Underrated Parks

[Genx24]

Canobie Lake. I visited for the first time Monday and was blown away at how great it was. A beautiful clean environment, a great selection of rides and a friendly atmosphere make the park a hidden gem in the North East.

 

If anyone is up in the New England area and want something more than SFNE or Lake Compounce, the trek up to New Hampshire is well worth it.

[Themonerd]

 

Domestic: Seaworld Orlando's Christmas Celebration. Seaworld at Christmas might be the most magical thing in Orlando. The Polar Express ride and North Pole are big upgrades from the usual Wild Arctic, the christmas village has a firepit and carolers, the coasters are actually open for night rides, everything is super-cheesy and nostalgic, the lighting sections in the park are gorgeous, and the shows are the best (and cheeeesiest) the park puts on all year. It's the park at its best and it beats everything Christmas from Universal and Disney and Busch IMO.

 

 

Amen. I went twice 6 years ago and my family was amazed. Amazing considering they aren't the biggest fans of the park.

[ejot]

I'll put down for Waldameer. It's often treated as more of a quick stop than a trip on its own, but it's affordable, fun, growing, feels well-maintained, and has plenty of charm. The setting is gorgeous like Cedar Point, RFII is a great GG woodie, the flume is really good, the dark rides are quirky classics, the drop ride is bananas, and there's plenty more to see & do that I won't include in this long sentence. Add in a sunset at Presque Isle, a little wine tasting around North East PA (it's a pretty town nearby, I don't mean Northeastern PA), and you've got one of the best summertime weekends you can have in the state!

I going there next week with an enthusiast friend who loves it, and goes a lot, so I'm excited to hear this about it! I knew about Ravine Flyer II being great (my friend's #6 coaster), but like that is sounds like the whole park is nice and charming to go to as well!

You're in for a treat. This park is a gem and doesn't get praised nearly often enough! Definitely my #1 vote for this thread. I hope you're staying till close because Waldameer after dark is pure magic and RFII night rides are life-altering.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

This park is extremely tiny, but I actually think Clementon Park should be mentioned. A few years ago it was beyond sketchy, but the park has made a decent recovery since then. It has a carnival-type atmosphere, but there's actually some nice scenery, and the lake looks great! It has a good nighttime atmosphere in particular. They have a portable 90 ft. A.R.M. tower, but it's still better than most drop towers! They also have a Larson Loop, a really good log flume that's completely over water, and of course there's Hellcat. It's a really rough and beats you up, but it's really short so it's not that painful. It has some a$$-kicking airtime moments and great laterals. And the pacing is excellent. So while it has a bad reputation, the park has made a bit of a comeback and I can't wait to see how it is in a few years. I'm 20 minutes away from it, so it's convenient for me so I've been able to "learn" how to ride Hellcat.

[coasterbill]

I'll put down for Waldameer. It's often treated as more of a quick stop than a trip on its own, but it's affordable, fun, growing, feels well-maintained, and has plenty of charm. The setting is gorgeous like Cedar Point, RFII is a great GG woodie, the flume is really good, the dark rides are quirky classics, the drop ride is bananas, and there's plenty more to see & do that I won't include in this long sentence. Add in a sunset at Presque Isle, a little wine tasting around North East PA (it's a pretty town nearby, I don't mean Northeastern PA), and you've got one of the best summertime weekends you can have in the state!

I going there next week with an enthusiast friend who loves it, and goes a lot, so I'm excited to hear this about it! I knew about Ravine Flyer II being great (my friend's #6 coaster), but like that is sounds like the whole park is nice and charming to go to as well!

You're in for a treat. This park is a gem and doesn't get praised nearly often enough! Definitely my #1 vote for this thread. I hope you're staying till close because Waldameer after dark is pure magic and RFII night rides are life-altering.

 

I almost said Waldameer too. I went with Morey's but Waldameer was a really pleasant surprise. It's a really pretty, clean, well manicured park with a really fun atmosphere. Going to Conneaut immediately after helped to further enhance that opinion but even before that we really liked it.

[djcoastermark]

I have to agree with Waldameer also. The view of the Lake Erie and beach from the top of RFII and the drop tower is one of the most stunning. As is the drive on the highway under RFII.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I really want to go to Waldameer so badly. But I've never been able to get there due to the distance so it's the only major Pennsylvania park I want to get to but haven't.

[blk_mamba]

I am going to make a controversial pick and say Six Flags America. So many people trash and bash this park, sometimes with good reason, but I feel like it is not as terrible as advertised. I have never had an amazing time there but I have never had a horrible time. I think it has been bashed so much that if people gave the park a chance they would probably leave saying "its not great but not as bad as people make it out to be".

