Midwest Road Trip

So I took a road trip out from Jersey with my friend, his family, and 2 family friends and we stops at Kennywood, Kings Island, Holliday World, Cedar Point, and Knoebels... Ill recap them and rate and review the major rides.

Kennywood (Overall Score 7.5/10)

Kennywood had a lot of things that I liked and a lot of things that I didnt. It was a Wednesday with overcast skies so the park wasnt really crowded except the line for ghostown estate was ridiculous. The setting is very unique with the ravines setting an excelent backdrop for some of the rides. Here comes the ratings.

Exterminator (7.5/10): This ride was definatly strange and the operators made tons of mistakes on it (at one point all of the cars were on the station platform because the operator forgot to hit the button). The layout is twisted... I love when the cars spun and actually its a long ride and if you ride by yourself on one side you do a lot of sliding because theres no seat belt anymore... fun ride though..

Phantoms Revenege (8.5/10): Probably my least favorite hypercoaster however thats not a bad thing because well hypercoasters are my favorite. The ride is unique especially with that second drop under thunderbolt... However after that point the ride loses a lot until the awesome end with that huge ejector air in the back row. The ride is a little uncomforatble at some of the transisitons especially the top of the second hill... the ride is a little too short for having that huge rop midway through the ride though... they did a lot with the space they had available though.

Thunderbolt (9/10) By far one of the most underated coasters out there. It was incredibly unique.... when riding i couldnt tell you what the biggest drop was. Droping over that ravine was intense but the ride was not painful at all... Good speed throughout... and it was good even for a woody with not that much airtime...

Racer (6/10) At least it always races.... its a fun coaster but nothing all that special

Water Rides: 8/10: They were all very wet... especially the boat ride... wow the splash is big on that... the rapids get you soaked and the log flume is pretty nice

Flat Thrills: 7/10: Pitfall is fun and gives some great views of the park... ghostwood estate is a really fun shooter... garfields nightmare is random... theres a couple other thrill rides that were good as well but nothing totally special or out of the ordinary.

Day 2: Kings Island:

Overall Rating (9.2/10) Overall the best day of the trip. Not many lines at all (didnt go into the waterpark) and everything was open except son of beast (which i will review anyway from my trip on 6/5/09) This was my second time to the park this year... I had to go back because of how fun it was last year. Heres the ratings....

Diamondback (9/10): Picking your seat really changes the experience on this one. When you sit in the back the airtime is incredible... the middle of the train is not very exiting and the front gives a cool floater effect... I love the seating... I love the setting... the concept... and the layout is great.... the watersplash was beautiful.. .However the only negative is that it doesnt fly over its hills it kinda just floats over them...

Beast (9/10 during the day 10+ during the night) I absolutly love this ride. I always sit in the back seat and this thing throws you back and forth.. The ride is huge and that double helix at the end is something else.. this ride is special and unique and my number 3 wooden roller coaster only behind el toro and another coaster I'm gonna review in the TR

Vortex: (8.5/10) This is the parks most suprising coaster for me... i didnt expect much from it because well... its an arrow multi-looper... which are known for rough rides and headbanging. This ride looks almost brand new for a 20 year old coaster and runs real well especially in the back of the train where there is huge airtime on that first drop and the drop after the MCBB. I thought the ride was wonderful and well paced

Flight of Fear (8/10) I loved the concept and themeing... that mirror in back of the spaceship is really cool themeing and I didnt even notice that there was a mirror there until the 3rd time I got in line.... The launch is nice... the elements are nice and the speed is cool and quick... problems.... the train has tiny uncomfortable seats (although i love just the lap bar) and the block brakes fully stop the ride in the middle... thats not so good.

Firehawk (9/10) : The best flying dutchman model. Its nice and intense although loading is aweful (they were actually using both sides of the station though and running two trains until somebody puked on the yellow train... then they were down to only one train on one side which caused a long line.... The ride is dissorienting and could benefit from a larger drop.. .but that loop in the posisiton you are in is fantastic

Adventure Express (5/10) No comment on the most anti climactic end to a roller coaster ever (Does everyone agree with me on that one?)

Racer (7/10) Fun... when it actually races.. never a line... both sides always run but they never seem to synchronize them (it only happened once and it was the best ride on it)

Son of Beast (6/9/09): Hmm. This ride is good up to the point where you crest the second hilll... the ride goes down hill from that point. The straigh away sections and straight drops are great on this ride... the helixes produce tons of pain and the seats are just too uncomfortable and you get Slammed into that bar over and over again... Too much pain for me to enjoy but i hope they can fix this thing... Apparently the loop was the smoothest part of the ride back in the day... Maybe they can use that in its new reprofiling.

