Six Flags vs. Cedar Fair

[hemmy]

If you throw another chain into this mix, Busch seems to do better albeit on a much smaller scale.

 

This is a little unrelated, but Rastus once brought up a good point. People gush praise for parks like Holiday World, but if those coasters were at a park like SFMM or CP they would be "middle of the road." Criticism of Six Flags and Cedar Fair seems to be due to the fact they are held to a higher standard.

 

I agree while small, Busch is my favorite "chain"

 

While individually I would rather go to a park like Cedar Point over either Busch park (or Seaworld) as a whole other than CP Cedar Fair has nothing that great.

 

Cedar Point, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun are my top 3 Cedar Fair Parks.

 

Great Adventure, SFOG, SFOT are my top 3 Six Flags Parks

 

And of those six I would rank them

 

1. CP

2. SFGADV

3. SFOG

4. Valleyfair

5. SFOT

6. WOF

 

So According to that logic, Six Flags would seem to be my choice. However, I can't really make a decision I think they are equal.

[youthink?]

I've been to 2 CF parks and 2 SF parks and overall choose CF. The 2 CF parks I went to are Cedar Point and Worlds of Fun, while the 2 SF parks are Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Great America. Cedar Point is my favorite park out of all of them, Great America second, WOF third, and St. Louis fourth. Great America was a really excellent park, don't get me wrong, but CF I think knows how to run their parks better. And WOF has a really excellent atmosphere and great rides. St. Louis was ok, I think they need to have more rides though. (Hopes they get a GCI!)

[Axman]

^ I Really want to go to Worlds of Fun! It seems to be CF best example of a themed amusement park. KBF I though had great Mexican and Ghost Town themes, but the Boardwalk seemed more like a "Michigan's Adventure with Good Rides" section. Not enough trees, and a real-board-treatment would look nice.

[ParkTrips]

Also, try swimming in the water at a SF water park. It's filthier than the water in the bathrooms.

Really? I've been to a few Six Flags waterparks, and, uh, for the most part its like any other waterpark! Seriously I've never seen a "corporate" waterpark even close to fitting the description of filthy

[Axman]

^ I'm actually going to have to agree. SFMM's Hurricane Harbor was nicer than Magic Mountain itself....

[ParkTrips]

I think the very nature of waterparks causes them to be held to much higher standards, so no way should you ever see it filthy... now, E. Coli, on the other hand

[pvcoasterguy]

Six Flags parks: Six Flags New England, Six Flags Great America

Cedar Fair parks: Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Kings Dominion

 

I most definitely prefer Six Flags. The Cedar Fair parks just feel like every remnant of personality and uniqueness from that park has just been sucked out, leaving the rides uninspired, employees bored and slow, and the entire park unexciting. The Six Flags parks all feel different, and they all bring something new and different to the table. Six Flags also makes an effort to conserve and keep older rides and to theme sections of the park. Even with the marketing that the Six Flags parks now contain, the parks still feel vibrant , exciting, and fun each time.

[Axman]

Six Flags makes an effort to conserve and keep older rides and to theme sections of the park.

 

Who gave you that bad crack you're smoking?

[smallish]

SFGAdv, which may have the strongest coaster collection in North America.

 

I not sure what's the big deal about SFGadv. The only things I can't find something as awesome at SFMM are El Toro and Nitro, which were great, but otherwise it seemed pretty similar to Magic Mountain, coasterwise. The parks are pretty much equal to me.

[coaster05]

Six Flags makes an effort to conserve and keep older rides and to theme sections of the park.

 

Who gave you that bad crack you're smoking?

 

Very mature and there is no way you can say the CF chain is themed better than SF. Other than Derby Racer and Blue Streak everything in that park was built after 75. I am not sure SF is better, but most of their parks are also much newer.

[LcHg5265]

I most definitely prefer Six Flags. The Cedar Fair parks just feel like every remnant of personality and uniqueness from that park has just been sucked out, leaving the rides uninspired, employees bored and slow, and the entire park unexciting. The Six Flags parks all feel different, and they all bring something new and different to the table. Six Flags also makes an effort to conserve and keep older rides and to theme sections of the park. Even with the marketing that the Six Flags parks now contain, the parks still feel vibrant , exciting, and fun each time.

 

I am not deciding "which one is better," but i can not help but make a comment about the staffing.

