bert425

Day 4: a visit to Oakwood. . . home of some interesting rides, areas, and the classic: Megafobia! on the bus early, and headed to the home of a classic coaster (and some other rides), I had only read about in books. it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by greenery & hills. . . but also a huge housing/apartment complex building up behind the far side. It was hard to tell exactly how "big" the park is from the lot, but it seemed to stretch on for quite a bit. . . and they DO have an awful lot of space to expand if they so choose to. . tho not sure the location means they ever get HUGE crowds. (we were there on a day where there were several school groups, but it never really felt too crowded) a pic of the park map. . . it looks like there is a lot to do, and there are a ton of things if you're interested in a "THEME Park" rather than a "thrill park". . as there are only a handful of "thrill" rides. but I quite enjoyed the day here, even with a couple of the rides not operating. the map also makes it look way more compact than it is. . .the park is pretty spread out, so did a LOT of walking. the first thing you see when entering the park from the parking lot is the looming "Drenched" (aka: Hydro) - which is known really for two things - it being the last "Mega Splash" model from Intamin still operating, and from an accident where someone fell out on the drop ~20 years ago. sadly this was not open today. . although it did look like Maintenance was working on it. And as we were heading out, the water was flowing in the flume (it had not been when we came in and I snapped this pic). . so it probably did open shortly after our visit. oh well.. . a reason to go back (as if Megafobia isn't enough reason ) there is a train that can bring folks from the parking lot to the main entrance, but as we were there before park open for some ERT, it wasn't operating when we passed it. I'm not sure if it ever did operate, but I didn't ride it if it did. Vertigo (a Skycoaster) looms over the front entrance. . . and many in the TPR group did ride it - including Robb who got Jack Crouse to finally ride with him for his 1st Skycoaster experience. walking thru the park to get to Speed, you can get a sense just how big (and hilly) it is here. this whole area is a kids/family area called "Neverland". . .it's JUST Peter-Pan-y enough to get the idea across, while not *reaaaaaly* violating any copyrights from other companies, I'd say. there are at least 6-7 rides back here, but only a couple are true "kiddie only" rides. the entrance gate to this section. across the great lawn, I get my first glimpse of Megafobia thru the trees a water slide, that several folks on this trip rode - you ride on a little "tray" - and most of them got wet. that's Speed - where we're headed - in the back on the left over there. also further down hill is Bounce (a shot/drop combo tower), a complex of slides, a swinging ship (which I don't think was open today), and a lake with paddleboats. here's where we were headed first: it's a Gerstlauer Euro Fighter, and I believe was the 1st one in Europe? yeah. . I'm not a big fan of Eurofighters, but I did ride it at least once. and then went and took pictures. from the station (Pic courtesy of Elissa I believe). . thumbs up before we leave. . . but the onride photo gives away my true feelings. . . LOL after our ERT, we were cut loose for the day in the park and several of us headed back over to something we passed while walking back to Speed: the Bobsleigh - a toboggan slide that opened with the park and is the last original attraction remaining from when it first opened. it was a sorta TPR takover, that many of us ended up in the line. NOTED (no tracks, no rails.. .just a toboggan and a chute to navigate down) and you ride the think up as it pulls you. . .think "Mountain coaster' but with no track. . . it was actually quite fun. and yeah. . NEVER in America. LOL but it was really fun. I think I rode this a few times. checking out the Megafobia gift shop, I was quite amused that the park sells old ride parts, and even ride signs! ("Plane Crazy" is what they used to call the flying scooters before retheming it for Neverland area) I think we didn't go to Megafobia right away because it was full of some of the schoolgroups (and besides, we had ERT on it later this afternoon). . so instead we headed over to "Spooky Street" sheesh. .can someone buy a vowel - no wonder I can't understand anyone in Wales! I was told this used to be a tracked dark ride, but they had removed the interior and had just been using it as a Haunt during the spooky season. seemed to be a waste. . but there were some other things over here in this area (not much tho) this is a Pinfari coaster, called "the Creepy Crawler" sadly this one too was not operating today . . . but the theming on it is great. you can see why it's not operating. . LOL they were waiting for some replacement track, and that's why it was shut down, but I was told that it WAS going to be opening back up once they repair it.. . so the park should have another operating coaster in 2025. the worker i chatted with told me that this area used to be based on Roald Dahl, and hence the giant pumkin walkthru that I loved to enter the ride? Used to be a giant Peach. really nice job by the park to retheme and reuse, as it fits the "spooky" area theme very well now. the two ladies back there were the operators on the only real "ride" that was operating over here in this section, hence them looking a bit bored. they were thrilled to talk to me tho and to have someone come to this section. the only other thing over here - which actually was open, but I didn't want to take my boots off - was this self play, trampoline area. here's the ride the ladies were operating. . a. kiddie teacups but we were invited to ride, so we did. TPR takeover! it actually spun a LOT, and was more intense than it looked like it would be. and the ops were happy to pose for a pic after our ride cycle. if you headed out of the Spooky Street area towards the parking lot, you pass by the Skycoaster, and the entrance line to Drenched. that they had a maintenance guy heading back there was a good sign that the ride *might* open today - so I snapped this pic to send to Daniel, who loves flumes and really wanted to ride this Mega Splash. still no water at this time tho you can see how steep that drop is! awwwww. . something over here just randomly to sit on/hump? don't mind if I do! Stacy and I split off to go explore the "Neverland" section this was really the only ride that was truly a "kiddie" ride - a miniature version of the boat. . .but I think there was a space that looked like it SHOULD have had a carousel on it (and the park clearly needs one). . so maybe there was that as well, but not at the moment. but we DID find a T.A.R.D.I.S.. . . . so of course, I immediately loved this area. one of two tracked rides over in this area. . . "the Sights of London" was a fun little thing where you just sit in a taxi, and a kid can "drive" you, or it just drives itself for you. having started the trip in London, of course I wanted to do it. we had a nice chat with the gentleman operating it, and he was surprised when I knew that the big building in the middle of the ride was the Tower of London. He said I'd be shocked how many people think it's the Taj Mahal (on a ride called "the sights of London" ????? LOL) whee! there's also a roller coaster back here - the Crocodile Coaster - a powered Kiddie. I usually don't bother with kiddie coasters, but this one was adorable, so when Stacy wanted the credit I went ahead and joined her. we had the whole train to ourselves. there's also a log flume, with a small indoor section (that was all kinds of weird). . . the best part of this? they only had 3 logs. So when several TPR folks showed up back here, we created a line but it was fun. . .whee! the flying scooters that have been renamed to "Tink's Flying School". . . with Tinkerbell on the flyers, and a figure in the middle. well.. .. SORTA Tinkerbell. More maintenance guys over here doing some planting/fixing as well. you can see how much space the park has here. Neverland Chase is the other tracked ride over here. . .this one clearly was a retheme from something prior, but no idea what. Maybe a Flinstones ride? but I'm always up for a tracked ride.. . my motto usually is: "the sillier and slower moving it is, the more I'll love it" even got Stacy on it. tho we did our own "trucks" rather than squeeze in together hmmm. . . I don't remember Neverland being this phallic? but hey, they tried to get some theming in the station, but having (what I think) are quotes from the Peter Pan book. . . still in the Neverland section, there's a little park/walkthru play area outside (there's also a really large indoor play area with soft pads/monkeybar climbthru over by the flume) but this outdoor one has things to climb on, and to slide down. D'awwwwwww you can't climb on this tho! but for some reason, you can sit in these. . .LOL and that's the skycoaster way back there on the left. yeah, as noted, the park is bigger than it appears. very spread out. oh my. . multiple sizes to choose from! headed back towards the Neverland entrance to go back out into the main park. (we still had one coaster to hit) sadly, tho I totally would have bought some stuff in this section? everything in this area was kiddie sized only it worked out ok, as I got a nice Megafobia shirt later. the design on the giftshop door in the Neverland area is very well done tho. we hadn't eaten lunch yet, so we stopped to grab a burger (the lunch rush from the school kids was dying down, so it was a good time to eat) and the Seagulls knew it too. Speed from our table while eating lunch. we went the long way around (down and then back up) for the final coaster. . . stopping to ride "Bounce" first it was a fun, and exciting ride, with a long cycle first shoot up. . then slow lift and drop. . then repeat in reverse. luckily we got on it, as there was some sort of incident a few days after our visit, and the ride was shut down for a long while. so I'm glad we got to ride it. and then to the only other coaster (besides Megafobia) we hadn't ridden yet: the Treetops Coaster it's just a Zierer that's got a wonderful location buried among the trees. . .lots of Helixes. but it was a nice, Family, coaster. I think I recall this had tire lift, rather than it being a powered coaster. with a really long train, that was themed to Logs! i felt very much reminded of being back in Japan riding "log" coasters. many of the school kids were headed out, so we went back over to the Bobsleigh, and rode that, and then finally after so much waiting/teasing, we got in the short line for Megafobia. another dream coaster I never thought I'd ever get a chance to ride. I'm not sure why it has the 2023 on the front - we were there in 2024 and it wasn't any kind of anniversary the year before - so it was odd. . . but I liked the looks of the trains (PTC?) it was great in the front. . and so good, we went back around and immediately got back in line for a back row ride freaking FANTASTIC. after our ride, it was close enough to ERT time, that while several TPR folks went over to Vertigo to ride the Skycoaster, I snapped some pics in the area, rode the Bobsleigh, and got some very good icecream, even tho I recall it being a little bit chilly. Megafobia from the entrance line. eventually it was time for our ERT after park close, and you can easily tell how much I loved this coaster in that I believe I did every ride during ERT.. here's just some proof (and thanks to Elissa & Robb for snagging these pics while we were riding. . and for arranging this wonderful treat. such a fantastic coaster) Group shot in front of the coaster before we head out (pic courtesy of Robb) and then just to break Daniel's heart? Drenched had water running in the flume now. no boats were testing, but it looked like it could open up any minute - tho it never did - and so we headed back to the bus and continued the drive. hope you enjoyed this update. I really liked Oakwood. . . sure, it woudn't be a full day park for someone who just wants thrill rides. But for those that enjoy walking around and the atmosphere? I recommend it. and Megafobia is worth the trip alone!

