[Trip Report] Operation [AlpenFury] 400

Some of you said I was mad, that it was a bad idea to try to plan a trip around a milestone….

Those people were right. This was complicated, foolish, overly stressful, but somehow at the end of everything very successful.

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My Spring Break trip to Mexico left me going into the summer season at 382 credits. I wanted to get a small trip in before the summer really kicks off at Memorial day, but didn’t want to fly anywhere. From my Baltimore base one of the last big drive-able segments I hadn’t yet done was up to Toronto and back.

But the way park opening days and my work schedule shook out, it would have been a bit of a gamble to try to get to number 400 at Canada’s Wonderland without getting a bit of credit padding first.

So what was the next closest reachable pocket of new coasters for me, that is open so early in the year?

Phase 1: I went up to Coney Island and Nick U

Sunday May 10: About a 3~4 hour drive up bombing up the Jersey turnpike, across Staten Island, and into Brooklyn. No luck on street parking, so I ended up in the $20 lot next to the baseball stadium there.

Even though it was early in the season they had everything up and running. No big crowds, but also not eerily dead either. Pretty good vibe.

I had ridden Cyclone probably more than 20 years ago – and while that was far and away the best coaster in the park, it wasn’t a new credit. Great classic woodie, running pretty well, and a couple of wild lateral hits.

Nothing spectacular from the rest of the lineup. Tickler is a standard spinning mouse, Soarin’ Eagle is a Volare (enough said), Steeplechase is short and not a great launch, Tony’s Express is just a mid family coaster, and Thunderbolt is rough as hell.

Phoenix at Deno’s comes in second place to Cyclone. These Vekoma junior inverts are always good fun. Plus they sent it as a two lap special.

Circus Coaster and the 2 tiny things at Deno’s were today both below the credit-shame line.

But man is this place expensive. I know I wasn’t staying long, and from experience and reputation I knew there wasn’t going to be much re-ride interest outside of maybe Cyclone, so I just paid per ride. Each coaster was like $8~$12. Between Luna Park, Deno’s, and parking I was probably right around $100. But more importantly, this took me up to 388.

At those prices nothing but the coasters interested me. I think the Wonder Wheel was closed, but I wasn’t paying too close attention.

The whole area is a bit rough around the edges, but nothing too bad. It’s a pretty weird juxtaposition of very much classic sea side Americana, but still obviously attached to and part of New York City.

Not only possible but easy to do via public transit as part of a New York City trip, but on this sort of road trip around the periphery and suburbs driving was the right call for me.

It was around 2 or 3 PM, so I got back in the car, back across Staten Island, back onto the Turnpike, and up to American Dream.

Only $6 for parking, and I went up into the mall and headed for Nick U.

I knew Sandy’s was closed, and I took a lap of the park to make sure everything else was cycling before buying a wristband. I was able to take advantage of their after 4PM discount to pay $55 instead of the full day fare (around $70?).

Pretty lively crowd, but it didn’t really make for long waits on anything.

Nickelodeon Slime Streak is a poor imitator of it’s Minnesota cousin. It’s just too short, and not as interesting of a coaster-tour around the park.

Shredder is somehow insanely long, but also terrifically boring. I didn’t get any good spins, and the ride didn’t have much else to offer.

I like these half pipe coasters more than I should. Punchy launches, good spins, some airtime, and always fun when you come right up to the ceiling. Took 2 laps on it.

Shellraiser is a crazy thing to be indoors at a mall. Each half of it – either the first launch section or the lift hill section – would fit the bill for an extreme indoor coaster, but they did both for some reason. I heeded the common advice and took the second row on my 3 rides. There’s a couple jolts and janks, but nothing so bad as what I had heard on the rumor mill. The initial slow roll is fun, great launch, and the hold at the top of the lift looking at the skyline of Manhattan is fantastic.

I rode the drop tower, but skipped the flats. I tend to not get along with inverting flat rides, and while they have a surprisingly deep collection, it’s mostly flippy things.

The park is very much rides on a concrete pad in a box, with a few cardboard cut outs.

I’m not sure how it works in the local market, but I think the Nickelodeon theming is almost too kid-friendly for the collection of rides they have. To my out of touch elderly millennial eye all of the properties (Spongebob, Ninja Turtles, etc.) feel like they’re for that 7-12 age range, but then the ride intensity is much higher thrill for like 13+. So it’s not exactly a kids park, but the kid-friendly theme may push older guests away.

