bert425

Phantasialand swag! Magnet (that I searched all over the park for and literally got the last one, since they apparently don't do these any longer): Stuffed "thing" from Asia section of the park: "Wang" fan: Napkins: T-Shirts: I *rarely* buy ride logo shirts. . .but in two cases on this trip, I did. This was the 1st ride that was SO good I had to get a shirt. Nice Polo I got for Nick (that he never got to wear)

The “enhancements” on wondy are the new trains coming it’s already beautifully lit at night bia spotlights. They won’t change that

Day 7. . 2nd full day at Phantasialand. my view of the room when waking up. . . was packing up the luggage. . we got up and went down to breakfast, before checking out of the hotel this morning. The hotel stored our luggage tho, as we weren't leaving - we had a 2nd full day at the park still - and weren't headed out until ~6pm. So down thru the deserted bar, to have breakfast. . 2nd day was just as good as the 1st! yum! I took advantage after breakfast (but before going back up to the room to get the luggage) to snap some pics around the empty bar/lounge, that again, is only for Hotel Guests use. they really did an impressive job here. . . fully immersive and very stylish. .even out on the patio. took advantage of it being empty, and even took some pics of the bathrooms (something of a theme today, I discovered while looking thru day 2 pics. . LOL). GORGEOUS. . . Luggage dropped off (and held) at front desk, and it was off to Rookbugh/Phantasialand. F.L.Y. was getting ready for the day. . and since we're right here? why not start the day off with a ride? (without having to use a skip the line pass) then it was into the park proper. hmm. it was a bit overcast, and I think there was some drizzle in the forecast. so it didnt' seem like it was going to be a very busy day. Looking at my calendar/itinerary. . it also was a Monday. so that's probably why things were so quiet this early (tho it never really got super busy today) me and the Carousel (of course). .and *one* person coming in from the front gates. with it pretty quiet, it was easy to enjoy the beauty of the park. .the main square area is lovely too. . with the "flying carousel" at the center of it. so we got in the 1 cycle line, and took a ride. we headed over to Talocan next. . . John didn't want to ride, so he stayed up on the viewing bridge to watch us/take pics, and we headed down. to find it wasn't open yet but after a short 10 minutes or so, they started cycling it, and opened it up so could get some pics of the test cycle (complete with water and flame effects) the 6 of us that rode, courtesy of John's picture taking. LtR: Ian, Chris, Andrew, Me, Jon, James whee! (and hang on for dear life) yeah. . our faces say it all. . . WTF just happened to us??? then it was up the viewing area to meet John, and we headed over to Black Mamba beautiful. again, really no wait. . but I think we used quick queue just to cut the long queue line. . . the park was clearly gonna be pretty dead today, which was fine with us as we had a lot to cram in before meeting to load the bus later. the station is really lovely as well. .even tho most of it is just colored light effects, it still works really well. we headed next over to the Asia area, to ride the Madhouse and that Funked up/kinda racist/what the hell dark ride a couple of times (I have no pics of that ride, not sure why). . and then into the pretty well done Madhouse = Feng Palace. (with Mystery Castle peeking out behind it) oh! I actually DID get a pic of Mystery Castle's sign. . buried in the trees. . but there such a great entrance queue. . this is before you get to the main castle steps that were in my pics the other day. a couple of cycles on Mystery Castle, and then we went back to ride "Michael Jackson Coaster". . which is apparently called "Colorado Adventure". . . yeah. .TODAY they had a sign out pointing to the entrance - after we figured out where to go yesterday. LOL. .this is the pathway one has to go down before coming across the entrance. . . which is why we had trouble finding it the prior day. sorta nicely themed queue tho. and then back to Taron to use more of the skip the line passes. . SUCH a great coaster. and of course, have to take another spin on Chiapas Heading back over to Taron again after getting wet. . . and today, I got the train actually shooting up the "waterfall wall". . my favorite part of the ride. couldn't get the camera out fast enough, so missed him from the front, but here's one of the Mad Monks from Mystery Castle ..showing off the operator outfits int he daylight. it was then that Jere (I think?) surprised me with a gift. . . Napkins! (yay!) featuring a Dragon, I found out later, was named "Wang". Loved it! we had a bit of munchies. . . no dinner tonight in the park, as we were checked out of hotel already, but many of us had plans to eat in the small town we were staying in later after we got checked into the next hotel. was checking out options tho. . this chocolate dipped fruit looked great - especially the pears. but a bit too sweet for me right now. we checked out the Wurst cart in the main plaza. . .but nothing looked really appetizing. until we remembered the sandwich place that was over in Rooksburgh, which hadn't been open (or even considered, since we had eaten at UHRWerk in the hotel last night) so we headed over past the F.L.Y. entrance, and it's hidden on the side against the wall. everything sounded really good, and they made things fresh! So we ordered, and then I went into the Rooksburgh bathroom right there to wash up. see? apparently a toilet pics theme today. (LOL) and yes, that black splotch in the mirror is me blacking out the reflection of someone peeing. . that I did NOT even notice until I looked at these pics today. (oopsie). Not that anything naughty was visible. . I was just trying to get a pic of the cool sinks. and general vibe of the "industrial" bathroom. (see? it was empty when I took the pics. . I dunno how that guy even got in!). hands washed, went back to the sandwich place and snapped a pic of the folks who made our fresh sandwiches. which were really good! I believe I had Pork and Mustard while others had the Ham & Egg. Juicy and drippy and everything was great. and we were able to stake out tables just under F.L.Y. to watch it zoom by while we ate. tho this guy. . kept coming by and just staring at me and giving me sly glances. seriously. I mean, eventually I just aimed my camera at him and took a picture, and as you can see, he's staring RIGHT into the camera. LOL. I guess I'm flattered? *but also was married, and on a trip with friends, so looking back was all that was gonna happen I took more pics of F.L.Y. while we ate. .and as yo can see. . . he hovered right around us . . . LOL after a satisfying meal (and I think a ride on F.L.Y. since we were right there?) we headed back to the Indoor section to take another round on the Winjas coasters. this time I had camera out to get a pic of the loading station. I believe that's "Fear" closest to us. .and the track behind on other side is "Force" as with other places in this park, the design work is lovely. . they don't skimp on atmosphere, really. I had mentioned to others my solo ride on the "tower" yesterday, and how it stops to hold near the top for some nice views. so we all piled into two cars to take a ride. NOTED! these are NOT animatronics.. just stuffed birds the park put at the top of the atrium dome. I thought it was hysterical that many of them had fallen over and were hanging upside-down. . but were so high up, it just wasn't worth the effort to fix them, I guess. So took a pic. and what's an indoor section without a cigarette machine? I honestly had not even noticed anyone in there smoking, so it shocked me to see this. Enough that I took a pic of it. I had to pee so yet ANOTHER bathroom pic. . but these urinals here weren't near as fancy as the ones in Rooksburgh. but I took a pic because of the flies in the urinals. painted on. so you have something to aim for, I guess? BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAA not sure what we did next, but at this point my camera shows that we went back to the Asia section. . so probably the Madhouse, the Dark Ride, or the Colorado Express again. (or maybe Black Mamba again). this appears to be another gate/entrance to the park. . but it was closed today (as were the big restaurants in the park. I guess they were only open weekends?). so we hung out on the patio of the closed Chinese restaurant while I went into the pagoda store and did some shopping. this guy is a bathtub toy. no idea what character he is tho - he's most certainly not a dragon (each "land" in Phantasialand is represented by a Dragon). . but the lady operating the store had no idea. Only that all the merch with him on it was super discounted. . so maybe an older mascot? but hey, for ~3 bucks? I bought a stuffed one of him. and a Dragon "Wang" fan. . . it's a bit nippy today. . so sure, dress your teen in a PornHub hoodie. (actually saw THREE such hoodies in the park. .LOL). cool little model of one of the hotels (I think) over by Black Mamba I believe at this point we may have all ridden Taron one more time, then split off as I wanted to do some shopping and it was getting within an hour of the time to meet at the bus. I bought a bunch of shirts (for both myself and some nice polo logo shirts for Nick) then had to go all the way back to Colorado Adventure gift shop (with Ian) - as the one shirt he wanted wasn't in his size at the main store, and I wanted a Park Logo magnet - which they no longer carried but *thought* they might still have at that gift shop. So we trekked back there, and Ian found his shirt, and I got, literally, the LAST "Phantasialand" logo magnet they had on the spinner. so it worked out. then I headed back to the Carousel for a final ride, and right next to it? oh yeah. . . of COURSE I had to buy some. Several others in the group had stopped in this area too, mainly to get the waffles (too heavy for me, since I had that sandwich earlier). . but I got a bunch of sweets - that didn't last too long anyways. Cute box tho we had JUST enough time to run and get one final ride on Taron . . . before heading back to the Hotel, grabbing our bags, and loading up the bus to head out. it was a few hour drive before we arrived at the next hotel, and we'd only be there one night. . but tomorrow? we were gonna be at Walibi Belgium! thanks for following along.

