Canobie Coaster

I'm seeing online that they have removed the 3D glasses from Ratatouille and converted the ride to 2D. Not sure if this is permanent or a temporary test. Considering the ride was running with 3D just a few weeks ago for my visit and Disney didn't take it down for rehab, I have to applaud them for seemingly rolling this change in overnight.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom is running a pretty cool event for members on Friday, May 25. They're having a "midnight party" from 10 pm to 3 am to celebrate the opening of their new Batman the Ride 4D coaster. The article also states all of DC Universe will be open too, so I think that means Joker, Superman, Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman should be running too. Link to Event on Six Flags site

I thought Voyage was running as well at Labor Day last year as it was for Memorial Day in 2017. I also admittedly have a higher tolerance for aggressive woodies considering how often I ride Boulder Dash.

Great report! I went to the Smole's by Niagara Falls. It was the first time I've ever had poutine and it has ruined it every other time I've gotten it. That place was amazing.

I don't remember them being quite as snug as the inverters (there was a time SFNE had both rides). Inverters seem to be on their way out too. I haven't seen one in my travels outside of the one at Six Flags Mexico.

^ I'm wondering if it could be a star flyer since the Funtime ones have a lattice structure. Whatever it ends up being, the views should be exceptional! Make sure you get the bacon pretzel at the pretzel place across from Verbolten. It's the best item I've ever eaten at a theme park. I also really like Trapper's Smokehouse for a meal. For a plan of attack, the three coasters I've seen with the longest waits are Tempesto, InvadR, and Verbolten. But on the weekday, I don't anticipate those lines becoming too unbearable.

Wow I guess I liked the sky swats more than most.

I love the backdrop!

Pure gold! Oh come on, you don't know if it made your top 10 yet?

I'm really intrigued to see how this tracks after Harley Quinn was a loud rattly mess.

I’m so sad I never got to ride one of these. I was totally fascinated by them. Can someone describe the ride experience? I rode Catapult once a visit while it was at SFNE. The lap bars were like those of the screamin' swing except I remember they'd tighten with each breath. You also had these shoulder bars like Schwarzkopf's accordion restraints. I remember those too also tightening during the ride. The ride wasn't particularly forceful. The inversions were taken pretty slowly so you could definitely feel the blood rush to your head. The visual of barreling towards the ground and sweeping back up at the last second was pretty neat. If you've been on a Rock-O-Plane and lock your car at the top, you can sort of replicate the feeling. It took forever to load. The employees spent quite a bit of time balancing the arms and then adjusting everyone's restraints. In its final years, the ride suffered a lot of downtime. While I do miss it for its uniqueness, the SkyScreamer sitting in its place is a superior attraction.

Maverick is my favorite ride for sunset shots too.

From my experience, lines in the ride park aren't usually too bad. I went on a holiday weekend the past two years and the longest line I've seen for the coasters has been a half hour. The water park can get bad crowds on a hot day though. Fortunately the two water coasters have single rider lines.

Nigloland - Bobsleigh has closed. - Big Wheel has been renamed the Grande Roue. I just posted a trip report of Nigloland. It includes the following rides: - Apple Flight - Carousel - Dinosaures Aventure - Donjon de L'Extreme - Ferme D'Antonin (Tractor Ride) - Grizzli - Herissons de la Foret Magique - Riviere Canadienne I also have attached photos of the following rides: - Bumper's Cars - Caravelles de Jacques Cartier - Chevauchee Fantastique - Circuit de Nigloland - Dragons Volants - Galion Pirate - Juke Box - King of the Mississippi - Montgolfieres - P'tit Poucet - Riviere Enchantee - Ronde des Canards - Route 66 - Tacots 1900 - Tour de Petits - Train - Zabeilles Bumper's Cars (yes it has a possessive like that) Caravelles de Jacques Cartier Chevauchee Fantastique Circuit de Nigloland Circuit de Nigloland Dragons Volants Galion Pirate Juke Box King of the Mississippi Montgolfieres Ronde des Canards Route 66 Route 66 Route 66 Tacots 1900 Tacots 1900 Train Train Zabeilles P'tit Poucet Riviere Enchantee Tour des Petits Fantomes Tour des Petits Fantomes

Even the worst B&M hyper I've been on is better than all the coasters at Hershey except Skyrush or Storm Runner. And to me that's the worst case scenario.

