froggypheebs

That Star Dancer ride looks neat, different that anything I've seen before. It looks like Ferris wheel cars up there. I'll go with 3 duckies.

Thanks for the comprehensive report. I like looking at all the rides a park has, not just the coasters. Is that speedway ride a real whip or does it just go in a circle? Do you know who the manufacturer of that Ferris wheel is? I like the shape of the gondolas and it doesn't look like a typical Chance model.

I couldn't agree more. It wouldn't be that bad if they weren't EVERYWHERE. I don't know why so many parks have them since as you mentioned the capacity is terrible.

This was a great TR, thanks! I've been thinking about going on the Midwest Trip next year and this gave me confirmation that it will be totally worth it if I can get the time off. I'm glad you had a great time!

I'm glad you liked SDL. I think it's the hidden gem in that park that nobody talks about. It never has a line either. I guess I'm a sucker for classic Schwarzkopf's.

Thank you FeeltheFORCE, that makes a lot of sense. Steel, thank you for the list, I'll have to get out and ride some of those other coasters someday to judge for myself.

Wow $250,000 a year is pretty steep, didn't know it was that much. What is the reason it was tearing itself apart vs. other wood coasters? Also how long did it operate before they added the trims?

Blue Fire looks incredible! Thanks for the pics. I would love to visit Europa Park someday, it looks so beautiful. I hope we see more rides like this from Mack in the future, it just looks so awesome!

I love how Mean Streak weaves in and out of itself. I don't think I have ridden any other woodie that does this. Are there more like this? The awesome design unfortunately doesn't make up for the ride. When I first rode it I could not figure out why in the world there was a trim on the first drop. It sounds like this was done for maintenance purposes? That seems like a silly way to fix a maintenance problem vs. actually giving the ride frequent TLC like other parks do. The above list does not look pretty but are there any Dinn/Summers coasters that are still considered great coasters?

This looks like such a great time even with the rain. I wish we had tongue-in-cheek humor at parks in the States. I would totally ride a water ride themed to cannibalism.

These are great trip reports. I'm having a blast reading them and glad you enjoyed all that PA parks have to offer. A ride on Phoenix in 1-3 (the ejector seat) is one of the best coaster rides you could have. The best seat on the train

Thanks for the report. This makes me want to make a trip down there sometime this summer, especially if Trimper's is rumored to not open next year. Those dark rides look like a lot of fun.

Great trip reports. You mentioned you hadn't ridden GASM, don't worry you're not missing much. Unless you enjoy head banging. Also I loved the Coney Island update! If you can ride the Cyclone, you can ride pretty much anything!

I'm making my first trip to SFA later this summer. I'm going in with extremely low expectations, that way I won't be disappointed. Your TR makes it seem like it is not as bad as it once was. It seems clean and I didn't see you mention any breakdowns/closed rides. It really seems like it has potential to be a good park. How were the employees? Lethargic and slow like I've heard or have they improved? On a different note, I'm glad they opened the train up to everyone this year. That's a good step towards the family-friendly atmosphere SF is going for. Skull Mountain seems like such a unique and fun ride. Can't wait to ride it!

Since you are going on a Sunday, I don't think it will be too packed except for a few certain rides, Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Great Bear, Comet. Saturdays are much worse. Even those lines will probably be somewhere around 45-60 minutes. I've never seen a 2 hour line at Hershey even on a weekend. Since you mentioned you will be with kids, the kiddie rides and flats shouldn't have too long of lines, maybe a cycle or two. Even SDL and Lightning Racer should be close to walk-on. One place that will definitely be packed with long lines is The Boardwalk. People flock to that area of the park.

My home parks are: Dorney Park hour and 15 minutes Knoebels hour and a half Hersheypark 2 hours I consider Knoebels my "true" home park because I visit it the most even though Dorney is technically closer.

El Toro Phoenix Jack Rabbit's double down

I'm going to say 4 Duckies. You mentioned this park is near Coney Island. What subway stop is it at? I would like to visit next time I am in the city.

That looks like a great little park! Hopefully I'll get there someday to ride that awesome boat chute. Thanks for the trip report.

Great pics! I love the pic of MF's underside. Very unique view.

That was an awesome trip report! Probably one of the best I've ever read. Thanks for the exclusive coverage.

