bert425

Kbrylczyk is referring to a current rumor regarding SFFT & Dorney (for the record, I don't believe it)

this honestly has not much to do with the merger. he's taking personal time, and it's his choice to step away. he told me it's an amicable split, and referred to this as a "pause in his career" and that he'll be back in the industry in some form after a break. (and yes, I believe him because he did tell me more details that aren't for public consumption).

So disappointed to see the news of restructuring (again) and the return of park presidents to some of the big parks (SFOG & SFOT included) but absolutely crushed to hear that Six Flags and Jeffrey Siebert have parted ways. A huge loss to Six Flags regardless on which side the separation initiated from He did SO much to improve not only SFFT in his years there as park president - but so much to improve the regional properties in the past year he will be truly missed and I wish him the best in future endeavors

Jim is off on Thursdays, so we took a day trip with our friends down to SWSA to check out the 2026 Seven Seas Food Festival. lots of changes for this year, including massive adjustments to the 7 "areas" they used to have, and 90% new menu items. (and from what we tried, I'd say most was excellent or very good, with a rare dud here or there). Since some booths such as "Japan" are no longer there, the "water garden" show is now gone, but a new drumming show has been added to the "Africa" booth, and the "Groove Chefs" (think Stomp with pots and pans) are back again, as well as stilt dancers over near "South America". . . so there are still a number of shows to catch during any day the food festival is running (Thurs-Sun most weeks thru May 17). another change is that the Deserts are now all at one booth, instead of being shared across all booths. all in all, there are 10 booths, plus 3 "drink" stations - and yes, you can use a sampler click for a cocktail at the drink stations as well as for any drinks at each individual booth the biggest change? this year, SWSA gets concerts added to the lineup! The first weekend was Ginuine, and tonight is "Expose', Tiffany, and the Jets" Upcoming weeks include the "pop 2000 tour" (with some boy bands you've heard of), Hoobatank, Fuel, & Lit, Blackstreet, and the big finale show is Souljaboy & Ying Yang Twins. . all included with park admission. ok.. let's get to a trip report! here's the event booklet - and you want to have it because of the big changes this year . . . here are the new Food Stands, as well as the 3 places that offer non-food stand specific drinks/cocktails/mocktails. the only thing that really has not changed, is that 9 of the 10 food stands are around the lagoon portion of the park. if you get your booklet stamped at all 9 stands (the "tiny travelers" stand is a "gimme" and is already filled in), you can show your passport at the exit gift shop for a small gift: there's also another "game" for the littler ones, where a Shamu is hidden in the area of each food stand, and if you connect the correct Shamu to the correct food stand, there's a small gift for that too. as usual, passholders get a special badge with 18 samples for the price of 15 - and since they are also offering passholders one free sample, between Jim and I we had 20 samples (too many, but we took some home) front gate advertising, and we were hoping it wouldn't be too busy on a Thursday and would be able to get some rides in too. but we ended up not riding anything, as they seemed to be a bit low on staffing today (which was A-OK, as all food festival booths were fully staffed, just some shops and stores were not open). all rides other than Rio Loco were up and running too. . . but Barracuda Strike is still having some "new ride issues" and due to breakdowns the line looked like at least a 40 minute wait, so we didn't bother. it will BE there, we'll ride it at some point. Catapult Falls was walk on tho, as were most of the other coasters. we always we started backwards and what used to be the Mexico booth is now called "the Gulf" and has a separate Cantina booth set up next to it. we had the pork and pineapple & the Shrimp tacos. The shrimp was ok, tho a little overcooked, but the avocado crema was fantastic. we all agreed the pork and pineapple is the way to go here - it's excellent. after our 1st stop and a quick drink break, we made our way to the main lagoon - where the rest of the food booths are located. great view across the lagoon of LtR: Steel Eel, Wave Breaker (the launch building), Catapult Falls (the final drop lift tower) and Great White. and here's Texas Stingray (the best woodie in Texas) and Tidal surge had to snap some pics of the new hotness - Barracuda Strike, cycling at the moment. . it looks so good going thru the lift hill for Steel Eel what used to be "France" is now a Coca-Cola refill station. . . so the next stop was actually what used to be "Germany" - and tho they covered the signage up with multiple flags to make it "Europe"? it's still basically the Beirgarten section, which I'm sure will be back in full german swing for Oktoberfest. I will easily admit that I'm thrilled that almost all of the crappy German food is now gone, leaving on the returning Schnitzel with Spatzle (which is just ok). the new stuff tho??? fabulous and there's a new "travelers Cafe" stop next to it for those that want more alcohol. we got the Lobster Ravioli (only two pieces, but fine for sharing, and the butter sauce is incredible), and the Bangers & Mash - which was Jim's favorite bite of the day. and yes, it's VERY good, and would make my top 5 as well. Janey was really wanting something sweet, and we had about an 45 minute to kill before the Orca show, so we decided to bypass a few booths and head to the brand new "Seven Sweets" stand - where the now have ALL the deserts located. we tried the Pineapple Tres Leches (Janey loved it and had it twice during our visit), the Dubai Chocolate Croissant (also very good, but it's very much Pistachio forward, so if you love pistachio, you'll love this), and the Haupia (a smooth, wonderful coconut pudding, that was MY favorite desert we tried). the Crepes from France, the Baklava, and the Bread Pudding are all returning from last year, so we'll get those another time, but have all been good in the past. and then it was time for the Orca show. despite it being a slower day, and a Thursday, the stadium was full to capacity. so I'd guess most of the people in the park today did the shows. after the show, we continued to eat our way around the world, and next was a new booth set up near the stadium (and the Dipping Dots) as the kids food area. as you can see, they pre-stamp this one, so foodies don't need to stop here, tho Janey was really wanting to try mac and chicken, so she got that (and said it was good) while we went around