Chiselphane

Mid 80's, Riverside Park Agawam MA (now Six Flags New England) my mother rode the Black Widow (Arrow loop coaster). She had brought a bottle of Pepto Bismol because my stepbrother got sick easily, and it fell out of her purse at the top of the loop. I suppose it was better than what the bottle was meant to prevent falling on the train but it still made a mess.

Favorite is Silver Dollar City. The natural setting, the family-centricness of it in that truly has something for all ages. The food of course, and the staff is consistently amazing. I love the sense of history, not only from the theme and the demonstrations and such but the weight of time deriving from the actual age of the park. That's something that can't be faked. Least favorite is tough, I've been fortunate enough to not have visited a truly 'bad' park but if forced to choose, I'd go with Six Flags St Louis, only because I've visited a few times and it was consistently dirty, overpriced, and poorly run on each of my visits. I know a lot of people like it and it does have a lot of great stuff in it, it's just not worth it for me personally to give it more of my money.

I completely forgot to add the part that prompted me to write a report in the first place! The Gringotts Money Exchange vouchers. I must have gotten the wrong idea as to what these were, I had gotten it in my head that you 'buy' a voucher as a souvenir and could cash them back in for real money at the exchange if you wanted to. So I had brought the $10 note I had purchased years ago with the intent to exchange it. The lady at the counter gave me a weird look and ultimately just gave me a new $10 voucher. What the?!? It turns out they are basically like gift certificates and you can spend them at any HP store (possibly the greater park as well). The nice touch of doing this is the cashiers will generally make some remark about 'drawing it from your Gringotts account' instead of the 'muggle plastic' nonsense.

I like the unpredictability of American Plunge. I agree most rides you just get a splash or so but every once in a while BAM. The first time I rode it was in mid April, 50 degrees. Talk about a way to stay cool in the park Kids in winter coats but they wouldn't be dissuaded

A few pics from our trip 7/23-7/24, probably not of interest to ride enthusiasts but I didn't take any pictures you haven't seen a million times before so left those out: The full name is "The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen" but we just referred to it as the Chocolate Factory Man, this trend of Russian influence is really getting out of hand Finally got to see the live performance of the Three Brothers story, it was great!. A little too much 'pre-show' perhaps We found a nice secluded spot in an alley next to the pet shop in Diagon Alley. There's a bench down there and it's a great place to get out of the sun yet not be crammed into the crowded shops. Aliens pulse rifle signed by the cast!!! It took great resolve not to purchase Ridic milkshakes. We ended up passing on them, they're rather pricey and we were stuffed from the very generous lunch portions as it was. The gift shop has some really great steampunk pieces. Pricey but they were doing a pretty good trade nonetheless, this one sold a few minutes after photo. We gave up counting how much it would cost to buy everything we loved in this shop at a thousand or so. Cephalopodian apples, yes please! Hello Kitty character candy apples! In the Hollywood Horror Make-Up Show pre-show area. I think the pre-show area was more interesting than the show itself, it has some actual screen-used prosthetic pieces. You can view the pre-show area and then leave if you want. This was the first time I was able to visit the park at night and it was just magnificent. Previously I've gone off-season and they've closed before it got really dark. This was the only real benefit to me for going during such a busy time. I loved how Hogsmeade almost seemed to glow in the dark. Farewell! See you again in 2019!

