SteveHarris Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Hi guys, My name is Henriques im from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, im a entusiast roller coaster and my english is very crappy hehe btw, you guys must know... brazil sucks when we talking about parks, RC, and all this stuff... the best RC we have is Monte Makaya(intamin), it was a record holder for a long period...btw the park is now closed =/ and when the park open thing like that happen all the time -.- So i goin to leave Brazil for the first time of my life, with wife and kids.. for a small road trip passing by 3 parks, the basic plann is, Rio de Janeiro ==> JFK, New York, rent a car and and get directions to SIX FLAGS GREAT ADVENTURE, stay there for 2 days...and road again moving to HURSHEYS PARK, stay there for 2 days...AND AGAIN road to CEDAR POINT, OH stayin there for 4 days, and then come back to brazil. You guys think this is a good "enouf" route, or its crappy? I missing something good near this region? its a dumb route? its hard to drive in american highways? its easy rent a car with Manual Transmission? and if google maps is safer. thank you guys for the help i goin in summer of 2012 and i starting with the booking really soon and i lost =/ really lost. Sorry my bad english, T.K care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hi, it's easy to drive on the highways. Don't know how it is in Brasil, but compared to traffic in Europe, driving in the Usa is relaxing. Manual transmission is hard to find I'm afraid. But just put your left leg 'away' and you will love the automatic transmission. It really doesn't take long before you're used to that. I recommend to rent a GPS with the car. It will not cost that much more, but you really don't want to rely on google map print outs. 1 day at Hershey and 2 days (max 3 days) at CP should do. In stead you could for example plan a day at Knoebels, Kings Island, or even half a days at Kennywood and/or Dorney Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 You think 2 days in great adventure is enouf? and i goin to stay 2 days @ hershey park couse of SKYRUSH coming soon. about GPS, gps guide me only at city or even in highways? (i never used a gps before, fucking expensive in brazil lol) dorney park worth it? they have some cool coaster. and u can suggest me low rate hotels at SFGA and Hursheys. thank u man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 2 days at SFGAdv is enough if the park isn't too busy or if you purchase a flash pass/q-bot. I think Hershey Park let's you in for free if you arrive after 4 pm or something the day before your visit. I wouldn't foresee 2 full days at Hershey. During the day you can than visit Knoebels or Dorney. Dorney has some nice coasters but it isn't a full day park. Knoebels is a park you really have to experience. Gps will of course guide you on highways too. I'll look up the hotels we stayed in and let you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 all rite, thank u man, btw, if i leave by the sunrise SIXFLAGS park i can go for a half day at Dorney and road again for Hurshey's before the sunset? and can u suggest the best month for this trip? (less crowds) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterdoug Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Hi, I've done the same trip you are doing. It is a good trip. I don't think you need so many days at all the parks. One day should be enough at SFGAdv, especially if you buy a FlashPass. Hershey MIGHT require two days, depending on the crowds. It is a charming park, I could have easily spent a second day there. Four days seems like a lot at CP. If you plan on spending time at Soak City, then three days should be plenty (one at Soak City, two at CP). With those extra days, you could visit Kennywood, which is right on the way from Hershey to Cedar Point. While I have never been, I have heard only good things about that park. It could be well worth a visit. To answer your other questions: It is quite easy driving on American highways (though have plenty of quarters ready for toll booths). Car rental agencies don't rent manual transmission (unfortunately), you'll be renting automatic. Google maps is a great way to go, I recommend it. Although, if there is road construction and detours, Google maps won't list it, which could make things difficult. GPS could be a good idea. Also, when booking hotels, use Expedia. It's a great way to find lots of hotels (though there's nothing within 20km of SFGAdv). Another tip, when you find a hotel on Expedia, try contacting the hotel directly to book a room. Sometimes, the room is cheaper directly through the hotel rather than through Expedia. For staying in Hershey, I stayed at the Hershey Travel Inn (www.hersheytravelinnpa.com). It was affordable and pleasant. The rooms were nothing fancy, but clean and comfortable. Finally, buy your park tickets on the park websites and print them at home, if you can do that from outside of the USA (though I'm sure you were already planning on doing that). They're usually the cheapest price, and you don't have to wait in an extra line to buy your tickets at the beginning of the day. That's all the advice I have. Let us know if you have any more questions, and we'll be happy to answer them. -Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 All the advice is helpful, but remember he is traveling with his family. Two days at Hersheypark is not too much time if you have younger kids and also sit down for relaxing meals. As far as driving, the one problem area could be driving between JFK and SFGAdv. People in that area tend to drive a little aggressively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 WOW, thank you guys for tips. I was not expecting answers like these ... COUSE INTERNET IS MAIN TROLL hehe thank you ... more tips are welcome ... I will update this topic along this journey till i Arrive in USA. about the driving, the thing that more scare me is the automatic transmission, never experience this before, it feel like unsafe for me. but whatever, here we go. in planning i added a half day visit @ dorney park. btw, what is the best month for this trip in the summer? which the month I can avoid a lot of crowd? thank u tk care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 If you can go in late May, that would probably be best - especially if that means you can visit Cedar Point and Great Adventure on weekdays when kids are still in school. I think Hersheypark is weekends-only in May. On the topic of Auto vs Manual, its actually rather easy and care-free, especially since a rental car will be new and well-maintained. The transmission is not worth worrying about! The drivers in New Jersey, however, may be (I'm not sure how good or bad drivers in Brazil are so even drivers in NJ may be ok to you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 17, 2011 Author Share Posted August 17, 2011 WOW GPS cost like 20USD per day!!! OMG, its less expensive if i buy one and bring it to brazil LOL, garmin GPS for a 100USD is wallmart with maps and all. Crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 22, 2011 Author Share Posted August 22, 2011 Guys, a half day visit @ Kings Island worth it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 If you go for opening, and their their Fast Lane pass, a 1/2 day should get you on all the coasters at least once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 uhm k, i planning leaving sundusky before dawn toward kings island and came back in the same day to sundusky for another day @ CP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 It's about a 4 hour drive each way from Cedar Point to Kings Island. If your looking at a credit run, it could work. The Invertigo, kiddie woodie and kiddie SLC get really long lines and are not included in the Fast Lane so do those first if your interested and get the other non fast lane coasters out of the way right afterwards. I'd probably start with Vortex since that had the longest line two weeks ago. By the time mid afternoon rolls around, you should have everything done except for the Fast Lane rides which you'll be able to walk right on to. Kings Island gets really crowded but you should have a pretty good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 uhm k,i planning leaving sundusky before dawn toward kings island and came back in the same day to sundusky for another day @ CP. Yeah, you would need to leave at 5am to get to Kings Island for opening, and if you get the Fast Lane, knock out the coasters that aren't on the Fast Lane pass FIRST, and then do everything else, you could be done with the coasters, and probably even the drop tower and a couple of flats, by 5pm, and head back towards Sandusky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 About Kings Island though...keep your family in mind. If they are not as crazy into parks and coasters as you are, you may either want to leave them at Cedar Point to relax and enjoy and not drag them for 8 hours in a car in one day just to hit some additional rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 About Kings Island though...keep your family in mind. If they are not as crazy into parks and coasters as you are, you may either want to leave them at Cedar Point to relax and enjoy and not drag them for 8 hours in a car in one day just to hit some additional rides. Thx for the tips, and yeah my family not coming with me to Kings Island, wife and kid will have a free day, for my wife shopping stuff, i just cannot miss coaster like the beast and diamondback edit: brw guys its all scheduled! today i got the AMERICAN VISAS! Flight is booked, Car, Hotels! all! the only place missing is the hotel near Six flags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonskeep Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 ^ Up the Irons!!!. Just saw the boys in Tampa Florida, it was awesome of course. Enjoy your trip, you are going to visit some killer parks. I am planning a similar trip in June 2012 from Orlando to Cedar Point and including Dollywood and King's Dominion. 3 days at the Point and a single day at the other parks. If anyone can help, I am looking for a room at Breakers with a great view of the park. The room type I am looking at is the standard suite. I am hoping for the ninth floor of the tower, If anyone has some room numbers that I could request when making my reservation it would be very helpful. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 just confirm, by late of JULY, SFGadv, Hershey, Dorney, Cedar Point, Kings island open every day of the week rite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 just confirm, by late of JULY, SFGadv, Hershey, Dorney, Cedar Point, Kings island open every day of the week rite? correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted October 18, 2011 Author Share Posted October 18, 2011 june haz less crowds or july? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJL12785 Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Steve - you have some awesome parks lined up. June would be less crowded than July, but if you could pull this off, I would try and go during beginning to mid weeks of May. Great adventure is open during the week and most things should be just about a walk on or at the worst - 30 min wait. You will not need to invest in flash pass. I don't know if Hershey and Dorney should be open during the week but weekends shouldn't be too busy this time of year either. I went to Cedar point for 3 days this past year. I went on wed, Thurs, and Friday before Memorial day Weekend. (last weekend in May) Friday, was a little busy with about 30 - 45 min wait but Wednesday and Thursday, walk ons all day. I think any park after memorial day you could be waiting a long time, in July it could be 2 hrs at least for the major rides. The bad part of this is Skyrush I believe is not scheduled to open until Memorial Day weekend. You may want to think about if you want to experience much longer lines at every other park just for this one ride. There is a radisson about 10 minutes away from Great Adventure. There is also a days inn about 15 min away. Days inn was nothing special but it was a room at a reasonable rate. I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Sadly had to schedule it for what seems the worst time of the season, couse im public server in brazil arrivin in new york, july 16. thank u for tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 ^Budget getting Fast Lane and Flash Pass at all parks that have it. You're going to need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveHarris Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 we just add 2 FULL DAYS at Kinds Island. and park sell fast passes in their web sites? could not find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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