Nigloland Nigloland was the surprise hit of my France trip. I was questioning its inclusion since it was a a 5.5 hour roundtrip drive from Disneyland Paris, but I was intrigued by Mack’s take on a mega-lite. Alpina Blitz was great, but I discovered the park was much more than just that one ride. One, it was gorgeous. European parks seem to place a greater emphasis on landscaping and Nigloland is no exception. Everywhere I looked, I saw trees, gardens, and fountains. I’m pretty sure you could visit this park just to enjoy the atmosphere. Holy moly, this park is a beauty. Two, it had an undeniable charm. Rides were whimsical. Stations were themed. And employee uniforms were themed individually to the ride; the latter was the most surprising since that’s usually only a touch seen at major theme parks like Disney. Take Alpina Blitz for example. The station is themed to a ski lodge and the employee donned traditional Bavarian attire. What a beautiful station. I also need to give Nigloland credit for one of the most efficient loading systems I have ever seen. The turnstile is automated to only allow for enough guests to fill the train. And it can be adjusted dynamically to accommodate for exit passes. A few other rides like their drop tower also used this system. Their storage bins are way more advanced than I’d expect from a small park. If you’ve been on Flying Dinosaur, little ole Nigloland has the same system. Loose articles go in the front door and you retrieve them from the back door. This means there’s no cluster of exiting and boarding guests. In one side, out the other. Maximum efficiency. My first ride was in the front row and it was enjoyable. Like most Macks, it was glossy smooth. And almost every hill gave some nice floater air. But at no point did I feel like the ride was completely out-of-control. But then I rode in the back row and refused to ride anywhere else. Note that sign above the back row. That's a sign for enthusiasts saying "ride here". To put in perspective how much wilder the back row is, it has an additional height requirement of 1.5 m (or ~ 60 inches). The added intensity was apparent from the start as the first drop tried to launch me back to Paris. That was followed by a low-to-the-ground turn that had me seeing grey on each ride. The next hill was the slowest, but it still provided a mix of floater air and laterals. That’s followed by a sizable camelback with strong floater. But that’s it for the floater air. The rest of the ride is ejector. Like the Intamin versions, the s-hills were the most intense part of the ride. It was a cocktail of ejector pops and wicked laterals. The finale then reverted back to straight airtime hills. These final three hills delivered something in between floater and ejector in copious amounts. I’m sure many of you are wondering if Alpina Blitz is better than an Intamin Mega Lite. But I’m not the right person to answer it. I’ve only ridden Kawasemi, but I know it wasn’t running to its fullest potential. Tobu Zoo was so empty that it basically only ran when myself and one other TPR member rode it. So from my experience, I do prefer Alpina Blitz. That may change the next time I ride a Mega Lite, but one thing cannot be debated; Alpina Blitz is a super reridable airtime machine. 9 out of 10 Nigloland's signature attraction delivers. What a great first drop! The second hill was reminiscent of that top hat thing on Blue Fire. Airtime. And more airtime. The park’s other notable coaster is Spatiale Experience. Essentially, it’s a space-themed version of Europa Park’s Eurosat, right down to the long spiral lift. Like Alpina Blitz, this one had a clear best seat. Except this time, it was the front row. The laterals on this thing are borderline violent. The turns themselves are super tight, but it’s made even more intense by the fact they’re taken in the dark (outside of some blacklit cutouts). Picture that final turn on Disneyland’s Space Mountain repeated a few times. If you’re looking for drops, Spatiale Experience isn’t for you. But if you’re a fan of laterals, this coaster is for you. 7 out of 10 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, spiral lift hill! Speaking of whimsical rides, look no further than Apple Flight. The park took what would otherwise be a non-descript wave swinger and replaced the wicker basket seats with apples. Yes