Photo TR: The Finglish duo do the best of the rest - NE USA

Hello everyone and welcome!

 

I thought I'd make the effort to write a trip report for our recent vacation driving around the Northeastern States visiting parks that I'd first found out about by watching a VHS some of you probably remember on here called "Coaster Expedition Volume 1" waaaay back when.

 

Along with my very patient and long suffering girlfriend Hanna (who's from Finland hence Finglish in the title), we finally made it and had a blast at all but one of the parks. Just a little background, we've been to Florida twice and the LA/Vegas area in the past 5 years so we've done the parks and rides that most tourists would visit. This was our first trip out of "la la land" and into the real USA so to speak.

 

Our ambitious itinerary:

 

June 9th - Arrive NYC

June 10th - NYC/Coney Island

June 11th - Dorney Park/Hershey Park

June 12th - Knoebels

June 13th - Niagara Falls/Presque Isle State Park/Waldameer

June 14th - Cedar Point

June 15th - Kennywood

June 16th - Washington D.C.

June 17th - Kings Dominion

June 18th - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

June 19th - Six Flags America

June 20th - Six Flags Great Adventure

June 21st - Six Flags Great Adventure/Depart

 

Some of you may be thinking how the heck did you do that all? I know, it was a bit nuts but we generally didn't have to drive more than 3 1/2 hours at a time, hotels were prebooked in strategic locations and I just spent a lot of time planning and researching online which I happen to really enjoy, sad maybe but true. Hanna started to get a little fed up with having to change hotel all the time but midway through the holiday I think we just got used to it. It also gave us the chance to try out several hotel chains for future visits.

 

There were some parks where we would have liked a second day, and luckily we managed a second visit to SFGAdv before our flight home. The Six Flags season pass has to be the biggest bargain ever, if only the Cedar Fair pass was as cheap.

 

Final point before I get on with the TR, this was an AWESOME time to visit. Sure, there were some school groups, but apart from our day at Cedar Point (which in all honesty wasn't that busy, I just think it's one of those parks that will always draw a crowd because of it's fame), I can't recall having to queue more than 15 mins on average at the parks we visited. There were some exceptions but I couldn't believe our luck. Minimal queues, late openings and no closures through the week, perfect.

 

It'll take me a while to write up each day, partly because I have to somehow remember what we did. One of the side effects of such an ambitious trip! I'll try to keep them to the point as much as possible. Apologies for the often poor quality of the pictures, they're taken from shaky video footage shot by yours truly.

 

Day 1 - Arrival and NYC

 

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this Continental flight to....uh....United flight to Newark".

 

The cabin crew still think this is Continental. It is a little confusing, let's keep our old color scheme but take the United name. To be honest the food was better when it was Continental, but the IFE is still the same and extensive. Gimme United over Virgin Atlantic any day! Enjoyed Chronicle and Star Trek along with some Family Guy.

 

Flight arrived on time, minimal queue at immigration but having been to the States 3 times now in the space of a year, they stare at us with deep suspicion. Awkward pause..........stamp stamp. Bags, hire car and off we go!

 

Does choosing to shop here mean I'm middle class? Because I can assure you I'm not.

Stopped at Target for out usual bits and bobs before checking into the Candlewood Suites Jersey City, a great location to be close enough for easy access via PATH to Manhattan but far enough to actually get a decent nights sleep. Newport felt a lot like Canary Wharf here in London, a modern 2nd financial district removed from the madness. This hotel was 2/3 of the price of anything we could get across the water and with free parking I couldn't complain. I don't think driving into Manhattan and finding a place to park would have been the most relaxing start to the holiday.

 

Not a bad walk from the hotel to the PATH station.

I know you've all been to NYC already so I'm not going to go on and on and on and on about the places we visited. After we checked in, caught the PATH train up to 23rd Street for Shake Shack at Madison Square Park. Unfortunately not only was it a Saturday afternoon but there was some uber-crazy BBQ festival on so no juicy burgers for us right now.

