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Anonymous
Guest
They are both reputable theme park companies, but which do you prefer? or Do you like Independent parks like Holiday World?
Cedar Fair parks are horrid.
Most Six Flags parks I've been to are really nice. Apart from SFA.
ALL Cedar Fair parks I've been to have been gross. Apart from Canada's Wonderland. But, that's Canada and therefore no-one cares. Kings Dominion, Knotts and Great America on the other hand are the three single worst US parks I've ever had the displeasure to visit. Dorney's OK, but, only because of Talon.
Most Six Flags parks I've been to are really nice. Apart from SFA.
ALL Cedar Fair parks I've been to have been gross. Apart from Canada's Wonderland. But, that's Canada and therefore no-one cares. Kings Dominion, Knotts and Great America on the other hand are the three single worst US parks I've ever had the displeasure to visit. Dorney's OK, but, only because of Talon.
rollermonkey
Strata Poster
I'm a huge anti-fan of CedarFair, but then 6FI can leave me pretty pissed off, too.
I'll take Busch / Independents for the win.
I'll take Busch / Independents for the win.
Well you've got Cedar Fair, who has some of the worst parks in the nation, but some are great. The same with Six Flags. You have great parks, and ****ty parks (SFA) so it's kind of the same. For me I'm kind of neutral. I've been to good parks from CF and SF, and I've yet to go to a bad one, so in terms of CF and SF, I'm neutral. But I honestly prefer independent parks such as Busch.
In the past I would have immediately said Cedar Fair. Kinzel, until recent times, ran the parks superbly. All of the CF parks I've been to have been great! Yes, CF has some crappy parks, but so does SF.
When Shapiro took over, SF he improved the parks so much! Hopefully Al Weber can also turn the parks financial situation around. He put the two on a equal playing field. I have a hard time choosing one over another. If I really had to choose I would have to say CF.
When Shapiro took over, SF he improved the parks so much! Hopefully Al Weber can also turn the parks financial situation around. He put the two on a equal playing field. I have a hard time choosing one over another. If I really had to choose I would have to say CF.
Silly, Busch is not independent. :roll:
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Anonymous
Guest
I have been to one SF park (America) and no CF parks although I plan on going to Cedar Point. Well SF America's Superman: Ride of steel had a mailbox blocking one of the gates that lead to a car with a missing grip bar. On Batwing, the restraints got stuck on me. And on the Wild One, they blocked a row of seats because the lap bars were broken. When do they repair these things? So even though I've never been to one of their parks, I choose CF.
CreditCrazy
Hyper Poster
Independent parks. They are typically the nicest and most enjoyable to go to.
If I had to choose between Cedar Fair or Six Flags, I would choose Six Flags. It used to be really close for me and I had trouble deciding between the two, but after going to more of each, I've found that I just have more fun at (most) Six Flags parks.
Both companies have their advantages. Six Flags parks are very unbalanced as some are great and some are completely forgotten about, as Snoo mentioned. This doesn't seem to be the case with Cedar Fair. There's parks like California's Great America and Dorney Park, but even they are still overall clean and well-kept up parks.
Operations at every park in each company need improving. This is why I am NOT a fan of the locker policy at Six Flags. It's annoying to not be able to bring anything into a park (sorry, $1 per ride is just not an option for me
) but I'm overall okay with it if it makes operations go faster (like Busch)... And it really doesn't! Even with lockers, Six Flags' operations are pretty equal to Cedar Fair. And that says a lot considering some rides I've seen.
Six Flags parks are by far nicer than Cedar Fair parks which are the complete definition of concrete and coasters. At least Six Flags parks have some personality and theming. Kings Dominion and Kings Island are two of my favorite Cedar Fair parks because they have some interesting theming/rides/queues and that's only because they were formerly owned by Paramount. Cedar Fair is already beginning to strip the theming on some rides, like Backlot Stunt Coasters' trains.
Cedar Fair parks are probably better when it comes to flat rides, which a lot of Six Flags parks are severely lacking, but I hate flat rides other than drop towers. So I don't really care either way.
Overall, I feel like I can get a different experience when going to Six Flags parks, but Knott's, Cedar Point and Dorney all basically feel the same (I like Cedar Point for different reasons). I'm also not counting Paramount Parks in this because they were owned by a different company for the majority of their life and therefore do give different experiences... Although KI and KD are very similar.
Busch Gardens and Hershey still win, though.
If I had to choose between Cedar Fair or Six Flags, I would choose Six Flags. It used to be really close for me and I had trouble deciding between the two, but after going to more of each, I've found that I just have more fun at (most) Six Flags parks.
Both companies have their advantages. Six Flags parks are very unbalanced as some are great and some are completely forgotten about, as Snoo mentioned. This doesn't seem to be the case with Cedar Fair. There's parks like California's Great America and Dorney Park, but even they are still overall clean and well-kept up parks.
Operations at every park in each company need improving. This is why I am NOT a fan of the locker policy at Six Flags. It's annoying to not be able to bring anything into a park (sorry, $1 per ride is just not an option for me
) but I'm overall okay with it if it makes operations go faster (like Busch)... And it really doesn't! Even with lockers, Six Flags' operations are pretty equal to Cedar Fair. And that says a lot considering some rides I've seen.Six Flags parks are by far nicer than Cedar Fair parks which are the complete definition of concrete and coasters. At least Six Flags parks have some personality and theming. Kings Dominion and Kings Island are two of my favorite Cedar Fair parks because they have some interesting theming/rides/queues and that's only because they were formerly owned by Paramount. Cedar Fair is already beginning to strip the theming on some rides, like Backlot Stunt Coasters' trains.
