bert425

Kings Island Swag was light, because I was there last year, and because I had already gotten a shirt for Coasterstock! I also tend to buy things from the KI online store. . so didn't have to schlepp things home. but here's what i picked up for myself: a great magnet: and anniversary Racer shirt. ' and this one.. that just caused me no end of agony. .as I loved the shirt. . but it's one of those "curated" brands, that are supplied by some outside vendor, and as a result are over $30 (think it was $34). i went back and forth on this one. . but in the end decided I liked it, so screw that I felt it was way overpriced and just bought it.

HAHAHAH. . not at Six Flags, but too good not to share again, since it also happened at CP. this reminds me of the time in 2017 when @Nrthwnd and I went to Coastermania! at Cedar Point, and we were staying at Breakers, so were hanging outside at the bar/firepits getting our buzz on after a full day at the park. and this VERY drunk young man was in hysterics about some girl breaking up with him, crying and shrieking. . . . and Bill - who had had a number of cocktails himself - took it upon himself to try and go comfort the guy. Telling him things like, "you're young, you'll find someone, and it will be the right person". . .etc. And Bill then attempted to use himself as an example of how he'd experienced being dumped, but had been with his husband for decades now, because when it's right, it's right. I was watching this across the firepits, very amused, because intoxicated people are loud. . and the guy squinted at Bill, and said "How old ARE you?" and Bill told him. and the guy exclaimed at the top of his lungs: "MY GAWD, YOU'RE OLDER THAN BLUE STREAK" (hysterical). . . . .

Same!

