pianojohn

Glad you had a good time! The weather that week was really weird. WAY too hot for February and then the showers and drop in temps. And on a side note, I used to own a Nissan 240SX SE convertible!

When I visited the park for my first and only time in 2018, I had the WORST ride on Prowler. I don't know if it is where I sat or the square wheels, but I literally could not wait for it to end. Just non stop jack hammering the whole ride. Did I just pick a bad seat or does it run that inconsistently?

Just noticed they updated the Cedar Point website. Just when I got used to where all of the buttons were....I guess it's better, but right now it seems like the fonts are too big. You cannot access everything until you start scrolling down. Anyone else?

Another thing to plan for: the weather. Should be nice the first two days then much cooler the 2nd. Also, Wednesday may be a total washout so keep that in mind. I have seen way too many tourists show up at the parks in shorts and t-shirts thinking 60 degrees is warm only to end up buying sweatshirts and coats to stay warm! Wed 17 78°/69° Thunderstorms 83% Thu 18 86°/63° Partly Cloudy 21% Fri 19 66°/43° AM Showers 46% Sat 20 64°/46° Sunny 3%

Just follow the signs to rental car pick up (which I believe is in the terminal but not sure) as well as rental car return. It shouldn't be too confusing. Hertz is in Terminal 1 Ground Transportation Level 1. Really easy to find. Give yourself 2 hours to get through security. You may breeze through but it's hard to know for sure. Walgreens used to sell discount tickets to Fun Spot. Worth checking out. You probably won't need Quick Queue at either park unless it's the weekend. But if you got a deal on them then use them.

Depending on where you live, it may be cheaper to fly into Richmond. The closest airport to Busch is actually Newport News, but it's a smaller airport. I know JetBlue flies to Richmond, and it's usually pretty cheap.

I have been obsessed with DISCO by Kylie Minogue. I found it amazing that she not only recorded the entire project during lockdown, but she also taught herself how to engineer her own vocals and did so at her home studio. As a musician, I know how difficult it can be in the studio, so I applaud her for not only taking the initiative but also succeeding so well. And she did a live concert of most of the music from a studio in London. It streamed twice online, and the 2nd time they had a documentary about the making of the special. All of the dancers were kept 6 feet apart unless they were already living together as couples. They ended up having about 12 dancers, 6 of which were couples (male/female, male/male and female/female). It was so cool! Really hoping for a tour when all of this is over!

I think they just need to change people's mindsets about visiting parks in the off season. When I lived and worked in Japan, most parks were open year round. I remember riding coasters at Expoland on my birthday (Jan 14th) with snow on the ground! And Knotts did show everyone how to run successful events with just food and shopping. Hoping for success and a brighter future for all of us!

Hmmm. As someone who worked full time at the park 1994-97, this seems strange. The weather in Virginia in Jan-March can be iffy. Kids are in school. People just don't travel during those months for vacation. And we had a really hard time getting casts for our shows in the early part of the season. I know a lot has changed since my days working there, and I wish them the best. Just not sure how successful they will be in getting a crowd for those cold dreary winter days.

I saw it yesterday during the daytime and night. It is beautiful and gives me hope for the future of Epcot. If they continue to "plus" the park with nods to the past, the park will be great all around. Next stop: Journey Into Imagination! I can dream, can't I?

Well....first I am hoping and praying to return to my dream job of playing piano at WDW, a job I held for 21+ years. If that happens (hopefully spring-ish), here are my plans: IDEAL: CoasterStock at KI in May. I planned on going last year but...well...you know. CoasterMania! at Cedar Point in early June. Already booked my Breaker's Hotel room! Fingers crossed Denver in mid June to graduate with my master's degree from Univ. of Denver. And since I'm there, Lakeside, Elitchs (if it's still open) and MAYBE a trip up to Lagoon before flying back home. Virginia maybe July-ish. Need to get to BGW and KD to ride their new stuff! Cleveland in August for my nephew's wedding. Which means more CP (I do have a Platinum Pass!) October Knott's Scary Farm/Disneyland REALITY Putting it out there for the universe to hear me! Make it happen! AND WEAR A F*CKING MASK!!!!!!!!

Interesting how Cedar Point has so many on site hotels to encourage guests to extend their vacations, and yet Kings Island closed their own hotel years ago. Why won't they build another one? Knotts has a hotel, and even Carowinds built a new one a few years back. It just makes no sense why they would not want to capitalize on their guests. These cabins are a nice start, but they really need a full hotel with on site restaurants.

