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2020 Summer Roadtrip


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So, this coming summer I'm planning a pretty large road trip to hit a bunch of parks that I've never been to, finally check out Steel Vengeance, experience Orion and Candymonium, and give Kennywood and Knoebels another chance after they slightly disappointed me in my 2017 trip.

 

Edit: Kings Island Report Posted!

...and Cedar Point!

Edited by Mike240SX
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I like that you have 3 days in one place halfway through. On a road trip, it's important to recharge. You are doing a little backtracking in IN/OH, but I'm not sure how you hit Indiana Beach without backtracking. It's a fun place, you should go there once.

 

Budget is going to be important here. You're going to spend a lot on gas, more than you think you will. Canadian gas is much, much more expensive than in the US, often more than $1/liter.

 

Customs shouldn't take very long, they will just ask you a couple of questions about where you're going an how long you'll be there. Answer truthfully and give them your passport. They'll run the passport through their system, not sure what they look for, maybe that you're not wanted in Ontario or something. They may search your trunk, but should be 5 minutes or so with the customs official. The main source of delay is how many vehicles are at the customs point, since it's going to be about 5 minutes for every vehicle in front of you.

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Thanks for the insight!

 

I like that you have 3 days in one place halfway through. On a road trip, it's important to recharge.

 

That was exactly my thought - having 3 days at CP in the middle gives me a chance to just have a relax day if I need it.

 

You are doing a little backtracking in IN/OH, but I'm not sure how you hit Indiana Beach without backtracking. It's a fun place, you should go there once.

 

Exactly, same thing kinda with Camden Park. There's no way for me to naturally "pass by" either place.

 

Budget is going to be important here. You're going to spend a lot on gas, more than you think you will. Canadian gas is much, much more expensive than in the US, often more than $1/liter.

 

Thanks for the tip; I'll be sure to fill up on the US side, and then I should be good for the whole Canada portion of the trip (the car I'll be using can get 400 miles on a tank). I was thinking about just using credit cards while there to avoid having to exchange cash currencies, would you reccommend this? I'll only be there for one day really.

 

Customs shouldn't take very long, they will just ask you a couple of questions about where you're going an how long you'll be there. Answer truthfully and give them your passport. They'll run the passport through their system, not sure what they look for, maybe that you're not wanted in Ontario or something. They may search your trunk, but should be 5 minutes or so with the customs official. The main source of delay is how many vehicles are at the customs point, since it's going to be about 5 minutes for every vehicle in front of you.

 

Good to know. Thanks again!

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So, this coming summer I'm planning a pretty large road trip to hit a bunch of parks that I've never been to, finally check out Steel Vengeance, experience Orion and Candymonium, and give Kennywood and Knoebels another chance after they slightly disappointed me in my 2017 trip.

 

Here's the proposed itinerary as I have it layed out:

-Day 1, Fri 7/24 - Pack & Prep, in bed early.

-Day 2, Sat 7/25 - Drive from Newark, DE to Pigeon Forge, TN, straight trough (approx. 9 hours plus stops).

-Day 3, Sun 7/26 - Full day at Dollywood*@.

-Day 4, Mon 7/27 - Drive to Austell, GA, stopping at Lake Winnepesaukah*@ along the way.

-Day 5, Tue 7/28 - Full day at SFoG*@.

-Day 6, Wed 7/29 - Drive to Santa Claus, IN, stopping at Beech Bend*@ and Alabama Splash Adventure*@ along the way.

-Day 7, Thu 7/30 - Full day at Holiday World*@.

-Day 8, Fri 7/31 - Drive to Sandusky, OH, stopping at Kentucky Kingdom*@ and Indiana Beach*@ along the way.

-Day 9, Sat 8/1 through Day 11, Mon 8/3 - Three full days at Cedar Point.

-Day 12, Tue 8/4 - Drive to Mason, OH, enjoy King's Island in the evening.

-Day 13, Wed 8/5 - Full day at Kings Island.

-Day 14, Thu 8/6 - Drive to West Mifflin, PA, stopping at Camden Park*@ along the way.

-Day 15, Fri 8/7 - Full day at Kennywood.

-Day 16, Sat 8/8 - Travel to Vaughn, Ontario, stopping at Conneaut Lake*, Waldameer*, and Fantasy Island (NY)*@ along the way.

-Day 17, Sun 8/9 - Full day at Canada's Wonderland*@.

-Day 18, Mon 8/10 - Drive to Elysburg, PA, stopping at Darien Lake*@ and Seabreeze Amusement Park*@ along the way.

