Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026

 From August 2nd to August 6th, 2026, my mom and I visited four amusement parks in the US Northeast, those being Great Escape, Lake Compounce, Six Flags New England, and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park! Lake Compounce and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park were two new parks for us!

We had a great time visiting these parks! For most of our trip, the weather cooperated, with the exception of August 3rd, which we still made the most of despite the pouring rain! After the completion of this road trip, I have visited a total of 13 different amusement parks in 2026! What a season of travelling it has been! 😄🎢

Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026:

After 7 and a half hours of driving, we arrived at Great Escape for the last 3 and a half operations for the day. Luckily for us the rainy weather had cleared, making for a fun few hours at the Great Escape! Since our last visit to the Great Escape in July 2024, not too much has changed at the park, other than it now being owned by EPR Properties and operated by Enchanted Parks as of April 2026. With Six Flags selling the park (along with six other properties in April 2026), 2026 Six Flags season passes sold before April 2026 are still being honoured by Enchanted Parks and La Ronde Operations Inc. for parking/admission through the end of the season.

Enchanted Parks who now operates Great Escape has gone one step further with the season passes by offering a complimentary season pass to current Six Flags season pass holders when presented at the front gate, allowing guests to get 10% off food and merchandise within the park. It is a nice gesture for those visiting the park during 2026 and makes for a nice souvenir. As Enchanted Parks does not offer a dining plan, they did reduce the price of the food at many locations within the Great Escape. I'll go more into the quality of the food in the photos below!

It was nice being back at the Great Escape and I look forward to visiting again in the future! Be sure to enjoy the photos of our visit below! 🙂

As of April 2026, Great Escape is now operated by Enchanted Parks. They had put up a few new banners around the park, including the one behind the Steamin' Demon.

In other places, they placed their name over existing signage. I sure hope Enchanted Parks have plans on replacing this sign as it is quite weathered!

With some excellent assistance from Guest Relations after presenting our Gold Six Flags passes, they were able to issue us an Enchanted Parks Great Escape pass so we could receive 10% off food and merchandise during our visit. With the pass, you could also visit the Great Escape for the remainder of the 2026 season if you desired!

To my surprise, the Sky Ride was operating during this visit, which I had not seen operating during my previous two visits to the park in 2018 and 2024! I would take a ride on the Sky Ride after taking a spin on the Flashback and a ride on the Storytown Train!

My first ride of this visit was on Flashback! My main reason for riding it during this visit was to see how smooth it is with the new train it received in 2025.

To my surprise, the Flashback provides a very enjoyable ride with its new train featuring vest restraints! It's much better than the old train it had during my previous visit in 2024! It also received a new paint job in 2025, too matching that of the original paint scheme of when it opened in 1997!

Up next was a ride on the Storytown Train, another attraction we hadn't experienced during our previous to visits to the park, as it too was closed!

Here's my mom and I on the Storytown Train!

It takes you on a journey through and along by the Storytown section of the park.

The journey starts by taking riders through a tunnel.

After the tunnel, you go by the Flashback.

Here's another look at the new train Flashback received last year!

During the train ride, you pass by many of the houses and buildings in Storyland.

You also pass through Jungle Land and the Ghost Town, too.

Here's a look at the miniature Ghost Town along the Storytown Train.

Jungle Land pays homage to the Jungle Land section that formerly operated at the park decades ago.

You can also get a decent view of Timbertown from the Storytown Train.

Here's a look at the 2026 Great Escape park map.

After I took a ride on the Sky Ride, my mom and I had a meal from the Chicken Chalet in the Fest Area. We both ordered the large crispy chicken salad priced at $14.49 each, receiving a 10% season pass discount (before taxes). To my surprise, the salad was very tasty as the chicken was seasoned nicely and was moist! It seems that Enchanted Parks is on track to serving some great food and decently priced meals at their recently acquired parks!

After eating the delicious crispy chicken salad, I took a spin on the Blizzard! It provided a chilling experience as always! The Blizzard is still one of my favourite rides at the Great Escape!

Up next was a ride on The Bobcat!

I had the pleasure of riding The Bobcat during its debut season in 2024! It is still riding incredibly well just like it did two years ago! It is packed with a ton of airtime within its small layout!

Speaking of airtime, I then took two laps on The Comet!

