milst1 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I know most people work during the week and then hit the parks over the weekend, but instead we decided to travel during the week because Cheryl had to work the weekends. In a rare surprise move, we got into our own car and drove for this latest trip. Delta Air Lines was shocked and dismayed. We headed through the Holland Tunnel to NJ, then south, through Delaware. We didn't know about the dark ride at Rehoboth (duh!), and continued on. First stop: Ocean City, Maryland! Here we are at Jolly Roger Amusement Park! There was a fairly large waterpark on the right as we walked in from the parking lot, looking for the dry rides. "Blackbeard and the Scurvy Dogs" was one of those pathetic animatronic displays that still has a working soundtrack but the actual movements of the figures are a series of clicks and Parkinson shakes. Time for an upgrade! Hooray! Jolly Roger got a new credit this year, apparently from the fair circuit. Sea Serpent is a Miler Oval. 50th Anniversary? Founded in 1964. Not bad. They have two amusement parks, a waterpark, a track, zip lines, and mini-golf Overall, the staff were helpful and friendly. They have a lot of Eastern European students on J-1 visas. One was decidedly unhelpful, but most were very nice. The other credits are a Wacky Worm... ...and a Schwarzkopf Wildcat. Their other park is on the boardwalk, so we headed over there. From what I can tell, Fractured Prune is an Ocean City-based donut shop that is starting to franchise nationally. We didn't check it out but you should. Ahh, boardwalk-y things, like a boardwalk, ferris wheel... ...t-shirt shops... ...theming... ...custard and salt water taffy... Jolly Roger's at the Pier! Looping Star is the one credit. No Coca, Pepsi. Dark Ride! Flats Thank you, Jolly Roger's. Now on to... Trimper's Rides, pretty much next door... Funhouse! Tidal Wave credit is... ...a Vekoma Boomerang! There's also a Wacky Worm. Boog Powell has a place here on the pier, for any baseball fans out there. While not a Hall of Famer, he was on four World Series teams with Baltimore (they won against LA and Cincy and lost to Mets and Pirates), won the AL MVP award in 1970, and was on 4 All-Star teams. They've got a Wacky Worm! Credit! But it's mostly a go-kart kind of place. Time for dinner. We've got an hour drive to Whitehaven, Maryland. Next and last stop in OC was Baja Amusements. Uh, if I drive further on this road, we will drown. A 3-car ferry! No charge. We are driving IN the Chesapeake, more or less. Now I'm drowning in some amazing crab soup at The Red Roost in Whitehaven, Maryland. Hush puppies, fries, shrimp, and clam strips. Fried chicken, sweet corn, and a plate full of these babies. I can refer you to an excellent YouTube video which explains the most efficient method of eating these. What a great meal! Then a long drive to Annapolis, Maryland's capital and the home of the Naval Academy. First stop in the morning, SFA. Cheryl has discovered Strawberry Lemonade Ice. I've never seen these Flash Pass kiosks before. How do they work? Do they not have the Q-Bots here? The park was dead so we didn't look into FP. One day I'm going to do a TR that is just about SF's absurd and crass over-advertising. It's a visual assault. You would think that there is no way to reduce the charm of this park, but they've managed it. We missed one credit here on our last visit, the Vekoma Flying Dutchman. We actually enjoyed this, which was a surprise. It's fairly intense, and it's a long ride. Fun with the WB characters! One shred of charm remaining, Capital Railways. And I'll concede one other point about this park: one admission for water park and dry rides. After Six Flags, we drove to Adventure Park USA. Wildcat is the credit here, which has been at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Rye Playland, Steel Pier, and Williams Grove. They've cleaned it up nicely for Adventure Park USA. This is the midway. We didn't look around much. There are flats and a big arcade indoors. Some theming. Some more drive time and we're at Hershey. Sunset admission saves you a bit. Only $29.80 with four hours to closing. We realized that it's Hersheypark's Christmas in July event and took note of the Hanukkah decorations. They even have a kosher food stand (no crabs there!). It's a bit weird hearing Christmas music while you're sweating, but fun. New credit! Zamperla family gravity coaster. Now to my new favorite ride in the park. I've finally learned how to ride this thing: At loading, scoot your butt a little forward to the leg divider and ask the op for a staple. That keeps the restraint and the forces on my hips and pelvis instead of my femurs. I was able to enjoy the ride instead of worrying about the next blast of pain. Great ride. Some Kissing Tower action. Still plenty of sunlight. This was a pleasant surprise. Big airtime on the final drop with an acceptable amount of wetness! Live trombone entertainment! And we got some quality rides on Lightning Racer. Thank you, Milton S. Hershey! The next morning found us at Knoebel's. Credit! I did really like this ride. As people have already said, it's not a super thrill, but I have become more and more impressed with its technical aspects, and after watching video from the FT at Euclid Beach, I have to give a lot of credit, both to the original ride designers, and to the folks at Knoebel's who figured out how to replicate the ride for the modern public. It's a coaster geek's wet dream. I happen to love Black Diamond. We had a great tour of the construction during the TPR Road to Cedar Point tour, and I love how it turned out. I love any combination of dark ride and coaster. We did the Flyers together, which was a hoot. Scenic Skyway Stratosfear Train! And of course, Phoenix, which always delivers. But the best part of our Knoebel's visit was meeting up with TPR friends Derek, Matt, and Lauren, of course! Thanks so much for going on this great road trip with us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmiemac02 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 First, I really enjoyed this trip report (as well as all of your other adventures). Second, I am doing the Hershey Park at night then Knoebels in the morning trip later this summer. Which days of the week did you go to Hershey and Knoebels, and how were the crowds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 SFA uses the Q-Band (http://accesso.com/loqueue-overview/q-band/) rather than the Q-Bot. Those stations basically scan the bracelet and you can select your ride. I think it's meant more for water parks but of course it's SFA. Great report again Martin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLex Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi five Martin! (coming from the only other person on coaster-count with the Sea Serpent credit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) Did you ride the Haunted House at Trimper's? That's a good one. Edited July 20, 2014 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Did you ride the Haunted House at Trimper's? That's a good one. If he was lame enough to not know about Rehoboth Beach's Haunted House, he probably missed this one also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milst1 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 First, I really enjoyed this trip report (as well as all of your other adventures). Second, I am doing the Hershey Park at night then Knoebels in the morning trip later this summer. Which days of the week did you go to Hershey and Knoebels, and how were the crowds? First, many thanks for checking out the report. I'm glad you liked it. We were at Hershey on Tuesday and Knoebel's on Wednesday. The crowds were relatively light at Hershey and moderately heavy at Knoebel's. Flying Turns had the longest wait, about 45 minutes throughout the day. Enjoy your trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milst1 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Haunted House at Trimper's????? We saw the funhouse and a walkthrough. You don't mean Jolly Roger's at the Pier, whose haunted house we did ride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Haunted House at Trimper's????? We saw the funhouse and a walkthrough. You don't mean Jolly Roger's at the Pier, whose haunted house we did ride? You did miss it! It's right on the boardwalk facing the water. Your ride vehicle is a coffin. Sorry Martin, all the kiddie credits in the world don't make up for missing a great ride that you were less than 50 feet away from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) The dark ride at Jolly Rodger's isn't nearly as good as the one at Trimper's--but I like those walk-through attractions, too. If it makes you feel any better, I failed to find the dark ride at Rehobeth, too. Edited July 20, 2014 by cfc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milst1 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Damn you, Larrygator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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