bert425

yup. . a search of NTAG on TPR finds these:

did it not come from right here at TPR? I thought it started here - as a joke, that stuck: New Tex Ass Giant. NTAG

it's gonna go to that mythical "to be built at some point, maybe" new Houston theme park!

and don't forget to stop into the petting zoo area in Frontier Town (on the way to Steel Vengeance/Maverick from Millennium Force). you gotta get your selfie with Samson!

oh. . just realized you're from UK, and we're talking Cedar Downs without throwing up a picture. (it's NOT a Carousel. . tho it's slightly related. The centrifugal forces are fun as hell - especially on the outer ring of horses) I ride it MANY times during my trips to CP

well, do keep in mind. . there are 4 different versions of Skywarp offered (were the other two ever built? I think only two versions were ever made for SeaWorld & SixFlags) I actually could see an "Orbit" version not having many maintenance issues, and working quite well as a family ride in a small space. https://www.rideentertainment.com/wp-content/cache/all/flat-rides/skywarp/index.html that said tho.. I can't imagine them pulling Harley from Six Flags in California with all the issues it had, and moving it to St. Louis. as has been noted - if they are planning that? the empty lawn is better.

Cedar Downs is (by far) my favorite flat at Cedar Point. it's SO much better than it looks when observed from the sidelines. (the Screaming Swing at CP is really good too - tho runs a short cycle. Can't think of the name of that off top of my head.)

yeah! without Iron Gwazi that park just SUCKS. . . no reason to go at all. FFS - I went to TDS knowing that Journey was down for refurb. . but I didn't boycott the park because of that. Instead I just enjoyed what was up and running in a spectacular park.

great pics, and glad you had a good time. I've never seen Secret Life of Pets.. . would I have *any* clue what was going on in that ride?

Picked up at Six Flags Fiesta Texas:

do you think she'd like Colossus? as a kid, I loved ferris wheels, but can't remember at 1 tho. if Carousel is open, that for sure (even if not on a horse, but on a chariot with you).

^ hmm. . just checked my own profile, and it seems to be ok. so doesn't *appear* to be a site wide thing. hope the gurus can figure it out!

the one at SFFT is the tallest in the world tho, since it goes up 5 stories and I totally forgot to post my purchase I made while they were in the queue for Joker: A KISS meets the Phantom shirt. I had seen others post about buying them and was determined to find it in the park! (the shop in Rockville where I found it sells all kinds of weird non-connected-to-Six-Flags-in-any-way stuff. . . . but at least this has a connection: "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" was filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain! $30 including tax, but yes, i really DID need *another* KISS shirt (as I explained to my Spouse)

