robbalvey

Huh. Maybe I'm just not invested enough in the characters to get emotional or I just felt that everything I expected to happen in this film happened, but at no point did I feel the slightest bit of "sadness" in any way towards anything that happened in the movie that would lead me to even think about "crying." I also perhaps, just don't take comic book super hero movies THAT seriously, because, you know... they can travel through time and fall off buildings smashing into the ground or get punched in the face with giant weapons without showing a single scratch, but that's just me!

Here's the POV of Yukon Striker that Canada's Wonderland provided during the media event:

We are looking for someone who can attend the media day for Wildwood Grove on May 10th! If you are able to go, can shoot photos & video and post a trip report to the TPR Forum please email me: robbalvey@themeparkreview.com ASAP! Thank you!

Nah. To be fair, once it's had it's opening weekend, I think it's all fair game to talk about, IMO. And you're right about "closing chapters" but you know what I mean... if Marvel ever wanted to go back and be all "Crap, we need this character again..." there is now a fall back plan. I mean how many times have we seen Loki come back to life now throughout the different movies?

Yes and no. And I will answer that question more when the film had been out a few days. Let's just say that now that time travel has been introduced, IMO, no deaths are ever final. I mean, some of the deaths you thought for sure would stick in Infinity War were reversed, because... well... time travel. So now anything should be possible, right? If Marvel wanted to reverse some things that happened in this film, they now have the plot spackle to do that with.

Avengers: Endgame Review! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! While I'm not going to give away any "major" spoilers of the film, I am going to talk about the movie and some of the plot points, so if you want to avoid knowing ANYTHING about the movie at all, STOP READING RIGHT NOW! I think it would be impossible to talk about the film without talking about some of what happens in the film, otherwise my review would just be: IT'S GREAT! SERIOUSLY A LOT OF FUN! GO SEE IT! Let me first start off by talking about Infinity War since this movie pretty much picks right up where that left off. I'll be honest...I wasn't the biggest fan of Infinity War. (as you can see from that review!) To me, Infinity War didn't feel like an "Avengers" movie. It was disjointed, all over the place, lacked the heart and wit that I was used to from other Avengers movies, and at one point I even thought to myself "Is this an AVENGERS movie or a GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY film???" Thankfully, Endgame fixes a lot of that! The film is back to the core Avengers working together (with a few extras hands in the mix) with that same wit and charm as you've been used to in the first set of films featuring these characters. In fact, there are scenes in this film that I absoultely laughed out loud and that's exactly what I was looking for in these Marvel movies. I consider myself a "casual" Marvel Cinematic Universe fan. Out of the 22 films, I've probably seen 15 or 16 of them, and while I generally like the characters, I'm not that invested in them. But that being said, this was a film where it was easy to cheer on the "good guys" and with them all working together again, it was exactly what I wanted to see. I do feel that the movie was fairly predictable and, at least to me, there were no "OMG I can't believe that just happened" surprising moments. Everything that I expected to happen, happened. And that's not really a "bad" thing. You kind of new they needed to "fix" everything that happened in Infinity War, because, if they didn't, they wouldn't be the Avengers, right? What I did find interesting is the introduction of "time travel" to the Marvel Universe. We had a hint of in Dr. Strange, but now we've got full on time machines, and by the end of the film, time travel almost seemed to be kind of a casual thing. Which makes me think "Huh... they can pretty much change any plot point they want now from any past film" because they've set that precedent in this film. And don't worry, giving away that plot point really didn't give away too much of the film. I mean, if you didn't figure out that they had to fix everything from Part 1, then, well, sorry, your expectations were not correct! Trust me, there are far worse spoilers I could give away! I will say that it was nice to see everyone back again and there were a few "hero moments" that really stood out and I'm sure in a full theater will erupt in cheers (me personally, I prefer these media screenings with a small group of people mostly keeping to themselves!) I liked that the film didn't play out as one giant fight scene after another. It was clever, had some really touching moments, and they saved that big bad-ass fight for the grand finale (as it should be!) It almost played out more as a "quest" movie than a constant comic book action film. I appreciated that. As a "casual fan" I felt that this movie was a HUGE WIN! Honestly, I'd probably put it up there in the "best" of the Marvel films I've seen. I'm sure it will do crazy big numbers this weekend and I'll be curious to know if my thoughts and musings match other peoples or if I end up having another "unpopular opinion" like my Infinity War review! lol Overall: GO SEE IT!!! ENDGAME IS GREAT!!! ps. Oh yeah, you kind of need to have seen the ending post-credit clip from Captain Marvel. So if you haven't seen that yet, Google it. I'm sure it's out there somewhere...