the corner to what used to be "Italy" and got the Bahamian Crab N Rice. that's SUPPOSED to be it in the picture on the bottom of the page, but it really didn't look like that at all. it was OK, but tasted a lot like Spaghetti O's to me, and wasn't that impressed with it. Russell did the BBQ Jerk Pork with Cheddar mac and said that was decent. . but honestly, I'll probably be skipping this booth when we go back. Sadly, the Greek booth is long gone, and where it used to be is a popular Boba Stand - so I guess the park made the right call on that one. tho the Lamb sliders were always a favorite of mine continuing around the lagoon, we passed the wine bar stand, and then made it to "Central America". . where we really wanted to try the Ceviche (but as with a few other places, they have new dishes dropping in later in the festival, so we were just too early for it). good plan, I think, makes us want to go back. so Jim and I shared the Chile Rellenos. it was so good, we dug right in and forgot to take a pic. . but at least I got one before it was all gone. very highly recommended, it was probably my 3rd favorite thing we tried. we were getting full. . so slowing down to take in shows and people watching. but dang it, we were gonna complete the circuit and get our lanyard. . LOL "Africa" is the spot I recommend highest in the park. we shared the Sosatie (lamb skewers) which was my #2 favorite thing in the park today, and the Hawawshi that came with possibly the best tahini I've ever had. very, very good. the Chicken curry looked and smelled amazing, but we still had other booths, so passed for the moment. and besides, we know we're coming back for the Chicken Tagine when that is avail. later in April. Russell tried the Maple Serengeti and said it was good. the drum band. . who were great, and very very friendly (and drew a crowd during their performance) the Egyptian stuffed bread (top) and the EXCELLENT lamb skewer. relaxing to enjoy the drummers. whoops. . one out of order, but Tidal Surge doing it's thing, from our location in front of Journey to Atlantis - which was down (and drained) when we got there at 11:30, but running by 2pm. it was then time to look at some animals - to walk off some of the food. the penguins are adorable as always (and yes, they still reek to high heaven) the moving walkway was not working today - which made for a people cluster-f in front of the display. one thing I'd recommend to the park is to have someone staffing the main room if the conveyor is not working, to encourage folks to keep moving. as noted earlier, sadly the "Japan" booth is now gone, and it's morphed into the "Pacific Ocean" they did keep a couple of the Japan offerings (tho we lost the Tuna Sashimi i liked), but other than the two Japanese dishes, everything else here was made fresh by the chef (as opposed to just dropping frozen battered prawns or Gyoza into a fryer). the Bulgogi Bowl (I chose Jackfruit) was my #1 favorite dish I ate today. it was absolutely fantastic, grilled fresh and put together fresh in front of me. I'd imagine that this booth will have longest lines on busy days because of the amount of work needed for most f the dishes. if you didn't know it was jasckfruit? you would have sworn it was braised beef. it trly was that good, and the pickled veggies were incredible. we also tried the Gua Bao, and it too was very good - tho more "bun" than "pork" - the pickled veggies inside were again incredible, and the chili sauce wonderful. Jim is a fiend for Cold Brew, so I paid to get him a full size cup of the Vietnamese Iced Coffee Mocktail, and he really enjoyed it. the bun: the Jackfruit bowl: we were pretty full, but made sure we saved space for the "Indian Ocean" booth - which replace the "Hawaii" booth. sadly, as we got up there, they had an issue with one of the propane tanks, and it took the grill out of commission so tho was really wanting to try the Jamal (Camel) burger, and they looked good, even tho it was pretty small and the most expensive thing at the food festival at $15.99 each if you paid cash for it. . . we were unable to do that, or the butter chicken. luckily we were there on 4/9, and he was still able to make the Mie Goreng Jawa from Indonesia. we totally forgot to get a pic of that - and I'll be honest, it LOOKED like a sad cup-o-noodles. but it ate very well, with lots of small shrimp and beef (and some chicken) without the cup-o-noodles broth. so it didn't satisfy what we wanted to try, but it WAS good. will have to come back to try the butter chicken and the camel. Russell needed the passport stamp here, so he just go the cucumber cooler drink. and after a sip he offered to anyone who wanted to try as he was going to toss it. I tried it and thought it was rather vile. the cucumber flavor does not go well at all with rum. so he dumped it. our last stop luckily kept our favorites from "Brazil" even tho it's now called "South America" forgot to get pics of these too. . but as we were too full to eat anything more, we pulled out our trusty zip lock bags and ordered the Beef & Chicken Empanadas - bringing home 4 each (they reheat wonderful in the air fryer). the Argentinian dish looked great too, but didn't look like it would travel well, so we passed for now. while we were there tho, the entertainment came out. they moved really well together considering one was up on stilts. we had eaten our way around the world. . and had been in the park about 5 hours at this point. so we did some animal viewing, and sea lion feeding (a tray free for passholders) since it was such a cool day, all the alligators were out - instead of hiding under the dock in the enclosure, so it was cool to see so many out and about. the sea lions were acting like they were STARVING. . . feeeeeeeeed meeeeee and the lil otters were just begging for food - guess they can't read the signs that ask guests not to feed them no matter how much they beg we did go back over to Barracuda Strike to see how the line was, only to hear the announcement they were having technical difficulties. so we shrugged and headed back towards the front of the park. Jim wanted a pic of me on this truck. I'm impressed my big ass got up there after eating all day we made sure to bring our passport books up to the store in the front on the way out for our lanyard gift. and I'll admit, the freebie is kinda cool. the lanyard still had the $9.99 price tag on it (really??) but the 3 pins are pretty nice I got penguin Turtle and orca and Jim got the Dolphin instead of the Turtle oh, and the prize if you match up the hidden Shamu with the stands? a sticker of your favorite Shamu! so I got "South America Shamu" and Jim got "Seven Sweets Shamu" it's a great event, especially with the changes they made this year, and very highly recommended. we'll be back, and probably will buy another tasting lanyard.

