Farley Flavors Posted October 9, 2015 Posted October 9, 2015 Firstly, apologies for the lack of photos in the report. We had limited time at most of the parks which was mostly spent rushing from one ride to the next. Besides, I'm not much of a photographer and judging by some of the gorgeous coaster porn I've seen around these parts, you'd have been disappointed in my efforts. I'll post a couple of days' worth at a time to save y'all getting TR fatigue! Anyway - what a trip. 3213 miles in 13 days. 10 theme parks. 122 rides on 74 different coasters (plus 9 flats). We had a blast! Day -1. Friday 14th. August. The trip didn't start well. Mrs. Flavors works for British Airways. This has the obvious advantage of getting us cheap flights but the downside is that you can often not be sure of getting onboard. The plan was to fly to Chicago and we'd been monitoring the two daily flights for several weeks. Right up to the last minute it was touch and go so I'd booked a cancellable car rental, although I'd gone ahead and booked up most of the hotels for the first week of the trip at non-cancellable rates, figuring that with so many flights to the East Coast we'd get to the States somehow. A final check of the next day's flights in the evening showed that a further three seats had opened up so it now looked likely that we'd be getting on. I went ahead and used Priceline to bid for a hotel near O'Hare, confirmed and paid for the car rental and we both went off to bed. Day 0. Saturday 15th August. Up at 0600 to pack up and head to the airport for our early afternoon flight. Thought we'd best have one final check of the flight. It had been cancelled overnight. For "operational reasons". Panic mode set in. With an entire 747 jumbo's worth of people heading to Chicago being spread around other flights and passengers being offered several hundreds of pounds to delay their flight until the next day, we knew that there was no way we were getting to Chicago on a staff ticket any time soon. While Mrs. Flavors checked how busy the other East Coast flights were, I began searching for the cheapest internal flights from each of BA's destinations. New York was the worst at $460 per one-way ticket. The best options were either Atlanta with a $150 flight the same day, or Philadelphia with a $100 flight early the next morning. We decided to try for Atlanta first as it departed two hours before the Philly flight, giving us two chances to get out. With a staff standby ticket on a busy flight, you're only given a seat when the flight is closed to the public, meaning a mad dash through security to get to the gate. At Heathrow, they won't even let you enter the security queue if there is less than 35 minutes until the flight departure time. Fifty minutes before the Atlanta flight left, the check-in clerk printed off my boarding pass. But she couldn't print off Mrs. Flavors'. She had no valid ESTA. An ESTA is an electronic visa system for the USA. No ESTA and you're not allowed to board. They're valid for two years and normally you're sent and email warning you of imminent expiry but for some reason she hadn't received this. Panic mode again! I whipped out the laptop and desperately tried to get the online application form completed in time. No luck. Despite the Flight Management clerk keeping the flight open as long as she could, the plane to Atlanta left without us. It took around half an hour for the ESTA to be validated. Forty-five minutes before the Philly departure, we had boarding passes in business class - another perk of working for the airline! We'd been lucky though - we were two of only four staff who got on the flight. With some relief, I powered up the laptop again and secured flights on Delta from Philly to Chicago for the next morning. The flight was fine and uneventful. We both managed to get a couple of hours sleep. On arrival we strolled to the Marriott hotel to use their WiFi to book a cheap hotel for the night which ended up being an Extended Stay America. The hotel was fine but as is usual with cheap hotels near airports, it was in a decidedly dodgy area of town. By just before midnight, we were in bed.
Farley Flavors Posted October 10, 2015 Author Posted October 10, 2015 Day 1. Sunday 16th August. Four hours sleep and up at 0350 to catch the flight to Chicago via Detroit with a 100 minute layover. By 0945 we had picked up the rental car - a fairly new Chrysler 300. The road trip could finally start! First stop was a Target store near O'Hare to stock up on essentials - water, snacks, wine, beer and toiletries. There was the usual heavy traffic going through the centre of Chicago but we made good time after that and were in the parking lot at Kings Island by 1715. The lot was worryingly full, but it was sunny and 83 degrees and luckily most of the crowd seemed to be in the waterpark. The plan for the evening was to spend a couple of hours wandering around getting the lay of the land and jumping on any less popular rides with minor lines. Picked up our pre-booked passes at the processing centre and were given a couple of one-use Fast Lane tickets, which was a nice touch. By 1745 we were in line for our first coaster of the trip! Invertigo Pretty much a walk-on. We waited for the front row which only took five minutes. The initial drop was fun, the ride itself a bit average although not as rough as expected. 6/10 There were no queues for either the Drop Tower or Delirium so we hopped on both. The Racer A one train wait for the front row. Standard out-and-back woody, fairly enjoyable. It would have been much more fun if both trains had been running! 6/10 Vortex A walk-on for the front row, and we quickly discovered why. It's one of the roughest and most painful rides I've ever been on. The uncomfortable harnesses made matters even worse. This thing should be melted down and the metal used to fashion some medieval torture devices. A rack or two, maybe a few iron maidens. That would make for a more pleasurable experience. 0/10 After that we strolled around the rest of the park, forming a plan for the next morning. Diamondback and The Beast both had lines which looked well over an hour so we knew to get them ticked off early. It had been a long day and it was time for beer and dinner. We'd booked the Marriott Northeast Cincinatti a few miles south of the park so went to a nearby sports bar for some suds then headed to Lone Star for a steak. At 2230 we checked into the hotel. It's a nice place, recommended if you're looking for a hotel near KI and can pick it up cheaply (we bid for it on Priceline). Straight to bed and asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. Day 2. Monday 17th August. Up at 0630, showered and down to the lobby for a Starbucks then we packed up and checked out. Across the street from the Marriott was a Chick-Fil-A so we popped in for some breakfast. We'd never been to one before and were well impressed with the breakfast biscuits! Beats McD's any day. We arrived at the KI parking lot at 0910. The weather forecast was for sunny, hot and humid with the chance