Does Six Flags Neglect Parks
Jeremy says:
"And now a semi-enthusiast comment, how do you know something is good (or not) till you ride it? For example, what makes you think the Arkansas Twister isn't every bit as good as The Legend (blasphemy, I know)? I can think of several coasters I've enjoyed thoroughly that I never heard anyone say was great (Hercules, Kraken, Mr. Freeze w/ OTSR, TG:TJC, Ultra Twister) and I've heard coasters praised to no end that I thought were middling (NITRO, Hulk, Titan, BOSS). So it's hard to say that a park doesnt have anything "good enough to warrant a visit" without riding it. Now perhaps it's not enough to justify a standalone trip. I know I'm not intriguiged enough to go to Knoebel's without some other added incentive. But if I was *right there*, I'd go."
Let me add to that, Jeremy: there is a HUGE difference between what we, as coaster enthusiasts, consider "enjoyable" versus what the average park goer finds "enjoyable." I can't tell you how many times I've walked down the exit ramps of those very same coasters many dump on [Herc, a boomerang or SLC, PGA's Grizzly, etc] and seen people laughing, smiling, and totally pleased with their experience.
I know there are many parks I enjoy visiting at least once each year even if they don't get a new ride. I don't think its unreasonable to assume that people who live in places like Denver, Buffalo, or Houston for example, would visit their SF park at least once each year despite the absense of new attractions *if* they had a good time on their previous visit.
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"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
And to add to the sentiments of Hostyl + The 'Moosh...
I don't remember my family ever skipping the school picnic at Kennywood because they "didn't get anything new this year." We went, we rode, we had fun, regardless of whether or not there was a new ride.
And if you say it's not reasonable to compare SFAW/SFDL/SFEG/SFKK and Kennywood, then you're missing the point of the example.
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"Look outside, I know that you'll recognize it's summertime." - The Flaming Lips "It's Summertime (throbbing orange pallbearers)"
Exactly, chris! In the early days of SFMM there were quite a few years where they did not receive a new attraction and my family went at least once a year if not more, and they still visit Disneyland 2-3 times a year. Heck, I know people who will travel across country to visit Disneyland or WDW at least once a year and those parks will go years between new attractions!
People re-visit if they have fun, period.
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"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
But i Know Buffalo and Rochester aren't the most popular tourist destinations but if we had more in the way of attractions besides s:ros that would be cool.
But I'am not whining it could be as bad as Sfeg situation. (no pun intended).
Wow, posts have slowed a bit on this thread. I was thinking it got axed there for a second...
Anyway, the more I read and think about it the more I agree with you guys. SF does have good reason to focus on those in close proximity to their parks. But I still maintain that such folks should not be their sole focus. They shouldn't go building a huge coaster in a middle-of-nowhere park (apparently some think that's what I've been saying) but they shouldn't just ignore that park altogether either.
Some of you have probably noticed that SF is one of Mapquest's sponsors. I can't see any reason for them doing that except to get travelers (as opposed to regional guests or regulars) into their parks. Granted, it's not some massive ad campaign, but it shows that SF isn't totally ignorant of the benefits to be had by looking at the potential of all parks to draw people from some distance away. But it's my opinion that they could gain more from some of their smaller parks than they do.
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PLEASE READ: This post wasn't meant to offend or anger anyone; I apologize in advance if it does. So please don't post a reply just to rant about it. :)
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Posting, "Me too" like some brain dead AOLer. I ought to to the world a favor, and cap you like old yeller...
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"Outside of a dog, a man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog its too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
Jeff said:
Let's say someone like an Elitch Gardens does build a 300-foot coaster. Enthusiasts aside, is the average person in Cleveland or Boston going to fly there to ride it? Of course not.
Hehe... Denver doesn't need a giga because all you have to do is hop on the slopes! =P
Now, that is something people travel worldwide for.
Mamoosh said:
Stand-Up Fan - I doubt most people are using MapQuest soley to find the nearest SF park. Rather I bet most click on the link out of curiousity and will only visit a park time permitting.
Agreed, I doubt a lot of people even notice SF is on Mapquest. I'm just saying that SF is there for a reason and they're paying some amount of money, no matter how small, to be there. I think (and of course I could be wrong -- just throwing out a thought) their primary reason for being a sponsor of the site is to make people (mostly vacationers) aware of the parks around them. If someone in the area wanted to find out where the nearest SF is they're likely going to look elsewhere where more info is available, like friends, local ads, etc.
[this dead-end conversation is getting old and boring...]
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This conversation is really getting old and boring fast...
After reading this I notice a few thigns.
1) People with ceratin SF parks as their home parks will always complain that their home parks are neglected because they don't get something major every year.
2) People with other SF parks as tehir home parks will always defend SF to the death it seems because a) their park does receive new things and b) they can't say anything negative about SF.
3) People who are not dedicated SF fans seem to be looking objectively at this.
4) People who have not been spoiled by the recent building boom and can remember when a new coaster every 10 years was a big deal seem to be looking at this objectively. (I think I fall into this category).
Bottom line is this... Personally, I don't care if a park I go to has gotten anything new in the past few years. I go, I have fun. People are complaining about SFDL. Two months ago my wife and I visited there. While all of the coasters there were not "brand new", they were "new to us", and we enjoyed them just the same. More locally, Knoebels has not gotten anything new in the past few seasons, but still look forward to going there... go there for the fun, not simply because "there is something new!"
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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
And with that, I think now is a good time to move on...
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM
Closed topic.