I fell in love with The Comet ever since taking my first rides on it in 2018!

To my surprise, The Comet still provides a very smooth ride along its double out and back layout since my last rides on it in 2024!

Hopefully Enchanted Parks continues to take great care of The Comet going forward as it is the 'jewel' of the park and is a roller coaster generations have been enjoying since its early days at Crystal Beach Amusement Park and operating at the Great Escape since 1994!

During this quick visit I managed to get two back to back rides on The Comet due to the rainy weather that passed through the area prior to our arrival!

With there now about an hour left of operations, we made our way over to the Ghost Town section. On our way over, I captured this photo of the Storytown Train chugging along its track. Sadly, the Condor (which was operating before and after our visit) and the Adirondack Outlaw (experiencing a prolonged maintenance issue) located in Ghost Town were both closed during our visit.

Up next, I took a ride on Canyon Blaster. While a rather uneventful Arrow Mine Train coaster, I do enjoy taking a ride on it every time I visit the Great Escape.

I do hope Enchanted Parks as the new operator of the park, has plans on repainting the track of the Canyon Blaster as the majority of it is quite faded and peeled!

Up next, I took a ride on the Desperado Plunge. It still provides a fun classic log flume experience!

I then decided to take a ride on the Steamin' Demon.

I was dreading a ride on the Steamin' Demon as it had greatly beaten me up in the past! 😅

To my surprise, a ride in the front row on the Steamin' Demon was actually quite tolerable and not too rough!

With just a few minutes left before the park closed for the day, I took a sky high ride on the Sasquatch! Although only one tower was operating during this visit, it still provides a very thrilling ride and provides quite a view of the surrounding area!

After a 3 and a half hour visit, it was time to leave as the park was now closed for the day!

It sure was nice visiting the Great Escape once again! I look forward to seeing what Enchanted Parks has in store for the Great Escape! I wish them the best! 

Up next are photos from our visit to Lake Compounce! 🙂

HersheyPark - June 11th and 12th, 2024

 On June 11th and 12th, we visited our third park of on the  road trip, HersheyPark in Hershey, Pennsylvania! It was my first time being to HersheyPark. I was really looking forward to it as I had heard so much about this historical amusement park that dates back to 1906! We really enjoyed our two-day visit at HersheyPark as there are many rides, awesome roller coasters and attractions to enjoy! The food was very good too!

Below are many photos of our two-day visit at HersheyPark! 🙂

It was a cloudy and cool start to our first day at HersheyPark!

Here is a look at the turnaround on Candymonium, a B&M Hyper Coaster that opened in 2020. Yes, that is a Hershey Kisses shaped water fountain in the turnaround of Candymonium!

My first ride of the day would be on Candymonium, my 150th roller coaster!

It is filled with many airtime hills and twisted track, making it a great hyper coaster that reaches a height of 210 feet!

The Candymonium is themed to Hershey's famous Kisses, Twizzlers, and Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

Beyond the Candymonium is the Founder's Way section of HersheyPark. Here is a statue of HersheyPark's founder, Milton S. Hershey, of Hershey Chocolate fame. He founded the park in 1906 for his employees to enjoy.

My next ride was on Skyrush, an Intamin Wing Coaster! Skyrush opened in 2012 featuring a speedy cable lift hill, a 200 foot drop, and 3,600 feet of twisted track filled with moments of airtime! For the 2024 season, Skyrush received new restraints and a rather amusing airport and airplane sound affects for when a train is ready for dispatch and when it returns back to the station! I greatly enjoyed my rides on Skyrush!

Up next was a ride on the classic Schwarzkopf manufactured Sooperdooperlooper that opened in 1977. While it only features one loop, it is a fun roller coaster that can be experienced by visitors of all ages!

Shortly after my ride on the Sooperdooperlooper, I got in line for Hershey's Triple Tower - Hershey's Tower, the tallest of the three. The tallest of the three S&S manufactured towers at HersheyPark goes 197 feet in the air and blast riders up and then down!

I then took a ride on the classic Coal Cracker. This log flume was manufactured by Arrow Development and was the first Hydroflume log flume when it opened in 1973. The logs skip through the flume at the bottom of the final drop, giving riders a pop of airtime!

