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Awesome help. Thanks guys!

I'll be at Dorney for my first time on Friday. I couldn't find it on the site but with a platinum pass there's 9:30 early entry for Talon, yes? After that I assume just ride the mouse and then whatever. I'll only be there until around 1-2pm but from what I've heard that's more than enough time. Any recommended place for the dining plan for lunch? Thanks all.

I want to say it was an interview from this past winter at RMC's new factory from a site that isn't to be mentioned here. There was a five part series of 20+ minute interviews/tours of the factory and I may or may not have watched them all.

Fixed. Top Thrill Dragster is a great ride in any seat, but it is truly astounding in the front. It is absolutely worth the additional wait. As Bill mentioned, it'll change your life. By waiting for the front, about how much longer of a wait does it typically add? 20-30 minutes if they're keeping the station quiet, could be 45-60 potentially but I haven't experienced it myself. Unless you're seriously strapped for time it's always worth it. One ride in the front is better than two rides anywhere else, so really it's a no-brained unless you're trying to get in line for Millennium at closing in which case do that instead.

^Great report. We share a lot similar opinions on the rides. Have to ask--did you ride in the very last row of Jack Rabbit? The middle is still good but nowhere near the insanity of row 9. And I'm super jealous of Phantom night rides. What an awesome park this is and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Fixed I can vouch for this. Worth it, especially at night.

Wait on crowds to see how lines are the first hour you're there because three days is absolutely enough unless it's the busiest day of the year, which it won't be. You could have a day like I had here where Fast Lane is useless with less than perfect weather. Edit: Can't get it linked from my phone but check out my Cedar Point report from the Thursday where Miellennium Force was almost a walk on. My point is to wait and see, three days is plenty.

I imagine that if B&M were to build something widely considered to be the best, or among the best in the world, it would be a hyper/giga coaster. Their loopers are fun, but unless they turned back the clock to 1996 or so and built a classic invert with modern ideas and engineering then it wouldn't be a world beater. I really liked Banshee and thought GateKeeper was pretty good but I don't see any argument for a ride like Valravn to be best in the world. Fury is the only "new" B&M ride that's highly praised from almost everyone that rides it.

Awesome, I'm glad you've enjoyed it! As I said this was my first raw attempt at a trip report and I considered just enjoying the parks and taking a picture here or there when I felt like it, but being my first larger trip I wanted something to remember the details by, so I'm glad you liked it. I think this a common issue a lot of larger parks face that have different ownership teams over the years. Action Zone and Coney Mall aren't particularly ugly all things considered (I wouldn't recommend venturing beyond Wild One over at SFA), but they don't have the unique character or modern feel of some of the more recently upgraded sections of the park. We were laughing about that as we got on the Sky Ride the last time realizing it was probably our last ride of the trip. He doesn't post here but he's lurked from time to time and said to me "coasterbill is savage I love it" so I thought you'd appreciate that. Thanks for checking back in, hope you enjoyed it. Coming from you especially, that's high praise. It really was your advice that pushed me towards Kennywood, and that ended up being one our favorite experiences on the trip that we kept talking about through the week, so thank you.

I really like Wild One and it's one of the only reasons I still go to SFA from time to time but its quite a few steps below rides like El Toro or Thunderbolt (and Phoenix as I've heard). Infinitely better than the POS wood coaster that's unfortunately been retracked again next door.

^^Thanks, I'm looking forward to it. And (assuming I remember to take some pictures) I might have to now

The problem with Hurler is that yes, while it is low to the ground like Maverick and even I305 in the same park, it doesn't do anything that you'd want a ride to do low to the ground. The turns are so rough and cause so much unnecessary friction that along with the trim what should be really good airtime isn't really worth mentioning when considering the ride as a whole. I'm sure that RMC could fix part of that issue with better engineered turns (an overbank instead of the first flat turn would definitely help) and going 45mph doing crazy ejector hills, outside banking and rolls with snappy transitions is much better than going 30mph trying to crawl through the last set of mild "floater" hills before slowly approaching the brakes. All said and done I think RMC would change Hurler's layout quite a bit more than most RMCs end up changing in terms of profile and height, so I think they could easily make a #2 in the park for me at the very least and I'd take that over a new B&M unless it were an invert but that's probably not happening.

Dorney this Friday, then Great Adventure Tuesday. Dorney is new for me so I'm looking forward to Talon and I'll try to be there for the early entry.

Screw that, those are for peasants. Gold VIP Tour is the only way to fly in style. They are only $450 per person per day. The irony in this is real strong for those that have followed this thread for awhile

I felt exactly the same way and I've mentioned it before but most people disagree. I thought the back was both smoother and more intense. Dominator is also much better in the back and I love the first drop and coming off the mid-course but unlike Rougarou I don't think the front is "worse" in a sense, it's just what you'd expect. It's very smooth in every seat.

Great photos. Looks like a really nice park, not just a nice "Six Flags park." Thanks for sharing!

