bert425

they SHOULD. tho they tend not to.. hence it's curious when two business-related entities communicate via business accounts. I mean, I don't blink an eye when Jeffrey Siebert tweets from his private account (which he does all the time) in a Kings Island post. but you bet it would pique my curiosity if the Six Flags Fiesta Texas account did that. in this case, I find it super interesting that RMC commented when the announcement was Skyline's single rail. But that's about it.. "super interesting"

^ the Pirate Dark Ride is called "Pirates of the Deep Sea". .and it's only a Sally Ride in technicality, since they kept the ride system in place. but otherwise, it's completely inhouse built! They gutted the Sally Scooby Doo shooter, and built up everything at the park! It's the first ride the park built with the impressive queue (since way back when the park had a Joker coaster where Pandemonium is now and you went in thru a funhouse). the park went on from there to do the super impressive Fun House in front of Joker, the heavily themed DareDevil Dive queue, the incredible re-do for Poltergeist's queue, and the brand new detailed Dr. Diabolical Queue. So yeah, that's all thanks to Jeffrey Siebert and the in house Fiesta Texas team.

^ ok, after your screen cap above. . . I dug some more. and now I've gotten an "I kinda/sorta heard that too" from someone who likely *would be* aware if a Skyline coaster was coming to St. Louis. so hmmm. . . . I'd say odds of SFStL getting one too, are better than 60/40. so I guess I do kinda believe it, but still not 100% convinced until it's announced.

^ sorry, I don't believe it. the person who was 100% correct on the SFFT announcement, and the SFOG announcement for these coasters, told me he's heard nothing about a 3rd (let alone 5). so I'll believe this when the park announces it. I saw some wishful thinking/complaining on Twitter that SFStL "needs it more than SFOG" when OG was teasing something coming . . . but other than that? haven't heard anything. i mean, I hope y'all get one? but don't believe it, sorry.

I asked Park President Jeffrey Siebert if "upgrade" options are going to be offered for those of us with current passes who might want to upgrade to all parks passes. his response?

Not a "full" report, since I'm at the park so often. . but here's a bunch of pics from yesterday, opening day of the Mardi Gras festival. showing off some of the decorations, the drinks, the food, and the Parade. tons of photo ops thruout the park but the drinks are KILLER. we went for the Fishbowl. . .two types of Rum, Blue Curaco, sprite, pineapple juice, and cherries (instead of the swedish fish. . because. . ewwwww) so good.. and we had a LOT of them. nightmare fuel! the Looney Tunes were out in the Mardi Gras regalia. . including Babs Sylvester Daffy and more. .but those were the only ones I wanted pics with. . we were hungry and ready to hit the food stands (and get more Fishbowls) this is the Crawfish Nachos - they were so good. To be honest, the chips could have been a little fresher tasting, but the topping? oh my. . everyone in my group got em and all of us loved them. no pics of the Boudain Balls. .as those got eaten before pic could be taken. . but nice and juicy, with a spicy kick. the Cajun Hushpuppies, with bits of Sausage cooked inside. Some of this batch were a little overdone, but still were good (and hey, it's the first day, they'll get the cooking times consistent quickly) we ate while the very good Jazz band performed in front of Rockville high. we also went thru Houngan's House of Voodoo (a free haunt, that is a permanent one on site, so the effects/props are VERY good). No pics allowed in there, so no pics, but absolutely worth a walk thru (or two) if you're in the park. LOL. . we drank so many fishbowls, the stand ran out of the cups, and had to start serving in the Hurricane Glasses (hey, there were 5 of us, and we had 4-5 each. . LOL) and um.. . .yeah, they are strong. (free pour, so tip your server at the stand! ) once we were all sufficiently full, fat, and happy? we headed over to the Carousel for a ride. But no trip to Fiesta (for me) is complete unless we stop in and say hello to "Sweet, Sweet, Connie" who's always at her post outside the ladies restroom in Sangerfest Halle. we headed around to get a ride on Cliffhanger as the parade was starting from the other end of the park (a walk on. . so yeah, hit the rides in CrackAxle right around parade time), and then walked around to the back entrance to Diamond Lil's - which is where the parade pretty much ends. you can get a GREAT view of the floats, and get TONS of beads, as they toss them by the armful to those at the end of the route (tho if you want pins, clappers, duckies, or anything other than beads? catch the parade towards the start of it, as those go quickly from the floats) here comes the parade! wasn't SUPER busy today - 1st day - but usually this double decker float has people packed on both levels. I suspect future parades will get these "free to ride, but you have to sign up" slots in the floats completely full. (don't mind the promotions folks squatting in some of the pics. . . I tried to use pics without them (as Jorge's butt ended up in a lot of my pics. LOL). . but I understand completely, it's the first parade of the season, and they wanted to capture as many promo pics as they could! so they're in some of my pics too). ah. . THERE's Jorge on the right blurry, and I got ride of several blurry ones, but I love this float, so wanted to include. the "hick" characters that march in front of the newest float. . an amazing Alligator (or is it a crocodile) they were fun. . and I got "forked" such an incredible float. . . and ending with King and Queen. from where we watched, we just walked back to CrackAxle and hopped in the line for Iron Rattler, as the parade ended ~20 minutes before Park Close. overall, we were in park for about 6 1/2 hours, and rode 3 things (Iron Rattler, Dr. D's Cliffhanger, and the Carousel), but also walked the park, did the Voodoo house twice, drank (a lot), ate (a lot) and listened to some music. all in all? a really fun day.

was at the park today for 1st day of Mardi Gras Celebration. . . so will try to get something up tomorrow w/ pics. quick notes tho: - the new float - giant Crocodile - is amazing! - the new Crawfish Nachos are a huge winner. . . loved them. - Iron Rattler is STILL running just one train. brutal waits. yeah, get flash pass, or make use of single rider. (apparently 2nd train IS on site, but is being utilized for backup parts until 3rd train arrives, at which point two will be back on the tracks) - Wonder Woman was open and running (tho only 2 trains). . so it looks like the train upgrades there are going to be while the coaster is still open? at least for the moment. (since only 8 seats on each train, 2 trains is still only 16 seats. . so again, yeah, get Flash Pass). Bugs Whitewater Rapids is now down for major refurb, and per signage out front, will not be open during your Jan. visit. (and will note, Gully Washer will still be closed as well, as they await a pump replacement from overseas). . both water rides, so likely a "dont care" for a Jan visit. .but just mentioning.

