North American Trip - Advice

[MrLukeCarroll]

Getting to Magic Mountain can be a pain if you're in the Anaheim resort area thanks to the joys of LA traffic.

Anytime I'm in California for Disneyland we always do a day over at Knotts, it's a great way to break up the trip. It's got some great rides, great entertainment and a really great atmosphere. If you have an extra day in the trip I would highly reccomend it.

[Gazza]

Its a bugger you dont have more time.

On that trip you would be passing Dorney Park and Pittsburgh.

Also, if you are in NYC you should be going to nick universe at American Dream Mall too:

TMNT Shellraiser is the same coaster as Takabisha at Fuji Q, so really good.

Theres also the worlds biggest indoor water park at the same complex:

How many days are you planning for each park?

Having done all these previously, a day for each is plenty, but have 2 at Cedar Point and spend extra on Fastlane plus for one of the days.

You'd also be passing nearish to Knoebels which is a classic style amusement park 'near' Hershey.

 

 

When I have done this, you often find these parks are about 3 hours apart.

So I would spend the day at a park, drive 90 mins to a hotel up the road (There are motor inns at just about every major exit on the interstate highways)

, sleep, get up at 7am, in the car by 7.30am and drive another 90 mins and be at the park by 9am or whatever.

Just makes the driving a bit more managable since its in short chunks and you're not wasting time on "driving days"

You can get a Cedar Fair platinum pass for Admission to Cedar Point, Kings Island (And also Dorney Park and Knotts Berry Farm)

But the main advantage is that you get early entry to Cedar Point and Kings Island.

On 09/10/2021 at 6:23 AM, Noxegon said:

Speaking as someone who's just finished an 11,350 mile trip around the United States....

...trying to do Florida and California in the same trip is nuts, even if you're flying from Australia. I'd strongly recommend focusing on a smaller area. 

Not that I would, of course  

When flying from Aus the options are mostly via LAX, SFO or DWF (Have done all 3, you might pick SYD-DFW if you want to visit SFOT)

I normally prefer to stop in LA for a night rather than pressing through to the east coast, and given flights land early morning in LA, it's possible to go to a park on the first day, if you've slept well on the plane.

Ditto, flying home, flights back to Australia leave LAX around 11pm, so it is possible to get a morning flight from the east coast and have a day of fun in LA, then amble to LAX  around 7pm and fly home.

 

But yeah, I'm digressing, a full CA trip plus a full FL trip on the one holiday is too much.

But often I'll do 1 or 2 parks in LA on my first and last day.

In fact, Universal Studios is an ideal park to do at the end of the trip.

[Coasterjoe]

7 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

This list is missing Knott's. Curious whether this is an oversight, or whether you don't rate it - and if so, how come?

Its just time and money. I did not feel I will have enough time to fit all the parks in I wanted to. Universal and Disney are non negotiable and I liked Magic Mountains lineup better. Knott is on my 'if i have time list.' It looks like a great park, but at the end of the day I am only planning to spend about a week in LA and as an older bloke I need some downtime. 

[MrLukeCarroll]

2 minutes ago, Coasterjoe said:

Its just time and money. I did not feel I will have enough time to fit all the parks in I wanted to. Universal and Disney are non negotiable and I liked Magic Mountains lineup better. Knott is on my 'if i have time list.' It looks like a great park, but at the end of the day I am only planning to spend about a week in LA and as an older bloke I need some downtime. 

Biggest issue we had last time at Magic Mountain was that around 1/2 of the rides were just closed without any advertisement of such on the website or even at the gates. Meant that even though on paper MM looked better, Knotts was a much better day as everything was open.

Of course we went in a relatively quiet period, so could be completely different depending on when you intend to go.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I feel similarly about USH and DLR - Knott's is literally up the road from Disneyland, and its a gorgeous park that can leisurely be done in a day without feeling like you've missed anything major (outside of peak operation days). Go and eat a chicken dinner. watch mystery lodge. stroll through the ghosttown and take a look at some of the best themed areas outside of a disney park you'll ever see. 

Honestly - Knott's will not disappoint, no matter what pace you decide to take.

 

On the flip side, SFMM is absolutely a hectic day - and whether or not everything is open, it's a workout to get it done in a day, even with the Flash Pass. The park is such a sprawling mess, and don't even think about going on a weekend as the local youth will pack it out. Its definitely a 'don't miss' park, but for me its always been balls-to-the-wall crazy trying to tick everything off in a single day.

[Noxegon]

I had in my head that you could fly straight from Australia to New York, but I guess that was one of those experimental Project Sunrise flights.

Just a few more random points on this thread:

- I agree with@Gazzathat I'd pick Hersheypark over Kennywood if I only had time for one, but I'd do everything in my power to make time for the other.

- Skipping over Knoebels is a sin. That park is a joy, and arguably one of the nicest environments in North America. The two wood coasters are phenomenal and the atmosphere is in a league of its own.

- If you're taking a domestic flight cross-country I'd personally suggest flying into EWR (Newark) and going to Six Flags Great Adventure instead of Coney Island. Driving in New York is expensive and a pain in the ass, and the coasters and rides at the Six Flags park are vastly better. 

