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I looked it up and .... "ELLIS-BURG"

^ Makes me sad that many families will put themself into that position of income (i.e. poor house), once they start planning and paying for their WDW trips.

So, this is a baking question to all. I was planning to make/bake, what's called a Dump Cake. Pretty basic. Two can of pie filling first layer, followed by a "yellow" cake mix sprinkled all over the filling, then pats of butter added on top, DO NOT STIR TOGETHER. Bake and voila! Dump Cake. But .... Instead of what they call 'yellow' cake mix, I got the Duncan Hines 'Golden' cake mix. Now could somebody puhleeeeze tell me "any difference" between these two .... uh ....flavours of cake? Or are they just vanilla cake mixes, w/colouring? Thanks in advance.

Dame Maggie Smith. Known for (on film) the "Harry Potter" series, and (on TV) "Downton Abbey" recently, and so many, many movies in her career. Won the Oscar for "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" in 1969.

I don't remember what #2 is/was. Help?

For those of us that live close to Playland (and/or visitors!), they have their info. pages up for Fright Nights in October...... http://www.pne.ca

James Earl Jones. 93.

Sergio Mendes RIP to a Boss Nova Beat, man!

For my last visit to The Fair (and it's Closing Day), I decided to bus to the Playland Gate, get my last (for this season) $1 popcorn, then work my way up through all - those - food trucks, get ribs from the other spot that was selling them (called what else? Truckin' BBQ!), and then make a real total 'tour' through the entire Market building. Easy! And I even bought something(s) there, too. Back at my 'usual' Playland Entry Gate Doesn't look too crowded, here... ...But the queue for Coaster must have been 2-3 hours' wait, since they still were using only one train. Eek. And I didn't even bother, to check on ThuderVOLT's queue, knowing it only runs one train, too. All in all, it was a VERY CROWDED (slammed?) day, there. So I was very glad I wasn't doing a lot of stuff. Whew! Both towers operating against a cloud covered sky. Last look at the midway, before it closes up, not to re-open till 2025. The Last $1 One for this season. It's still a great deal after all these years of having and using this bucket.. Up it goes! Up it goes #2. Up it tilts! Last look at the Amphitheatre site, from this angle. Not to be seen again, from here, till next year's Fair. An Arcade Prize winner's stuffie. I would not enjoy carting this around The Fair. Nope. Still not for me. Here we are. And I ordered a half-rack. With a side of coleslaw. Then got my last beer in Festival Park. And it was just as good as the other ribs we had. And I enjoyed the creamy coleslaw as well. While consuming my ribs, this big-ass band was playing on the "Music In the Park" stage. And they were great! And now ... Another great clothing stall. More Bling. Something for the kids to do. I see Princess Peaches and the Mario Brothers. And it's got a short line up, so that's good. For those with a passion for musical bowls, etc. Ooooooooo. These were the first 'variety' of candy apples I'd seen at The Fair. But... THIS Is what I wanted. And I picked up a slice of Black Forest fudge. Chocolate w/cherries. Yum! Dogs on Socks. Many many pairs of socks. But they did have a (pitiful) section for cats, too. Hats of all styles, shapes, colours, etc. It was basically an All-Leather Clothing stall. We glanced at this booth, last Thursday. But I wanted to see more of it. So I came back. These are LEGO Figures. And Lots - Of - Keychains! And .... and .... Mystery Boxes. That tempted me, and I bought one. A Pikachu Terrarium collection box. Of six. These are all for grating garlic cloves. Pretty. Back to where we started last Thursday. Sign says ADULTS ONLY. And then I headed for the Exit. I think it was a Well Fair. But with so much themed exhibits left out this season (and a LOT of food trucks), I wonder how many will return to next year's fair, knowing the Amphitheatre still won't finished until '26. Here's what $15 Cdn got me. #5 of the collection - with Kimori, a tree stump, and some weeds, lol. Bit of a better look at Kimori. So, I will go to next year's Fair, regardless of what's less and what's more, there.

Not that this house plant (?) needs much attention, except watering from time to time, I still figured this would be the best Thread to post it in. One of our small "all sorts" stores off The Drive (like a mini department store), also has house plants on racks in front of the store. This one immediately caught my eye. But the owner couldn't name it, or tell me, how long 'the fruit' stays on top. But I bought it anyway. Nearly $10 Cdn. Am going to try and find the name of this, online. Stay tuned .... It's so cute! Probably not edible, though.

