CaptainUnknown

^^It's chain-wide. And yes, it is valid for both 2020 and 2021 along with all add-ons. Personally, I wasn't planning on getting any kind of Cedar Fair pass this year, but now I am seriously considering purchasing a Platinum Pass now especially since I plan on visiting multiple CF parks next year. Now I just wonder when the cutoff purchase date is.

Stuff.

So it looks like I'm going back to Branson again next year; the first 2 weeks of March. About how early does the park usually open for the season?

For about the last year I've had an on and off toothache caused by a bit of tooth falling out. Because I could cure it with a couple ibuprofen, I ignored it for the longest time. Last week, my pizza betrayed me by jamming itself into that tooth and instigating some swelling and pus. Due to the current state of affairs, I was able to get into the dentist this morning for at least a diagnosis. About an hour later, I'm getting a root canal. I'd have preferred to just get the tooth pulled, but that tooth is between two others and it's on the side I had some jaw surgery on a few years ago. Getting that tooth pulled and getting either a spacer or a denture in there would have cost $3500-$5000. The root canal would cost $2500. I have some decent dental insurance, but I'm still going to have a large out of pocket expense. At least I'm getting that Stimulus check. And all this could have boiled down to a simple cavity filling if I had taken care of this when it happened a year ago.

I’ve always wondered the same thing. How can a rose have thorns?

Dynamite.

Well, then you stayed at the wrong hotel. Seriously, all four of ours did, it was weird. I thought that hotel was a Sleep Inn. Anyways, it had Texas-Shaped waffles back in Mid-August. Proof. Weird that they got rid of it.

For some reason, I think that Disney and the Lopez's have better lawyers than I do. Yeah, Valleyfair can be done in a half day, but amusement park-seeking tourists need at least a full day at the mall. Hell, I've been going to the mall all my life and recently, a single day hasn't felt enough to me.

I grew up with it as Camp Snoopy. It's amazing how many people I know still call it Camp Snoopy. And also LOG CHUTE!!! Imagine how I feel about the title. I'm half dreading my (potential) trip to WDW this year and meeting Elsa... At least I titled this report before the Frozen II song was released. And BTW: how incredible would you think the mall was if it didn't have the Log Chute and the Margaritaville? In terms of square feet, the aquarium is nearly double the size of Nickelodeon Universe. With 1.2 million gallons of water. I don't go to aquariums that often so I don't know how to compare them unless I can google the sizes. As for the Ghost Blasters queue, most of the themeing and much of the queue itself was removed to make room for Spongebob. The addition of Spongebob also meant the removal of a 4-D motion theater.

