The Journey To Find The Inner Terpy- silver2005's Pennsylvania & New Jersey Trip Planning and PTR

[silver2005]

This is a question regarding Six Flags Great Adventure- how many trains will each coaster run during the week?

[VekomaRulz]

They should be running maximum trains on everything except El Toro (my 2 visits this year have only had 1 train running and haven't heard that the 2nd train is running), if the park is empty, they may go to 2 trains on Nitro and Bizarro although unlikely. I was there 4 weeks ago on a Friday and even later in the day when schools left and the trains were going out half full, they still ran 3 trains.

[silver2005]

Great, now Knoebels is teaming up with Hershey to troll me with food/dessert posts.  

 

[silver2005]

I may have to push KK back to Wednesday now.  

[silver2005]

Update- KK will be pushed back to July.  I've just had too many things pop up recently to fit it in this month.  I'll probably go for the end of July.

Here's my itinerary for the trip-

Friday- Leave Cincy at 5:30-5:45 am, get breakfast en route, get to Erie/Waldameer between noon and 1 pm  

Saturday- Travel to Allentown early, planning on a similar arrival time, options thereafter include Dorney's or Hershey's water park, explore Allentown, or venture to Philly

Sunday- Dorney Park (changed since I got an unlimited ticket for Knoebels only good on weekdays, Knoebels will be where I get to my 100th credit)

Monday- Hersheypark, aka, the best day of the trip  

Tuesday- Knoebels

Wednesday- Six Flags Great Adventure (may be subject to change based on weather, may place NJFTP on the day with the best weather but I'm still keeping it on a weekday, this park is also likely where I get my 100th in that event), I am prepared to get a Flash Pass if necessary

Thursday- Back to Cincy

[silver2005]

So with Waldameer and Knoebels being free admission and parking, how is re-entry handled at both parks?

[VekomaRulz]

Knoebels has no gates or formal entrances. Just open pathways from the parking lots to the park.

[silver2005]

Though early, the weather for my trip is looking rather promising, especially in Erie.  

[silver2005]

BTW, I thought of a more creative way to showcase my 100th credit.    

[PhantomTheater]

Waldameer is similar to Knoebels in entering, except that there is a perimeter fence with open gates at pathways.

[silver2005]

Got 11 pages of Google map directions.  Entirely avoiding the PA TP except when going to NJFTP and maybe Philly.  

Hershey only needed 1 page.  Turns out the road my hotel is on leads directly to HP.  Huzzah!   

I am taking a slightly longer way to Knoebels, one that looked less curvy than the shortest route.  

Packing most of my stuff today since I have a rehearsal tomorrow and a concert Wednesday.  

[silver2005]

Nooooo!  Erie, PA gets mayflies, too. 

 

[silver2005]

My day in Erie, PA now looks to have some rain, possibly late afternoon.  

But....rain soaked Ravine Flyer II.   

[Tera Ryzing]

Listen to this guy....

 

[silver2005]

^Dude, I haven't even ridden it yet.  Chill out  on trying to get me to like things you want me to.  It isn't going to work.  

What are you going to do if I don't like those rides as much as you do, hmmm?

[Tera Ryzing]

Your entitled to your opinion.  I just dont want you to miss out on an amazing coaster.

[silver2005]

^What makes you think I won't ride it?  Skyrush and Laff Trakk are my only 2 new credits at HP, of course I'm going to get to them.  

Quit acting like I'm going to be like you and cherry pick coasters I want to ride.  I'm riding all the coasters at all the parks I'm going to barring them being closed (*knocks on wood). Not all enthusiasts think like you.   You've been nagging me about my tastes since you got to this site and its getting annoying.  I'm happy to explain them, but quit acting like all coasters that aren't built by Intamin are bad.  You're out of your mind. 

[Tera Ryzing]

Not meaning to diss.  My apologies for the way it comes out.

[silver2005]

Alright, new requests-

- A good Philly cheese steak place in Philly that's not Penn Station.

- Best parking in downtown Philly 

- Anything around or en route to Erie or Allentown.

- Lastly, any suggestions for a unique nicer restaurant (not too expensive, this is for my one day where I'm not going to a park).  

[Oldiesmann]

I recommend stopping at Sara's while in Erie. It's right up the road from Waldameer and is a really fun diner/tourist trap type place with good food. If you have time, Presque Isle State Park (also right up the road from Waldameer and Sara's) is worth a trip. I didn't venture out to Gull Point because I was being bombarded with bugs on the trail, but there's a lighthouse and a lot of other stuff to see/do there (beach, picturesque lake views, etc.)

[Tera Ryzing]

5 hours ago, silver2005 said:

Alright, new requests-

- A good Philly cheese steak place in Philly that's not Penn Station.

- Best parking in downtown Philly 

- Anything around or en route to Erie or Allentown.

- Lastly, any suggestions for a unique nicer restaurant (not too expensive, this is for my one day where I'm not going to a park).  

