Photo TR: Chicago, MIA, DP, GL, and CP

[steel]

Alright, I know I got you excited, but there probably won't be any coaster pics until later today or tomorrow.

 

Part One: Chicago

We arrived in Chicago on July 12 at about 3:00 - just enough time to check out Millennium Park and get dinner at 312 before heading to the non-coaster highlight of the trip - the hit musical "Wicked."

 

Wicked was incredible. There is no way to describe it and completely do it justice. Our Elphaba was not quite what Idina Menzel was, but that didn't take much away from the wonderful performances and the heartfelt story of the witches of Oz. Definately a 10/10 play.

 

The next day, we walked through the King Tut exibit at the Field Museum, which was fascinating, and took a water taxi over to Navy Pier, where we met some family friends to have lunch and do some rides at Navy Pier park. We ended up riding the ferris wheel (once) and the wave swinger (twice). We went back to Millennium Park for a while, then said farewell to our friends and walked to the Chase building for the other non-coaster highlight of the trip - a taping of NPR's "Wait, Wait,... Don't Tell Me!"

 

WWDTM (The Oddly Informative News Quiz, or NPR Without the Dignity), if you do not know is a news quiz hosted by Peter Sagel and starring Carl Kassel and a panel of three comedians (in this case, Roy Blundt, Jr., Paula Poundstone (woot!), and Richard Roeper (that's right, from Ebert and Roeper)), along with another well-known figure (in this case Jeannean Garafalo (sp)). It was a riot. Paula Poundstone is a comedic genius. I would go back and see it again in a second.

 

We then drove back to our hotel, visions of sugar plums, Michigan's Adventure, and several dancing monkeys in pink suits looming in our minds.

Wait, Wait,... Don't Tell Me was awesome.

*snort* McDonalds...

Pretty...

Very true.

Wicked!

[bgwfreak]

I didn't even know Navy Pier existed. Looks great along the water there.

 

I'll have to visit it whenever I finally get to Chi town.

[RRollergod]

Heck I live over here! Navy pier is very nice, but everyone I know will not go on that ferris wheel. From what I heard they dumped trash in the footers resulting in that thing not being very stable.

[steel]

On to the coasters!

 

We arrived in Muskegon at about 1:00 pm and drove out to Nowhere, Michigan to do some coastering.

 

We got into the park, after getting tickets through our sister park passes, and made a beeline for Zach's Zoomer (I already had the credit, but I had to ride again for old times' sake. Strangely enough, it feels a lot tamer than it did when I was six. I'd give it a 73%, C-.

 

I then braved Corkscrew. Have to get the credit, doesn't matter how. This was probably the second slowest moving line I have ever encountered (first being Wild & Wooly Toboggan at Little A-Merrick-A during ERT). I was standing in the station for about fifteen minutes. And it was a crap ride. I should probably mention this now - every park we visited had at least one coaster that looks really cool, but is quite the opposite. This is MIA's example. 25%, F.

 

Next, we walked to Wolverine Wildcat, which was way better than I expected. It's not packed with air, like Shivering Timbers, or particularly fast, but it's great fun. 88%, B+.

 

And the moment we've all been waiting for... Shivering Timbers! Great ride. Not nearly as rough as I've been told, but definately not what I'm sure it once was. This thing is PACKED with floater air. I rode it two times before we headed to Mad Mouse. 96%, A.

 

Mad Mouse sucked. 56%, F.

 

Next up was Big Dipper, the kiddie coaster. Surprisingly good for a kiddie. Much better than crap like Mild Thing or Wacky Worm. 69%, D+.

 

After the crediting was done, I did Shivering Timbers two more times. The first time was awesome. The second time, two things happened before I boarded. First, someone threw up in right side of the seventh row of the blue train, so loading stopped for a minute before they started running the green train again. Second, I realized that the screen of my dad's cell phone had cracked during the helix of the previous ride. Needless to say, I was a little worried about getting off as I boarded. I knew he'd understand, but it meant we'd probably have to get him a new cell the next day.

 

We then left. Overall, the park was nice, but there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING to do there aside from Wolverine Wildcat, Shivering Timbers, and (I imagine) RipCord. 73%, C-.

 

The next day, we did end up going to the Verizon store, where both my parents got new cells, and they decided to get me one (woot!).

Shivering Timbers has six big hills (including the lift hill) before its turnaround. Every one of them has good airtime.

