Coaster Passion Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 My friends and I are planning a huge coaster trip this summer and I need some tips on the trip! I live in Dayton Ohio and we want to make the trip 6 days. The parks include.... Day 1 Waldemmer Martins Fantasy Island SF Darien lake Day 2 Great Escape La Ronde Day 3 SF NE Playland (Rye NY) Day 4 SF GADV Dorney Day 5 SF AMERICA PKD Day 6 Carowinds The Bold parks Ive already been to last year but the new parks i didnt know if there were any tips for them? Whats the deal with getting into canada? Whats the process? How much does it cost? Do we need a passport? Are the new parks I want to go to worth while? Is it worth the credit? I want to extend the trip and go to six flags over georgia but that a long trip and I think im gonna make that a seperate trip later in the year. Thanks for all the help!!! Brandon Stoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 WHAT? I must say, that's a plan full of high aspirations! Day 1 - If you get up early enough, I suppose its possible. However, I would go in the order of Waldameer - Darien Lake and then backtrack to MFI since they have an after-5PM admission deal thats out of this world - $8! The drive across New York is a long one, and it seems a lot longer than it really is! Day 2- I think doing both of those parks in the same day is going to be tough. Do you really think you can enjoy your visits to both parks if you are to be rushed, or are you just a "get my credits and get out" kind of person? Canada doesn't require passports as of now, but thats going to change soon I think. Day 3- Do-able I suppose. Never been to Playland, and we needed more time than half a day at SFNE, but then again, we did the waterpark for a few hours. Have you been the Lake Compounce? If not, I'd go there before even considering Playland. The park is pretty cool, plus of course, they have a nice little woodie. Day 4- Great Adventure AND Dorney? This makes me want to say "are you crazy?". If you are just going to ride El Toro and the other top rides (assuming thats what you are doing since you've already been) then I suppose its fine but otherwise, Great Adventure is AT LEAST a full day park in my mind. Starlight admission at Dorney is good though, you can easily do most of the park in 4-5 hours. Days 6 & 7- Perfectly fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Yeah I'm also going to have say your plans are a bit ambitious, even if you were just credit whoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadmos Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Day 2 Great Escape La Ronde Good luck with that day! If you are doing this during the summer months it will be a little more difficult. You would only have a very short time at TGE before having to leave and going on a few hours trek to Montreal (remember, you have to cross the border which can have lines and setbacks if you have a rude customs agent). And I'm not sure if you have read about operations at La Ronde, but they are pretty horrible! 1 train operations on busiest of days and really, really, really (really?), slow staff. As far as getting into Canada, it is pretty easy as long as you don't say something stupid. It doesn't cost anything and there is only one toll road (which is in Toronto). As far as I know, you do not need a passport, but it would certainly help make entry it easier and quicker. I also tend to find that if you show the customs agent a passport instead of various other ID they treat you a bit better as well. Another suggestion would be that if you can squeeze another day into your trip, is to cross into Canada after doing MFI/SFDL and head to Paramount Canada's Wonderland for a day. This would also make your 'day 2' (assuming you are an American citizen and also assuming that you were originally going to goto TGE first and La Ronde second) easier as I would think it would be easier to get into the USA rather than trying to rush to get into Canada. But good luck! MFI since they have an after-5PM admission deal thats out of this world - $8! That is true, but MFI is only open until 8:30PM during the summer; http://www.martinsfantasyisland.com/rates.php3 I would suggest hitting Waldemeer as early as possible and as quick as possible, then bolt over to MFI and enjoy an hour or two riding Silver Comet. With those parks over use the rest of the day and night to do Six Flags Darien Lake. My two cents, whether you use them or not is up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Yea, but if you can't ride the Silver Comet 5+ times and whatever else you want in 3 hours at that park, you have problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Day 1 Waldemmer Martins Fantasy Island SF Darien lake Whats the deal with getting into canada? Whats the process? How much does it cost? Do we need a passport? Brandon Stoff GOOD PLAN to not spend a whole day at SFDL... superman is really the only thing worth riding. Might I suggest visiting Martin's Fantasy Island last, as they have an insanely cheap after 5 pm ticket. Right now, they suggest to get over the Canadian border that you have photo identification (driver's liscence, military ID) and your birth certificate. They're phasing in a law where you have to have a passport to go to canada, but i think that doesn't happen until 2007 or 2008. I've had varying results at the border. Sometimes, they just ask your citizenship, and let you go. Other times it's citizenship, where are you going, how long will you be there, etc. BE POLITE TO THE CUSTOMS OFFICER AND SPEAK CLEARLY. Don't have anything in the car like guns, knives, pepper spray, etc. and try not to have alcohol in the car. They have the right to pull you over and search through your trunk, so I would recommend cleaning out any un-necessary clutter before your trip. There will be a toll if you cross in the buffalo/niagara falls