CedarFlags

Thanks for all the responses, everyone! Seems like Knobels is a major can't-miss. Okay, so a few more questions now with new info.... I had originally picked Saturday for Hershey because I figured it would have the most stuff to see (rides and also shows), so I wanted to give it the longest day (12 hrs). But, would it be ultimately better to go on Sunday instead and have a shorter, but possibly less crowded day? They don't appear to be offering Fast Track at all in October, and I would want to leave early on my Hershey day to make it to Field of Screams. Two possible new itineraries.... I'm leaning toward #1 because includes a Haunt every night, but I don't know if it's too busy to be realistic and enjoyable. Also, which Haunt is better... Eastern State Penn, or Dorney? #1 Friday Night - Dorney Haunt with Fright & Fast Lane. Open for 6 hours, will probably be there for only 5. Focus on mazes, but also try to hit a couple of the big coasters (Hydra, Talon, Steel Force). Saturday - Herhsey for 9-10 hours, then Field of Screams. Sunday - Centralia (if I'm not exhausted), then Knobels for 5 hours, then Pennhurst Asylum. Monday - Sleep in (or Centralia), quick sightseeing in Philly, Home. #2 Friday Night - Eastern State Penn and Pennhurst Haunts Saturday - Dorney for 4 hours, then drive to Knobels for 4 hours there Sunday - Hershey for 7-ish hours, then Field of Screams. Monday - Centralia in the morning, then head back to Philly to go home Thanks again SO MUCH for everyone's advice on this. I'm super stoked for this trip.

I know Knobels is pretty well regarded overall, but I don't see (from my outsider's perspective) what would put it definitively above the rest. Its coaster lineup seems more geared toward family rides and there appears to be zero live entertainment in October (according to their website). Dorney's entertainment is there but kind of sparse, appears to be mostly happening during Haunt.

So, skip one Haunt completely in favor of extra time at Hershey? Can't go to Dorney on Monday, all three parks are closed. Otherwise, that would have been my choice too.

Hey guys and gals! I'm planning a trip to PA next month (Fri 10/13 - Mon 10/16) and I have some questions about the things to see or skip. There are three theme parks and three haunted attractions I'd ideally like to see, but can only make two of each work schedule wise. Can someone help me with Pros and Cons? Parks - Hershey, Knobels, Dorney (which i would get in for free) Haunts -Eastern State Penn, Pennhurst Asylum, Dorney's Haunt My current plan is... Friday Evening - Fly into Philly and do Eastern State Penn, then drive up north to Hotel. Sat - All day at Hershey Park Sun - Dorney until it closes at 7, then drive down to do the Pennhurst Asylum haunt. Mon - Drive north to Centralia to check it out, then go back home. Thanks in advance! Also, any general park advice would be SUPER welcomed. First visit to all of these places.

As a CF ride op, we make jokes all the time about how "dangerous" the rides are, how many people have "died today" on the ride, or why we have certain policies in place just to get reactions from the GP riders. She could easily fall into this same category. But she could just as easily be an attention-grabbing GP. Possibly? We weren't actually at the park, so I don't know. She also said she was new, so maybe an older employee is just telling dumb stories to the rookies?

A girl claiming to be a SFMM employee (paraphrasing): "They have this ride called Ninja where you hang under the track, and someone broke their leg on it, so they had to close off the bottom of the seats.

I'm very much in favor of the extended cycle time, but they added like 2 extra rotations, which is maximum 20 seconds. The actual ride time is about 2:20, which means that there was 3:40 of load/unload, which is insane. GhostRider's capacity is also a nightmare. They need to add that block brake above the station back in and get a third train. Part of the slowness is that the ride ops are waiting to dispatch from the station until the other train finishes the course. Xcelerator is what it is... that's why Intamin stopped designing them to launch out of the station. Not much can realistically be done about it except for mandatory l0ckerz, which is very un-Knott's.

Speaking of flat rides: La Revolucion was open again today. And speaking of Fiesta: Can we talk about the horrific capacity of Sol Spin? I timed it twice, and it took 6 minutes to do a full cycle (launch, unload, reload, launch again). That works out to 10 cycles per hour, at 36 riders each... 360 riders per hour with every seat full. Why does Knott's keep building rides that can't handle any kind of reasonable volume? It's seriously driving me crazy.

