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^ it might have to do with the way the parks run them too tho. . Catwoman at SFOG actually made me a little ill, since they were running such an intense program on it last year.

in regards to Supergirl? it was at the time I visited. now there are clones of it eslewhere, but at the time, the only similar was Catwoman Whip at SFOT, and that one is a double seater, so Supergirl being single seat was unique. that's interesting on Great Escape.. thought they had the longer seating arrangement there. How is capacity on that there?

^ mostly it's just teasing, @liltrekkie many folks here have been posting here for a long long time, and we're like family. . so it's like teasing your little brother (at least that's how i look at it). So, no, don't hate you at all. but seriously, I don't get why folks can't appreciate that it's a decent amusement park (tho perhaps now a lower tier Six Flags).. many places don't even have that! (thank goodness Houston might finally get a somewhat decent park soon tho in Big Rivers)

If it were my home park, I'd appreciate it for what it's got. . all I've been saying. (totally get your opinion of St. Louis, and also totally get that it's probably pretty dang accurate based on your line of work/experience) but shitting all over new attractions when the park gets new attractions? yeah. . .that's not someone who loves their park. SFFT posted about getting new benches. And you know what the vast majority of the comments were about that? "Yay, more places to sit" yeah. . it's about appreciating things for what they are, and not whining about things that are not. and it's certainly not turning it into a "size of my wallet" contest - which is why I chose to ignore that tactic. I can't wait to get back to SFStl - which wont' be too long - because I *really* wanna ride Xcaliber, which was not operating on my prior visits to the park. And yeah, because I wanna ride Catwoman Whip. (the prior visit was really because i wanted to ride Supergirl - which was unique in the Six Flags Chain - as well as Boss (didnt' like it tho), Eagle (loved it) and American Thunder (really loved it). next time I'm back for the park, maybe can meet up and hang for the day Zach. and Mgmt/Corporate hates this park guy is one of the most amusing things about the SFStL thread.

it's a Six Flags with two unique flats (Catwoman, and Xcalibur) found no where else in the chain, and several really great wooden coasters (also unique in the Six Flags chain). it's a real shame you don't appreciate the park for what it is, and what St. Louis has.

so certainly not back where I was . . (and the pictures on the side here make me sad to see). . . BUT. .getting a ticket for Coasterstock did help me get back on track. still struggling with portion size, but was able to cut out fast food, and I've been doing a 40 minute walk almost every day. I started back on 2/28 at 214 lbs. today, 3/10 I'm at 208.4 so down ~5.6 lbs in 11 days. a good start, just need to keep it up!

^ and to add, in that picture it certainly looks like the seats are front/back on each arm. . so a total of 16 riders per cycle (8 per arm). in other words, the *exact* same capacity that Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster has at Fiesta Texas, when it's operating with two trains (as it often does).

I have a decent job with good pay, so no, I won't drive 10 hours to visit Six Flags St. Louis. I'll fly and rent a car. not only do I have good friends that live in St. Louis (I'm flying to St. Louis in May, actually to visit with one of them, and we're going to hit several parks on our way to King's Island), but St. Louis also has: An absolutely *incredible* zoo A pretty amazing Museum of Fine Art (just up the hill you can walk to from the zoo) City Museum (which is worth a visit to St. Louis on it's own) Grant's Farm (that has FREE BEER samples) and that's not even looking at the Arch, or the historical sites near it. oh. .and yeah, a pretty decent Six Flags there too. so sorry, all I hear is whining and complaining.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. . new signs going up today, to warn that the Railroad might not operate consistently due to how close to the tracks the construction work is: OMG. . I love this park & Park President.

