Six Flags in 2014 *YAAAAWWWWNNNN*

Ron Witrzek said:
37 years....

In a row??!

First of all...

Raven-Phile said:

Ron Witrzek said:
37 years....

In a row??!

AWESOME!

Second of all, I think the term "world class" cannot be determined by opinion. You (and many enthusiasts) say that Raging Bull is not world class? By what standards? It's as tall and fast as anything most parks could ever hope for, and still the tallest and fastest at that park. When introduced, it was marketed as a "world first" and "one of a kind" coaster. (hyper-twister.) Yes, I know that's stretching it, but are there any more, or is it still unique? To the local, non-enthusiast, it's perhaps the largest coaster they will ever ride. And it still draws a line after all these years.

Third of all, are we sure Tyler is even a real person. I've seen enough trolls to think that perhaps he's just an alter-ego created by Josh, or someone, just to stir the pot.

I have visited Cedar Point 52 seasons, yes, in a row. Funny though, after all those years I still don't have the nerve to name drop, act like I own the place, complain too loudly, or insist they should be doing things my way.

Those of us who live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, California, Virginia, Missouri, NY/NJ/Philly metro, and Chicagoland should consider ourselves damn lucky that we have thriving, popular, and well looked after American theme parks and amusement parks to attend. We've all been to out of the way parks that weren't that great, maybe with one or two attractions that barely made the trip worthwhile. We've all witnessed the sad closure of parks that should've been successful but for the lack of large corporate dollars necessary these days to keep the place looking nice, keep well balanced attractions moving in, and keep the customers coming.

99.8% of us here have this business as our hobby. We should be grateful for the opportunity and quit using our enthusiast status as a constant reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Tyler is definitely not an alter of mine. I don't even think I could pull off such an elaborate troll.

I'm not 100% convinced he's real, either, sometimes.

RCMAC said:

Those of us who live in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, California, Virginia, Missouri, NY/NJ/Philly metro, and Chicagoland should consider ourselves damn lucky that we have thriving, popular, and well looked after American theme parks and amusement parks to attend.

I agree with that as someone who does not live near a decent theme park nearby. It's not easy for me to have to drive four of five hours just to visit a park. This limits my park visits over the season. This year, so far, I have been to Hersheypark and Kings Island. I'm planning to visit Cedar Point at the beginning of October, and I really want to fit in a trip to Kings Dominion sometime before they close. This Platinum Pass doesn't get a lot of use.

Perhaps Ron Witrzek is just bored with the offerings of his home park? Most people will only visit their closest amusement park once a year, if that. They don't get to know the park intimately like the park fans might, so they don't get bored with what is there.

LK, I've been telling you for years you should move to Columbus. We've got all kinds of scenes, including art, music, fashion, sports, and vibrant neighborhoods that include all those things for our convenience. We got the Gays, and a relatively accepting community. Add to that, no end of retail, restaurants, and the world's best ice cream.

But the best thing is world class amusement parks all within day-trip driving distance. :-)

I get your point about home park burn out. It's nothing for me to jump in the truck and head to KI for early ride time, a few more spins, some pizza, then home. What makes that possible is that I've been there, done that, and I don't feel the need to do it all. Especially on what turns out to be a busy day, or if bad weather moves in. I'm not saying its boring there, particularly, it's just that I've had such access to the place for so many years that it doesn't hold the novel attraction anymore. However, as a hobbyist, I still and will always consider myself fortunate to have great places like that nearby.

I'm coming to Columbus for some Mikey's late night slice. That's what I'm gonna do.

Don't forget the Slut Sauce.

Ron Witrzek said:

What isn't making sense to you?

How I work closely to improve things in the park as a guest and for all guests, part.

I make no apologies for my passion, care, concern for Great America.

I have brought hundreds of new people to the park in 37 years, have you?

Now I'm done with this and will be taking more new guests to the park Labor Day, see you there.

I respect your dedication. You sound like you're never going to give up Great America. And you're never going to let your park down. And no matter what, you're not going to run around and desert Great America.

Great America and me have never really gelled. They have some fantastic coasters (the Bull, Viper when it isnt in need of retracking, and Batman) and I do have a lot of fun on their rides. However, for whatever reason I do not have fun at the park when I am not on rides. With the exception of SFoG, SFoT and SFFT I can say I get that at every other SF park Ive been to (in all fairness a lot of those trips were in the bad old days.) I just dont feel like Im being transported to a fun place at the park and when Im there on a crowded day Im miserable.

