If you could get rid of one thing..

[BroodNV]

Id like to see all the SROS drop those stupid shin restraints. Any time i ride one of those coasters i come home with bruises across my shins.

[hemmy]

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.

 

YES!

 

This makes the ride so much less enjoyable (still awesome)

 

1. Large lines (30+ minutes long). I remember during 1980's, the lines are almost never that bad. I could get 10+ rides on a same coasters within a hour. Unfortunately, today it is just bad.

 

2. QBot, Flashpass, etc. Basic kindergarten rules: Do not butt. This also contribute to larger lines! (I'll probably get flamed over this suggestion *shrugs*)

 

3. Get rid of bug bunny, marvel characters, tony hawks, etc. We need more original characters like former SFMM's trolls.

 

Is this a joke? Obviously being 20 I didn't visit many parks in the 80s, but my parents did long before that and there were always lines.

[Tmcdllr]

The 49ers.

[kidcoaster 2]

Predator at Darien Lake. I am still trying to recover from the pain.

[FeelTheFORCE]

^ 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.

 

That's not all that bad if you think about it, though. At a lot of sporting events, you have to pay $20+ for only about 4 hours. Not to mention playoffs. I once paid $40 to park (2005 NFL playoff game, Steelers vs. Bengals), and that was one of the cheaper lots.

[Homer]

^Or your pro sports team can be cool and have free parking for vehicles with 4 or more passengers. The Tampa Bay Rays come to mind.

 

Heck, why haven't parks adopted a 4 or more passengers a car get free parking thing? Just charge the people who don't carpool/not families?

[cygnusx1]

Upcharge flashpass systems. Either give first-in-line privileges to no one or everyone. And don't charge extra for it! The flash pass prices and how often the park guests used them were the one thing that made me decide against going to Islands of Adventure on my recent trip to Florida and just take a second day at BGA / Adventure Island instead... and Montu made that time well spent! That said, I have a VIP pass at Kings Dominion and did one of the walk-on Wednesdays this year. But I didn't have to pay extra for that.

 

A few honorable mentions:

- Paying for parking, unless they're also going to give me a free full tank of gas for the way home.

- Midway game operators with megaphones. This year, "A quarter to play, a quarter to win" sounds really good to the Washington Nationals.

- Regular fast-food restaurants that I can go to outside the park for 1/3 the price. I like getting good food that's only at the park.

- Themed areas and rides that don't fit with the park's theme, for example the upcoming Sesame Street at Busch Gardens or the Italian Job coaster in the middle of Congo at Kings Dominion (it's a fun ride, but poorly placed)

[montezooma]

I would get rid of all tacky corporate sponsors and franchised restaurants. One of the things that makes Busch and Disney unique experiences is not seeing a Subway or Panda Express around every corner.

 

Six Flags is like going to a strip mall with rides.

[jarmor]

Yeah I know that the parks need family rides, its just that little kids anooy me. I do babysit and the 4 year old is a pain at parks.

Sericoly, I would get ride of all TOGO rides!

 

How would you feel if I say 13 year olds annoy me...and shouldnt be allowed in the parks without a muzzle?

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Six Flags is like going to a strip mall with rides.

 

An expensive, poorly maintained strip mall.

[Angry_Gumball]

I'd get rid of the following:

 

Idiots who hop fences to retrieve lost hats, then claim the coaster was dangerous when they get struck by it (assuming they survived)

 

Basketballs (I can see where they can become annoying or the stupid kid to suddenly roll it out front of you as you walk by just to trip you up

 

Parking prices (Well, don't gotta worry about that, my pass gives free parking)

 

$3.00 soda machines...I never purchase from them

 

If I could add 1 thing, it would be stricter enforcement of line jumping...they get on my nerves and I can't really block up the queue if some dude(s) bigger than me barrel their way through claiming they're 'security' and get away with it.

[QueerRudie]

Fast pass and all the things associated with it. No questions about it. Those things deteriorate capacity, lengthen lines and result in people waiting longer for rides than they should, just for a theme park to make a bigger buck.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^I again have to nod this notion. I mean some would justify that if people want to pay the extra money to bypass lines, then they have that right, but I still think it's unfair to say the least. I mean, it's a bit hypocritical for a park to say that line jumping is strictly prohibited under ANY circumstances unless you pay an additional X amount of dollars. Then it's fine.

[bdstrom]

 

1. Large lines (30+ minutes long). I remember during 1980's, the lines are almost never that bad. I could get 10+ rides on a same coasters within a hour. Unfortunately, today it is just bad.

 

Is this a joke? Obviously being 20 I didn't visit many parks in the 80s, but my parents did long before that and there were always lines.

 

Nope, not a joke.

[montezooma]

Fast pass and all the things associated with it. No questions about it. Those things deteriorate capacity, lengthen lines and result in people waiting longer for rides than they should, just for a theme park to make a bigger buck.

 

Hmmm that's funny these things have made the wait in lines much, much shorter for me!

[Electerik]

Fast pass and all the things associated with it. No questions about it. Those things deteriorate capacity, lengthen lines and result in people waiting longer for rides than they should, just for a theme park to make a bigger buck.

 

Hmmm that's funny these things have made the wait in lines much, much shorter for me!

