Mike240SX

I'm convinced that Mad Mouse rumor is Screamscape being it's normal "ideas out of it's ass" self. I cannot imagine Cedar Fair sending such a low capacity, dead-manufacturer, ride to it's flagship park.

Let's be honest here....I would be very surprised anyone in the park's social media office is over the age of 25. Those born 25 years ago were born in 1997, almost 15 years after the fire, so by the time they get to an age to be cognizant to things like that, that's 25-30 years since the fire. Anyone that worked there when it happened, even big shots, have most likely retired by now. It's not a bright spot in the history of the park, so why would it be mentioned to new hires?* Nobody knows about it except park enthusiasts and "boomers" who were local to the area when it happened, which is sad...but a reasonable expectation. *I worked there from 1998-2003, and no one ever officially told me about the haunted house fire.

So I just got back to my hotel from a quick 2 hour stop at KK. Those who said I wouldn't need 3.5 hours were absolutely right; I encountered nothing more than a station wait for any ride; longest of the day was T3 at 21-22 minutes for the front row, including ride time. I'll end up posting a detailed report when this road trip is done, but here are some bullet points: -You guys weren't kidding about no shade. Eeesh....in 90+ degree heat, with half of the food/beverage places open, it was brutal, even for those two hours. -Layout wasn't confusing, but I would call it "bad" - lots of dead areas with no rides or shops or anything (or shade LOL). -I was able to hit all 6 coasters, and rank them as follows: 1. Thunder Run front row. 2. Storm Chaser 3. Lightning Run 4. Kentucky Flyer 5. Roller Skater 6. T3 500. Thunder Run back row -I was able to make Thunder Run my 250th, which was satisfying since I rode it in the front first. Insane ride, easily earning a place in my Top 10 Woodies. The back row, however, was absolutely brutal and would be right at home in the 10 worst coaster rides I've ever had. Horrid. -I definitely enjoyed Lightning Run, and will join the cadre of "Why didn't anyone ever order another one of these?" I actually found the ejector a bit too strong at a few points, to be honest. -Storm Chaser was typical RMC awesomeness, and I rank it towards the top of the RMCs that I've ridden. I could go either way with whether this or Thunder Run front row are the best rides in the park. -I didn't see what was so bad about T3; rode in the front row. The restraints, while not as good as the Vekoma vests and they do hurt your thighs by the end (not as bad as SkyRush though), are an infinite improvement over the old hard OSTRs. You just need to push out on those handles and push your head back against the restraint. Anyone who "broke their teeth" on the joysticks is an idiot. Sure, it's no Great Nor'Easter, but I've definitely ridden worse SLCs. -I can totally echo Zach's comments a few pages back about the staff. Plenty of them, but only like 3 I encountered made any sort of effort to interact with anyone. -Water park seemed nice, but I didn't stop in. IMPORTANT NOTE: If anyone is going to the park tomorrow (and tomorrow only), and needs a ticket, I have the second half of my 2-day ticket that I have no intention of using. First one to PM me with a valid email address gets it. Note that this request needs to come by 6:00 AM tomorrow, since I'll be away from my computer during the day,

Indeed. Sadly you probably won't have to wait too long for that.

Ooops....that's what I get for posting from my phone.

Edit: I am a doofus who can't read. My bad.

Running as of today at least.

I had to read it twice to make sure it didn't say 2023. Color me impressed. I can only imagine the comments full of MAGAts complaining about the "equality" part of the catchphrase LOL.

Seriously. The last time I was here was 5 years ago and I skipped Exterminator and a bunch of the classic flat rides, partially due to time constraints and partially due to nonoperation. The Iron Curtain wasn't at the park the , so I was hoping to be able to stop in here on my way further west and grab those missing credits. We'll see if Exterminator is running. I arrived at around 1:30 and have only gotten on Old Mill (better than Garfield but disappointing) and Racer. About halfway through the line for Jack Rabbit as I type this. Edit: Just in case someone doubts Bill: Edit: Oh, and Sky Rocket was down when I came in too, and probably still is because Kennywood. It opened later.

For anyone thinking about a trip to Kennywood this week/end: The entire area is closed off today. Major bummer.

What Bill said; outside of the water park and Wild Mouse, nothing will have any substantial lines. You might have to wait 15 minutes for Thunderhawk LOL. The Fast Lane Plus is sort of worth it for the water park alone, but note that not all of the slides over there are part of the program.

Main coasters as in all adult coasters and the Bayern Kurve and Enterprise? If so, I think I found my December trip.

On another note, does anyone know how much of the park they run for Winterfest? Please tell me it's everything.

