Canobie Coaster

As others have said, Sunday will probably be the busiest of those days. However, is Fantasmic a priority for you? For me, it would be since I love that show. In the slower times, they tend to only run the show Friday-Sunday.

^ This is one of the many reasons why I love going to parks in Japan (and Europe). Great report! I love the aerial shots of Hakugai. Shows just how big that wooden structure is.

Probably a ginger ale my parents forced me to drink 20+ years ago when I was sick. I hate soda.

Nor'Easter Mountain Coaster at Attitash

Lake Compounce- Haunted Graveyard Haunted Graveyard is the best time of year to visit Lake Compounce. There are three reasons. 1) Boulder Dash night rides are legendary and rare in the summer. 2) Their haunt is an hour long (not exaggerating). 3) It’s the cheapest time of year to visit (despite being the best). Happy Halloween However, I have a confession to make. I never actually did their haunt last year. It feels like a mortal sin saying that, but I’m simply too addicted to Boulder Dash. Usually I end up visiting Haunted Graveyard on Saturday nights. And since Hell will freeze over before they’ll run two trains on Boulder Dash, the ride usually has a 30-45 minute queue*. This year I took a different approach. I visited on the least desirable nights possible. Think a rainy Sunday night or a surprise Friday in November. Now this admittedly was a risk since a park owned by Parques Reunidos could close on a moment’s notice, but I was rewarded with this. Let the rerides commence! I rode Boulder Dash nonstop for almost 3 hours in both visits. Call me young, but the only pain I was in the next day was my thighs from all the airtime**. Boulder Dash was hauling. What haven’t I said about Boulder Dash? It may be an out-and-back coaster, but the layout is wildly unpredictable due to the mountain setting. You have your traditional bunny hills, mostly on the return run, but you also have several minimally banked turns with some powerful laterals. I think the closest comp for Boulder Dash is Voyage. If you love the Voyage, you’ll love Boulder Dash. Conversely, if you hate the Voyage, you’re going to hate Boulder Dash. And both give two of the wildest and darkest night rides out there. 10 out of 10 * Quick aside, but apparently the park did try to run two trains on October 5. However, the blue train valleyed during the test run. At least it’s not the worst mishap they’ve had adding a second train. No matter how many times I ride Boulder Dash, I'm always excited to ride it. Especially when those rides happen at night. ** Ok I may have been in a little pain the next day, but that wasn’t Boulder Dash’s fault. That was Wildcat’s fault. The ride was never smooth, but it has somehow gotten worse since they’ve retracked it and added Millennium Flyers. 1 out of 10 I’d say it’s the worst wooden coaster I’ve ever ridden, but Parque Warner Madrid’s Coaster Express is in a class of its own. If you like frights, ride Wildcat. It's one brutal ride. Even the park classifies Wildcat as toxic waste. And then on each of my visits, I took a token lap on Phobia. That’s sort of unfair to say that about Phobia, but Phobia is like a burger. Boulder Dash is like a prime rib. Why have a burger when you can have a prime rib? But at least it’s a darn good burger. The airtime on the main ascent and descent is simply incredible, as is the hangtime on the barrel roll. Plus you have a forceful three-part launch. 8 out of 10 RIP Enterprise. Lake Compounce is a charming traditional park. While not all the changes over the past few years have been positive, Boulder Dash is still running like a bat-out-of-hell and the park has a haunt to be proud of. As long as that stays the same, I’ll keep going through the gate. These fries are a pretty good reason to return as well.

Islands of Adventure Triceratops Discovery Trail has closed. Below are some photos of Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Here's the new Incredible Hulk Coaster entrance. Here's the Caro-seuss-el. Universal Studios Florida Disaster, Terminator 2 3D, and Twister have closed. Here's Fast and Furious: Supercharged. Here's the facade for the Bourne Stuntacular. Here's a queue photo for Jimmy Fallon. A few rides don't quite match if you want them updated. Amazing Adventures of Spiderman Despicable Me Minion Mayhem Incredible Hulk Coaster Jurassic Park: The Ride Kang & Kodos' Twist 'n' Hurl Men in Black Alien Attack Transformers the Ride 3D

Great report! Congratulations for now ruining every single free spin in the United States. I remember Ultra Twister having a brutal brake at the far end, but found it smooth otherwise.

I really like the variant on the PowerSplash and the rocking boat looks like a cool idea for a dark ride.