Flight Deck (6.5/10) A ton of fun but its set so far away from everything... needs a paint job, and its just too short.

Invertigo (5/10) Fine going forwards but backwards creates a lot of headbanging.. Cool seating but the restraints contrict your face.

Backlot Stunt Coaster 7/10 Lots of fun... that dark finale is great

Nick Universe... (10/10 well for a kids section...) When I was little I wouldve died to come to this park. The kids section is awesome for everyone. Avatar is actually and intense ride as is fairly odd coaster. Scooby Doos Mansion and the wild thornberys ride are also tons of fun.

Water Rides: 7/10: Somebody answer me this... why is the rapids ride so far away from everything else.

Flatts: 8/10 Drop Tower is mega intense.. Delirium is great.... but other than that... theres not too much

Day 3: Holliday World (only for a couple hours) Overall 8.3/10

I actually really enjoyed Holliday world... it was so clean and the employees were really friendly and smart. The drink policy is great and there are 3 awesome coasters

Raven 9/10 Just an awesome woody with great scenery and an awesome feel

Legend 8.5/10 Great ride but not too much special about this one.

Voyage 10/10 Just an incredible ride (#2 on my all time wooden coaster list) and thats only because it could be a little rough in spots and we all know el toro is smooth as glass and has a bit more force... But this ride is so well paced... is so long .... and has great airtime everywhere... a must ride for enthusiasts.

I cant really review much else about the park besides the fact that the setting is real nice and that Pilgrims Plunge is the scariest water ride ever invented.

Day 4: Cedar Point Overall 8.9/10 (based on 3 trips

One of the nicer parks in the country plagued by the fact that the crowds are just tremendous which is good for the park but not great for standing in lines.. Ive noticed that the entrace fee is cheaper than many other parks but the waterpark isnt included... as is nothing in challenge park and the in park prices are a tad bit higher than other parks. That being said... I love the layout and location of this park.... it could benefit from better themeing... the best areas are the ones that dont have coasters or many rides around (the path between MF and Maverick and the area around Mean Streak) Also it would be cool if the skyride could delve deeper into the back of the park... Here comes the ride ratings based on my trips... I put the year next to the rating because its impossible to get on all the rides in one day due to those terrible lines that arent really the operators fault.

Millenium (3x 2009) Force: 9.5/10 The coaster with arguably the best drop of the planet. The ride is incredibly paced but somehow or another i left dissapointed in it as a whole... mainly because i had just ridden bizarro at SFNE the week before and it was more of a complete coaster with tons of airtime. Millenium has no real theme (even though it doesnt have to) it doesnt have much airtime execept at the very end (thats so much fun) the tunnels are hot but fun... and the ride really only has 4 hills. I know that many enthusiasts agree with me that this is a superb ride but its just missing something keeping it from being the best (#6 in my current steel coaster rankings behind X2, Bizarro, Maverick, Tatsu, and Griffon (sorry X2 and Griffon have better first drops in my opinion but thats just my own)

Mantis 7/10 (2007 and 2009) Nothing Changed about this ride between the times I rode it. It had a bunch of headbanging but it was a good overall ride. Somethings just seemed wrong though. The first drop isnt that steep but there is a set of trim breaks on it. Also the mid course brakes are painful as are the transistions at the end of the ride.

Wildcat: 4/10 (2003) Sorry but this ride just looks so out of place... its kinda funny. Cedar Point should try building a new ride there or expand there night shows in that area.

Iron Dragon 6/10 Fun and Relaxing but nothing great. Lackluster compared to the Big Bad Wolf at BGE (I am so upset that coaster is going away)

Corkscrew 5/10 This ride is really really short and has gotten really really rough in the last couple years ... it was my first looping coaster back in 2003 and the looping over the midway is cool but this isnt really a special ride besides its history.

