Where to begin? The best place to start is how this trip came together. This whole trip was planned around KennyKon – Sunday July 15, 2001. So the idea was to fit as many parks in as possible near this event. Where to go first? After much planning and consideration the itinerary was set as follows:

Saturday, July 14 – SFWoA – Aurora, Ohio

Sunday, July 15 –Kennywood – Pittsburgh, PA

Monday, July 16 – Hersheypark – Hershey, PA

Tuesday, July 17 – SFGrAdv – Jacksonville, NJ

Wednesday, July18 – Knoebels – Elysburg, PA

If the above five parks in five day were not enough we were back at it within hours of arriving home:

Thursday, July 19 – Back to Work – PCW (evening)

Friday, July 20 – Work – Scheme park plan for Saturday

Saturday, July 21 – Michigan’s Adventure – Muskegon, MI

Sunday, July 22 – Drive back – PCW (evening)

The first order of business was to give our 1995 Chevy Lumina van some preparatory mechanical maintenance. We finally got the wheel bearing replaced which began making a noise on a trip to PKI last August. Friday was spent cleaning and packing the van. We decided to leave Saturday morning at 4:00AM to save the cost of one nights hotel room. No PCW Junkies trip can start without first stopping at Tim Horton's.

We cross the border at the 405 near Buffalo with very little traffic entering with us. Thankfully the drive towards Cleveland was uneventful. We arrive at the BP gas station near Aurora around 9:00AM. We get to the SFWOA parking lot around 9:30AM and we are quite surprised how far back we have to park compared to last year. I guess X-Flight has something to do with this. From the parking lot we look with amazement at X-Flight cycling and testing. We were waiting for our neighbours , Glen and daughter Lynn Watson, to arrive. Glen and Lynn had spent Friday at SFDL. Before the Watsons arrive we spot Scott and Carol Holmes walking towards us.

Donna and Adam had already decided not to ride X-Flight. Nolan and I decided to wait it out with Scott and Carol. Within a few minutes Glenn and Lynn also join us in the wait. Donna and Adam decide to enjoy the other rides while we wait. The wait really was not to bad. The queue opens around 10:40AM and we were riding by 11:15AM.

X-Flight Observations… I must admit that when I first heard of Stealth being announced for PGA I was not impressed. I did not want a Stealth sister at PCW. I considered it to be a bit of a "gimmick" coaster and to be quite honest was in no rush to ride. Zip to the present… I have completely changed my view and opinion of the Vekoma Flying Dutchman. I was completely impressed with the two train operation at SFWOA. We coaster enthusiast will love watching the transfer track spinning. The crew was real efficient and had the second train ready to dispatch before the other train was back. Nolan and I opted for the front seat which had no extra wait. Scott and Carol went to the back while Glen and Lynn took the middle. I found the restraints very comfortable and did not feel them tight or constricting. My only fear was going through the loop. I hate going backwards through inversions and Scott and Carol assured me it was not like a boomerang loop. Laying flat on your back and ascending the lift hill headfirst was quite a different feeling. The twist at the top is your first feeling of flying. The front gives a real good view and probably your best flying perspective. We felt completely safe and comfortable in our restraints. Then the loop… From the parking lot the train seemed to be barely making it through the loop. But from the ride it was the most intense "G" force I have ever felt in a loop. Going head first into the loop you could feel a heavy force right on your chest. The rest of the ride was just pure fun. I am now converted and I no longer think it is "gimmick" coaster and would welcome its addition to PCW. Our only disappoint was that there was no On ride Photo.

The park was quickly filling up and Adam and Donna had already ridden Villain and Big Dipper. They agree to ride Big Dipper again with us. On our last visit Big Dipper was not running. BD is still a fun ride but can be a bit rough when ridden in the back. Next we work our way over to Villain. I am surprised that Glen is still with us. Why? Well Glen is a very different type of coaster enthusiast… Glen does not like first or big drops. Yes! That is correct he does not like first drops. Glen does a ride primarily for inversions. Glen found Villain a wee bit to intense for him and was in no hurry to get a second ride. Nolan and I waited for Villain’s front seat and happened to be our only ride on Villain.

