Eastern Penn & N.E. NY Trip Help

Im sort of working on a trip right now and had a few questions. Some questions may be a little on the odd side, but anyone who helps will recieve a :)

Bushkill Park: This is a two-parter. I know their kiddie coaster was damaged in the flood, but is it open yet or in the repair stages. I saw they got another kiddie coaster. rcdb says it's from Nellie Bly, which closed in 2005, but I read that Nellie Bly has new ownes that are trying to open it. So, is it really Nellie Blys coaster?

Seaseme Place: I heard a "rumor" once that you can go into this park for "free" as long as it's no more than a half-hour. I wasen't sure who I heard it from, but I'd rather ask here than call the park.

One other stop is Martins Fantasy Island, is there an ACE Discount there still? Any other ACE Discounts in the Eastern Penn area I should know of? I have a Cedar Fair Pass, and am NOT going to Hershey, if that helps narrow it down.

Has anyone gone to Twin Grove Park Recently?
If so, could I get a description of the rides?
I called he park, and the operator wasen't really helpful.

Thanks in advance,
J.P.

I think for Sesame Place it was called a shopping pass intended for people who want to go into the stores but there would be no way for them to tell if you were just there to ride the coaster (I guess you could buy something like a pencil for $1 if you wanted to be totally safe). I'm not sure if it's still being offered or not though.

According to an ad in our local paper, amusement rides @ Twin Grove are open 9-12 and 4-9 on weekdays, and 9-9 on Saturday and Sunday. I know they have a restored carousel, a tram-like ride (they call it a trackless train), ferris wheel. They were also talking about an airplane swing ride, but I don't know if that's gotten off the ground yet (pun intended).

Can't help you with the other questions. But how would a park know whether you've been there for only half an hour? That one seems far-fetched to me, unless the person meant something like they got to the park a half hour before closing, and they let them in for no charge.

The only other eastern PA parks you haven't mentioned are Dutch Wonderland (A Herco park) and Knoebels. I don't know about an ACE discount, but I know Knoebels has an AAA discount (5 dollar book of tickets for $4.25).

With Sesame Place's hour-long shopping pass, they swipe your credit card when you walk in the park at the park gate or store...you then have an hour to spend at the park (presumably shopping). Once your hour is up, you come back, they note the time somehow as opposed to when you swiped in to the park, and then you go. However, if you are in the park for more than one hour, your credit card is charged admission to the park. That's pretty much how it works (having worked at the park for 4 years).

I guess I should have also said that Knoebles and Dutch Wonderland are NOT in the schedule as well.

Neat about that time limit in Sesame Place. Do "shoppers" also have to pay the $10 parking fee?
What do they sell there of interest? Seems odd they let "shoppers" in

For those of you who have helped, here is your promised: :)

*** Edited 6/15/2006 8:45:59 PM UTC by john peck***

If there is a parking fee for that shopping pass and you don't mind a little walking, you could probably park at the huge shopping center across the street, or possibly at Uno's. There is also a the Oxford Valley Mall that you could park at but that is probably a 1/2 mile away from the park (in the same complex sort of but a far walk).

Bushkill is open and has several rides and bits and pieces they bought from Nelly Bly. The Dodgem is not operational (the building was lifted and moved during the flood) and the Whip may not be either yet. They are doing a pile of work to get it back together. If it's available in your schedule, I'd recommend a visit, if for no other reason to help them out a bit. There's a good bit of info at the website: www.bushkillpark.com

Twin Grove has the carousel (originally at Dollywood)and a few kiddies available. The 1903 Traver Circle Swing is standing, but last I was past, not finished. It's probably out of your way, unless you're going to Hershey, so I'd give it another year to see what happens. Their website is: www.twingroveparkcampground.com

Hope this was of some help...

http://www.carouselmuseum.org/

Worth an hour or two before Martin's, which you'll want to do after 5PM when its a rediculous $8 to get in :)

As of last year the ACE discount was still in use at MFI. I cant speak for this year.

Jophish: I have been to the Carousel Museum, but thank you anyway.

Comet Rider: Thats great info on Bushkill, when I think about it, many of their new rides are Nellie Bly rides, I just never gave it a thought.

