Bert gets his Viking on with the TPR 2023 Scandi Tour (no Pillaging, but some Humping occured)

[bert425]

^ thanks!

this reminds me I need to get back to this and finish off!   (three parks left).

 

work dumped so much stuff on me (and life as well). . that just haven't had the time to sit and work on this.  

but will get back to it and finish this off soon!

[bert425]

Day 20: Thursday, June 22nd - FULL (and I mean FULL) day at the Northernmost Theme Park in the world:  Power Park in Finland

I had turned in early from the exhausting travel day / TPR Grand Prix. .. but many folks hung out at the "bar" that was near the Park's hotel.

these pics are from Andy - and based on the time stamps, the 1st pic was around 11pm, the 2nd was around Midnight, and the 3rd was just about 1am.

 

 

 

here's me, just after Hans came in, and raved about it being light after 1am. .and how I should get up and look.

he was very insistent. . so here's my sleepy ass out on the balcony snapping a quick selfie, so I could go back to sleep (thanks Hans!)

better pic (camera takes much better pics when it's not a selfie). .

 

fast forward a few hours, and I believe was up just before 8am, and snapped this pic then.   Sun now coming up and blue skies.

we'd have some foretasted rain later in the day, but nothing really terrible, and tho was overcast (and colder) much of the day?  ended up being a great day to visit the park.

 

here's a look at what I got from the Breakfast Buffet served in the hotel.

most of it was very good, and I loved the mustard Herring at the bottom center.

and some fruit - gotta be "healthy"

 

and then we headed across the street as a group to start the day at Power Park. 

I believe we were about an hour before Park Open and we were gonna get some ERT on Junker - the Park's Gerstlauer launched Infinity Coaster.  With some ERT later in the day on Pitt's Special - the Park's Gerstlauer vertical chain lift Infinity Coaster, and Thunderbird - the Park's big woodie.

making our way thru the gates, we passed a carousel (so of course got pics)

 

and this thing, which was scary as hell... but I DID ride it.

Nice, large, Ferris Wheel

a swinging carnival ride. . but this one has an amazing setting - you swing THRU the house while spinning.  It really feels like you're going to hit it every time.

the Park also has a Boomerang - Cobra
This was the first Boomerang to use Vekoma's "new" MK1211 open sided trains  (spoiler, it didn't help, the ride STILL sucked, and I regretted getting talked into trying it out)

tho I did love the theming on the Octopus ride there - and the tower behind it, which seemed to have some animatronics on it, so the balcony collapsed as if there was an earthquake going on, and then re-set.

this crazy thing - for some reason called "Pegasus" (yeah, a lot of the ride names were a bit odd to me) - was AMAZING.

this one did all the flipping and spinning that several similar rides we had been on earlier in the trip didn't do.    Fantastic and a do not miss ride if visiting the park.

 

the park's Spinning Wild Mouse coaster - called "Neo's Twister"  (Based on a Finnish Cartoon mouse). 
If I'm recalling correctly, we got stuck on the brake run here facing the wrong direction, and they had to call someone to turn the car around so we could exit after the ride

and there it is. . . Junker. 

or is it Pitt's Special?

hard to tell - as they are bother Gerstlauer Infinity Coasters, and the park painted them the same color - so it looks like one massive coaster, but is actually two separate ones side by side.

the park's flume ride. . which is really more like a Chute the Shoots boat in a river with some flume elements.
Called Kwai River.   and the big woodie back there is Thunderbird.

I believe this one is actually Junker.    I THINK that's the one that wrapped around the walkway.

Lion King ?   what the heck is this? 

and why is Johnny Depp in front of it?

I LOVED the WTF-ness of this park. . it just comes out of nowhere sometimes.   LOL

such as this Enterprise.  (I LOVE this ride, and they are disappearing).

but this one?  they took it literally, and named it after the USS Enterprise - with Star Trek theming and characters inside the base, that one could only see when the ride went vertical.

it was down in the morning, but they had maintenance (the same guy who rescued us from the Wild Mouse) working on it most of the morning, and he DID get it working, so I could get a ride on it

here's the TPR Group picture in front of Junker - with our Park guide.

Thanks Robb for the pic

headed into the station.. wow. .loved the Art Deco design on these trains.
I *believe* they told us that Junker is a type of classic Plane (so is Pitts Special). .so that would explain the cool engines on the back of the train.

wonderfully comfortable restraints.

a look at the magnetic brake run, as it does come into the station really fast.

looking out from the exit ramp from the station. . it's lovely here!
(that's some of the owner's housing, I was told, tho he rents it out to park staff to stay in mostly)

I dunno how much I'd love living right behind a rollercoaster.. but would be cool at first, I'd think.

Wheeeeee!    LIM launch.

guessing this pic is from Elissa ?

yeah.. I liked it and rode it a lot during the morning ERT

theming!

morning ERT over, and park now open to the public, we spread out to meet up again later for more ERT.

crossing the "bridge" that Junker circles - you can look over and see the vertical lift for Pitts Special (that's the one that goes over the road and in the center of the race track).
We had Evening ERT on that one, so we decided to move to other things as we'd ride that later if weather held out.

LOL. . they called the water ride Kwai River, so that this would be the "bridge over River Kwai"

BWAAAA-HAAAA-HAAAA

 

oh and a cactus theming for the Mexican place (didn't eat at it, but I think that Erik said it was ok)

 

the loop on Junker going around the bridge that I just mentioned:

across the bridge is Thunderbird - a GCI coaster with Millennium Flyer trains . ..  looks like it's got some steep turns. . .

one of the drops on the Kwai River ride. . you can see the wide flume and why I said it's more of a Shoot the Chutes with some flume elements.

it even comes alongside the "bridge" before dropping under it - in the major drop that will soak everyone in the boat.

as noted, Park is now open, and Thunderbird is testing.

 

a peek towards the front of the park. .

random Alligator.
sure, why not?

but I did love the attempt at theming with the sign. . it was lovely over here.

more.."theming".. this one didn't really make any sense to me.. .but OK

oh yes. . HOT PINK trains.   LOL  (the other one, as you may have noticed was neon yellow)

and it's themed like you're taking a train between cities.

well.. the station is themed like that. . not so much the rest of the ride.

best thing about it?  the brake run coming into the station.  they brake the hell out of this thing.   We made it a game later during ERT counting the brake stops, as we inched along, slowly thru the brake run and into the station. . . I swear it was no less than 23 "stops" before the station every time.  

LOL

and you exit the ride thru the "Flipper Saloon"

er.. or, maybe I should say, you USED to?

 

I mean. . I GUESS you could play this one - if you're really, really skinny.

wasn't very busy today - not sure if it's just the time of year, the weather forecast for today, or just that it's not a weekend.
but most everything was open.

and some of the themed sections were great. . . even if just facades that contained basically convenience stores.

ah.. just noticed, the neon yellow train has green sides.

I did ask what this was - it wasn't open today - and I believe was told it's a "storybook" area for kids, where the characters in the window tell stories for the kids.

I was getting "Flowers in the Attic" vibes tho. .LOL

and across from it. . seemingly appearing out of nowhere?    A construction themed Fun House.

It looked like nothing, but was SO much stupid fun, I think I went thru it twice.

and yes, full of the kind of stuff you'd see in a traveling carnival fun house . . but also full of freaky mannequins - doing "butt" humor.

of course I loved it!

they did make you check all bags and loose articles - but it was ok to carry a phone to take pictures.  (I didn't question why a phone is not a "Loose article". . you can see, Andrew didn't question it either.

 

D'oh!

ooo. .this is cool!

and this is rather . . "snug"

 

funhouse done. . there seemed to be an outdoor walk-thru area.

I THINK this says: "Teruetuloa". . . and when I asked what it was all about, they said this area was built to film a TV series, and they just left the sets after so the Park could use it as a walk thru experience.

the woods were pretty, so figured, ok, let's check it out.

having never seen the show, I had NO idea what was going on. . are they trolls?  hermits living in the woods?   Nymphs? 

i dunno, but there was a Photo Op, so I was happy.

'

lots of buildings and sets to check out. .

even a little band-stand.    Wonder if there's actually music here sometimes?

and lookie who came out while we were walking thru!   Mascots.

i think?  didn't see them anywhere else in the park.

one looks like a hermit, and one looks like a Nymph. . so I'm still confused.

but no matter. .let's pose!

NIGHTMARE FUEL!!!

even a sauna out here. . .

and a place to sacrifice puppies????  

hell if I know. .

we had to pass back by Thunderbird again on the way out from the walk thru, so sMisty and i hopped on for a front row ride.

whee!

thanks Erik for the pic!

the Wild Mouse was having some issues, and wasn't quite open yet. . tho not sure why it says "Steam Power" on the sign, or why there are animals about to get ground into meat byproduct from gears.

but just across from it, Pegasus was running. . . so we looked at each other and headed there.

I had to look up what "HUOMIOITHAN" means, since I saw it on lots of rides, and surely they can't ALL be called that:

it means:  "Please Note"

Erik said "hell no" to the spinny ride, but told us to have fun.

so thank you to him for these great pics!

 

This was one of the many kiddie rides sprinkled thruout the park. 

all of them looked like a hoot, but all of them were for little kids only.  (most of them were paired up next to each other, with one operator for both rides)

I REALLY wanted in on this:  a  bouncy house fill of balls, that actually moves!

was told "little children" only.. but with some nice asking, was allowed to take a picture almost on it - even if I didnt' get to actually "ride" in it.

I had to ASSURE him I wasn't going to go inside, I just wanted a picture.

still.. good enough!  I was happy

Neo's Twister had opened while we were on the other ride, so we headed back over there and got in queue.

the line stacked up while we were waiting for Maintenance guy to come spin our car around so we could exit. (making it the longest line we saw all day). LOL

 

Having ridden most of the stuff in this section, before heading back towards the main promenade of the park, we decided to ride the Kwai River ride.

the ops decided that all six of us should ride together in one boat - despite us asking if it was ok to split up between boats.

yup.. they made sure we were heavy enough, and this was the result.

does it get you wet?  

umm. . . yup:

walking by Lion King again, it was running now, soi got a better look at what it actually is.

seems to be a "flying carpet" type ride . with arms crossed neon colored lions sitting at the back of each car.     No, that doesn't explain why there's a pirate there. 

but I mean. .flying neon Lions, and you're worried about why there's a Pirate?  

