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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.

Day 2 part 2: back on the bus, we were headed to lunch. This would be the first of many group meals we were gonna have on this trip (a change from many prior TPR trips I'd been on, in that we only had a couple of group meals. . . on this trip there would be many of them, mostly in office buildings that were set up to handle tour group style trips). I honestly really enjoyed these "lazy susan" meals. There were always lots of options, at various levels of "spice". . and if we wanted to go off and have truly specific types of Chinese food, we could always get a meal in the evenings. but these lazy susan meals were perfect in that there was always something that somebody liked to eat in the options. here is where our first group meal was pretty neat design on the building, I thought. Didn't get a pic before we all dived in. . but here's my one attempt at the main food on the table. I DID remember to take a picture of my plate. the winner here was that Bok Choy/ Chinese Cabbage, which I loved, and seemed to be on most lazy susan dinners. so I was glad I discovered I loved it early in the trip wasn't a fan of these dumplings, but I tried almost everything on the entire trip. (there was really only one thing I refused to try, and I'll get to that in Hong Kong (eventually)) the surprise in this first meal is that Elissa and the guide arranged for us to have true Peking Duck in China! the Chef wheeled it into the room and sliced it thin, right behind us here were the thin pancakes and the veggies that you are supposed to put on the strips of duck to eat them. to be honest, I didn't really care for it. oh, it was good, but a bit too fatty for my tastes. . . not to worry tho, as the Chef left the room and came back in with these two that he called "the Sisters" and these two were gloriously crispy and made up for anything I thought the first duck lacked in terms of texture. I absolutely adored this, and was only a bit sad that it came at the end of the meal and I was already pretty full. but the crispy duck was so, so good. Jonathan's pic of our happy table, most chewing food during pic. . LOL after the meal, and the culture, it was time for the theme park we were gonna go to today. a traditional Chinese park. very large, very spread out, and containing lots of individual rides, that were owned and operated by many different people. Sun Park. these were the "main gates" as far as I could tell. . . the park wasn't enclosed, and entry was really available from anywhere. it's a lovely setting. . tho so big, it really felt like we were the only ones in the park. Tho we did draw a crowd when we rode the Tagada as a group as we walked into the park from the lot, we spotted a star flyer, so I knew we were in the right spot (not that I don't trust Robb & Elissa to take us to great places regardless). this park is home to (supposedly) six operating coasters, and a couple of SBNO ones. we were gonna see what would operate for us, as it truly was a little hard to tell what was running and what had been abandoned. . . overall view of this large park. this was the first coaster we came too: Happy Journey Cars. there didn't really seem to be anyone around, but an operator came over, and spoke with Robb/Elissa, and they took a headcount on who wanted to ride, and the operator agreed to let adults ride, as long as it was only 1 per side. they looked like "spinning" cars, but they seemed to slowly rotate only once on the ride. it wasn't much of a layout, and to ME, this is a kiddie coaster. as I don't count credits, and don't tend to ride straight out kiddie coasters, I passed on this and just took pics as others rode. hey, it's got lions (for some reason) and Giraffes Anth was enjoying it. so were Steven, Colin, and Chris Johnathan was terrified, but Daniel is having a blast as were Colin and Adam Andy also took pics. as noted, the park seemed pretty empty on a Tuesday afternoon. . . this is the operator's wife, if I'm not mistaken, watching him run it for TPR. "Space Journey". . no idea what it was at one point, but it seemed to be abandoned now. this mini flume seemed to be likewise closed. . but I did see it running later that afternoon for a customer. oooo. . a wild mouse. well, actually this is "Jungle Mouse" and it has been sitting here SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) since 2023. so we weren't gonna get to ride this today. I think these had operators in case anyone wanted to ride, but no customers when we walked by. the large flume didn't quite look abandoned, but it didn't have any water or people around it either. so another no-go this is the largest coaster in the park, and tho it too, looked abandoned? there were people who appeared to be there to operate it if there were any takers. this is "Flying Coaster". . . tho it seemed to have a couple of different names, and is a Moto Coaster (underneath it was a tiny 4D theater experience called "Tsunami" that was operated by the same owner. . but passed on that as it did not look like a good time) yeah.. they were drying laundry in between the coaster track, so the exit was closed to keep people from going out that way) but it's a moto coaster. they fired it up for us, and I don't recall them even testing it - they just opened it up, and then discussed (a lot) about restraints while they decided if it was gonna kill us or not - I assume. LOL they only loaded up the front half of the train. . . but here we are smiling. (this was before anyone had ridden it, we were the first riders of the day apparently.. . possibly the month?) I mean, it LOOKED like it might be decent. I was thinking Pony Express at Knotts sorta and you ride it kinda like "Tron" style. here's Hawk & Dove, and Daniel and Elissa all smiles on the ride after ours. yeah..I felt for them. it was . . . um. . . . not good. for a ride with mainly Helixes? the transitions are