Beast = Longest *Wooden* coaster forgive me Steel Dragon 2000 & Ultimate fans! Also if I had to do a next 5: 15 Connecticut 14 Kentucky 13 Missouri 12 Delaware 11 Illinois
Massachusetts slaughters CT. Mass travelers have Story Land, SFNE, Canobie Lake Park, Funtown Splashtown, Edeville to go along with CT's Lake Compounce and Quassy all within 2/3 hours of Boston should EASILY put it top 15.
I was going to say the same thing, I moved from California where magic mountain was 45 mins away.. but that was really it, where I feel like here in NC there is alot of cedar fair parks close by so all you need to do is buy 1 season pass to ride several parks, including cedar point.. not too far away
One thing you may have wanted to consider is the fact that states like California, Florida, and Texas can operate year round compared to a shorten schedule elsewhere. But in the summer months I like your list.
@@Ian58 the point of this list is to give the best locations to live as an enthusiast, so, whether it’s fair or not, some locations are going to have a natural advantage due to how they can operate year round
I think this is pretty spot on. I live in NJ 1 hour from SFGA. About 1.5 hours to Dorney Park, 2.5 hours to Hershey. 2.5 hours to Knobeles, 1 - 2 hours to jersey shore pier rides. 10 mins to American Dream :) 45 mins to Coney Island. 3.5 hours to Six Flags America, 2.5 hours to Six Flags New England, 2 hours to Lake Compounce, 5.5 hours to Darian Lake, 5.5 hours to Kings Dominion, 6 hours to Kennywood, 6 hour drive to Bush Gardens, 8 hour drive to Canada's Wonderland and of course 8 hour drive to Cedar point which felt more like 10 hours both times I drove it. Pretty luck to live in this part of the country and be a coaster freak.
As a California enthusiast I 100% agree with your analysis. We might have one of the best collections within a single state but it takes FOREVER to get to a good park outside the state. The closest is Lagoon in Utah and that’s about a 10 hour drive from either LA or the Bay Area.
As a Florida resident I can confirm that almost every park here is getting a new coaster either this year or next. Not to mention that a few got coasters last year as well.
Cedar Point is my home park and I can safely say that it is one of the only reasons you would ever want to visit XD. I enjoy the state but it is too cold in the winter and we don't have any beaches besides Lake Erie.
Pennsylvania definitely deserves the number one spot. It's smack dab in the middle of the country's coaster epicenter. It's honestly incredible how many quality amusement parks are within the state lines or just a few hours drive outside of the state.
U Salteee California has Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm, California’s Great America, and Discovery Kingdom for thrills and Universal Studios, Sea World, and Disneyland for families. Those seven parks are confined to the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco Bay areas. California is the third largest state in the country, so having major amusement parks only serve three metropolitan areas while other parts of the state have to travel long distances just to get the the closest major amusement park to them doesn’t make for much convenience outside of those metros. California has 82 roller coasters but nothing else near it. Pennsylvania has 52 but the neighboring states have a combined 145 bringing the total number of roller coasters that Pennsylvania residents can regularly ride up to 197.
I live in Indiana and I go to Kings Island every year. I went to Holiday World for the first time in 6 years last year. Both parks are over 2 hours from me (Holiday World being 3 and a half hours away) but the long rides are so incredibly worth it.
I live in Kentucky, and I am surrounded by 2 hour drives for amazing theme parks. Holiday world, Dollywood, Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, 5 hours away from Cedar Point, 5 hours away from Carowinds.
I have been a die hard coaster enthusiast who lives in Pennsylvania who has been going to Hersheypark since I was like 4 and I loved living in the state with Six Flags Great Adventure, Kings Island and Cedar Point just outside the state. I knew it was nice, but man I never knew it was number one. Seriously I thought Ohio or California would get the number one spot, but I guess it makes sense cause we have a LOT of great parks surrounding the state. But, woohoo my state got number one so, ya!
I wasn’t surprised about PA. The Philly area has two top notch parks in our vicinity, and three high quality smaller parks. The Pittsburgh area has the Ohio parks and Kenny wood. DC is also good with Hershey, SFA, Busch, and Kings Dominion.
I figured we'd be near the top, but number one was a bit surprising. Can't say we don't deserve it though since I live at the Western end and am therefore within driving distance of three of the country's best parks and weekend trip distance from like 5 more!
I can believe that living in PA's capital. I'm less than 20 minutes from Hersheypark, 80 minutes from Knoebels, 90 minutes from Dorney Park, 3.5 hours from Kennywood, 2 hours 15 minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure, 3.5 hours from Kings Dominion, etc. Driving to Williamsburg (5 hours) and Cedar Point (6 hours) is doable as well.
Florida is such an upcoming state for coaster enthusiasts. Iron Gwazi is only the beginning of the wave of new coasters. With a possible 2021 Giga at BGT, Surf Coaster coming to SeaWorld, Tron and Guardians coming to Disney, Hagrids and the Velocicoaster at Universal, new coasters coming to Epic Universe, and a new GCI hybrid coming to Fun Spot America. These are the additions that will be coming in the next 2 years and I can’t wait for what’s to come after!!!
I live in Buffalo, so Six Flags Darien Lake, Canada's Wonderland, Marine Land, Kennywood, Cedar Point, Waldameer, & Conneaut Lake Park, are all within around 3 hours. The jersey parks and some of the other eastern pa parks are close too. I'm very thankful! However overall, I don't like the state lol
Mr. Roller Coasters CW is 3hr 15min from me, but I still haven’t been there because of the border, I was planning to go there sometime this year but idk if that will happen
For me I'm in p.a. the Ohio and New York and Canada parks are only a few hours away. And I have Hershey dorney Knowles the jersey shore parks. Six flags America, New England, and great adventure and lake compounce. All within a short 2 to 4 hour drive
I feel very lucky to live in such a great state for coaster. Texas has a great collection of coasters, and isn’t too terribly far from pretty much everywhere in the US
It kinda is terribly far from everywhere else... Cedar Point, Great Adventure, Magic Mountain, Hersheypark, they are long trips. But Texas definitely has some great coasters
I think the only coaster enthusiasts who don’t traditionally travel all the way to Cedar Point are the people who live considerably close to King’s Island as they live in the same state and have a heck of an amusement park right nearby. I live right next to Mason but I still hope to go to Cedar Point in the next year.
