Salem & Skyrush, Vermont & Verbolten - Autumn Goodness

[FistedColossus]

Salem MA has always been on our radar, mine as a casual history keeno and my girlfriend as a PSL slurping, Autumn enjoying, spooky-stuff fan. We've both had some time off booked during October for a potential beach holiday. Then we went to Valencia for a long weekend in August and remembered being roasted in the sun all day is actually a bit ****.

Flights to Boston were reasonable when doing early research but soon crept up by the time we were ready to commit. NYC was looking a better option and we booked the flights and hire car. Flights mostly paid for by a full Ryanair refund from said Valencia trip where we had a 10 hour delay on the way home.

Obviously I'd need a few theme park days and the sensible thing to do would have been Lake Compounce, SF New England and SF Great Adventure. But the concrete jungles of Six Flags would have ruined the vibe of the trip. I don't mind long drives so we decided to start the trip by heading south to two new to me parks in Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It's tough to plan parks during this time of year with weekend only openings but fortunately Busch Gardens was scheduled to be open on the Columbus Day Monday.

Despite the waffling introduction I'll be keeping this trip report very brief but full of photos!

Day 1: Landed at JFK at 5pm and encountered what turned out to be the longest queue of the trip. 3 hours to get through security. Picked up the car and set off for a 2.5 hour drive to our first cockroachfest of motel of the trip in Aberdeen, just outside Baltimore. My USA trips are always done on a very tight budget, maximum £60/night accomodation but with a minimum booking.com rating of 6/10. Have stayed in some real dumps over the years but these trips wouldn't be possible if we stayed in the Ritz every night.



Day 2: We hit the road to Kings Dominion via Wendy's for a Baconator. The park was open til 11pm for their Haunt event so there was no real rush and we got there just after 1.30pm. Got straight in line for Intimidator 305. It's not a ride that's been very high up my bucket list because I find OTSRs too restrictive but was good to get on it nonetheless.

I305 is an absolutely ridiculous piece of machinery. I'm a huge fan of how unpleasant this thing is. The greyout moment on the back of the train is like a science experiment. And then while you're still recovering you get some good airtime and ragdolled through the turns. I completely get the hype and a front row ride really blew me away, but the bruising on my shoulders stop it from being a top coaster for me. Would easily be top 10 with lap bars. Had several rides throughout the evening all over the train.





Next up was Twisted Timbers, my 9th RMC. As an airtime chaser I had high hopes for this and it didn't quite live up to them. Of the small-mid scale RMCs it ranks somewhere in the bottom half of my list and I much prefer the likes of Untamed or Twisted Colossus. It's a great ride obviously but just a bit repetitive and the airtime wasn't as strong as expected. It's basically a lighter version of the second half of Steel Vengeance. Had a brilliant front row night ride on it but the ops were terrible, with one of the slowest moving queues I've ever seen.





And that was it for the creds! Tried queueing for Grizzly but soon realised it was on one train and the station was rammed. Nothing else there is unique and I wanted to re ride i305 and Twisted Timbers. We also wanted to get through as many of the haunted houses/mazes as possible. The Haunt event was top notch, a great atmosphere around the park and the scare zones were packed full of actors. We managed 4 of the mazes and whilst nothing was outstanding, they were all solid 7/10s.



Kings Dominion felt more Six Flags than Cedar Fair, but we had a great evening there.

 

[FistedColossus]

Day 3: We decided to book a rare 2 night motel stay, this time located just a 5 minute drive from Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

This has always been a bucket list park for me. It's always looked the better or the BG parks and the Europe theme is an interesting one. We made the sensible decision to arrive just before park opening to really make the most of this visit.

I'd read that DarKoaster has pretty bad throughput so we decided to head there first and waited 10 minutes or so for a mid train ride. The themeing inside the queue and station was solid but nothing special by European park standards. The ride was ok, I've not heard much about it so not sure what the general consensus is. The seating position seems wasted on an indoor ride and it would be better with an outdoor section. The launches were good and it featured some #whippytransitions, I rode Eurostat Can Can coaster on opening day and I think that's a good comparison as an indoor coaster experience, with cheap looking UV effects and random flashes of light. Europa Park realised it looked a bit naff and made some improvements, can't see them doing the same here.

Next up was Verbolten, which had just opened and we got on one of the first trains of the day for a back row ride. Wow... I think I have a new favourite family coaster, if you can call it that. Verbolten is a wild ride with a powerful launch and intense indoor section with a bit of airtime thrown in. The outdoor section through the trees was fun too. We both absolutely loved Verbolten and rode it a few more times throughout the day and night.

I'd purchased a dining plan for $30 which we shared (naughty), seemed good value considering the food prices. We stopped off for an Italian Sampler worth $23. Meatballs, Spaghetti, a chicken parmesan, mozzarella bites and a drink.

