Choosing a Park to visit...

[McSalsa]

The Situation:

Well, I just got in contact with my sister, and have learned that she will be getting a large sum of money soon. How much exactly, I am not sure. However, she informed me that she would like to go on a amusement park trip with this money. We have no season passes to ANY parks, so there are some options, but I would like some information that might help us make a choice.

In early discussion, we have rounded things down to 3 possible parks: Holiday World, Cedar Point, and Six Flags Great America. I am aware that right now or in August, weekends are pretty crowded. However, my best friend, who will probably be going if this trip happens, now has his vacation days ready and we can FINALLY go on a weekday. So, how crowded are these 3 on weekdays in mid-late summer? I've noticed Kings Island (which has been ruled out since even though we all love Kings Island we want to spread our wings a bit more and visit other parks) hasn't been very crowded at all on weekdays right now, and it's peak summer, so I'd guess Holiday World being a small family park would be the same or even less crowded (though, due to this heat, I would expect crowds at Splashin' Safari). However, the other two are big ??? marks...(wait a second...Cedar Point WEBCAM!!!)...(looks on webcam)...well, not too bad at all today either! So, what about Six Flags Great America on a weekday?

Another question is: how much is a "cheap" hotel near Cedar Point? For SFGA, my friend has family up there who actually have season passes we could stay with and Holiday World is close enough and closes early enough so we wouldn't need one, but for Cedar Point, we might.

Any advice is welcome. Thank you! I have also added a poll here so I can use that to help make a choice, but READ THROUGH THIS first before voting.

PS: Another thing that may be a factor- I have been to Holiday World, as has my best friend, but my sister has not. However, she has Cedar Point on us. None of us have been to SFGA. Also, with this, that Indiana Beach trip might have gotten axed for this- it just cannot compete with these 3 parks, especially since I have heard they are "run down" now with the new owners...

UPDATE: Cedar Point has won! (Not the poll, we just ended up picking it) Tips welcome...

[jcgoble3]

I say to go for SFGAm simply because that's the one none of you have ever been to. That's the same reason I would pick it if I were in your position; I've been to HW and CP, but never SFGAm.

[Titan]

I would go with SFGA too. The last time I was there on opening day in 2009, the only coaster with a line was the Bull.

[bkroz]

If you've never been to Cedar Point, it's worth a trip for the bigger rides alone. I was confused by your wording, but I believe you said you haven't been there. So of course, that does seem the obvious choice, what with Millennium, Dragster, Maverick, Magnum, and the lot.

But for what it's worth, I just visited Six Flags Great America for the first time and was blown away. I wasn't expecting much given the stigma around Six Flags parks, but the rides were really well maintained and ran smoothly, the themeing was far above anything Kings Island boasts nowadays, the staff was all friendly, and I saw virtually no problems with operations. We also got Panda Express platters (an entree and three sides) for $9.99, which was a tremendous deal in my experience with Kings Island / Cedar Point's Panda Express. If you're a roller coaster person, Great America has some really fantastic ones. I was especially enamored with their Whizzer and American Eagle (their racing wooden coaster), but Batman: The Ride was absolutely indescribable. It's the first B&M invert and I had always heard that it was much more forceful than any other, but it truly was one element after another of incredible intensity that just had my friends and I saying "Whoa" and completely surprised - a real "drooler" and "tear-jerker" if you know what I mean!

Raging Bull was fun and a very unique take on the hyper-twister formula. I'd rate it higher than Diamondback if only for its length, but people here were right when they said it seems to lose power by the second half. Great America also has V2, a twisted impulse coaster like Cedar Point's Wicked Twister (but with a holding brake on the back, straight spike, which actually makes it more fun that Wicked Twister in my opinion). They also have a really well-kept Arrow looper (more like Corkscrew than Vortex) that has some really interesting themeing and some very retro light effects midway through. And of course, their Dark Knight coaster is.... unique. Viper is also a very fun woodie.

The only drawback to that park is the price for parking. It's $20.00. I had a FANTASTIC time and was really impressed and enjoyed myself tremendously, but I can't bring myself to go back again for another few years with a price like that. Perhaps Six doesn't realize the psychological boundary of $20. That's a lot of money, and try as I might, I couldn't convince myself that one parking spot was "worth" that much. Parking at Cedar Point was $10 earlier this season, though that may have lifted to $12.00. If you're going to buy multi-day passes, that's $24 vs. $40 in parking alone, so I think that's worth considering. Great America does has an attached and included Hurricane Harbour which was just expanded this year, while Cedar Point's rather "blah" water park costs extra.

