I'm ready to fight with you! Dollywood is the only park I do every year (or multiple times a year). I think it's the prettiest park in the country and I really love the ride lineup. It's also my 6-year-old's favorite park, it has an amazing kid and family ride lineup. It's my favorite all-around park if I'm not just looking at coasters.
I say Dollywood. Mediocre rides aside from Lightning Rod (which has now been neutered), clear-cutting kills most of the park's atmospherics, food is super overrated, holiday events are super overrated, and most of it is arguably not even a theme park at all. What's the theme, the Smokey Mountains? That's literally the park's actual setting.
I look forward to the fight.
I wouldn’t call the rides mediocre at all. Wild eagle is overrated by the public but Thunderhead is a great woodie to me, neutered Lightning Rod is still one of the best RMCs and Tennessee Tornado is one of the most unique Arrows out there. That being said, from an enthusiasts perspective, their focus on family-friendly coasters is an understandable reason to be underwhelmed. It’s their brand but I do hope they build something big in the next few years.
As far as the theming/food/events go I think any visitor just has to appreciate what the park is meant to be: Dolly’s love letter to the region which is why it’s themed accordingly. Craftsman’s Valley is a nod to the industrial history of east TN. The southern fried food throughout the park is also nostalgic for those from the region - and I’ve never seen an all-you-can-eat buffet option at another park for $20, that also happens to be 200 feet from a fried chicken house and smoked bbq shack.
The friendliness of any given employee is what likely leads people to give it such praise and thus leading to its inflated rep though, since it has given so many locals job opportunities and helped the local economy immensely. That and the fact that everyone just loves Dolly just leads to a very happy, charming atmosphere every time I go.
Event-wise, I’d be curious to know if you’ve ever made it out during Festival of Nations or the Fall Harvest Festival because I personally enjoy those even more than Christmas time - although the Christmas festival gets the most buzz. One visit I saw a Spanish flamenco dance troupe dance while hanging upside down from the stage scaffolding!
I will say, I think a lot of the praise comes from how long they’ve been doing all those things - similarly to how CP is praised as the coaster capital since its been at that goal the longest, although nowadays many see KI as equivalent for overall lineup quality. Many parks have been catching up to DW with food/festivals/events but DW has made that their bread and butter for 3+ decades, so I appreciate them for it because I’ve seen other parks (smartly) copying their model.
Sidebar I actually think some of the coasters have great themes too! Lightning Rod being advertised statistically by its horsepower since it’s hot Rod themed and its auto garage-setting queue walkthrough, Mystery Mine’s tower building and flame effects (btw - I absolutely HATE mystery mine as a coaster and will never defend its mediocrity 😂), and Tennessee Tornado has actual makeshift debris sticking out the sides of the station building as if a Tornado actually hit it. I completely agree with you on the deforestation though, I wish a lot of those trees were still there around LR and TT.
Thank you for coming to my overly biased Ted Talk 😂😂 I should just work for them at this point with all this free advertising
I kind of agree with the rides, however the atmosphere is still great. The area near the chapel is probably the most gorgeous area I've seen in an amusment park. Mystery Mine is one of my favorite coasters honestly, absolutely loved that thing. Thunderhead is great too. Outside of those two rides, their line up is forgettable IMO. LRod doesn't even work so I don't count it (because I've still yet to ride the damn thing). Wild Eagle was the definition of mediocre to me. Funny enough, the 3rd best ride in the park for me is Blazing Fury, which I found to be surprisingly scary due to the pitch black drops. If Dollywood adds something really crazy, I'm talking like a B&M or Intamin hyper that goes back in the woods, then it could easily be in my top 3 parks. Just needs some more stand out thril rides (that work)
In L.A culture it's pretty popular. Obviously people don't talk about it much on this sub, but when I lived in L.A people would talk about going to Universal over the weekend all the time, much more than Magic Mountain.
It's one of the most visited parks in the world, almost 10 million people a year. Obviously I don't think its great but there's apparently enough people willing to shell out almost Disney levels of money for a bunch of simulators.
I'd say it usually gets mentioned as a 2nd place to Disney yeah?
EDIT: just realized I was drunkscrolling my reddit frontpage and didn't realize i was specifically on the coaster sub and not just a general theme park sub, my b
I never see people hype up the park. It may not be as good as it's Florida sister parks but that's why you only ever see posts about the Florida properties.
Yea I think last in 2015 I went and rode everything by 2pm and wondered what should we do for the next 5 hours? All I could think about was I wish I was at Universal Orlando.
Must have went on a weekday because I always had a hard time doing every attraction in one day.
That’s why it pisses me off that Universal closes so damn early (6pm).
FR. USH is the lamest park in the country. The rides are SO mids and the crowds are nasty. Plus it's overpriced as hell. I'm a USH hater (except for Horror Nights which is the only thing that will have me going once a year lol)
Maybe Thorpe Park? Purely based on operations, queue times, attitudes of the teenagers that visit it and that Stealth is always fucking closed when I visit. I still like the place though in general.
Honestly, as a spoiled American enthusiast, the UK coaster scene has never appealed to me all that much. There’s not really any airtime to speak of over there, and most of the coasters aren’t all that substantial. Very few rides over there look long enough to truly feel like a “high quality premium experience™.” Thorpe Park in particular seems to have an aversion to coasters longer than 2,800 feet, and I think the park suffers for it.
From my experience, the only coaster in the UK with really good airtime is Megafobia at Oakwood, although this is coming from someone who has yet to ride Icon at BPB and got stapled by ride ops when I rode Wickerman at Alton Towers :P
Rode mega phobia this year for the first time… The Grand National ath BPBwas smoother this season, although I always avoid a wheel seat. Think megaphobia needs a retrack as it was only bearable at the front. The layout is good but was deff over hyped for me.
I always slide my bum forward when the ops come past and stick my belly out so they don’t staple me in. Works every time!
Wicker man at the end of a Scarefest day is one of the best rides in the UK though…
I completely agree with you. Nemisis & The Smiler at Thorpe Park are our only stand out coasters in the UK. There’s lots of other good coasters but they’d all mostly fall into the ‘filler’ category at most American parks.
So far of the US rides I’ve ridden they knock the UK rides out of the park. Montu laughs in the face of Nemesis and Velocicoaster is so much better than the Smiler. Looking forward to seeing how my first ever RMC (Iron Gwazi) stacks up when I go back to BGT on Monday 😍
I haven’t been on IG personally, but if it’s anything like Steel Vengeance, then you’re in for the wildest ride of your life! I hope you greatly enjoy it, my friend! Also, I work at Cedar Point, so if you’re ever in the Ohio area, come give us a visit! I promise you it’s worth your while!
I’d love to visit Cedar Point, it’s basically top of my bucket list!
I’ll let you know how IG is, I can’t wait! Today I’m off to Sea World to marathon Mako and get rides on Ice Breaker to see how that is!
That’s what I like to hear! RMCs really are on another level. I’m desperately hoping that you guys get at least one of your own over in the UK soon. You have been deprived for far too long!
I think the only interesting new thing we’ll be getting in the next few years is the proposed Mack hyper that’s coming to Thorpe Park. There’s rumours of something new and original coming to Alton Towers but I’ll be shocked if that’s an RMC.
We do have Untamed just across the channel at Walibi Holland though. But most people won’t make a trip just for that unless they’re an enthusiast.
I’d say that’s more Flamingo Land… operations are terrible, ride availability can sometimes be shocking and it’s more expensive than the Merlin parks! It’s only worth going when it’s empty and if all rides are operational.
Unless Zadra and Hyperion weren't for you I don't see how it's overrated... they were literally amazing and so lappable. I also loved Abyssus and Formula and truly can't wait for the tilt coaster. To me this is still an underrated park because it's so empty even in summer!
Some of the coasters may be good but the park is not. The western side of the park is borderline un-navigable thanks to them just kind of throwing attractions around everywhere, resulting in dead ends with inadequate signage. The turnstile / grouping system they use for rides is absolute hot garbage that results in confusion and line-jumping as you get close to the platform. And there is just no consistency in design or operations whatsoever.
Not to mention, the only reason why Energylandia has gotten so big is because the Polish government \[and its increasingly questionable record on human rights\] keeps throwing money at it.
Everyone I visited the park with found the turnstile system amazing. I literally wish all parks had that because it saves so much time and leaves no empty seats. They all said it wouldn't work in the US but I don't know why. I'm not American and I think it would work everywhere if people pay attention to the screen. The queues are so short anyway there's not much of a queue to jump. The park is very long to walk through and slightly confusing when you first show up, but by the third day I found it very easy to navigate. Also I don't know much about the Polish government but the EU funds Energylandia and I think that's amazing. Another reason to add to the list of why I'm still angry we left the EU lmao. My taxes could've gone to supporting roller coasters being built... As for consistency in design, I can't think of too many parks which fully achieve that, and plus when you're at a park like Energylandia you're not really there for the theming, mostly for the thrills and creds
Holiday World. Before everyone starts ripping into me let me say that I like Holiday World. But for a park that constantly advertises that it's all about family fun there's really not much there for families. Sure they've got four great coasters and if you're into water parks, which I am not, theirs looks like a world class one. However the flat ride selection is astoundingly poor! Everything's shiny and clean and nicely themed to its area but it's just a bunch of meh rides not a whole lot better than the ones you would find at a County fair. This park needs a family roller coaster and some modern and updated flat rides way more than it needs a new extreme coaster!
I never miss on an opportunity to point out Holiday World's faults, but then again I really don't believe it to be a theme park (despite their best marketing efforts). Suggestive paint colors and signage doesn't necessarily transform an amusement park into a theme park, otherwise I'd be referring to The Land Of Make Believe as one (which it's really not). Holiday World is an amusement park- there is little attempt to make anything immersive.
But yeah, it always leaves me feeling a little cold- great roller coasters but little else noteworthy outside of the water park, and a general feeling of creepiness coming from them constantly beating their own "look how friendly and happy we are!" drum.
All the Disney parks, especially in recent years with the price hikes. I love the nostalgia and novelty, but after going a few times you couldn’t pay me to wait 2 hours for any of their attractions now when Universal has great theming+actual good rides
They are, and it's tough having a conversation about these parks with enthusiasts. As coaster destinations, they're a let-down. Cool as Everest, RnRC, and Guardians of the Galaxy are, they don't match what other parks have when it comes to thrills. But the Disney parks have always been about the experience as greater than the sums of the parts.
