One of my favorite gags in the 2011 movie The Muppets shows the gang moving almost instantly from Illinois to France to pick up Miss Piggy by hitting the "Travel by Map" option in their car.
After visiting Los Angeles County's theme parks yesterday, we're heading to the Midwest to ride eight of the top 50 roller coasters in the world, according to our fellow Theme Park Insider readers. Taking our cue from The Muppets, what better way to get there than traveling by map?
If there's no snow on the ground, I'll take the I-70 option to go through the ever-scenic Colorado Rocky Mountains, including that stretch through Glenwood Canyon that I mentioned in our first virtual trip post. But if you're a Disney fan, you can visit a whole bunch of locations that inspired Cars Land via the I-40 route. Take your pick. Because whatever you choose, our next stop is Santa Claus, Indiana's Holiday World.
When the parks reopen, I hope Google hires someone to update the Street View inside the nation's parks. But I hope that Google also keeps these older tours, such as the pre-Thunderbird look offered now. How much fun would it pick a year for your self-guided virtual tour?
Speaking of Thunderbird, America's first Bolliger & Mabillard launched wing coaster is our first stop of the day.
Has it really been five years since this beauty opened? That was my most recent IRL visit to Holiday World, so it's already been way too long since my last trip to America's most customer-friendly theme park. I had planned to visit for the opening of Cheetah Chase this spring, but don't we all have a lot of plans that are up in the air right now?
So, for now, I will console myself with a video ride on one of the OG "hybrid" coasters, The Voyage.
And maybe cool off with a 360-degree video ride on the park's Wildebeest water coaster.
I always like to get my early Thanksgiving dinner at Plymouth Rock Cafe, but then it's time to get back on the road, as we're driving east toward Cincinnati and Kings Island.
Like most of these Street Views, this one's about 10 years old, with a SBNO Son of Beast.
So let's visit a coaster you won't find on your Google walk-through the park, the GCI Mystic Timbers.
And we won't want to miss the Bolliger & Mabillard hyper Diamondback.
Can't wait for its younger, taller, faster brother, Orion, to open.
Some in our group demand that we stop for a Graeter's ice cream before we leave. After that, though, we're heading up across Ohio to America's Roller Coast, Cedar Point.
Let's walk through some park history via the Street View on our way to the best roller coaster on the planet, the RMC conversion of Mean Streak, Steel Vengeance.
If you want another angle, check out our analysis and Reverse POV video, too. (Count the number of times that James' hoodie hood flies up.)
Cedar Point is a coaster paradise, with so many of fans' top-rated coasters, including Millennium Force...
Maverick...
and Top Thrill Dragster.
Heck, just enjoy dozens of the park's roller coasters and thrill rides with Cedar Point's official POV playlist.
And remember, for when the parks reopen, our travel partner offers discounted tickets on its Kings Island and Cedar Point tickets pages.
Theme Park Insider's Virtual Roadtrip:
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