Here’s my advice on road-trips and time optimization at parks. 1. Don’t waste money on hotels, sleep in your car. 2. Don’t waste money on a ticket, hop the fence at 2 am and stay in the tree line until the park opens. 3. Don’t waste money on food, hunt the wild animals in the surrounding area. 4. Don’t waste time standing in line, bring a weapon to threaten people with and force your way onto the ride. 5. Don’t waste money on gas, just take it from the cars in the parking lots.
My only annotation, 4. Buy a Cheeseburger with money you pick pocket from unruly children then use said burger skewer to force your way onto rides, reminding everyone all along, that your stance is "green" as your skewer is made of wood.
One more thing: the websites "Queue Times" and "Is it Packed" use algorithms to predict crowd sizes. On days that are packed and terrible, it shows as red on the calendar, while ghost down days are colored green. Historically, these forecasts have been very accurate on my previous trips. If there is one piece of advice that trumps them all, it's to go to a park as close to an off-season weekday as you possibly can. And if not that, go on a day with reduced operational hours. I can avoid going to parks on days with crowds like 90% of the time as a result of this. Magic Mountain is wild because if you go on a Tuesday or Wednesday between November and April, you're solid. It'll be dead as hell. I went on a Wednesday in January and every single coaster in the park was a walk-on. It was bliss.
@@timothykaczmarek5871 They do suck at Cedar Point, but having visited both of them in the last 6 months, Knott's takes the dogsh*t cake on this one. Cedar Point, while not great, at least some of the time you would get a posted or app time that was somewhat in the ballpark of the actual wait time. We visited Knott's about a month ago as a side event on a Disney trip and there was not a single time where the posted or app ride times were even remotely close. Which is remarkable, because you would think they would get some right by a simple matter of chance, but nope, not once. The times were rarely updated and could have been completely randomly generated and you wouldn't know the difference. There were 4 separate times when the app would say something was open and give a wait time, but the ride was down and had been down for 30 min or more. Knott's operations, in all aspects, are some of the worst in the entire industry.
@@nichtsistkostenlos6565 All this app crap. I go to these places, walk by the ride, if it's a relatively manageable wait time and the line is moving, I'll ride. If the line is spilling out on the Midway, and the queue line is filled, I'll pass. Problem solved. Come back later. I keep my phone in the car, don't need it. Drink a beer, have something to eat, walk around, get in a short line, BAM! Been doing this for years!! Works better than all that app crap!!!
This was a great video! I’ve always wanted to see a park advice video that simply isn’t “Stay at the park’s hotel and buy the best fast pass you can” and this fit the bill! The part at the end made me want individual park advice videos, you know, one for Kings Island, one for Cedar Point, etc.
This is a helpful video-- I can testify to some of this myself! I'd like to provide some of my experience at parks for anyone wondering: Fun Spot parks: if you want to ride everything, head to the go-karts first. These are very popular, and cycles take a while so the line can get backed up to several cycles. Commander at the Orlando park is particularly popular. If you don't care, ride the biggest coasters first. White Lightning, Galaxy Spin/Mine Blower, and ArieForce One of course. WL needs to get warmed up, however. If you spend a day, they usually stay open to midnight-- that's when everything is lit up and rides are awesome and may have shorter waits! SeaWorld Orlando: Get there when it opens to ride Manta ASAP as it gets loaded quick and doesn't slow down until later. Journey to Atlantis is also good to ride early. Kraken gets busy a bit later, as with Mako. Ice Breaker is new, but no one seems to get there until later. I thought it'd get packed on a busy day so we ran there first. Almost no line, and I rode like 4 or 5 times! It does get busy later, and may break down too. We got a 3 day all-day dining for SW & BG and it was worth it since we stayed all day. If the park gets crowded mid-day, that's when you can go see all the sea creatures. Quick Queue is good though; don't get top tier to ride Ice Breaker once, just ride several times at opening. Finally, don't miss Infinity Falls; it's the best rapids ride I've ridden! Busch Gardens Tampa: Go to either IGwazi or Cheetah Hunt first, as these get monstrous lines later on! Quick Queue helps, but not for Iron Gwazi unless you get the top tier, which lets you ride once. Save this ride for later and ride in the morning. If you're disappointed by it, it needs to warm up. My later day ride was significantly crazier than in the morning! Everything in this park likes to get busy, except for Kumba, Falcon's Fury, and to a lesser extent Tigris, so those can be done whenever. This park has lots of awesome rides, I recommend a Fast Lane if you have the money. Universal: this one's complicated, so just use the app. Unlike other apps, this one seems to report the wait times very accurately. If it's very busy, do VelociCoaster first and Hagrid's last of the day (night ride is amazing). MiB is often short. Everything else seems random. Skip the Line is good if you're just going one day, but it's expensive. SFOG: oh boy, do I have a lot to say for this one! Yes, Dare Devil Dive gets the longest waits, so ride it first, then do Mind Bender, as it's new. Twisted Cyclone gets long, Scorcher's ops take forever (and it seems to break down every other hour), and Blue Hawk only runs ONE FREAKING TRAIN which goes like 2 MPH up the lift... Justice League gets long, but it has a single rider line. While fun, Justice League also has very dim screens. I've heard other rides are getting single rider lines too. Scream Machine and Dahlonega don't get too long. A regular Flash Pass (only $40) is actually quite nice, as you can virtual queue for long lines while in another line, while eating, or in the bathroom! Beware that some Flash Pass entrances are separate, and some are the exit of the ride. Also beware that only Scream Machine lets you pick your row with Flash Pass, and they assign the back 2 rows on Batman for Flash Pass holders. One day wasn't busy, so they gave be a paper band with regular skip the line power. Expect any ride to close for short periods of time. If you go on a school weekday, expect many lesser rides to be closed! They didn't run Scorcher, Scream Machine, Joker Funhouse, or Blue Hawk! Also, I've never seen Acrophobia, the high swings, or the rapids run the 5 times I've been, and only once was the log flume and train open, and only for a short time. I'm sorry to say that family trips should be on busy days or they won't open all the rides! Also, Goliath is significantly smoother in the very front or back; the middle is very rough. It may have its issues, but Six Flags is cheap, and Goliath and Twisted Cyclone are amazing to do over and over! Wild Adventures: expect random rides to close at random times, especially Twisted Typhoon. Go Bananas, Boomerang, and Swamp Thing get long due to low capacity. Don't pay for go-karts; there's a reason Fun Spot exists. Also, the Boomerang and SLC are both smooth (in my experience) and should be enjoyable. If lines get busy, check out the Alapaha Trail; it's pretty cool. Also Skillet sometimes puts on concerts here! Dollywood: I recommend LRod first, but you really can't go wrong with any coaster first except for Tennessee Tornado or Blazing Fury (unless you want to get this one out of the way). Time Saver is really nice. Mystery Mine doesn't take row requests. LRod may close a few minutes before the park does, so you might want to say your goodbyes early, then end with another coaster. Don't stand by the Mystery Mine vulture for too long or he'll drive you crazy. Carowinds: Do Nighthawk first. We arrived early and it ALREADY had a long wait. We ended up getting Fast Lane, which saved 2 hours just when I rode Nighthawk twice, and the park midways were almost empty! Intimidator, Fury, and Copperhead get long. Vortex gets long for similar reasons as Scorcher, and Ricochet and Flying Cobras have bad capacity. Like all Cedar Fair parks, you can't ride the kiddie coaster unless you have someone under 54 inches (doesn't have to be a kid according to the rules...) but you can ride Woodstock Express, which is infinitely better in the back. Fury in the front row is wild, but don't sleep on Copperhead. Disney: gl, you're on your own
I was planning my BGT trip last week. I was trying to figure out if I should get the Quick Queue in advance. Ended up doing it because the prices change based on the date and I was worried it would go up closer to the date. The best pass only gets you ONE ride on Iron Gwazi which is total BS. Guess it's better then the Islands of Adventure one, which gets you zero rides on Velocicoaster and Hagrid...
One tip I also like but it’s harder to pull off is going on days where the weather is “supposed to be bad” like chance of rain and stuff. I went to my home park doing that and literally nobody showed up, because it was supposed to maybe but never did. Got to ride every ride a SFNE at least 3 times.
One clue on Fast Lane/Quick Queue type setups with dynamic pricing - if it's more expensive than usual, it probably means you're going to need it. Also something you didn't mention, I think for larger parks it makes sense to consider the geography of the rides to some extent - you can waste 20 minutes walking from one end to the other at Cedar Point, and if you are taking long treks back and forth between Frontier Town and the Main Midway to try and hit specific rides in a specific order, you can lose more time walking than you gain by hitting slightly shorter lines. Even though Rougarou will probably have a short line all day, maybe it's better to hit that right after Millennium Force vs. walking all the way back to Maverick and Steel Vengeance, then coming back to Rougarou, then back to Cedar Creek Mine Ride, etc. Try and knock out the whole area while you're there.
Haven’t watched you in a while I went to magic mount last week I agree with you that Twisted Colossus is the best coaster in the park it’s my favorite coaster I’ve ridden
I avoid weekends and holidays. I don't mind waiting in a small to medium line for a ride because it is a slow day and they're running one train on a coaster ride......I hate crowded midways, benches, restrooms, and shops more than waiting in a small to medium line for a ride. On a busy day, a 35 minute wait for a coaster running 2 or 3 trains doesn't make up for random people being "in my personal bubble" while I eat pizza sitting at a park bench or gathering my merch in the shops. "get off me" ! ! ! ! ! LOL You expect some shoulder walk by action in the cattle maze ride lines.....not in the restrooms. I have also found that if a park is set up in a large circle, most Americans will go to the right upon entering the park if there is no new or major attraction close by to the left.
