Success is all about the water parks

um, Duh?

I find myself really torn with this business decision. On one hand, I really like the water parks, and make a point to visit most of the ones at the various parks I go to. On the other hand, I really like the thrill rides. So in the case of Six Flags America, I'm really hoping that Hurricane Harbor pulls in large crowds so we could have further expansion next year. I know I've made four visits already this year. Wanting my cake and eating it too, I hope we could also get a new coaster or thrill ride next year.

THIS is news? J/K, LOL!

'Playa, weren't we having this discussion about three or four YEARS ago? ;)

I may not be the biggest waterpark fan (save for THAT place in Texas), but they're GREAT business decisions....ad at the VERY least, it means fewer people in front of me in line for those aforementioned "looping steel rollercoasters"... ;)

I recently visited SFA this past weekend,,,,and was a bit disappointed in the water park. I'm a recent transplant to the DC area from New England...and SFNE's water park kicks SFA's butt!! WAY too crowded, not enough rafts or lockers, a pathetic lazy river, and the wave pool didn't have any waves. Hopefully they will expand as the demand is obviously there. Lines for the rides were down as everyone was in the water park!

'Gator: Of course. I'm uh, trendy like that.

My girls skipped VF trip this week because there aren't enough wet things to do on a 90 degree day.

"I'm not gonna stand in line all day to get a little bit wet!" was the quote.

You'll never guess who dragged Nasai on a couple slides Friday...

-'Playa

This really got my attention:

"The park in southern Indiana is doubling the size of the water area over next five years. This year it added a new wave pool and next year a raging river."

What do they mean by this? HW already has a raging river, but maybe this is something else. This could be a clue to the new expansion.

If we're lucky, an NBGS Torrent River...or something like it.

LOL, that looks like an upgrade to Schlitterbahn's "Not So Lazy River"....

Not exactly sure where this message got lost in translation, so here goes again (to the parks): Your waterparks are HUGE draws, they make TONS of money. Rides are (relatively) inexpensive, but also have *terribly* low capacity...mostly due to safety constraints, totally understandable. What can YOU do to resolve the problem of long waits?

Build more waterpark rides, build them like there's no tomorrow, build them like they're going out of style, but BUILD lots of waterpark rides. Lazy rivers, not-so-lazy rivers, wavepools, speed slides, raft rides, tube chutes, EVERYTHING...the payoff is, well, it's a *TORRENT* of cash....;)

Hmmm....NBGS might want to reword this:

The capacity of a slow river is combined with the excitement of a tidal wave to create a thrilling, high-action adventure.

Yawn.

The primary definition of 'tidal wave' is a crest created by the tides...and by that definition, every ocean wave, big or small is one o' those.

Meanwhile, back at More Interesting Ranch....

I've actually heard a very poor review of SFGAM's HH by a non-coaster dork friend of mine. She described it as a few lousy slides you wait hours to ride and a teeny-tiny wavepool.

But don't they have a million-gallon wavepool? Sure! But just one vs. their annual visitor count isn't much. How about 25 major slides? Sounds formidable, too--until you realize Mt. Olympus' count is 37. Six of SFGAM's slides are the racers--so that honestly doesn't leave that many more.

The biggest criticism of waterparks seem to be that there aren't enough slides/attractions to get folks wet fast enough. How do you resolve that? Coin-slot water cannons to spray folks in queues?

-'Playa

Actually, the way *I* do it (get people wet enough/fast enough)....multiple FSS rides with dueling STCs... :)

Don't forget a "wet" TopSpin or Mondial Splashover...:)

And for the "rides sides" of these megaparks....PLENTY o' misting fans! ;)

*** This post was edited by rollergator 7/11/2005 4:06:19 PM ***

palwine, gee do you really think so? Read my trip report from last year's visit to SFNE. I clearly stated the obvious–that a lot of the money was going into SFNE's Hurricane Harbor and not into our decades old Paradise Island. Remember, you had two years of expansion + the new waterslide this year. SFA has only had one year of water park expansion. I know it's hard to put things into perspective when you've had so much more, but they really did do a good job with the conversion.

Moosh: You so crazy.

These water park additions (The entire water park) usually add up to like 1 major coaster attraction. I really think this is a marvel way of reducing lines at the Thrill park especially for the parks that have both parks included in a single admission. Out here in California for Magic Mountain and Knott's berry farm, our water parks charge seperate admission so I can see how the freebies would pull in more peeps to get the cash cow rolling. But the down side to that is not everyone would want to pay the same admission if they have no plans on enjoying the coasters and other various attractions on the thrill ride section.
*** This post was edited by Magicmike 7/12/2005 7:49:31 PM ***

Water parks are great, strutting around in a bikini, getting a great tan, eating a lemon slushy, laughing at people who lose their suits and trying to figure out exactly wear you are supposed to attach your locker key without endangering yourself or others.

Hey that is my comment and my name isn't there!!!:-(