Aug 2010 Quest for Coasters - Local Knowledge Welcome

[PAL]

I've hit the West's major parks, and knocked off all Orlando has to offer. I'm out to rack up numbers out east, discover the meaning of air time, sample old fashioned fun, and visit the self-proclaimed coaster capital of the world. Southwest Airlines is getting me to and from Baltimore / Washington International. A rental car will do the rest.

 

It wasn't hard to come up with a list of big parks to visit. It doesn't get difficult until you start juggling operational schedules. Some parks are into weekends only in late August. Examples include Holiday World and Six Flags America.

 

The schedule is listed below. All parks are first visits other than Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Hershey Park, and Great Adventure. I know the drive times and distances are pushing it.

 

A few questions:

 

Are Dorney and Knoebels really doable, both in a single day?

Can't miss Knoebels attractions other than the obvious (coasters)?

 

Recommended hotels? Particularly just north of Richmond between Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens, between Great Adventure and Dorney, between Knoebels and Pittsburgh, and at CP.

 

Thanks for the help! This will be my first coaster trip of this length.

 

Mon: Fly into Baltimore arriving midnight.

Tues: Six Flags America am / Kings Dominion pm

Weds: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (backstage Coaster Tour) / possible Kings Dominion pm

Thurs: Kings Dominion am / Hershey Park pm (Twilight admission)

Fri: Six Flags Great Adventure

Sat: Dorney Park am / Knoebels pm

Sun: Kennywood

Mon: Cedar Pt

Tues: Cedar Pt

Weds: Kings Island

Thurs: Long drive from Cincinnati to Baltimore / fly home pm

[thrillrider]

I would probaly only do 1 day at cedar point, and make a full day out of both Busch gardens and kings D. Seems like a lot of back and forth. Remember, KD and busch are just over an hour apart, so you have taken away several hours of passable park time right there. Give yourself more time at busch gardens and KD, they are both great parks.

 

I stayed at the motel 6 by busch gardens. There are 2 of them in the area, but one of them is much cheaper than the other.

 

Six flags america, can be done in a few hours if it's only the coasters you are after, but the traffic in washington is bad most of the time, so don't plan on doing much if you make it to kings D in time.

[rcg19]

Deleted by user

Edited December 29, 2010 by rcg19

[Speeddeamon128]

So on Thursday you plan on doing KD in the am & Hershey in the pm? You will need more than a few hours at Hershey & you definitely won't need possible 3 days at KD. You do realize that the two parks are 174 miles apart right? If I were you I would do Dorney & Hershey in one day since they are both close & if your just after credits Dorney can be done in easily 2 hours giving you plenty of time at Hershey which is one of my favorite parks & definitely can't be done in half a day. Also Chocolate World is a must! That way from Hershey you can make your way over to Knoebels which I can spend all day at & if you missed anything at Hershey you can always go back at night since they are close enough. The only park where you might need 3 days at is Cedar Point. Also why not stop off a Clementon Park for HellCat? I live in Clementon & visited the park this year & they really did a nice job cleaning up the park. Plus since your in Club TPR you can get into Clementon for $20 with the discount. HellCat is a much more enjoyable ride now & it is only about 45 minutes away from GADV & if you get the Flash Pass at GADV you'll get on everything with no problem, well except for GASM which will be closed by then Too bad you can't fit Morey's Piers in your schedule that place is amazing!

[PAL]

Big thanks on the Great Adventure motel advice. That could've been me driving around looking for a crash pad. This is an adjust on the fly trip. I'm a Flash Pass addict - all these Cedar Fair parks give me the sweats.

 

I figured SFA was a quickie, thus the evening at KD. Busch Gardens is an awesome park, but one I've easily finished by the afternoon with lots of rerides. Since I had a 2 day visit to Hershey less than two years ago, it's there mostly to break up the long drive to Great Adventure. If I'm not done at KD, I'll skip it. If I'm done at KD sooner, that's more time at Hershey.

 

Cedar Pt has me worried about lines. Do you think I can knock out the coaster collection in one day with rerides on Millenium Force and Magnum? It is a weekday at the end of the season. I'd leave early if it happened. I also like the idea of a back-up day in case on of the big rides is down.

