Satans Hockey

My only real complaint about the SW parks is when they changed their tier level of memberships a handful of years ago and then immediately changed them the year after which caused confusion when I was dealing with some staff. Like I have "premier" membership which gets me into all of their parks but they changed it the next year to "platinum" so while I still get access to all of the parks and the perks that go with it some of the staff get confused when they see premier on my passes but when they scan it then it still works. If this actually somehow goes through I'm curious to see if they keep the season passes separate or make an ultimate platinum premier pass to attend all the parks and what that price point would be. I've kept our SW parks premier/platinum passes because they are locked in at $20 a month but I've dropped our Cedar Fair park platinum passes for this year cause I simply don't see us getting to any of their parks since Dorney is the closest and Dorney alone isn't worth renewing it, especially with the lack of real benefits in terms of renewing. That has more to do with our travel plans for the year than the state of the parks though.

When I went to the park the other day they had construction around the main entrance sign, this is why... Old entrance... I know they want to get away from having the Orcas be a main promotional part of the company and parks but even still the rocks really don't pop at all on the new entrance.

By far my favorite ride at the park and the only coaster I've ever actually marathoned a stupid amount of times, got really lucky one day with nobody at the park and they just let us sit in the seats the entire time, think i ended up with close to 17 rides in a row. I enjoy sitting towards the back more but too many selfish idiots with their phones out has lead me sitting towards the front of it more and more over the past few years. Can't wait to get back on it next year, haven't been to the park since 2019 now.

This is the first year that I let our Cedar Fair platinum passes expire since I just don't see getting to any of their parks in 22, Dorney Park isn't that far from us but we don't usually end up going there anyway even with the platinum passes. Have plans on going to the Magic Kingdom for the 50th and want to get back to Halloween Horror Nights so will most likely renew our season passes for Universal cause we really enjoyed 19 and 21 there. Would love to get back to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for their food and wine festival since we haven't been since 19 but not sure that will be possible. We'll definitely end up at SeaWorld and maybe Busch Gardens Tampa so gonna keep those passes going. Still need to hit up fun spot in Kissimmee and ride Mine Blower too. I'll never cancel the six flags passes since it's so cheap so will definitely end up at great adventure next year after not being there in a long time either.

Right in front of the Macy's store that's across from the tree or in front of the Mummy ride, when Santa arrives there then you'll also get to see him light up the tree. I can't speak for what's it like normally but we only showed up like 20 mins before it started and were able to sit on the curb right in front of Macy's.

Was flipping channels tonight and Dinner Impossible with Robert Irvine on the food network was doing a show at the park for the 150th anniversary. He rode a few rides and they had some nice footage of the park and rides during it. I'm sure there will be a few replays if anyone is interested.

Sounds so awesome. Really hope Orlando eventually gets this too.

They could and should be selling them for no more than $2 a bottle for water. Even at that price they would still be making a ton of money, most likely even more cause people would be buying it even more. One of my biggest pet peeves in all of theme parks / sporting events. I've never seen the Bourne movies either but this show was so awesome. I always enjoyed Terminator but it was definitely showing it's age the last time I saw it. This is a massive upgrade with some really cool stunts and tricks. The only slightest knock I have against it doesn't even have anything to do with the show. I selfishly just wish this was a James Bond show cause I've always been a fan of that franchise and I think if this was themed to Bond a lot more people would be talking about it. So many of these stunts and tricks would work for Bond, plus you throw in the classic theme song, catch phrases and cars and it would be literally perfect to me.