rough, and it was really shaky. . but it IS a large coaster, and looks good. I will admit, being off ride for this run? the groans and grunts as the train passed over us WAS pretty funny. yeah. .that smiling Daniel pic from the launch? I caught him after the ride before he saw the camera and smiled. LOL. . true feelings on the ride two down. . apparently 4 to go! let's try to find them. I was tempted by this, but we were on a mission as a group, and since this isn't a pay one fee park, we had to stay together as Elissa was paying each operator for rides. so didn't even attempt to ride this tho it was running. I was impressed with how much signage they have in the park. and how most of it has English as well. next coaster found (also a kiddie, so I didn't ride this one either): Fruit Worm Coaster but most of the folks on this trip lined up to ride it interesting Seashell themed Tilt a Whirl next door, that looked to be in pieces. wow. .this is a FUNKY transition here. . . John and Bill enjoying the ride with Colin, Adam, and Andy bringing up the rear there were several of these in the park at different locations. . and none of them seemed to be operating. maybe they are busier on a weekend? but some folks were out fishing in the lakes not "Free Willy" but "Free Whale".. a kiddie whale themed swinging ship. that looked like it was about to fall apart, but DID have an operator standing by to run it if asked! coaster #4 was also a kiddie coaster: "Rainbow Children Coaster" tho honestly, it was more of a family coaster thank a kiddie and I should have ridden. but I was feeling a little shook from the Moto Coaster full, so passed on this one too. it had some interesting theming: with a monkey on the front (sharing it's Banana with Steve) I think I had a stroke reading this sign. . .LOL as a tourist, I made sure to read the notice before participating! there were several small trains I saw in this park. . all adorable, but none of them operating today the Carousel was a double decker set up to run in opposite directions (as this was the first one I'd seen "in the wild" in China, I didn't realize that the double decker, running in opposite directions - tho only one side at a time - was pretty standard in China). it sadly looked like it hadn't operated in a long while, tho it seemed to be in pretty good condition. saw this "game" at a lot of places. . . children "fishing" for gold fish. cute. it was getting late in the afternoon and the park was closing down, but we still had two potential coasters if we could find them. first a potty break tho. so yeah, another toilet pic at the big pavilion in the center of the park, there seemed to be a photo shoot going on for wedding planners. with lots of "brides" and "grooms" Robb found out where the last coaster was (the other one was not operating) and we headed over there, bypassing this Tagada. which was running - and we did end up going back as a group and riding after Robb/Elissa slipped the operator some cash to open up for us after close time. so I got to ride my first Tagada on this trip. it ran a really gentle cycle, but was perfect for my first one. and as noted earlier, we drew quite the crowd who came over to watch the "ghosts" ride this is the coaster that was "new" and not in operation. "Crazy Skateboard" apparently replacing the ride that had been there - seemingly the exact same model, also called "Crazy Skateboard" note the workmen on the lift hill. .they were not only painting, but *welding*.. . but with encouragement, Robb and Elissa went and talked to them and there was some discussion on if they could open it up for riders. (RCDB still listed it as not open/unknown) across from it was the last coaster in the park: "Space Scooter" - that one had already shut down for the day, but when they saw the crowd around the Crazy Skateboard while Robb and Elissa talked to them, the operator offered to open it up for us, if TPR wanted to ride. so they started testing it again. the Star Flyer also seemed to open back up. . tho we didn't ride it, several of the models from the wedding photoshoot did come over and ride. "Space Scooter" testing and with TPR on it! as mentioned. . Star Flyer now going too. . which started to draw some folks over to this part of the park. Robb and Elissa had worked their magic, and the coaster guys agreed to run Crazy Skateboard for us.. .and started testing it. the cars weren't set up to "spin" yet, so it was a non spinning coaster, but they tested it, and then gave the OK. notice our tour guide Paul, laughing in the bottom corner. that's likely because as you can see on the steps? the workmen just put the blowtorches down, and stepped away to see what would happen if they operate it. Robb and these folks are FAR more brave than I. I (and a couple of others) decided not to take a chance on this, and chose NOT to ride this. It was really the beginning of my trip, I didn't want to take any risks for any reason. . but good on them for giving it a shot. and absolutely hysterical watching the workmen "nod" as the car crested the lift hill with no issue. there are the workmen watching the first car with people in it. . . Barry has just noticed the Blowtorch sitting on the steps as they passed by it. they survived! yay!!! most everyone else on the trip gave it a whirl (tho not a spin, as the spinning wasn't working yet)..and the folks riding it drew more folks to this ride as well, as they eagerly lined up to ride something that had been "not operating" yet. after the Tagada ride, and with the sun starting to set, Robb, Elissa, and some in the group were headed back to Universal Resort. some went to dinner or to sightsee in downtown Beijing. and a group of about 10 of us wanted to go visit the Olympic Green - site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, and 2022 Winter Olympics. The metro would take us back to Universal later. lovely sunset made the buildings around Sun Park look very interesting to be concluded. . .

