bert425

City Museum is open until Midnight on Fri & Sat. I'd absolutely hit it on Sat late afternoon/night. So maybe Six Flags on Sat Morning and back on Sun. morning. and if you don't feel the need to go back to SFStL on Sun morning? Grant's Farm. . . was a fantastic way to spend a few hours before we flew out. . .and there's free beer.

LOL. .and they released the ride footage from last Friday on SFFT's website & on YouTube. On Joker, I spot my red shirt & feet sticking up at the top of the swing from the camera on top of the canyon at :40 second mark. and at :47 second mark I go by, hands up like I'm flying on the Super-Villain Swings. Not exactly super-stardom, but I see me! I be famous-ish. [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

AWESOME start to the trip. . .fantastic pics, and such great commentary (tho honestly, the "heat lines" coming off the "Wat is Poep" cover namesake is freaking me out a little bit). Love your reports, and eagerly look forwards to following along.

well, SFFT's looked just like that for a good 6-7 months (just the "stalk"). . . and that eventually reopened fully refurbed. so I'd say since they didn't rip the stalk out of the ground? it's coming back.

that's kinda cool that there's a waterslide with some almost "high five" moments. not a waterpark person, but this really looks like fun.

you were on a trip tho. . . so all in all that's not a bad total at all. glad you had fun! (tho you KNOW soda is bad for you )

found a fun selfie I had sent to my Spouse that I forgot to post (his response was . . . oh, hell no!. . LOL) at least the sun isn't so bright in this one.

