Rai Fox

From the article - "On the way in, there’s a robot and video explainer that sets Kaleidoscape in the realm of some kind of (doughnut-shaped) quantum multiverse situation. There’s something about a “cosmic egg” and “q-particles” that you can shoot with laser guns – it’s enough to set the stage, but I’ll leave it up to you to determine what the story is, exactly." Sounds like there's still a shooting element, though I don't really see one in the video.

Well...I guess it was a popular idea. Unfortunately I was stuck working in a server closet when they went up for sale, so...not happening this year for me. Hopefully someone here can get some pics!

I missed that part, but there are only a few rides that are really worth going out of the way for as an adult; as long as the crowds are reasonable, it shouldn't be too hard to get them in. For $17, it'll definitely be worth a shot, anyway.

This is such a fun idea. Story Land (a fairytail themed family/kids park in New Hampshire) is holding a Nostalgia Night this June. For one night they're sending the kids home at 6, and letting everyone 21 and over relive their memories at the park. Yes, it looks like there will be beer, too. https://www.facebook.com/events/384041649089054/ I remember going to Story Land ages ago, and I love that they're doing this; I'm definitely going to be checking it out.

One more update that looks like good news for Rye Playland; an appeals court has upheld the dismissal of the city of Rye's lawsuit against Westchester County. This is regarding the lawsuit where the city claimed that the country government did not have the right to make the contract with Standard Amusements. More at https://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2019/02/22/rye-playland-lawsuit-appeal/2944338002/ Sounds like that's one more obstacle out of the park's way, at least. Still crossing my fingers for them, but things are finally starting to look pretty promising again.

The blue tube slides aren't anything special if you go solo. If you go on a double tube with someone else they're something entirely different! More than any other slide I've ever been on and in true Knoebels fashion, they go from sedate and gentle to batshit insane and trying to kill you if you go down on a double tube with a bit of extra weight. I'm not remotely heavy but even going down with someone else of moderate size, we were nearly flipping over on almost every turn with a double tube! The mat slides are just awesome.

These are all fun rides, and the setting is going to make this one spectacular. And I'm also definitely not biased at all, being a Finnegan on my mother's side.

Toaster Oven is the only acceptable solution to this problem. That's where I got mine! Now I can claim that anything I make in it is at least a little bit "Knoebels food."

I could be wrong here, and there are much older steel coasters still around and in fine shape, but I imagine metal fatigue may have something to do with it. Wooden coasters can last forever in part because it's comparatively very easy to replace individual pieces of wood on them; most older wooden coasters have had wood replaced all over many times. Look at something like Phoenix, and how they're replacing sections of it every off-season. That's much harder to do with a steel coaster; you can't just nail or bolt a new piece of steel in to replace one that's wearing out.

Ouch...this, right after Firehawk, two of my favorite "weird" coasters. I guess Cedar Fair's really had it with "difficult" rides. When Volcano first opened it was one of my absolute favorite coasters. It really hasn't fallen that far in the rankings since then, it's just so different. I do hope they keep the mountain and find something new to fit into it. It's so iconic for that corner of the park, and it's already held several wildly different rides; one more doesn't seem to be too much to hope for. At least those damn smurfs are definitely all cooked by now, anyway.

They must have pretty high expectations for a family coaster, if they're doing that much extra work for it. I hope it's as good as they seem to think it will be! ...Just so long as it doesn't have any negative effects on Zoom Phloom. That's irreplaceable.