I didn't even ask about riding this one (tho did see some adults on it). . was worried it wouldn't support my weight.

 

the Enterprise was up and running - which made me SO happy.    we got a ride on it with a long ass cycle, and I was happy that I hadn't eaten lunch yet.

It was nice of them to give us such a long cycle tho, as i had mentioned to the maintenance guy earlier how much I loved these rides.   tho it did concern me that he hung around during our ride to make sure it kept operating ok - it had been closed due to getting stuck in the upright position the prior day.

still. . . .whee!!!

remember I noted some of the rides have strange names?

here is "Fiesta Mexicana". . .

which is the park's Starflyer.  

yeah.

what I found rather cool tho, is that there were two separate lines - one for "thrill" (meaning that the Starflyer operated as normal) and a line for "Observe" (meaning it spun very slowly so you could use it as an observation tower.

i thought that was rather a neat option, and have never seen a Starflyer operate that way.   

(there were only two people in the "observe" line, so the operator loaded up the Thrill side first to get us on.

not the main entrance gate, but an entrance gate to the Park.. I think the one closest to the main parking area, for those who are not staying on property.

were some clouds rolling in, but was still a lovely day.

Finnish butt.

I mean, I COULD claim I took the pic because I wanted to show someone standing in the "observe" line. . but no. . I took it for the butt

 

who doesn't want to buy something from "Mr. FUNSLUSH" ????
(I had one later in the day. . super sweet. . like a slurpee with added sugar)

here's that Cobra I got talked into riding.

yeah. . still terrible, even with different trains, and some theming (a puff of smoke over the train when you leave the station from the 1st drop)

the parks one remaining "big" coaster - which is a family coaster, called Joyride.

it's pretty much a traveling carnival coaster, that is pleasant enough, and does have some steeply angled turns.

and artsy shot of a crappy coaster, taken thru an ok coaster.

Power Park really does like to paint coasters that are close to each other in the same colors. . .if you just glance at it, these two look connected.

and closing out this part of the report with a park map:

 

by now was starting to get hungry for lunch. . . so we took a look at the offerings, and I believe myself, Big Mike, and Andrew decided that the Pizza Buffet near the front entrance sounded promising.. so we headed there.

to be continued. . .

 

[Nrthwnd]

The "wooden village" you saw behind Thunderbird, I loved it. So many photo ops! And during the 2014 TPR visit, I actually met the owner of the Power Park, and the previous owner of the park....his father! That's when I asked about that 'village' was told about the TV series, like you were.

And - I that Booster ride! It was smaller than what we used to have at Playland (now removed for the new coaster opening this May). I must have ridden it several times, with different TPR tourers on board. And I remember really, REALLY wanting this brought to Playland.

Have to add. I believe your room is in the same part of the hotel ours was, back then. Good view of that grandstand, I remember.

Great tour of the park, Bert!

[Nrthwnd]

Oops. Double post.

[Nrthwnd]

Eek. Triple Post. Sorry 'bout that.

[Nrthwnd]

Arrrgh! No comment.

[Nrthwnd]

So sorry about this, Bert. I have no idea how it multiplied my posting. Grrr.

[bert425]

^ well, that's gonna make quite the break between part 1 & part 2

 

[bert425]

Day 20: Thursday, June 22nd - Power Park Part II

 

the Pizza Buffet was decorated just as "eclectically" as the rest of the park.   it was over a grill (on the 1st floor) that only seemed to sell cheeseburgers & Pepsi - shades of Classic SNL), but upon going up the stairs, greeted by this funky Roman guard.

why?  hell if I know.

 

sticking with the Owner's plane theme tho. .there are lots of planes in here hanging from the ceiling.

how that ties with the Roman guy?  yeah.. again, I dunno.

the buffet had a few things more than just pizza (which was so so - tho they again had the pizza with corn on it).

the Chicken nuggets and happy face hashbrowns were good, I recall.

oh. there was also an Indian. .and a witch mirror (which I liked, especially the bat under it)

and can't forget the Conquistador - that was guarding the staircase down to the burgerjoint below.

 

pleasantly full, we headed out to the section of the park near the front that we hadn't explored yet.   The sky was turning a bit darker, and it was getting a little chillier. . . luckily the hotel was right across the street, so made a quick stop while over here at the gates, to grab a hoodie.

the Pizza place is on the 2nd floor of this building.

the green tower is the park's Asian themed drop tower.

the mentioned "main entrance" for the Hotel guests. . that building back on the left is the giant events center and the Movie theater.

they were setting up for a big concert coming the next day. . didn't recognize the band names, but they apparently are popular in Finland.

 

Time Square is another Kiddie flying carpet type ride.  back behind it you can see a few other kiddie rides.  

back there is also the parks smallest coaster, and a shooting dark ride.

the cars are a bit "steampunk". . so maybe that's the "Time" in the name of the ride?

on the left was a weird little "station" that definitely gave me the impression that at one point it was a loading platform for a small train.

the park doesn't have a train, and it's an odd "oversight".. so I've got to wonder if they used to have a trackless train type ride that at one point used this as it's station?

no ride here. .but hey, a Rabbit riding a carrot.  

sure, why not?

 

Mine Train is the parks final coaster, it's a Zamperla family coaster, with a fun little layout.

 

tho they certainly made it less "family" and more "kiddie" with the train design

which had VERY tight seats - especially after gorging on pizza buffet.

but we squeezed our butts in!

Next door was a car ride which was part Jurassic Park, part Antique Taxi, and part " we got this ride via multiple Garage Sales"

here's Kristen and Brayden, looking excited to ride!

 

ooo.. nice theming. . very Blair Witch.

rather than squeeze into the front seat, we chose to ride front and back.

look how excited we are!   (and got yelled at by the operator for having my phone out.   I was confused. this is a slow moving car ride that you aren't steering, but was told that I MUST put my phone away - and note, several extreme rides I had been on today, was told it was ok to have phone out for pics - so I went ahead and put my phone away and we "enjoyed" the ride.   but it was weird, that THIS is the ride they won't let you take pics on.   

you can take pics OF it. . . so they aren't concerned about the content of the ride, or the design.  it was just weird.

hmm. . the drop tower hadn't gone in a while.. was it down? 

answer was yes, it was down. . but the same maintenance guy was there working on it, and he did get it back up.  so Kudos to this amazing Mr. Fixit, who was able to get every down ride back up and running.    we went on it a little while later.

Kiddie Ferris Wheel, and behind it looks like a Himalaya, that I don't even remember seeing, so I didn't ride it!   whoops.

walking around the Dino Safari ride, to go to the park's dark ride. . here's a pic of the kind of Dinos you'll see on the safari.

yup. . a plastic Zebra.

 

this area suddenly got very well themed, to kind of a western Boom Town.    Really well done.

don't recall if the Steakhouse was open, but as we had recently eaten, didn't check anyways.

here's the Dark Ride. . the Devil's Mine hotel (I think it's called that?)

this one had working animatronics, even on the outside.   with the cowboy up top talking to people in the queue, and various characters emitting "bodily noises"

and it's a SHOOTING dark ride.  I hoped it was good.

and it was. . it was VERY good, I recall.   I rode this thing at least 4-5 times.

speaking of motion activated animatronics in this area:

(yes, he yells at you for watching him while he's pooping. . .complete with fart sounds).

As the sky threatened to open up, I headed back over towards Pitts Special to get a ride on it, just in case the Evening ERT had to be cancelled.

passing back thru the "main street area" I again was impressed with the facades here.

 

a photo-op to sit on a Cowboy's knee?

why sure!

 

I rode Pitts Special - I didn't care for it (not a fan of vertical lifts. . but this one doesn't even have inversions, so it seemed "not worth it".   the fact I didn't get any pics of it when I went over to ride it?  kinda says it all.

heading back up to the rides in the front I hadnt' gotten on yet, I eyed this as I passed it.   I was GONNA ride it, just had to get my nerve up.

you can really see how threatening the sky was looking in this picture tho.

an adorable kiddie flume, that really wasn't operating today as there just weren't a lot of tiny kids in the park.

but look how cute!

I will say that Pitts Special LOOKS pretty neat. .that ampersand feature. . .I mean, it looks like it SHOULD have inversions.

taking a spin on Typhoon - going thru the house really adds so much to this ride - as does going completely upside-down.

 

oh. .I actually DO have some pics from when I went over to ride Pitts Special. . just had them filed wrong.

here ya go, a few pics of the Gerstlauer coaster with the Vertical Lift

and looking the other direction, this is Junker. . with the loops.

 

I AM "Kapteeni Koukku"

I think this is a stage for a show, that they probably run on busy weekend days.  from the backdrop, guessing it's a comedy pirate show.

I've grown to appreciate these rides. . they are way more fun than they look, even tho really you're just going in a circle and controlling the "swing out"

the Enterprise ran the whole rest of the day once it got fixed, but I can't recall if I went and got another ride on it.

at first couldn't remember why i took this pic, then realized it was to catch the collapsing balcony on the tower there on the 2nd floor.  I'm not sure WHY it does that, but it was pretty cool to watch

steeling up my courage, headed towards the big ride I was gonna force myself to ride.  *and I think this is when I grabbed my Mr. Slushie.

taken from in line for this thing.

I DID ride it, and we didn't' flip much. . so it really wasn't near as terrifying as I was afraid it was gonna be.

 

in fact, this was running a crazier cycle than the one I was worried was gonna flip.

luckily it stopped before I got too sick to my stomach.  LOVE the angry fish faces on the cars tho

 

a few more pics of Thunderbird, while over here. . .

and then a treat for me.   it was time to ride the Carousel!

and Mike and Jon rode with me too. .so wasn't the only on riding.

 

yup. . my happy place.

while we were on the carousel, the drop tower started working again, so we went right next door to ride it.

as with the starflyer, there are two separate lines:  one for thrilling drop, and one side where it cycles as an observation tower.

we chose fast, of course

pretty neat that the top of the loading station is clear, so you can look up and see the prior riders.

and the queue line has windows too. . so was able to get this shot of Collin, Barry, and Andy as they also had come right over when it started running again.

after that ride, it was back to the dark ride (again)

with yet another shot of the Dino Safari... that seems to have no dinosaurs, just zebras and military trucks.

oh, I found this other carousel too

this park lets you bring your doggie if you want to, and you can put them in the stocks while you enjoy the park.

so of course I had to!