-Day 19, Tue 8/11 - Full day at Knoebels.

-Day 20, Wed 8/12 - Drive home to Newark, DE, stopping at Hershey Park along the way.

-Day 21, Thu 8/13 - Recover.

* indicates parks that will be new to me.

@ indicates parks that I never forsee myself being in the area of again, thus why I'm stopping in.

 

I've mapped out the drive times, and nothing seems too unreasonable. Some parks will definitely be a "stop in, hit the coasters, move on" type experience, so I'm looking for suggestions as to what other "don't miss" rides might be at these parks. I generally enjoy dark rides and flumes, but can't stand spin-n-puke type rides.

 

Thanks!

 

Consider the following for Day 6 - 15

-Day 6, Wed 7/29 - Drive to Louisville, stopping at Beech Bend*@ and Alabama Splash Adventure*@ along the way.

-Day 7, Thu 7/30 - 3 hours at Kentucky Kingdom in the AM and the rest of the day at Holiday World*@ drive to Indianapolis area.

-Day 8, Fri 7/31 - Drive to Indiana Beach in the AM, then drive to Cincinatti, for King's Island at night.

-Day 9, Sat 8/1 - King's Island all day

-Day 10 - 12, Sun 8/2 - Tues 8/4 Cedar Point

-Day 13, Wed 8/5 - Drive to Columbus Zoo and Camden Park (assuming you are going to Camden Park just for the credits, you might as well pick up another woodie credit in Columbus) driving on to Morgantown at Night

-Day 14, Thu 8/6 - Drive to West Mifflin, PA, full day at Kennywood

-Day 15, Fri 8/7 - Now you have extra day

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Thanks for the tip on Columbus Zoo; I didn't even realize they had a coaster. It has been added as a mid-day stop between CP and KI.

 

That said, based on what I've read on here, Holiday World is one of those parks where a full day would be worth it to experience all of the non-coaster stuff they have to offer, so I'm going to leave that part as is. It also seems to be add a bit of backtracking to the route doing KI before CP. But yeah, thanks for the advice!

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Thanks for the tip on Columbus Zoo; I didn't even realize they had a coaster. It has been added as a mid-day stop between CP and KI.

 

That said, based on what I've read on here, Holiday World is one of those parks where a full day would be worth it to experience all of the non-coaster stuff they have to offer, so I'm going to leave that part as is. It also seems to be add a bit of backtracking to the route doing KI before CP. But yeah, thanks for the advice!

 

The only time I haven't been done with Holiday World in 4 hours, is when I included the water park. Outside of the coasters there really isn't much, but if you do stay the day eat at the Thanksgiving restaurant.

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Seems silly to bring a firearm along a theme park trip. It’s not allowed in any of the parks your visiting or in Canada as you mentioned. You will have to store in in your hotel (not good with housekeeping) or in the car for multiple hours hoping someone doesn’t break in and steal it. What a headache and opportunity to get yourself in trouble on a fun trip.

 

There are 3 bridges into Canada. I would check waits on all three before you leave Grand Island. It’s not uncommon to have over 1h waits during summer weekends. Early or late crossings are usually quiet.

 

Some sites I wouldn’t miss if I was enjoying this trip. I’ve done one very similar! Corvette Tour in Bowling Green. Pigeon Forge’s Mountain coasters, especially the night operations. Holiday World’s water park with 3 water coasters. Niagara Falls.

Hope you have a great time!

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There's another credit in Atlanta at Fun Spot. About 20-30 min from SFoG. There's a few random credits in Pigeon Forge, too (Island, Nascar). Even more if you count Alpine coasters.

 

Thanks for the tips. This isn't really so much a "credit run," as I don't care about powered coasters, small spinning coasters, mountain coasters (unless it's a real Alpine Slide), or the endless amounts of Miler/Pinfari clones. I will go out of my way for a woodie though.

 

The only time I haven't been done with Holiday World in 4 hours, is when I included the water park. Outside of the coasters there really isn't much, but if you do stay the day eat at the Thanksgiving restaurant.

 

Hm...maybe I need to reevaluate that portion then. I probably would be doing the waterpark. Thanks, I'll look into that further.

 

Seems silly to bring a firearm along a theme park trip. It’s not allowed in any of the parks your visiting or in Canada as you mentioned. You will have to store in in your hotel (not good with housekeeping) or in the car for multiple hours hoping someone doesn’t break in and steal it. What a headache and opportunity to get yourself in trouble on a fun trip.

