#Penn2015://Day 4~ The Moose on the Website; Trip Review

[Jarrett]

So for my big trip for 2015, I decided it was time to hit up the great state of Pennsylvania east of Ohio. I'd always seen it as a state full of industry history (Hey! I'm a poet and didn't know it!), nice non-chain parks, and home of Skyrush, which has been towards the top of my bucket list since it opened. And being the only state I haven't driven into from Ohio yet, I thought it was time to cross that border alone and knock those parks out.

My plan for this state evolved through different forms involving Kennywood, Lakemont, Knoebels, Hershey, Idlewild, and Dorney. However, the final selection was Kennywood, Hershey, Dorney, Knoebels, Lakemont, and Delgrosso's. I also decided to stay with my grandparents the nights before and after to cut an hour off the offensively long, lonesome drives. Coaster Crew, one of my other clubs, was also set to hold an event on the 15th that I wanted to do at Hershey, so I structured the trip around that. Finally, after all kinds of waiting and enduring insanity at work, the trip rolled around and I left for my grandparents'!

Day 0

After waking up and getting stuff to survive the trip, it was off to my grandparents' in Columbus! The drive there wasn't that bad since I'd done it before and I knew how to get there without a GPS.

I always loved the view from their house. Not enough to open the blinds to get this picture, but I like it.

This afternoon I also joined them in my grandpa's daily ritual of sitting down, turning the TV on, and watching bad court shows for hours on end. Judge Judy, Divorce Court, People's Court, you name it, we watched it.

Introducing my grandparents to the selfie stick!

After a nice dinner of grilled steak, freshly made fries, and Stella Artois, it was bed time. For I had to wake up to get to Enterprise the next day!

However, it was during dinner that I found out about the Raptor incident at Cedar Point and told my grandparents. I thought this would have been stupidity, but it might have been a bad omen to my upcoming coaster trip...

Day 1

So the day didn't start so well. I got to Enterprise completely prepared to get on 270 and hit Pittsburgh that morning. WRONG!!!! I didn't know you needed a credit card or utility bill to rent the car, and if it wasn't in my name, they wouldn't let me rent it. As much as this irritated me (considering how I needed to change the oil in my personal car to begin with) I just brushed it off and got on the road with my own Focus, knowing that if it blew up, I could take a dump on it, scratch it, and I wouldn't owe anybody anything and instead just have to deal with my parents. But I had a car, and I had a chance! So I got on the road to Kennywood!

Pittsburgh has earned the new nickname "ArmPitt of the Rust Belt" from me. Of every city I've seen in this region in which I live, I've NEVER seen anything as awful as Pittsburgh. This is easily the red, flaky buckle of the rust belt. It's literally rusting away, the roads were crumbling, the streets were laid out ridiculously, Luckily driving wasn't that hard, and before I knew it, I was at Kennywood, and was able to use the preferred parking pass that my friend Jamie gave me at Rougarou Hullabaloo to get in quicker.

Here we go! +6 here I come!

Thought I'd try to start the trip on a good note with Sky Rocket. I expected it to ride like Full Throttle did, smooth, full of airtime, and some nice force throughout.

C'mon, Sky Rocket, you let me down! I was expecting way more insanity out of this than I got. The trim at the top kills any airtime you might get, the inversions were nice and intense (though nowhere near as insane as anything on YOLO), and the MCBR completely ruins anything after it. Good coaster, a solid addition to the park, but not at all what I expected.

Up next was Phantom's Revenge, an old Arrow turned Morgan that people around those parts still call Steel Phantom after all these years. I wasn't expecting to be blown away by this one but it looked fun.

Luckily, I was wrong. Some of the airtime on this thing is insane! The first two drops aren't much to write home about but the bunny hops and terrain portion following easily makes this the best ride in the park! Morgan should've done this to Vortex at Kings Island because it's awesome!

Once I photoshop the station roof out of this picture...

Going up!

Waited an hour for Exterminator next.

And it proved to be another surprising cred! The theming on this is awesome and it spins like crazy, way better than that piece of **** at Beech Bend!

Up next was a cred with sentimental value that I hadn't even ridden! My parents lived in the Pittsburgh area when they were younger and they went to Kennywood as a younger couple way before I was even born and rode Thunderbolt. Now, over 21 years later, here I am riding it!

It had National Amusement Devices trains. <3 <3 <3

And it proved to be fab as well! I loved how they had it dive off that hillside to start the ride, and then put the lift hill in the middle. This is easily my new favorite classic coaster. The rider they paired me with (you need a buddy to ride) tried to hit on me during the ride which was a bit annoying but she was still pretty nice and the ride was great fun. There's a double down or double up (I think it was a double up) that has a nice headchopper with a tree combined with a spot of airtime which is easily the best part of the ride. I loved how it was classic but still really unique with the terrain action and the two separate parts of the layout. I give it a golf clap.

Didn't get any Jack Rabbit pics but it was also good fun. Long wait, but I liked how it didn't have lap bars, just a thick grab bar and seat belts like an older shoot the chutes. Not as good as Thunderbolt, but the double down off the drop with no lap bar is terrifying with just the seatbelt holding you in!

And then began the most vile, offensive part of the day. The line for Racer was out the switchbacks. For a moebius loop. So I had to endure that twice in the blazing sun.

The cred left much to be desired but it has a beautiful 1920's station...that's really hard to photograph nicely. But it's still beautiful. Sadly, the cred did nothing.

As much as I wanted to do Noah's Ark and Black Widow, I was out of time and still had a huge drive to Hershey ahead of me, so I did some tat shopping and booked it. After a casual lunch of a sandwich my grandma packed me and hot Mountain Dew that had been in my car all day, I left the park.

Final thoughts on Kennywood? It's the perfect metaphor for the whole state of Pennsylvania. A third is really nice and modern, a third is classic and nostalgic, and a third is just ghetto and disgusting. You can tell it's old, it has some charm to it, but the location in which it is is just awful.

I was originally going to take smaller highways to Hershey but after texting my mom asking if the Turnpike toll was worth it and realizing it would cut an hour off my drive, I decided to go for it. So I left and hit the Turnpike. I learned that their toll roads are nothing like the ones we have out in the southern Midwest and southern Appalachian states where I'd driven in the past, but I learned that it was way easier. Just take a card, go, give it to the guy at the end, and give him cash. So much easier! Not to mention the sunset drive across Pennsylvania as the sun set behind me and turned the sky pretty colors behind the mountain was gorgeous. The turnpike is almost entirely straight, there was hardly anybody on it once rush hour passed, and while I didn't stop at them they had rest areas similar to the ones in Canada that had food and gas and the like, not just a bathroom and pamphlets like most of them. This thing has to be the best bit of infrastructure I've seen anywhere.

Once I got to the hotel, woke the sleeping night clerk, and checked in, I crashed in my room with some Ramen noodles and a casual Stella while calling my parents. I laid out my clothes for the next day with my car keys and Coaster Crew lanyard, because I knew it would be a big day with the featured coaster of the trip literally on the horizon!

UP NEXT: A Milestone Credit (according to some), Behind the Scenes at Hersheypark, Breaking Skyrush, Inversions with Airtime, and plenty of pictures at Hersheypark!

 

[Ben]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 1~ Oh my god! Jarrett cleaned out Kennyw

The rider they paired me with (you need a buddy to ride) tried to hit on me during the ride which was a bit annoying

No, she didn't.

 

[Jarrett]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 1~ Oh my god! Jarrett cleaned out Kennyw

The rider they paired me with (you need a buddy to ride) tried to hit on me during the ride which was a bit annoying

No, she didn't.