I saved one of the best for last. . . I sat and watched this for a while, tho didn't ride it.

it's the gayest, straight ride I've ever seen.

you climb on top of the "bull" and wrap your arms and legs tightly around the "bull weiner". . and then it bucks like crazy to try and throw you off, while LOUD music blasts from those speakers.

no. . really.

I was worried about breaking my neck - even with all that padding underneath it.. so I just enjoyed watching.

it has different settings too. and the operator controlled how extreme it was gonna be.

i tell you. . just TONS of enjoyment watching this crap. . LOL

it was time for our evening ERT over on Pitts Special, so we headed that way.

now, I might be mis-remembering this, as it's been 10 months, but I *believe* Robb asked us if we wanted to do ERT on Pitts Special, or just do Junker again, and it was unanimously decided that Junker was the better coaster, so did that instead.

while waiting for them to clear the short queueline, snapped some pics of the back end of Junker.
(while getting eaten to death by mosquitos who came out in forces as it got overcast)

some wonderful woodcarvings on the sides of the buildings back behind Junker.

including the hawk (Eagle?) with it's catch

the garages where the owner of the park keeps some of his classic cars (per the operator I was chatting with)

 

whee!!!

and now back on for more ERT.. this seems to be my pic, since I'm not on this train. .

but I think the rest of them are from Elissa  (and yes, I was so glad I had grabbed my hoodie)

the Ride building, with a weird restroom/storage area for park food carts beneath it.

and then a pleasant surprise.  .  . more ERT.  on Thunderbird.

I really liked the coaster, so was a happy "yes" for this too.

 

i think I rode every cycle on this ERT, so these pics must be courtesy of Elissa (I see Robb, Andy, and Brad on the train)

rider cam. . WHOOOOOOO!!!!

just look at that smile on me. . such a good coaster.

even if it DID 'put put put' thru the brake run every time, sloooooowly inching into the station.

 

Steve looks thrilled. . HA!

and then it was over, and time to go back to the hotel.

Robb sent to the group chat a couple of spectacular pics he got from the top of Dragon Tower - when it was in "observation mode"

look how amazing the setting for this place is!

Pitts Special from the Dragon Tower, thanks to Robb.

and back to the hotel to refresh for dinner.

this was the welcome mat at the hotel:

and before dinner, wandered a bit to snap pics of the oddball theming.

the 2nd floor over the dining room - called the Lido Deck - looked like it was a bar area for use when they were really crowded.

but there were planes hanging in the hotel too.. so not JUST boat themed.   Eclectic!

taken thru a closed glass door. . hence the reflection.

very Nautical. . .

the lobby on our side of the hotel, and Main Deck is the dining room.

I believe the appetizer and Desert were the same as the prior night and that's why have no pics.

but I do have a pic of my main course this evening. . . and I'm STILL confused by "why a cup of ketchup with my fish?"
and the watermelon seems a bit out of place as well.

one last look out the window towards Power Park. .

and with that, I went to the room, packed stuff up, and was ready to head out in the morning.

had been such a fun day, and I really enjoyed the wackiness of this place.

tomorrow. . onwards to Sarkamniemi

[bert425]

Day 21: Friday, June 23rd - travel day to Tampere, Finland (where we'd be going to Särkänniemi the next day)

 

it was a decently long bus ride, so at just under the 1/2 way point, we had a pit stop at a Roadside Traveler Center.

it was lovely here - I remain so struck as to how "clean" everything was!

this wasn't just ANY traveler center tho. . . this place seemed to be fairly famous, or at least really well known.

as it's also a cheese factory!  

yes, get gas, go potty, get snacks, and watch them make cheese  (explains the cow on the roof)

not sure what this was next door, but seemed to be getting used as overflow parking.

and not only on the roof. . but Cows in side!

photo op

one can even "milk" them.

this one, sadly, didn't "groan" like the one in Japan did when I "milked" it. . but if recalling, this one had plastic udders that stretched as you pulled on them.

photo op out of the way, I wandered to the back of the traveler center and peeked down at the "Cheese-making" floor. 

Seriously, they have large windows, so travelers can watch. .it really is a destination.

there's also a pretty large store, that not only sells the cheese (in giant wheels, blocks, cuts) but also all kinds of snacks and hot food.

here was my attempt to get something for the bus that was not Licorice flavored.
(the Mountain Dew was super sweet and disgusting. . the cookies were good. . .but the coated dried bananas were a bit bland, as was the chocolate bites  - they were like larger, flatter, mellower M&Ms, with a thicker shell).

arriving in Tampere, we checked into the hotel - where the front desk clerk mentioned it was "Midsommer" - which explained why it seemed so "empty" for a Friday in the city.
there were people about, but no where near as busy as I'd expected.  And many shops were closed for the day, as it was explained that most go out to the Country to sauna and to celebrate on this day.

the hotel was lovely:

tho had a weird shower stall, that opened on both sides from the corner. . resulting in more difficulty for this American Idiot to keep the water out of the rest of the bathroom when showering

Nice view from the room.

it's not a small city, but it was pretty quiet this day.

I was gonna meet up with Jon (and I think Jason?) and we were gonna meet up with Andrew, Erik & sMisty to roam around the city. . but on my way down I popped into the Men's Sauna that was offered at the hotel.

very lovely, even if empty (again, was told folks leave the area for the holiday).

NOTED. . . no naked ass on the benches!

I'd never done a Sauna. . but I figured if ever was the time?   In Finland on Midsommer?  

yeah.. I'd break my sauna cherry here later tonight (you're welcome that I won't share that pic)

down on the street in front of the hotel, we met up, and I marveled at how gorgeous the day was.

a few folks out and about. . but pretty empty for a "not small" city today.

 

we found a few places open in our wandering. . including this fun "novelty" store, that some bought some stuffies at.

 

some random "street" art. . was pretty need to just come across it!

really loved the look of this city.

and the lack of people around made it even cooler, and allowed for some great pics.

this seemed to be a "cultural center" with the water treatment plant (I think that's what it was) as the anchor for the park/restaurants/trails around it.

just lovely.

 

it's not a Tum-ahhhhhhhh

even here in Finland, the "locks on bridges" movement is going strong. .

Disney influenced?

got to wonder if there are sometimes paddleboats in this water area. . . otherwise, this statue seems oddly out of place.

hey. .a map (I'm assuming a transit map, but also really helpful for tourists)

we are at the noted red dot.

we started our walk from over by where the comedy/tragedy masks are.  and Särkänniemi is up there on the left.

but we found a Finnish Grocery Store open. . so of course had to check it out.

I was haunted this trip by Olives.    (I know who kept putting them on my plate when I wasn't looking), but as we were getting to the end of the trip, I was traumatized by Olives.

I wasn't hungry at the moment. . but honestly?  this didn't even tempt me.

I *think* it was a sweet, even tho it looks like a Hot Dog.

back out walking, and enjoying the beautiful weather, and the random statues around the City.

we saw a pathway along the waterfront, that seemed to be headed towards an area that would give a nice view of Särkänniemi, so we headed down that way.

spooky swimming area.

I'm sure on a normal day, this section would be packed with swimmers.

the path cuts up thru a park and some more greenery.

hi Jon. . .

this amused me. . I liked how they tried to camouflage the tunnel with "natural" rock formations.

 

ooo. .I spot the observation tower/restaurant at Särkänniemi up ahead.

ok..this i found to be among the coolest stuff I saw while in Finland.

Finlandian Graffiti.

and it was mostly really well done!

it really was so beautiful here. . I know I keep saying that, but it's true!

and coming around the curve in the path?

across the way - on a peninsula reaching out into the water:   Särkänniemi

along the waterfront is that horrid torture device known as "Trombi" ( a Zamperla Volare - flying coaster)

also behind it in this pic is "Hype" (a Premier skyrocket II), and off to the left is part of "Tornado" (an Intamin suspended coaster - one of only 2 in the world)

they were open, as the rides were running - just not really busy today.

see? the skyrocket II is running. .the train is about to invert at the top.

and the disco over the water, is a great placement.

better view of this side of the park - with Tornado (that's hard to miss with it's Neon orange & yellow trains)

the park really does look wonderful, and I was very excited about coming back in the morning for our visit.

a boat engine of some kind on display at the Marina across from the park.

there was a sign on it, but it must not have been in English (or not interesting) as I have no pic of it.

 

view more from the front. . with a better idea of the Skyrocket II layout.

and Tornado's neon orange train.

turning away from the park to start the trek back, sMisty had found an area called "fairy park" - or something like that. . it sounded interesting, so we detoured that way to check it out.

not sure if this was a playscape or a sculpture.  (I THINK a playscape tho)

thruout the park, there were multiple "hidden" / small sculptures of pixies/faeries playing.,

this one is definitely a playscape.  it had Trampolines.

and big red balls.. LOL

and a throne?

don't mind if I do!

tons of fun detail everywhere - like these iron "Spiderwebs" under the roof of this shade structure.

whimisical .. and lovely area

found another pixie

and a handful of folks enjoying the day.

from an overlook at the top of the park, you get a lovely view of Särkänniemi across the water

Hype doing it's thing

notice Trombi hasn't run in any of my pics.   I think it's because only fools like us would attempt to ride the horrible thing.

I would have checked out the museum. . but it was closed today

 

after a long walk/sight seeing, it was time to head back.   Stomachs were rumbling and there was chat in the thread about places for dinner.

there were a few options, and I know Erik/sMisty ended up checking out a pub.

but some of us decided to check out the pizza place that was spoken very highly of. . with some unique pizzas.   so we headed over that way.

hmm. .not sure what they are selling

 

Space Bowling!!!    (in the dark with neon lights).. but no one was really interested.

oh my. . . quite the wait.  (and the most people we'd seen all day!).

we joined the line, and saw a number of other TPR Trip folks as well. . .

a snapshot of the menu.

some very interesting options.

before too long, we were seated, and our order taken.  (notice the line never got shorter!  it stayed about that long the whole time.    we took an outside seat, so didn't have to wait as long as those waiting to sit inside).

a closeup of the unique pizzas.

i ended up getting the Struzzo BBQ - ostrich peppers and bbq sauce.  (it was SO good)

all food comes with a trip to the salad bar first:

and my Pizza.   which I ate all of - other than the parts I shared with others who wanted a taste.

and then it was back to the hotel where i decided I was gonna sauna - and did it the traditional (nekkid) way . . you're welcome again for no pictures.
 

then a shower, and crashed.

tomorrow was gonna be a full day, and the truth is?  the sauna really was refreshing and knocked me right out.

