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Photo TR: Credit Run in the Northeast


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Unfortunately I didn't grab any photos of it. But just imagine a downtown street filled with carts of apple pies, apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts. They also had 3 small carnival rides (carousel, Dizzy Dragons, fun house) and carts with your standard fried fair food. Though one cart had pumpkin fried dough which was a weird and unique item.

 

What did they have at the garlic festival? I'm picturing tents with garlic spices and foods like fries sprinkled in garlic.

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Six Flags New England

 

The end of October marks the end of the New England theme park season as Jack Frost becomes more and more prevalent. As usual, I made sure to finish my season right with a trip to Six Flags New England on its final operating day of the year.

 

My goals for the visit were to ride all of the coasters (except Mind Eraser and Great Chase) at least one more time before the end of the year. Thankfully the park wasn't overly crowded thanks the cool and rainy weather. Despite the cooler temperatures, all of the coasters were running really well, particularly Wicked Cyclone and Superman, which were both hauling through the course and providing plenty of air that will be missed over the next few months. As of 8:55, I had been able to hit all of the coasters except Goliath, which had been closed due to the rain earlier in the day.

 

I tried to finish my season with a final ride on Wicked Cyclone. However, the line was blocked off at 8:55. Seeing that, I was a little disappointed and made my way towards the exit. However, Goliath was finally running and the queue was still open so I decided to give it a ride. Up to this point, I have been lucky enough to never receive a bad ride on this coaster even with the new trains. Unfortunately, Goliath finally gave me that awful ride that everyone else has been complaining about on this forum. Maybe my luck can come back in the spring, but now I won't take my good rides for granted.

 

The park did a great job with the Fright Fest theming. Several rides had solid overlays like Pandeomium, the Tea Cups, and the Bumper Cars. The SkyScreamer was also running in reverse, which was amazing for two reasons (thrill and the wind wasn't sent right into my face on a frigid night).

 

The park already had Splash Water Falls taken down and was clearing the site for the Joker, but I didn't notice any track. I'm really looking forward to riding it in 2017 since the one down in New Jersey was closed for all of my visits this year.

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It's impressive how many elements were crammed in such a small space.

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The other superhero isn't as good as Superman, but few rides are.

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Still one of the best zero-g rolls of any coaster.

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I'll be back on April 1st.

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Boomerang 1

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Boomerang 2

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1/20 of the SkyScreamer.

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Mind Eraser looked scary enough as is. Such an awful ride.

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One of the best parts of Fright Fest is the backwards SkyScreamer.

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Pandemonium by day.

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Zombie Coaster by night. They did a nice job transforming some of the attractions.

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It's a miracle! All 3 Scream towers were open! And it wasn't even a crowded day. In typical Six Flags fashion, two broke down immediately after I took this photo.

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Even the bumper cars had some added theming.

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While Wicked Cyclone is my favorite coaster at the park, I still like to have my final night rides on this.

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Superman has been running much better this year thanks to the TLC in the off-season.

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Probably the best part of Bizarro has been kept.

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I'm glad the VR is gone. Please never come back to Superman.

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Terror Twist, the artist formerly known as the Tea Cups. This reminded me of those indoor scramblers.

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One of the best coaster signs anywhere and a pretty good woody too. I love the second to last hill.

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I hate going six months without this ejector air.

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The last operating day of 2016 means my last rides on Wicked Cyclone.

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This ride is insane and I don't regret the park's decision to transform the old Cyclone.

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Well, this is an unusual feeling. Looking at that report is making me miss SFNE! After a decade spent pretty much wanting nothing to do with the place, my trip there this summer completely turned me around on it. Of course it's not perfect yet, but it's come so far in the right direction, and I had a genuinely great day there. Now I'm really wanting to get back. Kinda nice to get that out of a place I'd all but given up on!

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Nice report! While not my favorite park, I admit that in the last few year's I've started to have a slightly more favorable opinion of the place. I like the direction that they're heading in.

 

 

Hopefully that direction calls for the eventual removal of Mind Eraser lol!

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Thanks for the look at the last operating day of 2016. I have yet to visit the New England parks, but Wicked Cyclone looks pretty tempting.