What the hell is even the point of car horns!? On the way into work, as usual, I ended up stuck in completely jammed up traffic going nowhere (welcome to I-95 in Rhode Island!) and some asshole decides he's going to make things better by leaning on his horn. That's right, keep honking! A few more seconds of blaring noise and the person in front of you, who's just as stuck as you are, is absolutely definitely going to move out of your way! Definitely making being stuck here much more pleasant and relaxing too! Shortly after, off the main highway and with traffic actually moving, someone else decides to start hitting their horn, over and over. He's not gesturing at anyone, he's not trying to get into another lane, he's not obviously trying to get any message across, just hitting his horn over and over, surrounded by other cars. Who's he honking at? Why? NO ONE KNOWS but we all get to listen to it and try to figure out if he's trying to get across that our car is on fire, or we have a cat trapped under the car, or if he just really wants people to get out of his way because he needs to get to a bathroom right now. It's a completely pointless way to make noise that communicates absolutely nothing and never does anything but piss people off and make traffic even more frustrating. How socially acceptable would it be to walk into a room and just start yelling? Not saying anything, no words, warnings, or demands, just noise, just walk into a crowd and start screaming "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA", and expecting people to know what you mean? But, blaring horns are completely normal, apparently.

I feel a little bit bad for Knoebels, after all the excitement over Over the Top. There must have been something pretty terribly wrong with the design for them to give up on it like that. I don't know the business side of parks all that well, but I would think that under circumstances like that, they're probably getting their money back from the manufacturer? At least the new ride will likely be a big hit for kids. As far as Downdraft being replaced with a newer Downdraft...well, I love that ride, so I can't imagine a better ending than that, personally!

So...Cats. Just...wow. So, a little background, for what it's worth. I was two years old, ish, when my mother brought home the Cats soundtrack on a copied cassette. I listened to it nonstop; by time I was in elementary school I pretty much knew every line start to finish. I never really grew out of it, and wore out several copies of it, but I didn't actually get to see the performance until the PBS Great Performances special in the late 90s, and then shortly after finally got to see it live for the first time. I wore out the VHS copy of the recorded one, too, before getting it on DVD, and I've had the chance to see it live a couple more times since. So yeah, I'm something of a fan of Cats? And yeah, that's how I got into the whole furry thing too =P Still, I was going into this one a bit apprehensive. I hadn't had a chance to see the revival on broadway, but I knew they'd made changes, and were advertising a new score and choreography "based on" the original version, the latter redone by Hamilton's choreographer. Add in that the original choreographer Gillian Lynne was reportedly "very angry" about it being changed, and...well, I'm sure you can imagine my expectations, and how willing I was to have something I loved so much changed. As it turns out, while there are some changes, they're almost all for the better. This is absolutely my favorite version I've seen yet. Most of the changes are fairly small; the choreography is different here and there, though probably not noticeably to anyone less...obsessive a fan. I did feel like the new version let some of the characters show a little bit more individual personality at times instead of being "just one of the cats." There's a little more attention given to relationships between the cats; small details like the old cats Deuteronomy and Gus sharing a moment together. A few scenes are changed more, like the latter part of The Old Gumbie Cat, which is far more playful and fun than the original version. Sorry Ms Lynne, I've always adored what you did, but it's even better now. Some lines, particularly when introducing characters and songs, are delivered differently now, with a bit more acting, a bit more emotion in them, instead of just sung as part of the lyrics...small changes, again, but definitely for the better. The cats got a few more chances to play in the aisles and work the crowd than previously; had I known that I would have tried harder for an aisle seat. Maybe slightly controversially, Growltiger's Last Stand has been removed from the show. This is definitely something of a hit against it, as I always thought it was one of the high points of the show, but...it was very much a product of its time, and the show is probably better off without it and the associated baggage in 2019. (For those unfamiliar, Growltiger took a rather stereotypical view of asians that is...not as publicly acceptable as it was decades ago.) Fortunately they don't leave Gus just hanging without a second part of his act, as the DVD production did (understandably, given Sir John Mills' age); the revival rewrites The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles to be Gus', with him reprising his old role as the Rumpus Cat. It works very well, and fits better into the show than the original version, which always did seem a bit oddly placed. With or without changes, of course, the show only works if the cast is up to it...and this cast is fantastic. Grizabella is just amazing, every bit as good as the legends that have taken her role in the past, putting so much ragged desperation into her performance, and her voice...wow. Gus is absolutely a highlight too in this tour; starting out looking barely alive at all but slowing waking up as his past deeds as the theater cat are told, first joining in the stories a bit hesitantly, then more enthusiastically and finally coming to life again entirely to play one of his old parts one last time. The actor playing Rum Tum Tugger ups his ego and...difficult nature, even more than past versions, but still manages to show a softer side towards some of the other cats. While there were a couple of the less featured characters that I felt fell a bit behind some of the past versions I've seen, as a whole this is by far the best cast I've seen live, and mostly even lives up to the picked-from-'round-the-world "best of" cast of the recorded version. (I found out after I got home from it that the show will be playing in Philedelphia the day I'm driving past there on my way to Pittsburgh for Anthrocon. Not only do I get a chance to see it again, but the timing is just perfect! I'm even more excited now than I was to see it over the weekend, knowing how good it is now!) So, TL;DR - If you have any interest in Cats at all, and have a chance to see this production...absolutely, definitely do not miss out.