 

[bert425]

Day 22: Saturday, June 24th - busy morning at Särkänniemi (before a drive to Helsinki).  Part 1 of 2

 

Starting off bright and early (well. . overcast a little and early, but it never rained).

a peek at the outskirts of the park, and the bus we'd been riding in since landing in Finland on that flight.

they really did cram quite a bit of stuff in here . . tho honestly, the vast majority of it I didn't care for.

but what I loved?  I REALLY loved.

the main gates:

and the park's landmark tower - it houses a fancy restaurant at the top (can't recall if it spun or not), and in the base, a small, but decent, aquarium/reptile house, as well as gift shop, and I THINK a planetarium?

 

even in Finland, those *freaking* scooters are just left everywhere.

headed into the main park - via a back walkway. . .

Similar to the exhibited motor I had seen yesterday, inside the park - albeit in a "backyard" area - was a preserved train.  

I didn't want to leave the group to go take a look at it, so not sure why they have it preserved here.

VERY cool. . our path in, walks along side and under the park's flume ride, and the Intamin coaster.

 

here's a good look at Tornado - the Intamin suspended coaster, that I believe is the last of it's kind in the world.

\

weirdly, Tornado's station is underground, in a very "industrial" setting.

we went in thru the exit, I think, so didn't see the main queue that goes down steps from the top of the hill.

but got a pic of the ride sign, as we went into the exit queue.

as noted yesterday, bright neon Orange & Yellow trains.

why?   I dunno. . but they sure are noticeable.

we greatly enjoyed our morning ERT on this ride.   rode it at least 8 times. . and since they were running both trains?  got some pretty zen rides.

Steve and I (I believe courtesy of Elissa)

Matthew looks like he's enjoying it!

quick peek into the operators booth, while taking a break between rides.

 

Wheeeee!   very Zen in the front row.
(pic courtesy of Elissa)

I'm flying, Jack!!!

after a bunch of rides, I needed to take a break and stepped into the main park (still before open to public) to snap some pics in the area:

 

the setting of this coaster, really is just perfect for pictures.

not sure why it's the last of it's kind, the ride is great!  more parks should have them.

perusing the park ahead of us. .it really is quite lovely.

tho has a bit of an identity crisis. . . like it's not sure what exactly it wants to be.

lovely, but small, carousel.

that adults were not allowed to ride.    But I got a pic, so I'm happy.

and an interesting game. . where one sits on a toilet.

and "pees" into the bathtubs.  

I guess?

to win Minecraft inspired stuffies.

told ya..this park is weird.

I did really like how so many kiddie rides are scattered about among the big rides.

for example, that Convoy ride, right next to Tornado.

 

"Boom" (what a name, LOL) is actually the drop tower!

the Skyrocket II behind it is called "Hype"

 

yeah.

I dunno, as I said, "Identity Crisis"

the park also has this piece of crap pure torture machine:  Trombi - a flying Zamperla Volare.

which, by the way, is Finnish for . . . "Tornado"

so yeah, they have two coasters named Tornado - one brilliant, and one shitty.

oh. . wait. . I should say HAD - RCDB notes it was removed as of late 2023!

wasn't quite ready for us tho, so looked around the area while they got it ready to open for us.

going for the Gen X crowd?

this area has lots of carnival flats - all running pretty decent programs, and all with unique names.

other than this Troika. . which was just called "Troika"

Turning our attention back to Trombi. .they were getting it ready for us.

Even tho it LOOKED like it had been abandoned and was rotting away.

but it still wasn't open just yet, so we headed over to the Skyrocket II (Hype)

I mean. . I don't MIND the theming, but I don't really "get" it either.

I guess as noted, they are going for Gen X?  I reminded me very much of Plopsaland and their "youtube" section of the park.

 

apparently the restaurant (that wasn't open yet as we were still before park open) is called "Play"

perhaps it blasts music during the day?

I rode this, I think, exactly once.

i'm just not really a fan of this type of coaster (and didn't ride the one the next day at the final park).

but others really love them.

death glare from Hans

and Jon without glasses. . I wonder if they made everyone take off glasses, even with straps?

when it was my turn to ride?

I actually let out a guffaw when I sat down in the seat and saw this.  And then quickly pulled out my camera to snap a pic (with permission).

 

I don't think this warning label looks like what they THINK it looks like.  

Rode my one time (maybe I rode twice, but I think only once) and then stepped out front to snap pics

Proof I rode it.

I even look like I'm having fun?

(yeah, no glasses. .they must have made folks take them off)

Pics courtesy of Elissa

I gathered my wits about me, while others in the group rode Hype a few more times.

is this a kids area?  there seemed to be more than one. . .but it was nicely detailed over here.

 

. . . if a bit "freaky"

and the pavement a bit psychedelic. .

or "Q-bert-y" if you prefer (and are of a certain age to understand that)

we got the note that Trombi was ready for us, if anyone wanted to ride.

I felt we were basically DARED to ride, as I'd heard so many horrible things about Volares
(pst. . all were TRUE!!!!)

Pic courtesy of Elissa.

OMG. . just look at these faces!!!   HATED it.   hell, I think my back spasm-ed just looking at this pic.

I *did* it. . but I don't think I'd do one ever again. . .LOL

watching some of the carnival flats cycling. . the park had just opened to the public, and so it were starting to see the first batches of school kids.

 

I don't think I rode the first batch of folks on Take Off (hence getting this pic), but it did end up with it being almost a full TPR cycle.

then over to High Voltage..which was no where near as insane as it looked  - tho it DOES do some weird things to one's body.

see?

that's me on the upper left

I found the park's mascot!!  (well, one of them. .they seemed to have several). and chocolate!

yay.

and then discovered (thanks to Erik, I believe) my favorite thing in the park:

the lake Carousel.

it lifts up, tilts, and gives a gentle spinning ride.

and is made by Schwarzkopf

no.. really!

and it's right on the lake, offering some lovely views

(hence being called the "Lake Carousel")

 

 

see???   Schwarzkopf !

 

Jon and I

 

Smisty, Goldballs, and Erik

 

Me and Big Mike

i think we ALL loved this thing.

and it offered nice views of the park's theming/landscaping as it turns as well.

 

to be continued .   with lunch up in the tower and a quick pop into the Aquarium!

 

[bert425]

Day 22: Saturday, June 24th - busy morning at Särkänniemi (before a drive to Helsinki).  Part 2 of 2

from the Lake Carousel, I had spotted that giant tire, which seemed to lead to another "themed" area

going thru there, and we found a section themed to Motocross (complete with people just sitting on the photo op, as always happens). . over here is the park's final "big" coaster
(no, I didn't ride the kiddie coaster, despite it's nice location just off the lake).

MotoGee - a fun Zamperla moto-coaster

 

complete with the kinda awkward seating. . .LOL. . but with some nice theming (including starting lights and sound effects)

it was a fun coaster, and being so compact, it felt much faster than it was.

I liked it.

 

whee!!! 

not sure who took this. . possibly Andy?

we were getting hungry and after looking at options, several of us decided that Smisty and Erik had a good idea to try out the restaurant at the top of the tower.

so we headed in that general direction, me stopping to snap pics as we made our way up towards the front of the park / tower entrance.

Tornado and the flume, really do almost interact with each other.   Not on the level of Grona Lund interaction, but close enough it's impressive.

I can't remember if I rode the flume here?  I THINK I did (tho I know I didn't ride the rapids ride).

ah. . here's the main entrance to Tornado, that we skipped earlier by going in thru the exit.

Down the steps into the underground launch.

 

not quite sure what this open space was by Tornado's entrance.

was it overflow queue?   was it an abandoned Ride Pad?  It did kinda look like a small flat ride was here at one point.

maybe it's a performance space?  there IS seating over there.

Great view of Tornado's big loop, from the Flume turn around area

taking a peek at the menu, it was a bit. . . fancy.

but I like trying fru-fru food, and they had several set menu choices - and were not busy at ALL.. so a bunch of us decided to join and have a fancy dinner.

To get there tho? you have to ride in the disco elevator!

with kinky 70's mirrored ceiling. . .

oooo. .the view from up here is lovely!

looking down, this was a whole section of the park I had not been to yet (and wouldn't get much time in, as the meal -as most FANCY places are - was slow and took a while, so it ate up more than an hour of our park time.   I'm not complaining, it was SO worth it.  and I'd do it again, choose sit down fancy restaurant over area of park.

tho this area appeared to be themed to "farm" society (tho I DO believe it's based on a children's show, going by the characters that were around in there).  The only "big" ride over here is the rapids ride, you can see just below.

 

ohhh. . the observation level is still one level below the restaurant - which now that I think about it?  did rotate.

so up the stairs.

felt a bit under-dressed, but the hostess (once she got over the surprise of a group showing up on what I suspect is a typically slow-ish day for them, as this seemed to be more of an evening/dinner place) was pleasant and led us to a table.

 

before ordering anything tho, I took a quick walk around (needed restroom) and snapped pics of the views

the hostess came up behind me while taking this and explained the area below used to be Christmas Town, and before that ?  it was themed to Moomin.

she also pointed out the wedge shaped building below and said that used to be the Dolphin theatre, but that the park had filled it in with concrete and were planning some kind of new show/attraction there, but she wasnt' sure what.

I took the "long way" around back to our table, so I could snap pics from all angles.

they really DO cram quite a bit onto this peninsula.

back at our table, the waitress snapped a pic of all of us who were about to enjoy the meal.

I think a couple of us went with the set "Finlandia" menu.. hey, when in Rome, right?

it was unique, and all of it was very good.

the deer was SO good.  I think it was the apricot sauce that cinched it for me.

you can see, they weren't very busy.  I think just one other couple was up there with us.

I VERY much enjoyed the experience tho.

'

Celery Gelato. . .with hazlenut

and I believe this was a moist strawberry vanilla cake.

