hoppedup

Just booked reservations on the 20th and 21st. Looking forward to spending Father's Day with the kid doing what we love!

So my daughter will be a college freshman this fall. Her school (NC State) just announced their intent to start a bit early and be done with fall semester by Thanksgiving. Assuming parks are open by then, December will be a lot easier this year for roller coaster touring. We went to Texas two years ago at Christmas and had a blast. I previously have not done much schedule research for year-round parks. That is, other than the week before and week after Christmas because that's when she was normally free to travel. What are the weekday schedules typically like in the first two weeks of December? Assume a normal year. I realize that things will most likely not be normal by December. We have platinum CF and SW/BG passes, and SF gold passes. So California, Florida, and Texas are all possibilities.

^From the WIlderness Run Alpine Coaster's FB page today: ANNOUNCEMENT: Starting Friday May 22nd you will no longer need to reserve a spot to ride the coaster. We will fully open on the 22nd with no restrictions! With that said, we ask patrons that are immune compromised to please stay home. It is a holiday weekend so expect lines. We also ask patrons to be mindful of the 6ft markers and to practice social distancing. We will also be extending out hours Friday through Sunday to 8 pm (or dusk). We are so excited to fully open and offer this thrill to everyone. Adventure Awaits! Please review website for pricing and FAQs.

That's good news. This from from the FAQ on the Carowinds site answered my most pressing question (that had not been addressed in previous updates): 2020 Platinum Passes will be valid at all Cedar Fair parks through the 2021 Season.

I think Disney Texas will get one first. Any or all of these options would be great. And/or a Railblazer/WW clone or a 4D Free Spin.

YouTube comment: "My math teacher said that her favorite coaster was shockwave and her second favorite was anaconda. She said her lease favorite was twister timbers" Reply to that comment: "The twisted timbers is garbage. They need to tear that monstrosity down and rebuild the hurler." This planet is doomed. Didn't realize Twisted Timbers was leased. I figured Cedar Fair owned it.

BGW 3/21-3/22 Hope to maybe see a certain coaster testing.

^Yup. I looked that up a while back. I was kind of thinking it would be a good coaster for Carowinds. Of course I would prefer an RMC Raptor or RMC treatment of Hurler. I noticed that there weren't any in the US other than SF parks. I think they are fun and don't flip excessively, IME. And there aren't any of these in the Southeast US.

I've ridden 9 B&M inverts and Afterburn is firmly in my top spot. There is not an inch of track wasted. It has an inversion for every 492.7 feet of track, which is the lowest among all B&M inverts. And it is the fourth fastest among B&M inverts. It is relentless and awesome. (Yes, I made a spreadsheet of all B&M inverts and their pertinent stats)

Depends on your preferences. My daughter and I pretty much only ride coasters. Knoebels is definitely the coolest park ever, we spent 5 hours there with multiple rides on Phoenix, Twister, and Impulse. If you like flats and want to enjoy great park food, give Knoebels at least a full day. We did Knoebels during the day and then did the preview at HP that night. Which was key as it was pouring in Hershey the next day, so we bailed and went to SFGAdv. We did all the major coasters at HP (except the Boomerang) at least once with multiples on Storm Runner and Skyrush in the 2.5 hour preview. I really liked Dorney. I think the coasters were all great and there were no lines to speak of when we were there.But we have CF platinum passes. I would probably skip it on your trip if you don't have passes. If somehow you end up traveling from directly from Knoebels to SFGAdv and have a CF pass, you could drop in Dorney and credit whore very quickly. There is a HoJo and a Holiday Inn across the street. Otherwise, follow the conventional wisdom here. It's usually solid advice. The lineup at Dorney is unlikely to change anytime soon.

I bought platinum passes from BGW today, as that will be our next SEAS park. I immediately got a suspicious activity warning from my credit card company. Thought it was funny since I've used the same card before for SEAS platinum passes, food and merch. Also the same card I use for CF and SF parks. Now I have to go to Florida and Texas this year!

I hope Coaster Campout comes back this year. I'm pretty sure they announced it in January with all the other events last year. It was a lot of fun.

