TBpony414

^^ I agree with Chuck, Boo Blasters is a lot of fun (it's kind of hidden near Snoopyville) and also air conditioned. The Shenandoah log flume is really nice and won't get you soaked. Rebel Yell (Racer 75) is running fantastically well this year so don't skip it and if you are looking for another AC break the show by the Cirque Dreams Origins show by the antique cars/Grizzly is pretty good. The Eiffel Tower has great views. Make sure to stay super hydrated, the park is really hot and especially in areas where it's pavement and just reflects the heat back up at you.

^ That's awesome! Fury really is fantastic and how fun that your son reached a new height and could get on something new as well.

Super evening you had at the park. I laughed at you wondering if you could make it to Zumanjaro/Ka from Nitro with the clock ticking. In April I had the same situation except we were at Kings Dominion racing from Twisted Timbers to Volcano and made it with 3 minutes to spare. Whew! We ended up with a front row seat on the last train of the night and were the only ones on it. HOLY CRAPPPPPP it was flying. (Thank God we got on it then because now it's all busted.) I can only imagine how completely insane Kingda Ka was between the heat, night time, and fireworks going off!

Can someone tell me more about this foam party business??

Yes, and I believe you can reserve priority seating at a show with it also which is a big deal since otherwise you generally have to get in line for those up to an hour in advance on busy days in some of the smaller theaters to ensure that you get a seat. Yes to Timesaver Unlimited being available during SMC and Bill is correct that you can reserve priority seating for the shows, which you should absolutely do because show queues will begin over an hour before the show starts and they absolutely will fill to capacity. You reserve the show times at the Timesaver building when you get them (or you can stop by at any point in the day to reserve) however if you decide to not show up to the show it's no big deal - they will give the seats to someone else in the standby line. Timesaver seats are in a dedicated front section of the theatres. Even in the big theatre having the Timesaver seating is great because you can waltz up 15 mins before the show starts instead of waiting in an absolutely massive (and I mean MASSIVE) show queue line winding around the park in the freezing cold and *hoping* you will get let in. Bill - nice work on finding the minimum operating ride temperatures!!

After riding SV 5x in a day and then several times on the following days a few weeks ago when I was at the park, I did not have any thigh bruising. My mother mentioned that her thighs hurt a little on the last day. However, I had some really ugly bruises on my shins, particularly my left upper shin. It looked like I got whacked with a baseball bat. The way that the RMC restraints sit on me does not cause any thigh pain/bruises/etc. but I really slam into the shin guards for some reason. I have had this shin bruise issue on all the RMCs I've ridden: Steel Vengeance, Lightning Rod, Twisted Timbers and Twisted Colossus. It doesn't deter me from riding any of the coasters but it's strange that my thighs are fine yet my shins get bruised to bits! I should note that I ride with my hands in the air like I just don't care (if that matters at all) and I also do not have pain when riding Skyrush. Uncomfortable restraints on Skyrush for sure but it causes me no pain the way it does with others. My shins are bruise-less on that one though, ha!

I was there over Christmas week last year and it was crazy cold at times but as soon as temps hit 40 deg everything outdoors started running except for the water rides. Going for the shows and more importantly the lights themselves is truly worth it! I have been to many, many different Christmas events and theirs was just beautiful. We got Timesaver Unlimited passes the one day and another day we walked on everything without the passes. Hope this helps!