Here is the loop of the forceful and fun Great Bear! I would ride it after taking in the views of the Kissing Tower.

The Kissing Tower has been a feature at HersheyPark since 1975. It is themed to Hershey Kisses.

As you can see, the windows are shaped to Hershey Kisses.

On the Kissing Tower, you get a panoramic view of the park as the rotating gondola reaches heights of over 250 feet, while the tower stands 330 feet tall.

You get a great view of HersheyPark's roller coasters from the Kissing Tower.

HersheyPark is very hilly in spots and features many trees.

Off in the distance in this view you can see Lighting Racer (to the right), Jolly Rancher Remix (in the middle), and Wildcat's Revenge and Fahrenheit to the far left.

Below is the Great Bear and Sooperdooperlooper.

I recommend anyone visiting HersheyPark to take in the views from the Kissing Tower.

After a relaxing ride on the Kissing Tower, I took a ride on the thrilling Great Bear, a B&M inverted roller coaster that opened at the park in 1998. It features four inversions within its 2,800 feet of track!

After eating a bucket of delicious fries from the Tower Fries near Great Bear, I took a ride on the classic Trailblazer. This mine train coaster was manufactured by Arrow and has been operating at the park since 1974.

After I took a ride on Storm Runner! It is an Intamin Accelerator launch coaster that opened at HersheyPark in 2004. It features three inversions, including the insane flying snake dive!

The combination of a 75 mph launch and the crazy inversions on Storm Runner made it one of my favourite roller coasters at HersheyPark!

Following a crazy ride on Storm Runner, I went over to Fahrenheit, a beyond vertical drop roller coaster! Fahrenheit is the third roller coaster that I have ridden that features a vertical lift hill!

After the 121 foot vertical climb, the train descends down a 97° drop into a series six dizzying inversions! Fahrenheit is very fun, but it unfortunately seems to have a long wait time.

Continuing with the theme of crazy and insane inversions, here is the Wildcat's Revenge!

The Wildcat's Revenge opened in 2023, but has roots dating back to 1996 as it originally opened as the Wildcat before being converted into a wild roller coaster with inversions! The Wildcat was originally built by Great Coasters International (GCI) and was converted to a hybrid coaster by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC).

Wildcat's Revenge features four hair-raising inversions combined with ejector airtime hills within its 3,510 feet of track. Like all RMC coasters I have been on to date, I rode it with my hands up the entire ride while seated in the last car!

The Lightning Racer is a really fun twisted racing wooden roller coaster that opened in 2000. During my first day at HersheyPark, only the Lightning side was operational. It was really fun. I would experience the Thunder side the following day!

Lightning Racer is tucked behind the Boardwalk water park.

Throughout the day, HersheyPark was packed with many school groups making some of the lines quite long. With the park closing at 7pm both days of our visit, the last two hours were rather quiet, allowing me to get on more rides! One of those rides was the indoor Laff Trakk spinning roller coaster. It was a fun spinning coaster experience!

My second last ride of the day was on the Jolly Rancher Remix Boomerang roller coaster. This Vekoma Boomerang received the Jolly Rancher theme in 2022! The retheme also saw the addition of a Jolly Rancher scented tunnel and a new train featuring comfortable vest restraints! From 1991 though 2021, Jolly Rancher Remix was known as Sidewinder.

My final ride of the night was on the Comet wooden roller coaster that opened at HersheyPark in 1946. This classic wooden roller coaster was designed by Herbert Schmeck and features many airtime hills. Once I got off the Comet, the park was closed for the evening, so I captured this photo of my Mom and I in front of the Hershey Kisses fountain before leaving.

Our second day at HersheyPark on June 12th started out with a somewhat cloudy sky. It would turn into mostly sunny skies by the late-morning. At the entrance there are beautiful planters nearby the history plaques on the ground as you enter the park.

Our first ride of the day was on the Carrousel. This Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC) Carousel was built in 1919 and has been operating at HersheyPark since 1944. It is a very beautiful carousel that has a Wurlitzer band organ.

My Mom and I enjoyed our ride on it!

The costumed characters at HersheyPark are the famous Hershey chocolate and candies, including Miss Kiss, a Hershey Kisses candy! Others include the Hershey's chocolate bar, Reese's cup, Twizzlers, and Jolly Ranchers.