working on the next update (spoiler, next park is Oakwood in Wales - home to the incredible Megafobia, among other things). I hope to have that posted in the next couple of days. but I found a couple more pics from the snack exchange and a fun hotel pic, I thought I'd share int he meantime as Elissa mentioned online, this was a great Snack Exchange with some wonderfully odd things to try (again, Nick brought a Vegemite snack from Australia, which was odd, but not terrible) it's always a lot of fun when everyone gets together to try out snacks and yes, Hotel Door I was very alarmed too! no elevator, and I was on the 2nd floor. . . and I still had that big ass suitcase (I upgraded to a 4 wheel smaller size before Oktoberfest)

know what? editing to remove what I posted, because I really don't care what you think.

on the plus side, Nichole Sherzinger (whom I cannot STAND. . .I dislike her more than Jenny McCarthy, and that says a lot). . . just screwed herself out of a Tony nomination, and likely doomed her run on Sunset Blvd to a lot of open seats. who does she think is behind the scenes of the Tonys? and most of Broadway? and cast of many shows, and the majority of the folks that bought tickets just to see her in this show. oh well https://deadline.com/2024/11/nicole-scherzinger-donald-trump-russell-brand-sunset-blvd-1236171053/

Day 1 part 2: Oktoberfest at night. . after the rain has come. the downpour for a couple of hours while we were eating, really cleared out the crowds. side benefit is that it really made for some beautiful pics, with the lights from all the rides reflecting up off the wet ground. we entered not thru the main entrance (that would be tomorrow), but the group I was with, including Jon, Nick and Christopher), went in on the side closest to the restaurante we were at, on the right. near what they call: "Vomit Hill" I would have renamed it "Vomit and Piss Hill" as there were so many people doing both. . . which was a bit shocking since it's on the side of a beautiful building (a Museum?) with this incredible statue out front. but as noted. . it's on the far right side of the Oktoberfest fair - which is about as big as 3 football fields, I'd say - so I guess it really IS "off the beaten path" even tho we came in on this side tonight (for the only time) looking across. . the main corridor is up ahead and if we turned left, would see many of the HUGE beer tents that line the main corridor. the rides are all on the outlying corridors and the outside of the fair. with the "big" rides separated to help out with crowds, I'd assume. this, tho it looks like a ride, is a game booth. the rides are all independently operated, and there are multiple versions of some rides (I counted at least 4 breakdance type rides) - and they all run insane cycles to help draw crowds to them. The incredible lighting, fog, and fire effects help do that too. the giant Ferris wheel at the back of the main corridor of the fair (if you come in under the Oktoberfest sign and walk straight back, eventually you get to it). interestingly, my favorite area of the entire fair was back here BEHIND the Ferris wheel on the right - it was an "Oktoberfest Museum" of sorts, that had classic artwork, posters, haunt figures, information, food, drink, and a bunch of classic (like ancient) rides, that also ran crazy cycles - including a waltzer that the operator hand cranked to get it to go faster, and you had to fight for an open carriage when the ride stopped! NEVER in America LOL. and the rides in this section were all 1.50 Euro (much cheaper than anywhere in the fair, tho you did have to pay 4 euro to get into this section). I visited back there on day 3, so will be pics forthcoming of that. Christopher and I in front of one of the official welcome signs. pretty sure this is a different BreakDance again, this is relatively empty ! because it had rained. . can you imagine what a Friday night would have been if it had been nice? (we'd see that the next night when could barely move in the place!) tho there were several drop towers in the fair, this is actually a pic of a drop tower and a Catwoman's Whip style ride. but really, I think I was trying to get the pic of the Alpina Bahn sign along side the huge Lowenbrau tent - where we would be on Monday. this is one of the beer halls. made to look like Gingerbread and candies. Incredible that they build this up just for ~3 weeks. this amazing thing is called the Predator. imagine an Enterprise that's on a Gyroscope. and yes, I did ride it on one of the days - before eating of course - and LOVED it. but look at this crazy thing! multiple Himalayas and Music Expresses too ' more looks at what Predator does.. it really is mesmerizing. and a really long cycle too. but enough foreplay . it was time to head to the very back of the fair, for what many of us had wanted to come on this trip for: Olympia Looping. and it's jaw dropping in person snapping pics as we walked up to Olympia Looping. a variation on a Breakdance, called Parkour, and another Drop Tower this was a ghost train, but they had added VR to it. I did ride it one day, and it kinda made me nauseous. . but when it's over? you're not done. . . they make you go thru a fun house to get out! including stepping on mushrooms to find your path, and if you miss? water below it. but yeah, they really want you to get your $$ worth out of it. oh, and not everyone is seeing the same VR thing. . so you'd have to ride multiple times to make sure you get all options. (once was enough for me) the outside is very cool tho. and now a bunch of pics of Olympia Looping. . . i mean, are you really looking at Olympia Looping if you don't get pics of all 5 loops? time to ride! waited one train for front row (I discovered quickly it's much more forceful in the back, but for my 1st ride? I wanted to ride in the front) they were running 2 trains this 1st night due to the rain, but some days we were there they had 4 running. proof! as it got later the fair got a bit quieter. . but it didn't stop all the friendly (ie: drunk) folks from making our acquaintance. a pic of me in front of Looping turned into this wonderful pic with drunk revelers. and even Christopher - who had been taking the picture - got into it with a selfie. tho I did get this cute photo op they set up out front of it. other nights were so crowded, no way to get a decent pic, so I'm really happy we went and rode this 1st night. Right next to Olympia Looping is the Carousel Bar - where the center of it is actually a Carousel that spins while you drink. even on a relatively quiet night it was packed, tho I did spend quite a bit of time there during our visits to the fair. Um. . . ok? you GO, "Jumbo Flug" the famous Toboggan slide, with the Conveyor Belt lift hill. no, I didn't do it - I'm a klutz and would have broken my neck. But it was a ton of fun watching people try it, and several from TPR did really well on it. (the guys standing along the wall are to help pick up the people that fall on the conveyor belt and get them to the top) equally as well known from the fair is this. . aka: the Devil's Wheel - the spinning ride where you pay to go in and watch, and run down when they call groups to try and be the last one on the wheel. Adam from TPR won a round on this trip. probably due to the weather (it's covered inside) it was PACKED in there tonight even, so didn't go in, and just got this pic outside of it. one of three ghost trains at the fair. This one was the middle one (there's one much better and one much worse) but in this one? you ride in cages. so, of course, Jon and I wanted to ride the outside does a fantastic job making you want to go in and ride. it was just a lot of props in front of black drapes tho. meh. . .C- the Wild Mouse was fantastic. not only was it all lit up, AND they were racing it the whole time. . but I've never been on a Wild Mouse with so much airtime. it was so good. . . both sides. and I'm sure the wild mouse on ride photo was officially licensed too (didn't get one, because it was more than the one at Olympia Looping). incredibly well lit, and flashy Rotor. with a waterfall, and what looked like a funhouse prior to getting on the ride. classic looping ride. and it made me laugh that they have the Olympic rings on the front Bannister. how drunk must one be to think this is Olympia Looping? one of two massive Claw rides. . this one was Konga, and had giant fire effects too. finally made it over to my other "must do tonight" ride: Alpina Bahn the trains were lit up, and the tracks were wet from the rain, and this sucker was FLYING. I absolutely loved this, and think I may have ridden it more than Olympia Looping during my visits to the fair (tho I rode both of them 5-6 times) the bears up top are Animatronic, tho since they were speaking German, I have no idea what they were going on about even on the 1st night, I got to see