Chris Coasters goes to Virginia :All days up

[Chris Coasters]

Background

Hello everyone I just got back from one of my biggest trips yet. I have never been this excited to write a trip report before. A little background of the trip first off. My cousin Tracy, her husband Dave, and their two kids Mike & Joe invited me to come along with them to Virginia to do King's Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg with them. This is an offer I couldn't refuse. Coasters like Intimidator 305, Apollo's Chariot, and Griffon have been very high on my list for years and I finally got that chance to do so. My Aunt and I were going to drive my cousins car down to Virginia but she couldn't go. Tracy said I could take a friend of mine so I recruited my best friend Ben. After two trips to Great Adventure I knew he would be really excited for this. My cousin was going to be driving her RV done and Ben and I were driving her Honda Pilot. We set out to her house in Manchester, CT on August 21st and we set out around 11 o clock not because we were leaving the next morning at 5 to head to Virginia but for a place I have been waiting to go to for quite some time. Quassy!

Quassy: Day 1



Ever since I found out about Wooden Warrior I have been anxiously waiting my chance to go there. This would be my chance to do so. Ever since riding Roar-O-Saurus earlier this year I have REALLY been wanting to go to Quassy this year. It would be a nice little trip to do right before the big haul to Virginia so we decided to get up there quick. We got to Quassy around 4 which was good because we only had to wait a hour until 5 to get unlimited ride wristbands for a 11 dollars. I couldn't wait a hour though I had to get 1 ride on Wooden Warrior!

So we bought one ticket and headed over.















What a ride. I loved every second of all 10 or so rides on this bad boy. I can't say anything bad about it. The only thing is I like Roar-O-Saurus better. Both are brilliant in different ways. Wooden Warrior gave me a ton of airtime. Both were incredibly smooth and each has a great layout, I had a blast on both of these rides. But I liked Roary a tiny bit more a really tiny bit more.


Wooden Warrior gets 2 thumbs up.

We had to wait about 45 minutes to get our wristbands so we walked around and tried to find Little Dipper and we did.









We walked around some more and then bought our wristbands. We rode the pirate ship, some paratrooper spinny thing. and the himalaya music express ride and of course more Wooden Warrior. Each ride on Wooden Warrior was better than the one before it.

Then I found mini wooden warrior.


So we decided to leave around 7:30 to head to Tracy's because we knew we had a long day of driving ahead of us so we said goodbye to Wooden Warrior.

Much sadness, I want this in my backyard.

And we set off to Manchester.

For those of you who are wondering did Chris ride Little Dipper? Did he cred whore it? Did he ride front row? and if he did ride is it the oldest steel coaster he has been on? Your Answer.


Absolutely, Yes he did, Yes he did, and it is.

Driving and The Python Pit : Day 2

Since day 2 is really short I will combine it with day 1. We woke up at 5:00 in the morning to start our driving to Williamsburg, Virginia at the RV Park where we would be staying. The drive was actually quite fun. We stopped a couple times, had some laughs, saw some sights, and caused shenanigans but we eventually got there around 2:30 in the afternoon. We had to wait for Tracy and the RV to get there so we just had to sit around. Once they got there we wasted very little time in heading over to Go Karts Plus! It was a small Arcade/Adventure place whatever you want to call it. It was like a family fun center. Anyway there was a cred so thats why we were there.



The Python Pit!











It was a plus one at it's best. It wasn't by far the best of the trip but it wasn't down at Shockwave territory either just a decent +1. The park also had a DISK-O that we decided to get a ride on. It was actually pretty decent. I wish there were places like Go Karts Plus near where I live. It was clean, it had a nice staff and it wasn't that expensive and there is a cred so why not.

