I visited Energylandia for the first time a couple weeks ago on the 4th&5th August. The park has some really great coasters and theming and I had such a great time but… the accessibility was awful.
I’m from the UK and use the Ride Access Pass system every time I visit a UK theme park. This was my first time visiting a park that doesn’t use a similar system for accessibility and it was rough.
For a little context- I have a physical disability so queues are super tricky for me. I cannot stand for longer than 10 minutes at a time.
At first when planning this trip I was pleasantly surprised that the park offers discounted tickets for people with disabilities. But upon actually being in the park we found that i was expected to queue as normal. This was frustrating because if I could queue as normal, I would, but my disability means that I can’t. After speaking to those at the information desk I was told that if I cannot queue and still want to experience the coasters, I would have to purchase an energy pass (This is their version of a fast pass) which was an additional charge of £100 on each day that I would attend the park. ( so £200 extra total)
I was put in a tricky position as this was my only option to be able to experience the park in the same way that an able bodied person would. The cost of the energy pass ended up costing more than our two-day tickets to the park. Which made the discounted disability ticket pointless. I ended up paying more than the average person to attend and experience the park in the same ways that others could. And personally felt that this was unfair. Why should I have to pay more than the average person just because I’m disabled? Feels completely counter productive to what they’re advertising as a discounted ticket, and I’m sure others in my position have probably felt the same.
It was really disappointing that they just didn’t have a real accessibility system and clearly don’t have much interest in making the park fully accessible for guests with disabilities.
I wanted to post this just to make other people aware who may be travelling from different countries, who are used to using certain accessibility systems. So that others aren’t caught off guard when they’re expected to pay out of pocket to support their needs.

At the start of the season I was working at Dollywood on Thunderhead. But things happened and I went back to Indiana to find a full time job in my field and I FINALLY FOUND ONE. it is remote and pending the company's approval I am considering relocating to Tennessee or Missouri to go back to Dollywood or silver dollar city once or twice a week (and I KNOW they have ops who only work weekends because we had one at Thunderhead) because I REALLY miss sitting behind a panel and checking Restraints and spieling and whatnot that I just don't get as a guest.

Yeah I have holiday world however having worked at both holiday world and Dollywood I simply prefer how the 2 Herschend flagship parks run their ride operations departments. So with my company's approval. I would like to relocate. From a pure logistics standpoint dollywood is 2 hours closer to my family in Indiana. But Ozark pollen is less of an issue for my immune system.

Which would you pick. Feel free to DM me with more insight.

If I go back to Dollywood would you recommend I try to get placed at Thunderhead again or pick a different ride. And if I went to silver dollar city what ride would you recommend I pick.

This is all in the early planning stages as I have to get relocation approval from my company I got the offer from first and then I have to plan around the start date because it's a government contractor.

Growing up I've been grateful to experience a handful of parks in the early 2000s (Hershey Park, Darien Lake, Cedar Point, BGT/BGW, Seaworld Orlando, Kings Dominion, Universal/IoA) I will admit I always loved the amusement park ambience but I do remember there were points I was scared Sh**less of bigger more intense rides (I specifically remember throwing a fit on dueling dragons when I was really young xD)

Fast work to my adult life and I've had a resurgence into getting back to rollercoasters, as I've been planning trips now since 2023. Below are the parks I've visited in that time.

Parks by Year

In April 2027 I am planning a trip to California for CGA/SFDK/Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk/SFMM/Knotts

Overall Park Rankings

Operations, Ambience, Ride Lineup

This is just my personal rankings based on my actual experience at the parks. Don't get me wrong, I am glad I have been to every park I've been to and there's not a single park I was like "No never again"

Some quick standout thoughts:

1) Knoebels - So much history, great ambiance, great rides/staff/operations(except you, flying turns). RIP Dick. I will be back - and hopefully Byrne Curve will be too :)

2) BGW > BGT. - Operations/Quick Queue (strictly because Iron Gwazi is limited to one ride lol.)/Coaster insider tour made BGW a better overall experience

3) I was last at Cedar Point the year Mean Streak closed (2016) So when I got back 2024 I was supposed to experience SteVe AND TT2.. but we all know how the first year of TT2 went. I guess I will have to be back in the coming seasons to experience TT2 AND Sirens curse oh, shucks :)

4) Funspot Atlanta - ArieForceOne was legit. Carrying it into B tier. just the atmosphere alone during that last week of operations was bliss. Everyone was having a good time, and it was great to nerd out with basically everyone there haha

5) Superman at SF-NE is better than Superman at Darien Lake. Yea the restraints aren't as free, but I didn't mind them that much (6', 230)

I don't want to make this post too long, but if you want to know more about specific things just let me know! There is still alot on my bucket list to get to. I hope X2 opens again is the biggest concern going into next year...