With a Tom Skinner style breakfast done and dusted, it was time for Pantheon. I was really hyped for this and it was good, but nothing special. On paper it should be amazing with the launches, spike, top hat and outerbank but it's just missing something and I'm not sure what it is. Naturally it sped up throughout the day and we got 5 night rides in between 9.15-10pm but it didn't blow me away like Gothy Citz, and it wasnt as fun as Taron. The airtime on the backwards launch was unique but not sustained, the top hat teased airtime but it wasn't that strong and the outerbank didn't quite deliver consistently. Perhaps I'm overthinking it too much but Intamin has set a high standard for these rides elsewhere. It was very good but not elite.





The neighbouring Apollo's Chariot was our next ride of the day. I've said before that there is no such thing as a bad B&M Hyper and this was no exception, in fact it may have even been one of the better ones. Loved the setting through the trees and the layout is very good considering it was the first one of these. Got 5 rides throughout the day and back row was the best.

We then headed for the famous Loch Ness Monster. This rode as expected - badly, and one ride was enough. The never ending helix was interesting tbf. It does look the part though and I'm glad they're going to be refurbishing it. The Scottish area was very small and could do with a few more attractions and themeing.





The Ireland section though was very good, especially with the Halloween decor. Had a quick pint of Guinness in the pub, because I don't think I've ever had one at a theme park before. I'm a real Guinness snob and it was fine, maybe even slightly above average and 10 x better than the watery rubbish you get in 'spoons. We then watched a 15 minute talk/feeding of the Wolves. It's interesting they have such a limited selection of animals for a Busch Gardens/SeaWorld park. Just wolves, birds, horses and a couple of border collies!







Keen to get our money's worth with the dining plan we headed to the Oktoberfest Hall for a German Sampler - sausages, chicken, sauerkraut and a big fat slice of cake.

After an hour or so without any rides, we went on Alpengeist. Opted for the back row assuming we would be back for a front row night ride but we never got round to it. This thing is absolutely huge and it's incredible to think it's one of the older Inverts given the scale of it. It was superb as expected, it goes on forever and it's very foreceful.





Time for Invadr, which again rode as expected. One of the lower tier GCI's but I appreciate its mainly aimed at families. The likes of Wicker Man and Joris are of a similar scale though and are far superior.

Griffon though, was much better than I had anticipated. One of the best Dive Machines out there imo. The drop is incredible and there's a greyout moment at the bottom. A fine lump of metal.



And that was it for the coasters, doing 8 of the parks 10. Tempesto was down all day but that's not a huge miss. We had another meal at the BBQ place, with a sampler meal of ribs, brisket, chicken and fries and spent the rest of the day re riding Pantheon and Verbolten, and also managed to get through 4 of the 5 scare mazes.

Howl O Scream really was pretty bad. The mazes were all quite large in scale but there were not enough actors. The themeing inside them was scarce too and felt like it had been done on the cheap. The best one was the Irish themed zombie diner, which was a unique idea for a scare attraction but again lacked any big scare moments. Maybe they were short staffed due to the bank holiday? Could have been better on a Saturday night maybe.



Overall, Busch Gardens was an excellent park and is well up there with my favourites in America. As someone who likes unique coasters (see pathetic KD ride count), I really enjoyed the variety of rides available. It's similar to Alton Towers in terms of having a very well rounded lineup of coasters, all of which are solid 8/10s. The parks natural woodland setting also makes it a very pleasant place to spend a day and I'd happily spend two days there in future.
Also shout-out to the staff, who were excellent. The Pantheon operators were hilarious. One of which even greeted an incoming train with the Verbolten ride exit spiel, including an enthusiastic "AUF WEIDERSEHEN".

 

[FistedColossus]

The next few posts are theme park free, so I'll keep them brief but photo heavy.

Day 4 - This would be the longest drive of the trip by a significant margin. We were booked into the Pumpkin Blaze event just outside of Sleepy Hallow NY for 8pm, and we were currently 500 miles south in Virginia.

We set off at 9am and drove 2.5 hours up to Washington DC for a very speedy sightseeing stroll. Would have been nice to spend a couple of days here doing the museums but we managed to squeeze a lot into our 2 hour stroll.









And so we hit the road again for a 4.5 hour drive north, arriving with a bit of time to explore the town of Sleepy Hallow before the pumpkin event. Spooky...







So onto our pre booked Pumpkin Blaze event. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was brilliant. Thousands of pumpkins and some very innovative displays and effects.

 

[FistedColossus]

Day 5/6 - After building the trip around a visit to Salem, we became aware of the Leaf Peeping phenomenon in New England, where thousands of tourists flock to the mountains to enjoy beautiful autumn scenery. With this in mind we decided to take a couple of days to enjoy the natural sights of Vermont and Hampshire.

We started by visiting the original Ben & Jerry's factory just outside of Burlington. The tours sell out fast but we managed to nab a 12pm slot. This is a really cool place, tucked away in a farm like setting. The tour was very short and you don't see much but basically the founders seem like really nice people and have stuck to their core values through the years even after selling the company to Unilever. Had a couple of samples thrown in too which is always nice. Finished at the takeout stand where I spent 12 quid on a two scoop dipped waffle cone which pretty much killed me off for the rest of the day.







