A cliff jumper, a sky diver, a Mountain Dew drinker.Įvan, I’m sorry to say, I barely got to know on the trip…though he seemed a perfectly amiable fellow. ![]() He’s incredibly gung-ho about coasters, and veeery opinionated about them. Kevin runs the website Incrediblecoasters. When things get confusing, when plans go awry, he’s out for the count. He has a narrow comfort zone, for food, for activities, et cetera. He’s sort of a nebbishy Woodie Allen type, with a dash of Howard Hughes (e.g. Everything is boiled down to objective criteria. He is an engineer, and he takes a similarly precise approach to trip planning and roller coaster evaluation. As I’m recklessly driving our group south from Detroit into Ohio to the enchanting shores of Lake Erie, let’s take a moment to meet my travel mates:ĪJ is the trip’s organizer and its defacto leader. ![]() Six Flags Great Adventure – The grand finale occurs at the best Six Flags park, the world’s largest amusement park, home to the world’s tallest roller coaster. Philly on the 4th – Celebrating our nation’s birth on its birthday in its birthplace, in a town where the locals are more concerned with Rocky. Morey’s Piers – A wondrously fun pier park right along the Jersey Shore, like something straight out of Bob’s Burgers! Hershey Park – For some reason the Hershey Company decided to extend their brand with a park on par with Cedar Fair or Six Flags, full of professionalism, cleanliness, and no personality.ĭorney Park – One of Cedar Fair’s neglected regional parks. Knoebels – Wedged in the Pennsylvania wilderness is a timewarp where the 1920s never died, lawsuits never occur, and this incredible carnie-run park rejects every lesson ever learned by Disney. Kennywood – A Pittsburgh trolley park which opened in 1898, and to this day retains its vintage Luna Park style charm with some modern niceties.ĭel Grosso’s Amusement Park – Basically a permanent carnival which emerged alongside a pasta sauce factory. Holiday World – A wonderful family-run park in Indiana’s most remote corner, noteworthy for its tremendous hospitality, water park and wooden coasters. ![]() Kentucky Kingdom – A small state fair wedged in between a mall and an airport, one which has become permanent. Kings Island – Cedar Point’s Cincinnati adjunct, a home for many exceptional coasters in a park whose theming and organization recall Disney. Home to the brand-new Steel Vengeance, already perhaps the world’s best roller coaster! Henry Ford Museum – The world class museum next door with its exceptional collection of American vehicles, inventions and more.Ĭedar Point – Arguably the destination for roller coasters, and one of my three favorite parks in the world alongside Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Greenfield Village – A “living history” park created by Henry Ford to celebrate 19th century Americana, and an indisputable influence on Walt’s Disneyland. It’s tiring, it’s extreme, it’s a wholly different sort of vacation from Disney! (For that, see my Hong Kong/Tokyo TR from last year, or await my return from Shanghai in late September).Īnd what all destinations could we cover in a hectic two weeks? ![]() Parks aren’t resorts, they’re adventures. In this world, Cedar Fair and Six Flags are the top dogs. Iron parks with steel monstrosities towering hundreds of feet overhead. Historical parks which preserve what the amusement industry was like well before Walt’s revolution. To see alternate evolutions on ride concepts. But to fully appreciate Disney, I love to explore everything else available too. Yes, it’s thrills over theming! And I couldn’t be happier! Now don’t get me wrong, I love Disney parks (I mean, obviously…I’m active on WDWMagic). Instead our sights are set on the opposite side of the amusement park coin, on the wondrous world of coaster parks! On this ridiculous roadtrip, there won’t be a single Disney or Universal theme park in view. Two whole weeks of nothing but roller coasters! A dozen amusement parks! Countless multiple dozen thrills! Hundreds of miles! Eight dark rides!Ĭome join me, - and assorted roller coaster fanatics – on an epic journey from Michigan through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. VISIONS OF STEEL & WOOD: ROLLER COASTER ROAD TRIP 2018
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