Trip planning dilemma

There's a fair chance of me doing a brief trip to the US in the next month. My time window is short. I've shortlisted two main options:

(a) Chicago to Kansas City. Zambezi Zinger would be the main new coaster, though I'd get a few smaller ones at Lost Island, Adventureland, and a few SBF figure eights. I'd also like to see Lost Island before it closes :)

(b) California. RailBlazer, Wonder Woman, West Coast Racers, Emperor, and Arctic Rescue would all be new to me. Given that CGA is on borrowed time now I reckon it might be worth doing this one for RailBlazer alone.

The coaster selection will be better with (b), but my overall priority is wood coasters which makes (a) a tempting option, though only if Zambezi Zinger is open.

I'm going to need to make a decision in the next few days.

Needless to say an opening date for Zambezi Zinger will be announced within approximately 0.2 attoseconds of any booking being made.

What would you do?

B.
I suppose I could look, but I don’t know how many of these parks you’ve visited. And silly me, probably all of them. It looks like B gives you the most credits and even though you’d prefer wood. But if you don’t have an RMC single rail on your list then definitely B.

The only park on either route that I've never been to is Lost Island.

I have ridden all of the single rails except the two in California.

I'd do (b) if only because CGA's future is super uncertain. Even though there's officially a decade+ on the timeline, I would be surprised if it lasts that long. As soon as whatever condos or retail get approved I'm pretty sure everything will be streamlined and the park will be bulldozed.

I agree with choosing B because CGA may not be around much longer.

I'd go to Knoebels between CGA and SFMM, though. It's on the way.

Objectively B is probably the better choice. However:

I've been to Lost Island twice (once each year they've been open), this year over Memorial Day weekend Saturday. Both times it's been incredibly dead. The operator of the park said in a newspaper article before this season started that attendance for year 1 was drastically below expectations, and there was only one day all of last year where they were profitable. Judging by Memorial Day weekend and reports I've heard, there's no evidence that those crowds have started coming.

While Great America will close soon, it has eleven years to do so and I don't get the sense that this will be the last year.

But if you want to visit Lost Island, I'm not sure there's going to be a next year.

kpjb:

I'd go to Knoebels between CGA and SFMM, though. It's on the way.

The thought occurred to me – though I was planning to call by Alton Towers instead.

Zambezi Zinger soft opened (to passholders) yesterday, according to the Twitter.

Yeah, honestly CGA is going to be around longer than Lost Island. I think Lost Island is going to be one of those rare park credits.

Eek a mouse:

The theme park attracted 27,000 visitors last summer during its 65-day season, averaging 415 people a day. This is just a third of what the waterpark sees with about 1,500 visitors a day, Bertch said.

This sounds like an example of tying two rocks together and hoping they'll float.

I never even heard of that place until this.

JRit:

Yeah, honestly CGA is going to be around longer than Lost Island. I think Lost Island is going to be one of those rare park credits.

It's not likely I'll be back in the US for coasters in the near term, so I'm in a position where I have to decide what I care about more. And on balance, that's probably CGA.

Did you get the Lost Island credits in their previous homes ? Kanonen was fine, plus they have an SLC, as I recall.

Yeah, I've ridden both the SLC and the ride formerly known as Kanonen.

I am a little curious about the dark ride, but it's such a bugger to get to that I'm thinking there are better uses for my time.

Lost Island's dark rides is definitely one of the best in the US outside of Disney/Universal. It'll be a big loss.

Why are we talking like this park is scheduled to close? It that true? Or just informed predictions?
I looked up Waterloo, Iowa because I had no idea. It’s not quite in the middle of nowhere, but kind of, and counts as Iowas 8th largest metro area. I can see where the park might pull visitors from Des Moines, and Cedar Rapids but probably not Minneapolis St Paul to the north. It looks like a nice place, the equipment wasn’t done on the cheap and the atmosphere and architecture is nice. One thing it lacks, clearly, is trees, shade, and topography. But… Iowa. Also, a lot of the attractions are themed strangely (to most Iowans, I’d reckon) with names that don’t exactly trip off the tongue and take study to pronounce. No reason not to go though.
I guess there’s a general lack of interest and that’s a shame. Maybe it looked like a good idea, I think a similar project like OWA is doing fine.

RCMAC:

Why are we talking like this park is scheduled to close? It that true? Or just informed predictions?

Right now they are pulling in crowds that make the crowds at last few years of Geauga Lake look like Disney on New Year's Eve.

No, Lost Island isn't scheduled to close. But given the fact that they reportedly only had one profitable day all last season, at some point the money is going to run out. Of course no new park should expect to be profitable right out of the gate, but I don't think the owners expected attendance to be this bad.

OWA/Tropic Falls isn't exactly a fair comparison. For one, it capitalizes on tourists to the Gulf Shores area. Not much tourism in Waterloo, IA.

I think there's a casino that's part of the complex, so that draws some tourists ... but if there were a big overlap between gamblers and amusement park visitors, Buffalo Bill's would be thriving. (Or any park in Vegas.)

OWA is also a good distance from the nearest amusement park, whereas there's an established park in Des Moines, plus Arnolds Park, plus a lot of Iowans are probably in the habit of going to SFGAm, SFStL, Worlds of Fun, or Valleyfair.