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^No lie that also makes justifying a Carowinds trip difficult for me as well. I’ve been several times I’ve never ridden Fury 325 because I haven’t been since 2012 and still knowing that when I go it’s like “alright we rode Fury, I232, and Afterburn......now what? Nighthawk?” I mean sure there certainly is still fun to be had but man does it drop off hard in quality after those three.

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Super late to this party, but just finished reading this whole fantastic report. Twisted Timbers looks great, and I love the steel wrapped around the tree. Very cool. Busch Gardens looks fantastic in every report I see about it, and I'm just going to have to get out there at some point. Really gives me a Grant's-Farm-with-rides vibe that is very right. Williamsburg seems to have the same sort of "nightlife" that Springfield does; we have 7 breweries now, but hardly anything is open late at all. The entire town (about a quarter million) just shuts down about 10 PM.

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^ LOL I wondered if I said/did something. You really do need to get to BGW. I cannot wait to go back later this year.

 

^No lie that also makes justifying a Carowinds trip difficult for me as well. I’ve been several times I’ve never ridden Fury 325 because I haven’t been since 2012 and still knowing that when I go it’s like “alright we rode Fury, I232, and Afterburn......now what? Nighthawk?” I mean sure there certainly is still fun to be had but man does it drop off hard in quality after those three.

 

Yeah not to mention (and this is gonna sound super enthusiast-y) but if their legendary flyers are temporarily out of commission and are in fact coming back, I'd like to wait until then. After the B&Ms, those flyers are the only thing that really interests me at Carowinds.

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Parks high on my bucketlist have a large® (at least seemingly) solid lineup of rides - coasters and flats combined. More bang for my buck. A nicer park also goes a long way. Its a shame because Fury (and Afterburn) both look amazing but its not enough to make that park a must do, for me at least.

 

Right now its something like this (in order of importance)

Dollywood

Knoebels

Knotts (+SFMM)

Six Flags Great America

SFFT/SFOT/SWSA

Kings Island

Lagoon

Kentucky Kingdom

Canadas Wonderland

Coney Island

SFDK/CGA

Universal/Disney

Carowinds

 

I've also started to plan a midwest road trip down the line w/ SDC, SFSTL, Nick U/VF, Indiana Beach, HW, etc. Imma have get my drivers license for that one haha.

 

And eventually a Euro trip? That's way way off. Alton, Blackpool, Thorpe, Heide, Holiday, Grona, Liseberg, Europa, Mirabilandia, Phantasialand, Energylandia, etc

 

Sometimes I wish I'd gotten into this when I was younger.

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^ LOL I wondered if I said/did something. You really do need to get to BGW. I cannot wait to go back later this year.

People who diss Matt Bellamy are dead to me. No, you're cool. Just didn't see it until Robb linked to it on the front page.

 

Parks high on my bucketlist have a large® (at least seemingly) solid lineup of rides - coasters and flats combined. More bang for my buck. A nicer park also goes a long way.

That's a good way to think about it. You and I both became enthusiasts about the same time and in similar circumstances, and that's kind of what I've done too. I started by going to the large Midwestern parks, and after I had done all those, asked "What are the best parks I've never been to?" West Coast Bash was a good way to get to Disneyland, Universal, and Knott's all at once, and then there was Knoebels and Dollywood. Now the highest priority is Sea World.

 

Your list is solid, those are some good parks. For you, Knoebels and Dollywood are pretty easy to get to bacause you know Bill and he has a car. Get to those ASAP. As much as you like Morey's and Busch Gardens, you'll enjoy Knoebels and Dollywood.

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^No lie that also makes justifying a Carowinds trip difficult for me as well. I’ve been several times I’ve never ridden Fury 325 because I haven’t been since 2012 and still knowing that when I go it’s like “alright we rode Fury, I232, and Afterburn......now what? Nighthawk?” I mean sure there certainly is still fun to be had but man does it drop off hard in quality after those three.

 

Yeah not to mention (and this is gonna sound super enthusiast-y) but if their legendary flyers are temporarily out of commission and are in fact coming back, I'd like to wait until then. After the B&Ms, those flyers are the only thing that really interests me at Carowinds.

 

It's kind of funny you say that because Fury and the flyers are the only reasons we make the trip to Carowinds. Last year we did a 2 week long trip down to Dollywood -> Carowinds -> family beach vacation and this year we were planning on repeating it... however, with the flyers gone this year we are considering extending our stay in Pigeon Forge and doing a week there and a week at the beach, skipping Carowinds. Fury is my SO's favorite ride though so we may end up doing a repeat anyhow but the flyers are a big loss this year. I desperately hope they don't do anything to change them in their new location and that you can get those nice little wind gusts wherever they end up

 

TL;DR: Fury is absolutely incredible but you are smart to wait until 2019 or later to visit Carowinds so the flyers are back and perhaps another coaster added.

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Hey guys! PSA: this is where all my future reports will be, as opposed to scattered all over this forum. Feel free to subscribe to this thread, and check out the links on page 1!

 

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How I do I get so lucky with park trips?

 

This last weekend provided me with the opportunity for a very spontaneous first trip of the 2018 season to my wonderful local megapark, Six Flags Great Adventure. Over the last four seasons, I've made almost 4 dozen trips to the park, but my 2017 visits had started to leave me with the feeling that I should focus more on trips to new and faraway parks and spend less of my time at Great Adventure. Nevertheless I bought a 2018 season pass, because at its price point it would be stupid not to. Naturally, having El Toro and his friends less than an hour from my house gives me an itch I often have the urge to scratch, but this parks rocky start to the season has had me a tad concerned. What would have been their opening weekend was pushed back a week, apparently due to our awful weather in Feb/March supposedly affecting their maintenance schedule and therefore their ability to get everything up and running in time.

