witchfinder
Giga Poster
Thorpe has fan boys?
Re: Dollywood, I thought it was great personally, but the coaster line-up could be improved for sure and it needs a modern dark ride. The food alone makes it worth a visit though
Most Overrated Park you've been to?
- Thread starter SkyrushSimp
- Start date
Thorpe has fan boys?
Re: Dollywood, I thought it was great personally, but the coaster line-up could be improved for sure and it needs a modern dark ride. The food alone makes it worth a visit though
DelPiero
Strata Poster
Most Six Flags parks are only worth cred running, they may have one whoreable coaster but I like to be in and out. See SFStl for the perfect example
Most Merlin parks are the same, pretty crap, Alton is the only one I regularly want to visit
Europa Park has a lot of filler and no world class coaster
PortAventura is actually pretty vile when you look at the entire package
Dollywood, Phantasialand, Cedar Point, Hershey, Efteling.... All significantly better parks so are held to a much higher regard. Perspective.
Most Merlin parks are the same, pretty crap, Alton is the only one I regularly want to visit
Europa Park has a lot of filler and no world class coaster
PortAventura is actually pretty vile when you look at the entire package
Dollywood, Phantasialand, Cedar Point, Hershey, Efteling.... All significantly better parks so are held to a much higher regard. Perspective.
Matt N
CF Legend
Having not visited any of the nominations in here apart from Thorpe, I can’t really say too much about anyone else’s choices.
In terms of my picks; I’m not personally a huge fan of the term “overrated”, but if I were to interpret the topic title as “parks you’ve been to that you didn’t enjoy as much as the majority”, then two stick out for me:
In terms of my picks; I’m not personally a huge fan of the term “overrated”, but if I were to interpret the topic title as “parks you’ve been to that you didn’t enjoy as much as the majority”, then two stick out for me:
- Disney’s Magic Kingdom - Surprisingly, it took me until my 4th Florida visit to actually visit Magic Kingdom, and by this point, I’d heard a lot of very superlative reviews of it. I’d seen it ranked up there with the likes of Europa Park as one of people’s all-time favourite parks, and it’s many people’s favourite park in Florida, so while I was on team Universal prior to my visit to MK (based on previous experience of Animal Kingdom), I did wonder if MK might sway me onto preferring Disney parks. When I finally went in April 2019, I was super excited… and while MK was nice, don’t get me wrong, I was somewhat underwhelmed. There were some good rides there, but nothing I really loved, personally, and me and my family all thought that the park seemed more aimed at the younger audience than our age group. While I can imagine the park would be amazing with young children, I’ll admit that as a 16 year old (at the time) enthusiast, I was personally a little underwhelmed after all the hype I’d heard.
- Busch Gardens Tampa - I do wonder if I’d like this more if I went back, and at the time, I very much wanted to like it, but something about BGT didn’t quite resonate with me the way I’d hoped, and I can’t quite put my finger on what. On paper, it has a lot to like; a great coaster lineup, reasonable theming, good landscaping. However, I wasn’t falling in love with it after one visit like many seem to for a reason I can’t quite pinpoint. Maybe it was because my family all hated it, maybe it’s because I didn’t spend too much time there, I don’t know. This is based off of one visit back in 2016, so I would like to give this one a revisit and see if I like it more, particularly with the additions made since then, but for now, it doesn’t rank as highly for me as I’d perhaps hoped it would prior to my visit.
JoshC.
Strata Poster
Find it interesting that Efteling has been mentioned a couple of times. I've always thought of it as something that is "A theme park with lots of charm and feeling to it, that has some good rides". And that's exactly what it is. I guess a lot of people have high expectations over it being it does that so well, and so many people like it as a result? It's certainly surprising to me to hear people think of it as "overrated".
For me, my answer would be Liseberg. I went back in 2017 and yes, it's got some great coasters in Helix and Balder especially, and some good flat rides (many of which do not appeal to me). But I never really grew fond of the park during my visit...it didn't really have a charm or atmosphere to it. I very much felt like "We're in the middle of a city and we've happened to come across a place with some rides and some stalls and some games". Now I know that's sort of what it is, but I haven't got that feeling with other city parks I've been to. So when I left, whilst I enjoyed the visit, I didn't quite understand why people rate Liseberg so much.
I probably haven't described that very well, partially because I simply don't know my feelings on it properly to be able to. It's a park I do really look forward to re-visiting, to see if that feeling was a once off, or if I can pinpoint why exactly I don't like Liseberg as much as others.