the "true meaning of Oktoberfest" turns out that unless you pass out in a walkway? Security leaves you alone. . this guy was just fine on a bench, and saw many folks laying on the grass on the sides that were left undisturbed. as we were headed back to the hotel - it had been a really long day, and I had ridden all 3 of the coasters (only one side of Mouse), I was ready to sleep - we passed by the biggest of the ghost trains, and had to stop by to take a look at it. wouldn't ride it until the next day. . but ended up riding it several times, it was that good. Geister Palast (Ghost Palace) still headed towards the exit (the fair is really big!). . here's a shooting dark ride, that was Nintendo - adjacent. I think Elissa had the high score on this one for a bit (posted outside the ride) one of multiple FunHouses thruout the fair - this one with the whole lower level as a mirror maze and yet another infamous ride spotted, the Tagada. this one with a metal floor. this one was pretty violent, and was shooting people off the seats and into the center during some of the spins. very fun to watch. . . and with that, we made our way back to the hotel, and I crashed. tomorrow was the official start of the trip and we were starting out the day with Skyline Park. and a ride I was terrified of, but had promised I'd ride it (and made the statement publicly) after I chickened out and didn't ride it in Finland. but for now? sleep. . .

at first, when I heard that TPR was doing an Oktoberfest trip in 2024, I thought there was no way I'd be able to participate - I mean, I'm not a big drinker, and the trips are really limited space wise. but after talking it over with Elissa and being assured I wasn't the only non-drinker that would be on the trip, and besides, imagine getting to experience the Halloween event at Europa Park (180,000 pumpkins! and the Traumatica night time offering), I was all in, and luckily was invited to join along. so yes, I'll have two TPR trip reports running at the same time, since I'm still nowhere near finished on the UK Trip I did in June/July it was an AMAZING trip, with multiple bucket list things checked off (Olympia Looping, Voltron, Alpina Bahn) and even things I didn't know should have been on my bucket list (experiencing a Halloween Haunt in Germany - holy crap were these amazing) . .and hopefully these pics capture that. Starting off, I was flying the day before the trip officially started, and was arriving in Munich the morning of the trip. I would have preferred to have a little more time (especially between flights, since I had to sprint thru the DC airport to make my flight to Germany due to flight delay out of Ausatin), but I knew there was some sightseeing time on this trip, so I did my best to make use of my available vacation and headed to the Austin airport. starting off smiling and perky at the Austin airport. barely made my flight to Munich. . and then we sat on the tarmac for about an hour + as they dealt with one mechanical issue after another. Not exactly what you want to hear before a trans-atlantic flight. but at least I wasnt' alone on this flight, as CFC was also on this flight and we had said hello as I rushed thru boarding. eventually we got on our way, and enjoyed a nice dinner: and breakfast, before landing in Munich. because we arrived so late, there was no gate available for us at the Munich airport, so we parked on the tarmac, took the stairs down, and then took busses to the side Customs entrance - which worked out wonderfully. Customs was a breeze, as it was only OUR plane using this side. Soon enough was down in Baggage claim, where I met up with CFC, and also Nathan. . and we all hopped into a taxi and made our way to the 1st hotel of the trip (a close, 15 minute walk to the Oktoberfest grounds). several folks were around this morning who didn't have enough time to do outside of the city sightseeing, but had a few hours before the welcome dinner. So several of us teamed up, and hopped on the train, and went to the City Center to see the famous clock tower: the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. I was impressed by the train - one long, open train. . . . . it was surprising not to see it separated by subway cars as they do here in the USA. lots of folks on this train headed to Oktoberfest too, even tho it was a Friday, and the skies had been threatening rain. coming off the train and looking at the amazing architecture in the City Central plaza and here's the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel it goes off at Noon and has several tiers of moving characters that enact a joust (complete with riders falling from horses) and a complex dance recital. we were still a bit early for that, so the square hadn't quite filled up, but it DID get pretty crowded as it got closer to noon. better shot of the tiered levels of the clock. . and you can see we still had about 25 minutes till noon. the group I went with: Myself, Bob, Erik, Nathan, and Chuck (CFC) a photo op? don't mind if I do! the clock in action during it's 10 minute or so performance (interestingly, this clock runs about 4 minutes behind. . so all the other clock towers in the area finish chiming Noon before this one starts up). I angled the pic upwards to go over the crowd, but the square is PACKED now. afterwards, we went into the actual tower (tho didn't pay for the tour. . it's free to just go in tho to look around) Munich has a bunch of sister-cities, and they're represented here in the entrance arch. Cincinnati? really? gorgeous stained glass windows in here. some pics from the interior square of the clock tower building the gargoyles in here were a ton of fun. . and many of them were of the "drainage" variety after wandering around for a bit, and buying some souvenirs (the Oktoberfest fair has a store here in the Central square, so could buy stuff here without the crowd), we stopped for a light snack. we were gonna eat in a few hours, so i stuck with an apple fritter desert only, and it was fantastic. (there are 3 here, and I shared with the table) we made it back to the hotel, and our rooms were now ready, so was able to relax for a bit (and shower) before it was time to head to the lobby and meet up with everyone to walk over to the restaurant for the official welcome dinner. i remembered to snap a pic with Elissa - proof of life to send home - and got to say hello to more friends I hadn't seen in a bit. Nick had been on the UK tour a couple of months prior, but it had been a year or so since I'd gotten to see Jon. it was great to hang out with them again. as well as see folks I hadn't see in years, and meet some folks for the first time whom I've interacted with online for a long time, but had never met in person. we all followed Robb & Elissa to the restaurant for the "welcome dinner", and just outside - for some reason - was this giant snail. so we stopped and posed for a pic! (photo courtesy of Robb) here's the restaurant we went to - a traditional German beerhouse, that was packed (as it was very close by to the Oktoberfest fair) we had 3 full tables in one part of the restaurant. . so it was a mini-TPR takeover. (oh, and it started pouring literally moments after we sat down, so no rush to finish off anything as the food started coming out. . and coming, and coming!) Prost! LtR: Barry, Andy, Colin, Hawk, Doug, and I think John's arm, and Eric's coke? yup. .a Beer as big as Eric's head! these gluttonous masses were . . . . something. I think they were supposed to be the potato dumplings. . but they were a very strange texture, and had a flavor like . . . air. yeah. .they were something. I wasn't really all that hungry, the problem was the food was all HUGE! So even trying to eat small meant taking big pieces. felt guilty for wasting food, but not gonna lie, the chicken was the best I've ever had. I mean ever. the braise on the crispy skin was so damn good.. ate way more than I should have. my plate, with TRYING to eat small.. . tiny scoops of the sides, so i DID try. (that's the smallest pork knuckle that was available on the tray!) the texture of a breast implant, and the shape of a ball. . . yay! tho good for a picture, it was really the only thing (besides the liverwurst - but I don't like liver) that I didn't care for. Everything else was excellent. Official pic of our table from the waitress *or maybe it's Colin doing a selfie? LtR: Hawk, Doug, Eric, Jonathan, Jere, Hanno (hiding behind Jere), Jon, me, Barry, Andy, Colin with the meal winding down, and the rain slowing to a really light drizzle. . . several of us decided to check out the Oktoberfest Fair, figuring (correctly) that the rain probably drove a lot of folks out. and some, like myself and Christopher, really wanted to get rides on Alpina Bahn and Olympia Looping. . . why wait? do it now. it made for some great pictures. that's the next post in part II of day 1

