bert425

^ I'd be TOTALLY in. . if they rethemed it to "Tron". .and you're "inside the Grid" during your stay.

I usually flash pass. . . but that's because I use it over and over for Monster Mansion. (lol. . no, really. .love that stupid thing). Cyclone usually opens prior to rope drop (the rope drop is past Twisted Cyclone at the tunnel). My suggestion? follow the crowd and get a ride on Twisted Cyclone, then IMMEDIATELY follow the crowd back to Superman (B&M flyer) that has horrific capacity. . then head directly over to DareDevil Dive. . . yeah. .you're basically lapping the park and skipping things you'll want to ride, but those are the key two to knock out 1st. .as Supes and DDD WILL get insane rides later in the day, and will never get shorter. So knock those out first.

hey!! Pipe Scream spins. . and at last official count, it's still a "coaster"

have you been to the Midtown location? THIS is in the entrance hall. . the Phallus Shrine. (rub for luck) yeah. .the vibe at Midtown is much more "adult". . and the food is better Pics from multiple years of Dragon*con. . told ya, we go several times during Con.. this Vortex is amazing, and the vibe in there at night is amazing (most of these are lunch stops, as it's less crowded and less wait for a table)

it's easy walking distance from the Midtown MARTA stop. . so you could park at any MARTA station and take the train then walk the few blocks (up to Peachtree, then 2 blocks down). the Midtown location is connected to the Vortex Live Comedy Club, and has more of a 'biker bar / outlaw" feel. . . even tho both locations are 21+, the Midtown location is the one I'm way more comfortable at. (and it's directly across the street from "Bulldogs" - one of the better known gay bars in Atlanta, so you could always look up Bulldogs and know you're across the street from the Vortex

the only place I make a point to eat at (multiple times) when in Atlanta is Vortex, and you're aware of it. . tho I would highly suggest the location on Peachtree (Midtown) over the little 5 points location. People will try to sell you on Varsity. . but I've found them just to be. . . ok. as to Dollywood? absolutely get your main meal at Aunt Granny's. It's a "family style" place. . so you might need to meet up with others to go - tho they might serve single diners. best food in the park. (it's all you can eat).

TDS: crazy busy . yes. but absolutely the best theme park in the world. fully immersive with some incredible rides (20,000 leagues, Journey to the Center of the Earth, a very unique version of Tower of Terror, it's just an amazing park) as for Nagashima Spaland? a do not miss. .it's a "greatest hits in the world" park. They travel and find rides they like, then bring them there. So they have an EXCELLENT RMC (Hakugei), the longest coaster in the world (Steel Dragon2000), a Manta Clone that's way intense (Acrobat), and S&S freespin that spins more than any freespin in the world (Arashi), TWO Schwarzkopf (a Looping Star and a Shuttle loop), an Ultra-Twister (last one operating in the world?), a 1st Gen Intamin Drop (Freefall), a decent mine train coaster, and a bunch of other smaller coasters. . that doesn't mention some great flats, and a walk thru haunted house thats just amazing. There's so much more than the water (ie: Spa) section of the park.

for "extreme" you'd want to go to Fuji-Q (but operations can be frustrating) or Nagashima Spaland. however, I will say that Tokyo DisneySea is the best theme park on the planet. period. and you're doing yourself a dis-service if you skip it. (I'd not miss Tokyo Disneyland either - simply for Poohs Hunny Hunt- but at minimum plan a day at Tokyo DisneySea

^ my best friend and his son - both of whom are NOT thrill ride people (they go with me to SWSA & SFFT, and the most extreme thing we ride is the Carousel, or sometimes Texas Stingray - which I'd compare to Gemini in size) sent me links to the media from CP Boardwalk launch. and asked me if we should plan a trip for August. so there you go. the Boardwalk area attracted a non-CP park goer (tho I can't claim it was the wild mouse - it was probably just as much the flats over there, and the pavillion overlooking the great lake).

some news from SFOT the other weekend when I went up for Lonestar Coasterthon, and bumped into - and had a VERY nice conversation with Chris Kearsing, Director of Operations at SFOT (he recognized me from my trip reports here on Theme Park Review, and specifically for my input into the conversation on the Six Flags St. Louis thread about the length of the refurb of their carousel). We talked about several things. . but - and he told me it was ok to post this, as I didn't want to get him in trouble - very soon, Six Flags Over Texas will begin an extended, multi year, refurb of it's classic, 1928 Silver Star Carousel. So while it will be sad that it won't be available for a while once they start the refurb? I'm thrilled this classic ride will fully Re-furbished, and they are planning on taking the time to do it correctly!