 

The following weekend I was tied up but heard fairly mixed reviews, and not surprisingly complaints of staff being short and rides down (notably El Toro... boooo). Last weekend, I had tentative plans to visit which thankfully fell through as the temps wound up soaring into the mid-80s on Saturday, and finally enticed with a hint of summer weather the crowds descended en masse and the parks' predicted unpreparedness had those online complaints rolling in. The icing on the cake was cold weather with rain heading in that following Sunday, ultimately causing the park to shut down early.

 

Talk about a sh*tty start to the season.

 

All last week the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was basically perfect, sunshine and low-to-mid 60s. I'd confirmed with friends who frequent that the Bull had been back in action. The park was also hosting it's 5th annual Craft Beer and Food Truck event, which I had not checked out in previous years. I didn't have plans and wasn't sure if I was going to chance it with potentially heavy crowds but I also figured I could keep it low key... just some beer, food and bull rides.

 

Still not sure of a plan, I talked to Bill on Friday, and found out he and Brit were heading down w/ his Mom Linda, since it was both of their birthdays last week. I could meet up w/ them, but this would mean taking the train and Uber, but f*ck it I was in! Unfortunately, I got a text upon waking up Saturday morning from Bill saying that something came up and Brit was unable to make it but he and his mom were still driving down for some rides and grub.

 

I actually got off to a slow start on Saturday, but I eventually arrived at the park around 11:15am, but not until after a 10 minute bus ride to a 30 minute train ride that took me to a 25 minute Uber ride to the park. I've talked about this on TPR before but in case anyone is wondering its ridiculously quick and easy to get an Uber over to the park if you are taking the train to Trenton from Philly/NYC.

 

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Smell ya later Philly

But don't plan on being able to get back that way - Jackson is no mans land and your chances of getting an Uber out there are slim to none. I'm not saying its not possible, but you may get stuck (I speak from experience). Lucky for me, Bill offered to drive me back to the train at the end of the day if need be.

 

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What exactly does Trenton make?

I was in an Uber less than 5 minutes after my train pulled into Trenton Transit Center, and my driver was awesome. The 25 minute drive felt like 10 as we yapped the entire way about work, life and parks. By the time he dropped me off I am pretty sure I convinced him to come back later in the day to buy a season pass. Six Flags should be paying me. The parking lot looked pretty full but I joined the masses heading toward park entrance. Arriving 45 minutes after opening is always nice since the crush at the main gate has mostly dissipated by then and today was no different. Even security was relatively painless. While I waited I Bill texted they had just parked so I waited by the fountain.

 

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Figuring they might want to head right to SORA to avoid a long wait later in the day, I was planning on heading to Toro and then meeting up with them after they were done, if that was the case. But Linda is the ride-or-die Nitro Queen and was having none of that. So I waited just a few minutes for them and before long the three of us were headed to the east side of the park to hit Six Flags' most explosive coaster.

 

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Good morning, Nitro.

The Food Truck/Beer event was being held in Movietown next to the new bridge over to Justice League, and on our way to Nitro we couldn't help but notice how busy the area was. As we entered the queue we saw a bunch of folks leaving the line. There were still trains cycling, and us knowing of the rides typically incredible capacity we did not waiver from our mission. The line wrapped around until it almost hit the second set of switchbacks, and we did notice they were strangely only running two trains, but in typical fashion we never stopped moving in line and were in the back seat lowering our lapbars within 15 minutes.

 

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It was still pretty chilly and a little windy but Nitro was hauling on our first ride, delivering plentiful floater air with that little ejector pop off the mid course. We hit the brakes cheering. With the wait still hovering around the 15 minute mark we couldn't attempt a re-ride but it was early and we'd come back. As we advanced back to the station we noticed some activity in the train shed and hoped they were adding the third train.

 

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Food Trucks and Batman. Life is good.

Linda had yet to try Justice League and we also wanted to check out the food trucks so we headed that way. The trucks were slammed but as we rounded the corner, spotted another beer table set up in front of Metro Grill. Sweet!

 

Another 10-15 minute wait at Justice League, I'm still blown away by the meticulous theming and quality of this ride. Not only that, but the final scenes around and through the subway actually give me a little bit of vertigo. It may not be a big giant nutso coaster but this is such a great addition to the park. Bill got the high score for our car but our onride photos didn't appear upon exiting. Ah well.

 

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We grabbed our first round of beers at the table across from the ride, and found a really nice selection. At a lot of craft brew events I feel like they have mostly IPAs, which I am not a huge fan of, but here they had a decent, varied selection. I wasn't feeling fussy so I went with a plain and simple Blue Moon to start off with.

 

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We also couldn't help but notice the new alcohol policy at the park which is RIP BEER JAIL. It actually felt really strange walking around Great Adventure with suds in my hand, but the signs don't lie!

 

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RIP BEER JAIL

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Pour one out for the homie?

Not yet ready to eat we scoped out the food trucks and decided to come back later, because now we had a bull to ride. Of course Bill also wanted to hit Ka, so we slowly walked with beers in hand over to the west side of the park and into Plaza Del Carnival, noting that the park felt very busy, and worried we might have a wait at Toro.

