Buzzfeed's Top 26 Most Underrated Amusement Parks...wait a second...WHAT DA!?!?

[McSalsa]

Well, I just found this interesting article by Buzzfeed where they list the parks their userbase voted "Most Underrated". Here is the article...

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/laurenpaul/the-most-underrated-amusement-parks-in-the-world#.bizm8lMxP

 

Uhh...yeah, some of these parks most would not be considered "underrated". I think the voters may not have even known what that's supposed to mean...these aren't all small, under-the-radar parks...

 

This feels like it would have been worthy for the "I can't make this crap up" thread but I figured ehh...I'll make a new thread just for this. Comments more than welcome.

[silver2005]

How in the world does Cedar Point, the park most of the GP worships and adores, make the list, let alone some of CF's top performing parks?

[The Interpreter]

"...King's Island..."

How nice of the King family.

[McSalsa]

How in the world does Cedar Point, the park most of the GP worships and adores, make the list, let alone some of CF's top performing parks?

 

I would have to think said GP saw the poll, didn't know what "underrated" even meant and just saw "Amusement Park" and went "HURP-DURP CEDAH POINT FTW!!!" and voted. That could actually explain a lot of these actually.

 

To be fair though, I do think a few of these DO belong on an underrated list- just not the big Cedar Fair parks (I could understand the lesser-known ones like Worlds of Fun or Michigan's Adventure though as those could technically be considered underrated) parks, or Busch Gardens...also, not ONE Six Flags park? I just noticed that...either people think the entire Six Flags chain sucks or its universally considered awesome and can't be underrated now, according to this. (IMO a few Six Flags' parks could be considered hidden gems and thus underrated)

[silver2005]

I can see the argument for Kings Dominion because of the market its in.  Most people would probably gravitate towards Busch Gardens over Kings Dominion. 

[The Interpreter]

...or Dorney Park.

People who live in the area tend to underrate Kings Dominion.

[RollerNut]

Note the photos for Carowinds. Saturator and Intimidator, one of which doesn't exist anymore and they never coexisted together.

[McSalsa]

^^^
I kinda can to. Kings Dominion is a larger park size and ride count wise, but it has been often overshadowed by Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Though the additions of Dominator in 2008 & Intimidator 305 in 2010 have given it more hardcore "coaster junkie appeal". But then the list blew up at #9- the first 8 made SOME sense. Then at #9, Busch Gardens Williamsburg. A huge award-winning park that is one of the most well-known in the country...and it's underrated? It and Cedar Point IMO are the 2 biggest errors here. Both are considered amazing parks by nearly all- but there's the problem, when everyone considers you good, you're not underrated at all and are in fact more likely to be OVER-rated. If just those 2 were replaced by, say, 2 Six Flags parks (thinking about it most of the entire chain oustide of Magic Mountain is kind of overlooked- even SFGAdv, in spite of El Toro & Kinda Ka- because there's a lingering "Six Flags Sux" vibe left from their mid-2000's errors) then the rest I guess you could make some arguments for (Kings Island is very popular but I guess you could say it lives in Cedar Point's shadow, for example).

[The Interpreter]

The list starts out silly.

Knoebel's Grove Amusement Resort.

And goes downhill from there.

[McSalsa]

^
I can see the case for and against that one. A lot of people love it and it gets glowing reviews, but it is still a much smaller park than most and some might overlook it (probably an error on their part). And it's not the only park on here I could see that for.

 

This list is very, very weird overall though. A different title like "The best amusement parks in North America that aren't Disney/Universal" would have made more sense and been easier for the voters to grasp. Though I'd suspect if THAT were the title, a few Six Flags' might make it on the list...

[faeriewench]

Some ways I'd consider Six Flags Fiesta Texas underrated.

[shark6495]

I think if you look at it through the lens of a non-coaster enthusiast, or a non-amusement park junkie, most would never know where any of those parks are.  so to say the parks are underrated, they may very well be to the GP.... As for Six Flags, it could be in the branding.  Their are national commercials for Six Flags (or there were).  So to the GP in a Six Flags area, they see a national ad and think "wow they are talking about my park, its a national destination."  Now compare that to the Cedar Fair chains, each commercial is park specific.  So it feels more regional even in an advertising sense....

