sowinski
Posts: 370
Registered: 6/9/2005
Rank: Silver Critic
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 5/28/2006 5:07:53 PM
Hi All,
I am planning a 2 week roadtrip of eastern theme parks in late July or early August starting from near Buffalo. No kids only thrill seeking adults. Some parks I'm planning to hit are Knoebels, Dorney, Hersheypark, Dollywood, 6F over Georgia, Carowinds, Busch Gardens Europe, King's Dominion, 6F America, 6F Great Adventure, and some of the following Coney Island, Morey's Piers, Lake Compounce, 6F New England, 6F Great Escape, La Ronde.
Due to the large density of parks in the northeast area, I'm thinking that there are some smaller parks with good coasters or fun water parks that I might be able to add to my list for evening visits or pop ins while traveling between destinations. Any suggestions?
Also, since there are lots of 6 Flags parks and 2 Paramount parks on my list, I could skip a few clones and spend only half a day at some of the parks on this list. A few examples of parks that I was thinking I might be able to combine into only 1 day are Knoebels/Dorney, 6F America/King's Dominion, La Ronde/The Great Escape, any 2 of Morey's Piers, Coney Island, Lake Compounce, 6F New England, etc. Are these combinations realistic or would full day visits be more advisable at any of these parks?
Would any parks on the list be worthy of more than a 1 day visit?
All help greatly appreciated.
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Cyclonic
Posts: 2636
Registered: 7/19/2002
Rank: Experiment 626
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5/28/2006 7:05:48 PM
Well, it sounds very ambitious. The few things I would do, forget about La Ronde, it is too far off the beaten path, and you will get more out of instead visiting Funtown USA and Canobie (haha, beat mrceagle to it ). They are both fine parks with very good coasters.
There are a lot of small parks that you can run in and out of and get the credits that are not off the beaten path. Waldameer, Conneaut Lake Park, Lakemont, DelGrossos, Dutch Wonderland, Seabreeze, Quassy Lake are all parks that you are going to be close to that can be very quick hits (and most are very cheap).
Parks you should not miss are Lake Compounce and Coney Island, you will regret it if you do.
I would not try to combine SFA and PKI, the parks are just a little too big each for half a day. You can combine Dorney and Knoebels, just be sure to do Dorney in the morning when everyone is in the waterpark (BTW, if you like waterparks, Dorney's is excellent) and then head to Knoebels. You may find you want more time at Knoebels though because of the shear volume of rides, and more time at Dorney if you do want to do the waterpark (which will mean all day).
While Dollywood is worth the trip, it is also way off the beaten path.
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Timberman
Posts: 845
Registered: 9/21/2004
Rank: Gold Critic
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5/29/2006 12:44:54 AM
PA has several interesting little parks you won't want to miss. Cyclonic already mentioned Lakemont Park, which features cheap prices and two great wooden coasters, including the oldest currently in operation. I would also reserve an entire day for Knoebels, because if you like small to mid-sized parks, you'll never want to leave. Kennywood is also a must while you're in Pennsylvania, and you can combine it with Idlewild, which, while not a thrill park, offers some unique attractions. If Williams Grove manages to pull through, that's definitely worth a visit as well, more so since its future is in doubt.
My personal inclination would be not to get too crazy with racing from park to park. I agree with Cyclonic that combining PKD and SFA in one day would be too much. Remember too that while the northeast is dense with amusement parks, it's also dense with traffic, especially in New York and New Jersey, and especially in the summer. Leaving a park early only to be bogged down in traffic on your way to the next park might result in more frustration than fun.
Message updated 5/29/2006 12:47:33 AM by Timberman
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larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002
Rank: Platinum Critic
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5/29/2006 11:48:45 PM
If you are starting near Buffalo and can get to Martin's Fantasy Island for the nighttime special it is worth it to ride their woodie "Silver Comet". Morey Piers can be done in a day and you might be able to get to Clementon on the some day to ride J2, I'm not sure if they have a nighttime special this year. Those are two woooden coasters are worth going out of the way for.
Compounce, SFNE and Astroland would be near impossible due to traffic problems
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