the Safari can take up a lot of time too. . . depending on what time of day you hit it.

the only good news I can report on today. Six Flags Fiesta Texas, has quietly dropped the height restriction on Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger. . . . after Park President Jeffery Siebert started teasing the other day that the Doctor was expanding her practice. the Dive coaster was minimum height 52" not anymore!

back on the bus, we headed towards Swansea. . we were gonna be spending the next day at Oakwood (home of Megafobia!) but for the rest of the day, was gonna be travel, and check into the hotel. Then later tonight was the Snack Exchange - where everyone brings a treat they enjoy to share with everyone else, and we do a lobby takeover to share. some pics from the bus: and then once checked in, any of us hit the closeby Grocery Store to stock up on any needed things, as well as grab some food for dinner. in the store, I noticed this and snapped a picture. a decision was made as to what was most important here, methinks. back at the hotel, some pics of the snack exchange. . . .most everything was very good, or at least "interesting" - yes, I'm talking about your Vegemite, Nick! and seems that I didn't take separate pics of the swag. . so here's some pics of swag that cover most of what I've covered so far anyways. . . including that Lego figure from Legoland! hopefully another update coming not too far off. . . but first, to get started on my Oktoberfest report!

Day 3, LegoLand Mini-Land pictures: these figures partied too hard with the sheep, and passed out after

well, I certainly jinxed myself, didn't I? Tho I guess *technically* it didn't take me a month for the next update..it took me almost 7 weeks (whoops). and that I went to Oktoberfest with TPR earlier this month, means that I'll have two trip reports running concurrently - but gonna TRY to keep things sorta consistent. so onward. . day 3: Legoland Windsor! where we stopped for a visit on our way to Swansea, Wales. our first "Surprise Park" of the trip. we got there before opening, and not only is it a gorgeous setting, but it's up in the hills. . so lots and lots of walking (turns out there is a funicular that we could have used to get back up later but I didn't spot that until we were almost back at the front gates near the top. . . LOL) Group Pic courtesy of Robb this park is just beautiful. . . just look at that view (more on that later). the park is all "hidden" down steep pathways below us. a slow moving monorail type ride. . one of my favorite "stupid" rides that I love doing at parks. and tons of "full size" mini-figs sprinkled all thruout the park as we were walking down. this is what we were headed towards. . the park's brand new Dueling Family Boomerang coaster! we got to watch it testing, and I love the theming on this. . .they even did a "crash thru" of a billboard. . . forwards and backwards. . the heavier train did seem to win most times. . . and out front is the "World's Biggest Mini-fig", Roxie ! Group Pic with Roxie, courtesy of Robb time to ride! I believe they CAN operate just one side, but where's the fun in that?? ya gotta race! and that means, of course, riding both sides. first I rode blue (and our train won) and then I rode Orange, and we won again! (and I'm not taking credit for making the train that much heavier ) but it really is a rather fun family boomerang (by Zierer, not Vekoma). it wasn't "meh" at all, and I think it will be a huge hit for the park. our next stop was walking over to the Castle for DragonCoaster, just before official park open. we passed by Mini-land to cut thru and I snapped some pics while walking, but most of the mini-land pics will be in the next post. the famous Fire Academy at this Legoland hadn't opened for business yet when we passed it. nor had the shooting mummy dark ride, but we'd come back for this once turned loose in the park. and before we knew it (after walking a bit, as it's a larger park than it appears) we were at the Castle for the Lego-land signature Dark Ride/Coaster, Dragon. no cameras allowed on ride, but I had gotten an ok to take pics while in queue. . . so at least got the adorable train! group pic in front of Dragon Coaster courtesy of Robb ummm. . . . other than the Duplo Kiddie coaster, the only other coaster at LegoLand Windsor is the family, Dragon's Apprentice - and that was down today. . so we were cut loose and a group of us made our way into the park. several of us did the Mummy Shooting ride, and then noticed the Train was about to pull up (the Mummy ride queue actually crosses the train tracks in the center, and had a woman with stop signs there to ensure no one was on the tracks when the train passed thru the queue. . a bit odd, but charming). so we hopped on the train for a trip around the park lots of theming around the tracks on this train ride: the boats didnt' appear to be on a track here, and it was a pretty large course too. we had limited time here tho, and I was more interested in the SeaLife Aquarium and the mini-land. . so had to pick and choose what to do. and of course have to stop for any photo ops! we had been advised by our guides that the flying theatre here was pretty good and to not miss it, so headed over that way into the "Mythica" area of the park. I really loved how the queue has lego creations of the creatures featured in the film. (having now been to LegoLand Germany, and ridden their coaster that's also themed to the Tri-Lion, I know they use these same models in that queue too. . making them a bit less unique. but still rather cool) after the aquarium (and I think the Ninjago area. . which I strangely have no pics of, but probably because was rushing to get things done on my list). . I did stop for a photo op. and then it was time to head to my last "biggie" here. .the haunted house. which was right across from the lego boats, so got some more pics of those as we passed by. the queue for the Haunted House is adorable. I remembered how the Haunted House in LegoLand Billund ended in a surprise ride, so was looking forwards to what this one might contain. oh my. . it's a dance party in the lobby. no, really. . and it was fun and we all danced. and then you go into the house, and the actual whole thing is a ride - it's a madhouse! (a gentle one, but I always love a madhouse). splitting up to hit the last things we wanted to get on, Stacey and I headed to the kiddie area, as she really wanted the Duplo kiddie coaster credit. passing by the Fire Academy, it was busy this time, so snapped some pics (it's a real workout!) I think what I liked best about the Duplo Coaster (besides how absolutely adorable it is), is the setting - it's just below the new Coaster (s). . so from that line, you can get some good pics of the racing boomerang. D'awwwwww. . . OMG . . it's so cute! so even tho I tend not to ride kiddie coasters? yeah, I had to ride this one. and I spotted this just across the walkway from it. . which checks EVERY single box for "dumb ride that bert will love" it goes up and down. .and turns a little bit. . that's really it. of COURSE I had to ride it. thanks to Stacey for the pics after time spent in Mini-Land, we started our trek back up the path towards the front - making sure to leave us enough time to get back since the park is so large. lots more figs and things to look at on the way back up too. I even found the figure I had bought a magnet of earlier in the day! back at the top. . check out this view! I believe that's London way off in the distance? and from the park? A view of Windsor Castle! a glimpse of the winding paths down into the park proper. and right by the main gates? a large Lego store, of course I SO wanted this, but no way to get it home.. just too big. So I'll have to order online And with that, we headed back onto the Bus, and continued our drive towards Sansea, Wales. but first, I split out all the Miniland pics into a separate post below

