Over the last couple of years Sam (above, left) has attended four amusement parks with me. Those include: Knoebels, Kings Dominion, Adventure Park USA (APUSA), and Clementon Park. While she did get on some of the coasters, there was a good many that she just couldn’t find it in herself to try. Needless to say, Intimidator 305 wasn’t one of them.
Well, that was 2017-19. It’s 2020 and Sam has told me she wants to push herself to ride some of the bigger coasters. She admitted that to me when she told me her bucket list coaster is Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT). I was taken back and asked her if she knew how intense that coaster would probably be. She said yes, and that she’s tired of being a “p***y” when it comes to some coasters. Alrighty then…
Plans Made - Immediate
In the weeks since that discussion, Sam and I have made some plans to attend a few parks that are beginning to open up in the region. We will be at Hersheypark on Friday, July 3, 2020, which is a park Sam loves. This will mark our first time there together, which will start to boost her park count on her profile page.
Great Bear and Lightning Racer are among Sam’s favorites at the park, but she was really looking forward to trying Storm Runner. Sadly, that won’t happen in 2020 as Hersheypark has the ride listed as “Closed for the Season” on their website. Oh well, it’ll give us something to do next year. We can focus on Comet, Fahrenheit, and maybe even Skyrush and Candymonium. Keeping my fingers crossed!
On Monday, July 6, 2020, Sam and I will head down to Six Flags America (SFA) to get in some rides. Sam has never been to a Six Flags park at all. With SFA so close, we thought it would be a great way to finish up our vacation week without having to do too much driving. I’m really looking forward to getting her on Wild One, Firebird (please don’t hurt), and hopefully, Joker’s Jinx and Superman: Ride of Steel. Naturally, the other coasters would be good for her to try as well. Maybe even have her try Chris Brunelle’s (Airtime Thrills) favorite ride, Roar.
Plans Made - Further Out
In the weeks following we will be making our way back to Hersheypark with some coworkers for an annual amusement park trip that I plan every year. Usually we go at the end of June, but with the Covid-19 pandemic pushing everything back, we’re aiming for the end of July. The photo shown above is from last year’s trip to Knoebels – the largest outing we had with over 60 coworkers, friends, family members, and loved ones attending.
In addition to that trip, I’m hoping to get Sam to Dorney Park this summer. With how much she raves about Great Bear, I think she would absolutely love Talon. Seriously, I don’t think a smoother Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) invert exists. Plus, it’s the coaster featured in the site’s logo, so she kind of has to ride it, in my opinion. Hydra and Steel Force are others I’m hoping to have her experience too.
Lastly, I’ve been talking with both Sam and Elaina (also shown in the photo above, right) about trying to get to Lakemont Park to ride Leap the Dips. There are many coaster enthusiasts out there who can’t say they’ve experienced the world’s oldest roller coaster. I think adding that credit to both their lists is a must.
I can’t wait to see how Sam responds to all these new rides. I think she’ll be okay in the long run, although it might take her some warming up for the wild ones in the bunch. I’m looking at you Skyrush! I’ll keep you posted as I’m sure to publish some reports on our days at the park as they happen.
