ytterbiumanalyst

This place looks really great! I know enthusiasts love it, but I always figured it was the "rare credit" thing. Looks like it's actually a pretty fun place!

You know who else eats pizza with a knife and fork.... [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Don't be a dick like that guy. Don't use a fork.

I like #1, moving Dorney to Friday feels like a good move to me. You are right that Hershey has the most stuff to do. It's an incredible park; it's just that Knoebels is even more incredible. You'll understand once you go. I wouldn't worry about the Fast Track, it sucks anyway. You may have to be okay with not doing everything, but with an extra couple of hours you may have a better chance there. Laff Track, Wild Mouse, Sidewinder, and Trailblazer are all skippable. I think your main problem is that you want to do way too much stuff for the time you have. It seems all of these are must-do items for you, which is cool, it just means you'll probably have to leave everywhere before you want to. As long as you're okay with that, should be fun.

I know a guy who's been to Centralia, and he said there's not much to actually see there. I totally get why it's so cool; in fact, my username comes from a lifelong fascination with this sort of place (Ytterby, Sweden, is a highly toxic place that has all kinds of radioactive sh*t--look up the Wikipedia, it's really cool). I thought about going to Centralia myself on my recent trip, and nixed it just because he said you can't get very close and it just looks a lot like Pennsylvania farmland. I'd recommend you drop that one, as it's most likely to be disappointing. I'd also echo others in encouraging you to choose a day other than Saturday for Hershey. It'd be great if you had more than 2 full days, but with that time, I'd do Knoebels Saturday, Hershey Sunday, and Mutter Museum back in Philly Monday morning before you fly out.

The new alpine coaster called The Branson Coaster is the closest to me at 46.8 miles.

Lots of them on Great Adventure's safari ride. As for unintended animal encounters, seagulls on just about everything at Cedar Point.

Great report! Loved the in-depth report of this park. So many things look so good, especially the Pirates ride and the Alice in Wonderland maze. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! People like you are the reason I can ride coasters in December with no lines. Really appreciate it.

Well, enthusiasts know Intamin sh*t breaks all the time so in that sense it would live up to their expectations. "Maintenance is on the way, sir. The line for guest relations is over there, sir. Have an Intamin Adventure Day!" I'll go for a slightly trickier challenge: Vekomaland. I'd go. Yeah, tbh, I would too.

Great update! Sorry you didn't like HW's wooden coasters. I love all three, but then I think I have a higher tolerance than most for roughness. I totally get why it might have been past the threshold of fun for you. As for KK, yeah, Storm Chaser is one of the most photogenic coasters out there, with the plaza right in the middle and paths a lot of the way around. You can really get some great photos. Happy hour specials are always awesome, and I'm impressed they still have the "Fun Under Construction" signs up--they were there all of last year, but they weren't taken down after the Super Loop was opened.... Hmm....

^ Thanks everybody! Get set for more Knoebels awesomeness! Day 7: Um…Free? As in No Money At All? My second day at Knoebels I decided not to buy an all day wristband, instead spending the majority of the day on museums, shops, and other such things. It was really relaxing as I ate breakfast with not a care as to when Knoebels would be opening. Usually I try to dash into a park to take advantage of those early hours, so to take my time at a park opening was quite the luxury. An SDC connection! What a wonderful find! The first stop after breakfast was the Haunted Mansion. I had saved this for this day since it requires a ticket even if you have a wristband. This ride was so cool, absolutely the best old school dark ride I’ve ever been on. It’s creepy as hell, and there’s so much to look at. Wow, really great. Next up was the Carousel Museum. They had a good number of artifacts, some of which have been restored beautifully. It’s only one room, but it’s really enjoyable. Take the time to step in here when you visit Knoebels. I then went to the Mining Museum and Knoebels History Museum, both housed in the building next to Black Diamond. Very cool stuff to be found in both. I wanted to see the eagles behind Black Diamond, because if there are animals in a park, I will go see them. They were hanging out in the shade, because they’re smart like that. I took note that there was a keeper chat later in the day and made plans to come back. Lunch was at Cesari’s. I had a slice of cheese, and it wasn’t very good. Quite overcooked, and the slice didn’t fold so much as crumble. Best pizza ever, I think not. Since the pizza was inedible, I instead got some pierogis. Ah, that’s the stuff! Just as good as the previous day. I wandered around a bit looking through shops. It was kind of hard to pick out souvenir shirts, since it was near the end of the summer season and a lot of designs had only size small. I’m happy with the ones I got though. Finally time for the keeper chat...and…they didn’t do anything with the eagles at all. Just this woman came out and said there are some eagles behind her, and do you have questions? One person did, and she didn’t know the answer. Like at all. And everyone started to leave, including me. WTF, Knoebels? You are so awesome in literally every other way. Get your eagle sh*t together. All right, now it’s time for Fascination! I’ve done the one at Indiana Beach, and this one is similar, but the prizes require more tickets. I was able to bring home a bunch of crap from Indiana Beach, but here I didn’t get enough for anything. So I have some souvenir Fascination tickets instead! I decided to give Cesari’s pizza another try, on the off chance that it was just one bad slice. I got the Sicilian this time, and it was great! This must be what people are raving about! I will attest that Cesari’s is awesome when it’s not burnt. After that, it was about 5:00 and time to purchase my evening wristband! I went first to Flying Turns, then Impulse. Twice around on the log flume brought me to around 7:30, and it was time to spend the last 2 ½ hours of the day riding Phoenix non-stop. Knoebels is completely unlike any other park I’ve ever been to, in the most awesome ways imaginable. For one, it’s super cheap. Well, not cheap exactly for me, when it requires a flight and rental car, but once you get there, you pay very little for what you get. The value for the money is astronomical compared to other parks. Second, there is a lot to do, and it’s all great. The rides are great, the museums are great, the shops are great, Fascination is great. There’s not a dud anywhere. Operations are spectacular (as they’re incentivized to keep the lines moving with a pay-per-ride model), the people are friendly, and the whole park just has this small town feel to it that I love. Knoebels rocketed to one of my favourite parks anywhere and was absolutely the best park on my trip, even considering the lofty heights of my Hersheypark visit. This place is wonderful, and I totally get why everyone has raved so much about it. It deserves all the praise it gets and more.