Continued: we made it over to the boardwalk area, and they let us in because of our badges (past the growing line of folks who were ready to head to this portion of the park, that opened up at Noon). It was ~11:40, so we still had time to make the pirates walk thru, and I was really glad to get this opportunity. I've ridden this a TON of times, but what a difference walking thru it with lights on makes - I noticed all kinds of detail that had escaped me before! granted, no effects were really on (safety, of course, you cant have live effects when folks are walking), but I still really appreciated getting to see the detail work! (and being able to get some clear pictures, when you're not in a moving vehicle that makes them blurry) Bumped into Jeffrey on the way out of Pirates, and chatted for a few moments. he was wonderful to chat with, and really, as I've said before : he makes this park feel so welcoming. It's like visiting with family when you see him. (he even answered Joel's question about why Boomerang was called "Coast to Coaster" - which really is a pretty silly name. . LOL.) Kim doesn't do "spinning" rides, so while Joel and I headed over to Hustler - with plan for he and I to then go grab back seat ride on Iron Rattler using Flash Pass, Kim headed to the car to drop off the jackets they had been wearing - the wind had died down, and it had started to warm up. Hustler was fun as always. caught a few moments of the Disco Fever show as we passed in front of Rockville High on our way to CrackAxle another snap along the way. (as noted, it was crowded by now, but I'm a photo ninja, so able to get shots where it looks like no one is around. . LOL) FlashPass said it was our time to ride, but the folks queued in front of us on the stairs said "nope.. you're gonna wait at least 30 minutes" we ended up waiting even longer than that, because moments after I snapped this picture? a power surge hit the park, and took down EVERYTHING. I mean, the entire park shut down. They were very quick to get the food stands, and some smaller rides back up pretty quickly, but I think Iron Rattler and several other of the "big" rides were down for the better part of an hour. with one train operations, that wasnt' a great situation - even tho many folks gave up and left the line (resulting in the open food stands and open ride lines to swell). Something out of the park's control, and I don't blame them at all. . . hell, they did an excellent job getting things back up as quickly as they did! we bailed after about 40 minutes, as Kim was texting that she had gotten in line for food, and that Joel really needed to eat something, so we should come meet her. (I hadn't eaten at all yet either, so even tho we knew we were going to be eating in 4 hours or so, I wanted Kickin Chicken too). what *WAS* a horrible situation, and unfortunately we didn't bail before that point? the group behind us in the line had one of those portable sound pods. . and after about 25 minutes? started blasting "Baby Shark" to the delight of anyone under 10 in the queue (and the audible groan of anyone over that age) - seriously. . 5 days later, I still have that damn thing stuck in my head. Oh he also played "What does the Fox Say". . . but thank goodness Kim convinced Joel to bail shortly after that. we got food, ate, wandered the park, and rode a few things - I believe Joel had Flash Passed Batman so we waited while he rode that (about 20 minutes) and he and Kim used a skip the line on Wonder Woman. They also did the Joker (tho only Joel rode, Kim just did the funhouse queue and then walked past the ride. .LOL). a few other things, and then Kim really wanted to ride the Bugs Bunny Flume. I can't recall if they used the Flash Pass or a skip the line, but we headed that way and waited about 25 minutes in the Flash Pass line. Unfortunately, the power surge knocked out all the cameras - so there really weren't any onride pics I could get for them. Since I hadn't gotten Flash Pass tho, I did my best to get some pics of them by the time we got done