Probably should have elaborated. She kept asking me where I was from, what brought me to Kennywood, thought it was hilarious that we kept getting slammed into each other, how I got into coasters, things of the nature. To be fair, she might have just been really friendly but it was still staggeringly annoying when I was trying to enjoy an awesome coaster so you could very well be right.

She said she lived close to Dayton which terrified me but upon pulling up Google Maps it turned out she lived near Dayton, Pennsylvania instead of Dayton, Ohio, so that was a relief.

-x-

Day 2

I was worried I would oversleep but I actually woke up before my alarm sounded, so I had some time to grab another one of my grandma's sandwiches for breakfast before hitting the road for the ten minute drive to Hersheypark!

It's one of those days...

The drive there was along an insanely twisty road that I took lots of caution on, considering how my part of Ohio is flat to rolling at most. However, it was worth it when I crested a hill and looked down into the valley of this massive complex, with big, colorful steel structures sticking out of one of them as the sun rose behind it. I so wish I had pulled over and gotten a picture. After driving into Hershey and finding the parking lot for the park in that big entertainment complex (it wasn't at all how I envisioned it to look), I parked and headed for the gate. Instantly I was hit by how well-manicured it was, that walk up to the gates adjacent to Chocolate World is gorgeous.

Chocolate World! But creds are more important than chocolate.

I met up with the very small number of Coaster Crew that was there and got my lanyard. Time to go!

Waiting around, I went to take pictures of the park when I saw her. At only 200 feet, she isn't the tallest coaster even in Pennsylvania, but in that quaint valley that is Hershey, that's a machine that immediately demands attention and respect.

About that time!

Once 8:45 rolled around, they walked us into the park through a separate backstage entrance to the park, behind one of their buildings. On the walk, I saw little hints of yellow iron peeking through the trees, any sections of them visible being obviously twisted as anything. For the compact area that was dominated by the twists, it seemed really tiny compared to the big hill dropping you into it. It was teasing me so much!

After being surprised at how hilly the park actually was, we got to our first stop of the day, morning ERT on Fahrenheit! Considering how this has a notoriously long line (and was no different that day), it seemed to be the perfect choice to get out of the way early.

That drop looked amazing! <3

This was Laura, in charge of ride operations at Hersheypark. We got there and she met us to welcome us. We met her by Fahrenheit's entrance and were greeted with, "Welcome to Hersheypark! So you guys are The Coaster Crew?" [AWKWARD SILENCE] "You guys seem so sweet!" We were then told not to act like morons and obey all posted safety rules (passive aggressively referring to the moron that got hit by Raptor two days ago) and not to take anything on Skyrush.

Fahrenheit, being an Intamin, was awesome! It wasn't insane like some of the better ones I've ridden like Millie, Cheetah, or Big Timmy but it's still a solid ride. The way it engages the lift is offensive (there's no anti-rollbacks so instead they have two chains, we saw them fail testing it during registration when they kill one chain and let the other one catch it and bring it to safety) because of the loud clang, but that's the only offensive thing about this ride. The vertical lift is insane, and the drop blows Maverick's out of the water! From there you enter the best element on the ride, the Norwegian complete with what I can only describe as a "fake out" twist, where it looks like it'll twist to one side but then changes direction and then plunges into the intense element. From there, it's a good mix of inversions and airtime elements. It felt similar to Cheetah Hunt (albeit a bit rough) but more of a looper than a speed coaster. Good, solid ride, but I have to say I prefer Intamin's speed coasters to their loopers.

We went for the first Laff Trakk rides of the day next!

I loved how the theming for this ride was cheap and budget-y but still awesome. It doesn't have Disney-esque special effects, it doesn't need them. The blacklight adds so much fun to it as well.

Laff Trakk was great fun. I went backwards on it (do this, you get the weirdest, creepiest surprise going up the lift) and while the first half of the ride left a bit to be desired, once the spinning unlocked it became great fun; I loved it!

I debated on doing this but ultimately went through with it. I had CFers telling me not to take a 150 picture but I had made a sign and I was getting all kinds of congrats from Coaster Crewers when they saw me holding it, so I decided to go through with it since it really doesn't hurt anything. But here it is! My 150th credit was Laff Trakk! Only two more ending in fifty before only the hundred matter! This sets the stage for me to get 200 in New England next season!

William, kind of our resident photographer (who took my 150 picture) who works at Hersheypark, took it upon himself to give me the grand cred tour so I could knock the whole park out with somebody who knew what they were doing. So we went to Wild Mouse first! It is older, it's a rougher one, but the elevation does make the illusion a bit scarier. Didn't like how you had to get in as it was moving, though. But a wild mouse is a wild mouse, and it brought me up to 151.

Up next was the other half of what's referred to as "Cat and Mouse" by Hersheypark locals, Wildcat! Or should I say, Mildcat. As William and I sat down in this primitive GCI, he told me, "by the way, we are officially friends because I would only ride this for a friend." It wasn't horrible per se, but it left so much to be desired.

After that, we went to Lightning Racer. I was expecting some thing completely different than what I got, and it wasn't as good as I expected, but it's still a good ride. I was expecting a duo of dueling Thunderheads, full of little pops of unexpected ejector and that isn't what I got. Some good floater, but nowhere near as strong as Thunderhead's. However, I did end up liking it overall. The racing/dueling aspect is what makes this ride fun and I really enjoyed it. I also liked how it wouldn't always end the same way. We won on Lightning the first time by a good slaughter, but on the second ride when we rode Thunder, Lightning only beat us by a foot. I saw different trains win all day and I really liked that, the racing is very real and makes the trash talking on the lift so much more fun. I ranked it above Raven and below Beast in my wooden count, putting it in fourth.

Now...an issue I have to address with this section of the park. Mildcat. It's not the greatest, it's seen its glory days, and it's right next to not one but two far superior GCIs on the same midway. My thought, along with the thoughts of many other members, was to bring in Ironcat. RMC this, make it (at least I think) Pennsylvania's only hybrid coaster, and deliver yet another unique and world-class coaster to Hersheypark.

After this, we walked to Pioneer Frontier for Stormrunner when we saw something troubling on the app...Skyrush was down! :shock: Fearing the worst, we hit Stormrunner and tried not to think about it.

And it blew me away! It's so good! The launch is nice and intense, there's some good force in that top hat, but the best part is the zero-g roll into the flying snake dive. As William says, "where else do you get inversions with airtime?" By some oddity you can't stay in your seat as the train twists around 270 degrees before shooting back down to the ground, it's like a mysterious force pulling you out that seems to defy physics and it's awesome.

Trailblazer sucked so much I didn't even photograph it. William told me to, "take your expectations of this ride, now lower them, now lower them even more, now lower them to the lowest they can be...now lower them again." It's short, there's no theming, it doesn't do jack squat, and it doesn't even look nice with wooden supports and fake rail ties and the like. Not as pathetic as Dahlonega, but close. It's a family coaster and a classic, but it stops there. One and done.

After that we met up with Jay, another Coaster Crew member I had planned to give a ride to the event so he joined us.

After that was Great Bear, which really surprised me. I was told it's forceless and boring and it isn't. It's so unique with the helix drop and location, and that last inversion with the wacky supports acting as footchoppers. It's a bit short and meanders a bit at the end, but it's one of the most underrated inverts I've been on. And we saw Skyrush make test runs from it!

Since we were destroying the park's cred count at an awesome pace, we went to take a break and hit the Kissing Tower for pictures.