I mean. . it can't operate any less than the Bumper Cars do now. . . LOL

oh. . look. . looking at the Skyliner Attractions page, they are now showing THAT track included in the example of the lighting package for P=Sghetti Bowl:

I think it's a Skyliner E&F (racing model) P-Sghetti Bowl coaster from Skyline attractions going where the Bumper Cars are. (that is 100% the P-Sghetti Bowl coaster track, and they note that it can be inlaid with LEDs for lighting options on their site) https://skylineattractions.com/products/childrens-rides/psghetti-bowl-childrens-coaster/ AND I think there's something coming to the waterpark as well (possibly a relocation of something to replace one of the slide complexes)

oh, there's DEFINITELY something coming to the waterpark too (I assume the case for every SF waterpark that will now have a separate admission). Jeffrey has been posting pics today from the waterslides on twitter all day.

^ if it is the P-Sghetti Bowl, then it's the E&F version (the "Racing" version). I worry that it's too close to the Streamliner - a pretty decent kiddie coaster, with a fantastic location. (and that might get removed if they put the new ride in where the Bumper Cars were) guess we'll find out on the 10th (I'll be at the park for Feliz Fiesta, so will be there for the announcement, whatever it may be)

^ I haven't really looked at my Day 2 pics. . but I think they are mostly different than my Day 1 pics so more coming! (after I get back from Dollywood)

ooo. .did you take any pics of it? Curious what it looked like!