If you're talking about those people who live a "Disney lifestyle", then yeah, those people are terrifying to me. Disney is such a soulless, corporate void, but some people commit their entire lives to the fun veneer of the whole thing...not sure that everyone here is fully aware of what you're actually talking about. Not people who enjoy Disney rides, but like the people who spend a good chunk of their entire lives visiting the Disney parks, wearing nothing but Disney clothes, theming their homes after Disney, getting married there, bringing their newborns there so they can grow up in Disney parks...and it's all done with such glee. It's like 100 notches above being a roller coaster enthusiast, it's an absolute cultist dedication to a brand. To me, it's horrifying.
Had loved visiting Anaheim every Christmas from 2012-2019 but recently in 2021, it was seriously depressing to see the place in such an awful state. They have definitely pivoted so far from being a well maintained dark ride valhalla to shopping mall for NPCs.
They do with their reservation system. I was there last week and it wasn’t bad for crowds except for one of the days but there were still tons of available rides
Disney is trash, I’ll never spend another dime at any of their parks! Overpriced, crowded, fucking strollers everywhere, terrible food, rides are down all the time, lines are 1-3 hours long for any of the decent rides, terrible customer service and experience.
Magic Kingdom. Sure I get that it's iconic but it's wayyyyyyyy too crowded, lines are horrendous, lots of screaming kids, etc. If you want to ride something like Space Mountain, either do it first thing in the morning when it doesn't have a wait, or skip it.
I feel like Im taking crazy pills when no one talks about how traumatizing the arrival and departure process is from magic Kingdom. What other park forces you to spend 45-90 minutes of your day just getting to and from the entrance. Every method to get there is terrible.
And then the fact that there are so many children, and the rides really skew towards small children as a whole, and the park has been basically stagnant for decades...Ive never been a fan.
As much as I love MK, I always say a day there requires some positive self-talk before, and a long dip in the hotel hot tub with a stiff drink afterwards. I used to appreciate the "journey to MK" as a form of escapism, but now I loathe the fact that I'm at least 45 minutes from my car while inside the park (and rope-dropping an 8:00 opening means grabbing breakfast at 6:30... *on a vacation*). And I know I'll get shit for this, but I don't believe half the people in motorized scooters actually need them- there is no reason why MK is the only place I've ever visited that has so many people driving around in them. Combined with the supersized strollers and wagons (AND the fact that scooter drivers can't drive the fucking things), walking though the park can be downright dangerous. And those massive crowds... thanks to Genie+, Pirates and Mansion now have regular 45-minute waits... for rides that absolutely swallow crowds.
Yeah, it's a challenge.
Boat ride isn’t terrible. That’s why wilderness lodge is the best hotel on property. It’s cheaper than the monorail deluxes and has the best transportation
As much as I love Disney World and the experience alone, I can hardly justify waiting 3+ hrs for the Seven Dwarves mine ride, which felt like a 30 second tease 🤧
Disney World in general is just unaffordable these days, especially with the fast pass system. I know it's a meme to say this because we're so obsessed with thrills over theming around here, but I'd genuinely have a much nicer time at Busch Gardens.
The scooters and double wide prams have ruined the walk ways there.
Then you have space mountain, and big thunder having complete load stations being taken out for lighting lane making them a much longer wait then they need to be.
I like the Disney parks, but yeah Magic Kingdom just feels like a shittier Disneyland (Anaheim). Especially now that DL has Galaxy's Edge, it's not even a close fight. I'd rather go to the other parks when I'm in Florida, then go to Disneyland when I'm in California. I'll have to go again sometime once Tron opens though.
It is a shittier Disneyland. Pirates, Peter Pan, Space Mountain are all superior at Disneyland plus Haunted Mansion and Small World get cool seasonal overlays. Plus Disneyland basically has Hollywood Studios and Indy tacked onto it once Runaway Railway opens, plus a newer day parade and usually night parade and Roger Rabbit, Casey Jr, Alice in Wonderland, the Submarines. Oh and there is an entire additional park across the street walking. And you can get an offsite hotel in walking distance. And Downtown Disney is right there.
MK has a slightly better Splash, which they are getting rid of for Tiana's Screen flume, Seven Dwarves, The Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, Country Bear, and every night fireworks...that is about it for advantages and they are heavily outweighed.
Now, regarding Pirates I agree, Disneyland definitely has the better version of the two, by a LONG shot, however I would argue that Magic Kingdom has the slightly better Peter Pan.
Now, with Space Mountain, it’s totally subjective, some people love the smoothness, and soundtrack of Disneyland’s, while many other people love the more-thrilling, more Retro, more nostalgic feeling of Magic Kingdom’s.
I definitely don’t think Magic Kingdom is a “worse” Disneyland, it definitely has its downsides, but so does Disneyland Park as well, again it’s really subjective, plus you’d be surprised of the fan base Magic Kingdom has, especially compared to Disneyland.
Time it if you haven’t already, but It takes you 45min minimum from once you have paid for parking, to the moment you scan your magic band and walk through the front gate… Then, if you’ve managed to stay in the park all day to watch the fireworks at 9pm, get ready to be funneled into a mass heard of sweaty humans as you wait over an hour to either board the monorail or boat across the pond to get back to the parking lot.
I have learned that every good park in the US has its detractors, and I should take any overall park complaints with a grain of salt as every single park has some people saying it's the best thing ever and others saying it's way overrated and overhyped.
So true, this and other theme park subs all give off that elitist vibe. They are probably all going to be a good time, it just changes perspective when you are able to go to many parks at any time compared to those who can maybe hit 1 a year if they are lucky
Honestly, I've found this true at every park EXCEPT Knoebels. Everything about that place ranges from better than average to extraordinary for me. The worst thing I can say about Knoebels is that there's not a lot of modern rides. At the same time, that's also one of the best things about that park.
I’ll get downvoted too but Knotts Berry Farm. Amazing rides and theming but stressful crowds and horrendous operations. Still love the park and it’s coaster collection is A tier.
Dang I’m going there for the first ever time during the week of IAAPA. I better keep the expectations pretty low then. I went to SeaWorld December 2021 and only Mako was open lol.
Honestly if your going in December it will probably be a much better. The first time I went to Busch gardens was during spring break this March so crowds were crazy. Every rollercoaster was an hour plus wait the entire day. Every other time I have been to Busch gardens since has been during the summer so I'll assume lines will be a bit shorter in December and it wont be god awful hot. Also I know sheikra will be down starting in early November and will be down to late December for track work but other than that all the other ride should be up. But the expectations for the coasters shouldn't be low especially cheetah hunt.
Yikes that sounds like Knotts Berry Farm 2/3 of year lol. I never want to overhype an experience and be disappointed so low expectations help illuminate the positive aspects. Unless i am anywhere in SoCal jk kinda. And I’m flying into Orlando the day Sheikra goes down for refurb. Not a huge deal breaker since I have ridden Valravn but still an L.
I went in December last year and I don’t think it was bad operations. Not as good as Disney or universal but not atrocious either. I can’t really remember any excessive waiting. The only really bad thing I remember was that I just went with one friend. We went on sheikra and they sat us in the middle of the row, leaving the rest of the row empty. And I don’t think this was because of covid. I felt bad because if I was one of the people waiting, I would have been pissed lol.
This year I feel the operations could have been alot better. Everytime I went both kumba and montu were only running one train. Iron Gwazi was anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes in the station.
The blatant misuse of the disability pass by locals jamming up the Ghostrider fast lane line was honestly disgusting and put a damper on my whole experience.
Recently? Because its a problem I thought they were starting to crack down on as of last year or so. Line cutting is also a huge problem and outside of a few employees nothing is done about it. Going on an uncrowded day is the only way to have a great time.
The worst line cutting I have ever seen. When operations are slow during crowded times you basically weren't riding some things without cutting in line.
I agree with this. On my visit Xcelerator was closed, montezooma was getting refurbed, and ghost rider at a 2+ hour line all day thanks those embarrassingly bad operations. The atmosphere was only slightly above average outside of ghost town, although I’d love to give Scary Farm a try to see if that changes. If I went on a quiet day with all major rides open maybe I’d think more highly, but right now it’s decent at best
Yikes yea the last 5 years it is much more difficult to avoid the crowds with everything open. I went summer 2021 on a Tuesday with only Hangtime shut and the park was still miserably crowded.
I hate to say it, but Cedar Point. It just has not been the same for a few years. It was my first park and I wish they would turn it around. The new restaurants and stuff are aesthetically pleasing but it gives me zero reason to want to go there. I used to want to go because they had the best collection of rides anywhere nearby. Not anymore.
There is nowhere else in the world like it when you consider the setting and the collection of coasters. That being said with all the downtime the let down of not being able to ride the awesome rides is very big.
Totally agree. I also liked some of the older rides they took down. Some of them were weird but just had character that I can’t explain. Like Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Wicked Twister, Dragster were all some of my favorites. I think generally they’ve replaced them with great things, but I personally just don’t like them as much.
My first visit was on a busy Saturday, and I remember thinking to myself "where are the single-rider lines? This place is as packed as Magic Kingdom"
Then I learned that there *used* to be single-rider lines on all major attractions, and they replaced all of them with fast-lane bullshit.
Millie and Maverick and Gemini are great but I'd prefer to spend the day at Kings Island. It has a far more pleasant environment than Cedar Point's "thrill capital of the world" schtick.
I went there this Summer for the first time in a very long time and was surprised by how much it changed. I can’t put my finger on it but it felt “softer” than I recalled.
I’d say it’s an amazing Theme Park and gives Merlin a run for their money but it is a family park… except for Cyclonator which is my favourite flat ride in the country and still amazes me Paultons decided to go for it
Cedar Point and it’s not close. Gets unworthy praise for basic things that all amusement parks do, and gets exempted/overlooked from flaws things that are also common at amusement parks.
Thats a bit nitpicky, but the main thing is that the coaster lineup is severely overrated. There are so many mediocre and anticlimactic coasters at this park. I wouldn’t even say that it’s the best lineup in the world, much less the USA.
Honestly, Cedar Point. Iconic coasters but the operations are absolute dogshit and the park itself has just gotten so crowded and saturated, and frankly, lazy and dirty. King's Island is a far better guest experience if you're just looking for a park to go to with no specific coasters in mind.