Thank you for reading! My trip report from Quassy and Go Karts Plus. Tomorrow will be a long trip report from King's Dominion which I really enjoyed apart from a couple of the coasters. Then Busch and the massive surprise that is Verbolten as well as the final day and a couple random creds along the way home so stay tuned! Thanks again everyone.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 1+2 Quassy and The

Disappointed I didn't get to ride Wooden Warrior on my east coast trip, as I really liked Twister at GL, but I'll hopefully look forward to riding it sometime in the future .

Looking forward to KD and BGW reports!

 

[Hobbes]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 1+2 Quassy and The

Nice report so far Chris, looking forward to the rest. Quassy was the park I went to all the time growing up, so it's always interesting seeing people go there. I actually never realized how old Little Dipper is until you mentioned it. I wonder how many other steel kiddie coasters are out there that were built before Matterhorn.

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 3 Kings Dominion

Nice report so far Chris, looking forward to the rest. Quassy was the park I went to all the time growing up, so it's always interesting seeing people go there. I actually never realized how old Little Dipper is until you mentioned it. I wonder how many other steel kiddie coasters are out there that were built before Matterhorn.

Thanks. Yeah I believe the oldest steel before that was some Arrow coaster from the 70's so it was cool riding something from the 50's.

Disappointed I didn't get to ride Wooden Warrior on my east coast trip, as I really liked Twister at GL, but I'll hopefully look forward to riding it sometime in the future .

Looking forward to KD and BGW reports!

Thanks a bunch. I am sure you will ride it someday! :--D

Day 3: Kings Dominion

Really have been excited for this park. Intimidator 305 and Volcano being staples to the park. I thought other coasters like Flight of Fear, Back Lot Stunt Coaster, Anaconda, and Avalanche looked good. With horrible expectations for the wooden coasters and Shockwave. With everything else being just average coasters. Mother Nature didn't look to be on our side looking at the weather forecasts so I had a plan of which we would do everything. That failed right from the start. We had fast lane plus so we got to go to the front of the line on most rides but that didn't help the fact that someone puked on Dominator and we had to wait about 20 minutes for the train to get cleaned up. I was panicking and freaking out about not getting on all of the coasters. Eventually we got on my 4th B&M floorless coaster , Dominator.









It was a solid floorless coaster. Very smooth with sweet inversions. It might be the best floorless I have been on but I really have a thing for Hydra. :? Overall a great coaster and it is one of the best at the park. 9/10

Our main goal was to get to Intimidator 305 but we kept getting stopped by more and more creds. First to get in our way was Woodstock Express 8/10



Honestly its not horrible. You could argue it is the best wooden coaster in the park. I liked Hurler a lot and I WILL explain that when I get to it. Nice fun little +1.

Then the Great Pumpkin Coaster got in our way.




Ben & Joe on the GPC.
Needless to say Plus Uno.

Then Back Lot Stunt Coaster interfered with our path to I305.



I had great expectations for it and they lived up to them. It isn't going to grace my top 10 or 25 but its a solid quality fun coaster. The launch was nice and the dark section was pretty good and it is smooth which will always win me over. It is a 9/10.

Almost at Intimidator but once again stopped in my tracks by Anaconda.





One of the best Arrow I have been on even though It doesn't have much competition. It is fairly smooth up until that weird section before the corkscrews and that second inversion. It is a pretty good ride though so I'd give it a 7/10

AND FINALLY IT WAS TIME FOR INTIMIDATOR 305!!!!!!!!DGAWFHGADHHGAHERH







Absolutely amazing ride. Ridiculous drop, Mind blowing speeds, very smooth, incredible layout. 10/10 As for the best coaster I have ridden. It isn't but it is darn close. Why it isn't my top coaster is because if it makes your vision fuzzy around the first corner and it has no reride potential. We rode it 5 times but all throughout the day. When I say reride potential I mean if I were to keep getting off and riding after 3 rides I wouldn't know which way was up. It is just a super intense ride but it is absolutely brilliant. I believe I have it at my 2nd favorite steel and 3rd favorite overall.