Day 2: Forbidden City, Lunch, and Sun Park! Bonus visit to Olympic park area this night with smaller group too. Day 2 part 1: up and ready to go, but first, breakfast! another character from Despicable Me. . one of the girls, no idea which one tho this time I remembered to snap a pic of some of the food on my plate before diving in and then it was everyone onto the bus, as we headed back into Central Beijing from the Universal Resort area. today was gonna start with Culture, and end with our first "traditional" Chinese park. view of some of the massive clusters of buildings as you approach the outskirts of Beijing this is where it starts to get interesting, as we get into the "inner walls" area of the City, over the Canal guardians. the building on the far left is the Southeast Corner Tower, of the Beijing Ming City Wall. it's over 550 years old, and anchors an area called "Beijing Ming City Wall Ruins Park" - that features an almost 1 mile long section of the Beijing City wall from the Ming Dynasty. we didn't stop to see it, but got a great view of it as we passed it on our way to the nearby Forbidden City. closer view of the southeast corner tower and some snaps of the actual wall, as we drive along side it. the tightening Security is VERY noticeable as we get closer to the Forbidden City Imperial Palace - a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is arguably the most famous palace in all of Chinese history, and is the largest preserved royal palace complex still standing in the world. (per Wikipedia). tour buses and cars are not allowed within a few blocks of the Forbidden City, so a tourism spot has sprung up in the blocks around it, as buses and taxis drop of groups that then walk to the front entrance. so these next pics are walking from the drop off, up to the palace walls. the "fruit on a stick" encased in Sugar seemed to be VERY popular in China, and saw it at every park we went to, and at many street stands. it basically is just fresh fruit and sugar, but it IS very good, and I had it several times. finally approaching the outside (side) wall of the Forbidden City. . tho we still had to go around to the front for entry we'd be heading up this way to go thru the gates around the corner for the main entrance / security screening but this is the inner canal that surrounds the Forbidden City. .the last line of defense against attack other than the high palace walls. TPR listening to facts from our guide about the Forbidden City. walking along the side wall to get to the front entrance it really is quite impressive from the outside. . and once you're inside, it's even more so - with courtyard after courtyard opening up, and seeming to go on for miles! some folks out doing photo shoots off the canal that goes around the Forbidden City still heading towards the main entrance and here are the main gates into the front of the Forbidden City - not into the actual palace, but into the area that gets you into the palace the "Door Nails" that the wonderful Dumpling I had the day before were named after! and NOW we're in the courtyard that serves as the main entrance to the Forbidden City complex. yeah and this was on a TUESDAY!!! just the crowds were impressive this is the security screening line to get it and have tickets scanned thru these main gates, you are then in the Palace grounds our guide, with her "fish on a stick" so we wouldn't lose her in the masses of people! to see it with your own eyes. . truly, you aren't prepared for the sight once you go thru this tunnel. breathtaking and this is just the first, of many, courtyards a quiet back alley off the main square (we had all gone to the side for a bathroom break) the people lined up in these stanchions are for entrance to the building just off to the right, and it's to view the Imperial Jewels. A separate ticket (and wait) was required for that, so we didn't do that on this trip - perhaps a visit back just for that in the future. . .but I saw enough stunning things to not miss at all not going into the Imperial Jewels building. up the stairs and thru these buildings to the next courtyard over the beautiful carved bridges. TPR at the Forbidden City - thanks to Robb for the picture up and thru to the next courtyard. and it's just as breathtaking and awe inspiring as the entry courtyard up the next set of stairs, and we come across flame pots to light and warm the complex and thru to another courtyard. this one including a building with intricate woodwork laced with gold, and containing a throne (it was gated off, but the doors were open to peek in. there were SO many people there tho, I got the best pics I could of said throne) these giant golden / bronze vats that were used to store oil were on either side of many of the "main" buildings in each square. Our guide told me that these are replicas, but they are all so worn from visitors rubbing them for luck. all of the buildings in the Forbidden City complex are beautifully detailed, and have intricate carvings on each corner, that represent many things (that I can't recall, or would share with you) going into the next courtyard - that building way, WAY off in the distance? is part of the complex. . that's how big this palace is. but that far back is not open to the Public, which only can view a portion of the Palace. Oh, it's a HUGE portion of the complex, but not even close to a third of it. stepping down into the next courtyard. it truly is awe inspiring and overwhelming looking down into yet another courtyard, as we made our way thru the areas open to the public this carving up the back side of one of the main buildings in this courtyard is made from just 3 giant pieces of stone. it's incredible. one of the many maps in the Forbidden City. This one just for the Inner court courtyards. our guide specifically wanted to bring us down this way - saying it would be less crowded, as many aren't aware it's here (and she was correct) she wanted to show us into this building/vault that contains some really amazing Jade carvings. just a sampling of the wonderful pieces on display here: and then it was off to the back of the "open to the public" areas - the Imperial Garden area - where the Emperor allowed his Concubines to relax, and play (since they were confined to Imperial Palace grounds) it really was a bit of surprise to turn the corner and find these amazing gardens back here! and with that, we had walked a (mostly) straight line thru the public areas in the Forbidden City, and headed towards the back gate. we were off to have our first group lunch on the trip before heading to the next stop. I am so thankful I got to experience this, it truly is a wonder to see in person. one of the other buildings off in the distance that's part of the Imperial Palace / Forbidden City the back exit gate is just as crowded, but less chaotic than the front entrance an overall map of the palace sections that are open to the public walking back towards the bus. . one final look back at the Forbidden City to be continued. . .

