CAC add-on options and Puyallup Fair planning

Coaster Alley Convergence will soon be upon us. Nothing is better than night rides on two trimless CCI monsters! If you've ever considered visiting Silverwood, now is the time.

Need more of an incentive? CAC is conveniently occurring at the same time the Puyallup Fair is going on. Located near Seatlle, this fairground boasts a classic gem of a woodie (John Miller's Coaster Thrill Ride, extremely well-maintained)) among it's many different rollercoasters, which also include a Herschell Monster Mouse and the smoothest Schwarzkopf Wildcat around. The park also owns a permanent S&S combo tower. There is only 3 weeks a year you get a chance to ride these; you can see pics on this site as well as rcdb. Throw in more flats than you can shake a stick at (the fair always seems to have more rides upon arrival than listed on the website), and it's easy to have an awesome time there. When visiting the Puyallup Fair, the fresh-made Fischer scones filled with jam are a must, and only a buck!

CAC is Saturday Sept 24th, so for those unfamiliar with the NW who are coming (or considering coming) to CAC, here's a list of other parks in the area:

Oaks Park in Portland, OR www.oakspark.com
Use the drop down menu under the rides tab to see what's there

Enchanted Forest near Salem, OR- check it out at www.enchantedforest.com

Thrill-ville U.S.A. near Salem, OR, and RIGHT next door to Enchanted Forest
visit the site at www.thrillvilleusa.homestead.com

Fun Forest in Seattle (near the Space Needle)
www.funforest.com

Remlinger Farms in Carnation, Wa (30ish mins outside Seattle)
you guessed it: www.remlingerfarms.com

Playland in Vancouver, BC- home to Coaster, a Carl Phare classic www.pne.ca/playland/

And of course, The Fair at Puyallup
www.thefair.com

Note: the the Six Flags' park is closed for private events in September

Add in much great sightseeing all around, and numerous options abound.

For maximum fun, make an extended weekend of CAC. The fair on Thursday is a good way to kick off the event, as pay-one-price bracelets (Super Dizzy Pass) for the rides are available Mon-Thurs only. Take Friday and do any number of add-on options. Saturday the 24th is Silverwood with nighttime ERT. Sunday is another day to grab a few more credits before heading home.

Now, Oaks in Portland is open Friday, Sept 23rd, from 5-10pm. My suggestion is that if you want to hit this park, take advantage of the Friday hours; the bumper cars here rule (be prepared for whiplash and bruises), a new dark ride has just opened, and the KMG Afterburner is hella-fun. The Pinfari looper and the Miler family are your 2 credits here.

Since Portland is 6 and a half hours away from Silverwood (as long as your consistently 5-10 mph over the limit), you could leave the park around nine-ish at night (if not earlier) and drive halfway to around Hermiston, OR. In the morning, you'd have just over 3 hrs to drive to Silverwood. Of course, you could try and drive straight through Friday night.
If you do intend on hitting Oaks that Friday, you may want to drive down from Puyallup (assuming that's part of your plan as well) Thurs night after the fair closes (10pm). Traffic between the Seatttle area and Portland would be considerably less at that hour, and knowing that there's a bit of driving Fri night, it would cut down the amount of drive time for that day as a whole. Puyallup to Portland is just under three hours w/o traffic.

After doing CAC on Saturday, you would have Sunday to do whatever you'd like (Remlinger in the afternoon followed by Fun Forest, for example).

Of course, Playland could be a major contender for Sunday as well.:)

For those crazy enough, you could squeeze in a whirlwind tour of the smaller OR parks on Sunday, although it's not recommended. But assuming you made at least part of the journey towards Oregon after ERT Sat night, you could do the Enchanted Forest/ Thrillville combo somewhere around noon-3pm, and still catch Oaks from about 430pm-7pm(closing).

If you are doing the Fair Thurs and not planning to drive to Portland for Friday, there are many things to do in Seattle before heading towards Silverwood. If your interested, the EMP/ SFM (Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum) are located by the Space Needle (www.emplive.org & www.sfhomeworld.org). I hear Seattle's Underground Tours are fun (www.undergroundtour.com) as well.

If I've left any options out, please chime in.

It simply cannot be stressed enough what great rides Timber Terror and Tremors give, even more so at night. For nostalgia, the first modern-day coaster to successfully invert riders, The Corkscrew (from Knott's) calls Silverwood its home as well.

So, what airport are you picking me up at? And what day...;)

LOL, can NOT say enough about the Silverwoodies...their duo of CCIs is what forced HW to add another wooden coaster... ;)

PNE's Coaster, if I had the time, I'd go back for more on that INSANE beast...wow!

Other than Texas State Fair, Puyallup is the one that I simply HAVE to do...Texas State Fair is just easier to *pronounce*... ;)

*** Edited 7/5/2005 6:56:17 PM UTC by rollergator***

Wow, that makes *me* want to plan a visit to Seattle -- except, well, I'm already here.

Maddie - I hope that means you'll be attending CAC? ;)

Wish I could go this time (had a blast last time with you Robo!), but I'm a little busy that day. Getting married! Don't think it's ok to go to CAC!

Oh thats nothing you have to be there for. ;)

*** Edited 7/6/2005 4:00:36 AM UTC by Corkscrewy***

While I know it's certainly not a member of the Borg, maybe we can arrange for a potato to be there for you and your fiance, Peabody. :)

'moosh -- we'll see. I'm afraid to commit to things I can't get to :)

Maddie - have you checked out your local group of coaster geeks? A lot of people from that site are going, perhaps one of them can give you a ride?

The other option, if you are able to get to SeaTac, is to coordinate flights to Spokane with someone flying in for the event [like me or Gator, for example] since many of us will have rented cars.

There are always ways to make it happen ;)

Whoa -- who knew I had local coaster geeks? I sure didn't.

Maybe I'll just suck it up and rent a car for the day. It can't be *that* expensive and I'd get to drive for a long while. I miss driving. I still do not miss Eastern Washington, however.

I don't know how I'd handle a flight to Spokane, what with it being Spokane and a tin can with wings and all.

Peabody- Congratulations! My best wishes to the two of you. :)

Gator- Let me know when your coming, and I'll pick you up. Someone's gotta share the cost of the rental car. Don't worry, I'll let you drive this time... ;)

Thanks for the trip planning tips Rob. This trip back to the Pacific Northwest is one that I've been most looking forward to all year. I really need to start planning this one. Late September will be here before we know it.

...as will the Aug 31 deadline for registration ;)

Is that a hint Moosh?;)

merely a suggestion ;)