Planning PA trip - any suggestions?

We leave Chicago tomorrow, and Monday will be Knoebel's! So excited, have only been here once, back in 1997.

Then Tuesday is off to Dorney. The park is only open until 8pm; I would skip, but my coaster friend Beth has never been (and we have Cedar Fair passes).

Wednesday is Hersheypark. I haven't been here since 2006 and Beth has never been. Really looking forward to it!

Lakemont is Thursday - neither of us have been there. This is my MUST DO on this trip.

If we have time, we were thinking of heading back up north and hit Conneaut and Waldameer. Those 2 were originally supposed to be the first 2 parks of the trip; we cut them out b/c we figured it would be better to get to the must do parks, and not have to rush (Beth has to be back at work on Sunday, possibly Monday). Then, do those 2 parks sometime on another trip...

Another option (if time permits) would be hit the Columbus zoo and it's little wooden coaster.

Any suggestions or hints? Thanks :)

No Kennywood?

^I should have clarified that :) We did Kennywood and Idlewild last month.

I just realized I totally forgot about Dutch Wonderland, though. Not sure adding parks to the trip is good - time and money are tight.

Gotcha! Sounds like a fun trip! No disrespect to those who live near Conneaut, but you will only need an hour or two as there is not much there.

Lakemont will not take a full day. A little over two hours at best. Same for Conneaut. Waldameer has much more to do (even before Ravine Flyer). I wouldn't plan on an entire day for Dorney either.

Don't skip: Dorney - Whip. Knoebel's - Crazy Dazy and obviously bumper cars, flyers, and the CAROUSEL). Leave extra time for more Phoenix, flyers, and bumper cars. Eat everything. Hershey - nothing special in flats anymore (they got rid of Condor, right?). Carousel, and of course, extra time for SooperDooperLooper. Lakemont: If they still have the Twister - make sure to ride that. Waldameer: Pirate's Cove (fantastic), X-Scream, and Skyride at night.

Hersheypark usually has the "test the day before" thing going on... I.e., if you buy your park ticket for the following day, you get into the park for the last 2-3 hours the evening before.

Since Dorney is usually dead (and easy to get on everything at ease; on the ride side), when I did Dorney followed by Hersheypark back in 2009, we spent the morning/afternoon at Dorney, and then spent the last few hours of that day at Hersheypark.

I actually just got back from Knoebels.. place was packed, but all the rides were running smooth. Longest wait was for bumper cars, and because the lady kept having to stop the ride to help some kids who couldn't steer, we got almost double the ride time

I agree with jonny. Since you'll be hitting Dorney on a weekday, you most likely will be able to hit all the good rides in three hours or less. Hershey is less than two hours away, and you will likely be able to do everything there as well. Have a great time! Oh, and if you're mainly hittingparks for coasters, Dutch Wonderland probably isn't necessary.

rollergator said:
Hershey - nothing special in flats anymore (they got rid of Condor, right?).

Unless they got rid of it since June 5, they still have "Flying Falcon" (the Condor ride). That being said, your right... nothing special in flats. More and more seem to be disappearing year after year... even to the pont of tearing out one of the best rapids rides around and replacing it with a (much too small) wave pool and (much too short) lazy river.

Condors are increasingly rare, so I'd call that a "plus" flat. Thought I recalled hearing they had plans to take theirs out...hmmm. They should have bought a real "Whip" on the used-rides market, the one they have is an embarrassment in the state of Pennsylvania.

Hershey definitely should have moved the waterpark some place better. As it is, the best area for expansion (such as it is) would involve moving the Mouse...and even that wouldn't free up THAT much space.

Lakemont is really only a half-day park. I suggest DelGrosso's Family Amusement park, which is only about 20 minutes North of Lakemont Park, in Tipton, which is just off of I-99. I lived in Altoona for about 15 years.

DelGrosso's is really small, but super nice. They have a Crazy Mouse, an indoor Caterpillar, and a nice drop tower, and a lot more. If the water park is still open, they have a few very interesting slides!

I'd recommend eating at DelGrosso's too. The food is pretty good. I especially like the Texas Hot Dog stand there, although a lot of people will tell you that the pizza (with DelGrosso's famous pizza sauce) is really good. Make sure you pick up a few jars of DelGrosso's Spaghetti and Pizza Sauce while you are in the area to take home. lol

Both Lakmont and DelGrosso's will have pretty short lines all day, and visiting both park in one day is very easy to do.

I wouldn't eat at Lakemont Park. Nothing there is interesting to eat, in my opinion.

Definitely agree with Krause. I was actually able to hit three parks in one day (a Saturday, even) in 2004--Williams Grove, Lakemont, and DelGrosso's. You'll have plenty of time for the latter two.

I did Lakemont, DelGrosso's, and Idlewild *twice* in the same day, at opening and after visiting the other parks (this was probably '06 plus or minus a year). Idlewild ended up extending their posted hours of operation, and I ended up getting plenty of extra night rides on "mini-BoulderDash".

Waldameer can easily be done in a couple hours, if you just want to hit the major rides and not linger for the charm. ;)

Hershey still has Condor. (Was there this month). I agree you should try and fit in Delgrosso's. Although I have never been, I have heard great things about it. A classic mom and pop style park. Def go hungry to Knoebels. Waldameer has great chocolate chip cookies too!

Def hit up the Haunted Mansion at knobels and the train ride as well :) Def take advantage of the Hershey preview day plan. Go to the park with your ticket at you can get in at 7pm (or 6pm) depending on park closing time. If you see Dick Knoebel on his golf cart, give him a wave!

Is it really that hard to type 'definitely'?

You can cross Conneaut off your list. It is closed this Thursday and Friday. If you are doing Lakemont, you might as well do DelGrossos. I personally love Waldameer and can spend a whole day there, but 4 hours should suffice.

Vater said:
Is it really that hard to type 'definitely'?

def is

Replace the letters "def" with the word "HULK" instead, and say it out loud, in a funny HULK voice. It's a hoot.

HULK go hungry to Knoebels. HULK hit up the Haunted Mansion at knobels and the train ride as well. HULK take advantage of the Hershey preview day plan.

:)

+1. That's funny.