Journey 10: Mall of America AKA The OG Nickelodeon Universe (Ft. Sealife) For all my love of what we Minnesotans call the "Mega-Mall," I've never actually posted a trip report on TPR from it though. Weird. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Since I'm in a quarantine zone; (Curse you, COVID!) thought I'd take the time to do so now. So the week I went for this report was a really weird week for me. I was planning on visiting on Friday. I ended up going Thursday to take my mind off of things considering Wednesday was the funeral for my Grandfather. Also, for as many times as I've visitied the mall, I'd never done Sealife. Lucky for me, there was a combo deal for Sealife with Nick U. Sweet. It's a Piranha! They live in the Amazon. Da-Dun. Daa-Dun. Turtle. Hopefully saving me from the Shark. Da-da-da-La! Is this Kevin Kiermaier? Whoa man, look at the colors on that Jellyfish, yo! Overall, I'm glad I visited at least once. It had some neat exhibits and I like looking at sharks. I could do without hearing some kid (or their parent) singing baby shark every 5 seconds though. It's never something I'd do without some combo ticket. But now it was time to go into the park itself. So I did the first ride I saw: the Shredder Chance Frisbee. Whee! The queue was right next to the lift for the Fairly Odd Parents Gerstlauer spinner. I love how rides are stacked on top of rides in this park. Not Grona Lund level, but surprising for the USA. Twisty! I'm a huge fan of the Avatar animated series (Shut up, M. Night fans) and I hoped that the series would get a better ride than an Intamin Half Pipe. It's a fun enough ride, but I wish it was something else. And the NJ one has lap bars only? Unfair. For whatever reason, the park did not retheme the Sally Ghost Blasters to Danny Phantom (The Danny Phantom ride was the defunct Chance Falling Star where Shredder is now). Not everything works as well as it used to. It had a decently well-themed queue when it originally opened. When there's something strange, but it's copyright. Who ya gonna call? Thanks to the park's "Hold my beer" attitude when it comes to placing rides on top of rides, there's a ropes course on top of Ghost Blasters and the queue for it is next to the lift for the Spongebob Eurofighter. Look at all that natural light! It can be blinding when going up the lift. It's gotten a little rough over the years. Helix of Doom! Even when I "double-fisted" the guns (operator's words, not mine), I can't seem to get a good score. I came, I saw, I kicked its ass! In line for the Zierer coaster monorail, one can get some good shots of Spongebob's LOOP-DE-LOOP! The Ripsaw Orange Streak only has one train. Can make for long-ish waits, but with a station built on top of the bumper cars, it provides a great platform for pictures. Monorail through the trees. But the obvious star attraction at the mall is... The Backside of Water!!!! Which is located in the queue for the second-best attraction: Paul Bunyan's Log Chute. Unfortunately it was having a number of technical difficulties on the day which resulted in the queue being cleared out a couple times. But I still love how absolutely campy it is. I'm glad the park keeps it up. And I especially love that the park dresses up the main Paul Bunyan animatronic during holiday seasons. Seen from Log Chute queue. Apparently the mall was having some sort of butterfly-themed art display when I went. Oh sh!t, it's Mothra! The Mall allows for many vantage points for photography. Slow your roll, there! Plunging to Rock Bottom! LOOP-DE-LOOP! I love the mall and the park. I try to go at least once a year (but not always for the park). There are times I like to go to the mall and just walk around. Might do a little shopping. But I will always make a point to ride the Log Chute. It must be protected at all costs!

It sounds like a one-wheeled haystack.

Since there's nothing else to do during quarantine, I had to make a double bacon cheeseburger.

Stuart Gordon: Filmmaker who was most known for writing and directing the 1985 Horror film Re-Animator.

Lost.

With my state issuing a shelter in place order, me and my couch are going to become very well acquainted over the next 2 weeks. I'm getting 1/2 pay through vacation pay. But at least I have enough toilet paper (purchased before the panic buying began, BTW) to last through the epidemic. But now it is time for me to shelter in place. Are you my mummy?

Barring any additional/continued closing periods, I'm planning it to be SeaWorld San Antonio mid-July.

The only thing worse than beating a dead horse is betting on one.

If it means anything, my platinum membership was purchased from SFOT and I have received emails saying that for each day the park is closed, a day will be added onto the end of the membership at no charge (or something like that). I received something similar from SeaWorld San Antonio.

Craving.

Can someone smarter than me explain as to why a malaria pill would even do anything? The two diseases have some wildly different symptoms. Or are we at the "nothing else has worked, let's pull a pill out of a hat and try it" phase?

I'm not sure where this originated, but I thought it was worth a giggle and share here.

Sure, let me sneeze and cough on your lap bar, on the train before you get in. That's a bit extreme, scottiemon, but yes--Germs can exist on any and every surface--including roller coaster trains. Assuming 2-across seating and 10-minute dispatches plus ride time, that's still about 10 people per hour to potentially get infected. And that's at one ride. You touch the train and then your face (you're going to do it, I guarantee it), congratulations! You just got Coronavirus! And those 10 people will infect more and more and more people.

Games.

You missed an opportunity to say "I Slinky Dog Dare you."

Max von Sydow aged 90.