AmyUD06

Man, you were in north Jersey. You should be happy you walked out of the encounter with all of your teeth LOL. In all seriousness, it has everything to do with the fact that they were scrambling for employees and hired whoever applied.

From 6 years at Six Flags Great Adventure, they don't.

I can't speak to start-up temps, but it was mid-40s when I left at 7:30 on 12/14 and it was running strong then. When I was there for Haunt on November 1, I believe the ambient was in the high 30s/ low 40s and it was running.

At the very least, the "upgrade center" (for lack of a better term) directly to the right after entering the main gate (near the stroller rentals) sells it. It's also where you'd exchange the online voucher for it for a wristband, if you had bought it online. Typically during the main season, almost every retail establishment also sells it, but I'm not sure if that's true during Winterfest.

Indeed.

Yeah, I know that's why they don't offer it, but with the one-day-purchase All-Day-Dining, the cooldown between meals is only 90 minutes, so you could theoretically get like 4 meals in the 5-6 hours that they're open. I know I use it during the regular season and and get 6 or 7 out of a full day. And here are the pictures. Three-cheese Grilled Cheese and expensive adult beverage. The food truck from whence the Grilled Cheese came. Poor log flume, sitting all dormant... Somewhat washed out, but these were literally the only non-Christmas decorations in the whole place.

Well, I just got back from a quick 3.5-hour jaunt into KD to check out their Winterfest offerings this year. Fun fact: I spent literally double the time driving to and from the park than I actually spent in the park. Anyway, photos will follow in another post, but here are some observations, mainly in comparison to last year: The good: -Kudos for them offering Fast Lane, and making it valid on almost every adult ride that was open. Bonus points for the "Season Fast Lane" still counting (even though it was only $35). -As a result, I got on the following rides in that 3 and a half hours: 3x Twisted Timbers (2x front, 1x back) 1x Dominator 1x Wave Swinger 1x Bad Apple (Trokia) 1x Blue Ridge Tollway (their drive-'em-cars that they decorate the path to the 12 Days of Christmas) -Kudos to the park for opening Twisted Timbers instead of Racer '75. The 45-minute standby line at 7 PM, while people were still pouring into the park, should be a clear indication that this event draws more than the families they target. -No one seemed to notice that Fast Lane was an option - I saw literally no one else utilize it while I was there. Did I feel like a little bit of a dick cutting in front of 30 minutes worth of families at the Wave Swinger? Sure, but I gotta get my money's worth on the Season Fast Lane. -Surprisingly cheap ($7) three-cheese Grilled Cheese from what appeared to be a KD-operated food truck was delicious. -Awesome decorations and craft vendors as last year. -Juke Box Diner was offering a "donut burger," which is exactly what it sounds like. I did not try it, because a) It was $16, b) Juke Box's burgers are usually very dry, and c) people were waiting up to an hour for their food to come out, but believe me I wanted to. -Moving the Coke Polar Dance Party DJ-thing to an area with alcohol service was a good move. The not so good: -$14 for an 8oz Jack and Coke. I get it, they don't want people getting blitzed (but then why do they have bars every 100 feet?), but c'mon. A few years back it was $7 during Haunt. -Some areas where you'd expect lights had nothing installed, which seemed weird in contrast to the awesome decorations otherwise. -Some lighting displays were in and out. Even part of the Eiffel Tower went out towards the end of my trip. I get it, fuses blow and some such, but this is their second year and it was a Saturday. -No changes to the show lineup from last year whatsoever (I asked). -Last year, the lighting displays in Candy Apple Grove were perfectly synchronized with the music. This year, not so much. -PLEASE, please offer the $30 all-day-dining option during Winterfest next year! Overall, the park was packed, and it seemed to be a big success just like last years. I don't want to seem like I'm complaining, because I'm not...it was a great time despite the duration of the trip. Here's hoping they keep it up and keep expanding.

Don't forget about "Halloween Hunt" in the line right before. Further proof of the decline of journalism.

Awesome. I agree, it was definitely a tolerable boomerang before, this just makes it even better.

Good catch, I hate driving through or around DC; Adventure Park has been added.