 

Wicked Cyclone is an excellent coaster. Of the 3 RMCs I've been on, it's my second favorite behind Twisted Colossus and ahead of Storm Chaser. The coaster really excels at keeping you out of your seat.

 

Nice report! While not my favorite park, I admit that in the last few year's I've started to have a slightly more favorable opinion of the place. I like the direction that they're heading in.

 

Well, this is an unusual feeling. Looking at that report is making me miss SFNE! After a decade spent pretty much wanting nothing to do with the place, my trip there this summer completely turned me around on it. Of course it's not perfect yet, but it's come so far in the right direction, and I had a genuinely great day there. Now I'm really wanting to get back. Kinda nice to get that out of a place I'd all but given up on!

 

I agree the park is trending upwards. There was a 2 year stretch where I actually stopped going to the park because I had too many frustrating visits (terrible operations, the clientele, they kept removing rides without adding things back), but now it's back to my primary park. Wicked Cyclone and Superman are two of the best coasters anywhere and the park has done a good job replacing lost attractions in recent years (outside of the Sky Ride) while improving the operations slightly...outside of the VR disaster.

 

Nice report! While not my favorite park, I admit that in the last few year's I've started to have a slightly more favorable opinion of the place. I like the direction that they're heading in.

 

 

Hopefully that direction calls for the eventual removal of Mind Eraser lol!

 

Or switch the VR there! That way VR stays the heck away from Superman and sends the public there.

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Santa's Village (in Winter)

 

Earlier in the summer, I made my first visit to Santa's Village in almost 10 years. Despite primarily being a kids/family park, I had a really nice time because of the park's excellent theming and solid collection of rides. Once winter hit, I knew I had to come back to see the park during the Christmas season. In late November I made my way back up to Jefferson, NH and convinced my girlfriend to join me. We had a blast again.

 

With snow in the forecast and the cold weather, the park wasn't particularly crowded and everything was a walk-on. Even in the summer, the park never got that crowded. All the other visitors were families with kids, which is a stark contrast from Six Flags, and then there was my girlfriend and I. At one point while I was riding the swings, a family asked my girlfriend (who was sitting out) how old her kids were. She kind of dodged the question and then I ran over after getting off the ride. Guess it looked weird being there without kids. But really we're just two big kids.

 

The park always has a great atmosphere with all of the Christmas theming (buildings, music, rides, etc), friendly employees, and the elves. I would like to apologize how my previous TR was missing the elves so I made sure to include some of my favorites below.

 

Once night hit, the park really came alive and was a sight to behold. They say at Disney that you are never more than 30 feet from a trash can. Well at Santa's Village, you are never more than 30 feet from a Christmas tree. They had countless trees scattered about and all were adorned with bright Christmas lights. The park usually closes at 6 in the summer, so I've never been at the park after dark before. I really wish they stayed open late all the time since the light display was really that good. My ride on the monorail was especially beautiful at night with all of the lights and because it started snowing.

 

Santa's Village was the first time I ever got to be at a park in the snow. This allowed me to cross one item off my bucket list- riding a coaster in the snow. Rudy's Rapid Transit fit the bill and it was cool riding in the snow. The temperature itself didn't bother me, but my mittens weren't exactly waterproof so my hands got quite cold. It was worth it for the experience though and it taught me to bring heavy waterproof gloves the next time I go to a winter park event.

 

The other highlight of the day was YouTubing (yes that is actually the name of a ride). I rode it once in the summer and it was a pretty fun attraction where you grab an inner tube and go down a dry slide to simulate sledding. Well once the snow started, I figured it would speed YouTubing up so I headed over. I didn't see anyone on the ride, so I was worried it was down. I saw an employee and asked if it was open. They said it was, but they warned me it was running fast. The last riders were 4 or 5 year old kids and with the slippery conditions, their tubes went all the way to the end of the stopping area. That was music to my ears. The employees laid 3 tubes at the end to stop two crazy adults in my girlfriend and I. Once they sent us down, I could tell the ride was running faster. In the summer, the tube went fast down the drop and crawled over the flat sections. This time, the tube didn't slow down. When I reached the bottom, I shot down the stopping area, barreled through the inner tubes, and didn't stop until I hit the fence surrounding the attraction. That's a big thumbs up from me, especially seeing the shocked faces of the employees. Guess adults don't usually ride it haha.