 

after our meal (which I think took almost 2 hours?  maybe slightly less), we had only an hour or so until it was time to meet the bus and head out.

since the elevator is in the tower, and the base holds the Aquarium/reptile house, I went to check that out:

after a quick stop in the gift shop to pick up a few things, I headed over to the "farm" area for the last 20 minutes I had, to check it out.

the rapids ride is very pretty, and it certainly is a showstopper to come across the name of the ride in the middle of a waterfall.

but as i was worried about time - and REALLY didn't want to get on the bus for a drive while wet, I skipped it and checked out the area instead.

 

lots and lots of characters, and folks IN character here.    I think this *might* be an upcharge area?   not 100% sure, but I do remember these two checking to make sure I had an armband on.

yeah. . GOTTA be based on a kids show.

there were some people over here, who appeared to be waiting for whatever show this was gonna be.  

and live Pony rides!!

haven't seen that in a park in a long time (Six Flags Over Texas used to have pony rides).

they were small ponies, so I watched, and didn't even ask.   I mean, if adults can't ride the carousel?  no point in even asking about the live ponies

some live pigs, and sheep over here too.

and then some "not so live" cows.

making weird faces.

ummm. . . ok ?

hey, Elissa!  at least I didn't Hump it!
(and it looks pretty happy. . LOL)

there's one you can "milk" too. .and a very nice Finnish Gentleman asked me if I'd like him to take a picture.

so in two days, I'd "milked" two cows in Finland!

there's a little mini-obstacle course over here too, that was pretty popular with families.  (it had a line)

and before heading back to the bus, I checked out the gift shop over here, that was full of plushies, and kiddie toys.

i honestly *almost* bought this guy. . but as I had some Särkänniemi swag already?  I didn't want to overdo it.

 

and then it was time to head back to the bus. . we had a drive to Helsinki ahead of us still today.

hope you've enjoyed following along!

one evening, and one full day left in the trip!

[bert425]

Särkänniemi swag:

3 magnets -

 

the park's main mascot (I assume, since he's on a magnet wearing park overalls)

the park in the evening . just lovely

 

and way discounted, in the back corner of the tower gift shop - a Moomin "ghost" magnet, (that looks like haunted condoms).

so yeah, that farm area used to be Moomin Valley.

[Electerik]

Thanks for joining us for lunch! And for being part of the Cult of the Lake Carousel.

 

[bert425]

Checking into the hotel, and some sightseeing around Helsinki after we arrived. .

as we got closer to Helsinki - the last city on the trip (that had the last park on the trip, Linnanmäki), some "industrial" architecture started to appear.

and stopping at a light, up on top of a hill, was Linnanmäki. . . pics taken from the bus.

we were staying at a hotel near the center of the city, if I'm not mistaken. . that was close to the landmark Helsinki Cathedral, the College, and the waterfront.

as it was a Saturday evening, there weren't a lot of folks around this part of town right now.

 

but the city is lovely, as most of the places we'd been were.

the hotel was modern. . I think maybe it was a Marriott? 

with a view of the Courtyard / garden from our room.

 

Jon reached out - or maybe I reached out to him? - and we decided to go roam the city, as we had the evening free.

So we met in the lobby, and headed out towards the Helsinki Cathedral, passing thru the College Campus area

coming up on the backside of the Cathedral - it truly is lovely from all angles.  Tho from the Front is the best.

here's from the side

we ALL float down here . . . . bwaaa-haaaa-haaaaa. . .

(creepy, right next to the Cathedral too)

 

This cracked me up. . . so I was taking a picture of the Helsinki City Pride Museum (which sadly was closed as it was later in the day now. .maybe 8pm?) and as I finished snapping the picture, I said to Jon - "hey. . that guy over there is pissing!"

I mean there are public toilets, but he just went right across the street from the Cathedral (it's literally to our right in this pic) and whipped it out to piss on a building.

when I uploaded the pics?   yup. . I got him in my pic.

LOL !!!

(I made sure nothing naughty is showing tho. . .blur feature!!!).

 

Turning to the Cathedral, they have this lovely sign out in front for pics. . . so of course!

consulting google maps, it looked like we were close by the waterfront. .and the Helsinki Skywheel (and flying theater) was there.

so we decided to head over that way.

WAY more people over here, as there were multiple pop up restaurants, and a few bars over here.

that was my goal tho - to ride the Ferris Wheel (and get Jon on another one).

Turtles!

I think maybe these are supposed to have giant umbrellas on them?

some of the pop up restaurants, behind the seagull I decided I wanted a picture of.

really loved the archetecture down here in the area

 

oooo. . a couple of special cabins were avail.  This one on the right is the VIP cabin (that gives you alcohol as you go around), and on the upper left is the Sauna cabin.
(I had sauna-d the day before for the first time, and wasn't ready to steam myself during our ride).

so we went for "regular" tickets.

for some reason, the cabins are all tinted very blue.

some great views, but all blue-y

at the open air bar next door, there was a concert going on. .and the crowd got much bigger (almost double the size) while we were riding.

the operator told me they were a Finnish band that were very popular.    tho the music wasn't quite to my taste, so we didn't hang around after our ride.

oooo. . nice view of Linnanmäki from the Skywheel!

will see ya tomorrow!

after our ride, we hung around for a little bit just so I could get a better picture of the Sauna cabin.

and then we headed back towards the hotel, but taking an alternate route that would bring us along the college bar/restaurant area in the bay.

very pretty. . almost Tokyo DisneySea level pretty

the restaurants weren't very full, which was surprising to me for a Saturday night.  But maybe they just fill up really late, since the sun is up so late.

we were starting to get a little bit hungry, and spotted the McDonald's across the way.

i had managed to avoid most fast food the whole trip, and wasn't thrilled. . but was willing.   So we crossed over.

and found an open supermarket - that was JUST about to close - next door.

so Jon and I went in there and bought stuff to bring back to the hotel to snack on, instead of McDonalds.

some interesting art in the Supermarket lobby.

and Coi.

and with that, we said our goodbyes in the lobby and headed to our rooms.

tomorrow was the last day of the trip, and our final park, Linnanmäki

 

I was really looking forwards to it, as I had heard this park was kinda F-ed up, and I expected I'd love it (I did).

[teacherkim]

Aren't all the Scandinavian cities just so immaculate and orderly? I think when you were at the Skywheel you were right down by the fish market and where you can catch the ferries out to some of the islands in the bay. Suemolinna island is absolutely lovely if you are ever in Helsinki again. The market has huge amazing produce, particularly strawberries the size of small tomatoes and a wide variety of handmade/local crafts. I still have some amber earrings I bought there about 12 years ago when we were there. The wheel wasn't built until after we were there but it looks like the same area.

[bert425]

Delayed due to so much going on in real life, but I've finally gotten up to the last park of the trip - in Helsinki, Finland, Linnanmäki !   Part 1

This was an absolutely charming park, and it won me over almost immediately.  Even tho there are a lot of "smaller" rides mixed in, for the most part, adults were allowed to ride anything they could fit on.

I took well over 400 pics, so this will be more than one part (but don't worry, wont' share ALL of em)

we arrived early in the morning - before the park opened.

walking up the hill, to the main gates, the charm of the park is evident.

Looming over the main gate is Ukko, a Maurer Skyloop (I did NOT ride this at all today, but many in the group did.  and I'll admit it's very picturesque.  just not really for me).

 

speaking of the main gate. . . as I noted, just charming!

cute little statues and scenes everywhere.   So much theming, even if a lot of it was very oddball.

 

these are the front gates - apparently there is at least 2 other gates, but those were not open this early, and they seemed to be there just to allow folks to enter from the back and side, as the park IS on top of a hill.    I'll have a park map pic coming up shortly.

the main entry way was adorable (and yes, charming) and at the very end before you curve left into the park, is a SeaLife Aquarium here in this park as well.

 

Group shot, courtesy of Robb.

and some pics of the (still closed as it was before park open) storefronts on the main street

I honestly cannot recall if we did rides on Vuoristorata, the park's scenic railway, wooden coaster - that also includes a Breakman (or should I say Brakeperson, as there were two women filling that role along with the men).   But our way into the park this morning was the back way, and thru the coaster, which made for some very cool picture opportunities.

I loved they had this "history of Vuoristorata" billboard up. . tho oddly it was in the center of the coaster.

when I rode again later in the day, you can see the billboard from the queue, but you don't really get close enough to read it.     Still, it was cool they have it.

 

Group shots in the bowels of Vuoristorata, courtesy of Robb!

Good Morning.  (Mr Muscle on the left there was our guide this am - can you tell we were in Finland?  )

one more, with FEELING!

as noted, I don't think we rode it this am, but it was a cool behind the scenes tour of the coaster, and soon we were in the park, and headed towards the coaster we were going to have some ERT on this am.

but it's not like I'll pass a Carousel and NOT take a picture of it.

for a park that seems very small on paper, it's got a lot of sections.  and TONS of awesome details and adorable things theming everywhere.

 

this is Kirnu, the park's Intamin Zac Spin.

I did not intend to ride it - having memories of Insane at Grona Lund - but so many folks told me this was a much smoother ride, that I did end up riding it, and liked it.

I can't recall if this is the park's drop tower, or Observation tower. . I think it's the drop tower tho.

here's what we were headed to tho.

Taiga - the park's newest coaster, an Intamin LIM Launch coaster.

I heard it described by many on the trip as being similar-ish to Velocicoaster, but having no ridden that one, I can't make the comparison myself.

I can say tho, it's quite intense.

even the height checking bars here are adorable.

I did like this coaster a lot, but being honest?  it was a little bit too intense for me.

I think I rode 3 times (and once again later in the day), but after my few rides, I stepped out via the gift shop, and snapped pics of it.    It's really awesome looking.

This pic is thru the window in the gift shop!

next door to Taiga is one of the park's multiple Dark Rides.

as near as I can figure? this is a Witch Hotel, that an evil wizard decides to stay in, and they do battle.   or something.
It didn't make a lot of sense, but I loved the scenes in it, and the animatronics and scares were fun. 

I ended up riding this a lot today once the park opened.

