Hoppedup's Roller Coaster Adventures

Kings Dominion August 10, 2019

I took a 4 day weekend and decided to go to BGW, KD, or SFA or a combination of the the three on my way (not really) to Kennywood. KD won a coin toss so I was off early on Saturday to the Old Dominion. I will preface this report by saying that almost two years ago to the day, I rediscovered roller coasters after a 22 year hiatus. On that first day back, I305 was my third coaster. Volcano was a big surprise, as I really didn't know about launch coasters. But I305 was something else. My daughter and I only rode it once as it seemed too forceful and intense.

Fast forward two years (and 135 coasters) and I returned eager to look at I305 with a new perspective. I loved my first ride so much, I stayed on and rode again. Then I took a turn in the front row and then last row. The lines were light all day. This coaster has jumped from near the bottom of my list to a definite top 20 for me. Raise hell, praise Dale! I popped back in for re-rides throughout the day.

After lapping I305 a few times, I boogied back to Twisted Timbers. I don't know if it had been down and reopened as I walked up, but it was a five minute wait! On a Saturday in August. A second ride required a 25 minute wait. What a great RMC. Cedar Fair, please give Carowinds' Hurler this treatment. The red card/metal detector didn't seem to slow the ops too much, if at all. They were painfully slow last year when we dropped in just for night rides on TT.

I also got rides on Avalanche, Windseeker, Anaconda, Grizzly, Racer 75, and Flight of Fear. Backlot was down the entire time I was there. And a 16 oz. Trapezium DIPA for $9.99 at The Parched Pig. Score!

It was a nice day at a great park. I almost bought FL+ when I saw the crowd at the entrance, but glad I didn't as I got plenty of rides with reasonable waits. Oh yeah, RIP this beautiful beast:

I then did a little sightseeing around Richmond and started getting psyched for the next day at Kennywood.

Nice report! I was surprised during my visit they still had that billboard up for Volcano.

Carowinds October 26-27, 2019

Trying to squeeze a little more out of our platinum passes, the offspring and I elected to go to Carowinds for the last weekend of Scarowinds. Our complimentary FL+ was only good until the 27th, so why not? Saturday was great. We were able to ride as much as we wanted (Fury over and over, Copperhead Strike x1, Intimidator x1)

Funpix was down at Fury 325 all weekend.

We walked around and people-watched a bit. Then we checked in to the Comfort Inn across the street. There was a photo of Nighthawk on the wall, but we had a peaceful night sleep anyway.

We walked back over for Scarowinds. Crossing the street was the scariest thing we did all weekend. We kinda figured we would just be walking around due to the crowds. And that's all we did. Some of the scare actors were really into their jobs, but most were just kinda meh. The explosion noises were way too loud, IMO. Enough so that if I had a small child, I'd have them wearing hearing protection. There was a light, steady rain the entire time we were there. I think all the coasters were running (except maybe Goldrusher, which didn't run during the day either)

We ate at Blue Ridge Country Kitchen and they hooked me up on the portions.

We left about 8:30, kinda over it. We were going to use our bring-a-friend passes on my daughter's friends on Sunday, but they bailed due to the forecast. I awoke to pouring rain around 6 a.m. and almost bailed myself. But I let my daughter sleep and decided to see if things cleared up. And they did! We made our way back to Fury and it was a walk-on. In fact for the first 45 minutes, it was a stay-on many times, as there was no one in most of the lanes, or sometimes just two. We had some great rides. It seemed to be hauling extra ass yesterday, and the trim brake seemed a bit stronger. I don't know how many times we rode it. It sucks that FunPix wasn't open at Fury. We also got a ride in on Intimidator before bailing. It turned out to be a beautiful day.

The photographer said, "Make a goofy face!" So we did.

We couldn't resist taking a pic with this Winterfest ornament. There was a lot of Winterfest stuff being prepped.

I'm excited to go back for Winterfest, especially since there will be two major coasters running. Also, there was a small covered stage outside Harmony Hall to the left that had some outdoor furniture with cushions. A comfy spot to take a break. It may not be new, but I hadn't noticed it before.

Notes:

There is a new parking lot near the entry gate in a former grassy area. It was paved and striped, but closed off.

The SpringHill Suites looks really close to opening.

Is the South Gate ever open?

If you are leaving to the north, get gas in SC before you leave. It's about 10-15 cents cheaper per gallon than NC.

Also, follow the advice of coasterbill and join Choice Privileges. The points rack up during promotions and there are four Choice properties at this exit.

