Canobie Coaster

Most parks last year didn't ask for any proof of anything. None of the parks in states that required a covid test to travel there actually checked. They just had the covid exposure questions and I think they assumed everyone would automatically say yes/no. The only park I saw take the covid questions super seriously was Canobie. The security guards would change the wording each time so you couldn't just blindly answer yes or no.

I can only think of one or two instances where an indoor ride has closed due to rain and it was a leaky roof. I'd like to think this new building was made correctly.

Kalahari Round Rock Since I saw a few people discussing the pricing of the Kalahari parks, I thought it would be a fitting time to discuss my experience at the chain's newest location in Round Rock, Texas. I visited just over a week after it opened on a weekday. Depending on the day you visit, prices can cost upwards of $120-130 if you aren't a hotel guest. This is to minimize capacity so on-site guests can enjoy the water park with very little waits. I suspect the fact I visited during an off-peak period before many people knew the place was open is why I could get a day pass for just $50. That's still expensive for a water park, but it's significantly better than most days. This was the first Kalahari I had ever visited. While the water park looked hideous from the outside, it looked pretty good on the inside with the vibrant color schemes on the slides and murals on the walls. Since I visited during 2020, I arrived right at opening. I didn't want to risk dealing with crowds in a water park, especially an indoor one. I didn't have to wait in a single line. The only downside to arriving so early was that the Sahara Sidewinder drop pod slide was closed for a rather weird reason. Maintenance had forgotten to unlock the ride for the day, so the employee couldn't operate the ride. I kept checking if the slide was open, but maintenance never showed up to open it, which was a bummer since I love these drop pod slides. The park has two main slide towers. The first featured my favorite operating attraction in the Tanzanian Twister, a body bowl slide. I always love these slides for the fast initial plunge and awkward final plunge into the splashdown pool. 8 out of 10 The other body slide on this tower is the Zig Zag Zebra. This was an average body slide with a few decently forceful turns. 6 out of 10 The tower also had a series of tube slides. Stingray was one of those slides with a giant wall and it had a thrilling drop. The others were slightly better than average since the park allowed riders to experience them backwards. Not many places allow that. Across the park is another slide tower. This one features two of the park's most extreme body slides. The aforementioned drop pod slide was closed, but Screaming Hyena was open and it had a very steep and thrilling drop. 7 out of 10 This tower also included a tornado slide, another family raft slide, and a mat racer. None of these were standouts, but they filled out the lineup nicely. Beyond the kiddie rides, there was one other water slide off on its own. I forget this slide's name, but it was a shockingly long name for a water slide. I liked how this slide was built among this fake rockwork and I was surprised these body slides had a rather high drop off into the water. 6 out of 10 I mainly visited Kalahari since I had an extra day to burn and the state's major parks were closed on weekdays, but it was a fun water park. The park has an extensive slide line-up covering most genres outside of a water coaster. While the slides are fun, none are truly unique to this park and they all can be found elsewhere. It's just rare to find them all in one specific park like this. So I wouldn't recommend adding this on a Texas theme park trip unless you can get a great deal on a hotel room.

^ It was expensive when I visited that Kalahari back in November, but it was less than half that. I also visited on a weekday and the place had just opened, so I'm guessing not many people knew about it. I can understand why a place like Kalahari jacks up the rates to keep crowds low for the hotel guests. The DreamWorks Water Park is a bit of a different story since it's not attached to a hotel. But if they can reach the crowd levels they want charging those prices, all power to them. I only visited once. I loved the park. But I went on a weekday when I was one of like 50 people in the whole park, so it felt like I had the place to myself.

They are very transparent at the gate which rides are closed. All of them were open in my last visit.

I suspect it'll be a super compact coaster that takes the inversion record. Isn't Cedar Point rumored to get a new coaster in 2022? That seems like a record they'd love to get and they seem to be pressed for space right now unless they remove something.

SeaWorld updated the note to remove the option for out-of-state residents to provide a covid test. The only way for out-of-state residents to visit now is being fully vaccinated. In the reopen California documents, there's a statement "fully vaccinated persons from out of state may visit or attend activities or events that are restricted to in-state visitors."