Tomorrow afternoons, for the first time in far too long, it's Cats time for me. I'm just hoping the new tour is good; the last tour was kinda disappointing. This one just opened, so I can't even find any reviews yet. I absolutely can not wait, I'll never be able to get enough of it. Not everyone's favorite these days, I know, but it was...something of an important factor in my life when I was young.

Definitely - Lake Compounce (home park, so of course) Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Food and Wine Festival!) King's Dominion Knoebels Kennywood Probably - SFNE Hopefully- King's Island

Oh. This...is not going to go well here...

A Top Scan right next to Power Surge might be a little much for a lot of parkgoers. Wouldn't catch me complaining one bit though!

Well..different people with autism have very different problems and reactions to experiences, it's definitely not a one dimensional disorder like that, but... "I absolutely hate to admit, I mean it's definitely really a secret, I wouldn't want anyone to know, but I just have to put it out here and hashtag it, is anyone paying attention to me yet?" Some of the other comments are even dumber. "They should replace it with a river rapids ride" or "They should put Firehawk there!" Why not just go for a full on hypercoaster in the spot? How do these people manage day to day lives without any sort of basic spatial awareness at all?

Oh, man, I'm going to miss this one. I love that ride, so much more intense that it looks from the ground. I don't know of any others like it, either. On the bright side, this is Knoebels, so I doubt it's getting replaced with a hot dog stand (and if it is, they'll be the best hot dogs anywhere). Probably not too long until there's at least a hint as to what's taking its place, I hope.

Don't mind me, just laughing far too much at the forum word filter having its way with the last part of that press release.

Yeah, the cold last night definitely didn't help things. I've been doing the Haunted Graveyard for a good decade or so or more though, and I've been on even colder nights when it still seemed to be running as fast as ever. My friends that rode after me claimed it didn't seem slow at all for them, though so...who knows. Just as long as I can get some really good rides in next year, one way or another...

