My Summer Park Trip..Ohio, Canada, and New York/PA
Took a while, but I've worked out my trip plans...
I've pretty much finalized the itinerary for my Summer Park trip. I scaled it back because of financial and health considerations. This is what it looks like:
June 24-25..Kings Island
June 26-28..Cedar Point
June 29-30..Canada's Wonderland
July 1 OR 2..Darien Lake
July 4 OR 5..vague possibility of Kennywood, but unlikely
Any tips and suggestions will be appreciated. This will be my first time at Wonderland and Darien Lake. The others I've been to multiple times.
If you want to include Kennywood, go from Cedar Point to Kennywood to Darien Lake, as Kennywood would be a nice stop right between the two parks.
Other than that, sounds like fun!
Thanks. Nick, But the Canada days are the ones that work for the person I'm meeting up with. Switching those days to another leg of the trip probably wouldn't work very well.
From James Rao
Posted May 30, 2010 at 4:03 AM
Sounds like a very fun excursion! Are you going to keep a "sorry you couldn't be there" diary so those of us trapped between so-so Worlds of Fun and less than so-so Six Flags Saint Louis can live vicariously though your adventures? ;)
Funny you should mention that, James. SFStL and WOF were part of this trip in its original incarnation.
From James Rao
Posted May 30, 2010 at 6:31 AM
WoF and SFStL are on the same level as Darien Lake... so you are not missing much. Of the parks in Missouri, Silver Dollar City is top dawg!
James,
I've heard mostly negative reviews of DL, specifically Predator. But I'll ride anything, and am really looking forward to Ride of Steel and the Moto-Coaster. I've not been on anything like the latter, and I've heard and read good things about the former.
If you've been to Cedar Point and Kings Island several times before, I would suggest spending time at some other parks in the area. Taking a day off Cedar Point could add Waldameer and Kennywood to the list (you can do both in one day) and a day off Kings Island could give you a day at Holiday World (which I highly suggest!).
Thanks, David. Been to all those parks, a couple as recently as last summer, and love 'em all! But I make very little money and have to scrape my trips together. So adding those parks..and the extra time..would be cost prohibitive. One of the reasons I'm doing this is because I have a Platinum Pass from Dorney, so my admissions and parking are covered at CP, KI, and CW. And I'll be staying with someone in Canada, so I don't wish to re-arrange my dates. When all is said and done, though, I do want to get back to Holiday World. I liked the park a lot, and my 50 voyages on Voyage made me yearn for 50 more. I do believe that Voyage will go to my #2 spot if and when I get the chance to ride it again.
Mike - that is very similar to a trip I took around Lake Erie a couple of years ago. Flew into Cleveland, then went to Darien Lake, Canada's Wonderland, Michigan's Adventure and then an extended 3-day chill out at Cedar Point before returning to Cleveland to fly home.
I have to admit a fair amount of disappointment in most of the stops. Darien Lake was run as if it were still part of the old Six Flags family - that is to say poorly. And nothing really stood out in the park. There is nowhere to escape the sun in the park and nothing really that unique to make it worth the trip. If I had it to do over again, I either would have substituted a stop at Martin's Fantasy Island (just before you cross over into Canada) or Seabreeze in Rochester. Both are relatively inexpensive, with free parking.
Canada's Wonderland, while coaster heavy, was short on standouts. But Behemoth had just opened that year, and it alone was worth it (although how different Behemoth will be from Diamondback I don't know - haven't been on the latter.) There were many similarities in rides between CW and KI - although CW probably has more unusual ones like Time Warp, SkyRider (a Togo two across standup - that was in great shape)and Dragon Fire (a custom arrow headbanger).
Get to CW really early - it backs up at the parking gate and try to avoid leaving with the crowd as the stoplight to get out can't handle the massive flow at closing time. I think it was 30 to 45 minutes waiting to get out of the parking lot. (For going in, there is an entrance off Jane street that is much shorter. The one off of Rutherford seems to be two miles long, and that's the one I got stuck in trying to get out.) I'm sure your friend will know the tricks to getting in and out.
Have fun and like James, I look forward to reading about your trip.
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