My gf and I were at the parks Sun 7/23 to Mon 7/24. Not the time of year I would have chosen to go but we were in Tampa visiting my parents so figured we'd brave the crowds and heat as she's never been. Needless to say, it was indeed hot and indeed crowded; Monday was ridiculous in part due to what felt like a ludicrous amount of South American tour groups which were filled with the most unspeakably rude people I've ever had the misfortune to share space with. There was a lot of buzz in the Dragons area about their closing but the wait times remained low, in fact they were frequently the lowest wait of the park, so glad I got a few rides in. The lockers for them continue to be a site of horror, just the stench alone good grief. And then you add in the previously mentioned tour groups who thought nothing of plopping themselves down on the ground in the locker area, until it backed up enough for a park employee to clear them out. I suggested a cowcatcher, this got a grateful nod of appreciation from the clearly overwhelmed teenager trying to manage it singlehandedly. We skipped Fallon as I couldn't care less and I am not a fan of scheduling my time in a park. Having said that, the park app was a life saver as wait times were fluctuating all over the place, especially on Monday when they shut down what felt like half the park due to clouds. Kong had consistently high waits but we went on once it dipped below 45; I think we had more fun in the line with the guys popping out of the walls scaring people than on the ride itself. Had a mid afternoon lunch at the Toothsome Emporium, which was a great time to go as it wasn't busy AT ALL, we walked right in and were seated no wait. One of the best meals I've ever had in a park and the prices were very fair considering the generous amount of food they served. I'm a big steampunk fan and the environment was pretty good, and the gift shop had my name all over it, ended up spending more there than anywhere else in the park. Not a show fan but we were flagging in the heat so stepped into the Hollywood Horror Make-Up Show. Some pretty cool movie items in the waiting area. The show itself was a little disappointing to be honest, it was more of a comedy show than anything else and had hardly anything to do with makeup. One of the guys did belt out the best thing I heard in the park though, he was teasing a child volunteer and as an aside to the crowd "This isn't Disney, we don't have to be nice to the kids" There was a lot to dislike on this visit but we made the best of it and ended up having a pretty good time regardless. My gf is a bigger Potter fan than I am and she was basically in tears seeing how great Diagon Alley is. Looking forward to next visit in 2019, we've established a tradition where I bring our children there for their first visit to the park when they turn 11 since you start Hogwarts at 11, and 19 will be my daughter's turn. *I didn't really take many pictures due to crowd fatigue and plus have been many times, I do have a few if interested though, mostly of the chocolate factory lol

Oh wow so much this. I love LC but that used to drive me out of my mind.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Seriously, I feel the lands looks amazing and the rides are pretty good (I wish they were a bit less screens and more action, but that's just me) but they really outcast people who aren't familiar with the material. It's a shame... I do find it annoying how when you pay with a credit card, they always refer to it as "muggle plastic." I get wanting to create an immersive land, but come on dude. Where do they do that at? I only buy ice cream there and that place is generally busy so I guess they don't have the time to do stuff like that but it is interesting. It's most prevalent in the gift shops, not food service. I assume because there's a slightly less sense of urgency if it's not food related so they can take a little more time to be 'thematic'. Which would be fine if they could find a line between 'in character' and 'annoyingly stupid'. Finding a great cast member can be awesome, the Stan Shunpikes by the Night Bus have always been great, and I once got into a spectacularly awesome 'argument' with a Knight's Cross attendant since I accused her of being a Death Eater after she claimed Neverending Story 3 was a good movie. The nerve! Sadly my cries of 'verbal cruciatus' went unheeded. Hmm maybe it's me that's annoyingly stupid.

You know what, I think I will do one. Obviously am 'new' to the forums but have been lurking a long time. One thing I've never been sure on is the preferred protocol; is it better to post a TR in the park thread, or make a new thread for it?

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Seriously, I feel the lands looks amazing and the rides are pretty good (I wish they were a bit less screens and more action, but that's just me) but they really outcast people who aren't familiar with the material. It's a shame... I do find it annoying how when you pay with a credit card, they always refer to it as "muggle plastic." I get wanting to create an immersive land, but come on dude. Ugh yes. I love the park and am a pretty big HP fan but that phrase gets real old real quick. I wonder what they'd say if you tried paying with the voucher from the goblin exchange. Going there next week, I just might give it a shot.

This is almost certainly true. She's very protective of her property (and rightly so IMO, I think some creators are a little too quick to license things out without consideration) . The stories of her and Universal butting heads over features are pretty insightful. The famous one (possibly apocryphal?) being she wanted the Diagon Alley entrance to do the "move bricks aside" for everyone entering and not getting why that would be an absolute nightmare to actually implement.

So they can't clarify what constitutes a water shoe, but they have no problems specifying what is swimwear. Makes sense. It made me laugh that you said that because they do have swimwear rules too, but they don't enforce them or at least don't enforce them often. I think the shoes are just an easier target. "Got something on your feet? No slide for you" rather than go into detail of what constitutes a bathing suit and not just a regular pair of shorts. The things I've seen at this park, my goodness. Instead of People of Wal-Mart I think I could do a People of Water Parks.