I work at Universal Studios Hollywood and I often tell guests that the best way to maximize your experience on a busy peak day is to go straight to the Lower Lot at rope drop because most will run to Potter. Going straight to the Lower Lot you can tackle Jurassic World, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers within the first 30 minutes(Hell, you can ride them multiple times for the first 2 hours no problem). Then make your way up to The Simpsons Ride(Worst riders per hour capacity in the park that gets insane wait times as the day goes by), then the Studio Tour, and then the rest of the Upper Lot.
Zipper pockets for the win! I almost lost my wallet on the barrel row finale of Outlaw Run so every time I go to a major coaster park, I make sure I bring shorts with zipper pockets.
4:11 that happened to me at Carowinds I rode fury first then wanted to get some rerides later after riding everything else but it was closed due to high winds
For a similar sort of video you should do one about what to do and what not to do at a theme park. Examples of what not to do: don’t cut in line. Don’t smoke outside of designated smoking areas. Don’t buy steeply discounted tickets from an untrusted source. Don’t argue with ride operators about minimum height requirements to try and get your child on the ride. Don’t force a frightened child on to certain rides, etc.
Great advice, especially about arguing with the Ride staff about basically ANYTHING, and the forcing of kids on rides they are scared of. Operated the Demon Drop at Cedar Point and can't tell you how many parents INSISTED on their crying and terrified kid didn't want to ride it. Glad I had a minor in Psychology and was a student teacher in college to handle THOSE IDIOTS who were parents.
The seaworld dining pass and skip the line queue is 100% worth it. There was a group of us (without any discount) that paid $140 each for admission, the dining plan, and skip the line at seaworld Orlando. We went on the Sunday of thanksgiving break last year and it was packed and Manta was closed because of its repaint. Every ride had about a 60-90 minute wait and we were able to get on mako on the back rows in less than 10, kraken in about 10 minutes, and the river rapids ride was a walk on. That had a 90 minute wait and we got about 10 rides on it in less than that span. The dining plan was worth it the most because you could get an entree, a side, and a drink every hour and their food is honestly really good compared to other parks ive seen. Chicken tenders and fries, with a soda, and a piece of chocolate cake I was able to get at one place. Other people were able to get other combos but it was such a steal and felt like the park was losing money because of it. My rule of thumb is to get a skip the line pass at Florida parks or year round parks between the week of thanksgiving and the rest of the year, February to the middle of August, and any Saturday you go when park hours are closing the park later. February to the middle of April sounds like a long span because it is, February is when winter breaks happen and some schools have breaks in February and April while others have it in March. Plus, different states have school start and end at different months as well. Massachusetts it’s a late august start with a June finish while most start in the middle of August and end before June
This is definitely great content and the stuff I focus on when I go to a theme park. I would love a series of this covering different theme parks across the country.
Last year I went to Busch Gardens Tampa bay with my family. I watched this video, so we paid for tickets online and wasted no time getting to the entrance. We ended up getting on cheetah hunt in the first 10 minutes. Thank you Airtime Thrills :D
Honestly went to Dollywood and found that getting their version of flash pass was actually worth the money. Went midsummer and saw plenty of people fainting. As well as since we were only there for the day it actually allowed us to ride the rides a couple of times each. Made our one day visit so much better.
Universal Orlando is inconsistent with single rider lines. Most of their big rides have SRL's. SRL never open: Hagrid's, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket SRL open most of the time, but can hit capacity due to locker #'s: VelociCoaster SRL cuts off a significant wait time: Gringott's, Men in Black SRL gets you to the station right away: Hulk (turn left as soon as you go through the metal detector, go up the stairs, and you come out at the station)
Also, I have a few comments for clothing. If it is a sunny day, try and pick a light-colored shirt that reflects the light to help you stay cool. Preferably a moisture wicking one or one that provides extra spf coverage. Also, if you like water rides, pick one that will dry quickly. This is why i like wearing bathing suits with zipper pockets to a park, as it does not weigh you down or chafe you if they get wet. Also, no flip flops! When you do that much walking, you need good ankle support and traction! Plus, your foot can get sunburnt and that is painful!
I'm surprised that Cedar Point told you that they usually don't sell out of fast pass. I was there on 5 weekdays last year, and they sold out of fast lane on 4 of those days. Fast lane lines were longer than the regular lines, so it was actually a blessing for those people who tried but couldn't buy fast lane. You make a great point about the dining plan making you feel like you have to eat at the park. I was feeling that last summer, especially at parks that had shorter hours. It got in the way of a few extra rides. Or at some parks, the food lines might be an hour long, causing me to not bother with getting the food I've already paid for.
Living in new England we have the six flags membership. Just did a trip to Florida and did a two day ticket to BGT and SWO. Got an Airbnb walking distance from BG. We eat before the day and only share a small meal or snack in park. And zippered technical or hiking pants/shorts hold all the needed phones and keys. And glad we hit gwazi first because it was down due to wind. Only thing we didn't ride between the two was the dive at BGT and mako at sea world...and that was a restraint compatibility issue. Time to hit the gym...
This was a educational video for people who don’t like spending a lot of money at parks and still want to have a fun nice time at the parks while still keeping a nice budget
As a cedar fair platinum pass holder, with drink and dining on them, I can 100% agree with the no drink bottle. If you're just getting the single day one, get the wristband. So many times I see people having to try and stash their bottle at CP. Just get the band, and single use cup.
@@turbocoon9827 I split my weekends up between CP and Kings Island. If you haven't been to KI, I would highly reccomend it. I live about an hour and 45 mins from CP, and 3.5-4 hours from Kings Island. Honestly, I like the park experience better at KI. CP has a few better coasters, but the park down at KI is just a better experience in my opinion. Where CP feels like a corporate park, KI has more of a family friendly feeling to it. We have 4 children, and all 4 of my kids like KI better.
@@turbocoon9827 I'll be there Friday through Sunday. I've been waiting all winter for some coasters. We also were lucky enough to get tickets for coaster stock this year. They sold out in something ridiculous like 5 minutes so that was a great feeling.
Great topic. The biggest general point I always make is always always always go to the back first. This is especially true at my home park of Cedar Point. If its my first time visiting a park my plan usually changes. In my opinion, opening with a bang is very important but having a great closer is even more important. In this case, I'll start with a ride I am really excited for and then get on some of the lower capacity rides in the area to get them out of the way. For example, last year was my first visit to Kings Dominion. We started with Twisted Timbers to get a strong opening. Then, we went immediately to Apple Zapple. At the end of the day, its all about preference and what you want to accomplish.
If you visit your home park a lot, like multiple times a month, I would recommend getting the drink *and* food plan. I know that at least for Cedar Fair parks, it's a great deal. Whenever Kings Island is open, I go there literally just to get dinner and ride Diamondback or a few rides.
Number #1. Get to the park an hour early. Parks generally open earlier than the posted time. First at rope drop and getting there when it opens could be a 90 min wait difference (e.g. Hagrid, IOA) Another Example: Kings Dominion opens the gates 30 min before opening and the Berserker (360 boat flat ride) and Dominator (B&M Floorless) are open at that time. You can ride them and still be in a great position for rope drop on Tumbili (their newest ride, short version S&S 4D, low capacity).
It’s funny right when I was watching this video. I already follow most of these tips when I go to Magic Mountain. Thank God you made this to spread tips to other coaster enthusiasts.
A couple of things I wanted to add. This is a general recommendation. A few years back I noticed that parking has gotten out of control so I don't always rent cars but rather started utilizing Lyft, light rail, shuttles, etc. It's actually worked out quite well for the most part. If you're going to Knott's there's a Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken To-Go in the Marketplace. If you have a cooler and a place to eat, that's a much better option for dinner. Also if you're a fan of Boysenberry punch they sell the concentrate in the Preserves shop so if you have water, you guessed it you can have boysenberry punch in your hotel room!
My home park is cedar point. I like to go during the week when school is in like in may or at the end of August. Went aug 26th never waited longer then 10-15 minutes. In may cedar isn't open Tuesday or Wednesday before memorial day though at least that's what it says on the app at the moment.
Nice video. Getting to the park early is important. I went to Great Adventure yesterday. Arrived when they opened, walked on El Toro, Kingda Ka, Jersey Devil and Nitro. No flash pass needed for a Sunday morning in April. Timing is everything.
One other tidbit I'd offer on Fast Lane / Flash Pass is that there's a difference in how Cedar Fair and Six Flags distribute them. Although at Six Flags all Flash Passes are sold at one central location, Cedar Fair tends to sell them in souvenir shops, too. So you can often skip the line at a busy Fast Lane (CF) vendor by asking for them at a nearby shop instead, especially in the morning.
3:08 Learned this lesson the hard way back in February. Booked one-day nonrefundable tickets to BGT...only to find out that Montu AND Sheikra were both down for maintenance. 😖
I had similar single rider line experience to you. My sister and I did the single rider on Hagrids and skipped a posted wait of 2 hours. We walked in and were put on the same train(different rows obviously) within a cycle or 2. Honestly spent more time walking to the station than waiting.