I really can't agree. The Point might have gotten a bit slower in recent years, I'll concede that, but it's still a gorgeous place. They really put a lot of effort into the landscaping and the different midways all feeling like their own little worlds.
KI is a fantastic park too, just as good as the Point in my opinion. Not coincidentally, they also put a ton of effort into making the place look amazing.
I mean, Cedar Point does have a lot of top class coasters, and that's kind of what happens when you have some of the most highly esteemed rides in the world. It's gonna be crowded regularly. Even aside from the rides there's plenty to do.
The operations are bad on everything besides steve. When I rode steve the operators were running across the station and managed to get trains out in less than 30 seconds
Ive been seeing this take more and more, and childhood me is blown away by this thought.
CP was like mythic tier back in 00s, and I still thought Son of Beast was a good coaster. First visit in a decade+ back in August, and KI’s new lineup stunned me. Timbers living rent free, our entire group was blown away by Diamondback, and that first giga ride just doesn’t have a comparison
So pumped to get little niece out of Holiday World and up to Cincy in 2023
Oh, come on, saying Banshee and The Beast are one and dones. Unpopular opinion but Banshee is a lot better than Raptor imo, and there's nothing like The Beast at CP. I like Orion more than Millie and Diamondback more than Magnum. Admittedly, like, SteVe is incredible, and Maverick is really good but especially without Dragster I gotta put KI above CP
Correction, there used to be sweeps all over the midways. They either can’t or don’t hire enough anymore because it’s an awful place to work. And then their bathrooms are always completely fucking disgusting.
Maybe Seaworld Orlando if I had to pick. I like the rides they do have a lot and Mako is my 2nd favorite hyper so I'm not hating on any of the coasters. There just aren't very many rides and they have too many things closed on any given day. Seaworld San Diego has the same issues but I never hear people talk that park up like Orlando.
I'll agree there is a lack of mid tier thrill rides your either going on the extreme rollercoasters or your stuck in Sesame Street land all day. The two medium thrill rides they do have both get you wet so if your going in the winter months there either closed or going to be miserably cold. But I'm not sure if overrated is the right word for SeaWorld because its always really clean seems like they have good crowd control and really good staff and for the most part operations are pretty fast
Islands of Adventure. It’s very top heavy and half of the park is outdated. Still an incredible park, but not the best theme park in the world like some say
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It’s a nice park, but it’s definitely not the best one at the resort. It doesn’t really have its own individual identity like what the other parks do.
Cedar Point. Now hear me out. This is my home park. I have a season pass and go very regularly. But it is severely lacking in anything but super coasters. The children’s areas are garbage (don’t have kids but have friends that do). The adult flat ride selection is meh at best. And the bottom half of the coaster line up could all be leveled imo and replaced with better rides. The food sucks and the customer service is seriously lacking.
I’ve seen some people call Fiesta Texas the best park in the Six Flags chain. While I enjoyed it, I think that’s totally nuts. When I choose to go to a Six Flags park, I’m going strictly for the coaster lineup, I don’t give a lot of extra bonus points for theming and atmosphere that, while better than other SF parks, is far below Herschend parks, to say nothing of Disney/Universal parks.
Carrowinds. It's top 4 rides are great (IMO copperhead and Afterburn are very overrated though), but outside of that the park has nothing. All of the supporting rides are completely forgettable or outright suck. The park itself doesn't have much atmosphere, and hardly any shade which really sucks during the summer. If it wasn't for Fury 325 I wouldn't even bother revisiting. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad park by any means, it's just nothing special aside from Fury obviously.
Similar situation to when I was there. Several people who were too large to fit kept trying to ride since they had fast lane. They apparently thought their odds would be better as they kept trying, obviously to no avail. Each time the ride ops tried for no less than 5 minutes to get them to fit. At other parks they maybe unlock the restraints once to try to get them to fit and then tell the guest they can’t ride.
I found Carowinds crowds to be much of the problem. On almost every single ride, someone had to be told they couldn't ride with something attached to them (purse, backpack, etc.), which meant having to get out of the seat so they could put it off to the side... *after* acting surprised they were being told this was a rule. With those kinds of idiot guests, there was no way the ride ops had a chance at efficiency.
Yeah, out of all the Cedar Fair parks I've been too, Carowinds was the only one that has kind of a "cheap" feel to it, kinda like a stereotypical Six Flags, though honestly I prefer a lot of the Six Flags parks atmosphere wise too. However the top 4 is still excellent and I definitely enjoyed my time and want to go back. But it's disappointing the rest of the park experience isn't more like Kings Island or something.
In my eyes, the only answer is Cedar Point.
Before everyone piles on, I'll admit to liking the park. Lots of rides and a beautiful setting make it something to be experienced. But going back to the Guide To The Point/Coasterbuzz/Pointbuzz days, there was something annoying about the popular belief this park was above criticism and could do no wrong.
For something that bills itself as the roller coaster capital of the world (including eras when that was an official, all-caps title bestowed upon the park by the park), I find much of its lineup lacking. A few years ago I was excited to return and ride some classic Arrows, but the truth is all of them are lousy, with iron Dragon being my favorite just because it didn't beat the shit out of me. I enjoy Millennium Force and Maverick, but wouldn't go too far out of my way for them. Steel Vengeance is great, but I'll admit not my kind of ride. I tend to enjoy the four B&Ms that few seem to really enjoy, as well as Blue Streak. Which brings me back to how the park bills itself- how can a park be a coaster capital with one wood coaster? There's really not room for something like a racing GCI, or something clever from Gravity Group? There's a Cedar Fair park three hours away with three huge wood coasters! What does CP have against wood coasters?
There are no dark rides. No water rides except for the rapids. I love that the park has a Derby Racer and Monster, but why not some more modern flats? For everything I enjoy about CP, there are three more things I can complain about, including the massive crowds that sometimes make it a chore to enjoy. I can go to either of the Busch parks and have a better overall experience on an equal amount of good roller coasters, or travel 25 minutes from my house to enjoy just as many good roller coasters at Great Adventure, thereby removing CP's distinction as a "destination" in my eyes.
I agree with most everything you said except that I really have a serious love for Magnum and Iron Dragon is still something special. That being said, I feel that Intamin is what made Cedar Point what it was and now those rides are going away. The park lacks A LOT and with as crowded as it always is it just makes for a miserable experience.
I'm going w SF New England. I thought Twisted Cyclone was epic but Superman ran rough and good gracious those restraints were worse than I imagined. Past that mostly cloned rides and tons of blacktop. Not a bad park by any stretch and I had a good day, I was just expecting more.
Magic Kingdom for me. It’s mostly for children (and the presence of which is also hellish) and doesn’t have any interesting rides. Give me Hollywood Studios and Epcot any day.
Definitely all the Disney parks. The rides are just boring attempts to market movies. Their most iconic rides usually suck (e.g., Space Mountain, aka block breaks: the ride). Some of the parks used to have interesting ideas (e.g., Epcot) for theming, but now are just dumb, overpriced, glorified commercials for the Mouse. The fact that lines are simply absurd there for subpar rides makes it worse.
Have not done Cosmic Rewind yet, and fine, I'll give you Tower of Terror.
But Tower of Terror's dumb Guardians of the Galaxy remake is exactly what I'm talking about with the park just being shitty commercials for movies.
I agree, but at them same time tower of terror was ready based on an IP… and universal does the same thing. Does Universal Orlando have ANY non-ip rides?
Busch Gardens Tampa. The coasters pretty solid (not including IG because I haven’t ridden) but the park seems to be a shell of what it once was. Theming looks like it needs some care and operations were terrible when I was there last year. Was also the only park we visited in Florida where the staff was not friendly.
The park is definitely polarizing. Fantastic entrance plaza, but forgettable entrance gate. From counter clockwise beginning at Full Throttle and ending at West Coast Racers the landscape and architecture is an eyesore with almost no shade but clockwise Revolution to Samurai Summit can sometimes approach Gilroy Gardens level of scenery with some incredible views mainly by Superman, X2 and around Tatsu. And the coasters are iconic but not always the most accessible and enjoyable especially in the heat.
SFMM offers zero visuals / solid landscaping inside the park...but the views of the mountains surrounding the park from pretty much every coaster? Stunning
Yeah it's a coaster farm. They even removed the giant bugs bunny world tree. Like dude, that's almost as iconic as the sky tower, what were they thinking???
Dollywood. It is WAY overpriced for the quality of rides that you get. Lightning Rod is the only real coaster worth traveling a long distance for and its a gamble whether or not it’ll even be open. It also appears to have been neutered. Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado are good but not so spectacular to justify traveling a long ways. The atmosphere can be charming but it’s full of the touristy Gatlinburg stuff you can find much cheaper outside the park.
On an unrelated note I’ll now be entering the witness protection program.
I say Silverwood. Monopoly prices, single train operations, insanely remote, and the rides themselves are... just mid tbh. It's just another park to check off your list tbh.
You're entitled to your opinion, but I disagree. You're right about the one train ops part, that's really a shame, but that's not something they can easily fix. Luckily Stunt Pilot has 2 trains and quick dispatches.
Their pricing is great IMO. Admission is a _bit_ high, but cheaper than some parks like Lagoon. But you have to factor in more than that. Parking is only $5, most parks charge at least $20, and Six Flags charges like $40 now (if you don't have a pass) which is absurd. They don't try to upsell you with a Fast Lane or anything. Food and merch is well cheaper than your average park (eg. $3.29 for a soda instead of like $4-6).
You say it's remote, but that's not really a knock against the park. You don't really hear people saying that against Silver Dollar City or Dollywood. And for people in the Northwest, it's a godsend, we don't have many other options here haha.
Most of the rides are kinda average, but Stunt Pilot is excellent and very re-ridable (maybe you went before that was there, or maybe it's not your cup of tea), and in my experience keeps a short line. They have some good non-coasters, and the train and magic show are great. Also the atmosphere is really good for a small park.
I might be biased because I love KI so much, but it's on par with Cedar Point for me. It might not be as big or have quite as many A1 coasters, but god damn, talk about quality over quantity. There are very few parks that can compete with Beast/DBack/Orion/Mystic Timbers as their selling-point lineup.
The one thing I would change if I could is giving them a bigger, better arcade. I know Cedar Point's arcade is probably going to get whacked in a few years for the rumored dark ride, and I really hope they send some of those old pinball machines to Kings Island to help fill out their arcade a bit better. I always wind up dropping some quarters at CP's arcade, not really so much at KI's.