 

Longest queue of the holiday, all for a freakin' burger (this is just the last 1/3 of it). Curse you BBQ festival event thing!

We walked north and checked out Grand Central Station, didn't find Bruce Willis in a cloak so headed west to Times Square. Visiting Times Square makes me realise why I see so many dissapointed faces at Piccadilly Circus everyday.

 

A quiet Saturday evening.

Anyone else looking forward to the new ABC show "Hillary Clinton's drug conspiracy"?

"Granny's gotta eat!"

A pre-Hershey Hershey visit.

 

Day 2 - NYC/Coney Island

 

Had a much needed good nights rest after the craziness of Times Square. The only issue coming from the UK is waking up ridiculously early. After some early morning TV and repetitious warnings informing us of the crowds expected for the Puerto Rican Day Parade we headed out to the PATH train for our trip up the Empire State.

 

Good morning PATH train!

One benefit of getting up stupidly early on a Sunday morning.

"So how does this lift work again?"

"Okay that's enough boring sightseeing, time for HOTCAKES!!!!"

Mission accomplished.

Off to Coney Island we go, via the D train I think it was. A reasonably long ride through some interesting neighborhoods.

 

See you in a bit oh famous bridge.

I think it's this way?

No queue?

Oh here it is.

This makes Coney Island look positively clean!

We enjoyed Coney Island. We weren't there to do all the rides, nothing really caught my attention. I think the travel fatigue was setting in again and I regret not going on the Wonder Wheel. The main thing I went there for was the Cyclone and I really enjoyed it. The re-tracking has probably helped it out a bit as I didn't find it too bad, sat in the back of the front car. Entry is a little steep but it's a thrilling ride which is always a pleasant surprise for a coaster this old.

 

Wonder Wheel Puerto Rican style.

Are you a swinger? Or a stationary....er?

This looked a little nuts.

The classic, highly predictable and unoriginal shot.

Through the fence!

Artsy shot.

I think I enjoyed it?

Pretty sure London is a close second place.

Who needs squash rackets when you have big hands.

We continued walking along the boardwalk and all of a sudden I noticed something a little strange, I wasn't sure if it was the travel fatigue setting in but of all of a sudden we found ourselves in RUSSIA BY THE BEACH?

 

These shows coming to a sleaze bar near you soon!

GTA IV anyone?

Female? Only her "врач" knows!

Mini ninja KGB agents displaying their skillz.

Damn Russian furniture truck spoiling the shot.

That's better.

After Coney Island we headed back on the tube/metro/subway to Brooklyn Bridge and made the epic walk across. Okay it wasn't too epic but it was flippin' hot so exhaustion set in and marathon/spare battery mode took over.

 

for this piece of edible art by one of our friends from across the border, bargain!

Getting there, enthusiasm dwindling...

Enthusiasm REGAINED, SHAKE SHACK YAY!!!!

After our tiring walk across THAT bridge, plus a wonderful refreshing meal of cow and cocaine juice at Shake Shack (which I'd rate higher than In-N-Out and Five Guys but a little under my unpopular favorite Fuddruckers) we made our way, zombie-like, to the free tourist ferry for cheapskates like us, the Staten Island Ferry!

 

Otherwise known as "House of Slytherin".

I suppose we're not the only ones who want to save some bucks sightseeing. Oh wait, you mean these people live on the other side? Free commuting, in NYC? I must need more sleep.

Farewell...

Goodnight.

Edited July 23, 2012 by andybarnes84

Nice photos....keep them coming!

I always love seeing reports from NYC. I suddenly find myself a bit scared to try out the Staten Island Ferry, though...

 

Sounds like a great itinerary you planned out!

Loved New York and Coney Island last year. Cyclone was definitely rough, but not quite as bad as I thought it might be, as long as you didn't sit in the back. Looking forward to seeing the rest of this report!

