JDo217 Posted June 23, 2010 Share Posted June 23, 2010 (edited) This summer I plan on going to as many amusement parks as possible for a college student on a limited budget. Since I'm already documenting this via facebook, I figured I'd post the pictures here if anyone is interested. I've only done two trips so far but hey, summer's barely started! Anyways, here they are: June 16th - Six Flags Great Adventure June 22nd - Six Flags New England June 27th - Dorney Park July 12th - Coney Island/Luna Park August 7th - Six Flags New England & Lake Compounce August 14th - Kemah Boardwalk --- June 16th We started are trip down to NJ at around 7 A.M., which is early considering we all live on Long Island, NY. Considerable traffic was to be had on the westbound Belt Pkwy but we made pretty good time, getting there around 9. We had a while before the park even opened so we took some pictures in the empty parking lot then lined up like everyone else to get into the park. I still can't believe six flags has metal detectors...I've never seen them at other parks but I might just be oblivious I was a little hesitant about the day because I wanted to get the most out of it and weather.com had forecasted a 60% chance of rain and thunderstorms all day. But lucky us, there was no rain all day and the park was virtually empty. Every single ride only had lines in the station except for KK, which was a 15 minute wait. The ride had a few minutes of "minor technical difficulties" just as it was our turn to ride but they fixed it really fast. I don't remember Ka hurting so much entering and exiting the top hat though; my thighs felt like they were being brutally crushed by the restraints I was really pleased with the operations at GAdv. I usually think of Six Flags as less than stellar in their operations and efficiency but they were spot on. Trains were loaded quickly and even when they took one train off El Toro towards the end of the day, the line never left the station. Batman and Superman were down for the entire day, with no signs of testing. Bummer because even with all of the times I've been to GAdv, I've never ridden Superman... Anyways, here are the pics: We're finally there! Either Ka is falling or, more than likely my friends just can't hold a camera straight Parking lot shots. The dilemma is that we could never get the 4 of us all in one shot without bothering someone. But seeing as how there was no one around, it didn't matter yeah, none of us were bored at all... How original. Bizarro! This ride was literally a walk on so we rode it a couple of times, once in the front row (even for that there was no line) whoa, that's a long way up... Even when it was Medusa, I never understood this... wicked first drop I;m sure all the riders are happy, even if they look like they're in pain Empty El Toro queue :o From the overpass to KK's station. There's actually a funny backstory to the picture: we literally took around 5 minutes to get this shot. When we got to the station we were next in line when it broke down, so we would've been stuck on the launch pad. okay, maybe not that funny... Terrified to get on Riders stuck ont he launch pad while the ride was being fixed "REALLY? It WOULD break down just as we're about to get on" Bummer... yay for having your rides up and running six flags! If only that red monstrosity would disappear, the shot would be glorious.. woohoo! fun ont he parachutes. It was actually a LOT scarier than it looked one of the best rides in the park still and no line too! it was kind of hot so we decided to hop on the log flume. Little did we know the last drop was complete with water guns and showers... no wonder we had an audience watching us as we passed by -_- The only possible reason to ride this would be for the AC, which we happily did We actually got our picture taken by the Kodak guy and bought it bc it was the only picture of all 4 of us Skyline. Until next time, great adventure... Edited August 15, 2010 by JDo217 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted June 24, 2010 Author Share Posted June 24, 2010 June 22nd This is the first time I went for a serious visit to SF New England (the first time I went with my family and it was more of an afternoon quickie). I was incredibly eager to get my first ride ever on Bizarro. I have to say though that this was probably one of my more disappointing experiences at an amusement park. When we first got there at opening time, we made a beeline to Bizarro and waited around 20 minutes to ride the front. Little did we know that that would be the shortest we would wait for any ride all day. The second time we waited in line, the ride was experiencing some downtime. We decided to wait it out even though we were pretty far back in the line. It was pretty sad that the line moved much faster due to people getting off than it did when the ride was running properly. They got it running and we ended up waiting a total of 1.5 hours. Our third ride was when things got...interesting. The ride broke down again but we waited it out. Fixed in 10 minutes. We're in the station and the ride breaks down yet again. We wait it out again and they fix it. Then they close down the ride due to inclement weather, despite it not raining and the sun starting to shine. I know the weather policy isn't the park's fault but I'm a little confused why Bizarro has so many technical problems. Also, when we first got on line for each ride I could have sworn they were only running one train each and I was really impressed with how fast they were dispatching them. Then I realized they were actually running two trains extremely slowly. We even thought Cyclone and Batman TDK were closed because we didn't see any trains running on them for so long. Some of the ride ops were really fun but they just did everything SO SLOW. I would say Bizarro deserves its #1 title though. It was an amazing ride and I wasn't expecting much from the twister/helix section but it was intense - there was even air time when the ride changed directions! The drive home was harrowing though. I'm kind of wondering if weather forecasts are ever actually right. The whole day was forecasted to be partly cloudy/sunny with a few "showers" at night. We ended up driving back home in torrential downpours and lightning. I've driven in some heavy rain before but never anything like this. I even needed my friend sitting in the front with me to tell me if I was in my lane or