Taylor Finn

So they aren’t really increasing pass prices this year much huh? $129 seems like what I paid two years ago! I’ll take it.

Martin's Fantasy Island and Erie County Fair Hello again! Let us go back to August 11, 2018. It was a day. I had decided to visit Martin's Fantasy Island, because it was a park I had *some* interest in, but knew my girlfriend didn't. So I made the visit solo and bunched the Erie County Fair in to make it a whole day affair. It was a lot of driving for one day (from Pittsburgh), but it ended up being a pretty nice night! Martin's Fantasy Island This park is a mixed back, for sure. I wouldn't really ever feel the need to re-visit. But I didn't dislike my time there. Just seemed to lack in rides that would bring me back/charm. This was actually a big struggle. I found cheap discount tickets online, but they actually needed to be printed, which I forgot to do. So I had to take a detour to a Staples to use their printer. A pain, but it all worked out. Believe this is Buffalo? A must-stop institution in up-state NY. My first time. Man, it was pretty darn good! The baked beans, especially were unique and tasty. We press on. Our final destination this is not, but we are headed this way. We have arrived. It was a Saturday, so I didn't know what to really expect. The parking lot was practically completely full by the time I arrived, so I got a little nervous. Lines ended up being... *fine* The park is kind of split into a couple different areas. Silver Comet, which is practically the only real reason to visit the park. This back section of the park really felt like a slightly more permanent carnival. Not a whole lot in the way of charm. All of the adult rides are nestled back along one straight midway path to the back of the park where the Crazy Mouse is. I did enjoy Silver Comet and got a few rides on it. Operations were... rough. But it is a nice little ride. I wouldn't say it does a whole lot, but the layout is a bit quirky and I'll never pass on a woodie. This was the biggest eye sore. One of those traveling bumper cars. I get they're much cheaper than a full-size installation. But... Whatever these things are called... I forget. But they had one that would be open during limited hours. It is absolutely a novel idea. But... kind of stupid. NEVER BEEN ON ONE OF THESE. I waited far longer than I would've liked for this. I think it is ridiculous that they can't have two lines: One for groups of 1-2 and one for groups of 3 or 4 and just match groups up. The lines would move SO MUCH FASTER. Swings There was a car show of sorts going on in the park, which I guess added something to the vibe. The water park was a nice little thing and definitely seemed like the main draw. WAY CROWDED. Toocrowded4me Another eye-sore if you ask me. Just a concession stand like you'd see at a fair. Big ole line available for Silver Comet. The midway. So the front area of the park was actually quite nice. Really would seem like another park entirely. They had this nice little show for the kiddies. WOW. And the kiddie area also had some charm. It was a bit rundown, but felt nice. WACKY WORM. Maybe some of these are from the train ride. Nice little train ride. They have a campground. Interestingly, the train stops and drops off folks there, which is nice. Nice little pizza joint with space for a show. Here we are. Buhbye Erie County Fair I had two good reasons to visit: The Fab Four (Beatles Tribute) and I guess, credits. I find myself enjoying these larger fairs. It's a metropolis that gets puts up for two weekends. Loads of interesting food, lots of stuff to see and do. Doesn't always bring out the best people, but that's alright! Here we are! Let's explore a bit. It was pretty crowded, but also was a pretty big fair, so no issues. I thought this was funny. Seems legit. Woo. A great credit. Watched a bit of this Ninja show. Always find these little traveling shows interesting. These folks work their butts off and travel from fair to fair. They had a bunch of these little 'freak shows' set up throughout the fair. Gimmicky as they are, there was something charming about it, especially because I'm sure they aren't making much off them. I know I've seen this at other fairs. But I can't remember the name. But you just throw balls at the same time and play for BINGO. Lots of permanent structures all around the fairgrounds. Really well-maintained. Oh, just a clown. Oh, just a bowl. Oh, just a one-man band. Oh, just a ketchup dispensing robot. Oh, just a credit. Oh, just a heart attack. I did not go for this, but I am sure it would be great. This was the night's entertainment. Got there early enough to secure pretty great spot. And they were a lot of fun. I know it ain't nothing like the original. But for a free show, they're one of the best around Beatles tributes. Sorry for the low picture quality throughout this report! But thanks, as always, for reading.

I think you underestimate the market and how many people there are in the area that would be willing to pay that price. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being even more than that once they transition out of previews. But what's their competition? Coney Island? $42 for an all-day wristband. Great Adventure? $58 for a day, $72 for the year. Sorry, I just don't see the draw other than "open in the winter." But that is like a huge draw. I think they'll do more than fine.