Great photos! And wow, that was an ambitious to-do list. I'm interested to see what you thought of a lot those parks and their rides. I live in Maryland, and you guys basically covered the entire bubble of theme parks surrounding the state, and then some!

Day 3 Part 1 - Dorney Park

 

I'll admit I was a little nervous about our first proper theme park day. Two reasonably big and well known parks in one day? In June when the schools are all visiting these places in their masses?

 

Turns out we didn't really need much more time than we had. I'd like to mention that whilst I used to be all about the credits, now I just ride what I want and what I think isn't going to break my neck (unless it's famously good otherwise). So unfortunately I haven't ridden everything but time was against us so we had to prioritize and I hope we got onto the best coasters in each park.

 

Woke up ridiculously early (yet again) at the Holiday Inn Express with the following view:

 

Good morning Talon, are you really a crap invert?

After braving the run across the busy highway to save some parking fee money, we make it to the first big park of the trip, the 98' Corolla of amusement parks (i.e. bland but comfortable), Dorney Park!

 

"Welcome to Dorney, it's actually quite good, honest!"

What did we think?

 

Talon 8/10 - This is a very good invert, used to be my favorite coaster type but then airtime machines took over and I feel very indifferent over these now. Talon was much better than I expected it to be, after riding the disappointing Silver Bullet I wasn't sure what I'd make of one of these tamer B&Ms but turns out it's actually got a good mix of everything.

 

Steel Force 8/10 - Another surprise of the day, a solid, smooth hyper with nice air on those final hills. The only jarring moment which wasn't really bad at all was the transition from the massive turnaround up into the MDCB.

 

Hydra 7/10 - Hang on, this is the mediocre Dorney Park right? Another good coaster? Smooth yet again, unusual layout, not the tallest but does great things with the space it has. I enjoyed it's unpredictability and funkiness.

 

Possessed 9/10 - I have to admit I'm a sucker for these impulse coasters and wish we had one over here. This version gets an extra point because it has a working holding brake for that "holy crap" moment.

 

Stinger was down, the Wild Mouse looked unremarkable, I should have ridden Thunderhawk (regret number 2) and Demon Drop would have been interesting but was the only ride with a reasonable queue so we overlooked it. We just kept riding Steel Force and Possessed for the remaining time we had there due to zero queue time, kewl.

 

Dorney was a fantastic park, much greener than expected, very clean, friendly staff and on retrospect definitely felt like the little brother/sister of Cedar Point. Thanks Club TPR for the discounted entry!

 

I have a feeling we're gonna see you again this week.

Sploosh!

See it's got a train and everything!

Yawn.

I'm sure I've seen this before on the West Coast.

Should I have queued for this? Possible regret number 3 but it did look uncomfortable.

Nature shot.

"ARGH Why has it stopped????"

Two trains, yes please!

You're welcome.

Edited July 5, 2012 by andybarnes84

Great report and pictures

Great report so far, I can't wait to see the rest.

 

These days, Dorney is a great, underrated park. To be fair, last time I was there before this year, maybe eight years ago, it was pretty unremarkable, but it's come a long way, and I just fell in love with the place when I got back there last month. It's definitely not "mediocre" in any way at all anymore. Great rides, friendly staff, solid operations, top-notch appearance and maintenance....I've never had a park climb so far up my favorites list in one visit before. Still do need to work on the food a bit, though.

You didn't miss anything by skipping Wild Mouse and Demon Drop. Wild Mouse at Dorney is the worst wild mouse coasters I have ridden. It is very heavily braked to the point of being painful at some points of the ride when you get thrown into the lap bar and the line is very slow moving because of the way it is run. Demon Drop although has nostalgic value isn't that great either and also is very rough when you get lowered from lying down to the reverse portion of the ride.

Man, what an epic adventure, also looking forward to the rest! The shots of Coney are getting me jazzed for my own trip later this month. It's so weird to see a SkyCoaster on that skyline.

 

Glad you liked Dorney. I've always enjoyed that park, though I do miss Hercules.

