bert425

Thanks for pulling this together! it's great..tho sad to see Phoenix not crack the top 5 in Wooden coasters (what????)

the Canadian side view of the falls (cascading over the American side) is THE view of the falls. and there's a whole tourist area, with mini-golf, wax museums, go karts, and restaurants there.

here's the page for Marineland on my TR from last year you can see how huge it is. (yeah, the upgrade to season pass was like that a year ago. .also TONS of coupons to save a few bucks in the tourist guides at Niagara Falls - less than 5 minute drive from park. https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=75980&start=40

went on a booking spree this afternoon.. so we're all set! current plan: -- arrive in St Louis by 8am on Friday 6/7 (flight and rental car booked) we're staying at a nice hotel near the convention center (close to the arch, City Museum, and metro stop). Not thrilled about the parking onsite fee of over $30 a day, but it's downtown. . at least the Fri/Sat nights were a steal before the room quadruples in price for Sunday -- must be a convention coming in). since getting in so early, likely will just go to St Louis Zoo / Art Museum once we pick up the rental car to spend 6-7 hours, before heading to the hotel to check in. City Museum is open until Midnight, but guessing we'll be exhausted (besides, it's an event for the opening of an exhibit that Friday. . so likely will hold off). -- Sat. late morning, we have our combo tickets for the arch complex: starting with the documentary film on the construction at 11, followed by the tour of the arch itself just after Noon, and then visiting the grounds/museum until the riverboat cruise at 3. we should be back at hotel by 5, and will take advantage of the "after 5 / no one under 18 admitted" tickets to City Museum, which is open till Midnight (tho I'm sure we won't stay that long). - Sun up early and whole day at Six Flags StL. very likely with platinum flash pass for me, so he won't have to wait too long for me on rides.. as he'll be riding very little. (at least parking and admission is covered by our passes). - Monday we have late afternoon flight, so *intention* is to get out of hotel by 9am, and head over to Grant's Farm for the morning (not interested in a Camel ride, but would love to see/ride the Carousel). This is a bit up in the air tho, as after dragging Nick around for 3 days (including evening at City Museum followed by Six Flags on Sunday).. he might not be up for it, and might just want to sleep in until noon, and take a leisurely time getting to the airport, stopping for a nice lunch on way there. But my intention is to head there on Monday before our car return at 3pm. thanks for the advice/suggestions.. going to make great use of them.

nice. .I did the survey (that I always get after a visit), and I had left a comment noting how filthy the area under Zoom Jets was, and that although one didn't see it if just walking by, it was disgusting when sitting on the ride. (I asked the operator about all the trash down there too - bottles, napkins, drink cups). got a nice little "thank you for letting us know" form letter response.

as bill says, language is gonna be a non-issue. Everyone speaks English as a 2nd (if not 1st) language. only advice I can really give is on MarineLand - the place is HUGE. Expect a lot of walking, and long stretches of dead space, where you'll be the only human. I would do my darnedest to get there as early as possible in the afternoon, just to make certain they don't decide to close early due to lack of customers. that said? the long, LONG walk back to Dragon Mountain was well worth it - the coaster is a bizzare combo of OMG how fun, and WTF ? (the long stretch over the poop smelling buffalo fields falls into the WTF as do the long helixes inside the "mountain"). The bears back there over by Dragon Mountain are really cool too, and love to be fed. The trek up to the drop tower is a killer, but will offer AMAZING views of Niagara Falls, if you ask to be in the seats facing them. Most of the rides were running fun programs, and the animals are exhibited well (besides the Bears, there are tons of deer, Elk/Buffalo, lots of Beluga Whales (with underground viewing area) and an Orca. I wouldn't recommend wasting any time at the "aquarium". .it was pretty pathetic, tho the seals in there were fun to see. We didn't bother with any shows when there, but there really was only 1 anyways - featuring dolphins, seals, and a walrus (otherwise not on display anywhere). . . but like I said, we didn't see it. check out my Trip report from last may for lots of pics of the park. They were working on an expansion for "bird land". .but no idea if it opened or not. have fun!

thanks yeah, I truly was impressed with ChopSix. it was just as good as the chicken strips (at Totally Kickin Chicken - which has been the tastiest food option in the park, tho the Sangerfest Halle food court has options, they're mostly mediocre). I'll be eating ChopSix as 1st choice for meals on visits in the future.

the Marvel display at the Franklin Institute is fantastic. do you happen to know how long it is running for? We love that place, and hope to get back in early 2020, and visit HersheyPark again too.

