Your Home Park... Endless Love or Complete Bore?!
Indiana Beach has a raw beauty and intense charm. There is so much more than Double Shot or any of the 5 fabulous coasters. There are leisurely walks on the boardwalk, the midway, live music from the rooftop lounge and delicious meals from the elegant skyroom restaurant. There are the tacos, meals atop the Pronto Princess, evening rides on the Schafer Queen, Den of Lost Theives, Frankenstein's Castle. I could go on for days. I'll never tire of Indiana Beach. One would have to have a severe case of tunnel vision to not understand and appreciate all that there is to see and do at Indiana Beach.
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Chris Knight
The Mantis is real. The Mantis is out there. The Mantis is protecting my yard from West Nile Mosquitos (No Joke).
I have SFGAm as my homepark and never get tired of it, Ive went there about 20 times this year so far and they never gave me a reason to complain. I think they have done a great job keeping Deja Vu and Vertical Velocity opened this season.
Raging Bull continues to impress me and I have still yet to have a bad ride, Viper in its 8th season of operation still feels like a brand new wooden coaster.
After going there about 20 times this season people have asked me if I ever get sick of it and I say no, because each time I go there I leave happy after having another great day. I for one don't know how anybody could go to any park and not have a good time.
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Deja Vu Count = 27
SFGAm CoasterWorld
I guess it's kind of a love/hate relationship, but it's definitely leaning alot more towards the hate side right now!
I hate SFAW because they almost never get a new coaster, and even when they finally do, it's still at least five years behind the times! I also hate it because it didn't used to be that way! When we got XLR-8, it was the newest of new coaster technologies. Of course we got the lamest suspended coaster of all , but we got one, and that was doing alot better than the likes of SFMM at the time!
It still messes with my head that SFMM not only caught up with SFAW in the coaster count, but they left us in the dust too, while we just sat there! Back in the golden days, everyone in the world was jealous of SFAW. We had the #1 woodie in the world, and more coasters than most other parks on the planet! But no more. Now it's just the world's largest collection of obsolete used coasters!
We always get the lamest version there is of everything too, and I really hate that as well. So if we ever get an impulse coaster, it'll only be a single twist model, if it even has a twist at all. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if they built one that just made a big circle around the station, that's how boring our coasters are!
But on the positive side, I love it because we have such a large variety of coaster types. We have one of almost everything there is, or at least we did, before the 90's came and blitzed us with so many different new coaster types that not even the mighty SFMM could have one of everything!
I also love it because it has so much untapped potential. It sucks that we'll have to wait until it's sold to someone else before it starts living up to it's potential, but the possibilities are there for alot more coasters than we have right now, and we're only five coasters behind the world record as it is! It also messes with my head that we could've had 15 coasters about 10 years ago, but at least it's still feasible that we could have at least that many someday, IF the powers that be would just start spending the money to make it happen! So in that respect, it's pretty darn cool.
LOL! I bet you guys are wondering just where the heck I think we could put five more coasters right now, aren't you?
The answer is very simple: They just need to go ahead and use WaterWorld for what it should've been used for all along! My biggest hope for them right now is that maybe that's exactly what they have in mind for the future. Since they did combine AstroWorld and WaterWorld into one park this year, theoretcially they could start filling in stupid WaterWorld with new coasters, and start phasing out all of the water slides.
And now that Six Flags owns SplashTown here too, it wouldn't be completely out of the realm of possibility for them to take all of the water out of WaterWorld, and just let their SplashTown be the big waterpark for the city. SplashTown has alot more slides and stuff anyway, and most of 'em are alot better than the ones at WaterWorld too, so I think that filling in WaterWorld with new coasters would be the best thing that they could possibly do to revive the old girl! But of course, Gary Story has to die first! Seriously though, if they would just do that, we'd still have a great waterpark, and an even better coaster park!
I don't think they're really smart enough to do anything like that though. If they were, WaterWorld never would've been wasted on water slides in the first place. They probably just wanna make it more like SFFT, with a decent waterpark that's part of the rest of the park. The possibilities are still very inspiring though, even if all of WaterWorld remains intact. They definitely need to fill in the lake and put a new coaster there, which seems very possible too, since other Six Flags parks have done it, but I kinda doubt that too.
They could give the Southern Star Amphitheatre the axe too, and build something as big as a giga coaster there, but then hundreds of lame gospel singers from around the world would have no place to perform anymore, so I don't see them doing that either, as much as I wish that they would!
