Playland/PNE (Vancouver) Discussion Thread

[Nrthwnd]

"Everything Is SUPER, Today!" Part 1

 

I spent a few hours up at the "front" of The Fair, today. Had a few Happy Hour brews, checked out their Dinosaur Display (which moved up beside the park's Italian Gardens), and then took in the annual SUPER DOGS Show. This one with a bit of a "magic" theme, though it's mainly a lot of dogs running, climbing, jumping and generally being Super High Octane performers.

 

And treated myself to two classic corn dogs from two different places I'd bought from before. Both good, but one had a definite edge over the other.

Noted.

My usual entrance. But not today. And that electronic sign is still - showing - nothing! )o:

A graffiti mural along the way to the other PNE Gate..

Backs of buildings, and exhibitors' parking.

There be Dinos behind these tarps!

The Italian Gardens, which are hardly visited much, even during The Fair.

Interesting house on the other side of the street.

The Coliseum PNE Entrance.

You want strollers? I got strollers!

End of the 2:30 Super Dogs show. I'll be seeing the 5:30 one.

First corn dog of the day.

Looks good. With a nice NeFAIRious Happy Hour beer.

Good. A bit thin on the corn bread batter, but it's good.

A mini train winds it's way through the PNE crowds.

Greenery!

Ooooo what's this?

"Live"?

I didn`t bother trying to remember all their names. Too many names to photograph. Yeah, I was lazy.

Dinos In A Row.

The Big Guy.

Another "secret pathway" on the Fair grounds.

Canadian National Railway, celebrating it's 100th birthday, had a big display at The Fair.

Interesting entrance.

Lots of walk through displays and some entertainment, here.

And where you can get a train ride through part of The Fair.

You can fish here too, at The Fair!

Still one of the busier games.

My view from the Side Ride Bar, my one beer there, after getting Dollar Popcorn. (o:

Who's playing tonight in the PNE Concert Series.

Corn Dog #2.

Another corn dog, another Happy Hour beer. (o:

This 2nd one was awesome! Lots of thick cornmeal batter around the dog. Corn Dog King > The Other One.

Two Happy Hour Beers!

Yep, everybody needs a break now and then.

Glass Blowing is being demonstrated here. I will check that out on a future visit.

On the way to Super Dogs... Fried Onions-A-Plenty!

Edited August 23, 2019 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

"Abbraca-Barka!" Part 2 (Best I can do, spelling the thing.)

 

The Super Dogs annual show is always a fave for families and general dog lovers. They do try to theme it to something different every year, but the format is basically the same. Lots of dogs, big and small. All with their "special tricks" etc. It's a quick 1/2 hour show that everybody loves. This year they pitted the two sides of the audience against each other. One group was Wish Bone; the other side was T Bone. Yelling and screaming for their fave dogs. A fun time.

 

Best shots are posted here. It's pretty tricky getting good clear shots,

with these dogs running around so fast. But I did my best.

The starting set up.

Suites usually used for sports stuff.

I don't think we ever found out what that rope was for.

The dogs bring the crowds.

Everybody comes out to first say hello.

A mini magic act in the middle, with a cute assistant. Who kept pushing things over. Such a sweet pooch!

This would get me dizzy, myself.

Great jumpers these dogs!

End of the show.

The mob goes down to greet some of the performers.

[Nrthwnd]

"Farm Life & Knight Life at The PNE" (And a mini-Wigstock going on)

 

My first of the "things to do" yesterday at the PNE, was a walk through the barns which hold all the stuff that makes up farming in BC. Lots of things to see, and especially lots of stuff, and all the animals, for the kids to get involved with.

 

But first before that, a mid-day meal. I went to the Revel District (after a beer at Playland's Ride Side Bar), and found Henry's BBQ which used to be in another location at The Fair. Got a 1/4 chicken with fries, got myself settled in the big beer tent there, and people watched as I ate and drank.

 

I noticed that a LOT of people were wearing wigs there. ??? Turns out it was an online thing, and everybody just wore the wigs. That's it. Nothing to do with the concert that night. Just people having some extra fun at The Fair.

