silver2005

^Maybe Goble can teach us all Force lightning to let us deal with them.

I thought of something a bit more unique. What about relocating Skyflyer within the park a la Cedar Point (maybe to Dinos Alive's area, make it part of X-Base) and using that area as a giga station?

So my Cedar Point venture will be later this month. Basically go up the day of, get a few laps on SV and cruise through the park the rest of the day, get a cheap hotel for the night, then head back to Cincy. Not going to force myself to go all ride warrior, more so a relaxing venture. Going on a day trip to the Hartland in late July or early August. I'm mostly trying to get these in in the few weeks between my 2 community bands' seasons and school starting in late August. Will be going to KI a few times including at least one trip for SC and going on the Action Zone ERT night on the 13th. May slip in a few evening ventures after work as well.

^Its not like they haven't built one with a MCBR either. Their first conversion was New Texas Giant. RMC is honestly starting to feel like Intamin now; getting tried and true concepts and messing them up (no being able to get a launch coaster right with Lightning Rod, having trouble with a MCBR and running 3 trains with SV, setting multiple projects on fire).

Is it safe to guess that they won't have 3 trains running on it at all this season?

You really can't go wrong with anything you choose at Hershey. It's all fantastic, but if you want bang for the dollar and good quality, go to Spring Creek Smokehouse near Trailblazer. Fantastic BBQ selection, great sides and desserts. The ribs there are HUGE. Also in one of the more scenic areas of the park to boot and you get to see Storm Runner racing by.

^Also realize there were 2 tracks so it needed that kind of room.

Finally back home in Cincy. Thanks @VekomaRulz for the PA/NJ advice! Next non-KI trip- Cedar Point

BTW, I am officially dubbing the hotel I stayed at as the Snyder Hotel with all the extra crap that comes with it, kinda like a SIX park. :P.

I will say the worst traffic I've encountered, even over going through downtown Philly, has been around my hotel. US 22 is under construction for a few miles which backs things up a lot in the morning. I have to use it to get to all 4 of the parks I went to as well as the beginning of my route back to Cincy.

