Brief Update

ChanceWMitchell · Brief Update

Howdy Ya'll!

I am currently in Hershey, the sweetest place on Earth! I figured I'd give you guys a brief update with some stats from my summer thus far:

Parks: 35
Hours Within a Park: 519 hours, 49 minutes
Coasters: 208
Total Number of Coaster Rides: 1825
Miles of Coaster Track Traveled: 1242.4
Total Inversions: 2483

Ok, so I'm a nerd and made an Excel spreadsheet that calculates all sorts of fun stats for me... haha

If you have any questions about a specific park, just let me know and I'll reply as soon as possible!

So far I've been to:

Valleyfair (home park)
Worlds of Fun
Silver Dollar City
Beech Bend
Holiday World
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Kings Island
Indiana Beach
Six Flags Great America
Mt. Olympus
Timber Falls
Michigans Adventure
Cedar Point
Six Flags St. Louis
Dollywood
Six Flags Over Georgia
Carowinds
Freestyle Music Park
Busch Gardens Europe
Kings Dominion
Six Flags America
Morey's Piers
Six Flags Great Adventure
Coney Island
Adventureland (Long Island)
Six Flags New England
Funtown Splashtown USA
Canobie Lake Park
Lake Compounce
La Ronde
The Great Escape
Playland Park
Dorney Park
Knoebels
Hersheypark

Parks left:
Lakemont Park
Kennywood
Conneaut Lake Park
Waldameer
Canada's Wonderland
Darien Lake
Seabreeze
Cedar Point

Again, if you have any questions just fire away!

Wylder

Wow!

Just wow.

e_tapley0687

I really like how you have the stats of your trip! I might have to do that sometime!

Do you have any favorite parks yet? Or how about most thrilling, most over priced, and so on lol.

ChanceWMitchell

Hmmm.... I like this Idea!

Im going to do the top 3 for each category I can think of, let me know if you think of any other fun categories!

most over priced:
1. Morey's Piers (luckily I was at an event that saved me ton!)
2. Six Flags Great Adventure (season pass from SFKK saved me a bundle)
3. La Ronde (again, SFKK sseaon pass)

best value
1. Knoebels
2. Holiday World
3. Lake Compounce

favorite dark rides
1. Kurse of DarKastle (BGE)
2. Haunted House (Knoebels)
3. Corkscrew Hill (BGE)

favorite water rides (i dont ride many, so take with a grain of salt)
1. Zoom Phloom (Morey's Piers)
2. Coal Crusher (Hersheypark)
3. Waterbogan (Silver Dollar City)

Best Flat Ride
1. Skooters (Knoebels)
2. Maxair/Delirium (Cedar Point/Kings Island)
3. Skyhawk (Cedar Point)

best food
1. Knoebels
2. Busch Gardens Europe
3. Dollywood

best atmosphere
1. Knoebels
2. Silver Dollar City
3. Holiday World

best staff
1. Holiday World
2. Carowinds
3. Silver Dollar City

worst capacity (coasters only)
1. Six Flags Over Georgia
2. La Ronde
3. Knoebels

Best Capacity (coasters only)
1. Carowinds
2. Kings Island
3. Lake Compounce

Best Wooden Coaster
1. Voyage (Holiday World)
2. Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce)
3. Shivering Timbers (Michigans Adventure)

Best Steel Coaster
1. Maverick (Cedar Point)
2. Bizarro (Six Flags New England)
3. Millennium Force (Cedar Point)

Best Park
1. Holiday World
2. Cedar Point
3. Hersheypark

e_tapley0687

Great! Really cool to see how you rank the parks and their rides. One more category, Most crowded. Very Happy