 

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No signs of life at Houdini. Also noteworthy: the arcade shortcut near the teacups is still closed. :(

We stopped to drop a dollar on a locker to avoid practically being patted down at the ride entrance (I'm joking, but damn they ain't f*ckin around) and were elated to find the ride a station wait! Woot!

 

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Of course we headed right back to the last two rows and noted the crew to be hustling - dispatching a train just as the other one hit the brakes. Impressive. Of course the ride is ridiculous as ever. Noteworthy was that for once I didn't get stapled and had a good inch between my thighs and the lapbar. With a little bit of a loose seatbelt I was fearing death... with a smile of course! Upon exiting we all agreed with the non-existent line and all our crap firmly secured in a locker, we had to walk around for another lap. I got a wheel seat and while there is definitely as noticeable difference in a few spots, and it wasn't exactly my favorite lap ever on the ride, it is still so amazingly smooth for a 12 year old wooden coaster. Once again we were almost launched into Pennsylvania, repeatedly. I am so lucky to have this ride so close. God damn.

 

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Bizarro through the trees

While heading up Toro's lift we had noted how completely deserted Bizarro was, so after our second Ole, we left our stuff in the locker and walked across the bridge into Frontier Adventures. As we suspected, the ride was a walk on and we had a phenomenal lap in the back row. It's amazing how butter smooth this ride is. The mist was on in the shield thingy but no fire and no mist on the meat grinder. Honestly who gives a sh*t, this ride is awesome. Dominator just barely edges it out as my favorite floorless. But Dominator is missing an amazing zero-G, and Bizarro has one of the best.

 

We probably should have just left our stuff in the locker there since we paid for a whopping two hours and it hadn't been half that time yet, but we wanted to hit Ka and according to Queue-times the wait was almost an hour and we didn't want to chance it. So we cut though Safari Discoveries (saying hi to a goat and the cutest sea lion ever), hit the bathroom, and plopped down another dollar on a locker at Ka. Big pimpin'!

 

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Ridiculous

Into the queue we found Queue-times to be a big fat liar, with the ride only having a station wait, and of course Bill wanted to wait for the front. I offered to wait out row 2 so the three of us could ride together, him trying to convince me to ride before or after them in the front, but I personally find row 2 to be OK as well. Thanks to the stadium seating, I can see (and have the wind try to pop out my eyeballs) just fine from there. Its also not rough at all like every seat behind the first two rows. So I let a bunch of people ahead of me while they waited maybe 20 minutes for the front. Zumanjaro was also running, and Ka had three trains on. But even with only two attendants they seem to have the dispatches down to a science, loading the trains quickly to have two of them ready to launch back to back after each of Zums drops. So far the operations on the big three were stellar.

 

Kingda Ka is absolutely ridiculous. That launch is like nothing else. I'm pretty sure the last time I'd ridden was on opening day last year. I definitely don't *love* the ride but its quite an experience and there isn't much out there like it. To no surprise Bill was positively buzzing.

 

With us now being as close as we would be all day, we walked back to Guam to have us a ride on the worlds tallest drop tower. We're used to this never having much of a wait, but we literally walked right on to the next cycle. It's still not my favorite drop ride but the view as always is tremendous and the drop just goes on forever and ever. I enjoy it much more than Ka, I don't know if its the long ascent or the neverending freefall, or just a more comfortable ride experience, but I love it. I'd say after Nitro and Toro its still my favorite ride here.

 

It's no secret around here Bill and I are huge Joker fans and his mom had yet to ride one of these so we got our crap and headed through the boardwalk and over to the lakefront, stopping to rent yes, another locker. Every one complains about this but none of us care at all. We spent $3 so far to make sure we didn't lose our shit or injure anyone else. You can argue its a money grab all you want and I'm half inclined to agree because I feel like anything at any park (Six Flags or not) is a money grab but at the end of the day its a fraction of what I'd spend on food/beer/transportation so whatever.

 

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This photo is from later, but since our phones were locked up while riding, it'll have to do.

While Bill and I love the thing, Brit absolutely loathes this, and Linda knows it so she approached with trepidation. My advice to her was the same as I give to everyone else: its a unpredictable, completely disorienting ride, and if you don't like the feeling of being tossed around to simply make your restraint as tight as possible. Joker had one of the longer waits but topped out maybe around 15 minutes. Worth it. Bill and his mom sat next to each other across from myself and a single rider they paired with me, who informed me he had ridden but only once the year it opened.

 

Up the lift we went and were immediately flipped forward twice, before careening across the upper level upside down, my new friend and I cackling all the way. We got a quick glance of Bill and Linda as we tumbled across the middle level, and got one more flip right before hitting the brakes. I don't mind the brevity of these S&S free spins, if it was any longer I'm not sure I'd enjoy the experience as much as I do, but as it stands its a totally wild laugh fest every single time.

 

Linda enjoyed it, but of course had her brain set to "more Nitro", and since our stomachs were drawing us to the food trucks we hit up the lockers to retrieve and headed toward Movietown/Gotham/whatever they're calling it this week. Walking by Skybar, Linda noticed they had frozen margaritas and I joked about stopping for one. Next thing I knew we were saddling up to the bar with the bartender asking if we wanted just plain ol' margaritas or if we wanted her to make us frozen margaritas. Because, you see, she "makes them pretty". I told her I didn't care if it was pretty, just to make it strong.

 

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Having a Six Flags day?

Suddenly she hands us these massive bougie cocktails that weren't exactly stiff, but you could taste the booze in them at least.

