East Coast Parks - Need Suggestions

[rcjp]

^Very wisely. I went to Hershey last year and was very pleasantly surprised: two awesome rides (skyrush ans storm runner); two pretty good ones (Fahrenheit and great bear); a fun duelling woodie; a more family focused and very smooth ride (sooperdooperlooper) and even the boomerang isn't bad (the only thing I didn't like was wildcat). And also a very nice setting and surroundings.

[raptor6]

If I were to change the itinerary, it would look like this:

 

Day 1 - Drive to BGW From KI (KI is like my 2nd home park, just doing ERT)

Day 2 - Busch Gardens Williamsburg (2nd Visit)

Day 3 - Kings Dominion

Day 4 - Six Flags America & Hershey Preview

Day 5 - Hersheypark

Day 6 - Dorney until bored, drive to Knoebels

Day 7 - Great Adventure

Day 8 - Six Flags New England

Day 9 - Quassy and Lake Compounce

Day 10 - Drive home, hit Waldameer for a few laps on Ravine Flyer II (2nd Visit to Waldameer)

 

You might want to think about flip-flopping Dorney and Knoebels. You'll save yourself about 1.5 hours of drive time.

[Barge84]

If I were to change the itinerary, it would look like this:

 

Day 1 - Drive to BGW From KI (KI is like my 2nd home park, just doing ERT)

Day 2 - Busch Gardens Williamsburg (2nd Visit)

Day 3 - Kings Dominion

Day 4 - Six Flags America & Hershey Preview

Day 5 - Hersheypark

Day 6 - Dorney until bored, drive to Knoebels

Day 7 - Great Adventure

Day 8 - Six Flags New England

Day 9 - Quassy and Lake Compounce(

Day 10 - Drive home, hit Waldameer for a few laps on Ravine Flyer II (2nd Visit to Waldameer)

 

If you did this itinerary, I'd suggest doing Knoebels first, then Dorney. You'll be doing a lot of backtracking if you're going to do Hershey/Dorney/Knoebels/SFGAdv in that order. If you do Hershey/Knoebels/Dorney/SFGAdv you'd at least always be moving west to east.

 

***Edit: Raptor6 beat me to it!

Edited March 11, 2014 by Barge84

[WildStangAlex]

You might want to think about flip-flopping Dorney and Knoebels. You'll save yourself about 1.5 hours of drive time.

 

Yep, you're definitely correct, my friend. I've updated my original post to reflect this.

 

Day 1 - Drive to BGW From KI (KI is like my 2nd home park, just doing ERT)

Day 2 - Busch Gardens Williamsburg (2nd Visit)

Day 3 - Kings Dominion

Day 4 - Six Flags America & Hershey Preview

Day 5 - Hersheypark

Day 6 - Knoebels & Dorney Park

Day 7 - Six Flags Great Adventure

Day 8 - Six Flags New England

Day 9 - Quassy (for WW) and Lake Compounce, drive halfway to Waldameer

Day 10 - Drive home, hit Waldameer for a few laps on Ravine Flyer II (2nd Visit to Waldameer)

[larrygator]

To me it's like the boardwalk version of Knoebels.

 

Not even close.

 

As far as Coney Island I'm sorry but the place is a complete dump. It's much better but it's still a complete dump.

 

I had one more idea by the way... have you ever been to Conneaut Lake?

 

Let me get this straight, you say Coney Island should be avoided because it is a dump, then suggest Conneaut Lake? Now I not go to defend the grittiness of Coney Island, but I can't say Conneaut is any better.

[coasterbill]

I'm only suggesting Conneaut Lake because it's a quick credit that's not out of the way. Coney Island would be a whole day, it's out of the way and you need to go over some expensive bridges to get there and deal with NYC traffic. It's also really expensive because of all of the different operators and insane price of ride tickets. That was my thought process... I'm not comparing them. lol

[larrygator]

I'm only suggesting Conneaut Lake because it's a quick credit that's not out of the way. Coney Island would be a whole day, it's out of the way and you need to go over some expensive bridges to get there and deal with NYC traffic. It's also really expensive because of all of the different operators and insane price of ride tickets. That was my thought process... I'm not comparing them. lol

 

 

That makes more sense now, I was focusing too much on the comparing the two parks. True Conneaut is a much cheaper and faster credit with the route.

[megametal]

And Conneaut and it's credit won't be around as long as anything else either. It's in danger of permanent closure every single year it seems. Blue Streak is a great wooden coaster, though, so enjoy it while you can... and the fun-house.

[WildStangAlex]

And Conneaut and it's credit won't be around as long as anything else either. It's in danger of permanent closure every single year it seems. Blue Streak is a great wooden coaster, though, so enjoy it while you can... and the fun-house.

 

Noted.

[WildStangAlex]

Does anybody know how much the Hersheypark tickets go for at the Hershey Camp Resort?

[A.J.]

I'm not sure about the exact rate, but I'm pretty sure that it's the cheapest rate on park tickets that you can get. Staying at a Hershey resort (The Hotel, the Lodge or the Camp) and buying a ticket at the resort you're staying also gets you early park admission, as well as the "preview plan" that you get on every other ticket.

[WildStangAlex]

Alright, I now have all my accommodations booked for the parks we're going to. Does anybody have any specific advice for the following parks regarding Food, Rides I can't miss, or What to ride first to avoid long lines, etc.

 

Kings Dominion, Hersheypark, Knoebels, Dorney Park, Great Adventure, SFNE, Quassy & Lake Compounce

[coasterbill]

Great! It sounds like you're going to have a great trip.

 

I have a few suggestions:

 

Kings Dominion

If you're not getting Fastlane, ride Volcano first as it always gets a huge line. I know going to I305 first is tempting but I'd get Volcano done before heading there as lines can get unbearably long.

 

Hersheypark

The best way to avoid lines is to go to the back first and work your way forwards. That being said to be safe you might want to ride Skyrush first anyway just to ensure you get the credit.

 

Knoebels

I wouldn't eat meals here, just walk around and sample everything. All of the food is great.

 

Make sure you ride everything, most flat rides here run better programs than they do anywhere else. Their Bumper Cars, Flyers and Carousel are amazing. Don't miss the Skyride.

 

Dorney Park

There won't be lines there except for in the waterpark. My only tip is to only ride the Rapids if you're okay with getting completely soaked.

 

Great Adventure

Assuming Kingda Ka is open, ride this first for obvious reasons. Six Flags has really got this ride running reliably now (though it goes down at some point almost every day) but just to be on the safe side, ride it first and get the credit. I'd suggest riding it twice. Once in the second row of the first car because it never has a line due to the bottleneck caused by the line for the front row and then again in the very front. This ride is MUCH BETTER in the front but riding it in row 2 first gets you the credit while giving the ride the least amount of time to break down. After that I'd ride El Toro... and then you can really go in any order you want. I would suggest a Flash Pass for this park as Superman, Green Lantern, El Toro and Kingda Ka always have long lines.

 

Don't miss Houdini's Great Escape. It's much better than the one in New England and it's a really cool experience.

 

On El Toro, the best seat is in the last car, middle seat. When you get into the station just push your way to the back, lines for the back rows are always much shorter than the lines for the front rows.

 

Remember that you can reserve your next ride as soon as the Q Bot attendant scans you in. Don't wait to get off the ride before reserving your next ride.

 

Safari Off Road Adventure will take at least 2 hours out of your day not including the first queue in the main park. Only ride it if you're okay with that.

 

SFNE

I'd resist the urge to ride Bizarro first and instead do Goliath. Goliath is ridiculously unreliable and it can run in cold temperatures or in any rain whatsoever. Also, ask the operator who is assigning seats if you can wait for the front. Goliath usually has friendly operators (unlike every other ride in this park) and they'll usually let you. You have to ride this in the front to really appreciate it.

 

Don't miss Buzzsaw or Tomohawk, they're both very good flats.

 

You can't wait for a specific seat on Batman (even though the sign says you can... if you try to obey the posted rules you'll probably be treated rudely by the operators so just do what they say), Thunderbolt, Goliath (besides maybe the front) or Scream. On Scream, they'll randomly assign a tower to you. I know every other park let's you choose between blasting up and down so I wanted to mention that.

 

Eat at JB's by Goliath. It's easily the best food in the park.

 

Quassy

Give wooden warrior at least one ride in the back car.

 

Lake Compounce

The Skyride is the most unique ride here but it's a very long ride. Unless you're in a time crunch make sure you ride this.

[Barge84]

Great! It sounds like you're going to have a great trip.

 

Hersheypark

The best way to avoid lines is to go to the back first and work your way forwards. That being said to be safe you might want to ride Skyrush first anyway just to ensure you get the credit.

 

Dorney Park

There won't be lines there except for in the waterpark. My only tip is to only ride the Rapids if you're okay with getting completely soaked.

 

A lot of great advice from CoasterBill. I'll just add a couple of things. At Hershey, I always do Farhenheit, then Storm Runner, then head to the back of the park.Farhenheit can be a brutal line.

 

At Dorney, do the Wild Mouse first thing in the morning. That will be by far the worst line of the day if you don't. Everything else is usually a walk-on, or a very short wait.

[Whodey]

Wild Mouse first is the best advice for Dorney. Also Flashpass at SFGAdv. Just so many rides and if you schedule your next ride right after they clear you on a ride you never wait. Most rides take 10-15 minutes after they scan your flashpass.

[WildStangAlex]

Also Flashpass at SFGAdv.

 

Even on June 12? A Thursday Early in June?

[coasterbill]

You don't need to buy it before going to the park, if it's not busy then you won't need it but be prepared to buy them. Great Adventure can get very crowded.

[larrygator]

Alright, I now have all my accommodations booked for the parks we're going to. Does anybody have any specific advice for the following parks regarding Food, Rides I can't miss, or What to ride first to avoid long lines, etc.

 

Kings Dominion, Hersheypark, Knoebels, Dorney Park, Great Adventure, SFNE, Quassy & Lake Compounce

 

My favorite food choices at some of those parks are as follows:

 

Hersheypark: The BBQ place down by Trailblazer. Also make sure the get a something from the smores cart.

 

Knoebels: Pretty much anything. Fried Cheese on a stick (mozzarella in cornbread), Corn nuggets, pierogies, frozen sweet tea, If you get there before opening go to the International Food Court for homemade french toast.

 

Great Adventure: The turkey legs provide the most bang for your buck, Nathans and Panda Express are good, but higher priced than outside an amusement park

 

SFNE: The indoor BBQ joint near the Goliath entrance serves tasty food

 

Lake Compounce: Potato Patch fries