At last, a quality coaster.

Kind of an arts shot. You can see the combination double-up/double-down on Wolverine Wildcat in the background.

The clone of Valleyfair!'s Mad Mouse (VF!'s is actually better).

Corkscrew looks way better than it did eight years ago, but it's still crap to ride.

[kennywood!007]

Awesome PTR! Can't wait to see more.

[steel]

So we did MIA on the 14th.

On the 15th, we went to a wedding (my dad lived in Muskegon for a year).

On the 16th, my mom took a train home and my dad and I took the ten hour drive to Gettysburg, PA, where we have family.

On the 17th, we did absolutely nothing.

And on the 18th, we went to Dorney Park.

 

This would a huge visit for me because I'd be getting my 100th coaster. I had it all planned out. 96 - Hydra, 97 - Laser, 98 - Thunderhawk, 99 - Steel Force, 100 - Talon, 101 - Wild Mouse, 102 - Woodstock's Express.

And it was the perfect day for it. It was 100 degrees or more the whole time we were there, and the park was empty.

 

So we entered the park and heraded to Hydra: The Revenge, my first floorless coaster. The Jojo roll is amazing. I would ride it again just for that. I actually really enjoyed this coaster. It isn't great, and yes, it's pretty forceless, aside from the split second of airtime you get near the back. We rode in the middle the first time. 69%, D+.

 

Next, we rode Meteor, which was great fun, but not as good as those good, old-fashioned Kamikazes. 77%, C+.

 

On our way to Laser, we rode The Whip. This was by far the best non-Steel Force ride in the park. I could ride it all day. 95% A.

 

My twin cousins then headed to Wildwater Kingdom, while my aunt, uncle, dad, and I walked down to Laser, which was very painful and not much fun. But I'm glad I got to riding now that there is talk of it being removed. 61%, D-.

 

Thunderhawk was next. We were in row two (we wanted to wait for the front, but we were two trains behind, and Special Access came along, so we gave up). I loved this ride. The airtime you get every time you hit anti-rollbacks is simply divine. 89%, B+.

 

Steel Force proved to be the best coaster in the park. Lots of airtime everywhere. The tunnels were over-rated, but the rest was a tad better than Mamba. And to those who insist that Steel Force and Mamba are clones, you are wrong, wrong, wrong. Mamba has a turn after its second drop, you then ascend the third hill, where there's a straightaway before a curving drop into a helix with some of the best head-choppers in the coaster world. There's a strange pop of air before you hit the brake run, and there is one more bunny hop. The final turn is also much wider and is a bigger drop. On Steel Force, there are no turns, save the one out of the station, until the third hill, which does not drop down very far. There is a straightaway, and the helix begins without a large drop. This helix does not have noteable headchoppers and has a tighter radius. There is no air on the way to the brake run. Also, Mamba is a tad taller, at 205 feet, where Steel Force is only 200 feet. Steel Force is a bit more fun, however, and the terrein is miles and miles better than Mamba's. 95%, A.

After this, my aunt and uncle gave up and went to Wildwater Kingdom to join their daughters.

 

On our way back to Talon, we hit Thunderhawk in the back, which wasn't quite as good, and Hydra in the front, which was awfully rough and completely forceless. The floorlessness does nothing for me.

 

And then it was time. Talon loomed on top of the hill. There was no line, so we headed straght for the back (my favorite spot on Patriot).

The verdict: Worst coaster in the park and one of the worst coasters I've ever had the displeasure to experience.

The only fun park on this coaster is the first half of the first drop, which pales in comparison to Patriots. The rest is a whirl brain-crushing positive forces. For the first time ever, I nearly blacked out on a coaster. Talon is extremely rough, where Patriot is smooth as silk. Talon pummels you through its elements too fast for comfort, where Patriot's pacing is perfect. Talon has no airtime, where Patriot has a substantial amount. Talon's positives are over-the-top, where Patriot's are just enough to keep comfortable. In short, Talon is far from B&M's best piece of work. This was Dorney Park's version of "this ride is not as cool as it looks." 38%, F.

 

After that ordeal, I decided to try out Screamin' Swing before getting on Skyhawk (hey, it's only $5, why not?). I was not disappointed and became very excited for Skyhawk, and especially for ERT on Xtreme Swing at PresCon (!!!!). BTW, Screamin' Swing does have those carribbeaners. 95%, A.