wonderful report. . thank you so much for sharing!

most def. add Fright Bash to your list. just for the included house fast pass, and Flash Pass badge. (and show seating). . it really is worth it JUST for those, even if you don't' ride much.

as part of Fright Bash, we had reserved seating for several shows - and although Fiesta is well known for their shows, I had seen versions of the evening ones, and so was most excited about "Haunted Hollywood" - a Halloween version of the excellent Hollywood thru the years show the park had new for 2024. it's mostly the same cast (a few new faces) performing "spooky" or "scary" songs. . .y'all. .it's SO good. highly, highly recommended: wish I could remember all the songs. . but they were mostly of the Halloween variety. . . really talented cast tho. (the only one I didn't care for was "Feed My Frankenstein" - as the guy was way out of key (and that's hard to do on an Alice Cooper song). . but huge props to him for making it down all those stairs in the giant Frankenstein boots). the Count with the puppet Dracula was hysterical. . and the song was so good too (even if I can't recall it right now) this one I remember, as it truly is a show standout: "Psycho Killer". . featuring little Vignettes of each victim being chased by their killer. . . before all joining up in the center stage for some great choreography. and HUGE points to the park for staying in true character - the "bad guys" all run. . . except for Michael Myers. . he just slowly walks after his victim. perfection! the Addams Family theme song a kinda cringy "dancing pillowcases" number for Casper the Friendly ghost. but I mean. . it was amusing. and of course, the show ender/ show stopper, is a full performance of "Thriller" after the show, the organizers asked all attendees on the stage for a group picture (I kept my hat on, so a bit noticeable) and then we got a meet and greet with the cast. . these 3 are among my favorite performers at SFFT, and any show they are in? I'll be there! back out into the heat, we had a couple of hours until dinner. . so it was time to ride some stuff! pic by my friend Belinda - who's in the very front. SO many characters out during the day (I would guess many of them change outfits to be ghouls at night). . but so many photo ops, and this is a lovely park anyways! Supergirl retheme completely done, and the Starflyer looks great. after a bunch of riding (I had my camera put away, so not many pics) it was time for dinner, and some Q&A with park folks. I didn't take a pic of my dinner, but did bump into the Quirky Coaster Couple (who had changed from Luigi/Mario for a "nighttime" look). Glad I snapped this pic, as you can get a look at the food. the chicken schnitzel on a stick was incredible, as were the ribs, and the german potato salad (and potato pancakes with applesauce). as a group of 17 strong (!) we decided to hit some of the houses that opened at 6.. as most folks were heading over to the Crackaxle train station for the Arrival (where the scarezone actors arrive by train and pour out into their own scare zones thruout the park). it was SO crowded that day, that I didn't want to be anywhere near Crackaxle - so instead we hit the Stranger Things House (yawn), the Conjuring House (excellent!!), Slaughterhouse (very good), the Voodoo House (which during the day is a kid friendly "tour of the collector's store" walkthru, but at night is filled with scare actors and low lights), Trapped (way better than in previous years, as they took some of the props from the discontinued Buried Alive house). the Voodoo house let us out right into the scare zone in Spassburg, so we decided it was close enough to the Arrival, that we would wait for the characters to arrive in the Scarezone before continuing onto the boardwalk - as the big outdoor maze (Hell Cemetery) is staffed by some of the ghouls on the train. it was a perfect spot to get some pics as they slowly made their way into the park, from a PACKED (so I was told) Crackaxle train stop. once they scare actors were out and about in the park, we headed to the boardwalk for the last House, Twisted, and the large (free) outdoor maze Hell Acres: the clown zone had filled up with scare actors from the Arrival. I think people don't realize this is a house here, and they think it's a queue for Pandemonium. but it never really has a line, even without the skip the line, we wouldn't have had to wait very long in the regular pass line. but it's a great house, with some really good animatronics in it. it had gotten a bit too stuffy, so had put the hat in the car after dinner. . . loved Twisted, but then down the steps to the Cemetery. Excellent. Large. and Free (as it's considered a Scare Zone, not a house) SUCH atmosphere down here. and some wonderfully spooky pics of the boardwalk due to the lights and fog. this one also benefited from reuse of props from the closed Buried Alive and Rockkill High houses. after this, we walked across the park to the other outdoor walkthru "Scarezone" - "Fear Acres" - which takes over a pretty good chunk of the waterpark, and has historically been SO packed, that I've never even gone thru the whole thing. Surprisingly as packed as the park was? "Fear Acres" had no line to get in, and the crowds were moving pretty well thru this large, and very well staffed haunt zone. crazy farmers, scarecrows, pig masks, machetes and chainsaws. . . check. very good, and for free too. . even if the makeups were mainly greasepaint and not as intricate as in the houses. we had reserved seating for two more shows, and the fireworkds "Frightful Finale" - followed by an hour + ERT on Dr. Diabolical and Iron Rattler. . . . but doing the math in my head, I said to my friend (who had driven). . if we stay for the fireworks, we're not getting home until 2am. as even if we dont' stay for ERT, we'll be stuck in the parking lot. I was exhausted - having been to a late concert the night before, and still not recovered from Germany late nights. . . so I told him I'm ok with whatever he wants to do. His son had come with us and he also works nights and he had gotten off work and immediately got in the car with us to San Antonio. . so I know he was tired too. so Russell asked him, and he was ok with leaving, so we called it a night, and left before the fireworks. . but it got me home by 11:45, so that was nice - even if I did need to stop and get a slurpee so the sugar would keep me up on my drive home. all in all? a great event, and FrightFest at SFFT is highly recommended.