Well, a reduction in my time off at work has shortened this trip by four available days. I've cut out the Western NY/Canada part completely and Indiana Beach, cut down Holiday World to a half-day, removed a day at Cedar Point, and added Idlewild and Lakemont (hoping they have Leap the Dips open by then, if not oh well). So, here's the new itinerary and map: Fri, 7/10: Prep Day Sat, 7/11: Drive to Pigeon Forge, TN, stopping at Adventure Park USA on the way. Sun, 7/12: Full day at Dollywood Mon, 7/13: Drive to Austell, GA, hitting Lake Wikkepesaukah on the way. Tue, 7/14: Full day at SFoG Wed, 7/15: Drive to Santa Claus, IN, hitting Alabama Adventure and Beech Bend on the way. Thu, 7/16: Drive to Mason, OH, hitting Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom on the way. Fri, 7/17: Full day at King's Island Sat, 7/18: Drive to Sandusky, OH, hitting Camden Park and Columbus Zoo on the way Sun, 7/19: Full day at Cedar Point Mon, 7/20: Full day at Cedar Point Tue, 7/21: Drive to West Mifflin, PA, hitting Waldameer and Conneaut Lake on the way. Wed, 7/22: Full day at Kennywood Thu, 7/23: Drive to Elysburg, PA, hitting Idlewild and Lakemont on the way. Fri, 7/24: Full day at Knoebels Sat, 7/25: Drive home, hitting Hershey Park on the way. Sun,7/26: Recover I think I've gotten the answers I need, but I'll leave this up for any additional commentary or criticism. Thanks to everyone who responded!

I had the two water parks as part of my plan under the old platinum plan and under the premium plan for Williamsburg so that aspect never changed for me. My issue is that since my pass says premium, which was the highest tier at that time but I'm grandfathered into a lot of current platinum perks, that it confuses some of the employees since premium is no longer the highest tier. I have trouble at reserved seating / re-ride privileges sometimes because of it. It's not a deal breaker or anything crazy to me. They just should have left premium as the highest tier and named the other new tiers whatever else. Or you could just go to guest services, explain the situation, and have them print you a new card?

... bwahaha Okay Barb I don’t get it.... Hanna Barbera cartoons, the owners of Flintstones and Jetsons among others, who the kiddie areas at the Paramount Parks were themed around pre-Cedar Fair.

I think my prediction of a 12/31 opening was pretty accurate...LOL.

For adult coasters, it's just Twisted Timbers and Dominator. You need to click on the "Winterfest" button at the top of the page.

Yeah, I know CCWs aren't recognized from any other state in NY. My "carry permit" is a badge and police ID, which due to a nice federal law, is good everywhere in the US. Thanks for looking out though.

Thanks! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. Once the trip gets a little closer I'll look in to the safety deposit box option. I'll be coming off midnight shift from Thursday night (getting off at 7AM Friday), so that would be tough. My plan is to stay up until around 6 or 7 PM that Friday and then go to sleep, hoping to hit the road around 4 AM the initital travel-out day. It's 9 hours per Google-maps, but with taking frequent bathroom/stretch/sanity breaks, it'll likely end up being 11 and that's if I hit no traffic (part of the reason I'm leaving so early is to dodge the rush out around Baltimore and DC). Plus it would add another night of hotel and days admission at Dollywood, and I figure one full day at Dollywood would be enough. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not really interested in mountain coasters. The last time I was there, I had two full days and the last 6 hours of the night before, and it was enough (even though one of those days was spent blitzed at the water park swim-up bar LOL)...didn't even need any FL, but that was mid-week I am planning for FL+ (since it'll be a Saturday-Monday that I'm there), either buying it daily or adding the all-parks-FL+ to my Platinum pass. My big reason for planning for 3 full days there is to build in what I believe will be a much needed recovery day, mid-way through the trip, where I can just relax on the beach or in the hotel if the park is crazy busy or if the weather is horrible. Thank you for the insight though, it is appreciated!

