Perilous Chris

Robb and Elissa have significantly more travel experience than I do, but having been to most of the parks in the U.S., and a good portion of Europe, I will not recommend a park if I have a poor experience. That does not mean I will not consider re-visiting over time, but I'll give an honest opinion. I've been absolutely blown away by some of the European Parks (i.e. Europa and Phantasialand). However, last year I visited England, and had a very unpleasant day at Thorpe Park. I know many people love it, but my experience was highly frustrating.

Thanks Robb. I'm considering it for a future trip, but perhaps I should wait a couple years to see what more they add. I still have yet to visit anything in Asia.

Hi Robb. I'm curious how Hyperion compares to some of the other high rated Intamin hyper/gigas like Expedition GeForce and I305? I know you mentioned some of the rides were not good, but does it have potential to be in the same class? I rode Red Force in Spain last year. I found it to have a bit more of a rattle than I expected.

Thanks for the trip report. I really enjoyed it! I'm curious as to how you liked Thunderbird in comparison to the other wing coasters. While the wing coasters have not been my favorite, I found Thunderbird to be a bit more enjoyable. Regardless of how the wood coasters are running, Holiday World will always be a park I will visit while in the area. I had a great time, both times I've been.

^ Thanks again for all your help. It looks like I will be cutting Heide Park since Colossos will be down. I'm disappointed, but glad they announced this early enough, as I have not booked other flights. Time for some re-routing.

^ Eric, Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all that out. I actually already booked a flight into Amsterdam, and I'm flying out of Billund, for a total of 19 days. 3 days are for flying. I want to ride as much as possible, but I do not want to rush parks like Europa, Phantasialand, etc. Here is what I have come up with over the past couple weeks, before reading your post. I would love to visit Grona Lund, Tivoli Gardens and Bakken, but I'm thinking about saving those for a future trip. Days 1-2: Fly to Amsterdam, rest. Day 3: Rent a car, Walibi Holland Day 4: Efteling Day 5: Toverland, maybe Drievliet Day 6 (Sat): Bobbejanland, fly from Brussels to Gothenburg Day 7: Liesberg Day 8: Liesberg, fly to Cologne Day 9: Phantasialand Day 10: Holiday Park Days 11-12: Europa Park Day 13: Tripsdrill Day 14: Fly from Stuttgart to Leipzig Day 15: Rent car, Hansa Park Day 16: Heide Park Day 17: Long drive, Djurs Day 18: Farup, maybe Tivoli Day 19: Fly from Billund to LAX

85 of 126 Aside from the ones not open yet, many are at parks that are a little too out of the way to be included in travel plans.

Thank you so much for the responses guys! I really appreciate it. I've calculated distances, and practically everything seems much longer with public transportation. Midway through the trip, I'm thinking of flying from Stuttgart to Leipzig. I'm thinking of renting a car at Leipzig airport, and dropping it off at Billund airport. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems as though the rental car drop fees are a bit less, than here in the states. Between Heide park and Djurs Sommerland, is there anything that can be recommended? I'm thinking of Legoland. Also, I'm considering late May to mid June. Is this a pretty good time?

Thanks Nrthwnd! That is one I am considering. Would it be reasonable to do parks like Toverland and Bobbejanland on the same day? Also, I noticed that I mentioned Skara Sommerland. I meant to say Farup Sommerland.

