2009 Park Reviews!

[Dvo]

I thought I'd start a topic about all the trips everyone here made in 2009 to various amusement parks. I'm basically discussing all the parks I went to this year and my thoughts about them all. I'd love to hear where everyone went and what they thought about the parks! Note: my parks are not listed in any order.

Kings Island:

This one is easy, being the home park. A great year at KI. I must say that Diamondback has completely changed my habits up at the park. Before this year I would make the "loop" starting in Action Zone and working all the way around the park. Some of the highlights of the park were the smaller rides for me. But now Dback has basically just taken over the park for me. I go straight there every time I go to the park, and then I spend my "free time" there later in the day. The haunt is great this year too. Good times.

Cedar Point:

Still easily my favorite park. I made 5 trips this year, my personal best. And I got 43 laps on MF, my #1 coaster. I've gotten to know a few other Cedar Point fanatics rather well up there that make some of the trips fantastic. Good group of guys. I also went to my first two coaster events at CP, CoasterMania and BooBuzz. Both were fantastic, but nothing compares to CoasterMania weekend. Can't wait for it next year.

Indiana Beach:

This park always looked small to me, and it is, but it's also very fun! I made my first trip on a friday, knowing that I could only spend a few hours in the park. But that was more than enough that day. The rides were all walk-ons. Steel Hawg was slightly disappointing, I hate to say. But it's certainly different. I loved Cornball Express though. And Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain! That thing really caught me by surprise. I was laughing really hard the entire time. I strongly recommend a day trip.

Holiday World:

Wow. It's been several years since my first and only trip to HW, but I finally got back there this year for my first Voyage experience. In a word, incredible. It sets a new standard for wooden coasters in my opinion. Just a fantastic ride. Not to mention the last ride I took was during an absolute DOWNPOUR. Utter madness. Holiday World is still the friendliest, most cheerful atmosphere I've seen at any amusement park. A fantastic trip.

Well that's it I suppose. It was a wonderful year with a LOT of coaster riding. No clue as to an official count, but if I had to guess I'd say I probably took about 500 rides on the coasters at these 4 parks. Diamondback, Raptor, Magnum, and of course Millennium Force really push that total up haha. I'm hoping to hit some more new parks next year. But we'll see

[Ki Man]

Here's what I got:

Kings Island - Same 'ol same 'ol. Diamondback is a fantastic and much needed addition to the park. Red Racer REALLY stuck out to me this year; GREAT rides on it. SoB sucks, 'nuff said.

Six Flags over Texas - Over all, I loved SFOT. I think it was my favorite park! The landscaping in the park was very, very pretty. The rides were great! I loved Titan, Runaway Mtn, La Vibora, Freeze, SHOCKWAVE, and most of the flats and water rides. Operations were running pretty well from what I remember. Only negative I could think of is that the combo tower was on the weak side. Oh well! Thanks for a great time!

Kemah Boardwalk - I liked Boardwalk Bullet. I think it has some work needed to be done on it..well, okay, a LOT. There's quite a few rough spots on the ride, and when I say rough, I mean I can't tollerate it. That's pretty bad if I say that. BUT! I was able to ride numerous times with my hands up the whole time. There was some fun airtime, and I enjoyed the compact layout. And they had this amazing ARM...whatever, sex tower. OMG

Six Flags Fiesta Texas - Another great Six Flags park. The setting was beautiful, as expected. It's inside of a big rock quarey! I didn't go to the water park, but it looked nice.

Of course, Superman Krypton Coaster was awesome. Very good B&M coaster. I totally agree that the "floorless" feature is a gimmick unless you're in the front seat. The front is where to ride this ride! So cool flying up and down the cliffs, and the zero g was possibly the most perfect element I've ever experienced on a coaster. It was....just wow.

Poltergiest was pretty fun. It was different than Flight of Fear; but FoF is better in my opinion; the theme and whole ride experience is cool. BUT!!! I love the whole "house" station. Very cool.

Rattler. Ugh. Sucked sucked sucked sucked sucked sucked sucked. So bad. Even in the front seat, it was bad. The location and the first drop was so cool! But...the ride was bad.

Tony Hawk....was fun. Me and Luko had a GREAT out of control spinning ride, and that was really good.

Bugs Bunny's Water Ride - A nice little log flume. I heard that there were some effects that weren't running up to par, but it was very fun. An acceptable ammount of wetness.

Frisbee - Was AWESOME!!! It looks so innocent until BAM! Crazy out of control spinning and swinging.

