RobertWord

No I wouldn't say I'm upset personally, because I got on the ride with my stuff. Well I'm not going to be shaken-down without a fight, which I won... Arrogant? No... Arrogant would be that I think I am the only one who should be allowed to bring stuff in a zipped pocket. I think EVERYONE should as long as what they have doesn't pose a threat to themselves or anyone else. I agree, it’s a shakedown. Sounds like it would be easy to get away with when wearing layers. Ive have some lightweight gear with front zip pockets. I could put my stuff in those pockets then wear my bulkier winter jacket over it. But in the summer it may be tougher to get away with. Do they make you lift your shirt up? Because I was thinking I could pin my wallet and phone against my back and then once I pass the checkpoint(s) slip them into a zipped pocket in my pants or shorts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Has anyone ever stayed at the centerstone inn located right next to the park? I will be at KD Monday April 2 and that's the night of the national championship game. So I'm looking for a nice comfortable room to watch the game in after I visit the park.

Ok guys thanks so much for the help. I think I have a plan that works. Spring break trip: Sunday drive to six flags America, process six flags pass, and possibly preview Monday: all day at six flags America Tuesday: kings dominion with fast lane plus Wednesday: Busch gardens Thursday: drive to Carowinds Friday: all day at carowinds (judgement call on fast lane based on what I was able to do the day before) Saturday: drive home 4 day weekend trip: Friday: drive to Within 2 hours of casino pier Saturday: half day at casino pier/ half day at SFGA.. I will have the six flags pass and I won't spend all day at casino pier and there really doesn't seem like anywhere else to go. Sunday: playlands castaway cove and morey's piers with the vast majority of the day spent at morey's. Monday: drive home Late August trip: Friday: drive as Far East as I can after the GF gets out of work Saturday: dorney park Sunday: drive to SFNE and preview Monday: SFNE, lake Compounce Tuesday: quassy, Luna Park, drive to SFGA and spend what's left of the day (if any) there. Wednesday: SFGA Thursday: knoebels Friday: hersheypark Saturday: drive home, maybe stop at cedar point or Kennywood

I think I've decided to take a long weekend fri-mon to hit Kennywood (one of many times this year), Dorney on Saturday, playlands/ morley's with 90% of the time spent at morley's on Sunday and stay near philly, and Monday drive home. I just don't feel like paying that much for a hotel. I thought I read on here that knoebels closes at 6. Maybe that was for a different time of the year. The other question I had is about what week I should do trip #2. Obviously I'm thinking August.

Ok so it sounds like the 4th is not something I would want to do. What about during a long weekend hitting Kennywood on Friday, Saturday go to Dorney (removing that from the other trip) and stay just outside philly. Then Sunday go to playlands castaway for a little bit and then spend the rest of the day at morey's and drive back to the philly area to stay. Sunday drive home? Then the Tuesday of my 2nd trip could be a slow comfortable death march of Lake Compounce (2 hrs), quassy (30 min) Luna, and down to casino pier to ride hydrus. I'm not a credit whore, but hydrus looks like it's worth the drive. I love euro fighter's and euro fighter- like rides.

You get one line skip for each of the major rides and a wild card to use on any ride. I personally thought it was a waste of money, but I went on a low-volume day. YMMV the week of spring break. I also enjoy driving and have taken week long trips with other people where they never touched the wheel. I have driven to Chicago and Western Mass from here in NC with only gas stops. Folks around here call it a death march if you are hitting a lot of parks in a short period of time with no downtime or multi-day park visits. More like a fun march to me, really. It looks like there is a QQ unlimited at the Busch in Tampa. It sounds like it works exactly like the cedar fair fast lane plus passes. Is that not available at the Williamsburg location? Yeah I look at it as more of a fun March too. To me driving is downtime.

Ok, coasterbill and boldikus, you two have convinced me that I need to spend at least a day at morey's. What would you say if I removed it from this trip altogether and used a long weekend to come back? As a teacher obviously I have the summers off even though I find part time work here and there. But my GF sometimes has these long weekends where she has Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. What if I was to hit Kennywood on a Friday and drive east. Arrive at morey's sometime on Saturday, spend the rest of the day at the beach, and maybe ride some rides. Spend the whole day there on Sunday, and drive back Monday. The other option is the week of the 4th of July. The 4th is a Wednesday, would that be a good day to hit Morey's, and maybe use that whole week to hit all the NJ Boardwalk parks? Which would give me the entire day on the Monday of my 2nd trip at SFNE. Then I could use the Tuesday of my 2nd trip to hit lake Compounce, Quassy, and Luna park.

Thanks. What time does Quassy close? If I could work it in that would be cool. I updated my boardwalk day. Basically I am looking to hit the coasters and any unique thrilling flat rides I have never done before. I think i can get to morey's by 6pm depending on when Luna Park opens. I'm having a real hard time finding out when these Boardwalk parks open. I've read that casino pier doesn't open until 1:30, and if Luna is the same it would destroy my entire plan.

