yankeeman311

I find Millennium Force to be completely overrated. When I was at CP, I got off Maverick and the guy next to me said he thought that was the best ride in the park. I loved it but was surprised at the time to hear someone liked it better than MF. But when I got off MF, I completely understood why. MF has a lack of airtime that it needs in order to be an elite ride IMO. Speed by itself doesn't make a ride enjoyable unless it's launched for me. I've ridden only 72 coasters but MF barely makes my top 25 overall when Maverick and Magnum are in my top 5. Having ridden Skyrush, El Toro, Manta, Storm Runner, Phoenix, etc. I can really say the best thing about MF is the view. Even the drop was disapponting. It can be a ride you have fun on but it's not a ride I find great or incredible. At Hershey I got a joke going that Skyrush is what MF wishes it was .

Looking at Mini Hotness, I'm curious to know if a Cedar Point add-on is realistic? If not it's no big deal since I just went last year but if so I would love to make a return trip there and ride Maverick again and get my Gatekeeper credit .

Mini Hotness sounds awesome and very affordable! This actually made it much more clear why HW and KI weren't included in the Midwest tour. I just really hope I can end up going on Mini Hotness!

Hey does anyone know what day Fright Fest preview night is for season pass holders or if they're even having one this year? I was hoping to go to it and it's usually in early September but I haven't heard a date.

^^Nice trip report. I just want to add a few comments. As stated in my trip report on the previous page, the restraints don't take away the thrill of extreme airtime on Skyrush for me. I didn't really feel it too much until it got to the brake run. Skyrush also jumped to my #1 overall spot because it's the most extreme airtime I've ever had. Plus I feel the restraints are necessary due to how extreme the airtime is. I feel like Great Bear needs to be ridden in the back to really enjoy it because I didn't like it as much this year as I did 2 years ago and I sat in the middle this time. Also agree Storm Runner is a great ride but it's a close battle between that and Fahrenheit for 2nd best ride in the park but I think Storm Runner has a slight edge. Glad to see you enjoyed your trip.

Thought I'd post a trip report from my day yesterday here. I apologize for no pictures but I kept my phone in my friend's bag most of the day. I met up with my friend Emily (RidetheEdge) from TPR for the third time this year (which we were both surprised to accomplish) and her boyfriend Brendan. Brendan was able to get an exit pass which allowed us to basically cut the lines for free so I knew this would be a great day. I came to the park mainly to get Skyrush and Storm Runner on my credit list since I didn't have those 2 yet. Emily is a huge Skyrush fan so she wanted to save that for last. I had ridden half the coasters before yesterday but had changed opinions on a lot of them. For instance Great Bear was not as good as I remembered it being. I think I only like it in the back but it might be out of the top 10 although I still consider it a solid coaster. Comet also wasn't as good as I remembered though I don't think I sat in the best seat for it. Lightning Racer was better than I remembered and may move up a couple spots in my wooden rankings. I'm personally a big fan of racers because of the atmosphere and laid back attitude people have on them. Sidewinder was my first boomerang and I have to say it's really not a bad coaster. The restraints were very comftorable and it made for a pain free ride that I could have fun on. Wildcat on the other hand was as bad as I remembered. The restraints aren't friendly for me and the coaster definitely tossed me around a little too much for my liking. I have to say the seats were very comftorable though. Wildcat and Lightning Racer have very nice cushion seats that are very relaxing. Onto the Intamin 3. I would make an argument that the Intamin 3 are the best trio of roller coasters I have ever ridden that reside in the same park. I honestly can't even think of a trio that could be better that I haven't been on. Each ride is so unique and have a ton of thrilling elements that keep you out of your seat and coming back for more. Fahrenheit had a little more airtime and thrilling elements than I remembered. It's very close between that and Storm Runner for which I like better. Storm Runner was my first vertical launch coaster so I was nervous about it going in because I usually don't like the vertical position. Turned out not to bother me. The launch and drop are definitely the 2 best parts of the ride but the rest of the ride is still very thrilling and keeps you entertained for double the time other launch coasters do. Storm Runner will most likely be a new member of my steel and overall top 10. At first I was actually disappointed by it but then I had a great 2nd and 3rd run on it which completely changed my opinion of it. In fact it was so forceful that Brendan lost his necklace on it. Now for anybody that knows me well, I preach about how awesome El Toro is on a regular basis and how I would probably never find a coaster better than that. Well, what I thought was impossible happened yesterday. After a 5 year reign as my #1 overall coaster, El Toro finally had to hand the crown over to SKYRUSH! Never in my life have I experienced a ride like this. It had the most extreme ejector airtime I have ever experienced and it had really tight turns that throw you around in a good way. To the people that can't enjoy this coaster because of the restraints I have to say shame on you. That should not prevent you from enjoying all the positives this ride offers. They really didn't bother me until after the ride was over and we were waiting for the next train to leave but that's not a big deal at all. When I told Emily this would be the ride that knocked El Toro out of the top seat, she was so proud that I understood her love for this ride. Skyrush was probably the 2nd most hyped up coaster I've been on so the fact that it exceeded my expectations was a huge testiment to how great the coaster is. All in all a great 10.5 hour day at Hersheypark! Thanks Brendan and Emily for giving me a reason to come out there, having one last summer adventure, the exit pass and the discount for lunch and dinner from Brendan's sisters (they work there). Ride count: Skyrush 16x (Emily wanted to get 50 runs but this still wasn't bad) Storm Runner 3x Fahrenheit 2x Great Bear 1x Comet 1x SDL 1x Lightning Racer 1x Wildcat 1x Sidewinder 1x Wild Mouse 1x Trailblazer 1x