 

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They were delicious, and potentially messy to walk with (still amazed that we could!) so we took them over to a nearby high top to chill and ran into our friend Marc, a regular at the park and yapped with him for a while enjoying our beverages.

 

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Cheers!

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We're ready

Noticing it was already around 5pm, we finished up our drinks and headed over to the food trucks in search of sustenance, the lines over there still pretty long we decided to kill time and grab some beers, and Bill and I settled on some flights so we could try a few different things.

 

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Golden ale, Rose cider, Funnel cake & pineapple shandy

While we soaked in some suds, Linda ran off to ride Nitro by herself (have I mentioned she's awesome!?)

 

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Fly away

Maybe it was the hunger, maybe the beer, but I wasn't in a photo taking mood at the time. Luckily our aforementioned bud Marc took a bunch and agreed I could share them here. Drool time.

 

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No waffle de lys? Naaaaaah

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Once Linda got back she ran off to get one of these insane looking chimney cakes we'd been eyeing up since earlier in the morning while Bill and I continued to mull over whether or not we were just gonna BBQ it up as we often do.

 

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I wish this photo didn't come out so overexposed.

While she waited, Bill and I sauntered over to the Jersey Devil BBQ truck. Neither of us can resist good BBQ, and it smelled incredible.

 

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Jersey Devil BBQ

The line was 10 people deep, but these food truck workers are obviously trying to make a killing (and likely are) and were getting food out faster than people could order it. I know with trucks there is a lot of prep involved so that they can crank stuff out during breakfast and lunch rushes, but its kinda mindblowing when your accustomed to getting Six Flags service while at Six Flags.

 

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Yo that competition sampler was calling me

My first choice was the competition platter (ribs, pork, chicken, corn bread, etc) but I knew that would be entirely too much food, so I went with the Pig Mac, which is a simple pulled pork and mac and cheese on a bun. I put a little of their sweet BBQ sauce on it.

 

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Pig Mac

The pork was melt-in-your-mouth and the mac and cheese added a nice touch of creaminess. I've had a very similar sandwich at a local Philly bar they call "The Chronic" - its basically the same thing but with bread crumbs and bacon on top. It's a little better but this was still fantastic. (Come on son, everything is better w/ bacon)

 

We sat and enjoyed our food and yapped a bit before deciding the best thing to do after stuffing our faces was to pull insane Gs and flip around a bunch on Batman. Can't go to Great Adventure and not ride Batman. Its like a million years old but its still one of the top coasters in the park. The ride was a station wait, but we waited an extra 10 minutes for the front.

 

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This coaster is phenomenal. Though it was the only ride I was not able to get the belt snapped on, but no worries, Ride Attendant Bill jumped into action to give me the extra nudge. This is always a super tight ride for me, but who gives a sh*t! It's so freaking amazing. It's short, but it packs a ton of intensity and forces into that layout, and even after riding it as many times as I have, has a few moments that still take me by surprise.

 

Of course we couldn't leave the area without Linda getting her Nitro on a few more times. By this point they did in fact have all three trains on and the ride was a station wait. Our rides earlier were great but now the ride was absolutely flying. We managed to hang around and get a few last rides here.

 

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Look at where these trains are

The most amazing part was how insane the crew on this was. The operator only had two attendants checking restraints, but in an effort to speed loading she was repeatedly offering free admission to the park the following day to anyone that could touch the ceiling (aka put your hands up and out of the way so they can check your lapbars AFAP). She would then joke she wasn't working the next day anyway. I love this girl. The efficiency was incredible. They were actually holding the locked and checked train until the train prior to it cleared the lift block, then sending the next one right out. Some of the best Six Flags operations either of us have ever seen.

 

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Wheeeee

With the park closing at 8pm, we had limited time to hit a few last things and all agreed we needed to end the day at El Toro. If only there was some sort of quick little aerial shortcut to get back over there that also provides an amazing view while filling Bill's monthly Von Roll quota?

 

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The Mountain cries for you

No trip to Great Adventure is complete without a visit to The Mountain, so we popped in to an empty station and queued up for the two back rows. We had a laugh at the (new?) tribally techno music in the station, and while the strobes inside the Mountain were off, the music and screaming were ridiculously loud. So dumb, but so fun.

 

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Dare ya

All day the Sky Way was impressively running both sides and even with less than a 5 minute wait, they were still doing so. It's been forever since I've ridden it with both sides and it was neat to have another gondola heading across with us on the other side. As always the ride makes for great views and we noted during the schpeil while boarding that they actually encourage photos - hear that Cedar Point!?!?! Enjoy.

 

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photo by Bill

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Joker <3 Harley Quinn

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Swashbuckler had been missing since opening weekend, there were rumors of its removal, but turns out it got a full rehab with new paint and lights.

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Birthday skyride!

Earlier in the day we joked about riding Runaway Mine Train but Linda scoffed at the idea of riding a crappy old Arrow. Determined as we got off the Sky Way, Bill and I decided it was time. I mean, we were literally right there. Once again the ride had a station wait, and of course we were the only asshol*es without any kids with us, so we cranked it up a notch and waited an extra train for the front row. So picture it: Bill and I, both tall ass m*therf*ckers, crammed into the front row of these tiny ass mine trains, yelling "Choo choo" at the operator as we dispatched.

 

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photo by Bill

This ride is hilarious. Its so boring through the first half and then suddenly the ride is trying to throw you off. The airtime hill over the lake is one of the best pops in the entire park.

