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Look at that long and winding queue! The ride looks like fun.

This is correct.

^I imagine a lap bar would be a huge improvement over the old OTSRs. Thanks for the report. I'm always interested in seeing photos from parks I've yet to visit.

Kumba--Busch Gardens Tampa

^Which brings to mind an idea for a MNSSHP costume.

Robb's reactions echo my reactions to this ride.

Corkscrew Hill was at least original and entertaining. Let's get back to Howl-o-Scream. The park is offering two upcharge "escape rooms" this year. No Escape: Case of Mr. Karver--"Mr. Karver’s dolls want to play. The puppet master has created new works of art for his evil encore, and it’s up to you to stop his evil machinations from becoming reality. Searching for clues, you will try to uncover the location of his secret workshop and, if found, attempt to stop him from making any more of his monstrous dolls." No Escape: Case of Jack the Ripper--"Jack is back and he puts the cape in No Escape. You have heard the tales, now join the yard as you investigate the grisly murders of Jack the Ripper. Guests will be part of the experience as they attempt to solve the riddles before it is too late to catch happy Jack red-handed." The escape rooms cost $30.00 before 6:00 pm and $40.00 after 6:00 pm. I think the cost is per room. You also get a complimentary photo. More info here.

Is Mach tower still ridiculously unreliable or has it improved at all? In our 2 visits to the park since it opened it was running but obviously that's a small sample size that means absolutely nothing about it's overall reliability. As a ride I actually enjoy it, though the seats are sort of strange. It's more reliable now than when it first opened. And, hey, it's a drop tower. It goes up, and drops down fast. But the seats are rather uncomfortable.

Williamsburg Alewerks Limoo Amani Black Saison at Busch Gardens' Bierfest yeaterday. Reminds me a bit of Devil's Backbone Schwarz Bier, which I like a little better.

No, it isn't. Young Star Coaster--Chimelong Paradise

^Personally, I think they'd be better off replacing Mach Tower with a Falcon's Fury clone.

Raven--Holiday World

^That was my first thought when I saw the video--all staged. Still pretty damn funny.

It was this sign on the construction walls by the railroad tracks near New Caribou Station. It does hint that there might be fire somewhere, but this is just a guess on my part. Take it for what's it's worth.

Definitely a lot of stuff you don't get to see on the "regular" tour--cool!

I love this event too--such a great time of the year to visit the Magic Kingdom.

^Bierfest starts at Busch Gardens Williamsburg this weekend, too.

Water Country will be closed tomorrow due to Tropical Storm Hermine. Busch Gardens will be open, but ride operations could be affected and some Bierfest activities will be moved into the Festhaus; operations should be normal on Sunday and Monday for both parks. There's more info here: https://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgardens-williamsburg/media-room/press-releases/09_2016/bier-fest.

I had a Williamsburg Alewerks Jubilee X last night. It's a Belgian ale aged in bourbon casks--with an alcohol content of 12% Very good, but one was enough.

Congratulations on succeeding with Expedition: Lightning Rod. It was fun to hang at Pierce's and BGW with you for a night, too. The highland cows came to BGW last year to go with the "Highlands farm" theming in Scotland.

Bitten is the oldest maze at HOS. I recommend that you at least do Unearthed, as it was the best maze last year. There's a new maze in Festa Italia this year, too.

