Parks you can't be arsed with
- Thread starter Hixee
- Start date
Christian
Hyper Poster
It is indeed! Maybe Liseberg should be acquired by Merlin? I doubt the city council would ever sell it. Though Parks and Resorts Scandinavia wouldn't be a bad option as a new owner. At least they offer season passes.
solarfall
Mega Poster
It's currently SWSA for me since I'm a roughly 3 hour drive from San Antonio, and anytime I'm interested in doing a day trip out there I'd rather just go to Fiesta Texas. Plus SeaWorld always seems so overpriced, and the conditions for some of the animals always was a little off-putting for me in top of everything else.
That may change shortly - I've heard their Christmas event is worth going to, so maybe I'll finally make it out there. But yeah, the past several years I've lived here, I've had almost no interest in going.
That may change shortly - I've heard their Christmas event is worth going to, so maybe I'll finally make it out there. But yeah, the past several years I've lived here, I've had almost no interest in going.
In my life, parks that I had chance to visit and didn't (as in, drove right by):
Across all of these, it was very difficult to weigh the park visit against other things on the itinerary of travel at the time. Eventually will get to it.
- Darien Lake
- Great Escape
- For many years, Knott's Berry Farm
- Thorpe Park
- Coney Island (NYC)
- For many years, Elitch Gardens
Across all of these, it was very difficult to weigh the park visit against other things on the itinerary of travel at the time. Eventually will get to it.
Skyye
Mega Poster
Hey I'm about to visit there next year
For me, I honestly don't have a park I don't visit that's in my area, other than maybe santas village azooment park, I usually end up driving between it and Chicago when I go to visit great America, which isn't too far away. Maybe someday, but not now.
SkyrushSimp
Mega Poster
Canada's Wonderland. I think I just caught them on a bad day, but they had 1 train on everything except Leviathan and (barf) Time Warp. It was painful getting all of the credits and unless they get some new addition i don't see myself ever going back there.
Matt N
CF Legend
Sorry to bump this thread, but for some reason, it came to my mind randomly…
To be honest, I wouldn’t really say that there’s many, or possibly even any, major-ish parks I wouldn’t happily visit or aspire to visit at some stage. Every park has its own unique charm and attractions that I’d love to experience at some stage, even if it might not look like my exact kind of park on the face of it! There are the ones aimed at tiny kids and such (e.g. Gulliver’s in the UK) that I wouldn’t personally want to go to or even try to go to, but that’s more down to the embarrassment/stigma factor and the fact I’m most definitely not in the target demographic, thus my reasons for discounting those parks are more down to a general pact not to do kiddie rides/parks due to the stigma than due to any sort of “can’t be bothered” mindset. In the case of a vaguely major park, I’d certainly be keen to visit and try it out at some point regardless of whether the ride selection appealed to me or not.
However, I’ll admit that one that does perhaps fit the brief of this thread to a point is a park in an area that I’ve visited multiple times over the years, yet I’ve never had an especially strong desire to visit while I’m there.
Now I’ve been to Central Florida multiple times over the years with my family, and we’re not exactly fussy with regard to the Florida parks we’ve visited. Yes, the Universals might be our favourites, but we’ve been to all 4 Disneys, we’ve been to SeaWorld, we’ve made the trek down to Busch Gardens Tampa, and we even went to Fun Spot Kissimmee on our last trip (and my parents have said they wouldn’t mind dropping me in at Fun Spot Orlando to do White Lightning and Freedom Flyer if we find ourselves in the area again any time soon, as well as ICON Park on I-Drive for the drop tower).
In spite of this, however, there’s one major park in Central Florida that we’ve never visited or had any strong desire to, and that’s Legoland Florida. The bulk of the reason I’ve never been is because my parents understandably have zero desire to visit the American version of a theme park we can access in less than 2 hours from home back in Britain, but even taking my parents out of the equation, I’ll admit that it’s a Florida park I’m remarkably apathetic about the prospect of visiting compared to the others. I don’t lose any sleep over the fact I’ve never been during my prior trips to Florida, and if given the choice between visiting Legoland Florida for the first time on my next trip and taking another day at a Florida park I’ve already visited and loved, I’d honestly say I’d be tempted to pick the latter unless I had a huge amount of time in the area… does that make me a terrible enthusiast?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a lovely park, and I’d still visit if offered the prospect, but I certainly won’t be rushing to include it in my itinerary next time I’m in Florida. Am I missing out on a gem by not making a huge effort to visit it?
