If you could get rid of one thing..

[maeryk]

across ALL parks, what would it be?

 

For me, It would be games that give away basketballs.

 

Probably just a stupid personal pet peeve, but it's THE most annoying thing, to me, in parks.

[larrygator]

^if they take the air out of the basketballs there would be no problem.

[pianojohn]

Allowing guests to wear bathing suits in the parks that have water parks attached.

 

I mean...who is the GENIUS who thought it was ok for people to ride coasters in wet bathing suits and leave behind their water, sweat, and whatever else on the seat for the next rider??

[BeemerBoy]

^ Amen to that.

 

 

For me, it's parking prices....period. Unless you're assigning an armed guard to my car, and a NASCAR pit crew to change my oil and tires, I shouldn't be paying $15 to park in your lot for 8 hours.

[Wes]

I'd get rid of "front of the line" privileges for people in wheelchairs. Not that they should have to wait in line, but I think parks should adopting a fast pass type system where the person or party is given a card with a specific time to come back, based on the current wait time. This allows the person to avoid waiting, while also being fair to the people in line.

 

I know Disney does something similar to this. I think all parks should do it.

[YoshiFan]

I would get rid of all pay to line cut systems

[jcbwjck]

I'd get rid of "front of the line" privileges for people in wheelchairs. Not that they should have to wait in line, but I think parks should adopting a fast pass type system where the person or party is given a card with a specific time to come back, based on the current wait time. This allows the person to avoid waiting, while also being fair to the people in line.

 

I know Disney does something similar to this. I think all parks should do it.

All Cedar Fair parks do this as well. My biggest pet peeve (maybe this is because I am an employee) are slow employees. There is no reason you should be standing around talking unless there is something important to the operation of the ride. Guests don't pay to wait around watching you talk to your friends or see you slowly checking restraints, they pay to go on rides.

[Team Thriller]

This thread.

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

But honestly, I would get rid of all those stupid burglars who break into homes and then try and sue the owner if he gets a cut. And actually wins.

That always have pissed me off.

 

--James

[Goliath513]

But honestly, I would get rid of all those stupid burglars who break into homes and then try and sue the owner if he gets a cut. And actually wins.

I think this topic is about theme parks, but that brings me to my choice. Get rid of people who cross into restricted areas to retrieve their hats, sunglasses, wallets, PWM, whatever it may be. These people destroy theme parks reputations. Oh wait, the coaster usually takes care of that, but then we still have the lawsuit and bad reputation problems. Too bad there's not an IQ test to get into parks.

 

 

I'd get rid of lockers that open up after 2 hours. Imagine you're in line for over 2 hours because the ride breaks down or something and because of it, all your valuables in the locker are suddenly exposed to the GP to take at their will. Make the lockers $0.50 per use and have a key instead of a receipt to open it. They do this at Waterworld up here in Colorado and it works great!

[pianojohn]

^ Amen to that.

 

 

For me, it's parking prices....period. Unless you're assigning an armed guard to my car, and a NASCAR pit crew to change my oil and tires, I shouldn't be paying $15 to park in your lot for 8 hours.

 

2 Amens! And if I am paying $15 to park, the parking lot better be

 

1) PAVED

2) Close to the front gate OR

3) Serviced by MANY trams

 

OK...I am done.

[viking86]

Ride-ops who feels that its necessary to put their entire weight on the restraints. It was the case with pretty much all the ride-ops on SROS @ SFNE when I rode it this summer, which took away a lot of the fun.

[Yeti762]

I second (or third, fourth, etc) the paying for parking.

 

I think the original thought was to charge to park to pay for the lot (same as a toll road or bridge), and then get rid of the toll once it was paid for.

 

But the amusement parks and stadiums have just taken it TOO far, I mean $12 or $15 to park for 1 day, come on!!!!

 

I also agree with the employees standing around or texting on their phones, guests don't want to see that.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

I'd have to say first off upcharge "fastpass" tickets. You pay park admission which entitles you to rides, "but for 25 buck more, you could not care that we take our time with ride cycling and bypass a 2 hour line that should ony be 45 minutes!" Next would have to be parking admission. It's either expensive to get in or expensive to leave my car in the lot, not both! I also would ethier like to see A: Bottled water sold at a more reasonable price. If you want to charge 4 bucks for a Coke that's your business, If not, that leads me to B: invest in decent, cold, and sanitary water fountains.

