teacherkim

I agree that they have definitely put some time, effort and money into the park; as previously discussed just not so much on the ride front but on infrastructure. Not sexy but necessary and would lead you to believe there are plans to keep the park profitable and working well for the future. I don't think an RMC conversion of the Boss is likely now since they put the money into doing the titan track section, hopefully they add to that. IF we do get a major new attraction I think a small footprint coaster is much more likely. As I said I don't think they made the SDC/SFSTL Coaster Con pick because they know something new will be coming BUT if the park had plans they might be more motivated to have it ready to go by then. Clearly all speculation, maybe nothing will happen, time will tell. P.S. - There is an ACE event on Sept 6 and a group ride on the carousel is in the printed itinerary. While those schedules are never concrete it does indicate the park has a fair amount of confidence that it will be operational by then. P.P.S - Shell bought out the company that originally put in the EV chargers so they are no longer free. Still totally worth it for those traveling from further away that need to charge while in the park. Locals no more free juice but you really didn't need it anyway, lol.

Will be fun to see what, if anything, happens with the area in question. It has been announced that ACE CoasterCon in 2027 will be at SDC and SFSTL. Now some people assume that this means something new will be put in place by then. That is not necessarily true. ACE doesn't get secret phone calls about future plans, on the other hand it would be nice timing. I am sure the bigger draw for this pick is SDC which will have the new hotel and possibly a new water park, or some other attraction ready to go by then. They also take into consideration other area enhancements and the two new Vekoma coasters at Lake of the Ozarks will be good to go by then which will give attendees from far away a chance to ride them while traveling between the two parks.

That's so bizarre to me because every time I've ridden it this season I thought it's been running really well. I do almost always sit in a non-wheel seat, usually front row or second to last row. I know some people will poo poo that as nonsense but you can tell a difference. Just ask Bert about front row Voyage versus second row Voyage, lol. I do agree that they need to do some work on it for the 50th, at least a good paint job for God's sake, and maybe some special merch?

They could definitely open up some space there. Spinsanity could be moved, or rethemed for a new area, and if you got rid of the bathrooms, TS gift shop (and there are at least two other gift shop locations that have been closed), outpost snacks and possibly even the old Chevy show building, which I think has just been used for storage for several years now; there would definitely be room for a nice new themed restaurant which I think would be awesome. Now if we are really playing the wish game and they got rid of Ninja, there would be room for a new restaurant and something else. It would obliterate the last vestiges of that original themed area (I think it was Spain or France) but those are pretty much non existent anyway so I don't think anyone will care too much at this point.

Went to the park on the evening of the 4th. We arrived about 5, spent the next 3 and a half hours leisurely riding and eating our way around the park. It was moderately crowded but we really didn't have an agenda other than hanging around until close for the fireworks so we really just did things we wanted to do. Most things were up and running. Log flume had water going on both sides but only the right open.....maybe they will have the left open over the weekend, I know it takes a lot of staff. Coasters that we rode all had two train ops. Supergirl down when we walked by but no idea if that was all day or what. Boomerang AND Fireball both operating which was not the case on either of my two previous visits this year. Tried to catch the new "show" on the train, I saw some of the actors while on MT but we rode it late in the day and it was no longer going, keep that in mind if that is important to you or someone in your party. Landscaping: This has filled in nicely since I was there in May and they really have done a great job on the flowers and other seasonal plants this year. Palace gardens and area by JB's/JL in particular looked really good. Justice League: It was no longer in old lady mode like it was 5 weeks ago but also not running exactly well. Screens all on and car stopping where it should, but no fire effects, no Joker effect and the guns were not firing accurately at all. Spinsanity/Tsunami Soaker: This area was a bit dead. TS is of course not looking like it is coming back at all and Spinsanity was not fully assembled and looks to be down for an extended period. Fireworks: A bit of a goof here. They started right on time but seemed to only last 5 minutes and then nothing so we started heading for the exit thinking wtf? Then just as we were going through the entrance plaza they started up again. About a 5 minute or so lapse. We then, with most of the other guests, watched from the area right in front of preferred parking and just outside the security checkpoint. The rest of the show was a good 15 minutes with a fabulous traditional grand finale. So, there must have been some sort of choreography or technical glitch. Would have been very nice if they had made an announcement to stay where you are the show will continue momentarily but I of course have no idea what caused the problem so maybe that wasn't possible. Carousel: I swear I am just reporting the facts here Carousel has the inner 2 segments of horses installed and couple on the the 3rd segment. I cannot imagine it will take them more than a couple more weeks to get the rest installed. Now I have no idea if there are any mechanical/technical issues to address after installation but they are clearly getting close. They do have a corridor blocked off from the Old Glory to the carousel; I am sure that is to enable a secure pathway for the movement of said horses. So you are not currently able to go from there under Pandemonium to Bugs. The horses that I could see looked fabulous.

Thanks for posting this! I saw it a couple days ago but thought if I was the one to post it, I would be accused of ulterior motives and WW3 might erupt Seriously though, I wonder if they are trying to have it ready to go for National Carousel Day on July 25th?

I am beyond excited that we are going back to HHN this year!!! Haven't been since 2019. Epic and HHN and Howl-O-Scream and MNSSHP in the same week. I. Am. Speechless. Which my husband will probably declare as a national holiday.