so Day 2, we got up and were eager to get to the park. not because we were super excited about what was on morning ERT (Banshee, Delirium, Drop Tower, Adventure Express, and the Bat) - although I was determined to do Delirium, since i had skipped it last year) - but because today we had Fast Lane + and was looking forwards to way more riding on Mystic Timbers! so we ate a light breakfast downstairs at the hotel (sending "proof of life" home to my Spouse) and we headed out to the park. FINALLY remembered to have my phone out to snap a pic of the KI sign - which just happened to be advertising Berlin, one of my favorite bands, as part of the Summer Concert series. huh. .it was super windy, but Drop Tower was running (confirmed with the ops, once we got there, they had opened it up just for Coasterstock ERT hour, but it would be up and down thruout the day - same true of Windseeker, and the Tower - due to wind & rain). Sadly, never made it up on the tower this visit, as the wind shut it down early, then the heavy storms moved in. . . Invertigo wasnt' showing any signs of life, and wasn't on ERT this year. . but it did eventually start to run at some point on Saturday. I rode it last year tho, so we didn't make the effort this time. once in the gates, we went directly to Delirium, so I could get my ride in. I really did enjoy it - it's not as intense as MaxAir was (the reason I skipped it last year), and although it was 1 and done? I did like it. by the time we got off, Danielle had joined us, and we headed over to Drop Tower for a ride. Still among my favorite drop towers (this one and the one at KD) followed by another ride on the Drop Tower when Tom met up with us (because we were expecting the wind to take it down as soon as ERT was over) We didn't head over to the Bat, as had ridden it yesterday, but did take a ride on front row of Banshee. (Danielle preferred to ride in back row, hence she's not in this pic) Kim doesn't do any Spinny or twisty rides. . so she mainly sat at a table and watched stuff for all of us, while we rode things in this section. We all skipped the "behind the scenes" at Banshee tour, as had done it last year. . but just before ERT finished up at 10, we headed over for one final ride on Drop Tower, before a quick ride on Adventure Express just before it opened to the public. we had a mission you see. . yes, we needed to pick up our FL+, but 10am was scheduled for "Enjoy first rides of the day on the refurbished Grand Carousel" - and for Carousel freaks like Danielle and myself? yeah. .a must do: here we are with Kings Island's own Don Helbig (also a big Carousel fan) and one with myself and Kings Islands Chad Showalter ! ooo. . who else did we see in queue for the Carousel? why Stacy Gretchen! (and John of the organizing of the Giant Chicken Dance on Day 1 - tho I cut him off in the pic. . sorry!) yeah . love me some carousel! especially refurbished ones. the refurbed organ sounds amazing too! so glad I got to get some pics of it in the daytime. And the Coasterstock folks really came out for the Carousel event. . I think it took more than 3 full cycles to go thru everyone in line once. we had a couple of hours before the next scheduled event on the Itinerary (Behinds the scenes tour of Racer & Orion), so we made use of that time to go pick up our FL+, ride Adventure Express and Racer (only Red was running, again, although they were working on getting Blue up), and then headed to Orion for multiple rides, before it was time to meet up in the plaza outside FoF for the backstage tour of Racer/Orion. Kim and I made sure to hydrate. . as tho it had gotten windy, it had also gotten very humid. hmm. . wasn't *supposed* to rain today. it was starting to look a bit overcast, but Windseeker had started operating, so that was a good sign. and then they opened the gates, and let Coasterstock attendees back behind the scenes for these coasters. still only red. . but a great angle for some pictures. oh wait.. here's Blue. But it's empty. Still, testing is a good sign. further down the access road, another spot for some good pictures of the "return" tho as we were on the "Blue" side, it was the empty train. . LOL still, in this area? able to take some amazing shots of Orion that one can't get from inside the park. here's Blue again. . but wait! with a Ride Op on it. . . perhaps it's about to open! I love that he waved to us. . LOL and here it comes again. . with a different Ride Op, so they were cycling both trains - a great sign. we really got to go way back, to the turnarounds for Racer. . . so Windseeker from the other side. and a little hard to see in this pic - I just wasn't fast enough - but an adorable, tiny baby deer, was hiding in this group of trees, and seemed terrified of all these people here. yeah, the noisy coasters didn't bother it, but the crowds of people seemed to have it very concerned. Got to wonder if momma was hiding out withing this batch of trees/shrubs here, where it disappeared into. very cool tho (we also spotted a skunk wandering the Racer Midway the prior night, as we were headed to Orion ERT. . so lots of animals on the KI grounds) one really does get awful close to Orion on this particular backstage tour. . and I recommend it if you ever go to Coasterstock. pretty close to Racer too perhaps my favorite picture from this day. . showing off my favorite element on Orion: the wave turn at the top of the hill after the first drop. It's awesome. what's this? YAY. . full Red & Blue racing again! we spent probably a good hour back here wandering around (tour was scheduled for 1 & 1/2), before we headed out to catch a ride on Windseeker, since it was operating (and had been down most of the day prior). And we knew it runs a really good cycle. Thank goodness for Fast Lane + as it got us on it really quickly (and some rain started falling during our cycle, and they shut it down pretty quickly after). . . we also made use of FL to take a ride on Kings Mills Antique Autos - as they did a spectacular job recreating a classic here. Yeah, it's just electric vehicles, but they did SUCH a beautiful job with the layout, and atmosphere. . well worth a ride. I was driving Miss Danielle while Joel drove Kim in the car in front of us See? look how lovely this is! Lunch was being served at 2:30, and tho we had to get across the park, of course we stopped for a ride on Beast as we passed by in front of it. Again, it's riding incredible (waited for Front Row this time, as they were honoring requests from FL+, and Kim was kind enough to snap pics for me) and then the rain started to come down a bit more than just a "drizzle".. so we headed over to the Picnic Pavilions, where thankfully they opened up a little early for us - as the moment we got under the pavilion cover? the sky just opened up, and it absolutely POURED. it was ok tho, as we had a meal - which was very good.. . actually better than the one the prior day. seriously, this park has WAY upped it's food game. Everything was delicious! i hadn't expected much when were told it was "Tex-Mex". .but this Texan was quite pleasantly surprised by the Enchiladas, the Burn Ends, and even the slightly spicy sausage. desert was cupcakes and cookies. . . and everyone was really a captive audience for the speakers (not that they weren't interesting), as it poured for at least an hour, and everything in the park shut down. I mean, it was serious rain. we discussed it, and by 4:30 pm, Kim asked if I were interested in heading back to the hotel for a bit. Danielle and Jan had already done so a while ago, while we waited to see if the rain would slow