What is the best place for a coaster enthusiast to live?

[eltororider]

I'd nominate 3 places:

 

1. Orlando- you have Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World in your backyard PLUS Busch Gardens Tampa only 90 minutes away. I've been to Orlando many times and I think it's a great place to live as an amusement park fan.

 

2. Los Angeles- you have Six Flags Magic Mountain which looks like the best six flags park, Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm and Santa Monica Pier all less than an hour away.

 

3. Philadelphia- you have Great Adventure 1 hour away, Hershey Park and Six Flags America 2 hours away and Kennywood, Knoebel's, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park and Cedar Point a few hours away.

[JonnyRCT3]

I'd nominate 3 places:

 

1. Orlando- you have Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World in your backyard PLUS Busch Gardens Tampa only 90 minutes away. I've been to Orlando many times and I think it's a great place to live as an amusement park fan.

 

2. Los Angeles- you have Six Flags Magic Mountain which looks like the best six flags park, Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, Knott's Berry Farm and Santa Monica Pier all less than an hour away.

 

3. Philadelphia- you have Great Adventure 1 hour away, Hershey Park and Six Flags America 2 hours away and Kennywood, Knoebel's, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, Dorney Park and Cedar Point a few hours away.

 

That's probably more than a few

[rollin_n_coastin]

In Europe: anywhere really given how easy it is to get around.

 

In North America, anywhere from Toronto to Philly and East. Under 9 hours at most and you're at Great Adventure, New York City, New England, Cedar Point, Waldameer, Lake Compounce, Knoebles, Hershey, Dorney, Kennywood, La Ronde, Canada's Wonderland, Great Escape, Darien and a lot of gems in between. Lots of airports in the area with cheap flight options to Virginia, Atlanta and Orlando. A win win for sure.

[Double0Kevin]

I have a hard time trying to argue against Orlando area. I haven't been there yet but Universal, Disney, SeaWorld, Busch, Fun Spot, Legoland and the various other small spots around there are hard to argue against.

 

I also like where I am in San Francisco Bay Area. I have SFDK and CGA in the immediate area, Gilroy and SCBB withing 1.5 hours and then SoCal is a 4-6 hour drive away. This is ideal because it means I'm close to enjoy the SoCal parks but far enough to not have anything to do with the area otherwise.

[Geauga Dog]

Living in Cleveland isn't too bad.

 

I am approximately:

 

1 hour from Cedar Point

3.5 to 4 hours to Kings Island

2 hours to Kennywood

1.5 hours to Waldameer

4 hours to Darien Lake and Martin's Fantasy Island

7 hours to SFGAm and Canada's Wonderland

5.5 hours to Hersheypark

[historyfreak92]

I'd say California!

[XYZ]

Yes, I'm a bit bias. But, I think one of the best places for a coaster enthusiast to live is in Carlsbad, CA. Why you may ask? Well, Orange County & LA have that essence of bad crime & poverty and living there is the definition of city life. Carlsbad has a great community with low crime and low traffic. Though, everyone who is reading this thread wants to know the proximity of amusement parks, well Carlsbad is in close proximity to all the major amusement parks in Southern California.

 

Legoland California: In my glorious city.

SeaWorld San Diego & Belmont Park: 40 minutes

Disneyland & Knott's: 1 hour

Universal Studios Hollywood: 1 hr 40 mins

Six Flags Magic Mountain: 2 hours (w/o traffic)

 

The drive to SFMM usually isn't bad and for some reason I always have good luck with the traffic. It's a bit tough to do SFMM in one day but I usually spend two days there and I stay at a cheap motel overnight which is no problem.

 

The drive to Disneyland & Knott's is very easy as I remember before I lived in Carlsbad, I used to vacation in Carlsbad and I had a 4 day pass to Disneyland and every day I would travel back and forth for a 2 hour round trip and it was no problem whatsoever.

 

Also, San Diego Zoo is not too far away in Balboa Park and the Zoo Safari Park is just 30 minutes away. Plus, Carlsbad is a tourist-thriving beachside destination, so you're living in an area where a lot of people literally visit from around the world.

 

So, that's Carlsbad for coaster enthusiasts.

[Jhcbiinoc]

Although I loved it when I lived in So Cal and lived 25 minutes from Knott's and about 1.5-2 hours from SFMM, I am actually happy that now I am only a few hours away from SFOG (about 2 hours) and Dollywood (about 4 hours) as they are both great parks with a good assortment of coasters. I just wish some park out here had a 4D!

