AmyUD06

Where's that guy who was saying a Fortnite-themed attraction would be an eternal success?

This makes sense. Thanks! I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for the input, even if it is minimal! Awesome, yeah that's sensible. Thanks for the input! Message received haha! Thanks!

That actually makes a ton of sense, and sounds like a great solution! Thanks for the reply.

Thanks. That's one of the options my thought process was bouncing between.

That is certainly a good way of looking at it! It does help, Bert. You're one of the people I was looking forward to hearing from the most, given your residence in one of the states-with-unfriendly-governments. I get what you're saying, which was my gut original reaction. And that's exactly how I would have done a Dollywood trip given the current circumstances (staying on property and not patronizing neighboring businesses), but I guess I was still concerned that Dollywood pays taxes and those go to support their bigoted government. I guess that's not that much in the grand scheme of things, is it? Thanks for the reply!

(I'm posting this here since I didn't really think it belonged in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, and Donkeys, but if I was mistaken, please move the thread.) DISCLAIMER: This post will contain political themes that are pro-LGBTQ+ rights and pro-women's bodily autonomy. If this sort of thing offends you to the level that you feel it necessary to provide non-constructive commentary, please move along. ***** As most of you who live in the US should probably be aware, many states are passing (or have introduced with good likelihood of passing) laws that take extremely harmful actions against members of the LGBTQ+ community: from effectively banning medical treatments (not just for minors), to outlawing people wearing clothes that don't match their birth gender, to preventing people from using the bathroom that matches their presentation, to eliminating any reference to LGBTQ+ people from classrooms, and the list goes on and on. This does not even begin to describe the continual attacks on women's bodily autonomy or education of black history from these same states. I'm lucky enough to live in a solidly-good-politically state, but I had planned a road trip for this summer that took me through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, including my first ever visit to Dollywood, which has been a park I've very much wanted to experience. Tennessee is, as we all know, the home to Dollywood, and also one of the states that has passed some of the worst laws, one of which could be interpreted to criminalize my existence. While I do not have much actual concern for my safety were I to travel there, I certainly would not want to give any fiscal support to a state government that enables such things. The same thought process applies to many of those states listed - Do I want to support places with my tourism dollars that are endangering women's health, supporting anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, and actively harming people like me in their states? My question for others, especially those that do plenty of travel for parks, is how do you rectify this in your mind? Do you simply choose to not go to these parks? Do you justify it with a "well, I'm giving my business to Park X, which I know does not share the state government's views, so it's okay" - knowing that the state still gets taxes from that park/hotel and any ancillary supported businesses (food, fuel, etc)? Something else entirely? Like, I know I was never going to Dubai or Saudi Arabia for any of their parks regardless of what rides were put in, but this is right here in my own country. Perhaps I just need to get accustomed to that reality... I'm sorry if this all sounds disconnected and rant-y...but it's something I've been struggling with these past few months and would appreciate any advice that anyone might have to provide. Any thoughts on this topic (other than "it's good that states are doing these things") are extremely welcome. If anyone doesn't feel comfortable answering publicly, feel free to PM me your thoughts. Even if you don't have a response, thanks for reading my venting. (Sorry to call you out, but I'm especially looking for thoughts from @SharkTums, @bert425, @Nrthwnd, @coasterbill, @ytterbiumanalyst, and @KBrylczyk. Thanks if you can provide any insight.)

Yeah, the Free for passholders is a no-brainer (unlike when they tried to charge passholders for the Coaster Power Hours last year), but the non-passholder price is flat out ridiculous. Elissa, I didn't see where the upcharge attractions were going to be free? If that is the case, then yeah the price makes sense.

https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/events/scream-break It's $40+fees for night time only. Again, 3 HOURS. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah.

Yeah. Though nothing has been announced, the prevailing theory (based on that site as well as the hours posted in the calendar) is that they're going to a "separately gated event" model like Carowinds or the Universal Parks.

Okay. Pretty sure this could go in the SF Corporate Thread, if anywhere?

Well, it was possibly the worst coaster I've ever ridden when I went on it last year, so any improvement is welcome. That said, wasn't it literally just closed for like five years for "complete retracking" in 2016/2017?

If I had kids, I think I'd prefer this to the Skyline racing coasters going to the other parks. This does not leave me with any worries about consistent operations; those do.

Hey now, the new restaurant on the beach could be really good? And they might announce something about Dragster during the season, you never know haha.

@Haymaker You will have a PM in a few minutes demonstrating our point; not trying to clutter the thread with off-topic-ness. I expect a public apology to Bert and myself.

I predict it will be "the carousel renovation completion has been pushed back to 2025."

Maybe the Dragster renovations are why Forbidden Frontier had to close...thinking expansion of the layout. LOL. In all seriousness, if it means I don't have to walk longer to get to Blood on the Bayou than it took to walk through it, no complaints from me.

My friend, it's 2023. Trying to defending bigots is not a good look for anyone.

Disappointing, but anticipated given that all of the other CF parks have done away with their custom Mac-n-Cheese places. And good riddance to Hate Chicken.

I would not describe the Vekoma vest restraints (which is what this is) as anything even close to "comfort collars." It's nearly identical to B&Ms vest system, so whatever your opinion of those is, you'll probably have the same opinion of these. Personally, I love them....especially on something like a boomerang where head-banging is normally the name of the game.

Smart move. Nothing on TikTok deserves more air.

The laughs keep coming... https://pix11.com/news/local-news/new-jersey/nj-officials-probe-safety-of-water-park-at-american-dream-after-decorative-helicopter-fall-report/

Seriously, very lucky for those below the thing. I'm almost almost starting to feel bad for this place for being the subject of so press attention. Then again, they basically robbed the taxpayers of NJ (including my parents) to build this place and are continually defaulting on their debts...so I don't feel too bad LOL.

I had a Palace Platinum Pass this past year; I didn't think it was a shit show. Yeah, at some parks, you need to go to Guest Relations to get a paper ticket first, but that wasn't a big deal. Sometimes the parking clerks were confused but they all resolved it within a few minutes. Don't forget about the Preview Night at Hershey park; you won't be spending all day at Dorney unless you're doing the water park too. I would leave the Elysburg area Wednesday morning; as you said Lakemont doesn't open until 4:30 and you won't spend more than an hour there even if both coasters are running (which isn't a guarantee). You probably also won't spend more than an hour or two at DelGrosso's, especially if you're not doing the water park.

I can only speak to KD, and a little on Carowinds: 1. Yeah, a full open-to-close day at each park should be sufficient, provided you don't want to do the water parks and you're going on a weekday. I see you're going in April, so water parks will not be a concern. 2. No downside to waiting to buy Fast Lane at either Cedar Fair park; I've never seen them sell out outside of the Haunt season. Probably won't be needed if you're going on a weekday. 3. As you can tell, weekdays will be comparably dead compared to weekends. KD is still on weekend only operations in mid-April, and so is Carowinds, so that might not be an option for you. Unless you're going during one of their spring break weeks (which are different), then yeah it could be packed. 4. Most people will tell you spend the extra day at BGW, but I'm going to say KD, especially if you value thrills over theming. Intimidator and Twisted Timbers blow pretty much everything at BGW out of the water.