Christmas 2019 Day 1: Six Flags Over Georgia

We couldn't take a full week like we did in Texas last year, so I decided our best bet for a brief trip this Christmas would be SFOG>Carowinds. We set out a bit late Thursday morning and didn't arrive until 3 p.m. So we checked in to our hotel, Rodeway Inn right beside the park. It was clean and nice enough. Would stay again.

We redeemed our vouchers for Gold+ passes and made a beeline for Twisted Cyclone. I don't think we ever waited over twenty minutes for a ride. This was my daughter's seventh RMC conversion and we both agreed it is our second favorite so far, behind Iron Rattler. It is a smaller one, but there is so much going on, including the elements before the lift hill. The first drop, wave turn, and last pop of airtime before the station are all incredible, IMO.

Twisted Cyclone makes Maggie happy!

Next, it was over to Goliath. The lines weren't bad at all so we got in a few rides. What a floater airtime machine! "We all float up here, Georgia". My daughter renounced Titan as her favorite hyper and gave the crown back to Goliath. There is an empty seat beside me in the pic because there was a walk of shame. The person couldn't get one click from the clamshell. The ride op came over and squashed her but it just wasn't enough. Before she got the news that she wouldn't be riding, she asked if they could loosen the restraint a bit. I appreciate the effort by the ride operator, but it was clear to anyone who's ridden a B&M hyper (or worked one) that this was not happening. I can't remember if there is a test seat at Goliath or not.

The last ride on Goliath jarred Maggie a bit coming in to the station and she asked for a coaster break. Since we hadn't done Daredevil Dive Coaster on previous visits I figured we may as well spend our downtime in line for it. We queued up and found out why throughput is terrible for this coaster. Half-empty cars were the norm and when the grouper called out for singles or doubles sometimes people weren't able to make it up through the line fast enough. The coaster itself was okay but it weirdly made almost no noise. I think the eerie quietness of it took away from the experience.

We had a great ride on BTR. The insanely long walk to the station was cut by more than half by construction fencing. I love Mindbender but it was at almost an hour wait, so we boogied back over for more rides on the star attractions after snapping a couple of pics.

We walked around and checked out lights for a while after re-rides on TC and Goliath. The park looked great and festive despite temperatures in the 60s most of the day.

A few rides later, we were pooped:

The next morning, before getting in more rides on TC and Goliath, we made our way to Beaver Creek Biscuits & BBQ for breakfast. The sausage gravy was legit. I had a Proustian moment at first bite, as this gravy was just like my mom used to make. I put the sauce on the side for the eggs. Highly recommended for breakfast. I can't comment on the bbq (yet).

All in all we packed in a full day over the course of two days. We left around 2 to head for Carowinds to try to lessen the blow of Atlanta Friday afternoon traffic. Next up: A rideless night at our home park!

Great report! I agree Twisted Cyclone is one of the stronger RMC conversions. The ride is short, but relentless.

So my daughter will be a college freshman this fall. Her school (NC State) just announced their intent to start a bit early and be done with fall semester by Thanksgiving. Assuming parks are open by then, December will be a lot easier this year for roller coaster touring. We went to Texas two years ago at Christmas and had a blast.

I previously have not done much schedule research for year-round parks. That is, other than the week before and week after Christmas because that's when she was normally free to travel. What are the weekday schedules typically like in the first two weeks of December? Assume a normal year. I realize that things will most likely not be normal by December. We have platinum CF and SW/BG passes, and SF gold passes. So California, Florida, and Texas are all possibilities.

<wipes dust off of thread>

So December 2020 came and went. Still haven't been on a coaster since December 2019. So I figured we'd go big with a tour of California next month. We have ten days. I am planning on going SWSD > SFDK (or vice versa) hitting all the Cedar Fair and Six Flags parks. Any other cool can't-miss parks on that route? 

My daughter and I are pretty much coaster-only people, so it looks like if we need to cut something, it would be SFDK.

Edit to add: We might take a couple of days and drive the PCH from LA to SF.  Could also cut SWSD, I suppose. Only added it because we have platinum passes for BG/SW. (and maybe for breweries) Also, I have no interest in Disney.

My epic California trip was postponed due to my daughter's schedule. I still had a week off, so I decided I would make a trip anyway. My friend announced he had booked a show in Hoosick Falls, NY. Where? I looked it up and it wasn't that far from Lake George. I really needed another reason to justify a visit to SFGE based on what I've read here. So I hatched a plan that involved going to Waldameer for Ravine Flyer II and then working my way across NY state to the show Friday night. The trip also included Darien Lake, Seabreeze, SFNE, and Kings Dominion. 

These reports are not in order.