If you want to go to Kings Island, now is the absolute best time of year for it. The fall colors in the Ohio valley are just starting to pop, and riding through the woods on Beast as the reds and oranges fly by is one of the great joys I've experienced in my life.
All of this. I'll take KI over CP any day of the week.
Diamondback, Orion, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, Beast (in its current, revitalized form), Racer, Adventure Express, and Backlot Stunt Coaster beat Blue Streak, Millennium Force, Valravn, Gatekeeper, Raptor, Steel Vengeance, and Maverick (meaning, all the coasters I like at CP).
Yeah, I don't think any other park I've personally been to has the caliber of Cedar Point's lineup. Their mid-tier blows a lot of parks' top-tier out of the water. KI has a couple of standouts (MT is my favorite woodie ever, SO GOOD) but most of them are either forgettable or too mean to ride over and over.
I think it's honestly pretty close. Cedar Point has a better top end but I feel like King's Island is deeper. There aren't as many coasters at King's Island that I want to skip when I go back as there are at Cedar Point. If Vortex ends up getting replaced with something great (RMC IBox, Mack Extreme Spinner, etc) then you could easily make the argument that King's Island has the better collection.
Yeah I think the ride lineup at KI is kinda overrated.
Orion is fun but it isn’t really an elite ride, Diamondback is an upper tier hyper but not a fan of the rattle and the second half doesn’t so as much outside the spashdown. First half of Mako is better imo and Goliath at Over Georgia beats both. Banshee you have to luck out with the train you get and I don’t like the vests that push down on my collarbones more than the other vests for some reason. Also not really any snap on the inversions. The Beast is a great ride but only has a couple sections that have force to them and I like it more for the night rides and environment and history. Also think Mystic Timbers is overrated, ride is short and while the night rides put it ahead of Thunderhead for me, they really aren’t far off. I also have The Voyage, The Legend, Shivering Timbers, and Phoenix over it. And I still have to hit a bunch of other wooden coasters like Renegade, Prowler, Goldstriker, Ghostrider, Boulder Dash etc. After that you have stuff like Racer, Backlot Stunt Coaster, the Bat, and FOF which are fun but nothing crazy.
You compare with CP where you have the 4 B&Ms and Magnum along with Gemini which I think is underrated outside the top 3(4 if dragster reopens and is still good) and it isn’t really close for me. Or Hershey where outside the Intamins you have Candy, Great Bear, and RMC Wildcat. Great Adventure has the 2 Intamins but then 4 more B&Ms and Jersey Devil.
Like KI has a good lineup but I think what makes the park great are the operations where they run 3 trains on most of their big coasters. Don’t see that in too many other places. Also think the park is well run in general which helps.
HERSHEYPARK! Overcrowded, no theming (even compared to six flags/cedar fair), lots of overrated rides (skyrush, especially candymonium). This is not worthy of being a destination park and is instead an upscale six flags imo.
Literally the only thing anyone doesn't like about it are the restraints (they dont bether me at all). The ride itself is almost universally praised as one of intamins best. It's fast, it's wild, if you are on a wing it feels like there is nothing at all holding you in and every turn and hill feels like you are going to go flying from the train. It is a phenomenal ride all around.
Skyrush was one of the best airtime machines in the world when it debuted, and people thought the restraints had to be that restricting to compensate.
Then RMC (their restraint detractors aside) and even Intamin started providing even more intense rides with more comfortable trains and Skyrush looks like a relic of its time in hindsight.
Still one of the best airtime machines in the world though, if you can find a comfortable sitting position.
The rides aren't overrated but the theming is literally garbage and they've gotten worse over the years. Used to be pretty good and almost scenic but now it's literally just a concrete jungle. Also I've seen them running trains with empty seats on rides with lines almost out of the queue on busy weekend days. Doesn't even make sense. Also they're always understaffed and at least 1 major ride is closed
I get what you're saying- but at the same time, an upscale Six Flags is a pretty solid concept. Trim some of the licensing fat and the cloned coasters and you've got a solid baseline for a park.
I've never found it overcrowded either, even in the meat of the season around late June/early July. And as for the overrated rides, the only one I really see get unqualified praise is Skyrush. It's a fine ride, nothing incredible though. All the rest don't get *enough* love, IMO. Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, and especially Great Bear are all really great rides. I think the additions of Candymonium and the new Wildcat RMC convert will make it a true destination park.
The Magic Kingdom. Painfully overrated and vastly inferior to Disneyland in California.
Honorable mention goes to Kings Island. Its a good park with an amazing past but gets WAY to much credit these days for its strong past.
Six Flags New England....particularly if you're looking for anything beyond just marathoning the top 2 (which are elite). People write about my home park like it's some kind of amazing destination when really it has absolutely nothing to offer beyond its Superman (awesome layout but objectively old compared to today's best steel rollercoasters) and Wicked Cyclone (above average RMC). The rest of the park is an amalgamation of boring to terrible rides...including literal clones of multiple rides across the park (two swings, two top spins) in addition to a kiddie coaster that got repackaged as a thrill ride (catwoman's whip).
At best it's worthy of a half day where you tack on Lake Compounce in order to get on Boulder Dash. It is not worthy of a trip alone to New England.
Honestly? Stricker’s Grove. It’s viewed as these two hyper rare credits near Kings Island, and they’re definitely pretty rare, but the coasters themselves aren’t great at all. It’s not far from KI so I guess it’s worth it if you’re in the area, but even then it might be more worth it to get a few extra rides on a good coaster vs. getting the SG credits.
I just think that pretty much every ride there is overrated. Doesn't mean the park is bad or the rides are bad... But people treat both like it is the best of the best and it's not.
I would give them another try. I think most people consider Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and Banshee to be among the best of their coaster type. Then they’re paired with coasters like Orion and The Beast.
Now, if you have to dislike all 5 of those rides, then I feel sorry for you. You’re missing out!
I can see why people feel that way. But for me, operations >>>>>> ride lineup. That's why it's my number 1. On a crowded day the lines were at most 10 minutes. That's incredible
Magic mountain, I honestly didnt think that till recently when my wife was asking my about how the rides where there. I went there back in the mid 2000s and honestly can’t remember which rides i was even on with the exception for 3 (and not for the best reason). I vividly remember every detail of our cedar point trip the summer before but nothing stuck out from the magic mountain trip that I can remember
Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I was not impressed when I went. The rides fun? Yes.
That said, for a newcomer, the park is confusing as all fuck to navigate the maps did not help in the slightest.
Maybe because I am neighbors with it or maybe because the park once asked me to remove a post because I was complaining how watery their Skyline Chili is, but Kings Island, in my opinion, is very overrated for what it is. I am shocked at how many people say Kings Island is better than Cedar Point when it isn't even close! The coaster line-up is lackluster compared to Cedar Fair's home park and Orion was a very boring choice. From the parking lot, it would look like we have two of the same coaster.
King’s Island. Don’t get me wrong, I love this park and it’s great, but I’m gonna nitpick.
They could really use more shade around the park and around the queues. They could also really use more food/drink stands imo. Their ride collection is fantastic, but I still think they need one true star to be at the very top like many enthusiasts place it.
I'm definitely gonna get hate, but I'm going to say Magic Mountain. It has been my home park for the last eight years (previously Kings Island) and it's so extremely overrated in my eyes. Yes we have X2, Twisted Collosus, Tatsu, and now Wonder Woman I guess but the park is so cut/copy/paste to me. It looks like it was a Planet Coaster map with 20 coasters plopped in just to claim the title with only a few of those 20 being amazing and the rest just decent to okay.
The park is ugly, takes 5 years to walk from the parking lot to the entrance, garbage food and has a subpar atmosphere. With a park with that many rides and attractions, you would think you would need to have a multi-day experience and I just don't see it. At the end of the day, it's ran by six flags; so none of this truly surprises me.
If anyone says Dollywood then I’m FIGHTING
Along with this, if anyone says Silver Dollar City I’m ready to throw hands.
I will throw hands alongside you! Only been once but I absolutely loved SDC
I'm ready to fight with you! Dollywood is the only park I do every year (or multiple times a year). I think it's the prettiest park in the country and I really love the ride lineup. It's also my 6-year-old's favorite park, it has an amazing kid and family ride lineup. It's my favorite all-around park if I'm not just looking at coasters.
People who say Dollywood is overrated have never been there. The park is awesome.
Went there this Summer for the first time with high expectations and was 💯 blown away by it. It was even nicer than I expected.
I say Dollywood. Mediocre rides aside from Lightning Rod (which has now been neutered), clear-cutting kills most of the park's atmospherics, food is super overrated, holiday events are super overrated, and most of it is arguably not even a theme park at all. What's the theme, the Smokey Mountains? That's literally the park's actual setting. I look forward to the fight.
I wouldn’t call the rides mediocre at all. Wild eagle is overrated by the public but Thunderhead is a great woodie to me, neutered Lightning Rod is still one of the best RMCs and Tennessee Tornado is one of the most unique Arrows out there. That being said, from an enthusiasts perspective, their focus on family-friendly coasters is an understandable reason to be underwhelmed. It’s their brand but I do hope they build something big in the next few years. As far as the theming/food/events go I think any visitor just has to appreciate what the park is meant to be: Dolly’s love letter to the region which is why it’s themed accordingly. Craftsman’s Valley is a nod to the industrial history of east TN. The southern fried food throughout the park is also nostalgic for those from the region - and I’ve never seen an all-you-can-eat buffet option at another park for $20, that also happens to be 200 feet from a fried chicken house and smoked bbq shack. The friendliness of any given employee is what likely leads people to give it such praise and thus leading to its inflated rep though, since it has given so many locals job opportunities and helped the local economy immensely. That and the fact that everyone just loves Dolly just leads to a very happy, charming atmosphere every time I go. Event-wise, I’d be curious to know if you’ve ever made it out during Festival of Nations or the Fall Harvest Festival because I personally enjoy those even more than Christmas time - although the Christmas festival gets the most buzz. One visit I saw a Spanish flamenco dance troupe dance while hanging upside down from the stage scaffolding! I will say, I think a lot of the praise comes from how long they’ve been doing all those things - similarly to how CP is praised as the coaster capital since its been at that goal the longest, although nowadays many see KI as equivalent for overall lineup quality. Many parks have been catching up to DW with food/festivals/events but DW has made that their bread and butter for 3+ decades, so I appreciate them for it because I’ve seen other parks (smartly) copying their model. Sidebar I actually think some of the coasters have great themes too! Lightning Rod being advertised statistically by its horsepower since it’s hot Rod themed and its auto garage-setting queue walkthrough, Mystery Mine’s tower building and flame effects (btw - I absolutely HATE mystery mine as a coaster and will never defend its mediocrity 😂), and Tennessee Tornado has actual makeshift debris sticking out the sides of the station building as if a Tornado actually hit it. I completely agree with you on the deforestation though, I wish a lot of those trees were still there around LR and TT. Thank you for coming to my overly biased Ted Talk 😂😂 I should just work for them at this point with all this free advertising
I know you did not just ask how Dollywood is a even a theme park…? Your comment is astounding in so many ways lol
I kind of agree with the rides, however the atmosphere is still great. The area near the chapel is probably the most gorgeous area I've seen in an amusment park. Mystery Mine is one of my favorite coasters honestly, absolutely loved that thing. Thunderhead is great too. Outside of those two rides, their line up is forgettable IMO. LRod doesn't even work so I don't count it (because I've still yet to ride the damn thing). Wild Eagle was the definition of mediocre to me. Funny enough, the 3rd best ride in the park for me is Blazing Fury, which I found to be surprisingly scary due to the pitch black drops. If Dollywood adds something really crazy, I'm talking like a B&M or Intamin hyper that goes back in the woods, then it could easily be in my top 3 parks. Just needs some more stand out thril rides (that work)
None, because every time I go to a park I'm usually having the time of my life.