 

Have they? If I raise the price of something by $20.00, then give you $10.00 off, did you really save $10.00?

 

FastPass systems make things worse. Unfortunately, since you can't visit the same park on the same day both with and without those systems in place, it's difficult to prove to people that they really are worse off for it.

[TurboWagon]

Little kids. Little, snot-nose, bratty kids.

[jarmor]

<-------------Is all for fast pass, vip treatment, private tours, and park buy outs.

 

SOme of you people knew if it were cheaper you would be all over skipping the line just admit it!

 

Jarvis "theme park elitist"Morant

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

^For me it's not a price issue. It's not that 15, 20, or 30 bucks is an "outrageous" price to pay. At least I'm not making that arguement. I just don't think it's fair to charge an admission price for attractions and in that admission price not give ALL your guests the same opportunity to access your attractions in a timely manner. Have I used these type of systems before? Sure. And it rocked when I did. But for those who advocate it, can you really put the shoe on the other foot? Can you really say "Oh, they've got the fastpass" when they take your seat on the train you should have been on after waiting two hours in a hot line?

[MG]

Fast Track, Fast Pass, whatever... I hate them all. Thorpe Park being a classic example of where the Fast Track system causes the main queue to double in time.

Also, parks not using all the trains on a coaster, really bugs me, especially in high season. Legoland's Jungle Coaster is understandable though since the cars are ALWAYS being fixed!

[TheBannedKid]

How is an amusement park any different than a sporting event? The more you pay the better experience you will have. I don't see you complaining about people with box seats at a baseball game. You get what you pay for.

 

 

The park sets a base rate to get into the park and ride the attractions...if you want to get on faster you have to pay additional fees. The parks have marketed the Fastpass and equivalent systems so that only a minority of guests will use them. I don't see how such a small amount of people can greatly affect your wait time. Not to mention some queue systems allow you to wait in line virtually, so it's technically not cutting.

 

 

I fully support the Fastpass systems.

[jarmor]

But for those who advocate it, can you really put the shoe on the other foot? Can you really say "Oh, they've got the fastpass" when they take your seat on the train you should have been on after waiting two hours in a hot line?

I sure can. case in point, this last august I went to Six Flags Great Adventure as a, dare I say, regular park guest. No q-bot or anything. Did I gripe about then taking "my" seat...nope! Even my brother, who has never been to a major theme park and that was his first time, understood the logistics behind the concept but we had the time to wait in lines so we opted not to get the q-bot.

 

Some of you guys are making it seem like hundreds of people pass you in the line. That is hardly the case. Its not like the parks are sending out trains full of fast passers. From my experience they allocate maybe a car or 2 for the fast pass people or just spread them out on the train.. I dont see how this is any different than having a single riders line? Un hun see, same difference. In a single riders line you basically skip the entire line and get on the ride much quicker than the regular line.

 

Should single riders lines be something parks should get rid of if they should get rid of the fast passes? I have seen plenty parties abruise single riders lines and get their entire party of 8 in the line and end up riding together. Do I complain, nope because that added what, 2 more minutes to my wait time. There are no facts out there that states parks with fast pass systems have longer lines than parks without them.

[BeemerBoy]

I've been utilizing a personal, built-in FastPass system for years. It's called scheduling park trips when I know the weather will be comfortable, and the lines minimal. Oh sure, it's not for everyone....I'm just sayin'.

[jarmor]

^ lol exactly. I was just on the phone earlier with a friend who im going to HHN with. We are not staying on site this year so I had to explain to them the only difference is we wouldnt have the front of the line access. They start gripeing about it but I had to let them know that we rarely used it before because no one is at the parks during october in the day time anyway lol. I then had to let them know "there is always the single riders line lol".

[krazekiddd]

I still don't understand the whole fastpass debate. I'm all for it! Am I going to use it when I go to Orlando and only live a few hours away? No, I just go on a day that's not busy. If I am going to a park that I will probably never go to again, and I know its going to be busy, then yes, I'm going to purchase one.

 

My question is, if its such a problem for some people, why not complain that car rentals have special lines for their VIP members and they they already have the car ready to go when they arrive. That certainly backs up the line when renting a car. What about the fact that banks have separate lines for customers and non customers? Heck, some banks even have personalize service for people that invest a lot of money in the bank. Its all part of convenience.

 

Am I going to complain that first class customers on a plane are going to get free drinks? No, they paid for that service. I can't complain they get free alcohol when I clearly chose the cheapest seat possible.

 

What about the hotel guests that are frequent members and get perks? A lot of services have perk systems with a fee but I don't understand why its the fastpass system that takes the most complaints.

 

I work for a timeshare company and we have more rewards for owners that spend much more money than regular timeshare owners. Is it fair? Yes. If you are spending $50,000 in timeshare, then you ought to get special perks than someone that spends $5,000.

 

The way I see it, the same number of guests are in the park so if there was no fast pass system, they would be in the regular line anyway. That, to me, would keep it just as long since you would still have the same number of people waiting.

 

And speaking of this topic, if there was one thing I could get rid of, it would be a way to get rid of actual line cutters. So far, the only hope I have is Jenn (enjen) making fun of them till they leave.