bert425

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.

long time no see online, Jizzman!

^ unless that's primer? going to Iron Rattler / Roadrunner colors!

They're repainting Goliath to more match the colors in that section. . I think it's gonna be Poltergeist's old colors. . the more teal blue.

that's by Poltergeist. but yes, the old go karts are back there too. I asked Jeffrey about it, but (understandably), he didn't respond.

by "power surge" you mean Gully Washer - the river raft ride, correct? I know IR was down for a chain lift issue (but thought it was minor and had been fixed already). . . but Gully Washer was done for the season, as was told by staff when there a few weeks ago that something major had broken in the pump system for the ride. glad to hear the cookies were back in the VIP lounge tho! They certainly heard the complaints, and with needing the Elite 2025 pass to get access to it, sounds like they are trying to make it a place to go to again.

statement from Skyline about the Kid Flash coaster (at SFFT & at SFOG)

back in 2019 when it was called Quimera https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_American_Triple_Loop

Bill, you probably have that flowerpot head photo uploaded twice. look at your pics carefully. . . the pics that you don't manually place in your post, just go to the end.

that quick closure does have me wondering if maybe they really didn't have a choice. how does Theme Park Insurance work? if they found something really wrong or a potential hazardous situation, could an Insurance provider say - close by end of the month, or we drop you? could it possibly be something like that? Just wondering out loud.

^ I'd say Golden Nugget and Plaza are more recognizable than Mirage was.

you really see the differences too. . it depends who your Park President is. Jeffrey Siebert held an event - Fall version of FT92 to do the big announcements, with a number from the new show, and all the bells and whistles of an "event" SFOT? put out signs at a Job Fair for hiring. . so many learned the new houses by the signs listing what they could apply for.

SFOT has 5 IP houses, including Stranger Things, and the Conjuring (the other 3 are Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Saw, & Trick R Treat. + 3 of their own houses. . so 8 total.

for National Roller Coaster Day this past weekend, my Friend Matt Hughey (VP of Park Operations at Circuit of the Americas), invited my other friends, the Quirky Coaster Couple (Nick and Kelly) to come out and take a tour of the COTA-land site. . . where they have quietly been doing a TON of work. the Quirkies were able to turn it into an event of sorts, inviting 20 or so others to come along, ride the Schwarzkopf Texas Wildcat (that's been open for a while), and take laps on the go-karts as well as have a site tour. Sadly, I was unable to attend, as I was *LITERALLY* a mile a way at the Austin airport for my flight to Vegas at the time of the event - hey, it all worked out, I had a great time, and so did they at COTA. With the Quirkies' kind permission that it was ok to share their pics? here are some updates - and I think you're gonna be a little surprised. yes, yes. . the big "news" that came out of it, is that they are still hoping for a 2025 opening, but that there HAVE been delays (mostly related to Covid, and how things work nowadays), but they will give a planned update at an event in January, if 2025 is still in the cards. BUT. . all track for all coasters is on site, and all the flats are on site. ok. .here come the pics: Palindrome is complete! (not sure when it's going to start testing, as I wasn't able to attend, so not sure if they covered that): Circuit Breaker - the 2nd Tilt Coaster in existence has gone vertical - the support for the "tilt" portion is up! and finally, here are the Quirkies (Nick and Kelly- lower right in yellow), with Matt at the COTA site (along with the lucky folks who were able to join them)!