Yup. Racing psketti bowl coaster from skyline have friend at the park confirmed same model as fiesta. (Package deal) no idea on location tho

then again, Great American Scream Machine has been running awful for years now. wouldn't it be cool to have that RMCd as well? I wouldn't mind being so off base, that GASM is getting redone.

wasn't there rumor that SF had purchased TWO single rail from Skyline? could this be the 2nd one? I mean, the spacing (going where Splashwater Falls was) fits, with the Older Kids range of Skyline's single rails. It's right behind the older Kids section (Justice League themed) and right next door to Joker's Funhouse coaster. tho why would RMC comment tho?

HAHAHA. . RMC's response! gotta wonder if something is going into the eyesore that is Tidal Wave's Splashwater Falls' spot? a single rail would fit in there wonderfully!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. . . .

didn't really buy much from Plopsaland, just the two magnets. so will share them here.

Day 9, continued. Plopsaland De Panne: part 2 this was a pretty neat chair. . . you sat in the spilling coffee/nutrella. . . what's this? a slowly moving spinning boat ride? yes please! it was across from the next coaster we were going to ride, but that was in testing mode and hadn't opened yet. apparently the boat ride is called "Tik Tak Junier" so we hopped on it to see if the coaster would open by the time we finsihed absolutely no clue what it was supposed to be about. . which made it that much better! WHEEE!!! and as we exited the boats? the gates went up and the next coaster opened. apparently this is themed after a TV show, which seems to be about High School Kids? yet it's a very junior family double figure-8 layout. I present: Hashtag: Like Me Coaster empty queue as it had just opened. . . see why I'm assuming the show is about high-school kids? it doesn't do much.. but it IS pretty speedy, and I liked how hidden in the trees it is. it also was in the running for "longest train" for any coaster we rode on the trip! I mean.. look how long this thing is! the Starflyer is themed to another show, this one about a vampire, a warewolf, and a witch (I think?). . .they had a photo op set up across from it. and you could choose which character you wanted to swing under. it wasn't open yet either, so we continued on to come back later. the flowerbeds and greenery in this park are so nice. It would be a pleasant day just walking around. we were there on a Wednesday, so this wasn't open, unfortunately - which I know disappointed some of the group. it's a sit down restaurant that only sells deserts. so we continued on to the other "thrill coaster" in the park, Anubis. train! doesn't the conductor look thrilled? NOT the Eye of Sauron. . but the Eye of Anubis with lots of Egyptian theming out front. which disappears the moment you get into the queue. I was very confused, but upon looking it up on RCDB, it seems this Gerstlaur launch coaster is themed after a Finnish Television show, about teenagers who search for treasure in their spooky boarding school. Sorta harry potter, I guess, but not - since the starflyer is also themed to a sorta harry potter show? anyways, here's the queue: (yes, we waited in this line rather than use our quick pass, as I wanted to see the queue) I believe I have AJ to thank for this pic. it's a great pic. .but man did this coaster rattle, and was really only tolerable to me in the front row. (think I rode 3 times, twice in front, and once in middle row) Swinging ship, and Ride to Happiness across the lagoon as I said a few times: beautiful park. having hit all the open coasters, we looped back to try to get Dragon Coaster, the Dinosaur Flume Ride, and Heidi the Ride (wooden coaster) Lookie lookie! James and I have joined K3 (creepy as hell, so of course I loved this photo op) oooo. . another one of these! I had never seen one prior to the one at Holiday Park's indoor section. Yeah, it's stupid and doesn't do really anything. . but I still had a ball, and stopped to ride it. and I wasn't the only one ' don't I look comfy sitting on a "chicken" [GeorgeTakei] OH MY!!! [/GeorgeTakei] we had ERT on this later, but wanted to ride it early to check it out, as noted, supposedly it's very similar to White Lightning, but with the wood supports really quite smooth, and ends with a little "dark ride" section. was it insanely thrilling? not really, but i liked it . . a lot, and rode every time during ERT later. and of course, you exit thru the gift shop. no idea, but these seem to be the characters the ride is based on. and because I'm 12 years old mentally? sent this pic home to Nick too. Heidi: the Ride is right next to the Dinosaur Flume, which still wasn't operating yet. The park claimed it was opening, but at the moment the flume was still drained. however. . what's that I see zooming towards us? the Dragon Coaster had started running. like the rest of the park, the area over here by Heidi is really cutely themed. with several photo ops. it was after lunchtime, and we were starting to get hungry, so headed to the "mushroom elves" ? section, which seemed to have the most options for food, even if it was mostly "Six Flags" type theme park food. this was right next to it tho. . . ooooooooo they had a test bunny out for photos, and test seat. So hopped on that , but wasn't sure if adults could ride. once the operator confirmed "sure, adults can ride". .did we ride it? you betcha!!! the lines were a bit too long, so since nobody was really *starving* - we'd had a big breakfast - we headed over to the section of the park we hadn't been in yet. there's also a DISC-O over here. . which I don't believe I rode here. I did join the folks I was hanging with at one part to ride it. .but think that might have been Holiday park. otherwise? not really a fan of these. a kiddie firefighter ride. (having done this in Japan, I didn't feel the urge to ride this here) a large building was over here on the left, which looked like it used to be a Carousel - was under construction, which made me a bit sad. I later found out it used to be bumper cars (?) and they were turning it into a theater. but the biggest joy in coming to this section - which was mostly kiddie & teen rides - was up ahead on the right. No, not this. . . This. yes. Plopsaland De Panne has a Dunkin' on property. with LOTS of donut options (and lots and LOTS of bees attracted to the sugar) most importantly tho? THEY HAD A MILKSHAKE ON THE