I kind of covered this in another topic where it was suggested that a park should buy an El Loco rather than say, a Megalite.
Flamingoland is a perfect example of what I was thinking about in my response. As enthusiasts, we'd flock to FL if it had a Megalite. We'd hail it as a coaster Mecca like Oakwood you pilgrimage to yearly - only maybe even more so due to the strong supporting rides.
Instead, FL invests regularly with "firsts" and it's quantity/PR over quality. The problem is that once you've been on the rides, why do you want to return? Well, to ride the new ride they put in next year. What happens when they stop investing? They're getting caught in a loop of add mediocre new attraction to attract guests, guests ride and think "meh" and then the park has to invest the same the next year.
That sounds harsher than it is in reality to be fair. People who are "local" are fine. If I lived an hour or so from FL, I'd visit the park regularly. The constant bland additions attract a wider audience each year, but there will be a definite "core" that will always be return visitors.
I'm down on Thorpe Park too, but I'm never too fussed about the three hour drive there because I know that - mostly - their rides are of high quality and have a good reride factor. If I had the cash, I'd happily make regular trips to Thorpe to meet up with people.
FL is also about three hours away and has more rides and a (if I remember correctly) very good zoo too. I have no desire to return - even for the new coasters. I just find the place so boring that I've no desire to make the effort to go. Okay, I've only been three times, but twice I had a really dull "ride day" (once with CF and the CF bit was the highlight - the other time with two non-enthusiast friends who both wanted to leave after three hours as they were bored, so was I). The other time I spent with a two year old Maxi-Minor_Furie and had a brilliant day in the sun, watching him play in the new water area and going on the cable cars and train. Two year olds are easy to please, and them being pleased makes me happy. It could have been a play barn though :lol:
So yeah, I just don't get on with the place because there's nothing there that appeals. The rides are all "okay I guess" (though I like Flip Flop a lot) and the zoo was great - but I don't like the park as a place to "hang about".
If there was a single stand out ride (I'm thinking Holiday Park here really) then you'd say "The park is meh, but it's worth it for that one ride". It elevates the rest of the park because there's something there which is excellent. Oakwood is similar, Megafobia really is the only highlight for me, but I still really enjoy the park - that one "wow" ride makes the whole place enjoyable to visit (though the large grassy areas and quirky little oddities help).
So yeah, I think they do a great job in constantly adding new attractions and I'm glad that one park in the country is making such a constant effort to invest. It just seems short sighted to me to fill your park with stuff that nobody will care about in ten years time. It's pretty much the same kind of investment pattern we saw at parks (like Alton) during the 80's with Pinfari and Schwartzkopf stuff dumped in to increase ride numbers, but no real thought for the long term.
Obviously, this is just my opinion and it may change after my visit later this year