@@evanmaunders5688 I have good luck at IoA. The other time I went was at the end of January. I rode Velocicoaster 15 times. I could've ridden it more, but it was my first time at Universal so I was trying out other stuff at both parks.
My sister and I had a similar thing happen to us on Revenge of the Mummy and Jurassic Park (now Jurassic World) at Universal Studios Hollywood, Rock n Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios and California Screamin (now Incredicoaster) at California Adventure. On both Jurassic Park, Rock n Roller Coaster, and California Screamin we were placed in the vehicle either one row to a few rows apart. On Revenge of the Mummy, we were in back-to-back cars so when I was going backwards on the last half of the ride, I got to see the car she was in launch forwards.
Very glad to see that you listed the different approaches of what to hit first and generally endorsed riding the headliner first. I don’t understand why someone on their first visit to Carowinds would ride Nighthawk and Ricochet first and then be upset because Fury broke down and they missed out.
I’m hoping to make it to Los Angeles later in the year for a vacation and I appreciate you making this video in the event I make it to Magic Mountain. In the future, I imagine that a lot of new coasters that are constructed will have queue lines set up with free lockers for your belongings in a fashion similar to Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point and VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The coasters that have bins in the station won’t do that. Also, I can relate to the recommendation of getting cargo shorts before riding the coasters.
I’d like to add an additional piece of advice to save money but it only applies to Kings Island. If you go during the week don’t worry about a Fastlane pass. The operations there are excellent and only Invertigo has bad capacity. 1 train ops are rare. So if you go on a weekday it’s rare to wait an hour or more. When I went in 2020 during the beginning of COVID the most I waited was 45 minutes for Mystic Timbers and Diamondback and that’s with lower staffing compared to the usual
If you really want to cut down on food costs, bring a cooler and eat in your car during the day. Some places (like Cedar Point) even have a place where you can put a cooler near the entrance at your own risk. Also, some Cedar Point advice because that's my home park: Don't ride Raptor or Blue Streak first. Both tend to have long lines at the beginning of the day but will almost certainly get shorter through the day. Never wait more than 30 minutes for Gatekeeper, that one fluctuates and you will almost definitely be able to get on it in less than that. The wait times on the app have improved a lot this past year and are pretty accurate. The only time you'll be able to get a short wait for Maverick or SteVe is at the very beginning of the day and if you use one of the entrances that isn't the main one (like the Waterpark or hotel one) you can get there quicker. Iron Dragon often closes early because that's where they shoot fireworks from, so get on it early in the day if you want to ride it. maXair closes a lot so get on that while it's open if it interests you. I probably have more but this comment is long enough lol
The cooler idea just isn’t practical at many parks. If you have a one way walk from the front gate to you car of 20 minutes or more (SFNE, Dollywood, and SFMM all come to mind), you can lose hours to try to save a few bucks. It’s not worth it if you are trying to make use of your time in the park.
@@CoastersRUs-us Well yeah, it's not always gonna work, but a lot of people don't even think of the fact that they can bring a cooler. If you get to a park close to opening you can probably get a good spot. And like I said, some parks have an area you can leave a cooler close to the entrance.
Sea World is easy. In my experience.. find out when the Orca/Dolphin shows are.. and during those windows is your chance to hit the rides because those shows genuinely draw in half the park’s capacity. Ride some rides during the early show and go see the late show or vise versa
I will be taking my coaster enthusiast son on a coaster road trip this summer. We will have two days at Cedar Point (Friday/Saturday) and two days at Six Flags Great America (Sunday/Monday), any advice on approach for those two?
I would avoid Cedar Point on Saturday at all costs. You could get a fast lane plus but they are $250.00 per person on the weekends. If you must go on Saturday spend the $ on fast lane and enjoy the experience.
Do NOT GO to Cedar Point on a Saturday--EVER. The place is stupid crowded, people are idiots, food and ride lines are murder rate long, and you DEFINITELY will not get on a lot of things. Take a day during the week, most definitely, and if you have to do a weekend day, Sunday is the most manageable. (From an employee whose worked there for 5 seasons). Saturday's were HELL!!!
Id maybe get the fast lane for 1 day at each and use the other day for the non-fastlane stuff. Ive done that before when i spent more than 1 day at a park
@@AirtimeThrills Even on a Saturday at Cedar Point with a Fast Lane admission, you STILL will be waiting to ride things as their system sucks compared to other places. You basically merge into the general line, (like the bridge on Millinneum Force and the tunnel under the brake run on Steel Vengeance, among others). They don't have a dedicated entrance on their older rides like at Kings Island and on newer rides (like in the past 10 years), where there's a separate stair or walkway to board. Again, AVOID THAT PARK on a Saturday. They even have parking restrictions for staffmembers because of the ridiculous amount of people on Saturday. For the love of the Ride Gods, DON'T DO IT!!!!
What would you say the optimal group size is to ride most coasters together? I think it would probably be 4 but what's a good number for a larger group?
No more than 4. Even with 4 its hard to line up your group to ride together on 2 across trains. Anything more than 4 and you're gonna have a harder time
@@AirtimeThrills I’ve been doing 5 my whole life and it’s not too hard if it holds 2 then one person sits by a stranger or by them self if it holds 4 then do 3 and 2
One thing I would like to add is Mobile Order your food early during your park visit. It may not always work at some parks; but when it does work, it allows for more time for rides and attractions during your visit and less time waiting in line for lunch/snack/dinner. Also some annual passes (like the Platinum Pass at Universal Studios Hollywood) come with the Express Pass already attached to it. That way you can get to the park early, ride a few rides, meet a few characters, take photos, explore the shops, eat a meal (either breakfast/brunch/lunch) and hit the rides and shows in the afternoon with the Express Pass and not too long of a wait in line every time you visit.
The mobile ordering is a good idea but man that's so hit and miss. Usually half the time i regret using it because they have no idea what they're doing
@@AirtimeThrills that is what I have heard. My family has been using it at Disneyland for the past few years when they started offering Mobile Ordering and it has been pretty successful. But I have seen many complaints against it in the Six Flags Magic Mountain group I am in on Facebook. So yeah it is hit or miss, depending on the park.
As a person who has their local park at silver dollar city, it is a good idea to get a pass if you are planning to go multiple times or have multiple party members
I was waiting for what seemed like FOREVER in line for X2, mostly because it was running with one train. Hopefully the next time I go to Magic Mountain it'll be running with 2 trains, shortening the HORRENDUS wait time. If not, then imma skip it, and maybe move on to some of the rides I didn't get to go on during my first visit to Magic Mountain (i.e., Tatsu, Superman Escape From Krypton, Gold Rusher, West Coast Racers) While I'm glad to have ridden a large-scale 4D coaster like X2, I think it might be the only time I do so, because I'm not even sure if the problem of only running one train is also common on Eejanaika at Japan's Fuji-Q Highland or Dinoconda at China Dinosaurs Park. Eejanaika is a big maybe as long as that ride isn't having a one-train-only problem, and Dinoconda I might not ride on as I have NO plans on travelling to China at any point in the future (maybe until the Chinese Communist Party ceases to continue, but who knows when that'll ever happen).
At SFGAM i went multiple times during fright fest on Saturday every time we went for skips there was no line because they sold out of normal flash passes
So I went to bgt and sea world Orlando two weeks ago. Very timely video. Preferred parking with the platinum pass is totally worth it. Also going during the week and getting to the gate 30 minutes before the rope drop is vital. So I was going to get in in line for iron gwazi and saw it was crazy. I did a last minute change to hit cheetah hunt and the other rides first. By the time I looped over to iron gwazi it went from 90 to 30 min. I avoided a quick queue and only used my one one time pass at sherika that I wanted another ride on.Food also sucks at park the service is so spotty. Wonder if it’s worth going 1/2 day and no longer eating in the park especially at sea world and six flags that don’t current sell all season. Eat a decent breakfast bring a water bottle and plan to eat outside the park. I also did one sea world day where hit the park hard early left went back to hotel then went back two hours before close. As people leaving I go back in and maku and everything is a walk on My greatest day at sfne was august 2018 when it was supposed to rain all day. We drove into a huge rain storm but it stopped when we got to the park and everything was a walk on. Sometimes doing the opposite of everything or everyone else is worth considering. Planning is vital. Lots of sfne footage in this video!
Single riders is a good option, managed to marathon Kondaa for 15 rides on one of the busiest days ever at Walibi Belgium, most rides around 90min wait.
Coaster Pants are a great investment. I suggest work ripstop cargo pants. Just make sure you have options where to put stuff. I find the pockets far down on the thigh work best for something like a phone, as its out of the way of most restraints. Youbcan adjust sfuff once on the ride. Also, get a slim wallet for your ID, season pass card, credit card and a few bucks in cash. Wrap a big rubber band around it a few times to help keep it from slipping around and out of your pockets. Take just the key fob to open your car if possible. The less crap you lug around in your pockets the better. Also, take cheap knock-off sunglasses you dont care if you lose or if they break. Ive had my knock-off wayfarers for years with no problems because they flex, but Im sure my real wayfarers would have been destroyed long ago.