1. How many parks did you visit in 2019? 10 Carowinds Cedar Point Kings Island Six Flags America Holiday World Kentucky Kingdom Kings Dominion Busch Gardens Williamsburg Six Flags Over Georgia Kennywood 2. Best new-for-2019 (or new-to-you-in-2019) ride? Steel Curtain 3. Name the first 3 coasters that come to mind. Fury 325, Maverick, Iron Rattler 4. What was the best flat ride you rode in 2019? Mountain Gliders at Carowinds 5. What is your favorite RMC under 130 feet? (cheat sheet) Twisted Cyclone 6. What was the last Premier coaster that you rode? Sky Rocket at Kennywood 7. Name a park you've been to that you're already planning to revisit. Knoebels 8. What is your home park and how many times did you visit in 2019? Carowinds. 8 9. What park are you most looking forward to visiting in 2020? Hersheypark 10. Kennywood or Dollywood? Pick one - Kennywood by a hair 11. What ride/coaster disappointed you the most in 2019? Copperhead Strike 12. You're at Great Adventure. You play that racist-ish gong game and win a one hour ERT session for you and your friends on ONE coaster of your choice. But damn! El Toro, Kingda Ka and Nitro are all down! So you ride... Bizarro 13. What is the last coaster that changed your top 10? Iron Rattler 14. Most recent park food you ate. Ribs at Harmony Hall, Carowinds 15. What park do you wish was your home park? Hersheypark 16. What 2020 attraction do you have the biggest boner for? Jersey Devil 17. What park will you visit next? Carowinds 18. Favorite breakfast before a day at a park? Biscuits & gravy 19. Cedar Fair park you visited most recently? Carowinds 20. Was it awesome? Always 21. Skyrush or Candymonium? Skyrush because Candymonium isn't a thing yet. 22. What 2 overseas parks do you want to visit the most? Don't know. Gonna finish North America before researching overseas 23. The best B&M coaster you rode in 2019 was? Fury 325 24. What is the saddest/dirtiest credit whore thing you've ever done? Riding coasters I know my daughter won't ride to stay ahead of her on coaster count. 25. Last time you bought fast pass? Cedar Point June 2019 26. What was the longest you waited for a ride/coaster in 2019? Not sure. Maybe 45 minutes 27. What season passes/membership do you currently have? Cedar Fair Platinum, SF gold 28. If you could go to a park with anyone on this forum for a day who would it be and to what park? hoppedup and SFMM because I haven't been to California yet. 29. Battle of the Busch 2020: Iron Gwazi or Pantheon - which would you rather ride? Iron Gwazi 30. Most times you've ridden one coaster (rough estimate or exact if you're a super nerd) Fury 325 ~100 times 31. Congrats! You just won passes to spend A WEEK at the park of your choice! Dorney Park or Valley Fair? Pick one and why. Dorney. Haven't been to VF but I think the coaster lineup at Dorney is great. 32. Talk about a park food that knocked your socks off - The rotisserie beef at Blue Ridge Country Kitchen was pretty good. Not sure about any socks being knocked off 33. Pick one: Kumba or Montu - Never been on either one 34. What are your three least favorite woodies? Wildcat at HP, Roar at SFA, The Legend at HW 35. Best sweet snack at a park (degree of difficulty: not Dollywoods cinnamon bread) - N/A 'cause diabeetus 36. Kings Island is on the phone and they want you to decide what is going in the old Vortex spot. What do you add? Custom RMC Raptor 37. What roller coaster currently sits at the top of your bucketlist? (degree of difficulty: NOT a new-for-2020 ride) - Twisted Colossus 38. Name 3 parks you want to visit in the next 3 years. BGT, SWO, SDC 39. Name 3 other forum members you hope fill this out. Don't really care. 40. Show us how cool you are by posting a picture of yourself on a coaster or in front of coaster. Bonus points if you're holding a sign with a number on it like the nerd you are.

The Whitewater Center can be enjoyable if only for the people and activity (rafting, kayaking, ziplines) watching. It's $6 a car to park and you can wander around and check out the sights and people watch without any additional fees. If there is a music event, it can be really cool. There is a decent restaurant on site with a nice draft selection. https://usnwc.org/ There is plenty to do around Charlotte and on the way to Dollywood. I recommend a driving tour of Cades Cove since you will be right there and can get some great scenery with little effort. The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad https://www.gsmr.com/ is also a good choice on the way to Dollywood. It makes a stop at the Nantahala Outdoor Center where you can enjoy a riverside lunch before heading back. I recommend the open car for better sights and sounds. If your SO is a big NASCAR fan, you can also tour Charlotte Motor Speedway and many of the race shops in the area as well. I've stayed at all 4 Choice Hotels properties at that exit. I'd personally opt for something across the street. The SpringHill Suites is close, but it is not as convenient as Breakers for taking a break, IMO. Unless those rates come down, I'd stay elsewhere. The Comfort Inn is also a fine choice on that side of the road.

