CONTACT US

Contact Form

    News Details

    The ultimate theme park road trip: 269 rides at 11 parks for $65
    • April 14, 2026

    You can get into 11 theme parks this summer for a grand total of $65 if you’re willing to embark on the ultimate thrill seeker’s road trip that will include 39 roller coasters plus 230 more rides — as long as you’re willing to drive 2,850 miles.

    The Enchanted Parks regional amusement park chain is offering a $65 season pass that’s good for unlimited visits to five theme parks and six water parks throughout 2026 — and it includes free parking.

    Sign up for our Park Life newsletter and find out what’s new and interesting every week at Southern California’s theme parks. Subscribe here.

    ALSO SEE: Six Flags sells 7 smaller parks

    Of course, you’re going to have to pay for gas, lodging and maybe a rental car. But the dirt cheap cost of admission will help keep the overall price down on this ultimate theme park road trip.

    EPR Properties purchased several small amusement parks from Six Flags for $331 million in March to establish the Enchanted Parks chain of regional parks in the United States.

    The new $65 Enchanted Hero Pass gets you into these 11 parks for the 2026 season:

    • Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor (New York)
    • Michigan’s Adventure and Wildwater Adventure (Michigan)
    • Valleyfair and Soak City (Minnesota)
    • Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun (Missouri)
    • Six Flags St. Louis and Hurricane Harbor (Missouri)
    • Schlitterbahn Galveston (Texas)

    Enchanted Parks will continue to use the Six Flags and Schlitterbahn brand names for the rest of 2026 before renaming the parks for the 2027 season.

    I’ve mapped out a route to all six Enchanted locations that will take you through 10 states (and one Canadian province) from Upstate New York and across the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

    ALSO SEE: Top 10 new theme park attractions in the U.S. for 2026

    The 2,850-mile long route will take you 45 hours by car or 13 hours by plane.

    The air route is possible but likely more trouble than it’s worth — since you’d have to rent a car and drive to the park and back to the airport at each stop. And whatever time you saved flying would likely be spent navigating airport terminals and rental car counters.

    Here’s what to look forward to at each stop on the ultimate thrill seeker’s road trip.

    The Bobcat roller coaster at Six Flags Great Escape. (Courtesy of Six Flags)
    The Bobcat roller coaster at Six Flags Great Escape. (Courtesy of Six Flags)

    Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor

    New York

    I decided to start the trip at Six Flags Great Escape since it was at the logical end of any route you’re likely to take. You can set up your trip anyway you want, but this road trip starts in the northeast, heads west and then south.

    The thrill ride collection at Six Flags Great Escape features a Mack Rides Music Express, Huss Condor, Larson Fireball and Chance Wipeout. There’s also a wonderful Thunder Alley car ride with a selection of 1950s Cadillacs and Chevys with tailfins.

    ALSO SEE: Top 10 new theme park attractions in the world for 2026

    The park started in 1954 as Storytown USA and some of the classic Storytown Houses and the Alice in Wonderland walk-through attraction still remain today.

    Great Escape has a pair of wooden coasters on two ends of the age spectrum — the 1994 Comet and 2024 Bobcat. The Comet still ranks among Amusement Today’s Top 50 wooden coasters.

    There’s also a classic 1984 Arrow steel coaster called the Steamin’ Demon.

    The 1998 Shivering Timbers wooden coaster at Michigan's Adventure. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks via the official Michigan's Adventure Twitter account)
    The 1998 Shivering Timbers wooden coaster at Michigan’s Adventure. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks via the official Michigan’s Adventure Twitter account)

    Michigan’s Adventure and Wildwater Adventure

    Michigan

    Getting from Six Flags Great Escape to Michigan’s Adventure will take you across the Great Lakes. The 700-mile drive will take about 12 hours. You’ll be going right past Canada’s Wonderland if you want to add a stop in the middle to break up the long drive.

    Michigan’s Adventure opened in 1956 as Deer Park and the classic ride collection still includes a Music Express-style flying bobsled, Chance Trabant and Tilt-A-Whirl.

    ALSO SEE: Kings Island brings back the Phantom Theater ride with a new twist

    The trio of wooden coasters includes the 1998 Shivering Timbers, 1988 Wolverine Wildcat and 1994 Zach’s Zoomer kiddie ride. The 5,383-foot-long Shivering Timbers is the fourth longest wooden coaster in the world and still ranks high in Amusement Today’s list of the Top 50 wooden coasters.

    There’s also a classic 1979 Arrow steel Corkscrew coaster.

    An evening view of the Valleyfair amusement park in Minnesota. (Courtesy of Valleyfair/Cedar Fair/Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)
    An evening view of the Valleyfair amusement park in Minnesota. (Courtesy of Valleyfair/Cedar Fair/Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)

    Valleyfair and Soak City

    Minnesota

    The 600-mile trip from Michigan’s Adventure to Valleyfair will take about 10 hours. You could add a stop at Six Flags Great America if you need a break — and want to ride even more coasters.