Something specific to SFOG but they actually open Twisted Cyclone and Georgia Scorcher a 1/2 hour before the posted opening time. The strat is get to SFOG a half hour early ride Twisted Cyclone one or two times and then rush over to Dare Devil when the rope drops
I went to Knotts and you're strategy worked for me I went on Ghostrider first on a busy day when it opens, after i took sierra sidewinder then I tried silver bullet but it's filled so I went to Hangtime instead, Ate Lunch earlier, Take Hangtime marathon, then Rode silver bullet 3 times during the lunch hours and one time ghost rider again and ghostrider has the worst capacity, very popular, and slow dispatches
Went to Cedar Point for Halloween 2021. Maverick-4, MForce - 1 (it kept breaking down, I waited 3 times), SteVe - 3, Raptor-2, every other major coaster at least once, and did a few flat rides, took pics and video. I did buy a fast lane and it was worth it I'd say. I'll be back in a couple years probably.
Kings island usually isn’t it busy mid season during the week days, idk what it is about cedar point but I can’t seem to get lucky enough there. Always busy no matter when I go 😂. Fast lane is a life saver for my girl and I for sure.
I've seen some coaster enthusiasts say that roller coasters take time to "warm up" and are faster as the day goes on. Do you factor that into what coasters you visit first or are the rails "warming up" not much of a difference? It's nice to go straight to the most popular coaster in the morning but you also want a good ride right?
For Magic Kingdom at Disney World, the park I go to most, you got to the 7 dwarfs as that’s the busiest ride there then head over to to Big Thunder and Splash Mountain as they are right next to each other, and then to Pirates and Haunted Mansion and then coast around and do Space Mountain later as it’s a very short wait after 8. Work your way around the park from left (Frontier Land/Adventure Land) to right (Tomorrow Land). For food I suggest Casey’s Corner as a quick option on Main Street and for a Sit-down it’s got to be Skipper Canteen. Disney basically forces you to use Genie plus, there skip the que format, so you gonna have to pay extra to get on the rides. The best time to go is either February or September Hope this helps someone
My gameplan is to go to the most popular ride, then hit all the rides on one side of the park, then eat lunch (and dessert) and play some stall games, then hit the rides on the other side of the park, then eat dinner (and dessert) and do some gift shopping, then leave. Depending on where I decide to get food I might hit my favorite ride an extra time right before.
If I didn't have the diamond elite dining pass that only costs about $5/month I'd probably be bringing my lunches to the park and storing them in a locker until lunchtime. Bringing your own food can also help by allowing you to combine some waiting and eating - you can do that with park food too, but there won't be as many full meals that are easily portable like a classic brown-bag lunch might be, and you'll probably feel a lot better with less grease going down between rides
My core morals for visiting a park is find a way to get on all the open coasters, outline the flats I want to do, try to take some video and pictures (it’s shocking how much you can remember based on one video), try to get some signature food, and most importantly, be flexible because if you aren’t, your day could blow up. Great video!
For a foreigner that is a rollercoaster enthusiast and wants to visit Cedar Point in a trip to Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit, what would be great tips??
How long have you been an enthusiast? You’ve mentioned deja vu at magic mountain so probably before I was even born (2007) and how many credits do you have? Must be a metric ton considering the videos about parks across the u.s. , and for a uk enthusiast who will likely never get to most of them if any it’s really nice to get to experience the parks on at least some level. 😃👍
Ive been an enthusiast since 2000 but i took a pretty long break where i didnt visit many parks. I got back into the scene around 2015, and I'm up around 530 credits now
This was great advice! Will keep in mind when visiting parks without my older brother (we don’t wait because he’s disabled and cannot waif in the lines); also as a proud Fanny pack wearer the locker advice was great
High quality video as always! Question for you, as a Magic Mountain longtimer- summer weekdays- do you think flash passes are the move? I'll be making my first trip to Magic Mountain likely on a Tuesday or Thursday in July and probably am planning on spring for Flash, but don't want to if I don't need to.
From my experience you should be OK without a flash on a summer weekday. It also depends on what you want to do... this park is so big with so many coasters it will be hard to ride them all even if there are any kind of lines. If you want to ride everything once without getting a bunch of rerides you can get away without the flash
@@AirtimeThrills Thanks, this is super helpful! My main goal is X2, to be honest; I want to get on as many as possible, but I'm in LA for work a bunch, so I'll have other opportunities. Are there single rider lines? That would also help me to know if it's worth it
@@catam1nt single rider line on Riddler is helpful, the one on Viper not as much since it never has a linr anyway. Not sure what else at this point has a single rider line, if any, and if those are being used again since covid
i think the only times i plan on getting a fast / flash pass are going to be when i visit texas, and california mostly because i see those parks as very busy, and i really want to ride all the coasters given i'll only have a couple days per park if my vacation goes right. oh speaking of kiddie coasters is there a way to contact the park to see if you can ride those with or without a kid ? i think wilderness run at carowinds you can ride without a kid, but need a pass for it ?
Fun fact about fanny packs: at the Florida SeaWorld parks, you can wear them on every single ride. Even montu, even infinity falls, everything. I only have to take it off to poop in the parks and I cannot express how insanely useful that is
Here's a tip about Fast Passes: I'll use Busch as an example. They have different prices for different days. If you go on a day when it's $20 for unlimited fast pass, don't get it. If it's $100, it'll probably be crowded that day, but it's better to wait if weather changes.
There's one thing I do like about having a parent who HATES riding stuff. She's been my locker. She keeps my stuff safe when I'm on rides so the locker situation/cup thing doesn't apply. also I freaking love fanny packs. XD
Sucks that this vid was uploaded after I went to Magic Mountain, but I did ride the major coaster, and the only coasters I missed were superman, the kiddie credits, and tatsu
Has Cedar Point’s locker system been improved since covid started? I heard things about tickets and passes to ride certain rides at a specific time and such. I didn’t want to go during this time. What about Steel Vengeance specifically?
I was there's last summer no virtual line. SV has a multi locker system. One for big items out of the line, that's where's my rain gear and big stuff was. That's a paid locker. Inside prior to boarding is a locker for all your small things. After is a metal detector, nothing means nothing. You reopen the small locker on the way out.
@@ImmortalFTW01 but sometimes consider the weather and how it changes, the one thing is that you can transfer the big locker around so you can leave things secure all around.
I know I commented recently on an older video that I enjoyed the Iron Dragon a bunch, and I do… but why would it not allow fast passes? I’ve literally never waited more than 15 minutes to get on the thing, and that’s if I waiting for the front seat on a busy day.
Dare devil dive first for sure. Maybe do twisted cyclone early if the line isnt already too long and then superman. The other coasters have decent capacity unless they have 1 train
Here’s my advice on road-trips and time optimization at parks.
1. Don’t waste money on hotels, sleep in your car.
2. Don’t waste money on a ticket, hop the fence at 2 am and stay in the tree line until the park opens.
3. Don’t waste money on food, hunt the wild animals in the surrounding area.
4. Don’t waste time standing in line, bring a weapon to threaten people with and force your way onto the ride.
5. Don’t waste money on gas, just take it from the cars in the parking lots.
My only annotation, 4. Buy a Cheeseburger with money you pick pocket from unruly children then use said burger skewer to force your way onto rides, reminding everyone all along, that your stance is "green" as your skewer is made of wood.
Thatll do it
Thanks for the advice! I’ll be stealing this for my next trip :)
This young man is spitting facts!
I mean, i could have mentioned all this stuff but i think it's just a given...
One more thing: the websites "Queue Times" and "Is it Packed" use algorithms to predict crowd sizes. On days that are packed and terrible, it shows as red on the calendar, while ghost down days are colored green. Historically, these forecasts have been very accurate on my previous trips.
If there is one piece of advice that trumps them all, it's to go to a park as close to an off-season weekday as you possibly can. And if not that, go on a day with reduced operational hours. I can avoid going to parks on days with crowds like 90% of the time as a result of this.
Magic Mountain is wild because if you go on a Tuesday or Wednesday between November and April, you're solid. It'll be dead as hell. I went on a Wednesday in January and every single coaster in the park was a walk-on. It was bliss.
I wish the park apps were that accurate. Those are horrible, especially Knott's
@@AirtimeThrills Ain't that the truth!
@@AirtimeThrills They suck too at Cedar Point.
@@timothykaczmarek5871 They do suck at Cedar Point, but having visited both of them in the last 6 months, Knott's takes the dogsh*t cake on this one. Cedar Point, while not great, at least some of the time you would get a posted or app time that was somewhat in the ballpark of the actual wait time. We visited Knott's about a month ago as a side event on a Disney trip and there was not a single time where the posted or app ride times were even remotely close. Which is remarkable, because you would think they would get some right by a simple matter of chance, but nope, not once. The times were rarely updated and could have been completely randomly generated and you wouldn't know the difference. There were 4 separate times when the app would say something was open and give a wait time, but the ride was down and had been down for 30 min or more. Knott's operations, in all aspects, are some of the worst in the entire industry.
@@nichtsistkostenlos6565 All this app crap. I go to these places, walk by the ride, if it's a relatively manageable wait time and the line is moving, I'll ride. If the line is spilling out on the Midway, and the queue line is filled, I'll pass. Problem solved. Come back later. I keep my phone in the car, don't need it. Drink a beer, have something to eat, walk around, get in a short line, BAM! Been doing this for years!! Works better than all that app crap!!!
This was a great video! I’ve always wanted to see a park advice video that simply isn’t “Stay at the park’s hotel and buy the best fast pass you can” and this fit the bill! The part at the end made me want individual park advice videos, you know, one for Kings Island, one for Cedar Point, etc.