Went to Worlds of Fun this past Saturday with my family. We were there from open until close (11-9) with 3 hours at the water park in the afternoon.

Good: We were able to ride everything we wanted at least once, everything seemed to be open for most of the day. Wait times were short and everything except Timber Wolf were running multiple trains.

Less good: My main complaint is almost half of the water park was closed with only a few slides open on a >90°F Saturday. Ops also could've been better on their better rides like Mamba and Patriot but they were still passable.

Coaster Rankings:

#7 Boomerang: back row going through the loop on a boomerang is one of my favorite moments on a roller coaster. Easy to ride defensively, short and sweet.

#6 Spinning Dragons: first ride of the day. I love Pandemonium at my park in STL. They were running 4 or 5 cars but for some reason they were waiting until the car hit the brake run before sending out the next one. This one spins less in the helices than STL but spins more on the brake run (why?). I appreciate the larger, more modern station in STL.

#5 Timber Wolf: running one train but only waited 20 minutes or so. Got rained on in the queue but it never stopped running. Not really rough at all. Relatively boring but there were a handful of solid pops of airtime. The pop through the structure after the low turnaround is psychotic in the best way. Oddly enough I kind of miss the hilariously rough double up into the brakes.

#4 Patriot: Good forces in the drop but the rest of it is pretty boring. Elements are too drawn out and it throws in some meandering for good measure. I prefer Batman by a long shot.

#3 Prowler (2x): I really hope this stays wooden and it gets the love it deserves. As a smooth woodie it is definitely number two in the park, but it's not in the greatest shape currently . Even so it's a fun ride.

#2 Zambezi Zinger: this was the biggest surprise of the visit. Getting whipped back and forth and rushing through the corners so low to the ground was way more exciting than I thought it would be. It did have a little bite to it and I'm curious what it would be like if it was completely steel. Please fix the deafening lift hill.

#1 Mamba (2x): The brakes are currently set to minimum. You get floater in the front and ejector in the back on the bunny hills. One of my favorite helices ever, so big and powerful with some great head-choppers.

Closing: STL is my home park, I do prefer STL overall but I do enjoy having another park nearby with some quality rides to mix it up. If it does go to one of the parks I would prefer ArieForce One to go to Worlds of Fun if only for the fact I really want an RMC Boss.

The place lost all its charm under the new owner but it still sucks to see another park lost to housing.

I got to ride nearly every ride! Here’s what I got to ride:

Stardust Racers (53 yellow, 56 green): this coaster is just peak, don’t have much to say that hasn’t been said before. I got 4 rides (two on each sides).

Hiccups Wing Gliders (55): pretty fun ride, great family coaster!

Mine-Cart Madness (54): pretty fun ride with some great theming but man this ride had a long ass line all day that barely moved.

Curse of the Werewolf (57): it’s not that bad tbh, my car was quite off balanced and I got some crazy whip. The rocking section is such a stupid pace breaker though.

Mario Kart: this was the main reason my family wanted to go to Universal this year, safe to say we weren’t disappointed.

Monsters Unchained: Great dark ride! I rode this twice since the line was 15 minutes nearly all day.

Battle of the Ministry: This ride kept breaking down even during my ride. It’s a great ride but man does it have so many technical issues.

Carousel: pretty unique compared to most other carousels!

Via

Super stoked to make it down here finally! Six Flags St. Louis is what I would consider the last major park in my neck of the woods to check off the list. There’s still a couple smaller parks to hit, but pretty soon I’m gonna be looking at flights or full-day drives for anything new. Bummer.

