"Road to 300" trip in July 2005

[BarryH]

OK, I decided to hit the road once again this July so I can hit 300 coasters. I plan to make Kingda Ka my 300th coaster. Hopefully, it won't break down and stay open when I visit!

 

I'm at 272 coasters now. If I can ride 2 more at Cypress Gardens (Swamp Thing and Galaxy Spin, if open next month), I can reach 274.

 

Thurs., July 14: Make the 15-16 hour drive from Florida to Richmond, VA

Fri., July 15: PKD (12 credits)

Sat., July 16: Williams Grove or Clementon Amusement Park (1 or 2 credits)/After 5 pm admission to Dorney Park (2 credits: Hydra and Woodstock Express)

Sun., July 17: Rye Playland (3 credits: Flying Coaster, Dragon, and the wild mouse) or Lake Compounce (4 credits)

Mon., July 18: SFNE (8 credits)

Tues., July 19: SFGAdv (Kingda Ka)

Wed., July 20: SFGAdv (2nd shot at Kingda Ka if necessary), after 5 pm admission to Clementon (J2 as my 300th as an alternative if necessary)

Thurs., July 21: BGW

Fri., July 22: Drive all the way home

 

My friend said I was nuts to do all this driving. The difficult drive will be to and from Florida. The rest of the parks are around 2-3 hours within each other. The 4 drive from SFNE to SFGAdv might be difficult.

 

I think I'll go over 300 at SFNE, but I just want some leeway in case something breaks down. If I have to, I can always sit out the boomerang or the SLC there. Not another boomerang or SLC for credit!

 

So am I nuts or is this doable? The only concern I have is Dorney Park. I went there on Saturday and the park was insanely busy by noon. I hope most people will leave by 5 pm. All I really want to ride is Hydra at Dorney.

[CoasterFanatic]

I have never finished this, but find that it can be of help when planning a trip like this.

 

http://www.coasterfanatics.com/sec_map/

 

Also, I don't where you have been in that area, but there are a couple other parks around there

 

Sesame Place (close to Clementon - 1 Credit)

DelGrossos and Lakemont (Very close to each other and a handful of credits between them)

 

Whatever you do, try to make it to J2. You don't hear much about it, because not many people make it there, but it is insane.

[Token Yankee Guy]

Mon., July 18: SFNE (8 credits)

 

Hey, I might be able to meet up with ya on July 18th for SFNE. If you want to, I'm only 20 minutes from the park.

[Meteornotes]

Is Clementon actually going to open this year? I've heard different stories.

 

Have you been to Hersheypark? If not, there's a ton of credits there. Also, if you're going to Dorney, you might want to think about going to Knoebel's. There are three credits there, and besides, Knoebel's is the greatest park EVER! Lakemont and DelGrosso's are probably too far out of the way for the route you're taking.

 

Have fun! I'll be getting my #300 this summer as well. I'm trying to find something really bad for that milestone...

 

dt

[CoasterFanatic]

Is Clementon actually going to open this year? I've heard different stories

 

I was kind of thinking the same thing since they never updated the site. Everyone was just assuming that they would open Memorial Day weekend, but there was never any proof .... till now.

 

http://www.clementonpark.com has been updated and it lists the opening day as May 27th (Today)

 

Could you imagine how much people would have immortalized "Tsunami" if it had never opened again. It would have been forever cast as the "Great Coaster that had ever Existed". Now it is back to a "good" coaster that will tear itself apart by the end of this season.

[BarryH]

Thanks for the tips! Actually, I've been to pretty much all the PA parks. Here's a list of the ones I've visited:

 

Hersheypark

Knoebel's

Waldameer

Lakemont Park (didn't get the Toboggan or kiddie coaster credit, though)

DelGrosso's

Conneaut Lake

Kennywood

Sesame Place

 

I haven't been to Idlewild or Williams Grove.

 

J2 will probably be my alternate #300 if Kingda Ka does not function. I'll probably do an after 5 pm admission to Clementon. I think I can conquer it in a few hours. I really want to ride J2 and meet the Swingman!

[Mind Eraser]

Ted wrote:

Could you imagine how much people would have immortalized "Tsunami" if it had never opened again. It would have been forever cast as the "Great Coaster that had ever Existed". Now it is back to a "good" coaster that will tear itself apart by the end of this season.

Except that Tsunami really did deserve some kind of recognition. It wasn't the "Greatest Coaster that had ever Existed", but it was a helluva lot better than just "good", in my opinion. Personally, I haven't ridden a crazier woodie. At one point, I thought we were gonna derail. I honestly didn't understand how the train was successfully staying on the track. It's just really wild.

 

I likey

 

 

-kip-