best of the small parks

I was just curious as to what all you people think is the best small park out there. By small, I mean like Lake Compounce or Knoebel's, not like a small Six Flags Park.

I like Holiday World. The best 1 - 2 punch in the world.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

BMCOASTER beat me to it, even if I don't really like The Legend all that much. You gotta love free parking and free soda!

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"X" marks the spot in 2001!

I liked Holiday World a lot in my one and only visit. Although they don't really have any real good flat rides other than the rapids ride. Sure the Raven and Legend were enough to keep me happy buts that's all they had. The park was even run to perfection, I just like a few spin an hurles thrown in for good measure.

My favorite as anyone who reads this board will guess is Knoebels. They have two great woodies that will rival any one two wood punch anywhere. Some of the best HARDhitting bumper cars anywhere. The fastest Flying Scooters on the planet (just about any first time on these gets scared even some pros :)). One of the best traditional dark rides in existence. Even the Grand Carousel is one of the best looking around with its Carmel hand carved horses with chance to catch the brass ring for a free ride. Excellent cheap food, and one of the most unique settings of any park resembling the parks of the 20's and 30's.
They also offer free parking and admission so you can just ride what you want and not pay the $20+ admission fee of most every other park.
There's nothing like going to Knoebels after work grabbing some food and hitting the Phoenix, Twister, Bumper Cars, and Flyers and spend less than $15 bucks doing it. That's in a little over an hour too.
That's a few of the reasons I love Knoebels so much.
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2000 stats: 135 coasters in 26 parks
Not Too Shabby For A Summer

AOL & MSN IM Name: coasterpunk

What's the top five small parks west of the Mississippi? And what are the top 5 east of the Mississippi?

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Randy Hutchinson
You build it, I'll ride it

I think one of the best smaller parks is Lagoon, near Salt Lake City. Roller Coaster, the 1922 wooden, is great. Collosus the Fire Dragon will just about make you black-out during the loops. And Jet Star II packs quite a punch for such a small coaster. Lagoon also sports a nice collection of flat rides, including the awesome, amazing, words-can't-describe-it Samurai, a Mondial Top Scan. Also, like most other parks, Lagoon has a waterpark Lagoon-A-Beach, included with admission, that proves very worthwhile. *** This post was edited by Screamer on 1/3/2001. ***

Out of the very few small parks I've been to -- Holiday World, Kennywood, Lake Compounce, Indiana Beach, Visionland, Adventureland -- my fav park is Holiday World. They have my #1 wooden coaster (Legend, for those of you who haven't been keeping track), a second great woodie, free everything, some of the absolute nicest ride ops in existence today, lovely grounds, etc etc etc. Holiday World does everything well. They really do know how to give their guests a great day, and I will always be making at least two trips to HW each summer. I can't believe I hadn't been there before this year!

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In the future, packages will be sent to distant worlds by BEAMS OF LIGHT! - Space Mountain WDW exit

Fun Spot
"Your Hometown Family Amusement Park"
Angola, Indiana

We visited Holiday World, Lake Compounce, and Knoebel's for the first time this year, and if I had to pick my favorite....I don't think I could. All three were fantastic little parks that I would return to in a heartbeat. Plus, they collectively have five of the best wooden coasters I have ever ridden. I guess I would give a very slight edge to Holiday World for their free drink policy, quite possibly the best perk at any park.

ValleyFair!

Kennywood all the way. Kennywood has three great classic woodies, a fantastic assortment of flat rides, a hypercoaster under construction, great food, and an amazing atmosphere. The tradition behind Kennywood gives the park a special feel to it. I'll admit I haven't been to many small parks, but I'll be visiting Conneaut Lake Park, Knoebels, and Idlewild Park this summer, but I don't think any of them will touch Kennywood.

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Joe Cernelli
Head Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
kennywood@coasterbuzz.com
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com/
Phantom's Revenge in 2001!

Fun Spot!

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"The KKK took my baby away, took her away, away from me!"

I agree with Screamer Lagoon is awsome!

Holiday World! Didn't get to the coasters, but still fun!

Conneaut Lake is still fun, and you can't beat Lakemont's value.

Rye Playland

I like magic Springs in arkansas, the little park has been through bankruptcy, a couple of accidents, closed for 5 years, the reopened to great local reviews, the parks attendance goal was supposed to be 300,000. they surpassed that and now the little park is growing

I'd have to go with Kennywood. At night, with all the neon lit, it's just a wonderful place to be. (Although William's Grove does have a great name, says slithernoggin aka William)

I will throw in a nod for wild adventures.
This is probably the smallest park that I have been to and it is surprisignly a great park. Don't cost that much. And usually short lines.

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#1 Steel-Incredible Hulk
#1 Wood--Timber Wolf

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Agent Johnson said:
"Conneaut Lake is still fun, and you can't beat Lakemont's value."

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You can't beat the RAD deal at Lakemont. 5 coasters for around 7 bucks plus the waterpark included. It makes a good pit stop for us on the way to Kennywood.
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2000 stats: 135 coasters in 26 parks
Not Too Shabby For A Summer