Gemini 5.5/10 2003-2009: This ride has really roughened up over the years as welll. I just wanted to get off of it it hurt so bad.. However the ending section is fun when the two cars are close to each other... but that doesnt really happen much anymore

Raptor: 8.8/10 One of the best inverts out there... behind only alpengiest for me and tied with talon for the #2 spot on inverts. I love the layout and for some reason my feet always go numb on this... its the only ride that causes this to happen... I wonder why

Disaster Transport 5/10 I love the idea and the concept of this ride but its really not that good... it goes "deceptivly fast becuase its in the dark... its fun though

Wicked Twister 7/10: Great launch and the hangtime is fun but there really isnt much special with this... its like one of those swinging ships on steriods with twisted poles

Top Thrill Dragster 8/10: and the question is which is better KK or TTD and the answer is KK. TTD has better themeing and its location in the park is simly amazing however KK is a better overall ride.. Contrary to belief the difference in speed is felt and the seoncond hill on KK produces some airtime. TTD has better restraints though... I also got a rollback which freaked me out when I first rode this back in 2003

Magnum XL 200... Very similar to steel force at dorney park... but a bit better. the ride has gotten better since its new paintjob and its hype for this year and produces some neat airtime on the latter half of the ride.... the tunnels are nicely placed and its a pretty nice ride. I was on the front train when it crashed back in 2007 and that was very scary. It was in early may on our band trip.

Mean Streak 2/10 What an aweful ride. Back when it opened it was fantastic but now its a piece of garbage that just looks fantastic.. There are trims everywhere (at the bottom of the major drop) it is so painful and the worst wooden roller coaster i have ever ridden (even worse than SOB)

Blue Streak 6/10L Small but fun... Has some cool airtime at parts... Havent been on since 2003 though...

Maverick: 9.6/10: I was very shocked by how good this ride is... I dont know if it was a one hit wonder for me but it was intense in that back seat in the middle of the night... the transitions were just awesome... the drop was nice and steep and that second launch was perfect. The only problem was the brakes at the top of the hill after the launch .... i didnt like that very much but then i did like the water cannons.

Flatts: 8/10 Maxair is fun.. Power tower is the best of its class... Demon Drop hurts a lot.... i dont really remember any other flat rides

Water Rides: I will rank them after I ride the new log flume coming for next year... 85 foot drop.. .sounds sweet for CP and log flume lovers

Overall the park needs to either add a CGI woodie, a flying coaster, or a floorless coaster... the park needs more overall inversions.... its being creamed by six flags parks right now

Knoebels : Overall Rating 8/10 (thats only becuase its small)

I love this park and its just so different from anywhere else on the planet. Its got tons of rides including my favorite flatt dark ride: Haunted Mansion.. (that train just freaks me out every single time i ride it) Awesome food... awesome prices

Twister 8.5/10 Really nice wooden coaster with tons of twists... its long and its mean

Pheonix 9.5/10 Oh what a fantastic wooden coaster... it doesnt look like much but it is the airtime king of all coasters.. Every single hill has tons of it. Its just so great... imagine if it was bigger though.... it has the best restraint system of any wooden coaster (barely none at all)

Well tis all for this report... Im thinking about having a coaster showdown tournament on in the general buzz segment soon because the six flags tournament of thrills was just a joke. Id love to hear your guys opinions on what the best coasters are

Gemini hurt you? Being creamed by six flags parks right now? Whatever! I will take CP over any 6 flags anytime!

I was talking about in terms of overall inversions... Cedar Point right now only has 4 roller coasters that perform an inversion (15 total inversions).... thats not very many in comparison to what many other parks have... especially great adventure (23) and magic mountain (35) {Both of these parks dont have an SLC or Generic Boomerang either so dont try that....}

Freak, you gotta remember Jimmy let off on a rant less than 72 hoyrs ago about CP stinks.

Jimmy, it's nice to see you've come to your senses somewhat. However, I respectfully disagree with you about Mean Streak. I thought it was fun, especally for scaring the snot outta friends.

But there ARE worse woodie out there. Cyclone and Thunderbolt at SFNE for example. My neck was sore for two days after riding Cyclone.

Well tis all for this report... Im thinking about having a coaster showdown tournament on in the general buzz segment soon because the six flags tournament of thrills was just a joke. Id love to hear your guys opinions on what the best coasters are

Save a thread, we don't need a greatest coaster thread in the general buzz section.

Let me first say that at no point did I ever say that CP stinks... I just said I had aweful times there... I'm sure that if you go on a day when lines are under a half hour for major rides ... you'd have a great time.... i just have never had that luck...