You're welcome.

I was able to find an Uber from the Stoke-on-Trent train station to Alton Towers. There weren't many Ubers available, but there were plenty of taxis. To get back to Stoke-on-Trent, I recommend reserving a taxi in advance. There may not be any by Alton Towers. I stayed onsite at Alton Towers and the hotel booked a taxi for me that was waiting for me a half hour after park closing.

Canobie Lake Park- Screeemfest Best new addition of 2020? Some may say Iron Gwazi. Others may say Orion. But there is no debate. The best addition of 2020 is Canobie Lake Park finally getting season passes! I admittedly may be a *little* biased here. Since the season passes were good for the remainder of 2019 Screeemfest, you can say I frequented the event quite a bit. I think I already got my money’s worth in 2019 alone. Dreams do come true! I saw this dragon quite a bit in 2019. The park definitely attracts large amounts of teenagers. As a result, expect a lot of line jumping. The haunts do offer a $15 skip-the-line pass if you find it getting out-of-hand. Typically, the haunts max out at a 30 minute wait on a busy day. The park’s top haunt by far is Carnivus. The park took the abandoned carnival/circus theme and nailed it perfectly. I love haunts with great sets and atmosphere. Carnivus excels in both these areas and also adds in the obligatory scare actors. Plus you have some unique obstacles. These include a claustrophobia room, vortex tunnel, and mirror maze. Carnivus is the love child of a fun house and a haunt. I visited Hollywood Horror Nights before Screeemfest and I have to say that Carnivus compares favorably to anything there. Carnivus is the only haunt I’d say that about. 9.5 out of 10 This is easily the park's signature haunt. Canobie Lake Hotel is in the same show building as Carnivus and is themed to a decrepit, run down hotel. That’s something I’m unfamiliar with since I only stay at classy establishments like Motel 6. I found the sets very detailed and the scare actors were numerous, but the darkened lighting made it difficult to appreciate some of the finer details. 7 out of 10 Honestly, this hotel looks no different than the Conneaut Lake Hotel. In the past, the Culling has been light on jump scares. Instead, it relies on the creepiness of cult worship taking place in a giant cornfield. I’m happy to say the actors actually try to scare you this year. This haunt has barely any details. Rather it’s all about the jump scares and eerie atmosphere of the cornfield. I found it just ok, but plenty of people were crapping their pants. 6 out of 10 Facility 235 is actually attached to the exit of the Culling. It’s sort of weird to transition from a cornfield cult to a nuclear power plant, but I don’t care one bit since it lets me skip another queue. Facility 235 is very short, but it’s easily the loudest of the park’s haunts. The scare actors on this one are quite aggressive and really get up in the faces of guests. 6 out of 10 WTF is that thing? The fifth and final haunt is easily the worst. And that would be the Village. Like the Culling, this one takes place in a cornfield. However, this one is missing a key component of a good haunt, scare actors. There are some, but they don’t appear until the second half of the maze. 4 out of 10 The other reason why I hate the Village is because of its location. Canobie puts the Village in Ole Canobie Village. The problem with this is that it closes the midway. I understand there’s a low chance they’d run the flume this time of year, but it’s a shame their dark ride closes for this subpar haunt. It still baffles me the park closes their "haunted house" for their haunt event. Beyond the haunts, Canobie also had two different live shows. The first was Rocktoberfest, where the park cycles in a bunch of different tribute bands. None of them are great, but none of them are bad either. But I have a major tip for you. Try to ride the Yankee Cannonball during these shows. The ride’s queue is literally across from the stage, so you get some entertainment while you wait. The better of the two shows was Twisted Sideshow. It blended your typical dance show with freak show stunts. The audience in particular loved the sword swallowing. The dude with the horns was insane and terrifying. Some people eat nails for breakfast. Others get them hammered into their face. Sparks will fly. Outside of the water rides and Mine of Lost Souls being closed, Canobie typically has everything else operating. Even the Xtreme Frisbee decided to run, which is quite rare for that ride. This was also my first visit since the new-for-2019 Venetian Carousel opened. It looks nice, but it does feel a bit cheap when you ride it. The poles are pretty flimsy and shared between the top and bottom levels. This means if a kid is pole dancing down below, you’re going to feel it. The upper horses are also pretty cramped for adults. 3 out of 10 I'm still confused why the park decided to build a 3rd carousel. Beyond that, I spent most of my visits riding favorites such as the Yankee Cannonball and Turkish Twist. I’ve already shared my opinions on these rides countless times, so I’ll let the photos do the talking. Screeemfest is one of the best times of the year to visit Canobie. While you do miss out on their great log flume and interesting dark ride, lines are manageable and you can experience Carnivus for yourself.

