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

[IndyGuy4KI]

Seems like you are having a great time. Congrats on number 100.

[silver2005]

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.  

[Oldiesmann]

Glad you enjoyed Knoebels. Definitely not your typical park but the layout with the roads and such reminded me a bit of (New) Conneaut Lake Park (though CLP isn't nearly as big). Unfortunately the only time you'll get night rides on the woodies is during Phoenix Phall Phunfest as they otherwise apparently don't run their woodies after dark. I didn't get to ride Flyers last year as it was down when I was there (or at least when I wanted to ride it), so hopefully I'll get that in this year (along with Over The Top and the sky ride, both of which were also closed last year when I was there).

[silver2005]

^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.  

[PhantomTheater]

You didn't ride the best bumper cars in the world, aka Knoebel's Skooters?

[silver2005]

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.  

 

 

[VekomaRulz]

I'm glad you liked Zumanjaro. I also agree about Jusitce League. It almost feels like I am at a park in Orlando with the queue and the ride itself being so high quality. Nitro is also my 2nd favorite steel coaster. I couldn't decide if I liked Nitro or Diamondback better but gave the slight edge to Nitro.

The Dark Knight used to have more theming and effects. Sadly, many stopped working or were removed within a few years of opening like the billboards that were holograms. 

 

[silver2005]

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.  

[silver2005]

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. 

[silver2005]

Finally back home in Cincy.

Thanks @VekomaRulz for the PA/NJ advice!

Next non-KI trip- Cedar Point

[Yippee Skippee]

I am leaving for Hershey this Sunday. Any tips on places to eat in and around the park.

[teenageninja]

7 hours ago, Yippee Skippee said:

I am leaving for Hershey this Sunday. Any tips on places to eat in and around the park.

Not sure if you are a beer drinker, but Troegs Brewing is less than a mile from the park.  It's a really cool facility and they have good food as well.

 

The milkshakes at the Hershey Factory are incredible.

[silver2005]

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.

[Yippee Skippee]

Well I can't pass up some good bbq

[silver2005]

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.  

[Oldiesmann]

I'll likely be hitting up KK again at the end of the month. My sister and brother-in-law want to take advantage of the GOCC deal (two days for $34.99 with free drinks both days) so we're planning a family trip on the 30th and 31st.

[silver2005]

Just got the approval from work to take off on the 24th so I can go to CP on the 23rd and stay the night in Port Clinton!

 

[silver2005]

So the only ride review I'll be doing is Steel Vengeance for my venture to CP.  

I also realized in writing all those that its hard to come up with different words to use when describing 30+ coasters in such a short amount of time.  I'll have to brush up on my vocabulary.  

[silver2005]

I may luck out with crowds the day I go- there's a decent chance of rain the day I'm going, but not all day.  

[silver2005]

My ongoing war with the mayflies continues tomorrow.  

Hopefully there aren't swarms adorning SV with all that structure for them to hang out....

[silver2005]

Quick last minute question- how long should I give myself to get through Dayton rush hour tomorrow?  I should be coming through at about 7:30 am.   I need to time this trip out as I'm planning on stopping in Toledo  around 9-9:30 am to drop off the bad dash panel I got for my Hyundai and its on the way to Sandusky.  

[silver2005]

Steel Vengeance is my favorite steel coaster now.

[silver2005]

So since this is my last CP trip for a few years and with how I want some SV re-riding later, I got myself FLP.

[silver2005]

So every CP B&M has had a protein spill today.

[silver2005]

BTW, no mayflies were harmed in the making of this trip.

 

But a crap ton of gnats were.

[silver2005]

Cedar Point TR

The entire reason for this trip was to get in Steel Vengeance.  After seeing it being built in person last season, I just had to pencil in a trip this year to get to it.  I usually spread out my CP trips with how often they keep adding big new rides, but I let my self have this exception, and I'm glad I didn't let myself wait a few years to get to SV.  

After dropping off the bad dashboard in Toledo, I got to CP around 11:20.   The first thing I did was Steel Vengeance (parked by Magnum).  90 minutes later, I was blown away (more on that at the end).  Ate lunch right after since I didn't eat since 5:30 am, and then I just started at Raptor and made my way back (I usually go clockwise around Millennium Island, so starting with Iron Dragon and ending with Dragster).   Weather played some factors, though somehow, WindSeeker was operating through all of it to my dismay.  Dragster and Raptor went down for the last few hours of the day. 

Something amazing happened later in the day though.  A small rain shower came through around 7, and I guess the GP thought the rides were closed for the day since, like the parting of the Red Sea, the crowds emptied CP.  However, CP did compensate by going into reduced train operations, the most painful of which being single train ops on Magnum.  It was still nice having a very lightly crowded CP for the last 4 hours.  I got some decent night rides in with this order- GateKeeper, Blue Streak, Millennium Force, Rougarou, Magnum x2, and Steel Vengeance x2.  All the steel coasters were absolutely hauling today, and if you ever wanted to ride Millennium Force with some decent forces (for y'all who think its forceless), that day was a great day to ride it.  Also, Blue Streak post-rain is awesome. 

Steel Vengeance- This lets you know it'll be awesome right from the get-go.  Those little hops have nice pops of air.  That's kind of its cue in saying the rest of the ride is going to be awesome.   This ran almost exactly how I pictured it, just sticking with the good parts of Storm Chaser, and putting it on steroids.  Every element paces so well in light of its speed, the insane yet comfortable forces, and its just. Keeps.  Going.   The entire second half is head choppers everywhere.   Its even more insane at night.  To me, all that wood kind of resembled an optical illusion where it felt like spinning down a wooden wormhole.  The first half has 2 insane airtime moments with the top hat and the outside banked curve.  The 2 rolls around the lift is my favorite part of the ride.  Just an awesome coaster all around. 

[silver2005]

So I think I'm amusement park-ed out.  I really don't feel like going anywhere after the trips I've taken, so I'm gonna cancel going to Kentucky Kingdom.  I'll just do it next season on my way back from Holiwood Nights.  

[IndyGuy4KI]

8 hours ago, silver2005 said:

So I think I'm amusement park-ed out.  I really don't feel like going anywhere after the trips I've taken, so I'm gonna cancel going to Kentucky Kingdom.  I'll just do it next season on my way back from Holiwood Nights.  

You sure you might not be up for a trip after a few weeks?

[silver2005]

^I start school in a few weeks.  I also don't feel like doing any long car trips anywhere between now and then.  

I'm also exactly where I want to be in terms of budget as well (as in, I create a budget for the entire year and I'm perfectly where I wanted to be this time of year).  I gotta be a bit frugal from now until January.  Like, the stuff I did this summer came at the expense of going to way fewer UC football games and even UC Homecoming.  I've been saving so I can finish my undergrad at UCBA without having to take any break from school since I'm already behind on that thanks to my medical issues from back then.  I just happened to have a lot more extra in terms of not paying as much for tuition last semester in order to finance the PA/NJ trip (the CP trip was pretty cheap all things considered, I had the money saved for Flash Pass at SFGAdv which I didn't use so I used it on FLP at CP).  

Things have also gotten hectic at work due to some staffing issues, and for a few reasons between work and school, I am just gonna stick with KI for the rest of this season, and I'm totally content with that.   I mean, I'm happy enough that I got through that trip as well as I did with all the medical stuff I go through and I've never done 7 different parks in one season before (this summer was designed to get me over the 100 credit mark).  Neither of the 2 trips I have planned for next  summer come even close to this past summer's.