so Tuesday of last week, Six Flags Fiesta Texas posted to social media that they were seeking participants for a commercial shoot for the new Joker: Carnival of Chaos pendulum ride on Friday 8/2. as I: 1) Live in Austin 2) was just at the park on 7/20 participating in Coasting for Kids & 3) it was on a Friday during the day from 9am-4pm i noted the post, but decided to pass on it.. . besides, I'm a 52 year old guy who would be coming to the park solo. They certainly wanted younger folks having fun riding, so there was no way they were gonna pick me. but by an hour later, I had talked myself into at least applying - as I would be kicking myself for not at least TRYING to get in on the shoot. I love SFFT, and it would be an opportunity to ride Joker, multiple times, without the ride being open to the general public. So I went ahead and sent in an application (age, and picture), and figured I likely won't hear back by Thurs 5 pm when they said they would be notifying those chosen. I drove into work on Thurs (since I work from home 4 days a week), and on a whim, stopped an filled up my gas tank - just in case. . . . but at 5pm hadn't heard anything. oh well. so close to 6, just as i was getting ready to post that, "oh well, the old fart didn't get chosen. . so I guess I'll go have Sushi for lunch as a consolation tomorrow". . I got the email with instructions on where and when to be the next morning. i was shocked, but over the moon. LOL. .and then realized that I had just committed to driving from far North Austin, down to San Antonio, on a Friday, during rush hour, to be there between 8:30 - 9am. oy. I took the time off work, promising that I'd log in Friday night to catch up with anything I missed, and Friday morning got up at 6am, to head out by 6:20. I just missed the Austin rush hour, as made it to the South side of town, just as traffic was starting to stack coming into Austin from that direction - and then since I exit loop 1604, well before Downtown San Antonio, I didn't really hit any traffic there either. Oh, it was a bit slow going, but no stand-still traffic. So I was on 1604, and close to SFFT by 8am, still a bit too early. So I pulled over into a Wal Mart and wandered the aisles for 30 minutes (this was Friday morning, so wasn't aware of what was about to happen in El Paso, and I'd be lying if I said that doesn't make me nervous to go into a Wal Mart now ). . . anyways, I didn't buy anything, but successfully filled some time, and got to SFFT by 8:45. check in at the front gates was a breeze, they checked us off a list, had us hold up our Releases we had signed and took a picture (so they can tie the names to the faces), and led us back to the Johnny Rockets next to Joker - where the park had the whole area cordoned off, with security guards at the train tracks, by the games near Superman, and by the Kidzopolis exit to the walkway). they told us we had one more group coming, and then would get started, but meanwhile, everyone relax, have some snacks and let's have fun! NOTE: there are spoiler pics of the Joker Queue Funhouse below. . skip past them if you don't wanna know! being led back over to Joker area. even tho just did similar for Coasting for Kids, this is still SUCH an odd feeling to be in the park when it's so dead. Unlike C4K, there really weren't any ride ops around either, since we were there so early. Turned out that, of course, they had gone to an agency to supply some specific folks for close ups, and filming thru the funhouse, etc. . . so those of us who had applied were really filler folks for background. But that's no concern for me, it's still a great experience, and I got to ride! So I wasn't disappointed or upset in the least! Sitting in a chair at Johnny Rockets, eating a muffin while waiting to begin the day, it really is spooky how empty the park is. LOVED it. they supplied us a table of light snacks: Yogurts, Power Bars, Donuts, muffins, lots of sliced fruits, PBJ Snakables, and bottled water, juices, and access to the fountain at Johnny Rockets (for sodas or Blue Powerade). it was explained that typically they would supply a more filling food table, but since we were going to be filming on spinning rides (yep, Supervillain Swings was included too), they wanted to err on the side of caution. which really gave me a laugh. I mean, they are correct! spoiler: we only had one "protein spill" during filming (way less than they were expecting), and HYSTERICALLY, the ride pad for Joker has hoses set up in all four corners! LOL.. . so the park is prepared for vomit . .tho really don't know why the Texas parks (in particular) seem to put the spinning rides next to a Johnny Rockets (true of Catwoman at SFOT, and Spinsanity on the boardwalk at Fiesta, and now Joker). LOL looking back, I loved this view of Superman, with the 2nd train on the brake run. . all ready to go once the park opens to the public (in about an hour - earlier than the general public - for Platinum/Diamond members apparently, which I was surprised to see. There were way more folks in the park early than I was expecting, so I guess SF is selling a lot of Platinum/Diamond memberships) ok, I'll get in the pic too. that fence behind me is where we went thru to queue for the Joker, so we went in just after the funhouse. although the filmed some folks in the funhouse, pretty sure they were just the folks from the Agency. no worries