Day 6 - 1st full day at Phantasialand! Part 2 of 2: Focaccia *AND* Nachos?? ewwwwww. (and also tempting) . . . but we had eaten breakfeast not too much earlier, and we were gonna grab lunch soon. . and more importantly, we were headed to Talocan - and flipping with full stomach is not a good combination. Chiapas is right next door too. . but we were gonna ride the insanely themed with insane programed Top Spin first. skulls - check water - check fire - check ooo. .this is gonna be good it doesn't really come across in the pics just how much this sucker flips. . but it pulls some SERIOUS G's while it's doing non stop continuous flipping. amazing program on it. Only wish the park stayed open later, as I'm sure this looks incredible at night. our reaction to watching the cycle before us going: after making ourselves dizzy with the flipping (and somewhere I have pics of us on it. . tho those might be in the day 2 pics when we rode again, because John didn't ride with us and instead stayed on the observation platform and took pics of us. YUP. . confirmed they are day 2, as I'm wearing a different shirt. so y'all have something to look forward to ) but then we headed next door to Chiapas. . the wonderful flume at Phantasialand. yes, it has a backwards section - as most European flumes seemed to have, and it has that awesome lift hill that runs between the two lifts from the Mine Train coaster, but it also has an Aztek God dance party. it doesn't get you SUPER wet. . tho in comparison to River Battle, nothing gets you super wet. LOL so DID get wet on it. . but it was so good, I still ended up riding it a few times during our visit. the area around the ride, and on the ride, is really amazingly themed. so, so pretty. after riding Chiapas, we were starting to get hungry, so the gang headed back over near Taron (I think we may have ridden again using quick queue) and then poked around for a restaurant. Someone - I think it was maybe Elissa, or Robb, had posted about this place earlier in the day, and so we decided to try it out. Rutmore's Taverne (no reservations, just walk in service - for a sit down restaurant) the menu is made of steel. no really. . it's metal. VERY Metal! and it weighted a good amount too. . at least the pages inside were plastic covered paper. and the food all sounded very delicious, as did the alcohol offered here. the gang today at the table. . pic on my phone courtesy of our waiter the decor in here is great too. . very Rustic. . and "Viking" I have absolutely zero recollection what this was - Pork Butt perhaps? I just recall it was a lot of food, and very good! Brad across from me got the Cheese Plate. . .also looks fantastic (those who got it said it was very good) after eating. . we're right here, and we have multiple quick queues today. . so yeah, how about another ride on Taron? this section before it shoots up the waterfall is such a great part of the ride. it was starting to get late afternoon and the park closed in a couple of hours, and we hadn't even headed to the other side (ie: indoor side) of the park yet. So we went that direction, crossing past the main square again. over to this part of the park. lots of "junior" and "Family" rides spaced out over here. . but we were headed to the indoor part. why? well for the spinning dual track coaster, Winja's (Fear and Force). . both unique, and intertwining amount each other - and the central "tower" ride inside. both have some tricks up their sleeve (ie: both have different, unique, trick-track sections). . tho I thought that force spun way more than fear. tho fear had more extreme drops. With general quick queue passes, these were basically walk on for us, once we went up the massive amount of stairs in the queue lines. (the queue splits for each separate coaster near the top level). after riding both sides, while some rode again, and some took bathroom breaks, I went ahead and took a ride on the observation tower ride in the center of the indoor section. as noted, the two Winjas tracks twist around the indoor ride. .and what's cool is that tho this looks like a "Parachute " type drop ride - and it does have some "bouncing up and down". . it stays at the top for a few minutes to give you a great view of the two spinning coasters smooth. .and not totally unexciting and as noted. . GREAT views. Hi Chris and John! and Ryan we debated if bother riding CrazyBats - and I'm glad we did, since it was not open the next day. it's a family indoor coaster - with a long train. . . but they were running it with a VR option. i decided to do it with VR, and tho it's a bit disorienting to not be able to see where you're going? the VR actually worked quite well with the movement of the coaster. tho the story was (to put it nicely) confusing as hell. something about you're turned into a bat, and you have to rescue a princess who farts? or something. it was enjoyable tho.. even if tying Raik for the most unthrilling coaster in the park. \ most of the group was craving something exciting for the last hour or so of park operations. . so most of them headed back over to F.L.Y. or Taron, I stayed in this section as I wanted to ride the slow moving, elevated car ride .. hey, I like stupid rides . . and this is right up my alley. and I loved that it appeared to give an overview of this section. it was walk on, and they seemed thrill to have a customer come to ride. The "cars" are adorable. whee! Hmmmm. . where does this path lead? there was nothing on the park map? ohhhh.. it led back to a Splash Battle (that appeared to be closed) as well as a dark ride back over there that had been closed since Covid (and likely will never reopen from what I was told) ooo. .two more riders! they have a rush going! there's also paddle boats on the lake. . . but again, did not seem to be getting much of a crowd, and if I hadn't been on the elevated car? would have never even seen those were there. I was alone at this point and didn't' want to paddle myself, so passed on this. nice and relaxing , with some great views. as mentioned, there are some smaller, family rides scattered around this area. For example that "pedal plane" ride on the lower left below. and this "pull yourself up with ropes" tower there was only about 40 minutes left before park close, so I headed towards my one remaining must do today - noting where the shops were that sold shirts, since i was shopping tomorrow. but down the main "concourse" to my must do. I realized there were two other things I had to ride. and it was late enough neither really had lines. Mouse au Chocolat - a pretty fantastic shooting ride, that's basically Toy Story Mania, themed to a mouse in a chocolate factory. as you can see. . basically a walk on. But again, massively long queue. it took me longer to walk the queue than it did to ride. . . but of course with no one in the queue, was able to get some great pics of the theming in here I'd hate to be here on a day when the queue is completely full. . . it stretches thru at least 6 rooms like this. and right next door to the Maus Au Chocolate exit? the "never EVER in America" funhouse. also with a 5 minute (if that) wait: the poster blew smoke rings. and the "clown" in the hotel lobby messed with the guests in line before putting the group of us into an "elevator" No idea what the clown was saying, because all in French. . but everyone was laughing. dangerous slides, and moving floors, and spinning discs thruout the house. SO glad there are handrails (and "exit around obstacles" options) these are just evil - ladders to climb that move up and down opposite. I chose NOT to break my neck and took the stairs up. . but waited to watch some much younger kids have a ball doing the climb. after the funhouse, it was finally time for me to enjoy my favorite: a classic double decker Carousel. and because it's near the front gates/exit, it had a decent line (but no wait because it seats so many) scattered around it, again, are some nice family rides. all beautifully placed in the landscaped entrance Garden area. My happy place. . on a Carousel Horse. a peek at the Front Gate from the top level of the Carousel as I passed by. such a great variety of things to ride here. . pogo horses, galloping horses, carriages, teacups. . just a great overall carousel. would have been a perfect shot of horse down the main street. . but she decided to stop and take a pic. . and I was headed to meet the group for a final ride on Chiapas (had texted with them while riding). . so snapped a pic with her in it this was a kiddie ride, and had already shut for the day. . but loved the look of it. just a really well themed ride. Tulip Ferris Wheel. the Art Deco lockers under the front gate, are beautiful. so well done . . . . and then I hightailed it over to Chiapas where I believe Andrew, John, James, and Myself rode just before park close. rear-view of the splashdown from the entry queue (before I put phone away) we tried to get over to Taron, but they had already cut the line. . so we headed back to the hotel, to freshen up and relax before dinner. I joined Ian up on the rooftop area, and we watched as they cycled the last few trains from F.L.Y. for the evening. . \ this pic *might* be from Andy (I think. . or maybe Robb?). . but he was able to "panorama" most of F.L.Y. into one pic and then headed down to the bar to have a cocktail and wait for dinner. it had been a very full and fun day. . and we were doing it again tomorrow! back soon-ish with Day 2 at Phantasialand. thanks for reading! bert

