Your Home Park... Endless Love or Complete Bore?!

I've noticed for a little while that people either tend to go to their home park so much that they fall completely in love with every aspect or they become extremely bored and go against the park. I have friends that live in Columbus and can't get enough of Wyandot Lake and then I have friends who live in Orlando and are sick of Islands of Adventure, so I was interested in some responses.

Which side of this do you lie with your home park or is it somewhere in the middle and why do you feel so strongly either way? Thanks! :)

I get out to Cedar Point as much as I can! I just really can't get enough!

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You want to know what Millenium Force is on a scale from 1-10? Oh, that's easy. A bajillion out of ten.

I am completely sick of Indiana Beach. I mean sure they have Hoosier Hurricane and Cornball but thats it. Double shot is half the fun of Demon Drop or Power Tower and LoCoSuMo is just plain stupid. It's a complete bore to me!

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*** This post was edited by CPThrills on 9/11/2002. ***

I live 20 minutes from Great Adventure. I don't know if it's boredom or just that I take it for granted living so close, but it doesn't hold the same charm it once did for me.

Sure, there are several things that could use improvement, but it is also very nice having Nitro so close. One of the other advantages of being so close of course, is taking advantage of the times when the weather is kind of iffy. Of course, the last couple of times I've tried to do that, the park decides to close early because they didn't draw the kinds of numbers they were hoping for.

In summary, I guess you could call my feelings on Great Adventure a love/hate thing. I love it pre-Memorial Day and post-Labor Day and I avoid it entirely during the height of the season unless the weather is right. Having ridden all the rides as many times as I have, there is just no reason to go when the crowds are big. As much as I love Nitro, I won't wait more than 15-20 minutes for it. As far as the other rides in the park, if it's more than a 10 minute wait, forget it.

I almost forgot to include this. What do I do during the height of the season? Go to Dorney. The warmer it is, the better it is. While Wildwater Kingdom is overflowing with people, most of the coasters are walk-ons or minimal waits. It's a great thing to go to a park on a beautiful day with a parking lot full of cars and be able to walk on just about any ride.

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Jim Hansen
Number of coasters ridden: 225

*** This post was edited by SJCoasternut on 9/11/2002. ***

Well I love Wyandot Lake and all, which is 10mins away, but sometimes you just get sick of riding the same rides over and over again. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Wyandot Lake and everything, but it just sort of gets to me! Oh and by the way................Sea Dragon rules! LoL!

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Good Times!! Good Times!!
CCI Lives On!!!!
-Patrick

I have a dysfunctional love/hate relationship with my local park (VF).

I hate it because I've always wanted B&M steel and now I'm certain it will never, ever happen. Not that they've never invested that kind of money into the park before....they have. Actually they've done so three times in the last eight years, which makes it even tougher to deal with. The last $10 million ride was a PT complex and now it's a standard-issue Impulse.

I also have a huuuge problem with the overbraked and therefore ruined Wild Thing. In its first two seasons it was a wheel-burning, amazing ride. Now the trip back is a ponderous bore. I watch them kill the ride when I enter the park and don't even bother getting in line.

I love it because it sure isn't a bad collection of rides to drive by on the way to the in-laws. Not to mention their season passes get me in to CP and MA.

The landscaping quality has gone way up since the '99 season and this year the quality of live shows has improved significantly, too.

It could be better but it could be whole lot worse. Just get me a wavepool and I'll pronounce it pretty darned near perfect.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 9/11/2002. ***

Lake Compounce is a wonderful homepark. Never will you find such a peacful and friendly park on the east coast without stopping a Lake Compounce, but after the first year, I did start thinking it's just too peacful. I get bored sometimes riding train after train on Boulder Dash with mabye only 1 or 2 more people in the train. Riding Thunder Rapids or Mountain Flume with nobody else there. The thing about rides like these, is watching others get wet, hearing others scream, building anticipation while waiting inline, wandering with the crowds, cheering with the riders on the brakes runs. This just doesn't happen at Lake Compounce that often. Such a magic place feels empty, not because lack of attractions, but no people to share it with. One reason why I feel that I have to go to Quassy or Six Flags New England every so often because I just miss so much joy that the crowds bring. I mean Lake Compounce could be considered a step-brother of Holiday World, but how would Holiday World feel with only a couple dozen guest in the park total?

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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean

With Six Flags Great America being my home park, I guess I can't complain about too much... I donno...

