KBrylczyk

Not really in the time allowance. 5 parks in 5 days, plus 2 days for travel (flying from NJ to LA), we're full up, haha. As for spring break, does anybody in the area know a time frame for when the schools have time off? If it's mid-April, I could do this trip at the end of March when SFMM opens daily again (thanks, Sidra).

Haha, that's the thing. When I was in Margaritaville earlier (I'm on the ship now), the SFMM website would just redirect me to the Park Info page instead of loading the calendar. It's a glitch, I guess, and I didn't have the time to figure it out. KBF's calendar shows it will be open, as will Universal. The two Disney parks, though, their schedules only go from now thru January, so it looks like I'll be waiting on those to update. Thanks, by the way, The Bebes (Justin Bieber?!), for the info about going late April. That's not a bad idea...sort of a farewell trip before I go onto another 6-month contract.

Hiya, peoples! Let me get right down to business. I work on a cruise ship and, as such, have limited time on land to go out and have fun. Right now, I am contracted through February 27th, 2011, where I will have a two-month vacation. I sign on to my next ship on May 1st, 2011. In those two months, I am planning a week long trip to LA for myself and a few friends. I've never been to the fabled SoCal and am looking to make the most of it. Right now, the way I see it, there are 5 parks to hit; SFMM, KBF, DL, DCA, and USH. The easiest way would be to fly into LA on a Sunday, hit the parks, one per day, monday through friday, fly home Saturday. Then again, I am unaware of the parks' schedules and have no clue if they'll be open during the week in March or April. I remember someone mentioning that SFMM is only open on weekends in the off season, but I'm not sure when they reopen on the weekdays. Same goes for every other park. As mentioned, I work on a cruise ship and have extremely limited internet access. To get online from the ship I have to pay 10 cents per minute for a connection that is slower than dial-up. Right now I am sitting in Margaritaville mooching their connection and enjoying a quesadilla. The point is, unless I want to spend my vacation budget on internet time planning the vacation, I'm going to need some help. Does anyone have any suggestions in terms of scheduling, what crowds are like that time of year, etc.? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, this is in early development, so things can easily be moved around as per your suggestions. Thanks a bunch, guys! - Kyle P.S. - I know its going to be asked, so here you go. I work for Carnival (yeah, booooo, I know) onboard the Carnival Valor. I'm the stage automation technician, meaning I control all of the scenic drops, the lifts, the massive turntable, etc. Basically, anything on the stage that can kill someone is my responsibility, haha.

I never got to ride it while it was SRoS as I've never been to SFNE until this year. However, being able to ride it as Bizzaro was one HELL of an experience. I was excited the whole drive up, knowing I'd finally be able to ride this thing I've seen so many pictures of and heard so much about. I had my doubts, though, as I know Six Flags and their track record with coasters maintaining their awesomeness. My first ride ever was in the back row. I had a blast, but honestly, the ride was nowhere near a #1 to me. It was just a fun ride. Then...I rode the front. Sweet mother! I would swear I had a religious experience! The first drop was alright, but the tunnel was evil! Massive headchopper! The second hill provided some good floater air, and here's where things got WAY out of hand. See, in the front row, after you start heading down the second drop, you can feel the weight of the train push you faster. And fast. And the next thing you know, you're being crushed into your seat on the overbank turn from the Gs, only to level out at ground level into a wicked friggin S-curve that stays on the ground. Pure speed. A sudden little dip sends you into hill 3 which meets you with EJECTOR airtime, followed by hill 4 with even STRONGER ejector air. Then, its time for the spaghetti bowl. Up and to the left, down and to the right, up and then down to the left, intense helix with some crazy Gs, up to the left, down to the right into another tunnel that threatens to reclaim your arms for Mother Nature, up and into some quick bunny hops, followed by another ground hugging turn that sends you careening into the breaks at what feels like 500 mph. Pure. Frickin. Insanity. The effects and soundtrack just make the ride that much more entertaining, too! Highly recommended and I cannot wait to get back up next season.

I don't think so. I haven't ridden, so maybe someone who has can correct me if I am wrong. But I do know for sure that if you don't pick a song by a certain amount of time, then the computer just picks one for you. So my answer is no, you get music. It automatically picks Busy Child from Crystal Method. As for my review, the ride is average. The non-inverting loops is funky, and the Treble Cleff is one monster of an element. That thing pulls some serious Gs, but after the trevle cleff? The ride peters out and gets boring. Not to mention that the "crowd surfer" turn over the queue is horribly designed. The train is going so slow that the riders slam into the side of the seat instead of "surfing." They really need to learn how to properly load and unload, too. One train dispatches every 3 minutes. That's 12 people per 3 minutes. Its horrible capacity.

