This past weekend (May 3-5, 2024) my Parents and I spent a weekend in Wildwood, New Jersey. We left Friday May 3 around 9am and spent awhile in Philadelphia with my Sister and her in-laws. I hadn’t seen them since my Sister got married in Morocco a year and a half ago, so it was nice to see them again! We went to lunch and hung out for a few hours. Around 5pm, we left and headed for our Hotel in Wildwood.
Speaking of our Hotel, we stayed at the Biscayne. I am pretty sure we were the only ones in the Hotel! It was kind of divided into sub-buildings and we got a free upgrade. I didn’t see one other person anywhere on the Hotel’s property!
I wish the Weather was better, though. All weekend, it was dreary and rainy. BUT that kind of worked out to my advantage. The next day, Saturday May 4, we went to Breakfast at Sun’z Out Cafe. This was a REALLY FREAKING GOOD Breakfast! I got Scrambled Eggs with Bacon bits mixed in, and Potatoes. The portions were MASSIVE! I booked a Whale Watching excursion out of Cape May, New Jersey. This was EASILY the highlight of my weekend! We saw SO MANY WILD DOLPHINS! It was insane! It was a 2 1/2 hour tour from the Harbor of Cape May into open waters. We saw one Whale towards the end of the Tour, but it was a few hundred feet away and was a little hard to see. BUT the Dolphins more than compensated! We saw Dolphins literally everywhere! AND they were really close to the Boat! I was on Cloud Nine seeing these things in the wild! Having said that, it was FREEZING on the Water!
After the Whale Watching, we walked around the shops in Cape May a little. We drove back to Wildwood and I did the Boardwalk and some of the rides. The downside with this was only one Pier was open and only about half the rides on that Pier were open. So I spent $100 to ride a few rides and walk around the Boardwalk. Most Boardwalk Parks (Coney Island, Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, Santa Monica Boardwalk in California, etc.) are pricey. But it did kind of piss me off that a lot of rides were closed and I spent all that money.
After a few hours on the Boardwalk, we went to Dinner at Lobster House. Like Breakfast, the portions here were MASSIVE! I got Soft Shell Crabs and they were big Crabs! My Mom got a bowl of Chowder and I’m 99% sure it was enough to feed all 3 of us and fill our bellies in one serving! After Dinner, we headed back to the Hotel to sleep.
Today, May 5, we woke up, got packed, and left New Jersey to see my Sister in Philly again. From there, we headed home and concluded our Weekend.
I want to talk about my most “Unique” Roller Coasters. Note: This is NOT a ranking of these Coasters. So no “First Place for Most Unique” or “Least Unique”. Some of these Coasters are on here for pure nostalgia, so heads up. You may see one or two Coasters on here that aren’t that “Special” or “Unique” to the average Coaster Enthusiast. With that in mind, here is my personal List of the most Unique Coasters I have ridden.
First up is the first Roller Coaster I ever rode outside the United States. This is DRAGON MOUNTAIN at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Canada. This Steel Coaster is long! The ride as a whole has 4 Inversions and is about 3 minutes in duration. That is EXTREMELY long for a Roller Coaster! The last 2 Inversions are actually the only kind in the World with the Bowtie Inversion.
Yes, DRAGON MOUNTAIN is tall and long (that’s what she said!) but it is not particularly forceful or fast.
Next is probably the World’s Most Famous Wooden Coaster: THE CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE. Even if you know nothing about Roller Coasters, I’m willing to bet you’ve heard of this ride. The CONEY ISLAND CYCLONE has been standing in Brooklyn, New York since 1927. It has been closed and was actually slated for removal and demolition in the 1970s until a coalition saved the ride due to its Historical Significance. This is the definition of an Old Wooden Coaster. The ride is a little rough around the edges, but the trains are so well-padded and you get SO MUCH AIRTIME that it really isn’t that bad. Really, to me, the only downside to the CYCLONE is the price. It cost $10 to ride when I rode it a few years ago! I rode it 3 times, so I spent $30 basically to ride one Roller Coaster. But it was worth every penny!
The next Coaster is at my pseudo-home park. This is TRAILBLAZER at Hersheypark. It’s not tall, nor long, nor fast, or thrilling. It’s essentially a kid’s Coaster. So as a Thrillseeker, not gonna lie, this ride is kind of boring. BUT TRAILBLAZER makes the list for one reason: Pure Nostalgia. This is the first Roller Coaster I remember ever riding.
Keeping with the Nostalgia theme, up next is ANACONDA at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. I haven’t ridden this Coaster in years, but it is the first Coaster I ever rode that went upside-down. Plus it has that “Cool” factor of diving underwater into a tunnel.
Next is a Roller Coaster I feel INCREDIBLY lucky to have ridden. This was ULTRA TWISTER at Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas. And actually, I feel lucky to have been to Astroworld as a whole. I visited Six Flags Astroworld back in 2005, about a month before it closed down. ULTRA TWISTER was probably the weirdest Coaster I have ever ridden. It was the only one of its kind outside of Japan. The layout was simple. Lift, steep Drop, Airtime Hill, 3 Inversions. What made this ride so unique was how it was built. Look at this thing!
Yeah…there were ZERO Lateral turns! The whole layout was linear! So after the first Roll, you enter a Switch Track, roll backwards, and do 2 more Rolls. To my knowledge, only 4 of these Coasters exist, and they are all in Japan.
Next up is another “Historic” Coaster. This is MILLENNIUM FORCE at Cedar Point. This was the World’s First Giga Coaster, or Roller Coaster 300-399 feet tall. This ride is 310 feet tall, drops you 300 feet at an 80 Degree angle, hits a Top Speed of 90 mph, is over 6,000 feet long, and is-no joke-my personal favorite Coaster at Cedar Point. It’s not as intense as other rides, but it is just pure fun!
Following MILLENNIUM FORCE is another “First”, also at Cedar Point. (And Spoiler Alert, the one after this is, too). This is MAGNUM XL200, the World’s First Hyper Coaster, or Coaster 200-299 feet tall. This Coaster is rough around the edges. It feels sketchy as it was built in 1989 without the help of computers. So it feels borderline “dangerous”. Of course, it’s perfectly safe, but it feels kind of janky. The Airtime Hills are Triangular, not Parabolic like today’s Coasters. So it feels almost unnatural flying out of your seat that way with just a loose Lap Bar. I had legit bruises on my legs after 3 rides. That’s how insane the Airtime is on MAGNUM!
The last Coaster at Cedar Point I want to discuss was also a “World’s First”. This was TOP THRILL DRAGSTER. I say “Was” because the original DRAGSTER was shut down after a tragic accident where a piece of the ride flew off and actually hit someone. In its original form, this was as simple as can be. Launch, 420 foot Hill, Brakes. The whole ride lasted about 15 seconds. That Launch blasted you from a standstill to a whopping 120mph in 4 seconds! I got lucky enough to get a Rollback my first time riding this thing. That’s where the Train doesn’t have enough speed to make it over the Hill and rolls back. This was the Holy Grail Experience for DRAGSTER fans. Oh, and the only thing holding you in was a flimsy Lap Bar.
Let’s go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia for the next ride. This is LOCH NESS MONSTER. This is the only Coaster in the World with interlocking Vertical Loops.
Even though the Trains do not go through both Loops simultaneously, it is still cool to look at! AND the last time I rode this ride, I was fortunate enough to get a Solo Ride!
It was during the Howl-O-Scream event in the midst of Covid and it was rainy. So I have kind of a soft spot for this Coaster.
Let’s go further South for our next Coaster. This is LIGHTNING ROD at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Until the 2024 Season, this was the World’s Only Launched Wooden Coaster and it was RELENTLESS! A TON of Ejector Airtime! My thoughts might change once I re-ride it with a conventional Chain Lift, but until then, this ride is perfection!
Next up is BOARDWALK BULLET in Kemah, Texas. This thing is incredible just to look at!
It is over 3,000 feet long, goes 60mph, and yet takes up ONE ACRE OF LAND! That is astounding! And that’s just looking at the ride! The experience is even better! I rode this thing about 6 times in the course of an hour! And it feels like it never slows down and lasts awhile! So to say I have a borderline obsession with this Coaster might be kinda an understatement.
Lastly, we have 2 Coasters in New England. SUPERMAN at Six Flags New England is among my all-time favorite Coasters! It’s probably in my Top 5. Tall, fast, a long duration, Airtime Galore, and smooth! I know people complain about the U-Brick Lap Bar restraints, but I don’t care. I LOVE THIS COASTER TO DEATH! I had a full-on marathon on this Coaster! I rode the absolute Hell outta this thing!
The last Coaster I want to discuss is BOULDER DASH in Connecticut. Pro Tip: RIDE UP FRONT! It is kind of rough in the Back Row. Pro Tip #2: RIDE IT AT NIGHT! BOULDER DASH is literally built on the side of a Mountain and flies down the side of said Mountain at 60mph. At Night, it feels even faster! And since it’s in such a secluded area-it’s in the Woods-it’s Pitch Black! Like the “I Can’t See My Hand An Inch In Front of My Face” Dark. You can’t see the Track in front of you so this ride at Night feels totally out of control!
So that’s my abridged List. I have a TON more I have ridden that I adore, but if I went into detail about all of them, we’d be here all day. For example, MAKO at SeaWorld Orlando is my favorite B&M Hyper. STEEL VENGEANCE at Cedar Point is an INCREDIBLE RMC Coaster! These are not all the Coasters I have ridden, just some of the most memorable. Thanks for reading!
I think we take our Pets for granted. Dogs and Cats are kind of “staple” animals to keep. And don’t get me wrong. I have 2 cats and love both of them more than words could ever say. Bella is my Cat Baby. Boh is crazy and likes to lick my eyes for some reason while I sleep. But what about the more unique Pets for more “unique” People? Well then, we might consider a Reptile as a Pet. I think everyone has some kind of fascination with Reptiles, love ’em or hate ’em. For example, my Mom is freaked out by Snakes. Last Summer, we had a Black Snake on our Patio at my house. My Dad and I were getting videos of it. My Mom was kind of freaking out but couldn’t stop looking at it until it slithered away. A few years ago, there was a baby Garter Snake in our basement. My Mom wanted me to catch it and take it outside so Bella wouldn’t eat it. But again, she doesn’t like Snakes all that much.
Face it, whenever you see a Crocodile, Snake, Iguana, et cetera in Zoos or Aquariums or in the wild, you can’t help staring. “WOW! LOOK AT THAT THING!” I have been to the Florida Everglades. I have seen Alligators in the wild. NOW I should preface this. I LOVE REPTILES! As long as you leave them alone, 9 times out of 10, they’ll leave you alone. I’m not saying all Reptiles are harmless, they’re not. Don’t get me wrong, some Reptiles have the capacity to kill you. But the myth of Snakes sizing you up to eat you or all Turtles will give you Salmonella is just that…A MYTH! But to me, I think that kind of adds to the appeal. Crocodiles and Alligators are AMAZING Reptiles! They have been around for literally millions of years! They’re living Dinosaurs! AND if you aren’t trained or just plain idiotic and try to touch one or get too close, yes…deadly. And yes, I know what you’re gonna say. “What about that kid at Disney a few years ago?” It was unfortunate, BUT in my opinion, the Parents should have kept their child away from a body of Water that was clearly marked to have “Dangerous Wildlife” living in it.
