Nrthwnd

It's THE BEAST Psycho~Delic!

^^And after all of it - First, I could not believe that "Baseball Number"! I mean, Megan had been quoted about doing the "family" version of it, vs. an "x-rated" version of it? Hmmm. Looks like X Hit The Spot! It was awesome, but totally not for the kiddies, LOL! Other stuff was: Ann Harada, and Donna McKechnie...great performances from both, especially Harada! The Big Finish.... FINISH from Hilty and McPhee. And very happy that D'arcy James was FINALLY allowed to sing! He sang the song that Debra Messing was so sweet singing on the show (No Regrets), but obviously freaked at having to sing LIVE. Good casting call guys. Great broadcast and interviews, everybody. Now, make a DVD for sale, of it, plplplplease??? (May 21st)... AND! AND! AND!: They just announced, that there WILL be A Broadway production coming... soon! It also sounds like they are going to go with the musical-within-a-musical idea they did with SMASH and "Bombshell". And it's tentative title will be SMASH: A New Musical. No surprise there, heh. Here's the Broadway.com link to the announcement! https://www.broadway.com/buzz/199335/tv-fan-favorite-smash-heading-to-broadway-as-a-new-musical/

^ Not sure. I realize that the two old photos do resemble 2 different coasters. That they're both listed as the Giant Dipper, and in Happyland at the PNE, it's possible one was demolished and a similar one built in it's place. Will look into that, soon. Just checked and found two of them, in Happyland... Dip the Dips Happyland Park (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Removed, Operated from 1915 to 1924 - Roller Coaster; Wood; Sit Down. --------------------------------------- Giant Dipper Happyland Park (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Removed, Operated from 1925 to 1947 - Roller Coaster; Wood; Sit Down. --------------------------------------- I now believe that b/w photo I posted ^^ is the Dip the Dips Coaster. And the one in the postcard and screenshot, is the Giant Dipper. And it looks like, between 1947 and 1958, we had no coaster at all, during that time period! Thanks to rcdb.com for all the information. And thanks DBru ^ for that "coaster check". From the 1950s: Ferris Wheels must have been a Big Deal back then. But, THREE of them at the PNE???

^ By the way. You DO know there's a broadcast of the SOLD OUT One Night Only Concert performance of SMASH??? It's on at 8pm EST at http://www.people.com one of the sites it's being shown on. Here's the link: https://people.com/tv/bombshell-in-concert-smash-reunion-livestream/ And the cast has been grouped together, for an online interview during 'intermission.' Fun! The original poster for the concert (2015).

Oops - Double post. Bad bear. ...might as well post another pic of the late Happyland Giant Dipper...

The PNE posted a video recently. While it thanks it's patrons who come every year to the annual fair, it doesn't exactly say 'yes' or 'no' about whether the PNE is actually going to be happening, this August. Whatever the case, and this is just my opinion, since they've still been advertising July 1st (our Canada Day) as Playland's Opening Day, I have the feeling they will cancel the fair, and run Playland through the entire summer. Just a guess, but who knows? And I took a screenshot from the video, to show where Playland started out. It's on the east side of the Race Track now, but back then, it was on the west side of the track, and called Happyland. And where Happyland was, is now just parking lots for anything that happens on the PNE grounds. The shot shows Happyland's (then) two E-Ticket attractions: the Shoot The Chutes (then called Water Chutes) and their original coaster, called the Giant Dipper. Here's the link to the video: https://www.pne.ca/ And it's called We Can't Wait to Welcome You Back (Video is half way down the page) Screenshot from the video. Chutes and Coaster in back. All of it West of the Race Track. Giant Dipper and Water Chute on a postcard.

^ Um... I wonder what made them spell "Shoppe" that way? I find it amusing, that they really probably had to spell-check that spelling, throughout the announcement, heh. Just to make sure they didn't f-up the 2 p's. Or forget that 'e'. Happy Taco Tuesday!

^ Group Rate might be even better $ !

^^Great photos, John! And that "logo" on the front car of Big Dipper? Sorta kinda makes me think of a design Hershey Park would come up with. But that's just me. Thanks for posting this.

