MrBrow's Northeast 5 Park Run

Armed with SF gold pass and dining plan we embarked on a northeast trip without the intent of hitting the water parks. Myself, wife (noncoaster rider), 12 year-old daughter 60”, 8 year-old daughter 50”. Home park: SF America.

We stopped off to have dinner with family in upstate NY and then stayed at the Comfort Suites (Clean, friendly, small pool slide, mini golf adjacent, higly recommended) that night (Wednesday 6/14) about a mile and a half from SF Great Escape. The website listed a 10:30 open but the front desk at the hotel said 10AM and when we arrived there was a sign off a printer in the parking booth window saying 10AM. Local schools were still in session and so there were about five busses of school groups. We simply went left as the youngest was excited about Steamin Demon upon arrival. Since this park is made for the 48” rider she led the way.

- Walked on Canyon Blaster - IMO Ghost town theming is the easiest to do. The ride was way short with two lift hills and even for a family coaster unspectacular and rough.

- Condor Spinner was dizzying with the mountain views. Easy to overlook but give it a shot.

- Steamin Demon was a rough ride. The little one would ride Loch Ness and Super Dooper Looper all day. She wanted to reride but big sister and I were not into it.

- We watched the dive show and then headed over to the Flashback (Vekoma boomerang) grabbed some pizza and every time the school groups subsided we walked on, went back to lunch, rerode, refilled drinks at the Freestyle booth, rerode...one kid, just dad, dad and three kids...

- Sasquatch (Not yet the VR drop of doom) on the launch side was a stay on reride four times. Good views and a nice upsy daisey feeling.

- Obligatory ride on the Larson loop here named Greased Lightning. This and the boomerang coaster are my little one’s go to rides it seems.

- Swan boats were relaxing and Thunder Alley is a top notch antique car ride. Cool looking 50’s cars with radios playing 50s music. Two mild rides for the wife.

- Alpine Bobsled, I like the bobsled rides. The only knock on this one is the small seating compartments. The three of us rode twice, the girls rode twice more as we were leaving. Walk on all four times.

- The wife took a break from holding the backpack and drinks to ride the Giant Wheel

- Comet is the star attraction. The 90 year-old coaster was walk on and gave us five solid rides. All the way in the back of the park we saved it for the end as the buses had left. Good air and just enough rattle to remind you that you are on a (hybrid) woodie. We had to admit that it is much better than our hometown 100 year-old Wild One.

- Extreme Super Nova is a smaller Zamperla Discovery Revolution. I could stay there and go back and forth between that and Comet for a while and we did.

Overall, it the park hits the mark for 48” riders as it has some “real” rides and would be the park to progress to after Dutch Wonderland and before Hershey. We were in at 10:15 and out at 3:30 with a threat of rain and desire to eat nonpark food with a view of the lake. Ride ops were friendly and enthusiastic although a bit slow moving. It did fit the laid back mountainous vibe of that part of the country.

Up and out later than expected Friday the 16th under dark skies and through rain. 2:15 to SFNE, we arrived around 11. My last trip here was when it was Riverside Park decades ago to see the stock car races. I think only Thunderbolt was there and I wasn’t tall enough. Today was destined to be a disjointed mess because of the weather. Not crowded other than some buses.

- We made a beeline to Superman and took the third train to ride the front row. The tunnels, Superman shields, positioning along the river, audio etc… all add to a great coaster. Anymore I am a sucker for theming. While the same length as the Superman coaster at our home park this one feels longer. We walked on again with the taller kid trying to decide whether or not it was her new favorite. We could have stayed on but we wanted to hit more before the rain arrived. The shorter kid was enjoying a well positioned Kryptonite Kollider.

- After the ride in the car we were in different needs for lunches. I took the smaller rider on Thunderbolt while the wife and older kid headed to Macho Nacho. Thunderbolt was what I would expect from an older woodie still in service. I liked the cables and turnbuckles that keep the ride station standing from the rumbling. She was more interested in Johnny Rockets being on the dining pass here than a reride which tells me a lot for a kid that that was already being told that she was too short for many rides.