tho, we all go a chance to go thru before the ride was opened to the public, so got to experience it and it's started testing to get ready for us. I asked about taking pictures and was told it was fine, but please do not post anything to social media during the event. (it's 3 days later now, so I'm not breaking any requests by posting now) Joker really does swing quite high, and really fast. haven't seen the funhouse queue actually open before this. wow. .it looks really, really great on the outside. and the giant hand on the left? it waves! (it was struggling a little bit during our time here, and maintenance was out working on it. . but hey, they *are* in "technical rehearsal" still. Joker is just beautiful to look at. You can see it running from all over the park, as well as from loop 1604. it's gonna be a huge draw to the park. so once we had everyone ready, they were prepared to start filming. They were going to start with some shots of DC Supervillain Swings, and so chose folks that had on the brighter colored shirts to go over to that. we got on the ride, and the cameraman came out and set up to get his shots, and we got revved to go. . . and the operator pushed the button - and the ride buzzed a really slow buzz like it was releasing a giant fart. . . and then nothing. we looked at each other, and laughed that at least our group of 10 or so seats was in the shade of the ride top, and we watches as maintenance came out and started working on the controls. they evacuated us all from the ride and into the walkway, while maintenance went into the "toolbox" center of the ride, and before long, it was up and cycling! They cycled it a couple of times, then got us all back on the ride (approx. where we were sitting before), and we did 3 cycles on it while they filmed from various locations around the ride. I'm not sure if it's faster than I remember, but man did I miss this ride and loved getting to ride it again. i did notice that some of the folks (next to me in the outer seats) were commenting that the seats were a little tight, but I sat in a "middle row" seat, and I was super comfortable. When I went back to ride much later in the afternoon, I did choose an outer seat - and it was noticeably more snug than the seat I had been in earlier in the day. So I dunno if that's consistent thruout the seats, or I just happened to end up in one that was snug, but based on what the ladies had been saying earlier? if you're a larger rider, or not good with small spaces? go for the middle row (or possibly inside row) of seats. While they were working on the Swings, the other half of the group had loaded on to Joker, and we got to hear lots of laughs and whoops as it ran it's cycle. There weren't a lot of hands up on Joker (we all had our hands up on the swings ), but that's more due to the restraints on Joker. . . it's a bit hard to do more than "Jazz Hands" while riding. both rides are hits tho. . a lot of fun. After our rides on DC SuperVillain Swings, they swapped the groups out, and moved us over to Joker. they did a great job on the queue, with a lot of it covered - greatly appreciated in the hot Texas Sun this is the view from the left bull-pen. (while waiting for our turn to load, I did notice a typo on the ride "rules" sign, and although I did point it out to those around me, I didn't want to mention it to the Park folks, as how can you mention something like that and not come across as an ass? Especially when they were letting me participate in this fun experience). standing in line, you get some STUNNING views of the ride swinging, although as we didn't go thru the main queue, I didn't get any shots of the carriage swinging directly over me in line. (as you'll see in a later pic, once it opened? it immediately started pulling a hella line, so didn't ride again once we wrapped ~3pm). the park is open to guests at this point, tho they were stopped prior to Joker due to the filming. But Skyscreamer and Superman had steady cycles full of happy guests. a shot of the funhouse (darker red/white stripes) from the ride seat, showing the covered parts of the queue that SFFT added before one gets to the funhouse. Sitting in the ride, and with permission of the ride op (since I had on shorts with zippered pockets, so I could slide my phone right in and zip it up securely). the best seat for Hangtime/airtime, seems to be the ones near the Six Flags Fiesta Texas Logo on the Stalk (I believe ~seats 24 / 4). . just FYI. angling the pic the other direction to capture Scream in the background. everyone was unloaded after 3 cycles, so they could take care of the aforementioned "protein spill" so was able to get this great pic of the ride while they were cleaning up. even able to step out into the ride pad, and take a pic facing up. I know the sun is bright, but I loved how this pic came out. back into the bullpen, as they were about to cycle the ride, to "air dry" after washing down some seats. . and who happened by, while we were watching the ride cycle? why Park President Mr. Jeffrey Siebert - who is *always* happy to stop and take a picture. (and I think he remembered me from a prior pic, as he said "you want another one?" when I asked him. someone offered to take the pic for us, but I'm a photo ninja (LOL), and was able to get this great shot - even tho we're a bit "red" from the awning. . but look at that, the Joker sign right between