^^ I think the most important question is.... ARE The Goats ACTUALLY BACK on The Roof? (I'm bored, sry.)

^ Hey, long hair is not a bad thing, y' know! Mullets, however? Not so great. Nice little report, thanks!

So, we wait and see, yes? And hope, too?

^This is The Shot I absolutely love, here! And great shots of everything else in the park, too! It all looks so wrong! Love it.

This is an awesome upBEAT video! For the N.Y.Actors Fund, somebody got everybody and anybody together, who was involved with every version of HAIRSPRAY you could find! Including the LIVE tv version. The original film is repped by Ricki Lake, the original Tracy Turnblad. And it gets better and better! You Can't Stop the Beat.......No You Can't, Woo Hoo! Here's the link to it: https://www.broadway.com/buzz/199318/these-hairspray-fam-favorites-performing-you-cant-stop-the-beat-will-make-your-day/ (Screenshot ~ And how many Broadway/Hollywood Actors can you spot, in this one shot? I counted 7 I knew.)

^ Ditto.

I loved their aquarium.

Nice to see that Clarice is a part of the souvenirs, too.

"Lost In Love" Air Supply

Time to get over to Shanghai Disneyland, Elissa! New Chip n Dale Merchandise at Shanghai Disneyland And this link https://tdrexplorer.com/chip-n-dale-merchandise-shanghai-disneyland-2020/ (Thanks!) goes to more information, photos, and a great little video on Chip & Dale's new shop! Where can I get those awesome over-hanging ACORNS?!!

^ I loved Blue Fall. And in 2013 (TPR Japan Tour), I got David to ride it with me... and he loved it, too! Hope it's not closing for good. And, of the three years I visited Sea Paradise (w/TPR in 2007 '11 '13), I believe the SplashChute only operated in 2007. Yep, it was THIS TALL! (TPR 2007 Japan Tour)

Here's some more past PNE Ads. The first three involve snacks on rides. (A no-no in the real world, lol.) The second three ads answer the question, "What if the ride sign was more....personal?" Enjoy. (2016) (unknown year)

Great shots, John! I wished that they'd gone beyond Lucky and (what I call) the "Muppet Labs", etc. with more mobile AA. You would think that with this tech, they'd start bringing out those mobile droids in you-know-where by now, lol. Nonetheless, great stuff here! Thanks for sharing it. "Muppet Labs" ~ Magic Kingdom. HKDL. TPR 2012 China/Hong Kong Tour.

^ OUCH. I have gone thru a few root canals myself, so I feel for you. Hope it all works out for you, eventually. My RANT is about how complaining and bitching about anything and everything during these times is just - crap. And that's what's making the news, lately. Bitching and complaining about what you can't have or get during this time. Well, boo hoo. I just heard that a children's camp in Ontario is not opening for the summer, And of course, they get some complaining mother interviewed, who "can't do anything in their backyard, what a camp can do." Excuse me? You actually have a back yard??? Wow. Times are hard. Sorry, but unless I know the size of that backyard, I do not understand why you are complaining about the camp not opening during these times. This is My Rant

I hope that Dollywood, and every other park, has a safe re-opening and that it all works out, as time goes by.

I had given David a gift of a return flight to Minneapolis (for a family reunion in June), by way of Toronto, using our AirMiles and paying taxes, etc. So the Toronto-Minneapolis part of the itinerary was cancelled, but I still had to deal with the Van-Toronto flight and back. Turns out we can't get a full refund of the AirMiles or the taxes grrrrrr. But ~ it's all been put "on hold" for approx. 2 years, at which time we could "book another flight" etc. I didn't think this was a great result, until I realized that our trip to Amsterdam and Paris would be in September of 2022. And that open jaw flight (fly to Amsterdam, return from Paris), will have to be scheduled within a ten month period (I was told). So.... we don't lose either the AirMiles (6206) or the taxes ($150 Cdn), and can use them both as credit towards the Europe trip. Yay! I am now content and happy about this result.