Some help?

[AlvinYork]

I'm orchestrating a roller coaster trip through the northeast US over one to two weeks. I'm looking for a list of ten coasters i must ride while there. I have been to cedar point before, so it is not a necessity that i go there. Thanks for any and all input.

[Rhome30]

How far south are you willing to go?

[AlvinYork]

Well since we only have like one to two weeks, we'd like to be at a park as much of the days as possible, so id say 100 mile distance at the end of each day. I don't know how far south we can get with that, but what have you got in mind?

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

It's hard to come up with a list of ten coasters because everyone has a different preference.However,I can give you a list of parks to hit for the best coaster riding.
1.Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey
2.Six Flags New England in Massachusets(sp?)
Then you should do what I love to call "the Pennsylvania Swing"
(Order Depends on Where you're coming from)
3.Hersheypark in Hershey,Pennsylvania
4.Knoebel's in Elysburg,Pennsylvania
5.Dorney Park in Allentown,Pennsylvania
6.Kennywood in Pittsburgh,Pensylvania(If you're going that far West)
If you're going down South:
7.Busch Gardens Europe and Water Country USA Waterpark in Williamsburg,Virginia
8.Kings Dominion in Doswell,Virginia
9.Six Flags Over Georgia in Alanta,Georgia

Hope I helped.If you want,I'll make Trip Guides for Each since I've been to all but Knoeble's,SFNE,and SFOG and know how to tackle them best.

[Alpengeist]

Ok, here are a few NE parks and coasters.

SFNE: Superman:ROS
Lake Compounce: Boulder Dash
SF Great Adventure: El Toro, Nitro, and I guess Kingda Ka
Hershey Park: Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, Lightning Racer
Dorney Park: Talon
Knoebels: Phoenix

Now, Knoebels and Lake Compounce can be done in a few hours, so I visited them on travel days when I did my NE trip back in 06'. Here's the order I did.

Sunday-Dorney
Monday-Hershey
Tuesday-Knoebels/travel
Wednesday-SFNE
Thursday-Lake compounce/travel
Friday-SFGAdv.

Of course, you could do multiple parks in a day. I myself, hate to rush, so I usually only do one park each day. ...unless it's DHS and DAK down here in Florida.;)

If you really want to get adventurous, I have a ten day plan with BGW, SFA, and Kings dominion. Just let me know.

[tycooner55]

You have to go to Kennywood

Phantom's Revenge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCdWwIPZaVk) (Faster than any coaster in th Northeast)

Thunderbolt (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJt1DfXVwKU&feature=related) (Crazy fun lateral gs.)

Jackrabbit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVPlCLDtYXI&feature=related) (awesome airtime after the lift.)

Racer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PexPir0o-y0&feature=related)

[TheSkipper]

100 miles a day? Are you on bicycles? 10 mph for 10 hours? I'd make the range 400 miles @ 50 mph x 8 hours.

I covered CaroWinds, Atlanta, Dollywood, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Busch Gardens in a week. You could add Six Flags N J?, Kennywood, Hershey's and still have time for Cedar Point in the other.

[AlvinYork]

Nah i say 100 miles per day because we'll be so tired at the end of each day and we'll want to get into a hotel. And yeah, i suppose a list of parks would be better than a list of coasters. I was thinking of something like starting with Cedar point and heading east from there, hitting any major parks and then sort of arcing down, hitting the two northeast six flags, and then seeing how far south we can get in the alotted time. So, essentially, i was just looking for the top 10 parks i should hit and then see what we're able to fit into our schedule. About how long is the drive from cedar point to any decent theme parks east of it? Is it all the way to Pennsylvania till you find another park?

[Alpengeist]

From Cedar Point:

Kennywood
Knoebels
Hershey Park
Dorney Park
SF Great Adventure
SF America
Kings Dominion
BGW

...SFNE and Lake Compounce can be added, though they will be a little out of the way.

...and there are some smaller parks along the way too.

You could also make one large loop by also hitting:

Carowinds
Dollywood
Beech Bend
Holiday World
SFKK
and Kings Island

...but that may take a little longer than 2 weeks.;)

[AlvinYork]

Oh and yeah, to those who offered, i would love any plans or guides to tackling certain parks to get the most rides possible. I'm an efficiency kinda guy =)

[AlvinYork]

Okay i just got this worked out. Because i haven't been to all but Cedar Point, i don't know which parks are able to be experienced in just a half day etc. So let me know if we dont really need the full day at Hersheys so we can get to Dorney Park sooner etc.

Day one, fly into Cleveland, drive to Sandusky---60 miles.

Day two, Cedar point full day: $43

Day three, drive to Kennywood in the morning, 189 miles, spend a half day at Kennywood: $32

Day four, drive to Hershey in the morning, 205 miles, spend a half day at Hersheypark: $45

Day five, depending on the party, stay a full day at Hersheypark. End up in Allentown by night, 75 miles.

Day six, spend a full day at Dorney Park: $39 dollars. Head towards Jackson, NJ at the end of the day.