with Bugs' it was time for dinner in the picnic grove. We weren't all that hungry, as had eaten at Kickin Chicken - however the fact I dont' have any pics of the meal kinda tells you if it was great. (it could have just been the servings I happened to get - but the chicken was way overcooked and stringy, and the brisket was fatty and undercooked on one side. I didn't complain because: a) I wasn't super hungry, b) it's a theme park, so dont' expect great food if the place isn't Knoebel's, and c) the hot dog was good, and the Cobbler (tho not heated up) was excellent. I had peach and would buy it in the park if were available for purchase anywhere. but the event by the park was really well organized, the folks running TSU are great and friendly, and the park reps that spoke to us during the meal were full of information. The upcoming Roller Coaster Rodeo Event sounds like a great time. oh, and there was a raffle too, and Joel won a wheel from an Iron Rattler train (perhaps explaining why there is only one train running now? LOL) here's Jeffrey addressing the group after dinner. after food, we got together for a 2nd attempt at group photo, with perfectly timed Goliath loop in the background. (Everyone I met at this event was great, and a lot of fun) food settled, we headed over to DareDevil Dive so Joel could get a ride (he liked it too): and then back over to Wonder Woman Killing time while waiting for Kim & Joel to get on the coaster (we didnt' ride Superman during the day, because we knew we had ERT on the ride - along with Zoom Jets and Skyscreamer after park close). . so we did ride it later, but for now, just took some pics of it. and here they are in seat 1 & 2 a few more things ridden and Kim/Joel wanted a night ride on Iron Rattler. I was starting to wear down a bit, so i relaxed with a Dr Butterskotch Elixir as dusk fell, and they waited ~30 minutes in Flash Pass line. (it was while I was waiting for them that I checked Facebook, and found out a friend of mine had passed in a traffic accident. .so that put me in a really odd mood for the remainder of the evening, but I tried my best to have fun, as there wasn't anything I could do that would change it, and he would want me to have fun at a Theme park) by the time they got off of Rattler, we were limited on time, since the park was only open for ~45 minutes longer. But Joel had gotten flash pass reservation for Poltergeist, so we headed that way and Kim and I sat and visited (and chatted about my friend) while we waited for him. he got of Polty with ~10 minutes left of park officially open. he REALLY wanted another ride on Wonder Woman. . . I was pretty convinced that the line had been closed off at least 40 minutes earlier, but he wanted to try. So Kim and I decided to go to Pirates for a ride, since we were close to the boardwalk - and Joel would go attempt WW. and we'd meet him over at Superman entrance for ERT. Kim and I were pretty much the last folks on Pirates for the night (they announced park was now closed while we were on it). . but on the way over to Superman, we stopped by WonderWoman to look for Joel - and were shocked to see him getting off the ride! He had been able to get into the queue 5 minutes before park close. SUCH amazing customer service at this park! (and again, i think the longer lines never really recovered from the power glitch earlier. . but HUGE Kudos to the park - the entire time we were doing ERT? they were still clearing lines on Joker & Roadrunner Express. That's some amazing service that not every park would do - letting those in line, still get a ride well after park close). here I am on Zoom Jets during ERT. I rode 4 times total. . it's a fun ride, with some real fun centrifugal force. look at that blur! it really does move pretty fast. . LOL and an official photog pic from earlier in the day Leaving the park ~10:20, I was already in my hotel in Shertz, and in bed by 11pm. Exhausting but fun day. . hope you've enjoyed reading along! in the next few days , I'll post the pics from the next day at ZDT.