Really, Hershey? This sign made me so uncomfortable for some reason!

Kissing Tower selfie!

Seeing a Skyrush train coast onto the brakes made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside!

Traditional and launched.

I want to say this is their big corporate building but I'm not sure.

Hershey's in such a beautiful area!

Such a great place to photograph these three!

After this it was time for, what I've been told by many enthusiasts who have more than twice my cred count, the best roller coaster in the world! And also to some, who hate the ride no matter how few creds they have, a coaster that should be renamed Thighcrush. I always assumed you either loved this coaster or you hated it from what I'd seen. And I would either love it or be massively let down.

Here we go!

Oh my god. Oh my god! OH. MY. **** . GOD.

This roller coaster isn't just an amusement ride. It's sheer insanity mechanized. The last time I had been legitimately scared on a coaster was X2 (which was **** awful). This coaster provides the same death-defying sensation but it isn't as painful. And way, WAY more exhilerating. The airtime over those hills is balls-to-the-wall insane ejector and all that holds you in is a tiny bar. It feels like it'll break your legs and send your legless torso flying across that creek to your death! The turns are so intense, but my favorite parts are the two twisty bits in the layout. This ride is so thrilling because it's both an exhilarating rush of adrenaline and a near-death sensation that work together to create the perfect ride experience in a wonderful location. For that reason it took my number one spot from Fury 325, passing the torch for the third time in this past year and giving the crown back to Intamin after Voyage and Fury held it since October 2014. It feels like it's literally going to kill you but it's fun at the same time. Fantastic ride.

The ride starts with a high-speed lift that pulls you to the top, giving you a wonderful view of the beautiful Hershey area. From there, you head right into a really brisk, intense drop into an intense turn that hugs the ground. From there, it's two extreme negative-g transitons that rip you from your seat, leaving your life in the hands of your thighs getting crushed against the bar. After those and two fairly intense turns (though not quite I-305 material), you hit this Stengel dive that really whips you back up into that banking that happens to be my favorite part of the ride, before hitting another turn, a weird twisty thing (which really whips you as well, you have to know how to brace for this bit), one final powerful airtime hill, and then the brakes. All while skimming over a natural creek and the surrounding forest and muddy banks. It's amazing.

However, when I said I was excited to sit on Skyrush without getting off that day, this wasn't what I had in mind! Once we hit the brakes, William told me, "the lap bars should disengage in three, two, one..." They didn't disengage. They stayed tight, cutting off the circulation to my feet. He then noticed we had stopped way further back than it normally stops. And wasn't moving. And just like that, we had somehow broken Skyrush! So there we were, stuck on the brakes, hot Pennsylvania sun beating down on us at high noon, restraints cutting off circulation in our legs, and I was suspended a good 5 feet off the ground on that winged outer seat. For ten minutes. It was brutal but they fixed it and were able to pull us back into the station and get us off without evacing us.

After that we did Looper (which was awesome, I don't know why I didn't get any pictures) and Comet (which wasn't much to write home about but provided some nice views of the landscape). We also knocked out Cocoa Cruiser and Sidewinder, cleaning out the park for me. Then it was off for William and I to go take Skyrush pics!

It's so beautiful! Part of the appeal of this coaster is that it's such an appealing structure to look at.

It's like it defies physics...

Old and new.

Here we go!

We then made our way over to lunch after I nabbed this gorgeous picture.

The entrance we didn't get to use.

Had that tree not blocked my baby this would be way better.

Free food time!

Got my meal ticket!

We had the best bratwurst ever as well as mac n' cheese and fried chicken for lunch, but they then provided us with an ice cream bar Hershey style, and it was amazing! Mine had almost completely melted by the time I made it since it was so hot but it has Reese's Pieces, Hershey syrup, Oreos, and it was fab! <3

Didn't get giveaway pictures but the funniest thing happened. I donated a washer from Twisted Twins and forgot to make a sign indicating where it was obtained. So people just assumed it was a washer. My name was the second to last drawn to pick something, I almost won my own crappy prize. Luckily I instead managed to nab a really nice Phantom's Revenge poster, one of many posters that William usually donates featuring his photography. I still haven't gotten around to displaying it yet but I know I'm going to tack it onto my wall above my laundry hamper.

Wildcat Pavilion was so close to Fahrenheit!

Have you hugged your coaster today?

One of many crooked ones I might edit...

After lunch, they came to show us the maintenance shop for their rides!

Ah, the golden gates to the land hardly ever seen by the public...

Frames used to remove Fahrenheit trains from the track!

Speaking of the devil...

I'd eat here!

The maintenance shop was huge! Way bigger than I expected!

This lathe was among many bits of machining equipment I was familiar with that they had back there. We were told that sometimes they can't get a part from a manufacturer or the manufacturer is no longer in business so they machine their own replacement parts in house.

Odds and ends...

This is where they keep their replacement parts. Each ride has a section of shelf that holds parts for it.

Note how Stormrunner has a whole shelf to itself. We were told that the three Intamins all do since they're the highest maintenance rides in the park.

This is their directory if you want to find a specific ride.

Replacement parts selfie as I volunteered to hold the door open and act as a wedge of wood so people could peer in!

I wanted this to hang in my room so badly!

They also maintain other things for the complex in this shop, such as this Zamboni for the stadium.

This is where they take the Skyrush trains apart in the offseason.

Water dummies!

Pieces of Lightning Racer trains!

Yet another thing I would have loved to have taken home with me.

Gotta make sure you brought enough park maps to give to other enthusiasts...

Skyrush train frames! They roll the trains onto these to get them off the tracks in the offseason.

Tram undergoing some TLC

Steve, Ethan, and Darrell, don't **** up Fahrenheit for those of us needing the cred!

A cable on a pallet. I asked what it was for and they didn't know but said it was a smaller one, probably for a flat ride.

Amusement engineering or chop shop?

One of Coal Cracker's (insanely cool) boats and a Flying Falcon car!

I got a good laugh out of this.

Reese's Cup Challenge buggy in the paint shop!

This is a track bender. They use this to bend the steel laminate strips used on wooden coaster track.

Sign shop!

Gee, I wonder why they decided to make these...

They have four full-time sign artists that work here.

I wanted one of the park maps!

They had a lot of these just sitting around...

They were getting ready for Christmas!

Wonder why this one couldn't go out...

After the tour I went with Brendon (Jay's friend) and Jay to Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge. This has to be my new favorite dark shooter. You can see where you're shooting, the theme is cool and original, and the whole chocolate vs. peanut butter teams really added a dimension to it. So cheesy and amazing, I loved it! <3

Joined William for a photo lap next. We started on the train which was nice and cute, it's an older train with classic, cheesy theming. Not the best park train out there but it's fun.

D'aw! Look at Trailblazer being awful!

The monorail was next!

I liked how it was a smaller one, considering how the only other one I've ridden was at Disney.

Comet and bae!

If that tree had been a bit denser and blocked out Skyrush completely, the framing in this picture would be awesome.

Downtown Hershey!

Smokestacks!

The sun creeps towards the horizon...

This is where you get inversions with airtime!

Once I crop this and maybe up the saturation a bit this should be a decent picture.

Next up we did the ferris wheel, but I thought the theming on this play structure was cool.

It's so pretty! It's also featured on the park's (very awesome and helpful) app.

Invert and Above-the-Track, Traditonal and Launched...

Fahrenheit with hot air balloons!

Wild Mouse!

One Intamin in each of the three warm colors!

Mildcat!

Why couldn't those hot air balloons have flown closer to the park so I could have used them for color?

