ytterbiumanalyst

Day 4 Continued: Founder’s Brewery On advice from several posters here, I decided to use my early exit from Michigan’s Adventure to drive to Grand Rapids and try out Founder’s Brewery. I got off the highway downtown and went to look for a parking space. I noticed during the course of my search that there were several tents set up and it looked like a special event was going on. Plus, in the 45 minutes since I left Michigan’s Adventure the thunderstorm had let up, so it looked like this was going to be a cool time to visit, once I find a place to park. I never found one. Not a single space anywhere. I saw one open up once, but someone else was already sitting on it. After about half an hour of going up one street and down the next, I gave up. Thanks for the suggestion; I wish I could have done it. Oh, well. Day 5: Indiana Beach I stayed overnight in Michigan City, basically splitting the distance between Muskegon and Monticello. This ended up being a good decision, as it allowed me to sleep in and have a relaxed morning, since Indiana Beach opened at 11 Eastern. It did have the odd side effect of having me back in Central Time, but just to sleep, as the events of the previous and next days were both in Eastern Time. Definitely some mental aerobics keeping that sorted. A straight shot down 421, a pretty drive through endless farms punctuated by small towns. I mean really small towns. I live in a town of about 4,000—which looks like a metropolis compared to these. Indiana Beach itself is pretty cool. It’s totally old school and completely different from any other park I’ve ever been to. It seems to suffer from similar staffing issues as Michigan’s Adventure, but the employees they have are generally good. The lakeside atmosphere is awesome, the coasters are good, and they have a doubleshot and a skyride. What’s not to love? Well, one thing: It takes them a long time to get things up and running. When I entered, I saw Tig’rr testing, so I went straight there, knowing it’s a low capacity ride and iffy on when it will operate. The queue was open, but there was no operator. One of the maintenance guys was there, though, and was very nice. He said Tig’rr is running great, but there’s no one here to operate it yet. I decided to hit up some other coasters first. I then went up the queue of Hoosier Hurricane, which also was open, only when I reached the top to be told it wasn’t running yet. You know, if you closed the queues, you’d save me some time and both of us some frustration…. Also, the log flume wasn’t running, but the queue for it was open all day. ??? Next I tried Cornball Express, only it wasn’t running either as it had only one op. Fortunately, the same nice maintenance guy from before was inspecting this ride now, and since there were about 8 of us queuing for it, he decided to be the second op for it so we could all ride. Super great employee here! I rode twice in a row, and it’s a fantastic ride. Lives up to the hype totally. It’d be the best coaster in Indiana if Holiday World didn’t exist. Yeah, all four of theirs beat everything at Indiana Beach. I then went over to Steel Hawg, which was running 2 cars, but that was well enough to handle the meagre crowds here. I got to ride 4 times in a row without getting off. Only then was someone waiting for my seat, so I moved on to other things. I next went over to Dr. Frankenstein’s Haunted Castle, then got some tacos, then took the Skyride to Double Shot, followed by Den of Lost Thieves. By now, Hoosier Hurricane and Tig’rr were running, so I got to ride all the coasters that were open. It was time for Fascination. I put $10 on a card and played as much as I could. There weren’t a whole lot of other players, so I played when someone else was around, and went to Skee-Ball when there wasn’t. Helen at Fascination is another stellar employee and really made everything so much fun. I spent about an hour using up my $10. Everything’s a quarter or 50 cents at most! Awesome! Then it was time for one last spin on Steel Hawg and a long drive back home. This was a great, low-key way to finish off a huge road trip. Theming: It’s themed to a…lakeside boardwalk! Food: I only had the world’s best tacos. That isn’t true, but I can say with certainty they’re the best tacos I’ve ever had in Indiana!* *They’re also the only tacos I’ve ever had in Indiana. Service: Really great! The ops were friendly when they were around. The senior op at Steel Hawg showed me the best seat (front right), and the senior op at Cornball Express was a really friendly guy as well. Helen at Fascination is awesome, and made a great game so much better. Fascination really was the highlight of my day, and she was a big part of why. Waterpark: I didn’t do it, as I only wanted to spend a couple of hours here. It looked good for its size, though. Water rides: Rocky’s Rapids was down, as was the Bumper Boats. No water rides for me this trip. Dark rides: Den of Lost Thieves was a fun, two-story shooting dark ride. I liked that it had primary and secondary targets. When you shot a primary target, a secondary one would appear for more points, but with a very short window to shoot it. It was fun! Also, the longest line of anything, but only about 20 minutes. Dr. Frankenstein’s Haunted Castle was a very good walkthrough. It’s pitch black throughout most of it, leaving you to feel your way through. There are some good scares and some great scenes with animatronics. I may have liked it better than the coasters. It’s absolutely worth the upcharge; do not miss this! Flat rides: Double Shot was great, as always. Its location near the lake gives some great views. It was the only flat I rode due to limited time and Fascination. Coasters: Cornball Express: The better of the wooden coasters. It twists and throws you around, and is very smooth. This is the best coaster in this park. Hoosier Hurricane: Your standard out and back woodie, but over a lake! Great views from this coaster, and due to its size, it interacts with just about everything else at the park. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain: Closed all day for my visit. This was very disappointing, as this is a weird and unique coaster. I will definitely have to come back to ride this, and also Fascination. Steel Hawg: The park’s only inverting coaster, and until this year the only inverting ride at all. I loved it; this and Fascination were my main interest at this park. I rode five times in all, and it was great every time. Tig’rr: Despite its opening two hours late, it was a really great ride! Schwarzkopf just makes the best. I could tell a lot of people underestimate this ride, as it looks like something at a traveling fair. It’s intense, maybe the most intense ride here. Definitely ride this if at all possible. Steel Hawg is the first thing you see when entering the park. It's testing! There it is! And with that, my trip is complete. It's been an awesome and exhausting week. Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain and Rocky's Rapids are both closed. Both these queues were open, but both rides were closed. ??? North end of the boardwalk. South end of the boardwalk. New hotness for this year. Waiting to enter Dr. Frankenstein's Haunted Castle. Jim Morrison's not looking so good these days. Ichabod...found your head! This guy was the best jump scare of the attraction. Glow paint! It's alive! And we're outside. Cool, time for more pictures. Hoosier Hurricane...through the tree! Rock you like a hurricane! Just hangin' and shreddin' Cool little shooting gallery, and only a quarter! These waterfalls around the chairswings were really cool. Yep, photography on the skyride is allowed, but dropping your camera is not. I did not drop mine. I don't do skycoasters. I'm glad they're having fun though. Lost Coaster, you mock me. Antique autos ride. Count how many coaster you see in this photo. Sea Dragon New hotness. Thieves on a hot tin roof. There's the eponymous beach. Tig'rr is open! And a short line! Wheee! All is not lost. Look what my local liquor store just started stocking!