^ yep.. I'll check back in here in this thread, and on Twitter on Wed.

seeing it on Wed seat at Alamo Drafthouse already purchased.

loading and unloading is boring for most people. folks are gonna see this when it's swinging. . tho I like the Steampunk theme. . . too bad SFOG isn't getting the DC theming like Fiesta. . our queue is supposedly gonna be a funhouse.

the fire pots on Wonder Woman (at SFFT) were 1/2 down not even 2 weeks after open, and all down less than a month. *but* last visit all 6 were working again. . so who knows? they might keep up on it.

yeah.. I noticed those two. oh, should mention too, since Whirlygig is still down, and no line for Taz' Texas Tornado (the kiddo version), we tried to ride that and were denied! there was no one waiting, and the lady told us that we were only allowed to ride if we were with a child, so if we wanted to find a child to ride with, we could. it wasn't a weight thing, as we were planning on riding alone in separate seats anyways, as there was no line. very strange - and even weirder is that she told us the adult swings are "over by Superman". . and looked SHOCKED when I told her Whirlygig has been sitting in pieces for months at this point, hence we were going to try riding the smaller version. oh well.. just weird.

yep. exactly what Mike has said here. (it's been discussed / made fun of, in the SFOT thread)

As noted in the SFFT thread. . Nick and I went to Fiesta yesterday (he was willing to go with me, since he forgot that Thurs was my Birthday and scheduled a Dentist appt. that morning - meaning we couldn't go out to eat that night after he had a procedure, and so we had to do my Bday dinner on Wednesday. So he felt bad, and was able to 'guilt' him into going with me for the first nice weekend in several weeks. Knew it would be busy, but it was SLAMMED. Combo of GORGEOUS Day (High 80's and sunny, after a bunch of nasty weekends in a row), School Choir Performances (so TONS of groups of bands/choirs in the park), and Opening Day of the Whitewater Bay Land (preview for Members from 12-3, then general entry from 3-7) meant for a packed, packed day. we got there around 12:30 and stayed until about 5. Didn't ride any coasters, and instead wandered around, people watched and stuck to things with short waits (which did NOT include food lines). rode: Train Zoom Jets Up Up and Away Hustler Pirates of the Deep Sea (me, while Nick sat. . this had no line at all, still. . think folks just don't know it's there, despite the park creating a photo op now near Rockville High) and the Carousel. it was enough and we had a great day. Also checked out the new ChopSix food place, the bar, the progress on Joker: Carnival of Chaos!, the refreshed Hustler, and I took a stroll thru Whitewater Bay on opening day. weird in that NO characters were out. maybe just too crowded for them today. on to pics.. adding more specific comments beneath them. yep.. lot is full. They tried to direct us to the section way back on the right, behind the waterpark, but as we know better, instead told them we wanted to park closer to the exit, and parked near the security booth. (still far back in the lot, but at least on the side near the exit making less walking for Nick, and easier to get out later). a peek at preferred parking near waterpark - this lot was completely full too (Park had opened at 10:30, and this was 12:30 or so). we noticed a LOT of busses in the parking area when we pulled in, and there were large groups of kids in matching shirts milling around the entrance. Turned out it was a Choir/Band performance - rewards trips. . so we saw groups from all over the Country here in the park. They looked like were having a great time, and for the most part were pretty well behaved (lots of chaperones, and had nice conversations with a few at different points thruout the day while waiting in food or drink lines) First stop? food. Nick wanted Chicken Strips, so I told him to get in the line as we passed it, and I went on to see if ChopSix was open yet - and it was. REALLY nice job with the sign. love the dragon holding the lanterns, and bet it looks great at night. we didnt' stick around until dark today, so didn't get to see it. is this signage copied at other SF parks for the ChopSix restaurant? It's a good location for it (near the train station in Crackaxle), and there was an abundance of seating (a large chunk of it covered by a big barn structure). they did a good job here, as easily found a spot to sit and eat, despite how crowded the park was. speaking of crowded: about a 40 minute wait for food due to the crowds of kids, all with vouchers. which was only slightly longer than the wait Nick had at Totally Kickin Chicken (which was about 25 minutes). He