^ everything that was sit down seemed to need reservations (as I mentioned, we had to come back an hour later for seating in the Medieval Restaurant). Could just be time of year tho?

Part 4: Europa Park day 2 concluded: Traumatica so Traumatica is a separately ticketed event that is attached to the park, and in 2024 included parts of the park that allowed two coasters to operate (Pegasus and Matterhorn blitz) as well as the Kassandra's Kurse madhouse, that ran with a graphic horror overlay via VR goggles. There was also a brand new VR ride in a tent that had lots of effects, love music and performances, a large bar area with food stands, and the marquee attractions are the 6 Haunts that are long, and detailed and the good ones are REALLY REALLY good. oh. .and there's an added attraction where you can ask for a glow necklace, and that gives the scare actors permission for physical contact. Yeah. it blew USA haunts out of the water. no pictures allowed in the houses, but I can say that my favorite was probably the Circus themed one where it climaxed in a giant big top with 8 entrances/exits that looked exactly the same but only one of them led out. the rest of them either looped back into the center of the tent, or dead ended. Meanwhile the ringmaster clown stood on a pedestal in the center, twirling around and yelling at you in German. seriously, some folks were stuck in that house for a good 15-20 minutes trying to find their way out. others had some great ideas - like the zombie attack one, where you were sent thru in groups of 4-6 with laser guns, and you had to shoot them so they don't attack you in the giant murder dome. or an elevator that transports you thru the 13 levels of an office building that has descended to hell. they were all decent, and honestly the only one I didn't care much for was "the Hill". . which was a very long, outdoors in the woods, scare maze with spirits , ghosts, and spooks. it didn't' do much for me, but that could have been because it was all outside with a lot of uneven walking surfaces in the dark. still. . .excellent event. here are lots of pics from it to end our stay at Europa Park! the whole site has a spooky and creepy atmosphere. and the haunts are most all really impressive looking. Tarot House was another favorite of mine (one the left) as was the theming in Cinema Macabre (off shot on the right, tho the queue line is there) ' this is Wakala. . he's kinda the mascot of Traumatica, and I ended up buying quite a bit of merch with him on it. the main stage, that hosted sideshow acts, as well as band performances thruout the event. random ghouls all thruout the crowd, providing jumpscares, even if not in the houses. Wakala wandering Cinema Macabre obscured by smoke, as seen from the Tarot House queue Silver Star behind the trees. . to give you an idea where we are in relation to the park notice a glow necklace or two in the queue line. . means they are ok with being touched. one of the Traumatica Event managers. . she was very very cool, and I enjoyed chatting with her and telling her how much I was enjoying the event walking around with an active torch light.. that was shooting sparks everywhere. no way in USA. . but VERY cool here. Hans has made it to the Bar area even tho outdoors? very well done. more TPR folks joined Hans! Andrew goes "Rarrrrrrrgh" Jon making the long walk into up the queue (we had quick queue thank goodness, on the left is the stand by line) for the outdoor haunt int he woods. this one is so far up and out, you get a great view of Blue Fire from the Haunt. that polka dot tent beneath us is that big top with the multiple ins/outs, as you can see from the fabric-ed off paths to confuse everyone. TPR found Wakala! Grim's Funhouse was another really well done house. . with some great props inside. not part of the event (at least not in 2024), but a great view of Voltron. .and one would go this way for the VR ride, and to access the rides that were available in the park Jon enjoying spiraled potato at the Traumatica food court/bar area lots of photo ops around here too. it really is a fantastic event, and highly recommended the temps were really starting to drop.. . so the crowds were starting to thin. myself? I headed to the merch tent and ended up spending way too much money, but I did get a Traumatica jean jacket that I wore the whole rest of the trip, and still wear pretty often. so it was a great buy but then it was time to monorail back to the hotel and pack up. we were headed out tomorrow morning to continue the Oktoberfest trip. eventual final destination? Phantasialand.