I'm very fortunate to live near Dallas so Six Flags Over Texas is within an hour drive for me. Plus I can't wait for the new aquaman ride coming this year. (Hopefully)
My home park, that being Indiana Beach, doesn't get too much love. I really liked that you acknowledged that the park has some good coasters, because they 3 CCI woodies are classics, the Schwarzkopf Jet Star is forceful, and Steel Hawg is just pure fun if you don't mind the restraints. I can't wait until the reopening since they have already planned on retracking the Hoosier Hurricane which is pretty rough in the valleys
I live in Western Pa 5 minutes away from Kennywood and I love it here. I can access Kennywood any day, 3 hours away from cedarpoint, 5 hours from Kings Island, a few hours away from Hershey, and about 5 hours from Kings Dominion and Busch Garden, and a 6 hour drive to Great Adventure, I'm not insanely close to anything but kennywood, but I'm in a good spot to make a day trip to so many parks if I get up early. *Edit:* Holy Crap, wasn't expecting PA to be #1
Can confirm, NJ is an amazing place to live for roller coasters. SFGA is my home park and Dorney is another solid park within driving distance. We also have great boardwalk coasters such as those at Morey's Pier in Wildwood!
I’m gonna make an argument for why Michigan is a great state for enthusiasts as well: First thing people need to know about Michiganders is we don’t mind making a long drive. Most of our population is 4 hours from Kings Island, 4 and 1/2 hours from Kennywood, 4 hours from Six Flags Great America and Canada’s Wonderland, and just 2 hours from Cedar Point. We also have Michigan’s Adventure which might not have a lot of quality coasters but we do have Shivering Timbers which some consider a top 10 wood coaster. Most of us consider Cedar Point our home park, which is saying something considering it’s bucket list status for coaster enthusiasts. Our centralized location within driving distance of some of the best parks in my opinion makes us a good state for enthusiasts
I live in Philadelphia, and it's an amazing place to live for coaster enthusiasts. Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure, The American Dream, Knoebels, Dorney Park, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion and more!!!
I live in Wilmington Delaware. 15 minutes to the PA line and 15 minutes to MD. I am about and 1hr and 45min from NYC and 1.5hr from DC. 45min from B-more. The mid atlantic region is the place to live. Delawareans hate admitting this but Wilmington Delaware is basically a suburb or twin city with Philly because Philly is only 25-30min away
I live in southeastern PA. Can confirm it incredible to have so many drivable parks! I think PA deserves the #1 spot, but I actually think California has an argument since they have a lot of quality parks open all of or most of the year.
USA is so different than UK, you never hear the phrase 'only a 5 hour drive' here but Alton towers and thrope park are the 2 outsiders really know about, both around 1+ hour drive for me.
When I was a kid I just assumed most of the country had the access to many parks. Later I realized south-east PA was a pretty special spot for coasters.
When you were talking about missouri in the beginning of the video and how it is close to Six Flags Great America, Holiday World, and Kentucky Kingdom. Don’t forget you can also add in Adventurland, Indiana Beach, and Magic Springs!
I’m in CT, it’s great, driving distance from cedar point, bgw, kings dominion, great adventure, and home park is a cross between Lake Compounce and SF New England
I've literally ridden every coaster in PA except Iron Menace. It took several years but Pennsylvania and surrounding states weren't cutting it anymore. The solution? Seasonal work with assisted or free housing. Although sometimes heartbreak happens like when I went through Utah in February literally driving past Lagoon, one of the biggest parks I haven't been to. Or how the only ride I've done at Glenwood Caverns is the Alpine Coaster (an AMAZING alpine coaster but still, not getting to do the other coasters or the flat rides that rely on mountaintop placement? Just gotta tell myself: I'll make it there someday.
Six Flags over Georgia is not the closest theme park to the Florida line in the Peach state. We have Wild Adventures in Valdosta that has 34 attractions in total with 7 coasters. It was acquired by your Silver Dollar City owners, Herschend Family Entertainment, in 2007.
Very Good list!!! My home state of PA is absolutely a great place for coasters. Don't Forget PTC (Pennsylvania Toboggan Company) is located in PA so much great history in our state.
I was so excited for coaster con in PA this year to get to experience all the great parks. But it looks like I’ll have to save that for 2021!! I’ve been dying to get out there!
I grew up in Maryland. Only a 45 minute drive to Six Flags Flags America, 2 hours to both Hershey Park and King's Dominion, and 3 hours to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, it was pretty fantastic. Even Cedar Point was only a 6 hour drive, perfect for a Weekend trip. Unfortunately, I live in Utah now. At least I only live 30 minutes from Lagoon, but that's all we have. I am able to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain once a year though (It's like 10 or 11 hours away), so that's not terrible.
Living near Pittsburgh, I'm just a day trip from: Kings Island Kings Dominion Cedar Point Kennywood Six Flags America Hersheypark Waldameer Knoebels Dorney Park Six Flags Great Adventure
There’s also wild adventures down in Valdosta Georgia that’s a bit closer to the Florida state line. However, six flags over Georgia is bigger and has better coasters than it though.
Yeah that's what I was thinking too, but that park sadly has only 1 unique coaster, Cheetah, which isn't that great. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to visit (and its SLC is actually good) but it makes sense that he didn't mention it. Come on Herschend, give Wild Adventures a bit more love like Silver Dollar City and Dollywood gets
I'm from Kansas City and honestly having Worlds of Fun as a home park and being within 3-4 hours driving distance of SDC and SFSL is good enough for me.