Boomerang - My first. Smooth, forceful. Whatever.

Mine Ride - Very fast paced and forceful! It was pretty cool, very unexpected.

Goliath - The least favorite batman of the trip. Meh, it's just another good B&M invert!

The park gave us GREAT treatment. Like, VIP star quality. Everyone was so cool to us, gave us great food, kept us updated on the rides when it stormed, and even talked to us while we waited in line! I felt so special! The brisket was awesome!

Sea World San Antonio - I wasn't sure what to expect, it being a Busch park and a SeaWorld. I knew they had a few good rides, and was very anxious to ride them.

The park was nicely landscaped. Nothing amazing, but nothing close to a Cedar Fair park. I found the animal exhibits to be a bit dissapointing. I was expecting to see something on par with a zoo or aquarium, but just got a "look, here they are" and then leave. The dolphin encounter was pretty cool, but you had to pay to get close to them. I found that out the hard way! LOL!

But we got special treatment when during lunch they brought out some extra critters. They were pretty cool. Not forgetting Shamu!!! Furry edition.

Steel Eel - This was a pretty crazy coaster. The drops seemed so steep! My butt slammed down into the seat after every hill. Some fun airtime in the front and back seat. If the midcours didn't kill the speed, it'd be a top 10 coaster. It ruined those 5-6 airtime hills! Still loved the ride.

Great White - I'm not sure if this batman is shorter or customed or....IDK! But it's so intense. I was seeing spots every time I rode. My favorite batman of the trip. Awesome, not to mention the great theming!

Shamu Express - Skipped

Journey To Atlantis - Crap

Texas Splashdown - So, me and Luko waited about.....45 minutes for this log flume. I think Antonio did too! I wish the wait wasn't that long, it was a bad A$$ log flume! It was like, 5 minutes long, had great drops, great wetness level...but the operations weren't too good. Seemed like every boat had 1-2 people in them. BLAH. But the ride still ROCKED. My favorite of the trip.

I did the..

-Penguin Encounter

-Shark Reef

-Dolphin Cove

-Bird Habitat

And thought they were all under par. They were still cool! But I was just expecting big things from a SeaWorld and Busch park. It just felt like a low budget park, and I think everyone else agreed when comparing it to the others.

Indiana Beach - Coasters:

Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain - Wow....wow. You need to ride this to truly understand what's so unique and odd about this ride. It does things you never thought a coaster would do!

Galaxi - An oldddd Schwarzkopf. It's awesome! Helix and airtime.

Tig'rr - Another Schwarzkopf. A really cool coaster I've been wanting to g

[DaveStroem]

I will be up all night but I will try to give a snapshot of all 31 parks we went to this year.

Disney World

Simply the best. While not the largest collection of coasters, they do everything so well that I can overlook this.

Kings Island

This park feels like home. Through KIC I have made several new friends that make the park much more enjoyable.

Cedar Point

Coasters galore. Nuff said.

Kings Dominion

Fun Park that feels like it is missing a signature coaster. I was not overly impressed with Volcano or any of their coasters for that matter. Hopefully Timmy 305 will add that ride.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Another beautiful park with great food. The admission is a bit high but worth it. Their coaster collection while small seem to handle the crowds. Griffon while unique I felt it is over rated.

Six Flags America

Went into this park not expecting much and found a fun smaller park with a solid line up of coasters. Superman was full of air and Wild One delivered a great ride. Jokers Jinx was a blast that didn't stop on the MCBR like FoF.

Kennywood

I was not thrilled with this park, the staff seemed like they would rather be somewhere else. Phantom's Revenge has a weird jolt at the top of the 2nd hill that killed the ride for me. The rest of the coasters left me yawning.

Waldameer

Ravine Flyer II was a great coaster in a over grown carny park. The rest of the park seemed dirty and unkempt. We only did this park durning the evening so that might have had something to do with it's appearance.

Darien Lake

This former Six Flags park provided a fun day but other then Ride of Steel was lacking.

Canada's Wonderland

Huge park with Behemoth a ton of other coasters and one of the best collections of flat rides.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Quirky park with only 1 major coaster that is now gone. I doubt that we will go back here anytime soon.

Holiday World

Beautiful park with friendly staff and a park attitude that makes you feel like a guest and not just a walking wallet.

Six Flags Great America

Busy park with some fun coasters. Raging bull was way over trimmed. Whizzer was a lot of fun for a family coaster.