    Valleyfair’s classic ride collection includes a Chance Trabant and a Tilt-A-Whirl — both from 1976.

    ALSO SEE: $16 million Viking themed land coming to U.K. theme park

    The 230-foot-tall North Star swing tower serves as one of the tallest icons of the park.

    The aging but varied coaster lineup includes a pair of 1980s Arrow steel coasters (Corkscrew and Excalibur), a pair of wooden coasters (Renegade and High Roller), an Intamin U-shaped shuttle coaster (Steel Venom) and a massive 5,460-foot-long out-and-back beast (Wild Thing). Renegade was ranked among the best new rides of 2007 by Amusement Today when the coaster first debuted.

    The Skyliner Ferris wheel at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)
    The Skyliner Ferris wheel at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)

    Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun

    Missouri

    The 400-mile drive from Valleyfair to Worlds of Fun will take about 6 hours. Iowa has two wonderful small parks — Adventureland and Lost Island — if you want to take a slight detour.

    Worlds of Fun has a great collection of thrill rides that includes a Huss Troika (Mustang Runner), Huss Enterprise (Zulu), Huss-style Swing Around (Fjord Fjarlane) and Intamin Flying Dutchman.

    ALSO SEE: Disneyland files confidential demolition permits for Avatar land

    The 300-foot-tall Mondial Tower Swinger that started life at Knott’s Berry Farm as Windseeker now calls Worlds of Fun home as Steelhawk.

    Riptide Raceway at Oceans of Fun was the world’s longest mat racing slide when it debuted in 2021.

    The Mamba roller coaster at Worlds of Fun amusement park in 2020 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
    The Mamba roller coaster at Worlds of Fun amusement park in 2020 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

    Worlds of Fun has a pretty stellar coaster collection for a smaller park.

    The Prowler wooden coaster by Great Coasters International was Amusement Today’s best new ride of 2009.

    Timber Wolf was a top rated wooden coaster when it debuted in 1989.

    ALSO SEE: Knott’s Berry Farm to open reimagined Montezooma coaster this summer

    The 2023 Zambezi Zinger wood/steel hybrid is the newest coaster at the park.

    The 1998 Mamba (5,600-foot-long out and back) and 2006 Patriot (Bolliger & Mabillard inverted) round out the collection. Amusement Today once ranked Mamba among the Top 50 steel coasters in the world.

    The Spinsanity thrill ride at Six Flag St. Louis. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)
    The Spinsanity thrill ride at Six Flag St. Louis. (Courtesy of Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)

    Six Flags St. Louis and Hurricane Harbor

    Missouri

    Going from Worlds of Fun to Six Flags St. Louis is the shortest trip of all. It should take about 4 hours to tackle the 250-mile drive.

    The thrill ride collection at Six Flags St. Louis includes a Larson Super Loop, Funtime Star Flyer and Zamperla Endeavour.

    ALSO SEE: Is Universal Studios Hollywood’s new $59 dining pass worth it? We do the math

    The trio of wooden coasters is worth the trip.

    The Screamin’ Eagle was the tallest (110 feet), longest (3,872 feet) and fastest (62 mph) wooden coaster in the world when it debuted in 1976, according to Roller Coaster Database.

    The Boss roller coaster at Six Flags St. Louis. (Courtesy of Six Flags)
    The Boss roller coaster at Six Flags St. Louis. (Courtesy of Six Flags)

    The 4,631-foot-long Boss remains one of the world’s longest wooden coasters.

    The 2008 American Thunder was originally themed to daredevil Evel Knievel.

    The 1998 Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast (Premier shuttle looper) and 1995 Batman the Ride (B&M inverted) complete the coaster collection.

    The Boogie Bahn ride at Schlitterbahn Galveston water park in Texas. (Courtesy of Schlitterbahn/Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)
    The Boogie Bahn ride at Schlitterbahn Galveston water park in Texas. (Courtesy of Schlitterbahn/Six Flags/Enchanted Parks)

    Schlitterbahn Galveston

    Texas

    The 800-mile trek from Six Flags St. Louis to Schlitterbahn Galveston is a long slog that will take you 13 hours. The good news is there are several great parks along the way — including Silver Dollar City and Six Flags Over Texas — that you could use to break up the trip.

    Schlitterbahn Galveston boasts two water coasters — Dragon Blaster and Massiv Monster Blaster. Massiv was named the best new water park ride of 2016 by Amusement Today.

    Schlitterbahn uses a clever Aquaveyer conveyor belt that lets you stay in your inner tube as you transition from one area of the park to another.

    ​ Orange County Register 

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    News
    CONTACT INFO
    3621 W. MacArthur Blvd
    Suite 107
    Santa Ana, CA 92704
    QUICK LINKS
    SERVICES
    CURRENT NEWS

    © 2024 Telepeer Cloud Business Communications. All Rights Reserved.

    Crafted with Love: DigiCorns