Next up we stopped off in the town of Burlington for a coffee and a stroll. Not much to report really, felt like a standard British town centre. Shortly after leaving we stumbled across a nice farm shop on an apple cider farm which was cool.



The ski town of Stowe was next on our radar and it was very pleasant. Again had a quick stroll but we arrived just after most of the shops had closed at 6pm so there wasn't much to do. Had a couple of pints and then headed towards our motel in the neighbouring state of New Hampshire.







The next day, I'd booked onto a hiking trail called Flume Gorge which was just over an hour or so from our hotel. We awoke to stunning views and this theme would continue throughout the day. The entire drive through New Hampshire was jaw dropping. Leaves were falling onto the road as we drove past an endless supply of mountain views and rivers. 'Moose crossing' signs were dotted about every few miles or so but we didn't manage to spot any.

Flume Gorge turned out to be well worth the $20 entry. Walking alongside the raging gorge on a wooden walkway was really exhilarating and the views were incredible throughout the 2 hour trek. There was an old covered bridge, a couple of small caves and glacial boulders too. Still didn't see a Moose though!



















As the evening closed in, we headed towards Salem where we would be spending the night. Took a scenic route to soak up more of the White Mountains and stopped off at some well known spots for some more walks. In hindsight we would have liked to have spent more time in New Hampshire, we really underestimated how much there is to do there, and how much we appreciate spending time exploring the natural world. I've decided I cba with cities in America anymore and will always prioritise these kind of spots.

 

[FistedColossus]

Day 7/8 - Salem time. We stayed a 20 minute drive away in Peabody and arrived in the evening. Got an Uber in, had a quick walk around and had some drinks. As we stumbled out of the pub we walked down an alleyway and got chatting to some homeless people who randomly asked if we liked Racoons. My girlfriend has a slightly weird obsessions with Racoons, but we don't get them in England and we'd only ever seen them splattered across the road in the US. These guys then led us to some bushes where they had been feeding a small gang of these elusive 'trash pandas'. It was honestly one of the highlights of the trip hanging out with some Racoons in the middle of Salem They were absolutely adorable and were happy to mooch about right up close to us.





Drove in the following morning and parked up for the day. Salem was very, very busy and this is the case throughout all of October every year apparently. We did the Witch Trials Museum - which was a load of old bollocks quite frankly. Also did a 2 hour walking tour with a great local guide who took us to some historic buildings and cemeteries. Salem was a bit of a letdown really, the town center is rammed full of absolute tat. It reminded me very much of Camden Market - full of incense and goth shops.





We love watching live sport in America, and the following day we had tickets booked for a College Football game - Army vs Troy. This is the US military football team and they play in the college league system, seemingly against teams much better than them. I love American Football (go Bills) but this was a tough watch! It was the Armys first shutout in 20+ years meaning they didn't score a single point, and the opposition weren't much better either. Worst of all, you couldn't buy a beer in the stadium. Still, we stayed until the end and it was a good experience.






Next up, a reunion with Hersheypark.

 

[Hutch]

I'm from a couple towns over from Salem and don't think I've ever gone through it during October. Everyone's been told to just avoid it entirely if you can since it just gets slammed with all the Halloween tourism. It's been maybe a decade since I've wandered around town properly too. Think I did the witch museum as well back then but don't remember being particularly impressed (I was also much younger and didn't have much appreciation for museums anyway at that point).

Being from the New England area I always take for granted the types of tourism up here as well. I feel like it was only last year when I learned that people actually drive hours to see the colorful fall trees, whereas I grew up seeing them everyday on my ride to school. But I know lots of folks that go on hiking trips, so it looks like you did a pretty job there.

Glad you had a good trip overall though!

 

[FistedColossus]

I'm from a couple towns over from Salem and don't think I've ever gone through it during October. Everyone's been told to just avoid it entirely if you can since it just gets slammed with all the Halloween tourism. It's been maybe a decade since I've wandered around town properly too. Think I did the witch museum as well back then but don't remember being particularly impressed (I was also much younger and didn't have much appreciation for museums anyway at that point).

Being from the New England area I always take for granted the types of tourism up here as well. I feel like it was only last year when I learned that people actually drive hours to see the colorful fall trees, whereas I grew up seeing them everyday on my ride to school. But I know lots of folks that go on hiking trips, so it looks like you did a pretty job there.

Glad you had a good trip overall though!

Sorry, only just seen this! We loved New England and should have spent a lot more time up in the mountains. Would have been nice to drive a bit further north to the Canada border and also go further across towards Maine.

It looks like the whole Fall tourism thing is fairly new and has been boosted by Tiktok and Instagram 'influencers'. Popular to the point where locals are starting to get pissed off about it.