Love this one! Edit it right and it looks like you could use it for a lanyard or webpage or something with all the action being in one corner!

Agh! So crooked! I hated the swinging ferris wheel!

We then decided to get some sunset photos from the Kissing Tower next.

Picture of the rides used on our photo lap taken on our photo lap.

Sadly, the glare from Kissing Tower's glass messed up most of these.

Maroon 5 concert!

Great Bear in the front was next! Oh my god! This coaster is amazing at sunset, and especially in the front! I see why people don't like it but I do.

After that, it was back to Midway America for Lightning Racer Takeover!

Waiting for Tim and the gang to get racing!

Such a fun coaster at night! The chasers make the ride, it's awesome! Thunder won both times even though we switched, leading me to the impression that it runs better when it's warmed up than lightning. It was still fun racing against Coaster Crew, though!

After that, we headed back over to The Hollow for some good ERT action after sneaking in a Stormrunner night ride.

It was taunting me...

Got a test seat photo being one of those idiots that manages to sit on the seatbelt...taking it a step further and sitting on the bar!

Finally they sent us up! And we just kept going and going and going! After experimenting with multiple seats, I settled in the back right convinced it was the best on the coaster. And it was amazing. Murder on my thighs, but amazing.

After around ride eight, we pulled back into the brakes to see the clocktower on the station showing midnight. So it was the next day. That meant it was National Roller Coaster Day! What a better way to celebrate than by being repeatedly thrown around that creek (and scratching your back on the back of the seat). Eventually it was so physically challenging to keep bracing on the aggressive machine that I actually took my button up off and threw it with my park bag.

After ERT, I dropped Jay back at the employee lot for Brendon to come pick him up, went back to my hotel, social media-ed it up, grabbed a casual pack of Ramen noodles, and hit the sack in preparation for the two parks the next morning.

Hershey's an incredible park! I expect it to swap with Holiday World for the spot of my second favorite for a very long time. It's beautiful, their lineup is one of the best I've ever seen (almost rivals Cedar Point but on a smaller scale), and they were so nice to us! The amazing food, the memorable tour of the shop, the ERT and first rides throughout the day, and of course, my hella relentless new number one! Hats off to you, Hershey, for a day well done!

Your move, RMC...

UP NEXT: National Roller Coaster Day, Jarrett and Karly take some CF action to Dorney, Allentyan Woata, secret single rider lines, and more death-defying airtime machines!

 

[Hutch]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

Glad you loved Skyrush, we seem to have similar opinions of the ride, but I just prefer the front and the left. It really is the best ride in the world isn't it?

I also agree with you on Lightning Racer. GCI has yet to impress me and I hope their other ones are a bit more relentless with better airtime. Still a fun ride though.

Wildcat on the other hand wasn't "mild" for me at all. The roughness beat the **** out of me and was just a crappy ride. Hopefully it does get RMC'd in the future because it has a promising layout. It isn't really necessary to keep it because there's a better GCI not too far away from it.

And Great Bear is fun, but I didn't think it was that intense. I guess I was hoping for more. (I never tried the front though, stayed toward the back).

 

[DelPiero]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

I loved reading about Hershey, you've described Skyrush in a similar way I did when I rode it. I definitely got some better rides on Lightning Racer than you did it seems. I love that they gave Intamin the chance to install some unique rides as they deliver on every lap.
Hershey is just a great place to be and I'm glad you liked it. I'm hoping to get back there really soon and your report has excited me again.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

Great Bear was a big surprise for me too. It has such a fun and quirky layout and was pretty forceful I thought. I agree with your thoughts on pretty much all the coasters, apart from Skyrush, which I'm not a massive fan of, although I'll admit it is really good; nowhere near a no. 1 for me though. I also found Lightning Racer a little tamer than expected.

It will be interesting to hear what you think of Dorney Park because I actually preferred that park to Hershey.

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

Great report so far! SkyRush is by far my No. 1 steel. Riding it at night is the best thing you can do at Hershey. Can't wait to see Dorney!

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Karly]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

The charm of Great Bear for me has always been the layout. They just plopped it down in the middle of everything. Though I do get beaten up every time I ride Wildcat.

I am jealous of that maintenance tour.

 

[Jarrett]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 2~ Sweet, Sweet Aggression

Glad you loved Skyrush, we seem to have similar opinions of the ride, but I just prefer the front and the left. It really is the best ride in the world isn't it?

I also agree with you on Lightning Racer. GCI has yet to impress me and I hope their other ones are a bit more relentless with better airtime. Still a fun ride though.

Wildcat on the other hand wasn't "mild" for me at all. The roughness beat the **** out of me and was just a crappy ride. Hopefully it does get RMC'd in the future because it has a promising layout. It isn't really necessary to keep it because there's a better GCI not too far away from it.

And Great Bear is fun, but I didn't think it was that intense. I guess I was hoping for more. (I never tried the front though, stayed toward the back).

Yes! It's soooooo amazing, it blew me away! And if you haven't ridden it yet, ride Thunderhead. It really is the best GCI creation I've ridden. Lightning Racer's still awesome, though. But I didn't find Great Bear as intense as say Banshee or Afterburn, but its unique charm is what makes the ride and that's why I liked it as much as I did. And Mildcat has two better GCIs right next to it, they can RMC it all they want.

Great Bear was a big surprise for me too. It has such a fun and quirky layout and was pretty forceful I thought. I agree with your thoughts on pretty much all the coasters, apart from Skyrush, which I'm not a massive fan of, although I'll admit it is really good; nowhere near a no. 1 for me though. I also found Lightning Racer a little tamer than expected.

It will be interesting to hear what you think of Dorney Park because I actually preferred that park to Hershey.

This! Someone else who loves Great Bear! I can see why someone wouldn't like Thighcrush, though. And yes, Lightning Racer was tamer than I had hoped. It's still a fun, twisty ride and the dueling really adds a new dimension to an already decent ride, but had it been more like Thunderhead it would have been one of the top wooden coasters in the world.

Great report so far! SkyRush is by far my No. 1 steel. Riding it at night is the best thing you can do at Hershey. Can't wait to see Dorney!

Sent from my VS840 4G using Tapatalk

Yes! It was amazing at night! And not getting off was the best part! I just sat there! You'll see Dorney today!

The charm of Great Bear for me has always been the layout. They just plopped it down in the middle of everything. Though I do get beaten up every time I ride Wildcat.

I am jealous of that maintenance tour.

Wildcat didn't beat me up (I blame our front row ride) I just found that it just meandered meaninglessly and didn't really do anything. Now Great Bear I agree with you on. They squeezed it into a tiny plot and it's awesome for it. And the maintenance tour was awesome, but I did what I could to bring back pictures through which to relive it.

-x-

Day 3 (Which technically started during ERT in my last update, but I didn't want to cut it of during ERT like a tool. )

I woke up pretty early on National Roller Coaster Day 2015, knowing I had two parks ahead of me. My first stop was Dorney Park in Allentown. I had arranged to meet Karla, a newer CF member, when I saw that she was local to the area.