Geno's or Pats

[silver2005]

48 minutes ago, Oldiesmann said:

I recommend stopping at Sara's while in Erie. It's right up the road from Waldameer and is a really fun diner/tourist trap type place with good food. If you have time, Presque Isle State Park (also right up the road from Waldameer and Sara's) is worth a trip. I didn't venture out to Gull Point because I was being bombarded with bugs on the trail, but there's a lighthouse and a lot of other stuff to see/do there (beach, picturesque lake views, etc.)

II may get there a bit before the park opens, so I'll definitely check it out for lunch.  I'll be doing dinner at Waldameer (staying to get RFII night rides, my hotel is less than 20 minutes from Waldameer).   I got an IHOB and a Cracker Barrel around for breakfast in Erie.   I plan on leaving Erie super early so I have time to explore either Philly or Allentown (leaning heavily toward the former for reasons which may or may not include shenanigans).  

I'll also be doing Camp Washington Chili for breakfast before I leave Cincy.   I also believe malem will be joining me at Waldameer.  He's a first timer, too.  

[Oldiesmann]

Waldameer is a great park all around. Make sure to do the dark rides (Whacky Shack and Pirate's Cove) in addition to the coasters. They also have a nice selection of classic flats if you have time.

[silver2005]

Yeah, I'll definitely be doing a lot of flats on my trip, especially at Knoebels and NJFTP.   

I just hope that new Cyborg top spin on steroids is open.  And they have a normal Top Spin, too.  

Also....Big Droppy Thing...

[silver2005]

Tomrrow at 6 am, the journey begins!

6 days, 5 parks, 25 new coaster credits, many more flats, some awesome food, and shenanigans in Philly in store. 

Oh, and I have a KK Thunder Run shirt for NJFTP and a Skyline shirt for Philly for reasons. 

I have a unique yet somewhat predictable way of showing which will be my 100th credit planned.  I think you guys will appreciate it.   

With how back to back this trip is, I'll be doing abbreviated TR's each day then doing more thorough stuff later.  There will be pa-lenty of pictures. 

[silver2005]

Got cold feet about being able to beat Cincy rush hour out of town, so I ate at the Kings Mills McDonald's for breakfast instead.

[silver2005]

Waldameer TR

Turned out to be a decent family park, but didn't hold my attention for all that long.  I thought it was a bit more spread out than it was and that it had more flats.  The rides it did have are quite fun.  I also included their dark ride, Whacky Shack, as a credit as it does have gravity powered drops, so I'm at 91.  #90, btw, was Steel Dragon, their spinning coaster. Also, it rained a lot.  malem was happy, and while it did thin the crowds and made RFII awesome, it got annoying.  Glad the rest of my trip is dry and warmer (only mid 60's here in Erie).  Only had pizza which was alright, but I needed something after the 5.5 hour drive.  A good warm up for the rest of the trip.   Liked their log flume a lot, too. 

The park also had a weird obsession with permanent switchbacks, both in queues and even on their dark house, Pirate's Cove.  Some of their queues are unexpectedly lengthy, even when they're shortened. 

Coaster Reviews

Comet- An old PTC coaster.  It has a nice location with a lot of big trees around, and had some air in the back.  A good relaxing woodie.  Got my first evac on it as well as it stopped just short of the station for the first ride.   Definitely a better ride in the back.  

Ravine Flyer III- For a kids coaster, it packs a punch.  A nice twisty layout, and some pretty good quick laterals.  Brace yourselves though, as if you aren't engaged in bracing a bit, it can bang you up a bit.  Also comes with fountain ERT (pianoman would love this park with the fountain ERT rides throughout including a few flats and Whacky Shack).

Whacky Shack- This was my first time on a dark ride like this and it was fun.  Its not so much a haunted ride but more focused on optical illusions.  Has a few drops, both straight and curved wild mouse style drops.  

Steel Dragon- I like this more than Exterminator.  The outdoors nature of it feels more open, and it doesn't spin quite as ferocious as Kennywood's ride.  It flowed a lot nicer than I thought and the spinning felt pretty graceful.   Starting to like what Maurer's got out there. Looking forward to the indoor version at Hershey.

Ravine Flyer II- Worth the trip up there and one of my favorite wooden coasters.  It is one of the best terrain style coasters I've done for sure, the curves and drops really hug the valley well.  Its got some strong pops of air throughout.  Also best in the back seat (or at least, 6-1).  The best moment to me was the last big drop into the valley under the lift after it takes a 90 degree banked turn.  It does have some jarring s-curves on the hill across the highway, but hardly a detriment to it.  Definitely a better example of what Gravity Group is capable of than I thought Voyage showed.  

 

[PhantomTheater]

Did you notice the bronze statues everywhere?

[silver2005]

^Yes.  The park had pretty decent landscaping.  From my point of view, it seems these smaller parks compensate elsewhere for not having as much rides as their FUN and SIX competitors.  

Headed to Allentown today, then downtown Philly late in the afternoon.  Dorney tomorrow. 

[silver2005]

I may suck it up and take the turnpike next time. I80 between Pitt and Philly has a notable lack of food stops and variety of food on said stops.