MENU. (and it was described as what an American Milkshake would be). . . so absolutely had to order one, to wash that vile memory from the prior day of what I had and was called a "milkshake" this one was quite satisfying, and good. the donuts were good too and got to eat my snack surrounded by Purple Penis trees. i mean. .what else could they *possibly* be? one ride over here did look interesting. . tho we didnt' ride it either. it's a Tractor ride, similar to what we rode at Europa Parc, but here? it weaves in and out of animals that just roam around the tracks. I guess the animals are smarter than some people, in that they easily moved out of the way if a tractor was coming. we stumbled across this one, and I'm glad we did. it was an indoor dark ride in boats. as with most things here, I had no idea what the storyline was supposed to be (tho I recognize the hat in the ride logo, so its based on one of the park's mascots). . seems to be about gnomes, or elves. . and you enter into thru the Gift Shop. . where I saw these. So gotta wonder if this was once a Smurfs ride? It would fit, and be easy for them to have made the changes (just repaint a few things from Blue). this lift actually resulted in a little bit of a splash that got our boat moist. Tho maybe because it was 5 adults in a small boat? LOL coming around to the front of the park, we peeked into MayaLand, to see what food options were at the restaurant in here. we didnt' stay to ride or eat anything (typical hotdogs/burgers), but a nice small assortment of rides and slides for kids to play on. Cutting back across to the Mushroom food area from earlier, thinking it was later now, there likely wouldn't be a line still (there was, and it took a while to get something to eat. . but we were in realaxed mode at this point having gotten most of what we were hoping to ride today). . . .we found a pathway that passed right next to Anubis for some good pics and must be where AJ got that pic of us on it earlier. but before we got to go eat. . SuperSplash was open (the Shoot the Chutes). . so we rode that and didn't' get any wetter than we already were from the dark boat ride. phones were put away just in case, so only have the entrance sign as a pic. and then we saw that Dino Splash (the dinosaur flume) had opened. . so we went directly there next. The donut / shake snack really helped curb appetite, LOL again, phones put away just in case, so only have entrance, but I do recall it was fun, and I THINK it had a backwards section too? NOW it's time for food. . . but since we're passing right under Ride To Happiness on the walkway there, sure, let's stop and take a few more pics of this amazing ride. the food we waited a bit too long for, and was OK for theme park food. this park more than makes up for it with atmosphere and a world class ride (RtH). . but yeah, if the desert restaurant is not open, I'd just stick to Dunkin to eat here. lots of birds over here too. . so they must get fed a lot of french fries. . they weren't scared of people at all. having eaten something, we treked back over to the starflyer to get a ride. Even the churro stand was themed to the supernatural show over here by the starflyer at this point, I think we had about an hour left before park close, and a few folks wanted to go back to Anubis (I passed) or Ride to Happiness. . but once I found out there was a Carousel here? I split off and went to ride my must do: beautiful, and hidden way back here in the far corner of the park! double decker, so I immediately went uptop, only to be told that I could not ride any horses or cups, that upstairs adults may only ride on the bench. so I rode the bench: (still happy tho) and then I went downstairs and took another ride, this time on a horse. as noted..it's way back in the corner, so not very busy back here. but look how happy! I wanted to buy some magnets or souveniers, so I headed back around to the front plaza. . but stopped to snap a pic of the workmen who were transforming that space I had thought was the carousel. and walked thru the petting zoo area over here too.. that was on the opposite side of that tractor ride. the petting zoo is behind me, but they also had sculptures of animals in the sandbox, so kids could "pet" them without being scared of a live animal. good call on the park's part. ah. .I DID take a pic of the actual petting zoo too. swag purchased I made my way around back to RoH to meet up with the group, and happened across the parks parade. wasn't very long, but it was cute - or creepy - depending on your "person in suit" tolerance. now there were some kids driving in this attraction. I can't recall if we had ERT this evening as we'd had this morning, or if just everyone had saved their skip the line passes (I do seem to remember it had gone down for a few hours, and when it came back up, the line got slammed). . .but I went into the Gift Shop first. a little bit of sticker shock - I totally would have bought a T-shirt, but you can tell this is a "sponsored by Tomorrowland" installation, as the shirts were (I think) all $50 or more. I ended up with a magnet I loved, and that was "only" $20. but so what, I liked it, so I bought it. I rode it two or three more times. . and then stepped out to take a few more pics of it. park was closing, so those of us at RtH headed over to Heidi: the Ride, the coaster that would close out our day at Plopsaland. I wasnt' hungry - at all - but it would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted a bit. I settled for just pictures of what they were offering at this cart on the pathway. and then it was on to Heidi. all these pics are courtesy of Elissa or Robb. and I rode it every time during Evening ERT. as I said, I enjoyed it a lot, as you can tell from the giant smile I have in every pic. . . and then it was time to head out. We'd had a lot of fun in the park, and it seemed to fly, but this really is a one day park. however, if they keep updating with rides like RtH? I can see them drawing tons more people than that ride is already drawing to the park. closing out with pics from Robb that he shared with us on the bus on the way back to the hotel. taken by his coaster camera in the morning. these are incredible, and LOL. my face in that first one. . gravity sliding me into that inversion. and then I got the text back from Nick that changed my mood: "hi Hun, don't worry. I'm in the hospital, my lung collapsed. I'll text you later and update you. 143" yeah

