What is the worst Theme Park in the world?

[usctrojansrock11]

epcot.

that was boring as hell for me.

[Bolliger&Mabillard]

Employye behavior is a factor I don't use when it comes to evaluating a park. Of course each case, person, and circumstance is different, but no matter how you look at it, a park has limimted control over how "nice" or "rude" their employees are. People have their own personalities, and they may not always reflect a "heads up" employee mentality in that personality. Some people are natually friendly, some are assholes, some are an assortment of the two. In most cases you can control how people act. If they suck at their job they'll get fired eventually, if they care about it they'll do well at it and progress through it, but because of free will, I don't add it in to the equation. I normally base a nice park on policies, ride upkeep and uptime/efficiency, cleanliness, what stores/foodstands are open, and more tangible traits.

 

With that said, Knott's Berry Farm ain't winnin' no awards. It's a nice park, the ride selection is a litlle coaster biased, but the selection isn't bad. My beef with the park is that it's trying to become a major theme park on the scale of it's predecessor Cedar Point, however it's geographic and demographic location limits what it can provide. The problem is that Dick and Jack aren't letting that stop them. Also, rider policies and even employer ethics could be better. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom could close today and I don't think many people would miss it. If Magic Mountain follows suit as to how their flashpass system works, I fear GR getting swamped with guest complaints. We'll see....

[RollerCoasterSmi]

American Adventure...

[HowieP]

IMO, Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach SC is the worst amusement park ever. The rides came straight from a traveling fair and the Swamp Fox is good, but everything else sucks. Plus, it right on the middle of a nasty drainage AIDS invested stream.

Best description ever!

[BarryH]

I would say the now-closed Williams Grove in PA. That was the day around opening, the ticket booth operator was setting up. She said she will be open soon because she was setting up. I walk towards the ticket booth to read something. Then she starts screaming at me that she wasn't open yet and she would open soon. Lady, it was like 11:00 am! It's too early to snap and break down! I almost got in my car and left.

[jynx242]

IMO, Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach SC is the worst amusement park ever. The rides came straight from a traveling fair and the Swamp Fox is good, but everything else sucks. Plus, it right on the middle of a nasty drainage AIDS invested stream.

Best description ever!

 

I'm curious how he deemed it AIDS infested...

 

For me - Six Flags America. I've only been once, but the staff ranged from bored to just plain hateful that day. It's been several years, so I hope things have changed, but the operations were pretty bad.

 

The dirtiest park I've ever been to was SFoG in the 90's. WOW. Considering that I worked there in the 80's, it got pretty bad in the "extreme park" Six Flags days. I can say that it is much different now. They really have done a good job cleaning up the place.

[ParkTrips]

yeah, there were several years where we just didn't go. Anyone who thinks it can get "ghetto" now doesn't have any idea...

 

I'm not actually sure how I'd answer this question. SFA is a good option, just because its sooo under where it should be as a big park in a huge metropolitan area, but its not as bad as say Family Kingdom either (Swamp Fox wasn't even that good..".. Uncle Bernie's is the epitome of a ghetto "park" but its not really a park so, idk.

 

oh, wait, yes I do!

 

Visionland.

[Wood Dragon 1988]

SFA is a good option, just because its sooo under where it should be as a big park in a huge metropolitan area

 

This pretty much sums up what I think of SFA...while I will still go to the park if someone wants to go it is so backwards in almost everything that they do it is very frustrating. I mean, for one of the richest areas in the world a park like that is unexcusable. The thrills alone are hard to ignore (for me at least) with an Intamin Mega, Intamin Drop Tower, unique Intamin Flume, decent Flyer, decent launcher, good wooden coaster, etc. There are other parks that I never want to visit again, like Adventure Park USA, Jolly Rogers at the Pier, Waldameer (in the minority on that one) and some on the Jersey Shore, but SFA is clearly a bigger disappointment than those small parks.

[StarTrekGeek]

I don't dislike any parks, but if I had to choose it would be Conny-Land in Switzerland. The only coaster it had was still being built when we visited (Cobra), and some rides were kind of mediocre, though some were fun. I liked the place though.