Great report, this looks fun, definitely on my list of things to do whenever we get back down there. Not at all classy but I'd be amused by some sort of man vs food challenge, like the Mission Space Orange challenge where if you eat your entire meal and don't barf on Mission Space Orange you get a free meal or a free express pass for a ride lol

Was watching Halloween Wars and saw them advertising this... https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/shows/hersheys-after-dark "Skilled pastry chefs enter the famed Hersheypark after dark and compete to create the most mind-bending chocolate showpieces in the new primetime series, Chocolate Meltdown: Hershey’s After Dark. The four-episode series, produced in partnership with Hershey’s, premieres Monday, September 27th at 10|9c and is hosted by Sunny Anderson, who challenges the brave and talented pastry artists to create some of the most incredible chocolate creations we've ever seen! Working at breakneck speed with the help of just an assistant within Hershey’s largest candy store, Chocolate World, the competitors race against the clock as judges Ralph Attanasia and Maneet Chauhan keep a watchful eye to determine who was the most successful at molding chocolate and spinning sugar into works of art. The winner of each episode earns a year's supply of Hershey’s candy, a Hersheypark vacation and a cash prize. In the premiere episode, a self-taught and gravity-defying cake artist quickly runs into problems, forcing them to adjust the design on the fly. Meanwhile, a sugar artist almost loses a battle against a 33-pound slab of dark chocolate, and a sculpting enthusiast uses enough Hershey’s candy to empty the whole store. Other episodes include the pastry chefs using Reese’s Pieces and Almond Joy candies to create a Scary Sci-Fi chocolate showpiece. And the competitors have their work cut out for them as they create Frightful Forest-themed chocolate displays incorporating Twizzlers Twists and York Peppermint Patties."

I've been to the Dallas world aquarium and they had a Jaguar in a rather small enclosure. The whole place looked rather poorly run with shoddy looking exhibits in terms of the health of everything too. One of the few times I didn't read reviews about a place before going. Apparently the owner has a lot of controversy surrounding him as well.

Yes they did. I believe there was announcement about keeping your shirt and shoes on but don't quote me 100% on that. Another couple on the same barge as us did take their shoes and put them in there.

Got 2 rides on Velocicoaster and then 1 on Hagrids in the last hour of the park being open. Can't possibly say anything that hasn't been said already but Velocicoaster is just absolutely incredible. Really impressed with the locker system and hope they do this on all future coasters. Such a better experience than what Dueling Dragons use to be like with the lockers and it is nice to not have to worry about getting smacked in the face with a cell phone. Our first ride was in the front row and maybe took 8 mins, there was a decent line for the front row and the grouper was telling people it was a 30 minute wait but the staff here is absolutely booking it, it's just fantastic. Favorite part was definitely being completely out of my seat upside down right above the water. Such a wild experience. Only had been on Hagrids once before back when it opened and that was during the day. While we both liked the ride we both thought it was such a better overall experience at night. There were things that we simply missed during the day or didn't pop out enough themeing wise that were so much easier to notice at night, especially in the darkest part of the forbidden forest. I know it's more of a mental illusion thing but it just felt faster at night too. Earlier in the day we left the cell phones where we are staying and threw on sandals so we could hit up the 3 water rides and not have to care about getting absolutely drenched. Jurassic Park really wasn't too much more than just having some wet hair but Dudley Do-Rights and Popeye & Blutos absolutely drenched us, especially Popeyes. I really forgot how much fun these rides are but typically avoid them since walking around with wet shoes and socks is just miserable lol we ended up doing Jurassic Park 1x and the others 2x. There was no line for Popeyes so they actually let us just stay on the ride to go back around again. Since it's been awhile I really forgot how great the themeing is on Popeyes and Dudleys. We left to go change after that since absolutely drenched really doesn't justify how wet we got on these rides lol I really do love absolutely everything about these parks. Just wish I was in a reasonable driving distance from them and we would be here at least once a month. My only complaint is I simply wish they were open later. A 10pm close would make them perfect for me and it's something I keep filling out on the surveys they send and on the way out when the workers near the exits are looking for feedback.

I could not possibly agree more, years ago I tried one at cowfish at CityWalk and it was easily the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. Doesn't go at all to me either but like you said clearly others think it does lol

Gotcha that makes sense. They were announcing it through out the day at least so we made sure to get some Mako rides in long before anyway. I'm waiting to see reviews from tonight and tomorrow and we might go Sunday night then if they are good. Just didn't wanna be there the first night in case it's eh.

