Suggestions for 3 weeks NYC -> Florida

Today i was thinking of changing my vague plans for a 2006 US-trip. First i wanted to visit Florida for the first time after 2000, hitting BGT and a few parks in the Orlando-area.

But then, this morning, i was thinking it would be fun to maybe make a trip from New York City down to Florida (Orlando or Miami).
My roadatlas says it is about 1300 miles on a direct way, so i would assume it would be about 2500-3000 miles hitting parks on this route.

As i don't want to race in my holidays, there are always days off on my trips and each park gets at least one full day. The trip would be around 3 weeks. And i was thinking of two weeks driving from NYC to Orlando, hitting a few bigger parks and then staying in Orlando for one more week.

Which parks would you visit on such a route, and is there anything you would suggest not to miss on this drive?

Knoebels, SFGAdv, Dorney, BGW, PKD, SFOG? That would take you part of the way down the coast.

Or you could come west, do Kennywood, then head south and do Dollywood, Holiday World and Beech Bend with their new coasters. I am sure someone else can give you better advice as this wasn't all that thought out.

If your gonna hit Knoebals hit Hershey too. I would fly into NYC and hit Coney Island and work my way down the coast. If you have 3 weeks you should have plenty of time at each park with a few days off. Good luck and have a safe trip!

From NYC, you could do an interstate 78/81/83 route to Baltimore. You could hit SFGAdv, Dorney and Hershey easily. Side trips could be done to Knoebels and Williams Grove too. Knoebels would be about an hour from the Jct of 78 and 81. Williams Grove is only about 15- 20 minutes from I-83.

From the Baltimore beltway, you'd pick up 95, and could do SFA, PKD, with BGW as a side. BGW is what, an hour fifteen minutes from PKD?

Anyway you look at it, it's an ambitious plan.

If it were me, esp. if I were flying in from another country, I would fly in to NYC, hit up coney Island and perhaps Rye. I'd also spend a day or 2 sightseeing in NYC. then I'd do SFGAdv, Dorney, Hershey and Knoebles.

Then I'd go down and do SFA, PKD, and BGW, all within, what about a 3 hour period at the very most from the furthest to one another?

Then I'd go from BGW to PCar, PCar to Myrtle Beach (but you could skip that if you wanted, I just love Myrtle), and then SFoG, Wild Adventures, then on into Orlando for a week.

But thats just me.

I'm sorry, if I'm THAT far north, I can't see skipping Lake Compounce/SFNE...you simply have to fly into Boston instead... ;)

I think everyone has managed to tell you about the Mid-Atlantic parks, there are a few parks rks south of the Mid-Atlantic. Six Flags over Georgia (Atlanta, GA) and Paramount's Carowinds (Charlotte, NC) but their going to take you way off the I-95 path your going to be traveling to Florida.

Well, thanks for all your replies.

Since i've already been to dorney, hershey and knoebels two years ago, i wouldn't mind not visiting them again next year.

Is astroland alone worth the decision to fly into NYC - i know there's cyclone, but anything besides that?

Or would you skip the northern area of that route then and fly into a different city?

If you're skipping PA, there really is NO good reason to miss *the Northern area*....Rye Playland in addition to LC and SFNE makes that portion of the trip almost "requirted riding"...

Rye isn't far from Coney at all....Coney also features the Wonder Wheel - which took Disney 75 years to duplicate...and El Dorado, some of the meanest bumper cars out there (with ops that PUSH your car into the accidents, LOL)...and the ONLY Zipper known to allow single riders...and some other flats run in INSANE mode...and some VERY cool haunted houses...and two kiddie coasters (if you're interested in credits)...