Midwest trip advice

[GRIFFON1983]

So I am planning a big trip next season and i would like some feedback on my ideas....

 

I will be taking my friend jon with me and hopefully my girlfriend and we are going to go to 10 different parks in 7 days. We prob won't do the water parks so I am not worried about the water parks at some of the parks.

 

Day 1 Fly into CHI Town (Chicago)

Hit up Six FLags Great America

 

I have been to Great America a few times and to me its not really a all day park so hopefully we will get 8 hours in the park. You have good coasters but a lot of clones and decent flats but your average flat ride collection.

 

leave the park and drive to the Dells!

 

Day 2

Timber Falls and ride Avalanche a few times.

Head over to Mt. Olympus and spend the afternoon and night there!

 

I can't wait to ride cyclops and Hades

 

Leave the Dells and start driving to Minn

 

Day 3

NICK Universe

Arrive early and ride each coaster once and the Euro Fighter a few times

walk around the mall just to see it then head over to ValleyFair

 

Arrive at ValleyFair around 3pm and spend the rest of the day there.

I love Impusles and have been on 3 of them so I am very excited to ride Steel Venom and could ride it all day bc they are so much fun!

 

I can't wait to ride Renegade because it looks really fun, how does it compare to Thunderhead?

 

Leave ValleyFair and head towards Iowa.

 

Day 4

Adventure land In Iowa

Don't know to much about this park besides they have 3 main coasters and Outlaw is suppose to be good. any info about this park would be great.

 

Day 5

Worlds of Fun

I have only been able to drive past this park while they were building the Patriot. I have been to Dorney so I have been on Steel Force and Talon so I know what to expect from Patriot and Mambe but still look forward to seeing the park and riding the coasters.

 

Leave WOF around 2pm and make the 3 hour drive to Six Flags ST. Louis

 

Spend the Evening there. I have been to this park before and I think is one of the nicest Six Flags parks. I love the setting and how hilly the park is. I really can't wait to ride Mr. Freeze again and Evil Knievel. So spend about 5 hours here.

 

Leave and start driving to Santa Claus Ind!

 

Day 6

Prob the best day of the trip!

 

I have been to Holiday world probably ten times since 04' and can't get enough! Voyage is great and I love Raven and Legend is good too. Spend all day at the park.

 

Leave around 6pm and head to Louisville and go to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

I have been to this park many times and give me an hour and I will be happy in the park if the lines are short. I like the park a lot but whenever I go they never have any lines.

 

Day 7

Indiana Beach

I have never been to this park before but I can't wait to experience it! Spend a few hours her and then head back to Chicago to fly home to Mass....

 

Let me know what you think.....

Thanks for taking the time to read my ideas.

[Jon34MA]

I'm Jon. i am the more conservative one of this group. I think he is crazy! Please tell him that. But Seriously, we need as much help as we can get. As far as flights and a rental car we are all set. We do need cheap hotels, park cheats to avoid lines, and good non fast food options. Any small parks that could break up the drive around the states would be great too.

Thanks, Jon

[SharkTums]

If you want good specific help we need to know when you are planning on going.

 

For example on your 'Dells' Day, I would not go to Timber Falls first as that place is always dead and there can be an hour long line for Hades. But this all depends on what time of year and what time of week you're going.

[GRIFFON1983]

we will be going the last week of june. Sunday June 22nd through Sat june 28th

[spaceace12]

I might meet up with you at Indiana Beach, also, if you can squeze it in, I suggest Six Flags St. Louis.

[GRIFFON1983]

yea we will be doing six flags st. louis on day 5

[sixflagsguy5]

Day 1- Six Flags Great America

If you've already been to the park and only want to go for a little bit, then you'll be fine. Sundays aren't the best day to go, but they're also not the worst. If it's a nice day you'll probably have to wait 30- 40 minutes at the most for Raging Bull.

 

Day 2- Timber Falls and Mt. Olympus

As said above, you might want to reverse the order that you hit up the parks. This is also a good idea, because you won't have to rush out of Timber Falls and you'll be able to have more fun. Personally I think that Timber Falls is much more fun at night.

 

*Note: If you are a credit-ho and want to ride three small coasters, Riverview Park/ Waterpark is inbetween Timber Falls and Mt. Olympus.

 

Day 3- NICK Universe and Valleyfair!