That's a witch in the window upstairs that peeks out at you from behind the curtain

ok, back to pics of Taiga:

the shorter blue track here, actually isn't Taiga - it's Salama - a Maurer spinning coaster.

yup, similar to Power Park, Linnanmäki painted coasters next to each other the same color, resulting in a mass of track.  Looks kinda cool, I admit.

the trains are wonderfully quirky

as is the theming in the station. 
(this pic is from when I went back to ride once more later in the day, hence general public in the station)

turned loose after our ERT, the group spread out among the park.   We still had a little time before the park actually opened to the public

as we made our way towards the back section of the park (start there - and there was another dark ride back over there - and then work our way forwards), I snapped pics of sculptures as we passed by

there's a mini-circus train that goes around the outside of this round building - hence the theming.   The building is an old water tower, that the park has hollowed out, and put a coaster inside.   So yeah, this is actually a picture of Linnunrata eXtra (the Milky Way) a Zierer "Force" model coaster.  "eXtra" because  you could put on Virtual reality goggles if so chose.

so many rides, mainly carnival type, scattered all over this park.    And again, adults able to ride almost all of them.

 

Nice placement for a SeaLife Aquarium ad - on the turnaround for the park's rapids ride 

as noted, the park is on a hill. . so there were all these "never in the USA" play areas to allow ways to traverse the levels of the park.

sure, there are stairs, but why do that when you can break your leg in this??

 

Nightmare fuel !    

Ok, so THIS is the observation tower, and hiding behind it (I angled the picture badly) is the drop tower.

this park *does* have a very weird fixation with clowns. . . creepy clowns!

 

here's that mini train I mentioned, that goes around the outside of the Linnunrata eXtra building.

it was adorable, but no way would my fat ass fit in there.   So instead I rode the Monorail to get some overall pics later in the day.

still headed towards the back of the park, but the park had now officially opened, and the Drop Tower was running as we passed it. 

and it's themed to Medieval Royal . . . Lions ?    I guess ?

all I know, is that it had a throne out front, and I love me a throne picture

more cute areas. . and I really loved how they incorporated the cut down tree into the restaurant seating area.

this seemed to be a haunted walk thru, but we'd hit it on the way back by.

GAHHHH. . more clowns - in "Sirkus" - a suspended Dark Ride. 

again, we'd hit it on the way back by, as we had to come back thru this section after starting at the back.

there was also a walk thru Fun House - tho strangely, it seemed to be a traveling carnival type.  Perhaps not so strange, since many of the flat rides, seemed to be of the traveling carnival variety.   It was just weird that it was plopped down in the middle on Astroturf with not a lot of theming, when the park has so much theming.

ok, heading down ito the back section, I believe this might be one of the other gates, but it was not open at this time.

here's that park map.

you can see from the "you are here" that we are now at the back of the park headed into the section that's kind of off by itself at the lower left.

A SeaLife Aquarium photo op?

dont' mind if I do.. tho it looks like a whale hugging an octopus.

adorable creatures in the fountains over here.

and completely dead still, as it was so early.

 

this was a weird one - it was like a mini trabant, themed to a space chipmonk?

I dont' remember if I rode it. . but I think maybe I tried, and there was no way that lap bar was gonna close on my gut.

but Andrew and sMisty fit on it.

the steam punk octopus ride was very deceiving. 

it looked so peaceful, but that thing just HAULED.    Once I saw it cycle, I decided to ride too.

this one really caught my eye, and I LOVED the look of it.

is it a coaster?   it's got a lift hill, and it's powered.   So I'd call it a coaster, but it looked like a Kiddie ride.

So I asked the operator, and she said "sure!  you folks can ride". . so we all lined up to ride the planes

 

"Pilotti"

 I mean. . . just LOOK how stupidly thrilled I am, that I got to ride this.

whee!

 

even Erik was having fun!

all the rides in the back section knocked out. . we headed back to Sirkus - not knowing what to expect.

OMG. .it's a side-moving suspended dark ride about CLOWNS!   

YAYYYYYYY!

Sleepy lion. . .

(and a blurry Giraffe - sorry)

and clowns.

oh my. . SO. MANY. CLOWNS.

moving, and spinning, and laughing. 

as you hover in your little "cage" among them.

BOOM!

why yes, that IS a clown sweeping up all the Elephant poop.

so bizarre. . . loved it.  

I didn't ride it as much as I did the Witch Hotel, but really loved this one too.

to be continued. . . .
 

[bert425]

Linnanmäki !   Part 2

 

after the nutso Sirkus dark ride, it was time for the Haunt right next door.

I had been correct in my guess that it was a walk thru - but I didn't realize it's in 3D.

the glasses really DID enhance in some places, but as you can see from the pics, it works really well regardless.   And it was fairly lengthy.

this hall of mirrors section was truly spectacular.   and with the 3D glasses on, it was so easy to walk into a mirror.

but some of them have surprises inside if you do touch them!

most of the games over here weren't open today - probably because it was a slow Sunday.

But here's a good view of the entrance to the Haunt walkthru, and the Sirkus dark ride next door.

 

I don't think I mentioned, but similar to Groan Lund, they go all out here at Linnanmäki in terms of theming for the Restrooms.

no two are alike, and they don't seem to be tied into whatever area they are in.   (for example, this one was by the Funhouse, Sirkus, Haunt).    But they are heavily themed.

wanna go in for a "pit stop" - literally? 

(and yes, racing sounds were played in the toilets via hidden speakers)

looking towards the park's front gate, you can see the parks other drop tower (square vs round)

some dark clouds were starting to move in, but it didn't rain until a bit later in the day (and then only for about 20 minutes)

Loved the little areas that were just . . . there in the middle of things.

such as this small wooden labyrinth just in the middle - that's also a water feature, with some occasional shooting jets of water.
(I did do it, but managed to avoid the water )

would get to the Carousel soon, but I had wanted to come over here to ride Vuoristorata - the wooden coaster with a brake person.  

if you believe Roller Coaster Database, it's the same design as the one at Bakken (which no longer has the brake man), but it's slightly longer and taller.

I love that they are so proud of their Brakemasters, that they have their pics up on a board in the queue.  and tells you a bit of how they are trained.

very cool.

from the queue line, you can see the station (next door) for the Monorail.  . . . would be doing that shortly!

not a very crowded train. . all just TPR folks.

sMisty and I went for the back, near our BrakePerson. .

who happened to be the lady!    twas quite cool.

the ride was just OK, tho I did ride a few times.    I think after starting the trip at Tivoli Gardens, with their incredibly fun Bakeman driven coaster, anything else would naturally come in 2nd.     It was enjoyable, tho think of it as a scenic railway rather than a woodie, since there's no real pops of air (understandable, as there's someone standing on the back of the coaster )

we went down the exit ramp, and right up next door onto the Monorail, which offers some amazing views of the park.

in particular the park's coaster collection

 

Taiga on the left

 

Vuoristorata & Ukko

Kirnu

Salama (the Maurer Spinner)

the frying pan ride. . which no, I did NOT want to get on a spin and puke ride.
(tho Robb did film this, and I believe he's posted the video on the TPR Youtube channel).

earlier in the trip?  I might have gone for it, but I was wanting "calmer" rides today.   and this one was looking a bit "intense"

wait. . . they have a "pony" ride?  how had I not seen this on the map.    DEFINITELY something to track down sooner rather than later.

better view of the funhouse on Astroturf from above.

not only some great sculptures around the park, but also some lovely flower work.

pausing to buy some souveniers to bring home to my best friend. 

and then over to the Witch Hotel!

sadly, no pictures allowed in the ride, so best I could do was queue line.

maybe it would ruin the "storyline"  wizard vs witch . . or something?   LOL

time for a coaster I hadn't been on yet,  Tulireki - billed as a one of a kind.

this is a Mack "e-Motion" coaster, where the trains "tilt" in certain areas to make you feel as if you're falling off the tracks.

honestly?  the effect isn't really noticable - the turns felt just as if we were on a wild mouse.    So i guess it just doesn't work as a concept. . but it was a fun coaster.

and yes, it IS painted the same color as Salama (the Maurer spinner) and Taiga (the Intamin LIM launch) that are right next to it - so it make a massive area of blue track.

Speaking of Taiga - you can see how close it is, as it zooms by while you're in the queue for Tulireki

Pine Cone creatures sculptures just wandering among the coaster supports.

still from the Tulireki queue.    Taiga zooming by, and Salama's lift hill

 

as noted, the ride was enjoyable enough, but not anything really special (it certainly didn't live up to the "e-motion" promise.

so moved on to another coaster I'd yet to go on:  Pikajuna - a custom built Mack powered coaster themed to a mine train (it's a really long train too. . so very high capacity)

 

the rides here all are built next to each other, but the fun part is the queues are all interacting with the rides next door (like the Vuoristorata queue showing off the monorail) and this one here, that wraps around the Rapids ride.

a good view of the trains for Tulireki - the bob sled style train is cool. . just wish the "tilt" had been more pronounced

long train!
(this coaster's track is the grey on the left)

I chose to ride in the back. . . not that it makes much difference for a powered coaster.

still, a fun ride.

exiting Pikajuna, you have a wonderful view of the rapids ride.

and this turn around not only has water, but fire features.    Kewl!

and no, the water does NOT turn off..they want you wet.

 

another we'd yet to go on, Salama, the Maurer Spinner.

a look at the train (4 per, back to back).   This one was on the transfer track - wasn't busy enough to have all trains running I suppose.

 

the monorail track, and where I wanted to head to next - the giant Ferris Wheel.

Andrew, Erik & sMisty had the same idea, and were getting off, as we got in line

 

so many things in this park give you wonderful opportunities for great pics.

Overlooking Helsinki

a mass of tracks and rides. . .LOL. .tho the only train on any of these tracks in this pic is Salama (one lone spinning car)

there we go! a little further left, and got a train from both Tulireki and Taiga in the shot

howdy Big Mike, and Jon (who again, is not a fan of Ferris Wheels, but came on this with us)

sadly the rainbow Enterprise was not working today. . but thought it was a rather amazing location for it (it's on the roof of a restaurant)

a couple more shots of the BrakeMan on the Scenic Railway.

 

I was still iffy on riding Kirnu, but was leaning towards giving it a shot.

but first, we were gonna take a ride on Linnunrata eXtra, the indoor Zierer coaster.

the little train was circling the building, so snapped a pic as we headed up the stairs.

it's a very "Space" coaster type queue, which makes sense, as the name translates to "Milky Way"

and like very other "Space" coaster I've ever been on?  the queue felt like it was *miles* long.

finally go to the loading station.   A pic thru the glass at the train loading.

