Search

The indentions go WAY BACK. There was a ride , I think the name was Hurricane Rapids That came out into that pool before being replaced hy the tan and blue alides. These were 2 paths, slow float with short drops from pools. You can still see the entrance area from the top of the current slides, filled im with gravel. This was one of my favorites as a kid.
They was also a pipeline slide that came out on the far left side of the pool, near thr building,  with a drop out the end into the pool.

Rode this morning. They did a GREAT job honoring the original ride and updateing the effects to last for years to come. Soft open so some effects were not working this morning, but I was excited to see the bridge fall again.

I hot the email that 2024 season passes are now on sale. Looks like our Diamond Trailblazers go up in price about $30 each and get White Water added in for "Free". We prob wont use it, the last time we went it was nasty, but with the diamond discount it is actually cheaper to get diamond w/trailblazer than gold w/trailblazer.
One thing I noticed and I hope is just an early oversight, is there is no option for the VIP tumbler or all season photopass to be added to the order. We don't do photos but have gotten 2 of the VIP tumblers since they came out and easily get our value out of them.

I received my Spring SDC Times mailer today. Looks like they plan to play up the final year for FITH with an app enabled scavenger hunt to find Red Flanders pants. I have done a few of these style games while at Disney so it has a chance at being fun.

We went to the park yesterday and could not believe the crowds. We arrived about 4pm to find mostly full parking lots. Since we have Season Pass preferred parking we were able to pull up to the shack and park in the narrow lot between the shack and the entrance road. By the time we left they had people parked in the road up to the parking shacks.
The crowds were insane, 1 hour plus for Rides and even longer for food/snacks. For example the line for ice cream outside of Red Gold wrapped back past the current furniture store. Cinnamon bread went back to the nearby restrooms.
We made it about an hour and a half and decided that was enough. We exited the cut glass store about the time the first tree lighting finished and it took nearly 20 minutes to make it out of the park. The crowds were easily the largest I have personally seen since pre covid shutdown. Even had a citizen politely shake their head when they asked where we were from and told them Springfield.
I guess 65 degrees in Dec will do that.

Finally time for our Universal Orlando Trip 10/25-10/29. I had a "small" hiccup in the form of open heart surgery on Sept 16, but not going to let that stop me!
Unfortunately that means no Velocicoaster this trip and Dr said Hulk/Forbidden Journey are out as well due to the chest restraints. Everything else is fair game as long as I feel up to it, which really surprised me 5 weeks out. I am doing Halloween Horror Nights Weds night and am very much looking forward to that, as I have wanted to go for years but my wife doesn't care for scares and my daughter was too young., She turns 14 next month and is chomping at the bit for HHN 
Staying at Hard Rock so we get to take advantage of the included express passes

My family has been a long time fan of White Water and usually go 5-10 times a year, even in 2020 with the shortened season. We have recently had the opportunity to visit 2 other GREAT water parks, Holiday World Splashing Safari  and Universal's Volcano Bay. All I can say is WOW.
On our first visit this year my daughter and her friend were down right bored at WW. While the Rainy early summer had some effect, there just hasn't been that normal desire to go back so far this year. We are planning another Trip to Universal this fall and I know that has us comparing the 2 parks even more, and I am sure the Branson market is not going to support a park like VB only being open 3 months a year.... But there has to be a happy medium between what we have and what is out there.
As I long time WW lover I hope they do something soon, IMHO it is just sad when compared to other parks

We made a trip down yesterday for Season Pass holder Ride time. Got there about open and it was nice to get a couple times through on TT and Mystic before the crowds hit. We walked on Mystic back to back up until 930. I was surprised to see how much stuff was still closed in the height of summer, and on a day with several long waits( but those may have been increased due to several rides being down off and on.
It seemed none of the snack stands were open throughout the day, just the main restaurants. And of course The Mine, Percys and a few other indoor locations were still closed.
I am guessing it is less of a capacity thing now and more of a lack of employees.
Anyway good trip, as usual. This was our 5-6 time this year. If yesterday was any indication look for a BUSY summer in the City

We made our first trip of the year Sunday. Arrived at the city around 1:30 or so. Wasn't overly crowed and walked on TnT, TimeTraveler, FM and GE rides. about a 5 min wait for FiTH. Purchased the Tasting passport and was overall happy with it. Daughter insisted on Teriyaki Chicken Skewer, and I agree with Swoosh was the worst option we had all day. I knew we were in trouble when the cook was prying them off the grill. Tough and basically flavorless, and 1 skewer for a tasting, much better options and portions are available. Rounded out the Card with Orange Chicken Waffle Cone ( About half the cone full), Funnel Cake Chartcutrie board ( 3 3" funnel cakes and 2 toppings) and Carnitas Fried Ravioli Nachos ( 6 pieces) x2 since we ran out of time and the park was closing. All more than enough to share. Didn't see a lot of the entertainment since I was with my 13 year old who was really mainly interested in how much food and how many rides we could do. Overall a nice day at the park, even with the cold wind that picked up as the day went on.

Springbreak trip to Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure. Hoping for a soft open of Velocicoaster, but not likely
Summer weekend trip to Holiday World planned where ever I can find time between  my daughters Softball, Camp, and School trip to Washington DC summer schedule

Yesterday was our 4th trip of the year, and it was the best one yet. We rode MRF in the morning and pretty much everything else as the day went on. Only real annoyance is they are still only running one train on powderkeg so it stays at an hour wait all day long.
We went to the 6pm NewsBoys concert at echo hollow. I think SDC did a great job of reminding and enforcing social distancing and masks throughout, without being overbearing about it. It sure was nice to see live music in a "crowd" again. We didn't stay for fireworks, since we had been there since open, but I will say it was very nice to see the crowd level for moonlight madness. Looked to be getting closer to a theme park level crowd than we had seen on other trips. And the parking lot confirmed that when we left. Im sure SDC was loving yesterdays attendance after all the down right slow days so far this year. I would love to know what it actually was.
Yes masks are a pain, but absolutely doable if you want to go.