BB1 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 What is the best kind of "park"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCrypt Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Theme. Definately. That's why Islands of Adventure is my favorite kind of park. Better than Kings Island, which was my #1 until a few weeks ago. Also, take away theme from parks like Dollywood, and you just have a couple "meh" roller coasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I've said it in a lot of threads that I'll always take theming over thrills. But parks that have a perfect median of the two are even better. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg1998 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Theme, definitely. Like Titan said, parks that have thrills and theme make it even better. And like TheCrypt said, that's why Islands of Adventure is my #1 park! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastForever Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Theme, which is the reason Space Mountain is one of my favorite steel coasters. Take away the theme and building from Space Mountain, and I wouldn't even remember I rode it it would be that boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stashua123 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 theme park because they usually have bigger rides and rollercoasters and themes.Example: Paramount's Kings Island: It before paramount owned it was pretty much an amusment park with 1 theme then paramount came into action and added 7 rollercoasters to the park Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 theme park because they usually have bigger rides and rollercoasters and themes.Example: Paramount's Kings Island: It before paramount owned it was pretty much an amusment park with 1 theme then paramount came into action and added 7 rollercoasters to the park I think you have Paramount and Taft mixed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCrypt Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 ^^And then when Cedar Fair came into the picture, we got a flying roller coaster and a 230' mega coaster! And you better not be counting Flight Gun/Top Deck. That was an already planned coaster under Lindner. Paramount just added a last minute "theme" to it. PS- It said that almost all of Adventure Express' themes were refurbished for the 2003 season... How long did it take for these effects to break again, and what was fixed? http://www.KICentral.com/history/timeline.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Amusement Parks are fun...but adding theme makes them so much better. It doesn't need to be much to make a difference, as even a little can go a long way...but, having seen (but never been to) parks like Busch Gardens or Universal Studios...wow. No comparison, really. I've always imagined what might happen if there was a GIANT, thrill-oriented, heavily themed theme park with numerous (rivaling CP and SFMM) world-class roller coasters...including gigantic ones, such as hyper and even giga or strata coasters. And if it was located somewhere near Central Indiana... GYK's fantasy parks looked awesome in this regard (even if neither one had a wooden coaster- but hey, don't all parks need future new attractions ?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Haha, thanks for the shoutout. I think Universal Orlando's parks and both Busch Gardens do it right. The Busch Parks, especially, DO have massive, 180+ foot coasters (SheiKra, Griffon, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengeist, Montu, etc) and massive thrill rides (Kumba, Loch Ness Monster) while also having great themed attractions (Verbolten, DarKastle), shows, and family attractions (Jungala, Forest of Fun, Safari of Fun, family coasters, entertainment, etc). Just a great all around mix that maintains a "world class" themed atmosphere AND enormous thrill rides, but can bill itself as more than the competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrill_Biscuit Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Theme! It helps take you out of your daily musings. Thus, it is a-musing to enjoy theming. I think I want coffee, now. Brb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB1 Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 For me its theme and H2O parks (mostly combined as a theme/H2O park ex-PPKI, WDW). Theme- Its the basis of the thrill! Without a theme its just some ride sitting at some park that has some paint and has some name that just sounds off. Also with a theme it makes me think of what the makers intended for me to feel on a ride/coaster, and makes me feel im a part of the "story" Ex- Expedition Everist. H2O- Its slides and pools, what more can you ask for? My favorite thing at any park are the slides, and the pools. Also some waterparks make me feel like im in the tropical regions of the world, making me feel at home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I love theme parks. I rail against Paramount but that's because they did the theme thing badly with Kings Island, IMO. I prefer a great ride over slapping a theme on a ride thinking that it will make the ride great. But if Disney could come in and make Kings Island this magical theme park where everything was kept well and they didn't let themes die and collect dust; I'd be in heaven. Since that's not happening, I'm just fine with getting minimal theme but great fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jr for Birdy Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Other / GABP is my favorite park, I follow the Reds everywhere, whenever i can,including tomorrow night and wendsday after ERT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainard Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Greetings all, long time lurker, first time poster. This thread finally made me decide to come out of the shadows a bit. I am going to have to go with option "C" and say why not both? I love to go to KI whenever the job and my racing allow me to, but I dearly miss the "theming" aspect from the days of old (pre-Paramount). Even if it was just different music and employee costuming from area to area it helped, even