 

I like "The Residents" version of Snoopy they have, too.

Pity you missed Stinger. It was a *little* rough, but overall I found it to be fantastic. I definitely think you should not have missed Demon Drop. Yeah the transition to normal position can be rough, but it isn't bad if you anticipate it. Plus, the airtime is incredible, second only to ARM/Larson towers (look down and lean forward; I don't know why, but it makes airtime and launches feel significantly more intense, and drops about 20 degrees steeper. I tried it many times and it always works.)

Day 3 Part 2 - Hershey Park

 

After Dorney we drove the 1 1/2 hours west and checked into our accommodation for that night, the Inn at Westwynd Farm just 3 clicks north of Hershey. We were met by .5 of the owners, Frank, and after his kind introduction we had some complimentary drinks from the fridge (soda, although other beverages were readily available ). Had just enough time to pop into the barn to see the horses and one slightly confused alpaca, was then chased out of the barn by a not so hospitable Labrador and decided it was time to head to Hershey.

 

So we should have arrived bang on 4:50pm, but our TomTom took us to Chocolate World NOT Hershey Park. I didn't think this would be a problem because I remember from my incessant staring at Google maps that Chocolate World is next to the entrance of the park, right? Drove right past Skyrush, getting close! As soon as I open my mouth at the turnstile, the guy hands me a slip of paper with detour instructions and back out we go, and drive the 7 or so miles it took to get into the main parking entrance. Lesson learned.

 

5:15pm we arrive, head to the entrance and pay our $28.95 for sunset admission.

 

Bye bye now, take care, hope you had a great day, farewell, GET OUTTA HERE AND LEAVE US ALONE WE ONLY GOT 4 1/2 HOURS TO DO THIS JOINT!!!!

This gentleman is being kept in a secure area for your own safety, DO NOT APPROACH THE BUTTER CUP!

 

Here we are, the mystical and wondrous Hershey Park!

 

Here we are!

This features in my dreams a lot, can't think why. Answers on a postcard to Andy, Lundun, Ingalund.

Dan's childhood nightmare.

These guys are on day release, but if they step out of line the purple dude WILL OWN THEM!!

Mr Duds is taunting me. Just walk away and no one gets opened.

A cheap dinner in an otherwise pricey park.

Prepare for wetness....

History moment, please pause and lower your hats.

He wouldn't have approved of the Skyrush station layout either.

This is what happens when you down a gallon of Hershey syrup and a barrel of sugar!

See it's got a train and everything!

Pointless, utterly pointless. But it does give me warm RCT feelings circa 2001.

"What did we think?" I hear you cry! This is almost the perfect amusement park. If operations were slicker (they weren't as bad as I thought they might be after reading all the horror stories), it could be. This park has everything going for it. Intense coasters, great scenery, shows and entertainment everywhere, it really is a gem and although I expected to enjoy it, this park is definitely now on my "parks to come back for" list. We went on a Tuesday evening but there were still queues to be found. Skyrush and Fahrenheit were the longest at around 30 mins, most other coasters were under 10 minute waits even with the typical operational issues i.e. "Oh darn here comes that train again guess I have to somehow find enough energy to get up off my stool and check everything REEAAALLLY carefully".

 

Once again, we were limited by the amount of time we had so I did miss out on a few good'uns here, don't hate me for it please! Whilst Dorney can be done in half a day, Hershey deserves at least a full day if not two. Onto the coasters:

 

SooperDooperLooper 6/10 - I realize this is a classic but I prefer Revolution at SFMM although these new yet old looking trains made it a much smoother ride than it's West Coast Bro.

 

The new yet really old looking trains.

Fahrenheit 8/10 - This is great! What's wrong with the haters? If this was in the UK it would probably be our number 2 or 3 coaster, sad but true! Seriously, I enjoyed this a lot, I suppose I'd agree that it felt a little predictable but it's by no means sluggish. I was starting to realise that Hershey Park doesn't like to spend money on trim brakes.

