MrSum1_55

"7-10 roller coasters, but only 2-3 good ones," pretty much describes a good portion of the big park in North America. For me, a disappointing park is one that has a relatively large number of coasters but none that are particularly good. Elitch Gardens takes the cake for me. Their best coaster is the Arrow shuttle loop, but even that they make very little effort to keep open. Walibi Belgium has a pretty lame lineup too, but they are fixing that with Kondaa. I kind of hate to say this, but Lagoon has a very mediocre lineup for how many coasters it has. I thought Cannibal was very overrated. Wicked is good, but the second half is very lame. The Schwarzkopf was surprisingly good. But other than that, it's mostly mediocre clones. I appreciate the fact that they have a historic wood coaster, but I have ridden several other coasters from the same era that were better. I am willing to give Lagoon more of a pass because it is not corporate. I would still rather spend a day there than most Six Flags parks even with their very mediocre lineup.

Phoenix And Phantom's Revenge. Phoenix really goes crazy after the second turnaround. It starts out pretty generic before this part, but after this you get the crazy double up/double down, a surprisingly strong pop of air into the third turnaround, and a strong run of four hills to the station. The first half of Phantom's Revenge never did much for me. The best part of the ride is the airtime at the top of the second drop, but the rest of the first half didn't feel too special. It was the figure eight finale that really got me. Airtime and positive G's galore.

Buying Quimera already came out of nowhere. I would argue that this was more surprising than getting the shuttle loop. If they get the shuttle loop, then that would be fantastic too. There is only one left in the US, so that would double the number.

This brings back memories. I went to Legendia in 2018, when there was not that much about this park on the internet yet other than reviews of Lech Coaster. Lech really feels like a complete experience, with a fully themed queue and even some theming during the ride. However, the rest of the park looks exactly like you would expect a park in the Eastern Bloc to look. It is green and has a lake, but I remember the foliage being fairly overgrown and most of the rides had a carnival feel. (The area around the park is very "Eastern Blocky").

^I agree with most of your points, but the point you made about parks struggling before the pandemic is not true. Most public attendance figures have shown that the theme park industry has actually been growing over the past few years. 2020 was supposed to be a great year for new rides until all this happened. The rise of at home entertainment is not killing the theme park industry, and in some ways is actually benefiting it. Malls are dying because people can shop online. Theaters are dying because people can watch movies online. But theme park rides? You can watch a POV online, but that's not the same as actually riding it. Other adrenaline based hobbies, like skiing or watersports, are very expensive, so theme parks are still the best option for most people looking for thrills and will likely remain that way for a long time. Social media also provides free advertising which has caused in increase in travel, allowing theme parks to grow their popularity with young adults. The industry is in for a rough couple years, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few small parks can't make it. But the theme park industry as a whole is not going anywhere anytime soon.

In 2019, I went to Tivoli, Walibi Holland, Heide Park, Phantasialand, PortAdventura, Rhinekirmes and California's Great America. The year before I went to Grona Lund, Kolmarden, Energylandia, and Legendia. The year before that I went to Cedar Point, Phantasialand Hansa Park, Holiday Park, and Europa Park. I'm perfectly fine taking 2020 off, as I went to multiple new parks every year for the previous three years. My plan for 2020 was to do Holiwood Nights, (I have never been to Holiday World). The schedule is still on for the end of may, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Holiwood nights might have to wait for another time.

Twisted Colossus is really the only reason I still go to this park. If they can go from having one coaster good enough to make me tolerate this park to having two, that is a big step up for me.

I have been to Phantasialand twice in my life. Both visits were two years apart. Rookburgh was under construction both times I went. My first visit to the park was in 2017. That was almost three years ago.

^^Late May at best. Maybe longer. I would not book any theme park trips for this summer. A am tentatively planning an August trip, but I am still going to wait and see before booking it.

At this time, it looks like most big parks will eventually close. There is no way around that. The real question is how long. I'm hoping that the parks can reopen by the summer season, but that is a pretty big question.

Will the second Boomerang have a different layout from the other? I hope so. I swear, this park is like someone is playing a scenario in Roller Coaster Tycoon when you are desperate for more money and guests, so you start spamming cheap coasters. Seriously, this park has one of the largest coaster selections in the world, but the fourth best coaster at this time is the Vekoma family suspended coaster. I know this park is getting EU funding, but I would not be surprised if money laundering conspiracies start popping up.

So far, I have decided to postpone any major park trips until further notice. I was saving up for a Midwest/South trip this summer with Silver Dollar City being the main destination, but as of now I am going to wait to see the effects of the virus on the industry before booking any flights. Instead, I might tentatively plan a mini road trip to visit some smaller parks in the Mountain West, like Lagoon and Glenwood Caverns. Much less stress planning a trip where I do not have to book a flight, and I feel like regional parks would be a safer bet than larger ones.

I consider Furius Baco to be one of the worst coasters I have ever ridden. I have ridden several SLC's, and all of them are smoother than Baco. I would also mention Kärnan. I do not hate this coaster, but I do not think it is anywhere near the top ten in Europe as many others seem to think. It is very rough for a new steel coaster, and it has a ton of awkward transitions. The layout feels very meandering, like this coaster is trying to be I305 but not succeeding. I liked Fluch von Novgorod a lot better.