Day 6 - 1st full day at Phantasialand! Part 1 of 2: woke up fairly early to the "white noise" sound from the television. . as noted prior, we left it on this "channel" the entire time we were at Phantasialand. . so don't even know if the tv even picked up "regular" stations. (hey, on Vacation, don't need any "real world" news in my life right now). looking at the inside of the the door heading out of the room / sleeping pod. Love the attention to detail such as the cool little touches on the outside of the door in keeping with the retro/steampunk theme. . headed down to breakfast, of course snapping some pics of F.L.Y. as we pass it by. . . we had some ERT on it this morning (for an hour, if I recall). . and everyone was pretty stoked. the 2nd launch (if not mistaken) down the stairs to Uhrwerk. . for our breakfast reservation (timed breakfast, just as there is a timed dinner) waiting in the bar for our time to be seated, James and Chris model the retro/industrial/steampunk chairs in the bar. . . breakfast menu: YUM !!! after breakfast, I headed back up the rooms for a quick change to get ready for the day (zippered cargo shorts for anything that needed to be in a pocket - ie: phone). and while up there, F.L.Y. started testing, getting ready for us. . . so snapped a few pics of the train as it zoomed around the course. then down thru the lobby and over to the main entrance gate to Rooksburgh from the Hotel Charles Lindbergh again. LOVE this lobby and even got a pic of the desk clerks this morning as we passed by. . . why hello! not checking in, but checking you out as we walk by . . . . (tho really, was trying to get a pic of the themed "old timey" hotel wall cubbies behind him. . . ) and actually in Rooksburgh now, looking up. . it's time for us to ride. . . see? how cool is this? (answer: very cool) this was the park rep that met Robb & Elissa and our group. I can't recall his name (and his tag just says "Phantasialand"). . but he was a really nice guy, and I spent a good 10 minutes chatting with him after I rode F.L.Y. 6 times, and then needed a break - hey, I'm OLD. we talked about Theme Parks in the USA, and what other parks TPR had been to on the trip, and if we were going to Disneyland Paris (not officially part of the trip, but many of us did stay on for that). . he was a really nice guy. He and the other park employees running the ride were so happy that we were having such a blast riding - and applauding when coming back into the station. I asked him about the name and what F.L.Y. stands for, and he admitted that it doesn't really mean anything, that they just thought it looked really cool to put the periods in the name. cant really disagree with that (LOL). they were very impressed that some in the group rode every single time during our ERT in the morning. In fact, they were so pleased with how much we were enjoying F.L.Y. he reached out to Robb and told him that our wristbands (that gave us the ERT hour), would be good *all day* that we didn't need to use our hotel passes - and could save those for tomorrow - we could just show the wrist bands, and TPR could ride F.L.Y. as much as we wanted all day! apparently that's a super rare thing, that they NEVER do. . . F.L.Y. isn't even on the quick pass that Phantasialand sells. . the only way to get a skip the line is to stay at the hotel. So yeah, we ended up getting an amazing perk - yet another reason (in addition to the chocolate ) that TPR trips are so amazing. the little surprises like this that are so wonderful. what did I think of it? AMAZING. . and really comfortable. I like a lot that it starts out in an upright position, and you stay that way thru the beginning "dark ride" portion of the ride, and it's not until the launch/lift hill that the seats rotate up into the "flying" position and you launch up into the sky. it's a little disorienting I found, unless riding in the first row. and the back row pulls some pretty strong G's. . .. I rode it all over the train, and towards the back was my favorite (2nd row to the end). . but every row was great. here's a pic courtesy of Elissa - of James and I in front row TPR enjoying F.L.Y. - Hi Brad! at this point, the park had opened to the public. . although the line for F.L.Y. had started to grow longer as we were riding, so I think guests from other Phantasialand hotels get an early entry perhaps (tho not a skip the line). . so tho the main line wasn't open, there was a good crowd already lined up for it? So I hung around for a few moment s and got some pics from below of other parkgoers riding. and then the group I was hanging out with today made our way out thru the tunnel out of Rookburgh and into the rest of Phantasialand. not heading this way yet, but this is towards the main Entrance. . the carousel is right at the bottom of the entrance steps. Instead we headed towards the central hub. we had the quck queue passes (some for both days). . but we knew we wanted to try to "rope drop" Taron to save a pass. . so we headed that way, along with several others from the TPR trip. wow. . it's SO impressive. . it's like Maverick, but they built it much higher up, but then in a ditch. . so it's a tangled mess of high up track. . but mostly hidden from view until you come up on it. that's mystery castle in the background there. . the parks *incredible* indoor drop tower ride. as we walked around to the entrance to Taron. . . apparently looked the other direction to snap a pic of Chiapas (the incredible flume the park has) and Black Mamba (going thru that building there) we found the line for Taron. . . darn. . extending