Maybe I've gotten lucky, but my rides on Cyborg have flipped from start to finish. I didn't get those rides with endless rocking I see others talk about.

I agree about Cars, but I can't quite say that about Toy Story.

And if they continue the trend of Alien Swirling Saucers and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, this is going to have a nice soundtrack with it too.

^ Out of curiosity, how tall are you? I've never had an issue with the Premier comfort collars touching me during the ride. They just slow loading.

I really liked Deluge when I rode it in 2016, but it has been closed my past 2 visits.

^ Absolutely! Was the party included on your annual pass or was that an upcharge?

Kings Island announced their early morning rides for the 2020 season and (in a not so surprising move) Orion will be included.

Magic Kingdom- Mickey’s Not So Spooky Halloween Most theme parks celebrate Halloween trying to scare guests to death. Outside of violent villain deaths, fear isn’t really Disney’s MO. Therefore, they celebrate with Mickey’s Not So Spooky Halloween Party. This event is an upcharge, but it’s well worth it. For one, ride lines are minimal. But beyond that, you also have free trick-or-treating, special shows, and unique twists on classic attractions. This was my first "after hours" event at Disney World, and it won't be my last. Some may call this pumpkin disfigured. Others would call it Mickey Mouse. The party officially started at 7 pm, but we could enter the park as soon as 4 pm. So that’s exactly what we did since I had a Fastpass booked for my (then) favorite ride at the resort, Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain is perfection. It’s long. It’s well-themed. It’s refreshing. And the climactic final plunge never disappoints. I’ve been on almost 950 roller coasters, but I think Splash Mountain is better than all but 20-30 of them. 10 out of 10 It's a game of tug-of-war between the crocodile's teeth and Brer Bear's fat keister. Who will win? The most critical ride to experience before the party was Jungle Cruise. That was the only major attraction closed for the event. Out of curiosity, does anyone know why? We used our second Fastpass to skip a 50 minute wait and it was delightfully corny. The guides absolutely make the experience. It also helps when you can see wonders of the world like the backside of water! 9.5 out of 10 Who needs the backside of water when you have the top side of water? After burning some time in the gift shops, it was time for our third and final Fastpass, Space Mountain. This was another priority before the party started. We were both looking forward to the pitch black Deep Space Mountain at night, but Emily also wanted to experience it in its natural state. There’s no such thing as a bad Space Mountain, but I think Orlando’s reigns supreme. Unlike the others, this one focuses on drops. And there are 4 surprisingly intense drops with some bonafide airtime! 8.5 out of 10 Tron's layout was pretty much complete. That just goes to show how much theming they need to add around it before the 2020 opening. By now, the park had officially closed for regular guests. So we began knocking off the dark rides. We started with Buzz Lightyear. Thanks to my buddy, I now know how to obtain a perfect score. Emily was pissed I beat her, so she wanted a second go. While she scored almost 600,000, it was no match for my 999,999. Knowing where the 100,000 point targets are really helps. 8 out of 10 A perfect score! We then rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This was my first time riding a US Pooh ride since experiencing the incredible Pooh’s Hunny Hunt. While the story is basically the same, I really do miss that trackless ride system. 7 out of 10 Remember, gluttony is a sin. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was a posted 45 minute wait, but I suspected it would be much less without Fastpass. And indeed it was. After just 20-25 minutes, we were boarding the back row. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden Seven Dwarfs in the back, but it was wilder than expected. It’s no Big Thunder, but some of the turns had some real yank to them. Plus the charming dark ride segment in the middle never disappoints. 7 out of 10 Sometimes, you just want to appreciate the wind in your ears. Ah the magic of night. It's the time of day when my camera can make a family coaster look like it's going 100 mph. After a quick snack at Gaston’s, we walked right onto Under the Sea- Little Mermaid. I always forget just how long this queue line is. I’d hate to have to wait in the entire thing! The Little Mermaid is definitely one of my guilty pleasure rides. I love the soundtrack and it does a fairly good job retelling the story. The only glaring omission is the gratuitously violent death scene for Ursula. 