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Best way to watch a parade is to power walk the opposite way it’s traveling and see the entire thing in 5 minutes.

Hey Everyone! A few weeks ago I managed to escape the coaster desert to the east coast and visited three parks (In case you couldn't tell that's a big deal for me...)! Unfortunately, I've been kinda busy lately so I'm just getting around to the trip reports so there a little old but still good! The first park we visited (if you haven't already guessed) was Knoebels!! Now, this was my second visit to the park so I knew what to expect but Knoebels seems to be a place that surprises you even when you know what to expect... Last time we came on a weekday, but were forced into a weekend this time around. We got out tickets at a Weis grocery store on the way, which I highly recommend to anyone visiting on a weekend to do. Although (as I feared) the park WAS PACKED, and I mean PACKED with people, this place must have a magic recipe for making people disappear because I don't think I waited more than 15 minutes for anything, and this was with like 10 rides closed! Knoebels operations truly are world class. I was legit worried that the park wouldn't be able to handle the big crowds but handle it they did! Now on to the pictures (and my thoughts...)! First off I'm gonna address the elephant in the room...is Phoenix the best wooden coaster in the world? When I first visited a couple years ago, the answer would have been yes. But since that time I have ridden more rides, and have really refined what (in my mind) should be the best coaster in the world, and...I don't think Phoenix fits that bill at all. Don't get me wrong, Phoenix is still an amazing ride, but I don't think it should be a "Top Wooden Coaster in the World". Heck I'm not even sure it's the best coaster in the park, but more on that later... For me, while Phoenix's accurately legendary almost semi-scary airtime is great, where the ride suffers is in it's layout. Drop, turn, drop, airtime hill, turn, drop, airtime hill, etc. just doesn't interest me. I've found that I really enjoy unique layouts, and while Phoenix is a good wooden coaster, I wouldn't call it the best simply because I find the layout to be a little on the boring and uninspired side. Also, is it just me or does the new station look just scream "OVERRATED!!"? I think I really liked the old unassuming station better, but I digress. All that being said, I do enjoy Phoenix, it is smooth (although admittedly not as smooth as I remember), and it's fun, but not necessarily deserving of the title of the Best Wooden Coaster in the World. Next, up is Impulse! Since both Flying Turns (which I knew about) and Black Diamond (Dang it! I LOVE that ride!! Grrrr!!) were closed, I was left to ride the 3D motion simulator...I mean lone large steel roller coaster at the park. I actually skipped Impulse last time due to my enumeration with Phoenix (which is a theme for a certain other ride at this park...what was it called again....???...can't remember now....), so this was a new experience for me. And...I'm gonna be honest...this poor ride... Not only does it have to compete against 3 incredible/unique wooden coasters, two good dark rides, fun tasty food, and a bunch of classic or rare flats, it also has THE WORST RESTRAINT THAT I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED ON A ROLLER COASTER...so far...(which by my coaster count isn't saying TOO much). I didn't experience the ride with the old trains, but I was very disappointed with the restraint on the new ones. It kinda felt like someone was pushing a cafeteria tray down on my lap the whole ride. Yeah...not good... It didn't even hurt that much it was just very uncomfortable, and made what I would otherwise consider a fun and unique ride, into something that wasn't very fun at all. Other than the bad restraint, I thought the ride was fun. It just seems a little bizarrely out of place at a park full of so many unique rides, to have a modern Eurofighter knock off. I almost wish that Knoebels would replace or supplement it with a relocated Schwarzkopf or something along those lines. I think