13 day NE USA trip plan, what do you think?

[andybarnes84]

Hi fellow TPR crew!

 

Looking for your wisdom and insider info/experience regarding my plan for a 13 day coaster tour leaving the UK on 9th June 2012 with my very understanding girlfriend. Seems after our recent trip to LA & Las Vegas she's gradually catching the coaster bug

 

I was hoping to be able to take 3 weeks off work but alas they weren't too happy about that so somehow I'm having to cram in the "best of" parks. I'm looking for advice about what to miss and what to see along the way if any of you know the locations well.

 

Here goes:

 

Day 1 - Arrive NYC

Day 2 - NYC

Day 3 - Dorney Park and Atlantic City

Day 4 - Washington DC

Day 5 - Busch VA

Day 6 - Kings Dominion

Day 7 - Kennywood

Day 8 & 9 - Cedar Point

Day 10 - Knoebels

Day 11 - Hershey Park

Day 12 - Six Flags Great Adventure

Day 13 - NYC and fly back to UK

 

Obviously it's quite a drive from Kings Dominion to Kennywood and from Cedar Point to Knoebels but there really doesn't seem to be any other way. Also do you feel 2 days at Cedar Point are necessary given that it'll be the summer break and mega busy no doubt?

 

Any suggestions for improvement would be great and I'd love to hear opinions regarding places/areas to stay and any significant cultural sights or landmarks we could take in along the way to make the trip a little more balanced.

Edited November 15, 2011 by andybarnes84

[beatle11]

If it were me, I'd consider flying out of DC on your way home rather than trekking back to NYC. I'm assuming your trying to avoid the "drop fee" for your rental car but it's something to consider. That way, you could do Great Adventure coming out of NYC and make your way through Atlantic City, Pennsylvania and Cedar Point before heading down to the DC area. I would definitely recommend the two days at Cedar Point, and definitely stay on site, at least at the Breakers Express. Hotel guests can get in the park with season pass holders an hour before the general public does.

 

Whatever you decide...have fun!

[gisco]

Pretty ambitious plans. How much time do you plan to spend at each of these parks? Do you plan to just get the credits and leave or do other things? You have quit a drive between some of these places.

[cfc]

Kings Dominion to Kennywood will be quite a haul (around 320 miles).

[andybarnes84]

Thanks for your input guys, that section between KD and Cedar Point via Kennywood is a pain in the donkey but I have no idea how to get around it, I can't go over without visiting CP can I? I thought of ending the trip at Cleveland but then I have to pay extra for flights and car hire drop off fee. I'll keep thinking.....

 

What kind of queue times can I expect at these parks in mid June during the week and at weekends?

[robbalvey]

^ Potentially long. Especially on the weekends. IMO, I would cut out Kennywood, and just go straight to Cedar Point, rest up, and enjoy your visit there.

 

IMO, your schedule is a death march. Completely too ambitious, and I think half-way through you'll just be doing what you can to get through it, instead of having fun.

 

Kings Dominion to Kennywood to Cedar Point to Knoebels? I would suggest looking at a map. These areas are hundreds of miles apart. Kings Dominion to Kennwood is a 6 hour drive. Unless you're going to go to Kings Dominion, run in, ride all the major coasters once, and then be out of the park by noon-ish, 1pm, and drive to Kennywood, that's insane. And if that's what you're planning on doing, then that's not the kind of trip I would want to do anyway. To each their own.

 

--Robb "Likes to spend time at parks, not just run and get a credit, then leave." Alvey

[ernierocker]

I would concentrate on just doing the East Coast trip this go around. Maybe do something similar to the 2008 TPR East Coast trip. Only if you feel this would be your only chance to make it over to the United States for several years would I consider adding all of that driving into the equation. Cedar Point isn't going anywhere.

[andybarnes84]

You're probably right folks, cedar point is too much of an inconvenience to get to. Question is what parks should fill the 3 days now vacant?

 

I'm thinking sfne, sfa and possibly lake compounce or another day at Busch Gardens?

Edited November 15, 2011 by andybarnes84

[ernierocker]

I would add Six Flags New England and Lake Compounce for sure! You could easily do a day at SFNE and then a combo day at Lake Compounce/Quassy. Starting in New York City, you will only be about three hours from those parks and two of the top coasters (Bizarro and Boulder Dash) in the country!

[beatle11]

^That's definitely a good idea. Not sure if you planned Coney Island into your stay in NYC but I'd definitely recommend it as well.

[andybarnes84]

This is how the plan is now looking thanks to your mighty wisdom and reality based common sense:

 

Day 1 NYC

Day 2 NYC & Coney Island

Day 3 SFNE

Day 4 Lake Compounce & Quassy

Day 5 Dorney

Day 6 Knoebels

Day 7 Hershey

Day 8 Washington DC (culture day woot!)