Indiana Beech

Surprising park. The entrance from the south lot was breathtaking. Loved Cornball & Hoosier Hurricane. The real treat of this park is the Flying Crows and the circle swing that are both on platforms over the water. Steel Hawg was totally forgettable. One thing that I didn't like about the park is all the stairs to get to the coaster stations.

Lakemont Park

Small park with 3 coasters including Leap the Dips which is the oldest coaster out there.

Knoebels Grove

Funky park in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. Only 2 adult coaster for 2009 both are a lot of fun. Amazing collection of flats that I wish we had more time to ride.

Hershey Park

Big park with an interesting mix of coasters. Lightning Racer was one of our favorites of the year (and seemed to be the least loved by the general public) Farenheit didn't do it for me and Storm Runner felt like it was missing the 2nd half.

Stricker's Grove

Small park that was more fun because of the KIC group that we were there with.

Six Flags Great Adventure

Another huge park that is not well laid out IMO. This can be overlooked because it houses both El Toro & Nitro. Kingda Ka re-opened 3 days after our trip.

Dorney Park

Biggest let down of the summer. Talon was down with a broken lift chain and the rest of the coasters were lacking.

Six Flags over Georgia

Loved this park. Goliath & Mind Bender were great coasters and Monster Mansion was of Disney quality.

Dollywood

Expensive park with 1 great coaster (thunderhead). Again with tons of stairs to climb to get to the coaster stations.

Columbus Zoo / Jungle Jack's Landing

Finally got my first ride on the Jet in over 30 years. While the Zoo is world class, the amusement park is aimed at the kiddie crowd.

Carowinds

Nice park with some great coasters. The new Intimidator will make this park near perfect. If they added a GCI it would be there.

Freestyle Music Park

YAWN. There was not much to this park. None of the coasters produced any thrills. When the mine ride is more exciting then the B&M you know something is screwed up.

Family Kingdom

This was a cool little park with a great wood coaster (swamp fox) We only were here for 1 hour late on a Sunday night & only rode the Swamp Fox and the Ferris wheel but had a great time and loved all the lights.

Six Flags St Louis

A mid sized park with some sweet coasters. I got my 200 coaster credit of 2009 on Evel Knievel. Screaming Eagle impressed as well.

Worlds of Fun

Another mid sized park with one great woodie. Prowler really delivered the goods. Every second on it was exciting.

This has been the best summer of my life. We spent a lot of time together as a family and made many new friends.

[CoastersRZ]

Wow! You were certainly very well traveled this summer!

I obviously made many trips to Kings Island.

I also visited Carowinds back on opening weekend. Carolina Cobra with the new trains is an alright ride now! I was disappointed that Afterburn was down on my visit though.

Hit Dollywood on opening day. I still love Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado. I`m not a big fan of Mystery Mine.

I also visited Cedar Point in August. And tried Maverick again. While that ride seems to be popular among most enthusiasts, I just am not into that ride. Front seat ride on Top Thrill is always, well, a big thrill.

And of course I visited Coney Island many times this summer. Surprisingly, I did not ride the Python this summer. My fondest memory was working July 3rd (the busiest day of the year) and sweeping up trash after the fireworks. While waiting in the rides office for the parking lots to clear, the fifteen of us ride ops who were still in the rides office were given permission by the ops manager for a midnight ride on Round Up. What an awesome reward for working a very stressful day!

[KI Kevin]

This will include ALL of the parks, even if they're not exactly parks, I went to, in order for January 1st.

NY-NY Hotel: It's a hotel with a coaster. A decent coaster, but apparently I'm the only one who thinks that. The replicas of NY buildings were neat.

Adventuredome: Fun indoor park with a pink dome over you. Decent Arrow looper that I thought was a bit short. Pretty good flats though.

Stratosphere Tower: Easily the park with the most intense, heart-pounding, terrifying, three best flat rides in the world. Take a look at this video. Yeah.

Kings Island: Home park and still going strong! Easily one of my favorite parks. Diamondback is amazing, no doubt.

Cedar Point: A great park. While a lot may disagree, I think it is slightly overrated, although I did ride Maverick for the first time this year, and let me say, that's gotta be one of the best rides out there.

Coney Island: Small park, with a decent amount to do for it's size. Lacking in coasters, but makes up for it with their classic flats. Though, I do think calling a 40 foot Moser bouncer the Scream Machine is a bit extensive.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom: My first Six Flags park, and it does not live up to the bad Six Flags stereotype. It was clean, ride operations were good, liked the layout, employees were friendly. Overall, I really like this park. RIP Chang!