For me, my answer would be Liseberg. I went back in 2017 and yes, it's got some great coasters in Helix and Balder especially, and some good flat rides (many of which do not appeal to me). But I never really grew fond of the park during my visit...it didn't really have a charm or atmosphere to it. I very much felt like "We're in the middle of a city and we've happened to come across a place with some rides and some stalls and some games". Now I know that's sort of what it is, but I haven't got that feeling with other city parks I've been to. So when I left, whilst I enjoyed the visit, I didn't quite understand why people rate Liseberg so much.
I probably haven't described that very well, partially because I simply don't know my feelings on it properly to be able to. It's a park I do really look forward to re-visiting, to see if that feeling was a once off, or if I can pinpoint why exactly I don't like Liseberg as much as others.
Sandman
Giga Poster
See, I can understand that.
I personally loved Liseberg. Saying that, however, I can see how it could appear overrated.
Everyone always bangs on about it being a city park. "City park this, city park that". Expectation: an amusement park slap bang in the middle of some busy metropolis. In reality, Liseberg sits towards a fairly unremarkable outskirt of a relatively small, quiet city.
The park itself doesn't feel as lively (to me, personally) as Tivoli Gardens, which feels more like bustling city park, especially at night. It is a nice looking park, but again, not quite as nice as Tivoli for me. However, in terms of ride line up, it blows Tivoli into the stratosphere
Rob Coasters
Hyper Poster
Have to disappointingly say Alton Towers.
Both of my visits in summer 2018 have been a chaotic marathon of the park, arriving for 12 due to its extremely inconvenient location. I fast-tracked everything in the park and still barely managed to finish right before close with just a few minutes' spare time at the end. It's a stressful experience trying to get on what you want to ride, and it doesn't help when the skyride is shut because it's too hot. The opening times are far too short, and the park just generally feels "pay to win" because there's so much stuff so far away and so many queues. I wasn't able to soak in the immersion of any of the rides because my only thought was "get this done so I can do the next one" which may be an issue on my end but you get what I mean, right?
I haven't done any non-coasters in the park simply because there is absolutely no time if you want to complete the park, and since the good rides are on opposite ends of the park it's not like you can just spend the day in one half of the park.
I've had consistently better visits at Adventure Island Southend, than I have at Alton Towers. The place just wasn't fun for me, and was a relentless cred run with no time to sit down and soak up the atmosphere and no time to do their apparent world-class non coasters. And no time to do it even with fast track.
Both of my visits in summer 2018 have been a chaotic marathon of the park, arriving for 12 due to its extremely inconvenient location. I fast-tracked everything in the park and still barely managed to finish right before close with just a few minutes' spare time at the end. It's a stressful experience trying to get on what you want to ride, and it doesn't help when the skyride is shut because it's too hot. The opening times are far too short, and the park just generally feels "pay to win" because there's so much stuff so far away and so many queues. I wasn't able to soak in the immersion of any of the rides because my only thought was "get this done so I can do the next one" which may be an issue on my end but you get what I mean, right?
I haven't done any non-coasters in the park simply because there is absolutely no time if you want to complete the park, and since the good rides are on opposite ends of the park it's not like you can just spend the day in one half of the park.
I've had consistently better visits at Adventure Island Southend, than I have at Alton Towers. The place just wasn't fun for me, and was a relentless cred run with no time to sit down and soak up the atmosphere and no time to do their apparent world-class non coasters. And no time to do it even with fast track.
SkyrushSimp
Mega Poster
for the disney parks I would say most of them are overrated, mostly because the disney fanboys make their park out to be heaven on earth
I've had a bit of a journey with how I've felt about Efteling.It will be an unpopular pick, but for me one that comes to mind is Efteling. It has a charm and the rides do have character - I can’t knock that. But to me it lacks premium attractions and otherwise an abundance of attractions that would make it a ‘must do’ destination, compared to something like Europapark which (although lacking top tier rides) has far more things to do and a similar (albeit different) ‘European charm’, or something like Energylandia that brings it from a thrill perspective.
I enjoyed my (pre-Symbolica) visit, but there is nothing making me want to make a specific trip back there.
I did love the music in Spookslot though.
Dooo dooo, dooo dooo, do Jon-a-than Creek…
My first visit was in 2013 with some Dutch RCT3 enthusiasts, all of whom were lovely and I enjoyed the day. However, I left underwhelmed. Other keen enthusiasts on forums I frequented (note: not the ones I met on the day) led me to expect the best and most amazing park in the world with the best rides and theming, and it just wasn't. I left saying it was nice but wouldn't return soon.