Day 9, Plopsaland De Panne: part 1 (and as one should expect? LOTS of pics of "Ride to Happiness" ) Up bright and early-ish (8:15 am departure) to go eat breakfast - pics in prior post - and be on our way to the close by Plopsaland De Panne! It was looking like it was going to be a beautiful day/ pulling up to the front gates of the park, they appear to have an onsite Hotel, but I loved where we stayed at Hotel Ambassador De Panne, and glad we stayed there. this was a bit of an odd park. it seemed like it had been around a really long time, and had a set of characters (some superhero, some insects, some warriors, etc). . but then they ALSO had quite a few things themed to Television/Film /pop-culture things. I mean, the big new draw was themed to the Tomorrowland Music Festival. of the six roller-coasters, only two of them would be "high thrill", and one was a really good adult woodie, tho not really high thrill. But also 3 junior/kiddie coasters. And most of the flats seemed to be targeted to teen and younger level, but adults could ride, so of course we did. There were a few young adult level thrill flats tho. all that said? It still was a beautiful park, even if it did seem geared more towards the younger set in most all of the attractions. and I LOVED the giant door at the entrance. . entering into your imagination? one of the characters (the superhero one, I think) that has statues in the opening plaza. I have pics of all 10 of them, but didn't want to overdo it with pics of these, since you get the idea Me popping out of a giant closet. (tho can one come out, if one was never "in" ?) looking back at the outside world, and Robb making sure we herded cats posed for a picture. said picture of the TPR group courtesy of Robb: once inside the main plaza, the "fairy tale" type theming continued. dang, it looked lovely. that "Mayaland" in the background is an entire indoor ride/entertainment area based on one of the characters - I think I recall "Maya" was the bee? but we weren't here early for Maya Land. . .we were here for what was peeking out on the left top over there . . . we were led back to the ride, thru the still empty areas, me oogling the attention to detail. one of those rides like they have at Legoland - where the kids drive the trackless cars (tho I wondered with no barrier how do they keep the kiddos from driving out into the walkway?) and would it be a theme park without sponsored cars parked just randomly in the walkways? I say no! adorable statues all thruout the gardens as you walk along. . not sure if these are some of the park's characters or simply some random animals hanging out? that's Heidi. . a ride that's laid out very similar to White Lightning from what I was told. we'd get to that later, for some evening ERT. . . but for now, we were taking a right at this intersection. (which seemed to be headed into an area kind of like "a bugs land" ? I really liked the flower light fixtures tho. yes, we took that right, as headed here: "the Ride to Happiness" - themed and built in cooperation with the Tomorrowland Music Festival. this amazing coaster (which is WAY up on my favorites list, and on the right day might even be my #1 overall) is a multi-launch, *spinning* coaster, with inversions. it's incredible. . . we had to hang out for a little bit while they did the morning test runs before we got to ride it, so I'll just shut up and show the pictures, and let you enjoy the incredible Aura of this ride: getting to be almost ready for us. . so just making sure my big butt fits. GREEN! note the art-deco train station, that has you slowly coming out of a Keyhole, and directly into an inversion. Green light they are ready for us.. let's ride! as I was getting my 1st ride. . pic Courtesy of Elissa I think! whee!! OMG. .this sucker is AMAZING. Lives up to every bit of hype you may have heard. I know I rode it a ton of times in the morning ERT, since I'm sitting next to different folks in all the pics I have of me but after a few rides, I really needed to pee. so I went down to the restrooms, and took my time coming back thru the main queue so could get some pics of it. outside of the main station, from the courtyard. some close encounters with the ride near the entrance! stepping into the main queue - most everything was automated, with moving "steampunk" parts, and color changing. Very well done from the interior queue, the line goes outside, to a nice area where the brake run laps the queueline. this "castle tower" isn't part of Ride to Happiness. . it's the lift for the Park's Chute the Chutes boat ride - that's the track exiting the tower on the left. up these stairs, and then into some more indoors queue. and finally into the station as our morning ERT time was winding down, I needed a little bit of a break, so hung out on the exit steps, and took a pic of the "hobbit-like" gift shop that one exits the ride thru. I would come back here later to purchase some things. a better view of the Chute the Shoots track, from RtH's exit line. the park was opening up to guests, and the first few "runners" had made it to the ride entrance, so this was our last morning ride, and I snapped pics of the TPR folks who stuck it ou for every ride. (I can't 100% recall, but I know it rode it again later, so i think we also got some evening ERT on this one?) Morning rides done, we were let loose in the park, and most of us headed towards the other coasters. Dragon and Heidi didn't seem to be open just yet (and we had evening rides on Heidi anyways). .so we headed to the Vekoma Rollerskater. passing this guy on the way, who I think IS one of the park's mascots. great views of Ride to Happiness if you're anywhere on this side of the park. (It's hard to not take pictures of it) here's the parks RollerSkater.. . which is themed to . . . . K3 (a dutch girl group) who had a tv show called "K3 Roller Disco". . no, really. got really good pics of most of the TPR crew on it, so gonna share all of em LOOK at all those smiles having seen this at Klotten? I had no desire to ride a boat that will swing out and get me wet. but note the superhero theme at the top of the center. . . I think that's the hero that's spotlighted outside the big front door. more Ride to Happiness pics? of course leaving the K3 RollerSkater to head to the other coasters in the park, you enter into this "oversized" (or maybe we're shrunk?) area of the park. I made sure to stop and take this pic to send home to Nick. to be continued. . .