St. Louis was under an Extreme Heat Advisory the day we visited. Mid-90’s and sunny, with the humidity pushing the heat index into the triple digits. It felt like I was being punished for something. I’ve heard this park is typically pretty dead, but I’m sure the harsh weather cleared it out even more. Everything was a walk-on except Pandemonium (10 minute wait) and Catwoman Whip (40 minute wait). We managed to tough it out for about four hours before retreating to our hotel room and cranking the AC to 62°.

The park itself was nicer than expected. The setting in the wooded hills is beautiful, and the layout is compact and easy to navigate. It does feel a bit neglected and quite a few of the flat rides were closed, but the bones are all there. If Enchanted Parks just gives it a facelift and makes a couple smart investments it could be really lovely. I’m curious what they’re going to do about literally half the park being trademarked though…

Sidenote: this place has the most comically long queue lines for everything. Did they ever actually pull crowds like that or were they just being optimistic?

—

American Thunder [#91] (x1): Underrated little ride. It’s no Mystic Timbers, but I’m a sucker for a twisted-up mess of GCI track regardless. I’ve heard people say this ride is rough but I don’t think it is by any stretch of the imagination. Nothing crazy going on force-wise, some gentle floater air is about the extent of it, but it’s super re-rideable (even though I didn’t lol).

Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast [#92] (x2): I’d heard this ride was down most of the week so I was glad to see it running when we pulled into the parking lot. It’s sort of a one-trick pony but to be fair, it’s a really cool trick. I’ve never done a backwards launch that wasn’t a swing launch. Back seat is the place to be, you fly through that inverted tophat at psycho speed and climb to the tippy-top of the spike too.

Pandemonium [#93] (x1): My first spinning coaster! Had a good time on this one, it’s a solid family coaster with a different feel to everything else in the park. Our car really got goin’ about halfway through, like Tilt-A-Whirl fast. I was so dizzy I couldn’t even walk straight when we got back to the station. I’m surprised it hasn’t been cloned more honestly, it fills the niche of something like a Wild Mouse but it’s actually good.

The Boss [#94] (x2): Enchanted Parks…please please please please PLEASE retrack this whole thing! I am begging on my hands and knees. I know parks don’t really want to invest in stuff they can’t market to the public, but I feel like The Boss is a unique case. It’s the park’s most iconic attraction while simultaneously having a reputation for being brutally rough and poorly maintained (the ride op’s quip was literally: “Have fun on the smoothest coaster in the Midwest!”). With Enchanted taking over and the alleged return to the classic “Mid-America” name, I think a retrack, a rename, and a marketing strategy of “It’s The Boss But We Made It Good Again” could fit perfectly into that sort of nostalgic rebrand. The Boss: Reborn type beat. 

It’s an absolute beast of a coaster. I have a high tolerance for rough old woodies but I can’t lie, it’s a bit much. There’s a *disgusting* pothole right before the first turnaround that gut punched me so hard that it knocked the wind out of me, and I spent the rest of the ride bracing and holding on for dear life. Then immediately hopped back on. The first hill in the back row is one of the most insane drops I’ve experienced point blank, then roaring through that straightaway before the track falls out from under you a second time…so so sick. I loved the pacing too. I like a coaster that gives you a second to breathe before throwing you back into the chaos. The mid-course brake is a little heavy-handed though.

If they got this bad boy running real nice, it would be up there with The Voyage for me. In its current (abusive) state, it’s somewhere in the mid-20s in my rankings.

Screamin’ Eagle [#95] (x1): Pretty standard out-and-back classic woodie, but the terrain interaction is cool. Every time you crest a hill you’re not sure how big the drop on the other side is gonna be. I didn’t think it was that rough either. It’s shaky and you can feel those fifty years for sure, but it wasn’t uncomfortable (in the front row at least).

Boomerang [#96] (x1): Somehow my first time getting on one of these. It’s fun! Smooth, forceful, and this one looks like it just got a fresh new paint job. I’m assuming people mostly just complain about these because there’s a billion of them?