Kings Dominion: Well, this park is a slightly lesser version of Kings Island. I agree with Dave, they're missing a signature coaster, and I was underwhelmed by Dominator anywhere but the front. However, I was highly impressed with Volcano. My second favorite Intamin. Oh yeah the Congo section was neat.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg: My favorite park. Beautifully landscaped, ride operations were amazing, rides were amazing, especially Griffon, my #1 steelie, and Alpengiest, my #1 invert, and Loch Ness Monster, my #1 Arrow Looper, and Big Bad Wolf, my #1 suspended coaster, and Apollo's Chariot, my...wait for it...#3 hyper. The food was fantastic, theming was extensive. Overall just a fantastic park.

Holiday World: I'm still trying to decide my #2 park, Kings Island or Holiday World. Holiday World is just a great little park, with an amazing water park. Oh and their wooden coasters, simply put, amazing. Even without Voyage it would be amazing. Voyage though...my overall favorite coaster. Wow. I'm even wearing my Voyage shirt right now.

Six Flags Over Georgia: You can easily tell they invest a bit more in this park than its sister in Louisville, but I was slightly disappointed. Ride operations left some to be desired, employee kindness was hit-and-miss. More fits the Six Flags stereotype I was talking about earlier. But all the rides were running, and boy were they great! I loved their woodies, and their 4 B&M's were fantastic. I felt that Goliath was not quite as good as Diamondback, but that's not saying much cause it's still amazing! My #4 steel coaster. Mind Bender was great and theming throughout the park was good.

Stricker's Grove: Small park with some good rides. Tornado, Tip Top, but best of all...drum roll please...FLYING SCOOTERS!!!!

Well that's it for me.

[KI Kevin]

How did you think Goliath compared to Diamondback and Nitro?

[rotag]

i only went to 4 parks:

Kings Island

first off db is just wow, same favorites with my first ride ever on fof. i rode crypt for the first time since it was tr;tr (still no likey). met several new freinds that made my visits worth while. i know a lot of the staff. shoot i even had fun with a bum arm.

Cedar Point

FIRST VISIT EVER!!! it was great, by far my highlight is maverick. had fun there & made me want to upgrade to platinum pass.

strickers grove

this place rocks & makes me realize how much i miss old indiana fun park. by far my favorite ride there is flying scooters, followed by tornado, & how many other places have a kiddie coaster you can get airtime on with old buzzer bars, no seatbelts and no seat dividers? not to mention FREE DRINKS.

land of illusions {yes im listing this cause its listed as a haunted amusement park}

had fun with three other freinds watching/getting scared. fire pit is nice. dr. psycos was greet but no where near as good as middletown haunted trail. dont want to go into to much detail for i want everyones visit to be a suprise like mine was.

[DaveStroem]

How did you think Goliath compared to Diamondback and Nitro?

Of the B&M Hypers that I have ridden I would rank them:

1 Nitro/Diamondback tie

3 Behemoth

4 Goliath

5 Apollo's Chariot

6 Griffon

7 Raging Bull

I just counted that we rode 26 different B&M coasters this year.

[Beast1979]

Great topic idea!

Kings Island:

My home park, will love it no matter what. The addition of Diamondback just makes me love it 1000x more, and the new and improved Rivertown is spectacular! Ever since CF took over the park has gotten better and better, and Ride Warriors Weekend is one of the best Events I've ever been too!

Cedar Point:

What can I say? Absolutely amazing park, Amazing I tell you! CoasterMania was without a doubt the best 2 days I've ever spent at an amusement park, and after spending time to ride some of the classic rides like Cadillac Cars and the Cedar Downs, I can say that if you go to CP and don't enjoy yourself, then there's something wrong with you!

Universal Studios Orlando:

What a day! The extensiveness and detail that goes into every single inch of that park is amazing! The rides are something to be beat and the theming is wonderful! The prices are high, but so are the prices for a house and car. Both end up being worth it, and so will Universal. It's one of the best parks out there. If you have the opportunity, GO!

Strickers Grove:

For $12, I'd be hard pressed to find a park with better bang for your buck. Teddy Bear, now one of 2 Coaster Classics in Ohio, a great collection of flats, good food, and TORNADO! It's a great place, and definitely worth a visit!

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom:

Underrated park for sure. Well, at least the front half. For only $30 you can get a season pass to this place, so it's definitely worth the money. The front part of the park is relatively clean, with good employees, and pretty nice rides and landscaping. However, after you cross over the bridge to the second half, the park, basically, sucks. Without Twisted Twins, or Chang, and with the Waterpark taking over, there's very little point to that area. The paint and buildings are rusting, the rides stink, and the landscaping is non existant. Thunder Run is great, but if you sit in any other seat besides the front it will beat you to death. Go to this park, but mind you, you will be able to do most of the park in a few hours.