 

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photo by Bill

Off to buy one final locker for some more Bull rides as it was now well after 7pm and the sun was setting. The ride was still a station wait at this point, and we managed to get a few more rides in before park close. One interesting thing that happened was right after arriving in the station, we queued up for the last couple rows, the op asked if anyone wanted to ride twice - we assume this was because they wanted to transfer the second train off now instead of at close, so most people stayed on and some got off. So a bunch of people got a double ride - of course we wished it was us, but whatever no big deal. But a few folks that had just walked up (keep in mind, the station is not even full - the front had a wait, most rows were empty or had 1-2 people waiting for them. There was NO WAIT at all for this ride. This couple, with their kids mind you, started FREAKING OUT yelling at the ride ops about how they know the ride supervisor and that they're reporting them for letting people ride twice and making them wait. As this is happening we notice these people have flash passes! They were causing a huge scene and I was certain security would be called. After tensions died down and we finally load, we can overhear the dude saying that when he pulls back in he's not getting up, that everyone deserves a double ride and how its not fair.

 

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Ole!

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I have nothing to explain for my behavior except tequila and beers.

We had another amazing ride. Linda and I got magic seat while BIll sat behind us in the last row next to an early 80s Tom Cruise body double. We walked around for another lap and I noticed the front row had like 2 couples waiting for it, the shortest I've ever seen it.

 

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Now, this might come as a surprise to some but neither Bill nor I have ever ridden in the very front of El Toro. With the line that short, I said I had to go for it. I am a backseat rider all day, but in the last year or so I've noticed I find some rides are considerably better in the front (Skyrush, Twisted TImbers, Mako, White Lightning), so now I try to give all the rides I really appreciate a shot up front as well. Now was my chance. Bill said screw it and jumped in line with me while his mom found a partner to ride with in the back.

 

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We both found the experience kinda weird as the Bull rides totally different up there. I've sat in row 2, 3 etc but just never feel like waiting for the front. While you lose that insane yank over the drop that you get in the back, the view up front with no obstruction is incredible, and the pops as the train gets thrust over those first two airtime hills is more of an incredibly forceful launch than the sustained yank all the way over the hills that you get sitting in the back, same with the Rolling Thunder hill. Even the little speed hump past the station offers a bit more air up there. We both loved it, but agreed the back is just better.

 

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Pure joy. And look at what the crushing Gs have done to my neck lmao

During our ride, Bills mom had sat next to someone who witnessed the outcome of the angry assh*le from earlier and he did in fact refuse to get out of his seat. Subsequently security was called and the entire party was escorted from the park. I mean, it was almost closing anyway, but still some sweet satisfaction. I could understand a little more if the ride had an hour wait and the crew was pulling that stuff but god damn. What a bunch of impatient sh*theads. The train after ours was the last train of the night and we did try to move to a different row (per the ops encouragement) but our efforts proved futile as the train was actually mostly full, so we had to end the night with our first ever amazing front row ride on the Bull. I can't complain.

 

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We slowly headed back to the park entrance stopping in a few shops to grab some souvenirs, and to cap off an amazing day in Main Street Market I found - after 4 years of looking - an El Toro fridge magnet! I also grabbed a Kingda Ka magnet as well just because, even though that ride is just silly and ridiculous. Bill picked up a sea lion plushy for Brit that has apparently completely traumatized their cat. It's a win-win.

 

Again, how is it that I get so lucky at parks? For a beautiful Saturday in April we couldn't have asked for a better day - great food & dranks, no lines, good times all around. Thanks to Bill and Linda for letting me crash your birthday party.

 

Thanks to everyone reading for following along and commenting, & make sure to check out the links to my older reports on page 1 of this thread and also subscribe for the future juice.

 

Final Tally:

El Toro 4x

Nitro 4x

Justice League

Batman

Kingda Ka

Zumanjaro

Bizarro

Joker

Skull Mountain

Skyway

Mine Train

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So picture it: Bill and I, both tall A$$ m*therf*ckers, crammed into the front row of these tiny A$$ mine trains, yelling "Choo choo" at the operator as we dispatched.

Well, of course. You can't NOT yell "choo choo" at the operator when you're being dispatched. I think it's literally against the law in the state of New Jersey. Can't run Ka & Zu at the same time, can't have underground tunnels, and can't not be a "choo choo" yelling mf'er when you leave the station.

 

This couple, with their kids mind you, started FREAKING OUT yelling at the ride ops about how they know the ride supervisor and that they're reporting them for letting people ride twice and making them wait. As this is happening we notice these people have flash passes! They were causing a huge scene and I was certain security would be called. After tensions died down and we finally load, we can overhear the dude saying that when he pulls back in he's not getting up, that everyone deserves a double ride and how its not fair.

 

...

 

During our ride, Bills mom had sat next to someone who witnessed the outcome of the angry assh*le from earlier and he did in fact refuse to get out of his seat. Subsequently security was called and the entire party was escorted from the park. I mean, it was almost closing anyway, but still some sweet satisfaction.

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Definitely sounds like a hell of a day at the park. Wish I could've been there instead of at a crowded Red Lobster in Brooklyn where literally EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD WAS CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY but them's the breaks I guess. Always fun reading your reports!

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Wish I could've been there instead of at a crowded Red Lobster in Brooklyn where literally EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD WAS CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY

Was it endless shrimp at least?

