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Hi TPR Minions. Serious question: We know that lots of parks discount off of the entry price with coupons and soda cans and multi-day tickets and such, but do you know of parks with premium pricing on busier days and/or seasons? I know Efteling and BillyBird Park have seasonal pricing (right now it's only €29 entry for Efteling), and Slagharen has a calendar with three different prices depending on quiet, average, and busy days. Anyone seen such pricing schemes showing up at any USA parks? Thanks for your help guys!

Hi Robb! Thanks for checkin' it out!

First, thank you so much for checking out the report. Last year's got so many looks so I was hoping for similar results this year. Oh well. But thanks for showing the love. Second, that's a good question about which parks were new...almost all of them except the Texas parks, USH, and every park on Middle America was new except for Holiday World. DAMN I forgot a park! I feel so stupid but now I realize that I forgot Efteling because I didn't see a photo in the 2010 collection. Gotta look...thanks guys!

I am no fan of "Shoot the Freak" but Zamperla is behaving nearly as badly as Joe Sitt and Thor Equities. Illegally booting out the local businesses that have stuck around during the hard times is not the way to endear yourself to Coney Island fans. Ham-handed at the least. But it's not just me, the City of New York is finally taking notice that their "concessionaire" is behaving idiotically and has slapped them with a fine: Coney Island amusement giant slapped with $5,000 fine after knocking down Shoot the Freak BY Erin Durkin DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Friday, December 31st 2010, 4:00 AM The city slapped amusement giant Zamperla with a $5,000 fine Thursday for illegally razing Coney Island's Shoot the Freak. The company tore down the Boardwalk game and boarded up the property last week without a permit, Buildings Department officials said. The city issued a stop-work order to bar further demolition. Shoot the Freak is one of nine Boardwalk businesses that Zamperla is trying to boot to make way for glitzier attractions. The eviction battle is still pending in court. "In the middle of the night they come and raze my place and knock it down without building permits or nothing," said Shoot the Freak owner Anthony Berlingieri. "This is all about greed." He said he's glad Zamperla will pay for the move but is still devastated the game is gone. "It's an empty lot, like if Shoot the Freak was never there," he said. Zamperla spokesman Tom Corsillo said it has "instructed its contractor to fully cooperate with the Buildings Department investigation." Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/12/31/2010-12-31_ya_cant_just_shoot_freak_pay_5000.html#ixzz19hFWcSwm

Nice report. There are a bunch of far-flung parts of China that I'd love to explore.

I could have sworn that I did a Wiener Prater report but I can't find it so I guess I didn't! Prater was okay...we loved the scenic railway and the nature park and the atmosphere and the food. But the park is definitely run down. The Zamperla flying was down because of the accident but we couldn't find any physical evidence of the accident even though 3 people were injured. I'm having deja vu because I thought I wrote about all this already. Anyway, thanks for looking Larry. This 69 photo thing took a long time.

Happy Holidays, everyone! It's that time of year: Every park that we hit in 2010...71(!) parks...one photo per park, and excluding Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas, as it's exclusively a water park. Overall, I think the quality of the photography is lacking this year, maybe just because we went to too many damn parks. Notable this year that two of the parks we visited no longer exist, although one was really just an FEC. Anyway, thanks for checking it out. (Just added a forgotten park at the end!) Plopsaland Hasselt Disneyland Disney's California Adventure Universal Studios Hollywood Six Flags Magic Mountain (WCB) Alton Towers Camelot Theme Park Lightwater Valley Pleasure Island Family Theme Park Fantasy Island (UK) Botton's Pleasure Beach Drayton Manor West Midlands Safari & Leisure Park Blackbeard's Cave Funtown Pier Knott's Berry Farm (Whoops, should have come after SFMM, also WCB) Jenkinson's Boardwalk Keansburg Bonbon Land Bakken Tivoli Gardens Fun City (Sweden) Liseberg Fårup Sommerland Tivoli Karolinelund (Founded by the Lind Family in 1946 - Defunct 2010) Tivoli Friheden Djurs Sommarland Six Flags America Canobie Lake Park Wild Adventures Dixieland Fun Park Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom Magic Forest Park Jeepers! (Albany, NY - Just found out: Defunct!) Clementon Park & Splash World Luna Park (Coney Island) Six Flags Fiesta Texas Sea World San Antonio Nickelodeon Universe (TPR Middle America Tour) Adventureland (IA) (TPR Middle America Tour) Hoffman's Playland (another oops, should be after Magic Forest) Worlds of Fun (TPR Middle America Tour) Silver Dollar City (TPR Middle America Tour) Six Flags St. Louis (TPR Middle America Tour) Holiday World (TPR Middle America Tour) Indiana Beach (TPR Middle America Tour) Six Flags Great America (TPR Middle America Tour) Mount Olympus (TPR Middle America Tour) Timber Falls Adventure Park (TPR Middle America Tour) Knuckleheads (TPR Middle America Tour) Valleyfair! (TPR Middle America Tour) Speelpark Duinen Zathe Speelstad Oranje Drouwenerzand Attractiepark Hansa Park Heide Park Wiener Prater Vidámpark Sea World Orlando Universal Islands of Adventure Universal Studios Orlando Magic Kingdom Old Town Fun Spot USA Busch Gardens Tampa EPCOT Parque Warner Madrid Parque de Atracciones Madrid Efteling