[boldikus]

Kennywood. One of my top 3 parks, and doesn't get nearly the level of respect it deserves. Its just great on many different levels from exceptional rides to pleasant and friendly employees and ops, to the park layout and landscaping and overall classic and folksy feel. Its simultaneously a place you can get lost in but its also not huge and sprawled out. I havent been to a fraction of the amount of parks as some people here have so I'm always trying to hatch plans to get to places I haven't been yet but Kennywood remains high up on my must-get-back-to list. I need more time there.

 

Honorable mention goes to Morey's but I feel like yall figured I'd say that.

 

Another mention for SFOG, extraordinary for a Six Flags park. Gorgeous and clean park, some seriously fun rides. Those who say this is the best SF park aren't kidding.

[DILinator]

It's great to see all the Waldameer love, because it's only getting me even more excited for next Friday! It's going to be my Birthday, too, so it sounds like it'll bee a very worthy way to spend my special day!

[CanobieFan]

I also agree on Canobie Lake. The park has a perfect selection of rides, and while their coasters aren't very thrilling, it's a great place to visit with friends for a few hours, especially with the after 5 deal! Ride a couple rides, grab an ice cream, sit on a bench and hang out with friends, and ride the carousel to end the night. Such a classic amusement park atmosphere and you just leave saying "ah".

 

I also say Lake Compounce, while known exclusively for Boulder Dash, the rest of the park is great! Wildcat is the definition of what a true classic wooden coaster is, the perfect balance (now after redo) of rough and smooth, buzzbars, and Three Bench PTC trains! They have a great flat selection, and a great water park where you can actually swim in the lake! They also maintain a trolley, which is really awesome.

 

New England is known for SFNE, but these smaller parks blow it out of the water and guarantee a wonderful, classic experience.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

The Great Escape. I could put this here for The Comet alone, but they also have a very solid flat ride collection. And what really surprised me was the theming and scenery. It has a really nice location and everything was clean and well-decorated when I visited the park, and it doesn't even feel like a Six Flags park! As an overall experience, it's probably my favorite Six Flags park I've been to, just beating out SFGAd, and blowing away SFNE and SFA.

[djackson]

Six Flags America is very underated. It gets a lot of crap for being the hand me down park and attracting a rather bad crowd of people. What do you expect from a park in a metropolitan area. How are they stopping you from having fun.

[DILinator]

I just wanted to re-visit this thread, now that I am back from my Birthday trip to Waldameer. What a great little park! Everybody who praised it was spot on! I enjoyed a number of the flats, as well as the fun and quirky Pirate's Cove and Wacky Shack! With apologies to coasterbill, I did not ride the flume, even though I was interested in it... I'll definitely go back sometime, and I'll be sure to hit that, and the Music Express, which I also missed.

 

But the two stand-outs:

 

That crazy, scary, scream-heavy drop tower X-Scream - are you kidding me??? It's been since my early days riding Demon Drop, since I've felt that freaked out on a drop ride! Holy frick!!!

 

And of course, Ravine Flyer II! What an absolutely amazing, fantastic, and world-class coaster! From the view at the top of the lift, to the awesome tunnels, to the bridge over the highway, to airtime galore all over the place, to its unrelenting nature, to the 90 degree turn (cue the TPR video of RFII!), and to night rides on it, which were a Top 5 night experience on a coaster! It's now in my Top 10 overall, and a Top 3 wooden coaster for me! It's not quite as good as its bigger cousin The Voyage, but is at least a little more accessible for a larger amount of people, since it's not as "intense".

 

BTW, I rode Ravine Flyer 3, and it was SO embarrassing, since there was nobody else on it over 10 it appeared, and all the adults/parents were standing off to the side waiting for their kids, just staring at me. Even the ride op was clearly suppressing laughter the whole time, with the most bemused smile on his face. Having said that, it's a very legit kiddie coaster, and actually quite fun to ride! I love the setting over the water, circling the fountain, too! Having said that, I will NOT be getting on it again, unless one of my kids is with me, since I can't take all that judgmental staring again! Here is a picture of me enjoying it, in all of my ridiculous, enthusiast glory!

 

Yeah, I'm "That guy "! But it was really a fun kiddie coaster, what can I say???

 

Waldameer was a great park experience, and now I can wholeheartedly vouch for its status as an underrated park! It was definitely a worthy place to spend my Birthday, and riding Ravine Flyer II is one of the best Birthday presents a coaster-lover could ask for!

[storms555]

not sure if this will come of as a weird one but id have to say the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas. Yea there is only 3 mechanical rides but being on top of that tall tower is a very unique experience and the rides are a lot of fun! The sky diving thing i would of did if it wasnt so much extra money though :/ But the other rides were fun enough. I mean you are hanging off a tower on the rides! The drop tower is the middle is fun too. I wouldnt say its worth the visit alone(i mean unless you want to do that) but if you are ever in the area you should check it out.