Hey there! First off, your writing style is informative and hilarious! I was laughing out loud for half of the California trip report and nodding in agreement with a lot of your first impressions of Williamsburg. I was born and raised just outside of Washington, DC so have been to BGW and Williamsburg many times. Jumping back to comments on your first TR on California and then on to your next report: Way back in the 1940's my grandparents lived in Medford, OR for a couple years when my grandfather was in the army so it was kind of cool to see you passed through there. The various mountains, trees, and waterfalls you saw all look neat and I appreciate your "ok we saw it, something about a tour guide, there is a historical sign, ok good enough" learning style when traveling to old sight-seeing places. But, I do really love your details when writing about it! It's nice to meet another non-drinker and you did the right thing getting some grape juice for your co-workers from the (really cool looking) castle winery. Truthfully, I am not sure which is more useless to sit in the break room: saltwater taffy or fancy grape juice? It's a close call. Luckily I do most of my work remotely so I don't have to deal with bringing home crappy souvenirs for people. The only thing I like about Colonial Williamsburg is that it's located near Sno 2 Go which is this awesome little snowcone stand that hopefully still exists on the side of the main road, and Busch Gardens is nearby. Great Wolf Lodge is nice as well. Other than that I find it all hot and boring but other people sure seem to love it there with the shopping outlets and all that history. If you had to cut out one thing from your trip I think you made the right choice to nix a full day of colonial stuff. Rides: Finally there is someone else who agrees with me - Verbolten sucks. There, I said it! People probably want to put me in the zoo and throw rocks at me for saying it in public but I really don't care. I find the drop over the ravine to be boring AF and not exciting in the least. As of late last summer more than half the effects in the show building weren't working, although when they are all on it is impressive to see the details. The drop track does nothing for me. Anyone who has ridden Big Bad Wolf and then tries to defend Verbolten saying it is just as good or better needs their head examined. It's a downgrade for sure. I also don't care for Invadr. (God I am feeling nasty today!) Curse of DarKastle was awesome and I'm very sorry you missed it. Can you tell I'm a bit bitter about the ride changes BGW has made in the last 10 years? Not all is lost though... thankfully Apollo's Chariot still kicks tons of ass and Griffon is reliably fun, Le Scoot and Pompeii rock and they have a fantastic three-station skyride with beautiful views of the park. Looking forward to your next installment!

The Chinese lantern festival is incredible!! Your photos turned out so well and the bright colors and creative designs they had... wow! It's hard to pick a favorite but probably the sea turtles and peacock at the beginning are front runners. I will look for something like this to come to the DC area because I definitely want to attend one of these festivals!

Rope dropping at Carowinds is not necessary so you're good there. In my experience, yes it most definitely does empty out in the evening. Depending on which days you're going, many rides will drop down to practically station waits about an hour before closing time.

Fantastic coverage of the grand opening of Toy Story Land and Slinky Dog Dash! I'm really impressed with how creative they were with all the theming. I mean it's Disney so of course it's going to be good, but this seems exceptional. That photo of Slinky at sunset is outstanding!

I had no idea AK released parrots over the walkways like that! So freaking cool. Animal Kingdom has always been my favorite park because of the insane theming, awesome safari, Everest, and the Finding Nemo musical. Nemo is my fav and I am actually watching the movie right now. I agree it's really not possible to compare Kilimanjaro Safari to SORA because they are so different. On one hand, I really love AK's safari and the animals have been right up next to the safari vehicle on many of my rides just like they do at SFGAdv. However, SORA is longer and does feature more animals... but it feels much less immersive since, well, Six Flags. The amount of vehicles Disney runs and the efficiency with which they do it is truly astounding. They are both great safaris for different reasons!

^^ I'm really digging that popcorn inspired chandelier in the one concept art picture you posted, Bill!

I love seeing trip reports from first time visitors! CP is my favorite park for all the reasons you listed. Especially glad you went into Dinosaurs Alive since not only are dinos cool, but you get amazingly close interactions with Millennium Force! I'm disappointed at the lack of SkyHawk in this TR, however. Besides Cedar Downs, that is the best flat ride in the park!

Fellow Sheetz fan here! It's been probably 15 years since I've been to Knoebels so I need to get back up there. As someone who gets scared of their own shadow walking alone at night, the haunted house sounds like my worst nightmare!! Looking forward to your upcoming trips and accompanying TRs.

