Matt has a bLast weekend of 09!

[Speeddeamon128]

^Tomorrow is the last day of the season & it is closed to the public for a private event. I no longer work at Clementon I resigned last Saturday.

[YoshiFan]

I hope they can get Superman up and running again this season. With it being so popular, I'm sure other lines will be a little longer if it remains closed. I'm glad I at least got to ride it once last Sunday for the first time in 3 months.

[Speeddeamon128]

I'm sure other lines will be a little longer if it remains closed.

 

That is exactly the reason why I'm not going back! Well Fright Fest as well since that event always draws big crowds.

[YoshiFan]

If you are able to go, Friday nights are great. I went twice last year on Friday nights for Frightfest and had very minimal waits. Nothing longer than 10 - 15 minutes, except Kingda Ka (I got to that at opening for a 5 minute wait).

 

Closing day last year (Sunday) had very light crowds as well.

 

I will not go to Great Adventure on a Saturday or Sunday in October. I instead go to Dorney on Sunday's, there are lines for the Haunt attractions but the rides have little or no lines (and during the day wen the Haunt stuff isn't open, ride lines are also usually short as well).

[Speeddeamon128]

Here is my October schedule & for the most part it is definite:

October 3rd: Universal Studios & IOA for HHN

October 4th: Sea World Orlando

October 10th: Dorney Park (Or Kings Island not sure yet)

October 16th & 17th: Kings Island (Or Dorney not sure yet)

October 31: Knoebels

November 1st: Hershey Park

Just throwing my last trip of the year December 19: Christmas Town at BGE.

 

Eveything but KI & Dorney are definite because I'm still working out when I'm going to KI with my Dad. Also the Christmas Town trip is still TBA.

[Speeddeamon128]

Trip 20: Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, & Sea World Orlando October 3-4, 2009

 

Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure/Arrival:

 

This was a short weekend trip to Orlando with my Dad & my friend Brian & this was a chance for me to experience HHN for the first time which I have been looking forward to for a long time. I was lucky to get to Orlando this weekend. My Dad got our flight times mixed up & we missed our flight! Luckily we boarded the next flight to Orlando & arrived around midnight. Saturday was a full day at the Universal Parks & HHN. There was NO LINES for basically everything except Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit & I rode it this past weekend 2x & found it enjoyable. I enjoyed the airtime on the first drop and the onride audio. I selected Limp Bizkit for the first ride and the Crystal Method for the second. I liked blacking out on the double take loop while sitting in the back seat. A part from that it was just a fun layout, not to thrilling, not to tame. It is not a top 10 coaster in my opinion but it is something new and fun. The rest of the day was great. The Hulk had a 5 minute wait along with every other ride. On Spiderman we broke down on the ride! It was right after the Statue of Liberty scene when you started to climb up the buildings. The movie screen just shut off. A part from that Dudley Do-Right was closed all day & Jurassic park was closed for half a day but we rode everything. Harry Potter looks great.

 

HHN:

 

So this was my first HHN experience. I did enjoy it. Well I had the Express Pass so everything was a walk on. We made a loop of the attractions from left to right: Wolfman, Dracula, Frankenstein, Leave it to Cleaver, Saw, The Spawning, Chucky, & Silver Screaning. As for the houses I thought they were really well themed. I did not like the loading procedures for the houses. It would be better if 5 or 6 people entered a house at one time instead of 15 or 20. I was able to tell when someone was being scared because the groups were so close. The only houses that scared me were Chucky & Leave it to Cleaver. They didn't actually scare me they just freaked me out. I enjoyed the scenery and watching other people get scared. We also did all of the out door attractions like the War of the Living Dead. They were fun. We rode the Mummy, the Simpsons, & Men In Black. We didn't feel like going to the shows because we only got 3 hours of sleep the night before & we were exhausted. It was a great experience & I'm looking forward to HHN 20.

 

Sea World Orlando/Last Day at Universal:

 

With an 8 pm flight back to Philly we only had a half day at the parks today. We hit Sea World first. We got to the park around 11 am. It was more crowded here than at Universal. Journey was a walk on. I don't remember Kraken ever taking a long time to load but it was bad. The audio did not make sense either. Does "Your attention please. Kraken will be adding another coaster so your wait time will go faster," make any sense? I found it comical. I still think Kraken is the best floorless coaster I've ever been on! Manta was next! As we were in flying position & ready to be dispatched "Your attention please! Manta is experiencing a slight delay!" NO I was so close to riding my favorite Orlando coaster. Luckily it was only a ten minute delay & Manta is still my favorite coaster in Orlando! After Manta I became filthy & rode Shamu's Express because I needed the credit. By 2:30 we were back at IOA! We rode the Hulk 2x back to back. Spiderman did not brake on us this time! Dudley was working today & we got soaked on it! Jurassic park was up & running. We rode both Dueling Dragons one more time & headed over to Studios. We completely forgot about HHN (It was 4:30 when we headed over) so we only had 10 minutes! We rushed to Rockit & that closed our fun weekend trip. On to the pics & check out my video:

Goodbye Universal! See you in January for my first park in 2010!

