Nrthwnd

Working hard, to stay retired, ha!

Stella Artois is my go-to beer, while visiting my home park, Playland. From any Drinx 'Hut' in the park. Like I said... "Drinx" - and I have no idea why they spelled it, that way. Maybe I should ask, next visit. My Playland "Beer of Choice."

Sorry about the re-arranged photos at the end of the post ^. I still don't know how these pix ended up at the end of the report(s). And for some reason I can't erase them and then re-position them where they;re supposed to go. Such is progress, lol.

Three Visits ~ And (sniff) No HOT DOG Day! Here are a bundle of photos taken from a few visits to the park. There are repeats here and there, but I'll do my best to see that it doesn't get toooo boring, lol. 06/22 This was around 10 am - one hour before the park opened. Testing. History board. Noted. But I didn't have to wait that long, thankfully. Progress on the new amphitheatre. Have no idea what that 'hole' is for. Will eventually fine out, next year. Lookin' good, there. Future landscaping? ThunderVOLT in action. I get headaches from Enterprise, so it's a No-Ride for me, now. Kettle Creek Mine coaster. One I can still ride, enjoy, and not get banged about. Oooo... Got my fave beer to end this short visit. The onride photo. What IS that woman doing??? 06/27 This was another short visit, and I got to try and the new special milkshake at Triple O's ( a/k/a the White Spot restaurant). The lineup was HUGE for this day. Thankfully I was there around 10 am, 1 hour before the park opened, so I missed all this. Near opening time. And allll the way down the block! Viewed from ThunderVOLT. Ongoing construction of the new amphitheatre. Sad, empty-looking little train. There's an adult up front, so I suspect a child is there, too. The Cotton Candy milkshake. With a bit of the real stuff on top. And it's Canadian-made, too! And it was good. Might order it again soon, if still available. Last shot before leaving the park. 07/02 Today was another brief visit. The only thing new here, was the ongoing construction of the new amphitheatre. But that's okay. I enjoy just walking around and taking in the 'atmosphere' of Playland. On the way to the park. A good place for hot dogs! The menu. Not too crowded right now, for Coaster. Well, hi there! Fancy running into you today. It's pretty plain looking, but still an important part of Playland. This looks somewhat completed Cloudy day over the mountains nearby. I am guessing this is to become the entryway into the amphitheatre. Getting better. But still, a not-too-great attempt of a 'selfie' on the Carousel. By the way, FYI - a Carousel goes counter clockwise, like this one. Merry-Go- Rounds go clockwise. Easy! And that was it for this visit. 07/16 Today was supposed to be "Hot Dog Day" as advertised by the email I received from Playland (I'm on their mailing list). But it turns out Coaster Dogs wasn't offering their One Dollar Hot Dogs till the 19th, Saturday. And Beaver Tails, which was also offering a special hot dog, had no clue what I was asking about. Then, I tried to order something off their regular menu ...... and "that wasn't available" I was told ...WTF? A Fail for Beaver Tails. Anyway.... Back we go... Wheee. Dead Unicorn. Yeah. Hot Dog Day. Not here I found out. From the West Coast Wheel. Big ass hole still there. Nice shot of Coaster from The Wheel. Damn, I love this coaster! Not really that busy, this visit. Up and over it goes! Clear sky, with a great mountainous view. I still enjoy riding Gladiator. This is a sweet little family ride I enjoy riding, sometimes. Touching the sun? And with that, the visit was at an end. Playland did send another email out, with the 19th as Hot Dog Day, with both Coaster Dogs and Beavertails offering their special dogs. But I didn't go. Not on a Saturday there. So I passed. I have no idea how these three shots got in, here. Nonetheless... a shot from ThunderVOLT's queue. An early shot of construction.

^ We all do!

Well, the TONYs have come and gone. "Maybe Happy Ending" grabbed Best Musical, while the play "Purpose" won in it's Best Of category. That said there are now three musicals .... uh ..... biting the dust, etc. And they are (neither of them won a single TONY <sad>): Smash - Closed today. and Real Women Have Curves, along with Dead Outlaw next weekend (29th). That said, it's great they have, indeed, produced Original Cast Recordings. Good for them! ....And add to the current closings list .... Boop! will be shutting down on July 13th. (Also, has a cast cd, available.)

That's sad about Oakwood closing. It was actually one of my favourite parks in previous UK tours. And my #100 was there - Clown Coaster, naturally. Do you know, or anyone else (Elissa? Robb?) that this was the only amusement park in Wales? Just curious. And so --- many --- t-shirts you got !!! As well, that's a mighty collection of magnets, too. It was great following you on your UK trip, Bert.

This just in... 2025’s Global Liveability Index: The top 10 1. Copenhagen, Denmark 2. Vienna, Austria 2. Zurich, Switzerland 4. Melbourne, Australia 5. Geneva, Switzerland 6. Sydney, Australia 7. Osaka, Japan 7. Auckland, New Zealand 9. Adelaide, Australia 10. Vancouver, Canada We just slipped in there, last on this list!

^ Thanks. We are at year 53 right now. Still holding on, lol.

^ Yep. Nope, And it didn't "break down." It broke off.

^ QUICK! Send me a plane ticket!

It all looks and sounds impressive. That said, I just hope most (if not all) of this does "come to life," as only Disney can do it.

^ lol. It's going to be interesting (and hopefully, fun), in figuring out, how the actual track layout will (might) go, with this new concept art.

^ It all - looks - so - niiiice!