Jeffrey shared these last night, and I didn't have time to share here until now. wow. .this is not only looking amazing, but going up SO fast: bigger versions of the pics (I wont' get back to the park until next weekend. .then I'll have lots of pics to share)

Management *hates* this park. .we never get anything. (Mgmt spends lots of $$ repainting and repairing areas of the park) Management *hates* this park. . .we never get any new rides. (Mgmt announces new ride, a very unique one in the Six Flags chain) Management *hates* this park. ..it's not a coaster, and it's not the largest version of this ride avaialbe (Yes, but it's a unique ride in the Six Flags chain, and will give thrill seekers another specific reason to come to THIS Six Flags park) Management *hates* this park. . the queue is going to be boring.

Many of the horses were a pretty rough, and the whole thing felt a little bit stripped down. it certainly wasn't the worst Carousel we were on that trip - that (hands down) goes to Six Flags America - but there are many that are/were way better maintained. keep in mind, I'm a huge Carousel fan, so yeah, I'm really picky about the overall experience - that includes flooring, animals, decor, cleanliness, lighting, and music. EDIT: yeah, looking at the Carrowinds blog - as you got me curious - they moved it in 2018 and started the refurb slowly - to quote the blog: "As part of the move and renaming, each offseason for the near future, several of the 68 horses and chariots are being restored and repainted once again so that another generation of Carowinds guests can continue to enjoy them for years to come." so yeah. . it was still not even close to being fully refurbed, even tho it WAS in the the new location already (looking at a park map from 2019), at the time we visited https://www.carowinds.com/blog/2019/as-the-carousel-turns

^ avail from KISS online

Fury 325, Copperhead Strike, Intimidator over and over. and then watch every show in the festhaus hall (or whatever they call that large eatery with the stage at the front under Intimidator) oh, and many rides on the Carousel (which hopefully is in better shape now than it was when I rode it in 2018, tho it did have a pink pony)

The Seat Belt is on the end of the restraint. .it comes down and then clicks into the latch on the side. Tho it does seem really to be more of an afterthought. . perhaps to make riders feel a little safer. you can see it better in this pic from Saturday at the Passport to Thrills preview (I just pulled the restraint down for the picture, but not clicked in yet): as to the things embedded in the ground? those are the magnets that slide back and forth to engage on the arms and slow them down at the end of the ride - so it comes to a full stop very quickly. by comparison, on one ride (just after the above pic, actually), the ride faulted out during the cycle (bad reading from an empty seat) and the magnets did not engage. .and we slowly swung back and forth a good 60 seconds before coming to a complete stop. . . everyone got off a little green. .LOL But when it works properly, the magnets bring the arms to a stop pretty quickly. and it's kind of cool to see the magnets slide back and forth as the arms approach.

Park President Jeffrey Siebert just tweeted out the following Friday night gift. all I can say is holy crap does this look good.

updated party post to add Official POV of the ride at the end of it.

HAHAHA. . I actually like how they run Apple Zapple. . .despite the silly name, it's one of the few Wild Mouse I bother to ride

^ LOL.. I just dropped a lot of $$ on FL+ for Kings Island during Coasterstock - where we're gonna get a lot of ERT anyways. I look at it as $65 is not a lot of money for a perk that can guarantee you little wait. And s/he's never been to the park before. . so better to pay the smallish amount and guarantee a good time. but I also agree with Bill that it can be purchased in the park at any point if they get there and it looks busy

for $65 it's a no brainer for me. . I'd get FL+

https://www.kingsdominion.com/fast-lane-passes get Fast Lane + end of March on a Sunday, it's only $65 you probably wont' need it for I305 (it scares folks and never seems to have a line), but you WILL need it for Twisted Timbers. (and it gives you all the FL rides too. . so that's gonna be your best bet to ride more than just a couple of things in 3 1/2 hours)

^ SFOG single rider lines (Goliath & Twisted Cyclone) are *in* the station. So single riders wait with everyone else in the General queue. . then once int he station, there's a dedicated line (front of train for both) for single riders. (so the front operator can pull folks to fill any open seats) I honestly think this is really "fair" and I love it. .and use them whenever open - as it does cut down on empty seats on the train, and gets me on a few trains sooner than waiting in any row queue. so maybe they'll do it that way?

