YoshiFan

Cool pictures especially of the Sugar Shack since it was hard to get a good look at it on FEAR when it was dark, I used to really enjoy watching FEAR until I found out it wasn't real with all the extras MTV added like sounds and the episode filmed there was my favorite of the series.

I would brave the cold to go ride coasters in our off season I'd be willing to drive 6 hours for coasters in January or February. I have ridden coasters in the low 40's with somewhat strong wind in October and there are some warm days once in a while in the winter.

I like Hershey more than Great Adventure. Both parks have an excellent collection of coasters but Hershey is a more well rounded park with a lot more flats and non coaster rides to choose from. Plus the Boardwalk is included with admission if you like waterparks.

Like the ad on a billboard right outside Dorney with an Arrow looper featured. I don't think they will announce GASM is closing ahead of time. Chiller and Viper closed without notice as well as all the other non coaster rides removed recently.

The front of half of the train never seemed that rough to me, I made the mistake of trying the last row and that was horrible. It was a totally different ride with my head slamming into the back of the seat. I will only ride in the first 3 cars now. As for Rolling Thunder, my last trip I rode in a non wheel seat it was fine but the trip before that I was in the last row of a car and it was brutal. I wouldn't care about losing Rolling Thunder if we got a GCI or Gravity Group coaster as a replacement.

Great pictures, I really liked the waterpark update since it looks like they have a lot of cool slides and you don't see waterpark reports that often.

I agree it is running smoother this year, very little to no headbanging even in the corkscrews which were sometimes a problem. I'm not so sure about the whole replacement parts reasoning either. Didn't they get a train from Shockwave after it closed? Plus the blue train hasn't been seen at all this year either running or in the storage area so even though there is a chance they are using that for parts too. I have no idea if Vekoma services Arrow loopers or not but considering how similar the rides are, you would think Vekoma would be able top.

I hope if the 5D plans are canceled they do something with the theater. It was already supposedly gutted with the current setup removed and it would be a shame to see another SBNO ride. If GASM is closing July 1st, that isn't much time to get final rides in. I shouldn't have skipped it last week.

I hope whatever is wrong with Batman is nothing too major. Having 2 of the more popular closed will make lines a lot worse than normal.

In the summer most days are crowded, even during the week (though not as bad as the weekends). If you get there at opening and get the popular/low capacity rides out of the way first like Comet, Fahrenheit and Roller Soaker out of the way first, it should be ok especially while the Boardwalk is open. If you plan to go on the Boardwalk attractions, it is going to be difficult to avoid crowds. Last year I went on a Monday in August and the Boardwalk was packed, 45 - 60 minute waits for the Tornado and Bowl Slide (I didn't wait but heard people say that is how long they waited).

I agree about the flat rides. I was at the park on Thursday and other than coasters, we really didn't ride much because there was hardly anything else to ride. When I take a solo trip to the park it isn't too big of a deal since I just want to power ride coasters but when going to the park with others who don't ride the big coasters, there isn't a whole lot to choose from. Did you ride on a non wheel seat on Rolling Thunder? The non wheel seats seem to be ok this season but a few weeks ago I made the mistake of riding in the last row of a car and it was a totally different ride.

Hurricane Harbor is closed during the week until the week after next (http://www.sixflags.com/hurricaneharbornj/info/parkInfo.aspx ). I don't think the park will be crowded at all. School is still in session for almost everyone and the park is open until 9 so if there are school trips, the park really should empty out around 5 or 6.

Something is going on with the simulator building and there were talks of some kind of 5D ride. I don't know if it could fit but I'd rather see an interactive dark ride inside the building instead.

They had some kind of crane and something else at the bottom of the pretzel loop. The bad thing about it being closed is that it makes the other lines longer since Superman is so popular. Lines mid afternoon for the major coasters were way longer than I was expecting for a school day in June (Batman and Nitro looked to be around 25 - 30 minutes each). The park emptied out around 5:00 though.

Screamscape is saying there is a rumor Sooperdooperlooper could be removed for this new coaster. I really hope that doesn't happen. With Laser removed from Dorney, it's the last Schwarzkopf looper in the area and it's my favorite steel coaster at the park. Plus it is a great first looping coaster for people to try, I knew that since it only had 1 loop, if I didn't like it, there were no more inversions compared to other coasters that have 3 - 7 inversions that I would have been more hesitant to try.