Just a photo reminder of what I used to get, for $1, each container - ten years since The Beast opened in 2015! Was nice while it lasted, even during the PNE, where the refills were accepted, and done. Also, here's the link to this summer's PNE, and everything in it: https://www.pne.ca/fair2025/ The offer was great, while it lasted. I mean, a buck for all this popcorn? Sold! Wonder if they'll do the offer again, eventually, in a different version of...

Been awhile, but .... Young Star Coaster / 飞马家庭过山车 Chimelong Paradise (Panyu, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China) 2012 TPR China Tour - we had a good laugh on that one, from a rider screaming OMG! all through the ride.

My latest visit to The Park (the 25th) was met with a lovely cool-ish sunny day. And the crowd was HUGE! Lines on the 'thrill rides' easily an hour or more. I decided to just do a walk around, and get a couple of rides on the "less thrill" (?) rides. It ended up being the Carousel and the Gladiator, that I rode. Somewhat bad news, was finding out that the One Dollar Refills (both popcorn and beverage) were not being offered this season. <sad> Hopefully, they may change their mind, and reinstate it. Got the whole summer to find out, lol. What the new printed pass looks like. On the way to the main gate. Looks like everybody's inside, now. Running, running. This was around 2 pm at the Coaster lineup. I was told there were $1 Pop Refills here. But still. No popcorn refills. This is on top of the operator's booth at the Sea-To-Sky Swinger. Great theming! Play Quarters games still closed. Wonder if they'll ever re-open this part of the Arcade again? Rest of the Arcade open. But not Crossbow. Hmmm. Is it considered a "too dangerous" game? Who knows? Ready for a launch. Up.... And over! Bug Whirld. Action shot. And don't forget to "Spread Your Wings." This is how you spread your wings. <g> Skybender in action. My first ride of this visit. Have to remember, not to put camera in front of face. I'll get it right, eventually. My only other ride this visit: Gladiator. Great fast and high cycle. But it coming down to a stop ... took - for - ever. Wheee! Meanwhile ... Big lineup for this one, too. The Beast in unload-reload position. Eventually, on a future visit, I will get food and drink here. Great burgers, fries and shakes..... See? Told ya. And that was it, for this visit to Playland.

It all looks amazing, that art work.

^ Oh my. All those scooped balls of ice cream placed on top of each other..... That's amazing to look at. The whole ship looks amazing. And that seafood plate you had there - oink. All looks great!

My way of transferring camera photos to Online Photos keeps changing on me, lol. Nonetheless, I decided to tackle the current photos taken yesterday...and was successful! Most of them are of the new Amphitheatre being built (opens next summer). At the entry gate, you can see the cranes being used, to build the new Amphitheatre. Testing, testing. The arcade, and most food spots, don't open until noon. Still no Play Quarters Games seen. <sad> A closer look at construction. Peeking thru a fence, for a slightly better look. Seen from the queue for Skybender. My one and only ride, yesterday. Till next weekend...

Went to Opening Day, today. Rained all the time I was there. But the crowd there, was BIG! That said, a lot of the rides weren't operating, due to everybody heading to ThunderVOLT and other thrill rides. Poor "Kids Playce" was practically abandoned, except for the few of us (me included) who rode the park's little Carousel. Which was a nice rest for me. Since my Massive Fall last June, I haven't had my legs operating perfectly. Pain here and there. But I digress .... Am heading back there, tomorrow. Better weather (i.e. sunny) predicted. Hope they're right, heh. In the mean time, here's the email announcements I received for this weekend. BUT ... I didn't go on Sunday. My legs needed a longer rest, the weather was (again) looking to be a wet one. But the rain never showed up. Figures, lol. Will hit the park next weekend. p.s. HAPPY VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND, all Commonwealth countries! BUT - it looks like (to me) that the Dollar Popcorn and Drink Refills is no more. Stay tuned on that.

Tomorrow is Opening Day at Playland(PNE), Vancouver ... finally! But - weather isn't going to be clear and sunny. More rainy most of the afternoon, etc. But rain or not, I planned to get there at opening and get my printed pass (no cell phone, so .....pffft.) and then tour the grounds. See how the north side of it all looks like, now that they're building the new Amphitheatre for 2026. Lost a sit down bar there (R.I.P. Ride Side Bar), but they have a few 'Beer Cabins' (don't know what else to call them) with seating near by. So, hopefully, I will be able to hold up, for standing in line and waiting, etc. Fingers crossed! What used to be, at the north end of Playland. Great spot to cool off, relax...and drink a beer or three, lol.

Same happened for us, back around the 2006 TPR tour. I TPR toured it there, twice, first had one of those clone corkscrews; the 2nd visit (2010) had the replacement motor cycle (?) coaster. Very speedy that was. BUT - still "No Adults" on that kids' only one. I remember one of the group, who was 11, touring with his mom - no go - was turned away. That was sad to watch. The dark ride was just new back then, so I guess it's seen better years. And Kumali was GREAT back in 2006! I think I rode it several times, during our visit there that year. One of the more perfect SLCs imHo. And then I rode/loved/lived on Mumbo Jumbo on the 2010 Tour...bliss. Wanted it here in Vancouer at Playland. But we got ThunderVOLT instead. <sighs> Good TR on it and the zoo, Bert!

When I first read about this announcement, I thought it was either a) A very VERY early April Fools, 2026... Or b) A few months too late for the same, 2025. I/we couldn't possibly be able to afford it over there, any way. Whatever the case...., hope it all works out for (most of) all involved. p.s. Thanks for the 'consolidation (sp?) of,' Adam.