bert425

I would ride the crap out of that slow moving, suspended, Puss in Boots ride! someday, I've GOT to get to Singapore.

Day 9: Holiday Park (now, Plopsaland Deutschland) this one ended up being a long, but fantastic day. we got up in the morning at Europa Park and after breakfast met in the lobby to check out and hop on the bus. before leaving tho, I made sure to get some daytime pics of Hotel Colosseo. . our amazing resort hotel. after loading up the bus, and after a drive, we ended up in Haßloch Germany, home to what was called "Holiday Park" but has now been renamed as of mid 2025 "Plopsaland Deutschland" so this was my last visit to "Holiday Park" ever. . it's a medium sized park, with some nice thrills, a lot of wasted space/closed attractions, and a killer top coaster in Expedition GeForce. we were also there during the Halloween event, called "Halloween Fright Nights". . tho not certain if they are still doing that now that it's a Plopsa park. there were certainly signs it was transitioning more towards a "tweens" park tho. . . as you'll see below in comments. Front gates Front Gates with TPR, pic courtesy of Robb. loved the light fixture additions. they were cutsey, but fit this front area of the park. I believe this is/was the park's mascot. . tho never saw him really anywhere other than near the front and by one ride at the back of the park. this was the main reason for our stop tho. . the excellent Expedition GeForce - this amazing Intamin Mega coaster, with tons of airtime pops, and that fantastic curving first drop. TPR on GeForce. Hawk seems to imply it was a bit chilly this day. Happy TPR train on Expedition GeForce the Starflyer, which ran a so-so program in an area that was almost completely shut down/abandoned. it LOOKED like they were getting ready to do some construction over here tho, so hopefully Plopsa has put some $$ into adding a bunch of stuff. the other "big" ride at this park: Skyscream (a Premier Skyrocket). i pass on riding, as I've been on several (including this one) before. the queue is really well done tho, and they leaned into the Halloween Season for this area, as the queue already was in the realm of "spooky" I rode this, tho I wasn't as good as getting the planes to flip as others on the TPR trip were. but, yup, it's "Plane on Stick!" the only other place I saw this mascot in the park. This was back over by the Starflyer. . not opening until this year (so yeah, they've been working on it for a while), but per RCDB, it's a Gerstlauer Family coaster with a booster lift, a chain lift, and a roll back. the flume that's over by the "animated" section that was a big "tweens" area already in the park. it has a nice double dip drop. . tho doesn't get one super wet TPR on the flume! and they DIDN'T make us all cram into one log. this was my face upon discovering that my *favorite* ride in the park, is no longer there. oh, Expedition GeForce is my favorite coaster, but my favorite ride in Holiday Park was the Castle Frankenstein dark ride. It was kinda / sorta Haunted Mansion, but done just different enough it wasn't a direct rip off. even tho the ride system is the same. last time I was here? I rode this, easily, a dozen times. this time ? closed down. and why? they are turning it into a Smurfs ride !! SMURFS !!!! bahhhhhh! oh well, I'd drown my sorrow in food, as our day included a meal voucher (along with skip the line passes). not sure what the heck this was, but suitably freaky for the time of year. lunch was pretty good tho. . I had the Schnitzel and a ride on the Carousel will always cheer me up. since I had last been here, a new section of the park had opened up near the front. so we went to check it out. and yeah, it seemed targeting children as well.. so signs were there that the park was gonna get a name change. the scenery looked pretty tho and the rides were all "tween type" rides. mini drop tower, dumbo type ride, and a galloping horse type ride tho instead of horses, one would ride Grasshoppers. I thought it was adorable, but didn't want to try riding in case there was a weight limit. the indoor section is still there, and looks pretty much the same - with the same family rides, including the classic wood carved roundabout, the kiddie roller coaster, and the fairy flight ride. even Jon was willing to pose for a pic on the St. Bernard that's a WHOLE LOTTA SAUSAGE for a teeny tiny bun! tho we had planned to leave after a few hours, the park offered us admittance to the Haunts if we wanted. so a vote was taken, and tho we had been planning to get to Phantasialand earlier in the day, overwhelmingly we all voted to stay at Holiday Park for a few more hours. which meant we got to hang out and drink coffee, and enjoy the Parade. oh look.. there