[The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread]

^^ I think it's just through Fright Fest, but its enforced all day long and even on non Fright Fest days. Time to bust out the Lounge Fly backpacks if you have one of those, lol. 

[Parisians, and Germans, and Belgians . . .oh My! bert does Europe with TPR!]

Great TR so far, I just want to note a few things you seemed to be wondering about.

That European Union sign that you saw crossing the Rhine River that said Allemagne was "Germany" in French. I'm not sure why it was in French instead of "Deutschland" but my guess was it was put up by France on the French side of the border and it looked like it was double-sided with France on the other side. Europe has been in a drought this year (it only rained two nights on my 3 ½ week trip in (July/Aug) so the Rhine River is much lower than normal and Rhine River cruises even had to be cancelled. I think the more picturesque part of the Rhine is north as this is in southwestern Germany. I crossed by train from France to Germany and the Rhine looked similar to this.

The giant shoes in the United Kingdom part of Europa Park are football (soccer) cleats and that building by it is a football (soccer) themed bumper cars where there is an inflatable ball in the middle and you try to bump it to one of the goals at each end to get points. I tried it on the 2017 Oktoberfest TPR and it was fun trying to figure it out. Definitely a unique twist on a bumper cars ride. The ride and building is also sponsored by Adidas (a German company) I believe.

Mercedes Benz (another German company) is the sponsor of Silver Star and they have a Formula Racing exhibit by the queue so that's why you see their logo plastered there. That area of Europa Park used to be Monoco which is famous for its Grand Prix race, but they recently incorporated it into France so Europa no longer has a Monoco area (at least according to the park maps). Europa still has a tiny Luxembourg (which I stayed one night in right before arriving in Germany) area which houses the FoodLoop restaurant and a stop for the smaller inner monorail.

The Whale Watching splash battle ride you skipped has an indoor dark ride section and interactive targets you can hit for cool effects so its not just a generic splash battle ride and you don't get too wet. All the water rides at Europa had long lines when I went in August except for this one so it was nice to cool off but not get soaked. I also did find that random Snorri dark ride promoting Rulantica nearby as I saw people standing in line for it and when I found out it was a ride with a 10-15 minute wait I decided to try. It reminded me of a cross between The Little Mermaid at DCA and Nemo and Friends at Epcot but definitely better than the latter. 

I really wanted to go to Rulantica but it was sold out when I went. Europa wasn't part of my original trip plan but it was near the travel loop I was doing (Paris -> Bruges/Brussels -> Luxembourg -> Zurich) so I decided to include one day. My original plan was to do Europa until 6PM closing and Rulantica from 7-10PM with their night ticket but it was sold out by the time I was going to pull the trigger. All the hotels were completely booked in Rust too so I had to stay in Freiburg which is a 30 min train ride away but it ended up being a bigger city with more than I expected. It worked out for me as Europa ended up extending its hours to 8PM on the day I went so I got to get on a few more rides on the busy day I went (14 rides total). I wouldn't recommend only one day at Europa Park for a first time visitor but one day is better than zero days for a return visit. I'll eventually have to return to Europa for a longer visit for the new Czech Republic area and coaster and Rulantica. 

This trip looked like a lot of fun and I recognize a lot of people from the NL/Poland/Sweden trip I was on in 2019. The timing just didn't work out for me as I had a wedding to attend in Brittany, France in late July so I had to plan my trip around that. Still I was able to hit up Disneyland Paris/WDS, Parc Asterix, Plopsaland De Panne, Walibi Belgium, and Europa Park on my own among other things. 

 

[Tokyo Disney Resort Discussion Thread]

I liked Tokyo's Tommorrowland and Space Mountain for what it was but it felt very retro and this looks like the refresh it needs. Funny thing in 2015 when I visited Japan with TPR Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment at the end of our trip when we'd be visiting but it was still open at the beginning of our trip, so because Tokyo Disneyland has a Starlight ticket option (evening/night admission) I visited after our day at Tobu Zoo and used the excuse of getting their Space Mountain credit to preview their park which still had Easter decorations which would be gone when the group visited at the end of our trip.

I have no idea what the new Space Mountain is going to be, but it looks exciting and Tokyo Disneyland is going to be the Guinea pig for Space Mountain transformations and whether it eventually comes to other Disney castle parks. 

[What Was The Last Coaster You Rode?]

Batman The Ride (S&S Freespin) at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in December before my Six Flags Pass expired.

[Six Flags [FUN] Corporate Discussion Thread]

On 4/17/2022 at 8:45 AM, anonymouscactus said:

Who knew you could make a 5 min sketch about Mr Six in 2022?

 

 

 

Loved this skit!

[VIDEO: Peppa Pig Theme Park & Daddy Pig Roller Coaster!]

