Trip Help
Everyone gave such good advice to Lorrie regarding her Ohio trip; I decided I could use some input, too. I would like to here your recommendations regarding which trip you would choose from those listed below. I’m mostly interested in the choices between the parks; however, any additional input regarding airports, ground transportation, etc. will be helpful but not necessary. And for the most part, airfare is not an issue.
If it’s relevant to your answer, our group will consist of myself, my wife, and her two daughters ages 13 and 10. My wife and I only ride the coasters whereas the girls like to do other rides and shop (insert your own joke here). And the last factors: we are going mid-June but only have 4-5 days.
So, here are the trips we’ve narrowed it down to:
#1: Lake Compounce and SF New England.
#2: BGW and PKD with the possible addition of SF America (if it’s not too far of a drive).
#3: SF Astroworld and either SF Fiesta Texas or SF Over Texas. We figure we can’t do all three in 5 days because of the driving distance between parks.
We look forward to reading your responses.
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"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train." - Ozzie Osbourne
If it’s relevant to your answer, our group will consist of myself, my wife, and her two daughters ages 13 and 10. My wife and I only ride the coasters whereas the girls like to do other rides and shop (insert your own joke here). And the last factors: we are going mid-June but only have 4-5 days.
So, here are the trips we’ve narrowed it down to:
#1: Lake Compounce and SF New England.
#2: BGW and PKD with the possible addition of SF America (if it’s not too far of a drive).
#3: SF Astroworld and either SF Fiesta Texas or SF Over Texas. We figure we can’t do all three in 5 days because of the driving distance between parks.
We look forward to reading your responses.
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"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train." - Ozzie Osbourne
whereas the girls like to . . . shop
Good! If more of us shoppers speak out, we'll get better shopping experiences in the park stores. My strong suggestion is to allot a large portion of your "shopping allowance" for Busch Williamsburg, as they do a great "theme shopping" experience with imported goods from England, France, Ireland, Italy, etc. Shop on!
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Whatever goes up, must come down, preferably at a speed over 60 mph and leaning into a flying turn
BGW and PKD. (Haven't been to SFA, so won't judge yet. Going Sunday, so will have trip report up next Thurs).
I would recommend staying in Williamsburg. PKD is 1 to 1.5 hrs. away (I64W to I295N to I95N)SFA is 3 hours away (just continue on I95N, then I495E)
Airports: Newport News (1/2 hr. to BGW, 1.5 to 2 hrs. to PKD)
Richmond (1hr. BGW, 1/2hr. PKD)
Most airlines fly into one or the other.
Would have to rent a car either way.
Anyway, the reason I recommend Williamsburg is because of Colonial Williamsburg. No, its not a theme park, but it is themed. If you've never been, it's worth a day. No coasters (boo-hoo), lots of shops, and it really is sort of cool. Only about five min. from BGW, so at least worth a drive through. However, being mid-June, will have to make reservations in now. (I think Jeff has some method of doing all of this, check the front page).
Also, the area around PKD has only one or two hotels, not much choice. There isn't much between the two parks, either.
If you do decide to do this, or for that matter if anyone else heads to BGW, e-mail me. I grew up in Williamsburg and worked as a concierge for the Hilton before it closed. I can give tons of recommendations for food, stuff to do, general tips, etc.
Hope this helps.
I would recommend staying in Williamsburg. PKD is 1 to 1.5 hrs. away (I64W to I295N to I95N)SFA is 3 hours away (just continue on I95N, then I495E)
Airports: Newport News (1/2 hr. to BGW, 1.5 to 2 hrs. to PKD)
Richmond (1hr. BGW, 1/2hr. PKD)
Most airlines fly into one or the other.
Would have to rent a car either way.
Anyway, the reason I recommend Williamsburg is because of Colonial Williamsburg. No, its not a theme park, but it is themed. If you've never been, it's worth a day. No coasters (boo-hoo), lots of shops, and it really is sort of cool. Only about five min. from BGW, so at least worth a drive through. However, being mid-June, will have to make reservations in now. (I think Jeff has some method of doing all of this, check the front page).
Also, the area around PKD has only one or two hotels, not much choice. There isn't much between the two parks, either.
If you do decide to do this, or for that matter if anyone else heads to BGW, e-mail me. I grew up in Williamsburg and worked as a concierge for the Hilton before it closed. I can give tons of recommendations for food, stuff to do, general tips, etc.
Hope this helps.
Hey DEK, we are doing trip #2 in July. Driving from Toledo. BGW is 45 minutes from PKD and SFA is 1.5 hours from PKD, so it's not that bad to drive to all of them in 3 days, which we are planning to do. I would suggest this trip since BGW is incredible and I heard Volcano is worth the price of admission + SFA is new and needs some attention only being 2 hours away.
This is just my suggestion...
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There's nothing like a woodie...
This is just my suggestion...
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There's nothing like a woodie...
One suggestion that is valid whereever you go, shop airports. The fares into different airports can vary by enough to pay for the rest of your trip. A good general rule is to fly into any airport that is served by Southwest. When Southwest flies into a city it keeps all of the airlines honest.
