Need some help with East Coast Trip!

[eyeamthu1]

Hi guys-- I'm a long-time reader, finally convinced to sign-up with the promise of a Sheikra video and a need for help with my upcoming trip!

 

Right, I'm travelling over from the UK in July to do the East Coast Parks. Here's the plan (in order):

SFGAdv (2 days), SFA, PKD, BGW, Hershey, Knoebels, Dorney, Lake Compounce and SFNE.

I might be able to get into a few parks in the evenings too, to get some extra ride time in (Hersheypark). We'll also be stopping off at New York City for 3-4 days, Washington for a day and probably Boston for a day.

 

I could do with a little advice:

First off, out of the parks I'm visiting, are there any general hints / tips you could give me? Particularly,

> Are there any coupons / discounts around at the moment (I'm planning on getting a Six Flags Season Pass, but are there any money-saving tips for the other parks)?

> Any tips for avoiding lines (i.e. FastLane? other options)?

> Are there any rides which I should do which are often over-looked?

> Do any of the coasters have a 'best row/seat'? (Sounds like a dumb question, but if anyone was visiting the UK, I'd strongly advise you to ride Nemesis in the front row!)

 

Something I'd quite like help with is park strategies; the best way to get round a park, avoiding lines. I've got 2 days at SFGAdv-- the likelihood is Kingda Ka won't be open so I need some help refining my park strategy... Any tips relating to 'park strategies' would be awesome!

 

I've considered hitting Clementon Lake Park, but since the park only opens at noon, I might find it difficult to incorporate it into our morning drive from SFGAdv to Washington. I'm not really a credit-whore (a la Robb / Elissa ) but if J2 (Tsunami) is really well worth a quick stop, and is on the way, I'd like to do it. Also does New York City have any coasters I should try to do? Is Coney Island Cyclone worth a ride?

 

I'm not a major fan of water parks, and only are into the bigger-style multi-person raft rides (from ProSlide!). I don't really want to pay for admission to a water park, but I've noticed a couple of the SF parks have free water park admission with entry... so what's the best water park to hit? SFNE's looks pretty decent.

 

In general, are there any non-coaster 'must-do' activities/attractions in NYC, Boston or Washington (other than the obvious sight-seeing)? Any often over-looked things I should visit? I may also be stopping off at Hartford; anything out of the ordinary to do there? And are there any other towns/cities/places which I should consider visiting which could fit into my trip?

 

Sorry for the question onslaught, but any info you could give me would be really, really appreciated! Thanks a lot! 8)

- Alex

[DenDen]

Might be a while before they answer you, they're on their European tour.

[eyeamthu1]

Sorry to bump this topic up, but I'm leaving on Tuesday and really need some help from anyone regarding the questions above! Thanks in advance!

[GAcoaster]

SFGAdv-- If it's crowded, get a Q-bot! Worth every penny!

 

Also SFGAdv is only about half an hour drive from the Jersey Shore (for the beach), Jenkinsons, Casino Pier, and Funtown Pier, if you want to rack up some credits.

 

Also, on your drive south through NJ, you'll be relatively close to Clementon Park with their new J2 woodie which is supposed to be great (I haven't had a chance to go yet, even though I live about 45 minutes away!)

[robbalvey]

OK, here are my thoughts:

 

SFGAdv (2 days) - Keep in mind that Kingda Ka probably won't be open. If you get a Qbot, you probably won't need two days at this park. So maybe you could hit up Clementon on day two? Or maybe Clementon and WildWood? But if you are going to do two days, I would reccomend getting a Qbot at least one day. That will help make your day much better unless for some reason you get there and there are no queues for anything.

 

SFA - I haven't been here in a few years so I don't know what kind of FastLane they use. Remember that Wild One is a "front seat" ride, meaning anywhere in the front car will probably do.

 

PKD - Go to Hypersonic RIGHT when the park opens, otherwise you might be waiting 2-3 hours for it.

 

BGW - They run this park pretty good. You shouldn't need to worry about too many hassles.

 

Hershey - Remember that Hershey does that deal that if you buy your ticket the night before for the next day, you get in the last three hours of that night for free. So if your schedule allows, try to get to Hershey early the night before your day there and you can get some nights rides in! ALthough, it's a long drive from BGW to Hershey so this might not be possible.

 

Knoebels - Depending on the crowds, sometimes this park is better to do on a ticket day rather than a wristband day. The reason? I've noticed that on wristband days they sometimes don't run two trains. On ticket days they almost always do! The more people they get through the turnstile, the more tickets they collect. It's almost better to pay a little more and get double the rides on Phoenix and Twister.

 

Dorney - If you like water parks, this one is great! If not, you may find yourself bored here after 3-4 hours.

 

Lake Compounce - Same as Dorney. It's not a full day park. Make sure you do the sky ride, it's nice.

 

SFNE - Get a Qbot and ride SROS a LOT!!!! Also, try the very back seat of Cyclone if you would like a very insane ride! (but you might get your spine adjusted too!)

 

I hope this is what you are looking for!

 

--Robb

[SharkTums]

As far as discounts...did you check the parks websites or call them? Usually they are very upfront about discounts currently being offered. In these parks cases it's usually one of 4 types of discount:

 

1. Online Ticket Deals

2. Coca-cola/Pepsi Cans with coupons on them

3. Local Grocery Stores

4. Local Fast Food places

 

Elissa "have fun!" Alvey

[eyeamthu1]

Thanks a lot for the help guys, really useful and much appreciated! Thanks!