us. after a couple more rides, it was time to take a break as we waited for the Drone operator to show up, so they could get shots from overhead of both rides running. I stepped out of the last cycle with riders before the break, so I could get some pics with "legs" on it. dang, this thing swings so high! What do I think of it? while I don't know that I would call it a "thrilling" ride, It's for sure a thrill ride. I think I was expecting a little more forces from the spin, like a Frisbee, but this ride doesn't do that. The carriage DOES turn, but it rotates rather slowly (I think to make sure all riders get a chance to be close to the "money" seats). So Joker isn't really about the G's from the spin of the carriage. .it's a pendulum ride. It's all about the height of the swing, and the velocity of the swing. You absolutely FLY thru the center of the ride, at an impressive speed (that kept a smile on my face the whole time each swing), and when you hit the apex? Holeee Crap. .. if you're on the "top" side of the carriage at the apex? INCREDIBLE floater air If you're in the "bottom" side of the carriage at the apex? really great hang time. they've got a hit on their hands, it's really really good. . just don't go expecting a frisbee, it doesn't have those forces. during the break in filming, Director Ron McKenzie walked by, and so I went to say hello and thank him again for leading us on the Cliff Walk tour during Coasting for Kids a couple of weeks ago. he was kind enough to pose for a pic (and posed for a couple of other people too), and we chatted for a few moments. . and then I quietly mentioned to him the typo I had noticed in the Joker queue. I apologized in advance and said I didn't intend at all to come across as a jerk (and I hoped that I didn't), but that in my job I have to be very detail oriented, and it was making me crazy because once I noticed it it was all I could see. He asked me details, and I showed him the closeup pic I had taken and he was pretty stunned. He even said to me, "we must have had over 600 people look at that, and no one had caught it!" he thanked me for mentioning it to him, and actually a couple of hours later, he found me and told me that he had reported the issue to the signage group and that they had already made plans to correct, and thanked me again for telling him. So I'm glad I said something to him, even if it made me feel like an ass to even bring it up. the Drone operator showed up after the break, and we divided into groups again with my group going to Joker first this time. While seated in the ride waiting to start up again (and with the same operator's OK), I saw that from the ride pad, you like up almost exactly perfect with Superman's Corkscrews to get some great pictures! I actually could have moved to the left and lined up exactly with a view down the center, but I was already secured in the seat when the train came so had to take the pic I could get Wheeeeee! after 3 cycles, I need a little break (it's pretty intense, especially in the heat), so I stepped off into the bullpen to let others who were waiting to ride. From the bullpen you still get some great shots of Supes, just not as great an angle. the pics still came out good tho. After sitting out a cycle (I had volunteered to go over to Supervillian Swings if they needed any riders over there, but they didn't pull any of us from the Joker bullpen, so I guess they did not), we all got back on Joker for 2 final rides. just before the 2nd ride, the gentleman who had organized the shoot, came and told us that we were done and thanked us for participating. and that after our ride, we should feel free to take advantage of a walkthru of the Funhouse, before they opened the ride to the public. after our walkthru they would gift us as a thank you for participating 2 tickets to SFFT (good for the rest of the year - so I'll be bringing some non-passholder friends with me to FrightFest!), as well as a meal voucher to get a big meal to eat now that we had finished filming. we all thanked him, and got ready for a final ride on Joker (fantastic as all the others had been), and then exited, and joined the rest of those shoot participants in the queue who were waiting to go thru - since folks go thru in groups of 5-6. soon.. I get to go in soon! at the front of the queue, so able to get this pic, which funnily enough? managed to catch it *almost* lined up anyways, as the "disc" behind Joker's head spins, so the colors don't often line up. as can be seen in this pic, where I'm doing my best Joker Grin impression. the funhouse experience is tied to the Villains that are on the banners in front of the joker ride: Penguin, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, and Man-Bat .. and Joker himself of course. this is the wonderful Op who was at the front door of the funhouse. I wanted a pic with her, as she did me a solid: so there was this very, very sweet guy from California. He was so nice, but . .yeah, he was one of *those* enthusiasts. I wasn't around him much, until the break on Joker for cleaning the protein spill, and then I guess he liked chatting with me, because he was right there next to me for the next couple of hours (tho he didn't sit next to me on Joker - he wanted to, but when he went to put his hat in a cubby, some ladies sat in the seats next to me so he had to be down a few seats -- but the moment we took a