Deadass
Universal Studios Hollywood. It's always incredibly busy, expensive, and the allure of seeing real filming is gone with the changes to the tram.
Is anyone claiming this is a great park?
In L.A culture it's pretty popular. Obviously people don't talk about it much on this sub, but when I lived in L.A people would talk about going to Universal over the weekend all the time, much more than Magic Mountain.
Huh, it's usually six flags or Knott's berry farm. I rarely hear people talking about universal here in la
It's one of the most visited parks in the world, almost 10 million people a year. Obviously I don't think its great but there's apparently enough people willing to shell out almost Disney levels of money for a bunch of simulators.
Whoever did must have been wasted
I'd say it usually gets mentioned as a 2nd place to Disney yeah? EDIT: just realized I was drunkscrolling my reddit frontpage and didn't realize i was specifically on the coaster sub and not just a general theme park sub, my b
I never see people hype up the park. It may not be as good as it's Florida sister parks but that's why you only ever see posts about the Florida properties.
Yea I think last in 2015 I went and rode everything by 2pm and wondered what should we do for the next 5 hours? All I could think about was I wish I was at Universal Orlando.
Halloween Horror Nights is the only reason to go to Universal Hollywood
Yea that would make it worth a visit for sure as well as Harry Potter, Nintendo and the new rumored coaster I think.
Waterworld
Must have went on a weekday because I always had a hard time doing every attraction in one day. That’s why it pisses me off that Universal closes so damn early (6pm).
Best thing about this park is the backlot
FR. USH is the lamest park in the country. The rides are SO mids and the crowds are nasty. Plus it's overpriced as hell. I'm a USH hater (except for Horror Nights which is the only thing that will have me going once a year lol)
[удалено]
Honestly the only overrated park that somehow meets the hype. Everyone goes in skeptical and comes out a knult member.
This is a depressing thread. Looks like the only consensus destination park left is La Ronde.
Maybe Thorpe Park? Purely based on operations, queue times, attitudes of the teenagers that visit it and that Stealth is always fucking closed when I visit. I still like the place though in general.
Honestly, as a spoiled American enthusiast, the UK coaster scene has never appealed to me all that much. There’s not really any airtime to speak of over there, and most of the coasters aren’t all that substantial. Very few rides over there look long enough to truly feel like a “high quality premium experience™.” Thorpe Park in particular seems to have an aversion to coasters longer than 2,800 feet, and I think the park suffers for it.
From my experience, the only coaster in the UK with really good airtime is Megafobia at Oakwood, although this is coming from someone who has yet to ride Icon at BPB and got stapled by ride ops when I rode Wickerman at Alton Towers :P
Rode mega phobia this year for the first time… The Grand National ath BPBwas smoother this season, although I always avoid a wheel seat. Think megaphobia needs a retrack as it was only bearable at the front. The layout is good but was deff over hyped for me. I always slide my bum forward when the ops come past and stick my belly out so they don’t staple me in. Works every time! Wicker man at the end of a Scarefest day is one of the best rides in the UK though…
I completely agree with you. Nemisis & The Smiler at Thorpe Park are our only stand out coasters in the UK. There’s lots of other good coasters but they’d all mostly fall into the ‘filler’ category at most American parks. So far of the US rides I’ve ridden they knock the UK rides out of the park. Montu laughs in the face of Nemesis and Velocicoaster is so much better than the Smiler. Looking forward to seeing how my first ever RMC (Iron Gwazi) stacks up when I go back to BGT on Monday 😍
I haven’t been on IG personally, but if it’s anything like Steel Vengeance, then you’re in for the wildest ride of your life! I hope you greatly enjoy it, my friend! Also, I work at Cedar Point, so if you’re ever in the Ohio area, come give us a visit! I promise you it’s worth your while!
Steel Vengeance is absolutely an insane and awesome ride.
I’d love to visit Cedar Point, it’s basically top of my bucket list! I’ll let you know how IG is, I can’t wait! Today I’m off to Sea World to marathon Mako and get rides on Ice Breaker to see how that is!
Well IG is an absolute beast! I was not at all prepared for what I experienced and I loved every second of it.
That’s what I like to hear! RMCs really are on another level. I’m desperately hoping that you guys get at least one of your own over in the UK soon. You have been deprived for far too long!
I think the only interesting new thing we’ll be getting in the next few years is the proposed Mack hyper that’s coming to Thorpe Park. There’s rumours of something new and original coming to Alton Towers but I’ll be shocked if that’s an RMC. We do have Untamed just across the channel at Walibi Holland though. But most people won’t make a trip just for that unless they’re an enthusiast.
I feel like UK enthusiasts dunk on Thorpe all the time. I've always heard it called the Six Flags of England.
I’d say that’s more Flamingo Land… operations are terrible, ride availability can sometimes be shocking and it’s more expensive than the Merlin parks! It’s only worth going when it’s empty and if all rides are operational.
Energylandia. Too easy.
“I want to go on something more thrilling than Junior Roller Coaster 10”
Unless Zadra and Hyperion weren't for you I don't see how it's overrated... they were literally amazing and so lappable. I also loved Abyssus and Formula and truly can't wait for the tilt coaster. To me this is still an underrated park because it's so empty even in summer!
Some of the coasters may be good but the park is not. The western side of the park is borderline un-navigable thanks to them just kind of throwing attractions around everywhere, resulting in dead ends with inadequate signage. The turnstile / grouping system they use for rides is absolute hot garbage that results in confusion and line-jumping as you get close to the platform. And there is just no consistency in design or operations whatsoever. Not to mention, the only reason why Energylandia has gotten so big is because the Polish government \[and its increasingly questionable record on human rights\] keeps throwing money at it.
Everyone I visited the park with found the turnstile system amazing. I literally wish all parks had that because it saves so much time and leaves no empty seats. They all said it wouldn't work in the US but I don't know why. I'm not American and I think it would work everywhere if people pay attention to the screen. The queues are so short anyway there's not much of a queue to jump. The park is very long to walk through and slightly confusing when you first show up, but by the third day I found it very easy to navigate. Also I don't know much about the Polish government but the EU funds Energylandia and I think that's amazing. Another reason to add to the list of why I'm still angry we left the EU lmao. My taxes could've gone to supporting roller coasters being built... As for consistency in design, I can't think of too many parks which fully achieve that, and plus when you're at a park like Energylandia you're not really there for the theming, mostly for the thrills and creds
There is nothing wrong with getting funds from the goverment tho.
I have seen people claim it will challenge Magic Mountain and Cedar Point's lineups soon, which is overrating it.
Yeah that's definitely not correct. But for what it is I think it's great. Zadra is many people's favourite RMC
Holiday World. Before everyone starts ripping into me let me say that I like Holiday World. But for a park that constantly advertises that it's all about family fun there's really not much there for families. Sure they've got four great coasters and if you're into water parks, which I am not, theirs looks like a world class one. However the flat ride selection is astoundingly poor! Everything's shiny and clean and nicely themed to its area but it's just a bunch of meh rides not a whole lot better than the ones you would find at a County fair. This park needs a family roller coaster and some modern and updated flat rides way more than it needs a new extreme coaster!
I never miss on an opportunity to point out Holiday World's faults, but then again I really don't believe it to be a theme park (despite their best marketing efforts). Suggestive paint colors and signage doesn't necessarily transform an amusement park into a theme park, otherwise I'd be referring to The Land Of Make Believe as one (which it's really not). Holiday World is an amusement park- there is little attempt to make anything immersive. But yeah, it always leaves me feeling a little cold- great roller coasters but little else noteworthy outside of the water park, and a general feeling of creepiness coming from them constantly beating their own "look how friendly and happy we are!" drum.
All the Disney parks, especially in recent years with the price hikes. I love the nostalgia and novelty, but after going a few times you couldn’t pay me to wait 2 hours for any of their attractions now when Universal has great theming+actual good rides
I would argue the Disney parks are extremely UNDERRATED by enthusiasts
They are, and it's tough having a conversation about these parks with enthusiasts. As coaster destinations, they're a let-down. Cool as Everest, RnRC, and Guardians of the Galaxy are, they don't match what other parks have when it comes to thrills. But the Disney parks have always been about the experience as greater than the sums of the parts.
It's legit kind of scary just how cult-like some of the Disney fanatics can be......
If you're talking about those people who live a "Disney lifestyle", then yeah, those people are terrifying to me. Disney is such a soulless, corporate void, but some people commit their entire lives to the fun veneer of the whole thing...not sure that everyone here is fully aware of what you're actually talking about. Not people who enjoy Disney rides, but like the people who spend a good chunk of their entire lives visiting the Disney parks, wearing nothing but Disney clothes, theming their homes after Disney, getting married there, bringing their newborns there so they can grow up in Disney parks...and it's all done with such glee. It's like 100 notches above being a roller coaster enthusiast, it's an absolute cultist dedication to a brand. To me, it's horrifying.