COASTING FOR KIDS IS BACK! Theme Park Review is once again partnering with Give Kids The World in their largest year yet of Coasting For Kids. The event is being hosted at 16 different theme parks on a variety of dates, and all offering unique ERTs. In the links below, you can join the Team TPR at the respective parks and help us take home the award for Top Team while raising money to fulfill wishes for children with critical illnesses. By signing up and fundraising at least $100, you can earn access to the event at the park of your choice. Think of it this way: By asking 10 friends for $10, you’ll bring joy to wish kids and have a blast at your local theme park. Once you hit your fundraising minimum, you’ll head to the theme park, throw on your Coasting For Kids T-Shirt, and ride your favorite rides all day long! PARTICIPATING PARKS: Join Team TPR and support Coasting For Kids at your local park! Use your social media to help promote and gain donations to your Team TPR page! ------------------------------------------------ LEGOLAND Florida: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRLEGOLAND Date: Saturday, May 4 Schedule 9:00am - Registration near Main Entrance 9:45am - Group photo 10:00am - All-day access to LEGOLAND, including THE LEGO® MOVIE WORLD 10:00am - LEGOLAND Florida Resort scavenger hunt begins ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags Darien Lake: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsDarienLake Date: Saturday, May 11 Schedule 9:00am - Registration 9:30am - ERT access to 3 roller coasters prior to park open 10:30am - All-day access to Six Flags Darien Lake ------------------------------------------------ Quassy: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRQuassy Date: Saturday, June 8 Schedule 9:30am - Registration 10:00am - ERT access to Wooden Warrior and Little Dipper 11:00am - All-day access to Quassy Amusement Park ------------------------------------------------ Sesame Place: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSesamePlace Date: Saturday, June 8 Schedule 8:15am - Registration 8:45am - Opening remarks from Pam Landwirth, President and CEO of Give Kids The World 9:00am - ERT access to Oscar's Wacky Taxi and Vapor Trail 10:00am - All-day access to Sesame Place ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags Over Texas: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsOverTexas Date: Saturday, June 22 Schedule 8:00am - Registration 8:30am - ERT access to New Texas Giant and Titan 10:30am - Ceremony 11:00am - All-day access to Six Flags Over Texas ------------------------------------------------ Silverwood: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSilverwood Date: Saturday, June 29 Schedule 9:30am - Registration 10:00am - ERT access to Timber Terror and Tremors 11:00am - All-day access to Silverwood Theme Park ------------------------------------------------ Story Land: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRStoryLand Date: Saturday, July 13 Schedule 8:30am – Check-in 9:00am – Exclusive ride time on Polar Coaster 9:30am – Exclusive ride time on Roar-O-Saurus 10:00am - All-day access to Story Land ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags Fiesta Texas: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsFiestaTexas Date: Saturday, July 20 Schedule 8:30am - Registration and continental breakfast 9:30am - ERT access to Joker, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman 10:30am - All-day access to Six Flags Fiesta Texas ------------------------------------------------ Indiana Beach: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRIndianaBeach Date: Saturday, August 3 Schedule 8:30am - Registration 9:00am - ERT access to Hoosier Hurricane, Cornball Express, Lost Coaster, Steel Hawg, Falling Star, Music Express and Log Flume 10:00am - All-day access to Indiana Beach Amusement Resort ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags Over Georgia: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsOverGeorgia Date: Sunday, August 11 Schedule 8:30am - Registration 9:00am - ERT access to Twisted Cyclone and Georgia Scorcher 10:00am - All-day access to Six Flags Over Georgia ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags America: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsAmerica Date: Friday, August 16 (National Roller Coaster Day) Schedule 8:30am – Registration and continental breakfast with refreshments 9:30am - ERT access on Wild One, Superman and Firebird* 10:30am - All-day access to Six Flags America *Must raise $300 for access to Firebird ------------------------------------------------ Fantasy Island: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRFantasyIsland Date: Saturday, August 17 Schedule 8:30am - Registration 9:00am - ERT access to two roller coasters 10:00am - All day access to Fantasy Island Amusement Park ------------------------------------------------ Frontier City: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRFrontierCity Date: Saturday, August 17 Schedule 10:00am - Check-in 10:30am - All-day access to Frontier City 10:00pm - ERT access to Wildcat, Silver Bullet and Steel Lasso after park close 11:00pm - Event ends ------------------------------------------------ Six Flags Great Escape: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsGreatEscape Date: Saturday, August 24 Schedule 9:00am - Registration 9:30am – ERT access to Steamin' Demon, Canyon Blaster, Bumper Cars and Condor 10:30am - All-day access to Six Flags Great Escape ------------------------------------------------ Kennywood: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRKennywood Date: Sunday, September 1 Schedule 9:00am - Registration 9:30am - ERT access to Steel Curtain and Jack Rabbit 10:30am - All-day access to Kennywood ------------------------------------------------ Join Team TPR and support Coasting For Kids at your local park!

