bert425

did we ever get any more info on what 15 rides were being removed? I know SkyBuckets from SFOG is one. and if you count LaRonde stopping work on Green Lantern for the year as another. .that's still only 2. what else has been noted?

^ line is long for front row of Judge, because (as you discovered) it's a terrible ride, unless in the front car. I prefer non wheel seat (row 2), but the station set up is silly, that the line for 1st car can hold things up. yah, Runaway Mountain is great fun, right? And you rode historic in Runaway Mine Train - 1st tubular steel track coaster !

^ I'm sorry, but the launch up the lift hill looks EXACTLY the same. it's slower cresting the hill because of an empty train (and the cold). I see no difference in the launch speed.

^ well, biggest in the area. . . only other things closer are family spinners.

so late last year, the Circuit of the Americas F1 racetrack in Austin, out of the blue announced a new addition: COTAland - a kiddie carnival area, with a bunch of kiddie rides and a kiddie coaster: https://www.facebook.com/CircuitofTheAmericas/videos/216323643344037 it made sense, as they have a go-kart track there, and several other more adult things (Concert Venue, with bars, and the COtA tower, you can buy a ticket to go up and overlook the F1 track).. . . but really not much for the kids to do (other than the kiddie track, or a ride along with an adult in the two seater carts on the adult track) but there have been a lot of queries as to if they are going to be getting any "adult" rides. . and the answer is "yes" as several things have been getting teased (on local pages, and by the manager of the COTAland site) - yes, mainly carnival type flats, but that's still SOMETHING permanent in the Austin area. (as opposed to the Carnival that comes with the annual rodeo). well, just about an hour ago, it was revealed that COTAland is getting a ride that is coming from a UK park, and they are going to refurbish it and give it a new name. And after a "word scramble" guessing game, it has been revealed that it will apparently be "Raptor Attack" from Lightwater Valley that they just shut down in 2020. the actual unscramble was: Anton Schwarzkopf Wildcat so yes, it's going to be a traveling carnival coaster, but so what? Austin is getting a Schwarzkopf Wildcat. how cool is that?

^ I LOVED the Spelunkers. . that attraction was called "the Cave" right? (I dont' mind Yosemite Sam's boat adventure ,and hopefully will be able to reopen soon. . but still miss 'the Cave"). and the Enterprise that used to be near it - called "Spinnaker" (which moved to SFFT as Wagon Wheel before leaving that park a long time back as well)

^ true (and of the 4 "top" coasters, one is a 1-trick pony (it's about the speed) and one has a terrible 2nd half (Fujiyama 2nd half WILL adjust your spine). . but they also have a handful of Decent coasters (even if the mouse is now closed). factor in the flats tho, and I'd say it's a must visit park (even tho I'm certain that we just happened to catch it on the perfect day with great weather, no crowds, and a stunning unobstructed view of Mt. Fuji in the morning hours). about those flats? an EXCELLENT air racer (tall and you can get tons of flips), a haunted hospital, one of the better river raft rides I've been in (themed to Lucky Cats, and it will soak you), themed sections to anime, and . . . Tondemina - a Frisbee themed to Pizza. No, really!

^ they are really known for their insanely fun live shows tho:

I'm a big fan of Industrial/Darkwave - which by it's nature, includes a lot of German bands. in particular, I'm a huge fan of Das Ich - seen them a number of times, most recently in late 2019

six flags in Texas are, I believe, $27. ($25 if you pre-buy online) (but most passes and memberships include parking these days)

I have to assume you have not been on Wonder Woman. . which also has a "continuously moving station".. .that often stops, because a restraint isn't down far enough, or the person has trouble with the restraints.. or someone is late getting to their seat because they were running to the cubbies to put something up. (or if someone needing assistance getting on the ride..similar to how the Omnimovers stop for the same). the trains really do move steadily, but often DO come to a complete stop as well in the station.

