Chiselphane

I always appreciate how much of the full experience you capture in your reports, rather than just a laundry list of rides.

YA is NOT kidding about getting gas before dark. I gather he's referring to a safety aspect but a fair amount of stations here close really early. I don't take the same route you'd be traveling, we live in the SE corner of MO, but I got in real trouble coming home from SDC once; we just couldn't find anything open. I swear the engine was sputtering when we finally found something.

Oh it is, I just meant that I've talked to a couple staff members about it about seeing if there was a way to purchase a CD of it and they don't have a license to sell it, just to play it. They commissioned it from John Presley, of the Presley theater in Branson. So that tells me they know what they should and shouldn't be doing with music

It's weird because they're definitely aware of the issue, for example I've had conversations with staff about the Time Traveler queue music and IP rights came up. Could be a thing of "well we've done it for so long without a problem so let's keep doing it." The more you think about it, the bigger problem it is for the park. As Woodie said the shows are a huge draw for that time of year and soak up a lot of guests. And I know it seems far away but from having worked in theater, redoing not one but multiple shows from scratch in what, 4 1/2 months? And have them be good? Short of a miracle, that's impossible. Redoing the music themselves seems like it'd work but again they run into not only a time crunch but a talent and money crunch. Bad situation for them.

Maybe unpopular but I loved being able to reserve which park we were going to each day. It made planning so much easier for us. We don't go very often though, I can definitely see how it'd be a real pain in the ass for locals or people who visit frequently and just want to do what they feel like at the moment.

That reminds of the time a woman complained to our little local water park in Cape Girardeau about getting wet on the lazy river.

I keep asking the Time Traveler gift shop to sell a CD of the queue music, it's REALLY good. They won't because of rights issues but a fella can dream.

I'm sorry but I just had to give an exasperated laugh. Why would they not use clear dividers, good grief can you even imagine the immediate and constant frustration of being a ride op in that situation

Thinking of an early May visit as an early graduation present for my son. I think it'd be safe to assume capacity issues will wind down now that Spring Break is mostly over, yes/no?

I always try Powder Keg first, as it's often temperamental and usually has the longest line even when not. Then Time Traveler which also frequently has a long line but it moves pretty quickly (and I really like the queue music, I asked the gift shop about a CD of it and they said no plans because of licensing cost). The other coasters at your preference, although Fire in the Hole sometimes gets lengthy waits as well. It never fails to surprise me how short the waits are for Outlaw Run, even when the park itself is otherwise busy. I generally tend to follow this pattern for coasters: Powder Keg, Fire in the Hole, and Wildfire in one clump, because you head down an almost shockingly steep hill to get to them and you don't really want to go back up that hill multiple times in one visit :) Then over to Outlaw Run, then to Time Traveler and Thunderation. Study the map ahead of time! SDC does not have the most intuitive layout and that's understating it. The flip side is it rewards exploration, there are lots of little touches and details that are so easily overlooked especially if you're laser focused on the next thing you're heading to. I would NOT wait over an hour for Mystic Falls unless you have literally nothing else to do, the elevator and big drop are great but for a one day visit there are better uses of your time IMO. If the wait time is less than that, then sure go ahead. Not saying it's a bad ride by any means, just that the throughput has been abysmal in our experience. The cave and Grandfather's Mansion are still closed which is a bummer but makes sense, so you can leave them out of planning at this time. Not visiting the cave frees up a big chunk of time.

Oh I can't wait to talk to Colonel Parnell about this.

If the only change was that they painted the cars a new color you'd still get people claiming it rides different.

I missed out on Disney California Adventure and really regret it. I had been in San Diego for a work conference and took an extra day to go to Disneyland as it was likely the only time I'd ever be on the West Coast. I waffled between getting park-to-park or just Disneyland but felt it was safer to go with one. I did everything I wanted in DL so quickly I easily could have done both parks. One little thing that has stuck with me though is just how great Disney customer service can be. CA has (had, not sure if its still there) a store just for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit merch and he's my favorite character. It's within sight of the CA gates. It was about an hour before closing and I was heading to the train station but on the way out I took a chance and asked a cast member "Hi, I don't have a ticket but could I like run over to just that store?" 'Of course sir, come right in.' Who does that, honestly. I mean she easily could have seen if I went somewhere else lol the store is something like 20 feet from the gate, but still.

Wait is that a real thing, Oswald's in that park? Oh dear my poor wallet

Currently the park reservation calendar is open til Jan 14 2023

Oof that'll be a big loss (and IMO a big mistake) if they just get rid of it. But I can see them having to redo it from the ground up, that building really is very old. Hell, it's as old as I am, and I certainly could use a total refurb.

But do you feel like you understand LEGO?

I've been there twice in February. Both visits were moderately busy and got more so towards the end of the day for Mardi Gras stuff but nothing like big holiday crowds. I will say we didn't need express the times we went but it wasn't so quiet that it would have been a total waste of money. But yeah so much is out of the ordinary that an accurate prediction is difficult.

They do indeed expect huge crowds. The two weeks around Christmas + New Year's are some of the busiest times of the whole year, if not the most busy. If you must go then express is pretty much your only hope.

Ideal: Short Universal Orlando for just the Mrs and I - I broke a 5 year streak of visiting this year :( Whole family trip to Cedar Point - first visit Whole family trip to Dollywood - first visit. Have been holding out for Lightning Rod reliability Holiday World - possibly just my youngest and I, or maybe me, Mrs and youngest. He is a water park nut and he's never been here. At least 2 visits to Silver Dollar City - we went a bunch this year, actually this year was the most we've ever visited. The season pass renewal deal was too good to pass up. Realistic: Definitely SDC since we already have the passes and can go pretty much 'whenever', does need a little planning as its just a bit too far a drive for a single day. The others are all toss ups; almost certain to do at least one of them but it's all situational. I'd say Universal is most likely and Cedar Point least likely.

I think I might start using some of those lines myself. 'Sir, you have to pay for these donuts. ' "Yes, there is some money that is owed, but let us work together as partners to make sure we are each taking a fair position."

After some back and forth we decided to visit one last time for the year for Christmas in the park, and glad we did! We went on Sat 11/14 and had a wonderful time overall. Crowds were pretty low despite reservations theoretically filling up; I say theoretically because they weren't even checking reservations on park entry. I suspect the weather kept a bunch of people away, it was a little rainy in the AM, cleared up during the day, but we finished the night literally fleeing the park due to a tornado warning. Riding the parking tram while sirens were going off and my umbrella being destroyed by wind was an experience I won't soon forget. As said it wasn't terribly busy and I noticed a marked improvement in mask wearing, but line distancing was still the hit-or-miss-mostly-miss it's been the whole year. Not much waiting; Fire in the Hole had a bit of a line early on due to it being the only thing running during the rain. Rides were working much better than our previous visit with hardly any down time anywhere. They did seem to be having some electrical trouble though, some trees were out and most notably the big centerpiece tree had lots of dark sections on it (see pic below). Some of the holiday booths never opened either which was a bit of a downer, but wassail was open so I was happy.

They let you ride twice in a row without leaving your seat to make up for all the previous down time.

Holiday World had no qualms sticking me with strangers on the water coasters. I can't say I really enjoyed having some rando's feet and legs next to me lol but whatever

Smart move for Jungle Cruise. When we went in September it wasn't busy but the line was still a mess. If waits get outside the building the line markers kind of meander a bit and that seems a consistent point where distancing breaks down, markers or not.