For the less traveled theme park entusiast

[Teebin]

Interesting take on the funnest parks in the world. Too bad UOR didn't make the list. (writer doesn't appear to like IPs)

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/travel/worlds-funnest-theme-parks/index.html

 

[JungleSkip]

Well, his number 1 and 3 choices match up with mine.

 

[Cole]

Pretty good list and I'm glad he went for uniqueness but, really no universal? How is cedar point on the list but islands isn't? I shouldn't be talking because I've never been to a park outside of FL but still it's a pretty big miss

 

[natespf]

Interesting read Teebs. And this guy definitely hates IPs.

Sadly I have never been to any of these places :'(

I have driven past Buffalo Bill's, but it was at night and I couldn't tell it still operated (kinda looked like a dump just passing by). Now I don't know if I should have stopped in during the day when they were open. Has anyone been there?

A funny thing bout that place is the street it is on has the same name as The Strip (South Las Vegas Blvd), which is a huge strech to call it the same street IMHO. It takes all kinds of turns and what not and it seems the whole point of that part of the road is just so they have a fancy address. Probably an interesting story behind that part of the road.

 

[Jon84]

I have driven past Buffalo Bill's, but it was at night and I couldn't tell it still operated (kinda looked like a dump just passing by). Now I don't know if I should have stopped in during the day when they were open. Has anyone been there?

I drove past it late April in the daytime, and it didn't look open from the road!!

 

[IzzyB]

Pretty good list and I'm glad he went for uniqueness but, really no universal? How is cedar point on the list but islands isn't? I shouldn't be talking because I've never been to a park outside of FL but still it's a pretty big miss

Cedar Park is the place to go to for roller coasters. So I can totally see why that was one of the places on the list. I haven't been to it in years, but it is pretty crazy thrill park. When I was there Kennywood and Cedar Point would fight to have the highest/fastest coaster. However at some point Kennywood couldn't keep up as it is pretty land locked (there is a river on one side) where Cedar Point has much more land. If anyone goes to Cedar Point because it is a hot destination for thrill seekers, you should really stop by and do Kennywood too. It is well worth it if you are that close. It has the new coasters, but it has the BEST old original rides. Thunderbolt to this day is still ranked in many top 10 wooden coasters because of the way it uses the hills to its advantage. But they have rides that are just not made anymore and in many cases Kennywood has the last known operational version of it. It can't compete with Cedar Point or the other big parks anymore, but it is still well worth the trip. We will be going on Labor Day and I can't wait. Too bad I can't ride half the stuff

When my daughter is taller and can get on the upside down coasters, we will for sure extend our yearly trip up there and hit Cedar Point.

 

[UNIrd]

For having hit nearly all the theme parks in the world, I can't say I agree much with this list. Not sure what that one-off dumpy coaster is doing in the Top 10 or the water parks, even. Atlantis isn't even all that.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Ive been to Buffalo Bills and ridden Desperado years ago and calling it a theme park would really be a stretch. This guys loses some credibility in my books with him putting this place on his list.

 

[jtsalien]

Ive been to Buffalo Bills and ridden Desperado years ago and calling it a theme park would really be a stretch. This guys loses some credibility in my books with him putting this place on his list.

I'm actually shocked that death trap at New York New York didn't make it

 

[Disneyhead]

The best I can tell, the article was really intended to reinforce in the author's own mind how hip he is.

 

[Jon84]

I'm actually shocked that death trap at New York New York didn't make it

Thats the roughest coaster I have EVER ridden, my wife was having none of it, but I had to give it a shot. It's like the track was made of Pothole Ridden tarmac!

 

[brianlo]

Ah ha, finally in a country that lets me access the site again!

The author by the way is the theme park guy (look up his website), so not exactly a nobody in the grand scheme of things...

But I'm with you guys on this. I don't get the list whatsoever. I've been to OCT East for example and it may have been the most unpleasant day at a theme park that included riding all of the wooden coaster (which admittedly was fun, but not worth braving the single train terrible ops and 2.5 hour wait), the funicular and train over to the Chinese version of a run down downtown Disney that makes up the Knights Valley portion. It's a different beast of a theme park for sure, but when Ocean Park is literally a hop and a skip away, has better views and is broken similarly in two parts, I just don't get what the purpose of the article is.

Even if he was hoping to simply make a list of great parks most have never heard of, I don't understand the absence of Lotte World for example.

And he hasn't actually been to an operational Sochi park yet... which is just Six flags quality at best.

Perhaps the "here are some really random parks I've been to" is a more appropriate title for the article.