- I swapped kids for ride up the Scream tower. It gives a good view of the park and an appreciation for the height of the Sky Screamer.

- Bribed the little one with her snack and pointed to the Flashback coaster while we took a ride on Goliath. While I get bored with the boomerang the giant boomerang is a whole other ball of wax combining a dive coaster and boomerang. It was extreme enough to get lost in where exactly I was within the layout during the ride. I grabbed something to eat and sent the kids on Flashback.

- At this point we broke out the rain ponchos and went to Wicked Cyclone. I wasn’t going to miss my first RMCed coaster and 48” rider was chomping at the bit. We had a wait but were not disappointed. All three of us are still trying to figure out where it fits in our top five. The zero G rolls might well be my favorite ride feature of any coaster. Smooth and quick and the orange tracks look wicked.

- The other ride not to be missed was the 410’ Sky Screamer. The wind gusts made it very exciting. The rain made it a wet your shorts ride, literally, as the rain was blowing up my shorts.

- We hopped on Pandemonium as the rain had stopped and then restarted while we were in line. We enjoyed it more than we thought we would.

Ride ops throughout the day ranged from sluggish to efficient. It kind of matched the weather, we headed to our hotel in East Windsor to rest up and dry off.

Well rested on Saturday we headed to Lake Compounce. Holy cow, don’t use GPS trying to find your way there. We kept driving by and finally turned into the employee lot where the attendant had printed directions to the actual lot ready to hand out. (By prepurchasing parking online I saved $.53!) There were a few buses and a couple of company picnics there but overall a light crowd for a Saturday. Through the rainbow lights in the tunnel exiting to park tucked between a lake and a foothill. The nostalgic look at the front gate is second only to Main Street in Disney. While the groups assembled we entered right at open and headed to Boulder Dash.

The lift up the rocks and through the trees and then bam! While not the fastest woodie in the world being close to the ground and the trees make it feel like it is. I have to admit I thought it was rough the first run but knowing what to expect on subsequent runs made it better. The favorite wooden coaster title in my mind was officially an unanswerable question. Throughout the day just hearing it rumble through the woods and seeing it burst into view adds an excitement to the park like none other I have experienced.

- Phobia Fear was walk on and we had a train to ourselves. Having been on Tempesto previously and logging so much coaster time over the last couple of days it just didn’t do anything for us. We were just riding and waving at people. Same goes for Thunder and Lightning preferring Sky Hawk at Cedar Point. They do add a nice complement to the other rides in the park.

- We then finally turned the reigns over to mom and so we rode the Ghost Hunt several times and then made our way toward the lake and I held the backpack. We picked up some Pink’s hot dogs and sat lakeside to eat. The free drink model here is just the best, carting the bottles around is annoying.

- The Sky Ride. What can I say about the Sky Ride. I strap my kids into seatbelts and lapbars reaching around to triple check they are locked to corkscrew hundreds of feet in the air. The sky ride with its nonlocking bar as we played look down at all of the stuff people have dropped scared the daylights out of me. Then when you think you’re at the top you go higher. The return view is spectacular and worth the time.

- Wildcat lifthill reconstruction was active and ongoing. While disappointing it provides a reason to return.

- The little one got in her daily boomerang coaster ride, some more flats, and we got a couple more spins on Boulder Dash and headed back to the hotel.

Ride ops were friendly, enthusiastic, and efficient. I really enjoyed this park. The scattered rain stayed away and so we dropped off the wife and shorter kid and headed back to SFNE, it was crowded at this time.

- Even Mind Eraser had a line. I was met with being told my bag had to be placed in a locker. My string bag held two refillable SF cups and two rain ponchos. I complied to watch people bring basketballs to the gate and the woman in front of us waving her purse on the ride. With the new restraints ME is tolerable.