The drive out of Hershey was a tad annoying trying to find a gas station but once I was on the road it got way easier. Then I got to the park. Never in my life have I had such an awful first impression of a park! Looking at the intersection into the park on my Maps app, it looked just like any other four-way traffic light intersection. Well I get there to find a mass of people waiting to turn left, maybe three of them getting through the turn with each cycle of the light. Fifteen minutes just to exit the highway and turn left into Dorney. Once I got there, there were a bunch of cars rocking New York and New Jersey license plates (showing me just how close I was to New York) cutting into the turn lane trying to get over. Five stuck on the access road on the way to the toll plaza. Flashing my platinum pass, I asked the parking attendant if it was normally that bad and he said, "Oh yeah, parking's awful." After that, I was funneled into one of two lanes. And then I saw the problem. They were alternating between these lanes to send to the parking spaces and funneling cars in one at a time. Hundreds of cars want to park and they're funneling them in one at a time. When I can just get to Carowinds or Kings Island and park wherever the **** I please or get to Cedar Point and they can alternate which side of the parking lot you get to do it with great efficiency, I can just get that done in five minutes. It's something you don't even have to think about there. Meanwhile, it's the most annoying thing ever on which to start your National Roller Coaster Day and left an insanely sour taste in my mouth for this park and I hadn't even hit the midway yet. Fix it, Dorney. Fix it NOW.

Brushing it off and deciding not to let it ruin my day, I got up to the turnstiles and met Karla and wished her a happy National Roller Coaster Day. It was slammed but I had been told that most of the Dorney crowd goes to Wildwater Kingdom, leaving the rides all to ourselves.

We started National Roller Coaster Day in the grip of fear on Talon! Considering how I've heard it rivals Banshee, I was really excited to ride this B&M, hoping it would outdo Great Bear which had already set the bar really high. While it's a good, solid ride and I loved it, I have to admit it let me down a bit. It was just two looping elements, an awesome zero-g, and some ground-hugging turns. It felt very comparable to Raptor, which I rank pretty low among B&M inverts, though it was smoother and better. I liked it, the park and B&M did a great job with it, but I felt like it was lacking slightly. Still a great, fun ride, though. If I lived close to this thing I'd be on it a lot.

Next up at the front of the park was Wild Mouse! In the theme of insane lines due to awful capacity I would encounter today, Karla and I ended up outside in the blazing Pennsylvania heat as we took on the longest line at the park. Getting to the station, I was pleased to hear that they played a short loop of Deadmau5's "Strobe" in the station, so that was a decent way to kick off the ride. After being confused as to why we had to push the magnetic gates open (they open them for you on Talon), we were on! Gotta admit, this is a pretty solid wild mouse. The illusion you're supposed to get on them was really strong on this one, and I could easily see the turn start before the train took it. It's second only to Ricochet in regards to this phenomenon. Crap capacity, but these are a crowd pleaser and it was a +1 for me. At least we didn't have to get in while it was moving.

Up next was a +1 for both of us, Hydra: The Revenge! On the way in, Karla told me how lucky I was to have not ridden Hercules. Considering how I think Scream is the worst contraption B&M has ever created and how I think Rougarou is just adequate enough to be a Cedar Point ride, I wasn't terribly excited for this, and the Raptor colors weren't at all helping. But I could have been in line for an SLC.

Wow! =D> This was a massive surprise! Hydra is now my new favorite B&M floorless! The jojo roll is gimmicky but was a fun and playful way to start the ride off. From there, the inversions are nice and have a bit of force to them, the terrain action over the hill really helps the ride, and there's some really good airtime to be had for a floorless. It wasn't the forceless, rattly ride I was expecting at all. It's actually really solid! A very good combination of airtime, terrain, and inversions. Hats off to you, B&M!

Up next was the second blue and yellow coaster I had to brace on of the day! Karla and I headed over to Woodstock Express to get the cred. It was exactly like Cocoa Cruiser which I'd ridden yesterday, and it was also Karla's 75th credit!

Up for the next +1 for both of us, we hit up Possessed, aka Inferior Wicked Twister!

I quite enjoyed Possessed. I love the really cool theming on the sign and wish it had been carried on into the rest of the ride. However, I like Wicked Twister, and I really liked Possessed as well. The first spike was great fun twisting up like I was used to on Twister, but the back spike was actually a bit terrifying. You get up there, and then it makes that horrid screeching sound as it holds you up there facing straight down. That moment made the ride feel, literally, possessed! Wicked Twister is still better with the location and the better back spike (but just by a hair), but I really like these Intamin impulses. Can't wait to ride more!

Up next was the last cred for both of us, Stinger! This one also had a bit of a line and we both knew it would be offensive, but a cred's a cred. I have to admit, though, while comparing Vekoma boomerangs of any kind is like scooping dog poop out of your yard and then getting back and lining up the turds in order of worst to best, the one I have at home is better. Your ride on probably the weirdest boomerang ever starts with people going through the big, heavy magnetic gates and then the electromagnets engaging again, slamming them shut producing quite an offensive sound that echoes through the station. And when it's time for your ride, you'll get to hear a recording of somebody rapping the safety announcement instead of just straight up telling you. Going to store your possessions (see what I did there?), there are these bungee cords over the mouths of the cubby boxes that you have to pull out of the way for some reason, literally no idea what they accomplish but they're there. The ride itself actually wasn't as offensive as other boomerangs, but you could still feel a ton of rattling and headbanging on it. The station is more of an odd experience than the ride itself, though.

Up next was Dorney's iconic juggernaut back in the corner, Steel Force!

Fun fact: That logo was repurposed from Cedar Point's original Banshee! The name went to Kings Island, the layout became Rougarou, and the logo went east to Pennsylvania. So, second phantom-branded Morgan hyper of the trip!

And Steel Force proves to be yet another solid ride! Not quite as good as Magnum, but it's still great fun. You get some decent airtime over those first big hills, that helix is in a really nice location on that hillside overlooking the water (I think I even saw a few charming little dinghys on the banks exiting the element), and those last few bunny hops are full of good floater! My bar was lose so I was coming out of my seat quite a bit. Such a fun ride! I'd have to rank it above Phantom simply for having way more airtime, being longer, and having a decent location (though Phantom does have a better overall location). I couldn't pick between them, but this and Hydra are tied for me as the best coasters in this park.

Afterwards, we finished the park with a classic, Thunderhawk! While it's the weakest classic I've ridden on this history-filled trip, it had a really intricate layout for something so old so that was cool. It really needs repainted, though.

But it had this creepy cool thing in the station I thought was neat. I'd love to have this in my room!

I also noticed how cute their train was! I didn't want to ride it since it didn't look like it took you past anything special and I was pressed for time to get to Knoebels but this vehicle looked so cute! Kentucky Kingdom should get one of these if they can, it'd be perfect for the park! I don't know why, but the retro diesel train was just refreshing to see, even though the cars looked horribly claustrophobic.

After that was lunch. We stopped at the stand by Possessed where Karla got some fries and I did my only culture of the trip getting a Philly Cheesesteak. As I waited, I grabbed a free cup of water, wanting to cool off in the heat. Well I put it in my mouth, YUCK!!!!! That water tasted like swamp water mixed with sewage! I struggled to even swallow it. Well the disgust on my face was apparently obvious, as this big New York guy saw me stomaching it and told me, in just the accent you would expect, "yeah, Ayllentahn woata's really byad." I was done! :lol: But the cherry coke (sorry, folks, not Pibb ) was great with the Philly cheese steak. I had a Philly cheese steak at a park kinda-sorta-not really close to Philly, that was my culture for the trip.

We then made our way to Hydra for some pictures where we said our goodbyes. She went for a few more laps as I did some quick tat shopping and left.