of thunderstorms so we slathered ourselves in factor 70 sunscreen and went to line up for early entry at 0930. A few minutes before the gates opened, Mrs. Flavors went off to the restrooms and I was left to witness something very strange. The chatter from the crowd started to die down and people in front of me in line started turning around. I looked around to see what was happening but I couldn't spot anything of note. Seconds later the crowd went completely silent and I realized that the national anthem was playing. Everybody was standing stock still, most of them with their hands clutching their left tit. It was like a scene out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I still couldn't figure out what everyone was staring at and assumed it was the speakers. When Mrs. Flavors returned and I told her what had happened she pointed out a large stars and stripes which I'd not noticed. America - I really do love you, but you can be seriously weird sometimes! Anyhoo, the gates opened and we walked briskly to our first ride of the day. Diamondback A four-train wait for the front row. Wow. What a coaster! Really smooth and lots of great airtime, especially over the camelback. We walked around and lined up for a three-train wait for the back row. The airtime in the back was significantly superior to the front row, but there was a distinct rattle that spoiled the experience a little. Front row - 10/10, back row - 9/10. I'd heard the lines for Flight of Fear could get quite long due to low capacity so we headed there next. There were around 30 people waiting in line but the ops were saying they'd no idea when it would open so we headed off to Firehawk. It was testing, but the second test train got stuck on the lift hill so we moved on. Backlot Stunt Coaster A walk-on for the front row. The theming on this ride was excellent but with absolutely none of the effects working the ride itself was a bit dull. 4/10 The Beast A five-train wait for the front row. Believe the hype for this ride - it's the finest wooden coaster I've been on. The first half was awesome enough but the second half was simply superb. The layout through the trees adds to the magic. A second ride in the back was rougher and the slightly better airtime didn't compensate. This is a front row must-ride every time. Front row - 10/10, back row - 9/10. By the time we left The Beast both Flight of Fear and Firehawk had opened but the lines already looked like they were an hour plus so we moved on. Banshee The line for this looked well over an hour too but we had our Fast Lane tickets to use. They checked our tickets at the entrance to the Fast Lane line but luckily the ride op was distracted when we got to the station and didn't collect them! A five-train wait for the front row. I'm not sure I understand the hype for this ride, but then again I'm not the biggest fan of inverted coasters. I certainly reckon a front row seat is a must because of the limited visibility you get any further back. The sheer number of inversions and the length of the ride was pretty cool though. Also really liked the restraints. 7/10. Firehawk The line for this had grown even longer but we still had our Fast Lane passes! As luck would have it, the line was being reorganized to introduce more switchbacks, so the wristband/ticket checker was distracted yet again and we retained our tickets. Result! This is the third flying coaster we've been on (the others being Air and Tatsu) and while I'm not their biggest fan, Mrs. Flavors has decided she really hates them, especially the inversions. I can see her point. I reckon inversions on a flying coaster are a mistake. What I'd love to see is a flying coaster which has good speed and gets you close to the ground so that the "flying" sensation is more pronounced. I mean, you don't see pigeons do inline twists in midair, do you? Me - 5/10. Mrs. Flavors - 0/10. By now it was 1240 and the heat and humidity were really getting to us. I'd given up trying to wipe the sweat from my brow and it was streaming down my face. Our clothes were soaked. We were starting to get some strange looks from the locals - "what's up with that sweaty pair?" Well sorry folks - you're used to this kind of weather. We're from Scotland. We considered lining up for Diamondback again to use up the Fast Lane tickets but figured that would probably take half an hour or so and we were fading fast. The Bat The ride op couldn't believe we actually wanted to use a Fast Lane pass here. Shocked and stunned, she immediately put us on the front row. Pretty lame ride. 3/10 We'd ridden pretty much everything we'd planned to - Flight of Fear could wait for another day at another park - and headed for the exit. It was excellent timing. An announcement was made that a thunderstorm was on its way and all the rides were closing! Sure enough, just as we were leaving the parking lot, the thunder began and the skies opened. For a good half an hour the rain was so heavy we were down to 30mph on the interstate. Still, we figured the coaster gods had smiled on us that morning. The destination for the night was Princeton West Virginia, about two-thirds of the way to Carowinds. The weather cleared up and we were treated to a really scenic drive through the hills. It's a beautiful part of the country. The hotel for the night was a Microtel by Wyndham. Perfectly acceptable and the cheapest hotel of the entire trip at $48. We checked in then headed out to Chilis for some beer and snacks (their new smoked wings are rather tasty!). By 2145, we were back at the hotel and had crashed out.
ytterbiumanalyst Posted October 10, 2015 Posted October 10, 2015 Great report so far, even without photos. I especially enjoyed your description of our anthem tradition. We've grown up with it, so it's just the normal, expected thing at places like sports games and theme parks. Fun to hear it from another perspective. Looking forward to reading the rest!
Farley Flavors Posted October 11, 2015 Author Posted October 11, 2015 I especially enjoyed your description of our anthem tradition. We've grown up with it, so it's just the normal, expected thing at places like sports games and theme parks. Now you mention it, I guess we do have the national anthem played at international sporting events. It just seemed really odd to witness it at a coaster park!
coasterbill Posted October 11, 2015 Posted October 11, 2015 Great report! I always thought Bat was one of the best coasters in the park... maybe it's just me. Lol
RollerManic Posted October 11, 2015 Posted October 11, 2015 The National Anthem plays at a lot of small events and local ones too. It's not very different than any other country's military standing in salute to their flag/anthem. In America, as you figured out, civilians also do it. We take off our hats and find the nearest flag (in most amusement parks, because it's opening, this will usually be the main entrance flag. I look forward to hearing the rest of your report! Your writing skills are superb! I always chuckle at the perspective of visitors to the USA.
