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On Friday I awoke to the sound of Rain. Not a good sign, but there was nothing I could do about it. I took a Train to Downtown Philly where I visited Independance Hall and the Cruiser USS Olympia. After Lunch (What Else, a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich!) I returned to my Rental Car and drove to Alllentown. When I got there the Rain Stopped. I entered Dorney Park. The first thing I did was ride the Hydra. BTW it was my 399th Coaster, and my 99th Looper. Not a Bad Ride. It was now time for my Milestone Moment. My 400th Roller Coaster AND my 100th Looper. Houston, we have a "Slight" Problem! TALON is :( DOWN :( DARN! The Wild Mouse became my 400th Coaster. Woodstock Express was also ridden for a Credit. Now for some old favorates. Thunderhawk was closed for their one of their Halloween walk throughs but Laser and Steel Force were Open (I had been informed that Thunderhawk would not be running so no loss there) I experienced all of their Halloween Walkthroughs. All in all I had a good Time.
On Saturday It was off to Knoebals, but first I Toured Crystal Cave (I'm a Sucker for these) and then went to Scranton to tour the Lackawanna Coal Mine. (Good Tour BTW) Then It was time for PPP. I enjoyed this event. Phoenix was offering great Airtime as Usual. Twister was a little rough but enjoyable. High Speed Thrill Coaster is proof that good things come in small packages. I was surprised at the sizes of Pizza they served us. I definately ate my full.
On Sunday I drove to Lancaster, but first I stopped at Twin Grove Park and had Breakfast at their Restaurant. (Good Food BTW, they have an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet) Hopefully one day they'll build a Coaster there. Arriving in Lancaster I found an Amish Craft Store that was OPEN! Within 30 minutes my Christmas Shopping List was History! Then I descended upon Dutch Wonderland. Joust became my next "Credit" and I enjoyed their Kids Talent Show. Sky Princess was running better than it was in '97, and the Ride Ops actually let me shoot an On-Ride Video of the Coaster! :)
Monday, Colombus Day, Six Flags Great Adventure. Oh Dear, It seems half the town decided to visit the park while I was there. From 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM I rode four rides, Kingdom Ka (My new No. I Steel Non-Looper over 100' Tall) El Toro (Great Ride but Voyage beats the "Stuffing" out of it!) Superman, Ultamate Escape (Finally, my 100th Looper) and finally, Nitro, and excellant way to end my Coaster Trip. after that I decided to Amscray out of the Park and made my way to Northeast Philadelphia where I descended upon a restaurant called Picanha Steakhouse. This is a Brazilian "Churrascaria" where the Waiters bring you cuts of meat on skewers. You select a side, and they cut it off on your plate. For 26 Bucks it's :) All-you-can Eat :) All in all I had a great time, adding eight new coasters to my list. I look Forward to returning to Knoebals in the Future, when they have their Flying Turns Operational, but I'll probably wait until Waldameer builds their new Woodie before I return to Pennsylvania. Hopefully Dorney and/or Dutch Wonderland will add a coaster or two by then.
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I was at Dorney too on Friday night; too bad I had no clue who you were. :) I was at PPP on Saturday too. Still had no clue who you were. :)
BTW, good job with the Amish crafts.
BTW Today is "Childrens Day" in Brazil. I would not be surprised if Hopa Hira Park is experiencing their Third Biggest crowd ever, and the largest since 9/11 <G>
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Glad you had a good time. Seems as if you were out for credits though, Do yourself a favor, Pick a few parks and enjoy everything about em and not just the coasters :)
Chuck
At Knoebals I rode their Carrosel "One of the few that lets you "Grab the Brass Ring" and rode their Haunted House, Flyers, Whip, and Skyride, among others.
Dutch Wonderland had an OUTSTANDING Kids Talent Show. (If you ever watched "Americas Most Talented Kids" on PAX TV you'll get an idea what this show was like.) They also had a High Diving Show that was based on the Fairy Tale "The Frog Prince" that was pretty good. Dutch wonderland also has one of the few remaining "Sky Slides" still in existance. (For those of you in Rio Linda, Sky Slides were Fiberglass Slides about 40' High that you rode down on a Burlap Mat. The Slides had three dips as you rode them to the bottom. The began making their appearence in the late 1960s, and within a few years there were THOUSANDS of them. (It seemed like every Amusement Park, Shopping Center and Tourist Attraction had one built for them. I even saw one built at a Horse Racing Track in Michigan!) Then in the 1970s they began their decline. One by one the slides were dismanteled. I only know of two that are in existance today, the one at DW and another at Martin's Fantasy Island near Buffalo, NY.)
Yes, at Great Adventure the only rides I did were the Coasters, but the lines were so long that only had time for them. :( If GAdv wasn't so packed I would have rode some of their other rides and seen their shows. (I did see some of their shows during a visit in June of 2000, when the Park had only a FRACTION of the people who were in attendance on Columbus Day.) Whenever I'm on a Trip, I also do some of the other sites of Interest that are in the area. On my Last Trip (The one to Indiana that netted me the Free Tix for this trip. :) ) I toured the Caves in the Mammoth Cave area of Kentucky, and visited some ancient Indian Mounds outside of Evansville. No, I'm not in it just for the "Credits". ( They are only the "Gravy" on the Meat of the Trip! :) )
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(That's one Smiley for each Coaster I've been able to ride because of an Overbooked Flight!) *** Edited 10/13/2006 10:13:07 AM UTC by Borntocoast***
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