I've never been to Holiday World, but I would say that if spreading your wings is the intent, then go somewhere you haven't been and use this money to treat yourself to something new. Again, both parks are really very nice parks. Great America has more of that old "Paramount" feel with the pool in carousel plaza and the themed areas, while Cedar Point is pretty face value with the enormous, world famous rides. I live two hours from Cedar Point and have been there probably two dozen times in my life, so I'm a little tired of it and an impartial judge. Haha.

P.S. At both parks you will walk more than you ever thought you could. They have two of the most tremendously exhausting layouts of any parks I've ever been to.

[jdawg1998]

Holiday World is an easy trip. It's small, fun, and can last a day.

Cedar Point will tire you out and I heard crowds are tremendous.

Go to SFGA just like everyone else has said. It's something different. It's not a park that has won awards, or has the best roller coasters - but it seems fun.

[bkroz]

Holiday World is an easy trip. It's small, fun, and can last a day.

Cedar Point will tire you out and I heard crowds are tremendous.

Go to SFGA just like everyone else has said. It's something different. It's not a park that has won awards, or has the best roller coasters - but it seems fun.

Oh, but it HAS won awards. It boasts being the cleanest park... No word on who actually awarded them with that honor. (It wasn't Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, who again chose Holiday World as the cleanest in 2010). I DID think it was clean and well-kept, but it doesn't beat any Disney park as the cleanest anymore than Cedar Point beats any Disney park as the "best" in general.

Also, Six Flags is sort of an odd reminder of just how advertisement-free Kings Island is. Literally every single light post has two banners. Usually one advertises Flash Pass or Season Pass upgrading, while another is for Stride gum or Dentine gum or a new film or a certain kind of battery. As we've all seen, there are also coaster trains with "wrapped" advertisement (and somehow, they always choose the most incompatible... Pink and green Stride gum train on Demon?) and many rides are sponsored. Some of it is tacky, some is alright, but it's just very different to see how extreme things COULD be (or perhaps, used to be. Top Gun: The Gillette Coaster?)

[McSalsa]

Thanks for all the advice so far. To clear this up:

I HAVE been to Holiday World before (my best friend was also there). However, MY SISTER HAS NOT, and I would like to go back, having only been there 1 time thus far (versus six for Kings Island). My trip report from this:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21644&st=0&p=380815&hl=mcsalsa&fromsearch=1entry380815

I had quite a bit of fun, but forgot to buy fudge. If money becomes an issue, Holiday World will obviously get a HUGE advantage. If not, the others stand a chance.

My SISTER has been to Cedar Point, but me and my best friend have never gone. I was actually supposed to go when she did, but a doctor's appointment forced me to stay home while she had a great day...well, other than Mean Streak and Mantis clobbering her. But besides that she said she had fun, and adored Maverick, and says Millennium Force terrified her (she has a fear of heights, and refuses to ride Drop Tower and WindSeeker at KI).

NONE of us have been to Six Flags Great America. However, my best friend has family in the area that actually have season passes to that park, which means we won't need to pay $50+ on a hotel like at Cedar Point, which pretty much negates the $8-10 difference in parking prices. I have also heard this is one of the better Six Flags parks and Goodyellowcorn's comments above seem to further indicate that.

Thanks again, and more tips will be welcome...

[kingsrattler]

I personally would say you can never go to Cedar Point too much, but if no one has been to SFGA, I would have to say that is my pick. I know I love the feeling of being at a park I have never been before, and capturing the whole atmosphere that we usually take for granted at our home parks.

[The Interpreter]

SFGA is in New Jersey.

I do agree with the others. I highly recommend SFGAm in these circumstances.

And I agree, one can never go to SFGA too often. I miss New Jersey. Terribly so.

Have fun!

[raptor]

If you goto Cedar Point I would recommend trying to get a good deal at one of their resorts, it can be just as fun hanging around the back side of the peninsula as going through the park, however if you are looking for cheap - the Best Budget North right across the causeway is dirt cheap, I've gotten a room there as cheap as fifty bucks.

[gad198]

I'd also agree with the "go to Great America" sentiment here. Just keep the following in mind:

You'll want to make sure that you're there at least half an hour before opening. The time it takes to get into the parking lot ranges from "that was easy" to "this looks like Chicago traffic during rush hour". We've waited anywhere from two cars to 45 minutes just to get in to the parking lot. The advice stands either way. Get there early.

As recommended elsewhere I'd STRONGLY encourage you to start your day off with Superman and then work your way around the park clockwise from there. The last time we were at the park (two months ago) they allowed you to walk to the left side of the park and queue up for Superman before opening. If they still have this option then take full advantage of this!

