Marko

Since it was a Saturday and we were both pretty coastered-out we decided to make Geauga Lake a quickie one hour stop before continuing on to our motel. The park has really improved from our visit last year, in fact I'm really impressed with the park. They oddly enough don't give out tickets when you present a non-GL Cedar Fair season pass at the guest relations booth. Instead they take down your name and instruct you to tell the gate attendant that "Carl" said it was ok to let us in. Certainly an interesting approach and while there was some confusion our pass-phrase did indeed get us into the park. First stop was Big Dipper which unfortunately I did not get to ride last trip. There was a very short wait and we were both really impressed with our first front row ride. We got back in line and tried the last row, holy crap what a difference! BD has to get an award for providing the most striking difference between front and back rows. Elle found the back to be too violent but I absolutely loved it, big thumbs up for Big Dipper. Next we took a spin on Dominator in the front row and we both really enjoyed the ride, much more than Hydra. The first loop just seems so huge and the rest of the ride was really smooth with great interaction with the ground and surrounding water/marsh. In fact of the four floorless coasters I've tried Dominator is by far the best. The last mission was to get a ride on Raging Wolf Bobs which I also missed last time and unfortunately it was closed again this visit. But that's all right, I can see visiting GL again in the future, it really is a beautiful park with very efficient ride operators. The only exception is still X-Flight which they have yet to find a way to run both sides of the loading station. The queue snaked around twice and I remembered from last year that was around a 30 minute wait. We were more than happy to call it a day and in little under an hour we were out of the park. One of the things we both noticed was there was lot of partying going on, lots of people drinking beer and coolers. Not a bad thing at all, everyone seemed to be happy and were having a good time, in fact it was a refreshing change from the day before at Knoebels. Every park has something to offer and GL just seems like a rockin' and rollin' kinda place, truly look forward to returning again soon. Final stop, a gas station and mini-golf course in the Dells. Mark

