Chiselphane

Yeah I am totally kicking myself for going during preview instead of open, but who could have predicted this turn of events. I mean I'm glad I was wrong about them being 'ready', clearly they took in a lot of feedback (such is the state of the world that shocked is the response to a corporation learning a lesson or two and implementing it) but I can't help a twinge of bitterness, as I won't be able to get back until at best a year. But then I remember the night ride I had on Stardust Racers and I feel better again. It'll be interesting to see how well things scale up as attendance rises though. There's talk that they've fixed Ministry by removing a drop move towards the end of a ride. People who have ridden it prior to 5/23 reporting it's just skipping that movement during its' scene

We went to the last Epic preview day on the 19th. They are NOT ready for full opening. I know its a preview yadda yadda but only 2 of the rides that we were even able to ride were fully operational and I dont see that changing in 3 days. There were places to buy express in the park but if it's already sold out then I wouldn't hold out much hope, but it's at least worth a try. Unless some miracle occurs between now and then I would say express is a must if Ministry, Mario Kart, and Donkey Kong are on your list. We didnt get to ride Ministry because it broke down before it even opened, opened back up hours later for about 30 minutes, then was broken the rest of the day. MK's standby line is SLLOOOOOWWW but you could see Fastpass people breezing through. DK is similar but not as slow as MK. If you have early access, don't go to Nintendo World, go to Ministry and hope it opens on time. Bring an umbrella, the sun was PUNISHING especially in Celestial Park.

The stars aligned enough that I can go to the last Epic preview day! We were going to hold off til a few years but not going to have this kind of opportunity again so here we go. For John: We mostly just snack in the parks, the crepe stand in Studios is good bang for your buck. but we do like both Harry Potter restaurants. and 2nd vote for Green Eggs and Ham. But for full meals its definitely CityWalk. I absolutely love Cowfish, and Toothsome Emporium is good too. We like the train and I think seeing it both directions is worth it if you haven't before, but if you just do one way then definitely start in King's Cross, the station itself is really great. But the ride is not worth a long wait, with the exception of if you need a break; you might feel like walking from one park to the other is fine earlier in the day but later on you may change your tune.

I think it's a fair price for being in Vegas at the scale of what they're going for. Would I personally pay it? No, but it's not out of scale for the area. Time will tell. I just hope that if it doesnt do well, they fix it by reducing the price instead of giving up on it completely, as I think the idea has merit.

I absolutely adore Tom Sawyer Island but I can't deny that it's not popular and the real estate will be better used for other things. I'm just sad I never got the chance to eat at Aunt Polly's. And Villains Land is a dream project so definitely no complaints there!

I was going to ask for a documentary or at least 'inspired by' version of the true story behind Fire in The Hole at Silver Dollar City but it turns out there's already a Baldknobber movie from 2017, although it doesn't appear to be very good.

Omega Mart is one of my favorite things on Earth.

Watched the POV of new Fire in the Hole on the main page here. I think they did a great job of keeping the original spirit of the ride but with some modern elements. I think some might complain they didn't change enough and I can kind of see that, but keeping it simple is probably better for them in the long run. It seems a shorter ride now? Might just be perception though. On a more personal level I'm super happy to see they kept the painting at the end of the ride of the guy with his foot sticking out, my kids always love trying to reach up and grab his foot as they pass under

I really hope this works. I've wanted to go the park for a long time but I've been holding off because I want it to be the best it can be. And yes I know it's a great park LR or not but being there and not riding it, I know myself enough that it would bother me the entire time. Not least because it'd be a serious financial outlay for us so a return trip would not be guaranteed.

The cave's first chamber is gigantic but there are some very tight spots further in. At the staging area, there's a simulation of the tightest point, so you could evaluate beforehand if you think you can manage it. It's about an hour tour. A lot of their coasters have been on one train operation for a long time now. The past few times I've been, ALL of them were on one train but I haven't been this year. This hurts Time Traveler really badly IMO, you'll get in line and it won't look too bad but then realize how sloooooowwly that line moves. Yes you will get soaked on the log flume. No single rider lines. You can buy a Trailblazer pass that does make a big difference for some rides but I never felt it was worth the cost. However, I believe you can purchase a single use pass for $15 and I can't deny I'd be tempted for Time Traveler, especially if I hadn't ridden it before. But I genuinely love the queue music so IDK

Def going to check out that Top of the Rock tour, thanks for mentioning it. That sounds like it would be a great fit for us

Not at all. It would fit with their aesthetic, and they don't have many dark rides . Bring it up to them! https://www.dollywood.com/contact-us/

Ugh I feel your pain. We do like Stampede but I'm cheap so it's a very very rare visit. I'm always genuinely entertained by the slight insult of pig noises when they bring the main course out.

They already have Dole Whip in the park, and now frozen cocktails? That sounds absolutely lovely for a break from the water park, will have to make sure to ask for an extra cup for mixing.

That 'story' aka blog post is 5 years old and I wish I could bleach my mind of having read even a bit of it.

I love Cabana Bay and never stay anywhere else, I even bought some shirts to match the aesthetic, but yeah if you want quiet, go elsewhere.

They look a lot like the hiking trail shelters around here, with the sloped roofs and high windows. Feels a good fit for the resort.

It puts that whole section of the park in a weird place though. Now there's no attractions in a pretty good sized chunk of land. At a stretch, the talking fountain? The speculation of the area being rethemed as a Legend of Zelda land is pretty neat and I'd love it, a lot of the existing stuff could be pretty much used as-is, but I dunno, I *like* that it's weird and its own thing; I like the shops you dont see in any other park (how many parks can you buy weapons at?!?), Mythos of course.

Just saw that. Glad I got one last visit in when we went in February. Sad to see it go but also not terribly surprised.

God no leave the parking lot alone, they'll use that as an excuse to charge even more to use it.

Here we justify things of that nature as "We don't allow bad people to take away what we love". A big example is we are fans of Harry Potter and our family is full of every letter of LGBTQ. So despite JK not wanting my nephew to exist, we still went to Universal Orlando and enjoyed those sections of the park, because we weren't going to let her shittiness take that away from us.

Management just announced that Wildcat will be closed for all of 2023 for restoration. Their wording implies it might stretch to 2024. "Since 1927, the Wildcat has delighted riders of all ages at Lake Compounce. It is an iconic part of our park's history, and we intend for it to be a cherished part of our park's future. With that in mind, our team has decided to begin a restoration project on the coaster that will create a more enjoyable experience for all riders. Wildcat will remain closed for the entirety of the 2023 season for the start of this improvement project."

Well it's unavoidable as it's a completely political move from the get go. It's really difficult to speculate since it's such a unique situation. They are keeping the existing debt structure but it looks like they may use this new oversight to hit Disney in the wallet where they can. Stuff like the first responder pay increase mentioned in the article is a good example; it's a good idea and they deserve the pay, but Desantis and his like are operating out of spite, not good faith, so I think wariness is still warranted. This coming at the same time as the cast member pay disputes too.

I'm with you on those sculptures, I'd be broke if they had versions for sale. I LOVE that sort of thing. Kaa is the snake's name.

"In that spirit, we are proud to share with you the introduction of state-of-the-art gaming and e-sports arenas and lounges at select parks later this year." How can they possibly think this is a good idea. I truly do not get it. Not saying I don't get gaming lounges, they are a fairly sound business on their own if you have a big enough market. But within a theme park? An arcade makes sense, short term impulse play etc but that's not what these are. Grasping at straws I suppose I could see an arena in a market that didn't have one, maybe thats what the 'select parks' is getting at.