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You read that right. I will be posting fifteen trip reports in this thread. I am having a very busy (and expensive) June and rather than posting a thread for every park, you will be able to find them all here.

5-29-09 - Cedar Point (below)
6-6-09 - Kings Dominion
6-7-09 - Busch Gardens Williamsburg
6-9-09 - Dollywood
6-10-09 - Ober Gatlinburg
6-10-09 - Lake Winnepesaukah
6-12-09 - Beech Bend
6-17-09 - Seabreeze
6-17-09 - Sylvan Beach
6-18-09 - Six Flags Ne...err...Lake Compounce
6-19-09 - Six Flags New England
6-19-09 - Lake Compounce
6-20-09 - Quassy Amusement Park
6-21-09 - Six Flags Great Adventure
6-22-09 - Dorney Park
6-23-09 - Knoebels

So let's go back three weeks to a visit to Cedar Point, a very busy visit to Cedar Point.

Cedar Point 5-29-09

Weather: On the hot side, but very nice. Mostly sunny with temperatures in the 80s.

Crowds: Ugh. If you go by cars in the parking lot, it shouldn't have been busy at all. If you acknowledge the busses taking up about a quarter of the lot, you realize today will go down as one of the busiest of the season.

Random Comments:
-I don't care how cool it may look at night (I have not seen it myself yet), but the Starlight Experience completely butchered the Frontier Trail. In some areas it doesn't look like the park even tried to hide the cables. $1 million for Christmas lights? Surely there could've been a better use for the money.
-There are two rocket ships at Cedar Point. With the Euclid Beach Boys getting ahold of the third, all three are currently intact.
-I visited the park without spending a single penny (other than for my season pass three months ago) inside.
-Cici's Pizza may be one of the best deals anywhere. $8 for all you can eat pizza, pop, and other food. Its good, too. And there's one on 250 in Sandusky.
-Mean Streak sucks, even after a downpour. At least Predator could be good. Mean Streak just beats you up while being big and forceless.
-How much longer does Paddlewheel Excursions have in the park?
-How busy will the park be once we're out of school group season?
-My money's on a GCI wooden coaster for 2010.

For my pictures and additional comments: http://picasaweb.google.com/vgplay/CedarPoint52909#

Stay tuned!

WOW!! A busy few weeks!! In your Pics you have a pic of a video game. That is over in camper village and it ate 50 cents of mine!!!

I like the pics and i also hated to see those busses!!

Sounds like you having a blast! I know I am on trip 6! We have had a rough few weeks. My father in law had open heart surgery last week. He is doing great! I went to Cedarpoint yesterday and had a blast! I also went to WWK on Monday and had fun too! I hope the weather gets a bit warmer so I can enjoy the waterpark more!
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Life is like a rollercoaster. It is full of ups and downs!

I hope they keep PaddleWheel Excursions. Yes, they have corny jokes, but it is a nice relaxing ride...much like the CP&LE RR.

I'll agree with Mean Streak. How many bottles of Advil does it take for your back NOT to hurt anymore?
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I don't like a certain company so everything they do MUST be wrong, even if it's right. And that makes me look like a bigger fool.
Take a stand against coasters that hurt or kill people. Holiday World & Knotts Berry Farm, we are watching you!

Trying to keep up with the trip I am currently on, here is Seabreeze.

Seabreeze 6-17-09

Weather: Warm and cloudy. A slight feeling of a storm coming.

Crowds: Entirely school groups. A lot of little kids but lines were minimal.

After driving through seemingly useless construction (all that to still have two lanes?) I got to the park in about five hours. It was smaller than I was expecting, but very nice. Since I still had Sylvan Beach in the evening and rain was coming, I only spent two hours in the park.

Jack Rabbit: A classic 1920 John Miller coaster. Unfortunately there is very little airtime to talk about. There is one nice hill and the drop from the helix. I think it may be because of the Morgan trains. They seemed to track fine, but don't have the weight to pick up speed like Century Flyers or a similar classic train.

Bobsleds: Cute and fun. I'm not sure what else to say.

Whirlwind: Although people said it was better than Waldameer's Steel Dragon, I wouldn't say there was much of a difference. The first drop backwards is just as awesome, though.

For a park of its age and history, I honestly didn't feel much character. There aren't many classic rides and the buildings are too immaculately maintained. I like my parks to show some signs of age. Seabreeze was actually quite impressive with how great everything looked, but I'm not sure I liked that. If that makes sense.