9 out of 10 Emily said this report needed some food porn. Ariel has utensils to eat food porn with. But no food porn. We then met up with 805Andrew to experience Deep Space Mountain…or so we thought. Instead, we got something much rarer. We got an elusive lights on ride! You see, the Peoplemover broke down. This meant the work lights came on in Space Mountain’s dome. The end result was a truly terrifying experience. I knew Space Mountain had some tight clearances, but I didn’t realize just how tight some of them were. Poor Slinky didn't meet the height requirement, but I was able to sneak him on. We then made our way towards the hub to watch Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade. As you’d expect, the parade was packed! But eventually we found a decent spot that wasn’t obstructed by trees or kids atop their parents’ shoulders. I’m not the biggest parade person, but it was neat seeing some unique characters like all the ghosts from the Haunted Mansion. Plus, the soundtrack is still stuck in my head. These are some characters you don't see everyday. I'm impressed Minnie found a Disney appropriate Halloween costume. It seems like every single girl's costume nowadays is Sexy (Insert Profession). We contemplated riding Pirates of the Caribbean, but we realized we didn’t have enough time before the fireworks. So instead, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and staked out a spot on Main Street. Simply put, Disney’s Not So Spooky Spectacular was breathtaking. Fireworks alone don’t do much for me, but I am a big fan if they’re paired with dazzling projection mapping technology and music. Projection mapping makes everything better. We then beat the rush over to Pirates of the Caribbean and walked right on. For Halloween, the ride incorporates live actors. And we were really interested to see how they’d be incorporated. We were slightly disappointed, but that’s probably our fault. I guess I envisioned them running around with the animatronics, but in retrospect, that probably wouldn’t fly with OSHA. Instead, there were 3-4 people on bridges providing some extra narration. While they didn’t add much, Pirates is already a fantastic attraction on its own. 9 out of 10 I felt like Mufasa in the stampede. It seemed like everyone rushed here after the fireworks. We then took a spin on the wildest ride in the wilderness, Big Thunder Mountain. But it wasn’t before Emily caused an uproar in the queue line after she spotted a cockroach. Turns out, Disney does have some scare actors! Per usual, we requested the back and it was great. The laterals on the helices are more powerful than you’d expect and there are some really abrupt pops of airtime. 7.5 out of 10 If I never rode Big Thunder again during the daytime hours, I wouldn't complain. One ride on Splash Mountain simply wasn’t enough, so of course we returned for a night ride. Thankfully no one else wanted to have a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah good time, as it was a complete walk-on. Raising Slinky up for his christening. We finally got our pitch black Space Mountain ride right before closing. It was difficult navigating across the park after the second parade concluded. Emily was tempted by It’s a Small World, which had been closed all-night until this point, but she chose wisely and picked Space Mountain instead. I knew the main coaster bit would be in complete darkness, but I guess I thought the tunnels and lift would still be illuminated. It was quite eerie being in there with absolutely no lights. But I loved it! We then finished our night with the Hocus Pocus Spelltacular. This show has multiple showings throughout the night, but the final one is right at park closing. This is unequivocally the best showtime since it’s essentially bonus time. Hocus Pocus was much more involved than expected. I didn’t realize the show included all the other iconic Disney villains or the castle projections. And the “Spell on You” finale was the perfect way to end the night. The Sanderson sisters aren't afraid of fire. They've survived that once before. That's a lot of evil on one stage. We then took our time leaving the park. It gave us a chance to truly appreciate the park’s wonderful atmosphere and get all the photos our hearts desired. And we also ran into Robb, who was doing the same thing. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween was a marvelous event. If nothing else, the reduced wait times alone make it worth it. But then you have all the bonus activities that make it truly special. Did I also mention Disney had all sorts of cool photo ops throughout the park? I always feel like a child walking down Main Street.

Jack Rabbit at Kennywood

^ It still amazes me in Japan that luggage could arrive in a hotel lobby out in the open and remain perfectly safe.

^ I just checked Wikipedia. If it's correct, there are still 29 left in 20 different countries. Great Adventure's Twister is the last one in the US.

^ I have no clue what you're talking about. I love Storm Chaser's location. Its remote setting at the park of the park basically guarantees it's always a walk-on.

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure

^ If it's not broken, don't fix it. I don't mind if several of their rides are similar since they're so good.