That one is tricky if you're not a park regular, I've been to SFMM and Knott's enough to formulate a good strategy
Now this is quality theme park talk
This is a helpful video-- I can testify to some of this myself! I'd like to provide some of my experience at parks for anyone wondering:
Fun Spot parks: if you want to ride everything, head to the go-karts first. These are very popular, and cycles take a while so the line can get backed up to several cycles. Commander at the Orlando park is particularly popular. If you don't care, ride the biggest coasters first. White Lightning, Galaxy Spin/Mine Blower, and ArieForce One of course. WL needs to get warmed up, however. If you spend a day, they usually stay open to midnight-- that's when everything is lit up and rides are awesome and may have shorter waits!
SeaWorld Orlando: Get there when it opens to ride Manta ASAP as it gets loaded quick and doesn't slow down until later. Journey to Atlantis is also good to ride early. Kraken gets busy a bit later, as with Mako. Ice Breaker is new, but no one seems to get there until later. I thought it'd get packed on a busy day so we ran there first. Almost no line, and I rode like 4 or 5 times! It does get busy later, and may break down too. We got a 3 day all-day dining for SW & BG and it was worth it since we stayed all day. If the park gets crowded mid-day, that's when you can go see all the sea creatures. Quick Queue is good though; don't get top tier to ride Ice Breaker once, just ride several times at opening. Finally, don't miss Infinity Falls; it's the best rapids ride I've ridden!
Busch Gardens Tampa: Go to either IGwazi or Cheetah Hunt first, as these get monstrous lines later on! Quick Queue helps, but not for Iron Gwazi unless you get the top tier, which lets you ride once. Save this ride for later and ride in the morning. If you're disappointed by it, it needs to warm up. My later day ride was significantly crazier than in the morning! Everything in this park likes to get busy, except for Kumba, Falcon's Fury, and to a lesser extent Tigris, so those can be done whenever. This park has lots of awesome rides, I recommend a Fast Lane if you have the money.
Universal: this one's complicated, so just use the app. Unlike other apps, this one seems to report the wait times very accurately. If it's very busy, do VelociCoaster first and Hagrid's last of the day (night ride is amazing). MiB is often short. Everything else seems random. Skip the Line is good if you're just going one day, but it's expensive.
SFOG: oh boy, do I have a lot to say for this one! Yes, Dare Devil Dive gets the longest waits, so ride it first, then do Mind Bender, as it's new. Twisted Cyclone gets long, Scorcher's ops take forever (and it seems to break down every other hour), and Blue Hawk only runs ONE FREAKING TRAIN which goes like 2 MPH up the lift... Justice League gets long, but it has a single rider line. While fun, Justice League also has very dim screens. I've heard other rides are getting single rider lines too. Scream Machine and Dahlonega don't get too long. A regular Flash Pass (only $40) is actually quite nice, as you can virtual queue for long lines while in another line, while eating, or in the bathroom! Beware that some Flash Pass entrances are separate, and some are the exit of the ride. Also beware that only Scream Machine lets you pick your row with Flash Pass, and they assign the back 2 rows on Batman for Flash Pass holders. One day wasn't busy, so they gave be a paper band with regular skip the line power. Expect any ride to close for short periods of time. If you go on a school weekday, expect many lesser rides to be closed! They didn't run Scorcher, Scream Machine, Joker Funhouse, or Blue Hawk! Also, I've never seen Acrophobia, the high swings, or the rapids run the 5 times I've been, and only once was the log flume and train open, and only for a short time. I'm sorry to say that family trips should be on busy days or they won't open all the rides! Also, Goliath is significantly smoother in the very front or back; the middle is very rough. It may have its issues, but Six Flags is cheap, and Goliath and Twisted Cyclone are amazing to do over and over!
Wild Adventures: expect random rides to close at random times, especially Twisted Typhoon. Go Bananas, Boomerang, and Swamp Thing get long due to low capacity. Don't pay for go-karts; there's a reason Fun Spot exists. Also, the Boomerang and SLC are both smooth (in my experience) and should be enjoyable. If lines get busy, check out the Alapaha Trail; it's pretty cool. Also Skillet sometimes puts on concerts here!
Dollywood: I recommend LRod first, but you really can't go wrong with any coaster first except for Tennessee Tornado or Blazing Fury (unless you want to get this one out of the way). Time Saver is really nice. Mystery Mine doesn't take row requests. LRod may close a few minutes before the park does, so you might want to say your goodbyes early, then end with another coaster. Don't stand by the Mystery Mine vulture for too long or he'll drive you crazy.
Carowinds: Do Nighthawk first. We arrived early and it ALREADY had a long wait. We ended up getting Fast Lane, which saved 2 hours just when I rode Nighthawk twice, and the park midways were almost empty! Intimidator, Fury, and Copperhead get long. Vortex gets long for similar reasons as Scorcher, and Ricochet and Flying Cobras have bad capacity. Like all Cedar Fair parks, you can't ride the kiddie coaster unless you have someone under 54 inches (doesn't have to be a kid according to the rules...) but you can ride Woodstock Express, which is infinitely better in the back. Fury in the front row is wild, but don't sleep on Copperhead.
Disney: gl, you're on your own
I was planning my BGT trip last week. I was trying to figure out if I should get the Quick Queue in advance. Ended up doing it because the prices change based on the date and I was worried it would go up closer to the date. The best pass only gets you ONE ride on Iron Gwazi which is total BS. Guess it's better then the Islands of Adventure one, which gets you zero rides on Velocicoaster and Hagrid...
Nice! I’m going to bgt in 3 days, so I’m excited
yea that's an aspect where I much prefer cedar fair fast lane. unlimited rides on everything that supports it which is everything big
One tip I also like but it’s harder to pull off is going on days where the weather is “supposed to be bad” like chance of rain and stuff. I went to my home park doing that and literally nobody showed up, because it was supposed to maybe but never did. Got to ride every ride a SFNE at least 3 times.
One clue on Fast Lane/Quick Queue type setups with dynamic pricing - if it's more expensive than usual, it probably means you're going to need it. Also something you didn't mention, I think for larger parks it makes sense to consider the geography of the rides to some extent - you can waste 20 minutes walking from one end to the other at Cedar Point, and if you are taking long treks back and forth between Frontier Town and the Main Midway to try and hit specific rides in a specific order, you can lose more time walking than you gain by hitting slightly shorter lines. Even though Rougarou will probably have a short line all day, maybe it's better to hit that right after Millennium Force vs. walking all the way back to Maverick and Steel Vengeance, then coming back to Rougarou, then back to Cedar Creek Mine Ride, etc. Try and knock out the whole area while you're there.
Haven’t watched you in a while I went to magic mount last week I agree with you that Twisted Colossus is the best coaster in the park it’s my favorite coaster I’ve ridden
I think X2 is better is better, however I can see how you like twisted colossus more
X2 for me but twisted is easily #2
@@Lloyd00 same
TWISTED IS THE BEST! I love RMC hybrid coasters💙💚
I would say it’s tied with x2
I avoid weekends and holidays. I don't mind waiting in a small to medium line for a ride because it is a slow day and they're running one train on a coaster ride......I hate crowded midways, benches, restrooms, and shops more than waiting in a small to medium line for a ride. On a busy day, a 35 minute wait for a coaster running 2 or 3 trains doesn't make up for random people being "in my personal bubble" while I eat pizza sitting at a park bench or gathering my merch in the shops. "get off me" ! ! ! ! ! LOL You expect some shoulder walk by action in the cattle maze ride lines.....not in the restrooms.
I have also found that if a park is set up in a large circle, most Americans will go to the right upon entering the park if there is no new or major attraction close by to the left.
I work at Universal Studios Hollywood and I often tell guests that the best way to maximize your experience on a busy peak day is to go straight to the Lower Lot at rope drop because most will run to Potter. Going straight to the Lower Lot you can tackle Jurassic World, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers within the first 30 minutes(Hell, you can ride them multiple times for the first 2 hours no problem). Then make your way up to The Simpsons Ride(Worst riders per hour capacity in the park that gets insane wait times as the day goes by), then the Studio Tour, and then the rest of the Upper Lot.
Zipper pockets for the win! I almost lost my wallet on the barrel row finale of Outlaw Run so every time I go to a major coaster park, I make sure I bring shorts with zipper pockets.
I *did* lose my wallet on Cheetah Hunt's inversion, and as a result I don't even know what else I rode that day. Never again...
4:11 that happened to me at Carowinds I rode fury first then wanted to get some rerides later after riding everything else but it was closed due to high winds
For a similar sort of video you should do one about what to do and what not to do at a theme park. Examples of what not to do: don’t cut in line. Don’t smoke outside of designated smoking areas. Don’t buy steeply discounted tickets from an untrusted source. Don’t argue with ride operators about minimum height requirements to try and get your child on the ride. Don’t force a frightened child on to certain rides, etc.
Great advice, especially about arguing with the Ride staff about basically ANYTHING, and the forcing of kids on rides they are scared of. Operated the Demon Drop at Cedar Point and can't tell you how many parents INSISTED on their crying and terrified kid didn't want to ride it. Glad I had a minor in Psychology and was a student teacher in college to handle THOSE IDIOTS who were parents.
The seaworld dining pass and skip the line queue is 100% worth it. There was a group of us (without any discount) that paid $140 each for admission, the dining plan, and skip the line at seaworld Orlando. We went on the Sunday of thanksgiving break last year and it was packed and Manta was closed because of its repaint. Every ride had about a 60-90 minute wait and we were able to get on mako on the back rows in less than 10, kraken in about 10 minutes, and the river rapids ride was a walk on. That had a 90 minute wait and we got about 10 rides on it in less than that span.