IS the Mascot! so I was incorrect. tho Andrew doesn't look too impressed hmm. this parade has a lot of little kids in it (tried my best to take pics around them), but it's pretty spooky. maybe this is gonna be really fun? Spoiler - it was! I've always found the scariest thing about the Grimm Reaper to be his Nike's really cool parade. . and as the sun started to set, the park was getting ready for the monsters to come out, and to open up the houses. this was the entrance to the first house we'd be going thru: Freak Circus but much like Six Flags has "the Arrival". . .Holiday Park has a show, that brings out all the haunt actors for the houses. TPR anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Monsters Sponsored by a local radio station. . . the "show" was about what you'd expect, but I loved that they leave the stage and weave thru the audience as they head towards their houses they have arrived and Bob looks amused. she was great! and ended up in the "Disco Ball Room" of the first haunt. so many flashing lights. in the Freak Circus house, they send you thru in small groups. (actually all the houses did that - groups of 6-8), and in one room the "ringmaster" yells to all get together and smile for a picture that they take, and then hand to you upon exiting. for all the posing and direction the ringmaster gives you, the pictures are hysterically awful - blurry/out of focus - and they got worse as the groups went. she even missed half the group. hysterical! snapping a pic of the drop tower that is a park icon as we passed by it. (it's more of a "floating drop" than a sharp drop. . but it's ok, and it looks great) yes. they have a "Titty Twister" house. and yes! staffed by Vampires, including a door guy who says absolutely FILTHY things to people as they wait to go thru (a'la Cheech Marin in the movie" what I found absolutely the most hysterical thing about this? most of the scare actors - and the park guide who was walking us thru - had NO IDEA this was based on a movie! they were just working off scripts and getting into character that way. HAHAHAHAHA and don't even ask about "Ms Mona". . . poor Jon. no pics allowed inside the houses, but it's an experience we'll never forget (and I bet Jon won't either). this is also brilliant - right next to Titty Twister. This is an actual park restaurant. They closed it down for the Halloween Season, and turned it into a cannibal restaurant house. so you really ARE walking thru a restaurant. lots of random scare actors hanging about outside the main houses. . but that was really the only areas. if you weren't nearby a house, you were "safe" the fourth "house" is an outdoor maze, that seemed to be themed to Rats mutated by toxic sludge, and out front in the queue were protestors arguing for rat's rights. funny. (not really "scary" tho) a peek into the animated Norse land I mentioned earlier that has been the central area in the park (and is also at Plopsa). . with a Disc-o, a splash battle, the flume and a couple of other family rides. of course, it was never a trip to Holiday Park if you didn't stop into the "pipi station" bathroom next to Expedition GeForce. I really hope they kept this! as we finished up with the last TPR group thru the outdoor house, we headed towards the front of the park. as we passed between two "houses". . there was a scare zone here. so some scare actors to interact with. and crossing across the main square by the front entrance, they had turned off the fountains, and had a DJ on stage getting a dance party going. a final shot as we headed to the parking lot to get on the bus. and a pic from either Robb or Andy (since my camera lightened up the above, and theirs captures the beautiful sky) and then back on the bus and continuing on to Phantasialand. . where we were staying at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh on property. I don't think I took any pics of the room this time, as I have stayed in this hotel on prior trips. But snagged some areas I probably didn't get before. like the steampunk registration desk: and the park entrance to the hotel (yup, that's F.L.Y. track on the right. it goes thru the hotel). a sunset shot from the rooftop of the hotel, with F.L.Y. track underneath. could be mine, but I suspect I have to thank Andy for this. time for dinner (included with our hotel stay), the place looks really great at night. hungry TPR ready to chow down. and the food here is so dang good! best part of staying in this hotel? the ride may shut down with the park, but the area (Rooksville) stays open for hotel guests to wander around in if they so please. so able to get some wonderful pics. and then it was off to bed. tomorrow was the 1st of two full days at Phantasialand to end the trip

great pics!