Looks like Daddy's Pig Rollercoaster might win best new theme park attraction in the USA Today 10 Best Poll. I voted for Velocicoaster but it looks like the coaster community is trolling the poll hard by voting for Daddy's Pig and it's been leading in the poll with only a couple of voting days left.

https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-new-theme-park-attraction-2022/

[Icon Park - Drop Tower (Orlando FreeFall) - Dismantled and Gone]

I wonder if this tower will ever run here again after this incident or if it will end up being dismantled and sent somewhere else, especially since it looks like manual adjustments were made to make it unsafe and it wasn't operator error nor a manufacturer defect. 

[Walt Disney World Resort Non-Park Discussion Thread]

On 4/22/2022 at 8:52 AM, Haymaker said:

Ideal in my opinion would be DIS and FL hash it out (I think this is ultimately what will happen) and Chapek gets replaced. With how he bungled this whole thing and the stock price dropping hard, he should be feeling the pressure.

If both Chapek gets replaced and DeSantis loses in November because of this then it will be considered a win-win for everyone. 

[Disneyland Paris (DLP) Discussion Thread]

The transformation is much needed. Disney Village was my least favorite of the Downtown Disneys I've visited. At last they have a legitimate French restaurant now. I thought it was strange they had all of these stereotypical American restaurants but no French restaurant when I visited. 

 

[VIDEO: Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Full Walkthrough and Experience!]

13 minutes ago, Hilltopper39 said:

I think the price point for this is a little misleading, that $4-5k is for multiple people I believe. Feel like I read a review from someone from the first "cruise" that they paid like $1600 per person for 3 people in a room, or somewhere in that range. That's still "expensive" but it's all relative, it's a luxury experience how ever you look at it and it's a luxury in a very specific niche. 

 

I'm glad that it seems to be getting very positive reviews. It's not really my kinda of thing but it's still cool to see Disney really take a chance on a really unique experience like this. I'm hoping that it's successful enough that someone replicates it down the road. There's so many cool properties that you could offer a really cool immersive "resort" experience with.

There's no rate or cabins for solo travelers so you're still forced to pay over $4K if you go by yourself and even if you bring a friend to split the cost you either are going to have to decide who gets the nice bed or share the main bed. At least if I wanted stay at a WDW Deluxe hotel I could split the room with a friend and we could each get our own bed. I've stayed at both Grand Floridian and Yacht Club for under $600/night (total room cost w/ AP discount) and those feel way more luxurious then this looks. Honestly I'd rather stay at another WDW Deluxe resort than try this out at the moment. 

[VIDEO: Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Full Walkthrough and Experience!]

It looks cool and thanks for sharing the video but I gotta be honest, for $4-5K I'd rather do an actual week long Caribbean cruise than a two day experience. Now if they ever brought the price down to $1-2K then I'd consider it. 

[A cold day at Phantasialand: Rookburgh, F.L.Y. & Wintertraum]

I love Phantasialand! It was one of the parks in Europe that impressed me the most especially by all the immaculate theming of the rides and areas surrounding them. Seeing all these amazing pictures definitely makes me want to return for Rookburg and FLY.

[Six Flags [FUN] Corporate Discussion Thread]

Dang, I was going to finally switch from a pass to a membership this year. I was originally going start the membership later this year when I felt like visiting a SF park or when Wonder Woman opens at Magic Mountain so my "pass" didn't expire at the end of the year. With the new pass structure offered last fall it looked like Six Flags wanted to get everyone to switch to a membership that wanted to go beyond their home park and now they are getting rid of memberships? If the new passes worked for a year starting when I got it like an "annual pass" then I would be fine with that but I don't want to get a pass in say May and have it expire at the end of December for a year round park. If that's the case with the new Magic Mountain passes then I'll probably wait until September when they are offering the 2023 passes with the rest of 2022 included. One minute Six Flags is pushing more memberships and the next minute they're getting rid of them - its like they have no idea what they want to do. Find a pass/membership system and stick with it and have an annual 12 month from the start vs calendar year option for year round parks. 

[Conneaut Lake Park (CLP) Discussion Thread]

On 1/9/2022 at 8:10 AM, ricklap77 said:

I am wondering what will happen next!  Will they keep the Hotel Conneaut?  Some amusement rides?  Will they build new homes right away this summer!?

Conneaut Lake Park is dead without its marque rollercoaster. There is no other noteworthy attraction there (Devil's Den isn't that great) and the park is really run down. The lake itself is nice but I don't think its enough to sustain a modern day amusement park especially when there's far better parks nearby (Waldermeer to the north and Kennywood to the south). I'm not sure if the hotel will survive but probably not under its current state. It could be sold and remodeled and survive without an amusement park since there's the lake for recreation but Conneaut Lake is a highly seasonal and regional destination.