DAY 4: Great Escape and Prospect Mountain Hike

I woke up in Utica, about two hours from SFGE. I arrived at the park for rope drop. There were more people than I expected waiting to get in. I hadn't seen Steamin' Demon listed on the SFGE website as running, but it was testing. It is a Steamin' pile of something. Not the worst Arrow looper, but one and done. It is in an odd location and probably the ugliest part of this park.

Canyon Blaster was kinda meh for a mine train. There appeared to be a start on a repaint job.

My real reason for making the trek was to ride Alpine Bobsled. I had my doubts that it would be running based on what I've read on TPR.  And...

I don't know why I haven't read more about Comet. It was a fantastic ride. I maybe did 12 rides overall, because it was the best thing in the park by far.

Second SBNO Ferris Wheel at a Six Flags park this week. Sad...

This guy kinda looked like a prospector, so I asked him about the prospects of the bobsled running. "Outlook not good."

I lost all hope for Alpine Bobsled when it began to rain a bit. I've been trying to get some hiking in when I can. I selected the Prospect Mountain trail for today after leaving SFGE. It is listed as 2.8 miles out and back. The elevation gain is 1535 feet in the 1.4 mile hike up. Brutal elevation gain. The trail is mostly rock and reviews said not to do it in the rain. I'm not a good listener.

The views up top were pretty good:

After the hike I started making my way to my airbnb on the NY/VT border. I hit the 'avoid tolls' option on most of this trip because I wasn't in a hurry and I was using a cheap rental car company that reams you on photo tolls (they are not all EZPass either). I ws passing through the tiny hamlet of Greenwich (pronounced Green Witch), NY. I was a bit parched and lo and behold there was a brewery in the town. I got to talking to the bartender and he was from my hometown of Greensboro, NC and we knew a lot of the same people. Crazy small world.

Having quenched my thirst , I made my way to my airbnb which was on a working farm. There were chickens, turkeys, alpacas, etc. I left the window open at night because the temps were cool. View from my room:

DAY 2: Six Flags Darien Lake and Letchworth State Park June 29, 2021

Darien Lake is a park I've heard nothing but negative things about. So I set my expectations low. And was still disappointed. I understand staffing issues and pent-up demand by park goers to get out. But this park just didn't do it for me. I did not arrive at rope drop as planned because my hike at Letchworth State Park went a little long. The first thing I noticed was a lack of shade. And the blacktop. It was a scorching hot day and the heat from the blacktop made it a little worse. I wandered over to ROS and the queue looked a bit long and mostly in the sun, so I decided to come back later. That lead me to Viper, just to ride the coaster that stripped my first big coaster Carolina Cyclone of its inversions title (not really, I'll try any Arrow looper once). The wait was brief and the ride was okay but a bit jarring as expected.

This Ferris wheel makes me sad:

The boomerang was looking good, but they are not my cup of tea:

I was walking by the boomerang looking for a path to Motocoaster. They had what looked to be a temporary exit set up. I asked the person there how to get to Motocoaster. He explained that I could exit there and re-enter the park right by Motocoaster. Strange. Motocoaster was okay, but I wasn't expecting a thrill ride.

From Motocoaster I could see that Tantrum had started testing, so I headed over that way. I hadn't done this particular model of Euro Fighter before, and they are fun rides. When I got there the queue was almost back to the covered area. Brutal wait in the sun. Then I thought to myself, at least they are running two cars, even if they are low capacity. For reasons unknown to me, they were only loading the front seats of each car.

After the Tantrum ride I figured I'd grab the ROS credit and boogie. Of course ROS was running one train operations and the dispatch times were awful. At least the queue was now in the station so I didn't have to bake in line. The ride itself was great. I left with the idea of possibly doing Seabreeze the same day. Predator and Mind Eraser never ran while I was there. I had no intentions of riding ME, but I would have given Predator a shot. I drove to Rochester and hit a few breweries (Iron Tug, Three Heads, and Nine Maidens, all were good) and decided to save Seabreeze for the next day.

No coaster content below this point! The Letchworth park hike was amazing and highly recommended. I did about 9 miles total, but you can drive to most of the overlooks as the trail never got too far from the road.

Day 3: Seabreeze 

I thought about knocking out SFDL and Seabreeze in the same day. A brief brewery stop in Rochester led to three brewery stops so I decided to spend the night and do Seabreeze the next morning. It was a cool overcast morning and I arrived at the gate as the park was opening. I walked straight to Jack Rabbit, which wasn't running just yet. I decided to wait for it as I really hadn't done any research on this park and wasn't sure what else I was going to ride. I just knew I had to ride this one.