Day 3 concluded: Tiananmen Square back on the bus, and a short time later, we were back near where we had been the day before, closeby the Forbidden City. this structure is just outside of Tiananmen Square, and is the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower marking the south end of Tiananmen Square (so we were going around the outside to be let off the bus to walk to the security). Security at Tiananmen Square is incredibly strict - not only do you need a ticket to set foot into the square (which must be applied for way in advance, but we had an excellent tour guide who was able to swing getting tickets for those who wanted to go this evening), but there is a serious bag check, security pat down, metal detectors, and passport screen before you are even let into the square. in the below pic, Tiananmen Square is on the right. . the security check point is across the street on the left random buildings across from the square, as we headed towards security. the is the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao (taken from the security line to get into the square), that sits at the South side of Tiananmen Square inside this Mausoleum is Mao in the Crystal Coffin that preserves his body. tho tourists are welcome, tickets must be gotten in advance (and we didn't have tickets for that), and it was already late in the day so they had stopped letting folks in. it was still incredible to see even just the building in person. another pic of the Mausoleum from the Security line across the street. as noted, they are VERY serious about Security here. camera was put away all thru the security process. . not even gonna chance it. but here are pics from actually Inside Tiananmen Square. the monument in the center is: "the Monument to People's Heroes" and behind that, across the square is: National Museum of China behind me across the street (beyond security) is the Great Hall of the People. . another pic of the museum. . mainly to capture all the cameras that are on the light poles here. a look towards the most famous part of the Square: the Tiananmen gate on the North side of the square, that enters into the Forbidden City. the big basket of flowers is from the "Celebration of the 75th anniversay of People' Republic of China" in 2024 heading towards Mao's Mausoleum. . .this is one of the giant sculptures out front and in particular over here in front of the Mausoleum was heavy police presence the other giant sculpture out front, on the opposite side of the entrance to the Mausoleum the Monument to People's Heroes a selfie to capture the amount of cameras on site a closeup of the flower sculpture. . now celebrating 76 years (they changed the date to 2025) about as close as you really can get to the Tiananmen Gate while in the square. That photo of Mao is huge, but it looks small when viewing from where you can stand. looking out at one of Beijing's unique buildings in the smog, from Tiananmen Square. \ we were going to stay for the flag ceremony at the end of the night, but it was still an hour plus away, and my feet were kinda hurting, as were Stacy's. It was getting a little chilly too, and there really wasn't anything much to do other than sit in the crowd (getting larger by the moment) until the time for the ceremony. so we decided to bail. Probably shouldn't have, as it was a once in a lifetime, but ya gotta do what your body is saying to do - and mine was saying "go sit, and get a meal, you've done a LOT of walking today" luckily, Andy planned to stay, and not only shared photos he took of the ceremony, but also the video I'm sharing below. it's quite impressive and I'm super glad he shared it with the group, so I can share here! KBKD2717.MP4 once you're in the square via the security? there's really no exit other than at the corner that will bring you to the other buildings or the subway station. so we followed the crowd down into the underground (with SO MUCH police presence), but instead of going left to the Tiananmen Gate. . . or right to the Palace Museum. . . we headed straight ahead and out thru exit security to the Tiananmen station for the subway even once thru the "exit".. we still saw quite a bit of security around heading to the trains but, ahhhhh. . . sitting. (no issue finding a seat as people were coming TO the square, not leaving, so we got to sit for the ~1 hour ride back to the Universal Hotel) the Universal stop lets you out near CityWalk. . and as we were checking out of the Hotel in the morning, it was our last chance to sample things here at Universal Studios Beijing. at prices WAY below what they would be at a USA Universal park. so we headed to Toothsomes' Chocolate Factory for a late dinner, before going back to the room to pack. sounded kinda gross, but kinda good. . .but the urge for alcohol disappeared when we saw the offerings of milkshakes. and roaming characters coming from table to table. Stacy got a Chocolate and Strawberry shake. I went a little rogue and went for one that was pistachio and cheese. yeah. . it was very strange, but oddly satisfying. She got a burger, but I tried Chocolate braised pork. it was a bit too sweet for me, so didn't finish, but I did like it and glad I tried it. the offerings of shakes. . . and then it was up to the room (after paying way less than I expected it to be) to pack and be ready for tomorrow. was gonna be a tiring day, as after checkout, we were headed to the Great Wall (another bucket list item), and then we had a flight to another city. but after packing and before heading to bed, Andy sent the below pic, and i found it to be a perfect ending to what had been another great day on a TPR trip.

