Six Flags Theme Parks

[lfw]

All of this cold weather has me dreaming of summer, and since we can't do Disney this year, we've been thinking of taking the kids to the Six Flags in Darien Lake. My kids really like Looney Toons, and I think that park has Looney Toon characters. They've got some good packages for Canadians at the beginning and end of the season that include the campground and the admission to the parks. We are also considering going to the Six Flags Great Escape in Lake George. We went to Lake George a few years ago, but the kids were too small for the big theme park. I have wanted to go back because it is a beautiful area, but hauling the pop-up through the Adirondacks is going to cost a fortune (we have a Pathfinder, and it sucks for mileage when it isn't pulling anything!) Anybody been to both, any thoughts? Should we just do Wonderland and be done with it?

 

[NancyK]

We haven't done Wonderland or Darien Lake in a few years. Although Wonderland has a lot more rides than Darien Lake, I really preferred the atmosphere at Darien Lake. My brother-in-law camps there with his family and they love it.

 

[SandraC]

Consider treating Six Flaggs or Wonderland like WDW by getting a season's pass. Six Flaggs pass will get you into LaRonde in Montreal.

We have had Wonderland season's passes for two years and love it! Each year they add more and more. The water park is awesome! 2001 we went 29 times, 2002 we went over 15 times, I lost count.

Last year we really utilized the Wonderland season's pass on a vacation. We usually fly to Florida, but we are considering driving next time. I decided that we should have a practice drive about 8-10 hours away from home. I looked at a map and came up with Cincinnati, Ohio. There is a Paramount Park called Paramount King's Island in Cincinatti, so I booked 3 nights at the Baymount, the first night was $39 USF, the next two nights were $49 USF. They have a free breakfast buffet, it was GREAT, indoor pool and 5 minutes to King's Island. We treated it like Disney World. We got up in the morning, eat the free breakky, went to King's Island (FOR FREE because we have Paramount passes from Wonderland and they are portable), came back to the hotel for a swim, rest, picnic lunch in the room (brought food from home), back to the park, then dinner is a nice restaurant. We did two days at the park and water park and a day in Kentucky. The entire trip cost about $400 CDN for 3 nights and 4 days for four people. We are considering doing the same this summer at the Virginia park, however we would want to go to Virginia Beach and the cheapest hotel I can see in the summer is $160 USF OUCH!

S

 

[lfw]

I think this will finally be the year that we do Wonderland. We have planned to go every summer since we moved to Ontario in '97, but always ended up doing something else ( mostly because my dd is definately not a "car kid"). I spent some time on the PCW site today, and decided it has everything we are looking for, and we don't have to worry about the exchange rate. I'm thinking 5 days at Jellystone Park, family season pass to PCW ( which is cheaper than paying for 2 visits, I think) a trip to the zoo, and a couple of days just enjoying the campground. SandraC, this is your neck of the woods, is Jellystone all it's cracked up to be, or do you know of somewhere better? We have to go home to NS for a wedding in August, but we want to have a couple of good camping trips as well and Toronto seems to be in the budget.

 

[SandraC]

Hi, I recall hearing good things about that campground. I live 25 minutes from PCW. We had a great DISmeet at PCW last year! I'm up for another one! S

 

[Debbie]

If you are spending that much time in Toronto, you might want to spend a bit at the Science Centre. My kids (me too!) love the place. Lots of interactive things to do, and it's educatioinal!

 

[SandraC]

With a season's pass you might spend a little bit of every day at PCW. The waterpark is a whole day event in itself. That's what I love about the season's pass. My family can be at PCW before it opens, spend the first 2 hours on all the big rides, spend an hour in the kiddie area ~ all before the crowds come. We then have a picnic lunch and home around 1pm-2pm. Somedays we just go to the waterpark. In June, I take my 3 year old and we just spend all our time in the kiddie area. In the summer, some nights I just go with my 9 year old and maybe friends and do all the big rides. DH and I always get a night there without the kids too. It's really got something for everyone. ENJOY! S

 

[Sandyrella]

A friend of mine planned to camp at Jellystone a few years ago since it is so close to PCW. She drove in and turned around and drove back out. She said it is nothing but wide open fields. If you don't mind this kind of camping then go for it, but if you like a few trees and a bit of a woodsy feel, I would look around. She ended up staying a few nights in Wasaga Beach but it's a bit of a commute to PCW.

On the brighter side, I hear they have great activities for kids.

I think Great Escape in Lake George would be a great idea too! Haven't been there in years but the area is beautiful. We also really enjoyed Darien Lake a few years back. They had a good batman show and a really cute Loony Tunes show in Kiddyland.

Have fun,
Sandy