... 4 months later I returned in the first week of January. I had a dissertation project and it was my case study because it was the cheapest European theme park open at that time of year. I was travelling solo and the park was quiet and I absolutely loved it. It felt relaxed, comforting and without the overhyped expectation I appreciated the rides. The park felt more than the sum of it's parts.
Over subsequent visits it quickly became my favourite park. Disconnected from some of the more rabid fans, I enjoyed it on a different level. Though I do count rides like Baron and Joris in my top 10, few of the rides are exceptional, but pretty much all are good fun. Spending days there is less hectic than parks like Alton Towers, and it has a charm that I struggle to articulate.
TL DR : I went from finding it overhyped to becoming my favourite park once I no longer held it up the standards of some of its more intense fans.
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Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Europa Park: It's a stunning park, no doubt about it, and they do so many things right. But I just think some people over hype it. The hardware isn't bad, but it isn't 'great' either. Lots of 'average' versions of different ride types, none of them close to being 'top of class.' It does have a good variety though, that much is true. I also didn't have a great customer service experience either, being telephoned the day after checking out, and asked if I'd been smoking in the room (none of us smoke) as they'd found cigarette ends in there!!! They were actually very rude.
Efteling: I don't get it at all, I really don't. Best coaster there is the viking one, and that's purely because it's themed incredibly well. Baron isn't great, and on my showings, seems to be the least reliable B&M on the planet. Woodie is meh... Honestly wasn't impressed. Again it is pretty, I can see that, definitely the sort of place I'd take Cara... But for me, meh, no thanks.
Disney Parks: Never been to one, don't intend to rush to one any time soon... Don't think I need to to know they're not really my kind of place. See above.
Just a reminder, I'm a hardware kind of guy. I'd take a collection of outstanding coasters built on a car park any day, over average coasters that are well themed. Which definitely explains my answers.
Efteling: I don't get it at all, I really don't. Best coaster there is the viking one, and that's purely because it's themed incredibly well. Baron isn't great, and on my showings, seems to be the least reliable B&M on the planet. Woodie is meh... Honestly wasn't impressed. Again it is pretty, I can see that, definitely the sort of place I'd take Cara... But for me, meh, no thanks.
Disney Parks: Never been to one, don't intend to rush to one any time soon... Don't think I need to to know they're not really my kind of place. See above.
Just a reminder, I'm a hardware kind of guy. I'd take a collection of outstanding coasters built on a car park any day, over average coasters that are well themed. Which definitely explains my answers.
DelPiero
Strata Poster
I'm hoping I have a similar experience when I go next and it becomes one of my faves, as the first time was good but not great, and simply ended up being remembered for children catching coins from a donkey's anus.
Not sure if they're the most overrated parks you've been to then
.Most overrated I've actually been to is probably Busch Gardens Tampa. It felt more like a funfair than the luscious theme park I was expected. Maybe that's my fault.
Sandman
Giga Poster
Efteling on a quiet autumn day is definitely the one.
I can't imagine visiting on a busy day in summer/spring. The whole park is drowning in autumnal vibes.
Yes I agree, my favourite visits have been in either September or March time, generally weekday.
I agree with Efteling. It's very highly praised, and as others have said it does have a certain charm and a nice collection of rides - but I also wouldn't find any reason to rush back or make a special journey there. Symbolica is, as others have mentioned, quite underwhelming and disappointing despite some great set pieces (the whale!).
Dollywood is another good pick - although I did go pre-Lightning Rod. There are areas with quite a lot of nothing going on. Wild Eagle is the worst B&M Wing coaster I've experienced and the other coasters are generally "fine". My favourite is actually Firechaser Express, which is really nicely done.
This one will likely be very controversial - but I also was really disappointed in Phantasialand. To be clear, I did go before Taron and FLY. It's not a bad park by any means, but I don't really think it - at the time - deserved the extremely high praise it received from enthusiasts. Perhaps it does now with the new areas. Again, it's a good park but I don't really understand the extreme love for it that people seem to have.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was a let-down too. Not that it's particularly well regarded, but I was surprised by how poor the experience was in comparison to other Six Flags parks.
Energylandia is another interesting one - it's maybe not quite clear until you visit that it's two great coasters (Hyperion and Zadra) with a ton of filler (yes, I've included Formula here). Again, I visited before Abyssus etc. and I did have a great day - so maybe the balance is a little better now. I did have a great time there and the park was very nice - but it's not quite the 15+ coaster heaven that it sells itself as by any stretch.
I can understand the Alton Towers mentions too although it depends on what you've heard about it. There are an extremely vocal group who claim it's one of the world's best parks (it's not) and that Nemesis in particular is essentially the world's best coaster (it's not) - but there are also a lot of people, me included, who are much more realistic about the park. Alton suffers from the misplaced enthusiasm of the former group, in my opinion.