Legendia was the weirdest park I have ever been two. They have two different Zyklon coasters with similar layouts. (Though these kinds of coasters are sort of a guilty pleasure for me). They have lots of odd flat rides and a weird looping coaster (closed on my visit). Everyone knows this park for the Vekoma looper, but it was still weirder than I was expecting. Getting there was an experience in and of itself. Katowice is very "Eastern Blocky." If you want to see what a typical Communist bloc city looked like, take the long walk from the train station to the park. I would totally go back.

It's a mixed bag. In Poland, everybody speaks English, but not all the signs will be in English, especially at food places. (Polish is so difficult to read, I ended up pointing to what I wanted). They do take cards. This might be obvious, but be sure to see other things in the Krakow area. If you want to go to Auschwitz (and you should), book your tickets in advance. Also be sure to visit the salt mine, and the occupation museum. Krakow has a nice old town, so it is a great place to walk around in. The Jewish Quarter is great at night. (But watch out for strip clubs/scams).

I recently went to the park for the first time in a few years, mainly for Railblazer. Railblazer did not disappoint. It was awesome. I was not a fan of the shape of the seats and the way my foot bones hit the sides on the lateral movements. but other than that it was perfect. The capacity is also terrible, so ride it early. Twisted Colossus is my favorite in California, but Railblazer is a real contender for second. i hadn't ridden Patriot since the conversion. I actually liked it more than I thought I would. It is still a little rough, but there is just enough intensity to make it enjoyable. It is better than Rougarou. Gold Striker has aged very poorly. I was shocked. It used to be my favorite GCI, but now it's down there among the worst ones (like Apocalypse or Wildcat). Now I would say that Wodan is my favorite GCI. It doesn't have the best layout, but it is by far the best maintained. Flight Deck is still awesome, and is holding up really well for a coaster over 25 years old.

My last visit was three years ago. Timber Terror was running great at that time, but Tremors was quite rough. I know the park uses topper track on some sections of Tremors, but it could use more. Even though the wood coasters are hit-or-miss, the operations are bad, and the park is long overdue for a new coaster, I still love this park. It has that "small park" charm that feel like a breath of fresh air in a country dominated by corporate parks. I might be moving to Northern Idaho soon. If I do, I will be proud to call this my home park.

Frisbees are quite effective rides. You can get good airtime during the direction changes. I can't ride them anymore because I no longer have the tolerance for spinning that I used to, but I do miss riding them.

^That one still makes a lot more sense than some of the other rankings. Phoenix is my #2 wood, with my #1 being Wildfire. I don't know how far down the list Wildfire is, but I guarantee it would make me cringe.

Came in expecting another terrible list. My expectations were met. I can pick apart all the ridiculous rankings and the obvious bias toward large North American parks, but there is really no point anymore. It's the same every year.

^Okay, that side bin system sucks. Last year, they were just letting people use the bins, like the vast majority of other parks. Seems like this park has already gone downhill in the span of a year.

I've heard people compare Lech coaster to an RMC, but for me it gave more of an "old school B&M" vibe. That is a good thing, as I like those types of rides. It basically felt like Kumba with few airtime hills mixed in. However, i did not think it was the best coaster in Poland. I preferred Hyperion. Lech Coaster was second best of me, and I would love to see more of these.

I visited this park last year. I enjoyed by visit, but I definitely agree with some of the criticisms. I really liked Hyperion. It had a bit of a rattle in the outside seats, but I've definitely ridden worse. (It was nowhere near as rough as Furius Baco). However, that was also opening year. It might have gotten worse since then. I visited on a Saturday, so the park was packed. Thankfully, operations were actually quite descent on my visit. All coasters were running the maximum number of trains, and dispatches were not too bad. It is possible that the operators did not bring their "A" game because the park was less crowded, resulting in a more frustrating day. (I've seen that happen at other parks quite a few times). However, the aesthetics of the park are quite bad to say the least. There are some nice-looking areas, but other areas look like Six Flags America. The theming is also random to some rides, having rides with wildly different themes right next to each other. It reminded me a bit of Hansa Park. Hansa Park is the nicer of the two parks, but I also don't really like that park because it has some of the same problems. I also found the ride selection to be lackluster. I loved Hyperion, and I liked their Vekoma launch coaster. Besides those two, the third-best coaster was the family inverted coaster. That is not good in a park with a large number of coasters. I would imagine that Zadra helps give the lineup a boost. I might go back to this park one day. I wouldn't say this park is worth making a trip for in and of itself, but I do like the city of Krakow. It is a beautiful city, and an absolute must-visit if you are a WWII history nerd.

Comparing Taron to Maverick is comparing apples to oranges. They are great for different reasons. Maverick is intense and packed with forces. Taron is also intense, but it is more about the visuals than just the track layout. Airtime is a little sparse on both coasters, but Maverick's airtime moments are better.

I have planned a few trips to Europe. However, I also plan my trips around other things besides theme parks. I have gone pretty far out of my way to visit places like Berlin, Prague, and Munich, and none of these places have any large permanent parks nearby. I would also do the same for Warsaw and Budapest. If you want to do a Europe trip from a coaster perspective, you could start in the Netherlands and work your way down through the west side of Germany. This would take you to Walibi Holland, Efteling, Phantasialand, Holiday Park, and Europa Park. I think this is a great trip due to the relative proximity of the parks, and the fact that you can see many great cities on the way if you do not want to do a park day. With this route, you would either pass through or end up near Amsterdam, Cologne, Heidelberg, Baden Baden, Strasbourg, and Freiburg. The last two are some of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, enough that they could serve as theme parks in and of themselves.