I guess we know when MiA, WoF, and Dorney are getting their next coasters...LOL but not really. This is kinda sad, but they are a business first and foremost. Guess I know where my first trip in 2023 will be. My speculation on the destination for their coasters and major rides, based solely on what I think they need, not any actual land-use planning: -Berserker (Schwarzkopf Bayern Kurve) - Dorney Park, please please pretty please? -Delta Flyer (Von Roll sky ride) - Sent to CP for spare parts -Demon - Scrapped -Drop Tower - Do any of their parks not have a drop tower? MiA? -Flight Deck - Kings Dominion -Gold Striker - WoF -Orbit (Schwarzkopf Enterprise) - Kings Dominion, please please pretty please? -Patriot - MiA -Psycho Mouse (Arrow wild mouse)- Scrapped -RailBlazer - KBF or Dorney Park -Star Tower - Scrapped -Grizzly - Scrapped -Either of the kiddie coasters - Kings Island or Dorney Park

Such a dark, dark day in American history. Honestly scared what this Dobbs decision means for likes of Griswold, Eisenstadt, Lawrence, Obergefell and who knows how many other decisions. End rant.

My money's still on a christmas-time opening.

So the way it works now is the FL merges into the regular line before the start of the long straight section of queue under the structure of the ride. At the end of that, before the zig-zag that leads to the stairs to the station, to the left is the locker area. One way in and out. They stop everyone there and tell them if they have stuff they need to go to the lockers. If you instead go right and through the metal detectors, and they go off, they send you back against the flow of traffic to the locker area. It's horrible.

@grsupercityMaybe that was the difference? Either way, I'm glad you had an enjoyable ride haha! @redfoot12I'm a nearly-40 individual and was male-presenting; I didn't experience any kinda feelings like that, but I can see where you're coming from. That sucks. @bert425It's an easy park to miss (just like Delgrosso's). I live less than an hour away and haven't been there since I was a little kid. The Sky Princess/Kingdom Coaster is definitely worth it, and I'd imagine the flats you mentioned and the Wonderhouse are as well, but yeah the daily price is just insane for an adult. I'm not sure how many platinum pass sales they get; the next closest park in the chain is Idlewild which is a solid 3 hours away, but yeah the platinum pass is the only way to make this worth it (if and only if you're also hitting a bunch of other Palace parks the same year). Finally, thank you so much to @robbalveyand/or @SharkTums for featuring this report on the main page of the site. I don't think anything I've posted has ever been featured before, and it's an honor. Thank you again!

I'll try to answer point by point -Fast Lane does not exist for Kiddy Hawk (Vekoma hang-and-bang), Woodstock Express (Jr. woodie that should not be skipped), or Ricochet (basically the same wild mouse as is at Kings Dominion). If you care about any of these, I'd head to one of those first. -No idea about Nighthawk -I recall the mac & cheese at Harmony Hall being decent, but I'm sure one of the foodies here will chime in with more recommendations. -Hurler is rough. If you're desperate for the credit, ride in the front. If you're not a credit counter, I'd honestly just skip it. -Copperhead Strike, I prefer the back seat. You'll get plenty of hangtime no matter where you sit. -Grand Carnivale, if it's the same parade/show as what they did at Kings Dominion, is entertaining enough but not worth deviating from your plans for. No idea about the fireworks. -Don't skip on the Enterprise, "Scream Weaver," or the Sol-Spin, "Electro Spin." Both are very rare flats for entirely different reasons. I recall their mine train being fun too. The Boomerang is one of the better ones, with the new vest restraints. Boo Blasters is the same at the one at Kings Dominion, if you've been there. The water park isn't terrible but doesn't have anything that other CF waterparks don't, if I recall correctly. It will be very hot, plan accordingly and hydrate appropriately. Don't cross the state line with a beer or other alcoholic beverage in your hand or you'll be technically guilty of a federal crime (bootlegging), though nothing will happen to you except maybe security yelling at you. There will be signs and lines painted on the ground. -No idea about big boy seats. Have fun! It's a good park, mid-tier in the CF chain in my book. Fury is really their only show-stopper (and to a lesser extent, Afterburn), though some people also swear by Intimidator.

Even when the detector/locker system does work right, it still gums up the works. They need to go back to the under-seat pouches or the pre-queue dectector and locker system. The same goes for Twisted Timbers.

Maybe it was just that particular car on the train. Did you sit in the very back row? And you're lucky about the Wonder House. DW is less than an hour away so I plan on trying to get back up there to get on it before this pass expires at the end of the year.

