YoshiFan

I'm annoyed about the buyouts at Dorney too. Closing both yesterday and today for private events was bad enough but they are also closed next Saturday as well also for a private event. I wish they would have spread out the days they were closed.

If you tell them you can't stand for that long, they have you go through the exit of the ride at the unload point and you board the ride there skipping the elevator.

Yeah, there will probably be people on EBay paying crazy amounts for it.

Nice pictures, Hydra looks a lot different from that angle.

According to a post at Hersheypark Online it was opened as of last Saturday and the railings were painted as well.

I might go to Dorney or Hershey on Monday because I feel Labor Day will have less crowds (went to Hershey 2 years ago and crowds were somewhat light).

I think it's because they were originally designed to take you from one point in the park to another and not just be a full circuit ride like most are now. With the way parks have expanded, they probably figure it isn't worth the upkeep of such rides. Dorney for example still has both their train rides but they are run differently than originally intended. The larger Cedar Creek Cannonball used to take you to Wildwater Kingdom and it wasn't a round trip. When Talon was built, they got rid of a lot of track and now it doesn't go to Wildwater Kingdom is a round trip. With the Zephyr, there used to be a stop at Tot Spot but now that they downsized that area of the park, that station was closed and it too is a round trip. I think a train ride should be in every park. It's the perfect kind of ride anyone can enjoy regardless of age or medical condition. Unfortunately, it seems like this trend is continuning but more with log flumes and antique cars being next.

I agree with what you said about Atlantic City. They are trying to make the city better but they still have a huge way to go before that happens. I'm not surprising you had trouble parking in Ocean City. No matter when you go, it's impossible to get a parking spot within a few blocks of the boardwalk. During the day you have everyone driving up to the beach and at night you have everyone on the boardwalk (it seems like the whole world is there it's so packed).

I love the closed ride sign since looking at that would make it look like the park is open. I guess either Boomerang will be closed for a while or they are too lazy to update the sign each night.

The standup and Vampire/BTR look exactly the same when the park is open as in they have no trains on the track (other than in the station). When I was in Montreal last week, we took a bus tour of the city and we drove by La Ronde (we were near the park for a few minutes). The whole time I didn't see a train go through the circuit of either ride and the lines looked ridiculous with Vampire's line was out of the station, down the stairs and into the switchbacks despite the park looking rather empty. I'm almost sure that the park being closed those days is a new addition. I got a brochure for the park when I was in Montreal and I am almost certain the schedule on the back had park listed as being open every day in August (I'll check when I find the brochure).

I like an occasional forceless ride when I want to take a break from riding more forceful rides. With Hydra for example, I can go for ride after ride and not feel anything but if I ride Talon too much like 6 times in a day, I sometimes get a headache.

I really tried to like the series but just couldn't get into it. I rented RE2 for PS1 and bought the RE1 remake for Gamecube and put a few hours into the game but just didn't like the gameplay.

I'm not a season passholder, if I was, I would most likely go. I guess with Flash Pass it might be tolerable, like you suggested. I don't think my family will want to go anyway though (they are not into amusement parks at all).

I think this TR just made the final decision for me, I'm not going to La Ronde. I'm going to Montreal this week and had considered going to La Ronde but two things I can't stand in parks are horrible operations and long lines both of which it looks like the park has a ton of. Plus it looks like a lot of coasters are clones so I don't think I'll be missing out on much.

I got my first credit card 2 years ago and am very careful with it. I use it a lot but I don't buy things I can't afford and pay the full balance off every month. I figure it's good to have and a way to build up credit. I then got the reward card last year since it has rewards and also pay the balance on that card each month (student card so it has a very low limit). It encourages me to use the card rather than cash so I get reward points but I still am careful with that card as well and also pay off the balance each month. I agree with your post though. I know people who buy a stack of DVD's at a time, or buy a TV like it's nothing and think because they don't have to pay for it now they can get it.

I will get a PS3 eventually but not at $600 and with $60 games. I have too many unopened PS2, Gamecube and XBox games to play before I consider getting a newer system. I'll pick up a PS3 when it's under $300 and I can get games for under $20.

I just heard on the local news they said it will close in Mid October which I guess is basically official

If the water park didn't allow locals, I don't think it would do that well. There are a ton of vacation property owners in the area (Atlantic City and the other cities on the island including Ventnor, Margate and Longport) that have no interest in using a hotel property but would probably go to an indoor waterpark for a day. Now if they offered season or annual passes, that would be even better. The ocean seems to be cold all year round at this rate. Today, it's only 64 (usually in the 70's). I would think they are going to finish off the season and close in October like usual but since the article says after the "summer season" that could mean after Labor Day too I guess

That would be great, and would be another activity for the late fall/winter/early spring time of year (the piers at Ocean City close in early October which will now be the closest amusements) when there isn't anything to do in the area except go to a casino

I feel bad that the park is closing but I hardly went to the pier even though I go to Atlantic City a lot during the summer. The park is dirty, feels like a carnival (rigged skill games with operators asking everyone to play their games) and I don't even feel safe going on rides there (especially after the log flume incident last year) The bad side of this is that there becoming less and less for families in Atlantic City. Tivoli Pier (indoor park inside Trop World Casino) has been closed for years, the Ocean One Mall was redesigned into a high class shopping area (no more arcade) and Trump Taj Mahal even had a rule that if you are under 18, you aren't allowed to wander the casino (not the actual casino floor but the building like going into shops).

It's a shame Sooperdooperlooper was closed. It was also closed almost the whole day I was there last summer too but did open up at around 8:00.

I wonder how many of these rides will be left in a few years. It seems like they are either being scrapped (XLR8) or they are chaning the ride with the new Vekoma trains (Vampire, and Dreamcatcher even though Dreamcatcher was a Vekoma). I hope BBW stays around for a while because I have always wanted to try a suspended coaster but at this rate, that may not happen.

It's an automobile association (roadside help, travel tips), http://www.aaa.com . You might want to ask a family member if any of them are members of it because it's possible they are but it's not something that anyone would specifically mention so maybe someone is a member and can get you the discounted tickets.

I think it's possible a coaster could have existed but there is no record of it anywhere. I ran into the same issue with a coaster at Playland in Ocean City, NJ. In the late 80's/early 90's, I remember riding a Zamperla Dragon (yeah I know it's powered but I still count it), I can even remember exactly where it was in the park but I have yet to see any online mention of the existence of the ride . I count it because I am very sure it existed even if it was only there for a summer (just a guess). I would count the coaster from Wonderland if you are very certain you rode it even if it's not on RCDB.

Not a huge savings but if you are an AAA member and don't plan to get a wristband you can buy $5 books of tickets for $4.50 (so only a few dollars saved if you buy a few books).