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Thanks for posting that train/bus/Uber info again. Great Adventure has alluded me for so long and I'm determined to get there soon! I'm taking notes..

 

Looks like a great visit! Margs/minimal waits/beer/empanadas = above and beyond a Six Flags day!

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Thanks for posting that train/bus/Uber info again. Great Adventure has alluded me for so long and I'm determined to get there soon! I'm taking notes..

 

 

You can get to Trenton from both Philly's 30th Street station or Penn Station in NYC - both just one train ride, no bus involved. Both drop you off on basically the same platform in Trenton. There are taxis and Ubers right outside the station. Be careful with Uber though, as I said its super easy to get one at the train station, but coming back is tricky. I have gotten Ubers from there, though not very easily, and I did get stuck once and had to be rescued by a friend - no Uber, no Lyft, no taxi service, no public transit nearby. It was during Holiday in the Park so I'm sure that had a little something to do with it, but proceed with caution. Or at least have some sort of backup plan.

 

During the summer there is a round trip bus service between the park and NYC, but the hours are weird and the last bus WILL leave without you.

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I love the title of your very own TR thread! Spent a while reading over your adventure to CP and it has me totally jazzed for my upcoming trip.

 

Pictures of the magnets, por favor!! I've been dying for a good Toro magnet and one of Ka would be great too. Where does the Uber drop you off? At the beginning of that huge lot or is there a kiss and ride area near the front that I never noticed?

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Oh man, there is so much Jersey here. Some things that are awesome, some things that are terrible, and some things that are somehow both at the same time. That guy who just refused to accept that the flash pass doesn't give you dounle rides anymore...

 

And yeah, Toro's great in the front. I mostly rode in the penultimate seat, but I did get front row once and it's good. Different but really good.

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He wasn't even trying to get double rides with his flash pass, he was just butthurt the ops were going to send the train ahead of ours around twice. Either that or just butthurt he bought a flash pass but didn't need one.

 

I love the title of your very own TR thread! Spent a while reading over your adventure to CP and it has me totally jazzed for my upcoming trip.

 

Pictures of the magnets, por favor!! I've been dying for a good Toro magnet and one of Ka would be great too. Where does the Uber drop you off? At the beginning of that huge lot or is there a kiss and ride area near the front that I never noticed?

 

There is in fact a drop off spot directly across from the entrance to Hurricane Harbor (look on google maps, you can see it). But since I have a season pass I just had him go right through the tollbooths and drop me off where the handicap parking is so I didn't have to walk very far. He just turned and went back out the exit.

 

Also, per request:

 

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They're just simple flat ones, but its something. I've been after a Toro magnet for ages.

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And the El Toro crew was still hauling on Sunday night as well.

That's really good to hear. I am loving the focus on throughput at this park lately. Operations were generally pretty good during 2017 with the airgate countdowns and warnings of the train dispatching in x-amount of time. Its obvious just lighting a little fire under the guests ass does a lot to speed things up. Hearing so much about the rough start the last few weeks made witnessing the speedy dispatches on Saturday a pleasure. Once the internationals arrive they should (hopefully) be smooth sailing this season.

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Also, per request:

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They're just simple flat ones, but its something. I've been after a Toro magnet for ages.

It's... it's beautiful

 

I need it.

 

Were these the only two coaster magnets they had? I wouldn't say no to a Nitro one.

 

Also, I have informed the wife that the next time she comes to the park with us, I'm buying her one of those big honkin' frozen margaritas from the SkyBar. She's earned it after braving the intensity of Skull Mountain last time.

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So, the last couple of years my go-to magnet spot has been Coasters & Candy, that shop that you can get in and out of Safari Discoveries through, right across from Toros turnaround. However, we peeked in there and I didn't find any. I didn't look in the ride stores, except Justice League, but didn't see any magnets there, not that I would have wanted one unless it was super cool or something. Anyways, I found these at Main Street Market and I don't recall seeing any Nitro, but I got excited when I found the Toro one and didn't look too hard after - the Ka one was right next to it. If you can't find them, you could always show someone this picture and maybe they have it in a box somewhere?

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  • 4 weeks later...

So as promised I made it down to Wildwood this weekend but thanks to the weather it turned out to be a bit of a partial bust, but yall know me, I still managed to have a good time and it felt great to be back at my home away from home. The missus had some personal things to attend to at home so I headed down alone late Friday on the local NJ Transit nightbus that take 8 years and stops in every backwoods sh*t South Jersey town imaginable. I slept most of the way so it was like time travel, don't you love that?

 

If you're just joining us, I grew up in Philly, but my folks sold the house almost 15 years ago and retired to the Jersey Shore. It's always great to have a place to crash there, and I do often make off season and mid winter visits, but since we had holidays up in my neck of the woods, I hadn't been anywhere near the Atlantic Ocean since last fall.

 

Walking from the bus to the house I knew the island was a ghost town, the forecast no doubt keeping the weekend shoobies away. The forecast for the weekend was rain rain rain but as both my mom and dad were out of town for Mothers Day, this was a trip partly to make up for not seeing her. I got in around midnight, and my mom and the dog were up waiting so we got caught up for a bit before both turning in. I was secretly hoping the weatherdudes had it all wrong and I'd be able to ride some stuff on Saturday.

 

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I woke up at 8:30, much later than usual for me, to a steady, miserable rain, but was welcomed by fresh coffee, a freshly baked coffee cake and my mom totally sucked into the royal wedding proceedings, naturally.