Final hotel conundrum- For the last 2 nights, I've come back to my hotel room having the heat on. Can I go back to mayflies? Six Flags Great Adventure TR Finally, we get to the park that kind of ignited this whole trip, hence the thread title. I will admit, it was quite the nostalgia trip returning after last visiting in 2000. I still knew some of the park by heart, but the new stuff threw me off, especially the Golden Kingdom area. I'm not too fond of the layout. Its kind of a giant T shape with a few confusing paths and unexpected dead ends. Its got some good rides, but the corporate feel kind of let me down, especially when it came to ride operations and getting in the park. From entering the park by car, it took me 40 minutes to actually step foot inside the main gate, most of that spent in the lines for security, GS (getting the free ACE ticket), and the line to get admitted. Ride crews were all over the place. Some were average (ex. BTR, Green Lantern, Big Droppy Thing), some really smashed lines as best they could (ex. El Toro, Superman and surprisingly, Joker), some ran as if they were running less trains then they were (ex. Bizzaro, Kingda Ka) and Nitro's was very rude to guests to try and get a power hour. The girls manning the mike just kept talking and talking like they were annoyed with guests. Food lines were slow as well. Some staff did the best they could within SIX's guidelines, but there was a lot not to like as well. Line cutting and kids getting re-rides when they weren't supposed to were also prevalent. They were pretty hard on loose articles at least, especially phones and cameras. If they could iron out some consistency, they'd be a nice park. Didn't have the stomach for the flats like I'd hoped with how I've been going for this past week, but I still managed to get in most of what I wanted to do. Photos weren't as good as it was overcast all day with a few bits of drizzle. Waits probably averaged 20 minutes, even for the low capacity rides. Ride Reviews Justice League: Battle for Metropolis- This is one of the most impressive dark rides I've ever ridden. It did make me dizzy with the 3D stuff, but it blended that with animatronics and the moving vehicles extremely well. The dialogue didn't come through very well though. Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom aka Big Droppy Thing- I actually like this more than I was freaked out. That extra 100 ft of free fall feels nice. Saw Mill Log Flume- This is the kind of flume I like, one that cruises at tree top height and has a few extra drops. Really great view of the lake as well. Coaster Reviews Batman: The Ride- Its nice to remember this one for once. It packs a punch for being a bit smaller. Even grayed out a few times. Bizarro- This is as good as I remembered. Had such a strong nostalgia trip on it that muscle memory somehow kicked in for bracing the curves. This is the ride that got me into being an enthusiast after all, but I didn't imagine I'd have such good memories about it. Easily my favorite floorless coaster. Remember when I said Rougarou would be perfect to me if it had a zero G roll? Bizzaro's got one. Its just sooooo gooood. Dark Knight- The Bat-Mouse in a box has decent theming and doesn't use the brakes, but I thought the theming could have been better. Kind of a unique way to theme an indoor mouse, and the pre-ride video was a nice touch with Heath Ledger's Joker recordings played throughout that and the ride. Kind of underwhelming what SIX must have paid for it to have it turn out so mediocre with the theming. El Toro- I liked this a lot. It is very good in the right departments, though it is getting some rough spots in some of the valleys and in that s-curve section. I didn't like it all that much though, not on the kind of praise it gets. I don't know, I'm just not a fan of that intense airtime that Intamin goes for. Green Lantern- I liked it for the most part. Rode it early so my legs wouldn't turn to Jell-O. Felt like it had smoother transitions than Mantis, which, with a stand up and the raised center of gravity and balance, helps a LOT. It does look cool sitting next to Superman, but I liked what was formerly in that spot better. Harley Quinn Crazy Train- I didn't know a 20 car train would hold speed as well as is it did. It was a fun family coaster with the bonus of a 2nd lap. It does look impressive snaking through the layout. Does jerk you around a bit though. Joker- This turned out to be a surprisingly better coaster than anticipated. I didn't know what to expect from the 4D concept, but this was a nice introduction. Absolutely insane from start to finish, and the flipping is pretty fast for how big the cars are. I was even more surprised how well it handled lines. Can't wait to try the bigger ones like X2. Kingda Ka- Take TTD, add the annoying Intamin OTS harnesses and a TON of vibrating and you have Kingda Ka. The extra hill doesn't do much. I felt more disoriented by the rattling than I was the actual ride's elements and speed. Nitro-This is my favorite steel coaster from the trip and is my 2nd favorite steel coaster behind Magnum. It takes what Diamondback does and adds some sa-weet curved drops on drops 2 and 6 and a very intense helix. The drops on the return run had a little bit of swaying going on as well. The 4 across trains also feel like they have better sustained momentum than the v-seating. Nitro is a fast hyper. The hammerhead turn around even has decent positive G's as it crests. Now, could it have less rude and annoying ride ops? Runaway Mine Train- A bit boring like Trailblazer but with some rough spots. Had a nice bunny hop by the lake to end the ride though. I like the station as well. Skull Mountain- This was another surprise. A really quick dark coaster with some air time, fast paced turns, and a pitch black room. Really fun coaster. Superman: Ultimate Flight- This is where the boring B&M conversations come from. Superman is really lackluster. Smooth yes, and a nice pretzel loop, but a really uninspired layout with not much else going for it. Give me Firehawk over this any day.

Knoebels ride ops skip checking empty restraints on Twister.

^Unfortunately, I didn't get many flats as a majority of them were down, either for maintenance or not enough staff I suppose. Besides, I got 2 top spins, Big Droppy Thing, a Star Flyer, and a Larson Looper coming up.