Day Six: Cedar Point/Departure Saturday, July 16, 2016 Trip Report After being completely exhausted and spending a combined 27 hours in the park the last two days alone, we very easily could've slept in a little and left after rush hour, if that's even a thing in Sandusky (we're used to Washington DC parking lot highways at these times). We had ridden everything we wanted to about twice as much as we had expected to, but just as had been the case with Kings Island earlier in the week, we couldn't just leave Cedar Point with early entry looming ahead of us and the potential for more rides on some of the best rides in the world, right? Over the causeway one last time and parked in our spot by 8:40, we made our way over towards Blue Streak for the Marina gate and joined the other 30 people or so with the same idea. We hopped in the shorter line but ended up being help up by a family that managed to cause some major confusion with their tickets, although they were first in line, and held everyone up another 5 minutes just for them. We continued on in the park and made a quick stop at Millennium first thing, making us one of the last riders the previous day and the second train the following morning. As expected, it was a bit sluggish in the morning (and especially compared to the euphoric night rides just hours before) but a sluggish morning ride on Millennium Force is still better than almost any ride in the world running its best. Knowing that crowds would likely get really heavy really fast, we scurried over to Maverick hoping to grab two quick rides before the line began to form at all. It seemed like that was about to happen as we were next in line for the last row when the restraints wouldn't lock on a larger rider and after resetting and trying again the train wouldn't enable (we had a close view of the back panel and overheard the attendant). They eventually called over the maintenance guys who seemed to do a whole lot of scratching their heads and walking on the pre-lift catwalk (this made me laugh as I remember seeing maintenance bang a mallet against Millennium's transfer to fix that a few years ago). Eventually, they sent several cycles and we were back on after a good 45 minute delay, and after riding Maverick around 10 times through the week we really didn't mind missing out one last ride. On our way back towards the front, we decided to check Millennium's line just in case, and to out surprise it was only around 10 minutes (Maverick was around 30 after we exited). Just as fantastic as always during the day, and it was fitting to end such an incredible week with such an incredible ride like Millennium Force. There's no other way I'd rather say goodbye to Cedar Point. We took the Sky Ride up to the front (getting a nice look at the park one last time and saving our feet) and checked out GateKeeper after the stellar rides we had the day before, but weren't really in the mood for its 20 minute queue and figured ending on Millennium was the way to go, so we grabbed Subway on the dining plan on the way out, snapped one last picture of GateKeeper flying over the gates one last time, and began the 6.5 hour drive back to our stomping grounds. What an amazing week. It was bittersweet to leave, but this was the most fun I've had riding coasters in my life and I wouldn't have planned it anyway else. Attractions Maverick - 1x Millennium Force - 2x Sky Ride - 1x Final Thoughts/Conclusion I jumped at the opportunity to plan a major (well, compared to what I've done previously which doesn't extend beyond Great Adventure really) trip like this when I realized it was both feasible with the time available being off from school and enjoyable with someone that is not only fairly into coasters, but is up to visit parks for a week straight up to 15 hours a day, along with driving hundreds of miles to do it. There's not whole lot of people that don't post on enthusiast forums that are up for that, so I really appreciate knowing someone like that (very rarely would I roll alone, especially not more than a day). I don't know when the next time I'll be able to do such a major trip with the commitments ahead studying engineering during the year and real adult life/responsibilities with summer jobs and life beyond that, but I'm enormously glad I did this when I could (I'm in the very early stages of considering working at Cedar Point next summer--we'll see). That said, I would strongly, strongly encourage anyone that hasn't done a more extended trip that has the capacity to do so to jump right ahead and do it. It was fantastic to visit three of the better/best parks in the country, but there's an additional aspect of adventure and being somewhere new that you experience by doing these trips. We got to jam to some really obnoxious early 2000's music that we grew up with and had far too much fun doing so, had plenty of time for some great conversation and cracking plenty of jokes along the way (the Midwest is a strange place and Kennywood's a beautiful drive), and reminisced about some shared experiences along the way before heading out to different schools. Whether it's with your wife/husband or just a friend, doing a road trip to amusement parks combines some of the best things about summer and life all in one, and I'd seriously recommend pulling the strings to make it happen. It's worth it. I already went into some detailed opinions about each park, so I'll just recount my final thoughts about each before signing off. Kennywood Without a doubt, the biggest surprise of the trip. The collection of rides, as has been pointed out, is not expansive but ounce for ounce one of the best in the country. Phantom's Revenge was the best hypercoaster we rode on the trip (including Diamondback and Magnum, two of the higher regarded rides out there) and I think a night ride would seriously rival Millennium Force. Sky Rocket was a huge surprise with awkward trains but unexpected ejector air. Racer was decent, but Jack Rabbit had my favorite single moment on any coaster, ever. Yes, ahead of El Toro's drop and RT crossover, ahead of Maverick's airtime hill. And Thunderbolt is the star of the wood coasters here with crazy "holy sh*t" laterals and two or three ridiculous moments of sustained, physically out of your seat airtime. My only regret from Kennywood is not spending a full day here, because this park alone is worth not only going out of your way for but an entire trip in and of itself. The Kennywood hype is real, and this isn't coming from some nostalgic old Pittsburgh dude that refuses to go anywhere else. Kings Island There's a lot of things I like about this park when comparing to Kings Dominion. Even just pulling into the lot and plaza, even though it's not modern and beautiful like Cedar Point or classic and nostalgic like Kennywood, feels a lot grander than Kings Dominion. The park itself isn't quite as immaculate as Cedar Point in terms of appearance (not dirty at all, just not modernized/upgraded) especially in parts of Action Zone which feels very 90's and unshaded, though I understand part of the park's appeal is not being too "in your face" which I can really appreciate. I don't hate Six Flags parks like many seem to but the negative aspects of Kings Island's appearance and display is on par with Six Flags parks' best appearance, so take this with a grain of salt. I do love all the clean lines and the casual atmosphere compared to Cedar Point in places like Rivertown. I wasn't blown away by Kings Island's lineup in any way, but the three standouts were really solid and worth re-riding, with The Beast after dark being among the best rides in the world. We both thought they could've used another really good ride to keep us occupied (and I'm sure Mystic Timbers will help a little) but there's nothing on the level of Maverick or Millennium Force during the daytime at Kings Island that warrants writing home about. That's not a bad thing though as not all parks can have that, and I loved Kings Island as we experienced it and I'd gladly come back again, though I don't know that I'd make a separate trip for it before something groundbreaking is done. If it's not too much out of the way though on a trip like this it was a perfect add-on. Cedar Point I wasn't absolutely mesmerized by the park like I was in years past before I really became an enthusiast, but I could appreciate more how incredible this park is, despite how corporate feeling the front half lends itself to be. If Mean Streak does turn out to be a Rocky Mountain project I don't think there's any valid argument against this being the best collection of rides in the world. Cedar Point's "average" ride, which after listing out my favorites seems to be around Rougarou/Magnum, would be in pretty much any other park's big three which is remarkable. As I've said, the park itself is really beautiful and inviting and has a great location. I wish we would've taken some time out of one of the days to explore a little around the park and maybe stop by the beach for a little while, but with a collection like this and the short lines we experienced most of the week it wouldn't be the best use of our time. I want to get back here for Maverick, Millennium Force night rides, and whatever ends up happening with Mean Streak, but until that happens I'll remember the unforgettable time I had and blissful midnight rides on some of the best coasters in the world. Cedar Point is a special place that still has that "magic" you feel when going to a park when you were really young that just made everything seem so amazing. Enjoy the last few pictures, and thanks for checking out the last chapter of Trevor and Matt's trek to the Midwest. Pulling into the lot for the last time This sight is a bit different approaching the Marina gate from two years ago One last trek down to two of the best Intamin machines ever built Cedar Point is a breathtakingly beautiful park That was one hell of a trip; thank you, Cedar Point, for an unforgettable week