Day 4 concluded: after landing in Chengdu (and I THINK this was the airport where we had quite the walk thru the parking structures to meet up with our bus), we made our way to our hotel for the next few nights: Howard Johnson Zunyue Hotel Chengdu. it had been a pretty long day, and the next day was also busy with a visit to Happy Valley, and then some sightseeing. So I really just wanted to shower and sleep. . but I was blown away by how beautiful the hotel was. i know! Howard Johnson and "beautiful" ??? but this was the case with almost every hotel we would be staying in while in China. . . . reasonable pricing, and pretty impressive hotel (particularly at night, during the day, some maintenance upkeep cracks showed), but wow.. what a stunning adventure this was turning out to be. here's the HoJo we stayed in for 3 nights in Chengdu: the impressive lobby. the breakfast was on the 2nd floor, and you could come down these stairs to meet up in the mornings. the other side of the lobby. even chandeliers by the elevators really nice, comfortable, room. with a fire safety kit - including gas masks. . . noted. . a non smoking room! but with an ashtray and matches. um. . .ok. and a pamphlet about drugs, alcohol, and romance? that can lead to death??? no English translation, so not 100% sure what they were saying NOT to do. . . but the boxed condom that was on the counter for 25yuan told me what they THOUGHT we might do in the room. giggling our asses off, Stacy and I took turns showering, and turned in. after all. . this was still only day 4 !

