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New hydraulic locking cylinders for ride vehicle restraints being shown off at the RMC booth.

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More from IAAPa-Gravity Group and Great Coasters International! Always nice to see some of our TPR members featured at the Gravity Group booth. Always a pleasure chatting with the guys at Great Coasters! And be sure to pick up a bag from them at IAAPA HQ!

We are back at IAAPA HQ for more updates! Follow along! Checking out the Premier Rides booth! Makers of some of our favorite roller coasters & attractions!

Sleek new booth Sally Corp! Best poster is clearly Nights in White Satin! Anyone get to ride it at Hard Rock Park before it closed?

Excited to try the full Triotech Fear the Walking Dead experience next week in Vegas!

Checking out the Twisted Cyclone car a bit closer. Six Flags over Georgia is going to have fun with this RMC Creation!

More from IAAPA 2017! Who loves roller coaster models? Martin & Vleminckx obviously does! Taking a closer look at Oscar’s Wacky Taxi by Gravity Group. So adorable! I want Slimy the worm!

MC just revealed the lead car for Twisted Cyclone @sfovergeorgia! It looks great! Love me some RMC Goodness!! [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew]

I'd like to see Steeplechase coasters make a comeback, too.

OMG!!! Please bring the Steeplechase Coaster back!! Please!! Especially with a freakin dinosaur theme?!?! S&S Sansei sell this now!!

We super love Intamin and all the crazy coasters, drop towers, water rides, and flats they make!

Dynamic Attractions makes a ton of high tech rides, even some you don’t realize are theirs! Check out some new concepts they’re showing off at IAAPA!

More IAAPA! Crossed the show floor over to Mack Rides to get a preview of the new#Time Traveler coming to Silver Dollar City this spring! Looks great! [fbvideonew] [/fbvideonew] Some closeups of the gorgeous, highly themed new SDC Time Traveler trains. Love the Steam Punk vibe.

We’re here at IAAPAHQ for the IAE17! Basically a huge expo for rides, games, food, and all things water and amusement park related!!! Follow along to see all the cool new stuff! The show just started and I already ran into a celebrity! Alan Schilke designs some of the best coasters on the planet! Some of the big coaster manufacturers have quite the presence on the show floor. B&M, Premier, Maurer, Gerstlauer all here!

^Thanks, Jimmy--you definitely need to see Europa! Yep--no one outside of Disney or perhaps Universal.

Tokyo DisneySea could stop adding new attractions, and I would still want to visit the place at least once a year.

I know the feeling.

One last post from Europa (sniff). Here's a look at Traumatica. Thanks for arranging the backstage tours, Robb and Elissa! Where’s the Angry Corn house? Asleep at his post. He's not going to slay many vampires that way. Is this more of the Angry Corn’s handwork? All hell breaks loose here on certain select dates. Join the Resistance! But you better convince them you’re human, or it might not go well. The Pack had the coolest logo. The entrance to the Resistance maze--no photos were allowed inside, but I can tell you that you're harassed by Resistance fighters who probably yell a lot. Calling MASH 4077! Incoming wounded, possibly undead. This church was the Fallen house. They showed us around inside. There was a particularly cool room involving a witch and mystic symbols, and they passed around a collection plate for our souls. “For the dead travel fast . . .” Or was that “first class”? Ellen’s Energy Adventure lives on--with 100% less Ellen! Complete with a Hidden Prehistoric Mickey. “Mmm . . . crunchy on the outside, a creamy filling inside. It’s a Prehistoric Mickey Bar.” “Boo to You,” Europa style. The Hottest Pirates of the Caribbean, er, I mean "of Batavia." “In no way do I resemble Captain Jack Sparrow. Please do not share this photo with Disney.” “Did Jack Sparrow have a rooster as a helmsman? Ha! Suck it, Disney lawyers!” Blue Fire, I have been neglecting you as of late. I apologize for this oversight. I won’t let it happen again. You’re just too good to ignore. Follow this path, and you will find raclette. Hmm--too much raclette for this guy. May as well stop for a portrait. Too bad he also stole my soul. Welcome to the Enchanted Tiki Room . . . . . . meets Show Biz Pizza--in German. “Lasst uns alle singen wie die Birdies singen . . .” It morphs into It’s a Small World at the end. “Last call for the Hellfire Express! All damned souls must board now!” “Hello! I’m the Goat of Mendes, and I’ve come for your soul. If you wish to make a blood sacrifice to hold off your inevitable damnation, we will accept sheep and calves, provided they're virgins." “Come on, folks! Give us your souls. You’ll never miss ‘em.” Hello, again, Blue Fire. I’m not neglecting you from the monorail. Yep, this is one beautiful park. Yes, absolutely . . . “Hey, meat bags! Go shuck yourselves!” Well, before we get shucked, can we wish Eurosat goodbye? “Ten, nine, time to crash . . . bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! IT’S HALLOWEEN!” Well, looks like ET and the Xenomorph from the “Alien” movies had a baby. Goodbye, Hotel Colosseo! Next stop, Phantasialand, with a side of Holiday Park.