down. now, I hate leaving parks during a visit - even if I'm exhausted, I power thru. . .but the fact of the matter was: it was still raining (tho it had slowed down), radar showed more waves coming, we were leaving in the morning to head back to St Louis (after a stop at Kentucky Kingdom). . so I was ok with the suggestion, as it would give me a chance to pack. and we could stop at the front gate store and pick up the shirts/magnet I had scoped out the prior day and wanted so we headed back to the hotel around 4:45, and hung out there for a few hours. I packed, and Joel convinced me to come into their room and play Jackbox games on the tv (yeah, the techie loved that he could hook everything up to the Television so easily . . Tru is targeted at a younger crowd), and I even took a 40 minute nap. peeking out the window ~7:45, I saw drop tower running. . . so pinged Kim, and we decided to head back to the park. the rain had passed, although everything was a bit "moist". . and the crowd had thinned out considerably - what had been at least 40 buses in the lot earlier, was now 3. but EVERYTHING had opened back up. . we probably should have come back about an hour earlier, but oh well. .is what it is. with everything open, and no crowds? we headed straight over to Diamondback. Stopping first to look at all the geese babies that were going for the bugs that had been brought out by the heavy rain. (as I said, this park has a lot of Wildlife roaming around) We did several rides on Diamondback, and several also on Mystic Timbers (hey, the FL+ still cut out much of the queue, so my ankle was happy for the less walking) Kim was in the mood to eat something later, in particular she wanted Tom & Chee (right in front of Diamondback). . .so she asked them how late they serve? The response was right until park close, although I could tell from the way the counter lady said it, she wasn't thrilled someone was asking. So I spoke up and said: "we promise, we wont' come back at 10 till 10 and order. . we'll come back by ~9:40 so y'all won't get stuck late! (and the guy at the grill mouthed to us "thank you". so around 9:35, we finished our multiple rides on MT, and headed back over to Tom & Chee to get some Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. We wanted to grab one more ride on Diamondback before the park closed - even tho tonight's ERT was going to be Diamondback, Beast, Mystic Timbers, Orion, and Flight of Fear). . but we were just so thrilled that Diamondback was even open! - oh, I forgot to mention.. during that major storm a few hours earlier? Diamondback actually took a lightning strike. No. really. on the Coasterstock FB group, Don was even telling folks he wasn't sure if Diamondback would be available for ERT tonight. But when we got back to the park it was running. KUDOS to KI maintenance, and Safety folks, that they got this coaster back up and running, only a few hours after a lightning strike! anyways, that's why we were so excited to get another ride on it before the park closed to the GP. Kim's idea for Tom and Chee (Tomato & Cheese) was a good one, and everyone in our group ordered one (Danielle, Jan, Kim, me, Tom, Joel) before we headed onto Diamondback - leaving Kim to pick up everyone's orders. . . LOL and of course, even tho we had kept *our* promise and ordered at least 20 minutes before park close? they had a steady line of people ordering right up to - and slightly after - 10pm. I felt bad for them, but again, both the counter lady, and the guy on the grill told us they appreciated us trying to get them out at a decent time. another KI photo op, this one by Mystic Timbers. we used the 1/2 hour between park close and ERT to eat our food, browse the Diamondback gift shop, and eventually line up for the ERT. Since it was on the 4 big coasters, most were either Starting at Diamondback and working their way around, or starting at Orion and working the other way. so it was pretty busy for the 1st ride we got, but we decided we'd do two rides on each, then head on to the next, so we could get rides on all the ERT coasters. by the 2nd ride, the line had thinned, and Mystic Timbers was basically a walk on by the time we got there. it was so empty there, we did three rides on MT, before heading onto the Beast. Tom wanted to wait for front row, but Danielle, Kim, Jan, Joel and I just went for any open row - so I ended up in Row 2 to get on with a single rider, and I think Joel/Kim were in row 17 with a 1 train wait. while I was on my ride, I noticed lightning, and I commented on it. The person sitting next to me said "oh no, that's the camera from Mystic Timbers" . . so I thought, ok. But as we were pulling in the station, I saw it again. . .and my seat mate said, "well, that one is the camera from Diamondback" well, we got into the station, and Tom was still waiting for front row - getting in the train I exited. And I said to him.. I see what I think is lightning, and got "shhhhhh" from several folks in line. (whatever, right? like the operators won't know there's lightning?). but I got off, and walked around to get back in queue, and as I was walking up the queue to the station? sky opened up and it started POURING. like, heavy, heavy rain. Kim and Joel had just gotten off the train after me, so they quickly got under the arcade overhang, but I figured, at least we were covered in the station. . tho Tom got soaked on his ride, with the rain hitting while they were on the helix. we waited about 10 minutes to see if it would slow down (it did NOT slow down. . at all.. we're talking Noah and the flood level of rain), and they made an announcement that they were shutting everything down for the night, sorry. (which I get, it was 11:30 by this point.. would make no sense to try to get Beast back up even if it stopped raining - which it clearly wasn't going to). . . BUT. . everyone had to leave the station. what? yeah. . they made everyone vacate the station, into the pouring rain/lightning (including those who had been sheltering under the overhang by the front ride entrance - were a very apologetic employee told Joel and Kim he was sorry, but everyone had to leave the ride area). so me.. forgetting I had a poncho in my pocket (believe it or not, it's NOT the first time I've done that).. sprinted - as well as I could with my ankle on slippery wood - down thru the Beast queue, and across to the arcade overhang where Danielle, Joel, Kim, and Jan were sheltering. Tom joined us shortly after, completely soaked as well. here we are, all happy, tho stranded in what was a massive downpour. at least by that point, i remembered I had a poncho. . so by the time it hit 11:50 and the rain was not stopping? I got to put on my "fashion" for the walk out to the car: a picture of what the night decided to do, that shut down ERT and ended Coaserstock: tho not quite, as they *DID* do the closing ceremonies, and handed out awards, under the covered front gate area. We saw that online later, as we were wet and ready to get back to the hotel and dry off. so Saturday was kinda a dud, BUT. . still had and incredibly wonderful time, had some really good food (the Grilled Cheese was fantastic too), and got to spend time with some great people. . so overall, was a very successful trip to Kings Island for Coasterstock! and I'm totally down to do it again next year. here are some random ride pics from our rides on Diamondback & Mystic Timbers after we got back in the park ~7:45 pm. LOL. . once I realized that Tom is one of those folks that likes to do different poses for the cameras, I tried not to sit directly next to him. . LOL

