Great Adventure or Cedar point

[Sephiroth77]

If I could only choose one of these to visit, which is better. Cedar Point hase more great roller coasters but Great Adventure has Kingda Ka and El Toro

[Erik Johnson]

If I could only choose one of these to visit, which is better. Cedar Point hase more great roller coasters but Great Adventure has Kingda Ka and El Toro

 

While I do like Cedar Point, my vote has to go to Great Adventure. It is my favorite Six Flags park. It has a great collection of coasters as well as great operations. I do think Top Thrill Dragster is better than Kingda Ka, but Great Adventure does have El Toro and Nitro.

[alpengeist04]

Which park has El Toro?

[ginzo]

For me, it's easily Great Adventure. I greatly prefer the coasters at Great Adventure and it has the advantage of being not Cedar Point. Maverick is my favorite steel coaster, but El Toro is my favorite overall. And the supporting cast of coasters at Cedar Point just doesn't do it for me. Cedar Point might have better flats, but they certainly don't have an exceptional collection of flats like Knoebels or IB. And Great Adventure's parachute ride counts for a lot. Also, Great Adventure sells Gold Q-Bots, which transform an otherwise busy and intolerable park day into a really awesome time. When you go to CP you have to sacrifice a few goats to Shiva in the hope that most of the major coasters aren't going to have 2-3 hour queues.

[hemmy]

I don't want to get yelled at for using my logic but:

 

El Toro is the best of every ride at these parks

 

But Nitro is boring in my opinion, TTD is better than KK (both overrated). Medusa is fun, and Cedar Point doesn't have a floorless. Raptor is much better than B:TR clones

 

I prefer Cedar Point's atmosphere over GADV as well. People always hate on it for having too much cement, but other than the front of the park there really isn't much more than any other park.

 

Plus, I love Maverick (where many other people have mixed opinions on this)

[TopThrill182]

I'd definitely vote for Cedar Point. I think they have the better coaster collection first off. Yes, El Toro is incredible and my favorite coaster, but other than that there isn't too much else. I found Nitro really boring, Kingda Ka wasn't nearly as good as Dragster, Batman is just like all the others, Superman: Ultimate Flight is merely OK, etc. Cedar Point has Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Maverick, Magnum, and Wicked Twister, all of which are EXCELLENT coasters in my opinion.

 

I also think Cedar Point has the nicer atmosphere. The only nice areas at GADV are the Golden Kingdom and La Plaza. The others feel outdated and look pretty sparse. Cedar Point also has many more flat choices than GADV, which will make more for you to do.

 

Both of which are great parks, but I definitely think CP is the better one.

[Thom25]

Every year it seems this topic comes up, and I almost passed it buy until I read "I've never been to SFGA, but my vote goes with SFGA over CP" - WTF?

 

SFGA has more than a few great rides like ET, Nitro, Medusa, and KK, while CP has Maverick, MF, Raptor, TTD, Magnum, etc. Both great.

 

What puts it over the top for me is the beach, water park, on-site hotels, and customer service - CP is the one park I go to every year from Boston.

[SnooSnoo]

For the atmosphere: Cedar Point

For the rides: SFGAdv

[coaster05]

GADV and for me it is not even close. GADV is a nicer looking park with the addition of the 2 new areas. GADV has a flume, the food at both places is not good, and I personally think the flats are a wash, because the 2 good ones CP has either are down or run 1/2 capacity. For flats I wouldn't go to either park.

 

Even if you go just coasters, no other factor, no bias on location here is what I have.

 

1. El Toro

2. Nitro

3. MF

4. Maverick

5. Medusa

6. Raptor

7. Superman

8. Blue Streak

9. By now for either park I am not that excited.

[ginzo]

What puts it over the top for me is the beach, water park, on-site hotels, and customer service - CP is the one park I go to every year from Boston.

 

Yeah, shutting down the park every time it drizzles is great customer service.

 

While I do agree that it sucks that Great Adventure doesn't have on-property resorts, Cedar Point is not exactly a leader in this arena either. Breakers is a very clean 1 star hotel at 3 star prices with subpar dining options and nothing to do at night after the park shuts down.

 

I'm sorry, but when I can stay at Royal Pacific at Universal Orlando for LESS than Breakers, something is VERY wrong. Not to mention the fact that Breakers is poorly maintained with frequent power and hot water outtages.

 

The beach? Yeah, it looks kinda cool, but who actually swims in Lake Erie? *shudder*

[Thom25]

HMm... Well, most park close rides when it rains, unless the ride is indoors. I view this issue as safety vs. customer service - when I go snowboarding I don't bitch when the lift is down due to wind - and wouldn't complain about rides being down due to weather.

 

I agree Breakers is not the best - working in the hospitality industry - it is VERY expensive for what you get - but no different than other parks. Yes, you can stay at Universal for less during the "off" season, and their properties are nicer for sure - but they are also open year round which makes a huge difference. There isn't much to do at Universal either when the property shuts down. I prefer lighthouse point when I stay there.

 

It honestly all about personal taste and prefference - nothing more

[HerBlackWings]

GADV without a doubt. Go to RCDB.com and do the comparisons. In regards to coasters, I think CP has fallen far behind (with only Maverick and Topthrill for strong points), although their "flats" are pretty decent.

