ThemeParkFan08

^I'm probably in the minority but I hope they never touch it.

1. There are at least a few hotels that meet your price range in Branson, though a few might not be open quite yet. I've stayed at the Spinning Wheel Inn in the past, very nice for around $50 a night, and they have a sister hotel also with the same price. If the Homestay Inn is open I stayed there for around the same price. 2. This will depend on you and how much you plan on doing non-ride things in the park. I usually go solo for 2 days and take in the shows, shops, and spend a lot of time walking around taking in the atmosphere. There's also the cave tour to consider. Frankly I think the park benefits from taking it at a slower pace. 3. Nope, sorry. 4. I've never been during that time but I've heard that Young Christian's Weekend tends to flood the park with teenagers who will probably be...acting like teenagers. I'm sure Math and Science day will only add to that. There will also be some shops not open and shows not running. 5. Unless you're into shows of the older country star or Hillbilly variety, not really. The Herschend dinner attractions (Showboat, Dixie Stampede) are fun as is Ride the Ducks. Nothing mandatory though. And though I have never sought them out, I know there plenty of places to do nature-y things, and the area off of the strip is gorgeous.

I haven't been to Magic Mountain but I did the other four last summer. Thoughts: -Universal was much better and more enjoyable than I expected, but the tram tour and Transformers are about the only things that would pull me towards recommending the studios. In your case I don't think that's enough to make it worth it. -Knott's has variety, but I didn't think the rides were that great (and Ghostrider was TERRIBLE) and I was ready to leave after about 5 hours. That being said, I wasn't feeling well that day and Xcelerator and Montezooma were down for rehab (in JUNE?), so it was kind of a combination of factors that weren't entirely the park's fault. I think you could go and have a great time, just know that the coaster collection isn't all that and a bag of chips. -Disneyland alone has enough to potentially occupy you for two days, and you can hop over to California Adventure as well. I think the combination of rides, service, and intangibles makes it the top pick. DL Park in particular has crazy long hours so you could do a heck of a lot in one day if you plan it right. You could even head to the resort for a few hours after Knott's closes easily if you wanted to. I would recommend either a 2 day parkhopper at Disney, or a day at Knott's and a day at Disney.

Honestly you could probably do SFSTL in a few hours. Granted, you'll be there the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend so if you're concerned you could get a Q-Bot, but it's never really been very crowded when I've been there. I visited once with my friend (pre-Boomerang), and we got to the park with about three hours left in the day. We were able to do every coaster except Tony Hawk before the park closed with very little effort. I might be more concerned about SDC on Sunday, judging by the Labor Day crowds I witnessed last year (very busy and one of the only times all year I saw real waits for the rides!), but if you start with Outlaw Run and then immediately head to Powder Keg you should be ok. Lots of people will be there for the shows anyway.

Another vote for Silver Dollar City! While I think that Dollywood has better non-coaster rides, Cinnamon Bread, and slightly better staff, Silver Dollar City cannot be beat with coasters or the intangibles. Re-visiting both this year, it seemed like Silver Dollar City had more of everything with the exception of rides, and I find the theming more fully-implemented and intoxicating. I had already remembered SDC being better, but this year all it took was one stroll down the big hill by Wildfire, not even really doing much of anything, and I was like, yep, still better than Dollywood!

SFGAm will certainly be crowded in mid-July, but you could probably still hit everything in that time without a Flash Pass, though the lines will be long. Ragin' Cajun will also close down fairly quickly in the rain. Whenever you opt to ride Ragin Cajun, use the single rider line. Since you're going two days, I'd recommend starting at X-Flight at opening on one of those days. On the other day, you should there before opening, get in line for Superman, get that done quickly, and then head to V2, Little Dipper, and Batman in that order. If you don't get there before opening don't bother with Superman and just head to V2. That way you'll get at least one ride on each of those before the lines get ridiculous.

Where did this Chang rumor even come from? It doesn't make any sense! I agree that waterpark expansion would be the best thing for the park right now, though I'd love a dark ride also...I just don't know where they'd put it.

They would certainly make a decent amount of money if Hurricane Harbor was a separate gate, but at this point it would just be horrible PR. Think of it this way: there are lots of people that already think that the park is overpriced, when you consider the gate admission price, $25 to park in the main lot, ridiculous food prices, locker policy, etc. The free water park is good for word of mouth and helps redeem the park a bit in the eyes of the GP, IMO. At this point, the water park has been free for five seasons and it has become something people that have visited frequently have taken it for granted. Telling people that they would now have to pay an extra $30 for a water park that has been free for five years would be disastrous, even more so if they didn't add any new attractions to compensate. So while the park could have made a killing had they decided to keep the park a separate gate, as it was originally announced, they decided to make it free, and at this point, changing that policy might bring more money, but I think the damage it would do to the image of Great America would be much more significant.

As others have said, it is crucial that you get to the park early if you are at all interested in riding The Dark Knight. It can be the difference between walking on to the ride when it opens or waiting two hours at any other time. Also, be prepared for the parking situation: it is now $25.00 to park in the main lot and $15.00 to park in the overflow. It is also the last week before Read to Succeed tickets expire, so the park will probably be mobbed. At the beginning of the day, make sure you are there early to ride Dark Knight. After you are finished, go immediately to Ragin' Cajun and ride. After that, hit V2. This will allow you to hit the three roller coasters with the lowest capacities in a short amount of time and with minimal wait. Once these three are out of the way, the order in which you hit everything else won't matter as much. The lines for Batman and Raging Bull move the quickest. The line for American Eagle shouldn't be too long if they have both sides running (The Red side is much better). Typically the lines for Demon, Iron Wolf, American Eagle, and Whizzer die down considerably at night, but because of the read to succeed tickets, that may not be the case for you. I strongly recommend that you bring lunch in a cooler so that you can avoid paying high prices for crappy food. Try not to bring anything you don't absolutely need into the park with you or else you will be subject to the locker policy. I hope that you enjoy your visit! P.S. It's a silly little thing, but if the 8 Year Old has never been on a wooden coaster, make sure that he rides Viper before he rides American Eagle.