markysharky17 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Summer planning trip on east coast for July 3-12 Hi, I am trying to plan a summer trip with my mother, sister and father. We are trying to save as much money as possible on the trip. We are doing this all from Florida and we only have 8 days. I was also wandering if any of you guys are aware of any discounts for the parks. I also have a Six Flags season pass. Friday July 3rd- leave from Florida to Kings Dominion, 12 hours. Find hotel. Saturday July 4th- Spend the day at Kings Dominion. Find Hotel Sunday July 5th- Drive 2 hours to SFA and stay till around 6:30. We're going to try and catch a Nationals game at 8:09pm that afternoon and stay at a friends house. Monday July 6th- get up early and drive two and a half hours to Hershey Park. Spend all day ridding Intamins. Stay at hotel that night. Tuesday July 7th- Get up early and drive 6 and a half hours to Cedar Point. We will probably stop in Cleveland and catch an Indians game at 7:10. Then drive to Sandusky after and find a cheap hotel. Wednesday July 8th- Spend the day at Cedar Point. We probably will wanna go back the next day so are there any ways to get a second day cheap? Also a hotel in the area hopefully cheap. Thursday July 9th- Go to Cedar Point again if the price is right and drive maybe an hour out after the park closes towards Cincinnati. We also need to find a cheap hotel that night. Friday July 10th- Finish the drive to Kings Island and stay there all day. We will need to find a hotel that night. Saturday July 11th- Go to the All Star Fan Fest in Cincinnati and leave by 4 to. Drive to Atlanta. Spending the night at a friends. Sunday July 12th- Drive from Atlanta back home. It's about a Six Hour Drive. Please tell me if fastpass is needed at any parks to ride all the coasters. Also let me know about any cheap hotel discounts and park discounts. All help is welcome. Other Info- - I have been to all these parks except for Kings Island. - When I went to Kings Dominion in 2013 I305 was stuck on the lift hill and I couldn't ride it. I have watched the pov for it everyday and I need to ride it!!! - At Hershey I need to ride Skyrush as much as possible and get a few re-rides on Storm Runner and Fahrenheit. Also a few runs on Lightning Racer. When I went the Wild Mouse was closed. The last time I went to Hershey was 2013. - Six Flags America is an okay park. I need to go back to get the Ragin Cajun credit and ride the Jokers Jinx which was closed the last time. I went here last year for the first time. - I've been to Cedar Point before back when Gatekeeper opened and it was extremely crowded. I wanna go back and ride the Intamins. Also will it be crowded when I go? - I've never been to Kings Island and don't know much about it. What order should I hit the park and will it be crowded when I go? -Im at 149 coaster credits. I want I305 to be my 150th credit. Please give me advice on how to hit each park and also tell me if you think it will be crowded or if I should switch some dates around, thanks. If there are any parks I should try and add in or switch around feel free to let me know. I go to New York a lot and I have done a lot of parks in the area. I've also already been to... -SFNE -Dorney -SFGAdventure -Luna park -SFOG - Wild Adventures - Carowinds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 That is a lot of driving. What do your parents think of this plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 That is a lot of driving. What do your parents think of this plan? My dad is all up for it. We normally drive to and from New York once a year. Last year we did 4 Six Flags parks so we're used to all these trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkFunk Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Sunday July 5th- Drive 2 hours to SFA and stay till around 6:30. We're going to try and catch a Nationals game at 8:09pm that afternoon and stay at a friends house. I think this is optimistic given the amount of traffic in the DC area that you'd be able to get from Six Flags to a parking lot near the Nats stadium and inside before first pitch if you stay that long. Luckily, SFA sucks so you can leave earlier. Tuesday July 7th- Get up early and drive 6 and a half hours to Cedar Point. We will probably stop in Cleveland and catch an Indians game at 7:10. Then drive to Sandusky after and find a cheap hotel. Don't double back like that. It is an hour of driving each way, probably using toll roads or Route 2. You'd be better off going to Waldameer or something like that during the day for a couple hours before heading to Cleveland for the game. Otherwise, you're looking at 8 1/2 hours of driving that day with an amusement park stop somewhere in there for only a couple hours. Make the following day a full day. Consider staying at Breakers Express for early entry. Some of these drives are pretty aggressive. To drive to Atlanta after fan fest means 6 1/2 hours minimum on the road after a day of activity. If you don't stop to eat, pee, or for gas (basically impossible) you won't get to the friends house until somewhere between 10:30-11:30PM depending on their location in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 ^ I meant that were stoping at the Indians game on the way to Cedar Point from Hershey. We're not going to Cedar Point then to the Indians