Dec. 30 – Surprise, one more review for the holidays before this godawful year is over (and the next even more godawful year begins). This summer I got to visit Lagoon near Salt Lake City for the first time. It is a very special park, in ways both good and bad… but for me mostly good. I love a traditional amusement park, and in that regard Lagoon is quite possibly the best in the west.
Dec. 13 – While we await Universal’s next epic theme park project in 2025 that will blast them into the future of Universal Destinations & Experiences, this review takes a look at their current newest theme park from 2021, Universal Studios Beijing, which will likely serve as the capstone to the last decade or so of trends by Universal Parks & Resorts… and all the good and bad that entails.
Nov. 16 – Taron. F.L.Y. Klugheim. Rookburgh. It may have taken me three years to write, but hopefully it will be worth the wait. I’m pleased to finally publish Phantasialand (Part 2)!
While my first update of 2024 didn’t arrive until November, I’m hopeful it won’t be the last update before year’s end. I’m already 90% finished with another big review piece (from a visit this year, even!) that I noodled on the last few months while overcoming writer’s block on finishing Phantasialand. And there’s a more personal written project I’m working on that I may be able to share at some point in the near-ish future.
This has been, for better or worse (mostly worse), a major year of change and transition for me (and, now, for everyone else). Earlier this year I updated my About page for the first time in over a decade, including a new Portfolio page where you can see some of the projects I’ve worked on in that time span. There was even a time this summer I got to show the L.A. Times around Six Flags Magic Mountain to help rank all their thrill rides! In the meantime, you can keep up with my latest goings-on at Bluesky, which has become a much nicer online social experience than the website formerly known as Twitter has become. Until next time, take care.
Dec. 22 – My last update was from June 2022 of a park I visited in April 2022. I’ve finally gotten a review published just before 2023 was set to expire, from a park I visited in… November 2021. Tale as old as time. But it’s for Germany’s Phantasialand, beloved by both coaster enthusiasts and theme park aficionados in a way that few if any other parks have as successfully brought together both affinities. If any park review is worth the wait, surely it’s this one? Be warned, this is just the first of a two-parter review. Klugheim and Rookburgh will be coming in a future update, which I am sure you all will enjoy reading from the comfort of your retirement homes.
Jun. 12 – Today’s update is partially about appreciating and even loving works of art from across the political spectrum. Silver Dollar City is one of my favorite parks in the country, both in spite of and because of a lot of locally-flavored weirdness on display. Plus, Outlaw Run is still top-tier RMC, and Time Traveler figures out how to do spinning right. This update is also somewhat unique in that the photos (and reporting) are a hybrid of two separate visits, one from 2015 and the other a few months ago in 2022. (I also visited in 2006, making Silver Dollar City the most remote park from my various homeplaces that I’ve been to on three separate occasions.)
May 11 – This essay took a while longer to write than expected, mostly from procrastinating from having to wrestle with the more complex ideas presented by this subject matter. Last August I finally got around to experiencing Meow Wolf, the original. Now I wrote about how we choose to navigate the world and how those choices weigh on us over time; about Nietzsche and art and multiversal portals and the business of maximizing dwell time. Like the attraction this essay is based on, I’m not sure if the themes all fit together neatly, but maybe there’s a couple of ideas that stick.
Jan. 16 – I want to make very clear before reading this travel journal that I enjoyed my time in Santa Fe. It’s a beautiful city filled with lovely art and culture and good people. And I have some other thoughts about it.
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