Day 3: Continued. . . across from the corn was the first time I really got to see the treats on a stick that I'd get to know across many parks to come: LtR: Potato with mayo, Potato with ketchup, Potato, hot dog / sausage made pretty and spices, and fried cheese on a stick (sometimes with a hotdog inside, sometimes not), also along the bottom various filled "pancake". also a delicacy: Squid on a stick. we weren't gonna eat just yet, as were still full from breakfast. but I WAS intrigued by the "Rainbow EPCOT" Mexican restaurant. Which seemed to serve "authentic Mexican Pho" LOL behind it was a giant Frisbee tho. . so we decided to go on that. as it had no wait today it was a fun, tho short cycle, and gave a great view of the Waterpark on one side and some wonderful views across the central lake at the rest of the park. here's the top of Crystal Wing (under the water park slide), the Family Inverted, and the most you can see of the SLC (Golden Wings Over the Snowfield), across the lilly filled lake and looking back towards the "Mexican restaurant", the B&M Hyper here comes the train! let's see if I can get splashdown from this angle. . . yup! as we continued around the park after our ride on the Frisbee, we entered into Frontier Town area. . which had some . . . um. . . . "problematic" theming. I thought it was shockingly hysterical, and they were all the nicest people! so of course I snapped some pics. this looked like another show, but the times listed seemed to be only for weekend operations. but I did peek into the entry to snap a pic of the stage. Dying to know what the show would have been like (I have to look that up) based on the next group of folks that were "themed" Yup. . cavewomen in raised huts with Corn, holding bones. or a leopard skin purse. . . although. . this IS the kind of theme park job I'd totally sign up for "lay in a hut all day and wave to people" LOL this was a huge, and impressive, water feature on the side of the stage building. it really was massive, and I *guess* it's Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil, See no Evil ? and I DO love me a throne my fist official exposure to smelly Tofu. we didn't try it hear, but here is where I was able to really put the smell together with what it was, so I always knew when I was near a stand selling it. (and yes, I did try it later in the trip, and I liked it). I honestly have very little memory of this ride. i THINK it was a boat ride that was kinda like "it's a small world" ? I have some pics from outside, and a pic in the queue, but absolutely none from the ride itself. not even ones that came out blurry or bad, I just didn't take any. which implies I was very unimpressed by it. or maybe my feet just hurt, and I was focusing on sitting in the boat? or maybe my Battery was dying and I wanted to save it for Carousel pics? anyways. .here's the outside of "Happy World" and a couple of queue pics. there seemed to be an entire show building / museum here, and tho it looked interesting, it was more important to eat something and get a few other things in. so we bypassed this. my goal (really at most parks, especially if they have a unique carousel) OMG. .these Horses! and it's a double decker. . tho they only operated the bottom Stacy rode with me we were really getting hungry, but this thing next door to the Carousel caught our eye. what the hell is it? "Flying Cake". .. a stand up Rockin Tug type ride! which looked like it was once Surf themed before it got moved to this area, and hadn't been rethemed other than the base of it ONLY to add these two figures. . .HA! not gonna lie tho. . it was really fun, and I'm glad we stopped and rode it. never been on anything like it before. a look at the closed today Crystal Wing track, and the B&M flyer across the lake from "Flying Cake" Crystal Wing theming. . as we headed towards the front to eat something. ohhh.. some street entertainment going on here in the cookie/bakery section. . so we stopped and watched for a moment. and then went up to the front where there were about a dozen "food cart" stands. . all standing empty. But the operators were in the back of the carts, and when they saw a customer come up, they came out and greeted you. still being very early in the trip, I opted for more traditional Chinese street food for my lunch. (a pancake that had a lot of different things in it) Stacy stuck more to traditional noodles. what mine looked like once I got it in a cup and William had dumplings. the park was playing some "interesting" music up near the front where the food stands were. . including this nearly 8 minute mix of a song that seemed to be called "put your ass in the air" it was very catchy, and eventually got to me AAJM2130.MP4 getting close to the meet up time, in chatting with someone, they mentioned that the big building we had passed was a large indoor section. so we went over to check it out with about 30 minutes to spare. it really was a really large area. and it appeared that at one point the park did have a junior coaster in here, but now it was just a virtual one, so we passed. but a Dumbo type ride, a small frisbee ride. . . and then an Air Race on top of a gift shop! if we hadn't' just eaten, I totally would have ridden the Air Race. but luckily there's one close-by at Fiesta Texas. . so I didn't' mind skipping it. and then it was time to meet up at the front gate and head out to the next destination. (for those of us who wanted to go to Tiananmen Square) while others went sight seeing on their own, or stayed in the park for a bit longer. to be Concluded. . .