game and back to Cedar Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 (edited) Driving from Kings Dominion to SFA on the 4th / 5th of July with the express lanes closed to all traffic in your direction (probably) just sounds like the absolute worst thing ever. If I were you I'd try to get as far as possible after KD closes, like... try to get to Maryland. lol By the way do you have an EZ Pass? If not get one immediately and if by some miracle the HOV lane gods smile upon you that day and open the restricted lanes in your direction use them no matter how expensive they are. EDIT: Also, let me fix July 7th... right now it's broken. Tuesday July 7th- Get up early and drive 6 and a half hours to Cedar Point. We will probably stop in Cleveland and catch an Indians game at 7:10. Then drive to Sandusky after and find a cheap hotel. Why get up early so you can catch a 7:10 game? If you left at noon you'd still be there by game time. Allow me to help... Tuesday July 7th- Get up early and go to Knoebels, the best amusement park in the world. Eat everything. Then stop in Cleveland and catch an Indians game at 7:10 or just be like "screw it we're having way too much fun at Knoebels to leave and go to an Indians game". Then drive to Sandusky after and find a cheap hotel. Edited June 25, 2015 by coasterbill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 ^ How you made it through that entire post without typing the word Knoebels is beyond me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I just edited my post. It's better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 I've heard good things about Knobels but in all honesty it doesn't look that exciting to me. I love big B&M and Intamin machines and I'm not a huge fan of wooden coasters. Unless there like El Toro or a huge twisty GCI. And don't you have to buy tickets for each individual attraction at that park? Is it like a carnival kinda? No offense but don't know much about it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boldikus Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 ^ LOL better watch what you say about Knoebels around these parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Knoebels doesn't look exciting on paper, but if you go there you'll understand. Just trust me on this. B&M GCI When either of those companies builds a coaster that's as good as Phoenix, you let me know... I'm still waiting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejot Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 There is a twisty wood coaster called Twister that I like better than any of the GCI's I've ridden. Phoenix has the best airtime in the world. Not the most forceful, but the best. An opinion, obviously. More opinions: They have one of the best flat ride collections in the world, some of the best theme park food in the world, and an comfortable, friendly atmosphere that I'd not characterize as like a carnival. Unlimited ride wristbands are $46 on July 7th, so you don't have to (but still could) use individual ride tickets. But if you're strongly focused on big steel coasters, you're right, it may not be your cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Knoebels doesn't look exciting on paper, but if you go there you'll understand. Just trust me on this. When either of those companies builds a coaster that's as good as Phoenix, you let me know... I'm still waiting yep. Twister is great too, and so is Black Diamond. You (and your Dad) will be blown away by Knoebel's. Expect to spend way more time there than you plan (in particular the Fascination parlor - which is an amazing time suck). . . and the food there is spectacular too, so bring $$ for that to sample many things. as to Kings Dominion, we were just there last Friday, and there's a Best Western in the parking lot (with a Denny's), and a few hotels (a Days Inn) just across the street. . so that should solve your hotel problem for there. . tho I'd book before you go to ensure you can get a room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yea, I'm probably not going to add Knobels to the trip. It looks like it's also out of the way and we don't want to add an extra two hours to the trip... Another thing, what are the rain policies at these parks because it looks like it's going to rain at all of the when we go... The rain has definitely got me quiet paranoid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Yea, I'm probably not going to add Knobels to the trip. It looks like it's also out of the way and we don't want to add an extra two hours to the trip. Then skip Six Flags America. Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkFunk Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Another thing, what are the rain policies at these parks because it looks like it's going to rain at all of the when we go... The rain has definitely got me quiet paranoid... First off: What up. I get it - you're a big baseball fan and this is about going to see games as much as coasters. You might as well take your time getting to Cleveland then. There's a lot of stuff on the way amusement park wise, national and state park wise, museum wise, all that. I don't know what if anything else you want to get out of this, but worse case scenario, you can relax in the Hershey area that morning and leave later (10/11AM). If you don't want to do Knoebels, don't go. You're not gonna get anything out if it if you don't want to get anything out of it, and it doesn't sound like you really care. Knoebels' wood coasters are top notch, but if you don't really care about flat rides, park food, games, or dark rides, you're just gonna want to leave in an hour or two. Now, your question: Rain policies. Cedar Point will close basically every coaster down. All of 'em. Everyone else will probably run their rides in anything except a downpour. I think the advice about driving up from KD to SFA goes along with mine about traffic in that area. It is terrible. Really. Without a Cedar Fair platinum pass, you can't get into Kings Island early, so if you arrive after opening, you can just determine after arrival if a Fast Lane band will be necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Yea, I'm probably not going to add Knobels to the trip. It looks like it's also out of the way and we don't want to add an extra two hours to the trip... Okay well have fun at Six Flags America. We tried to help. Another thing, what are the rain policies at these parks because it looks like it's going to rain at all of the when we go... The rain has definitely got me quiet paranoid... At Cedar Point they have a wheel set up called the rain policy wheel. Every time it gets cloudy they bring out a blindfolded trained monkey to spin the wheel for each ride and that determines if the ride can operate in the rain. Then every few minutes they have the monkey spin it again (even if the rain hasn't changed at all in intensity) and that determines the new rain policy for each ride. This continues until the rain stops or until every ride in the park closes due to a light breeze. In all seriousness, that might as well really be how they come up with the rain policy. As a general rule, Dragster closes in any rain and for every other coaster just flip a coin. Rougarou, Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister and Millennium Force are usually open, Raptor and Magnum are usually closed but these things are subject to change with no regard for logic or how hard it's raining so be prepared for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farley Flavors Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 there's a Best Western in the parking lot (with a Denny's), and a few hotels (a Days Inn) just across the street. . so that should solve your hotel problem for there. . tho I'd book before you go to ensure you can get a room. Since you're short of both time and money on this trip, I'd suggest "book before you go" is excellent advice. Once you've finalized your itinerary, do some research and get your hotels booked in advance. Not only will it save you the pain of driving around trying to find a cheap hotel after a long day's driving or trawling around a park, you'll likely save money over the walk-in rates too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCI Wooden Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Yea, I'm probably not going to add Knobels to the trip. It looks like it's also out of the way and we don't want to add an extra two hours to the trip. Then skip Six Flags America. Problem solved. Yea, I'm probably not going to add Knobels to the trip. It looks like it's also out of the way and we don't want to add an extra two hours to the trip... Okay well have fun at Six Flags America. We tried to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Kings Dominion 2015 summer trip So my first theme park of the trip was Kings Dominion. I hadn’t been here since 2013 and when I went I305 was closed. I myself am an Intamin lover and I always make trips just for these Intamin coasters. We went to Kings Dominion on July 4th and it was pretty crowded. There was also a 50% chance of rain which haunted me for about two weeks but it only rained for a little so it wasn’t to be. I also took these pics with an Iphone 5c. Also some of them were taken on snapchat. Kings Dominions front gate always amazes me. It is definitely up there as one of the greatest theme park entrances. After we took a quick photo by the front gate me and my little sister went ahead and got online for Berserker. This is the third Intamin Starship that we have ridden and they are all fun but a little bit painful. After that I got a call from my dad and he said he was by I305 and that there was no line. Me and my sister immediately bolted there and sure enough there was no line! My dad said that my sister should wait on this one after hearing about how intense it was. It was also going to be my 150th coaster. INTIMIDATOR 305 Review!!! So as soon as I got to the I305 area of the park I saw that there was no line so I immediately got on line for it with my dad. I wanted to do the front row for my first ride but the line was a good 15mins and everything else was about a one train wait so we just went ahead and did the last row. The harnesses were super comfy even though they squeeze your head a little when you put it on. We then heard the gentlemen start your engine thing and we speed up that lift hill like no tomorrow. As we reached the top of the lift hill all I could see were the woods straight out and the tiny rebel yell to my right. I threw up my hands and then I was then immediately yanked down the lift hill and was ripped to the right on an amazing grey out inducing turn. Me and my dad started