This past Thursday was our annual PNE visit, me and David. After having gone there a few times already, I told him what to miss and what we should look into .... and the BBQ RIBS meal, of course. So this visit took only a few hours. The ribs were great, the drag show was a repeat (for myself) but David really got a kick out of it, and started thinking back to when we used to do shows at a very well known Vancouver Drag/Show bar called BJ's ! (Now that's another story thread, heh.) I enjoyed this show, just as well as the first time. And then we just went for it, and bought a six-pack box of .... cannolis! a raspberry pair, a lemon pair, and an 'original' pair, being vanilla and chocolate bits. And that was it for us! David spent a good 1/2 hour in The Market, I took a few photos inside, but planned to go there again, tomorrow. Maybe there will be a "PNE Final Day Sale" for me to check out...... Back to the front of The Fair, again. And where we immediately went to - for a five o'clock meal of RIBS! We looked at the portion of ribs, and thought we were getting more than the 1/2 rack we ordered. V But then, I had this photo from last year's Fair, I showed it around and most of the staff freaked! V This is that photo. And this is Steve. I made a joke about "Santa working part time in the off-season", lol. Unfortunately, he wasn't there this year. But I hope some of the staff let him know, he was missed. So we figured we got some 'extra ribs' due to us showing that photo of Steve. Or not, lol. This rack of ribs was really nice and juicy. I might buy it again (1/3 rack) tomorrow. Hmmmm. Almost finished. We didn't pack any leftovers for home. Corn bread and coleslaw were both great, too. I find this fascinating, don't know why. After eating, we headed over to the last show of the day, of .... Would have liked to see and hear the pianos. but it never happened. Maybe next year if they're here again. Not for this show. It's used for the Rollerland Building's (that is it's name) weekend skating, there. This is 'Joan Jett'. And here's 'Jon Bon Jovi'. Definitely having a great time, here. This a fuzzy 'Pat Benatar'. At least 'Prince' wore a different coat for this show. First time I saw 'him,' it was all blue spangles. The 'Heart' sisters, Ann and Nancy. Inside The Market. What we first see. Vibrating ...thing-a-ma-jigs. Lots of different clothing stalls. Bling. This was all for kids, but I have to check exactly what there was there. I need some close-ups here! YOU WANT WOODEN ANYTHING? WE HAVE WOODEN EVERYTHING! We have enough "wooden things" at home, so we passed on this. Big open space. Very rare for the annual Market. Maybe the rental space costs too much for some, since covid? Where a lot of us 'elders' ended up. Back massage, comfy chair .... mmmmm, Happy old people. So much stuff in this set up. I know nothing, about any of it. I thought of buying a 'mystery bag' for the heck of it. But ... I didn't. Of all of these display towers at this stall, this is the one I liked the best. Not sure why. Maybe it has to do with alllll those mushrooms. Hmmm. After leaving The Market, we wanted some kind of dessert. Then we saw this. It was a good decision. We ate the Original Cannoli there, and took the other four home. Two lemon, two raspberry, and my Original, yet to be eaten. Cost $40 Cdn. for all six. And our visit ended, for the day.

^ Heh heh, I agree with the 'church carnival problem.' At least they got a few extra rides for The Fair, rather than avoiding it altogether. Still. I expect next year's PNE will be much of the same, as this past season was. Hopefully, they'll make it a bit different i.e. shows etc. And I'm pretty sure that the PNE told the rides owner(s) in advance, that the new Amphitheatre construction would take some of their rides' space. So they probably still have a contract with the PNE. But in the mean time, we wait, till then.

Yeah, but that was only this Fair, with the normal space (where extra rides used to be placed) completely gutted for the construction of the new Amphitheatre. That removal was also paired with removal of the entire north row of arcade games, and my very special on-site bar, The Ride Side Bar, too. Which I guess, is why there are so many Drink Huts this year onsite, as well as some larger bars that offer mixed drinks/cocktails, too. Still, I was surprised that only four extra rides made it to the Fair. I expected a few more. But, what can ya do? This may also lead to lower attendance next year, since the new outdoor stage won't be finished till 2026. And they seemed to cut down on themed displays, compared to previous pre-covid years. Taken during the 2023 PNE ~ R.I.P. Ride Side Bar.