They give almost no advanced warning on that at all though. It looks promising right now but things can change quickly. PS: And yeah, pay to park. Nobody here is going to tell you to park in a lot that's for mall customers only and hope you get away with it. Not only is it dishonest which should be reason enough to not do it but it's also a great way to get towed. Well, yeah. It would be a bit surprising if nothing was closed in November once Scary Farm is over... I'm crossing my fingers it is not Xcelerator, Ghostrider, or Log/Rapids/Mine Train. Those are all sort of must do's for me. Everything else is gravy.

I will certainly be checking this place out next year if they get some more of this stuff opened up. Hopefully they can update the website with additional info because right now there's really nothing on there.

Hey, I posted a bit ago, but we have firmed up our travel plans. We will be at the park on 11/4. We will get there a bit before park open at 10, I'm sure. Park closes at 6. If we can get out by 5, we might try to do that, but won't if there's still stuff we want to do. Some questions: 1. Is it a reasonable thing to do to park across the street at the mall? More trouble than it's worth/how far is the walk? 2. General park strategy? Priorities are: Coasters --> Log, Rapids, and Calico Mine Train --> train and Voyage to the Iron Reef --> explore GhostTown if time allows and do the Stagecoach Any other help would be appreciated!

I think I'll be there that same weekend to get use out of my season pass for this year. Okay! We'll be there Saturday and Sunday in the park, so feel free to hit me up and we can grab a few rides together! And to add to this discussion, my top three woodies are SV, LR, and Phoenix (I believe in that order). It is tough for me compare Phoenix to the other two, because I could sit on it all day every day for the rest of my life and it would be just as fun every time, whereas I would get absolutely WORN riding LR or SV more than a few times in a row. I think LR's quadruple down thing is a better element than anything on SV, but yeah... it is definitely shorter, so SV gets the nod (though I've only been on it once and LR 20-30 times).

Sure hoping they put Season Tickets on sale soon. Already pre-booked our trip there second weekend of Smoky Mountain Christmas with the intention of buying 2020 Season Pass and getting rest of this year free (as in years past). No reason I guess to believe they wouldn't offer that again..

Yeppp. I felt even better when a father walked his kid up the steps and turned around. TOO KIDDIE FOR ME HE THINKS. Thanks for reading! It is just impressive how much there is to do. We really didn't wait in many long lines at all (Flying Turns was about 30 min, which is solid, and the train took me a while but that is to be expected), and it still took us every minute we had. We checked off all of the things, including a few new ones.

We stopped at Circus Circus very briefly and the two of us both used BOGO coaster rides that we got via the myVegas app. Which isn’t a great way to save $$, but the BOGO rides are like super easy to get because it’s not sought after. It’s $10/ride. I’m happy I went but I’d never need to go back/didn’t feel the need to ride anything but the two coasters.

Just got back from Knoebels. And I always just LOVE how quickly things happen. Every ride just operates with efficiency. It makes my day so much better. It is awesome to hear Nitro operates that way.

^Well that's weird. I just posted a report. https://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1923328#p1923328 Glad she braved Phoenix and ya'll had a nice time. We did, too!

