ytterbiumanalyst

Knoebels. Definitely Knoebels.

https://blog.silverdollarcity.com/article/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-opening-day New blog post today describing the new area, with menus for the new and/or expanded restaurants.

Okay, that's cool. Possible I just stayed in one that wasn't allowed to do free drinks. Glad to hear they're still offering that, it's a great perk.

They're installing the loop from California Screamin'

Oh yeah, I fully expect a lot of bitching from guests who can't understand why they can't ride next to their friend/family member/SO.

I often recommend the skillets to first time visitors, as they're the most unique. You can go anywhere, though; there's no bad food. Read a menu and go to what catches your eye. For souvenirs, depends on what you're looking for. The shops feature more crafts than your typical theme park stuff. If you want to buy something like glass or pottery, have it sent to the pickup location in Ozark Marketplace. You'll exit the park through there at the end of the day, so it's easy and you don't have to lug anything around or potentially break it. No public wifi, or at least they haven't so far and they haven't advertised that they are getting it. I think they will at some point as it's becoming pretty much standard, but those hills have got to be tough to get adequate coverage.

How many "X park will never buy from Y company EVAR AGEN" rumours do we need? I'll go ahead and answer that one: Zero.

I agree with most of what you've written, but I do take issue with this last statement. For the vast majority of people, their only interaction with the stock market is a 401(k). They don't have the option to invest in the stock market for a bit then pull their money out when they want. Once it's in there, it's in there until they retire. So they're going to be weighing between paying all at once and having the peace of mind from no obligation beyond that, or paying a bit at a time and having greater flexibility that comes from not having to come up with all the money at once.

Game show

It means Dollywood is going to have a DJ droppin' those sweet, sweet pony tracks.

Looks fantastic! I've been excited for this already, but seeing a train, I am now seriously impressed. Six Flags, if you want to start cloning this, please go right ahead.

Oh how cool! Did not see that coming, but I totally approve.

They can do as many firefighter themed areas as they want to. SDC has three: on the square, around Fire in the Hole, and Fireman's Landing. There is a lot of goodwill for civic heroes: police, firefighters, EMTs, military, etc. Any sort of deference the park makes to those people is very well received.

They used to give 1 free cocktail per adult per night. The menu was limited, but hey, free booze, right? That's been replaced by the 5:30 Kickback, which is soup and salad only. Still a great perk, just not the unbelievable perk it used to be.

Have fun! I'm working that day, but will ride it 2 days later. From the event information, we now know that Time Traveler will have a 51" minimum.

Traveler

Awesome! Loving this trend of theme parks extending their season. There's no better indicator of the health of thr industry.

The best album ever is clearly The Life of Pablo by the voice of our generation, Kanye West. Okay, serious list now. I've listened to all of these a ton, and for most of these artists, many of their other albums a ton too. I'm going to go in chronological order, and limit to albums in my lifetime and only one album per artist. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985) The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me (1987) New Order - Technique (1989) Pixies - Doolittle (1989) Depeche Mode - Violator (1990) Pearl Jam - Ten (1991) U2 - Achtung Baby (1991) The Cure - Wish (1992) R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (1992) James - Laid (1993) Dave Matthews Band - Under the Table and Dreaming (1996) The Verve - Urban Hymns (1997) Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998) Massive Attack - Mezzanine (1998) Mr. Bungle - California (1999) Radiohead - Kid A (2000) Pulp - We Love Life (2001) The Real Tuesday Weld - I, Lucifer (2003) The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004) Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better (2005) Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins (2005) Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise (2005) The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006) Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (2006) Snow Patrol - Eyes Open (2007) TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008) Muse - The Resistance (2009) Gotye - Making Mirrors (2011) The Lumineers - The Lumineers (2012) Lin-Manuel Miranda - The Hamilton Original Cast Recording (2015) Of Monsters and Men - Beneath the Skin (2015) Common - Black America Again (2016)

I love the Drury hotels, though as a Drury University alum, I may be a bit biased. (BTW, the two are unaffiliated, though both were founded by members of the same family.)

Baby

Sounds great. Tonight I'm trying out more of my recent discovery Bur Oak Brewing Co., and it's the Big Tree Double IPA. It's less bitter than a lot of doubles while still being good and strong. I like it.

I have not tried a MILF, or a beer by that name either. Mother's have a million varieties, and I've had most but not all of them. And yeah, totally PM me when it gets to be about your vacation time. My schedule is decently flexible, since I work in the tech/travel sector.

The thing about Hyatt and Hilton is that they're primarily luxury chains, and Hyatt Place and Hampton respectively are their "budget" brands. That's far different from budget chains like Wyndham and Choice trying to do an "upscale" brand. They can do it, but it's fundamentally a different mindset.