Taylor Finn

I couldn’t purchase my flight ticket before yesterday afternoon and by then a Tuesday departure had doubled in price, so I’m cutting a day off my trip, which is alright. Knowing what I do now about the shuttle if I had the time, the three day ticket would be a no brainer. It’s good to get that advice on I-drive and Disney Springs. I’m not going to sweat it too much if I see em both or for long. Here’s what I’m looking at. Wednesday: Arrive at 10 AM, Uber or Lyft to GKTW and volunteer until evening, head to Fun Spot Kissimmee for a few hours. Can also check out old town a bit Thursday: Uber over to SeaWorld for 9 AM Busch Gardens shuttle. Return to SeaWorld lot around 6, 6:30. Fun Spot Orlando until midnight. Friday: SeaWorld until close at 5, evening is open do Disney Springs or I-Drive of other. Saturday: volunteer GKTW, head to airport for 5:30 PM flight

^I don't really have much of a plan for that area, just yet. Am not terribly familiar with it. Maybe check out the Icon area. See they have a trolley which should help a bit. So I have a development. I am planning to purchase the two day ticket to Sea World for $100. Up until a minute ago, I was certain I was going to do Aquatica and Sea World; however, I noticed they offer a shuttle that leaves Sea World around 9:15 to be at Busch Gardens by 10:30/11. Sea World is open both days 10-6, whereas Busch Gardens is only open until 5 on Thursday. However, I am looking at doing the Shamu Dining at Sea World (only offered Friday) and also thought crowds would be more relevant for Busch Gardens as Friday is the first day of Howl-O-Scream. So I can go to Busch Gardens Thursday from 11-4:30 (load up the buses) or go to Aquatica 10-5 and then Sea World Firday 10.6. Any thoughts on this/experience with the shuttle? I know I will want to return to Busch Gardens at a later date regardless in light of today's announcement. Will I have enough time to experience a lot of what the park has to offer in those 5.5 hours? I see a single use (per major ride) quick-quene option for $15? Safe option to just go with that?

I’ll probably be passing on the sky coaster, otherwise for $75, the pass makes a ton more sense. Either way, I’m excited that it shouldn’t be too crowded and I can marathon the woodies. Ah yeah, I remember reading a report (princely yours) about that Shamu lunch. Would be a great experience! Okay, yeah.. that’s exactly what I feared. Quality is more important than quantity and I don’t need food to be the focal point of my day. And that’s a good source, thanks! I’ll check it out.

^Alrighty, thanks for the neighborhoods! I’ll try to search it that way and see what I find! Oh and I didn’t see your other responses right away, Elissa. I’ll probably forego the dining offer and eat elsewhere especially because of the hours. And I did consider the annual passes but I don’t think I’ll be back at either of these two parks in a years time or the other parks enough to justify the price. I’ll look into hotels, because it could help considerably with shuttles. I did find an Airbnb for a room in a townhome in Coral Cay Resort (seems pretty safe and popular) which might be ideal because of its proximity to GKTW. Would cut down on ride share cost considerably since I’ll be going there a few times.

Uh oh. Okay, that’s why I’m posting here. I’m all for paying more to not be murdered, I’ll look into another place. Countless Airbnb’s/hotels to choose from! Seeing one near Rio Grande Park which looks a bit nicer.

Hello guys! Found a Spirit flight that would depart next Tuesday 9/18 out of Pittsburgh to arrive by 10 AM and return Saturday 9/22 around 5 PM. $80. I kinda know what I’m getting into with Spirit (just going to pack a backpack as my personal item, go with a random seat, and check-in online ahead of time). Found an inexpensive private room in an Airbnb for $125 (4 nights). It’s located in Tangelo Park about 1.5 miles from Fun Spot Orlando. What I’d like to accomplish in order of importance: volunteer two days at GKTW, Sea World, both Fun Spots (after 8 PM for $30 each), Aquatica ($20 more to add on), I-Drive, and Disney Springs. My tentative plan of attack looks like this. Tuesday: Arrive at 10 AM, Uber or Lyft to GKTW and volunteer until 6 or 7, head to Fun Spot Kissimmee for a few hours. Wednesday: Sea World until close at 6 and evening open to do I-Drive, Disney Springs or other. Thursday: Aquatica until close at 5, evening is open do I-Drive, Disney Springs or other. Friday: volunteer GKTW, Fun Spot Orlando in evening. Saturday: Disney Springs/I-Drive before depart. Some questions for you guys aside from tips on the itinerary. 1. Ticket options: $80 for SeaWorld, $100 for both, $140 for both with all-day dining. Given that the hours are limited, does the dining make sense? Ultimately it would be nice to get dinner out of the way but I wouldn’t be opposed to eating in Disney Springs one/both nights and just doing lunch at the parks. 2. Any deal I’m missing for the Fun Spot Parks aside from the $30 evening option? Seems like 4 hours would be enough time at each? 3. Any better alternative than to do pricey ride share all week? That’s going to add up but it seems nice that I’m close to Fun Spot Orlando and I-Drive at least. 4. Crowds would be low at both SeaWorld Parks? How does Aquatica stack up? Any other advice or tips are much appreciated!