Here we have full onride POV of the new coaster! Enjoy....

Having been back there myself several times, I'm pretty sure those two buildings to the left of Gadget's Go Coaster are just double-wide trailers. And the building just above Mickey's House probably could be re-purposed as well.

I rode Tigris today! Here's our full video with lots of different shots from different angles!

lol! Saying "In case you aren't aware..." to us about a Broadway Musical is like when someone says "Oh, did you know there's this park called Dollywood..." or something. As Elissa said... yes... VERY aware, and finally seeing the show in a few weeks after having been on our list ever since it first premiered!

Looking for someone who could attend the Kentucky Flyer media event on the evening of April 25th for TPR. I would need photos & video taken and a trip report posted. Please email at robbalvey@themeparkreview.com if you're interested in attending! Thank you!

Dear Evan Hansen Review So tonight I got to see the touring version of Dear Evan Hansen at the Dr. Phillips Center here in Orlando. Let me just mention that the cast for this tour is *ABSOULTELY INCREDIBLE!* And the fact that this show only has a cast of eight people still blows me away! That being said, so here's some of my thoughts and musings I have about the show... First, I love the music... *LOVE* it! I don't think there is a single Broadway playlist I have that doesn't include the entire of Act one of this show. It's rare that there is a show where I don't skip at least one song in an act, but I feel as though Act I of Dear Evan Hansen is about as perfect as a musical gets as far its songs are concerned. Second, I will say that when I was first exposed to this musical, I really was not a fan, but it most certainly grew on me over time. And I think one of the major reasons why I wasn't a fan at first is that I have trouble getting into a show where I feel like I cannot connect, at least in some way, with the main character... and I still have that issue now, unfortunately. I have kind of a love/hate relationship with this show, similar with my thoughts on Hamilton, where there are parts of the show that I seriously, absolutely *LOVE* but then there are other things that keep me from really liking it 100%. With Hamilton it is the rap music, with Dear Evan Hansen it is the main character. Evan is not a "good" person. And without giving away too many spoilers of the show, let's just say he gets caught up in his own lie, accidentally at first, but then throughout the show it is made very clear to the audience that Evan has a personal agenda and he's using that lie to his advantage. He's not a "likable" character by any means, and for me personally, probably my favorite parts of the narrative is when the inevitable scenario occurs where he finally gets caught up in his lie. He deserves everything that happens to him. While Act 1 plays out like a mostly upbeat rock musical with very funny and engaging moments, Act 2 kind of plays out more like an episode of Three's Company where it is just one big "misunderstanding" after the next and the audience is just waiting for the lies that were told to finally catch up to the main character. There are a lot of moments where the audience is to feel "sad" for Evan, and while you do, you also can't help but to think "he knew what he was doing and he did this to himself." All that being said, Dear Evan Hansen is a *GREAT* show for the music and story in Act 1 alone. While I'm not as big of a fan of Act 2, it does serve as nice conclusion to the show with a couple of good songs thrown in. I also want to mention the staging. The minimalist sets with the "social media projections" work FANTASTIC! The entire show feels like a HUGE production, which is why I'm so amazing that there are only 8 cast members that come out at the curtain call. You look at them and think "Wait??? That's IT?!!??! That's ALL the members of this cast???" It does not feel like a small show at all! This has been such a wonderful season at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando. Such big-ticket shows this season: Hamilton, Hello Dolly, Anastasia, Come From Away, Fiddler on the Roof, Jersey Boys, etc... WOW!!! And the recent announcement of for next season is bringing some of my all-time FAVORITE shows back to Orlando! Miss Saigon and Les Miserables, which I've recently seen the updated productions are FANTASTIC NOT TO BE MISSED! Along with some of my recent favorite Broadway shows Mean Girls, Aladdin, and other classic My Fair Lady, 2019/2020 is going to be another stellar year for Broadway in Orlando! If you are a local to Orlando we highly recommend getting season tickets, or if you are in town for the theme parks, be sure to check their schedule and add a Broadway show to your vacation plans! https://www.drphillipscenter.org/ The outside of the Dr. Phillips Center looks FANTASTIC! So happy they've been themeing the theater for the shows this season! Just sat down... there is not a bad seat in this venue! Kristen is super excited to see the show! This was the "Put away your cell phone" message! I love the use of screens in this show. The cast was just phenomenal! These guys NAILED IT just as good as their Broadway counterparts! The first time I saw the pictures of the sets, I wasn't sure what to make of it. The stating is very untraditional but it works and it is blows my mind to watch some of the lighting and visual production in this show. And this is jaw-dropping. That's the cast! The ENTIRETY of the cast! Eight people! Yet it feels like a HUGE production with a full ensemble. Great job everyone! Construction update!!! We are so psyched about the next phase of the Dr. Phillips center bringing Steinmetz Hall, a third venue for shows in 2020! This theater will feature 1,700 seats and I can't wait to see some of the performances put on in this new theater! Go Orlando!