One train running = Huge Queue.

Over 300 tickets (so far) Way ta go!

Happy Hour is on.

Some just can't take a whole day at The PNE.

Who was playing, last night.

Saturday crowds.

Found Henry's!

My meal.

New proof-of-age wrist band (red) cause they ran out of blue. (o;

This was opposite me.

And this was the guy who actually did it, all the way, of all who tried. Yay him!

First wig sighting.

Silly but fun.

Yes, I had three beers while there.

Bull riding, if you're really feeling macho.

She certainly was! And did pretty good, too.

[Nrthwnd]

After my eats and drink, it was off to The Barns and check all the farm stuff out.

Everything here for your farming needs.

Including bees.

Indoor veggie gardens.

Mama pig taking a break from the little porkers.

She's leaning against a big fan, there. Happy.

This is a strange (to me) set up.

I mean, I wonder how parents explain this to their kids. "Look Joey, this is dinner for 20."

A place for the kids to be busy and have fun, too.

I mean, where are they all???

Pony rides.

Passed by this....

....which I saw last year.

Note: Brown hens lay brown eggs. The more you know...

Mini tractor races for the kids.

Where knights rest.

I'll be watching this in an hour or so.

Hi Clydes!

Horses' butts.

Looks like any old S&M store to me.

[Nrthwnd]

After strolling through The Barns, it was back to the Festival Garden, for a couple more beers, and generally killing time before taking in the Knights' Jousting thing.

 

That was pretty good, like I saw last year. Two guys, in armor, on horseback, trying to knock each other off their respective horse. Was fun. And "The Canadian" won, over "The American." As it should be, right?

 

Also, they move so fast, and my camera is not that "advanced" enough....well, I took what I could, and these are the best of what photos were taken. So, pardon the blurs, the unfocused, etc.

Out of The Barns...

And over to the Festival Beer Garden.

Which had this tribute to Dal Richards in front of the gardens.

Not exactly wigs, but hey - hats are good!

Lances laying low.

Our host.

And I thought my hair was long!

Minions waiting to help the knights out.

A melon cutting trick.

Checking things out. How CAN he see through that helmet???

Host getting the crowds rowdy and ready.

In the end, they both went down at the same time!

Saying goodbye.

It's over.

Yep, it's here too at the Agrodome. Good for The PNE!

Heading for home.

MVI_0422.MOV

Edited August 26, 2019 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

From the "And Then There's This, Dept."...

 

I forgot to also add... I decided that since I am always up for Cheap Souvenirs, why not take one of these cool neFAIRious beer cans they're selling at the various bars on site at the PNE?

 

I mean, this is a specially-produced brew by a local company, and ONLY available for the two weeks the PNE is open....? They might sell it later for awhile, at our BC Liquor Stores, but then again, who knows for sure? So, the beer can is (to me) a pretty good souvenir of this year's Fair, etc. And I don't collect too many drink cans/bottles ever, through all my years of visiting parks, etc. I do have some, from overseas TPR Tours (thanks Elissa & Robb), but not a lot of them.

 

I just figured, this was a pretty good special one to save.

EDIT to add: I recently checked with a couple of BC Liquor stores (we still don't sell beer or wine in grocery stores, sorry), and they weren't carrying the neFAIRious beer there. So, it is definitely a unique PNE-only brew, available until Labor Day!

 

***And anybody who is indeed, in dire need of a new collectible beer can,

PM me and we'll chat about sending you a free can. No problemo!

Right next to the 1980/90's PNE wine glass ~ perfect!

All sides of the can.

What I'm checking out tomorrow, before the Reveen Show at the Coliseum.

How I am hoping it'll look like, when I get one. I won't keep my expectations high. (o;

What I'm seeing, tomorrow night at the Coliseum, in a paid seat. First row!