 

If you think the employees at the Cedar fair parks were "bored and slow" then i don't know what you thought of the employees at Six Flags. Out of all the parks i have been too, CF,SF, or any other park, Six Flags has always had the slowest and worst employees. The only exception to that was SFGADV, but they still failed in comparison to the CF parks.

 

(Parks under both chains visited this season)

SF parks: SFNE, SFGADV, SFKK, LaRonde,

CF parks: CP, GL, KI, DP,

[sam06pr]

I really can't say much because I only have been to one CF park, Cedar Point and 3 SF parks, SFGAdv, SFNE, and SFOT.

From My experience I think CP's and SF's employee were not good. But I think CP employee were way much nicer.

In terms of rides, CP does a good job to keep them running all day on a sunny day, SF did good for the exception of Mr Freeze and Batman and Robin the Chiller.

Six Flags has better a theme. Both chains do not know how to keep things clean. I saw way too many spiderwebs at cp and the lake by Mantis was just nasty. A lot of old buildings that need to be retouched. Same goes for SF.

Food is nasty at SF. CP's food was ok.

So judging from my little experience i think Cedar Point beats all 3 sf parks that I have been to so far but that could change.

 

Someone said earlier that Busch is their favorite chain. I have to agree, I think they are better than anyone since they keep up with everything. Cleanliness, Park safety, guest satisfaction, good rides, and good maintenance.

[Axman]

SF can provide a decent theme when it comes to Gotham City, but as far as the original themed areas, nothing makes sense. Take SFOG:

 

Ninja and Superman in the "Cotton States"?

 

Georgia Cyclone and Achrafobia in "Britain"?

 

Dalogena Mine Train and Bugs Bunny Land in "Spain"?

 

Goliath in "USA" and Monster Plantation in "France"?

 

I'd assume that none of these areas even had a theme, If the park map didn't make it clear.

 

CP has Mantis and MF on the "Western Trail", but at least they are both at the beginnig, before any actual theming starts. Maverick and Tatsu are good examples of each of the chains trying to read into the park's original themes. CP's Western area doesn't really have anything that contradicts the theme (except Skyhawk, which really has no theme at all), While SFMM's Samurai Summit has Ninja and Tatsu, as well as Superman.

 

SF also has an obligation to build rides themed to superheros and villains, which is why they stray so far away from the theme. In the case of "X", However, in Baja Ridge, theres really no reason why the ride shouldn't have some king of a Baja theme.

 

In recent years, it seems that CF has an easier time building new rides that mesh with the current theme.

[coaster05]

CF has no theme, so of course it is easier to mesh with that theme. A western section of a park is one area, that is all there is. SFOG may not make much sense, but at least you can tell you are in different areas of the park.

 

Axman you would get a lot more credit in this thread if you stopped trying to convince us CF has a theme. Just say they make really good amusement parks and that would be easier.

 

For me I find the CF parks boring because if I am not in line for a ride I have nothing to look at. the SF parks at least give me something to do while passing time between lines.

[ginzo]

Axman you would get a lot more credit in this thread if you stopped trying to convince us CF has a theme. Just say they make really good amusement parks and that would be easier.

 

"Really good amusement parks" doesn't fly with Cedar Fair either, unless you're talking about exactly one of their properties.

 

Kennywood, Knoebels, Indiana Beach are really good regular amusement parks, but not the non-CP Cedar Fair properties.

 

Cedar Fair is a well run business in that they turn a pretty good profit by cutting every corner imaginable. But this doesn't translate into a great experience for the guests. They also have issues investing in non-CP properties.

 

I'm betting that within 5 years there won't even be cause for threads like this. CF will so obviously be the third rate operator that there won't even be discussion about it. The purchase of the Paramount properties all but assured their continued mediocrity. It would cost too damn much to really turn those parks around, and they have almost no financial incentive to do so. People keep coming no matter how bad the rides and food are.

[Axman]

^ That's not necessarily true. CF has made good decisions in the past, and I'm confident that they'll pull through.

[RIP Psyclone]

^ That's not necessarily true. CF has made good decisions in the past, and I'm confident that they'll pull through.

 

Even though Cedar Fair's CEO said Disaster Transport was one of the worst decisions he's made, it is at worst a truly one of a kind ride, and the favorite of many people.

[sixflagsguy5]

I'm now a Cedar Fair fan. I was a Six Flags fan up until last year. Ever since Snyder has taken over Six Flags, most of the additions have been about "family" attractions. I like the old view of having a new good coaster ever couple of years with small park improvements inbetween coasters. I know a lot of people are saying that "it's better for the parks," but I'm still not convinced.