Being a coaster enthusiast in New York near Darien Lake is a great deal, while there aren't many other parks around in New York, Canada's Wonderland is just up north, Waldameer is about an hour's drive, and the entire state of Pennsylvania is just south.
As a Pennsylvania resident, being #1 on this list (which I've always said is the case) is the only reason I'm hesitant to move to another state. The amount of parks within 2-3 hours of me is insane, and I can drive to Cedar Point or Kings Dominion within a day (my 2 favorite parks I've been to).
Liked your list! One thing I think you should have mentioned is Florida and California parks do not have an off season. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't ride coasters during the winter here in California. But being separated from all the good East Coast parks is a struggle! Thankfully I go to college East Coast and can hit up the parks during the late summer/fall!
Living in central Connecticut is certainly a great spot. Both Six Flags New England and Lake Compounce are within an hour and a half drive, Great Adventure is a three hour drive on average and a day trip to Hershey, Dorney or Knobels isn't much of a hassle either (besides getting through NYC).
Illinois should be on here, we have SFGAm and... Santas Village. But we are also within a 3 hour drive of Mt. Olympus, Holiday World, SFSL, Adventureland, And Indiana Beach. As well as being 4 hours to Cedar Point and KI, and close to Kentucky Kingdom, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Michigan's Adventure.
Thoughts on making a similar list for major and moderate metropolitan areas? Maybe the further away parks are the less points they score? And 2 areas which have the exact same list of coasters, such as Orlando and Tampa, should be listed in the same ranking?
I live in Ohio, I've never really been so proud I live here, since it feels like California and Florida are just so much better, but this year, I started getting invested into Coasters. I started getting into Cedar Point, and now I think Ohio is one of the best states. Its kinda cool to think so many people come to a place that is not very far away from where i am, under a couple hours, is known as the best amusement park EVER. Its a good feeling, to know that your state is actually way cooler than you first thought about it.
Living in central Tennessee kinda sucks in some regards, with the closest park being Beech Bend almost two hours away, but at least there’s a decent amount of stuff if you’re willing to drive three or four hours, like Kentucky Kingdom, Holiday World, Six Flags over Georgia, and of course Dollywood. I’d still rather be here than most places in the west 😂
I have often heard it said that if you calculate in terms of proximity to the greatest number of great amusement parks, the single greatest city in the entire country is Nashville!
Tennessee is in a sad situation, since they were very dense with parks at one point. Of course you have Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, but Nashville had the fantastic looking Opryland USA and Memphis also had their local park with Libertyland. Such a shame that two parks closed, since if they still existed Tennessee would have a great park collection, especially with Opryland and Dollywood.
I never fancied myself a coaster enthusiast, Waldameer was my home park growing up, but I was literally a days trip or a weekend trip away from SO many parks. I got to go to “six flags Ohio/ sea world in the early 2000’s. I was Just getting into coasters then, so I wasn’t brave enough to get all the credits, but I got quite a few in before it closed lol 😂. Plus in Altoona PA we’ve got the spine chilling leap the dips lol.
The only problem I have with Indiana is that if you live in Indianapolis (like most) there are no parks so you have to commute at least an hour and half (Indiana Beach) to get to any amusement park
TN only has Dollywood but depending on where you live, you could be at Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, SF Georgia & Carowinds in well under 3hrs as well as Silver Dollar City, SF St. Louis and King's Island in about 4hrs. Georgia has its own SF plus easy driving to Dollywood, Carowinds & Florida.
I live in Central NY, so I have some pretty good parks near me. Darien Lake, Great Escape, Seabreeze, and some out of state parks like CW, SFGADV, SFNE, and a lot of others. Proud to live in NY!
i live in the Detroit area and i think SW Michigan is pretty good within two hours of cedar point, 5 hours six flags great america, 4 hours of kings island and 5 hours of kennywood
Pretty cool that the state I go to college in (Indiana) and the state I'm originally from (New Jersey), are both on this list. Great job with this video. Also Disclaimer: The K is not silent in Knoebels so it's actually pronounced K-nobls
Thank you!! And yes I’m still working on my voice overs after redoing something about 90 times I think I gave up. For some reason I always want to read it as “nobels”. They will get better with more practice.
I had a feeling PA would be number 1. It really is a great state to be an enthusiast. Not only do we have fantastic major parks, but a lot of quality small amusement parks as well.
🤣😂 hey I’ll call it thighcrush when I get to one day experience the thighcrushing lol. I was supposed to be doing a whole Pennsylvania theme park road trip this year 😭.
I am Pennsylvania coaster enthusiast but my home park is six flags great adventure because it is only 41 minutes for my house Hershey park is 55 minutes
Pennsylvania definitely looks like the best US state for coasters. I'm glad that I live in probably one of the best places in Europe for coasters - The Netherlands. The Netherlands has quite a lot of parks, with 3 big ones with Efteling, Walibi Holland and Toverland. Belgium also isn't far away with Walibi Belgium, Plopsaland de Panne, and Bellewaerde. But I think what makes the Netherlands so great, especially the eastern part of the country where I live, is our neighbor Germany. Heide Park, Movie Park Germany, Hansa Park, Holiday Park and Phantasialand are all easily reachable with car via the German Autobahn, especially since Europe is of course much denser and compact then the United States so the distance between parks is much smaller.
Good call on PA. I live 20 min from Dorney Park with Hershey and Great Adventure only 1 1/2 hours away. I’ve been going to these parks since I was a kid.
You could have made Missouri a honorable mention at least! You have three big parks Six Flags St Louis,Worlds Of Fun,Silver dollar city. The parks that surround the state are kentucky kingdom and Holiday world
Definitely grateful to be a coaster lover here. However, it pretty much (one of) the only good things about living in Pennsylvania haha. Hershey Park was my first job! But I moved so now my home parks are Dorney and six flags great adventure....I live right in-between both.
