bert425

so here's a nice story on it that will give you a lot of detail: https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/six-flags-st-louis-historic-carousel-gets-major-makeover/article_6003940e-5324-5a51-85b2-0e2eec00416d.html but bottom line? it IS an early PTC Carousel - #35 - that is over 100 years old, as it was built in 1915. It came from Luna Park (not the *famous* Luna Park in Coney Island tho. . but rather the Luna Park in Cleveland. so it *is* historic. . but it's just not (to me) a Classic. (that would be one of the numbers lower than 25, produced in the first few years of PTC existence) - for example, the one I cited above: the Riverview Carousel at SFOG (stunningly maintained, and located on the beautiful Carousel Hill in the park) is PTC #17, built in 1908 (that's why that one is considered a classic (by me at least)). hopefully that makes sense?

the Carousel at SFOG is really the only one at a Six Flags Park I really consider a classic, and honestly? is a draw to that park for me. (as much as I love the restored carousel at SFFT? yeah. .it's just a pretty carousel).

I hope at this point, they just scrap it. Buy a cheapie, plop it in, and move the restored Carousel to another park. as much complaining and bitching about it as there has been? Why are they making the effort for unappreciative public?

pleasantly surprised to see this thread come roaring back. y'all always have such a great time, and i love following along!

This past June, I was able to - thanks to TPR, experience parts of Europe for the first time ever. Anyone that knows me from here on the boards, knows that I tend to do pretty photo-extensive and detailed trip reports. and I planned to do one this time too - I took over 5300 pictures. But life got in the way, and unfortunately i've experienced some major trauma in the two months since the trip. At the urging of my therapist who has been encouraging me to "journal". . I'm going to go ahead and do this trip report - it SHOULD be done, as this was an absolutely amazing trip and I really want to share it with everyone! I can't promise it will be as detailed as I typically would be. I can't remember the names of some of the coasters, or might mix up the order of things. . . but i will do my best and hope you enjoy! this was an absolutely PACKED and awesome trip, and I expect this will take me a while to get thru. . but here's the first day. and this is going to be the first (and hopefully one of the very few times) that I'll be a bit sad here. The first pic I'm going to share is of my Late Husband, Nick. Its' the last pic I have of him healthy, as he dropped me off at the Austin airport at "are you're fucking kidding me?" early morning for the first leg of my flight: eventually got boarded and was on my way to Newark. Trip started out well. . with Stroopwafel and coffee! at Newark I had an almost 7 hour layover. It hadn't started out that way, but with the flights moving around so much between when I booked them and my actual trip? yeah, eventually I just said screw it and took the long layover instead of trying to move everything around again. Besides, they offered me a discount to get into the United Lounge. . not a great discount, but a discount. so I took it and headed that way. hey. . fancy schmantzy. . Newark all "decorated" for Pride Month. um. . ok. I spy Manhattan from the airport on my way to the United lounge huh. . this is a little uninspiring. I was expecting something more . . . complicated than a Hampton Inn complimentary breakfast buffet. ohhhhh. . ^ is for the "suckers" who pop in for something quick, and don't follow the long narrow hallway back to the end of the concourse. . because if you do? it opens up to THIS: now that's more like it. yeah. . I can kill 7 hours here. time to nosh. (hey, I'm a Jew, in Newark. . I can use "nosh" here) and I can grab extra napkins to put into my bag, so I have them for the trip, since I like to have more than one with me when I eat lovely view of Manhattan from up here in the lounge. . . better than the concourse. I napped and charged my phone, and eventually my flight to Paris was ready to board - conveniently right at the gate below the escalators from the lounge. I had booked an upgrade for the Newark-Paris leg, but on one of the many flight changes, they had switched me to a plane that didnt' offer that particular upgrade. so they bumped me to (I think it's called) "Premium Plus" not quite business class, but better than Premium, and the seats beyond those (Steerage?) ooo. . wide and comfy. . I was the last row in the section with these comfy reclining seats. a peek at what the folks in the section behind us got for a meal. . . not awful (while the cart was stopped next to me) and looks much better than the Lean Cuisine that the rest of the plane got. but up here in "Premium Plus" ? we got real silverware! and, what I think, was Beef Bourguignon all I know is that it was damn good. . . view of the sun setting. . or rising. . I can't really recall at this point. Must have been rising tho, because I spent day in Paris once landing. but before landing, we got another meal service: Peach/Hazlenut Crepes with fruit and granola yogurt & a croissant. they kept us stuffed on the plane! due to delays, I arrived too late to meet up with the TPR group that was headed out for Paris Sightseeing, but AJ's plane had also had a bit of a delay and he kindly waited for me at the hotel. Rooms weren't ready yet, so once bags were stored, and he figured out the train route to take, we headed off to meet up with everyone at a small, but lovely park in the center of Paris called Le Jardin d'Acclimatation. we arrived about two hours after most of the group that was with Robb & Elissa had arrived, and had already ridden most things, so AJ and I focused on the two coasters that he had really wanted to ride (I was fine riding anything. . at this point I had been up for almost 30 hours, so was just