 

I'm going to have to check out Clementon. How does it compare with Dorney, which is nothing but a credit grab.

 

I could get so much more done if I had 4 more days, such as Carrowinds, Dollywood, Holiday World, or Six Flags New England. I sure thought about it, but I feel pretty lucky to get 10 days.

Edited July 6, 2010 by PAL

[Speeddeamon128]

^If you knock out MF, TTD, & Maverick right away then you should be good on everything else. I would go straight to TTD since that is the least reliable coaster there. Wicked Twister is also a low capacity ride so get that out of the way early as well. Magnum's line moves so re-rides on it can easily be done. It all can be done it one day I've done it following that route. Just remember it rains a lot there which is another reason to get those 3 major coasters out of the way ASAP & a why you might need more than one day! I get rained on everytime I visit whether it is in June, August, or September (when I visited) so hopefully you have better luck than me.

[PAL]

Clementon is open until 8 that week - that really could work. I totally missed it the last time I came through Philadelphia, but my girl was through with parks by then anyway. I'll file it under time permitting.

 

I considered dropping Busch Gardens, Great Adventure and Hershey since I've been, but I just can't skip El Toro. BG might fall off the schedule - but the chance to stand atop Griffin is a huge draw.

[Jim S.]

Are Dorney and Knoebels really doable, both in a single day?

Can't miss Knoebels attractions other than the obvious (coasters)?

 

If you go to Dorney early, the crowd should be light enough to get through the coasters quickly. Doing Knoebels later in the day is always a good idea, because the coasters will be warmed up really well and the night adds to the ambience.

 

How long it takes to do Knoebels depends on how interested you are in the flats. I'm not a huge fan of flats, but here's what I wouldn't miss: (nothing should have an unreasonable line)

 

"Skooters" bumper cars: classic model, heavy metal, usually lots of action

"Flyer" flying scooters: classic model, heavy metal, usually lots of action

Haunted House: a well-maintained classic darkride

Grand Carousel: one of the few that still has its ring machine

[thrillrider]

I would highly recommend doing the coaster tour at Busch.

 

Cedar point can be done in 1 day if you plan your day right.At most you may wait 1.5 hours for each of the big rides like maverick, millennium force, and dragster. If there is a 1.5 hour line for each of those(probaly less), then that leaves you plenty of time to hit the other coasters.

 

If you were going to drop a park, I would suggest dropping six flags america.

[PAL]

If I finish Cedar Pt in one day, what should I do on the day it frees up?

 

^^Outstanding, that's exactly the kind of Knoebels advice I need. I've heard some of those flats are unusually nutty.

 

^SFA is a drop-by for SROS and a couple other coasters. It's on the way and won't cost a dime, otherwise it would be skipped.

[Hercules]

If I were doing the schedule for this type of a trip, it would probably go as follows:

 

Monday: Fly into Baltimore

Tuesday: Six Flags America AM / Kings Dominion PM

Wednesday: Either Busch Gardens or Kings Dominion

Thursday: Six Flags Great Adventure

Friday: Dorney Park AM / Knoebels PM

Saturday: Hersheypark

Sunday: Kennywood

Monday: Waldameer AM / Cedar Point PM

Tuesday: Cedar Point

Wednesday: Kings Island

Thursday: Good luck on the drive

[PAL]

^I thought about spending a day and a half at CP, but for 2 mornings to take advantage of early entry, saving that last afternoon for something else. I couldn't figure any way of doing it without backtracking. I must have run through 30 different routes. I'd love to work in Waldameer and Lakewood if possible.

[tatertot3710]

I don't recommend doing Hershey on a Saturday, but I do suggest you put aside one whole day for it.