I have been to Mexico and have seen Spiny-Tailed Iguanas in the Wild. I was in Reptile Heaven! BUT did I get bit? No. Did I get close to these Reptiles for pictures? Yes BUT I knew better than to try and interact with these Lizards.
OK, OK. I feel like I have dragged this out long enough. What am I getting at with the title and not addressing my Bucket List Reptiles? As an Animal lover and a Reptile Keeper myself, I have a List of Reptiles I would LOVE to keep. I will tell you the name of the Reptile and why I’d love to keep one.
The first one is kind of cheating since I had one of these as a Teenager. I would LOVE to have a Bearded Dragon. These are hands-down, bar-none the friendliest Lizards you can keep! They are so chill! If you put a Bearded Dragon on your shoulder, what do you think it will do? NOTHING! They will literally just sit there on you and hang out with you for a LONG TIME! I loved holding my Bearded Dragon, Gex. My Mom loved this Girl! Even my Grandparents fell in love with Gex! She was so sweet! They eat Fruits, Lettuce, Worms and Crickets. My favorite thing with Gex was hand-feeding her Mealworms. She took them from my had very gently instead of biting like crazy. And that’s the other thing. Bearded Dragons are VERY unlikely to bite you. If they feel threatened, they will flare up their “Beard” and open their mouth. Gex only did that a few times, and that was around my Dog. It’s funny. If you have a Male Bearded Dragon, they will bob their head at you. If you have a Female Beardie like Gex was, they’ll actually wave at you with their front foot. It’s adorable! So if I love these things so much, why are they last on the List? The care. These things are often touted as a “Beginner” Reptile. They can be, but it’s more involved than the Lizard I have now. Bearded Dragons need a UVB Bulb, a Heat Lamp, Basking Area, and they eat…alot. Oh, and the main reason they’re last and the reason I don’t have Gex anymore…the Females can become Eggbound and can actually get Impacted and die if the Eggs aren’t fertilized by a Male. If you can facilitate all this, these things are AMAZING Pets!
Next we have the first Snake on the List. These are Kenyan Sand Boas. These Snakes are BEAUTIFUL!…when you see them. From the research I’ve done and the Sand Boas I have held at Reptile Expos, they are super chill, beautiful, and docile.
I love the look of these Snakes! They are kind of goofy looking. And they don’t get big, either. Males only get *maybe* 18 inches fully grown. Females get up to 2 1/2 feet long fully grown. They’re basically the perfect small Snake. So why are they low on the Bucket List? What are the Cons? Well, in case you can’t tell…it’s a Snake. That’s a Con for some people. Not me, but I live with my Parents and they flat-out denied me the chance to get a Snake. Maybe when I move out… Another downside. They eat Rodents. That adds up. Frozen Mice are about $3-$4 where I live. And one Frozen Mouse per week is a little pricey. One other downside…they burrow. So you’ll really only see them if you dig them out of the substrate and/or if you are feeding them. And even when they eat, they only stick their heads up. That’s a Con for me because I think these Boas are gorgeous!
Up next is the “Go-To Beginner Snake”, or one of them anyway. The Corn Snake. These Snakes get 5-6 feet long and can be extremely friendly! AND they can be found in North America, so that’s cool to me. AND they are cheap to buy!
At Reptile Expos, Corn Snake breeders basically give away “Normal” looking Corn Snakes. They sell for about $30. They’re easy to take care of, docile, beautiful, only eat Rodents, and cheap. So why don’t I buy one if they have all these things going for them? Well, again…it’s a Snake. And a 6 foot Snake, while not that big compared to other Snakes, is still pretty big. I am 5’10” so they can get bigger than I am tall. And like most Snakes, they eat Rodents. That’s a Con…to most people. One more Con that is also a Pro: The Price. As I said, they are dirt cheap to buy! And that can be a problem. Like the next Reptile on the List, I think these Snakes are kind of “impulse buys” for people. “Oh, it’s only $30.” But they don’t factor in the 120 Gallon tank you need, and the Lighting, and food and Lifespan. In Captivity, Corn Snakes can live for 20+ years, with the longest Lifespan confirmed at a whopping 32 years, 3 months. So that’s basically half a lifetime, give or take a few years.
The next Reptile is a Ball Python. These are the Reptiles in captivity I have sympathy for the most. These AMAZING Pythons are often seen as “throw-away” Pets. Meaning they, like Corn Snakes, are next to free to buy from Breeders. The “Normal” ones, like the one seen below, sell for, no joke $20.
Having said that, different variations or “Morphs” can go for more money. Look at this design.
This one sold for $6,000. So they vary in price, but if you want a Normal looking Morph, yeah. They’ll basically beg you to take them. And, like the aforementioned Corn Snakes, this is a Con as well as a Pro. People, again, buy these as an impulse buy Pet for their kid or for themselves from Petco or Petsmart and not do research because (1: They’re cheap and 2) Misinformation. These tiny little baby Ball Pythons grow up. They get up to 6 feet long sometimes. They eat Rodents. They need Heat Lamps. So yes, the Snake itself is cheap but people don’t factor in Enclosures, Food, size, etc. But I will end my Ball Python section on a Positive note. Look at the video below I took at ReptiCon.
Ball Pythons are essentially Bearded Dragons in Snake form. They sit there and don’t move, and if they do, they are slow. They are called Ball Pythons because they curl up into a ball. And they just sit on your hand or on your lap…and it’s really cute.
OK let’s take a quick break from Snakes for a second. The next Reptile on my Wish List is the Uromastyx. These things have spikes on their tails.
From the research I have done and the Uromastyx specimens I have held, they are, again, very docile. Note I said the ones I have held. Not all of them are like that. Some can be shy and not that social. It depends on how you raise them. They don’t get that big (up to 2 feet) and are very reluctant to bite. Instead, they will wedge themselves under rocks with only their tail sticking out. No predator wants to eat spikes. If I could facilitate the Care Requirements for these things, I would 100% have one! They sell for about $50 at Reptile Expos and are often already socialized. And they are vegetarians. They only eat plants and seeds. Seems simple, right? Well…They need a VERY high Basking Area of over 100 degrees. That’s too hot for me to give. So that’s why I don’t have one.
Next up is the Blue Tongue Skink.
Why are they called Blue Tongue Skinks? Yup…they have Blue tongues. They are smooth Lizards and eat Insects, Salad Greens, and (I kid you not!) Dog food. So they will eat basically anything you give them. Cons: They are too expensive for me to afford. Typically they are around $300 at Expos. But if I had money, yeah I’d have one.
Taking Bronze we have Rhino Rat Snakes. I personally have never seen these at Expos but I haven’t really looked for them either. These things are SO COOL LOOKING!
They are Arboreal, meaning they like to hang out in the Trees. They are cool looking and eat Rodents. They get up to 5 feet maximum. They seem pretty chill from the videos I have seen. But I do not know the Care Requirements or anything like that, so I will probably never own one. They’re still cool, though.
Taking the Silver is my dream Snake. This is the Hognose Snake.
These Snakes, to me, are ADORABLE! They have little upturned faces and are goofy. AND they don’t get big. Females get up to 3 feet, and that’s a BIG Female. Males only get a foot and a half. So Male Hognose Snakes can fit in a smaller Enclosure. AND they have another thing that adds to their “Cool” factor to me. They’re mildly Venomous. Kind of. They are Rear-Fang Venomous. That means you need to let them chew on you in order to be get any Venom in your system. And even then, it’s not serious unless you have an allergic reaction. Think of getting stung by a Bee. It hurts, but not medically significant, unless you’re allergic. But to my knowledge, nobody has ever died from being bitten by a Hognose Snake. And that’s the other thing. They VERY RARELY bite. They roll on their back, open their mouths, stick their Tongue out, and play dead. It’s hysterical to see! And if that doesn’t work, they mock bite. They lunge at you with their mouth closed and kind of headbutt you with their nose. It’s really funny!
And taking the Gold is (again) kind of cheating since I currently already have one of these. This is a Crested Gecko. My Crested Gecko, Stumpy, is ADORABLE!
Why is his name Stumpy? Well, in case you can’t tell from my video, he doesn’t have a tail. He dropped his tail and when Crested Geckos do this, they don’t grow back. It doesn’t impact their well-being at all or quality of life, so don’t feel bad. Crested Geckos have sticky pads on their feet, so they can climb walls and their Enclosures. Stumpy climbs up the side of his cage all the time! It’s really cool to watch him climb! And he is so friendly! He, like Gex, will gently take Worms from my hand. And Crested Geckos jump. Which can be a Con. It’s adorable when he does it and I can anticipate when it happens because his hind legs fold back and he sort of wiggles his butt like a Cat. It’s really freaking cute! I said he eats Worms but that is kind of a slight exaggeration. He gets Mealworms as a treat. His staple diet is Crested Gecko Diet. And yes, that’s the real name of the food. It’s a powder you mix with water and they lap it up. Really Stumpy’s only “Con” is I have to spray his cage with a spray bottle twice a day and feed him twice a week. But it’s SO worth it! I love my little guy and I’d LOVE to breed him! But I am not going to. I can only facilitate one right now, and my Parents were hard to convince to let me get Stumpy to begin with.
So those are my Dream Reptiles. What Animals are on your Bucket List? Let me know and thanks for reading!
This past Sunday (April 21, 2024) I took my first trip to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey for the first time in years. This place is neat! So in this post, I will review Six Flags Great Adventure and tell you if I recommend it or not. First off, I visited on a Sunday in April. Most Coasters were on a one-train operation. Hence, the lines moved fairly slowly. BUT to compensate, the Park was not all that crowded, so it kind of canceled out.
My first ride of the day was the famous Intamin pre-fab Coaster, El Toro. This ride has had its share of incidents, but it seems more reliable now. As the Park had just opened, El Toro was a total walk-on. There was a little bit of a wait for the Front Row, but screw that seat! Every Coaster Enthusiast knows to ride El Toro in the Backseat. Although there is a slight drawback to riding in the very back row. That is a wheel seat, so it is a little bumpier in the back row of any car. So if you want a smoother ride but still get some AMAZING standing Ejector Airtime, ride second-to-backseat. But I was willing to take a little bit of shakiness for what this awesome Coaster offers! I’d forgotten how crazy this ride is! Normally, Coasters need awhile to warm up. But right off the bat, El Toro was HAULING! And yes, it felt even faster as the day progressed. That, to me, makes it a damn near perfect ride! I got two rides in the morning on El Toro.
From there, I went to what is considered the Heart of the Park: the Safari. Yes, Six Flags Great Adventure has a 350 acre Safari ride with REAL animals covering every Continent excluding Antarctica. So we saw Bears, Ostriches, Lions, Tigers, Deer, Kangaroos, and Emus. Funny story about the Emus. Some of the animals are free-roaming and have the right-of-way before vehicles. So an Emu decided to block our route during the ride, which caused a 5 minute delay in our ride. Eventually, a Park Ranger had to corral the Emu out of the way so our ride could continue. That plus we saw 2 Bears “having fun”. We also saw baby Bears which were ADORABLE! They were SO TINY! And the Safari ride lasted about 40 minutes, so that alone was well worth the admission!