The water shoe part just came up a few days ago at our local town park, we had asked management that very question and the answer was: 'people'. They used to allow water shoes but had to ban it because it was progressing from water shoes, to sandals, to flat out sneakers and other 'regular' shoes (yes, I live in an area where people think wearing sneakers while IN the water of a water park is ok). It was ultimately more efficient to just put a blanket ban on footwear on the slides.

We definitely cancelled plans for our first trip there this year because of LR not being reliable enough to count on being open when we went. It's not a trip we could repeat easily so I want to make sure it's the best we can get when we go.

We've ridden Outlaw Run during the winter festival and I agree, it's just the most amazing thing in the dark. November 2015 was the first time my daughter (8 at the time) rode it with me and I don't even have the words to convey it; you get flashes of the xmas lights (especially the big santa sleigh they have set up facing the train tracks) and it's just a blur of color and sound and the screaming of the wheels, and I look over and my daughter is loving it just as much as I am. Maybe a few dad tears showed up at the end, I dont know. I also rode that with a Santa impersonator in the car behind us which was a lot of fun! HO HO HOOO OH NOOOOOO

Sorry, the park doesn't allow children under 8 on the lantern tour. Guests of all ages are allowed on all other tours. Oh that's great to know, thanks very much. My youngest son (5) loves bats so I was planning on taking him on that next visit but now I know not to talk it up for him. He's been in the cave many times, including one trip riding on my back (which was certainly a workout)

If your child isn't afraid of the dark, the end-of-day handheld lantern tour can be helpful as it's less crowded and easier to take your time. Another plus to that is you might see increased bat activity depending on the time of year you do it. And other than the initial big chamber it isn't all that much darker than normal, especially once you're in the narrower sections.

Come to Six Flags St Louis and have those expectations put to the test. I won't go to that park any more despite it being the closest one I can go to, even for free (my kids earn free tickets from school each year but after the last few visits they don't want to). I'd be willing to give them another chance if I consistently heard things were better, but I'm not holding my breath. For the amount of money it costs, I'd rather just spend the little extra time/cash to go to Holiday World or better yet Silver Dollar City, although that one's not in day trip range.

You can definitely ride everything in one day even if it's a bit busy so don't sweat the 'must do' too much. The advice already given is very sound, Powder Keg first and don't skip the cave. My recommendation would be to do the cave early before you're tired out from walking all day, but on the other hand the handheld lantern tour that is the last cave tour of the day is definitely worth it. I would add that while probably not a 'must', Grandfather's Mansion is easily missed by new visitors. And try to take the time to notice the little things rather than rush from big ride to big ride, this park is packed with tons of details that are fun to discover. Figuring out how to set the ghost trap off, looking into peepholes, a talking bucket, etc

We've had some of our best visits on crowded days actually, it can't be stressed enough how many people just go for the shows so if you show up to a sea of people, don't automatically despair.

I'll be in San Antonio next week for a conference. I know it's spring break so probably busy but in your expert opinions does Tuesday seem like it'll be a ridiculously bad day to go?

I've been to a few alone when I go on business trips/conferences and while I don't know if I would say it's *better*, it's certainly a different experience. You can really dig into the details of the park, last year I went to Disneyland solo and it was great being able to take the time to really study things rather than being dragged onto the next thing by the kids. I can just hear it: "Daddy why are we standing around watching you look at the roof of Mr Toad's?" It doesn't hurt that I am extremely introverted and go to great lengths to visit parks when they're not busy, so I'm already used to minimizing the impact of other people; going alone is just a greater extension of that. At the end of the day I would say that going with my family is more actual fun, but there are a lot of things that are very personally gratifying when visiting alone. I might be able to swing a visit to Six Flags Fiesta next week solo actually, but the logistics are a little iffy and being spring break it's probably going to be busier than I'd like.

I think I may know who you are talking about. My friend, Lair Parent. I never saw him dancing before. He is a skinny, old man with a white mustache and beard. He does say Thuunnnnnderationnnnn in the coolest way I have heard. I always say hi each time I go. He is usually found sitting in the box. Thank you so much! My daughter already has a card made up, it should get there before they close up for the season. Greatly appreciated and she'll be ecstatic.

That would be incredibly kind and thoughtful of you, I thank you in advance!

I think you might be reading too much into what I said. I spoke positively about how the park overall handles it, and it's one of the things I really like about the park in general. Much of society could be improved by following their example. I just thought the magician's proselytizing coupled with a money grab didn't fit the tone of what the overall park is going for.