Farley Flavors Posted October 11, 2015 Author Posted October 11, 2015 Day 3. Tuesday 18th August. Up at 0515, showered and grabbed some free bagels and toast (and some terrible coffee) before checking out. After stopping at a Starbucks for a decent brew, we were on the road by 0640. One thing we were to learn over the next couple of days - on a coaster trip, an incorrect forecast of inclement weather can be a wonderful thing. When planning this trip, we knew that we would be very lucky indeed if there weren't parks that would be ruled out because of bad weather. The forecast for the Carowinds area today was for thunderstorms between 0800 and 1200 with an 80% chance of rain. Sure enough, we had very heavy rain at times on the way. That and heavy traffic going through Charlotte meant we didn't pull into the parking lot until 1000. Miraculously, though, by this time the rain had dropped to a drizzle. And just as we got to the line for the first coaster, it had stopped completely! Fury 325 The weather forecast had kept the crowds at bay and we were able to ride four times in less than an hour. A tremendous initial drop, fast, very smooth, good airtime - what's not to like? Well, the ridiculous allocated seating. We rode 4 gigas on this trip and (with the possible exception of Intimidator 305) I reckon they're all about the speed. That means they're all definite front-row rides. Anywhere else on the train, you're too shielded from the air rushing past your head and the feeling of speed is diminished. So what idiot at Carowinds decided that they'd design the station to not allow people to queue for a specific row? I'd honestly rather line up for an hour for the front row than have four rides in the back. I managed to luck out on a single seat in the front (sorry Mrs. Flavors, I'll make it up to you) and it was quite superb. Front row - 10/10, Seating policy - 0/10 Fury 325 was the only coaster in the park with any kind of line. Every other ride for the rest of the day was a walk-on, even for the front row. Hurler Rough, but not quite as rough as expected. 3/10 Ricochet A ten-minute line. I'm a bit of a sucker for Wild Mouse rides and this was one of the better ones. 7/10 Intimidator A terrifically smooth coaster with great transitions but the back row is definitely where it's at for airtime. As it was a walk-on we rode once in the front and another three times in the back. 10/10 Flying Ace Aerial Chase Passing by, there was no line and we rode for the credit. 2/10 Woodstock Express Surprisingly good fun for a children's woody. 5/10 Afterburn Another inverted coaster. Meh. Probably better than most though, and with good restraints. 7/10 Carolina Cobra Pretty much identical to Invertigo at KI. 6/10 Carolina Goldrusher Above average minetrain ride. Good fun. 7/10 Carolina Cyclone Another Arrow looper. Way too rough; you're continuously struggling to avoid banging your head against the harness. 3/10 Vortex A standup coaster - I'm not a big fan of these either. Does anyone actually like them? Uncomfortable and a bland ride to boot. 3/10 Nighthawk This had been down all day but just as we were about to leave the park it began testing. When we got to the line, it had just opened and was a walk-on. Another flying coaster, no better or worse than Firehawk at KI. Me - 6/10, Mrs. Flavors - 0/10 ("That's the last flying coaster I'm going on") It was now 1400 and we'd ridden everything in the park we wanted to so we headed off. Again, we'd really lucked out with the weather. The driving rain we'd experienced on the way to Carowinds returned for our drive to Durham NC, where we'd booked a Comfort Inn for the night. We arrived around 1700. A quick shower and a change of clothes and we headed out for beers and a burger at a Champps sports bar in a mall a few miles from the hotel. Back to the hotel around 2000 and watched TV for an hour before crashing out. Day 4. Wednesday 19th August. Awoke at 0500 to a minor problem - blisters on both my feet! A combination of too much trekking around theme parks and fairly new trainers, and the humidity probably didn't help either. I managed to score a few Band Aids from reception which would hopefully help a little. The free breakfast was pretty good - sausages, gravy, biscuits and toast. Packed up, checked out and on the road for 0630. The weather report for today was similar to yesterday's - a chance of thunderstorms and 40% chance of rain until 1300. Sure enough, we hit extremely heavy rain shortly after departure and it made for a hairy drive. We passed one jackknifed truck in the ditch and a few miles further on, another one into which a car had crashed. As we approached Kings Dominion the rain started to ease up a bit. Arrived just before 1000 and caught the national anthem again. The crowd here was much less deferential than at KI. Half of the folks ignored it and carried on chatting. Maybe it's just Ohio that's weird? Volcano I'd read that this was a low capacity ride with attendant long lines so we rushed straight there to take advantage of the 30-minute early ride time. The rushing wasn't necessary. Obviously the weather reports had kept people away from the park and we had the entire train to ourselves for the first two rides. The ops let us re-ride for the second one; after that we had to walk around again. The problem was that the rain had broken out again. By the third ride, it was becoming too painful so despite the complete lack of a line we had to bail. I like launch coasters a lot - or at least I like the launch part of launch coasters a lot. The double launch on Volcano and the vertical thrust out of the top of the volcano are terrific fun. The remainder of the ride is a bit generic though. 9/10 Flight of Fear By now the heavens had opened and the rain was torrential again. Flight of Fear was down, but we were allowed to shelter in the line. We waited for 40 minutes and thankfully the ride opened up. The front row was a walk-on twice in a row. Another launch coaster, which was nice, but again the rest of the ride was a little tame. Some working effects would probably improve the ride considerably. 