We're at Silver Dollar City about 12-15 times a year. We also get season tickets to either Six Flags or Worlds of Fun and go about 4 weekends a year, staying overnight and going Saturday and Sunday.

Thread revival! This month I rode a ton of new, great coasters, but the best of them all is Millennium Force!

Thanks for that, Bill! I'm going to have to get to this park. Maybe next year?

I'm just going to again point out that RMC did retrack the Boss in 2013, with traditional wooden track.

After riding some amazing rides in Ohio, my top ten has changed dramatically. 1. Outlaw Run 2. Millennium Force 3. Voyage 4. Beast 5. Magnum XL-200 6. Diamondback 7. Maverick 8. Shivering Timbers 9. Wildfire 10. Mamba

VR didn't get me back on Ninja, and it won't get me back on Raging Bull either. Strapping a cell phone to my face doesn't make a bad ride good.

It's now Top Thrill Dragster!

Boss gains another convert! Haters gonna hate. Boss just shakes it off. I feel like I need to ride this thing. It seems to be having the same impact on people as Mean Streak. Yes, you need to ride it. It's as polarizing as Mean Streak is, but it's a much better ride. Only ride it in the front. Do not even consider another seat. It's great in the front.

Boss gains another convert! Haters gonna hate. Boss just shakes it off.

Oh, and Western Playland, 15 minutes.

Yes, you have to buy for a specific date. Pro tip: you get $10 off if you buy online. It's a good deal at $30, but it's an insanely good deal at $20.

There are no scare actors, but there are some great mechanical jumps! I highly recommend it. $3.50 is a great deal. I enjoyed it maybe more than any of the coasters there.

If you haven't gone back to the Brews and Barbecues yet, they have a bluegrass band that does covers of pop songs, or at least they did on Coastermania day. I imagine they're probably still there. I spent a couple of hours listening to them and enjoying the great food and drinks. Worth checking out!

I never thought it was possible to be "wrong" on a matter of opinion, but here we are... See, I'd actually agree with Yubstep. I prefer rapids rids to log flumes myself. Though I must say I've never been on a bad ride of either type, and if either the rapids ride or the log flume is down at a park, I'm more disappointed than if any coaster is down....

This is not based on any knowledge of theme park operations, because I have none. But I do know that it is possible to play some songs by just paying royalties to ASCAP or BMI in bulk, and then you get to use any of their songs, as long as they're not altered in any way or specifically employed for commercial use (e.g. used in a promotional video). I imagine that's what CF did here.