Nice job with everything above. My personal disappointments were 1. Colossos being down during our Heide Park trip (and I understand that it wasn't down just for a day or two), and 2. I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but the failure of Battlestar Gallactica at Universal Singapore to keep it's seats on the trains! Shades of Ghost Town In The Sky... 3. Finally, the announced demolition of Eagles Fortress. I know this was a long time coming, but the final nail hurts the most. PS Thanks to those who are speaking truth to NYC and Zamperla. Luna Park is, I'm sorry, pretty lame, and they're managing it in a way that would make Joe Sitt and Thor Equities proud.

67 parks this year (not including Schlitterbahn). Look for our one photo per park report coming up soon. In chronological order of visit: Plopsaland Indoor Hasselt Disneyland Disney's California Adventure Universal Studios Hollywood Six Flags Magic Mountain Knott's Berry Farm Alton Towers Camelot Theme Park Lightwater Valley Pleasure Island Fantasy Island Botton's Pleasure Beach Drayton Manor West Midlands Safari and Leisure Park Blackbeard's Cave Family Entertainment Center Jenkinson's Boardwalk Keansburg BonBon Land Bakken Tivoli Gardens Fun City Liseberg Fårup Sommerland Tivoli Karolinelund Tivoli Friheden Djurs Sommerland Six Flags America Canobie Lake Park Wild Adventures Dixieland Fun Park Six Flags Over Georgia Luna Park (Coney Island) Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom Magic Forest Park Hoffman's Playland Jeepers! Clementon Park Six Flags Fiesta Texas Nickelodeon Universe Adventureland (Iowa) Worlds of Fun Silver Dollar City Six Flags St. Louis Holiday World Indiana Beach Six Flags Great America Mt. Olympus Timber Falls Adventure Park Knucklehead's Bowling & Family Entertainment Valleyfair! Attractiepark Duinen Zathe Speelstad Oranje Drouwenerzand Attractiepark Hansa Park Heide Park Wiener Prater Vidámpark Sea World Orlando Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Universal Studios Florida Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom Old Town Fun Spot Busch Gardens Africa Walt Disney World - EPCOT Parque Warner Madrid Parque de Atracciones Madrid

Yay, a new park today! Part V? BGTampa! The Dark Continent! Yay, a new park! Yay, a liger coaster! Whoa, is this a new animal interaction? Yay!!!! Yaaaayyyyyyy! You get to feed these guys. Yayyyyayyy! Feeding and petting kangaroos and wallabys is fun. Yay, giant insects. Yay, Big Bird! He's so tall he can see the top of my new Sheikra hat. Yay, new credit!!! Yay, Grover kicks ass! Yay, Sheikra!!!! Yay, Jungala!!! Hello, sir. Yow, a giant tiger! Whoa! Yaaaaayyyyyy! Yay, Cheetah Hunt excavation! Yay, more Cheetah Hunt! Not much later, we headed out to the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa and won us a little moolah. Yaaayyy! And to cap off a great day, we met up with super Eric Johnson (from TPR Tokyo 2008) and his partner Kevin for a great dinner at Tijuana Flats Burrito Co. Much fun and fellowship! Thanks for checking out this segment. Last one coming up!