I'm surprised to see the mentions of Europa Park here. It's very, very highly regarded - but lived up to it for me.
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Dollywood is another good pick - although I did go pre-Lightning Rod. There are areas with quite a lot of nothing going on. Wild Eagle is the worst B&M Wing coaster I've experienced and the other coasters are generally "fine". My favourite is actually Firechaser Express, which is really nicely done.
This one will likely be very controversial - but I also was really disappointed in Phantasialand. To be clear, I did go before Taron and FLY. It's not a bad park by any means, but I don't really think it - at the time - deserved the extremely high praise it received from enthusiasts. Perhaps it does now with the new areas. Again, it's a good park but I don't really understand the extreme love for it that people seem to have.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom was a let-down too. Not that it's particularly well regarded, but I was surprised by how poor the experience was in comparison to other Six Flags parks.
Energylandia is another interesting one - it's maybe not quite clear until you visit that it's two great coasters (Hyperion and Zadra) with a ton of filler (yes, I've included Formula here). Again, I visited before Abyssus etc. and I did have a great day - so maybe the balance is a little better now. I did have a great time there and the park was very nice - but it's not quite the 15+ coaster heaven that it sells itself as by any stretch.
I can understand the Alton Towers mentions too although it depends on what you've heard about it. There are an extremely vocal group who claim it's one of the world's best parks (it's not) and that Nemesis in particular is essentially the world's best coaster (it's not) - but there are also a lot of people, me included, who are much more realistic about the park. Alton suffers from the misplaced enthusiasm of the former group, in my opinion.
I'm surprised to see the mentions of Europa Park here. It's very, very highly regarded - but lived up to it for me.
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LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
I sure would hate to be so critical as an enthusiast where I determine that dive coasters, wing coasters, hypers, gigas, blitz coasters, strata coasters, RMCs, inverts, and floorless coasters make for a C+ lineup!
Wonderland is a park that has a park full of Cs apart from their big 3. I'd be hard pressed to put Cedar Point in the same category!
I can agree with Holiday World though besides the lack of Voyage love! I'm surprised with the amount of people agreeing about Dollywood and Liseberg to be honest.
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
I meant to put in my overly long post but Liseberg is surprising to me too. I didn't have in mind it was particularly well rated or even particularly widely talked about. In my opinion, it's great for what it is - which is a relatively small city-centre amusement park in a comparatively small city. It helps that it has a decent line-up of attractions and that it's quite cheap to visit.
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CanobieFan
Strata Poster
See, I'm not going to hate on other people for liking it. I've had some real fun visits but I've also had some pretty craptastic ones as well. That being said if I'm in the area I'm not going to not visit, especially if I have a pass currently or discount ticket
Gemini? (I actually really like Gemini but it's definitely not a showstopper) Mine Ride? Iron Dragon? Rougarou? (Come on, nobody likes Rougarou) Corkscrew? Magnum? Blue Streak? (Love me a good woodie, but this isn't)
I don't hate Millennium Force but it does absolutely nothing for me. I love the dive coaster genre but valravn is the only one I've not liked.
Gatekeeper is my favorite Wing but my least favorite B&M Style, Raptor Is fun but there are far more far better inverted coasters. Dragster, again, I guess I can see the appeal but it's definitely not what I'm looking for. If it's under 10 minutes I'll ride it but I'd rather spend my time waiting for a good ride. (I dislike Ka too, so at least I'm fair.... give me Storm Runner or Xccelerator)
Steel Vengeance and Maverick are my jam tho' And I was always a vocal fan of Wicked Twister for just being a fun ride.
And honestly I'd rather go to Wonderland because I've been there far less! And they have one of the greatest flat ride lineups around even if they don't use them to their potential.
LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
I really liked Grona for that reason; smack dab in the middle of Stockholm, fun atmosphere, quirky and fun attractions, and overall I really enjoyed my time there. Liserberg wasn't bad but I definitely expected more. I'd like to give it another chance though because I was ravaged by allergies and a sinus infection when I went.
I agree with things not being the best of their kind I guess, I just think C is a bit of a harsh rating! I'm not a huge Gatekeeper, Valravn, or Rougarou fan and I'd say Corkscrew, Gemini, Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Blue Streak are all pretty average for their types but when you have that many coasters they're not all gonna be rock stars. I'd say the lineup is so much more diverse, well-rounded, and overall a heck of a lot more enjoyable than some other larger parks!
SkyrushSimp
Mega Poster
dOllyWooD fAnBoY