it was SUPPOSED to be back to two trains, but haven't been back yet this year (will be there Sat). you're hitting the park on a Saturday, in the middle of the Mardi Gras festival. . . so yeah, you can expect it will be pretty crowded. i think the only thing that's supposed to be down for maintenance (ie: big ride) is Wonder Woman. That is closed the 1st half of 2023, as they do some upgrades, and refurbs. So go in expecting that there will be lines, and you might need to buy flash pass. Or at the very least make use of avail. single rider lines (on several of the big coasters). best time to ride things is going to be during the Parade - but I'd recommend watching the parade, as SFFT has a good one. ** if you can wait to go until Sunday? the park tends to be really empty on Sundays up until ~2pm (Texans love their Church on Sunday). . that's a better day to go. I noted I'm going Saturday, but I'm going with someone who won't really ride anything "big". .so we're just gonna enjoy the shows and the food, walk around, and ride the smaller stuff like the Carousel or Pirates of Deep Sea. and SWSA is less than 10 minutes away, and also will be doing Mardi Gras (tho their coasters, other than Wavebreaker will all be either walk on or short waits).

OMG. .that is the coolest thing ever. . and I'm now so sorry I looked, because I want it. . but I know I dont' have the space (or the self control to take the time to build it). HOWEVER. . on the site? they also sell this - which has already made it into my shopping cart. . . . dang it! LOL https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/atari-2600-10306

Hotel Ambassador! thanks. . I'll go edit. I'm pretty sure I took pics of the breakfast the next morning, or the morning after. . . I'll check. EDIT: found some. . knew I took some. it's gonna make folks hungry Pics from Wed Morning breakfast: and Thurs morning breakfast:

Day 8: Evening: arriving at our hotel in De Panne, and checking out the beach we pulled into De Panne close to 9:30 pm, if I'm not mistaken, and were quickly in to our hotel - which looked like perhaps it was once an apartment complex that had been converted into a hotel. Hotel Ambassador (thanks Elissa!) was the name of this place, and the husband (Luc) and wife team that own it were charming, and each room had a different layout than the others. The small lobby (with even smaller elevator off to the side) opened up to a large breakfast area on one side, and into a bar/dinner area to the other (which was closed already since we arrived on a Tuesday evening, off season, close to 10pm). since it was off season (a few weeks before the peak holiday), I think our group took over the majority of the rooms in the hotel. . . just a block or so from the beach, and on the main street of the town. the rooms are all different, as noted, and James and I got lucky again (as we did in Phantasialand) and scored a room with a tub (one of only 4 in the hotel - yes, I did take a soak one night we were there). A large room too: view from the bedroom looking towards the beach (behind the condos/buildings there) our gigantic bathroom. . seriously, it was almost half the size of the room itself! and the tub long walk to the toilet. . LOL and the view from the bathroom window. we got settled away, and met a group of folks in the lobby to go explore (even tho it was kind of late) and see if we could find anything that looked good to eat. (another group had also gone out exploring) we headed to the beach boardwalk - I had heard there was a Carousel here (bonus!) if I could find it, and if it would be open prior to the season really starting. quite a few folks out for post 10pm on a Tuesday! (more than I had expected) looking North: Looking South: there seemed to be more options going North, so we headed that way. this is the Atlantic Ocean, as seen from Belgium. Gorgeous. "funland". . . sounds kinky. I had to keep reminding myself it was late, so of course not much would be open. . . even tho it LOOKED pretty early. a picture I sent Nick from the beach. It was morning in Austin and he thought I was sending him something from the prior day, and I was like: nope.. it's still light out here. he was impressed. we peeked into a few of the open restaurants as we passed, but most of them looked a little bit too "fancy" for us - we'd spent the whole day in a theme park, no one had showered, and the idea of a sit down, upscale meal just wasn't that appealing to anyone in the group I was with. so we kept walking looking at options, making note of the Pizza place we passed, and a hot dog place. the architecture on the beachfront buildings impressed (and delighted) me, so I took pics as we walked the boardwalk. it wasn't "cold". . but it was just chilly enough, I had no desire to walk out to the water tonight to dip my feet into the Atlantic. So we stayed on the boardwalk. From the boardwalk, looking towards the street that our hotel is on (way back a couple of miles, since we had walked pretty far) doggo! at the far end of the boardwalk, it dead-ends on this side into an entertainment area. not only a big ferris wheel and some art installations, but also "glamping" areas, and this place that offered these activities: beautiful sun finally starting to set, close to 11pm. nothing had caught our eye, so we took the walk back up to the main street, to head back towards the hotel that way and see if any options there . looking back at the beachfront lots of sculpture and unique installations on the main street walking back too. but not a whole lot of places to eat that were open, or more casual. so we decided we'd head back to the pizza place, and see if they were still open. De Panne is very lovely. a pic I stopped and sent to Nick. he responded telling me he wasn't' feeling all that well, and he thought he was going to lay back down. But I should go eat and have fun, and he'd ping me Austin Evening, tomorrow morning my time. so we exchanged "love you"s and we headed off back to the pizza place on the boardwalk. we got back to the pizza place, I *think* just after 11pm? and tho the sign had been flipped to closed, the door was still unlocked - and we saw the other folks from our group in there eating and drinking. so we popped our heads in and asked if there was any chance we could squeak in and get food. There was only one worker left - who I think was the manager - but he seemed delighted to have a small surge of customers at the tail end of the night. Remember, it's still off season, so I assume business was slow? with a big smile, he waved us in to sit, and then when handing out the menus asked "please, order only from the pizza options, I don't know how to make much of the other things on the menu" Deal! and he was so kind, and happy, that we gladly ordered alcohol and planned to give nice big tips. here's our group, and the other group of TPR folks who had stopped in before us.. TPR takeover of the Pizza Place on De Panne Boardwalk: it was a LOT of food.. but we weren't gonna start asking to split up stuff. . . keeping things as easy as possible for this kind restaurant owner/manager. a few folks shared pizzas, but I wanted to try something (that I can't recall now) that no one else wanted. . so I had my own and ate about 2/3rds of it. was VERY good. I think a calzone? or maybe a shared 1/2 of pizza from James' plate. and heckling from the other table. . LOL full, fat, and happy, we headed back to the hotel to crash after a very long day. the sun had finally set enough that it was actually dark-ish. but before we went up to crash, we stopped at the convenience store up the street, which was open 24 hours. since the only cigarettes i'd seen had been from generic machines, this was the first time I saw the way they do the actual images on the cigarette boxes. i was shocked, kinda grossed out, and very amused. so of course I took a pic. I didn't pick up the weed/crack pipes they had for sale tho. . . just some bottled water and a soda. and with that, we said our goodnights in the hotel lobby, and everyone headed up to the rooms to crash. tomorrow, day 9, was a full day at Plopsaland De Panne - and we had morning ERT on one of the most looked forward to coasters on this entire trip: Ride to Happiness. so I went to bed excited. to be continued. . . .