Made it to the park for a few hours for the Haunted Graveyard last night. The haunt itself has always been great, and still is now. I don't think it's the Graveyard's best year; there's nothing really new except that I think the zombie hospital at the end might have been very slightly expanded on, and at least last night, they seemed understaffed; there were more empty rooms than I'm used to. Still very well done overall with a good 45 minute walk through the entire thing, a lot of great themeing and environments, and some actors very much getting into their roles. The graveyard really does have some great sets, too. There's one particular effect that has you walking down a slope into what looks to be a lake of fog that's incredibly effective; it's genuinely hard to make yourself take the step that "submerges" you. That hadn't been working properly the last couple years when I was there, with far too thin a fog to have any effect, but this year it was back to the way it was the first year they introduced it...and with a little extra surprise too that gave the best scare of the night for me personally. The Banshee Realm is simple but very spooky and atmospheric, the Vortex with the spinning tunnel is always such a fun effect, and the actors in the vampire and cannibal hillbilly areas were having a lot of fun with their jobs. Unfortunately the ending is something of a letdown now. The finale used to be the Reaper's Realm, which divides groups up and sends you down long, incredibly dark tunnels with absolutely no ability to see anything and, when it works properly, complete isolation. Unfortunately it usually turns into the person in front of you panicking and stopping, and you walking into them then shuffling down the blind hallway sandwiched between them and the person behind you...but it's still a very good room, and made for a great ending. Sadly instead of that being the end, it now deposits you in the Zombie Hospital, which is by far the worst part of the entire haunt. Plain white plywood walls and a few actors doing the "la la la I'm so insane won't you play with me la la la" act, it's just not at all up to the standards of the rest of the haunt, and a pretty sad way to end the whole thing. Overall though, still a fantastic haunt, one of the best in New England, IMO. Outside of the Graveyard, the park was...Lake Compounce 2018, meaning very up and down. Some of the extras for the season were very nice, especially the seasonal food and treats. The park has a stand set up with hot soups, in bread bowls if you want (the clam chower is very good!), lots of hot cider all over the place, apple fritters that were a bit more like a cider doughnut than what I think of as an apple fritter, but tasty all the same, and among a bunch of other nice treats, the halloween bubbling drinks have returned. They make them (four different kinds of vodka drinks) in special cups with a cage for dry ice at the bottom, so they bubble and smoke while you enjoy them. At $10 for a smallish drink, they're a little bit on the pricey side, but pretty tasty, and he bubbles on your tongue and the first time you realize you're blowing smoke out your nose are fun enough to go for once a year, at least. We didn't have a ton of time for rides, but we got some of the important stuff in, anyway. Ghost Hunt was working well; the new guns make a huge difference, it's a lot more fun when you can actually hit a target. Phobia is still at the top of its game and running like a new coaster should. Wave Swinger continues to try its best to be a high end thrill instead of a family ride; I still have no idea how they can run theirs so much faster than anyone else. Looking great for the season with the custom LED lighting, too. On the other side of things, because LC can't be all good things lately...Wildcat ran for a half hour or so then shut down and didn't reopen. This makes 5 trips to the park in a row over the last 3 years that WIldcat's been down when I tried to get on it. Maybe it's me. Downtime was also standing silent and making the most of its name all night again. The Ferris Wheel is looking absolute tragic right now with 60% of its lights burned out and missing; I'm really hoping the park just isn't replacing them because they're planning on giving it an LED upgrade in the off season. There's no excuse to let it get that bad otherwise. And, of course, Boulder Dash. Running just the blue train tonight, but with crowds as low as they were, that was to be expected. It was much, much smoother than last year, definitely improved somewhat, but it still very like it was dragging quite badly to me. There was very little airtime on the out stretch at all, and halfway back on the return leg, the train picked up very nasty vibration and lost speed very quickly, just crawling over the top of the hill before the on-ride photo, so badly I thought something might be stuck under the train or a wheel. Apparently the group that rode the next train didn't get that at all, so I have no idea what it was. Still very much not the same Boulder Dash from a few years ago, though... I don't regret going out to the park one bit, the Haunted Graveyard is well worth the trip, but there still seems to be a lot of work to be done on the park itself. It's really sad seeing all the problems they've been having lately. Here's hoping 2019 is the year everything turns back around for them.

I know not everyone's as much a fan of Firehawk as I am (or a fan of it at all), but...still surprised so many people here seem to be so attached to the empty grass lot at Dorney.

While Vekoma does have a new, supposedly more reliable train design for the Flying Dutchmen now, I can't imagine a park website ever advertising a coaster that way. Most of the guests aren't going to know or care if it's a new train, probably the majority wouldn't even know it's not an all new coaster...and I don't think the park would would be trying very hard to inform them otherwise. As much as I'd love for Firehawk to end up at Dorney...that would be a very strangely worded ad. Also, if that's format testing, the address bar would be showing a different web address, probably a local file, not something on the web at all. If it was actually at dorneypark.com like it shows...it would be showing the live page. Very, very fake. Sadly.