 

Get ready...

Going up...

I think Freud would have had a lot to say about the coaster community's collective fascination with suggestively shaped coaster elements.

And they're off!

"Twisty!"

Ejector hairtime? Yeah alright then!

Storm Runner 9/10 - "Get ready for vertical horsepower". This coaster is nuts or "OFF DA SCALE" as the youngish might cry. We rode it twice and I still can't remember what happened after the top hat. A powerful launch, airtime, unpredictable maneuvers through dense vegetation, a little violent on the neck however, a near perfect ride.

 

Yep, it's time for some pleasurable whiplash.

Welcome back empty seats, nice to see you again so soon.

"Hang on sweetheart, you didn't tell me about that huge hill up ahead."

"Sorry Pumpkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnn".

See ya, would want to be ya!

Great Bear 7/10 - One of the old school, strong forces, a quirky start which I really enjoyed, a great leg chopper, just let down by an uneventful finish.

 

Interesting fact alert! This ride was named in honor of a camp 1970's entertainer from SoHo. Bet you didn't know that now did ya.

Aww how quaint.

Favorite coaster element 4 EVA yo.

Lightning Racer 8/10 - Rode both sides, awesome racer and relatively smooth for it's age. Our night ride with all the fairground lights was mesmerizing, just looking down from the top of the lift hill at the mess of track and having no idea where we were headed was fun. This coaster had no one on it all night. Please, when you come here, show it some love because it's awesome.

 

This is when I realised my video camera doesn't like being awake when it's getting dark.

Now THAT is mighty purty.

Skyrush 10/10 - Is this my new number 1? Of course it is, no wait, maybe, ummm, argh, not sure. We got two rides on this beast. The second ride just before closing in the back row outer left seat was probably the most thrilling ride I've had on a coaster since my first ride on X2. It's very difficult to get a genuine unexpected thrill from coasters these days and I can't help but think that my addiction is purely a search for that next effective "hit" which never comes. This thing is amazing, brilliant and untamed. Sure, your thighs will get a good squeezing and you'll experience momentary relief when hitting the brake run to then realize you'll be sitting there for another 3 minutes because this is Hershey Park. I was expecting a great ride and this thing delivered. I have unavoidable high expectations and always expect to be let down (a common attribute of the British), but I loved this coaster and it provided many "HOLY CRAAAP" moments. El Toro on steroids is appropriate, and I lurve the kink they put halfway down the first drop that attempts to throw you out even more. Not to mention a very scenic location over water. It'll be interesting to see where this masterpiece debuts on the famous coaster poll.

 

After all these years of conception and construction, our baby is here.

"I've got this great idea, let's have everyone use just one side of the station to improve our throughput, and lets use swivel bins that make the guests think their valuables are safe when they are actually just revealed to the riders waiting to board for them to steal."

I should have Photoshopped this with motion blur to emphasise how freakin' fast this goes up.

Get ready for the EVEN STEEPER part!

Cue the screams of joy/pain.

Still enjoying it?

"Honey I can't feel my legs! I'm gonna sue as soon as they get me off this sadistic torture device!".

Mini Stengel, how cute.

Thanks Hershey Park for a most thrilling evening that we both really enjoyed and we look forward to seeing you again as soon as financially possible.

 

Goodnight Skycrush and thanks for screwing with my expectations for the next coasters on the vacation.

Edited July 6, 2012 by andybarnes84

Great report!! Hershey has a great collection of rides imo and I have to agree with you on the "sky ride"..."utterly pointless"...however I find myself riding it every time I visit.

Sounds like you are having a blast on your trip...keep the reports coming.

The new SooperDooperLooper train looks great! Gladly they didn't add OTSRs like on Revolution.

Andy, sounds like you're already having a crackin' good time. Can't wait to see more of your trip...