break in the bullpen again, he was back next to me. again, a sweet, soul. But he literally went thru every park in the United States asking if I've been (i think he heard me talking about Cedar Point with someone is what started the line of questioning). this is pretty much how it went: "Have you been to ______ " yes or no from me "was it good?" yes, or no "is it "ejector air" or "floater air" ?" (tho he seemed to have a lot of trouble distinguishing the two, asking if Joker was Ejector or Floater multiple times (to the amusement of some of those also in the conversation with us) occasionally there was a question about a specific ride, but if I said a specific ride was good, he said he hated it. every time. He asked me my favorite ride at SFOT, and I said "Shockwave" "oh, I hate that one, my favorite was Judge Roy Scream" (no, really). he was visiting from LA, and said his favorite ride at Magic Mountain is the one that looks like Batman, but hasn't run in a while. I was stunned, and said "Green Lantern?". .and he got all excited and said "YES! it's sooooo good" I told him he was seriously the *only* person I had ever interacted with who liked that ride, and that it's been sitting closed for over a year now for a reason. eventually, I asked him why he was asking me, if he doesn't have the same taste as me (ie: he hates every ride I've said I enjoy up to that point). . and even said to him, maybe view my opinion as a movie critic? if I hate it, you'll like it? again, he was such a kind soul, but it was a bit wearying. . . so when we got our last two rides on Joker and got into the funhouse queue, it was a little bit of a relief. Didn't see him at first, but he made his way up the queue, and before I even realized it, right by my side was "have you been to Cedar Point?" Was polite to him, again, a kind soul (I know I keep saying it. .but he really was , even tho exasperating), but I really did not want to experience the funhouse the whole time answering questions about coasters/parks. so when we got up to the front, the OP motioned for us to join the 5 folks in front of us into the room, and I motioned to her in regards to me, the "no no no" signal. She wasnt' quite sure what i was doing, but closed the doors on the group with him in it, leaving me the 1st person in the next group to go (and how I got the pic making Joker face). . so of course, I thanked her for giving me a polite exit from that conversation, and asked her to be in a picture with me. the woman is a saint! LOL. The funhouse is AMAZING -- they basically built a haunt. You go thru in small groups and there are gimmicks in many of them. this first room is super cool (literally) as it's Mr. Freeze's lab. They close the doors behind you, and you're faces with the cold, small, blue room. there's no exit either, just a small room. this pic is looking thru the glass at the tubes. sounds start coming thru the speakers overhead (which are frozen!), and a claxon starts blaring. then the floor drops. a good few inches. and more than once. and Mr Freeze appears thru the glass on the other side of the lab. he says some things to you, but didn't really catch it, and then the wall to the left of you slides open, and you proceed down the hallway which is STUNNING. . it looks so much longer than it is (that's a reflective surface at the end there). two colored (Two-face?) LED lights that chase and move behind plexiglass on all sides of the room. Impressive as hell! after the "light" hallways, you take a left into Poison Ivy's lair - a greenhouse overgrown with plants. watch out for the ceiling, her "pets" are up there. . .and think I saw one or two of them snapping. .but didn't stop long enough to look Just after Ivy's room, is a grate int he floor that you can look down into the sewers (know who lives down there? Killer Croc). Not sure if there's anything down there other than just the pipes? Wondering if eyes appear ? if so, that would be a cool gimmick, but didn't see anything. regardless it's great. and then you're into another hall, this one in black and white checkered pattern (this one might also be Two-face inspired?). a left down a hallway filled with Funhouse Mirrors, and overhead? Penguin's Umbrellas. Don't get too comfortable looking at yourself in those mirrors, either, as villains lurk within! I saw multiple villains popping up on multiple mirrors. such as Poison Ivy here, who I managed to time just right to get in the frame when she appeared (eventually, after a bunch of pics of myself in the mirror. .LOL) then you go thru a hallway full of vinyl "flaps" (if i had to guess, to represent Man-Bat's wings? he's the only one I didn't really see represented in the funhouse), into this final room. I cut off the picture, but that sign there says "Don't Touch" with an arrow pointing to a button. when you, of course, push the button, it sets off a giant blast from that air-horn on the top of the joker's cannister there. very neat final room, with Joker's outfit, squirting flower, a pie, giant dynamite bomb, and a target. they did SUCH an amazing job on this funhouse. .I hope they are able to keep up with the effects to keep it in this great a shape. KUDOS to SFFT for such a stunning mid-queue set piece. after this room, you exit to the left, and you're back in the shorter queue, that brings you to the covered bull pen area to load the ride. take another left, and you have