Part 3: Europa Park day 2 Continued: with less of a crowd up here, as it wasn't opening time now, I was able to get closer to the Berlin Wall pieces and read the history of the display and snap a couple more pics of Silver Star doing it's thing although I didn't go out the main gate completely, I believe that's the Monorail station there on the left. I absolutely adore this statue. . . Viewed from the front: but if you look at it the other direction? I need to find a small model of this, as I'd love to have it. headed back towards the gardens/restaurant, as we had to meet in about 20 minutes, I stumbled across this behind a "storefront" on the main street. the Mack museum! with all kinds of history of the park, awards they've won, patents, and design concepts for the park. very, very interesting, and I was the only one in there! (as I had been in the mask museum too) as I was about to head out, I heard some commotion from outside. so stepped out and was treated to: the clock going off, and doing a presentation, that I hadn't even realized was an option here back inside for a couple more pics then on my way back over to the restaurant here's the full menu I ended up having the "Baden" set menu, and it was all excellent (tho the service was kind of a mess. (I think we confused them since we all ordered separately) cream of pumpkin soup (so good) pork shoulder and potatoes and apple bread pudding with black forest cherries. after our meal, I took a quick look around the rest of the restaurant, as it really was in theme as a Medieval home after finishing up eating, it was getting pretty late in the day, and we decided to head back to the hotel to change for Traumatica - which happened starting at 7pm since we hadn't yet taken the "big" monrail, we headed up to that station near Germany and hopped on to head back to Colosseo to change clothes for something warmer pretty cool station. map showing where the Monorail went from and to, that gives a good overview of just how large this park is. changed and back into the park, this was outfit for Traumatica the lady in Spain seemed to like it. we had some skip the lines for Wodan from earlier in the day, so we had all decided to meet up at that entrance, but first I decided to climb this lookout tower section that overlooked the splash battle ride really nice views from up here too. . . and even slightly higher than that other monorail we had ridden earlier in the day even tho it had gotten cooler? tonight, the splash battle WAS running, and had takers. great view of Blue Fire from here too and of course, Wodan. and even lots of theming up here - on a lookout that wasn't gonna get many folks bothering to go up to. I love this park. met up and rode Wodan (it was fantastic as always, and yes, my headgear stayed on as it has a chin strap) this is the skip the line entrance for virtual queue and then we headed over to the main Wodan entrance, as we wanted to check out that free haunt they had over here it was mainly just lots of smoke and a few scare actors. . but for a free house? it was ok. it wasn't quite time for Traumatica yet, so we decided to head over to the Arthur area to grab some single rider rides. passing thru Fairy Tale land stopping to use the restroom over here, I just about pissed myself laughing. there was a gnome urinal in these toilets over here. and yes, it actually "peed". . . hysterical. using single rider is the way to go on Arthur, we were on it in moments. and then started heading towards the direction of the Traumatica entrance. we knew it was over near Croatia (by Voltron), so we went over that way. and once it starts to get dark? it comes quickly. this was when we started walking. and this is when we got to Voltron. and the temps started to drop too. I caught part of this "Animatronic" show, it was about Nikola Tesla. to be concluded in part 4: Traumatica !!!