Thanks for the update. We jogged nearby during the TPR Middle America Tour this past summer but we didn't get so close and didn't have cameras. I think the lousy economy doomed this park, and until Branson travel and tourism rebounds to pre-crisis levels, rides will continue to move out of town.

Part IV is here!!!! Universal plus bonus credits, yay! Plus I found an easter egg in TPR when you type the word that starts with the letter "L" and means the place where can store your wallet and keys and stuff while on the ride. Watch this: The word is: Locker! Isn't that crazy? I typed L-O-C-K-E-R and that's what I got! Crazy! YAAAAYYYYY! But yay, breakfast at the Three Broomsticks! Yay, Gringott's has an ATM here! Yay, my best shot of Hogwarts! Yay, there are giant prehistoric dinosaurs right near Hogwarts! And double yay, we got to ride with Cincinnati Mike and Julie! Though I don't have a pic for some reason...? Yay, "storage facilities" in Hogsmeade are free for a period that is based on the current queue length! That free period is slightly shorter than the queue length! Yay for Universal's cash flow!!! Yay, night has fallen and we've gone to our fourth park of the trip... Yay, Old Town! When you ride so many coasters, people ask if ever get scared. Well, I kid you not, this was one of the scariest we've ever been on. We thought we were going to die. Yay! Yay, another park credit! Thanks for checking out the update! Final part coming tomorrow!!! Lockers! Yayyyy!

Huzzah was also on my mind! You are a mind reader Chuck! Or is that clever cat that pulls your strings? Say hello to that cat for me!

Looks pretty chilly for C. Florida! Nice report!

Heh heh, yes, living the dream! And lots of weekend trips. And Loopover, I did not know that about the sound effects, how cool is that! Thanks to everyone for checking out our report. Bob's right, we've been going crazy the last few years, and TPR gives us validation! Thanks to TPR and you readers. Which brings us to Part III of the Orlando adventure.... What's this? It's dark, MK is closing early, and we're still heading into the park? Yay! Yay, CMs are dressed up all special! Hang on, it's November 8th! This must be the very first Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party of 2010! Yay! And my camera is the worst nighttime camera in the world, or I am the worst nighttime photographer in the world, or a combination of both. Yaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!!!! Yay, cookies and hot cocoa!!!!! Yay! Yay, it's a hard ticket event, and I think Jack designed one of the party logos! Needed some real food before overdosing on cookies and hot chocolate. What's this? Yay, touch-screen credit-card-accepting order kiosks at Pecos Bill Cafe! Yayyyy! Yay, live entertainment! Yay, Smee! Yay, Hook! Yay, walk-on to my all-time fave attraction! Yay, Ho, Ho, Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me! Yay!!! Horace Horsecollar sighted for only the second time in 60 years! Yay, it's temporary sweeper CM water art! Yay, it's snowing! Yay, I finally got a decent shot! Yay, fresh fruit! Thanks again everyone for checking out this report. More to come in Part IV!

Yay, someone likes my report! And yay, you quoted Hitchhiker's Guide!

That's such a gorgeous park and it looks like they do a very nice holiday shin-dig! Thanks for the great pics!

Part II is our first day Universal! Yay, we got a really good parking space after paying for super amazing preferred parking! Yay, we're at a resort! Yay, it's Islands of Adventure! Yay, all the shops are decorated for the holidays! Yay, Seuss Landing! I've never been here, so we're coming back! Yay, who is that guy? Yay, Hogsmeade! Yay, Honeydukes! But don't buy Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans...they're disgusting. And they're $10-15 for a small box of jellybeans. Chocolate Frogs are also $10-15. Sheesh. Yay, first credit of the day!!!! Um, early access to Wizarding World is great, but Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is down, so Yay! One of these is a new credit! And Yay, Harry Potter ride was amazing! Yay, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride and we have Express Pass! Yay, The Lorax gets a major refurb! Yay, this is a really cool custom flat! Yay, we're riding The Cat in The Hat! And look at the $35 scarves from Hogwarts! Yay, Gamma Rays have completely screwed up Dr. Bruce Banner's DNA! Yay, Spider-Man ride vehicle! Yay, we're moving on to Universal Studios! Yay, someone's about to get a giant credit at Rip Ride Rockit, which has recently reopened! Yaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Wow. And thanks to Jack Crouse for the art!!!!!! Yay, another credit! Yay, Krustyland!!! Yay, it's Jack and Jacqi again!!!!! Thanks for checking it out! Mickey's Very Merry Coming Up Later!

