PAL

Sunset Admission runs $26.95. The park closes at 10 the evening I'm considering, which means the ticket is good from 5 pm on. Seems like a good deal to me, even considering parking.

^Chad, we are thinking on much the same terms, which is reassuring since you've got one of these self-driven coaster crawls under your belt. Scheduling BGW on a day the coaster tour is offered causes all kinds of logistical issues. I'm sure it'll be worth it. I'm leaning towards dumping SFA altogether due to the lackluster reviews. The main draw is SROS and convenience. My flight in doesn't arrive until midnight, so its tempting to sleep in and then roll 30 lazy minutes to SFA to start the trip. Heading straight to KD whatever the time makes a lot of sense. Is there anything you liked at SFA, or that might be unique? Thanks for the suggestion. More in line with your trip, how did you determine where to stay and when to drive? Did you preplan some of your motels / hotels, or look for a place that same day? In particular, where did you stay near KD, and would you recommend it? Yep, I know about the KI and CP Platinum Pass perks, and built the trip around them. How did you break up your long drives? I'd already planned on leaving KI by the early evening to get a jump on the long drive to BWI. Moving GADV to the end of the trip doesn't really work and adds an estimated 6 hours of drive time. I'm just going to live dangerously on that return flight. Thanks again!

Great TR! I read it front to back, as you hit a lot of the parks I plan to visit next month. Did you drive back and forth as much as it appears? Why did you choose to skip Knoebels, or did I overlook it? Thanks very much for the superb read.

^^16 days! That's a trip. After this post I'm off to look for a report. Thanks for sharing your recent experience Chad. I'll take it very seriously, and head off to AAA for maps of alternate routes. Slow traffic makes for rough travel. I wanted to do SFA last, but wouldn't you know it, the park will be into weekend only operation by then. Scheduling this trip at the end of August causes a lot of scheduling grief, but I'm hopeful crowds will be thinner as a result. It worked out that way on my only other east coast swing. I'm sure you're right about that long flight day drive too. Maybe I'd be better off saving Great Adv for last, however much I love its big two. Its not too far from BWI either. Smart call. ^If I make it back to Hershey it'll be for Storm Runner, Great Bear, Lightning Racer, and then Fahrenheit, with a spin on Superdooperlooper for nostalgia's sake despite its run-on name, Comet if the line isn't bad, and only then Wildcat. It was running rough the last time I came through. Thanks to everyone for the advice. I may only get to do this trip once, so I need the help. The know-how here at TPR is impressive.

^I thought about spending a day and a half at CP, but for 2 mornings to take advantage of early entry, saving that last afternoon for something else. I couldn't figure any way of doing it without backtracking. I must have run through 30 different routes. I'd love to work in Waldameer and Lakewood if possible.

If I finish Cedar Pt in one day, what should I do on the day it frees up? ^^Outstanding, that's exactly the kind of Knoebels advice I need. I've heard some of those flats are unusually nutty. ^SFA is a drop-by for SROS and a couple other coasters. It's on the way and won't cost a dime, otherwise it would be skipped.

Clementon is open until 8 that week - that really could work. I totally missed it the last time I came through Philadelphia, but my girl was through with parks by then anyway. I'll file it under time permitting. I considered dropping Busch Gardens, Great Adventure and Hershey since I've been, but I just can't skip El Toro. BG might fall off the schedule - but the chance to stand atop Griffin is a huge draw.

Big thanks on the Great Adventure motel advice. That could've been me driving around looking for a crash pad. This is an adjust on the fly trip. I'm a Flash Pass addict - all these Cedar Fair parks give me the sweats. I figured SFA was a quickie, thus the evening at KD. Busch Gardens is an awesome park, but one I've easily finished by the afternoon with lots of rerides. Since I had a 2 day visit to Hershey less than two years ago, it's there mostly to break up the long drive to Great Adventure. If I'm not done at KD, I'll skip it. If I'm done at KD sooner, that's more time at Hershey. Cedar Pt has me worried about lines. Do you think I can knock out the coaster collection in one day with rerides on Millenium Force and Magnum? It is a weekday at the end of the season. I'd leave early if it happened. I also like the idea of a back-up day in case on of the big rides is down. I'm going to have to check out Clementon. How does it compare with Dorney, which is nothing but a credit grab. I could get so much more done if I had 4 more days, such as Carrowinds, Dollywood, Holiday World, or Six Flags New England. I sure thought about it, but I feel pretty lucky to get 10 days.

I was just at this park a week or two ago. It seems likely the gate was one that blocks entrance to the tram service road where it meets the main parking area. Does anyone know? There's a lot of foot traffic there, as well as an employee to direct and stop traffic when the tram is moving from the loading zone into the behind-barriers service road. It isn't an ideal road alignment.