Part 2: Europa Park day 2 Continued: a peek inside the Roller Coaster restaurant (it opened later in the day and was booked solid. not a great loss, as I find the RCR food to be a bit "meh". . but it very cool to experience if you've never done one before). Then we continued on up to the loading platform for the other monorail. this one goes over an entirely different area of the park than any of the other "elevated" rides, and so gives different views. the carousel here (which I love). . and in the foreground are the racecars, that ride on a track similar to the old taxis in the other section. I say again, a slow moving, silly/stupid ride is what I love to do. Coasters and Carousels too, but I just love these type of things paddle boats, and a balloon ride. this is such a big park. a view from across the way of where we came from - that's the Roller Coaster restaurant under the blue top hat (which is the monorail station) the slow moving "Princess" boat ride. another of my favorites here. and those docks across the way in the back? that's where the larger splashboats come from that share this lagoon and you can spray the princess boats with handle powered spinning. (the splashboats were not operating today, probably because it was a little chilly, or perhaps being refurbed) That's not Amity down there, but there is a big hanging shark photo op and over here are the river rapids, that we'll pass over twice on this monorail yeah. . you'll get wet. you also pass right over Atlantica Supersplash the river rapids load station and Wodan. and if you're lucky with the timing, even get a train zooming by the park also has a swinging ship and lots of other rides tucked away in nooks and crannies. better view of the shark photo op that pirate is on the top of one of the park's TWO SeaStorm rides (one indoors in Spain, and this one outdoors) more characters just out and about. . TPR in a fairy tale village yurt because of course, I wanted to ride the princess boat ride next. first there is a photo op that both I (and Christopher) wanted the storyline on this had changed a little since my last visit. . oh, it still had a Princess marrying storyline, but they had shoehorned in troll type characters (I guess to make it fit in better with the fairytale village section on the other side of the lake). but the ride is basically the same, so I enjoyed. and there are still ducks in the lake that swim along side the princess boats we got divided among a couple of boats tho, as we were too heavy to all go in one. the monorail we had just ridden passes over us. lots of fountains and "squirting" things on this ride too and of COURSE it has an "indoor" section she has found her prince wheee! dogs are welcome in this park, and there were some really nice doggos here today. we were getting hungry, and looking at the park info, it appeared there was a park restaurant off to the left of the main entrance - I hadn't even realized there was anything over there. so we headed back towards the front gates, and passed by a popular show going on "Scary Movie Hits" with characters from horror films singing. apparently "Cruella DeVille" is a horror film icon? wow. . . it's just lovely over here!! a giant gardens area with fountains, walking paths. . and an old villa that housed the restaurant the menu looked really good, so we decided we'd check it out. I couldn't believe I had no idea this was even over here! we went in and asked and they had no seating available, but told us if we came back in an hour, we could make a reservation. so of those I was hanging with had wanted to shop, and we were right near the front gate shops, so we went ahead and made a reservation and then all split off, to meet back up in an hour. i had done all my shopping already, so I decided to explore the area over here. lots of cool art and installations over in these gardens a passerby offered to take this pic. I think it came out lovely. lots of pumpkins over here in these gardens too. these tree sculptures are QUITE judgemental! after wandering the area for 20 or so minutes, I decided to check out what else was near the main entrance. and I stumbled across this interesting Museum tucked away in a corner. there were some folks having a meeting inside, but when they saw me looking thru the window, they welcomed me in to look around and told me all about the masks and the traditions behind them. turns out this is actually listed as an "attraction" but it does appear that not many really realize it's there, as the folks in the meeting were VERY excited that I expressed interest. apparently it's not always open, and some of the masks on display are quite valuable. https://www.europapark.de/en/theme-park/attractions/carnival-barn The world of fools Carnival fans young and old can marvel at the precious and extensive collection of Carnival masks in the Carnival Barn. Over 150 Swabian-Alemanic masks have found a unique home in the rustic barn in the German themed area, heralding in the so called fifth time of the year. As well as the wide collection of Swabian-Alemanic masks, you will also find particularly unusual and rare samples from the south-west German Carnival clubs, like the yellow-blue Jokili of the ‘Krakeelia’ Waldkirch or the Balthasar Witch from Rust. Each area of the exhibition is organised by region, with pieces identifiable by a small sign containing names and origins. I ended up going into at least one gift shop, to check out the designs on the ceiling, but then headed back down the main street. to be continued in part 3. . .