Day seven, spend a full day at SF great adv.: $60 but only $40 if bought online.

Day eight, drive to Six Flags America, 182 miles. Spend a half day: $50, $40 if online

Day nine, drive to King’s Dominion, 100 miles. Spend a full day: $52

Day ten, drive to Busch Gardens, 72 miles. Spend a full day: $56

Day eleven fly home.

Thanks! Oh and, any prices or distances i have wrong (the distances are approximations), please let me know.

[Alpengeist]

Get to the parks early, I can't stress that enough. It helps keep you ahead of the crowds. A lot of times you can get more done in the first 2 or 3 hours than you can the rest of the day.

Example: I went to the Magic Kingdom a couple of weeks ago, and this is what I got done in the first 2 hours I was there: Space Mnt. twice, Goofy coaster, Haunted mansion, Splash mnt., Thunder Mnt., and Jungle Cruise. ...and you have to remember some of those rides are on opposite sides of the park. By noon the place was packed, so I left and went to eat at the Hooters down the street.;) Whenever possible, GET THERE EARLY!!!

Most of the parks you have mentioned are full day parks, IMO. The one exception would be Dorney. You can probably hit all the coasters in the first couple of hours, if you get there early.

Also, if possible I would try and squeeze in Knoebels as a half day, and do Hershey one full day. Phoenix is a great coaster and is currently my #4 coaster overall, and that's out of over 200.

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

Seems like you planned it out nicely except one thing:SPEND A FULL DAY AT HERSHEY!
If you plan on doing the Boardwalk(water rides) you won't get all 11 coasters in during half a day visit.It just won't work.You can stop by Knoeble's on the way to Allentown for only about a half hour to ride Phoenix.It should cost you around three bucks for one ride on it then get outta there.
When is this trip,by the way? If soon,I'll PM you guides,but if not I'll do them over the summer like last year.

[AlvinYork]

The trip will be the second half of june...and as for Knoebels, we're in a slight crunch and would like the trip to take the least amount of time and money so since there is, by most accounts, only one ride worth going at Knoebels and its fairly far off of our path. And yeah, i plan on spending a half and then a full day at Hersheys.

[Alpengeist]

^I hear ya. Anywhere you can save some time and money, do it.

Just so you know, Knoebels is only 75 mins. north of Hershey and you can pay-per-ride. ...oh and the Haunted Mansion, Log Flume, and Twister is also worth a spin or two.

[-LiLDaReDeViL5-]

^^There you go.You have my number one tip for a Trip-To-Hershey "Guide to the Midway":
Spend a day and a half at Hershey.Arrive at Hershey Monday night at the gate at 7 P.M. and buy a one-day ticket for Tuesday at the gate.You get to enter the park for the rest of that night(3 Hours) You should knock out all the coasters during that period as long as you do coasters first.Leave everything else like Kissing Tower,Resse's EXtreme Cup Challenge,Claw,Kissing Tower,etc. for later if you have time or tommorrow.That allows you to go straight for Rollersoaker and the Boardwalk the next day because you knocked out the coasters and will have walk-ons at the Boardwalk.

[AlvinYork]

Hey, so new question. Due to a lack of airline ticket availability during the time we're going, we had to cut our trip down to 8 days, with 6 days for parks. We're flying in to new york and because there are more parks west than south and we feel like we have to hit cedar point, we're going to head to:
SFGA on the second day (first day is spent flying)
???? for everything else, lol. I think what we are looking at doing is hitting SFGA second day, Dorney park third day, Kennywood third day, Cedar Point Fifth day, Hershey sixth day, ??? seventh day, fly home eighth day. So there are a few things we can do here. Because hershey is said to be a full day park, and cedar point obviously is, i'd like to get there early, but since Cedar Point and Hershey are so far apart yet are day 5 and 6, we might limit our time at either park. So, what do you guys think? The good news is our flight out is from new york at 5 in the afternoon, so we could potentially hit Knoebels on the eighth day...but we'll see.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Former experiences?

[DJ Atomix]

Where do you live? Why not just drive and not fly, or are you that far away? If you are going to start from New York, you might as well head down to SF:GAdv (You might not stay the entire day, I never have) and leave to sleep at Dorney Park. From there you head to Hershey (which can be a full day, especially if you haven't been there 5 times yet) and spend two night there (maybe). Then head to Knobels (I don't think there is much to do there) and over to Kennywood. Then up to Cedar Point and head home. If you wanted, you could hit Waldameer in Erie since they have a spinning coaster on the way back to New York.

I suggest hitting Hershey on a Monday or Tuesday, they seem less crowded then. Head over to Chocolate World BEFORE the park if you want to go on the tour (it is kinda fun) but be in the park by 11. Also, it is about a 3-5 hour ride to Pittsburg from Central PA (Herhsey) and a 6.5 hour ride from Mid PA to Cedar Point. Dorney Park has a water park connected to it and it is rather enjoyable, so plan for it if you want.

