coneyislandchris

I know this isn't exactly one of the higher traffic threads on this site, but just figured I'd mention some news. Just stayed at the Pocono Mountains location at the beginning of this month, and they've been doing some refurb work inside the waterpark. The toddler slides and wading pool area were completely tarped off and they were doing construction work throughout the weekdays. Not that that's anything mindblowing, but what was more noticeable from the outside is the fact that they were clearing a lot -- and I mean a LOT -- of trees from the outside area around the lodge. These photos were taken facing north from their parking lot. Combine that with the following message that was posted on their website about the lodge refurbishment... I know this is just speculation on my part, but given the wording of that statement about it being the "single largest investment made to [the] resort since its grand opening", it leads me to believe that they might be moving forward with an outdoor waterpark in the near future to compete with Camelbeach just a little bit further up the road. I honestly can't imagine why else they would be clearing this much space.

I haven't been down there in a few years. I remember the TSUs being in the neighborhood of $40 and thinking it was ridiculously cheap compared to, well, pretty much every other park's unlimited line-skipping passes. This price increase is definitely more in line with its actual value, and I can't fault them for that.

Yeah, that was my same experience during Howl-O-Scream last October. My family and I actually paid for the quick queues so it was a little surprising to see that they didn't have the staff available to man it. That was the only ride or haunt where the quick queue line didn't have an attendant though.

Hell yeah, scent tunnel for the win.

It took me a minute to parse those sentences correctly, but I'm guessing Danielle's pronouns are them/they. So it was Danielle's first hyper, and the reason that Danielle rode it was because it was similar in layout to the Comet (out and back style). (Please correct me if I'm wrong in my understanding of the statement.)

The kiddie coaster at Knott's, Timberline Twister, has a hard height limit of 69", and one of them at Magic Mountain, Magic Flyer, has a height limit of 54", so depending upon your size, you may be out of luck for at least one if not both of those. The other three kiddie coasters at Magic Mountain (Canyon Blaster, Road Runner Express, Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers) don't have any upper limits, and it honestly depends upon the ride ops in charge on the day you visit. On my first visit I was able to get on all three of them, on a repeat visit I was not allowed to ride Canyon Blaster by myself (ironically, the largest of the three) but had no problems with the other two.

^ Looks like it? https://mm.sfflashpass.com/# In the past, when I've purchased a Flash Pass in advance online, they would send me activation instructions with a link to that site immediately after purchase.

^ Didn't they already mention that Roger Rabbit was going to be getting an update pushing Jessica Rabbit as less of the damsel-in-distress, and instead becoming the lead protagonist? I swear I saw this somewhere a few months back... Of course they announce this land closure after I've already booked my family's trip for next April, but honestly, gives us even more of a reason to come back in '23!

So, in other words, business as usual on #coastergram. I wasn't super impressed with my first ride on Jersey Devil, but like you, after getting a second and third ride on it recently during Fright Fest Power Hours, it's definitely grown on me. It's not as batshit crazy as the prototype raptors but it's a good, solid ride from start to finish. It'll be a good addition to Magic Mountain. Hopefully they can keep the downtime low now that the kinks have been mostly ironed out of the east coast version.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Shenandoah still running the previous weekend. (Especially because it was still a pretty hot day out that Saturday!)

I forgot to mention this since my last post; my wife, who notoriously is NOT a huge fan of coasters, decided to try her first hyper when we went back in September. (No, not Skyrush. That particular hyper ended my father's coaster-riding career and she's well aware of that.) She ended up trying Candymonium towards the end of the night, and... um... well... let's just say she survived, but she's in no hurry to get back on it, or any similarly tall coaster, ever again. She wasn't a fan of the floater airtime, the minimal restraints, her legs dangling free, and quite obviously the height. She enjoyed the wooden coasters (but we weren't sadists enough to recommend she get on Wildcat), Laff Trakk, Trailblazer, and to a lesser extent SooperDooperLooper. She also recently rode Invadr and Verbolten at BGW and enjoyed both of them. With those ones under her belt, does anyone have any other suggestions for coasters across the Northeast she might potentially enjoy, preferably ones without a huge height or multiple inversions?

What do you think the chances are that they actually would change the wristband colors from the morning session to the evening session?

I visited with my family on Saturday, but honestly, there's nothing I can say here that hasn't already been said by Chuck and Mike up above. Great time at the park, super glad Haunt is back, rides are running fantastically (except for the perennial headbasher Anaconda), really missed this park last year. Here's looking forward to more fun next season!

Looking forward to bringing my ten and six year old kids to Howl-O-Scream at some point next month!

At the park today and can confirm yes, Skyrush is back up and running! Pretty much every coaster is except for Sidewinder. Also, if you like Lightning Racer, you might wanna be careful. It's currently being swarmed by those invasive pests, the spotted lanternfly. The lift hill railings are completely covered in adult bugs, and I got smacked in the head by them a few times. It definitely turns the ride into even more of a participation sport than usual since you're gonna be dodging them left and right.