wasn't gonna post any update, until Jeffrey had officially tweeted - which he's now done. attendees at Roller Coaster Rodeo yesterday, got a sneak peek at the theming, and ANIMATRONICS inside Dr. Diabolical's Lab, that's in the inside showbuilding portion of the queue line for Cliffhanger:

if there's a ride to get stuck on, that's it tho. I mean, yeah, I LOVE the ride, and would gladly sit on a horse for a while anyways. . . but it's covered (out of the sun/rain), not high off the ground (the horses never really go up as high as a carousel anyways), and you have a great view of the midway

I did *not* like the trains/restraints. (they land on my thighs, and there's no place to hold on securely - other than that one "rope" handle on the one side. So the bunny hops/ejector air hurt. The exact same issue I had on Twisted Timbers and why I don't ride that. so yeah. . just my opinion, but I didn't care for it. however, i will say, that diving 1st drop is incredible, and if the trains/restraints were different? I probably would have loved it.

once I remembered we had eaten that, wasn't quite so freaked out by it!

hands down my favorite there was Thunder Run. . it was amazing in the front row. but most will tell you Lightning Run, since it's the only one of it's kind on the planet.

yup. .they announced it yesterday during day 1 of Roller Coaster Rodeo. from the presentation, and shared to me by a friend there: more announcements are supposed to happen this afternoon and tomorrow.

baseball cap..that you stop and wet under the water fountain occasionally helps a lot too! oh, and don't forget to hydrate. Free cups of water at any service place, you just have to ask for them.

the Roller Skater there is great, with a lovely setting. don't worry about being an adult riding it. . MANY adults ride it. including the TPR folks

did you get your free beer? they announced that it was back starting yesterday that Passholders get a free beer every visit!

will try to get day 2 of Coasterstock! (and perhaps Kentucky Kingdom) up in the next couple of days. but if you're curious about "Tru by Hilton". . which is the hotel we stayed at really close to the park, here's some pics of the room. although it is very "minimal" (no drawers, no closet. . tho open pipe with hangers in the room to act as a 'closet' and plenty of storage under the raised bed). . it was very comfortable, with a great shower. The lobby is much more "modern" and had a pool table (and amenities included pool with hot tub, and small exercise room, as well as a very decent breakfast in the mornings, and pretty decent coffee all day/night). For the cost, and location? I was very pleased, and think it's a "book again" for next year if we go again. after all. . how much is one really in the hotel if you're coming for the park. view from my room and there's the park, behind the hotel across the freeway.

yeah. . I believe this is closer to the coloring on the supports they were actually going for: I mean here's the concept art from the park itself: but yeah. . it doesn't look great as is... so I'm thinking they realized it's not working, so stopped messing with it for the moment until it gets figured out

^ the paint color scheme is actually a PERFECT fit for the area of the park (CrackAxle) and the surrounding quarry. Keep in mind, it's not supposed to have bright yellow supports. the track and track support looks beautiful there against the browns and tans of the quarry rocks and wood in that section of the park. I'll agree with you that the attempt at patina just isn't working - and I have to hope they realize that, and will be doing a different attempt at painting over the coming months that will really tone down that yellow.

they haven't. . but the trains have been on the tracks, and I'd expect water dummies to show up really soon (if not by this weekend). there's still a bunch of theming and work on the queue ongoing (and supposed to be really hot every day this week, so that might slow them down). . but I will not be surprised if this ends up opening July 4th weekend. but no, they haven't announced an official opening date, tho they had intended to have it open by this coming weekend for Roller Coaster Rodeo. I completely understand why they won't give a firm date at the moment, as they need the certification done, and all the testing done. . but it's coming soon!

from Mr. Siebert (via Twitter). all I can say, is hell yes!

^ that's why we rode it with the LIGHTS ON ert ! LOL. .it did NOT help. We were the only ones on the train too, and when we got back and they asked "how was that ride???" we both just stared at them dazed. LOL

Orion has color changing ground spotlights, that light up the track for the rest of the course here's a good shot of them: yeah, Poltergeist is SO smooth. . . FoF is so awful. .it's crazy how different the rides are!

^ saw Jeffrey tweeted today that Supes is down until Thurs for "improvements" I'm guessing that means the return of the 3rd train, but perhaps some new paint as well? and they've been promoting that last hill as an extreme airtime element. . so I'm taking a wait and see attitude on it, but they certainly are promising some good air there coming out of that final helix before hitting the station.