So here's my plan for tomorrow. Basically, just hit the low capacity rides or potentially problematic rides first, i.e. Green Lantern, Superman, Kingda Ka, Joker. Everything else there should eat lines well. I was also a bit nervous about how well I'd hold up this trip, but I think I'm pacing myself well. Been a little dehydrated, but that's kind of my norm. I've also taken breaks to do some serious photo shooting (got about 500 photos and counting between the 4 parks with 1 to go) Feeling pretty well all things considered. I'm also going straight to Jackson. The thing I had planned with the Skyline shirt was to get a picture of me facing out from the Rocky steps (Philadalphia Museum of Art's stairs) as a Facebook photo, but I'm not willing to have to get up as early as I need to in able to get around to that. silver2005, who has a Thunder Run shirt ready to go tomorrow and who may be slightly nervous about riding Big Droppy Thing tomorrow.

So this didn't turn out quite as planned as the ops weren't fond of taking photos of me on the train, so I went with plan B. I wore a UC shirt to Knoebels as C is the Roman numeral for 100 and UC, mainly the health department and band, has been a big part of why I can do what I can do after all I've been through medically that I wanted to integrate that into my hobby. Went with 2 photos since the sign is up so high.

Sorry guys, no hotel shenanigans to report this time. Knoebels Review I let myself take my time today with SFGAdv looming. It did take me a while to get there as its not near an interstate highway and I got lost a few times getting there. Got a pretty scenic route out of it though, lots of mountains, a few small-town-America type towns, and a few coal mines. Worth getting lost. The area around Elysburg is beautiful. The park was quite different than I expected. There's no parking gate or proper entrance. You just park in a field and waltz in anywhere you want. It amazed me to see where people could go throughout the park, even up close enough to touch some Giant Flume boats in the maintenance dock. The ride ops were a bit overzealous, especially at Twister in that they dispatched trains without checking vacant seat restraints. They were even better than HP, and today was pretty light on crowds. Had a fish sandwich and fries for lunch which were very good. I like the outdoorsy feel of the park. The eating areas and even the restrooms had open air through them and with it being a pretty nice day, it made for a pleasant experience. I didn't expect all the gravel paths or that there were active roads and residential housing in the park. Certainly gives it its own flavor. Its a quirky park and I love it. I am now of the opinion that a trip to Knoebels is good for the soul. I definitely want to return to get some night rides on things, particularly Twister. Ride Reviews Giant Flume- A good flume through the woods. A bit short but fun. I like the interaction with the midway and that rides like this had observation areas. Flyer- Definitely was a good flying eagles ride. I think I almost got it to snap a few times. Not quite as well trained as other members here. Haunted Mansion- So we're going to relocate this to KI and give Knoebels Boo Blasters which they'll theme as well as the former. Some decent sudden scares. The strobe lighting did irritate me a bit, but otherwise a slick ride. Coaster Reviews Black Diamond- A fun little dark coaster. Good theming and some good drops. I still give Blazing Fury an edge here. Impulse- Loved that it only had a lap bar, but the shin restraints were bothersome. Pretty good pacing, very good acceleration. Its got a pretty small radius at the top of the lift, so even going over slowly can get you out of your seat. Had an annoying vibration though. Flying Turns- The smoothest woodie ever, but not quite as good as my favorite ones. Got only one ride in the back, and it whips around pretty good. Glad the ride worked out for them. Also love the sign about building it while being told not to. If you were around and followed it when they were building and developing it all those years, it should bring a smirk to your face. A nice enthusiast troll sign. Phoenix- Now we're getting into the goooooood stuff. It runs like a dream. Also has buzz bars, no seat belts, and only one very slight trim section using anti-roll backs. This thing cruises through turns and the air is phenomenal, especially on the last set of bunny hops. You're almost standing up with how much the air launches you. I can see how its ranked so high. However.... Twister- My 100th credit, and I got a sweet one. This sucker just doesn't let up. Even the turn between the lifts has insane laterals. The track switches between air pumping hills and side wall leaning laterals a lot with a great helix as the exception, and with its break neck pacing, its quite intense. Its also head chopper heaven. Its good enough to now sit as my 2nd favorite wooden coaster as of this post. A certain Intamin may have a word about that.