Saw this and not sure if it has been posted anywhere here yet. NC is getting it's first alpine coaster. There is a test run video on FB. https://www.facebook.com/wildernessrunalpinecoaster/ https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-carolina/alpine-coaster-in-nc/ Next Month, North Carolina Is Getting Its First Ever Alpine Coaster, Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster Get ready, because life in the Tar Heel State is about to get a whole lot more exciting with the opening of the first-ever alpine coaster in North Carolina! Few details have been released about the attraction as yet, but the fun includes a very steep mountainside that has an alpine coaster filled with twists, twirls, and drops that wind through the trees on a mountain across the road from and overlooking the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. Here’s what we know so far about Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster: Wilderness Run's alpine coaster will take riders up a very steep incline to the very top of the mountain where riders will wait momentarily in a short queue until it's time to begin the thrilling descent. Stay tuned for more info and for additional photos when North Carolina’s first alpine coaster opens at Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster in Sugar Mountain. Weather permitting for adding finishing touches and ensuring all safety precautions are met, the owners of Wilderness Run anticipate an opening during the second week of February 2020.

Christmas 2019 Day 1: Six Flags Over Georgia We couldn't take a full week like we did in Texas last year, so I decided our best bet for a brief trip this Christmas would be SFOG>Carowinds. We set out a bit late Thursday morning and didn't arrive until 3 p.m. So we checked in to our hotel, Rodeway Inn right beside the park. It was clean and nice enough. Would stay again. We redeemed our vouchers for Gold+ passes and made a beeline for Twisted Cyclone. I don't think we ever waited over twenty minutes for a ride. This was my daughter's seventh RMC conversion and we both agreed it is our second favorite so far, behind Iron Rattler. It is a smaller one, but there is so much going on, including the elements before the lift hill. The first drop, wave turn, and last pop of airtime before the station are all incredible, IMO. Twisted Cyclone makes Maggie happy! Next, it was over to Goliath. The lines weren't bad at all so we got in a few rides. What a floater airtime machine! "We all float up here, Georgia". My daughter renounced Titan as her favorite hyper and gave the crown back to Goliath. There is an empty seat beside me in the pic because there was a walk of shame. The person couldn't get one click from the clamshell. The ride op came over and squashed her but it just wasn't enough. Before she got the news that she wouldn't be riding, she asked if they could loosen the restraint a bit. I appreciate the effort by the ride operator, but it was clear to anyone who's ridden a B&M hyper (or worked one) that this was not happening. I can't remember if there is a test seat at Goliath or not. The last ride on Goliath jarred Maggie a bit coming in to the station and she asked for a coaster break. Since we hadn't done Daredevil Dive Coaster on previous visits I figured we may as well spend our downtime in line for it. We queued up and found out why throughput is terrible for this coaster. Half-empty cars were the norm and when the grouper called out for singles or doubles sometimes people weren't able to make it up through the line fast enough. The coaster itself was okay but it weirdly made almost no noise. I think the eerie quietness of it took away from the experience. We had a great ride on BTR. The insanely long walk to the station was cut by more than half by construction fencing. I love Mindbender but it was at almost an hour wait, so we boogied back over for more rides on the star attractions after snapping a couple of pics. We walked around and checked out lights for a while after re-rides on TC and Goliath. The park looked great and festive despite temperatures in the 60s most of the day. A few rides later, we were pooped: The next morning, before getting in more rides on TC and Goliath, we made our way to Beaver Creek Biscuits & BBQ for breakfast. The sausage gravy was legit. I had a Proustian moment at first bite, as this gravy was just like my mom used to make. I put the sauce on the side for the eggs. Highly recommended for breakfast. I can't comment on the bbq (yet). All in all we packed in a full day over the course of two days. We left around 2 to head for Carowinds to try to lessen the blow of Atlanta Friday afternoon traffic. Next up: A rideless night at our home park!