got his food and met me by ChopSix. . and must admit, tho I had the salad (which was prepackaged), the food was pretty good. The fresh food others were getting around me, looked really good too. Small menu with only 4 hot options (3 of them versions of chicken, and a beef with broccoli). which came with a choice of Fried or White rice or Lo Mein (tho everyone I saw getting the plate had both rice AND lo mein. . so either the menu is just a little misleading and the choice is only on rice? or they were doing it wrong. only other option is a cold salad (which I got), that had sesame chicken on it and a teriyaki dressing. Sides were basically: Egg Rolls. but as noted, what I had was good, and it was on meal plan. MUCH better than Panda Express ever was. we sat on a bench in the shade across from ChopSix with a nice view of Rattler's drop. post eating, was time to let the food settle, so joined the large crowd at the train, and took a lap of the park. such a pretty park, and a gorgeous day. not a cloud in the sky. what's this I see coming up behind Superman? any work done on Joker: Carnival of Chaos? Yep! They have completed pouring the Foundation, and Footers, for Joker. This is gonna go up FAST now. slightly different angle.. was attempting to point at the concrete footer.. LOL. .sorry. But my finger is now pointing at the "funhouse" queue for the ride (will get another view of it from the front in a little bit, but here you can see the "carnival" rooftop. for some strange reason, Kidzopolis was D-E-A-D. maybe because all the kids were in the waterpark section, and the older kids who were there with the bands wanted to ride coasters? but I noted how empty the Kidzopolis rides were .. even tho not planning on riding the Roller Skater. As noted the other week, it's a really nice setting, over water, but it's still just a basic oval ride. Iron Rattler doing it's thing, from the Train Station exit. it's a little warm, and for some reason (again, maybe most of the crowd here today was simply too young to drink??) it wasn't very crowded. so we went in to Fiesta's main "bar" $12.50, which is a little (ok, a LOT) steep. but at least you can taste the Jack in it. I wanted to get a picture of the tableside drink menus, but they weren't out. Couldn't find a waitress to ask, so either they discontinued that, and everyone now has to order at the main "bar".. . or they simply don't mess with it on super crowded days as too hard to keep track so folks don't order drinks and walk out. who knows.. . these are a nice offering tho ($5 is a bit steep, but cheaper if you do it as a floater, so noted for my next visit). over at the main ordering bar, they have several things available on tap. i'm not a huge drinker, and SFFT is no BGW.. but still, nice to see some options. the train we had gotten off of a bit earlier. . as we are walking towards Kidzopolis/the upcoming DCUniverse section lovely, lovely park.. even when crowded and Gully Washer was pulling a 2 hour line (Easily). . . they were loading rafts slowly too. . . but the hidden "squirters" are still there. nice to see it running so well after the refurb. people were getting off it SOAKED. stopped to get this pic, I've never taken before. way in the background, behind Batman, Poltergeist is running thru it's track. (that too, was posting an easy 1 1/2 hour wait) but as noticed from the train, the rides in Kidsopolis were empty. Seriously, Zoom Jets were walk on. so I got Nick to ride it with me. whee! (and as usual, when taking a pic like this, there's ALWAYS a kid behind us who will stare directly into the camera. . .LOL.. cropped the pic so I'm not posting her) these are the complicated controls for Zoom Jets. no really.. Nick had trouble figuring it out.. LOL (push button in and hold to go up, release button to do down. hint: the steering wheels don't really steer). wheee! oh man.. looks like Bug's is drained? Yep, Bug's Whitewater Rapids (Flume Ride) was down - looked like for refurb, as the flume was drained. Wave Runner (Scrambler) was down too.. tho both are noted online as down, so maybe refurb for that too? since Nick was controlling the jet, I sat in the back seat and took pictures. the ride does offer some nice centrifugal forces.. . so laughing while going around in a circle.. whee! and since Kidsopolis was dead, and the operators didn't care? we went over and rode this too. these USED to be Strawberries, if I'm not mistaken. no idea what the heck they are supposed to be now. . .they are all kinds of weird colors. SUPER short cycle, basically up, then back down. but we giggled like loons the whole time, since it was such stupid fun. see? from the pathway, can see the other side of Joker: Carnival of Chaos site. from this