You may want to think about getting (or using) a Discover card. You'll get an automatic 5% discount on all purchases made through Six Flags (either online or at any of their parks), and right now they're offering a promotion where you'll get 5% cash back on theme park purchases as well as gas (up to $300 in spending). If you are thinking about purchasing your tickets through the Six Flags website then you can use ShopDiscover to get a 5% bonus on that as well. You'll need to log in to the Discover card website, go to the ShopDiscover page and click the "start shopping" on the Six Flags page there. If you go that route you'll get cash back two ways (the 5% cash back for the online order as well as 5% cash back through the summer promotion) as well as get 5% off of your purchase immediately. You'll pay a $5 fee to place the online order, but you'd recoup that pretty quickly. Also, keep in mind that if anyone in your party ops to get a season pass that the season pass discounts in the park and the Discover card discounts can be used together (which often amounts to a 20% total discount).

Some quick ride suggestions:

Ride Iron Wolf as defensively as possible, keeping your head as away from those OTSRs as possible. I'd really try and save this for my last ride of the day if possible.

American Eagle (both sides) is best ridden in seat 1-2. Airtime galore and it'll offer the smoothest ride in that row.

Try and get a really weight imbalanced ride on Ragin' Cajun (i.e., three riders with the two heaviest riders on one side). You'll thank me later!

[bkroz]

Just read this on Six Flags' Facebook and thought it was funny... Remember when the power went out at Kings Island, with every ride shut down, no air conditioning, a line to exit the park longer than the line for the rides, and no refunds or rainchecks?

A similar event happened at Six Flags Great America last week, which left a handful of the major rides inoperable. As a courtesy, parking was free and exiting visitors received a voucher for a free visit before the end of summer. How's that for putting the customer experience first?

P.S. Screamscape is reporting that Great America is losing Iron Wolf (the B&M standup, which gad98 previously recommended to ride very defensively - and for good reason). It's probably the worst of the B&M stand-ups I've been on. I believe it was the first ever B&M, and it shows... If your "coaster count" is important to you and you'd enjoy riding it before it disappears, then go for it. I doubt you'll see as much grieving over the Iron one as we did the Big Bad one.

[McSalsa]

SFGA is in New Jersey.

I do agree with the others. I highly recommend SFGAm in these circumstances.

And I agree, one can never go to SFGA too often. I miss New Jersey. Terribly so.

Have fun!

Oops. I was talking about Great America, I just thought Great Adventure was abbreviated "Gadv"...I'll remember this from now on.

And for the record, I do really want to visit SFGadv, however, right now it is a LOOOONG trip (Gas+Hotel prices can really add up) and there are still other parks I haven't been to that are well worth a visit, but much closer.

Now about Iron Wolf...yes, I would like to ride that, even if it's garbage, simply because it WAS the first B&M ever. That alone makes it worth adding to my coaster count. That is, if my sister and friend agree to visit SFGam, they may want to do one of the other two...I need to talk it over. When we make a choice, I will post it...and then the trip report will, of course, follow.

[McSalsa]

QUICK UPDATE:

Just read that article and it seems Iron Wolf is being relocated, not destroyed...so it still has life in it, it seems...well, the "urgency" to ride it just dropped a bit if it is just being moved...

[McSalsa]

IT IS CHOSEN...my sister, in spite of having gone there previously, has made up her mind, and since is the one behind the majority of the $$ for this trip, we cannot argue against her.

She wants to visit...Cedar Point.

However, a friend of hers, whom will also probably be supplying a large sum of funding for the gas, wants to go, and since he could save us money we have to let him- and by letting him, we MUST visit on a weekday. Because of this, we will probably get 2-day passes. We talked about staying on-site for ERT, but a quick search showed that the Cedar Point Hotels, even at $150 per night, are too expensive for us. We will probably go for that cheap $50-ish one we saw.

And a date is set: 8-13-2011...and 8-14-2011. My friend sounded OK with the trip. A few things haven't been set in stone (who all is going, etc etc), but the groundwork has been laid.

I apologize to Six Flags Great America, you were strongly considered, however the "allure" of Cedar Point's massive collection of thrill rides (our entire group is made up of NOTHING but thrill seekers!) was too much. And to Holiday World, which was considered...but my sister seemed much more intent on visiting a larger park. I hope one day trips to these two parks will happen (again, in the case of Holiday World) but for now, Cedar Point has won.

Now, I look forward to riding Millennium, Magnum, Dragster, Maverick, WindSeeker (never rode KI's, it was not open yet when I went), Raptor, MaXair, Skyhawk, Blue Streak, and Cedar Point's world-class collection of other rides. Even Mean Streak to an extent, although that one I am a little hesitant about given its reputation...is it still running great this year?

Thanks for all the advice thus far. And more would still be welcome.