I've at this point been railing against Dorney Park for twenty minutes. I could rail against it for twenty minutes more if I wanted to. But if I lived here, would I be here as often as I am at Kings Island? Absolutely. There are classics all over the park, they have a solid ride lineup, and it does have some classic Cedar Fair charm. However, there was lots of room for improvement from what I saw. They could try to give the park a bit more theming to start with, especially over by Possessed and Stinger. They could do a bit more for their lineup, particularly flats and maybe a better wooden coaster. A B&M launching wing coaster like Thunderbird could also work well here. Their clientele also got on my nerves too, I saw so many people walking around shirtless putting on the so-called "gun shows" we laugh at at Coaster Crew events. Overall, I did find it the least impressive of the ones in that Eastern-Central Pennsylvania triangle out there, but with a little TLC, this park could really establish itself as the thrill capital of Pennsylvania if they tried. Cedar Fair rebranded Carowinds as a park centered around Carolina culture combined with thrills and it's taken it miles since before they were doing that. If Cedar Fair tries to make Dorney a bit more modern and focused more on cutting edge thrills and tried to establish more of an identity for itself, I could see it taking this park a really long way. However, all this should take a back burner to that horrid parking lot. They shouldn't do anything to the inside of the park until they completely renovate their parking lot. Give it a nice, big Carowinds-esque toll plaza and stop funneling in cars like that and that would resolve my biggest issue with them.

However, to say the park is struggling at all would be stupid. That waterpark really rakes in the crowds from the tri-state, Hydra and Steel Force, deliver a nice one-two punch for their lineup, and they have some of the most unique coasters in Pennsylvania there. I do think it's surviving when it could be thriving, but it's surviving really well. Just a bit more TLC into this park and they could have one of the most unique parks in Pennsylvania.

And overall, I really had fun today. Karla's just a really nice, fun person to hang out and get creds with and I'd like to take this opportunity to formally welcome her to the hobby because I think she's a great addition. Steel Force and Hydra really made that morning great and I really hope to get the opportunity to go back if they add something new and I'm in the area. This would make a killer afternoon and evening park in my opinion!

Upon getting a fugly Hydra shirt, Steel Force keyring, Steel Force hat, old anniversary pennant from last season, fat stack of park maps for myself and others, and a Snoopy stamp, I left to go brave the parking lot from the really hot Six Flags in the center of the earth once more. And had more issues. They lay their parking lot out in such a way that there's only a car length between rows, making backing out of your spot an absolute nightmare. I swapped between drive and reverse a total of six times. And from there, people like to walk right on the road and not in the white marked paths on the tarmac. From there, I hit the road to Knoebels!

The drive to Knoebels was miserable. It was hot, the mountain roads were twisty and made no sense, and that part of Pennsylvania was absolutely awful. However, I did eventually make it there, park, and just waltzed right into Knoebels!

I didn't want a modern thrill coaster that didn't belong like Impulse ruining my historic experience, so I decided to knock it out first. I got $20 in tickets and asked what to do if I was a single rider. Well it was my lucky day! Impulse has a secret single rider line! Just tell them and they'll let you bypass the 45-minute wait and get in a line of three single riders, I was on in five minutes!

I will be the first to say that this park should not have gotten this coaster, it completely kills the historic ambiance to see a big, colorful mess of twisted steel as you drive up to this park, but it's a decent ride. I got a bit of a rattle off of it but it was nice and had some force to it. However, I more than paid for marathoning Skyrush that previous night. When you take that really slow barrel roll, all your weight goes onto your lap bar, and unfortunately, if you got your thighs crushed a total of 20 times the previous day, it HURTS!!!!! I was dropping every swear word in the book going through that roll. However, the restraints are actually really nice and well-designed. Good coaster, but it doesn't belong here.

Teeheehee :wink:

Alright, let's actually start to get some nostalgia going on this trip! Flying Turns had a horribly long wait, but the queue line goes into the structure so you can see those beautiful wooden troughs twist and careen around the straight, inorganic trusses, creating one of the most beautiful structures I've seen in the industry.

It's National Roller Coaster Day, you better have hugged your coaster that day!

I was expecting a unique, quirky, fun ride out of this and that's exactly what I got. It really zips around those channels, the wood provides some nice texture (way more than it did on Avalanche), and it feels slightly out-of-control, and I liked that. The aviation branding also made it feel relevant. Good ride, it was easily worth the wait, it deserved its Golden Ticket, and I applaud Knoebels for resurrecting this cool historic experience.

Up next was the other coaster I most anticipated on this trip, the legendary Phoenix!

The ride has so much historic presence surrounding it! This was a model some high schooler spent three years on and it's awesome!

Happy 30 years, Phoenix!

I saw so many of these on the trip...

Legendary test seat photo!

Down to business. I had always imagined this coaster to be the most overrated thing in the industry that just had its fame from its interesting past. However, after hearing about why people liked it, citing the buzz bars combined with loads of airtime, I decided to drink the Kool Aid and make this one a priority.

Wow! I rode in the back the first time and it blew me away! The dark start to the ride really sets the stage for something wonderful. You start up the lift and it feels just like any other classic from there. Drop was pretty weak, the first turn doesn't do anything but switch the coaster's direction, and from there, I got some light airtime but nothing to write home about. I started to suspect that my suspicions were correct, that this was just overrated because the whole thing made it from Texas all the way to Pennsylvania. And then the fun starts. It then hits this really nice trio of airtime moments consisting of a double up and a double down immediately after. And you literally become weightless over each one. Like an astronaut, you just float out of that seat for a bit with only a buzz bar, sitting six inches above your lap, keeping you from floating off into the sky. After another fairly pointless turn, then you get into the absolute slew of wonderful buzz bar airtime. It's just bunny hill after bunny hill, you get airborne on every one, there's just a buzz bar to hold you in, and it's incredible. Absolutely incredible. After hitting a turning brake run (another sign of what a classic this is), I was blown away, and I saw why a classic out-and-back wooden coaster that seemed just like any other classic left in the dust by modern technology was still so highly rated. It's not the mess of airtime Thunderhead is, but the airtime kills anything you get on Thunderhead, and for that reason it's my second favorite wooden coaster and deserves a spot in my top ten. Thank you, THANK YOU Knoebels for saving Texas Rocket from the wrecking ball. As the song says, I'm so happy I flew with the Phoenix!

Up next was Black Diamond, which I expected to be a fun, creepy ride that I forgot about mostly. Boy was I wrong! This thing is so cool! The campy, classic theming really makes the ride, the cave-in scene terrified me (gotta love my fear of being buried alive), the cheesy ghosts were fun, but the thing I really liked was the final scene. You get pulled up this hill and in front of you, there's a sign welcoming you to Centralia, PA. Considering I'd loved abandoned places like Centralia since I discovered the joys of looking at out-of-the-way places on the internet and I'd seen it on Life After People, the fact that they worked this aspect of the region into their ride made it so much cooler. From there, it's a classic spinning tunnel gag and then you're home free pretty much. Love this coaster! Way better than Blazing Fury!

They'd set up this coal mining museum by Black Diamond that looked really interesting.

But first...CREDS!!!!! I made my way out of the way to the rather secluded Twister across the footbridge. Gotta admit, I really liked this one as well. It isn't the legend that Phoenix is, but I liked it. The double lift hill was a nice surprise and felt very RCT, and the layout was actually pretty strong. Decent airtime, some fun turns in there, I liked it. Not nearly as much as Phoenix, but I liked it.

Kozmo's Kurves was next. I liked the compressed air used to unlock the restraints, but at the end of the day, a crappy +1 is a crappy +1. Did like how it went over the boat canal, though.

Finally, done with cred anxiety for the day! Being able to breathe, I decided to use my last two hours at Knoebels to take footage and photos as well as get rerides.