shouting that we greyed out along the first turn. We started going up the ejector airtime hill and we then regained our vision. We then were thrown left and ejected then thrown left again then right then left then another wide right turn. Every fast turn ejected me out of my seat and gave me little time to breath. We then went up another airtime hill with trim braked that provided floater air that was better than most B&M’s. After that we went into another floater air turn that dived to the left. I was already wowed by this point but then we entered another twist and I was once again ejected out of my seat into the shoulder restraint. We then dove into the break run. Me and my dad were both speechless… Oh my… This has to be the best coaster ever created. I knew it was going to be amazing but I wasn’t expected it to be this good. It even took Skyrush out for my number one spot. I recommend everyone who loves riding coasters to go check this out!!! Its amazing!!! (I also ended up riding it about 14x threw out the day because of how good it was) After that I rode Flight of Fear which is always fun. Definitely better than the other version of it at Kings Island which I will talk about later on… Then we went to Volcano and saw that the line was spilling out the entrance…. Nope! We then saw that there was a plinko for Volcano and I always win these. I won the Fury 325 one twice in a row and also won the Maverick one at Cedar Point. So you guessed it, I won! We then went in through the exit and were about to get on. But it broke down… They gave us the exit pass back and I just decided to do the Crypt alone. No one else in my group wanted to ride. It was fun as always and all the affects were working. I hope they don’t get rid of this ride anytime soon. After that Volcano opened back up and me and my sister got on through the regular line because it looked to be a short wait. We waited about 15-20mins and then got on. Volcano was awesome as always but it feels a little too short. I wish Intamin could have added a loop or something more to it. It is still the second best ride in the park… After that we did Anaconda and it was decent. Not to bad... Hopefully they will replace it with something cooler and smoother. I’m not going to go into every little detail because I have already done a trip report for this park and I also have a lot of school work to do. I rode a lot of stuff and definitely made the most out of my day… Here are a few more reviews… Dominator- Still one of the best B&M roller coasters out there. I have been on majority of the floorless roller coasters from B&M and this one awesome. Not as good as Kraken but better the Rougarou! 8/10 Grizzly- It’s like a mini version of the Beast but a lot bumpier and with more air time. Still a cool coaster. 5/10 Volcano- 9/10 Intimidator 305- 10/10 Hurler- This ride sucks so much. The one at Carowinds sucks also. They just shuffle around little hills that have no air time and it has a very basic layout. Can Cedar Fair please knock down both of them and put Intamin Blitz’s in there spots… 2/10 Backlot Stunt Coaster- Cool little launch coaster. It goes fast and has nice transitions. A little bumpy but still very cool! 6/10 Flight Of Fear- 8/10 Ghoster Coaster- Smooth and fun. It even had some ejector air in the last row. 5/10 Anaconda- 5/10 Avalanche- Smooth and fun. It has a bit of an awkward seating arrangement… Lol 6/10 All the other coasters I had ridden on my 2013 visit so I either didn’t care for them or didn’t get to them… Sorry I missed you Rebel Yell… Not missing you Shockwave, you were awful and won’t be missed… Me and Dad riding Intimidator 305! On the way out I said hello to Pat Jones. I meet her the time I came in 2013 and I wrote her a letter before I came to the park so she remembered who I was. I talked to her about roller coasters and I told her how I would love to see another Intamin. She told me that she loves Intamin and that she would definitely buy from them again. But then we talked about other company’s and the Hypersonic XLC which I never got a chance to ride. She also told informed me that “There is definitely room for a B&M here”. She said that they are missing that B&M floaty coaster and that she would love to have one. We’ll just have to wait and see what they receive… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markysharky17 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Kings Dominion 2015 summer trip So my first theme park of the trip was Kings Dominion. I hadn’t been here since 2013 and when I went I305 was closed. I myself am an Intamin lover and I always make trips just for these Intamin coasters. We went to Kings Dominion on July 4th and it was pretty crowded. There was also a 50% chance of rain which haunted me for about two weeks but it only rained for a little so it wasn’t to be. I also took these pics with an Iphone 5c. Also some of them were taken on snapchat. Kings Dominions front gate always amazes me. It is definitely up there as one of the greatest theme park entrances. After we took a quick photo by the front gate me and my little sister went ahead and got online for Berserker. This is the third Intamin Starship that we have ridden and they are all fun but a little bit painful. After that I got a call from my dad and he said he was by I305 and that there was no line. Me and my sister immediately bolted