- VelociCoaster at Universal Florida is the best coaster I've ridden in years. If you're even remotely close to there I'd recommend making the effort.

[Coasterjoe]

10 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

This list is missing Knott's. Curious whether this is an oversight, or whether you don't rate it - and if so, how come?

Its just time and money. I did not feel I will have enough time to fit all the parks in I wanted to. Universal and Disney are non negotiable and I liked Magic Mountains lineup better. Knott is on my 'if i have time list.' It looks like a great park, but at the end of the day I am only planning to spend about a week in LA and as an older bloke I need some downtime. 

UPDATE: I spoke this with the crew I am going with and after watching a few more videos and reading more reviews and considering the input from you guys we have decided Knott's is in! 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Coasterjoe

[MrLukeCarroll]

4 hours ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Watch mystery lodge.

Sadly Mystery Lodge has been closed since mid-2019. We went to go see it in August of the same year and it was closed with no reopening date. Then of course the Pandemic happened...

They are currently using the space for a Knott's Scary Farm show so hopefully it will reopen after the spooky season, it really is a great unique offering for the park.

[Coasterjoe]

On the topic of USA trips if you are to visit in the peak season what parks are essential for fast passes and which ones could you prob get away with? I feel Six flags MM prob needs one due to the sheer size of the place, maybe also universal 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Coasterjoe

[Gazza]

Universal, nah I've never had a problem.

SFMM I've never used one either, but you can always buy one on the day if it starts getting bad.

CP Definitely.

How many days do you have for the NYC to Cedar Point leg?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

14 hours ago, MrLukeCarroll said:

Sadly Mystery Lodge has been closed since mid-2019. We went to go see it in August of the same year and it was closed with no reopening date. Then of course the Pandemic happened...

They are currently using the space for a Knott's Scary Farm show so hopefully it will reopen after the spooky season, it really is a great unique offering for the park.

I am absolutely devastated by this news. I have memories of this attraction from 1996-2013 visits and i'm sad it's future is clouded.

14 hours ago, Coasterjoe said:

On the topic of USA trips if you are to visit in the peak season what parks are essential for fast passes and which ones could you prob get away with? I feel Six flags MM prob needs one due to the sheer size of the place, maybe also universal 

Made use of Disney's free fastpass system although the new system looks neutered. Didn't need it at Universal or Knotts. As for SFMM, I'm gonna disagree with Gazza on this one and say we felt SFMM definitely needed one - but theres a few things to take into account - Gazza has hustle - you can tell from his trip reports that his stamina is up there. I've always gone with family who've had no interest in racing from one exit to the next entrance, so it depends wildly based on your group dynamic (as well as the day you go - we stupidly went on a weekend in May). You can buy on the day but we pre-booked ours as it was cheaper, and at the time the platinum had a limited number available each day. It may have changed. We would not have gotten to ride X2 without it, and given the big distances between some areas, using it meant by the time we got to the ride entrance our reservation was ready and we walked straight up. (Unfortunately, not every flash pass entrance puts you to the front of the line however, so this isn't necessarily a walk-on pass).

Another tip for SFMM - many parks have security checkpoints \ metal detectors \ bag checks before you get to the gate, but SFMM's security check i've always found to be really slow - to make the most out of your day, make sure you get there early to get security check out of the way well before rope drop.

[Coasterjoe]

34 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

I am absolutely devastated by this news. I have memories of this attraction from 1996-2013 visits and i'm sad it's future is clouded.

Made use of Disney's free fastpass system although the new system looks neutered. Didn't need it at Universal or Knotts. As for SFMM, I'm gonna disagree with Gazza on this one and say we felt SFMM definitely needed one - but theres a few things to take into account - Gazza has hustle - you can tell from his trip reports that his stamina is up there. I've always gone with family who've had no interest in racing from one exit to the next entrance, so it depends wildly based on your group dynamic (as well as the day you go - we stupidly went on a weekend in May). You can buy on the day but we pre-booked ours as it was cheaper, and at the time the platinum had a limited number available each day. It may have changed. We would not have gotten to ride X2 without it, and given the big distances between some areas, using it meant by the time we got to the ride entrance our reservation was ready and we walked straight up. (Unfortunately, not every flash pass entrance puts you to the front of the line however, so this isn't necessarily a walk-on pass).

Another tip for SFMM - many parks have security checkpoints \ metal detectors \ bag checks before you get to the gate, but SFMM's security check i've always found to be really slow - to make the most out of your day, make sure you get there early to get security check out of the way well before rope drop.

Sounds like good advice. I definitely dont have hustle so i might need one for six flags lol

12 hours ago, Gazza said:

Universal, nah I've never had a problem.

SFMM I've never used one either, but you can always buy one on the day if it starts getting bad.

CP Definitely.

How many days do you have for the NYC to Cedar Point leg?

We are yet to lock in dates yet but we allowing about 5 days inbetween NY and Cedar Point including days at six flags and hersheypark.