Day 9 Busch

Day 10 KD

Day 11 SFA (worth doing?)

Day 12 SFGAdv

Day 13 NYC and home

 

I realize there's still quite some driving involved but it should be much more balanced, just have to come to terms that Millenium Force, Maverick and TTD are for another time. I'm sure some of the coasters we'll do will more than make up for this.

 

Again, your recommendations and changes are always most welcome dudes and dudettes!

[SharkTums]

Either cut SFA or treat it as a few hours 'rest stop' along the way.

 

There is a LOT of traffic on that drive from Kings Dominion to SFGAd, you may not even have time to stop at SFA based on when you drive.

[sspaz1000]

I'd say skip SFA, and do some culture in Philly on the day you have marked as SFA. Since you're doing a culture day in DC, it might be cool to see the USA's current capital (DC) to the USA's first capital Philly (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Center, etc)

 

If you didn't want to do a culture day, on Day 11 either, you could possibly credit whore up the Jersey Shore, to put you closer to Great Adventure too.

[andybarnes84]

Awesome I might just do that, If we go to SFA it'll probably just be for a couple hours when it opens to do the main coasters but Philly would be interesting, as long as I can figure out where to park etc

[sspaz1000]

There are plenty of parking lots and garages in the city to park. My suggestion for Philly is get to a parking lot early as it will be cheaper to park. It can get expensive to park in Philly.

[Perilous Chris]

Just a few suggestions:

 

With Washington DC, I would try to go on a weekend as traffic should be a little lighter.

 

I certainly do not want to give advice on something I have not done, but I would be really careful with anything that involves driving in and out of New York. I have heard the traffic can be horrendous. I did a similar trip this summer that included all of those parks except Coney Island and NYC. During the first part of my trip, I drove from SFGAdv to SFNE. I actually took the longer route through New Jersey, to avoid the George Washington Bridge.

 

During my trip, I encountered major traffic delays going from SFA - KD, Washington DC - Philly, and NY into Connecticut.

 

When you rent a car, I would recommend getting an EZ Pass, which will automatically bill you for all the toll roads. It will be much easier than having to carry around a precise amount of cash.

 

With Lake Compounce, I would suggest avoiding "education days" if possible.

[andybarnes84]

A very good point about traffic around DC and elsewhere as park opening times obviously match well with rush hour. I have read a lot about the notorious traffic around DC my plan is to park at the airport and take the metro in. I suppose where possible I should do the driving in the evenings although we'll be shattered.

 

We did pretty well in LA earlier this year but I have a feeling this could be much worse. I drive through city traffic for a living so the more I can avoid this on holiday the better! Looks like those education days are on at the start of our stay so probably better to do the north east part last. Am I wrong in thinking it's best to save SFGAdv until last as it appears to have the best selection of coasters?

[netdvn]

Something I've noticed is that NYC traffic can be very hit-miss depending on when you go. Rush hour can obviously be a bad time to catch traffic, but having visited on multiple occasions, traffic can be really light or extremely heavy. Just be sure to watch out for the drivers as they can be aggressive at times.

 

DC traffic is similar to NY traffic but with more construction projects and less aggressive drivers. The roads do get fairly busy during weekends as well, so plan accordingly.

 

Watch out for tolls. Practically every major road in the northeast is a toll road. EZ Pass (as mentioned before) is a good idea to have.

 

Boston is a really nice city too. If you're willing/able to squeeze a side trip into Boston, I'd recommend it.

 

Try to get a hotel close to Williamsburg if you're doing BGW. That way you aren't driving back and forth for 2 1/2 hours on your KD/BGW days. Richmond is a good stopping point. If you're willing to pay a bit extra in tolls (and are staying closer to BGW/Hampton Roads), the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel cuts your travel time and is way more scenic/less traffic-filled than taking I-95. The price to get across the bridge is a bit steep though. You can take a ferry into Jersey as well, but that's even more expensive.

 

I'd love to do a BGW meetup with you. Hopefully this helps.

[larrygator]

If you're willing to pay a bit extra in tolls (and are staying closer to BGW/Hampton Roads), the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel cuts your travel time and is way more scenic/less traffic-filled than taking I-95. The price to get across the bridge is a bit steep though. You can take a ferry into Jersey as well, but that's even more expensive.

 

Not always true. It only saves time if there is a lot of congestion around Washington DC. Only way it is certain to save time is if Trimpers and Morey Piers are part of the itinerary.

Edited November 17, 2011 by larrygator

[cfc]

^You also have to endure driving the entire length of Delaware. You'll be amazed how long such a small state can appear to be. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel toll is $12--one way.

[andybarnes84]

Oh jeese now i'm starting to get a bit nervous about all this traffic talk. I think it would be wise for us to fly into Newark rather than JFK to save some stress, probably stay in Jersey City and get the train into Manhattan. Got the TomTom so hopefully that'll help with the traffic but I suppose it's just cross the fingers and pray

 

Thanks guys and gals really appreciate all your advice has helped a lot!

[David H]

Having just read this thread from the beginning, most of the advice posted here is pretty good. As much as you'll want to visit Cedar Point, it doesn't really make sense to pair it with the northeast, unless you're stopping at lots of parks on the way. Besides, there are a ton of parks from Western PA through the midwest to pair up on a future trip that includes Cedar Point. For instance you could do something like Kennywood-Waldameer-Cedar Point-Kings Island-Holiday World. And if you have more time, you could extend that either west to Six Flags St Louis, Silver Dollar City, and/or Worlds of Fun. Or you could extend a Cedar Point trip northwest and hit parks like Michigan's Adventure, Indiana Beach, Six Flags Great America, the WIsconsin Dells parks, the newly rebuilt Zippin Pippin in Green Bay, WI, and/or even Valleyfair and the Mall of America/Nickelodeon Universe. There are tons of great parks near Cedar Point, so don't try to add it to an East Coast trip unless you have lots of time AND love long drives! Unless, of course, you can catch a cheap flight between cities.... (I managed to include parks in the UK, Scandinavia and Italy, plus a stop in Ibiza for some world class clubbing into one trip this year, thanks to Easyjet and low cost airlines!) Feel ok about skipping Cedar Point this time with the understanding that the next trip there will be better as a result, and this trip will be MUCH better without those ridiculously long drives!

 

That said, a lot will depend on what kind of trips you like. If you're looking to spend most of your days at the parks, and do most of your driving later at night, then traffic will be much less of an issue for you -- although bad traffic can pop up at any time on trips! I did a similar trip in a strange pseudo-S-shape formation from Chicago through the midwest through PA and ending in VA last year, driving almost exclusively at night and didn't really run into any bad traffic. But I'm a night owl. And I'd also been to almost all of those parks, so missing the occasional ride wouldn't have been that bad of a thing. Your girlfriend might not appreciate such a trip and may be much LESS understanding if you try to put her through that!

 

One nice thing about your timing is that most of the parks should not be too busy, since school may still be in in most areas. In fact, you might want to look into this, because schools in the northeast tend to stay open the latest, so it might make more sense to save the New England parks for near the end of the trip. Also, understand that going so early in the season may present you with some other challenges. Many parks will close much earlier than in the peak of the season. But they may also be significantly slower. The one down side of a slower day is that there may not be many people on some of the coasters, which means you'll be getting less than optimum rides. (There were almost no people on any of the woodies at Hersheypark or KIngs Dominion on my trip last year, but along with short lines, that also means very slow woodies!)

 

But the most important thing you should look at is which parks you're going to be at one which days. And if possible, arrange for as many of your culture days on weekends as possible. You absolutely do not want to be at just about any Six Flags park, particularly SFGAdv, on a weekend, unless you love waiting in long lines. And if you can't arrange it any other way, know that all three Six Flags parks have some sort of Flashpass system, with both SFNE and SFGAdv having fairly expensive Q-Bots that are absolutely worth it on a busy day!

 

Also, speaking of Culture days, while parking in DC might be easier on a weekday, are the museums and other sites you want to visits going to be open on the days you may be visiting? You might want to look into that before you're already further along the planning stages.

[SteveHarris]

I movin to similar stuff, but im from brazil

 

heres my trip

 

NYC

SFGadv

SFGadv

DORNEY

HERSHEY

HERSHEY (skyrush)

FEEE DAY FOR ROAD

CEDAR POINT

CEDAR POINT

CEDAR POINT

KINGS ISLAND

KINGS ISLAND

KINGS ISLAND

NYC FREE DAY

NYC FREE DAY

BACK TO RIO

 

u will say 3 daYs in a park, ya thats a once in life time trip for me AND we are goin 17 july..really crowded as many ppl said

[Perilous Chris]

^ Hi,

 

Just a couple suggestions:

 

If I were you, I would try to fit Knoebel's in as well. It's a little over an hour from Hershey, and the Phoenix is one of the best coasters in the country.

 

You may get bored with three days at Kings Island. I planned three days at that park in 2010, and I only used a day and a half. Don't get me wrong, it's a great park, but you may be able to fit another park in during that time like Holiday World.

[SharkTums]

Three days at Kings Island is ridiculous. Trip of a lifetime or not, the park will probably have some sort of skip the line program and no human should ever spend three days there.