I can't really recall anything about this ride.  no, really. . I can't even recall if I did the VR or rode it without.
but I DO know I rode it - how's that for a sparkling review? 

I wonder if these lips indicate this is a tunnel of love, or a kissing tunnel.

and I wonder if these two guys noticed that?

again. . just a lovely park.

that concrete slab apparently used to be a Top Spin, and it's going to be the park's new for 2023/24 ride.   If recalling, it's a star flyer?

another themed bathroom. . this one was apparently "Steampunk Harry Potter"

some of the gears in here moved, and there was a "moaning Myrtle" type sound piped in.

it was almost time to meet up for the goodbye dinner. . so we hung around the front of the park area - near where the restaurant we were meeting up at was.

decided to check out the SeaLife Aquarium, but decided against it, as it wasn't included here (and seemed smaller than the others I'd seen, so decided to save the money). . but for some reason - which I never understood, and no one could explain - out front?  is a statue of three naked men eating Ice Cream.

I don't understand it, but yeah, it's worth a few pics

while we were relaxing and killing time until dinner, Robb shared the below pic of Taiga from the observation tower.  (it's a great pic, isn't' it?)

I took one look at it, and decided I needed to ride that and get some pics too, so we headed over that way.

 

seated (ahhhhh) in the air conditioned gondola, we started our ascent - and I got a wave from a monorail driver

oh!  we're right next to the pony ride!!  I had forgotten about that, we need to do that next - since we had gained time before dinner by not doing the aquarium.

got a pic of all three "blue" coasters

 

this one is from, I believe Robb as well (based on the sharper quality of the pic, and the rounded horizon).   tho it could be Andy or Brad. . but I'm thinking Robb.

it always is rather neat to see the Brakeman standing on the back of a moving coaster.

a better view of that ride pad where the Top Spin was, and where the new ride is going 
(again, based on the "swing" text on the walls, I believe it's a Star Flyer)

getting off the observation tower, immediately tracked down the entrance to the pony ride.

Yay!

but I waited and let some go ahead of me, as I wanted to ride the Zebra

 

no seatbelt, and it really does go right along the edge of a steep drop.

never in America, but I guess the Finnish folks don't do as many stupid things, so they can be trusted with this kind of exposure.

whee!

it's a fairly long course, crammed into a smallish space.

 

you DID IT, Jon

whee!

High Five from Big Mike  (or is that "Low Five?")

 

look at that face. . . shenanigans!

it was just about now that the sky opened up and it started to pour for about 20 minutes.   We hung out and played pinball in one of the arcades, and once the rain stopped, we made our way back towards the restaurant at the front of the park.

but found these really impressive wire sculptures.

 

the aforementioned arcade

 

and absolutely no idea.

reminds me of a Japanese Anime Character (the teacher from "Assassination Classroom")

we did manage to stumble across some costumed characters out and about.

she was Princess Pink, and Cotton Candy Girl   (and no, not sure why Princess Pink was all in Orange. . . . unless she's "Cotton Candy Girl". .but that didn't make any sense either)

back to the Witch Hotel.

this time managed to get a pic of the ride vehicles.   Thought they were rather neat.

 

there were wire sculptures, so why not some Wicker sculptures?    it was really well done.

as you can see, once the rain passed?  everything immediately opened back up.

I believe I took another spin on the Monorail (this seems to be from that queue. . this time looking over at the coaster, instead of the other way around)

and I had been convinced to give Kirnu a try - I believe the deciding chat was with Chuck (CFC) who told me he liked it.

so I did end up riding it, after getting off the monorail.

 

pics got out of order, but here's Jon and I riding it.  They put two tiny little girls (employees) on the opposite side of us, which had us off balance the whole ride and we got a number of flips.   but we were all laughing the whole time.

i do believe these are courtesy of Brad.

back on the monorail pics - got the whole train for Pikajuna as we passed by.

but no trains on the tracks for Salama or Tulireki  (tho there MIGHT be a Salama car on there behind the tree. . I see some pink)

and got the angle correct this time to see both the round drop tower (in back) and Observation tower.

 

shudder. . . .

ride a painted pony, let the monorail turn. . . .. .      or something like that.

Ukko doing it's thing from the Monorail.

 

post monorail ride, time for Carousel, and then bathroom break.

we ended up back at the one themed to Pit Stop. . and I noticed that they do have a little sign up top giving away the themes.
looks like the Women's restroom had the Princess Character I had seen walking around. 

but since no ladies with us at the moment (Erik and sMisty had gone to the Aquarium I think), I just have to imagine what it looked like in the ladies room.

empty ride pad where the Top Spin used to be.

heading to the restaurant for the farewell dinner, I noticed just now that the Kirnu sign moves back and forth, so snapped a pic of it)

the farewell dinner was an all you can eat Indian feast. . and it was really good!   

not just as far as "theme park food" is concerned. . it was actually quite tasty!

 

it was the last night together for most of us, so I made sure to thank Robb & Elissa for inviting me along on their trip and got some pics.

Robb and I being excited, with a bonus Shane photobomb

Elissa and I being happy, and bonus Barry butt.

 

after dinner, we still had an hour or so in the park, and I had ridden pretty much everything I wanted to (and had firmly decided I was not going to ride "Ukko" - I just don't like Skyloops). . . so headed back to the observation tower for another cycle.

and, of COURSE back to the Witch Hotel (think I also did Sirkus again)

ha!  hadn't noticed these guys earlier.   They were animatronic and were just chatting away (in Finnish, so no idea what they were saying) but were interacting with each other, and - i assume - talking about the people beneath them in the queue.

and then it was time to go. .  it had been a really great day.

these pics of Ukko are from the front entrance, as we were walking down to the bus to take us back to the hotel.

 

and with that, we climbed back on the bus, and headed back to our final hotel in the heart of Helsinki.

it had been a fantastic trip - and tho I didn't want it to be over?   it was almost time to go home.

[bert425]

Linnanmaki swag - not much (it was end of trip, and my bag was pretty full!).

but a pin, and a magnet

 

[Electerik]

10 hours ago, bert425 said:

but for some reason - which I never understood, and no one could explain - out front?  is a statue of three naked men eating Ice Cream.

Proof that you don't read my trip reports! (Or, you just have a bad memory.)

Short version: There's a famous statue in downtown Helsinki of three naked workers with tools. (I think it's kind of a socialist thing.) So the park has a homage/parody of that where the guys are taking a break and having some ice cream.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Linnanmäki. In fact, it might just be a top 10 park for me. I thought I'd seen it quite well during our day there, but you had quite a few photos of things I'd missed entirely!

Great day. Fun hang. Thanks, Bert.

 

[bert425]

^ bad memory!

(that's why I take so many pictures. . it triggers memories)

[bert425]

and with the next morning, I got up, checked out of the hotel, and headed to the airport.

it had been a fantastic trip, and I had a wonderful time.

hate to end on downer, so will TRY to keep this kinda "cliff notes" - but will summarize that the trip home was a horror show (and after fighting for months with United, they finally gave me some "credit" - the only reason I'm using them again for an upcoming trip.   so a chance to redeem).

 

headed to the Helsinki airport. . . lovely weather.

I had paid for Polaris class (treated myself) for the long flight from Munich to Denver, so I got bumped up to premium class on the flight from Helsinki to Munich.

meaning I had access to the lounge here while waiting for my flight.

not SUPER bougie, but it was a nice enough area to sit and have a snack while waiting for my flight to board.

tho not a super long flight, it was nice I had an open seat next to me!

and because I was "premium". .they served us food on this flight.

 

Landing in Munich, and switching planes, I got my 1st look at Polaris (fancy-schmantzy) seating.  

my own little cubicle!

with a seat that reclined fully into a bed position, so I could nap.

lots of perks too with this price point seating:

and I will fully admit, the food was wonderful.

the real issue - and one that really pissed me off - and I let United know about it at well, is they allowed a new mother with a NEW BORN (probably 2 weeks old) to book the pod directly behind me.    Not only did the baby cry the entire flight (babies do that, I get it). . but she constantly was walking up and down the aisle back and forth between her pod and the galley / restroom area - that was just in front of my seat.    So it was incredibly distracting, and she kept making noise and cooing to the baby which meant I could not sleep or rest at all.

I 100% realize that babies need to fly too. . families have to go places.   But to not have a designated area for the babies on the plane?  to disturb passengers that had paid a premium (as a treat to oneself). . really shameful.

but oh . United had WAY worse service for me coming up.

 

at least the view was pretty.

and I watched a lot of movies, and was up the whole flight, so they kept me fed.

 

we arrived in Denver at 6:30 pm for what was supposed to be a 2 hour layover until my flight home to Austin.

at 8:15, we were told flight was delayed till 10.

at 9:45, we were told flight was delayed till 12:04 am.
(tons of flights around us were getting cancelled - not due to bad weather in Denver, but at the destination areas - but we were assured that our flight was going to happen.
as we watched people rush into the customer service lines (that stretched all the way down the terminal) and people were being set up on cots by empty gates.

at 11:30 we were told our flight was delayed once more, to 1:15am, but it was happening, don't worry.

at 12:35?   it was announced they were still working it, but the flight was delaying further
(found out that the crew had worked too many hours, and there was no replacement crew, so they were cancelling our flight).  But they never TOLD us that.

nothing ever was shown on the boards, nothing came across the app. . most on our full flight looked at each other confused, then a mad rush to get up to the Customer Service stations - lines which still stretched all the way down the terminal.  

There were only two people on, and we were told they go off shift at 1am (yeah). . . but it was ok, the United staff brought those of us in line, water.

it was close to 1:15 when I finally got up towards the front of the line, and got to overhear the conversations of those ahead of me - from my flight (that's how I know the issue was crew hours over).. but the fact they had been assuring us our flight was going to happen really pissed off a LOT of people.  There were no hotels, there were no available cots any longer, it was almost 1:30am, everything in the airport had shut down.   it was a nightmare, and after traveling all day?  I just wanted to be home.

one of my fellow passengers from my flight - who was a couple of people behind me, spoke up and said he found a Southwest flight leaving at 5am, and there seemed to be seats avail. on it.

the one United lady still at Customer Service said she could help us book it, so a group of us went to her and we all booked it on our phones - with assurances that 1) our luggage would be transferred over to Southwest - "Don't worry, we do it all the time", and 2) those of us with Trip insurance would be reimbursed.