After the Safari, I went to ride Medusa, the World’s First Floorless Coaster. This ride opened in 1999 as Medusa, then was rethemed to Bizarro, only to be changed back to Medusa. While it ran as Bizarro, the ride had mist and fire effects. Nowadays, Medusa has basically nothing along the course…except for a spiky cylinder during the last Corkscrews. And let me tell you about this cylinder. GIGANTIC spikes aimed right at your face while you are upside-down. I swore we were gonna hit it! But that’s the point of it, to freak you the Hell out! Of course, it’s perfectly safe, but still…
Following Medusa, I headed to Green Lantern, Six Flags Great Adventure’s Stand-Up Coaster. This is one ride that I see both sides on. It is a fun, forceful ride. BUT you have to get the Standing aspect *just* right for a comfortable ride. And I didn’t get the optimal position. So my nuts were crushed and I thought one ride was enough…this time.
After Green Lantern, I got in line for Superman Ultimate Flight, the Park’s Flying Coaster. This ride is just fun! It’s not that tall, nor that fast. But you ride it for two reasons. One: The riding position. You lay beneath the track. Not sit, like an Inverted Coaster. You are lying on your stomach in a prone position, making it look and feel like you are actually flying. They have a variation of this model at my “Home” Six Flags park in Batwing at Six Flags America in Maryland. But I prefer this version. And the other reason to ride it? The Pretzel Loop. This Inversion is INSANE! It’s like a Vertical Loop, except you dive down and dive up again. The Inversion looks like a Pretzel, hence the name of the element. I remember this ride being fun but not that forceful. This time, though? It felt faster than I remember! This ride is just pure fun!
Of course, no trip to Six Flags Great Adventure would be complete without a ride on the World’s Tallest Coaster, Kingda Ka. This ride is a statistical monster! It is 456 feet tall and reaches a top speed of 128 mph in 3.5 seconds. The layout is nothing that special. One 456 foot hill, Spiral Drop down, Airtime Hill, Brakes. That’s it. The whole ride is roughly 20 seconds from Launch to Brakes. If you want the ultimate thrill, RIDE UP FRONT! I have done this ride before, but it had been years since I had. Staring down that ENORMOUS Hill at Ground Level before the Launch, even I, a seasoned Coaster Enthusiast, was going “Um…I’m kinda nervous.” If you are freaked out by heights, this ride actually isn’t all that bad. You are over the top and back down before you know it. After the ride, all I could think was, “WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!” I was actually shell-shocked after the ride. I cannot remember the last time any Coaster had done that.
After Kingda Ka, I rode its “Ride Roommate” in Zumanjaro Drop of Doom. Why do I call this ride Kingda Ka’s “Roommate”? It is literally attached to the 456 foot Hill of Kingda Ka! Granted, it is not as tall at “just” 415 feet tall. But this is an arguably scarier ride. It’s a Drop Tower, so it takes its time getting to the top. And from the top of the structure, on a clear day, you can see the skyline of Philadelphia. Oh, and to add to the freakiness, Kingda Ka decided to launch while we were ascending the tower. As a result, the ride gondola on Zumanjaro started swaying side-to-side! I thought New Jersey had a law that both could not operate simultaneously. But I just got lucky, I guess. Oh, and the drop from the top is unnerving, too. The top speed on this Drop Tower is a whopping 90 MILES PER HOUR! That is insanely fast for any ride, let alone a Drop Tower! Plus the ride vehicle kind of shimmies when the Brakes engage. So this ride is WILD! I rode it twice just for the experience.
One thing I will say kind of confusing about Great Adventure is their Loose Articles policy. As with most, if not all, other parks in the US, you cannot have Loose Articles (phone, keys, wallet, cameras, etc.) out on any ride except the Ferris Wheel and the Safari. But it isn’t always enforced that well. All the rides say NO LOOSE ARTICLES but rides like Green Lantern, Superman, Zumanjaro, the Park’s Flat Rides, Nitro, and Batman, you could have stuff in line with you in a pocket as long as it didn’t interfere with the Restraints. BUT on other rides like Kingda Ka, El Toro, and Jersey Devil, they have Security basically interrogating you about having stuff in your pocket. The lockers were transferable ride-to-ride and cost $10 all day or $2 per locker per ride. Jersey Devil unfortunately was closed, so I didn’t get a chance to ride it. DAMN!
Next I rode Houdini’s Great Escape, the Mad House ride. This ride is a little bit of a rare ride model, at least here in the US. The ride is themed to Harry Houdini and one last trick: Escaping Death. This ride is cool. It feels like you are being rotated upside-down. In actuality, the room around you is spinning and you merely swing a little bit. It’s still a very convincing effect, though.
I decided to ride Batman the Ride next, Six Flags’ B&M Inverted Coaster. This ride is INTENSE! Five Inversions back to back. I think I mistook this compact ride as “just another clone”. And while I was partially right, (it is a cloned layout) this thing HAULS through the layout!
Next was my most ridden Coaster on the trip: Nitro! I don’t care what people say about Nitro. I freaking LOVE this ride! This 230 foot Hypercoaster is so tall, so fast, and so comfortable I could ride it all day! Sure, the Airtime isn’t as crazy as El Toro, but the Floater Airtime on this ride is legit! Especially in the Back Row. There’s no pre-drop on Nitro unlike most other early B&M Coasters. As a result, you are hurled down the First Drop! I am more familiar with Candymonium at Hersheypark as my pseudo-home Hypercoaster. And while that ride is more photogenic than Nitro, Nitro has a cool setting in the woods of New Jersey. Candymonium is out in the open, but Nitro is more secluded. If I go back to Great Adventure, I’d love to get a Night Ride on this thing! I mean, how cool would it be flying at 80 mph through the woods in total darkness? I got 6 rides in on Nitro in the course of about 20 minutes. So to say I liked this ride is just a little bit of an understatement!
Next up I rode Wonder Woman, Six Flags’ Giant Frisbee ride. This ride was fun, but nothing special to me. I prefer the version at Six Flags New England because it seemed to last longer. After that was probably the longest line I waited in. This was for Justice League Battle for Metropolis. This is a shooting Dark Ride themed to saving the Justice League from Lex Luthor and The Joker. The ride was fun, but my Gun didn’t really work properly. The ride had physical sets and props as well as screens to shoot at, so that was pretty cool.
One ride I forgot to mention riding was SkyScreamer, Six Flags’ 242 foot tall Swing ride. The views were cool, but the ride did have a very short duration. Again, I have done the version of this at Six Flags New England in Massachusetts during Fright Fest last year and I preferred that to this one. Why? Well, New England ran their SkyScreamer backwards and doubled the ride time. So it was still fun, but I was left a little underwhelmed.
At this point, I headed back to the Front of the Park to get ready to leave. But as I was leaving, I noticed El Toro was a walk-on. Um…HELL YEAH! I opted (again) for the Back Row. I only allotted for one last ride then leaving. BUT since there was nobody in line, Six Flags sent us around again…and again…and again. Seriously, getting three to four consecutive rides on arguable the Best Wooden Coaster In the World as the Sun was setting was AMAZING! The Airtime was even crazier than earlier! My thighs were throbbing from all the insanity of those consecutive rides!
One last thing I did before leaving was Daredevil Dive, the Park’s SkyCoaster. This was an upcharge at $20. But I figured it’d be worth the money. This particular SkyCoaster is 155 feet tall. I love these types of rides! It’s a simple concept. You are put into a Flight Suit, hoisted via cable up however tall the Tower is, and drop and swing. Oh, and it’s up to you to initiate the fall. You pull a Ripcord and you drop like a rock! I ride these things for one reason: The initial drop. This is a true free-fall until the cable catches you. I have had the honor of doing the World’s Tallest SkyCoaster in Kissimmee, Florida a few years ago. This cost me $40 if I remember correctly. That particular one was 300 feet tall, so nearly double the height of the one at Great Adventure. After the initial Drop, the ride is “fun”. It’s nothing too crazy. To me, it feels like laying down on a swing in your backyard. But still, the visual of dropping head-first towards the ground is terrifying!
After conquering Daredevil Dive, I headed out to go home. We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us back home to Baltimore and my Mom had to work the next day. So to answer the “Would I Go Back?” question, YES! I 100% recommend this Park! If nothing else, the Safari alone made it worth it!
So that was my day at Six Flags Great Adventure. Thanks for reading!
This is gonna be a tough List. Hershey has SO MANY rides, and I find it damn near impossible to rank them. As a note, this List will include both Coasters and Non-Coasters (aka Flat Rides). Starting off the List, we have Breaker’s Edge Water Coaster. This is a fun Water Coaster. It is fast, has a pop of Airtime at the start, and gets you wet. It’s fun, but I am not a huge fan of Water Parks or Slides, so that is why it is coming in Last place.
Up next, we have Tidal Force. This is a Shoot-the-Chutes Water Ride. Its layout is simple. You go up a Lift, turn, and drop into a pool of Water, getting you drenched. The only thing holding you in is a bulky shared bar between the rows on the Boat. It’s a good ride on a hot day, but again I am not the biggest fan of getting soaked on rides.
Following Tidal Force, we have the Carousel. This is a typical Carousel. It’s good for a break from the big rides and is a great Family ride, but it’s average for the genre.
Coal Cracker is coming in next. Coal Cracker is Hershey’s Log Flume. I know I said I am not a huge Water Ride person, but this ride is different. I have a soft spot for this ride. I have a photo of me, my Mom, Aunt and Grandfather all riding this together. So yeah. This ride has sentimental value to me. Plus that little hump after the Drop gives legit Airtime. With no restraints. Oh, and my buddy and I had a unique experience on this ride awhile back. A Ride Op was eating Crackers on the ride’s platform before the Main Drop. HE GAVE US FOOD WHILE WE WERE RIDING!
Following Coal Cracker, we have Dry Gulch Railroad. This is a Train ride that takes you through a section of Hersheypark. It’s a relaxing ride and offers some cool views, but personally I am into more high-octane thrills.
The Ferris Wheel is next. I gotta be honest. This ride would be higher if I rode it more often. It has AMAZING views of the Park and surrounding areas. And it’s a long ride, too. This is my favorite ride to take pictures from. So why don’t I ride it every time I go? Well…that’s where it loses some points in my book. The Ferris Wheel, like a lot of them, do not allow Single Riders. And 9 times out of 10, I am by myself at Hersheypark. So that’s why it’s not higher.
If we are ranking ALL the Rides I have ridden at Hershey, I’d be an idiot if I didn’t include Roller Soaker. This was a rare Water Coaster. Not like Breaker’s Edge, though. This was a legit Roller Coaster with Water Cannons aimed at riders. Riders could drop gallons of Water on people walking by, soaking them. This was a fun ride, but I only rode it once.