Perhaps some maps would help others in understanding my trip logic. Here is the overall plan, running a clockwise lap from the farthest east point: For reference, Green dots are parks that I've ready been to, red ones are parks I have not. The idea with mapping it out this way was to minimize long drives without entertaining stops (there are none over 5 hours except the initial run from home to Dollywood, and few over 3 hours) and backtracking. Yes, that would completely mess up my plans for both Indiana Beach and Camden Park, which I want to hit on this trip since I don't foresee myself ever being in the general vicinity to hit either park again in the future. As you can see on the map, the only major backtracking done on the trip is to hit Canada's Wonderland. You're right that it is a lot of extra time to hit Camden Park, but this is the most efficient way I have found. It would be about the same distance out of the way, but the difference is that it's adding 4 hours to a 3 hour drive versus adding 4 hours to a 9 hour drive, making it be 12-13. That's a little more than I can voluntarily handle. Thanks! I did not intend to turn this thread into a debate over firearm safety practices. I've been carrying concealed for 13 years, often storing it securely in a vehicle or a hotel room, with no ill ends. As have many, many of my co-workers, both within my department and outside of it. ArgoZ, your advice is noted but ill-informed (statistically most firearm thefts, at least in the US, are from stores and the home), and not applicable. I already understood that bringing a gun of the type I'll be carrying into Canada is a huge no-no, and I'm not stupid enough to wear clothing or put stickers on my car that broadcasts my affinity for them or my profession. If everyone could limit the discussion on firearms simply to my originally posed question ("Where would be a good place to safely store it during the Canadian portion of the trip?"), it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the tips. This isn't really so much a "credit run," as I don't care about powered coasters, small spinning coasters, mountain coasters (unless it's a real Alpine Slide), or the endless amounts of Miler/Pinfari clones. I will go out of my way for a woodie though. Hm...maybe I need to reevaluate that portion then. I probably would be doing the waterpark. Thanks, I'll look into that further. Maybe I've been lucky, but I've never encountered an issue leaving it in a hotel (safe or "do not disturb" sign) or a car when going to a park. And some parks offer check stations for LEOs. Awesome, good to know! The National Corvette Museum might be worth a stop...shame I won't be bringing my Miata on this trip, but maybe the old POS Lexus GS would be fun to drive around the course for a few laps LOL. Thanks again for the input!

Thanks for the tip on Columbus Zoo; I didn't even realize they had a coaster. It has been added as a mid-day stop between CP and KI. That said, based on what I've read on here, Holiday World is one of those parks where a full day would be worth it to experience all of the non-coaster stuff they have to offer, so I'm going to leave that part as is. It also seems to be add a bit of backtracking to the route doing KI before CP. But yeah, thanks for the advice!

Thanks for the insight! That was exactly my thought - having 3 days at CP in the middle gives me a chance to just have a relax day if I need it. Exactly, same thing kinda with Camden Park. There's no way for me to naturally "pass by" either place. Thanks for the tip; I'll be sure to fill up on the US side, and then I should be good for the whole Canada portion of the trip (the car I'll be using can get 400 miles on a tank). I was thinking about just using credit cards while there to avoid having to exchange cash currencies, would you reccommend this? I'll only be there for one day really. Good to know. Thanks again!

So, this coming summer I'm planning a pretty large road trip to hit a bunch of parks that I've never been to, finally check out Steel Vengeance, experience Orion and Candymonium, and give Kennywood and Knoebels another chance after they slightly disappointed me in my 2017 trip. Edit: Kings Island Report Posted! ...and Cedar Point!

I'm actually curious about where you think is a better 'logistical' location, with no traffic it takes 10 minutes to get there from midtown, this is closer to the city than either MOA or WEM When praytell is this magical time of day when there's no traffic in the Lincoln tunnel? 3 AM? Looking at Google maps from "Midtown Manhattan" to "American Dream," the time, with realistic traffic, is estimated from anywhere from 18 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day, from 10 AM to 6 PM. Or did you mean by train and bus hopping? Sorry, that'll be 35-52 minutes. And again, comparisons to the Mall of America are not valid, since out there, there is literally nothing else to do, and people from outside urban areas have no issue driving 1-2 hours, if not more, for attractions. But this is all speculation at the moment, with only the partially-open amusement park and ice rink (without bleachers so they can't even host school or amateur league games) operational. When (if) the rest of American Dream ever opens (I mean, who doesn't do a massive amount of shopping in March or ignores real mountains for indoor skiing in December?), we'll see how long before it closes or comes begging for more tax breaks/state hand-outs to survive. I give it a year at best.

I think it was a lame attempt at a joke about the length of the existing B&M dive coasters, which aren't "long".

Its the Six Flags way.