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Best Theme Parks You Have Visited?

Started by CoreySamson, September 01, 2021, 03:19:56 PM

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CoreySamson

Similar to the waterparks thread, but this one's for theme parks.

My personal favorite is Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I want to visit Carowinds, Cedar Point, and Six Flags Magic Mountain one day, though.
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kphoger

I have a soft spot for Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.

But that's mainly because my wife grew up knowing the owners (Ron and Melissa Herschend), and I got to know them too for a while.  Heck, one of their daughters was the flower girl in our wedding, and I attended her second birthday party at their house.  It's also because, the first time I met my wife in person (we met online 500 miles apart), Silver Dollar City is one of the places we went on a date.

For what it's worth, Silver Dollar City is a really cool place to be when they turn on all the Christmas lights for the first time.  Super crowded, but still cool.  The one year we went there for that, we had to park several miles away in a dirt lot, and we were bussed (standing room only) into the park from there.
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WillWeaverRVA

Knoebels in Elysburg, PA is severely underrated. It's an excellent amusement park despite being in the middle of nowhere.
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Rothman

I am a big fan of Cedar Point.

That said, comparing Knoebels to any of the behemoths out there seems inappropriate.  For every enthusiast that loves the coaster and ride selection at Cedar Point or Six Flags, another would enjoy the cheaper experience at Knoebels or other fair-like parks.

Haven't been to Kennywood, Carowinds or Six Flags Magic Mountain yet.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

renegade

Quote from: Rothman on September 01, 2021, 04:05:30 PM
I am a big fan of Cedar Point.

That said, comparing Knoebels to any of the behemoths out there seems inappropriate.  For every enthusiast that loves the coaster and ride selection at Cedar Point or Six Flags, another would enjoy the cheaper experience at Knoebels or other fair-like parks.

Haven't been to Kennywood, Carowinds or Six Flags Magic Mountain yet.
I used to favor Kings Island near Cincinnati.  I was a season pass holder during the Paramount years, but I think they destroyed the park.  Cedar Fair did nothing to fix things, other than to raise prices.  I haven't been there since 2006 or so.
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jmacswimmer

Heavily biased towards Hersheypark (having grown up an hour and a half away) - all the new roller coasters they keep finding ways to squeeze in are nothing short of impressive.  The newest, Candymonium, might be the smoothest roller coaster I've ever been on!

Also been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2017, Kennywood in 2019 (mere weeks before Steel Curtain opened, so need to go back and ride that) and Cedar Point 3 1/2 months ago (and in hindsight, glad I got the chance to ride Top Thrill Dragster when I did).

Carowinds & Six Flags Great Adventure are both on my hitlist for the future - in particular, I want to try out Kingda Ka and see how it compares to Dragster.  Also need to return to Cedar Point - due to lines, the only 4 roller coasters we managed to hit were Valravn, Millennium Force (especially long line due to on-and-off problems with the cable lift), Magnum XL-200, & Dragster.  Fast lane might just be worth it next time :-D
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Rothman

Quote from: renegade on September 01, 2021, 04:40:47 PM
Quote from: Rothman on September 01, 2021, 04:05:30 PM
I am a big fan of Cedar Point.

That said, comparing Knoebels to any of the behemoths out there seems inappropriate.  For every enthusiast that loves the coaster and ride selection at Cedar Point or Six Flags, another would enjoy the cheaper experience at Knoebels or other fair-like parks.

Haven't been to Kennywood, Carowinds or Six Flags Magic Mountain yet.
I used to favor Kings Island near Cincinnati.  I was a season pass holder during the Paramount years, but I think they destroyed the park.  Cedar Fair did nothing to fix things, other than to raise prices.  I haven't been there since 2006 or so.
Last time I was at Kings Island was in the early 1980s and I rode the Beastie as my first roller coaster ever when I was about six. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Daniel Fiddler


Rothman

Quote from: Daniel Fiddler on September 01, 2021, 09:05:56 PM
Six Flags Great Adventure
What others have you been to?  We went to Great Adventure this year and, yes, it was fun, but line management didn't seem up to par:  Flash Pass line to Kingda Ka was a mob and they kept sending "delayed" messages to the gadgets.

Fun place, but, for me, there are better parks out there.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Revive 755

Quote from: kphoger on September 01, 2021, 03:28:48 PM
I have a soft spot for Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.

I think it is still a great park, but I miss Lost River of the Ozarks.  Mystic River Falls just doesn't seem the same.

(This opinion is subject to significant revision if they remove the Flooded Mine).

bandit957

I liked Americana better than Kings Island. But Americana is gone now.

I sort of feel like I fit in better with the Americana crowd, which was more blue-collar. The Kings Island crowd was more preppy.
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bandit957

I'll never forget the time about 25 years ago when I saw a "Weird Al" Yankovic look-alike at Americana. I was there with a big family group, and we all rode the little train. As the train was coasting to a halt, there was a big line of people waiting to get on the train. I noticed the Weird Al look-alike standing there, and before I could say anything, my mom whispered, "That guy looks like Weird Al."

'Twas kinda neat!
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bandit957

Also, it seems like fairs are usually better than the really big amusement parks. I think fairs tend to attract more of a blue-collar audience, like the smaller amusement parks.