Sigh. Only three years until my oldest is a teenager.... Not looking forward to this sh*t.

^^ No, don't do it! Think of all the enthusiast bitching you'll have to endure when this park STILL doesn't live up to their expectations.

You got some great pictures while you were inside SteVen! Looks like he was good to you!

Why let something that insignificant bother you? I pity you if you ever have to work with the public. O, you would love me. I always put THE in front of things ie: "I watched it on the Netflix." I would not go as far as The El Toro but I would translate it for people as The Toro in my best Ron Burgandy voice. I approve completely of peppering Ron Burgundy into everyday speech. I love it when people put "the" in front of a coaster name, makes it sound more important. You introduce your friend as Michael, okay, you have a friend named Michael. You introduce him as "The Michael," now he's much more interesting.

Score

Great photos! I've heard such great things about Busch Gardens, and your report is highly encouraging me to go.... I have a vague plan for a Carowinds/Kings Dominion/Busch Gardens trip with stops at Monticello, Mt. Vernon, and Jamestown. This will happen one day, but not soon.

Yep, definitely some disruption. 1. Disneyland 2. Dollywood 3. Silver Dollar City 4. Knoebels 5. Holiday World

Attendance on December 7 will be 43,712.5, on December 8 will be 85,696.3, and on December 9 will be 114,302 people, 17,435 dogs, and 3 goldfish.

I've not even heard of at least a third of these. Terrible list.

Electron

I don't think I ever have. There are some restaurants I've decided not to go back to for really mediocre food, though. Macaroni Grill is foremost on that list. I didn't think anyone could do sh*ttier Italian than Olive Garden, but I was wrong. Is there any amusement park food that is essential to the experience for you?

Great weather all weekend. Mid-80s and no rain until Tuesday. Looks like a great weekend for Silver Dollar City and White Water!