[gigacoaster2k]

Kings Island:

Even with SOB being down and the Crypt changing its program, I still enjoyed the park very much this year. I have to say that the line jumping this year is the worst it has ever been at KI, and I am still annoyed that people make excuses for them and give them permission to line jump instead of enforcing the rules. Otherwise, I think DB is a great addition to the park, and it has brought friends of mine to KI from hundreds of miles away. I've noticed better guest service than in past years, and noticing employees are working harder to keep the park clean. Made so many new friends this year too.

Cedar Point:

Terrific coaster lineup. Terrific flat ride lineup. Even has spinning rides I can ride without feeling ill. Employees were friendly and funny, and saw strict enforcement of park rules by employees, management, and security. Made several new friends this year. LOVE the random song and dance routines outside of Johnny Rockets, and watching the All Wheels Extreme shows from Wicked Twister's queue. Seeing all rides running with music bumping, high school bands marching down the midway, and employees thoroughly enjoying their jobs all at once just gives me chills walking through the park. The view all around of seagulls flying over a sailboat-dotted lake is just breathtaking. CP has a magic, an energy I cannot describe, that I have not felt at any other park.

Holiday World:

Cleanest park I have ever seen. Friendliest employees I have met anywhere. Violently amazing coasters that seem to have risen from hell and dropped from heaven at the same time. Terrific, well done theming and delicious food. The way the park makes you feel like a friend, or family, rather than just another customer. Walking and talking with Pat Koch like we've known each other for years. Low prices you wouldn't dream of seeing at an amusement park. Best fudge I've ever had. Not having to pay for parking, and having sunscreen at your disposal. Very much worth the 4 hour drive, and I would recommend this park to any self respecting coaster enthusiast.

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom:

Very strange advertisements, and scattered theming that just doesn't seem like it fits.. Bugs Bunny in one spot and Skittles ads in the other? That and their rain policy.. one drop and they shut the gates with pretty much no warning. Food and drink prices make you almost have a coronary. Otherwise a very clean park with very friendly and funny employees. Greezed Lightnin, Thunder Run, and Roadrunner Express make it worth the trip. Still mad about Chang.

Stricker's Grove:

Nostalgic little park, but a few too many spinning rides for my liking. Teddy Bear and Tornado are pretty awesome, especially the "cliff" element on Tornado, but I couldn't spend a whole day at the park.

Coney Island:

Beautiful landscaping. Quite a few spinning rides, but several of which I can ride. Really enjoyed the nostalgia of the park, the kettle corn, learning how to spin the Rock-O-Planes, and the quirky doors that go to nowhere. Park layout was a bit confusing, but otherwise somewhere definitely worth visiting. Amused by ride ops moving from ride to ride (I'm easily entertained).

Jungle Jack's Landing:

Snapped the Mission Macaw (flying eagles ride) without even trying, and was ecstatic to see manual brakes (?) on Sea Dragon. Liked the jungle theming and music throughout the park that seemed to match the theme of the zoo next to it. Small park, but fun, although I couldn't spend a whole day here either.

[KIfan1980]

Kudos on the topic!

My thoughts on the parks I went to this year:

Kings Island - as my home park and one I visit pretty often, it will always be special to me, but this year more than any I can remember in a long time it earned it. Yes Diamondback was a big part of that, but there were all the other little things that made it an incredible year. Also, great kids area and rides.

Disney World - enjoyed time at Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and a brief stop-in for a couple of rides at Disney's Hollywood Studios. While they lack the major league coasters, they more than make up for it with the overall experience and they have enough rides to keep it interesting. As for the the kids, there is nowhere better.

Silver Dollar City - an awesome theme park with a few really good coasters including Powder Keg and Wildfire along with an Arrow Mine Train (Thunderation) that has a backward riding opportunity and is much better than AE in my opinion. Pretty good kids area, especially for the really little ones.

Strickers Grove - a fun little place that I'm very glad I got to experience finally. The cliff on Tornado is awesome, Teddy Bear is neat, there are several other rides for the spinning fans, and the atmosphere is great. Would be good for the kids, although they weren't with me - even though it was technically "Family Day"

That's it for parks this year, although I'm planning on some others next year based upon the input from others here and in Trip Reports: Dollywood (spring break trip scheduled), back to Cedar Point (finally), and Holiday World (to experience Voyage amongst others).