[XII]

Mount Olympus. The employees aren't very friendly nor fast, the park is too cheap to get more than 1 train for any of their coasters, the rides didn't feel like they were maintained well as Zeus was sh*t and Hades seemed like it had much better days, and nobody at the park tried to speed things up by not taking 5 minutes to dispatch a train when crowds started coming in.

[BcNexus]

Mount Olympus. The employees aren't very friendly nor fast, the park is too cheap to get more than 1 train for any of their coasters, the rides didn't feel like they were maintained well as Zeus was sh*t and Hades seemed like it had much better days, and nobody at the park tried to speed things up by not taking 5 minutes to dispatch a train when crowds started coming in.

 

Oh no! So many people have bad things to say about this park. They say the coasters are run down and the staff couldn't care less. It's astounding how the staff reacts when people get hurt. Just check out the Trip Advisor reviews.

 

I have a room booked in Poseidon's Village on July 1 and 2. I want to hit the go karts especially hard on day one and then check out the rest on day two. Will the trip suck even if I go in there with lowered expectations?

 

I pretty much only have my hometown Valley Fair to compare Mt Olympus to. I think they put a lot of work into it each year to keep it fresh. There's a new attraction almost every year. The people are nice, and everywhere you go you see people sweeping and picking up litter, etc. Is Valley Fair one of the better parks?

[Perilous Chris]

When I go to parks, I usually research the park before hand, so my expectations are adjusted accordingly.

 

For example, when I visited Quassy a couple weeks ago, I knew the Wooden Warrior would pretty much be the star attraction. I personally think Quassy is a nice little family park for get-togethers and picnics. I do not view it as a major theme park experience.

 

I personally consider parks like Scandia Ontario and Castle Park in Riverside more in the "family fun center" categories.

 

There are many factors that can affect a park visit and opinion. For example, you will obviously enjoy Disneyland more if you visit on a weekday during the school year vs. the 4th of July.

 

There really have not been any theme parks I have been to that I would consider the "worst," although there have been some family fun centers that I felt very unsafe at.

 

I also consider Belmont Park in San Diego and Pacific Pier in Santa Monica extremely mediocre in terms of ride offerings.

 

Unfortunately, I would have to say that one of the worst park experiences I had was at Kennywood. While I do not by any means consider it a bad park, it was packed on the day of my visit, while operations were slow and disorganized. I would give it another chance though!

[outbackjack]

Dollywood and Magic Kingdom.

[Coaster Cow]

Dollywood and Magic Kingdom.

Why? Those two are generally two of the highest. Dollywood certainly is one of the highest for me, and Magic Kingdom has so many great design elements. I'm interested to hear your reasoning.

[ernierocker]

^I think he is trying to be funny and failing miserably.

[outbackjack]

Just thought I'd have some fun, Dollywood is, to me, the perfect theme park.

 

In all aspects.

 

And MK is a close second.

 

Worst theme park is Wild Adventures........just has a ghetto-concrete feel with the lamest attempts at theming, every line is virtually in full sun, the park is dirty, Cheetah has a cool layout but is bone crushing, no dark rides, and there is little shade anywhere.

 

Plus I saw a snake sunning itself on the concrete the last time I was there (nothing the park could do there, but I hate snakes with a passion).

 

For a park with 8 coasters, it is clearly the saddest in my mind.

[DarienLaker]

I can't really decide on which of the two theme parks that are close to me is the "worst".

 

Martin's Fantasy Island

. Their water park lacks of slides, they only have three slides (four if you count Surf Hill, the kiddie slide), Raging Rapids and CannonBowl

. The only "good" rides are Sliver Comet, Mega Disk'O, and Mind Warp

. Mow the area aroun Silver comet

. Make the park open seven days a week during the summer

. Put a flat ride, food or gift stand in where Starship 2000 used to be

. Add single rider tubes to CannonBowl

 

Darien Lake

. Some of the rides need repainting

. The Giant Wheel needs lights

. They need to pour concrete on Floodgate Falls so nobody would have look the rotting lazy river by 'Cuda Falls from atop the Giant Wheel again!

. They need to sell the old Batman tracks for scrap

. More groundskeeping like mowing grassy areas and pulling weeds and dead plants

. Repaint the roof of the Adventure Isle boat

. Put a roof over Raging Seas

Edited June 26, 2011 by DarienLaker

[LoneRider92]

Nexus - If you go in expecting a high-class resort like the park advertises itself, you will be disappointed. I do agree that the employees aren't the best and that all the coasters could use a little TLC, but there should be enough to do to have a great time.