^ Thanks, I'll check that. (And....) Woo hoo! Did it! Now why the heck didn't I check my loaded photos, before? We'll call it an "age thing", and leave it at that , mmmm'k? Hugs.

My visit yesterday to The Fair, was mainly to check out the gardens and Sanctuary that reside on the PNE site. AND to get myself some chicken from Henry's BBQ! Unfortunately, the chicken I got turned out to be somewhat dry, and not very juicy. No matter. The order of fries was f-ing HUGE! So much so, I had nothing to take the extra fries home with me. The container was too greasy, so sadly, I dumped about 1/3 that was left, into the compost bin. The first garden I visited was The MOMIJI Japanese Garden which was located beside the Garden Auditorium, where a (usual) themed display was installed. Past ones include, Game of Thrones; Hockey; The Beatles; Dungeons and Dragons, etc. But not since covid has there been anything there, except an ongoing circus school for young kids and teenagers. Which is great, all the same. Anyway, this garden has been around for several decades. Not very many stone lanterns and/or stone statues to be seen. But it's a quiet place, with running water into the small lake the garden surrounds. It's amazing how The Fair sounds fall away, when you're here or in the Sanctuary. The Italian Gardens, not so much. ^ The un-used Garden Auditorium looming over the Garden. Fun Trivia: This is where David and I attended Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon Tour". In the centre of the building , we all sat on the floor. And then I remember this lemon-scented smoke coming from the stage, and 'wafting' (wafting?) over everybody! It was trippy. What I remember..... Not exactly a Sacred Temple. But good enough, for sudden (and ongoing) rainfall. The Italian Gardens are more out in the open space of the fairgrounds. And a somewhat orderly presentation of walkways and fountains, etc. They also share space with two 'attractions' for the kids. One is the Discovery Farm, which was usually found in the Barns. The outdoor setting looks much nicer, to me. Also, a performance space called Toon City to entertain the young ones. The Discovery Farm looks great outdoors, and in this setting. The Toon City stage. Then it was time to get my BBQ chicken! This is what 1/4 BBQ Chicken, looked like. I bought fries as well. And a beer <g>. Too ~ many ~ fries! I couldn't eat them all. And as I said before, the chicken was more dry than juicy. (Flower)Pot-heads. After this, it was on to The Sanctuary. And instead of walking around the whole place, for $2 I took the PNE Express train to circle the green space. Which reminds me. This whole area used to be the row of three separate buildings, side by side, joined together by overhead walkways between buildings. Several decades later, all three buildings were removed, to create a massive green space on the fairgrounds, including a lake, and several spots to just chill out and enjoy the greenery. The train didn't get that close to the centre lake and other pathways. But it was a nice casual way to enjoy this as part of the PNE, with a lot of the noise from The Fair being muffled by all the trees, etc. We all agreed (on our train) that "This was the best ride at the PNE - and cheaper too!" The train. And look! It's a TRACKLESS ride! Got a pic of myself (finally) at The Fair, on The Train. The rest of our train load. The lake is there, once you look past all that greenery! Very woodsy here. Noted. A better look at the lake in The Sanctuary. On my way out of The Fair I saw this. Coming back tomorrow (Thursday) with David.

^ Maybe the deal with doing the Candy Collection, might be the price of buying "the bag", itself? No reservations needed? And they may just sell a set # of bags, so that there's not a stampede on a particular night, etc. That's just what I think, but I hope you get some info. soon. And, so sorry to hear about your dog's passing. Our cat Stella is 13+ years old, and we're hoping she'll hang around with us for a few more years, etc.

"Easy" from the Original Broadway Cast Album... Water for Elephants. Starring wonderful, sexy Grant Gustin (he of GLEE, and "The Flash," filmed here in Vancouver!).

^ Um, I think they did (see above your post?) with the add-in of a Indiana Jones Adventure using the same track layout, as it is in Disneyland. But it's a whole new ride adventure and not a copy of DL's or TokyoDL's either, I have found out.