that would be a far better (and more fun) fit for this park. Last...but certainly not least...was Twister! Like Impulse, I was so entranced by Phoenix that I didn't give it a try the first time I visited Knoebels...and man I am disappointed I did. THIS RIDE IS FUN!!!! I wouldn't call it the best wooden coaster in the world by any means, but after riding it several times this visit I think I might be in the "Twister is better than Phoenix crowd". And I think that's for the exact reason that I don't think that Phoenix is the best wooden coaster in the world, Twister had a VERY unique layout. From that weird split lift hill, to the slightly awkward transitions, to the random (and noticeably cold) tunnel this thing fits the "unique layout" bill almost perfectly. It doesn't have the amount of airtime that I would prefer, which is mainly why I don't think it's a best in the world or a top 10 necessarily, but it hands down is the best coaster in the park for me! Also, a night ride on this thing is where it's at! If I ever came on a weekday that the park was open late one, you'd find me lapping night rides on this thing all night long, it's just an incredible night ride hands down! Flying Turns (and Black Diamond, BOO!!! If you couldn't tell I love that ride!) were both closed on the days we went, but that was it as far as rides that I would have wanted to ride that were closed. And too be honest, I think Flying Turns is gonna be closed for the rest of this season, it just ain't gonna happen at this point I think. Some other tidbits... This was my first time riding the Haunted Mansion...which was good??? (I think) I wouldn't call it my favorite regional park dark ride, in fact I think Black Diamond might actually be better in my opinion. (Which, I can't confirm because it wasn't open! Sorry I'm just bummed that Black Diamond wasn't open.) I realized and enjoy that it's a classic ride, but I don't know, I think it just wasn't quite my style. I was impressed with how well maintained it was, and I enjoyed that they still had many of the classic effects (and a few modern ones) sprinkled in there. Rode the bumper cars, which were fun, but I think I actually prefer the RDC bumper cars more. The Lusse ones are great, but I just find the RDC one's more fun all around. Finished on the Pioneer Train, which I thought was cool. I like trains (it's my other passion besides theme/amusement parks), so the journey through the woods was fun, and I enjoyed the uniqueness. For food: OH MY GOODNESS KNOEBELS FOOD IS SO GOOD!!!! We had the pierogi's from the oasis, which I thought were good...but the winner for me is the Boom-Shak-A-Lak burger from the Phoenix Junction Steakhouse. This thing is soo good! I would highly recommend it to everyone who visits the park! It was so good in fact that I copied Coaster Bill (Thanks for the inspiration!) and made a "Boom-Shak-A-Lak Burger Map" so you don't miss it! Also had a sundae at the Old Mill, and that was AMAZING!!! Although it also destroyed any desire for me to have ice cream for the rest of the trip...(Cinnamon Bread to the Rescue!) Also, fun fact...Dick Knoebels has been at the helm of Knoebels for as long as my home park has been around...which is either amazing or embarrassing depending on who you ask... All in all I think Knoebels is an amazing park, and if you're anywhere near the area you HAVE to go check it out. Definitely an "A list park" for me, and I can't wait to go again. I don't know when I'll be able to escape the coaster desert to that part of the country again, but something tells me that a Knoebels 100th Anniversary Celebration might give me all the reasons I need. Looking to the future for the park, I know that they have the Bayern Curve (Any word on where that project is at?), but I would personally love to see them either relocate Blue Streak from Conneaut Lake (Because let's face it, at this rate that ride is doomed...) or attempt to resurrect like an old school Virginia Reel coaster, like they did with Flying Turns. Now that would be fun! Alright, enough about Knoebels. Thanks for reading, I have two more of these reports in the works that I hope to put out soon! See you then!