After I305 we wanted to do Volcano but it was down

So we did something even better than Volcano (sarcasm) Avalanche!~







My first ever bobsled and it wasn't brilliant just good. I don't have anything bad to say about it. It was just a fairly good ride. 8/10

Now Volcano was up so we didn't hesitate.





Another amazing coaster. It was very smooth. Amazing launch, great heartlines, and great theming. I loved this ride. It has tons of reride potential. It was fab 10/10

This shows how forgettable this ride is. Before Avalanche we did Flight of Fear.



Launch=Amazing
Theme=Amazing
Ride=Absolute Crap

Such potential. It looks amazing the launch was great. Those weird ankle restraint thins are so awful the restraints in general are garbage and the ride is very rough. Ben loved it so we had to ride it a bunch of times but I hate it absolutely awful. 4/10

On that note this trip report is going to go down hill as for the remainder I am going to go hard on some of these rides. First one is Shockwave....







Easily the worst steel coaster I have ever been on. 0/10 no rating what so ever. I can't give this thing a compliment. Rough, ugly, horrible layour, horrible restraints. Scrap it.

Next is one of the worst wood coasters I have been on, Rebel Yell.



Only one side was running so I got it and then while we were on Ricochet we saw both sides running so we went back and rode the other side. The Left lifthill or North side was better then the Right Lifthill or South Side but both were not very good. For years I heard really bad stuff about Grizzly and Hurler but both of those are better then Rebel Yell. Rebel Yell was the worst in the park.

So the wood theme continues with a ride I actually enjoyed, Hurler.



I must of got a good ride. Ben and I rode front row. I got right side and he got left. He hated it and I loved it. We only rode it once but I enjoyed it a lot. Reminded me of Excalibur at Funtown Splashtown USA. Solid coaster though IMO 7/10

Next was Grizzly!



It looks really cool tucked into the woods and all but it was bad. On Hurler I loved it Ben hated it and on Grizzly Ben loved it and I hated it. I just found it very rough and no fun at all. He thought it was brilliant and it blows Hurler out of the water. Like Hurler we only got one ride so I think I will post a this vs. that topic Hurler vs. Grizzly because me and Ben both had very conflicting opinions. 5/10 Still better then Rebel Yell

Next was the final coaster to get at the park Ricochet.







I can't go on a trip without adding at least one Wild Mouse to the list. It was pretty decent very fun ride like I feel most Wild Mouse coasters are 7/10

We then rerode rides like Backlot, Anaconda, I305, Volcano, and FoF. We also did the Boo Blasters shooter which was pretty fun not a bad darkride/shooter at all.

I really wanted to go up in the Eiffel Tower for picture opportunities so I did and it was absolutely beautiful.









Overall KD is a melting pot of random coasters. Three launched coasters, 4 wooden coasters, and one of the best Steel coasters on the planet. It was a good park and I really liked all of the coasters except for Shockwave, Grizzly, and Rebel Yell. I was really happy to ride them all without spite from the weather or any other reasons. Thank you all for reading day 3 and I can't wait for tomorrows trip report to write about my new favorite park and the surprising rides on Verbolten, Apollo, Griffon, Lochness and Alpengeist as well as a pretty sweet dark ride, awesome food, and a possibly Jarrett Tribute? Stay tuned, thanks again.

 

[CookieCoasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 3 Kings Dominion

Good report...

But how is Woodstock Express worth a **** 8/10. I didn't even ride that when i was there and now you're making me feel like I was missing out again :wink:

Interesting opinions on the coasters. I enjoyed all three of the main woodies, but had a real soft spot for Grizzly. I didn't any of them were that rough and I actually thought Rebel Yell was pretty smooth. I was surprised that FoF was quite rough, but I didn't find it too bad and I loved the first three inversions.

I don't fully agree with any of your opinions, apart from maybe Avalanche, so that made it a very interesting read I'm glad you loved I305 though. Looking forward to Busch.