The dining plan was worth it the most because you could get an entree, a side, and a drink every hour and their food is honestly really good compared to other parks ive seen. Chicken tenders and fries, with a soda, and a piece of chocolate cake I was able to get at one place. Other people were able to get other combos but it was such a steal and felt like the park was losing money because of it.
My rule of thumb is to get a skip the line pass at Florida parks or year round parks between the week of thanksgiving and the rest of the year, February to the middle of August, and any Saturday you go when park hours are closing the park later. February to the middle of April sounds like a long span because it is, February is when winter breaks happen and some schools have breaks in February and April while others have it in March. Plus, different states have school start and end at different months as well. Massachusetts it’s a late august start with a June finish while most start in the middle of August and end before June
Now this is the content we need
This is definitely great content and the stuff I focus on when I go to a theme park. I would love a series of this covering different theme parks across the country.
Last year I went to Busch Gardens Tampa bay with my family. I watched this video, so we paid for tickets online and wasted no time getting to the entrance. We ended up getting on cheetah hunt in the first 10 minutes. Thank you Airtime Thrills :D
Yo Airtime Thrills, you’re my favorite roller coaster channel and you’re definitely my go to person for tips likes this. Thanks for the tips!
Anytime 👍
Honestly went to Dollywood and found that getting their version of flash pass was actually worth the money. Went midsummer and saw plenty of people fainting. As well as since we were only there for the day it actually allowed us to ride the rides a couple of times each. Made our one day visit so much better.
Universal Orlando is inconsistent with single rider lines. Most of their big rides have SRL's.
SRL never open: Hagrid's, Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket
SRL open most of the time, but can hit capacity due to locker #'s: VelociCoaster
SRL cuts off a significant wait time: Gringott's, Men in Black
SRL gets you to the station right away: Hulk (turn left as soon as you go through the metal detector, go up the stairs, and you come out at the station)
Also, I have a few comments for clothing. If it is a sunny day, try and pick a light-colored shirt that reflects the light to help you stay cool. Preferably a moisture wicking one or one that provides extra spf coverage. Also, if you like water rides, pick one that will dry quickly. This is why i like wearing bathing suits with zipper pockets to a park, as it does not weigh you down or chafe you if they get wet. Also, no flip flops! When you do that much walking, you need good ankle support and traction! Plus, your foot can get sunburnt and that is painful!
I'm surprised that Cedar Point told you that they usually don't sell out of fast pass. I was there on 5 weekdays last year, and they sold out of fast lane on 4 of those days. Fast lane lines were longer than the regular lines, so it was actually a blessing for those people who tried but couldn't buy fast lane.
You make a great point about the dining plan making you feel like you have to eat at the park. I was feeling that last summer, especially at parks that had shorter hours. It got in the way of a few extra rides. Or at some parks, the food lines might be an hour long, causing me to not bother with getting the food I've already paid for.
This was back in 2018 so maybe its changed since then
Living in new England we have the six flags membership. Just did a trip to Florida and did a two day ticket to BGT and SWO. Got an Airbnb walking distance from BG. We eat before the day and only share a small meal or snack in park. And zippered technical or hiking pants/shorts hold all the needed phones and keys. And glad we hit gwazi first because it was down due to wind. Only thing we didn't ride between the two was the dive at BGT and mako at sea world...and that was a restraint compatibility issue. Time to hit the gym...
This was a educational video for people who don’t like spending a lot of money at parks and still want to have a fun nice time at the parks while still keeping a nice budget
As a cedar fair platinum pass holder, with drink and dining on them, I can 100% agree with the no drink bottle. If you're just getting the single day one, get the wristband. So many times I see people having to try and stash their bottle at CP. Just get the band, and single use cup.
Same! Cedar point is my home park I got about 3/4 times a month usually Sunday afternoons! I absolutely love my passes!
@@turbocoon9827 I split my weekends up between CP and Kings Island. If you haven't been to KI, I would highly reccomend it. I live about an hour and 45 mins from CP, and 3.5-4 hours from Kings Island. Honestly, I like the park experience better at KI. CP has a few better coasters, but the park down at KI is just a better experience in my opinion. Where CP feels like a corporate park, KI has more of a family friendly feeling to it. We have 4 children, and all 4 of my kids like KI better.
@@Spike-sk7ql been to KI handful of time mostly under paramounts ownership but I’m going this weekend for opening weekend and pass holders day.
I get the season use scanned right on the pass.
@@turbocoon9827 I'll be there Friday through Sunday. I've been waiting all winter for some coasters. We also were lucky enough to get tickets for coaster stock this year. They sold out in something ridiculous like 5 minutes so that was a great feeling.
Great video as always. You have a terrific speaking voice and are very informative and professional and enjoyable. Keep up the FANTASTIC WORK!!
Thanks!
Great topic. The biggest general point I always make is always always always go to the back first. This is especially true at my home park of Cedar Point. If its my first time visiting a park my plan usually changes. In my opinion, opening with a bang is very important but having a great closer is even more important. In this case, I'll start with a ride I am really excited for and then get on some of the lower capacity rides in the area to get them out of the way. For example, last year was my first visit to Kings Dominion. We started with Twisted Timbers to get a strong opening. Then, we went immediately to Apple Zapple. At the end of the day, its all about preference and what you want to accomplish.
Thanks for posting. I’m going to Magic Mountain for the first time this summer and will try your recommendation.
If you visit your home park a lot, like multiple times a month, I would recommend getting the drink *and* food plan. I know that at least for Cedar Fair parks, it's a great deal. Whenever Kings Island is open, I go there literally just to get dinner and ride Diamondback or a few rides.
Number #1. Get to the park an hour early. Parks generally open earlier than the posted time. First at rope drop and getting there when it opens could be a 90 min wait difference (e.g. Hagrid, IOA) Another Example: Kings Dominion opens the gates 30 min before opening and the Berserker (360 boat flat ride) and Dominator (B&M Floorless) are open at that time. You can ride them and still be in a great position for rope drop on Tumbili (their newest ride, short version S&S 4D, low capacity).
X2 doesn’t draw the same crowds? I just went and it had a 3 hour line midday on a weekday! It wasn’t even a break!
I needed this because my trip this summer is going to be so much easier
It’s funny right when I was watching this video. I already follow most of these tips when I go to Magic Mountain. Thank God you made this to spread tips to other coaster enthusiasts.
A couple of things I wanted to add. This is a general recommendation. A few years back I noticed that parking has gotten out of control so I don't always rent cars but rather started utilizing Lyft, light rail, shuttles, etc. It's actually worked out quite well for the most part.
If you're going to Knott's there's a Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken To-Go in the Marketplace. If you have a cooler and a place to eat, that's a much better option for dinner. Also if you're a fan of Boysenberry punch they sell the concentrate in the Preserves shop so if you have water, you guessed it you can have boysenberry punch in your hotel room!
I've never had too much of a problem with parking except once in a while the line to park is stupid
@@AirtimeThrills I'm sorry I meant the price of parking.
I just started watching your baseball channel along with having been a fan of your coaster channel for a while! Keep up the great work!
Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks for the tips! I'll take notes when I'm at Canada's Wonderland!
Same here! I'm going on the 24th for season pass preview day
My home park is cedar point. I like to go during the week when school is in like in may or at the end of August. Went aug 26th never waited longer then 10-15 minutes. In may cedar isn't open Tuesday or Wednesday before memorial day though at least that's what it says on the app at the moment.
That was due to COVID-19 and staffing
@@timothykaczmarek5871 according to the app and website they're closed on Tuesday and Wednesday until memorial day.
@@tallguy0076 I know. I'm an employee and we still can't get enough help to staff this place.
Nice video. Getting to the park early is important. I went to Great Adventure yesterday. Arrived when they opened, walked on El Toro, Kingda Ka, Jersey Devil and Nitro. No flash pass needed for a Sunday morning in April. Timing is everything.
One other tidbit I'd offer on Fast Lane / Flash Pass is that there's a difference in how Cedar Fair and Six Flags distribute them. Although at Six Flags all Flash Passes are sold at one central location, Cedar Fair tends to sell them in souvenir shops, too. So you can often skip the line at a busy Fast Lane (CF) vendor by asking for them at a nearby shop instead, especially in the morning.
3:08 Learned this lesson the hard way back in February. Booked one-day nonrefundable tickets to BGT...only to find out that Montu AND Sheikra were both down for maintenance. 😖
I was lucky when I went there on an offseason weekday, no coasters were down
Thanks for the helpful tips Chris!
I had similar single rider line experience to you. My sister and I did the single rider on Hagrids and skipped a posted wait of 2 hours. We walked in and were put on the same train(different rows obviously) within a cycle or 2. Honestly spent more time walking to the station than waiting.
This story is less believable than the existence of a secret parallel wizard society. Lucky bastard
Parks definitely need to bring back the single rider lines.
@@evanmaunders5688 I have good luck at IoA. The other time I went was at the end of January. I rode Velocicoaster 15 times. I could've ridden it more, but it was my first time at Universal so I was trying out other stuff at both parks.