 

 

True story, no lie.  My family is a huge amusement park family.  My mom has been going to KI since it opened and Coney before it.  She got us KI passes when we were younger, etc.  She never knew Holiday World existed in Indiana or that it offered such a great experience.  When I talk about getting a Platinum Pass for my wife, son, and I, my extended family (and wife) always mention going to CP, Kings Dominion, and KI.  They never knew about Carowinds or other parks in the chain.  

 

Sometimes, I think since we have our fingers on the pulse of the amusement park community we forget how regional parks truly are...

[Delirium13]

Buzzfeed is a pathetic excuse for a media outlet/news source. Their articles tend to be either filled with errors, misinformation, or both - with an apparent lack of research done for their articles (unfortunately that seems to be more and more widespread throughout all news media nowadays). This article was no exception.

 

Apparently I still haven't ridden all of King's Island's 23 roller coasters! Who knew!

 

And Cedar Point underrated? Give me a break.

 

Nice to see the parks mentioned though I guess.

[acfinn]

I think if you look at it through the lens of a non-coaster enthusiast, or a non-amusement park junkie, most would never know where any of those parks are. so to say the parks are underrated, they may very well be to the GP.... As for Six Flags, it could be in the branding. Their are national commercials for Six Flags (or there were). So to the GP in a Six Flags area, they see a national ad and think "wow they are talking about my park, its a national destination." Now compare that to the Cedar Fair chains, each commercial is park specific. So it feels more regional even in an advertising sense....

True story, no lie. My family is a huge amusement park family. My mom has been going to KI since it opened and Coney before it. She got us KI passes when we were younger, etc. She never knew Holiday World existed in Indiana or that it offered such a great experience. When I talk about getting a Platinum Pass for my wife, son, and I, my extended family (and wife) always mention going to CP, Kings Dominion, and KI. They never knew about Carowinds or other parks in the chain.

Sometimes, I think since we have our fingers on the pulse of the amusement park community we forget how regional parks truly are...

Before I got my first season pass this year then started looking online and found this community I was like those you speak of. I lived in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years and had never heard of Silver Woods in Idaho until recently. All the years I lived in Portland I just thought the only parks even remotely close were in California.

I grew up before all of that in southern Indiana and lived in Louisville as well. All the while I had never heard of Any of the Pa or Va parks or Carowinds. My point is that I can definitely see where the general public has no clue about these other parks and may think CP is underrated.

I'm very much a rookie enthusiast but am learning more everyday thanks to this community.

[PyroKinesis]

Anyone who reads Buzzfeed is not intelligent.

[jcgoble3]

I'd say that Buzzfeed is a truckload of bullcrap, but that would be an insult to the truckload of bullcrap.

[CoasterDirected]

 

 

“There’s a ride called The Drop Zone, which is a tower ride but, instead of shooting you up, they drop you down. Total free-fall until about half-way down. Not a crowded park, there were hardly any lines. It was awesome!” - Dale Enomoto, Facebook.

Umm..... there are quite a lot of Intamin Gyro Drops, and many more Drop Towers that don't launch you. 

[freaks76]

I'd say that Buzzfeed is a truckload of bullcrap, but that would be an insult to the truckload of bullcrap.

I think most of them are. But I also think "news and news sources" is 80% bullcrap and propaganda.

 

Bout the only news I watch is The Weather Channel.

 

Just my opinion.

[JoeKD]

 

 

 

“There’s a ride called The Drop Zone, which is a tower ride but, instead of shooting you up, they drop you down. Total free-fall until about half-way down. Not a crowded park, there were hardly any lines. It was awesome!” - Dale Enomoto, Facebook.

Umm..... there are quite a lot of Intamin Gyro Drops, and many more Drop Towers that don't launch you. 

 

 

I didn't know King's--err, Kings Dominion has a ride called Drop Zone.

[acfinn]

Lol @ "instead of shooting you up." You would think the word Drop in the name would tip you off.

[BB1]

“There’s a ride called The Drop Zone, which is a tower ride but, instead of shooting you up, they drop you down. Total free-fall until about half-way down. Not a crowded park, there were hardly any lines. It was awesome!” - Dale Enomoto, Facebook.

Umm..... there are quite a lot of Intamin Gyro Drops, and many more Drop Towers that don't launch you.

I didn't know King's--err, Kings Dominion has a ride called Drop Zone.

More than likely this guest has experienced HW far more than other guests. I can name off many installations of which could categorize as a Drop Tower, Drop Zone, Tower Of Terror @ MGM Hollywood Studios, Falcon's Fury........ But if you were to go to side "parks" ie Space Camp for the kiddies, regional park fairs, there's a Chance that you will find a launch tower.