 

Six Flags Great America added Wiggles World this year, but in my opinion did a horrible job of making any noticable changes to other parts of the park. If they're going with the cheaper "family" approach, then they may as well do a good job with it.

 

Cedar Fair on the other hand added new coasters to some of their parks (parks owned prior to 2006) and fixed up the parks that they had just bought. Although I'm not a huge Cedar Point fan, the park really impressed me this year with Maverick. I had also never been into Camp Snoopy and I thought that it was a very nice area.

[Satchboogie3]

I'm a Cedar Fair fan. So far, I've been to:

SFMM, SFGADV, SFMW, SFNE, SFDL, SFA, SFWOA (pre-CF), and The Great Escape. For CF, I've been to CP, KBF, Dorney, then all of the US Paramount parks pre CF.

 

I'd say that Six Flags parks have slightly better roller coasters. But, Cedar Fair keeps their parks are more reliable (ride wise).

 

For my experiences, I visited SFMM in 2003. X was currently down, along with Flashback, and about a dozen other flat rides. Deja Vu lasted just long enough for me to get a ride before that went down. The park was very dirty, the people (guests and staff) very unpleasant. I was there with my mother and she was called a lier by the staff (they were accusing her of cutting line while waiting to get season pass, despite all the people around her saying she didn't). There were many parts of the park that looked neglected and it wasn't all that pleasant.

 

SFKK (2005) was an absolute dump. I can't think of a single good thing there, I only stayed long enough to get my coaster credits and got the heck out of there.

 

SFMW was decent, but when I visited in 2001, a lot of the aquatic "stuff" was empty, etc. There weren't too many rides other than the main coasters. Too much cement, but overall enjoyable.

 

SFDL. I liked this park, I liked the rides, it had a lot of shade, a nice smaller park. But again, the staff were incredibly annoying. The last time I was there I had sunglass on while getting on SROS. I had ridden it just hours before with sunglass and no problems. But that time, the ride attendants told me to take them off. Ok, I put them in my hand. Not good enough for them. Alright, I put them in my cargo-pants pocket and buttoned them up, STILL not good enough. The guy told me to give them to him or he would kick me off. Talk about inconsistency and rudeness. A similar thing happened at SFMM know I remember.

 

SFGadv. I love their rides. Kinda Ka is as good as TTD, I love Nitro and Medusa, GASM is one of my favorite arrows, and El Toro is AMAZING. On the bad side, every time I've been there (4 times), there are always many rides down. I think every time i've been, either 1 side of Batman & Robin were down, or both. Rolling Thunder seemed to always be down. Mine ride too. Dirty, very neglected areas, understaffed, untrained staff, and unfriendly staff. The last time I visited (opening year of El Toro) there were sooo many problems. They didn't open El Toro or Kinda Ka until noon each day. WHY? Thats just unacceptable. On top of that, Kinda Ka was unreliable all day, and they only used 1 station both days I was there. Both Rolling Thunder and Batman & Robin were closed for what seemed like most of the summer. The park was noticeably understaffed. I remember waiting in line for a hamburger for nearly 45 minutes because they didn't have enough people working. On top of that, they also didn't even serve several items listed on the menu (that some people waiting 45 minutes just to get). I was with my family, my mom ordered a salad that was on the menu, the employee didn't even know they served salads! And this wasn't opening day, this was in August. He had to consult other people to solve the salad mystery, including asking my mom what goes in a salad... To make matters worse, they charged us extra, charging us for 2 beers that, get this, they didn't even have, yet it was on the menu. When I went back to show them they overcharged us, myself and my mother were called liars! So far a bad day, huh. Later that day while in line for Kinda Ka, I heard someone say that El Toro was already closing. It was only 8:30 so I thought the guy was just confused. We'll, after getting off KK at 9:00 and walking around, It became evident that ALL the rides were closed. The park had decided to cut back their hours due to money problems. Only thing is they neglected to tell ANYONE. Not a single person in the park new this. The park maps, website, entrance, etc all showed the normal 10:00 closing time. Talk about a way to get people out of your park... So yea, that was pretty aweful.

 

SFNE, my home park, a decent park, but again the staff isn't well trained.

SFA, a dump.

SFWoA. Decent park, but a lot of the rides/coasters were closed when I visited, the whole back of the park was shut down, etc. Not a fun day.