Frontier Flyers is next. This ride is still at the Park. These are Flying Scooters. You can control how high you go based on a paddle you operate the ride with. The one downside is that, to my knowledge, Hershey does not allow “Snapping”, or making the cables snap to go really high and really fast.
The famous Kissing Tower is coming in next. This is an Observation Tower standing 330 feet tall. Having said that, the gondola “only” goes up 250 feet. BUT unlike the Ferris Wheel, this ride DOES allow Single Riders, so I try to ride it every time I go to Hershey. The ride gondola spins slowly, so you get a panoramic 360 degree view of the Park and Hershey, Pennsylvania as a whole.
Mix’d is up. This is a Flat Ride by manufacturer Zamperla. The ride spins up, down, forwards, and backwards. It offers weak Airtime and is fun. BUT it takes FOREVER to load and you more often than not will get stuck at the top of the ride for 5 minutes waiting for the ride to load and start.
Next is the Scrambler and Tilt-A-Whirl. These are typical Flat rides found basically anywhere you can find rides. The main difference is not with the rides themselves, but with what I was allowed to do. The Ride Ops actually let me take a FULL BEER onto the rides. Like, I hadn’t even taken one sip and they let me on the rides with it! Um…WHAT?!?!
Following them, we have RESSE’S CUPFUSION shooting Dark Ride. This is a fun Shooting Ride, but my GOD does it get a long line! I have seen lines approaching 2 1/2 hours for this ride, and no that’s NOT an exaggeration. Fun, but not worth the excessively long waits.
Up next is The Claw. I’m sorry, but whenever I say this ride’s name, I think of the little Green Aliens from TOY STORY. “THE CLAAAAAAAAAAW!” It’s a fun spinning, swinging ride but nothing special.
Speaking of special, Hershey’s first still-standing Coaster to make the list is next. This is Trailblazer, Hershey’s Mine Train Coaster. This ride does nothing special nor is it too fast or thrilling. It’s just 2 small Lift Hills, and a Helix. That’s about it. BUT like Coal Cracker, this Coaster holds a special place in my Heart. It’s the first Coaster I remember riding as a kid.
Following Trailblazer is ANOTHER Coaster. This one is historic as the First Looping Coaster on the East Coast. The is SooperDooperLooper. The only “thrilling” part of this ride, to me, is the Loop following the First Drop. The Loop is forceful and absolutely pins you to your seat. But after that, the ride does a lot of meandering. But I can see the appeal for families and kids wanting to test the Waters with going upside-down.
Wild Mouse is next. It’s a standard Wild Mouse model. You go around a bunch of Hairpin Turns and drop back down. That’s it. Fun, but…yeah.
Next we have ANOTHER scenic ride. This is SkyView, Hershey’s Sky Ride. This ride is a guilty pleasure ride of mine, especially around Christmas. The Ride gives you a bird’s-eye view of The Hollow section of Hersheypark. It’s cool getting that close to Great Bear. During Christmas Candylane, this ride becomes extra special. Give it a ride at night and you can see ALL the lights around the Park.
Laff Trakk is next. This is Hershey’s Indoor Spinning Coaster. This ride is fun, but again, gets horrendous lines! DEFINITELY hit this one early if you want to avoid a long wait. The Queue is cool, though. It is themed to an old-time Fun House. They have a Laffin’ Sal statute on display in the line, so that’s neat to see. That plus wonky mirrors. Laff Trakk is fun, but it takes FOREVER to get through the line!
Jolly Rancher Remix is coming up next. This is a “Plussed” Vekoma Boomerang Coaster. What I mean by that is it’s a standard Boomerang model. You go up a Hill, go through a Cobra Roll and Vertical Loop, go up another Hill, and do the whole thing again backwards. What makes this one unique is the theming. Hersheypark themed this ride to Jolly Rancher candy. The Station has cool theming and then there is a Scent Tunnel after the Vertical Loop that smells like different flavors of Jolly Rancher. And the scents are random, so it gives the ride some re-ride value. Too bad the Coaster can only run one train.
Hershey Triple Tower is next. These are a trio of Drop Towers varying in height from 80 feet to 131 feet to 180 feet tall. The Hershey Tower is the tallest, so you’d assume it’d be the most thrilling, right? Not exactly. The view is good, but the Drop is kinda weak. The other Towers, in my opinion, offer better Airtime.
Next up is another ride that is (sort of) no longer at Hersheypark. This was Wildcat, a Wooden Coaster by Great Coasters International (GCI). The ride was fast, had Airtime, and was twisted as all get-out! BUT…it became almost unbearably rough over time. Personally, I didn’t have an issue with Wildcat if I rode up front. In the back row, GOOD GOD! It was BRUTAL!
Now we are getting into the good rides! Next we have Fahrenheit. Fahrenheit is legit a good ride! It features a Vertical Lift Hill, a beyond Vertical 97 Degree Drop, six Inversions, (meaning you go upside-down six times) and an INSANE Ejector Airtime Hill to end out the ride. It is short, but it is oh, so satisfying!
Lightning Racer is next. This is actually 2 Wooden Coasters that race each other. The ride(s) are smooth, offer some Airtime, and are long Coasters. But the racing aspect is what makes the ride for me! There’s something about racing another Train, talking trash on a ride that makes it special. Plus my Mom and I both like this ride, so again, it has some sentimental value.
Two more defunct rides are next on the List. The Giant Wheel would have claimed the next spot. This was a rare double-arm Ferris Wheel. You could spin the gondolas. I have vague memories of this ride. BUT the next ride I remember vividly and have VERY fond memories of. This was FLYING FALCON. You rode in one-person vehicles and were lifted into the air while spinning, offering amazing views of the surrounding area! PLEASE HERSHEY! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD BRING THIS RIDE BACK!!!!!!!!!
Great Bear is next. This is Hershey’s Inverted Coaster, meaning you hang underneath the track. The ride is unique in that it is 90 feet tall but has a 124 foot Drop. BUT before the Drop, you go into a Helix 90 feet in the air. Then Great Bear goes through three Inversions rapid-fire, a Vertical Loop, Immelman, and a Zero-G Roll. After that, the ride sort of wanders around before going through a Corkscrew to end out the ride. It is fun, fast, and intense. And not to mention smooth! This is one of my favorite Inverted Coasters out there!
Next is a Classic. This is Comet, Hersheypark’s oldest operating Coaster. This Wooden Coaster opened back in 1946 and is still running GREAT! If I had one critique for Comet, it’s actually a recent one. For the 2024 Season, Hershey gave Comet new Trains. Sounds like a great thing, right? The Trains look AMAZING! And they did make the ride a little smoother, BUT they have individual Lap Bars as opposed to the Buzz Bars on the old Trains. Comet is not too fast, nor intense, so the Buzz Bars and Seat belt combo was sufficient for this ride. Plus the belt was adjustable, so thrillseekers like me would loosen it as far as it would go to optimize the Airtime. With the Buzz Bars, you’d go flying! With the new restraints, you do get Airtime, but it isn’t the same. Comet is still remarkably smooth after 78 years of operation. Hershey takes GREAT care of this ride!
Here’s where the List gets a little controversial. The last few rides are all Roller Coasters that are absolute rushes!
Just barely missing the Top Three is Storm Runner. This is an INSANE Launched Coaster. 0-72 mph in 2 seconds. It is SO freaking fast! From there, you go up a 150 foot Top Hat Hill, drop 180 feet, and go through three funky Inversions. They are a Cobra Loop and a Flying Snake Dive. My only gripe with Storm Runner is its length. It is over in about 30 seconds. Still, those 30 seconds are memorable!
Taking Bronze is Candymonium. This is Hersheypark’s second Hypercoaster (any Roller Coaster between 200-299 feet tall). I think the General Public were kind of intimidated by the raw power of SkyRush, Hershey’s Intamin Hypercoaster. So Hershey built another one by B&M. Candymonium is 210 feet tall with a 216 foot drop. Unlike SkyRush, (which we will get to shortly) Candymonium has Clamshell restraints. They are bulky Lap Bars, but very comfy! Ride ops have “Stapled” me in the past, meaning I was barely able to feel the ride’s Airtime. But more often than not, they do not do this and the ride is just pure fun! Plus that iconic turn around the Kisses Fountain? C’mon!
Here’s where people will start arguing. I know people’s List at Hershey changes perso-to-person. Hell, mine changed as I was writing this post! But here is what I decided on for the Top Two.
Taking Silver is SkyRush. SkyRush used to be almost universally hated for its Restraints. The Coaster Community nicknamed the ride “ThighCrush” because its Restraints would literally make your Thighs feel crushed into Oblivion. Now did I think the Restraints ruined the Coaster? No. Were they uncomfortable? Yes, but I could look past that. This ride is sheer speed, Airtime and raw power! Like Comet, SkyRush also got new Trains and Restraints this year (2024). Hershey themed the ride to an aviation theme. The Station looks INCREDIBLE! As for the Restraints? They’re better in some aspects but worse in others. The Restraints are a Hell of a lot more accommodating and comfortable. BUT in my opinion, they detract from SkyRush’s Airtime. The Airtime before was sheer, raw, OMFG I’M GONNA DIE! Airtime. I LIVED for that! The Airtime now is still amazing, but it seemed a little dialed back to me. Maybe it’s the new Trains being smoother on the Track, I have no idea.
So finally, we have my #1 Ride at Hersheypark. My vote is for Wildcat’s Revenge. Remember how I said Wildcat was good as long as you were up front? Well, Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) redid Wildcat. They gave it a steel track but kept the wooden supports. How is the ride now? AMAZING! Unlike Wildcat, where the back row would compress your Spine like an old accordion, I WANT to ride in the back row on Wildcat’s Revenge. AIRTIME GALORE! Oh, and as a bonus, the Ride Ops NEVER STAPLE! They leave a few inches of room between my lap and the Lap Bar Restraint. This Airtime is on par with, if not better than, what SkyRush offers. Really my only real gripe with this Coaster is the Loose Article policy. Unless you have zippered pockets (and even then it depends on the Employee) you cannot have ANYTHING with you in the Station. Phone, wallet, keys, bags…NOTHING! Everything has to go in a locker. BUT to compensate, the lockers are free. I wish Cedar Fair would implement this with their Top Thrill 2 ride. The ride is long, fast, and wild! Actually, my favorite part of the Coaster isn’t actually the ride itself. It’s the view you get in line for the ride. The Queue takes you right next to the Coaster’s craziest parts, so you can take some AMAZING photos of this Coaster before you put your phone or camera in a Locker.
So those are my Ride Rankings at Hersheypark. What is your ride order? Let me know and thanks for reading!
This past week, I took a road trip 4 years in the making. I went on a road trip to visit different Amusement Parks throughout New England. The trip lasted one week and I managed to hit 3 separate Parks and some other stops. I am going to warn you right now this post will be kinda lengthy, as I will be breaking down the trip on a day-by-day synopsis.