I went to the Ohio State Fair back in 1996, and I know I went to something that was sort of like a city fair in a nearby town once or twice.
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Roadgeekteen

Not a big fan of Theme Parks, Disney's Hollywood studios was cool I guess.
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kphoger

Quote from: bandit957 on September 02, 2021, 04:58:27 PM
Also, it seems like fairs are usually better than the really big amusement parks. I think fairs tend to attract more of a blue-collar audience, like the smaller amusement parks.

I went to the Ohio State Fair back in 1996, and I know I went to something that was sort of like a city fair in a nearby town once or twice.

The Sandwich Fair (DeKalb County, IL) is an excellent non-state fair.
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Male pronouns, please.

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Daniel Fiddler

Quote from: Rothman on September 01, 2021, 10:19:38 PM
Quote from: Daniel Fiddler on September 01, 2021, 09:05:56 PM
Six Flags Great Adventure
What others have you been to?  We went to Great Adventure this year and, yes, it was fun, but line management didn't seem up to par:  Flash Pass line to Kingda Ka was a mob and they kept sending "delayed" messages to the gadgets.

Fun place, but, for me, there are better parks out there.

I've been to Walt Disney World (all 4 major parks), both Universal parks in Orlando, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Dollywood, and several others, those are the ones I can think of off hand.

I guess Six Flags Great Adventure is the best for me due to the memories associated visiting my friend in NYC and NJ.

ET21

Six Flags Great America, mainly due to family/friends memories
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FLRoads

Carowinds is a pretty good theme park, and Fury 325 is by far one of my favorite coasters! The park has a fair amount of roller coasters for the enthusiasts and enough rides for adults and kids to enjoy. In fact I'm going back there in a couple of weeks...Cedar Point is another good park that I would like to get back to one day.

It's been many years since I've been to any Six Flags theme park; Georgia was the last one. I'd like to go visit Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ one day.

And of course living in Florida, I have annual passes to Universal Orlando and Busch Gardens/Sea World, and frequent them from time to time. I am a big fan of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Sea World, both for the rides (Mako is my favorite at Sea World and toss up between Cheetah Hunt, Sheikra and Falcons Fury at BG Tampa). I do prefer BG Williamsburg over BG Tampa for the landscape and scenery though.

As far as any Disney parks go, I favor Disneyland versus Disney World. If (and when) I get back out to California I want to visit some of their other theme parks, including Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, California Great Adventure, Sea World, and Universal.

kphoger

Quote from: ET21 on September 03, 2021, 09:28:48 AM
Six Flags Great America, mainly due to family/friends memories

I remember great rides of the past, too:  Rolling Thunder, and especially Shock Wave.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

renegade

Quote from: SafeSpeeder on September 06, 2021, 02:43:30 PM
I also want to visit Carowinds to get on that Fury325 rollercoaster. So far Great Adventure and New England are the only Six Flags parks I've been to. Great Adventure used to be good for El Toro alone before it broke down. I was on it the day before it derailed and it felt bumper than usual, especially for the "smoothest woodentl coaster in the world". To be honest though, flooring it on the highway to get there is the best ride.
No.  You have to go through Virginia to get there, and you have said previously that you would never drive there.   :ded:
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renegade

Quote from: SafeSpeeder on September 06, 2021, 03:25:56 PM
What makes you think I'd drive there from NJ? That's 685 miles at least. And you don't necessarily have to go through Virginia. Circumventing it would only be a hundred or two miles extra. Anything over 500 I fly.
Still gotta drive to get there.  It's in North (asn south) Carolina, and you said you'd never travel to those states, either.   :ded:
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doorknob60

#21
For the "Theme Park" side, counting theming and everything, it's definitely Disneyland. I've also been to Magic Kingdom, but Disneyland is like a better version IMO. California Adventure and Hollywood Studios are both good, but not at the same level as the "castle parks" IMO. Same goes for Universal Orlando (both parks). Best themed areas winner goes to Galaxy's Edge (Star Wars) and Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

For pure amusement parks, focused on thrill rides, nothing beats Cedar Point. Kings Island is really excellent though and I like it almost as much. I've been to Six Flags Magic Mountain but it was a decade ago, I don't remember it too much. Hopefully going back next year so I can judge it, but I don't think it will quite beat out those two. I've been to some other good parks like SF Great Adventure and Carowinds, but they're not quite on the same level.

Honorable mention to Dollywood, it's not as good of a "theme park" as Disney/Universal, and not as good an "amusement park" as Cedar Point or Kings Island, but it's a great middle ground, lots of good thrill rides, but good theming and atmosphere. I'd like to visit Silver Dollar City someday, looks like that might be even better.

Since people on this forum like to count counties and highway clinches and stuff like that, if anyone wants to see my ridden coasters list, here it is, I'm at 105 now: https://coaster-count.com/user/26910/ridden

jgb191

Magic Mountain is on the top of my wish list followed by Busch Gardens (the one near) Williamsburg in Virginia as the second on my wish list.  Other ones I haven't been to but are also on my wish list include Holiday World, Cedar Point, Islands of Adventure (Universal), Busch Gardens Tampa.

Of all the coasters I've been on my favorites are Titan at Six Flags over Texas in Arlington and the original Texas Giant (same park as Titan).  Other favorites include Renegade (Valleyfair), Raging Bull and American Eagle (both at SF Great America), Mind Bender (Six Flags Georgia), and Superman Krypton Coaster (SF Fiesta Texas).
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abefroman329

Alton Towers. Great collection of rollercoasters, and you don't have the price-gouging that you see at many theme parks in the US.



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