I didn’t see or do anything else at the mall. I had dinner and my hotel to get to.

I stayed the night and did some non-coaster sightseeing in Manhattan the next day, but I was wrapped up at Nick U by 7 PM and could have easily driven home and made the whole thing a day trip.

Good lord did I spend a lot of money on tolls on this jaunt. I think over $100 in total.

Subtracting the hotel and the other sightseeing, I think I was just shy of $300 for the coaster part.

Nick U takes me to 392.

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With the credit count padded out, the next week I embarked on the main event of this double feature.

Tuesday the 19th I started driving North, and crossed into Canada around 2 in the afternoon.

What’s my first stop? Frank N Coaster of course. What a hilariously janky piece of shit.

Then I looked at the falls, and finished the drive to Vaughan. I stayed just across the street from the mall adjacent to Canada’s Wonderland, close enough to be convenient, but not quite walkable.

The next morning I didn’t quite make rope drop, but got there early. The plan was this full day and maybe a half day after. The weather was looking worse for the second day, so I splurged on the fast lane and all day dining to try to maximize day 1.

Started off with Dragon Fyre – a perfectly serviceable Arrow looper.

Next was Leviathan to complete my B&M Giga collection. Great drop, great speed hill, just missing a third act. Fury 325 stands well above Leviathan and Orion.

Wilde Beast didn’t do much for me. Rough and not too interesting.

Standard boomerang in Bat, and standard wild mouse with Fly.

I should have given Vortex a second lap. I don’t feel like I have a firm opinion on it.

My mind was in other places. 399 on the board. Time for the main event:

AlpenFury

90 minute stand by, 5 minute fast lane. I think I got 6 laps over the course of the day.

More kick to the first launch than I expected, and a hell of a kick in the second launch. Up there with Maverick, but not quite to the Stardust level of punchy (non-hydraulic) launches.

I do think it would have been better served with a non-inverting air-time focused top hat. The launch kicks you and then you are so disoriented during the double (?) inverting top hat. A nice clean pop of airtime and park views would be more my style.

The next element does give you a breather, but then it’s into a gauntlet of roll after roll after roll. Really great flow on the whole return section. It’s almost like it’s repetitive but in a good way. Variations on a theme.

Fantastic ride, and a great choice for number 400.

Mission Accomplished!

….and I still have plenty of park in front of me!

I think I’ve ridden too many B&M hypers at this point. Behemoth is a good ride, but I didn’t find anything too noteworthy in it.

Pretty much none of the effects were working on Backlot.

Yukon Striker is a hell of a dive coaster. Killer drop, substantial layout afterwards, and wasn’t yet infected by neo B&M rattle.

Next were the 3 family coasters. Silver Streak, Ghoster, Snoopy. Nothing new to me on any of them, three straightforward +1’s. And of course Taxi Jam is beneath that shame line.

Thunder Run passes my ill defined personal vibe check – it is a credit, and a fun one!

Somewhere in here I got extra laps on Leviathan, the rest of my AlpenFury laps, and a second spin on Behemoth and Yukon Striker.

The park was only open until 6PM it was about 5:30, and I made the difficult but ultimately correct decision to close out with Wonder Mountain’s Guardian instead of lapping AlpenFury. This thing is barely a credit, a bunch of the screens weren’t working, and I’m terrible at these shooting rides. Glad I only waited 20 minutes right at the end of the day.

Out of the park, back to the hotel, and right back the next morning.

….where I had a Karen moment at parking.

It turns out by their misinterpretation of their own posted policy, my pass does not include parking at CanW. Not sure why they let me in the previous day. Full post here

The weather wasn’t as great, the park looked just as crowded, I wouldn’t have a fast pass, I crossed everything off the list the previous day, I was only planing a couple hours to take another lap of the park, and I was pissed off with them jerking me around on the parking issue.

So I got a refund and left.

On the whole Canada’s Wonderland is a fine park. Really feels like Carowinds North with so much overlap in ride line up. Similar top heavy followed by filler.

The all day dining was of mixed value. Not the greatest options, but on only 8 hours in the operating day where it helps is in min-maxing by keeping you in the park and getting to the next ride. This was definitely one of those food-is-fuel days.

Missed Minebuster and DareDeviler, not too worried about missing either of those.

Pretty good on the operations, staff, and cleanliness front. Am I crazy, or do they not have nearly enough bathrooms?