DAY 1
On Day One of the trip, my Mom, Dad, Aunt Susan, Uncle Athan and I left Baltimore around 6:30am. Our first stop? STARBUCKS! God knows we needed it! After that, it was time to head to our first “official” stop: Six Flags New England in Agawam, Massachusetts. This is a Park I’d been wanting to visit for years and I got to go during their Fright Fest Halloween event. But was Six Flags New England worth the wait? HELL YEAH IT WAS! The Park’s hours were supposed to be 12pm-10pm. But due to inclement weather, they closed at 7pm. And it FREAKING POURED! But it was only for the last hour the Park was open. The forecast had been calling for rain all day, but that actually worked out to my advantage. THE PARK WAS NEARLY EMPTY! For real, I think there were more Employees in the Park than Guests! My main reason(s) for wanting to visit SFNE is pretty well known! I had been dying to ride the 2 legendary Coasters this Park is known for: SUPERMAN THE RIDE and WICKED CYCLONE. SUPERMAN is world-famous and has been voted Best Steel Coaster On the Planet multiple years in a row. So did it deliver? I wish I could have experienced this ride with the original T-Bar restraints. Instead, because of a tragic accident years ago, SUPERMAN now runs with bulky Lap Bars referred to as the U-Brick. I had heard horror stories of these things ruining the ride. But MAN! Airtime Galore! I would have thought WICKED CYCLONE, an RMC conversion of a Wooden coaster, would have more Airtime. But no. SUPERMAN WAS FREAKING HAULING! One caveat here for WICKED CYCLONE. The ride had been closed for about half the day, so I was one of the first riders of the day. As a result, IT RAN SLOW! But damn it warmed up QUICK! After 3 laps, it FLEW through the layout! I also rode what was once the World’s Tallest Swing Ride in NEW ENGLAND SKY-SCREAMER. This ride is freakishly tall at 400 feet AND during Fright Fest, Six Flags will run the ride backwards! The only real downside to Six Flags being so empty is we had to wait for more people to show up to get on rides. Hell, I got a ride to myself on the family coaster CATWOMAN’S WHIP. As in NOBODY ELSE WAS ON THE RIDE! I also rode HOUDINI’S ESCAPE, a Mad House style ride. This thing was neat! The seats you sit in are located in a disguised cylinder that rotates around the seats. So it feels like you are going upside-down when you actually aren’t. It’s a cool effect. As it was the Halloween Season, I decided to do the Haunted Houses before the Park closed. One thing I wasn’t a fan of with Six Flags is the Haunted Houses were an extra $35 upcharge. The Houses were ok, but not worth the $35. After that, the Heavens opened up and Six Flags closed. It was a 10 minute drive back to the Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts.
DAY 2
On Day Two, we went from Springfield to Lee, New Hampshire. This was my second most anticipated place to visit outside of the Amusement Parks. My Mom’s boss at work told her about this place called HAUNTED OVERLOAD. This place is SO FREAKING COOL! During the Day, this place is opened for self-guided Tours. You can walk around the sets freely and take all the photos and videos you want. The scale of the props and sets is UNREAL! To put it in perspective, I’m 5’10” and the props were at least four times taller than me! Look at the photo below.
Seriously photos do NOT do this place justice! After walking around HAUNTED OVERLOAD for a few hours, we went on a Hayride. It was scenic but nothing special. From Lee, we drove to a place called Tuscan Village to eat. The food portions were huge, but it took forever to get our food!
After eating, I was off to my next Park, CANOBIE LAKE PARK in Salem, New Hampshire. This place was BEAUTIFUL! As the name suggests, CANOBIE LAKE PARK sits right on a Lake. Go figure… But the crowd level was the polar opposite of SIX FLAGS the day before. IT WAS PACKED! I only rode some rides. And to add insult to injury, I only got to do each ride once. CANOBIE is geared more towards locals and families. I walked away from this place with mixed feelings. It was a Love/Hate scenario. On the one hand, CANOBIE was AMAZING! It’s extremely scenic! There is a Train that goes right next to the Lake. The Park’s SkyRide overlooks the Lake and the Park as a whole. The Employees were SUPER friendly, helpful and accommodating. BUT the “Hate” aspect comes from the Dispatches and Operations. The Park loads rides SLOWLY! Every major Ride was running ONE TRAIN! Except for the Coaster UNTAMED. UNTAMED was running a whopping TWO TRAINS! I actually missed a Coaster credit in YANKEE CANNONBALL because the line was horrendously long! Even an hour before CANOBIE closed, all the Rides had full lines well over an hour. It was so crowded, I bought an Express Pass for the Haunted Houses. It cost $40 and I could only do each Haunt once. But I would say the Haunts were worth it. They crapped on SIX FLAGS’ Haunts. Sorry, Six Flags… The Haunts at SIX FLAGS lasted 2-3 minutes each. In comparison, CANOBIE Haunts lasted 5-8 minutes each and had better Scare Actors and sets. CARNIVUS was my personal favorite Haunt in all of New England. This Haunt was themed to an abandoned Carnival and Arcade. After the Haunted Houses, I saw a show called TWISTED SIDESHOW. This was a bizarre freak show. It was amazing to me because FIVE YEAR OLD KIDS were getting into it! And the stuff they did (sword swallowing, Bed of Nails, etc.)? I’m sorry but kids SHOULD NOT SEE THAT! They should have had an age restriction on the show. It’s a little too intense for little ones. I left after the show and headed to our Hotel for the night.
DAY 3
We packed up and headed from New Hampshire to Boston. It was a Federal Holiday so the City was PACKED! Boston was not what I expected. Traffic like you wouldn’t believe! It’s actually better if you don’t have a car. We walked everywhere. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not shitting on Boston. I had a GREAT time visiting the New England Aquarium and sightseeing. But that was during the Day. At night, Boston was AWESOME! I had a Sam Adams at the Sam Adams Tap Room. The Quincy Market was a royal pain in the ass to navigate during the Day! Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. At Night, it wasn’t that bad. After visiting the Sam Adams Tap Room, I ventured to the Cemetery where the real Samuel Adams is buried. The best part of the Day was having a beer at the CHEERE Bar. That was neat! After the Tap Room, we went to our Hotel to go to bed.
DAY 4
This was my most anticipated day of the trip. After years of hearing about it in School and on the History Channel (back when they had good shows), I finally got to visit Salem, Massachusetts. This is where the Witch Trials took place. Let me just say, Salem was FREAKING COOL! The best word I can use to describe Salem is “quirky”. Salem embraces their somewhat macabre and violent history as opposed to just sort of sweeping it under the rug. Witch Merchandise EVERYWHERE! I was like a kid in a candy store here! I visited the Witch Dungeon Museum first, since it was right across from where we parked. Not gonna lie, this place was kind of a downer and depressing. But for a History nerd like me, I loved it! One thing that was cool to see as a fan of History was a beam from the original Witch Jail from the 1600s. I also got to see the Witch House, which is the only remaining building from the original Salem Witch Trials. Unfortunately, I only saw the House from the outside, as tours were sold out for the Day. However I did get to tour the famous House of The Seven Gables. This was made famous by the book of the same name by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This place was cool! It had hidden rooms, hidden stairwells, a full liquor cabinet, and a long, convoluted history. After touring House of The Seven Gables, I walked to Gulu Gulu Cafe, a well-known Cafe in Salem. I had to wait awhile to get in AND it was raining while I waited. But the Beer was good and the food was DELICIOUS! I think this place is mostly famous for its menu and bizarre atmosphere. I ordered the Shiitake Happens sandwich. It had Cheese, Sourdough Bread, and, of course, Shiitake Mushrooms. After eating at Gulu Gulu, I headed to the Halloween Museum. This Museum was devoted to props from Halloween films like Sleepy Hollow, Hubie Halloween, Corpse Bride, Hocus Pocus, and my personal favorite film, Nightmare Before Christmas. I also visited Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery. This place was great! It had original props and costumes from films like the original Frankenstein with Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, Alien, Ghostbusters, the 1923 Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, Predator, AND they also had Horror Icon Death Masks. These included Vincent Price, Lon Chaney, Lon Chaney Jr, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and even…I kid you not…Stephen King even though he is still alive. Really the only negative thing I have to say about Count Orlok’s, and this really kinda pissed me off, was they were very strict about photography. No phones, no cameras, no video, no nothing. After that, I met up with my Parents and did the Salem Wax Museum, Witch History Museum, and Frankenstein’s Castle, a Haunted House. All three were decent. One thing about Frankenstein’s Castle was the Scare Actors. I think I counted two in total. The rest were animatronics. That’s fine, but the Actors would talk to each other in a different language and talk about stuff and not really pay attention to Guests. That kinda ruined it for me. After that, we saw the Bewitched Statue and headed to our next Hotel about 20 minutes away in Gloucester, Massachusetts. We stayed at this Hotel called Atlantis Inn. This was a very appropriate named Hotel given its location. This was my favorite Hotel of the trip just for the sheer view alone! Our room had a balcony that was literally on the Beach of the Atlantic Ocean.
DAY 5
We woke up early to watch the Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from our balcony. This was STUNNING! Look at this photo!
I mean how can you go wrong with that?! From there, we ate a complimentary Breakfast consisting of homemade muffins, coffee, and fruit. After Breakfast, we headed to Cape Ann for Whale Watching. By far, I have to say, sadly this was the worst thing I did during the whole trip. We saw ONE Humpback Whale about an hour into the Tour. That Whale was amazing to see, but the other 3 hours were pretty boring. Granted, it was the end of Whale season and they are all migrating but still… It’s a shame because normally I LOVE being on the water! I fish sometimes with my Uncle and I love it! I did Whale Watching in Maui a few years ago in November and was on Cloud Nine! This time, not so much. Oh, and we had issues with our boat on the way back. As in the rear of the boat was actually smoking! I fell asleep for part of it. From Cape Ann, we headed to our next destination: Bar Harbor, Maine. We made a short pit stop in Portland, Maine to eat. We ate at DiMiloo’s, which is a retired boat turned restaurant on the water. The boat is permanently docked. From there, we went to our Hotel.
DAY 6
Today I woke up and got coffee at Choco Latte. This would be my coffee place of choice for the next 2 days in Bar Harbor. After finishing my latte, we headed out to explore Acadia National Park. This Park is STUNNING! Normally I’m not a hiker or particularly physical but here? Total opposite! I was climbing LITERALLY EVERYTHING I COULD! It’s all rock overlooking the water. It was BEAUTIFUL! After exploring Acadia for a few hours, we went to Bass Point Lighthouse. This is the most photographed Lighthouse in Maine. It’s supposed to be beautiful at Sunrise and Sunset. Unfortunately I didn’t get that opportunity. I saw Bass Point at 2pm. It was cool seeing it from the rocks, but it was just “ok” to me. Following Bass Point, we headed back to Bar Harbor for a late Lunch. I got Lobster Mac and Cheese. This was GREAT! Lobster meat galore! After a delicious Lunch, we shopped around in the town of Bar Harbor. I bought a what I’m referring to as a “Maine Pride Parody Shirt”. I am a diehard Pink Floyd fan so when I saw a DARK SIDE OF THE MOOSE shirt, of course I had to buy it!
