bert425

I kinda understand the full day at EPCOT. High School Kids, exposing them to all the culture in the World Showcase. if you're watching the movies/seeing the performances, going into each pavilion, and even just browsing in the shops? yeah, it can be a learning experience.

Yep. And now it's a Johnny Rockets. . . but. . . . they STOP TO DANCE !!! (while you're hungry and waiting for your food, and you have to stop and wait to watch them dance, while your burger sits under the lamps until they are done so you can get your mediocre burger). . but hey, at least the shakes are great, and the dancing is fun and they are talented enough to pull it off in every case I've seen.

wow.. that is so cool. (to be fair, I'm in Texas, so seeing snow is rare anyways, but I can just imagine how magical it was in Tokyo Disney parks!).

at SFoG, the "kiddie coaster" Joker, seemed to have a long line, when it was operating (it was down one whole day when I was there, but had been up the prior day) DDD has terrible capacity (and personally, I did not care for it). . but if you want to ride it, I'd suggest hitting it early, before the line gets formed. . otherwise you'll be standing there a long time instead of riding other, better, things. Goliath rides in the evening were a ton of fun too.

oh my. . the front POV. . . . is track supposed to bend like that??? and the back seat facing forwards! LOL, it was like watching weebles wobble during an earthquake. glad y'all all survived, and great that the back car group was laughing thru the pain.

here ya go Larry. . made sure to take pics today. of the new sign/queue, and in the new location:

cool. .can't wait to hear any specifics they might announce!

went back today, with the spouse. more crowded than last time I was there, but not too slammed. enjoyed the food, and the music. and Pirates again which only had about a 10 minute wait - I think a LOT of folks don't know it's open! While waiting for Pandemonium, which had about a 35 minute wait, as they are only cycling *FOUR* cars now (operators told me the 5th was out for repairs), we chatted with folks around us and mentioned we had just gotten off Pirates, and none of them knew what I was talking about. . .despite being right next door to the ride. Even with the pirate characters still running about the boardwalk. yeah. . they need to promote this better. anyways, short TR up tomorrow with some pics. but overall? we had a really nice time, Pandemonium was the longest wait, and the food was delicious. (the Hurricane, while not bad, had what I'll refer to as "Applebee's Level Alcohol Content". . but hey, I got to keep the plastic glass) till full pic report:

great report that brings back some wonderful memories. as I tell everyone, night rides on I305 are absolutely BONKERS.

is this one the same design/size as Skyhawk? (thought this was a smaller model)

HA. .that pic of you on Mindbender is Awesome-sauce. still giggling over it. really looking forwards to your full mall report, as I've always wanted to go to this place to check it out. (maybe not bucket list, but bubbling just under bucket list). spoil a bit tho. . was the Aquarium worth it?

^ hourly employees (a large % of those working at the park during an operating day), don't get paid if the park is not open Mon-Fri. So that's certainly not a fixed cost that doesn't matter if the park if open or closed. what a weird statement about not everyone checks operating schedule. I'd be shocked if anyone planned a trip to go to a park (even if just the local or home park) and didn't check to make sure they were open that day. in this day and age, where everything is on line? there's no excuse not to check if a place is open before going.

The dry park can get moderately busy during parts of the year (I actually had a handful of visits where almost all rides ran two trains!) The waterpark, however... umm. . that's not really crowded (at least not for the Texas parks I've been to). see a lot of space there in your pics I tend not to do the Waterpark, but the one at Fiesta gets PACKED. The Texas shaped wave pool full to capacity. go back in this thread to the Labor Day trip to SFOT to read how crowded it was that day? or this pic from late December at Fiesta Tx. . that's the Superman Queue. .it almost NEVER has a line past the stairs up to the station (a 10-15 minute wait)..this day? most all the switchbacks were full. I was surprised how dead SFA was on our stop there (other than the aforementioned mouse).. tho some of the folks did go to the water park and said it was busier than the dry side. this Superman queue was NUTS.. but I was there, and what else was i gonna do? so got in line and waited to ride it.

too much bacon on that Chili Popper Burger for my tastes (it would overpower the green chile flavor). . but the rest of the ingredients on it sound really appetizing.