 

Maybe I've been lucky, but I've never encountered an issue leaving it in a hotel (safe or "do not disturb" sign) or a car when going to a park. And some parks offer check stations for LEOs.

 

There are 3 bridges into Canada. I would check waits on all three before you leave Grand Island. It’s not uncommon to have over 1h waits during summer weekends. Early or late crossings are usually quiet.

 

Awesome, good to know!

 

Some sites I wouldn’t miss if I was enjoying this trip. I’ve done one very similar! Corvette Tour in Bowling Green. Pigeon Forge’s Mountain coasters, especially the night operations. Holiday World’s water park with 3 water coasters. Niagara Falls.

Hope you have a great time!

 

The National Corvette Museum might be worth a stop...shame I won't be bringing my Miata on this trip, but maybe the old POS Lexus GS would be fun to drive around the course for a few laps LOL.

 

Thanks again for the input!

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Since you'll be in the South and the Midwest, I doubt you'll have an issue with a gun in the car. It's extremely common around here. Yes, you will have to leave it in the car while in the parks, as none of the Midwest parks allow them, but also the culture around here is very accepting. Most states don't require a permit, and the few that do will accept an out of state permit. You are correct that your only issue will be the border crossing. Unfortunately I can't help you with that, as I've never taken a gun into Canada. Hopefully one of the Buffalo locals can recommend a storage place.

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Since you'll be in the South and the Midwest, I doubt you'll have an issue with a gun in the car. It's extremely common around here. Yes, you will have to leave it in the car while in the parks, as none of the Midwest parks allow them, but also the culture around here is very accepting. Most states don't require a permit, and the few that do will accept an out of state permit. You are correct that your only issue will be the border crossing. Unfortunately I can't help you with that, as I've never taken a gun into Canada. Hopefully one of the Buffalo locals can recommend a storage place.

 

I have to respond to some misleading advice here on a serious situation. If something is culturally acceptable doesn’t mean it’s right. For this particular trip, the firearm will be for the majority of the time not on the owner, rendering it useless. Securing firearms from theft is an inherent part of being a responsible gun owner and carrier. Valuables left in hotel rooms, (even safes) and vehicles are the most common places of theft. Any Law Enforcement Officer, as the original poster claims to be, would and should know this.

 

Guns and ammo can not be brought into Canada without paperwork and restricted guns like handguns will get you in all sorts of trouble (jail time). Canadian border guards may be very polite, but don’t be fooled. Any clothing featuring camo, army or firearms logos will give them an excuse to strip search your vehicle.

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My only suggestion would be to hit King Island on the way to Cedar Point since you can pretty much drive right past it and it's only an hour from Louisville/Kentucky Kingdom. That might mess up your plans for Indiana Beach/Camden Park but if it were me I'd go Holiday World->Kentucky Kingdom->Kings Island-> Cedar Point and maybe throw in Indian Beach between KI and CP and forget Camden all together. It's your trip so do whatever you want but back tracking from Cedar Point to Kings Island to hit Camden Park on the way to Kennywood when Kennywod is only 3 hours from Cedar Point seems like a lot of extra time spent just to get to Camden Park.

 

Heck if you really wanted to hit Camden you could almost do it during the initial drive from Newark, DE to Pigeon Forge and it's about the same distance out of the way as it would be from Kings Island to Kennywood.

 

Sounds like a fun trip though, enjoy what ever route you decide on.

Edited by Hilltopper39
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^^ I'm sure he's going to secure it properly. Someone who is trained in gun safety and works with guns every day isn't going to do something dumb with it. And this is the American South and Midwest we're talking about. It's not like this will be the first gun we've ever seen in a vehicle. Probably not even the first one that day. Yeah, opportunistic theft happens anywhere, but trust me, there are waaaay easier ways to get a gun than to steal one from a police officer on vacation.

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Perhaps some maps would help others in understanding my trip logic.

 

Here is the overall plan, running a clockwise lap from the farthest east point:

203700602_FullLoop.jpg.d614357adc377c9b993217f47c8a4e7a.jpg

For reference, Green dots are parks that I've ready been to, red ones are parks I have not.

 

The idea with mapping it out this way was to minimize long drives without entertaining stops (there are none over 5 hours except the initial run from home to Dollywood, and few over 3 hours) and backtracking.

 

My only suggestion would be to hit King Island on the way to Cedar Point since you can pretty much drive right past it and it's only an hour from Louisville/Kentucky Kingdom. That might mess up your plans for Indiana Beach/Camden Park but if it were me I'd go Holiday World->Kentucky Kingdom->Kings Island-> Cedar Point and maybe throw in Indian Beach between KI and CP and forget Camden all together.

