OK, here we go! We're planning a trip cross-country in August. Tentative itinerary is:
(1) PKI - Saturday, August 12
(2) Six Flags/Kentucky Kingdom -- Sunday, August 13
(3) Magic Springs -- Tuesday, August 15
(4) Wonderland (Amarillo) or Worlds of Fun (Kansas City) -- Thursday, August 17
Anybody want to give us tips on: Where to stay, where to get discounts, what's worth riding (and what isn't), etc., in these parks??
Also, we'll be going through what appear to be pretty much coasterless country in Arizona and New Mexico -- any suggestions for that part of the trip?
I would stay away from the mega-parks on the weekends, if possible. PKI will be a 1+ hour wait for many coasters on a Saturday.
Hitting smaller parks like Indiana Beach and Holiday world may be a better idea due to lower costs for admission and parking (free parking @ HW). Coaster counts may be lower, but re-rides due to short (or non-existant) lines are always a plus.
As for Arizona and New Mexico, cant't help you there, ain't nothing there to do. (coaster wise, anyway)
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Gotta ride 'em all!
Camping at PKI is cheap compared to a hotel. I think we paid somewhere around $25 a night compared to $65 or up for a hotel. They also have showers and restroom so your not "roughing" it too much. We went to SFKK on a Monday and it was dead. I personally didn't think it was that great of a park after being to Holiday World two day before. But thats just me. You could spend a half day at SFKK then head to Holiday World. I loved Holiday World even though they have only 2 coasters. They are only about an hour and a half apart.
AT SFKK when we were there they didn't open the other half of the park (over the bridge) for another hour 11am. Head right for the Roadrunner Express since it's the only coaster on that side of the park or the drop ride. Then when the other side opens head for Chang. Chang had only one train running when we were there so it had the longest line. You may want to get a few rides before the line gets too long. Then head for Thunder Run and Twisted Sisters. We lucked out with TS they were only running one side at first then as we were ready to leave they were running both. I heard they usually run one side one day and the other the next (just another stupid Six Flags thing).Don't forget to hit the Roller Skater too.
here's how our trip was planned:
Sat. Holiday World
Sun. SFKK
Mon. SFKK part day and Camden Park in WV
Then we figured we'd call PKI to find out is Sonny would be running, it was. So we did PKI on Sunday instead of SFKK.
We all thought the 1/2 day was perfect for SFKK.
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Parks hit for 2000!
PKD,BGW,Knoebels,DP,HP,PKI,HW,SFKK,SFA, Camden, SFO,CP,WL,IW,KW,BP
Good choice in hitting Worlds of Fun. If you would like a list of lodging information as well as other park information, visit www.worldsoffun.org.
HAVE FUN!
MambaMatt
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Top Steel - Mamba
Top Wood - The Boss
There is a good coaster in Arizona. It is in Pheonix by the mall. There is one called Desert Storm you can pay to go on it with out paying park admission. It is probibly the best u will find in Arizona.
If you're choosing between WOF and Wonderland, I'd strongly suggest WOF. It's a nice, medium-sized park with a great woodie in Timber Wolf and an excellent hyper-coaster in Mamba. If you have a Cedar Fair season pass it's good there.
As for what to do in Arizona/New Mexico - well, there's a dozen national parks home to some of the most spectacular scenary on earth. Coaster-wise, the closest you'll find is in Nevada.
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Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill.
We got some really good deals at AmeriSuites on our trip this summer. Free continental breakfast, pool, weight room, laundry facilities, and our rooms were spacious with 2 double beds, a fold-out couch, desk and kitchenette. Two of our nights were at Blue Ash, which is less than 10 minutes from PKI.
On their website, www.amerisuites.com, click "reservations & information", then click "special promos". We were lucky, 5 of our 8 nights were in $109 rooms for $59 a night.
Have a great trip!
Dan