Twister might be the only other coaster besides Voyage and Thunderhead to leave me completely breathless. It's so, so good.

Finally hit the triple digit mark. The honor belongs to Twister. That and Phoenix are incredible. Flying Turns was pretty fun.

So I'm a solid 2 hours from Jackson, NJ. How long should I give myself to get through downtown Philadelphia using the turnpike?

Now that I'm 3 parks in, I do feel I should have scheduled another off day with no traveling. Its wearing on me a little bit. I may not spend too long at Knoebels tomorrow with NJFTP looming Wednesday. I don't think I'll be scheduling another 5 park trip any time soon either. Still gonna try to enjoy myself these last few days as much as possible.

Holy O'Terpy in the Hartland, there's ANOTHER thing that happened with my hotel. I entered through one of the back entrances which you need your room card, and not only was it jarred open with a wet floor sigh (it hasn't worked since I got here), but the stairwell it was in smelled like it was recently on fire. Also heard a lot of running around as I went to the room, got ice, went back. This can't be a thing this trip. I'm speechless. This hotel has gone to plaid. Now for the good part. Hersheypark TR Got a late start as I didn't set my alarm quite on a radio station, so I ate a quick breakfast at a Dunkin Donuts and got to Hershey, PA around 11. Was quite busy as I got there and for a Monday, those crowds would last. There were a lot of people there today. The minimum wait for things was probably 15 minutes. A lot of the major rides, especially Laff Track, approached 30-40, and that's with Hershey's fine ride operators (they were kicking butt and taking names today). Others fluctuated drastically. Skyrush was anywhere between 5 minutes to 40 minutes. Storm Runner had no longer than a station wait, Comet was long, Wildcat was all over the place. I've never seen such drastic differences in ride waits ever. What to say. This park is extraordinary. First off, the entire park smells wonderful. Whether its the smell of chocolate close to the tours, or from any of the restaurants or even that old wood smell from the older buildings, it teases the smell factory. Let's talk about the food, too. The portions are just what you think you get when you pay theme park prices. Big, thick slices of pizza, monstrous ribs and mac and cheese (which I had by Trailblazer and Storm Runner), and amazing ice cream. You would think a park owned by a company who specializes in food would make it good, and HP delivers in spades. Hershey cups of water are bigger than Kinzel cups and even come with a lid and straw. The staff was very detailed, focused, to the point, professional, and great to interact with. I think the GP responds to that in that they are more aware of themselves when it comes to dealing with park procedures and the gears just work together well. Show your customers a little TLC and they'll return the favor by treating your park well. From what I heard throughout the day, the GP love this park, too. I also like how there's no dedicated kids area and that their rides are integrated throughout the park so they don't get bored away from their rides. I've said my piece earlier in this thread when it comes to my viewpoints about HP and this visit just solidified those thoughts. Still solidly my 2nd favorite park behind Dollywood (they kinda do theming, shows and other things a bit better than HP). I also think HP should invest in a 2nd entrance by the GCI's somewhere. Ride Reviews Coal Cracker- Well, this was the only non-coaster I did today. I'm not fond of S&S Towers so I skipped those (I've also avoided them sans Waldameer because I'm getting the mother of all Drop Towers Wednesday), and Kissing Tower and the sky ride were down. To be honest, their flat selection isn't the greatest for a park their size. Coal Cracker is a nice flume as it meanders below Great Bear and Sooperdooper Looper. Has a nice drop as well. Didn't get too wet, but I wanted a bit more, but also not soaked like Tidal Force does. The park certainly knows how to maximize space, that's for sure. Coaster Reviews Alphabetically Comet- This. Coaster. Still. Has. Buzz-bars. If that weren't enough, its still in tip top shape and the air really gets you airborne. Still blows me away how well it runs. Fahrenheit- Not much has changed in my opinion. A nice first drop with 6 inversions in a row. Not quite