Farley Flavors

I'll definitely be buying Fast Passes if it looks like we're not going to be able to ride everything we want in the limited time we have. I've got Dorney, Knoebels and Lakemont all planned for the same day so swapping out Dorney for Six Flags probably isn't on the cards. Everyone seems to reckon that I should maximize my time at Knoebels so I'll be out of Dorney ASAP. If I didn't have the Platinum Pass I think I'd be skipping it altogether! Damn damn damn. I love classic woodies and Blue Streak sounds wonderful. Trouble is, I've got a really aggressive schedule for that day. 520 miles of driving plus a museum visit and Waldameer. A detour via Conneaut Lake Park would take it up to 553 miles. Have to consider that idea further but I'm sorely tempted.

That's definitely what I'm hoping for; we're probably facing a five hour drive back to O'Hare afterwards as we'll be battling Chicago rush-hour traffic. Thanks for the tips, I'll take your advice!

That's my post-ride beer destination sorted for my visit in a few week's time. Cheers!

Thanks for the advice, folks. You've convinced me to get out of Dorney well before noon to maximize my time at Knoebels and I'll be sure to check out the recommended rides. Re. Flying Turns - the only bobsled coaster I've been on is Avalanche at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and I wouldn't rave about the experience, but I do rather like the idea of a wooden version!

That's a good point about crossing the border in the morning. I crossed the border there in the other direction last year and the wait was only ten minutes or so, but it wasn't in rush hour. I'll do as you suggest and check the hotel prices out on the US side.

Yes, I realize I'll be lucky to get to KI by 1730. Even if we're slightly late I'm hoping we can grab a few rides before closing. I've been to Chicago a couple of times and it's one of my favourite cities in the States - I'll take it over New York any day! Never been to the Museum of Science and Industry though so I'll bear that in mind for a future trip. Breakfast is going to be coffee and the leftovers of a large stuffed Giordano's pizza from the night before That's good to know. I'll leave the Drop Tower at KI until last. Thanks for the Art Museum tip, we'll head there if we can get out of KI early. 8.30p.m. is a bit late for us to be still on the road. I'm happier on US road trips getting up really early and getting to bed early - it helps with the jet lag! Looks like that might be an option if we get out of Kings Dominion early. Thanks for the tip. The problem I've got is that the couple who are joining us for the second week are pussies when it comes to road trips! Some of the drives I've got planned for them are already a bit too long by their standards so I figured Sarnia would be a decent halfway point between Toronto and Cedar Point. Again, the problem I've got on this second week is the other couple who aren't exactly culture vultures! I'm already dragging them along to the Detroit Institute of Arts. I reckon that'll be their fill for the week.

Sounds like a terrific park but it also sounds like I'd need a full day to do it justice. If this road trip goes well I'm sure I'll be back for another at some point! You can count on it!

Thanks all. It sounds like it should be possible to get out of Dorney before noon which will give me more time at Knoebels. If I leave Knoebels around 1600 I figure that barring disasters I should get to Lakemont well before closing. Nice idea, but I've already got a non-refundable hotel booking in Altoona for the night so that part of the itinerary is pretty much fixed!

Thanks for the tip! We've got a fairly long drive to Toronto after Waldameer but if we've got the time and the lines are short we'll do these.