Days of the year the parks are open should also factor in. A park in the north might only be open for the summer but states like California, Texas, and Florida have them open every day.
I'll take the Derby City location over any location. Cedar Point (6 hours), Kings Island (2 hours), Holiday World (1.5 hours), Kentucky Kingdom (20 minutes), and Dollywood (4 hours).
Just saying, West Virginia is an underrated place. We live without driving distance of kings dominion, kings island, cedar point, Kentucky kingdom, kennywoood, etc.
Jared Alba yeah was waiting for him to call Illinois as Illinois and southern Wisconsin are within driving distance of all of the best midwestern parks(including cedar point).
Living right outside of NY is really nice I 1-2 hours I have Luna,SFNE,SGADV,Moreys,Hershey,Dorney,and a couple more. I can drive that 3-5 hours and hit up any of the PA parks ,CP and many more parks. AD is 20 minutes away
I would think Delaware would be a great state despite not having a coaster, since it's close to Dorney Park, Hershey Park, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion, and all the boardwalk parks in NJ.
Who wants to wait until the summer...Cali Texas and Florida you can ride year round. It may rain in Florida but it usually last 10 or 15 minutes and you're done.
I live in Ohio and I am a big CP enthusiast. I get proud that I have a park that has awesome coasters. I been to Kennywood and would love to visit other parks.
Beast = Longest *Wooden* coaster forgive me Steel Dragon 2000 & Ultimate fans!
Also if I had to do a next 5:
15 Connecticut
14 Kentucky
13 Missouri
12 Delaware
11 Illinois
I would have put Georgia on here too, but good vid
Destination Thrills Connecticut is good because right in the middle of SFNE and Great Adventure
Do the last 5...
Maine
Alaska
Hawaii
North Dakota
South Dakota
?
I would've put Michigan at least number 12 or 13, we have MiA, and we have access to Cedar Point, Great America, Indiana Beach, and Holiday World.
Massachusetts slaughters CT. Mass travelers have Story Land, SFNE, Canobie Lake Park, Funtown Splashtown, Edeville to go along with CT's Lake Compounce and Quassy all within 2/3 hours of Boston should EASILY put it top 15.
The California island is real. So real
We live in our own fantasy world.
Yes YES YES
Yes
Which is why Max Theme Parks has 80 credits and 80 out of those 80 credits are in California and 0 outside of it
*80ception*
I live in WA🙁
The Carolinas should be on the list: Carowinds and not too far from: Dollywood, Six Flags Over Georgia, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg
I was going to say the same thing, I moved from California where magic mountain was 45 mins away.. but that was really it, where I feel like here in NC there is alot of cedar fair parks close by so all you need to do is buy 1 season pass to ride several parks, including cedar point.. not too far away
Josh Elliott Carowinds also gets crazy coasters tho every 3-5 years like Cedar Point
I live I South Carolina only 1 hour away from Carowinds
yeah totaly
Agreed. NC should definitely be on here.
One thing you may have wanted to consider is the fact that states like California, Florida, and Texas can operate year round compared to a shorten schedule elsewhere. But in the summer months I like your list.
That is a very good point!
I don’t think so because than southern states have the advantage.
@@Ian58 the point of this list is to give the best locations to live as an enthusiast, so, whether it’s fair or not, some locations are going to have a natural advantage due to how they can operate year round
Let's not forget that New Jersey also has a whole bunch of boardwalk parks on the shore! :)
Texas has more shore :p
NJ has the best boardwalks
@@theduder7709 more boardwalk parks in nj though
I think this is pretty spot on. I live in NJ 1 hour from SFGA. About 1.5 hours to Dorney Park, 2.5 hours to Hershey. 2.5 hours to Knobeles, 1 - 2 hours to jersey shore pier rides. 10 mins to American Dream :) 45 mins to Coney Island. 3.5 hours to Six Flags America, 2.5 hours to Six Flags New England, 2 hours to Lake Compounce, 5.5 hours to Darian Lake, 5.5 hours to Kings Dominion, 6 hours to Kennywood, 6 hour drive to Bush Gardens, 8 hour drive to Canada's Wonderland and of course 8 hour drive to Cedar point which felt more like 10 hours both times I drove it. Pretty luck to live in this part of the country and be a coaster freak.
Lucky devil!😎
Living the life in Pennsylvania! As a ride operator it’s a great state and we are very lucky to have all of the other parks around us.
I’m proud to live in PA, and I’m proud to be an enthusiast!
@@TylerPCoyne amen brother
I’m proud to be a Pennsylvanian
And an enthusiast
@Up-Stop Thrills I live in Middletown as well!
As a California enthusiast I 100% agree with your analysis. We might have one of the best collections within a single state but it takes FOREVER to get to a good park outside the state. The closest is Lagoon in Utah and that’s about a 10 hour drive from either LA or the Bay Area.
Yep and Lagoons my home park I’m sorry it’s hard to find a good park out the state
As a Florida resident I can confirm that almost every park here is getting a new coaster either this year or next. Not to mention that a few got coasters last year as well.
@@nicholassutton8210 Ditto! I can’t wait.
I always thought Ohio was a lame place to live, until I visited Cedar Point.
Ben Hatto You must not get out much.
Cedar Point is my home park and I can safely say that it is one of the only reasons you would ever want to visit XD. I enjoy the state but it is too cold in the winter and we don't have any beaches besides Lake Erie.
Brennen Canfield Dude, there are some states that don’t have beaches at all.
@@theoneandonlyrustyshaklefo6256 Well obviously lol. It is still a downside though.
Brennen Canfield Hows it a downside that we have beaches where some states don’t have any?
Pennsylvania definitely deserves the number one spot. It's smack dab in the middle of the country's coaster epicenter. It's honestly incredible how many quality amusement parks are within the state lines or just a few hours drive outside of the state.