This is such a great report! It makes me happy to see you really liked Hersheypark because it's long been one of my favorite parks. This just gets me even more pumped to go on SkyRush. Man, I WANT that thing to bruise my thighs. Can't wait to see the next part!

By the way, I believe Great Bear was actually named after the constellation...

Great report! I've never seen the Rolo walk-around before, so that was a treat (no pun intended). Thanks for posting.

Really enjoying this report. I have to find some time to get to Hersheypark this year.

 

dt

Loving this report. Getting excited to see Hersheypark for myself in a few weeks.

Day 4 - Knoebels

 

Slept in a bit after the epic day before, immediately before opening my eyes I inserted a couple of the complimentary bedside Hershey Kisses into my mouth for that instant necessary sugar boost, good job I was on the right side of the bed as on the left side was a bowl of potpourri, although I reckon I would have still enjoyed that in my mouth more than what was offered for breakfast. Let's turn on the TV to see how hot it's going to be today:

 

This reminds me of home.

Better look outside just to make sure they aren't lying beggars:

 

Yep looks like the British summer finally found us!

This could dampen things quite a bit. In my head Knoebels is one of those sunny summer like places, but for us would it just be a bleak muddy mess of a day?

 

Today was to be a long day anyway, driving north from our B&B to Knoebels, then onto Watkins State Park to see some purty waterfalls, and then onto our next hotel all the way up in Victor NY. The waterfalls were already out of the question, so after trying to enjoy a rather posh avant-garde breakfast consisting of Kiwi fruit in a Martini glass and a soggy baked croissant filled with orange marmalade, we said our farewells and made our way north.

 

Goodbye Inn at Westwynd Farm, thanks for the perfect if very brief hospitality. Would have been happy with Froot Loops for brekkie though.

The beautiful Appalachians....somewhere...

At least we're driving in the right direction.

Getting close....

"Turn right onto Kay-now-ee-balls Parkway". I'll admit it's hard enough for us to pronounce let alone a European GPS!

Unfortunately the weather remained "pish" as they would say in Scotland, I knew we weren't going to be here for as long as I initially hoped, but it only took a few minutes of peering through the mud and rain to realize how special this place is.

 

Apologies for the poor quality of the photos, it rained so much that I kept my video camera in it's waterproof pouch and it messed with the contrast big time. Hanna and I only spent a couple of hours here and I really wish we had longer to experience the rides and take more footage but there is only so much wetness one is willing to take.

 

Big wheel! But nowhere near as big as the one I used to be trusted with.

Around the grove in 80 seconds.

"Spinny!".

Could it be?

Yes it is! The famous entrance sign which confusingly isn't at the entrance!

Ahhh it all makes sense now, let's embrace the rain and enjoy the park while it's still above the river!

There ain't no showin' off your wobbly bits in dis place PERIOD.

If park security catch you in a thong, no matter how unoffensive you think your nether regions are, they chuck you in here for 2 hours after pouring Tide all over you to WASH AWAY YOUR SINS! Amen.

Lets just cruise around in this babe-magnet and let the rain do all the cleanin'.

Dumbo before Dumbo?

Education lesson everyone! Now you can have the rest of the week off school as a reward for your excellence.

Now THIS is what we came here for, prepare be amazed Hanna, to be amazed...

"Mighty fine indeed sheriff, mighty fine" *rocks back and forth on rocking chair and SPITS*.

"Sorry Finglish duo, we don't run this in the rain because it would just be too FREAKIN' AMAZEBALLS and you'd never leave".

Let's sooth our momentary horror with some of that Pizza TPR members keep raving about! Hang on? Where's the DAMN PIZZA?!!

30 minutes of hunger-driven frustration and increasing wetness later, we find it. Turns out it's soooooo good it gets it's own hut.

SO good yet so cheap like everything else in Knoebels! My theory is that the elderly staff members at the gift shop must be running an underground narcotics business to keep this park going.

Interesting fact alert! Did you know that they built a replica of this at the Arlington National Cemetery near D.C.? Bet ya didn't know that now did ya?