Well, I didn’t know where to throw this. Looking at the memberships and have a few questions. 1. The Gold Plus membership would include admission to all the Six Flags parks with parking at all of them? 2. Do I need to activate it at the park I buy it for first/by a certain date? We don’t know for sure where we will be first next year. 3. Why would it be $5/year cheaper for Fiesta Texas Gold Plus vs. Over Texas if they’re including all the parks? Thanks for the help! I tried to read some fine print and was most interested about Q #2.

So, do I have this right? Do you ride both sides then, like a mobius loop (after the "pit stop") or do you take two laps on the same side? Or? It looks really solid!

I’ll be curious how they fill the space for the flume. If it’s gonna go all the way across that lot width wise, they’ll have to find a way to build further back, etc if it’s to be connected. If all continues to go well, maybe a tiny little water park could fit in the remainder of the lot? People would likely enjoy that!

Certainly exciting. I love to hear that they’re starting to run out of room to build. The two little pedestrian plazas mentioned.. I just looked back at a picture that showed these parcels (W 12th and Stillwell) when the city was accepting proposals and I don’t quite understand where the plots are. Are they going to just convert these two streets from Bowery up to the boardwalk into plazas?

Well, I just saw this. Wonder who bought it? Park/crazy individual who wants it for themselves?

Some of my personal Knoebels food favs: Those pierogies, not the ones found elsewhere, sweet tea slushes, waffle ice cream sandwich, breakfast at the food court (it’s nothing crazy, but you can get it before rides open and it’s affordable), cheese-on-stick, warm roasted peanuts in the shell, and pork chop on a stick with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Eat it all. And don’t miss the flats already mentioned. And maybe give Phoenix a ride in the 3rd row. It’s really great! If you’re going to go ticket route (weekends only option is tickets), stop at Weiss markets nearby and pick up $20 books for $16. Buy a bit more than you think you want.

Well, we visited last night and arrived around 6 for $20 evening passes. Here’s my thoughts... Didn’t have to pay $20 to park (assuming because there was a concert). Park entrance area is well kept enough and in general park is decently maintained landscaping wise. Went to Predator and line was basically a station wait (20-25 min). Ops weren’t terrible most of the night. Predator seemed to be an exception to that. Ride itself was really... meh. Not been taken care of too well and also not a terribly interesting layout. Moved on from there to the Boomerang which was actually a decent one. Rode Motocoaster which is always a fun little ride. The launch is just enough to be a little surprise every time. In line for Motocoaster, I discovered something very odd. The Antique Cars almost looked like they were attached to one another. Turns out they just load a convoy of like 6 at a time and then just dispatch them all simultaneously. Found that odd. Enjoy your ride in traffic! Highlight of the evening was remembering the Fascination Parlor. A couple machines were out of order but it was nice way to spend a few minutes. Viper ran pretty well honestly. Not too many issues with it. Walked on around toward Mind Eraser. Considered Moose on the Loose which would’ve probably been the highlight of the day but it was a bit of a line. Entered Tantrum’s line but ended up changing our minds for Mind Eraser, incorrectly assuming it would be shorter. Again, it was only the switchbacks in the station, so it seemed like we’d be in good shape. This is where Darien Lake’s true colors shined. Ops were fairly slow but the real issue was the line design. During the last switchback there are two entrances to the zone where you pick a row. People (including myself) kept getting bottlenecked at the entrance toward the back of the train with really no intention to ride toward the back. There was an empty area between that entrance and the entrance toward the front so people just started cutting under switchback. I don’t even know if I blame them entirely but the way everyone was ‘forced’ to behave is a direct result of the poor like design. In addition, there were plenty of people attempting to jump way up with their friends. I’ve never seen so many people just bail on the line or express frustration liks in that line. All they need to do is chain off that entrance to the back area and have one entrance like other coasters. After this, hustled over to Ride of Steel which ran less rattly than SFA. Great ride. Managed to hustle back to Tantrum and get a ride on it (fun, short ride), finishing all 7 credits and ensuring I never have to return. Unfortunately, I just had a not so great experience. I absolutely recognize you get what you pay for with ops and the clientele. That’s certainly the case here. Oh and the icing on the cake is $1.49 for a cup of water, which I think is a first for me. I really hope this doesn’t come off too harsh. I generally have a good time when I go to parks; even SFA was pretty alright with me. But this was an exception. Went to get a nice cold beer afterwards, finishing the occasion the only way that seemed appropriate.