To be honest, I wouldn’t really say that there’s many, or possibly even any, major-ish parks I wouldn’t happily visit or aspire to visit at some stage. Every park has its own unique charm and attractions that I’d love to experience at some stage, even if it might not look like my exact kind of park on the face of it! There are the ones aimed at tiny kids and such (e.g. Gulliver’s in the UK) that I wouldn’t personally want to go to or even try to go to, but that’s more down to the embarrassment/stigma factor and the fact I’m most definitely not in the target demographic, thus my reasons for discounting those parks are more down to a general pact not to do kiddie rides/parks due to the stigma than due to any sort of “can’t be bothered” mindset. In the case of a vaguely major park, I’d certainly be keen to visit and try it out at some point regardless of whether the ride selection appealed to me or not.
However, I’ll admit that one that does perhaps fit the brief of this thread to a point is a park in an area that I’ve visited multiple times over the years, yet I’ve never had an especially strong desire to visit while I’m there.
Now I’ve been to Central Florida multiple times over the years with my family, and we’re not exactly fussy with regard to the Florida parks we’ve visited. Yes, the Universals might be our favourites, but we’ve been to all 4 Disneys, we’ve been to SeaWorld, we’ve made the trek down to Busch Gardens Tampa, and we even went to Fun Spot Kissimmee on our last trip (and my parents have said they wouldn’t mind dropping me in at Fun Spot Orlando to do White Lightning and Freedom Flyer if we find ourselves in the area again any time soon, as well as ICON Park on I-Drive for the drop tower).
In spite of this, however, there’s one major park in Central Florida that we’ve never visited or had any strong desire to, and that’s Legoland Florida. The bulk of the reason I’ve never been is because my parents understandably have zero desire to visit the American version of a theme park we can access in less than 2 hours from home back in Britain, but even taking my parents out of the equation, I’ll admit that it’s a Florida park I’m remarkably apathetic about the prospect of visiting compared to the others. I don’t lose any sleep over the fact I’ve never been during my prior trips to Florida, and if given the choice between visiting Legoland Florida for the first time on my next trip and taking another day at a Florida park I’ve already visited and loved, I’d honestly say I’d be tempted to pick the latter unless I had a huge amount of time in the area… does that make me a terrible enthusiast?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a lovely park, and I’d still visit if offered the prospect, but I certainly won’t be rushing to include it in my itinerary next time I’m in Florida. Am I missing out on a gem by not making a huge effort to visit it?
Indy
Hyper Poster
I feel this. Even as a Central Floridian, I didn't visit the park until a year and a half ago. It just doesn't look like much on paper, especially for the price point. And then there is the fact that it is not exactly close to the other Orlando parks. It's a good haul down a road with a lot of stop lights.
That being said, it's enjoyable. It's a really solid family park, but certainly not anything a thrillseeker will overly enjoy. My first visit was a cred run and I was done in less than an hour and a half. However, there is a lot to be enjoyed at the park and it is definitely an all-day affair with kids.
So, in short, it's a neat park, but I'm not sure you're missing out on anything major.
Matt N
CF Legend
Oh, I’m sure it’s a very nice park; I had a really nice day at the Windsor park here in the UK last summer, and Florida does look like it offers some more unique elements compared to the Windsor one (not least a more extensive non-kiddie coaster selection). And funny you should say about location, because LLF is actually often closer to the places we stay than the other major parks. Being Brits on holiday in the area, Virgin Holidays allocates us an “Orlando Area Villa”, which usually ends up being in either Haines City or Davenport as opposed to Orlando itself. And in our most recent villa in 2019 (in Haines City), I do remember looking it up, and Legoland Florida was actually the closest theme park to our villa!
However, me and my family have never felt any great desire to go, for whatever reason. We only have 10 days in Central Florida whenever we go, and while we have been more than once, holidays to the area are hardly routine for us. Theme park-wise, we usually prefer to spend our days doing the special types of parks you can’t really get back home in the UK. And when there’s a very similar Legoland in Windsor, that’s 2 hours at most from our house, LLF doesn’t really fit with that theme.
Indy
Hyper Poster
I totally get it. Even before I went to Legoland Florida, I felt the same way about Legoland Windsor. I literally went to Windsor and had absolutely no remorse about not visiting the park because it didn't seem worth my time given that it is a global brand with locations worldwide as opposed to a more uniquely local or cultural experience such as Alton or Blackpool.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Still haven't been to Legoland Windsor, and no intentions to either... Nor have I any intentions of visiting Legoland Florida.
