2019 Plans

[_FuryBull_330_]

2019 is on and some parks should open soon (if not year round), so where are you guys going.

Definitely-
SFGAM
SFSTL
East Coast Trip-
Carowinds
Kings Dominion
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
SFA
SFGADV
Kennywood
Hersheypark

Maybe-
Canada Trip-
La Ronde
Canada's Wonderland
Marineland
Texas-
SFOT
SFFT

[Coaster Justin]

Done:
Six Flags Great America
Schlitterbahn Galveston
Kemah Boardwalk
Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier
Santa's Village aZoosment Park (July 14th with ACE)
Movie Park Germany
Cranger Kirmes Fair (Temporary Home of Olympia Looping)
Efteling
Bobbejaanland
Toverland
Walibi Belgium
Phantasialand
Holiday Park
Tripsdrill
Europa Park

[CoasterRiderSC]

Definitely -
Six Flags Great America
Cedar Point

Very Possible -
Frontier City
Six Flags Over Texas


Possible -
Six Flags St. Louis

[sfgamnut17]

Definitley
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags America
Maybe
Six Flags Great Adventure
Six Flags Magic Mountain
CAGA
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
Knotts Berry Farm
Seaworld San Diego

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[BCarroll]

This is going to be a fun year. Here are my finalized plans in order.

SFGAm - many times

Cedar Point
Kings Island
Kennywood
Hershey Park
SFGAdv
Six Flags America
Kings Dominion
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Carowinds
Dollywood
Kentucky Kingdom
Holiday World

[CoasterRiderSC]

Update: So we're definitely going to Cedar Point this year! I'm planning on buying 2 day tickets for 80 each.

It will be me and my family, and my 9 year old and I will be doing the coasters. We're planning on hitting the less popular rides the first day and the major/popular rides the 2nd day (Top Thrill, Millenium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick). She needs a "warm up" before hitting the "big" rides, so hopefully Day 1 will suffice. I was hoping to hit Top Thrill first thing on Day 2 and then Millenium Force or Steel Vengeance.

Will I be able to realistically hit all coasters except for Top Thrill, Millenium, Steel Vengeance, Maverick on Day 1, without a Flash Pass? We'll be there on 7/24 and 7/25 (Wed and Thur).

Also, any tips for our visit there? Is there enough to do there for smaller riders (42 inches) ?

[JaminOut]

Update: So we're definitely going to Cedar Point this year! I'm planning on buying 2 day tickets for 80 each.

It will be me and my family, and my 9 year old and I will be doing the coasters. We're planning on hitting the less popular rides the first day and the major/popular rides the 2nd day (Top Thrill, Millenium Force, Steel Vengeance, Maverick). She needs a "warm up" before hitting the "big" rides, so hopefully Day 1 will suffice. I was hoping to hit Top Thrill first thing on Day 2 and then Millenium Force or Steel Vengeance.

Will I be able to realistically hit all coasters except for Top Thrill, Millenium, Steel Vengeance, Maverick on Day 1, without a Flash Pass? We'll be there on 7/24 and 7/25 (Wed and Thur).

Also, any tips for our visit there? Is there enough to do there for smaller riders (42 inches) ?

There is a lot to do in the park and not very much time to do it (especially during the busy season). If you are staying at one of their hotels, you will get early entry to select rides one hour prior to park opening. Take FULL advantage of this. I’m not sure how much of a warm up your 9 y/o may need for the bigger rides, but the following rides are guaranteed to have a wait over 45 minutes either day you go:
- Raptor (Morning/early afternoon)
- Gatekeeper (Same)
- Valravn (Throughout day)
- Millennium Force (Same)
- Maverick (Same, but lighter in the early morning)
- Steel Vengeance (All day)
- Too Thrill Dragster (Whenever it decides to operate)

That list is also in order of the length of the likely max wait time. SV and TTD are likely interchangeable at around 90-120 minutes. If at all possible, a) spread the “big rides” out between the two days and use the early entry on them and b) get fast lane plus one of the days. It’s expensive but worth every penny. It’s also a wristband, so you can’t share it with other members of your party like you could with the Flash Pass. Also, if there is any sign of inclement weather, Cedar Point basically goes into lockdown (compared to Great America where I rode Raging Bull in a thunderstorm). Prioritize the big rides if this happens to you.