The last ride of the trip.

Dudley was opened & it was WET!

Around 2:30 we headed back to Universal. We rode Incredible Hulk 2x in a row including once in the front!

Yes I rode Shamu's Express. Credit #292! 8 to go for 300!

OMG penguin's!

My favorite coaster in Florida!

One of my favorites!

Time for Kraken!

Journey to Atlantis was fun.

I didn't take much pics of HHN. The next morning we hit Sea World!

Saw was ok. I never saw a Saw movie so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The attractions.

Some decorations during the day.

But first dinner at NASCAR.

HHN 2009!

Time for HHN!

Firs time seeing Poseidon's Fury in a while.

Dueling Dragons was the same as usual.

My favorite ride at IOA has opened!

The Jurassic Park River Adventure was closed so I took some Potter pics.

We broke Spiderman!

Hulk was a walk on!

Time for IOA!

First time seeing T2 since 2005! It rocked.

I prefered Earthquake

Hello Rockit!

Mummy was awesome as always.

I really enjoyed it! It was credit # 291!

Time to finally ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit!

Yay I'm back at Universal Orlando!

Our rental was a 300!

On no our flight was at 3:57 & it is 6 now! Good thing we were able to get on the next flight to Orlando.

[Speeddeamon128]

Thanks for reading! Here is the trip conclusion & video!

 

Trip Conclusion:

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit=2x

Revenge of the Mummy=3x

Incredible Hulk=3x

Dueling Dragons (ice)=2x

Dueling Dragons (fire)=2x

Journey to Atlantis=1x

Kraken=1x

Manta=1x

Shamu’s Express=1x

 

Total Coaster Runs=16/Runs for the Season=526

 

Video:

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=hhnioaseaworld09_NEW_ceov[/coastertube]

[Speeddeamon128]

Trip 21: Dorney Park October 10, 2009

 

Today the awesome month of October continues! I headed to Dorney for the last time until next August because of the move! This was my 4th time to Dorney this year! It was a Saturday so I wasn't sure what to expect. I went with my friend Brian who went with me to HHN last weekend. we arrived at the park around 1:45 pm & to our surprise there was light crowds as always We started off on Steel Force which was a walk on! Then we continued to move from coaster to coaster. Thunderhawk, Hydra, Talon, & Possessed. We did Steel Force 3 more times! My last ride at Dorney was on Steel Force in the back seat & it rocked! I got some great airtime on the first & second hill as well as the bunny hills after the break run! By that that time Haunt had started. We didn't expect the crowds to be heavy but to our surprise they were. We got on the Asylum first. It was ok. I thought it was better than Scream Works. We did Club Blood which was the same as last year & our last attraction was Cornstalkers which was also the same as last year. It was a fun time & I got 10 coaster runs. Enjoy the pics:

as well as Cornstalkers.

Club Blood was just like last year.

Some pics next to Thunderhawk's trail.

Some Cadillacs were seen threw out the park.

The Asylum was new!

Time for Haunt!

I'm not a big fan of Possessed.

We went on Talon 2x today.

Hydra was the same as always.

Thunderhawk was next. It was fun in the back seat!

Steel Force started us off. It was also my last ride at Dorney.

Time for my last trip to Dorney!

[Speeddeamon128]

Thanks for reading! Here is my Day Conclusion & plans for the rest of the season!

 

Day Conclusion:

Steel Force=4x

Thunderhawk=2x

Hydra: The Revenge=1x

Talon: Grip of Fear=2x

Possessed=1x

 

Total Coaster Runs=10/Runs for the Season=536

 

Here is my tentative schedule for the rest of the year:

10/16-10/17: Kings Island

10/24: Great Escape

10/31: Knoebels

11/1: Hershey Park

TBA November: Mall of America

[Speeddeamon128]

Trip 22: Lake Compounce October 23, 2009

 