I mean this:

I would love to see a high speed, high banked turnaround like that one. Seems similar to Diamonback's.

I'll agree that SDC and Holiday World are great, but have you been to Dollywood?? It seems to be the more comparable park to SDC, and although I love both - Dollywood slightly edges out SDC because, you know, Dolly I have not. For many years I just went to the Missouri parks, and I've only recently started branching out from there. After this year, Dollywood will be the only major park in an adjacent state that I haven't been to. It wasn't a priority basically because it's very far away (10-11 hours for me), and because it's very similar to SDC, which is 45 minutes away and I can go there whenever I want. At the same time, Dollywood's similarity to SDC is definitely in its favour, as is the 50% discount we get on tickets for being SDC season passholders. I'm seriously considering targeting Dollywood for next year.

^ They've got a rather huge one. Great America is closer to Milwaukee than it is to Chicago, at least in drive time.

Wait until you have kids! This man speaks the truth! I have no problem driving long distances. In fact, our honeymoon trip was a giant road trip all over the Midwest and into Canada. We used to drive up to SFStL in the morning, stay all day, then drive back. It was a long 18 hour day, including drive time, but totally doable. With kids, you don't want to drive more than three hours in a day. There will be consequences, no matter how good your kids are. Oh, no doubt. It's why we've chosen not to have kids for several more years, if ever. As far as calling it "Insanity" to get up early and go to bed late for the theme park... that seems a little dramatic. Tiring? Yes. Insanity? Far from it. Life is too short to live a pampered lifestyle. I didn't call it insanity. Maybe someone else did, I'm not sure. I just said it's long but doable. I'm with you on the philosophy of just go do it. In some ways, I'm still recovering from my Cedar Point trip, and I got back a week ago. No regrets, and I'd totally do it all again. Have fun at Kentucky Kingdom! It's a great little park. Don't ride T3. Go on Thunder Run at least once. Ride Lightning Run and Storm Chaser as much as possible. Also, the waterpark has a nice beer garden you'd like. There's some covered seating too.

^ I would count Wildebeest as a water slide, which is a different category in my mind from water rides at a theme park. I didn't consider any waterpark attractions when compiling my list. But hey, if you want to, go ahead. And I totally agree that Wildebeest is the best water slide.