Day 3: Happy Valley Beijing for most of day, and a visit to Tiananmen Square: up and out early, as once again, we had a pretty full day planned. but we had a bit of a later start this morning, so Stacy and I headed down to the breakfast buffet and found these charming donuts this am. on the way back up to the room to change for the day, I remembered that I had yet to snap a picture of the fountain in front of the Universal Studios Grand Hotel. So popped out to grab this one. as we headed back down, we passed over the lines for guests to queue for entry to Universal Studios Beijing. this is the regular line, about 2 hours before opening. on a Wednesday. yeah. . . on to the bus, and headed out to the park chain that is basically "the Six Flags" of China: Happy Valley. a shortish drive later, and we were pulling up to the front gates of Happy Valley Beijing. to be honest, I don't recall seeing very many of these guys in the park. . and one of the ones I DO recall seeing, is on the outside of a long ago removed ride. but they must be popular, as the park still has them out front on the marquee to greet guests. the first (but for sure NOT the last) school group we would encounter whilst visiting a Chinese park on a weekday. lots and lots of kids, tho I don't recall this park being particularly crowded. . . but some later parks were just swarmed with lots of kids who only knew enough English to say "Hello" and "Where are you from" (I told them Canada) all in all tho, the kids were (mostly) adorable, and polite, and I was glad to see so many having a good time at amusement parks. again tho, I don't recall this park today being slammed with groups. Pic Courtesy of Robb - TPR and our guide ready to enjoy Happy Valley. before the gates open, the Happy Valley parks all seemed to put on a "show" at the front gate. and then the performers move to the sides to greet guests as they come thru the turnstiles. of course, for me? that's a photo op! so I went back and forth to all of them - most in Anime or Horror themed outfits for the Season - to snap pics. they were genuinely surprised that I wanted to take pictures with them instead of just of them. (something I encountered quite a bit in China. I found it rather charming). she was a Spider. . LOL and this one? oh, I SO wanted her jacket. past the main gates, and into the park itself! not sure why the creepy orange is here? never saw him anywhere else in the park. This giant coaster (which seemed to have a clone in every Happy Valley we were gonna visit) is "Extreme Rusher" - a unique S&S Air-launch coaster. that has been SBNO since Oct 2023 (when there was a minor train collision in the station, and the State shut down all of these coasters). so yeah. . it's a huge not-operating coaster, front and center when you first enter the park. Don't think it will ever reopen (here or at any other Happy Valley parks), which is a shame as it IS rather unique. the park at least tried to "hide" the load station by plopping this giant "stage / photo op" thing in front of it. the waterpark off to the right was closed for the season already, but it looked like a decent size. and more Giraffes. . must be good luck in China? a peek at the "Scare" map for the "not-Halloween, but spooky" events: the "Woah!appy Festival" most of the walkthru things advertised were upcharges - something we saw at a lot of other parks too. but to be fair, the upcharge was only a few bucks here or there. photo op? yes please! this was the first store we came to, and peeked in just to see what kind of things were being sold. we were absolutely blown away by this store, so went thru as if it were an attraction. at the store exit, was a robot coffee machine. (the coffee was TERRIBLE. . but hey, a robot made it!) looking over to the center of the park, here's a peek at Crystal Wing - the park's B&M Flying Coaster. (it's a SFOG Superman clone, but has a unique setting in and out of that mountain fortress). unfortunately, it wasn't open today. not too upset, as it's a clone of something I've ridden (and I don't count coasters anyways). . . but it was really one of the VERY few coasters that weren't operating on this trip. so all in all, we had incredible luck . it's even the Superman colors. . . more Giraffes and one last look at the Crystal Wing area, before heading back across the bridge to the park, where the pathway goes around the outside. this section was themed to Candy / baking / sweets stuff kinda terrifying, but at least it doesn't have eyes really well designed area with an utterly charming carousel! and some "spooky" photo ops up. it was a little drizzly, but I do think this opened later in the day. really enjoy the names of some of these rides but here is the first (operating) coaster we would get to in the park. the uniquely named: "Family Inverted Coaster" it's a B&M inverted that does some fun helixes. . and fun fact, they are building one just up the road from me at SWSA - so I'll get to ride a version of this any time I want. it wasn't exactly "fluffy friendly". .but I did fit on it. and oh my. .that Pop Tart cop thing on the sign, DOES have eyes. creepy as hell. I know it's painted to fit the theme of the area.. but it looks SO great. then we continued onward around the park. I recognized these guys from the statue out front, and learned that this used to be the facade for a spinning mouse coaster called "Harvest Time" which closed in 2014, and was removed in 2017. but apparently the facade was well loved, so they just kept it in place for this area. not sure what (if anything) they ever built back in the space where the coaster was) what used to be the ride entrance "blocked by rocks". . . LOL the aesthetic in this park is wonderful tho. . . so many beautiful things to look at! that turn around up ahead is the Park's B&M Hyper Coaster. . but we're headed to that white track on the left. . yeah, an SLC. shudder and here it is. Fantastic name and all: "Golden Wings over the Snowfield - Suspended Roller Coaster" a lot of it is hidden by foliage. below here is one of the upcharge haunts. the long queues were very well themed: but at the end of the day, it's still an SLC. but I will happily admit it was a very GOOD SLC. with lots of padding, and little to no headbang due to such good padding. two of the four operating coasters done, we headed to the B&M Hyper next fantastic name for the Bumper Cars "Snowland Survival". . but that's where the theming ended for this one. lots of scare stuff set up on the path tho, for enjoyment. this we had been told about, this was the park's included walk thru Haunt attraction: the Ghost Cave so we stopped to go thru as we passed it. I asked and was told was ok to take pics, so this was the start of many Haunt Pics I took over the rest of the trip. what can I say, I love em. especially when the triggers for the effects are working. which they did in most all of the houses. Noted! Andrew, Chris, Stacy, and myself being "scared" I was trying to get the Nemo transportation car, but instead got this beautiful cherry blossom theming I believe this was a food court type of restaurant but the GIANT B&M Lift hill overhead was distracting. finally made it to the entrance to the B&M Hyper: "Flight of the Himalayan Eagle - Music Roller Coaster" yup. .it had onboard audio whilst you ride (and a splashdown too). it was a great coaster. we were only here until early afternoon, so no time for shows (the rides were more important to me), but this looked like it was a stunt show of some kind. adorbs! spoooooky! looking thru Flight of the Himalayan Eagle's track, to see Family Inverted Coaster running, and the SBNO Extreme Rusher track. but was able to catch the Splashdown The train didn't seem to be operating today, but I liked they had an engine out for pics down this way was the train station. . . but again, didn't appear to be operating today. the final operating coaster at the park today was "Jungle Racing" a Vekoma Mine Train. and per RCBD? it's now been closed as of November 2nd. . so we barely got it before they closed it down! which is weird, because I remember all the mine trains on this trip being pretty dang good, and the one at a later Happy Valley being the smoothest Mine Train I've ever been on. but I'm really glad I got to ride this one. great setting and queue too. leaving the Jungle Racing coaster, I was able to get a better pic of the Nemo transport. still with no one riding in it tho. and then? the corn OMG. . the CORN!!!! to be continued. . .