First of all, something needs to be said... ***** WARNING / CAUTION / DANGER / TRIGGER WARNING***** This thread will feature a lot of very similar looking pictures. It's not my fault that all of these boardwalk parks happen to have similar if not identical rides. If seeing such imagery will cause you offense, to feel distressed, or to become exhausted from having to scroll through them, please do not continue in this thread. I'm also not a professional photographer, nor does my phone have the best camera in the world. My intent was to document every single ride at these rarely-discussed parks. Thank you and have a nice day. Okay, with that out of the way, we can begin! Stop #1 - Keansburg Amusement Park, Keansburg How this place continues to exist boggles the mind.... But first, a side note about my personal history with this town: I was born here, and lived there from age 0 to 6, from 1983 to the summer of 1989. My house was in bicycle-distance from the amusement park, and I distinctly recall riding there with my friends the last summer we lived there, without parents. Did I mention the route passes by a (now-defunct) strip club called Chasers (as in "chubby chasers")? Man, was it a different time back then. Not only that, but my father lived in that town since he was born, and was actually a games attendant at the park when he was a teenager, so yeah, my family has quite a bit of history there. Why did we move? Because the town was apparently a shithole then and has only gotten worse. The value of my old house, even with the new second story addition, is around $300k. "Wow, that's not cheap," you might say, but when you consider that the average home price in Monmouth County, NJ, is $550,000, yeah not looking so good anymore. Median household income? $39,000 Monmouth County as a whole is $65,000. My parents didn't want me going to school there, and I struggle to think what might have come of me had we stayed. Anyway, here's a picture of that old house of mine, mind you back then it didn't have that second story on it. Anyway, enough personal nonsense, on to the park! Just outside the gates, there's some batting cages, that most definitely haven't changed in 30 years. A little food stand, not open...a trend you'll see throughout this section. Many of these rides (you'll probably be able to tell which) actually date all the way back to the 1930s. Which is pretty impressive in my book. The park itself traces its history back to 1904. Classic train ride, has seen better days. Car ride, was operating. Planes, were operating. Kiddie drop tower, was operating. Kiddie Ferris wheel, was operating. Kiddie carousel, was operating. Motorcycles, were operating. \ Boats, were operating. Roto Jets....definitely have seen better days. This looks like a Whip, but is actually just a circle, so I'm not really sure the purpose other than just go 'round in circles. Was operating. Yet another "various vehicles rotate" ride. Was operating. Classic fire trucks, one of the older rides at the park. Was operating. One of the newer additions, was operating. Original Loop-o-Plane! Not operating. Adult, mini-double-shot tower. Not operating. Also not the smallest adult drop tower you'll see in this thread. Tornado, operating. The Haunted Manor. No, this is not the famous Spook House, which opened in 1931, which I'll talk about later, but instead a formerly-travelling haunted house that first opened in 1995, and then settled at this park in 2002. Sadly, not open (this was one of my reasons for visiting). Bumper cars, operating. Moby Dick, not operating. It may look like it, but it was just sitting there in that position. "Thriller," a Gravitron. Not operating. Tilt a Whirl, not operating. Zamperla flyer, was operating. Chance Chaos, the ultra-rare. You guessed it, not operating. Yep, they even have one of these things. If you've never seen it in action, as it rotates around, it rises and falls on eccentricly-mounted wheels. That's how they got their fun back in the day! Yes, not operating, of course. Basically, this entire half of the park was not operating. Including all of the following: Aww, cute little baby teacups! I think someone forgot to put the wheels back on LOL. None of them had wheels. They do have an actual Whip, albeit kiddie-sized. Red Baron (rotating/elevating planes), under construction. Kiddie train, under repairs. Yes, that is how decorated it is normally. They also have two Go-Kart tracks. And a boardwalk park staple, the burlap sack slide. Ah. Bev and Wally's arcade. How I so remember dropping dollars and dollars of quaters into the arcade games here....Outrun, Donkey Kong, Hang-On...the list goes on and on. Alas, now reduced to 100% redemption games. Sad, sad indeed. Another arcade, the Game Room. Do you think they paid the appropriate royalties for the artwork? At least this one had a tiny, tiny section of non-redemption games! And a full-size carousel, which did not appear to be operating. Back to the rides of the park, they've got pirate ship that is super-well themed, and totally stands out from the rest of this abandoned-looking place. A Wave Swinger, that looks kinda new. Sea Serpent, their kiddie coaster, which looks a lot older than it is (it's a 1998 Miler model). Which is right next to the world's tiniest and worst decorated log flume ever. And finally, the star of the show, Looping Star, a Pinfari looking Zylkon, that has been at this park since 2015 but has been operating and traveling since the mid '80s or '90s. Of course, it's closed. So yeah, about what I expected from coming here. Oh, and all of those kiddie rides I mentioned as operating? Yeah, they only had about 4 ride operators shuffling around to the different rides. Which was fine, because there was like 3 families there, and me, and that's it. You might say "well, it's a Monday at the end of August, lots of kids are back in school, etc. etc." You will see from my later parks on this blitz road trip, yeah that didn't matter. All of the others were packed. They also have a tiny water park, that similarly appeared not that populated. Oh, I almost forgot, the Spook House! Some history: This dark ride, built by the Pretzel Company (famous for Devil's Den at Conneaut, Haunted House at Camden Park, Spook-a-rama at Deno's in NY, and the original Dante's Inferno at Morey's, to name a few), opened in 1931 as the "Mystery Ride," seen here in a photo provided by the park's website: Those cars, and the track, continued to operate all the way up to 2012, albeit with some changes to the scenery inside and out. Here's a couple of photos showing the ride over the years. 1970s, from Pintrest. 1992, from Wordpress. Mid-2000s, from Patch.com The park's website says the following: "One of Keansburg Amusement Park’s oldest rides and seen on History Channel’s American Restoration, is undergoing a complete restoration!" Yeah, not so much. There is zero sign of the ride anywhere in the park; the old location it used to be at is now (presumably, based on the sign overhead) a games stand. I asked the guy selling tickets about it, and he had never heard of it. A manager standing behind him said "You mean the ride that got destroyed by (sic) Hurricane (sic) Sandy? It's never coming back." Major, MAJOR bummer. I'll continue to hold out hope that it one day returns, but I'm not holding my breath. So, I left this place with zero credits and zero dark rides. On the plus side, I only spent like $3 for parking plus an extra hour out of my day to get here. I honestly don't know how this park survives. The area is majorly depressed, there are tons of better park options around, many rides appeared to be in a state of disrepair that couldn't have been new, it's not supported by any government or historical preservation society. Because of my memories here, I'll really be sad if it ever closes down, but the logical part of me thinks that would be a better fate for the park than continuing to putter along the way it is. Next up: Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant. Which probably won't get posted until next week sometime (work the next two days then a SFoG/Carowinds trip over the long weekend). I just really wanted to get this one up first since I had so much to say about this place. Thanks for reading!