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 3 Kings Dominion

Woodstock wasn't that good but I thought that Rebel Yell and Grizzly were so bad it made it better by comparison and it actually was pretty smooth. I did like the last inversion on FoF but the rest was rather rough I loved Busch so much so it will just be me talking about how amazing it is lol. Glad you liked it.

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 3 Kings Dominion

Day 4: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

After a long day at Kings Dominion I crashed as soon as got in bed. Next thing I knew it was morning and time to head 20 minutes away to Busch Gardens. Ever since I started to love coasters this had always been my number 1 park to visit for its quality of rides and absolute beauty. After being at the park for only a hour it was my favorite park. It is the most beautiful park I have been to. Dollywood is really beautiful but Busch beats it for me. Every detail of everything is perfect. It is so well kept and put together it is amazing. We ate lunch at the FestHaus over in Oktoberfest and that was absolutely brilliant food with incredible murals on the wall. I cannot say enough about how beautiful the park was but I will stop so we can talk about the coasters!

First coaster of the day was one I have been looking forward to since I started to like coasters, Apollo's Chariot.





What a amazing ride. I liked it much better then Nitro (only other B&M Hyper I've been on) For those who have read posts of mine or past trip reports I like a much smoother laid back ride then a in your face fast ride. Nitro is brilliant but it can be pretty in your face. Apollos seemed a lot smoother with pretty relaxed airtime. Not crazy airtime where I am getting thrown out of my seat. It was a perfect ride and was a instant top 10.

Next up was Griffon!


Kid doing a indirect Jarrett tribute






This was my first B&M Dive coaster and boy did I love it. My absolutely perfect coaster. The night ride on it was absolutely fantastic. It was a straight plunge into darkness. What a great ride. I cannot believe how much I loved this ride. I never thought much of Dive coasters until now and I really wanna get on another one. Griffon so amazing. Perfect speed, my favorite inversions, incredibly smooth, splashdown is sweet, and an amazing couple drops. WOW.

Enough of Griffon it is time for Alpengeist.









Alpengeist was a great ride as well. First ride was perfect, Second ride I felt the cobra rolls fury lol. Nice aggressive invert but IMO still cannot trump Talon. Talon was amazing in every way and no invert has been able to touch it since. You know that a park is good when the worst coaster in the park is still fantastic. Great ride alpie.

After Alpengeist we went to Ben's new favorite coaster, Verbolten.








Okay Verbolten was great and we rode it 7 times but it isn't my favorite or top 10 for me. Ben loves theming, launches, German stuff, and coasters with indoor sections so after the 5th ride he said it was his favorite coaster. He has been on everything at KD and Busch, he has been on Kraken, TTD, Maverick, Millennium, Bizarro, Nitro, El Toro, and more but this topped it all for him. This IMO however is another flawless coaster. I loved both launches, the different indoor themes, the drop was great and it was smooth as all can be. Ever since this coaster opened I never herd a lot of excitement about it but I adored it! I really want to know what others think of Verbolten!

After Verbolten it was time for the very ride that keeps the park going yes ladies and gentlemen. You all know what it is.









Grover's Alpine Express = Successful + 1

After Grover we cleaned up the coasters with Loch Ness Monster. It was cool to ride it with my cousin Tracy because she rode it 25 years ago and hasn't been on it until we went on it. She loved it and it was just as she remembered.





Old Nessie here isn't too bad. I loved it a lot. I expected it to be really rough and vile but it was pretty good. I forgot about that small indoor part and the loops were very smooth. Great fun family ride and a good first coaster with inversions for younger kids. I could eat a sandwhich, brush my teeth, and floss on the lifthill though. However quality coaster and a great Arrow.

Next thing high on my list was Curse of DarKastle.



Very fun ride. Brilliant theme and great architecture and a awesome que.