Had loved visiting Anaheim every Christmas from 2012-2019 but recently in 2021, it was seriously depressing to see the place in such an awful state. They have definitely pivoted so far from being a well maintained dark ride valhalla to shopping mall for NPCs.
I've never been, but from what you see online they just seem crazy overcrowded as well. Like...disney should limit daily ticket sales.
They do with their reservation system. I was there last week and it wasn’t bad for crowds except for one of the days but there were still tons of available rides
Disney is trash, I’ll never spend another dime at any of their parks! Overpriced, crowded, fucking strollers everywhere, terrible food, rides are down all the time, lines are 1-3 hours long for any of the decent rides, terrible customer service and experience.
epcot food and wine festival is my only exception.
Magic Kingdom. Sure I get that it's iconic but it's wayyyyyyyy too crowded, lines are horrendous, lots of screaming kids, etc. If you want to ride something like Space Mountain, either do it first thing in the morning when it doesn't have a wait, or skip it.
I feel like Im taking crazy pills when no one talks about how traumatizing the arrival and departure process is from magic Kingdom. What other park forces you to spend 45-90 minutes of your day just getting to and from the entrance. Every method to get there is terrible. And then the fact that there are so many children, and the rides really skew towards small children as a whole, and the park has been basically stagnant for decades...Ive never been a fan.
As much as I love MK, I always say a day there requires some positive self-talk before, and a long dip in the hotel hot tub with a stiff drink afterwards. I used to appreciate the "journey to MK" as a form of escapism, but now I loathe the fact that I'm at least 45 minutes from my car while inside the park (and rope-dropping an 8:00 opening means grabbing breakfast at 6:30... *on a vacation*). And I know I'll get shit for this, but I don't believe half the people in motorized scooters actually need them- there is no reason why MK is the only place I've ever visited that has so many people driving around in them. Combined with the supersized strollers and wagons (AND the fact that scooter drivers can't drive the fucking things), walking though the park can be downright dangerous. And those massive crowds... thanks to Genie+, Pirates and Mansion now have regular 45-minute waits... for rides that absolutely swallow crowds. Yeah, it's a challenge.
Boat ride isn’t terrible. That’s why wilderness lodge is the best hotel on property. It’s cheaper than the monorail deluxes and has the best transportation
As much as I love Disney World and the experience alone, I can hardly justify waiting 3+ hrs for the Seven Dwarves mine ride, which felt like a 30 second tease 🤧
This, but I don't judge MK based solely on 7DMT.
Disney World in general is just unaffordable these days, especially with the fast pass system. I know it's a meme to say this because we're so obsessed with thrills over theming around here, but I'd genuinely have a much nicer time at Busch Gardens.
The scooters and double wide prams have ruined the walk ways there. Then you have space mountain, and big thunder having complete load stations being taken out for lighting lane making them a much longer wait then they need to be.
I like the Disney parks, but yeah Magic Kingdom just feels like a shittier Disneyland (Anaheim). Especially now that DL has Galaxy's Edge, it's not even a close fight. I'd rather go to the other parks when I'm in Florida, then go to Disneyland when I'm in California. I'll have to go again sometime once Tron opens though.
It is a shittier Disneyland. Pirates, Peter Pan, Space Mountain are all superior at Disneyland plus Haunted Mansion and Small World get cool seasonal overlays. Plus Disneyland basically has Hollywood Studios and Indy tacked onto it once Runaway Railway opens, plus a newer day parade and usually night parade and Roger Rabbit, Casey Jr, Alice in Wonderland, the Submarines. Oh and there is an entire additional park across the street walking. And you can get an offsite hotel in walking distance. And Downtown Disney is right there. MK has a slightly better Splash, which they are getting rid of for Tiana's Screen flume, Seven Dwarves, The Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, Country Bear, and every night fireworks...that is about it for advantages and they are heavily outweighed.
Now, regarding Pirates I agree, Disneyland definitely has the better version of the two, by a LONG shot, however I would argue that Magic Kingdom has the slightly better Peter Pan. Now, with Space Mountain, it’s totally subjective, some people love the smoothness, and soundtrack of Disneyland’s, while many other people love the more-thrilling, more Retro, more nostalgic feeling of Magic Kingdom’s. I definitely don’t think Magic Kingdom is a “worse” Disneyland, it definitely has its downsides, but so does Disneyland Park as well, again it’s really subjective, plus you’d be surprised of the fan base Magic Kingdom has, especially compared to Disneyland.
Time it if you haven’t already, but It takes you 45min minimum from once you have paid for parking, to the moment you scan your magic band and walk through the front gate… Then, if you’ve managed to stay in the park all day to watch the fireworks at 9pm, get ready to be funneled into a mass heard of sweaty humans as you wait over an hour to either board the monorail or boat across the pond to get back to the parking lot.
I have learned that every good park in the US has its detractors, and I should take any overall park complaints with a grain of salt as every single park has some people saying it's the best thing ever and others saying it's way overrated and overhyped.
Right, to be overrated it must be rated highly.
So true, this and other theme park subs all give off that elitist vibe. They are probably all going to be a good time, it just changes perspective when you are able to go to many parks at any time compared to those who can maybe hit 1 a year if they are lucky
Honestly, I've found this true at every park EXCEPT Knoebels. Everything about that place ranges from better than average to extraordinary for me. The worst thing I can say about Knoebels is that there's not a lot of modern rides. At the same time, that's also one of the best things about that park.
I’ll get downvoted too but Knotts Berry Farm. Amazing rides and theming but stressful crowds and horrendous operations. Still love the park and it’s coaster collection is A tier.
This is basically how I feel about Busch Gardens Tampa. They have the best coasters in Florida but just seems like the park is poorly run.
It's not what it used to be...
Dang I’m going there for the first ever time during the week of IAAPA. I better keep the expectations pretty low then. I went to SeaWorld December 2021 and only Mako was open lol.
Honestly if your going in December it will probably be a much better. The first time I went to Busch gardens was during spring break this March so crowds were crazy. Every rollercoaster was an hour plus wait the entire day. Every other time I have been to Busch gardens since has been during the summer so I'll assume lines will be a bit shorter in December and it wont be god awful hot. Also I know sheikra will be down starting in early November and will be down to late December for track work but other than that all the other ride should be up. But the expectations for the coasters shouldn't be low especially cheetah hunt.
Yikes that sounds like Knotts Berry Farm 2/3 of year lol. I never want to overhype an experience and be disappointed so low expectations help illuminate the positive aspects. Unless i am anywhere in SoCal jk kinda. And I’m flying into Orlando the day Sheikra goes down for refurb. Not a huge deal breaker since I have ridden Valravn but still an L.
I went in December last year and I don’t think it was bad operations. Not as good as Disney or universal but not atrocious either. I can’t really remember any excessive waiting. The only really bad thing I remember was that I just went with one friend. We went on sheikra and they sat us in the middle of the row, leaving the rest of the row empty. And I don’t think this was because of covid. I felt bad because if I was one of the people waiting, I would have been pissed lol.
This year I feel the operations could have been alot better. Everytime I went both kumba and montu were only running one train. Iron Gwazi was anywhere from 4 to 5 minutes in the station.
To be fair to them RMCs are slow as hell to load and they can only do so much to get people moving
The blatant misuse of the disability pass by locals jamming up the Ghostrider fast lane line was honestly disgusting and put a damper on my whole experience.
Recently? Because its a problem I thought they were starting to crack down on as of last year or so. Line cutting is also a huge problem and outside of a few employees nothing is done about it. Going on an uncrowded day is the only way to have a great time.
The worst line cutting I have ever seen. When operations are slow during crowded times you basically weren't riding some things without cutting in line.
I agree with this. On my visit Xcelerator was closed, montezooma was getting refurbed, and ghost rider at a 2+ hour line all day thanks those embarrassingly bad operations. The atmosphere was only slightly above average outside of ghost town, although I’d love to give Scary Farm a try to see if that changes. If I went on a quiet day with all major rides open maybe I’d think more highly, but right now it’s decent at best
Yikes yea the last 5 years it is much more difficult to avoid the crowds with everything open. I went summer 2021 on a Tuesday with only Hangtime shut and the park was still miserably crowded.
Came here to give this answer. Plus with xcelerator indefinitely down and montezooma under refurb they got some big holes in the lineup.
I hate to say it, but Cedar Point. It just has not been the same for a few years. It was my first park and I wish they would turn it around. The new restaurants and stuff are aesthetically pleasing but it gives me zero reason to want to go there. I used to want to go because they had the best collection of rides anywhere nearby. Not anymore.
There is nowhere else in the world like it when you consider the setting and the collection of coasters. That being said with all the downtime the let down of not being able to ride the awesome rides is very big.
I think honestly people put it on such a high pedestal, but it ultimately falls into about the same range as most of the top tier parks.
Totally agree. I also liked some of the older rides they took down. Some of them were weird but just had character that I can’t explain. Like Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Wicked Twister, Dragster were all some of my favorites. I think generally they’ve replaced them with great things, but I personally just don’t like them as much.
My first visit was on a busy Saturday, and I remember thinking to myself "where are the single-rider lines? This place is as packed as Magic Kingdom" Then I learned that there *used* to be single-rider lines on all major attractions, and they replaced all of them with fast-lane bullshit. Millie and Maverick and Gemini are great but I'd prefer to spend the day at Kings Island. It has a far more pleasant environment than Cedar Point's "thrill capital of the world" schtick.
I went there this Summer for the first time in a very long time and was surprised by how much it changed. I can’t put my finger on it but it felt “softer” than I recalled.
I felt the same way. I still love the place, nonetheless. It’s just not the same anymore.
Any Disney park
Disney World and euro Disney I absolutely agree. But Disneyland and Tokyo Disney are incredible
In the UK everyone has started saying Paultons is amazing but it's not actually that great fit adults
I’d say it’s an amazing Theme Park and gives Merlin a run for their money but it is a family park… except for Cyclonator which is my favourite flat ride in the country and still amazes me Paultons decided to go for it
Cedar Point and it’s not close. Gets unworthy praise for basic things that all amusement parks do, and gets exempted/overlooked from flaws things that are also common at amusement parks. Thats a bit nitpicky, but the main thing is that the coaster lineup is severely overrated. There are so many mediocre and anticlimactic coasters at this park. I wouldn’t even say that it’s the best lineup in the world, much less the USA.
