Ohio Theme Parks
Hey
I am new to posting here, but i am addicted to theme parks like the lot of you guys. Anyway, I live in the UK, and having done most of the decent UK parks and the Florida parks, the next place I want to try and go to is Ohio for Cedar Point, Paramount's King's Island and Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure.
What I want to know are a few things:
1) How many days do I need at each park? I mean in total there are about 30 coasters in Ohio yeah? And Cedar Point will have 16!
2) What is the cheapest way to get around the parks? E.g. are there any 2-day passes?
3) How close are the parks together (timewise)?
4) Other than roller coasters, what else do the parks have to offer- e.g. thrill rides?
5) What other attractions are there in Ohio worth going too?
Thanks a lot for all your help! Cheers!!!
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein
1) I would say take about two days at Cedar Point and Kings Island to experience everything. SFWoA I'm honestly not sure of, because when I was there it was a nice day and only 3 coasters were open, and just about no flat rides.
2) For Cedar Point and Kings Island a two day pass would be the best value unless you go for 3 days or more at a certain park, then it might be cheaper to get a Season Pass.
3) CP and PKI are about 3-4 hours apart. CP and SFWoA are about 2 hours apart. PKI and SFWoA, I have no clue.
4) CP has a large number of flat rides and thrill rides and very good live entertainment. PKI has a fair selection of flat rides, TR:TR is a definite, so is Drop Zone. SFWoA, I'm not sure, it didn't seem like any of the other rides were open, but I hear the wild life side is not to bad.
5) There are good sights to see in Ohio, such as the Football Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to name two.
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He may not care about the football hall of fame, as he's from England, and there's no NFL in england.......the football hall of fame is awesome.........if you're harcore into NFL football.
Spend 2 days at Cedar Point. I would say spend 1 day at SFWoA, and King's Island I would imagine could be done in one day.....
1) I'd spend two days at each. They're all great parks and if you're coming that far, spend time and just roam around enjoying them. Don't be uptight about getting EVERY coaster in in one day. Relaz, enjoy!
2) The parks have 2 day passes. Best bet for ya. The parks websites normally have a list of hotels close to the park. Go with one of those, as they ARE close and some fairly cheap.
3) PKI to CP - about 4 hrs.
CP to SFWoA - about 2 hrs.
PKI to SFWoA - Don't know either
Make sure you hit Kennywood! I also agree that it's worth it.
4)PKI - Drop Zone
Tomb Raider
Scooby's Doo and the Haunted Castle (Gonna be awesome!)
Delirium ( Gonna kick @$$ aswell!)
CP - Power Tower
Chaos
Witches Wheel
SFWoA - wasn't too impressed.
5) Hit Americana next summer! Screechin Eagle IS the best standup in Ohio!
Dear 1:
I am probably in the minority here but I think Cedar Point is entirely visitable in one day. You might want to do some jet-skiing, take a boat ride at Put-in-Bay, or visit a winery on the second day in Sandusky. It depends on when you visit, of course - on a busy Saturday in August you will get to see a whole lot less of Cedar Point. But if you're interested in hitting the really great ones, Millennium, Magnum, Wicked Twister, Gemini, Raptor, Mantis, and the new '03 coaster, that can easily be done in one day, even if it's busy. Cedar Point has an efficient "fast pass" system which is the best I've experienced at any park offering such a system. It will get you a ride on Millennium Force in ten minutes, with plenty of people in a three hour line shooting you a "you bastard" look as you march right up to the on- ramp for the ride.
The other coasters are gravy, and with short lines, which can easily be squeezed in depending on your interest - Blue Streak, Disaster Transport, Mean Streak, Iron Dragon, Corkscrew, Mine Ride, and Wildcat - all good, but if missed, wouldn't spoil my day. The flat rides at Cedar Point are largely unremarkable. Don't forget four signature rides at Cedar Point, though - the Power Tower, CP&LE Railroad, the Giant Wheel, and the Space Spiral - all worth a ride.
Kennywood is a good idea, but you might be disappointed in it if its visited after any of the three big Ohio parks. If you like historic rollercoasters, give it a whirl - they have an exceptionally good hypercoaster worth trying, too.
Six Flags Worlds of Adventure is a park that is still coming into its own, and is certainly a one day park, wildlife and rides included. A visit to Six Flags is an exhausting day - I wouldn't plan to visit it two days in a row with either Cedar Point or King's Island (the latter would be hard to do though). It has been loosely rumored that they are getting a new hypercoaster next season, but I have yet to see it (I haven't been following that park for some time now, though, so don't quote me).