[Nrthwnd]

Greek Onions & "Suggestive" Entertainment

 

Yesterday's PNE visit was mainly to see the nightly show at the Coliseum, REVEEN. Unfortunately, no photos or filming was allowed during the show, so everthing taken here was all before the 7:30pm curtain. The show lasted well over one hour, and with my paid for, front row seat, I could really watch the volunteers reactions and motions to all that was going on, onstage.

 

It was a fun show, but a bit intense, especially at the beginning when he needed absolute silence from the audience. After that, and once the volunteers were all primed and ready, it was quite the show, with a lot of laughs, depending who was doing what. The last thing of it I will always remember, is the one guy who was told to "keep building sandcastles" at the bottom of the stairs to the stage. Then, when everybody else was let go, they would "walk through his castles" he'd freak out, yell at them, and then start building castles again. Something to see (and hear) from just a few feet away (where I was sitting).

 

Here's the photos of the day....

On the way to the bus stop.

Still nothing. Sad to see a useable space, not used.

"In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Hut"

My eats for the day.

And "The Mighty Zeus" was a pretty big serving of onion, veggies, and tzatziki sauce.

With a wooden fork no less! I was impressed.

Almost all done.

Behind the Dal Richards Tribute stone...

....was another, dedicated to one of the previous PNE Prez of The Board.

I wonder if Misty Mountain is selling ribs, now?

You can have your coffee this way...

..Or have it in true Canadian fashion, Go Tim's!

Somebody found their Pikachu.

Playland landscaping.

Who was performing last night.

Misty Slush Zone. Many people just stood there for the mist, lol.

A bit of a view, from the Festival Beer Garden.

What was the Forum building, is now the PNE Marketplace. I went in for a brief look, at stuff you don't need. (o;

Sand to play with.

Fans!

For who prefer lots of wood in their lifestyle.

Gems on Trees.

Too much face time.

Retro cars on display.

I love seeing people in rainbow t-shirts.

Geese.

Loose goose.

In the Agrodome, The Clydes were showing off their skills as a team.

Heading to tonight's show.

Which is this.

I was that front row, in the right section of it.

Screens showing Reveen's biography.

Curtains.

[Evan-500]

^ Looks like a fun day. We are heading back Saturday to get more time at the fair this year. We we're so rushed last time with rides and such, really want to stare at the glass blowing for a while... and animals! Haha. Unsure if we'll do Reveen this time, may try for Billy Idol. And the night show again maybe.

[Canobie Coaster]

Looking forward to visiting on Sunday! With Coaster down to one train, roughly how long should I expect to wait for it?

[Nrthwnd]

^ Honestly, I really don't know. V This is what it looked like, mid-afternoon on one of my visits. Having never had to go through a queue this long (I ride Coaster during the non-PNE season), I really can't tell you. But, if you really REALLY want to ride Coaster on Sunday, I guess you'll just have to grin and join the queue.

 

By the way, I'm only visiting three more times: Today, tomorrow and Monday, Closing Day of it all. So, if you do ride Coaster on Sunday, let us know how it went, with the queue and all, okay? Thanks in advance.

Forgot to add! There's actually a FastPass thing you can add to your all-day rides ticket, for an additional $25. That alone would help you bypass a lot of people in Coaster's queue + 9 other rides, once each ride. Check the PNE's site for ride tickets, etc.

 

https://www.pne.ca/fair/ Playland ticket prices are at the bottom of the page.

 

^ And by the way, which Oregon park did you end up going to? Oaks or Enchanted Forest? Or both? Enjoyable?

What I saw on a week day, last week. And there's a lot of back and forth with the queue, there.

[Canobie Coaster]

I'll definitely keep the rapid pass in mind since it'll get me on everything once. But I plan to ride Coaster a few times so I'll bring some patience.

 

I did both Oaks and Enchanted Forest. I really liked how charming the latter was and how screwed up the Ice Mountain Bobsled was. I also stopped at Seaside for the Lusse skooters and some Fascination.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Just to let you know...we just came back from a visit to PNE today... and people we asked, were saying it took about an hour to get through the Coaster queue. By the way, if you're staying into the night, do stay till 10:15 when they end the night with this awesome 15+ minute fire and light show in the Festival Park. It's a-ma-zing. Here's am un-downsized pic I took of some of it, just over an hour ago. The rest I will post tomorrow.