as mentioned above, I was at the park this past Saturday to participate in the annual "Fright Bash" - which is put on by ACE, but the park tends to go all out, so I always attend. (not only does your lanyard count as Flash Pass, but also gives VIP lounge access, park admission (if you don't have a pass), skip the line Haunted House fast pass, reserved seating for shows, behind the scenes tours, and a great dinner (that this year featured all the Oktoberfest food from the festival also going on at the park - it was fantastic, and I say that after eating German food with TPR for the past 2 weeks while at Oktoberfest in Munich). I'd even go as far to say as this event and being able to purchase a ticket to attend (*way* more value than just the cost of Flash Pass), is worth it to maintain my ACE membership. anyways, there was another large group there, and it was a Saturday/Fright Fest night, so it was PACKED. . but I still had a wonderful day. Even if Jefferey Siebert wasn't around (I hear he had taken his family to check out Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando). . . but still, it was wonderful to see all my friends who work at the park, and Jeff F. and Jorge took great care of us. on to pics! I'm here! and forgot to take a pic of the front gate entrance (oops). but I DID remember to bring my "Helga" hat, bought at Europa Park from the Snorri ride exit shop! - hey, it's Fright Fest (and I got lots and lots of compliments on my hat) it's the wonderful Jeff Filicko from SFFT, and the wonderful "OMG, I'm blanking on her name, and i can't recall it event tho we're facebook friends, and I've known her for a while. first ride of the day was on Wonder Woman - which is riding fantastic! (and yes, the hat stayed on). absolutely LOVE what they have done in Rockville - the home of the "Stranger Things" house, in the High School. really retro decorations, and the freestanding doorways all up and down the street, where kids can "knock" on the doors during the day and be answered by 60's themed park reps who hand out candy. (and at night the area is flooded with fog, and the porches are filled with creatures) My friends the Quirky Coaster Couple were here too - they came out looking amazing - as they always do. we had a bit of time before the the 1st official back stage tour (lights on tours of the two new IP houses). . so we headed over to Sangerfest Halle to grab a bite to eat, as dinner wasn't until 5pm. . . we ended up with a gang of friends going. seems since I was last here, the store that used to sell (I think) candles, has been repurposed as an indoor Looney Tunes meet and greet! Great Job by the park, moving the meet and greets inside in the A/C. I'm sure those in the costumes really appreciate it in the Texas heat. anyways as we were walking in, there was Vampire Bugs, and Scarecrow Taz out, so we hopped in line for a pic. (and Bugs took a bite of my neck) then it was across into Sangerfest for food, tho it's not a trip to SFFT without a visit to "Sweet Connie" - whom I've been told personally by Jefferey Siebert that they saved her when they re-did Sangerfest Halle a few years back mainly because I made her into an icon in the park from all my posts about her. . LOL while eating, a few more characters came out from backstage and walked over to the meet and greet - including the rarely seen Speedy Gonzales. . so I went back across to get a pic with Luchiador Speedy, Devil Sylvester and Frankenstein Yosemite Sam Sylvester loved my "hair". . but Sam pointed out it matched his Moustache. . so of course! by the time we were done eating, it was time to head over to Rockville for our lights on tour of "Stranger Things" - one of the two new IP houses this year at the park. and hey. . Jorge was waiting to guide us on this tour! (along with the head Lights/effects guy who sets up the houses, who hosted a short Q&A after our walk thru) normally no photography is allowed in the houses, but we were told it was ok to take pics, and/or record, as long as we did not stop, as we were "conga-lining" thru the house. I didn't mind at all - if there's one thing I'm good at? taking pics while walking and having them come out decent it really didn't look that much different at night, only darker, and harder to see some of the really nice details they put into it. there was a huge lack of scare actors in here, tho - they were only allowed to do certain things, so other than the stuff you're seeing in these pics (several of which ARE animatronic and moved at night), other than one or two actors on stages away from the attendees - this house really has no scare actors in it. they are going for atmosphere. it looked great, but was really rather dull, and ranked lowest on my list of the 6 houses - even below all the on property houses such as Slaughterhouse & the Puppet Theater (which both were great). I'd even rank this as below the two outdoor mazes (think they are called scare zones) - but which are long, and were stuffed with scare actors. anyways, here's the "Stranger Things" house: just look at that silly hat! (I'm still waiting for one of my friends to photoshop a butcher knife into Jorge's hand) after an interesting Q&A, we were led thru the park to the other new house for a walk thru: the Conjuring House. It's in Crackaxle - in the location where the old "Buried Alive" house was, so they had a lot of space to work with. we passed by the recently opened, brand new, Daily Planet store - which now serves as not only a gift shop (with A/C !), but also the ride entrance to Superman Krypton Coaster, and the ride Exit for Supergirl skyflight (the starflyer). yeah. . it made traffic in the store a bit nuts when we rode a little later. . so they might need to work on the register layout a bit to tweak traffic flow. under the awning - which is one of my favorite parts of Frightfest at SFFT - many of the pumpkins light up. and these pumpkin towers are amazing. there are several of them thruout the Crackaxle section. yay! Iron Rattler is back up and running (but sadly Roadrunner was down for scheduled maintenance). the DC Universe section is looking fantastic, even if much of it is not back open yet. . but at least Green Lantern (the old Zoom Jets) is now back open outside of the construction walls. I seem to have snapped no pics as we went by - probably out of sadness of the giant paper-weight that is Kid Flash (many of the light panels seem to be missing now too, and they aren't even running the lights. I'll be shocked if it's still there in 2025 season). on to the other new IP house - and 100% the BEST house in the park: The Conjuring Universe. seriously, this house is fantastic, and absolutely worth the cost of admission. I walked thru during the day (as seen in these pics) and they STILL got me with some excellent jump scares, and over a dozen scare actors in multiple rooms. so, so good, and I'd say the gold standard. if you want no spoilers, skip to the next post, as the rest of these are pics from the Conjuring House. and with that. . (I was impressed), we moved on to our first reserved show seating. . . next post.

you can use the Golden cake with no issue at all. the difference is that Yellow Cake uses the entire egg (including yolk). . while a Golden Cake tends to just use the egg whites. but they are both vanilla flavor . . so no biggie to mix and match.

was there yesterday for a fantastic (and PACKED) Halloween event. the Conjuring Universe House is really fantastic. Amazing job. the Stranger Things house is dull as dirt. . and the SFFT houses range between the two. . with a couple of them really benefiting from props moved out of the now closed "Buried Alive House" and repurposed into other houses. all in all, a great event, and the amount of people paying the fees for the Haunted House passes was amazing (and I would say they are getting their money's worth). the park also has multiple free scare zones, and two free outdoor haunts (fairly long at both of them) and VERY well staffed with scare actors. To be 100% honest, the makeups in the free outdoor haunts were basically greasepaint in most cases (while in the houses - the majority of them very well staffed as well - the makeups are prosthetics). Still tho. . for a free haunted maze? well done Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I'll have some pics up in the near future (we got daytime / lights on walkthrus of the Stranger Things, and Conjuring Houses. . . . but as noted, the Conjuring house is really the one that was top notch at night with some incredible effects, and one SUPER effective jump scare that has people literally screaming out curse words). as to Kid Flash. yeah. . I'll be shocked if it's still there in the 2025 season. It's a big paperweight. They aren't even running the lights on it any longer.