PKI is the best of the Paramount chain parks and offers the best wooden rollercoaster collection in the country (in my opinion). The looping Son of Beast, although not my favorite coaster, is still worth a trip to Cincinnati. You'll probably never see a rollercoaster like that again. The Beast is probably the best terrain rollercoaster on the planet and is the best wooden coaster I've experienced. Flight of Fear, an intimidating and intense indoor rollercoaster, Top Gun, and Face/Off are my other three favorites. The low marks at PKI, for me at least, go to Vortex and Racer.
So, enjoy what Ohio has to offer on your trip. I think you'll be impressed.....
ophthodoc said:
Dear 1:
I am probably in the minority here but I think Cedar Point is entirely visitable in one day.
It is, but especially with #16, it would be a suicidal pace, but doable, crowds permitting. I would strongly reccomend 2 days. Relax, enjoy, repeat your favorites, see a good show or 2. If this is an overseas "trip of a lifetime" kinf of deal I would especially want to do 2 days. It's not like you can go every year.
For me personally, I would do 2 days at CP, a day at SFWOA, a day at PKI, and a day at Kennywood for sure. Heck, personally, I'd take a day at Kennywood over a day at SFWOA anyday. About that day at PKI, I would suggest one instead of 2. It's a great park, but one full day will get you everything you need. I've never not been able to do everything I wanted and much more in one day there.
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- Peabody
You should REALLY consider Kennywood. You could fly into Pittsburg, and hit KW. SF is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours from KW. So you could stay in a hotel in the Aurora area, two nights. Hit KW, drive to your Hotel, sleep, hit SF, back to the hotel and then drive the 2 hours to CP the next day.
Then you could stay near CP or drive and far as you can towards PKI and find a hotel when you get tired. People keep tacking things on, but if you had enough time, Holiday World is three hours from King Island. Of course we could always stick Indiana Beach in there too. LOL. I know that when I fly across the ocean to hit coasters, I'm getting as many as possible, and all of these parks are MORE than worth it.
If you do put Holiday World in the mix, definetly do CP, then HW then PKI, as that would get you closer to your departure city, Pittsburg.
I know I'm just add fuel to the fire, but I really think you should consider hitting some of these parks. LOL.... Heck, why not plan your trip around the week of SRM and get that in!
EDIT: Actually the week of SRM might not work, as I don't know if all the parks will be open weekdays by then. PKI doesn't open weekdays until Memorial day weekend. Last Monday in May.
Eric
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A one that is not cold, is hardly a one at all.
*** This post was edited by eric.walton on 10/21/2002. ***
Thank you everyone for your advice so far. It's greatly appreciated!!
I will now most probably go to Kennywood seeing as just about everyone has recommended it!
Ok a couple of other questions regarding the post above:
1) What is SRM (soory i am probably being really stupid)?
2) What do Holiday World and Indianna Beach have to offer? Are they really worth a visit?
And a few other questions:
3) I am likely to be going in the school holidays (UK) which are 4th July - 2nd September. Does anyone know the best time to go to avoid queues at this time of year? Luckily I think we will be going for either 10 days or 14 days, so we should be able to get everything in.
4) Where/what is Americana?
5) Kennywood is in Pennsylvania, and i browsed through the CoasterBuzz Park listing and saw:
Conneaut Lake
Dorney Park
Hershey Park
Knoebel's
Lakemont Park
Right, are any of these parks worth a visit as well? OR am i going over the top a bit? If any are really really worth a visit as well, can youy give me some driving times between a few of the parks.
Again thanks a lot.
*** This post was edited by eyeamthu1 on 10/22/2002. ***
eyeamthu1 said:
1) What is SRM (soory i am probably being really stupid)?
2) What do Holiday World and Indianna Beach have to offer? Are they really worth a visit?
SRM is "Stark Raven Mad" a special enthusiast event put on by Holiday World. You can see the early information on it at http://www.holidayworld.com/srm Most of the info there is from SRM2002, but they have the dates on there (May 30-31) for next year.
If you have the time, I would DEFINITELY hit Holiday World, to me (and MANY other enthusiasts) it is the epitome of what an amusement/theme park should be. Great rides (Raven #1 and Legend #4 in the world for wood coasters), great staff and management (Hi Paula!), free soft drinks, free sunscreen in the waterpark, soon to be the two of the coolest waterslides (Zoombabwe - opened in 2002 and Zinga next year), and it is impeccably clean. I could go on and on but I'll end my hornblowing for HW with a quote from my wife who generally doesn't like parks, "Holiday World is awesome!" And this is from a woman who when we attended SRM2002 sat on the benches and didn't ride a single ride the entire trip because she was pregnant. Needless to say, we ALREADY have our hotel reservations made to go to SRM2003.