Continuing on Day one, as dusk started to fall. We made a stop back towards the front gate (to window shop for some T-shirts to buy the next day) and to grab some sweets from the Bakery (omg, the Peanut Butter bon bons were so rich!) as well as for Danielle, Joel and Kim to get Skyline Chili - of which I tried a bit, but focused more on the desert stuff. I think the Tower always does do the color changing in the evening, but it sure was lovely with the 50th decorations on it. we were right there, so I think we rode "something" and then I think it might have been close to 9pm or so. And the park closed at 10 pm. we had evening ERT this first night on; Beast, Racer, Orion, Flight of Fear (lights on), Backlot Stunt Coaster, the Autos and Zephyr. So we decided - having learned from last year's rainout of the 2nd night of ERT (and this year's 2nd night including Mystic Timbers & Diamondback) not to wait. . . so for the last hour, we headed over to DiamondBack and Mystic Timbers to get in some night rides, before the park closed, even tho we knew there would be lines. tho to be honest? they weren't too bad, although Mystic Timbers did take about 25 minutes I think, and we went there 1st. here's myself, Joel, Kim, and Danielle sending hello to my Austin friend Sean - whom Kim and Joel had met a couple of weeks prior at an event at BGT. yes, without Fastlane+, we got to "experience" the back part of the queue. . an area that was new to me. where one gets a view of the shed! speaking of the shed, Kim *again* got Bats. . LOL. she got Bats on every single ride, until the last ride she took on it the next night (with myself and Danielle) where she got TREES!!! So it took riding in a train with myself and Danielle to break the "curse of Kim and the Bats" we then headed over to Diamondback, figuring, if we got in line before closing at 10, we'd get to ride, and by the time we got off, it would be almost time for 10:30 ERT to start, and we'd be right near the Beast. which ended up working out perfectly. it wasn't QUITE dark yet when we got in line, but it got dark really quickly by the time we got to the station, where I waited for front row. this ride really is amazing at night, as noted in part 1. The only lights are on the front end for the most part, so once you drop? it is zooming thru the dark.. so, so good! by the time we exited, and made it over to Beast, ERT was just starting. But I stopped for a 2nd try at the picture (remember, onride camera for Beast was down, and I wanted a pic). .this time moving ~3 feet to the right of the pawprints telling one where to stand. perfect: we got two fantastic night rides on Beast (or maybe it was 3, can't recall), and when we exited our last ride, Joel was antsy to hit Orion. I had found out from Danielle while riding, that she'd never been on Backlot Stunt Coaster, so Joel and Kim headed to Orion and we detoured to take a ride on Backlot. .. were there were literally more staff hanging around than folks waiting to ride. They were excited to see us come up, and we got stellar service - 4 ride ops made sure we were secure in the front row of the red cars. almost all the effects were working (do the helicopter blades spin? if they are supposed to, then that's the one effect that wasn't working). And it's super intense at night with that completely dark underground portion, and that great fire effect. I mean, it's a dumb family, coaster, but it's a fun, dumb coaster. She liked it, I think, and then we headed towards Orion. . where we made the *huge* mistake of stopping to ride Flight of Fear. now, this was horrifically awful last year - but we had been directed to back seat. So I figured: 1) it's Lights on, we can brace for transitions, 2) it's ERT and there's no line, we can likely sit wherever we want, and 3) I LOVE Poltergeist at SFFT, and this is the same model, albeit indoors and with mid course brakes. so we hopped in line. Front Row. OMG. . .SO. AWFUL. the transitions were terrible, snapping our backs from side to side, and it had jackhammering. . . yes! in the front row! on a steel coaster! OMG.. terrible. at least it gave Kim, Joel, Tom, and Jan something to make fun of us over - why did you ride that. never again, even if I go back next year.. . it's nuts, since Poltergiest runs so smooth. . what the heck happened to this ride here??? they take such loving care of all the other coasters, but something has gone horribly wrong on Flight of Fear (needless to say, we did NOT ride it the next night when it was standard "lights off" ops). tho I will find a positive here - the queue is really great, and it's a lot of fun to go inside the spaceship to get to the coaster. at least right next door (tho we were both walking crooked from the thrashing we had just gotten) was this lovely palate cleanser. we closed out the night with multiple rides on this (I think I was 3 and done, but the others rode it a few more times than that).. .very fun and so fast, but it's pretty brightly lit up, so no "dark" rides, unfortunately. Still good tho. and with that, it was Midnight, and time to make our way out to the parking and back to the hotel.. we had another full day of Coasterstock to get to in the morning. and Kudos to the park, that they keep the fountains and all the lights on until everyone is out of the park, as it was well over 2 hours after official park close, so I appreciated how lovely the area still looked for us while exiting: exhausted, and my ankle was throbbing pretty good, but you can tell I had a great day. exiting the gates, I remembered to turn around to snap a pic of the huge mural they have over the entrance. I hope they sell this as a poster, or as a series of posters, as this is lovely. and here's a bunch of the onride photos from the 1st day. . no idea what order they are in. . . and sometimes didnt' get the pics, but mostly did and if you're wondering: "Why do they look happy if it sucked that bad??" well, it's because the photo snaps in the launch tunnel. ie: the smooth part of the ride. (the only part slightly smoother is the mid course brake.. which we were thankful for the moments of no pain there). closing out day one with a picture featuring myself & Danielle in row 2, and TPR forum member Piano John, and his hubby Sean in the front row. day 2 coming up in the next few days. think I have less pics on day 2, as there was some heavy rain that impacted the day, and the evening ERT. . but still, had a great time! hope y'all enjoy the pics.