California has more
U Salteee California has Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm, California’s Great America, and Discovery Kingdom for thrills and Universal Studios, Sea World, and Disneyland for families. Those seven parks are confined to the Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco Bay areas. California is the third largest state in the country, so having major amusement parks only serve three metropolitan areas while other parts of the state have to travel long distances just to get the the closest major amusement park to them doesn’t make for much convenience outside of those metros. California has 82 roller coasters but nothing else near it. Pennsylvania has 52 but the neighboring states have a combined 145 bringing the total number of roller coasters that Pennsylvania residents can regularly ride up to 197.
@@JVR10893 good point.
As an Ohioan I agree
I live in Indiana and I go to Kings Island every year. I went to Holiday World for the first time in 6 years last year. Both parks are over 2 hours from me (Holiday World being 3 and a half hours away) but the long rides are so incredibly worth it.
I live in Kentucky, and I am surrounded by 2 hour drives for amazing theme parks. Holiday world, Dollywood, Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, 5 hours away from Cedar Point, 5 hours away from Carowinds.
I have been a die hard coaster enthusiast who lives in Pennsylvania who has been going to Hersheypark since I was like 4 and I loved living in the state with Six Flags Great Adventure, Kings Island and Cedar Point just outside the state. I knew it was nice, but man I never knew it was number one. Seriously I thought Ohio or California would get the number one spot, but I guess it makes sense cause we have a LOT of great parks surrounding the state. But, woohoo my state got number one so, ya!
Woohoo I live in the best state. lol didn’t think Pennsylvania would be the number one state.
I wasn’t surprised about PA. The Philly area has two top notch parks in our vicinity, and three high quality smaller parks.
The Pittsburgh area has the Ohio parks and Kenny wood.
DC is also good with Hershey, SFA, Busch, and Kings Dominion.
I figured we'd be near the top, but number one was a bit surprising. Can't say we don't deserve it though since I live at the Western end and am therefore within driving distance of three of the country's best parks and weekend trip distance from like 5 more!
I live in NY so I'm in top 9 not to bad but to get to great adventure took pretty long, the same thing with Hershey XD.
I can believe that living in PA's capital. I'm less than 20 minutes from Hersheypark, 80 minutes from Knoebels, 90 minutes from Dorney Park, 3.5 hours from Kennywood, 2 hours 15 minutes from Six Flags Great Adventure, 3.5 hours from Kings Dominion, etc. Driving to Williamsburg (5 hours) and Cedar Point (6 hours) is doable as well.
honestly i was shocked that illinois did not make at least number 10 they have six flags great america, a short drive to wisconsin dells....
Florida is such an upcoming state for coaster enthusiasts. Iron Gwazi is only the beginning of the wave of new coasters. With a possible 2021 Giga at BGT, Surf Coaster coming to SeaWorld, Tron and Guardians coming to Disney, Hagrids and the Velocicoaster at Universal, new coasters coming to Epic Universe, and a new GCI hybrid coming to Fun Spot America. These are the additions that will be coming in the next 2 years and I can’t wait for what’s to come after!!!
My home state should be on the list, nc, we got carowinds, and we got Busch gardens Williamsburg, and kings dominion just north in Virginia
Oliver Mohler same my fav is kings Dominion Virginia represent
@@Logan_w709 yessir VA is for (coaster) lovers
@@B4rry16 west Virginia is for (cousin) lovers
same i go to carowinds all the time
Oliver Mohler I don’t live in NC but I do think that your state should be on here
#1 is obviously Ohio cuz it’s got Cedar Point and Kings Island
Hey CoasterCraziness 👋🏾
JB Thrills Hey!
Bro its florida
Ryan Moukarram That’s dumb imo Florida is up there but not as good as Ohio
Nah it's Pennsylvania bc it's only a little extra drive for those two from the western side but there's so much more access to other parks
I live in Buffalo, so Six Flags Darien Lake, Canada's Wonderland, Marine Land, Kennywood, Cedar Point, Waldameer, & Conneaut Lake Park, are all within around 3 hours. The jersey parks and some of the other eastern pa parks are close too. I'm very thankful! However overall, I don't like the state lol
You make western NY look so good, the only parks within 3 hrs of me are Darien lake and seabreeze
@@MillenniumForceMan well we both live in different parts of WNY I'm guessing... And no matter what CW is within just over 3 hours where I live
Mr. Roller Coasters CW is 3hr 15min from me, but I still haven’t been there because of the border, I was planning to go there sometime this year but idk if that will happen
Mr. Roller Coasters yea i live in rochester so im near those parks too and most are in in 4-5 hour range
Josiah Thomas I live in Rochester as well but I don’t feel like it’s a great place for coasters
For me I'm in p.a. the Ohio and New York and Canada parks are only a few hours away. And I have Hershey dorney Knowles the jersey shore parks. Six flags America, New England, and great adventure and lake compounce. All within a short 2 to 4 hour drive
I feel very lucky to live in such a great state for coaster. Texas has a great collection of coasters, and isn’t too terribly far from pretty much everywhere in the US
It kinda is terribly far from everywhere else... Cedar Point, Great Adventure, Magic Mountain, Hersheypark, they are long trips. But Texas definitely has some great coasters
Mr. Roller Coasters I phrased it wrong. It’s no more than like a days drive to most of the major amusement parks
A days drive 😱
Mr. Roller Coasters lol
I think the only coaster enthusiasts who don’t traditionally travel all the way to Cedar Point are the people who live considerably close to King’s Island as they live in the same state and have a heck of an amusement park right nearby. I live right next to Mason but I still hope to go to Cedar Point in the next year.
I'm very fortunate to live near Dallas so Six Flags Over Texas is within an hour drive for me. Plus I can't wait for the new aquaman ride coming this year. (Hopefully)
I live in Pennsylvania, and Hershey is my home park!! Lets GO!!