Your plan sounds fine. When I went with my friends this year we were able to drive to Valleyfair from chicago, hit up MOA and valleyfair all in one day. You should be fine time-wise.

 

Renegade is a really good coaster. It has a good mixture of twists and drops that doesn't let you get bored. The back row has better airtime IMO. I haven't been on Thunderhead yet, so I can't give you a comparison.

 

Day 4- Adventureland

Adventureland won't take you that long to do. Usually at an amusement park I'll just ride the coasters and any major flat rides and then go back for a second round of coasters. At Adventureland we rode everything that was worth riding in about three hours. I really liked this park even though the coasters didn't have huge amounts of airtime and weren't 200 feet tall.

 

Outlaw- Fun coaster with mainly turns. It's only about 70 feet tall, but it's still a lot of fun. It barely has any airtime.

 

Tornado- This coaster is an old out and back woodie. I'm pretty sure that it was a little bit rough.

 

Dragon- Fun ride. The loops are pretty intense and there's a little pop of air going into the turn. I didn't try riding in the back row, but there might be some airtime on the first drop in the back row.

 

Underground- This is a very weird coaster. It's an indoor wooden family coaster. It basically just does a bunch of slow turns with some home-made theming. It's a nice ride for families.

 

Most of the coasters are operated by old guys who are pretty friendly.

 

*Note: Arnolds park is inbetween Valleyfair and Adventureland if you're looking for extra parks.

 

Day 5- Worlds of Fun and SFSTL

Worlds of Fun is a great park. I've read some bad reviews about it, but I still liked it a lot. It was extremely dead when I was there. Mamba is very good in the front row. Patriot is also a great ride even though it's a little short.

 

I think that you'll be able to fit both parks in one day.

 

You'll be fine with HW and Indiana Beach. I hope your trip works out for you.

[GRIFFON1983]

thanks for the great advice. if you think of anything else please let me know.....

[Carnage]

Day 3

NICK Universe

Arrive early and ride each coaster once and the Euro Fighter a few times

walk around the mall just to see it then head over to ValleyFair

 

Arrive at ValleyFair around 3pm and spend the rest of the day there.

I love Impusles and have been on 3 of them so I am very excited to ride Steel Venom and could ride it all day bc they are so much fun!

 

Maybe think about flipping those around. Getting to Valleyfair early would probably be better. Back in August we managed to get everything done in 2 hours before the crowds came in. Nick universe however, I don't think you'd really need to get there early.

 

Also maybe consider trading Iowa and WoF for Silver Dollar City/Celebration City? (or just adding in SDC and CC). SDC is an awesome park, and should really be experienced.

[GRIFFON1983]

yea thats a good idea about going to ValleyFair first... Thanks.

As for SDC And CC they cost a lot of money to get in and we have Cedar Fair season passes so WOF would be free. And Advenureland is right off the highway for the most part so that will be pretty cost effective.

[SharkTums]

Um, Arnolds park is NOT in between Valleyfair and Adventureland. It is SUPER FAR OUT OF THE WAY!!!!

[OldJJman]

Um, Arnolds park is NOT in between Valleyfair and Adventureland. It is SUPER FAR OUT OF THE WAY!!!!

 

^I would wholeheartedly agree with that!!

 

The roads are almost all single lanes and tons of poor traffic patterns.

 

Cutting Arnold's would be a good idea.

 

Also, on the way to the Dells, you could hit Little A-Merrick-A. It's (IIRC) about 30-40 minutes out of the way, and can be done quite quickly.

[Jon34MA]

Um, Arnolds park is NOT in between Valleyfair and Adventureland. It is SUPER FAR OUT OF THE WAY!!!!

 

^I would wholeheartedly agree with that!!

 

The roads are almost all single lanes and tons of poor traffic patterns.

 

Cutting Arnold's would be a good idea.

 

Also, on the way to the Dells, you could hit Little A-Merrick-A. It's (IIRC) about 30-40 minutes out of the way, and can be done quite quickly.

 

I think Little A-Merrick is a good idea for a small filler park. I have lived on the East coast so I'm not that familiar with anything west of Cedar Point. I was talking to Brandon and we may add Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom either before or after Holiday World while we are in the area. Thanks for all of the great advice. Brandon and myself really need the help. (If you think we are crazy for doing let Brandon know, this is all his idea)

[Reon]

See if you can end it in Cincinnati. You can pop by Kings Island, and if you have time, make sure to see me at Coney Island. Its a nice small classic park with a credit.