Vivienne Westwood - the "mother" of the punk aesthetic. . .passed today at 81 https://www.cnn.com/style/article/vivienne-westwood-obituary/index.html

Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger at SFFT on 12/10

not a whole lot of swag from Walibi Belgium. . so will put it here. two magnets: and two shirts. .including this "Pride" one I had seen in the front shop and went back to get:

Walibi Belgium, part 2: we headed over to the "western" part of the park. . a smallish area, with a bunch of shops, and two rides. . the drop tower, Dalton Terror, and the Vekoma mine train, Calamity Mine. I used to love this at Astroworld, and tho got to ride it at SFStL before it closed. .and earlier in the trip at Holiday Park. .so any chance to ride these, I take. you can see from the lines forming, it was really starting to get busy as we got into early afternoon timeframe. the mine train was only so-so, I thought. . .but I did like the look of this area. and was able to get James to do a photo op with me. i'm so pretty! we headed over to Buzzsaw, and wow.. what a line over here. with the fast lane it still took almost 20 minutes. and the cycle was really pretty bad. I mean, nothing could really compare with Talocan - especially the day right after. But this thing flipped, I think, maybe 3 times total? the rest was just rocking back and forth. i was sadly disappointed in this. tho it was very photogenic. phantom cars!!! it's a g-g-g-ghost driving!! ruh-roh!! we still had 3 coasters left in the parks line up, and I really wasn't looking forward to any of them (and didn't plan to ride two of them anyways, the kiddie and the Boomerang). . but to get up my nerve - and it was on the way - we stopped at the Carousel on the way to Vampire, the parks Vekoma SLC. lovely carousel. and all the effects were working: the spinning cups, the galloping horses, and the rocking carriages. see? my happy place. even rode twice maybe? Unless Jon fell off from the prior pic? while some went for a coffee break, I popped into the store up front to see if there were any shirts I might want later. i was surprised to see them selling merch from everyone in here! DC Superheroes (Six Flags parks), Harry Potter (Universal), Star Wars/Marvel (Disney), even cartoon network stuf fand Nintendo stuff! . . it's a copyright free for all up in here.. . LOL but eventually we had to face it. another "pretty to photograph, but it's gonna suck" ride. Vekoma SLC with some nice theming tho. but yes. . it suuuuuuucked. I haaaaaaated it. the only thing that even made it worthwhile to come over to this part of the park (near the front gates) was the Carousel. oh. .and passing these two inked Bears. . . hello misters! after the crapfest that was Vampire, we were starting to get hungry, but wanted to let stomachs settle. So we headed across the park to the one section we hadn't been in yet - and to ride Popcorn's Revenge - the other shooting dark ride. nature will find a way: although this seems like a huge waste of space - like SOMETHING should be in here for use? - it really is lovely to have a lake in the center of the park. and allows for some great views. this Elephant sculpture was adorable. and it "mists" you as you walk by. . LOL before we got to Popcorn tho.. most of the guys wanted to ride the boomerang. why? I dunno. .to get the credit I guess? I decided to just wait for them and watch. the best seat on a Vekoma Boomerang? the bench out front of the entrance THIS is what I was interested in. I had called this Mediterranean section. .but I think it's more going for an India street vibe, right? huge queueline, that was almost completely empty. for such a fun shooting dark ride. I think maybe just a lot of people don't realize it's over here? if you ever go to Walibi Belgium? don't miss this one. .it's great. and so well themed. (yes, it's basically Toystory Mania. . but it's still a good ride) this is all just the queueline theming! exit thru the gift shop. . . so you can buy a stuffed Popcorn. . . LOL he was cute - and it smelled wonderfully of buttered popcorn in here - but I couldn't fit that in my bag to get back home. this lil magnet tho, i could. . so grabbed him. Pink, of course. so photogenic. . .but so. . . boomerang-y the park has a flying carpet over here.. but no one was really riding it other than some small kids. i asked if adults were allowed, and the operator said "sure! come on aboard!" he said we could have cameras out so I got on with a couple of others, figuring I could get some good pics from the ride. catching Loup-Garou over the lake - and thru the trees and catching Kondaa on the 1st drop. for such a huge splash, it's so fun not more . . . wet. But I really liked Pulsar, and it too is very photogenic we sat to have a drink in the cafe across from the magic carpet and noticed these water jets. what's this? oh. .it's the parks rapids ride, "Radja River" - which I hadn't realized they had. I noticed this too over there.. . oh my! I convinced a couple of folks to ride with me. . but can't recall if we got really wet or not. I don't think we did? it was well done tho. . and like the rapids rides we saw in other parks? never in USA. . the boats were sent pretty closely together, making for a more fun time. across from it was the kiddie. and since I had talked some into riding the rapids - and the kiddie was a walk on basically.. . yeah. . I rode "Fun Pilot" oooo. .another Mad House? yes please.. I've gotten to like these, and happy that so many parks we visited had one. sorry so many pics of Pulsar. . I really DID edit out a lot of them! it's just so pretty with the sky behind it. it was time to eat. No idea what this was. I do remember it was good, tho the desert was a bit too chocolatly. but it was good. pic from Robb, that he sent out while we were stopped for lunch, so it saved in my camera in this spot. I guess from the top of the drop tower? But showing the full layout of Kondaa after lunch, we all wanted something "relaxing". . so we headed to that "slow boat" ride that's nearby Tiki-Waka feeeeed meeeeeeeee really do love how closely this ride interacts with the coaster (and vice versa) awww. . a pony ride, similar to what I got to ride at Dollywood (tho on bears there). we couldn't ride tho, as we were all too tall. so instead we went and rode the angry giant vagina monster ride. at least I'm guessing that's what this was called.. i honestly have no idea! tho I seem to recall that Ian got stung by a bee while in line? (or was that Jon?) and they went together to first aid to have it looked at while we rode? ZERO memory of this.. no idea what it was. . or if it was open, or if we did it. Took a picture of it tho, so I suspect we did it. . but sorry, no idea. Kondaa thru the trees! I do recall we wanted to ride it again, even tho we had end of night ERT on it. . so headed over that way for a ride tho stopping to ride this again along the way. . coming back into the Kondaa entry plaza area. . . we had talked about this ride and were planning to ride it. but we hadn't' seen it cycle, and watching it, it became clear that this is a very mild children's ride (good planning to put something over here for the kids, to keep them occupied so the adults can ride Kondaa). So we passed on this and went to the main attraction. another great ride, and before we had to end the night with ERT, we took another lap around the park to hit up anything we still wanted to ride, or to re-ride. NOT the boomerang (or the SLC). . but really, that boomerang is so tricksy. .it looks so nice! did we ride this breakdance? i really can't remember. after a few rides on things, we stopped at an icecream stand that had "Milkshakes" on the menu. So I tried it. OMG. . it was pretty disgusting. it's NOT what American's think of as a milkshake.. but it was very blue. and foamy. and not a consistency i liked.. it was sorta like "lumpy" milk. um. . yeah. . I didn't finish it. it was all good tho. . because by then it was almost time to meet up in front of Kondaa with the park rep, Valentin, and get our ERT on. So a quick stop in the shop near the front to pick up the Shirt I had seen earlier that I wanted, and then we headed back to meet up for ERT. not really any pics, because once we stored our bags in the station cubbies, we just rode and rode until the day was over. but I snapped this one before we went up to the station, while the park was flushing out the line from the General Public. such a gorgeous entry plaza for this ride. pic courtesy of Elissa (or Robb). and then sadly it was time to head out. We left around 7pm and had about a 3 hour drive to get to the hotel - on the beach in De Panne. so we had to say our goodbyes to Walibi Belgium to headed out. up next. . Day 8 evening on the beach in De Panne (still light out at 10pm!)