I mean, come on! How could I pass that up?? I am torn between I liked Gloucester and Boston, Massachusetts or Bar Harbor, Maine better. Boston was a great city! The Hotel and its location on the Atlantic Ocean in Gloucester was AMAZING! But Bar Harbor is very walkable and has that quaint small-town vibe. I think I prefer that over bigger cities like Boston or, sadly and it kills me to say this, even Baltimore, my hometown. Also I LOVE the New England hospitality we received! People were SO friendly and accommodating and welcoming!
DAY 7
For our last “official” day in New England, we woke up, packed up our car and went to Choco Latte. From Choco Latte, we headed to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. This is the first place in the United States where the Sun rises. Unfortunately I did not get that opportunity. I saw the Sunrise at Haleakala in Hawaii years ago and that was incredible, so I’m sad I missed this. Keep in mind, this was a crisp Fall day in New England…and Cadillac Mountain is just that: A MOUNTAIN! So it was absolutely FREEZING on top of Cadillac Mountain! But having said that, the views were ASTOUNDING! Look at this:
My hands are in my Hoodie for fear of them getting frostbite. We didn’t stay on Cadillac Mountain very long for two reasons. One was obvious, how cold it was. The other reason is because we had a 6 1/2 hour drive ahead of us from Bar Harbor to Bristol, Connecticut. Bristol was home to my third and final Amusement Park of the trip, LAKE COMPOUNCE! Lake Compounce was probably the most disappointing Park of the trip. And I don’t mean to say the Park was bad by any means. Actually, I’m saying I got the most bang for my buck at Lake Compounce. I’ll get to that in a second. I wanted to visit Lake Compounce during Halloween for one reason: A Night Ride on the World-famous BOULDER DASH! As it was a Friday Night (Friday the 13th specifically) I anticipated the Park to be crowded…AND MAN WAS IT! I opted to buy a Speedy Pass Express, which would allow me to skip the lines on most of the rides. Here’s where I say how I got the most bang for my buck. I was thoroughly impressed with the prices for everything at Lake Compounce. The most expensive thing I bought there, except for the initial ticket to get in, was the Speedy Pass Express, the highest tier of Speedy Pass. How much did that cost? A whopping…$30! That’s INSANELY cheap! My home park in HersheyPark charges 4 times as much MINIMUM for the same thing! I LOVE this system! All you do is scan a QR Code on your phone and you get on a ride in about 5 minutes. It was FANTASTIC! This REALLY worked out to my advantage! BOULDER DASH had an hour+ wait all night AND they were only running one train! However I need to give credit where it is due. The ride ops were FAST! They were dispatching the train like you wouldn’t believe! No joke, the Crew on BOULDER DASH were dispatching the train an average of 50-60 seconds of it returning to the Station. And yes, I timed it. That’s remarkable! Speaking of remarkable, I know I am going on a lot about BOULDER DASH but I want to give a HUGE shout-out to the Ride Ops here. They absolutely made the ride! They were SUPER enthusiastic and getting riders really amped up for their ride. “So Tom, Did BOULDER DASH at Night deliver? Was it as good as people make it out to be? Did it live up to the hype?” YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT ITDID! This ride is IN-F@#$ING-CREDIBLE at Night! One note here. I only rode BOULDER DASH up front, and from people I talked to, that was the right decision. Apparently it’s rough in the back rows. It had some bumpy patches up front, but MAN! This ride was absolutely HAULING ASS! BOULDER DASH is in the woods, so it was pitch black! Like the “I Can’t See My Hand An Inch In Front Of My Face” dark. There is ZERO light so you cannot see where you are going next. I can see how the back would be uncomfortable and rough. But BOULDER DASH absolutely flew through its layout! Each ride seemed faster than the last! The Ride Op told me it was approaching speeds of 65 miles per hour that night and I 100% believe it! It felt even faster than that! Seriously, I could go on and on and on about this amazing coaster, but there are other things to talk about. Like the aforementioned Canobie and Six Flags, Lake Compounce is also on a body of water. Canobie sits on Canobie Lake and Six Flags is on the Connecticut River. Lake Compounce sits on Lake Compounce. It’s supposed to be pretty. I can’t say that. I didn’t see the Lake once! Lake Compounce as a whole is very secluded in the woods, even though it is in a residential area. Our Hotel was literally only a mile away. It gets extremely dark at Lake Compounce! I actually had to resort to using the flashlight on my phone to see where I was going. Another Coaster they have here is PHOBIA PHEAR, a SkyRocket 2 model. I have ridden this exact type of ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in TEMPESTO. One key difference between TEMPESTO and PHOBIA PHEAR. TEMPESTO has Comfort Collar restraints that are tight against your chest. PHOBIA PHEAR has just Lap Bars. So as a result, that upside-down roll you do 150 feet off the ground had GREAT hangtime! Not to mention awesome Ejector Airtime going back down! The two rides I did that were not included on the Speedy Pass were the Flying Scooters and their drop ride, DOWN TIME. I wanted to do the Haunted Houses since I’d heard good things about them. But each Haunt had a posted 60-90 minute wait. I’m sorry, but there is NO Haunted House worth that wait! There was no way in Hell I was waiting in those lines! But I really wanted to do them. SPEEDY PASS TO THE RESCUE! Keep in mind the Speedy Pass I bought included only the rides. So I had to buy ANOTHER Speedy Pass for the Haunted Houses. How much did that cost, you ask? A very expensive, break the bank…$15! The Houses were good. They were in the middle of Canobie Lake Park and Six Flags. Canobie had the best, then Lake Compounce, then Six Flags purely because they charged for their Haunted Houses. My personal favorite Haunt at Lake Compounce was mALICE IN WONDERLAND. (Yes, the “m” is supposed to be lower case). mALICE IN WONDERLAND was a 3D Blacklight paint Haunt with live Scare Actors themed to a twisted version of the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol. This had a Spinning Vortex Tunnel, so that was cool. Next was MEDIEVIL, a Haunt themed to a Medieval torture chamber. The Actors were decent and the sets were gruesome and macabre. I also did ROOT OF ALL EVIL, which was an ok Haunt. I did buy a Sweatshirt from Lake Compounce and that was only $22. Honestly excluding BOULDER DASH, the low prices were my favorite thing about Lake Compounce. I’d love to go back in the Summer to fully appreciate the Park. After the Park closed, I headed to my Hotel and went to bed.
So that was my trip to New England. I LOVED my experience and I know damn well I will go back one day! As nice as New England was though, it feels good to be back home in my own bed and in familiar territory.
Have you ever taken a road trip? What’s the best trip you have taken? Let me know in the Comments and thanks for reading!
Awhile back, I posted a list of my “Dream Reptiles”. This past weekend, I got a reptile but not one from that list. I got something arguably cuter. Meet my new Crested Gecko, Stumpy.
Isn’t he adorable? He is so cute and so sweet! He is too small for his own food bowl so I hand feed him. I put some Repashy Crested Gecko Diet on my finger and he laps it up! I had done a crap ton of research on these guys and it turns out they’re pretty simple to care for.
As a disclaimer, just because I said they are simple to care for, I am NOT saying get this animal because they are “easy”. I think it’s a sad fact that because an animal is cheap, it becomes kind of an impulse buy. Look at Ball Pythons for example. Amazing snakes but they are literally $10 at Repticon. They are basically giving them away! BUT Ball Pythons can get up to 5-6 feet long. They need a big enclosure. They eat rodents. They often go on hunger strikes. So just because an animal is touted as “easy to care for” rest assured there is work involved.
But back to Stumpy. There is one downside to Crested Geckos and it is the reason behind Stumpy’s name. They can easily lose their tail and it doesn’t grow back. It just looks like a nub or a stump. (See photo below).
I lucked out. I bought Stumpy from PetSmart in Bel Air, Maryland. That is about a 15 minute drive from my house. So little Stumpy is in a cardboard pet carrier probably scared of what is happening. I honestly thought he’d drop his tail on the ride home. But to my semi-surprise, his tail was still attached when I put him in his enclosure. I attached a photo of his enclosure below.
As you can tell, Crested Gecko enclosures do not take up a lot of room. We actually moved the enclosure to a coffee table under my bedroom window and it still takes up only about half that. It’s a 12”x 12” x 18” enclosure. 12 inches long by 12 inches wide by 18 inches high. Why is it higher that long? Crested Geckos are semi-arboreal, meaning they like to climb. They can climb glass, so it is funny to watch Stumpy do that. Having said that, as small as the enclosure is, I can’t help but think it is still a little too big for Stumpy. The enclosure we bought is for a full adult Crested Gecko I think. Stumpy uses maybe half his enclosure space.
So I know some of you might ask What Do They Eat? That is honestly one of the best parts about Crested Geckos. They primarily eat a powdered diet that you mix with water. Occasionally they can eat small crickets but it isn’t a staple. I have had Stumpy for 3 days now and we bought 10 tiny crickets for him. He has eaten maybe 2 or 3. There are 2 brands of Crested Gecko Diet that are suggested. Repashy and Pangea. I personally use Repashy. It comes in different flavors and varieties. I bought the Repashy Grubs an’ Fruit flavor and he LOVES it! It has various fruits and black soldier fly larva all ground up into one.
Crested Geckos are nocturnal so they are most active at night. SO how is Stumpy during the day? It depends. When I pick him up out of his enclosure, he climbs all over my hands. BUT after a minute or two, he is really chill. I’m kind of amazed with Stumpy. Of all the research I have done, all of them said Crested Geckos can be flighty at first. I kid you not, when I took Stumpy out for the first time, he calmed down after about 5 minutes.
I know what some people might be thinking. “Ew! They’re slimy!” But that is far from the truth. Crested Geckos feel really soft, almost like velvet. As a comparison, when I had my Bearded Dragon, Gex, she was very rough like sandpaper. But both Gex and Stumpy are really chill animals. The only real con to holding them is that they poop…and if you’re holding them and they decide they have to go, yeah… At least Stumpy has really small turds. They are easy to rinse off. When Gex pooped, IT REEKED! It was runny, wet, it stunk to high Heaven. But I guess that’s the price you pay when you have a lizard sit on you for awhile.
One thing I find really cute about Stumpy is how he keeps his face clean. He doesn’t have eyelids so he is incapable of blinking. So how does he hydrate his eyes? He literally pokes his tongue out and licks his eyeballs. It may seem gross to some, but I think it’s absolutely adorable when he does this!
Some other pros to Crested Geckos are since they are nocturnal, they do not need any special lighting like UVB. This is a HUGE PLUS in my opinion! UVB bulbs are about $50 apiece and they need to be replaced every 6 months. So he doesn’t necessarily need that. Actually, if you look at Stumpy’s enclosure, you’ll see a light on top. That came with the enclosure and even that isn’t 100% necessary. As long as the temperature is between 68 to 75 degrees, they’re fine. A lot of reptiles require a hot enclosure. Gex had a basking spot that was around 90 degrees if I remember correctly. With Crested Geckos, this is flat-out DANGEROUS! If you have an enclosure approaching 87-90 degrees or above, they can actually have heat stroke and die. They prefer cooler room temperature environments. The real “challenge” with Stumpy’s enclosure is the humidity level. The humidity has to be between 60-80%. But even that is really simple. Just spray down the plants twice a day and you’re perfect!