Photo TR: A quick trip to Kings Island, Memorial Day Weekend 2022. This year I decided to forgo my normal Wildwood MDW excursion and instead headed to Kings Island for Sunday and Monday. After my long 9 hour drive to the park and checking in to my hotel, I headed over, arriving at around 6:30 PM. Looking nice around the entryway and International Street for the 50th! I of course immediately headed for The Beast to check out the new renovations. I won't repost my review from a few posts back, but yeah, it's still awesome. 15 minute wait with FL for the front, 12 minute wait for the back. 11/10. See Kings Dominion, this is how you light up a scrambler! I then hopped on Racer; one train wait for the blue side, row 2. Still smooth with the recent retracking working, and t he new paint job looks nice, but is already starting to get affected by grease coming off the wheels. 8/10. They also had this cool poster out front: Making my way up into Action Zone, I snapped these pictures of the "50th Anniversary VIP Zone," which was just as populated as the one at Cedar Point last year (read: not at all). And the Slingshot is in fact gone: The dedicated Squishmallows store is no more, but you can buy them in most other shops. I ducked out for a quick smoke break, and on my way back in headed to Rivertown, noting that KI has implemented their own "win a skip the line pass" game: Hopped on to Mystic Timbers (one train wait for back row), and after running all day in the 80 degree heat, she was absolutely flying. Probably the best ride I've ever had on it. 11/10. After that, it was around 8:45, and I was dead tired from my long drive out, so I just went back to the hotel and crashed until the next morning. I got back to the park at opening, and hopped on Woodstock Express as part of the early entry (walk on for back row, 6/10) and then made my way over to Racer (one train wait for front row, red side, 8/10), and then backtracked over to Diamondback for a half-train wait on row 2, 7/10. Along the way, I snapped this picture of this big open area which is just screaming for a ride: I then hopped on Flying Ace Aerial Chase (half-train wait for back row) against my better judgement. 1/10. I did realize why Freedom Flyer at Fun Spot Orlando is so much better than this: These cars don't swing at all and are hard-mounted to the bogies. The new paint looks nice at least. Then I took another lap on The Beast (two-train wait for back row); still awesome. Still nothing going on with the Vortex site: I then jumped on Backlot Stunt Coaster (two train wait for back row, helicopter did not move nor did blades spin, but everything else seemed to be working, 6/10) and Bat (19 minutes for row 4, 7/10). I then ducked over to the water park for a bit; man was it packed. This was the line to get in at around 2:00: After about two hours in the water park, I took the train back to see the "revamped" scenes. Meh, just looks like they gave everything a solid power washing and maybe a fresh coat of paint: And here's a video that I shot later in the day: VID_20220530_205021116.mp4 After that, I ducked back to my hotel to take a shower and quick nap, and went back to the park around 7:00. Hopped on Flight of Fear (15 minute wait for front row, 5/10), Orion (two train wait for back row, left edge, 8/10). It is growing on me, but I still doubt it'll ever be a top 10 steel coaster for me. Banshee was next (two train wait for back row, left edge). Still as incredible as always, despite a slight rattle. 9/10. Camped out behind the Miami River Brew House for a little break, and caught this awesome video of Diamondback's splashdown. Rainbow anyone? VID_20220530_201038738.mp4 I then grabbed another ride on Mystic Timbers (2 train wait for front row). Finally got the Tree Monster ending, which I hadn't seen since some of my first rides on it back in 2017. I then basically did laps on the train waiting for it to get dark, snapping a few cool pics along the way: Still had a bit of time before it was dark enough, so I snagged another ride on Mystic Timbers (half-train wait for back row), and finally it was time for my night ride on The Beast. Got in line around 9:25 and saw two trains go out before they closed for fireworks, yadda yadda, didn't get the front. Total wait of about an hour and a half, including fireworks shutdown, for row 2. Not as awesome as the front, but still awesome. And that about wrapped up this trip. Back to the hotel and into bed, for my long drive home the next day. So long, Kings Island! Thanks for reading; my next planned trip is a rather large road trip including my first ever visits to Idlewild, Camden Park, Kentucky Kingdom, Holiday World, and (fingers crossed) Stricker's Grove.

