customers come in. They will also go out on the bridge and try and get customers. I can't wait until my kids get old enough to do this attraction again.

Mysterious Mansion is fantastic. It is incredible how the 2 or 3 scareactors keep up with you throughout the walkthrough. When we went several years ago, they were literally jumping balcony to balcony to keep up with the guests. I also think they have backstage areas that allow them to access different floors since one of them jumped down from the ceiling where just 30 seconds ago he jumped out at of us from a section that was a floor below that one. Interesting to note; the owner had garden hoses attached to much of the exterior structure that had several holes poked in them. Not sure if he anticipated a future wildfire, but when the bad one happened three years ago, he turned the water on before evacuating and it is very likely what saved the structure. Both adjacent buildings completely burned to the ground and the fire was probably less than 10' behind the building when it finally started raining and contained the spread. Ripley's is a good one to attend during the Halloween season. They do a special event and the house is littered with scare actors. I was surprised as I have also been during normal operations, and they do not staff more than a handful of actors. Thanks for the report.

^Thanks for the photo. I passed by Sunday and was surprised with how much work has been done since late December.

There wasn't any public reports of flooding so I would assume the park was fine. The creek that was shown in the video nearly overtopping in Gatlinburg had subsided to normal levels when we were in the area Saturday morning. So close call but everything looks like it made it through unscathed.

Agree the sphere is cool.

I was impressed with Sha-Kon-O-Hey especially with its Cirque influence. I really have only seen that and the Drive-In Theater so I don't have much else to say about the shows.

Keep in mind, the event can be sold out and you can still ride all of the rides with minimal wait. There is so much going on with the shows, the parade, and the candy spots that the heavier density of the crowds stay pretty much in the castle area and along the parade routes. Using the app to check wait times and making sure you don't get in a mass exodus from the parade/shows can help as they will tend to head straight to Space Mountain or Pirates. Catch the rides in Adventureland and Tomorrowland especially Space Mountain during one of the many runs of Hocus Pocus and it will be a ghost town over there.

^Agreed. That wasn't a proper analogy. The only issue that has directly been caused by RMC is the "pothole" at the bottom of the first hill and that appears to have been remedied.

I did mine at Opryland during what ended up being its last year of operation. All I remember is that our AP Physics teacher got his bank account compromised the night before and we spent the majority of the morning at his bank trying to get his account sorted. It was so packed when we got there that he basically said just do what you want and not worry about the Physics Day workbook.

They do indeed. Tried it when we were there last Summer.

They only give you like 3 pieces in the snack so you will probably need to order 3 or 4 to get your fix.

Construction is definitely moving along on this. Several footers and foundations are in place and visible from the parkway. Once actual slides start being constructed, I will do a photo update.

Yup! If you order the Batuu Bites, you get mozzarella. It's similar to the meet and cheese snack that you can get at Tutto Gusto.

Great report, Elissa! Did you get to try the mozzarella at Oga's?

Rode Wild Eagle tonight and didn't notice the vest tightening like it had in the past. After we got back to the station, I asked the ride op and he confirmed that they have modified the mechanics of the restraints so that they no longer tighten during the ride. So, same restraints but whatever mechanism that caused the red vest to tighten has been adjusted.

I'm heading down after work and will give it a courtesy ride to check out if the restraints changed. They bothered me especially after the final helix where it feels like they turn into a boa constrictor trying to squeeze my chest to death.

Hmm, if you were able to get on the ride in an hour or less, then why do they shut down the line at 3? Is it more of a maintenance reason? I originally thought they had to shut the line down early since the ride got such ridiculously long lines that they were still having people in line well after the park closed. This is what drives me crazy about Universal and why I find no need to go every time I'm in Orlando (which is becoming yearly now). They did the same thing with the water park; opening before all the kinks were worked out so they could compete with whatever Disney was introducing at the time. We noticed the same thing when we stayed at Cabana Bay several years ago. That thing seemed to be built faster than a Chinese skyscraper and you could notice imperfections and design flaws all over the room.