At SeaWorld today for a few hours, have a platinum pass or whatever they are calling it now at Williamsburg so doesn't affect me too much but an fyi they are shutting down mako, xfinity falls, sesame street and the other Halloween areas at 4pm today. I know it's the first weekend but 3 hours in between the park actually closing and the event starting seems a bit excessive if they keep doing that from now on. Mako was still as fun as ever.

Went to Halloween Horror Nights for the second time ever tonight(last went in 2019) and we were able to do every house and watch the show in the lake without an express pass. It was definitely more crowded this time and closed at 1am instead of 2am the last time we went but the lines really weren't too bad. Longest we had was like 55 mins for Hill House. Overall I thought the original houses were way better than the IP houses. Case files and the pumpkin lord houses were our favorites. IP wise thought Texas Chainsaw massacre was the best. Bride of Frankenstein had a really awesome opening scene though. I would definitely have a frequent scare pass if we were closer but was really happy to get though everything again in 1 night without having to get an express pass. Happy to have the event back and didn't mind the actors being behind the screens but really looking forward to next year when we are hopefully back to a more normal world and event. My only real complaint was that some of the staff inside some houses that had bright orange glow sticks like the airport tarmac workers use to wave people to go faster. Was completely unnecessary and distracting, even more so when everyone was in a close conga line to begin with anyway.

I was passing through the area and stopped in for a quick 4 ride trip, Orion, the beast, Mystic timbers and diamond back and left since we didn't have much time but Orion was an absolute blast. Really don't understand the complaining about Orion that I've seen by some people. We sat in the front row and it was so much damn fun. I would love to have this ride closer to me, felt like it was something you can ride a bunch in one day and not get tired of it.

I have some family members who are platinum season pass holders and are not thrilled with this either. For them between the price increase here plus having to pay for genie+ and possible lightning passes here and there as well as the photopass they feel like it's getting to the point of too much. They were hoping they would have at least x amount of days ode genie+ for free or something of that nature. They are talking about letting the passes go completely and trying Universal which they never even considered before. If we were in closer distance to the parks we would probably have a season pass of some nature but like you said in that news interview all these price increases without having everything return from pre covid is a lot to take at once.

I totally get ya just wanting to pay up front and being done with it for the year but just letting ya know it's not like prime where it automatically renews after a year. You also should be receiving emails for prime every year when it's about to renew. I get them warning me when it's gonna renew. For membership you have to pay for 12 months then after that you can cancel at anytime, you're not locked into another 12 months. You can cancel at 13, 14, 15 months etc and that's it, no penalties or fees or anything. That only happens if you cancel under the first 12 months.

Personally the main reason I switched to membership years ago was because with the season passes you had to show up by some point in October to activate them to get the free parking benefits and September/October was always a time we had trouble getting to the park. Switching to membership avoided this issue. It's also quite a bit cheaper too so that's another bonus. In terms of being able to cancel unless they changed it you can just go on the website and cancel at any time after your first 12 months.

Just saw this, I never go in October when it gets super crowded anyway but this is probably for the best and at least saves people the hassle of being turned away. I've never found it to be super crowded in September though but still saves people and the park any hassles...

From the vice article, this is what a few of us had already thought and would absolutely mess your body up on this ride... "According to Mainichi Shimbun, one of the riders who reported injury said she may have been sitting forward during the ride." “If they detected no serious concerns with the actual ride, then it could be the way people were sitting. But if a person was sitting incorrectly, say with space between their backs and their seat, it’s the responsibility of the park employees to check their seating position,” he said.

Yikes, really hope she is ok. Even if it wasn't even close to max velocity, head injuries can be absolutely horrific. Hopefully there's no serious or long term damage to her.

