Do you prefer history?

One of the news articles got me thinking. Which do you prefer? A megapark with huge rides (and prices) or smaller parks with less rides but a better atmosphere?

AKA, the following: (not trying to violate TOS, just trying to compare my point)

PKI or Americana

SFWoA or Conneaut

SFEG or Lakeside

SFNE or Canobie Lake

Disney World or Miracle Strip

Knott's or Belmont

SFOG or Wild Adventures

etc.

What do you think?

-----------------
Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com

Can't speak intelligently about all those parks, but apparently SFoG is one of the better run SF parks, and Ga. Cyclone HAS to stack up favorably against Cheetah, even though Cheetah IS a CCI. :)

-----------------
Sorrrrrrrry folks! Parks closed. The moose out front should have told you.

Knott's Berry Farm was all about atmosphere before Cedar Fair LP acquired it in late 1997. That is why most Southern California enthusiasts prefer Knott's to Six Flags Magic Mountain, Disneyland, and the rest. But with the addition of new blockbuster thrill-rides, Knott's has become both a mega-park, but keeping with its tradition.

knotts still has a great atmosphere, but the queues for the blockbuster thrillrides is not where you'll experience it. you'll find it on the family rides (log ride, bigfoot), all of the wonderful shows, and the country music line dancing show.

EDIT: Knotts has just as much of a history as all of the small, family parks. up until '98 it was a family park. also, belmont park sucks. they have an arcade and its a teen hangout.

*** This post was edited by Speedy on 5/12/2002. ***

Out of the ones you spoke of BigKirby i pick the Following

Americana

SFWOA

SFEG

This is one that actually happens, I love both parks and am going to SFNE June 24 but i do pick Canobie Lake over SFNE

Disney

Knotts

SFOG

I love parks with many rides, but smaller family parks usually have a lot of rides too, and some if not most are classic rare rides which are just as good as modern thrills.

-----------------
Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone

I was just thinking of starting a thread similar to this...

What is it with Enthusiasts and Nostalogia? So many enthusiasts prefer wood to steel, and steel can always give a smoother ride, more airtime etc. Lots would rather have an old side friction coaster that tops out at 15 m.p.h than say Millennium Force. Another thing is lots of Acer's would rather have a park such as Americana, or Conneaut, than a CP or IOA. I'm by no means complaining, I'm just curious as to what it is enthusiasts see in these tiny parks.

-----------------

Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society-Chicago Chapter

I'd say SFOG vs. Lake Winnie is a more accurate comparison (for the purpose of this topic) than WA. For me, I'll take all of the above.

-----------------
My two favorite coasters are named Superman.

I've done some research on this. It doesn't apply to everyone, but to about 70% of those who prefer the woodies and older rides. It's the reality. On a steel coaster or newer ride the speed or special effects might be greater, but the ride is so smooth and so high tech people feel removed from the tracks or other mechanisms. On a woodie you feel every vibration. A Ferris Wheel isn't all that fast but you're out in the open and you feel the ride. It's a human speed where you can focus on your surroundings. It's like preferring a trip by train over an airplane. Yea, the plane gets there in three hours vs. two days, but on the train you can see the countryside. It's sort of an amusement park version of back-to-nature.

Ozzyhead, a lot of it simply has to do with the age of enthusiasts. Most ACE members are 30+... It's just the way it is. It's not a bad thing (I am 35), but we do tend to program our kids to follow in our "traditional" footsteps. That being said, I prefer old woodies. I think of coasters like movies. I compare MF to Star Wars and the Coaster at PNE to Casablanca. I love MF, don't get me wrong, but I get tired of the special effects and I don't hear any good dialogue. On Coaster, I may only see black and white, but the acting is first rate, and I care about the characters:)
---------------
What the heck was I talking about?

I haven't really been to enough smaller parks to compare.....that should change this summer though :) I am looking forward to hitting some of the smaller, more traditional parks to see if they are as 'charming' as people make them to be.

I have yet to go to a really "small" park, unless you want to count Wyandot Lake as a kid. I have a hard time getting excited about driving 4 hours to go to a park with one coaster and a bunch of carnival rides. If I had a Conneaut Lake or something within an hour, I might be inclined to check it out. I probably will hit Americana when it reopens, but only on the way to or back from somewhere else.
-------------
Doesn't it seem as though morons always have the caps lock on?