On Mean Streak.... I really enjoyed the ride when I rode it in 2003 and 2007 but when I rode it this year it just seemed really messed up. There were brakes everywhere... the ride seemed to almost stop at the top of all the hills. The trains even seemed to slow down going down the first hill... it was really rattling bad. People did not look happy coming off and most of the train was blocked off for some reason. Maybe its just one train.... but its not a lie that this ride always has the shortest line in the park now for some reason.... and hey I love thunderbolt and cyclone at SFNE.... there old classics that run crazy and rough but never painfull..... Mean Streak was painful like SOB last time for me and my friends....

Really what it comes down to is I'd honestly rather spend a day at a park like Dorney or KI where there are plently of rides... but Im not going to be spending all day in the lines... Cedar Point fans... if you think the park has all that you can offer you have to try magic mountain out in California... its really the most underrated park out there... 35 total inversions and there gonna be up to 17 coasters this year.... Cedar Point should steal one of its ideas for a new coaster

Jimmy Boy said:

Really what it comes down to is I'd honestly rather spend a day at a park like Dorney or KI where there are plently of rides... but Im not going to be spending all day in the lines... Cedar Point fans... if you think the park has all that you can offer you have to try magic mountain out in California... its really the most underrated park out there... 35 total inversions and there gonna be up to 17 coasters this year.... Cedar Point should steal one of its ideas for a new coaster

Jimmy, this is now the third time you have posted something like this with the first two resulting in closed threads. You need to move on or move out.

And as Got2HaveFun pointed out, we do not do coaster showdown threads at CBuzz.

Yell ya what Jimmy, let's agree to disagree. I respect your opinions. Maybe Cyclone was just having a rough day when I visited.

I've never been to MM and I can't say it's better than CP.

I'll admit I may be slight biased towards CP seeing as I did work there in the '05 season. Please forgive me if I've offeneded you in any way.

BTW, please tread lightly around here.

I've always appreciated that the 'versus' topics are pretty much squelched around here. Also, let the coaster count wars to the parks to pound their chests about though more isn't always better (KD & BGE). But throwing in the amount of inversions at one park versus another is just beautiful!

^The *inversion count* was what started the comparison of "Thorpe Park vs. SFMM" - of course, that was in-person discussion and not online. Vs. is a much more playable game when you're face-to-face... ;)

Its ok Hopman I work for a Cedar Fair Park too (DP) I know what its like... well DP is more just for fun than for thrills and never has anybody in it which I love.... At one point I thought that CP had everything that there was.... but now there is just more.... just curious on your opinion on bizarro/superman in comparison to millenium force though considering you must have gone on both.... and you should try to make a trip to MM.... yea i know its a long way (i live in NJ) but it really is worth it to travel there as well as Disney, Knotts, and Discovery Kingdom. I have the pleasure to work at Cals Great America next summer... somehow or another I dont think thats going to go well....

Jimmy, as a matter of fact, I HAVE been on both MF & Bizarro.

Bizrro would've been better minus the cheesy effects. I'd descrive the ride as a cross between Magnum and MF. It has the ejor air of Naggie combined with the smoothness of MF.

What did you do for a job at Dorney anyway? Just curious.

things never really went great with Dorney... i was a ride attendent for Talon, Possessed, and Hydra then got stuck working stupid water rides.... I ended up leaving because the pay was horrific... $7.15 an hour plus they made us pay for uniforms and all meals... plus the housing system was attrocioius,,, they only gave 40 bucks a week extra to compensate for renting an appt. in allentown... I didnt stay long.. My dad is actually a mechanical engineer who works with the two six flags texas parks mostly and others and works with intamin... so thats how i became a huge coaster fan... Im actually going to Oregon State this year for college and thats why im working at Great America which I've heard is having tons of problems as well this year

oh and I actually thought the cheesy effects on bizarro made it better... the lift hill soundtrack is actually kinda cool (adds suspension) the first tunnel is just sweet (ok some of the other audio on the ride is kinda pathetic...) The 2D building are cool because they seem to add a feeling of extra speed to that flat section of ride... The flamethrowers and S shields are kinda cool... if you listen to the audio closely they make sense with it (its about the only thing that does) and that last dive into that tunnel is such a great ending effect with the mist and that cool sound that the audio makes with it. For me the seats and restraints are so much better than they used to be.... I just loved this ride and its super airtime... I like your comparison as it being a cross between magnum and millenium... I just think its a better ride... .but could you imagine a cross between bizarro and millenium... that would be something else

Okay, the ending tunnel was cool & refreshing.

I found it funny that you didn't think there was "anything special or out of the ordinary" about Kennywood's flat selection, considering it is home to many of the most unique, fun, and rare flat rides known to man.