Ok. .day 1 of Coasterstock! lots and lots of pics, so will post in two parts. part 1: we were up and out of the hotel by 8am, as gates open early for this incredible event. ERT this morning went from 8:30am-10am with available options staggered for: Great Pumpkin Coaster (kiddie, so I didnt' bother), Woodstock Express (which was supposed to be one of the 1st open, but was delayed and did open closer to 10), Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and Flying Ace Ariel Chase (which I rode last year, and had zero interest in repeating the headbang this Jr. suspended Vekoma offers). someone was taking pics of the Tie Dyed shirts, so here I am in the line waiting to get into the park, with a Joel photobomb we were deep in conversation with the wonderful lady on the right, wearing a dress that she handmade featuring the classic Flyers on the skirt. so I'm a huge Carousel nerd (for those that don't know me from here), and so is Don Helbig from KI. . and we had been excitedly chatting on the KI Coasterstock page about the Anniversary of the Carousel and the refurb work they had been doing on it for said Anniversary. Also in this conversation online, was Danielle. So we had interacted online, but I had not met her or knew what she looked like. . . and the universe stepped in and we ended up walking next to each other from the parking lot to the front gate. and within moments, realized that we were the two who had been chatting about Carousels online. so yes, we ended up hanging out most of the two days, also meeting another wonderful attendee named Jan (appropriate, since Jan lost Mike's plans on the KI Canoes way back in the 70's. . . .oh, Jan!!!). anyways, so we ended up with a core group of 5-6 of us each day that hung out thruout the day, occasionally meeting up with PianoJohn and Shawn, and Stacy Gretchen, and a few other folks from here at TPR Forums. Once we got in the gates, we made our way over towards Diamondback since that's where they gave us juice, donuts, and we could pick up our FunPix cards, and drink bands. Oh, and ride Diamondback a few times, before going next door to ride Mystic Timbers a few times as well, before heading over towards Woodstock Express. but first? gotta stop for a pic. The fountains weren't on yet, but the front was quiet enough to get one without tons of people around. as noted, multiple rides on Diamondback, Mystic Timbers (Kim kept getting Bats in the shed, LOL) and then we discussed what to do next. At 10am was a photo and video Q&A with the Train Engineers, and the 1st ride of the day on the train. But we had done that last year, so we skipped it and instead we headed over to Woodstock Express, where we got a private ride (seriously, the park had just opened but no one was over here yet). it's riding much smoother than it was last year, so I'm wondering if perhaps they did some off year trackwork on it? no idea what's up with the date on this. . 4/12/22 ? LOL. . was 5/20/22 and then the crowds started to show. . but we were right next to Woodstock's Whirlybirds. which really didn't have any line at all yet (tho it would later, as they only run a few at a time) I hadn't even noticed them last year, and have NO idea how I missed them.. but once I saw them online, I was determined to squeeze my butt into them for a ride. It turns out, the insides are VERY roomy, no issue there, and they encourage adults to ride. it's a slow moving powered (and breezy, since the sides are open) loop around the Peanuts area. *but* it's powered and has a slight lift-hill and drop, so does it count as a coaster? such a pretty area. we got Joel to ride! so that implies it must count as a coaster, as he was willing to get on see how roomy? Danielle and I easily fit, and tho there were pedals you could work, and a joystick that moved? really it was a sit back and enjoy the ride type of thing. see behind that orange one? a lift hill! oh, and Orion. Red Racer was starting to test. Blue wouldn't open until later in the day, and then broke down while we were waiting for it. so never actually got to ride Blue, but got 3 rides on Red. as much as I love Carousels? yeah, this one didn't look like it could support me, so I didn't even try. Besides, I knew the Bigger Carousel was in my near future, as we had to head over the Eiffel Tower for the group photo at 11. here's the Group Photo taken by Kyle. . . they never reveal numbers, but assuming most everyone showed up? I'd guess it's capped at somewhere around 1200 ? and since the ERT always has multiple "big" things open at the same time, it splits the crowd really well, and the ERT really is not much of a wait ever. SUCH a good event. Lunch wasn't for an hour yet, and we were sorta closeby, so we swung over to the Beast for a ride (waiting only about 20 minutes). the retracking is amazing, and it's running SO smooth. I was iffy about it, but I went ahead and rode Row 17 on this 1st ride, and it was AMAZING. yes the brakes are still hitting hard - mainly at the end of the "bridge" before the turn into the woods, and slightly on the drop into the Helix.. but wow, it picks up speed so quickly again, and this sucker is just flying. and as noted. . smoooooooth. LOVED it and rode it several times during the two days at the park. It doesn't unseat my #1 - Mystic Timbers - but Beast is easily my #3 now (just behind Phoenix) in terms of my favorite wooden coasters. sadly tho, the