8/10 Intimidator 305 The rain had stopped again by the time we got out of Flight of Fear and the wait for the front row on I-305 was four trains, although with only one train running this meant around 20 minutes. Loved this coaster. You're thrown around into some of the most intense transitions I've ever experienced but it's all done so very smoothly. A further ride on the back row confirmed that this is very much a front-row coaster. I have to confess that both of us were feeling a tad light-headed after a couple of rides so we moved on. 10/10 Avalanche A three-train, ten minute wait for the front row. The only other bobsled coaster I've been on was at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; this one was probably slightly better. 6/10. Anaconda A two-train, five minute wait for the front. Nothing to write home about; slow and (like most Arrows) a bit rough. 4/10. Rebel Yell As we'd experienced with The Racer at KI, this was another racing coaster that only had one train operating. We walked on to the second front row and then walked on to the second back row. The back was much more fun. Marginally better than The Racer, so 7/10. Hurler Holy crap. I can't believe this is the same ride as the one at Carowinds. Maybe it was because we didn't bother lining up for the front row and walked on towards the back. On one of the transitions, we cracked our heads together. On the rebound from that, I smashed my side against the edge of the car. Despite the complete absence of any bruising, my side hurt for the rest of the road trip and I went to the doctor when I got back home. He diagnosed a cracked rib. It took another two weeks to completely heal. This abomination should be torn down and the wood used to stoke the furnace to melt down Vortex at KI. 0/10 Windseeker was a walk-on so we had a quick ride. Tame, but nice views from the top. Ricochet This was down when we turned up but we hung around for ten minutes and it started operating again. Didn't seem as nippy as the Wild Mouse at Carowinds. 5/10. Grizzly A reasonable woody. I was expecting it to be rougher but after Hurler maybe anything would have seemed smooth. 5/10 Dominator A pretty darned good floorless coaster. Very smooth indeed, although you do have to lean into the harnesses a bit. Excellent first loop and the sheer length of the ride is pretty cool. Rode once in the front and once in the back; the back doesn't have significantly better airtime to compensate for the lack of the view. 9/10 It was now 1500 and with a cracked rib and my blistered feet playing up I was on my last legs so we headed off. The destination tonight was Hagerstown MD. The journey was fine until we reached Washington, where we had 80 miles or so of stop-start traffic to contend with. After checking in to our Best Western, we headed out to CVS to buy some supplies to wrap up my blisters for the following day. A beer at a local pub followed before we went to the KFC near the hotel for a takeaway. Here we met the most hilariously inept teenage counter staff. "One three piece meal with thighs, one three piece meal with legs, please. Both extra crispy. And extra gravy." She disappears for 30 seconds. "Sorry, we've no extra crispy ready." "No problem, original recipe is fine." Disappears for another 30 seconds. "Sorry, we've no original recipe ready either." "Okay... which will be ready first?" "Original I think." "Fine, original it is." Five minutes later and the food is ready. I hand over my credit card and just as it's being put into the reader I notice that the price is higher than it should be. "Hang on...why is the price so high?" "That's two three-piece meals." "But the price on the board is lower." "You asked for white meat though." "I asked for thighs and legs." "Yes, that's white meat." "No, that's dark meat. Breast and wings are white meat." "Oh." She shrugs her shoulders, presumably hoping I'm not going to argue about the few dollars' difference. I called over a supervisor, who processed the refund to my credit card and rushed off, snapping at the teenager to "get it right next time". So I offered her the credit card to pay for the meal. "No, that's fine, the supervisor has taken care of it." Whatever. I figured by now I deserved some free chicken so I grabbed the bag and we left for the hotel. We ate our free chicken and crashed by 2130.
Farley Flavors Posted October 11, 2015 Author Posted October 11, 2015 I always thought Bat was one of the best coasters in the park... maybe it's just me. Lol Actually, it's possible I was a bit harsh on the rating for The Bat due to being a bit of a sweaty mess at the time!
boldikus Posted October 11, 2015 Posted October 11, 2015 Great report so far, wish it had some pictures though. Funny about the national anthem thing, I guess I'm just used to it growing up here, but have to admit I am one of those that tend to ignore it and continue chatting lol. Also, I'm reading your entire report in a British accent which makes it infinitely more entertaining.
Farley Flavors Posted October 11, 2015 Author Posted October 11, 2015 Also, I'm reading your entire report in a British accent which makes it infinitely more entertaining. Ha! Nice touch!
Samuel Posted October 11, 2015 Posted October 11, 2015 Despite the complete absence of any bruising, my side hurt for the rest of the road trip and I went to the doctor when I got back home. He diagnosed a cracked rib. It took another two weeks to completely heal. Holy smokes, I'm sorry to hear this. Like your experience, Hurler is the only coaster that's made me smack heads with my riding partner. It happened several times during the right-hand turn underneath the lift structure, just before the final out-run of bunny hops. I've had similar rides at Carowinds, too. Side-to-side jostling, up-and-down jackhammering, and strong vibrations throughout -- it's an unforgivable mess. Neutering trim brakes might help the maintenance department, but they do nothing for the ride experience, either. I hope the GhostRider rehab goes well and inspires CF to make some more improvements throughout the chain. Otherwise, I enjoy reading about your trip and getting your fresh perspective on these parks!
Farley Flavors Posted October 12, 2015 Author Posted October 12, 2015 Like your experience, Hurler is the only coaster that's made me smack heads with my riding partner. It happened several times during the right-hand turn underneath the lift structure, just before the final out-run of bunny hops. Wow, so not just me then! My memory is hazy as to where exactly it happened but it's likely it was in the same area.