all the way out of the queue line down the path way. but it turned out that the queue line hadn't been opened yet - so it really wansn't too bad (maybe 20 minutes once they opened it and the line started to flood in). and they opened the queue while Taron started testing. . . queue about to open Just look at all that beautiful track. . . (and not all of it is Taron. . the family shuttle Raik, goes right thru the center of this track as well. OPEN! whee! the whole area around Taron/Raik is heavily themed (hell. . every area of this park - as you'll see - is heavily themed) but it's lovely we were over here, and the line was pretty short this early in the day, so we went around the corner to give Raik a spin. from the Raik queue line, you get a fantastic view of Taron roaring by as noted, Raik is a family shuttle coaster (boomerang). . so it really doesn't do much, and other than this one time, I didn't ride it again on our two days here. but it's absolutely worth a ride, just for the setting - i mean.. you're interacting with Taron's track the entire ride! River quest queue is right next door. not many pictures of it, as this infamous ride WILL *soak* you. . so my camera was all put away (wrapped in plastic) once we decided to get in line for it. they are not kidding around here either.. a rapids ride that has some extreme drops. . and it is just like getting dunked in a bathtub. it's what all the "cool kids" are wearing. and yes, it helped a little bit.. tho still got wet enough I didn't want to ride it again, even tho I liked it. drying off and wandering around more of the park. . oh. . but first Mystery Castle. i knew nothing about this, other than it's a drop ride. but again, it's a HEAVILY themed ride/queue about mad monks running experiments. It's not just a drop ride. . inside that tower? are 12 rows of seats. .that ring the outside of the tower - facing inwards - and they run different programs. so yes, you get to watch others riding facing you/around you. . as the different sides do different drop programs. While in the center, the mad monks sit in a control area running the torture. it's awesome, and I think I rode this at least 6 times during our visit, to try out the different sides. SO good. even if a bit of a trek to get up to the Castle. . and then the hidden queue inside is just as long. (something of note about Phantasialand. . most of the "big" rides, have really, really long queues. and the quick queue options DO cut off a LOT of the main queues. . so yet another reason to get those if you visit this park) after Mystery Castle (which I think we may have ridden twice, while there) the group headed further into the park, and towards Black Mamba. . . to get there tho, one walks thru the Asian section (no idea if that's what it's called). . but it has a really good MadHouse, and a super F-ed up dark ride (both of which I rode multiple times the next day. . but for now, we were in search of coasters). didn't stop me from snapping pics as walking by tho, as it's so beautiful. oooo. . . forgot about this coaster! we stumbled upon it as we were walking by. . yes, this is the infamous "Michael Jackson Roller Coaster" - apparently he tried to buy it from the park way back when to relocate to Neverland. LOL it looked like a pretty basic mine train. . but it's actually really long with much of it "hidden" from view. And two of the multiple lift hills are on either side of Chiapas Flume lifthill.. so while you're on the coaster you can wave to those on Chiapas, and vice versa. very neat. only problem? we couldn't find the entrance. . . LOL. . we walked ALL the way around this huge ride (again, much of it hidden inside) to find the queue. . tho once we found it, we knew where to go when we wanted to ride it more later. a small "drop tower" ride . . more for families. didnt' ride it, and only took a pic of the sign, LOL. . but I liked they had a ride just dropped in here next to the coaster. still walking. . back in the Asia area. . . where the heck is the queue for this? wheee!!!! it was fun, and glad we stopped to ride it. (it was actually one of the more intense Mine Trains I've ridden, thanks to those helixes). . but we wanted Black Mamba. A ride I'd heard about for years, and really wanted to ride. 10 minute wait? seriously, the line took us almost that long to walk it. . and it WOULD have been a walk on for front row, but someone had gotten sick and so we had to wait a little bit while the sterilized the trains and sent it out with only the front row empty (SO glad I wasn't in row two on that train. . . ugh . bleach and "other" stuff spraying on you as the train goes thru the course). the next day, I used the quick queue on this to bypass the long queue (after walking it twice more during the day). yes, it lived up to my expectations. . . an amazing ride in the front row - and you really need to ride it in the front row at least one time, to really appreciate how much theming they put into the course on this ride. but it was good everywhere. . probably my 2nd favorite Suspended Coaster (behind Montu) from Black Mamba's exit queue, you get a peek over the rocks at the parks also infamous Top Spin - Tolocan I've not ridden many Top Spins. . but this one is incredibly well themed (fire, water, and intense, intense spinning) that I really wanted to ride it. spoiler, I loved it so much, I bought a ride logo shirt for it. . one of only two I bought the whole trip Here's some pics from the Black Mamba exit queue. . we were headed here next tho. To be continued in part II of day 1 at Phantasialand.

