coaster count
My coaster count is now 45!
This past weekend, four of us visited two small amusement parks in Pennsylvania: Kennywood, near Pittsburgh, and Knoebels, near... um... some mountains. This added nine roller coasters to my count, including some old fashioned wooden ones. I can't say I particularly enjoyed all of them, but I tried to be open minded about it. Knoebels has some great old fashioned wooden coasters, if you enjoy feeling like you're in a paint shaker (only less secure). I don't really like having to fiercely grab onto the ride the entire time to avoid throwing myself into the person next to me. Or the side of the car. It wasn't exactly painful, like Mean Streak; it was just annoying, and not what I'd call "thrilling." Apparently I'm in the minority with this view, though.
In any case, Kennywood did manage to squeeze two into my top 10, although I'm not sure 10 out of 45 is all that impressive. This list is based on my gut feeling about the ride experience itself, rather than the circumstantial, emotional qualities (e.g. I enjoy Blue Streak's short line, I hate Dragster's downtime).
1. Millennium Force - Cedar Point
2. Maverick - Cedar Point
3. Raptor - Cedar Point
4. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point
5. Dominator - Geauga Lake -- It's like a mix of Raptor and Mantis, but incredibly smooth. This is being relocated to Kings Dominion.
6. Flight of Fear - Kings Island
7. Vortex - Kings Island
8. The Beast - Kings Island -- Extra points for the experience after dark.
9. Racer - Kennywood -- A very, very smooth wooden coaster.
10. Phantom's Revenge - Kennywood -- Extra points for use of the surrounding terrain, aside from being a good flight in general.
I'll be adding to my count this December if/when I visit Knott's Berry Farm, and next year if/when I make it to Canada's Wonderland (both Cedar Fair parks, which means free admission with my season pass).
7 Comments:
The 'Raptor' like ride at Knott's Berry (I forget its name) is a good ride, everything else there seems to be mimics of what you can get at CP. They have an accelerator that sends you forward and backwards and is over rather quick, and a Power Tower one that is three pillars instead of four.
Oh, and let me know when you're in the Burgh next. Slacker.
Yeah, I didn't even realize it until yesterday when I thought, "Hmm I wonder if Hasko lives near Waldameer" and looked up your address.
(I already told you this but figured I'd post it publicly too. :D )
When Julie and I drove out to Maryland this past summer, we took Route 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) through Pennsylvania. Although it took us longer than the turnpike, we thoroughly enjoyed it. We drove past a small amusement park along the way called "Idlewild". Have you ever thought about checking that out?
Idlewild is actually owned by the parent company of Kennywood also. I haven't been there, but Justin described it as a "bolted down carnival." :) But they do feature a wild mouse style roller coaster with actual mouse-shaped cars, and a Mister Rogers trolley.
"Bolted down carnival" seems about right for what we could see from the road (which was quite a bit, actually) but it seemed to have a sort of old-timey charm that was appealing.
Yeah, it kinda depends what you're looking for. We had fun on the old-fashioned flat rides at Knoebels, like the flyers where you can turn the fin to make your plane loft or dive. They also turned their antique car ride into a sort of drive-through haunted woods. Kennywood had one of those old style "fun house" buildings too, which I'd never been in (just like you see in the cartoons!).
Knoebels and Kennywood also had rather extensive Halloween theming, I'd say more than Cedar Point (proportionally, since CP is a larger park). It may just be that the smaller, more intimate setting lends itself to that.
But if one is going for outright thrills and spectacular coasters, the larger parks are probably more one's thing. On the other hand, Kennywood is $17 compared to CP's $43...
Oh, and "old timey"/"family" parks, by virtue of having fewer thrill rides, generally attract fewer teenagers, so that can sometimes be a refreshing change of pace too... :)
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