CoasterMateo Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 Hi everyone, I saw other people had threads like this for trip planning, so I thought I would make my own for more advice. I'll post the trip schedule we have already, (Hotels are booked) so if we can fit anything else in, thanks for the help! -------------------- Saturday, March 26 Drive to Washington DC, arrive in Upper Marlboro by night, Check in to Hotel Sunday, March 27 Go to Six Flags America , Opening Time to 6pm. Monday, March 28 Drive to Doswell, VA, arrive to KD by 10:30, in time for opening. Stay till close. Check into hotel. Tuesday, March 29 Drive to Williamsburg, VA, arrive to BGW in time for opening, stay till close. Check into hotel. Wednesday, March 30 Go to Colonial Williamsburg, head back to park if there is time. Drive to Virginia Beach, check into hotel Thursday, March 31 Spend day at Virginia Beach. Friday, April 1 Leave VA Beach, Drive to Hershey Park (Long, 5 hour drive) Arrive at Hotel. Saturday, April 2 Spend day at Hershey Park, leave at around 7, spend night in Clearfield PA. Then go home. -------------------- So thats the itinerary, Any tips on Crowds, ride order, or Fast Passes? I have a Six Flags Pass and CF Plat. Pass. So I think there should be a discount! Thanks in advance for any tips.
coasterbill Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 Sounds good to me. If it were me I'd stay in Danville Pa on Saturday night (or even Hershey) which is way more manageable after spending a day in the park and go to Knoebels Sunday since it's opening weekend with buy one get one free wristbands, stay a few hours and then go home after that. That being said I'd do anything for an excuse to swing by Knoebels. Your plan is honestly pretty solid. I'd suggest Hershey's preview thing on Friday but they're not open that day. Bummer... You probably won't need Fast Passes anywhere except maybe Hershey but that system is crap. My only other piece of advice is to get an EZ Pass if you don't have one. They have EZ Pass only lanes on 95 in Virginia that can save you upwards of an hour of travel time in DC traffic. The ones in Maryland by Baltimore are dumb, don't use them.
bert425 Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 I wouldn't stay in hotel after Kings Dominion. Williamsburg is only about an hour-20 further, so I'd exit KD, go to Williamsburg and check into a hotel THERE (I highly recommend the Courtyard Marriott that is exactly 1/2 way between BGW and Colonial Williamsburg). that way you're refreshed in the morning, and can get up and be at BGW in 5 minutes from hotel. CW is not a full day thing, so you most certainly will have time to go back to BGW (be sure to catch Celtic Fyre, the best show there) have fun!
CoasterMateo Posted February 17, 2016 Author Posted February 17, 2016 Awesome, Thanks so much for the comments! Will check out all of those things. And perhaps change some hotels
Brassinthegrass Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 You going to want to drive north from Hershey and spend your "after 4pm ticket" time at Knobles.......
A.J. Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 That being said I'd do anything for an excuse to swing by Knoebels. Surprisingly restrained response there. You probably won't need Fast Passes anywhere except maybe Hershey but that system is crap. My only other piece of advice is to get an EZ Pass if you don't have one. They have EZ Pass only lanes on 95 in Virginia that can save you upwards of an hour of travel time in DC traffic. The ones in Maryland by Baltimore are dumb, don't use them. Mateo, are you traveling with family? An EZPass Flex transponder lets you switch to HOV mode and drive in the 95 Express lanes for free if there are at least three people in the car.
CoasterMateo Posted February 17, 2016 Author Posted February 17, 2016 Yes, traveling with family. 3 people in total.
A.J. Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 Here you go, this is it. https://www.ezpassva.com/EZPages/New-Flex.aspx I believe the transponder can be used as a regular old EZPass on other toll roads like the ones in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and others.
VACoasterdude Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 Couple of things. I would drive from MD to KD on Sunday night rather than Monday morning. DC traffic is horrendous during morning rush hour and it can take you over an hour to get from the Six Flags exit in MD to I-95 South in VA (although Sunday traffic on I95 South can be bad, too) I would grab a bite to eat after Six Flags Sunday night and head south to KD after 7:00pm. On March 28, KD is only open until 6:00pm. I would definitely drive from KD to Williamsburg that evening so you can sleep in the next morning, get breakfast and make the short drive to BGW and not have to worry about checking into a hotel after BGW. Depending on what time you leave on April 1, your drive to Hershey Park will take a lot longer than 5 hours. You don't want to leave too early or you will be dealing with the Hampton Roads morning rush hour. If you leave too late, you will hit traffic on 95 north before Fredericksburg, all the way up to the DC Beltway. Then you will hit traffic on the beltway before crossing from VA into MD and then on I-270 North all the way up past Frederick, MD. Friday afternoon traffic around DC is unpredictable during the Spring and Summer. It can get heavy and slow (crawls) anytime Friday after 12:00pm. The advice about getting an EZPass is good, however keep in mind the EZPass toll lanes on I-95 only go in one direction depending on the time of day. During morning rush hour, they are heading north, during evening rush hour, they are pointed south and they are closed at certain times so they can reverse their direction. Based on when you would likely hit I-95, I don't think the EZPass lanes will be heading the same direction you are. The EZPass may come in handy depending on what time you hit I-495 in Virginia. So based on the above I would get a hotel for one night near Six Flags, one night in Doswell, VA next to KD, and two nights in Williamsburg. (There is a Courtyard by Marriott and a Doubletree by Hilton right 5 minutes from BGW and about 10 minutes for Colonial Williamsburg. I have stayed at both and recommend either.) I second the recommendation to visit Knoebels. One addition recommendation. The Cherry Blossom Festival starts March 20. If you have never seen them in full bloom before, it is definitely worth a side trip into DC to see! It is crowded and traffic/parking is a nightmare, but definitely worth it. Check online before you head out and if the blossoms are at their peak, I would plan a side trip into DC either on Sunday March 26 or Friday April 1. Hope this helps!
coasterbill Posted February 17, 2016 Posted February 17, 2016 You going to want to drive north from Hershey and spend your "after 4pm ticket" time at Knobles....... That was going to be my suggestion but unless I'm mistaken I believe Hershey and Knoebels are both closed that day and don't open for the season until Saturday. If this is the case and you get to Hershey early I do suggest visiting Chocolate World. It's free, as is parking for 3 hours. And yeah my restrained response is because you would really have to go out of the way to work Knoebels in here. Should you? Absolutely since it's better than every other park you're going to. But it would require some major shuffling around and I know not everyone is as open to that as we would be (because again... we'd do anything to figure out a way to swing by Knoebels).
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