Well, er, um...it was pretty crowded there...? "Erik & Smisty's Denver Mixed Bag" just doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

^God, I'll soon miss those days when parades and shows weren't our thing.

"If you're watching a parade, don't follow it. It never changes. If the parade is boring, run in the opposite direction. You will fast-forward the parade." - Mitch Hedberg

We have been looking into Denver since Meow Wolf's opening a new exhibit there soon, that mini golf place will be a must do as well.

Corona is the highest it's ever been in Japan, but unlike last year when numbers were much lower the parks are running, albeit, with limited capacity and lottery based ticket reservations. If even super safety conscious Japan is trying to now adjust into a 'living with corona' type situation of balancing the economy vs infection rate, I really hope travel can resume in 2022.

By comparison, a Platinum Cedar Fair pass gets your into 17 parks in the US and Canada, free parking, and NO blackout dates for $192. I know Disney is a premium product, but this just seems incredibly greedy to me. Of course, I have never owned a WDW pass (cast member for 21 years) but I don't see how anyone can afford this. Just my opinion!

OMG that was so unnecessary. There isn't a hint of a g-force on Thunder Dolphin.

@ElecterikDude, that mini-golf place looks absolutely amazing. If I'm ever in Denver I'll have to hit it up. Great report, keep it coming!

Damn right about that! (or as my Canadian friends would say: "Garwsh darn sure aboot that!:) and with a hidden Mickey too!

Stick a fork in this place.

@PKI JizzmanNice report. Better watch out though, those last two pictures are nearly identical and you might upset someone.