They already have a Power Tower so I can't see why they would do this.

I'm very excited for my home park's addition of Zumanjaro but I have to say that the big winner was Great America getting Goliath. A couple of the elements on there look unbelievable. I was already considering taking a trip out to Chicago for Wrigley Field next year but this made Chicago an even more probable spot for a mini vacation. I hope to ride that next year .

Personally I have no problem with the departure of Rolling Thunder as long as they use the space to put a decent flat or coaster in it's place. I don't want to see that space end up like the Chiller's with nothing replacing it. The drop tower looks like a great flat but if that's the only reason they took out Rolling Thunder then I'll be disappointed in that decision because despite me not liking the ride, it was the most popular family ride in the park. But I understand costs of maintaining it became pretty high.

As somebody that goes to the park regularly, I will be surprised if the Rolling Thunder rumors are true. I know they've spent a decent amount of money on maintenance but it's still the most popular family ride in the park that can be a people eater when running at full capacity. I'm not a fan of the ride and wouldn't miss it too much if it did go but I just can't see them getting rid of their most popular family ride. As far as the drop tower goes, if it's anything like Stratosfear or Dr. Doom than it should be a solid flat for the park.

I'm almost positive my 50th was Gemini. I can't remember my first or 25th and I'm currently at 67. My goal is to get to 100 by 2015 so hopefully I'll post my 100th here by then!

^Unfortunately that wasn't a mistake. I didn't ride either. The Flyers we missed because all of us have ridden the one in Hershey and Skooters we missed because there were other rides in that area that we wanted to do and the Skooters had the longest line. Plus we wanted to ride Phoenix 1 last time and it was near closing time when we finished the other rides in the area. That's something I'll make sure to ride next time though. Hopefully Flying Turns will be open by then .

