Theme Park Review

on the FAQ page, the Rides are listed as "not available". . as is the Hungry Bear restaurant, the aquarium, the penguins, the educational talks. . and most other things. no mention of the deer (unless included with "land animal exhibits") . . but as that is close to the splash pad? I'd guess that's open still. it's basically a picnic area they are charging admission to (due to the splash pad) and  the belugas but still . . nice to see they are trying to stay open somewhat.  

Too answer your question. I haven't heard anyone complain about the locker issue yet that has been. We will see more on Saturday!

In case anyone was curious, Marineland has updated its website.  Let's just say it looks like a massive "Geauga Lake-ing" is going on this season.  Attractions include: Friendship Cove (beluga whales) Polar Splash (water splash pad area) And that's it. There is only one mention of amusement rides, and that is buried on the visitor information page, so since the park went through the effort to remove any pictures of the rides, this was most likely an oversight.   On the plus side, admission is just $14.95 CAD and parking "is always free"... 

^ They start operations this weekend. Have fun...

Headed out to the park to find the line stretching way back into the car park over an hour before opening. Every year there is a random point when the park gets crazy busy before the hot weather hits and then suddenly a week or two later Everland is empty while the water park is packed. I'd assumed with temperatures already at 25C and a max of 29, it'd be the water park but I was wrong. Bear in mind that line above was before 9am, when the park opens at 10am. The park operates virtual queues on weekends for 10 rides until 2PM (and you can only book 1) and you need to be physically in the park with your ticket scanned to book. Safari rides are gone instantly at opening and T-Express and the Panda World can be gone 15-30 minutes after opening so you need to be there early for a chance to be scanned into the park before they're gone. Thankfully, I always pack a swimsuit on our trips in April & May so we can choose where we go when we arrive. It was the 2nd week of opening and only the 2nd day for Mega Storm, although the indoor section had 3 body slides, a single rider tube slide and a 2 person tube slide. The rest of the outdoors opens in stages. The tower slides (4 person raft slide and 4 person boomerang) early June, Aqualoop in late June, and then the Master Blaster, Speed body slides, and outdoor single/double person tube slide only during the high season of July/August. Waiting times in Summer are usually 2-3 hours a slide, and even with the park open 10-12 hours then you don't get too much done so we were happy to sacrifice availability for quieter pools. Last year we went at the end of low season when Mega Storm was still the only ride open and lines were 50 minutes but this time lines were walk-on most of the day with a maximum of 30 minutes in the afternoon. The lazy river is the only outdoor attraction that is open all year. It's usually shortened off in the winter when it's heated and the extended course during the main season but due to popularity it ran the longer course this year. I've never actually been in the wave pool despite over 10 years of trips. You've probably seen some viral videos of Asian wave pools filled like sardines on social media and this one is no exception. In previous years, when the water park was quiet, the wave pool was blocked off during low season and turned into a 'beachside cafe' for people to come over from Everland and drink at and filled with photo spots. This year though it was thankfully open It's also the only part of Caribbean Bay where life jackets are required so I never bothered since it was just another item to have to take off on the slides (along with aqua shoes and your cap) but my son insisted so I packed one in the locker (get there early for one of those, bags were stashed everywhere we looked around the park). It's not continuous waves, but one massive wave blasted out every 90 seconds. As the restaurant emptied out, we decided to eat at the end of the day and so could have a table with a nice view to eat from. With the wave pool area open, there was also a burger area to eat at expanding the options. The kid had backed out last year after we lined up for Mega Storm so it was on his mind, but after Vietnam, he's suddenly picked up an appetite for trying out bigger rides at least once and he didn't want to pass another opportunity.  He hated his first ride, partly because it was a huge step up from the smaller tube slides, but I also realized it was his first exposure to air-time, but he decided later in the day now he knew what to expect he wanted another go. A 20-minute line later, we are weighed in, and he needs the bathroom. We decided it would be quicker to ride the slide down than go back through the queue and because it would be a huge inconvenience for the workers to reweigh and reassign.... and we must have tempted fate because, for the first time in my life, the raft got stuck... and in the most awkward place. Not at the bottom of any slopes with an easy evac staircase but in that picture above, 1m from a drop into one of the world's biggest funnels and just past the massive water pumps so no chance of going back either. I will say, despite the awkward location, and only being the second day of operation of the season, the staff were incredibly well trained. I'd stashed my phone in my locker by this point to cool down and recharge after being in a waterproof bag all day so I don't know the exact time but they worked amazingly quickly. In only a little while someone had harnessed up and I saw a buoy come down the channel and a helmeted worker quickly began repelling down to us. There was my son and I, a mom and her young daughter, an empty seat, and a single rider in the boat. The worker was incredible, quickly reassuring my son and the other girl that things would be ok and talking to them as he worked to let air out of the raft (their imaginations were getting the better of them) while the 3 adults got to work swinging and hopping up and down to dislodge us. I think the ride ended up stopped for 10-15 minutes and medics were even at the bottom just in case and the ride was running again without anyone having to leave the line. We also hit up Everland on a weekday night to grab a couple of rides after work. Like most of Korea, my son is obsessed with the Bao family. The one attraction we never did is the Bao House gallery because it's virtual line only but after a few refreshes someone must have cancelled and we grabbed the last two spots. Completely honestly...... I think this is something you should only visit as a local or at the park in the evening and the other virtual lines have finished. Like I said at the start of this TR, you only get one virtual line and without the emotional investment you might be underwhelmed. Kids can also write post it letters to Fu Bao. My son wrote 'Thank you for the memories' The center piece is one giant teddy for each of the panda family members. And a hologram photo opportunity. Our main reason for popping by despite the park being near closing, like Mega Storm, a ride he had backed out of before and had been on his mind. He's got his eye on Rolling X-Train next but I veto'd it. this time. He's never been upside down before (and his biggest coaster is an Intamin family launcher) and I don't think a very rough 30 year old Arrow Looper with 4 inversions would be a good starting point. Grabbed a quick watch of the night parade... 32.MOV   ...And a final watch of the Evertopia fireworks since it's now been replaced for the Summer with Jukebox fireworks Let's Dance. I was surprised to see although the animation was the same, the music and fireworks had changed compared to my previous video. Evertopia was my least favorite of the fireworks so far (I miss the Fantasmic copy complete with the mascot of the park fighting a dragon), it was like watching a Saturday morning cartoon for 15 minutes to get to the 5-minute display but I'm sure it'll be back next winter.