Sounds like you have to make a choice between two high costs places Coney Island and Wildwood. To ride the coasters and the unique stuff "Spook House (refurbed in 2012) and Wonder Wheel" at Deno's you probably need 90-120 minutes. Once prices are listed you might find it more economical for the 4 hours wrist band (vs. ala carte) even if only using it for 90 minutes. That early in the AM, you will not encounter lines, but may have to wait a extra two or three minutes if they try to fill trains. At Morey's you will also want to cost out the all you can ride versus the ala carte costs. When planning remember to pay attention to operating times for each pier. At that time of day 2-2.5 hours is reasonable to get from Coney Island to Casino Pier Regarding the other parks. Casino Pier - You won't need 2 hours there, just 15 minutes to ride Hydrus Playland's Castaway Cove (Ocean City) - You need to ride the Tropical Storm flat ride, an absolute must. This parks runs great flat ride cycles. Gillians Wonderland (Ocean City) - their Runaway Mine Train is a great family coaster, but the park has unique flats to the area Super Flipping Arm and ARM Drop Tower Moreys Piers - I'll leave coasterbill and boldikus to list specifics, but Ghost Ship is a must. The Wildwood boardwalk also had many unique places to visit. Casino Pier, PCC and Wonderland are all considered overpriced but have 50% off sales the week before Easter, so you can half your costs if you plan ahead. Included only because you asked about uniqueness Keansburg has one of the oldest pretzel dark rides and has recently been refurbed. They also still have an operating Chaos. But not worth stopping for the coasters. Jenkinson's again not worth stopping for the coaster, but they have a good walk through fun house. Thanks for that. I did more research on the boardwalk parks. Depending on when Luna opens I believe I can hit that for an hour, arrive at casino pier by 1:30, spend less than an hour there, arrive at playlands castaway cove by 4, another hour there at the most, and arrive at morey's no later than 6.

How does the QQ work at Busch? I've been to Dollywood many times, and I'm planning on hitting SFOG next year for spring break on way down to or back from Florida. I don't really understand what is meant by "death march". Is it the driving? I actually enjoy driving.

I have never been before and if I feel like I need another day I can make that decision on the fly and push Carowinds back a day. I go to amusement parks for the coasters and thrill rides though. I don't know what kinds of animals are at Busch, but I've been to cedar point a million times and never once stopped to see any of the animals they have. And shows really aren't my thing. But thanks for the advice. If I feel like I need another day I can easily fit it in.

I can't cut out Luna park. The Coney Island cyclone is a piece of history. I've been wanting to ride forever and it's a credit I just need to have even though I'm sure it will probably be a huge let down. My grandfather used to work on it back in the day. It would really help if I knew what time Luna opens but I can't seem to find that info. I did more research on Morey's and you're right, I need to go there. As far as cutting knoebels and Six Flags New England, I'm not going to knoebels on Tuesday, I'm going on Thursday and planning on staying until it closes, then going to hersheyparks preview. On Sunday I plan on leaving Dorney at 3 and arriving at SFNE between 7 and 8. Then I can preview NE Sunday night which would allow me to leave NE early on Monday. NE does have a big lineup but really only has 5 that I'm really interested in, plus the tall swing ride, and Ferris wheel assuming they have one. With the Sunday night preview I feel like that is plenty of time to do what I want to do there. Then I can drive to lake Compounce and ride Boulder dash, wildcat, and phobia fear. And I don't have to stay in NYC, i can stay in Stamford CT off the turnpike for around $125. Then in the morning it's 2-2.5 hrs to Coney Island at the most. So my Tuesday is looking like this: If Luna opens at 10 get there at 10 and leave at 11. Arrive at casino pier no later than 1:30. At casino pier I want to ride hydrus and the skyscraper. I figure 1 hour at the most there. Leave at 2:30 and arrive at playlands at 4. Leave at 5 and arrive at morey's at 6 and stay till close. If Luna opens at 11 push everything back 1 hour. And I'm adding drive times to what google maps is saying, so at the end of the day I could have even more time.

I appreciate the east coast cultural ideas. As a history teacher I think it's extremely important that people visit as many historical places on the east coast as they can. I've been told great white is not a fun coaster and the other one is an SLC. And then all the other thrilling rides at morey's it looks like I could do at casino pier and Playlands. I plan on spending the whole day at knoebels on Thursday. I was reading comments on someone else's trip which said it was a good idea to hit knoebels before hersheypark because knoebels closes early which gives you time to preview Hershey.