apologies for the weeks long break here. . . I know why I've been procrastinating in continuing on, but after talking thru it with my therapist, I'm ready to keep going now. Doesn't mean I'm not going to be sad, but there's lots more to see, ride, and share. . so continuing on. Day 8: Walibi Belgium, Part 1: we got up at the hotel, ate breakfast and checked out by 8:15. after loading the bus, we drove to nearby Walibi Belgium. we had stuff to do before park open: ERT on two coasters, and 1st rides of the day on their new Intamin, Kondaa. pulling into a mostly deserted parking lot. . tho it was a Tuesday, there were already buses in the parking lot, and it seemed it was a school holiday of some sort. very glad to be on this trip with TPR, because the extras - such as the skip the line passes. . it was certainly gonna help with what looked to be a busy day. not too crowded walking up - but it was still over an hour before park open. headed into the park, we see where we were going first: Loup-Garou, a kinda infamous Vekoma wooden coaster. Several of us had been talking and we reasoned that Anaconda at Walygator was vastly improved from what we had expected. . so perhaps it would be similar on this one? I was excited to see it regardless, as I love woodies (that's what he said!). . . but was prepared for 1 and done. I mean, it certainly wasn't warmed up 1st thing in the morning, so hoped for the best, but expected the worst. Still got excited to see it peeking up over the entrance plaza buildings tho. not as excited as I was to see the Park's Carousel front and center at the end of the entrance plaza tho, on the way to the coaster entrance i'd be back for you later! the coaster started testing as we approached it. apparently "Lupe Garou" means Warewolf in French . . so it had that "theming". . . in name and signage only, but hey, theming! it sure LOOKED pretty. . . .I felt my hopes slightly raise. Two hair-wolves (or are we both just Bears.. . Andrew???) ready to ride! they were running two trains during our ERT. . Green & Red. i really liked this train design. it was comfortable. . and you know what? it was a lot of fun, and other than one *really* funky transition that will realign your spine if you don't know it's coming and brace for it - which for some oddball reason is JUST before the photo snap (so everyone in the photos would be making a pained face. . LOL) - it was actually quite good. after the 1st ride, I knew when/where to brace, and I loved it. I think I rode it every cycle available during our ERT on it, which if I recall correctly was 1/2 hour, so I got 6 rides on it. (Pics courtesy of Elissa I think) I think most people on the trip liked it, and many of us kept riding until it was time to head to another coaster. walking from Loup Garou to our next stop - across the park - I snapped a few pics while walking (as usual). here's one of the spikes on Pulsar - one of only 4 Mack Powersplash operating in the world - at least until Aquaman at SFOT finally opens in 2023 ooo..a Top Spin? after Talocan the prior day, I was eager to try a "tamer" version. . so would come back for this later too. an Intamin drop tower, similar to Dungon Drop/Superman (Astroworld/SFStL) - which is now gone. . so wanted to ride this too. . . THRU THE TREES!!!. . that's Kondaa. . . wow, that looks amazing, but we weren't headed here yet. giant fries.. because. . . why not. Tho they didn't' entice me to want to eat any of them. we continued on into "Exotic World". . .. oooooooo kinky! down that way is Kondaa (angels singing). . . but not yet. Park Map THIS is where we were headed next for some quick ERT on the park's Gerstlauer Bobsled, Tiki-Waka really nice theming over here in "Exotic World" section of the park. and the Coaster itself really dominates this area, going around, and over, the walkways, and even interacting with the boat/river-raft ride next door. my turn! and pay attention, no voguing or dancing on this ride! Whee! as mentioned, it interacts with the river ride next to it.. really nice setting. after we all got a few rides on Tiki-Waka, it was time to head to the main event, as the park was opening up to the public. so we followed our Park Guide and Robb, over to the park's latest star attraction Kondaa if you've seen folks online complaining about the lack of theming around this Intamin coaster? yeah, they just haven't been on it. True, there's not a whole lot around the track (but really, what can you do to "theme" around a large, spread out Intamin coaster?). However the entrance plaza and surrounding area for the ride is beautifully done. I liked it so much, I bought yet another "ride" T-shirt - this time with the Kondaa dragon/logo on the front. the train design is so cool as well.. it's a dragon! yes, I waited to ride front row very "Aztek" looking stone design on the train. . . one of the better train designs I've seen. after we all got our opening of the day rides on Kondaa, we got our flash pass/skip the line bands, and then split off to enjoy the park for the day. a group of us - mostly the same folks I had hung out with at Phantasialand - headed to the 1st of the parks two EXCELLENT shooting dark rides. Challenge of Tutankhamon: full of pretty amazing animatronics, fire, and interactive targets. .this ride really is incredible. and the "guns" you shoot with are Ankhs: I think Andrew was shooting at a target and not me. . but who knows. . LOL oh, see that car in front of us? they are going to a "secret" bonus room. . that if the points in the car add up to high enough, you get an extra room with more fire effects and another scene! Oh yes, we immediately rode it again and really aimed, to make sure we got high enough points to do both versions. a photo op? Don't mind if I do. the park really was already starting to get busy, and we passed a LOT of people rushing past us towards the back of the park (where we were coming from Kondaa) and ignoring some of the flats. so when we passed this we decided to stop and ride, as there was no line. basically teacups. . we each got our own, and it became a TPR takeover! tho Ryan gets a separate picture, since he sat in a different "wing". . .:) after this spinning ride, we headed down a path against some oddly placed buildings. what is this? it seems so out of place. . . Gargoyle Hotel ?? I hadn't seen that on the park map anywhere. . what the heck is it? a walk thru? an unused Haunt? then I heard the muffled screams, and saw the sign on the side of the building. it's Psyke Undergound! a FULLY ENCLOSED Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop ! loading station so cool. .I think we rode this twice too. .tho a line was starting to form and we used the fast lane wristbands for the 2nd ride. there are projections inside the building during the launch, and if you pay attention, the "ghosts" are pretty neat. from the exit queue. . it's a lovely park, with a large lake in the center of it. looking across at the Vekoma Boomerang (called Cobra) in the middle eastern area of the park. . we'd get over there later, as the park's other dark ride/shooting ride (Popcorn's Revenge) is over there too. one look back at the enclosed shuttle loop before we headed across the bridge. it was time to get wet. . . yup. . we were heading to Pulsar! this is what has delayed the SFOT Aquaman ride so badly. the design change to do what Walibi Holland has: a turntable so they can load a boat, while another boat is operating. unfortunately, on the day we were there, only one boat was running. . so the turntable just added extra time as it had to flip around to unload before the next group could load. (but again, luckily, we had Fast Lane/skip the line wristbands, so wasn't TOO bad.. tho think it was still a 10-15 minute wait). for as big a splash as it makes? it really doesn't get the riders wet (other than those sitting on the outer edges). it was mostly just a moist cloud of drizzle. not gonna lie tho.. it's a fun as hell ride. and at least at Walibi it has Single Rider line. . so yeah, I did ride this a few times. . next to it is the parks' flume. Which for the life of me, I cannot recall the name of (From the signage I see, looks like maybe "Flashback" ? ) I do remember that like most other flumes I rode in Europe, it has a backwards section, so that makes sense I guess. it was fun.. but I think I got more wet on this, than I did on Pulsar. . so this was 1 and done for me. back over to Pulsar for a few more pics (and I think I rode again. . figuring, I'm already moist, might as well) to be continued in part 2

Fun Spot Atlanta dropped an Xmas gift this morning: