Where Should I Go In 2015?

[YOLO]

I live in south Mississippi, We are willing to fly but not overseas or to other countries. We like to take our time and sometimes stay at parks for 2 or 3 days if they are worth it (we went to Dollywood for 5 days in 2013). We are willing to spend a maximum of 3,000 dollars on the trip, and we want to go to at least 2 parks. We want to try something new, we have already been to Dollywood and all the Orlando parks. Thank you for helping us out, we have been trying to plan since late summer and we can't figure out where we should go.

[nicman]

Carowinds and Magic Mountain because of there new awesome roller coasters!

[ernierocker]

^Facepalm.

 

Why don't you try and suggest two parks that are further apart.

[Angle O. Descent]

Texas could be an idea if you don't mind driving - SF Fiesta, SeaWorld, Schlitterbahn, SFOT

[GnastyGnoric7]

How about Hersheypark and Knoebles, both parks are excellent, and are getting a new coaster next year.

[tarheel1231]

Go out to the mid-west and try out Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. They're about an hour away from each other. My other suggestion would be Carowinds and Dollywood. They're about 3 1/2 hours away from each other, but you'll get more credits (if you're a credit whore).

[YOLO]

I am a credit whore. I like the Texas idea, we could stop at Kemah and Galveston Island Pier in 1 day as well. 27 creds with a side of Ebola. Keep posting ideas.

[SharkTums]

I also like the Texas suggestion as well as a Pennsylvania trip with Knoebels, Hershey, then over to SFGAd in Jersey.

 

If you haven't done Cedar Point yet, that would also be a good option for you especially to go as a family and spend a few days.

[tarheel1231]

I think CP and KI have a joint-ticket where you can visit both parks for one price. You could start at Cedar Point, then work your way down to Kings Island and finish at Holiday World. 25 credits (not as much as Texas, but you only have to visit 3 parks).

[YOLO]

We actually have a trip on the shelf for 2016 to go to Beech Bend, Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, Kings Island, and Cedar Point. I went to Cedar Point when I was 8 but I only rode 7 of the coasters, the best one being Gemini or Blue Streak...

[coasterchitchat]

I think CP and KI have a joint-ticket where you can visit both parks for one price. You could start at Cedar Point, then work your way down to Kings Island and finish at Holiday World. 25 credits (not as much as Texas, but you only have to visit 3 parks).

 

Don't forget Kentucky Kingdom and a quick trip to Coney Island in Cincinnati for a credit.

[RideofSteel]

If you're really into credits NJ/PA is the place for you.

 

Dorney, Hersey, Great Adventure, Knoebels and Morey's are all within a couple hours of Philly. There are also lots of smaller parks nearby, such as a Clementon Park (rare S&S woodie), Funplex Mount Laurel (SBF Visa spinning mouse), Steel Pier, Castaway Cove, and more. You also could go down to SFA or up to NYC within a couple hours.

[rcdude]

My first thought for this was to do a Mid-West loop including Cedar Point, Holiday World, and Kings Island (plus more parks as time permits). However, if you are planning that for 2016, an East Coast trip would be a good option. If you're mostly interested in credits, go between Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags New England, stopping at all the small parks along the way (any Jersey shore parks that strike your fancy, Coney Island, Playland Park, Quassy, and Lake Compounce). If you're more interested in quality parks, you might want to go from Six Flags Great Adventure to Hersheypark and include stops at Dorney, Knoebels, and any convenient small parks. If you've got the time you could do the whole loop, but it would probably exceed your budget.

 

A second good option would be Southern California. The Disneyland Resort is worth 3 days, and you've got four other major parks (Knott's Berry Farm, SeaWorld San Diego, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios Hollywood) within a 2 hour drive. If you need to satisfy credit whoring needs, you could also include LEGOLAND California and/or the Inland Empire parks (Castle Amusement Park and Scandia Amusement Park). Unfortunately, California is expensive so it might be out of your budget to spend a week here, but without going to Florida it is your best option if you're looking for theme parks vs. amusement parks.

 

One other option that hasn't been mentioned is Virginia, which would let you visit Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion. If you're looking for a shorter trip (such as a long weekend), I'd probably choose this. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a drive (4-5 hours) from here to any other major parks, so it would probably be difficult to incorporate these parks into an East Coast trip if you've only got a week.

[milst1]

Lots and lots of good ideas here. You could also try a Waldameer, Conneaut Lake, Kennywood, Kings Island (+ Coney Island), Wyandot , and Cedar Point loop (not necessarily in that order), flying in/out of Cleveland or Pittsburgh.

 

Do you already have the Brookhaven, Mississippi Exchange Club credit?

[larrygator]

Step 1: List the Top 10 US parks you want to visit.

Step 2: Determine if any two of those parks are within 250 miles of each other.

Step 3: Visit those two parks and anything else nearby.

[DonGeorge]

A California trip is a great Idea. You could start in LA and ride Twisted Colossus, Voyage to the Iron Reef(?), USH, DLR, and maybe even go up north to SCBB, CGA & SFDK.

[prozach626]

Save your money and drive if you're within 12 hours. You could drive to Cedar Point if you haven't been, and then hit KI, which is also close. Of drive to King's Dominion and Busch Garden Williamsburg. Do your homework and go somewhere you can drive. Six Flags over Georgia should also be close.

[coasterbill]

If you're really into credits NJ/PA is the place for you.

 

Dorney, Hersey, Great Adventure, Knoebels and Morey's are all within a couple hours of Philly. There are also lots of smaller parks nearby, such as a Clementon Park (rare S&S woodie), Funplex Mount Laurel (SBF Visa spinning mouse), Steel Pier, Castaway Cove, and more. You also could go down to SFA or up to NYC within a couple hours.

 

This option is a great one even if you don't care about credits.

 

If you don't care about credits then you can just go to Dorney, Hershey, Great Adventure and Knoebels since they're all very close to eachother. The shore parks are really just credit stops. With this trip you'd get to ride some amazing coasters... Phoenix, El Toro, Skyrush, Storm Runner and Kingda Ka (ride it in the front and ignore the haters).

 

If you wanted to you could skip Dorney but there's no reason to because if you from Knoebels to Great Adventure you'll literally drive right by the park and even though you like to spend time at parks you could ride everything worth riding in 3 hours if you want to.

 

Any of the other 3 parks would be good multi-day parks. Hershey and Great Adventure because they get very crowded and a second day means you don't have to rush around as much and Knoebels because even though you'll have no problem riding everything in a day it's an amazing park and you'll love it and never want to leave.

[DirkFunk]

I live in south Mississippi, We are willing to fly but not overseas or to other countries. We like to take our time and sometimes stay at parks for 2 or 3 days if they are worth it (we went to Dollywood for 5 days in 2013). We are willing to spend a maximum of 3,000 dollars on the trip, and we want to go to at least 2 parks. We want to try something new, we have already been to Dollywood and all the Orlando parks. Thank you for helping us out, we have been trying to plan since late summer and we can't figure out where we should go.

 

Among the theme parks you didn't mention, there aren't that many I'd think about spending multiple days focused on and imagine I'd have a great time at. Disneyland, Cedar Point, and Silver Dollar City are the obvious picks for me. If you were to fly to John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County and focus on Disneyland Resort (two parks, have more rides than all the WDW parks combined) and Knotts, you could have a really nice week trip sans rental car, relying on Taxis or Supershuttle. Stay off property at Disneyland and you can still walk to the parks in less than 10 minutes depending on your hotel. Assuming you properly budget your food expenditures, you should be able to do it all for under $3,000. It'll be tight, but worth it IMO.

 

The other two parks have geography that requires a rental car and significant driving time, which adds costs to the trip. Yes, Cedar Point is certainly cheaper to go to than Disneyland ticket vs. ticket, but just renting a car plus parking it will probably add $40 a day in expenses at the low end and can easily rise above that. While lodging in Anaheim near to Disneyland but off site may not look *that* appealing, it will match up well pricewise to the multitudes of roach motels in the Sandusky area and yet probably be nicer and more comfortable to stay in. Knott's is just a 15 minute cab ride away, whereas your closest amusements to Cedar Point will be Kings Island/Strickers Grove/Coney Island Cinci (4 hours or so), Columbus Zoo/Ohio State Fair (2.5 south), and Waldameer (around 2 hours), and as an experience is definitely "worth it" in my view. Silver Dollar City has similar disadvantages with regards to distance from Worlds of Fun, Six Flags St. Louis, or Magic Springs.

[YOLO]

When I said I was a credit whore I meant I would ride the kiddie coasters in a park/stop at small parks on the way, not skip a park with a world class coaster to go to another park with more creds.