Yeah we got a really great price on it and I know we can just walk next door to Sapphire Falls to catch the boat to CW so that's actually what we were hoping for on this trip and sounds like it will suit us well. I always thought RP was worth it for that express and I'll probably miss it, but now that we are in a situation where sharing a room isn't ideal double the price isn't always an option. Particularly since I rented some DVC points and we're spending a couple of nights at AK Lodge before we hit Universal, I just always wanted to stay in a savanna view room and something had to give financially on this trip.

Thanks for the review. Since we don't have to work on a school schedule anymore we are going the first week in October for the bonus of hitting HHN and the vain hope that the worst of the kinks will be worked out and hopefully lower crowds that time of year. How did you like Aventura? We have always only stayed at Royal Pacific but since the express won't work at Epic and I have to pay for two rooms I opted to try one of the more affordable options. Of course then they go and add express to Hagrids, lol.

JL was kind of funny actually. It was like it was in little old lady mode, just trolling along verrrry sloooow so no one got jostled or scared. Hopefully, a computer reboot got it up and working properly again. Bert and I had a fun few hours at the park though and the new menu at Fowl Ball was nice. The chicken tenders aren't new, although they were quite good, but they now have cheddar biscuits, peach cobbler, and coleslaw (which actually was more like a kale salad) all recommended. On another note, I realize Tsunami Soaker is probably not reopening ever but it sure is going to look kind of sad sitting there dead all summer. Too bad it didn't work out and let's hope the body isn't there as long as the dead Hannabarrels were

Yeah, we rode front but noticed a definite "rattle", and several other attendees talked about it. Nothing terrible but noticeable for such a new coaster. I could see how it was worse in the back.

We were at the park all day 4/16 and part of the day 4/17. The Friday was the park's 50th birthday and my son's 22nd birthday so it was fun to have the fireworks and special atmosphere. Had not been to there for about 3 years so first time on Darkoaster and Nessie with the enhancements. Darkoaster is kitschy in a fun way and the theming is well done. The retracking on Nessie was noticeable and appreciated, I liked the added screens in the tunnel but I'm guessing some purists will view it as an unwelcome alteration. The giant Nessie is a bit over the top and was definitely bigger than I was expecting. The new BBW was available for passholders but we did get ert on it Sat morning before park open. Just like most of the other new gen family inverts it's butter smooth with a nice layout. Just as fun it has a creative story line, fun trains, and very well done theming throughout the ride. I never rode the original so not sure how the people that have apparently never forgiven the park for taking it out feel, but I thought the new coaster to be a great addition to the park and will probably take some crowd pressure off of Invadr for all those looking for a slightly tamer experience. Verbolten very very dead. I mean cobwebs growing over the entrance dead. Everything else open without any noticeable downtime. The log flume was out of action both days but there were employees on site messing with it. Griffon, Appollo's Chariot, and Pantheon still probably my favorites and was able to get night ride's on AC and Pantheon which we had never had before so that was fun. The food festival was great! We tried several booths, everything was pretty good and there was a good variety. To honor the 50th they were selling 75 cent beers on Friday and while it doesn't affect me because I don't like beer, it was obviously very popular with the masses. Sorry I didn't partake so I cannot tell you if there was a limit or the size of each, etc

We were at the park last weekend and got a couple rides in on Rapterra. While it's not a blow me away top ten coaster, it is a solid addition to the lineup. Well themed and creative that they got it packed into a relatively small footprint. In my opinion worth a wait if you are already at the park, not necessarily worth a trip for it alone. Still no action at Pantherian. Timbers running well but of course only if you appreciate the typical ejector air of an RMC. I actually thought the star was Grizzly. That thing is running really really great after all the retracking. I was actually quite surprised at how smooth it is right now.

Agree Citywalk is generally better for food, although when we do eat in the parks we tend to find the HP themed restaurants the best choice for quick serve. I agree the crepe stand is pretty good too. Florean Fortescues in Diagon Alley is fun for ice cream but almost always has a healthy line. In agree with the other recommended restaurants in CW, if you want something very funky try Cowfish, if you want a fancier sit down try Bigfire; it's pricy but very good. Adults can only ride Pteranodon Flyers if they ride with a kid. Even the after hours events are not a guarantee, they do a lottery and some adults get to ride. If you are a HP fan I would definitely do the train both ways. If you're a lukewarm fan US to IOA is probably the best choice due to King's Cross. They will charge you nightly for the parking at Hard Rock and just add it to your hotel bill. Since you will have express you really don't need a "plan" as you can ride almost anything at your leisure. Single rider will not be any faster than express. The only exception to all of that is Hagrids of course. Your best bets are generally do the rope drop run first thing and/or get in line at the end of the day since wait times are usually exaggerated a bit then. Good news is spending some time waiting for it won't be such a big deal when you have express for everything else. We find that the single rider line on Hagrids is generally faster but never a walk on, there will still be a wait and you miss most of the queue (although they seldom run the pre-show) and you will almost certainly get the sidecar seat instead of the motorbike seat (if that matters to you)

We were there once for a day and a half in 2018. For some weird reason my strongest memory is watching a guy get a hamburger at a stand, pulling the tomatoes out and just throwing them on the ground next to the food stand. Those tomatoes lay there all day, every time we walked by, getting increasingly more gross. I guess that kind of sums up the park. Not sure if they will relocate Wild One, maybe its historic nature will save it. Superman probably has a chance since several parks could use a hyper but are not likely to get the investment of a new one. Not sure much else is worth saving.