CaptainUnknown

On Sunday, my father went to the Hospital with chest pains and trouble breathing. He has a number of pre-existing conditions that make him "at risk." He was NOT tested for COVID. You'd think that'd be the first thing they check for right now. He was discharged within a couple hours and prescribed some light aspirin-like medication.

Journey 11: Six Flags Over Texas AKA Giants, Ice Puns, and Baseball So this trip was almost a perfect storm for me. 1. I wanted to go to a Six Flags park for no reason other than to go to a Six Flags park after working for Cedar Fair for four years. 2. By the time of the trip, I had just accrued enough PTO for the trip. 3. As a baseball fan, I was excited that my team, the Minnesota Twins, were going to be in town playing the Rangers that weekend. #Bombasquad My flight landed mid-afternoon--which was enough time for me to drop my bags off at the hotel and grab a quick ride each on New Texas Giant and Titan (once I could find them in that back corner) before the park closed for the evening at 6pm all weekend I was there. View from the room. But in the mornings, I had to have breakfast at the hotel in the form of: Evil beware, we have Texas-shaped waffles. Before heading off into the park. In case you forgot where you were... NTAG is easily the best ride in the park. It's just so much fun. I'm glad Six Flags took a chance on RMC. From the top of the Oil Derrick, neither ride looks Gigantic or Titanic. Wait, let's discuss this! Too late! Nyoom! It was both my first and last rides of the trip. And as it turns out, my last coaster pre-Covid. Meep, meep! Titan. What happened here? The forces here just kill the pacing. Especially since you slam to a near stop on the mid-course. There's good reason for that, but why was it designed that way? I did enjoy the hangtime in the front car coming off the MCBR though. Sunset Titan. Mr. Freeze was a ride I was well aware of for having long wait times and general unreliabilty. I experienced both on my visit. Sometimes at the same time. I also had walk-ons. I love the launch on this thing and staring at the ground in the quote-unquote front car on the spike. But why TF does the seatbelt connect to the lapbar? The Mr. Freeze entrance is cool. Whenever a train launched, it gave me the chills. I know I should cool it with the ice puns, but there's snow way I can let it go. The Mr. Freeze animatronic is so tired of my ice puns, he gave me the cold shoulder. La Vibora was an interesting experience. I don't know what to make of the ride, but I love the single-rider line as it allowed me to bypass queues up to an hour in under 5 minutes. Now don't tell anyone about it. La Vibrator Much like the purple, cyclopian Decepticon, Shockwave is more than meets the eye. It's a fun Schwarzkopf double-loop coaster. And since I'm a lonely nerd (as evidenced by the facts that I have a TPR account and an obsession for ice puns), I keep enough of a count to realize that Shockwave was the 100th steel coaster I rode. Cool, I guess. Unfortunately, this was the only good picture I got of the double loops. LOOP-DE-LOOP! Oh look, a Gerstlauer spinner. The 3rd of this cloned model I've ridden. Single-rider saves the day again here. As for Joker, it seems like I enjoy these things more than most. I don't mind just rocking instead of flipping as that can be just as wild, if not more so than flipping. Or maybe I just get the joke that many have missed. Why so Serious? Let's put a smile on that face! One by one, they'll hear my call... Then this wicked town will follow my fall. And Batman. We all know what those are like. This is how a ride is supposed to do intensity. Looking at you, Titan. And it's also ridiculously photogenic. Which is the opposite of what Batman is as one who's received ninja training. Roll over the entrance. I don't know if it says more about Six Flags or the world of Batman where this could be considered theming. I thought Batman was more of a night guy. Who put on the sun? As for coasters I didn't really post pictures of: -Judge Roy Scream: an unoffensive wooden coaster who's biggest plus is how awkward it is to get to since the ride is outside the rest of the park and you enter the queue underneath the park's entry road. Weird. -Mini mine train was better than the full-sized one. Though, while waiting for Runaway Mine Train, the Main Dispatch op was telling jokes where the punchline was always "Mine Train" according to the teen boys in line. -Runaway Mountain: apparently not as awesome as Skull Mountain. Still a fun ride with an air conditioned queue. Though loose article storage and retrieval was interesting. As one who operated a Funtime Starflyer for Cedar Fair, it was interesting to see just how differently Texas Skyscreamer operated. Though what surprised me most was the reduced capacity on this model compared to the one I operated about half as tall. Skyscreamer, Texas sized. I love frisbees. So imagine my disappointment where Riddler was seldom operating (at least while I was in the area). A byproduct of it being late in the summer season, I guess. Mostly I just wanted another lap in the queue to get pictures of all the Riddles they had posted. What's Six Ounces, sits in a tree, and is very dangerous? A sparrow with a machine gun Riddle me this: why was this rarely open? I took this shot while just randomly walking around the top of the Oil Derrick, constantly taking pictures of nothing in particular, hoping something would turn out. Log flume, because log flume. I was excited to try the park's Zamperla Endeavor. I love the old Enterprise style attractions and was intrigued how this would be. Immediately I ran into a problem: I stapled myself to the point where I couldn't get a full breath in and was contemplating asking off the ride because of it. And after I got over that feeling, once the ride started, it just was not a comfortable riding experience. So I feel sorry for those who got stuck on the ride when it broke down (pictured). A disappointment on par with the Halle Berry movie. Justice League was another reprieve from the heat which was nice. As were the physical sets. I couldn't tell what I was looking at as I was shooting at the screens. It was chaotic and nonsensical to the point where I was just shooting blindly hoping I hit a target. By the way, how is Batman not dead from how many times riders have shot him? Sorry, Bats. Harley Quinn was fun enough for not being able to get an edge seat. It does make for a good ride to just go limp on and let the ride flail you around, though. No surprise it was down for mechanical a lot though. Of course I had to get a picture with some Looney Tunes characters. I only saw Sylvester and Daffy, though. I tawt I taw a puddy tat! And the other part of my trip was a baseball game. I love how ridiculously close Six Flags is to Globe Life Field/Park whichever one was open at the time. That's gotta suck for Arlington taxpayers, them building a new stadium across the street and no world series to show for it. Though this Twins/Vikings fan can't talk that much. Dem Boyz suck. I got a seat upper deck on the 3rd base side looking down the 1st base line. Great view of the plate. The game I went to was the one where the Rangers inducted Josh Hamilton into the team hall of fame. And as a Twins fan, as excited as I was for Justin Morneau to win the 2008 Home Run Derby, Hamilton deserved it. There was a benches clearing incident after the top of the 8th that got the crowd riled up. No punches thrown. Twins won 12-7. There was a bobblehead giveaway that night commemorating Kenny Rogers' perfect game. And of course, the hats I purchased. I was unimpressed with Six Flags' merch game. I couldn't even get a good (not-Dallas) cowboy hat. I like the Rangers hat, though. Piss-poor hat selection, Six Flags.