And we must not forget Eurosat's music! Sarah has found her nemesis--the giant frog! That which does not kill you makes you stronger! Arthur is an excellent dark ride. But claim it as a coaster credit, if you must. The queue reminds me of ET at Universal, . . . . . . but this ride is better. Of course, ET didn’t have big furry soul suckers. The ride loads continuously, so the line keeps moving. Eventually you're shot out of the building . . . . . . and over the river. Uh oh! Does Brexit mean that this pub needs to leave Europa? I guess the Brits will have to take their balls with them. “You will kneel before me!” The park was still working on its new Ireland kids area. Believe it or not, they were planning to open two weeks after this photo was taken--and I think they made it! If you look closely at the upper left part of this photo, you'll see some slide parts. They're going to be installed in Ireland's castle tower. Of course we rode the adorable spinning boat ride. Why do I always write “adorable” when I mean terrifying? "Sing it! Sing 'What Does the Fox Say?' just one more damn time! I dare you!" Robin Hood: A Study in Horror! Oops! Mustn’t forget Eurosat. This structure is no way resembles an iconic building at a prominent Florida theme park. This robot admonishes you not to smoke in several different languages, just like C3PO. If you light up, the cyborg terminator will crush you! This is what we rode--only smaller. We had lights-off and lights-on rides on Eurosat--fun stuff. We had some ERT on Wodan, too. Snagging photos over the heads and hands of others. Such is the life of the enthusiast. As part of a guided tour on our second day, we got to see some of the park’s special-event space. The park hosts many different events--including a beauty contest--each year. This is a particularly nice set up. Here’s an old carousel pavilion that’s been repurposed as a bar. There’s a banquet room with an actual carousel. Creepy clowns are optional. Meet Franz Mack, the company’s founder. By the way, he's the statue. There’s a house on the property that was built in the 15th century. Some of the Mack family live there. There’s a bier garten nearby, where the Macks like to hang out when the park closes and watch the guests as they exit the park. All Europa TRs must have at least one photo of this statue. Looks like Gandalf’s wizard buddy Radagast from “The Hobbit” had one too many drags off of Gandalf’s pipe. Hey, let’s check out Euro Mir again . . . damn, a parade! Stupid parades always get in the way. Wait . . . suddenly, this one got a lot better! Agh! Turn for the worse! Let’s get outta here! Objective complete: A picture of Euro Mir taken from an angle that makes it looks like the Joker’s hideout. They project a tour of Europe over your head in here. You can lie down on comfy cushions while you watch. We had a great dinner at the saloon in the park’s campground. “There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those with dynamite, and those who pick up the check. You pick up the check.” I expect to see Lee Van Cleef saunter in here and light a match off of Klaus Kinski’s hunchback any minute now. (That's for all you “For a Few Dollars More” fans out there.) We had to walk to the front of the park and catch the monorail back to our hotel after dinner. The park was closed, but when you ring for the elevator at the station, they send you a monorail. That’s service. Robb mentioned that it was so odd seeing the park after dark, because it closes way before sundown in the summer, when all the guests have left. Looks great. Good night, Europa. Some of us have to catch a flight to Stockholm tomorrow.