Beast onride camera was down, so no onride pic today, so settled for the "photo spot" which I remembered from last year is off by about 3 feet. So giggling, i posed for it anyways : we still had time, and Danielle and I were antsy about it. . so on the way to go get lunch, it was Carousel time. sorry in advance, but lots of Carousel pics upcoming: the special Anniversary Horse it *stunning* Joel and Kim behind me Danielle in front of me the colors are so bright and vibrant. .they put so much love into this! and then we noticed Jan (tho we hadn't actually MET her yet) waiting for the next cycle - she waved, so we waved back. . and we got a great onride pic that she took. Lunch was chilidogs, burgers, chicken fingers, Potato Salad, and a few other things that I didn't try. KI has really stepped up their food game, as even this (what appears to be "basic" food) was so damn good. tho the chili had beans in it. .what's up with that??? it was still really good tho. Everything I tried was good! after lunch, Kyle took a pic of the "tie Dye" people... love this too, tho it was post lunch, so feeling rather "large". . LOL on the way back into the park, we noticed some "theming" peeking over the fence from the Waterpark area (wasn't open yet for the season) it was a little confusing, but highly amusing even tho we had ERT on it later that night? we hadn't been over to the left side of the park at all today yet.. so we headed over to Orion, and waited ~25 minutes for it. Not bad at all, considering we did NOT have FastLane + until the next day, so this was general queue. Orion is all about the speed. And for me, that first wave turn after the drop. I like it a lot, but I think my favorite (non wood) coaster in the park is still Diamondback. we still rode the crap out of Orion on these two days tho. after meeting up with another of Kim's friends Tom and getting a ride on Adventure Express and Racer, Kim wanted a sit/chat break so they hung out while Joel and I headed to the flats on the midway that I had missed last year, and was determined to ride this year. 1st up? Monster! which I learned from this ride op: "Monster goes "Rrawrrrrr" something I'm still doing, much to my spouse's annoyance every few hours - complete with Lady Gaga "raise your paws" gesture, and lisp while saying it. by it's nature, it takes a while to load, so Joel and I were facing Orion & Racer for a good bit while they loaded the other arms. So with permission of the ride op, I pulled out my camera (I had promised to put it back in my zippered pocket when the cycle was to start), and snapped some pics of Orion: us and Racer after Monster, next up was Scrambler - which also was running a great program. I think we took another lap on Adventure Express here - but first stopping for one of the photo ops spread all over the park. this one is out near Racer, and was my favorite. tho even the basic ones were nice backdrops for selfies. and then we all decided that it had been long enough after lunch, that we really needed some Blue in our lives: it didn't' taste as "blue" as it was last year, so not quite as sweet, but man, was it good. Drop Tower was down due to wind, so we just enjoyed the shade spot, and watched Delirium and Banshee cycle. that's Tom on his phone there in the center Kim doesn't do well with "swinging" or "spinning" rides, but we convinced her to make the long trek back to "the Bat" (me hobbling, as sitting was helping me rest my bad ankle, but man, the Bat queue has a LOT of steps, an walking). but she rode it. . even in front row with Joel. we had skipped the behind the scenes tour of Beast (it had POURED the day before all day, and the idea of it being muddy back there. . along with my worry about not walking on flat ground cinched that I was gonna skip it, tho Danielle had gone and said it was great), as well as the Diamondback behind the scenes, since had done it last year. So really we had nothing on the schedule until 10:30 pm Nighttime ERT. and I think it was around 6pm now? so we just wandered around, taking pics, riding things as we got to them, and enjoying the park. Ok, I lied. .this backdrop MIGHT be my favorite but the Racer one is close! we took a spin on Phantom Manor (I think that's what it's called). . the targets/shooting could use an update, but the Omnimover ride vehicles are great, and it's a nice, long, airconditioned, dark ride. to bad we were a few weeks too early for shows tho, as would have loved to see the show they put together based on this attraction. another photo spot, near the French Bakery on main street. we decided to take another ride on Diamondback or Mystic Timbers, but the lines had actually gotten a bit long, so we instead headed to the train to take a ride. you can get some great views from the train, and if your timing is good? some decent pictures too: Mystic Timbers Diamondback this ride is just so damn lovely. . and very little light makes it back here, making it a fantastic night ride (the back half of the coaster is so dark). . not sure why more don't rave about night rides on Diamondback! theming from the train! to be continued with evening/night pictures in Part II and more onride pics, which I just decided to put in part II, as we rode Diamondback and Mystic Timbers SO much, I have no idea which pics are from which ride. . LOL.. but you can tell they are different since moving form seat to seat between photos