Too late In all seriousness though that would be interesting. I don't know why Carowinds would want to remove their Windseeker but I guess they would have their reasons of that ended up actually happening.

^^^RMC said in interview a year or two back that because their other business ventures are booming (iron horse, custom rides) they're not doing topper track refurbs for the foreseeable future. At that point they hadn't done layout changes with topper track, but they still never have and I assume it would fall in the same category and they'd try to sell the parks on iron horse track anyway (there's always a way to market a ride like this). ^^Yes

I think you're looking too far into it. It was probably just more of a way for them to justify it leaving being so old, so people realize it's an old ride that should be replaced. It would be really hard to market removing a ride replaced with an updated version of the same ride like this.

Not to nerd out too much but I think that's its height. Goliath still has the tallest drop at 180 feet if I remember correctly. If this is an RMC project... 1) It'll be steel so wood coaster records are irrelevant (and no they're not doing topper track refurbs anymore) 2) Cedar Point has shown time and time again that they don't need any mainstream records to market the hell out if it. They managed to squeeze 10 "records" out of Valravn so I'm sure they'll come up with something here (steepest steel hybrid coaster, most inversions, first (made up name) inversion in the world, etc)

Unless it's a Saturday with perfect weather and a concert that day you don't have to worry about crowds. I've never not been able to ride everything I want in 8 hours or less, especially with Volcano early entry. Don't worry about strategy, just have fun.

This is probably just being too optimistic but the phrasing "gets the axe" sounds more permanent and major than "minor reprofiling." Kinda implies the name is changing or the ride is gone entirely, which wouldn't happen with just reprofiling.

Mean Streak "gets the axe" September 16.

Just a hunch but I feel like if they do anything major with Mean Streak in the near future it won't be GCI. Ghostrider at least used to be a good ride and they knew that. Mean Streak was never better than decent (and I have no idea when the last time it was very popular was) so I imagine they understand they wouldn't get a huge response out of making Mean Streak "decent" again.