Day 4 continued: Beijing is VERY proud of their Daxing International Airport. and rightfully so. . it's a pretty stunning building. this stage was set up, looked like permanently. but not sure what for? I did recognize the communist Hammer/Sickle tho as noted, it really is a beautiful airport. we had some time to kill before our flight so some of us went off to explore the airport, and found this really cool "museum" they had set up that showed how they built it. with some interactive exhibits. . .LOL overview of the promenade in this section of the airport this pop singer was surrounded by photogs and shrieking fans. unable to get a good pic (he's in the center of all this). . but an airline person said they thought it was a KPop band member had arrived. still overcast outside, but wasn't going to affect our flight. . so we relaxed and continued wandering. as I had noted in the Parks, China seems to have a real problem with men pissing on the floor. and that seemed to be 100% confirmed by the urinals in the airport having a soccer "game" in them. you aimed for the ball to get a goal. LOL lots and lots of art installations around the airport. mostly "cute" stuff. and even some "luckin" coffee (or better if you just glanced at it) lego store and amazingly, they were selling whole durian at an airport shop. there MUST be rules about not opening it in the airport tho. ' of course, a McDonald's too. from those that tried it, they said it was good. I wasn't hungry as still full from lunch. so instead, Stacy and I found these torture devices. . . err. .. "full massage" chairs. with wooden rollers going up and down your back whist it squeezes you with pressurized pads. it hurt so good. . and was only like $3 for 35 minutes! soon enough we were on the plane. . a totally full plane too. so TPR was scattered thruout my across the aisle seat buddy was William tho D'awwwwwwwww to my surprise, they fed us on this flight too! I still wasn't hungry, but was impressed with the offering, as we each got a bag as noted, not hungry. . but I HAD to try the chicken bun um. . . it was ok. a good deal for the cost of it ? the desert cake was more of a sweet cornbread. as I'd found in Japan, the desert stuff just isn't all that sweet. . which is ok with me. best investment ever. . Apple AirTags. so nice to know my luggage arrives with us since we were doing so much traveling. to be concluded

