NEW Six Flags In Upstate New York?

Call me the guy sitting on the fence.

I'm not a huge fan of Six Flags parks but I'm not entirely against them, either. I will readily admit that there are many Six Flags coasters I really enjoy: Nitro, Medusa, Wild One, Roar, S:ROS, Georgia Scorcher, Chiller, Batman and Riddler's Revenge are just a few that come to mind. I certainly don't want to see Six Flags parks and those coasters disappear, I'm just losing my interest in the parks because I'm tired of the same old crummy experiences where I find myself wishing I'm at a better park a few hours into the day.

Not as young and loaded with tons of free time as I once was, I choose to be a little more discerning when it comes to what I do with my spare hours. I'm an amusement park enthusiast right down to my very core (just as I am a car nut, Yankees addict and video gamer) but if I know what I'm going to get isn't necessarily going to be worth my time, I'm more likely than ever to do something else... either another amusement park or something entirely different.

I don't think anyone is saying that Six Flags doesn't have any good coasters that are worth riding, I just think this is a commentary on what the Six Flags experience has become. Is it all worth the effort?

It's like going down a hill on a sled or inner tube. Flying down the hill on a layer of icy snow is fun as hell, but the whole experience becomes a lot less fun when you factor in the walk back up the hill in the freezing cold with snow in your pants because you wiped out at the bottom.

^ would that be those LAST PLACE Yankees? ;)

Damn straight.

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Rob Ascough said:
Not as young and loaded with tons of free time as I once was, I choose to be a little more discerning when it comes to what I do with my spare hours.

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Interesting. I think I've seen you say that more than once.

I feel like my family is just the opposite. When we were younger we didn't have the job freedom/vacation time, nor the money to do park visits on a large scale.

Now that we're older (ugh, 'older' at 34!) there's a lot more money to play with and jobs that allow for much more freedom both in terms of time away and ability to take that time whenever.

Right now the hardest thing to work around are the obligations of the kids (school, activites, etc.) - I'm looking forward thinking that will be even easier once that isn't in the way. (not that I'm wishing the time away or anything)

Nothing to add really, just found that comment interesting.

I can see it working both ways, depending on your situation. Back when I was younger, my job was less demanding (if I wanted Friday off for a three-day weekend, I could ask for it- and get it- Thursday afternoon.) Now there's a house to deal with. More shared interests. More individual interests. It used to be that a free Saturday meant a day at an amusement park. Now it might also mean organizing the garage, getting together with friends, planning time for two different families, working extra hours or just recovering from what was accomplished between Monday and Friday.

Not yet at the point where we have to work around the obligations of kids... not wanting to think about it, either ;)

*** Edited 4/30/2007 6:11:35 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

I think by "younger" Rob means a teenager with no responsibilities, the summer entirely free, and parents to pay for everything or else no bills significant enough to compete with amusement park funds . (or did you?)

I find myself skipping Six Flags because I don't live close enough to any that make it an easy day or weekend trip, and I use my "big" vacations to satisfy my other interests and hobbies (which includes my preference for small quirky parks vs what I consider to be a rather bland, frustrating, and expensive theme park experience).

Edit: rob is too quick to respond *** Edited 4/30/2007 6:12:37 PM UTC by millrace***

^^ I see. That makes sense. :)

Again, I seem to be just the opposite (surprise!).

Back then we weren't really into the coaster/park things as much. Perhaps we would have been had we been able to visit more? It seems as the money and freedom came, so did the desire to go to more parks.

That's kinda what I meant when I said younger, although I still had quite a bit of "time freedom" in my early 20's. It's only been the past few years that my free time has been tightened up quite a bit.

Not to drag another conversation into this one, but this is the reason why I appreciate things like late park hours. Years ago, if we had to leave Great Adventure early for some reason, it was no big deal- we could (and usually would) return a few weeks later. Nowadays, I'll specifically plan a day at an amusement park when the hours extend into the late evening so we have more than enough time to do what we want, because we never know when if/when we'll make it back before the end of the season. When I say that I want to get the most experience for my money, it's not about being cheap (everyone who knows me knows that I would pay full price for an amusement park every day of the week if I had the gift of free time), it's about getting the most out of our time because we're never sure when that time will surface again.

Late hours are useful for me because I often don't want to commit an entire day. I made my one and only visit to Hershey because I happened to be going through the area for other reasons and had the evening (but not the whole day free). Without the late hours, I would have had to skip it entirely.

^^And to keep the conversation going in the 'wrong' direction (hehe) - that time thing is exactly why I love Q-bot.

As a time-strapped individual, Q-bot should be your best friend. :)

*** Edited 4/30/2007 6:20:11 PM UTC by Lord Gonchar***

If a park is so busy that a Q-bot is required, then I would probably prefer to skip the park entirely. But I'm not one those non-enthusiast park nerds. ;)

You know, you're right. It should be my best friend. I guess it's just the fact that something about the "pay to cut" system never sat too well with me. And for someone that has no problem dropping a lot of money to have a good time, I guess there are things that I'll flat-out reject. The only way I can put it is that I end up saying to myself, "Alright, you got enough of my money for one day."

Actually, I am more a "full day" park person that I ever was, Joe. Years ago, we'd go to a couple of parks in a day if they were close enough to one another. Now that time has become limited, we'll only do one park in a day so we can get the most out of it. Of course, if I had a local park that I could go to for a few hours after a day at work, I'd be a lot more willing to spend just a few hours at a park!

Except the park isn't open after work. That's bad for business. ;)

Actually, part of the reason why I haven't gone to a Six Flags park in almost 30 years is because for a good chunk of those years I hardly went to any parks. It's probably only within the past 10 years or so that my enthusiasm (yes I'll use that word and have no problem with it) has been reborn.

So I'm either entering my second childhood or else I never left my first one.

Maybe your first childhood never really left and it just went into remission for a few years?

I know what you're saying. In a way, I feel like I'm entering a second childhood. There were a few years when I pretty much gave up on the things I used to love, like roller coasters and video games. During the past few years, my passion for those things, as well as a few things I missed out on the first time around (like sports and Disney) has come back even stronger than it ever was. More and more, I feel like a kid again, and it has nothing to do with a midlife crisis that I have yet to reach. Honestly, I'm not sure what it is.