cfc

Everybody have a good night's sleep? Time for an early morning at Grona Lund. Ah, I feel refreshed. How about you? We heard a short presentation in the park’s theater, then headed out. So unlike Holiday Park in this regard. Who’s ready for a filming session on Jetline? This is possibly the twistiest Schwarzkopf creation ever--and maybe the best. The first drop . . . . . . sends you into this huge tube. I lost track of how many times this ride twists around itself. So much crammed into such a small space. Even the chain lift is curved. The park has improved this ride over the years. For example, magnetic brakes now protect you from that jarring sudden stop so common to Schwarzkopf rides. We had a walking tour of Bla Taget. I hope Satan likes the food on the train. Amtrak microwaves their hot dogs--yuck! Welcome to the Church of Cthulu. Time to take the daily offering. “Mind the track and the runaway train . . . . . . not to mention the Tesla coils.” Nice kitty. Why so skittish, you poor wittle kitty cat? Oh. That’s why. “Ugh! Seriously, don’t any of you people wear undergarments of any kind?” Word of advice: Never give this guy “the finger.” Sarah bravely leads the way. This is one of the original 1930s gags: The classic toppling china cabinet. “Boo! I, Creepy Clock, am here to warn you of the inevitability of your own mortality!” Dan, Sarah, KT, and Jake were possessed during the tour and will spend eternity washing out demon underpants in Hell! Time to film some 360-degree video of Twister. Won’t filming a ride called “Twister” in 360 degrees open a vortex in space and time and bring about the End of Days? Nah. I guess not. Shh! Don’t tell anyone, but . . . . . . the Wild Mouse is actually a Gerstlauer Bobsled! See how it’s all wrapped up with Jetline? You can watch TPR footage in the queue. I’m pretty sure this is Grona Lund’s vision of the apocalypse. If so, it’s awesome! Before our time on Insane, I’d like to show you the greatest amusement-park bathroom ever. I want this in my house. Never has a ride done more to live up to its name. I think Sarah agrees with my previous statement. Hmm--I think I see what caused Sarah’s predicament. Enjoy your ride, gents. More to come from Grona Lund.

Chapter 9 By Day and by Night--Grona Lund Stockholm is a beautiful city built on a series of islands; so, it makes sense for it to have one of the best waterside parks, anywhere--Grona Lund. Space here is precious, and the park uses it very well. Roller coasters wind around and drop and rise in and out of each other, and they waste nothing at this park. For example, one of the park’s two (eventually to be three) drop rides was installed on what used to be an observation tower, and it offers two different experiences--one with straight seats and the other with tilted seats (which aren’t too kind to the average gent’s “package”). I haven’t visited Grona Lund since 2009, and there have been a few changes. Twister, the park’s Gravity Group woodie, wasn’t there back then, and it’s a lot of fun. This ride’s construction provides another good example of how well this park uses space and wastes nothing. To build Twister, they had to dismantle the park’s dark ride, Bla Taget, and tear down its show building. This ride had been with the park in one form or another since the 1930s. So, instead of just discarding Bla Taget, Grona Lund rebuilt it right under Twister, with many of the original gags intact, plus some enhancements (such as on-ride audio, “4D” effects in the cars, and trick track). The ride is even better than it was in 2009. Grona Lund is a park that takes its heritage seriously. Another new attraction is House of Nightmares, an up-charge haunted walk-through. This was once another haunt called Spokhuset. The park worked with Sally Rides to give this attraction an extensive make over and a new story line. If they dare, guests are invited to enter into the mind of Dr. Morpheus, a sideshow “scientist” who specializes in sleep and dreams. As you’ve probably guessed, the doc’s sub-conscious is full of all sorts of horrors, such as evil clowns and zombies. There’s plenty of nice effects and scare actors in House of Nightmares, and it’s well worth the up-charge. Grona Lund and Theme Park Review have a long history, and the park treated us very well for the day and the night we were there, starting with a great dinner in their Biergarten. We had filming sessions on Insane (which still lives up to its name), Twister, and Jetline (a classic Schwarzkopf), another great dinner, and access to the VIP area for a rock concert that night. I don’t think anyone was disappointed with Grona Lund. Welcome to Stockholm. Such a beautiful city. The hotel was just across the street from the park. It was also in a good location if you wanted to check out some of Stockholm’s museums. Yes, Deep Purple is still alive--but this wasn’t the concert we saw. The Hollywood Vampires (Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry) had also played there recently. At the park’s main entrance . . . . . . we met up with the brothers who own the place, and other parks in Scandinavia (including Kolmarden--more on that later). Who’s ready for beer, schnitzel, more beer . . . it was all excellent. They even had a good band that seemed to cover everyone from the John Denver to AC DC. Time for a great evening at Grona Lund. And what better way to burn off that schnitzel than romping around the park’s fun house? Everyone has their own special technique for climbing the moving stairs. Opportunities for physical injury abound. I nearly fell on my butt after being catapulted from these spinning platforms. Good thing I slammed into the wall first. Note the sneaky airtime hill at the end of the slide. It’s a great, old-school fun house. I would’ve liked to been up in that balloon; then again, I would’ve missed out on other cool stuff that night. Some of the park’s rides were shutdown for a while due to a concert. The singer seemed to be the Swedish version of Andy Williams or maybe Gordon Lightfoot. Here you can see the park’s two drop towers. Fritt Fall/Tilt is on the left and, and Katapulten is on the right. They’re going to add a third--one of those “Falcon’s Fury” Intamin rides. There's a very tall Star Flyer (Eclipse), too. Twister had a fairly long line that night. Hmm--I guess they were shooting “Birdemic 2” while we were there. Hmm--rather forbidding looking after dark. More on this later. Bla Taget manages to look forbidding and goofy at the same time. More on this later, too. The park looks great at night--nice use of neon near Jetline. Speaking of Jetline, this coaster is great. One of the most unusual layouts of any Schwarzkopf (hell of any coaster made by anybody). Is it now? In other news, Deep Purple is still alive. Anth was victorious! Jake had to settle for this. Jake, I want you to win one of those giant boxes of Cheez Doodles, then pour it down your throat, along with a whole keg of lager. It was freakin’ cold up there. See you in the morning, Grona Lund.

Violent? The Premier Skyrockets are some of the smoothest coasters out there. Anyhoo Gold Rusher looks great, hope to see some of these in the U.S. some day. Agreed. I don't think the Premier Sky Rockets are rough at all. Gerstlauer's launched rides are pretty smooth, too, so I think this will be a nice replacement for that old Schwarzkopf.

Larry, I just uploaded some photos of Grona Lund's House of Nightmares, using the old "Spokhuset" option on the pull-down menu.

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.