When I saw the title of this post my first thought was, "Why would someone build my local water park in RCT?" Then I realized there is no connection. Carry on. https://www.emeraldpointe.com/

When we went to SFOT last December, we were able to get in early and then when we were standing at the rope inside the park, there was a line for members. Turns out members get past the rope 10 minutes early. We were able to head back toward New Texas Giant and were first in line for the first train of the day. It had some technical issues, but it was nice to know we could get in a few minutes earlier. Titan was right there so we rode it a few times until New Texas Giant was ready. I think the MCBR on Titan loosened something in my daughter's brain because she still says it's her favorite coaster of the trip. I thought Titan was great, but Iron Rattler at SFFT took that title for me. SFOT was great. They have a bobsled, a Schwarzkopf looper, an RMC conversion, a Giovanola Hyper, the first Arrow Mine Train... It really is a great lineup!

It was kind of buried on the Choice Privileges site, but if you have gold, platinum, or diamond status in another hotel rewards program, they will match your status. I have platinum status with Wyndham, and now have it with Choice Privileges, with only 9 nights this year. https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/membership-levels/status-match

I know Fury is always hauling ass when it hits the trim brake, so I guess those kinds of wind would not be an issue. Have we subpoeanaed the records from Fury's anemometer yet?

I was in Charlotte all day Saturday (no Carowinds this trip). The wind was pretty high most of the day. I found a weather report that said gusts were up to 10 mph Saturday at Charlotte Douglas. I call BS. I was outside and walking a lot of the day and I would guess the gusts were more like 20-25+ mph. I worked off of boom lift equipment for many years and we grounded all of our aerial work at 25 mph winds. Not sure what the guidelines are for Fury, but Saturday was a blustery day in the Queen City.

I went the week before Christmas last year and the weather was dry and mid to upper 60s every day. The coasters didn't run at SWSA one day, but that was due to high winds. I assume crowds would be worse the week after Christmas, but really don't know.

You can absolutely avoid tolls. But it will add to your drive time. I have traveled between KD and SFA a couple of times and SFA to BGW. I used back roads (301) with no regrets. Driving west for SFGA and Mt. Olympus from CP sounds ambitious. I'd add Six Flags Over Georgia between Dollywood and Carowinds first. Much less driving and SFOG is a great park.

If you decide the Sea World parks are worth it, start in Texas and buy a platinum pass for SW/BG parks for $132.99 at SWSA. I loved Steel Eel and Great White is a great invert (but you can ride the same thing at most SF parks). The new woodie could possibly be open based on timing. It's really close to SFFT and platinum gets you preferred parking at all SW/BG parks. It might make sense even if you skip SWSD. Using couchsurfing.com would be quite a bit safer than sleeping in your car. If you are in an area safe enough to sleep in your car, then someone is probably going to call the police if they see you. As a person who has done crazy, whirlwind trips (the naysayers call them 'death marches') I say go for whatever you like. We can all enjoy parks in different ways. If you make it to Hersheypark and skip Knoebels, you are crazy though. That piece of advice that everyone gives to go to Knoebels is solid. If you buy a CF platinum pass (and you should if you plan to hit all the CF parks on your list) you might as well stop in to Dorney and spend a couple of hours riding all the coasters on your way from Knoebels to SFGAdv. Again, don't skip Knoebels. Dorney's coaster lineup is great, IMO. Also, if you make it to Hersheypark, use the preview for the night before your ticket is valid. My daughter and I rode all the coasters except the boomerang, with a few multiple rides on our preview night. It was pouring rain the next day, so we boogied over to SFGAdv. Don't forget to factor in parking at parks where you don't buy a season pass (except Knoebels, which is free!) and tolls (PA Turnpike, I-95, maybe others) You could easily skip SFA, though I would go just for Superman:ROS if it's on the way. Routes to miss I-95 through DC-Baltimore are available and recommended for your sanity. DC traffic is the worst, and I've driven in every major city on the east coast and the midwest. It sounds like you won't be budgeting for Fast Lane, Quick Queue, etc. So I'd hit the major parks early to midweek if possible. It may not be an issue in May-June, but some parks are wildly unpredictable in terms of attendance. Have fun and post your itinerary here as you travel, folks might meet up with you or give more specific advice about parks if meeting strangers isn't your thing.

Thunderbird is my favorite wing coaster I've ridden. I think a launched wing coaster would be great and would also give a tip of the cap to Volcano.