This is a bit of a long winded post for me compared to my normal posts so apologies in advance for my wall of text lol... I definitely come from a different viewpoint on all of this as being a local who has lived here my whole life because I have season tickets for multiple sports teams and while my seats are really good they are reasonably priced and I have the benefit of being able to sell games I can't go to or get a credit for a certain amount of games I can't make as a perk of being a season ticket holder. A newer trend that more and more stadiums and arenas have been adopting is fan friendly concession stand prices. Atlanta started it and have found that more people are coming inside earlier, spending more because they aren't feeling like they are being ripped off. Atlanta actually made more revenue on concessions than ever before because of lowered prices and found that merchandise sales were more than ever before because people were spending more on merch because they spent less on food and drinks. It's one of the biggest complaints I have that more places don't adopt this strategy, including theme parks. Some of them charging 5 bucks for a bottle of water is absolutely disgusting. https://sports.yahoo.com/cheap-beer-good-press-falcons-fan-friendly-pricing-win-win-191626117.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALjD1fkuCtSJUjt6FuY1OpLsAPtAn3MmGD3BZrQldVQ0g8SZ8ecojzMmAuIms1gy-yIW4e6kjgWZGTe_a66kmtdv7egnH3fFSdP8TwcT5b_RU7ntiNHYSxZUIsJWkIMLYENBXOUAioCu3ibEG-oAal1hT9QGv72LZNEzEbMQZ_jW I compare this to everyone here knowing the tricks of theme parks and the best ways to go about them but I never pay to park in this area because I drive everywhere and avoid public transportation like the plague and when we go to Broadway shows there are multiple cheaper options if you don't mind where you are sitting. $150 is on the expensive side for Broadway tickets. That being said I know we have some benefits that people visiting don't always have, like doing the online lotteries for the more popular shows and if we actually win then we would go but if you are seeing a show that isn't a super hot ticket like the new Hugh Jackman show or Hamilton etc a lot of shows do have cheaper options that can range from $25 to $70 bucks if you don't mind sitting at the top of a theatre or in the mezzanine somewhere but a lot of these places are so small that the last row seats and sitting somewhere upstairs are actually a really great view. Personally aisle seats are a bigger deal to me than anything else because the leg room in so many of these theatres is absolutely awful. There's also the TKTS booth that a lot of people do take advantage of that is a great way to get expensive seats for less. Plays are also normally way cheaper than musicals because more people would rather see a musical than a play. The blowback on this new Genie service is definitely way more than normal, the two YouTube videos about the Genie service has 1.4k likes to 14k dislikes and 856 likes to 9k dislikes. I've never seen anything Disney get ratioed that badly. I'm waiting for Disney to come out with the full prices for everything before I really make a decision on this but I can emphasize with the average family of 4 who is in the middle class or lower that is upset about this. People who already had trips booked and had been saving up and budgeting for this are now dealing with the unknown of this system, their possible once in a lifetime visit for a 7 or 10 day visit would be $420 or $600 more if they bought this for every day for their stay plus we don't know the prices of the tier 1 rides that would be purchased separately and apparently there will be surge pricing as well. Obviously a lot of rides can be done via standby and saving the money instead but I can definitely understand people's frustration about all these unknowns. I get the frustration of people who don't want to be on their phones all day using the app or waking up at 7am while on vacation to book rides on the app. I feel like comparing all of this to what other parks are doing is a tough situation because Universal express is included with the deluxe hotels and while it doesn't include the brand new rides the rest are almost always walk ons from my experience. With the unlimited express you can just keep riding the rides over and over and not have to worry about selecting fast passes on your phone so your day is less structured and planned out. For six flags all of us here are the in the minority since the vast majority of people don't travel to different six flags and just visit their local ones. Our season passes are like $60 for the year so missed rides are a wash because you can always just come back. Cedar Fair is in a similar boat minus Cedar Point. We love the Disney parks, if we were closer in driving distance we would definitely go way more often. We want to come down for the 50th anniversary celebration but definitely are going to wait and see how this all plays out and read some trip reports first before making our plans. My opinion on all this is still to be determined but I can definitely see both sides of the likes and dislikes about this new setup. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.