ChanceWMitchell

most crowded (by popular request)
1. Dorney Park (parking lot was completely full. not an open space)
2. Busch Gardens Europe
3. Kings Dominion

favorite invert
1. Afterburn (Carowinds)
2. Talon (Dorney Park)
3. Great Bear (Hersheypark)

favorite floorless
1. Dominator (Kings Dominion)
2. Hydra (Dorney Park)
3. Bizarro (Medusa)

favorite stand up
1. Georgia Scorcher (SFoG)
2. Mantis (Cedar Point)
3. Chang (SFKK)

favorite flyer (let the debating begin)
1. Firehawk (Kings Island)
2. Superman: Ultimate Flight (SFoG)
3. Superman: Ultimate Flight (SFGAm)

favorite hyper (B&M only)
1. Nitro (SFGAdv)
2. Goliath (SFoG)
3. Raging Bull (SFGAm)

favorite launch coaster
1. Maverick (Cedar Point)
2. Storm Runner (Hersheypark)
3. Volcano: The Blast Coaster (Kings Dominion)

most over rated coaster
1. Bizarro (SFGAdv)
2. Diamondback (Kings Island)
3. Apollo's Chariot (BGE)

biggest surprise (pleasant, of course)
1. Griffon (BGE)
2. Excalibur (funtown Splashtown USA)
3. Storm Runner (Hershrypark)

parks with worst lay out
1. Six Flags Great America
2. Six Flags Great Adventure
3. Great Escape

best lay out
1. Cedar Point
2. Busch Gardens Europe
3. Knoebels

best coaster collection
1. Cedar Point
2. Hersheypark
3. Six Flags Great Adventure

worst coaster collection
1. Canobie Lake Park
2. La Ronde
3. Six Flags America

favorite six flags park
1. Great America
2. Great Escape
3. St. Louis

least favorite six flags park
1. America
2. La Ronde
3. Over Georgia

favorite cedar fair park
1. Cedar Point
2. Dorney Park
3. Kings Island

least favorite cedar fair park
1. Carowinds
2. Michigans Adventure
3. Valleyfair

favorite other park
1. Holiday World
2. Hersheypark
3. Knoebels

least favorite other park
1. playland park
2. canobie lake park
3. funtown splashtown

enoying discussing!

Darienlakerules

when are you going to sea breeze again? I might be able to met up, might not.

ChanceWMitchell

i'll be at Darien Lake on the 14th and Seabreeze on the 15th

Darienlakerules

Stingray · Hershey's size of the park?

Hey Chance: I always wanted to visit Hershey’s park. How big is the park compare to King’s Dominion or Bush Gardens Europe? I haven't been to the other parks so I'm trying to see it base on what I know. Also, where is a good place to stay at when visiting Hershey’s park. What do you think of Big Bad Wolf at Bush Gardens Europe? Be Honest, with the ride being removed it’s sure leaving a void in the park I think.
Thanks, you got a lot of ride behind you now. Hope you enjoy them.

Doug_Barnes

ChanceWMitchell

Stingray,
Id say its pretty comparable in size to BGE. They managed to put a lot more in it though.

And im very glad i got a chance to ride big bad wolf this year and am sad to see it go. i dont understand this move at all... BGE cant afford to take out a coaster like that. when i was there in early july its queue house was full most of the time. and it was really the only moderate coaster in the park. im sure they'll have a great replacement, but they dont seem to be out of land by any means... youd think they could add a new attraction without removing it. oh well.

Doug,
i didnt say diamondback was bad, just over rated. people have said its the vest coaster ever, and i just dont get why... sure, it offers great airtime, but i think its substantially less than Nitro or Goliath at Over Georgia. and its layout offers nothing apart from it. the helix is forceless, the hammerhead gentle, and the midcourse bites way too hard. i do, however, love the new trains!

but thats the basis for my opinion. and when my 55 year old mother got off saying "thats a fun little ride" i knew ir was far too mild for my taste... haha

e_tapley0687

^ Oh maybe you can give me some tips for BGE. I'm seriously thinking about going there one of the weekends in Sept! Tips on a cheap nearby hotel is a plus lol.

ChanceWMitchell

hmmm... i suppose i should mention im sleeping out of my car and not getting hotels on this trip. haha, im cheap. so i cant offer much advice on lodging...