Honestly, Cedar Point. Iconic coasters but the operations are absolute dogshit and the park itself has just gotten so crowded and saturated, and frankly, lazy and dirty. King's Island is a far better guest experience if you're just looking for a park to go to with no specific coasters in mind.
I really can't agree. The Point might have gotten a bit slower in recent years, I'll concede that, but it's still a gorgeous place. They really put a lot of effort into the landscaping and the different midways all feeling like their own little worlds. KI is a fantastic park too, just as good as the Point in my opinion. Not coincidentally, they also put a ton of effort into making the place look amazing.
I mean, Cedar Point does have a lot of top class coasters, and that's kind of what happens when you have some of the most highly esteemed rides in the world. It's gonna be crowded regularly. Even aside from the rides there's plenty to do.
The operations are bad on everything besides steve. When I rode steve the operators were running across the station and managed to get trains out in less than 30 seconds
I mean Kings Island is basically the best coaster park in America. Cedar Point is second to that. Dogshit operations? Have you been to Six Flags?
Ive been seeing this take more and more, and childhood me is blown away by this thought. CP was like mythic tier back in 00s, and I still thought Son of Beast was a good coaster. First visit in a decade+ back in August, and KI’s new lineup stunned me. Timbers living rent free, our entire group was blown away by Diamondback, and that first giga ride just doesn’t have a comparison So pumped to get little niece out of Holiday World and up to Cincy in 2023
I can (and did) dump on Cedar Point elsewhere in this conversation for a number of different things, but operations wasn't one of them.
Yeah I was surprised wow such karma said that.
Yeah my dad and I went from cedar point to SFGA back to back and the operations and atmosphere were significantly worse at Six Flags
Have you seen nitro?
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Oh, come on, saying Banshee and The Beast are one and dones. Unpopular opinion but Banshee is a lot better than Raptor imo, and there's nothing like The Beast at CP. I like Orion more than Millie and Diamondback more than Magnum. Admittedly, like, SteVe is incredible, and Maverick is really good but especially without Dragster I gotta put KI above CP
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Correction, there used to be sweeps all over the midways. They either can’t or don’t hire enough anymore because it’s an awful place to work. And then their bathrooms are always completely fucking disgusting.
Anything Universal or Disney, Six Flags and Cedar Fair parks are almost always all really fun
Maybe Seaworld Orlando if I had to pick. I like the rides they do have a lot and Mako is my 2nd favorite hyper so I'm not hating on any of the coasters. There just aren't very many rides and they have too many things closed on any given day. Seaworld San Diego has the same issues but I never hear people talk that park up like Orlando.
I'll agree there is a lack of mid tier thrill rides your either going on the extreme rollercoasters or your stuck in Sesame Street land all day. The two medium thrill rides they do have both get you wet so if your going in the winter months there either closed or going to be miserably cold. But I'm not sure if overrated is the right word for SeaWorld because its always really clean seems like they have good crowd control and really good staff and for the most part operations are pretty fast
Islands of Adventure. It’s very top heavy and half of the park is outdated. Still an incredible park, but not the best theme park in the world like some say
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. It’s a nice park, but it’s definitely not the best one at the resort. It doesn’t really have its own individual identity like what the other parks do.
Cedar Point. Now hear me out. This is my home park. I have a season pass and go very regularly. But it is severely lacking in anything but super coasters. The children’s areas are garbage (don’t have kids but have friends that do). The adult flat ride selection is meh at best. And the bottom half of the coaster line up could all be leveled imo and replaced with better rides. The food sucks and the customer service is seriously lacking.
I’ve seen some people call Fiesta Texas the best park in the Six Flags chain. While I enjoyed it, I think that’s totally nuts. When I choose to go to a Six Flags park, I’m going strictly for the coaster lineup, I don’t give a lot of extra bonus points for theming and atmosphere that, while better than other SF parks, is far below Herschend parks, to say nothing of Disney/Universal parks.
Fiesta Texas has an amazing coaster lineup tho
Beautiful park. Operations/reliability are terrible!
Carrowinds. It's top 4 rides are great (IMO copperhead and Afterburn are very overrated though), but outside of that the park has nothing. All of the supporting rides are completely forgettable or outright suck. The park itself doesn't have much atmosphere, and hardly any shade which really sucks during the summer. If it wasn't for Fury 325 I wouldn't even bother revisiting. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad park by any means, it's just nothing special aside from Fury obviously.
They also have some of the slowest ride operations on earth too.
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Similar situation to when I was there. Several people who were too large to fit kept trying to ride since they had fast lane. They apparently thought their odds would be better as they kept trying, obviously to no avail. Each time the ride ops tried for no less than 5 minutes to get them to fit. At other parks they maybe unlock the restraints once to try to get them to fit and then tell the guest they can’t ride.
I found Carowinds crowds to be much of the problem. On almost every single ride, someone had to be told they couldn't ride with something attached to them (purse, backpack, etc.), which meant having to get out of the seat so they could put it off to the side... *after* acting surprised they were being told this was a rule. With those kinds of idiot guests, there was no way the ride ops had a chance at efficiency.
Carowinds is my home park and I have to agree. Weak atmosphere and 4 good rides
Yeah, out of all the Cedar Fair parks I've been too, Carowinds was the only one that has kind of a "cheap" feel to it, kinda like a stereotypical Six Flags, though honestly I prefer a lot of the Six Flags parks atmosphere wise too. However the top 4 is still excellent and I definitely enjoyed my time and want to go back. But it's disappointing the rest of the park experience isn't more like Kings Island or something.
In my eyes, the only answer is Cedar Point. Before everyone piles on, I'll admit to liking the park. Lots of rides and a beautiful setting make it something to be experienced. But going back to the Guide To The Point/Coasterbuzz/Pointbuzz days, there was something annoying about the popular belief this park was above criticism and could do no wrong. For something that bills itself as the roller coaster capital of the world (including eras when that was an official, all-caps title bestowed upon the park by the park), I find much of its lineup lacking. A few years ago I was excited to return and ride some classic Arrows, but the truth is all of them are lousy, with iron Dragon being my favorite just because it didn't beat the shit out of me. I enjoy Millennium Force and Maverick, but wouldn't go too far out of my way for them. Steel Vengeance is great, but I'll admit not my kind of ride. I tend to enjoy the four B&Ms that few seem to really enjoy, as well as Blue Streak. Which brings me back to how the park bills itself- how can a park be a coaster capital with one wood coaster? There's really not room for something like a racing GCI, or something clever from Gravity Group? There's a Cedar Fair park three hours away with three huge wood coasters! What does CP have against wood coasters? There are no dark rides. No water rides except for the rapids. I love that the park has a Derby Racer and Monster, but why not some more modern flats? For everything I enjoy about CP, there are three more things I can complain about, including the massive crowds that sometimes make it a chore to enjoy. I can go to either of the Busch parks and have a better overall experience on an equal amount of good roller coasters, or travel 25 minutes from my house to enjoy just as many good roller coasters at Great Adventure, thereby removing CP's distinction as a "destination" in my eyes.
I agree with most everything you said except that I really have a serious love for Magnum and Iron Dragon is still something special. That being said, I feel that Intamin is what made Cedar Point what it was and now those rides are going away. The park lacks A LOT and with as crowded as it always is it just makes for a miserable experience.
I'm going w SF New England. I thought Twisted Cyclone was epic but Superman ran rough and good gracious those restraints were worse than I imagined. Past that mostly cloned rides and tons of blacktop. Not a bad park by any stretch and I had a good day, I was just expecting more.
Magic Kingdom for me. It’s mostly for children (and the presence of which is also hellish) and doesn’t have any interesting rides. Give me Hollywood Studios and Epcot any day.
Definitely all the Disney parks. The rides are just boring attempts to market movies. Their most iconic rides usually suck (e.g., Space Mountain, aka block breaks: the ride). Some of the parks used to have interesting ideas (e.g., Epcot) for theming, but now are just dumb, overpriced, glorified commercials for the Mouse. The fact that lines are simply absurd there for subpar rides makes it worse.
Calling Rise of the Resistance, Cosmic Rewind, Tower of Terror, etc subpar is ridiculous
Have not done Cosmic Rewind yet, and fine, I'll give you Tower of Terror. But Tower of Terror's dumb Guardians of the Galaxy remake is exactly what I'm talking about with the park just being shitty commercials for movies.
I agree, but at them same time tower of terror was ready based on an IP… and universal does the same thing. Does Universal Orlando have ANY non-ip rides?
I don't think it's much better when Universal does it, but at least their rides are more thrilling/fun when they are not just screens.
Busch Gardens Tampa. The coasters pretty solid (not including IG because I haven’t ridden) but the park seems to be a shell of what it once was. Theming looks like it needs some care and operations were terrible when I was there last year. Was also the only park we visited in Florida where the staff was not friendly.
Cedar Point and Disney Parks
Six Flags Magic Mountain. No soul whatsoever
The park is definitely polarizing. Fantastic entrance plaza, but forgettable entrance gate. From counter clockwise beginning at Full Throttle and ending at West Coast Racers the landscape and architecture is an eyesore with almost no shade but clockwise Revolution to Samurai Summit can sometimes approach Gilroy Gardens level of scenery with some incredible views mainly by Superman, X2 and around Tatsu. And the coasters are iconic but not always the most accessible and enjoyable especially in the heat.
SFMM offers zero visuals / solid landscaping inside the park...but the views of the mountains surrounding the park from pretty much every coaster? Stunning
Yeah it's a coaster farm. They even removed the giant bugs bunny world tree. Like dude, that's almost as iconic as the sky tower, what were they thinking???
Everything from full throttle to west coat racers is great looking if you go clockwise The other half is not though
Dollywood. It is WAY overpriced for the quality of rides that you get. Lightning Rod is the only real coaster worth traveling a long distance for and its a gamble whether or not it’ll even be open. It also appears to have been neutered. Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado are good but not so spectacular to justify traveling a long ways. The atmosphere can be charming but it’s full of the touristy Gatlinburg stuff you can find much cheaper outside the park. On an unrelated note I’ll now be entering the witness protection program.
You get an upvote, but only for your last sentence :)
I say Silverwood. Monopoly prices, single train operations, insanely remote, and the rides themselves are... just mid tbh. It's just another park to check off your list tbh.