great visit to SFFT yesterday with my friends Sean and Amy despite the heat (I think it hit 104), so lots of breaks in the shade, or inside a show. The good thing is that the Waterpark does drain almost all of the crowd from the dry areas once it's open. . so even on a Saturday when the parking lot was packed, most rides were very reasonable with short waits or even close to walk ons. With a couple of exceptions: both being the water rides. and Iron Rattler. some heads ups for those who haven't been to the park recently and are going in the next couple of weeks: - Iron Rattler is one train ops (sounded like an issue with train 2, and train 3 hasn't been delivered yet). So that one gets a line fast, and will hold the line all day. if you're solo make use of the single rider line, or buy flash pass. Otherwise it seemed to be pulling hour+ waits most of the day. - the water rides are full to overflowing, and all the waterfalls/squirters are on. so you WILL get soaked on both Bugs and Gully Washer (not a complaint, I mean why else ride a water ride? but just a heads up). - the whole park is not open until Noon (even tho gates are at 10 and rope drop at Los Festivales is at 10:30). So if you get there before noon, only Los Festivales (Goliath & Boomerang), CrackAxle (Roadrunner, iron Rattler, Daredevil Dive, Gully Washer), Spassburg (Carousel & Bugs - tho it didnt' open until later in afternoon) and DC Universe (Superman, Supervillain Swings, Joker, and I think the kiddie area) will be open. Whitewater Bay (waterpark), Rockville (Poltergeist, WW, Batman, Hustler, Scream, school bus, taz tornado) and the Boardwalk (Wave Runner, Pirates, Pandemonium, Spinsanity, Hurricane Force 5, and the Super Loops) dont' open until noon. - Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger is looking amazing, and is coming along great. The train was (briefly) on the track during our visit, and I suspect water dummy testing will be happening soon. the queue is coming along nicely, and I suspect will be done by end of June at the rate they are going. . if not sooner. we were there on Deaf Awareness day, and it was so wonderful to see so many interpreters on most all the "big" rides, signing the announcements for everyone. And Rockin at Rockville High was absolutely fabulous, with two ASL interpreters on either side of the stage just rocking out while signing the show/songs. I think it's the best show I've ever seen in the park. some pics from the day: Gully Washer Queue is SO good for getting great pics of Iron Rattler. and it was pretty full too. . . (more water in the ride and in Bug's Flume, than I've ever seen in decades of going). it was great. this is what I expect from a water ride, and was not disappointed (and that's why I always bring baggies with me to parks) they had one of the trains on the track today, but didn't get to see it on the lifthill. .where folks were up there working to get this sucker ready! I've seen and heard a lot of complaining about meal options removed from the Dining Plans recently.. but there are still lots of good options avail in the park! and if eating at Sangerfest Halle, gotta ride the Carousel. I mean, it's right next door! the 30th Anniversary revival of Rockin at Rockville High is *so* good. . and added bonus? inside in the A/C with padded seating/bench backs. added bonus was the ASL interpreter on our side (we were the Sophomores in our section), who was emanating pure joy (and looked like he was having a ball) during the performance. the cast sticks around after the show to pose for pics if guests would like them (and people were lining up, because yes, the show is that good) and I discovered this for the 1st time (new?) snack option - Pineapple float. Pineapple Ice cream, Pineapple Juice, Sprite, and chunk pineapple. . . it was really good. (and a bit sticky) bet it would be fantastic with some rum added (Amy went and checked, and the bar at the pizza place does sell shots of rum..but decided for $15 for a shot (and the heat of the day) it would be a mistake. so just enjoyed as is. the we waited in the queue for Bugs (it was about 25 minutes), but when I found out Amy had not only never been in the queue, but she'd never even ridden it? Yeah, was all in to wait. and we even convinced Sean to ride with - tho he was still wet from Gully Washer earlier, and REALLY wanted to dry out. so. . ..yeah. (after this pic was taken, we had to sit down in the sun and take our socks off to dry -- as at the top of the drop, no kidding, about 5" of water filled up the bottom of our log. . LOL) more pics of Dr. D's Cliffhanger. Looks like it's gonna be so amazing.

TO ADD: in an example of what a fantastic park SFFT is, and the Management team there, I've already been reached out from the park Mgmt, to thank me for my comments, and noted that: "we are hopeful that napkins and other guest amenities will return to guest facing soon." So I really hope that this is just a short term thing! But honestly, I'd be fine if just a few napkins are automatically handed when serving the food. Regardless. . this is why I LOVE this park!