The Coaster Critic's Blog

Coupons for Theme Park Tickets
With the economy in the state that it's in, I'm sure everyone would love to find some good discounts for their theme park trips this summer. I'll be using this post to share any deals that I come across. And I invite the readers to share any coupons, discounts, or promotions that they find too.

Cedar Point - Sandusky, OH (Cedar Point posts)
Northern Ohio Burger Kings currently has discount coupons to Cedar Point good for any one day admission this season. Admission with the coupon is $34.95 - an $8.00 savings from a regular Funday admission. The coupon is only good for one admission so take as many as you'll need to cover everyone in your party. You can also purchase tickets at the Giant Eagle Customer Service Desk for $36.25 each.

Busch Gardens Europe - Williamsburg, VA (Park Review)
CVS Pharmacy Coupon $5 Off a Discovery Ticket for Busch Gardens & Water Country USA
Adults pay childrens price and get the second day free. This offer is only good through August 31 and is only available to Virginia residents.

Pay for 1 day and come back all summer. With a Fun Card, you pay for a day and receive unlimited admission to Busch Gardens Williamsburg through Sept. 1, 2008. A Fun Card is only $56.95, the same price as a single-day admission ticket.

All Six Flags Parks
Papa Johns Coupon
All tickets at kids price at SixFlags.com
Use code: PJKID

Lunchables Coupon
Free kids ticket with $10 off general admission ticket. Valid until 10/14

Hard Rock Park (Hard Rock Park Posts)
$10 off admission for North Carolina & South Carolina residents

Hersheypark
Hershey Park makes it easy to find their coupons. On their site they list their coupon partners. Check your local Quiznos, CVS, or Cabela's for coupons. More on their coupon partners page.

Darien Lake
Discounted tickets to Darien Lake can be purchased at Wegman's Grocery Store:
Good Any Day Passes:
Adult 48" and up - $24.99
Child (UNDER 48") - $18.99
Senior 55+ - $18.99

Check back for more deals and feel free to post any discounts that you find in the comment section below.

Six Flags 2008 Season Pass Deal
This is a weird time of year to be talking about season passes, but I came across a deal that might interest some of my readers. If you buy a 2008 Six Flags season pass before December 31st you get a free 32 ounce Sports Bottle. Not only that, but you get a day of unlimited free refills. After that, you get 99 cent refills all season long with the bottle.

It's nothing earth shattering, but if you know you're going to frequent one of their parks and check out one of those 8 new coasters (like the Dark Knight coasters), you might as well get some drinks on the cheap too.

Check out the offer for more details here.

As you plan your trips to Six Flags parks around the country, always try for economical flight deals. Whether you are looking for new york flights to check out Great Adventure, Rye Playland or Coney Island or flights to london so you can experience UK's parks, don’t let the flights take up a major part of your traveling budget.

Thinking of Going it Alone?
Are you the type that doesn't mind eating out alone? Ever go to a movie by yourself because you didn't know anyone who wanted to see a movie? Then, you might be secure enough to reap the benefits of the Solo Amusement Park Trip. First, I'm assuming that your an enthusiast, or at least some one that's itching to go to a theme park enough to consider going it alone. Again, this is more of a tip for coaster enthusiasts and serious theme park fans.

I've had to go it alone either because I was in a city on business and figured it was the perfect chance to get into a new park or because I didn't know anyone willing to take a trip and spend the money to go a theme park. There's no way I'd have been 20-some parks and ridden 130-some roller coasters if I hadn't taken some solo trips.

Benefits of Going Solo:
-There's an "I" in Solo Trips!
It's all about you! No checking on seeing what the group wants to do. In fact "the group" is completely out of the equation. (This is usually a good thing in my mind). Any group larger than say four people is going to split at some point as people like to do different things. Then someone brought the friend to the park that doesn't ride roller coasters?!?! Someone's got to stay with her while everyone else rides. Oh and Suzy doesn't like this coaster so we'll go ride this and meet you back here at 2. It's a mess! If you're like me and want to enjoy the park groups can really stink!