Which brings me to the other pro with Crested Geckos. Technically, (and this is the most controversial thing I will say) they don’t need a water bowl. In the wild, there are no water bowls. They get water from their food and droplets of water off leaves. So I try to replicate that with Stumpy. Having said that, I did give him a water dish but he rarely uses it. The crickets use it more as a swimming pool.
Before I wrap this up, there is one REALLY cool thing I need to say, or want to say. As plentiful as Crested Geckos are now in 2023, they were actually thought to be an extinct species until 1994. So until not even 30 years ago, we didn’t even know these little guys still existed. They are native to an island called New Caledonia. One fell into a research tent. The researchers were just looking in the wrong place, so…oops… Now, they are some of the most common reptiles for sale. At Repticon, a reptile expo, you can buy these guys for $30-$40 for basic patterns. If you want a different or unique pattern (Dalmatian is cool and so is Harlequin) you will pay more. I got Stumpy from PetSmart and he is a Flame Morph from the research I have done and he was $65. But funny story, I was at Petco the next day and their Crested Geckos were half that price! But am I glad I got Stumpy? TOTALLY!
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get how anyone could look at a baby Crested Gecko or baby Bearded Dragon and not immediately go “Aww!” And maybe that’s a pro and a con. It’s human nature. If something is cute, odds are, we buy it. And 9 times out of 10, it’s fine. But when it comes to reptiles (or any animal) cute as it is, they are a living, breathing thing. So just know what you are getting into. But I promise you, if you put in the work and do your research, these little lizards make AMAZING pets! And with the right care, they can live 15-20 years so it’s not a short-term investment. You’re in in for the long haul.
In closing, I did want other lizards and snakes ahead of a Crested Gecko. But I am SO glad to have gotten such a great friend and companion in Stumpy! He is my buddy and I wouldn’t have it any other way! So what are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!
I would like to discuss my experience at HersheyPark on Saturday, June 3, 2023. It was a great, beautiful day!…until around 8pm. But we’ll get to that.
The park opened at 11am and was open until 9pm. So I got there right at 11am. And it was PACKED! Hoards of people! But that was kind of understandable. It was Opening Weekend for Hershey’s newest roller coaster, an RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction) conversion of the 1996 GCI (Great Coasters International) wooden coaster, WILDCAT. Wildcat was actually GCI’s first ever roller coaster. So in that regard it was borderline historic…but it aged TERRIBLY! I usually rode Wildcat up front and even then, it was rough as Hell. In the back seat, it was BRUTAL! Like after one ride I’d need to sit down and recuperate. So RMC came in last year and started converting it into the aptly named WILDCAT’S REVENGE. (Nice homage, RMC!)
But it’s more than just 1996’s Wildcat. Wildcat was also one of the original roller coasters at HersheyPark in the 1920s. So Wildcat’s Revenge is an homage to both those rides. Even the Maintenance Area’s building looks similar to the original Wildcat’s station. So that’s pretty cool! And speaking of pretty cool, JUST LOOK AT THESE FREAKING COASTER TRAINS!
Kick ass trains! It’s literally a Wildcat busting through a piece of wood! Also, for the ride’s Entrance, they used a piece of 1996’s Wildcat track! Also nice homage!
So I feel like I have teased enough. How is Wildcat’s Revenge compared to Wildcat? Well, there is ONE similarity between the old and new rides. Like Wildcat, after one ride on Wildcat’s Revenge, I also needed to recuperate…but for the exact opposite reason. This ride is INSANE! Unfortunately, I could not take my phone into the ride’s Station. They had a very strict loose article policy so literally everything I had on me (including my buckled waist pack) had to go into a free locker. I ran to the ride right at opening and it was already sporting an hour wait. The cool thing is, you could have your phone with you all the way to the end of the line, so I was able to take plenty of photos of the ride!
As for the ride itself? My first ride was in the front row. HOLY SHIT! THIS RIDE IS INSANE! I recorded a video of myself after my first ever ride. After my first ride, I was rendered completely speechless. I literally had nothing to say! I can safely say no other roller coaster has ever done that with me!
The Ejector Airtime was otherworldly! (There are two kinds of Airtime. “Floater” Airtime is when you are lifted out of your seat. “Ejector” Airtime is when you are thrown upwards out of your seat.) And then you have RMC Ejector Airtime. Even in the front row, I was getting that “OMFG! This is crazy!” Airtime. I could not get enough of it! The ride lasted awhile, too.
Since the park was so crowded, I splurged for a FastLane+ Unlimited. This was expensive (over $150) but the amount of crowds and the time it saved me was immense. As an example, Fahrenheit, one of Hershey’s most popular rides, routinely gets a 60-90 minute wait. So without the FastLane, that line would have been a brutally bad wait! But because of that wristband, I rode Fahrenheit four times in about a half hour. Roughly 1/3 of the amount of time I would have waited for just one ride without FastLane.
Fahrenheit is an intense little ride. Well…. “Little” meaning 121 feet tall. What makes this ride is the lift hill. It is a vertical 90 degree chain lift. From there it is a beyond vertical 97 degree drop! And let me tell you, up front the drop is crazy! If you ride in the back, though…that drop is WILD! You get really strong Ejector Airtime. Plus six inversions (meaning you go upside-down six times) and another Ejector Hill. All within about a minute ride. What makes the ride unique is its first inversion(s). The first element after that insane drop is called a Norwegian Loop. (Pictured below)
Another popular coaster at HersheyPark is the classic Comet. I love Comet but I don’t ride it that often. The line is always at least 30-45 minutes. And it has a low minimum height requirement so almost anyone can ride it. It’s a fun family coaster. Having said that, the restraints are extremely loose. See, most coasters have a lap bar or shoulder restraint that comes into some kind of contact with your lap or shoulders. Comet takes that notion, murders it and spits on its grave. Comet has a very loose and minimalistic seatbelt and a Buzz Bar. A Buzz Bar is a lap bar that rests above your lap and does not touch your legs. I’m a pretty skinny guy, and that bar rests a good 6 inches or so above my waist. AND the seatbelt is adjustable. So barring unbuckling it, you can make it as loose or tight as you want. Comet is a classic wooden coaster, standing 84 feet tall and reaching speeds of 50 mph. I think that top speed is exaggerated a little, but that’s just how parks work… Since I had FastLane, I grabbed 2 rides in on Comet throughout the day. As a thrill seeker, I loosened the belt as loose as it’ll go. As a result, even on a ride that is not particularly tall or fast, Comet still packs a punch! Comet is 76 years old but Hershey takes amazing care of its oldest coaster! Minus maybe one or two bumps, Comet is still smooth.
One coaster I ride almost every time I am at HersheyPark is Trailblazer. Apart from Cocoa Cruiser (the kiddie coaster) this is the tamest roller coaster in the park. Trailblazer’s maximum height is 43 feet and its top speed is only 35 mph. And literally all it does is basically one helix around and around. So it is a little dull. So why do I always ride this thing? Well, one thing it hardly ever has a line. But the main reason I always ride Trailblazer is nostalgia. Trailblazer is the first coaster I remember riding as a kid, so it holds a special place in my heart.
After three rides on Trailblazer, I headed to Laff Trakk, Hershey’s indoor spinning roller coaster. And this line is a royal pain to get stuck in. I’m not gonna lie…it’s BAD! At least the outdoor queue is. The inside is actually pretty cool. The coaster is themed to an old-fashioned 20th Century funhouse. So the inside queue is all funhouse mirrors and a fun atmosphere. Once you are on the ride, you pass by blacklight cut outs and hear crazed, almost hysterical laughter. It does look cool! See the photo attached. (And no, this was not while the vehicle was moving. We were on the brake run.)
After Laff Trakk, I took a lap on Lightning Racer. This is another wooden coaster by GCI, (the same company who built Wildcat in 1996). This is actually two wooden roller coasters built next to each other. There are two sides, Thunder and Lightning. I opted for the front row on the Thunder (Green) side. We won. But I have a suggestion on this ride. If you are riding with a friend or family member, do NOT ride this together! Put your friend or family member on the other train so you can race them. It’s good to get those friendly competitive juices flowing.
After Lightning Racer, I used my FastLane to get another ride on Wildcat’s Revenge. This time, I opted for a back row ride. It has been a week since I rode Wildcat’s Revenge as of my writing this, but I still can feel the sheer thrill of the back row. Remember how I said the front was OMFG crazy? Well the back is even wilder! I am never scared of roller coasters nowadays. Like hardly any coaster will make me nervous me nervous. But the back row on Wildcat’s Revenge almost made me hit my limit. The Ejector Airtime had me standing up on my toes! I had bumps on my legs from the insanity of all the Airtime! I actually thought I was going to fly out and die on some of those drops. As an aside, most if not all RMC coasters have snug lap bar restraints and bulky seatbelts. In the front row, that seemed to be the case. However in the back, I noticed a difference. The seatbelt was still tight, but the lap bar was a few inches above my lap. So for those who say Hershey “staples” riders…not the case here! As a result, I was legit standing up on the drops and inversions! I actually got off my back row ride shaking! But I LOVED it! With the FastLane, I got eight rides on Wildcat’s Revenge.
From there, I rode Jolly Rancher Remix, Hershey’s redone Vekoma Boomerang Coaster. This ride is simple. You get lifted up a hill, drop, go upside down three times, and do the whole thing again in reverse. What makes this Boomerang unique is its presentation. Jolly Rancher Remix is themed to Jolly Rancher Hard Candy. It has narration, EDM music, and a “Flavor Tunnel”. And what is a Flavor Tunnel you ask? It’s a tunnel on the ride that blasts you with essentially flavored smoke. It has scents of different Jolly Rancher flavors so each ride varies. Cool, but it is just another Boomerang, so I usually don’t do this ride.
BUT right next to Remix is a ride I do nearly every time I go to Hershey. That is HersheyPark’s launched coaster, Storm Runner. Most coasters of this model are simple. Launch, gigantic hill, maybe a turn, brakes. Storm Runner does things a little differently. Storm Runner launches you from 0-72 mph in 2 seconds. After that launch, you shoot up a 150 foot tall hill, drop 180 feet into a ravine, and go upside-down three times. One inversion is only one of the only ones in the world. This is called a Flying Snake Dive. You essentially go through a 360 degree roll, rotate upside-down again, then dive towards the ground. I know that sounds confusing, so I attached a photo below.
After that, I rode the Triple Tower drop tower ride. I opted for the Reese’s Tower, the middle one. I actually prefer the smaller towers to to Hershey Tower (the tallest one). They give. Ore Airtime and more of a thrill. Plus where I rode, I got to do something I had always wanted to. I was eye level with Storm Runner’s aforementioned Flying Snake Dive while the coaster was going through it.
After that ride, I headed to the SkyView to take some aerial photos of rides. This ride does not have FastLane, but it was only a 15 minute wait. I enjoy these types of rides because it’s cool to see rides from above and being able to take photos. This is why I ride the Kissing Tower observation ride, too. Just not on this trip.