Per the SeaWorld San Diego website, out-of-state residents are now allowed to visit with evidence of being fully vaccinated or by presenting a covid test taken within 72 hours of visiting. SeaWorld San Diego is now operating as a theme park with rides, indoor and outdoor animal exhibits, and outdoor live animal presentations with physically-distanced seating. Per state COVID-19 restrictions, attendance is limited to California in-state visitors, and now out-of-state visitors will be required to show proof of a completed COVID-19 vaccine or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their park visit (required for guests 3 & up). Guests may also be asked to present proof of residency upon entry. Party sizes may not contain more than 3 households. To adhere to capacity guidelines, and for the health and safety of our animals, employees and guests, reservations and proper face coverings are required to enter the park. I think it will be interesting to see if the other California parks begin doing this as well. Edit- Upon doing some digging it appears the covid test or vaccine exception is in place for zoos currently, but not theme parks. It looks like SeaWorld is claiming they're a zoo to use it.

I saw a report online that Magic Mountain has some single rider lines open currently. Is this actually correct?

^ I would especially be interested at Six Flags Great Adventure if they try to push this chainwide. To my knowledge, that park is the only one in the chain with rides that do not allow guests to enter into certain queue lines with a phone.

I visited Adventureland yesterday. Some notes and thoughts. General admission for those ages 2-24 was $40. 25 and older were $25. I had to do a double-take when buying my tickets online since that's the first time I've ever seen an adult ticket cost less than a ticket for a younger guest. Because of covid restrictions, everyone needs admission to enter. That's probably why the adult ticket costs what it does. Make sure to book a reservation in advance. I think the park hit capacity yesterday. Adventureland at full capacity was very manageable. The longest line I saw was for Mysterious Mansion (hit it early before the queue built up) and it probably looked to be 20 minutes. Turbulence was running 2 trains and had a 10 minute wait most of the day. The markers in the arcade are comical, but no one followed them. It was just like on their bumper cars when everyone ignored the one way sign and kept causing head-on collisions while the operator sat silent.

I agree something like that would be great as a thrill-seeker, but most of the crowds I saw at Deno's this past weekend were kids and families. The Vekoma suspended thrill coaster is a great fit since it appeals to all ages and has a very low height limit.

^ For a long time the front was considered the best row and I defended the ride, but even the front was an uncomfortable experience in 2019. It's a shame they replaced the old trains since the ride was a lot of fun with them.

I've always enjoyed Thunderbolt at Luna Park even though that ride gets a lot of hate. The restraints are tight and there is some shaking, but I love the hangtime and airtime the ride delivers.

Great report! I hope Universal continues to go down this route on future dark rides with some more animatronics.

And those who have messaged the park have gotten confirmation (not that the map didn't already do so) that Goliath will not operate for 2021 and the ride's future is undetermined. I wouldn't be surprised if it's removed considering all its downtime. It's a maintenance nightmare and that ride hates the New England weather.

I ended up stopping by Coney Island this past weekend. The park is now offering a Thrill Wristband. They say it's good for 2 hours, but it was actually good a little over that (the remaining time shows when you scan on your first ride). It's good for everything in the Scream Zone plus the Thunderbolt and Cyclone. The park severely limited attendance, so I thought it was a great deal. Sling Shot appeared to be the longest line (roughly 8 groups waiting), but I stuck with the coasters. Cyclone was a walk-on. The only issue there was that they would not allow you to sit in the back car unless the front two were filled. This was a policy I first encountered in 2019 and it seems like it's sticking around for now. Thunderbolt was the longest coaster line at 10-15 minutes. I also stopped by Deno's and noticed Phoenix construction is moving along quite quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing this ride open later this year and finally give that park an adult coaster. And for the credit whores out there, Deno's and Luna Park have each opened their new kiddie coasters for 2021. They're among the smallest kiddie coasters in the world, but adults are more than welcome if they're willing to pay.

I'm hoping they reoffer the thrill wristband later this year. I contemplated heading down this weekend until I saw the $35 wristband doesn't include anything in the Scream Zone or the Cyclone.

The park is not open this Friday, so the preview plan doesn't appear to be an option in this case. Since they are not doing early entry in April, I would ride Candymonium right away only if you're at the front of the line in the morning. This is the most sensitive ride at the park to close due to winds, but it doesn't look windy on Saturday so you'd probably be fine anyways. That line dies in the middle of the day. Since this is your first visit, I would recommend hitting Skyrush early just in case it pulls an Intamin and goes down for whatever reason. If you want the front row, this may be your best chance since the front row queue starts ridiculously early so it often backs up. I much prefer the back anyway. From there, your priority should be to get back to Fahrenheit and LaffTrakk as soon as possible. It's possible to hit Great Bear or Comet on the way if they haven't built up lines yet. Those two coasters will likely have the worst lines for the remainder of the day. If you haven't gotten on Comet yet, I would hit that in the final hour when the line is its shortest. And then if you plan to do the dark ride, jump into the queue right before close. It has a painstakingly slow moving line and I hate burning time in the middle of the day for it. The park should be doable without Fast Track this early in the season, but you can always buy it if needed. My issue with their Fast Track is that the merge point is pretty far back on quite a few rides.