My home park, that being Indiana Beach, doesn't get too much love. I really liked that you acknowledged that the park has some good coasters, because they 3 CCI woodies are classics, the Schwarzkopf Jet Star is forceful, and Steel Hawg is just pure fun if you don't mind the restraints. I can't wait until the reopening since they have already planned on retracking the Hoosier Hurricane which is pretty rough in the valleys
Has to be California! It has 2 Disney parks, a universal park, a sea world park, and then there’s SFDK, CGAm, Knotts, and of course, SFMM!
Yup imagine living in los angeles
Lol living the perfect enthusiast life here in SoCal
Yep same. Idk how we aren't #1 tbh lol
Here in Anaheim!
@@caleblanting1226 you literally are isolated from the rest of the country's amusement parks. Proximity is a major factor
I live in Western Pa 5 minutes away from Kennywood and I love it here. I can access Kennywood any day, 3 hours away from cedarpoint, 5 hours from Kings Island, a few hours away from Hershey, and about 5 hours from Kings Dominion and Busch Garden, and a 6 hour drive to Great Adventure, I'm not insanely close to anything but kennywood, but I'm in a good spot to make a day trip to so many parks if I get up early.
*Edit:* Holy Crap, wasn't expecting PA to be #1
I was expecting mabee 10th lol to bad he keeps mispronouncing knobles
My home state New Jersey used to have so many more Roller Coasters but sadly those are scrapped or removed
No Missouri lol RIP my home park SDC
I live in Missouri but I visit sdc more then I visit my home park worlds of fun.
Jack Cash Wenenn same and I live 10 minutes away from worlds of fun
Stryde_Lightning somehow I live closer
Jack Cash Wenenn I don’t blame you I have had season passes there but it starts to get old since they haven’t added a coaster since 2009
Missouri ganggg six flags is my home park but i love SDC SO MUCH
I live in Virginia and work at Busch Gardens and that place is amazing.
Can confirm, NJ is an amazing place to live for roller coasters. SFGA is my home park and Dorney is another solid park within driving distance. We also have great boardwalk coasters such as those at Morey's Pier in Wildwood!
I’m gonna make an argument for why Michigan is a great state for enthusiasts as well: First thing people need to know about Michiganders is we don’t mind making a long drive. Most of our population is 4 hours from Kings Island, 4 and 1/2 hours from Kennywood, 4 hours from Six Flags Great America and Canada’s Wonderland, and just 2 hours from Cedar Point. We also have Michigan’s Adventure which might not have a lot of quality coasters but we do have Shivering Timbers which some consider a top 10 wood coaster. Most of us consider Cedar Point our home park, which is saying something considering it’s bucket list status for coaster enthusiasts. Our centralized location within driving distance of some of the best parks in my opinion makes us a good state for enthusiasts
I live in Philadelphia, and it's an amazing place to live for coaster enthusiasts. Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure, The American Dream, Knoebels, Dorney Park, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion and more!!!
I live in Wilmington Delaware. 15 minutes to the PA line and 15 minutes to MD. I am about and 1hr and 45min from NYC and 1.5hr from DC. 45min from B-more. The mid atlantic region is the place to live. Delawareans hate admitting this but Wilmington Delaware is basically a suburb or twin city with Philly because Philly is only 25-30min away
Love living in PA for a multitude of reasons, but the fact we have so many and are close to so many Roller Coasters is a big one.
I live in southeastern PA. Can confirm it incredible to have so many drivable parks!
I think PA deserves the #1 spot, but I actually think California has an argument since they have a lot of quality parks open all of or most of the year.
Bucks County here. We have the best location!
I live in Maryland. I didn’t think you would point out how we are surrounded by great parks. I’m glad you did your research.
USA is so different than UK, you never hear the phrase 'only a 5 hour drive' here but Alton towers and thrope park are the 2 outsiders really know about, both around 1+ hour drive for me.
When I was a kid I just assumed most of the country had the access to many parks. Later I realized south-east PA was a pretty special spot for coasters.
Man, Illinois almost made the list, I also believe Ohio should be #1 to be honest
I live in Michigan, and Michigan’s adventure is super fun. There is not many rides, but the water park is heaven.
When you were talking about missouri in the beginning of the video and how it is close to Six Flags Great America, Holiday World, and Kentucky Kingdom.
Don’t forget you can also add in Adventurland, Indiana Beach, and Magic Springs!
Living in North Georgia (Atlanta) is amazing since Carowinds and Dollywood are only about 3 hours away and we have SFOG
Proud to be a coaster enthusiast from New York!
I’m in CT, it’s great, driving distance from cedar point, bgw, kings dominion, great adventure, and home park is a cross between Lake Compounce and SF New England
Definitely happy Indiana made the list with The Voyage, Thunderbird and Hoosier Hurricane, Indiana had an awesome chance of making the list.
I've literally ridden every coaster in PA except Iron Menace. It took several years but Pennsylvania and surrounding states weren't cutting it anymore. The solution? Seasonal work with assisted or free housing. Although sometimes heartbreak happens like when I went through Utah in February literally driving past Lagoon, one of the biggest parks I haven't been to. Or how the only ride I've done at Glenwood Caverns is the Alpine Coaster (an AMAZING alpine coaster but still, not getting to do the other coasters or the flat rides that rely on mountaintop placement? Just gotta tell myself: I'll make it there someday.
Six Flags over Georgia is not the closest theme park to the Florida line in the Peach state. We have Wild Adventures in Valdosta that has 34 attractions in total with 7 coasters. It was acquired by your Silver Dollar City owners, Herschend Family Entertainment, in 2007.
Very Good list!!! My home state of PA is absolutely a great place for coasters. Don't Forget PTC (Pennsylvania Toboggan Company) is located in PA so much great history in our state.
I was so excited for coaster con in PA this year to get to experience all the great parks. But it looks like I’ll have to save that for 2021!! I’ve been dying to get out there!