The queue pretty much the whole time I was there:

Them's the brakes:

Since the ride operator was on the opposite side of the track, I took a quick selfie:

I loved this coaster! Nice little pops of airtime in the front seat on the hill to the turnaround and the last hill before the helix. The tunnel at the end was great. This coaster is amazingly well maintained. I got 12 or 13 rides all over the train in between rides on Bobsleds and WhirlWind and I think the front was my favorite.

Bobsleds was a really cool, funky ride. I have really enjoyed all the park-built rides I've been on the last four years. This was no exception.

I rode WhirlWind 3x because it was fun and I hadn't been on that exact model of Maurer Spinning Coaster. There were nice views of the  lake from there. 

Eventually the overcast day turned into a drizzly day. I don't like getting caught in the rain so I headed to the nearest brewery, K2 Brothers for a Piña Colada Milkshake IPA (I know, I know). It was tasty.

All in all, Seabreeze was quite the gem of a small park and well worth a stop for Jack Rabbit alone.  I drove to Utica before deciding to stop for the night, with visions of riding Alpine Bobsled the next day dancing in my head. That's as close as I got.

I don't want to hijack Mike240SX's L.A. trip thread, so I will post here.

I am going to California the week after Christmas to ride roller coasters. I know this may be the worst time to go to some of these parks. The reasons for the timing of this trip are:

-My company announced last month that we would be getting the week after Christmas off, paid.

-My daughter's schedule only allowed for this particular week

- I have airline credit that needs to be used

- I am not renewing my daughter's SF and CF platinum passes for next year

I have no issues buying FL or Flash pass at any or all of the parks. If we have to skip a park, that is fine. We are flying in and out of Las Vegas b/c Frontier has a crazy layover in Denver for most California flights. but flies to Vegas direct from Raleigh. And to visit Adventuredome and Hoover Dam if there is time.

This weekend's announcement that NC State would be in the Holiday Bowl threw a bit of a monkey wrench in the plans as it is on the 28th and my daughter is very excited about being there. We'll make the best of it, even if we skip NorCal altogether this trip. We only ride coasters and will not be eating in parks as we do not have meal plans this year.

California Days 1 & 2: Hoover Dam & Sea World San Diego

The itinerary for this trip was quite flexible and the Holiday Bowl game in San Diego on Tuesday the 28th was the only set date we had. I thought if I slept enough on the plane to Vegas, I could just drive straight to California. I got no sleep on the plane so we stayed in Las Vegas because it was 1:30 a.m. by the time we got to a hotel. The idea of getting up super early to drive to Knott's was not palatable, so we went to Hoover Dam. It was great. Super interesting and awe inspiring. I decided we'd just go to San Diego and stay through Tuesday based on weather reports. It was cloudy, cool and often rainy during this trip. Temps didn't hit 60 until our last day. We arrived at our hotel in SD about 6:30. SWSD was only 3 miles away and open until 9, so we decided to go check out Manta. It was a fun coaster and I'm glad we got a night ride in, since the aquarium video surround before the launch was much brighter.

Stuck on the final brake. Down goes Manta!

The next day we headed back to the park and got 8 rides on Manta and then it went down. So we checked out all of the animal habitats. It was cool. I think we are easing in to taking advantage of all the things that parks have to offer versus just riding coasters.

Goo goo g'joob

We even rode the Skyrocket II!

We rode this eight times in a row, never leaving the station. Then it went down again.

Overall, we had a great time at SWSD. Our platinum passes from BGW got us in, even though we never visited BGW to activate them. YMMV

Here are some dam pictures:

Breakfast at the Southwest Cafe in Boulder City:

Sunset Cliffs

Brewery with a sense of humor right on the water close to our hotel:

Manta was a lot of fun. Forceful enough to be a great ride, but not too intense for newbies or younger coaster riders. The next day was a bit of a letdown as the Holiday Bowl was canceled 5 hours before kickoff. We were hiking in Balboa park when we found out. We took it in stride and started heading north for more coasters, nature, and feats of engineering. Next up: Day 3 Balboa Park and SFMM Nighttime Walkabout

Day 3: Balboa Park and walking SFMM

Tuesday we woke up and walked to Mitch's for breakfast burritos, the cheapest and probably most delicious meal of the trip. The Holiday Bowl was still on and so we decided to check out Balboa Park before checking in to our downtown hotel before the game. 

We hiked a couple of miles in Balboa Park and checked out the Casa del Prado and desert garden.

Feed me, Seymour:

!