Thanks so much.  I didn't want to miss Wonder Woman, and wanted to reschedule my visit.  I haven't had any Metrolink problems but the last time we took it to Union Station, we followed by a subway to Hollywierd and everything went down hill safety wise.  Glad to hear the AV Metrolink line is okay.

Continuously moving, yes. Which seems a bit inefficient if there aren't a lot of people around. I did see one other person use it while I was there, but that was it. Still, what do I know? Maybe it doesn't take all that much energy, or maybe it's normally more heavily used. I'm certainly not complaining about any of it.   Nah, it wasn't that small. I do think it said "2 persons max" somewhere, though.  

"it's big time dead" - great catch phrase. 😉

^^ And is it continuously moving? That elevator system? Or if stopped, you then push a button, etc? (I do see a kind of control panel, there. But I thought I should still ask, etc.) Great tour of Helsinki! I should've tacked on a day or two extra, when I was last there with TPR.

My daughter is four now and still afraid of some rollercoasters

Good to know. Thanks

There is a waterpark, it just took over showboat instead of revel/ocean https://www.islandwaterparkac.com/

Kings Island can get pretty busy during the summer due to all the local city's to the park.  Cedar point is about 3.5 hours from Mason, so you are  going to want to stay, not seeing you make a 7 hour drive in one day. The best bet would be stay at one of the cedar point hotels.  Cedar point would busy and fast lane would be recommended. 

[Quote] Good lord.... That thing dispatches from the station at roughly 0.0000001mph. [/Quote] That is not the dispach speed its the station speed. Keep in mind the train doesn't stop in the station but keeps om moving so by the time it has passed the station people had to unload then load then the safety bars have to close and checked. This means the trains are perfectly spaced. For people wondering how that works with bags you have lockers before you get to the station floor and no bags are allowed past a certain point.  As you can see in the onrides the dispatch speed increases after you leave the actual station.

The Antelope Valley Metrolink line and Santa Clarita Transit buses are reasonably safe modes of public transportation.  I would NOT take the Metro Red Line (or whatever it's called now) anywhere.