Oh, I've already been there plenty of times. Most recently was about 3 or 4 years ago for Scarowinds. Fun times.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys. I've had a few changes of plans. Number one is that the night of the 8th I'm having a stopover in Charlotte, NC. My Aunt and Uncle live there and are giving me a free place to stay. Its a way for me to break up the trip, haha. I'm not going to be making a trip to any large park, though, such as Carowinds or BGW. Its just not in my budget anymore. I will, however, be making a stop at Trimpers. I've never heard of the place before this thread and it looks like a ton of fun. I'm a huge fan of classic flats, haunted houses, and fun houses, so it looks like I'd be right at home, haha. After my stay overnight in Charlotte I'm making a trip straight through to Daytona, where I have the brand new Holiday Inn booked for the night of the 9th. I figure it'd give me a chance to relax and get a good night's sleep before moving in at Disney on the 10th. That, and I'll be able to watch the sunrise on the beach. Sure, I've seen tons of sunrises here in Jersey over the beach, but I mean, its friggin Daytona beach! hahaha. Move-in time at Disney runs from 9AM - 1PM, and I figure its probably a two-hour drive from Daytona to Disney, correct? Monday morning, going down I-4, and traffic worries I should know about?

We wanted to, but we missed the turn for the old road. We drove right next to it, too, haha. We're gonna go back. We were in a hurry to get to King Of Prussia because my friend Mike decided it'd be a good idea to wear his glasses on Phoenix and lose them on the last bunny hop, haha. While I was driving he was calling Lens Crafters and Pearl Vision to see if they'd be able to make a quick and dirty new prescription pair for him before the movie. We were successful, with 5 minutes to spare before showtime, lol.

Welcome, welcome, to my trip report that's been two weeks in the making. Don't take that to mean that I put any extra effort into this, though, haha. I've been busy busy, finally have time to get around to posting all of this. Now, this was my first ever time visiting Knoebels. I've lived in Central Jersey my whole life and have never made the trip to Knoebels, and I have no clue what the deuce I was waiting for. This was one of the best, most fun parks I've ever been to, and I only spent two and a half hours there! You can bet that I'll be making another trip out there before I move to Florida next month. The surprises of the trip were the Flyers and the Roll-O-Plane. I've never ridden a Roll-O-Plane before, and that thing threw me for a loop (no pun intended). Tons of fun compacted down to that one little contraption. The Flyers, though? I've ridden flyers before. The ones at Hershey, mainly. I've never understood everyone's love for these things. Every one that I've ridden has been slow, boring, and you can't get any height whatsoever. These monsters at Knoebels, though?! WHAT THE DEUCE DID I JUST RIDE?! This thing was a beast let loose form the very bowels of Hell itself with one mission - to make me have the most fun on any ride anywhere ever. Obviously I'm a novice at these things, but I picked up the technique in no time. Major height, going vertical / horizontal, snapping the cables a few times (before I noticed Mr. Ride Op about to say something). These things were BEYOND fun. I never wanted the ride to end. Twister was a fun ride. Very strong laterals, nice layout, and very sneaky with it's speed. The only real problem is those damn lapbars on the trains. I've never liked them (why would you have the things curve inwards right where your knees are? WHY?!). Fun coaster, though. Phoenix, well, now I know that the rumors are true. This really is a stand-up rollercoaster. I had to explain to my friend Mike why we were going traight to the third row rather than the front or back (he doesn't understand the "catapult" action of third-seats on PTC). Short woodie (heh) but fast and wicked. Airtime out the yingyang. The Haunted House was a nice treat. I can see why it gets rated so high by DAFE. As usual, the train gag is the one that really got me. Bumper Cars...well, now, these are from a separate dimension. I saw people getting knocked onto TWO WHEELS on these things! Another huge surprise of the trip, and another ride I would love to sit on for the entire day. We were on a tight schedule, though, so we didn't get a chance to ride everything or re-ride everything. We did re-rides on Phoenix and the Flyers, but that's all. Definitely going to be comin back and getting a wristband for the day. Being there for a little more than 2 hours and only spending $15, though, is one hell of a good deal or the amount we got done. After Knoebels we drove the half hour down to Centralia, PA, the abandoned town due to the massive underground coal fire. It's still burning, and will burn for another 250 years. More info here - http://offroaders.com/album/centralia/ Following Centralia, we had a date at the King Of Prussia IMAX for Transformers 2, which was the mistake of the trip. I want my money back. Terrible movie. Cool explosions and Megan Fox is hot and all, but the movie was horrible. IMAX for life, though, haha. And now...ON WITH THE PICS! This was taken at the intersection between Lockheed Martin's headquarters and the IMAX. Purty purty lights. Apparently abandoned towns still have commemorative plaques. And benches. No abandoned town is complete without a creepy gothic church looking over it from a mountain. This used to all be residential properties. Now it's, well, green. One of many Windmills on the outskirts of Centralia. Mooooooooooo. This was about two miles away from Knoebels on our way to Centralia. Skloosh! Possibly the most appropriate name for a water ride anywhere. Flying Turns. 3 years and counting in the making. The most fun you can have while sitting in a little tin box. That includes your Dodge Neon. Knoebels Photo Cliche #235-25387-A I was NOT expecting it to go sideways. Freaky surprise! This ride is flippin sweet. Knoebels Photo Cliche #1245 Knoebels Photo Cliche #2345078 Here's something you probably never thought you'd see. Knoebels Haunted House...THROUGH THE TREES! Ooooo, spooky, well landscaped, haunted house, haha. YEAH! Panning for gold! Rising from the ashes, cliche #257, etc. etc. H-H-H-HELIX! Its a twister! Its a twister! Auntie Em! Knoebels Parking Lot! 90% grass, 100% free. Gotta love it. Gettin close to the park now. No longer on an interstate, haha. I love the Pennsylvania landscape. On the road again...