So after getting rained out last weekend I begged my parents to let me drive over 4 hours to Lake Compounce to ride my favorite coaster of all time Boulder Dash! To my surprise they let me! My dad even got me a hotel for one night. I invited my friend Matt who lived up in Wayne, NJ to go along. We stayed at the Clarion hotel which was literally a mile away from LC! We checked in the hotel around 4:15 since LC opened at 5. When we got to the park it wasn't that crowded. We went straight for Dash. To my surprise I ran into some familiar TPR faces there. There were a few East Coast people & John from West Coast! also Matt had some friends meeting us here as well. Boulder Dash was AMAZING as always. We rode it again & again until the crowds showed up. We were surprised because the forecast called for rain all weekend that it would get as crowded as it did. After about 3 hours they finally put a second train on Dash. We rode Wildcat a few times, the power tower & the swing. Also we did the shooting Ghost Hunt ride. At around 8 pm Matt's friends met up with us. We kept re-riding Dash & even with a full line it only took about 20 minutes. It started raining around 7. Matt's friends convinced us to do a free Haunt since we didn't pay for the Graveyard. We did the clown maze & that convinced us to purchase the 45 minute graveyard. We finished Boulder Dash at 11 & rode it 12x total. At 11:15 we headed for the 45 minute walk through & it was AMAZING! Something actually scared me! I loved the theming & the actors knew how to scare you. It was really well done & my favorite walk through. I even thought it was better than HHN! I didn't take much pics because of the weather & I used my phone the entire time so they aren't that great. I only filmed for 2 minutes & since Coastertube is down I haven't made a video for this update. Next weekend I will be going to Knoebels on Halloween & Hershey Park for the last day of the season. Enjoy the pics:

Matt wanted to ride the stupid Zoomerang. It wasn't that bad of a boomerang.

Hello Wildcat.

The park really did a good job decorating for their Halloween event. This pic didn't turn out great.

It is still my #1 coaster!

It was totally worth the drive!

The reason we came!

After 4 hours of driving we arrived at the Lake!

The Clarion hotel had very comfortable beds.

[Speeddeamon128]

Thanks for reading! Here is the day conclusion:

Day Conclusion:

Boulder Dash=12x

WildCat=3x

Zoomerang=1x

 

Total Coaster Runs=16/Runs for the year=552

[downunder]

Sounds like they haven't killed Dash with trims yet, wish I was there, maybe next year.

[LcHg5265]

I am glad you enjoyed The Haunted Graveyard. It really is an amazing walk through that I don't think enough people know about! It is so elaborate and just gets better and better every year. Here is a nice shot from the entrance to the new Mayan Temple for this year to give those who have never been an idea.

Mayan Temple: New for 2009 at the Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce

[Speeddeamon128]

^Lol that part got me the most when the actors blended in with the scenery & just popped out at you. It was really well done!

[rollin_n_coastin]

Heya Matt, good seeing you and Matt again. Glad you guys had a good time!

 

It was an awesome night, save for the rain!

 

The graveyard was fantastic.

[LcHg5265]

Heya Matt, good seeing you and Matt again. Glad you guys had a good time!

 

It was an awesome night, save for the rain!

 

The graveyard was fantastic.

 

They are trying very hard to make the graveyard of the best walkthroughs in the country, but it seems like the enthusiast community has yet to discover how great it really is! What was your favorite part?

[Speeddeamon128]

Heya Matt, good seeing you and Matt again. Glad you guys had a good time!

 

It was an awesome night, save for the rain!

 

The graveyard was fantastic.

 

Hey dude! Yeah that was a surprise seeing you guys there. How did SFNE go Saturday?

[rollin_n_coastin]

^Heya Matt, SFNE was a great time but wet. We managed to finish everything important before they closed the park. The park was open for a whopping three hours. We spent the rest of the day in Enfield eating and searching for random crap in the mall lol Hopefully I’ll get pics of that stuff to put up.

 

^^I loved all of it. My favourite parts from last year were all still there. The entrance/ catacombs, cemetery, butcher and manor/ haunted mansion were awesome, especially with some more role playing on the part of the actors. My biggest scares happened in the Graveyard and the Jungle. Leading the group with Nay, I’d say I was terrified of what was around every corner and in a lot of long hallways since you have no idea what is real and fake. Watching the actors pick on Nay was kinda funny and freaky to watch all at the same time. I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the group given that they were a bit behind making sure that Dave had an awesome time.

 

What I like most about the event is that it is all community based and sponsored for a great cause, being juvenile diabetes. Equally as awesome is Lake Compounce allowing the use of their grounds (creepy forest, mountainside and all) for what was a small home yard event, allowing it to grow into something quite special and unique.

 

The rain was a bit of bummer because it spoiled the illusion of everything being indoors or just really creepy and eerie on a dark and cloudy night, since no roof exists on most of the mazes.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed it and think it is really impressive given the small park it’s located in. Hopefully I can make it back again next year. Plus, throwing in some Boulder Dash into the equation never hurt anyone

[Speeddeamon128]

^That is why I didn't go to SFNE, I wasn't sure how the weather was going to play out. Oh well I had a 4 hour drive that would have been 5 if I went to SFNE.