[chadster]

After recently completing a 16 day east coast journey myself, I must say you are very ambitious with your schedule. Traffic will be your biggest enemy. I agree with Thrillrider, take the coaster tour at BGW, I did, and was very happy with it. Try your best to group everything in the same area as possible like Hershey/Dorney/Kennywood/Knoebels/CedarPoint, and then coming back hit the stuff you missed. Avoid back tracking at all cost, it'll wear you down and drain your wallet. I back tracked a few days due to park hours and wished I hadn't. One big piece of advice, search for alternates over the turnpikes. The turnpikes were hectic busy, not that great of a road and with traffic jams at the toll booths could add time to your travels. The alternates don't take too much longer and can save you as much as $50 (total) throughout PA. Your best friend will be a paper map, pinpoint the parks with their current operating hours on it and go with the flow.

 

P.S. I would rearrange some things and head back Wed. from Cinci, that drive back will be longer than you think and you don't want to miss your flight. You could hit up SFA on Thrusday and then spend more time at KD on your flight in. That's what I did.

[adavis]

If I finish Cedar Pt in one day, what should I do on the day it frees up?

 

^^Outstanding, that's exactly the kind of Knoebels advice I need. I've heard some of those flats are unusually nutty.

 

^SFA is a drop-by for SROS and a couple other coasters. It's on the way and won't cost a dime, otherwise it would be skipped.

 

I feel silly saying it, but as far as bang for your buck goes, Magnum is fantastic and if the lines were equal it would be my first pick in the park after Maverick. Not that you shouldn't wait for TTD and Millennium, they're both fantastic, but Magnum is a classic, a walk on and still amazing.

 

For Hershey, economize as much as possible, that park can get bizzay. Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, Great Bear, Wildcat in that order. For what it's worth, Great Bear is lacking, though not terribly so, and Lightning Racer is very overrated, even though I still enjoyed it.

[PAL]

^^16 days! That's a trip. After this post I'm off to look for a report.

 

Thanks for sharing your recent experience Chad. I'll take it very seriously, and head off to AAA for maps of alternate routes. Slow traffic makes for rough travel.

 

I wanted to do SFA last, but wouldn't you know it, the park will be into weekend only operation by then. Scheduling this trip at the end of August causes a lot of scheduling grief, but I'm hopeful crowds will be thinner as a result. It worked out that way on my only other east coast swing.

 

I'm sure you're right about that long flight day drive too. Maybe I'd be better off saving Great Adv for last, however much I love its big two. Its not too far from BWI either. Smart call.

 

^If I make it back to Hershey it'll be for Storm Runner, Great Bear, Lightning Racer, and then Fahrenheit, with a spin on Superdooperlooper for nostalgia's sake despite its run-on name, Comet if the line isn't bad, and only then Wildcat. It was running rough the last time I came through.

 

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I may only get to do this trip once, so I need the help. The know-how here at TPR is impressive.

[Jim S.]

For Hershey, economize as much as possible, that park can get bizzay. Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, Great Bear, Wildcat in that order. For what it's worth, Great Bear is lacking, though not terribly so, and Lightning Racer is very overrated, even though I still enjoyed it.

 

 

The only problem with doing Hershey quickly is, you won't feel like you're getting your $54 worth. You really have to hit Hershey on a non-crowded day, if such a thing even exists in fair weather anymore, or it sucks.

 

Sure, Great Bear isn't the twistiest thing B&M ever created, but in my opinion it makes up for it in use of terrain. Night rides on it are fun too with all the open space between elements. The only problem is, the front-seat queue is ludicrously long.

 

Lightning Racer is just pure fun. Everything that a mid-size woody should be, and nothing that it shouldn't!

[PAL]

Sunset Admission runs $26.95. The park closes at 10 the evening I'm considering, which means the ticket is good from 5 pm on. Seems like a good deal to me, even considering parking.

[Nozzy]

This is really ambitious, should be fun though.

 

As stated earlier, Dorney and Knoebel's in one day is easily doable, during the day the waterpark is mobbed which means no lines in the park. (Seriously, a Saturday with cars parking on the grass had Possessed as a walk-on). Knoebel's takes less than 2 hours to get to, but I've heard weekends can get crowded. With the already recommended flats I'd suggest doing the Looper, it's insane.

If you can make it on a weekday I'd recommend that instead so you could get a Twilight Plan for around 25$. I usually wind up riding the Phoenix alone enough to cover the price of the wristband, but they aren't available on weekends so those Phoenix rides would start adding up...