Day 8: Europa Park day 2 what's crazy, is after a full day in the park yesterday? there was SO MUCH MORE that we hadn't even gotten to yet. in fact, I had made a point the prior day of telling the folks I had been hanging around with that "tomorrow I was gonna do a lot of the slow moving/stupid stuff that I love" and that they were welcome to come along with me to "enjoy" as well. So a lot of that will be in this update. a quick breakfast, and at the Resort Entrance gate before they even opened, as TPR had some ERT this morning before the park opened to the public. we passed Eurosat Can-Can coaster (for the moment), as our first ERT today was: Silver Star! the park's B&M Hyper thanks to Elissa for this pic then we headed right next door for some ERT on EuroSat: the Can Can Coaster TPR Morning ERT complete, we were let loose in the park, and since we were so close to Italy? I headed directly to Ghost Castle - as noted, one of my favorite dark rides in the park. Tho today, I had my phone out to snap some pics while riding. a great queue line. .. before you get into your "ghost cart" that rides you along thru the haunted castle. (I know this pic is a bit blurry, but the best I could get to grab the effect of the skeletons projected on top of the figures. . a fantastic surprise) "Ma-damn that's not Leota" and exit thru the gift shop. . which had this wonderful section dedicated to Traumatica. We'd experience Traumatica later that night, and I'd buy a BUNCH of merch. but no way could I fit this umbrella in my luggage, so had to just settle for a pic of it. next up was the first of many slow/silly rides that I love. this one is a suspended monorail that goes over a portion of the park, and is themed to Leonardo Da Vinci's "flying machine" sketches we flew over the boat ride we'd go to next. . the ride vehicles have pedals, but you do not HAVE to pedal, it's electric. an antique car ride we'd get to later one of THE most WTF rides in the park, that's also terrifying: the marionette / clown boat ride. and this was new since my last visit: the Jim Knopf train ride (that appeared to be based on a television show over here) the load station of that terrifying marionette / clown ride yes, it's called: marionetten bootsfahrt the observation tower (ridden yesterday) and a haunt meet and greet that was set up for later it is such a lovely park hi TPR, in the vehicle behind me. and then it was onto one of multiple "slow moving boat rides" that Europa has. all of them pretty long, all of them pretty bizarre, and all of them right up my alley. this one was themed to fairly land. NOTED! Fun TPR selfie on the fairly boat the other half of "our" TPR gang that were hanging out with me today. Christopher took a selfie on this too that he shared with me. . his is a bit crisper. . at least I think we look happier in this one. and then it was across to that new "train" ride the operator had absolutely no qualms about putting us one each in the train, as the line was so short. I guess this is the guy who's show it is. they were screening clips in the queue and it seemed to be an adventure type show with dragons and mystical village. the ride vehicle. . . but I think I probably snapped this pic for that sign that says a person is not allowed to ride in underwear. . .LOL you could pull that cord and blow the horn and make the stack smoke! pretty long ride, with indoor section (as many things here at Europa seem to have) Jonathan enjoying the ride Christopher Jon oooo. . .a train!!! know where I'm going shortly Nick Wilfried Hans and one of me to close it out. walking over to the WTF marionette ride, got a great view of the suspended Da Vinci ride that goes overhead in this area, along with some more pumpkin theming on marionetten bootsfahrt, the rafts are TINY. . . so we split up into groups of 2 or 3. Myself and Jonathan rode together it really is very creepy, and kinda charming but mostly? it's WTF??????? the Monorail passes thru the park as well (going between the Hotels, and the front gate, as well as a stop over by Greece). there are LOTS of ways to get great views of this park. more bewbs aha!. . here's one of the train stations, close to where we'd gotten off the prior ride. yes please. TPR tiny train takeover! this train really does loop around a very large portion of the park. not all of it, but a lot of it, and is well worth the time spent to ride. It has multiple stops thruout the park, but you don't have to exit unless you want to. a great way to see the park as well. wait. . the taxis are called "Oltimer Fahrt" ?? Oh, I'd ABSOLUTELY be coming back to ride this then. and offride view of marionetten bootsfahrt coming into the England section, you can see how this would NEVER go in USA. there are no track guards, and no crossing signals other than just a sign. They just expect people to not be stupid and be aware of a train coming as it crosses walking paths. a replica of the Globe theater. sadly in two days here, I never managed to catch the show in here. Paddington statue at the England station. ooooo. . ANOTHER elevated monorail? ok then, that's on my list too now. over by the Arthur section now, and a better view of that adorable kiddie mine cart ride I saw yesterday. you can see from the size of the child riding, that this one was a "don't even try to ride it" situation. but it was so cute! more people stopping because they are smart and know a train will hurt them. runes in the Arthur section, by the suspended track for the ride. there is a ton of theming for the train. .even when passing by areas that you can ONLY see from the train. hard to see here, but the swings are themed to a giant Mushroom again, theming just for the train riders passing by the rebuilt log flume / mine train area the "Spain" train station a great view from the train, showing how the flume interacts with the mine train and the walking paths there's also a great river rapids ride here in the park. lots of ways to get soaked here. while on the train, I spotted that the 2nd monorail station was above the Roller Coaster restaurant, near the station in Russia. So we exited the train there, and walked over to the monorail, stopping to get a couple of pics of Euro Mir as we passed it. To be continued in part 2