For pictures and more comments: http://picasaweb.google.com/vgplay/Seabreeze61709#

Really enjoying the pictures so far. I'm looking forward to the rest. Sorry you didn't "get" Seabreeze. Not every park is for every one. As a fan of the park I'm very glad that you did enjoy what you did. A couple of comments, questions from your Seabreeze part below:

The carousel is not an exact replica of the old one. The carver did have a couple of pictures of the old ride to use as a reference, but only for a few of the new figures.

In a park newsletter last year or the year before they mentioned finding that "Pay As You Leave" sign when they were working on the Jack Rabbit station recently and decided to leave it up.

I'm one of the Whirlwind praisers. While it may not be leagues better one thing I noticed is that it is much more consistent than other spinning rides in that (in my experiences) it never seems to matter as much how weight is distributed...it just always seems to spin.

I believe that both the Kennywood Aero 360 and Seabreeze Screamin' Eagle are Zamperla Hawk's. Maybe different model types, but I'm pretty sure both are Zamperla.

Again, great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff
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Kings Dominion: Really the best amusement park in Virginia.

Agreed with Jeff. Thanks for sharing the pics.

I have Jeff to thank for introducing me to Seabreeze. I became an instant fan. You can tell the owners take great pride in the park as it is clean and immaculately maintained.

Add me to the Whirlwind praiser list also. Every time I've been on it, the spinning was just great. Waldameer's seemed to improve this season, so maybe that's why it didn't feel that much different.

Nice to hear the Musik Express runs faster forwards as I HATE going backwards on Himalaya rides.

Seabreeze's Carousel may very well be the best attraction in the park. They took so much care to recreate the ride from scratch, built a gorgeous pavilion for it, and even have rocking chairs for folks to sit and relax. I personally am a fan of the "What's Playing" feature. It's just so cool that the park thought to add little touches like this.

And yes, Aero 360 and the Screamin' Eagle are both Zamperla Hawks. Seabreeze has the 24 model, Kennywood (and Dorney) have the 48 model.

Again, thanks for sharing the pics from your trip and thanks for the Seabreeze TR. It may not have been your cup of tea, but I'm glad you got to experience it at least once.
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http://rayp.smugmug.com

Thank you for the comments. I was thinking Aero360 at Kennywood only had 2-across seating. Before Sylvan Beach, let me make a comment about Cedar Point I forgot to mention.

Why did they discontinue the all-you-can-drink wristband? They had it when I went on the 18th. $10 and it was a fabulous deal. Just walk up to a food stand, show your wristband, and you were given a small cup of whatever you wanted. When I returned less than two weeks later, on the 29th, they no longer offered it. Quite frankly it made me really angry. I probably would've gotten one whenever I went to the park. But instead I did not spend a penny inside, and don't see myself spending much over the season. It was a great deal, maybe that's why they did away with it. There cannot be great deals at Cedar Point.

Sylvan Beach 6-17-09

Weather: About the same as Seabreeze. Mostly cloudy and warm with dark clouds on the way.

Crowds: Completely dead. Most of the time I felt like the only person in the park.

Sylvan Beach is a park I learned about on Theme Park Review and I wanted to fit it into a trip since. I love anything old. Everything about the park is old, including their new rides. I was not disappointed. While I would've liked the park to be busier, I don't think there is a better example of a classic amusement park from the 1950s or 1960s than Sylvan Beach.

Galaxi: The park's coaster is a Galaxi. It ran pretty well, offering some nice drops and helixes.

Laffland: The park's pride and joy is their classic dark ride, Laffland, I much prefer classic "viewing" dark rides to modern "shooting" dark rides. The ride was great. Every stunt worked as it appeared it should and it was truly dark inside. You could see only the stunt that was lit up and nothing else. Quite a bit different than my favorite, Waldameer's Whacky Shack, which is more rooms and scenes than stunts.

I shot some video of the park, including POV of Galaxi and Laffland (with permission). I will edit that and get it online hopefully sometime soon.

As always, here are the pictures and additional comments: http://picasaweb.google.com/vgplay/SylvanBeach61709#

They got rid of it because people were stealing. People who had a band would get a drink from one stand and go to the next stand, buy a drink and give it to a friend. It was very smart to discontinue it.

I can understand the argument that people were using them for others. But to call it smart to discontinue? Tweak it somehow. Pop costs the park only pennies per cup. It would've been a guaranteed $10 out of me every visit. And with a season pass, I will be visiting at least every other week. But now I think I'm going to go the "leave for dinner and come back" route like I did and they're not going to see me spending much of anything inside the park. I'm sure I'm not alone on that.