 

Headed to Wild Mouse. Booooooooooooooooooring. Also, we waited in the station for way too long, watching people who were in line behind us board the ride. 60%, D-.

 

Then I decided to ride Talon again, to see if it was any better in the front. I was sadly mitaken. And we saw our second occurrence of the ineficiency of Dorney Park staff. So we get in line for the front, and there are five people in front of us - two groups of two and a single rider in between. The first group of two and the single rider walk through the gates, as normal. The group of two sits down and the single rider goes to put his loose artcles away. Seizing their chance, the second group of two boards the train. The single rider comes back and tells the ride ops what had happened. I became appauled as I watched the second group of two pull down their harnesses and ride. The worst part: the harnesses weren't even locked yet, and the ops did nothing about it. The single rider rode with us in the next train. Then, of course, while my dad was doing loose articles, the group of two that was behind us tries to board. I told them what was goin on, and, being park guests, they wouldn't have it. Thankfully, they did not ride. So, DP staff: 65%, D.

 

Then, we credited Woodstock's Express, which was great fun. Very forceful for a kiddie coaster, but I made the mistake of putting the bar between my legs. Ouch. 71%, C-.

 

We did Steel Force again after that, this time in row two, which wasn't quite as good, and finished off the day with one last ride on Hydra, in the back row, which was the best ride I got on a B&M all day. Even better, when we got in the station, they had to close the ride because they saw lightning. Sure enough, A huge storm began and pretty much everything closed. We left the park with everyone else.

 

Overall, I absolutely LOVED Dorney Park. It is by far, the prettiest and best landscaped park in the CF chain, and, though none of the coasters really stand out, not including Steel Force, I woud place it number two on my list of CF parks I've visited (Cedar Point, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun, Geauga Lake, Michigan's Adventure) and number three on my list of parks overall. 99%, A.

 

 

EDIT: I forgot, we went on Dominator somewhere in there. I did green (Turbo Drop, basically). This was probably my first downward launch on an S&S since the second year Valleyfair!'s Power Tower opened, and it was well worth it. Great view of Hydra from up there. 92%, A-.

Jojo roll, woot.

I bet you have never seen anything like this before.

This thing is called a sign. In the words of Robb Alvey "in case you forgot what park you're at."

Believe it or not, I took this picture at about 5:30 pm. In other words, it got dark really, really fast.

This officially makes Dorney Park worth it.

If they took out Steel Force, Thunderhawk would be the best ride in the park.

Talon looks way too cool for its own good.

[307]

Our Dorney Park experiences were much different

 

I found Talon to be quite an enjoyable ride, and the only coaster at the park which I would've had fun making a second visit to the place for. I thought Steel Force was a heavily braked snoozer, especially on the way back to the station, and that Hydra was neat but didn't particularly hold any sort of awesomeness in riding. The rest of the park we found to be utterly forgettable.

 

Odd how opinions can be so different

[steel]

^It's in your signature, lol.

Steel Force's brakes were hardly on. Lotsa airtime.

Thanks to everyone for commenting.

[steel]

So we got up at about 7:00 to drive to Sandusky and do some coasters there before bed. Four hours later, we saw the sign for Geagua Lake, which we were planning to do the next day, and thought "Hey, what the heck? It saves us a couple hours of driving time and we get more time at Cedar Point. Why not?" So we exited the tollway and found ourselves at Geagua Lake.

 

Now I won't lie. Geagua Lake is not the best park out there. It doesn't have any really great coasters. But it sure does look good. And you have to admit, that whole thing with Head Spin's lift hills going over Steel Venom's station looks pretty darn cool.

 

There weren't many people there (of course it was a Wednesday, so that contributed to it a good bunch (and, of course, no one is ever at Geagua Lake)).

 

Anyway, we got into the park and headed for X-Flight, as neither of us had ever ridden a non-SFGAm-S:UF flyer. This was the longest wait of the day, at about ten minutes, with one train operation. The ride itself is fun, but I'd rather ride a B&M flyer. 81%, B-.

 

Next, we did Super Venom. Wait, I mean Steel Man. Wait- ah whatever, you know what I mean. It's an impulse so it automatically has my respect. Literally there was one person waiting for the front row when we got into the station. That was it. And maybe four people were actually on the train. We rode in the back row, which is always fun, but I prefer the front on these babies. We rerode in the front row immediately afterword. 93%, A-.