it's interesting.. . they've done it for a few years, but this year has some MAJOR changes - the big one being the Tilt Coaster now open. but another huge change? free parking. and it just doesn't seem to be getting advertised locally that it's now free to go park (tho they DID start charging $15 to enter the grounds). still tho, that's *nothing* to go and walk around! the crowds did seem to be coming in as we were leaving (around 7) and it's open until 10. and as I mentioned, they just recently expanded the hours to 4-10pm instead of 5:30-10.. so they must be starting to draw. It's open thru Jan 4. . . so still a couple of weeks to check it out! https://ticketing.peppermintparkway.com/events/01995544-598c-1dfe-c38e-401c551150a5

I know! the fact they dropped the price, and still no one really knows about it. it's SO smooth too. I liked it better than the Vekoma tilt I rode in China! I honestly think tho, that they are waiting to at least get Wildcat back up and running (it was assembled but not yet testing in the new location) before they really start a media blitz. Palindrome is testing, but there's simply no way to get to it from the Circuit Breaker side (yet). . so even if they did open it, I doubt we'd get an announcement. but once they get Wildcat running again, and that S&S swing? there's enough there to really start advertising a reason to come to the track.

Cher can do what she wants - she's an Icon. but that was some of the worst lip synching ever on the show. which is weird that she lip synced to a track both times, as she clearly still has her voice - she sang in that sketch you just referenced and sounded great.

Took a trip up to COTA last night, to check out the Peppermint Parkway Christmas Event - which thanks to the Director of Park Operations (Matt Hughey), and the local SW chapter of American Coaster Enthusiasts included free admission and rides on Circuit Breaker. lots of pics below, but will get the burning question out of the way up front. Circuit Breaker is amazing. Very smooth, has multiple inversions- including my favorite element - a short stall at the 1/2 way point on the ride, and wll be 100% worth the trip to Texas to ride. they have two trains running: Red and Yellow, both with onboard audio. Very loud onboard audio, I'll note. I mentioned that to Matt and he said they have brought that up to Vekoma, but apparently it's a program that cycles and they don't really have any control over whether the audio will be BLASTING loud, or not. for what it's worth? I thought the Audio was much better/quieter on the Red train. oh..they also lowered the price. at least during Peppermint Parkway, it's now $15 to get into the event, but once in? only $15 (3 tickets) to ride it. almost every other ride is only 1 ticket. (Circuit Breaker was prior $25 for one ride). Or you could do the Gold Band that is $50 and offers unlimited rides on everything, and includes Circuit Breaker. the only thing not included in the Gold Band are the Go Kart racing, and the upcharge "lap around the track" also even tho it's the weekend before Christmas? it looks like they are expanding the ride options - adding in a new section that has another kiddie coaster (Orient Express), an Octopus, a kiddie motorcycle carousel, and a ferris wheel - tho this section was not quite ready to open. As you'll see tho, they did have the lights on some of the new rides going tho. ok. .on to pictures. .it really is a good event, and we had a great time. more info scattered thruout the pics at the moment, the Entrance to what will be COTALand is via Peppermint Parkway. So it's just to the left of the main Grandstands, and the parking is mainly in lot A behind us is the startingline/main granstands and the Minigolf. to the right is the Karting for adults (and under that white shade back there is the kids Karting) bright and sunny, as they just changed the hours of Peppermint Parkway so it starts at 4 instead of 5:30. . but they haven't really gotten that memo out to folks, so it was actually pretty quiet (and almost ERT like) until about 5:30, which had been the starting time. entrance is not free - it's $15 per ticket to enjoy the carnival grounds, and the lights. then you can either purchase individual tickets for rides/attractions (each ticket is $5) or buy one of multiple wristbands that include different levels of activities (ie: all the 1 ticket rides, the mini-golf, the activities such as paint a dreidel or ornament, cookie decorating, smores, etc. . .) They did a really nice job. . tho I must admit the COTALand area looks much better at night, once the darkness hides the dirt/construction. the exit of the entry tunnel. . again, this will look incredible at night. I absolutely adore that they put up "wacky Santa inflatables". .. immediately put a smile on our faces the only thing actually open during Peppermint Parkway in COTALand "proper" is Circuit Breaker. . so it's off by itself after a bit of a walk on the left. but they actually DO have quite a bit done already. it was impressive to see. the Schwarzkopf Wildcat is not moved and pieced back together, but was not quite ready to go yet. and the S&S Screaming Swing has been topped off, and Matt said they will be back next week to complete work on it. as you might note, there are LOTS of ride pads, and pillars poured. so there will be things everywhere. . . I believe what's going right next to Circuit Breaker is the Starflyer. there will be no dedicated "kiddie area", but instead the kids rides will be scattered thruout the park so there will things for families