Things i really like about the park:
It's usually not too crowded. Compared to Cedar Point it's empty (lines for rides)
Has a nice selection of coasters; hyper, 2 arrow loopers, inverted, stand up, 2 (of the best) woodies, classic Schwarzkopf, a kiddie coaster, an impulse, an invertigo and a nice 200ft freefall (not a coaster but still a major attraction)
SFGAm is also home to the first B&M coaster ever, as well as the first inverted.
I wish the park was a little cleaner at times, but for the most part the staff is fairly nice (even though they dont clean).
I've been to SFGAm so many times, it just doesn't seem to be too exciting. Overall, though, I think it's a good park and i'm glad that I dont have some crap like Indiana Beach as my home park =P

*** This post was edited by Kaldaim on 9/11/2002. ***

Unfortunately SFWOA is my home park and I am getting pretty sick of it. Every chance I get I go to other parks rather than SFWOA. I still enjoy going to SFWOA when other parks are not an option at the moment just so I can get my coaster-fix. They do have some awesome rides, just complete lack of friendliness and customer service.

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What would we all do if roller coasters became non-existent???

*** This post was edited by SWIMDEJ on 9/11/2002. ***

I have endless love for PKI. I've practically grown up there, since the time of the Screamin' Demon (OK, I was 4 in 1987, but it still counts.) The place is almost like a second home to me. I'll be the first to admit that the park isn't perfect, and while other parks may have B&M's, hypers, more flats and whatnot, there's just this feeling of familiarity there.

Besides, how can you beat a park that had both the Brady Bunch AND the Partridge Family? :)

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"I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe."

Kennywood's my home park. Endless love. Enough said.

Love/Bore-SFGAm is both. I like the rides a lot, but when it comes down to it, the park just really is boring. SFGAm really has nothing special, but yet the only reason I do keep going there is because its the only theme park within half an hour of where I live. The next closest park is Big Chief Karts and Coasters and that is all the way up in the Dells, too far.

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The ice age killed the dinosaurs, we killed ourselves.

Six Flags Great Adventure.. Well, how long can I really love a huge corporate park like this? It is truly a love hate relationship. See, I would much rather live near a small, traditional park (For Example, Lesourdsville Lake or Conneaut Lake Park) than a huge corporate parks. Nothing beats a park with great atmosphere and classic rides.

I have SFGAm as my home park, and I agree with everything Kaldaim said, except for usually being not too crowded. 5 of the past 5 times I was there, it was busy. I guess I just pick the wrong days to go.

I am IN LOVE with PKI. I can't get enough of it. Although it has minor flaws, all parks do.

The best day ever was one where I had, insane flyer snapping, an AWESOME front seat Beast ride, incredible backseat air on Vortex, fun beating the frontwards Racer, an all out amazing SoB ride, and a crazy out of control ride on FoF!

Oh wait.......that's everyday at PKI!

SFDL is a complete bore. SF needs to do somethin with it. Might as well drive 7 hours instead of 2 and go to CP.

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Its not attention deficit. I'm just ignoring you.

SFEG-I wouldn't say I "love" the park, but I have more respect for it then most. I don't mind the rides, but it's like they are great every time. The park is nice and clean though, what more can ya ask for?

Lakeside-I do have love for this park. I can not get enough of the Cyclone! The Wild Chipmunk is great, and the overall park feel is awsome.

I have a complicated relationship with my homepark, SFGAdv. I love some of the better rides (Chiller without a line, Batman, Medusa, and Nitro) but I abhore many of the other rides in the park. Rolling Thunder either needs maintainence or a match, Viper requires the extensive use of a bulldozer, and GASM has its faults as well. Although their flat collection is good, parts of it aren't open most of the time.

I worship Dorney on the other hand, for ALL of the coasters (yes, even Hercules) are tolerable if not great. I love their log flume (because of its terrain it is like a real flume, not some raft ride on stilts). The best day to go is July 3rd (if it's not a friday or weekend date). I've tried it 2 times and both times it was dead. I have never had a ridiculous line at Dorney. SFGAdv on the other hand...

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105 coasters, and the Cyclone still tops 'em all.

I would say that my homepark is PKI. I have to admit that it does get boring after about the 5th time for me. There's basically the Beast and FoF, the only rides that seem good to go on more than once.

SOB, Racer, Vortex, and other things are cool too, but I usually leave with pain from each one. :(

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LeWiS

IOA...............take a wild guess!!!!!!!!1