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Perfect weather for a car ride together.

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And Icy who looks kind of high.

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My summer TR was missing elves. This time will have the best of the bunch like Quantum!

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Even the drop tower has some nice theming to a chimney.

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I really wish Santa's Village was open late during the summer. The lighting around the park is astounding.

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ABC, it's easy as 1-2-3.

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It's funner to play without the clues.

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Hi Emo! I have an interesting taste in elves.

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The park has really nice theming on all of their rides.

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Ho Ho H2O was closed, but again it was well themed.

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It was pretty cold so we were rewarded with no lines. I could even get that slide credit without creeping parents out!

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Other than the water rides, everything was open! Here's the new hotness, Poogie Penguin's Spin Out.

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There's Rudolph.

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And you can play all the reindeer games (for free!). There's a ball toss.

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And ring toss.

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Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

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Even when it started snowing, Rudy's Rapid Transit stayed open. First time riding a coaster in the snow! It was pretty frigid but worth it.

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It's November in New England, but Santa's Village is still open!

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The Skyway Sleigh was one of the highlights. The monorail gave a great tour of the park.

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And the park absolutely came alive at night! So many lights everywhere.

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The highlight was YouTubing (yes that's really the name). After it snowed, the track got extremely slick and I absolutely flew down the slide.

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Yuleo was a sly little devil and not located near the closed flume. For reference, I totally would have ridden this in the cold if it were open.

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I never got to ride the Riverside Cyclone back when it was considered a top tier coaster since I was too small. The version Six Flags ran in the 2000s wasn't terrible to be honest; it was inconsistent. Parts of the ride were still very intense. The first four drops (particularly 1 and 4) had two of the most violent moments of ejector air on any coaster. The finale and high turns were slow and uneventful due to the ride's braking/neutering. At no point did I ever get a rough ride on it.

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iPlay America

 

On the way to Six Flags Great Adventure, I decided to make a pit stop at another indoor FEC in iPlay America. I was only there for about a half hour, but I was really impressed with the place. iPlay was very clean, had a lot more rides than I was expecting, and they appeared to have a pretty solid arcade.

 

The real reason I was there was to ride their roller coaster, Freedom Rider. Another SBF spinning coaster, Freedom Rider gave the longest cycle of the ones I had been on (at least 7 or 8 laps if I remember correctly). I was also able to get a very unbalanced ride as I was the only person in the car. These coasters are much better than your average kiddie coaster and can be enjoyed by all despite their small footprint.

 

I didn't try any of their other rides, but I made sure to grab some photos. They had a Kite Flyer, which looked massive indoors, and a small flying carpet ride called the Skyscraper that looked interesting. Skyscraper appeared to be a SBF creation, and it had a pretty high RPM so I bet it could have given some solid airtime like those Wisdom Rides Moby Dicks/Avalanche models. They also had an indoor ropes course, go karts, and a 4D theater along with some kiddie rides.

 

I'd recommend stopping there if you visit Great Adventure since they have the credit and it's only 20 minutes away.

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iPlay America looked really nice on the inside!

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Each area had a nicely done entryway.

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A small little carousel.

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It's that time of year.

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More spinning.

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The real reason for my visit.

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I'll take these any day over your average kiddie coaster. These can give some solid rides.

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I didn't dare try these. People say Massholes are bad, but I saw worse drivers down in New Jersey.

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Indoors, the Kite Flyer looked massive.

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They even had a compact little ropes course.

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Skyscraper was small but appeared to be rotating quite fast. It may give more airtime than most rides in SoCal.

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How New Jersey drivers earn their licenses.

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Ah the fresh smell of New Jersey.

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iPlay America, not affiliated with Apple in any way.

