SharkTums

But I still have a soft spot for Epcot...

I hate reading stuff like this. I mean, I expect it with some parks, but when we see some of the top parks in the country having the same issues as regional SF/CF parks it just hurts. Hoping this all gets sorted by next season.

Genie Plus service will also be available so you'll at least be able to enjoy some rides with little to no wait if you're willing to pay a bit.

Also keep in mind this Saturday will be one of the BUSIEST DAYS OF THE YEAR for HHN. That means the rest of the parks will also be a hot disaster all day Saturday. Buy whatever skip the line express passes you can or be prepared to wait, a long time, and not get everything done.

^I believe you, and it's not just Dollywood. The parks have to get it together again by next summer. I think everyone gave them a pass this year cause we were all just so happy to have things open and get back to a little normalcy but people aren't going to keep putting up with these operations everywhere.

^And they lost me at Virtual Reality Snorkeling!

It's always so amazing to me how they can throw so many different IP's in the same park and parade! It's great!

^Not dumb at all! When we started doing walks again at the parks when they first reopened there were so many more insects, birds, and animals. Humans are a plague on the earth, get rid of us even for a short while and nature takes back over!

Great TR! I really need all of these parks to fix their staffing levels! That traffic situation is crazy, but at least you guys were smart and stayed at the hotel right there.

^Thanks for the heads up!

Most people are assuming a Secret Life of Pets Dark Ride in the space. I honestly think that would be a BIG improvement!

^Yeah, that's really odd. Surely someone must understand the difference between modernizing the place and paving it like a Cedar Fair park, and just making sure the rides are running and lights work?!?!

^That was my assumption...as well as some sort of 4D Movie.

Love this park!

Phoenix and Miami always come to mind.

^It's like in RCT when you have one little mechanic dude desperately trying to go through your park and fix everything. LOL!

^They're listening! Haha! I'm glad this is at least an option again.

The ride lines on a Wednesday during HHN should be SUPER low, if you're trying to hit all of the houses at HHN then yeah, it may be worth the money for some extra time. But if you don't care about all of the houses/shows you could probably get in a good mix of rides and HHN in just one night.

^Nobody reads. It's sad. Also, we're now getting into the offseason and CGA isn't exactly at the top of everyones must visit park list! Nice report, you liked the park WAY more than I ever did, I guess I'll give it another chance at some point. Haven't been there since before Goldstriker.

Wow, I thought the park still had a chance and a lot of charm when we visited in the early 2000's. You're right, there could be so much...potential? Death? Heartworms?

^It's almost encouraging to hear that Germany has many messed up rules that don't make sense as we do! Especially with the sports stuff. Like you said, hopefully this gets better soon!

Great detailed report, thank you! I have to say though, I'm nearly at the end of giving parks a pass at weird operations in this Covid world. I get it, I do. I'm vaccinated, I wear my mask so much, but I am not okay with some rules like no baby swapping or fast pass? An hour to check in at the hotel? Winjas line outside yet Maus au Chocolat was allowed indoor queue? I hope all of this is fixed by the time we get back there...and I'm hoping that will be soon!

Again, love this topic! Let's keep it on track and not get too caught up in statistics, back in my day, under or over reporting, etc. 1) At what age were you personally given freedom to roam a park without adult supervision? 10. I remember going to Busch Gardens quite often on my own with a group of friends. My craziest memory was being 15 years old and my parents letting me take a bus in a foreign country to an amusement park completely on my own (no friends or anything). This was before cell phones or anything. I had an amazing time and was fine and it was great as it was Sydney's Wonderland which is now closed of course, but I can't imagine letting my current 14 year old do this! ...even with cell phones! 2) What, if any, restrictions were put on you when you were allowed to first do this? (I.e. check back at certain times, cell phone check ins, etc) There were a few check in's here and there, but no cell phones so that wasn't an option. 3) At what age did/would you allow your child(ren) to roam a park without your supervision? I let KT start going to parks with friends, WITHOUT parent supervision at 13. I used to freak out more and track her on the phone or be in the park, but now she's pretty responsible and has a good friend group so I give them nearly total freedom. They currently have HHN Frequent Fear Passes and are great, responsible, good kids so they can go to the event till like 2am and they all arrange rides and make sure no one is left alone ever. 4) What, if any, restrictions do/would you put on them? My big thing is making sure no kid is ever alone. When they're arriving to the park, when they're walking around, or at the end of the night I make sure everyone has a buddy so they're never alone, especially near giant transport areas. I like her to check in on her cell phone too, but with locker policies I have to sometimes not freak out if she doesn't write back for a while! 5) If what you were allowed to do and what you would allow your kids to do are considerably different, why? What has changed or what is different about you versus your parents? I think we're pretty similar. I'm probably a little more strict than my family growing up, but that's because my parents were of the generation "go out and play and don't come back till it's dark" where I'm in the generation of "all girls/women are going to be kidnapped/raped if you do anything".

Yeah, let's remember that Test Track and even Journey Into Imagination also have coaster track under them!!! So is this a new ride completely or are they replacing one of their existing dark rides with this?

This is actually a great topic! I have many thoughts! Let me think and get back to this in a bit. I do agree with Bert though, times have certainly changed!