the man himself, popping out of a giant Jack in the Box. he talks to you, and taunts you. . . and then sprays you with laughing gas! this is SO freaking cool! we had finished up just before 3, and they gave us our tickets and a meal voucher to thank us for participating. as a Gold Season Pass Holder with basic Dining plan, they serve until 3:30 for lunch. So I pocketed the meal voucher (also good all season, so can use it when I bring along a friend), and power walked to the front gates so I could activate my Season Pass and make use of my dining plan. by the time i got there and back to Los Festivales, it was about 3:20, and since only had 10 minutes I didn't want to chance getting stuck in line for Totally Kicken Chicken or ChopSix, so took the left to Sangerfest Halle and hopped in the line that had no one in it. so yeah, I ended up with the TOTALLY healthy, Chimichanga, covered in cheese and a corn pico sauce. ok, ok, I know it wasn't healthy, but it was good (if slightly dry, even with all that cheese sauce). at least I still drank water with it! and I was able to get in before the 3:30 lunch cut off, so got to make use of my dining plan. unfortunately, I didn't have a great experience on the dining plan later that evening when I wanted to use my snack option for the waffle sundae from the stand by Wonder Woman - that had been promoted as now being a part of dining plan -- only to find out (after waiting in the line to get it), that they didn't have any waffle bowls. so I ended up with just a cup of Pineapple soft serve with some sundae toppings on it (but since the cuts aren't really made to hold toppings, it came out messy as hell, dripping everywhere). I triple napkined it, and went to the tables by Rockville High, but had to abandon that quickly as there are a lot of bees over there (the sweetness from spilled ice cream, and that Blue Powerade. .the bees LOVE that blue powerade). it was good, but way too messy for me, as I don't like being sticky. . so 1 and done for me, unless there are waffle bowls available in the future. wouldn't be a trip to SFFT without a stop at the Carousel. And was able to secure a ride on the White Rabbit this time. hey, it makes me happy. after eating a late lunch, and riding the Carousel. . I went out to the car to drop off the magazine I had brought to read during downtime at the shoot (which I had ended up not needing, since spent what little downtime there was, chatting with other folks who were there), and to take the opportunity to call home to talk to the Spouse. on the way back into the park (no reason to leave San Antonio at 4pm on a Friday afternoon, traffic leaving the area would be brutal, as would traffic by Austin, so decided to stay and see some shows), I browsed in the Superhero shop. Noticing a lot of Flash merch front and center. . wondering if maybe the 2020 announcement will be DC Comics/Flash themed.. .who knows. but spotted this really cool thing, that made my holiday gift wish list. a little pricey, but so, so cool. the new 3-Point challenge game they are putting by Batman is coming along really nicely (not that I'm eager for another game that gives those basketballs as a prize, there are already enough of them bouncing around the concrete while trying to walk!). But yeah, this is coming along well. while over here, I also grabbed an almost walk on ride on Poltergeist. I wasn't even sure it was open, as I hadn't been over in this area of the park, but there was no chain, and was able to go all the way into the station, and then just a 1 train wait for row 3. I've not ridden towards the front of the Poltergeist train in many years, preferring the back or towards the back, but since there was only one person in the line 3 queue, that's where i went. very, very shaky. almost violently shaky, which really surprised me. Someone said on a facebook page, that one of the Poltergeist trains is rougher than the other. They were only running one Train on Friday, so maybe this was the rougher train? I mean a rough ride on Poltergeist is still a great ride, but it was pretty rough. I do want to point out tho? first time I've ridden this that I can recall, that there were NO walks. The funky seatbelts on the restraints are just as short as every. . but not one person had to walk from the train loading as I walked up. And not one person walked from us when we loaded the same train after. I was astonished. it was about 4:40, and after getting shaken all about on Poltergeist, I decided that i WILL see "Detention at Rockville High" before it closed this past weekend. added bonus, the theater is air conditioned, and the long benches are padded. so I made my way in, and sat in 3rd row, center stage. I struck up a conversation with the lady sitting in the row in front of me (as she seemed to be part of a local group - there were several of them there, all with refillable cups, and they were talking like they come to the the park very often), so I asked her if she's seen this show (of course) and if it was decent? she told me that it's good, and just think of the Breakfast Club movie, if I've seen it, and I'll enjoy the show. She was pretty spot on.. tho with a twist. the show is basically "the Breakfast Club" if it were a Production on a Carnival Cruise Ship. that's not necessarily a BAD thing, as I love cheesy goodness shows.. . the plot left a lot to be desired (it's basically no