Before lunch we , minus Adam and Donna, decided to do Batman Knight Flight. When we entered the queue it was already spilling into the midway. Our wait was only about fifty minutes including a little extra for front seat. I was able to convince Glen to queue up for the front seat. BKF was running all three of its trains and the crew was doing a pretty good job of dispatching the trains. Again a poorly designed station… Why? Everybody lines up for the front and blocks the entrance to the rest of the station. BKF would mark Nolan’s introduction to B&M and what a perfect roller coaster to start on. The giant loop of the first drop is fantastic while the rest of the elements are just so smooth. Adam was just not quite ready for a B&M Yet! This was only my second ride on BKF and both were in the front. Darn! The On Ride Photo was not working. Time for some lunch so I went back to van to get some drinks while Donna went to Pizza Hut. Usually not a big fan of Pizza Hut but SFWOA ‘s Pizza Hut’s is quite good.

Glen and Lynn said they would meet us at the Dolphin Show after we ate our lunch. We could have taken the new board walk over but Scott and Carol thought it would be quicker to take the boat over. What?… Haven’t Scott and Carol heard that you should never go anywhere near the Reids when water and boats are involved? Let say this was the funniest experience of the day. Let me expand a little on this and I know I will not be able pay it the justice it deserves. The boat ride normally is only a couple minutes across the lake to the old Sea World. The boat is loaded with both the upper and lower decks full. We had to split up and I sat in the left front corner with rest of the group behind me. As soon as we pulled away a crew members come to the front and opens the gate in preparation of docking. Then I notice we are sideways and think to myself, "maybe they are going to back the boat in". Wrong! The pilot just missed his run and has to maneuver a "HANK SNOW" or a "U" turn. Okay! No problem because we all seemed to be enjoying the cruise. Oops! the Hank Snow fails and the pilot has to try an other maneuver to get lined for the dock. By this time I am looking back at Scott and we can’t keep the smirks off our faces. Because this next attempt has also failed. So after three attempts it is obvious that Gilligan is at the helm and the Skipper must be on the shore. On the fourth attempt Gilligan rams the brand new dock and cracks a couple of the pressure treated 2X10’s. The Skipper on the dock looks up and say to Gilligan, "What do you want me to do?" The Skipper grabs the rope and attempts to pull in this 50 ton vessel. Well! Here I am sitting next to the rope Skipper is trying to tie onto a dock cleat and I all I can think of is this cleat is going to come undone and fly at us. Here I am sitting up front providing commentary for anybody who wanted to listen. In the words of GET SMART, "Missed it by that much". Twice we missed lining up the boat’s gate with dock’s ramp. After all these failed attempts either the PROFESSOR or MR HOWELL jumped aboard and docked the SS MINNOW. Everybody sing… Oh sit right back and you’ll hear a tale …. A three hour tour. We get to the dolphin show and we hear " Thanks for coming… enjoy the rest of your day at…

We spent the next couple of hours in the old Sea World and really enjoyed ourselves. So much so that we want to come back just to spend more time on the Sea World side. But I think we will use the board walk as our desired mode of transportation.

On the way back from Sea World we stopped in on Raging Wolf Bob which only had a few minute wait. RWB is not as bad as it is generally reported. We walked down to SUE and gave up trying to ride because the queue was full. At about this time it was close to 6:00PM and we still had to drive to Pittsburgh.

Summary:

A very fun start to the PCW Junkies’ July KennyKon Adventure. Even though our day did start at very early hour we still were able to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. Nolan and I got to ride X-Flight. Nolan rides his first B&M. We survived "Gilligan’s Island". SFWOA has a terrific line up of coasters but, this park just cannot physically handle the crowds. Their midways are to small and way to crowded. The area in front of the SLC is extremely over crowded. They need some major redesign and extra pathways in this park. How about an other board walk behind BKF and the SLC?

Regards,
Kevin Reid