Thanks to everyone who's responded, even if I don't get to your comment specifically. I'm glad everybody is enjoying reading. It certainly was fun visiting all these places, and also reliving the experience through putting this report together. Now to the main event! Day 6: The Best Campground Ever I got up early again (camping time) and took off for the best campground ever: Knoebels! I arrived about 9:30 and checked with the campground office to see if I could park in my camping spot or if I would have to park in the main parking lot and move my car later. Turns out there was no one in my spot the previous night, so I parked in my spot and walked into Knoebels. The park would open at 11, so I went in for a very good (and super cheap) breakfast. I had heard it was best to go to Knoebels hungry, and that is not wrong! Since there is no admission to Knoebels, or even a front gate as such, I walked in among workers setting up for the day. I went right by Over the Top, which was down the whole two days. I had planned for the trip before IAAPA, but when Knoebels announced they had bought one, I was eagerly anticipating this ride. It’s sad that ride may not open at all due to an accident at a totally different park. Knoebels deserves better than this. Really glad they’re taking safety seriously here though. After some good eats, it was time to find out where to purchase a wristband. I asked the person at the nearest ticket booth, but it turns out only one specific ticket booth sells the wristbands, and she was having trouble describing where it was. All I knew was that I had to find a mini golf course, and it would be near there. I had done a lot of planning for this trip, but I was still a bit lost in this park. It’s not at all like any other amusement park I’ve ever been to, and while that’s awesome, it also takes a bit of getting used to. I found the mini golf and went to a ticket booth near there, but still not the right one! Fortunately this person pointed me to a larger building with a long line. Ah, finally in the right place! I bought my wristband and proceeded directly to Flying Turns. This was my first experience on a bobsled coaster, and it was so cool. It’s not exactly a roller coaster, really, feels so much different. I absolutely loved it and it was worth every second of the half hour spent in line for it. Next I made my way over to the legend, the one and only, the king of airtime, The Phoenix! Oh. My. God. *sigh* I am in love. Okay, first of all, there was one train running when I got in line, and the line was spilling quite a ways after the entrance. As I waited, they added a second train, and I still made it onto the ride in 22 minutes. Holy crap, I love this place. And then the ride itself totally delivered. It started out as a fun wooden coaster. I had my hands out and was enjoying myself. And then after the second turnaround, Phoenix turned diabolical and decided I was no longer welcome to be in my seat. THE AIRTIME!!!! Oh my god, I have never experienced anything like this. There are rides I’ve loved, that I thought had good airtime, and Phoenix forced me to re-evaluate those. This coaster has redefined what a coaster should be. After an immediate re-ride, I went on to explore some of the other rides here. StratosFEAR is awesome! But then, these Larson towers always are. Twister was very cool, and very different from anything else I’ve ever ridden. Knoebels is 3/3 on their wooden coasters! Next up was the flyers. Up to this point, I had only ridden the new Larson model. This was my first experience with the Bisch-Rocco version. Oh. My. God. *sigh* I am in love. This ride flew up so high and snapped so easily. I had heard people praise the Bisch-Rocco flyers, but I will assure anyone who like me had only ridden the Larson version—you haven’t been on a flyers until you’ve ridden one of these. Now out to the front of the park and Impulse. The single rider line actually took almost as much time as the regular line, with only one car running. The ride itself was really great, as I’ve come to expect from Eurofighters, but when only running one car, they might as well not have a single rider line at all. On to the Skyride! I’ve never been on one quite like this. It went up the mountain like it thinks it’s a ski lift, turns around, and then gives you incredible views of the park and the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that this is the first time I’ve ever been to the Appalachians, and they are stunningly beautiful. I live in the Ozarks; I love mountain scenery, and find it very relaxing. Philadelphia was great, and New Jersey was…an experience. This section of the trip though, with its similarity to where I’ve lived for 32 years, was the part of the trip I was able to let my guard down and just enjoy every minute of it. This was the vacation part of my vacation. It felt like home. Can Elysburg be home? Please? Okay, so I came down off the mountain, and the next goal was the pierogis. About a decade ago (has it been that long?) I went to Poland on a trip with one of my college professors. I was a double major in English and history, and this was a trip that explored World War II sites in Europe. It was a great experience, and one I’ll never forget. Anyway, pierogis. Yeah, so I’ve had the real thing, and I will say that the pierogi place as found via Coasterbill’s pierogi map, those are the best pierogis I’ve ever had outside of Poland. Bar none. I mean that. Still reeling from the unfathomable awesomeness of the pierogis, I went to the last coaster, Kozmo’s Kurves. Now, I’m not one for riding children’s coasters, as most of them are crap. I’ll ride with my kids for sure, but that’s because seeing my kids have fun is the point, and not necessarily the coaster itself. I rode no other children’s coasters this whole trip, but I made an exception for this one, and for good reason. I rode in the back row, and there was actually some mild airtime. This thing is brilliant. Knoebels is 5/5 on their coasters. Yeah. Almost everywhere has one that’s not that great, but here all the rides are just super awesome. They’re all run to their full capabilities, and that’s what makes me gush over this place. If you’ve never been to Knoebels, you owe it to yourself to go. Whatever it costs you, it’s absolutely worth it. Knoebels will make it worth all the time, money, and effort it takes to get there. Take it from me, a guy who went through the Badlands of Philadelphia to get there. On to some other rides. I loved 1001 Nachts, not quite enough to marry it, but close. I also tried out Downdraft and Power Surge and loved both of them! The Whip was fantastic (2 for 2 so far!) and the bumper cars were amazing as well. The Paratroopers were the best I’ve ever experienced, with a super long cycle, and the Parachute drop was fun as well. This place is so great! There’s not been a bad ride yet! Black Diamond, the park’s dark ride/coaster, was really great. I always love a ride that tells a story, and Black Diamond’s story was one of the coal mining industry in the area immediately surrounding Knoebels. My father in law is a retired miner, and a few decades ago the mountains of eastern Missouri were quite the industrial area…. So I do understand the story here; it’s the story of many places like this. Today was Steak Night, so I headed over to Phoenix Junction for a great steak. Yeah, at a f*cking amusement park. I totally get why this place gets Best Food awards. It’s seriously right up there with SDC, Dollywood, and Disneyland. More Phoenix, more Twister, and then on to the train ride. It snaked underneath Twister’s structure before going out to the woods to a…cult ceremony of some sort? Weird, creepy, awesome. Next up was another spin on Impulse, then over to the Carousel for my first attempt to catch the brass rings. It took me a bit to get the rhythm, but once I did, I caught the brass ring on every spin. Got six in total. This was a great experience, and I’m so grateful Knoebels still does this. I had to do the log flume, and the line was pretty long all day, so I went now in the early evening when the line dies down. This is one of the best flumes I’ve ever been on. Two good splashes, a fun ride through the cave, and great theming throughout. Very impressed. There it was. I had ticked off all the boxes for the day, and all I wanted to do was ride Phoenix until the place closed. It was wonderful, and I went back to my campsite completely happy with my day. Today was all about the rides; tomorrow I would experience everything else Knoebels has to offer.