Knoebels Phoenix Phall Phunfest Well, I have a lot of other photos from trips I would like to post. But I am going to go out of the order because I didn't want to NOT post up a report of Knoebels Phoenix Phall Phunfest this past weekend. Maybe this will be the spark to get this thread going with other reports from the past year or so. Either way, here's the scoop. I was unable to leave work until 3:00 on Friday, so we hustled over from Pittsburgh and parked around 7:10 PM at Knoebels, hungry and eager for some airtime. We checked in to the Coaster Club only event and were wristbanded and given four coupons. They were: 1. Free small bag of kettle corn 2. Free roasted ear of corn (with omfg delicious option for 'mexican style' with mayo, cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese). 3. Free slice of cake 4. Free hot dog, hamburger, ribbq, tri-taters, pierogies (yum but not the buttery, oniony ones), tiger tail, and drink, with a bacon and cheese topping bar. This was different than in 2017 when it was seemingly unlimited (which would be totally unnecessary). Oddly enough, the line for food was immense and far longer than in 2017 (though Phoenix was always 1 train wait or so). We abstained for a little while and eventually bit the bullet, alternating holding spot in line with solo Phoenix rides. We ended up with 13 laps on Phoenix, 1 on the Haunted Antique Cars (a huge treat) and 1 on the new Twisted Timbers ride, as well as loads of delicious food. Why they do this, I dunno? I thought maybe it was to butter up enthusiasts who may have a vote for the Golden Ticket Awards? Regardless, Friday was a great, great success. We were tenting over at Lake Glory and had to set up shop around 10:30, which we did. Weather was rather chilly at around 35F, but we made do. Dick singing Ring of Fire, just as I remember from 2017. Saturday, we got to the park around 9:50 (craft show opened at 10, rides at 11) and the lot was already 2/3 full. We weren't too worried because folks generally come just to see all the vendors. I had purchased the 'enthusiast wristband,' which was priced as normal, but included two free slices of Cesari's Pizza, a drink, a haunted mansion coupon, and a free game. I gave Kylie the wristband and I used some tickets I had been given for Christmas. Here is the part of the report where I summarize every food item we ate on Saturday. Potato Pancake: $1.50/each or 3/$4, plus $1 for apple sauce to top them with- this was quite tasty and something I had not tried until this year. Chili at the Wharf: $4 for a big bowl- this was pretty solid, hearty, sweet chili. In 2017, there was a pop-up stand right next to the waffle ice cream sandwich stand that sold chili that was INSANELY good. This was not that chili. But still, good. Cesari's Pizza: $3.75/slice (in our case, free) 'nuff said. It could've been warmed up more. One day, I will have reason to purchase a whole Pie and it will be fresh and even more delicious. Roast Beef Platter with Fries and Slaw: $8.25- this was a simple but well done rendition. Roast beef was tender and pretty juicy but could use some seasoning or something. Fries were fresh cut and slaw was REALLY good. Sweet Tea Slush: $3.5 for a large- we love these and will never not get them. Zombie Fries at International Food Court: $4- These were fried onion and jalapeno strings served with a tasty spicy boom boom sauce. Pretty solid! Fresh Roasted Peanuts: $2.50 for 1/2 lb bag.- These are underrated and need to be experienced. Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich: $4- Neapolitan goodness. I wish the waffle was like super warm. But this is a yummy, yummy thing. ...phew. I think that's it. I mean, it sounds like a lot. But it was like < $40 and we ate like... constantly.. all day long. I wish I had taken pictures of everything for you guys to salivate at. But trust me, none of it was bad. Now, for a few pictures. We worked our way through the park, hitting up all of the usual suspects. There are certainly some rides we never feel the need to do here. But that's only because there are SO many must rides. The Skyway had some funny decorations, though I didn't catch the skeleton they usually have on one of the carriages. The slide is always fun, though I think I need to like push up the mat onto right side of the slide as I head down. Maybe I'd maintain some speed better. Is it a kiddie attraction? Yes. Do we care? Naww. The park has nice bits of decoration here and there and practically every ride has something clever or funny thrown on it. As this was Kylie's 25th birthday, she had a goal she had set for herself Friday night: to ride Phoenix 25 times. She had thought it possible to get fairly close Friday night. But I think we only ended up with around 13. So the two of us got two rides on it earlier in the day on Saturday and then around evening time, it was decided, I would wait for the Haunted Pioneer Train and she would marathon Phoenix with her wristband (I love the ride but I couldn't justify shelling out alllll those tickets). I joined her for ride 25, though! The other thing we did... that I regret a bit... was ride the Looper. Two years ago, I braved it for the first time to humor Kylie. We were ridiculously unsuccessful at actually flipping it because one of us mismanaged the brake pedal. This time around, we got three laps on it. The first ride, Kylie manned the pedal and we probably got 5-7 rotations under our belt. I wanted to give it a go, so we went a bit later in the day and I managed to get us going pretty good, getting 10 or so in a row. Toward the end of the night, against my better judgement, and because I knew how much she likes this deathtrap, I joined for one last go-round. I manned the pedal and got 25 straight rotations in one cycle for her birthday. Once you get in the rhythm of pushing and releasing the pedal, you got loads of room for error. I felt a bit weird the rest of the night, but alas. As far as the Flyers go, we got three cycles on them and the thing is running same as ever. The operator had to slow it the cycle before I went on (justifiably as it was just a mess of people whipping the sails). I got three seemingly normal cycles and really can't describe the craziness of this ride any better than others have done. It seems absolutely incorrect that a ride should do this. And the folks in line behind me seemed to agree as they kept discussing how 'sketchy' the ride seemed. I love this thing to death and hope it never changes. One other note: The Haunted Antique Cars and Pioneer Train are truly awesome. Knoebels has no business putting this much effort into these things (they operate like 9 evenings a year for like 4 hours a night). The Antique Cars have a good four or five actors along the way (one actually hopped in our car for a trip, as we were one of the last few of the night) and quite a few great scenes. The Train tells a proper story and really takes advantage of the real estate back in the woods. They're popular and for good reason. Don't miss them! So, that does it for Saturday. Sunday morning, we got to the park around 9:15 and had breakfast at the food court. $11 got us: 2 big pancakes, side of bacon, side of ham, home fries, toast/jelly, two eggs, and a large coffee. Yeah, of course it was good. From there, we decided on a whim to play some mini golf. One of the few things we have not done in this park, so it seemed wise. $4.50 is a great price! Of course, it is a great course. What else do you expect from Knoebels. It was honestly a bit exciting going from hole to hole seeing what was next. Also, it sits right by the Carousel so you get to spend a good hour enjoying the beautiful music. From there, we played a few rounds of Fascination (no luck) and then grabbed an early small lunch, sharing the popcorn chicken bowl from the Roast Beef Stand (turning down the pierogies in the process, but next time). $5.25 and quite yum! Took another stroll through the craft fair and were on our way home by 1:00. A short little day, but fun, nonetheless. Final ride tally for the weekend. 1- Skylide 1- Haunted Antique Cars 1- Bumper Cars 1- Giant Wheel 1- Grand Carousel 1- Haunted Pioneer Train 1- Skyway 1- Whipper 1- Black Diamond 3- Flyer 1- Flying Turns 1- Haunted Mansion 3- Looper 16-25- Phoenix 1- Stratosfear 1- Twister LOTS- Food Thanks for reading. Sorry for the shortage of pictures. There are plenty out there. Phoenix Phall Phunfest is a great excuse to head to the park. For me, with limited time off, it's real nice that Friday can still be an eventful fun evening even though it doesn't start until 7:00. The rides are never too too crowded (just plan to ride some things a bit later in the evening if the line looks too long). Love, love, love this park and everything about it. We sat on the Ferris Wheel trying to think of criticisms (we are so used to just heaping praise) and these are the only ones we could come up with. 1. Bathrooms could definitely benefit from some modernization 2. Game prizes suck (but prices for games are affordable, so it is a wash 3. Layout can be confusing (but also charming in its own way) Yeah, the place rocks as these are all super nit-picky.