I know it’s a lot of information, but it will give you the best experience possible. I first went to Cedar Point when I was 10 and I had a blast. I hope your kid does too!

[CoasterRiderSC]

There is a lot to do in the park and not very much time to do it (especially during the busy season). If you are staying at one of their hotels, you will get early entry to select rides one hour prior to park opening. Take FULL advantage of this. I’m not sure how much of a warm up your 9 y/o may need for the bigger rides, but the following rides are guaranteed to have a wait over 45 minutes either day you go:
- Raptor (Morning/early afternoon)
- Gatekeeper (Same)
- Valravn (Throughout day)
- Millennium Force (Same)
- Maverick (Same, but lighter in the early morning)
- Steel Vengeance (All day)
- Too Thrill Dragster (Whenever it decides to operate)

That list is also in order of the length of the likely max wait time. SV and TTD are likely interchangeable at around 90-120 minutes. If at all possible, a) spread the “big rides” out between the two days and use the early entry on them and b) get fast lane plus one of the days. It’s expensive but worth every penny. It’s also a wristband, so you can’t share it with other members of your party like you could with the Flash Pass. Also, if there is any sign of inclement weather, Cedar Point basically goes into lockdown (compared to Great America where I rode Raging Bull in a thunderstorm). Prioritize the big rides if this happens to you.

I know it’s a lot of information, but it will give you the best experience possible. I first went to Cedar Point when I was 10 and I had a blast. I hope your kid does too!

Thanks Ben!! We are not staying in one of their hotels while we're there. We are going in July to get a better price on Great Wolf Lodge. I do know they have a May-June pass for 60 but that won't help us.

I'm assuming the fast lane plus is per person? I'm probably also going to buy two 2 day dining passes for 54 each. If I read the fine print correctly you can get a meal (entrée and side) every 90 minutes!! 2 of those should suffice for our family (2 eat and then 2 other eat 90 minutes later). How are the food lines compared to our park?

[Jodon]

You should be able to do everything in 2 days, especially if you're strategic about it.

A couple of hints:
-Avoid the front of the park in the first 3-4 hours of the park being open like your life depended on it. Raptor, Blue Streak, Gatekeeper, Wicked Twister, and Valravn will have very short waits after mid-afternoon.
-The beginning of Day 1 would be a good time to head over to Camp Snoopy to get on the little kid roller coasters to build up confidence. Also, rides like Gemini and Magnum typically have pretty small lines in the morning, but they don't get crazy any time of day.
-Iron Dragon is a good warm up coaster as well, but keep in mind that Cedar Point usually makes it a VR coaster later in the day, so if you don't want to ride it with VR make sure you get on it earlier in the day. This ride can also have a full queue a lot of the day, but it's a fun ride.
-Steel Vengeance will likely have a long line for the whole day. You're best bet is to ride it last thing on one of the days you're there. This might be a good way to end day 1 after everyone has had the first day to warm up to bigger rides. Also, if you ride it at the end of the night, your 60-120 minute wait won't effect you getting on other rides.
-To start day 2, I would suggest if you can, try to get on Maverick, Millennium Force or TTD first thing. Try to use one of the side entrances, either by Valravn (for Millenium Force) or Magnum (for TTD or Maverick) to get better and faster access. If you see TTD warming up when you are waiting to get in the park, it's not a bad idea to head over there from the Magnum entrance first thing and get in line before the ride opens. To get to the Valravn entrance, you'll likely have to walk to it from the main parking lot. To get to the Magnum entrance, you can park your car in the Cedar Point Shores parking lot.
-If you don't ride TTD at the beginning of day 2, I would recommend as soon as you see TTD testing/operating, head over there and get in line. The ride operates sporadically, so take advantage whenever the ride is open.
-The two dining passes should work the way you are intending. In my experiences, the food lines have been significantly better that the lines at SFGAm.
-If you can swing a FL+ for one of the days, I doubt you will regret it. It really does allow you to make the most of your day. It will allow you to cram lots of rides in, or ride everything you want while getting to spend time with the rest of your family. But they are expensive.
-This won't help you for this year, but I typically purchase my Cedar Point tickets in the fall when they offer Admission and FL+ for around $80. If you are thinking of going back next year or sometime in the future, look for that promotion around October/November.

