Six Flags: New England: Any Advice?

I thinking about doing a one-day banzai trip to SF:NE. I'm looking for some advice on what's worth adding on, like Fast Pass & Preferred parking.

I live about two hours away (in NH).

What's good to eat in the park? When should I go? What rides should I pass on?

What's good to eat in the park?

Stay away from anything that isn't food.

When should I go?

Oh, dude...last weekend was THE BEST day to visit the entire season. Sorry!

What rides should I pass on?

Skip Cyclone and Thunderbolt...unless you enjoy riding wood? Do you?

Do you want us to schedule your bathroom breaks too?

mOOSH (sorry, couldn't resist...but really folks going to a park isn't like planning the Invasion of Normandy! lol)

I would say that Mind Eraser would be one to avoid, unless you really need the SLC credit. Cyclone is okay, so if you're down to making the decision between that and Thunderbolt, choose Thunderbolt.

We didn't have time to check out Scream because the lines were so long, but I do remember one of the towers running the combination program. If you've already done S&S Towers before and/or the combination program, so you can probably skip it. All these rides should be covered under Fast Pass though (which was FastLane when we visited).

I would recommend visiting once its gets warmer so you don't miss out on Hurricane Harbor. It's extremely well done, and has a lot of slides and two different activity areas.

By the way, even with visiting HH, taking in many of the flats and other coasters, we still managed five rides on S:ROS.

Go on a rainy day!

That or thats one of the few parks I would suggest getting a Q Bot.

Chuck

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Mamoosh said:

mOOSH (sorry, couldn't resist...but really folks going to a park isn't like planning the Invasion of Normandy! lol)

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No....BUT...using good park strategy can maximize your experience and minimize wait times!! i.e. on a VERY busy Saturday last September at Cedar Point during Halloweekends, relying upon ride operations and queue trends from the summer I managed to NEVER wait more than 1 hour for anything that day except for Maverick! So knowledge really is power....

Go to Canobie instead ;).

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Mamoosh said:

...unless you enjoy riding wood? Do you?

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Nudge, nudge. Know what I mean, know what I mean? ;)

No....BUT...using good park strategy can maximize your experience and minimize wait times!!

Yes, but "good park strategy" isn't rocket science, it's common sense. Parks are busier on weekends and holidays; water rides are more crowded when the weather is hot; lines for new attractions will be longer than lines for older; rides with low capacity have slow-moving lines; Intamin rides break down a lot (lol); etc., etc., etc.

That's why I was so sarcastic in my first reply. Why all the micromanaging and overplanning when it comes to visiting a park? I truly don't get it...especially from someone who only lives 2 hrs from the park and can for all intensive purposes* go any time they want!

Hopman - you want good tips? Go read the Travel Tips thread, then search this site and others for SFNE trip reports. You should gleen everything you need to know to help you make your decison.

Or, use my method: pick a day, go, relax, and enjoy! I've yet to miss out on any "must-do" rides or attractions. I used to worry about what to ride, when to ride, and zig-zag my way around a park in an effort to "do everything." Once I gave that up and just relaxed and stopped worrying I found I enjoyed parks more.

mOOSH

(*purposely misspelled,...it's an in-joke)

I totally understand where Mamoosh is coming from with his first reply. I used to be just as sarcastic or even mean with my replies, and somehow I've mellowed out.

But, that being said, I'll go back into mean mode for a moment; Themeparks, waterparks, FEC's etc. spend thousands of dollars to make websites that should provide you the customer with the majority of the information that you can use to make an informed decision.

If we don't know anything about your life, it's also really hard to tell you when to go. I totally agree that there's a lot of common sense in planning for a trip.

If we don't know anything about your life, it's also really hard to tell you when to go.

Exactly!...not to mention suggest a place to eat (such as suggesting pizza when you don't like pizza) or what rides you shouldn't miss (such as suggesting a spinning ride when they actually make you dizzy) and so on.

I hate to sound like a skipping CD -- or broken record for the old folks -- but with the wealth of information on the internet even someone without an ounce of common sense should be able to figure out when to go, what to ride, and where to eat.

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Mamoosh said: but really folks going to a park isn't like planning the Invasion of Normandy!

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With exception being Magic Kingdom during peak season if you do not have a Park Hopper Pass and multiple days which you can hit all the rides.

;)

LOL Swoosh. Anyone who plans to go to the MK during peak season for a single day without a Park Hopper pass hasn't a lick of common sense! ;)

^So spending $70 plus dollars and only being able to ride Space Mountain would equate to having no common sense? :)

Just schedule their bathroom break and all is good. :)

Guys & gals: I went to Canobie LAST year! But you say get a q-bot here?

It sounds to me like I should plan on going about the first or second week of June.

Hopman, at first I thought Moosh's first post was out of line - now I am not so sure - lol (sorry). Your profile indicates you've been on here for a year, so unless you're under 14, you should know going to a park while high school is in session and during the week are the best times to go.

Regarding SFNE, is this your first trip there? The place sux tbh - outside of RoS and Batman the ride selection is weak. Depending on what kind of rides you like, as Moosh points out, should answer your questions of what, where, and when. Your question is too vague imo, and if you asked specifics, the responses will have more value.

I live in Boston - so when I go to SFNE - I also hit compounce for BD - going to both parks in one day works for me.

Personally, Im going to New England this summer, and even though S:ROS is my #3 steel, I have no plans to visit SFNE because it quite frankly is a poorly run Six Flags. With my one day I have to visit a park, Im going to Canobie Lake to ride my #3 wooden coaster (and my first one I ever rode) the Yankee Cannonball.

It will be busy! A QBot is probably a good idea at this park if you can stomach spending the money.

If you don't pay for the expensive parking, its like a ten minute walk to the entrance. There are shuttles but not many.

There is a place in the middle of the park that has some good fries, can't tell you the name but its in a "main street" area, shaded with trees and up a tiny set of stairs.

Its a really cool park and one of my favorite Six Flags parks, it just gets PACKED.

Well, I'd like to say I've been there. I just realized that AAA does 40% off tickets. So... All I'd really be out is the cost of gas, parking & food.

I'm curious to see how RoS could've beat out MF last yeat for the golden ticket.

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Hopman said:
I'm curious to see how RoS could've beat out MF last year for the golden ticket.

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Having ridden both, I'm apt to say, "Very easily." :)

While I do enjoy the park a lot, there isn't as many rides to do as I would enjoy for a whole day, and if you're not used to waiting on hour+ long lines, the Flash Pass (current name) is needed on weekends.

Without Hurricane Harbor, I'm not sure I'd go more than once a year myself these days. Fright Fest was at times much better than GAdv's until last year when the former SFNE General Manager changed to GAdv and the haunts were....disappointing to be kind, while GAdv's one haunt was excellent compared to previous years.

Of rides I enjoy, Pandemonium is a fun spinning mouse (but lines crawl), the Raft ride is fairly decent, Thunderbolt is really nice, Scream is pretty good if you haven't been on many S&S towers, Nightwing is unique but can get you very sick, Superman is high on my list of great coasters, and Batman is good if you haven't ever been on Medusa or any other floorless.

I'll join the to-be-flamed-by-the-fanboys crowd with Gonch. It's a very intense Intamin, only slightly hindered by the tortur-- uh..... ankle restraints.