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Six Flags Great Adventure

 

Six Flags is usually my last park of the year. Except that final park visit is usually at SFNE at the end of October. This year, I took the opportunity to visit Six Flags Great Adventure for their Holiday in the Park event. The skies were clear for my visit and the temperature was 30-40 degrees, so perfect for coasters (granted I'd say that about any weather). Crowds were must lower than any of the summer visits I've had and I took full advantage of it.

 

My first stop was going to be the Joker since it was closed during my two visits earlier in the summer. The day before I visited, I read on the SFGAdv thread that the ride went down. I was hopeful they'd have it back up and running, but it was listed as closed outside the park. When I walked up to the ride, I didn't see any cars on the track so I knew it'd be down for the night. At least SFNE is getting one of these next year since the ride looks pretty cool. I just pray it has better reliability than this one.

 

With Joker down, I decided to start hitting the B&Ms. I started with Batman. I don't care that it's a clone; Batman is one of the best inverts out there and better than several of the bigger ones like Alpengeist and Raptor. The ride was butter-smooth as always and really piles on the Gs. I probably rode it 4-5 times.

 

I then hit Nitro for the first of 10 or so rides. With El Toro down, Nitro took the place as the most ridden attraction. Despite the cold, Nitro was running really well and gave just as much airtime as it did on my summer visit. As far as B&M hypers go, it's in the lower half for me (only ahead of Intimidator and Diamondback) but that's still a solid 9/10 ride in my books. I couldn't decide if the front or back was better, so I split my rides evenly.

 

I got 1 ride on Superman and Green Lantern each. Superman was the only ride with any wait (~30 minutes) and was fun as usual. The pretzel loop is insane and my favorite inversion anywhere. As for Green Lantern, the ride kept breaking down for 10-15 minutes but eventually I got one ride and that was enough. While not a headbanger, I find the ride painful on my legs. Even though they already have Bizarro, I wouldn't mind seeing another floorless up front.

 

I also got 1 ride each on Skull Mountain, Dark Knight, and Road Runner Railway (I had never been on this since El Toro always distracted me, today was my prime opportunity). I took advantage of the $10 special to ride the Sky Coaster. This was my first time doing one alone and it was incredibly terrifying (in a good way) and exhilarating.

 

As for the decorations, Six Flags did a great job. At night, the park really came alive with all of the lights. I was particularly impressed with the area near the Joker. I also enjoyed having the opportunity to walk down the abandoned Old Country path since I never got to see that area of the park in my previous visits (all of my visits came after the Chiller's removal). That area of the park felt spooky and prime for a Fright Fest attraction.

 

Great Adventure was a great way to end the 2016 season which added 100 new coasters to my count, a few of which made my top 10 lists. Holiday in the Park is a great event and a perfect excuse to ride coasters in December. I'd love to see something like this at SFNE in the future since the weather isn't that much colder than New Jersey. Onto the photos!

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With Holiday in the Park, I can now ride some of my favorite B&Ms in 30 degree weather!

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It's December. If you told me a few years ago I could ride coasters in the Northeast this time of year, I'd ask which indoor kiddie coaster you were talking about.

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Batman is still one of the best inverts anywhere. I don't care that it's a clone.

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Kick the sky.

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Was this ride new? I noticed a Barnstormer missing from Bowcraft a few months back and Great Adventure is nearby.

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Candy Cane Lane.

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Even the ride's had elaborate light packages.

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A nice tree.

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I also enjoyed a sky coaster ride for just $10.

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Stand ups are my least favorite coaster type.

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And this concludes the 2016 season.

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Nope...

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I can buy a Flash Pass to skip Joker's line. Maybe it's open!

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Nitro has one of the best settings of any hyper.

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I really liked walking through the Old Country area, even if it did feel like something from a horror movie.

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A hyper coaster in December is something from my dreams.

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Even though it was cold, Nitro took me above the clouds and out of my seat.

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I finally got the kiddie credit. I didn't feel THAT bad doing it.

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By day you get to see the backside of a snowman.

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Superman was the only ride with any wait (30 min).

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Best type of inversion anywhere.

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Flyers are one of my favorite coaster types.

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At night, the park really came alive with all of the lights.

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Glad you enjoyed iPlay America. Despite being from the area, I've never been, but Rikki's family are good family friends with the owner of the place, to the point where they were invited to the sneak preview / cold open event. I'm gonna try to get there soon myself.