 

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Once my dad and the dog got up, thanks to my nagging to get out of the house, we all showered and headed over to check out Wildwoods just opened brewery/pub/restaurant, Mudhen Brewing Co.

 

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They've only been open for a week but the owners already operate a few of my favorite existing spots on the island (like the Dog Tooth), not to mention I've been hearing nothing but great things, including from my folks who visited on opening weekend and loved it, though they cautioned it was mobbed.

 

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Outdoor seating, firepits and cornhole.

With the rain keeping anyone from enjoying the beach or amusement piers, we worried we might hit a crowd so we aimed for the 11am opening, and easily got a seat at the bar.

 

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Seating and another bar upstairs

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What's on tap

We started with a round of drinks - my dad enjoying a Honey Beach Wheat, and my mom and I testing out some of their funky bloodys.

 

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Nice view of the tanks from the bar

Our bartender (Shawn?) was attentive, helpful, and non-intrusive, aka the best kind of bartender. Shout out to Shawn.

 

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Cocktails

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Funky Bloodys

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Mom's Bourbon Bloody (left) and my Bloody Hot. They were both spicy.

The Bloody Hot was delicious, with some sweet and spicy and fairly stiff with ample tequila.

 

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Grub

Before long we were ready for some grub and everything sounded so good. I was craving seafood but also BBQ (because I always am). After much deliberation I decided to try the BBQ Meat Lovers Mac & Cheese. Yes, I know what you are thinking. Not exactly a balanced breakfast but it sounded so good.

 

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Holy cheese, Batman.

When the food first came out, I thought - should've have gotten seafood, I don't want this. But then I started to dig into it. It was bascially a layer of mac & cheese topped with a layer of pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken topped with another layer of mac & cheese and a spritz of tangy BBQ sauce on top. Good god. I do want this.

 

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Dad Instagrams his Shrimp Po-Boy. He liked the sandwich, but disliked the (fresh made) chips.

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Mom got the Green Eggs & Ham, which was phenomenal. Smoked ham, pesto, bread crumbs and fried egg.

While I ate my mountain of food nice and slow, I ran out of mary and decided to try the Ironbound cider. I thought it was absolutely fantastic, and perfectly balanced - on the dry side but a nice hint of sweet. While we ate the sun peaked out a few times before the rain would start up again so we were in no rush to leave. So I kept drinking.

 

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Holly Beach Wheat, Rising Tides, 1883, and Cackling Coot

(Oh and btw - they gave us free beer koozies!)

I tried a flight so I could sample a bunch of what they had to offer on tap. I'm not a big IPA drinker but I thought the Rising Tides was very good, and the 1883 was just OK. I loved the Holly Beach Wheat (I'm a wheat fan) and found the Cackling Coot to be phenomenal.

 

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The bottle caps on the board are a nice touch.

Overall I loved the place. That its within 5 blocks stumbling distance to my folks house is even better. I'm sure it'll get mobbed during the summer but they'll be open all year round so it's certainly going to be my off-season hang out.

 

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Back to the house and the sun was peaking out by now. I couldn't pass up a chance so I asked if either of them cared enough to stroll the boards so I could at least process my season pass and maybe hit a ride or two.

 

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One block from the boardwalk on a mid-May Saturday. Rain kept them all away.

Neither showed any interest so I quickly walked up and found a mostly deserted boardwalk, then noticed some rides moving in the distance down on Mariners Pier.

 

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Mariners

If you're not familiar with Moreys, they have three piers but they have staggered opening and closing dates every season - Mariners (the central pier) opens first and closes last - the northern pier (Surfside) and the southern pier (Adventure) close earlier and open later.

 

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Adventure Pier

They had originally (according to their calendar) scheduled to have Surfside up and running by May 5th, and Adventure operating starting today (May 19th), but with the low crowds and spotty weather, they had already announced only Mariners would open, and only from 12-5. Boooo.

 

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Moreys got new LED billboards. Naturally they are promoting the all new Wild Whizzer. Watch the tram car please.

Many of the stores along the boardwalk were also closed, with a fair amount of getting-ready-for-the-season work still being done, not unusual, and something I expect to see in mid-May. I noted both of Macks locations were open and the Boardwalk Mall was also open, but didn't really look it? I passed it and headed down onto Mariners, and immediately came upon the new spinner currently being installed, Wild Whizzer.

 

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Still need to install signage and conduct testing, so I won't be riding today. Looks great though!

I hate spinning coasters, and while I haven't ridden one of these, I'll give it at least one shot on an empty stomach and hope for the best. Unfortunately, it was still not open, but it fits in perfectly and who among us is disappointed by any new (albeit small) coaster?

 

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The crowds on the pier were light so I couldn't fault Moreys for not opening more. I headed right to guest services to redeem my voucher and get my card for the season, and grabbed a wristband, even though at that point I still wasn't sure I felt like riding anything. Upon stepping back out I looked up at the elevated Waveswinger and noticed it was loading. I quickly stashed my hat and glasses in my zippered pockets and darted up the steps.

 

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Peeking over at the Whizzer from the Waveswinger

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Peeking from behind Moby Dick at the Whizzer. Oh man.

Its not a particularly intense wave swinger, but being elevated over the beach you feel pretty high up and it gives great views of the beach, pier, and ocean, and they run a very long cycle, especially on a dead day like today. If you visit, don't skip this ride. Even if you're not particularly a fan of these rides. I'm not really, but this is a very good ride.