So, after trying twice earlier and the universe being against her, Kim and her son Joel *finally* made it out to Six Flags Fiesta Texas last weekend. Originally her trip got cancelled and then rescheduled as part of an ACE event in Feb - which then got wiped out by the Texas Ice Storm. I was supposed to meet up with them both times. . . .however, in the interim, a new FB group formed, Thrill Seekers United (that is Texas based, but welcomes anyone from anywhere). I joined this group, since local-ish, and I knew some of the people in it from a prior group. TSU planned their first official Event, called "Unite" for 4/10, and because the ACE event had been cancelled - and several members of TSU are members of ACE, as well as other clubs (Thrill Seekers *United*) the group admins had reached out and invited ACT to share their planned event. Which meant that Kim/Joel were coming as part of ACE, and I was going as a member of TSU facebook group. It was a full weekend planned (with unofficial meetup Fri at SWSA, full official day at SFFT (with pre-open activities, dinner, as well as post close ERT), and a separate official event the next day at ZDT. I was concerned about a 16 hour day in the park (and having to be up at 6am to ensure I could be at SFFT two hours prior to open for check in - since between TSU & ACE, there were over 200 people participating in this Unite event. So when I realized that I easily had enough points on my Marriott account to score a free room in Shertz? I booked the room, and then signed up for the Sunday event too, since I could crash less than 20 minutes from the park once Saturday night was over.. instead of having to drive back to Austin. so Sat I got up way early, made some coffee, and made some fantastic time to San Antonio (I was at the park a good 30 minutes prior to the parking lot even open for our group, but it was fine, as I was able to get in the "line" to go in. Lots of construction around the entrance to the park - a couple of new strip malls opened up right there! But the park has been doing some refurbs for upcoming 30th anniversary, and one of those is the front gate/sign. . . which looks AMAZING (and at night lights up all kinds of colors on the sign, and on the waterfalls behind. Great job) by 8:40 the gates opened, and we headed into park, check in out front of the gates, and then head inside the park. here's the badge with the schedule for the day: the line to get in wasn't too bad, because most of the folks there were for the event - the park didn't officially open until 10:30 am However it was a little strange, as they were letting in pretty much anyone who showed up. It was so early, I have to assume folks hadnt' checked the operating calendar, and just showed up assuming a 9am opening, because it did start to get a bit busy. *even to the point that when they grouped us into batches of 8 for the lifthill climb, we ended up with two folks in our group who were not part of the event, and had to leave the line (they had thought they were lining up to ride Goliath, and none of use even noticed they weren't wearing badges. . so were just chatting away waiting our turn, and someone noticed they were wearing sandals - which was explicitly forbidden for the lift hill climb - and THEN we realized they had no idea what was going on, and were just at the park for the day, but not part of the group. but I easily met up with Kim and Joel - and was very happy to see her. I had last met her when we visited St Louis a few years ago, and she spent the day showing us around her park, so i was excited to get the chance to show her around my home park. here we are in line for the Goliath (ie: Batman clone) lift hill walk. and it's our turn. it was really windy. I mean. . really. to the point that we wondered if anything was actually going to operate today if the winds didnt' die down (we saw Jefferey while in line and commented about the wind, and he said "don't worry, we'll get everything open for y'all. . one way or another!". . . LOL. . such a great guy, and a great park. but we left our hats and anything that could blow away in the cubbies in the station before our climb. Some in our group held onto the rails for dear life too - yeah, it really was that windy early on in the day. see? Windy I do love the really unique views you can get of the track (and the park) from the lift hill. we were on the "outwards" facing ramp, but I was still able to get some nice pics of the park from our side: the famous Texas shaped wave pool at the park still pretty windy . . . didnt' realize they have so much space in the picnic grove. They really could put another big coaster over here, just run it over the picnic area so they can keep the party options. After our Goliath lift hill turn, we made our way over to rope drop area (stopping along the way so Kim could pick up Flash Pass to use during the "free" times of the day. We could already tell it was going to be packed - and boy was it ever! they sold out of the Brass Level, and even Gold & Platinum level ended up not helping too much, since the lines at the Flash Pass entrances (once the watch told you it was time to go to the ride to get on) were a good 20-30 minutes. it was crazy how busy it ended up being, although spoiler - they did end up getting on most everything at least one time. so it worked out well they ended up getting Flash Pass. .but boy was the park busy. but luckily for the "Event" attendees, we were able to pass over the rope and be walked back to rattler before rope drop. the new CrackAxle theming, so that Daredevil Dive fits in better. This sign is animated, with gears moving, some lights, and smoke coming out of the steam pipe on upper left. It actually works for this area to make it Steampunk themed. What's this? Dr. Butterskotch ? oh, ok. . it tasked like buttery cream soda, available in frozen, on tap, or with a whisky floater. I must say, it was very good, and I loved that it could be used for a "snack" option on the meal plan. menu. tho I do wish they didn't sell any other alcohol here - it resulted in really slow moving lines, as it seemed everyone wanted to buy beer and shots (which then had to be measured out, and ids checked, over and over) and very few were buying the "Elixir" the stand was selling. Since this is the only place to actually get that? I do wish they'd restrict this stand to only the Elixir, and direct anyone wanting shots or beer to Thirsty Buffalo just around the corner from this stand. anyways. . once I tried it later? it was good. Since it was Kim/Joel's 1st time at Fiesta Texas, they wanted to wait for the front car ride on Iron Rattler. Because the coaster has only 1 train ops at the moment, that front row had a good 10 car wait - which resulted in some of the attendees getting the "1st ride of the day on Iron Rattler" to spend ~35 minutes in line. I went to the 2nd row, which only had a 2 train wait, and as a result finished my ride way sooner than them. But while sitting on the brake run, I noticed that Daredevil Dive really didnt' have a line (yet). . so I told them I was going to get my 1st ever ride on that while they were in the IR queue, and headed over that way. it was a good call, because by the time I got off my ride (1 cycle wait), the line was already spilling out of the queue house. what did I think? Really, really, fun. And tho I was later told that each "plane" is programmed differently, so it wont' always be the same ride? I'd be happy if every ride I got was like this one: Tons of flips, including several really fast "whip" like flips once it gets going, mixed with nice 8-10 second (feels longer) hang time, where the plane just holds you upside-down. *just* long enough that you don't get nauseous, but I'd still recommend riding this before eating anything. great addition to the park. eventually Kim & Joel made it thru the queue, and I bought the pic for them: we had missed the group photo in front of the waterfalls.. .but we still had time to make the Lights on Walk Thru of Pirates of the Deep Sea. So we booked it across the park over to the Boardwalk area. (to be continued)