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Wow, I'm falling behind on this trip report.

 

Regarding iPlay America, we went there a few weeks ago and were pretty impressed with the place. They could use a few more adult rides, but the coaster was fun and the place had a super cool vibe.

 

And yeah, Holiday in the Park is spectacular. Sorry you missed out on Joker, but Nitro and Batman are all that really matters. Great photos.

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Awesome update. I *LOVE* Niagara Falls. Went twice as a kid, first time is foggy but again as a teen and just loved the place. Been dying to get back especially since my other half has never been there.

 

It's an absolutely amazing place with a beautiful setting, endless amounts of tourist trap things, and a great amusement park that's about an 1-1.5 hour drive away. I assume you always went to the Canada side?

 

I don't think I ever responded to this. When we went when I was a teen we stayed on the Canadian side, I have no idea the other time I was so young. But we did visit the American side to do some of the touristy stuff there as well. I just loved the whole experience. I imagine the Grand Canyon is the same way - you just don't understand how massive and majestic the falls are until you are standing in front of (or under) them. At the time I had no idea Marineland was there, and didn't know CW even existed. Now that I am trying to get my other half up there maybe we'll make it a multi stop visit.

 

Still very much enjoying this report, glad you had a nice time @ HITP!

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Glad you enjoyed iPlay America. Despite being from the area, I've never been, but Rikki's family are good family friends with the owner of the place, to the point where they were invited to the sneak preview / cold open event. I'm gonna try to get there soon myself.

 

I wish it was closer to me since the complex really had a little bit of everything. It was like Dave & Busters crossed with a go kart place/FEC.

 

Wow, I'm falling behind on this trip report.

 

Regarding iPlay America, we went there a few weeks ago and were pretty impressed with the place. They could use a few more adult rides, but the coaster was fun and the place had a super cool vibe.

 

And yeah, Holiday in the Park is spectacular. Sorry you missed out on Joker, but Nitro and Batman are all that really matters. Great photos.

 

Most of the crowd there consisted of families with kids under 11 or 12, so not sure if adding larger rides is something they plan to do. Even if they wanted to they're also constrained by the roof. There's always next year to ride that Joker at least.

 

Awesome update. I *LOVE* Niagara Falls. Went twice as a kid, first time is foggy but again as a teen and just loved the place. Been dying to get back especially since my other half has never been there.

 

It's an absolutely amazing place with a beautiful setting, endless amounts of tourist trap things, and a great amusement park that's about an 1-1.5 hour drive away. I assume you always went to the Canada side?

 

I don't think I ever responded to this. When we went when I was a teen we stayed on the Canadian side, I have no idea the other time I was so young. But we did visit the American side to do some of the touristy stuff there as well. I just loved the whole experience. I imagine the Grand Canyon is the same way - you just don't understand how massive and majestic the falls are until you are standing in front of (or under) them. At the time I had no idea Marineland was there, and didn't know CW even existed. Now that I am trying to get my other half up there maybe we'll make it a multi stop visit.

 

Still very much enjoying this report, glad you had a nice time @ HITP!

 

I've still yet to visit the Grand Canyon but I have been able to see it when my plane flew by it on the way to LA. It's certainly massive. You missed out on Canada's Wonderland but it's better that you didn't know about Marineland.

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Most of the crowd there consisted of families with kids under 11 or 12, so not sure if adding larger rides is something they plan to do. Even if they wanted to they're also constrained by the roof. There's always next year to ride that Joker at least.

 

Yeah about that though...

 

I have to admit, the marketing of this place confuses the hell out of me. Based on what we saw, we felt like the place was totally geared towards families but they're focusing their marketing on adults, young professionals and companies looking to do offsite team building functions.

 

Seriously... look at their promotional images. It's almost all adults, even on some of the kids rides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And seriously...here are their upcoming events. There are a few kids things, but mostly it's WWE viewing parties, UFC matches at the bar, Adults Only Nights, Valentines Day Dinner, Concerts... what the hell?

 

I'm completely confused by their marketing strategy. I think they want to be Dave and Busters on crack, but their product doesn't really match their marketing.