Andy shared these pics with me. . taken from a more central location for the fireworks. .and as he's a really good photographer? way better than my pics. so sharing these too, from the same showing we saw, tho we were off to the right near Tomorrowland entrance, and he was dead center with a real camera, not an iPhone

ok, almost a year later. . . . so have GOT to finish this TR. let's get back to it (with hopefully not a lot of commentary). . . .back at Disneyland Paris post Eiffel Tower. . . coming back from the train station, I stopped to snap some pics of the under re-furb Disneyland Hotel, and the main entrance (way less people in the shots now that it was afternoon) tho still very busy in the park. Main Street USA, Paris style the castle here really is stunningly gorgeous. . .love the topiaries around it. in front of the castle, pointing back towards the main gates. coming out thru the castle into Fantasyland. . get a beautiful view of the Lancelot Carousel. . and people trying to pull the sword from the stone. even from the back, love this castle! and those that know me? of COURSE I stopped on my way to meet up with James. . I had a pony to ride I believe he met up with me at the Carousel, and we decided to hit some of the other Fantasyland rides. Luckily we had the "quickpass" option here at DLP, and I believe most of the Fantasyland rides were on that option. . tho we still had some short waits. tho we DID have to wait in the line for Pinocchio. . I think that's why I have a pic of this queue. . as no fast option, but the line moved really fast. the Dumbo setting here is really impressive. Huge lines tho, so think we didn't ride it until the next day, or day after. line on the right? standby (*estimated 40 min) line on left: Quick Queue (or Premier Access). . . walk on. worth EVERY penny. we were going to meet up with Chris and John for dinner over at Captain Jack's (think Blue Bayou) as they had reservations with extra seating for two and had invited us along. but we still had some time. . . so we braved the Cheshire Cat and the other animatronics (and water features) in Alice's Maze. and then headed over to Pirates to meet up with Chris & John. the food was comparable to what I recall the food being like at Blue Bayou in TDL. . but my biggest memory was this was my first exposure to "Parisian dining". we were dying of thirst (myself in particular, as hadn't stopped to have a drink since got on train back from Eiffel tower). . but the service was. . . . "relaxed" this meal took, almost 2 hours, if I'm recalling correctly. the waiter was charming, and I LOVED the atmosphere. . but did start to get a bit annoyed at how long everything was taking, as the evening started to slip away from me - and I realize I probably wouldn't have minded taking a nice long break in the relaxed atmosphere (and air conditioned) if i hadn't been gone most of the day and really wanted to spend less time eating and more time out in the park. but be warned, the meals take time, so block at least 1 1/2 hours and possibly longer. the company was excellent tho. . so no complaining about that menu atmosphere. . our charming - and VERY flirty - waiter. he was cute. . but in my head kept thinking. . . "speed it up a little bit, please?" as with the versions at other Disney parks. . the restaurant is basically inside Pirates, so you can watch the boats go by as you eat. (we were seated right along the water too) I believe the fish soup? and I believe the baked Mahi Mahi with pineapple shortbread for desert the meal was good. . but it was already beginning to get dusky by the time we finished. . so we headed to Tomorrowland right away. wanted to get some rides on a few "must do" we hadn't gotten the prior evening, and I really wanted to see this section of the park at night (spoiler: it does NOT disappoint at night) Autopia.. Star Tours the main load area of Hyperspace Mountain is. . .impressive. . Buzz Lightyear. . even the bathroom areas in Tomorrowland are really pretty. . no quick queue for this one either. . . so with a 20 minute standby noted, we just hopped in line. as the neon really started to kick in? wowza. . . this STILL makes me laugh. that poor little girl. . of COURSE she spent the whole ride crushed by momma's back. . . LOL (we were wondering if the attendants would tell them to swap seats. . but nope! checked seatbelts and thumbs up!) by the time we got off the rockets, it was almost time for fireworks, so we headed into the main plaza and secured a spot to watch the presentation. wow. . (my camera makes it look a bit lighter than it was. . it was already close to 11 at this point, so nice and dark) drones. . . so cool. .. and when you realize it makes a mickey hat "30" even cooler. with a better angle, it would have been right over the castle. when the show ends, and everyone POURS out of Disney. . . the two "hidden" walkways - behind Mainstreet USA on either side, are nice, way more quiet, ways to get to the front gates. and they are beautiful. can spend a while just enjoying the atmosphere back here, and the window displays. puts you out right at the main circle by the train station. exhausted by this point, but have to walk back to our hotel thru the Paris version of Downtown Disney (Disney Village I believe it's called) blurry. . but an iconic sign, so had to include the pic. back at our hotel, while cutting thru the lobby, I noticed this fun little animatronic display - so of course, snapped a pic. and then into the room, where I talked to Nick. . . who told me he was home, and felt fine (tho it still scared me how awful he looked in that pic he had sent earlier), and then I crashed. today had been super busy, but tomorrow was another full day at Disney, and I couldn't wait!

