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Hold the phone... I know a guy! ⬇️

Well folks I must report that Wild Waves so far has been running a bit better for their 50th and final season this year. The chance casino and timberaxe rides have been retired officially and will not operate this season but so far everything else has been consistently operational. American Coaster Enthusiasts is hosting their Preservation Conference in the northwest region at Oaks Park and Wild Waves with an optional add on pre-event at Enchanted Forest. The conference falls on Labor Day weekend which will allow attendees to also visit the Washington State Fair and PNE Fair in Vancouver both home to ACE Landmark wooden coasters!

I love the creativity they put into this and how they snuck the actual announcement in as a "commercial". I have a feeling HoliWood Nights tickets will be even more of a hot commodity next year than they already are.

Here is a top down screenshot from Google Earth. Of course, when I discuss this with Gemini, it claims that the natural topography actually drops and that the ride features a total elevation change of 180 feet over its course, while the lift hill is 154 feet tall. It also says that some supports integrate with the structure and foundation of the arcade building, and that the complex structure makes any relocation a logistical nightmare. The footers also had to be custom designed for soil density and load bearing requirements. Since I used an AI as the source, the value of this data is limited. But page 16 of this source demonstrates that AF1 had months of delays and additional costs to meet county zoning requirements. I wonder if relocating this would prove more expensive than it cost to build the coaster in the first place. A tax write off demolition may be the only feasible option.

Google Gemini is telling me AFO pretty much cannot be relocated due to the coaster's interaction with the park's terrain, making it too complex and costly to relocate. So tax write off or not, the RMC is almost certain to be scrapped. So forget about ever seeing this in The Vortex plot, or anywhere else.

I think the problem with food is that they, as a chain, are trying to do two things, which are diametrically opposed: Act like their food is "elevated", "fancy", etc to try to get people to pay out of pocket for it Continue selling hugely underpriced dining plans because (as Disenchanted Parks is finding out) passholders will not pay out of pocket for food after having dining plans for 11 years, and raising the prices will only get the people they actually make money off of to stop buying them The thing is that a lot of the issues with food don't have anything to do with the chef or even really the park, it's corporate budget cuts due to the failure of the merger. Even the worst chef would admit that, say, selling a $20 burger that doesn't come with any toppings is an obvious fail, but the parks do it because it saves a little bit of money.

Nothing is confirmed yet, but if this does end up being the end for Congo Falls... I don't think it's being removed for a future attraction. It's incredibly weird timing to be closing this ride right at the start of summer instead of Labor Day weekend. That only signals to me that it's removal is due to high maintenance costs and the plot will sit vacant for a while. Just like a certain "other" plot that has been sitting vacant for 6 years...

I hate to say it, but the past 2 years at Dollywood you have definitely seen and felt a new "bottom line driven" mentality. If you ve not got a history with that park, its still an amazing experience and "good" value, but if you know the past, you feel the cut backs and its no longer the "GREAT" value it used to be. I personally feel like Dolly has backed out of it being as much of a passion project as it was the first few decades when she actually had an apartment at the park. Its more of an investment now for her as she is in her later life "legacy building phase" and its feels a bit like its another thing like a truck stop of line of perfume at WalMart that she puts her name on and trots out a few times to promote. Im not saying this individual or the Palace parks have had a direct influence on the legacy parks, but they have taken on a huge load with all of those parks and they have to make all the money they can to pay the debt.