Parks aren't marketed to us, and that's just fine, they do very well as it is.
Parks aren't marketed to us, and that's just fine, they do very well as it is.
Matt N
CF Legend
Fair enough! It really is each to their own with this sort of thing, and while I had a nice day at LLW last summer, that's not to say that it's for everyone; correct me if I'm wrong here, Nicky, but based on some of your previous posts in this thread, I get the impression that a park has to have a decent thrill coaster selection for you to consider it especially worthwhile, and I'll digress that Legoland certainly doesn't cater to that particular demand...
Personally, I wouldn't say I'm overly anal about parks needing an amazing thrill coaster selection for me to visit and have a nice time. Sure, for a park to be a true favourite of mine, I do like it to have at least some thrilling rides that I really enjoy, but I've learned over the years that a park's coaster selection does not necessarily make or break it for me. If you don't mind, let me dredge up a post of yours from earlier in the thread (although if you'd prefer I didn't, I can remove this whole extract):
When you talk about those 3 categories, I'd personally say I sit somewhere between coaster enthusiast and theme park enthusiast. I appreciate theme parks as a whole, and coasters are not the be all and end all for me, with my interest also extending to other attractions, but coasters are comfortably the theme park attraction type that interests me most; they're the only thing I count, and they're usually the main thing I know about and aspire to ride before going to a new park.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
I don’t mind at all
I haven’t changed my opinion. You’re right, typically I don’t visit parks without thrill coasters… Full stop. When it comes to LLW, It’s literally a stone’s throw away from Thorpe… I like Thorpe… No way would I waste a valuable day off in LLW unless it was a social thing, when I could just go up the road.
That being said, I am going to try and take this cred counting thing more seriously, so at some point I will need to spend at least a few hours there!!!
For me its parks with bad service. This was likely a one-time thing and my personal experience only - so far I have two parks I do not intend to visit again:
- Drievelet: Their lockers took the money but didn't work, at the Service they told - while looking very pissed at being interrupted at private talking - that the lockers are operated by a thrid party and that a technician from them will come in two days. Aaaaand I left....
- Kentucky Kingdom: This was in the first year after re-opening. The two main coasters at the time were tops - BUT: Operations were terrible and staff clearly looked bored to do their job, at the self-service restaurant they had an ad for a local craft beer and the staff insisted he wasn't knowing what I was talking about even as I pointed at the sign right behind him. I left early after doing the creds....
Christian
Hyper Poster
Legoland is incredible for small kids. My parents took me for a 3 day trip to Legoland Billund when I was 5. I loved it so much that I wanted to stay more than 3 days and always longed to return. X-treme Racers was my first "major" coaster btw. 15 years later and I wouldn't really want to go back. In 15/20/25 years when I got my own kids I might go again. Who knows?
nCalCoasterRider
Roller Poster
It feels like Six Flags can't be bothered with SFDK most days, but I've had two days this year where most of the rides were running, so maybe, just maybe they're going to stafff the park apropriately.
Will
Strata Poster
I had a really nice day at Legoland Windsor last year.
Granted, I'm a bit of a Lego nerd but I was genuinely surprised by how much I could enjoy it, even by myself - it's come SUCH a long way in the last ten years, and tends to fall by the wayside and be overlooked in favour of Alton, Chessie, Thorpe etc. by goons.
I doubt I'll be back anytime soon and probably only made the trip because new cred, but point still stands
Granted, I'm a bit of a Lego nerd but I was genuinely surprised by how much I could enjoy it, even by myself - it's come SUCH a long way in the last ten years, and tends to fall by the wayside and be overlooked in favour of Alton, Chessie, Thorpe etc. by goons.
I doubt I'll be back anytime soon and probably only made the trip because new cred, but point still stands
SFDK is shockingly bad. I've only been one time but it was far and away the worst Six Flags park I've been to.
nCalCoasterRider
Roller Poster
if all the rides were open, it'd be a decent park, but that is generally not the case.
When I went I think most rides were open - but never at the same time. The only one I remember never opening was V2. However, operations were super intermittent and we only got on most things due to luck and being in the right part of the park at the right time. There are also absolutely no standout coasters compared to many other parks in the line-up.