I've hit the West's major parks, and knocked off all Orlando has to offer. I'm out to rack up numbers out east, discover the meaning of air time, sample old fashioned fun, and visit the self-proclaimed coaster capital of the world. Southwest Airlines is getting me to and from Baltimore / Washington International. A rental car will do the rest. It wasn't hard to come up with a list of big parks to visit. It doesn't get difficult until you start juggling operational schedules. Some parks are into weekends only in late August. Examples include Holiday World and Six Flags America. The schedule is listed below. All parks are first visits other than Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Hershey Park, and Great Adventure. I know the drive times and distances are pushing it. A few questions: Are Dorney and Knoebels really doable, both in a single day? Can't miss Knoebels attractions other than the obvious (coasters)? Recommended hotels? Particularly just north of Richmond between Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens, between Great Adventure and Dorney, between Knoebels and Pittsburgh, and at CP. Thanks for the help! This will be my first coaster trip of this length. Mon: Fly into Baltimore arriving midnight. Tues: Six Flags America am / Kings Dominion pm Weds: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (backstage Coaster Tour) / possible Kings Dominion pm Thurs: Kings Dominion am / Hershey Park pm (Twilight admission) Fri: Six Flags Great Adventure Sat: Dorney Park am / Knoebels pm Sun: Kennywood Mon: Cedar Pt Tues: Cedar Pt Weds: Kings Island Thurs: Long drive from Cincinnati to Baltimore / fly home pm

Outstanding! Its coming back to me. Maaskrug - the ideal measure of beer. Oh how I miss German fairs, at least what I remember of them... Got to go back soon - show my kid where she came into the world.

The High Miler at the Del Mar Fair. Not bad for a mobile rattletrap. Before that Quicksilver Express at Gilroy Gardens. A nice mine train layout. It would run so much better with half the cars; the train's own length holds it back. GG is quite the charming little park. I hope they've found the formula to keep it around for a second decade. Gilroy Gardens publicity photo.

After droning on and on through the central valley, we finally hit the cut-over and wound our way to Santa Cruz. Before we knew it we were pulling into the parking lot under the shadow of the Beach Boardwalk's Giant Dipper. What a cool place! This is San Diego's Belmont Park as it could have been, but hey, I'm glad the not quite as old nor anywhere near as thrilling southerly Giant Dipper survived. I've been around long enough to ride it both pre and post its new lease on life. Aside over. It was the first night of the Pepsi pay one price deal, where $10 and a can got one all rides access from 5 pm on. Foot traffic was fairly heavy, but the queues weren't bad at all. We hightailed it immediately to the brand new Haunted Castle. Excellent! This isn't a scare-fest; its a family friendly and light-hearted dark ride. We loved it. Then it was off to the bumpy goodness of the Giant Dipper. This 86 year old piece of wooden loveliness puts many modern rides built with computer-aided design to shame. If a small to medium seaside park can keep their centerpiece running well, there's no excuse for mediocrity. No air gates, queue interaction (high fives coming into the station), single lap bars. Simply outstanding; we piled on the laps. We don't credit whore kiddie coasters (that's the alcoholic's version of settling for Bartles and James - gotta draw the line somewhere), but there was one compact steelie for our first new credit of the sojourn. James dubbed that twisted little thing HurriPain. Not so much for one particular neck-snapping transition, but for the insane head choppers. After committing James' reaction to pixels, we pounded some fair food, hit up the better flats, then rolled into San Jose around 10 pm. CGA was up next. Look at those curves! Vintage but still sexy at 86. HurriPain, so named for the duck-inducing head choppers that had our chins on the lap bar.

TL 98 was an utter failure. The area went from vibrant and full of kinetic motion to a hollow wasteland. As others mentioned, even prior to the closure of that monument to half measures Rocket Rods, Disney management shuttered multiple attractions (not all at once), only to replace them with corporate advertising space, an already aging 4D movie, and a mediocre restaurant. But who could forget that state of the art fountain and giant marble in the plaza? Please! The mall down the street had one just like it. Utter fail - a dozen years later much of the damage is undone, but the heart of the land remains dead and still.

My son and I were also there on Wednesday. We loved the new Haunted Castle with it's lighthearted take. The effects and animatronics far surpassed the expected tacky factor. The ride should appeal to a broad audience. For scares, there's another attraction just down the midway.

Short version: Goliath and Viper beat stop and go LA traffic; if the 86 year old Giant Dipper rocks, there's no excuse for crappy wood; CGA stands for California's Grumpy America (except the lifeguards, they rule); Discovery Kingdom for the win even minus V2; and Gilroy Gardens is twisted (trees). This is a photo poor report. I bring a small point and shoot, but it stays forgotten in my pocket most of the time. I identify lugging a camera with being outside the action (I shoot for work). Coaster time is for fun. Off we went last Wednesday, leaving home plenty early for the dash around the suck that is LA traffic. Our goal was simple. 4 Bay Area parks in as many days. Day 1: The plan called for a credit dash at Gilroy Gardens, followed by an evening at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was the first day of SCBB's Pepsi promotion - $10 and an empty can was good for an all-rides wristband from 5pm. The joke was on us. 4 and a half hours of LA stop and go later (one accident scene after another), we pulled off to collect my shattered wits and grub some Denny's just south of Magic Mt. Well, the Mt was about to open, so why not? We ponied up our $10 for early entry ERT wristbands. What would it be? X2 or Tatsu? No - that day at least a ten spot bought laps on Goliath and a couple of kiddie rides. We hopped the 255 ft identity challenged steelie and didn't get off until we'd logged 5 laps. On 3 of those, we had the train to ourselves. We checked in at Terminator (down at open), rolled straight into the station and onto Tatsu, then jumped on Viper (I still love it) before bailing for I-5 at 11:30 as crowds and more crowds were streaming in. SCBB bound! (to be continued) Bonus! Viper beats stop and go traffic any day. Now if it was GASM... Check out the kid's OG Indy shirt, salted away from the ride's inception.