Onto everyone's favorite candy-themed amusement park, Hersheypark! I got to the park around 5:40 PM for my "preview night," just enough time to get 2 of my 3 missing credits from this park. While in line for the Wild Mouse, I noticed that Wildcat has a new(-er) sign than I remember: As for the Wild Mouse, I had an 18 minute wait for the back row, car to myself. There were ZERO brake application during the initial back-and-forth part, leading to some insane laterals, and the final brakes didn't try to throw you out of the car. There were also like 5 cars out on the course at a time; this is how you run a Wild Mouse, Kings Dominion! Anyway, probably the best wild mouse I've ever been on, but still a wild mouse...6/10. Up next was Laff Trakk, which I had skipped on my previous visits in 2020 and 2017, as at the time I didn't do spinning coasters at all. Now that I've realized they're not so bad, I had a credit to grab! Cute little cutout in the queue line... As for the ride itself, meh. Had a 40 minute wait to start backwards. Still not a big fan of most spinning coasters, but this one was made better by getting paired with a 30-something year old woman who wouldn't stop screaming the entire ride. 4/10. I got off Laff Trakk at like 6:56 (for a 7:00 closing), and tried to make my way over to Fahrenheit to get in a lap on my 2nd favorite coaster here before close, but it was not to be. I arrived back at the park at around 10:40 for a 11:00 opening, and found this awaiting me: Eeesh. Anyway, upon entry I bypassed Candymonium (I wasn't very impressed back when I first rode it in 2020), and made my way to my last missing credit from this park: Cocoa Cruiser! Yes, the kiddie coaster. I had a two cycle wait for the back row. Whatever, it's a kiddie coaster - nothing that notable. 4/10. I then hopped on Fahrenheit, with a 15 minute for the back row. Awesome ride as always (greyed out a little bit on the pretzel loop!), but starting to get a little rattle-y, and despite running only two trains, still stacked upon return for the station (this would be the theme of the day). 8/10. Obligatory nerd shot: Next on the agenda was Lightning Racer (one train wait for back row on Thunder side, won the race). Good enough, but has definitely started to develop Wildcat/Apocalypse syndrome and is getting a bit rough. 6/10. Honestly hoping for it to be torn down in favor of a massive water park expansion, which this park desperately needs. I took a detour through the Boardwalk, which was dead on this cool, overcast day, and noted that the lazy river has been added to Fast Track. About damned time (cue my detractors who think I only care about the skip-the-line experience at parks. ;)) Made my way over to the "new" area with the two Jolly Rancher rides: Mix'd Flavored by Jolly Rancher and Jolly Rancher Remix. Yes, these are the actual names of the rides. Having been on plenty of boomerangs before, including this one, I skipped it, but I did wait 10 minutes for the Zamperla NebulaZ. This was my first time on one of these. A Zamperla ride with uncomfortable seats, you don't say? Meh...didn't really do anything for me; couple of nice bits of floater air at the top of the rotations, and a decently long enough cycle, but one-and-done. 6/10. Next up was Storm Runner, which had been closed during my 2020 trip. 20 minute wait for the front row; I really forgot how awesome this ride is. It's no Top Thrill Dragster, sure, but neither is that ride anymore being closed indefinitely. 9/10. While in the station, I noticed something on Trailblazer (which is closed and sectioned off): Is that possibly a magnetic brake? One can only hope. Anyway, I grabbed a side of mac & cheese from the smokehouse (delicious) and hiked up the hill to Great Bear. 35 minute wait for back row, left edge. Great ride, but once again stacked on the brake run for 5 minutes. 8/10. Afterwards, I made my back down the hill and into The Hollow, to be greeted by this at Comet: ..and this at Super Dooper Looper: Both were showing 60 minute waits in the app, which I had noticed was optimistic on previous rides. SkyRush was closed for rain, so I wandered over to a smoking zone (thank you, Hersheypark, for still providing these!) while I waited out the "storm." I also grabbed this cool shot of the Wave Swinger, almost completely dismantled: After the mild rain had ceased, SkyRush opened back up and I got in line. Had a 12 minute wait for the back row, left wing. Such an awesome awesome ride, trying to kill you at every opportunity. On my way up the lift hill, it started to rain again (they would shut down after I got off again), and the feeling of being pelted with raindrops while having your torso realigned was insane. 11/10. SDL's line had died down a bit, so I hopped on (30 minute wait for front row). Not sure when this happened, but all of the trim brakes along the course were either off or gone, leading to an awesomely fast ride. See, Magic Mountain, it is possible to run a Schwarzkopf without being trimmed to death! 9/10. Swinging past Comet again, finding a 45 minute wait, I started to make my way out of the park and grabbed a pretzel from the place by the carousel (also delicious), and then headed out and headed home. All in all, it was a great day. Hersheypark operations definitely leave something to be desired though. It certainly wasn't a lack of staff (each coaster had one or two greeters and one or two groupers, in addition to station personnel), but for some reason every single coaster stacked on the brake run for anywhere from one to five minutes. But still, despite this, it was a good day. This really is a very nice park, with a good collection of top-tier coasters and a decently selection of mid-grade rides, and tons of shade, and I don't know why I don't come here more frequently. Thanks for reading!