After taking my camera to Impulse for a bit, I went for a reride on Black Diamond in row three per my friend Danny's advice on Facebook. After getting a really nice ride on it, I went to check out that museum! This is a model of a coal mine some kid made for a school project that they showcased here in hopes of it getting seen.

This was really powerful to see because I remember watching the Sago Mine disaster unfold very vividly with my parents and it absolutely horrified me. Nothing scares a kid like threatening them with being trapped in the mines thousands of feet below ground to be buried alive. The cave-in scene on Black Diamond still terrified me the second time around...

Thought this was cool.

And these guys will follow you back to your hotel room and kill you.

I found this museum really cool, but I actually found out I had a personal connection to it beyond that! More on that tomorrow...

Next up was this thing. I'd ridden two classic haunted houses this season, one at Beech Bend Park and one at Camden Park, and I'd been growing fond of them. Considering how I'm terrified of enclosed spaces, I actually get a bit of a thrill out of having creepy mechanical monsters pop out at you in a terrifyingly tight tunnel. Quite a few good gags on this one! Spinning tunnel, that room with bouncing skulls and infinity mirrors that I saw on the one at Rehobeth Beach Boardwalk as a kid, the classic truck horn, this thing has it all and it goes on for what seems like forever, compared to the short hairpin ones I'd done earlier in the season. I love this thing! Don't miss it if you go!

Get drunk at a park and honk at violent waterfowl: Expert Mode

Liked this train for some reason.

I also liked these little organs they had strewn about the park. The music they played really helped set the mood for the classic park. Way better than hearing Nicki Minaj in line for Phoenix!

After this I grabbed a hot dog and a Pennsylvania Birch Beer (five dollars total, go Knoebels!) and it was amazing! Definitely some of the best park food I've had.

With the sun drawing low over the rugged Central Pennsylvania mountains, I headed back to the back of the park to get a Phoenix night ride to close out the day.

I love how it's lit up at night!

In line for the front, I saw two members of park management get in line for row three. I shook their hands and thanked them for the awesome evening I had, with regards all the way from Ohio. One of them (Stacey) even said she knew Jerry when I told her I was part of CoasterForce! Upon getting in my front row ride and loving it even more, they gave me three more tickets and told me to try row three, which they claimed was a magic seat. Going around, they let me keep the tickets and just pulled me back to the other side of the station for a completely free reride! Well I did it...OH MY GOD!!!! That seat's really awesome! I could have easily pulled myself up and sat on the back of my seat if I wanted to, the floater here is so great and plentiful! Such a great ride! I used my tickets for one more ride in the second row (which wasn't as great but still amazing) and got chucked a bit more before making it to the front of the park and finding my car.

As hard as it is to photograph, Knoebels is a beautiful park and one I really enjoyed. There are so many classics here I wish I could have come on a handstamp day to do them all, but I still had a great day. Phoenix top tenned for me (and is one of only two coasters to top Thunderhead in my wooden count in the seven years since I first rode it), Flying Turns was a fun experience, Impulse was solid, Twister was great, but my second favorite was Black Diamond. I'm so glad they moved this ride here, I loved the rides I got on it and I wish there were more rides like it. But still, Phoenix. Phoenix, Phoenix, Phoenix. <3 Phoenix.

After this I meandered my way around the pitch-black mountains to get back to my hotel with those creepy Knoebels bears likely hot on my tail. Finally, I got to Econo Lodge Bloomsburg. This hotel was more of a trucker hotel but it was still really nice and a great bargain, and perfect after I had been to two parks that day. I checked in, called my mom, grabbed a casual beer and Hershey's chocolate, and went to bed. The next day was set to be all in the name of creds at DelGrosso's and Lakemont.

UP NEXT: Jarrett's connection to the coal mining industry, the moose on the website, the best spaghetti ever, my final reviews, and the #Penn2015 music video!

 

[GuyWithAStick]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 3~ Ayllentahn Woata; Float with the Phoe

Great read on Knoebels and Dorney! I'm so jealous that you got to do all 3 major Penn. parks while I only got to do part of Hershey(didn't make it past Fahrenheit. ). Phoenix looks amazing, as does Impulse.

 

[Hixee]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 3~ Ayllentahn Woata; Float with the Phoe

I'm glad to hear you had such a good time. I'm especially jealous of Hersheypark, as it's one of those ones I'm dying to go to.

Why is this topic not called #Penn15? This is CF after all...

 

[Hutch]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 3~ Ayllentahn Woata; Float with the Phoe

I only got to do part of Hershey(didn't make it past Fahrenheit. ).

If I had to choose an area in Hershey to miss/skip, I'd choose the area you missed. Lightning Racer was the only good ride in the area and the rest of those creds were meh, and the area didn't really look nice. The rest of the park is much nicer with better landscaping and coasters.

 

[Karly]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 3~ Ayllentahn Woata; Float with the Phoe

And when it's time for your ride, you'll get to hear a recording of somebody rapping the safety announcement instead of just straight up telling you.

That cracked me up. Definitely something I have never experienced.


Dorney's parking lot though. I never quite understood it. Besides the people walking, Did you have to dodge the dozens of picnics out in the parking lot when you were leaving? I think people were clogging up the majority of a lane when I left.

If Cedar Fair would give Dorney a bit more love and a new coaster (being picky here, but not a hand-me-down) or a really excellent, thrilling flat ride, I'd probably go there more often. I'm still a bit ticked they took out Hang Time, I actually liked that one.

And overall, I really had fun today. Karla's just a really nice, fun person to hang out and get creds with and I'd like to take this opportunity to formally welcome her to the hobby because I think she's a great addition.

Thank you! I had a really fun time.


Third row on Phoenix: noted for trip in September. I'll add that I've always loved the view from the top of Twister when you are going around the turn.

I'm gonna stay far away from those bears though. I've never had the pleasure of seeing them.

Can't sleep, bears'll eat eat me...

 

[Jarrett]

Re: #Penn2015://Day 3~ Ayllentahn Woata; Float with the Phoe

Great read on Knoebels and Dorney! I'm so jealous that you got to do all 3 major Penn. parks while I only got to do part of Hershey(didn't make it past Fahrenheit. ). Phoenix looks amazing, as does Impulse.

Yeah, Phoenix is really awesome. I didn't particularly care for Impulse, though. It's enjoyable, but in a park that relies on nostalgia it felt very "Six Flags" by comparison and considering it's in the same league as modern steel coasters, I wasn't particularly blown away by it. But Phoenix, well, it's Phoenix. <3 But as Sanchezman said, that area of Hershey really isn't the best part of the park and is quite bland by comparison. Hopefully they fix that with RMC Wildcat if/when it happens!

I'm glad to hear you had such a good time. I'm especially jealous of Hersheypark, as it's one of those ones I'm dying to go to.

Why is this topic not called #Penn15? This is CF after all...

Hershey is amazing! <3 Get there if you can, it has a pretty good wooden coaster, an awesome Intamin, and a really awesome Intamin! Not to mention all the history and culture surrounding it. And Reese's Cup Challenge. Such a fab park!

And when it's time for your ride, you'll get to hear a recording of somebody rapping the safety announcement instead of just straight up telling you.

That cracked me up. Definitely something I have never experienced.


Dorney's parking lot though. I never quite understood it. Besides the people walking, Did you have to dodge the dozens of picnics out in the parking lot when you were leaving? I think people were clogging up the majority of a lane when I left.

If Cedar Fair would give Dorney a bit more love and a new coaster (being picky here, but not a hand-me-down) or a really excellent, thrilling flat ride, I'd probably go there more often. I'm still a bit ticked they took out Hang Time, I actually liked that one.

