DP, HP, or GL

Thats true. Your right, perhaps a stop at Heshey would be in you and your travel's best interest? *** Edited 7/2/2005 4:27:02 PM UTC by lakecrystal***

To be quite honest, you'll have a great time no matter what you do. Having been to all three parks within the past two years, I think they're all great in their own ways and have a lot to offer.

Nevertheless, I will say that you really should try to stop by Dorney Park. I really like Dorney and don't think it always gets the respect it deserves. Talon is a GREAT coaster, Hydra is unique and fun, Steel Force is still an awesome ride, and they have a good collection of cool flat rides as well. I personally find their rapids ride, Thunder Canyon, to be one of the most enjoyable out there. I've always found the park to be kept very clean as well. And as it's been said, go early and there will be very short lines and many rerides available to you.

No matter what you choose to do, have a great time!

-danny

Danny is right all 3 parks are very nice. You can't lose no matter where you go. Here is an idea get a cedar point season pass and go to CP,GL,and Dorney. Good luck where ever go and enjoy!

I vote Hershey, but why not Kennywood? Have a great trip!

Im actually gonna go to SFNE instead.

Have fun! Ride Superman a few times and try to get a night ride on it!

wow, so not in the topic of this forum.

You should go to Hershey and hit up GL on your way back to Chicago. GL is a really nice park. and I have never been to Hershey, but I heard it is an awesome park.

I'll second "the Jersey Shore Parks and Clementon". J2 (the coaster formerly known as Tsunami) is one wild and out of control ride... at least it was last year, and I haven't heard that they have tamed it any.

However...

If you insist on going to one of the three you mentioned...

My vote goes to Hersheypark. Three great wooden rides in Comet, Wildcat and Lightning Racer, and now they are starting to get a pretty solid steel line up as well with Storm Runner joining (the short but great) Great Bear and the always fun sooperdooperlooper. Not to mention a relatively smoother boomerang (Sidewinder), a very wild Wild Mouse, and the unique (if not too thrilling) Roller Soaker (which is a good and wet way to cool off on a hot day). Rounding things out is Trailblazer (a mine train that is "one for the count and nothing more"). The park also has loads of character and personality.

As for Dorney. Well, they do have Talon (a good invert... possibly a little better than Great Bear in the intensity department), and Steel Force (which I foudn to actually be running kind of rough in my last visit), and the intense, but not much more, Laser as well as a very tame wild mouse. The old wooden Thunderhawk seems to be a bit in need in the TLC department (maintenance!). Their newest addition, Hydra: The Revenge is... well... unique, but not all that exciting in my opinion. As for the park as a whole... I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is just some thing missing... no real character... all looks rather generic.

As for Geauga Lake... A good solid lineup of coasters... and Dominator is a floorless that blows the floorless Hydra out of the water... come to think of it, Dominator blows many other coasters out of the water. The unique and fun Steel Venom and X-Flight is also there... but if you are from Chicago and have visted "nearby" (a few hours away at least) Cedar Point and rode Wicked Twister then you already rode a coaster like Steel Venom, so the uniqueness of that ride is off. Thunderhawk is a good SLC (as SLC's go) and Raging Wolf Bobs has the potential to be fun... if it were not for the Gerstlauer trains. They say that Big Dipper is a great air time coaster, but I didn't see it when I visited. Villain is one ROUGH coaster... and the Gerstlauer trains don't help matters any. The park on a whole does have its charm and its employees are friendly. It can be done in 2 to 3 hours (if the lines are low and you only one want ride on each coaster)... but take the entire day. When we visited, we were there from 10am to 7pm... and could have easily stayed longer, but we had a 6 hour deive back to central PA ahead of us yet that night.

As someone said, Dorney, Hersheypark and Great Adventure are all with in 3 hours of each other. Geauga Lake lies a good 6 hours west of Hershey (nine hours or so west of Great Adventure). While it may be "on the way home" for you, it is not "near by" the other parks. My advice... I would not miss a chance to go to Geauga Lake if you were never there before. However... if I lived in Chicago, I would let distance decide. Hershey and Great Adventure relatively close together. Geauga Lake is 6 hours closer to Chicago than Hershey, therefore, there would probably be more chances to get to Geauga Lake in the future than to Hershey. So... nothing against Geauga Lake... but I would say hit Hershey while you are in the area and save Geauga Lake for a future trip.

Of the Dorney, Hershey or Geauga Lake, only Dorney I would say would be a half day park. I was there on Friday and stayed for 1 1/2 hours and got in 8 coaster rides. If you have the time, go to Great Adventure, and then plan an extra day between that park and Hershey and hit Dorney for a bit.

Oh... as for Hershey... as with any park, weekdays are best for crowds. Saturdays can get kind of crazy.

Hershey...definitely Hershey. My girl and I went on Wednesday (I'll post a TR) and the longest line was about 15 minutes for the monorail...yes, all the coaster lines that we rode (all but the mouse, trailblazer, and soaker) were less than 15 minutes. So my vote goes to Hershey!

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Coasterfreakfromeriepa said:
Praise Hershey,here is 4 reasons:

3 Great Bear,similar to Talon and Raptor.

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Similar in that they are all inverts, yes. Ride quality is not similar. *** Edited 7/4/2005 8:17:20 PM UTC by DorneyDante***

Didn't he already say he was going to SFNE instead?

yep. But I still dont mind the debate...

Talk about throwing a curveball. I've seen threads go off topic before, but never by the person who started them. :)

My family and I were going through the same debate for our vacation in Philly. I was originally leaning toward DP, just because I've never been there, but after comparing the park sites and reading the "debate" on here, I think we'll be going to Hershey. It's changed a lot since I was there last, and it seems like it has more stuff for my little sister (with shoes, we hope she'll make 52") to ride and enjoy.

I haven't been in these forums in ages but I wanted to add my vote since I just went on a park hopping trip last week to Dorney, Hersheypark, Knoebel's, and SFGAdv, all first time visits.

My vote goes to Hersheypark. Wildcat, Storm Runner, and Lightning Racer are what I call Hershey's "triple threat" - they are all fantastic coasters. Plus for being a corporate park, it doesn't feel like it. And while you're there, be sure to take a trip through Chocolate World next door.

But the thing is from SFGAdv, you'll be driving near Allentown and Dorney (at least an hour and half drive). Maybe you could squeeze a few hours there. Loved Talon and Steel Force.

X Factor

pay $33 for a few hrs?

You can get in for less than that, Eagle. A lot of places in the Allentown area offer discount coupons. I think BK's and Turkey Hill Mini Markets do, for starters. Just don't spend more time looking for them than you plan on spending in the park.