6 parks, 5 states, 4 days, 40+ coasters

I'm going to bang out lots of rides on a "vacation" this weekend. 6 parks, 5 states, 4 days, 40+ coasters. I'm flying from Cleveland to BWI where I'll follow this path:

Friday: SFGAdv then Dorney
Saturday: BGW all day (because it's that good of a park)
Sunday: PKD then SFA
Monday: Fly back to Cleveland, go to CP

So if you could help me a bit... Where might I run into virtual queue systems these days (in particular with Nitro and Hypersonic)? Will I be lucky enough to see kids in school on Friday?

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

Does PKD have their virtual queue up yet? They were not even attempting it when I was there about a month ago.

If you don't go to Hypersonic first, you risk two things. 1. Long lines. 2. Breakdowns (maybe for the rest of the day).
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Parks for 2001: SFEG, Lakeside,Funtown USA, Palace Playland, HP,BGW,PKD,Alton Towers.

*** This post was edited by PT300 on 8/22/2001. ***

Sounds pretty ambitious! Most, if not all, schools in New Jersey start after Labor Day so don't be surprised to see Great Adventure and Dorney full of the little twits.

Have Fun. Great Adventure and Dorney used to be my home parks until I moved out to the wasteland known as Ohio. Nothing to do but watch the grass grow

*** This post was edited by millrace on 8/22/2001. ***

Good luck getting all the coasters at SFGAdv in in one day! They have some mighty long lines. There will definitely be kids at SFGAdv on Friday. We go back to school around labor day.

H:XLC has a virtual queue, but I have never seen it being used. The ticket boxes are always covered up. Check it out anyway when you first get there. (I have used the virtual queue for Volcano, but the tickets give out fast.)

if your short for time At sfgadv, only hit medusa , Nitro and chiller . skip batman the ride, almost 2 hour wait,I assume youve ridden one allready

Don't they have a fastlane? Get the fastlane it will probably save you time Jeff. I get the fastlane if i am in a hurry at SFMM and have to leave. It works great if you are on a short time!!

Have fun

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"Fly like the American Eagle"

It also depends on if you just want to ride the coasters, or get specific seats, like the front and really enjoy the rides. The front of Medusa and Nitro at Great Adventure are really worth it. If you dont mind where u ride on the coasters, then i would say get the FastLane at Great Adventure since they usually reserve 2 rows in the middle of the train.

Actually, I'm looking forward to Nitro, Medusa and Batman. The others I'm not that crazy about hitting. Is their Fastlane a paid affair? If so, where do you buy the tickets?

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"
Watch the grass grow: http://www.sillynonsense.com/subdivision/

Fastlane at SFGAdv is free. You get 4 coasters at 2 hour intervals. They have a booth right inside the Season Pass entrance.

Mike

It probably just like SFMM except you don't pay, i don't think. But call SF and see if it is free, but they don't tell you the rides untill the day your going. So the ride vary each day.

For SFGAdv. I was told to arrive early to get the fast lane passes (I guess they fill up the time slots quickly). I believe there is a booth to the left of the main entrance to get the tickets. But, I'm not sure that you really need them if you just want to hit the 3 or 4 big coasters.
Do you have a SF Season's Pass?
If you do and you get to the park at like 9:45AM you can park in the smaller lot to the left side of the main parking area and go in the Seasons Pass entrance. This puts you closer to Medusa than Nitro and Batman but, it also puts you AWAY from the crowd. I usually do this and I can ride the 3 main coasters (with rerides on Medusa and Nitro) along with either the Scream Machine or Chaos and be out of the park by 12 or 12:30 PM.
If you don't have a Season's Pass you should probably get to the park earlier so that you can wait in line before 10 AM to get your tickets and get into the park by 10.Then you have to decide from the main entrance area if you want to go with the crowd to Nitro and Batman or take the long walk to Medusa.

Medusa and Nitro were my FAVORITE rides at SFGA when we went a few weeks ago Jeff! No virtual queue on Nitro, however they make the front car line wait along the left of the line giving the illusion of a longer queue than it really is. We DID ride ALL the coasters in 6 hours, except for Viper cause it was down :( Batman the Ride was ok too, like a small Raptor and SOO loud!
I LOVED Talon at Dorney too, Raptor should be very proud of his "baby brother". I loved Dorney, once I got over the quietness of this park (proving that sand in the rails DOES work) you could see the Cedar Fair charm. They are right here that east coast schools generally dont start till after Labor Day so you may have some kids to contend with.
Have fun Jeff! :)

Jo
2000 Raptor Crew
2001 Raptor Crew
Po!nter Girl-FOREVER! :)
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Welcome back Raptor riders-how was your flight?