Just casually rewatching the first Brendan Fraser Mummy movie and the cold open/opening narration/backstory mentions that the curse placed on Imhotep while being unspeakably horrible now, would turn him into an all-powerful demigod with ambitions of world conquest/destruction should someone be stupid enough to awaken him. Maybe they should have not cast that curse... and just given Brendan Fraser his coffee

Johnny Cash--"Hurt"

I postponed a mid-July trip until October to allow the parks to open up a little/work out the bugs. Also, since it's a Texas trip, it'll be (slightly) cooler in October with the masks. I also have an Orlando trip planned for early December and while it hasn't been postponed/cancelled, I'm still keeping watch how things play out.

^A lawsuit would not be reasonable at all. The mall was all set to (partially) re-open on June 1. And then some rather justified civil unrest happened. If the park opens at all, I wonder how many changes there will be--especially when it comes to park security.

As many times I've visited the mall and ridden the log chute, how have I never noticed that moose before? BTW, when did you go?

^While I do think that it will be S&S, I can't help but wonder why coaster parts are already showing up. And while I have my doubts that what I'm about to talk about will come to fruition, I think it does bear mention. Could it be an Axis coaster? The park posted a gif of that Dragon Slayer image rotating horizontally on social media. With track showing up already, construction can begin soon-ish on a prototype--which will need some extra testing. Didn't S&S say that they already sold one or am I thinking of something else? Concept art of the Axis coaster shows similar support style to the Free Spin (I'm aware concept art is just that and things do change constantly). Again, take all this with half a grain of salt.

I once spun out while inside the tunnel that goes through the horse. This sounds totally like Mt. Olympus. Rather than fix something, better to block it off.

The Trojan Horse track appears mostly similar to what it's been in the past. The track does go through the Horse. Compare with this picture I have from March 2012. Hades Parking Lot section (Pre inversion) in background

I've had rides on Hades before and after the revamp, including the first public train after the revamp. Even that first train sucked. The park didn't retrack the whole ride--just some sections. I also had a backseat Buzz bars Cyclops ride. It was as much of a religious experience as you'd think it would be. Also, concerning the Trojan horse track: was it just not open or were you merely unimpressed at the layout?

I never got to experience a Paramount Park as a Paramount Park (Carowinds 2018). But Kings Island's Tomb Raider always looked awesome. I've enjoyed Top Spins (without working fountains) and I love some good theming. I hope KI eventually reuses that building with decent theming. And as a Star Trek fan, I wish I got to experience BORG Assimilator instead of Nighthawk.

You mean it's not actually a haunted room that's stretching?

So the biggest hurdle there would just be crowds. Some good planning/skip the line options (if available) and crowds can be manageble enough. It also looks like Winter/holiday events usually start later in November. I always enjoy a good Halloween event even if I don't go through the houses. Exactly, Bill. Which is why I postponed my trip. Don't want to rush out in the Texas summer heat while wearing a mask. While October will still be quite hot, it'll be slightly more tolerable. And the parks should have a better idea of what they're doing at that point.

^Or is it one of these moments?

I had originally planned a trip to Fiesta Texas/SWSA/ZDT for mid-July. Due to the current state of the world... that's not happening, I still want to take this trip this year, but now on a smaller scale. So the question is: what do people recommend: A weekend mid-October or a weekend in early November?

^

^6 more weeks of quarantine.

Someone called me lazy yesterday. I almost replied.

Hamilton is coming to Disney+ on July 3rd! 15 months before the planned theatrical release. Source

^Unless we're talking about a "this is what you don't do" precedent.

5.8 Gallons of gas for a grand total of $9.99 ($1.71/gallon)

Granted. No ifs, ands, or buts. Good Riddance. I wish I could fall asleep faster.

Regarding the Six Flags admission reservation system: When I worked for Cedar Fair as a ride op (FWIW), I heard (unconfirmed rumors) that on some park buyout days, the park would still let in some people not part of the company who bought out the park. If this was true, I can easily see Six Flags rolling over for walk-ups.

So the park posted a blog entry about what's been going on at the park this offseason. And I think the most interesting item mentioned is that the Dinos Alive store is being converted into a gathering/meeting/catering venue. Wait... Wasn't that the point of the Picnic Point, which is said to churn out thousands of meals per hour? Full Article