Hey, thanks for the response. I'm actually a teacher not a student and I am also a season pass holder at Kennywood. I'm originally from Steubenville, OH so I've been there countless times. I'm doing both trips with my girlfriend so technically there is another driver but I was planning on doing all the driving. I've already been sightseeing down the east coast multiple times and our school has a trip to DC every year which I have been on. So I've seen all there is to see in DC, Philly, NYC, and Boston so I'm not looking to do a thing but go to parks. And I know how congested it is. I originally wanted to put Six Flags America as part of the spring break trip but I'm not sure it's open. On their website I can't find a calendar. It just shows January and nothing else. But if it's open that is definitely something I will do. Maybe drive there on Sunday and get my six flags season pass processed and possibly preview. Then on Monday visit for a whole day. if spring break is going to be crowded it sounds like getting fast lane is a good idea. So 1 day at kings dominion on Tuesday with fast lane, Busch and then drive 2 hours toward Charlotte on Wednesday, Carowinds with fast lane on Thursday, Carowinds until about 11am without fast lane and drive home Friday. For the second trip I don't want to hit Hershey on the weekend. I've been there before on the weekend and I just do not want to do it. It was just too busy. My plan was never to drive from Toledo to New England. It is to drive from to Toledo to Allentown on Saturday and preview Dorney. Sunday spend a little more time at Dorney and drive the 4-5 hrs to New England and possibly preview it. Monday hit New England and lake Compounce and drive towards NYC and stay in SW Connecticut. Tuesday get to Luna park when it opens (10 am??), spend 1 hour at the most there, at 11 am drive 2-2.5 hours to casino pier. Now it's 1:30ish, 2 hours at casino pier, 3:30 drive to playlands, now it's 5:30, 1 hour there, 6:30 drive to great adventure, arrive at 8:30. I know there's another Boardwalk park but reliable sources say the coaster sucks so I'm going to skip it. Those drive times are actually longer than google maps says. So I don't think I would be killing myself at all, unless those drive times are not realistic or unless I'm not giving myself enough time at each park. But I don't want to hit every single little ride at every park. I want to hit the coasters, the Ferris wheel (because the GF loves them), and anything else unique that I haven't been on before. Wednesday, great adventure. Thursday knoebels then preview Hershey Friday Hershey Saturday drive home. Maybe I should have mentioned this before, but I can drive a lot. I go to kings island all the time without staying overnight. That's 3 hours there and 3 hours back and staying until the park closes. The most I've ever drove in 1 day was from Toledo to Lincoln, NE. It took a little less than 14 hours with 2 stops to eat, slow traffic in Chicago, and multiple restroom stops. That was a Friday. Then Saturday we watched Ohio St whip Nebraska, and then I drove another 13 hours back to Toledo on Sunday.

Hello theme park review I'm rob and I'm from Toledo, OH. I think you guys give great advice to people planning trips and I'm looking for some about the 2 trips I'm planning this year. The first is to visit Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Carowinds for spring break the first week of April. I have no idea what kinds of crowds to expect so I'm thinking of tackling this trip a couple different ways. Both ways start by driving to kings dominion on Sunday and possibly previewing it if we're up for it after the long drive. Then as a cedar fair platinum pass holder I was thinking of spending 2 days at kings dominion. I've heard volcano's line is usually very long and obviously with twisted timbers being brand new that could have a long line as well. So one day during the early entry could be to marathon volcano and the second day could be to marathon twisted timbers. Then Wednesday it's on to Busch gardens where I will spend 1 day. Then Thursday drive from Busch to Carowinds and preview Carowinds. And Friday spend a whole day at Carowinds. Saturday drive home. Now my second plan is to spend just 1 day at kings dominion and get fast lane plus. That way I can get as many rides as I want on everything in 1 day. Which would mean I go to Busch on Wednesday. Then after Busch I could knock out 2 hours of the Carowinds drive and finish the rest on Thursday, get fast lane at Carowinds and head home on Friday after spending a couple more hours at Carowinds. Normally I wouldn't spend the money for fast lane because I think the prices are outrageous but I figure I would be spending the same amount of money in either scenario because I'm either going to get the passes or a hotel room if I'm spending 2 days at both cedar fair parks. Now the second trip I'm looking to take sometime in August but I'm hoping the forums wisdom can provide me with the best week to do this. My plan for this trip is as follows: Saturday drive from Toledo to Allentown, PA and possibly preview Dorney Park. Sunday go to Dorney, stay until about 3 or 4 ( leave earlier if I was able to preview) and head to Six Flags New England and preview that. Monday go to Six Flags New England and Lake Compounce. Tuesday hit Coney Island/ Luna park, and the New Jersey boardwalk parks casino pier and and play lands castaway cove or whatever they're called and possibly preview great adventure. Wednesday spend the whole day at great adventure. Thursday hit knoebels and preview hersheypark. Friday spend the whole day at hersheypark. Saturday drive to six flags America and spend the whole day there. Sunday drive home. Looking forward to the responses!