BGE is pretty easy to navigate and im not in any way a local expert on it, so i dont have too much to say...

i guess the big thing is to try and achieve a pretty easy goal: be on the first ride of the day on 4 different coasters. scotland opens at 9:30, so run to Loch Ness Monster. france opens at 10, so run to griffon next. italy and festa italia open at 10:30, so after griffon you should run back around through scotland to Apollos Chariot. germany opens up at 11, so run back through scotland and france to get first ride on alpengeist. or you can get in line for BBW which opens at 11:30. it requires a lot of quick movenent through hilly terrain, but its a neat thing to accomplish!

Stingray · Hershey park still do free candy

Thanks, I really want to go there. Does Hershey part still give out free candy or samples? Is there a tour of the factory there?
I glad you enjoy Big Bad Wolf. And I totally agree with you. Why remove a ride and make it one less an attraction. I remember when the Dragon Fire coaster(I think it was called that) was there and they rip that out and made a panic area. They have room for more stuff. Why make it less there. The Germany part is got what 2 or 3 big rides and the bumper cars. Taking out the wolf seems to much. Just Darkastle and DasFathus to eat are the main attraction. Come on Bush Gardens. Yeah, it's sad I just wish they could keep it. Also what was it about Apollo's you thought was overrated. I like it, but I know there some issues with it. What was it that you found different. Thanks man, you got awesome summer there I learning a lot from the review you give.

ChanceWMitchell

they do a tour at hershey, but i didnt go on it. i have no clue about free candy, i didnt find any but i wasnt looking either.

and i had heard such great things about apollos chariot. i wasnt impressed with what felt like pretty average airtime. honestly, im not a huge B&M fan. i think their rides are just too mild for my taste. with the exception of their inverts and a couple hypers. i know im in the minority, but its just just my opinion.

ChanceWMitchell

i have now ridden every B&M hyper in the western hemisphere, so i figured id share my feelings on how they rank. this is just an opinion, but i am willing to defend my thoughts. here we go:
1. Behemoth
2. Nitro
3. Goliath at SFoG
4. Raging Bull
5. Apollo's Chariot
6. Diamondback
7. Goliath at La Ronde

Stingray

Ok my B&M has been limited to BGE or KD(is there a B&M at KD?). So, is the longer the ride the better it is for B&M or just the design. What was Apollo's rank from your view point was that ride also too short or just not enough of a design.

ChanceWMitchell

the only B&M at KD is Dominator, a floorless.

but its really a variety of things that factor in. length is a factor, but not a huge one. the big factor for hypers is airtime. but there has to be a bit more to its layout. thats why La Ronde's Goliath ranks last, its nothing but mediocre air hills. basically it just comes down to how much of the ride is just plain fun.

i found diamondback pretty dull following the hammerhead, and just boring after the midcourse. Apollos was fun and has a great unique layout. but it was their first hyper so the airtime is a ways below average. nitro and SFoG's goliath both deliver with fantastic airtime and high g turns. neither ride ever lets up. and behemoth is just incredible.

CoastinCam

I'm wondering what Raging Bull has over Diamondback? I mean, Raging Bull, talk about boring forceless ride... I've ridden both and find D-back far superior. Just my two cents. Would love to hear your opinion.

ChanceWMitchell

in my opinion they're both pretty forceless. they each have one decent air hill and that is about it. i enjoy Raging Bull's low to the ground twists and turns. its a very unique layout for a hyper to have. again, this is all a matter of opinion.

In all honesty, I think I need to ride Diamondback again and give it a fair chance. I went into it with such high expectations that there was almost no way it could live up to them. Plus i was there right after Holiwood Nights, where I rode Voyage 109 times. Any coaster will feel mild following a 2 day marathon on that Gravity Group masterpiece. I was there, however, for 3 days and my opinion never changed much.... I dont know. Im sure I'll ride it again sometime in the future and can better assess it then.

CoastinCam

Haha, yeah. I also rode right after my visit to Holiday World. I don't think there is a steel coaster in the world better than The Voyage. Its just purely a work of art...

Doug_Barnes

The Voyage is the greatest coaster experience - Hands Down! Wink

(of course most argue that I'm insane with that opinion).

Love Diamondback, however I think I would be a little dissapointed by it if I rode The Voyage first.

Brief Update

Hershey's size of the park?

Hershey park still do free candy