This season, I finally have some free time and time to get some credits. So I'm faced with two choices, Stricker's, a park Ivhave never been to, and Coney a place I haven't been to since '03. Any advice/proscons to either?

Best choice?

(edited for another trip, thanks!)

You aren't going to Stricker's next week unless you're associated with an organization that has paid to rent out the park. They're only open to the public a few times a year, and next week won't be one of them.

EDIT: Since you edited it to refer to the whole season, I say why not both?! I love both parks! Each is great in its own way, Stricker's is quaint and charming with a couple of great coasters for their size, and Coney is a beautiful park with some good old fashioned fun, and a great setting. Coney really emphasizes the "park" side of an amusement park!

For Stricker's, I recommend going during the Hamilton County 4-H Community Fair between July 9th and 12th. It'll cost you just a couple dollars more in total than during the other operating days (between parking, ride tickets, and admission), but these days typically have live entertainment and very few people are there for the rides. I walked on EVERYTHING every single time last year when I went for this event. And that includes the Kiddie Whip, which I can assure you has a lot less room than it looks.

I've never been to Coney Island (I know, it's on the list) however I LOVE Stricker's. I can't say enough about that place. My first visit was 4 years ago now, and we've been twice a year ever since then (4H because of the lack of lines, and Customer Appreciation Day for free drinks/popcorn/cotten candy/snocones), and it's a 2.5 hour drive each way from where I live. I even convinced my sister to visit the park with her son, and they've been going every year too for the last 4 years. Going to Stricker's is one of my highlights every year over the summer.

I think we might be going three times this year (4H, Labor Day, and Customer Appreciation Day), but we'll see how things play out.

I would also recommend both parks if you can. Neither is very expensive and both have great things to offer.

I have never been to Coney. I should probably rectify that this summer.

Agreed with the above comments that both parks are worth a trip. We usually go to Stricker's on Labor Day. They have a great Super Mario pinball machine that sometimes works. They often have free soda, as well.

If you just need credits, Stricker's is the easy choice (Tornado and Teddy Bear vs. [Pepsi] Python).

Not sure where to put this, I don't want to create a new topic for one question. But did anyone go to Stricker's Grove today? Was the pirate ship open?

The Pirate Ship was not open on the 4th.

Somebody ought to start taking bets.

Over/under: Pirate ship opening date – January 2017

The Pirate Ship was not open on the 4th.

Thanks. I'm going tomorrow... maybe one day I'll get to ride the ship.

I haven't been to Stricker's in a couple of years, so I haven't ridden the ship either. Last time I went it was SBNO, I believe due to electrical requirements (they had to do some work to handle the extra power that ride required or something like that). I might go tomorrow as well since I get off at 3.

AFAIK the ship has never opened even once.

Had a lot of fun at Stricker's tonight, ending the night with 5 straight rides on Tornado without getting off. Got 10 rides each on Tornado and Teddy Bear, plus multiple rides on everything else except Scrambler, the flying scooters (it's not as much fun if you're the only one on the ride) and the train (didn't really see a point in riding it).

The ship was of course SBNO still, and Electric Rainbow was also closed for some reason. Electric Rainbow has been painted since I was last there (it's nice and colorful now), though the colored panels were still sitting in a pile on the ground.

I also noticed that they've gotten new Skee-Ball machines since I was last there. The odd thing is the ones inside the arcade building require two tokens while the ones outside only require one.