h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I can think of several amusement parks in Pennsylvania that are lots of fun to go to -- here's a lovely list for you.

Knoebels: Older, family-oriented amusement park, with the option of paying for each ride as you go or paying for a pass that lets you go on all the rides, as much as you want (there's no fee just to enter the park). It has a large picnic area with lots of pavillions, so you can bring your own food in if you want. There's three roller coasters (two wooden and one steel). The older wooden coaster, the Phoenix, was recently rated one of the top ten coasters (nation or world wide, I don't remember). And it's lots of fun-even better after it rains! My sister and I have been known to get off the ride and run around to the end of the line again. This park has the BEST bumper cars-they're the fastest I've ever been on! Also, there is an old carousel - the kind where if you ride on the outside, you can try to catch the rings on your finger for a free ride - very fun! There's even a haunted house that you ride through. I went on it once, and screamed (with my eyes shut) the entire time. I don't want to go on that thing ever again! Especially since it was raining after I got out and that just added to my terror... There's several places for food, selling the usual amusement park types of food -- hot dogs, pizza, pretzels. Also, if you want to spend more than a day at the park, or live really far away, the park also includes a campgrounds. You can use your own trailer type of thing, or you can rent a cabin (small or double sized). The larger cabins can house at least 16 people (there's 8 double beds). The campgrounds include restrooms and showers (although it's difficult to use the shower, the water turns off after a few minutes to conserve resources...

Hersheypark: This park, run by the same Hershey company that makes chocolate, has several coasters (about 10), including an "interactive" water coaster (which I've heard isn't that great, but I have yet to ride it), a racing coaster (two trains race through pretty much the same ride), and a suspended steel coaster. There's also a coaster that is pulled back, then let go to go through a series of loops and turns, then sent back through this, only backwards. Not to worry, there is an extremely tame coaster (though not really a kiddie ride) for the easily nauseated. There's a large assortment of other rides, from bumper cars to the scrambler to water slides, and several areas of kiddie rides. There are numerous shops, selling a variety of chocolate and park themed objects (or, more often than not, chocolate). There are games to play (and usually lose your money on) and a water show, and various concerts on special days. The park also has a zoo that you can walk through, and you may go to Chocolate World -- a ride-through tour about how Hershey chocolate is made. All the concession stands sell the normal food, and almost always, Hershey's chocolate milk. One rule-you may not bring in your own food-it's not allowed. Unfortunately, this park is almost always very crowded, and one will therefore stand in long lines for the most popular rides (usually roller coasters). However, one year, when I went for a physics day, there were virtually no lines, and my friends and I rode one of the coasters (the Comet - a wooden air-time ride) 14 times - in a row. We didn't even have to get out of our seats!

Dutch Wonderland: This is another family-oriented park. It was recently taken over by Hersheypark and given a facelift, but it is still a good park (I think). Most of the rides are tame, for the children. There are two coasters-nothing fancy, but thrilling when you aren't even five feet high. There are diving shows and boat rides, and picnic tables for your enjoyment (so you can bring in your own food). The food stands sell normal amusement park food. There used to be, though I'm not sure if he's still there, a real Native American chief. A major attraction is the giant slide-it takes a while to run to the top, and the ride lasts only a minute, but it's a fun thrill, and very worthy of riding over and over and over and over and over... This park is aimed towards the younger generation, but it's still a fun place to go.

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom: This park has something for everybody, from kiddies rides to menacing rollercoasters. The food is typical, but there's nothing wrong with that. There is also a large water park-with kiddie pools and water slides galore! It's a good park to spend the day at, maybe even watch a show or see a concert. The lines are relatively long, but they usually move pretty fast. There is one coaster, I believe it's called Hercules, that whips you around a lot (it's a wooden coaster). Be careful-my neck and back were a little sore afterwards...

As far as I remember, all of these parks have clean facilities and polite staff. Any time you visit eastern Pennsylvania, I would definitely recommend attending at least one of these parks!!