If you've got the Fright Lane already, then yeah, do Saturday. I don't trust Friday night staffing at Cedar Point during Halloweekends. I don't know if this year Saturdays will be any better, honestly, but it sounds like you've got a better shot at it. I'm planning on heading out that way in early October; the major goal is to get out to Kings Island for my daughter's first visit ever, and Cedar Point is probably going to be an "on-the-way-home" stop on a Sunday. Supposedly they're actually doing haunts on Sunday nights in October, we'll see how that goes.

Xolo Loca down at Casino Pier, their new for 2021 SBF Visa Big Air spinner/hamster wheel combo. Yes, it finally opened just in time for the shore season to be over. (And even that's kind of a stretch... the spinner half of it opened, but the hamster wheel half still hasn't been approved by the State.) Guess I'll be back next season to see how much head trauma those things really inflict. Before that it was Joker at SFDK, the one highlight in an otherwise awful visit to that park. Not the greatest RMC out there but to be honest I still haven't been on a bad one.

^ Additionally, they're now selling a combo ticket for admission to both Nickelodeon and Dreamworks for a flat $149. They claim this is a $45 savings, but looking at ticket prices for this upcoming Friday, Dreamworks is $99 and Nickelodeon is $75. They must be using that common core math that's confusing to my old ass, I guess. You can (but are not required to) use them both on the same day, but you do need to select which specific dates you are going to use them on at time of purchase. It also includes discounts at various shops and other attractions throughout the mall, which could be negligible depending upon your mileage. (Wow, 10% off at Cinnabon. Be still my beating heart!) Side note, we came back to the mall over the summer -- not to do any of the rides or slides, but to check out the two 18-hole mini golf courses. They had a special running one weekend where ticket prices were 50% off (and considering each course is normally $20 per player, that added up fast). "Out of This World" is their blacklight course, and it's all angles. No real gimmicks or much of anything beyond that. If you've been to a Monster Mini Golf, you pretty much know what to expect here. It felt cramped, and was pretty underwhelming. The other location, Angry Birds Mini Golf, was much more our speed with a lot more space, a lot more interesting obstacles, tons of fiberglass figures of the whole Angry Birds gang, and a cool twist on some of the holes where instead of putting, you could use a slingshot to launch your ball towards the hole. It was actually a lot of fun and something I would do again (just not at that $20 price though).

Good stuff here. Hit almost all of these parks over the summer with the exception of Fantasy Island, Steel Pier, and Keansburg... as far as Keansburg goes, been there all of once and it was the most depressing experience I've had at a park not named "Six Flags Discovery Kingdom". And from the pictures you've shown, it appears to have only gone downhill since then. Every now and again I get the urge to maybe check it out again... and then my better sense of judgment takes over. Squadron 33 at Castaway is LEGIT. Although I miss the ride that used to be there, Tropical Storm, this one is a fantastic replacement and one that I wouldn't mind seeing pop up more frequently in the States. And that one flat you mentioned that looks like a bigger Kang-a-Bounce? It's called Tidal Wave, and do NOT sleep on that. I thought I knew what to expect going in but it ran the most insane program, alternating between slower bouncing, high speed spinning both low to the ground and high up, and then a combination of both. Way crazier than I thought it would be and I'm definitely giving it a few re-rides the next time I'm down that way.

There's a similar policy in place at Camelback in the Poconos if you want to ride their mountain coaster (or do any of the other outdoor activities). Surprisingly no such waiver for the Flowrider in their waterpark, but I believe Splash Zone down in Wildwood also requires a completed waiver in order to ride their Flowrider.

Great trip report and photos, Mike! Definitely want to make it down here at some point.

Can't speak as to the haunts, but for the rides, it's hit and miss. Some of the rides like Xcelerator and Silver Bullet have their own dedicated fast lane entrances, and accessibility passes enter through the exit. For others, such as Jaguar and the log flume, both groups go up the exit. And then there's Coast Rider which has its own fast pass lane but when we visited a few weeks back it was locked shut and they had us go up the exit instead.

Kennywood and extended ride closures go together just like chocolate and peanut butter. They haven't closed Phantom's Revenge yet for the repainting, have they?

I'm not misunderstanding a thing, KB. When I said "inspiring", the unspoken part of that was "inspiring confidence in their reliability". Everyone here knows the issues they've faced so far with the Skywarp installations. With that being said, these kiddie rides are a perfect example for them to prove themselves; if they are cost-effective, customizable, and dependable, this could be a great way for them to get back into the market after a disastrous first few efforts.

Honestly, these are super cute. I wish them all the luck and success with this product line; I know the Skywarp line has not been the most inspiring so far but if these manage to take off I think they could be a welcome alternative to the ever-present Zamperla and SBFs that are friggin' everywhere.