Amusement Park Bans Screaming.

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HeyIsntThatRob? said:
Whoa, what a sec here.

Scandia Amusement Park? The same Scandia park that had the "Caution : Low flying aircraft" sign going up the lift of Screamer when I was there?

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No, not that park.

A bunch of you are thinking of the wrong place. This is a little FEC with mini-golf and crap like that. They recently added a skyscraper.

HERE is a link to their site and HERE is the google aerial shot of the area.

Screaming= free speech:

You could be reciting the Bill of Rights but, if you are doing it over a certain decible level, past the hour in which noise is restricted, it's still noise pollution.

Here in Chicago, a few years ago, they tried to enforce an ordinance that restricted the decible levels of the music comming from passing cars even during the day. People successfully faught it by arguing that if a city garbage truck or a construction crew is allowed to make all the noise they want between 6 am and 10:30 pm, then so should people in their cars.

The people living around SFGAm in Gurnee rarely ever complain about noise coming from the park. Their usual beef is about traffic and the noise level coming from the people leaving the park at night. Which is why it is no longer open until midnight like it used to be.

Wow, lame. Personally, I hate it when people scream around me on rides, but it's part of the atmosphere of a park. You can't control people. It's a reflex for many people who aren't desentized from riding hundreds of roller coasters.

Why should they have to accept it or move? Despite the article, it doesn't seem to me that it's even an amusement park. (LINK) (Edit: LG's link to the aerial view is certainly interesting.)

It was mini golf and go-karts, and then, all of the sudden, a 168-foot tall thrill ride. That's a BIG difference. It's not like there was a Six Flags there when they bought their homes.

If any of you lived near a mini-golf and go-kart business, and one day they opened a huge thrill ride, would you accept that the only two choices you have are to live with the increased noise or move from your home? Not me! I don't care if there's a 50-lane interstate in their backyard. You can't just drop a thrill ride wherever you want.

Unless someone lives in that neighborhood, let's not assume what is and isn't loud. Apparently, the neighborhood is united, so it's certainly not their imagination.

I understand that many people here will automatically take a park's side, no questions asked. And while I'm not saying the neighbors are 100% correct, let's not take the typical enthusiast viewpoint that these kinds of businesses can do whatever they want.

*** Edited 4/3/2007 7:45:13 PM UTC by Gemini***

So what weren't the complaints issued before the 168ft ride was aproved by zoning?

Pot calling kettle.

I'm with Walt on this one.

The article indicates there were complaints before approval.

Well, they could just enclose the ride and insulate the living heck out of it.

It sounds, from the very end of the article, that there was discussion and forethought that went into this, that Scandia followed all the appropriate procedures and the ride was approved. Reeks of sour grapes and whining to me.

Although this...

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“I'm certainly willing to participate in the class action lawsuit but it's going to be a long road to hoe and I'm sure we will see great loss in our property values in the interim,” said Bayless.

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...well, that's just the most unfortunate typo I've seen in some time.

Ah.. The Scandia WITHOUT the Rollercoaster.. :)

They just built a soccer dome not too far from me, and people are complaning that it is going to bring down the property value.

They are also complaning that they can see it from the house and it is an eye sore.

Problem is, it was built in a commercial zone.

It seems that it is almost impossable to run a buisness of this type any more.

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Hopman said:
Well, they could just enclose the ride and insulate the living heck out of it.

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I don't think that would work very well. If they think it's an eyesore with lights on, imagine trying to enclose it in a building that's at LEAST 175'x175' (to allow for proper clearances).

I wonder if they could just enclose the seats?

Gonch,

I gotcha now. Sorry for the freaking out. After watching the video I see how lit up the ride is at night. As a homeowner, I could see that being an annoyance.

Then again, I have a high school football field right behind my backyard and enjoy the friday night (and in the last few years wednesday and thursday night) lights illuminating the south side of my home.

~Rob Willi

Okay, what's the zoning on Sandia park? If it was done with all the i's dotted and the t's crossed, the nieghbors have NORHING to bitch about.

I was confused too, Tim. :)

This ride holds a total of FOUR people max and the ride makes basically NO noise itself. I bet its not run at full capacity all the time either. Now, I know nothing about the area this "fun center" is in, but there's an identical ride at Boomers in Dania Beach (with the Dania Beach Hurricane). They have several "thrill" rides, a roller coaster, multiple go-cart tracks, multiple miniature golf courses and a huge game room. Their ride like the Screamer runs with people, but barely EVER full and not on a continuous cycle like a coaster. The screams from the ride in California have to be negligible since the park itself seems to be relatively small in comparison to Boomers. But, even it ran continuously with four people on it all the time, how loud can four people possibly be over the noise of a highway?

I think these people just want to be on the news and have nothing better to do. I never thought I'd say the Ropers (Alton Towers) have a bigger case than anyone, but in this instance I think they do.

Article was posted at 10:35pm on March 31, 85 minutes before April 1. Coincidence? I wonder...

I'm getting really tired of people complaining about trying to save their property values. Things happen all the time that effect property value for good and for bad. If they didn't want it there in the first place, they should have raised a bigger stink before the ride was installed. It was approved and now it's too late. Annoying lights and sound, within reasonable operating hours, is something you just have to deal with. I currently live in a city that is moving graves to expand an airport and people are suddenly going to have all that mess in their backyards. I'm sure the property values will plummet there and the city has offered to pay market value for the properties but, the people don't want to move so they have to deal with it now. I feel for that amusement center. they seem to be going out of their way to accomodate but, controlling screams is rediculous. It's a natural reaction to fright or thrill. And even if they remove people who scream, well the scream has already happened and you can't take it back so what's the point.

Coastin, which city is that?