Brace yourselves--there may be more Angry Corn in this post! The Pig-Headed Guy blows a mean version of the Euro-Mir song on whatever that thing is he’s holding. Europa not only has a “Soarin’,” it has a “Carousel of Progress” (park history), too. I can vouch for the donut stand on the left (very tasty fried dough circles). Decorations or . . . . . . more victims for the Angry Corn? “Ahoy! Welcome to Pirates Nowhere Near the Caribbean, you lubbers!” “Aye, this be the Worst Wonder Woman cosplay I ever seen. But IT'S HALLOWEEN! IT'S HALLOWEEN!” (Seriously, this song popped up in all sort of random places, including the Pirates of Batavia ride.) “This poor lubber ate some of that left-handed hardtack, or maybe he bought some discount horror from a cannibal. Never trust a cannibal that offers ye a discount, sez I." “Water curtains and projections of some octopus-faced demon? Bah! We have a rum curtain with a dragon!” “Could you do a mate what’s stuck in the ceiling a favor? Take this chest off me hands.” “Never take a chest from a scurvy, ceiling-dwelling pirate! Now stand and deliver or I'll squirts ye in the eye!” "Aye, we'll be drownin' in pumpkin ale, thanks to all this treasure!" This guy will tap your butt with his sickle. I know this from experience. You can never have enough photos of Euro-Mir. Ireland wasn’t finished when we were here last year. It turned out great. Begorrah! Look at them whores on the wee kiddie coaster. Have they no decency? Joey would make a good leprechaun. No one would ever get their hands on his crock of gold. What more can you say about a park that themes the queue for its observation tower? See those cranes on the left? That’s where the new water park and hotel are being built. Europa is a a great resort, as well as theme park. The lighthouse on the left is part of Bell Rock Hotel. The Colosseo is in the middle. On the right are the Santa Isabel, El Andaluz, and Castillo Alcazar. Ride the Bobsled to the raclette shack. Euro-Mir and Blue Fire are on the left--two best coasters in the park. Time for a backstage tour of Voletarium. We’re inside the ride’s guts! (Well, I think it’s just the air-conditioning system.) We also made it to Voletarium's roof. I’m not a big fan of Silver Star, but it does look nice from up here. From the sublime . . . . . . to the ridiculous. You know what I need after doing hard time in the stocks? Poffertjes and ice cream. Bob agrees that ice cream always tastes its best right after you get out of the joint. (At least, that’s what he’s heard.) Time for some more backstage tours. First, we had a look at Europa's version of Oktoberfest. Caesar, get down from there! Coming up next--a tour of Traumatica, Europa's "haunt."