We were almost back to the car when my daughter got a text that the Holiday Bowl was canceled due to COVID cases with UCLA. She was heartbroken as she has become an avid fan of her school's team (NCSU Wolfpack). I was a bit relieved because we could start the long drive to the San Francisco area. We were cruising up I-5 when I saw SFMM. I didn't realize it was right on the interstate, so we decided to duck in and check it out. I knew we'd be back in a few days, so we just walked around and got our bearings and checked out the lights. Crowds were huge and queues were 90 minutes to 2+ hours. 

We stopped about 45 minutes south of San Jose and planned for some Big Sur exploration the next day.

Day 4: Big Sur

The original plan for this trip did not involve San Diego and included getting all the coasters in before my daughter's passes expired December 31. That plan included 2-3 days to drive the PCH from SF to LA. That plan being shot by Holiday Bowl, I still wanted to at least drive through Big Sur. I highly recommend a drive through this area, and hikes if you are so inclined. We did an out and back drive of about 100 miles overall from Monterey to Big Creek Bridge. Absolutely gorgeous!

We stopped a Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park to check out some redwood trees.

Water was up due to all the recent rain

We stopped in Monterey at Alvarado Street Brewery for a delicious dinner (crab mac 'n' cheese for Mags, wings and a Mai TaIPA for me)

We rested well that night preparing for Golden Gate Bridge, SFDK, and CGA the following day.

Coasters, good food, and state parks is my kinda trip. Looks like a blast! I can't believe they canceled that game so last minute. Manta looks like a ton of fun, these newer Mack coasters have been such a breath of fresh air!

San Fran is one of my favorite cities, there's something just so magnificent and memorable about the Golden Gate Bridge.

On 1/13/2022 at 10:34 AM, PKI Jizzman said:

Coasters, good food, and state parks is my kinda trip. Looks like a blast! I can't believe they canceled that game so last minute. Manta looks like a ton of fun, these newer Mack coasters have been such a breath of fresh air!

San Fran is one of my favorite cities, there's something just so magnificent and memorable about the Golden Gate Bridge.

It was a blast! My phone crapped out for a while on day 5, so I am waiting on a teenager to send me pics to post that report. (might be a while lol)  Trying to post this trip chronologically. 

Cedar Point 10-1-2022

A few weeks ago I hatched a plan for a trip to Ohio.  I really needed to justify the expense of the Platinum FL+ pass. Timing was great as my town had a lot of flooding and power outages due to Ian. I visited 5 breweries in Cleveland with a local friend the night before and was still in good shape by the time I reached CP.  Raptor and Magnum never ran that I saw. It was a really windy day. FL+ was pricey!

I decided to grab a couple of rides on Steel Vengeance first. I would probably do the pay locker next time. The lockers in the queue were a PITA. Love the first drop!

Then it was on to my favorite coaster...Fantastic as always! Wait was about 15 minutes for FL+. The regular queue was already at 90 minutes.

After a couple of rounds with Maverick, it was time to feel the MF'n Force! Second best ride in the park, IMO. 

And why not take a ride on Valravn?

Lake Erie was angry that day, my friends. Like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli...

After a few more re-rides, I took a break for a late lunch. I have a dining plan, but the lines were so long that I went to Famous Dave's. After lunch I walked a round a bit and caught a ride on Gatekeeper. I worked my way back to Maverick and the FL+ wait was 45 minutes. So I bailed and decide to start heading towards Kings Island. I took back roads for a lot of the trip. 

I decided to route through Dayton to stop at Toxic Brew Company. Delicious as always!

Kings Island 10-2-2022

After a great day at Cedar Point, I was at KI for rope drop. I hustled to get in two rides on Mystic Timbers and Diamondback. Then I made it over to The Bat, definitely the best of the Arrow suspended coasters I have ridden. After a ride on my 2nd favorite B&M invert, it was on to a new coaster for me, Orion! What a great ride! While it lacks the intensity of other gigas, it was a terrific ride. The airtime allowed by the ride ops not stapling was wonderful. 

After re-rides on Orion, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers, I faced The Beast. It rode a lot better than I remember from 3 years ago.

Life in the fast lane...

What a great park. Arguably a better lineup than CP, IMO. Superior invert, superior mine train, superior woodies, best B&M hyper. I love this park!

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What a great park. Arguably a better lineup than CP, IMO. Superior invert, superior mine train, superior woodies, best B&M hyper. I love this park!

Agreed 100%.  I live 90 minutes away from CP and 4 hours from KI.  I honestly feel now that KI is the better park.  It's beautifully maintained, the employees have been very polite, FL+ works brilliantly here by depositing you in the station more often than not, Mystic Timbers is my current #1 overall and is an amazing ride, and for some reason, I'll take Diamondback and Orion over Magnum and MF any day (even though MF is a fantastic ride).  Hoping to get down there for Haunt soon...

Thanks for the TR!