while the "special announcement" being teased for 12/10 is supposedly going to be the 2023 addition (just a feeling, but I feel *certain* it's going to be racing waterslides for the Whitewater Bay waterpark section) has everyone excited on some coaster/themepark groups. . . Park President Jeffrey Siebert slipped this in as a comment in a thread about Gully Washer, and why its down (one of the 4 pumps went down and it's being repaired and not expected to be back open until Spring 2023). Someone asked when the Bumper Cars will be reopening. his response? (and yes, he gave permission to share this info) I *really* hope a nice family flat will end up there. . it's a nice size plot of land. good for something indoors (I'm hoping for that outwards facing Trabant - like Cyborg). . . but even if just a new restaurant? I love that this park is so transparent.

if you didn't see it. . Cyber Sale thru weekend with free upgrade to Platinum for that $69 price. yeah. .with tax and handling fee, it still comes out to ~$80. . but gets you the whole year, and waterparks. and includes parking.

so excited to see this! great pics, and I too agree with much of what you said about DisneyParis. . . tho I really did enjoy many of the walk thru "attractions" - even tho they didn't offer much. I found the food at the Marrakesh Buffet place to be pretty excellent too (same with the restaurant overlooking Pirates - tho service there was awful. . but the food was good). . .so I'd rank the food near the top of the DLP reasons to go as well - if you pick the correct restaurant. I'm really happy to see the pics from Parc Asterix - you have pics of things I honestly do not recall seeing! (granted, I had other worries going on by that point in the trip) I do not recall that car ride. how the heck did I miss that???? or the indoor sections? maybe I saw them and don't remember? and the Paris Zoo looks like a must visit for a zoo fan, even if not a super exciting one. not the main reason to go back to France, but if I ever do go back, it's on my list. thanks so much for posting, love it.

the only way to ride Texas Stingray when it's 41 (feels like 34) and there's a drizzle going. (stingray, Wavebreaker, and the sesame street rides section were the only things able to open, but it worked out, as I got to ride Stingray 6 times, the Carousel, and saw two shows, and did two meet and greets). yes. . it was COLD (and the crowd very much stayed away). . but that spiked hot cocoa made everything ok (mine was spiked with Kahlua) yay! Carousel (that SWSA *makes* every rider put on that seatbelt. . .LOL). I love this carousel, since the horses all look so stoned. Elmo's Christmas Wish show. Happy they are finally using this indoor theater again (used to the be the pets show, but the theater has been empty the entire year I've been a passholder, so it was my first time in it). Awesomely stupid (and warm). . Loved it Photo Op with Ernie (and Oscar) who was upset that Ernie chose bert over him. . .LOL Rudolph was out too for photos (that's my friend Oren) the new Christmas show was apparently imported from SW Orlando? it was bizarrely entertaining, and I highly recommend it: lots of "jazz hands" and cruise ship choreography Creepy ass puppets - that Joseph and Mary gave me nightmares! Live animals (like Pinocchio, the animals who are arguing thruout the show - with a lot of topical humor thrown in) become "real" animals at the end of the show. yay! Camels.

Coming soon to SWSA - in the store that connects the walkway by Beluga Stadium with Sesame Street area. not very well "hidden". . so I'm guessing they want folks talking about it. SWSA is getting a Build-a-Bear! i'm not gonna lie. . I'll TOTALLY do this, as i love that Hammerhead Shark "only in this store" offering!

good timing, . . I'll be at Dollywood for the 1st time (ever!) in less than 2 weeks! really enjoying so far, and looking forward to the rest!

yet another reason why SFFT and the team there are among the crown jewels in the SF chain. Very nice tribute, Mr. Siebert, and R.I.P. Mr. Zamperla

and dropping into separate post, here's the "welcome packet" / "room packet" one gets when checking into Hotel Charles Lindbergh: postcards included! and map of hotel (with "pods" and bar/restaurant info and map of the Rookburgh area (not whole park, because remember.. we're Aeronauts on a stopover in Rookburgh. . not at Phantasialand). F.L.Y. skip the line passes (only way available. . you cannot do any kind of fastlane/flash pass on F.L.Y. . . . you must stay at Hotel Charles Lindbergh to get these) oh. and each room has chocolate bars in em for each occupant too. DAMN good chocolate

