LoopLover Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I am visiting Washington D.C. this Summer and have a free day for a park visit. I am a Club TPR member so was wondering about which parks around the area have benefits and/or are the best to visit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 What's your definition of 'near'? Technically the only major park of DC is Six Flags America. But if I was in DC and had one full day I would head to either SFGAd or PKD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 How far away is SFGad from Washington D.C.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Four hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCI Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When we drove through DC to KD it was about a 2 1/2 to three hour drive. We also hit a lot of traffic in the DC area though. Have fun wherever you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Thanks, I may be able to persuade my mum to take me to two parks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Six Flags America is about 45 mins to an hour away from Downtown D.C depending on traffic. King's Dominion is 1 1/2 to 2hrs away again depending on traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJeXeL Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 SFA is a small park but still worth a visit in my opinion. Superman: Ride Of Steel is an amazing ride and worth the trip alone. Not to mention SFA has a decent water park included with admission. Like everyone else said, there's other parks within a reasonable drive that have a lot to offer. Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens and SFGAdv. I say you visit all 4 haha JK. If you are crunched for time and must choose 1 park I'd go with SFGAdv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDcoasterMAN Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I'm just going to put two thing next to each park: mins(or hours) from central DC, ranking of park on scale 1 to 5 based on reviews by myself and others (I Don't care if people call BS on me for this) Six Flags America: 40mins, 3 out of 5. - Pro: Has Superman, Roar, Wild Thing, Outdoors FOF which are all worth a visit. - Cons: other than two Vekomas which should have licensed chiropractors at their exits, there isn't much else to this park where nobody who works there seems to care for the customer... Kings Dominion: 1 hr 40mins, 4 out of 5 - Pro: has a top 5 roller coaster in I305, and many other world class coaster like Dominator, Volcano, and Flight of Fear. It has a wide variety of options for a the average family which many high thrill attractions in many varieties, a great water park, and a goos sized children's section. - Con: many of its attractions are somewhat outdated or not aging well. Hurler is a Do Not Touch attraction. Busch Gardens Williamsburg: 2hr 35min, 5 out of 5 - Pro: Without a doubt, the most Beautiful theme park ever built. With Griffon, Alpinegiest, and Apollo's Chariot, Busch has some of the best coasters in their own categories. The crowds can be large at many times and lines can be long, but the park has enough multiple options to entertain all day. Has a few great live shows and some of the best foods in a park. A must visit. - Cons: The are only 5 coasters in the park, one of which is a kiddie coaster. The park coaster lineup has diminishes greatly since I started going to the park, but I look forward to what BGW got cooked up next. Hershey Park: 2 hr, 40mins, 5 out 5 - Pro: One of the few parks within the U.S. or the world alone that can boast 4 amazing wooden coasters, Two crazy amazing Intamins and a fun Theme Park experience for the entire family. - Con: Crowds. Hershey Park is in between four major cities (Pittsburgh, DC, NYC, and Philly) and during the summer the crowds can become suffocating. Dorney Park: 3hrs 35mins, 3 out 5 - Pro: being a Cedar Fair park sometimes has its benefits. DP has a great coaster line up with Hydra, Talon, Steel Force, and Possessed. It has a history and like to remind its customer of it in good ways. and Thunderhawk is a nice blast from the past. Includes a nice sized water park. - Con: again crowds play a part for this part as it is more centrally located between NYC and Philly. It has a hilly terrain which I have never complained about but many I have known have. It has a small coaster lineup which can have lengthy lines during the summer. Many consider, as do I, that the departure of Laser from the DP was one of the worst this to happen to the park (unless you consider Hercules (which was tooo bad, but still rough). Six Flags Great Adventure: 3hrs 40min, 5 out 5 - Pro: When it comes to a coaster lineup, I always place SFGAdv as having the third best lineup in the nation (Behind CP and SFMM). El Toro, Nitro, Bizarro, Kingda Ka, Green Lantern, Superman: Ultimate Flight, Batman: the Ride, etc... Its the first park with 5 B&Ms! - Cons: The park isn't that well maintained. Kennywood: 4hrs 30mins, 4 out 5 - Pro: Like Hershey, this park has three great woodies in Jack Rabbit, Thunderbolt and Racer and two great steelies with Phantom's Revenge and Sky Rocket. It has a rich history. - Con: Like Dorney, very hilly and its a smaller park so the crowds can be amplified due to a smaller volume size. And if you were planning to go farther... Kings Island: 8hrs 20mins Cedar Point: 7hrs 30mins Six Flags New England: 7hrs 5mins Dollywood: 8hrs 20mins Carowinds: 7hrs 6min Lake Compounce: 6hrs 30mins Six Flags over Georgia: 11hrs 10mins Disney World: 14hrs 40mins Six Flags Magic Mountain: 43 hrs.....that would be cool. non-stop. I'll do it if somebody wants to finance me! I hope you enjoyed my sense of humor.... But in all seriousness, I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Dragon 1988 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 It all depends on how far you want to drive and what interests you, both of which you seem to have not listed. I would say the best parks are Hershey or BGW. Hershey has some great coasters in my opinion at least, with Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, and Great Bear leading the way. I'm not too big of a fan of any of their wooden coasters, my favorite is Comet, but many enthusiasts seem to think Lightening Racer is awesome. Overall, its a fairly nice park, a huge coaster collection, and your pretty much guaranteed to find a coaster you love. BGW is a big, spread out park, with good themeing and great landscaping. I don't think its the most beautiful park in the world, but they certainly don't mind telling you all the awards they win. It's themed to Europe, I know lots of European enthusiasts who find it interesting to see what take the park has on all the countries. I think Griffon and Apollo both kick a$$. Only down side is lots of walking and not as many credits as some of the other parks. As others have said, SFGAd is also great. I have day tripped it when I lived even farther south than DC. Its an awesome park with perhaps the best selection of coasters on the East Coast, and IMO it's run a lot better than other Six Flags parks. It gets very crowded over the summer though. SFA is the closest park. It's the closest park to me...I hate the park, but if you simply want to get some good coasters under your belt with little lines its a great option. At this point, I think I'm in the minority, but I still think Superman in the front half of the train is the best coaster in the area (unless SFGAd is included that is!) And you certainly won't find anything like Superman in Scotland. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCI Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 If you were to go to Carowinds, we could meet up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 ^ Why not!? heh he. I really appreciate all of your input. My mum has given me one full day (This is usually her rule on vacation) for a theme park visit. I am willing to go to any of these parks as I love every park I go to. Busch Gardens stands out as my mum hates coasters and it sounds like there would be nice corners with trees and coffee spots for her to chill in? I am not too fussed about how many credits I get and am just looking forward to another park. However, It is a hard decision to make! Maybe I will see some of you guys there (Look for the guy in the Club TPR hoodie with the broad Scottish accent!) Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 ^Have fun, there may not be alot of credits there, but there are a few good ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 ^^I think your mom would have more to do at BGW than KD or SFA while you're riding coasters. It is about a three-hour drive from DC to Williamsburg (but that I-95 corridor can be a pain). Another possibility--you mom can check out Colonial Williamsburg while you're at BGW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoopLover Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Yeah. I am running all these ideas past her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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