And of course the corporate picnic grounds aren't going anywhere either, but if they did, there's alot of space there too. Plus, let's not forget the mysterious new land, that's still being leased out to the car dealership next door, for some unknown reason. I'd really like to know exactly how much land they own on that side of the park now, but no one else seems to know either. All we know for sure is that it's definitely a designated future coaster expansion space! Perhaps that's why it's still being leased out right now too. Maybe they need the extra cash from the rent to help pay for whatever new coaster is supposed to go there? That possibility is certainly very exciting to ponder indeed!
Anyway I guess I'd love it alot more if I hadn't been there so much that it got boring, and I'd definitely love it alot more if they'd give us a new coaster at least every other year, like they do most of their other parks! But for now, the most enjoyment that I get out of it is exploring all of the places where they COULD build a new coaster, or even a new flat ride.
For example, they COULD fit a Chaos in PERFECTLY, right across the tracks from the Serial Thriller! But will THEY ever think of that? Of course not! And even if they did think of it, I really doubt that they'd actually do it, but it certainly could keep alot more people near the games in that area, so you never know! Maybe they'll surprise me someday!
*** This post was edited by Iron Draggon on 9/12/2002. ***
Anyway, I am mostly ambivalent towards my home park of SFA. Some days I really appreciate it because I think it has one of, if not *the* most well-rounded collection of rides and shows. But at the same time, I dont really like to wait for those rides or shows because of a "been there, done that" mentality. SFA, for me, is at it's best if either a) I havent been there in about a month, or b) I'm only dropping in for a few hours. I pretty much never even *think* of staying open-close, but yet there is so much that you can do.
It's funny. SFA is one of my least favorite parks as a whole, but I *glad* it's my home park. To me, the park is GREAT for local visits, but it sucks as a *destination*. I think the biggest part of that is the 'some-timey' operations. Being local, if something is down, I know I can just go another day. If crowds/ops are being surly, I'll just bounce. But if you hit the park on one of its "bad" days, you'd really be less than excited about the place...despite the great rides.
For a one-time visit, I'd much rather go to HERSHEYPARK!
lata,
jeremy
--still pulling for an SFA bathroom by Batwing/S:ROS
The only ride worth ride is S:ROS and after going to SFGADV I'am seriously thinking of relocating my job to New Jersey or New York or just drving there a couple of time in the spring/summer months.
SFDL really needs something or there will be dwindling attendence, as a matter of fact I think the attendence was down for this year not surprised at all. PLEASE GIVE US A B&M PLEASE!
Feel the Strike said:
Ya know it amazes me how much people to continue to just rip into parks for such trivial things as braking... I found the braking on Wild Thing to be just as hard as those found on Steel Force and Mamba.
The braking is no mere trivial thing....prior to '99 WT was a mind-blowing experience. The return trip was every bit as good as the first drop.
Unfortunately, CF's operating policy may be the same on each of the Morgan hypers. I rode DP's Steel Force last summer to get braked just as hard at midcourse. I walked off in disgust and didn't bother riding again.
What a waste of great hops.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Oaks Park,Portland,Oregon for me is a complete bore.No woodies there,even though the park is 97 years old.The park is mostly portlable carny rides.The "major" coaster there is a Pinfari Lopping Star.The best ride in the park is a KMG Afterburner called Screamin' Eagle.The bumper car ride isn't bad either,but I cant' ride them anymore.(it sucks getting old)If they invested $5-6 mil inthe park and built a woodie and maybe an S & S Space shot like the PNE Hellevator,I would rate this park much higher.
Still,Oaks Park is better than no park at all.
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I can fix anything.....where is the duct tape?
So what, exactly, is the definition of a "home park" ??
Is it the park closest to where you live? If so, for me that's Pacific Ocean Park [POP] on the Santa Monica Pier.
Is a "home park" any park in your city? In the greater LA area that could be POP, SFMM, KBF, DL, DCA, Adventure City, Castle Park, or Scandia.
Is it the park in your area you visit most often? I guess for me that would be Knotts, but with X I've also been to Magic Mountain a lot this year, possibly more so than Knotts.
Or is a "home park" a park you hold dear to your heart? Some place you go to get away from life; where you know you'll have a good time; where your favorite rides are? If so than my home parks are 1,000's of miles from my house.
Any comments?
Moosh
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"Mmmmm....forbidden donut!" - Homer Simpson
*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 9/12/2002. ***
I try to get to the park about 3 or 4 times per summer.
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sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't
I consider Cedar Point to be my "home" park. With the demise of Edgewater Park and Boblo Island, CP is the closest park, and I've been going to CP for 36 years.
I am not bored with CP at all. There is a ton of stuff to do, and they are always adding something new. Even spending a good portion of the day just wandering and people watching is pleasant. It's one of those places that holds so many memories of good times, I can't help but feel good when I'm there. It's a major source of stress relief, and the first place I want to head to after I've had a really bad week at work.