I remember seeing the endless "Pedro" signs on the way to Myrtle Beach. But don't they have a Wild Mouse now? I may just have to stop in.

And a few "awesome pops" of your spine breaking multiple times, hahaha. Bizzaro is a no-brainer. I saw God in the front seat earlier this year (read my TR if you don't believe me, lol). Thunderbolt is one of the most fun woodies I've ridden. Its tiny, yes, but in the third seat and the back seat it will throw you for a loop. Tons of fun. Splash Water Falls, also noted in my TR, was the huge surprise for me in my trip. I came off of it grinning and giggling like a complete nutjob. Its THAT much fun.

Literally, the east coast, haha. I will be moving to Orlando, FL from Howell, NJ in early August to work for Disney as a part of their college internship program (even though I just graduated). My current plan is to take the scenic route on down. Now, I've never made the car trip to Florida. I've flown down many times, and I've driven so far as Myrtle Beach, but south of Myrtle, I'm lost, haha. Right now my trip takes me down the Parkway to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, through Delaware and along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (something I haven't been on in about 10 years). I'm looking for help on places to stop along the way. Hopefully one big park (such as BGW, PKD, or SFOG) and any smaller parks along the way. Who here can give me some helpful tips?

ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin!!!!!! They really need to put Legs and Sharp Dressed Man on there, though. Second ride? Devil Went Down To Georgia. Just to see how much it has been chopped down for time.

Yeah, I've gotta agree with you. Watching the video just made me sad to see the people jump only to be caught by the rope and slowed immediately. Not even a little bit of freefall on that thing.

I hope they do something about Lightning Racer soon. I remember riding that in it's first year and having a ton of fun. Lots of airtime, smooth ride, just an all around fun ride. When I was back there last month and rode it, it was a shadow of its former self. I only had airtime on one hill (ejector air, so that was awesome) and the trains were shaking and shimmying all over the place, even with the Millenium Flyers! I still rode twice on either side, but it was just sad to see how far it has fallen. Wildcat, on the other hand, whoah baby. That ride just gets better with age. And now with the Millenium Flyers on that beast? Sure, it still knocks your face off, but that's what makes it so great! Wildcat is easily the best ride at the park. It is also the one coaster I will always be confused by. The thing DOES NOT SLOW DOWN! In fact, it seems to only get faster the further into the ride you go!

Trust me, if you've been to the town lately you would know that a beach house in Wildwood is a terrifying prospect now, haha. The town has reallllllly gone downhill over the past few years. North Wildwood is still gorgeous, but Wildwood itself is falling apart. The piers are really the only nice areas left. Even most of the main boardwalk is bleah, haha. I remember Wildwood back in it's heyday, too, and it was an excellent town with one of the best boardwalks I've seen. Now it's just crashing. Ocean City, on the other hand, just keeps getting prettier and prettier. Unfortunately Gillian's Wonderland Pier doesn't hold a candle to Morey's.