it’s slow, but it’s zany. 5 out of 10 I never knew apples could fly. By this point, I realized Nigloland was more than just a credit stop. I made it a mission to try smaller rides too. One of which was Ferme D’Antonin. Google thinks that translates to Ant Farm, but I’ll just call it the tractor ride. Nigloland has 3-4 different track-guided car rides, but this was the best. First, you ride in tractors. They have the big wheels and everything. Plus the course takes you through a well-themed farm with all sorts of props. Honestly this felt more like a dark ride than a car ride. 8 out of 10 This isn't your average antique car ride. It has a farm... and tractors! There are goats too. It was then back to the coasters. Schlitt’ Express is the park’s wild mouse. The big drop gave a pop of air, but the rest of the ride was tame and overbraked. 4 out of 10 What's in the shed? Usually wacky worms are nothing more than credits and a source of shame for coaster enthusiasts. Since it was pouring, I was the only one dumb enough to ride Chenille. As the operator decided to wait for more riders, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity and sadness of the situation. Now this is why I came to France. In the blink of an eye, the rain stopped and moments later we had a full train. As the operator checked restraints, mine didn’t lock. Was I too big or was it broken? The operator just told me to hold the lap bar down and dispatched the train. It felt like Camden Park all over again. The first lap was uneventful. The only oddity was that the trimless “big” drop. No airtime, but we were now cruising at a respectable speed. The train then roared through the station unbraked. Something was missing- the brakes. Then the magic happened. Airtime. Honest-to-god airtime on a wacky worm. The unexpectedness of the air caused me to let go my lap bar and it rocketed back to its upmost position. I instinctively pulled it back down and was plastered to the side of the train for the pre-lift turn. WTF was that? The second lap acted like nothing had ever happened and then the ride came to a full stop. But I was still in shock. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was a one-time occurance that my lap bar wouldn’t lock. But I will always remember the time a wacky worm genuinely terrified me. 6 out of 10 That's *the* drop. Straddled with wacky worm PTSD, I boarded the Herissons de la Foret Magique. It was an adorable track-guided ride with a few show scenes. There were some bunny hills (don’t get excited, it’s powered) too for good measure. 7 out of 10 It's Elissa's favorite ride. Not only is the ride cute, but it has dark ride scenes too. As often as I’ve visited Cedar Fair parks, I’ve never done Dinosaurs Alive. Even if it were free, I’d skip it in favor of the coasters. But at a small park like Nigloland, I decided to try Dinosaures Aventure. The Jurassic Park theme music and entrance was too much to pass up. As someone who doesn’t speak French, the preshow and information plaques were lost on me. The walkthrough reminded me of an old exhibit at my local zoo. It consisted of 5 or so minimally animated dinosaurs. 4 out of 10 Jurassic Park? John Hammond? I feel like this has to be from some dino movie. I took a lap on Air Meeting, the Gerstlauer sky roller. I used to own these things. In 2017, I was regularly getting 30-50 flips on these things. But this one kicked my keister. I really had to work for my flips. Eventually I got the all-important first flip. Usually this leads to a rapid-fire barrage of inversions. On this one, my momentum only gave me 2-3 flips before I’d have to work for more. After the third time this happened, I slowed down before giving myself a hernia. Either I’ve lost something or the two I’ve ridden lately in Dubai and Nigloland have more resistance to them. 7 out of 10 Ready to take flight? This ride is a serious workout. Manoir Hante was one of the most bizarre haunted houses I’ve ever experienced. From a theming standpoint, it’s well done. The park rips off Disney’s Haunted Mansion, hitchhiking ghost and all. But it has one weird inclusion- spinning. Now I’m a fan of spinning rides. I’m that blur you see on the tea cups. However, I was perplexed why it was added to this haunted house. The second half has a non-stop, controlled spin, but it didn’t really add anything. It just made it harder to appreciate the ride’s scenes. 