Part 4: Fall at Europa Park I’m having trouble coming up with a “fresh” approach for writing about Europa. Everyone here already understands how great this park is (definitely in the top five theme parks worldwide), and I’ve written two reports about this park already (one as early as fall 2016). But there is one big difference this time around, at least for me. This is the first time I’ve visited Europa in the fall, as opposed to the summer--and it was great seeing how the park decks itself out for Halloween. This holiday isn’t as big a deal in Europe as it is in the United States; Phantasialand, for example, doesn’t recognize it at all. Europa, however, has embraced All Hallows Eve and puts on its own haunt, complete with scare zones and mazes. This year’s version is Traumatica, a post-apocalyptic story in which five factions are fighting for dominion over the Earth: Shadows (vampires who rule the world) Ghouls (reject vampires who feast on the dead and work for the Shadows) The Pack (werewolf bikers who work for the Shadows) The Fallen (insane human beings who want to be Shadows themselves) The Resistance (humans fighting for their piece of the world) Our schedule didn’t allow for us to experience all this, but the park gave us a great backstage tour of Traumatica (along with their new “Soarin’ Over Europe” attraction, Voletarium). But you don’t have to experience Traumatica to enjoy the Halloween season at Europa. The park has decorations all over the place, including more then 150,000 pumpkins; a parade; a song you won’t be able to get our of your head (“It’s Halloween!”); and rides with Halloween surprises (such as a skeleton on a motorcycle inside Eurosat). So, prepare yourselves for some post-Halloween spooky stuff, along with a look at the best theme park in Europe. I must warn the faint of heart that there will be Angry Corn--not a pretty sight! So, gather you nerves and follow me in. If you feel frightened, just hum the Euro-Mir song. We awoke to this lovely view of Wodan. (Not my favorite wooden coaster ever, but it does look nice.) “Oh, welcome to Europa! We’re so glad you could come!” “We hope you enjoy our wonderful attractions, such as Arthur . . . . . . and Euro-Mir.” “And let’s not forget our park’s scenic beauty, . . . . . . pleasant fall weather, and . . . . . . OH MY GOD!” “So, you like pumpkin-spice coffee and ale . . . then you shall have it!” “This pumpkin’s blood, if it had blood, is on your hands, human scum!” And all this time, even as his people cried out in pain and anguish, the Great Pumpkin laughed. He is a harsh god. “Oh, god, so tough to take a leak when ya got a boner.” (I apologize. That was cheap.) We sought refuge from Angry Corn, skeletons, and the Great Eurosat Pumpkin in Voletarium. Unlike Disney's Soarin', in which the riders' seats are hoisted up and above an IMAX screen, Voletarium's seats roll forward on a rail over the screen. Voletarium has a nicer queue that the Disney rides. You can warm yourself by the fire . . . . . . and catch up on your correspondence in the office. The queue also has an “Adventurer’s Club” vibe to it. All it needs is some Disney Dorks shouting "kungaloosh," or something. Here’s the scoreboard for the Voletarium online game. Darn it! I put my money on GelatinousEnemy4314 to win it all. I was all set to buy some discount horror, but the booth isn’t open yet. Looks like I’ll have to pay full retail price. “Psst! If you let me spit on you, I’ll get you 10 percent off on all horror today!” “That’s nothing! Let me eat your entrails, and I can give you 20 percent off!” “He’s not kidding, folks! He got me a great deal after he disemboweled me!” Never, ever buy any “back-alley horror.” This dude bought some of that back-alley stuff and had to have it surgically removed. Always pay fair market price to ensure you’re getting the absolute finest and freshest in horror. The Grim Reaper stole some horror, then made his getaway on this bike. “Stupid tourist! Payin’ for horror when we’ll torture and kill him for nothin’!” At what other park will you see an ancient Greek temple and a huge satellite dish together? Another look at Euro-Mir because it’s, well, Euro-Mir! One of the best screwed-up coasters ever. Long live the SONG THAT YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD! More to come--probably two more posts' worth.

I've visited SFA three times over the years: Two visits were good, one was classic SFA bad. The "defunct ride" tower you came across was probably part of Skull Mountain, a rather long flume ride with forward and backward drops. As for Wild One, it was great back when I rode it, but that was a long time ago.

Mine Blower at Fun Spot USA.

Joypolis is sensory overload taken to an extreme. Some of the bizarre "haunts" are lot of fun.