I read Nellie Bly has new owners who want to bring it back with bigger, better rides. But as a non-New Yorker, I haven't heard much.

I heard somewhere that the new operators of the former Nellie Bly park are essentially starting from scratch. They got rid of most of the rides from the park and will replace them with new ones.

Bushkill's old kiddie coaster was (I think) a Mangels Brownie coaster. It was a powered coaster, and I doubt they would have let a full grown person on it. It was really small and fairly rickety looking. I believe it is now in storage. No word on whether it will return.

Twin Grove completed a partial restoration of the circle swing but I don't think they are done yet. They also have a cuddle up. I doubt that is open right now. But Twin Grove will be a very interesting place in a few years when they finally get this stuff operating!

I called Carousel Village to find out their little Dipper had been removed (they still have it, though it's in storage) Any clue to why?

Has there been any other words on Nellie Bly in the last week or so?

I also called Clemanton and theres no real answer to why Jack Rabbit was closed. However, they insisted that bringing it back seems bleak.

Oh... and by the way, I also called Martins Fantasy Island, and the operator couldn't tell me whether or not they had an ACE discount. Do they still have one?

Thanks for your help so far, everyone. :)

John I made a stop at Bushkill on 6-16th and the coaster is still not finished. The Whip is in thousands of pieces and not even close to being finished.

Hope that helps,

Iggy

That does help a bit. Did Bushkill look like it was doing well with guests?

We were there briefly on the 17th (Saturday) late in the afternoon. There were not many people there.

Well kids, I have put together an Itinerary.

WED: Drive From Columbus Ohio to Cleveland, stay at my parents House
THUR AM: Drive to Niagara Falls (perhaps hit Martins Fantasy Is. on Thurs)
THURS Early Afternoon: Niagara Falls Activites (we were here last in 2004)
THUR NIGHT: Get Lovin' from the wife
FRI AM: WONDERLAND
FRI PM: Niagara Falls Activites
SAT AM Niagara-on-the -Lake
SAT NOON: Martins Fantasy Is. (only if skipped on Thurs)
SAT Afternoon: Drive to Allentown
SAT PM: Dorney (maybe pushed to Sun AM if too late)
SUN AM: Dorney? or...
SUN AM: Bushkill (perhaps) OR....
SUN NOON: Sesame Place
SUN NOON: PHILADELPHIA HIGHLIGHTS
SUN PM: (Maybe Clemeton)
MON AM: Phildelphia Highlights or....
MON AM: (maybe) SIX FLAGS GR.AD. or....
MON noon: Delgrossos or...
MON NOON: Lakemont
LATE MON: Arrive in Columbus

But Im still working on it....

That's a pretty ambitious schedule. How much time are you actually allowing to spend in a park? Niagara to Allentown is a good 6 hours, and Philly to Altoona is another 4-5 hours or so.

Here's my Proposed Iternerary for my Trip to Pennsylvania this October.

Thursday: (10/05) Fly to Philadelphia

Friday: Philadelphia Highlights

Saturday: Sesame Place AM (I'll try that "Shopping Thing" ;) ) Knoebal's PM (Phoenix Phall Phun Phest).

Sunday: Dorney

Monday: Six Flags Great Adventure

Tuesday: Fly Home

BTW If Knoebals has their Flying Turns Operational it will be my 400th Roller Coaster! :)

John, I have heard Niagara on the Lake is really awesome - you might want to skip Martins Fantasy Island and spend the day At Niagara on the Lake. MFI is really lame.

If you stick to your proposed schedule, you're going to need a vacation from your vacation when it's all over!

MFI lame? Wow!

We had a fantastic time there, Silver Comet being a Niagara version of Funtown's Excalibur. Granted, it was an event, but I thought the park, and the staff, were WAY cool.

If you are planning to do DelGrosso's or Lakemont, consider going to both. They are about 20 minutes drive from each other. Both are small but interesting parks and are very inexpensive.

Lakemont's main attractions are the wooden coasters. Leap the Dips is the oldest coaster in the world and the only side friction coaster in operation. Skyliner is a good mid-sized coaster that is just perfect for a small park like Lakemont.

DelGrossos is a more attractive park than Lakemomt. It has a spinning mouse like Kennywood's, only outside. The park also has a decent assortment of flat rides.