[Bansheeback]

Isn't it more of a Best amusement parks? "King's" 

[XGatorHead 8904]

I can see the argument for Kings Dominion because of the market its in.  Most people would probably gravitate towards Busch Gardens over Kings Dominion. 

 

We were originally planning to go to Kings Dominion this summer with our friends who live in Maryland (after going to DC with them too).  But last week we found that they have to leave themselves to come here halfway through that week, so our plans have changed slightly and Mrs. Gator mentioned, "We could still go to Kings Dominion or we could change that to Busch Gardens."  Hmmm... let's see... I've been to KD before but not BGW, which I've always wanted to go to.  Yup, we'll go there!  Of course I told her that if we go there I also have to go to Colonial Williamsburg, which she's fine with too.  (I think she brought it up so that we could be a little closer to Virginia Beach, where she also wants to spend some time).

 

Note the photos for Carowinds. Saturator and Intimidator, one of which doesn't exist anymore and they never coexisted together.

 

Not to mention that one of the KD photos is HyperSonic XLC, which hasn't been there since 2007.

[silver2005]

I will agree that a lot of these type of lists come from sources that often don't get facts about coasters and amusement parks correct, but I still try to read them as they show how the GP and the media perceives parks.  They still have slight impacts on public opinion on parks and trends they latch onto.  I find them a bit fascinating within that notion.  

[Steph88]

Tivoli Gardens looks like something out of a dream. Lucky Denmark people. (Denmarkians? Denmarkers? *googles* ........ Ah. Danes.)

 

They'd have been better off with a different title to the article. "25 Great Amusement Parks" or "Readers Choice Amusement Parks" or something.

 

Also, they'd have been better off doing the research themselves instead of posting people's facebook comments. They often post a short article saying "Hey, (insert question here) tell us what you think in the facebook comments!" And then they post those comments in an article. Without fact checking.

 

I wonder how much their "writers" make?

 

If they'd actually done some fact checking on ride names, etc., this would be a good article. Gets some extra exposure for the parks. As much as I love researching parks and learning about the industry, there's still a few on this list that are in the US that I'd never even heard of.

[homestar92]

I like how a list of underrated amusement parks includes Canada's Wonderland.

 

There are a lot of words and phrases I can use to describe Canada's Wonderland. Underrated is NOT on that list.

[jsus]

I'm just gonna point out that this is BuzzFeed.  They're not a source of news, or even journalism.  This is the same site that has a lot of user-submitted quizzes that are nothing but a way to waste a ton of time.  Take, for instance, one entitled "Can We Guess How Good You Are In Bed From These Random Questions?".

 

Entertaining?  Maaaaybe.

 

Intellectual value?  Not really.

 

This is just another one of those lists that someone threw together based on random solicited input.  Not a poll, just picking through Facebook comments.

 

So, take it for what it's worth..

[bkroz]

This list was collected by a request on their Facebook to comment with your favorite amusement parks. Hence why each entry ends with a comment from a user submission. No facts needed.

[violakat03]

I've had enough people ask me if I've seen this article that it inspired my latest blog post. 

 

Also, in reference to the fact no Six Flags parks were included - Six Flags is a quickly recognizable brand. I think most of the GP does not connect Cedar Fair with it's parks as the parks themselves do not carry the brand's name. That's what caused them to be included. But other than that, I felt this was basically a list of "popular amusement parks that aren't owned by Disney, Universal or Six Flags." 

 

Anyway, if you're interested in reading my rebuttal and my personal top 10 underrated parks (based on my experiences, this is not intended to be a comprehensive list) please go check it out: http://chasingthrills.com/10-truly-underrated-amusement-parks/

[Tuskin]

I've had enough people ask me if I've seen this article that it inspired my latest blog post. 

 

Also, in reference to the fact no Six Flags parks were included - Six Flags is a quickly recognizable brand. I think most of the GP does not connect Cedar Fair with it's parks as the parks themselves do not carry the brand's name. That's what caused them to be included. But other than that, I felt this was basically a list of "popular amusement parks that aren't owned by Disney, Universal or Six Flags." 

 

Anyway, if you're interested in reading my rebuttal and my personal top 10 underrated parks (based on my experiences, this is not intended to be a comprehensive list) please go check it out: http://chasingthrills.com/10-truly-underrated-amusement-parks/

 

Great list, really enjoyed reading your take on them.