 

One thing about the park is the selection: there are a good amount of go-karts, yes, but if you only devoted a single day to riding them you would have a pretty short day. For a larger park, Mt. Olympus doesn't have that much to do. After riding Hades, Cyclops, and the main tracks like Turbo Track, Poseidon, and Trojan Horse, and spending some time in Poseidon's Rage, there isn't too much else to do. Maybe spend some time on the second day exploring the Dells and checking out other attractions (Personally, my days at Mt. Olympus used to include a short visit at Timber Falls down the road. You could ride Avalanche over 20 times, the log ride and play a round of mini golf and be done in an hour. With the 5-ride limit on Avalanche now though that isn't the best option. Still, for $20 you get 5 rides on one of the wildest little coasters EVER, tons of mini-golf, and a solid flume ride. Not bad.)

 

It's true, Hades has been let go a little, but there are no rides besides Hades that give me an eye-watering, leg-shaking good time like it does. For the smoothest possible ride, sit in the very front seat. Unless you can't tolerate a little wooden coaster roughness, you will LOVE it. Zeus actually was worked on a little in the off-season and is good fun. Only give Cyclops one ride for THE drop, because he hasn't aged too well.

 

Mt. Olympus gets my vote for the worst park I have visited, but it by no means the worst in the world. Just don't expect "DISNEY OR UNIVERSAL RESORT!" and you should do fine.

[Ed Farmer]

Cedar Point

Trust me

 

Just wanted to quote this for absurdity.

[Band-Aid]

Flea World in Sanford

 

It just seemed a little ghetto. But hey, it's at a flea market, so you can't expect much

[Sgt. Fox]

Castles n' Coasters in Phoenix.

 

A great experience I had there was while waiting in the Desert Storm Coaster. The coaster can't run unless they have a certain number of people in it, so you have to just sit there in the train and wait for more guests to come. While waiting, the ride op kept trying to sell me some weed. After I declined several times, he started asking me for money. When I declined that, he started getting aggressive with his pan-handling until I just got up and exited the station. I think they must hire homeless people there or something!

[ABW]

Cedar Point

Trust me

 

Just wanted to quote this for absurdity.

 

Just want to second this.

[805Andrew]

I've haven't been to any parks that were horrible as I've only been to 12, but the worst one I've been too doesn't exist anymore. I'll rank the parks I've been to from favorite to least favorite.

 

1. Disneyland (My favorite park for themed attractions)

2. Six Flags Magic Mountain (My favorite coaster park)

3. Port Aventura

4. Disney California Adventure

5. Knott's Berry Farm

6. Universal Studios Hollywood (I would rate this higher than Knott's if it had more rides/things to do)

7. Sea World San Diego

8. Tibidabo (My favorite small park)

9-11. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (three way tie)

California's Great America

Six Flags Marine World (that's what it was called last time I was there)

12. Parc d'Atraccions Monjuic (Barcelona, Spain - closed in 1998)

 

The worst park if been to was Monjuic which no longer exists - it was definitely dated and seen better days when I last went there in 1998 (I was 16) but I still had fun and they had some fun/weird/interesting rides. Tibidabo was the cross-town competitor and they did a better job of keeping up with the times and had a even higher elevation then Monjuic which added to the half the fun and experience. If you count a fairground with traveling rides as a park than obviously that's the worst - but I don't count that as a park.

 

The worst park I've been to that is still operational is a tough one and is one of the Bay Area parks I've been to. I'm sure Marine World has improved since it became Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and may be better than CGA now, but the last time I was there in 2005 I actually liked CGA slightly better so its a tie until I revisit both parks. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has a great location and wooden coaster and an easy compact layout to walk around but if you put this park inland it is definitely worse than CGA or SFDK. CGA and SFDK definitely have better overall rides, but I love the location of SCBB so its a tie for these parks.

[tatertot3710]

Of the parks I've been to, Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights. Rickety old rollercoasters, a very ghetto atmosphere, and just an overall unsafe feeling.

[Supreme]

I haven't really been to a horrible park. So I guess I'll have to say the local fair.