I took a short 30 second 'movie' of the 'constantly moving' ceiling of the Agrodome. Pretty trippy. MVI_5607.MOV

Thursday I went back to The Fair, this time taking in the dog show "Super Dogs", and an annual fave for a lot of visitors - "For The Love of Drag." Really. The 1/2 hour Rock Icons show, complete with ~air~ guitar playing and lip syncing, was pretty good, and not only had drag queens in the show but a couple of drag kings, too! One played 'Prince' and the other did 'Jon Bon Jovi' It was fast, quick, and less microphone talk. I think David will enjoy this, too. However...... "Super Dogs" was a lot of introduction of the dogs, explanation of the course, and challenges ..... it was a lot of talk. The "action" of the dogs charging through the setups was great. I think the audience especially enjoyed it, when two dogs were pitted against each other. Made for fun, loud cheering them on. But I really think that this may be the last time I see this show. It's always a themed variation on the usual challenges, and the only big difference here, was that the show was moved to the small Agrodome, as the Summer Nights Concerts were moved to the Coliseum, where Super Dogs used to be. And the dogs being in the Agrodome, eliminated a number of horse showings, and a great knights on horses show. And I think the setup won't change too much, since the Amphitheatre will still be being built, But hey - the dogs really worked their ....um .....behinds of! And the races are really intense for what they are, to and for the dogs. But I think I'll pass on next year's at least. Then, when the Amphitheatre opens in 2026, I'll maybe give the doggies another look-see. And coming out of the drag show at 6:30pm, it was mobbed at nearly every food truck, so I didn't get my Henry's BBQ Chicken <sad>. But when I return on Tuesday, I'll sure to get my Henry's earlier in the afternoon. Back to the fair we go.... I'll be visiting this garden and another one on Tuesday. And the Sanctuary as well. Today's corn dog comes from .... Another foot long. It was good. Add a beer, and it's a perfect snack! A lot of seating, including picnic tables all over the fair. This bar also served mixed drinks and cocktails. Must remember this. The bar inside the Roadhouse, where .... ^ .... is playing. (o: The main stage. After the "Love of Drag's" last show of the day, "Dueling Piano Kings" schedules shows into the evening. This was 'Jon Bon Jovi'. And this was Pat Benetar. I think this was .... 'Prince' ? The guitar playing sister, (Nancy Wilson) of 'Heart.' 'Dolly' singing "Rock Star." Coming out for bows. That's 'Prince' in blue, back there. They also did photo shots with the gp. I declined to do that. Since I couldn't get Henry's chicken, I went to Lil' Cocos for (guess what?) another corn dog. But I got this one with a green Ranch dressing on it. Fancy, eh? Now to the dog show. The 7:30 one. Souvenir "Doggies for Sale" in all shapes, sizes, and furriness. The ceiling of the Agrodome was this moving, artsy creation. Most of these photos turned out very fuzzy. Got to figure out my camera, more. So these are the best ones out of the bunch. Yay! A clear shot of the setup. And a dog is entering that tube, upper right of the shot. There were three pugs that just went crazy all over the place, while one of the three actually did the course. Conga! This was a game of "Musical Chair Stars-On-Spots." Had it's moments of fun. The Bow(-Wow)s. <sighs> This is Henry's Quarter and Half BBQ chickens. I could just stand there, inhaling for a while. Soon... A mariachi band playing for the public. They were great! Amphitheatre Construction carries on... Good on the PNE! Not exactly totally dark. But overcast enough for all the lights of Playland to turn on. Two of the 'four extra rides' at The Fair. The other two of the 'four extra rides' in Playland(PNE). Hellevator's signage is so neon and retro (to me). Undersides of Gladiator. I didn't notice that the Break Dance middle orb tower wasn't lit. Too bad. Skybender Shot #1 The statue at the right is very nice to see. Skybender Shot #2 All the AtmosFEAR seats have white lights under their butts! A blurred Wheeee! The Merry-Go-Round Carousel all in white lights. Enterprise on full tilt. Explorer (Lit Up) Balloons. Another Wheeee! on The Beast. This was about the only thing lit at night, at this kids' coaster. I figured this could be a mildly scary kids' coaster, with all the darkness around the coaster itself. Blazing White Lights on the Swings Sea-to-Sky Swinger. That's it. Another beer, and I exited The Fair. Till Tuesday, then.