plot, just lots of 80's songs.. and it coasts on the idea that the audience has seen "the Breakfast Club" and therefore knows who these characters are, and how they relate to each other -- you know, instead of actually having character development? But regardless, the show was enjoyable, made even better by the very strong voices of several of the cast members. In particular the man playing the Teacher/Principal? VERY good voice, and a standout in the show. Certainly something I will go back and see again (or a variation on it) if they bring it back next Summer. . or if any of the cast end up in the Frightfest or Holiday in the Park shows. the cast had a ball performing, and it showed. there's even a big set change, when they go from the front of the school, to inside the library for the back 2/3rds of the show. it's pretty impressive for a locally produced Theme Park Show, and way more enjoyable than it had any need to be. but yeah, expect Cruise Ship level entertainment and you'll (like me) be pleasantly surprised. after eating my messy ice cream, and washing up, I took a spin on Hustler (tho didnt' spin my ball very much, it had been a long day with a lot of spinning, and I was starting to feel it, even with the AC break from the show). Besides, Hustler is a lot of fun, even if you're not spinning much. It was starting to get close to 6:30pm when I decided to head back over to Joker/Supervillian Swings to maybe take another ride on it. . . yeah, that wasn't gonna happen. the line was spilling out of the queue, and into the overflow stanchions. I decided not to be greedy, after all, i had already ridden it 8-9 times earlier that day, multiple times without even having to vacate my seat. besides, directly across from it, with barely any line? DC Supervillian Swings. . so that's where I went. the line was empty enough, I was able to stop and take lots of pictures of the queue. and the signage within. . . and here again, SFFT did a spectacular job with the queue. ok, yes, it's no where NEAR as immersive (or exciting) as the Joker just across the way from it. And yes, it's just a bunch of painted wood. . . but they are explaining and giving background on EVERY villain on the swing ride. that impresses me, and I think a Kudos are in order for it. good job. the pics I had seen of the ride only showed the white lights, but what i hadn't realized is that there are blue LEDs too, and when the ride starts, not only do the lights turn blue (giving the ride a cool dark hue), but also the soundtrack music started. oddly, although all the blue lights are on, in my pic it looks like 1/2 are burned out. They aren't all are burning bright blue (and this is the 2nd pic I took, since I thought that I had just caught it weird in the 1st one when the lights looked out. . but nope, this one did it too). weird. after DC SVS, I cut thru Spassburg and headed over to the boardwalk for a ride on Wave Runner (1 cycle wait), and tho I was wanting to, my head said no to spinning on Pandemonium or Spinsanity - both of which had short lines. or Fireball, which seemed to be back up and running. I don't like Disc-O, so no sadness about skipping Hurricane Force 5. but Pirates of the Deep Sea was a walk on, so I took my time going thru the queue, and looking around, and saw things I never noticed - such as the skull at the top of the waterfall in the queue. Really neat. and the projected moon on the wall above the pirate animatronic in the queue. almost all the guns on the ride are now the Scooby Doo guns, and even with those, the gun on the right didn't seem to be working. So after the first room, I switched to the left gun, and was able to rack up a decent score . .tho would have been higher if I had started with the left gun "Good Job Me Hearty!" after this I made my way to the front of the park to catch the evening performance of "V!BE" (I think it was around this time when I sat to watch the performance), before heading back over to the Carousel for one last ride. i considered taking a spin on the train, but then realized it was getting close to 8pm and I still had to not only drive back to Austin, but still had to log into work to cover anything i had missed during my day at the park. So i bypassed the train, meaning that in a full day at the park (granted from 8:45 am until ~3 I was over by Joker only) I never even went by Crackaxle Canyon, or past Skyscreamer. So I can't even tell you if Iron Rattler, Gully Washer, or Roadrunner Express were operating on Friday. I really wanted to stay for the fireworks, but with having to log into work? there was simply no way, as that meant I wouldn't get back home until closer to Midnight, so I sadly decided to skip them - at least i had gotten to see them on a prior visit this season - and headed home after a great day. I really appreciated the experience and am so glad I got to participate in the filming. and closing out the TR with pics taken by Richard Schwartz from the top of the Canyon Wall lookout while we were filming. He posted them online, and told us we could share them, so giving him credit. pic by Richard Schwartz you can actually make me out in this pic. . LOL. . top center, red shirt, dark shorts! pic by Richard Schwartz can make me out in this pic too! pic by Richard Schwartz pic by Richard Schwartz pic by Richard Schwartz pic by Richard Schwartz pic by Richard Schwartz pic by Richard Schwartz