-Move around the park at your own pace.
Want to zip around the park, barely stopping to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom? Would you like to focus on taking some great pictures or chill out and grab a bite to eat. Not a problem.

-Ride things when you want to.
5 rides in a row on Hades? Sure. Why not?

-Single Rider Lines!
Single rider lines are a Godsend for solo trippers or even couples or groups that don't care if they ride together. Wait times can be decreased by amazing amounts on some attractions. I got hooked up by a single rider line at Six Flags New England on their brand new Mr. Six's Pandemonium. Also, often B&M roller coasters with 4 across seating will call for single riders to fill in gaps. I can't count the number of times I've cut ahead of a ton of people because the ride ops called for single riders.

Disadvantages of Solo Trips:
-No one to talk to while waiting in lines.
Just try to pick an off day like a weekday or a weekend late in the season or early in the season. Waiting in lines can be even less fun when you're alone. Although I've never tried it, you could bring an mp3 player or hand held video game system to pass the time.

-No one to ride with on "Group Rides"
Some rides lend themselves to groups more than your average roller coaster. Joining other groups and riders is always an option, but you'd have to be comfortable with that. I ride roller coasters almost exclusively only on my trips, so this isn't an issue for me.

Hear Some Other Opinions
Here's a link to a CoasterRadio podcast about Solo trips. One of the hosts of the show had qualms about doing it but then described it as liberating, because it really is all about you. He also had a really funny story about something that happened to him at Disney World, but you'll have to listen to the podcast for that. Hilarious!

If you're on the fence about trying it, give it a shot. You can't knock it until you've tried it. Anyone want to chime in about solo trips? Think it's a bad idea? Do you have any stories to share? Leave a comment below.

Theme Park Discount Coupons
Everyone loves a deal right? At CVS drugstores and Giant grocery stores, I've been able to find coupons to several theme parks in the Mid-Atlantic. I'm sure you can find similar coupons at a grocery store, fast food restaurant, or drugstore near you.

Kings Dominion - Doswell, VA
I found a Kings Dominion coupon for $7 off a single-day ticket at a Giant grocery store. There, you'll experience Volcano - The Blast Coaster and Flight of Fear. More on Kings Dominion..>>



Busch Gardens Europe - Williamsburg, VA
With this coupon you can save $10 on a week day or $5 on a weekend on single-day admission. With Griffon just opening and all of BGE's other world-class roller coasters and attractions this park is well worth the discounted price of admission. More info on Busch Gardens Europe..>>






Six Flags America - Largo, MD
Check out this coupon for $15 off the already relatively low single-day admission. Superman: Ride of Steel and the Batwing flying coaster are two reasons to visit this smaller Six Flags park. More on Six Flags America..>>






Hersheypark - Hershey, PA
Here's a coupon for $8.00 off of admission to Hersheypark and $2.00 of admission to Dutch Wonderland. If the chocolate isn't enough to get you to Hershey, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, and Great Bear should do the trick.

I'm often asked about the best time to visit theme parks. After reading this week's Top 3 Thursday you'll be able to find beautiful sights like this empty queue for Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point. In order of worst to best, here are the best days to visit theme parks.

#3 - Weekdays During the Summer
If you have to go to a park during the summer months, do yourself a favor and visit during a weekday. Although you may have to take off from work, your visit will be worth it. You'll actually be able to get on and off of the attractions and experience more of the park in less time.

#2 - Weekends Early or Late in the Season
Even though parks will run special Halloween promotions late in the season and opening weekend promotions early in the season, crowds are much smaller on the first and last days of the season. Look for discounted admission coupons late in the season and discounted season pass promotion early in the season.

#1 - Weekdays Early or Late in the Season
Weekdays early (March, April, and early May) and late (September and October) are the best time to visit theme parks. Many parks will only have weekends open during these times of the year, but some do offer weekdays. These days are your best bet for smaller crowds as cooler temperatures usually prevail. Also, kids invade theme parks in massive numbers when school's out.

Tips to Remember:
#1 Saturdays are the worst, especially for popular parks. Avoid them like the plague!
#2 Weekdays are better than Weekends
#3 Cooler months are better than warmer months
#4 Bad weather forecasts can lessen crowds
#5 Some parks offer Twilight Admission. Enter the park late afternoon (usually 4 PM) and admission is reduced 40 to 50%.