Thought I'd post a little trip report from my first visit ever at Knoebels yesterday. I got there a little before 4 and met up with a fellow TPR user who is RidetheEdge on here. We decided to buy $10 in tickets and then get the sundown wristbands which saved me about $8 on an already affordable day. We started out with Black Diamond since it wasn't included on the wristband. Then we headed over to Twister since we were anxious to get on the big coasters. Turned out to be a pretty intense woodie and I liked it a lot for a ride with a lack of airtime. The Grand Carousel was next and this was probably my favorite version of it. I hadn't been on one in years and this was the first one I've seen where people could reach for coins. I found that to be pretty cool to have a ride and a game in a combined experience and made me wish I sat on the outside horse to do it. Then it was time for the ride we mainly came to this park for: Phoenix. Phoenix definitely didn't disappoint! The airtime on this ride was phenomenal and I loved the loose feeling you have on this ride. But Phoenix is not in the same league as El Toro imo. This is not an insult to Phoenix because it made my top 3 woodies but El Toro is still well above it to me because Phoenix lacked the intensity feel El Toro has. Nevertheless, Phoenix is still a great coaster with a unique experience that definitely helped make the drive up here worth it and it's a coaster I'm glad to cross off my bucket list! Stratosfear was a ride I was nervous about doing but boy am I glad I did it. You can't see when you're about to drop and you feel like you barely have any security (like all the other major rides at Knoebels). The drop was absolutely INSANE both times I did it. Talk about an adrenaline rush. I'm not ashamed to say I screamed loud enough for people in the parking lot to hear me both times. Absolute plus addition for Knoebels since it's a great flat that barely takes up any space. More parks need to get this type of drop tower. Not to mention this ride probably has the best view in the park especially at night. Haunted Mansion was very good for it's kind and I found the reaction of Emily and Brendan coming out of there hilarious. It really got them good. I don't really get too scared of rides like this but I admit it had some good jump scares in there. We even credit whored on Kozmo's Kurves which really surprised me and Emily in how good it was for a family ride. It had solid airtime and we just made the most of credit whoring this. One of the operators even decided to ride with us the second time we went on. Overall we had a great day at Knoebels! I managed to get my pathetic coaster count of 63 up to a little less pathetic count of 67 lol. I never quite understood why TPR loves this park so much until I went yesterday and experienced it for myself. The park has a great family vibe, there are homes inside the park, countless dogs were in attendance and keeping a small park vibe while having tons of quality rides some big parks wished they had. Not to mention Knoebel's theme song music video on the Flying Turns TV. What larrygator said about this park was spot on imo. They charge cheap rates but make up for it by keeping you there longer, treating you to a great experience and making it affordable to come back. I also loved the trust relationship between Knoebels and the guests. For instance Emily left her phone in the bathroom and a couple hours later she realized that and it was handed in to Lost and Found. In most parks, that phone is probably gone. Also I noticed there are no air gates on the coasters so Knoebels trusts their guests enough not to do anything stupid and rewards them with much shorter dispatch times. Guests also have that same trust to the operators by trusting that their one restraint is secure. I can't wait to return to this park . Credit count: Phoenix 4x Twister 2x Stratosfear 2x Kozmo's Kurves 2x Black Diamond 1x Haunted Mansion 1x Looper 1x Downdraft 1x Fandango 1x 1001 Nachts 1x Bumper Boats 1x Grand Carousel 1x Motorboat 1x

^I don't understand why it's "idiocracy" that people want to dress comftorably on vacation. I just believe you should be allowed to dress however you want as long as you're not too revealing or have profanities since you're the one that paid to eat in the main restaurant and you're on VACATION. I believe vacation should be about casualty and comfortness because you have more fun that way and the point of vacations are to relax and have a good time. Formal dressing just makes people uncomftorable and puts extra pressure on them for no reason. With that said, people should still feel free to dress formally if they WANT to but they shouldn't be forced to. Cruises are evolving and adapting. People dressed formally for sports games 50 years ago but that eventually stopped too for similar reasons. Is it dumb to want to dress comftorably? Not to me but yet I've never been a big fan of formal attire.

So its more of a casual night now, lol. Unless of course someone wheres some khaki cargo shorts with a tux top, hahaha. I actually had a bad experience with the shorts rule on Carnival. I had no formal clothes and was wearing shorts so I wasn't allowed to sit in the main restaurant because of it. I only had shorts because it was a 4 night cruise. I saw plenty of people wearing jeans that night too. My point is I support what Disney is doing about the shorts because I don't believe people should be forced to dress formally when they're on vacation and it just creates more clothes to pack with plenty of cheap ways to get away with the old rules.

Six Flags Great Adventure asked on their facebook page to name your favorite inverted coaster. The majority of responses were El Toro, Nitro and Bizarro. I then commented pretty much correcting everyone telling them it's suppose to be your favorite INVERTED coaster and then said my answer. It was sad 50 comments in, I was probably the first to say anything about the previous responses.

Anyone know where I can watch this announcement live on tv or internet if it's streaming at all?

I have to defend Nitro here. Everyone has picked on Nitro this year but this is the first year it hasn't been running well so I don't like that people have the wrong idea about this ride that rode it for the first time like a poster a while back. Nitro is 1 of the few complete rides out there which is why I still consider it an elite coaster. I admit it's not running great this year but it's still a great coaster. I am 1 of the few enthusiasts that's not a fan of Batman. It always hurts my legs or another body part and I feel it's too much about g's. I prefer Great Bear and Great Nor Easter over it. Like GAdv or not, it may be the best park in the SF chain and has a great collection of coasters for a reasonable price if you look at the coasters you get for the season pass. For that, I'm still greatful it's my home park and I'd put it right up there with Cedar Point, Hersheypark, etc.