 

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Across to the Great White, which should've opened today. No signs of activity. :/

I wandered around the back of the pier taking a few shots of the new Wilhelm Biergarten they've installed under Sea Serpents lift supports. There had been food stands and tables here, but now its blocked off by planters, and had a bar w/ taps, and ledges for beers built around the planters in the center.

 

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Waltzer has been moved to in front of Rollies, and Can Am has new stairs.

They didn't do much to modify what was there, but it feels more secluded and we all know how I feel about having more places to enjoy an adult beverage. All my life we never had booze on the boardwalk but Moreys is really doing it right. If I was with friends I would have stopped to grab a beer but I felt like walking.

 

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Walking right onto the Sea Serpent that is. The only large coaster running, and yes its a boomerang but at least its a good one. It was so dead I wasn't even sure it was running because I hadn't seen a train cycle in a while. Turns out they were just waiting for more riders to show up. I sat in the front of the second to last car, since the back car was taken by a group of teens, we waited 2 minutes for a few more riders to file in the rows in front of me before they started checking restraints.

 

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The view of the pier, and the island, going up the lift is always spectacular and before I knew I heard the all familiar hiss from the station below and we were barreling toward the boardwalk. Honest-to-god - and I've ridden this coaster hundreds of times - I had one of the best rides ever.

 

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Just floating around that course - butter smooth, and soaring through the elements with zero headbanging. Even the jolt as we attached to the second lift was painless. Maybe it was all the alcohol earlier or what but it was so, so good. I almost walked around for a second ride but had a feeling I'd sit waiting for a while before they sent a train.

 

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One last peek at the Whizzer.

I wandered a bit more around the front of the pier, checking out the overpriced arcade at the front of the pier, when I decided it had been entirely too long since I've satisfied my unending lust for the best pizza on the boardwalk.

 

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The iconic Coca-Cola sign has been refurbished and rehung.

To be honest I wasn't even particularly hungry after the crazy heavy brunch we had, but I had done enough walking by now I could squeeze in a slice.

 

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It wasn't the best slice of Macks Ive had but it hit the spot. By the time I ordered and had my slice, it had started to drizzle so I found a covered bench nearby and slowly enjoyed my slice and people watched for a while, occasionally glancing down at Surfside Pier in disappointment. I get why they had limited operations but it still stings.

 

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Surfside off in the distance. Never walked down there.

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Once the rain stopped I decided to head back home, but made a few stops on the way, looking for cheap sunglasses (no such luck) and popped into the Boardwalk Mall, which was just weird.

 

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Yes, Randy the weirdo vintage game hoarder and his retro arcade is gone. The old carpet throughout is gone. There's new carpet! (Why would they install carpet in a building next to an ocean I don't know but OK) A half dozen of the old tenants (the sports shop on the front right, the poster/t-shirt shop next to it, the sunglasses store across from it, etc) are all still there, and the rest of the booths are empty. But they all have new carpet, so errrr... that's a start?

 

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Apparently a new "two floor arcade" is going on the top floor but it does not sound like Randy will have anything to do with it, so don't expect it to be anything but more of what you get at all of the other boardwalk arcades. They're also doing major structural work to the exterior walls on the street side and replacing the ramp leading up to the boardwalk on that side.

 

I walked back to my folks and just beat a band of heavy, soaking rain that lasted for a few hours. Wound up napping and then we had dinner, watched some TV (including making them watch Michelle Wolf set from the WH Correspondents dinner that had the three of us in stitches), tossed around the idea of going over to their corner hole-in-the-wall Ship N Shore, but ultimately all passed out early.

 

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Sunday I woke up early to a gorgeous, sunny morning and went right out for a bike ride along the boardwalk and to run some errands - Dad needed the Sunday morning paper, some half-n-half. So a stop at Wawa, and then a nice slow roll along the boards.

 

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I decided to see if Fractured Prune was open so I could snag a half dozen of their insane donut creations. Lucky me! Not only were they open, but there was no line.

 

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I had to balance them on the bike handlebars the entire 2 mile ride back. I didn't really think this through.

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Yeah they look messy, but they're fresh and hot, made to order, and trust me, they are incredible. Clockwise: Pebble Beach, French Toast, Peanut Butter Cup, Black Forest Blueberry Hill, Peppermint Patty

The sunny morning had me in good spirits, and I texted the missus I might stay if Moreys opened up either of the other two piers. Dad made a huge breakfast while I hawked Moreys page until 11am when they announced they'd only be opening Mariners for the afternoon. Super bummer.

 

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After a really nice little getaway, I decided to catch the next bus back to Philly since I didn't want to ride anything else on Mariners, I got my Macks fix, and my season pass sorted. Planning on heading back in a couple weekends when the weather is better and things are running. Since my visit, Moreys has installed the signage on Whizzer and started testing, I'm certain they are aiming to open it for what should be a nice® Memorial Day weekend.

 

Thanks for reading. Should I even bother with a ride count?

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I don't know what you're talking about, that BBQ mac and cheese looks perfectly balanced to me. It's right in the middle of the plate.

 

Bottlecaps are a cool idea. Haven't seen anyone else do that. The only thing I don't like about flights is it's hard to remember what you ordered, because beer.

 

Your Mudhen review almost makes me wish I had waited a year to go to Wildwood. Almost. That town is way cooler than it has any right to be. It's like Branson with a beach.

 

It'd be nice if they opened Surfside earlier. IT, Noreaster, flume, Dante-- you're losing half the good stuff without it. Oh well, at least Mariners has sh*tty swan boats.

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