Okay with Busch Gardens complete, it was time to head to Orlando! Alex and I had looked into a rental car since some of the Universal Resorts have a rental car company built into them, but that idea was quickly dismissed when I realized at Lyft hotel-to-hotel Tampa-Universal was only $80. Easiest decision ever. Turns out it works well for the drivers as they'll take people to Orlando, make bank at Disney/Universal then head home. I scheduled the Lyft a week out, locked in the rate, and it was an easy ride to the Royal Pacific. Even at NOON we were able to check in and get settled, that was fantastic. It also was a Meat Monday, and we were able to meet up with the Alveys + Reed and Stacey (nice meeting you two). It was so great to see familiar faces after 2 years!!! Of course Gyu Kaku is amazing and delicious and their lunch specials are great. Robb & Elissa were kind enough to drop us off at Sea World for our second park of the trip! SeaWorld Orlando The entry is cool with the lighthouse + oceanic waves. I think the day we arrived in Orlando was when Orlando decided to go into full shitstorm summer mode. We probably arrived around 3pm and 90 minutes later we could tell the clouds were brewing and the wind picked up. We got 2 rides on Mako, went over to check out Infinity Falls, which was having some sort of issue. So nope, not getting on the new hotness. We got a bit lost back by Ice Breaker and ended up going into the Wild Arctic, which was a bit spooky to be honest, haha. We had no idea what exhibits were within and it was dark, themed to a shipwreck of sorts, but there were some different sea mammals in there. Upon exiting the building we could hear loud metallic slaps toward the front of the park. The incoming storm was making the cables on the Sky Tower violently shake and hit the tower's structure, which is incredibly ominous We booked it across that wooden bridge that goes over the water in the center of the park and before I could even begin to search for that Shark Bar and Grill we ended up ducking into the Seafire Grill/Flamecraft Bar where we had an incredible view of the storm coming in. We got absolutely shitstormed on for 2 hours, yet people took their time in the lightning and thunder walking over that bridge to the front of the park. How did these people survive 2020 to make it to 2021?! A bit tipsy after sampling some Florida beer, rides were slowly starting to reopen and we made our way to Atlantis, Kraken, Mako, and then the storms came back in, but with no lightning this time. We were already wet, kinda drink, so just kept riding Mako in the rain and Manta had finally re-opened and we got on that before heading out. I wanted to get on that Penguin/Antarctic dark ride everyone dunks on but it's not even operating? Again like the other exhibits we went through, it was just really dark and ominous. We walked through seeing no one then ended up in the station and where the penguins are? It was just really odd and creepy. Manta: I need to get back on this. By the time it had opened, we were soaked, cold, kinda drunk, and it was pouring our entire ride. I really really loved Acrobat/Japanese Manta, but a rainy night ride on Manta just didn't really let me appreciate the beautiful themeing and floral surroundings and water finale. I know this ride is good. Atlantis: I don't know much about the ride's history other than it's not as well themed as it used to be. Regardless, it was a pretty awesome flume/coaster combo. I would love for more of these to be built if they did different layouts and surprises. The first big drop was better than I expected. Kraken: Kinda the ride I was expecting to like the most. A 2000 B&M that dives in and out of the ground, bonus inversions, a classic floorless. Sadly it just didn't offer much intensity, the drop didn't give airtime, and the whole area seems neglected. It's kinda built in between mechanical/support for the surrounding aquatic experiences so it felt like a parking lot coaster. Bummer. Mako: Kraken was my anticipated coaster because I didn't buy into the Mako hype. It's just a new B&M hyper right? Yes, but it hits. This is the best B&M hyper in America, in my opinion. An excellent first drop that rivals the intensity of the gigas, it's just not as tall. The second twisted hill is more memorable than Orion's wave turn as it's almost like an inversion fake out. Then you've got 2 awesome airtime hills with a tight hammerhead in between before the coaster snakes around giving you some more air and twists. It's so good it's worth marathoning in the rain. Alright, I get the hype. Mako is so much fun it deserves to be talked about as one of the best hypers. Next door Kraken needs some love. It's essentially a parking lot coaster with all of that gray mechanical stuff it's tucked in. No wonder they put VR on it! (No, that's still not cool). Looks like a weird steel version of Mystic Timber's layout. Can't wait for this to open and see how it is. (Then huge shitstorm for 2 hours) I was so stoked to ride Kraken, but sadly this coaster isn't running as well as the other B&M's in the park. Can we just turn up the intensity here please? It's got all the classic B&M inversions + some extra twistyness. I was surprised by this one, even if it's not as good as it once was. More of these type of rides, please! Why even have this thing 'open' to walk through, there's nothing going on here. Ya'll see how creepy/ominous this is? This is what most of the indoor experiences were like. No signage about things being closed, they just let you walk through what feels like an abandoned attraction but there's actually real animals in some of them. I was really weirded out. Absolutely soaked, but who cares. Mako is amazing and they just kept cycling us through until we had enough. What a strange SWO visit but I think Meat Monday was the highlight of the day

Ugh, that's so frustrating! The poor park doesn't need any more drama and to have some guest go into a restricted area and get hurt is just crap!

^My favorite Fuji Q moment was being told to put my wristwatch in a locker, only to attach the locker key to the same wrist with an elastic band.

^ I had a small crumbled tissue in my pocket, that I had forgotten was there, but they spotted the tiny pocket bulge and was told to go put it in a locker. I didn't spot the trash can nearby and had to locker it in exchange for a wristband locker key much bigger than a tissue.

Not gonna lie, I’m a little bummed that it’s going to cost us an additional $1,000 per year for the two of us to keep the same AP perks we already have, so we will most likely downgrade our passes then add on the PhotoPass option. Will we still go and support the parks? Yes, of course. But we will have to make different choices now.

Flyers and their Pretzel Loops are definitely the ultimate throat/belly feeling that most of us associate with a first drop or airtime. A Zero G is much LESS intense than that.

COVID only delayed the conversion of this park to 800 condos at a project valued at $2.4 billion. It did not stop it. If they were nice, they could give all their old rides to Trey and Matt Stone and they could build a Cartmanland next to a Casa Bonita. Mui Bien! Or takeover Lakeside and build a new Casa Bonita over there?

Not sure when exactly it returned, but the music is back in the shed.