Hope this helps.

[CoasterRiderSC]

^ Thanks for the additional tips, Jodon! Is the first drop on Millennium Force terrifying? I'm trying to talk my 9 yo into doing that ride! I'm thinking it's gonna feel just like Goliath, except an extra 120 feet! Also I watched a POV video of Millennium Force and it looks like a good deal of the ride is along the ground.

Also what about the drop on Top Thrill? To me I'm not really concerned with the launch but that 400 ft drop!
It's the "fear of the unknown" . I keep telling her the rides aren't as bad as they look She's done all the rides at our park (and survived!).

For both of us, the tallest coaster we've been on is Raging Bull.

[Jodon]

To me, Goliath's drop is more intense. You get a lot more air time on Goliath's first drop compared to MF. However, the whole MF experience can be quite intimidating for a first time rider. The lift is very different with how steep and fast it is, and you really get a great experience of height on the way up. TTD's drop isn't terrible either. You definitely get some good airtime, but it's not ejector air in my opinion.

[CoasterRiderSC]

To me, Goliath's drop is more intense. You get a lot more air time on Goliath's first drop compared to MF. However, the whole MF experience can be quite intimidating for a first time rider. The lift is very different with how steep and fast it is, and you really get a great experience of height on the way up. TTD's drop isn't terrible either. You definitely get some good airtime, but it's not ejector air in my opinion.

Thanks! I appreciate it! I'm looking forward to our trip there and she is too.

[Tardis1972]

Here are the parks I’ll be visiting in 2019
SFGAm
Cliffs May 28th
Kentucky Kingdom June 21st
Holiday World June 21st
Indiana Beach June 22nd
Indiana Beach June 30th
My. Olympus Aug 17th
Canada’s Wonderland August 24th/25th
Kings Island October TBD

[CoastsToCoasters]

Randomly decided to book a visit to SFOG, couldn’t resist the $109 round trip ticket. My air b&b is 4min from the park so it’s incredibly convenient!

So has anyone been before or familiar with this park? Very much looking forward to this visit.

[Coaster Justin]

Randomly decided to book a visit to SFOG, couldn’t resist the $109 round trip ticket. My air b&b is 4min from the park so it’s incredibly convenient!

So has anyone been before or familiar with this park? Very much looking forward to this visit.

Be sure to ride the Carousel, Monster Mansion, Mind Bender, and Acrophobia
Justice League is the same as here... I believe

[CoasterRiderSC]

We hit Cedar Point for 2 total days on 7/23/19 and 7/25/19. I put my writeup in the Trip Reports forum.

[Tardis1972]

Here are the parks I’ll be visiting in 2019
SFGAm
Cliffs May 28th
Kentucky Kingdom June 21st
Holiday World June 21st
Indiana Beach June 22nd
Indiana Beach June 30th
My. Olympus Aug 17th
Canada’s Wonderland August 24th/25th
Kings Island October TBD

My updated 2019 Park visits.

[CoasterRiderSC]

Here are the parks I’ll be visiting in 2019
SFGAm
Cliffs May 28th
Kentucky Kingdom June 21st
Holiday World June 21st
Indiana Beach June 22nd
Indiana Beach June 30th
My. Olympus Aug 17th
Canada’s Wonderland August 24th/25th
Kings Island October TBD

My updated 2019 Park visits.

I am looking forward to your write up for Canada's Wonderland! That park looks awesome!

[Tardis1972]

^ I will write up a TR if I actually go to the park. The friend who I’m supposed to go with is sick right now and doesn’t know if he’s going to be able to go.

[Coaster Justin]

Just got back from Mainland Europe

3 Countries, 10 Parks, 67 Coasters, and a Log Flume with Naked Girls

Rode my 750th and 800th Coaster

[_FuryBull_330_]

What coasters ended up being your 750th and 800th.


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[Coaster Justin]

750- Flying Dutchman
800- Pegasus

[JimHor]

What electric log splitters for everyday use and coasters ended up being your 750th and 800th.


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Which one of those two did you enjoy more, Justin?

[Coaster Justin]

Sorry to respond so late.

Flying Dutchman.

Although I did enjoy the Topless Log Flume more than Pegasus