I think the lap bar is slightly different, with JJ having a more modern one. . but yeah, very similar design. Gives me an excuse to post one of my favorite pics from the TPR 2018 USA tour: we were only in the park for a handful of hours, and the only ride with a line was the spinning mouse (Rajun Cajun?). . so the Flash Pass was worth it just to skip that long line. had fun there, as it was a new park to me -- but wouldn't have gone out of my way to stop there if hand't been with the group Joker's Jinx front seat: pic courtesy of Robb's handheld camera

you need to sit in front row, not back. Front gives you space to allow for crossing of legs a bit more than the 2nd row, where the bucket seats really lock you in. but yeah, the bottom of the lap bar does have that "foam" that comes down on top of one's legs.

thanks. Pirates of Deep Sea had been announced for 2018 - Thrill Coaster (WW), and Family Dark Ride both coming same season. but due to issues, it just wasn't ready to go in 2018 (another minor point is they were storing the carousel horses (which had gotten a major re-paint when they tore down Amerigoround to move it so they could build Wonder Woman gift shop/entrance plaza in that area). . so they couldn't open until they got the Carousel back up, since the horses were all being stored in there. the Dark Ride really made a lot of progress once the Carousel opened back up. . at least to my eyes. so anyways, that's why they didn't announce it for 2019, since it was announced for 2018. the big ride for 2019, is the Joker's pendulum ride. . so we're getting another thrill ride, on top of this "bonus" ride Are there any notable differences between Poltergeist and Jokers Jinx's trains? My dad, who is a big guy who often has trouble fitting on some rides, actually said he found JJ's restraints to be among the comfiest and easiest to get into (in SFA). Very interesting... Joker's Jinx and Poltergeist have the same exact trains -- but what causes the problems is the side seat belt connection. you MUST be able to click that seat belt onto the side. .and not every body type lets that happen. not to be crass. .but those with bigger gut, seem to have no issue, but some who are larger on top (larger chest on men or women), it's hard to get the restraint low enough to get the side seatbelt to click. I don't think I've *ever* had a ride on Poltergeist where at least one person had to exit the train. and it's not always the larger guests one would think would have an issue. heck, *I* have a hard time getting it to click myself, and need the operator to click it (the angle is funky for me). But have always been able to ride it. hope that clarifies some?

based on the pic, that APPEARS to be where it hops over the path, meaning the track after the upper section just does a quick turn-around feature on the lake, before coming back on the below part. so yeah, don't see how they'd ever be able to run trains to hit at the same time. I'm really liking this Orange color - all the prior pics looked more yellow. Likely this is just primer, but i really do think this looks so much better Orange than Yellow. any ideas what the final color is gonna be? the Steeler's uniforms seem to be an Orangy/Yellow color. . .

that is a GORGEOUS picture. wow. . gonna be a fun ride, and so close to classic Racer, I thought it might be jarring. . but I'm loving it.

Kings Island had one (apparently briefly) in 1972. is it possibly this one? in the images, it looks like it's in a structure that's open only on 1 side like you described [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

Pretty cool they spoke to you. . tho doesn't say why? do they just know around the office you're a coaster fan, and so talked to you about it? (they don't identify you via chyron, so wondering) Yeah, the woman who did the story is friends with a lot of my friends on Facebook and they referred me to her. I don't think they gave me a title because I have never been in an official roller coaster club which I have always wanted to join. That being said, I am not the that credible of a source and more of a huge coaster fan (almost like GP status) being interviewed. Still pretty cool they talked to you. and hey, ClubTPR (with all the great benefits) is right here

Pretty cool they spoke to you. . tho doesn't say why? do they just know around the office you're a coaster fan, and so talked to you about it? (they don't identify you via chyron, so wondering)

if they were run the same way the outdoor versions were? (Poltergeist & Jokers Jinx), I'd love it and agree with you. but having those to compare it to - and Poltergeist being at my "home" park, so getting to ride that a lot? it pales in comparison. but don't think your opinion on it is unpopular. . hell, if anything my not liking it much is the unpopular opinion. both times I've been to KD, it had long ass lines, and the GP seems to really like it.

^ LOL.. it IS pretty forgetful, tho, with the MCBR bringing the ride almost to a full stop! but good point.

adding a photo reference: here's a pic I took of Volcano while walking next to I305's track in July 2018. .they are literally right next to each other by I305's track turning around for a pic of SBNO Volcano