I have no problem having fun at parks ranging from Disney/Universals to Busch/Sea World, most of the Cedar Fair chain, or small independents like Kennywood/Canobie Lake even if I am there on a packed day because just being at those places makes me happy. Most of my park trips involve me driving right by SFGAm on a 6+ hour road trip within my first hour of travel and I never feel the urge to stop.

I dont know what they could do to change my feelings of the park, but it certainly isnt just building more rides. I feel like all of us just have some parks we dont enjoy. SFGAm is only my second most scandalous park I feel that way about though, because I did not enjoy my trip to Knobeles either.

Yaaawwwnnnn? Not at Six Flags Mexico.

I was pretty excited to hear the news about the Medusa makeover. We'll get another transformation by Rocky Mountain Construction. They've done an incredible job with their first three creations; The New Texas Giant, Outlaw Run and Iron Rattler. The NTG and Iron Rattler are intense but intense glass-smooth adrenaline pumping rides. I've ridden Outlaw Run yet.

The new Medusa will feature a barrel roll just after the lift hill before the drop. How sweet is that? Also, the sweeping, ground-hugging curves are going to be sweet.

I've never had a remote desire to go south to Six Flags Mexico. But, I am looking forward to going south to visit the park.

P.S.

Let's save the "woodie vs. steel" debate for another thread.

Touchdown, I'm loathe to admit that my positive opinion of Six Flags parks has waned in recent years, but it has. Admittedly, some are substantially better than others, but while they aren't building coasters with reckless abandon like they did during the Burke era, they seem like they're rapidly backtracking.

My biggest issue is with the ads. While I think the ride additions across the chain have been an exceptionally diverse blend of rides that seem to perfectly fit the needs of their respective parks, the marketing, at least within the parks themselves, seems to be very oriented to the teenager demographic, and as strange as it sounds, Six Flags parks seem to be much more filled with teens in my experience than other parks.

It just feels like they overdid it with sponsorships and stuff and now the parks feel like they're receding in quality. I don't know what it is, but it just feels like I'm walking through a series of commercials in between rides.

I had that same impression when I visited Six Flags America, which was one of my most recent big SF parks. It truly felt like, as you say, one big commercial for themselves. There was no end of banners, loud speaker commercial announcements, and sound bites that all included the Six Flags name.
Now, I get branding and why it's worthwhile, and I get that the young demographic is a large target. But I almost laughed at how they seemed to be preaching to the captive choir. I mean, we were in the park and had already turned our money and time over to them. I thought it seemed weird and that marketing dollars might be better spent elsewhere.
I don't remember the same vibe from my visits to St.Louis, Atlanta, or Jackson, also around the same time. Cedar Fair parks do the same thing, I suppose, but maybe not quite as blatant, or as "in your face". I think of Cedar Point and how the name appears on banners throughout the park, and every ride spiel includes the America's Rockin' Rollercoast Ride On slogan, but it seems less teen oriented, or something.

I think that the difference lies in the fact that I don't feel like Cedar Fair is trying to sell me something different with every step I take down a midway. You see the occasional ad, but they blend in well enough and Fastlane seems like the most common one. At Six Flags Great Adventure, there's a series of lightposts on the lakeside pathway behind El Toro where every single one had identical Snickers banners hanging from them. At Six Flags America, Wild One has a massive snickers banner hanging from the supports. Then there's those stupid televisions where a Gamefly commerical comes on every five minutes. It's just inescapable, and it really detracts from the atmosphere. Shoot, it's like they're sponsored by every single distraction that would keep you from going to an amusement park in the first place.

Yeah, the ads definitely took away from the atmosphere in the Six Flags parks I visited as well. I wonder how much ad money they collect by decking out an El Toro train as a Kia Soul or putting "Got 2 b Glued" decals on the back of every seat.

I guess it's all about trade-off's. I was looking at pricing for the Six Flags-equivalent Platinum Pass the other day, and it was as low as $55. That includes parking and admission to all the Six Flags parks, free tickets for friends, exclusive ride time and other perks for the rest of 2013 and all of 2014. They're basically giving their Gold Passes away. I believe the Cedar Fair Platinum Pass was as low as $160 last year.

Of course there are many other factors, but when comparing Cedar Fair and Six Flags, one thing I thought was, "I'm paying more for the low or ad-free version ."

Concrete Enchilada said:

Let's save the "woodie vs. steel" debate for another thread.

Could we just skip that debate altogether?

rollergator said:

Could we just skip that debate altogether?

You're complaining about the same thing in the other thread. If you're so full of conversation topics, I beseech you.

Oh. No. You. Didn't.

So what you're saying, Jeph, is that Cedar Fair is the Coasterbuzz Club of amusement park chains?