Yeah, I know to avoid the GW Bridge like the plague, but since I was up there so early I figured it wouldn't be too bad. I'd rather shave the extra 30 miles off of my trip than go to the Tappanzee (Tappan Zee?) Bridge. Guess I learned my lesson, though. No time is safe for the GW, lol. I went to school at Rowan University, about 10 miles southeast of Philly. I learned my way around that mess, too, haha. If I knew the Phillies or Eagles were having a home game I would steer clear of the Walt Whitman, or if it was around rush hour I'd stay away from the Ben Franklin. The Commodore Barry was a good friend of mine, lol. For some reason I think we'd get along swimmingly, haha.

Quit stalking me, haha.

Hey man, I'm from Jersey. Chalk up another "we get a bad rep" guy, haha. I'd love to come along, but I'm up to my neck in students loans. Gotta love how they jump on ya immediately after graduation to pay them off, hahaha. If you're a AAA member definitely give them a check for discounts. I know they have a deal with six flags (I got SFNE for $28 flat last week), but I'm unsure on Disney and Cedar Fair. As for a good place to eat, I HIGHLY recommend this little place called In N Out Burger. Maybe you've heard of it, but its strictly a west coast chain, which sucks for us. I went to the one in Vegas and almost had a religious experience, hahaha.

How do, everyone? I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that 99.999% to 100% of you have no clue who I am, haha. I was a member of the forums wayyyyy back when they first started here, back when I was a young teen who thought he knew everything there was to know about the world. Then I went to college, haha. Unfortunately throughout my time in college I had very little to do with coasters. Being from Central Jersey (yes, we do exist), I got out to Six Flags Great Adventure once a year or not at all and that was all. Gotta love those shoestring budgets. Needless to say, being Great Adventure, my time in college was like living in Hell with Satan by my side in terms of theme parks and coasters. I can't stand the place, haha. But hey, here I am, fresh out of school and ready to dive right back in to what I love, and that is anything and everything dealing with rides! To kick off this newfound freedom, I went to Hersheypark for the first time in about four years. No photo TR for that one, though. Forgot a camera, haha. This report, however, comes to you thanks in part to my cousin, Eddie, who lives in New Hampshire. He invited me up for a long weekend and I decided that since it's only a half hour out of the way from my usual route to his place I'd finally make a trip to this Six Flags park. The drive up was quite the story in itself. The weather was pure crud with tons of fog all around NJ. I was on the road at 5:20 AM and made it to the George Washington Bridge by 6:30, only to be welcomed by a wall of 18-Wheelers and SUVs. The radio told me that the bridge was fine...oh how they were wrong. I was finally over the bridge and back on I-95 at 8 AM, so I got a move on to New Haven, then jumped onto I-91 which brought me into Agawam like a speed demon, haha. The weather was still pretty blah up in Massachusetts but it was definitely better than it was in Jersey. I got into the parking lot at 9:55 AM and saw a grand total of about 10 other cars and one school bus. The day was looking to be a good one. Until I got slammed by the $15 parking fee. Why, Six Flags? Why? Rather than get into a huge rant about how every single thing in the park is EXTREMELY overpriced, I'll just get on with the report, haha. I did catch a break with my ticket, though. AAA Online Discounts are incredible. I got into the park and headed straight for Superm-er, Bizzaro. This ride had one hell of a reputation to uphold. I've been hearing for years how great it is, along with it consistently winning the coveted #1 Steel Coaster In The World four times. I headed directly for the back seat. Wow, amazing ride. The way it maintains it's speed, tries to send you rocketing out of your seat and into the stratosphere, and the completely tangled mess of track at the end all combine to make this thing a force to be reckoned with. Still, I didn't feel that it was #1 in the world material. Tons of fun, but not quite the full package. Of course, with the weather keeping everyone away, I rode another two times (one in middle, again in back) before heading to other rides. The Batman ride here was a mean little sucker. Short, sweet, and to the point, very much in the same vain as the five-kajillion Batman: The Rides at other Six Flags parks. This guy packed a punch with it's tight layout and kick-my-ass forces. I dunno, maybe it's because I've been so out of practice, but I felt some tunnel vision coming on on the turnarund through the loop. In all a very fun ride, but it could use some train maintenance. The entrances to both corkscrews gave me a nice pounding. Also, please, oh, please let them find new ride operators for this thing. The person assigning the rows was the most inconsiderate and stubborn guy I've met, and I'm from Jersey. Mindbender...well, we all know what's comin here. Typical SLC, only way worse. This was far