 

By the way, I also decided I had seen enough, eaten enough, and drunk enough of The Fair, for now. So instead of being there tomorrow, I plan to give it all a rest, and head out on it's final day, Labour Day Monday.

And the blue lights are dancers with changing LED lights on their costumes.

Here's another shot, with the dancers in view.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Thanks! An hour is perfectly fine with me as long as the ride is as awesome as everyone says.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Hope you enjoy your Coaster rides, and anything else you do/see/eat/drink at The Fair!

 

Yesterday: Out At The Fair Day...and ribs, ribs....corn dog!

 

The PNE did "Out At The Fair Day" again, yesterday. To get in free, you could buy a pair of rainbow socks from the Pride Society. Either at a previous event (which we did on Parade Day), or right there at the PNE front gate. We wore ours, and walked right in. Throughout the day we didn't see too many others with the socks on, but as the day went on, groups of sock wearers started appearing. Awesome!

 

David had to get his Marketplace Fix on, so I let him disappear into the Forum Building, not to reappear again till well over an hour, at the Festival Park Beer garden, our meet up spot. Unfortunately (or thankfully, depending), he couldn't find any device, thing, art pieces etc. that coaxed him to pull out his wallet. Oh well. Maybe next year he'll get lucky.

 

We started our ribs eating with the baby back ribs from Misty Mountain, now located where Henry's BBQ was. And they were excellent. We also couldn't believe these were baby back ribs. They were so big! We were not disappointed with these.

 

We then went took in the two inside exhibits they had this year. One was "The History of Video Games" and the other was about "The Selfie Experience." With the Glass Blowing demos in between. Honestly, the glass blowing was way more interesting than these two exhibits. The photos will show how blah each exhibit was. Not every exciting to go through, we felt. But we did get a good bunch of photos in the Selfie Exhibit, heh. With our camera. Not a cell phone .

 

Then we traveled down the "back of the fair," along Miller Avenue beside the horse racing track. Checked out the Transport 2050 display, with VR goggles to see a Vancouver of the future. This was actually my very first time seeing VR, and I was impressed. But I'm still not convinced it's great on an actual, moving coaster.

 

Went on to Revel District and got our two 1/3 racks from Prairie Smoke & Spice, and Gator BBQ. Then headed into the big tent where Dueling Pianos were just starting to perform. Both ribs were really great. But I think we "preferred" the Prairie ribs over the Gator ribs, this time.

 

After all the ribs were consumed, we headed into Playland, got the dollar popcorn, I play some more PLINKO (and got my biggest ticket score in one game ever = 368 tickets!), and we headed back to the front of the Fair, to get ready for something we were really looking forward to....ELECTRIC FIRE!

Outside the PNE Gate ~ David with his socks on.

And then he disappeared into the Marketplace, not to be seen for a good hour+.

I headed here, of course. Happy Hour!

The Pride Society also had a booth set up inside the Fair, too. With buttons to make, for the kids.

A bit of sky.

After David met up with me, I headed over to Misty Mountain for the ribs.

Their trophy haul. And I LOVE that one in the middle!

Here they are! Baby back ribs. 1/3 rack = four ribs. Perfect.

David says yum.

Our "appetizer" is finished.

The PNE Band is really good. Lively, well choreographed. They were great to watch and listen to.

The glass blowing exhibit and demos, right beside the Festival park.

Lots of heat coming from these...uh...ovens?

Beautiful colours.

First Exhibit, at the front of The Fair. About the history of video games.

Ta dah.

I thought the Hockey exhibit a couple years back, was more exciting, and I don't like hockey.

Does anybody remember Guitar Hero? I do, but never played it.

More screens, more words on screens, more meh.

This is our network service provider. Telus.

David checking something out.

The other exhibit.