Farley Flavors Posted October 12, 2015 Author Posted October 12, 2015 Day 5 AKA The Day Our Luck With The Weather Ended. The alarm went off at 0445 and we were showered, packed and down to breakfast for 0600. Breakfast was basic but they did have microwaveable Hot Pockets with bacon, egg and cheese which were perfectly edible. We were on the road for Dorney Park by 0630. The forecast today was for thunderstorms across the entire area all day (not just "a chance of thunderstorms" this time). Amazingly, once again the weather cleared as we approached the park in time for ERT at 0930. If the crowds at Carowinds and Kings Dominion were lighter than they would normally have been due to the weather forecasts, Dorney Park was something else entirely. I understand it's one of the lesser attended Cedar Fair parks but today it was like a ghost town. At one point an hour or so after opening, we were walking between coasters and could literally see nobody else in any direction. Talon We were on the first train of the day and had it entirely to ourselves. Irritatingly, despite the complete lack of a line, they wouldn't allow us to reride so we had to walk around for the second ride. I've mentioned I'm not wild on inverted coasters but we both agreed this is one of the finest ones we've been on. Fast and smooth as butter. 9/10 Steel Force A walk-on for the front row on what turned out to be a very good coaster. Great initial drop, lots of airtime and very smooth. 9/10 Someone recommended the Drop Tower here and to whoever it was - many thanks! We walked on (there was no-one else in line at all, even when we exited) and it was great fun. Hydra Yet another walk-on for this floorless coaster. A smooth ride but a tad forceless and dull. 5/10 While the train was loading, we witnessed a bizarre argument between a ride op and the only three people who were waiting in line. The three of them wanted to wait for the front row. The op was adamant that they weren't allowed to do this and began bawling at them at the top of her voice, warning them that she was going to call security. Now, I can just about understand allocated seating on busy rides when the lines are long and the station isn't really geared up for front-row queuing, but with LITERALLY nobody in line behind these three, it was a ridiculous attitude to take. Wild Mouse A ten minute wait for this one - wouldn't like to be in this line when the park is remotely busy. Another fun mouse ride, about on a par with Ricochet at Carowinds. 7/10 Possessed As I've already said, I'm a sucker for launched coasters and this one didn't disappoint. Lots of fun. 9/10 Unfortunately, Thunderhawk had been down all morning with no sign of any work being done on it. We decided to skip Stinger as we'd already ridden the very similar Invertigo and Carolina Cobra, and we had two further parks to visit today. We were on the road again at 1140. With not a spot of rain at Dorney Park we thought that our luck might hold out for Knoebels but it began to rain heavily on the 90-minute drive. Once again though, it had stopped as we entered the park. Maybe the coaster gods really were blessing our trip? Knoebels was remarkably busy and we had to park quite a distance from the entrance gate. Obviously the weather hadn't put off the visitors here. Feeling a bit overconfident with our luck with the weather, we bought $30 of tickets. Impulse The first ride we encountered on entering the park and what a great little coaster! Only a one-train wait for the front row too. Comfortable seats and restraints and a lovely smooth ride following the initial vertical lift and drop. 9/10 Phoenix It had started raining lightly as we walked to Phoenix and by the time we waited for the front row it had gotten slightly heavier. A wonderful classic woody which deserves its good reputation! Great airtime. We ended up quite wet though, and the rain stung a little. 9/10 By now the rain was getting even heavier and sadly we had to skip both Twister and Flying Turns. Black Diamond More fun than you might expect from a tame dark ride. The mine theming was very well done. 5/10 Haunted House Definitely one of the better rides of this type! Lots of fun, very well put together. 6/10 For lunch, we were determined to try out both Pierogies and a Funnel Cake as we'd never tried either before. Not the healthiest of snacks but we enjoyed both - the pierogies in particular. We used up most of the remaining tickets on a ride on the vintage carousel. Overall, I'm not quite sure I understand the love for Knoebels. I'm guessing it's the slice-of-old-time-Americana factor, with lots of nostalgic appeal. It's a pleasant enough park but I find it quite hard to get excited about old school flat rides and amusement booths. Each to his own though. There was no sign of the torrential rain letting up so we decided to head off. We braved the downpour with a single umbrella between us and got back to the car at 1515. Next stop was Lakemont Park. This was a change to our itinerary as we'd initially planned to go to Lakemont and Waldameer next week with the friends we'd be meeting up with in Toronto, but after some discussion we'd persuaded them to go to Michigan's Adventure instead. The skies cleared once again as we approached the park and there was even some sunshine poking through the clouds. It didn't matter. The heavy rain had meant the park had closed down for the day earlier in the afternoon. Bummer. Checked into our cheapish Super 8 motel for the night (it was fine) and headed to TGI Fridays for some beers and a burger. Back to the motel, watched a bit of TV and were asleep by 2200. Day 6. Friday 21st August. Up at 0530. We had some business to attend to before breakfast - one of our credit cards had been cancelled and we had to phone the UK to get it reactivated which took around 45 minutes. Luckily it was a collect call! (This happens virtually every time we go on a road trip. Despite warning the bank that we're going abroad, I'm convinced that the spending pattern on a road trip triggers an automatic fraud switch on their systems.) Showered, packed and down for some bagels and toast for breakfast then on our way by 0800. Again, the plans for the day had changed. We'd originally planned to drive to Cleveland to visit the Museum of Art then visit both Conneaut Lake and Waldameer before driving to Toronto, but with a very long drive coupled with a border crossing to contend with we decided to leave the museum for a future trip. We arrived at Conneaut just before opening at noon and queued up for our $10 day pass. This is frankly too cheap. With the park struggling financially I'm sure it could be raised without discouraging visitors. Blue Streak We had the first train of the day to ourselves and were able to reride the front row as there was nobody else in line. After that we had two rides in the back row. Someone on here suggested a visit to this park and I'm really glad they did. This an absolutely classic out-and-back woody. The front row was fun enough but the back row was completely insane. Probably helped by the fact that there was virtually no-one on the train to help keep it on the tracks, you could feel the entire car lifting up. I giggled like a lunatic every time for the entire length of the ride. 9/10 The ride ops were really chatty and friendly but seemed a bit bemused that we wanted to reride their rickety old coaster four times in a row. (Rickety is the word here. Mrs. Flavors was slightly alarmed at the amount of rotting wood on display.) One of the ops suggested we have a go on the Tumblebug flat ride, which we did as we headed out of the park. A rickety old steel contraption this time; nowhere near the fun of Blue Streak though. A brief 50-minute drive took us to Waldameer where we bought $27 of credit. Ravine Flyer II A four-train, 20-minute wait for the front row followed by a two-train, ten-minute wait for the back row. I know this is a highly regarded coaster but neither of us were wildly impressed. It's fast and smooth but if anything it's a little TOO smooth for a woody. It feels like it's been over-designed. I had kind of a similar reaction to Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain but I definitely enjoyed Apocalypse more. 6/10 Comet A poor, boring, bland, short, slow woody. 2/10 The line for Steel Dragon didn't initially look too long but the loading was painfully slow and we gave up on it. Bought some roasted monkey nuts with the last of the Wallycard credit (first time I'd had these too - very tasty!) and we headed off to Toronto. Never having visited Niagara before, we took a detour via the Rainbow Bridge to catch a glimpse of the falls. The border crossing was fairly painless and we arrived at our Best Western in Brampton in the outskirts of Toronto around 1900. After an overpriced Coors at a pub near the hotel we stopped off at Pizza Hut for a takeaway. You can get some wacky Pizza Hut creations in Canada, including a poutine one with fries on top. We settled on a Chicken Caesar with chicken, bacon, garlic and Alfredo sauce which was actually rather good. Thus ended the rather hectic first week of the road trip. Tomorrow we'd be meeting our friends at Canada's Wonderland, who aren't as fanatical about driving long distances just to ride coasters, so the second week was going to be more easygoing.
