yankeeman311

I'm going to try to keep this realistic but I'm also going to base this on what I really want for these parks. GAdv: 2015- 1 or 2 new kids rides. Let this be a slow year to do maintenance for the park. Re-paint basically every B&M plus open a path to get people from El Toro to Golden Kingdom. 2016- big addition coaster. I'm thinking a Maverick clone in MovieTown would be nice. Maybe theme it towards Mr. Freeze. 2017- add 1 or 2 flats to replace Rolling Thunder. A Screamin' Swing or something like Maxair would be nice. 2018- new water slide for Hurricane Harbor. It would be 5 years since they got one at this point and they could probably add Bonzai Pipelines to their drop slides. 2019- finally get their hotel open. This would be the park's 45th anniversary and with barely investing anything the last 2 years, now would be ideal for a hotel in this market. 2020- new RMC to get more people into the hotel. Also cheaper big addition. For this I'm thinking Bizarro would be the likely coaster re-located to make room for this. Not that I want that to happen but I think it's the most likely one to move. Morey's Piers: 2015-18- notice the stretch of years. They need to use as much time as they need to finally build the new woodie on a new pier. It would be a big project that hasn't even started construction so I'm allowing a lot of time for it. 2019- new ride for the new pier. Honestly I'm thinking a skyride connecting the new pier to Surfside Pier would be great. 2020- another new flat on the new pier. Maybe a Storm revival with a tamer version of it.

Overrated- The Walking Dead. I like the show but people act like it's the greatest show in TV history when it 's not even on that level. Underrated- Trailer Park Boys. This is a Canadian comedy that not nearly enough people in the US know about. If you have Netflix I suggest watching this. They have hilarious dry humor that can easily be missed on a first watch.

^I have to disagree about Outlaw being overshadowed. If anything it seems to be the RMC that has stood out and for good reason. With the exception of El Toro it's the best wooden coaster I've ridden and in my top 5 overall. Need to see the other RMCs.

I would have to say Kraken at SWO. It barely felt like a track was underneath the train.

I actually think Roar is a good coaster if ridden in the back. Me and my friend who are both enthusiasts enjoyed our first ride on it in the back but then we rode it in the front and realized why people have low opinions on it. If you ride in the back it's actually very smooth whereas in the front it's more stapled, rough and screechy. I actually have Roar above HP's Wildcat, Mean Streak, Rolling Thunder, NE's Thunderbolt and Georgia Cyclone to name a few so I think the hate is a bit exaggerated.

^I'm glad you had a nice trip. Even happier to see you had the same reaction to Skyrush as me when you rode it. That coaster jumped to the top of my list too even over El Toro and Maverick. I have to disagree about Sidewinder's trains though. I thought they were a tremendous help. Having ridden Flashback since then, I can feel the difference a new train makes. It goes from a below average ride to at least average imo.

Depends on how you count age for me. If you don't care about relocation/renovation than Wild One is my oldest from 1917. If that doesn't count for than it's Wildcat at LC for me from 1927.

I'm going to make a top 3 for each since I think a few coasters deserve a mention. Steel: 3. Nitro- best drop you'll ever have in the front row. Lots of airtime on the drop and goes slow enough to tease you going down but still packs a punch. 2. Fahrenheit- nothing quite like going over 90 degrees. That jolt in the middle of the drop is great. 1. Skyrush- only coaster I've experienced that has 2 unbelievable drop moments on the same drop. Wood: 3. Cyclone (SFNE)- I've never experienced such a catapult drop right out of the gate like I did on this. 2. Outlaw Run- not much to explain. Height and steepness provide a great drop. 1. El Toro- probably my #1 overall drop as well. I've never experienced a bigger sensation of falling like I have on this drop. Everything about this coaster is simply amazing.

Millennium Force. I had heard this was the best coaster in the world from several people and anchored my CP trip off that coaster. I never came off a coaster so disappointed and it ranks as the worst of my 7 coasters 200 feet or higher. It's not terrible but it's ridiculously overrated. In all honesty it's barely in the top 5 at CP for me and will probably get kicked out once I ride Dragster.

#100- Kingda Ka! This was extra special to me because it took me years to finally conquer it. Not to mention it's the tallest and second fastest roller coaster in the world .

Anyone know how crowds are right now? Might stop by later today if it's lighter than usual.