not... We ended up stopping at a McDonalds on the I-95 to wait it out. You would thinking that a McDonalds with a "Drive-Thru" sign would have a drive thru, but I guess not. Unless it was really cleverly hidden. But we got soaked running inside to get our food Maybe someone can tell me when the best time to visit this park is? I thought we'd be in the clear on a Wednesday in June but I guess not Here are the pictures. Not too many coaster shots this time Gotta love NYC-bound rush hour traffic FInally there after a three hour drive. Too bad the entrance is so un-photogenic We got there before opening, but unfortunately not early enough to beat the crowds The main reason we're here Seriously wicked first drop, with Mind Eraser in the foreground. Too bad it sucked crap Joker's Wildcard and Bizarro. Not really sure what I was going for here some seriously twisted track I think what this is try to say is "Bizarro is the #1 rated steel roller coaster...IN THE WORLD!" It should REALLY say "60 minute wait from this point when ride is run efficiently. So today, 90 minute wait from this point" Only $2999! Interetsing...wonder how they enforce this... Not sure what this is, but it's awesome Pandomonium! waiting in line...this was seriously the 2nd longest we waited for a ride, just behind the no-go, failure of a two-hour wait for Bizarro. This is really one ride that should NOT have flash-pass oh hey, stalker caught us on the ride Ride was more forceful than expected, but still not worth the hour wait I actually really enjoyed Cyclone. It's the fun kind of rough and there was plenty of airtime and the last row was insane whoa, where'd she come from? So this is the second time Bizarro broke down while we were in line. The pictures that follow are the result of our boredom and frustration, so bear with me or skip them haha "...must have at least two legs..." hmm, kind of hard to fit three legs in the train when Bizarro barely has enough room for 2.. After the third time breaking down, they tested it once then shut it down due to approaching storms Empty queue after we got the bad news Here at Six Flags New England, you also have to wait in line to leave the queue area! ...seriously This picture doesn't really do the situation justice but it was near impossible to see out of the windshield. We were all on high alert here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspellx5 Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I know the weather policy isn't the park's fault but I'm a little confused why Bizarro has so many technical problems. Bizarro probably goes down everyday or close to that. 2007 it was closed for half of the summer, they've never seemed to be able to get it running reliably. Also, the new trains have had alot of problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomNick Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Nice pictures! Looks like a couple fun park trips so far. SF New England is pretty high on my list of places I'd like to go, as the park looks really nice and I'm very much wanting to ride Superman: Ride of Bizarro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 June 27th This trip was kind of a quickie because my parents asked if I wanted to take the other car and drive up with them. I brought a friend and spent a while in the park from opening till 4 P.M. It was hot, humid, and sunny out but the park was virtually empty, which I'm guessing is due to the fact that everyone flocked to the water park. Is Dorney always like this? Every single ride was a walk on except for the Wild Mouse. Anyways, just coming from SFNE last week, the operations at Dorney were a godsend. They seemed like they were getting trains out really fast and they actually tried NOT to staple you into your seat. They were only running one train on Thunderhawk and even with some rows closed off, they were able to keep the lines down to a minimum. I like the out-of-control feeling that comes from the old-fashioned wooden coasters but Thunderhawk was just painful - I didn't even think SFNE Cyclone or Mean Streak were as bad. Their Wild Mouse was also strangely painful. Overall, we went on all of the good rides at least 5 times before calling it a day. The heat was just awful and we will probably be back later in the summer since it's relatively close to us. This was actually my first time at the park so I'll post my opinions on the rides. Hydra was pretty awesome; it wasn't that forceful but it was incredibly smooth and the heartline roll right out of the station was great. Possessed was another great one. The main reason I prefer it to Wicked Twister is because of the holding break on Possessed on the vertical spike without the twist. It really felt like I'd fall right out. Talon is now one of my favorite inverts. It's not as intense nor as compact as the Batman clones but it really did pack an (unexpected) punch. Steel Force was great too. We rode mostly in the last car and the first drop + bunny hills were fun. Thunderhawk was just painful. I didn't get any air at all towards the back of the train but I got tossed around pretty badly on all of the turns. Wild Mouse was painful too, which is odd because I normally have no problems with the Wild Mouse rides. Mostly coaster shots this time since we didn't experience 7359782857 breakdowns this time. Steel Force didn't open with the park because they were having some problems with it and one of the trains appeared to be stuck on the lift hill. But they did a good job getting it up and running a half-hour later. Here are the pictures : This was just too funny not to upload. Security riding bikes? We saw them throughout the day too I was really looking forward to riding Demon Drop... The cars just sitting in the station The day was hot enough to warrant two rides on the Log Flume. And this is the reason why everyone comes off soaked... Service area next to the ride itself. I guess some of the boats were out of service today How many amusement parks have a Rita's in them? THIS WAS AWESOME! I guess this is the storage area I'd love toknow if this is a prop or not... odd lift hill until next time, Dorney... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatertot3710 Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Yeah, walk-ons is basically what you get on every ride on the rides side everyday (except Saturdays). Thunderhawk is usually ran with 1 train, rows sometimes closed off. I hated it until I rode it towards the front a few times this past week, The airtime is awesome. And the Wild Mouse has always and will always suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 July 12th Last summer one of my best friends spent a couple of weeks in Spain with a host family. This summer, the girl from that family came to the U.S. and spent two weeks here. We brought her to Coney Island for the day and I think she really enjoyed it. The sad part is that I live less than an hour away from Coney Island and I've never been there. We didn't really ride that much actually. We went for a ride on the Cyclone, which was fun but my neck paid for it the next day. That first drop really snaps your neck backward! We also rode the spinning wild mouse in Luna Park, which turned out to be fun too. The outside seats really get whipped around though. We walked along the beach and boardwalk and left after 4 hours or so since we didn't really want to drop that much money on rides. Next we drove over to Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Dumbo for an early dinner. This is a place everyone has been telling me about but I never actually tried it until today. We got there around 5:30 but it took us another half hour to actually find parking. There were only around 20 people in front of us on line but a lot of them were holding spots so the wait was around 30 minutes. The pizza was AMAZING though. I hesitate to call it the "best pizza I ever had" but at the same time I can't really name a place that I've had better pizza at. We finished off the day by burning off the pizza across the Brooklyn Bridge. There was also an awesome little ice cream shop along the dock where the ferry comes in overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Overall, an awesome day. The pictures are a little lower in quality since I used my phone to take them this time Spanish girl by the water. Curse my phone for taking dark pictures in the sunlight Coney Island skyline Now I can say I ate at the original Nathan's! you KNOW what this is Grimaldi's. Inside is very cozy and you're pretty much right next to strangers - makes for some good socializing Definitely awesome This was the line to get in after we finished eating... I can't believe this was the first time walking across the Brooklyn Bridge... and I live 45 minutes away... Woohoo, Manhattan skyline! Unfortunately, the Droid Incredible doesn't take very good pictures at night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted August 9, 2010 Author Share Posted August 9, 2010 August 7th I don't really feel like typing much so I'll just let the pictures (and captions) do the talking. But I will say Bizarro in the very front and back was amazing. And my first time at Lake Compounce was incredible. Boulder Dash at night is one of the most insane experiences ever Pardon the picture quality. All I had was my cell phone with me We're next for the front row! Only the best ever! Intense airtime hill. And the next one only gets more intense Happy riders This was the line around 12. Needless to say, I'm glad I had the gold flash pass Pretty sexual for a kid's ride if you ask me Now for something different. The line was really long though for a boomerang One of my least favorite floorlesses. We didn't even bother to do it with the flash pass since we already had the credit It really will erase your mind... Lake Compounce was an awesome little park...too bad my phone's camera ruined this shot First view of Boulder Dash! Their sky ride was exhilarating! I don't think I've ever been on anything like it except maybe a ski-lift Awesome views of the park to be had... fastest before el toro maybe... ZOOM! At night it seriously felt like we were going 1000000 mph Even though I don't drink soda, free soda is always awesome The bunny hills were one of the best parts and the triple up was ridiculous The pirate ship was pretty awesome, even though my phone refused to take a decent picture of it at sundown These ride ops were AWESOME. The guy with the fro got everyone hyped up like I've never seen before This is the only picture I have of Wildcat and quite frankly, I'd like to forget I ever rode it. It is hands down the most painful ride I've been on, trumping even Mean Streak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Thanks for the pics of Lake Compounce - I will be headed there next week after leaving Kings Dominion on the 16th. I'm bummed that the park is only open till 8:00 on weekdays because I wanted that night ride on Boulder. My plan is to hop in line about 7:55 and hope that it is at least dusk by then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiger01 Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Great TR I really enjoyed the photos! Great pics of Bizarro and SFGAdv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 Thanks for the pics of Lake Compounce - I will be headed there next week after leaving Kings Dominion on the 16th. I'm bummed that the park is only open till 8:00 on weekdays because I wanted that night ride on Boulder. My plan is to hop in line about 7:55 and hope that it is at least dusk by then! I'm actually going again tomorrow (8/11) since one of my friends offered to drive. I'll let you know how sunset is and if it's dark by 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDo217 Posted August 15, 2010 Author Share Posted August 15, 2010 To the guy going to Lake Compounce soon, this is what the place looks like at 8 PM. Not really dark out at all yet. But by 8:30 it was almost completely dark outside. Unfortunately the line for Boulder Dash closes around 7:50 August 14th Being that I'm moving into my dorm on Sunday, my parents were with me and we decided to check out Kemah Boardwalk. We only spent around two hours there in the evening but the heat was BRUTAL, even after 9. The Boardwalk Bullet was pretty good; nowhere near the top of my list but the two big drops were surprising. We sat in the back and I honestly didn't get that much airtime. My dad said that was one of the roughest woodies he's been on but I honestly didn't think it was that rough. The little ups after the first drop were bumpy but that's it. I didn't have much time to take many pictures so these will have to do. I'll have plenty of chances to go back though Boardwalk Bullet! I wasn't too impressed though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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