Coney Island:

Cyclone: 6/10- I got three rides in the back seat, and found it very violent with lots of ejector air. It was fun, but my back still hurts.

Lake Compounce:

Boulder Dash: 10/10- My new favorite coaster. The terrain, airtime, smoothness, and out of control feeling propelled it to the top of my list.

Wildcat: 2/10- My new LEAST favorite coaster. This ride has one redeeming factor: historical significance. It was rough with no significant forces to speak of.

SFNE:

Bizarro: 9.5/10- My new #2 steel (behind Maverick). The audio was thankfully not functioning in one train, so I got three audio free rides, which were awesome. My one ride WITH audio, in the back seat, is the reason the ride got a 9.5 instead of a 10. It shook a little in the helices, and the audio was one of the loudest experiences of my life. EVER. It nearly ruined the ride.

Dark Knight: 7/10- Fun little floorless, but nothing special. Seating was assigned, but I was lucky enough to get a front row ride.

Thunderbolt: 7/10- Fun, smooth, classic coaster. Looks like it could use a fresh coat of paint, but its ride makes up for it. It was the surprise coaster of our trip. I wasn't expecting much, but it ended up having generous amounts of airtime.

Cyclone: 3/10- Coaster Critic's Favorite (Rolls Eyes)! Badly maintained trains. Too short first drop. Pretty rough. Not much air. Still, nowhere near as bad as I was expecting.

Knoebels:

Phoenix: 9.5/10- My first ride on Phoenix was dissapointing, with only decent air. However, on my next four rides, I was catapulted out of my seat. Excellent.

Twister: 7.5/10- Rough. Primarily Airless, though there are a few noticable pops. Riding defensively significantly improved my experience. Despite this, I found it to be a very intense and fun coaster (which can only be enjoyed through defensive riding).

Gardens looks to have enough thrill to keep a day going, but I am nervous of the heat and rain. Any tips would be appreciated.

We have 2 young boys, 5-1/2 and 3-1/2. The 5yr old can ride up to 44 inches and I have had him on the Beastie and Thunder Mountain. He loved them both!

I told my wife that once both are 48" we're hitting all the Midwest parks hard. I really enjoy coasters and parks over say boating at a lake. We have friends that travel 2 hours north almost every weekend to boat. But they really just float around in swallow water and drink beer. I have no interest in that. I love to get up early, hit a park and walk my legs off. It's great exercise and every half hour or so you get to plummet down to earth on a good coaster!