Nice little TR, Larry! I've never been to Sesame Place or Dorney and seeing your report doesn't exactly make me want to go out of my way to visit either of them. I hope the cut through paths at Great Adventure stay open as they really save a ton of time.

Planning ahead for our DW trip the last week of July/first week of August: I was super excited to see that iLuminate was going to be at DW this year in place of the Bubble show (which was seriously awesome and we saw it twice!) However, it appears they will only be at DW for 2 weeks and there will be no show in that main show building after July 21. The only other show besides bluegrass music or some singers seems to be a painting guy on a back porch. Does anyone know if DW truly has nothing planned for the last few weeks of summer? That would be a big bummer, if so. Changing travel dates to be able to see the drum show or iLuminate is not a possibility, unfortunately and the shows at Dollywood are a big draw!

I agree, the phrasing was seriously strange and simultaneously funny to read! Really great! Zach - I'm glad you had such a great time.

FYI the word on the street is Volcano will be down for a while more which sucks because it spent the majority of last summer broken and is IMO the most fun ride in the park. I'll be there in a couple weeks so hopefully it opens up for both of us! I-305 never has a line... ever... but even if all the switchbacks are filled it's only a 35 min wait. Flight of Fear can get decent lines though. Don't forget to hit up Boo Blasters which is really fun and air conditioned. Have a great time and please be sure to post a little update/TR of your visit!

you'd love Niagara Falls.. the Canadian side tourist area is beautiful and friendly (and they have go-karts, and dinosaur mini golf (with an "active" volcano that kept belching out fire all night . . we could see it from our window). Dino mini golf, Super Mario go-karts, and a ropes course all nearby?! That is definitely right up our alley. Guess who is going to plan a trip to Canada, eh??!

Cedar Point makes for amazing TRs and this was especially fun to read! It's great hearing you loved Maverick, Gatekeeper, and Millennium Force so much as well as Cedar Downs. I am heading to the park next week and can't wait. Even though I have been going once a year for several years now, there always seems to be something new to look at or learn! Their incredible collection of rides and stellar location on Lake Erie make it one of a kind. Really glad you had a blast there!

Finally getting a chance to catch up on your Branson adventures and just got to your update on Michael's sudden health crisis. I am sending loads of prayers, good thoughts, well wishes, and healing vibes your way. Please tell Michael there are many strangers out there who care deeply about him - and you too, Phil. Let us know if there is anything we can do, even though many of us are far away we are still here for you.

Really great report, Bert! I love waterfalls, pictures, and lots of details/silly stories so keep up your super TR style! As I mentioned in our texts a few days ago I've never been to Niagara Falls or Canada but I am becoming more interested in making a trip up there after this. Your Maid of the Mist adventure looked cool so I would definitely do that. Marineland seems puzzling from all angles but the Robin Hood/Peter Pan sign is really funny!

Major family emergency on my end so I'm late to reply. Boldikus and Bert you two have me really laughing over here with your donuts!! And yes I can be extremely persuasive I was even *this close* to getting Bert to go see the BMX Stunt show at CP last year... and now that it's gone I hope you are truly kicking yourself for not seeing it in all its glory. Definitely count me in for park shenanigans with any of you hilarious yahoos!! Boldy - I appreciate the in-depth analysis of the donut shops. Until I went to Beiler's I was not really a donut person but they seriously changed my entire view on the matter. I know for sure we got an apple pie, an apple crumble (yes two diff apple ones), blueberry somethingorother, banana cream pie, key lime pie, maybe an Oreo something? Good god they were delicious. Shawn and I keep talking about making a trip up there to get more donuts and go to Adventure Aquarium again in Camden.

On a scale of Delicious to OMFG AMAZING, how do those donuts compare to the ones at Reading Terminal Market? The donuts we had at RTM last year were insanely deliciously amazing and we still talk about them. I got a good laugh out of your poor planning with biking home, but seeing as they didn't end up on the ground I'd say it was a great success!