[Meteornotes]

^^I loved all of it. My favourite parts from last year were all still there. The entrance/ catacombs, cemetery, butcher and manor/ haunted mansion were awesome, especially with some more role playing on the part of the actors. My biggest scares happened in the Graveyard and the Jungle. Leading the group with Nay, I’d say I was terrified of what was around every corner and in a lot of long hallways since you have no idea what is real and fake. Watching the actors pick on Nay was kinda funny and freaky to watch all at the same time. I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the group given that they were a bit behind making sure that Dave had an awesome time.

 

Just to add to this, I had never been to LC for Halloween before, and really liked the event. Sure, it's not HHN, but it was still fun. I really liked the outdoor sections, especially the graveyard. I was attached to Cora the entire way (for those that don't know, I've had many eye surgeries, and have trouble seeing in the dark and/or with bright lights/strobes), and we got some really good scares, especially in the jungle area. A lot of the actors were really good and totally into their roles, which helps. There were a fair amount of strobes, so I would just shut my eyes and trust Cora to get me through the room, and she did an awesome job.

 

I had always heard good things about the Haunted Graveyard, and it did not disappoint. Hope to visit again next year...

 

dt

[LcHg5265]

I think the park itself has quite a ways to go before it gets to "top-event" quality, but I honestly think that the actual walk through is almost there. The temple section, which was brand new this year, had so much detail. I have never been to HHN, but I don't see how you can have any more detail than that portion had!

[Wood Dragon 1988]

Considering Lake Comounce is my favorite park, and Kennywool has my favorite Haloween event, I probably should go to LC in the fall. Looks awesome.

[Speeddeamon128]

Here is a small video I made of Lake Compounce that day. Nothing special:

[Speeddeamon128]

Trip 23 Part 1: Six Flags Great Adventure October 30, 2009

 

I know I said my trip in September was my last GADV trip but it was a Friday night & I had nothing to do so I took a chance & went to GADV. When I first got to the park it wasn't that crowded. Kingda Ka broke down once when I was in line so I headed over to El Toro which was a walk on. As soon as I got of ET the line got really crowded. My run on ET was awesome. I sat in the back & I didn't get stapled so the airtime was great! Since Rolling Thunder was still a walk on I did that next. Only the right side was working. I sat in the back which was a big mistake. While on Rolling Thunder I saw Kingda Ka launch & gave it a second try. After a 25 minute wait I finally got on it. Once again as soon as I got off a ride the line filled up. The park was starting to get crowded. Great American Scream Machine was next & a walk on as well. I sat in the front seat. I then headed over to Runaway Mine Train & just rode it 2x in a row for something to do. The park was starting to get pretty crowded & I didn't feel like staying much longer. I wanted to ride Skull Mountain because I rode it 39x this year & wanted to hit 40. I knew because it was Fright Fest that the line would be long & it was a 20 minute wait but I got my 40th run on Skull Mountain this year which is one of the reasons I came tonight As always Nitro closes out my season at GADV & tonight was no exception. The line went all the way out but I waited anyway. It only took 35 minutes & I got another awesome back seat ride & didn't get stapled. I got 8 runs which brought me to 560 rides of the year! I was going to Knoebels on Halloween & Hershey on Sunday so I could still get a few more rides in. Now I won't be able to get back to GADV next August when I come back from Orlando! Thanks for reading part 1 of my 23rd & final trip of the year!

 

Here is the day conclusion:

El Toro=1x

Rolling Thunder (Right)=1x

Kingda Ka=1x

Great American Scream Machine=1x

Runaway Mine Train=2x

Skull Mountain=1x

Nitro=1x

[Speeddeamon128]

Trip 23 Part 2: Knoebels October 31, 2009

 

This year I wanted to spend Halloween a little different. Riding the Phoenix of course! My friend John & I went up to Knoebels on Halloween & stayed at his parents mountain house which was about an hour away. We thought the park opened at 5 but it opened at 6 so when we got there the park was deserted! Sorry Big Mike the Museum was locked so I couldn't get your card When the ticket booth opened we got $25 worth of tickets for a marathon (10 rides) on Phoenix. We didn't feel like riding Twister. Kozmo's Kurves was closed so I still need to get the credit next year. Phoenix was running fantastic! We sat in the back for a few rides & then in the front for the rest. I enjoyed the Halloween decorations in the tunnel. After 9 rides we took a brake & checked out the gasoline cars since the trail was decorated. We didn't expect live actors & jumped a few times. After that we headed over to my favorite dark ride! Finally it was time for my last ride on Phoenix. It was sad to say good bye to a great woodie since Florida doesn't really have good ones. At least I Hershey Park is tomorrow. Enjoy the few pics:

You have to ride this on Halloween!

Gasoline Alley was fun!

Some Phoenix decorations.

Yay Phoenix! The reason we came!

I hope the park is open today there is nobody here!