Same here I was so pumped for Coaster-Con can't wait till next year and the tour of PTC.
I grew up in Maryland. Only a 45 minute drive to Six Flags Flags America, 2 hours to both Hershey Park and King's Dominion, and 3 hours to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, it was pretty fantastic.
Even Cedar Point was only a 6 hour drive, perfect for a Weekend trip.
Unfortunately, I live in Utah now. At least I only live 30 minutes from Lagoon, but that's all we have. I am able to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain once a year though (It's like 10 or 11 hours away), so that's not terrible.
I grew up riding roller coasters so moving to Hawaii for 4 and a half years was torture sometimes lol
I live in Chicago. Every year I get season passes to Great America and take the 5 hour drive to Cedar Point. Definitely missing it this summer. 😣
Living near Pittsburgh, I'm just a day trip from:
Kings Island
Kings Dominion
Cedar Point
Kennywood
Six Flags America
Hersheypark
Waldameer
Knoebels
Dorney Park
Six Flags Great Adventure
Ya, that is pretty awesome!!! Star studded line up of thrill parks
And many smaller parks too!
There’s also wild adventures down in Valdosta Georgia that’s a bit closer to the Florida state line. However, six flags over Georgia is bigger and has better coasters than it though.
Yeah that's what I was thinking too, but that park sadly has only 1 unique coaster, Cheetah, which isn't that great. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to visit (and its SLC is actually good) but it makes sense that he didn't mention it. Come on Herschend, give Wild Adventures a bit more love like Silver Dollar City and Dollywood gets
KUH-NOBELS
I'm from Kansas City and honestly having Worlds of Fun as a home park and being within 3-4 hours driving distance of SDC and SFSL is good enough for me.
Being a coaster enthusiast in New York near Darien Lake is a great deal, while there aren't many other parks around in New York, Canada's Wonderland is just up north, Waldameer is about an hour's drive, and the entire state of Pennsylvania is just south.
I'm a young and aspiring coaster enthusiast that lives in PA. Great way to kick off a potential career!!
Couldn't get better than that!
So glad to call Kings Island my home park and have Cedar Point only a 3.5-hour drive away!
As a Pennsylvania resident, being #1 on this list (which I've always said is the case) is the only reason I'm hesitant to move to another state. The amount of parks within 2-3 hours of me is insane, and I can drive to Cedar Point or Kings Dominion within a day (my 2 favorite parks I've been to).
Liked your list! One thing I think you should have mentioned is Florida and California parks do not have an off season. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't ride coasters during the winter here in California. But being separated from all the good East Coast parks is a struggle! Thankfully I go to college East Coast and can hit up the parks during the late summer/fall!
Living in central Connecticut is certainly a great spot. Both Six Flags New England and Lake Compounce are within an hour and a half drive, Great Adventure is a three hour drive on average and a day trip to Hershey, Dorney or Knobels isn't much of a hassle either (besides getting through NYC).
Illinois should be on here, we have SFGAm and... Santas Village. But we are also within a 3 hour drive of Mt. Olympus, Holiday World, SFSL, Adventureland, And Indiana Beach. As well as being 4 hours to Cedar Point and KI, and close to Kentucky Kingdom, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, and Michigan's Adventure.
I think it would be in the top 15 for sure.
Thoughts on making a similar list for major and moderate metropolitan areas? Maybe the further away parks are the less points they score? And 2 areas which have the exact same list of coasters, such as Orlando and Tampa, should be listed in the same ranking?
I live in Ohio, I've never really been so proud I live here, since it feels like California and Florida are just so much better, but this year, I started getting invested into Coasters. I started getting into Cedar Point, and now I think Ohio is one of the best states. Its kinda cool to think so many people come to a place that is not very far away from where i am, under a couple hours, is known as the best amusement park EVER. Its a good feeling, to know that your state is actually way cooler than you first thought about it.
Living in central Tennessee kinda sucks in some regards, with the closest park being Beech Bend almost two hours away, but at least there’s a decent amount of stuff if you’re willing to drive three or four hours, like Kentucky Kingdom, Holiday World, Six Flags over Georgia, and of course Dollywood. I’d still rather be here than most places in the west 😂
I have often heard it said that if you calculate in terms of proximity to the greatest number of great amusement parks, the single greatest city in the entire country is Nashville!
Tennessee is in a sad situation, since they were very dense with parks at one point. Of course you have Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, but Nashville had the fantastic looking Opryland USA and Memphis also had their local park with Libertyland. Such a shame that two parks closed, since if they still existed Tennessee would have a great park collection, especially with Opryland and Dollywood.
I never fancied myself a coaster enthusiast, Waldameer was my home park growing up, but I was literally a days trip or a weekend trip away from SO many parks. I got to go to “six flags Ohio/ sea world in the early 2000’s. I was Just getting into coasters then, so I wasn’t brave enough to get all the credits, but I got quite a few in before it closed lol 😂. Plus in Altoona PA we’ve got the spine chilling leap the dips lol.
The only problem I have with Indiana is that if you live in Indianapolis (like most) there are no parks so you have to commute at least an hour and half (Indiana Beach) to get to any amusement park
TN only has Dollywood but depending on where you live, you could be at Holiday World, Kentucky Kingdom, SF Georgia & Carowinds in well under 3hrs as well as Silver Dollar City, SF St. Louis and King's Island in about 4hrs. Georgia has its own SF plus easy driving to Dollywood, Carowinds & Florida.
Wow, didn’t think they state I lived in would be number one. No wonder I became a coaster enthusiast at such a young age. This was a great video!
I live in Central NY, so I have some pretty good parks near me. Darien Lake, Great Escape, Seabreeze, and some out of state parks like CW, SFGADV, SFNE, and a lot of others. Proud to live in NY!
i live in the Detroit area and i think SW Michigan is pretty good
within two hours of cedar point, 5 hours six flags great america, 4 hours of kings island and 5 hours of kennywood
There’s people who still live in Detroit?