happy to get to meet up for some sightseeing). the place is bigger than I had expecting, and if I ever go back will spend some time exploring, as it really was a lovely place with a gorgeous Carousel up front. . but since we were running late, and coasters were more important at the moment? just snapped a pic of it. (the group had stopped to grab a snack, so AJ and I had about 20 minutes or so until they were headed out and we were determined to be with them when they did) not very busy on this particular day. . but a nice assortment of family rides, and some small and powered coasters. Pic courtesy of Brad Roach, I think? it was a really fun Bobsled. to ride the other coaster I wanted to go on, I think it was a spinning mouse? I recruited Jon as well as Ian and his hubby to try and get some good spinning. and here's Ryan and Andrew riding one of the flats: oooo. . Napkins!!! someone was riding the carousel as we headed towards the front gates, so stopped to snap a pic of this fabulous vehicle, even tho she had chosen the pony to ride on as noted, lovely landscaping nice train. the group as we were about to head to the Train Station. . pic Courtesy of Robb Alvey with Elissa's excellent guidance, a few trains later we emerged from a station into the main square with the famous Arc de Triomphe I couldn't believe I was here. . seeing things that I never thought I'd see in person. it's STUNNING. this was just a quick stop - one of several - so we didn't cross the traffic to go under it, or into it. . .but what is that on top. are those people? yup! you can pay to climb to the top of the Arc De Triomphe ! if in Paris ever again? I might do that. back to the trains, and a few more stops and changes, and we come out of the station and around the corner. . and . . .. wowza. I knew I had a ticket to go to the top later in the trip (the 1st Sat at Disneyland Paris, actually). . but wow, this was still impressive as hell to see, even from this far back. love locks are still a thing in Paris. . and the city seems to have accommodated the demand by putting up places for people to put them. beware this dude with his mighty green snake! (there's a serpent there with him too) pic courtesy of Elissa (thank you! I sent this home to Nick and he *loved* it). and one of my favorite pics, even tho I really look tired. . . Brad was experimenting with the zoom on his camera to get the blurred background and asked if I would be a guinea pig. wait.. is this a statue of a woman holding birds, with birds on the birds? yup. . LOL the train station signs are pretty amazing in places. . and from the correct angle, look just monsterous. LOVED them. as we made the next stop and exited towards the Louvre, I snapped quite a bit of architecture pics. I think most all of these are parts of the Louvre, but my memory is a bit fuzzy. it's all incredible tho. Jungle Cruise has the backside of water? Paris has the backside of the Louvre. like a pervert, I was peeking thru windows. (hey, we couldn't get in if we wanted to. . the lines were INSANE in the courtyard, and the tickets were sold out that day) the famous courtyard glass pyramids. and then we walked across the street from the Louvre and walked along the famous Seine... we were going to stop and grab a bite to eat at one of the many options/cafes but first we were headed to the Pont des Arts bridge. . . which was once famous for the love locks on it (until the weight of them caused part of the bridge to collapse, and the City removed most of them from the structure itself). but here it is from a distance, with Notre Dame Cathedral in the background (still under repair from that awful fire. . you can see the yellow crane in the pic below) looking back at the Lourve archetecture here's the famous Pont des Arts bridge itself. the boards are very lose, and you must watch your step. no wonder the weight of the many locks caused issues! but there are still some that put the locks on. . at the lightposts on the bridge more architecture as we went towards Notre Dame and looking for food options. at one point I knew what some of these buildings were. . but I'm not remembering now. They're beautiful tho. they say "when in Rome". . . . but hey, I'm not in Rome, I'm in Paris. . so I'll pass on "Ass chef". . regardless if I might like it. Instead, Brad and I went to a place specializing in Crepes and Galettes (funny enough we all ended up eating in places right next to each other) interesting choices, but I ended up going for the Pedro Almodovar. . it was really really good. see? and this tiny cafe had a steep (and open/easy to fall into) Murder / Sex dungeon! never in the USA. .it was awesome. hey. . Capt. Jack Sparrow is selling chocolates at the Pirates Candies! tho we ended up going into a place that sold other options - all looked and smelled amazing. . . .and Kristen and Sarah went into a place to get a fresh baguette but how good does this look??? OMG. .looked amazing. . and I don't even like Meringue. the proof of life pic I sent to Nick outside the Baguette place - I realized I had never sent a message home after landing, and Needed to show him that I had indeed found Robb and Elissa in Paris (Kristen, Jere, and April too) another of those amazing train station signs and then we were off to the last stop today. . as everyone was pretty exhausted (and I had been up almost 36 hours at this point): Notre Dame Kristen tricked me into taking some baguette. . asking if anyone wanted to try. But she had eaten the insides out, leaving the hard crust it was ok. . it was still great, and I had a baguette, in France, while looking at Notre Dame. so .. . . WINNING. tho no trash cans anywhere . . so had to carry the bread scraps with me (or feed the birds. . which I did a little bit). and with that, we headed back to the airport hotel, where my room was ready (and James had already checked in) so could crash after a long day. tomorrow the actual TPR Europe trip starts!