one more pic of Riptide Racer I snapped from the main gates. and the specialty cocktail. . can't remember what it was called (Liquid .. something). . but it was fizzy, and green and SO good)

Theme Park Review got invited to attend the VIP launch event for SeaWorld San Antonio's newest ride, Tidal Surge - which officially opens to the General Public this Saturday 3/5/22. I was honored to be able to attend on TPRs behalf last night and report back, as SWSA *really* knows how to throw a party! Arriving at SWSA for check in - the main entrance at SWSA is always so beautiful Well, look who's here! SFFT Park President Jeffrey Siebert, who attended the launch party with his son and others from SFFT. it's always so great for Parks close to each other to support each other in this way! (and behind us is a peek at the new Riptide Racer in Aquatica - also opening 3/5/22) we were shuttled from the front gate back to the Tidal Surge ride area, and greeted with quite the set up. is that a Red Carpet there? why yes it is. there were many costumed characters roaming and interacting that we could chat with and pose with. The outfits were really impressive too. As noted, SWSA really throws fantastic launch events. . let's take a look at the food that was out at the party: Beautiful Ice Sculpture surrounded by the most amazing Shrimp (and off to the side charcuterie / cheese options) a flatbread station with multiple options thruout the party a Quesadilla station also with multiple options and such an incredible desert spread that even I wasn't able to try all of them SeaWorld San Antonio also opened up one of the shops alongside the party, to show off (and make available for us to buy) the initial Tidal Surge merchandise (these shirts are SO soft. . . I'm gonna have to buy another of em!). and then Chuck from SeaWorld got up on the stage and welcomed us all and thanked us for coming. He told us all about the stats for the new ride (and the opening of Riptide Racer at Aquatica). Tidal Surge is not just the tallest Screaming Swing in Texas, or in the United States. It's the tallest in the world! Congrats on SWSA for this record breaking ride that's going to be a big draw, I think, as it's really fun (and terrifying) at the same time! We headed over to check out the ride, on this beautiful night. Here it is in action at the apex of the swing: and wow, does it look incredible up close! (tho was told that the intention is to keep it darker, and that the special lighting was really just for the event. It looks so good tho, I really do hope they consider keeping some of the spotlights on it) the Test Seat has now arrived, and I love that it has a Red Light/Green Light to indicate if someone can meet the restraint requirements. As of yesterday, Tidal Surge also now has "cubbies" installed on either side of the ride pad, so folks can store small items (tho there are also lockers going to be installed in the near future for those with bigger items to store) the ride cycled for a bit, allowing many of the attendees to enjoy the awesome feelings of weightlessness - both airtime and hang-time on the swings. And let me tell you, in the seats facing the station at the Apex when you're staring straight down into the lake, it's both trilling and terrifying at the same time. Although it's a different experience in the seats facing out towards the lake, as you swinging "stupid fast" towards Steel Eel, and at the height of the swing staring straight down at the queue building! after about 45 minutes tho, Tidal Surge stopped cycling for a bit. . because . . Fireworks! after the impressive Fireworks spectacular (many in SWSA Blue/White color combination. . tho most of the ones I captured don't seem to be in those colors. . LOL), the DJ's started pumping the music, Tidal Surge starting thrilling more riders, and the Firedancers came out to entertain. the DJs got the folks dancing - spurred on by the SWSA costumed folks - and soon there were quite a few folks out enjoying the dance floor. I even managed to get a stealth pic of Chuck moving to Nikki Minaj towards the end of the night. far too soon, it was time for me to head back to Austin, but I had a wonderful time. Tidal Surge is sure to be a big hit for SWSA, and I urge y'all to make the trip out to San Antonio Texas to #ridethetide ! Official POV from Seaworld San Antonio: TidalSurgePOV.mp4

they're planning on actually operating MaxAir in 2022 ? this should be bigger news!