months later (sorry!!!!). . . Day 4 leaving Beijing with a visit to Badaling Section of Great Wall (with Toboggan ride), then flight from Beijing to Chengdu! getting up in the morning, it was our last time at Universal Beijing Hotel. . . but before checking out, we had one last breakfast included: and this time? I remembered to snap pics of the offerings to give a sample of what was on the breakfast buffet: I forgot to post this yesterday, and Elissa shared it with us from one of the ladies' rooms at the park: yup, it's the Period Fairy! after checking out and loading up the bus, we headed to the Great Wall of China (another bucket list thing for me). the weather did NOT want to cooperate with us, as some low clouds and colder weather had moved in overnight. But you know what? we're here, and even tho it WAS really cold, and windy, I had an incredible time today. the bad weather really did NOT keep people away, as it was still pretty crowded. I could imagine what it would have been like on a good weather day! so I think that worked in our favor. lots and lots of interesting sculptures and tourist-type shops on the winding road you must walk up to the main entrance to this section of the wall from the parking lots. Chinese sculptures, the mountains and part of the wall in the mist, and a KFC/Subway ooo.. a death star! perfect as I had the imperial march in my head as we went uphill to the entrance the main entrance to this section of the wall. I believe this section has 9 tower segments open to the public, tho the majority of our group only did four (at four is where the toboggan down is ). but some in our group did go all the way to tower 9. quite the feat, as the wall is really steep in places, and the mist made everything quite slippery and dangerous. ticket booths. Jonathan, myself, Colin, and Daniel - cold, but excited to be here and onto the wall. the first section is deceptively sloped. . doesn't seem too bad. but it gets to you, and before you know it, those slopes turn into steps. just a wee bit overcast. but seriously. . didn't care. I got to walk on the great wall, and that experience will be forever. inside the first (or maybe 2nd) turret that connects sections of wall. this busy on a day like today. . can't really see the wall ahead of us in the mist. but looking behind, you can see the grade steepening. that's the top of the turret we just stepped thru in the mist behind us. all the group still hanging in there with us, as it gets more steep. Daniel walking against the wind (and slippery stones) another turret stopping for a quick rest before continuing on. there are steps down in several places among the walk, and I believe we lost a few folks at this stop. time to continue on towards turret #4 NOTED! possibly my favorite picture I got today. I look so dang happy. and yes, it's gotten MUCH steeper (now handrails are there for help on the uneven and steep steps) our group photo at the start of the trek - courtesy of Robb. Elissa was apologizing about the weather (absolutely no need to! there are certain things that are not under our control) - so Robb helpfully photoshopped us into warmer environment and shared with the group. here's the Great Wall in Greece and Egypt . at Turret 4, before you head down either via steps or on the Toboggon, there's a market set up for tourists to purchase all kinds of fun chachkis William, Stacy and I all got personalized magnets that they etched name / date into to remember our walk on the wall and tho it was chilly, some imbibed in "Great Wall Ice Cream" headed down into the toboggan station they asked for no cameras out while going down, since it was so slick. . so this is the best I got of the toboggan cars. it was truly thrilling to say I rode a "coaster" down from the Great Wall. at the exit, you walk thru a whole tourist vendor area, and some old buildings. . which looked really eerie in the mist. I loved it. and there's a large bear exhibit there as well. (which apparently you can come into the wall from this side, see the bears, then ride the toboggan up). so cute I'm wiped out too, buddy. . that was a LOT of exercize looking back, here's the exit/entrance to the Bear area we were having a Lazy Susan lunch onsite at the Great Wall. . so it was still a short walk to lunch. which offered opportunities for more cool cultural pics. but we soon made it to our stop for lunch. ooo. .fancy Eric and I enjoying some hot tea, and warming up inside. Nick likes the tea too as with many of the meals we had in China, the options were a mix of some familiar stuff (orange chicken, boiled veggies), and some unique tastes of China. more than enough for everyone to get full. a quick 15 minutes to shop, and pick up some specific Great Wall gifts (got some lovely bracelets for Jim), and then it was time to head back to the bus, and we were off to PKX Beijing airport. to be continued. . .

we were on Brilliance of the Seas a smaller ship, but that meant less kiddos

good report! I too enjoyed that mountain coaster on Labadee when was there in Feb 2025. as you note, the views are amazing.

both can be true! tho I love that you drive, ya gotta admit, we have a BLAST together, and so yes, you are tops as an "event partner"

apparently the deal was contingent on SFStL being part of the parks sold. not sure if it's true, but have now seen it reported several places that THIS park was the one they wanted most.

a good friend was just trapped in the area for 2 1/2 days due to airspace closure, and he mentioned they had gone back to have another day at the park. he didn't say it was crowded. . .but I do know they were/are open. (edit: he's back in the USA as of this morning)

got lucky at ACE Winterfest (well. . maybe not lucky, but smart, and opened with a face value bid), and scored the last two tix available to Holliwood Nights ! The presenter said it sold out in SEVEN seconds this year. so yup, doing HN two years in a row. yay!!! seems the "theme" this year is "Mean Girls". . . guess I'd better watch that movie (and it's a mini Coasterstock reunion, as I again invited Teacher Kim to join me, and we're meeting up with friends from Coasterstock 2022 Danielle and Jan (who scored tix via the on sale time lottery).

no.. . the next big hint will drop and the upcoming fullest moon, but not the announcement of the attraction itself. and that is the blue moon. I suspect we won't know any more detail until after FT92. . . or the giant reveal at next year's Winterfest - which was announced to be hosted by. . . . . Fiesta Texas. and 2027 is the 35th Anniversary of the park. it was a great winterfest, tho really there wasn't much update on SFFT other than the above mention. remember, it was in Grand Prairie (less than 14 miles from SFOT), and it was opening day for that park. So Jeffery was a late afternoon presenter (since he had to be at the park that morning), and most of his presentation detail was on SFOT. Tho he did cover all the other parks under his pervue and give brief updates. as to my take? I've adjusted my guess - which I thought was gonna be a Mack water coaster. --> I now think it's a multi-launch, with an indoor stop (likely prior to a backwards launch). Think Firechaser Express at Dollywood. I truly think that's what's coming in that huge space.

the test runs have looked interesting. now that it's swinging over the refilled lake, it's gonna be pretty exciting, and I can't wait to ride it.