Blue Fire has cool theme music, too. Leaving the dinosaurs to their little bitchfest, we went to score some delicious raclette, . . . . . . which we ate in Elissa’s Official Raclette Hut. Just another shot appreciating how beautiful Europa is. Well, while in Switzerland . . . Dear American Theme Parks, . . . . . . this is how you theme a queue for a Bobsled coaster. That’s right, Kings Dominion. You don’t drop it in a “jungle-themed” section and call it “Avalanche.” Even Disney could learn something about theming a Wild Mouse queue from Europa. (By the way, the mouse isn’t braked much at all and is completely crazy.) “God, what a horrible nightmare! I dreamt that my bedroom was in a queue for a Wild Mouse and a bunch of people were gawking at me. . . what the hell?” Moving on to Greece. Here you can see mostly naked statues of muscular people . . . . . . or get really wet. Lots of ways to get wet on Poseidon. You can also get soaked on Atlantica Supersplash in nearby Portugual. Greece is also the home of the park’s shooting dark ride. “Shoot all the fish, or I will kill this turtle!” Aw, that’s much cuter than Holiday Park’s “Basketball Fear,” . . . . . . but not as enticing as a waffle on a stick. In the shadow of mighty Euro Mir is a dark-ride tour of Siberia. Hey, guys! Ready for some really depressing Russian stuff? Even the snowman looks sad. Sorry, little girl. Here you will spend the rest of your short, miserable life. This giant bird is here to conduct you to Hell! And now that classic Russian children’s song, “My Puppy Was Eaten by Wolves, and I’ve Lost All Will to Live.” Maybe some more Euro Mir will cheer us up. Shiny Euro Mir makes everything better! John has found his happy place. Yay! Poffertjes! Garbles, there are no poffertjes in there. Time for German Pirates of the Caribbean. Captain NOT JACK SPARROW urges you to keep you ruddy hands in the boat at all times. “Who needs the redhead, sez I!” “Yo ho, yo ho . . . Belay that song, you swabs, lest we get a broadside from Disney’s lawyers!” “Arr! Our lawyers say that as long as a monkey has the keys, and not some cur, we be home free!” “Aye, we do have a restaurant. But we serves Thai food, not Monte Cristos here!” Who’s up for a celebration of European colonialism? And lady, you might want to keep an eye on your kids. “I don’t want to work! I just want to . . . wait. Banging on the drum all day is my work! Dammit!” Mr. Duck, you might want to be careful. That witch doctor looks a bit shifty. “Yes, this is degrading to an entire continent, but it pays well.” “Boo! Admit it. You were petrified with fear.” I guess hippos and ducks are natural allies in nature. You have to admire the level of detail they put into this ride. Monkeys make anything better . . . . . . as long as they’re not flinging their feces around. “Coastiality” sounds sort of dirty. While I’m not a huge fan of VR, Europa did a good job with it. Another cool thing about Europa is this gem mine. The powered coaster and the log ride both run through it. And it has a robot dragon. A donkey that pukes up gold coins! KT is rich! “I saw you catchin’ them donkey coins, punk! Where’s the money you owe me?” Fortunately for KT, fairy-tale Charles Bronson intervened. Those dudes look like they gotta go really bad. Good think they’re on top of a toilet. “So, it looks like my Ex Lax brownies are a success!” More to come.