I definitely agree with whoever said this is an industry decline. People definitely unfairly rip on Six Flags imo and act like Cedar Fair is high and mighty. I swear Dorney Park has more problems than SFA and people choose to ignore it. I was also at SFA 2 weeks ago expecting it to be the worst park experience ever when I actually had a nice time. It's not the best park ever but it's not bad or anything. To me Six Flags is a company that targets season pass holders for a low price. That business model is absolutely fine with me since I benefit from that. Being in NJ, I'll pay for a $100 season pass with GAdv as my home park over a $190 CF pass with Dorney as the home park any day of the week. SF is also one of the few chains that allow re-rides and just don't care about rain either so those are nice bonuses. Their upkeep may not be great but the badness of it is exaggerated here. Just remember this park isn't Disney or Uni where they master every detail.

Superman: Ultimate Flight at GAdv. Still remember what a rush it was going through that pretzel loop the first time.

This made me LOL! Is it weird that I like this lift view?

^^I can confirm the 3 adult rule is enforced here too since a ride supervisor told one of the ops 4 adults can't go in 1 car. I think the 5 car rule might be the same too since that's the amount I saw when I was there.

Me personally I rode Skyrush at least 10x in a row and I wasn't bothered by the restraints at all until the brake run. The violent airtime distracts me pretty well from the pressure on my legs.

Little trip report from today. Went to the park with my 2 borderline enthusiast friends. I was pretty confident it would be a light summer crowd because of the AM showers in the forecast (which never happened) and I was right for the most part. Now try not to laugh but going into today I've had a fear of getting on Kingda Ka for years. Today I decided to not let fear control my visits anymore and I finally went on it. Gotta say it felt damn good to finally get that credit. Launch was nice and the view from the top was amazing. Hard to tell you were 450 feet in the air. I definitely overhyped the ride though as it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Like others have said, the ride is too short to be better than Toro and Nitro plus this probably won't be a top 10 coaster for me but it's still a powerful one-trick pony. The wind didn't bother me nearly as much on this as it did on Millennium Force. On top of conquering Ka, it was also my 100th credit! Felt like that was the best coaster for that with the story for me and the reputation it has. So at least there was some decent reason in the end to wait years to ride it. Unfortunately my other friend couldn't jump that hurdle today but hopefully soon. We then got 2 rides on Toro to remind me what the true best coaster in the park is and then Bizarro. Before we had lunch, we decided to ride the Log Flume. Most awkward ride ever. Picture 3 big dudes trying to fit in just one half of a log. We literally crushed my friend like a sandwich who sat in the middle. Toro Ryan please get the message to those guys not to make 3 big dudes sit in the same seat. It barely got done to be honest. After lunch we rode Skull Mountain and then Nitro. We decided to ride Nitro again but this time in the front. Having not ridden up there in a while, it was much better than I remembered. In fact I got my best rides on Nitro today in years. Hopefully with the other good reports, this shows that Nitro is returning to world class coaster status. After that we rode Batman and went to check if Zum was open. It was and I'd say it was about a 50 minute wait for us. This might be first ride bias but this imo is GAdv's best addition since El Toro. Everybody in our gondola was nervous about the ride including me and my friend. Being up 415 feet slowly isn't comftorable. I even saw a father and daughter hold hands on the way up. I've never seen a ride intimidate more people. The view is incredible though. As for the ride itself, I give it much more credit than most have. The drop may not be as intense as Stratosfear but man the length makes up for it. Plus you feel the wind from how fast you're going on your legs near the bottom. Never had that on a drop tower. It legitimately feels like you're dropping much longer than on most towers. I'd say this was my 2nd favorite drop tower after Stratosfear in Knoebels and a top 5 ride in the park. We decided to finish the day on El Toro again plus I got my 40th anniversary shirt. No lines over 30 minutes the whole day besides Ka and Zumanjaro. Here's my run count for the day: El Toro 3x Nitro 3x Kingda Ka 1x Bizarro 1x Skull Mountain 1x Batman 1x Zumanjaro 1x Log Flume 1x Skyway 1x

Honestly Vekoma SLCs aren't that bad if you know how to ride them. The key is to do it in the back while keeping your head back the whole ride. When I do this I really don't feel any pain on Mind Eraser. I do think new trains would dramatically change the ride experience though like what Great Nor Easter in Moreys Piers got.

^Honestly I don't think people say it's rough. I think they say there's too much G's which can be misinterpreted for rough. It's smooth no doubt but my complaint about the ride is that it's not too re-ridable for me. Still decent for one time though.

I won't go out of my way for kiddie credits but if I'm by myself or with enthusiasts and the line is short I'll ride them. It honestly allows for funny stories and memories in the right environment. The last 2 I rode me and my friends had the first one to ourselves and the latter coaster had me and my friend trying to fit in the same car at over 6'0 each. Our legs took a beating on the turns but it was one of the most laughable moments of the day.

The most shocking thing this season to me was that Silver Star came in last in the first episode tonight. I can understand not winning but it scored less than White Cyclone. Thought the GP would eat that up. Can someone that's been on it tell me if it deserved such a low score?