^ they dont' enforce that tho. . at least they never have on my visits. not that it's much of a problem, as the only way to get back there is really by walking up the boardwalk (you can't park back there unless staying at one of the two you note). so not really an issue - likely why they haven't bothered to enforce it on my visits. but then again, I'd never visit CP without budgeting to stay at Breakers (not Express, but Breakers) and FL+ (for at least 1 day)

Breakers is SUPER easy to get to. . . they will direct you past the booths, around the park, and thru the small booth at Breaker's main entrance into the lot back there and you won't need to move your car at all. The Perkins has a wide variety of options, and is priced just as a "regular" Perkins. . . . (so is the TGI Fridays there by the way). I wouldn't leave my spot to go eat and then deal with coming back in for opening, but just be aware that Perkins in the morning will have a line so plan accordingly. Hell. . what I'd do? get up, go ride Gatekeeper - and whatever else you want to ride - then walk back to Breakers for breakfast at Perkins . . . which will be WAY less busy once early entry hours start. Rooms in Breakers DO have mini fridges. . . what I do is make a trip to the CVS in town and stock up on snacks in the room. . . helps with the plan above to eat a snack to hold you over until a proper breakfast

^ ha. . you caught me responding "bring back Crazy Legs!" to the Harley Quinn plot at ~ 15 minute mark. and Chris did tell me that they have THREE troikas back there in the parts graveyard. . so we shall see

considering that KI was in the news about that 17 year old that snuck in a loaded gun on opening weekend (and was caught hiding in the woods after he ran when getting approached by the Police), I'm a bit surprised they DIDN'T go with "under 18"

yup. . . can't have nice things because folks always screw it up. tweeted by KI 45 minutes ago: more details from the KI website: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/code-of-conduct "Under this policy, all guests ages 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old in order to be admitted to, or remain in, the park after 4:00 p.m. local time to close. The chaperone must present a valid government-issued photo identification with date of birth at ticket entry. One (1) chaperone may accompany no more than ten (10) guests ages 15 or younger per day. In addition, the chaperone must accompany their party during entry, remain inside the park during their visit, and be available by phone throughout their stay. Guests ages 15 years old or younger who are found inside the park unaccompanied by a chaperone will be subject to ejection. This chaperone requirement applies to all Kings Island ticket and season passholders. We believe these changes will help ensure that Kings Island continues to have a positive atmosphere where generations of families and friends can gather for a day of safe fun and good food. Millions of guests have counted on us for exactly that, and we will continue to deliver on that promise for generations to come."

loved it last June. . and the backwards seat was pretty smooth. I'd say just a bad ride.

^ oh. . that looks like a pretty well themed Zamperla Nebulaz ride. it does this:

the Orion cam at KI website shows a car sitting on brake run. . . where I've gotten stuck before when it went down. so it does look like at the moment, it's down. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/live-video

when we did the construction tour last year, the park reps mentioned there were going to be two flat rides over near Toutaris in that section. are those installed? what kind of flats are they, if so?

I did! I picked some up at the airport to take back home as well

Eiffel Tower Swag. . .

^ I mean, I'm still working on my trip report from June 2022. . so no judgement here!

Finishing up Eiffel Tower pics: I touched the tower, and I liked it. wonder if I made that woman who is married to it Jealous? Albert & April posing for a pic for me, before we started the trek down the steps. . the level the main elevators bring you to, and where you can take the stairs from. shops and stores here too. . with less pricey macrons. . oh, still expensive, but not "in a fancy box bought from the top of the tower" expensive. the best part of taking the stairs down, is how you can get some interesting views and pics of the structure of the tower. and while we were going down the stairs, we had the elevator going up passing us. what's cool about the elevator is that they have a mannequin sitting outside the lower level pretending to manually operate it - as they did in the "olden" days. see? cool at the lowest level (that the public has free access to, I believe), there are shops, a restaurant, and the tower store. oh, and a clear floor you can walk on that freaked a lot of people out while I was there. and then it was back to ground level. excursion over, and tho we had been gone for at least 4-5 hours, there was still plenty of time to do things at DLP (open till 11). so we headed back to the train station. here's that carousel I had spotted from the top. confusing (to me) train map. . I was glad I had gone with the Alveys instead of trying to go myself. at least the ride back is mostly in the nicer double deck trains and that was my excursion to the Eiffel tower. we got back, and I headed into Disney to meet up with James for the rest of the afternoon. . that report coming in the next few days. hope you've enjoyed the pics!