to do in each area. this is the base of what will be a 250' drop tower! and off in the distance (beyond the final curve of the F1 track - there will be a path that connects the park to that side along the track), is Palindrome, the Gerstlaur infinity coaster. it also is not open yet, but WAS testing during our visit, to the delight of many. hard to see in this pic, but the lift hill/final drop of the log flume is up and done too. but here's what most came for. and as noted above, Circuit Breaker is amazing. Wildcat seen from the Circuit Breaker gift shop exit. these trains are covered in LEDs. . and really do look incredible at night. tho I rode several times in a couple of places (on both trains). . I really do prefer the back row. to be fair tho, the front really does have a ton of airtime. walkways are designed well over here, with tons of spots to get great pics. we pulled Matt over for a pic in the sleigh that's for use by a Santa later in the evening to pose for a pic. this coaster is a great success, in terms of rideability, smoothness, and thrill. walking back over to the main Peppermint Parkway after rides on Circuit Breaker, another pic of just how far out COTALand will extend (tho please note the big area in the center is the F1 track, so mainly along that path connecting the two sides of the park will be nothing but path). Matt did confirm for me there are still plans for the "most thrilling ride that will be in the park" - the multi seated "skycoaster" type ride, that will be rising over on the Palindrome side. but this pic gives a good idea of how many ride pads / supports have been done already, and a better view of the flume and Palindrome. looking back at Circuit Breaker a final time before leaving this section to head over to the main Peppermint Parkway area. tons and tons of lights, and things to do / photo ops over here. they did a Menorah Lighting at 5:45, which I appreciated, as last night was night 7 of Hanukkah. one of my favorite things is that they have the grandstands open (mainly for use of the Concession stands and bathrooms), but you can sit and watch the folks that did the "take a lap on the track".. so very loud and fun to see the cars zoom by at 100+ MPH. some of the stuff they had up was a bit "scary" for kids I thought. . but most of the adults loved it. and they had a screen set up playing movies (we saw the end of Grinch, and most of Elf playing during our visit) the smaller rides that used to be over by the Concert Venue entrance have been moved over to the front of the Grandstands to be included in Peppermint Parkway. Matt told me these are only here temporarily, and I'd say the vast majority of them will end up placed in COTALand - as many of the smaller kiddie rides are COTA branded already in the paintjobs and ride vehicles. but over here is also the Wacky Worm. . and since Jim wouldn't ride Circuit Breaker (it's too big a coaster for him still, so he freaks himself out), he WAS willing to ride the Wacky Worm with me. from the temporary placement, one does get a lovely view of the F1 track starting line from the lift hill. lots of other temporary rides have been set up over here, and tons and tons of lights. and would it be a "carnival atmosphere" without food carts? including the Donut place that is operated by Matt's wife. . yummmmm. . .a giant bucket of fried donuts! (and hot apple cider too). just a sampling of the lights over here. . which would look so much better as it got darker. back here is the new section, which as noted, didn't open last night as it wasn't fully ready. but they are assembling an Octopus there, the Orient Express looked ready to go (and was lit up!), but I guess it's not safe to operate while they are building a ride next to it. of course they have a kissing booth too. (and yes, we did kiss, but not sharing that pic here ) the only "permanent" things over here are the Zipline, the Mini Golf and the two karting tracks (Kids/Adults). but as noted, I would say most of these rides will make it over to COTALand proper eventually. it was time for the tree lighting ceremony, and it got PACKED over here. Princess Peppermint came out and did a little skit to light the tree. it really is pretty cool looking once the tree lighting happened, the crowd spread out, and since the place is so large? it never did feel crowded. tho I would estimate the line of cars to get in, as we were leaving, was at least a mile long. would it BE an event at COTA without some race cars? How about RaceCar driver Santa? (the line for him was at least 40 minutes, so I just waited outside the queue and snapped them between visitors) you could also queue to meet Mrs Claus (she had a much shorter line at about 15 minutes) THIS nightmare fuel: as well as Rudolf, and the "Ice Queen and Snow Princess" (aka: NOT FROZEN, but kinda, but we don't wanna get sued). . LOL the line for those two was easily the longest of the night other than Santa tho. so we kept walking and stopping for pics. we did bump into Princess Peppermint as she was making her way back towards the main entrance for her photo-op spot. she was kind enough to pose for a pic with us. the entrance gate at night. stunning. and the tunnel at night is pretty impressive too but our feet were hurting, so it was time to go. heading back to the car, a few final pics of Circuit Breaker - with the LEDs on the cars .. they start off the color of the train, then switch to Red/White/Blue, as the train runs the course. here's that Stall I love. well worth a visit if you're in the Austin Area this holiday season. . . .

