DirkFunk

You just need to adjust your expectations. If you know you're paying for garbage, then you'll be happy that you did spend money on garbage. Isn't that how it works? I think I read it on the internet once.

Dude, there's so much to it that we're recycling stuff said in this thread and argued about a million times. Do you want me just to message you with my viewpoint to save an intercession?

There's so much to it that Six Flags buying Funtime alone isn't going to be the one domino that starts the whole chain of events.

Well, that's kinda what happened. I mean, it is a gross oversimplification of the events but it isn't entirely untrue as a statement.

CGA was the only purpose built theme park in the Bay Area. Discovery Kingdom is essentially a zoo converted to theme park. Greater Houston has two parks now - Kemah and Galveston Pleasure Pier. Apparently it will get another theme park soon enough to replace the one that was stupidly torn down in Six Flags' attempt to generate immediate cash. Phoenix has an inhospitable climate for an outdoor theme park for most of the year. Why Miami has a multitude of zoos and no amusement or theme park is a long discussion. My guess is that with Orlando not far away, regional theme parks nearby would be at a decided disadvantage. There's also issues with where one would put the park and how easy it would be to maintain in that climate. Cities don't always end up with the amusement parks they deserve, and maybe Miami's in that boat. It seems to me though that they don't necessarily have a shortage of alternative recreation there.

I get that, but that doesn't mean that Steel Phantom or Apollo's Chariot are taller than Raging Bull. It just isn't true. It has the longest drop, definitely...I guess its just a matter of semantics though.

I must have missed this discussion already, but how is El Toro the tallest wooden coaster on earth if it isn't even the tallest wood coaster in the chain? Or if Colossos' claimed height is 30+ feet taller?

Sounds like RCCL went and copied NCL's Freestyle dining. Not that there's anything wrong with that - if anything, that makes the Quantum class more appealing. And having them depart from China means maybe it'll justify me going there for once!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.gov My local county uses a .org. While the neighboring city has a .gov address, my city has a .com. Hershey did not pay someone to create a fake Dauphin County website containing tons of official looking documentation, forms to fill out, and all the rest. After all, if that's fake, where's the real one? Also, why build a copy of an long dead (closed almost 50 years!) amusement park in Western Washington in Hershey, PA?

Seaside, Oregon. Fascination parlor there too.

HAL may have ancient clientele, but the rooms will probably be slightly bigger, better equipped, and there's a higher level of service. Any cabin (not just suites) can get the dining room menu for the evening delivered to the room. Plus, honestly- I'd rather take a 10 night cruise to those Southern Caribbean ports (you're probably going to all 3 ABCs) than going to Grand Cayman or Cozumel any day of the week.

I've been to three Six Flags parks this year (Fiesta Texas, St. Louis, and Great America) , and I've seen similar policies in place at all three to what's been described in this thread with regards to staggered opening/closing times for attractions and revenue centers, closing of attractions, safety procedures, and so on.

When you arrive at the main entrance of the attraction, you'll find an attendant and a security guard occupying the space between where the temporary queuing to the left and the permanent queuing to the right exist. Also occupying this space along with both individuals is a test seat. To use the single rider line, you walk past what, if any line exists jutting out of the temporary queuing back into the midway, walk through those people, and request to use the single rider entrance from the security guard. If they don't know about it, hopefully there is a manager or a ride attendant stationed there whom you can request the security guard ask about the existence of a single rider line (this was what I had to do). You may then be requested to use the test seat SFOT style. I suggest telling them you've been on it already - apparently then they don't check. I did this myself after watching someone else do it earlier. Note as you walk against the flow of traffic in temporary queues which cut off the water fountain from the guests waiting in long, barely moving, uncovered temporary fencing how miserable they look. Also note that the permanent queue line has barely anyone in it, in large part because the bottleneck back at the mandatory seat check is so astonishingly long. You'll eventually be shown up the stairs and into the old Iron Wolf station via the Flash Pass line, where you will be matched with someone. Or no one, if the grouper up there hasn't forced enough people to take empty rows and instead has allowed a 20 train wait for the front seats. Prepare to be admonished if you attempt to lower your lap bar on your own, and begin looking at the shadows of surrounding trees to time the crew. But most of all, have fun!

If a small earthquake 120 miles away causes trees to fall down a day later, its a miracle then that it never happened before. They should close the whole "mountain" area and start checking roots then....

The news should reassure people that coasters are safe. The accident itself is shocking enough. Maybe then theme parks should, I dunno, take care of their stuff and not let trees fall over on operating rides. I'm honestly at a complete loss for trees falling down on an average day in any park in the country. Tree branches, I can think of one example. A whole tree? Trees don't just fall over when the weather is nice.