Suspence1127 Posted October 12, 2015 Posted October 12, 2015 Out of curiosity which drop tower did you do at Dorney? The one with 2 towers by S&S(dominatior) or the elevator/drop/on to your side one freefall by Intamin (Demon Drop?). And yeah Dorney is always that empty pretty much (only been there once with lines exceeding 20 minutes. And don't worry you missed pretty much nothing skipping thunder hawk. Loved reading this trip report. Can't wait for the next part!
RollerManic Posted October 12, 2015 Posted October 12, 2015 The assigned seating on Fury makes sense. It is to increase throughput on it, arguabley the most popular ride in the Mid-Atlantic area. I have relatives in the Midwest who've heard of it (and think its the tallest coaster in the world). Assigned seating may go away down the road, as the hype wears off.
boldikus Posted October 12, 2015 Posted October 12, 2015 If the crowds at Carowinds and Kings Dominion were lighter than they would normally have been due to the weather forecasts, Dorney Park was something else entirely. I understand it's one of the lesser attended Cedar Fair parks but today it was like a ghost town. At one point an hour or so after opening, we were walking between coasters and could literally see nobody else in any direction. Glad you got the real Dorney experience, as this is precisely why I love this park. I'm heading up this coming Saturday, tho I'm sure it'll be more crowded than usual with Haunt going on, but nothing is ever more than 5-20 minute wait. Talon We were on the first train of the day and had it entirely to ourselves. Irritatingly, despite the complete lack of a line, they wouldn't allow us to reride so we had to walk around for the second ride. I've mentioned I'm not wild on inverted coasters but we both agreed this is one of the finest ones we've been on. Fast and smooth as butter. 9/10 Agreed 100%. I know I'm in the minority around these parts but Talon is my favorite invert. I don't have too many to compare to (Batman, Raptor, Great Bear) but there is something about Talon that just does it for me. It's super smooth, thrilling enough but not balls out intense like the others. And yes, Dorney is lame-town because of their stupid re-ride policy. Doesn't stop me from asking the crew if I can stay on the train. Hydra Yet another walk-on for this floorless coaster. A smooth ride but a tad forceless and dull. 5/10 Spot on. Hydra sucks. I never understand what anyone sees in this ride. Possessed As I've already said, I'm a sucker for launched coasters and this one didn't disappoint. Lots of fun. 9/10 Unfortunately, Thunderhawk had been down all morning with no sign of any work being done on it. I also love Possessed! Next to Talon its my fave ride in the park. You didn't miss anything by skipping Thunderhawk. Very rough and trimmed to death. Which drop tower did you guys do? I like them both (I'm a sucker for S&S towers) but Demon Drop is just insane. Looking forward to more report!
Farley Flavors Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 Out of curiosity which drop tower did you do at Dorney? The one with 2 towers by S&S(dominatior) or the elevator/drop/on to your side one freefall by Intamin (Demon Drop?). It was Demon Drop. I understand it's the last Intamin first-gen freefall left in the States? Really glad I got to ride it!
Farley Flavors Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 The assigned seating on Fury makes sense. It is to increase throughput on it, arguabley the most popular ride in the Mid-Atlantic area. I have relatives in the Midwest who've heard of it (and think its the tallest coaster in the world). Assigned seating may go away down the road, as the hype wears off. Fair enough I guess. Is it common practice to have allocated seating on major new rides?
Farley Flavors Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 You didn't miss anything by skipping Thunderhawk. Very rough and trimmed to death. Glad to hear this, as it looked like quite a good ride!
Farley Flavors Posted October 13, 2015 Author Posted October 13, 2015 Day 7. Saturday 22nd August. Up at 0730 and skipped the free breakfast due to having a few slices of pizza left over from last night! Drove downtown for a visit to the Egyptology collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. It's a lovely modern museum with beautifully presented artefacts and we ended up spending two hours there. Mrs. Flavors had visited Toronto many years earlier and had fond memories of the croissants so insisted that we stop off for a couple for lunch. She was right - they were delicious. One roast beef and mushroom croissant and one salami and cheese croissant later, we were on our way to Canada's Wonderland. We'd been spoilt by the low crowds at most of the parks last week but even so we weren't expecting CA to be so mobbed. The place was absolutely packed. We arrived at 1315 and wandered around for two and a half hours. The lines were ridiculous for most of the rides and we began to realize that Fast Lane passes would probably be required on one of the two following days. Only one coaster had a reasonable looking line. Dragon Fire Another Arrow looper. The first two loops were reasonably okay but the rest of the ride was as rough as old boots. 3/10 Our friends Mr. and Mrs. Feenyin were now quite late. Originally they'd planned to fly in and out of Toronto but had decided to route via Chicago instead which meant a two-day drive to get to Canada's Wonderland. At 1600 we gave up waiting, sent them a text and headed off to a Buffalo Wild Wings near the park for a beer. They eventually joined us around 1730, having just missed us at CA where they had picked up their Platinum Passes and gone on a couple of rides. Not for the last time on this trip, a mix-up in communications had meant that they were in a different hotel to us so they went off to check in. An hour or so later we met up at a Montana's Cookhouse near our hotel for dinner. Not having to drive anywhere meant that Mrs. Flavors and I were able to indulge in a few Caesar cocktails. We went our separate ways at 2230 after arranging the meet-up time for the following day. Day 8. Sunday 23rd August. Up at 0630, showered and down for breakfast for 0730. It's nice to finally have more than one night in a hotel! No packing up required! The free breakfast was the best yet - bacon, eggs, two types of sausage and a pancake machine. We arrived at CA at 0830 with plenty of time to coat ourselves in sunscreen again - the forecast was for hot and sunny. The Feenyins pulled up beside us in the parking lot five minutes later. Queued up for the ERT gate opening at 0900 and headed straight to the first coaster! Behemoth We were first in line for the front and the four of us were in the first and second rows (which are virtually the same thing with the cool seating layout), then we were allowed to reride in the back rows. Next up, a two-train wait for the front row and finally another ride in the back. A terrific coaster! Good speed, plenty of great airtime over the camelbacks. The only thing that lets it down is the severe MCBR which makes the last chunk of the ride a bit tame. 9/10 The Fly Arrived in the queue just after 1000 and there was a 10-minute wait. Fairly standard Wild Mouse ride. 6/10 Thunder Run Waited in line for 15 minutes. A below average minecart ride. 3/10 At this point we wandered over to Guardian but it was down. So off to the single rider queue for... The Bat A 10 minute wait. Not as rough as expected but slow and forgettable. 4/10 Guardian By the time we returned, it had just opened and it was a walk-on. Rather enjoyable 3-D shoot-em-up ride. I got the high score! We'd have enjoyed another ride on this but by the time we got off it was slammed. 5/10 We went to see the diving show at 1130 (don't bother going out of your way for this) and decided to give up on the park for the day with the decision made that we'd all spring for Fast Lane passes for tomorrow. The reckoning was that a Monday would be less busy than a Sunday. Back to the hotel to do some laundry and in the late afternoon we all headed out to a sports bar for drinks and chatting. Dinner was yet another takeaway Pizza Hut and we were asleep by 2300.