there and sure enough there was no line! My dad said that my sister should wait on this one after hearing about how intense it was. It was also going to be my 150th coaster. INTIMIDATOR 305 Review!!! So as soon as I got to the I305 area of the park I saw that there was no line so I immediately got on line for it with my dad. I wanted to do the front row for my first ride but the line was a good 15mins and everything else was about a one train wait so we just went ahead and did the last row. The harnesses were super comfy even though they squeeze your head a little when you put it on. We then heard the gentlemen start your engine thing and we speed up that lift hill like no tomorrow. As we reached the top of the lift hill all I could see were the woods straight out and the tiny rebel yell to my right. I threw up my hands and then I was then immediately yanked down the lift hill and was ripped to the right on an amazing grey out inducing turn. Me and my dad started shouting that we greyed out along the first turn. We started going up the ejector airtime hill and we then regained our vision. We then were thrown left and ejected then thrown left again then right then left then another wide right turn. Every fast turn ejected me out of my seat and gave me little time to breath. We then went up another airtime hill with trim braked that provided floater air that was better than most B&M’s. After that we went into another floater air turn that dived to the left. I was already wowed by this point but then we entered another twist and I was once again ejected out of my seat into the shoulder restraint. We then dove into the break run. Me and my dad were both speechless… Oh my… This has to be the best coaster ever created. I knew it was going to be amazing but I wasn’t expected it to be this good. It even took Skyrush out for my number one spot. I recommend everyone who loves riding coasters to go check this out!!! Its amazing!!! (I also ended up riding it about 14x threw out the day because of how good it was) After that I rode Flight of Fear which is always fun. Definitely better than the other version of it at Kings Island which I will talk about later on… Then we went to Volcano and saw that the line was spilling out the entrance…. Nope! We then saw that there was a plinko for Volcano and I always win these. I won the Fury 325 one twice in a row and also won the Maverick one at Cedar Point. So you guessed it, I won! We then went in through the exit and were about to get on. But it broke down… They gave us the exit pass back and I just decided to do the Crypt alone. No one else in my group wanted to ride. It was fun as always and all the affects were working. I hope they don’t get rid of this ride anytime soon. After that Volcano opened back up and me and my sister got on through the regular line because it looked to be a short wait. We waited about 15-20mins and then got on. Volcano was awesome as always but it feels a little too short. I wish Intamin could have added a loop or something more to it. It is still the second best ride in the park… After that we did Anaconda and it was decent. Not to bad... Hopefully they will replace it with something cooler and smoother. I’m not going to go into every little detail because I have already done a trip report for this park and I also have a lot of school work to do. I rode a lot of stuff and definitely made the most out of my day… Here are a few more reviews… Dominator- Still one of the best B&M roller coasters out there. I have been on majority of the floorless roller coasters from B&M and this one awesome. Not as good as Kraken but better the Rougarou! 8/10 Grizzly- It’s like a mini version of the Beast but a lot bumpier and with more air time. Still a cool coaster. 5/10 Volcano- 9/10 Intimidator 305- 10/10 Hurler- This ride sucks so much. The one at Carowinds sucks also. They just shuffle around little hills that have no air time and it has a very basic layout. Can Cedar Fair please knock down both of them and put Intamin Blitz’s in there spots… 2/10 Backlot Stunt Coaster- Cool little launch coaster. It goes fast and has nice transitions. A little bumpy but still very cool! 6/10 Flight Of Fear- 8/10 Ghoster Coaster- Smooth and fun. It even had some ejector air in the last row. 5/10 Anaconda- 5/10 Avalanche- Smooth and fun. It has a bit of an awkward seating arrangement… Lol 6/10 All the other coasters I had ridden on my 2013 visit so I either didn’t care for them or didn’t get to them… Sorry I missed you Rebel Yell… Not missing you Shockwave, you were awful and won’t be missed… Me and Dad riding Intimidator 305! On the way out I said hello to Pat Jones. I meet her the time I came in 2013 and I wrote her a letter before I came to the park so she remembered who I was. I talked to her about roller coasters and I told her how I would love to see another Intamin. She told me that she loves Intamin and that she would definitely buy from them again. But then we talked about other company’s and the Hypersonic XLC which I never got a chance to ride. She also told informed me that “There is definitely room for a B&M here”. She said that they are missing that B&M floaty coaster and that she would love to have one. We’ll just have to wait and see what they receive… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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