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^As someone who works in marketing, this completely blows my mind. They don't seem to be in the position to rebrand themselves considering what they offer. They may just be trying to expand their target audience to a larger range of demographic but it's a terrible idea to cut back from marketing to your core audience while focusing more on a secondary audience.

 

I mean I hate kids too sometimes, but that's why I don't own or work at a family fun center.

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The place was pretty crowded the week after Christmas so maybe they feel they have the younger audience locked down and there's no risk to completely 180 their marketing?

 

That picture for the laser maze is great. She looks like she's making a model pose instead of doing the maze.

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Most of the crowd there consisted of families with kids under 11 or 12, so not sure if adding larger rides is something they plan to do. Even if they wanted to they're also constrained by the roof. There's always next year to ride that Joker at least.

 

Yeah about that though...

 

I have to admit, the marketing of this place confuses the hell out of me. Based on what we saw, we felt like the place was totally geared towards families but they're focusing their marketing on adults, young professionals and companies looking to do offsite team building functions.

 

Seriously... look at their promotional images. It's almost all adults, even on some of the kids rides.

 

My understanding is that although it is a fairly new place they are well known within a 10 mile radius as a great place for kid's birthday parties and they continue the focus the majority of marketing dollars locally (whether it be via online, mailers, couponing, billboards). I know my friends with kids that live in Manalapan, Matawan, Freehold, Englishtown and Howell think of the place as a kid's birthday party place.

 

However, to extend the hours and keep the place open at night they need to also attract an older crowd and those the marketing efforts that adults are more likely to see. Locals going to the website already know it is the place for kids birthday parties in the area.

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Yea I thought those places were geared more towards 10 year olds....I admit I wish they can make a family fun center for adults. Think Dave and Busters but with indoor thrill rides added to it! It would be a really tall building and have rides like a skycoaster,sling shot,Sky Scraper,free fall nothing-but-net,double shot drop towers,cool interactive dark rides,maybe even a small compact but thrilling coaster. Like an El Loca with a lazor light show and techno music! It will also have stuff that appeals to both kids and adults like lazor tag and go carts(super fast ones not the ones that drag at snails pace) . It will also have raves and live concerts.(im not a rave person but im sure it would make the place a lot of fun and lively) It will of course have a bar and sports bar restaurant. Three floors of several arcade games. I'd spend all day there if there was a place like that.

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That place at New Roc City (Fun Fuzion) has some larger rides like the S&S Space Shot that shoots out of the building so the size of the building doesn't necessarily constrain the place. However, iPlay America is in a strip mall so not sure if they could do that even if they wanted to invest in larger attractions such as that.

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Niagara Falls Fun

 

While the highlight of the trip for me was Canada's Wonderland, I also spent time around Niagara Falls with my girlfriend (Canadian side only. I don't go to the dark place known as the American side).

 

Sorry, but you are incorrect. I know everyone says this, but it's only 99% true. The only true way to experience (the smallest of the 3 falls that make up Niagara Falls) is THE CAVE OF THE WINDS on the US side. It's awesome. Even as a local who gives zero shits about the falls I always make sure to take people to experience it. Besides that though, yes, you are 100% correct.

 

Random video of the hurricane deck:

 

Also, I'm sad that Katy Perry coming out of the floor at the wax museum has been replaced out front. R.I.P. wax Katy Perry.

 

Thanks for all the reports... just starting to read through them now.

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That place at New Roc City (Fun Fuzion) has some larger rides like the S&S Space Shot that shoots out of the building so the size of the building doesn't necessarily constrain the place. However, iPlay America is in a strip mall so not sure if they could do that even if they wanted to invest in larger attractions such as that.

 

Funny you mention New Roc City. I took a big Northeast trip last June, and we stayed in a hotel in New Rochelle in between visiting SFNE and New York City, and I had no idea the place existed. We were driving up to the hotel, and I said "hold up... that's an S&S tower!" It was a pretty standard one with only one launch, but it was super fun since I had absolutely no idea it existed. Definitely a fun surprise of the trip.

 

Really enjoying the trip report!

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