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Excellent post, Andy ;-)

mOOSH [got GID?]

I'll add something to Andy's post, and take note that this won't apply to everyone:

If you're the kind of person that likes people-watching or that can entertain yourself, consider going by yourself to new parks. It's not as much fun as sharing the experience with someone else, but if you're only in it for the credits and jamming in as much riding as possible, it's much easier to do it by yourself.

For one, you're on your own schedule. The only reason to take a bathroom break is if you have to pee. No reason to stop for food if you aren't hungry! And best of all, if someone in your "group" gets sick and has to end the day, it's your own dang fault ;)

But also, perhaps the biggest reason, is that on most coasters, you can jump up 2-3 rides at the gates by asking people if you can fill in rows. Especially on B&Ms with the 4-across, there is inevitably (even on heavy days) a group of 2 or 3 with two groups of 4 behind them and you can squeeze in that extra seat and gain another 5 minutes or so which covers your walking time to the next ride.

I worked this strategy to perfection in California and managed to do the 14 working and rideable coasters of SFMM in less than a full day on a Saturday last May. Also knocked down all of KBF in 2 hours on a Saturday, and on weekdays was done with PGA and SFMW in less than 4 hours a piece (single coaster rides, no flats, no water rides). It gets a little boring, and for me at least, re-rides are kept to a minimum as once I'm done with the "full circuit", I'd rather be awake for the drive home than get that one extra ride on .

Going it alone is certainly not for everyone, and has its disadvantages, but if you're credit whoring, or just looking to maximize your day, think about it ...

Yep. Poaching, row poaching, and other forms of "maximizing capacity" are infinitely easier as a single. B&M's are almost a given. I've been tempted to just come up the exit ramp and poach into the train rather than actually waiting through the line the first time, but I haven't quite gotten the nuts to do it.

I ended up doing SFoG on a Sat. in less than half a day with singles on everything (including DV), a couple extra Mindbenders, an extra Scorch and Monster Plantation. (No acro :()

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coasterguts said:
Just wanted to mention, if you are traveling in the Mid-Atlantic area, listen to the various traffic reports carefully. Last week I traveled between Hershey, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I encountered serious contruction delays on the Baltimore Beltway (Between the I-70 and I-95 Interchanges) and on the Washington Beltway between (I-95 and I-270). An alternative might be to travel I-95 or I-895 and go through the tunnels. Pick up I-97 and U.S. 301/MD Route 3 South. You can pick up 301 about 3 or 4 miles north of Kings Dominion and it's a nice scenic way to beat the Washington Beltway/I-95 traffic.

Best Traffic channel in the Washington/Baltimore area is 1500 am.

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I live near Baltimore, and the above is the absolute best advice. The Washington Beltway should be avoided at all costs when travelling this route. SFA is only 4 miles west of 301 on MD 214...far better than trying to reach it via the Washington Beltway

Any chance we could turn this thread into a F.A.Q. type page on here, Jeff? I'd be willing to compile all the good info and sort it out...:)

Why not include mapblast in the OP? I prefer it over mapquest.

You can register for free at www.geicoprivileges.com and get discount tickets to some parks. Click "Leisure Privileges" then "Theme Parks" to just view the parks (doesn't require registering).

Hi all. I don't post very often but I thought I'd start here.

I am headed to Cedar Point for 3 days from outside of Boston next week. I have driven there several times before and usually take the Mass Pike (I90) all the way out to Buffalo, down through Erie and into Cleveland. This year AAA's maps has me going via I80 through PA instead. I think I went this way once before and it seemed longer and the roads more hilly and curvy.

Should I just go the usual way? Any suggestions? Also, when I get into the Cleveland area are there any quicker ways up to the lake and park area than coming in through the mall/hotel road (sorry, the name escapes me)

I appreciate any help. *** Edited 8/10/2004 1:44:43 PM UTC by ThrillGuy***

The penny-pincher’s guide to theme parks
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Travelforless/P90675.asp

Edit: Just noticed someone else posted a new thread about this article. I *didn't* see that before posting it here.

*** Edited 8/19/2004 3:03:27 PM UTC by Raptor Pilot***

This is a good thread that definitely got burried. The tips are good -- I'll be using it myself. Here's my two cents: Saving money

1. Check the park web site. Get on their email distribution list. This way you'll be on top of any on-line deals, coupons and special promotions.
2. Request information by snail-mail. Often, brochure coupons are better than on-line coupons.
3. Look for discount tickets at AAA/CAA, travel agents, and Costco.
4. Search the Coasterbuzz web site, and if you're 100% sure there's no recent info, post a new thread in General Buzz. Local buzzers can tell you if there are discount tickets or coupons available at a local store or restaurant.
5. Why not buy a season pass? They’re usually economical if you plan on visiting the same park or family of parks 5 or more times in a season. Is it near the end of season? In October, most seasonal parks sell passes for the next year, which are honoured for the remainder of the current year.