Hey Vg!! I'm jealous ! I think it was great that you could do this and thank yo usoo much for sharing the pics!!

If I could sum up the following trip report in one line, this would be it:

Thank You Six Flags New England for being closed, and Thank You Lake Compounce for being open!

But if you would like to know what caused Six Flags New England to be closed and why I would thank Lake Compounce to be open, please continue reading.

Six Flags Ne...err...Lake Compounce 6-18-09

I woke up and left Sylvan Beach at about 9am. It was downpouring. I drove three and a half hours to Six Flags New England through said downpour. As I approached the park a friendly sign read, "PARK CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER".

...Really? ...Seriously? In frustration I pulled into a gas station to think. I had two days in the area, today and tomorrow. So if Lake Compounce was open, I could spend the rest of the day there and go to Six Flags tomorrow. But that was dependent on Lake Compounce being open. The friendly clerk at my hotel let me check in early (at 1pm) and I made two phone calls. Six Flags New England said they planned on being open on the 19th. Lake Compounce had no obvious way of actually talking with someone, but the automated system made no mention of being closed. So I crossed my fingers and drove to the park.

Weather: Cool, but not quite cold. Still downpouring.

Crowds: Keep reading.

As I drove up the entrance road, I found it odd that literally no one was coming or going. Picture the scene in Vacation where the Griswalds are driving up to Wally World. My fears only grew when I saw there were no parking lot attendants. Still, I drove into the lot to find five buses and NINE cars, including mine. As I get out, there are two guys also just arriving. I ask them if the park is open, they said they called and it is in fact, open. YES!

I walk through the downpour and find none of the ticket booths open. At Guest Relations I ask to buy a ticket. The girl informs me the park will be closing at 4 or 4:30pm. It is 2pm. I would still have to pay the full $35. I think for a second, and decide to enter. Could that have been the best $35 I will ever spend?

Once in, I find the park surprisingly staffed. Most games and shops are open. Yet there might be one or two other guests I can see. I make a credit loop of the park, just in case. First stop, Boulder Dash.

Boulder Dash - Part 1: I was so excited walking up. A major reason for taking this whole trip was to ride Boulder Dash. The time had come. I walk into the station with a handful of kids waiting for the train. No one is waiting for the back row, so I grab it. The ride operator informs everyone that if no one is waiting for their seat, they can stay on. No one was riding in the back seat. My lap bar is checked and out the train goes. Into the (still) downpour.

Dear Ravine Flyer II,
I am sorry. I don't know how to say this. I wanted to be critical, I really did, but Boulder Dash is my new #1 overall coaster. There is nothing for me to complain about. It truly is my perfect coaster. Running out of control through the woods, oodles upon oodles of airtime (both pops and sustained), a healthy amount of laterals, a long ride time, and ridiculous speed that never lets up. All while finding a perfect balance of not being silky-smooth while not being rough. Maybe you can take a ride one day and see what I mean.

I still love you,
VG

It was hard to get out of the seat when the train returned, even with people waiting for my seat. But there were two other coasters to ride, then I could return to Boulder Dash. Next up, the park's 1927 classic coaster.

Wildcat: I entered the surprisingly not empty station and got in the front seat. Fastened my seat belt and plopped down the buzzbar. It was a good ride. It offered some good pops of airtime and took the turns with some speed to produce laterals. If I didn't have only two hours in a park with Boulder Dash, I would've ridden more.

I couldn't control myself. I walked right back to Boulder Dash and got about 10 rides, some without leaving the seat, some in another seat. I must stop this madness. I force myself to walk across the park to their boomerang.

Zoomerang: I got a zen ride (What TPR calls it when you're the only one on the train) in the front. It wasn't bad. Maybe pretty good. Definitely smooth (seriously!). That doesn't change I rode this many many times at Geauga Lake. Can I go back to Boulder Dash?

I proceeded to lose all sanity (in a downpour).

Boulder Dash - Part 11ish-40ish: I couldn't get enough. Again and again and again I rode. I didn't care that I had to labor to keep my eyes open. If I wanted a different seat, I didn't have to leave the station. A bit less than an hour and a half of Boulder Dash. Who needs ERT? Then something amazing happened. The school kids left. I was the only person on the ride. I took the front seat and didn't get out. I would return to the station, the operator would ask if I wanted to go again, I would say yes, and I went again. Twenty three rides I got in the front seat without getting out. Then something very sad happened. I returned to the station and there was a maintenance guy in the station. The park had closed.