area, probably about 5 bucks. (I live 5 mins from the canadian border, can you tell? ) Any more Canada-related questions, feel free to PM me. EDIT: oh yeah! wtf! Why aren't you going to Paramount Canada's Wonderland??? Don't believe all the crap people feed you about long lines... I've been there one time for every year of my life, and not once have i waited more than 30 minutes for a ride. You just have to know how to work it. Get there before the park opens, then ride IJ:ST right away. Most people head out counterclockwise, thru medieval faire first, cause then they hit the water park around noon. go the other way! clockwise is the way to be! :):) I <3 pcw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadmos Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Don't believe all the crap people feed you about long lines... I've been there one time for every year of my life, and not once have i waited more than 30 minutes for a ride. The queue length horror stories are quite true, but it all depends on when you visit. If you go on a Saturday in the middle of July, I wouldn't count on the lines being as short as 30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 This past summer at PCW every visit I had waits were about an hour. Waits at PCW don't tend to be terrible, but they are rarely short. PCW is one of the highest attendance seasonal parks. Partly due to being next to a huge population base with no competition. Everyone else covered quite alot. One thing I will add though is doing a full day at Dorney would be worthwile for the waterpark alone. The rideside at Dorney is pretty average. However the waterpark is amazing. They've got these double person tube slides where you hit the pool at such a high speed that you don't have a chance of staying upright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niiicolaaah Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 The queue length horror stories are quite true, but it all depends on when you visit. If you go on a Saturday in the middle of July, I wouldn't count on the lines being as short as 30 minutes. Ok, I concede. I always visit on weekdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj snow Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 To the original poster: Keep in mind that not all parks are open daily through the summer. Waldameer Park, in particular, is not open on Mondays (apart from holidays). So, even though I'm sure you were going to do this anyway: Don't forget to check the operating schedules! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Passion Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 Well thanks for all the help! More tips are always welcome! But I checked it out on mapquest and we drive through the night so im not worried about that. Dorney is about 90 min from great adventure so we can do that in one day! We already did hershey and dorney in the same day last year and we didnt get to dorney until 5 and we had plenty of time to ride the rides. the only day that concerns me is the great escape la ronde day. But we wil spend about 3 hours at TGE and then drive 3 or 4 hours north and get to la rounde around 5 or so and keep in mind it closes at 1030 pm so thats not bad. we wil then drive the 5 hour drive to sfne! Also we will get to SFGADV real early in the morning so we can ride kinga ka and el toro first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadmos Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Good luck with your TGE/LR day, that is going to be cutting it really close.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Passion Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 I have a quick question.... I want to rent a car so can i take the rental car to canada? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 As long as you rent from one of the major rental agencies, yes you can. I believe that Enterprise, Payless, some of the C list ones may not let you. Just check their website or ask when you call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 ^ Funny...I've always thought of Enterprise as one of the "major" car rental companies. And I've never had any problems renting with them. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 They're weird. In some markets they do seem quite major, but they have interesting rules. I know when my parents rented from them out of LAX they were told they could not bring the car into NV to go to Las Vegas, it had to remain in California! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 ^ And yet last May when we rented in Amarillo, TX, they said no problem if we wanted to drive to Albuquerque or Oklahoma City. About 20 years ago, I'd have considered Enterprise an "also ran," but now they're right up there with Hertz, Avis, Budget, etc. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadmos Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 Enterprise is pretty big up here, your best bet would be to ask whoever your renting the car from. Up here you have to be a minimum of 21 years old to rent a car, and that is with paying an under 25 fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Passion Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 ok i did some modifications to my trip so here is how mt trip is gonna go ... day 1 SFDL Martians fantasy island day 2 TGE SFNE day 3 SFGDV Moreys pier day 4 dorney knobels day 5 SFA PKD day 6 PC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Passion Posted January 28, 2006 Author Share Posted January 28, 2006 Whats good at the Great Escape??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 In my opinion nothing is very good at Great Escape. I found The Comet to be a BIG disappointment. It's a good woodie coaster but barely makes my Top 20. They run their Rainbow pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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