[Best Programs & Deals to Save Money on Coaster Trips]

Just found out my Choice Rewards points expired. Apparently I had 9910 points but I hadn't stayed at a Choice Hotel since Dec 2019. None of my other hotel rewards points expired doing COVID and I'm a member of Wyndham, IHG, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Best Western as well as Hotels.com. I also got Gold Elite status with IHG somehow last year and also have Gold status with Wyndham. I don't get why Choice Hotels expired rewards points during COVID and never warned me with an email or anything that my points were near expiration. They status matched my IHG status but didn't reinstate my rewards points. I probably won't be staying at a Choice Hotel again if my points don't get reinstated. 

[Marineland Discussion Thread]

I did a Cedar Point to Canada road trip in 2018 and I went right by three parks which I skipped with this being one of them (the other two being Darien Lake and Fantasy Island). I spent two night in Niagara Falls (the Canadian side) and had 1 ⅔  days there for sightseeing. I was kind of intrigued about Dragon Mountain but nothing else interested me at the park at all and the both the price point and the welfare of the animals prevented me from going there (but mainly the latter). I love good aquariums and marine life parks but I didn't want to visit a depressing one for one unique credit especially after hearing how they treat their animals. I chose to spend more time seeing the falls instead and saw them from different vantage points both on the US and Canadian sides. I have no regrets in my decision. 

[Erik & Smisty's Denver Disappointment!]

On 8/24/2021 at 2:38 PM, Electerik said:

We're not water park people. I mean, we've been to a small handful, but it really needs to be something special to get us to deal with all the inherent inconvenience of the general water park experience. (And also, many water slides are terrifying.)

However, Denver is home to a place with something that, to my knowledge, no other water park really has: "dark ride" water slides. So, we decided to check it out:

While it's not water slides, Blizzard Beach and Volcano Bay have themed indoor sections of their lazy rivers kind of like dark rides and Aquatica Orlando has a section of its lazy river that goes through an aquarium. I don't know if you've been to any of these but if you're not typical water park people but like highly themed water parks with a nice atmosphere that is quality over quantity then you'd like Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Volcano Bay, and Aquatica Orlando.

On 8/24/2021 at 2:38 PM, Electerik said:

 

 

I don't get this one. They just go along the outside. What's the point of the swirly bit?

That's what I immediately thought the first time I rode one of those! The first time I rode one of these was at Beech Bend in 2016 and they hyped it as the first of its type in America and I rode it and was let down when it didn't do anything special. Definitely over hyped.

On 8/31/2021 at 5:58 PM, Electerik said:

 

Apparently this is one of two locations, the other being in San Francisco. And each is themed largely to the history of their respective cities.

 

Urban Putt Denver

Looks cool. I recently did an outdoor popup mini golf course (18 holes) in SF themed to the history and evolution of the city near Oracle Park called Stagecoach Greens but I'll have to try the Urban Putt there. 

 

Great Denver TR btw. Elitch Gardens and Lakeside aren't bucket list parks for me but I'm amazed that Elitch got a Meow Wolf dark ride. That would be the thing that would interest me the most at Elitch followed by their rare shuttle loop and halfpipe coasters. I gotta be honest about Lakeside, it looks like a shithole but it does has a couple of interesting rides. Water World looks like the park that would be interest me the most in Denver. The only park in Colorado I've been to is Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park but it looks like it wins best park in the state by a landslide (I did enjoy it). 

[The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread]

On 8/16/2021 at 10:31 PM, Animal said:

I saw that for 2022 Knott's will be getting their hotel renovated, which is great news because the place is kind of a dump!  With $200 million being invested by Cedar Fair for 2022 and no real new rides coming I wonder how much will be put into the Knott’s hotel? Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t believe Knott’s built this hotel. I think they bought an existing one, slapped their name on it, hung pictures of their rides in the rooms and called it a day. Here’s hoping they really go all out and try to transform this into something really nice and unique and complete the Knott’s “resort.”

I've stayed there a couple of times in the past and never had a problem. The second time I stayed there the rooms were slightly refreshed with better bedding. It's not the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point but its not priced like that either. I've stayed there for around $100/night during WCB in the past and its priced more like Breakers Express. While the hotel could use a makeover like Hotel Breakers did I wouldn't call it a dump. You're right that it wasn't built by Knott's and they acquired it - it was a Radisson originally I believe. Down the road at Disneyland the Paradise Pier Hotel was also acquired by Disney and they also slapped on a few things and called it a day. It looks like a 1980s/1990s Hilton at best (at least the lobby, I've never actually stayed in the rooms) and should be classified as a moderate resort at best but they are charging prices similar to some deluxe resorts at WDW.