It was 4pm. I rode Boulder Dash around 40 times in my two hours at Lake Compounce. As I walked out of the park, I was soaked head to toe (and still downpouring). I also realized I was the last guest in the park. My car was the last in the parking lot. After the school kids left, was the park open for me?

It will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable coaster sessions of my life. If I had to cancel my trip and return home the next day, everything would've been worth it.

For proof of all those Boulder Dash rides and the rest of my pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/vgplay/LakeCompounce61809#

Thanks for taking the time out to keep us posted and for all the great trip reports.

That is weird about SFNE, I have heard of parks closing early due to rain but not of one being shut all day absent really severe tornado-like weather. Sounds like it worked out great at Lake Compounce though!

This has been a crazy summer! I know I just got back fron Cedarpoint and we had a blast and I finally had no rain to deal with! It was a beautiful day!
_________________
Life is like a rollercoaster. It is full of ups and downs!

After watching the literal exact same thing happen five weeks in a row on a TV show I'm watching, I take it as a sign that I must continue my trip reports.

Six Flags New England 6-19-09

Weather: Warm and overcast, but it never rained.

Crowds: The midways were busy, but the longest wait was only 20 minutes (with horrible operations).

Alright, let's try this again. My hotel was south of Hartford, so Six Flags was about an hour away after driving through the tail-end of morning rush hour (which wasn't bad). I got to the park around 10am, paid my $15 to park and made the long walk to the entrance. Bought my season pass and entered the park to get it processed (new to me).

Although it took a moment to find the building, it was a painless process of typing my information and getting my picture taken. Come to find out, the parking add-on works at all Six Flags parks. They don't seem to advertise that tidbit. If I make it to one more Six Flags park this year, it would've saved me money.

My first impression is, "Wow, this is very nice". The park itself is pretty and well cared for. All of the employees I have dealt with to this point have all been very friendly and helpful. My only experience with Six Flags was with Worlds of Adventure, so it has been some time. I make it down the midway to the rope.

After a few minutes a Master of Ceremonies of sorts comes out to entertain everyone waiting for the rope to drop. The first thing she does is ask everyone, "Who's traveled the furthest to be here"? Then the crowd starts shouting different cities from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Although I only traveled from Berlin, Connecticut I say, "Akron, Ohio". Everyone falls silent. The M.C. asks, "What was that"? "Akron, Ohio". "Akron, Ohio!" she announces to the crowd. As everyone is all "Wow!" and "That's far!", I am handed my prize, a show schedule.

All of the park's costumed characters are introduced with amusing skits. One of the skits resulted in a group of kids getting in early for the first ride on Bizarro. After a dance with all the characters, the big moment arrives. Its 10:30. A kid is chosen to push the TNT lever. After a countdown, the lever is pushed, and the rope is dropped. "Have a Six Flags day!"

(I thought the whole show to start the day was very nice. A bit cheesy at times, but a much better way to spend the time than standing wondering, "When will they let us in"?)

Everyone heads to Bizarro. The route is more than a little narrow, through what is probably the bottleneck of the park (between Thunderbolt and a gift shop). I walk through the people scrambling for lockers, and through the switchbacks, and up into the station. I grab the back row for my first ride.

Superman: Ride of Steel: I'm thinking about what to say here. Its a fantastic ride. Offering heaps of airtime at the top of every hill, strong forces in the twister section, and it keeps it's speed well. So I should be praising it as the second coming, right?

There's one slight new detail. The "reimagination". If I rode it last year without the audio and with traditional Intamin hyper restraints, it would almost definitely be my favorite steel coaster. But I rode it this year. With blasting incomprehensible noise, and a restraint that rests on the middle of my thighs. I felt every bit of airtime, as my thighs felt like they were going to snap in half. I'm 6'0"with long legs, so not out of the ordinary at all. But I haven't seen the same complaints? The scenery and fire didn't add much to the ride, but I can't say it detracted from it.

Although I was disappointed with the makeover, I grabbed another walk-on ride towards the back. Following my pattern of making a loop of the park then returning to what I want, I made my way over to Batman: The Dark Knight.

Batman: The Dark Knight: This cute little floorless was added during Six Flags' spending spree, and seems to exist only because of that. It is squeezed into the end of the park and is quite short. Despite that, however, it packs a punch and was a nice ride. But it was probably the roughest B&M I've been on. The park had only two people checking restraints, which made loading unnecessarily long. Due to those two things, I only got one ride.

Heading back I came to my next coaster, Mind Eraser.