pics from yesterday's visit for "Feliz Fiesta" during Holiday in the Park. (and yes, they got TONS of lights from SFA - I asked and was confirmed that the Texas parks got things from several other parks as well that were no longer doing Holiday in the Park) the park is looking amazing, and the shows remain top notch! Majesty of Christmas, and the Dickens shows alone are worth price of admission, tho all the other shows are great as well. because of Texas Department of Transportation sending out a crapload of warnings about how I10 & Loop 1604 (ie: right were the park is) being closed all weekend for construction, we allowed just over 2 hours for the trip to the park from Austin today. so of course, we were so early that even tho the cones were up, they hadn't started any work yet, and traffic flowed - resulting in us being the first ones at the park, and stopped at the entrance gate. so we took advantage to get out of the car, and snap this pic which typically you only can get while driving by. but after about 15 minutes, the parking gates opened and we headed in (with all the other folks that had backed up behind us). of COURSE, this was right when the Six Flags app decided to update, and that made getting thru the toll booths a nightmare - how nice Six Flags stopped handing out physical (hard card) passes JUST before they updated the app and made it a huge mess to access your digital stuff. note: we did chat with mgmt about this during the day as lots of folks had issues, so it came up. they are aware of issues, and are working on solutions, so "please stand by" anyways, the park looks great. the Day ended up being PERFECT (low 70s after a week of temps in the 40s and 50s), and the construction kept many away from the area, resulting in a very crowd comfortable day. lots and lots of photo ops thru the park. as mentioned, I'm guessing some of them came from other parks no longer doing HitP and no trip to SFFT is complete without a stop in to say hi to "miss Connie" in Sangerfest halle. she's a celebrity, and my friends all know I tend to go there first to get a pic. after 1st rides of the day on Chubacabra, those of us attending Feliz Fiesta got to go backstage for a tour of the construction site that I posted yesterday. as part of that tour, we also got to go down into the Gully Washer reservoir (drained during the off season upkeep) for some fantastic shots of Iron Rattler's drops. and then it was time to eat something for lunch (as our dinner wasn't until almost 5). we headed into Blues BBQ, where here at Fiesta Texas, the Turkey Leg with stuffing is still included on the meal plan. and as it's Holiday in the Park? Santa was out all day, so we had to pop in and say hello. naughty bert! (and how fantastic that Santa played along) one of the shows in the main square. . I believe this was the Tinker-Belles and the wooden soldiers one of 3 large trees SFFT has on display. this one is at the end of the main avenue into the park (and the tinkerbelles stage is at the bottom) many, many characters were available today for Meet and Greets. not just the Looney Tunes in Holiday garb, but also multiple DC Heroes, and tons of Holiday themed characters. and the "handlers" are happy to take your phone to snap pics for you. this makes me laugh - this is what happens when they start snapping before you're ready for the picture. . . LOL durrrrrrrr. . . . . but we did get some great pics regardless another throne. .and I do love my thrones more characters. . a bit horrifying, I thought, but happy to take pics after this great meet and greet in DCU, I asked them how about an "action pose". .and that's the 2nd pic. they understood the assignment - particularly Flash walking back to the front for dinner in the picnic grove, caught the end of a Tinkerbelles & soldiers performance, and they were hanging around for pictures. and yet, ANOTHER throne. they must have gotten these from other parks. a night time shot of the tree at the end of the main corridor. here's the MAIN tree in the park, in Rockville, during the Tree Lighting ceremony (that includes fireworks, Looney Tunes characters, dancers, and Santa on the stage in front of it) .. oh, and "snow" Jim and I in front of the main tree, before heading into the Rockville High Theater to see the Dicken's show - one of the parks two signature HitP shows didnt' take any pics of the 1st part of the show, but it's a full on production with sets, dancing, and very good singing. the camera came out during Ghost of Christmas Future, as I love the design of it. ltr: Scrooge, Ghost of Christmas Present, Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Marley, and Ghost of Christmas future. Scrooge seeing the error of his ways before he gets tossed into his own grave by Marley (oh. . "spoilers". . . LOL) after the show (and a few rides) we made our way up to the "big" theater in the park, for the amazing "Majesty of Christmas" - which, yes, includes live animals on stage in a wonderful production. after this show, the park was about to shut down, but attendees of Feliz Fiesta get some ERT on the CrackAxle coasters (Iron Rattler, Roadrunner Express, and Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger). . so we took the "Holiday Express" which is what they transform the train into, for a full loop around the park complete with Holiday songs and tons and tons of lights. including new this year, lights representing the 12 days of Christmas. . . that you pass on the train, AS the song is playing synched to what you are passing. so simple, but so effective and impressive. another photo op in front of Hurricane Harbor area and the 3rd and final tree, in Crackaxle, which I was told came from another park that is no longer doing HitP. it's a great event, and well worth going to.

Jeffrey posted something yesterday with a full moon but the parks 35th anniversary is 2027 but the location is the edge of crackaxle where they removed several water slides and Jeffrey did tell me not to worry about the elevation or the road (which is not being removed) so lift hill so I really think we’re looking at a water coaster here

The space cleared for the new attraction coming to SFFT in 2027 (?) is HUGE wonder if we’re looking at a MACK type water coaster coming to the park (as it absolutely seems like it is not part of the waterpark ) myself Robert (park manager) and Jeffrey Siebert at the construction tour