Spread out like the other one, but definitely more colourful.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

David wanted it all purple, but it never showed up.

Me holding back the glitter curtains!

Believe it, these oversized gummi bears cost $75 Cdn EACH! Even the sales person thought that was a bit much for such a thing. We passed.

The exit is thataway.

Rainbow drag queen on the way to a show. The Transport 2050 exhibit (with the VR) is behind them.

Hard to believe this is in the middle of all the PNE and it's noise. A really nice rest spot.

The other ferris wheel.

At Gator BBQ, this guy is The Rib Guy.

David waiting for me to take the *^#@( photo. He's anxious for ribs.

They were both great, but Gator (in front) was sweeter to us, over the Prairie ribs.

But Prairie's corn bread, in the middle, was really great with bits of bacon in it.... Sold!

The Dueling Piano players perform. Great mainstay of the Fair. Hope they keep coming back.

Yep, they're both awesome! And the corn bread too.

We took a break on a grassed area, and watched the PNE goers go by.

Does any body remember Vanilla Ice? We do, but we never saw him.

The Main Wheel. Now sponsored by...Chevrolet? (To be continued...)

Edited August 30, 2019 by Nrthwnd

[Nrthwnd]

"ELECTRIC FIRE!.... and another corn dog."

 

Electric Fire was the show that closed the Fair every night. Only 15+ minutes long, it absolutely packed those minutes with fire, led costumes and a huge led screen, fire, fireworks.....did I mention fire? It was really an amzing quick show to end the evening for us. Definitely recommended if you can hang on through the day, to see it, feel it, hear it. Awesome show.

 

We also got that Ramen Corn Dog from the Corn Dog King, as a late night snack.

It was really good. I wanted another, but held back.

The Coaster queue was still outrageously packed. Even in the evening.

Lazy unicorn.

From The Corn Dog King....The Ramen Corn Dog!

It was nice and crunchy. The batter was good, too. We'd get one again.

The covers band playing their last set for the night.

Where Electric Fire happens.

I'll just let the photos show it all.

They did re-use the stage for this, but we didn't see much from where we were. That was okay.

Got one! The sudden fire bursts were hard to get, considering we didn't know when they were going to happen.

A final blast, and it was over! And then we went home.

[Evan-500]

"ELECTRIC FIRE!.... and another corn dog."

 

Electric Fire was the show that closed the Fair every night. Only 15+ minutes long, it absolutely packed those minutes with fire, led costumes and a huge led screen, fire, fireworks.....did I mention fire? It was really an amzing quick show to end the evening for us. Definitely recommended if you can hang on through the day, to see it, feel it, hear it. Awesome show.

 

We also got that Ramen Corn Dog from the Corn Dog King, as a late night snack.

It was really good. I wanted another, but held back.

 

I'm glad you got to Electric Fire! Was nice of them to bring back a show like this, they used to do these shows in that exact location back in the day, and then moved them to the amphitheatre when the night concerts happened where Festival Park is... then moved the concerts to amphitheatre and stopped the night show...

[Nrthwnd]

^ I remember they used to do a couple of those closing night events in front of the Agrodome, and kids danced on the overhang on the entry way, there. And yeah, the night concerts' spaces went back and forth for awhile, before they started staying with where they are now, beside Revel District.

 

Just the PNE trying to keep things a bit different, every year, right? And Electric Fire was really GREAT!

Retro Non-PNE: When the Agrodome was actually used as a concert space.

And I remember my dad taking me there as a child, to the MOSCOW CIRCUS!

[Nrthwnd]

"It's Closing Time..."

 

Yes, that time of year. Labour Day, the last day of the PNE.

 

I went mid-afternoon, to check out my last Happy Hour there, say goodbye to those who I got to know regularly (mainly at the bars), and just take a final walk around the place.

 

Got myself a couple of Diggity Dogs, both of which were really good. Then one more dollar popcorn refill, a few dollars into the quarters games (my last PLINKO for the season), and then cashing in all those prize tickets I've saved up since the off season. Turns out they put more prizes up on the shelves! Including light up neon lights, and a cool looking LED message board.