[ginzo]

Day 7

Indiana Beach

I have never been to this park before but I can't wait to experience it! Spend a few hours her and then head back to Chicago to fly home to Mass....

 

Try to spend at least one whole ride session there. IB is full of hidden treasures that are so easy to overlook. On my first trip there I just did the coasters and little else. This was a mistake as nearly everything at IB is really good. The Double Shot, swings, Falling Star, Air Crow, etc. Those rides may look like crappy carnie rides, but IB runs everything in super insane mode.

[GRIFFON1983]

With this trip I know it is going to be expensive but to me well worth it... The Plane ticket and rental car are going to cost the most. Any tips on rental cars and plane tickets?

 

I would do Kings Island but since I have worked there for 2 seasons I don't mind missing it. I would rather go to the parks that I have not been to.

 

I am guessing that the whole trip wil cost about 1,000 dallors for each of us. That would include everything We have CF and SF passes so we will get in free to those parks.

[rbpia]

If you want info on Adventureland check this thread:

 

www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35949&highlight=adventureland

 

Ron "One of these days Robb will post the videos from Adventureland "Patton

[TC Ridesalot]

It is about a 4 hour drive from WOF to SFSTL. You will need 1 and 1/2 days to expirence both parks plus the drive. Then Mamba is great you will really enjoy it. Don't miss Cyclone Sam's ride at WOF, it is a great flat with good themeing. Be aware of the timberwolf, this coaster could end your trip early!

In my opinion your leaving out the best park on your whole trip SDC. If you have been to Holiday World a couple of times skip that and SFKK and add SDC and CC you won't be upset. Now before everybody starts bashing me for skiping Holiday World understand he said he didn't like water parks and has been to HW before. This is just my opinion, I would rather go to a great park that I haven't been to before than to go to a great park a second time.

As for food in Kansas City eat BBQ! Gates is my favorite, but there's Aurther Bryants, KC Materpiece, and this little cheap joint on Parvin road across from the Quick Trip when entering WOF that is ok. Also the 5 or so casinos surronding WOF have good choices!

Hotels, well there all bad around WOF, stay in Liberty Missouri which is like 5 miles from WOF and you will be happy!

[GRIFFON1983]

Yea i waas planning on staying in liberty. As for Holiday World. I want to ride the Voyage agian and I have only been on it a few times in 06'. My friend does not like water parks. I do, I love splashing safari! So thats why we are going to HW instead of SDC and CC. I have been to HW and SFKK a bunch of times but Jon has never been before.

[Jon34MA]

Yeah, i don't really like water parks being so close to everyone like cattle on a train car. And even though the parks claim they are clean, I don't think they are most of the time. I would like to put off SDC until later. I heard from some people that they are suppose to be getting something new for 09.(I don't know what, i take a lot of rumors and just ponder if they are true). Some of Brandon's ideas for future trips is part of the Midwest for 08, Florida and East Coast for 09. I know that if we keep to our time frames we will have about half of the US Parks visited by 2010. I personally am including a small trip myself in 2009 to California and Texas. I don't think i will plan that one out for a while. Thanks for all of your help so far.

[Carnage]

As for SDC And CC they cost a lot of money to get in and we have Cedar Fair season passes so WOF would be free.

 

Well personally I thought SDC and CC were good enough to be worth the money. Well SDC at least. CC I wasn't as impressed with, though Ozark Wildcat was awesome.

 

But it's your trip, and I'm sure you'll have a blast whatever your lineup ends up being.

[SharkTums]

WoF should be free. Spend the money and go to SDC and CC.

[GRIFFON1983]

Yea I would love to experience the parks but I am just thinking about making this cheap as cheap as I can and still hit up a lot of good parks.

 

Is there anywhere we can get discount tickets to any of the parks? Also how much does it cost to get in to Mt. Olympus?

[Jon34MA]

WoF should be free. Spend the money and go to SDC and CC.

Unfortunately Brandon forgot something important about our trip. We are not obtaining season passes for Cedar Fair as the price to enter the two parks on our trip will cost less. Later this week I plan on posting a picture of my map with the route drawn out on it so everyone can see what "other" parks we are closer to.

Thanks

 

Jon

[GRIFFON1983]

Does anyone know how much Nick Universe will cost when it opens? Is it pay one price or individual ride tickets?