angle (along with Superman), you can see them working on the "funhouse" queue for the ride. no movement AT ALL on the re-theme of Whirlygig. . the pad is still sitting empty with only the remains of the "stalk" there, while the chassis still is over by Batman. Hustler refurb looks fantastic, all bright colors, and running wonderfully. . tho in a typical SixFlags move, they didn't refurb the 8-ball that spins in the center of the ride. So that looks all dingy while surrounded by a vibrantly refreshed ride. so so pretty whee!.. we're in a giant pool ball! getting off Hustler, noticed this photo op now set up by Rockville high. good to see them advertising this, but they really need someone out there pimping the ride - it had almost NO wait (once again staff is holding the line outside - for Flash Pass to cut in - but once they release to let folks in, the inside queue is empty. so in total I waited about 6 minutes for this. Nick was starting to poop out and didn't want to ride, so he waited on a bench on the boardwalk for me and even commented on how quickly i was back. oh..and the animatronic pirate in the queue? the mask is already starting to come off, and bunch up around the character's chin. it's really creepy looking, and wish i had taken a picture! ACTUAL conversation from the 2 little girls (maybe 7 or 8) behind me in line: "excuse me.. do you know if there's a ride in here? or is it just walking thru?" me: yes, there's a shooting ride, it's right around the corner "is there a charge for it?" me: no, it's part of the park that's included with admission. you'll like it, it's fun. "is it scary?" me: no, it's not scary, it's a fun ride "oh, because that guy back there (points to animatronic) was scary!!!" of course we had to ride the Carousel. tho it was so crowded, I couldn't get on my rabbit (the group on front of us in the queue made a bee-line to that part of the carousel and hopped on the rabbit). So instead I rode a pig. but Nick rode with me, and the lady on the horse next to us was kind enough to snap this pic for me. this woman. yeah, that's how she rode the whole cycle! and the Six Flags staff did not catch it, nor say anything to her. never seen anything like it on a Carousel ! (she was "watching" the kid she's facing, but was on her phone the whole ride. me on a piggo. Nick's body was giving out (since he *refuses* to appear weak and bring his cane with him for walking long distances. . .so I sat him on a bench in the shade in Los Festivales, and I went ahead to checkout White Water Bay on opening weekend for the season and get some pics. Fiesta really does have a fantastic water park "land" - it's HUGE, probably the biggest section of the whole park. even tho we're not really water park people, i'm sure we'll come hang for the lazy river, or the wave pool. not on opening weekend tho..it was packed. of course, it's so big, the crowd tends to spread out, so it never LOOKS super packed, but trust me.. it is (this is right at the entrance) looking at folks in the lazy river, from the bridge over it into the main waterpark section. should mention if you've never been to White Water Bay - expect to do a lot of walking (as noted, it's big, and spread out), and also expect to get your steps in - LOTS of steps/bridges to move around, and that's not counting the steps to get up the platforms to the individual slides. looking off to the left for some slides, and the "kiddo" section looking off to the north for the group raft slide remember what I said about steps? Still haven't gotten to the wave pool/tornado/water coaster area - that's still up ahead, this is the section of the waterpark to the left looking up the lazy river from the bridge that would have led me to the stairs in the pic above. the freefall slide complex finally moving ahead ..can see tornado now. in here, the food lines are even longer than out in the main park (the Tidal Wave Cafe is behind the Texas shaped wave pool) looking out over the wave pool, to see the Water Coaster on the other shore of it. (and a kiddo looking directly into my camera.. oh well). the new-ish cabanas they have built overlooking the wave pool (that can, of course, be yours for a few hours if you're willing to spend some $$$) the "launch/drop" slide complex behind the wave pool. Tornado they got me with this shirt on the way out! it was being advertised in the front of one of the stores, as a Passholder special -- and sure enough, with my pass scanned, the $18 shirt, was only $8. I don't really have any Fiesta Texas shirts (other than Wonder Woman), and I really like the design on this, so went ahead and grabbed one. the "professional" pic of Nick and I from the front of the park. better photographer than my last visit. . LOL