 

Yes, that would completely mess up my plans for both Indiana Beach and Camden Park, which I want to hit on this trip since I don't foresee myself ever being in the general vicinity to hit either park again in the future.

 

It's your trip so do whatever you want but back tracking from Cedar Point to Kings Island to hit Camden Park on the way to Kennywood when Kennywod is only 3 hours from Cedar Point seems like a lot of extra time spent just to get to Camden Park.

 

As you can see on the map, the only major backtracking done on the trip is to hit Canada's Wonderland. You're right that it is a lot of extra time to hit Camden Park, but this is the most efficient way I have found.

 

Heck if you really wanted to hit Camden you could almost do it during the initial drive from Newark, DE to Pigeon Forge and it's about the same distance out of the way as it would be from Kings Island to Kennywood.

 

It would be about the same distance out of the way, but the difference is that it's adding 4 hours to a 3 hour drive versus adding 4 hours to a 9 hour drive, making it be 12-13. That's a little more than I can voluntarily handle.

 

Sounds like a fun trip though, enjoy what ever route you decide on.

 

Thanks!

 

Advice on firearms from someone who lives in a country where the right to self defense and carry-able handguns don't exist.
A logical retort.

 

I did not intend to turn this thread into a debate over firearm safety practices. I've been carrying concealed for 13 years, often storing it securely in a vehicle or a hotel room, with no ill ends. As have many, many of my co-workers, both within my department and outside of it. ArgoZ, your advice is noted but ill-informed (statistically most firearm thefts, at least in the US, are from stores and the home), and not applicable. I already understood that bringing a gun of the type I'll be carrying into Canada is a huge no-no, and I'm not stupid enough to wear clothing or put stickers on my car that broadcasts my affinity for them or my profession.

 

If everyone could limit the discussion on firearms simply to my originally posed question ("Where would be a good place to safely store it during the Canadian portion of the trip?"), it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

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If everyone could limit the discussion on firearms simply to my originally posed question ("Where would be a good place to safely store it during the Canadian portion of the trip?"), it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

If you do insist on bringing them with you, then you could just rent a safety deposit box at a local financial institution prior to crossing. It'll take a bit of research / calling around as some larger financial institutions may have policies against it, but regional chains shouldn't be much of a problem. It shouldn't take more than a couple valid IDs and small fee coverage. If that isn't a solution, I'd try looking up a couple gun shops that are close to where you'll be crossing. Odds are they've encountered this question a lot and are more likely to have a prepared solution than a bunch of coaster nerds like us.

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Just on the first day, would you consider leaving on Friday night and driving to some point till around 10pm. Then on the Saturday set off and you could spend an extra afternoon at Dollywood and have a go at a mountain coaster or two.

 

Also, for CP, rather than 3 days, I found it worked well to go for 2 days, but purchase Fast lane plus, which would probably work out fairly equivalent to an additional night of hotel.

I know everyone loves CP, but at the same time, 2 days, with one of those days having queue jumping is more than enough to ride a wide variety of attractions and take in the atmosphere.

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If you do insist on bringing them with you, then you could just rent a safety deposit box at a local financial institution prior to crossing. It'll take a bit of research / calling around as some larger financial institutions may have policies against it, but regional chains shouldn't be much of a problem. It shouldn't take more than a couple valid IDs and small fee coverage. If that isn't a solution, I'd try looking up a couple gun shops that are close to where you'll be crossing. Odds are they've encountered this question a lot and are more likely to have a prepared solution than a bunch of coaster nerds like us.

 

Thanks! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. Once the trip gets a little closer I'll look in to the safety deposit box option.

 

Just on the first day, would you consider leaving on Friday night and driving to some point till around 10pm. Then on the Saturday set off and you could spend an extra afternoon at Dollywood and have a go at a mountain coaster or two.

 

I'll be coming off midnight shift from Thursday night (getting off at 7AM Friday), so that would be tough. My plan is to stay up until around 6 or 7 PM that Friday and then go to sleep, hoping to hit the road around 4 AM the initital travel-out day. It's 9 hours per Google-maps, but with taking frequent bathroom/stretch/sanity breaks, it'll likely end up being 11 and that's if I hit no traffic (part of the reason I'm leaving so early is to dodge the rush out around Baltimore and DC).

 

Plus it would add another night of hotel and days admission at Dollywood, and I figure one full day at Dollywood would be enough. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not really interested in mountain coasters.