Lastly, both years I went to SF:GAdv, I never stayed the whole day. There are a few good rides but not too many. I recommend you get to the park BEFORE it opens and RUN to Kingda Ka, there will still be a long line even then (but even longer if you wait). Then head over to El Toro and get in line if it is not longer than the que itself. For Hershey, head to the back of the park and work your way toward to front on the parking lot side, then back down on Storm Runner's side. To dry off from the water rides, jump onto Lightning Racer (Lightning almost always wins, but ride Thunder anyway :p and keep your arms down to win) because it has the lowest lines (great ride though) and it dries you off quickly (don't wait for front seat though).

Hopefully that will help you out a bit, good luck and have fun!

[AlvinYork]

Awesome help, man. And yeah, I live in california =D. We're on a really tight schedule so we have to fly in and out of new york. The only park i've been to was Cedar Point but i still want to ride Maverick. What about Nitro, Medusa, Batman, and the Superman ride? Are the lines very long for those? Is Dorney Park a full day, btw? Also, perhaps this will make a difference...but we're doing a budgeted trip, so we won't be indulging in park foods or souvenirs...basically only coasters. With that in mind, which parks are full day parks, and which are half days?

[DJ Atomix]

SF:GAdv - most of the day. Medusa's line when I go is really short, but when I get off (7 minutes later) is seems much much longer (maybe 20 minutes instead of 10). Superman has a long line and there is no way of knowing how long until you get in, maybe 45min. Nitro has about a 45 min wait. Batman has about 20-30 if it does not use it's wrap around queue. I rode every coaster and made it out of there by 7:30.

Dorney Park - I have no clue because I haven't gone in years but will probably be a full day with the water park.

Hershey - full day for first timers. Follow my plan in my last post and you should be good. For lunch, eat at the area next to Storm Runner (best food) and try the chips they make there on the end of one of the rows (they are the best). Feel free to check out the water park area but don't expect to ride all the slides (HUGE lines).

Knobels - don't know, never been there. I looked at their coasters for my trip and I only want to ride Flying Turns.

Kennywood - I think a full day. Years since I've been there.

That trip should cost you about $400-$500 per person just driving (gas might be about $3.25+ this summer) so tack on the flight cost and you should have an estimate. It does include food and extras just in case, though. I think it might include two other parks too (I was going to go to BGE and Kings Dominion as well.).

[AlvinYork]

Haha yeah we've already done the funds and such. Food and park admissions alone are 490 if you limit yourself to 30 a day and if we only go to the parks i listed. I don't think we're going to be doing the water park sides of the parks though, so we should gain some time by skipping them. I'm pretty sad that we can't go to BGE and King's Dominion, though. Ah well. I think what we'll do is:
fly in
sfga
dorney park
hershey
drive to kennywood and spend some time, be in cedar point by night.
cedar point
drive back, hit kennywood and be in hershey by night.
drive to knoebels for half a day, ride phoenix, be in NY by 5:30. Fly home.

So we'll use Kennywood as a sort of pitstop since it looks like there isn't too much to do there.

[DJ Atomix]

If you are ever hot at Hershey and you want to cool off, just ride Tidal Force or run through the Roller Soaker area. It has a really short line most of the time (TF) and it soaks you completely. I never change my clothes either.

Sounds like a great plan you have there. You should be able to take the PA Turnpike into Ohio (which turns into the Ohio Turnpike) and if you do, do not stop at the first rest area, it is horrible. All the others are really, really nice, though. ;)

[AlvinYork]

haha, okay =D thanks for all the help, guys. The trip isnt for a while, but when it happens, i'll let you guys know how it went.

[DJ Atomix]

Maybe take pictures? Have fun whenever you go, though. Hope the lines aren't too long for you. And if you want, post when you will be in each park (I might be going to the same day and I'll keep an eye out for you :p).

[Harpo]

I never quite finished documenting it, but here's a web site with my 2000 Coaster Cruise: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jeffharp/PennCruiseEntry.html

It started out at Cedar Point, then went to Six Flags Ohio (formerly and since known as Geauga Lake, but the ride side is now gone), Waldameer Park, Conneaut Lake Park, Kennywood Park, Idlewild Park, Williams Grove (now gone), Hersheypark, Dorney Park, Knoebels, Dutch Wonderland, Lakemont Park, and Bland's Park (now DelGrosso's). I did all of that from June 30 through July 9, 2000. It covered a total of 1663.1 miles.

In my Pennsylvania Coaster Cruise web site, I even include information such as how long it took me to drive to various spots, including the amount of time I stopped for food, fuel, etc. I also included the hotels where I stayed, and how long I stayed in each park. I've only documented it through part of Knoebels -- I really need to finish that site some day! Anyway, it could prove helpful to your planning.

I have since done plenty of other trips, most lasting 2 weeks and covering different parts of the country. It is common for me to spend 50 to 100 hours planning such a trip.

[AlvinYork]

Wow this is excellent! Thanks man, this'll help a lot.