NOTE: you cannot get ROTR reservations unless DHS is the primary/first park you visit when park hopping. Not sure if this is new, but Disney did clarify this. Makes sense. And I assume there will be a 2pm exodus from DHS if you don't get in the 2nd group of riders for the day.

Glad we got a video, but I have a pet peeve. It's 2020. This footage should be in 4K or at the least 1080p. OR....they should have hired Robb to shoot it!

From Busch Gardens twitter feed The POV of Iron Gwazi: The people have spoken. It’s coming................. soon.

After 21 years as a musician, I was also terminated via email. Not sure how much a difference it will make, but if you miss LIVE entertainment, feel free to email WDW at wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com guest.services@disneyworld.com

Weekdays in the fall are usually good. Avoid the parks during the holidays, especially Christmas week. Also, winter tends to be not too bad but make sure it's not a holiday weekend (MLK day, etc)

Looks awesome! Thanks Robb for what was surely a monumental and thankless job! I thank you!

Was the line really this long or is it a mistake on the board? I don't think I've seen a line number that long since USJ's Flying Dinosaur. No. That was just a test of the monitor. It never had the time listed. I think it said "At Capacity" or "By Reservation Only."

I went on Friday for Premier Passholder preview day. Had 2pm reservations. Waited about 45 minutes for Tooth Fairy since they stopped the line for about 20-25 minutes for a cast changeover. Since this was the first day, I imagine they will figure out a better way to keep the attraction open and the line moving. The whole house felt like a typical HHN house with sets, sound, lights, and scare-actors. The only differences were the plexiglass dividers in front of each scene and the attendants with their red wands insuring people keeping their distance. I really like this house and its concept. Got out of the house at 2:55pm and ran to Bride of Frankenstein. Another 45 minute wait with about 15 minutes of not moving. This queue is brutal since it's on the Hollywood Bowl lawn with zero shade. People are asking for shade, but I don't know how they will accomplish this over such a huge area. The house itself was good, very gothic. Lots of monsters from the Universal era which was also a nice nod to the past. Overall it felt like a solid attempt at doing a house in these "unprecedented" times. A few other observations: The Scarecrow Stalk was GREAT! A really nice color map of the park with 13 locations, very easy to find. And the various skeletons and scarecrows were awesome and fit into the theme of the shop in which they resided. AND you get a bag of candy at the end! A few food trucks set up selling Twisted Taters and other typical HHN fare. I am assuming they will extend it since both parks closed to capacity this weekend, and the houses were all full by the first hour on the virtual queue system. The tribute store is awesome. Such a nice level of detail was created, and the bonus rooms make you wonder how much space they have in some of these fake store fronts! Enjoy the pics! The Spongebob Skeleton Men in Black Fast and Furious The Mummy Some cool shots of HRRR can be had from the Tooth Fairy queue Backstage shot of Hogwarts Express Brutally HOT!

I've been to the park a few times since COVID 19 and it was NEVER this crowded. I think a couple of factors came together: 1) Orange County schools starting on Monday 2) Perfect weather (although HOT but no rain) 3) People just tired of staying at home 4) Disney parks severely limiting attendance 5) New pay one day get the rest of year free pass 6) All Premier passholders can bring a friend for free AND express pass after 2pm 7) No reservations needed so no cap on amount of people in parks 8) Several BIG rides not running (Hagrids, Gringotts) and more closed (Fast & Furious, spinners at both parks) Put it all together and you get a clusterf*ck!

Sorry for the double post! Tried to delete but no luck! Enjoy the REAL post below!

If they need any help in selling out Howl-O-Scream, just add Iron Gwazi as only available during the event nights. I know tons of people who would gladly pay $24 for a chance to ride it!

Quick trip report Went today, Saturday August 15, 2020, and the place was MOBBED. I realize there is limited capacity, but I have not seen the park this crowded since the holidays. Lines for everything averaged 60+ minutes, and both Hagrids and Gringotts were down. Add onto that the temporary closures of Fast and Furious, Poseidon, and some other rides, and you got limited options. I did a quick loop and left without riding anything. Yeah. And this was at about 1pm. Representing CP at UO! See? Check out those wait times Yikes HARD pass When have you seen an 80 minute wait for the train?

I only rode Skyrush once its opening year. Painful. Beyond painful since I have big quads. The sitting on the brake run at the end was pretty much the worst moment I have ever had on a coaster. I could feel the blood clots starting. Why oh why did they design these lap bars so horribly? I've been on tons of other Intamins with no problems whatsoever. Has it gotten any better? I really will probably never ride it again if they haven't modified their restraints.