This trip was thrown together somewhat at the last minute and when I called to make reservations at the Knoebels Campgrounds I was surprised to find they were nearly sold out. One option was to stay in the Quebec section and the other in the Texas Panhandle, obviously we chose the latter where Camp-RRC takes place each year in October. The campgrounds were very busy and apparently there is some sort of contest to see who can suspend the largest tarp above their campsite(s). Kid you not there was one the size of a tennis court, sheesh they are ugly. I can see wanting to have a covered eating area but what is the point of having one cover the entire campsite and then some? There were other interesting campsites as well including one with a confederate flag theme complete with a "The South will rise again" banner. I expected to see a campsite for PETA or perhaps the Democratic Party but thankfully most stuck with colored lights and lanterns. After setting up camp we took the beautiful walk into the park courtesy of the bridge near the Flying Carpet ride. Crowds were pretty light so we decided to go with a wristband which worked out great. The next day we also went with the wristband but that turned out to be not the best as crowds were much heavier and we were unable to get nowhere near an equivalent number of rides had we spent the same amount on tickets. Live and learn, tickets are a good thing on busy days at Knoebels. First ride of the day was of course The Phoenix, wanted to start things out with a bang. We took the second row which was great and then right after we went for the third row or Schmeck seat which was absolutely insane if not a little too rough. Maybe it's just me but Phoenix seems to be running rougher than last year. Finally we went for the front row and in both our opinions is hands down the best place to be on The Phoenix. The front provides the best air and is by far the smoothest, definitely worth the wait. Next stop was Twister which was running pretty well but there was a ride operator who had been on duty too long. As we were waiting on the train in the station to have our lapbars checked we heard a series of "owws!" coming up from behind us. Within a few seconds my partner was also making the same loud sound of discomfort as this asshole operator literally jumped on her lapbar. Usually the ride ops are having too much fun and laughing, this guy clearly needed a vacation or a switch to washing dishes. Twister was fun but wasn't running as well as last October, it was back to being only somewhat enjoyable/rideable. Next were rides on the Flyers which are always a good time, followed by the best bumper cars on the planet, the antique cars, then a spin on their carousel with plenty of brass ring action, then their Whip and a Sky Ride up the mountain and back down which provided a nice break and some great scenic views of the park. Dinner was at Cesari's Pizza which could have been better as they didn't reheat the pizza long enough, a problem I seem to encounter every time I go there. Finished the day off with more rides on Phoenix, their Haunted House, High Speed Thrill Coaster and a bunch of other rides. It was a great night and our final ride was the last run of the day on their new ride Fandango. Believe it or not I prefer Fandango over both Delirium and maXair, just a more exciting ride with better air time. The next day we tried their breakfast at the International Food Court and the pancakes and french toast were both very good. Picked up wristbands and proceeded to get in as many rides as possible before taking a break around 1:00 when the heat of the day and heavier crowds were kicking in. One surprise was their Flying Carpet ride which I had never been on before. The restraint comes down and just keeps clamping down tighter and tighter until it apparently senses it's struck bone. Sensing this I attempted to fight it and pushed up to keep it at a comfortable snugness, huge mistake! I thought I had succeeded but during the ride the restraint decided to clamp down again and I let out a loud shriek which amused everyone on board, too funny. We were in need/want of a bottle of wine for the evening and found out that is not such an easy thing to accomplish in PA. This isn't one of those areas that sells wine in grocery stores (wine coolers, yes), in fact there was only one place the park office recommended which was a state-run liquor store in Shamokin. We managed to find the place but were really surprised by the devastating poverty in the surrounding towns. There is a three-story house in Shamokin that apparently rotted on one side so they cut it down the middle and demolished the other side, one of the strangest things I've ever seen. There is a Wal-Mart in town and not surprisingly every local grocery and thrift store has gone out of business. Always thought of the area as having all vacation/resort sort of towns, so sad to see such a beautiful part of the country experiencing such tough economic times. After our mini road trip we decided to try The Alamo restaurant in the park for an early dinner. The restaurant itself is very nice and we were seated after a very short wait, but unfortunately the food wasn't the best. We were both in the mood for steaks and while the NY strip was ok the marinated steak was downright funky. Would recommend staying with the $7 and under meals and avoiding the side vegetables which clearly come from the freezer and arrive swimming in butter/margarine. We both sampled each other's plates but I was the only one that ended up getting sick about an hour later. The only difference we could think of was I had the lemonade so maybe that was it. One thing I can tell you is Knoebels has to be one of the last places on earth you want to be if you need to be near a bathroom. I would have paid good money for a toilet seat! Speaking of, is there any place else in the country that goes seatless when it comes to toilets? Maybe for women it's not bad but if you need to sit down in the men's you're pretty much guaranteed to be applying a potpourri of dried urine to your cheeks. But could the toilets even be retrofitted with seats? I noticed they like them so much they installed steel versions in the bathrooms near Twister (would love to see the supplier's customer list, lesseee, prison, prison, prison, Knoebels, prison… . Oddly enough the only toilet seat to be found in the park is in the bathroom at The Alamo, should have grabbed a mini-TV and moved in there. Ok, that's enough potty talk. The rest of the night was really a wash, managed to get a few more rides in but Fascination turned out to be more my speed. "Mama needs a new toaster!" my friend shouted, she did pretty well where I think I only won once. It's a very fun and addictive game, especially love the cover-all, but has anyone computed what the cost of say the toaster would be in even a best case scenario of winnings? We blew our tickets on beautiful jewelry and a new wallet. Fascination is an amazingly good time, and also very, very silly. A little before closing I was starting to feel better so we took one last run on The Phoenix in the front row. It had rained earlier and the high heat and pitch darkness gave us the best ride of our stay. It was Friday night and the campground was absolutely rocking in our area, the park office had to stop by to tell everyone to quiet down around midnight which we were both thankful for. The next morning we were up and packed up in no time and it was time for another fond farewell to one of my favorite parks despite things not going the best. We stopped at the Perkins in Danville for breakfast before hitting I-80 which would take us to almost our last stop of the trip in Aurora, Ohio. Mark

Geauga Lake itself is a great park, it's just in a terrible location. With CP and KW so close by they need to offer something that makes them stand out. Since it's not the animals any more (which was not a profitable venture) I would suggest Knoebelizing GL. Drop the parking to $3, charge nothing for admission and make the rides either tickets or POP wristbands. Finally add a wide variety of interesting and tasty food/beverages (basically replace everything there) along with plenty of shade and picnic areas. The park also needs to be better insulated from the surrounding suburban mall scene with more landscaping. If liquidating the park is a possible long-term outcome then I would say initially move X-Flight, Steel Venom and their boomerang to other CF fair parks and replace with trees and grass and make it more like a park. One could argue they need to add a big steel coaster, something along the lines of Magnum like Mr. Kinzel has alluded to in the past. But my *guess* is that downsizing the park will be more likely. If for no other reason than to match the local economy and accept the reality that it is not a vacation destination park. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see the park grow and put in new hotels but it's already been proven that major capital investments are not the way to increase profits at GL. Mark

We decided to sleep in and didn't arrive in the city of Hershey until around 1:00. Last visit I didn't get to check out the town so we took a drive down Chocolate and Cocoa avenues looking for an interesting place to have lunch. Surprisingly there were not a lot of restaurants we could find so we went with what turned out to easily be the best restaurant of the trip - The Hershey Pantry. Located on Chocolate Ave just north of the factory this little restaurant blew us both away. Nothing fancy by any means, just amazingly tasty and creatively prepared food. They have a screened-in patio where we enjoyed lunch so much we decided to leave HP in time to get back for an 8:30 dinner in the indoor part of the restaurant. For lunch I had a turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich on of all things cinnamon bread - wow it was good! Their breakfasts are supposed to be even better. Seriously this is one of my all time favorite restaurants - definitely worth a stop if you're in the area and looking for something beyond the limited offerings at the park. There is a newer Hampton Inn next door that would provide the perfect food/lodging combination. After lunch we followed the signs downtown which would take us past some of the houses directly overlooking the park. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to have Lightning Racer as a lawn ornament but these houses provide a pretty good idea. I can only hope they get free season passes and a low tax rate. It might be a good area for an enthusiast to retire, but I'm sure it could quite possibly drive a person crazy as well! My goal was to be in the park by 3:00 and it was pushing just that as we climbed into the tram from stop #2 in the parking lot. No question HP is huge, seems much larger than CP and the trams are a real blessing. Using discount coupons given to us by our hotel from the previous night we were through the gates for around $30 a ticket, certainly a reasonable price. The first thing I noticed was the complete lack of any chocolate smells! I wondered how they did it last year where it seemed like a chocolate brownie had been strapped to my nose, but this year it was plain old unflavored air. This was another hot day so we took it slow and headed over to Wildcat which gave a much better ride than last year. Next stop was Lightning Racer which both of us loved so much we immediately got back in line and rode again. This is the best racing coaster I have ever been on by a long shot and imho the star attraction of the park. The only issue is that the Lightning side won every lap making it seem like the race was always fixed. Still what an engineering marvel/masterpiece as well as an amazingly smooth ride with plenty of floater air time and surprising twists and turns. After LR we hit their Whip and it was ok, nowhere near as fast/fun as Kennywood's. We took a look at Roller Soaker but decided to pass as it looked too darn wet! Plus the wait appeared to be close to an hour. I could see getting on first thing in the morning but to get dumped on over and over in the queue just didn't look like the best deal for us at the time. Still a very creative and fun-loving coaster, just need to be in the mood for it. Instead we headed over to Storm Runner, a great coaster with one of the best queues ever. Huge mature trees means you won't be in the sun for more than a minute at a time and will spend most of the wait in the shade. The shade factor is so important to overall ride experience, wish all parks would follow suit. SR provided a great ride but for the first time I encountered a little ear-mashing against the restraints. It's still way too short but we both prefer it to Dragster just because it has so much more to offer. There was an incident in the station where the staff had to call security on a guy that refused to listen to the ride operators. They didn't boot him out but it was at least a 10 minute delay while they dealt with this park "guest" who felt he was special. The issue apparently was he didn't want to wait for a handicapped group to get in front of him, despite the fact some of them were blind! There are so many places to be a jerk, a roller coaster platform/station isn't one of them. We spent our remaining time riding Great Bear and additional laps on SR and LR. Unfortunately we didn't have time for the Comet or Sooperdooperlooper both of which I loved last year. While Kennywood was the favorite park of the trip Hershey is the one I'm most anxious to return to. There is so much to do in the area, the zoo and gardens, the Chocolate World tour, great local restaurants and other interesting nearby towns (I think it was Annville that looked very cool) and of course the park itself which could easily warrant a day and a half visit. Dinner as I already mentioned was back at the Hershey Pantry and it was even better than lunch. The staff there are incredibly friendly and were more than happy to give directions to I-78 which would lead us to our next stop in Allentown. Mark

The drive from Sandusky went very smoothly and we arrived at the paid parking lot at Kennywood around 5:30 PM. This was my second visit to the park and both times the chairlift from/to the free parking was not running. Still at $4 for the paid parking I was almost happy to pay it! We hung around for a bit and took advantage of their evening admission plan which starts at 6:00 and at $15 is an amazing bargain. The new entrance to the park looks great and the staff are all very friendly. Now let me start off by saying Kennywood turned out to be our absolute favorite park of an 8-day trip that took us to CP, HP, DP, Knoebels, Geauga Lake and Timber Falls in the Dells. There is no better word than charming to describe this beautiful and historic park. Combine a great collection of coasters as well as flat rides and of course great food easily makes KW our #1 pick of the bunch. First stop was Exterminator as I didn't get to ride it last visit. The wait appeared to be quite substantial and the temp in the indoor queue was still very hot so we decided to ride later and headed over to Phantom's Revenge. Initially they were running only one train on PR but by 8:00 they had added a second. My guess is there isn't a procedure for when to add the second train, they just seem to do it when the mood is right. Still the wait for our first ride wasn't too bad, maybe 20 minutes for a back-row ride. PR absolutely rocked, definitely in my top five steel. It's a great example of why terrain and interaction with other rides are so important to an overall ride experience. The Morgan trains are my favorite of any steel coaster out there, so roomy and comfy with plenty of wiggle room allowing for amazing ejector air time. Next stop was The Turtle which I also missed last visit. Holy crap is that an amazing ride for it's age! We absolutely loved it and laughed our way through the whole thing. Never would have imagined it had that much of a kick with a couple of air time moments - love The Turtle! We headed back over to Exterminator and the line was a little shorter/cooler so we decided to go for it. They did a really great job with the theming in the queue, it's all very 60's campy sci-fi. The ride itself has a theme to it but you really don't notice because the coaster itself is so amazing! We laughed ourselves silly on this spinning mouse, the only regret was that we didn't share a seat - you really need someone to slam into. Exterminator absolutely blew away any mouse we have been on including a similar model at SFGAM which oddly enough I would rank as my least favorite mouse. Right outside Exterminator is The Whip, wow what a great ride! We later compared it to similar models at Hershey, Dorney and Knoebels and hands down KW's is the best. The Whip is not to be missed! We loved it so much we got back in line and rode it again. After a stellar start we made our way around the park hitting Thunderbolt, Racer and JR - all of which were incredible. This is the only park I've visited where a wrong choice just can't be found. JR was probably our favorite but they're all amazing with great ride ops. You western PA folk have it too good. As night fell the park became even more beautiful with the lights and fountains. We took a break for their awesome chicken strips and fries with a ridiculous variety of seasonings and sauces to sample. Finished the night with a front row ride on PR and the park had a very nice fireworks show as we were walking back to the car. It was Italian Day and there were quite a few Italian families in the park so maybe it was for them. We had such a great evening at KW, will definitely be stopping there any time we're even remotely in the area. Next time we'll have to check out the new Riverfront area and stay at the new hotel there. Hopefully more hotels will sprout up in the area in the future, that really is the only major missing piece to making KW the perfect park. Next stop, a pantry on Chocolate Ave. Mark

Leaving the Twin Cities area around 5:30 AM it was a full 13 hours to Sandusky easily breaking the record for the worst drive time ever. Taking I-90 straight through looked like as good a route as any but we wound up stuck in a traffic jam where I-90/94 split off in downtown Chicago. The Dan Ryan appeared to be wide open but we stayed with the herd and the Skyway (moo!). The trip back through a week later at the same time of day was exactly the opposite where again we stayed with I-90 and never dropped below 55 MPH. I suppose it's all about luck or something I can't figure out, all I know is Chicagoans sure like to drive! It's just plain bizarre being stuck in a hour-plus traffic jam on a Sunday. Regardless we made it through and with obligatory stops to kiss the ground on the IN/OH tollways were pulling into the Hotel Breakers parking lot around 8:00 PM. Breakers is certainly an interesting place with many wonderful features. The bellhops are very friendly, especially Hank from the Travel Channel special on CP from a few years ago. We chatted with him for a bit and he's going as strong as ever, still working there to help put his daughter through college, and he said to watch for him on an upcoming episode/series of Survivor. TGIFridays turned out to have great food and their $9 margaritas are might tasty (better be!). And of course you absolutely can't beat the location, it was very convenient to be able to take a break whenever we wanted to, plus our room had a great view of the beach. But Breakers is also a strange and quirky place. Again initial impressions are very positive - a beautiful lobby with a nice selection of restaurants and shops, hardwood floors, wicker furniture - everything needed to convince you're staying in a very cool and historic hotel/resort. But all of that completely falls apart when you make the turn to where the rooms are located, it really is hard to understand what they're shooting for. If you want a room with a king-size bed the only option is to stay in the main or oldest section of the hotel, and to put it bluntly these wings/rooms are butt-ugly. I can understand wanting to preserve the historic aspect of the hotel but that's not what is going on here, these rooms look like they haven't been renovated since the 1960's. Hopefully updating the older sections of the hotel are at the top of park management's to-do list. Once we were unloaded/unpacked it was time to hit the park. First stop was Raptor which as usual by late in the day was a walk-on, two-train wait for the front row which is where we started out. Love the view from the first drop, it truly announces you've arrived somewhere magical and wonderful. Raptor ran better than ever with absolutely no mid-course brakes, it's one of my all-time favorites. Next stop was Wicked Twister which provided a great ride in the second to last row, again a near walk-on. WT is good for a cheap thrill but it wears off rather quickly, minimal desire to ride again. I feel the same way about all shuttle LIM/impulse coasters now, there really is no need for building any more of these as far I'm concerned. My favorite part of WT is the location on the beach with the seagulls and cool breeze blowing in off the lake. Then it was off to Millennium Force where the posted half-hour wait ended up being closer to an hour. I first rode MF in 2002 and can't detect any difference in the seatbelts or ability to fit in the seats this year, and I'm definitely heavier now. The attendants checking the restraints were as efficient as ever so it's hard to know what was causing the long wait. My guess is there is now a much higher percentage of guests who find out they’re not going to fit until they're in the station. The ride attendant who sits outside the queue near the test seat sure has a fun job. Apparently they are trained to look for guests who appear likely not to fit and ask them to try the test seat. They must have a do's and don'ts list on how to approach likely candidates ("Say, I couldn't help notice your amazing beer belly..."). While the wait was inexplicably too long, MF ran great and the trip was already off to an amazing and breathtaking start. Final stop of the evening was Dragster and while I have mixed feelings towards this beast she was running like clockwork. TTD is all about anticipation and psyching you out and riding at night is not to be missed, the view from the top seems like several hundred feet higher than MF. Combined with the lights and fog it provides a surreal experience like none other. The park was closed by the time our TTD ride was over so we headed over to Fridays for margaritas and their new double-stack quesadillas (yum!). The next morning we were up early and as a result were one of the first guests in the park. Dragster was down so we headed over to MF for a front row ride on the first train of the day - absolutely awesome. Got back in line and 15 minutes later took another ride in the back row, by far the best seat on the train. Next up was Mantis, good lord what an awful ride! They really should change the theme to something boxing related, just one blow to the head after another - ouch. Our on-ride picture looked like there was an invisible glove/fist smacking us in the sides of our heads. If they are planning to remove any coasters in the future hopefully it will be Mantis. Needing some time for our brains to stop rattling in our skulls we walked back over to TTD where a small line had formed. Then suddenly it made signs of life, the brake fins dropped and a train flew down the launch track. There were a couple of rollbacks and after a dozen or so launches they opened the queue and we took a second row ride about 15 minutes later. Another great start to the day, will never tire of that amazing launch. Next up was a short wait for a MF Freeway stamp which they start giving out at 11:00 each morning. We ended up with a 1:00-2:00 stamp and began to think about lunch. There are so many great choices for food in the park. Nice to see Famous Dave's there but we have those on every street corner back home. Instead we went with the Midway Market which in the past has been really good but at other times really trashed and dirty. Since it wasn't even noon yet the restaurant was in great shape and all of the food was pretty good. They did raise the price to $11.95 per person, I suppose dinner is now $13.95 but imho it's completely worth it. The only issue is what to do afterwards, way too easy to eat too much! We decided for a quick break back at the hotel before heading back over to MF for another back row ride courtesy of the Freeway lane. The rest of the day was a blur of rides including maXair which oddly made us both quite dizzy and a little nauseous. Delirium at PKI did not produce that effect and I can only assume it was the hot sun/day and lack of a shaded queue. Speaking of, when will they ever add some canopies or some sort of shade to the queue for Blue Streak? That is just a killer wait during the day and the coaster is still quite popular. It's amazing the difference shade can make to a park experience and it's so easily accomplished, can't imagine it's all that expensive either. Monday evening a storm rolled in and it was cool to watch it from Fridays where we had a great dinner. The storm lasted quite a while and it was pushing 10:00 before things started to let up. I headed into the park for a no-wait ride on Magnum, seat 1.3 of course. I have to say that was one of the absolute highlights of the trip for me, that seat at night is nothing short of incredible. Shortly after Dragster started testing so I hopped in line and managed to nail two rides before they closed the queue (they kept it open until 11:15!). First was front row and of course it was literally breathtaking and then again in the back - what a great way to end the evening. Next morning it was another round of MF and Dragster before leaving the park around 11:30. The Breakers staff were great and allowed us to check out at noon. Hank ended up carrying our bags and initially I felt guilty but quickly realized he's in 100x better shape than I am! We gave him what was hopefully a pretty good tip although I have no idea what is standard in that line of business. You would think it would be pretty easy to earn $30/hour on busy days - no matter what they get they earn every penny. We hit Steak 'N Shake on our way out of town which was of course excellent. Word of advice though if you ask for their mustard/radish sauce make sure they give it to you on the side - a little goes a long way. After lunch we jumped on OH-2 east heading for our next stop in West Mifflin, PA. Mark

The best explanation I've heard for the seemingly higher percentage of gay men at coaster enthusiast events is they have more disposable income. Two paychecks plus no kids makes it much easier to afford the enthusiast lifestyle. What I can't understand is why being a coaster enthusiast is such a guy thing in the first place. Apologies to the women reading but at the enthusiast's events I've attended women represent maybe 10 percent, and all too often are in-tow looking less than thrilled with their enthusiast boyfriends/husbands. If single women are scratching their heads wondering where the single men are they should take up coaster riding as a hobby! Sure they'll have to pick through the toothless or near-toothless, the frighteningly overweight and then the one's with bathing allergies, but there are a few hetero diamonds lurking in the rough. It shouldn't be a completely ridiculous idea that a single guy could end up meeting and dating a single woman at one of these events. Mark

If you're feeling rich you could do the VIP tour at SFGADV on Saturday from 10:00-2:00. Last I heard it's around $50 per person plus admission to the park of course. Hit Knoebels Saturday evening and then Dorney for opening on Sunday morning. Highly recommend the recently renovated Holiday Inn Express across the street from Dorney. Otherwise you could still do SFGADV Saturday morning without the VIP tour as long as you arrive early and are willing to skip Kingda Ka. But I agree passing on either SFGADV or Dorney would probably result in a more relaxed and fun trip. Mark

I was lucky enough to be invited to the media day for Hades on Tuesday and had absolutely a fantastic time. In short Mt. Olympus is a great park and hands down Hades is an amazing coaster. The park has really improved since the Big Chief's days, definitely worth returning to and soon! The only area of improvement is I would like to see a greater variety of food offered, you would think Greek fare would be a natural at some point. Highlights of the day for me was getting stuck maybe 30 feet from the top of the lift hill on Hades. I've never been stopped on a wood coaster before, much less that high up! It was a trip to say the least, provided plenty of time to notice what looked like at least a foot gap from the train to the catwalk, and of course the beautiful view. :shock: That would not have been a fun walk down! We were up there for what seemed like a half-hour but in reality it was probably 5 minutes. Another great moment is when the ride operator wouldn't release the train out of the station. He had called his supervisor who in a few minutes came up and assured the operator it was ok to let a certain gentleman ride without a wristband - the project supervisor for Hades! I'm guessing he has a lifetime pass . He certainly had some interesting things to say about a new project in Indiana. The ceremony was great too, as was lunch and the t-shirt and the friendly hospitality. The weather couldn't have been nicer, mid 70s and sunny! All in all one of the best days I've had at a park ever. The only thing I would add to the reviews so far is that Hades really, truly, really, SCARED ME! I can remember the first time on the lift hill for Timbers, Boulderdash, Phoenix, Legend, Raven, Cornball, The Boss or Beast and for all of those while I was pumped, I wasn't scared. Cresting the top of the lift hill on Hades is an experience like none other. Highly recommend first or second row for the first ride so you can see the tunnel ahead for as long as possible, allowing your mind to wander and wonder what the heck is in that hole! And once you're flying through the dark you realize all of your fears were justified, it doesn't hurt, but good lord it is an insane ride. I think it's really important to mention that there is so much more to Hades than great coaster elements. It truly is genuinely frightening and seems to offer a new surprise every ride. And it just kept getting better throughout the day, can't wait for a night ride - big thumbs up for Mt. Olympus and Hades! Mark

Excellent trip report - thank you! It will be interesting to see what kind of press this coaster gets in the various markets, Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities. Just a little over a week and we'll find out! Wish I still had health club membership, I'd spend the next week on the stairmaster getting in shape.

Local Blockbusters have discount coupons to VF. There is one in Shakopee at 169 & Marschall Rd (Crossroads Center), phone 952-445-6721.

We're fairly new members of ACE and have yet to attend an event, the timing just hasn't been right. Last year we were burnt out on CP and this year feel we've had more than enough of SFGAM. The Dells are just a 3 hour road trip away so we'll be hanging out there plenty as it is. While the Con event itself would I'm sure be a good time it's hard for us to justify spending well over $1,200 for two of us to attend, much less $2,400 for four. Is anyone actually psyched about going? It seems like all I've read are those saying they won't be attending. Hopefully we'll get to KennyKon this year - is that a fun event? Mark

I'm more a fan of the Cedar Point Freeway and early-entry programs which seem more like perks that provide a more level playing field for all. The far less subtle here's-some-cash Six Flags approach just seems to be in bad taste, perhaps a bit like prostitution? What it gets down to for me is the freeway/fast-lane merge point in the queue. To use Millennium Force as an example the merge point there seems to be a far happier/harmonious place than say the one for Raging Bull. The Freeway guests appear to have earned their shorter wait, after all they waited for at least 20 minutes to get the stamp and are sporting lovely tattoos to boot. The guests that have waited for the full amount of time for MF always seem cool with letting the Freeway folks in. But at the merge point for RB the cringe factor is noticeably higher, and again I think that's because most people simply see the practice of outright paying not to wait in line to be in bad taste. There really isn't another industry where such a practice is acceptable, the closest I can think of is ticket scalping. You can't compare this to a seat in a theater or airplane, every guest in the end has nearly the exact same experience, they ride a roller coaster. IMHO this cringe factor is an example of why Cedar Fair is successful and also why Six Flags is not. My favorite way to avoid long lines is to attend enthusiast events! Mark

I'm 43, first coaster was the Matterhorn at age 5. Most vivd first coaster memory was the Cyclone at the now long defunct Excelsior Amusement Park in MN, around age 10. Haven't experienced a first drop like that since, scared the heck out of me. Sadly I only rode it once.

Indiana Beach Lost Coaster/Air Crow weekend

Camp Snoopy at the MoA is 10 minutes from home, Valley Fair around 25 minutes. VF is best for getting a season pass to use at CP. Hoping Hades will make Mt. Olympus our new home home away from home - it's just 3 hours away, we'll be there opening day.