I agree the section above the quarry wall is slow, but I don't mind since it keeps throwing great elements with strong airtime or lateral hangtime.

Tom Foolerys Adventure Park (Texas) Late in November, the new Kalahari in Round Rock, Texas opened and it included an indoor amusement park in Tom Foolerys Adventure Park. This is the second Kalahari to include a Tom Foolerys. Unlike the water park that is included with a hotel stay, Tom Foolerys is not. Tom Foolerys is free to enter and you can either pay-per-ride or buy an unlimited wristband. The park has an electric feel on the inside between the cycling rides and loud, flashy arcade games. If you're an arcade fan, know most of the games are the modern ones you'll find at Dave and Buster's. But unlike Dave and Buster's, the rides and attractions are what makes this indoor FEC stand out. The most intriguing ride here is the Screamin' Centipede, one of the first SBF Big Air Coasters. The trains on these coasters feature both their common spinning cars and a rare hamster wheel. This allows the ride to cater to both thrill seekers and families. However, I think there is an issue combining these two rides together. A hamster wheel works best traveling in a straight line with elevation changes. Look at what S&S has done with their free spins. Meanwhile, spinners work best with a twisted layout. I actually think this is my favorite SBF Visa spinner. The twisted first drop starts the spinning and the bunny hill gives a faint bit of airtime in the back row while you're still spinning. As for the hamster wheel, I got 1.5 flips each lap. There appeared to be actuators on the bunny hill that forced a flip. This first flip was fast and powerful. On the subsequent turn, you then stall upside down. The problem here is that this turn is unbanked so while you're suspended upside-down, you have some headbanging. Thankfully the restraints are extremely cushiony (softest restraint padding I've ever seen) so it doesn't cause pain, but it is nauseating getting jostled like that while upside down. I also wish the flipping was more randomized, but it seemed very controlled and consistent ride-to-ride. Ultimately, I think the concept is neat on paper, but I'd love to see an evolved layout that can unlock the potential of the hamster wheel more. 4 out of 10 The other coaster is an embarrassing one for coaster enthusiasts. Star Force Orbiter is among the smallest coasters out there. It wasn't rough, but it was a bore with more laps than I could count. 1 out of 10 The other notable ride is Red, White, and Woo, one of the few Zamperla Nebulaz out there. This ride was having a lot of mechanical issues the day I visited, so it ran a 60 second cycle. The movement and near-misses are cool, but I wish it was able to give the full cycle as designed. 6 out of 10 Beyond the rides and games, the park has some other FEC staples like a ropes course and a rock wall. I wanted to try the latter, but unfortunately it closed with no advanced warning in the middle of the day. I completely understand the need for rotating ride operators on an off-peak day, but I wish they provided a schedule when certain attractions would go down so I could plan ahead when the rides kept closing for 45-60 minutes at a time. Tom Foolerys is a decent indoor FEC that I'd recommend visiting if you're traveling between Dallas and San Antonio. Screamin' Centipede is unique enough that it alone warrants a visit. I visited during the covid-19 pandemic, so I wanted to touch on the precautions they were taking. The park was very quiet since I visited just after they opened for the day, but the employees were strict about forcing guests to keep their masks on. Last but not least, I want to know how Tom Foolerys ended up with this kiddie ride. They have a roundabout that is very clearly Blue from Blues Clues. But they painted him in different colors with stars all over him.

Sports stadiums were able to get out of Phase 4 Step 2, so there's hope, especially considering how amusement parks have done in other states. I know Six Flags New England is trying, but the state won't budge.

If amusement parks continue to be lumped with nightclubs in the state's reopening plan, I don't expect them to be allowed to open for a while unfortunately.

I barely got on Harley Quinn in my 2018 trip. It reopened at the very end of the night after being down when I got to the park. It was closed in my 2020 visit.

This. Is Buch Gardens hitting their attendance cap? If so, there's no incentive to open the ride right now if their attendance is already maxed out. It stinks for people planning trips and it's a tease knowing they probably are ready to open, but it's in the park's best interests to ensure they get a proper ROI on their new attraction. In the long run, it's better for us too since it'll help fund future additions. I have to admit I am a bit skeptical of the "Anticipated 2021" wording. I get not opening the ride in spring, but the fact they used anticipated instead of just saying 2021 makes me question how long they want to hold off.