The classic Comet wooden roller coaster was giving rides in the late-morning.

My next ride was on the Skyview, a chairlift ride that dates back to 1966.

The roundtrip chairlift gives you close-up views of some of HersheyPark's roller coasters, including the Great Bear.

Here's a train load of passengers ascending the lift hill on Great Bear.

The loop on the Great Bear is quite massive!

You also go under the Sooperdooperlooper while on the Skyview.

Sooperdooperlooper's loop is quite hidden as it is tucked underneath the Great Bear. But from the turnaround on the Skyview, you can see its classic single loop.

Skyrush stands out from the blue sky!

Here's a closer look at the 100 foot tall loop on the Great Bear!

The Comet is the oldest coaster at HersheyPark, and continues to be very popular after all these years!

Here's a straight-on view of Skyrush and Comet from the Skyview.

After a ride on the Skyview, I bought a cinnamon raisin pretzel from a nearby pretzel shop. It was really good!

After devouring the pretzel, I took another ride on the Sooperdooperlooper followed by a ride on the Wave Swinger. HersheyPark's Zierer Wave Swinger is yellow with various landscape scenes

I almost walked by the Reese's Cupfusion interactive dark ride as it was tucked off to the side of the path. Luckily I came across it as it was an interesting shooting interactive dark ride.

After a ride on Reese's Cupfusion, my mom and I got in line for the Monorail.

The Monorail provides great views of HersheyPark and the surrounding area.

It also gives you a great view of Storm Runner's flying snake dive inversion.

The Hershey Triple Towers give thrills of all sizes!

Here's my Mom and I on the Monorail.

HersheyPark is also home to other classic flat rides including the Pirate.

Continuing with the theme of transportation, we boarded the Dry Gulch Railroad. I love it when parks have train rides! They provide a relaxing ride, often providing vantage points you wouldn't get to see while walking around the park.

Here's a look at Trailblazer from the Dry Gulch Railroad.

The Dry Gulch Railroad also has a tunnel.

Up next for me was a ride on Mix'd, a Zamperla Nebulaz ride. I have always found these rides fascinating since they were introduced a few years ago. This was the first time I had seen one in person, so I was sure to ride it! Due to its loading configuration, it takes riders through two ride cycles, one forward and the other backward. The backwards ride cycle was quite fun as it caused a tingling sensation through my body! 🤣 It was a rather unique experience!

Since the heat was settling in, I took a ride on Tidal Force, a massive shoot-the-chutes water ride.

Tidal Force's splashdown is just as massive! It sure was refreshing!

After a ride on Tidal Force, I took a spin on the Wild Mouse, a classic Mack Rides Wild Mouse coaster. I wish more parks would operate their wild mouse coasters with the cars slowly moving through the station rather than stopping the cars for passengers to get in. It greatly sped up the process and shortened the wait time!

While in the area, I took another ride on Lightning Racer. Luckily it was running both sides during my second day at HersheyPark to experience a true racing experience! The Thunder side was also very fun, just like the Lightning side!

Here is a view of Wildcat's Revenge. The Wildcat's Revenge is relentless and doesn't give up until you return back to the station!

Here's a view of some of the twisted turns on Lightning Racer!

For lunch I had a burrito while my Mom had loaded nachos. They were both very tasty and fairly priced!

The Music Express at HersheyPark was manufactured by Moser Rides. It isn't nearly as thrilling as the versions made by Mack Rides, but it still provides a fun ride!

In the late afternoon, we took a spin on the Classic Cars located in the Kissing Tower section of the park. It was interesting riding antique cars without the traditional bonnets that they usually have for protection from the sun.

After the car ride, I headed up the Kissing Tower one final time for this visit. Here's a birds eye view of the Classic Cars.

Here's a look at Storm Runner and the Hershey Triple towers from the Kissing Tower. I would ride Storm Runner one more time before heading out!

I later discovered that there is a path that takes you along the loop of the Sooperdooperlooper. From that pathway you can also get a great view of the Skyview.

Here's a close-up of the iconic loop on the Sooperdooperlooper!

From this pathway, you also walk under the Great Bear!

After getting on Skyrush one final time, it was time to leave HersheyPark! What a two great days we had! Up next is our final park of the trip Kennywood Park! 🙂