so. . . via a personal message from Six Flags Fiesta Texas Park President Jeffrey Siebert, yesterday afternoon? apparently they have heard the complaints regarding what happened to the food options in Sangerfest Halle (ie: they got really shitty). . and he sent me these snapshots of the menu boards, that I believe are back as of this coming Saturday. that's why I love this park. . .they actually LISTEN and adjust accordingly. (and yes. . those prices are nuts. *but* most of it is on the Meal Plan as options. . . which as of my last visit the only things being served in Sangerfest were Personal Pizza, Prepackaged Salad, and Fried Chicken Strips (all Meal options tho), and the split chicken you could buy for $19. So this is a huge step forward again.

so. . . via a personal message from Park President Jeffrey Siebert, yesterday afternoon? apparently they have heard the complaints regarding what happened to the food options in Sangerfest Halle (ie: they got really shitty). . and he sent me these snapshots of the menu boards, that I believe are back as of this coming Saturday. that's why I love this park. . .they actually LISTEN and adjust accordingly. (and yes. . those prices are nuts. *but* most of it is on the Meal Plan as options. . . which as of my last visit the only things being served in Sangerfest were Personal Pizza, Prepackaged Salad, and Fried Chicken Strips (all Meal options tho), and the split chicken you could buy for $19. So this is a huge step forward again.

Ride to Happiness already does that tho. ..

yup. . in the rain, everything shuts down and your choices are: Animal "stunt" show or Ice Skating show. . . . which will both be PACKED with wet, stinky people trying to get out of the rain. assuming either is operating these days. . I know both shows closed during Covid. .did they ever reopen? tho I guess you could "hide" in the indoor restaurant area over by Scorpion. . but that too will be packed with wet, stinky, people.

I'm not. and you are COMPLETELY incorrect on everything else you say. . as usual. if you think that SFOT is the crown jewel, or even a better park in ANY way/shape/form than SFFT? you simply haven't been to the park in more than a decade. Period.

how nice you can show your ignorance again. . . . SFFT . . you are SO completely incorrect, that being right is not only in Greek to you, but it's in an unbreakable code. 1st park to get FreeSpin, one of only two parks in the chain with Premier Spaghetti Bowl, the first park in the world to get RMC Single Rail Coaster (and the 1st park to have two RMCs), the 1st park to get a 7 across B&M Dive Coaster, one of the 1st two parks to get the giant Pendulum - and the ONLY one to get a themed indoor queue for it. oh. . lets see. . how else are you wrong? SFFT is absolutely a destination park - with SWSA right up the loop, and the Alamo, Riverwalk, and San Antonio Zoo in the area as well - not to even bring up the only wooden shuttle coaster in the world less than 40 minutes away in Sequin? Yup. . . it's absolutely a destination, multi day stay in the San Antonio Area, and SFFT is a big part of that. you're so wrong about so much, I just keep waiting for you to be correct about at least one or TWO things (even a broken clock is correct twice a day)

Similar at SFFT, and with a new ride investment too. *however*. . after Salim visited the park ~3 weeks ago? almost EVERY food improvement and/or new menu item is now gone (and I mean it. . I'm not talking "dining plan" stuff, which has taken a hit too. . but you can't even BUY things like the Calzone, the schnitzel, the cinnamon bread, or the baked potatoes any more). FFS, they just took "Beef and Broccoli" off the menu at Chop Six. (no, really) yeah. . he's basically fucked the parks with his cost cutting - even the ones that were running fantastic independently. (and poor Jeffrey Siebert is stuck standing there watching all their hard work go down the toilet - huge investment in both time/effort, and money to refresh Sangerfest Halle, and improve the food options in the food court option. . . and now? all that is being offered is: Personal Pizza (cheese or pepperoni), Chicken strips, a prepackaged side salad, and if you wanna pay $17? a baked chicken and beans plate. it's wrong, and driving any customers who WOULD have eaten in the park, away. It did us, we went and found a better option.