Well, here's a park you don't hear too much about on this site... ...Dutch Wonderland, in Lancaster, PA! Truth be told, aside from the obvious credit hunting, I also needed to go this park to process my Palace/Parques Reunidos platinum pass for my trips later this year to Kennywood, Idlewild, and their northeast parks. My parents brought me here once as a small child (probably around 6 or 7 years old), and my only memory of the park is being scared to death of the animatronic crocodiles that popped out of the water on the lagoon boat ride. I don't think they ever brought me back after that, and I can't recall if I ever rode the Sky Princess (what they called their wooden coaster back then). Despite a solid woodie and the original Mad House, this is decidedly a kiddie park that adults won't find much to do at. Anyway, on to the park! That big purple dragon is Duke, the park's mascot, and heavily featured throughout the park. I absolutely love their height grading system. Just beyond their simple main gate... ...lies the first ride you come across, a miniature train that dates to 1963. Unfortunately gas powered, but what are you gonna do. They've got a classic skyride... ...kiddie whip... ..and mini-rotojets. This was one of the many, many show venues that the park has. They've also got a Chance Yo-Yo. And this! The Dutch Wonderhouse; it is an in-house built Mad House from the 1960s, similar to the modern-day Houdini's Great Escape at the Six Flags parks. As you can see, it is super, super tiny. This was probably my most anticipated ride of the trip, but unfortunately was out of commission both today and when I swung by the park on my way home the next day. Major bummer. Moving right along, they've got a tilt-a-whirl themed to turtles. A surprising find a kiddie park, a bar. Standard amusement park beer prices (no beer jail!), and some food offerings. I later had the cinnamon dessert pretzel, which while good, wasn't quite $10 good (with season pass discount). Back to more kid's rides... They've also got bumper cars, which are... ...legit Lusse Scooters! Sadly not run anywhere near as fast as those at Knoebel's, but it's the thought that counts, right? One of their more recent additions is the Exploration Island section... ...which has some drive-'em cars and a on-rails boat ride... ..a digging pit... ..and some tiny Dinosaurs Alive-esque walk through. Here's the other end of the Sky Ride... ...a modern kid's spin-and-bounce... ...and finally a roller coaster! This was Joust, a mid-90's normal Chance kiddie coaster. Adults can ride without kids. Got 2 laps, but nothing to note (no air or laterals). Always fun, though, when coasters are just sitting on concrete... Next up was the Sky Princess!...er, Kingdom Coaster. I swear the old name was so much better. This is a 1992 CCI which runs PTC junior trains with buzz bars, though unfortunately also seat dividers and seat belts and clamp brakes. I got two rides, one front and one back. The back row has a surprising amount of laterals and 2 or 3 good pops of airtime. The front row has about 6 pops of air and even better laterals than the back. A solid ride! 7/10. Amusingly, they don't do any kind of "all clear, dispatch!" spiel at any of the coasters here; once the restraints are checked, the trains just kinda roll out. They've also got a small 1977 Arrow log flume, which was skipped due to time (this was the only ride in the park with a substantial line), though it didn't seem like people got too wet. Yet another two show venues... ..some more kids' rides... ...including a rare Chance Trabant.... ...an animatronic scene of Amish life... ..and then it was finally time for their last credit, Merlin's Mayhem. Apparently, the storyline is that Merlin has lost Mayhem, his pet of some sort, and you're on a quest to find it? I don't know, and the on-board audio didn't help (it seems to have cut out after the first main drop). Anyway, this is a S&S family invert, and was quite mediocre. I had a 7 minute wait for back row, and it was quite short, and it felt like the wheels were octagons. Honestly the best part was the queue and the station. 5/10. Here's some photos of the queue line and station: The back side of the queue doors, with a cool in-house opening mechanism. Nerd shot? Nerd shot. The obligatory carousel... ...yet another show venue... ..and some kiddie hand cars wrap out the list of rides here. They also have a monorail that runs the perimeter of the park. Anyway, after hitting the three coasters, I hung around for a while hoping they would get the Dutch Wonderhouse operational, but it was not to be, and I continued on to Hersheypark. Like I said at the start, this is a quaint little children's park with not a whole lot for adults to do. I can't recommend stopping here unless you've got a Palace Platinum Pass, especially when the daily ticket price at the gate for an adult is $65(!). I leave you with some pictures of the gift shop at the exit, with plenty of costume items for you little Knights and Princesses! Sadly nothing adult sized. Up next, Hersheypark!

Ha ha ha. Way to completely misread that post.