Dorney Park - New Policy - No single riders on Ferris Wheel

What is Waldameer's plans regarding their wheel? It is another of the Chance wheels. I plan to go there next year when RF2 is up and running but I also want to ride that wheel because of the great view from it.

I don't understand why a parent would put their child on a ferris wheel ride alone, especially if they had never ridden one before. Sometimes, even just watching a ferris wheel I get nervous because you can see that even with families riding together, many parents let their little ones stand on the seats to look out. Another reason I liked the Giant Wheel in Hershey-- bars all around.

On the other hand, why is there the assumption that a single rider is less competent, unable to hold themselves upright, or unable to understand instructions?

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highlo said:

Why do people go to parks by themselves anyways? Don't you find it....boring?

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I guess I'm very lucky to be an only child so doing things alone feels very natural to me. I am very independent and enjoy the sense of freedom, NEVER boredom. I actually feel more in tuned to my surroundings when I'm solo.

I do enjoy visiting with others but most people I know don't have the passion for parks that I have, and very few people can keep up with me on the "Type A" open to close visits I like to make, nor do they have an appetite for marathoning an hour or more on woodies and hypers like I do.

So at best, visiting with others represents a different type of visit to me, more about the company than the coasters. More about "give and take" than total freedom. So even if I could visit parks weekly with others, I would still need my solo visits to "power ride" and have that fun feeling of spontaneous exploration and decision making.

Having said that, there are a few people I've been fortunate to ride with who "get" how I approach a park and riding with them works well. But they have less free time then me and/or less desire to travel...

Bottom line is, if I restricted myself to only traveling or visiting parks when it suited other people's schedule, I wouldn't have even reached 50 coasters yet, but by being independent and self-sufficient I'm closing in on the big 300.

Does anyone know if Hersheypark is enforcing this? I tend to go to Hershey solo quite often. And they have the same Chance model as Dorney.

...and for a park junkie, going alone can be nice sometimes....I'd rather be at a park riding whatever I want, how many times I want, than sitting around an empty apartment. *** Edited 8/8/2007 7:34:36 PM UTC by scraperguy99***

I agree with the different dynamic between going with others and going alone. When Im going with non family members (who all ride pretty much like me so this difference does not apply) its generally at one of my home parks (because I don't know too many other enthusiasts well enough to do a joint trip) and its likely there first trip and/or their only trip this year. Therefore I act more like a guide and defer to what they want to do, most of the time this means less re rides and less flat ride riding.

When I go alone Im able to do more flat rides (which I love) because I dont need to hit "every coaster" I also re ride my favorites at least once. Its really liberating to do whatever the hell you feel like doing without deferring to others, wither its joining that 2 hour line for MF, riding Magnum for the 5th time that day, choosing to not get off the train at Frontiertown the first time through because you dont feel like moving yet or just grabbing a bench and people watching.

I go to parks by myself all the time but how can you be alone? There would be noone to run the rides and you would be the only one in a empty park. There is always people in parks when I go, not to mention my home park has single rider lines so I don't have to wait to ride.

What's wrong with going to an amusement park on your own? I'd prefer to go with friends but there are times when friends have other things to do, or the friends that are around don't have any interest in an amusement park. Besides, sometimes solitude is a nice thing.

My own Top 11 reasons (in no particular order) why I sometimes like to go to parks by myself. My park experiences are mostly with relatives or friends with kids. These have all happened to me at one time or another.

11. You don't spend huge chunks of time watching someone else's kids riding the helicopters or Frog Hopper.

10. You don't waste ride time waiting anxiously while someone in your party takes an hour and a half to eat a burger and fries.

9. You avoid the "we all have to ride the same train shuffle." Except of course when you're the one that people let ahead of them.

8. the more people in the party, the more frequent the pee breaks. (Nobody ever seems to have to go at the same time)

7. they can't make you double up with another rider on the Knoebels Flyers

6. you don't have to leave the park after two hours because someone other than you has a headache or stomachache or is tired

5. you can't enjoy any food, drink, game, or souvenir because someone you're with says "I wouldn't pay that price."

4. you don't have anyone telling you "you rode that already."

