What's new

Guilty Pleasure Parks

Chris Brown

Mr CoasterForce 2016
This is an obvious rip off of Sandmans 'Guilty Pleasure Coasters' sorry mate!

Thought it was still worth a topic though. So do you have any parks that you slag off yet still love to visit?

Mine's Thorpe Park, its a bit meh and takes a lot of stick but I'll never pass up an opportunity to visit and re ride the same meh coasters they have!
 

Olaf

Mega Poster
Any slc... It **** hurts, but they are amazing [FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY]

Verstuurd vanaf mijn GT-I9301I met Tapatalk
 

Ketchup

Mega Poster
Thorpe gets a load of unwarranted crap on this forum and elsewhere.

Sure they have a lot of crap (Saw and X) and have had some dodgy additions in recent years (Angry Birds Land and I'm a Celebrity come to mind), but the place still has 2 B&Ms, 2 Intamins and a fairly strong flat ride line up.

I also think the landscaping is quite nice and the operations normally seem very good (although I concede I may be lucky here). My only issue with the place is how busy it gets but they can't really help that being right outside London.

Other than that maybe Carowinds? I thought the place was great and had really good coasters and a superb atmosphere when I went last year but based on what I've read from others, I seem to be in a minority in thinking that. I'd say it's tied for my favourite Cedar Fair park alongside Cedar Point. My only criticism about the place was maybe a lack of shade but that seems to be a common theme at American amusement parks.
 

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
^Carowinds last year and Carowinds circa 2011 are completely different parks practically. Last year they added a ton to make sure that you could have a decent day there, it used to be an absolute **** hole.

Hm, this is a tough one, but I'd actually have to give this to my favorite park, Cedar Point. Sure it's basic, sure it puts me on the same level as gross CP fanboys that are like cancer to this hobby, but when you really get down to it, there's nowhere I'd rather spend a day. I have a soft spot for a ton of their rides (not just the two in my top ten that have been there for over five years), the whole park either has theming or looks really fresh and cleaned up, they have the best operations of any park I've seen minus their reride policy, you can't possibly run out of stuff to do there, and that feeling of walking around with a coaster always towering over you regardless of where you are is exactly how the Coaster Capital of the World should feel.

I always wish my favorite park were something a little less basic and a little less corporate but bottom line is I wouldn't want to spend a day anywhere else on the planet.
 

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
Huh, never really thought about this. I guess EPCOT, really. It's nothing spectacular, it's outdated to ****, and there are no creds. But the way it presents everything is so well done, I just love it. Also Test Track and Soarin'. <3

I also think SFA counts. Everyone says it's absolutely abysmal, but it wasn't that bad. Sure, the operations and staff and clientele and food were all terrible, but the park itself was actually kind of nice. S:RoS is a really good ride(breaks my top 10), Apocalypse, Joker's Jinx, and Batwing are all decent, and the theming was pretty nice in some places. I'd certainly go back to mop up the other creds, not sure if I'd keep it as a home park though.
 

jayjay

Giga Poster
I'm going with Drayton Manor. On paper, it's quite awful, but there's something about the size, and the selection of amusingly naff dark rides that brought out the playful side in everybody. When it was paired up with Alton Towers for CF Lives, I always remember enjoying the Drayton day a little more.
 

Shirofukurou

Mega Poster
SFNE. Yes, it's dirty, with mostly mediocre coasters, and awful food. But the best coasters there (SROS and Wicked) are two of the best coasters anywhere. Their waterpark is quite good as well, probably the best in New England (though it doesn't have much competition!).
 

Pink Cadillac

Giga Poster
I really enjoy Epcot, but I'm going to go with Animal Kingdom. There's a lot more to do than most people realise (Flights Of Wonder, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Finding Nemo show <3 )and the theming is heads-and-shoulders above the rest of the resort.
 

Ben

CF Legend
Definitely Drayton Manor, it's fab.

Apocalypse and Shockwave yay <3

So excited to go next month haha.
 

Sandman

Giga Poster
Good topic, Chris :wink:


Quite a tough one for me because I usually just enjoy every park for what it has to offer. I'd probably say Bakken is one of them to be honest, never really heard anyone shout about it but it's just a charming little place. A good range of fun rides and some decent family coasters. It also has convenient opening hours. Sort of reminds me of what Camelot used to be like crossed with a travelling fair.
 

mouse

Giga Poster
I like crappy family parks with really terrible theming. Stuff like shop mannequins dressed in lab coats as 'dinosaur investigators', which were part of a dinosaur themed powered ride in a small park near me. The same park also had loads of pointless walk throughs which were basically wooden boxes with strips of PVC plastic stuff hanging from the ceiling. Blackgang chine has a lot of that stuff too, which is why I like the the park so much. I'm a big fan of crap theming!
 

Ian

From CoasterForce
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Social Media Team
I really like small British seaside parks such as Ocean Beach, Clarence Pier, Funland Hayling Island, Brean, Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach and the one in Hastings that I've forgotten. Yes, I know they tend to appear run down, rarely have anything special and I don't spend a lengthy amount of time visiting them, but it's their traditional atmosphere and style I love. Spin and spews rides, candy floss, non corporate, fatty doughnuts, penny arcades, honest ride ops (none of that robotic "are you enjoying your day?" cringe), wasps, scrambling for a nearby parking space, short queues, pay per ride, dirty NON REFUNDABLE tokens. I honesly love them!
 
I love Blackpool and I love Adventure Island, mostly because we don't really get seaside parks like that in my area so both were a pretty unique experience for me. I know a lot of people say Blackpool/seasides are dirty but I just loved the atmosphere.

I quite enjoy Thorpe come to think of it. It gets slandered all the time by the Brits but it's really not that bad?
 

Rachel

Coaster MILF
I love Thorpe and i'm not even ashamed to admit it, the park has probably the best ride line up in the UK in my opinion.

I think Chessington is my Guilty Pleasure, although I think that has a lot to do with Nostalgia. Its starting to get a bit run down and hasn't had a decent addition in ages, but I still look at the park with the rose tinted glasses I had on as a kid.
 

TommyAlex

Mega Poster
I liked Joyland as well - charming little family park, enjoyed Tub Twist - normally I don't go low enough for kiddie credits, but.....
 

mouse

Giga Poster
I forgot to mention Brean! Not sure how but I managed to spend a day there without getting bored. I loved the crappyness and tackiness of it for some reason, plus their ghost train is amazing.
 
Top