Any questions or comments? Leave 'em below.

The Season's Not Quite Over as Many Parks offer Halloween-themed Events
Halloween promotions at theme parks is becoming more and more prevalent. It's a smart move by the parks as it can bring in guests at the end of the season when fewer are thinking of riding coasters, ferris wheels, and the like. Most parks in cooler climates (outside of Florida and California) will stay open weekends in October, then close for the winter around the first week of November.

At the best Halloween events like Howl-O-Scream expect:
---Reduced admission.
---Macabre dummies and spooky 'decorations' throughout the park. As you can see the ogre in the picture above really caught my wife by surprise.
---Eerie fog in certain parts of the park.
---A good haunted house or haunted maze.
---Strange and sometimes disturbing performers roaming around the park. Last year at BGW, this one would stand completely still, so people thought he was a statue until he jumped at them. It was fun watching him scare people half to death.
---Lastly, if you're lucky, expect shorter waits and hopefully temperatures that aren't too cool. Riding coasters isn't quite as fun when you return to the station with a frozen face.

Halloween-Themed Events at AmusementParks
There are some links to some of the more prominent promotions around the country. Some of the Web sites are really spooked-out for this month.

Six Flags Fright Fest
I yield to Arthure Levine over at About.com to give you all of the details on the Six Flags promotions. I hope he had fun compiling all of that. That Six Flags roach eating contest that coinsides with Fright Fest has been getting a lot of media attention.

Fear Fest
Former Paramount parks, Kings Island and Kings Dominion bring you Fear Fest.

Howl-O-Scream
My favorite Halloween-themed theme park at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

HersheyPark in the Dark
Can chocolate be scary? I'll resist from making the obvious 'dark chocolate' joke here. Visit HersheyPark.com for more info.

HalloWeekends
Check out Cedar Point's Halloween make-over.

Got any Halloween experiences at parks you'd like to share? Leave a comment below.

A Web Site that Can Help You Find Empty Queues
Coaster-related web sites continue to evolve. Today they're more than just a gathering place for enthusiasts or distributors of park information. The team over at CoasterFanatics.com felt the need to create an additional site that 'keeps parks honest' about their wait times. WhentoRide.com is a site where you can find the average wait of other park-goers for particular rides at parks all around the world. The site forms its calculations based on wait times submitted by guests. Waits can be viewed by day of the week or by month. WhentoRide.com is an excellent planning tool for someone that's unsure of when to visit a park. Check it out before your next trip and maybe you'll get as lucky as I did when I found this empty queue for Magnum XL-200.

I'm often asked about the best time to visit theme parks. In order of best to worst, here are the best days to visit theme parks.

Weekdays Early or Late in the Season
Weekdays early (March, April, and early May) and late (September and October) are the best time to visit theme parks. Many parks will only have weekends open during these times of the year, but some do offer weekdays. These days are your best bet for smaller crowds as cooler temperatures usually prevail.

Weekends Early or Late in the Season
Even though parks will run special Halloween promotions late in the season and early in the season parks will hype up their opening weekend, crowds are much smaller on the first and last days of the season. Look for discounted admission late in the season.

Weekdays During the Summer
If you have to go to a park during the summer months, do yourself a favor and visit during a weekday. Although you may have to take off from work, your visit will be worth it. You'll actually be able to get on and off of the attractions and experience more of the park in less time.

Sundays During the Summer
In my mind, this is your last resort. Most theme park-goers visit on weekends during the high season. You may dodge the largest crowds by visiting on Sundays. Just keep in mind that thousands of other people have Sundays off and probably think they can miss the crowds too.

Tips to Remember:
#1 Saturdays are the worst, especially for popular parks. Avoid them like the plague!
#2 Weekdays are better than Weekends
#3 Cooler months are better than warmer months
#4 Bad weather forecasts can lessen crowds
#5 Some parks offer Twilight Admission. Enter the park late afternoon (usually 4 PM) and admission is reduced 40 to 50%.