Waldameer - 7/6/23

Today was our last stop on the coasters and history tour. Last night we stayed in State College after our day at Knoebels. Our plan was to leave the hotel around 8, stop about halfway to Erie to charge the car, and arrive at Waldameer right around opening time at noon.

Unfortunately, about a mile into our journey the low tire pressure warning light came on for the driver’s front tire. I hopped out to find that the tire was at 25 psi instead of the recommended 42. Fortunately we brought our Ryobi inflator just in case. But while filling up I saw the unmistakable sight of a Phillips head sticking out of the tire. Great.

My wife was able to find a Discount Tire within driving distance but very much out of the way in Altoona. We debated scrapping the last day and just heading home since we have been gone for over two weeks. Since we had already pre-paid for the hotel and our Waldameer credits we decided to stick to the plan with the detour. The tire place squeezed us in right away and even patched the tire for free. If you are ever in Altoona and looking for a tire place, Discount Tire has my stamp of approval.

We hopped back on the road a little after 10 and made our way to the charging station we had picked out in Clarion. We opted for the winding route instead of I80 to save on some range. About halfway through I got struck with a migraine, complete with aura. Fortunately I was able to stave off a full blown headache while my wife took over driving duties. We arrived at Waldameer at 3, just in time for the rain.

Some highlights:

• Comet is a terrific family wooden coaster. Although there isn’t a ton of airtime the ride was full of action.
• Ravine Flyer II is absolutely nuts. I see why it gets such rave reviews. Those big swooping hills into the tunnels and ravine are just so glorious. I may have a new favorite wooden coaster!
• Whacky Shack was so much fun. Is it cheesy? Absolutely! My daughter and I had haven’t laughed that hard in awhile.
• Pirate’s Cove is a nice little fun house attraction. Although we found Noah’s Ark at Kennywood to be slightly better this has a certain nostalgia to it. I remember back I the day visiting fun houses at carnivals.
• Steel Dragon was a fun ride as well. Obviously it reminded me a lot of Laff Trakk at Hershey but this one seemed better. Maybe it was the lack of wait or seeing the whole track as we traversed it. Or maybe because it was the last coaster on the trip and I handled the spin better this time around.
• Thunder River was another solid log ride. A few decent drops with just a splash of water. The cave was a nice touch too.

The kids grabbed another ride on Whacky Shack and Steel Dragon to burn off the rest of the money on our Wally Card. Meanwhile my wife and I checked out the gift shop and took in the sights, sounds, and smells of our last amusement park on the trip. The day ended up working out just fine, even with some delays.

And that puts a wrap on our trip. 17 days (14 with rain), 3 major cities, 9 national parks, 8 amusement parks, 40 new coasters, and fewer than 5 arguments. Tomorrow brings the long trek back to Chicago.

Mulfinator:

17 days (14 with rain), 3 major cities, 9 national parks, 8 amusement parks, 40 new coasters, and fewer than 5 arguments.

And in an electric car? Impressive.

Nice report. Waldameer is a great small, traditional park that everyone should check out! Ravine Flyer II is the star attraction but Steel Dragon was a fun surprise as well. I’d love to see the park get a Talon size B&M inverted which would round-out the coaster experience nicely there.

eightdotthree:

And in an electric car? Impressive.

Other than having to wait at a few stations charging went fairly smoothly. My wife got three years of free charging on the Electrify America network when she bought her car. We spent a grand total of $1.80 charging at the ChargePoint station at Valley Forge.

EV travel isn't fundamentally that different. I've been to some chargers.

Yes and no. It does take longer to travel electric than gas. In theory our ID.4 gets 250 miles on a full charge. In practice it’s more like 200 at highway speeds and running climate control. Charging also does take longer than just filling up.

The other limiting factor is charging station availability. In the two years we have owned we have seen the demand for stations grow but the supply doesn’t seem to be keeping up. I can only speak to Electrify America as that is the network we predominantly use. We waited in line almost an hour at the King of Prussia mall for an available charger. Plus another half hour in the Boston area.

But yes the mechanics of the trip are generally the same. Drive and stop to fill up when you need to. It just happens more frequently and takes longer.

It's definitely a better experience on the Tesla network. Even at busy locations, I've had 600+ miles of range per hour, and typically it's in a place where we're stopping for food and/or potty breaks, so often it's 20 minutes. That's only a few minutes more than a gas stop to do the same thing. The real-world range on our Y is also 300, so that helps.

That 100 miles makes a difference. We considered the Model Y but ultimately went with the ID.4 since it was $20,000 less and eligible for the federal tax credit at the time. Now that the Model Y has dropped in price and is eligible again it is on my list for when my son takes over the Volt in three years.

The VW is a nice car. We might have to buy another soon, and it's on the list. Though at the current price for a 3, even before the tax credit, it's hard to beat.

I've had my eye on the 3 since it was announced. I was excited about the $35k price tag, which won't ever happen. But at $39k it's getting closer.

Of course it will happen. To your point, it's already close, and that's before the $7500 tax credit.

As an early adopter, I was dissatisfied with the quality problems, the misaligned panels and squeaks and such. But now they apparently get it right. I might be getting one... My wife unintentionally drove over a crowbar that hooked into the tire and did an extraordinary $12k in damage that we're aware of so far. After five plus years, it might be in total territory.

Holy crap!

I mean, I'd like to take a crowbar to every Tesla I see, but 12K? That's some next level shiznit!

EDIT to add, despite my joke above I'd be interested to see pics of what the aftermath looked like. And how scary was that? I can only imagine the noise it made. I'd be terrified!

I test drove the Model Y and liked it but at the time it was too pricey for what it is. The suspension felt like a pickup truck and I will never accept putting the vent position in a screen. My Outback Wilderness has the vent type - floor, defrost, etc - on the screen but at least I can reach out and move move it to where I want. Even in a world where the car is driving itself a touch screen is still too hard to use when it’s attached to the dashboard.

Not that anyone was asking what I though… lol.

I'm not holding my breath on the Model 3 ever reaching $35k. It was announced almost 9 years ago to the date. Tesla has historically over promised and under delivered. The Cybertruck is at least two years behind schedule. I'm fairly certain that Teslas didn't come down in price for any reason other than to align with the MSRP caps on the federal tax credits.

Nine years ago they had no competition and their cheapest offering was $80k. You can buy inventory today for $38k, or $30,500 after the tax rebate. I think you can breathe easy. :)

Meh. With two colleges to pay for I'll probably end up getting a Bolt or something similar.