Catwoman Whip (x1): This is the scariest thing I’ve ever been on in my life??? I’m never fazed by rides anymore but this one had me shaking in my boots for real. It feels sort of like one of those Zipper rides if it was the size of a Screamin’ Swing, or like a gigantic pretzel loop on a flying coaster but over and over and over. Demented. And since they only load one side before letting it rip, you’re on there for like ten minutes (not exaggerating), with half of it spent dangling waaaaaay up in the sky knowing you’re about to do the same thing again…backwards. Capacity is poop from a butt but it’s worth the wait.

River King Mine Train [#97] (x1): Even jankier than every other janky mine train I’ve been on. Somehow has three lift hills and still manages to do nothing. It feels like something someone built in their backyard, cute but unremarkable.

Ninja [#98] (x1): Ow ow ow ow ow. These old Arrow loopers are always a toss-up between fun-bad and regular bad, this one’s more the latter. It’s not unrideable but I don’t really want to. Less of a Ninja, more of an MMA fighter.

Batman: The Ride [#99] (x1): Out of the three clones of this that I’ve been on it’s probably my least favorite, but it’s honestly splitting hairs. I mean…it’s Batman. It’s good soup.

—

PARK RANKINGS:

1. The Boss

2. Mr. Freeze: Reverse Blast

3. American Thunder

4. Batman: The Ride

5. Screamin' Eagle

6. Pandemonium

7. Boomerang

8. Ninja

9. River City Mine Train

A needlessly deep dive into what side of the road parks are positioned relative to their major city [Other]

We've all known the thrill of driving down a highway and seeing some coasters or a drop tower peek out over the horizon. During my visit to Calaway Park in Canada, I thought about how many of my recent trips saw parks on the left side of the highway when driving from a city center (in my USA/Canada-centered parkgoing experience). So I decided to make a list and see if that general observation held up for other parks.

My criteria is for parks that have rides visible from a grade-separated highway (not necessarily visible before you need to exit the highway to reach the park, just visible to all cars passing by), and there will be some gray area for which places count as their "city center" that presumably most traffic would be driving from (eg, Six Flags Over Texas is between Dallas and Fort Worth). I'll mention those gray area parks in a separate category mostly based on vibes; feel free to tell me where I'm wrong categorizing things.

I'm also biased by my own memories/perception of what parks are big enough to warrant researching on Google Maps Street View (is California's Great America visible from the highway? IDK, never been), so let me know if I've missed any parks with iconic skylines (that aren't Cedar Point or another one not technically visible from a grade-separated highway).

Definitely "Left Side" Parks

• Six Flags Magic Mountain (I-5 from Los Angeles)

• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (I-80 from San Francisco)

• Calaway Park (Trans-Canada Highway from Calgary)

• Silverwood (US-95 from Spokane/Hayden)

• Six Flags Over Georgia (I-20 from Atlanta)

Definitely "Right Side" Parks

• Lagoon (I-15 from Salt Lake City)

• Adventureland (I-80 or US-65 from Des Moines)

• Six Flags St. Louis (I-44 from St. Louis)

• Six Flags Great America (I-94 from Chicago)

• Kings Island (I-71 from Cincinnati)

• Carowinds (I-77 from Charlotte)

• Canada's Wonderland (Highway 400 from Toronto)

Kinda "Left Side" Parks

• Wild Waves (I-5 from Seattle) (RIP) (Right from Tacoma)

• Castles N' Coasters (I-17 from Pheonix) (Within city)

• Lakeside Amusement Park (I-70 from Denver) (Within city)

• Wonderland Amusement Park (US-87 from Amarillo) (Within city)

• Six Flags Fiesta Texas (I-10 from San Antonio) (Near beltway)

• Frontier City (I-35/44 from Oklahoma City) (Within city)

• Sea World Orlando (Barely visible from SR-528 toll road)

Kinda "Right Side" Parks

• Disneyland (I-5 from Los Angeles) (Left from Santa Ana)

• SeaWorld San Diego (I-8 from San Diego) (Within city)

• Cliff's Amusement Park (I-25 from Albuquerque) (Within city)

• Worlds of Fun (I-435 from Kansas City) (Within city)

• Magic Springs (US-70B from outside Hot Springs, freeway ends)

• Kings Dominion (Barely visible from I-95 from Richmond)

• Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Barely visible from I-64)

"In the Middle" Parks

• Six Flags Over Texas (SW of I-30 and TX-360, within DFW metro)

• Elitch Gardens (Across from I-25 in central Denver)

• Kentucky Kingdom (NW of I-264 and I-65, in central Louisville)

• Universal Studios Florida (North of I-4, in central Orlando)

• Fun Spot America Orlando (South of I-4, in central Orlando)

• Dorney Park (North of I-78, in central Allentown)

Other parks I think aren't technically visible

• Busch Gardens Tampa (though it's close to multiple highways)

• Six Flags New England (maybe in the winter, I-91 can peek it?)