How much time do you plan to spend at SFGAdv? If you try to do an even half-and-half with Dorney, you'll likely not ride all the coasters you can in the park. The lines can get vicious, and some of them move appallingly slow, such as the Chiller. My advice is to ride everything you can, and you'll enjoy what you enjoy.

Personally though, I wouldn't get TOO excited about Batman. As different as clones can be, it's the weakest. I remember a trim on the turnaround, and somehow it seemed to be rougher. Do ride it, but it's always a good idea to avoid dissapointment.

Let me stress that again, that I encourage you to ride every coaster at each park! Regardless of how many "Avoid this ride at all costs" have been said, theres no excuse. I for one enjoy Arrow loopers, and hear them constantly bashed. Obviously, theres a priority, as you would sooner ride Hypersonic than a ride you missed last time, but I think you know what I mean.

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Musician, snowboarder, member of ACE and the ECC

Well people who don't like the rides, that mean shorter lines for the people who do like them!
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"Fly like the American Eagle"

Jeff, please don't break Superman's chain again. I really want to get a few more laps before the season ends. Thanks!

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Joshua Wilcox
Knowing others is intelligence, knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength, mastering yourself is true power.

Get to Great Adventure before opening at 10 AM to ensure a front row seat on Nitro, and a ride on Chiller. If you have a SF season pass, people might tell you to go in through the Season Pass entrance, but I would reccomend against it because it takes you in to the other side of the park...opposite of Nitro, that is. Go in through the main gate. This is also the best time to get Fast Lane passes, which I would use on the coasters on the other side of the park. You will find that you will get on Batman TR, Nitro, and Chiller easily within the first hour of opening and then if you get to Medusa before 11:30 there will be practically no wait. Then you can easily fit the other coasters in before you make your move to Dorney. Have an awesome time, I am actually going to be at GAdv on Friday as well. Hope the crowds aren't too bad...but I haven't experienced big crowds at all this year. Never had to wait more than 35 min. for Nitro.
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http://greatadventure.0catch.com
1)Batwing 2)S:RoS-SFNE 3)Nitro 4)Medusa-SFGAdv 5)Steel Force

Ed said:
Personally though, I wouldn't get TOO excited about Batman. As different as clones can be, it's the weakest. I remember a trim on the turnaround, and somehow it seemed to be rougher. Do ride it, but it's always a good idea to avoid dissapointment.

HUH?! What the heck are you talking about?! There is NO trim brake on the turnaround! This B:TR is probably the strongest in it's breed! Ride in the back! Your legs can go numb if you aren't careful in the helix after the second vert. loop! Those loops are intense! That turnaround is wicked, and those corkscrews are taken at a very fast speed! There is NO trim on B:TR at all! It may be a tad bit rough, but deal with it! It isn't Viper, Chiller, or GASM rough, for chrissakes!

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Gone, a sense of confidence, I'm convinced that there's just too much pressure to take! - Linkin Park, Crawling

KoЯn still Яules!

You're in for a surprise with Nitro and Medusa. These are the coasters that propelled SFGADV into a top park. You can probably get in all the coasters at GADV, but get there before opening time. I did it, and got them all in, with a few minutes to spare, with 2 Nitro rides, but then again, we didnt eat till we got out of the park.
Have fun:)
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"Thank you for challenging the Raging Bull. We hope you enjoy the rest of you're day, here at Six Flags Great America."

*** This post was edited by RagingBullGuy on 8/22/2001. ***

Make sure you use the fastlane at sfga. Assuming you have a season pass use the season pass entrance and the special season pass fastlane booth. If you get there early enough you should have no problem riding all the coasters with the fastlane. Even if you have to wait for the bigger coasters the lines move pretty fast especially if they're running three trains.

Dorney should be pretty tolerable. I've been there on days when the parking lot was full and the park wasn't too bad because a lot of the people go in the water park. Make sure you ride talon in both the front and the back. People usually like one and don't like the other. Personally I like the back.

It sounds like you're gonna have a great four days. It's too bad you're not going to knoebels though.

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