It was pretty humid, so I rode Coal Cracker, Hershey’s Log Flume. Normally I don’t get that wet on this ride. Maybe a little misted, but not too wet…emphasis on the word “Normally”. This time, for whatever reason, the boat (log?) hit the water harder than usual and sent a wall of water into the log. My upper body got pretty wet! But like I said, it was hot so I wasn’t complaining.
After Coal Cracker, I used my FastLane for a front row ride on Hershey’s Inverted Coaster, Great Bear. An Inverted Coaster is where you hang beneath the track, as opposed to on top of it. Great Bear is fun! It is 90 feet tall, starts its first drop with a helix, so that’s unique, and then drops 124 feet into a trench. From there, the ride goes through a Vertical Loop, an Immelmann, a Zero-G Roll and a Corkscrew. It’s fast, intense, and fun!
I wanted to finish off my night with a bang. So I decided to marathon Candymonium, Hershey’s tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster. Candymonium is a Bolliger and Mabillard (B&M) Hyper Coaster, meaning it is over 200 feet tall but shorter than 300 feet. This one is 210 feet tall, reaches 76 mph, and travels over 4,636 feet of track. I got three rides in on this. Two in the back and one up front. After Candymonium, I rode Hershey’s other Hyper Coaster, SkyRush. This ride is balls-to-the-wall, pedal-to-the-metal, “I am going to murder you!” INSANE! It is 205 feet tall, reaches speeds of 75 mph (only 1 mph slower than Candymonium) and absolutely hauls through 3,600 feet of track. First, let’s talk about the lift hill. SkyRush has a freaking CABLE LIFT! So you speed up the lift unnaturally quickly! As in you reach the top of the hill in about 10 seconds fast. Since you have all that speed going up the hill, you get thrown down the 200 foot drop at full force! SkyRush is a little shaky, and the restraints are tight, but I have no issues with this ride! It is more extreme than Candymonium and is actually tied with Wildcat’s Revenge as my #1 Coaster at Hershey.
I tried to get one more ride in on SkyRush, but a thunderstorm came rolling in and the rides shut down due to inclement weather. It was around 8:30pm at this point and Hershey was due to close at 9pm anyway. So I left the park…or at least I was going to until I saw the Carousel running. It had been years since I’d ridden this, so I gave it a chance. The relaxing band organ music and the leisurely pace was exactly what I needed to finish off my night!
Even though I got caught in a storm for the last 30 minutes, I had a great experience at HersheyPark on June 3, 2023! I cannot wait to go back and do all the rides again! If you have been to Hershey what is your favorite ride or attraction there? Let me know in the Comments and thanks for reading!
“A Sensory-Friendly World”. Sounds great for those of us on the Autism Spectrum, right? Well it’s complete and utter bullshit. A pipe dream. A fantasy. And frankly…it’s insulting. Would we all get along? No. It’s akin to the notion of World Peace. It’d never work. It would just lead to more issues, namely boredom.
Think about it. One Race. One Religious Belief. Everyone looking and acting alike, having all the exact same thoughts and ideas. No Diversity. No new or novel ideas. Just sheer Uniformity. Are you bored with it yet?
But back to the main point of having a “Sensory-Friendly World”. On paper, it seems like a great idea! An all-inclusive society for people with Autism and other Sensory Issues. Here’s the thing. You know what else sounds good on paper? COMMUNISM! “We are all equal but some are better than others”. It’s when this is put into practice that it all goes to Hell.
I think the real problem with the idea of a Sensory-Friendly World can be boiled down to one simple word: OVERSIMPLIFICATION! Yeah, it’s that simple to me. The people who say “We need a Sensory-Friendly World”? To them I say “Yeah…AND a Jackass-Friendly World”. It’s called the Autism SPECTRUM Disorder for a reason. It’s a variety of things that impact us.
Some of us on the Spectrum have Noise Sensitivities. My Girlfriend does. So does one of my coworkers at work. Hell, my coworker wears Noise-Canceling headphones. Others, like me, are front and center at Concerts and Fireworks displays. Some people are Low-Verbal to Non-Verbal. Yet again, others, like me, talk constantly and don’t know when to shut up. Still others CRAVE attention and physical contact. Some just want to be left alone and don’t like being touched.
I mentioned Noise-Canceling Headphones. To some, those things are a Godsend! For me, I at least need some noise, whether it be music, conversation, or even having the TV on when I am laying in bed. (By the way I don’t recommend watching TV if you are trying to sleep. Just as an example). Even some mild background noise. I cannot stand not hearing anything. To some, it’s Sensory Overload with even the smallest noises. To me, it’s the complete opposite. Not hearing anything is Sensory Deprivation. For me, Quiet and Silence is Deafening.
So that “Perfect Autism-Sensory Friendly Utopia”? To me, it’d be Autism Hell. Simply put, it’s impossible and illogical. There is no possible way to facilitate that! Going on both sides, neither can win. Everyone is so vastly and wildly different and varied. It’s what makes us “Us”. It’s what makes us who we are and what makes us Human.
In a way, it’s segregation. Hear me out on this. If you had a place where there was little to no noise, you’d need a separate place WITH noise. Then you’d need separate places with varying degrees of noise volume and frequencies. On top of that, there’s the conversation aspect, or lack of. As I said, some people on the Spectrum are Low-Verbal or Nonverbal. So you’d need to separate them from us who can speak. AND THEN with the ones who can talk, that fluctuates, too. Some of us, like me and Allie, are perfectly capable of forming thoughts and holding intelligent, “Legit” conversations with other people. Yet others “Script” or use a method called Echolalia. Scripting is when someone takes lines from movies and communicates using those lines. Echolalia is when a person repeats the last thing you say. “Do you want McDonalds or Chick Fil A?” “Chick Fil A.” Then you ask “Chick Fil A or McDonalds?” “McDonalds.” It may be a pain and annoying when someone does this. But it is their way of communicating. So you’d need a place to accommodate all those individuals.
Sound impossible? That’s because it is! That’s not to mention one other overlooked point. Sad as this is, we die. What about the person’s friends/family/loved ones? Most of the people I personally know on the Autism Spectrum have Neurotypical or “Normal” family members. So if their Son/Daughter/Brother/Sister/Whatever has Noise Sensitivities and is Low-to-Nonverbal, how does it work then?
Not to mention one more Sad But True scenario. WE DO NOT ALL GET ALONG! I know people on the Spectrum I find annoying as shit and frankly cannot stand! And I know a few of my Autistic peers probably think the same about me. To be fair, I feel the same way about a few people I know without Autism. So just because you have people who are all very similar does not mean they will all get along.
To close, this theoretical argument of needing or wanting a Sensory-Friendly World really is ignorant Neurotypical bullshit…to me. Maybe I am splitting hairs with my cases. And maybe I dragged this out and am Beating A Dead Horse or Preaching To The Choir. But I feel strongly about this and wanted to provide as many examples of why I think this to validate my argument. But thank you for sticking around till the end and for making it this far. I know this post was long and arduous. And I know I went off on a little tangent at the end.
What do you think? I’d love to hear your perspective! Let me know in the comments and thanks for reading!
Last night, November 30, I saw Jackass star Steve-O at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. He was there for his multimedia Bucket List tour. I am going to discuss my experience at Steve-O’s Bucket List show. BUT for risk of copyright infringement and violations AND to avoid any spoilers for any potential Bucket List attendees, I am just going to give my overall thoughts and refrain from mentioning any stunts. Also due to the nature of the stunts, I am not about to get kicked off WordPress for lewd material.
Steve-O’s show was supposed to start at 7pm. Much to my surprise, the show did indeed start at 7pm…kind of. This is the ONLY “Spoiler” for the show. The way the Bucket List show works is, Steve-O comes onstage, sets up the premise of a stunt he filmed that is too much for Jackass or Social Media, and shows the clip of said stunt. Rinse and Repeat.
So before Steve-O came onstage in person, the venue’s House Lights went down. What followed was a 20-25 minute *VERY* explicit video of Steve-O welcoming us to his show. That was light-hearted and funny. But then things kinda took a turn. After the video came a warning video: NO FILMING OR PHOTOGRAPHY! And they were VERY strict about this. Steve-O actually confronted a guy in the front row for pulling out his phone to scroll through email and texts. And I don’t blame him at all! You’re at a Goddamn COMEDY SHOW! PAY ATTENTION! It’s rude! In the words of Steve-O, (sorry for the language), “Put your fucking phone away or get the fuck out!” The guy left! But yeah, if you even glanced at your phone to check the time, you’d run the risk of being thrown out.
I did buy a tee shirt from the show and it ran me $30. So kind of jacked up price, but I appreciate the fact they aren’t charging an arm and a leg for merchandise. The Merchandise line was INSANELY long, too!
Going back to the No Photo or Video policy, there was one exception. At the very end of the show, after all the clips were over, Steve-O told the audience, “I want EVERYONE to take their phones out to take a photo!” As he said that, he stood on a stool. He took the photo op a step further and said, “By all means post this photo to your Social Media. Just Tag me in the post. Every single photo I see on Instagram I double-tap personally.”
Then after the show came the REAL highlight…at least for me. Steve-O’s tour bus was parked right behind the Lyric. So after about 30 minutes, the man himself came out and interacted with us. He was signing autographs and taking photos with people. The autographs were cut off at a certain point, so I didn’t get one. But what I did get was arguably better. I got a photo and a personal “Yeah Dude!”
I am glad to see Steve-O has turned his life around. Well, around enough as possible for a Professional Idiot. It used to be all sex, drugs and booze with him. Now he is 14 years sober, is engaged to his fiancé Lux, and is a very strict Vegan whose ultimate goal is to open an Animal Sanctuary. He is still an idiot, sure, but that’s to be expected. He’s built an empire on being, literally, a Jackass. But in Steve-O’s own words, he is “A total attention whore!”
One minor gripe I had with the show is its duration. The whole show was barely over an hour. And going back to the Animal Sanctuary idea, Steve-O actually had a dog and representative from the Humane Society in Reisterstown come onstage to promote his ideals. He was gushing about Lux, which I could see being kind of a turn-off for some. To me, it just shows how dedicated and devoted Steve-O is to his girl. So I didn’t mind. Plus Lux was often front-and-center in the clips as the camera operator.
So do I ultimately recommend seeing Steve-O on his highly promoted Bucket List tour? Um…honestly I am extremely hesitant to say yes. He has a very niche audience—albeit an extremely DEVOTED and very dedicated niche audience—and the show is an “18+ XXX Rated” show. So in all honesty, I think unless you know what to expect, I’m leaning towards no. And that isn’t a dig at Steve-O or his show at all. I personally enjoyed it, but I’m a guy who kind of “matured” watching Steve-O and the rest of the Jackass guys do dumb, death-defying shit. And the Jackass series, although rated TV-MA, was a TV show so they were limited as to what was allowed. The Jackass films held back a little and all had R ratings. This is no-holding-back, no censors, “fuck you I’m doing this” Steve-O. And you know if something is too much for Jackass…IT’S BAD! The Bucket List is, literally and figuratively, a total shit show.
So that’s my spoiler-free review of Steve-O’s Bucket List show in Baltimore on November 30, 2022. Thanks for reading!
AuTom's Spectrum 