 

So I got the LED board and a light up palm tree. I was happy with that. And headed home.

Not even a "See You Next Year" on that message board?

Buh bye to this year's exhibits.

Here we are!

Where the action happens!

I decided to be a little piggish.....

....and got two of them! The Macho Nacho and Southern Comfort ones. With beers of course!

SC was good as always. I had one last year.

Macho Nacho turned into a colourful mess of stuff. But it was good!

Nope. Not for me.

Who was playing tonight for the last PNE Concert.

My very last NeFAIRious Beer at the Ride Side Bar in Playland.

Coaster's still pulling in the huge queue for it's last day of The Fair.

See ya at Fright Nights in October!

Local businesses nearby had these cute PNE posters in their window.

My Quarters Games Prizes! Yay me!

[Canobie Coaster]

^^^^ Electric Fire looked awesome, but I wasn't sure how early they'd close Coaster's queue so I was in line at that time. The queue was in the extension all day and took about 90 minutes each time.

 

They ended up closing the queue at 10:45 and it was still about an hour long. Their closing process was pretty odd. They kept all other rides running until Coaster ran its last train. Then everything stopped. I've never seen anything quite like that.

 

As for Coaster, that ride is incredible. I spent almost 7.5 hours in that queue line yesterday. It was hot and slow-moving, but Coaster was worth it.

[Nrthwnd]

^ I'm glad you enjoyed Coaster....but spending almost 7.5 hours in queueing up for it? Sheesh. Maybe next year, when they've finally, hopefully, got two trains running again during The Fair, the wait will be half as long etc. I also think, that the way the weather is becoming every summer (hot, humid, and more hot) they might consider a structure to shade that back and forth queue area. Maybe.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Yeah I was stunned there wasn't any shade in that queue.

 

Since Coaster is the main reason for me to return to Playland, I would probably try to visit when it's not the PNE next time.

[Nrthwnd]

^ Yeah, I would do that next time, too. Playland usually re-opens in May, weekends only. Then around the middle of June it starts weekdays, etc. But you can always check out the site, to find out the actual schedule. And as far as queue shading goes....these heat waves we're now getting, are still relatively new here, believe it! In the past, they've never had to even consider shading for any of the rides' queues. But now... maybe you could send a Coaster Fan Letter to them and suggest the queue shading, etc. Worth a try.

 

http://www.pne.ca

 

P.S. Forgot to mention, but over this past Playland season (non-PNE), I ended up riding Coaster a total of 76 times! Pretty good, for myself, at my age and health. Next year I turn 67, so the goal is 67+ times on Coaster, then. Should be easy.

Me and KC saying, "See ya'll next year!"

[djcoastermark]

Keep on a riding. My dad who is 85 , and mom, who is 80 got on Cheetah Hunt at BGT. Mom was screaming like a school girl. So much fun. (also rode the wild mouse and were totally bored with it.)

[Canobie Coaster]

^^ It wasn't super hot; I think it was in the mid-70s. But it was sunny.

[Nrthwnd]

^ That's true, compared to parts of eastern Canada and the USA. Not that hot. But still, I found it interesting, that every time I visited the Fair mid-afternoon, and headed to the Festival Park bar tent, pretty much everybody was in the shaded areas, and the exposed picnic tables were hit and miss with the skimpy umbrellas they had. Not as many people out in the sun. That's how it was.

 

But we'll get used to it, I'm sure.

 

And ^^thanks for the support. I rode Ghostrider with a guy at WCB back in 2016, and he was 73, ten years older than me at that time. So I have confidence I shall do myself proud, If my body doesn't get me, first.

 

And just to add: My partner is 72, and I know he won't go on a lot of the coasters there in Knott's and Disney. (We leave tomorrow on AMTRAK) But I am determined, to get him on whichever side of the Matterhorn is open. I mean, it's not a coaster, right? It's a Disneyland Adventure!