6 out of 10 Oh my god, I found it. The one, the only... Bench the Ride! Speaking of Disney ripoffs, the best is the Africa Cruise. Nigoland basically took the Jungle Cruise and cutout the tour guide. As a fan of dry humor, that part stung, but I was impressed by the scenes. How could I not love a hippo pissing towards the boat? 8 out of 10 I feel like I've seen this before. This too. What a beautiful picture...wait is that? Yes a pissing hippo. Donjon de L’Extreme is undoubtedly the park’s most intense ride. It’s surprising to see a drop tower this colossal (300+ feet!) at such a small park, but I certainly appreciated it. It’s another Funtime tower, so it’s a jumbo Drop Line. The long pause at the top allowed me to appreciate the vast nothingness around Nigloland. That made the wooded setting of Nigloland even more impressive. But as expected, the drop stole the show. No air, but my stomach dropped on the initial descent and it was a long drop. 8.5 out of 10 Now this is one dungeon I can get behind. Some may consider being lifted 300 feet up as torture. Not me. Here's the ride sign for good measure. The last credit was Train de la Mine, a Mack powered coaster. The ride doesn’t have any drops, but it holds its speed, has numerous near-misses with the flume, and even has a few tunnels. 5 out of 10 Identity crisis the ride. The station says Gold Mine Train, but the website says Train de la Mine. Speaking of that log flume, Riviere Canadienne was short but sweet. The wooded setting is peaceful, only to be interrupted by the screams of the powered coaster overhead. The final drop wasn’t anything to write home about, but it did offer the perfect wetness. 6 out of 10 Canada, eh? I thought the rivers in Canada froze? For Larry. Nigoland also has a disko coaster, so I made sure to take a lap on Grizzli. This was your average disko coaster and that’s fine by me. The hump in the middle makes all the difference compared to the standard model, as the whip is quite pronounced. 7 out of 10 I don't need a translation for this one. Clearly Grizzli means "horrible wooden roller coaster" Before concluding the night with an Alpina Blitz marathon, I grabbed a batch of fries. And let me tell you, they were delicious. Piping hot, perfectly salty, and a massive portion. It checked all the boxes for me. I had to be careful not to spill any fries; they filled it up that much. I spent the last 45 minutes reriding Alpina Blitz. In total, I think I got 10-11 rides on the coaster. It was never more than a one train wait and I never deviated from the back car. This is the type of coaster I’d love to see more US parks add. It’s not a record-breaker, but it’s just pure fun. Nigoland closes the rides a half hour before the park itself, so I had some extra time to appreciate the park’s beauty. And eventually that led me to the park’s carousel museum. Apparently, it’s a new addition for 2019. While I wouldn’t quite call it a full museum, it’s certainly something. They decorated the perimeter of their carousel pavilion with all sorts of props (old horses, band organ) and displays of old rides. If you like the miniatures in the Cedar Point Museum, you’ll love this little exhibit at Nigloland. Beautiful pavilion. Beautiful ride. And beautiful models. Ultimately, I loved almost everything about Nigloland. Despite the intermittent cruddy weather, the park’s beauty was always apparent. And the ride had a great mix of rides. You had the major thrills in Alpina Blitz and Donjon plus some odd family rides ranging from charming to goofy. The lone downside with Nigloland was the layout. The park consists of two dead-ends. That alone doesn’t bother me. Some parks simply are too spread out to be connected. I get that. What I find odd with Nigloland is that the two dead-ends are mere feet apart yet they aren’t connected. Again it's a minor thing and I hope one day they can complete the loop. Spatiale Experience and Grizzli are a 15-20 minute walk apart. (Map from Nigloland site) In reality, the two rides are mere feet apart. And I’ve since read online the park is adding some sort of launched kiddie coaster from ABC rides next year. I guess the park wants to one-up their wacky worm. If I only have two days in Paris, I’m spending it at Disneyland and Asterix. But if I have a third day, I’m going to Nigloland.