That hotel is seriously awesome. Love the bit about the scavenger hunt and lego sets. Great report!

Yeah, no way is there any positive for the consumer here. I certainly hope this doesn't come to fruition. It is nice having some actual healthy competition between the two companies, despite knowing that most guests will only visit their home park. And very few markets even offer a viable park by each company to visit. We'll see I guess.

Will never tire of seeing pictures of this park. Have any new favorite popcorn flavors this time around? I was sad that I never got to experience the 'get wet' mode on Aquatopia, as it was switching back to normal mode just as I got in line. Every park would benefit from having a ride like this.

I’ve skipped this the last few years I’ve been going. I love Tennessee Tornado. I would’ve likely given it a go a few weeks back if I knew it was going away. I’ve always thought about how rides are designed now vs back then. it’s a little hard to articulate, but they don’t make rides like this. So clearly centered around the inversions. It was certainly a good looking coaster. I do wonder 20 years from now what kind of lineup all these big parks will have. Once SLC’s, Boomerangs, Vekoma Flying Coasters, Stand-Up Coasters, Volares, etc. what is there going to be? For Kings Island, 20 years from now, I’d expect Invertigo, Flight of Fear, Backlot Stunt Coaster, The Bat, and Adventure Express (maybe) to be gone. What do you replace them with? Can’t all be flagship type rides. I know most of these rides kinda suck. But it’s just something I think about time and again.

Hope they continue to add more cars to the bumper cars. They really need like 10 or so to make it worth while. Really, if they can fix up the pavement and bring enough guests to justify the midway actually operating full tilt, the park will be in a much better place.

^Oh. Yeah, I didn't actually follow through with the registration process because I didn't see anything listed like in year's past. But now I am seeing us mentioned, so we're all good. Thanks for that! Looking forward to the event.

Very early on in the planning stages right now. But I may be able to squeeze a visit to Knott's on either Sunday 11/3 or the next day 11/4. Park is open 10-8 on Sunday and 10-6 on Monday. We are pretty efficient when it comes to moving through a park. But, I would just like some perspective on what lines might be like? Would love to get on the coasters plus log ride and rapids (assume they stay open)? Any advice on whether the crowds Monday will be light enough to warrant going that day for two less hours. Thanks!

^Yesh, I figured as such! I’ll register and it should all be a okay! They didn’t post a list on the Facebook event like they’ve done in years past, just said like ‘card-carrying member of an approved enthusiast group’ or something. Thanks Robb!

Love. Seeing. New. Japan. Reports. Thanks for posting and love the parade pictures! Excited to see what you guys got up to!

Hello! I went to PPP in 2017, couldn’t make it last year. Tried to reach out to Knoebels to confirm some details but they couldn’t confirm one way or another whether Club TPR was still an approved enthusiast group for the event. Can anyone shed light on this?

I enjoyed Sea Paradise for what it was. Sad to have missed the Water Chute ride (especially since it seems to be gonezo). I can't say it is a park I would return to, especially if the two main rides are closed, but Surf Coaster was quirky and fun for what it was!

Love the pics, Jeremy! The only two things I'm sad I missed in Japan are Hakugei and Journey to the Center of the Earth. But I know I will be back soon and will get on both!