^I can't help but wonder what happened with V2. Early summer? That's not likely scheduled maintenance, at least I don't imagine so. We'll just have to save it for BAB 2011! The last time we were up there was mainly to collect the Roar credit. It was down, but between Medusa, V2, and Tony Hawk, we logged plenty of fun laps. How was Demon running during BAB? We're slightly disappointed CGA closes at 8 most nights. Last year Sundays stretched to 10 pm. Flight Deck was delivering great night rides. This time we'll get them on the old wood at Santa Cruz, even cooler. Thanks all for the updates. My son is 13 going on 25, nearly 6ft 1 of full-fledged coaster nut. Thank-goodness! He enables my adrenaline addiction.

My son and I missed Bay Area Bash - darn out of the country work travel, coaster-less even. It wasn't all bad - free tequila! So we're going to embark on our own BAB, minus the cool factor of the Party Bus, Manly Poses, Backstage Tours, ERT and general TPR zaniness. Does anyone have the inside story on V2? Its been down for several weeks. All the park will do is confirm said info. We love that twisted thing. How's the backstage animal tour? It isn't very expensive. Peak lines on any given Friday? That one's for Flashpass planning. Also, CGA's Invertigo was testing during BAB. Any chance it'll be back in the next week or two? Any can't miss aspects to the water park? How long should I budget for Gilroy Gardens? I'm thinking two hours should be plenty to gawk at the trees and collect a few credits. What's the best fair food at SCBB? As long as we're pestering the world with questions, how about some restaurant recommendations from the locals? Anything special? We'll sport our TPR gear. Please say hello if you spot a middle aged coaster geek and an improbably tall 13 year old.

We noticed a station music track playing on Sunday. Is it a minor replacement for the on board audio or was it always there?

Nope, not this time. We're already committed to an east coast swing a short while later to experience Intimidator 305, and can do only one or the other. Sell it to me. Other than they haven't been, why would someone choose this park over any other? ANYONE who can get there should definitely go. Rob's Bashes are in the not to be missed category.

Thanks, that's what I was hoping you'd say. It sounds amazing; I think we have a reasonable chance to join you the next time TPR offers a Japan trip (barring the usual health and job uncertainties of course). I know this year's trip schedule is just getting underway, so its way too early to ask when TPR might return to Asia. Do you recall the per person cost for your most recent Japan trip?

Our family has long been fascinated with the wonderful weirdness that *appears* to be part of Japanese culture. It looks a bit daunting for a first time visitor, but you'd never find us in a typical tour group. Now that we know there's Elissa friendly food - our particular JAL wouldn't starve. I'd be cool with only visiting parks but that wouldn't work for the spouse. If we visited with TPR would she feel like she'd sampled Japan? Personally I can't think of a better way to visit.

According to that Al Lutz update, DCA managers continue to be married to the idea of closing half of the park to accommodate the new show. Paradise Pier is the only area that's received a work-over to this point, far from complete at that, meaning there's no additional capacity elsewhere yet. I think I'll avoid that park entirely come evening time, as it promises to be an over-crowded nightmare with very little to do other than wait in line. I still think its crazy to deliberately sacrifice capacity for a show, but the bottom line will tell the true tale. This might be just the hype bonanza this hobbled park needs to attract the GP. I don't know if those recently released theme park attendance numbers are anywhere close to accurate, but if they are, Disneyland pulled in 10 million more visitors than DCA last year. The other "umph" gut punch is Lutz's claim that the viewing area designed with a 9,000 guest capacity can only handle 6k. Holy engineering goof-up! Let's hope that Lutz is wrong and not the other way around.

Got reacquainted with Xcel today. It had been too long. So long, it was like a new ride. (Hmm, wonder if that works for significant others? Never mind!) For me, this is a front seat coaster. Air over the top hat - I didn't feel any past car two. Also somehow, its a more enjoyable experience than Kingda Ka's quick up and down. Heresy? Silver Bullet was in single train ops - so slow. The other train is half taken apart, with seats and seat supports on the floor of the maintenance bay. Anyone know when that work should finish?

What a revelation! If Elissa can survive the exotic gastronomy of Japan and China, that means my son can. His diet is much the same minus the dogs and burgers: rice and butter with pasta, plain roast chicken or chicken strips, red delicious apples, plus fries and basic breads. For him its a sensory deal related to Asperger's. Just how difficult is it to find Elissa eats on TPR's Asia trips?