Honestly I just think people complain about Bizarro too much. I admit I never rode it back when it was Superman and the restraints aren't the most comftorable, but you guys are foolish if you don't think this is a world class coaster still. I rode it this year for the first time and it's my #3 steel only behind 2 other world class coasters in Skyrush and Maverick. I think Bizarro has a similar opinion as Skyrush now. Either people hate it because of the restraints or can get over it and still appreciate how great the ride is. I'm sorry but no coaster at SFNE is close to the quality of Bizarro right now.

^It was mostly because people said Bizarro's restraints are terrible (which I can defend). I thought maybe if Superman's restraints were better being an Intamin hyper, I'd get great airtime on the hills. Unfortunately the ride just doesn't have that kind of pacing. As for Wild One I'm not crazy about it and it's not as good as Dash or Phoenix but it's in the top half of woodies I've ridden simply because it's not extremely rough and it does have air which is a good combination for me.

Went down from Jersey to go to this park yesterday to meet up with some other enthusiasts. Only 1 of the 3 ended up showing up but we still managed to spend 8.5 hours in this park (shocking I know). Here's my reviews of the coasters and some flats there: Roar- better than I expected it to be. We found it amazing the vast difference of a ride experience it is from back to front. In the back it was smooth but not as much airtime where in the front it was much rougher but at least it had a little airtime. Apocalypse- the worst big coaster in the park imo. I hate Green Lantern in GAdv and this was basically the same. Lots of headbanging. Mind Eraser- pretty much what I expected though I prefer the one in SFNE. Great Chase- yes I credit whored this and felt like I was going to hurt my leg on the turns. Just imagine having 2 guys over 6'0 riding in the same car on this. Rajin' Cajun- first spinning mouse and I have to say it surprised me. It's much more fun than a regular mouse imo. Just wish they'd start the spinning earlier than they do. Also they don't let more than 3 people over 52 inches in a car so be careful groups. Joker's Jinx- probably the most disappointing coaster here. I was expecting better from this. After the initial jolt the launch is pretty tame. Also the first half is very weak. On the bright side the next to last turn and final corkscrew are much stronger so at least this finishes on a good note. This was also the one ride I didn't even think about putting my hands up. Wild One- pretty much what I expected. An above average woodie that is borderline top 10 for me. Has a nice sense of roughness where it has a little to make the ride more exciting but it won't bother you. Superman: ROS- was also a little disappointed in this. I expected the airtime to be better than Bizarro but it wasn't even close. This will only be the second hyper or bigger that failed to make my top 10 of the 6 I've ridden. The other being Millennium Force. Batwing- surprise of the day here. This ride had the worst operations but it's a very exciting ride. This was my first Vekoma Flyer and with riding Superman and Manta already, this had my curiousity. Being flipped around few times was interesting and the restraints are so loose once you flip it adds an intimidating factor being in a flying position. This is honestly in contention for best coaster in the park for me. Zydeco Zinger- honestly much tamer than I thought it'd be. Nothing really memorable here. Voodoo- great drop tower. First Intamin one for me too and it proved to be the next best thing to ARM. Ride is short but the drop is pretty powerful. Probably the one world class ride this park has and was my favorite ride in the park. Rodeo- was not prepared for this ride. This thing is wicked. It had more force than most coasters in the park and I'd have to say it's a hidden gem. Make sure you ride this if you have the stomach for it. Overall nice day at the park. Not as terrible as I expected. Me and my friend both agreed that the coaster lineup mostly has nothing terrible (except Apocalypse) but really has nothing that stands out and makes it worth going out of the way for. I think it's a nice stop if you have a little time or are in the area though. A lot of station waits on a Saturday is a nice bonus.

I agree with this. Every enthusiast I talk to not from here tells me we're the most spoiled ones and I can see why. We keep complaining about a park that enthusiasts from all over the world want to travel to. We have one of the best coaster collections in the world, a top 5 wooden coaster in the world which is the best imo, a great improvement in the flat collection with the additions of SkyScreamer, Safari Offroad Adventure and now Zumanjaro and rare rides like the Skyway, Houdini and the Parachutes, a waterpark with unbelievable additions the past 5 years and not to mention they have the best weather and re-ride policy of any park I've been to. People complain about beauty, go stand by RMT and look at the view of El Toro and Ka from there or walk under Bizarro's cobra roll. I get it this park is not perfect but let's not exaggerate saying it's a shithole. I'd take this as my home park over many other places. Honestly I might get criticized for this but GAdv holds its own for me against Hershey and CP. Not saying it's better but they're not far behind at all.