^ while I don't blame you at all for skipping Boomerang? I always ride it when there, just for the history. that's the old "Flashback" from Six Flags Over Texas (removed to make way for more Gotham (along with the bumpercars) way back in 2012 (and for a bit there, right next to it was the old "Dungeon Drop" from Astroworld (it had been rethemed as Superman, but now gone anyways)

a Section of tilt track (as on Winja's) is not anything at all like a Tilt Coaster. you are incorrect on your list above, only because I'm talking about real, Vekoma, "Tilt Coasters" . . . not the Chinese Knockoff that they call "Broken Rail Coasters" (if I'm being pedantic) there is currently ONE Vekoma tilt coaster in existence - open and operating: Gravity Max at Discoveryland in Taiwan. there are 3 under constructions - Circuit Breaker at COTA, which has gone vertical and is moving along nicely, Iron Rattler at Six Flags Quiddiy City, and the just announced today, Siren's Curse at Cedar Point.

nice. . so we'll have two tilt coasters in North America / USA

nice pics! and too funny, I just updated my TPR UK trip report with our day at Thorpe. and yeah. . Saw & Colossus were awfully rough. but I too agree that Stealth was great. .and I thought Swarm was the best coaster in the park. (tho Hyperia a close 2nd)

Day 2 (part 2): Thorpe Park! We also went and did the "Ghost Train" - which I knew nothing about, but had been recommended by several park employees I had talked to. It's not really a "ride" but rather an experience - an interactive show, with some brilliant special effects and a set that "moves". . so it feels like you trapped on a train that's moving as crazy things happen. It was very cool and I loved it so much I bought multiple Magnets from it. . and was looking to buy a shirt for it (but they didn't have anything I really loved). for some strange reason, I don't have ANY pictures of this ride - I'm shocked myself. I know I was incredibly distracted (or as my friends call it "dickstracted") by a cute bear couple that was in the queue with us - which would explain why I have no pics of the outside of the ride. And you couldn't take pics during the experience. but still. . I'm truly surprised I don't have any pics. . LOL I think it was around this time, that (*I think) we got a message from Robb asking who wanted to ride the Tidal Wave as a group, and if so, meet by the ride. So a whole bunch of TPR folks got together, and our park guild got them to set aside a boat for TPR (plus one family who were added to the back row not realizing a completely full TPR boat was gonna be heavy and get a bigger splash) and off we went. COMPLETELY soaked. . like being dipped into a bathtub. . and I loved it. the following pics are all from either Robb or Andy, I believe: the aftermath. . posing in front of the next boat's splash. with time in the day running out, several of us headed to the last section of the park - seemed to be themed to a lost Jungle/ruins, to ride the flats over there: a giant swing, an Enterprise, a Flying Carpet, and a "claw" the swing was ok, but kind of underwhelming to me because a) the cycle was so short, and b) I've been on the tallest one at SWSA here in Texas. it was fun, but not exciting, if that makes sense. loved the theming over here tho. . .very, very green and "overgrown" looking, but with rides just popping up in the center of it. Zodiac is the Enterprise. the Flying Carpet went down while we were in queue for the Enterprise (had to wait for next cycle), so didn't get to ride that - think it was just too close to end of day for Maintenance to mess with it today . . but it framed Swarm very nicely for a picture I thought and the claw was also over here. see? I LOVE Enterprises (Robb just asked about who loves them on the TPR Facebook page) . . . this one didn't run a great cycle. . and it was really quick considering how long it took the one operator to get it loaded. . but any Enterprise is a fun Enterprise. it was so close to the end of night, that Stacey and I hit a store for shopping before heading back to the Pavilion to meet up with the group. no, I didn't buy this. . but I was VERY tempted. LOL.. if it hadn't been at the start of the trip and I was already worrying about suitcase space, prolly would have grabbed it. as we waited for the park to clear (and more importantly the Hyperia line to clear thru), we headed over to Swarm for our 1st ERT. apparently the theming is an alien invasion. . tho Thorpe park does seem to have a thing for wrecked planes (there were several of them thruout the park as theming. . LOL). but I loved this. and I was actually sorry I hadn't gone over here during the daytime, as I absolutely LOVED this B&M Flyer. my favorite ride in the park, and I think I rode every cycle of our ERT. glass smooth with an amazing diving first drop, and an inversion over/thru the station - which is themed to a bombed out Church. the inversion I mentioned, from inside the station the design of the trains is SO good. . this is the back of the row in front of us! Pic courtesy of Elissa, I believe (or possibly Robb) following pics courtesy of Elissa, Robb, or Andy: whee. . . front row! after 25 minutes or so at Swarm (and I think 9 rides), we headed as a group over to Hyperia. HAHAHAHAHA. . and I actually *did* get a pic of the front of Ghost Train as we walked past it. so good on me. . tho all closed up, doesn't look too exciting. and here is the main course. . ERT on Hyperia. after it had warmed up and was running amazing. Edit: D'oh!!! that's Kristen with her Dad (Robb) in the seats behind me in this pic! She looks so much like her Mom! So this pic must be courtesy of Elissa. I couldn't ride Hyperia over and over, as by the end of the day, it was a wee bit too intense for me (I kept having to tuck my shirt back in after riding)! . . . so I didn't do every cycle, but I did ride 2, then rest, then 2 then rest, then 2 - including last ride. so I THINK I got six rides on it at end of night during our ERT? but some in the group ride every dispatch. . . more power to em! and they look like they are having a blast! end of night pic with our park guides, and the crew. . thank you to Thorpe Park for an amazing day! Pic by Robb and then it was time to head back to the bus for the ride back to the hotel. I *believe* this stunning pic of Stealth during sunset is from Brad. and back on the bus. .everyone is happy. . . except for Robb's plushie. getting back to the hotel, several of us headed back over to WagaMama for dinner. . . not really recalling what this is, but I think Firecracker chicken & pasta? and Gyoza. . so good. and after filling up on Wagamama? back to the room to shower, and crash. we had another busy day tomorrow - checking out of Hotel and off to the next hotel. but along the way? Suprise Park! we were gonna visit LegoLand Windsor for a few hours, and ride their brand new "mini figure speedway" dueling coaster. hopefully won't take me a month for that next update!