Here: https://www.facebook.com/themeparkreview/videos/577527319422599/

Keep in mind this is not the first time they've "closed" this ride. I guess if we see the attraction actually being torn out, then it's gone for good. But this is at least the second, maybe third time it's been closed!

And think about it this way - Have you ever been to the Orlando parks during the holidays? They are INSANE busy filled with hundreds of thousands of people visiting them each day combined. I guarantee you there are people riding Hulk, Mako, Kumba, etc, all for their very first time that would then in turn add them to their ranking for that year. Same thing is also going on in SoCal. And with parks like Dollywood & Silver Dollar City doing holiday events, you'll have people riding Lightning Rod and Outlaw Run for their very first time in December. Not to mention many European parks and Australian parks are also open. There's just too many chances to ride GREAT coasters throughout the entirety of the winter that I wouldn't want to shut them out. Oh, please! This is a *REAL* award system based on actual *REAL* experience! I take the Golden Tickets about as seriously as I take prizes won in a Cracker Jacks box! (is that even still a thing?)

How many fans of Montezooma's Revenge do we have?

Absoultely not! Case in point. I rode this for my first time during the month of December (December 23rd, I believe) and it would absoultely change the way I rank things: It makes less sense to me to have a "2018 poll" where the cut off is two or three months before 2018 ends than it does for me to have a 2019 poll that only featured 2018 coasters.

We already have a name for it. It's called the "20xx TPR Coaster Poll."

So here's some more food for thought.... If we did this for a number of years and had a list of clickable links for the coaster poll results... 2017 Poll Results 2018 Poll Results 2019 Poll Results 2020 Poll Results 2021 Poll Results etc..... If someone wanted to see the results from the year Steel Vengeance opened.... they'd click 2018 not 2019, right? Hmmmm.....

But that would be a VERY small percentage considering most parks aren't open in January and the poll doesn't include any 2019 coasters. Even if we called it the '2019 TPR Coaster Poll" we would not say it was based on rides taken in 2019 because that would be mostly false information.

Probably my #1 reason for siding with 2019 if I had to choose. Media may not pick up "2018 poll" because they might think it's last years results.

I don't disagree with you (and secretly side with you on this if I was forced to choose) but here's my Devil's Advocate rebuttal... Had we called the 2017 poll the 2018 poll and people who searched for the results and found them towards the end of 2018, people would have instantly said "Where's Steel Vengeance?" (Because people are idiots and don't read.) So we would have kept explaining that the results were for coasters ridden during the 2017 calendar year and don't include the coasters that opened in 2018. But that also being said, people who searched and found the poll at the end of 2018 might have thought the poll was not the current one, which it was. THIS IS WHY I'M SO CONFLICTED!!! Honestly, I'm ok with either title because I feel they are equally as potentially confusing but I just wanted to get everyone else's input.

We are pretending that the 2017 poll didn't exist, though since that was a "beta test." We want to think about this moving forward. So what is the best option for the years to come. Appreciate the feedback!

PLEASE READ THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU VOTE!!! We need your input on something! The TPR Coaster Poll will always be held in the early part of the current year, but rank LAST YEARS coasters and riding experience. So what should the TPR Coaster Poll be referred to? The 2018 TPR Coaster Poll or The 2019 TPR Coaster Poll? Should the title reflect the year that the poll is conducted and the awards are given or should the year reflect the time frame in which the data is based on? Let me give you two examples: The Oscars are considered the "2019 Oscars" but they reflect the films of 2018. The TEA Theme Park Attractions report came out in 2018, but it's called the 2017 report since that is the year the data is based on. Either way there are pros and cons where no matter which we choose could be a little confusing. But which would you prefer? Please take our TPR Coaster Poll Poll and also comment below why you chose what you did! Thank you! This helps quite a lot!