A branch can shift, break and fall onto the tracks. Ninja is basically in the middle of a forest (using the term very loosely), so it's possible. It's a suspended coaster. The track is, essentially, upside down. Nothing is easily going to lay across it since the spine is elevated above the rails of the track itself, creating an arch.

Sure looks like that car is at the very least destroyed. A tree "branch" did that on a coaster that has no obvious way for a branch to lie across the track? I'm no genius, but that sounds....strange.

This. The ride wasn't just "ridable", it was actually really good. Probably the best "compact" steel roller coaster in the US.

Anyone who is reading this and has interest in Knoebels probably understands what they're going to. It isn't Disneyland. It isn't Islands of Adventure. If you don't live in Central PA, you go to Knoebels because it is the best existing traditional amusement park, even if it's really a recreation of such a park more than anything. If you're going expecting something appreciably different than that?

Hahaha, if you want to get reductionist like that, we can do that comparing Haunted Mansion to one trailer Owen dark rides just the same. Calling the Lusse's and carousel "normal" but with only a couple additions gets me rolling, bro. The haunted mansion is a long ride with a large variety of well-maintained uncaged stunts with generally perfect timing. That makes it unique. The bumper cars are a bunch of cars going around in a circle bumping into each other. That makes it pretty much like every other bumper cars. There's plenty of uncaged stunt dark rides. Heck, what separates the Old Mill at the Kansas State Fair from Pirates in the Caribbean? The boats are bigger? The robots have more points of articulation? Reductionism is stupid for serious critique when you take it down that far. The Lusse scooters aren't like other bumper cars. They're much heavier and produced much more pronounced bumping. Comparing them to random fiberglass bodied Bertazzons is fine if you flat out ridiculous unless you don't care about bumper cars. Same with serious discussion of the Grand Carousel vs. its peers. edit: If you're demanding Disneyland and you go to an idealistic version of the traditional American amusement park, of course you're going to be disappointed. It isn't Disneyland. And as much as I love Disneyland, I'm really glad it isn't.

Hahaha, if you want to get reductionist like that, we can do that comparing Haunted Mansion to one trailer Owen dark rides just the same. Calling the Lusse's and carousel "normal" but with only a couple additions gets me rolling, bro.

Yeah, this. If you're the kind of person who isn't picky and doesn't plan to leave the park once you've arrived, then go for something cheaper on the outskirts. I don't do 13/14 hour theme park visits any more. If you can, more power to you.

I'm surprised how much work on the outside of the building still remains and is occurring now with guests in the hotel. Typically, I'd expect a hotel in the midst of renovation with scaffolding everywhere to have lowered prices or at least warn guests that the rooms may have obstructions and things of the like. Cedar Point is gonna Cedar Point tho'. End results of those sections they've done look good. Improvements look solid, but I'm surprised by how many rooms they're ditching. Also, with just concept art, I have to wonder - will employees still be living in what could be choice accommodations in the rotunda? You answered your own question. No one thinks Breakers is really worth the money as a hotel. Because of its location though, the convenience factor ends up being worth it for me simply because everything else is terrible in Sandusky. I'd stay at the Fairfield Inn out on 250 if it wasn't $180/nt before taxes, but since Breakers is actually cheaper and far more convenient, that's where I end up staying. The only alternative in my mind is not going at all and visiting somewhere else.

It could have been a copyright for Adventureland up in Iowa who has a wood coaster by that name. Not sure though.

The situations at Astroworld and CGA were wildly different. The stadium already existed at Astroworld, as did a suitable nominee to be turned into additional parking. CGA was ultimately sold and set to be shuttered by Kinzel. Why the deal didn't finalize we don't know, but we do know that when it came time to talk about the deal collapsing, it was Matt Ouimet at the forefront instead. The pressure at CGA to close came from outside with the group building the new 49ers stadium. The pressure at Astroworld was from the Six Flags side of the equation. So again: Astroworld shouldn't have had needed to be saved in the first place. It died because the business people in charge screwed up at other parks, and Astroworld's location in a growing and successful market actually made it more valuable and easier to be sold off and dismantled than other parks the chain was looking at doing the same thing with (SFMM, SFA). It died so the banks and investors that paid for SFNE's big parking lot or Sea World Ohio could get .5 cents back to the dollar on their investments. Well, maybe that's a bit harsh, but that's how things ultimately turned out. Without the cash from the sale, it is very possible that Six Flags doesn't have enough money to pay its bills or employees and goes deep into bankruptcy, possibly even Chapter 7, very quickly.