I was one of the lucky ones who was able to get a seat on the Southwest flight. . . so around 2am, a group of us made the long journey over to a different terminal to nap (or try to) in front of the Southwest flight - which was now ~3 hours away.

 

a pic of the screen announcing the 12:04 departure - that didn't' happen.  as you can see?  our plane is THERE at the gate.
 

 

my proof of my SW purchase to get home, so I wasn't stranded in Denver.  I wasn't' concerned, as I had purchased trip insurance.. so figured for sure United would reimburse me (as noted at start?  months of fighting with them, and no money back, just credit - after I had to keep pushing back that "points" did not satisfy me.

so trip insurance really does seem to be a scam.

 

and my boarding pass from Southwest.  

no I never did get any rest - was worried I'd snore in the middle of the airport, or would miss the flight.    So just paced and sat awake for the 3 hours.
the Southwest flight DID leave on time, and those on my flight had gotten the final seats - so all of us ended up in middle seats.

I didn't care, I just slept the whole flight between a sour woman and her husband - who clearly were hoping for a row to themselves, and then it was a full flight.  

I just wanted to get home after traveling all day.

 

we United refugees had been concerned about our bags making it onto the Southwest flight - the United tracker was useless and had not been updated - but the customer service lady had told us that they "do it all the time" and not to worry about our bags being transferred over.

but suddenly *as* we were boarding the Southwest flight, the United baggage tracker updated to show the below:

yup. . when the flight had been cancelled (tho not officially for quite a while after we were told), they had unloaded our bags, and brought them to baggage claim.

where they sat all night on the carousel. 

we *could* have gone down to baggage claim, got our bags, and then re-checked them in via Southwest - but we were never told that's what they had done.    We had been assured United would transfer the bags to Southwest.

watching my airpod, I could see my bag was left behind in Denver as we took off.

so yeah, add an extra hour in line behind the folks that had been on my United flight - at the Austin Baggage claim area. 
at least once the 1st two people went thru, they realized, and were able to help multiple of us to fill out forms at once.

I called my friend who picked me up - some 15 hours after I was supposed to have arrived, and I came home and immediately crashed.

when I woke up the next morning, my luggage was sitting on my front porch.   No email, no text, no phone call notification. . . . just bag on my front door.

I guess that's "good service" since I live about an hour from the airport.    But if you are keeping track?   yeah, United lost my luggage on the way TO Denmark to start the trip, and then lost it again on the way home.

at least after all the fighting, i guess they realized I wasn't' going to give up - I had paid for that freaking insurance - and settled with enough credit that I was able to do nice seat on my upcoming trip.

we shall see how THIS goes.



hope you enjoyed reading along on this trip report.

again, huge thanks to Robb & Elissa (TPR) and all those that come on the trips and make them such a fantastic experience!

ready for the next 
(yay, I finished 5 days before my next trip). 

 

[teacherkim]

 

On 6/17/2024 at 10:45 AM, bert425 said:

and with the next morning, I got up, checked out of the hotel, and headed to the airport.

it had been a fantastic trip, and I had a wonderful time.

hate to end on downer, so will TRY to keep this kinda "cliff notes" - but will summarize that the trip home was a horror show (and after fighting for months with United, they finally gave me some "credit" - the only reason I'm using them again for an upcoming trip.   so a chance to redeem).

 

headed to the Helsinki airport. . . lovely weather.

I had paid for Polaris class (treated myself) for the long flight from Munich to Denver, so I got bumped up to premium class on the flight from Helsinki to Munich.

meaning I had access to the lounge here while waiting for my flight.

not SUPER bougie, but it was a nice enough area to sit and have a snack while waiting for my flight to board.

tho not a super long flight, it was nice I had an open seat next to me!

and because I was "premium". .they served us food on this flight.

 

Landing in Munich, and switching planes, I got my 1st look at Polaris (fancy-schmantzy) seating.  

my own little cubicle!

with a seat that reclined fully into a bed position, so I could nap.

lots of perks too with this price point seating:

and I will fully admit, the food was wonderful.

the real issue - and one that really pissed me off - and I let United know about it at well, is they allowed a new mother with a NEW BORN (probably 2 weeks old) to book the pod directly behind me.    Not only did the baby cry the entire flight (babies do that, I get it). . but she constantly was walking up and down the aisle back and forth between her pod and the galley / restroom area - that was just in front of my seat.    So it was incredibly distracting, and she kept making noise and cooing to the baby which meant I could not sleep or rest at all.

I 100% realize that babies need to fly too. . families have to go places.   But to not have a designated area for the babies on the plane?  to disturb passengers that had paid a premium (as a treat to oneself). . really shameful.

but oh . United had WAY worse service for me coming up.

 

at least the view was pretty.

and I watched a lot of movies, and was up the whole flight, so they kept me fed.

 

we arrived in Denver at 6:30 pm for what was supposed to be a 2 hour layover until my flight home to Austin.

at 8:15, we were told flight was delayed till 10.

at 9:45, we were told flight was delayed till 12:04 am.
(tons of flights around us were getting cancelled - not due to bad weather in Denver, but at the destination areas - but we were assured that our flight was going to happen.
as we watched people rush into the customer service lines (that stretched all the way down the terminal) and people were being set up on cots by empty gates.

at 11:30 we were told our flight was delayed once more, to 1:15am, but it was happening, don't worry.

at 12:35?   it was announced they were still working it, but the flight was delaying further
(found out that the crew had worked too many hours, and there was no replacement crew, so they were cancelling our flight).  But they never TOLD us that.

nothing ever was shown on the boards, nothing came across the app. . most on our full flight looked at each other confused, then a mad rush to get up to the Customer Service stations - lines which still stretched all the way down the terminal.  

There were only two people on, and we were told they go off shift at 1am (yeah). . . but it was ok, the United staff brought those of us in line, water.

it was close to 1:15 when I finally got up towards the front of the line, and got to overhear the conversations of those ahead of me - from my flight (that's how I know the issue was crew hours over).. but the fact they had been assuring us our flight was going to happen really pissed off a LOT of people.  There were no hotels, there were no available cots any longer, it was almost 1:30am, everything in the airport had shut down.   it was a nightmare, and after traveling all day?  I just wanted to be home.

one of my fellow passengers from my flight - who was a couple of people behind me, spoke up and said he found a Southwest flight leaving at 5am, and there seemed to be seats avail. on it.

the one United lady still at Customer Service said she could help us book it, so a group of us went to her and we all booked it on our phones - with assurances that 1) our luggage would be transferred over to Southwest - "Don't worry, we do it all the time", and 2) those of us with Trip insurance would be reimbursed.

I was one of the lucky ones who was able to get a seat on the Southwest flight. . . so around 2am, a group of us made the long journey over to a different terminal to nap (or try to) in front of the Southwest flight - which was now ~3 hours away.

 

a pic of the screen announcing the 12:04 departure - that didn't' happen.  as you can see?  our plane is THERE at the gate.
 

 

my proof of my SW purchase to get home, so I wasn't stranded in Denver.  I wasn't' concerned, as I had purchased trip insurance.. so figured for sure United would reimburse me (as noted at start?  months of fighting with them, and no money back, just credit - after I had to keep pushing back that "points" did not satisfy me.

so trip insurance really does seem to be a scam.

 

and my boarding pass from Southwest.  

no I never did get any rest - was worried I'd snore in the middle of the airport, or would miss the flight.    So just paced and sat awake for the 3 hours.
the Southwest flight DID leave on time, and those on my flight had gotten the final seats - so all of us ended up in middle seats.

I didn't care, I just slept the whole flight between a sour woman and her husband - who clearly were hoping for a row to themselves, and then it was a full flight.  

I just wanted to get home after traveling all day.

 

we United refugees had been concerned about our bags making it onto the Southwest flight - the United tracker was useless and had not been updated - but the customer service lady had told us that they "do it all the time" and not to worry about our bags being transferred over.

but suddenly *as* we were boarding the Southwest flight, the United baggage tracker updated to show the below:

yup. . when the flight had been cancelled (tho not officially for quite a while after we were told), they had unloaded our bags, and brought them to baggage claim.

where they sat all night on the carousel. 

we *could* have gone down to baggage claim, got our bags, and then re-checked them in via Southwest - but we were never told that's what they had done.    We had been assured United would transfer the bags to Southwest.

watching my airpod, I could see my bag was left behind in Denver as we took off.

so yeah, add an extra hour in line behind the folks that had been on my United flight - at the Austin Baggage claim area. 
at least once the 1st two people went thru, they realized, and were able to help multiple of us to fill out forms at once.

I called my friend who picked me up - some 15 hours after I was supposed to have arrived, and I came home and immediately crashed.

when I woke up the next morning, my luggage was sitting on my front porch.   No email, no text, no phone call notification. . . . just bag on my front door.

I guess that's "good service" since I live about an hour from the airport.    But if you are keeping track?   yeah, United lost my luggage on the way TO Denmark to start the trip, and then lost it again on the way home.

at least after all the fighting, i guess they realized I wasn't' going to give up - I had paid for that freaking insurance - and settled with enough credit that I was able to do nice seat on my upcoming trip.

we shall see how THIS goes.



hope you enjoyed reading along on this trip report.

again, huge thanks to Robb & Elissa (TPR) and all those that come on the trips and make them such a fantastic experience!

ready for the next 
(yay, I finished 5 days before my next trip). 

 

Was your insurance through the airline or through a private company? Just curious. Joel and I are flying United to Europe for the ACE trip in July. We'll see how it goes. I much prefer Delta but they just couldn't match the price/schedule for this particular itinerary.

[bert425]

1 hour ago, teacherkim said:

 

Was your insurance through the airline or through a private company? Just curious. Joel and I are flying United to Europe for the ACE trip in July. We'll see how it goes. I much prefer Delta but they just couldn't match the price/schedule for this particular itinerary.

it was thru United!    

but I bought trip insurance on my upcoming trip again, anyways. . . . I'm dumb that way.

[teacherkim]

18 hours ago, bert425 said:

it was thru United!    

but I bought trip insurance on my upcoming trip again, anyways. . . . I'm dumb that way.

Ok, good to know. I've never had insurance through the airline, I have a yearly, very inexpensive, policy through an insurance company. It doesn't cover cancel for any reason but does cover things like health related delays or airline delay/cancellations. You might want to look into that for the future.