I'm hoping to go to HP in a couple weeks but I just got in a car accident so my parents are hesitant about letting me or my sister drive there for insurance reasons. I'm thinking of proposing to them that we just take the train there and get a bus or taxi in Harrisburg. People have said to take CAT for buses but I'm worried that the bus schedule isn't flexible enough so my question is does anybody know if it's easy to get a taxi from the Harrisburg Train Station and from Hersheypark?

I 100% disagree with this. IMO, Moreys is 1 of the most underrated parks around. As someone that has vacationed in Wildwood plenty of times, I can tell you Moreys is definitely worth a visit. Its 1 of the best seaside amusement parks in the world, has great flats and very solid coasters. Plus it's a great vacation spot with a beach right there. I would compare it as the seaside version of Knoebels. Moreys has a special atmosphere that I dont recommend passing up. It's only one of America's best seaside parks because there are so few left. The boardwalk and beach are great, but the rides? Flats are above average and they have one great walk through, but can you tell me the names of these solid coasters? They have one OK coaster (Great White) and a bunch of sub par coasters. Well Great Nor Easter is an above average looping coaster to me, Great White is a very unique woodie and Sea Serpent is an above average boomerang. I understand they don't have a standout coaster but they also don't have any bad coasters. When I say Moreys is a seaside Knoebels, I mean the atmosphere is a great small park one that is rare to find in other parks. Maybe this is just me because Wildwood has a special place in my heart but I feel like it is underrated for those reasons. It also seems like much more of a worthy visit then some of the other small parks listed. But again, this is just my opinion.

I 100% disagree with this. IMO, Moreys is 1 of the most underrated parks around. As someone that has vacationed in Wildwood plenty of times, I can tell you Moreys is definitely worth a visit. Its 1 of the best seaside amusement parks in the world, has great flats and very solid coasters. Plus it's a great vacation spot with a beach right there. I would compare it as the seaside version of Knoebels. Moreys has a special atmosphere that I dont recommend passing up.

As someone that has been to almost every park you mentioned, I think I can give you good advice. Assuming you're planning on going in the summer, here's what I'd suggest: 2 days at Universal, 1 at BGT, 1 at SeaWorld, 1 at GAdv and 2 at CP. GAdv is my home park so I can say that with a flash pass, you can get all the coasters done in a day with plenty of re-rides. SeaWorld is very small so you'll be fine there. BGT you can definitely do in a day if you're just focused on the rides. If you want to explore other things then you may want to 2nd guess that. Universal you can do 3 days if you want plenty of re-rides. If you don't go to Wet n Wild though, 2 days should be fine at Uni. For CP you will definitely need Fast Lane at least 1 of the 2 days but I'd recommend getting for both days. Don't get Fast Lane/Flash Pass until you get to the park and see for yourself how bad crowds are. I'm not sure if you have a days limit but I would recommend checking WDW out for 2-3 days if you have the extra time and $. Also Hersheypark is a great one to go to as well if you're willing to travel a few hours from GAdv. Good luck and happy planning!

Personally I hate Wildcat probably more than anyone else here. It's not an enjoyable rough and it's the screechiest coaster I've ever been on. I've ridden this, Mean Streak and Rolling Thunder and I have to say this is the worst of the 3 imo. Mean Streak is not as rough for me and it doesn't make nearly as much noise. Don't get me wrong I can enjoy rough woodies such as Blue Streak, Great White and Comet but those all had good airtime to make the roughness more fun. This is something Wildcat doesn't have.

I'm almost 100% sure this is going to be a giga. The formula of having a mega and a giga in the same park has done wonders for CP and CW so I can see them doing the same for KI. B & M usually plays it safe so I can't see them making anything too out of the ordinary. Plus gigas are very popular from GP as well. Add all this together and I'm almost positive it will be a giga.

Great episode tonight. Nice to see some true enthusiasts in this episode including the woman with an X2 tattoo who's ridden that 1600 TIMES and a fellow TPR member Scott on X-Flight who I want to congratulate for getting on this show! This show has definitely made me want to go ride international coasters. Damn shame next week is the last episode.