I loved it the first time I saw it, but I have some really strong memories associated with it, as it's the show we had tickets for but Nick died before we saw it (so I went with his best friend). I want to see it again with Jim - so I can have a really good memory associated with it as well.

just got our tix for "HadesTown" in Feb. and I'm trying to convince him to splurge for "Six" in Jan.

yup. . look at Day 1. . . Raclette was day one.

Day 2 concluded: a trip to the Olympic Green Stacy has a great sense of direction, so i wasn't worried about getting lost. and we ended up with a small group that she led on the subway to the Olympic Green it's a very large park area, that's home to several well known sites from the Beijing Olympics: the Birds Nest (Beijing National Stadium), the Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatics Stadium), the Fan (Beijing National Indoor Stadium) , the Speed Skating Oval, the Fields, and the Promenade - home to the Olympic Tower and the Beijing Olympic TV tower. I liked that you could watch the operator of the train at the front of the car, if you chose to do so. stepping out of the Metro station onto the Promenade one of the multiple Olympic Mascots for the 2008 & 2022 Beijing Olympics. the tower in the back is the Olympic Tower (which you can go up to the observation levels) and the closer one is the Ling Long Pagoda (Olympic TV tower) that was used for Broadcasting here's the "Birds Nest". . .it just looks incredible at night and the "Water Cube" - also amazing. . tho now home to car/truck ads on the outside. thanks to Andy for these wonderful pics of the group of us that went to the Olympic Green this night. LOL. . we were trying to do "rings" and now attempting the Olympic Rings. hey. . it was an attempt! loved this sculpture in front of the Water Cube some Winter Olympics Mascot the base of the Ling Long Pagoda is home to a giant "Friendship Store".. . we didn't go in, but seemed to offer a lot of Russian themed things looking at the Bird's Nest from the Field next door (where the outdoor events were held) the Olympic Torch from across the field Anth and I sitting, while others with more energy walked to the Olympic Torch. (I was saving my steps for the Olympic Tower) here's "the Fan" . . where all the gymnastics were held not sure what this one is. . but it was all lit up, so must have been used for something (perhaps the Tennis Center?) walking the Promenade down to the Olympic Tower wasn't too expensive to go up. . and we walked all the way here, no way was I NOT going up. some of the floors have glass panels up here. . . oh my! gahhh!!!! incredible views up here. that blue blur is the speed skating stadium. . the lights on it are amazing. oh wait, that building next to it is the Tennis Stadium a bit overcast / pollution. . but great views of Beijing at night from here Birds Nest and fields on the left straight ahead, Water Cube and the Fan on the right, with convention center next to it. time to say goodbye and head back. . it had been a very long day, lots of steps. and the metro would take us about an hour to get back. it was a little busy, but once we got to the Universal Line? it was a TPR Train Takeover! the metro station at Universal was pretty neon. some folks rushed to get a last drink before everything shut down for the night, but Stacy and I were exhausted. . so one quick stop to ride the "Snail" sculpture in front of Dogfish at City Walk (thanks Sara for the pic!), and then it was back to the hotel for me. signing off with a great pic of Birds Nest from Andy that he shared with the group. he's such a great photographer! back in the room, a shower, and then collapsed into bed and out immediately. tomorrow was another packed day: Most of it would be spent at Happy Valley Beijing, but then some of us were gonna head to Tiananmen Square as our guide had managed to get us tickets to go tomorrow. but for now? sleep! hope you've enjoyed following along. SO MUCH MORE to come in future weeks.