So here's the story... My girlfriend and I were planning a road trip which involved visiting several museums with Egyptology collections, one of which was the Cleveland Museum of Art. We've wanted to visit Cedar Point for ages and since we were going to be in the vicinity we decided to schedule in a visit. I started investigating the ticket prices and came across the Platinum Pass. What was a one-week "Culture and Coasters" trip quickly became a two-week "Coasters and Culture" trip instead! We're flying into Chicago and meeting another couple in Toronto for the second week of the trip. This means that the first week will be pretty hectic, as we figured it would be more fun to visit as many parks as possible and do the major rides rather than spending more time doing everything at fewer parks. On the second week, we'll be visiting both Canada's Wonderland and Cedar Point for two days each so I'm hoping that should be sufficient to ride just about everything of interest. We've never been to any of these parks before and in some cases we'll only have a few hours to visit so I'm looking for advice on what the "must do" rides are at each. We're mostly interested in coasters but if there are any flats highly recommended I'd be interested to hear about them. My GF quite likes drop towers - I hear the ones at Dorney Park and Kings Dominion are good? We're not interested in any water rides. I'm hoping that as it's towards the end of the season and we'll mostly be visiting on weekdays that Fast Pass won't be necessary. One other thing. I've only recently heard of something called a Funnel Cake. Coming from Scotland, where you can buy just about anything deep fried (meat pies, haggis, pizza, Mars bars...) the idea of a cake made from deep-fried batter kind of appeals! At which park would I get the best version? Here's the tentative schedule and my first stab at a list of "must do" rides. Are there any you would add or remove? Sat 15 Aug Arrive Chicago, overnight at airport hotel. Sun 16 Aug 1000 Chicago Oriental Museum 1200 Depart for Kings Island 1730 Arrive Kings Island, buy Platinum Passes Kings Island must ride: The Beast, Banshee, Diamondback, Flight of Fear, Backlot Stunt Coaster, The Racer Overnight at a hotel near the park. Mon 17 Aug 0930 Early Ride Time on Banshee and Diamondback 1300 Depart for Princeton WV Tue 18 Aug 0630 Depart for Carowinds 1000 Arrive Carowinds 1500 Depart Carowinds for Durham NC Carowinds must ride: Intimidator, Afterburn, Fury 325, Nighthawk Wed 19 Aug 0630 Depart for Kings Dominion 1000 ERT on Volcano 1500 Depart for Hagerstown MD Kings Dominion must ride: Volcano, Intimidator 305, Dominator, Rebel Yell, Ricochet, Grizzly, Anaconda Thu 20 Aug 0630 Depart for Dorney Park Road 0930 ERT on Talon 1300 Depart Dorney Park Road 1500 Arrive Knoebels 1630 Depart Knoebels 1900 Arrive Lakemont Park Overnight in Altoona PA. Dorney Park Road must ride: Steel Force, Talon, Hydra Knoebels must ride: Phoenix, Twister, Impulse, Flying Turns Lakemont Park must ride: Skyliner, Leap the Dips Fri 21 Aug 0630 Depart for Cleveland Museum of Art 1300 Depart museum for Waldameer Park 1500 Arrive Waldameer Park 1600 Depart for Toronto Waldameer Park must ride: Ravine Flyer II Sat 22 Aug 1000 Royal Ontario Museum 1300 Arrive Canada's Wonderland Sun 23 Aug 0900 ERT on Bohemoth, all day at CW Mon 24 Aug 1000 Canada's Wonderland 1430 Depart for Sarnia ON Tue 25 Aug 0800 Depart hotel 1000 Detroit Institute of Arts 1200 Depart for Cedar Point 1430 Arrive Cedar Point Wed 26 Aug 0900 ERT on Maverick, all day at CP Thu 27 Aug 0900 ERT on Millenium Force 1330 Depart for Grand Rapids MI Fri 28 Aug 1100 Michigan's Adventure 1400 Depart for Chicago Michigan's Adventure must ride: Shivering Timbers, Thunderhawk, Wolverine Wildcat Sat 29 Aug 1000 Art Institute of Chicago 1830 Fly home! Thanks in advance and I'll be sure to post a trip report on my return!

Makes sense then! Thanks, TunaSled.

Hi TPR! If we drive into a Cedar Fair park (specifically Kings Island or Canada's Wonderland) to buy Platinum Passes, do we get a refund on the car parking cost? Also, is there any advantage in buying the passes in advance online, except for the time-saving in filling out the forms at the park?

Since you're short of both time and money on this trip, I'd suggest "book before you go" is excellent advice. Once you've finalized your itinerary, do some research and get your hotels booked in advance. Not only will it save you the pain of driving around trying to find a cheap hotel after a long day's driving or trawling around a park, you'll likely save money over the walk-in rates too.

As you're looking for some quality BBQ I'd highly recommend a detour to Lockhart, pretty much the Texas BBQ mecca. There's three main players in town - Smitty's Market, Black's Barbecue and Kreuz Market. You can't go wrong with any of them although my favourite brisket is probably Black's. They also do a terrific "Texas Babyback" smoked beef rib but you'd need a serious appetite to tackle it. Smitty's is well worth a visit for the ambience alone. The fires have been burning continuously for over 90 years and the walls of the old dining room are blackened with soot. They occasionally have fantastic smoked prime rib available. Their brisket, pork ribs and wonderfully greasy sausage are all really good too. Kreuz Market is probably my least favourite, mainly due to the slightly unfriendly staff, but their heavily smoked brisket, peppery ribs and jalapeno cheese sausage are all very good. Always order brisket "fatty" for the best flavour and juiciness!