And overall, I really had fun today. Karla's just a really nice, fun person to hang out and get creds with and I'd like to take this opportunity to formally welcome her to the hobby because I think she's a great addition.

Thank you! I had a really fun time.


Third row on Phoenix: noted for trip in September. I'll add that I've always loved the view from the top of Twister when you are going around the turn.

I'm gonna stay far away from those bears though. I've never had the pleasure of seeing them.

Can't sleep, bears'll eat eat me...

Yup! 176 coasters later, still only one of them in which the safety announcement was rapped, and I'm sure some of our members with even higher cred counts haven't seen it anywhere either. And only park with such a vile parking lot. I had a bunch of picnics to dodge in addition to people who would just walk in front of my car and pay no attention to the marked lines. People sometimes do it at Kings Island but it's designed differently so it isn't as much of an issue. Such a problem! :lol:

And yes, I had a great time and I'm really glad we were able to knock out the park together. But do Phoenix in row 3 and in the front if you get the chance, those seats are packed full of amazing airtime. And yes, stay away from the bears. I felt so unsafe driving home on that pitch-black mountain road expecting to see them illuminated on the side of the road hitchhiking with Bud Light and a chainsaw.

-x-

Day 4-5

Well this morning went well! I woke up at my Econo Lodge, got dressed, and busted out my phone to see when I would need to be at Lakemont. This is when disaster struck...

Lakemont Park is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, something I didn't look into. With the only reason I was bothering with DelGrosso's was its proximity, I decided it wasn't worth all that money and time out of the way for a Wacky Worm and spinning mouse likely inferior to one I rode earlier on the trip. So I went to the lobby, hit the free continental breakfast, and hit the road home.

Bye! Outta here!

The drive back wasn't terribly hateful, but once you get out of dumpy mining country, there's literally a whole lotta nothing all the way to Ohio. The drive out of PA was so boring! However, eventually, I did cross the state line about 3.5 hours into the 6.5 hour drive back to Columbus. There, I stopped for a pit stop to refuel, take a potty break, and grab Subway and Pibb (Ma'am? Ma'am?). After that, I continued on through Northeastern Ohio's crappy roads and down to Columbus. On the way, I saw a truck marked as coming from Canal Fulton. Canal Fulton. I felt like I knew of something there but I couldn't put my finger on it so I didn't give it much thought. Not wanting to deal with city traffic, I took 270 West around (East was, from what I heard from a traffic warning on the radio, flooded) and eventually got back to my Grandparents'. They were amazed that I actually did all that driving! :shock: I then went, changed, and we got the laundry train rolling.

My grandma (who's an amazing cook) made spaghetti with homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs for dinner that night. Considering how I'd been living off of park food, packed food, and the little beer & ramen ritual I did in the Hershey hotel room both nights I was there, this was to die for. And they had a bottle opener and I didn't have to Macgyver it to open my Stella. This and an Oreo ice cream cake afterwards were amazing! <3

The day after I woke up, we went for a casual Cracker Barrel breakfast, I packed up, and headed back to Dayton. My dad met me, we went out to a lunch of buffalo shrimp and Angry Orchard, and then I started on this TR! I got all kinds of questions from coworkers about where I'd been, how it was, what Hershey was like (in the words of one, "If you bring me anywhere near Hershey, Pennsylvania, I'd die over chocolate inhalation!"), and what kind of roller coaster could be so awesome so as to make me haul my dinosaur of a car all the way out there. My answer? Well, you probably already know that...

However, later that day, I found out I missed a ton of crap on that drive back! That Centralia sign I was so excited to see on Black Diamond? Centralia was literally 20 minutes from my hotel, I could have urban explored it no sweat. As for Canal Fulton, this just opened in Canal Fulton.

Feeling like enough of a tool already, I was texting Chris Coasters a few days later. Kennywood has a kiddie cred called Lil' Phantom and I flat out missed it. I do intend to get back up there next season to knock it as well as getting the proper Kennywood experience, with Black Diamond and Noah's Ark and Garfield and the haunted house and the like. Two creds I could have easily gotten and while they're just kiddie creds, I'm upset I didn't know I was that close to Centralia. I saw it for the first time on Life After People and I'd always wanted to explore an abandoned apocalypse-like place ever since watching that show. And the Demon Drop spite from the previous day only added insult to injury But hey, that's excuse to go back, and I have to get across Pennsylvania to get to New England next year!

Trip Review

Thought I'd start making these judgmental little maps for trips I take. So here's the one for Pennsylvania. Enjoy.

Kennywood: A really nice, historic experience otherwise ruined by the cretins that visit the park. It's in a massive ghetto and nothing there will change your life but it did have some nice charm, and the two terrain classics were a nice surprise. If I were park management, I think I'd add a GIB to this park. Not ridden one myself but it could use something inverted as well as something that goes backwards, and if you add in what a small park they are, it should be a perfect fit. It'd be the only GIB in Pennsylvania or Ohio as well. But overall, nice park, operations could be a bit better on Racer, though. I plan to go back next season.

Hersheypark: This park is amazing! It's beautiful, it's classic, they have a killer ride lineup, and Skyrush. Skyrush is the most amazing coaster ever. I've been a bit of a dirty whore with my number one spot lately, with Voyage holding it for only ten months and Fury holding it for less than one, but that happens with travel, and I think this was definitely warranted. I was sure Lightning Rod would outdo Fury, but Skyrush definitely won't give up that spot without a fight. It's so amazing, it not only feels alive but it feels like it's trying to kill you but without to much pain and a great location. It isn't the perfect coaster but it has the concept for it. A longer Skyrush in an equally awesome location with better restraints and an out-and-back layout like its existing layout combined with Cheetah Hunt's or Fury's would be the perfect coaster. Do not miss this amazing park! It blew me away and I already went in drinking the hype-laced Kool-Aid (or should I say, Jolly Rancher drink mix?).

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Definitely the weakest of the parks in the Pennsylvania triangle. The parking situation, while it should have been minor, left really sour taste in my mouth before I even entered the park. However, while it isn't the prettiest park (which is only more noticeable after coming from a beautiful place like Hershey), it was nice that everybody goes to the water park leaving the creds deserted, even on a weekend. Talon was solid, Hydra was a nice surprise, and Steel Force really impressed me. I'd be here constantly if I was local. Probably at Hershey more, but I'd be here a lot.

Knoebels: I wasn't quite drinking the Kool-Aid on this park. The ticketing system and a comparison I'd heard to Coney Island Cinci really left me expecting this place to be an oversized Camden Park. However, I ended up really liking it! This is more of a park that has to grow on you, but it does it quickly. I didn't like how they didn't have the whole thing paved and I struggled to understand the layout a bit. Not to mention the first two creds you see have bad capacity and I was expecting to encounter those lines for the rest of the day. However, like I said, it grew on me. Impulse has its lovely secret single rider line, Flying Turns was really great, Twister's funky layout was great fun, Kozmo's Kurves was actually a decent kiddie coaster, Black Diamond was really cool and unexpected, but their crown jewel is their legendary Phoenix. This coaster does one thing, and that thing is floater, but it does it insanely well. The sensation of floating to the sky with only a buzz bar is one I've never gotten anywhere else. I love this thing! Not to mention you can get all the creds for $20 and maybe a reride. Such a great park!

And now, for the music video. I'm not too thrilled with how the end came out (I wish I'd gotten just a bit more decent footage) but overall, I'm pleased with this one. Enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va6UuB8ns_w[/youtube]