- Leaving the stuff in the locker, we bounced to Batman again with a moderate wait. We decided at that point Joker wasn’t going to happen. Having ridden it last year at SFNJ it just wasn’t worth a long line and we figured we would be at SFNJ soon.

- We figured Gotham Gauntlet would be quick. We were wrong and boy it was rough for a mouse ride.

- With what started as a great idea returning to the busy park was turning into annoyance, we decided to hit Cyclone one more time rather than Superman. Again hit with the locker thing. I took the items out being told the cups are ok, put the bag in your pocket, and the ponchos on. I drank my soda and stuffed the poncho into the cup, only to stand in line between people with giant stuffed Scooby Doos. I'm still a newbie here and don't know how exactly how to use the pink bunny fluffy goo expression but I think this is where is goes.

Sunday morning, Father’s day, was a different vibe. Enroute to SFNJ we stopped off at Quassy Park.

We talked our noncoaster rider into riding Wooden Warrior for the Warrior’s first run of the day. Deceptive of us as she looked at it like it was a kiddie coaster. This coaster would be the coaster I want in my backyard. You get air, there’s a tunnel, the drop is bigger than the height, and the trains are just comfy. Just enough rattle to feel like a wooden coaster and speed in a small space. Reride for the three of us and then off to some flats.

Ride ops were great. Alex was running the Warrior and he was great to talk to and he follows the forum here. We got the ultimate coaster picture of the four of us in the train in the station.

Found a good place called Ceviche for lunch and headed to family in NJ for dinner and rested up for Great Adventure.

Into the lot before 10 and into season pass holder line as guests 6,7,8,9.

Monday, with school still in, and severe thunderstorms in the forecast, I have never seen that lot that empty. There were several large school groups though.

- Battle for Metropolis opened Saturday and we headed there. The map showed a right hand turn to get there but either it was blocked off or everyone of us missed it. Some people like new car smell. We have decided we like new ride queue smell. The mix of practical and the 3d screens work great. We got several rides and then split up. Non tall coaster people to ride again and then to the safari and flat rides. We left the cups with them.

- The taller of us went to Batman. We remarked how after some of the rougher rides during the week that a smooth ride almost makes a coaster like this seem tame.

- Then… Nitro. Walkon and rerides without exiting. Again, a coaster that smooth and with good restraints almost makes you miss the highlights, until you get to the hills after the brake run.

- At that point we hadn’t seen Kinga Ka but headed that way. That ended up being our longest line of the day. Still like Top Thrill Dragster better due to looking out over the lake. Anything in your zippered pocket sir? Nope.

- Our plan at that point was to meet at Toro so that the little one could get her rides in but they were feeding giraffes so we headed to Bizarro and grabbed some lunch along the way. Bizarro still has just enough theming and is a good coaster but I can’t get past that one spot that bangs your head. I don’t understand those hard over the shoulder restraints. Reride without exiting but couldn’t take the shot to the head a third time.

- The little one got in her ride on Diablo and then to El Toro. It was cycling between near empty trains and school groups. My last run the lap bar clamped down so tight I couldn’t enjoy it so I sent the kids back on without me. Anything in your zippered pocket sir? Nope.

- The little one wanted to ride the minetrain and we grudgingly obliged. Our plan was to then sky ride over to Joker but both were closed with the winds picking up.

- We ducked into Houdini to cool off and headed out before the storm hit.

All told a couple of dozen coasters in less than a week dodging some nasty weather.

Glad you had a great trip! I feel spoiled having Boulder Dash, Superman, and Wicked Cyclone all within a 2 hour drive of me.

I made the same mistake the first time I drove to Lake Compounce. The GPS brings you to the employee lot, which is the lesser of the two evils. There's another entry on the gps that tries bringing you to the other side of the lake. Now I go enough that I have the route memorized.