at my young age at the time, to make the park a more immersive experience. Over the past few years that I have been fortunate enough to be able to return to my beloved park I find that while I enjoy the rides, my overall park experience has diminished. Where there used to be a continuously changing sensory experience throughout the park in terms of the food available, the sights, the sounds (music) and even the smells it made it easier to "loose" yourself in the full park experience. It seems now that with an upcharge or basketball game around every other corner, the same music blaring throughout the park and, in my opinion very lackluster food choices (compared to when Festhaus and International Street were truly worthy of the names, although KI is still the only place I will eat LaRosa's) all I focus on is getting through the crowd to the next ride, never slowing down or stopping to take in the overall experience, because it is simply no longer there. This is why my wife and I prefer to visit during Halloween Haunt (not to mention it is our annyal anniversary trip as we were married on Halloween), the overall experience is much enhanced by the addition of theme. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonofbeast2.0 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Theme draws in people and so does branding. if they just slapped Universal's Kings Island on thier sign i would bet people would pour in. It's like buying Kraft vs. Kroger brand or Walmart, people buy Kraft a lot more than the other two. imange if KI was owned by Universal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 What would Universal want with a regional park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonofbeast2.0 Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Problay not but would be cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeastForever Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Greetings all, long time lurker, first time poster. This thread finally made me decide to come out of the shadows a bit. I am going to have to go with option "C" and say why not both? I love to go to KI whenever the job and my racing allow me to, but I dearly miss the "theming" aspect from the days of old (pre-Paramount). Even if it was just different music and employee costuming from area to area it helped, even at my young age at the time, to make the park a more immersive experience. Over the past few years that I have been fortunate enough to be able to return to my beloved park I find that while I enjoy the rides, my overall park experience has diminished. Where there used to be a continuously changing sensory experience throughout the park in terms of the food available, the sights, the sounds (music) and even the smells it made it easier to "loose" yourself in the full park experience. It seems now that with an upcharge or basketball game around every other corner, the same music blaring throughout the park and, in my opinion very lackluster food choices (compared to when Festhaus and International Street were truly worthy of the names, although KI is still the only place I will eat LaRosa's) all I focus on is getting through the crowd to the next ride, never slowing down or stopping to take in the overall experience, because it is simply no longer there. This is why my wife and I prefer to visit during Halloween Haunt (not to mention it is our annyal anniversary trip as we were married on Halloween), the overall experience is much enhanced by the addition of theme. I totally agree. I miss the theme of Paramount so much. Paramount made the park feel special and not just some place teenagers hang out on the weekend. Great first post by the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I prefer the combination of both. Theming is a BIG bonus for me, but I still want the thrills mixed in. And I too miss the theming of days gone by at KI, though at least it still exists in some areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Just remember, 20 years from now many will look back on 2012 as the good old days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I don't understand why people keep praising Paramount like they were the "gods" of Kings Island. If anything they were the ones who turned Kings Island into an Amusement park. Sure they could theme a ride, but it lasted what two years? Praise Taft or KECO, they were the ones responsible for making Kings Island a theme park. I'm not trying to dog Paramount, I'm just tired of people blaming Cedar Fair for making Kings Island an Amusement park. Sure Cedar Fair has done stuff that I'm not fond of, but they're still doing a better job than Paramount was in the later years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 There's no question that people misunderstand "Paramount" as an owner of Kings Island. In two name changes, the park has had, what, a half dozen owners? I was a fan of the additions made under the Paramount banner (Tomb Raider, Italian Job, Action Zone, Drop Zone, Son of Beast, FACE/OFF) but now as an older, wiser person less affected by hindsight, I can see the negatives of the way the park was operated under Paramount, Viacom, and then CBS. Every operator has positives and negatives. One day when / if Cedar Fair is gone, many will remember them fondly! And if CBS came back with a new vision and decided they wanted to operate a park and renamed Diamondback into Iron Man: The Ride, people would insist "It's Diamondback, and it always will be" just as many of us will always consider the rides Drop Zone, Top Gun, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTD-120-420 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I went with theme. Islands of Adventure just can't be beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Try telling that to the folks at Amusement Today! Best food? No. Cleanest? No. Friendliest staff? No. Best shows? No. Best kid's area? No. Best roller coaster? No. Best park. ... Yes? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 ^Hence why I pay no attention to the Golden Ticket Awards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 But someone pays.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.