Cedar Fair parks are probably better when it comes to flat rides, which a lot of Six Flags parks are severely lacking, but I hate flat rides other than drop towers. So I don't really care either way.
Overall, I feel like I can get a different experience when going to Six Flags parks, but Knott's, Cedar Point and Dorney all basically feel the same (I like Cedar Point for different reasons). I'm also not counting Paramount Parks in this because they were owned by a different company for the majority of their life and therefore do give different experiences... Although KI and KD are very similar.
Busch Gardens and Hershey still win, though.
IHeartArrow
Mega Poster
I much prefer Busch and independent parks. They put more heart into their work because it's all they have, they don't have hordes of parks all over to fall back on so they make what they have the best that they can. Even though Busch (Blackstone) has other parks they still put so much care into the parks that they have.
Six Flags America is the only SF park I've been to, and it wasn't terrible. It was a lot of fun, family-friendly, and clean. I mean the ops were really enthusiastic and did chants and all sorts of fun stuff.
I've been to Dorney, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Cedar Point and going off of Dorney, Cedar Fair SUCKS. Kings Dominion and Kings Island are average and haven't branched too far from Paramount yet. Cedar Point is awesome.
So Independent/Busch>SF>CF.
Six Flags America is the only SF park I've been to, and it wasn't terrible. It was a lot of fun, family-friendly, and clean. I mean the ops were really enthusiastic and did chants and all sorts of fun stuff.
I've been to Dorney, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Cedar Point and going off of Dorney, Cedar Fair SUCKS. Kings Dominion and Kings Island are average and haven't branched too far from Paramount yet. Cedar Point is awesome.
So Independent/Busch>SF>CF.
*rollercoasterLOVER*
Roller Poster
I like Cedar Fair better for 3 reasons
-Cedar Fair has better rides
-Six Flags copies a lot of the Cedar Fair rides
-Cedar Fair has way less accidents than Six Flags
Those are the 3 reasons why I think Cedar Fair is better.
-Cedar Fair has better rides
-Six Flags copies a lot of the Cedar Fair rides
-Cedar Fair has way less accidents than Six Flags
Those are the 3 reasons why I think Cedar Fair is better.
LiveForTheLaunch
CF Legend
A week ago I would have said Cedar Fair, but now I'm not so sure. I've been to Six Flags Darien Lake back in the day, Great Adventure, Great America, St. Louis, Worlds of Adventure, and I think that's about it. Most of them were actually pretty good, aside from maybe Darien Lake. As for Cedar Fair parks, I've been to the majority of them and though they're nice parks, with the exception of Carowinds (Kings Dom wasn't the best either), they're more or less all the same. They're better for families than Six Flags, but Six Flags is better for the thrill.
So they're more or less on par. As for independent parks, their atmospheres are generally a hell of a lot better than bigger park chains, but usually the rides aren't as good.
So they're more or less on par. As for independent parks, their atmospheres are generally a hell of a lot better than bigger park chains, but usually the rides aren't as good.
carolinacoasterfreak
Roller Poster
I'd definitely have to say CedarFair simply because they have the better rides. Six Flags disappoints me time and time again and it shows in CedarFair parks that they are getting the better side of the business because of lines. Don't get me wrong, I love not having to wait for a ride, but I'd much rather wait for a ride that's worth riding rather than get on the same boring ride over and over again.
Naemuti
Mega Poster
I dunno, I've had limited experience with both CF and SF. I've only been to Cedar Point as far as Cedar Fair parks go, but I liked it a lot. There were a good amount of excellent rides, but also a lot of mediocre ones too, and the front of the park is (like a lot of people say) all concrete and no trees (but the back of the park is VERY nice).
Six Flags parks have been annoying me more and more lately. They seem out to gouge you for money more than they ever have and they've ramped up the advertising so much. I hate seeing trains like El Toro and Kingda Ka ad-wrapped, especially for ****ty products like Axe Twist. The queue line TVs with the bad pop music and the lame advertisements for the dare Devil Dive, the Armitron wait time signs, the Platinum Flash Pass...I could go on all day. But I can't argue that Six Flags needs the money and the rides and atmosphere are definitely top-notch and it's the only reason I go back so willingly. Great Adventure is a really nice clean park with good theming and the best coaster line-up out of any park I've gone to. New England isn't as great, but it's a decent park, and I can still manage to spend a day there. They also have these things called flat rides. :wink:
But from what I've seen of Busch and my experience with small family parks like Canobie Lake, I'm going to agree with some of the other people and say that they look better than both chains.
Six Flags parks have been annoying me more and more lately. They seem out to gouge you for money more than they ever have and they've ramped up the advertising so much. I hate seeing trains like El Toro and Kingda Ka ad-wrapped, especially for ****ty products like Axe Twist. The queue line TVs with the bad pop music and the lame advertisements for the dare Devil Dive, the Armitron wait time signs, the Platinum Flash Pass...I could go on all day. But I can't argue that Six Flags needs the money and the rides and atmosphere are definitely top-notch and it's the only reason I go back so willingly. Great Adventure is a really nice clean park with good theming and the best coaster line-up out of any park I've gone to. New England isn't as great, but it's a decent park, and I can still manage to spend a day there. They also have these things called flat rides. :wink:
But from what I've seen of Busch and my experience with small family parks like Canobie Lake, I'm going to agree with some of the other people and say that they look better than both chains.