and away the worst one I've ridden. I got off feeling like I'd entered the ring with Tyson. I made my way over to Thunderbolt, which my uncle had warned me packs a punch I wouldn't expect. He was right. This little, tiny, old woodie slapped my ass and called me susan, and I loved every minute of it. Definitely give this one a go in the third row of the first car. As a bonus to the ejector airtime, you'll also get a free spine-adjustment! What a deal! Their Boomerang was same old, same old, but not too rough, so it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Cyclone, the big woodie...um, not sure how to classify this one. I guess it'd be best to say it's like Mean Streak. It has a ton of potential, but terrible retracking and trim brakes destroy it. I swore we weren't going to crest the second hill. When the train is allowed t pick up speed, this thing hauls, but it is a very rare occurence. Pandemonium was a very fun little ride. I'd only ridden Crazy Mice in terms of spinning coasters before, nothing like this one, though. Very entertaining. It didn't spin a whole lot, but just enough to get the job done. I was laughing the entire time. I headed back to Bizzaro to give the front seat a try, just to see if it was any different than the back. Holy. Hell. Do I have a new #1? I think I do! Riding in the back was fun, sure, but riding this thing in the front is like a religious experience. Nothing compares to it (from what I've ridden). That's all I can really write about it, honestly. I can't put into words how great this monster was in the front row. None of that second row stadium seating stuff, either. I tried the second row. It's a whole different world in the front. Oh. My. Nuts. I went around to the very few flat rides the park offers that aren't kiddie rides. Scream (Double-Shot Tower) was a fun guy. I sat on the side facing Bizzaro and, thus, the lower ground and river, and had a fun time. After the one on the Stratosphere Tower, though, none of these manages to scare me, haha. A very pleasant surprise for me was Splashwater Falls, the family raft ride imported from Astroworld. I watched a few full rafts come down and, after deciding that I won't get too wet in the 60-degree weather, walked the mile-long queue to get in my own raft. Holy wow this thing threw me for a loop. I felt like I was in the spin cycle in my laundry machine! Almost immediately after getting off of the conveyor and onto the actual slide this thing spins out of control, and I was laughing like a lunatic the entire time. Pure fun that came out of nowhere. Unfortunately Catapult was shut down for the day, which I was VERY disappointed about. I love psycho flat rides, and I was really looking forward to riding it, but alas, it's not meant to be. After another loop around the park for pictures, I ended my day by riding Bizzaro another 10 times, finishing with a final ride in the front row. I love this thing to death. And yes, every effect was working, including the fireballs. Did I mention the misters in the tunnels yet? Yeah, I know you know they're there, but what you don't know is how high they were turned up when I was there. Walking between the entrance and Johnny Rockets was a challenge, as you couldn't see two feet in front of you. That's how high they were turned up. You'll see in the pics. Overall it was a very good day. It was nice to finally get to a Six Flags park that knows what theming and landscaping is, as well as one that knows what it is to keep the place clean. The park is gorgeous. ONE LAST NOTE - The soundtrack for Bizzaro is hilarious. It really has absolutely nothing to do with the ride, it's just a mashup of different quotes from various Warner Bros. movies. The beginning, meaning leaving the station to halfway up the lift, sets up a military idea to fight Bizarro, but it suddenly switches to random quotes, but it all fits very well with the ride. The sound effect that accompanied the fireballs went perfectly, but my favorite was the Ty Webb (Caddyshack) cameo for the final two bunny hills. Completely random, yet hilarious and awesome, sountrack. I just felt it needed a mention. And to close us out, here's one I took by nearly sacrificing my camera. I like it. Let's play "Spot The Cliche!" OK, I'll give you two guesses, but you'll only need one. See it yet? A train full of passengers about to have their faces rocked off by MASSIVE PILLARS OF FLAME! Funny, it looks so much bigger at this angle. ZING! Panda-monium? Nah, Six Flags wouldn't be that cool. Wait a minute! I figured it out! The Mist is really the mist from the Stephen King book! It's trying to take over our dimension! What direction is the track going? I don't know, man! Mist... More mist seeping out. SFNE actually has dueling coasters, now...only they dont fight each other, they fight the tea cups. I'm thoroughly convinced that the weather was actually perfectly sunny and warm, but its the misters that caused the overcast! 3 coasters, 1 shot. Boosh. Once again, check out the mist level! Going....down? Remember what I told you about the misters? Yeah, that's all from the misters by the open-air tunnel next to the exit. SUPERM-er, BIZZARO! The fog at the GW Bridge