The rest of the day was just rerides on everything including a night ride on Apollo, Griffon, and Verbolten. We would of done Alpengeist but it was down at the end of the day. Overall we got 7 rides on Verbolten, 4 on Griffon, 3 on Apollo, 3 on Loch Ness, 2 on Alpengeist, and 1 on Grover. Busch Gardens is for sure the best park I have been to. Everyone was so polite, the service and rides were great, the food was amazing, just an overall great day. I was even more tired after this day so again I fell asleep as soon as we got to the RV.

Well I shall wrap up the trip report tomorrow with the ride back and 2 random coasters on the way home. What will they be? Where will they be? Will I ride ever coaster in the state of Virginia within 4 days? Who knows find out tomorrow

Thanks again guys now I will leave you with Ben and I's tribute to a great goon, Jarrett.
Chris Coasters tribute.


Ben's Tribute


Thanks again everyone have a goodnight/day wherever or whenever you are reading this!

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip: Day 4 Busch Gardens

Day 5: Central Park Funland & Funplex

We woke up in the morning and we knew it would be a sad day because we knew our Virginia trip and most likely our season was over. Me being the coaster lover that I am knew about tons of possible places we could stop on the way home. We stopped at two and its good only two because we didn't get home until 11:30. We left the RV park around 9 in the morning and drove until we hit a McDonalds for breakfast. After that we went into the enemy (RiteAid) and bought snacks. This is against my religion since I work for CVS but Ben wanted junk food now so we went. After that it was all driving until we stopped at our first park Central Park Funland in Fredericksburg Virginia. It was an arcade type place with some rides and a mini golf course. The place looked pretty rundown on the outside but the inside was awesome. That was where we got the cred.





So Jett Star could of brought us spite because the website said it had a 200 pound weight limit. That is a lie because I am at the most 250 and Ben is around 120 solid bone. So at over 300 pounds the lifthill was fine. It went around for I believe 5 laps but it could of been a couple more or less. This was a solid plus 1 but that wasn't why we chose to go here. This would mean after a ride on Jett Star we would of ridden every coaster in Virginia in 4 days. We were excited since we thought this would screw us over and we thought some at KD would get missed because of rain or not running but the state of Virginia was good to us.

After we left Central Park it was more driving until we reached our next coaster in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Funplex and the Funcoaster. Ben thought it was going to be another kiddie cred so he was pleasantly surprised to see a spinning wild mouse.

Greatest ticket ever.




It was pretty good and it is fairly new so thats always a positive thing. Another coaster to our totals putting me at 143 and Ben at 91 to end our years. Both of us will look to hit milestones next year. His 100th and I will definitely hit 150 but I am aiming for 200. Overall it was a great year and I had a awesome time. My first ever non family Road Trips to Jersey and a great trip to Virginia. I also got some fair coasters, Roar-O-Saurus, some alpine coasters, and the only roller coaster in Rhode Island. Thanks all for reading and cheers to a great 2015.

 

[tomahawk]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

Enjoying the report! I absolutely loved Williamsburg when I went and it hurt not to go to BGW and KD while out there, but just another reason to go back. Beautiful out there.

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

Yea we went to Kings Dominion first and loved it and then we did Busch the next day and it just made KD look awful when KD isn't really that bad. Glad you liked it!

 

[Edward M]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

What?!? You didn't like Shockwave! I love that ride! The only stand up I actually enjoyed. Either way, I loved the report. Great pics and look forward to more.

PS. Am I the only one who loves the KD woodies?

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

No way you are the first person I have heard say they liked Shockwave. I liked Hurler and Woodstock and Grizzly could warm up if I got more rides but Rebel Yell I am not a fan.

 

[PeskyTrimBrake]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

Great Report! I love BGW. Everything about it was perfect! Apollos Chariot was great but I prefer Nitro though.

 

[Chris Coasters]

Re: Chris Coasters End of Year Trip:Last Day Jett Star & Fun

They are both so good<3 I loved them a bunch but like I said up there Nitro is more forceful of a ride and I love a more smooth relaxed ride. Glad you liked it and thanks for reading it!