When it gets to November, one has to fly a little farther to stretch out the season. So it was off to Orlando, Florida. Yay, Sea World Orlando! Yay, very cool part of Manta! Yay, Kraken is open, unlike the last time we were here! And we have Quick Queue even though it's not really that crowded! Yay! Yay, it's Jack and Jacqi out at Sea World with us!!! Yay, Kraken lift hill! Yay, Kraken eggs! Yay, Kraken! Yay, Manta sign! Yay, dippin' dots in November! Yay, sharks and rays! Yay, Manta loops! Yay, sea cows! This is my favorite animal exhibit at Sea World. Yay, sunny Florida! Yay, Orca-themed Nascar! Yay, the Crouses and a dolphin with us! Yay, orcas are huge! Yay, a sea-quatic carousel! Yay, a show! Coming up in part two, Universal IOA and Universal Studios! Thanks for checking out the report!

Very nice video filipv! I didn't know they had anything like this in Hasselt. Good stuff.

LOL! I'm American, actually, from New Jersey. I just work here. Coincidentally, I actually studied at the University of Minnesota for three years! I love your state very much too. I guess you're right, the longer distance train rides can run into the big euros, especially on student budgets. I sometimes hear my German students complaining about the expense of going home for a weekend. Bob H, great to hear from you! I appreciate the kind words and thanks for checking out my report!

We rented a car in Holland and hit 5 parks in 4 days, base rate was about $200. Not a bargain, but doable. There is definitely rail service to Soltau. Were you somewhere so far that you'd have had to fly? I guess Hamburg is the closest major airport.

Thanks for checking out the report. We did have a pretty decent meal at the restaurant (actually that red fruits dessert was amazing), but they definitely had a lot more stuff that wasn't on the menu. This was because we had opted for the sit-down service, but there was a huge buffet in another section that had a lot more choices. The same buffet area was used for breakfast and it had everything you could think of.

Every time I try to post this final installment, something goes wrong. But here we go again, the final chapter, Heide Park. There's a direct gate from the Port Royal Hotel to Heide Park. Wumbo points the way... Not surprsingly, the pirate-themed hotel leads to a pirate-themed area in the park. First credit of the day was Schweizer Bobbahn, a Mack bobsled. It's a bit of a walk up a hill to get there. Next stop was Limit, the 1999 Vekoma SLC. Big Loop was next, and the view is so great that you can see all the way to New York. The trees are still green. This was our late summer, early fall weekend trip. Apparently Colossos was down for a number of weeks during the late season and our credit was not to be, which gives us a double reason to visit next year for Krake. Indy-Blitz, a Zierer Force. In the morning, the raging river rapids raft ride course was hosting kayak races. Without Colossos, this Intamin offering, the launched Desert Race would have to serve as the adult-serving coaster of the park. There seemed to be a plethora of boat rides at Heide Park. This was the theming around the park's new Pirate area splash battle-type ride. Alas, many a longing glance toward Colossos was made. The ride is quite humongous. Compare the size of the roundup on the left with Colossos to the right! It was time for our long drive back to Holland. But there was time for some goofing around with Kapitän Schwarzbart (Blackbeard), who hangs around the hotel. You can find him on Facebook! A quick plug for Heide Park's on-ride photo solution, which includes a yellow wristband a la Livestrong, but it contains a USB stick built in! It comes with a picture too. Go Merlin, if you're behind this. You can see the band on my wrist. Hey thanks for checking out our trip report!

Nice report, Rastuso. Dubai and Abu Dhabi look fairly accessible to the "Western Tourist" but it really helps to see what people's actual experiences are like. The compound with the machine guns...that was Saudi Arabia, not Dubai, right? Once again, thanks for the report.