I think I picked just about the perfect time of year to go. Just when the start opening up weekdays, just after their first big holiday, but not deep into summer crowds. Aside from AlpenFury at 90 minutes all day, I don’t think I saw anything much above 30 mins.

Glad to have crossed it off the list and gotten to 400. It’s just far enough away and complicated by the border that I don’t feel the need to go back until there’s something new and noteworthy.

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Still pissed about the parking situation, I crossed back into the good ole’ U-S-of-A. Looked at Niagara Falls from the other side, and drove out towards Darien Lake.

The I-90 off ramp $90-a-night Econo Lodge was a bit of a dice roll, but worked out well. Not much else around.

Into SFDL the next day.

I wish I could like this park more.

I think I caught it on a bad day. Early in the season, kind of a dreary day, lots of things closed, some winter maintenance not done. Water park and water rides not yet open.

Ride of Steel on one train. Predator on one train. Motocoaster up and down over the day. Tantrum running well. Unfounded rumors that Mind Eraser was going to run later in the day. No signs of life in Boomerang or Viper.

On the coasters -

Nice to get some laps on Ride of Steel, good nostalgia for my old home park. Everyone says it, but the straight track makes more sense over the water.

The Titan Track-ing of Predator makes it a fun smooth ride, they probably should finish the entire layout. But it does take some soul away from it.

Then they have the (both closed for me) dynamic duo of SLC and Boomerang.

I like classic Arrows, so the big miss for me was Viper.

And then the latest additions are more off the shelf clones dropped onto flat plots of concrete.

The park seemed to be entirely black top. A lot of the flats felt old not in the beloved classic and historic sense, but just never upgraded.

And there were just some weird things in layout and environs. Motocoster feels like it was built in like an old swimming pool or something. There’s a derelict batting cage on property. What’s with the bridge over the main street? Everyone else is getting rid of their upcharge attractions (slingshot, go karts, sky coaster), but they’re still here.

All of the shops were pretty run down and only offering that temu-tier generic nonsense. Not much SFDL merch and I couldn’t find any coaster merch.

I didn’t eat any food, had a sandwich out in my car.

I hate to say it, but the closest thing it felt like was closing year and even closing day at Six Flags America.

At least they don’t have a bunch of fading and deteriorating tacky DC theming at Darien.

But god do they have the bones of a decent park!

There’s a good core of a coaster line up here! And a good set of flats!

This might sound crazy – but I think they need to pivot and be more like Knoebel’s or Waldameer. Go classic, old school, charming. They have all these campgrounds around and attached to the park, so could they go free admission and pay-per-ride? And definitely ditch the Six Flags brand as soon as possible.

So much potential here, but it unfortunately feels like they’re on the path of wringing dollars out of the decline, while not doing much to reverse that decline.

I hate to be so negative, but I did just watch SFA close, and I saw a lot of the same issues.

(and yes, I’m part of the problem. I rolled up on an out of town season pass that they probably don’t see a dime of, rode their rides, ate food in my car, and didn’t give them a nickel. Would have bought a Predator fridge magnet though….)

The biggest mistake I likely made for the day was leaving around 6PM, not staying for the Laser show. But I had to put some miles down and get to Rochester.

The morning of day 5 of this trip, I pulled into Seabreeze – only to find the park closed for weather. Whoops.

I think I’ll try Seabreeze again at some point, and get the missing SFDL credits while I’m at it. Maybe if they get Niagara up and running again. Or maybe when CanW builds something new and I do run back the whole itinerary.

So I started the 6 hour drive back to Baltimore. At 4PM I hit Harrisburg, the weather was getting better, and I made a last minute call to pop into Hershey.

Got 2 Wildcat’s Revenge laps, Laff Trakk, Great Bear (walk on front row!), and Candymonium.

Plus I finally (after 3 seasons of being a passholder) found a not insane line for Reese’s Cupfusion. Boy is that a stupid ride, glad to know I wasn’t missing much.

They kicked everyone out at 6 (smart call), and I finished the 1h30 drive back home.

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The whole second Canada phase – gas, food, lodging, extras – totaled up to just shy of $1000.

There were a few rough moments on the trip, the failed second day at CanW and the rainout of Seabreeze, but on the whole it was a success. I've been pretty lucky on trips the past few years, so I was well overdue for some hiccups.

And now we move into the high summer season. Day trips to my locals, and I have thoughts/plans for Missouri, Texas, New England, and maybe NorCal.

We gotta get to 500 somehow!