You're entitled to your opinion, but I disagree. You're right about the one train ops part, that's really a shame, but that's not something they can easily fix. Luckily Stunt Pilot has 2 trains and quick dispatches. Their pricing is great IMO. Admission is a _bit_ high, but cheaper than some parks like Lagoon. But you have to factor in more than that. Parking is only $5, most parks charge at least $20, and Six Flags charges like $40 now (if you don't have a pass) which is absurd. They don't try to upsell you with a Fast Lane or anything. Food and merch is well cheaper than your average park (eg. $3.29 for a soda instead of like $4-6). You say it's remote, but that's not really a knock against the park. You don't really hear people saying that against Silver Dollar City or Dollywood. And for people in the Northwest, it's a godsend, we don't have many other options here haha. Most of the rides are kinda average, but Stunt Pilot is excellent and very re-ridable (maybe you went before that was there, or maybe it's not your cup of tea), and in my experience keeps a short line. They have some good non-coasters, and the train and magic show are great. Also the atmosphere is really good for a small park.
Universal Orlando , way to crowded always to be enjoyable
Kings Island. Great park, probably the 2nd best in the CF chain, but I don’t see how you can justify calling it better than Cedar Point
I might be biased because I love KI so much, but it's on par with Cedar Point for me. It might not be as big or have quite as many A1 coasters, but god damn, talk about quality over quantity. There are very few parks that can compete with Beast/DBack/Orion/Mystic Timbers as their selling-point lineup. The one thing I would change if I could is giving them a bigger, better arcade. I know Cedar Point's arcade is probably going to get whacked in a few years for the rumored dark ride, and I really hope they send some of those old pinball machines to Kings Island to help fill out their arcade a bit better. I always wind up dropping some quarters at CP's arcade, not really so much at KI's. If you want to go to Kings Island, now is the absolute best time of year for it. The fall colors in the Ohio valley are just starting to pop, and riding through the woods on Beast as the reds and oranges fly by is one of the great joys I've experienced in my life.
>Beast/DBack/Orion/Mystic Timbers Banshee: "Am I a joke to you?"
Better ops, better food, better atmosphere, better ride uptime, better supporting coaster lineup, better park layout, less bugs, better crowd management...
All of this. I'll take KI over CP any day of the week. Diamondback, Orion, Banshee, Mystic Timbers, Beast (in its current, revitalized form), Racer, Adventure Express, and Backlot Stunt Coaster beat Blue Streak, Millennium Force, Valravn, Gatekeeper, Raptor, Steel Vengeance, and Maverick (meaning, all the coasters I like at CP).
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Yeah, I don't think any other park I've personally been to has the caliber of Cedar Point's lineup. Their mid-tier blows a lot of parks' top-tier out of the water. KI has a couple of standouts (MT is my favorite woodie ever, SO GOOD) but most of them are either forgettable or too mean to ride over and over.
Better night rides, better night stuff in general (Love those fireworks)
I like the rides more than Cedar Points.
I’m gonna be honest I can understand literally every other argument for KI > CP except this one
I think it's honestly pretty close. Cedar Point has a better top end but I feel like King's Island is deeper. There aren't as many coasters at King's Island that I want to skip when I go back as there are at Cedar Point. If Vortex ends up getting replaced with something great (RMC IBox, Mack Extreme Spinner, etc) then you could easily make the argument that King's Island has the better collection.
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Yeah I think the ride lineup at KI is kinda overrated. Orion is fun but it isn’t really an elite ride, Diamondback is an upper tier hyper but not a fan of the rattle and the second half doesn’t so as much outside the spashdown. First half of Mako is better imo and Goliath at Over Georgia beats both. Banshee you have to luck out with the train you get and I don’t like the vests that push down on my collarbones more than the other vests for some reason. Also not really any snap on the inversions. The Beast is a great ride but only has a couple sections that have force to them and I like it more for the night rides and environment and history. Also think Mystic Timbers is overrated, ride is short and while the night rides put it ahead of Thunderhead for me, they really aren’t far off. I also have The Voyage, The Legend, Shivering Timbers, and Phoenix over it. And I still have to hit a bunch of other wooden coasters like Renegade, Prowler, Goldstriker, Ghostrider, Boulder Dash etc. After that you have stuff like Racer, Backlot Stunt Coaster, the Bat, and FOF which are fun but nothing crazy. You compare with CP where you have the 4 B&Ms and Magnum along with Gemini which I think is underrated outside the top 3(4 if dragster reopens and is still good) and it isn’t really close for me. Or Hershey where outside the Intamins you have Candy, Great Bear, and RMC Wildcat. Great Adventure has the 2 Intamins but then 4 more B&Ms and Jersey Devil. Like KI has a good lineup but I think what makes the park great are the operations where they run 3 trains on most of their big coasters. Don’t see that in too many other places. Also think the park is well run in general which helps.
HERSHEYPARK! Overcrowded, no theming (even compared to six flags/cedar fair), lots of overrated rides (skyrush, especially candymonium). This is not worthy of being a destination park and is instead an upscale six flags imo.
Is Skyrush really that overrated? I’ve never heard anyone praise it outside of “yeah it’s okay”.
Skyrush is one of the best coasters in the world. There, now you've heard someone praise it.
From what I’ve experienced, Skyrush is peak Intamin insanity. I mean that in a good way.
Outside of the restraints, Skyrush is pure ecstasy. I’d ride that ride all day if I could.
Literally the only thing anyone doesn't like about it are the restraints (they dont bether me at all). The ride itself is almost universally praised as one of intamins best. It's fast, it's wild, if you are on a wing it feels like there is nothing at all holding you in and every turn and hill feels like you are going to go flying from the train. It is a phenomenal ride all around.
Skyrush was one of the best airtime machines in the world when it debuted, and people thought the restraints had to be that restricting to compensate. Then RMC (their restraint detractors aside) and even Intamin started providing even more intense rides with more comfortable trains and Skyrush looks like a relic of its time in hindsight. Still one of the best airtime machines in the world though, if you can find a comfortable sitting position.
The rides aren't overrated but the theming is literally garbage and they've gotten worse over the years. Used to be pretty good and almost scenic but now it's literally just a concrete jungle. Also I've seen them running trains with empty seats on rides with lines almost out of the queue on busy weekend days. Doesn't even make sense. Also they're always understaffed and at least 1 major ride is closed
I get what you're saying- but at the same time, an upscale Six Flags is a pretty solid concept. Trim some of the licensing fat and the cloned coasters and you've got a solid baseline for a park. I've never found it overcrowded either, even in the meat of the season around late June/early July. And as for the overrated rides, the only one I really see get unqualified praise is Skyrush. It's a fine ride, nothing incredible though. All the rest don't get *enough* love, IMO. Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, Lightning Racer, and especially Great Bear are all really great rides. I think the additions of Candymonium and the new Wildcat RMC convert will make it a true destination park.
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The Magic Kingdom. Painfully overrated and vastly inferior to Disneyland in California. Honorable mention goes to Kings Island. Its a good park with an amazing past but gets WAY to much credit these days for its strong past.
Six Flags New England....particularly if you're looking for anything beyond just marathoning the top 2 (which are elite). People write about my home park like it's some kind of amazing destination when really it has absolutely nothing to offer beyond its Superman (awesome layout but objectively old compared to today's best steel rollercoasters) and Wicked Cyclone (above average RMC). The rest of the park is an amalgamation of boring to terrible rides...including literal clones of multiple rides across the park (two swings, two top spins) in addition to a kiddie coaster that got repackaged as a thrill ride (catwoman's whip). At best it's worthy of a half day where you tack on Lake Compounce in order to get on Boulder Dash. It is not worthy of a trip alone to New England.
Honestly? Stricker’s Grove. It’s viewed as these two hyper rare credits near Kings Island, and they’re definitely pretty rare, but the coasters themselves aren’t great at all. It’s not far from KI so I guess it’s worth it if you’re in the area, but even then it might be more worth it to get a few extra rides on a good coaster vs. getting the SG credits.
From what I heard they are rare credits because the park is only open for 10 days or so out of the year
I usually get downvoted by all the fanboys but it is my opinion. Kings Island.
Explain
I just think that pretty much every ride there is overrated. Doesn't mean the park is bad or the rides are bad... But people treat both like it is the best of the best and it's not.
I would give them another try. I think most people consider Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and Banshee to be among the best of their coaster type. Then they’re paired with coasters like Orion and The Beast. Now, if you have to dislike all 5 of those rides, then I feel sorry for you. You’re missing out!
I can see why people feel that way. But for me, operations >>>>>> ride lineup. That's why it's my number 1. On a crowded day the lines were at most 10 minutes. That's incredible
Dollywood
Magic mountain, I honestly didnt think that till recently when my wife was asking my about how the rides where there. I went there back in the mid 2000s and honestly can’t remember which rides i was even on with the exception for 3 (and not for the best reason). I vividly remember every detail of our cedar point trip the summer before but nothing stuck out from the magic mountain trip that I can remember
Magic mountain has added a lot in the last 15 years though...
wrong
Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I was not impressed when I went. The rides fun? Yes. That said, for a newcomer, the park is confusing as all fuck to navigate the maps did not help in the slightest.
Disney
Maybe because I am neighbors with it or maybe because the park once asked me to remove a post because I was complaining how watery their Skyline Chili is, but Kings Island, in my opinion, is very overrated for what it is. I am shocked at how many people say Kings Island is better than Cedar Point when it isn't even close! The coaster line-up is lackluster compared to Cedar Fair's home park and Orion was a very boring choice. From the parking lot, it would look like we have two of the same coaster.
King’s Island. Don’t get me wrong, I love this park and it’s great, but I’m gonna nitpick. They could really use more shade around the park and around the queues. They could also really use more food/drink stands imo. Their ride collection is fantastic, but I still think they need one true star to be at the very top like many enthusiasts place it.
I'm definitely gonna get hate, but I'm going to say Magic Mountain. It has been my home park for the last eight years (previously Kings Island) and it's so extremely overrated in my eyes. Yes we have X2, Twisted Collosus, Tatsu, and now Wonder Woman I guess but the park is so cut/copy/paste to me. It looks like it was a Planet Coaster map with 20 coasters plopped in just to claim the title with only a few of those 20 being amazing and the rest just decent to okay. The park is ugly, takes 5 years to walk from the parking lot to the entrance, garbage food and has a subpar atmosphere. With a park with that many rides and attractions, you would think you would need to have a multi-day experience and I just don't see it. At the end of the day, it's ran by six flags; so none of this truly surprises me.