stellar material. I did notice some new pops of air on the Norwegian Loop (the first 2 inversions) and the hills towards the end are great in that department as well, but at that point, my body was still getting over the positive g's that it was more about keeping from graying out at that point for me. It tries to Eurofight and, well, Gerstlauer gets the concept better. Great Bear- Its hard to put this back over Talon. Its transitions on the 0g roll and corkscrew are snappy, and where Talon feels like a more consistent ride, GB has lapses in its intensity. That does give it that more re-rideable approach, but inverts are a bit better when they're peeling your face off. It does have the best B&M roar of any of the ones I've done to this point (hi Nitro!). The first drop sequence is still awesome and the skim by the river and SDL are definitely unique moments. Laff Trakk- As stated, now my favorite spinner. Has better theming than Steel Dragon and doesn't spin as ridiculously as Exterminator. The black lights and the props were great and I really liked the queue and the circus/fun house theme. Lightning Racer- My favorite ride at the park and still one of my favorite GCI's/wooden coasters. Its aged a bit, but not as much as Wildcat. Everything you'd want from a GCI and doubled. Great racing action to be had as well, especially sitting further back in the trains. Still keepin' it above Timbers. Too bad it was only running a train per side or else I would have been on it quite a bit. Sidewinder- The new Vekoma trains improved it drastically. Much more comfortable and enjoyable for a Boomerang. Not much else to say because it's a Boomerang. Skyrush- Came away a bit disappointed I have to say. Looks like it had potential, but Intamin screwed the pooch on this. The restraints dig into your thighs and the dumb idea of putting no hill above 80 ft after a 200 ft one at 80 degrees was a stupid move. I felt the lap bar being so tight created a lot of forward movement on the crests of the hills and threw me forward too much. At least Maverick is designed a bit better. This thing is just underwhelming. My least favorite hyper now (everyone applaud Steel Force for not having that title anymore). Sooperdooper Looper- The new G trains are simple yet effective and I love the orange paint scheme on them. I feel they are a bit more comfy than the original Schwarzkopf stock. Its a fun ride through the woods with a nice forceful, circular loop. The layout kind of reminds me of a smaller Arrow suspended coaster as it swoops through s-curves and hugs the terrain. It keeps its speed up quite well, too, and even has some added pops of air here and there. The G-trains feel heavier in that it accelerated quicker off the first drop and it kept up momentum better than the old trains as well. Very fun ride. Anton designed a winner. Storm Runner- Maverick may have some decent air, but this does its ejector air at 191 ft. It flies over that top hat and the launch is incredible. This and Fahrenheit also had the newer Intamin vest restraints like Maverick and I-305 have. Nice to not jam your head into the hard rubber anymore. Insane from start to finish. My favorite steel coaster at HP. Trailblazer- Even for a mine train, it's lack luster. Very much a first-coaster kind of ride. Not much in the way of forces, even in the final helix. Has some nice scenery though. I like the helix burying into the hill at the end. Wild Mouse- Better than Dorney's by a mile. Way less brakes, a smoother run station, and does what a mousy coaster does best. Wildcat- This got WAY better. The MF's have finally broken in and its running as good as its prime with the PTC's. Its got some bite, but that's part of why its enjoyable to me. The pacing REALLY picked up from my last visit and its got some gnarly air and laterals now. Movin' up the ranks for sure. I have to say now that top to bottom, HP has my favorite overall wooden collection of any park I've been to so far (hi Knoebels and El Toro!).

I guarantee that none of the rides you listed are ones that I'm re-riding. All.the rows on HP's best coaster were opened.

Too bad Lightning Racer is only running 1 train per side or else I'd marathon the crap out of it.

Great Bear may be the most re-rideable B&M ever, but the walk from the exit to the entrance is a pain.

Laff Trakk is my favorite spinning coaster now. Not as good theming as Exterminator, but it's not as vicious spinning.