I’m going to count this as a success The afternoon had its moments of sadness (especially on the carousel when I realized that right at that moment I would have been texting Nick the picture of me on the white rabbit. But thank goodness for Sean who distracted me by talking about how awesome cedar downs was during his trip to cedar point) Big thanks to Sean for driving, Amy for encouraging me to try, Juan for meeting up with us as well. . . and especially Park President Jeffrey Siebert - who made a special effort to meet up with us so he could give me a hug and his condolences Other than the carousel only rode Dr Diabolicals Cliffhanger (3 times). But was good to get out of the house. my take on Dr. D? it's a really good dive coaster for the park, and not as extreme as it looks. It falls somewhere in the middle of the park's coaster lineup - not as good as Poltergeist, Wonder Woman, or Iron Rattler - about the same level as Superman & Goliath - better than Roadrunner Express, Batman, Pandemonium, and Boomerang. what elevates it higher than the "same level" coasters tho, is the theming in the queue - an excellent indoor preshow with two air-conditioned rooms, animatroncs, hidden doors, and some great special effects. The free locker system is great too, although zippered pockets seemed to work just fine without needing to use the lockers on my 2nd and 3rd rides. unlike most dive coasters? back row is THE place to ride this coaster. The back row gives an amazing pop of air on the 1st and midcourse drop (that you just don't get on the front or middle row), and makes the pops of air in the helixes that much stronger. so yeah. . ride back row. . right hand side of the train. . you're welcome. and again, thanks to Jeffrey for stopping by for a hug. . it really made my afternoon, and I really can't express how much it meant to me.

think it looks great. and opens up space for a trabant, or similar flat over where Matterhorn used to be.

seeing that reported several places and from friends. people are PISSED. (and I'm glad that I do a one time Season Pass payment so they couldn't pull this crap with me. . tho I might not get a new pass next year)

not really. . . it's not even been two weeks since my Spouse passed. but I'm trying.

if anyone was wondering, I "disappeared" from online for a bit due to an illness and death (that I don't think I'll ever be over). so I missed the grand opening, VIP party, and all the events surrounding the opening of Dr. Diabolical. i'm going to attempt a visit to the park this coming week (the last week of daily summer operations), as I'm still off work for bereavement. . . tho not sure i'll be up for actually riding anything, I'm going to try. So will see how it goes, and if I like the new ride. bert

^ that's not NEAR enough time for "everything" - Knoebels is WAY more than the 4 coasters. . the flats all run amazing programs, and the dark rides are fantastic (Black Diamond, Haunted Mansion). . as are the games (you can blow 3 hours just playing Fascination) and the museums (Mining, Park History, Carousel horse) I once spent 16 hours there (with TPR) and it still wasn't enough. go and enjoy, then plan to come back for at least 2 days. as to food. . .yeah, the Pizza is good, but I think the ownership just changed on it, so don't bother. instead "graze" at several places - 1) Perogies (from the good stand. . NOT the Round Stand, where they are fried) 2) Cheese on a Stick from Totem Treats 3) ice Cream from the Old Mill 4) Potato Cake from the Potato Cake stand. 5) Cesari's Pizza (original Slice, not the square) if you still wanna try a piece

row 17 is the sweet spot. its a non-wheel row, back car. best seats on the Beast

It was 103 yesterday at my house at 9 pm so. Yeah, you would think. But “cool down” is relative in Texas heat

Make sure to take advantage of preview night if able. Since that might be a chance to get some rides in while no storms nor sure what would operate these days. The the monorail was always a nice break if bad weather. And lafftrackk is indoors. Whip is also covered so basically indoors Zoo America is included in your ticket (entrance near kissing tower) so that’s a nice way to spend some time (with several animal enclosures indoors) and of course there’s Always chocolate world - with the free dark ride , giant store, and pay per experience options. All in that giant building

Sorry got lots going on and not at home. So can’t really remember tho I had the pork butt that was fantastic and the cheese plate looked good. I think everyone was pleased with their choices and everyone liked the beer options (tho I had wine)

The food at Charles Limburgh was hit or miss I thought. Tho the pasta options were all good in the park? The sit down restaurant close to Taron entrance (with the metal menus) was quite good

Yes. This and Jeffrey is just pretty damn amazing

Wondy is back open as of Sat!