 

Also, for CP, rather than 3 days, I found it worked well to go for 2 days, but purchase Fast lane plus, which would probably work out fairly equivalent to an additional night of hotel.

I know everyone loves CP, but at the same time, 2 days, with one of those days having queue jumping is more than enough to ride a wide variety of attractions and take in the atmosphere.

 

The last time I was there, I had two full days and the last 6 hours of the night before, and it was enough (even though one of those days was spent blitzed at the water park swim-up bar LOL)...didn't even need any FL, but that was mid-week I am planning for FL+ (since it'll be a Saturday-Monday that I'm there), either buying it daily or adding the all-parks-FL+ to my Platinum pass.

 

My big reason for planning for 3 full days there is to build in what I believe will be a much needed recovery day, mid-way through the trip, where I can just relax on the beach or in the hotel if the park is crazy busy or if the weather is horrible.

 

Thank you for the insight though, it is appreciated!

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Am I understanding you correctly that you never expect to be in the area of Southern Ontario / Northern New York again but you're totally blowing through Niagara Falls to go and whore a bunch of small parks?

 

I know it's a coaster trip but come on... here

 

As for using credit cards, that's what we normally do. We didn't bother getting local currency in Canada, just don't use a card with a foreign transaction fee. If you do get Canadian money just use an ATM machine.

 

Since you'll be at Wonderland on a Sunday you'll have Platinum Pass early entry on either Yukon Striker and Minebuster, Leviathan and Dragon Fyre or Behemoth and Backlot Stunt Coaster but they haven't announced which yet. Keep an eye on this page.

Edited by coasterbill
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Not trying to start a debate at all, but as a resident of New York, I should probably inform you that, thanks to my state's ridiculous gun laws, your concealed carry permit will not be recognized. Even leaving it in the car unloaded could result in serious penalties.

 

As such, I would strongly recommend finding a secure place to leave it for a few days in, say, Pennsylvania, before even entering NY.

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Not trying to start a debate at all, but as a resident of New York, I should probably inform you that, thanks to my state's ridiculous gun laws, your concealed carry permit will not be recognized. Even leaving it in the car unloaded could result in serious penalties.

 

As such, I would strongly recommend finding a secure place to leave it for a few days in, say, Pennsylvania, before even entering NY.

 

Yeah, I know CCWs aren't recognized from any other state in NY. My "carry permit" is a badge and police ID, which due to a nice federal law, is good everywhere in the US. Thanks for looking out though.

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Well, a reduction in my time off at work has shortened this trip by four available days. I've cut out the Western NY/Canada part completely and Indiana Beach, cut down Holiday World to a half-day, removed a day at Cedar Point, and added Idlewild and Lakemont (hoping they have Leap the Dips open by then, if not oh well). So, here's the new itinerary and map:

 

Fri, 7/10: Prep Day

Sat, 7/11: Drive to Pigeon Forge, TN, stopping at Adventure Park USA on the way.

Sun, 7/12: Full day at Dollywood

Mon, 7/13: Drive to Austell, GA, hitting Lake Wikkepesaukah on the way.

Tue, 7/14: Full day at SFoG

Wed, 7/15: Drive to Santa Claus, IN, hitting Alabama Adventure and Beech Bend on the way.

Thu, 7/16: Drive to Mason, OH, hitting Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom on the way.

Fri, 7/17: Full day at King's Island

Sat, 7/18: Drive to Sandusky, OH, hitting Camden Park and Columbus Zoo on the way

Sun, 7/19: Full day at Cedar Point

Mon, 7/20: Full day at Cedar Point

Tue, 7/21: Drive to West Mifflin, PA, hitting Waldameer and Conneaut Lake on the way.

Wed, 7/22: Full day at Kennywood

Thu, 7/23: Drive to Elysburg, PA, hitting Idlewild and Lakemont on the way.

Fri, 7/24: Full day at Knoebels

Sat, 7/25: Drive home, hitting Hershey Park on the way.

Sun,7/26: Recover

 

Summer2020.jpg.b0933c3c7f23ab4148cbe7ba125d8c03.jpg

 

I think I've gotten the answers I need, but I'll leave this up for any additional commentary or criticism.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded!

Edited by Mike240SX
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Sounds good to me. Rather than spend a full day "prepping" I'd start driving Friday and break up that drive but either way it's fine. If you take 70 instead of 66 you could hit Adventure Park USA if you haven't been there and avoid the DC area which is always a plus.

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