PKI Jizzman Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 Love reading along. Some very unique coaster reviews! Can't wait to read more.
Samuel Posted October 13, 2015 Posted October 13, 2015 Ravine Flyer II A four-train, 20-minute wait for the front row followed by a two-train, ten-minute wait for the back row. I know this is a highly regarded coaster but neither of us were wildly impressed. It's fast and smooth but if anything it's a little TOO smooth for a woody. It feels like it's been over-designed. I had kind of a similar reaction to Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain but I definitely enjoyed Apocalypse more. 6/10 Your review surprised me because the last several times I rode RFII, the experience was right on the border of being too aggressive. I've ridden RFII a lot, and results seem to vary with GG woodies for reasons I can't quite put my finger on...they're awesome coasters, but can be prone to Jekyll/Hyde violent transformations. What's surprising to me is that your catching RFII on what seemed to be a good day turned you off, while I love it when it's running smoothly and delivering awesome airtime. I've had a few "once is enough" rides where I get a headache and quietly worry that the coaster might slip into the "it used to be great but now it's only tolerable" category. I'm glad to hear that it's running well, but sorry to hear that the experience didn't do it for you. On an aside, I've had plenty of 5-10 minute waits in the station balloon north of 30 minutes. With respect to the kids here, I was once in one of those glacial waits with the station, which was packed exclusively with raucous middle schoolers cutting in line, screaming, & slamming into me with no sense of spacial courtesy, while high school kids slowly ran the ride. I thought, "Dear God, I wish there were more adults in this hobby!"
Farley Flavors Posted October 14, 2015 Author Posted October 14, 2015 Your review surprised me because the last several times I rode RFII, the experience was right on the border of being too aggressive. Hmm. Sounds like I might have enjoyed it more on another day! We'd just been on Blue Streak four times so maybe I was unfairly comparing the two.
Farley Flavors Posted October 14, 2015 Author Posted October 14, 2015 Day 9. Monday 24th August. Up and 0630, showered, breakfasted, checked out and on the road at 0755, arriving at CW at 0840. We purchased the Fast Lane passes at the external booth and lined up. The gates opened at 0930 and we secured our wristbands. We were then held with the rest of the crowd by a security guy who dropped the rope at 1000 and insisted that everyone walk behind him; a few kids tried to run past him and were sent to the back. Quite amusing really. Leviathan A one-train wait for the front row, then we managed to hit the front row a further three times in under an hour. To finish off, we had a back row ride. What can I say about this ride that hasn't already been said? It is positively wonderful. Smooth, great airtime and speed that just doesn't seem to let up for the entire run. Not only our favourite coaster of the trip but the finest coaster we've ever been on. The airtime in the back is top notch but the front can't be beaten for the feeling of speed and the awesome initial drop. 10/10 Vortex 15-minute wait for the front row. Smooth and fast but over too quickly. Seemed much more fun than the very similar The Bat at KI (although as I said, I may have been overly harsh on The Bat). 6/10 Mighty Canadian Minebuster 25-minute wait for the front row. Enjoyable out-and-back woody with the addition of an excellent helix at the end of the ride. 7/10 Since we were in the right area we had to have another ride on Behemoth. A 15-minute wait for the front row. Time Warp Ha! Another flying coaster and easily the worst of the trip. Rough and really painful. Mrs. Flavors was right to sit this one out. 1/10 Flight Deck An inverted coaster which is jerky, rough and painful. Not quite as bad as Vortex at KI but damned close. 1/10 Wild Beast A 5-minute wait for the front row. Really enjoyed this woody. Great initial drop, smooth (for a woody), nice camelbacks and sweeping turns. 8/10 Finally, we returned for two last rides on Leviathan - one in the front and one in the back. I reckon the Fast Lane passes were well worth the purchase. Seven rides on Leviathan alone made them worthwhile. Surprisingly, the park was even busier today than it was yesterday so it was pretty much a necessity anyway. At 1600 we headed off for Sarnia, next to the border with Michigan. There was heavy traffic leaving Toronto but we managed to arrive around 1930. The hotel for the night was another cheap Super 8, which was fine enough. It had the advantage of having a microwave in the room so after a beer at a local bar we were able to heat up some Chile con Queso (Velveeta and Rotel tomatoes) which we ate with Doritos. Asleep by 2300. Day 10. Tuesday 25th August. The alarm went of at 0500. We were concerned that the border crossing might be very busy in rush hour so had planned an early start. Showered, packed up, grabbed some toast and bagels for breakfast and stopped off at a gas station where we filled up and bought jerky with the last of the Canadian dollars we had. The border crossing turned out to be fairly painless although we did get a major five minute grilling from the border guard. Given that virtually everyone else was practically being waved through I'm guessing the drivers in line behind us were a tad pissed off. First stop was the Detroit Institute of Arts to check out their Egyptology collection, which was pretty poor. They do however have an impressive collection of modern art and a monumental depression era mural which was pretty cool. A bit of shopping for Mrs. Flavors at a DSW and a Macy's before heading out of Detroit. We arrived at Cedar Point at 1430. Our good experience with Fast Lane at CW meant that we'd decided to splash out again tomorrow, so this afternoon was earmarked for wandering around to get to know the layout and the best entrances to use for ERT. We did hop on a few rides with small lines though. Cedar Creek Mine Ride A 2-train, 5-minute wait for the front row. Typical mine ride, nothing special. 4/10 Mean Streak A 3-train wait for the front row. We'd read reports that this was a rough ride but we didn't find it nearly as bad as expected. Big, fast and fun. A second ride in the back was noticeably rougher though. Front row - 7/10, back row - 5/10 Iron Dragon A 6-train, 10-minute wait for the front row. A bit tame, although it did improve slightly in the second half of the ride. 4/10 Around 1800 we left the park for our hotel, a Country Inn in Mason about 18 miles from Cedar Point. A decent budget choice if you don't mind a bit of a drive. Dinner in the evening was at Outback. I couldn't resist the special offer of a small sirloin and unlimited shrimp for $15.99 and managed 62 shrimp before admitting defeat. Needless to say, I had indigestion that night!
