malem

^ Details have yet to be released. Lights-on tours of mazes almost certainly won't happen at night, as they are scheduled to operate then.

Not Kings Island, but apparently the new-for-2014 water slides at Carowinds' Boomerang Bay were not added to the appropriate attractions page on the park's own website: https://www.carowinds.com/things-to-do/boomerang-bay (Announcement page: https://www.carowinds.com/what-s-new/more-thrills-at-boomerang-bay) The 2014 operating season for the waterpark is over. Bart?

According to that news report, funding from Norway stopped in 2002. The current ride probably isn't drawing many into Epcot, and it's apparently in need of refurbishment. For Disney, unfortunately at times, money talks. That $9 million sounds like cheap advertising, considering the certain popularity of the Frozen ride. For substantially more, they could probably remodel the entire pavilion (including the ride) to fit their tastes. Even if they don't pay, just having the ride (which will likely be the most popular in the park) in Norway is going to a valuable promotional asset. Albeit, less valuable than the entire pavilion celebrating your culture and heritage. It's not surprising that Norwegians aren't happy. It's a huge downgrade for them, and it's a huge loss for World Showcase. I'm cautiously optimistic that renewed popularity will finally spur much-needed investments into that park.

Paging Terp

^^ I met one parent who left his young kids alone on the midway while going through a maze, which certainly didn't seem wise. I don't have kids. If I did, I certainly wouldn't be leaving them alone or taking them to haunted attractions before they were mature enough. Some kids might be ready to stay at home (or in a hotel room) alone before being ready for a haunted house. Ultimately, the parent needs to know their child(ren) and make a responsible decision. My issue with the kid crying wasn't that the actors were doing their job. They're there to provide scares, certainly not to be nice. Rather, I didn't like that they ignored the remainder of a group of 9 to focus on one obviously-too-young kid who was already crying and being held by her dad. She clearly shouldn't have been there, and it's not the actors' fault that she got upset, but a bit of discretion would have been nice.

Of course, most (all?) World Showcase pavilions were originally created with the participation of the represented countries. Like much of Epcot, promotional possibilities were considered from the beginning. I am curious what involvement, if any, Norway had with this decision. I imagine that they are thrilled that millions of visitors will visit Norway (the pavilion) for the ride based on Disney's biggest new franchise in a long time. Best of all, perhaps, Norway isn't likely to be footing any of the bill for this particular attraction.

Cedar Point is a resort destination. Many families come for the weekend, and haunted attractions are an appeal for some parents. There's not always someone to watch the children elsewhere. (An ACE member I met up with for a couple houses had the ideal solution: put his kids to bed at Breakers before coming back for mazes.) In any case, if a guest is upset to the point of crying, the actors should find someone else to pick on. In that maze, I was ignored by all of the actors. They were busy picking on the too-young child.

Is making a kid cry (and continue crying) part of any guest's "best day experience"?

Maelstrom is my favorite (existing) ride at Epcot, so I'll certainly be sad to see it go. At the same time, Frozen will be a major, major draw for that park. Hopefully enough to justify other significant investments.

Skeleton Key looks interesting, from what I saw at Cedar Point this weekend. Fright Lane guests are ushered into a special room at some point in the maze, and they must complete a special challenge to advance from the room. (One of the challenges is to eat something, for example.) I do wish the actors would be kinder with small children. (Why guests bring small children into haunted houses is another matter.) One guest took their ~8-year-old daughter through Zombie High School, and she was in tears after a few scares. Almost every monster continued picking on her through the end of the maze, even after her dad started carrying her.

At the time those pictures were taken, Millennium Force had one queue house open and was signed at a 1.25 hour wait. Mantis had everything full but the frontmost queue house. Its line decreased somewhat, but lines across the park became insane by around 2pm when many church buses were arriving for PointFest. The main lot, bus lot, and Soak City lots are full. The employee lot is nearly full. Some attractions, like Cedar Downs, are still a walk-on.

Longest line in the park.

Dinner featured macaroni and cheese pizza. Doomed indeed.

The high was 62 degrees when I visited Zoombezi Bay, and that wasn't reached until about 5pm. Tomorrow's weather is balmy in comparison. I won't be there, as I am enjoying a dead (except for mazes) Cedar Point.

#Jonathan is still here at Cedar Point.

Amusement park employees enforce long-standing safety requirements. Affected guest receives good customer service. More at 11. Only on WCPO. (We all feel bad for the kid, but this story is hardly news.)

You'd think that WCPO would know that it's not "King's Island" by now.

Wouldn't that be SIX?

Probably not. Bottled water is about convenience; not everyone will be carrying a cup/bottle to fill at one of these stations. More ways to keep guests hydrated is a very good thing.

Don't forget that most (all?) Cedar Fair parks have buy-out days that may change from season-to-season. The timing of holidays (esp. Easter), spring breaks of local schools, and even which days of the month that weekends fall on can also be factors in the calendar. March 23 could be better for an opening day than March 18.

Try the last row of the train. (Actually, don't.) Out of my 3 maybe 4 rides on the ride, I rode the back on my last ride and that was my favorite seat! My last ride in that row left me with a headache for the next few hours. Nothing else has ever done that. Considering that you liked Son of Beast enough to put it in your username, your tolerance for such things is probably higher than mine. As always, individual results will vary.

CP is getting a head start with their fall marketing this year. I heard two separate HalloWeekends spots on the radio in Columbus this morning.

Try the last row of the train. (Actually, don't.)

Being able to call themselves the "Best Amusement Park in the World" was a huge part of CP's recent marketing. Arguably, it has helped justify enthusiast events like CoasterMania: I wonder if the sponsorship of Amusement Today will change.

^ And compete with their own refillable Coca-Cola drink bottles, as low as $9.99 each (plus the cost of a locker each time you want to ride Banshee or Firehawk)?