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SFGAdv or Dorney (or elsewhere?)

Six Flags Great Adventure: Looking for best place to go mid-week for the whole family. Live in North Jersey

From Scott Selig
Posted July 17, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Want to hit a theme park with the family next week (Wednesday or Thursday in late-July). Live in North New Jersey. SFGA? Dorney Park? Sesame Place? Looking for something for everyone:
Me - LOVES roller coasters
Wife - Hates roller coasters
Son - age 6 1/2, 48" tall - I think will love coasters too
Daughter - age 5, 44" tall

Selfishly, I'd like to hit the safari and coasters at SFGA (even though Kingda Ka is still down), but perhaps there's a place better for all of us.

Suggestions will be appreciated.


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Eli Katzman
Posted July 18, 2009 at 7:38 AM
Actually, I'd have to go with hershey... but besides the animals and water park, SFGAdv is mainly just a coaster junkie's park. hershey is pretty good for the whole family. the water park is quite fun, even for little ones. dorney has a pretty good camp snoopy for little kids, too.

I'd say it's between hershey and dorney. hershey has a cool family coaster called trailblazer. hershey is a great family park, and i'm sure your kids would enjoy the chocolate world! there is way more to do than you would think there!

From Joe Atchison III
Posted July 18, 2009 at 11:28 AM
I too agree with the recommendation for Hershey. Something for everyone and a better atmosphere. Six Flags gets too overrun for my tastes. Dorney's not bad and I think they are running a special with the waterpark for 2 for 1 admission.

From Eli Katzman
Posted July 18, 2009 at 2:13 PM
yeah, the water park is connected to the normal park, Dorney. They just say that so it seems like a better deal. Same with half of the six flags parks, but not SFGAdv.

From Bob Miller
Posted July 18, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Eli and Joe, you guys must have read my mind because I was going to answer Scotts' question earlier this morning, before your posts but had to sign off before I could. Scott, I totally agree with their answers, and with the free water area for the young ones, I highly recommend Hershey also.

There's plenty of coasters for you to enjoy while your wife entertains the children in the water area. And children rides are scattered all over the park, so you could actually ride a coaster in different parts of the park while your children are enjoying the kiddy rides too.

About the only downer, we've had fairly cool days(low 80's)and nights(50's), so the water might be chilly. Other than that Scott, spend the extra hour or so, and go to Hershey.

From Joe Atchison III
Posted July 19, 2009 at 6:42 AM
Just saw the Dorney commercial again and they are running 4 tickets for $125 (additional tickets at $31.25). A savings of $34 on 4.


From John Jackson
Posted July 19, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Dorney is a nice little park to visit. However, Hershey is outstanding. All of the rides are fun, not to mention you have a good mix of nostalgic old and new ones to choose from. The main reason to choose Hershey over SFGAdv is that all of the rides will actually be running. The only time I've ever seen the rides at Hershey down is when there is a thunderstorm nearby.
If you want a real treat, drive to Knoebels, hands down, my favorite park to visit. It has great (inexpensive) food, friendly people, rides you can't find in any one park anywhere else, and you never have to walk on cement. They have a lot of rides just for the kids that make me wish I could travel back in time just for the day. There's a reason that Knoebels has received the Golden Ticket award as the 2nd or 3rd greatest park for the past few years.

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