Farley Flavors Posted October 15, 2015 Author Posted October 15, 2015 Day 11. Wednesday 26th August. Up with the alarm at 0615, showered and down for a very poor free breakfast. We arrived at the park at 0835, picked up our Fast Lane passes and queued up at the Soak City entrance for the 0900 ERT opening. Maverick A 3-train wait for the front row followed by a 15-minute wait for the back row. I've already mentioned that I'm a sucker for launched coasters but when you combine a launch with a very well designed coaster, well, rides don't come much better! 10/10 We were tempted to carry on riding Maverick but decided instead to get into the queue for Top Thrill Dragster before the general public were allowed in at 1000. Top Thrill Dragster A 2-train wait for the front row, a 10-minute wait for the second row then a 25-minute wait for the front row again. This is a must-do-front-row ride, no question. Of all the coasters on this trip, this was the one I'd been looking forward to the most. Stealth at Thorpe Park is one of my favourite rides and I figured a similar coaster with 50% greater speed and nearly twice the height would be the epitome of awesomeness. Well, the launch is of course spectacular. But the ride is badly let down by the twists on the way up and back down. I much prefer Stealth's layout with the vertical climb and drop. Does anyone know if there was a reason for TTD being designed like this? 8/10 Corkscrew A 10-minute wait for the front row. Typical rough Arrow looper. Hardly worth waiting that 10 minutes for if I'm being honest. 3/10 Magnum XL-200 I know this ride has a lot of fans but we weren't wildly impressed. It's a rough ride. 3/10 Gemini A 3-train wait for the front row followed by a ride in the middle row of the last car. Finally we were on a racing woody with both trains running! A tad rough but fairly good fun. 6/10 We hopped on a couple of flats next - Pipe Scream and Skyhawk. Next up, another couple of front row rides on Maverick with a 15-20 minute wait for each. Rougarou A 20-minute wait for the front row. Again, I'm not sure I understand why this coaster is so highly regarded. It's smooth enough but a bit dull. 5/10 Millenium Force A 25-minute wait for the front row. Our fourth gigacoaster of the trip! I don't think MF is quite as good as Leviathan, although there's really not much to choose between them. I know the stats say there's not much difference in terms of speed but Leviathan has the sensation of being more nippy. Still, I'd probably rank MF marginally ahead of Fury 325 and I-305. A superb coaster. 10/10 Blue Streak Three walk-on rides, one in the front and two in the second back row. The back is definitely superior to the front. Classic out-and-back woody but nowhere near as much fun as its older, smaller brother at Conneaut Lake. 6/10 Gatekeeper Two 20-minute waits for the front row. Only the second wing coaster I've been on (after The Swarm at Thorpe) and this one is easily the better of the two - not that The Swarm isn't lots of fun too! Smooth, great inversions. Shame the harsh MCBR renders the remainder of the ride a bit of a waste of time. 9/10 Twister Two 20-minute waits. Almost identical to, and just as much fun as Possessed at Dorney! 9/10 Again, I'm glad we bought the Fast Lane passes but they didn't seem to offer quite as much value as at Canada's Wonderland (and they were slightly more expensive to boot). At CW the Fast Lane lines didn't seem to merge with the GP as early - on Leviathan for instance, the Fast Lane line goes directly to the station. By now it was 1800 and time for beer, provided tonight by Buffalo Wild Wings, followed by more snacking at Chili's. Back to the hotel and asleep by 2300. Day 12. Thursday 27th August. Alarm at 0615, showered, packed, ate a slightly better breakfast than yesterday (omelettes and potatoes with toast) and checked out. Arrived at the Marina entrance to the park at 0820 with a line of around 15 people in front of us. When the gates opened at 0900 we ran to MF but being middle-aged put us at a distinct disadvantage and several young turks beat us to the station! We had a 20-minute, 3-train wait followed by a 25-minute wait for the front row. After that, the line already looked to be approaching the hour mark. The plan had been to have another ride on TTD but by 1000 it hadn't even started testing. Raptor This was down when we arrived but we hung around and it opened after five minutes or so. A 7-minute wait for the front row. It banged our heads once too often or the rating would have been higher. 6/10 One final ride in the second-to-last row on Blue Streak and we were finished with the park. The initial plan for tonight had been to drive to Grand Rapids MI (in fact, we'd already booked a room there) but some miscommunication meant that our friends had booked a Holiday Inn near Michigan's Adventure. As our Grand Rapids booking was only a cheap motel, we decided to join them. Beers and burgers in a local bar then bed for 2300.
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