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What Are Your Favorite Theme Parks and Amusement Parks?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 23850
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Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm avoiding just falling back on resorts as a whole, but picking out individual theme parks in Disney Resorts and Universal Resorts to make it more challenging. But that's just me.

Anyway...Epcot may actually be my favorite theme park, since its dedicated to human settlement, culture, and creating more sustainable societies and kind of celebrates the whole concept of a utopia. In other words, what makes a great city and how we can make it better :P. Seems fitting that it was originally supposed to be a planned city, but Walt died before he could oversee it. I only hope that it keeps its original intentions and doesn't Disney-ify too much. The loss of The River of Time and the Maelstrom to crappy Disney rides sucked.

It's also boring, but Disneyland itself is still a classic, just not sure which version is my favorite. Maybe the original, because it has New Orleans Square. I also like Disney MGM Studios, since its basically Hollywood Pictures Backlot, made into an entire theme park.

I also really Magic Mountain, as I find it meets the demand for intense thrill rides in Southern California that is lacking pretty much anywhere else. California Screamin' is a lot of fun, but I find it to pale in comparison to, say, Goliath or Superman: The Escape.

I haven't been to any of these yet, but Tokyo DisneySea, Efteling, and Cedar Point would be my favorites. Cedar Point especially, since it is said to be one of the best parks for thrill rides overall.
 
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EvilChameleon

EvilChameleon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,793
Ohio
When it was open, I really loved going to Geauga Lake. It was fun driving South on Route 43, because the coasters stuck out over the road, and it was a really cool affect. Rode my first coaster there, Big Dipper.

But now it's Cedar Point. My favorite experience there was going during Halloweekends. It was freezing cold. Had to wear 3+ layers. But with the fog and the lights it was so atmospheric.

And it also has a cool drive up experience. You drive down the causeway, and about halfway down the trees on the left open up and there it is, shining away in the distance. Gorgeous.
 
super-famicom

super-famicom

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
25,178
Tokyo Disney Sea is top tier in my book. Great atmosphere and attractions, and all the food (and beer) is yummy!
 
Shadybiz

Shadybiz

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,111
Cedar Point took the crown when I went there for the first time last year. Granted, my experience with amusement/theme parks is fairly limited, but it beats out the handful of other places I've been to.
 
mikeamizzle

mikeamizzle

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,058
Awesome topic.

I love your take on Epcot, its up there for me too, the mosaic outside the entrance to Spaceship Earth is so underappreciated.

Also love MGM studios; could be due to nostalgia but it just clicks for me, I love that era and the idealized take on Hollywood at the time Walt got there.

Universal Hollywood is also really special imo. Only been once but Hogsmeade blew me away.

I'm also excited to get out to Knott's Berry Farm this August while visiting anaheim during D23 for the first time (if anyone has any suggestions about how to best plan that I'd really appreciate it via pm!).

Is Canobie lake worth going to? I live about 40 minutes from Lake Compounce and ~1 and 15 from Six Flags New England also, need to hit those up within the next month or so before it gets really hot/muggy up here in CT.
 
Professor RAWR

Professor RAWR

Member
Jul 26, 2018
2,386
I only love Six Flags Magic Mountain due to their awesome coasters. BUT... they really NEED to work on their service/cleanness of the park. My last visit, the bathrooms were terrible... ugh.

My bucket list is Six Flags Great Adventure and Cedar Point.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
mikeamizzle said:
Awesome topic.

I love your take on Epcot, its up there for me too, the mosaic outside the entrance to Spaceship Earth is so underappreciated.

Also love MGM studios; could be due to nostalgia but it just clicks for me, I love that era and the idealized take on Hollywood at the time Walt got there.
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Agreed 100 percent.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,754
here
i like places where i can take it easy and enjoy some bland entertainment and good food

where should i go?
 
Oscillator

Oscillator

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,787
Canada
The only one I've been to is Canada's Wonderland. It was bright and clean and well laid out, and the rides were really impressive. The only drawbacks I noticed were the god-awful junkfood proliferating the place (tubes of coloured sugar and "funnel cakes", aka fried matter with goop on top), and no way of knowing how long some of the ride lines are from their entry points. With the sort of budget an operation like that has, how damn hard would it be to implement a "your wait from this point is" display? >_<
 
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Jims

Jims

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
3,221
My favorite is King's Island, but that's mostly because it's my home park. Been there dozens of times. I really like how it has some great roller coasters, and the park is really compact and doesn't require a ton of walking. I like the coasters at Cedar Point more, but oof, is that a large park to traverse.

Favorite Disney park is Epcot, for a lot of the reasons you described. Nice combination of fun rides and general chill out stuff. Would love to go to the parks in Tokyo someday, have never heard anyone be disappointed by them.
 
Xagarath

Xagarath

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,140
North-East England
I've been to and liked the Orlando parks, and I'd pick them if the Horror Nights were somehow a permanent part of Universal; but as things stand it's Alton Towers in the UK for its ridiculously high-quality roller-coasters, mostly designed by John Wardley.
 
TheDestructiveSquirrel

TheDestructiveSquirrel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,823
Canada's Wonderland
Islands of Adventure
Magic Mountain
Great Adventure

Wonderland - Yukon Striker is legit, Leviathan is amazing
Islands - The theming is awesome and the Marvel rides were fun
Magic Mountain - X was awesome and the amount of coasters was impressive
Great Adventure - Kingda Ka is the best coaster I've been on
 
TheDestructiveSquirrel

TheDestructiveSquirrel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,823
Oscillator said:
The only one I've been to is Canada's Wonderland. It was bright and clean and well laid out, and the rides were really impressive. The only drawbacks I noticed were the god-awful junkfood proliferating the place (tubes of coloured sugar and "funnel cakes", aka fried matter with goop on top), and no way of knowing how long some of the ride lines are from their entry points. With the sort of budget an operation like that has, how damn hard would it be to implement a "your wait from this point is" display? >_<
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They have an app now!
 