Day 2 (part 1): Thorpe Park! First off, apologies that it's been so long since the Day1 update from Chessington. Life got in the way, and have been so dang busy! (I'm rewarding myself for doing two things I *had* to get done this weekend - completed, so came to update day 2). so, I didn't know very much about Thorpe Park. I mean, once there, I was familiar with one or two rides, but I had never really paid much attention to it, as it was in the UK and I'd probably never go there. and I prefer to be "surprised" so when going on a TPR trip, I almost never do a lot of research on the parks themselves. But I was very much aware about Hyperia, as folks had been talking about it for months, and I was keeping fingers crossed it would behave for us, as it had been having a lot of down time since it had officially opened. a fairly short bus trip later, and we were parking at Thorpe park and spotting Hyperia immediately from the entrance bridge across the lake to the park. the main entrance over the lake, is quite lovely: we were walked back to what would be our "basecamp" for the day - back at the events pavilion that's under those white tent-like building behind the water rides. that coaster there is "the Swarm" - which I recognized the name and hadn't realized was in THIS park. it was testing as we walked by, but we were there slightly before park open, so many of the rides still stood silent. better view of Swarm from our basecamp pavilion patio. . and that white coaster back there is Stealth - but that one seemed like it was down today, as folks were working on it. just before the park opened, our hosts were very kind and walked us back to Hyperia. . . we weren't getting ERT on it until after park close, but everyone was excited to be over there and near the front of the line when it opened. it's a lovely park, and walking thru, I simply had not realized this is a major thrill park. . with many "extreme" rides. just looking on RCBD, of the 8 roller coasters at this park, SIX of them are ranked "Extreme". the other is the kiddie coaster, and an indoor coaster. and the flats are pretty crazy too. . so this is really a park going for the adrenaline junkies. . . we were held in front of the queue, and when the park opened, the opened up the queue and we all headed thru the back and forths and then it tested once (or twice) and. .stopped. the line, which had already gotten a bit long was held just before entry into the actual ride queue. (which is beautiful by the way) we hung out in the line about 20 minutes, reasoning if it does open soon, it's still going to be a shorter line than any other time today. but the other coasters nearby started cycling with guests. this is Colossus. *(and you can see the full rows of queue behind us already) the park announced they weren't quite ready to open yet, and had no established time to open Hyperia. since this was a new park to many of us, most decided to call it (we were supposed to ride later anyways with ERT) and we headed to the closest coaster, Colossus. over the shoulder restraints? uh oh. . this is the 10 inversion coaster! it's pretty. . but yeah, it beat the crap out of me. . .so one and done. luckily I had aspirin with me and popped on right away. while we were on Colossus, Hyperia started testing. . but the train was full of water dummies (we know they were water dummies, because some of the lids weren't closed tightly and in some inversions the sprays of water were as impressive as fireworks. it was pretty funny. water dummies are a good sign, but also means it wasn't opening right away yet. anyways, we were over here by Samurai (the Top Scan at the lower bottom) and Saw: the Ride (on the left there) I don't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure we had fast pass at this park (only ride it wasn't good on was Hyperia). . so the line was short enough we got in it for Samurai it ran a pretty good cycle too. . .again, this seemed to be a park geared to the extreme thrillseekers. Watching Saw cycle next door while waiting for our ride. and then we headed under the bridge and past Colossus towards the custom Gerstlauer Eurofighter NOT a fan of Eurofighters, but I was loving the theming (you drop undeneath spinning sawblades). . .so we got in line. it moved fairly slow - capacity, I guess, or maybe someone that couldn't fit in the seats? but eventually we made it up to the platform. and there is some nice theming in the queue line. Stacey and I finally at the station! how was it. . . um. . pretty rough I thought. but I've been on worse Eurofighters. This one did have some headbang - I recall we sat in the front row. but others who rode it said it wasn't that bad. so maybe we just had a janky car? anyways. . 1 and done. Hyperia seemed to be cycling now. . so we headed back over to be faced with a pretty massive line. lunch was fairly soon, and we didn't want to miss that, so instead we stopped into the bathrooms over there (themed and Neon). . kewl. the closest I got to Hyperia this morning and then headed over to a section we hadn't been in yet - which was sorta on the way back to the Pavilion. ooo.. .the "Hyperia Fairies" were out and about - I didn't realize that these folks are part of the show that gets put on near the entrance (more pics of that coming up soon). . but they were happy to pose for pics. this guy was the Choreographer of the show, from what I understand. but they were all charming. Mr Monkeys Banana Ride!! what amazing theming for a swinging ship ride. . LOL yeah, baby!!! we headed back to the pavilion for a very decent lunch served to us by the park: and then our hosts surprised us by giving each of us a one time pass for Hyperia to use the quick queue line. . .so many of us - myself included - headed over to Hyperia to have a ride. here's the aforementioned show that takes place several times a day at the stage near the ride entrance. without even asking, Stacey and I got assigned to Front Row !! we took the advantage - mainly because it meant that later during ERT we wouldn't have to ride in the front, and could leave that open for those folks who love the front row. ya'll. . it's SO good. yes, it's a little short, but so what. . that extended stall is incredible. LOVED it after our ride, we headed back over to the section we had just peeked our head into on the way to lunch, and continued into it. . . our next ride was going to "Nemesis Inferno" - a B&M suspended themed in (and around) a volcano. the view from the Nemesis Inferno queue: entrance to the river rapids ride, which was closed this morning, but seemed to be cycling empty rafts, Stealth - still no life in it, but the maintenance folks who had been working on it earlier were now gone, Swarm in the background, and next to it Tidal Wave, the parks' Chute the Shoots ride - that seemed to be VERY wet. a look at the Chute the Shoots. . that drop is a bit steep! the drop tower on the right (behind Nemesis track) was not open today. Nemesis Inferno Queue. . with "active" volcano in the queue this compact B&M has some real kick. . I loved this. . and ended up being my 3rd favorite coaster in the park - behind Swarm & Hyperia. really rather intense, and it mostly stays pretty close to the ground. when we got off Nemesis Inferno, we noticed the rafts were now running with People in them. . .so several of us (minus Stacey - who didn't want to get wet) hopped in the completely empty queue for a walk on (remember, it had JUST opened, and I don't think word had gotten out yet) it was a fun little raft ride, that was more "spritz" than "soaked". . but it helped cool down what had turned into a warm day. most importantly tho? Stealth - the Intamin Launch coaster - had started testing while we were on the rafts! unlike the rafts, the whole park could see that Stealth was testing so there were quite a few folks milling around the entrance. but it had not opened yet. so after giving it a few minutes, we headed over to the other coasters we hadn't hit yet: Flying Fish - a Mack powered coaster, and took a spin on that (tho I don't seem to have taken any other pictures of it) by the time we got off our ride - and I think he sent us around 4 times, so it was a good long ride - Stealth *had* opened, and was cycling with riders. so we headed back over that way. even with the quick queue the line had gotten pretty decent, quickly. again, it's capacity, even tho this has a longer train than things like TTD or Xcellerator still. . .So worth it. . it's an amazing ride! even if it only lasts, 12 seconds or something like that. and yes! lucked out again with front row. the only other coaster we hadn't done yet (besides Swarm, which I had forgotten about, but we had some ERT on it later anyways) was the indoor coaster. . .now themed to the Walking Dead. hmmmmmmmm. . . . . most of it was long, dark, corridors - that go on for a long time - as part of the queue. The theme is that you are being "cleared" to enter Terminus. . so they are putting you thru the pens, and testing (the queue) and then put you on the train (the coaster itself) to take you there. it's a fun little indoor coaster, and we ended up riding this twice since we liked it enough - once later in the day, and that time there were lots of "live" zombies in the exit portion of the queue, chasing after you. to be continued. . .

^ note: I didn't mention Kid Flash, since it probably wont' be operating, and neither will Batgirl (the kiddie) since the DC Universe section isn't quite ready to open yet. I also didn't mention the Boomerang - which has the newer trains, and is the most ridden Boomerang in the whole Six Flags chain (due to it's location at the end of the main entrance path). . because. . .well. . it's a Boomerang. LOL I'd guess Goliath (a Batman clone) will be open for your visit tho - the parks not open on weekdays at the moment, so plenty of time for them to finish the repaint and have it up for FrightFest. if you have time, dont' miss Great White up the road at SWSA. . it's also a Batman clone, but it's a mirror, so drops the other direction.

honestly? as long as Wonder Woman (which is running AMAZING with the new trains), Poltergeist (my favorite ride in the park) , and Dr Diabolical are running? you'll have a fantastic time. Superman is a don't miss as well. . and if the lines are not nuts? don't skip Batman - it was the 1st S&S freespin at any Six Flags park, and spins more than the other park's versions. Pandemonium is a fairly unique layout (only 3 are like that in the chain), and Roadrunner is a custom mine train. so you'll have a great time anyways. .and the park will be totally decked out for Halloween.