[jarmor]

I guess im just a theme park elitist and I 100% support fastpass systems. I mean thats like saying why pay 25.00 more for a better shirt. Everyone that comes thru the gates have the same chance to get a fast pass/q-bot/or whatever the particular park calls it. If a person wants to spend more money to get on rides quicker then so be it to me. I dont know if they have only a limited amount of time at the park or not. I dont see how that effects a person w/o the fastpass.

 

But on topic...what would I get rid of at theme parks...security. They dont seem to do much from what I see lol.

[cycamps]

I'd get rid of the people who think they can have a friend wait in line, then skip though the whole line once their friend is close to the front, so that they don't have to wait in line. I got a lady kicked out of SFGAm for doing that. It pisses me off...

[ebl]

"I'd get rid of "front of the line" privileges for people in wheelchairs." (Wes)

 

Have you ever wondered why the bars in queues are so far apart? To accommodate wheelchairs in accordance with the ADA.

 

Allowing a person in a wheelchair to wait at the exit for their family member or friend to reach the loading platform is OK with me, as long as that friend or family member waits in the regular line.

 

I also second the basketball thing from the games. They should be given out deflated.

 

And I would not allow the heely shoes at any time.

 

Eric

[DBru]

SLCs.

 

And while we're at it... let's get rid of all Vekoma's built prior to 2002.

[ginzo]

And while we're at it... let's get rid of all Vekoma's built prior to 2002.

 

That would eliminate Michael Jackson and Paris Big Thunder Mountain, two excellent coasters.

[MisterP]

Agree with a couple of very good ones already listed:

 

-basketballs

-parking fees

 

I'll add a few:

-kids taking my picture as soon as I enter the park (even though I'm there at opening and I'm obviously making a bee-line to the best ride in the park)

- game booth workers yelling at me to play their stupid game (yeah, I'm 39 years old - like I really to walk around with a 5-foot Spongebob Squarepants)

- coaster operations that don't allow you to queue for a specific row

- fast pass systems that make the passholder jump in front of people at a designated spot in line without staff assistance (causing inevitable fights)

- one train operation on a multi-train coaster in peak season with lines oozing onto the midway

[gk]

Hmm. One thing?

 

I'd get rid of long lines. Those irritate me more than anything.

[rcdude]

I can't think of one thing that applies to all parks, but I can think of something for each of the major amusement parks (I've been to) to get rid of.

 

Disneyland Resort-Charging extra for the park hopper ticket. $70 is enough for both parks for one day, especially with the usual crowds.

Knott's Berry Farm-Parking charge. I don't think they should make you pay $10 to park and then you have to walk all the way to the entrance.

Six Flags Magic Mountain-Parking charge. $15 is too much to pay to park for a day at an amusement park.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom-Parking charge/slow employees/flashpass. All three of these things make the park not worth it to visit unless you go on a day where there is literally no one else there. The parking charge is seriously overpriced when it is a long walk and they run one tram, the roller coasters (except Tony Hawk's Big Spin) have five minute dispatch times and usually run one train, and the flashpass people get priority seat choice, making everyone else wait longer.

Cedar Point-75% of their trash cans. It looks like a park on RCT with a trashcan on every path tile.

[mattnz]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the one thing we can all agree we could do without: unnecessary trim brakes! Especially as seen on B&Ms, and especially as found at Cedar Fair parks.

[XII]

I'd get rid of rude and unfair ride operators.

[Tmcdllr]

The phrase "only time will tell," which is frequently used on this site.

 

As far as parks I agree with everything said especially about line cutting. But I would have to say I would get rid of crappy and expensive theme park food and drinks. If I want to pay way too much for food that isn't all that good and drinks (especially like someone said...$4 for a bottle of water and rip off vending machine drinks), then I will go see a movie.

[Skramp]

You know, there's lots of things I would get rid of. But, honestly, I've stopped visiting parks over the past couple of years for one main reason, and I know it will sound stupid, but here goes. I can't stand to pay $50 to get in, then wait in agonizing lines and only ride 3 coasters in a day, while paying $15 for parking and $15 for the worst lunch ever. I think overall, I'm pretty burnt on the whole theme park experience, it just doesn't seem worth the money anymore.

 

Now, onto other things. 1) I second, third whatever the bathing suits on coaster statement, that's horrible. 2) Basketballs need to go!!! 3) Food prices!!! Need I say more? 4) Rude employees in general, whether texting or whatever, even trash people are rude (though I can't blame them).

 

I don't know, guess I'm getting cynical in my old age, but the whole experience has taken a downward turn over the past few years.