Yesterday, I went to The Fair, and just toured around The PNE Barns. These buildings have been around for a long, long time. And they are a great way to introduce kids and city families to country life, etc. Unfortunately, since this was a Tuesday, with gray skies overhead, the crowds weren't there as much as the usual weekends. So I believe a few of the scheduled demos didn't happen, just because of the lack of .... people! Going in the Main Gate of the PNE. David and I will get to this place (i.e. shopping) next week. BC Transit had their info. display open.... ....Including a nice big double decker, although I don't know where this would be running in the system. More sales huts along the walkway. Metro Vancouver's annual display and info. area. "Meet Pee & Poo" .....? Not sure if I want to, lol. Noted. One huge Adirondack PNE chair.... Another huge Adirondack chair. The others are over near The Barns. Then I saw this. "Deep fried Giant Squid"? "Eel"? Um ....no thanks. I'll pass on this. Tuesday's Corn Dog came from Corn Dog King, an annual regular to The Fair. IT was good. The batter was light and a bit sweet. The hot dog itself was fine, and cooked thru. And I hit The Barns. There were a number of tractors on display, here. Kind of vacant, it was. Not busy with crowds, as it probably is during the weekend. Moo. Not sure what this was about. But it looks like I wasn't going to find out, anyway. Pony rides for the youngsters. A TPR Mascot having a snooze. Two goats and a lama. Well, I hope this is a busy area during the weekends. It was a quick journey, to walk thru this setup. My "Egg Type" is probably Sunny Side Up, lol. Again, not sure if the scheduled showings were still happening. But I didn't stick around to find out. Ooooo, something dangerous! I might try this, next visit. The famous annual Pig Races happen here. And I think that's the piggies on the left, below the red tent, just leaving the gate. What a Chef's Garden might be growing. This is always a nice display to walk thru. Always interesting trivia about bees, honey, and beekeeping. YOU WANT HONEY??? WE GOT HONEY!!! Here's another one of those chairs. After the barns, I looked for this place since the details of it were interesting. I had the Chicken Karaage, which is pronounced 'Kara-gay'. Truth! It already looks messy to me, but I did enjoy it, as this was my first taste of Karaage chicken. Work continues on the soon-to-be Amphitheatre. Opens in 2026. I must remind myself, that the PNE Epress line up is here, near Playland. $2 to ride it, full circle. These are the other two 'extra rides' (of four) to ride. The Tilt-A-Whirl and a biker's ride for kids. I've never seen the Pirate Ship this full during Playland's season. But then again, this IS the PNE. Up and over, ThunderVOLT goes... The line up for it wasn't too bad here. But then this wasn't The Weekend. And Coaster actually had a bigger crowd lined up for it. All of the Games Arcade was open, except for the Quarters Games. Covid-related closure, I guess. One for the road. Got my $1 popcorn, and I was outta there! I revisit tomorrow, later in the day, for some night shots I hope.

I remember thinking that Vampire's load/unload station was one of The Best Themed stations, I'd ever seen. And - gotta love that SeaLIfe franchise. I like they had aquariums (and all of them different in some ways) at many of the UK parks. And about that stool ..... yeah, I'm with 'the above' - getting on suspended coasters, etc. is a chore for me now. Then, there's getting off ... hah. Great start of your UK visit, Bert. Looking forward to more.

^ No, Coaster was still running one train only. I was really surprised, as I assumed they'd have two trains going by Fair time. Not to be, sadly. And I must admit.... I too have waited for several coasters, on TPR tours overseas, for an hour (or much more at Fuji-Q in Japan), some of which only ran about as long as what you mentioned, Xcelerator and definitely ThunderVOLT. So I get the thing, that everyone will wait tons of time, just for one ride on whatever, etc. etc. But I'm past that now. And for now, the only way to get a couple of rides on either coaster at Playland, is to line up at least an 1/2-1 hour before the park opens, during Playland's season. With your pass and/or printed ticket bought online with you. The lineup for the box office(s) don't open until when the park practically opens, at 11 am. So I did it twice, on one Friday and got in the second train for Coaster, and the first train ( ! ) for Volt on another Friday. I never tried to ride them together. Too much distance between them. And I stopped running a long, long time ago, heh.