3. you don't have to coordinate an intinerary between those who don't like coasters, those who don't like to spin, those who don't like heights, and those who don't like the dark. (power riding the train, woohoo!)

2. when you want to head to the park, you just go, and not have to wait till everyone else finishes their to do list for the day.

And the #1 reason... since there's always one in the bunch who wants their way, I may as well make sure that's me and do what I want, when I want and where. ;)

^Take THAT, David Letterman! ;)

Rather good....rathergoodbear!

^-- 2 posts up.

Definitely 11 things I very well agree with. Woo hoo power riding Wild Thing at Coaster Craze in the front seat for an hour.

That list reads like someone who would wear a T-shirt that says "single rider." Why so anti-social? If I'm with people I like, none of those things would be deal breakers, and I'd feel the experience of a park visit would be far richer than going solo.

They're not deal breakers all the time but there are occasions when I don't want to spend the day making others happy, and I just want to move through the world unfettered and on my own terms.

And sometimes going alone is my only choice because I don't know enough people who want to go at all, even if I promise not to fidget while they take an hour and a half to eat or go to the bathroom 48 times.

Where can I get a "single rider" t-shirt?

Jeff, I dont think anyone arguing that going single is the best/only way to go, just that there are positives to going alone to counteract the negative (having a companion/person to talk to the whole day.)

Good thing it's never personal in here!

Anyone who considers going to a park alone to be anti-social has serious fears of being alone. RGB never said that he always wanted to go to a park alone, he just listed a bunch of reasons why it's sometimes a good idea... reasons that I happen to agree with.

There was a time when I used to love to go to parks with big groups of people but after a while I got tired of having to cater to the collective whims of a dozen people. It's a chore trying to keep everyone together and everyone satisfied... a chore that often detracts from the overall enjoyment of the day.

Truthfully, I hardly ever go to parks alone anymore. I'm fortunate enough to have a wife that's into amusement parks and is often as eager as I am to spend time at them. But if I didn't have her or if she happened to enjoy doing something else, I'm secure enough to go to an amusement park by myself and not have to feel weird or anti-social. People that are afraid of doing anything on their own are the ones with real issues.

I'm weird, anti-social, and not afraid to admit it. :)

Oh, so now you're going to get all Dr. Phil on me? Maybe people who go alone are seriously scared of being with someone. How about that?

I go by myself to Geauga Lake all of the time at lunch and create a nice distraction for myself from work for an hour. I get all warm and fuzzy about it.

However, my opinion is that RGB's "top 11" comes off very anti-social, and if that's a judgmental opinion, so be it. The only reason I ever got into this hobby was because of the people. To me it's just background for an excuse to hang out with people, enjoy some adult beverages, talk about stuff that doesn't roll on rails, etc. Your mileage may vary, and if it does, I don't care that much since this just happens to be what I think.

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Jeff said:
If I'm with people I like

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Yeah, pretty much. Anybody who goes to a park with me knows what they're getting into, so I really don't have the problems that RGB described. I don't go to parks alone, I hate it with a passion, but I certainly am not going to go with a group of people that would rather make me wait 2 extra cycles then ride in different trains. But if I had the chance to spend a day with folks I liked it wouldn't matter to me if they did insist.

Maybe I'm just lucky I've been able to surround myself with people who are down with that. *** Edited 8/10/2007 2:04:13 PM UTC by matt.***

Yup, I'm going all Dr. Phil on you. I woke up this morning and got the urge to channel an overrated preachy redneck windbag in a suit.

The truth is, people who feel the need to always be surrounded by others do have some kind of issue of being alone. That's pretty much a proven fact that any shrink will confirm. "Maybe people who go alone are seriously scared of being with someone. How about that?" How about what? RGB never said that he always went to amusement parks alone. I never said that either, unless I'm going to amusement parks most of the time with a phantom wife. You're the one that came out all psycho about how weird it is to go to a park all alone. I was merely pointing out how wrong you are, that's all.

Amusement parks are something that most people enjoy with others but I don't buy into the fact that people get into amusement parks because of people. Most people get into amusement parks because they enjoy amusement parks and they either enjoy them with current friends or make new friends through the hobby. I don't need amusement parks to be social. I can do pretty much anything and be social.