[andybarnes84]

I'm so jealous that you guys can have the option of moving to such places, my vote is definitely for Orlando, it really has everything all year round, constantly innovative attractions that cost mega bucks, those summers get pretty sweaty though. I'd just like to reiterate how jealous I am with an appropriate smiley

[molemaster43]

Central PA:

 

Parks that are easy to do a day trip to:

 

DelGrosso's - 40 minutes

Lakemont - 50 minutes

Hersheypark - A little over 2 hours

Knoebels - 1 hr. 45 min.

Dorney Park - A little over 3 hours

Kennywood - 2 hrs. 45 min.

Waldameer - 3 hrs. 45 min.

Dutch Wonderland - 2 hrs. 30 min.

 

Plus, there are plenty of parks that would take maybe half-a-day to get to:

 

Cedar Point - 5 hrs. 15 min.

Six Flags Great Adventure - 4 hrs. 30 min.

Sesame Place - 4 hrs.

Darien Lake - A little over 4 hours

The Great Escape - 6 hrs. 15 min.

Lake Compounce - 6 hrs.

Six Flags New England - 6 hrs. 30 min.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - 6 hrs. 15 min.

Kings Dominion - A little over 5 hours

Six Flags America - 4 hrs.

[A.J.]

I'd also have to agree that Central Pennsylvania is a great place for park-going, especially if you're into day trips and don't want to stay somewhere overnight. I'd give the edge to State College over my hometown of Williamsport.

 

I'd also say that Lakeland, Florida would theoretically be a great place, being halfway between Tampa and Orlando.

[leviathanlover]

Living in the Niagara Falls area is good,

 

-Darien Lake, Martin's Fantasy Island both 20 minutes or so

-Canada's Wonderland is about an hour and a half away!

-Waldemeer 2 hours away

-Kennywood's about 3 hours away

-Cedar Point only 4 hours away

 

But as long as I have CW, I'm good. Still the park I have ever been to!!!

 

...oh, and Seabreeze is an hour and a half away

[gisco]

In a RV! That way you ar not tied to one park. In the Summer you can travel up North and in the Winter head South to Southern California or Florida where the parks are open. Of course you would have to be retired, rich or both to do this!

[STR8FXXXINEDGE]

^ That's my dream!

 

I've always said that I was going to live in an RV and make payments on it, instead of payments on a house or apartment.

Of course, this is more of a dream than reality.

[alpengeistfan1]

I live a bit north of Philly and I'm about an hour from Dorney, and hour and a half from Great Adventure, two from SFA, two from Hershey, and maybe 3 from Knoebel's. There are some other close-ish ones too. I was thinking though, and I'd say the best place to live would be the middle of the East Coast, like one of the Carolinas. That way within a day's drive you'd be able to reach so many good parks, and you'd have access to Florida easily. You'd also have some great parks like Cedar Point, King's Island, Holiday World, Silver Dollar City, and many more within a day and a half's driving distance. Yes you'd probably have to drive a bit more for many of the parks but it wouldn't be too long of a drive for anything on the East Coast.

[WFChris]

I would agree with the 'Somewhere in the Northeast' opinion seeing as how many parks are within arms reach out there.

 

I guess the reason I am posting is because I have to disagree with So Cal being a good place for the enthusiast. Sure we have a great variety of parks and coasters and what not, but the ability to explore other parks becomes limited. While to the untrained eye we may have this huge variety of parks, but our selection can get a little stale after years of living here. When that happens, we are basically screwed because it's impossible to plan an 'easy day trip' ANYWHERE else. On the east coast, you have the option to drive 9 or 10 hours to Cedar Point, or Georgia, or wherever you are headed. Here, we have our core parks, of course, but after that, you MUST fly to get to another park, or take a VERY long road trip. Think about it:

 

LA Parks: +/- 1 hour

San Diego Parks: 2 hours

That Place in Tijuana: 3+ hours there, customs trying to return

Vegas (currently 2 jerky coasters): 4-5 hours

Bay Area Parks: 5+ hours

1 coaster in Phoenix: 6+ hours

"Enchanted Forest" near Portland: 15+ hours

Denver and beyond: 15+ hours

 

So, while we do have a nice little selection here, ultimately we are isolated from the rest of the United States and there are quite a few 'world class' experiences that most of us are lacking simply because travel to the East Coast is difficult for us to do cheaply.Think about it...we have to FLY to every park y'all consider normal and possibly mediocre. A trip to Knoebles for me will cost well over $1000 per person. And that is my argument against Southern California.

[kidcoaster 2]

I think I am in a pretty good location with:

 

Conneaut

Waldameer

Kennywood

Cedar Point

Darien Lake

Martin's Fantasy Island

Marineland

Knoebels

Hershey

Kings Island

Columbus Zoo

Lakemont

Delgrossos

 

And Previously Geauga Lake and Erieview all in about a 4 hour drive.

[Werner]

I would say that while this tread is more of an American places thing. I;m glad to live in Holland, all kind of parks nearby like:

1-2 hours:

Efteling

Walibi Holland

Toverland

Drievliet

Slagharen

Duinrell

and a lor more little parks...

 

Then a little further away you have:

Heide Park

Movie Park Gemany

Phantasialand

Walibi Belgium

Bobbejaanland

 

And for weekend trips by car:

Europa Park

Disneyland Resort Paris

 

As for the USA, i would choose Orlando/Tampa as a good place to live

[biker7766]

I live in the perfect town in mid-NJ. I live:

 

Six Flags Great Adventure-6 Mins.

Coney Island- 1 Hour, 15 Mins.

Dorney Park- 1 Hour, 30 Mins.

Morey's- 1 Hour, 50 Mins.

Hersheypark-2 Hours, 15 Mins.

Quassy-2 Hours, 30 Mins.

Knoebel's-3 Hours.

Lake Compounce- 3 Hours.

Six Flags America- 3 Hours.

Six Flags New England- 3.5 Hours

Great Escape- 4 Hours

Kings Dominion- 4 Hours, 15 Mins.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg- 5 Hours, 15 Mins.

Canobie Lake Park-4 Hours, 45 Mins

Darien Lake-6 Hours

Kennywood- 5 Hours

Waldameer-6.5 Hours

Canada's Wonderland- 8.25 Hours

La Ronde- 6.5 Hours

Cedar Point-7 Hours, 45 Mins

Carowinds-9 Hours

Kings Island-8 Hours, 45 Mins

 

These are all of the awesome parks near me!

[larrygator]

I would say that while this tread is more of an American places thing. I;m glad to live in Holland, all kind of parks nearby like:

1-2 hours:

Efteling

Walibi Holland

Toverland

Drievliet

Slagharen

Duinrell

and a lor more little parks...

 

Then a little further away you have:

Heide Park

Movie Park Gemany

Phantasialand

Walibi Belgium

Bobbejaanland

 

And for weekend trips by car:

Europa Park

Disneyland Resort Paris

 

As for the USA, i would choose Orlando/Tampa as a good place to live

 

Completely, agree that your area is very convenient for travel to many grea European parks.

 

In the US, I like the Mid-Atlantic (Southern NY, New Jersey, Eastern PA) for the access to many signature coasters and a wide variety of parks. I have no issues with a 5 month off-season.

[-Edge of Beast-]

I'm with Werner - both Orlando and Tampa would be wonderful places to live for a coaster enthusiast. I heard the cities themselves aren't bad, but it's the amusement parks that form them. Well, Orlando at least.

 

Anyway, I live in Kansas City.. the worst place for an enthusiast to live.

 

Worlds of Fun - about 40 minutes away

Six Flags St Louis - 4 hours away

Silver Dollar City/Branson - 3 hours away

Elitch Gardens - 8-9 hours away

 

Meh, I don't really like where I am.

[simaticable]

Woodstock, GA (hour north of Atlanta) has these within a few hours of driving:

SFOG & SFWW

Lake Winnie

Dollywood

 

I'm probably missing a few, but besides the top row, I've never been to any of the other parks.

[IronWolfman]

Woodstock, GA (hour north of Atlanta) has these within a few hours of driving:

SFOG & SFWW

Lake Winnie

Dollywood

 

I'm probably missing a few, but besides the top row, I've never been to any of the other parks.

 

Is Wild Adventures anywhere near there?

[simaticable]

Woodstock's in north Georgia while Wild Adventures is in southern Georgia, so no.

[ArundelHigh Coasters]

If your my age, you can't choose where you live ;P , which is how I ended up in Northern Maryland. (Can't wait for college .) I think a coaster enthusiast is lucky if they live near Sandusky , Ohio (Cedar Point, Kings Island,) if they live near Gurnee/ Chicago , Illinois (Six Flags Great America.) Other places would be Los Angelas ( Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm,) LA is not a very pleasant place to live though.