 

The Great Escape. I enjoyed that park. Not very notable, but decent.

 

I don't even think I need to write reviews/experiences on CF parks. I have been to CP many times, the only time a ride was down was the opening year of TTD and during the big ACE event there. But I got to ride it so I'm happy enough. Its the best park I have ever been to and is almost picture perfect. KBF is a great family park with great rides. Same goes for Dorney. Friendly staff, well trained, well staffed, and the parks were taken care of. I visited Geauga Lake when CF took it over and in just its first year they did a FANTASTIC job. They started rebuilding the water park, started opening up the back of the park, cleaned it up, and really put life back into it. Not the best rides, but it became a pleasant park to visit.

 

I've been to all US Paramount parks, pre CF, and I enjoyed them all. I liked the staff, rides, lots of trees and scenery, well taken care of. I'm guessing that CF has done a good job to keep the parks beautiful.

 

I'm sure SF has done a lot to try to improve their parks, but from my experiences, SF has been a nightmare and CF the dream.

[PURE]

I hate CF! Stupid rain delays and their coasters are lame-o!

 

Hail SF! They're still a haven to teenage anarchy and their coasters are d'bomb!

 

Let the childish theme park rants ensue!

[pvcoasterguy]

Six Flags makes an effort to conserve and keep older rides and to theme sections of the park.

 

Who gave you that bad crack you're smoking?

 

 

Since you gave me a bitchy answer, I'll give you one as well.

 

Need I point out the number of original rides remaining at Six Flags Great America since Marriott's opening day? Columbia Carousel, Rue le Dodge, Whizzer, Turn of the Century (now Demon), (Orleans) Orbit, Hometown Fun Machine, Triple Play, Logger's Run, Yankee Clipper, East River Crawler, Pictorium (still an operating movie theatre!)--all of these are still operating to this date at Six Flags Great America. You cannot tell me that Cedar Fair would have kept all of these rides, especially one-of-a-kind rides like Whizzer! Cedar Fair would wash their hands of it right away, just like they did with Worlds of Fun's Zambei Zinger.

[dpxtreme]

^It's not like those are one of a kind rides you can't find anywhere else. Whizzer is probably the only ride I credit Six Flags for keeping, but even that kind ride is not fun anymore. Now I've never been to SFGam, but I always read that Yankee Clipper hardly ever stays open, so what's the point of keeping a ride and crediting the park for saving it, if they never keep it open?! Which leads me to the argument that Cedar Fair keeps their rides open (when it's not raining of course )! And where's Delta Flyer/Eagles Flight, or Yukon Yahoo!? Six flags doesn't save everything.

 

And look at Great America in Santa Clara. Paramount's was on the verge of removing The Orbit (Enterprise) last season, and Cedar Fair came in and saved it.

[Axman]

^^ SFGAm happens to be their best example of preserving the past. Just look at SFOT! The only origonal is the train. Pretty much the same goes for SFOG and SFSt.L. I belive SFMM has only the Sky Tower and Gold Rusher, that are still operating, and SFGAd only has the Sky Ride, The Ferris Wheel, The Log Flume, and Mine Train. Preserving the past is the last thing SF is concerned about. SFGAm just got lucky.

 

This is not to say that CF preserves the past too well, but it's better than what SF can offer. Besides, chains don't preserve the past that well anyway. Its part of being a train.

 

Also, I don't count "The Turn Of The Century" as a ride that's been operating since opening day, because its been the "Demon" since 1980. Most of it is the same ride, but a lot of it is not, which is reason enough to call a "new" ride.

 

Also (again), CF sold Zambezi Zinger to a new park. SF almost scarpped Whizzer, and it took an army of ragging ACErs to stop them!

Zambezi Zinger seems to be doing just fine.

[pvcoasterguy]

^^ I never once said that Six Flags saves everything. BTW, Yankee Clipper operates during the summer season and on weekends (when the weather is not too cold). In addition, it's one of the very few Arrow Hydroflumes that still has its awesome 'jump' remaining.

 

^ The only thing different between Turn of the Century and Demon were the two loops that were added. That's it. So over 80% of the ride is exactly the same.

 

It's absolutely impossible to win with you guys. I don't care how much you're against it, but I'm still going to think that Six Flags is better at preservation and originality.

[spaceace12]

I haven't been to any cedar fair parks, but been to two six flags parks. I can only compare to what others say. Food wise, CF has the worst deal. Six flags food is high priced, but not as bad as CF, from what I read.