Day 4 – Michigan’s Adventure Sleep fast! I started my trip back to the West early Saturday morning, with a drive to Michigan’s Adventure. I left about 7 and arrived around noon, with a couple of breaks to just get out and walk around some. I was seriously exhausted from the day at Cedar Point. As I crossed the state line into Michigan, I reflected on the ridiculous amount of fun I had in Ohio over the last 2 ½ days. I wanted to go back as soon as I left. I want to go back right now. Onward to Muskegon! I’ve been to Michigan before, but I flew into DTW and spent the whole time in Detroit (this was back in 1999, when it was a much nicer city than it is now). I enjoyed the drive through the rest of the state on I-96. It’s pretty country, very wooded. Missouri is highly wooded too, but in a different way than Michigan is. I turned off onto a farm road when instructed, past some trailers, and in the middle of nowhere is this beautiful gigantic wooden structure. This is seriously more out in the middle of nowhere than Holiday World is. That made for some magnificent views from virtually all the rides, and in every direction. The park is very clean and seems to be in pretty good shape for the most part. Most people were there for the waterpark, which looked great. I mean, if you compare it to Cedar Point (where I had been just the day before, so it was hard not to), this place isn’t much to write home about. Taking it for what it is, though, I had fun. I especially appreciated that it’s much more relaxed than most theme parks I’ve been to. I’m not a teenager anymore, and Cedar Point had taken a lot out of me. I had planned to do the waterpark here, since it was so highly spoken of, but I decided that would make for a rushed day. I already rushed 18 hours at Cedar Point yesterday, and I decided to take this one slowly. Forecast was for thunderstorms in the afternoon, so I wasn’t going to have a whole lot of time here. On a side note, the only day it didn’t thunderstorm was my day at Cedar Point. If I could pick one, that would definitely be it! Theming: None. Just, none at all. Food: After the amazing food at Kings Island and Cedar Point the previous couple of days, it was a bit jarring to me that they only had the staples. I got a pizza and Bosco sticks over by Shivering Timbers for lunch, then ate at Coasters once the thunderstorm hit late in the afternoon. Both were good, though, and the food service employees were decently efficient and friendly. Service: This park seems to have issues with staffing. There were a bunch of rides shut down throughout the day for maintenance, and the maintenance staff couldn’t get to them because they were running other rides. If they had more ride ops, several rides could have operated. Additionally, operations were very slow. They seemed very reluctant to have anyone ride with anyone who wasn’t part of that group, which unnecessarily lengthened lines. For example, there was a group of 3 that were put on one boat at Grand Rapids, and I was directed to go on the next boat, by myself. With a wait time of about half an hour. The boats can accommodate 9 people—why are you leaving 8 of them empty with that long of a line? Water rides: For the second day in a row, I missed out on a splash boat by thinking I’ll come back to it after I go on the rapids ride, only to find it down. Oh well. Grand Rapids was fantastic, pretty much a miniature version of Thunder Canyon at Cedar Point. Logger’s Run was a very good log flume. HydroBlaster was great, and really the only ride there of a type I haven’t been on before. It and Shivering Timbers were the only two rides with efficient operations, too. There was one guy at the top, and the other at the bottom, and they were running both sides by themselves. Just perfect. Flat rides: I wanted to ride some, but nearly all were down for big chunks of the day. A few on my list, especially the Sea Dragon and Lakeside Gliders, re-opened around 5:00, but by that point I didn’t have any energy left. Coasters: Corkscrew – Surprisingly good. I actually liked this better than Cedar Point’s Corkscrew. It wasn’t as fast, but that ended up being a very good thing. It took the corkscrews at a better speed and gave a much smoother ride. Mad Mouse – Down all day. Slightly disappointing, as I do like the non-spinning mice and would have ridden this one. But only slightly; these things are everywhere. Shivering Timbers – This ride is way too good for this park. I had heard it compared favourably to the Voyage, and it’s honestly almost as good. With Cedar Point fresh in my mind, I thought if there’s a wooden version of Magnum, this is it. The trick track was great, especially when leaning into the turns. It’s very smooth for a wooden coaster this big, and better than either of Cedar Point’s woodies by a lot. Thunderhawk – I’m not the sort of person who will just ride any coaster, so I wasn’t riding this SLC for the “credit.” I ride a coaster because I think it will be fun. This was my third—the first one, Gauntlet at Magic Springs, I rode because I hadn’t been on one before. That’s enough reason for me to try something. The second, T3 at Kentucky Kingdom, I rode because of the new restraints. This one I rode because I kept hearing it’s the best of its kind. After the experience with T3, I was hoping I wouldn’t be burned again. It’s good! I actually re-rode it, and it’s the only one other than Shivering Timbers that I did. It’s better in the front than in the back, and there’s honestly less headbanging than on Batman. So 2/3 SLCs are evil and should die in a fire, but Thunderhawk can live. Mind you, it’s still not the mind-blowing ride that Shivering Timbers is, but I liked it more than Wolverine Wildcat, for what that’s worth. Wolverine Wildcat – I rode this one first per lots of advice here, but since I got there a bit after opening, the line was huge. It moved steadily though, and I enjoyed the ride. Unlike at Holiday World, where the smaller woodies still hold their own against the Voyage, this one really doesn’t have much to offer that Shivering Timbers doesn’t do better. Zach’s Zoomer – It’s the same as Woodstock Express at King’s Island, but with one train instead of two. I like these little woodies; they’re very old school to me, offering a ride that’s pure fun as a nice counter-point to the big, intense coasters. My top 10 list should show you I prefer greatly that intensity; it’s just nice to have a break from it sometimes, and this style of ride does that perfectly. I'm ready for some more adventure! Corkscrew through the trees! First ride of the day! It was a little shy. Beautiful views of the lake from just about everywhere. Right in front of the train station. Great shop idea. I wish for a coaster that's big. I got my wish! Two flat rides that were down. The scrambler opened late afternoon; Thunderbolt never did. But hey, I'm here for this beauty. They are on a log flume. Now I'm in line for a log flume. Down. Down. Down. Giant Gondola Wheel was running. The new petting zoo was nice. Every time I went by, there were several people enjoying the area. Down. So was Flying Trapeze. Donkey credit! Height measuring station. Corkscrew! I did not play mini golf. Yep, beautiful views of the lake from just everywhere. Carousel Winky the Whale and Little Drummer Boy And the only good SLC I've been on. This waterfall on Grand Rapids was fun. Would have been more fun if there were other people in the boat. Yeah, I see you. Adventure Falls, I'll get you next. Or so I thought. Well, you know, you're not as good as Shivering Timbers. All right, Thunderhawk. One more time. Not very many people in the park today. Whee! The eponymous corkscrew. Be-Bop Blvd. was popular with the kids. More fun things for little ones. But the only thing in this area I want is Zach's Zoomer. After this, I rode Shivering Timbers until the storms rolled in!

Thanks for that clarification.

Yes, it will be shown on a device that goes over your eyes, and you will watch it while riding the coaster.