Chapter 8 Still the King of Europe--Europa Park Yes, France has Paris Disneyland, Holiday Park has Expedition GeForce, and Phantasialand now has Taron, but, for my money, Europa Park is still the best theme park in Europe--and one of the top ten worldwide. Why is that? First, it’s an excellent resort. The park’s four hotels, Colosseo (Italy), Santa Isabel (Spain), Castillo Alcazar (medieval Spain), and Bell Rock (New England) are beautiful and worth exploring all on their own. Even the resort’s campground is elaborately themed to the Old American West and cooks up very good ribs and burgers in its saloon. This place is worth visiting for the hotels alone. Then there’s the park itself, which was originally built as a showplace for Mack Rides. Europa is themed to the countries of Europe, and the theming here is as elaborate as anything Disney has done this side of Tokyo DisneySea. With its beautiful gardens and architecture, elaborate queues, excellent food, and little surprises around every corner, Europa is a park to explore and discover. The park also offers a huge selection of attractions for all age groups; no one is left out here. I particularly appreciate the wide range of dark rides. The coasters are a varied lot, too. My favorite is still Euro Mir. While this old coaster is a bit clunky toward the end, it’s still a great ride--with the greatest theme music of any coaster ever. I think we all know the tune, right? There were two coasters new to me at Europa. The best was Blue Fire, a launched coaster in the park’s Scandinavia section. While not as forceful as most of Intamin’s launched coasters, Blue Fire is well paced and a lot of fun, as you race over, under, and around towering rock formations. It even saves its best trick for the very end. Then there’s Wodan Timbur Coaster, the park’s huge GCI woodie. The station itself is beautifully themed to the royal halls of Asgard, and I like how the wooden statues lining the track into the station “snap to attention” as the train enters. The ride itself offers some good laterals but, sadly, no airtime to speak of; plus, it’s a bit on the rough side now. However, the whole area surrounding the coaster looks great and, hey, it does have fire. Then there’s the park’s “is it or isn’t it a coaster credit” (it isn’t) ride: Arthur. I guess I’d describe it as a suspended powered coaster/dark ride, which is themed to an animated movie: Arthur and the Invisibles. I haven’t seen the whole flick, but it’s something to do with a young boy who’s transported to some civilization of sprites or fairies or gnomes or something who live under his yard. Naturally, Arthur is some sort of “savior” who has to take out some scary evil dude. I can’t speak for the film’s quality, but the ride is great. The ride system itself is something Disney and Universal should look into using, the show scenes are very well done, and riders are launched in and out of the show building twice. Well done, Mack! I guess I’ve yammered on enough. To the pictures! Note that these photos were taken over three days with both my camera and my phone, so you might notice a few inconsistencies here and there. You have been warned. Our home for three nights was the Bell Rock--a New England-themed hotel in Germany not far from the French border. Well, why not? This fountain show does not require any sort of “Fast Pass.” There are very expensive guest rooms in the lighthouse. So, what about this place, Mack? Well, Europa Park combines “Old World” charm . . . . . . with a touch of naughtiness . . . . . . and some other things you won't find in American theme parks (at least not anymore). First stop, Scandinavia, and not for whale watching. Objective: Blue Fire. Europa loads a lot of detail into their queues. They strive a bit for old Epcot style “edutainment” here. I like how Blue Fire interacts with Wodan. It certainly is a beautiful looking coaster. Smooth as glass and very re-rideable. Wodan can make no claims to “smoothness,” but it does look damn cool. Another good example of Europa’s over-the-top theming: Each boat in its Splash Battle ride has its own individual skipper. Have you started humming the theme music yet? It’s like a continuous “rave” as you head up the internal spiral lift hill. The last section of Euro Mir is absolutely nuts--in the good way! I love eccentric rides like this. My two favorite coasters at Europa are in this shot. Here’s a hint: They’re both blue. The park has a museum with a “Carousel of Progress” about Europa’s history. Worth checking out. We walked out of Russia and headed toward Germany. Fun fact: Europa has an actual river running through it (not an artificial one). The weakest coasters at Europa are the ones that weren’t built my Mack. Case in Point, Silver Star. You’ll like Silver Star’s queue, if you’re a fan of Mercedes-Benz. Looks like it should be at least as good as Nitro at Great Adventure, right? Well, no. They brake it to death and staple the hell out of you with the restraint--even though there’s barely any “floater” air on it. Apollo’s Chariot is better than Silver Star (one of the park’s few bummers). Silver Star does have a cool little play area, though. Just ask John. Time for my favorite “homage” to Disney’s Haunted Mansion: Geisterschloss. This guy yells in German and then spits on you. Top that, Disney's Ghost Host! “Be a good boy and fetch your old grandpa a brew, eh?” How many of you want one of these hanging in your house? There’s a stretching room with a guy who hangs himself--no one has ever done this before! “We’re not grim grinning ghosts/So we’re safe from copyright!” “Hey, Disney! You got a ‘hatbox ghost’? Well, I got some head. I win!” All in all, this is a great haunted-house ride, with just the right touch of gore. “Hello, kiddies! Time for a creepy little canard I call, ‘Bite Me, Disney Lawyers!’” Well, where there’s a “Haunted Mansion,” there must also be an “It’s a Small World,” of sorts. Welcome to Piccolo Mundo. At least this ride has pizza, . . . . . . the promise of interspecies sex, and . . . . . . clown torture. Here’s a ride for those who prefer their dinos without Ellen. Never cross a dinosaur. Looks like science-type stuff. Better call Bill Nye. “I wanted to be a ‘not our dino’ for Disney, but they didn’t like my profile.” “Relax, sweetheart. You’re better off here.” “Disney’s Carnosaurus is such a diva! I could tell you stories, sunshine.” More to come.

Personally, I think Magic Mountain needs a good dark ride; so, "clone" away, I say!