^^ oh, that sucks . . maybe he can shift his visit a day so full day in park on Sun, with preview on Sat (looks like hours are the same both days: 11-7pm)

there's a free shuttle (at least used to be) between the parks too. . so you can base camp in Tampa (cheaper than Orlando), and get to SWO without messing with traffic! I think we did 4 day when we went (although the 4th was a 1/2 day before heading to the airport). . . but I remember the price being about the same as you note per park.

^ drive up Friday night, and take advantage of the preview. 2-3 hours before close on the day before your ticket, you get in. Crowds will be light at end of day, and you can knock out the "big" rides you want. . then the next day: 1) you won't feel so rushed 2) you'll have a better idea if you feel you need to get Fast Track (I would, just because everything's been so crowded, but if you knock stuff out on Preview night, you might not feel that you must get fast lane) 3) your parking on Friday night for preview will still be good on Sat (so you only pay the 1st time) 4) if you get there too early? kill time in Chocolate World and ride the dark ride there - free. . until it's time you can enter the park. info from the HersheyPark website: (under "Preview Plan") https://www.hersheypark.com/tickets/free-extra-hours.php the recommendation for Fahrenheit is a good one, because capacity is terrible and it will get a line. (same with Laugh Track). . so always good to try to knock those out 1st (personally, I'd do those on Preview night). I think StormRunner is still down, unfortunately, as that's my favorite coaster in the park. I've heard many times that Skyrush lines tend to really die down towards the end of the day, but will be long in the morning, as the Hollow area is one of the "morning preview" areas that's open. as to what not to miss? well. . it's going to depend on personal tastes. For me? I wouldn't miss: the Monorail (if it's running. . it brings you out over downtown Hershey and past the original factory), the Kissing Tower (a lovely observation tower with great views), ZooAmerica (included with every ticket, and accessible via raised walkway over the road near the kissing tower), and the short, but fun, skyride over the lake in the Hollow. also don't miss Coal Cracker. . a flume ride that has airtime after the drop. have fun.

^ now they've changed the wording to make it clear? yeah. hope those who go enjoy it.

I just bought plane tickets for Dragon*con (not bad at all: ~$234 for round trip from Texas to Atlanta. (prior to this, what I bought was a bag of tacos in Seguin, while I was across the street visiting ZDT for the first time to ride the Switchback RollerCoaster. These Tacos were *legit* and worth the trip to Seguin alone.

tho credit where it's due. . that horrible coaster *does* look amazing with that lighting.

the Japanese Grill at Hotel Breakers (and the Perkins for Breakfast) are pluses for me too. I can take or leave the TGI Fridays, tho the patio overlooking the beach/pool at that location is nice. as you noted, Zach, the bar (indoors and outdoors by the firepits, where they have waitress service) is wonderful.

#1 argument to stay at Hotel Breakers (for me): PARKING yes, you get free parking at Breakers Express. . but Hotel Breakers is *on property* you do not have to move your car, you can get up and walk to the park entrance. you park your car the day you arrive - in Hotel Breakers lot. . and there. you're parked at Cedar Point (unless you make a trip to the CVS in town to stock up the mini fridge in the room). you do not have to get up early/early/early every day, get in your car, sit in traffic to get across the peninsula roadway, go thru the parking booths, find a spot (in the massive lot), and then walk to the front gate (remembering where you parked for later and dreading staying until close and getting stuck in the mass exodus across the causeway OUT of the park). you also have the benefit of being able to walk to your room, at any point during the day - literally a 5-15 minute walk (depending where in CP you start walking from) if you want to change your shoes, drop off something you bought, get a headache and want to get an aspirin from your luggage, soak your aching legs in a hot tub for 20 minutes. . etc. WORTH. EVERY. PENNY. to stay there. (even if the rooms are basically glorified Holiday Inn.. you're paying for the location, not the quality of the hotel)

you're coming from overseas. spend the $$ and book at Hotel Breakers (which is on property, and easy walk to/from the park - so much so that you can go back to the room to put the leftovers from Melt! into the fridge). It's expensive, but oh so worth it, and the only way I'll do a multi-day trip to the park. (on property also gets you the best early entry perks, and you won't have to worry about parking) https://www.cedarpoint.com/resorts/hotel-breakers?gclid=Cj0KCQjw38-DBhDpARIsADJ3kjm8sOUGuYA1idwd3eqRO3rBLygPDgAmA8HtfwwHJCen7ZJvUar2THUaAh8HEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds