If I get a hotel somewhere in New Jersey near NYC, or possibly one in Staten Island (flying into Newark the night before), starting Saturday morning, how likely am I to be able t do all the NYC area parks in one day? That is these parks, and I was planning in this order:
Victorian Gardens, Fantasy Forest, Adventureland, Boomers, Kids N Action, Luna Park, Adventurers, Bowcraft, Land of Make Believe, Party Zone? At these particular parks, I'm only interested in coaster credits. I'll be heading up towards Great Escape afterwards (Hoffman's Playland/Magic Forest/TGE on Sunday). If there's no way it's possible, I might be able to save at least LOMB and Party Zone for the next morning, and TGE, etc that afternoon. Though that would mean 4 parks, around ~3:30 or so hours of driving, and TGE closes at 6.
I'm trying to decide if Victorian Gardens is worth it. I've read don't even try to drive to Manhattan, because it takes too long, and it's hard to find parking. How safe is the subway to ride from NJ to Manhattan, assuming I'll only be riding during the day? After riding the coaster, I would probably take it back to NJ and drive to the other NYC parks. The only time I've been in NYC (before Luna Park), we just drove straight to Coney Island from NJ and then to Playland, and didn't hit any other NYC parks.
Is the Fantasy Forest area bad as far as driving and parking? And how safe is this area? Reading train reviews on yelp, even the locals say don't go to Queens.