Indiana Beach is an interesting park. It's not to the level of HW to me, but upon reflection I did like the place. Cornball Express, Hoosier Hurricane and the Lost Coaster can't be missed. Plus they have a nice assortment of other rides - from the Den of Lost Theives (a dark ride shooter) (green guns *BAD*), plus all their flats (Especially Music Express) are run at insane mode.
If you only had 1 day and had to choose between the two, I'd definitely pick HW, but if you have two, hit them both, especially since you'd have a hard time getting back across the "pond".
3) The way I'd plan it is to hit the smaller parks on the weekends and the larger parks on the weekdays to avoid what would surely be crowded days at the "mega"parks
4) Americana (aka LeSourdesville Lake) is a small park, just outside of Cincinatti. It's a great little park with a great wood coaster - the Screaming Eagle. As the group I was hanging around with this past June called it, "The Best Stand-up Coaster in Ohio". It has GREAT airtime. but you could hit Americana in the same day you hit Kings Island - don't plan a separate day for it - you only need a couple of hours there.
5) I haven't been to any of the listed parks, but I have heard others rave about them. I am planning my own trip for next year and plan on hitting Knoebels and Hershey along the way...
Best wishes on your travel plans!
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Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
*** This post was edited by redman822 on 10/22/2002. ***
I live in Cincinnati and go to school in Cleveland, and let me tell you, you can do ANYTHING in Ohio. Just depends on what you are interested in. There's tourism webpages that can fill you in for whatever you're looking for.
SFWoA is about 4 hours from PKI, Cedar Point is about 2 hours from SFWoA, and Cedar Point is about 5 hours from PKI.
If you are going in the summer, you might want to take a break at PKI's waterpark, which is free with admission to the regular park. Plus, the food there is great. Montgomery Inn (voted the best ribs in the country by nearly every survey), and Skyline Chili are both local favorites around Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is a beautiful city. Across the river there is Kentucky, home of thouroghbread racing, and if you like horses, they're all over the place. Cleveland is big, but honestly, most of the things to do there are subpar. You can go boating, but it's not great boating as the water is never warm. The Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame is unique. Newport on the Levee in Cincinnati and The Flats in Cleveland offer good night life.
Serpent Mound is a cool place between Cincinnati and Columbus. It's an old Indian burial mound. Located in the middle of nowhere, it is enormous. I'd consider it a must see for any tourist.
Americana has a different name now. It is called Lesourdsville Lake (I think). It is in Middletown, about 25 minutes from PKI.
Of those Pennsylvania parks, Kennywood is the only one within 4 hours of Ohio. Indiana Beach and Holiday World are nice, but not worth the drive unless the entire point of the vacation is amusement parks. Even then, Holiday World only has 2 coasters. It is a lot of fun though, and is about 3 hours from PKI.
DO NOT go to any of the parks on a Saturday. Save saturdays for rest days or other stuff. Besides that you should be fine.
If you can, hit Holiday World. I'd take a day there over PKI and SFWOA if I had to choose.
If you want to do PA, Knoebels (a little out of the way, but worth it) and Kennywood are the tops. Hershey and Dorney are great places, but further away from OH and not unique like the other 2. I'd put Lakemont and Conneaut at the bottom of the list. They aren't not worth visiting, I'd just do the others before them.
To make this easier for you, go to each park's website and write down their city and state. Then go to www.mapquest.com for exact drive times/directions.
If it was me, I'd fly into PA, and go Knoebels, Kennywood, SFWOA, CP (2 days), PKI, Holiday world, and possibly Indiana Beach, then fly out of Indianopolis if possible. Or the opposite way would work too.
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- Peabody
Clarkbar said:
"He may not care about the football hall of fame, as he's from England, and there's no NFL in england"
Ahh, but there *IS* NFL in Scotland (which is a part af Great Brittain no?). The Claymores ( http://www.nfleurope.com/claymores/index.html ) didnt do so well this season though....
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"To get inside this head of mine, would take a monkey-wrench, and a lot of wine" Res How I Do
Wow, comparing *the league* with NFL Europe, that IS a stretch only do-able by a true "Smeg-head"....thanks Hostyl, I just knew there had to be a Red Dwarf fan here somewhere...
bill, who *still* claims not to like Sci-FI, but RD is really more like Psy-Fi anyways....and football isn't the *draw* here in Gatorville that it once was....(darn those 'Skins!).
Should I not find it strange that Kentucky Kingdom is on the way from Holiday World to PKI and no one metioned it?
Honestly, I'm glad I'm not the person who began this thread because I would be terribly confused now.
I can't wait to visit Kennywood. It sounds great.
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