AniHawk

AniHawk

No Fear, Only Math
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,158
knotts holds a special place in my heart. go every year for halloween haunt, although the quality has declined since 2012.
 
Ultron

Ultron

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,768
Epcot is cool, but Future World feels so rundown these days. Once the redesign is done I'm hoping it will rocket back to the top of my list. Walking around World Showcase remains great.

If I could pick the Diagon Alley + Hogsmeade at Universal Orlando as a single "park" that'd be my pick. The Gringotts ride isn't even that great but just the feeling of being in Diagon Alley and seeing all the shops is so dang wonderful. I'm a complete sucker for them presenting everything there as you being in-universe. The people on the Hogwarts ride saying "Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw right this way" when we're wearing our scarves pleases me so much.

I really like Pandora at Animal Kingdom and need to go to Galaxy's Edge ASAP for similar reasons.
 
inner-G

inner-G

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,473
PNW
Six Flags magic mountain has the best rides

Disneyland is the best park. (Disney World is too spread out)
 
Midramble

Midramble

Force of Habit
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
10,460
San Francisco
Professor RAWR said:
I only love Six Flags Magic Mountain due to their awesome coasters. BUT... they really NEED to work on their service/cleanness of the park. My last visit, the bathrooms were terrible... ugh.

My bucket list is Six Flags Great Adventure and Cedar Point.
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Yeah, for me it's years of Magic Mountain. Great coasters.

Most terrifying I went to was Rakutenshi (the theme park that was temporarily a hotspring theme park in Beppu Japan) because the place feels more shoddy than any fair I've been to. Lots of charm though.

Finally checking out Tokyo Disney Sea July 3rd. Already got tickets for my wife and I.
 
Strider_Blaze

Strider_Blaze

Member
Oct 28, 2017
7,966
Lancaster, CA
Among the amusement parks I've been in (Disneyland/DCA, Universal Studios Hollywood, Seaworld, and Six Flags Magic Mountain), it would definitely be a tie between the Disney Parks and Universal due to the insightful theming!

Really want to go beyond that one of these days.
 
Tebunker

Tebunker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,844
Cedar Point, Kennywood, Busch Gardens Williamsburg & Tampa, Kings Dominion, Hershey and several Six Flags, but if I had to choose one over them all? Probably Kings Dominion? I like wooden coasters, and since Cedar Fair bought them a lot if not all of the old south vestiges have been completely wiped away, why Paramount never did that, and it has left a nice strong coaster park you can do in an evening and have a great time and not get broke

I felt like Cedar Point was too big, you need two days for it, Kennywood is too small, and if the Thunderbolt is down, well fuck it, the fries aren't that good. I thought Disney was okay, it doesn't hit me as a theme park, even though it is, it's a resort. BG parks a solid but too expensive. I really liked Hershey except that it is is the middle of BFE Pennsylvania.

So Kings Dominion it is. Bringing the kiddos there for the first time ever this summer, stoked to get at least one of them on the Grizzly so they can experience the soul separating bounce of a good old wooden coaster.
 
Haruko

Haruko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,639
I love the Disney parks but my favorite aspects are in the aesthetics, and not just the attractions.

The loss of the Court of Angels (to the public; it's now blocked off as an outdoor waiting area for the ultra expensive Club 33) hurts me:



It was a quiet little nook in the middle of the bustle of New Orleans Square, with no rides or shops or dining. Just a staircase and some lovely photo ops.
You can still see it if you peek between the giant doors blocking it off. Thankfully it was kept intact, but it's no longer available to 99.9% of parkgoers

(photo is by famed Disney park photo blogger Tom Bricker, i believe)
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
Why hasn't Disney gotten The Rebirth Brass Band to play there yet? I don't recall them ever having a brass band performance.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
StrikeVillain said:
I mean, just Teddy Roosevelt Lounge (and it's location) is better than mostly anything in the American parks. Insane theming.
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Didn't even realize this was there. Yeah, I just want to ride Journey To the Center of the Earth more than anything. What a fucking cool ride (I've watched it on Youtube), someday I'll ride the real thing.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,627
Never been to one outside of California but it's Disneyland proper. There's just something special about it to me.
 
Braaier

Braaier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
13,237
It would be one of the Disney world parks. They're all great so it's hard to decide. I guess it depends what I'm in the mood for. If magic kingdom wasn't do overcrowded and such a pain in the ass to get to it may be easily be that one.
 
Possumowner

Possumowner

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,427
Uk
UK here and I love Alton Towers and Thorpe Park,though I've got a soft spot for Legoland in Denmark, purely for nostalgic reasons as I went many years ago as a child
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 23850

Oct 28, 2017
8,689
Possumowner said:
UK here and I love Alton Towers and Thorpe Park,though I've got a soft spot for Legoland in Denmark, purely for nostalgic reasons as I went many years ago as a child
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I always thought Legoland was strictly American, but a Legoland in Denmark makes sense considering Lego is a Danish company. Derp on my part.

I still have to go to Legoland sometime. It's supposed to be a blast, I've heard nothing but good things from people about it.
 
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