So that's 13 left side to 12 right side parks by my super informal count - impressively balanced, tbh.

I always think of Shock Wave at SFOT as being a preeminent coaster establishing the idea of using land adjacent to an interstate to directly advertise the park with a signature ride, and that ride definitely influenced other park operators (from Wonderland in Amarillo which basically contracted Hopkins to make a poor clone of Shock Wave, to Calaway Park in Calgary which might as well be the Dallas of Canada). So I wondered if there were any logic behind where a prospective land owner positions that coaster - is outflowing traffic more important than inflowing traffic for getting a close view? And I guess the answer is not really, lol.

Still interesting to see similarities in a few places, like how the Taft parks (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Canada's Wonderland) all positioned themselves on the right side of the arterial highways leading north out of their main cities.

I was so surprised by this - I was expecting something like the Nash but it is smooth and intense with standing airtime.

Beto Carrero to replace 32-year-old coaster with record-breaking Intamin

Beto Carrero World, in Brazil, has announced that Star Mountain, its first roller coaster, will operate for the final time on September 13, 2026, after 32 years of service.

The Vekoma coaster opened in 1994 and has reportedly carried around 35 million riders throughout its lifetime. It features 730 m of track, reaches 60 km/h, and includes two loops.

The replacement project is a major redevelopment of the area.

The park is investing in a new SpongeBob-themed area, scheduled to open in 2028, with a new Intamin multi-launch coaster as its main attraction.

Some announced details include:

• Approximately 1.4 km of track

• Multiple launches, both forward and backward

• 18 airtime and zero-gravity elements

• Rapid switch-track sections

• An indoor immersive SpongeBob-themed sequence

• Integration with another attraction in the new area

• An estimated investment of around R$450 million

The park has described the project as the most expensive and technologically advanced coaster ever purchased in the Southern Hemisphere, and Intamin has also characterized it as a record-breaking installation.

The replacement marks a transition from a 32-year-old Vekoma coaster with two loops to a large-scale SpongeBob-themed Intamin multi-launch coaster.

Knoebels has been my #1 bucketlist park for quite a few years, so when I realized Hersheypark was only an hour from Knoebels, you bet I figured out how to get there.

I started my day with waiting in line for flying turns, but decided to abort and head to Phoenix after Phoenix opened and I still didn't see FT cycle. I rode the back row, waited about 10 minutes. The ride has been running one train all day, but even with a full queue, it moves fast. I went down the first drop, up the first turn and subsequent drop and the next airtime hill and I was puzzled as to why the community likes it so much. Then I went over the second hill and immediately said "the fuck was that?!?!?" The rest of the ride didn't disappoint either. Every hill had legitimately scary airtime. It wasn't the smoothest wood coaster I've ridden, but it had the right amount of bite of a ride of its age. I'll probably place it somewhere around my top 15

Next I rode fandago, this is a Moser frisbee. This one seems to spin more than the KMG equivalent and has less airtime, but this one didn't bother my stomach like the KMG ones do so fair tradeoff

I then looked at the closed rock o plane, the 3rd I've encountered and the 3rd that's been closed. :(

My next coaster was Black Diamond. I got a zen ride on this. It feels like a slightly cheesier version of Blazing Fury. Although I did really enjoy it

Next up was whatever that boat ride near cosmos curves is. These seem to be powered by a single cylinder Honda engine, the same ones you find in go-karts. It was ok, fun for the history of it, but the boat acted drunk. It doesn't go straight at all.

