Ideas for a PA Coaster Swing

Knoebels is like a prime piece of filet mignon wrapped in thick juicy bacon: it's meant to be savored, not ground into hamburger and eaten in 2 mins.

^ Do they serve that at the Alamo? :)

Of all the parks in PA, I would definitely spend the most time at Knoebel's, even given the smaller coaster lineup than Dorney, Kennywood, or Hershey.

If you cross I-80 at Brookville (rt36) you can go on rollercoaster road 4 miles south on 36.

Thank you all for the input. I will definitely try to make more time in my schedule for Knoebels (because I do love filet mignon).

I was wondering if 1-2 hours would be a fair amount of time to devote to Lakemont on an average Sunday in June?

I'll have no problem dropping DelGrosso's if I need to...I'll just be driving north on I-99 anyway and figured we could hop on their Wild Mouse if the crowds seem light.

As for Waldameer, it kills me to be so close but I just don't see fitting it in on this trip. I won't be in the NW part of the state at all whereas the rest of the parks on my list sort of form a loop. I appreciate the suggestion though, it'll be on my 'alternate' list for sure.

Thanks,

Braden

Braden:

Are you able to put about 4 hours of driving in the night before your current plans? If so, I say do it, if it doesn't keep you up well into the early hours. Then you'll be be halfway into the trip already.

My road trip philosophy has been, and always will be, get to the park that is furthest into the trip first, then work your way back. This way you'll always be heading home the later the trip moves on.

So, make Dorney your 1st park. Depending on the crowds, A half a day there could be more than enough, even if you've never been there before. Then you can move onto Hershey, and spend the rest of the day there, and night.

Then move onto Knoebels(This is the only drawback, as there is no real easy way to get from Hershey to Knoebels. It's mostly backroads.) Spend the day there, this park deserves it.

From here, you can head out to Lakemont, stop about halfway, and grab a room for the night. Get an early start, and still be able to hit Del Grossos, if you still want to, before heading down to Lakemont for a few of hours. Did anyone happen to mention Kennywoods little sister park Idlewild? With it's fun woodie Rollo Coaster, and great wild mouse. Which could also be done on this day.

Then it's just one more stop for you, Kennywood. Then you're on your home from a reasonable short amount of driving, at the end of the trip.

Does that sound like a reasonable alternative?

^ Coasterphan, I'm going to disagree with you on this one-- but I'm not doing the driving.

If I read correctly, it sounds like you're suggesting Braden should drive from Indiana straight through to Allentown, then do a half day @ Dorney and drive to Hershey for the preview. You'd have to be at Dorney before noon for that to work, and it sounds like it would be a 12 hour drive or more to get there from Indiana. By the time Hershey closed for the night, you'd be on the go for 24 hours straight. I don't know, maybe that would work for some people, but I wouldn't recommend it.

If you look at a map of PA and the interstates, I think Braden's proposed route works well without a lot of out of the way driving. 80-476-78-81-76--- it's basically the shape of a backward C.

One other thing you want to be aware of Braden, that early in June, Knoebels closes at 8:30 Sunday through Thursday. So I wouldn't count on hitting 3 parks in one day. Knoebels does play it by ear, and might stay open a bit longer if the crowd warrants it, but I wouldn't make plans assuming they will.

^ For the record, I did mention right at the begining of mu suggestion, and I'll quote myself here;

"Are you able to put about 4 hours of driving in the night before your current plans? If so, I say do it, if it doesn't keep you up well into the early hours. Then you'll be be halfway into the trip already."

This alone ought to let you know that I never suggested that he drive straight through. Sorry, if you read it wrong.

^ I just assumed from his original post that if he's driving 8 hours from Indiana and hoping to hit several parks in one day, he's already planning on driving during part of the night. (I don't know what he means by "really early.")

I should have mentioned this earlier, but there will be two of us driving...so going 8 hours straight shouldn't be too much of a problem if we keep alternating drivers. I'd like to leave around 4am in order to get to Altoona by noon.

I think I'll still plan on ending my first day at Knoebels, but I'll return to the park the next morning if I feel like I didn't get enough time on Day 1. Then I can finish Day 2 at Dorney.

Coasterphan, your idea would be great if I'd be able to leave the night before, but I don't think this is going to be a possibility for me. I'd also like to spend more time at Hershey than your plan would permit. Idlewild is a great looking park, and not too far out of the way...I'd like to fit it in (along with Waldameer) but I'll probably have to save those for another year. Thanks again for all of your input.

I noticed you need cheap accomodations. If you're staying over near Knoebels the Red Roof Inn in Danville is cheap. If you sign up for their preferred member program and use the Volume Plan code 541932 you can get a room for 47 bucks.