Both of the Mummy coasters, but especially Hollywood. The stop in the middle before the backwards section is super harsh.

Back to my original question, now that 'seasonal maintenance" has been ruled out... Is Mondial seriously a problem company overall?

So, regarding Sol Spin. Is it just Knott's that seems to have bad luck with Mondial, or is this regular for them? I know this Top Scan was a bit of a variant from the standard design, but not by a whole lot. In case you hadn't heard, Sol Spin has been closed for about 3 weeks straight.

For what it's worth.... the most popular rumor among ride ops at the park right now is a Eurofighter.

Was just about to ask this question. Haven't heard a peep about this in a few months now.

Honestly, I'd be happy with an Infinity Coaster. Seems like the kind of thing that could pack a lot of thrills into that small footprint, and there aren't any Eurofighters / Infinity Coasters on the west coast.

I honestly love the placement of it over the road. It's like a more expensive Ravine Flyer II. Uh... the placement was to show the scale of a Giga on that plot of land. It has nothing to do with the layout. Also... it's my understanding that the city of Buena Park has very firmly vetoed the idea of any coaster traveling over the streets.

At least it's not another variation of orange and blue....

I disagree. Bullet's station is seperated from the rest of GT by the stagecoach route. It is completely cut off from without using one of several underpasses. You might be right, but it is most definitely not in Fiesta Village. I agree. The station is separated from Ghost Town by the width of the stagecoach trail, but it's separated from Fiesta by more than a hundred yards (with a freaking lake in the middle).

Really really hope that "classic" Space Mountain means that the Dick Dale soundtrack is coming back for a bit. I would lose my mind.

Same! I don't know what could have caused this, but the comfort and fun level has dropped a LOT.

Hoping for RMC Corkscrew, myself. Fits with the park's "returning to the roots" moves as of late. (obviously kidding) Please just not a Premier Sky Rocket. The last thing the park needs is another short and low-capacity coaster.

In my perfect world, I'd say... 1. restore jaguar's track back to dark red and keep the tan supports 2. Restore Zoom back to yellow 3. Repaint Sidewinder to Camp Snoopy colors. Forrest green track with tan supports 4. Leave Bullet as is

I hate the new paint on Zoom. But also, please riddle me this... Why are there FOUR yellow/orange/red coasters literally right next to each other? Plus Coast Rider and Pony, that brings the total to 6 out of 9 painted coasters (GR not included) that have the same color palette. Is orange paint just really cheap or something?

I just listened to the music from Dear Evan Hansen, and I think the show could be really great. It's definitely geared for a younger audience, but it has moments that are really powerful. Also, the male lead, Ben Platt, has got SUPERHUMAN vocal stamina if he's actually singing this all 8 times a week. Evan Hansen is a lonely high school senior who views the world as though he's "waving through a window" (his first big solo song, which is one of the standouts). In a world of 24/7 connection through social media, which is really his only connection, he feels like he's left out of real life. Through a tragedy at his school, and a white lie that goes viral, Evan gets thrust into the spotlight and has to deal with the struggle of keeping it up. He is getting a chance to belong to a group and be part of something, but it's based on a lie. Although he wants so badly to connect, he doesn't want people to know the real him. Social / digital media plays a big part in the story telling, and how it shapes our views on our lives and the lives of others. The Act 1 finale, "You Will Be Found" is incredible and is really the heart of the show. The music in Act 2 doesn't stand out as much, but it also seems like there's a lot of story that happens outside of the soundtrack songs. this vid has clips of both songs I mentioned:

For the past couple years, the first weekend of Haunt has been Thurs-Sat, so you're probably right. That being said... Haunt stuff is always in flux until mid/late summer, so I wouldn't buy a plane ticket just yet. Also, I caution against going to any haunted event on opening night. 9 times out of 10 you'll get a better overall experience if you go 2nd weekend instead. You are correct about the pass. Scary Farm is a separate ticket, so passes don't work for admission. However, a Platinum level pass will work for parking. Pricing varies day to day based on expected demand, but I would say plan on $45-ish to get in and $70 additional for Skeleton Key / Fright Lane (if that's something you're into).

Why are people on here so fixated on the idea that Zoom is going to get removed? There's no evidence that the park has been considering it, and it makes no sense.