 

On 10/4/2021 at 2:04 PM, KBrylczyk said:

https://www.knotts.com/scheduled-ride-closures

Just checked, both Xcelerator and Hang Time are still listed as dead in the water.  I'm gonna be at Scary Farm this Saturday and, I'll be honest, I'll be a bit miffed about spending upwards of $200 $236(!!!) and not being able to ride either.  I'm well aware that they can't control when things break but, you know, give us a break on the price if the two star attractions are out of commission.  I just checked out The Old Joliet Haunted Prison outside of Chicago this past weekend and they gave the guests who purchased the Fastpass entry free zombie laser tag because there was no difference in wait between standby and Fastpass.  Something small like that goes a VERY long way towards making people happy.

I hear you. I may have to miss Scary Farm this year due to my work schedule unless I get someone to cover for me on Halloween night but it will be easier knowing both Xcelerator and Hang Time will be closed and only one maze is new with no Hanging nor Special Ops Infected this year. It's going to be a dead zone by the Boardwalk with both Hang Time and Xcelerator closed and packed between Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain Log Ride as well as by Ghostrider. If I were splurging on Fright Lane I would want at least two of the three open for the Ghostrider, Xcelerator, and Hang Time trio but preferably all three. I still love Knott's Scary Farm but I know it will only be better next year with at least two new for me mazes plus a better chance of most of the major headlining rides being open.

[Photo TR: First Time Visit to California's Great America]

On 10/2/2021 at 7:50 PM, SharkTums said:

^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.  

It's definitely improved with the addition of Goldstriker and Railblazer. The park still needs another headliner and an expansion to its mini-waterpark section (which they're addressing) but at least there's a couple of coasters that can be marathoned now. Although I still give Discovery Kingdom the edge to its coaster lineup (when its all open) overall I think CGA is the better rounded and overall best Bay Area park (not including Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk) and delivers a better experience than Discovery Kingdom (not surprising). 

[The Knott's Berry Farm (KBF) Discussion Thread]

Interesting. No new mazes and no more Hanging (as was hinted in the 2019 Hanging show) but several new shows.  I'll probably still go though as I really want to do some haunt events this season. 

[Lagoon Discussion Thread]

WTF is wrong with that guy? Looks like he was trying to get a Darwin award. The trees probably saved him though from having an even worse fall. 

[NEWS: Gerstlauer to build record-breaking US-based roller coaster in 2022]

On 4/23/2021 at 7:20 PM, ytterbiumanalyst said:

I'm going to go with Glenwood Caverns. I can't think of a more challenging park to build on in the U.S.

Congrats on being the only person to guess correctly.

 

 

I went to Glenwood Caverns last September and loved it. Their main coaster was closed and their kiddie coaster was on a ride rotating schedule so I missed both of those but the main reason for me visiiting there was for the Screamin' Swing off a cliff, Mine Shaft drop ride, alpine coaster (the best one I've done in the US), and the cave tours plus the views and all of those were open. This gives me a legit excuse to go back. The area is beautiful and the drive through Glenwood Canyon just east of here on I-70 is spectacular and a must do. I felt this was already the best theme/amusement park in Colorado by default and this reassures that will continue to be the best one in CO.

Aspen is also nearby for anyone that skis or snowboards and Glenwood Caverns is open in the winter, although with limited operations. Glenwood Springs also has the largest hot springs in America that I ran out of time to do so that gives me another reason to go back. The drives from Denver and Utah are beautiful but for anyone that thinks thats too far to drive there are flights into Aspen and Eagle/Vail airports serviced by major airlines that are much closer to here. 

[Plopsaland De Panne Discussion Thread]

On 7/6/2021 at 6:10 PM, DBru said:

Time Traveler totally blew me away and this one looks even better. Can Cedar Point or Kings Island get one soon, plz?

Or can at least Sierra Sidewinder at Knott's be altered and modified to be more like this?

[Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread]

Sad to hear about the news on the Voyage yesterday. Cool music video by Fozzy on the ride though.

On 5/28/2021 at 6:45 AM, prozach626 said:

It's a bit ironic such a hardcore video was themed at one of the most family oriented parks in the US. 

It is but The Voyage is aggressive so the song and video fits the ride well. 

[The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread]

23 hours ago, IronWolfman said:

Okay valid.. was definitely  keeping a lid on being too frustrated since it's absolutely no fault of any help center employee.

Just hoping to hear something official regarding the 15th soon. 

They're not enforcing the out of state policy. They scan your ticket/pass and reservation time when you enter but that's it. I was at the park two days ago and I was talking to some people in line for Tatsu that said they were visiting from Vegas. I expect them to lift the out of state restrictions that they don't enforce on June 15th. If you already have a ticket and reservation you'll have no problem getting into the park. 

As for the 50th anniversary there's some balloons and a special sign by the entrance gate as others have mentioned and I guess they are giving out buttons somewhere. I found a 50th anniversary button inside the train for Ninja when I was boarding but I'm not sure where you get the buttons normally. They weren't handing them out when I entered the park between 10:45 and 11AM so maybe ask in one of the stores by the front entrance or guest services.