^ can't go wrong with that. . .it's got Soft Cell and his solo stuff. (and my all time favorite, "Bedsitter" is on there . . .really shame they kept "Sex Dwarf" off it tho).

the way around the photo flip, is you need to open the photos to "edit" - then do a reverse image, save, then reverse image (back to the original) and save. it will save them in the correct orientation, and when you upload them to TPR then orientation isn't basing off your phone. there's a discussion about this issue from when I was having the same problem after the site upgraded (in the thread about TPRs new look). . but that's the workaround fix I found. it doesn't happen on EVERY picture, but it has something to do with the way the iPhone is saving the orientation, and that messes up when uploading to the site here. just FYI

I see online at some sites, people are losing their damn minds that "the dancing tamales" and "guys on Donkeys" are apparently gone from the train route. is this a big deal? I can't recall ever even seeing "dancing tamales" edit: apparently this is what they looked like: in other news, apparently the park is teasing they are doing work on the outside/queue of Casa Magnetica. . so gotta wonder if that might reopen for the 60th anniversary? would be so cool, as I LOVED the similar version they used to have at Astroworld (the Whacky Shack) of this walk thru "gravity is crazy" house).

don't panic just yet. . look up thread. . Mindbender/Ridder Mindbender, and Pandemonium are missing too. it's just the website, I'd think. . . "Six Flags". . LOL (tho there supposedly were rides being removed from some parks, right?) EDIT: looks like Pandemonium is back on the rides list. Still no Mindbender/Riddler Mindbender tho.

^ you must have been Exiting pirates when we were! crazy we didn't bump into each other - and sad :(. . would have loved to say hello! it DID come back up tho, since we rode it about 90 minutes later Poltergeist was down sadly, for the same issue DareDevil Dive - the Power was still down from the storms 2 weeks ago. I suspect Poltergeist COULD have run - since Batman was up and running, and that's on the same grid in the park (and Park President Jeffrey Siebert had told us online Batman was going to be down for the power issue) - but they probably didn't want to put stress on the still tenuous grid. I don't know details of a LIM Launch coaster, but gotta imagine that eats probably more power than any other ride in the park? (except maybe Joker?) it's SUPPOSED to be back up starting Saturday, for the daily Spring Break weeks.

got an email from the park, noting that they are keeping Houngan House of Voodoo open thru Spring Break (so daily 3/6-3/14, then again from 3/17-3/21). great move by the park, as this walk thru is SO well done, and worth a visit. . it's amazing it's in a Six Flags park, as it's a better Haunt than most upcharge ones are!

the simplest answer is usually the most accurate one:

this is for SFFT, but I was there Saturday, and they absolutely were scanning reservation at Front Gates before allowing people in. was asked for it, and showed it for scan, before they scanned my Season Pass. Doesn't mean they are doing it at SFOT, but for SFFT? yep.

"unfortunately" Seriously. . WTF is wrong with you ??

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/health/article/Houston-is-first-city-to-record-all-major-COVID-15990299.php

Texas has *NOT* "opened up 100%" as most residents realize that Abbott pulled this crap because he desperately wants to please Trump/CPAC idiots. the blowback has been FIERCE here in Texas, and many companies are coming forward and forcefully stating they will absolutely NOT be changing any requirements. I would be absolutely shocked if Six Flags Over Texas (or SFFT) suddenly stop temperature checking, or enforcing masks within their parks. the Governor, our Senators, and many Republican Members of Government may not give a shit if they put Citizens at risk (and they sure as hell didn't care about Citizens freezing to death, so it's a safe bet to say they don't care about the health of their Citizens re: Covid). . but the individual companies are stepping up. I would put pretty good money on anyone foolish enough to show up without a mask, or take mask off once entering the parks? will be removed immediately. it's not worth the bad press to them. .and frankly, many of those attending the parks would revolt and refuse to go if they don't keep enforcing. despite that we keep electing idiots like Abbott, Cruz, Paxton, Cornyn, Gohemert, etc. . . ? There are a lot of *not* stupid Texans living here. oh and to add? Texas is FOURTY-EIGHTH (out of 50 States) in terms of population vaccinated. The Infection Rate & Death rate on Monday was *higher* than it was when Abbott first put the Mask Mandates in place back in July 2020 (way too late, but at least he did it). *and* Houston yesterday made history for being the 1st City in the USA (possibly world?) to have ALL 28 variations of Covid present in the City.

that I don't know. . since I rode with Laura (the Scrambler too). . so it didn't come up about riding as a single.

^ Laser Sharks Vs Laser Cats!

some googling online found this, as part of a wiki entry. SeaWorld's shark exhibit now sits at Discovery Point, just past the Dolphin Lagoon so sounds like they moved it.