Mind Eraser: My second SLC (my first is obvious) and I now fully understand why people said Thunderhawk was one of the best and most-ridable SLCs. Here's an interpretation of my ride, *SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*. Until I remembered TPR's "Vekoma Brace Position". I pushed my head into the side of the restraint and avoided anymore smacks for the rest of the ride. The ride does have a shiny new coat of paint.

I walked through the park's great 50s area (that shared similarities with Worlds of Adventure's) to Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt: The ride received a brand new train(no s), but I think the money should've been spent on a coat of paint. I sat in the middle of the last car. It was a good classic coaster, with pops of airtime on most hills. Since I sat in the middle, if it was rough I didn't notice.

Back across the entrance midway to the park's skyride, the New England Skyway. This unique skyride uses old cars that can best be described as "orbs" that only have a solid floor. The walls are just bars, which allow to see almost right below you, as well as out. When I got off I was right next to Pandemonium.

Pandemonium: My first Gerstlauer spinner. I got in the single rider line, which put me in a car with three total strangers (which was expected). The entire ride, it looked like the girl across from me was about to puke all over me. Luckily, she didn't. The ride itself was a lot of fun. Great spinning action and some very unique airtime (while spinning). I'm not sure I can directly compare it to Steel Dragon at Waldameer, as that was designed to be a portable coaster, while Pandemonium was designed to be permanent (and does things no portable coaster could do) but I think I may prefer Pandemonium to Steel Dragon.

Also at this end of the park is Cyclone. I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew is that it was reprofiled before the 2000 season.

Cyclone: Probably the surprise of the trip so far. I thought the ride was great. A short but awesome first drop, it really whips you out of your seat. And the rest of the ride is fairly intense. Beat-you-up rough, but not anything painful. I only say "fairly" as there are times where there should be strong airtime or laterals, but aren't because of the trim brakes that are all over the ride. One hill as you return to the station, in particular, should offer some of the best airtime anywhere. But doesn't since a trim slams down hard enough to toss you into the lap bar. Definitely NOT a ride that should be in a corporate park. Think of if The Voyage was at any corporate park...yeah. I would love to get a ride without the trims, or better yet, before the reprofile.

It was now lunchtime and the Panda Express I was next to looked good. $16 for a platter with orange chicken, beef and broccoli, and (dry) fried rice, as well as a coke. Everything except the rice was good, and portins were pretty big, but the meal was not worth $16.

Right next to Panda Express is the park's boomerang, Flashback.

Flashback: *SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*. Easily the worst boomerang I've been on. Had a "cage station" that I've only other seen on Invertigo at Kings Island.

Now my loop was essentially complete. I got some more rides on Bizarro (including one in the front seat) that only reinforced my opinion that the audio and restraints ruin the ride.

I then got in line for Batman that only existed because of the worst operations in the park. Bizarro only had a line in the station. Batman had a line down the stairs and into the switchbacks. 20 minutes it was. Why did I wait? I wanted another ride. Still only two operators checking restraints, and moving s-l--o---w.

It was at this time an idea popped into my head. There was nothing in the park that I would want to do for another few hours. A bit more than an hour away is my #1 coaster at a park I didn't truly experience. Hmm...?

I as I walk across the park to Cyclone, I am sidetracked by a magician on the midway. He was funny and entertaining, definitely worth watching. I walk back into the park's western village that seems to be the dead corner of the park. There's the bumper cars and a theater, but not much else. I get a ride on Cyclone and head back for one last ride on Bizarro. On my way over I notice a trash can percussion group performing on the midway.

I get my last ride and make my way out of the park. I hop on the M&Ms tram and head to spontaneous decision #1. If it was a "Six Flags day" that I had, that's prety good.

A few comments:
- Operations were "fine". Not great, but not bad (except for Batman).
- Food was expensive, on the same level as Cedar Point, but seemed to be of better quality.
- I asked for a cup of water at a food stand and got a cup of carbonated water.
- Ads are everywhere. Don't I see enough in real life? If Six Flags gets out of money problems, I hope the ads disappear.
- I hate to mention Cedar Fair here, but the Six Flags branding works because they established themselves as a chain over 20 years ago. For most of their life, Cedar Fair parks operated independently from one another. Just since the Paramount acquisition have they pushed Cedar Fair as a "chain". No one knows what Cedar Fair is. In Ohio people guess "Do they have something to do with Cedar Point"?
- For my first Six Flags park in six years, I walked away very impressed. The park and rides were in good shape and most of the employees were friendly. If all Six Flags parks are like this, I see them coming out of bankruptcy very strong.

For pictures and more comments: http://picasaweb.google.com/vgplay/SixFlagsNewEngland61909#

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