Planning your visit

1. Planning can save hours in line-ups. Does your entire party knows and respect this? Hopefully. Make sure your plan includes everyone's 'must see' attractions. And make sure the group knows that to save time, you may walk right past someone's favorite attraction.
2. If you're not familiar with the park, learn from the pros. Independent tour guides are better than official park guides if they are up to date on the latest attractions. Touring plans are usually sound, as long as there are no major new attractions added since they were developed. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the author, publisher, or park. I had a question about touring Busch Gardens Tampa, so I emailed Bob Sehlinger, author of the best-selling Unofficial Guide series. He responded within a week. J
3. Buzzers have their own expert opinions. The suggestions earlier in the thread are sound. Check out Trip Reports and learn from others. Specific questions are welcome in the General Forum, as long as they are not redundant questions. New issues are usually addressed quickly.
4. Timing is everything. Early arrivals = shorter lines at headliner attractions. See the TRs for proof. Ensure that the newest, most innovative attractions are first in your plan. Also make sure you ride the slow-loading rides before high-capacity rides. Mid-day, if the crowds are huge, take it easy. Play games, see a show, sit down and relax. If your group is prepared to stay until closing, keep in mind that many families clear the park around supper time and most adults leave an hour or two before park close. Many high capacity rides are walk-ons in the late evening.
5. Know how the lines work and all the park perks, whether you use them or not. Disney's Fastpass, Universal's Universal Express, Cedar Fair's Freeway, Six Flags' Q-bot -- all allow guests to skip the regular queue, but they're not all the same and they’re not always the most efficient way to tour a park. Strategies are park- and crowd-level-specific.
6. Anticipate crowds. Call the park to see if they have any large group bookings. Will the weather attract day-trippers or drive them away? Also, don't forget that on-site resort guests often get early entry privileges. There may be long lines before official gate-opening.
7. Remember that your plan is not set in stone. Someone's sick, someone's tired, someone's hungry, someone's having a domestic dispute in the middle of park, all of the above (sorry, that was me). Scheduling fun is not the same thing as having fun. Don’t forget that relaxing can be fun. With a little patience, most issues sort themselves out within an hour and you can get on with your day at the park.

I hate to be a tool and 'bump' a thread, but it was one year ago this week that this first appeared and being that time of year again there is some excellent advice/tips to be found here.

Bookmark this thread and use it wisely over the summer. :)

Oddly I was gonna bring this back to life soon as well since travel season is upon us. The first post has been updated.

Below is a link to the website for PennDOT (PA Department of Transportation).

http://www.dot.state.pa.us

When you get to the homepage, put your cursor on "traveler information" then follow the menu to either the list of construction projects or the statewide map showing locations of major construction projects based on regions throughout the state.

This would come in handy for anyone attending CoasterBuzzCon, as well as anyone planning on driving to any PA parks this spring and summer. Hopefully, it might spare a few headaches.

Thanks RGB! I didn't give each state's DOT url in the main post because I figured people should be able to find them on their own with a simple search. But yes, with as many parks as PA has that one definitely comes in handy ;)

And as much road re-construction as PA has too.

No problem, Mamoosh. That would be a heck of a lot of typing and/or cutting/pasting anyway. Although I don't think those URLs are the most logical. I use that one several times a month at work, and if anyone asks me for the address, I still have to physically open the bookmark to read the address.

The biggest nuisance I saw so far is a stretch of I-78 west of Allentown that will be reduced to one lane eastbound during the spring and summer. Anyone heading to Dorney from that direction will hit that. (Another good reason why CoasterBuzzCon is better being the weekend before Memorial Day.) If anyone's interested, I could give you a few tips on getting around that particular location. *** Edited 4/1/2005 5:20:00 AM UTC by RatherGoodBear***

If Yahoo! Maps or MapQuest have funky directions, try the Google Maps BETA. It's nifty :)

Here is a link to Maryland's Road Construction and traffic incident system.

http://www.chart.state.md.us/travinfo/travinfo.asp

Here is a listing for some current deals for Orlando.

link *** Edited 4/6/2005 5:12:41 PM UTC by Jeff***

Well, this past Thursday (April 21) I got to tyr out one of my shortcuts-- or what I had hoped would be a shortcut. I was traveling East on I-78 toward Allentown. There's construction between the Kutztown and Fogelsville exits.

First I tried I'd drive through it since I had gone a few miles past the "first notice" of construction without hitting any backups. Well, soon after I passed the Kutztown exit, that changed. I was able to drive most of the way to the actual merge point in the left lane, although slowly. And although in PA, they tell vehicles to stay in 2 lanes until the actual merge point, a lot of people still try to pull into the open lane miles ahead of the spot, which slows things down considerably. And they also don't let you in at the "proper" merge point because you passed them out.

Since I had a seminar to get to, I thought I'd get off at the next exit and take my shortcut-- Old Route 22. Well that quickly turned into a mistake, since at the intersection off the exit ramp, I was greeted by a parade of cars already traveling on 22. So several dozen assorted vehicles later, I was finally able to turn onto Old 22.

Old 22 itself wasn't a bad drive until the village of Fogelsville and the intersection of Route 100, where there is yet more construction going on. So, to make a long story even longer, unless you can time it right, I think your best bet is to just allow yourself extra time and plan on sitting in construction on I-78 this year.

Since some people in other threads have mentioned backups on I-81 around the I-78 split in eastern PA, let me offer this possible detour.

If you're going northbound, take the Fort Indiantown Gap exit, I believe it's Exit 85-- go northbound on Route 934. Follow that several miles past the National Cemetery, through the old military reservation until you come to Route 443. Turn onto Eastbound 443. You'll probably go about 8 miles or so until you intersect I-81 again (Pine Grove exit), but you'll be beyond the construction. Just hop on I-81 north again.

If you're southbound, simply reverse the directions. Get off at the Pine Grove Exit, and head West on 443. Turn south on Route 934 and proceed until you meet I-81 again.

One interesting little aside, along Route 443 you will pass Twin Grove Park, which is slowly being restored. It might be worth a gander if you aren't in a hurry and have some extra time to kill.

I find that part about hotels not accepting Debit cards a little hard to believe. I mean if you make your reservation online with a debit card, why couldnt you use that same card when you get to the hotel? Dosent make much sense.