 

And if you're concerned about a lack of natural scenery...GADV has an incredible drive-thru "safari".

[sfgadviperboi]

^^GADV only closes Ka during rain storms. The other coasters remain open.

[HerBlackWings]

^Um, and in support of SF over CP...i spent 7 hours in NONSTOP RAIN at SFNE 2 days ago, with my choice of everything in the park, on top of consecutive rides on Superman...until the park closed.

 

Last summer, the bulk of the TPR Midwest group spent 8 HOURS waiting in the rain for ONE RIDE on Maverick. 'Nuff said.

[Thom25]

A RCDB comparison would only prove CP has more coasters than SFGA. I will agree CP is a "bit" behind GA in terms of coaster quality - would totally disagree that CP is "far behind" - imo - one maybe two more Maverick qulaity coasters would seal the deal for CP, because let's face it, both parks have dogs in terms of coasters. I think it's only ET that gives SFGA the edge.

[coaster05]

Closing in rain is a CF issue, not a safety issue. I have rode multiple rides in huge rainstorms and as long as there is no lightning they are good. CF's policy is just garbage when it comes to that I also find their service to be robotic.

[Thom25]

^Really?

 

Didn't magnum have an issue (crash) right after or during a rain storm?

 

CF wants to operate on the side of caution - hats off to them.

 

I will take CF's operations and maintance over SF's ANY day!

 

FYI, SFNE is my home park - I'll take an inconvenience at CF over months of ride closings and death (literally) at SFNE (RoS specifically).

[ginzo]

^Really?

 

Didn't magnum have an issue (crash) right after or during a rain storm?

 

CF wants to operate on the side of caution - hats off to them.

 

It's not erring on the side of caution: it's just plain dumb. As long as there is no lightning, what's dangerous about running one train in the rain?

 

There isn't much to do at Universal either when the property shuts down.

 

Ever heard of "City Walk"? Except for seeing a first run movie or drinking at one of several bars, you're totally right.

[RIP Psyclone]

I'll take an inconvenience at CF over months of ride closings and death (literally) at SFNE (RoS specifically).

 

What? I'm unable to find anything about that.

[Wes]

^ http://www.rideaccidents.com/2004.html#may1b

[Jew]

^Really?

 

Didn't magnum have an issue (crash) right after or during a rain storm?

 

CF wants to operate on the side of caution - hats off to them.

 

I will take CF's operations and maintance over SF's ANY day!

 

FYI, SFNE is my home park - I'll take an inconvenience at CF over months of ride closings and death (literally) at SFNE (RoS specifically).

 

So every other park that can somehow manage to keep their rides open in the rain without incident is doing it wrong?

[southpuddle]

CEDAR POINT HAS CHANGED THEIR RAIN POLICIES!!!

Jesus, people. I swear... the park did something last year that got all of your panties in a twist and you still can't stop going on about it even though that policy now no longer exists... I'm sorry that rain ruined all of your guys' trips last year on the Midwest tour, but the park did what it did and they learned from their mistake. Get over it. Coasters remain open in the rain now (except the ones that closed for rain before last year's idiotic policies).

 

You really can't expect to ask this question on this site and get an unbiased answer. Half of everyone here has some strange anti-CP thing going on. If you asked the same question over at Pointbuzz, it would be the complete opposite. Try to ignore what everyone here has said and just go where you want to go the most.

[SteveC]

Staying with the rain issue I thought I'd stick my oar in but only to say that I've ridden MF in the rain and wouldn't plan on doing so again. On the plus side of this experience it would save you a packet on exfoliation treatment and it is probably a one hit cure for acne.

[ginzo]

^^O RLY? This might be true, but they didn't bother to update their site to this effect.

 

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/news/faq.cfm?current_root=238#faq_74

 

ANY PRECIPITATION - These rides WILL CLOSE: 4 x 4's, Challenge Raceway, Demon Drop, Giant Wheel, Raptor, Top Thrill Dragster, Wildcat and Woodstock Express.

 

STEADY RAIN - All rides listed under ANY PRECIPITATION and the rides listed below will close: Calypso, Corkscrew, Disaster Transport, Gemini, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200, Mantis, Matterhorn, Maverick, Mean Streak, Millennium Force and Snoopy Bounce.

 

Do you have anything to show that they changed the policy?

[Jew]

You really can't expect to ask this question on this site and get an unbiased answer. Half of everyone here has some strange anti-CP thing going on. If you asked the same question over at Pointbuzz, it would be the complete opposite. Try to ignore what everyone here has said and just go where you want to go the most.

 

Biased? Perhaps it is because many of the members on this site have actually experienced the affects of CP's horrible rain policy/bad operations? I have a negative opinion of Cedar Point because my one and only visit last season (a trip half way across the country) was nearly ruined by the horrible rain policy and slow operations.

 

As ginzo posted, their website still seems to reflect the fact rides do close in rain. There has also been conflicting reports on the matter depending on what TR you read. So I'm hardly convinced the policy has changed. Please do enlighten us with something official from the park before you accuse us all of being bias.