I decided to get a Six Flags season pass for the first time this year. There are some relatively close SF parks that I have never been too so I thought it would be worth it. (Great Escape, SFNE, and SFA) The only SF I have visited before is GAdv. I’m not a big of a fan of that park as it is way too unbalanced for me to fully enjoy. I decided on GE as my “home” park since this is a more “tame” park I can bring my mom here for free (on certain days) and she won’t be bored out of her mind. She enjoys parks for the more tame rides and shows. She’ll ride some spinners but nothing too crazy. I was eager to go to a SF park that is on the right track toward the “family-friendly” trend. I also was anxious to ride Comet to compare it to my beloved Phoenix. We left PA around 8AM on Saturday and started out for an easy drive on I-84 and I-87. The season pass line was the longest wait the whole day. About 30 minutes. I walked inside the gate and instantly loved this place. I looked at all the little houses in the front of the park. I liked the little schoolhouse and the general store. I also liked that some of them were fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, etc. I have to say that “Goosey, Goosey, Gander” had to be my favorite as every time we walked by the geese were quiet to me but when my friend walked by they squawked at him OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD every time. It was hilarious. I loved the Swan Boat ride. Are there any other boat rides like this where you can fit like 10 people in a boat? We also did Thunder Alley, the car ride but our radio didn’t work, just static. The tulips along the ride were cute. We also did the Storytown train and sky ride, boomerang, and Alice in Wonderland walkthrough here. The Rabbit Season walkthrough wasn’t open yet for the season so I’ll have to come back to do this. That suspension bridge looked like a lot of fun. We sat for part of the pirate water show and it was really good, great actors and stunts, you could tell the audience was enjoying themselves. We also stopped at the petting zoo. I had read on the map they had this but forgot about it until it was right in front of me. It was a great surprise when I found it and we got to pet the alpacas, goats, sheep, and cows. The turtles were also awesome. We went up to Ghost Town next and rode the Steamin’ Demon. Short, not all that memorable. Next was the Condor. The only other one I have ridden is Hershey’s and this one is definitely not as good as that one. They don’t even start spinning it until you’re already like 10 feet in the air. Still a fun ride but not as good or intense as it could be. We rode Canyon Blaster, a cute little mine train. The theming was pretty good. Definitely the best theming on a mine train I’ve ever seen. Log flue was next. Again with the theming! Best theming I have ever seen on a log flume. Yeah there were some old parts of rides that you could see behind the park, the old rainbow ride and some of the boats for the rapids ride but for the real theming of the ride there was the old west buildings on the right hand side of the ride and then the tunnel at the end of the ride was pretty awesome. Inside the tunnel were wax figures working in an old saw mill cutting logs and at the very end before the drop was a guy spinning around on a log above your head. When I looked at pictures I always saw the main sign for the park but I never realized that it was the log flume. That was a nice surprise. After this it was over to the Fest Area of the park, we rode the Ferris wheel and saw the Alpine Bobsleds running. I was getting excited to ride it until we went to get in line and there were people coming out the entrance. It broke down right before we got in line. And didn’t reopen all weekend. I was really excited to ride this. Oh well. So back to the Comet. Saved the best for last. I’ve heard this thing was temperamental. Well, I must have caught it on a good day because it was awesome! The thing was flying! Intense, fun, and just a great ride that is very rerideable. Also they had 2 trains running even though the line was pretty short. That was cool of them and the crew was pretty good. Not as good as Phoenix, but still had a lot of air and I left it with a smile on my face from ear to ear. Too cold to go in the waterpark this weekend but it looked like a lot of fun it is was 10-15 degrees warmer. Overall: extremely friendly employees, only one ride down (Alpine Bobsleds), great family atmosphere, hardly any lines, pretty decent operations. I loved this place and would go back in a heartbeat.

I have to agree with this 100%. The operations have been remarkably good lately. I also can't stand the changes but can get around them. I avoid dealing with the lockers by not bringing anything extra to the park and I never get flashpass since I will only go here in May/September. But the one thing that drives me crazy is the ride removals. Especially since SF is going toward a more "family-friendly" approach. I just don't get that as GAdv at all. This unbalance is the one thing that keeps me from visiting multiple times a year even though it is pretty close.

One other thing I would suggest is to really look at the map good before going. You can get lost here without really trying. It's laid out really weird, lots of skinny walkways. You may end up in a completely different section of the park without even realizing it. Also, if you are looking for a little quiet time in the middle of the day, you can go to ZooAmerica for an hour or two (free with admission!). You can barely even hear the buzz from the park over there. The entrance is in Minetown. Also located between Minetown and Pioneer Frontier is one of the only Aquatheaters left. It had a cute show last year with sea lions.

Phoenix at Knoebels this Saturday!