My husband and son have been given orders that when I die, I wish to be cremated, and my ashes spread over CP.
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
'Moosh - I think it's all of those things, as I have a couple different answers when this comes up:
SFGAm - This is my homepark in terms of location. The park serves the greater Chicagoland area (where I live), and I go there often enough (4 times this year, a couple more before it's all over.) This park isn't a bore to me at all, as it's a really great "big, corporte" park. It's also not "endless love," as those types of parks aren't really my bag.
Indiana Beach - This is my homepark in terms of feeling "at home" there. I'll also visit IB more times in a season than any others (6 times this year). This park is "endless love" for me.
Kennywood - Home away from homepark. Again, endless love, as it's full of childhood memories.
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"The perfect machine, you seemed to be, when I built you up in my mind..." - Reverend Jon Autry
*** This post was edited by chris on 9/12/2002. ***
chris - that's exactly how I feel, too, which is why I have so many "home parks." Good to know someone else feels the same way.
Of all the parks in the LA area I guess I'd have to say Knotts is the park I feel most "at home" at. However I also consider parks such as Holiday World, Indiana Beach, Kennywood, Knoebels, Coney Island, Lake Compounce, Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Conneaut Lake "home parks" because they offer the kind of park experience I look for.
I have such an affinity for the small, east coast traditional park that I swear I must have gone to them in a previous life.
Moosh
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"Mmmmm....forbidden donut!" - Homer Simpson
CobraRoller 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.
Correction, the next closest park is the extremely horrible little A-merikka.
You've been to big chief right? If you havent get there now.
Now as for my homepark. Im a bit of a fanboy. SFGAM is the best sixflags park in terms of staff and the backdrop with the columbia carousel is gorgeous. The ride collection is very varied and well built not to mention they have the most underrated wooden coaster in the world viper. The wait's arent that long usually the only gripe I have is lack of themeing which they have been improving on i.e. southwest territory. It certainly isn't my favorite park but I'd take it over magic mountain any day.
My home park via geography would be SFMM (about 30 minutes away). X is my favorite steel, and Deja Vu is #8, but, given the fact you can't even ride them due to poor throughput, I hardly ever go there. My third favorite ride at the park is Goliath, which doesn't even make my Top 10. So, I would classify SFMM as a Complete Bore.
My sentimental home park would be Knotts, and I would classify that relationship as "sort of" Endless Love. The park has it's problems, but I'm always up for a ride on Ghostrider, Xcelerator, Monty, Timber Mountain, or Supreme Scream, and I always seem to have a good time there.
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Mike Miller - on the gravy train to coaster nirvana.
*** This post was edited by BaSSiStiSt on 9/12/2002. ***
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Six Flags, the only chain of parks that can manage to have stacking with a one train operation.
*** This post was edited by RllrCstrDude187 on 9/12/2002. ***
In response to Mamoosh's earlier question:
To me the term "Home Park" means the park that you feel most at home at... the park that you know the best... the park that you visit the most... your "home port" so to speak.
Geography has nothing to do with it.
That being said... while the closest park to me is Williamsgrove (20 min away), I consider Hersheypark my "home park" (about 45 minutes away). I get to the park 4 or 5 times a year (in the area 40+ times during the winter during hockey season). This is the park that I feel the most at home at and, if you want to so far to say "take the most pride in". This the park that when people visit from out of the area (like my wife's cousin and her husband from FL) we take them to.
Because of this sentimental connection to the park (and the hockey team) I am keeping a very close eye on what is going on with the proposed sale of Hershey Foods. While there may not be any direct affect, there could be long range / trickle down implications.
Do I get bored with Hersheypark? No, never have. Of course, I do not go there every week. When we do go, we don't always hit every area of the park. We sometimes just concentrate on one or two areas. I also do not "marathon" the coasters. What is the old saying... "familiarity breeds contempt?" Were I to go there every week and ride the same coaster or 2 hour after hour after hour I could see where that would get a bit boring.
Are there parks that I like just as much? Sure... Knoebels comes to mind. Are there parks I like even a little better? Yes... BGW and Kennywood. But to me the old home park is always Hersheypark... and no matter how many times I go there, I always lookforward to going back.
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Kind of hard to take a post as objective if a park or coaster name is part of the "user name"
SLFAKE said:
Geography has nothing to do with it.
You think geography has nothing to do with which park you classify as your hometown park??? *puzzled I highly disagree. Part of the reasons it is considered your hometwon park should include the fact that it is close to you.
*** This post was edited by DorneyDante on 9/13/2002. ***
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