For example, if you make the BGW, PKD, SFA trip, the airfares to Washington or Baltimore will probably be much cheaper than to Richmond or Newport News. Baltimore (BWI) is usually the cheapest. Travel time from BWI to SFA is less than 1 hour. SFA to PKD is about 1.5 hrs. PKD to BGW is about another 1.5 hrs.
For the shoppers there are factory outlet stores at Williamsburg and near PKD. Also between SFA and PKD is Potomac Mills Mall. Potomac Mills is an indoor mall about 1/2 mile long filled with outlets.
For tourism, Williamsburg is fantastic: and of course Washington is also fascinating. One of my life's ambitions is to spend a week at the Smithsonian alone.
For example, if you make the BGW, PKD, SFA trip, the airfares to Washington or Baltimore will probably be much cheaper than to Richmond or Newport News. Baltimore (BWI) is usually the cheapest. Travel time from BWI to SFA is less than 1 hour. SFA to PKD is about 1.5 hrs. PKD to BGW is about another 1.5 hrs.
For the shoppers there are factory outlet stores at Williamsburg and near PKD. Also between SFA and PKD is Potomac Mills Mall. Potomac Mills is an indoor mall about 1/2 mile long filled with outlets.
For tourism, Williamsburg is fantastic: and of course Washington is also fascinating. One of my life's ambitions is to spend a week at the Smithsonian alone.
Very true, Jim.
I didn't even think about flying into Washington or Baltimore. Sad, considering I've lived in the DC area since '92. BWI in Baltimore is almost definitely the cheapest. If you find it more convenient to fly into the Washington area, Dulles (outside the city) is less expensive than Regan National (inside the city). *** This post was edited by Carsten on 4/19/2001. ***
I didn't even think about flying into Washington or Baltimore. Sad, considering I've lived in the DC area since '92. BWI in Baltimore is almost definitely the cheapest. If you find it more convenient to fly into the Washington area, Dulles (outside the city) is less expensive than Regan National (inside the city). *** This post was edited by Carsten on 4/19/2001. ***
We just hit all three in three (actually about 3 1/2) days on Spring Break (we drove from NW Arkansas). I'm sure you could get all three in five days. However, we did have to push ourselves a little, and we'd been to SFAW and SFoT before. The way I see it, you could spend 1 day (maybe even a half a day) at Astroworld, 2 days at SFFT, and 2 days at SFoT. Of course that's without drive time. With the driving, though, I still think you could have enough time for all three parks. I could very well be wrong though - our priority is riding coasters, but it seems that you might not be able to do that. By the way, if you decide to go for TX, then e-mail me and I can send some good coupons for hotels, etc. your way (or I could send them anyway, since they might affect your decision - just let me know if you want them). Anyway, I'm sure you'll have a good trip no matter where you go - you have 3 pretty good choices there. Enjoy. :)
DEK said:
"#3: SF Astroworld and either SF Fiesta Texas or SF Over Texas. We figure we can’t do all three in 5 days because of the driving distance between parks."
*** This post was edited by Lothar on 4/20/2001. ***
I'll agree with Carsten, his advice is right on.
We also went to BGW 2 years ago. Haven't been to the other parks mentioned yet, can't comment on them.
BGW is one of the most beautiful parks in the land, you have to see it.
And Colonial Williamsburg is worth seeing. They have these brick streets, tiny shops next to a university, and a park (no rides) with the history of the area. Not really exciting, but something to see and the wife will probably like it.
We flew into Richmond, (RIC) and it all worked out perfectly.
We also went to BGW 2 years ago. Haven't been to the other parks mentioned yet, can't comment on them.
BGW is one of the most beautiful parks in the land, you have to see it.
And Colonial Williamsburg is worth seeing. They have these brick streets, tiny shops next to a university, and a park (no rides) with the history of the area. Not really exciting, but something to see and the wife will probably like it.
We flew into Richmond, (RIC) and it all worked out perfectly.
I think BGW/PKD would be a great choice for many reasons. As mentioned, they are close together, and you would have the chance to ride some of the top coasters (H:XLC, Volcano, Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot). You will fall in love with BGW. It is an all around wonderful park in every aspect.
(If you do go to BGW, be sure to take the train from Festa Italia so you can see Drachen Fire up close and personal. It is one thing to see it in pictures, but to see it sitting there for yourself is something else.)
(If you do go to BGW, be sure to take the train from Festa Italia so you can see Drachen Fire up close and personal. It is one thing to see it in pictures, but to see it sitting there for yourself is something else.)
Carsten said:
"BWI in Baltimore is almost definitely the cheapest. If you find it more convenient to fly into the Washington area, Dulles (outside the city) is less expensive than Regan National (inside the city)."
It actually depends on where you're going. On average BWI is the cheapest, but I have fond many times when it is just as cheap to fly in/out of DCA (National) than IAD (Dulles). Oh an little techie note, DCA isnt *in* DC either, it's in Arlington, VA (In fact, right across the street from my lovely job here in Crystal City :))
jeremy
2Hostyl said:
"Oh an little techie note, DCA isnt *in* DC either, it's in Arlington, VA"
Hey, I said I was an expert on Williamsburg, I never said I knew a thing about DC. Actually, it's quite pitiful, I've lived here (DC) for 9 years, and I still get lost.
*** This post was edited by Carsten on 4/20/2001. *** *** This post was edited by Carsten on 4/20/2001. ***
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