Opening Day on Saturday wasn't a big deal for me, compared to the crowds coming in. The only things I wanted to do was 1. Getting my Two Weeks' Pass to the fair and 2. Don't go into any buildings (except a bathroom, if needed) and just check the whole site out, to see where everything was, etc. Especially with the new amphitheater being built (and not open until 2026), a lot of space was lost onsite. But it was packed with food trucks, the nightly Concerts were moved to the Coliseum and the Super Dogs show moved into the Agrodome, which usually has horse events, knights jousting, etc. Not this time, sadly. 2024 The main entrance to The Fair. But I didn't enter here. After walking roughly 15 minutes to get to the north end of the park, this is where I was to pick up my PNE Pass. It took nearly 20 minutes to figure it all out but.... I got 16 separate tickets, one for each day of the fair. A bit much, but hey - I can go every day, now! The BLUE GATE entry into the PNE. Where I went in, after getting all my fair tickets. Then you travel by a bunch of cars on display, for sale. Not all the 'huts' were used, so I'm hoping they all get used by my next visit. Crafts and stuff, there. Where the Summer Night Concerts are taking place. Who's playing when. If directions are needed. Where the PNE Prize Home is usually located to check out. Apparently it's already in it's location. Langley, Surrey, Coquitlam? I forget, but I wouldn't move there, myself. Just displays set up. Opposite the Prize Home display. A nice, random place to sit and eat, rest, drink or ....? I can't remember a year where this hot tub business wasn't at The Fair. So, here they are again! Super Dogs, yes. Horses and knights jousting, no. Then I saw this. Great! A BBQ food truck, found! Then I went around to the front and .... Woo hoo! Prairie Smoke & Spice has always been one of our fave BBQ places. So we'll be there, soon enough. I need to take a movie of this. Constant movement, really nice to watch. The centre Fair Festival stage was moved to the other side of where it usually was. And mmmmmm, all those red and white Adirondack chairs to lounge in! Found another BBQ, this time in an actual truck. "Food Truck Way" with everything you could imagine, to eat. I don't think these farm buildings have changed since The Fair began! Over 100 years ago! The route to get to Playland. And you can get a different angled look at all that dirt being moved around, for the Amphitheater. They have a trackless train that travels all around the Sanctuary, which is a designated green space in the fair. The kiddies should love this, hmm? It's really cool that the PNE has two haunt walk thrus to do. And they have 'such a ticket deal' to do both! With less space available, less extra rides were brought in. This is two of four rides extra, to Playland? By Coaster, this is where I get my $1 popcorn refills. $! pop refills are just a few steps from here. So to start the Corn Dog Ball rolling, I stopped here before leaving the fair. The Coaster line must be at least 2 hours long, now. I dread to think what ThunderVOLT's line is like. A foot long corn dog. It was good, as I expected Coaster Dogs' corn dogs to be. One of the many Drinx Huts (Drinx?) onsite. Right beside Coaster. And out I went..... What you're given every day, you go to The Fair. Schedule of all the free entertainment available, along with the (paid) Summer Night Concerts. Flip side has the PNE Map on it. Noted. I hit the fair again, tomorrow. Till then, Cheers!

^ And thanks for enjoying the pix! And yeah, after seeing the line ups for Coaster at the "front" of Playland, I have no doubt that Volt will be killer waiting times ....for a 40 second ride. Eh. I did get to ride it once, as well as Coaster in a couple of visits. I found Coaster to be be surprisingly rough, and felt thankful (ironic) that the seat belts I railed against, held me tight, and actually comfortably "in the seat". Honest, I didn't expect Coaster to be this rough. Without seat belts, it had been actually pretty smooth. Until now. And as for ThunderVOLT, it's a one and done for myself. Very forceful through the rest of the ride, after being launched up the (what I call) "Little Top Hat." It is intense for the short time you ride it. But...waiting up to (probably) two hours for this coaster? Not for me. Opening day photos I'll post tomorrow. And for those who want to know more - https://www.pne.ca/ The lineup for Coaster extended past/outside the shade tents. That is a very - long - wait. But the ride's longer, lol.