My sister and I had a similar thing happen to us on Revenge of the Mummy and Jurassic Park (now Jurassic World) at Universal Studios Hollywood, Rock n Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios and California Screamin (now Incredicoaster) at California Adventure. On both Jurassic Park, Rock n Roller Coaster, and California Screamin we were placed in the vehicle either one row to a few rows apart. On Revenge of the Mummy, we were in back-to-back cars so when I was going backwards on the last half of the ride, I got to see the car she was in launch forwards.
Very glad to see that you listed the different approaches of what to hit first and generally endorsed riding the headliner first. I don’t understand why someone on their first visit to Carowinds would ride Nighthawk and Ricochet first and then be upset because Fury broke down and they missed out.
I’m hoping to make it to Los Angeles later in the year for a vacation and I appreciate you making this video in the event I make it to Magic Mountain. In the future, I imagine that a lot of new coasters that are constructed will have queue lines set up with free lockers for your belongings in a fashion similar to Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point and VelociCoaster at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The coasters that have bins in the station won’t do that. Also, I can relate to the recommendation of getting cargo shorts before riding the coasters.
With cell phones being an absolutely inevitability now im sure the free locker thing will be on all the new rides especially at the expensive parks
I’d like to add an additional piece of advice to save money but it only applies to Kings Island. If you go during the week don’t worry about a Fastlane pass. The operations there are excellent and only Invertigo has bad capacity. 1 train ops are rare. So if you go on a weekday it’s rare to wait an hour or more. When I went in 2020 during the beginning of COVID the most I waited was 45 minutes for Mystic Timbers and Diamondback and that’s with lower staffing compared to the usual
If you really want to cut down on food costs, bring a cooler and eat in your car during the day. Some places (like Cedar Point) even have a place where you can put a cooler near the entrance at your own risk.
Also, some Cedar Point advice because that's my home park:
Don't ride Raptor or Blue Streak first. Both tend to have long lines at the beginning of the day but will almost certainly get shorter through the day. Never wait more than 30 minutes for Gatekeeper, that one fluctuates and you will almost definitely be able to get on it in less than that. The wait times on the app have improved a lot this past year and are pretty accurate. The only time you'll be able to get a short wait for Maverick or SteVe is at the very beginning of the day and if you use one of the entrances that isn't the main one (like the Waterpark or hotel one) you can get there quicker. Iron Dragon often closes early because that's where they shoot fireworks from, so get on it early in the day if you want to ride it. maXair closes a lot so get on that while it's open if it interests you.
I probably have more but this comment is long enough lol
The cooler idea just isn’t practical at many parks. If you have a one way walk from the front gate to you car of 20 minutes or more (SFNE, Dollywood, and SFMM all come to mind), you can lose hours to try to save a few bucks. It’s not worth it if you are trying to make use of your time in the park.
@@CoastersRUs-us Well yeah, it's not always gonna work, but a lot of people don't even think of the fact that they can bring a cooler. If you get to a park close to opening you can probably get a good spot. And like I said, some parks have an area you can leave a cooler close to the entrance.
Sea World is easy. In my experience.. find out when the Orca/Dolphin shows are.. and during those windows is your chance to hit the rides because those shows genuinely draw in half the park’s capacity. Ride some rides during the early show and go see the late show or vise versa
I will be taking my coaster enthusiast son on a coaster road trip this summer. We will have two days at Cedar Point (Friday/Saturday) and two days at Six Flags Great America (Sunday/Monday), any advice on approach for those two?
I would avoid Cedar Point on Saturday at all costs. You could get a fast lane plus but they are $250.00 per person on the weekends. If you must go on Saturday spend the $ on fast lane and enjoy the experience.
At Great America, don’t make the mistake of waiting for last ride of the night on Maxx Force. They frequently close the queue before the park closes.
Do NOT GO to Cedar Point on a Saturday--EVER. The place is stupid crowded, people are idiots, food and ride lines are murder rate long, and you DEFINITELY will not get on a lot of things. Take a day during the week, most definitely, and if you have to do a weekend day, Sunday is the most manageable. (From an employee whose worked there for 5 seasons). Saturday's were HELL!!!
Id maybe get the fast lane for 1 day at each and use the other day for the non-fastlane stuff. Ive done that before when i spent more than 1 day at a park
@@AirtimeThrills Even on a Saturday at Cedar Point with a Fast Lane admission, you STILL will be waiting to ride things as their system sucks compared to other places. You basically merge into the general line, (like the bridge on Millinneum Force and the tunnel under the brake run on Steel Vengeance, among others). They don't have a dedicated entrance on their older rides like at Kings Island and on newer rides (like in the past 10 years), where there's a separate stair or walkway to board. Again, AVOID THAT PARK on a Saturday. They even have parking restrictions for staffmembers because of the ridiculous amount of people on Saturday. For the love of the Ride Gods, DON'T DO IT!!!!
What would you say the optimal group size is to ride most coasters together? I think it would probably be 4 but what's a good number for a larger group?
As long as you don't go on a slammed day, pretty much any group size can be a lot of fun and reasonable, even a group of 20.
As long as your groups fine with sitting alone on some things then it don’t matter
No more than 4. Even with 4 its hard to line up your group to ride together on 2 across trains. Anything more than 4 and you're gonna have a harder time
No more than 4 but 2 is the best
@@AirtimeThrills I’ve been doing 5 my whole life and it’s not too hard if it holds 2 then one person sits by a stranger or by them self if it holds 4 then do 3 and 2
One thing I would like to add is Mobile Order your food early during your park visit. It may not always work at some parks; but when it does work, it allows for more time for rides and attractions during your visit and less time waiting in line for lunch/snack/dinner.
Also some annual passes (like the Platinum Pass at Universal Studios Hollywood) come with the Express Pass already attached to it. That way you can get to the park early, ride a few rides, meet a few characters, take photos, explore the shops, eat a meal (either breakfast/brunch/lunch) and hit the rides and shows in the afternoon with the Express Pass and not too long of a wait in line every time you visit.
The mobile ordering is a good idea but man that's so hit and miss. Usually half the time i regret using it because they have no idea what they're doing
@@AirtimeThrills that is what I have heard. My family has been using it at Disneyland for the past few years when they started offering Mobile Ordering and it has been pretty successful. But I have seen many complaints against it in the Six Flags Magic Mountain group I am in on Facebook. So yeah it is hit or miss, depending on the park.
THIS is such good tips and tricks love the content keep it up!
I also went to magic mountain when the power went out. We missed an entire day that way.
As a person who has their local park at silver dollar city, it is a good idea to get a pass if you are planning to go multiple times or have multiple party members
Very helpful tips, thank you. At Wonderland, most people head for Leviathan. I headed for Yukon Striker for my first ride. 🤪 😜 🤪
I was waiting for what seemed like FOREVER in line for X2, mostly because it was running with one train. Hopefully the next time I go to Magic Mountain it'll be running with 2 trains, shortening the HORRENDUS wait time. If not, then imma skip it, and maybe move on to some of the rides I didn't get to go on during my first visit to Magic Mountain (i.e., Tatsu, Superman Escape From Krypton, Gold Rusher, West Coast Racers)
While I'm glad to have ridden a large-scale 4D coaster like X2, I think it might be the only time I do so, because I'm not even sure if the problem of only running one train is also common on Eejanaika at Japan's Fuji-Q Highland or Dinoconda at China Dinosaurs Park. Eejanaika is a big maybe as long as that ride isn't having a one-train-only problem, and Dinoconda I might not ride on as I have NO plans on travelling to China at any point in the future (maybe until the Chinese Communist Party ceases to continue, but who knows when that'll ever happen).
At SFGAM i went multiple times during fright fest on Saturday every time we went for skips there was no line because they sold out of normal flash passes
So I went to bgt and sea world Orlando two weeks ago. Very timely video. Preferred parking with the platinum pass is totally worth it. Also going during the week and getting to the gate 30 minutes before the rope drop is vital. So I was going to get in in line for iron gwazi and saw it was crazy. I did a last minute change to hit cheetah hunt and the other rides first. By the time I looped over to iron gwazi it went from 90 to 30 min. I avoided a quick queue and only used my one one time pass at sherika that I wanted another ride on.Food also sucks at park the service is so spotty. Wonder if it’s worth going 1/2 day and no longer eating in the park especially at sea world and six flags that don’t current sell all season. Eat a decent breakfast bring a water bottle and plan to eat outside the park.
I also did one sea world day where hit the park hard early left went back to hotel then went back two hours before close. As people leaving I go back in and maku and everything is a walk on
My greatest day at sfne was august 2018 when it was supposed to rain all day. We drove into a huge rain storm but it stopped when we got to the park and everything was a walk on. Sometimes doing the opposite of everything or everyone else is worth considering.
Planning is vital.
Lots of sfne footage in this video!
I should add don’t piss off employees lol. Had someone get mad at me for taking 3 min to send a train when i was doing 3 people’s worth of jobs
Single riders is a good option, managed to marathon Kondaa for 15 rides on one of the busiest days ever at Walibi Belgium, most rides around 90min wait.
Coaster Pants are a great investment. I suggest work ripstop cargo pants. Just make sure you have options where to put stuff. I find the pockets far down on the thigh work best for something like a phone, as its out of the way of most restraints. Youbcan adjust sfuff once on the ride. Also, get a slim wallet for your ID, season pass card, credit card and a few bucks in cash. Wrap a big rubber band around it a few times to help keep it from slipping around and out of your pockets. Take just the key fob to open your car if possible. The less crap you lug around in your pockets the better. Also, take cheap knock-off sunglasses you dont care if you lose or if they break. Ive had my knock-off wayfarers for years with no problems because they flex, but Im sure my real wayfarers would have been destroyed long ago.