Sure sure, looks like Dierks Bentley is playing Saturday night at 7 PM. If we just try to accomplish Darien, we’d arrive at 5PM. Is it going to stay real crowded until 7 then or?

^We were thinking this coming Saturday the 4th. Online tells me the fest ends Wednesday the 1st? Should I be worried still?

Hello, this is a bit of a crazy plan. I’m just throwing it out there to get opinions. Darien Lake offers after 5 admission for $20. Fantasy Island offers after 6 for $18. Thinking about a trip up to Niagara Falls this weekend. Originally had just planned to do Darien Lake but since Fantasy is right along the way from Niagara Falls, considered doing both in one evening. Is it realistic credit wise to be at Fantasy Island at 6 and do the three credits in an hour or a bit more and still hit all 8 credits at Darien Lake before 10 PM?

Yeah, I imagine the Steelers absolutely paid a pretty penny to enhance the area itself. The coaster is absolutely mental, just not my taste to have 9 inversions. It should look neat over the midway area!

Yeah, I mean it seems though that the $5 days are maybe more crowded than last year. Some general improvements like a few more bumper cars, asphalt, fix music express to run a bit faster, etc. would go a long way. The only other thing is they keep water park admission at $10 on $5 days and so you hope with that and some food purchases they can do alright those days. They swapped operating schedule from last year a bit. Water park no longer open on Mondays but now both sides are open Thursday-Sunday. That seems encouraging?

Was at the park yesterday, Thomas Town is a ways out yet. Still finishing work on the buildings. I saw 3/4 of the new rides, though one was covered. No landscaping done or anything yet either. At least a month and a half I’d say.

Always cool to hear a new visitor's opinion to parks like this. I haven't been in a couple years but am planning to visit one of these weekdays (hopefully once they have multiple trains on Steel Vengeance. Great detailed report!

This place seems like a nice, nice option for Orlando. An alternative option to Disney Springs with a few big name attractions. Great report!

We visited Dollywood last Sunday. The weather looked sketchy both Saturday and Sunday (much worse Saturday) so we were nervous. Fortunately, it barely rained on Saturday so the park still had crowds and no rain checks and Sunday was a total breeze. We arrived at 9:30 and they let us all in and we walked to Lightning Rod. We were like 12th in line and they opened up right on time. We got two rides in real quick, one in front, one in back and then hit up the rest of the coasters. Finished the rest of them, including Drop Line by 12:15 or so (20 for Mystery Mine and 25 for Firechaser). I ran ahead and grabbed Cinnamon Bread and we watched the new version of My People, My Music. I didn't know it was brand new (later found out Dolly was there Saturday, probably to premier it). Show was solid! Hadn't seen it before. We really appreciated the afternoon A/C break. Went and rode the Carousel and the 3:00 train (wow that area is barren, I didn't even recognize parts of the journey). Did a few rides in County Fair (ops were slow, slow, slow) and then went up and shopped a bit and shared some food. Took another lap or two no Tornado and Wild Eagle and then rode Lightning Rod twice more before park close. As parks do, the wait was posted at 20 minutes, there were 20 people in line. Really lucked out on weather and crowds. My only real complaint with Dollywood is that now that they have removed the after 3 PM promotion, the value is tight when they open 10-7. We are Season Pass holders but we brought our friends with our passes and it really is just not enough time to take a leisurely approach to the day. We kinda had to have a plan of attack and not stray too far from it. I feel like staying open until 8 and then 10 on Saturdays before peak season would be fair. 7 is earlier than most other parks this time of year. Especially once the new expansion opens, it is absolutely a park where you need more than a day.

Hello again, We have our hotel booked to visit the Pigeon Forge area next weekend. Just now seeing that it’s the big parade. Is that going to make the crowds unbearable at Dollywood? It’s been a tough sell trying to convince my group that Sunday is the better option given that Saturday with early entry we will get 3 extra hours. If we focus on coasters the first hour or so and the last bit of the day, do you think we will be alright?

I would pick another time to go to Knoebels, personally. I really enjoy breaking up my visit into two days and either doing the non ride things mostly the first day and do a wristband the second day and going hard, or buying discount tickets from Weiss Market (20% off) and just taking it easy both days on rides. I can't imagine having a great first experience if it were crowded and I was limited to 6 hours. It would just be a tease. I can't say for sure about your other options.

Okay, we found out that you can bring your buddy’s in an hour early on Saturday. In considering berween going Saturday 5/5 or Sunday 5/6, obviously those extra three hours are attractive. That first hour is just for Tennessee Tornado. But is it safe to assume we could hit the other coasters back there without much wait in the first hour or so? Our thought is to just hit up coasters the first and last couple hours of the day and then focus on the train shows, shopping, and food the rest of the day. Anyone have experience with this kind of strategy on Saturdays?