Day 5, part IV - the conclusion of the day: arriving at Phantasialand ! it had already been a packed (and thrilling) day, but we weren't done yet! Soon, we pulled up outside of Phantasialand (which is really well hidden from the surrounding area, as you couldn't really see any rides at all), stopped in front of our home for the next two nights: Hotel Charles Lindbergh - a fully immersive ON SITE boutique hotel that is heavily themed from the moment you walk inside. unloading bags from the bus and waiting outside for our room keys/directions. so I wandered and took some pics of the outside of the hotel facade as noted, it's heavily themed. you are an "Aeronaut". . . traveling thru time and space, and you've checked into this steampunk/time lost hotel to rest between time jumps. here's the lobby check in: these long hallways connect the lobby to the main "Pod A" (tower) of the hotel - which has, I believe, 4 "pods" of rooms. Although Pod A also has the access into Rookburgh. what is Rookburgh? well, Rookburgh is the themed area of Phantasialand where the new F.L.Y. coaster is. It's also where the Hotel is located, and guests at the hotel have access to the area after the park has been closed to guests. (no the coaster is not operating after hours. . . but holy crap is it cool to wander around that area, JUST with hotel guests - as you will see coming up). anyways - the walkway that would lead to Rookburgh/Pod A: and the way we went to get to our Pod C rooms OMG. . yeah, the coaster is RIGHT there. interacting very closely with the hotel. this is going to be so cool during the daytime operating hours! the coaster is literally outside the walkways to the rooms! love the old-timey / lost in timey tin ceiling tiles in the stairwells between floors. looking across at Pod B tower. . those are the back-side of rooms (ie: the bathroom windows) here's me looking out our bathroom window in Pod C and the view from said bathroom window: (went a little out of order). . . here's the door to our room and what the inside of the room looks like. Very small - in keeping with the theme. and a LITTLE cramped with two people plus luggage. But OMG, so cool, it doesn't matter. again, heavily themed (we didnt' turn the tv to anything other than the "old time static" broadcast it was on when we came in the whole time). James and I standing in doorway to get a pic of the walkway across to Pod B (and the access to the rooftop viewing platform that only guests of the hotel have access to) Bathroom. Small, but decent. again, the theming is that you're an Aeronaut only resting briefly before your next jaunt. ok. . settled into the room. . it's time to stretch our legs before dinner (which is included in the Restaurant attached to the hotel. (the only area of the hotel that during the day, non hotel guests have access to). from the end of our pod walkway, you get an EXCELLENT overview of Rookburgh area, and the F.L.Y. coaster and how much it weaves in and out of the theming in the area. SO well themed. . other than Mystery Castle - the tower off to the right in the distance - you can't see anything else of the park other than Rookburgh. They really put some thought & design into this theming! the steps under the rounded turret on the right are the ones that lead down to the Hotel Entrance into Rookburgh snapping pics, as we walk over to Pod A and head up the steps to the Hotel Exclusive viewing area. . . up on the viewing area, we bumped into Andy (the Great Zo), who had the same thought to come up and see the view/take pics. so we took a pic of all of us. the view from up here is SPECTACULAR. and even up here, other than Mystery Castle, you can't really see any other parts of this park! Pics taken. . let's head down into Rookburgh popper, since we still have about 30 minutes until dinner seating. such an amazing job with the Steampunk/time lost theming. . the private gate out of the hotel into the park. and looking back into the hotel entrance - during the day, there is a staff member stationed here that only will allow Hotel guests in and out of this gate. down the steps and into the deserted Rookburgh. the park had closed a couple of hours earlier, so we were the only ones there. . one of THE best reasons to splurge and stay onsite here. the theming is incredible, and it's so cool that you can see it / touch it/ take pics of it - without hundreds of people around! fully immersive. . . one of the "exit gates" into the other sections of the park. . .tho as noted, the park closes off this area at park close, to keep Hotel Guests inside Rookburgh and maintain the "Aeromaut" role-playing. . . the special gate for F.L.Y. that we would use our hotel passes at tomorrow or the next day. the main / standby line entrance for the ride. (which by the way is an AMAZE-BALLS flying coaster. . that some in the group didn't realize was a "flying" coaster until the seats tilted face down on the main lift/launch. . LOL). security stands here during the day. but off hours? yup, photo op! and I absolutely adore how they keep all the theming on even after park close in this area. steam and lights stay on until well after 11pm for hotel guests to enjoy the area/atmosphere. another "gate" that would lead to the indoor section where Winjas is located (tho oddly, these doors never opened while we were there. . so maybe they just don't use these any longer, as the other entrance - thru the tunnel - is way more immersive into the Rookburgh area) peeking across/thru the coaster track & theming, you can see folks sitting in the private Bar patio in our hotel. . only hotel guests have access to this bar/patio. (based on that blue shirt? I *think* that's Daniel sitting there?) tho it would be cool if they operated this coaster after hours for hotel guests? I can totally understand why they do NOT. can you imagine the noise in the rooms? I mean look how close it gets to the pods. Instead they give hotel guests "skip the line" / "special Hotel entrance" passes to use during the day. (so cool! and because we had ERT one day, and some folks gifted us extra passes, I didn't have to use all my passes and had some to take home as souvenirs) it was just about time for dinner. . so we headed to the restaurant parkside entrance (again, the only area that is open to park guests during the day). the downstairs level of the hotel houses the private bar, and the restaurant, UHRwerk: a peek at the menu. almost everything we had was excellent by the way, tho I thought the pastas were way stronger than the burgers. But all were decent. James showing off his Tartar appetizer (and that "newspaper" on the table? thats the full menu, and also filled with themed "stories" - none in English, but I still took one as a Souvenier, as they are also avail. in the lobby) I had the triangle fried ravioli like things. . . eye candy in our waiter (he was so nice too) TPR took over about 1/2 of the dining room, since it has limited seating (hence an assigned dining time, like on a cruise ship) John showing off his massage skills to Daniel. our table. . clockwise from Noon: Smisty, Erick, AJ, me, James, Ryan my Main - one of the Pasta bowls, but can't remember which one. Only that it was really good! one of the slider options (I think it had various meats depending on which one) one of the Burgers, another tablemate got. look how juicy! and of course, a stacked desert - I think the Nougat Surprise (which was dryer than it looked like it would be, but still was very good) by the time we finished eating, the sun had set, and the lighting in Rookburgh had come on. holy crap, as amazing as this looks during the day? INCREDIBLE at night. (and really the only way to see it at night is to stay onsite at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh) so I wandered around a bit in the area taking more pics: heading into the tunnel (which, as noted, was closed off at the end that would put you into the main street of the park). . but even inside the tunnel the theming is impressive. and with no people around, can get good pics of the design work on the walls. exit side of tunnel: entrance side of tunnel: peeking thru the closed gate into the main street of the park: it had been a really long day, but not heading up to the room to sleep without checking out the bar 1st! so went back into the hotel, and down to the private 1919 Bar it has indoor seating as well as the outdoor patio that is under the coaster, and between Pods in the hotel. looking up from the outdoor patio. . some of the rooms (bathroom windows of Pod A) after a cocktail, taking the steps back up to our room, so I could enjoy the tin ceilings (rather than wait for the elevator) one last peek down into the outdoor bar patio from the walkway outside our room, before I headed inside for shower and sleep. and then I passed out. . and probably kept James up with my snoring in the tiny sleep pod room. . LOL. . . but yeah. . stay here. COMPLETELY worth it. and with that, day 5 concludes. Day 6 (and 7) are full days at Phantasialand. . and I could not wait for these, as I knew very little about this park, other than I'd heard some rumors about the river raft ride, and of course knew about Taron and Black Mamba. So I was excited. and starting the day off with F.L.Y. ? yeah. . good thing I was exhausted (and slightly buzzed) otherwise would have been up all night with excitement. thanks for reading, hope you've enjoyed. Day 6 coming up in the near future!