I have prescription sunglasses unfortunately so i gotta treat those things nice
@@AirtimeThrills I hear that. The only time I wear contacts is when I go coasterin' so I don't lose/break my glasses or prescription sunglasses.
Something specific to SFOG but they actually open Twisted Cyclone and Georgia Scorcher a 1/2 hour before the posted opening time. The strat is get to SFOG a half hour early ride Twisted Cyclone one or two times and then rush over to Dare Devil when the rope drops
I went to Knotts and you're strategy worked for me I went on Ghostrider first on a busy day when it opens, after i took sierra sidewinder then I tried silver bullet but it's filled so I went to Hangtime instead, Ate Lunch earlier, Take Hangtime marathon, then Rode silver bullet 3 times during the lunch hours and one time ghost rider again and ghostrider has the worst capacity, very popular, and slow dispatches
Went to Cedar Point for Halloween 2021. Maverick-4, MForce - 1 (it kept breaking down, I waited 3 times), SteVe - 3, Raptor-2, every other major coaster at least once, and did a few flat rides, took pics and video. I did buy a fast lane and it was worth it I'd say. I'll be back in a couple years probably.
My philosophy for CP is always get a fast lane unless you go on a rare offseason weekday or the weather sucks
Kings island usually isn’t it busy mid season during the week days, idk what it is about cedar point but I can’t seem to get lucky enough there. Always busy no matter when I go 😂. Fast lane is a life saver for my girl and I for sure.
I've seen some coaster enthusiasts say that roller coasters take time to "warm up" and are faster as the day goes on. Do you factor that into what coasters you visit first or are the rails "warming up" not much of a difference? It's nice to go straight to the most popular coaster in the morning but you also want a good ride right?
1 year late but it’s not much different from experience
For Magic Kingdom at Disney World, the park I go to most, you got to the 7 dwarfs as that’s the busiest ride there then head over to to Big Thunder and Splash Mountain as they are right next to each other, and then to Pirates and Haunted Mansion and then coast around and do Space Mountain later as it’s a very short wait after 8. Work your way around the park from left (Frontier Land/Adventure Land) to right (Tomorrow Land).
For food I suggest Casey’s Corner as a quick option on Main Street and for a Sit-down it’s got to be Skipper Canteen.
Disney basically forces you to use Genie plus, there skip the que format, so you gonna have to pay extra to get on the rides.
The best time to go is either February or September
Hope this helps someone
I want to go there when Tron opens...whenever that may be
@@AirtimeThrills a bunch of people say end of this year but realistically it will be around March of 2023, if we are lucky
My gameplan is to go to the most popular ride, then hit all the rides on one side of the park, then eat lunch (and dessert) and play some stall games, then hit the rides on the other side of the park, then eat dinner (and dessert) and do some gift shopping, then leave. Depending on where I decide to get food I might hit my favorite ride an extra time right before.
oh man i needed this video
If I didn't have the diamond elite dining pass that only costs about $5/month I'd probably be bringing my lunches to the park and storing them in a locker until lunchtime. Bringing your own food can also help by allowing you to combine some waiting and eating - you can do that with park food too, but there won't be as many full meals that are easily portable like a classic brown-bag lunch might be, and you'll probably feel a lot better with less grease going down between rides
ayo, that season pass is gonna save me money since i was going to CP for two days, but staying in the area for 5
Will you please do more of these types of video
This is a great video, always wanted advice for parks and stuff. Now can you tell me how to get to all 4 Florida Disney Parks with only $10?
My core morals for visiting a park is find a way to get on all the open coasters, outline the flats I want to do, try to take some video and pictures (it’s shocking how much you can remember based on one video), try to get some signature food, and most importantly, be flexible because if you aren’t, your day could blow up. Great video!
coastoons type beat
For a foreigner that is a rollercoaster enthusiast and wants to visit Cedar Point in a trip to Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit, what would be great tips??
How long have you been an enthusiast? You’ve mentioned deja vu at magic mountain so probably before I was even born (2007) and how many credits do you have? Must be a metric ton considering the videos about parks across the u.s. , and for a uk enthusiast who will likely never get to most of them if any it’s really nice to get to experience the parks on at least some level. 😃👍
Ive been an enthusiast since 2000 but i took a pretty long break where i didnt visit many parks. I got back into the scene around 2015, and I'm up around 530 credits now
This was great advice! Will keep in mind when visiting parks without my older brother (we don’t wait because he’s disabled and cannot waif in the lines); also as a proud Fanny pack wearer the locker advice was great
You should make a podcast. Your voice has the perfect mix of volume and smoothness!
High quality video as always! Question for you, as a Magic Mountain longtimer- summer weekdays- do you think flash passes are the move? I'll be making my first trip to Magic Mountain likely on a Tuesday or Thursday in July and probably am planning on spring for Flash, but don't want to if I don't need to.
From my experience you should be OK without a flash on a summer weekday. It also depends on what you want to do... this park is so big with so many coasters it will be hard to ride them all even if there are any kind of lines. If you want to ride everything once without getting a bunch of rerides you can get away without the flash
@@AirtimeThrills Thanks, this is super helpful! My main goal is X2, to be honest; I want to get on as many as possible, but I'm in LA for work a bunch, so I'll have other opportunities. Are there single rider lines? That would also help me to know if it's worth it
@@catam1nt single rider line on Riddler is helpful, the one on Viper not as much since it never has a linr anyway. Not sure what else at this point has a single rider line, if any, and if those are being used again since covid
@@AirtimeThrills Got it, thanks! I'm east coast based so I had nothing to go off of, this is really helpful
What coasters did you ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain on 2/25/2022 before the park lost power?
i think the only times i plan on getting a fast / flash pass are going to be when i visit texas, and california mostly because i see those parks as very busy, and i really want to ride all the coasters given i'll only have a couple days per park if my vacation goes right.
oh speaking of kiddie coasters is there a way to contact the park to see if you can ride those with or without a kid ? i think wilderness run at carowinds you can ride without a kid, but need a pass for it ?
You can probably call customer service and ask. Or you can just ask them once you're there
Fun fact about fanny packs: at the Florida SeaWorld parks, you can wear them on every single ride. Even montu, even infinity falls, everything. I only have to take it off to poop in the parks and I cannot express how insanely useful that is
Poop in the parks restrooms* I'm not a monster
Cedar Fair meal pass was a no brainer for my GF and me. We got one pass for $35 and just split everything we ate. It was perfect.
If you ever go to Kings Dominion on a busy day, you do NOT want to get in the flight of fear or twisted timbers line.
I been to 5 theme parks in my life ever since. And I have a great time going there as well! So I do maximize going to theme parks while riding.
Here's a tip about Fast Passes:
I'll use Busch as an example. They have different prices for different days. If you go on a day when it's $20 for unlimited fast pass, don't get it. If it's $100, it'll probably be crowded that day, but it's better to wait if weather changes.
There's one thing I do like about having a parent who HATES riding stuff. She's been my locker. She keeps my stuff safe when I'm on rides so the locker situation/cup thing doesn't apply. also I freaking love fanny packs. XD
What if I was in Disneyland or Disney world parks which one should I take first to maximize even with Genie+
Does Hershey allow bags on platforms still or are they strictly lockers now?
Sucks that this vid was uploaded after I went to Magic Mountain, but I did ride the major coaster, and the only coasters I missed were superman, the kiddie credits, and tatsu
i love the zipper pouches on rides
Has Cedar Point’s locker system been improved since covid started? I heard things about tickets and passes to ride certain rides at a specific time and such. I didn’t want to go during this time. What about Steel Vengeance specifically?
I was there's last summer no virtual line. SV has a multi locker system. One for big items out of the line, that's where's my rain gear and big stuff was. That's a paid locker. Inside prior to boarding is a locker for all your small things. After is a metal detector, nothing means nothing. You reopen the small locker on the way out.
@@kirkwoita8840 Thanks for the info. Just keep things to a minimum so you don’t need to buy a paid locker it seems.
@@ImmortalFTW01 but sometimes consider the weather and how it changes, the one thing is that you can transfer the big locker around so you can leave things secure all around.
@@kirkwoita8840 Yes I’m aware of the weather. Very finicky there.
This is an amazing video, I’ll definitely use this on my trip back to Hersheypark!
Just in time Chris. I'll be at Busch Tampa for the next 2 days as it turns out.
Adventureland has a very good loose article policy every ride allows you to keep stuff on the platform or keep it in bins on the platform
Just have fun
Great video of Airtime Thrills! :)
I know I commented recently on an older video that I enjoyed the Iron Dragon a bunch, and I do… but why would it not allow fast passes? I’ve literally never waited more than 15 minutes to get on the thing, and that’s if I waiting for the front seat on a busy day.
Iron Dragon (aka Draggin' Iron!), and the Mine Ride do not offer Fast Lane admission, neither does The Bat down at Kings Island.
Probably a lack of space for a 2nd line?
@@rssov that would make sense!
I may go to Six Flags Over Georgia in less than a week, so do you know the order of coasters I should ride in 1 day?
Dare devil dive first for sure. Maybe do twisted cyclone early if the line isnt already too long and then superman. The other coasters have decent capacity unless they have 1 train