More amazing food, they could shoot "The Biggest Gainer" here no probs. Maybe next season.

A classic, bar none.

I think this was called "NJ Turnpike:The Ride".

One more piece of scratched graffiti on this bridge and it would fall to bits. Romantic AND a health & safety hazard, like so many other things...

I think I'll pass. Some advice for those choosing to stay here, I wouldn't recommend using pegs to secure your tent in a place that floods regularly. On second thoughts, don't do this and you could wake up in the Shamokin Reservoir. Tough choice.

Twister, a name which is definitely Sir "twisty" Alvey approved.

There's a train up there somewhere, I promise.

Now it's over there somewhere.

What's that, the sound of another lift chain in the distance and gasps of excitement from friends and family, young and not so young? Hip hip...Hooray! Three cheers for what remains one of the top woodies in the whole entire coasterverse!

A momentary breather amongst the hysterical floaty laughteryness of this simple yet incredible ride.

 

So what did you make of Knoebels? Yeah alright I'll give you our honest and unbiased verdict.

 

This is a rare place. Like Blackpool Pleasure Beach meets Knott's Berry Farm meets Yosemite National Park. Despite the rain we hugely enjoyed the vibe of the place, it's classical preservation, it's more than reasonable prices, it's simple family values. This is how things used to be. A time that many of us never had the pleasure of experiencing at it's height as many of us have been born into a World of corporate theme park brainwashing i.e. "You've experienced our half-assed manufactured dream for the day now BUY THE OVERPRICED T-SHIRT AND PHOTO OR YOU'LL LIVE TO REGRET IT!".

 

The rides (of which we only did 4 - I beg you all to forgive our shameful lack of whoring):

 

Black Diamond 5/10 - Bit of a letdown this one. Had some high hopes as I heard about it being a kind of hybrid dark ride meets coaster experience. Didn't have a clue what was going on, the train didn't go fast enough (Hanna's criticism), and I just couldn't see why this won an award for best new dark ride, must have been a slow year.

 

Haunted Mansion 9/10 - Now this is what I'm talking about. Possible the only classic haunted house that felt "right and complete". A good mix of old and much newer scares, very good length. Just generally fantastic. DO THIS!

 

Twister 7/10 - I'm trying to remember this coaster so the score might not be too accurate, but I recall enjoying it more than I thought I would. Loved the teaser start to then going up the big lift hill. A few rough parts but nothing that detracted from a thrilling ride, although the rain made it hard to keep my eyes open for most of it.

 

Phoenix 10/10 - This gets the big 10 without hesitation. We haven't experienced hysterical laughter like this since our first rides on the Tower of Terror. It's that kind of ride, a feel good, smooth, out of your seat back in your seat then out of your seat again kinda ride. I'm going to throw this massively controversial view out there but I think I preferred this to El Toro! It takes a lot for Hanna to approve of any Wooden coaster as they are never high enough or fast enough but this had her in fits of laughter all the way which is a MAJOR stamp of approval.

 

I'm really sorry guys and gals that I don't have better pics of the coasters and the park in general, the weather just made things a little difficult for us on this day but at least it means we have to return again soon to catch everything we missed, YAY!

 

3 minutes away from hypothermic shock but still smiling, what a trooper!

Edited July 7, 2012 by andybarnes84

How severe was the weather? Did you see lightning. Very odd, I've ridden Phoenix in a downpour before on multiple occasions.

My envy is over 9000; never been east of Kansas and I have never ridden a coaster outside of California.

We did see some lightning albeit briefly, I suppose they have to be quite strict about these kind of things. Our second ride on Phoenix was in a moderate drizzle which probably increased the speed a little, but an outright downpour would have been brilliant.

It rained on the day I was at Knoebels last year with the TPR trip and we still had a blast. The operators are very efficient, and they aren't afraid to run the rides to their full potential. Even the kiddie coaster was amazing!