Hello Everyone. I am considering traveling to Europe for my first time this summer. I hope to visit for roughly 17 days, from late May to mid June. After lots of research, here is the plan I came up with. Days 1 - 2: Travel from Lax to Amsterdam, and rent a car Day 3, 4 and 5: Walibi Holland, Toverland, Efteling, and maybe Bobbejaanland Day 6: Drive to Phantasialand, half day at the park Day 7: Phantasialand Day 8: Drive to Europa Park, half day at the park Day 9: Europa Park Day 10: Holiday Park Day 11: Drive to Frankfurt airport, fly to Hamburg Day 11: Rent a car, Heide Park Day 12: Hansa Park Day 13: Drive to Djurs Sommerland area Day 14: Djurs Sommerland Day 15: Maybe Skara Sommerland, Legoland Day 16 - 17: Drive to Hamburg airport, fly back To those who have done something similar, please let me know your thoughts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I've visited practically all the major parks in the US (excluding Northern California), and Canada. I do have a few questions: 1. Do the drives look relatively reasonable, or would it be better to use public transportation? 2. One park I would love to visit is Liesberg. However, it does not seem practical, without adding extra time. Is there anyway to fit that one in? 3. In shoes, I am a tiny bit above 6'4." This past summer I was height checked for Ride of Steel at SFNE, and was fine. I noticed many parks have maximum height limits. Should I be concerned? 4. I may try to add Tripsdrill, and Klotten. Is anything else recommended? Thanks in advance for the help!

Here are my views, based on a 2010 trip. - Diamondback was relatively weak, and it had a bit of that B&M rattle. It was not bad, but it does not compare with MF in terms of airtime. - Beast certainly has some rough spots, but I did not consider it unbearable. It does not offer much in terms of airtime, but the length and location are impressive. It is one of the best coasters I have ridden at night. - I did not like Firehawk as well as Tatsu. It can be a little rough, but it has some fun moments. - Invertigo is definitely better than your standard Boomerang. Be sure not to miss out on Flight of Fear and Drop Zone.

I rode the one at Canada's Wonderland, and it had some of the most painful elements I have ever encountered on a coaster.

I usually bring: car keys wallet phone sunglasses Depending on the park, I actually have a couple pairs of cargo pants with zipper pockets. They are certainly dorky looking, but I'm paranoid about losing keys and/or a wallet on a ride.

When I went to Canada's Wonderland this summer, I stayed in the Richmond Hill area. There is a restaurant called Cora that only serves breakfast and lunch. They have some excellent breakfast options.

SDC has a better line up in terms of coasters. Powder Keg and Outlaw Run are both phenomenal. The layout of Dollywood is a little more relaxing, if that makes any sense. While SDC gets a slight edge, I consider both parks to be among the best I've visited in my travels.

As of now, Time Warp at Canada's Wonderland wins my personal award for the worst coaster experience. The head banging on that coaster was so bad, it made my teeth hurt.

I missed three coasters on my most recent trip, because they were closed. While I did not lose sleep over these, I was slightly bummed as these parks will not be easy to get back to for awhile. Seabreeze: Bobsleds Idlewild Park: Wild Mouse Lakemont Park: Leap The Dips Last year, I missed White Lightning at Lake Winnie, because it was closed as well. I'm starting to think mice just do not like me.

I'm sure it's still an incredible ride, but I'm a little bummed to hear that it is not quite as intense as last season, since I'm visiting next month. When I go on coaster trips, I generally plan on getting a few bumps and bruises now and then. I'm also not surprised if I have a few muscle aches afterwards. It's all part of the hobby.

^^ Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.

While nobody can predict exact crowds, how is the park on a weekday (Tues or Wed) in early to mid August? Also, is Missouri unbearably hot during that time of year? I'm looking into planning a short trip.

I visited Sea World San Antonio for the first time in June of this year. I went on a Saturday, and it was relatively crowded. To my surprise, JTA was the only ride I had to wait for. Both Steel Eel and Great White were walk ons. I was a little surprised those coasters did not have more of a wait.

I'm also pretty certain if it rains, La Vibora will close for awhile as well.

I would have to go with the Giant Frisbee. MaxAir is one of my favorite flats. I did not know a Tri-Star actually existed in the states.

^ I'm sure some here are relatively wealthy, but when it comes to trips, I believe it is more about how you plan vs. how much money you have. I have nowhere near the experience as most on this board, but I've learned that if you set manageable payment goals, some trips can be relatively affordable. For example, I'll even calculate a "worst case credit card interest" figure for the trips I go on.

Apparently he flew from Boston to LAX, rented a car, and went to SFMM primarily for X. By what I recall, he was only at the park for a few hours, and he skipped a lot of credits.