It doesn't feel much more intense than Storm Runner. Ride in the front half of the train, the last few roughs are more rough. It's not that bad, I was nervous about trying it but decided after Storm Runner I could handle it. It was a very empty day at the park so there was no wait which gave me no time to hesitate. As for Scream Machine, it is running much better this year, like Kingda Ka, if you sit towards the front it is a fun ride. If you get the front seat of either the first or 2nd car since the front rows of the cars have more leg room it isn't really rough at all.

If you want to ride a lot, it might be worth it. I am going to say most rides will be 5 - 15 minute waits this time of year during on a weekday except possibly Kingda Ka, Superman and possibly El Toro. You should be able to ride every coaster at least once if you are there for at least 5 hours but if you want to get multiple rides in, especially on Kingda Ka, I'd consider getting a Flashpass. I would wait to see how the lines are before getting a Flashpass since it is possible that you won't need it.

Go on a weekday, crowds will be much lower since schools are still in session, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are probably the best days to go right now. Everything in the park is open for the season except the SBNO rides like Bumper Cars, Music Express and Tango. There are no single rider lines unfortunately.

Nice report, I'm surprised lines were so short. If you try Patriots Plunge again, the red slide with the double down has better air time and the blue slide is more intense. Also on Wildwater Rapids, the slides under Patriots Plunge, the yellow enclosed slide is very fast and intense and a lot of fun. The food service has always been slow at Dorney. I rarely eat in the park and the few times I have, you are always waiting forever even with not many people waiting in front of you

I consider both Dorney and Great Adventure my home parks because they are both 45 minutes away from me. In 2006 and 2007 I just had a Dorney pass. Once I got the Great Adventure pass in 2008, Dorney didn't seem as fun to me. Maybe it is because they have fewer coasters so I rode the major 3 rides 100+ times and got bored of them or it is because the same type of coaster is better at Great Adventure. I prefer Bizarro to Hydra and Nitro to Steel Force. I still have passes to both parks especially because I really like Wildwater Kingom at Dorney but I used to look forward to going to Dorney more than I do now. I also never spend a full day at either park anymore especially since I try to go on days when there are little to no lines.

Maybe that is why line cutting is taken more seriously at Dorney, I don't know about other CF parks but some of the guards at Dorney carry guns.

Every time I have seen line cutting reported at Great Adventure, the cutters don't get in trouble. Last year 2 guards went into the line for Superman to open up some more switchback chains and a group cut in the middle of that, they were reported to the guards and they not only didn't get kicked out of the park as the parks claims is what is supposed to happen, they weren't removed from line. The cutters then said to the group that reported them that they were from the hood in Philly and not to mess with them (their exact words). Again in Superman in 2008, a group was reported to security, they did nothing. Even in Nitro's line, I saw someone smoking in line, the guard walked right by them in line and didn't say a word. What they need is people monitoring the line at all times, at Dorney when there is a line for a coaster, even a short wait they have security standing in the line, sometimes on an elevated platform. I have seen line cutters dealt with much better there. Twice I saw people thrown out of line, another time security was not at a line (for a flat) but needed to be called and within a couple minutes they were there. The cutters were going to be removed from the line but I think got ejected from the park for then cursing at the people that reported them.

I think the original plan was to add a 3rd tower if it was needed later on and since the ride rarely has long lines, I guess they decided it wasn't worth it. I was always hoping they'd make the 3rd tower a combo tower if it ever got added but with Demon Drop, the chances of that happening even seem less likely now.

I don't know which is worse, the Subway prices or them charging $0.50 for an item that has a MSRP of $0.25. I know it says suggested retail price but if they want to rip people off, they should find candy that is not pre-priced.

If all you care about is the coasters at Dorney, you should be able to ride all of them in less than 2 hours easily unless it is for some reason unusually crowded. Get the Wild Mouse out of the way first, that is the only coaster that almost always has a wait because of it's horrible capacity thanks to CF being strict with adding seatbelts and only allowing 2 adults per car.