[Browns4life]

Kings Island- I guess I would consider this my home park now, since its the closest. While it is Cedar Fair, and everything is overpriced, I still love this place. Landscaping is great, atmosphere is awesome, kids area is the best, and the coasters are good. Diamondback is a great ride, Beast is still pretty good, they have the best Arrow Looper IMO, and Adventure Express is the best lol!!!

Cedar Point- Now I know this is the coaster capital of the world and all, but to me it is very overrated. Years ago, I made my first visit and was terrified of coasters and was blown away with this place. It made me hooked...in 2006 i was an employee on Mine Ride, and after working there the magic seemed to fade away. I loved pretty much everyone I worked with, but I felt I was screwed over by supervision and management. I just cant see why people go back summer after summer to work, i mean they dont even get a bonus anymore! Seriously whats the motivation? Magnum and Maverick are still my favorite rides, but I guess I am sick of the place. I went a couple times this year and was not having a good time. I think the food prices really get to me...

Holiday World- Now this is the way a park should be ran! Everyone is great, smiles everywhere! rides are the best, waterpark is amazing, prices are right, its just the best place to go! I was sad I only got to make one trip this season. Lake Rudolph is awesome too!

Walt Disney World- I have never been to a place where I felt like I left reality. Disney can do nothing wrong! Everything is TOP OF THE LINE. Live entertainment can NOT be beat. May not have tons of coasters, but they rock! Theming is really insane and real! Expidition Everest is the best themed ride around. I love the place, food is awesome, prices are fair. Hotels are great. I hated leaving.

Carowinds- Very nice little park. Food was good for a Cedar Fair place. Rides were ok, just a little short. I guess you can thank Paramount for that.

[sgshredder33]

Kings Island-It was a great year. Diamondback was amazing, as well as the rest of the rest of the park

Magic Kingdom- It is so amazing. The dark rides are amazing. The theme is great,the restaurants, and the rides it is just great.

Epcot- The rides are great, the food is the best I have ever had at a themepark, the scenery is great. I just love Epcot

DHS- Tower of Terror and Rockin' rollercoaster are my two favorite thrill rides. I love Aerosmith. The themeing on ToT is amazing. I also love Prime Time cafe and Sci Fi dine in theater. The great movie ride is one of my favorite dark rides, over all this is my favorite park.

Animal Kingdom- It is great, I just don't enjoy it as much as the four parks I previously mentioned, so I don't feel like reviewing it

[Brandon]

Cedar Point: My home park and it was another great year. I had the privelage of being able to go over 30 times this year, and had a blast throughout the summer. I loved the new Starlight Experience, and it really added to the walk from Maverick to Millennium!

Kings Island: Only got to go for one weekend this year but thats fine. I love Kings Island, and I think it has a great lineup of rides. I wasn't as impressed with Diamondback as everyone else seems to be, but I guess it still is a solid addition to the park.

Canada's Wonderland: This park has so much to do! They have a lot of coasters, but with the exception of Behemoth, there really isn't a standout coaster. However, where it lacks in overall quality of coasters, it makes up for in their great collection of flat rides. This park has the best collection of flats than any other park I have visited.

Kings Dominion: I was impressed with Kings Dominion, however it seemed to be lacking the atmoshpere that Kings Island has. Still, it is a solid park with some great coasters including Volcano! and they also have some great flats like The Crypt, which was absolutely amazing.

Dorney Park: I loved this park, even though I only got to be there for about 4 hours. Their coaster collection is small, but the quality of the coasters is great, and Talon is a great B&M invert that should not be missed. They also have some unique flats like Meteor which is a very fun ride.

Hersheypark: This park has everything. Great coasters, a zoo, a "tour" of a chocolate factory, and much more. Their coasters definetly shook up my top 10 as Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, and Wildcat have all moved into my Top 10 steel coasters and Top 10 wood coasters.

Busch Garden Europe: This is the best park I have ever been to. Everything about this place is amazing, from their great rides, to their great food, and to their great shows. It has the best atmoshpere of any park I have been to. Griffon blew my mind and made its way to my number 1 coaster. Going to Busch Gardens I was expecting to have a great time, but nothing could prepare me for how great it turned out to be. It was the perfect day at a theme park.

This is how I would rank the parks I visited:

1. Busch Gardens Europe

2. Cedar Point

3. Hersheypark

4. Kings Island

5. Kings Dominion

6. Canadas Wonderland

7. Dorney Park