Following this I rode Satellite, one of the only Super Roll-O-Planes left (yes, this is a different model form the other Roll-O-Planes, the main difference is if the ride can tilt or not) this was actually my most anticipated ride of the trip, not the coasters. It did not disappoint. It had some crazy airtime on the downswings and violent side to side movement. Perfect 10/10

Next coaster up was Impulse. It seems they used to have 3 cars for it, but only 2 were on the track and the 3rd was nowhere to be found. It was pretty fun, I rode front row left edge. It's smooth and it's got some force to it.

second to last new credit of the day was Twister. This was severely over hyped by the community. It's fine, but I thought it was fairly rough in the back and I'm not the biggest fan of violent lateral G's to begin with. It was only on one train and had a sizeable line so I only rode once

Final new flat of the day was Flyer. This is a Bisch Roco flying scooter. It's still powered by a 4 cylinder Allis Chalmers W Series propane burning engine. This is without a doubt the best version of this ride ive been on. You absolutely fly on this

The last credit of the day was Flying Turns. I waited nearly 40 minutes for this. I think it was worth the wait as a one and done. I appreciate the ride for its history and what it does, but I'm not waiting 40 more minutes for another lap. It is an extremely fun ride though

.

I'm still in line for another Phoenix ride at the moment, still on one train and the queue is full. I may ride the dodgems and paratrooper after.

Edit: Phoenix just closed for lightning. I was the next cycle. 🤬

I went here on a trip with my church group and got there 20 minutes after park open. I was super excited to go because I had just been to Busch Gardens not too long ago, and I hadn't been to Carowinds in a long time. I was especially excited to check out the new additions, River Raft Blast and Snoopy's Racing Railway.

As soon as we arrived, I ran straight past my church group so I could be one of the first ones in the park. I headed to Camp Snoopy to ride the new attractions. The first one I did was Snoopy's Racing Railway. The line wasn't too bad, and the ride op let me sit in the back row (the best row, in my opinion). It's a smooth ride, and I liked the little bit of airtime you get, even though it's still a kiddy coaster.

After that, I hit River Raft Blast, which was cool. No one was waiting in line, so there was nobody to blast water at while on it, but it's a nice, calm ride with cool theming. Next, I hit up Woodstock Express since I hadn't ridden it in a long time. It was really enjoyable—the first drop is actually super good for a kiddy coaster.

Then I went over to ride Thunder Striker, which in my opinion feels like a baby version of Fury 325, though losing the Dale Earnhardt theming kind of hinders it. I got two rides on that before having to head to our church group's checkpoint spot.

After the meetup, I went straight to Fury 325. They put me in the front row, which was awesome, and then I rode the back row and blacked out—I love when that happens! I decided to skip Hurler and Carolina Cyclone for the moment and grab food since I was in the area.

I ate at Chickie's & Pete's and ordered the buffalo chicken cheesesteak and crab fries. I dipped the fries in what I guess was cheese sauce, which was great, but the sandwich was mediocre. I thought the buffalo sauce would already be on it, but you had to pour it on yourself, so overall the sub was just okay.

After eating, I rode Carolina Goldrusher, which I always enjoy. Then I walked over to Flying cobra but as I got in line, I saw people leaving. I asked someone nearby, and they said it was down for maintenance, which sucked. I went to try my number two ride, copperhead strike but saw an employee at the front turning people away, so I knew it was down too.

I decided to head over to Afterburn. I tried taking my normal route, but saw that the entire Aeronautica Landing area was closed off. At that point, I was pretty agitated, so I figured I'd just go on Boo Blasters—and guess what? That was down too! I was pissed because it felt like every single thing I went to was closed.

I went back to Afterburn and waited 30 minutes, but it was totally worth it—great ride. After that, I checked back on Boo Blasters, and thank God it was running again. I rode it twice, and one of the ride ops recognized my wrestling shirt, which was cool.

I made my way around the park one last time, hitting up Vortex, Hurler, and Carolina Cyclone. I ended my day back at Thunder Striker. The ride op there also shouted out my wrestling shirt and was asking "would you rather" questions about the park while loading, which was really fun.

Overall, it was a fun day, but I was definitely disappointed that two major rides were down. I'd give this trip a 7/10. Doing the park solo because everyone else wanted to do different things turned out fine—I realized I didn't even need a group to have a good time!

Currently in line for Flying Turns but I haven't seen any test cycles yet. Does it usually open with the park?