this is awesome! i eagerly await following along Chuck (tho I saw you in a lot of pics on TPR's socials during the trip, I'm really looking forwards to seeing your pics).

it WOULD be a kinda perfect fit for a "Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth" re-theme. but yeah, I'd just like to see it running.

just dropped some $$ to you, Taylor. I had such a great time a few weeks ago at SFFT, and hope y'all have as good a time too!

this park looks great. . like it might kill you if they didn't upkeep everything,but they do so it's a blast. fantastic pics, thanks for sharing.

they auto renew, don't they? so you need to get it in writing to them that you wish to cancel, otherwise, they will charge your credit card for 2020.

if you want em Larry, here's more pics of SFFT Joker (with the queue now opened, and pics from the Funhouse), as well as the queue for DC Supervillian Swings. best, bert

some "official" pics of Joker from the shoot yesterday (posted by Richard Schwartz, who took them from the top of the lookout - the same place I went a couple of weeks back on our Cliff Walk tour during Coasting for Kids event). He gave permission to "share wherever we wanted" the resolution when he zooms in isn't great, but I'm top dead center in the Red shirt, dark shorts - nearly upside-down

^ it is NOT a chain wide policy, and seems to be unique to SFOT from what I've experienced riding at several different SF parks. (the policy is certainly not in place at SFFT). this policy has come and gone since the 90's, but seems to be strictly enforced since after the accident on NTAG back in 2013 Never really heard the "reasoning" behind it. . .but if I had to take a guess? it is because they want a witness riding too, in case something happened on the ride.

be warned. .it's August/early Sept, so gonna be HOT. hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. and if the water park is not open (water park is only open daily thru 8/16, then goes to weekends only for 3 weeks before closing for season)? crowd will be insane, as the waterpark draws a lot of the crowd in the heat. on the + side, maybe Iron Rattler will be back to 2 train operations (supposed to happen by end of August). .and THIS is now open (pic from my visit yesterday):

. .and he just announced (about an hour ago). .that Celebrate (the fireworks show along the cliff wall) is closing. . . hmmmmm

Oh, I'm sure it will be a 5 second clip of the ride in motion in a commercial. LOL but I wore a bright red shirt, so maybe spotable

back from a very full day. 5 rides on DC SuperVillian Swings (SO happy to have this ride back in operation. .and tho the pics I've seen of the white lighting left me a little underwhelmed? they turn blue while riding. . gives off an ominous glow. 9 rides on Joker (which, while it doesn't have any real forces from "spinning" gives some amazing pops of airtime. . and the velocity of that swing, holy hell! utterly fantastic). . . . but the star of the show? the funhouse queue. They built a freaking mini-haunt, with sliding doors opening into other rooms, and gimmicks all over the place! You go thru in groups of 5 or 6, controlled by an operator at the front of the funhouse. Bravo to SFFT. . . an incredible addition. Spent a good 4 hours after the filming wrapped enjoying the park - which ended up with walk ons for almost everything, as Joker, once opened to the general public at 3, drew the crowds & the lines). great day! (and yes, they gave us two tickets for any day to bring folks to the park, as well as a meal voucher for dinner (which I didn't end up using, as we finished early enough was able to use my dining plan ). . they provided light snacks thruout. .but nothing "meaty" - as was explained, we're going to be riding spinning things, so they wanted to cut down on any issues. Hysterically, Joker has hoses at every corner of the ride pad! LOL.. . (tho during the filming, only had ONE shut down for cleanup from a protein spill)

and I just got invited to participate in the Joker: Carnival of Chaos commercial shoot happening tomorrow at SFFT. How exciting i get to be part of the commercial (and miss a Friday at work to do it) not excited about the rush hour traffic going to San Antonio. . but worth it to participate!

^ don't forget "CRAZY" I take "Suspense" as a play on "Suspended" so actually, I think of Gerstlauer Sky Roller, since there isn't one in USA. (what's in Nickelodeon Universe is a Sky Fly. . different model). but we will see. https://www.gerstlauer-rides.de/assets/Uploads/SkyRoller2.pdf

^ I would guess that's close to accurate, as Skyscreamer is 200', and Scream is 205' and they are the tallest things in the park. but there are always waiver options. . or options to do tunnels into the ground to go "taller", right?

surprised it doesn't seem to have any inversions (or at least not any they are trumpeting). . but the fastest multi launch in N. America? sounds fun. edit - now that the track layout is showing above too? it certainly looks like it has multiple inversions. Weird they aren't hyping that, but wow, that looks so great.