^ congrats!

despite it being my Birthday week, for the most part I behaved. we did go to Brazillian Steakhouse, where I way overate (but mostly meats/protein), and I only had one (giant, but one) piece of Birthday cake - a Red Velvet 1 layer. Then yesterday spent day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. . but at least had a salad with my meal plan (still almost 1000 calories, but other than that and an Icee, I only had Pineapple all day yesterday. . so still kept the calorie count low) but I stuck with no soda, no fast food, and kept up my walking every day (minimum 40 minutes/maximum 1:10). and today weighed in at 206.2 so yeah, not as much as I've been losing - have been averaging ~3 lbs per week, and this is just under 2 lbs. but OK, still going in the correct direction, and means that in April, i have dropped ~12 lbs. so I guess that's good. about to go pig out on Sushi, but that's not too bad . . and besides, eating it for lunch, so have whole day to digest.

Went to Fiesta today, and combo of GORGEOUS Day (High 80's and sunny, after a bunch of nasty weekends in a row), School Choir Performances (so TONS of groups of bands/choirs in the park), and Opening Day of the Whitewater Bay Land (preview for Members from 12-3, then general entry from 3-7)? meant for a packed, packed day. Didn't ride any coasters, stuck to things with short waits, such as Train, Carousel, Hustler, Pirates, and some rides in Kidzopolis. But still had a fantastic time. ChopSix is up and running (and had a 40 minute wait for food due to the crowds of kids, all with vouchers. which was only slightly longer than the wait Nick had at Totally Kickin Chicken. . which was about 25 minutes). He got his food and met me by ChopSix. . and must admit, tho I had the salad (which was prepackaged), the food was pretty good. The fresh food others were getting around me, looked really good too. MUCH better than Panda Express ever was. Hustler refurb looks fantastic, all bright colors, and running wonderfully. . tho in a typical SixFlags move, they didn't refurb the 8-ball that spins in the center of the ride. So that looks all dingy while surrounded by a vibrantly refreshed ride. no movement AT ALL on the re-theme of Whirlygig. . the pad is still sitting empty with only the remains of the "stalk" there, while the chassis still is over by Batman. but they have completed pouring the Foundations, and footers, for Joker. That is gonna go up FAST now. Bug's Whitewater Rapids (Flume Ride) was down - looked like for refurb, as the flume was drained. Wave Runner (Scrambler) was down too.. tho both are noted online as down, so maybe refurb for that too? (online also lists the Train and Pandemonium as down, and both of those were running) all in all, a very nice afternoon in the park, despite the huge crowds. will have pics (including pics of Whitewater Bay, even tho we didn't do the waterpark) in my "bert goes to Texas Theme Parks thread" hopefully up in the next couple of days. EDIT: trip report up, with tons of pics at link below. https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=75911

thanks TeacherKim. . appreciate the info. when you say "toll booth" you mean the parking booths? (we have Gold Passes, so get free parking, but still need the booth the scan the passes)

agreed. love seeing pics of the resorts, since we've never stayed (both times we've been, we stayed at Hilton at Downtown Disney (cheaper as we can use points, but considered a Disney property in that we get extra Magic Hours/ship park purchases to hotel benefits of being at an official property) thanks for sharing.

I followed along with y'all on twitter when you were there. . and saw a story about this running on our local Spectrum News (looked for you in the background with no luck, but immediately recognized Angie in her green shirt when I saw the story come on) it's so cool that Disney is so forward thinking, and able to power TWO of the parks via solar. it's great that they are finding alternative energy uses! great report, and so neat to go behind the scenes.

^ thanks for that info. . really appreciate it. I'm considering the Platinum Flash Pass regardless, mainly because I don't want him to have to wait for me too long for the (many) things he can't/won't ride. . and if I do Flash Pass, can re-ride things I like without feeling bad that he's waiting. but will play by ear and purchase once there if any kind of crowd. in regards to the arch, I'm looking at a combo ticket thing offered thru the official site that has an hour "riverboat cruise" and a trip/tour of the arch. yeah, it's a touristy thing, and I'm sure the "cruise" is lame. .but we love crap like that. and it appears (at least during my initial research) that they assign you a time for the cruise and then what time to go up the Arch. so wouldn't get stuck waiting in lines.

The selection at Grogan's isn't as extensive as the Brauhaus, but they improved it a few years ago. Grogan's is a nice place to relax, too (but it can get crowded at times). the Cider options they had there were fantastic. I'm not a big drinker, but I had a couple of the Ciders when there with TPR (and they were soooo good) pic Courtesy of Robb.

ok..so we're planning our trip for June 7-10th. so we'll be doing Six Flags on either Sat 6/8 or Sun 6/9 probably a silly question, as I will almost always choose a Sunday (open till 9) to go rather than a Saturday (open till 10), but really wondering if we should go on Saturday, so that way if we want to go back to ride something again, or do a show (or something) on Sunday we can. Nick won't / can't ride a lot of the stuff on Flash Pass, so likely I'll just spurge and get a solo platinum level one, regardless of which day we go (so he won't get stuck waiting too long for me).. and will just stand in line with him for the stuff he *will* ride, like the mine train or Pandemonium). whatever day we don't do SF, we'll do the Arch, and other stuff, but that won't take the whole day (looking at doing City Museum on the afternoon we come in, Fri, 6/7, since we'll have an early arrival so should be in hotel by Noon). what do y'all think?

^ don't miss the Rhine River cruise while there.. it's a nice 20 minute getaway (entrance is on the lake (on walkway between LNM (from front of park) & Carousel from German side).. . and offers some great views of Verbolten & Apollo from the boat.