it's basically an updated Swing-around (as BOH said above). it's not the updated Enterprises - it doesn't lift, or tilt. . . but they can set it to swing in a wave or alternating rocking motion. here it is in action from the Zamperla website:

and credit to Robb for that pic! forgot to post the "Swag" from Holiday Park & Klotten - just magnets, as no shirts at Klotten, and teeny tiny ones (that were a little dull) at Holiday Park.

Day 5, part III: Klotten Klotten was a wonderful park, and I'm so glad we got a chance to stop in here. It's a very traditional "smaller" park, but it has a few big rides. In addition to animals/petting zoo like, gardens, and a ton of "self operated" rides - things I've never seen before. the main sign Park map: Klotti - I'm pretty sure he is a Bear, tho he reminds me of the Buccees Beaver the main reason I was so happy we got to stop here was that Klotten has one of the TPR famous "Boat jump" self operating rides. we didn't have a lot of time here, so Elissa had advised to go do what was most important to us FIRST to make sure we got it. what most important to me was this.. so went and got in line for it a bit slow moving, but because you can only do one at a time as it's self operated. the instructions: my turn! wheeeeee! over the self operated boat jump is the self operated skyline. . . it had a weight limit tho, so I didn't do that one. . LOL and a pregnant goat. . after the boat jump, we headed to the main "big ride" section of the park. passing by the giant slide in and around this "mountain" are 3 rides. a bobsled coaster, a flume with a vertical lift, and a dark ride. the Bobsled was up first, and tho I can't recall the name of it, this one was recently in the news because of a death on the ride. But I believe it has already reopened. some of the TPR crew cued up in front of us in the line. hi Daniel - and Happy Birthday! beautiful setting, and a great ride. really fun, and fairly extreme for such a small, charming park. walking down the pathway to go to the flume ride. . . a peek at the vertical lift for the flume out of order, but a few pics of TPR folks on the bobsled. . I believe courtesy of Andy? back to the flume. . . they are pretty serious about getting the weight distributed correctly (likely because that drop is so steep) after the flume, we walked over to this self operated "whip" ride. there was one attendant just making sure that folks buckled the seat belt, and started the spinning. . but otherwise, the riders controlled how far you swing out, and when, as the ride rotates. never been on anything like it in my life, and it was a pretty amazing experience. More animals right over the ride enclosure, that one can go interact with. . wheeeeeee! About to walk back to the main ride structure, to ride the coaster again, and to take a spin on the dark ride in the base of the "castle". I like how the rides interact with each other. . . um. . yeah. this is the "magic wand" that you use to "shoot" at things in the dark ride! you point it at the targets and push the button. BWAAA-HAAAA-HAAAAAA Pic courtesy of Robb. . . as I forgot to take a pic of it as I was so busy giggling about it. Doggies were welcome in the park as well.. this doggo was so pretty back to the coaster! getting a little overcast, but still a beautiful day no Carousel here. .but they did have a single rail "horseback" ride, so of course, i HAD to ride that. it's like a zoo crossed with a park. What Elissa said about Knoebel's vibes above, is very accurate. I really liked this park, even tho not hugely themed, or a big park. I had decided that Klotti was a Bear. . so I wanted a pic with the bear: and then John volunteered so I could take a pic hugging a real Bear: headed back towards the front of the park, as it was almost time for us to head out to go to Phantasialand for hotel check in. more of the self operated rides in this park: this one was hysterically odd. you ride the "wave" and you control the "swing out". . but the entire point seemed to be just to swing out under the waterfall that comes on when the ride starts. yeah. the kids seemed to be having a BLAST on this. I just watched: glad we did the boat jump early! some of the self operating rides closed down early! a trash can with a pourpose a self run "swinging rocket" is hidden behind these trees and a "pull yourself up" tower adult "death" versions of kiddie playground rides. . . LOL. .this sucker spun FAST one last view before heading back onto the bus. . pic courtesy of Elissa. . and the group shot, courtesy of Robb, before we got back on the bus and headed off to Phantasialand for check in at the Hotel Charles Lindbergh to be concluded in part IV. . . .

^it was supposed to start yesterday online (the first day of the Holiday Lights festival). I suspect it's gonna be in the $70 range for the single park/including parking. (don't know for sure, but just a feeling) and I won't reveal my source, but will say it's someone high up in the park and knows what they are talking about. But JUST had the conversation with them less than a week ago, as my pass expires in about 2 weeks and have gotten NO email or notification from them. and the exact words to me were: "SWSA is notorious among passholders for terrible email communications for a reason" so take that for what it's worth. (and no, still never got an email about renewal offers, but was told that my best offer is going to be the Black Friday sale, and to keep an eye online for when that happens)