 

My dad passed up Head Spin (wisely), but I chose to endure it for credit's sake, and credit's sake alone. The kid behind me kept yelling "Whoever invented this thing is a GENIUS!!!!" Somehow, I don't think he meant it. At least I hope not... 50%, F.

 

Big Dipper was next. Sat in row two. Not the best coaster I've ever been on, but it's a classic and it looks really good. 79%, C+.

 

We then walked to Thunderhawk, our first SLC, and the first "better to look at than ride" coaster of the day. I would hate it more but it just looks too darn good! The whole plaza/queue area is simply beautiful! But the ride itself folded my ear over several times and then beat the poor, folded, thing with all its might. The best part was the lift hill. 45%, F.

 

We then did Dominator. My dad didn't like it much, but I enjoyed it. That vertical loop is amazing. I particularly enjoyed the airtime off the MCBR and the intense finale (three highly banked turns close to the ground). Did that one two times in a row. 90%, A-.

 

After that, we rode Raging Wolf Bobs in the front row. Great coaster. Much smoother than I was expecting, thank goodness. Very remeniscant of the original "Bobs" coasters. 88%, B+.

 

Then we walked back to Beaver Land Mine Ride (I can't help but snicker when I hear that name), which was eerily fun. I was in one of the six million back rows. This was my dad's favorite coaster at Geagua. 78%, C+.

 

We did Double Loop next. It was MUCH better than I had expected. The only part I didn't like was the lung crushing positive force between loops. I love getting airtime on loopers like that (e.g., CP Corkscrew's second hill, LNM's first drop, Double Loop's first drop). 75%, C.

 

Then it was time for Villian. Let's see, how might I describe Villian? Pointless, meaningless, slow. Hmm... what else? Oh yeah, ROUGH?! I'm pretty sure I cracked a rib or two on this ride. The second case of "GLS," or "Good Looks Syndrome." All in favor of torching the thing, say "Aye." Aye. 25%, F.

 

I had to do Dominator a couple more times to keep my brain intact.

 

After we had all the credits (I had 112 coasters at this point), we walked around the back of the park (past RWB) to Wildwater Kingdom and the other side of the park. We rode Boardwalk Typhoon, which was AWESOME. Fastest scrambler I've ever been on (much better than the 6-hour-long lunk at Worlds of Fun). 85%, B.

 

We watched Liquid Lightning for a while before walking the bridge.

On the other side, we rode Sky Scraper (which was, of course stifling) and El Dorado (which was completely meaningless and even a little painful).

 

Once more on Big Dipper and X-Flight and two more rounds on Steel Venom and we felt no need to stay any longer. We left the park (after getting ice cream at Ben & Jerry's, of course) and drove to Camp Sandusky (about 20 min. away from Cedar Point - great value, we stayed here the previous time we were in Sandusky) to get some rest.

 

Overall, Geagua Lake is a nice park, but its Six Flagsiness is still present. I'd put it right in front of MIA and right after Valleyfair! and Worlds of Fun on my list of CF parks. 80%, B-.

 

PS - the picture thingy decided to loathe me again, so the rest of the pictures will be up later.

I like this picture. It reminds me of Robb... Erm... I mean... uh... LOOK! IT'S A CREDIT!

Dominator has a reeeeeaaaaally big loop.

My camera suffers from severe brain damage. It's very slow, has weak motor skills, and cannot read.

Another four-letter word just popped into my mind.

There are several words I could use to describe this ride, most of them four letters long.

The infamous park enterance shot.

This picture turned out way better than it should have.

[dwerling]

Villian is tolerable and I thought actually great in the front seat.(Not sure where you sat?)

I actually liked X-Flight better than Superman UF. Pacing is better.

I do for sure agree with you that it is a pretty nice little park.

[steel]

I was in row two, which should not be much worse than row three or five.

[dwerling]

I also rode in row two the second time and let me tell you...Jackhammer City.

Front Seat is the only way to enjoy Villian.

[steel]

Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow.

BTW, this will probably end up morphing into one or two Adventureland TR's and a PresCon TR.

[steel]

Wow, I am really sorry, guys. These photos are not cooperating. If anyone knows of a simple way to resize images that are over 1000 pixels tall and wide, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

I have IrfanView, but it doesn't actually resize the images.