Pretty cool that the state I go to college in (Indiana) and the state I'm originally from (New Jersey), are both on this list. Great job with this video.
Also Disclaimer: The K is not silent in Knoebels so it's actually pronounced K-nobls
Thank you!!
And yes I’m still working on my voice overs after redoing something about 90 times I think I gave up. For some reason I always want to read it as “nobels”. They will get better with more practice.
Destination Thrills 👍
that’s cool!! i live in the same town as purdue
I live in Pittsburgh, PA.. so about 20 minutes from kennywood, 3 hours from cedar point, and 3 hours from Hershey!
I had a feeling PA would be number 1. It really is a great state to be an enthusiast. Not only do we have fantastic major parks, but a lot of quality small amusement parks as well.
I love your vids! Coasters rock! I have been to HW in Santa Clause tons of times!
Not to mention, for NY, id you live in Binghamton you have a three hour drive to Hersheypark!
I went to BU
2 things. Indiana guy here. It really is amazing.
And you said Skyrush wrong. I believe it's called "Thighcrush"
🤣😂 hey I’ll call it thighcrush when I get to one day experience the thighcrushing lol. I was supposed to be doing a whole Pennsylvania theme park road trip this year 😭.
I am Pennsylvania coaster enthusiast but my home park is six flags great adventure because it is only 41 minutes for my house Hershey park is 55 minutes
If I want to see roller coasters, I go to missouri! They have what I call the BEST amusement park!
Pennsylvania definitely looks like the best US state for coasters.
I'm glad that I live in probably one of the best places in Europe for coasters - The Netherlands. The Netherlands has quite a lot of parks, with 3 big ones with Efteling, Walibi Holland and Toverland. Belgium also isn't far away with Walibi Belgium, Plopsaland de Panne, and Bellewaerde. But I think what makes the Netherlands so great, especially the eastern part of the country where I live, is our neighbor Germany. Heide Park, Movie Park Germany, Hansa Park, Holiday Park and Phantasialand are all easily reachable with car via the German Autobahn, especially since Europe is of course much denser and compact then the United States so the distance between parks is much smaller.
You should do best countries for rollercoasters
Sooooo glad you had Maryland on the list. Its so close to so many parks. Only a 5 hour drive to cedar point aswell!
This list is perfect! 👍
Thank you!!
Kentucky is actually a really good state, you get to be super close to Ohio and Indiana, you also have a relatively short drive to Carowinds
Good call on PA.
I live 20 min from Dorney Park with Hershey and Great Adventure only 1 1/2 hours away. I’ve been going to these parks since I was a kid.
Cedar Point is my home park! I'm hoping amusement parks open soon because I am missing the coasters and we have a gold pass lmao.
You could have made Missouri a honorable mention at least! You have three big parks Six Flags St Louis,Worlds Of Fun,Silver dollar city. The parks that surround the state are kentucky kingdom and Holiday world
@@matthewbright1939 ok I did. Also you have Dollywood surrounding missouri
11:29 u mest up, u said it has the longest coaster in the world instead of longest wood coaster in the world!
Yes! Ugh, I thought I said longest “wooden” coaster. That’s what happens when you redo the same take too many times 🤦♂️
Destination Thrills happens haha
Patexer I thought it was longest period
@@kevinthompson6986 welp too bad its not
@@kevinthompson6986 It was for quite some time until The Ultimate opened in 1991.
Definitely grateful to be a coaster lover here. However, it pretty much (one of) the only good things about living in Pennsylvania haha.
Hershey Park was my first job! But I moved so now my home parks are Dorney and six flags great adventure....I live right in-between both.
Days of the year the parks are open should also factor in. A park in the north might only be open for the summer but states like California, Texas, and Florida have them open every day.
I'll take the Derby City location over any location. Cedar Point (6 hours), Kings Island (2 hours), Holiday World (1.5 hours), Kentucky Kingdom (20 minutes), and Dollywood (4 hours).
Just saying, West Virginia is an underrated place. We live without driving distance of kings dominion, kings island, cedar point, Kentucky kingdom, kennywoood, etc.
Even is Carowinds is surprising not that far from WV, and you have Camden Park.
@@MrSRArter yeah that’s true. But man, as much as I love it, Camden park sucks. It’s old and rickety and the whole place smell like sewage
Southern WV, right in the center of Cedar Point, King's Island, King's Dominion, Hershey Park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Carowinds, etc 😉👌
Downside is there is no "home park." Min 3 hours to any of the big neighbors
I'm from Illinois and Illinois is the best hands down. I'm a Six Flags Great America Fanboy, don't judge.Lol
Jared Alba yeah was waiting for him to call Illinois as Illinois and southern Wisconsin are within driving distance of all of the best midwestern parks(including cedar point).
I won’t let anybody change my opinion on this but Cedar Point is my second home park. After SFGAm
I live near 6flags great america and cedar point and kings island is about 6 hours away from here. So that's kinda far to be a second home park.
Mike P but in the video he said that Missouri was “near “ Cedar point and kings island so (shrug).
Living right outside of NY is really nice I 1-2 hours I have Luna,SFNE,SGADV,Moreys,Hershey,Dorney,and a couple more. I can drive that 3-5 hours and hit up any of the PA parks ,CP and many more parks. AD is 20 minutes away
I would think Delaware would be a great state despite not having a coaster, since it's close to Dorney Park, Hershey Park, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags America, Kings Dominion, and all the boardwalk parks in NJ.
Who wants to wait until the summer...Cali Texas and Florida you can ride year round. It may rain in Florida but it usually last 10 or 15 minutes and you're done.
I live in Ohio and I am a big CP enthusiast. I get proud that I have a park that has awesome coasters. I been to Kennywood and would love to visit other parks.