I've only ridden Guardian once and I really liked it. Assuming they've maintained it, I'm looking forward to getting back on it.

^ Even my hair is going wild and it isn't exactly long.

While I agree far away syndrome is a thing, I think it's more that China has been installing more of the newer GCIs than the US and they have much better pacing. Two of GCI's biggest and newest coasters in the US placed highly in Mystic Timbers and Gold Striker. Guilty as charged. Shockwave had some crazy airtime in the back row and felt even more forceful than Mindbender. The latter has the better setting though.

Yankee Cannonball at Canobie Lake Park

I don't watch Game of Thrones. Despite this, I have a general idea what has happened because I come across the spoilers from the conversations of others and the internet. But I was stunned how I found out a spoiler from last night's episode. SportsCenter anchor Michael Eaves said the 76ers season ended like (Character X) on Game of Thrones died. This wasn't even an hour after the episode aired. People were furious.

I agree it's weird to see a park of this size without a water ride in the dry park, but like michaellynn4 said, they have a sizable water park now so they could close the rapids.

One note on Knoebels is that they do not usually offer a pay-one-price wristband on Saturdays and Sundays. You can look up the date you want to visit in advance to see if it's offered. I would recommend that park on the Friday as originally planned because you will want to ride everything.

Eiffel Tower Do you think I’d visit France and not go to one of the world’s most iconic structures? My family sure did. Well I proved them wrong and went to the Eiffel Tower. Even though I had a car, there was no way in hell I was going to drive into Paris. Fortunately Disneyland Paris has a train station right there and it was an easy hour ride with just one transfer. I think it would have taken the same amount of time to drive, but the train was cheaper and far less stressful. It's the supersized version of Kings Island's tower! She is a beauty. If you read reviews online, many will note queue times longer than Flight of Passage. If you plan ahead, you can pre-book a time online. Instead of waiting in a cattle pen to purchase tickets, you walk right through security. I had a bit of a brain fart when I purchased my ticket. I wanted to ascend the tower at sunset, so I eagerly booked a 22:30 time slot. Shortly after buying my non-refundable ticket, I realized I made a mistake converting from military time. Whoops. While I missed out on sunset views, the twilight views were spectacular. Paris is called the city of lights and I can certainly see why. It was quite magical to be on the open-air skydeck that late at night. Some thought it was magical enough for a $25 shot of wine, but I wouldn’t go that far. Greetings from 900 feet in the air. Arch de Triumph Some government buildings. Trocadero I love how the spotlight scans the city. I spy with my little eye an amusement park or carnival in the top right. Any idea which park that is? The top also has a replica of Gustave Eiffel's old office. At the top of every hour, the Eiffel Tower has a bedazzling light show. Unfortunately I was not able to see it from ground level, but it was quite interesting to see from atop the tower. If you are claustrophobic, I would advise against going to the summit. The elevators are a mosh pit. You better hope your neighbor put on deodorant because you will be intimately packaged together like a Chipotle burrito. Yes that's a statue on the side of the elevator. If that sounds so unpleasant that you don’t want to take in the gorgeous views, there is one alternative. They do offer stairs to the first level, which is still almost as tall as Magnum XL-200. This climb will make you yearn for your typical 50 foot tall water slide tower. It looks like a kaleidoscope. Maybe the stairs weren't such a good idea... I was originally going to visit Notre Dame, but that plan went up in flames. So the Eiffel Tower ended up being the lone touristy thing I did in Paris. And it was well worth it. The views were breathtaking.

At least it should be open for West Coast Bash 2019 2020.